Paula, your message intrigues me. My earliest Hancock ancestor is Absalom Hancock and he shows up in 1800 in Patrick Co, VA. Most of the Hancocks in the area do not have biblical names. I have not been able to link my Absalom with any of the other Hancocks in the area. There is an Absalom Hancock in the 1700's (the exact date eludes me at the moment) in Halifax Co. I believe there are other biblical names in Halifax Co ..and it seems that I have seen Obediah there, but am not sure. Absalom married Martha Graham in Patrick Co in 1805. They had one son, Peter Fleming (my gggrandfather) and 3 daughters. Absalom was much older than Martha which leads me to believe that he was probably married before. The Halifax Absalom had "4 white souls" in his household. There is a family story that the family moved west when the house burned so it is plausible that the Halifax Absalom is the same as the Patrick Co one. Anyway, the county lines have shifted back & forth etc. so it is also plausible that your ancestor & mine were closely related and both came from Halifax originally. What do you think? Wandra