In which I build a Google Map and attempt to plot 18th-century Kennedy families of the mid-Atlantic

A couple of months ago I began working in earnest to try to push my Kennedy family line back past ancestor David Kennedy, who died in the spring of 1800 while on a horse trading trip through the Carolinas.

Kennedy's young family in Russell County VA received a report that he had been taken ill during his travels and died suddenly. According to family lore, he was buried where he died, although the exact location has never been determined. Only a few months later his wife, Elizabeth Conway Kennedy, was killed in a dispute with a neighbor, leaving a young son and daughter orphaned. I wrote about that incident in a previous blog post.

We know very little about David Kennedy, but recent DNA testing has disproved the family tradition connecting him to the Augusta County VA family of Captain Joseph Kennedy (or, in fact, to any Kennedys currently participating in the Surname Project)

So I'm coming at the puzzle from both directions in time.

First I connected with modern Kennedy cousins to collaborate and share information on generations from the period of Kennedy's untimely death to the present. That work is ongoing and we will continue to pull together to try to discover the origin of our common ancestor.

Next I connected with Kennedy Surname and DNA Project Administrator James Kennedy to review the current results of the Kennedy Y-DNA tests to see if those could be of any assistance in identifying possible ancestors of our David Kennedy. After communicating with Jim Kennedy, it became clear that no comparisons could be made because no one from our Kennedy family had submitted a DNA test! Kennedy cousin Laura Smith identified three potential direct-line male testers and raised funds to pay for the tests, and after the typical delay of 10-12 weeks we had our answer. No matches. While this was discouraging news in one respect, it allowed us to sweep away decades of erroneous research and start with a fresh slate.

In the mean time, I have been plugging away at creating an interactive map (on Google) to help me sort out various clusters of Kennedys that I run across in my research. Who knew Kennedy was such a prolific surname!? The plotted points on the map are the results of logging the many random references in old books, stray Kennedys found in online data, already-researched Kennedy family groups from Ancestry and similar sites, and Kennedys whose locations can be discerned from the current chart of DNA test results.

The map will always be a work in progress, as there are still very likely hundreds (if not thousands) of markers to be added (I've charted less than 20% of the identifiable DNA tests at this point, for instance).

Bear in mind that this is a project intended to help my extended Kennedy family weed through, identify, and confirm or discard potential connections to our specific line. Therefore many of the comments that I've made in the plotted entries may not seem helpful to all Kennedy lines, however, it is my hope that just making a start at identifying and categorizing some of the known groups may be better than having no map at all.

Although the map is called "18th Century Mid-Atlantic Kennedy Groups" it has suffered from scope creep as descendants scattered to the wind and new immigrants arrived over the span of decades. In general though, I have tried to keep things contained the 18th century and the mid-Atlantic. There is an obvious focus on the families of PA/MD/VA/NC/SC, which is most relevant to my David Kennedy family project.

On the lefthand side of the live map you will see a key. I have tried to color-code the groups where possible to identify clusters that appear to be related. Dots indicate paper-trail research and teardrop-shaped markers mean we have a confirmed DNA test for the individual. So for instance, the light blue markers in the western NC area (refer to live map) are a mixture of dots and teardrops since we have several DNA tests for that line, but we also have a paper trail that allows us to identify additional individuals who are related to that same cluster.

Pale gray dots or teardrops indicate that the individual is not yet identified and/or matched with any other group.

An "X" before an individual's name means I have ruled that line out as being a potential match for my Kennedy family. The star-shaped markers indicate individuals that I feel may be strong leads for our group.

Again, this is a work in progress which is strongly tilted towards assisting descendants of David and Elizabeth Conway Kennedy of Russell County VA, but hopefully it can be of assistance to other families at the same time.

Click here to visit the live map on Google

Early NC/VA Hendersons: Edward Mosely's 1733 Map of North Carolina and 17th Century Maps of the Delmarva Peninsula

A couple of tools that I have found to be particularly helpful when trying to pinpoint the location of my Henderson families in the 17th and 18th centuries are Edward Moseley's 1733 Map of northeastern North Carolina (primarily the Chowan Precinct), and a collection of 17th-and-18th-century maps of the Delmarva Peninsula that can be found on the website of the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture. 

Unfortunately, the earliest maps of the Delmarva Peninsula are so archaic and inaccurately drawn and oriented as to be nearly indecipherable, but by 1682, the one drawn by John Seller is at least recognizable. The 18th century maps are better. There is also an enlargeable one in the digital collection of the Library of Congress. I believe it dates from 1778 and is called "The Peninsula Between Delaware & Chesopeak Bays, with the said bays and shores adjacent drawn from the most accurate surveys." This one is particularly useful due to the zoom feature.

I stumbled across the Moseley map while trying to locate the Meherrin Creek referred to in this 1737 Bertie County land record witnessed by a JOHN HENDERSON:

Book 3 p. 363 William Moore to Benjamin Hill
19 January 1737 100 acres on N side Meheron Creek. Wit: J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. "Know...that I Judith Moore...have for five pounds...by Coll Benjamin Hill relinquished all my Right Title and Interest to within land. 19 January 1737. Wit J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. November Court 1738.

While I don't know that this John Henderson is connected in any way to the Delmarva Hendersons or to either of the two Onslow County Henderson groups, it is a point of interest that James "Isaac" Henderson's 1770 will was witnessed by John Bond and _____ Moor. The names Bond and Moor/Moore are frequently connected with the handful of other very early northeastern NC Henderson records I have been able to find.

The name Edward Moseley is well-known in the old Chowan and Bertie precincts of North Carolina. Moseley, the Surveyor General of North Carolina before 1710 and between 1723-1733, was born in England in 1683, and was active in the early politics of the colony. Moseley immigrated into Charleston and began his career as an Ordinary Court Clerk under Governor James Moore. He would marry judiciously (Anne Lillington Walker, widow of former governor Henderson Walker) and rise through the political ranks, ending up in Albemarle County where he began his surveying and legal careers. A feud between Moseley and Governor Charles Eden arose when Moseley accused Eden of collusion with the pirate Blackbeard (circumstantial evidence seems strong). As a result of the libel, he was heavily fined and banned from public office for several years.

Nevertheless...the man drew a good map.

Learn more about Edward Moseley's 1733 Map.
Learn more about Edward Moseley's life and political career.

Edward Moseley's Map of NC, 1733

Revisiting the Rhodes Bible for Henderson Connections

Many years ago I became aware, although now I recall not how, that the Rhodes Family Bible contained references to several birth records that appeared to pertain to our Onslow County NC James "Isaac" Henderson family. Fortuitously, I also learned that the Bible was housed in the document collection of nearby Greensboro College, so I headed over to take a look.

Out of the case came a voluminous tome of archaic binding and musty, brittle pages. I went through that Bible with a fine-toothed comb, and although I did find many Rhodes notations, I couldn't find a single reference to a Henderson. I must have turned every page of that Bible, to no avail. Puzzled and disappointed, I photographed the Bible and returned it to the archivist.

I recently learned that there was a second copy of the Bible in the Cullen Hatch Collection in Kinston, NC (the Hatch family intermarried with that of Rhodes). It is this version of the Bible that contained the references to children and/or grandchildren of James "Isaac" Henderson.

Now that so much more documentation has become available online, I need to revisit this link, review the transcription of this alternate version of the Bible, and compare it to the one I reviewed over two decades ago. In the mean time, I would like to share this transcription by North Carolina historical and genealogical researcher Sloan Mason. All editorial comments are Mr. Mason's, but the red emphasis is mine.

I will follow up with a separate post of commentary.

The Rhodes Bible of the Cullen Hatch Collection - Transcribed by Sloan Mason

The New Testament

Of our Lord and Saviour

Jesus Christ

Oxford

Printed by Thomas BASKETT

Printer to the University

MDCCLVII

1757

An Acct. of the Ages of all the Children Belonging to Henry RHODES & Mary His Wife

Sarah RHODES was bornd March 22 1755.

Elizabeth RHODES was bornd Febr. 24th, 1756

Woodhouse RHODES borned Jany. 19th, 1759.

Oliff RHODES was bornd Febr. 16th, 1762.

Mary RHODES was bornd Aug. 20, 1766.

Henry RHODES & Eliz. WARD was married Aug. 5, 1770.

(there are 3 lines of written material circled out, unable to read,

but does have a date of 1771 on the 2nd line)

Henry RHODES son of Henry & Eliz RHODES bornd on Monday abt. 11 O'clock

in morning the 22nd of November 1773 & the 8thd day of the moons age.

Henneritta RHODES daughter to Henry & Eliz RHODES was bornd on Friday

the 4th Day of April 1777 & the days age of the moon.

(under the word April there is an arrow pointing to April, then the

word married? Than another arrow pointing to Eliz's name in line above)

Mary RHODES wife to Henry RHODES, 18 years departed this life on Monday morning about 3 O'clock the 5th day of June in the year of Our Lord 1769 in the 38th year of her age.

(page 2)

(The 2nd page of this bible is impossible to read-it may be slave records-but is impossible to know there are only a few words I can make out.)

(mid way down page)

son bornd

26th? Day of June -- Bot Him & His mother 1th May 1774

--- was bornd

in the Evening 1770

(page 3)

An Acct. of all the children Belonging to Woodhs. RHODES & Elizabeth his wife with the Ages of them.

1) Exilina RHODES was borne the 29 Day of May 1782.

2) John Hatch RHODES was bornd the 16 Day of March 1784 on

the 25 Day of the Moons Age.

3) Mary RHODES was bornd the 14 Day of September 1785

about one O'clock in the after hour?

4) Woodhs RHODES Jun. To Woodhs RHODES & Elizabeth his wife was borned

the 24 Day of Jany 1788 And the 16 Day of the Moons age about 2 O'clock

in the morning.

5) Asa Hatch RHODES was bornd the 6th Day of Jany 1790.

6) Lemuel Hatch RHODES was bornd the 19th of Febuary 1792.

7) Henry RHODES was born 25 Day of Jany 1794 Died Oct. 8th, 1849 in

the 56th year of his age.

8) Durant Hatch RHODES was bornd 9 Day of April 1797

9) Narsisey Hatch RHODES was bornd the 25 Day of December 1798.

10) Anthony Hatch RHODES was bornd the 9 Day of April 1801

11) Edmon Hatch RHODES was bornd 18th Day of Jany 1806

12) Margaret RHODES was bornd 17 Day of Feby. 1808.

(page 4)

(At bottom of page)

Zilpha FRANCK Daughter of Edward FRANCK and Elizabeth his wife, was born November 28 in the year of our Lord 1798 and was married to Henr. RHODES April 5th Day 1821.

(page 5)

(at bottom of page)

My Dear beloved Father Woodhouse RHODES departed this life on Wednesday 9th of May 1827 Just before sun down his age then was sixty eight years three months and twenty days.

----------------------------------------------------------------

(the next insertion was not in [the original] bible record, but it was in another copy

from the Cullen Hatch collection - view photocopy of record here)

Ezekiel HENDERSON and Arglus HENDERSON and Sary [Sucey?] his wife was bornd April

the 15 Day --- ---1751 177--

(page 7)

Bedence JENKIN daughter of William JENKINS and Bety his wife was bornd March the 18th day in the year of our Lord God 1771?

Charity JENKINS daughter of William JENKINS and Bety his wife was born Septem 21st day in the year of our Lord 1777 (or 1772?)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(page 6)

An account of the childrens ages Belonging to Henr. RHODES and Zilpha his wife.

1) Asa Franck RHODES was bornd the 17th of February in the year of our Lord 1822.

2) Durant Woodhs. RHODES was bornd the 1st of October in the year of our Lord 1823. No. 2 Departed Septr. 8th 1830.

3) Mary Elizabeth RHODES was bornd the 21st of September in the year of our Lord 1825.

4) Henry Emanuel RHODES was born the 7th of October in the year of our Lord 1827.

5) John Martin Franck RHODES was bornd the 2nd of July in the year of our Lord 1829.

6) Edward Haines RHODES was bornd 7th of March in the year of our Lord 1831.

7) Anthony Edmond RHODES was bornd December 13th in the year of our Lord 1832.

8) Bryan Shine RHODES was born January 12th A.D. this date 1836.

(page 7)

Hannah Rebecca RHODES was born 19th of June in the year of our Lord 1838.

Elizabeth R. HERRITAGE daughter of F. G. HERRITAGE and Penelope his wife was born Feb. 6th 1830. Was married to H. E. RHODES Nov. 9th 1848 Died Oct. 8th 1849 in the twentieth year of her age.

Henry Elizabeth (Koonce crossed out) RHODES child of the above couple was born Oct. 6th 1849. Died Nov. 7th 1849 aged one month.

Mary E. Hatch consort of Richard J. R. HATCH and daughter of Henry RHODES departed this life on the 27 Oct. 1851 in the 27th year of her age.

Henry E. RHODES & Martha PEARSALL was married April 10th 1851 being my second wife, her age being 18 years old, 3rd Day of March before,

James Henry Pearsall RHODES child of the above couple was born June 5th 1852 at 3 O'clock.

(page 8)

Benjamin Franklin RHODES was born June 15th 1854.

Martha Elizabeth RHODES was born Jan. 8th, 1856.

(page 9)

Elvy Daughter of Sam and Mehaley, his wife was born August 31st in the year of our Lord 1827.

Grace Daughter of the above was born July 24th in the year of our Lord 1829.

Daniel son of the above was born July 14th in the year of our Lord 1831.

Lear daughter of the above was born June 18th in the year of our Lord 1834.

Rilla Daughter of the above was Born June 28th in the year of our Lord 1838.

Alfred son of the above was born November 10th in the year of our Lord 1840.

Lewarer? Son of the above was born April 24th Day A.D. 1843.

Simon son of the above was born August 30th A.D. 1845.

Lucy Daughter of the above was born Nov. 5th 1848.

Jane Daughter of Elvy was born Jan. 1st A.D. 1854.

Becky daughter of Rilly was born March 19th A.D. 1857

Maria daughter of Elvy was born Aug. 11th A.D. 1857 died 1859.

Lewis on of Rilly was born April 1858.

(page 10)

Will, son of Charlot was born in November the day in the year of our Lord 1830 (day of the month forgotten)

Rose was born in September (the day forgotten) in the year of our Lord 1835 - Daughter of the above.

Thomas son of the above was born September 2nd in the year of our Lord 1839.

Hard son of the above was born May 6th A.D. 1842

Elizaan daughter of the above ws born December 3rd A.D. 1844.

Mary daughter of the above was born May 25th A.D. 1847.

(page 11)

Children of Harriet born since I bought her

Ann was born in May 1850

Venus? Was born 30th of May 1853

Lewis son of the above was born Aug. 2nd 1856.

Alfred was born in the spring 1847.

George was born in the summer 1844.

(page 12)

York son of Mitilda and York (her husband written above)

was borne A.D. October 5th 1843

Marthy daughter of the above was born June 27th A.D. 1845.

Carolina was born November 7th A.D. 1846 dead 47.

Calvin child of the above was born in the Spring 1850.

Maryann Child of Harriet was born in the Spring 1850.

END OF BIBLE RECORD

(This was in the Cullen Hatch collection, this bible was one record, several different hand writings)

New Images Posted in the Kennedy & Talbert Photo Collection

Now that I've recently been connected with other researchers of the the Kennedy and Talbert families of southwest Virginia, I have been able to add significantly to the collection of family photos on Flickr. There was quite a bit of intermarriage between the Horne, Talbert and Kennedy families so many of the photos in the album will be of interest to more than one surname's researchers.

I'm trying to grow the album with "oldies-but-goodies," so I welcome your Kennedy, Talbert or Horne family photos that date prior to 1925 (or no later than 1950). Please email me if you have images that you would like to contribute.

Click here to view the Kennedy & Talbert Family Photo Album

Descendants of Edward Corder, "The Boys of Greenway Court" is Now Available as a Free Download

I've just stumbled across a happy little gift from the internet. The Boys of Greenway Court, a 19th-century morality tale by Hezekiah Butterworth, is out of copyright and available online. You can read the text version, or download the 16MB facsimile which contains beautiful illustrations.

I have to caution you that the story is florid and ponderous in the way of most late Victorian writers, but for those interested in reading it from the perspective of historian or genealogist, it can be fun in a novel (ahem) kind of way. I have several hard copies which I have purchased whenever they have become available on eBay, but original early editions can be scarce and pricey, so I'm glad to see that all interested parties may have a free digital copy.

A "Swindled" Inheritance, and Other Kennedy Family Legends Examined

Through a happy coincidence, my last blog article on the Conway-Kennedy murder has brought me into contact with descendants of Forrest T. Kennedy (s/o John & Mary Horne Kennedy), who have long been involved with researching our extended Kennedy family.

My own connection to the family is at once distant and immediate. As a child, my grandmother would tell me endless stories of her childhood visits with "Grandma Brooks," a character who still looms large in Brooks family lore. Grandma Brooks was Ibbie Kennedy, daughter of Wiley F. Kennedy and Mary Elizabeth Talbert Kennedy of Russell and Wise Counties in southwest Virginia. Ibbie married my great-great-grandfather, Warren D. Brooks Jr. of Del Rio, TN, when he came to Wise County working on the railroads in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Sadly, Grandma Ibbie's father, Wiley F. Kennedy, died of epilepsy seven months before Grandma was born, and Mary Elizabeth Talbert Kennedy took Wiley's three small daughters to live with her parents, Thomas and Rebecca Gobble Talbert.

Mary Elizabeth later remarried to Squire Osborn, the girls' hated step-father (who Grandma referred to contemptuously as "Ol' Sqwar Ozburn"). I cannot tell how much contact the children had with their Kennedy relatives, but they must have had some. Grandma Brooks talked about her Kennedy cousins and I can remember my own grandmother speaking of an "Ackey Bud" (Ichabod) Kennedy, so there must have been some contact with her father's family, but no particular stories specific to the Kennedy family were among those passed down to my own grandmother. With one exception. And was it ever a doozie.

For a reason I could never quite understand, Grandma Brooks was under the impression that one of her cousins had traveled to Ireland and "swindled her out of her inheritance." (She didn't hesitate to name the cousin, but I do, as her accusations seem to be completely without foundation.) As a child, I accepted this story without question, obligingly imagining pots of gold covertly stashed, and castles sold away from the family by a scheming (and very distant) relation. In my teens when I started researching the Kennedy family, I quickly realized that while our ancestors of that name were not precisely poor, they were unlikely to have come from a family in Ireland of any particular prestige or wealth. I pressed my grandmother for more details, but she knew no more than she'd been told.

Years would pass, and life would happen, and I would lay my work aside. In the mean time, the internet went from a novel concept to the most powerful communication tool in the history of mankind. So here we all are, able to view thousands of obscure records and writings at the stroke of a few keys, which is how I happened across Wade Powers Kennedy's 1941 book, The Name and Family of Kennedy and Powers, which is viewable online and downloadable as a PDF.

The book is "Dedicated to Future Generations who, it is hoped, will expand and extend this record and beautify it by good deeds that shine like diamond dewdrops in a meadow of the finest kind of living."

I could tell right away that our author was an optimist. He did nothing to disabuse me of this impression as he launched immediately into a florid passage about the "worthy deeds of the marching generations giving [the surname] dignity and splendor." (Oh dear, such high expectations of us all.) After a short discussion of the history of surnames, Mr. Kennedy (my 1st cousin 4x removed) gets right to the point, asserting that Kennedy "is one of the very ancient names," possibly meaning "head or chief of the clan." Perhaps so, but our line? Optimist, optimist, optimist.

After a brief mention of  a "Kenneth" associated with King Duncan of Scotland, he states that "It is probable however that the greater part of the family traces its descent from the EARLS of CARRICK" (his emphasis), a southern district of Ayrshire, Scotland, which lies south of the river, Deen. He goes on to mention Sir James Kennedy who married Mary Stewart, daughter of King Robert III of Scotland. Ohhhh, boy. Now I'm beginning to understand. Did someone show Grandma Brooks a copy of this book?

Mr. Kennedy is on a roll now. He posits a connection between this noble line of Kennedys and the ancestor of what I call the "adore" Kennedys: Theodore, Elmadore, Macadore, Shenadore, etc. In Section III (pg. 13) he moves to our own ancestor's line, David Kennedy "father of the Kennedy family scattered throughout the western part of Virginia and into other states."

He states that there are substantial reasons for believing that our ancestor, the David Kennedy who settled in Russell County, VA in the 1790's, "belonged to the Scotch line" of Kennedys coming down from Sir David Kennedy, the first Earl of Cassilis. In support of this he gives evidence such as "family resemblance, personal characteristics, accent in speech" (although how he became familiar enough to compare our family's qualities of speech with those of the long-dead Sir David, he does not explain).

Now, I'm not going to sport with your intelligence by entertaining a connection between the Kennedys of Russell County, VA and the purported ancient nobles of southwest of Scotland. I believe W.P. Kennedy did indeed have reason to believe there was a connection between our ancestor and a Scottish Kennedy line, and I will examine that later on in another blog entry. I do not believe he intentionally misled us about the origins of our family, but ever the optimist, he may have seen what he wanted to see, and made the connections that seemed most agreeable to someone of his obviously idealistic disposition. Time will tell, as research progresses. The old fellow might surprise me and turn out to be right. But don't hold your breath. If he is, I will write a blog entry titled "An Ode to Optimism," in which I give him his full due for very lucky guesses.

However, back to Grandma Ibbie's puzzling accusations. As of 1941, the story of the Kennedy family's glorious origins had just gone to print. I'm not sure how long prior to this, W.P. Kennedy's research into the family origins and resultant theories had been in circulation amongst the relatives. His family appeared prosperous by comparison to that of my Grandma Brooks (whose husband died when they were in early middle age, leaving my young great-grandfather to support her and his younger siblings). Wade P. Kennedy was obviously a scholarly author. His brother was a self-taught and successful local lawyer. Another brother started a franchise of Piggly-Wiggly stores in Wise County. I can just imagine Grandma's speculation about the source of their means and success. (Surely it could not simply have been the result of hard work? Much easier to believe it was the result of a stolen pot of gold...) 

I cannot be sure -- truly I cannot -- but I believe that Grandma Brooks made some sort of connection in her own mind between the grandiose origin tales and the success of her Kennedy relatives and posited a covert trip to Ireland on the part of one of them, wherein the cousin in question had somehow located the exact origin of wealthy Kennedy relatives in the old country and had managed to secure and dispose of family property without the knowledge of a multitude of other state-side cousins. What alternative explanation could there be for her own circumstances to be so reduced when her ancestors had been Kings and landed gentry, and her own cousins so comparatively wealthy?

Not being one to stand on ceremony, I instantly questioned my new Kennedy relatives about whether or not any Kennedys had been to Ireland or had located our family's origins there. They were utterly bewildered to hear of such a trip and replied that as far as they knew, no one ever had.

My feeling is that had that trip actually been undertaken (probably in the early 20th century), it would have been much discussed within the family, especially within the line of the family that went to great pains to collect the family's history, and such a trip would have been nearly impossible to hide from the other cousins and their descendants. I can think of no other plausible explanation for Grandma's tale, other than she having leaped to conclusions based on Wade P. Kennedy's (very likely incorrect) assertions of connections to Irish and/or Scottish nobility. But what a bizarre conclusion to leap to! 

If you are a descendant of John & Mary Horne Kennedy of Russell County VA and you can shed any light on my great-great-grandmother's fanciful tales of "swindled" (her word) Irish inheritances, or what might have given her such an idea, I hope you will add your comments below. I'm open to anything, but at the moment, this seems like the most plausible explanation I can contrive. I have long wondered what caused her to "tell such a tale" (to use the words of Prissy in Gone With the Wind), so any enlightenment would be welcome.

In the coming months I am going to examine other family stories from the W.P. Kennedy book and see how they hold up against new information that becomes available online and through the wonderful magic of DNA testing) The purpose of these examinations is not to detract from Wade Kennedy's priceless, wonderful preservation of our family's history, but to clarify and --to use his own words-- "to expand and extend [his] record" -- and if need be, to correct it based on new information that comes to light.

Elizabeth Conway Kennedy Shot Clean Off Her Horse. That'll Teach Her to Free-Range Her Cattle, I Reckon.

Recently a young cousin asked me for some information on her ancestry for a presentation she had been assigned in her honors civics class. Poor kid. She was deluged by pages of family history, charts and anecdotes, all straight from the Too Much Information Desk (a desk from which any avid genealogist writes at every possible opportunity).

One of the stories I related to her was the tragic tale of how our ancestor John Kennedy and his sister Mary Elizabeth Kennedy came to be orphaned in the year 1800. I didn't know very much about it myself, having only been told that one or both of the children's parents had been murdered, and having been unsuccessful in tracking down additional details.

Since new information comes online every day, I decided to have another look and this time I hit pay dirt. Allow me to relate to you the story of the tragic demise of David Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth Conway Kennedy, of Castlewood in Russell County, Virginia.

First, a word about the actors in our drama. It is believed that David Kennedy came from Ireland since, on the 1880 census, son John Kennedy gives his father's place of birth thus. David may have been widowed prior to his union with Elizabeth Conway. He had an older son, Samuel, who died in a tragic accident at Burton's Ford when a neighbor woman mistook him for a swan and shot him early one foggy morning as he was washing his face in the nearby river. I'm not making that up. Apparently the Burton family who lived across the river had been planning to shoot a wild swan that frequented the river bank, and when Samuel went down to wash (dressed in a white shirt in preparation for an impending trip to town), the trigger-happy Mrs. Burton fired away. (The Name and Family of Kennedy and Powers, W. P. Kennedy, 1941, p. 14-15)

Now, back to our story.

David and Elizabeth (called "Nancy" by son John) lived near the present-day town of Castlewood, close to the aforementioned Burton's Ford. Elizabeth Kennedy is generally believed to have been a daughter of Thomas Conway, whose property cornered with that of Henry and Elizabeth Kiser Hurst. According to the traditions of both families, a disagreement developed between the families when the Kennedys allowed their cattle to range free, resulting in damage to the Hurst crops. Elizabeth Hurst and Elizabeth Kennedy "engaged in bitter quarrels on more than one occasion" on account of the trespass.

Elizabeth Kennedy was a keen horsewoman and often rode out surveying her stock, or on errands. On the 10th of June of 1800, she rode into the local community and on her way back to her farm she encountered Elizabeth Hurst doing laundry in the creek just downstream from Bickley's Mill. Mrs. Hurst's infant son, Samuel, was laying on a quilt near his mother, and another son, Andrew, had just returned from hunting. The boy leaned his rifle against a large poplar tree and was trying to quiet his fussing brother when Elizabeth Kennedy rode into view on the road above the creek. As usual, the two women began to argue. One Hurst researcher says she has been told that Mrs. Kennedy "clubbed" Mrs. Hurst, which would imply that the two women were on equal footing, but most accounts agree that Mrs. Hurst snatched up her son's hunting rifle and shot Elizabeth Kennedy off her horse, which made it more likely that the victim was still on the road above the creek, and Mrs. Hurst was on lower ground within reach of the tree by the creek.

Mrs. Hurst was duly arrested for murder.

"The prisoner being arraigned at the bar, it was demanded of her whether she was guilty or not guilty. She answered she was not guilty. Whereupon divers [sic] witnesses being sworn and examined against her, and she being heard in her own defense: on consideration whereof it is the opinion of the court that the said Elizabeth Hursk [sic] for the offense ought to be tried at the next District Court to be held at Washington Court house on the 2nd day of October next, and thereupon she was remanded to jail." (Russell County VA Law and Order Book No. 3, Page 59, year 1800)

In case you're wondering how things went, she was acquitted, but her defense nearly bankrupted Henry, who had to sell part of his property to pay her way out of trouble.

Sadly, in the late winter or early spring of 1800, Mrs. Kennedy's husband, David, had gone south on his lucrative annual round of horse-trading through the Carolinas, never to return. According to his granddaughter Elizabeth Kennedy, as David was awaiting payment from the planters who had purchased his horses, he suddenly fell ill and died. There was no convenient way to return him to Virginia so he lies buried in an unknown location "somewhere in the Carolinas."  (Kennedy, p. 17) Perhaps the stress of her husband's recent death added to Elizabeth's decision to engage in the fatal quarrel with her neighbor, although more likely, from the sound of it, it was force of habit.

Thomas Conway Sr. and Richard Price administered the estate of the unfortunate Mrs. Kennedy. The orphaned children, John (about 3) and his sister Mary Elizabeth (about 5) were probably initially taken in by the Conway family, although a grandson of John insists that David's old friend from his militia days, John Smith, took the boy when his mother died.

In December of 1800 and again in October of 1804 the court ordered that the "Overseers of the poor bind Mary Kennedy, an infant orphan of Elizabeth Kennedy, deceased, to John Holbrook, according to law." The children were by no means paupers since their parents were moderately prosperous farmers, but the Overseer of the Poor was the legal authority charged with settlement of guardianship and payment from the estate for an orphaned child's upkeep.

Young John was most likley raised into his teens by his Conway relatives (possibly by the widowed Mary Conway Fletcher, his mother's sister). A friend of the family remembers that the Conway farm abutted her father's farm, and "Johnnie Kennedy" frequently cut across her father's land on his way to the public road. (Kennedy, p. 24) In 1814 John Kennedy left home to enlist in the Federal Army and served in Company A of the Virginia Militia during the war of 1812.

According to Wade Powers Kennedy, the family records were passed to granddaughter Ann Fraley Murphy (who was raised in the household of John and Mary Horne Kennedy) and were subsequently lost. However, there was no shortage of grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the unfortunate couple who had not heard every detail of their tragic story from the time they were knee-high to a grasshopper. I suspect the only reason I had not heard it myself from my own grandmother was because her "Grandma Brooks" (Ibbie Kennedy Brooks, granddaughter of John and Mary Horne Kennedy) had been raised in her mother's family, the Talberts (after her father Wiley F. Kennedy died during her infancy 1867).

The Kennedys, I can assure you, have long...long...memories. If Grandma Ibbie Kennedy Brooks had known the story, I haven't the slightest doubt that I'd have heard it with my own ears from the time I could understand the words "shot off her horse."

Disposition of Branson Family Land in Frederick County, VA

As I was cleaning up the hard drive on my computer this morning, sorting through a folder of genealogical documents I had photocopied, I came across two records of a land transaction for the Branson family of Frederick County, Virginia. John Branson (b. 1704 either in Berkshire, England or in New Jersey) and his brother Thomas Branson Jr. are mentioned as joint heirs to the 690a parcel of land their father Thomas L. Branson Sr. owned on the Shenandoah River in Frederick (formerly Orange) County.

Thomas Sr. had purchased this tract of land (and others) from Jost Hite, a head right settler who brought a number of (mostly German) immigrants into the lower Shenandoah Valley. Under the head right system, Hite received acreage for each settler he brought to the area. Unfortunately a portion of the land the Hite group settled actually legally belonged to Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, Lord Proprietor of Virginia. When Fairfax arrived from England in the 1730's and discovered the encroaching German settlers, a lawsuit ensued that would outlast both combatants. On an interesting side note, Fairfax would be the only English peer to make his permanent home in the colonies when he settled on the Manor of Greenway Court (a residence that would have been considered a modest farmhouse in England) in the 1740's.

Thomas Branson's land adjoined Hite's and his grant of 850a was situated at the head of the "south branch of the Opeckon (creek), nigh a cattail meadow." Later he would secure a patent for 1370a on both sides of Crooked run, near his brother Jacob. Thomas Sr. must have lived in the valley at some point in the 1730's for in 1734 one John Dyer was deposed (apparently in regard to the dispute between Fairfax and Hite) and related that Fairfax had come over the mountains to visit his proprietorship and stayed at the home of Thomas Branson. Branson dared to broach the topic of land ownership west of the Blue Ridge and Fairfax reassured him that he "would not have any poor man quit the place for want of land" and that no one was to worry, it would simply mean a change of landlord (paying quitrents to him instead of to the the crown treasurer). According to Dyer's deposition, "[Fairfax] was desirous of having the Land settled."

In this, the old Baron was true to his word and his tenants held him in high regard. Had he lived to see the end of the war (he died in 1781) there is speculation that his tenants would have been reluctant to strip him of his hereditary land ownership.

Thomas Branson Sr.'s will was proved 21st November 1744 in Springfield Township, Burlington County NJ. I'm not sure why he returned to New Jersey and did not permanently settle his tracts of land in Northern Virginia. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth. His will named sons David, Joseph, Jonathan, Lionel, William, "Day," Thomas, and John, and daughter Sarah Owen. He also mentioned the children of Zachariah and Mary Robins, and William and Elizabeth Rogers and called those children his grandchildren. To grandson Thomas Branson (son of John), he left the 200a tract of land on the Shenandoah which he had laid out for Thomas Alexander about a decade earlier.

Two years later, sons Thomas Jr. and John appeared in court in Frederick County, VA to finalize the division of the 690a left to them by their father. They agreed to evenly divide the land on 26th of February 1746/7 and a few days later, Thomas Jr. sold his 340a parcel to Samuel Earle, who took "peaceable possession" of it before witnesses John Branson, James Remy and Thomas Satcher on the 5th day of March, 1747.

Documents attached.

This information is relevant to the Brooks family members who descend from the union of Elizabeth Branson and John Corder through their daughter Mary Elinor "Nellie" Corder who married John Huff in Botetourt County VA, 6 October 1782.

A Note on the Frequency of the Henderson R-M269 Subclade in Ireland and Scotland

In my ongoing quest to connect my Henderson line back to Scotland, even DNA testing has been able to offer little in the way of meaningful progress.

While we have had several solid matches with lines previously not known to be connected with
 us, none can trace their lineage back to the old country. In fact, few can trace themselves back even so far as the two oldest identified groups (the family of James Henderson of the Delmarva Peninsula and the family of James "Isaac" Henderson of Onslow County NC, arrived mid-1660's and prior to 1720 respectively). Record-keeping in Scotland and Ireland during the 17th and early 18th century was incomplete, at best, and I have nearly despaired of finding a definitive paper trail since these two related-but-we-don't-know-how ancestors arrived in the colonies so long ago.

I have begun to toy with the idea that we might have come to Virginia and North Carolina via Ulster rather than directly from Scotland. A mid-19th century Baltimore City census record that is believed to be connected to one of our Henderson DNA matches hints that their line of the family came from Ireland. However, another record in the same census leads us to believe that the family came from Scotland. This is the newest DNA matching line of immigration we can identify, and I had hoped they would lead us back to the right spot in the UK, but so far, only more confusion.

I really can't put much credence in either claim, even if it turns out that both census records in question are indeed connected to our DNA tester. How many times have I spoken to various branches of various families and been told of their "Irish," "Cherokee" or "Dutch" blood, only to verify through records and research that they were actually English, had not a single drop of Cherokee (or other native) blood, or were actually German (Deutsch)? Too many times to be fooled again.

I was having a look tonight at the latest Henderson DNA results and I see that Jim has re-categorized our family line (previously the G1 group) into a new family group of C4 with a subclade of R-M269. I looked up the Wikipedia article on R-M269 and I see that the highest frequency of that DNA signature is found in Wales (92%), Ireland (82% with some pockets as high as 95%), and Scotland (70%). While this isn't particularly useful in helping me narrow things down, the high concentration of this subclade in Ireland cannot allow me to eliminate the possibility that our family may have originated there, or at least have lived there, possibly as settlers of Ulster.

New Advances in DNA Haplogroup Studies Reveal Brooks Origins in Norway

The private Yahoo Group that our Brooks R1a DNA testers use to communicate has been pretty quiet for the last year or so and I wanted to check in with surname project administrator Nigel Brooks to see if there had been any new developments for our specific Brooks researchers. Although Nigel is descended from a different Brooks family, he does a wonderful job of keeping track of all of the different lines and letting us know when anything significant has been discovered that affects our group.

I've been out of the DNA loop for the last few years and advances have occurred that can help us understand more about different haplogroups and surname origins in general, and our testing lines in particular. But as much light as these new advances have shed in some areas, they seem to throw other areas into even more shadow.

For example, a 111-marker surname match was at one time considered proof positive of a very close relationship within a very recent genealogical time period. Now we know that that might not always be the case, as Nigel tells me that he's seen results of "very close STR 111-marker results [within the R1b Haplogroup] with different SNP results which can branch thousands of years ago," and he fears that that might also hold true within our R1a Haplogroup.

Seems like nothing is ever straightforward in DNA analysis, and you just have to keep trying the different pieces of the puzzle to see what fits. Even when you think a piece fits now...as we learn more about DNA, it might not fit quite as well later, as we learn more. That's the bad news.

The good news is that we do have a number of solid matches within the family lines of our R1a Haplogroup of Brooks testers. We are sorting ourselves out (slowly) into a cohesive, proven family group, and into distinct lines within that group.

We also have a couple of mysteries to work through.

Three testers with non-matching surnames of Bradberry, Perry and Walkland continue to match some of our Brooks testers at 111-markers. Did you catch that? These three non-surname matches are matching some Brooks testers at 111 markers, but not all of our R1a Brooks testers. Nigel is now trying to determine if these three non-Brooks testers are a result of the same sort of coincidental SNP matching he has observed in the R1b Haplogroup projects.

Take a look at this chart. You see the purple group titled "R1a1a1b1a3b2 [CTS8277+] "Cocke County TN" testers? That's us. All in all, our matches are pretty consistent. Just a couple of mutations here and there over the past centuries. But where are these Bradberry, Perry and Walkland testers coming from? Are they actually Brooks NPE's (non-paternal events) or are they random, coincidental relatives showing up out of the deep mists of time? We just don't know yet. I have recently upgraded my great-uncle's test to 111 markers and the odd birds continue to match us. This seems to be narrowing the mutation down to the line of the Brooks who doesn't match the odds.

Confused yet? Don't worry about it, because all of that wasn't really even what I was writing to tell you.

What I'm really writing to tell you is that Nigel has identified our group as part of an ancient Viking cluster! We descend from subclade CTS8277 which is classified as "Norsemen." So yeah, Vikings! Well, to be technically correct, our origins in Norway long pre-date the age of going a' viking, (we're not talking about the sacking of Paris, here, more like 4,500 years ago), but you get my point. Have a look at the information (and chart) on this page to learn more about the deep origins of the CTS8277 subclade. This is very exciting news as we had previously classified our deep ancestry rather vaguely as "eastern European."

So now we know. Norway.

Merging Margarets (Margaret J. Ramey Osborne Wheatley)

Originally published March 25, 2014

It's been a while since I have had a chance to work on genealogy, but I hope to ramp up my old pastime this year and get a new website online. I've added quite a few tidbits here and there during the years since my last major update and I think it's time to get the new stuff out there.

This week, though, I had a pressing genealogical matter to attend to. Oddly enough, while Tom and I were in Italy earlier this month, we met a couple with the surname of Wheatley (this was an American couple, not an Italian couple). I mentioned that my great-great grandmother's sister, Margaret J. Ramey, had married a Wheatley, and since this couple was from Maryland, I wondered if there was a connection. Mr. Wheatley said he guessed probably not since he was originally from Wise County, Virginia.

Well faint, and fall over dead. Small world, indeed.

Although he wasn't familiar with my GGG Aunt's husband, John W. Wheatley, the Wheatleys are a relatively small family, so I thought I'd have another look at GGG Aunt Margaret's file and see if I could find out more.

A lot of new information has come online since the last time I worked on her documents, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that she was not the "late bloomer" I had assumed when she married John Wheatley at 38 - she was a widow with four children! And just to make the story even better, I had unknowingly duplicated her in my database. She was the Margaret Ramey ("parents unknown") who married my GG-grandfather Jonathan Corder's double-first cousin, Hiram Osborne, in 1854. How is that for a tangled web?

So in other words, double first cousins (Hiram Osborne and Jonathan Corder) married sisters (Margaret J. Ramey and Emily A. Ramey, daughters of Henry Ramey and Prudence Robinette Ramey).

Hello! "Merge documents!"

Hiram Osborne died in the fall of 1865. Although he was a confederate soldier, it is unclear to me whether his death was war-related since it came several months after the end of the war. Relatively little is known of their four children, Andrew J., Emaline, Winfield and Savannah. Savannah was living with her Ramey grandparents in Gladeville in 1880, and later she married Patrick Wells and had one daughter that I can find. Other than that, I have very little on these double-and-triple cousins of mine. If any of their descendants see this post, please provide what information you can.

The upshot of the pressing genealogical matter was that I got distracted from my original Wheatley mission, but I learned that my GGG Aunt Margaret was left a widow with three small children and an infant during the year the unpleasantness between the states came to a close. She remained a widow for nearly 10 years before remarrying to John W. Wheatley on 19 January 1875 in Wise County.

I will be updating a combined Person Sheet for Margaret J. Ramey Osborne Wheatley with additional details this year.

Author Joseph C. Carlin loans J. Van Lindley family photos to the Eliza H. Lindley Collection

Originally published December 20, 2011

Author Joseph C. Carlin has generously loaned a number of J. Van Lindley family photos to the Eliza H. Lindley Collection (a digital archive).  Mr. Carlin's new book, J. Van Lindley: His Ancestors, Life and Legacy follows the journey of the Lindley family from England to Ireland as they became some of the first American Colonists of Pennsylvania and then central North Carolina. This book, citing over 100 sources, takes advantage of Joe's research and business background as he documents the evidence left by this line of the Lindley family and how they intersected with well-known historical events. 

Eliza H. Lindley was the wife of Isaac R. Henderson b. 1827- d.1862, Chatham County NC.  John Van Lindley was the first cousin of Eliza H. Lindley.

Ruth Henderson m. David Ramey 1700 Frederick County VA. Or not.

Originally published July 11, 2011

Since I am a Henderson (on my father's side, obviously), I am intrigued by the possibility that I might descend from Hendersons through my maternal line as well.  Years ago I came across a post online that named the wife of David Ramey (s/o James and Elizabeth Ramey) as "Ruth Henderson."  Since much of the other information the poster provided on the Ramey line seemed generally correct, I went with it, making a note to verify the name and connection.  Easier said than done.

The Ruth Henderson in question was supposedly born in about 1750, and married David Ramey in "1770, Frederick County, VA."  I'm reasonably familiar with the inhabitants of 18th century Frederick County, VA and Henderson is not a name that shows up to any great degree, but still, I made a trip to the library to put my hands on a copy of Frederick County, Virginia Marriages 1771-1825 by Eliza Timberlake Davis.  I realize that my method is Old School since you can search and browse the book online using Google, but I'm in a tactile mood.  I realize too that we're looking for a marriage that happened in 1770, but if Hendersons were in Frederick County getting married in 1770, then they were probably still there, getting married in 1771 and years following so I might get some idea of the family group they belong to.

The results weren't encouraging.  Only one entry - 27th May 1788, Mary Henderson to Henry Louder (possibly Souder).  No additional details.  This couple may have died childless because no one seems to be looking for them, and there is almost nothing about them online.  Well, at least there was a Henderson living in Frederick County 18 years after our target date.  Can't rule the Hendersons entirely out of Frederick.

There is supposedly another book that covers 1738-1850 (Frederick County Marriages 1738-1850 by Vogt and Kethley), but the library doesn't seem to have the more comprehensive volume and I can't find it online.  I should go up to the Handley Library in Frederick County, but I don't have time today so I try the next best thing - Ancestry.com.

I try searching for any Ruth Henderson marrying anywhere in Virginia in 1770.  Nothing.  Absolutely nada in Virginia.  I try any Henderson marriage in Virginia in 1770 looking for contemporary Hendersons - bound to find something - and I do.  James Henderson m. Mary Booker in 1767.  These are the Amelia County VA Hendersons.  Gut says "no."  The Genealogists Gut Instinct (GGI) is a powerful -- and frequently fallible-- thing.  I have learned to distrust mine, but still, I move on.

A Mary Henderson m. James Finley in Virginia in 1778, but no county is given.  I do a little more poking around and find that Mary and James were from Augusta County.  That's about as precise as saying they were from "Virginia."  Perhaps less so.  The boundaries of Augusta originally stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, so it doesn't help us nail much down, but Augusta and Frederick counties were both formed from Orange County in 1738, and part of Augusta later was combined with Frederick, so again, we can't rule out this Augusta County family of Hendersons.  I find a Finley genealogy onlineand it seems that these Finleys mixed  with Hendersons down through the generations. Capt. James Finley's 1800 will, made in Wythe County VA (where he received land for his revolutionary war service) mentions a nephew, Jonathan Henderson.  Hmmm...this family is moving in the same geographical direction the Rameys (and most of the rest of the colony) moved.  I'll keep them in the hopper and do some more looking.

The internet connection at the library is slow so I decide to go home and keep looking from the comfort of the sofa.  I have Genealogical Attention Deficit Disorder (GADD!) and tend to get easily distracted, heading off on ancestral tangents.  This time I'm going to try to stick to the mystery of Ruth Henderson Ramey until I either solve it or disprove it...Oh look!  There's a squirrel!  I wonder who it's ancestors were...?

Comments:

Nerissa Short said...

Laura:
Hello! I believe I have some info regarding a Ruth Henderson married to David Ramey (his birth 1750.) My search has led me to your blog somehow?!?!

My name is Nerissa (Short) Behrmann and have traced my Grandmother's ancestors (she was Maude Ramey Short, Harlan, KY)to the David Ramey married to Ruth Henderson, Fredrick Co., VA - they had 2 children: Daniel "The Monarch" Ramey Sr. born 1778 and Timothy Ramey born 1786 (my Great x5 Grandfather) who married Nancy Penix June 15, 1806.

I (or my cousin) haven't been able to trace Ruth Henderson's side of the family. I am brand new to this Genealogy stuff so please forgive me if I am completely off about our connection. So, basically if we are of the same Ruth Henderson I can get you beyond that :) I just can't trace any further of the Hendersons. I look forward to hearing from you if this is a help.

Nerissa

October 23, 2011 at 3:10 PM

Laura Henderson said...

Hi Nerissa, thank you for getting in touch. I have the Rameys traced back to Adam (well, practically), but would love to add your line down from David and Ruth to my database if you would like to share. I'm really just trying to place this possible Ruth Henderson with her proper Henderson family.

If you'd like to contact me directly, you can send me an email at [genealogy at laurahenderson.com].

December 29, 2011 at 1:24 PM

Laura Henderson said...

Decided to revisit the Ruth Henderson myth-tery. I'm beginning to think it is one. While most sources say David Ramey married a Ruth Henderson in 1770 in Frederick County, VA, I can find no record of such a marriage (yet). There are very few contemporary Hendersons in the vicinity of Frederick County, only a large group from the nebulous environs of "Augusta County." From that group springs the only viable Ruth Henderson that I have been able to find, and she married a John Stiffy around 1789-80 and moved to Tennessee. I tried searching for a marriage between David Ramey and a Ruth Stiffy - just in case - but no cigar. I'm about ready to remove the name "Ruth Henderson" from my data unless someone can produce some documentation...

December 29, 2011 at 1:55 PM

Combing Shenandoah Valley Settlement Records for Our "Adventurous" Corder Ancestor

Originally published June 27, 2011

I continue to pick my way painstakingly through various records of the settlement of the northern Shenandoah Valley looking for clues that might shed light on the arrival in this area of our oldest known Corder ancestor, Edward Sr. I keep hoping to find some name, some place, some event that might begin to illuminate a path between Edward's arrival in Annapolis MD (1722) to his eventual settlement in northern Virginia (1738). 

After his arrest and transport to the colonies (arriving in Annapolis MD in July 1722), he is missing in action until he shows up in then Orange County VA in 1738 as a petitioner for a road to Jost Hite's mill near present-day Winchester. This absence from official records is not wholly unexpected during the period of approximately 1722-1727, as an indentured servant is unlikely to appear in court unless for some misdeed. On the other hand, given Edward's history, perhaps it is surprising that he managed to remain out of sight... But I digress.

Edward is called one of seven original "adventurers" to have settled on the property that Lord Fairfax would eventually (1745) designate as the manor of Greenway Court. Apparently Edward was a good judge of dirt since Fairfax subsequently decided to settle on the property himself, which was of course perfectly within his rights as proprietor. As an interesting aside, Lord Fairfax was the only titled member of the peerage to make his permanent home in the colonies.

Fairfax let Edward stay on the property for a token rent and the promise to make and maintain improvements to the property (which leads me to wonder whether Edward had made none prior to the lease). The rent for the tract of land was one fat Christmas turkey annually, resulting in the property being referred to as "The Turkey Tract." [Photo] According to the terms of the lease, which ran for Edward's lifetime, if the turkey, when delivered, was not sufficiently fat...game over.

And so, here I sit at the library once again, sifting through moldy tomes in the local history room. Brittle pages, smelling faintly of something I can only identify as age, yield a tidbit here, a snippet there. I add them to the timeline, trying to piece together a picture from all of the various oddly-shaped puzzle pieces. You are welcome to download the Excel spreadsheet from Box.net to refer to my notes. Please do NOT redistribute the document -- leave it to others to download the most updated version from Box when interest warrants.

Read more about Lord Fairfax's manors (including the Manors of Leeds and Gooney Run), and learn how the wily old fox protected his hereditary property rights in the event of such acts of God as, oh, say...revolution.

Hunting for Fauquier Corders in Stafford County VA

Originally published June 13, 2011

This past Friday (June 10, 2011) I drove down to Spotyslvania County, VA to meet with Bob Corder, founder of the National Corder Family Association and long-time researcher of the Corder line that traces back to William Corder b. ca. 1702. Having over the years exhausted all of the low-hanging Corder records, Bob and I decided it was time to drag out the ladders and begin shaking the limbs higher up (or further back, in this case).

My Edward Corder is first found in Virginia in an Orange County petition dated February 22, 1738. Orange County was formed from Spotsylvania in 1734 so I had hoped that a careful search of Spotsylvania records might yield something new for the Greenway Court line. 

Bob and I strategized at the Spotyslvania Courthouse Cafe and realized that he was unlikely to find anything relevant to the Fauquier line in Spotsylvania, since Fauquier was formed in 1759 from Prince William (formed in turn from Stafford in 1731). We decided to press north about 15 miles to Stafford and seek our fortune there. 

Stafford's records begin in the last decade of the 17th century. It's a sensational thing to hold in one's hand papers that last felt the scratch of a pen in the year 1699. I pulled out the oldest Will Book I could find (1699-1709) while Bob settled in with the oldest Deed Book. A cursory search of the county's digitized indices had yielded nothing, but a cross-reference of names from the first few pages of these older books revealed that there were many, many names mentioned in the deeds, wills and inventories which did not appear in the county's computerized data. This was very good news indeed. There were literally thousands of pages of possibility stacked on the shelves in front of us - all we had to do was start reading.

We quickly accustomed ourselves to the spidery script, and while Bob stayed on task, rapidly skimming the pages in search of the Corder name, I began to familiarize myself with the residents of Stafford County, Virginia in the year 1699. Prominent among them were George Mason, grandfather of the revolutionary patriot of the same name, John Washington, son of emigrant Lawrence, and William Fitzhugh, who represented Stafford in the house of Burgesses. Common surnames at the turn of that century were Withers, Newton, Burkner, Thompson, Waugh, Massey, Wright, and Downing. For several hours I snooped through the worldly goods of these old Virginians and by the end of the day Bob was nearing the 300th page of his book while I finished a far second on page 132 of mine.

While neither of us hit the mother lode -- this time -- I did find one entry with a familiar name: John Ashby (probably formerly of Lancaster County VA). In the same record was a name that looked like it could be either John Condon, Cordon, Cordor or Condor. We know that the Ashby's were one of the earliest settlers of the area that would later be home to both (apparently unrelated) lines of the Corder family, so it's a name I always watch for.

Bob and I will re-group in the winter and return to Stafford to carry on a line-by-line search of the records in which Bob will, no doubt, outdistance me again as I tarry in centuries past.

Jonathan O. Corder, CSA, a Man of Many Battalions

Originally published June 6, 2011

Let's skip ahead more than 100 years and talk for a minute about Edward Corder Sr.'s great-great-grandson, Jonathan O. Corder of Scott County, VA, and his service during the American Civil War. Why? Because I am a non-linear researcher. 

I have tried to untangle Jonathan's web of transfers and battalion splits which, when combined with the lack of accurate rosters from some of his units, were complex enough to cause even the pension office to challenge his claims of service. Add to this the fact that the Virginia Regimental Series mis-transcribed Jonathan's name as "Corden" (an easy mistake in days when spidery script made an "r" looked like an "n", and one that possibly appeared on the original documents), and all of that makes Jonathan a hard feller to foller. But here's what I've been able to make out...

Military Service - CSA
On the 21st of March 1862, at about the age of twenty, Jonathan O. Corder enlisted in the 1st. Battalion Kentucky Mounted Rifles in Dungannon, Virginia, near his home in Osborne's Ford (Scott County). His original pension application dates the beginning of his service as May1862 and adds that he enlisted in General Marshall [illegible] Regiment, Company E. His immediate superior officers were “Major Bradley” and “Captain Bob Stoner.” He mentions fellow comrades in arms Nathan Dickenson and cousin Stephen J. Osborne, who, when his pension application was challenged in 1916, later swore oaths that Jonathan did indeed serve with them during the course of the war. The challenge arose due to the lack of complete rosters for some of the units in which Jonathan served.

Jonathan was transferred November 20, 1862 from the Kentucky Mounted Rifles to Vinson A. Witcher's 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. The 34th cavalry performed more in the capacity of mounted infantry, riding in, dismounting and firing at an advancing line. The Virginia Regimental Series notes that:

“Early in the war, Witcher and the 1st Battalion Virginia Mounted Rifles (precursor to the 34th) developed a dual reputation. One Confederate officer commented that Witcher could not pass up a farm that had a fine horse in the field. Most disparaging remarks, however were initiated by the bitter John B. Floyd, a political general and past governor of Virginia. Merited or not, Floyd's use of polemics helped to establish a tainted reputation for the unit, that was perpetuated by Yankee officers. Witcher and the 34th Battalion were greatly appreciated by other Confederate officers though. The immortal J.E.B. Stuart and Robert E. Lee, each highly praised the unit, and Stuart wrote an enviable commendation for Witcher.”

The company of Captain Caldwell (including Jonathan) was withdrawn from Witcher’s battalion and divided between Captain Caldwell and Captain McFarlane. Jonathan was assigned to Captain McFarlane's Company of Virginia Cavalry, which was then split into Jesse's Battalion of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen, and the 6th Battalion Confederate Cavalry. 

Some sources say that Jesse's Battalion of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen became the 6th Battalion Cavalry of the Confederate States. (Jonathan's gravestone bears an inscription attesting to his service in Company E of this battalion.) In May of 1864 Jesse's Mounted Riflemen and the 6th Confederate Cavalry became companies H, and I of Witcher's 34th Virginia Cavalry. Jonathan Corder's Company H, was commanded by Capt. Robert C. Boyd, formerly a second lieutenant in McFarlane's Company. 

When asked on his pension application when and why he left the service, Jonathan replied “at the surrender, at home in Scott County, VA [illegible]” but when questioned later he responded that he was “unable to tell where I was in April ‘64.” He adds that he was in the Cavalry during his whole time in service, having joined under Major Bradley of Kentucky, with whom he served for twelve months before being transferred to a Virginia Battalion under Captain McFarlane. He then recounts that the battalion was divided, and he ended up under Captain Boyd. He ends “later, and for the rest of the War, I was under Col. Witcher. I do not now remember the number of this Battalion, but it was a Virginia Company.” 

If you'd like to take a look at Jonathan's pension application and his subsequent correspondence with the pension office, you can download a PDF here from the Edward Corder Memorial Library. If you can make out the words better than I have, please correct my information in comments below.

Edward Corder I > Edward Corder II > Elijah Corder I > Elijah Corder II > Jonathan O. Corder