Jemima Gee Morse Your postings of various Pennington wills was a great help to our Group 10 information. Thank you very much. In particular your posting 16 Dec. 1999 which inquired about Thomas Pennington, "Heir at law". I apologize for using my memory about this, which is often wrong these days, but in order to reply quickly - here goes. I have seen a notice in some legal paper somewhere about this but don;'t have time to search for documentation just now. At any rate, following the English rule of descent, THOMAS PENNINGTON III became the "heir at law" because he was the eldest son of Thomas II. When Edward Pennington died unmarried, there was the possibility that if his will were overturned that Thomas III would become "heir at law" A warning notice was sent to Thomas, heir at law, to appear in court if he wished to challenge Edward's will. A month or so later the court advised that because "Thomas, heir at law" has not appeared or challenged the will, it was now declared Edward's valid will. Al Matthews