This is in reply to Mike Peters (whose message appears at bottom): Was our Peters family of German or English descent? Our mutual ancestor, Zachariah Peters, was b. about 1770 and married Kesiah Lively in 1794 in Amherst Co VA. At this time, several descendants believe that Zachariah's father was William Peters of Amherst Co VA, who (as I have been told but the documentation has not been provided to me) was an Anglican minister and the first of this particular family to arrive in the Colonies. Over the past 25-plus years, I have examined quite a few Peters families in the search for my ancestors. In the process, I naturally researched Christian Peters of Peterstown (W)VA (Monroe County), because some of my family members had information that led us to believe we were descended from Christian. Christian was in the Rev. War and was the founder of Peterstown. I am pretty sure, at this point in time, that we are not descendants of Christian. Franklin County VA had more than one Peters family. Two of these families were, without question, of German descent, and they and their descendants married other German families in the area. What has been very interesting to me is that an analysis of these families reveals that Zachariah's descendants did not marry any of the Peters of German descent nor any other German families in Franklin County VA. However, looking at a few cousin marriages, it appears that my Peters family definitely liked their own Peters family better than others!!! :D At any rate, Zachariah's descendants did not marry into the German families in that area *until the 20th century,* and that is what caused the confusion in our Peters family research. Annually, in May or June, there is a Peters Family Reunion in Franklin County, VA, and it is not unusual to see cousins of the German Baptist or Dunkard faiths attending these reunions. This resulted in several family members believing that we were descended from a German line of Peters. I must credit at least four cousins who, individually, came to the same conclusion, and now we are all comparing notes and hoping to document the threads of evidence that have turned up. Those cousins are: Otis Scott, Carolyn Hale Bruce, Betty P. Bibb, and Polly Pate. In addition, I must add that I found a book in the Virginia State Archives, Richmond, VA, several years ago about a branch of our Peters family. This was a self-published book about the descendants of another son of Zachariah whose name was Joseph Gideon Peters. The lady (now deceased) who did the research and produced the book had a brief statement in the front of the book about this Peters family being of English descent. She did not say why or offer any proof. I am sorry to say that right at this moment I do not know where my notes are regarding this wonderful discovery in the Virginia State Archives. When I do find this information, I will let everyone know. Sincerely, Paula At 01:55 PM 04/17/2000 EDT, you wrote: >Dear Paula: > >Good to talk to you again. As you know, I am also a descendant of Zachariah >Peters & Kesiah Lively. On what do you base your speculation that Zachariah >Peters was of British descent? My grandfather was of the same belief. As >always, I look forward to hearing from you. > >Sincerely, > >Mike Peters >npeters102@aol.com > Paula Kelley Ward KELLEY List Manager PWard@Express-News.net Genealogy is the art of irritating the living and confusing the dead!