Hi everyone, I've been real busy working on the Lewis County Residents 1800-1900 file I've put together. Because of working on that file, I've been corresponding with a nice gentleman who has connections to Aills and his family is primarily in Mason Co., I started looking at Spotsylvania Co. records to which some of his family connects. With one thing leading to another and a good friend and an excellent genealogist I've worked with for at least 6 years, she sent information on THE SHACKLEFORD FAMILY that she acquired for me through her online library card. It's many pages of information. Through THE SHACKLEFORD FAMILY and the Spotsylvania Co. Records on line, I'm fully convinced that our Ann Shackleford was in fact, Mary Ann Lewis, the daughter of Zachary Lewis and Mary Walker. On Dec 27 1747, Richard Shackleford and Mary Lewis (widow) were married in Spotslyvania County This is a mistake. She was not a widow...she was the daughter of Zachary Shackleford. Richard Shackleford had a brother, James Shackleford who married Elizabeth Lewis, the sister of Richard's wife Mary Ann Lewis. There's many documents that support Mary Ann Lewis being the wife of Richard Shackleford, the following just being one such document: Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850 Record about James Name: James Shackleford Date: Mar 19, 1756 Location: Spotsylvania Co., VA Property: Negro. Notes: This land record was originally published in "Virginia County Records - Spotsylvania County, 1721-1800, Volume I" edited by William Armstrong Crozier. Remarks: Zachary Lewis of Spts. Co, of the first part; Richard Shackleford of same co. and Mary, his wife, of the second part; and Mary Shackleford, dau. of James Shackleford of the same county, of the third part. Whereas, Zachary Lewis, by letter dated 29 May 17 Description: Grantor's stepfather Book date: E In this document, Zachary Lewis is the father of Mary Shackleford, married to Richard. James Shackleford is the brother of Richard. James' wife was Elizabeth the daughter of Zachary and sister of Mary married to Richard. The granddaughter Mary Shackleford is the d/o James and Elizabeth Lewis Shackleford. From THE SHACKLEFORD FAMILY on page 13, I quote, "At any rate, about the year 1744, James Shackleford married (1) Elizabeth Lewis, sister of the great Spotsylvania lawyer, Zachery Lewis, and James' brother, Richard, married Mary Lewis, sister to Elizabeth." In THE SHACKLEFORD FAMILY, Shackleford Wills, etc., I quote, "The last will and testament of Richard Shackelford dated April 5th, 1774 and recorded in Will Book E., page 78, Spotsylvania County Court records. "The said Richard gives his land and plantation to his wife Ann Shackelford for her life, and to pass to his two daughters Molly Shackelford and Betty Shackelford in fee. The remainder of his estate he gives 1/3 to his wife, and the balance to be divided between his said two daughters with the provision that if his two daughters should die without issue, then and in that event, the whole of his estate should go and pass to his brother Ambrose Shackelford." Notice that the husbands of Molly and Betty ARE NOT included in this quote as has been posted to the Web. Since the names Molly and Betty are used rather than Mary and Elizabeth, I think he used the informal name of Ann for his wife rather than Mary Ann. I don't think Molly and Betty were married to the Aills brothers in 1774. The marriage records in Spts. Co., are not on line for the years after 1774 so I haven't found marriage records. Richard Shackleford was the son of James Shackleford and Elizabeth Robins. He did have a brother Ambrose, as well as other siblings. There were 10 children in his family. They descended from Roger and Mary Palmer. So far, I have had no luck in finding roots for William and Walker Aills. Since their wives were connected to the prominent families of Virginia on both the Lewis and Shackleford lines, I would think that the Aills were also prominent people in Spotsylvania unless they were immigrants. There are several documents in which they appear as witnesses to documents of or with other prominent people. I do wonder if Walker Aills could have somehow been connected to the Walker family from which his wife descends and that's the reason for his first name being Walker. It's just a thought and perhaps nothing more than coincidence. If you decide to add the name Mary Ann Lewis as the mother of Mary and Elizabeth to your data, I wish you good luck in searching for more. The Lewis family is connected to the Meriwether, the Crawford, the Pettus, the Waller, the Washington, the Lee and other prominent families in Colonia Virginia and as far back as Jamestown. I have found it extremely interesting to chase down the ancestors of our Aills ladies. A lot can be found just in entering names of couples in a Google search. Sandra PS, I've been amazed at how many of the early residents of Lewis County come from Spotysylvania Co., and are related to the same families the Aills ladies are related to. Just about the entire population of Lewis County cousins up with the Aills way back there. One more thought, Nancy Aills who married James A Heath had a son Zachary Heath, sometimes called Zaccheus Heath. I've wondered if he was named for Zachary Lewis, Nancy's grandfather. That makes me curious about Zaccheus Aills sometimes recorded as Zachary Aills. What makes us so very sure that John Aills was an only son of Walker and Elizabeth? sandra pps...The Pendleton family in Spotsylvania also marries into the Waller family. Mary Waller is the grandmother of Mary Ann Lewis. It just gets curiouser and curiouser.