The William who turn up in Giles County in 1830, appearing to have been born between 1770 and 1780 is very early for a Hodge/Hodges in this area. I think I can identify most of the ones who came through Franklin County that early, but I don't have anything on this one. He is close in age to Isham's sons Moses, Robert, Aaron and Asa. We seem to know his wife's name, approximately when he was married and when he died, and the names of several of his children. It would seem unusual if we couldn't place him. There was a William Hodge in the Russell County tax list of 1810. But there are several other very early mystery men, one of whom may figure in this story. Shadrack and Meshack almost fall into the category, flashing briefly throughthe records of Franklin County before turning up in Tennessee and Kentucky, but there is also a very early James who turns up in Knox County, Kentucky. A James Hodge makes a very brief appearance in Franklin (or Henry, as it was then) when he witnessed a deed for the sale of a slave to Josiah Hodges June 17, 1779, signing his name with an X along with William Hodge,who did the same. A Stephen Hodges is mentioned in the estate accounts of Isham Hodges when Isham died in 1782. It is interesting that a Stephen Hodges lived in Scioto County, Ohio, in 1820, along with a Robert Hodges who appear to be his son. Here is a record mentioning his filing for a pension for service in the Revolution. HODGES, Stephen, Revolutionary War soldier; pension application filed in Scioto County, 16 August 1821, age 75, wife age 57, daughter, three grandchildren. [Common Pleas Court Journal 3, p. 184] Could he be the same Stephen? The recrod would indicate he was born about 1746. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the pension application or any record that anyone named Stephen Hoddges ever served from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia (if he served from anywhere else,it seems unlikely he would be related to the Franklin County family). To the mystery list we can now add Reuben and Polly Hodge of Guilford County, North Carolina. Bob Hodges