For the newbie searching for the surname Coons [and variant spellings] in North Carolina, I suggest you try to identify your German ancestors on this website. _http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/index.html_ (http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/index.html) This has a good deal of information about 1714 German immigrants to Virginia [from Nassau-Siegen] who were supposed to work in the iron mines in Virginia controlled by Gov. Spotswood. They may not be the same group of Coons families, as other families with similar surnames to those in Germanna came over later, it turns out, mainly to Pennsylvania, but also to other parts of Virginia. There were at least two Germanna colonies, and some say a third, and a good deal has been written about these *imported* Germans, who had first been stranded in England. On the Palatine Project URL, you might look for the words Germanna, pertaining to all these colonies. Each has a different history, but in the main, there are good records. If you find your folks were indeed in one of the Germanna colonies, then subscribe to that rootsweb list. Write me for more instructions if you are up a tree and don't know how to proceed. (Begin with what you know and then move backwards in time--so that you don't hook up with the wrong relatives. A waste of time!!!) E.W.Wallace been there -- done that **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp003000000025 48)