Mary, I was interested to see your mention of John Marshall Hamilton in your query about the descendants of Mary E. Hamilton and John F. Sutton. John Marshall Hamilton was the father of my great-grandfather John Bell Hamilton. I have 30 or 40 sheets of charts and family tradition about my Hamilton ancestors, but there is not much there about the people in your query. The information on these sheets was compiled by an uncle who died in 1972, and I do not know his sources, except that much of the Hamilton tradition is almost verbatim as set forth in Clara Reber's book on the history of Church Hill, Tennessee. Here are some comments on the items in your query based on the sheets that I have. You have information on Mary E. Hamilton that my sheets do not have. My sheets show the children of John Marshall Hamilton and Sarah B. Snow as (1) John Bell Hamilton, b. 22 Jun 1845 in Hawkins County, TN, d. 6 Jan 1905 in Washington County, VA; (2) Sarah Hamilton, d. Jun 1858, spouse "Sutton"; (3) Thomas Hamilton; (4) A child, d. "young." My sheets show the children of John Marshall Hamilton and Sarah B. Fugate as (1) Mattie Hamilton, spouse "Dr. Holley"; (2) Robert Hamilton, spouse "Wood"; (3) William S. Hamilton, d. 1903; (4) A child, d. "young." There is a Mary E. Hamilton that my sheets show as the daughter of John Bell Hamilton (not my great-grandfather, but rather the son of William Robert Hamilton and the uncle of John Marshall Hamilton). My sheets show this Mary E. Hamilton b. ca. 1836 in Sullivan Co., TN, spouse "Gideon Cate." You state that it was John Marshall Hamilton who moved his family to near Mendota in Washington County, VA around 1848, whereas my sheets state that it was his father, William Hamilton, Sr., who moved his family from Hawkins County TN to a farm on the North Fork of the Holston River five miles east of Mendota, and that most of this family is buried at Alum Wells, Washington County, Virginia, ten miles down valley from Abingdon. I suspect that you are right that it was John Marshall who moved first, because my sheets of the 1850 Hawkins County census show William still there but not John Marshall, whereas my sheets of the 1860 Washington County census show both there. Incidentally, I spent last Tuesday in the Washington County Historical Society archives in Abingdon followed by a search for a cemetery at Alum Wells. Such a cemetery is not listed in the Washington County cemetery book "High On A Windy Hill," but from talking with some residents of that area I learned that there are supposedly two cemeteries up on a wooded ridge behind their house. I hope to go back to get more details, but I fear that the only markers may be ordinary field stones such as I saw in some other old cemeteries. Time ran out before I had a chance to search in the Mendota cemetery where my sheets indicate John Marshall Hamilton may be buried. I spent last Wednesday with Mr. Henry Price, the official historian of Hawkins County, TN, who took me to several cemeteries including Liberty Hill cemetery, where Sarah B. Snow is supposedly buried. Henry did some research before I arrived, and he did not find Sarah listed in any of the cemetery indices. Our exploration of the cemetery revealed many Hamilton's, but not Sarah. I am interested to learn what information you have about John Marshall Hamilton and his ancestors: William Hamilton, Sr. b. 1796 in Hawkins County, TN, d. ca. 1860 in Washington County, VA; and William Robert Hamilton, b. 1760?, d. Church Hill, TN?, buried Alum Wells Sem., Washington County, VA. Please let me know what information that I may have that I can share with you. Regards, Gordon