This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Murrell, Lawson, Pearson Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/XeB.2ACE/3262.1.1.1 Message Board Post: I belive that John Alfred Murrell is the baby dropped off on the doorstep of James Murrell by Nancy that is mentioned in court documents. It can only be inferred from the Court documents that he was the son of Christian Pearson Jr. John Alfred Murrell was born after the divorce was in progress and after 1820. However, there is no mention of his or her name in the court documents that I have seen. It is also possible that James renamed the child. We have several examples of that in Hawkins and Hancock Counties. The Burton court documents that were posted earlier indicated that Lucinda Murrell was the half sister of John Alfred Murrell, which seem to support the idea is the child she dropped off--unless James Murrell remarried, but there is no record of it in the court records or in the census. Another interesting point is the mention of an SP Murrell. The death certificate of Joseph "Joel" Murrell who married Martha Lawson and is traditionally the son Pleasant G. Murrell states that his parents were Samuel Murrell and Mary Lawson. The information was provided by Martha's nephew (Harmon) Anderson Lawson.