RIDGE_ _ DISTRICT_ Abbs Valley Ridge Anawalt Banks Ridge Garden Mountain Bear Pin Ridge Jewell Ridge Beartown Ridge Hutchinson Rock Big Fork Ridge Amonate Big Stone Ridge Anawalt Big Stone Ridge Tazewell North Chestnut Ridge Hutchinson Rock Chestnut Ridge Cove Creek Garden Mountain Hutchinson Rock Hall Ridge Hutchinson Rock Havens Spur Tiptop Little Stone Ridge Tazewell North Little Valley Ridge Tiptop Lost Ridge Tiptop Middle Creek Ridge Richlands Mill Ridge Tiptop Pine Ridge Tazewell North Pine Spur Tiptop Red Root Ridge Jewell Ridge Redoak Ridge Hutchinson Rock Reynolds Ridge Jewell Ridge Road Ridge Honaker Rocky Ridge Amonate Sandy Ridge Tazewell North Smith Ridge Pounding Mill Stinson Ridge Jewell Ridge Stone Cove Ridge Jewell Ridge Stone Steps Amonate Stony Ridge Richlands Stony Ridge Cove Creek Tennessee Valley Divide Garden Mountain Trace Ridge Jewell Ridge West Fork Ridge Richlands Whetstone Ridge Amonate Whitaker Ridge Amonate White Oak Ridge Tazewell North Whitley Ridge Tazewell North Yokel Ridge Tiptop "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more."

RIDGE DISTRICT_ Abbs Valley Ridge Anawalt Banks Ridge Garden Mountain Bear Pin Ridge Jewell Ridge Beartown Ridge Hutchinson Rock Big Fork Ridge Amonate Big Stone Ridge Anawalt Big Stone Ridge Tazewell North Chestnut Ridge Hutchinson Rock Chestnut Ridge Cove Creek Garden Mountain Hutchinson Rock Hall Ridge Hutchinson Rock Havens Spur Tiptop Little Stone Ridge Tazewell North Little Valley Ridge Tiptop Lost Ridge Tiptop Middle Creek Ridge Richlands Mill Ridge Tiptop Pine Ridge Tazewell North Pine Spur Tiptop Red Root Ridge Jewell Ridge Redoak Ridge Hutchinson Rock Reynolds Ridge Jewell Ridge Road Ridge Honaker Rocky Ridge Amonate Sandy Ridge Tazewell North Smith Ridge Pounding Mill Stinson Ridge Jewell Ridge Stone Cove Ridge Jewell Ridge Stone Steps Amonate Stony Ridge Richlands Stony Ridge Cove Creek Tennessee Valley Divide Garden Mountain Trace Ridge Jewell Ridge West Fork Ridge Richlands Whetstone Ridge Amonate Whitaker Ridge Amonate White Oak Ridge Tazewell North Whitley Ridge Tazewell North Yokel Ridge Tiptop "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more."

_GAP District_ Asbury Gap Richlands Bearpen Gap Tazewell South Brown Gap Saltville Crabtree Gap Cove Creek Doe Hollow Gap Cove Creek "Gap, The" Cove Creek Heninger Gap Hutchinson Rock Hickory Gap Jewell Ridge Laurel Gap Pounding Mill Low Gap Jewell Ridge Low Gap Anawalt Low Gap Hutchinson Rock Peeled Chestnut Gap Bramwell Robbins Gap Tazewell South Rourkes Gap Tazewell South Walker Gap Hutchinson Rock "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more."

These are the churches on the USGS maps. I don't have the maps so can't tell you where they are. I can tell you where the districts are. CHURCH DISTRICT Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ Richlands Bandy Assembly of God Church Amonate Bandys Chapel (historical) Pounding Mill Bethel United Methodist Church Bramwell Blacks Church Tiptop Brown Church Tazewell North Bundys Chapel Tazewell South Calvary Church (historical) Cove Creek Central Church Garden Mountain Chestnut Grove Church Cove Creek Church of God Bramwell Concord Church Tiptop Crabtree Chapel Chatham Hill Dailey Chapel Tazewell North Davis Chapel Richlands Dick Creek Church Tazewell North Ebenezer Church Cove Creek Ebenezer Church Tiptop Fincastle Baptist Church Tiptop First Assembly of God Church Richlands First Baptist Church Richlands First Methodist Church Bramwell First United Methodist Church Richlands Glenwood Church (historical) Tazewell South Gospel Hall Cove Creek Gospel Mission Cove Creek Gospel Tabernacle Hutchinson Rock Graham Christian Church Bramwell Graham Presbyterian Church Bramwell Grassy Spur Church Tazewell North Greens Chapel Pounding Mill Harman Church (historical) Tazewell North Harmon Church Tiptop Hill Creek Church Richlands Holiness Gospel Tabernacle Bramwell Jewell Ridge Presbyterian Church Jewell Ridge Jones Chapel Richlands Kinzers Church (historical) Cove Creek Laymen Chapel Methodist Protestant Church Richlands Linkous Chapel Tazewell North Little Star Church Richlands Little Valley Church Broadford Litz Chapel Tazewell North Macedona Church Bramwell Macedonia Church Richlands Main Street United Methodist Church Tazewell South Marys Church Hutchinson Rock Memorial Baptist Church Bramwell Moore Church Anawalt Mount Olive Church (historical) Tiptop Mount Olivet Church Tiptop Mount Zion Church Tiptop Mountain View Church Hutchinson Rock New Light Holiness Church Richlands Parkview Church Cove Creek Pentecostal Holiness Church Richlands Pleasant Hill Church Tazewell South Richlands Church of Christ Richlands Richlands Presbyterian Church Richlands Road Ridge Church Honaker Road Ridge Church Richlands Ryes Chapel (historical) Tiptop Saint Marys Episcopal Church Bramwell Salem Church Amonate Sheffys Chapel Tiptop Springville Church Tiptop Tabernacle Baptist Church Bramwell Tannersville Church Chatham Hill Tazewell Christian Church Tazewell South Thompson Valley Church Tazewell South Valley Gospel Mission Tiptop Virginia Avenue United Methodist Church Cove Creek Wesley Chapel Tazewell South West End Church Pounding Mill Willows Chapel Tiptop Wittens Mills Church (historical) Tiptop Wrights Valley Church Cove Creek "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more."

Hi Cousins, I am going to be in Lee Co. next month and hope to visit several of the cemeteries that Eddie has listed here,,,, namely the Hamlin Cemeteries. Being a native Californian , I would like to know how to find the owner of the land ,to get permission to go into these cemeteries. Hopefully they will be right along the road and open to all. What are your suggestions? Does anyone know bout these cemeteries? Nan cy Brown San ta Ana, CA

Does anyone know whether there were schools prior to 1870; and if so, were any records kept of students? Researching Eliza Ann BRYANT DOSS, widow of Joseph Franklin DOSS, who had five children, the oldest around twelve. She left (we think Tazewell) and went to Cabell County VA/WV about 1865-70. We're looking for Joseph's place of death and the date, and also his parents. He was born 1827 in Franklin Co. Thanks in advance. Ruth Doss Hanley

Just to add a note about the flu epidemic which probably began in 1917 and lasted through 1919. It started with the military. Since the soldiers were were stationed throughout the world, this was the reason the flu itself was so widespread and killed so many people. Pat O'Neal

"Melungeon Roots: A Family Heritage Workshop" Berea College, KY Recent books and documentaries on Appalachia's mysterious Melungeons have led many people to search for their Melungeon roots. A genealogy workshop at Berea College may provide help for those who are seeking information about their families and possible Melungeon connections. "Melungeon Roots: A Family Heritage Workshop" will be held on the Berea College campus on Saturday, June 26. This event will feature sessions on beginning, intermediate, and Internet genealogy, as well as specific sessions to explore Native American and African-American connections. There will also be chat sessions for various family groups, a showing of a documentary film about the Melungeons, and a panel discussion featuring Brent Kennedy, Manuel Mira, and others.. The Melungeons are a multi-racial and multi-ethnic people who were first documented in the Appalachian mountains at the end of the 18th century. Since that time, they have become a part of Appalachian folklore - "sons and daughters of the legend." Prior to the Civil War, some were classified as "free persons of color." More recently, they have been identified by anthropologists and sociologists as "tri-racial isolates" - an amalgam of European, Native American, and African-American ancestry. They faced discrimination, both legal and social, and tended to settle in isolated communities such as Newman's Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee, or Stone Mountain, Virginia. Over the years, Melungeons kept to themselves -- or moved to other areas where their heritage was not suspect. Oral history among Melungeon families was often not shared with succeeding generations. "Melungeon" had become an epithet, even if no one knew where the word originated. Jean Patterson Bible wrote in 1975 that generations of intermarriage has resulted in near racial dissolution: "They'll be gone in a generation or two, except for an occasional dark-complected [sic] child as a reminder of the past." Instead, many Melungeon descendants are coming to recognize and embrace the diverse heritage that is theirs. They've been encouraged and inspired by Dr. N. Brent Kennedy, author of the 1994 book The Melungeons: The Resurrection of A Proud People; An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America. Kennedy, in researching his own family background, concludes that the Melungeons were descended from groups of Spaniards, Portuguese, Turks, Berbers, Moors, Jews, and others who arrived on these shores between the arrival of Columbus and the establishment of Jamestown. Generations of intermarriage with Europeans, Native Americans, and African-Americans resulted in the people now known as Melungeons. Participants may pre-register before June 1, for "Melungeon Roots: A Family Heritage Workshop" by sending a check or money order to: Melungeon Roots, P.O. Box 4042, Wise, VA 24293. Admission to the event is $5 for each pre-registered participant (before June 1), and $10 for those who register after June 1 and for on-site registrants. On-site registration begins Friday, June 25, at 7:00 pm at the Alumni Building on the Berea campus. The Melungeon Heritage Association, Inc. will hold a mixer on Friday night at the Alumni Building from 7 to 9 pm. Workshops will begin on Saturday morning at 9:00 am at Phelps-Stokes Hall, with welcoming remarks by Audie Kennedy, president of the Melungeon Heritage Association, Inc., and Gordon McKinney of the Berea College Appalachian Center. Workshops will be held in the Frost Building and Phelps Stokes chapel. Chat groups will be running all day at various locations on campus. Throughout the day, "Melungeon Roots" will feature "how-to" genealogy sessions as well as sessions on Native American, African-American, and Portuguese-American genealogy. A panel discussion with a question-and-answer session will close the workshop. "Melungeon Roots: A Family Heritage Workshop" is sponsored by the Appalachian Center at Berea College, continuing the college's long tradition of commitment to Appalachia and to diversity. The event is organized by the Melungeon Heritage Association, Inc. (MHA), a non-profit organization formed in 1998. MHA was an outgrowth of the highly successful First Union: A Melungeon Gathering held in Wise in 1997. In 1998, MHA sponsored Second Union, an even larger gathering which featured sessions and lectures on history, social issues, and medical issues, as well as genealogy. The gatherings are only a part of the work of MHA. The organization is also dedicated to several other tasks, including continued research and writing, telling the story of the Melungeon people, and contributing to the mosaic of a past that has been hidden too long. At the same time, MHA plans to collect and preserve the research and artifacts of the past, forming the basis of a Melungeon Research Center to give these materials a permanent home. MHA’s mission is to document and preserve the heritage and cultural legacy of mixed- ancestry people of the Southern Appalachians. While the focus will be on those of Melungeon heritage, they do not restrict themselves to honoring only this group, but believe in the dignity of all such mixed ancestry groups. MHA is committed to preserving this rich heritage of racial diversity and harmony. MHA plans to hold Third Union in the summer of 2000. In the meantime, "Melungeon Roots" is the first of several planned smaller events which will focus on individual aspects of Melungeon heritage. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: MELUNGEON ROOTS "Melungeon Roots: A Family Heritage Workshop" will be held on the Berea College campus in Berea, Kentucky, on Saturday, June 26. This event will feature sessions on beginning, intermediate, and Internet genealogy, as well as specific sessions on other aspects of Melungeon genealogy. To register, send five dollars per registrant to Melungeon Roots, P.O. Box 4042, Wise, VA 24293.

I have sent information on the Melungeons previously. Please look at the surname list following: Are you familiar with the term Melungeon? If you answer, “Who or what are Melungeons,” you are like most people. If you have been researching your family in the Cumberland Plateau of Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee, during the early migration years, you may be able to find them through a connection to this group of people who are only now being researched with unbiased eyes. The Melungeons are a people of apparent Mediterranean descent who may have settled in the Appalachian wilderness as early or possibly earlier than 1567. (The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People; N. Brent Kennedy, Mercer University Press, Macon, GA, USA, 1997; introduction, p. xiii) The Mediterrean includes areas of North Africa, southern Europe and Central Asia Certain surnames are associated with this highly interesting group of people. I am including a copy of those names. Be aware, however, that many people bearing these surnames, even if they come from the Appalachian area, are NOT connected to the Melungeons. The surnames are to be used as an INDICATOR of POSSIBLE Melungeon ancestry. Also, note that many Melungeon women ‘out-married,’ carrying the heritage with them, but not the names. Not having one of these names DOES NOT mean that the family was not of Melungeon descent. There are also physical characteristics common to Melungeon descendants, many have an Indian ''myth" or orphan/adopted story in their background, and important health issues as well. I will be glad to send an informational packet including this information as well as a mailing list and URLs, FREE and via e-mail to anyone interested. Nancy S Common Melungeon Surname List: North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia ADAMS ADKINS ALLEN ALLMOND ASHWORTH * BARKER BARNES BASS BECKLER BELCHER BEDGOOD BELL BENNETT BERRY BEVERLY BIGGS BOLEN BOLLING BOLTON BOONE BOWLIN BOWLING BOWMAN BRADBY BRANHAM BRAVBOY BRIGER/BRIDGER BROGAN BROOKS BROWN BUNCH BULLION BURTON BUTLER BUTTERS BUXTON BYRD * CAMPBELL CARRICO CARTER CASTEEL CAUDILL CHAPMAN CHAVIS CLARK CLOUD COAL COFFEY COLE COLEMAN COLES COLLEY COLLIER COLLINS COLLINSWORTH COLYER COOPER CORMAN COUNTS COX COXE CRIEL CROSTON CROW CUMBA CUMBO CUMBOW CURRY CUSTALOW * DALTON DARE DAVIS DENHAM DENNIS DIAL DOOLEY DORTON DOYLE DRIGGERS DULA DYE DYESS * ELY EPPS EVANS * FIELDS FREEMAN FRENCH * GALLAGHER GANN GARLAND GIBSON GIPSON GOINS GOINGS GORVENS GOWAN GOWEN GRAHAM GREEN(E) GWINN * HALL HAMMON(D) HARMON HARRIS HARVIE HARVEY HAWKES HENDRICKS HENDRIX HILL HILLMAN HOGGE HOLMES HOPKINS HOWE HYATT * JACKSON JAMES JOHNSON JONES * KEITH(E) KENNEDY KISER * LANGSTON LASIE LAWSON LOCKLEAR LOPES LOWRY LUCAS * MADDOX MAGGARD MAJOR MALE MALONE(Y) MARSH MARTIN MAYLE MINARD MINER MINOR MIZER MOORE MORLEY MOSELY MOZINGO MULLINS * NASH NELSON NEWMAN NICCANS NICHOLS NOEL NORRIS * ORR OSBORN OSBORNE OXENDINE * PAGE PAINE PATTERSON PERKINS PERRY PHELPS PHIPPS PRINDER POLLY POWELL POWERS PRITCHARD PRUITT * RAMEY RASNICK REAVES REVELS REEVES RICE RICHARDSON RIDDLE RIVERS ROBERSON ROBERTSON ROBINSON RUSSELL * SAMMONS SAMPSON SAWYER SCOTT SEXTON SHAVIS SHEPHARD SHEPHERD SHORT SHORTT SIZEMORE SMILING SMITH STALLARD STANLEY STEEL STEVENS STEWART STROTHER SWEATT SWETT SWINDALL * TALLY TACKETT TAYLOR THOMPSON TIPTON TOLLIVER TUPPANCE TURNER * VANOVER VICARS VICCARS VICKERS * WARE WATTS WEAVER WHITE WHITED WILKINS WILLIAMS WILLIAMSON WILLIS WILSON WISBY WISE WOOD WRIGHT WYATT WYNN

Does anyone recognize this William Stuart? 1804 Montgomery County, Virginia marriage bond. William Stuart and Caty Harless. Surety Philip Harless. Who were their parents? What were their birth dates? Who were their children. I would appreciate any information that you can share with me about these two people! Thanks so much! Anne Bays (Richmond, Virginia)

--WebTV-Mail-1293197641-2756 Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit Found this on the web. May be connected to Boggs of SWVA and KY. --WebTV-Mail-1293197641-2756 X-URL-Title: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/textindices/G/GENUKI+1996+91809406471+F Content-Disposition: Inline Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/textindices/G/GENUKI+1996+91809406471+F --WebTV-Mail-1293197641-2756--

I just tried it and all my searches were unsuccessful, even those that have AFN! So give it time! Cheers! Jennifer L. Williams Independent Museum-type Person (IMP) Boone, NC Shakespeare: To be or not to be... Sinatra: 2B, 2B, 2.....

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------023DB6A2EFA1261A9CB73323 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit the LDS sight is up and working, it's at http://eval.familysearch.com/default.asp I just tried it and boy is it busy! --------------023DB6A2EFA1261A9CB73323 Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="tango2.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Paul Griffith Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="tango2.vcf" begin:vcard n:Griffith;Paul x-mozilla-html:FALSE adr:;;;;;; version:2.1 email;internet:tango2@bellsouth.net x-mozilla-cpt:;0 end:vcard --------------023DB6A2EFA1261A9CB73323--

Is there a Heidi Hobbs out there? Saw a query with her address which no longer exists (re: Horn family). Please write, if you're out there! Any other Horn researcher's contact would also be VERY WELCOME! David David & Jayne Chafin

Interested in the parents of the following John Martin Thompson. Descendants of John Martin Thompson 1 John Martin Thompson b: March 08, 1873 in Jonesville,Lee Co,VA d: 1949 in Norton, Wise Co, VA (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey, Wise Co VA) . +Eliza Stapleton b: August 15, 1872 in Scott Co,VA d: May 31, 1956 in Norton, Wise Co, VA (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey, Wise Co VA) m: December 28, 1893 Wise Co,VA .... 2 Henry Thompson .... 2 James Arthur Thompson b: July 10, 1895 in Wise Co VA d: April 10, 1971 in Norton,Wise Co VA (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey Section, Norton, Wise Co VA) ....... +Sarah Elizabeth Hamilton b: December 01, 1902 d: September 08, 1953 in Needmore, Wise Co VA (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey Section, Norton, Wise Co VA) m: July 02, 1920 Wise Co,VA .... *2nd Wife of James Arthur Thompson: ....... +Edna Davis b: September 28, 1908 d: April 04, 1991 m: 1960 .... 2 Myrtle Lee Thompson b: October 04, 1896 in VA d: July 29, 1986 in (Wise Cemetery, Wise, Wise Co VA) ....... +Isaac Allen Rains b: September 19, 1891 in TN d: April 10, 1954 in (Wise Cemetery, Wise, Wise Co VA) m: May 19, 1915 Dorchester, Wise Co VA .... 2 Virgie Mae Thompson b: February 1898 d: 1995 in (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey Section of Norton, Wise Co VA) ....... +Hugh Roland b: March 14, 1893 d: November 07, 1937 in (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey Section of Norton, Wise Co VA) .... 2 Ethel Thompson b: December 18, 1900 d: January 24, 1966 ....... +Emmitt Alderson Salyers b: December 04, 1896 d: May 15, 1971 in (Powell Valley Memorial Gardens, Big Stone Gap, Wise Co VA) .... 2 John H Thompson b: March 24, 1903 d: July 27, 1907 in (Norton Cemetery, Norton VA) .... 2 William N Thompson b: January 19, 1905 d: August 06, 1907 in (Norton Cemetery, Norton VA) .... 2 Pearl Victoria Thompson b: September 15, 1906 in Wise Co,VA d: May 1987 in Dearborn, Wayne, MI ....... +Oakley Minnix b: May 22, 1905 in Wise Co, VA d: December 29, 1985 in (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey Section of Norton, Wise Co VA) m: April 14, 1927 Dorchester, Wise Co VA .... 2 Richard Thompson b: May 23, 1909 in Wise Co VA d: December 1971 ....... +Grace Thompson b: 1911 in Wise Co VA m: April 21, 1934 Wise Co VA .... 2 Robert Allwin Thompson b: February 1914 ....... +Katherine Fawbush b: October 23, 1915 d: November 09, 1997 in (Powell Valley Memorial Gardens, Big Stone Gap, Wise Co VA) John Martin Thompson's birth family: Descendants of John Martin Thompson, Sr 1 John Martin Thompson, Sr b: Abt. 1852 in Lee or Wythe Co? d: Bet. 1940 - 1949 in Roda,WiseCo,VA . +Mary Elizabeth b: Abt. 1855 m: Bet. 1870 - 1872 .... 2 John Martin Thompson b: March 08, 1873 in Jonesville,Lee Co,VA d: 1949 in Norton, Wise Co, VA (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey, Wise Co VA) ....... +Eliza Stapleton b: August 15, 1872 in Scott Co,VA d: May 31, 1956 in Norton, Wise Co, VA (Laurel Grove Cemetery, Ramsey, Wise Co VA) m: December 28, 1893 Wise Co,VA .... 2 Lettia Thompson b: 1873 in Lee Co,VA .... 2 Emily D. Thompson b: April 25, 1875 in Lee Co,VA .... 2 Francis Thompson b: 1878 in Lee Co,VA d: 1939 ....... +Manerva Stapleton m: September 02, 1895 Lee Co,VA .... 2 William A Thompson b: 1879 in Lee Co,VA d: 1945 ....... +R. Stapleton m: October 29, 1896 Lee Co,VA .... 2 Nan Thompson ....... +Bill Reed m: Jenkins KY .... 2 Andrew Thompson Any help with this family appreciated. Deborah Thompson Clarkston

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------78052FBA12CF10727EDC4146 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ed, a couple of weeks ago, probably longer, someone sent out a list of cemeteries by name and where they are located. I thonght I still had my list but I don't so can you send another one? Thanks Paul Griffith (down here in warm, snow-free Fort Lauderdale, anybody wantta trade?) --------------78052FBA12CF10727EDC4146 Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="tango2.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Paul Griffith Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="tango2.vcf" begin:vcard n:Griffith;Paul x-mozilla-html:FALSE adr:;;;;;; version:2.1 email;internet:tango2@bellsouth.net x-mozilla-cpt:;0 end:vcard --------------78052FBA12CF10727EDC4146--

<<I am trying to find information from the Emancipation Proclamation to the 14th amendment (freeing slaves).>> You mean the time period?? The Proclamation was a military order made by Lincoln. He freed the slaves in the "rebellious states only" and not freeing slaves in the Northern States. He did not free the slaves. The 13th Amendment freed the slaves. There was no compensation which violated the 5th amendment. <Were slave owners compensated for the loss of their slaves? Was it done like in the movies where the Yankees road in and the slaves started walking north?>> I have no idea. Few things were like the movies. There were blacks who fought and worked for the South and North. <These questions were generated by the Park Service during a tour of an antebellum house when he said "The slaves were freed in 1868 - after the owner was paid." >>>> That is news to me. I would like to see that supported. <<I also have documentation where the county govt of Tazewell Co, Va. wrote to Richmond (capital - CSA) stating that they did not have any slaves available for conscription and all their blacks were freemen.>>> I would love to see that too. Thanks. -eddie Paul "No One Polled Me!"

Thanks so much to Kathy for posting this: In a message dated 3/14/99 7:22:51 AM Eastern Standard Time, SW_VA-D- request@rootsweb.com writes: << For generations descendants of Mary Jane (Wiley) Williamson have known that her father was an Indian Chief, the name of that chief has been identified as Benge, >> I have seen this info previously. BUT in my line of the family no one KNEW anything abt Benge. We thought our great grandmother was a 'quarter-strain Indian,' and were proud of it, so it would not have made any difference to us. BUT the only place I have found this story is through the WEBB line of Alifair's family. All other descendants that I have contacted had never heard of Benge, much less the fact that he was supposed to be Jane's father. Does anyone know if Jenny Wiley lived with Alifair during her later years? I don't suppose that we will ever know and it really doesn't make all that much difference. Just a nice little mystery in a family where mysteries seem to be the norm rather than unusual. (smile) Nancy S

Hi All: It has been some time since I have asked if there are others researching Ebenezer Minton (Rev. Soldier) and Elizabeth Fletcher. They were married in Washington Co in 1782. I am descended from son JAMES,an older son who had left home at the time of the pension records which name the other children. Family legend has it that Elizabeth was the sister of a comrade at arms...Vardemon Fletcher. ( I have not found records of Vardemon's Revolutionary service..has anyone else?) My questions-- Who was wife of James? (Family records say a WYNN-- have found no proof) Who were the parents of Vardeman and Elizabeth FLETCHER? Has anyone found proof that Ebenezer was born in New Jersey? (A son stated that his father was born in NJ...and there are Mintons living in Morris Co, NJ during that time period.) I have accumulated a lot of MINTON data...will be happy to share. Patricia Minton Bettis/ Shreveport

My mother is from the NW corner North Carolina, which is very similar to most of the SW-VA area around the turn of the century. She tells of going to visit friends and relatives and just about every family brought an instrument of some kind. After eating supper, they would gather in the living rooms and entertain. This came down from our Scotch-Irish-German heritage. She played the guitar and learned from listening to other people playing. Radio was not very wide spread in the mountains until after the 30's. Music has always been a celebration and an expression of joy and sadness. Bobby Vencill Looking for info on VENCILL, BROOKS