Sue, while I have a list of Joseph Helms and Mary Gray's 8 children, and information about Joseph's dying in 1898 in Alleghany Co., VA, there seems to be some mystery as to where he spent the years between 1870 and 1898, leaving Mary to raise their family alone. Do you have any info about this period? From which child are you descended? I would appreciate receiving a brief outline of your lineage to add to the Helms/ Hellems information I have collected, names and dates, and where they were located. Thanks in advance. Dorothy Miller