Hello Linda & Everyone, I admire the work that you have all done on St. Mary's families. The Edwards, my interest, are such a tangle. Linda wrote: From: "Linda Reno" <lindareno@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [MDSTMARY] The Herberts Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 "Will of William Hulse, SMC, 12/19/1725-3/2/1725-26. Sons: James and William and their heirs, 120 ac. "Hulse's Lott" and 80 ac. bought of Samuel Swann equally. Shd. either die without issue, survivor to inherit portion of dec'd; shd. both die, sd. tracts to revert to wife to be disposed of as she thinks fit. Wife: Mary, extx. and residuary legatee. Wit: Lawrence Lant, Richard Smoot, Stourton Edwards. (Maryland Calendar of Wills)." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have a couple of questions about the first Stourton Edwards: Was Stourton Edwards who died in 1766 actually the first Stourton Edwards in SMC? Presumably Stourton Edwards died 1766 was a son of Joseph Edwards who died in 1746. (My thanks to Linda Reno and the rest of you for your marvelous posts on this list.) But was there an earlier Stourton Edwards who was a son of Joseph Edwards who died in 1718? (Robert Stourton's widow Margery Stourton was an approver of Joseph's 1718 estate.) And was that earlier Stourton Edwards a witness to Hulse's will in 1725? The Stourton Edwards who witnessed the 1725 will of William Hulse must surely have been born by 1707 at the latest, right? And possibly several years earlier? Birth in 1707 would make him age 18. Did a witness to a will have to be 21, the age of majority for males at the time? Age 21 would make him born about 1704. And what if the Stourton who witnessed the will in 1725 was older than 21? Was Stourton Edwards died 1766 born that early? Would such an early birth be consistent with him being the son of Joseph Edwards who died in 1746? I don't know. Just asking. Is there a deposition that gives the age for Stourton who died in 1766? Did "St. Thomas" (land received under the will of Robert Stourton) pass after 1766 to the heirs of Stourton Edwards who died in 1766? (I do not yet understand just how the debt books and rent rolls and land records relate to St. Mary's probate records. If all are part of the probate records (prerogative court records) or not? That is, how can one tell that a particular land record relates to a particular decedent's estate (unless they are part of the same set of records)? I defer to your greater experience with the original records in St. Mary's. I am still having trouble accessing records on the Maryland Archives' website. My only luck has been with finding recorded wills on FamilySearch. My primary questions are: (1) was Stourton Edwards who died in 1766 old enough in 1725 to witness the Hulse will? Or (2) does the Hulse will record suggest there was an earlier Stourton Edwards? Regards, Dan