Those researching the Thomas family in the neighborhood of Smuteye will probably be interested in the close relationship between the Cope and Thomas families and their migration patterns. The Copes migrated from Richmond County, NC and settled in the area south of Union Springs. At both locations, Richmond County, NC and Bullock County, Alabama, there were Thomas families closely associated with the Copes. Samuel Cope and his sons arrived in Alabama in time for the boys to take part in the Creek Indian War. A check of Indian War records available from the National Archives will probably provide information on the Thomas clan. Samuel Cope's widow (his 3rd or 4th widow) Sarah Hearn Cope married a neighbor William Thomas. Witnesses to Samuel's last will and testament were Malcom Blue, James Thomas and Murdock Gillis. Back in North Carolina a Cope neighbor William Thomas had applied for and received a pension for service in the Revolutionary War. Also receiving a pension for service in the same units was Samuel Cope's father-in-law (first marriage) Thomas Everitt. These families are very closely tied to each other by place of residence, by marriages, by service in the Revolutionary War and by census records. I tend to believe that William Thomas of Bullock County, who married Sarah Hearn Cope, might be the grandson of Revolutionary soldier William Thomas of Richmond County, NC. For those curious about a Scotland connection might find it interesting that one of the counties bordering Richmond County, NC is Scotland County.