I live in Virginia and I have been doing extensive research on the early Grinsteads of Virginia for over five years and I have found MANY major errors in "The William Grinstead Family in America" book.

Not the least of which is the book's claim that the two sons of William Grinstead (John and William II) married the daughters of a John "Parse."

After having studied the actual records of Northumberland County, I can say with TOTAL certainty that neither of the sons EVER married a daughter of John "Parse."

First of all, "Parse" was not even his name. It was Pearce. The reason the spelling of "Parse" has become so ingrained in the Grinstead history, is because that's how it was misspelled in John Pearce's 1667 will. And it was that will that the Grinstead book researchers based their claim that the two Grinstead sons married the daughters of John Parse.

In researching the Grinsteads (and Thomas Key and John Pearce) I have found John Pearce's name spelled - Pearce, Pierce, Parse and Perse - with Pearce being the most common, and Perse being the least common. Parse was the next least common.

However, it was John's will that made everyone believe that "Parse" was the correct spelling of his name. However, one must remember that English spelling was not standardized in America until the 1750s, so before then, MANY names had multiple spellings. In my research of Northumberland County records, I have found the Grinstead name spelled - Grinstead, Grinsted, Greenstead, Greensted, Greested, Grimsted, Grimstead and even Grimstone. Also, Thomas Key's name has been spelled - Key, Kay, Kaye, Kee, Keie, and Kea.

Actually, John "Parse" Pearce was the guardian of the two Grinstead boys after both William and Elizabeth (Key) Grinstead had passed away in the early 1660s. Parse's reference to the two boys in his will as "sons" and "sons-in-law" was was merely a loving reference to his close relationship to the boys. At the time that the will was written, John Grinstead was approximately 13 years old and William II was about 11 years old - both too young to be married, even in those days.

While I have yet to discover who William II married, I have determined that John Grinstead married Elizabeth Ward, the daughter of John Ward, and NOT the Elizabeth mentioned in John "Parse's" will. I have found several later references in Northumberland County records where John Ward is referred to as being the father-in-law to John Grinstead.

The relationship between William Grinstead and John Pearce was an interesting one - but too detailed to go into here, at least at this time.

I can say that NONE of my information is secondhand or heresay - it is ALL information that I myself have compiled through extensive first-hand research of Northumberland County records.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the real history of the early Grinsteads, I will gladly tell you what I have found through my research - and I will provide the documentation that verifies my "claim."

One other note - I plan to publish a new and improved version of "The William Grinstead Family in America" book, possibly in about a year or so. This book will not only document the Grinstead family through William I, II & III and his son, John, but it will also document, for the first time, the descendents of John, the son of William Grinstead and Elizabeth Key.

I had intended to not mention these new findings until I published the book, but I have since decided that it is better to share this information now - since we're all family, right?