NOW; FAMILY records VS Will; there are 9 children in the Family Record Carried through the life time. OUR Admitted stickler for Authenticity, Refuses to accept the Family record Because there is only 6 children listed in the will; That goes SO; I Joseph COX, being of sound mind but weak body, do make my last Will & Testament. To my wife Jane____? I leave my estate as long as she remains UN Married, To Jim I leave the old bay mare & 37 Dollars, to # 2 SO & SO> To Molly I leave the Straw BED & 2 Heifers, TO #-4 THIS & THAT, #-5 What ever, #-6 The rest Signed THIS day_ HIS Sigened: Joseph X COX Mark NOW CUZ Stickler, I ask you Sincerely HOW many of you is there that would Sign a 5 page Will that I wrote with you NOT reading it?? That is just what you have often accepted as Authentic < Grand PA could not read nor write> But Grand Ma that compiled the Family record was a retired School teacher Think abt it. One of my 6th Grt Grand Father's Family record showed 5 children, 3 girls & 2 boys His will provided for only 4 Children. I wondered until I went over the Amherst County Va WEB PAGE Several times, I finally found where Grand PA had deeded 100 acres of land to that Missing Daughter's Husband. Some time a daughter was willed out, <Term for No provision> Pa did not approve of who SALLY Married, OH Wm. BILL who shows up on MA's family list, <thats right Pa was a Quaker> & when a son <BILL> took up arms the Church disowned him & often the Family also. NOW to insist on a Will that Someone wrote for an OLD man that could not Read or write VS a family record that a retired School teacher KEPT. I know & have found inaccurate INFO on line, SOME Records in a County 14 Years before that County was Formed, BUT CUZ alot of what is on line was put there BY someone that was researching before we Started, if the time if the Posting is 2003 or better one can Contact, Most the poster's & Confirm it. ONE of the most worth while AIDS for research in VA. is, <Retracing OUR Family Legacy>. Just Type into your search Engine <Evolution of Virginia Counties> IT is a 12 page print out, the only cost is the 12 sheets of paper, For ANY one that has not got this & researching in Va., YOU will kick your self for not having it sooner. This Information can be had from most states. Amherst County is a MUCH Mentioned County For Va research; LETS trace Amherst County BACK; It was formed in 1761 From Albemarle County that was Formed in 1744 From, Goochland & Louisa Counties, in 1742 Goochland was formed from in 1728 from Henrico County <all records were destroyed by fire June 1828, Other records were lost during the Civil War,1865. Louisa County was formed in 1742 from Hanover County, Henrico 1634 Original Shire, < The State of Va had only 8 Shires to begin with No Counties in the Beginning of Va> Hanover County was Formed in1752 from New Kent County. Records were Destroyed in 1865. New Kent County was formed in 1654 From York County. Records were burned 1865 During Civil War. York 1634 Original Shire. Founded as Charles River County Changed to York in 1642. NOW AGAIN; Va had 140 Counties until 1862 when West Va WAS formed with 40 of the Original VA Counties. NOW AGAIN; For some more GENEALOGY, Stumbling; As the Westward expansion Continued, Virginia Created Kentucky County & Illinois County. Kentucky County was eventually Split into three Counties, Jefferson, Fayette, & Lincoln. Illionis County <the North West Territory > was ceded to the Nation & Became a territory. The Voluntary gift to the nation included all of the Ohio Valley & Parts of WISC. & Michigan . NOW this May not Sound like the Idea that Some people Have of Genealogical Research, BUT Cousins just think of how many BRICK WALLS that we have encountered. SOME one that we could be looking for in Amherst County Va in 2005, That person,s Ancestor very likely Started in Charles River County in 1640, & become Nessary to Follow through; New Kent, Hanover to Louisa to Albemarle to Amherst County Va & the Descendent that is in Amherst County Today is very likely in the same Geographical location that their ANCESTOR settled in in 1640. SO COUSINS this Could help ANY one, in research in Va. AW, go ahead & yell, then Try the <Evolution of Virginia Counties> CUZ, A.T. <atpowelljr@aol.com>

Thanks A.T., I agree with you on the state/county research. I am the list host for Iron county MO. I see posts saying "John Doe was born in Iron county MO in 1823"... No way, Iron county MO formed in 1857. The place of birth is from family records, and the family lived in MO from 1820 on.. MO did not become a state until after 1820.. These are stumbling blocks that can be overcome. Wills are fairly accurate, especially if there are several witnesses, but I am sure no records are beyond having error(s) of some kind. Even the census has been proved to have many errors. Ellis Campbell b 1804 in VA lived in TN in 1830 (no slaves), AL from abt 1832-38 (no slaves), and in MO from 1838 until his death in 1881. Ellis never owned slaves & shows in family stories to have been against slavery. He has two & possibably 3 sons who were not recognized by family after 1850 & 1860.. All three are on the 1850 census, then after 1860 we lose yet another. Family never knew of Mathew & Ambrose (Andrew?), but they did know of Wesley (Wiley). Family lore says he died in timber, but we are beginning to think he was not, we think the CW divided the family, and Ellis disowned these sons. Ellis had no will. Family recollections are good, but not perfect. We have James W. Campbell b abt 1864 to James Mehlander Campbell. The son James W/W.James/Wm J., comes home from AR with a wife and two girls, on the census for 1900 we find him, wife Mattie & three girls, Cora, Pauline & Barbara. He seemed to fall on the earth after 1900. Why? Because someone in the family said James W.'s daddy was a Hiram b KY... I have my thoughts on why this happened, but they are my thoughts only. It threw a new found cousin off for years, until I sent her a family book that includes the visit abt 1896. Did Mattie not like what she saw when James W took her to meet his family? Is that why a family was made up? We will never know. It could be James W. didn't want anyone to find his family. Don't just rely on any ONE document, look at them all... And for gosh sakes.. If someone (I am guilty of this) says they think they have a connection... Check it out.. Look closely.. Could be... I don't know who it was that contacted me awhile back, said could his Wesley Campbell be our Wesley.. I said, no, Wesley died young in timber.. Well now I find that that may not have been true. I didn't keep the person's name, whish I had. Marge -----Original Message----- From: Atpowelljr@aol.com [mailto:Atpowelljr@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 7:06 PM To: CAMPBELL-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE-I BELIVE IN FACTS & TRY TO MAKE SURE<GREAT> NOW; FAMILY records VS Will; there are 9 children in the Family Record Carried through the life time. OUR Admitted stickler for Authenticity, Refuses to accept the Family record Because there is only 6 children listed in the will; That goes SO; I Joseph COX, being of sound mind but weak body, do make my last Will & Testament. To my wife Jane____? I leave my estate as long as she remains UN Married, To Jim I leave the old bay mare & 37 Dollars, to # 2 SO & SO> To Molly I leave the Straw BED & 2 Heifers, TO #-4 THIS & THAT, #-5 What ever, #-6 The rest Signed THIS day_ HIS Sigened: Joseph X COX Mark NOW CUZ Stickler, I ask you Sincerely HOW many of you is there that would Sign a 5 page Will that I wrote with you NOT reading it?? That is just what you have often accepted as Authentic < Grand PA could not read nor write> But Grand Ma that compiled the Family record was a retired School teacher Think abt it. One of my 6th Grt Grand Father's Family record showed 5 children, 3 girls & 2 boys His will provided for only 4 Children. I wondered until I went over the Amherst County Va WEB PAGE Several times, I finally found where Grand PA had deeded 100 acres of land to that Missing Daughter's Husband. Some time a daughter was willed out, <Term for No provision> Pa did not approve of who SALLY Married, OH Wm. BILL who shows up on MA's family list, <thats right Pa was a Quaker> & when a son <BILL> took up arms the Church disowned him & often the Family also. NOW to insist on a Will that Someone wrote for an OLD man that could not Read or write VS a family record that a retired School teacher KEPT. I know & have found inaccurate INFO on line, SOME Records in a County 14 Years before that County was Formed, BUT CUZ alot of what is on line was put there BY someone that was researching before we Started, if the time if the Posting is 2003 or better one can Contact, Most the poster's & Confirm it. ONE of the most worth while AIDS for research in VA. is, <Retracing OUR Family Legacy>. Just Type into your search Engine <Evolution of Virginia Counties> IT is a 12 page print out, the only cost is the 12 sheets of paper, For ANY one that has not got this & researching in Va., YOU will kick your self for not having it sooner. This Information can be had from most states. Amherst County is a MUCH Mentioned County For Va research; LETS trace Amherst County BACK; It was formed in 1761 From Albemarle County that was Formed in 1744 From, Goochland & Louisa Counties, in 1742 Goochland was formed from in 1728 from Henrico County <all records were destroyed by fire June 1828, Other records were lost during the Civil War,1865. Louisa County was formed in 1742 from Hanover County, Henrico 1634 Original Shire, < The State of Va had only 8 Shires to begin with No Counties in the Beginning of Va> Hanover County was Formed in1752 from New Kent County. Records were Destroyed in 1865. New Kent County was formed in 1654 From York County. Records were burned 1865 During Civil War. York 1634 Original Shire. Founded as Charles River County Changed to York in 1642. NOW AGAIN; Va had 140 Counties until 1862 when West Va WAS formed with 40 of the Original VA Counties. NOW AGAIN; For some more GENEALOGY, Stumbling; As the Westward expansion Continued, Virginia Created Kentucky County & Illinois County. Kentucky County was eventually Split into three Counties, Jefferson, Fayette, & Lincoln. Illionis County <the North West Territory > was ceded to the Nation & Became a territory. The Voluntary gift to the nation included all of the Ohio Valley & Parts of WISC. & Michigan . NOW this May not Sound like the Idea that Some people Have of Genealogical Research, BUT Cousins just think of how many BRICK WALLS that we have encountered. SOME one that we could be looking for in Amherst County Va in 2005, That person,s Ancestor very likely Started in Charles River County in 1640, & become Nessary to Follow through; New Kent, Hanover to Louisa to Albemarle to Amherst County Va & the Descendent that is in Amherst County Today is very likely in the same Geographical location that their ANCESTOR settled in in 1640. SO COUSINS this Could help ANY one, in research in Va. AW, go ahead & yell, then Try the <Evolution of Virginia Counties> CUZ, A.T. <atpowelljr@aol.com> ______________________________