Dear Lena, You wrote Yes, Nathaniel & Joseph are brothers & are sons to my Uncle Nathaniel & his unknown wife. Uncle Nathaniel was born to John & Mary KEELING Williams of Wales to Hanover County, VA. Sincerely, Lena Thank you for your response, Lena to my query about some Williams males--Joseph and Nathaniel, deputy sheriffs in colonial Charlotte Co., VA. Do you have any documentation [citations] about *Uncle Nathaniel Williams*? I have been chasing this man for many a moon. I can one instance of him and his father John Williams witnessing a deed in Hanover Co. in the 1730s. After that, he becomes *unknown*, except for one reference to him in a Louisa Co., VA land record. I can document, mainly through land and court records, three of Nathaniel's brothers 1. John, Jr. [wife Mary Womack] who died in Granville Co., NC prior to Jan 1770 2. Daniel Williams who died testate 1759 in Granville Co., NC [wife Ursley with a lot of made-up maiden names, none of which can be proved] 3.Joseph Williams [of Lunenburg Co., VA, later of Elbert Co., GA, where he died testate] [first wife Henrietta Jouett]. I have to correct the parentage of *Uncle Nathaniel Williams* as you cite it. His father was John Williams, Sr., formerly of colonial Henrico Co., later of colonial Goochland Co., NC, and lastly, Hanover Co., NC. John Williams, according to the few remaining Hanover Co. records of that time, died intestate in the 1730s. The name of John Williams, Sr.'s wife was Mary, but her maiden name is really unknown. Everyone wants to call Mrs. John Williams, Sr. Mary *Keeling* but as far as I have been able to determine through many years of research (and an old letter written by a Williams great-grandson to a cousin), she was only known as Mary [no maiden name except in flawed genealogies and county histories]. The Keelings, as far as my research shows, were office holders in colonial Virginia and thus must have been members of the Anglican church. John Williams Sr., who died intestate ca 1735 in Hanover Co. was probably just a *planter*, meaning farmer. I find no record of his ever having held office. He may have been a keeper of an ordinary, as was his son in Goochland Co., but I can find no proof of that occupation--only a hunch, which I so label. John Sr.'s son John, Jr. [later called Sr. in Granville Co., NC where he migrated] was married to Mary Womack, as indicated by the will of her father, William Womack, will recorded in colonial Goochland Co. As you must know, except for a few court records and the land patents of Virginia, there are few remaining records of colonial Hanover Co. Therefore, it is most difficult to *prove* anything. The maiden name for Mary, the senior Mrs. John Williams, is, as far as I am concerned, a made-up name. Several dozen genealogical lecturers garner great fees for lecturing on finding your women ancestors--because so many of them are nameless. If that is good enough for professional genealogists, it is good enough for me--Mrs. no maiden name Williams. However, back to my question: Can you give me a citation indicating that the younger Nathaniel and Joseph Williams are the sons of *uncle Nathaniel Williams*. I will be most appreciative. And do you have any citations for their being in Charlotte Co., VA prior to removing to North Carolina.? I would be most appreciative. Many of the records of the Williams family of colonial Southern Virginia and later of North Carolina are botched and are based on hearsay--and copying others' flawed work. E.W.Wallace maiden name: Williams