Hi Dennis, I'll bet Bill Beall of the Beall Genealogical News has a copy of the will, maybe not in electronic format, but he can get it to you. Beall Family Association PO Box 33918 Portland, OR 97292-3918 Now you wouldn't happen to have that portrait of Ninian in eformat, would you? I'd be interested in seeing it. I'll hafta check, but there was a portrait like you described illustrated in the BGN in issues past. I recall that the identity of the individual was in question...'tho it was a Beall. Nope, wrong image. But I found the one to which, I imagine, you refer in Volume IV, #2, June 1994. There're 2 on the page...one _very_ naif and one attractive portrait in the Early American style. Caption of the "nice" image says it was submitted by Ted and Mary Taylor of Burson, CA with source unknown. Maybe Bill can make you a color copy or get you in touch with Ted and Mary. If you get Ninian's will in eformat, I hope you'll post it to the list. Should make for good reading! Lisa Simms Surnames of Greatest Interest--Simms, Beall, Horrocks, Clark, Wright Sims GEDCOM Project : http://www.world.std.com/~lsimms/simms2.html moving to: http://people.ne.mediaone.net/lsimms/simms2.html Beall Search : http://people.ne.mediaone.net/lsimms/beall0.html Sims Search : http://www.webdudes.com/sims/sims.html At 2:22 PM -0700 6/30/98, Dennis wrote: >Hi folks: > >Iím hunting for the full text of Col. Ninian Beallís 1717 will. Iíve got >excerpts, but really need the whole thing. > >Iím also wondering if anybody out there happens to know who has the one >surviving portrait of the colonel. Iíve got a couple of very grainy b >and w photocopies of it, but would sure like to see the original in full >color. A copy of the portrait accompanies an article by George Magruder >Battey published during the 1920s in the Columbia Historical Society >journal. The Smithsonianís National Portrait Gallery in Washington lists >it but says it has no idea where the original is or who painted it. From >the look of Ninian, it looks like he was in his mid-forties, which would >put it around 1670, shortly after his marriage to Ruth. It looks to be >in the ìnaiveî style of art. I seem to recall hearing that Ninianës >portrait might be somewhere in Georgia, but thatís the closest I can >come. Iím sure the Smithsonian and the Maryland state archives would >really like to know as well. Thanks. > >dennis bell (of the Largo, Fife Bells) >Burnaby, B.C. >Canada