Saturday, February 18, 2017

It is an Awesome Day for DNA testers

Until I saw a blog yesterday, I was unable to upload my v4 23andme kits, or my V2 AncestryDNA kits to familytree DNA, but that has all changed. FamilytreeDNA now not only accepts all those kits, it has lowered the upgrade fee from $39 to $19.

Why is this so great, I mean we have Gedmatch. Well because so many people don't use Gedmatch, the FTDNA database is arguably as large as the other two companies, and you have the ability to view the areas of your matches easily with the Chromosome Browser (only available if you upgrade).

I would encourage anyone who wants to see more matches to take advantage of this free transfer. With the free transfer you can see your top 20 matches, though you are not able to use their other tools, such as the Chromosome Browser, Ancient Origins or My Origins (their version of Admixture for ancestry).

So how do you do it?

If you are on AncestryDNA you download your raw data through the settings option under your results. On the right is the option to download. You click on that and it will send you an email with a link valid for 24 hours. When you use the email link you will be taken to a page where the download starts.

If you are on 23andme, the download raw data is an option you find from a link under browse your raw data in tools.

Always make sure you remember where you download your file. Don't unzip the file for upload to either Gedmatch or Familytreedna.

To upload to Familytreedna, you want to go to here. On the drop down menu, DNAtests, select Autosomal transfer. Enter your name, email and sex and click the join. This will take you to the upload screen where you select your file. I did have to repeat the upload on a few kits because it said they were unable to open it (I think server maybe was busy). When it completes it will bring up a congratulations screen. There is a link there to click for the permissions you have to sign.

You will get an email with the kit number and a password. I would go to settings and change the password before logging out. It can take up to 24 hours (after 6 I had mine) to get results for the DNA matches and admixture results.

To upgrade, click on the option for Chromosome browser and it will tell you you need to upgrade, the link on the upper right will take you to the cart with the 19 dollar fee.

You can upload or manually enter family tree's. It has changed, you can now click and drag a match to their name to place them in your tree. Which is convenient, but one of the things I don't like about FTDNA is that the tree function takes a while to load and seems a bit buggy to me.

I also noticed you get smaller matches that most genetic genealogist feel are unreliable in chromosome browser. You can change the size of what you browse in the browser, where you have up to 5 people you can compare at a time.

Another caveat, it is easy to download the names for the matches and the actual match files for FTDNA to use in Genomemate Pro. Of course this function is not much value if you don't upgrade.

While you are at it, why don't you head over to www.gedmatch.com and create a free account and upload your data there.

Oh, and have fun.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Challenges in Researching British family.

First, let me say, that compared to the United States, England, and several European countries, have far superior records. That said, the challenge for those of us in the United States is access to those records, and then a complete and utter ignorance of the country we are researching.

I know there are folks that have trees back the 11th century, but I am not that ambitious, mainly because I am somewhat dubious of the veracity of those trees, and because it is so dang hard to get it past the 18th century. The one family I have successfully crossed the pond (as they say) with, is the Brunson, and that is solely because of the archeological research of Earl Colne, which shows the family in the 16th century into the early 17th, and then colonial records in New England which are far superior in some areas than any other record type in the United States.

So what does one do when you are trying to research British ancestors? There are sources of records available now online that were not available 10 years ago, including parish registers. However, what I found when I really got somewhere, was actually joining and reading message boards for England was what helped me understand the differences between the United States and England.

Did you know that if you order a death certificate in England it tells you nothing? Unlike the States, the place that tells you the most information is the marriage certificate, and then only after about 1850 (I don't know the exact date). England has had censuses every 10 years for a very long time, but until 1841, the census didn't list household members, and is more of a tally form than our early censuses. So they aren't available. You can't find a census online prior to 1841, because there isn't a lot of use for you.

I think there are some common assumptions you can make for certain time periods that are likely true. For example, the States and England between 1750 and 1800, the ability to read and write is an informative piece of information. The general public didn't have that ability. Certain trades, and the wealthy or nobility had that, but children weren't routinely schooled. Religious rights, parishes, where you could and could not get married, that was very different. So you really need to find someone who can educate you, or find the information yourself before you search.

Don't forget geography either, that is really hard. The same village may have been in three different shires over the last 200 years. That will effect your ability to find records when you search records on something like Ancestry. Because parish records are the main source of what you can research successfully from the United States.

 And yes, it is very confusing why someone is listed in one place for birth, another for marriage, and lived another and they are all 5 miles apart. Only to find out that the marriage was the only place they could marry, the baptism was non conformist, and not located anywhere far from where they lived.

Non conformist, that's another term you may run across. It means they didn't practice the religion of the Church of England. Oh and the English, particularly the working class, they liked certain names. My ancestor George Henry Timmins is probably one of 20 born the same year in the same 20 mile radius.

Then there is the class system. I am not even remotely related to anyone noble enough to not have a trade, at least as far as I can research. My family at most were tradesmen, and at worst, they lived in the workhouse, or the poor house whichever you prefer. They didn't live in an England that reminds one of Jane Austin but rather of Charles Dickens. They worked all their life, and if they lived to get old, they had to live with family or in the poor house. They aren't buried in marked graves either.

Among this class, early death isn't uncommon. Neither is illegitimacy, though I understand that Bastardry Bonds and work house records are very informative, you have to go to England to see those kind of  records. I am sure there are other records that would be beneficial as well, but I am not literate enough in English records to know that. Which I guess is my point.

I don't generally try to cross the pond with my colonial families, because at that point I am in the 17th and early 18th  century and I already know how hard it can be from tracing my late arrivals back to before 1800. It can be a needle in a haystack search, and it isn't one I am relishing taking on yet.

So I work on the one line I know for sure, and the one that I should be able to find, and that's it. Most of what I have researched centers around the Black Country of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire. It is a tale of miners and glass cutters, and families who were the backbone of the English industrial age. If I ever get back far enough, I just may find a freeman or a tradesmen, but for now, it is plain working class families, who can be found when they are born, when they marry and when they die in parish records, and that's about it. There are no wills. There aren't any convict records that I have found, just marriages, births and burials. And  a lot of frustration.






You Might Be a Genealogy Addict

You might be a genealogy addict if

  • You sign onto Ancestry to answer a message, and you are still searching on Ancestry 5 hours later. 
  • You make a comment about passing a cemetery on a road trip, and the first words out of your child's mouth is "we aren't stopping are we?"
  • Spending the day at the archives, local genealogy center, or in a cemetery sounds like a good day.
  • You meet someone and think, I have that name in my tree, I wonder if we are related.
  • You have ever wanted to call someone at 2 a.m. because you finally found that information you searched the last two months (or years) for.
  • After not getting a response from that  close new DNA match for weeks, you do a search with all those skills to find out how they are your relative. (Google, Facebook, Ancestry, it all works).
  • You have called a complete stranger because they were a relative and you had questions.
  • Your Facebook friends list is composed of multiple cousins (first, second, third, hey even 6th) and you consider them all family.
  • You have a large list of Genealogy buddies and correspondents among your Facebook friends list also.
  • You ask everyone for copies of old pictures.
  • Your family rolls their eyes and their eyes glaze over when you start talking genealogy.
  • Your family tree has lots of folks who aren't your relatives.
  • You find spending 8 hours doing genealogy a lot easier (and more fun) than actually doing work.
  • Your intimately aware of how to work a microfilm machine.
  • You have spent days browsing through microfilm or images online of microfilm, reading old county records.
  • You have a form of ADD. You start researching one person, find something interesting on someone else, and end up spending hours on that and not what you started looking for.
  • You find the stories of how older people grew up and their lives fascinating.

Advice to new testers of Ancestry DNA (and my wish list)

Ancestry does a better job I think of advertising than the other companies. The ads appear to be working. Find out who you are, what your ancestry is made up of. If my new results are any indication, that is probably the primary reason so many people are now testing.

I understand (well kind of) why someone doesn't want to do genealogy. It isn't for everyone. But I would suggest to anyone who tests their DNA to at least do a few things.

 First, read up on autosomal DNA. It is really, really interesting. There are several excellent DNA bloggers, but the one place you can find the most information is here at the International Society of Genetic Genealogy.  You want to find out about this DNA and how it gets inherited. Otherwise, it's kind of useless.

Second, if you have close, first, or second cousin matches, and even third cousin matches. Consider contacting them. Ancestry DNA has an easy user interface, but they don't really explain all of it. When you view all your matches, they start with your closest DNA match and work their way to the smallest. Those first few folks, are matching you a lot closer than those later on. I don't know how Ancestry DNA determines the cutoff for each category, but as an example, two  of my father's first cousins, my Aunt, and my great Aunt all are in my first cousin matches.

Click on your match. Under their name is a predicted relationship with an explanation. And to the right underneath it is a little i in a circle. Click on that. That will tell you how much DNA your sharing. If you visited and read a bit in the Wiki, you will understand what that means. Most people spent at least some holidays with extended family. Which means, you may just know that second cousin. It may be your mom's cousin, or your great Aunt. If you never reach out to them, you will never know.

Also, if you can, I would consider adding a tree at least to your grandparents and preferably your great grandparents. Ancestry uses a privacy feature automatically for living people. This means, that they are not shown, only a pink or blue icon is shown. This information will give you little green leaves by your matches. Those leaves tell you if your tree matches your matches tree.

Lastly, if you really want the best for admixture (ancestry composition), Ancestry does a fairly good job, but you will get a lot more out of the admixtures on Gedmatch. Gedmatch is free. You don't get spam. If you don't want to share your info you don't have to. You can use pseudonyms. A lot of folks make a free email account for DNA correspondence. And, it has some really good admixture features. This is put together by scientists who are genetic anthropologists and it can be a little more helpful.

If you want to delve deeper, well there is a lot more you need to know. This is were my wish list comes in. First, the Circles, Hints and shared matches are a useful tool in Ancestry, but they are not a concrete proving ground that how you match is based on the family relationship in your tree. To do that you need to triangulate your DNA. Which is where you identify the location and confirm it with at least three individuals to identify the genealogy. I have had some I assumed where matches based on our known family connection, only to find out when someone else tested, that they match a family member from another branch where they match my kit.

Ancestry has been asked multiple times for a way to see where you match. This is the number one item on anyone's wish list who does genetic genealogy. The other two companies, 23andme and Family Tree DNA both offer this. If you want to delve deeper into looking into how your DNA was passed, maybe you tested multiple family members, you have to go to Gedmatch to do that.

It would be nice if there was a way to tag our matches better. I would love to be able to even mark paternal from maternal, because I have no way to compare these Ancestry matches in the program I use to keep track of matches (genome mate pro). Alas, I don't see that coming. And so even if I do have identified matches, barring testing one of my parents again, there isn't a way to sort the matches.

I also wish that Ancestry had a easier search function for matches. I have members of my family from the Choctaw Nation, and because that is not the same as Oklahoma, searching by location doesn't work. I wouldn't mind a search by ancestry type but maybe that is problematic. I just have had the hardest time finding matches from that side of the tree.

From my own experience, I would also suggest if you are going to attempt to triangulate and compare DNA results, you want a good tree, or be willing to research as you go. You also want to stay away from smaller matches, I mean like under 30 cM matches, unless it is a triangulation that is beneficial. Often these are too small and too hard to find the link.


Thursday, February 16, 2017

Wherefore art thou Shakespeare?

No living individual descends from William Shakespeare the Bard and Poet of the Elizabethan age. There are likely descendants of his sisters, and perhaps a theoretical brother. While I do not ever aspire to prove my lineage to someone of nobility, I do think it is a reasonable possibility that my Grandmother's Shakespeare ancestors were related to William Shakespeare through his grandfather or earlier ancestors.

So how can I say this? It starts with my Shakespeare family who reside in Henley in Arden and Wootton Wawen, both villages in Warwickshire just outside of Stratford on Avon. The same vicinity where the Bard and his family lived. There is a strong possibility that like William Shakespeare, my lines descend from the Wroxall Shakespeare family, but getting them there is going to be quite a feat.

Mary Shakespeare who was baptized in Henley in 1788 the daughter of Thomas Shakespeare and his wife Elizabeth was married in the parish of Wootton Wawen in 1817 to John Phillips. Like both of her parents, Mary signed her own name, but her husband did not. The marriage was witnessed by Elizabeth and William Barrett.

Of curious note is that records for this family are found in both the Wootton Wawen and the Beaudesert parish books. Fortunate for me at least partly, because of water damage to the Wootton Wawen books that makes much of it unreadable.

Mary's older brothers, John Shakespeare (1784) and Thomas Shakespeare (1786) were baptized in Henley (Beaudesert parish book), and younger sisters, Hannah (1800 in both) and Elizabeth (1803 in both). The same parish book in beginning in 1773 shows baptisms for a William Shakespeare and his Elizabeth (then Mary) and a John and his wife Eleanor.

The father of my Mary Shakespear was baptized in 1766 in Wootton Wawen, the illegitimate son of Sarah Shakespeare. It looks like Sarah also had a daughter Eleanor who was baptized in 1758 also in Wootton Wawen. I haven't found anything for John or William this early in the book, but a lot of it is not readable.

When Thomas Shakespeare marries, it looks like a John Shakeper (Shakespeare?) and a Mary Tidmount are witnesses. It is possible that the witness John is the same as the John who has children baptized in the parish, and he is likely a relative, most likely a cousin or an Uncle. It is also worthy of note that both Thomas and his wife Elizabeth Marrell sign their names. So not only did they educate their children, but they them selves were educated enough to sign their names. It is also important to note that a Thomas Shakespeare married to a Jane has a daughter Eliza in 1804, this is not the same as Thomas who was married to Elizabeth Marrell (Merrill).

Thomas Shakespeare who resided in Henley was buried in the Wootton Warren parish in 1819. His wife Elizabeth died in 1839. I found a record for the death of an Eleanor in 1799 in the Wootton Warren parish register, but it is impossible to say if this is Eleanor the wife of John or Eleanor the sister of Thomas.

Looking at the Wootton Wawen parish book, I found a burial in April 1713 for a John Shakespeare an apprentice boy. Thomas the son of William Shakespear was baptized in 1733. Edward Skinner and Margaret Shakespeare where married in 1738, then the baptism for Eleanor, some for William and John Shakespeare's children. Because it is so hard to read, there is without a doubt probably more listings than I can find.

So where does John, Sarah and William come from. They would all be born prior to 1745, and there is one family (which seems a bit of a stretch) that could fit. The family of Mordecai Shakespeare who has several children baptized in Aston Juxta parish, but that is in Birmingham proper, and really quite far from the area where my Shakespeare family lives. I am not going to rule it out, and like so many of the Shakespeares, the use of family names of Thomas and John seem prevalent in both lines.

If I want to get my Shakespeare family back far enough to tell if they are indeed from the Wroxall family bunch, it would mean finding a father for Sarah, and then his father and grandfather, because I really need to go back at least another 60 years. I like to think I can get that far some day. There is a lovely research site on the web, but it's not been updated in a while and the web masters email is invalid. So asking questions seems a bit hard at this point.

It is always a challenge to research my British ancestry, especially when there is so much I do not know about the area and the time period. Parish records are available in most cases, but the areas change over time.

As for DNA, well, my great Aunt (who is a great great granddaughter of Mary Shakespeare) is matching some of the Dudley and Leicester Shakespeares but not many. And we do have another Phillips we have matched that may have some as well. According to the website both families are connected to the Wroxall family group.


Sunday, February 5, 2017

DNA and the Mullis family

Arthur Mullies wrote me a few years ago that he thought that our Frances was a daughter or granddaughter of John Mullis.

DNA matches are showing the descendants of Frances Mullis to be matching several of the descendants of John "Jackson" Mullis.

John Jackson Mullis was born in 1720 in Virginia and he died in 1785 in Anson, NC. Both a John Mullis and a Jacob Pyburn were members of the Chatham Militia in 1772. Genealogies online list two wives, Susan Dancer and Rebecca Cheney, but Arthur has his wife as Margaret Brumbelow. He lists only three children, Frances Mullis Pyburn, Solomon Mullis and Mary Elizabeth Mullis Griffin. They just happen to be the names on the matches.

Now I know, ancestry matches are not valid, we aren't triangulating them, but we do have about 15 matches to these lines, so odds are, at least a few are valid. I haven't tried to contact them yet.

So for my Pyburn family members.

Jacob Pyburn m. Frances Mullis, daughter of John Jackson Mullis and Margaret Brumbelow. She was born about 1758-1760. Frances died sometime after 1810, likely 1810-1813 in Tensaw Settlement, now Baldwin County, Alabama.

John Jackson Mullis was born 1720 and died about 1785. His wife Margaret was born about 1740.

John's parents were Richard and Elizabeth Mullis. Richard was born about 1690 and was a son of John Mullis and Elizabeth Edwards.


DNA and the Pyburn family (Early North Carolina)

Thus far the bulk of the DNA matches for the Pyburn's from my line tested have been with descendants of Naomi Pyburn and Lewis Pyburn.  I looked at  my tree, and OMG it's a mess.

I reread my earlier article on them, and I think it confused me a bit more, but I am going to go with what I  know and let's see if we can come up with a theory.

Jacob Pyburn who married Frances Mullis was born sometime between 1740 and 1760. That puts him in the same age bracket as Naomi Pyburn, whose father was Jacob Pyburn. Most families have this genealogy related to Richard's son Jacob Pyburn and not John's. But we aren't matching any of the other descendants of Richard (Christopher, Sarah, Richard or the father of Edward).

So assuming that the connection to Lewis is through his father Benjamin Pyburn, then it would seem that Naomi, Benjamin and my Jacob are quite possibly siblings, and children of the Jacob Pyburn who is a son of John Pyburn. 

Now there is a good reason though to question the legitimacy of the existence of Naomi Pyburn married to Austin Choate Sr. Here is why, his sons Christian and Austin married Pyburn's from NC and there wives were their cousins.

Austin Choate Sr's wife could be a sister to the mother of Nancy and Naomi Pyburn, or their mother could be a Choate. We know that they applied as eastern Cherokee's, and that the Pyburn family like the Choate family line weren't Cherokee. If there was any Cherokee it came from the wives of the Pyburn's or the Choates.

So I guess I am at a decision point. As far as I know, there is not one documentation for Naomi Pyburn married to Austin Choate Sr, other than the researchers who have assumed it based on the Cherokee claims. Without a doubt however, we show a relationship to descendants of Austin Choate Jr. and his wife Naomi Pyburn, who is most likely a daughter of Jacob Pyburn who was in Buncombe NC in 1790 and was the Uncle of Edward Pyburn who lived there.

So if my ancestor Jacob is related to this Jacob and Lewis (who I believe is a son of Benjamin), then the 1790 Jacob in NC should be a nephew, but he is over the age of 45, which oh gosh, makes him the same age. So maybe Jacob in NC and my Jacob are first cousins.

So if we start with the Jacob, John and Benjamin who are in Bedford in the 1750's. Two of them each have a son named Jacob who lived in the same area, because Frances Mullis the wife of my Jacob was born in Bedford and her father died in North Carolina.

We lack a passport for Jacob and his family, which has made me believe that Jacob and his family came down the Mississippi and went to Tennessee prior to arriving in Tensaw in 1784. I would think that most likely, Benjamin who was the father of Lewis, Elias and grandfather of the Jacob Pyburn in early Tennessee as probably a brother of my Jacob Pyburn and that they are sons of Benjamin Pyburn, son of John.

John Pyburn was arrested for murder in 1764 in North Carolina. This could be John Pyborn Junior or a son. Jacob Pyburn is the most probable father for the Buncombe NC Jacob, his sister Sarah Pyburn Eades and the father of Edward Pyburn. The Choates married either children of this Jacob or his nieces, sisters of Edward.

The problem arises when you get to Jacob Pyburn who was the father. He could be a son of either Richard or John, but if we are matching closer with these members, I would think that we come from the same parent, so more than likely it is John's son Jacob who is in Bedford in the 1750's.

I know there are more earlier Pyburns, and that there is still a lot of work to go. But for now I think I am going to change my tree.

John Pyburn and his wife Sarah

Benjamin Pyburn and ?
children
Benjamin Pyburn m ? sons Lewis, Elias
Jacob Pyburn m. Frances Mullis

Jacob Pyburn and ?
children
Jacob Pyburn (NC) m daughter of Christian Choat? children Christopher
Sarah m. Charles Eades
Son Unknown
child Edward Pyburn

Unknown Pyburn's (either Richard or John)
Richard Pyburn Edgecombe
Benjamin Pyburn Edgecombe
James Pyburn Georgia
Thomas Pyburn Bedford
Joshua Pyburn Bedford


Saturday, February 4, 2017

The Barnes Family (Baker, Vaughan, Owens and Long too)

My great grandfather was John Abner Barnes. He was married to Addie Barnett Franklin, and his children were mentioned in the post on the Franklins.

John Abner Barnes was born in 1887 in Brantley, Alabama and died in 1968 in Milton, Florida. He was the son of John Lunsford Barnes and his wife, Margaret Eleanor Baker. John was an Assembly of God minister. John was married after his wife Addie died to Lena Barnes (no relation). They had no children.

The siblings of John Abner Barnes "Abb" were Myrtle Lee, Mittie Estelle, Eleanor Mae Belle, Ottis Lafayette, James Marshall Lunsford "Lunnie", Willie Blanch, Ethel Aldine, Claudia Isabelle and Ethel Aldine Barnes. Abb had a half sister, Annie Druscilla Barnes by his father's first wife, Epsy Eiland.

John Lunsford Barnes was the son of John Sanders Barnes and Sarah Ann Owens. We discovered the ancestry of John Sanders Barnes not that long ago. I blogged about it in March 2016, I also talked about the Long family that month.

John Lunsford Barnes was born in 1857 in Russell county, Alabama, and died 1941 in Baker, Florida. He had the following siblings, Robert Thomas, Margaret Elizabeth, Sarah Lucinda, Mary Olivia, Harriet Frances, Clara McGeehee, Marshall Johnson Wellbourn, and Abbas Sanders Barnes.

Margaret Eleanor Baker was the daughter of Abner Baker and Margaret Vaughan. She was born in 1865  and died in 1953 in Milton, Florida. Her siblings were James Willoughby Baker, Abner Baker, Rachel E Baker, Daniel Absalom Baker, Mary Isabel Baker, Nancy P Baker and Jesse Jackson Baker.

John Sanders Barnes was the illegitimate son of John Barnes and Mary "Polly" Sanders. He was born about 1811 in Gates County, North Carolina, and died in 1864 in Pike County, Alabama. His father John Barnes could be the son of one of two brothers, both who married daughters of Isaac Pipkin.

I believed erroneously that  he's the son of Richard Barnes and Charity Pipkin. Richard Barnes is the son of Thomas Barnes and Elizabeth Blanchard. Charity Pipkin is the daughter of Isaac Pipkin and Charity Goodman. Thomas Barnes was the son of Richard Barnes and his wife Mary who resided in Chowan County North Carolina.

Mary "Polly" Sanders was a ward of the Uncle of John Barnes. Her father was Henry Sanders, and she was likely illegitimate. I don't know her mother's name. Henry Sanders mother was Sarah King and she was married to Charles Sanders, who is of unknown connection to the area Sanders. Sarah King's father was Henry King and her mother was Elizabeth. Henry King was the grandson of Michael King and Elizabeth Hiry who came to the area via their son William.

Sarah Ann Owens the wife of John Sanders Barnes was born in 1823 in Georgia and died in 1890 in Crenshaw county, Alabama. She remarried after the death of her husband John Smith. She had no children by him.

Sarah Owens father was John J. Owens and her mother was Lucinda Long. Her siblings were Clara Apperson, Elijah Evans, William Howard, John Robert, Smith James, Mary Frances, Charles Augustus, Robert R L, and Rebecca Owens.

John J. Owens was the son of Elijah Owens and Nancy Ann Howard. He died in 1836 in Georgia. His siblings were Clarissa Ann Boykin, James Nehemiah and Elijah Smith Owens. Elijah Owens looks to be related to a James Owen of Virginia but I am not for sure on that. Nancy Ann Howard is the daughter of Nehemiah Howard and Ede Smith. Nehemiah Howard looks to be the son of Stephen Howard and Sarah Sanders in North Carolina. Edith Ede Smith is the daughter of  Luke Smith and Judith Farris.

Lucinda Long was born 1791 and died 1865. She was the daughter of Evans Long and Mary Apperson. Evans Long was the son of Reuben Long and Mary Evans. Reuben Long was son of Richard Long and Elizabeth. Richard Long son of Gabriel Long and Margaret Harrison. Mary Evans was the daughter of John Evans and Ann Anderson, a daughter of Richard Anderson of Virginia. Lucy Apperson is the daughter of John Apperson and Margaret.

Abner Baker was born in 1812 in South Carolina and died in 1908 in Troy, Alabama. He was a son of Willoughby Baker and Rachel Copeland. Abner's siblings were Isaac, Abigail, Lucinda Rachel, William, Margaret Jane, Amelia Permelia, Willoughby Powell, Elizabeth and Jesse Baker.

Willoughby Baker was a son of Jesse Baker. Despite all the histories that say otherwise, there was only one Jesse Baker in either SC or NC who was in the American Revolution, he was from letters located closer to Abbeville and lived during the same time frame that our Jesse is in Sumter.Jesse Baker's wife may be Rebecca Smith. It is thought he was a son of William Baker and Margaret Dunnagan. William Baker is a son of Moses Baker and Elizabeth Browne

Rachel Copeland was a daughter of Ripley Copeland and Rachel Tucker. Ripley Copeland was a son of Nicholas Copeland and Dorothy Ripley. Nicholas Copeland Jr and Jane Lott are parents of Nicholas Copeland. Tentative parents for Dorothy are John Ridley and Mary Messenger.

Margaret Vaughan the wife of Abner was the daughter of James Vaughan and Rachel Jones. James Vaughan was a son of Michael Vaughan and Nancy Powell. Rachel Jones is a daughter of Charles Shepard Vinson Jones and his wife Martha. Charles Shepard Vinson Jones was a son of Edmond Jones and his wife Mary. Margaret Vaughan Baker was born in 1822 and died in 1872.

The Franklin Family (and Brunson and Merrill too)

Of my four great grandmother's, Addie was the only one who had died by the time I was born. Addie Barnett Franklin was born in 1890 in Brantley, Alabama, and died in 1928 in Milton, Florida. She was the mother of  John Barnett (J. B), Willie Lawrence, Grady Carlton, Madie Ruth, Abner Odell, Leahman Dewey, Jewell Mabellene and David Roswell Barnes.

Addie's parents were Jacob Barnett Franklin and Amanda Octavia Thomas. Her siblings were Green Barnett, Abbie L., Elizabeth Rebecca, John Henry, David Sumter and Pensy Franklin. Her brother John Henry was married to her husband's sister Myrtle Barnes.

Jacob Barnett Franklin was born in 1855 in Covington County, Alabama and he died in Baker, Florida in 1924. He was the only son of Green Berry Franklin and Sarah Benjamin Merrill. He had one full sister, Margaret Elizabeth Thomas Franklin, and two half siblings, Susan Rebecca and Robert Benjamin Richards. 

Jacob's father had died at the Battle of Vicksburg in the Civil War. He wasn't the only one of the family to not come home. Most of all the Franklin and Brunson families enlisted and served in the Civil war.

Amanda Octavia Thomas was the daughter of Daniel R. Thomas and Sarah Martha Brunson. She was born in 1851 in Pike County (Crenshaw) Alabama, and died in 1936 in Baker, Florida. Jacob and Amanda have unmarked tombstones at the Crestview Cemetery in Baker, but the entire family (both sets of great grandparents, great grandparents, grandparents and the siblings) are buried there. Like a lot of the family, it's one place I recall well.

Amanda Octavia Thomas' siblings were Benjamin Daniel, Mary Elizabeth, Lawrence James, Frank P, Joel, George W., and Emily Louise Thomas.

Green Berry Franklin was the son of William Barnett Franklin and Martha "Patsy" Brunson.  He was born in 1829 in what was Pike but would become Crenshaw County, Alabama. He died in 1863. I recently posted several blogs on the Brunson family. They can be found in July of 2016.  I won't repeat most of that information here. As you can see, I am a Brunson twice.

Green Berry's siblings were Reuben B., Elizabeth, John R, Eliza Ann, Caroline E., Sarah L G, Martha Haseltine, Henry D Sumter, Mary B., Benjamin Barnett Newton "Dock", Joseph Jasper, Maria H, Nancy B and William Penn Franklin.

Green Berry's wife Sarah Benjamin Merrill was the daughter of two first cousins, Jacob and Holland Merrill. She was born in 1837 and died in 1870. Her father Jacob, was the son of Robert Merrill and possibly Rebecca Reid (conflicting info). Her mother was the daughter of Benjamin Merrill and Rachel Lewis. Both Robert and Benjamin were sons of Jacob Merrill and Esther Lambden. Of all the families I research, this is one I struggle with a lot.

Siblings of Sarah Benjamin Merrill were Benjamin G, Henry Martin, Mary Jane, Rufus Robert, Martha Ann, Rachel, William Reid, Thomas Lewis, Mary Ann and Rebecca Merrill. The Merrill family emigrated from Maryland to Georgia and then Alabama.

Daniel Thomas was living with his siblings in 1850, and based on an older female living with his sister, I think his mother may be Celia who was living in 1860 with his sister Charlotte Thomas Chesser. Daniel's brother was named David J. Thomas. If you look at naming patterns, Daniel's father could be named Benjamin. Daniel was born around 1816 and died between 1870-1880. No intestate has been found.

Daniel's wife, Sarah Martha Brunson was the daughter of Daniel Brunson and Mary Platt. She was born 1824 and died in 1870-1880.  Sarah's siblings were Daniel H., Isaac Joel, Mary Susanna, Benjamin R, Margaret A., John "Jack", Caroline L, and Richard M. Brunson.

I deviate from here from most of the online trees. Mainly after reviewing the probate records of Stewart County, TN, SC and GA.

Daniel Brunson was born about 1786 in South Carolina, the son of Isaac Brunson and Susanna Ellender. His paternal grandparents were James Brunson and Rebecca. James Brunson was a son of Isaac Brunson Sr and Margaret Oldys. Daniel Brunson died in 1852.  Oddly enough we have a ton of matches from Daniel's descendants, but only one from Isaac and Susanna Ellender. It's a pretty strong match though.

Mary Platt is the daughter of Harmon Platt and Mary Dukes. I don't understand why, but Harmon left most of his children out of his will.

Daniel Brunson's siblings are Margaret, James, Valentine, Susan, Joseph, Isaac and Mary Rebecca Brunson.

William Barnett Franklin was born about 1797 in Sumter District, South Carolina. His father was Henry Franklin and his mother Margaret Boggs or Baggs. Between 1805-1807 Henry Franklin with Josiah Brunson (unclear how he relates) came to Mississippi Territory, more specifically Clarke County, David Brunson (a cousin likely of Josiah) and his family also emigrated. The Cox family is also associated with this emigration.

In the 1820's William Barnett Franklin, who had married Martha Brunson, and Martha's brothers, sisters and father all came to what is now Crenshaw, the Franklin and Brunson men were surveyors that helped set the county lines. William Barnett Franklin died in Pike county in 1860. His wife Patsy Brunson was born in Sumter district South Carolina in 1804 and died in 1901.

Henry Franklin and Margaret Boggs had the following known children, Thomas Benjamin, Henry, Robert, Martha and Mahala America Franklin. They may have also been the parents to a Rebecca and Catherine Franklin who were married in the county.

Henry died around 1815 in Clarke County. His son, Henry, had a son William Barnett Franklin who also married in to the Brunson family. In addition Martha Franklin married Benjamin Brunson a brother of Patsy Brunson. All of the known family that intermarried moved to Pike except Thomas Benjamin and Mahala America.

Henry Franklin looks to have had two brothers who resided in Sumter. They were Lawrence and Reuben Franklin who are found there in 1790 and 1800.

Martha "Patsy" Brunson was the daughter of David Brunson and Sarah Johnson Richbourg. She had the following siblings, John, Josiah, Benjamin, Elizabeth Ann, Sarah L and Albert Brunson.

David was the son of  David Brunson and Susan Johnson. David Brunson was a son of Isaac Brunson Sr and Margaret Oldys.

I really suggest you read the Brunson data from July 2016. I have a lot more information on the Brunson's there.


McCurdy Family

The McCurdy family of Santa Rosa is large. And I know probably more researchers for this line than any other. There are several trees out there who have Elijah McCurdy having two families. He did not. There are also several trees that have Elijah as the son of Elijah and Ann Handy McCurdy. He is not.

We don't know who Elijah's parents are. I have thought that either he is illegitimate or his mother was remarried by 1800. His war of 1812 enlistment says he was born in Chester, and the discharge Abbeville, yet no probate or any documents for his father have been found in either.

Plina McCurdy my ancestor was one of 15 children of William Marion McCurdy (the Jackson is on his death certificate, but in all other documents he uses M or Marion) and Amanda Palestine Beck. After the death of Amanda, Bill married his wife's sister Nancy, but they soon divorced. He then married Florence Morris, the granddaughter of his brother George Washington McCurdy with whom he had an additional 10 children.

William Marion McCurdy  was born in 1849 and died in 1939. He applied for and received a pension for CW service for the Florida Home guard, though the information in the application is a bit sketchy. He had two brothers die before the Civil war, one who was to young to serve and four brothers that served. Of those four brothers, one would come home crippled and two would die in the same hospital in the same week.

As I mentioned, William Marion McCurdy had 25 children, contributing more than his fair share to the over 100 grandchildren of Elijah McCurdy and Barbara Sunday. As I said, it's a rather large family.

So the children of Amanda Beck and Bill McCurdy are Sarah Palestine, Elizabeth Janette, Josephine, Mary Anna, William Henry, Plina Pauline, Francis Marion, Carrie Corene, Jesse Elijah, Alfred Roy, Grover Cleveland, Bama Josephine, Benjamin Lawrence, Reuben A and Bernard Taylor McCurdy.

The children of Florence Morris and Bill McCurdy are Elsie, Ola Mae. Leroy Leslie, Mamie, Howard, Katie, Luverne, William Irvin, Elma and Julia McCurdy.

Whew.. got that over.

So the siblings of William Marion McCurdy whose parents were Elijah McCurdy and Barbara Sunday are George Washington, John V,  Elijah, Charlotte, Francis Marion, Barbara, Thomas Jackson, Cornelia, Julia Ann, Elizabeth Josephine, Mary Evaline, and Reuben McCurdy.

Prior to his marriage to Barbara Sunday, Elijah was married to Martha "Mattie" Bowen and they had two children, Joseph McCurdy and Anna McCurdy. Anna married Barbara's brother Thomas Sunday.
We just like to keep it all in the family.

Before I go into Elijah McCurdy and the Sunday family, Amanda Beck was the daughter of Jesse Beck and Sarah, who researchers have as Woodstock but I can't find a source. I am hoping X dna may help us figure more out on that front. Amanda was born in 1854 and died in 1895. Her father was born in 1799 and researchers have he died in 1883 but it looks like he is just in another county in 1900. Sarah was born in 1818 and died in 1894 per researchers. Again no source. I do know I found a document were several of the children, were the name of Lewis and the name was changed in 1848. The Alabama archives had no more information when I queried them.

The full siblings of Amanda Beck are Sarah Isabelle, Elizabeth, Nancy Ann, Alfred Darling, and Mary Florence. The siblings by her father's first wife are Cordelia "Delia", William Columbus and Ike B. Beck. The "Lewis" Beck (Half siblings versus illegitimate full siblings) are Matilda Jane, Mahala Susan, Jesse Bryant, Zilla Belle, and Zella Belle.

Elijah McCurdy was born in 1793 in South Carolina. It is clear he is related to the other McCurdy's but thus far, we have not had any documentation to firmly place him with a set of parents. Descendants are matching McCurdy's from Pennsylvania, Georgia and the other Elijah who was born in 1796 and IS the son of Elijah McCurdy and Ann Handy Harris.

Elijah's first wife Martha "Mattie" Bowen was a daughter of Joel Bowen. Mattie had had an illegitimate daughter with James Brewster, Cleopatra who married Willis Jones. Elijah's second wife was Barbara Sunday, who I don't think was 13 when she married Elijah, I do think she was about 16 and a lot younger than him. I also think his first wife Mattie had died. Barbara was the daughter of John Sunday and his wife Barsheba Collins. Barbara died between 1860 and 1866 as there is no female in the household for Elijah of her age group on the state census. 

Barbara's father John Sunday is found in the 1820 census of Wilkinson county, Georgia which is next to Baldwin county where he married Barsheba Collins in 1809. I believe she is the daughter of the elderly Thomas Collins living in Wilkinson county in 1820. John Sunday won but never claimed land in the land lottery.In the 1820 he has two females under 10, they would be Charlotte and Barbara. In 1830 he has two daughters 5-9 which are unknown because both Charlotte and Barbara would be over 10. I did find a Barshala Sunday born around 1830 that is listed as a parent in Baldwin County.

John Sunday also had children with his mulatto slave whom he freed named Jinny. Barbara Sunday's full siblings were William, Francis, Thomas, Charlotte, George Washington, John, Andrew Jackson and Barshala Sunday. Her half siblings were Harrison, Merced, David Thomas and John Sunday Jr.

Note, John Sunday Jr the son of Barsheba lived in Georgia and eastern Florida, John Sunday Jr the son of Ginny lived in Pensacola.

I believe Barsheba Collins had three siblings marry within a year of her in Georgia. They are Absey Collins Pearman, James Collins, and Polly Collins Owens.

I believe that William H. McCurdy who lived for a while in Santa Rosa and what is now Escambia and moved to Sumter County in 1840 is a brother of Elijah McCurdy. His daughter Abasheba was once thought to have belonged to Elijah's family.

Nancy who was married to Joshua Bowen, may or may not be a relative. It is not conclusive at this point and DNA is not showing support or lack of support for the relationship.



Pyburn Family

My great grandmother was Lula Bell Pyburn. Now I have talked about the Pyburn's more than any other family on my blog. The Tensaw posts remain the most popular for visitors. And this blog should include the McCurdy family, though I may end up making a separate post to address them because this is a lot of information.

Lula Bell was born in 1895 and she died in 1987. She was the daughter of Archie Bald Pyburn and his first wife, Plina McCurdy. Lula was the eldest of his children, she had two full sisters, Maude Rhodell Pyburn Maddox, and Elizabeth Alyce Pyburn Rianda. She also had three half siblings, Carlton, Claire Ruth and Eulene Pyburn.

Archie Bald Pyburn was born in 1871 in Conecuh County, Alabama and he died in 1933 in Jay, Florida. He was married three times. His first wife, Plina ran away and after they divorced he married Ella Fair Polk by whom he had no children. His third wife Hattie Campbell was a first cousin of Lula's husband Robert Morgan Hardy. Hattie is the mother of Archie's three youngest children.

Archie's parents were Benjamin Jacob Pyburn and Mary Jane Chitty. Plina's parents were William Marion McCurdy and Amanda Beck. Archie was one of 8 children, but Plina is one of 28, so I am going to address the Pyburn's first.

Benjamin Jacob Pyburn was born about 1824 and died in 1899. He was most likely born in Baldwin County, but his parents could have already moved to Santa Rosa county by then. He died in Conecuh county, Alabama. Benjamin Jacob Pyburn was the son of Jacob Pyburn and Diadema Stapleton. I know I addressed the Stapleton family before.

Benjamin's wife Mary Jane Chitty was a daughter of  James Chitty and Mary Brown. She was born in 1833 and died in 1900.

The children of Benjamin Jacob Pyburn and Mary Jane Chitty were Nicey Elizabeth, James P. "John", Mary Diadema, William Eli, Millie F, Terry Melvina, Lallie and Archie Bald Pyburn.

The siblings of Benjamin Jacob Pyburn were A. William, Millie Nancy, Nicey, Archibald, Frances Terry, Elizabeth, Mary Diadema "Damie" Pyburn.

Benjamin's father, Jacob Pyburn was an only child. His father was Jacob Pyburn and his mother was unknown, he was born around 1797 and died in 1868, I blogged in great detail about the only other known lineage from these Pyburn's, Jacob's sister Mary Pyburn Collins. The posts begin here.  

Jacob and Mary Pyburn were children of Jacob Pyburn who died in 1786 in Tensaw and his wife Frances Mullis who died 1810-1813 in near Lake Tensaw in Baldwin Alabama. Jacob Pyburn is traceable to the early Pyburn's but we are missing one generation. I believe he is a grandson or a great grandson of the John or Richard Pyburn from Maryland. We are matching the most Pyburn DNA with descendants of Lewis Pyburn in Louisiana and the Austin Choate and Naomi  Pyburn line. Here is some more data on the family.

Mary Jane Chitty's father James Chitty was born around 1800 and he died in 1848 in Conecuh. His wife Mary Brown was born around 1802 and died in 1857, Mary's siblings were James, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Melvina, Sarah, William, Emilina, Martha and Margaret Chitty.

James Chitty's siblings were Jane Chitty Etheridge, Allen Chitty, John "Jack" Chitty, and Sarah Chitty Brown. They were the children of John Cecil Chitty and his wife Sarah.

Diadema Stapleton's family was addressed in the blog I linked to.

Hardy Family

My great grandfather Robert Morgan Hardy was born in Bay Minette Alabama in 1890 the son of William Shephard Hardy Jr and Talulah Johnson. I will talk about his wife Lula Bell Pyburn in another post.

Robert Morgan Hardy and Lula had four children, Evelyne Virginia, Dorothy Jean, Robert Burns and Milton Oliver Hardy.

William Shephard Hardy Jr was born about 1861 in Santa Rosa county, Florida and he died in 1925 in Mississippi. He was a logger or worked in turpentine his whole life. While he was a young child, his father was a soldier and a prisoner in the Civil War. After the war, the logging industry in Santa Rosa and Escambia county Florida had decimated the forest and his family moved to Baldwin county, Alabama. William Shephard Hardy Jr was always called Shep like his father. Shep met and married Talulah Johnson in Santa Rosa county. I posted about Talulah's questionable relationships here.

DNA circles show that we are descended from the Johnson's and Parkers, so I am going to skip Talulah's parents and go straight to her grandparents. It's possible Talulah's mother is a Diamond.

 Talulah's grandparents were William Burton Johnson and Elizabeth Parker who moved to Conecuh county Alabama around 1820. William Burton Johnson  was born in 1783 and died in 1846 in Conecuh. The children of William Burton Johnson and Elizabeth Parker were Peter Lazarus, William Washington, Mary, Matilda, George Nolan and Samuel Christopher Johnson.

 His father was also William B. Johnson and his mother whose first name is unknown is a Vaughn or Vaughan (makes me wonder if they are connected to my family in Geneva/Holmes who are Vaughan's). His father died  in 1820 in Conecuh, and was born around 1760 being a son of William Johnson born 1725 and died 1819 in Union County, South Carolina and Susannah Anderson.

William Burton Johnson's brother George Washington Johnson and sister Mary Johnson Young both raised families in Conecuh as well. Several of Elizabeth Parker's siblings were also nearby, her siblings are too numerous to post. Elizabeth Parkers parents were Samuel and Polly Parker and they were cousins of some degree. Elizabeth Parker Johnson was born 1796 and she died in 1870 in Santa Rosa county, Florida. Her father Samuel was born 1765 in Maryland and he died in 1840 in Covington county, Alabama. Her mother Polly Parker was born in 1774 in Maryland and died in 1861 in Covington county, Alabama.

Shep Jr and Talulah had the following children, Houston Benjamin, Sarah Mattie, Lela Viola, Robert Morgan, Jody Price, Willie Burnzy, Iva Lee, Aden Fleming and Emma Mable Hardy.

William Shephard Hardy Jr was the son of William Shephard Hardy Sr and Sarah Nelson. William Shephard Hardy Sr was born about 1837 in Coffee county, Alabama, the son of Gardner Hardy and Harriet. I think that Harriet may be a daughter of or relative of Ephraim King who is living nearby. I blogged about Gardner Hardy's parents here. There are actually several posts on the Hardy's throughout the years, some in 2014 and in 2016 if you want to take a look.

Shep Sr was a character. He ran a logging operation with John Wesley Hardin. He died while jumping from one train to another in Baldwin county, Alabama. He served in a unit in the Civil War that was transferred to Tennessee. He was captured and spent time at Rock Island during the war.

Sarah Nelson was a daughter of Leonard Nelson and Lurena Hudgens. She was born about 1843 and died in 1926. She and Shep Sr had the following children, Harriet Elizabeth, James T. Robert Henry, Shep Jr, Nancy Jane, Laura Texana Ada, Araguelifa Lila, Ebenezar and Ella Ida Hardy.

The siblings of Shep Sr are Rebecca E, Harriet, Jane, Sarah Frances, Robert H, Mary E, Martha and Ephraim Hardy. I did cover a lot of these folks in detail in a blog in 2014.

Leonard Nelson who was born around 1800 and died between 1850 and 1860. He is most likely the son of John Nelson who lived and died in Conecuh around the same time as Leonard. Leonard Nelson and his wife Lurena had the following children, Thomas Milbourne, Ansel, Mary A, William, Josiah Joseph, Sarah, and Zelphia/Zilphia Nelson.

Lurena Hudgens was the daughter of Ansel Hudgens and Betsy Hamlin.She was born about 1805 and died after 1860.


Collins and Mangum Family

This is the last family post for my maternal side of the family.

Martha Jane Collins was the mother of my great grandfather. After she divorced her husband John S. Hager, she married in Texarkana, Arkansas William Daniel and had two daughters, Bessie and Lona Daniels. She was born about 1868 and died 1900-1905.

Martha Jane Collins was the daughter of Martin Daniel  (D. J.) Collins and Martha L P Mangum. Her parents married in Bedford County, Tennessee lived in Illinois in 1870 and by 1880 the widowed Martha with her children are living in Saline County, Arkansas. Martha Jane Collins siblings were Adolphus, Harriet Talitha and William Martin Collins.

Martin D. J. Collins was born in 1846 in Bedford County, TN to Daniel Collins and Talitha Adams. He died between 1870-1880. His siblings were William Jackson, Almon Adams, Ellen Elizabeth, Robert Jefferson, George Washington and Martha Collins. We have several DNA matches to the Collins family, and in fact, I am showing William Jackson Collins as a DNA circle.

Daniel Collins heritage is unknown, but Talitha (Alitha) Adams was the daughter of Martin Adams and Elizabeth Blassingame.

Martha L P Mangum was the daughter of Samuel and Harriet Mangum (Sometimes seen as Mangrum). We find them in 1850 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky and in 1860, the widow Harriet is in Bedford with her children Martha, William, James and Roseanna. It is worthy of note that Harriet is in Saline county in 1880 but not with any family, making me question if she is their mother. She is listed as a border.

Martha was born 1841 and died in 1909. Her siblings were Elizabeth Jane, James Harvey, William J and Roseanna Mangum. Martha and her brothers James and William settled in Saline County, Arkansas and each donated land, along with Isaiah Wood for the Sharon Missionary Baptist Church.

Samuel Mangum appears to have died 1858-1859. His parents look to be Samuel Mangum and Kezziah, as we have DNA triangulation with a descendant, but Jesse Mangum of the same area is also a possibility, as we believe they are brothers. Both reside in Bedford or Marshall county TN.

There is a tree out there that is including Martha's brothers in a different tree, but the data overlooks the census data I mentioned.

Hager Family

My great grandfather Claude Cye Hager was born in 1889 in Benton, Arkansas. His father was John S. Hager and his mother was Martha Collins. I will talk about Martha in a post on the Collins and Mangrum families. Claude had one full brother, George Washington Hager.

There is an earlier post on Claude Hager. My grandfather never knew him, and he died in prison in 1933. Claude had two sons, my grandfather and Spencer Hager, whose mother was Minnie Jones. I have tested both Spencer's son and my mother at 23 and me and they are on gedmatch.

John S. Hager was born around 1868 to William Daniel Hager who went by Dan Hager and his wife, Eda Martha Barnett. He was born in Little River county, Arkansas and died in 1905 as best as I can tell. He applied in Benton for a marriage certificate that year, and later his children were made wards of their maternal grandmother. Thus I assume he died.

Dan Hager and Eda had three children, Margaret Rena Hager, Mary Magdeline Hager and John S. Hager. Eda died and Dan married a much younger woman, Martha E. Hall with whom he had two daughters, Dovie May and Lillie. In 1882 Margaret married George Washington Brazil, and Mary Hager applied for a license (age 12!) to marry H. M. Mills. A year later Mary Mills married William Henry Tong. In 1885 Isaiah Wood of Benton applied for guardianship of Lillie Hager because she was not being taken care of by her relatives. I assume this was either her brother or sister. She was adopted by James Cameron and his wife, and as Lillie Cameron she married in Benton Joseph Tarpley. Supposedly Dovie May was also adopted but I can't find her.

So Dan Hager had died between 1881-1885. Grandchildren of Margaret Rena stated that she said her stepmother treated Dan's children horribly. Maybe they got back at their half siblings, I don't know. I can't find any guardianship or estate papers in Little River, surrounding counties in Arkansas or Texas. I have looked.

Dan Hager along with his mother and brother are first found in Arkansas in 1860 in Franklin County Arkansas. His mother is living in 1880 (no estate etc found) in Little River, so we can reliably trace this family. Members of this family are missing in many censuses, so it's a difficult family to track.

Dan Hager is the son of Steely Hager and his wife, Mary "Polly" Whitley. He was born about 1840. In 1847 his father died because I find a years support for the widow in Lauderdale County, Tn, but no apprentice records or guardianship for the boys are found there. Around that same time the elder sons of Steely and Polly marry in Lauderdale. 

Steely Hager and his wife Polly had the following children, Sterling Alexander Hager, John Alexander Hager, Samuel Thomas Hager, Benjamin F. Hager and William Daniel Hager. I know a lot of people have Sterling as the son of the other Sterling Alexander Hager, but that is a brother of Steely. Oddly enough, he shows up as one of my DNA circles on ancestry.

Dawes testimony for the failed attempt by one of the sons of  Samuel Thomas Hager give the name of Steely and Polly. The couples marriage is recorded also in Tennessee marriages. I have a blog about the testimony here. There are a two more posts on the family from the same day.

Mary Polly Whitley is the daughter of Alexander Whitley and Peggy Stokes. Steely and his wife closely follow the family of the Whitley's and are living near them from 1820-1840. She was born around 1798 and died 1880-1885. Her siblings were Pierce Stokes, Marcus, Alexander, Thomas George, Benjamin, John and Elizabeth Whitley (Wheatley sometimes in records).

I don't know the parentage of Steely. I do know he has a brother Sterling Alexander and possibly some sisters. I do know that all of the trees that name these to be descended from John Hager and Sally Stratia are wrong, that is Starling Hager and he is in Missouri as the history states and is traceable. I is my opinion our Hager's come from the other line in North Carolina, George Hager and likely also a Steely but at this time I have not been able to find anything.

Eda Martha Barnett the wife of Dan Hager was born around 1849 to Joseph Barnett and Elizabeth Bagwell. Her parents died in Sevier County, Arkansas and were from South Carolina. The estate of Elizabeth's father, Jesse Bagwell occurred in Forsyth County, Georgia where the family moved 1850. It is from here that the Barnett's emigrate to Arkansas. I believe Joseph may be a son of Joseph Barnett of  Spartanburg. We do appear to share DNA with a family who settled in Arkansas that goes by the name of Burnett and it's shared by descendants of Dan and Eda Hager. I haven't been able to figure the connection though.

Jesse Bagwell's wife was Mary Polly Raybourne. His parents were William Bagwell and Elizabeth Sara Stone.


Trahern Family

So there has been posts about the Trahern's on my blog. They start here and encompass about 6 posts. Some of that will be repeated here, but since I went so in depth in the past, I won't be as thorough here.


Margaret Trahern the wife of Jason Arthur Adams was born in 1880 in the Skullyville district of the Choctaw Nation. Her home was likely not located far from Trahern Station which was in current Leflore County, Oklahoma. Margaret died in Tulsa in 1955.

Margaret was the second child of Robert Trahern and his wife Cornelia Gardner. Margaret and all her siblings enrolled as 1/2 Choctaws on the Dawes Roll of Choctaw Indians. It probably wasn't  accurate. Descendants of all the children say there ancestors were "full bloods" though that is impossible. They were probably around 3/4, if Cornelia Gardner was indeed a full blood. Based on the only lead I have for her, she was as close to it as she could get.

Robert and Cornelia Trahern's children were Admona (Addie), Margaret, Serena (Rena), Loren, Martha and William Trahern.

Robert Trahern was a son of James N. Trahern and Sarah Hall. He was born around 1849 and he died in 1899. I suspect that he and his brother Joseph were killed at the same time. I know our family believed he was shot over land. Unlike his brothers Lysander and James, there is nothing suggesting Robert was an upstanding individual. He was tried for attempted murder at Fort Smith, and family tales have him as a boot legger, which is probably true.

Cornelia Gardner I think is the daughter of Samuel Gardner and his wife Mary. Samuel has a girl in his home on the censuses for Towson to suggest that this is a valid theory. She was born about 1860. Samuel Gardner and Mary had in 1856 Nancy (Nicy?), Loring Nolen and Sissy Gardner. In 1868 he has a son Loring's age and a daughter under 16 with no wife. In 1874 Sam had married Isabelle Durant and had a son, Basil Gardner, the census shows a male under 10, 2 males age 21-45 (Loring and Sam) and 2 females over 16.

I have not found any paper documenting this relationship, but it's the strongest because of the name. Loring Gardner and Loren Trahern, and Loren also names a daughter Serena, the true name of Rena in our family. No other Gardner's have names similar to Cornelia's family.

Samuel Gardner should be a son of John Gardner and Alatoma, and John Gardner would be a son of James Gardner and Margaret. But that is speculative at this point.

James N. Trahern was the son of James Trahern, a Virginian, and Peggy. He was born around 1814 and died in 1883. His wife Sarah Hall was the daughter of William Hall and Susan Riddle. She was born around 1818 and died in 1873.

James Trahern and the Virginia bunch I will refer to the previous blog posts that I already linked.

Peggy was the daughter of Nahotima and a white trader. Personally I favor Thomas James as the most probable at this point. She was born in the early 1770's and had her first child with Charles Juzan around 1793. She had one full sister, Delilah who had five children. Both women were named in the Supplement to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Thanks primarily to the efforts of their relatives, her half sister's sons James L. McDonald and Robert M. Jones, and hopefully through the efforts of her son Pierre Juzan.

Peggy had half siblings from both her father and her mother. (DO NOT EVEN BRING UP THE LEFLORE FAMILY THEY AREN'T PART OF THIS LINE) Through her father she had a half sister named Molly who was the mother of Alexander Hamilton and James L. McDonald, one named Sally who was married to Middleton Mackey and the mother of his eldest children including David Mackey, and unknown named sister who was the mother of Robert M. Jones. It is possible that Sally had a son with John McKee too.

Through her mother her half siblings were Tappenahoma and Oklahoma both leaders in the Kunsha clan, her brother Tappenahoma succeeded her Uncle Pushmataha  upon his death. I no longer believe Nitakechi is a relative, though most historians have suspected that from the succession. I think they are unrelated. Shanke is also quite possibly a half sister to Peggy. I have lists of the descendants of all of these folks from documented sources, including Pushmataha. Most of what you read elsewhere (Running Deer, Favre, Anderson, Leflore) is rumors and has no documentation.

William Hall the father of Sarah Hall was a mixed blood choctaw. He had at least two sisters, Margaret who married John Ring and Amos W. Geary and Sarah who married Jeremiah Gardner. His family is a bit unusual, they are early to marry within white society and were educated and could read. Margaret was a teacher with the missionaries according to records. Margaret had no children, but Sarah and William both did.

I have no idea who William Hall relates to on both the Hall or Choctaw side at this point. He married Susan Riddle, a niece of Mushulatubbee, which would probably indicate he had some sort of favored or elite status. William Hall and Susan Riddle according to their tomb stone were born in 1793. They are buried at Skullyville Cemetery, which originally was part of their land.

Three of the Hall sons were killed in 1860 or 1861 by a slave uprising, the remaining family sold their land and slaves after that before the end of the civil war. Most were bought by Walker Folsom. Of the Hall family, we only have traceable descendants for Jane Hall who was the second wife of David Folsom, Margaret Hall who married William Moncrief, Sarah Hall and Katherine Hall who married Thomas Wall and Tandy Stephens.

Susan Riddle the mother of Sarah Hall was also a mixed Choctaw. Her parents were William Riddle, a white man and Caty, a sister of Mushulatubbee. Susan's brothers were sent to the mission school at Mushulatubbee's and a letter refers to them as his nephews.

Caty's sister was the mother of Sophia Folsom and Joseph and Andrew Kincade. Based on a Choctaw trading post debtor list, her name may have been Rebecca. Letters from John Pitchlynn in 1808 link John Kincade to the area, and I suspect he is the father of Joseph and Andrew. He was in trouble for selling alcohol, and it's about this time that his family ends up moving to Louisiana.

We know that Caty and Mushulatubbee had at least one more brother, Atoba who killed himself after he was acquitted of murder of a white. I found the original newspaper article where he wrote an apology to the white settlers. It is quite probable that there are more siblings that we don't know about.

Caty had with William Riddle daughters Lucinda, Susan and Mary, and sons William, John and Joseph. After the death of her husband, she married John Jones Sr with whom she had no children and she emigrated to the Choctaw Nation and died living near her son John Riddle.



Adams family (also Rogers)

My great grandmother Margaret Pauline Adams (aka Bonnie) was the daughter of Jason Adams and Margaret Trahern. She was born in 1907 in McCurtain, Oklahoma, and died in 1983 in Chicago. I will discuss her maternal side in a different post.

Jason Adams was the son of George Washington Adams and Louisa Rogers. He was born in 1867 in Shoal Creek, Arkansas, and died in 1930 in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. Jason was one of four sons, his siblings were Charles Marion, Simon Wylie and James Franklin Adams. The boys mother died in 1882 and the boys were left to fend for them selves by their father.

Jason married twice. His first wife was Amanda Sonora Ellington with which he had two children, Amos Franklin and Elsie Myrtle. With his second wife Margaret he had the following children, Samuel Jefferson, James Arthur, Curtis Hall, Margaret Pauline, Bertha Viola, Rena, Hattie, Oleon and Roverta Adams.

George Washington Adams is someone we have no idea on his parentage. Though DNA appears to be giving us some clues, George himself left few. He was born about 1840 in most likely Tennessee, and died in 1907 in Oklahoma. If I can recall the theory I will blog about it.

Louisa Rogers was a daughter of Henry Rogers and his wife Mahala Mariah. Here is where we get into one issue. A lot of people show Henry as John Henry, but there is no records that prove that was the case, so I will not use that. His wife is rumored to be a Rodgers, and I do have one family I think may be her lineage. I see trees out there with parents, but they have no source documentation. Remember to watch what you copy into your tree from ancestry.

Louisa Rogers was born 1842 in Hamilton County, TN. She was one of many children, her siblings were John Alexander, James Washington, Maranda, Edley Jackson, Henry, Lucinda, Joseph Jefferson, William Miles, Amey Ann and Susan Rogers. Her mother died around 1853 along with a sister and not long afterwards the family moved to Yell/Johnson areas of Arkansas near Mt. Magazine.

Henry Rogers was the second child of Joseph Rogers and his wife Susannah. Family researchers have her named Shue. I have blogged about Suzie in the past, you can find those posts here. A lot of what I am going to say I addressed in DNA discussions in posts from 2015 if you want to look back.

As for Mahala Mariah and her sister Mahala Amelia who married Edley,  I have a theory. I believe it is possible that they are children of a John or William Rogers who lived in Hamilton county. He left a widow Mary and had the following verified children, George W. Rogers, Nancy Rogers Jackson (whose son married into Edley's family), and Miranda Rogers Jackson. If you look into Ephraim Hixson and Elisha Rodgers, these families are all related, the problem has been adequate records on the Rogers because of damages to the court houses.

Joseph Rogers and Susannah had four children, Lucinda, Louisa, Edley and Henry Rogers. We have had references to an 1842 court case verifying this for over 15 years (but never found an outcome). Joseph died by 1815 because Susannah and her new husband James Wallen were selling her dower portion of some land, the same land in the 1842 court case,

We don't know an age for Joseph, but he was at least 21 when he served as a witness on a deed in 1795. I suppose he was born sometime between 1765-1775. He was a son of Doswell (Dauswell) Rogers and his wife, who I believe DNA has proven is a daughter or relative of Elisha Wallen and Mary Blevins (DNA matching Blevins family alone on front half of a 74 cM segment, the rest matching descendants of that couple and descendants of Doswell Rogers from more than one child).
I blogged about that too.

Doswell Rogers Ydna has been linked to the Adduston Rogers and Catherine Doswell line from what I have been told. To be honest, I don't know those genealogies well enough, and the ydna listings aren't clear enough for me to give a path beyond Doswell.

We do share DNA with Thomas Rogers descendants who also names a son Doswell.

Joseph Rogers lived in Roane what would become Bledsoe (and later Hamilton) county TN. He also had records in Lee county, Virginia. Since a lot of what I would say was already written about, I will refer you to this post for information on the family of Joseph and Susanna.

After the death of Joseph, Susanna married James Wallen (a first cousin I believe of Joseph Rogers). She had several more children and records for the family are primarily located in McMinn county, TN. Her children with James were unknown son, Stephen Wallen, Thomas Wallen, John Wallen, Mary (Polly) Wallen Culpepper, and Nancy Wallen. We have triangulated DNA matches with descendants of Louisa Rogers and Henry Rogers with the descendants of Thomas Wallen. Additionally Thomas Wallen was a neighbor in Carroll county to Edley, Henry and Louisa Rogers.


Paxton Family

This is the last post covering my maternal grandmother's family. I will post each grandparent's ancestors as I have time. This one won't be long, because it is an area of my brick walls.

Emma Paxton the mother of Lee Roy Edward Hinds was born in 1853 in Jefferson County, NY. Her father was Benjamin Paxton and her mother was Mary Douglas. She is one of several siblings,
William Henry, Martha, Mary Matilda, Howard T., George Benjamin, Frank E, Minnie, Ida and Albert Paxton were all her full siblings. Her father married twice after the death of her mother. He had two children with his second wife, Lela Ethel and Cora May Paxton.

Benjamin Paxton is first found in 1850 in St. Lawrence County, NY. He was a cobbler. He has a sister in his home. In 1860 he is in Jefferson County, NY, and is again a cobbler. He enlisted in the Civil war, and that is where we first get some information. He gave his father's name as William Paxton and his mother's name as Mary Brown. He was born in either Buckingham or Birmingham England. Depends on which you read. He was born around 1823 and was supposed to have come over around the age of 8.

I can't find his parents in England. I can't find his emigration. I think Martha is his sister and she died in a pauper's home in the 1850's. His wife was in one place born in Canada and another in England. So I am not sure if he came to NY through Canada. So as you can see, there isn't much to blog about.

My great Aunt, a granddaughter of Emma Paxton is on gedmatch. If you come from any of the families I have blogged about, and would like to see if we match, leave a comment.

Hinds Family

My great grandfather Lee Roy Edward Hinds comes from a long line of colonial families on his paternal side. When I started out my grandmother told me that there was a book. Within a few years it was online, and I used it to start my research further back. It wasn't until recently that I verified it and worked on the female lines. Thus far, the books have proven to be if not a hundred percent accurate, pretty close.

I would encourage you if any of these families are yours to search archive.org or google for the family histories. I know several of the early families have one. It is a great starting point. If I vary it's because I have researched original documents and changed my information to reflect the information I found or interpreted.

Lee Roy Edward Hinds was the son of Francis Marion Hinds and Emma Paxton. He was born in Dekalb county, Illinois in a cabin. Francis and Emma spent around 12 years in Illinois before returning to New York. He went by Roy Hinds and he married my great grandmother, Elizabeth Ruth Timmins in the Episcopalian church of Syracuse in 1908. They had several children, Thelma, Ruth, Raymond, Warren, Orvis, Dolores and Helen. There was also a set of twins that she lost.

Roy and Elizabeth Hinds lived in Syracuse until their retirement when they moved to California. It was sometime in the 1950's that they moved there. Roy died in 1968. His wife Elizabeth died in 1982. Roy was a railroad engineer.

Francis Marion Hinds was born in 1847 in Pillar Point, NY. He was from his father's second wife. He enlisted and served in the Civil War from New York. In 1872 he married Emma Paxton whose family history will be discussed in a later blog. It is important to note that while Frank and Emma are mentioned in the Hinds family genealogy by Frank Hinds, their children are absent.

Francis and Emma had a large family, Cora Belle,  Grace Ora, Thomas Watson, Emma Frances, Arthur Braten, Orvis Benjamin, Lee Roy Edward, Harry W., Sarah and Pearl M. Hinds. All of the family resided in either Syracuse or Oswego county, New York. Pearl the youngest child shared her birthday with  her father. Their eldest daughter, Cora killed herself when she was 21 years old. Arthur and Grace had no children. Thomas had two children who were adopted out, and only one of those has been found.

Francis Hinds died in 1911, his widow Emma died in 1927.  Francis was one of 7 children by Thomas William Hinds and his wife, Mary Crawford. Thomas' first wife was Chloe Fuller. Thomas William Hinds was born in Vermont in 1803 but resided for most of his life in Pillar Point, NY. His father, Thomas Hinds Sr along with a brother, Corliss Hinds served in the war of 1812 on the great lakes there. Thomas William Hinds died in 1877. His first wife Chloe Hinds died in 1841, his widow Mary died in 1902.

Francis Hinds full siblings were Albert Hinds (1904), Huldah Hinds Bird (1916), Phoebe Hinds Patrick (1894), Almira Hinds Bunker (1894), Mary Hinds Jackson (1905), and Minerva Hinds Roat (1912). His half siblings were Mary Hinds, Octavia Hinds (1841), Pitt Morse Hinds (1893), Austin Fuller Hinds (1916), Earl Hinds (1900) and William Watson Hinds (1860). The dates in parenthesis being the year of death.

Thomas William Hinds was the son of Thomas Hinds Sr and his wife Phebe Bent. Mary Crawford was the daughter of William Crawford and Huldah Wheeler. William Crawford was an Irish immigrant born in 1766. He had arrived in the United States no later than 1798 when he married Huldah Wheeler. Nothing more of his ancestry is known.

Huldah Wheeler came from similar colonial roots as the Hinds family did. She was born in 1778 in Tolland Connecticut to Timothy Wheeler and Rhoda Thomas. Timothy served in the American Revolution.  His father was Josiah Wheeler and his mother was Elizabeth Blodgett.  Josiah Wheelers parents were Isaac Wheeler and Sarah Howe. Sarah Howe's paternal grandfather is William Howe who is mentioned here.The  Nutting family (Sarah's mother was Mary Nutting) also of Chelmsford Massachussetts has a long history. A blog discusses them here. http://earlynewenglandfamilies.blogspot.com/2012/02/nutting-family-of-new-england.html

Thomas Hinds Sr and Phebe Bent were the parents of 13 children. William Watson Hinds (1859), Thomas William Hinds (1877), Emily Hinds Poole (1826), Tamer Hinds Elmer (1846), Carrollus (Carlos) Hinds (1899), Earl Bent Hinds (1894), Phoebe Hinds, Silas Bent Hinds (1899), Albert Hinds (1887), Betsy Hinds, Patty Hinds, Mary Ann Hinds Williams, and Emily A Hinds (1842).

Thomas Hinds Sr was born in 1780 in Barre, Massachusetts to Corlis Hinds, Jr and Susannah Henry. He died in 1846 near Pillar Point, NY. His wife Phebe Bent was a daughter of David Bent and Phebe Whittemore. She was born in 1778 in Mount Holly, Vermont and died in 1841 near Pillar Point, NY. Her sister Mary was married to Corliss Hinds III, a brother of Thomas Hinds.

As the families are relatively large I am going to skip naming all of the children of each generation.

Corliss Hinds Jr was a son of Corliss Hinds Sr and Jeanette McMaster. He was born in 1748 in Brookfield, Massachusetts and died 1832 in Petersham, Massachusetts. His father Corliss Hinds Sr was born in 1724 in Brookfield, Massachusetts and died in 1821 in Brookfield. His mother Jeanette McMaster was 1730 and died in 1806 in Brookfield. She was a daughter of John McMaster and his wife Catherine.

Corliss Hinds Sr was a son of John Hinds and his wife, Hannah Corliss. John was born in 1683 in Lancaster, Mass. and died in 1747 in Brookfield. His wife Hannah was born in 1691 in Haverhill to John Corliss and Mary Wilford. Hannah died in 1764.

John Hinds and Mary Unknown were the parents of John Hinds. John the elder was born in 1638 to James Hinds and Mary Knight in Salem, Massachusetts. John Corliss the father of Hannah Corliss was born in 1648 in Haverhill to George Corliss and Joanna Davis. George and Joanna's marriage was the second marriage in the city. His wife Mary Wilford was born in 1667 a daughter of Gilbert Wilford and Mary Dow.

Phebe Bent's father David Bent was born in Rutland, Mass. in 1756 and he died in 1831. His father David Bent Jr was born in 1730 and died in 1798. His mother Lucy Moore was born in 1734 and died in 1783. Lucy Moore was the daughter of Peter Moore and Mary Goodenow. Mary Goodenow's parents were Edmund Goodenow and Rebecca Graves.

David Bent Jr was a son of David Bent Sr and Mary Drury.  I have more back on that, but this post has gotten quite long.

Brampton Family

Sarah Brampton was my great grandmother's mother. After the death of her husband she took in boarders in Syracuse. I know they always lived in Solvay, and that her sons were forced to go to work as teenagers, but I am not sure if she remarried. I can't find her from 1905 until her obituary. Sarah Brampton married shortly before her death and died from complications of an appendectomy in Virginia while on her honeymoon.

Sarah and her husband were the parents of William Henry Timmins, Joseph Timmins and Elizabeth Ruth Timmins. Sarah was born in 1861 to Edward Brampton and Ruth Spicer of West Bromwich.
She immigrated to Syracuse in 1886 and died in 1926.

Edward Brampton was orphaned at an early age. While I am pretty sure I know who his father is, I have no idea who his mother is. I believe he is the son of William Brampton who died in 1832. We find Edward as Edwin Brampton in 1841 in the workhouse in Stanton Lacy, Shropshire age 12. Samuel Brampton who is also in the workhouse and is the same age is likely a brother.

In 1851 Edwin Brampton age 23 is found as a lodger in West Bromwich. He is a laborer and born in Ludlow, Shropshire. It is important to note that this is the last reference to an Edwin Brampton in records of the area, and there is never a mention of an Edward Brampton prior to this. In 1851 Ruth Spicer is listed as a servant with an illegitimate son, William Henry Spicer.

In 1854 Edward and Ruth marry. They have a large family, John Brampton who died in 1929 in West Bromwich, Samuel Brampton who died in 1938 in West Bromwich, Sarah Brampton Timmins, Mary Ann Brampton Moore who died in 1935, and Emma Brampton Carter who died in 1948. Ruth's son William Henry Spicer died in 1874.

Edward and Ruth are always found in a close area within West Bromwich. Edward's occupation was glass cutter. Edward died in 1915 and Ruth in 1901. Both are in unmarked graves.

Ruth was the daughter of John Spicer and Anna Hayfield or Haywood. Ruth was baptized in a nonconformist church in Oldbury by Halesowen that was Presbyterian. John was a coal miner born in either Oldbury or Dudley depending on the census. I believe his parents were Thomas Spicer and Hannah Ditheridge who were married at St. Thomas, Dudley in 1789.

John Spicer and his wife Anna (sometimes seen as Hannah) had the following children, Mary Ann, Hannah, Sarah Spicer Duern, John, Thomas and Ruth who was their youngest child. I haven't done much research on the other children of John and Hannah.

John's parents, Thomas and Hannah Spicer also had three daughters by baptism records. Elizabeth, Maria and Ruth Spicer. I have not researched them.

Hannah or Anna Hayfield I believe may be the daughter of John Hayfield and his wife Susannah, but I haven't found sufficient documentation on her as of yet.

I believe Edward or Edwin Brampton is the son of (perhaps illegitimate) William Brampton. He died in Ludlow in March of 1832. He was a son of John Brompton and Susan Edwards and was baptized in Ludlow in 1810. 

I believe John Brompton or Brampton is a relative of Thomas Brampton. John and Susan had the following children, John, William, Eliza, Catherine and Frederick.

Timmins family

As time permits, I will put some of the website information on the blog. This will be my first post, and it will center on my great grandmother Elizabeth Ruth Timmins and her ancestors.

Elizabeth Ruth Timmins was the first of her family to be born in the United States in October of 1889. Her mother and brothers immigrated from West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England in 1886. I haven't been able to find a port of entry for her father, but we know that her father, George Henry Timmins also immigrated.

Elizabeth was the youngest child, and only daughter of her parents, George Henry Timmins and Sarah Brampton. When Elizabeth was 2 years old, her father killed himself. I found a newspaper article on the coroner's inquest. George had malaria, and according to the article, when the doctor stepped out of the room, he opened the drawer took out a razor blade and slashed his throat. He was delirious at the time.

Around this time, George's brother came to live in Syracuse as well, his name was Joseph Timmins. Both George and Joseph had sons named William Henry Timmins close in age. An important consideration when researching. By 1905 a sister, Harriet Timmins Hinton and her family also immigrated to Syracuse. All of the family didn't apply to become citizens of the United States, citing their birth in Philadelphia. In reality, only George Henry was born in England, so in fact, my family were illegal immigrants.

George likely worked at the same factory as his brother, Solvay Processing Plant. In the 1920's Joseph Paxton, and his nephew (son of George and Sarah) Joseph Paxton both worked at the plant, were neighbors on the same street, and married women named Caroline Lakin. The difference being that Joseph (my great grandmother's brother) married the niece by marriage of the Caroline Lakin who married the elder Joseph.

It was baptismal records for the Episcopal church in Syracuse that first clued me in on the fact that the family was related. After I found a burial article for Joseph Timmins (elder) that listed my great grandfather as a pall bearer. Funny thing, my grandmother and her sister who gave me so much of the information I started with (accurate information too), never mentioned that their mother had cousins in the area.

In 1881 England, George Henry Timmins is living with his wife's parents in West Bromwich. His occupation was glass cutter. 

George Henry Timmins was born in 1860 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England to Joseph Timmins and his wife Sarah Phillips. He was their eldest child. His siblings were Sarah Timmins Bayliss who died in 1908 in West Bromwich, Joseph Timmins who died in 1937 in Syracuse, Margaret Louise Timmins Simcox who died in 1932 in West Bromwich, and Harriet Timmins Hinton who died in 1963 in Syracuse.

Joseph Timmins was baptized in 1835 in Christ Church, West Bromwich. His parents were Thomas Timmins and Roseanna Hale. He married Sarah Phillips in 1858. He is found with his parents on the 1841 and 1851 census. In 1860 his son George is recorded born in West Bromwich, but he is absent on the 1861 census. I don't find Joseph and Sarah again until 1870, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to the 1870 census, all of the children were born in Philadelphia except George, so the family had immigrated sometime between 1860 and 1864. I only find one baptism record for the family in Philadelphia, that is for Harriet in 1871 in the St. Steven's Episcopal Church. From the records it is apparent that Joseph and his family were acquainted with his Uncle's family as they are witnesses for each other.

Joseph Timmins lives near his Uncle, Joseph Timmins and his Aunt, Hannah Timmins Bradley in Philadelphia. His occupation was as glass blower. When his Uncle Stephen dies, his will leaves his estate to various nieces and nephews. Among them is Joseph Timmins whose address matches that of our Joseph.

Joseph and his family returned to West Bromwich in the 1870's. I have not found a record of either trip on ship manifests. He may have returned home after his father's death in 1871. In 1881 we find Joseph with his family in West Bromwich where he and his family reside until his death in 1906.

 His wife Sarah Phillips died in 1895. Sarah was the daughter of James Phillips and Hannah Emma Castle. Her paternal grandparents were John Phillips and Mary Shakespear. Her maternal grandparents were John Castle and Sarah Bates. The Phillip family came from Henley in Arden to West Bromwich in the 1850's. Prior to that they had lived in Wooten Warren and Beaudesert in Warwickshire.

Mary Shakespeare's father Thomas Shakespeare was an illegitimate child of Sarah Shakesepeare. He was born in Wooten Warren. I have contacted a Shakespeare researcher, and it's quite possible that these Shakespeare's are collaterally related to William Shakespeare in some degree.Thomas Shakespeare's wife was Elizabeth Marrell.

The Castle family came from Cow Honey Bourne and Aston Subedge, Glouchester. Hannah's father was John Castle and her mother was Sarah Bates.

Joseph Timmins was the eldest son of his parents Thomas Timmins and Roseanna (Rose Hannah possibly) Hale. He had the following siblings, William Timmins, James Timmins who died in 1901, Sarah Timmins Johnson who died in 1923 (she and her family were also in Philadelphia with her brother Joseph), Stephen Timmins who died in 1918 and Thomas Timmins who died in 1925.

I have not been able to accurately place Roseanna Hale with a family. I thought I had found her baptism, but it ended up that there was a good documentation to that particular Roseanna and it wasn't ours. I have pondered if the name should be Hall, but to no avail, I  haven't found a variation of Rose, Roseanna, or Hannah that is for our family.

Thomas Timmins was baptized in Mares Green Independent church in West Bromwich in 1813. His parents are William Timmins and Esther Sadler.  In 1841 an Edward Hale nearby the family maybe a clue on Roseannah. The family is found in West Bromwich on the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 census. He was listed as a laborer in 1841, 1851 and 1871. In 1861 he is listed as a watchman.

Mapping of the address locations for the families of Thomas and Joseph both show that the family lived within a few mile radius their hole lives. Most of the sons appear to have gone into the glass business, likely working at one of the factories, perhaps even the Chance Glass factory which was nearby. Thomas died in 1871 and his wife in 1876.

William Timmins and Esther Sadler were married in All Saints Church, West Bromwich in 1810. William was baptized in 1788 in Mares Green Independent as the son of Stephen Timmins and Sarah. As this is the same church that he himself baptized his children, I believe this is our William. Esther Sadler was baptized in 1790 in Halesowen, Worcester the daughter of William Sadler and Sarah (Hately).

William and Esther had several children, the children born prior to 1820 all were baptized in Mares Green Independent. It is from these baptisms that I have the following children, Sarah, Thomas, Emma, Hannah, William, David, Martha, Stephen, James and Elizabeth Sadler.

William died in the 1830's. I have 1839 recorded, but I am not sure that is the right date. The William Timmins who died in 1837 and left a will is not ours. Esther was acquitted of accepting stolen goods in West Bromwich in 1838. It is quite possible that he was already deceased by this time.

Esther is found in 1841 in West Bromwich with her children, David, Stephen, James and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is recorded in deaths that year, and Esther in 1846. I think that it is around this time that several of her children left England for Philadelphia. Of those that we can trace only Thomas, William and Martha remained in England. David, Stephen and Hannah are found in Philadelphia.

A thorough examination of the will of Stephen Timmins in Philadelphia may bring forth information on other descendants. I think that Williams parents may be Stephen Timmins and Sarah Bell. Esther Sadler's parents were William Sadler and Sarah Hately.

Jennifer's Genealogical Realm is no more

I have been paying for a private website for over 15 years based on my family's genealogy. I have decided for multiple reasons to take it down.

I know that some people have used my information as a resource for several years. I apologize for any inconvenience. You can however, find the site on the wayback machine, it can be accessed here