This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/IEC.2ACE/1176.1.1 Message Board Post: My wife is the Fortney descendent. Her name is Rita Lee (Shahan) Ross. Her mother was Freda Paticia Fortney (Wife of Donald Reed Shahan), daughter of Draper Fortney. I believe her sister, Karen Shahan, has the original letter. I have been searching for info on the unknown Pell for about a year and had resigned myself that this question was going to be impossible to solve. Several weeks ago my wife handed me a large envelope and asked if I had scanned these. I opened the envelope and there were two 8x10 B/W photos of the letter. I was soon overjoyed and mad at the same time. Neither my wife or her sister had mentioned the photos to me...I don't think they realized their significance. I'm still trying to get the original from my wife's sister to see if I can improved the scan, and if not, a least do a good transcription. Realizing that this might be the only "smoking gun" document for a possible father of Draper & Vernon. I just had to post it for others ASAP. Clarke