I have some information about William Harrison Gillespie b. 26 September 1813, Mercer County PA and wife Rebecca (Becky) Alexander b. 27 July 1814, (she reared in Beaver Co PA) His parents were John Gillespie, Westmoreland co PA and Margaret Bean/Beam. This John Gillespie participated in the Whiskey Rebellion. He d. in Mercer Co PA in 1821 leaving many children. Margaret Bean d. 1842. William H. Gillespie and Rebecca Alexander were m. 21 Sept 1837. This couple moved to Wright Co Iowa in the late 1850s. They adopted Samuel Gillespie, of New Castle, PA They adopted James Gillespie of Boone Twp Wright Co Iowa They adopted Clara Izana Brockway ? who m. a Thomas Jefferson Kitts. My father-in-law told me that his mother, Clara Izana Brockway, was an illigitimate child of a Confederate soldier passing through northern Iowa. This has given me pause for thought. What was a Confederate soldier (a Captain of course), doing wandering through northern Iowa. Then I checked Clara's supposed birth date. She was born in 1858. My father-in-law always was a joker. Maybe he really believed that about the Confederate Captain. If you have PA Gillespie/Gillaspie/etc in the 1700s and 1800s or the same in Iowa, 1800s, please ask. My Gillespie file is one inch thick with very little documentation but lots of clues. Maggie Kitts Visit the web site of the Roots Users Group of Portland OR <http://members.tripod.com/rug1> [Users of Ultimate Family Tree] -----Original Message----- From: Daniel W. Miller <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, April 15, 1999 7:17 AM Subject: [GILLESPIE-L] Spelling of Gillespie >My branch of Gillespies in Kentucky usually spelled it with an "a" and a >"y"; as in Gillaspy. I've also seen it spelled that way in Virginia >records. Anyone else have that spelling in their line, or is it just >another example of phonetic spelling so common in our ancestors. > >Mary Miller ______________________________