Another year is behind us

I think 2016 will be an unforgettable year for man. Forget the election. Forget the loss of all of the celebrities that represent memories of our youth. 2016 was for me another year where I made new friends with relatives, distant and not so distant.

This December marks 18 years since I started on genealogy, and made some friends I still correspond with to this day. Some aren't relatives, they are just very good friends who share my addiction to genealogy. Some after DNA are surprise relatives. Each and every year, I make more contacts, and friends, and since I joined Facebook 8 years ago, well that number has certainly grown. I suspect I have close to 200 friends on Facebook who I have met through genealogy.

I am so grateful for the online community I have developed of friends, relatives and fellow researchers who share my love for this hobby. Who value the time, the journey, and the knowledge this hobby gives us. Who cheer me on with my research and my blog. From the mailing list of 1998, to myfamily.com, to Facebook, so many of the folks I have met have enriched my life.

My wish list for 2017? Well, lets see.
1. A breakthrough on Elijah McCurdy.
2. More trees in my DNA matches so I can figure out the connectin.
3. Find one of my mother's half brothers.
4. An answer on how we relate to the Bobo's.
5. An answer on Suzie, the wife of Joseph Rogers and James Wallen/Walling
6. Most of all, a blessed year full of joy and happiness for my friends and family.

See you in 2017!

A review of My Evil Twin

There are two new utilities added to the tier one level for Gedmatch. I have tried both, but for now, I want to talk about the My Evil Twin utility. Basically, it is a way to take your kit, compare it with a parent, and create a phased kit of the DNA you didn't get. Since I have tested both of my parents, I was able to make phased kits for the DNA I didn't get from each parent. After batch processing, I am able to look at the one to many matches for each kit.

I don't know that this utility is necessary, but if you are like me, and are curious about the way DNA is passed and the randomness of it all. It's a pretty cool tool. It would probably be easier to in fact compare the evil twin kits directly with a phased kit for each parent, but I never bothered with that. Since I have tested both parents, I rarely even look at my own matches. I just go straight to the source.

It is interesting to see the DNA I don't share with my top matches, especially those that I share a lot with on my real matches, and those I share a lot with on my evil twin. I think with time, and probably genome mate, I may be able to look at some patterns, and figure out really a bit more of the DNA I didn't get, because at this point, I have a pretty good fix when comparing my kit with my parents and my daughters on the DNA we seem to have a higher degree of. 

I was even able to do an admixture on the phased kit. Now that was interesting, because of the native DNA I didn't get from my mom was visible in the admixture. I may play around a bit more with that function and see what I get from the different admixture tools, but in my world of curiosity with DNA, now, that is right up my alley. I may do my daughter's evil twin too, just to look at the admixture differences.

The other Beta utility, Triangulation Groups, will probably be way more beneficial for my use of time, but, given my fascination with how DNA is passed, I think that my Evil Twin just may satisfy some of my curiosity in a totally unexpected way.

So if you are on Gedmatch, consider donating and become a tier one member. If you aren't on Gedmatch, and you have tested your DNA, you really should consider joining. Remember it is free to use, it's a great place to fully get something out of the DNA if you used Ancestry for your tests, and it allows you to compare across companies. And if you still haven't tested your DNA, what in the heck are you waiting for?

What Ancestry DNA doesn't get quite right

Six months after testing myself, my daughter and my great Aunt on Ancestry, well, we have some mixed bag results. I have my first (yes first) ancestry hint. My great Aunt has one as well, and my daughter now has two. Funny because all my other kits have several, I guess I have more of a complete tree and that's why, but to be honest, not sure at all.

Almost all of my circles only include ones where my daughter falls. So no one that I match alone but match many in the circle seem to appear. Oh, and then there are the two funny circles. Funny because for both my daughter and I there are two circles not to an ancestor, but to an ancestor's brother. Thus I have a circle for one of the brothers to Martin D. J. Collins and to Sterling Alexander Hager (listed as Sr, and NOT the father of Sterling Alexander Hager who lived in Arkansas and Texas). This Sterling was the brother of Steeley Hager who died in Lauderdale county, Tennessee in 1848.

So while the ancestry DNA has helped confirm my tree, well, I don't know that it's any better than 23andme. And since Ancestry changed their file format, I can't upload to familytree DNA just yet either. So I am waiting. I feel like I do that a lot. Because despite the fact that all the other bloggers say that the testers on ancestry and familytree DNA are more into testing for genealogy, you really don't get more responses from either.

In the time since I tested with ancestry compared with the same time as 23andme, I got better responses to my inquiries actually on 23andme. And I could compare the DNA segments. Frankly though, I find the 23andme price too  high, and well, you have the same kind of looky loo mentality in testers now on both Ancestry and 23andme. A plethora of testers who are testing for curiosity sake for ancestry make up on Ancestry, and for health on 23andme.

I haven't given up though. Still love Gedmatch and the capability of comparing across all the companies. And still have great hopes that I will solve those mysteries, and eventually find one or both of my  Mom's half brothers.

My advice hasn't changed. Educate yourself. Learn about DNA. Correspond with as many as you can get to answer and have a robust tree to start. Don't give up on DNA, it's valuable, but just don't think it will provide all the answers yet either.

Yes, you can call me an Arkansas hillbilly

I have written before about how deeply I feel my ties to Pensacola. I have, however, omitted that I live in a state where I have several family ties. I didn't know until I was 20 that my grandfather's family came from Arkansas, but it was many more years before I knew just how strong my ties to Arkansas are.

From the window of the hospital where I worked, I could look out and see a church in Benton that was built on land donated by my grandfather's great grandmother and her two brothers. A few of the cousins I have found a long the way have shown me where the family lived and are buried. Through them I walked on land that my family owned when my grandfather's father was born.

Pop never knew his father, so that's what makes the discovery of his father's family, and of his half brother's children so special. I know that for all of his life, what he wanted more than anything, was to know about his father. Sadly it was about a decade after he died, but I found them.

A few weeks ago we took a drive up to Mount Magazine to see the fall foliage. On the way we drove through the area where my Adams, Roger and Hager family settled around the time of the Civil War. I know we were not far from the family cemetery for the Rogers, and a cousin told me that on the way up the mountain, I pass the remains of the saw mill ran by Henry Rogers. ( I still haven't seen it though).

I am not allowed to stop at  cemeteries on family outings any more. My daughter doesn't even want me to mention I have noticed one, and well, my mom isn't too fond of it either. So I plan on making a trip up there I hope soon with a co worker, whose husband is my fourth cousin. At least she shares my interest in visiting the family grave sites.

My mom and daughter did reluctantly agree that they could see why the family settled there. On the plateaus of the Ozark foothills, with scenic vistas I can picture the lives my family lived 160 or so years ago. And if she doesn't share my interest in family history, my daughter shares my interest in architecture.

We drive by and point out the interesting older homes, and she absolutely fell in love with the Franciscan Abby at Subiaco, Arkansas. I talk a lot about the history of our country, our state, or our family on these trips.  I hope she remembers at least half of what I say, and that someday, she may drive the same roads, walk the same land, and feel the same connections to her own history.

DNA is complex

There is a lot of great information about using DNA to triangulate matches and do genetic genealogy. Some very good information if you take the time to read it, which  a lot of folks do and some don't. Some don't get it, no matter how hard they try. What's a cM, what's a valid match, how much means what degree of relationship? Questions.

What I have learned from all of the tests I have had done now is this. Read everything. Get a good grasp on what triangulation is. The difference between an X match and a match elsewhere. Use the tools out there, but take the "estimates" of what DNA means what relationship with a hefty grain of salt.

As I have mentioned before, my mom has a 74 cM match on chromosome 11. At this point I have lost count with all the folks who match her there, but I can tell you that everyone I have been able to trace, has had one shared family group other than one in mom's tree. And that family group, would be her 6th great grandparents. Yes 6th, and she is not closer related to anyone than 4th cousin 2x removed and averages 24-35 cM matches with most of over 30 matches.

And then after I tested my great Aunt, and my daughter, I got to see a few more interesting things. My mother, her Aunt, myself and my daughter match a family who I already had "figured" out was on my maternal grandmother's side, just not how. Here's the kicker though, we all match at about the same amount of cM's (in the same spot). Four generations with what amounts to a "third" cousin match in total cM's. But to find out how we relate, I have to go back to my great Aunt as a potential third cousin, because four generations are sharing the same amount of DNA.

It's also been interesting to see how much and how little of DNA from various family groups has passed on from one of my parents through me to my daughter. I wonder if it has anything to do with the function of that DNA, and you know the stuff we learned back in the dark ages about dominant and recessive, or is it purely just random.

Not a very informational post I know, but my point is this. You should test your DNA. You should learn what it means, and for christ sakes, don't just do it for the ancestry composition alone. You should educate yourself as much as possible, and then realize, that the science is still not there a hundred percent. The "you should" have this amount of DNA once you get past your grandparents kind of goes out the window, and because as I saw with my daughter, she didn't get equal amounts of DNA from both my parents, it will affect every generation you go past. Sticky DNA isn't a very scientific term, but it does explain why some pieces of DNA don't seem to go away. So when you look at that match of 30-40 cM just realize, you may have to dig further back then you realize.

A question of Race- the Freedman Question

A case involving descendants of Cherokee Freedman is being decided. I can't speak to that case, I do not know enough about the Cherokee, but I can address the question as it applies to the Choctaw.

As like most matriarchal tribes, the Choctaw citizenship guidelines were always that you take the tribe of the mother. The only exception to this occurred when the tribe accepted children of Choctaw men and white woman, but only if they were married. Before the Dawes act, before registration, some Choctaw men adopted their illegitimate children to make them tribal members. There are children of Choctaw men with white woman who weren't married who were denied membership to the nation during the Dawes enrollment.

But what is the freedman question? First you have to understand how it came to be. During the civil war, most of the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and other tribes who were in what is now Oklahoma supported the south. Slavery was as prominent within those nations as without, and some economists suggested that as farmers with slaves, the Choctaw were more successful. When the Civil War ended, the nations had to agree to a new treaty with the United States. In a large part, they were penalized heavily for their participation. One of the stipulations of the treaty of 1866 was that they must allow all former slaves to be full members with equal rights in their nation.

It's ironic because the United States didn't offer the full equality to their former slaves in the south until the Civil rights movement, but I digress. So the former slaves were given a choice of remaining or leaving. Those that remained were called freedman. Now comes the tricky part. There is without a doubt many descendants of freedman who are part Choctaw who are on the freedman rolls. Dawes testimony for the freedman was at times as contested for the freedman as much, if not more, than some of the applicants of the Choctaw. The question was whether the applicant was a freedman or a statesman (meaning born outside the Choctaw nation).

Not every freedman is not on the Choctaw rolls though, because it comes down to the Choctaw tradition. You take the tribe of your mother. So if you take the tribe of your mother, and your father was Choctaw, but your mother was a freedman, you are on the freedman rolls. If your mother was Choctaw, you are on the Choctaw rolls. It is understandable that descendants who were as much as half Choctaw to begin with may resent the difference in the status on the Dawes, which ultimately effects their rights within the tribe today. However, I would argue, that if they were to state all descendants of Freedman be given equal rights to their respective nation, then all descendants of unmarried women who were denied because their parents weren't married, even though testimony stated their father was Choctaw should be included.

That would open up a hornets nest that won't happen. The court may decide that the Cherokee nation must give equal status to the Freedman descendants, we will have to wait and see. It's a tricky question, because, while many were in fact part native, many were not. I can understand how from some people's standpoint, despite living in the nation, you don't carry the genes of the nation, you don't belong. Yet, it was never right to deny those that had native blood because it belonged to their father and not their mother. Ultimately, it's not an easy issue, and I don't know that there is an easy answer.

A Divided nation- a look at Choctaw politicians

The Choctaw nation between 1825-1830 was one that was divided politically. There is a lot of information on the period in history books, but today I want to look at four of the prominent mixed Choctaws who were involved in that period. All are my relatives.

James L. McDonald is perhaps the least known by non historians, sadly, since what we know about him shows that he was in fact one of the shining stars for the Choctaws. Educated in Washington he was the first Choctaw to obtain a law degree. The little correspondence you find from him lies in letters in the Peter Pitchlynn Collection, Thompson McKinney's records, and in correspondence with the government. His correspondence on the behalf of my ancestor Peggy Trahern show that it was his influence, along with that of Robert M. Jones that included Peggy and her sister Delilah in the supplement to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. His letters show a man torn with his failings with alcohol, who loved his people and sadly, is rumored to have killed himself over the love of a white woman who shunned him.

James wrote that all Choctaws needed to be encouraged to emigrate because he felt (rightly) that the government would not honor the 14th article of the treaty. He was considering a run for politics, and was very outspoken against Jackson. Which is why I say he was rumored to have killed himself. Honestly I am not so sure. A lifelong resident of Jackson, Mississippi (except for his youth in D.C.), James came from a politically advantage lineage. (His mother Molly was given land in both 1820 and 1830, as was James and his nephew James M. Hamilton). Unlike most of his counterparts, he had years of exposure to the very decision makers the Choctaw were fighting. He was perhaps the best educated for his time, and he was known to have felt the conflict between his native and white lineage. He may have been disposed to melancholy, but just before his death, he didn't appear to be so despondent in his letters.

Robert M. Jones, a first cousin of James L. McDonald and paternal half nephew of my ancestor Peggy, is unlike his cousin James, well known among Choctaw descendants and historians. It is from Jeff Fortney, PhD that I know that Robert spoke of his childhood on his father's trading post on the Natchez Trace, and that Robert spoke English from childhood. Like all four, Robert M. Jones was undeniably a patriot for the Choctaw, but, it is reasonably argued from the wealth he acquired, he wasn't above profiting from them either. Despite his business acumen, Robert M. Jones spent a lot of time on behalf of relatives that were in the Choctaw tradition not his relatives.

Sadly most of his correspondence burned with his mansion, but what we do have shows that like James, he is well spoken, well educated, and his desire to further the education among the Choctaw can't be denied. His involvement in politics appears more in relation to schools than tribal leadership. His letter about the confrontation between Mushulatubbee and Greenwood Leflore at the Choctaw trading post shows respect for the elder leadership, despite disappointment with it. For me, this is perhaps one of his most redeeming qualities. I don't really like Greenwood Leflore or David Folsom when I look at their actions. Not very academic, but I am not one, so I can feel however I want to.

Jones had a lifelong friendship with another relative, Peter Pitchlynn. Peter Pitchlynn's mother was a first cousin of my ancestor Susan Riddle. Where Jones and McDonald I believe had familial ties to either Apuckshunubbee or Franchiamastabe, Pitchlynn was a great nephew of Mushulatubbee. It is from his journal, and much less the letters in his collection (few are from Peter), that we can glimpse this man. He acknowledged both his mother's Uncles (the Folsoms, who weren't traditional relatives) as relatives, along with his mother's brother, Captain Joseph Kincade. In a letter to an unknown relative, he speaks of his mother who wanted all her children to speak English in their home. He states because of this, not all of his siblings were fluent in Choctaw.

Pitchlynn like Jones had a similar education. His correspondence shows a man much more literate in grammar than his father John Pitchlynn when you look at letters written by both. According to the correspondence, his great Uncle had stepped down in favor of Peter Pitchlynn but reneged on it during these trying times. We don't have letters from Peter that show his opinion on the matter, but we do know that there was not an armed conflict to remove Mushulatubbee, or if there was, I haven't ran across it.  During this time, there are letters to Washington D.C. where David Folsom is writing that Mushulatubbe and Tappenahoma aren't fit for office, but no one has ever suggested that Peter wrote anything like that.

I think like James McDonald and Robert M. Jones, Peter Pitchlynn had a different patriotic approach to the push for the Choctaws to remove. After the treaty, Peter Pitchlynn spent many years in Washington D.C. attempting to get the government to honor the treaty. As much as  Jones, if not more, you can definitely argue that Peter profited from the Choctaws as well. Choctaw leaders never saw anything wrong with gifts, or taking money for their services, and especially in this day and age, looking back at a lot of their actions is prone to make one raise their eyebrows at the wealth accumulated by some. Nevertheless, I don't think any mixed blood did more for the Choctaws when you look at Peter's work with the Choctaw Academy, as Chief, with developing the Choctaw school system and with his tireless work in Washington D.C. Work that his family tried to get a large sum of the Net proceeds for. Definitely you can argue they were asking for more than their fair share.

The last mixed blood I want to talk about is Pierre Juzan. The eldest son of my ancestor Peggy and her husband Charles Juzan, Pierre was educated at the Choctaw academy as well. However, if one reads his correspondence it lacks the polish and grammar of the other three. Many have said that he was fluent in four languages, but to me, his grammar suggests that he learned English later, his verb usage is similar to someone who hasn't spoken English as a young child. It is quite possible he learned French or Spanish from his father, but then, the Spanish were out of the Choctaw nation, though not far away, by the time Pierre was born.

Pierre is the opposite from his contemporaries. There isn't a lot of documentation and correspondence from him, but what there is shows he had strong ties to his maternal uncles Oklahoma and Tappenahoma, and that unlike those mixed bloods who stepped forward to lead, he supported another full blood (unlikely a relative) Nitakechi. Where Greenwood Leflore and David Folsom openly, and Robert M. Jones, Peter Pitchlynn and James McDonald in correspondence, criticized the full blood contingent during this time, nothing shows that Pierre was ever involved. He was a far more traditional mixed blood than the others, whether because of his Kunsha roots, where there are far fewer mixed bloods of prominence, or because of his beliefs, we don't see the same rebellion against the establishment from him.

Where I haven't seen much on what Robert M. Jones and Peter Pitchlynn did during removal, we know that Pierre and his brother William were involved. And we also know from testimonies in the court of claims, Pierre was brutal in enforcing removal. Ironic, because it doesn't appear that removal was something that Nitakechi or Pierre supported. It is almost as if, once done, they were going to make sure that their villages complied, even if it meant beating and humiliating the village chiefs in the process. If Peter Pitchlynn and Robert M. Jones represent a new approach to leading the Choctaw nation, Pierre Juzan represents a traditional one.

There is nothing that I know of that links a relationship between Robert M. Jones and Pierre Juzan, despite the fact that he shares the same relationship with him as my ancestor James N. Trahern did. I am not clear if it's a rejection of the relationship, which does not exist in Choctaw terms, or if it is just lack of proof. I know that James N. Trahern resided with Jones for a time after he returned from the Choctaw Academy. James spent 9 years there, so he would have definitely been influenced by Christianity in a way that the Juzan family was not in 1830. Such an effect would effect a view on family relationships from a Choctaw one, to a European one.

All of these men, even Greenwood Leflore and David Folsom, were undeniably patriotic. Although I will argue that the children of Louis Leflore were the least traditional of all the families. Yet despite that love of their people, they didn't always see the direction and leadership needs of their nation the same. Choctaw history is not bloodless. Until the Dawes act, it wasn't uncommon to see murder occur over political, and not so political reasons. There was a rift between the mixed blood and full blood components that started at least by 1825 if not before, until the Dawes Act which for a time, effectively ended the Choctaw nation as a tribe. (The position of chief was abolished with the Dawes Act until 1934).

Some may argue that the Choctaw nation isn't an example, I would argue maybe it can be an example that American's can learn from. I think that the nepotism, the division, the violence, and the struggles that the nation went through are lessons that every one can learn from.

The White House was built by Slaves

I have seen a lot of posts on Facebook about Michelle Obama's speech at the DNC. Several posted that it was so long ago and she should just get over it already. Rather than see it for what it was, a statement on the progress our country has made, many have felt she was taking it to a racial thing. Not only do I not agree, but I really don't think that a lot of Americans get it.

It has often occurred to me the irony that 96 percent of my ancestry treated 4 percent as less than civilized human beings. I can't explain how it feels to realize that one part of your heritage believed that the other part was savage, uncivilized, and a threat to society. To know that thousands died being forced from their homes. That even when they became educated and christian they were still only "exceptional for their race".

So it's not hard to me to understand how the grandchildren of a Holocaust victim still feel the pain of the systemic genocide practiced against them. Or how the descendants of a Japanese American may still resent the internment camps during World War 2. Or how those who lived through segregation in the south still feel the anger at lynchings and Jim Crow laws. I don't have to be a Jew, Japanese or African American to understand their feelings. I just have to be a human being.

Perhaps it's easier for me, because it doesn't matter that 184 years ago the Choctaws lost their ancestral home, or 111 years ago the final act that took away their tribal lands and divided them. It still makes me angry when I think about it. I understand how it doesn't matter if it was 5 years ago or 50 years ago. The fact that injustice was done isn't restricted by time. How we act upon it however is important.

The United States has some dark history. We have not always treated people of all religions equally. We definitely have not always treated all races equally, whether they were African American, Native American, Mexican, or Asian. We have not always welcomed immigrants with open arms. Before World War 2, they enacted a requirement that immigrants must be able to read and write to enter, stopping an influx of Europeans trying to escape what ultimately was the death of thousands during World War 2.

As a child I remember the arguments over the Vietnamese boat people and letting them in the United States. There was a time if you were Irish, Catholic, Jewish or Eastern European and you immigrated you were considered less than other whites. This country has not been known for it's tolerance and treatment of others. We still are intolerant. We see those who practice hate against people that are gay, lesbian, or transgender. We define all people of a religion as terrorist. We label Mexican American's with derogatory terms. And after all this time, after a lifetime (mine) of Civil rights, race is still an issue in pockets of America.

More people need to actually learn about their country's history, as much of it is never taught in classes in public schools. or even in Universities. More people need to understand that in hindsight history often shows with glaring clarity the darker side of our nation. We need to do better. We can do better. And it starts with understanding how far we have come.

The Brunson's of South Carolina (and most of the south) generation four

Generation 4

19.      ALEXANDER⁴ BRUNSON (John³, Joseph², John¹) was born in Mar 1749 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He died between 1780-1783.

Alexander Brunson had the following child:

i.        ELIZABETH⁵ BRUNSON.  She married UNKNOWN HESS.

20.      DANIEL⁴ BRUNSON (Unknown³, Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born on 01 Aug 1737 in Dorchester, Dorchester, South Carolina, United States. He died in 1774. He married FRANCES STANTON.

Daniel Brunson and Frances Stanton had the following child:

i.        DANIEL⁵ BRUNSON was born between 1760-1770 in Sumter, South Carolina. He died date Unknown. He married NANCY PLATT. She was born in 1770. She died date Unknown.

21.      JOSIAH⁴ BRUNSON (Unknown³, Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born about 1785 in south carolina. He died between 1841-1844 in Clarke Co, Alabama. He married REBECCA COX. She was born on 03 Sep 1794 in South Carolina, United States. She died on 20 Oct 1836 in Clarke, Alabama, United States.

Josiah Brunson and Rebecca Cox had the following children:

i.        GEORGE NELSON⁵ BRUNSON was born on 29 Apr 1813 in Clarke, Alabama, United States. He died in Alabama, United States.

ii.       JOHN BRUNSON was born in 1815. He died on 26 Jul 1850 in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States.

Generation 4 (con't)

iii.      WILLIAM BRUNSON was born in 1818.

iv.      AMELIA BRUNSON was born in 1820 in Clarke, Alabama, United States. She died in 1880 in Clarke, Alabama, United States.

v.       JAMES BRUNSON was born in Feb 1822 in Clarke, Alabama, United States. He died on 05 Aug 1904 in Globe, Gila, Arizona, United States.

vi.      ELLEN BRUNSON was born in 1827.

vii.     MARTHA JANE BRUNSON was born on 29 Apr 1832 in North Carolina, United States. She died on 11 Jan 1894 in Clarke, Alabama, United States.

viii.    REBECCA ANN BRUNSON was born on 01 Oct 1835. She died on 27 May 1859.

22.      DAVID⁴ BRUNSON I (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1729 in Dorchester, Dorchester, South Carolina, United States. He died on 24 Oct 1784 in St Mark Parish, Craven, South Carolina, United States. He married Elizabeth Unproven Cantey in 1784 in Dorchester, Dorchester, South Carolina, United States. She was born on 29 Aug 1739 in Prince Federick, South Carolina, United States. She died on 03 Jan 1791 in South Carolina, United States.

David Brunson I and Elizabeth Unproven Cantey had the following children:

i.        WILLIAM⁵ BRUNSON was born on 29 Dec 1756 in St Mark Parish, Craven, South Carolina, United States. He died on 11 May 1803 in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina, United States. He married Elizabeth Powell on 25 Jan 1785. She was born in 1758 in South Carolina, United States. She died in 1827.

ii.       DAVID BRUNSON was born on 01 Dec 1758. He died on 17 Feb 1779.

iii.      DANIEL BRUNSON was born in 1760 in Williamsburg, South Carolina, United States. He died in 1831 in Houston, Georgia, United States.

iv.      JOSEPH BRUNSON was born on 06 Feb 1764.

v.       JESSE BRUNSON was born on 16 Feb 1764. He died on 16 Sep 1767.

vi.      MARGARET BRUNSON was born on 11 Aug 1766.

vii.     SUSANNA BRUNSON was born on 27 Sep 1768.

viii.    GEORGE BRUNSON was born on 06 Jan 1773.

ix.      ELIZABETH CANTEY BRUNSON was born on 19 Jan 1777.

23.      DANIEL⁴ BRUNSON SR. (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1743 in Sumter Co., SC. He died in 1770. He married SARAH MELLETT.

Daniel Brunson Sr. and Sarah Mellett had the following children:

i.        DANIEL⁵ BRUNSON JR. was born on 01 Jul 1769 in Sumter, South Carolina. He died on 06 Mar 1843. He married NANCY PLATT. She was born about 1770. She died date Unknown. He married CHARITY.

Notes for Daniel Brunson Jr.:

? Bible says mother of William Charity but he's married to Charity when he dies,

Generation 4 (con't) wonder if the Bible is wrong (mentions son).

ii.       JOSEPH BRUNSON.

24.      ISAAC⁴ BRUNSON III (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born about 1745 in Sumter Co., SC. He died between 1819-1820 in Stewart County, TN. He married MARY EDGAR. She was born in 1750. She died date Unknown.

Isaac Brunson III and Mary Edgar had the following child:

i.        ISAAC⁵ BRUNSON IV was born in 1765 in Sumter Co., SC. He died before 1838 in Sumter Co., SC. He married MARY SINGLETON. She was born in 1780. She died in 1838 in Sumter Co., SC.

25.      SUSANNA⁴ BRUNSON (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1747 in St Mark Parish, Craven, South Carolina, United States. She died in 1826 in EC, South Carolina, United States. She married RANDOLPH PLATT. He was born in 1754 in St Marks Par, Dorchester, South Carolina, United States. He died in 1778.

Randolph Platt and Susanna Brunson had the following children:

i.         NANCY PLATT was born about 1770. She died date Unknown. She married DANIEL BRUNSON JR.. He was born on 01 Jul 1769 in Sumter, South Carolina. He died on

6    Mar 1843.

ii.       MARCEY PLATT was born on 06 Feb 1777 in St Marks Par, Dorchester, South Carolina, United States. She died on 20 Feb 1832.

26.      JOSIAH⁴ BRUNSON SR. (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1750 in Clarendon, South Carolina, United States. He died in Feb 1795 in Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, United States. He married Comfort in 1770 in South Carolina, United States. She was born in 1755 in South Carolina, United States. She died on 05 May 1808 in Richmond, Georgia, United States.

Josiah Brunson Sr. and Comfort had the following children:

i.        JOSIAH⁵ BRUNSON JR. was born on 28 Oct 1777 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United States. He died on 06 Oct 1836 in Lincoln, Georgia, United States. He married Sylvia Pinckney Haynes in 1805 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United States. She was born on 12 Jan 1786 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United States. She died in 1845 in Augusta, Columbia, Georgia, United States.

ii.       LENNORY BRUNSON was born in 1781 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United States.

iii.      LEVICY BRUNSON was born in 1781 in Edgefield, SC. She died between 1808-1828.

iv.      ALLATHA BRUNSON was born in 1783 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United States. She died in 1826.

v.       HEZEKIAH BRUNSON was born in 1785 in South Carolina, United States. He died in 1826 in South Carolina, United States. He married Obedience Spears Mcdaniel on

26 Apr 1810 in Richmond, Georgia. She was born in 1782 in South Carolina, United States. She died after 1860 in Missouri.

vi.      MATTHEW BRUNSON was born in 1790 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina, United States. He died in 1850 in Holmes, Mississippi, United States. He married Mary Haynes on 04 Jun 1812 in Richmond, Georgia, United States. She was born

Generation 4 (con't)

in 1790 in Columbia, Georgia, United States. She died on 14 Jan 1850 in Macon, Bibb, Georgia, United States.

27.      MATTHEW⁴ BRUNSON (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1752 in Dorchester, Dorchester, South Carolina, United States. He died in Feb 1781 in Clarendon, Columbus, North Carolina, United States. He married Nancy Ann Brown about 1775. She was born in 1755 in south carolina. She died in 1844 in East Feliciania Parish, LA.

Matthew Brunson and Nancy Ann Brown had the following children:

i.        JAMES⁵ BRUNSON was born between 1770-1781. He died date Unknown.

ii.       DAVID BRUNSON was born between 1770-1781. He died date Unknown.

iii.      ANNE ELIZABETH UNPROVEN BRUNSON was born between 1770-1781 in Sumter Co., SC. She died date Unknown. She married EPHRAIM B. RODDY. He was born about 1770. He died date Unknown.

iv.      WILLIAM BRUNSON was born between 1770-1781. He died date Unknown.

Notes for William Brunson:

not the William Brunson Jr. in 1790 Camden

v.       JEREMIAH BRUNSON was born in 1776 in south carolina. He died date Unknown.

vi.      MATTHEW BRUNSON was born in Jul 1781 in Augusta, Richmond, GA. He died date Unknown in Limestone, Alabama, United States. He married Maria Allston Bacot on

28 Oct 1801. She was born on 30 Mar 1783 in South Carolina, United States. She died on 15 Dec 1855 in Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, United States.

28.      MOSES⁴ BRUNSON (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1753 in Clarendon, South Carolina, United States. He died on 01 Feb 1826.

Moses Brunson had the following child:

i.        MOSES⁵ BRUNSON was born in 1795 in Edgefield, SC. He died in Kentucky, USA.

29.      JOSHUA⁴ BRUNSON (Isaac³ Jr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1755 in St Mark, Craven, South Carolina, United States. He died in 1838 in Pulaski, Giles, Tennessee, United States. He married MARY UNKNOWN. She was born in 1760 in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina, United States. She died date Unknown in Madison, Madison, Alabama, United States.

Notes for Joshua Brunson:

tax list of madison county from 1815, and in census of 1830 in Madison age 90-100.

Joshua Brunson and Mary Unknown had the following children:

i.         MATTHEW⁵ BRUNSON was born in Jul 1781 in Augusta, Richmond, GA. He died date Unknown in Limestone, Alabama, United States. He married Maria Allston Bacot on

28 Oct 1801. She was born on 30 Mar 1783 in South Carolina, United States. She died on 15 Dec 1855 in Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, United States.

ii.       ELIZABETH BRUNSON was born in 1782 in Augusta, Richmond, GA. She died in 1838.

iii.      SAMUEL BRUNSON was born in 1786 in Augusta, Richmond, GA. He died date

Generation 4 (con't)

Unknown.

iv.      LARKIN BRUNSON was born in 1791 in south carolina. He died in 1865 in Shelby, Tennessee, United States.

v.       MARY BRUNSON was born on 27 Jan 1799 in Augusta, Richmond, GA. She died on 16 Nov 1865 in Alabama, United States. She married Joseph J Montgomery on 27 May 1818 in Madison, Madison, Alabama, United States. He was born on 17 Dec 1786 in Virginia, United States. He died on 21 Feb 1868 in Lawrence, Alabama, United States.

vi.      SUSAN BRUNSON was born in 1800 in Augusta, Richmond, GA. She died in 1830.

vii.     ABDALLAH BRUNSON was born on 26 Feb 1802 in south carolina. Abdallah died date Unknown in Pulaski, Giles, Tennessee, United States.

30.      JAMES⁴ BRUNSON JR. (James³, Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born on 19 Dec 1736 in Craven, South Carolina, United States. He died on 22 Oct 1811 in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina, United States. He married Elizabeth Cantey, daughter of Josiah Cantey and Susanna LNU on 24 Mar 1760. She was born in 1741.

Notes for James Brunson Jr.: american revolution claims

James Brunson Jr. and Elizabeth Cantey had the following child:

i.        PETER E⁵ BRUNSON was born in 1774 in SC. He died in 1828 in SC. He married WINIFRED NETTLES.

31.      ISAAC⁴ BRUNSON V (James³, Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born on 01 Mar 1747. He died in 1827 in Sumter Co., SC. He married SUSANNAH ELLENDER.

Notes for Isaac Brunson V:

Isaac and Margaret had son Isaac who mar mary, Isaac III mar Susannna Ellender of Edgefield according to record he died intestate in 1827 and was listed as "of Cane Savannah." It is recorded that his estate was settled by his son-in-law Jeremiah Pitts. Papers are recorded in Sumter CO., Courthouse, Probate Jusdge's office Bundle 14, pkg 7 His children listed as James, Isaac 1V, Joseph, Susan, Daniel, Rebecca, Margaret, Valentine. Do you have a different record? Or is this your line. My line is from Abraham, brother to first Isaac. I do not know all of his children, it is possible he had a Moses. I only know of a few children. I have all the children of Joseph another brother and son of Abraham. Isaac Brunson the third wasborn 1745, died 1827, Every body had an Isaac all the way through all children even my line. They are hard to seperate. Does any record state where your Isaac was from and location of any family. I also have an Isaac who was son of John son of Abraham, my line. ****wrong Isaac in message board post but will/probate information is valid***

Isaac Brunson V and Susannah Ellender had the following children:

i.        MARGARET⁵ BRUNSON was born in 1766 in Sumter Co., SC. She died in 1830 in Perry county, Alabama.

ii.       JAMES BRUNSON was born on 03 Dec 1769 in Sumter Co., SC. He died on 16 Nov 1841 in Sumter Co., SC. He married MARY MCCOY. She was born in 1783. She died in 1864.

Generation 4 (con't)
Notes for James Brunson:
Search billions of records on Ancestry.com			WILL OF JAMES BRUNSON
State of South Carolina	Sumter District		In the name of God amen. I James
Brunson of the State and District aforesaid,			being of sound and disposing mind
memory andunderstanding do make this my last				will and Testament in manner
and form following(To Wit) I give devise and			bequeath all my property both real
and personal ofwhat kind soever to my wife			Mary Brunson during the term of her
natural lifeand no longer, (negroes and		other property to be kept together and
worked onmy plantation for the support		of my family as done by me in my lifetime

andimmediately after the death of my Said wife Mary Brunson--It is my will and desirethat all my Estate both real and personal be equally divided among my childrenshare and share alike according to the laws of distribution of SaidState in cases of intestacy and it is also my will that if it should be Esquasitein making said division to sell any part either real or personal of my estatefor said purpose of division that my Executors hereinafter named have powerwithout application either to the Courts of Law or Equity to make said sale forsaid purpose and I do hereby appoint my said wife Mary Brunson Executrix andElisha McCoy executor

of this   my last will and Testament hereby revoking allother will or wills by me
heretofore made declaring this and this only to bemy last will and Testament							In
witness whereof I have hereunto Set myhand and Seal this the						eighteenth day of
April in the year of our Lordone Thousand Eight Hundred and						thirty nine.
Signed Sealed and acknowledged in presence of uswho have subscribed out
names	as witnesses hereto		E. McGordon		William R. McCoy James
Brunson (SEAL)		Samuel F. Clark		(Recorded in Will Book D 2 Pge 53)
Recorded 25th Day of Nov. 1841				W. Lewis Ordy

iii.      VALENTINE BRUNSON was born in 1771 in Sumter Co., SC. She died in 1832 in Midgeville, Baldwin Co, GA. She married JEREMIAH PITTS.

iv.      SUSAN BRUNSON was born in 1775 in Sumter Co., SC. She died date Unknown.

v.       JOSEPH BRUNSON was born in 1777 in Sumter Co., SC. He died date Unknown.

vi.      ISAAC BRUNSON VI was born in 1779 in Sumter Co., SC. He died in 1830 in Sumter Co., SC.

vii.     MARY REBECCA BRUNSON was born in 1782 in Sumter Co., SC. She died date Unknown.

viii.     DANIEL BRUNSON II was born in 1786 in south carolina. He died in 1852 in Pike County, AL. He married Mary Platt, daughter of Harmon Platt and Mary Dukes on 28 Apr 1810 in South Carolina, United States. She was born in 1793 in South Carolina, United States. She died in 1865 in Pike, Alabama, United States.

Notes for Daniel Brunson II:

1790 I find a Daniel and a Mrs.Brunson Camden district... Daniel is 1,1,2 and Mrs. is 1,0,2 neither fit his age (4) 1800 Sumter 21010 3001 1810 Sumter 21010 2001 1820 Sumter 3100101001001 1830 Pike Co. 1840 Daniel M. in Marshall is not him 1840 Pike is him 00110001 fe 021101 1850 PIke, only John and Caroline living with them, Richard must have died... witnessed will Sumter 1831 Data on this family from Linda Hahn, especially Daniel H, Isaac J, John R and Benjamin R

32.      DAVID⁴ BRUNSON JR. (David³ Sr., Isaac² Sr., John¹) was born in 1775 in SC. He died in 1830 in Pike, Alabama, United States. He married Sarah Johnson Richburg in 1795. She was born in 1774

Generation 4 (con't)

in South Carolina, United States. She died on 21 Mar 1821 in Alabama, United States.

David Brunson Jr. and Sarah Johnson Richburg had the following children:

i.        JOHN⁵ BRUNSON was born in 1795 in South Carolina, United States. He died in 1840 in Pike, Alabama, United States. He married Elizabeth Davenport on 01 Aug 1833 in Montgomery, AL. She was born in 1799 in Montgomery, AL. She died on 07 Jun 1860 in Pike Co, AL.

ii.       JOSIAH BRUNSON was born in 1797 in SC. He died in 1850 in Pike County, AL. He married Mary Dawson Allen about 1834. She was born in 1803 in SC. She died date Unknown.

Notes for Josiah Brunson:

W. W. Bennett age 37, teacher in household 1850 Pike County

iii.      BENJAMIN BRUNSON was born in 1800 in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina, United States. He died on 14 Feb 1855 in Pike, AL. He married Martha Franklin, daughter of Henry Franklin and Margaret Boggs about 1835. She was born about 1800 in , Sumter, South Carolina, USA. She died between 1840-1850 in Pike County, AL.

Notes for Benjamin Brunson:

1830 Pike 10001 fe 00001001 1840 Pike 1850 Pike County, next to Josiah Brunson

iv.      MARTHA BRUNSON was born on 29 Nov 1804 in Sumter, SC. She died on 18 Jun 1901 in Brantley, AL. She married William Barnett Franklin I, son of Henry Franklin and Margaret Boggs on 20 Mar 1821 in Coffeeville, Clark, Alabama. He was born on 02 Feb 1797 in Sumter Co., SC. He died between 1850-1860 in Brantley, AL (Age at Death: 53).

Notes for Martha Brunson: [Barnes.FTW]

Clarke County, Surety, W.A. Robinson. Husband not listed as William, but as Barnett Franklin.

Additional research note, another Martha Brunson marries in 1847 to John Guy same county. Neice (?)

Census 1860 Living with son Reuben, Joseph, Benjamin, Nancy and William also in household

For some reason, 1870 is missing these folks

v.       ELIZABETH ANN BRUNSON was born in 1810 in South Carolina, United States. She died in 1860. She married Wiley Jordan on 12 Apr 1836. He was born in 1806 in SC. He died in Crenshaw Co AL.

vi.      SARAH L BRUNSON was born in 1812 in Clarendon, South Carolina, United States. She died on 08 Jun 1860 in Pike, Alabama, United States. She married Henry Athey, son of Henry Athey and Carrie Hartman on 15 Aug 1839 in Pike, Alabama, United States. He was born in 1809 in South Carolina, United States. He died in 1862 in Pike, Alabama, United States.

vii.     ALBERT BRUNSON was born in 1813 in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina, United

Generation 4 (con't)

States. He died on 14 Oct 1894 in Brantley, Crenshaw, Alabama, United States. He married ELIZABETH JENKINS. She was born in Feb 1811 in SC. She died in 1902 in Brantley, Crenshaw, Alabama, United States