Dear LAWS list, Since I am new to the list, allow me to introduce my areas of interest. My direct paternal ancestor--and brick wall--is Peter BOWMAN (born sometime before 1734, died sometime after 1809) married Elsa LAWS (born ca. 1744, died before March 1780), possibly in today's Halifax/Pittsylvania Co., VA, where BOWMAN resided in 1756. The bride's family tree (from both primary and secondary sources) includes: (Tentative information) James LAWS (born bef. 1669, probably Scotland). His son is: William LAWS, Sr. (b. 4 January 1690, Kemay, Aberdeen, Scotland, died after 1733). His son is: (Proven information) William LAWS (b. 20 February 1718, died bef. 7 January 1780, Wilkes Co., NC), married to Mary UNKNOWN. The known children of William LAWS and Mary UNKNOWN (based on will posted on Wilkes Co., NC, RootsWeb) are: 1. Elsa LAWS (married to Peter BOWMAN, above); 2. Amay LAWS (b. 1746, married to unknown DYER); 3. Mary LAWS (b. ca. 1748, married to unknown CROSS); 4. Ann LAWS (b. ca. 1750, married to John LOVELACE); 5. Patty LAWS (b. ca. 1752, married to unknown ADAMS); 6. Abigail LAWS (b. ca. 1754, married to Thomas HAMPTON); and 7. Welcome William (also known as William Welcome) LAWS (b. ca. 1756, married to Amelia LOW). In 1780, A Peter BOWMAN (possibly/probably Elsa LAWS' widower) marries a second wife--Elizabeth WILSON--in today's Wilkes Co., NC. Their union (probably) resulted in at least three children: James BOWMAN, Phoebe BOWMAN and Elizabeth BOWMAN. (James BOWMAN is my direct line, and he and his descendants moved to Johnson Co., TN; then to today's Owsley Co., KY, before the Civil War.) Unable to conclusively document the ancestry of Peter BOWMAN, I turned to his uncle/brother/cousin--Cornelius BOWMAN, Sr.--because he was easier to document and successfully traced his ancestry to Holland in the 1620s. I've been concentrating on his lines and have confirmed them all--plus some of the lines of people they traveled with down through NJ>PA>VA>NC to 1770. (I' m working on about 700+ families.) Any help you can give on the Peter BOWMAN/LAWS line would be wonderful. (I have done a good deal of work in Wilkes/Rowan Co., NC, on this and other families, but haven't entered it in my data base yet because I've been working exclusively in the 1600s-mid-1700s for about a year.) Perhaps this information will help someone else, too. Bonnie Bowman Henson in San Diego Co., CA