Dear Pam, I am totally unsure that William Harris (wife Temperance Overton) of colonial Pamunkey River area is descended from a Robert Harris. I do think your genealogist friend, Mrs. Davis, whose name is familiar to me, was right in being dubious about Robert being the father of William. I have just now referred to my notes, made some years ago, about Robert Harris, the purported immigrant to Virginia, and I see that I have extensive quotes from Mrs. Davis. When I do research on a person, particularly if he/she has lived in colonial Virginia or North Carolina, I try very hard to find land records. It is estimated by some knowledgeable genealogists/lecturers/authors that in the early days of this country, fully 90 per cent of the Anglo [and I might add German] population owned land. I find land records for a Robert Harris are extremely vague. Since William Harris of Pamunkey River area acquired a good many acres, according to the Virginia land patents, I am dubious that he is linked to the land-poor [it seems] Robert Harris, the purported immigrant. Information about an early Robert Harris in Virginia seems extremely vague. Then, to confuse matters, Malcolm Hart Harris, MD, an ardent genealogist, has written about William Harris, and he discovered there were three of them. It has been some years since I reviewed Dr. Harris's articles in The Virginia Genealogist, but I do NOT recall that he linked William Harris (wife Temperance Overton), who can be pretty well documented, with an immigrant ancestor, Robert Harris, In conclusion, I think we are right to question the linkage of these two colonial Virginians. Thank you for stirring me to review my notes. I am going to send them via a different e-mail. All I ask--if others use this material in their genealogies/family histories, please cite the sources. You do not need to cite my conclusions, but do give credit to those who have published their works. Genealogies without citations are rather worthless. Your progeny will ask, Where did you get that information? E.W.Wallace ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com