This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Lawson, Manis Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/XeB.2ACE/3331.1.1.1.1 Message Board Post: We will never know for sure who the father of Amanda was. Anna was prosecuted by the state for L&A in the mid-1840s and John Manis was a witness or Grand Juror. In retrospect, there isn't any evidence that the children were by the same father--much like daughter Sarah. John Jackson Lawson was prosecuted during this period for gambling and for running a tippling house. My suspicion is that is how he met her. Latham would be the only one that would allow us to pin down the male line. I don't know if any of his male descendents are participating in a DNA test or not.