Dear Harkeys, I hope someone can straighten me out on this point, because I am really confused. Several messages have referred to a John who is a brother to "Old" Martin (d abt 1807) and "Old" David (d abt 1790). For lack of any other source, I use Joseph Harkey's family history as a base reference. It has some errors and omissions, and its focus is "Old" Martin's line, but it gives a reasonable background for the HARKEYs of North Carolina. JH (Joseph Harkey) doesn't mention a John as a possible son of Johan HERCHE or as a brother to Martin and David (and possibly Conrad). That always seemed odd to me, since the HARKEY families do seem to name one son John and one son after the father--so why wouldn't Johan HERCHE name a son John? He'd have a double-barreled reason to do so. But JH never comments on the presence or absence of a son for Johan HERCHE. Even when he muses over the origin of the John (b abt 1789) who was bound out to Jonas LIPE and eventually went to Illinois, he doesn't suggest that this John may have descended from a John who was a son of Johan HERCHE. What is the evidence for a John HARKEY who is a son of Johan HERCHE and a brother to "Old" Martin and "Old" David? I am missing something here, and would be eternally grateful for a light in the darkness. I hope I haven't made this even more confusing. Thanks for listening. Alma [email protected]