In a message dated 2/8/2003 2:24:44 PM Central Standard Time, jblank@ihpc.net writes: > Richard and noticed you have him mayying > Martha (Hutson) Stanley but a Martha (Blankenship wife of Ralph)her 2nd > marriage is Edward Stanley is this a mix up or did son Richard marry a > Martha Stanley? > I have often wondered that same thing Bob - but I think during this time, if memory serves (and it doesn't always HA HA) that the Blankenships and Stanleys were neighboring families in Virginia so not unlikely that Ralph's sone would have married a STANLEY while his widowed wife married a STANLEY as well - according to work done by Ralph HAYES that I received September of 99, he says that Ralph died young leaving only THREE sons and that RICHARD was in fact Ralph's brother and no. 4 son his child? I have more commonly seen that Ralph had the 6 children and no evidence that RICHARD BLANKENSHIP was Ralph's brother. Ralph wrote: " ... The progenitor of the family in America was Ralph who seems to have come to Virginia about 1700, married Martha and became a "planter" in what is now Chesterfield County. He died young (1714), leaving three children, Ralph, John and James. A fourth is mentioned, but he may have been the son of one Richard, brother of Ralph, who took part in the settlement of Ralph's estate, but is nowhere else mentioned. It may have been this Richard who went to Plymouth colony, married Ann and had a son James, who became the founder of the Yankee branch. Martha, wife of this first Ralph Blankenship, married a second time one Edward Stanley, a widower, and twelve years after the death of Ralph was once again left a widow with considerable landed property, for the four sons mentioned inherited not less than 850 acres on her demise. About half these lands were located on Coldwater Run and the rest farther south on Winterpok creek in Chesterfield county. Of the sons of Ralph, the progenitor, Ralph married Elizabeth and died in 1754, leaving sons, Ephraim, Joseph, William, Francis, Frederick, Matthew, John, Ralph and Jeremiah, and a dau Sarah, who m. Cobb. The second son, John, m. Elizabeth and died in 1754. His children were William, Isham, Hudson, Henry, Norvell, Matthew, Amy (Turner), Elizabeth (Morrisett), and by tradition, Elisha. This John was also a planter and owned some 780 acres of land all in Chesterfield county. The third son of this first Ralph was James and his wife Mary. He was also a large planter and bequeathed on his death in 1748, plantations to his ______ Drury, Joel, and Fore, and _____ter Ann. The fourth ____ son of Ralph, the progenitor, was William, who had a large plantation on Winterpook creek, and married Mary, dying in 1745. Of this union were Ralph, wilmoth, Mary and Frances, who appear to have inherited some 800 acres on Winterpook creek in Chesterfield county... Isham (or Isum), son of John, son of Ralph the progenitor, married Sarah and following his brother, Hudson, moved from the old home in Chesterfield county to Bedford county at the close of the French and Indian war (1764) ..."