I am also looking into the Belmont County Ohio Bratton's (and various spellings) from 1850 and earlier. Would you have any links to this?

In particular, I'm looking at George Bratton b. 1807 (PA) and listed as living with Steel Smith's family in 1850. No wife is with him.

I believe that perhaps George's wife had died. There are four Brattin/Bratten/Brattan children living with other families in 1850.
-Amey (age 4)(born in Lloydsville) and Solomon (age 9) Brattan were living with Seth Mitchner's family. Seth was a farmer at the Belmont County "poor house".
-William Bratten (age 12) was living with Levi Pickering, Jr's family. The Pickerings owned about 500 acres in Richland Twp including all the land where the "poor house" was built. Levi's son, Isaac, later became Infirmary Master.
-George Brattin Jr (age 14) was living in Wayne Twp. Belmont Co. with the James ?Vankie? family. Coincidently, this was just two houses down from Levi Pickering, SR (father of the above mentioned Levi Pickering Jr.)

William (Ira) is our direct decendant. He changed the spelling to BRITTON. He enlisted with the 43rd OVI Co. D at St. Clairsville in 1861 and served until the end of the war. He married Mary Elizabeth Miller. They moved around from Ohio to Pennslvania to Alabama to Tennessee to Illinois. Back to Pennsylvania and finally back to Ohio. They lived in Mingo Junction for several years before making Powhatan Point their permanent home.