This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: BALES BEALS Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/QV.2ADI/182.2.1.1.1 Message Board Post: My theory is that my Henry BALES (1850 census says b. abt 1793, TN) is the son of John BEALS and Ann THORNBROUGH of Jefferson Co., TN. According to the Quaker records, John and Ann had a son Henry b. 29 Nov 1795. No one seems to know what became of him. I don't have anything conclusive to support my theory, other than that his date and place of birth are close to what they should be. And the names of some of his children and grandchildren seem to follow a pattern that is consistent with this BALES family (Rachel, John, Lydia, Walter, Richard, etc.). I have found at least one other Jefferson Co., TN family that seems to have ended up in Independence Co., AR, so there is a connection between these counties. Other descendants of John and Ann BEALS also ended up elsewhere in AR. Although John and Ann BEALS did not have a son named Caleb, the name Caleb apparently does occur elsewhere in the family. And John's father, William BEALS, was supposed to have been b, in Frederick Co., VA. Some say your Caleb BALES was from that area. I think the only way to prove a connection between these families is to find a living male BALES from each line and convince them to join a DNA surname project. -- Dennis