Nancy - I am related to John Smith via his son, William B. Smith and then his grandson William Erastus Smith. If you are decend from William E, I hope to meet you at the family reunion in Tallahassee this weekend. If not, I will ask all the great Aunts if they have any other recollections.

In looking at all the messages I can find on the internet about John Virginia and Martha Wyatt, a couple of things stand out. I have seen John Virginia's birthdate listed as 5/8/1789 and 8/5/1789 though most often the May date. I sometimes see the W and sometimes don't. Also, Martha Wyatt's birth and death date are the exact same which seems to be an uncanny coincidence. We are going to the burial site so I'll at least have definitive proof of what the headstones say, but I'm wondering if the dates may be the problem in tracing John 'Virginia'. I have never seen a primary source cited for either John or Martha. My father has a tendency to add a year to his age accidentally - could be that John Virginia's year of birth was a best guess? I don't know. Anyway, Brunswick and Lunenburg Counties are in striking distance to where I live. I can go over and research sometime in the next few months, but it would be helpful to have any additional information. Seems like it will be very much a case of trial and error. Wonder if anyone else has ever tried?