No man with the letter 'P' as the initial letter of his given name along with the surname Sanders, Saunders or any variation thereof appeared in any tax assessment return for the region. The name is not found in any roster for the Bedford County Militia either. Jon Baughman was the first person to suggest that the letter 'P' stood for the given name of 'Philip' though it could have just as convincingly stood for 'Peter', 'Patrick' or 'Paul' since no name starting with the letter 'P' appeared in any of the tax assessment returns or the militia rosters for Bedford County. Mr. Baughman did not provide any justification for his suggestion, but in deference to his research, we will accept the suggestion. The only man with the surname Sanders to be recorded on any tax assessment return for either Frankstown, Hopewell or Colerain Townships prior to 1780 was Benjamin Sanders. Benjamin was recorded on the 1774, 1775, 1776 and then the 1779 Hopewell Township tax assessment returns. On the 1782 return for Hopewell Township, Benjamin Saunder was recorded as a resident ~ but his name included the notation of 'Dec'd'; he had indeed died in August 1782. Although P. Sanders (whether Philip, Peter, Patrick or Paul) was not recorded as a resident, he could have been a relative residing with the family of Benjamin Sanders. No woman by the surname of Sanders filed any application for a pension, so there exists no evidence of Philip having any family who survived him.
