Thanks, Gary, I agree! Gary Hatcher <garyhatcher@cascadeaccess.com> wrote: I thank it is about time to put the Hatcher/Thatcher issue to rest once and for all. As near as I can determine, the land sold by William Hatcher has the following history: William Penn to Richard Thatcher - 1682 Richard Thatcher to Heirs - 1690 Richard's Heirs to Sam'l Breaks - 1700-01 Sam'l Breaks to Robert Heaton - 1704 Robert Heaton to Godfrey Kirk - 1716 Godfrey Kirk to Jeremiah Dungan - 1719 Jeremiah Dungan to Joseph Hatcher - 1724 Joseph Hatcher to William Hatcher -1726 William Hatcher to Ruth Croasdale - 1728 This is hardly a direct line of inheritance from Richard Thatcher to Joseph and William Hatcher, as was assumed in the original supposition that Joseph Hatcher was a descendant of Richard Thatcher. With DNA tests showing no connection between the Thatcher and William Hatcher families it would seem to make the similarities in the two names just coincidental. The 1728 deed also does not indicate what the relationship between Joseph and William Hatcher was. There is nothing to verify the assumption that Joseph was William's father, this is a possibility; however, I have not found any reference to Joseph before the 1724 purchase of the property. The deed does show that William received the property from Joseph by deed poll, which means that the deed was just signed over to William by Joseph and that there was no contract signed by both parties. It is possible the Joseph and William may have been related in some other way. By 1724 when Joseph purchased the land William was a journeyman wheelwright and he may have sponsored Joseph's immigration to the Colonies and even helped him obtain the property. Joseph may have signed the land over to William as a payment of his debt when he decided to move away from Middletown. It could be that Joseph was a brother or cousin to William. Joseph may also be the missing link between the Dorset Hatchers and the William Zane Hatcher Pennsylvania line. We definitely need to find out more about this Joseph Hatcher, I feel that continuing to chase the Hatcher/Thatcher connection is a wild goose chase that only distracts us away form the real research that is needed. Tks, Gary ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to HATCHER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message