> > > > Then no conclusions can be drawn. Lack of evidence only > > > > proves a lack of evidence. > > > > > > My probable ggg grandfather left no record of purchasing or > > > selling land. He did not mention land in his will. His > > > estate inventory did not mention land. > > > > > > I'd say that clues pointing in a specific direction, with lack > > > of evidence to the contrary, allow one to make logical > > > conclusions. In this case he almost certainly did not own > > > land. > > > > > > [email protected] (J. Hugh Sullivan) > > > > You can't prove a negative, so you can't prove he did _not_ own > > land. All you can accurately state is that you have no evidence > > that he ever did own land. It's a subtle distinction, but a very > > real one. > > > > "Christopher Jahn" <[email protected]> > > Although if you can show that you know who the assorted landowners > were in the area at the time he was alive, and he's not among them, > you can be pretty certain. Stop looking at him and look at the folk > around him. > > Lesley Robertson <[email protected]> That occurred to me of course but there is not a lot of data in Warren Co. NC during the period. I can find his neighbors in the 1800 and 1810 censuses but I can't locate them. His father was a BIG land buyer and seller in Brunswick Co. VA but no evidence that he owned land in NC. Hugh [email protected] (J. Hugh Sullivan)