Ann, your search for your gt grandmother Julia Maben of Los Angeles County, CA interests me. My son married a Julia and lives in Los Angeles. Our MABEN ancestors came from Dumfries, Scotland and settled in Petersburg, Virginia by 1800. In the next generation, William P. Maben moved to Missouri; Dr. John Maben went to medical school in Philadelphia, PA; Mary Shaw Maben married John Cannon Hobson in VA and some of their descendants moved to Detroit, MI; John A. Maben (1797-1879) married Elizabeth Moore Campbell in VA, and their descendants have prospered from Birmingham, AL to Baltimore, MD to Richmond, VA and New York.
Do any of these sound like possible links? I do not know of MABENs in CA, but have HITE, NEBLETT, GREGORY and NISBET kin there.
I am especially interested in any Dumfries, Scotland to Virginia links for the MABEN family, including a Michael Maben who is said to have come from Dumfries and died in Petersburg, VA in 1818. I don't know who Michael was, but have records for my other Maben kin who settled in VA.
Jennie Howe (in Virginia)
jshowe@usa.net