HATCHER website: http://hatcherfamilyassn.com HALL DNA project: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nhatcher/hall/HDNAtest.htm "If you can't stand the skeletons, stay out of the closet" - Val D Greenwood Paul, I agree with you about the name Nicholas. But we have such limited info on him that it's not even possible to know when he was born. As a bondsman for Mary Hatcher's wedding (1747) to Sands, was he a brother or her father? I do know that in looking at records for families in Bensalem, I find Nicholas a common name in many of them. That leads to the possibility that Nicholas was named for his mother's father. If he had no sons of his own, we would not see that name passed down in the Hatchers. And since it's not possible that Nick could be Wm's father, their relationship would not be direct line so no reason to see Nicholas used in the descendants of Wm. Nel