Hi everyone, Hope the holidays have been happy for all of you! I have been researching the SPEARS family in Wilson County, TN for quite some time now. I would like to share with all of you what I had alread known and what I have recently found in the hopes that some of you could shed a little more light on this family for me or just brain-storm with me to try to put it all together. To be as brief as possible, I will not show the whole Spears decendency, but will just get straight to my 4th great grandfather, James SPEARS b. abt 1811 NC and his siblings. I know who James' "living" siblings were in 1849 from a deed that names the heirs of a Sarah SPEARS. Those heirs were as follows: William b. abt 1805 NC, m. Jane CLOYD 1833; Lewis b. abt 1808 NC m. Amanda DONNELL 1829; James b abt 1811 NC, m. Mary TIPPETT 1836; Elizabeth b abt 1815 NC; Rebeccah; Burrell b. abt 1821 TN, m. Ann Eliza JACKSON; and Nancy b. abt 1822 TN, m. Henry JACKSON. I will add at this point that a Sarah (the mother of these siblings) shows up in Wilson County by 1830. According to census data, there are no Spears in that county prior to that, but I know that son Lewis Spears married Amanda Donnell in 1829 in Wilson County. Below is a couple of posts I recently found while searching through the archives of this mailing list: Pernel H. Andrews to Susan Spears - September 14/17, 1830 - John Seay, bdm [John Seay and his wife, Sarah McCarty, had a daighter, Polly, b. November 27, 1789, married William Spears; Susan Spears was their daughter; when John Seay made his will Pernal H. Andrews was one of the two witnesses] Rowland G. Andrews to Polly M. Silliman - August 11, 1829 - Wilson Hearn,bdm [same uncle as before] William H. Andrews to Elizabeth Silliam - September 19/20, 1828 - Wilson Hearn, bdm [same uncle as before] And this one: 1. A bill of complaint by Sarah Elizabeth and William L. Andrews, minors who are represented by their uncle Roland G. Andrews, Alfred E. Donnell, Ebenezar Andrews, and William M. Andrews against Purnell H. Andrews and Norman Walsh. Sarah Elizabeth and William L. Andrews are the only heirs of their mother, Susannah Andrews, formerly Susannah Spears. After the death of their mother, their grandfather, William Spears, gave them a sum of money. Their father, Pernal G. Andrews, was appointed guardian. Said parties are seeking an injunction against their father to prevent him from spending their money on a tract of land. 23 December 1843 (Chancery Court 1842-1845, Pp 260-270) I didn't know of this Susannah Spears Andrews prior to finding these posts in the archives. She apparantly died before 1843. Could she be an additional sister to my Spears family and wasn't named on the deed I mentioned in the beginning because she was already dead? If so, then that would name the before unknown SPEARS father (husband of the Sarah SPEARS mentioned in the beginning of this post) as William SPEARS. At the very least, perhaps he is an uncle to my SPEARS family? Also, there is a Charles SPEARS shown in the 1840 census of Wilson County and I have found deeds in Wilson county that names him. He disappears before 1850, I believe. Could this be yet another sibling or relative? Does anyone have any further information (court records, marriages, etc.) that would pull these families together for me? I would apprectiate hearing from anyone who could help me out with anything. Thanks again, Tonya Newton