My direct ancestral lines: G-G-Grandfather Socrates E. Goodman m. Mary B. Reynolds in Knox Co., IL 1851 Mary B. Reynolds b 1815 in KY, d/o Celia Fuqua & Edward Reynolds of Bedford, VA, then Barren / Hart KY, then Knox Co., IL Celia Fuqua d/o of John Fuqua & Anna Harrison of Bedford John Fuqua s/o Ralph Fuqua & Priscilla Owen (according to most) ... etc ... Socrates Goodman s/o Anselm Goodman & Nancy Fowler Anselm Goodman b 1801 Greene Co., TN, s/o Amos I. Goodman of Bedford Co., VA , then Greene Co., TN, then Barren / Hart Co., KY and Sarah Conway, b ca 1780 in VA Amos I. Goodman b 1782 in Bedford Co., VA, s/o John Goodman & Epharilla Thorp / Thorpe, of Bedford Co., VA, then Greene Co., TN, then ??? John Goodman b ca 1750 in VA, probably Hanover Co., then his parents (uncertain, perhaps Robert Goodman, Jr., b. ca 1731?) to Lunenberg / Bedford Co. Also indirectly: Sister of my ancestor Amos I Goodman, Sarah Jane Goodman, m. 1st in Greene Co., TN to Obadiah Richardson, s/o John Richardson & Susannah (Fuqua?), and: Susanna Goodman, also sister of Amos I. Goodman, m. in Greene Co., TN to Joseph Richardson, also s/o John Richardson & Susanna (Fuqua?). Here is one for the group to puzzle out. Please note that while some of the information below (those that include specific source references) are solid, other info is from data and messages posted in various places online. The purpose of this query is to try to better identify & clarify the proper relationships. Any corrections / additions that include specific and provable sources are welcome, but please do not quote as gospel what you may have seen online somewhere. I have combed literally for days through numerous sites, including rootsweb.com, genforum.com, and ancestry.com for all of these individuals and families, have seen what everyone has posted, and am still confused, as apparently are several others, by the content of some of the messages I have read. Please be patient as you read through this long post, as the problems and dilemas are not so simple. John Richardson & wife Susanna sold land in Louisa Co. (26 Feb 1748, John Richardson to John Hagard, 60 ac. and plantation. Witnesses: Thos. Lipscomb, James Howard, Benjamin Dumas, Susanna, wife of John Richardson. Louisa Co Deed Books A-B). Both John and Susanna Richardson signed that deed, so they were both probably age 21 or older at that time. If they were both 21 or older, this would establish their birth dates as 1727 or before. They may have removed for a time to nearby Cumberland Co., per below. Benjamin Dumas, wit. to the Richardson / Hagard deed above, purchased some of his lands from Samuel Goodman in 1745, and Benjamin Dumas land purch in 14 Mar 1742 was along Sam. Goodman's line (Both sources Louisa Co. Deed Books A-B). This Samuel Goodman is believed to be the brother of Robert Goodman, Sr., of Hanover Co., whose son Robert, Jr. later went to Lunenberg Co. I understand that the will of Susanna Fuqua's father, Ralph Fuqua (b. ca 1694 - d. 1769 or 1770, per data posted by other Fuqua researchers on ancestry.com), was written 6 Nov 1765, and proved 24 Jul 1770 in Bedford Co. I have not seen the details myself, but it purportedly names his dau. Susanna as wife of John Richardson. If so, they must have married before the will was written in 1765. This leads me to surmise that she would have been 20 or possibly older at that time, and therefore b. before 1745, not 1750, as I have seen in some online posts, including most of the Fuqua genealogies posted on ancestry.com. John Richardson, son-in-law of Ralph Fuqua, would also have been 21 or older in 1765, and therefore b. before 1744. In Bedford Co Deeds: John Richardson, 10 Sept 1760, purch 66 ac. both sides of Mill Creek, a branch of Goose Creek ... beginning at his own old corner ... along his own lines. If this is the same John Richardson whose wife was Susanna Fuqua, as the proximity to Fuqua lands also on Goose Creek could indicate, then this record places his birth date even earlier, ca 1739 at least, and earlier still, from the mention of "along his own lines". Regardless, the timeline seems to absolutely exclude John "Whitehead" Richardson b. 1755, of Prince Edward Co., VA, as the one who married Susanna Fuqua, even though that seems to be the prevailing opinion of most Fuqua researchers. If his 1755 birth date is accurate, he would have been only 10 yrs old and unmarried when Ralph Fuqua's will was written. Based on Ralph Fuqua's presumed birth date, about 1694, his issue (with Pricilla Owen, ca 1702 - 1779, and perhaps an unknown 1st wife), including Susanna, were likely all b. before 1747, if they were born before Pricilla was 45, although it is possible one or two may have been born later. This timing may indicate that: a) the Ralph Fuqua b ca 1694 married at least once before Priscilla Owen, and some of his issue were from that/those marriage(s), or b) Ralph & Priscilla married earlier than the ca 1734 date usually given. In any case, the John Richardson who m. Susanna Fuqua could have been a brother of Isham Richardson, b. 1728, and therefore an uncle of John "Whitehead" Richardson, but could not have been John "Whitehead" Richardson b 1755, of Prince Edward Co. Does anyone have anything more, including sources, on the family of the elder John Richardson, b. England, or his son Isham Richardson? Does anyone have a specific provable marriage date for John Richardson & Susanna Fuqua, or only the Bedford Co. will of Ralph Fuqua to establish that they were married? Is there a transcript of this will online somewhere? What are the sources for birth dates of Ralph Fuqua's children? The John Richardson, previously of Louisa Co. as mentioned earlier, perhaps was the one later in Lunenberg Co. (21 Jul 1753, Thomas T. Duggins of Lunenburg to John Richardson of Cumberland Co., for £20, 875 ac, Lunenburg Co, on both sides of middle fork of Cub Creek, wit: Charles Anderson, Thos. Williams, Isham Richardson (brother?), rec. 6 Feb 1754, LU DB 3:422-425). He was in Bedford Co. before 1766, lived near the Goodmans in Louisa Co., and the Neals and Goodmans in Bedford (various Goodman, Fuqua and Richardson deeds, 1750s through 1780s, Lunenberg and later Bedford Co., placing their lands around Goose Creek, Otter R., and Long Branch, a branch of Otter R.). Members of all three families went to TN about 1783-87, and had lands near each other in the Nolachucky / Lick Creek area of Greene Co. (NC Land Grants in TN, #172, #1914, among others, plus Greene Co. TN tax lists, 1783, 1784, 3rd & 4th Dist., and Greene & Blount Co., TN 1800-1805 tax lists). John Richardson's will was recorded 1795 in Greene Co., TN. (will dated 18 Aug 1794. Greene TN, Co. Court Minutes, no#/391). His wife Susannah is named executrix, and his children's names are also given, including sons Jonathan, Obadiah, Jesse and Fuquay Richardson, and daus. Elizabeth, Mary and "Siller" (probably Priscilla). If any of the daughters were married, their husbands names were not given. Many of the Fuquas, Richardsons, Reynolds, Goodmans and others of Bedford Co., some after a stint in E. TN, settled in Barren / Hart Co., KY between 1800-1820, and continued to intermarry there and attended the same church. There were apparently at least two John Richardsons in VA with wife named Susanna in the middle to late 1700s. So, the question is, which John Richardson married Susanna Fuqua, daughter of Ralph Fuqua? By the transactions, dates and long time cross-familial relationships in Louisa, Bedford, TN and KY, and the names of children in will of John Richardson who d. 1795 in Greene Co., TN, I tend to believe he was the one. However, I am always open to other proofs. Let me know what you all think. This should be interesting. Ron Goodman