Barbara, You have a good point about printing Batte's index cards. However, I would point out most cards are 14 to 50 kb in size, which is not large. One further advantage to saving the images is that you can use a photo program to print the cards at various sizes. I use my ACDsee to convert the gif format to jpeg and then save them as a scrapbook item in my Family Tree Maker Data base. FTM doesn't accept gif. Some of the index cards are packed with writing, and it can be hard to read the details without magnification. But perhaps I am just showing my age:) My data base of Poythress descendents and related families contains now 700 people, supported by Batte cards. I mention this for those who may still be waiting for my compilation. Somehow when I got rolling, I couldn't stop. My hope is to have it fairly complete by the end of March. Once on a CD, this compilation can be read by FTM without use of much hard drive space. I may start posting some family groupings for comment in a week or two. Diana

Thanks, Diana, for all the tips. I'll just add one tip for those who have less computer-storage-space and who do have paper & toner for their printer: Instead of right-clicking on the image of each card to save it, you can also just hit "Print" and print off a copy for yourself to study later. Cheers, Barbara (BPN)

Barbara asked me to explain again to a new list member how to use the R. Bolling Batte genealogy collection at the LVA on the internet. This collection, you may know, consists of 30,000 index cards that cross reference each other for families primarily in the James River area of Colonial Virginia and their descendants. Those cards can then be used to find Mr. Batte's sources which are also available among the collection heading "Source A-O" and "Source P-Z". Anyone interested could go to the Poythress-L archives and search this year's emails using "Batte". http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=POYTHRESS to find my earlier e-mail. I have discovered a few new tricks, so let me explain. You can go directly to http://image.vtls.com/collections/BA.html But when you don't have that address handy you can find the collection if you can go to www.google.com, the search engine (I have Google as my "home" page). Enter R. Bolling Batte and then hit the button "I'm feeling lucky." Once in the grouping, pick the family name you want to download. Clicking on the family name takes you to card one. If you want a later card, you can change the number to the far right in the web address that pops up and change it to the number you want. Or you can wait for the first card to load and use the space on the bottom to enter a card number. Often for women, the family information is under the married name. To be sure you have all the information on an individual, you need cards for a person's parents, their spouse, their maiden and married names, and perhaps their children's cards as well. Some people have 1 card, but some have as many as 4. Some cards are shuffled in a family grouping. I found Theodorick Pryor (a Poythress descendant) as number 3 in his family grouping, when alphabetically he should have been found him toward the end of the grouping. Usually, however, the cards are alphabetical or nearly so. Sometimes the children are not listed on either parent card but their cards refer back to the parents, so my solution is to download all the cards of family. A reminder that not all names Batte has cards for are shown on the opening web page. Use the names listed as you would a card catalogue at a library. No need to save the whole web page when you reach the family of interest. Put your cursor within a card when it loads and right click and then choose "Save as" or "Save Image" depending on your browser. Every browser works differently, but if you are able, it may be possible to open a number of browser windows at once. It may depend on your own computer's capacity and the traffic on the site. I do a lot of work with images and I have a large computer memory capacity, so this may or may not work for you. I open 5 browser windows and set them to open Cards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. (Copy the URL from the first widow and Paste it on the next 4) After saving the first five cards, I then hit the +5 button and wait for the next group of cards to pop up. But this works best if you chose a slow period at the LVA digital library. Otherwise, you may be competing with yourself and others who have figured this out as well and totally bog down the system. Often the site is inaccessible, so you may have to come back a few times to download the cards you want. Additional pointer, despite appearances, the card you download from the first window is the same size file as the one you might download from the enlarged card you see when you click the smaller card window. Many cards were scanned upside down. It saves time if you use an art program to invert the cards after they are downloaded. Eventually, I may make a copy of the cards I have already downloaded available to the list members in exchange for your information Poythress ancestors (for my data base) and/or reproduction and mailing costs. If any one is still with me and interested, please contact me. Diana

Good news and bad news. Bad news is my pc is in intensive care. "Good" news is it doesn't matter if it spends another 4 weeks there. Jean came back from R&R at our daughter's place in Houston (bedroom on main floor, lots of tile, wide doorways.........good for wheelchair mobility) only to have Dr. keep her out of play for an additional 4 weeks. I said to heck with it and came with her this time. So, I'll be picking up mail in Houston for next four weeks but won't have anything "at hand" to work with so I'll just be copying all the P messages to a floppy and will digest them when I return. I may also be able to sneak away to the Clayton for a day or two. Cheers. Maynard

I checked the Chancery Records Index at the LVA site. The Prince George County records are not yet indexed and I could find no indication of indexing of records from Williamsburg when it was the capital, and no indication of indexing of records from the city of Richmond. In the Central Piedmont area surrounding Richmond, several counties records have been filmed, but a search on the surname Gordon didn't reveal an obvious suit that would have included Ann Isham Gordon's will, though from just having Crozier's abstract of the will, we have no idea of who the plaintiff or defendant would have been in Chancery Court. Re Benjamin: Craig, as a matter of fact, I DO have the name occur in my line, though not in the full "Benjamin" form. One of the sons of Algernon E Poythress (and thus one of the grandsons of James E Poythress) was Bennie Edward Poythress. His eldest son was Ben Edward Poythress, Jr., from whom I photocopied and transcribed the Poythress & Preston Bible-type Family Record, which is available at the LVA site. (He coincidentally moved to Petersburg after growing up in Meridian, Mississippi and after WW II and working in Wilson, NC.) Ben died 3 yrs ago.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Neal" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2001 5:27 PM Subject: Chancery Court Will from Batte Reading List > 84 Crozier, William Armstrong: Williamsburg Wills > > This 77-page volume was originally published in 1906 as __Virginia County > Records__ Vol. III, by the Genealogical Assn, New York. It was reprinted > by Southern Book Co, Baltimore, 1954. Then it was re-issued by > Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc, Baltimore 1973, which was the volume I saw > at the NGS Library in Arlington, VA. I'm sure Craig could tell us if this > book may have been re-issued yet again, and may still be available in print > today. Southern Book Co, Baltimore, its successor Genealogical Publishing Co, and then its reprint company, Clearfield company have kept the book in print. I can not be sure that it is still in print, only that I have one on the shelf [or did until I read BPN's next emai to me]. > > On p.27 of Crozier's book is the following abstract, quoted here in full > with caps, abbreviations, punctuation, & spacing as shown in the book: > > "GORDON, ANN ISHAM, Prince George Co., 16 Jan 1790. No date probate. > Elizabeth McNeill; William eldest son of late Col. Wm. Yates, and Benj. > Poythress Yates his second son; niece Mary Muir and her son Wm. Poythress > Muir and her dau. Margaret Muir; Lucy dau. of John Gordon decd.; friend > Thomas Gordon; sister Eliz. Ramsey; Eliz. Peachy. Exrs. Thomas G. Peachy, > Thomas Gordon. Wit. Eleanor Crane, Eliz. Milly Fraser, Susannah Cox." > I find any mention of a Benjamin interesting, since none of y'll have a Benjamin in your lines (that I am aware of anyway). What is more interesting is the connection of a Benjamin and William, since these are both Poythresses in Petersburg in the 1850s, both appearing from the tax records to have come out of Prince George, but the parents of neither is know. I asume the Peachy list here are the Flour Dew Hundred Peachy's. C. > Craig R. Scott, CGRS Willow Bend Books 65 East Main Street Westminster, MD 21157-5026 [email protected] www.WillowBendBooks.com

I'm preparing for an upcoming research trip, hoping to track down some of the more elusive items on the Batte Reading List that Diana so graciously listed for us in recent months here. In making my preparations, I realized that I had earlier copied a will from one of those volumes listed by Batte, along with the introduction & index of the book. The volume is listed in Diana's Dec 4, 2000 message as being Batte's # 84 Crozier, William Armstrong: Williamsburg Wills This 77-page volume was originally published in 1906 as __Virginia County Records__ Vol. III, by the Genealogical Assn, New York. It was reprinted by Southern Book Co, Baltimore, 1954. Then it was re-issued by Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc, Baltimore 1973, which was the volume I saw at the NGS Library in Arlington, VA. I'm sure Craig could tell us if this book may have been re-issued yet again, and may still be available in print today. The index only lists surnames. It does not list Poythress in the index. Since the index does not list middle names, I don't now recall why I happened to copy the below will, which as you will see, only has Poythress as middle names. Probably some other researcher had graciously guided me to the will. At any rate, this will indicates other related families. In the introduction of the book, Crozier reminds the readers that Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia from 1699 until 1779, when the public records were removed to Richmond, the new capital. Williamsburg was even earlier the seat of a District Court. With "Williamsburg being a Chancery Court, it followed that depositions, court orders, and copies of wills in numerous suits from various counties were deposited there; and it is with the few records that were saved from destruction [in the 1865 great fire in Richmond] that this volume treats." Crozier only gave ABSTRACTS of all the wills that, when he did this work prior to 1906, were "now on file at the Chancery Court." I would expect this will would still be in the Chancery Court records for Williamsburg at the Library of VA, rather than in records for Prince George Co where the will was originally made, but I have not yet checked to see if that can be determined at LVA's link to Chancery Court records. >From the abbreviated way Crozier wrote this abstract, I would certainly like to see the original will in full, to try to make more sense of it all. On p.27 of Crozier's book is the following abstract, quoted here in full with caps, abbreviations, punctuation, & spacing as shown in the book: "GORDON, ANN ISHAM, Prince George Co., 16 Jan 1790. No date probate. Elizabeth McNeill; William eldest son of late Col. Wm. Yates, and Benj. Poythress Yates his second son; niece Mary Muir and her son Wm. Poythress Muir and her dau. Margaret Muir; Lucy dau. of John Gordon decd.; friend Thomas Gordon; sister Eliz. Ramsey; Eliz. Peachy. Exrs. Thomas G. Peachy, Thomas Gordon. Wit. Eleanor Crane, Eliz. Milly Fraser, Susannah Cox."

Diana, Thank you for all the intriguing info on Charles Poythress and his son John of that 1700s era. In that time period and especially in about 1750-1800, all tidbits we can find & piece together should help us immensely in going back with assurance from our ancestors who lived in the early 1800s. Thanks again so much for all your work on Batte's "reading list," which I'll be taking with me on my next research trip. And thanks, too, for your ongoing work on Batte's cards. I appreciate all your work & look forward to more info, whenever any of us can contribute it. Barbara

Craig, yes, please, your kind offer is accepted. Realizing your time will be short, I would recommend you prioritize (1) 1808-008 and (2) 1820-012. These are the earliest and most likely to contribute to most broadly, perhaps confirming one or more relationships heretofore only implied among Lewis, Edward, John, David and James E. Poythress. Thanks for your willingness to help. Along with Barbara Neal, I, too, will be happy to reimburse your copying costs. Best regards, Lyn P. Baird [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

I checked Google and the Poythress archives since I posted the earlier query. Perhaps one of you can put this together. I found Charles Poythress among these deeds in (20 Aug 1745) in Dinwiddie (see below) as well as on the Poythress web site. What is interesting is his property seems to be close to Francis Poythress's (Which One?) purchased in 117 22 Sep 1739. Both near Butterfield swamp. As are other known Poythresses. http://www.ultranet.com/~deeds/Dinwiddi.txt from the Poythress web site: Date 20 Aug 1745 from William Gooch, Lt. Governor to Charles Poythress con 30Sh. re 300a on the lower side of the Oldfield Branch of Butterwood ! swamp loc -18137 -45746 F127 L0 P255 pt Oldfield Branch. where Francis Coleman's Land Crosses the same ln E11N; 198P; along Francis Coleman's Line pt Coleman's corner. Hiccory ln E11N; 42P; pt Lightwood Knot by the side of a small Branch between several ! trees faces Inwards ln N11W; 200P; pt Corner at a Lightwood Knott between several Trees chopt inwards ! in an open place on the upper side of the Beach Branch Additionally, I found this in Poythress L-archives [Bruce (Poythress)Porter ] Index to Deeds Chesterfield County 1749-1912 Book K-R pg. 468 mo/day/year Kind Grantor Grantee 1/ 1762 agmt Charles Poythress Catherine Crawford [Note: Batte says they married] ANOTHER REFERENCE (Teresa Willis) This is the Brunswick Co library in Lawrenceville VA: Brunswick Co. will book vol 1 pg 88 (1) 1754 Charles Poythress named in Alexander Walker's will (will book 3 pg 515) ---- This was amended: . It *should* indicate that on p.174 of Brunswick Will Bk 3, Charles Poythress' name is included in a huge list of names of people who were probably purchasers of items from the estate of Alexander Walker. The Walker estate was shown as "audited," and the audit was returned to the court on 27 Jan 1756. [My understanding of this info comes from studying Dr. Stephen Bradley's "Brunswick County, Virginia Will Books Volume 1, Will Books 2 and 3, 1739-1769 and 1783-1785" which volume I feel sure is still available. Teresa's number shown as 515 is really the 515th consecutive entry that Bradley abstracted in his volume.]

Does anyone recognize these Poythresses from R. Bolling Batte Cards? They remain unconnected to the main group. Diana Ancestors of John Poythress (Ahnentafel) Generation No. 1 1. John Poythress1, born Aft. 1740. He was the son of 2. Charles Poythress and 3. Catherine Crawforth. Generation No. 2 2. Charles Poythress2, born Aft. 1700. He married 3. Catherine Crawforth April 02, 1739. 3. Catherine Crawforth3, born Aft. 1700. She was the daughter of 6. Ralph Crawforth and 7. Elizabeth Unknown. Child of Charles Poythress and Catherine Crawforth is: 1 i. John Poythress, born Aft. 1740. Generation No. 3 6. Ralph Crawforth, born Abt. 1680 in Lived King Williams County. He married 7. Elizabeth Unknown. 7. Elizabeth Unknown Notes for Ralph Crawforth: Justice King Williams County, VA 1702 Wife remarried, apparently the father of her son-in-law Henry Anderson(husband of daughter Elizabeth) , also named Henry Anderson. Children of Ralph Crawforth and Elizabeth Unknown are: i. Elizabeth Crawforth, born Abt. 1700; married Henry Anderson; died Abt. 1753. 3 ii. Catherine Crawforth, born Aft. 1700; married Charles Poythress April 02, 1739. Endnotes 1. R. Bolling Batte Cards, Library of Virginia Digital Collection on the internet [http://image.vtls.com/collections/BA.html], Poythress Cards 23-24. 2. R. Bolling Batte Cards, Library of Virginia Digital Collection on the internet [http://image.vtls.com/collections/BA.html], Crawford Cards 18-19, Poythress Cards 23-24. 3. R. Bolling Batte Cards, Library of Virginia Digital Collection on the internet [http://image.vtls.com/collections/BA.html], Crawford Card 15, Poythress Cards 23,24.

Marti....you say: Hi Maynard:  I had assumed that you knew where MEAPO was buried.  If not, she and Laban Odom are buried in the Bethany Methodist Cemetary, Girard, Georgia.  The tombstone says she was born Jan 26, 1798, died Oct 5, 1861 w/o Laban.  Laban's tombstone says born Jan 22, 1790 died June 1, 1860 s/o Isaac & Celia (per "Gravemarkers In Burke County Georgia" by Powell, Odom & Hillhouse).   In my correspondence with Dr. Lane, he told me he had no information on MEAPO as to who her parents were.  If you are able to get additional information on MEAPO from Dr. Lane, I would appreciate knowing. Marti: This MEAPDO lady just gets curiouser and curiouser. I just received that tombstone transcription from Curtis Lane via mail yesterday. The question that immediately pops to mind is that if she was b. 1778 and m. John Dixon/Dickson in abt 1804........then about the time of registration for the 1807 Ga. Land Lottery she is both married and about 28 years old.....hardly qualifying her as an "orphan of" Thomas Poythress, at least by my standards. Obviouly however, I wasn't setting the standards and in a lot of instances those lotteries got to be a political boondoggle so I would not rule out MEAPDO actually being one of the "orphans of Thomas Poythress." Do you have any supposition along this line? Also, with a birthdate of 1778, Elizabeth becomes a much more probable candidate for being a daughter of Thomas Poythress. And I think there is also some significance that she is shown in the 1850 census: "b. Virginia." But to your specific question: does Dr. Lane know any more? I think that answer is "probably not". Dr. Lane says in his note today that all he has came from Martha Dixon or in letters from my mother. Best, Maynard

Maynard: At this point, I have no thoughts on MEAPO's parentage!!!! Marti

I have none of the indicated documents & would love to have copies of all of them. Craig, if you can indeed obtain photocopies while you are at LVA for the March 19th meeting, I would be happy to reimburse you for the costs of obtaining them (unless you wish to keep said copies, yourself) & then I'll be glad to abstract/transcribe them for us all. I can also offer the following observations after comparing the names & time periods, to notes re Mecklenburg Co Deed Indexes and to Wills that we have seen previously: 1) re Index Number 1808-008 re Plaintiffs Joshua Smith etc & Defendants Hutchins Ferrell, which includes Poythress in the list of surnames: I did not find the names Smith, Hutchins, or Ferrell in any items that had "Poythress" (& variant spellings) in the Deed Indexes. The Hutchins name seems very familiar to me & I cannot place why. Also I am interested to see what tie-in the Smith name brings, since the late Betty Lawrence (of Meridian, Mississippi) had mentioned some Smith connection in her Poythress stuff years ago. 2) re Index Number 1820-012 re Plaintiff Lewis Poythress & Defendants Edward Giles, Admr Etc, which includes Potress and Poythress in the list of surnames along with Bassey, Giles, & Nance. In the Deed Indexes, I don't see these various other names associated with any Poythress items. However, we have previously seen the Mecklenburg Will signed on 10 March 1818 by Edward Giles, which I will re-post tonight as an email. This chancery suit might have been filed as a result of part of that Will's provisions, by Lewis Poythress against the Administrator of Edward Giles estate. 3) re Index Number 1858-015 CC re Plaintiffs Jones Etc & Defendants Admr of Harwell Etc, which includes surnames Bracey, Childress, Griffin, Harwell, Jones, King, Pennington, Poythress, Puryear, Smith, & Wall: In the Deed Indexes, I see that in June of 1836 there was a Mecklenburg Deed between Grantors Grief Harwell etal and Grantee Lewis Poythress, listed as being in Deed Book 16, beginning on p.230. This chancery suit might have been filed as a result of something about that transaction. 4) re Index Number 1867-027 CC re Plaintiffs Everett King & Defendants Mansfield R. Seymour Etc, which includes surnames Boyd, King, Poythress, & Seymour: In the Deed Indexes, I don't see these various other names associated with any Poythress items. I note, however, that the King name here may be related to the King name in #3 above, and may furnish further info from the same earlier tie-in. 5) re Index Number 1880-030 CC re Plaintiffs William L Portress/Poythress & Defendants Exr of Nancy Thomas, which includes numerous surnames including Boyd & Thomas. In the Deed Indexes, I don't see these various other names associated with any Poythress items. I note, however, that the Boyd name here may be related to the Boyd name in #4 above, and may furnish further info from the same earlier tie-in, as well as being interesting due to Lyn's earlier info re Nancy Thomas & Lucy Thomas Poythress. 6) re Index Number 1889-007 CC re Plaintiffs R P Cleaton & Defendants Harriet Thomas Etc, which includes surnames Cleaton, Poythress, Rainey, & Thomas: In the Deed Indexes, I see that in 1797 there was a Mecklenburg Deed between Grantor John Cleaton & Grantee Lewis Poythress (DB 10, p.62) and a 1799 Dower Release between Grantor Martha Cleaton & Grantee Lewis Poythress (DB10, p.96). And I note that, more likely, the Thomas name here may be related to the Thomas name in #5 & #6 above, and may furnish further info from the same earlier tie-ins. All of these should assist us in our research. Thanks, Lyn, for posting the chancery index Poythress entries that you found. Barbara Poythress Neal

Will of Edward Giles Mecklenburg County, VA 10 Mar 1818 In the name of God Amen, I Edward Giles of Mecklenburg County and State of Virginia doth make this my last will and testament, - It is my will and desire that all my just debts and funeral expenses be paid from the Sale of my Crop of Tobacco Bacon and Corn remaining on hand and after those debts are paid it is my will and desire that all my remaining property both real and personal be sold on twelve months credit and from the monies arising from such Sale or Sales to be distributed as follows Item first I give and bequeath to my Grand Daughter Milly Nance two Hundred dollars to her and her heirs Item second, I give and bequeath to my Grandson Edward Poythress twenty five dollars to him and his heirs Item third, I give and bequeath to my Grandson John Poythress one hundred dollars to him and his heirs Item fourth, I give and bequeath to my Grand Daughter Martha Giles Daughter of my Daughter Betsy P. Giles two hundred dollars to her and her heirs Item fifth, and last after all my just Debts funeral expenses and the above legacies are first paid it is my will and desire that the remainder of my estate be equally divided amongst my four Living Children Jean P. Bassey(?), John Giles, Edward Giles, and William Giles to each of them and their heirs, given under my hand this 10th day of March, 1818, I appoint Edward Giles, Jr. and John Bassey exors to this my last Will and Testament Signed and sealed his Edward X Giles ((S)) mark in presense of Bushrod Webb John Cook Sen. his Henry X Wartman mark At a court held for Mecklenburg County the 16th day of March 1818. This Last Will and Testament of Edward Giles dec’d was presented into Court and proved by the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto, and Ordered to be recorded, and on the motion of Edward Giles Jr. one of the executors therein named who made oath thusly and together with John Cook, Henry Wartman and Bushrod Webb his securities in turn into and acknowledge their bond in the penalty of Twenty five thousand dollars conditions as the law. (The photocopy from which this was prepared did not extend beyond this, however it is expected that only remaining text would be name and title of clerk of court)

If y'll let me know what we have not seen before I will pull and photocopy on my next trip to The Library of Virginia. I have a Library Board meeting on 19 March, but my time will be very limited. I have to beat feet after the meeting back to Maryland to give a lecture that night. Never a dull moment where the willow bends. C. Craig R. Scott, CGRS Willow Bend Books 65 East Main Street Westminster, MD 21157-5026 [email protected] www.WillowBendBooks.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lyn Baird" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 6:12 PM Subject: Poythress in Mecklenburg Va. Chancery Index > Thanks to the alert from Maynard Poythress, I visited the new chancery > court index on the Library of Virginia site at > http://www.lva.lib.va.us/state/records/chancery/index.htm. Below are the > responses I found for surname Poythress / Portress / Potress in > Mecklenburg County. To date Mecklenburg is the only published county of > the "southeastern piedmont" group. Other counties in this group include > Prince George, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg and Brunswick. > > 1) Locality MECKLENBURG CO > Index Number 1808-008 > Plat? NO > LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed > Local Reel Number - Not Filmed > Image Number - > Plaintiffs P1: JOSHUA SMITH ETC > Defendants D1: HUTCHINS FERRELL > Surnames- > COLLIER > FERRELL > FOX > HOLMES > LARK > POYTHRESS > SMITH > TAYLOR > WRIGHT > Wills - NONE > Original Local Case Number - NONE > > 2) Locality MECKLENBURG CO > Index Number 1820-012 > Plat? NO > LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed > Local Reel Number - Not Filmed > Image Number - > Plaintiffs P1: LEWIS POYTHRESS > Defendants D1: EDWARD GILES ADMR ETC > Surnames - > BASSEY > GILES > NANCE > POTRESS > POYTHRESS > Wills - NONE > Original Local Case Number - NONE > [My note: This Lewis Poythress is likely the widower of Elizabeth Giles, > deceased, daughter of Edward Giles.] > > 3) Locality MECKLENBURG CO > Index Number 1858-015 CC > Plat? NO > LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed > Local Reel Number - Not Filmed > Image Number - > Plaintiffs P1: JONES ETC > Defendants D1: ADMR OF HARWELL ETC > Surnames - > BRACEY > CHILDRESS > GRIFFIN > HARWELL > JONES > KING > PENNINGTON > POYTHRESS > PURYEAR > SMITH > WALL > Wills - NONE > Original Local Case Number - NONE > > 4) Locality MECKLENBURG CO > Index Number 1867-027 CC > Plat? NO > LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed > Local Reel Number - Not Filmed > Image Number - > Plaintiffs P1: EVERETT KING > Defendants D1: MANSFIELD R SEYMOUR ETC > Surnames - > BOYD > KING > POYTHRESS > SEYMOUR > Wills - NONE > Original Local Case Number - NONE > > 5) Locality MECKLENBURG CO > Index Number 1880-030 CC > Plat? NO > LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed > Local Reel Number - Not Filmed > Image Number - > Plaintiffs P1: WILLIAM L PORTRESS (WILLIAM L POYTHRESS) > Defendants D1: EXR OF NANCY THOMAS > Surnames - > ATKINS > BOYD > BURTON > GREGG > LEE > LOVE > PORTRESS > POYTHRESS > RIGGAN > THOMAS > THROWER > Wills - NONE > Original Local Case Number - NONE > [My note: This William L. Poythress is likely the grandson of Nancy > Thomas through her daughter, Lucy Thomas Poythress, and is likely the > grandson of Lewis Poythress.] > > 6) Locality MECKLENBURG CO > Index Number 1889-007 CC > Plat? NO > LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed > Local Reel Number - Not Filmed > Image Number - > Plaintiffs P1: R P CLEATON > Defendants D1: HARRIET THOMAS ETC > Surnames - > CLEATON > POYTHRESS > RAINEY > THOMAS > Wills - NONE > Original Local Case Number - 24 > > I do not recall having seen these records posted on the Poythress list > before. As I read the cover information on the LVa web site, these > records are currently at LVa awaiting microfilming, and "can be viewed in > the LVA Archives Research Room until microfilming is scheduled for a > locality's records." A couple of requests are offered: > 1) If any of you have in your posession transcriptions of any of the > above-referenced records, please share. > 2) If anyone is available to visit LVa, transcribe the above records, and > share with the list, please do so. > > The full text of the cover information is repeated below. > > "The Chancery Records Index is a result of archival processing projects > sponsored by the Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program > (CCRP) at the Library of Virginia (LVA). Each of Virginia's 121 circuit > courts is eligible to receive a grant from the CCRP to process and index > the pre-1913 chancery records in the circuit court clerk's office. Much > of the genealogical information in chancery records after 1913 can be > found in the records of the Department of Health's Office of Vital > Records. > Grant project personnel are hired locally and trained by CCRP staff > members. The processors flat-file the papers from each case, rehouse the > papers in acid-free folders and boxes, and index pertinent information > into the database. Each case is assigned a unique Index Number comprised > of the year of final decree and a sequentially increasing 3-digit number > assigned by the processor as cases for that year are found. Once > processing and indexing are completed, the records are microfilmed, and > the reel and image numbers are added to the database. For preservation > purposes, the original records are then retired, and the microfilm > becomes the sole source of access to the records. The microfilm can be > viewed at the Library of Virginia or at the circuit court clerk's office. > > > "It is not always possible to process the chancery records at the circuit > court clerk's offices. In such cases the records may be transferred to > the LVA where members of the Local Records section of the Description > Services Branch will process them. The database of chancery records > processed and stored at the LVA will be posted to this Web site when > processing is complete. The originals can be viewed in the LVA Archives > Research Room until microfilming is scheduled for a locality's records. > When microfilming begins, the database will remain available but the > chancery records are closed to the public. For preservation purposes, > once microfilming is completed the originals will be retired and only the > microfilm version will be available. A copy of the film will be > available at the LVA and at the circuit court clerk's office. Each > circuit court clerk's office is the repository of only the records of > that particular locality." > > Best regards, > Lyn P. Baird > [email protected] > ________________________________________________________________ > GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! > Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! > Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. > > > ==== POYTHRESS Mailing List ==== > The Poythress Genealogy List is hosted by the nonprofit RootsWeb Data Cooperative. If you'd like to learn more about Rootsweb please visit http://www.rootsweb.com/ > > > > >

Thanks to the alert from Maynard Poythress, I visited the new chancery court index on the Library of Virginia site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/state/records/chancery/index.htm. Below are the responses I found for surname Poythress / Portress / Potress in Mecklenburg County. To date Mecklenburg is the only published county of the "southeastern piedmont" group. Other counties in this group include Prince George, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg and Brunswick. 1) Locality MECKLENBURG CO Index Number 1808-008 Plat? NO LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed Local Reel Number - Not Filmed Image Number - Plaintiffs P1: JOSHUA SMITH ETC Defendants D1: HUTCHINS FERRELL Surnames- COLLIER FERRELL FOX HOLMES LARK POYTHRESS SMITH TAYLOR WRIGHT Wills - NONE Original Local Case Number - NONE 2) Locality MECKLENBURG CO Index Number 1820-012 Plat? NO LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed Local Reel Number - Not Filmed Image Number - Plaintiffs P1: LEWIS POYTHRESS Defendants D1: EDWARD GILES ADMR ETC Surnames - BASSEY GILES NANCE POTRESS POYTHRESS Wills - NONE Original Local Case Number - NONE [My note: This Lewis Poythress is likely the widower of Elizabeth Giles, deceased, daughter of Edward Giles.] 3) Locality MECKLENBURG CO Index Number 1858-015 CC Plat? NO LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed Local Reel Number - Not Filmed Image Number - Plaintiffs P1: JONES ETC Defendants D1: ADMR OF HARWELL ETC Surnames - BRACEY CHILDRESS GRIFFIN HARWELL JONES KING PENNINGTON POYTHRESS PURYEAR SMITH WALL Wills - NONE Original Local Case Number - NONE 4) Locality MECKLENBURG CO Index Number 1867-027 CC Plat? NO LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed Local Reel Number - Not Filmed Image Number - Plaintiffs P1: EVERETT KING Defendants D1: MANSFIELD R SEYMOUR ETC Surnames - BOYD KING POYTHRESS SEYMOUR Wills - NONE Original Local Case Number - NONE 5) Locality MECKLENBURG CO Index Number 1880-030 CC Plat? NO LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed Local Reel Number - Not Filmed Image Number - Plaintiffs P1: WILLIAM L PORTRESS (WILLIAM L POYTHRESS) Defendants D1: EXR OF NANCY THOMAS Surnames - ATKINS BOYD BURTON GREGG LEE LOVE PORTRESS POYTHRESS RIGGAN THOMAS THROWER Wills - NONE Original Local Case Number - NONE [My note: This William L. Poythress is likely the grandson of Nancy Thomas through her daughter, Lucy Thomas Poythress, and is likely the grandson of Lewis Poythress.] 6) Locality MECKLENBURG CO Index Number 1889-007 CC Plat? NO LVA Reel Number - Not Filmed Local Reel Number - Not Filmed Image Number - Plaintiffs P1: R P CLEATON Defendants D1: HARRIET THOMAS ETC Surnames - CLEATON POYTHRESS RAINEY THOMAS Wills - NONE Original Local Case Number - 24 I do not recall having seen these records posted on the Poythress list before. As I read the cover information on the LVa web site, these records are currently at LVa awaiting microfilming, and "can be viewed in the LVA Archives Research Room until microfilming is scheduled for a locality's records." A couple of requests are offered: 1) If any of you have in your posession transcriptions of any of the above-referenced records, please share. 2) If anyone is available to visit LVa, transcribe the above records, and share with the list, please do so. The full text of the cover information is repeated below. "The Chancery Records Index is a result of archival processing projects sponsored by the Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) at the Library of Virginia (LVA). Each of Virginia's 121 circuit courts is eligible to receive a grant from the CCRP to process and index the pre-1913 chancery records in the circuit court clerk's office. Much of the genealogical information in chancery records after 1913 can be found in the records of the Department of Health's Office of Vital Records. Grant project personnel are hired locally and trained by CCRP staff members. The processors flat-file the papers from each case, rehouse the papers in acid-free folders and boxes, and index pertinent information into the database. Each case is assigned a unique Index Number comprised of the year of final decree and a sequentially increasing 3-digit number assigned by the processor as cases for that year are found. Once processing and indexing are completed, the records are microfilmed, and the reel and image numbers are added to the database. For preservation purposes, the original records are then retired, and the microfilm becomes the sole source of access to the records. The microfilm can be viewed at the Library of Virginia or at the circuit court clerk's office. "It is not always possible to process the chancery records at the circuit court clerk's offices. In such cases the records may be transferred to the LVA where members of the Local Records section of the Description Services Branch will process them. The database of chancery records processed and stored at the LVA will be posted to this Web site when processing is complete. The originals can be viewed in the LVA Archives Research Room until microfilming is scheduled for a locality's records. When microfilming begins, the database will remain available but the chancery records are closed to the public. For preservation purposes, once microfilming is completed the originals will be retired and only the microfilm version will be available. A copy of the film will be available at the LVA and at the circuit court clerk's office. Each circuit court clerk's office is the repository of only the records of that particular locality." Best regards, Lyn P. Baird [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Taking my computer to the shop Tuesday AM and will be off the air until, say, Friday. Maynard

Thank you, Barbara. Thank you, Craig. As Maynard says, I know there is a lot of "red meat" out there, and now that I know the ways, I hope to go hunt for some. Diana

Recently Willow Bend Books was able to expand its offerings by 12,555 items overnight because Heritage Quest announced that all of the census microfilm was now available on CD for $19.95 a roll, I mean CD. Ancestry has put much of the compiled military service index card record data on CD for most of the wars. And groups like Quintin Publications and Heritage Books continue to churn out CDs like there is no tomorrow. I lost my access to a large microfilm reader in a divorce. But I have a small microfiche reader that with a little ingenuity reads microfilm easily. I took a 2x4 and added two L-bracket supports to hold some cranks that I just spin the film rolls to my heart's content (Okay, that I spin slowly to my heart's content). I bought mine years ago, but I understand that they are available from auto part stores that are upgrading to new computers. Craig Craig R. Scott, CGRS Willow Bend Books 65 East Main Street Westminster, MD 21157-5026 [email protected] www.WillowBendBooks.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Neal" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2001 3:48 PM Subject: Microfilm readers > Diana, > > Maynard gave a good explanation on how to use one, so I won't get into that > part. > > Other points: > > - There are places where you can buy rolls of microfilm more in the range > of $18-20 per roll. Thus you can work at home. And others have assured me > that thru their own particular local libraries that do *not* have a > microfilm-reader, they have been able to borrow rolls on inter-library loan > from places that lend them (such as Library of VA), and then take the roll > home to work on, if they have their own reader at home. > > - No, I don't own one, because we live in a townhouse with limited space & > just plain don't have room for one. > > - If we had space for one, I would probably have gotten one of them by now > especially after seeing how Helene Pockrus' husband, Tex, had a small one > that he had set up & very easily used. His was originally designed to be > primarily a microfiche-card reader, but also had the other lenses for > reading microfilm. With those readers, the viewing screen (on which you > read the image) is up in front of your eyes (like your computer monitor is) > rather than down on a slanted table like Maynard described & like you find > in the libraries. The microfiche-card/microfilm readers are a lot cheaper > -- I think Tex said that frequently you can get a used one from any office > or company in your area that formerly used them & has upgraded their > record-storage methods, for the favor of hauling it away, or certainly for > very cheap. For example, a number of police depts used to use them & may > be selling them, as well as a number of other offices that had volumes of > records to store for a long time. > > - Anyway, Tex's had a couple of spindles -- one off to the left & one to > the right of the small screen, and used a simple hand-crank. He used it to > review & transcribe MANY ROLLS of Civil War records, as one of the many > volunteers around the country who helped do that for the nation-wide > project of transcribing all of them. > > - If you buy a reader, be darned sure that you can get extra bulbs for it. > Some readers, I have been told, have some particularly strange bulbs that > are hard to come by. One branch library I visited in West L.A. had one > microfilm-reader just gathering dust, but it could not be used by the > library patrons since its bulb was burned out, and they had not been able > to find a replacement bulb anywhere!! > > - There is a product now available called ImageMouse, which is a > mouse-shaped gizmo, which I think attaches by a cord to your computer for > reading microfiche-cards & microfilm on your monitor. Then any image you > see that you want a copy of, you can just print from your printer, and if > you wish to save the image digitally, you can save it as whatever kind of > image-file you wish. I just did a search on the web to refresh my memory > about it, and if you search on "ImageMouse" you will find lots of info > about it. > > - When looking at a couple of sites found in the search for info on > ImageMouse, I noticed that there is a little picture of the type of > microfiche/microfilm reader like Tex was using, on the lower right part of > the initial web-page for the following company (Note: the photo is on > their initial page, BEFORE you go to their subsidiary page that tells you > about all the specs for ImageMouse): http://www.alliedinfotech.com/ > > - The last & slowest other possibility of "reading microfilm" is to just > wait for more people/companies to digitize more of the millions of rolls of > microfilm that are currently available, making the digital versions > available on CDs and on the web. > > Barbara > > > ==== POYTHRESS Mailing List ==== > The Poythress Web Page is at http://www1.minn.net/~atims/ > > > > >