Hi Bill, Good to hear from you. Had forgotten that I had written what you enclosed back to me. The particular grandson mentioned in that note is almost a year old now and another son and his wife have presented us with another grandson since then. We more fully understand the strong bond which develops between grandparents and grandchildren, we share a common enemy. Have not chased too many Nevilles this year, been concentrating on the Dirksen side of the family and also on my Littleton and Bean lines which connect with Neville in southern IL. But have one thing to add which might be of help. Shirley Wilcox previously sent me a copy of an indenture made between William and Lord Fairfax, was quite hard to read the spelling of the name but have since seen a microfilm when in VA, this certainly helped. >From the VA land records, an indenture made 28 July 1763 between the right honorable Thomas Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, etc. and William Neavill etc. etc. in consideration of yearly rent, etc. etc. to the said William Neavill for and during the natural life of him the said William Neavill and for and during the natural lives of Winnifred Neavill his wife and Yelverton Neavill his son and every one of them longest living etc. etc. This does several thing for me: 1. Puts William and Winnifred as husband and wife and parents of Yelverton. Ta Daa! 2. Gives a birth year for Yelverton. Cousins and I previously had birth year as "either 1762 or 1763," But because of the above, he could not have been born Christmas of 1763 if he was already mentioned in the indenture dated July 1763. Ta Daa, ta daa! 3. Gives me the earliest spelling of his name, Yelverton and not Yelvaton (about which we cousins have been arguing for years - I really hoped it was Yelvaton but then, what do I know)? Ta daa, ta daa, ta daa! Don't you sometimes wonder why such a trivial piece of information can get the adrenaline flowing? Thus have changed my records for the last time, my mind is made up. It is Yelverton! Will listen to no further reasoning on the subject. Even Jean's threat of starching my underwear will not budge me. Many of Yelverton's signatures (or of those signing for him) when viewed for the correct spelling can be read either direction. Thought some years ago when Jean and I visited his grave site in the TN Mountains that I finally had it as Yelvaton - that is how the stone is carved. But the following year I read the will of his grandson, Alexander, which was what directed and made payment for erecting the grave stones for his "Beloved Mother," Granddad, and Aunts. BUT, at a time some 31 years after death of Yelverton. My cousin tells me from her 1970s visit to Jackson County that the folks pronounced the name, Yelton, and thus some three decades post his death, how many folks would be able to spell a name like that, especially when all the principal players were dead? William had previously made a similar indenture in 1760, some months after the birth of his eldest son, Jesse. This agreement also mentions Winnifred as part of the deal. While I have not read this type literature all that extensively, these are the only two indentures I know of which were made in names of sons and their mother. Got to give William credit, his version of Social Security? But I have not located any records of William giving up that land when the family moved to NC/SC. In fact, I do not know if records of giving up land exist other than when someone else took up the land. Think I mentioned already of finding him listed in the SC Archives Colonial Records file, spelling was Navil or maybe Navl as I recall and thus his listing was pages and pages removed from all the rest of the Nevils (and all other spellings of the name). I had been missing it, only found it by a fluke. Gives William's early land record. I still must revisit the SC Archives to sort a bit further, but I believe that William had at most two plantations while living in that area, before the move to KY. One was along Lawsons Fork which runs through Spartenburg, SC. Was located on Nevill Creek (Branch?) which I cannot find on any map thus far. Who knows, when we visit we may find we own downtown Spartenburg? Not part of my retirement plans, however. He has multiple listings of addresses in both SC and NC but I believe much of that is due to the colony/state/county boundary changes which evolved over the years. But for me this is still a mess waiting for some free time to sort. I had one great piece of good luck. I was mumbling to myself in the SC Archives and was overheard (I do not mumble quietly) by one of the staff. Turns out he had written an article about the Great Acquisition, the event back when SC got a chunk of NC. A good deal of old Tryon County, NC became property of SC -- and this territory seems to be the area in which William lived. Hence his being on listing of both states. Have you had further success along the Yelverton line? That sun is up, the temperature is climbing into the 50s, it is time to go outside and play with the leaves and pine needles. Best wishes, Tom