Steve Privett wrote: > > Sue, > > Primary sources should be the goal of all researchers in my mind. However > secondary sources do have their place as a tool and a step towards the > complete picture. I continually use secondary sources to point me to the > primary source. > Steve P. > I certainly agree that using the secondary sources point you in a direction for further research. But if the information is in a book, the author had to have seen it somewhere, and that's what I like to use as a source. I'm sorry, but I don't have any information on the birthdate/place of Thomas (d. 1701/2). I haven't started looking in that direction yet. I am like Reginald, in that there does not seem to be absolute definite proof of the fact that Thomas, son of Thomas (1701/2), is the same Thomas that was the father of John George. I imagine that it is so, but I wanted to gather every bit of information I could find on the Penningtons in that time and area, and look at all of it. A summary needs to be written showing the various steps in drawing the conclusion that the published material seems to be correct. Remember the information I sent in about proving that Martha Harper was the "Martha" in John George's will? In order to prove it, I went to two other sources, and showed it beyond a doubt. I would like to have a step-by-step process just like that with the Thomas-Thomas-John George line. So, I guess that would be the very first thing I'd like to accomplish. Perhaps if several of us got something written up it would be easier for everyone to follow, and we could put this question aside, and move along to something else. I have been negligent in the past about collecting data on the various siblings of the direct line, and that is also something that I need to work on. I have a feeling that the rest of you have been gathering that all along, so you're definitely ahead of me there! Any direction you wish to go, I'm willing to work. It will benefit all of us, I'm sure, as we all seem to have bits and pieces that could be helpful to others. Sue