The Granville Co, NC, will of William BOWDON (sometimes BOWDOWN) was dated 8 July 1773 and proved at the August court 1774. It mentions sons John (my ancestor), William, and Travis; daughter Sarah Nichols; and wife Betty. I am eager to identify the parents of William and Betty. Another descendant of this pair, J Walter Allen, decided (on grounds I have not found) that William was a son of John (Jean) Bowdoin who died 1717 in Northampton Co, VA. To my knowledge he did not cite a source in support of this theory, nor did he explain how this William could have fitted into that rather well-documented descendancy. Allen always used that spelling of the name, which has been adopted also by many descendants. I have not found a single original record in which the Bowdoin spelling was used prior to the publication of Allen's claim. I have read in some citations by Allen examples in which he changed the name BOWDEN to BOWDOIN. Allen also alleged that John BOWDON's wife, Judith, was a daughter of William Farrar. Again he never to my knowledge cited a source or evidence in support of that claim. There was a Granville Co marriage bond in 1796 for Judith Farrar and Peter Hays. After years of searching Farrar descendants I could find no other Judith who could have been the wife of John BOWDON. In summary, I discount the accuracy of Allen's assertions and question both his reliability and integrity in genealogical matters. I'd be delighted to be proven wrong and find that I can claim BOWDOIN (or Farrar) ancestry. Barring that, I am looking for the parents of William BOWDON who died in Granville Co, NC, in 1774. Tom (rootsnva@aol.com)