While doing work in the Clerk's office in Wyoming County, West Virginia today, I found myself with a few spare moments, and decided to take a quick look at the index for the earliest wills of record there. As one of the many descendants of Martha Farris (1730-1799) who married James Gatliff, I glanced at the Farris names in the index and found an intriguing bit of information that I thought might help someone (not me, of course). This does not have anything to do with Martha Farris, but might help someone else......... Indexed as Joseph Farris..............Will Book 1, Page 308. Handwritten above the name is the name Mahoud Farris Shebeldine. Of course I couldn't resist taking a look. Included with the will is the deposition of Hasim Farris Shebeldine aka Farris, who states that he and his brother Joseph immigrated from Syria and felt that the unusual first and last names would be too difficult to assimilate into the culture. They chose to dispense with both first and last, keeping the middle name of Farris as their surname. The q & a goes on from there, in order to establish the relationship of the two men, the relationship of Joseph Farris to Mahoud Farris Shebeldine, in order to probate his will (which was in his true and complete name). The questioning establishes that both men fought in World War I. Hasim lived in Mullens, WV and Joseph lived in Pocahontas. There is more, but I was pressed for time. If this information looks like something that would unlock a door for someone, I'm sure a copy of the complete document could be obtained from the Wyoming County Clerk in Pineville, WV. Hope this helps someone.