Willie, I've asked myself that question many times. But a meager paper trail still points to his existence. I don't see that William and Mary Watkins were old enough to have an adult son in 1785, but I may be wrong. There are 3 souls in Joseph's (of Halifax) household in 1785. Was he married with a child? He's probably closer to 30 by 1790 (at a minimum). Might his wife be deceased and he is the Joseph who married Sally Brown? Do we ignore him because we don't have a paper trail, as has been done in the past? Unfortunately, I can't. Nancy In a message dated 8/23/01 8:06:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time, hillman@one.net writes: << Ask yourself the question - why didn't the Joseph from the 1785 leave a paper trail? If he was 21 in 1785 he would have been eligible to witness the documents of others, serve on a jury, work on a road crew, buy or sell land. Why is there no evidence of him in Halifax County after 1785 and the list of 1790? That is a very meagre record for a man's life. >>