This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Risher Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ncB.2ACE/1477 Message Board Post: I don't think there are any Risher researchers here who have not been contacted by the Mississippi Rishers who wish to attribute two unknown children to Ben & Mary Fontaine Risher, by virtue of the fact that he shows 5 males 15 and under in the 1790 census. The raw facts are that there are three other adult male (likely)Rishers in the 1790 census capable of being father to the progenitors of the Mississippi Rishers and that these lines are for the most part completely undocumented. I believe this occurred due to the migration of their children. Had their descendants stayed in the Colleton area it is likely their family trees would have been documented in the area as well. Again ignored is the fact that Ben & Mary's list of children was established and documented by 1902, after being aquired through the oral history of their grandchildren in the late 1800's. The information gathered from them is by all Genealogical Society standards much more likely to be correct based on the fact that they were so much closer to the source of the information based on time. They were speaking of their great aunts/uncles rather than 3rd or 4th great grandparents. My reason for posting on this subject is a letter I received from a new Mississippi researcher, who took as fact that Ben & Mary Fontaine Risher were the parents of two extra children. He wrote to correct my list of Ben & Mary's children. I decline to edit that list of children absent any evidence. None has been offered, and circumstantial does not support it. While I agree that the progenitor/s of the Mississippi Rishers are quite definitely related to the Colleton Rishers, I do not believe they are the sons of Benjamin & Mary. For the reasons stated above and for the following Census records: Benjamin and Mary Risher are not the only available parents of these Mississippi progenitors. No research has been done on Ben's brothers, as I have suggested to the Mississippi researchers on multiple occasions over the years. None has picked up the gauntlet. 1790 St. Bartholomews Parish, Charleston District Page 560 Living near John May, Arthur Thompson, and Stocks (Stokes) Risher, Estate of 1 male 16 & older 2 females 19 slaves Page 582 We find Thomas, John, Richard & Ben Risher along with Michael Raysor, John Fontaine and Thomas Fontaine. Risher, Thomas 1 male 16 and over 2 males 15 and under 1 female 7 slaves Risher, Richard 1 male 16 & up 1 male 15 and under 3 females 2 slaves Risher, Benjamin 1 male 16 & up 5 males 15 and under 7 females Risher, John 2 males 16 & up 2 males 15 and under 3 females 1800 Colleton Dist. Census - Page 167 living near John Fontaine, James Williams Risher, Richard 4 males 0-9 2 males 26-44 1 female 10-15 2 females 26-44 1 female 45 & over Page 174 Benjamin & Francis Risher living near Michael Raysor Risher, Benjamin 1 male 10-15 2 males 45 & over 1 female 16-25 1 female 45 & over Risher, Francis 1 male 0-9 2 males 16-25 1 male 26-44 2 females 10-15 1 female 26-44 At one point DNA testing was suggested as way to resolve the issue. A basic understanding of DNA reveals: 1. The matriarchal DNA is only passed on directly from daughter to daughter and is passed on completely unchanged. This would not help those descended from male Rishers to prove descent from Ben & Mary. 2. The Patriarchal DNA of Benjamin and his brothers would have been the same so we would still be unable to rule out their descent from Ben's brothers.