It is so exciting to see this surge of activity on the list. Thought it would be an ideal time to reintroduce myself and to elicit the help of avid researchers. My name is Sylvia Ryce Cornell. I am the gr gr granddaughter of James Madison GRAY, one of the founding fathers. I have picked up the family torch to develop a comprehensive history of our family and other early African-American families. James Madison GRAY never married, but he fathered several children by one (possibly more) of his slaves. His will names my gr grandfather James Seaman GRAY (1850-1929) and his cook, Queen Farler, as his only beneficiaries with the exception of Mercer University. According to the customs of that time, they are not identified as relatives, but as domestic servants. Both Queen FARLER and James Seaman GRAY, however, appear in the 1870 census as members of his household. Queen's surname on the census is GRAY. The written records prior to the Civil War did not identify slaves by name, but by sex and age. That omission in census records causes a great dependence upon oral history, diaries, wills and estate inventories to extract and match the names of our ancestors. The Williams book has been helpful in tracing our white antecedents and identifying names and sites that form my family legacy and those of other descendants of slaves. Earlier last year, I did look ups for several members of this list and the GA-L. We are fortunate that most of my kin are buried in a family cemetery located on BLOUNT property in Haddock. We have a formal organization, Jones County Legacy, Inc., that has grown in scope and activity over the past three years. Any assistance from fellow members in the form of diaries, oral histories, estate inventories would be appreciated. You may contact me, via the list or direct email, and I will forward any materials or sources to the appropriate individual. Sylvia Ryce Cornell Researching: GRAY, BLOUNT, LESTER, HUTCHINGS, BARFIELD, BLACK, EARLY, ADAMS We would also appreciate hearing from any of the descendants of Roland T. Ross. He was the Ordinary Court Judge who served as James M. Gray's Executor and played a role in the disposition of many legacies of that period. Witnesses to Will: BOWEN, KINGMAN, SLOCUMB, FINNEY WOOLFORK