Apologies if this is a repost. I believe that I errantly sent it to the old Berks listserv address three weeks ago, as it never came through my digest. When researching Colonial families, I favor the "slash and burn" technique. Basically, using warrantee maps, research all the families living on the tracts surrounding your ancestors. Move out in degrees of two. Communities were rather small (compared to today) and most people married others who lived in their community. The idea of slash and burn is that--buried in estate records or land records of neighbors--your ancestors will turn up. And so it is with my Lykens family. I have previously posted queries trying to determine the parentage of William Lykens (or Liken, or Leicken, etc.), John Lykens, and Samuel Lykens, who began families in Robeson tp. in the 1795-1805 time range. However, I could not discern parentage. No adult Lykens were in the area from 1780-1800. An earlier generation of Lykens had moved down to Virginia. I finally found evidence while researching the Frees family who lived several tracts away from the 1737 Peter Leycon warrant land. A Berks County researcher had kindly posted a transcript of estate records for John Frees, who died in Robeson tp. in 1770. A 1774 document identifies that his widow Catharine was now married to Peter "Liking." John Frees' last will & testament allows his widow to reside on his plantation until his youngest child turns 12 (this would have been until 1781). Sure enough, I find no Frees's in Robeson tax records in 1779, 1780, and 1781. But there is Peter Likin/Liking (I had apparently missed this fact in my research long ago--a reminder to always check again to be sure). Peter Likin/Liking is gone by 1784 and John Frees (the eldest son of John Frees, who was given right to the land) appears in tax records. The circumstantial evidence appears to suggest that Peter Lykens--who was a freeman on the 1768 Robeson tax records--married the widow Anna Catharina Frees circa 1772. They had at least three children: William, John, and Samuel. It appears that Samuel may have been the youngest child--I have what I presume to be his tombstone in Lancaster County giving a 1784 birthdate. (He first appears in tax records in 1805.) Question: What happened to Peter Lykens? I find no record after 1781. It would appear he was alive in 1784. I find no estate records. The Schwartzwald Church records give the burial of Anna Catharina Friesz, 1734-1806. This would appear to be John Friesz's widow, but why is her surname given as Friesz if she had married Peter Lykens? For Fries researchers, this opens the possibility of more children being born to Anna Catharina (Knepper) Fries. The 1770 John Frees estate file provides a clue that leads to a strong likelihood, but I just need confirming evidence. 5 Incidentally, another Berks estate file--one for David Gerrard--dated 1782, identify a deceased daughter married to one Andrew Likins. It provides a listing of all their children. This Andrew Likins had moved to Virginia, where he died in 1780. It is this estate file only that provides proof of marriage and a list of children. But no one would know unless they had looked in the Gerrard estate file. The point is that there is much buried information out there. I'm hoping that someday the Berks County estate files were be made available online so that volunteer researchers can begin abstracting these files. Many thanks to the researchers who made the Frees and Gerrard files available online. A wish if anyone has access: The Berks County Historical Society has a book of compiled tax records from 1752-1799, alphabatized by family. It is more thorough than records I have access to nline. If anyone could check the pages for Likins/Lykens/etc., I would appreciate it. Perhaps Peter appears elsewhere.