MOYERS, Ok.... here's what I (90 percent) believe regarding my own lineage (10 percent still hopeful). I'm an orphan.... well, my ggg was. This is total speculation, but after talking with two historians, 2 DAR genealogist from the Sevier/Blount/Jefferson Counties of TN area; several area librarians and local hist. society members, as well as several older kin that grew-up in the region of Jefferson, Sevier, Blount Counties of TN in areas such as Cades Cove, Morristown, Elkmont, Piedmont, Wears Valley, Little Cove, White Pine, Dandrige and Maryville, it is now fair to "assume" that my ggg James Napoleon MYERS was an infant/orphan, given to Suzannah "Susan MYERS" MOYERS at birth ca1839/1840 from Maryville, after being taken or brought from Cades Cove which lies west of Sevier County, Tn in Blount. I've been doing alot of research between TN Annals, inter-connected families of these areas to historical Indian/Wagon trails and migration patters (only 2 -3 major ones) and there were but 2 then 3 roads opened in 1838/1839 for east TN/ Cades Cove dwellers to and fro Maryville - the same time that Cades Cove was filled with Militia camps - hundreds of men from all over the country; pre-settlement days. Once they were no longer needed to keep the Indians inline, sadly, and after the Indians were driven back to the south opening the territory to pioneers (even though land was deeded out for Cades and Wears Cove areas as far back as the 1700's), no one could "technically" move there and lay claim because the area did belong to the Indians, or so they were all led to believe. By 1830-1840 "MYERS" started to appear in the area (this is from all of my research combined in the last 2 years - heavy concentration on my own behalf); I believe (speculating and starting to hate that very word) that my James Napoleon MYERS, born Apr 1839 was given up at birth by a lady who was without a father - possibly one of the military men - she's pregnant and he goes back to... oh, say, VA, OH or PA. Suzannah MOYERS, later seen in census records of 1840 and 1850 as Susan MYERS was the sister of Dr. Christopher MOYERS; both children of James David MOYERS/MYERS and Mary Polly BLACKBURN; and all of you know that these were very religious, prominent families for their era. Suzannah, being a bit of a spinster, respectfully, after Enoch WILLOUGHBY was run out of town for that horrible infamous sermon he gave at the First Presby. Church in Dandridge, Jefferson Co., TN opened her home to "James". She obviously was a lady of wealth since she had a household of slave living with her and next to her property, according to census records that I've seen. I always questioned her age everytime I stared at the census. She would have been 40ish at the time of his birth. Didn't seem plausbile for the time and the "type" of family she was raised in. Also, Susan drops off the face of the earth, literally, after 1850 and this is when a Jefferson Co., TN historian explains to me this past x-mas that Suzannah MOYERS/MYERS late in life left for California with the youngest son of James Napoleon MYERS and his wife Margaret Caroline LINDSEY, "James Earl "Early" MYERS" and his wife "Rebecca Tennessee HEADRICK", both born in Blount and Sevier Co., TN. She tells me to look in Fresno. I'll never know who James' mother was, nor his father at this point. All that I have spoke with are in total agreement with me, since everyone connected to him is extremly well documented, why there a total dead-end with James. And I realized that I have one brickwall on my maternal side too. It's when there is no father; or no mention/recorded documents of a father that a child's lineage ceases to exist - especially if a family never speaks nor writes of it. An error... possibly, an embarrasement... probably. Maybe they didn't want to cause any more saddness or humiliatation for the abandonded "mother". Some things we all wish to just forget and never speak of again hence the record blockade that one hits when researching their ancestors - keep this in mind for your own research and sanity. Funny part is, as I sit here feeling a bit beat from my buyers credit dropping on me - mad at my agent for swearing that everything looked great on her laon, as well as realizing I'll probably never know where J. N. MYERS true bloodline lies... (the only thing I've lived for finding since George's departure) but I had a hysterical thought! There are so many MYERS MOYER(S) MIER(S) MAYER(S) you name it... out here. That I'd probably find out he was a MOYERS/MYERS or even a MEYER any old way. -- Chrystie MYERS - ROOTSWEB.COM List Administrator - [email protected] BROOKOVER, COWGER, KRABAL, MOYERS, MYRES, SWECKER