Hey Bob, If you really look at what ya got here, your first entries site grants to land on Obids Creek in Wilkes Co. NC to Thomas Paine and low and behold, there is Moses Ayers (husband of Abigale). In your last entry, notice that here again is Thomas Payne (of Franklin County GA) selling land on Obids Creek!!! Now if this isn't VERY strong evidence that our Thomas Payne is the father of Abigale, then I really must be missing something here. Let's sum this up. 1) Thomas Payne m. Yanaka Ayers in same County of VA at the same time as Moses Ayers. 2) Moses Ayers is the brother of Yanaka. 3) Moses Ayers marries Abigale Payne 4) Moses Ayers in Wilkes County NC in 1778---see land grant below 5) Moses Ayers and Abigale in Franklin County, GA in early 1780s. 6) Land Grants for a Thomas and a William Payne along Tugaloo River issued from South Carolina in the early 1780s. Bet if we looked, we would find Moses Ayers got land also. 7) Several Cherokee Indian Villages along the Tugaloo and Broad Rivers within 20 mile radius of Payne Creek. Regards, Barb McCreary Visit my website at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hollow/9401/ ----- Original Message ----- From: <ThatBeBob@aol.com> To: David Payne <otime@hotmail.com>; <john.wilmot@mindspring.com>; <shpxlcp@home.com>; <stnpride@linkline.com>; <Payne-l@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 8:41 PM Subject: Thomas in Wilkes County, NC http://www.ls.net/~newriver/ashedeed.htm Abstracts of Upper New River Valley Land Grants >From Wilkes County Records 1778 - 1783 - Wilkes County Deed Book 1 The land situation was quite different south of 36ΓΈ30' than in Virginia. North Carolina was a proprietary colony, with the Earl of Granville holding title to much of the land. Residents of the Old North State before the Revolution paid a quit rent to the Earl for some years then perhaps could acquire title to the land they lived on. In 1777 the North Carolina legislature passed a confiscation act which took the Earl of Granville's holdings and transferred title to the State. The state in turn issued land grants to its citizens for a nominal fee, for which the inhabitants or land speculators could acquire the land fee simple. The problem of claim jumping was not as bad as it was in Virginia for reasons which are not entirely clear. One reason may be the fees required to for land grants made the land more affordable than in Virginia. Grant in what is now Ashe County, North Carolina GENERAL AREA GRANT # NAME Obids Creek 711 Thomas Paine Obids Creek 713 Thomas Paine Peak Creek 907 Thomas Paine Remember these deed abstracts: Page 421. Dec. 23, 1778 from Thomas Payne of Wilks County, North Carolina, to Michael Ozbrooks of Pittsylvania County, for 150 L, about 150 acres in H, and bounded on the south by Col. John Lewis, on the west by Moses Ayres, on the south by Fleming Bates, and on the east by John Lewis jr. Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Payne Wit: John Lewis Jr, Thomas Merriwether Jr., Richard (R his mark) Smith Rec Mar 16, 1780. Deed Book D - Wilkes County, NC 116 - 15 Dec 1796 . . Between Thomas Payne, Franklin County, Georgia and David Hickerson . . . 100 lbs 200 ac Obeds Creek, branch New River . . . to top of mtn . . . William Reynolds, John Dobson Thomas (X) Payne 116 - 15 Dec 1796 . . Between Thomas Payne, Franklin County, Georgia and David Hickerson . . . 150 lbs 290 ac Obeds Creek, branch New River . . . to top of mtn . . . William Reynolds, John Dobson Thomas (X) Payne