When an ancestor changes his surname, this can leave family researchers barking up the wrong tree for extended periods of time. There is no way to be certain how often this has occurred, but at least one case is well-documented. On 2 Apr 1764, Francis Moore (b. ~1740) married Frances Foote (b. ~1744) in Fauquier Co VA. They had 3 children: 1. Beheathland Foote Moore, b. 28 Dec 1764 in VA "near the Maryland line"; married on 3 Jun 1784 Gen. William Butler (b. 1759 in VA, d. Sep 1821 in Edgefield SC). Source: Butler Family Bible and John A. Chapman, History of Edgefield County. 2. William Moore, b. 1766 in (probably) VA. Source: age in 1772 per Edgefield File Misc PP-114. 3. George B. Moore, b. 1768 in (probably) SC. Source of age as above. His middle name is not documented; however, the surname of his maternal grandmother Frances Berryman appears in later generations. The Moores moved from VA to Ninety-Six District by 1769, when Francis Moore purchased property on the Little River in (current) Laurens Co SC. He died in 1771 (SC Will Book SS 1771-74, p. 30; signed 1 Nov 1770, proven 3 Jun 1771). Widow Frances had married Moses Yarborough by the time she qualified as executrix in Jun 1771. They had a son Gilson Yarborough in Mar 1772. Moses Yarborough, "late of St. Mark's Parish, Craven County," died in the fall of 1772 (SC Will Book SS 1771-74, p. 280; will signed 2 Oct 1772, proven 26 Nov 1772). Widow Frances third-married Samuel Savage (d. 1804). They settled in Edgefield on the south bank of the Saluda, where they raised her Moore children, her Yarborough son, her Yarborough stepchildren, and his Savage children. George B. Moore is the son who has been misplaced by his descendants. Around 1799, he married Sarah ("Sally") Ryan (b. 4 Aug 1780 in Edgefield SC, d. 26 Jun 1860 in Edgefield SC). She was the daughter of Lacon Ryan (6 Jun 1748 - 4 Nov 1785), a lieutentant in the Edgefield militia company commanded by his older brother Capt. John Ryan. They had four children: 1. John Elder Moore, b. ~1800, d. ~1818 (listed as an heir among the four Moore children in Edgefield Equity Court records numbers 4-10, filed Jun 1817; absent from list of three Moore children named in Equity Court records #69, filed 13 Jan 1819). 2. Mary Elder Moore (1 Apr 1801 - 13 Oct 1881), married Benjamin Tillman in ~1818 (per Equity records above). 3. Elizabeth Berryman Moore (5 Mar 1803 - 19 Apr 1846), married Lacon Ryan (nephew of Capt. John Ryan) on 25 Apr 1820. 4. William Goforth Moore (10 Jul 1805 - 19 Oct 1888, buried in Claiborne Parish LA). George B. Moore was identified as a merchant in several deeds filed in Edgefield Deed Books 1-12; in each case, he or the firm "George B. Moore & Co." appears to be dealing in the slave trade. He died on 12 Mar 1806. (This date, like most other dates cited prior to 1827, was recorded in Capt. John Ryan's household record book.) Widow Sally Ryan Moore married neighbor Benjamin Gallman in Hancock Co GA on 17 Jun 1806. They continued to live on Horn's Creek in Edgefield where they had seven daughters: 1. Elizabeth Sellers Gallman (25 Oct 1807 - 17 Mar 1892), married Middleton Moseley. 2. Rachel Harding Gallman (25 Dec 1809 - 23 May 1829), married John Elder Francis Ryan. 3. Priscilla F. Gallman (16 Jan 1812 - 22 Sep 1829), did not marry. 4. Susan H. Gallman (12 May 1814 - xx), married Stanmore Butler Ryan. 5. Lucretia Burr Gallman (12 Nov 1816 - 31 Dec 1896), married Abner Bushnell. 6. Edney A. Gallman (1 Feb 1821 - 3 Sep 1857), married Monroe Augustine Ransom. 7. America F. Gallman (6 Aug 1825 - 14 Sep 1897), married Sidney S. Boyce. Sally Ryan's younger son, William Goforth Moore, survived to maturity. He was not quite a year old when his mother second-married Benjamin Gallman. In the Equity Court records of 1817, his name is listed as William G. Gallman among a list of "children of Sarah Gallman lately the widow of George B. Moore and formerly Sarah Ryan niece of sd Benjamin Ryan Sr." A subpoena in the Jun 1819 Equity records refers to him as "William Moore alias William Coleman," also as "William Moore otherwise called William Gallman by Benjamin Gallman his guardian." As an adult, he maintained the Gallman surname, but used the Coleman (occasionally Goldman) spelling. Benjamin Gallman's will, signed 15 Oct 1841, left the bulk of his estate for the lifetime use of his widow Sally, and directed that it be divided into seven shares following her death. The residual heirs included his five surviving daughters, and his grandson Benjamin Ryan by late daughter Rachel. The seventh share was left to "my 3 grandsons, viz--Benj. G. Gallman, Thomas B. Gallman and Francis B. Gallman, the sons of my son, William G. Gallman." This generation-skipping clause is the only way in which the legacy to his stepson was handled at all differently from the legacies to his daughters-by-blood. William seems to have adopted the Gallman surname as a young teenager, and was apparently treated as a son. Several DAR memberships among his descendants are based on the war service of his stepfather Benjamin's father Gasper Gallman. Gasper Gallman served in the same militia company as William Moore-Gallman's maternal grandfather Lt. Lacon Ryan: eligibility would not be affected by a corrected identification of William's biological father. The correction would also clarify the inconsistency about William's birth a year prior to the marriage of his assumed parents! I have no idea about the frequency with which 19th-century men adopted the surname of a stepfather. This single case is surely not the only time it occurred. Harriet Imrey [email protected]