You are correct in your assumption that Martisha Roten married twice. I have here marrying a Starlin Vanzant in 1861. Since she subsequently married Hilton Farmer in 1866 I strongly suspect that Starlin may have died in the Civil War. I have no evidence that they had any children. Here is a quick snapshot on Martisha Roten: Descendants of Martisha Roten 1 Martisha Roten b: 25 October 1845 in Ashe Co, NC d: 29 September 1929 in Ashe Co, NC . +Starlin Vanzant b: Bet. 1835 - 1855 *2nd Husband of Martisha Roten: . +Hilton Alexander Farmer b: Abt. December 1849 in NC 2 Martha Jane Farmer b: 12 April 1867 in NC d: 15 April 1918 ... +Thomas Jefferson Gilley b: Abt. 1859 in NC 2 Biner Farmer b: Abt. March 1870 in NC ... +Rufus R. Elliott b: Abt. 1867 in NC .. 3 Reece Elliott b: Abt. October 1885 in NC .. 3 Elizabeth Elliott b: Abt. August 1888 in NC .. 3 Callie Elliott b: Abt. March 1891 in NC .. 3 Hattie May Elliott b: Abt. March 1893 in NC .. 3 Vista Elliott b: Abt. September 1895 in NC .. 3 McKinley Elliott b: Abt. July 1898 in NC 2 David C. Farmer b: 17 April 1872 in NC d: 23 March 1949 ... +Mary 'Polly' Roten b: 01 January 1865 in Ashe Co, NC d: 01 January 1915 in Ashe Co, NC .. 3 Rufus Fulton Roten b: 24 May 1896 in Ashe Co, NC d: 03 October 1972 in Ashe Co, NC ..... +Hattie Eller b: 15 April 1904 d: 10 April 1987 in Ashe Co, NC *1st Wife of David C. Farmer: ... +Maude A. Price b: Abt. January 1879 in NC d: 01 May 1965 .. 3 Charles B. Farmer b: Abt. 1902 in NC .. 3 George Ray Farmer b: 18 September 1909 in NC d: 21 October 1959 ..... +Beatrice Bina Jenkins b: 29 July 1915 d: 29 May 1998 2 James P. Farmer b: 25 April 1873 in NC d: 16 June 1968 ... +Margaret Elmira Elizabeth 'Myra' Sapp b: Abt. January 1871 in NC d: Abt. 1929 .. 3 Lelar Farmer b: 05 June 1893 in NC ..... +Samuel Graybeal b: Bet. 1880 - 1900 .. 3 Maude B. Farmer b: 27 March 1895 in NC d: 30 June 1976 in Ashe Co, NC ..... +Male West .. *2nd Husband of Maude B. Farmer: ..... +William Lundy Roten b: 01 November 1889 in Ashe Co, NC d: 07 August 1956 in Ashe Co, NC .. 3 Blanche Farmer b: 06 February 1897 in NC d: 30 June 1988 .. 3 Spencer Farmer b: Abt. 1901 in NC .. 3 Roamy Farmer b: Abt. 1903 in NC .. 3 Howard Farmer b: 18 October 1905 in Ashe Co, NC d: 02 July 1972 in Chester Co, PA ..... +Orpha Elizabeth Lewis b: 22 September 1908 in Ashe Co, NC d: 10 May 1953 in Cecil Co, MD .. 3 Russell Farmer b: 03 September 1907 in NC .. 3 Hilton C. Farmer b: 25 August 1909 in NC 2 Thomas Alexander Farmer b: 30 April 1875 in NC d: 02 January 1956 ... +Cynthia A. Hampton b: 04 January 1876 in NC d: 29 April 1948 .. 3 Unknown Farmer b: Bet. 1894 - 1900 d: Bef. 1900 .. 3 Edgar Farmer b: Abt. October 1895 in NC Chris..... http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~schulthe/schged/html/surnames.htm At 04:24 AM 8/5/00 EDT, you wrote: >thank you for the response. I have found info on different sources; and have >come up with different surnames for Martisha, as well as the spelling of her >1st name. It appears that Roten is the correct one; it appears more often. >I have wondered if she had been married more than once ; that there were two >persons of different generations mixed up; but nothing conclusive for the >variations. I have come across individuals who change their names for >different reasons; the surname of Metcalf in Illinois is Midkiff in WVA. I >assume that it was caused by poor spelling and pronunciation. I will be >available for help until 8/10. I am vacationing until 8/22. Oh.. the other >surnames for her are VANZANT and VANZOUT. The other spellings for MARTISHA >are MARTICIA, MARTISHIA. As Fagan says in "Oliver", "Get back soon". >beebonnie1@aol.com > > >