The Bobo and Chambliss families- making a connection

For the last three years I have had matches in common for my father and other Hardy family members with the Bobo family (linking back to Tillman Bobo and his wife Beulah Yarborough), but I never could figure out the how. Dad in fact matches four siblings from this line, among several others.

This week a cousin of Dad's results showed up, and when I started looking at our in common matches, I found another surname Chambliss, and all of those Chambliss matches were in common with the Bobo. So how on earth do the two relate.

My current working theory is that Margaret Carlisle who married John Humphreys (an ancestor of Beulah Yarborough), is the daughter of Richard Carlisle and his wife, Mary Chambliss, a daughter of Henry Chambliss, and sibling to the John Chambliss Sr line that we are matching.

Of course there is an issue. All the Bobo researchers say she was born in Ireland and died there, despite the fact that her child was born in Virginia. And none of the Richard Carlisle researchers have a daughter Margaret, just other children her age.

So if that is the link it explains the connection between the two lines, but what about the Hardy connection? There are only two females, Rebecca the mother of Gardner Hardy or his wife Harriet. Rebecca lived in the same area as other Chambliss' so she makes the most sense as the first place to look, but it just as easily can be Harriet.

Though we can't triangulate (all the matches are on ancestry), we are showing multiple (at least 5) matches across descendants of different lines for Gardner Hardy, so the Chambliss lead is the most substantial one we have had come up.

DNA the advantages and pitfalls for Genealogy

I am a fan of DNA testing. I find it fascinating and interesting to find out the things we learn from it. However, as much as it adds to my genealogical research, it is not a replacement for it. That is the key bit of information for those who are still considering if they want to test or not. Testing your DNA can help you, but you will still spend hours researching trees.

So what are the advantages? What are the Pitfalls?

1. DNA matches can lead to discoveries on your dead end ancestors, but generally only within the first 5 generations, with the odds decreasing for every successive generation.

the pitfall, you have to be able to triangulate for these type of discoveries, which makes the ancestryDNA matches useless if you can't convince the matches to use gedmatch or the free ftdna transfer.

2. You may find relatives you never knew you had. Personally, I think this is an advantage, but I am not someone who was adopted and never knew it, like a recent second cousin tester just found out. Mostly for me it's been being able to help others who have a question, they are adopted, they don't know who their father is, that even with just ancestryDNA and solid genealogical research we have found the answers for.

the pitfall, you may find information you would rather not know, and to help someone else, it's still a long road of research.

3. If you triangulate, you can find some interesting information. That's the part I love, seeing how some family DNA has been passed down more than others. Seeing the amazing way in which we become who we are.

the pitfall, you can only triangulate with 23andme, ftdna and gedmatch And, it is sometimes hard to get responses from matches.

These are pitfalls only.

1. less than 5% - 10%  of your matches on average will have a tree, and if your lucky, about 25% of those you contact will answer your message.
2. Ancestry trees are riddled with errors. While I don't recommend using shared matches and trees as a way to identify a match alone in general, larger matches (above 75 cM) can be identified however, it means really doing the research on your own to verify the match and trees are compatible.
3. Matches that are below 30 cM can be helpful only with triangulation, and only if they can illuminate a larger match or have multiple matches that can point you in a direction.

Don't let the internet DNA scare tactics scare you

There are multiple articles and even news stories on how taking your DNA test is a bad idea. Not only do I not believe that, but I want to be blunt about it. The anti-DNA camp is using scare tactics that the general public will readily believe because they don't know better.

Just this week with the help of DNA and genealogy research I was able to identify the birth father's family for three different individuals. With the thousands of people who are trying to find answers, DNA is definitely useful, and scare tactics just may drive testers away that can be vital for those who are searching.

So what about DNA and what you can or cannot learn from it about another tester.

1. Someone who matches me can tell if I carry a specific gene for a disease. Mostly FALSE.
 DNA matches are only for 1/2 of the chromosome. So even if someone knew that for example 1377 CT a genetic SNP variant dealing with metabolism of folic acid was located on Chromosome 14, and they knew the exact location in correlation with the DNA match, they only know 1/2 of the result for the comparison, and only if they already looked at their raw data and knew what their result was and had identified if it was a paternal or maternal match.

Because without testing at least one parent, a tester with raw data who does research their snp's for genetic markers will not know which side they inherited the marker from unless both parents contributed the same marker. Since abnormal markers only need one variant to be positive for a marker, it is possible if they had tested at least one parent, identified the match to the parent with the variant, and then took the exhaustive step of computing the match on that chromosome was in that exact location that they could identify you had an abnormal SNP.

So let's get this straight. To even remotely identify that a genetic match carries an abnormal health gene you need to meet all of the following.
1. know the exact location of the SNP on the chromosome
2. Identify the genetic contributor from your sample (maternal or paternal) by testing a parent and comparing the raw data files for that location.
3. Successfully identify the match to a paternal or maternal match in the exact location.
4. the match has to be to the abnormal variant in that exact location, if it is normal it tells you nothing.

Yeah, I can just see that happens a lot. Most people who test don't even know the basics on autosomal DNA, much less the complex science behind genetics.

2. Test companies sell DNA to 3rd market researchers. TRUE, but...
they also remove any personal identifying information from the data, and require your consent when you test. What this means is that the genetic code, the G,T,A, or C is intact but your name isn't anywhere on it. So while it helps research genes, it does not identify you in anyway whatsoever.

3. Police can use your DNA to help find criminals TRUE, but..
Ancestry, 23andme, and FamilytreeDNA do not voluntarily contribute to police. If I am not mistaken, it specifically says they will only do so if they are given a subpoena or warrant for the information.

About the Gedmatch news story.

Gedmatch is voluntary, and it is free. What is so amazing about the recent news about the serial killer who was found based on DNA evidence using Gedmatch is the improbability of it working in the first place.

Read any message board or group dealing with DNA and genealogy and you will hear the same complaints. A significantly small percentage of tests have a gedcom or family tree attached. I think I have about 50 for gedmatch with over 3000 matches (I haven't looked in a while) for my father and my mother each. So roughly less than 5 % of users even have a tree, and my personal response rate for correspondence is around only 25 % across the board for 4 companies where I have DNA results. Add to that the folks who have tested with new chips have had difficulty because the data is incompatible with gedmatch, it is mind boggling that they took a DNA sample and gave it the right format to be of any use.

Personally, I don't mind if a serial killer is found because my DNA helped, but to each his own.

4. Your giving away your most private information. TRUE, but..
you retain ownership of your DNA and can remove it at any time. Other users (matches) cannot see your raw data, and even if they identify matches, they only know 1/2 of your DNA, they do not know all of it. AncestryDNA allows no comparisons, so if your worried about someone figuring something out that they shouldn't (which I hope I already proven is really, really time consuming and hard), you don't have to worry about it at all. Though to be honest, the biggest pitfall of ancestryDNA is that relying on matches and trees alone is  a disaster waiting to happen. Except for close matches, the capacity for errors and assumptions is really high leading to misinformation.

Comparing your DNA and seeing the results does give some information, but even among those who do test for health reasons, they may ask you if you carry a specific genetic marker, but most are not literate enough in DNA to even begin to do the exhaustive study I eluded to in my first point.

5. Insurers can use your DNA against you. TRUE, but..
they do not have access to your actual results. And if we are smart we will ensure legislation keeps that from happening. What they can ask is if you have taken a DNA test for genetic reasons and if you know you are a carrier for a specific problem. That is not all that different from preexisting conditions we are subject to now, except, for many markers, the increased likelihood of disease is only slightly increased. Which is why I am not necessarily a fan of the health DNA market in the first place. It is easy to scare people into believing they are at risk, and often when you read the actual research, the risk is not much higher. I believe before you test, you really need to understand the whole picture, and having a marker doesn't always mean you have the disease.

6. You may find out information you don't want to know TRUE
The biggest risk with DNA is you may find out your father isn't your father, or your were adopted, or one of your parents or grandparents had an affair and had a child. That is a big risk, and if you really don't want to know those answers, then you shouldn't test.

Personally I think the rewards of testing far outweigh the cons, and I hope that now you do too.

New DNA evidence for Tallulah Johnson

I check my DNA results several times a week (hoping to find my mother's half brother still) and I have to admit, I rarely go beyond the first two pages of results. I do however look into the shared matches. I know AncestryDNA isn't triangulation, but with only 25% maybe having trees, and so few going to Gedmatch (and I fear far fewer will with the latest crime solved using Gedmatch), the in common matches can be illuminating. Not because I can prove the triangulation, but because we have several identified cousins closer than 4th for several of my lines now, so if I get enough of them in the in common matches, I am pretty sure that it is valid.

So, a 4th cousin match showed up. I noticed several of my Hardy cousins, all from my elusive ancestor Tallulah Johnson, and three had trees in common with that match, Green Brantley and Mary Solomon being their common ancestor. I checked my Aunt's DNA and she also is having matches with this pair, and none of the other Hardy's have a link to this couple (H.H. is related to descendants of a John Solomon who married into the Godbold family).

Green Brantley was a neighbor of my Johnson's, living in the same section (14) of township 6n range 11E in Conecuh County. There has always been the question how (we know we share DNA with the Johnson and Parker family) Tallulah was a Johnson, is it through her mother or her father. The one thing I know is my great grandmother said her mother in law was illegitimate. And given the facts I have found, I believe it, so how is the question.

I took a look and built a tree for Green Brantley's descendants. There is only one daughter, Lucinda, who disappears after 1860, but even then, I don't believe Tallulah is the daughter of William Johnson anymore. Because, after all these years, I am embarrassed to say, I never paid attention to his time in the Civil War and her birth. William W. Johnson enlisted in April of 1861 and was discharged in June of 1862 after being wounded. Tallulah is supposed to be born in June of 1862. It is not possible for her to be his daughter, he was not in Alabama in the late summer and early fall of 1861, he was with his unit, which was in Virginia, or headed that direction.

So then comes in the pesky curiosities we have with the census for Elizabeth Parker Johnson, In 1830, William B. Johnson has a daughter 10-15, and a daughter under 5, and in 1840, his eldest daughter is married, and he has a daughter 10-15 and a daughter 5-10. The daughter 5-10 should be Matilda Elizabeth, who married John Diamond after Mary died, though she is never in a census it seems. That leaves the daughter who was 10-15, which is the same age as Nancy P. Johnson Coker who is found in the 1850 census with three children. In 1860 Nancy is listed as a Coker, and she is either a Johnson or a Coker until her death. Though after 1870 her children are always listed as mulatto and black. Some researchers's think she is Nancy Pugh, but I don't. The information on the 1880 census doesn't match the other Pugh's birth states, but it does match the birth states of the rest of my Johnson's, and the P. can easily stand for Parker. So if Nancy is the "other" daughter, where is Matilda.

In 1860 the household has Elizabeth b 1834 with daughter Elizabeth age 2, and in 1870 it is Nancy b 1834 with daughter Elizabeth 12 and Tallulah age 7. I think that quite possibly, Nancy is Matilda, she doesn't marry John Diamond until 1871, and the fact she is a Johnson then a Diamond may explain my great grandmother's "Johnson Diamond bastard baby" statement.

Since the family never has another daughter, Tallulah's mother has to be the daughter born in 1825 time frame, or Matilda who was born in 1832 (now, the only source we have on Matilda being a Johnson comes from a grandson of John Diamond, but he would know).  That means to be a Brantley, Tallulah's father is one. But who? Literally all of the sons can be the culprit except for Hilliard Brantley.

I have no idea but I compiled some information on the the locations of the Brantley, Johnson (and sorry some of my other Conecuh families, since I went page by page) from 1820-1860 to see where they were located in relation to each other. Another project is from a known match to Pyburn/Chitty via triangulationB and thought to connect Mary Brown to Elias Brown family.

 Of note, the name Hilliard is one the Brantley's used, so I added Henry Hilliard's location, he may have been a minister or neighbor, but just in case I included him as well.

1820 Census Conecuh

Henry Hilliard p 5

James Chitty p 6

William Johnson p 6 one male one female and one daughter

Joel Brown p 3 3 males over 21 5 under 21

John Brantley p 3 4 males under 21

Daniel Brown p 2

John Etheridge p 2

Pressley and John Brown p 7

William Johnson p 7 parents, one son and 2 daughters

Samuel Parker p 7

Elias Brown p 11 (2 sons one daughter)

William Johnson p 21 one son

Washington Johnson p 21 2 sons three daughters

Wesley Young p 21 2 sons 2 daughters’=

1830 Census Conecuh

John R. Brantley p 3

Green Brantley p 13

Elihu Brown (female) and Joel Brown p 11

Pressley and Sterling Brown p 9

Allen Chitty p 9

John Etheridge p 9

Stephen, William and John Brown p 7

Mallick and Millard Brown p 19

John and Samuel Parker p 19

William B. Johnson p 21

Henry Hilliard p 23

Francis Brantley and John Brantley p 23

John Chitty p 25 (two adult males)

William Johnson p 25

Zachariah Brown p 27

Washington Johnson p 29

Wesley Young p 29

Stephen Brown p 39

Monroe

John Brown p 5

William Brown p 7

Thomas A Brown p 15

Randall Brown p 17

Jane Brown p 23 (is this mary jane brown)

Samuel Parker p 23

Parshall and Elias Brown p 37

1840 Census

Conecuh

Butler County (Conecuh folks listed, Finklea, Dean and Coker)

James Chitty p 56

Conecuh County

John and Peter Parker p 6

Joseph V. Brantley p 8

Samuel and George Parker p 10

Leonard Nelson p 10

John Brantley p 17 (no male children)

Mallikiah and Millard Brown p 21

Allen Chitty p 31

James Brown p 33

William and Washington Johnson p 35

Isaac Brown p 35

Green Brantley p 35

Stephen and John Brown p 41

John Brown p 45

Joel W., Sterling  and Ruckus Brown p 47

John Chitty p 47

John Etheridge p 47

Monroe

R. Brown and John Brown p 23

Thomas H and R. A. Brown p 27

Paschall, Elias and Jackson Brown p 35

Stephen Brown p 67

1850 Census

Conecuh (no post office listed, hard to read)

Mary Brown Chitty (47 SC) p 115 (Robert Brown age 24 b GA)

Stephen Brown (48 GA) wife Sarah Chitty p 115

Allen Chitty p 114

Joel Brown 77 SC p 112

Tabitha Brantley 75 SC p 109

Samuel Parker 43 GA p 106

Isaac Brown 35 Ga p 96

Willis Brown 48 GA p 88

John Brown 60 SC p 86

Wm Parker 47 SC p 80

Augustus? Brantley 21 Ala p 71

James C Brantley 18 ALA p 63

L.W. Brantley 43 SC p 63

Mary Parker 76 MD p 61

Multiple Parkers p 60 and 59

James Brown 49 SC p 55

Wash Johnson p 52

Hilliard Brantley p 47

Millard Brown 45 SC p 39

Mallick (Malachai?) Brown 47 SC p 39

Dick Brantley 50 mulatto GA p 35

Elizabeth and William Johnson p 32

Thomas Brown 42 sc p 31

Manly Brantley 15 AL p 30

John Chitty p 23

John Etheridge and Jane Chitty p 22

Green Brantley p 19 (Elizabeth age 18)

Harris Brantley p 12

Joseph V. Brantley 37 SC (has Elizabeth age 16) p 10 ** has Floyd’s as neighbors ***

Russell Brown 39 SC p 10

Monroe (no post office listed)

Oren Brantley p 19 (John Hawkins age 14 next door neighbor)

Paschall Brown 50 VA p 14

Elias Brown Sr 57 SC p 3

Rufus Brown 38 GA p 3

1860 Census

Conecuh

** Missing Lazarus Solomon Brantley** Hilliard in Texas

Belleview post office

Boykin Brantley is living with brother Lott page 82

Lott Brantley p 81

Ct Brantley page 94

Susan Brantley p 95

Nancy P. Johnson Coker p 74 (Family not listed as colored)

Nancy Bryant age 10 p 72

Parker’s p 68 Samuel and two John’s

More parkers p 67 and 66

Francis Brantley (sc) p. 64

Beady Brantley  Hines p 105

Samuel Brantley p 102

what will be Escambia county (nathansville po)

James Brantley p 60

Rural Hill post office

H. H. Brantley (Harris) p. 140

W.W. Johnson p. 140

Lucinda Bryant p 111

Sepulga

Samuel C. Johnson p 145

Mary Brown Chitty p 13

Margaret Chitty p 13

Lucinda Chitty Shell p 13

Elizabeth Chitty Hammond p 13

 Benjamin Jacob Pyburn p 13

Daniel Brown p 13

Jack Chitty p  8

Allen Chitty p 8

Evergreen

Smith Johnson p 3

Washington Johnson p 3

Richard Brantley (SC) p 43

Monroe

Burnt Corn post office

Oren Brantley p 74

Walton Brantley p. 72

Mary Salter age 14 p. 67

Betsy Brantley Deese p 154

Elias Brown p 171

Civil War enlistments

William W. Johnson enlisted April 1861 and was discharged June 1862.

Oren Brantley enlisted Aug 1864

J.S. Brantley enlisted Aug 1862

Walton Brantley enlisted Mar 1862

Charnic T. Brantley enlisted May 1862

Lazarus Solomon Brantley enlisted May 1863

Hilliard Brantley in Texas in 1860

Harris H. Brantley enlisted April 1862

Lott Whitten Brantley enlisted March 1862

Boykin Brantley enlisted March 1862

I have been busy

I have undertaken some new projects, one of which is keeping me pretty busy. I am renovating my house. So, I may not be as active in genealogy for a while, but if your wondering what I am up to, you can find it at my new blog. A Sow's ear.

Oops I did it again

I got a message on Ancestry DNA late last week from someone who was managing a DNA test for a match to my cousin whose kit I manage. It isn't that great of a match, only 69 cM, but he was wondering if I could help him find/confirm his rumored father.

Ugh, I wasn't so sure, but I took a look, and noticed a strong connection to one family branch, the Pyburn's and the Chitty's. Well, that leads me only to Benjamin Jacob Pyburn and Mary Jane Chitty, my cousin's great grandparents. So I knew that some of those branches weren't full as far down, so I worked on it yesterday and a little today.

And I found it. I found the connection, from looking at shared matches and the name in their tree, the same surname of the rumored father. But the tree was blank. Which meant I had to use what she had listed two great grandparents and go forward. So I did, and found not much, so I went to the newspaper sites. Zilch on Newspaper.com, same with Newspaperarchive.com, but genealogybank.com came up with a zinger, it confirmed the marriage of two surnames, Deer and Dever. I was looking for Dever.

So then I searched for the parents names, and I found Betty Dever, born Jordan, whose obit mentioned Buddy Jordan. I knew he was in my tree, he was one I worked on, but I didn't find anything on his sister Betty, until I found her obit, and viola, I now have a tree for this young man, somewhat incomplete on the unrelated lines, but pretty far back on the others.

On a side note, there are folks who doubt that Teresa Rubena Innerarity was a Pyburn, but her daughters are living with her half sister after her death. Also I noticed something on the mysterious Phoebe, it is a name carried pretty strongly in some of Jacob Pyburn and Diadema Stapleton's oldest daughters descendants. I think that she was influential in Jacob's life as was his Aunt Mary Pyburn Collins.

I also am pretty convinced, because the names are so similar to the other children's names, that James Miller the second husband of Nicy Pyburn Fleming was married to the unknown daughter of Jacob and Diadema, and that the widower and widow married afterwards, and had three children, only one of whom had children Julia Miller.

What a tangled Webb we weave- the Webb, Kelley and Hardy connection.

After finding some more information on DNA results I had decided to look into Robert Kelley a bit further. I don't believe my Hardy's are from Robert Kelley Sr, but rather, his son Robert Kelley Jr is the stepfather of Gardner Hardy. Below is a discussion of what I found, and why my tree on Ancestry will be so different than the rest of them. 

Wentworth Webb Sr’s will is in Colonial Wills of Georgia (Georgia historical society online collection). The heirs named are sons Henry and Wentworth Jr and daughter Susannah in the 1771 document. Prior to his death Wentworth had claimed a headright bounty as a head of household with 6 children from the Colonial government. Also named in the will is his wife Rachel. In the will Susannah and Wentworth Jr are still minor children.

We have the married name of Rachel (named in will of Wentwoth Sr) after his death in this information. as evidenced by the following.

Records of Effingham County, Georgia Containing Annals of Georgia Vol. II and Effingham County Legal Records from The Georgia Genealogical Magazine: Part 2-Effingham County Legal Records from The Georgia Genealogical Magazine, 1976, Southern Historical Press; GEORGIA 929.3758 WILS V.2

 Section entitled (Deed Book “C-D”) page 43

“(p.11)  JESSE MIXON, BENJAMIN COOK, WILLIAM COOK, ROBERT KELLY and MICHAEL PHILLIPS, all of Eff. Co., “joint-heirs of Rachel Shorter, dec’d”, to HENRY WEBB of same county, oldest son of said Rachel Phillips.  Deed of Gift dated March 15, 1793, conveying “all such goods and chattels as were laid off for his use by his grandmother, Rachel Shorter, dec’d., viz: Mare, saddle and bridle, horned cattle, feather bed and furniture. Wit: Robert McCall, James Gill.” 

So we know that Rachel, the widow of Wentworth Webb Sr is now Rachel Phillips in March of 1793. By September 1793, Henry Webb and Wentworth Webb Jr have also died as evidenced by this information from Georgia Annals.

Wentworth Webb, Sept 25, 1793, Executor: Robert Kelly. Jesse Mixon enters caveat against Robert Kelly, who is also made administrator of the estates of Henry Webb, Rachel Shorter and Co. Caveators reason that Robert Kelly was co-equal heir of Wentworth Webb. Signed by William and Benjamin Cook and Rachel Philips.

Wit.: Christian Treutlen, J. P., and Abraham Ravot, J. P. “Mr. Robert Kelly not being pleased with the Openian, prays for an appeal.” Appraised by Robert Scott McKeen and William

Cone.

Examining the claims of September 1793, we have the following information. Heirs to the estate of Wentworth Webb Jr and Henry Webb would only be his siblings and nieces and nephews or mother, so the fact that Jesse Mixon, Benjamin Cook, William Cook and Rachel Phillips are protesting Robert Kelley managing all three estates would mean they feel they are entitled to part of the estate. Additionally, as a cousin, Robert Kelley wouldn’t likely be an heir, so this implies that Robert Kelley (Sr.) is married to a sister of Wentworth Webb Jr.

Benjamin Cook was born in 1760, probably in the Carolinas. His father was James Cook. He married the daughter of Wentworth Webb Sr.  They had four known children, Wentworth, Nancy, Lisbon and Lewis.

Jesse Mixon was born in South Carolina in 1744, the son of John Mixon IV, of Darlington District, South Carolina. It is not known who his mother was. He died in Yazoo County, Mississippi about 1832. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina, serving in Captain Robert Lide's Company of Volunteers, which was organized on October 5, 1775.

He received a small land grant in 1785 in Beaufort District, South Carolina, located on Matthews Bluff, near the Savannah River. He moved to Effingham County, Georgia before 1790, and later, to Bulloch County, Georgia. County records of Effingham County indicate he was Administrator of the estate of Henry Webb and Rachel Shorter which he applied for in October 1793. Researchers have him with two wives, the second started having children in 1790. It is reasonable to assume that his second wife, first name unknown was another daughter of Wentworth Webb Sr.

Michael Phillips is the husband of Rachel Shorter the widow of Wentworth Webb Sr.

This leaves the following information for the heirs of Rachel Shorter and Wentworth Webb Sr.

Rachel, his widow subsequently married to Michael Phillips.

Wentworth Webb Jr, died in 1793.

Henry Webb (eldest son) died in 1793.

Daughter married to Benjamin Cook.

Daughter married to Jesse Mixon.

Daughter married to Robert Kelley Sr.

6^th child, unknown sex.

Susannah who was under 18 in 1771 (women didn’t have to be 21 to be of legal age if I am correct), would be of child bearing age by 1793, she could easily be the wife of any of the three men, but we don’t know which one. The 6^th child is no longer living by the time that Rachel Shorter has passed away. Additionally, it appears that at the time of her death, Rachel Shorter had no other heirs.

Robert Kelley Jr in 1821 becomes the guardian of Gardner Hardy and George Hardy, two of the three sons of the deceased Robert Hardy. In 1820 in Bulloch county Robert Kelley has four sons under 10, I believe that two of them are Gardner Hardy and George Hardy. December 21, 1813 Robert Hardy in the Savannah Chronicle advertises that he will not be responsible for any credit or debts for his wife Rebecca Hardy who has abandoned his bed and board. By 1814, Thomas Hardy, the eldest son of Robert Hardy is given guardianship to Sheppard Williams, the Uncle of Robert Hardy. It is my opinion that Rebecca Hardy had George W Hardy (either December 1814 or December 1813) who also resides in Coffee County, Alabama.

In 1850 we find Robert Kelley Jr in Coffee County, Alabama with wife Rebecca who is born in 1791. The other Kelley’s in Coffee county are Jacob, who appears to be a brother or cousin to Robert Kelley Jr, Robert Kelley III (whose age is 1810-1825 depending on the census, looks to be truly born in 1820 time frame), William N. Kelley age 16, William M J Kelley age 36, Henry Kelley age 30, and CWC Kelley age 31, all of these are born in Georgia, indicating at least that Robert Kelley resided in Georgia until 1830, though I suspect that the family moved to Coffee County around in the latter part of the 1830’s and just isn’t in the 1840 census as the births of the children are in Alabama after 1837 for Robert and his sons children. We know Gardner Hardy arrived and married in Coffee county by 1837.

We have no idea yet what the surname of Rebecca Hardy is, but DNA results for almost all the testers are strongly showing a connection to the Bobo family (Spencer and Tilman primarily) for many of the descendants whose common link is Gardner Hardy and his wife Harriet.  DNA also shows a strong relationship for three of the great great granddaughters of Gardner Hardy to descendants of Robert Kelley, supporting my theory.