The father of William of Old Town Creek was another William Lewis, this one of Bath County, NC, according to a will abstract.  The writer is unsure as to the meaning of Bath County.  Bath Precinct was the area, after 1696, south of Albemarle Sound, long before North Carolina was ever imagined.  From it counties were formed, even Bladen via Craven, then New Hanover, then Bladen in 1734.  The will lists Mary, wife of William, and the following children: (1) William Lewis (2) Solomon Lewis (3) Sarah Sinclair (4) Mary Dudley (wife of Christopher Dudley, will dated 19 Mar 1744-45, New Bern) (5) Magdalene Bigford, and (6) Edith Benson.

Given the many thousands of Lewises who have lived and given the difficulties in preserving and finding records, it is little wonder that tracing th line beyond this point becomes more difficult and real feat to be able to link their "sure" line into a reputable, proven one.  The writer has found several lines that seem plausible, from respected sources; perhaps more concentrated study over time will confirm THE line.  If not, then that's the way of family history.

Mr. Claude S. Lewis, the family genealogist who was so very helpful to the writer (Aileen) in the early 1980s, spoke at the first reunion of the descendants of Thomas S. Lewis, 1983.  To quote from the newspaper account:

"A Lewis family genealogist, Claude S. Lewis, of Reidsville, NC, traced the family history from ancient times. He spend some twenty years in this research and is the author of "William Lewis, Jr., and His Descendants of Black River, NC," published in 1982.  He noted that he had researched the Bladen County Lewises for over a year in anticipation that it would be his line; it wasn't! ....

"All Lewises are related, being descended from the Royal House of Wales, one of whom (according to legend) was knighted by King Arthur.

"Lewis is one of the oldest and largest families, and some thirty-five coats-of-arms have been assigned to various lines; it would take considerably more research to determine which coat-of-arms is specifically that of the Bladen County Lewises.  From Wales, the Lewises spread out through England and Europe, with many coming to the United States.

The frontier from Georgia to Maine was peopled with Lewis forefathers, the earliest coming to Virginia, New England and Pennsylvania.  Genealogical research suggests that the Bladen County Lewises may have come from Bucks County, Pennsylvania to the Isle of Wight County, Virginia by 1691 where Richard Lewis, Sr. and his wife Sarah, lived.  Richard Lewis, Jr. left a will dated 1719 leaving a gift to his son, William of Chowan Precinct, North Carolina.  This William settled in Bath Precinct, North Carolina, an area which included present-day Bladen County."

A review of the materials in Michael L. Cook's work, Lewis Pioneer Families, show a line from Moses Lewis to his father, Josiah, to his father William of Old Towne Creek NC, to his father William of Bath Precinct NC (d. 1732), to his father, Richard b. ca. 1670, lived in Chowan Precinct, NC.  This seems to coincide with Mr. Claude Lewis' above.

However, in Cook's work, the father of Richard Lewis is said to the Thomas Lewis of Prince Georges County, Maryland, who "without much doubt" came to Maryland from Virginia.  Thomas Lewis, b. ca. 1638 d. 3 June 1695-96 in Prince Georges County, MD; m. Catherine Blizzard; children: John, b. ca. 1661; Thomas, b. ca. 1665; Richard, b. ca. 1667; Ann, and a daughter.