John, having had a couple of days to read and re-read your latest Notes, and doing some serious thinking about some of the names on the Tithe Lists, I submit the following for consideration and discussion by the members of these Mailing Lists. In Notes 1046 and 1047, we see the following names: Christley BROWEL Cortney BROWEL Cotley BROYLE Conrad PATER First, I cannot help but suspect that the two BROWEL names, and the BROYLE name, are the same person, regardless of the apparent contradiction that two of them show up on one of the Tithe Lists as separate persons, living at different locations. I don't have an answer for this conundrum, but believe there are some serious errors on the Lists. In the past, this Christley/Cortney/Cotley mystery has been brought up, and, no matter how much research has been done, there have never been any answers. The problem is further complicated by the fact that, in spite of the 3 names on the Tithe Lists, only one other VA record has ever been found with names even close to them. Up until now, this alone would have told me that, in the absence of other corroborating written proof, the Lists were somehow in error. This was just my opinion, and not to be construed as anything other than that. In the absence of corroborating evidence, all I can do is use my previous USAF skills as an interrogator/investigator, and attempt to find the truth. I CANNOT resolve the problems, but now think that there probably was another person, Cortney. Cotley, Coatley, Christley, or whatever his name was; however there are some unsettling documents from NC that further complicate the matter. Some points to ponder: We find Jacob BROYLE on one of the Tithe Lists. This was "Hans Jacob", the son of the immigrant Johannes BREYHEL (John BROYLES). This Jacob was born in 1705, in Germany. He had a brother, Conrad, who was born in 1709, in Germany. Obviously both these children arrived in VA with their father, Johannes, in 1717. There are copious written records for both these brothers; however, Conrad's name is conspicuously missing from the Tithe Lists on which we find Jacob's name. To me, this seems very, very odd. Conrad did not migrate to NC until 1755. In the Orange County VA Deed Books 3 & 4, 1738- 1741, we find that, in 1939, Conrad deeded 150 acres to a Courtly BROYL for the sum of 150 pounds. At one time, I had entertained the idea that, somehow, Conrad and Courtley (Coatley) were one and the same. I know it's a stretch from Conrad to Coatley, but, at the time, it seemed the only logical explanation. But, in light of the 1738-1741 Deed Book, there must have been a Conrad AND a Courtly (Coatley)!!!!! Another BUT..... Two documents from NC: North Carolina Taxpayers 1679-1790, Page 24, and North Carolina Taxpayers 1701-1790, Page 25 The first one lists a Coatley BRILES, residing in Rowan Co.; the second lists the same name, residing in Randolph Co. We know beyond doubt that Conrad migrated to this area of NC in 1755. In any case, this is the "official" date for his permanent move from VA. He apparently received land in NC in 1753, returned to VA, and then moved permanently in 1755. ????? Why, then, is Coatley BRILES listed in the Taxpayers documents, and not Conrad????? From later documents in NC we DO find the name of Conrad, AND, no further mention of Coatley! From this, one might assume that Conrad and Coatley were the same person. But.....CONRAD deeded land COURTLY in VA in 1739!!!!! The more we find, the more complicated this whole mess becomes. Having read back over the above, I am about to change my mind again and believe that Conrad and Courtly/Courtley/Cortney/Cotley were one and the same. Some evidence points to this view, then other evidence says no. ????????????????????????? One last thing. John, in one of the Tithe Lists you mention a Conrad PATER. "Pater" is an old German word that meant "Herr" or "father". Further, "Vater" is German for "father". Is it possible that the word could have been written down as FATER, and transcribed with a "P" rather than a "F"? Now, VATER may be pronounced as FATER; if the Tithe taker heard VATER, he may have written it down as FATER. Then, it could mistakenly be transcribed as PATER. I know this is reaching a lot. But, consider that the Tithe taker was told, by a German speaking housewife, that the head of the family was "Conrad, der vater" or "Conrad, vater", meaning "Conrad, the father", or head of the household. ????? Farout? Does anyone reading this have any documentation, or opinions, on this Conrad/Coatley/Christley/Cortney/Cotley enigma? Could Conrad have become known in VA as Courtly or Coatley? If so, why? Did he start using another name? Did he deed his own land from the name Conrad to the name Courtly? Again, why? If he did start using Courtly (Cortney) or Coatley (Cotley), this would explain why Conrad doesn't show up on the Tithe Lists, but Cortney or Cotley does. It would also explain why Coatley BRILES received land in NC. (Cortney, Cotley, Courtly, Coatley, and, by a stretch of the imagination, Christley, could all be considered alternate spellings of the same name. I think all of them represented the same person; but, was it the same person as Conrad?) Keep in mind that we know the names of all of Johannes BREYHEL's children that were born in Germany, from the church records there. We also have never found any birth, marriage, or death records for anyone whose name is remotely similar to Cortney/Cotley/Courtly/Coatley. Again, why? We know danged good and well that the "Coatley BRILES" in the NC Taxpayers records is "Conrad BRILES". Whew!!!!! The above is really disorganized, but I hope all of you can make out what I was trying to say. Later, SgtGeorge George W. Durman Knoxville, TN