I have a one page article that some might be interested in. Because of copyright - I do not want to send to the entire list, but will give the surnames mentioned. If they are yours, please contact me at [email protected] First, many of the people in Shenandoah Valley of Virginia 1740s-1780s came from Pennsylvania, and from Europe before that. Many of them were German speaking, my line was Swiss. Their early records are sometimes difficult because of the difference in language and the spelling of the last name. As I have told others, you must be a bit creative in finding their early records - in how the name might have been spelled by English speaking clerks. In the process of changing from German or Swiss to English, they name might go thru several changes. That is why sometimes in early wills, you will see the same surname spelled two different ways - I think our ancestors were also sometimes confused in how to make the name change. Also, I have been in contact with some of the Bumgarnder/Baumgertner family and they also are Swiss. They have had reunions over there - found the house their ancestor lived in. Seeing a photo of it gave me some knowledge of what my Swiss ancestors might have lived in. I also know that around 1700 Joist Hite along with Bauerman/Bowman came to America, around 1730 they were in Shenandoah Valley of VA. Much has been written about Hite, my Swiss family came in 1741, and followed much the same route except they landed in Philadelphia while I think Hite came in thru New York. Following the route Hite took has helped me in finding my family even though it was years later. And this is about southern families as those early ones in Shenandoah Valley of VA spread out all over the south. Mine went to KY, MO, TN, AL, AR, TX, and all over. EARLIEST SETTLERS WESTERN FREDERICK - EASTERN HAMPSHIRE COUNTIES IN VIRGINIA Their Descendants by Grace Kelso Garner Two shiploads from Europe to PA, with their descendants going later to VA. Most of these list all the family members SHIP SAMUEL - Qualified August 11, 1732 Hans Mich. Baumgertner Michel George Baumgertner - Jacob Gut (Good) - 20 and wife Susanna Guth Frederick Kieffer (Cooper) Johan Sebald Kremer (also spelled Kramer) Frederich Mulchslager Jacob Stauffer (Stover) Jacob Weyes (Wise) SHIP SAMUEL - Qualified August 17, 1733. Marcus Clyne Hand Peter Fry Jacob Fegley Andrew Fry Hans Peter Fry Christian Ganner (Garner) Joh. Conrad Kampff (Kump) Matthew Ley (Loy) Johannes Lerick (Larrick) Peter Mock (Mauk) Lawrence Snapp All I have on these people is what is in the article as none of them are my family. But I have seen Guth/Good and Bumgardner in Shenandoah Co Va tax list of 1785. And according to the author of the article, they all had members who later were in VA. Hope this is a lead for someone. By the way - these I know are some southern families and how the names changed Swartz - Black Bahr - Barr or Baer Guth - Good Bauerman - Bowman Sommer/Sonner - Summer/Summers Thurner - Turner Thuny - in PA some to Dorney, in VA to Turney. Thuny - Swiss German. Th as in thorn, y has an a sound. So it would be spoken more like Thorn-a thus Ternay, Tunni, Dorney, etc. It is so close to Turner in the English mind, that sometimes that would be the way it was written in records. It began as French - DeTourna or some such. I have found Irish families of Tony, Tonay, Toney etc - the English changed it to Turney. Mary Turney Miller [email protected]