I just came upon an ancestress who sued her husband for running away with a slave in 1835, leaving the wife penniless and powerless. The court suit reminded me of what happened when my parents divorced 133 years later, except for the slave part. The truth of that tail is important because my mother remembers the child of that marriage as STERN and humorless. I guess she was -- when she was 15 her father ran off with a slave and left his wife and daughters penniless. I'd probably be humorless too. But it explained some things. ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.