Eddie Many of the wills at my site have mentioned their slaves in the will. as a matter of Fact the Hatcher family gave the slaves use of their last name . There are many Hatcher of color that decend from the Hatcher family owners. i find this intriging. almost like they are family. I feel sure that is the case in many other families. especially those who treated their "slaves" well. The wills i speak of can be viewed at this site. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/3798/index.html They make for some intresting reading. Rena ----------snip-------