All- In this scenario three related John Lees are identified which I call elder, senior, and junior. The elder John is described as "very old" in 1752 and not able to personally make a petition for land (50a acres) upon which to build a mill. So his son, Francis, made the presentation and obtained the grant for his father. The same day the elder John's son, John (Sr.), made a petition for 200 acres of land and declared that he was a native of Maryland and had a wife and child. Two things strike me a significant. 1. That these sons would have to be of age (adult) in 1752 to make presentations of petitions before the Governor and Council of SC. This would mean that they came to SC in 1751 as adults, and that the son, John, was married. 2. That when the son, John, declared in his petition he was a native of Maryland he automatically placed his father as a former resident of Maryland. However, this statement did not establish that the father was a native of Maryland. Which permitted a search for his identity beyond the borders of Maryland. There were a number of Lees in Maryland who were natives (i.e., born) of Virginia. This is particularly true of the Lees of the Cobbs Hall line. Thomas Lee (Charles of Cobbs Hall, Richard the Immigrant) married Elizabeth Keene of MD. Their son, John Lee, was known to be in SC in 1759. In the will of John's brother, Thomas, Thomas appointed John executor, but the record shows that John could not serve as he was in SC. It is my contention that this John Lee is the elder John Lee as cited above. An examination of the 1746 marriage of John Lee in Maryland to Margaret Howard, daughter of Gideon Howard and granddaughter of Nicholas Greenberry, is in order. In Maryland the Greenberry name was quite prominent. John Lee and Margaret named a son, Greenberry Lee, who later during the Revolutionary War was a Colonel in the GA militia. Greenberry was born in Maryland about 1748 (he was 36 in 1784 when he died). Greenberry's widow, Elizabeth Few, was provided with 500 acres of land in 1786 by John Lee, Sr. who had acquired the land in 1771. Given the date of marriage of John to Margaret in 1746 and the birth of Greenberry c1748, it is logical to conclude that it was the elder John's son, John Lee, Sr., who married Margaret Howard and produced Greenberry Lee. In the will of John Lee, Sr. in 1786, he does not list Greenberry among his children because Greenberry has already died (1784) and John, Sr. had provided Greenberry's widow with 500 acres. There are some troubling aspects to this scenario. First, In the 1786 will of John Lee, Sr. he cites a wife, Mary, not Margaret. This could be explained by Margaret's death and a subsequent marriage to Mary, but so far there are no records to support the assertion. He does cite a son, John (Jr.). Second, a connection of the elder John Lee in SC to the John Lee who was placed in SC by the VA will of his brother, Thomas, has not been proven. Third, the identity of John Lee who married Margaret Howard has not been connected directly to a Lee family and, specifically, not to the Lees of Cobbs Hall. With all this said, there appears to be no facts that disprove the scenario. I would appreciate any thoughts you have, either pro or con. Best regards, Hugh <HFTHusma@aol.com>