Hi all, Forwarding this from Jeffrey Lash. ============================== Chris, Thanks for the clearer description of Thomas Grant's legal status in America prior to his release from servitude and purchase of land near Re\hoboth. I suppose we could definitely say Gilbert Brooks and his older brother William were "bondservants" of William Vassall who brought both of them to Boston in 1635. I had thought, perhaps erroneously, that Grant himself would be considered a "slave" in the sense of forced labor in the salt mines regardless of the duration or conditions of employment. I'm also researching Thomas Symons (Simons) of Scituate who sold land to Gilbert Brooks in 1649. Thomas is said to have been in Plymouth Colony by 1633. Could he be related to Moses Symonson? One source says he was not related to Moses, but perhaps had a daughter who married Gilbert. Also, Gilbert was a constable in Dixbury in 1645 and that's where Moses I or son Moses II lived. And di you know Gilbert was brought to court in 1639/39 for "drinking inordinately" while in 1646 he was accused by Capt. Miles Standish on some legal matter? The court found for our wayward Gilbert. Jeffrey Lash