Donald,

Thanks for your response.  The "original deceased man" was Colonel Maurice 
Smith.  When he died in the 1790s, his will apparently left EVERYTHING to 
his only son, John Smith (per another long-time researcher of this family). 
In 1800, the son named John (and his wife Sarah) sold the land that had been 
willed to John by his father.  By 1822, the son and daughter-in-law named 
John and Sarah Smith had also died (apparently in Lancaster or Essex Co., 
VA...I will search for a will or any other documentation in the near 
future)...but the number of John and Sarah Smith's children at their death 
by 1820 or so (it appears) is still under investigation.  It does appear, 
however, that John and Sarah Smith had a daughter who was named Sarah Waller 
Smith who married in Essex Co., VA in 1823.

John Smith had three sisters and no brothers (so Colonel Maurice Smith had 
four children....but his wife also brought a male and female child into the 
family from her earlier marriage...their surname was "Jones").  Two of the 
three sisters of John Smith were married to two of the men listed in the 
chancery case, and the James Smith who was also listed was almost certainly 
a son of John and Sarah Smith.  It is certainly possible that the third 
sister was dead....since I know that her husband was dead by 1815 (but no 
proof either way at this time).

So.....I do not know at this time how many living children the three people 
mentioned in the court case had in 1822, nor just how many living children 
the deceased John Smith had in 1822 (in addition to the James Smith who was 
listed).  I suppose that these children are the "key" to the specified 
"distribution."

I believe that my maternal gg-grandfather, Smith W. Brown, was perhaps the 
youngest/last child of John and Sarah Smith.  It appears that Smith W.Brown 
(born about 1817) was a "Smith toddler" who was taken-in by about 1820 or 
so, reared and "re-named" by John and Mary (Bennett) Brown (note: Mary 
Bennett's family had a apparent "close family connection" back to Colonel 
Maurice Smith...per a lot of research).  DNA testing on several living males 
shows that Smith W. Brown was a "blood Smith" (and who was from the above 
specific Smith family), versus a "blood Brown."

Thanks again

Bill Davidson 

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