#10 Whence the Bolling in R. Bolling Batte's name? What does it mean for Peter (Flowerdew Hundred) Poythress's wife? I also have been working on another intriguing name puzzle. Where did the Bolling in R. Bolling's name come from? Tentative conclusion: he never knew. Since RBB did some work in the 1960s for my mother with his daughter (I remembered her at one time to be a niece), I have had a number of questions, but two special questions: How is it he has so much information on my ancestors? Why did he once think that my ancestor Peter Poythress was married to a Bolling descendant of Jane Poythress? Why did he back off this notion in the Chart A in 1997. Why is there no mention of it in his index cards? ? BOLLING In answer to the first question, I discover by working out Batte's own genealogy, that we share many ancestors, and many of his ancestors we don't share have surnames names similar to my own Virginia ancestors. What a fortunate coincidence for me! On the Bolling question, I see that Robert Bolling Batte bears the identical name to his grandfather. That Robert Bolling Batte was born September 05, 1842 His father was John Henry Batte, son of Mary Poythress and John Batte. Mary Poythress's parents were first cousins once removed. Mary was the daughter of Peter Poythress (Robert, John, Francis Poythress Immigrant) Mary's mother was Elizabeth Bland (whose mother Anne Poythress was the daughter of Peter Poythress (of Flowerdew Hundred) and ______?______)(? Bolling) (later Anne__),this Peter being another son of John Poythress, son of Francis Poythress immigrant). This Anne Mr. Batte indicates was a widow, but I haven't deciphered the meaning of the initials he gives us on the index card (BRR). See Poythress Card 140. [http://image.vtls.com/collections/BA.html] In essence all the ancestors are worked out for three generations and then some. There are no Bollings. I suspect also RBB, the genealogist, had a family legend that they were descended from Pocahontas. As you know, there were a whole lot of so-called "White Bollings." If one were to find a place for a Bolling in Mr. Batte's family tree, the wife of Peter Poythress seems the best bet. I figure that Batte looked for confirmation, but finding none, stopped attaching Mrs. Peter Poythress to the Bolling family. This is, of course, conjecture. I will send a copy in chart form of the ancestry of Robert Bolling Batte 1842-1915 on request. As you all know, rootsweb doesn't permit attachments. Diana