Maynard & all, Agreed; we do know that folks were much more mobile in the late 1700s & early 1800s than many people realize. And agreed; we have no way of absolutely knowing whether the Peter Poythress of the War of 1812, was identical to, or different from, the Peter Poythress, son of Meredith/Meridith Poythress, who I had mentioned that was listed with Meredith Poythress, his father in Mecklenburg County, Virginia tax records. The Peter, son of Meredith, from the tax records certainly appears to be the Peter whose record you found in the Screven Co, GA Book A-2, p. 182, in 1809 conveying land & mentioning his father Meredith Poythress. To refresh memories, the info about Peter Pothress/Poythress who was enlisted in the War of 1812 was transcribed in my 10 July message from the Register of Enlistment, Micropublication M-233, roll 10; National Archives, Washington, DC, "Registers of Enlistment In the U.S. Army 1798-1914, Volumes 19 & 20 (P-R), 1798-May 17, 1815." Entry 2835 was for Pothress / Poythress, Peter, who indicated he was born in Dinwiddie, VA and that he was age 32 at time of enlistment at Danville, VA on Aug. 9, 1814, which would mean he was born in about 1782, or so. This Peter was the same Peter as the Peter whose widow Lilly got land in Arkansas (see my 7/25/02 transcription of the pertinent General Land Office record, message captioned "Peter Poythress, dec'd in War of 1812, possibly son of Meredith, Sr"). Upon looking at the notes I made when examining (some years ago) the Mecklenburg Co, VA Personal Property Tax records, I'm still cautious that this Peter from the War of 1812 records, could be the same Peter or could be a different Peter from the Peter Poythress who was son of Meredith/Meridith Poythress/Poytress. The Mecklenburg Co, VA Personal Property Tax records began in 1782. Of course, in those old handwritten records we are lucky just to find an indication of any relationship for a second male's name in the household. Certainly no date or place of birth is included for anyone. One can make some assumptions on the rough age of the second male in the household, based on which year he begins to be listed by name [i.e. when he becomes of tithable age]. Initially in the 1782 tax records, the pertinent column-heading was for "number of free males over 21." By 1790, that column's heading was "number of free males over 16." My notes indicate that in 1801, the column-heading was again "number of free males over 21" but I am not sure which year the column-heading (& the tithable age) changed because not every year of the Mecklenburg PP Tax records actually had the column-heading written out; the records are not on pre-printed forms until many, many years later. Meridith Poythress (Sr., per Maynard's info) first appeared on the Mecklenburg Co, VA Personal Property Tax records in 1786. Prior to then, the only time I saw the "Poythress" name in those records was an intriguing listing in one year -- 1782 -- for a "Poythress Clayton" (and I note here that "Clayton" is a common spelling variation for "Cleaton.") From how the other names were listed, it appears that Clayton was the surname & Poythress was the given name. Meridith (spelled consistently with "i" after the "r" in these records) was the only Poythress/Poytress I found on the lists for the following years (and he was the only free male listed for his own household for these years): 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 and 1794 Then in 1795, we began to have listings in Mecklenburg County for households for both Meridith and Lewis. Meridith continued to be listed every year through 1801. Listed in Meredith's household in 1800 and in 1801 (and only for those 2 yrs) were two tithables, with the second being specified as "son, Peter." Thus we can conclude that Peter came of age for being counted (i.e. "tithable") in 1800. I do not know if the tithable age in 1800 was still "over 16" but if so, that would indicate that Peter was born about 1783 or so. If the tithable age was already changed back to "over 21" Peter would've been born about 1779 or so. By Peter being listed in 1801, when I am confident the tithable age was "over 21," it would appear that Meridith's son Peter was born at least by about 1780 or so. We must remember that people in general back then were less clear & consistent about their ages, as well as on the spellings of their names. Meridith did not appear again after 1801, in the lists that I examined through 1850. Peter never appeared as head of a household in Mecklenburg County. (By the way, Lewis was not listed in 1796 or in 1801, though he was listed 1797 through 1800. Then from 1802, Lewis continued to be listed in most of the years' lists that were filmed for that part of the county through 1845.) Another by the way: at least in 1801 there was also on the same Mecklenburg PP Tax List, a man named "David Meredith." I don't know from my notes whether he was listed in other years. When wheeling thru microfilm, year to year, it is difficult to remember to stop at various points in the alphabet to check for various surnames, and I may not have remembered to even look in the "M" sections for other years before or after 1801. Further examination of these tax lists would obviously help, as would looking at the ones of other counties to determine if Poythress folks (including a Peter) were in other counties. It would also help to look at whatever is needed to determine for sure what the tithable age was in various specific years. The Family History Library (FHL) microfilm numbers for Mecklenburg Co, VA Personal Property Tax records are as follows: for 1782-1800 FHL film #511,950 for 1782-1805 FHL film #1,854,098 for 1806-1828 FHL film #1,854,099.