Dianne,

no need to apologize - I just wanted to explain what had happened. No intention to scold anybody, please excuse if it came across that way.

".... Starting local and working backward is the only way for me to find anything"
That's true, no doubt. I guess you have probably tried any other approach, e.g. by looking for others researching that surname? Like through http://www.surnamenavigator.org/ ...

Regards
Tilman