This is my first query on this list. I have a very elusive JAMES family right over the state line in Southampton County, VA. They lived four miles from the NC state line and I have long wondered if they did not have dealings in NC. There were two men of mystery. The first was my GGGF James James whose birth and death date and place is unknown. The second was his son, my GGF James Edwin James.In 1838 my GGGF James James in Southampton County, VA married Sarah "Sally" Harrison b 1821 VA dau of Catherine C. "Kate" Harrison b 1800 VA. It appears that by 1851 both these women were widowed. The children of Sarah Harrison James were: Nathaniel T. b 1840 VA, Benjamin Allen b 1843 VA and Joshua Cummins b 1846 NC. The only statistic we have on my GGF James James, the younger, is from his marriage certificate which indicates he was b 1845. For some strange reason he did not live with the rest of the family. Could he have been illegitimate? Could he possibly have been his father's son by an earlier marriage?His supposed birth date could be wrong. The children of Catherine Harrison(Sarah's siblings)were: Allen J.b 1823, Hannah A. b 1825, Andrew J. b 1828, Elizabeth H. b 1832, and Benfon(Benson?)F. b 1836 all born in VA. These families were closely allied with the TURNER family in VA. One interesting old family story is that the James family owned an oyster bed but I have never been able to make anything of it. If anyone knows of any of these people, any information would be gratefully accepted. Boice Burns Houston, TX