Below is my (BPN) response to part of an off-List message from Elaine, in which she mentioned a desire to help get documents: >Message text written by INTERNET:[email protected] I got the copies of the Letter of Administration today. Thank you so much. I got goose bumps. How exciting. Did you get this way when you first started researching? I would be happy to pay for a document that is needed for our research. I saw where it was $20 plus .50 cents per page. All of you have done so much for us beginners, I would like to return the favor, for all the time and energy, you pros have put into this. Think about it, and let me know what is needed and how to get it. I would like for myself, copies of - Marriage Certificate of David Poythress and Mary Speed Dortch (if one exists) , - Letter of Administration George Poythress got for his father Thomas' estate (If one exists) - Marriage Certificate of Lewis and Rebecca Taylor, (if one exists) - Administration of the Estate of Lewis, (if one exists). Do you know how I can find out if these records are available? I have tried some of the Websites and I am clueless. As you can tell, I am really inexperienced. Well, have a GREAT weekend!!!!!! Elaine = = = BPN response to last paragraph above: I don't know whether there exists any Letters of Administration for the estate of Thomas Poythress, applied for by George Poythress or by anyone else. Perhaps some other List-member knows whether any such item exists? I also don't know whether there exist any documents re Administration for the estate of Lewis Poythress. Seems to me that I have looked for any indication that such documents might exist, but have not found any such indication. Perhaps some other List-member (Lyn?) knows whether any such item exists? I know that no actual "Marriage Certificate" (as we currently think of it) exists for the marriages of David Poythress or Lewis Poythress. What they had back then were Marriage Bonds, copies of which are available for these 2 marriages. These Bonds have been examined & listed in numerous books of Marriages of Mecklenburg County, VA, too. They basically indicate that a marriage between a named man & a named woman was planned to take place in a certain county, and were signed by the man & a bondsman for him (frequently a relative). Some Marriage Bonds also indicate a "return" was filed by some minister vouching that the marriage was performed. If the woman was under legal age, there could also be an associated permission signed by her parent(s). (For a more thorough explanation of what Marriage Bonds are, see a discussion about them such as in the book by Val Greenwood, "The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy" or some other helpful discussion going into detail about Marriage Bonds, in RootsWeb's or Cyndi's List's online sources of learning about genealogy, or possibly in the National Genealogical Society's online course.) The Marriage Bond of Lewis Poythress & Rebecca B. Taylor was dated 9 April 1802. The bond (handwritten on a plain piece of paper, not on a form) bears signatures of both Lewis Poythress and Thomas Watson, signed in the presence of witness John Dortch. For the marriage of David Poythress & Mary Speed Dortch, a Marriage Consent (handwritten on a plain piece of paper, not on a form) was signed by her mother, Ann Dortch, dated 16 Dec 1827, and witnessed by Isaac Taylor and Eliz. C. Dortch. The Marriage Bond, bearing marks of David Poytress and Isaac Taylor as bondsman, was dated 17 Dec 1827 (it is also handwritten on a plain piece of paper, not on a form). The Bonds & the Consent for these 2 above marriages are both filed in "Mecklenburg County, Virginia's Marriage Bonds and Consent Papers 1770-1810, [for surnames beginning] N-S" which material is at the Library of Virginia (LVA) & which has been microfilmed. I feel sure the scanned images of these are available from one or more of our List-members, or even possibly at the LVA website. BPN