Hello all, and Happy Labor Day! It was indeed a labor by our fellow list member Scott Tracy La Canada Flintridge, California, has just published one of three planned articles on the Tarpley family of Richmond County, Virginia. This first article is titled "The Will of Elizabeth (Ripping) Tarpley of Williamsburg" is in the latest issue of *The Magazine of Virginia Genealogy* (Vol. 49, No. 3, August 2001, p. 241-245). In this article, Scott transcribes several important documents. The most important is the will of Elizabeth (Ripping) Tarpley, a native of Williamsburg and James City County who married, as his second wife, John Tarpley, Sr. of Richmond County, a Burgess. While James City County records are lost, a chancery suit in York County was brought many years later where portions of her will were reproduced. She had survived all five of her children, leaving two grandchildren, Thomas and William, who had attended the College of William & Mary and who defected to the British when the Revolution broke out. They were the sons of her son James Tarpley, the donor of the church bell at Bruton Parish. Scott goes on to transcribe several memorials relating to the two sons' claims for confiscated property taken by the Americans. William ends up in Nova Scotia, and as will be seen in a follow up article, Thomas Tarpley does indeed return to Richmond County. There will be a much more detailed genealogical study of the Tarpleys in the next issue of the Virginia Magazine of Genealogy. Further, a somewhat more light-hearted and Northern-Neck based version of some of this story is planned for the 2012 issue of the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine. You can open a discussion here on this list, or contact Scott directly at [email protected] I have enjoyed working with Scott on some of the research for these articles. It is indeed an interesting family, as we shall see. Who knows--dare I say it? We may learn some new things on New England origins of some of our Northern Neck families. Best, Craig Kilby craigkilby.com