This is in response to your query about Thomas BOWDEN or BOWDON. I have just looked through my BOWDON papers, and I found many named Thomas. None of these matched the dates you provided. I can confirm that the BOWDOIN or BAUDOUIN family was French. Pierre BAUDOUIN was a Huguenot, resident of La Rochelle, who escaped from the French oppression of Protestants with his family. They were found later in Ireland, then came to New England. The transition from the BOWDOIN spelling to BOWDON/BOWDEN is one I cannot confirm. I cannot trace a connection from the Virginia BOWDOINs to the North Carolina BOWDON/BOWDOWN/BOWDEN line, and I have seen no documentary evidence that my William BOWDOWN of Granville Co. NC, is descended from John BOWDOIN of Virginia, as claimed by many. I do not include the BOWDOINs in my ancestry, much as I'd like to. Tom Aiken Virginia Beach