Well, at this point, I don't know....:) we've found variations of Coarts/Courts in MD, although most of the original records show Courts, the name has been transcribed as Coates and at least one Coarts thus far has been traces from MD to SC and in SC the name is spelled Coats/Cotes...so it could be a variation...but without doing a thorough search of the original records it would be hard to say...Couts in TN has been transcribed as Coats...but that particular name Couts, has a profit DNA signature out of the Shetland Islands and it doesn't match any from our DNA group... I'd say the best way to find out or what would help, would be for a Choate surnamed male to particiapte in our DNA project....:) it could take the guessing out of it....:) You can find information on our DNA project at: Coate, Coates, Coats Archive http://www.coatsarchive.us These wide name variations by the way, I don't think is uncommon in that early 1700/1600 period...apparently this is true in a great many families....but the DNA testing has helped to sort the families out....:) Char ----Original Message Follows---- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [COATES-L] Re: COATES-D Digest V04 #177 Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 10:14:54 EDT There is a feature about the "Choate" family from the Va/MD area, 18th century, at the Smithsonian Museum of Technology in DC. Is this name a variation of the Coates family? -June ==== COATES Mailing List ==== Coates, Coate, Coats Digital Archive: http://www.rootsquest.com/~coatsfar