> My application was been flagged because I need to prove that:

> John Packard in Cummington and John Packard in Plainfield are
> the same.

John of Cummington is certainly the son of John and Lydia (Tomson) Packard, b. at Bridgewater 06-Nov-1735. Mitchell said that John went to Plainfield and that his brothers Abel and Banabase went to Cummington. Although there are problems with Mitchell he is generally accurate when describing westward migrations of Bridgewater families beginning in the mid-1700s. Mitchell probably said "Plainfield" for John rather than "Cummington" because the former town was where he died. It would be worth some significant research in the Hampshire Co. probate records and deeds to look for additional proof that Abel, Barnabas and John were brothers.

John, son of John and Lydia, must be the man who died in 1807 and is buried in West Hill Cemetery. His gravestone says the he was aetatis 72. Although aetatis on a gravestone sometimes means "of the age" it is most often used to mean "in the year of his age," so aetatis 72 geneally refers to someone who has passed his
71st birthday but has not reached his 72nd. That would put John's birth year at about 1735.

The only other John Packards in Massachusetts born near 1735 are:

1) John, son of Joseph and Hannah (Manley) Packard of Easton, born 04-Feb-1738. John of Easton died in the army 31-Jul-1758 in the attack on Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War.

2) John, son of Joseph and Susanna (Mitchell) Packard, and it can be shown that he married Annat Pratt in 1760, and that he, with his brother Joseph and their families, moved to Brookfield.

3) John, son of Joseph and Mary (Willis) Packard, who married Rachel Niles in 1763, and with his family removed to Chesterfield. It may take some work to show that he was not the same man as John of Plainfield and Cummington.

It looks like you need some thorough examinination of probares, deeds and church records in Hampshire Co.

> I need an alternate proof of maiden name for Azubah Fay who
> married Horace Andrews since there are no marriage docs in VT.

Are you sure? Have you checked the filmed VT records at NEHGS?

> I have never had ANY luck with NEHGS.

I use the resources on their web site almost daily. I have had great success as a member of NEHGS, but some things require a visit to 99 Newbury St.

Dale H. Cook, Member, NEHGS and MA Society of Mayflower Descendants;
Plymouth Co. MA Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project
Administrator of http://plymouthcolony.net