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 Hey!! Our file has Quaker Wm bn c1704 BUCKS CO, PA........ So! If he was born there, where and who are his parents? But I see no proof for this birthplace. Does anyone have any? If no proof, he then could be assumed to be the immigrant (or does Joseph fit in somewhere?) I was also reminded today of something else to consider. My Zimmerman's arrived in Philly in 1697 (Lutherans from Germany). Their 12 yr old son wrote in a journal (still in the possession of descendants) that they first lived in "a little cave" dug into the hillside. Life was tough for new settlers, especially if not wealthy. It took time to reach the position where you could buy some land and build a home. This would have been true for Wm also. And I suspect his bdate of c1704 is a guesstimate based on the notion he likely md at age 21 or 22. But we could be dead wrong here. Most men didn't marry until they at least could provide a home for their bride. Can you imagine him asking his lady if she wants to live in his cave with him?? :-) And in this situation, Wm could well have been 25 or older making his byear c1697-1700. And if that's true, he could then be the Wm who witnessed the will in 1718. If he was the immigrant, he was likely at least 16 when he arrived, so arrived 1713-1716. But if he came with an older brother, Joseph, it's harder to pin down and could have been several years earlier. Any thoughts on the meanderings of my mind? Nel