Sara; The list of rules is great but I have a few caveats #14: This is not true for all parts of the country. Sometimes , especially in New England when the father had acknowledged the child, the child took the fathers name. #16: This is not true. An administrator of an estate could be a father, brother, cousin or near neighbor of the estate. More rarely the mother may have been appointed or her second husband. It is a rare estate that has as its adminitrator the largest creditor. #20 Only applies in some states. Inheritance varies dramatically by state and by time period. #29 Again the taxable age varied in different state and colonies. Virginia and the south appear to have changed their laws with great regularity. Also be aware that men dropped of the tax roles for a variety of reasons, age, exempt occupation or extreme poverty (usually in this case you can find some type of court pleadings) #43 Unfortunately I am not sure that Hartwell is in fact a mothers maiden name. Hartwell (Heartwell) and Heartease are both names found as Puritan daughters name.) In general regarding land purchases and sales. When you find a land sale but no corresponding purchase before you decide he or his wife inherited the land try to get a sense of how complete the recorded deeds are in that county. In many parts of the country, New York and New Jersey are prime examples, people did not record their deeds and it was not mandatory to do so. Also check for a survey of the property done for a land warrant. The deed finalizing the survey was often never recorded but the property was still legally owned. Good list over all. Heather McLeland-Wieser Genealogy Librarin - Seattle Public Library