If the last name on which you are working is not all that common and you can't find where the family was from, have you considered searching a modern directory to see where that name is clustered today?
That's not evidence that your ancestor was from that area, but it may give you a place to look for your missing ancestor.
My distant cousin always looked up her unusual name in the phone book whenever she visited a new town. Eventually she found another cousin and, through her, she found me.... and we live in the same city!!! And trough them I have found other cousins that I never knew existed.
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