To Lynne, Barbara, Georgia, Janet, and all of the other cousins-- We were surprised and delighted with all of the feedback re the parents of Thomas Whaley of MD who d in TN and had children Elijah, Thomas Mary and Seth Brown. Janet wanted a discussion and she really got one. We, too, have struggled with this question. And since we have never had anyone produce a *document* that says that the parents of this Thomas Whaley are Elias Whaley and Martha Dale, we have not used them in our FGSs. We know about the LDS records that state this is true, but LDS records are often erroneous. Anyone can enter something as a fact, but with no documented sources, it is just a theory. If someone can give us the documented proof, I will slip in the *T* disk here and have the entries made in a few seconds. We have looked over the Sources listed by Barbara that were given by Mary Murdock, and the only one that seems logical would be a family Bible. Does the Smith or Whaley family Bible give the parents for Thomas?? When I was in Salt Lake City last year, I found that someone had entered an incorrect spouse for one of my GA Whaleys. I was almost in tears, as I tried to explain to them that we have a document that gives her NEE name. The new entry is wrong and they will not change it. We have to double check these LDS entries. In Jackie Weeden's FGSs, she uses ?? or THEORY along with the data if she is not sure. One of her favorite quotes is, <G>, "There ain't nuthin' wrong with theory." Theory gives one a hint as some angle to pursue. Georgia gave some good facts about the Elias inventory. She says the next of kin listed were Seth and his wife. BUT the LDS has a record that says the next of kin were Nathaniel and Charles. (Actually, they were listed as desperate debtors.) Elias' wife Martha never recorded that inventory for YEARS and finally it was presented by a Dale who had kept a copy of the original--and it was accepted. Remember that Elias died intestate and therefore ALL heirs should be listed. In a will one can pick and choose who he wants his property to go to, but without a will ALL heirs are to be acknowledged. And Thomas wasn't there, and neither was Seth's sister Hannah. What happened to her?? After typing these 19 FGSs for the descendants of Thomas and Bratten, no one knows better than I the frequency of the use of the names THOMAS, SETH, and ELIJAH in this family. The name ELIJAH is another way of saying ELIAS. (James 5 :17 in the Bible. ) Names are significant, but still we need proof. A bit of history--Elias, Nathaniel and Charles settled in the Whaleyville, MD area. Elias got land from his father-in-law John Dale, and Elias sold some to Nathaniel and Charles, his brothers. These three brothers, along with a William, were sons of Nathaniel Wale, son of Edward Wale of MD. We know what Elias' inventory says and we have wills from Charles and William, but we never have figured out who the children for Nathaniel were. We have an older and younger Ebenezer, and a Nathaniel Jr., and two Williams doing things together there in Worcester Co, but no proof that they were sons or grandsons of the Whaleyville Nathaniel. None of Thomas Whaleys descendants are named Nathaniel. And none of the my GA Nathaniel's descendants used the name Nathaniel again. Maybe they were all tired of that name and the confusion it caused. MY GA Nathaniel's oldest son was named Ebenezer. (The one and only.) And my GA Nathaniel's second son named two of his first three sons THOMAS and ELIJAH. Those names trickle on down through my Nathaniel's descendants, too. It makes us wonder. So to the cousin group--if you can solve this problem of *naming the parents of Thomas*, please let us know. Ruby and Jackie