Gary, Thank you for buying the old 1709 House! I am a descendant of J. Martin Bender who (apparently) was in the Palatine group who came ( 1709) to England from Switzerland (German Swiss). J. Martin Bender arrived in North Carolina either with the 1709 group, or he stayed a while in England , arriving in North Carolina by 1725. He may have married a Simmons/Simons girl( in England or in North Carolina). John Simmons Sr. son of Benedict Simons was connected to my J. Martin Bender in Craven Co. North Carolina (near New Bern. N. C. ). Please keep me up-dated on the house and all the work that you are doing on it. Thank you. Verena Bender Hekman (In Tucson, AZ) e mail Omahekman@aol.com