Am writing you off-list for privacy reasons. I believe PEELSTRA (without the final letter, 'w') was/is a Dutch surname. Perhaps a grandparent was a Peelstra? He might have been named after a relative from Amsterdam, etc. Over the years, the spelling changed, like so many surnames do. At 07:56 PM 11/27/2009, you wrote: >My gg grandmother, Margaret Lewis Moore, had a younger brother named >Daniel Peelstraw Lewis, b 1807 probably Ashe County NC, d 1887 >Marion County OR. >Does anyone know why he was called Peelstraw?? Was it his real >given name, or just a nickname. Thanks for any help. > Joyce