This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: rdafan05 Surnames: Brashares, Schedenhelf Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.brashears/422/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I found this letter. It was written to my husband's great aunt. She was working on the family tree back in the 1970's. It's from her cousin, once removed. April 2, 1976 Brashares came with a wagon train to Revenge, Fairfield Co. during the War of 1812. FREEMAN, a boy of 9yrs, (my great, great grandfather) rode ahead to "spy out the land". JOE was named after him. Looking back across the Brashares years, I found a number of JOHNS, JOSEPHS,and WILLIAMS. There were several NATHANS. They are supposed to be buried in the cemetery at Hopewell, Revenge Ohio, but I can't find any Brashares grave there. No one else can. CREIGHTON found FREEMAN'S will in Lancaster, when he was settling up MINNIE'S affairs and brought me a copy. He left everything to your father (WILLIAM TECUMSEH BRASHARES and my grandfather, CHARLES WESLEY BRASHARES. My grandfather was 7 years older than your father. My grandfather went to McLuny Station, Perry County and got into the pottery business when his father died. He married there and my father was born there. My father and I took a ride one day and as I drove up a big hill near New Lexington, we looked out across the hills and he said, " I was born in some of the hills. I wish I knew where!" He never knew where he was born. CREIGHTON never wanted me to go ahead with the genealogy. He was afraid I would find some ancestor that had been hanged. It was quite a family in FRANCE. The kings genealogist wrote a history of the Brashares (spelled 13 different ways) but it was destroyed in the French Revolution. It was a strong Roman Catholic family. ROBERT and BENJAMIN were the two Huguenots who came to America. NATHAN, the first to come to OHIO was married to ELIZABETH SCHEDENHELF in Frederick MARYLAND. I have been in that church. There is a lot of BRASHEARS there. My mother told me once that your father changed the spelling of the name. In all of the records at the Court House in LOGAN (OHIO) it is spelled Brashears. My mother liked Brashears better. JESSE told me once that every name that began with Brash was the same family. I think she was right. This is the beginning of the story. If you have any questions to ask, let me know. There isn't much in HERRICK'S notes that helped. I hired two genealogists in Maryland to work on it. I have so much of this kind of work to do all the time that I can't get to our own. I'll write more later. I hope you are feeling ok. Let me hear from you. The letter was not sighned... but I can probably figure out who wrote it. Hope you enjoyed the letter! Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.