<<< Travelers had to forge rivers and etc. Hardly something a child did by himself unless your referring to Davy Cockett, at the age of 12 his father forced him to scout the way for the old Dutchman Siler. After traveling 400 miles, Davy returned alone to Morristown, Hamblen, C. TN Patti >> I'm not quite sure how to take the above statement since we're not exactly talking about Davy Crocket or Davy Crocket's family. Hard to understand peoples intent with their words when we can't see or hear their expressions. Btw, just as a side note, I have been to East Tennessee a few times in my lifetime, as my father, Jack Ashley, son of George W. Ashley was born and raised there. So I feel I do have some understanding of the area roads and the weather there. However, back to the topic at hand, let me assure you that many Stanberry families lived in Washington Co. TN before spilling over in to Jefferson, and Greene Counties. In fact, Washington County is exactly where the first known Stanberry (Stanborough) family settled in East Tennessee after arriving from Frederick Co. VA. Other then that, all I can add here is that John W. Stanberry himself applied for his own military pension, filling out the nescessary paperwork to do so. I somehow doubt he would have put Washington Co. TN as his birthplace if it weren't so. I had only listed the older Jacob Stanberry as a possible father to my John Stanberry in my last post. But, I also have a few other men noted in my research as possible fathers, including Thomas Stanberry who married Sarah Cass 21 Dec 1824 in Washington Co. IL. Thomas died abt 1840 in McMinn leaving Sarah. It has been told to me that Sarah Cass Stanberry came back to Greene Co. after Thomas' death. So I feel this is also a strong a possibility for John's parents. John may have been farmed out at the age of 12, as was the custom to do by his mother as an apprentice to learn a trade. Or it's possible that Azra Koonta(z) could have been some sort of relation to the Stanberry family and John was placed in his care. John was never adopted. You see there are many possibilities for John's parents. I have no further information on William and Margaret (Mary) Thompson Stanberry and do not even know if they continued to live in Greene TN after a certain period of time. Do you have any other documentation for them? Theresa Ashley - Kingsley