Hi John, You have a very interesting scenario. Let me relate what happened in our Carters. "Parents had many children. Parents died in their 40s from various illnesses. Children were raised by Aunts and Uncles OR separated and dispersed to any kin in different states. They were raised OK but had no parents." Many Carters had huge families(ours 14) so very few single families could takes them and they ended up in 6 states. Fortunantely for us we had good records. Take this "supposition" and try to prove it through local periodicals. I have great luck with my Ancestry.com. This is just a thought.----Sharon John Speight wrote: > On December 9, 1818 in Pittsylvania Co, VA was issued a marriage certificate > >for Oliver Hall and Lucy Carter, my ancestors. Lucy signed her own > >certificate as "without parents". The surety for the certificate was > Spencer > >Carter. Several questions occur to me. Lucy's father, Charles E. Carter > >allegedly died in 1854 Grayson Co, VA while her mother Keziah Walters > >allegedly died in 1835 Pittsylvania Co, VA. If these are indeed Lucy's > >parents why would she sign "without parents"? Was she marrying Oliver > >without parental permission? Did she have other parents? Who was Spencer > >Carter? Charles E. Carter allegedly had a brother Spencer (1773-1858 Pitts > >Co, VA). It is of further curiosity that Oliver and Lucy named none of > their > >kids after any of Lucy's uncles or aunts. Pls help me sort this out. > Thanks. > >John Speight > > > >