Dear Cousins, The most interesting (and most terribly mind-bending) genealogical study of backcountry people comes from the variants that evolved as each group of persons tried to blend into the greater body of settlers. In examining early deeds and comparing them with Peter Stebbins Craig's "The 1693 Census of Swedes on the Delaware," I have been trying to come up with some additional clues as to who was whom. The Van Winkles, who have been allied with my Watts family over a couple of centuries used the name Walling, but appended the Van Winkle ("from Winkle" in Holland) to it in early times and thus became simply Van Winkle later. Some are therefore found with both in early times i.e., "Jacob Walling Van Winkle" or some stubborn ones "Jacob Walling," and some, "Jacob Van WInkle." Keep in mind, all nomenclature refers to the same family. As these families took hold and grew, the variants kept changing. There are Wallers in Virginia whom I have speculated might well have been Van Winkles. They were in the same areas of interest where the Watts and other migrants located in Virginia, but this may simply be coincidence. Alley is another (possibly) Dutch allied family of the Van Winkles, found both in in the Delaware River Valley as well as SW Virginia, and seems to have also been spelled Ailing, and Alling. Jim Van Winkle's pages contain some interesting commentaries on the history and the genealogical connections of these early settlers: http://www.wgn.net/~jimvw/index.html http://www.wgn.net/~jimvw/geneolgy/settle.html One of the multi-named families that particularly intrigue me is that of Jonathan Hanson whose real estate speculations (along with the Cole(s) family produced the area of what is now Baltimore City. A couple of generations later this family became allied with Josias Pennington who is the "elite" part of the Maryland Penningtons. Jonathan Hanson's was Quaker, and his ancestry is shown in several sources (Barnes' "Baltimore Families," for one as Timothy of Philadelphia, with wife Barbara. Timothy is shown in Hinshaw's Quaker Encyclopedia, but little else is revealed about him. http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads/Josias/index.html There is a Timothy Hanson who appears in the records of Duck Creek Monthly Meeting, and the following record from Duck Creek MM ("Vital Records of Kent and Sussex Counties Delaware 1686-1800" by F. Edward Wright, yes THAT Mr. Wright!) shows the confused and confusing relationships and ties that ensue from the backcountry culture families: "Barbary Hanson, mother to Timothy and Samuel Hanson Jenkins and Mary Barrat died 11-6-1718, and bur - 8 - by Little Creek Meeting House Kent County." (Kent County, DE) There are a variety of other records for both TImothy Hanson, Samuel Hanson Jenkins, Samuel Hanson (whose identity seems to be that of Timothy's son) and for Jabesh Jenkins (who seems to be a son of Samuel Hanson Jenkins). The given names of Jonathan, Timothy, Samuel, Thomas and William appear in these Hanson/Jenkins families, along with the wild card Jabez/Jabesh. None of the Delaware Jonathans is early enough to be the Jonathan Hanson of Baltimore fame. I have speculated he is a brother of Timothy and Samuel Hanson Jenkins, and that Barbary was his mother as well. He may be unnmentioned because he was disowned, or simply because he was not residing in the Duck Creek and Little Creek areas. Further complication regarding the Hansons comes from the name being confused with English Hansons, who produced a later, famous JOHN Hanson in the Maryland Revolutionary times, and in the Delaware area, the Hanson surname is a patronymic for "Han's son," which John Hance/Hans Steelman used. He is shown as #142 in Dr. P. S. Craig book: "John Hansson Steelman the eldest son of Hans Mansson and Ella Stille." There are simply too many of these to adequately describe them via e-mail, and I will be putting them on the website. This goes to the very heart of establishing identity, and are quite fascinating and quite mind boggling. John Hans Steelman functioned at the Indian village of Sahakito, which became Elkton, the county seat of Cecil County. His property there is being restored. There is great information about him and the Hollingsworths as well at the Historic Elk Landing Organization site: http://www.elklanding.org/ Love, Your Swedish-Addled Cousin, Carolyn Carolyn McDaniel cmacdee@centurytel.net ========================================= --- Visit American Crossroads --- http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads