Virginia - I believe that the area referred to as Black Swamp in those days was in SE Pitt County which in more recent times has been called Blackjack, and is roughly the area of VOA Site B today. Most folks familiar with Pitt County know where the VOA sites (A, B, & C) are. Each of those sites was located in upland swamps (also referred to as "pocosins") that are too poorly drained to farm. Site B in the Blackjack area is due south of Grimesland. I may be wrong, but I believe that area was previously known as Black Swamp. Makes sense with respect to the land sale you referred to, since it's near Beaufort County where the Respess family owned a lot of land. My research indicates that the May family owned land all over Pitt County in the mid-to-late 1700's, before they started concentrating their land holdings around the present-day Farmville area. This sale might be related to the May family's land consolidation in western Pitt County and divestment in their lands elsewhere. Bob Forbes [email protected] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Virginia Hollowell > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 10:04 PM > > > Hi! > I find in my research, a deed where Thomas Respess of Beaufort Co NC > bought land from Benjamin May of Pitt county...the land was north of > Black Swamp. any help to locate black swamp and where the 100 acres > were? And what is the connection, if any, of Thomas Respess and B. > Mays.. the deed dates late 1700..1783, I think. Thank you Virginia > Respess Hollowell >