HI, I just joined this group last week and have been reading the posts with much interest. I received a response from Mr. Brown regarding my Thomas surname and it not being native american. Since I have not idea as to what the credentials of a the list members are, I was wondering how he could speak with such authority? After receiving the information from Mr. Brown I received an email mentioning the Thomas name in connection with the Dodd family and indicating that was a native american connection. My questions is simple, "Who is correct?" Today, I received another post from someone not on this list telling me that she has death certificates that list the Thomas family from my area as being either african american or native american. Mr. Brown, could you direct me to some refernece material to substantiate what you told me other than Paul Heinegg? I have been to his site and have also corresponded with him. You see, some of my other surnames are Charity, Bradby, Goins, Hamilton, Adkins, Christian, Pretlow, Jones, Johnson, Green, Horne, Holt, Lightfoot, Dickinson, Ellis, Johns, to name a few. And my husband's are: Boon, Copeland, Parker, Harrison, Austin, Horne, Green, Weaver, Howell, and Threadgill. Yes, most of these folks are from southeastern Virginia and northeastern NC. I did not list all of my surnames. For that information, you can visit our website at http://members.tripod.com/~Linda_T . BTW, I am also distantly related to Floyd Handsor who I believe was once a member of this list. I don't know if he still is. Just here looking for information, Linda Stith Threadgill