Hi Peggy, I think Banks McLaurin has pretty much nailed down the "real" BLEDSOES, and since they were English and ours were "Dutch" (actually German), the two are most likely different lines, altogether. Unfortunately, I have not seen enough of your BEDSOLE information to know all the folks that you are looking for. I think I still am in some confusion regarding the earliest folks of your spelling. Our BEDSAULS were Quakers, and here's a portion of a message regarding UPTONS sent to me, when I inquired about John Lowry BEDSAUL'S daughter, Catherine "Callie Mae", who married a James UPTON in Carroll County, AR (Later became Boone County): Weren't your BEDSOLES in Bladen County, NC, Peggy? I found this to be very interesting. And, the Quaker folks would have played a big part in the lives of the BEDSAULS also, were they in that area (which they probably were, hiding out under the name BEDSOLE)! :-) MYSTERY DEED- A deed exist in Bladen Co., NC, Book 1, page 130, dated 07/12/1770, in which James Upton (Planter) sells lands on "Pugh's Middle Marsh Swamp" to Hector McNeil for 25 Pounds. This is in the same area that John and Robert were granted lands in 1765 and 1767. It was also about the time that John, Sr., his family to Georgia. The seller may have been John Upton, Sr., using the name James; or it may indicate that James was one of his oldest sons. I have listed a son, James, as one of the youngest children of John and Elizabeth Upton, born about 1773 in Georgia. However, this deed may imply that James was one of John's first children, born in the early 1740's, probably in Maryland. If that was the case, the James Upton (born about 1773) was probably the son of the older James, and the grandson of John and Elizabeth. I question this theory only because John, Sr., and all of his adult sons (Richard, Edward, and Benjamin) that went to Georgia, petitioned the Colony for grants of land in 1769 and the early 1770's. No petition was made by James. In fact, no record of James is found in Georgia, except as a witness to a neighbor's Will in 1793. That reference could have been to the James Upton born about 1773. I am considering the James, born about 1773, to be John's son; but leave open the possibility that he may have actually been their grandson, son of an earlier James. And, later in another message shared with me, I had this response regarding Catherine BLEDSOE (BEDSAUL'S) husband: Regarding your James M. Upton question, the answer is yes AND no. Yes, he is the son of the Joseph Upton that I once had very tentatively placed in Family #4 for lack of a better place to put him. However, I have since been able to put together convincing information that Joseph Upton of Arkansas was the same as the missing Joseph Upton, son of John "the Miller" Upton from Fayetteville, NC and family #3.a. He was a brother of the John and David that settled in southern Illinois. Hope I am not confusing you! Just thought that perhaps by taking the approach from the angle of who my BEDSAULS married, and some of their roots, it might certainly be a hint. I think the Quaker Meeting House located there is definitely a good indicator that we are talking about the same family. It's just finding a way to prove it! Jean At 06:27 PM 11/23/99 +0000, you wrote: >This is a multi-part message in MIME format. >--------------7F3CE897D1ABA101B12ADE58 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=x-user-defined >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >Hi All >The dilemma that all of us Bedsoles face is that we are unable to get >past Thomas Sr. There is evidence of two other Bedsoles, Vincent and >John who seem to predate Thomas. Unfortunately to my knowledge no one >can quite find where to put them. Vincent unlike Thomas is recorded as >owning land in the northern part of the North Carolina in Johnston >County. Patent granted 1760. John suddenly appears long enough to sign >a marriage bond for Duncan (1825) and then disappears again. >There are a lot of similarities between John Bedsole and John Bedsaul in > >the area of dates. I personally suspect that somewhere somehow the two >families are connected and likely the same folks. Perhaps if we can all >pool our info on both families the connection will surface. I am not >ruling out any connection to Bledsoe in fact having dealt daily for the >past 26 years of being call Bledsoe , Bedsoe, and any other >mispronunciation of the name I think anything is possible. >Would be interested in hearing what anyone may have to say on the >subject. Speculation more than welcome! >Peggy Bedsole >BCRS@Bellsouth.net > >I'm not stuck, I'm Ancestrally challenged. > >--------------7F3CE897D1ABA101B12ADE58 >Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=x-user-defined; name="vcard.vcf" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >Content-Description: Card for Peggy Bedsole >Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="vcard.vcf" > >begin: vcard >fn: Peggy Bedsole >n: Bedsole;Peggy >email;internet: bcrs@bellsouth.net >tel;work: 334-272-0800 >x-mozilla-cpt: ;0 >x-mozilla-html: FALSE >version: 2.1 >end: vcard > > >--------------7F3CE897D1ABA101B12ADE58--