Gang, Back to Thomas Spence of NC, I have this in my historical map collection. Yadkin County, NC shows a Thomas Spence with land grant 1783, next to neighbor Abiel Cobb land grant 1782. David Spence land grant 1789, and Thomas again with a land purchase 1787. Some neigbors surrounding these locations were Keen ( which was also seen in the Surry Co. map) Bacon,Waggoner, Sparks, Gentry, Spurling, Wood, Allen, Lewis, and several others. What interests me is the fact that Ashe/Alleghany counties were home to Sparks, Spurling, Waggoner, Gentry, Cockerham, and Woodruff families who surround the Spence tracts in Yadkin County. Yadkin county was a part of Surry county. These people are living in what was called the "Allen Settlement" which was on the "Iron Works Road" so named because of the iron ore deposits which were being mined. I have several family lines involved in the iron ore mining of this area. The Allen Settlement included a "Meeting House" built in 1781, but the map doesn't say what denomination this church was. This settlement was in what is now called the Brushey Mountain range. Following is from: Surry County, NC Court Minutes 1790-1795, page 48 Ordered by the court that Thomas Spence, David Spence, William Spence, Samuel Downey, Peter Downey, Abraham Downey, Zenos Baldwin, Daniel Morris, Aaron Moore, William Sparks Junior, William Sparks Senior, James Sparks, Thomas Sparks, James Sisk, John Mash, Andrew Cornelison, Samuel Greenley, and Jesse Suttle be appointed a jury to view, mark and lay off a road the nearest and best way from the end of Fox Knob to William T. Lewis' Mill on SPENCE'S CREEK from thence into whats called Mine Hole Road and from said mill to the Iron Works and make report thereof to next court. END Looking at the map the above names all are living in Allen Settlement. Also nearby, but not in Allen Setttlement are some of my documented ancestors, the Moxleys, Spurlings, and Longs. Nathaniel Moxley and Zachariah Spurling died in Ashe County, NC, so I know for a fact that they moved from Surry to Ashe. If our elusive Burwell Spence had a reason to go to Ashe County to visit family perhaps, these Yadkin county Spence's are probably connected to him somehow. As I said there were Spence's in Alleghany Co census in 1860 and 1870, so it looks as if a Spence ancestor from the 1700's established them there. My Zachariah Spurling is living across the creek from David Spence and both have a standard land grant in 1789. Spence's Creek isn't listed on the map, although it probably is the branch off of Beaverdam Creek closest to David's land grant. David and Thomas' lands are spread apart in a triangle shape, thus Thomas 1783 at the top, Thomas 1787 at left bottom and David 1789 at right bottom. The 1787 land purchase of Thomas is next door to Josiah Keen, who also lived next door in the Surry County map. What we have here could be different families. As far as moving south, then North, it could have been because of the new iron ore deposit that was found in Ashe County. Several of my Surry county families moved to Ashe to work the mines. I think we should keep our eyes open for any Keen families, because in 2 locations about 35 miles apart, Josiah Keen lives next to a Thomas Spence. I've also seen the name JOSIAH SPENCE in Surry records. All for now, Carolyn