In a message dated 5/21/2002 11:05:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > I do have a question regarding Martha (Patsy) ? Poythress for anyone who > would like to bite. Has anyone ever researched surname Meredith? The > reason > I ask is, assuming Meredith is" possibly" a son of Martha Patsy Unknown, > and > the name Meredith not showing up in any other line, except Meredith Sr. > and > Jr. (we have oodles of James, Edwards, Thomas and so on), could it be > possible that her father was a Meredith? A first born often got the > surname > of a Mother's father, as in the case of Cleaton Poythress who got surname > Cleaton, as his first name. It is just a thought (still trying to get > those > ducks in a row, Ah! will I ever be able to get use to the clutter!!!!) > Elaine > > Elaine......you have touched on a question often pondered but never > answered successfully. There was indeed a surname Meredith guy bumping > around Mecklenburg County a generation or two prior to the birth/naming of > Meredith Poythress. Every time I have seen that as a surname I have > pursued it briefly, or at least to the point that I didn't see anything > there worth pursuing. There are no censuses, no church records that I have > seen, just no nothing on surname Meredith. Name appears on a tax record or > two but none of that shows him as wealthy or successful or even having a > child. Don't forget, however, that "family" naming wasn't the only common method; there was a lot of "favor currying" by naming a child after a celebrity (local or otherwise). And I have never found anything overtly outstanding about Samson Meredith (which was the guy's name) that involved either fame or fortune.. It's just been a dead end for me. Maynard