Names are, of course, important clues, and particularly when a family used one of those odd "signature" names that passed down through the generations (which, unfortunately, our Poythress family did not -- to my knowledge). But one has to be very wary of the so-called "naming pattern rules" that get propagated from time to time among genealogy circles. David Hackett Fischer in his "Albion's Seed" (heartily recommended, BTW) discusses the cultures of the four major groups that came to America from England: the New England Puritans/Calvinists, the Pennsylvania Quakers, the Virginia Cavaliers (Anglicans), and the (he calls them) "borderers" (or Scots-Irish/Presbyterians). ALL USED DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT PATTERNS (when they used them at all). The proper name of the subject is "Onomastics," or naming ways. One should also note that the differentiation is as much correlated with the religious beliefs of the people, as their culture, which is not surprising since they were so intertwined anyway Fischer makes the point, though, that the so-called naming patterns among these groups was certainly no hard, fast rule, and in his study is only correlatible to about 40-60%. That tells us that even if we know to which group a particular family belongs, the onomastics can only be considered a clue, and not a particularly good one. Quoting a few relevant sentences: "Only about half of all forenames in the Chesapeake colony [Virginia] came from the Scriptures, compared with 90 percent in New England..." "Virginians preferred to name their sons after Teutonic warriors, Frankish knights and English kings. Special favorites included William, Robert, Richard, Edward, George and Charles..." "The daughters of Virginia received the names of Christian saints who did not appear in the Bible and also traditional English folk names -- Margaret, Jane, Catherine, Frances and Alice -- as well as the universal English favorites of Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Sarah." [p. 307] "The onomastic system was also distinctive in the descent of names. In Massachusetts, as we have seen, eldest children were named after their parents, and younger children after grandparents and other relatives. That pattern was reversed in Virginia: first-born children were named for their grandparents, and second-born for parents. One study of naming patterns in Middlesex County, Virginia, finds that only 27 percent of eldest sons and 19 percent of first-born daughters were given their parents' forenames, compared with more than 67 percent in Massachusetts. But 60 percent of eldest sons in Virginia received their grandparents' names, compared with 37 percent in Massachusetts..." [p. 308] "Complex patterns of cousin naming also appeared in Virginia, as they also did among the gentry of the south of England. Lateral ties were added to linear ties, to create a complex grid of naming customs..." [p. 310] "The naming of children was not entirely determined by this calculus of social rank and material interest. Names were also chosen for magical properties. Astrologers were consulted in an attempt to find a fortunate name. The 'fortune books' of the first gentlemen of England and Virginia were full of astrological lore on this question. This search for a lucky name tempered the use of necronyms in this culture. The Virginians, like New Englanders, tended to repeat forenames whenever children died. But they did so with some reluctance, for when children died young, their fathers feared to use names which had seemed unlucky.." [p. 310] That should be enough to warn one off of depending too much on naming patterns. But I'll also touch on the Quaker and Scots-Irish patterns: "Unlike New England Puritans, Quakers named their first-born children after grandparents. Unlike Virginia Anglicans, they were careful to honor maternal and paternal lines in an even-handed way..." [p. 503] "In another respect, however, backcountry naming customs were not unique. The descent of names from one generation to the next was very similar to the folkways of Virginia and the south of England, but different from Puritan and Quaker customs. Eldest sons in the backcountry tended to be named after grandfathers, and second or third sons after fathers, much as tidewater Chesapeake families..." The naming pattern that Diana cited was clearly, then, one from New England (where rules were rules and everybody better d____ follow them! NOT! <g>) Hope that gives some insight into this subject. Lou