Larry, In the early part of the 1800's there were a number of court suits between members of the Mason family of Caroline County. The court papers are at the Library of Virginia in Richmond. The best place to read adstracts of these cases is in William Lindsay Hopkins' Caroline County Court Records and Marriages, 1787-1810. You can find this book in most major genealogical/historical society libraries or you can order it from <A HREF="http://www.iberian.com/">Virginia Genealogy - Iberian Publishing Co. </A> If you do a lot of work in Caroline County this is a MUST have book. This book answers most of your questions in your post and clarifies a couple of other points that you made. Good luck, Norman Peters