Among my own Irish immigrant ancestors to Virginia is Philemon Cavanaugh/Kavanaugh (d. 1742/3, Orange Co., VA). Tradition holds that he arrived in Virginia with a brother (cousin?) named Charles -- although I'm not certain that there's any documentation proving this -- around 1705, but again, as with so many things when it comes to Philemon, I'm not sure that even this is true: The earliest record of Philemon in Virginia that I've ever been able to find any reference to is a deed in Spotsylvania Co., dated 1724. Anyway, there was a bit of a buzz a couple of years ago when a birth record for a Charles Cavanaugh, son of Charles Cavanaugh, dated January 1679, was discovered in Barbados -- the theory being that they were the father and brother of Philemon -- but as far as I could tell all this really proved was that a Charles Cavanaugh was born to another Charles Cavanaugh in Barbados in 1679. Much of the interest in this Barbados find was spurred by the fact that there was some reason to believe both father and son were, in fact, members of the Cavanagh family of Clonmullen and therefore descended from Donnal Spanaigh Cavanagh the last titular "King" of Leinster, who is, in turn, believed to be an ancestor of Philemon Cavanugh/Kavanaugh (although, I have to again point out that as far as I know, no one has ever been able to prove this either). In short, it's all a bit of a muddle and while it's possible to find numerous sites online that trace Philemon Cavanaugh/Kavanaugh's ancestry back to the dawn of Irish history, it's all pure fantasy (in my view) as no one has yet been able to discover who his parents were, let alone his great or great-great-grandparents. If I'm wrong, however, I'd love to know it. Thanks. Jeff Duvall [log in to unmask] and/or [log in to unmask] To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html