Barbara and all, GENERALLY, the family of Abraham Hinkle spelled Hinkle with an "I" while those of his brothers Isaac and John Justus "Yost" spelled their name with an "E." However, in the 18th and early 19th centuries this was as much a factor of the particular court clerk, census taker, minister, sale clerk, et al, as of personal preference. The German spelling was and still is Henckel. Remember, when our German ancestors arrived in America they were dealing with English clerks who wrote what they heard in terms of English phonetics. Add to this that we generally are using reprints and abstracts of the original records so it is further subject to a "modern" person's ability to read the hand writing. And, often the dot over the "i" gets lost, especially in the microfilmed and photocopied copies that we use, so that the "e" and "i" get further confused. John Justus Henkle, Jr., usually appears in records with an "e" and this is the spelling most prevalent when the family moved to Iowa and Oregon. For all the above reasons, one needs to examine every instance the name appears in the originals of these records (LOTS) to determine which spelling is most prevalent. Barbara is correct--when one is not citing a specific document you generally should use the spelling found most often in the records for that name, or some other logical reason, such as the parent's spelling since we may have no written instance of Mollie's full maiden name, or merely toss a coin! <G> >Question 1. >Is the above referenced Isaac Hinkle the same one as >Isaac Harness "Harny" Hinkle who married my gr-gr grandmother, Phoebe Stone. Isaac Henkle, son of John Justus Senior, was born 5 Dec 1754 and died October 1824. [Henckel Gen. page 205] Neither Isaac Harness Hinkle nor Phoebe Stone appear in this book. I would be interested in further information on Isaac's lineage. >Question 2. >In Phoebe Stone's obit - there is no reference to "a" son >Isaac Harness Hinkle JR. but in the parsons tech.com, it shows an Isaac >Harness Jr. born to Phoebe and Isaac Harness Sr. Unless Isaac Sr. was married >before he married Phoebe Stone. Candidly, I would personally not spend much time trying to prove or disprove undocumented "junk" genealogy! Who are shown as heirs in the estate settlements of Phoebe and Isaac Harness Hinkle? What is shown on Isaac Jr.'s death certificate for parents? Or does such an Isaac, Jr., even exist in any records? Do the obituaries of Phoebe's other children include their siblings? You did not include dates, but I find no Harness family in the 1880 Pendleton County census, nor is there any Isaac Hinkle/Henkle as head of a household. Hope this helps a bit. Barbara, please send me the particulars privately if you want to sort out a specific Hinkle family that is not in Pendleton County. I would be most interested. Nedra Nedra Dickman Brill, Certified Genealogist brillnd@pacifier.com Historian, Henckel Family National Association Coordinator Pendleton County, WV, wvpendle-l@rootsweb.com CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license after periodic evaluations by the Board.