Just some thoughts on the subject(s)... I think you are probably right that "Meredith" may have originally been a surname, and thus offers a possible clue as to marriage connections. Similarly, Lewis may be derived from a surname, but I don't know of any Lewises living in the area of the Poythresses in that time frame (of course, I haven't exactly searched for them either). The prominent Lewis family with which I'm familiar was either further north, or in the Valley of Virginia area. Lewis as a given name certainly was a popular one among some families, most notably in my knowledge and experience, the Burwell family. So I don't think it's quite as reliable a clue as Meredith might be. There were in fact several branches of the Wall family, and the relationship of these branches, if there was one, is still unknown (to me, anyway). There was a Daniel Wall who appeared in the early Bristol Parish records, with a number of sons, who eventually lived in the northern part of Brunswick County (traces of this family, but only traces, can be found in some extant Dinwiddie records). This is not the Wall line that I believe married into the Poythress family, though they both used John as a somewhat favored name. For what it's worth I don't have a single Meredith identified within the John Wall family that I think is allied with the Poythress family. (That's not to say that such a connection won't eventually surface, but just a statement of the lay-of-the-land as I now think I understand it.) I've also learned by now that the prominent families in the area of southern Virginia were so interlocked with marriages that they were practically all related by marriage somehow. And that sure doesn't help when playing the "name game." Lou -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 10:12 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Wall/Meredith/Lewis/Poythress Via Maynards suggestion, I am posting a possible theory I have for a possible name for Martha (Patsy) ? Poythress who married Thomas Poythress of Brunswick VA say maybe mid to late 1750's. At least it is something worth checking out, to try and prove or disprove. Ok here goes; We have Thomas Poythress and Martha (Patsy) Unknown, their first child, they named Meredith (not a common Poythress name), then we have Lewis, some say proven and some say not proven, son of Thomas and Martha (another uncommon name for the Poythress'), well my thoughts are our Martha (Patsy) unknown, could possibly be a Meredith, a Lewis(Meredith's and Lewis' intermarried) or maybe even a Wall(Meredith's and Wall's intermarried). All of these surnames were in Virginia (Prince George, Dinwiddie/Brunswick, Hanover, and a few other surrounding counties) at the time Thomas and Martha were in those areas. There was even a Lewis Meredith b. abt. 1640 who emigrated from Wales to Maryland in the Queen Anne's County area, and some of his and his brother John's and another brother, either William or a Thomas lines, who migrated to Virginia. I do not know much about these other surnames, as I am much to new at this research business, but maybe some of you know about them or have the resources to explore this theory. I stress, that is all it is at this point, just a hunch from the most inexperienced Poythress Researcher on the list. But it is food for thought don't you think. Take care to you all and BPN, I am thinking about you. Elaine ==== POYTHRESS Mailing List ==== Poythress Geneaology Research Web http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~poythress/