Since I last posted about my own DNA results, a number of my family members have participated in our family DNA project. The results are fascinating and surprising. On my mother's father's side of the family we continue to be bewildered by the significant ratios of British, Irish, and Scandinavian DNA, and the lower than expected ratio of Europe West.
Here's why we expected higher percentages in Europe West. The Foxes came to Michigan from Pennsylvania where it is strongly suspected the name was originally Fuchs. We've hit a brick wall with the Foxes in Northumberland County, although Jonas Fox, Senior reportedly was born in Berks County. While we've been unable to verify when they arrived in Pennsylvania and from where they came, they appear to have been thoroughly integrated into the German Lutheran community which was rather insular, typically intermarrying with other German families, mostly descendants of the Palatines. The Foxes follow this pattern as does the Lantz family until Jonas Fox and Christiana Lantz moved to Michigan, where their son Jonas Oliver Fox married Lydia Cronkhite.
The Cronkhite name is derived from an early Dutch family in New Amsterdam who intermarried with other Dutch families until 1792 when Henry Cronkhite, Senior married Margaret Wygant, who it turns out was a descendent of one of the original German Palatines given a land grant in Newburgh, New York. This all looks like a preponderance of Europe West origins, right? Until we look at Margaret Wygant's maternal lines. Margaret's mother's name was Katherine Powell and her parents were Morgan Powell and Sara Hays (or Mays). Powell is a Welsh name and it is believed that Morgan Powell was born in England. Margaret's paternal grandmother was Mary Silkworth, an English name. But this is all I've been able to learn so far.
The next generation also introduces more new blood. This time Henry Cronkhite, Junior married Deborah Morse. As with Katherine Powell, I've been unable to discover more about her, but Morse is an English or Welsh name as well. This means that Henry and Deborah's daughter Lydia Cronkhite's DNA would be less than 50% Europe West, and possibly closer to 25% Europe West. If the Foxes do prove to be German, Lydia'a husband, Jonas Oliver Fox, would be expected to have a much higher percentage of Europe West DNA than Lydia.
The oldest living person on this side of the family to participate in our DNA project is a grandchild of Jonas Oliver and Lydia Fox. His DNA results show a broader mix of ethnic origins than one might expect knowing his father Clint Fox's family background. So what role does his mother Hazel's DNA play?
Hazel's father was Anthony Hoseit (or Hosheit), born in Canada, but his father John was born in Luxembourg and was likely of German origin. Anthony's wife Constance Gureski was born in Poland, immigrating to Michigan via Canada like the Hoseits. Once again because we know more about this paternal line, emphasis as been placed on these western and eastern European roots. But very likely, half of Hazel's DNA was from England and Ireland. Her mother's maiden name was Lewis. The Lewis's came from New York, and relatively little is known about them. Hazel's maternal grandmother's maiden name was Smith. With common names like these the brick wall is indeed intimidating.
What I've learned through this analysis though, is that we are biased by what we know about our families. I think something akin to an optical allusion happens in our thinking in which we feel greater emotional attachment and thus place more weight on the branches of our families about which we have more information. Thus DNA testing provides a corrective to these misperceptions. In the case of my family, we have first placed emphasis on paternal Europe West lines whose surnames are the ones most familiar due to the number of known family members with these surnames. And having better records and more substantial information on our German and Dutch ancestors has increased our awareness of their origins and made us feel that they are more dominant because we have more names and more information for these lines. But when you look closely at the less visible maternal lines, there is plenty of room for that English, Irish, and Scandinavian DNA to be significant. Now to keep searching for those elusive names and origins.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Mystery of the Missing Native American DNA Part II
It was Wayne Winkler's observation about the fluidity of Melungeon race identity in the United States Federal censuses that prompted me to look at another pattern in my husband's maternal grandfather's genealogy. Some of Winkler's comments suggest there was a progression in Melungeon identify from the 1790 census to the the twentieth century, moving from white to mulatto to Native American and then back to white. In just ten years from one census to the next, the same individual could be classified with a different label. How could this happen?
As essential as census records are to genealogists, they are not strictly objective and factual documents. While U.S. Federal censuses since 1960 have been conducted by survey in which citizens self-report, older censuses were recorded manually by hired enumerators who had the opportunity, and may have often used it, to add their own interpretations to the records either intentionally or unintentionally. This accounts for the variety of spellings of names one sees for the same people from decade to decade. It also plays a major factor in the changing ethnic identification of the Melungeons.
The first Federal census was taken in 1790. It was the duty of marshals in each county to gather the data requested by the government. Only the head of household's name was record along with the count of household members by age, color, and slave or free. Native Americans were not enumerated. To date I've been unable to find the Coles in this census. But Valentine Collins with his family does appear in this census with the label white.
The censuses in 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840 were also taken by marshals who recorded the head of household along with counts broken down by age (although age categories varied), color, and free or slave. Native Americans were still not enumerated unless assimilated and counted as white. Valentine Collins was listed as "other free person" in 1800 implying he was not counted white. I've not found him yet in the 1810 census, but by 1820 he is labeled "free colored person." However in 1830, the first census in which I find a Cole, William who married Valentine's daughter Obedience, both the Coles and the Collins are listed as white. I have not yet located the Coles in the 1840 census, but Valentine Collins is there, again listed as white.
In 1850 the census changed dramatically with each member of the household being identified by name and more information being recorded about each individual. This census also differentiated between white, black, and mulatto (Native Americans were still not counted...but wait, it's coming). This time for the Coles, the enumerator left color blank despite specific instructions to the contrary. Interestingly, the enumerator did indicate that neither William nor his daughter Rebecca could read or write. Valentine apparently died before the 1850 census. But like the Coles, no color is recorded for Valentine's sons, Obedience's brothers, David, Joshua, and Otary. However, Elijah living in another county is listed as black. Again, an example of the differing interpretations of two different enumerators. The absence of a color designation may have actually been an indication of the enumerator's sympathy, a compromise so to speak, if he believed mulatto or black to be the correct color, and, if like other Melungeons, the Collins and Coles objected to being counted as such.
By 1860 tensions were high as the United States teetered on the brink of war. Enumerators were given strict instructions to record color for every individual whether white, black, or mulatto. The term mulatto was defined as anyone who could be construed to possibly have any amount of African blood, small or large. This time William Cole and members of his family were labeled mulatto. In spite of strict instructions, any of his Collins in-laws I've found so far, have no color identification.
The 1870 census added questions about citizenship and parents' place of birth, but its instructions for recording color are identical to that of 1850 and 1860. Coles living in Magoffin County, Kentucky in 1870 were somewhat more likely to be labeled mulatto than those living in Floyd County. In either county, those not labeled mulatto were designated white. I'm not certain I've found the correct William Cole in the 1870 census, but if I have, he was mulatto as was his son George, daughter-in-law Nancy Musgrove, and their son Charles.
The 1880 census is the last one for which William Cole was still living (he was listed as mulatto) and the first in which Native Americans were counted. But once again George and Nancy Cole and their children were listed as mulatto. Charles was farming in Floyd County with his new wife Eliza and a number of Cole and Nickles cousins and siblings, all identified as mulatto. Nearby neighbors Nancy Spradlin and her son Grant were listed as white.
As I discussed in an earlier post, much of the 1890 census has not survived to the 21st century. So now my discussion reaches the 20th century and some interesting changes. In 1900 Charles and Eliza were identified as white. And their daughter Alice already married to Samuel Spradlin was also listed as white. But by the early twentieth century not only was post-Civil War reconstruction in the south over, racial discrimination was on the rise. With ever harsher Jim Crow laws and the more stringent control of race-identity advocated famously by Walter Plecker in Virginia, the use of the term mulatto to identify mixed-race people was discarded in favor of forcing a black or white designation on everyone unless they were legally enrolled in a Native American tribe or otherwise found ways to successfully identify as Native American. Many Melungeons, along with perhaps a dozen other mixed-race people groups throughout the United States, were at a serious disadvantage. While Kentucky never adopted the "one-drop rule" of Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, it did along with about seven other states adjust its "blood fraction" laws to the equivalent of one-drop. And suddenly sometimes mulatto and sometimes white Charles and Eliza Cole and their children still at home were listed as Indian in 1910 and 1920. Whether they chose this designation or were given it by a sympathetic enumerator (a practice suggested by Winkler) is impossible to know.
Alice who had married into the unquestionably white Spradlins was always listed as white. But her brother Turner and cousin Anderson took the new Indian designation a step further and attempted to enroll in the Cherokee nation. They were both rejected. With no definite heritage of a Native American language and culture, they could not be accepted by any tribe. Whether consequence or an older tradition, among some Cole descendants William Cole is believed to be the chief of a halfbreed tribe of Cherokee and his Native American name was Che-noska. The earliest printed record of this tradition I've seen was published in 1889 in a newspaper account of questionable veracity about the Melungeons. On Menlungeon genealogy discussion boards and blogs much is said about this Cherokee tradition, but not only do I not find historical evidence to support it, science appears to strike another blow.
As mentioned in my previous post, Melungeons themselves as well as some defenders placed their origins with the Portuguese, but when or how this happened remains unknown. As a group even today they lack a precise definition as to whom is a Melungeon. They have no language or customs to differentiate themselves from others of European ancestry. It would be helpful if Melungeon DNA studies pointed to more African and/or Native American ancestry, but they do not. The DNA of Melungeon descendants is strongly Eurasian (which can be described as any DNA which is not African, American, or eastern Asian), and after centuries of migration and intermarriage, Eurasion DNA tells us very little about the original geographic location of our ancestors. So no DNA profile can be used to identify Melungeons (Winkler). And as DNA testing of my husband and his mother, descendants of William Cole, show they are certainly descendants of sub-Saharan Africans and almost certainly not descendants of any Native Americans. This makes it highly unlikely that William Cole was Cherokee.
To look at my husband, his mother, and our sons, all blue-eyed, light-haired, and white-skinned, one would never think twice about their Scotch-Irish-English heritage. It's obvious. But to know that hidden deep in their DNA (less than 1%) is an African heritage makes me realize more profoundly than ever the hypocrisy of racism. Born in another century, another decade, all of them would have been classified as black under "one-drop" laws if their genealogy had been known. I wonder how many proponents of white superiority through the years have also had trace amounts of African DNA without knowing it. In genealogy one must search for truth with tolerance and openness, otherwise the discoveries may be too painful for honesty.
Selected Sources
U.S Census Bureau. Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000. U.S. Department of Commerce; Economics and Statistics Administration, September 2002.
Wikipedia contributors. "One-Drop Rule."Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed July 9, 2016.
Winkler, Wayne. Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004.
As essential as census records are to genealogists, they are not strictly objective and factual documents. While U.S. Federal censuses since 1960 have been conducted by survey in which citizens self-report, older censuses were recorded manually by hired enumerators who had the opportunity, and may have often used it, to add their own interpretations to the records either intentionally or unintentionally. This accounts for the variety of spellings of names one sees for the same people from decade to decade. It also plays a major factor in the changing ethnic identification of the Melungeons.
The first Federal census was taken in 1790. It was the duty of marshals in each county to gather the data requested by the government. Only the head of household's name was record along with the count of household members by age, color, and slave or free. Native Americans were not enumerated. To date I've been unable to find the Coles in this census. But Valentine Collins with his family does appear in this census with the label white.
The censuses in 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840 were also taken by marshals who recorded the head of household along with counts broken down by age (although age categories varied), color, and free or slave. Native Americans were still not enumerated unless assimilated and counted as white. Valentine Collins was listed as "other free person" in 1800 implying he was not counted white. I've not found him yet in the 1810 census, but by 1820 he is labeled "free colored person." However in 1830, the first census in which I find a Cole, William who married Valentine's daughter Obedience, both the Coles and the Collins are listed as white. I have not yet located the Coles in the 1840 census, but Valentine Collins is there, again listed as white.
In 1850 the census changed dramatically with each member of the household being identified by name and more information being recorded about each individual. This census also differentiated between white, black, and mulatto (Native Americans were still not counted...but wait, it's coming). This time for the Coles, the enumerator left color blank despite specific instructions to the contrary. Interestingly, the enumerator did indicate that neither William nor his daughter Rebecca could read or write. Valentine apparently died before the 1850 census. But like the Coles, no color is recorded for Valentine's sons, Obedience's brothers, David, Joshua, and Otary. However, Elijah living in another county is listed as black. Again, an example of the differing interpretations of two different enumerators. The absence of a color designation may have actually been an indication of the enumerator's sympathy, a compromise so to speak, if he believed mulatto or black to be the correct color, and, if like other Melungeons, the Collins and Coles objected to being counted as such.
By 1860 tensions were high as the United States teetered on the brink of war. Enumerators were given strict instructions to record color for every individual whether white, black, or mulatto. The term mulatto was defined as anyone who could be construed to possibly have any amount of African blood, small or large. This time William Cole and members of his family were labeled mulatto. In spite of strict instructions, any of his Collins in-laws I've found so far, have no color identification.
The 1870 census added questions about citizenship and parents' place of birth, but its instructions for recording color are identical to that of 1850 and 1860. Coles living in Magoffin County, Kentucky in 1870 were somewhat more likely to be labeled mulatto than those living in Floyd County. In either county, those not labeled mulatto were designated white. I'm not certain I've found the correct William Cole in the 1870 census, but if I have, he was mulatto as was his son George, daughter-in-law Nancy Musgrove, and their son Charles.
The 1880 census is the last one for which William Cole was still living (he was listed as mulatto) and the first in which Native Americans were counted. But once again George and Nancy Cole and their children were listed as mulatto. Charles was farming in Floyd County with his new wife Eliza and a number of Cole and Nickles cousins and siblings, all identified as mulatto. Nearby neighbors Nancy Spradlin and her son Grant were listed as white.
As I discussed in an earlier post, much of the 1890 census has not survived to the 21st century. So now my discussion reaches the 20th century and some interesting changes. In 1900 Charles and Eliza were identified as white. And their daughter Alice already married to Samuel Spradlin was also listed as white. But by the early twentieth century not only was post-Civil War reconstruction in the south over, racial discrimination was on the rise. With ever harsher Jim Crow laws and the more stringent control of race-identity advocated famously by Walter Plecker in Virginia, the use of the term mulatto to identify mixed-race people was discarded in favor of forcing a black or white designation on everyone unless they were legally enrolled in a Native American tribe or otherwise found ways to successfully identify as Native American. Many Melungeons, along with perhaps a dozen other mixed-race people groups throughout the United States, were at a serious disadvantage. While Kentucky never adopted the "one-drop rule" of Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, it did along with about seven other states adjust its "blood fraction" laws to the equivalent of one-drop. And suddenly sometimes mulatto and sometimes white Charles and Eliza Cole and their children still at home were listed as Indian in 1910 and 1920. Whether they chose this designation or were given it by a sympathetic enumerator (a practice suggested by Winkler) is impossible to know.
Alice who had married into the unquestionably white Spradlins was always listed as white. But her brother Turner and cousin Anderson took the new Indian designation a step further and attempted to enroll in the Cherokee nation. They were both rejected. With no definite heritage of a Native American language and culture, they could not be accepted by any tribe. Whether consequence or an older tradition, among some Cole descendants William Cole is believed to be the chief of a halfbreed tribe of Cherokee and his Native American name was Che-noska. The earliest printed record of this tradition I've seen was published in 1889 in a newspaper account of questionable veracity about the Melungeons. On Menlungeon genealogy discussion boards and blogs much is said about this Cherokee tradition, but not only do I not find historical evidence to support it, science appears to strike another blow.
As mentioned in my previous post, Melungeons themselves as well as some defenders placed their origins with the Portuguese, but when or how this happened remains unknown. As a group even today they lack a precise definition as to whom is a Melungeon. They have no language or customs to differentiate themselves from others of European ancestry. It would be helpful if Melungeon DNA studies pointed to more African and/or Native American ancestry, but they do not. The DNA of Melungeon descendants is strongly Eurasian (which can be described as any DNA which is not African, American, or eastern Asian), and after centuries of migration and intermarriage, Eurasion DNA tells us very little about the original geographic location of our ancestors. So no DNA profile can be used to identify Melungeons (Winkler). And as DNA testing of my husband and his mother, descendants of William Cole, show they are certainly descendants of sub-Saharan Africans and almost certainly not descendants of any Native Americans. This makes it highly unlikely that William Cole was Cherokee.
To look at my husband, his mother, and our sons, all blue-eyed, light-haired, and white-skinned, one would never think twice about their Scotch-Irish-English heritage. It's obvious. But to know that hidden deep in their DNA (less than 1%) is an African heritage makes me realize more profoundly than ever the hypocrisy of racism. Born in another century, another decade, all of them would have been classified as black under "one-drop" laws if their genealogy had been known. I wonder how many proponents of white superiority through the years have also had trace amounts of African DNA without knowing it. In genealogy one must search for truth with tolerance and openness, otherwise the discoveries may be too painful for honesty.
Selected Sources
U.S Census Bureau. Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000. U.S. Department of Commerce; Economics and Statistics Administration, September 2002.
Wikipedia contributors. "One-Drop Rule."Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed July 9, 2016.
Winkler, Wayne. Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Mystery of the Missing Native American DNA Part I
The deeper I dig into DNA genealogical study the more convinced I become that race is an artificial construct of the human imagination, created by imperial powers to justify social and economic oppression. There is no scientific basis for racism and to continue to believe in it is a symptom of ignorance. Strip away external physical appearances, and one can be very surprised by what may be found in one's DNA. Exploring the tradition of Cherokee blood in my husband's family is a case in point.
When I met my husband in 1997 I learned of the firm belief in his mother's family that his great-grandmother, Alice Cole, had been 100% Cherokee. This tradition follows two patterns very common in American genealogy: A Native American ancestor who is both female and Cherokee. In fact, Richard Hite and Gregory D. Smithers assert that more than half of Americans claiming Native American ancestry self-identify with the Cherokee, generally without any proof. On the whole, intermarriage between English Americans and Native Americans in the United States was uncommon. It occurred most frequently in Georgia and the Carolinas, but it was much more common for French Canadians in Canada and along the America frontier to marry and assimilate into Native American tribes. Possibly because the French tended to immigrate as single men to become fur trappers, while the English tended to immigrate in family groups and found settlements.
In the late 1990s I put considerable effort into learning what I could about Alice Cole. At that time I was unable to identify her birth family and in any records I did find she was classified as white. A couple of years ago I picked up the family line again in Ancestry.com curious to see if anything new came to light. This time I met with a bit more success. I found references to a Bill Cole, chief of a group of "halfbreed Cherokee" in Floyd County, Kentucky, although any attempt to connect Alice and Bill failed. But someone had posted a photograph of Alice Cole with the label "Alice Cole Spradlin dau of Old Charlie Cole." This was the first indication of who Alice's father might be. But still further information eluded me. Alice's dark appearance in the photograph made it obvious why the family would believe the story of her alleged Cherokee heritage. I've since found a picture of Charles Cole which also shows a dark-skinned, dark-haired man. Both my husband and mother-in-law tell me my husband's Grandfather Vernal's (Alice's son) skin tones became very bronze when he was exposed to sunlight.
So we were very interested in the results of my husband's and mother-in-law's DNA tests. Short story: while both show very small amounts of African DNA, neither one shows any Native American ancestry. By itself this is not conclusive as it may simply mean they did not inherit any Native American DNA in the family. But Helen's connections in Ancestry's DNA database lead to further insight into the probable origin of the family's Cherokee tradition.
First of all, by reviewing the family trees of Helen's DNA cousins, I discovered why it was so difficult to determine Alice's birth parents. As an adult Alice identified herself as white. She was born around 1884 after the 1880 census, but by the 1900 census, the first in which she appears, she was already married to Samuel Spradlin (they married in 1899). As the 1890 census for Kentucky no longer exists, we cannot know what it reported, but this is the only census which could have documented her living with her parents. But the waters are further muddy by census records which name Charles' wife as Eliza, although a death record I discovered in the last month lists Alice's mother as Mary Collins. I have been unable to find any record of a Mary Collins. Is this an error on Alice's death certificate? By other accounts Charles Cole married Eliza Nickles (or Nichols?) on April 17, 1879. As Eliza is documented as the mother of Charles' four children born between 1885 and 1892, presumably Alice was Eliza and Charles' first born around 1883 or 1884.
Charles Cole's parents were George Cole and Nancy Musgrove of Kentucky, although Nancy was born in Tennessee. George's parents were William Anderson Cole (the chief Billy Cole mentioned above) and Obedience Collins. Obedience Collins was born in Kentucky, but her parents Valentine Collins and Ludicia (Dicey) Gibson likely moved to Kentucky from North Carolina possibly via Tennessee. Valentine is believed by some to be the brother of Vardamon Collins, one of the founders of the Newman's Ridge community in Hancock County, Tennessee. However, Donald Alfred Collins, through a detailed study of the DNA of direct Collins descendants, has concluded that Valentine and Vardemon cannot be brothers. William Anderson Cole was born in North Carolina.
It is fun to fill in a family tree with names, but the most important discovery is where all of these names (Cole, Collins, Nickles, Price, and Musgrove) landed me: in the middle of the Melungeon story. While my husband's and mother-in-law's DNA strongly suggests they have no Native American ancestry, the Melungeon story explains the origin of this family tradition and establishes its long history.
The Melungeon story is an historical conundrum. Wayne Winkler and Melissa Schrift have made the historical and sociological analysis of the story accessible in their books referenced below, so I will attempt to merely point out the highlights of what is believed to be true.
1. There are several competing theories as to the origin of the Melungeons, but no proof for any of them. In fact there is no clear definition of who is a Melungeon. Due to out migration from their traditional home in southern Appalachia and intermarriage with other groups, historical Melungeons no longer exist so the proper term today is probably Melungeon descendent. Evidence indicates that the Melungeons migrated from the North Carolina and Virginia tidewater to Hancock County, Tennessee. From there Melungeons migrated to Wise, Lee, and Scott Counties in Virginia, Floyd and Magoffin Counties in Kentucky, and later Carmel, Ohio. But where the Melungeons lived before North Carolina and Virginia is a mystery.
2. The origin of the word Melungeon is unknown. Like the origin of the people to which the word refers, there are competing theories including English, French and Turkish/Arabic origins. More importantly, the people labeled Melungeon did not refer themselves as such. In fact, until the late 1960s it was a derogatory term, but self-identification as a Melungeon did not become popular until the 1990s. As early as 1840 journalists undertook to describe this group in mysterious and uncomplimentary terms: thieving, promiscuous, and slovenly, among other negative descriptions. In fact, the real lifestyle of people labeled Melungeons by their neighbors differed very little from Scotch-Irish Appalachians of low socio-economic status.
3. While Melungeons originally considered themselves white, due to their swarthy appearance, neighbors suspected them of being mulattos, people of mixed European and African ancestry. The earliest tradition among Melungeons is that they are of Portuguese ancestry. However, although this Portuguese origin theory has supporters, the tradition may actually mean something else. "Carolina Portuguese" is an old Southern euphemism for mulatto.
Schrift describes Melungeons as almost Indian, barely black, and not quite white, Winkler calls them a "raceless people." While it is true some Melungeons did intermarry with Native Americans, the practice may not have been so widespread as they would have their white neighbors believe. As African slavery became more harsh and racial laws became more stringent, Melungeons who could pass for white, did. Those who couldn't, attempted to pass as Indian. Any reference to being black was generally objectionable to Melungeons for most of two centuries. And in a society in which everyone must be categorized as white, black, or Indian, it was important to be able to classify neighbors. But the Melungeons defied this simplified classification system and in many ways used the confusion of their origins to assert their rights and protect themselves.
After reading Schrift's report of her conversations with Melungeon descendents, I was curious to see how my mother-in-law Helen's experience compared. As already discussed above, Melungeon was a derogatory term until the late 20th century, one which Melungeons would not use to describe themselves. Helen moved to Michigan with her parents and siblings as a child, long before the term gained any acceptability, so I was curious to know if she had ever heard the term before, or related ones such as the Brown People of Kentucky or the Carmel Indians. Her answer was no. In Schrift's interviews, she asked Melungeon descendents if they had experienced or had any awareness of discrimination. The answers she received emphasized an awareness of poverty and low socio-economic status, but not racial discrimination. When I asked Helen about why her family moved to Michigan, she replied that they were looking for better economic opportunities. In fact this was the reason many Melungeons left the southeast in the 20th century moving to more industrialized parts of the Midwest.
Helen then went on to share two items which also correlate with the experience of other Melungeon descendants. First, a sense that something about her father's family was different although not quite identifiable, generally expressed through the description of physical characteristics such as Vernal's skin color. As with Helen, two author's with Melungeon ancestry, Brent Kennedy (whose work started the current Melungeon movement) and Wayne Winkler, both became interested in researching Melungeons because of this difference in their families. Second, Helen told me about a Cole cousin from Salyersville, Kentucky who moved to Jackson County, Michigan where Helen's family was living. Helen recalled this woman having "jet black long hair" and "dark skin" and that she would take great offense to being called black. Helen had doubts about whether the woman really was a cousin, but likely she was.
Floyd County, Kentucky was created June 1, 1800 form parts of Montgomery, Fleming, and Mason counties. Magoffin County was created in 1860 from parts of Floyd, Johnson, and Morgan counties. Big Lick, Magoffin, Kentucky was known as "Cole Nation." Price asserts these people were mixed race prior to settling in Kentucky. So the probability of any Coles from Floyd, Magoffin, or even Johnson County in Kentucky being cousins and being Melungeon descendants is high.
According to Helen, Alice Cole herself perpetuated the belief that she was 100% Cherokee. This tradition may well predate Alice, possibly going back to her great-great-great grandfather, William Cole, although maybe not. Other members of the family, including Alice's brother Turner and cousin Anderson attempted without success to join the Cherokee nation. While the origins of the Melungeons remains a mystery, it is possible that their early social networks in Appalachia included Native Americans which allowed them to identify with the Cherokee whether or not there was any intermarriage. Without doubt Melungeons experienced significant fluidity in their racial identification as demonstrated in census records. My next post will explore this fluidity in the Cole family.
Sources:
Collins, Donald Alfred. "Valentine Collins...Facts or Fiction? Part 1." Appalachian Mixed Blood Notes [blog].
Hite, Richard. Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact From Fiction in Family Legends. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2013.
Melungeon Heritage Association. Danville, VA.
Price, Edward T. "The Mixed-Blood Racial Strain of Carmel,Ohio, and Magoffin County, Kentucky." The Ohio Journal of Science. V.50 No.6 (November 1950) 281-290.
Schrift, Melissa. Becoming Melungeon: Making an Ethnic Identity in the Appalachian South. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2013.
Smithers, Gregory D. "Why Do So Many Americans Think They Have Cherokee Blood? The History of a Myth." Slate (October 1, 2015).
Winkler, Wayne. Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004.
When I met my husband in 1997 I learned of the firm belief in his mother's family that his great-grandmother, Alice Cole, had been 100% Cherokee. This tradition follows two patterns very common in American genealogy: A Native American ancestor who is both female and Cherokee. In fact, Richard Hite and Gregory D. Smithers assert that more than half of Americans claiming Native American ancestry self-identify with the Cherokee, generally without any proof. On the whole, intermarriage between English Americans and Native Americans in the United States was uncommon. It occurred most frequently in Georgia and the Carolinas, but it was much more common for French Canadians in Canada and along the America frontier to marry and assimilate into Native American tribes. Possibly because the French tended to immigrate as single men to become fur trappers, while the English tended to immigrate in family groups and found settlements.
In the late 1990s I put considerable effort into learning what I could about Alice Cole. At that time I was unable to identify her birth family and in any records I did find she was classified as white. A couple of years ago I picked up the family line again in Ancestry.com curious to see if anything new came to light. This time I met with a bit more success. I found references to a Bill Cole, chief of a group of "halfbreed Cherokee" in Floyd County, Kentucky, although any attempt to connect Alice and Bill failed. But someone had posted a photograph of Alice Cole with the label "Alice Cole Spradlin dau of Old Charlie Cole." This was the first indication of who Alice's father might be. But still further information eluded me. Alice's dark appearance in the photograph made it obvious why the family would believe the story of her alleged Cherokee heritage. I've since found a picture of Charles Cole which also shows a dark-skinned, dark-haired man. Both my husband and mother-in-law tell me my husband's Grandfather Vernal's (Alice's son) skin tones became very bronze when he was exposed to sunlight.
So we were very interested in the results of my husband's and mother-in-law's DNA tests. Short story: while both show very small amounts of African DNA, neither one shows any Native American ancestry. By itself this is not conclusive as it may simply mean they did not inherit any Native American DNA in the family. But Helen's connections in Ancestry's DNA database lead to further insight into the probable origin of the family's Cherokee tradition.
First of all, by reviewing the family trees of Helen's DNA cousins, I discovered why it was so difficult to determine Alice's birth parents. As an adult Alice identified herself as white. She was born around 1884 after the 1880 census, but by the 1900 census, the first in which she appears, she was already married to Samuel Spradlin (they married in 1899). As the 1890 census for Kentucky no longer exists, we cannot know what it reported, but this is the only census which could have documented her living with her parents. But the waters are further muddy by census records which name Charles' wife as Eliza, although a death record I discovered in the last month lists Alice's mother as Mary Collins. I have been unable to find any record of a Mary Collins. Is this an error on Alice's death certificate? By other accounts Charles Cole married Eliza Nickles (or Nichols?) on April 17, 1879. As Eliza is documented as the mother of Charles' four children born between 1885 and 1892, presumably Alice was Eliza and Charles' first born around 1883 or 1884.
Charles Cole's parents were George Cole and Nancy Musgrove of Kentucky, although Nancy was born in Tennessee. George's parents were William Anderson Cole (the chief Billy Cole mentioned above) and Obedience Collins. Obedience Collins was born in Kentucky, but her parents Valentine Collins and Ludicia (Dicey) Gibson likely moved to Kentucky from North Carolina possibly via Tennessee. Valentine is believed by some to be the brother of Vardamon Collins, one of the founders of the Newman's Ridge community in Hancock County, Tennessee. However, Donald Alfred Collins, through a detailed study of the DNA of direct Collins descendants, has concluded that Valentine and Vardemon cannot be brothers. William Anderson Cole was born in North Carolina.
It is fun to fill in a family tree with names, but the most important discovery is where all of these names (Cole, Collins, Nickles, Price, and Musgrove) landed me: in the middle of the Melungeon story. While my husband's and mother-in-law's DNA strongly suggests they have no Native American ancestry, the Melungeon story explains the origin of this family tradition and establishes its long history.
The Melungeon story is an historical conundrum. Wayne Winkler and Melissa Schrift have made the historical and sociological analysis of the story accessible in their books referenced below, so I will attempt to merely point out the highlights of what is believed to be true.
1. There are several competing theories as to the origin of the Melungeons, but no proof for any of them. In fact there is no clear definition of who is a Melungeon. Due to out migration from their traditional home in southern Appalachia and intermarriage with other groups, historical Melungeons no longer exist so the proper term today is probably Melungeon descendent. Evidence indicates that the Melungeons migrated from the North Carolina and Virginia tidewater to Hancock County, Tennessee. From there Melungeons migrated to Wise, Lee, and Scott Counties in Virginia, Floyd and Magoffin Counties in Kentucky, and later Carmel, Ohio. But where the Melungeons lived before North Carolina and Virginia is a mystery.
2. The origin of the word Melungeon is unknown. Like the origin of the people to which the word refers, there are competing theories including English, French and Turkish/Arabic origins. More importantly, the people labeled Melungeon did not refer themselves as such. In fact, until the late 1960s it was a derogatory term, but self-identification as a Melungeon did not become popular until the 1990s. As early as 1840 journalists undertook to describe this group in mysterious and uncomplimentary terms: thieving, promiscuous, and slovenly, among other negative descriptions. In fact, the real lifestyle of people labeled Melungeons by their neighbors differed very little from Scotch-Irish Appalachians of low socio-economic status.
3. While Melungeons originally considered themselves white, due to their swarthy appearance, neighbors suspected them of being mulattos, people of mixed European and African ancestry. The earliest tradition among Melungeons is that they are of Portuguese ancestry. However, although this Portuguese origin theory has supporters, the tradition may actually mean something else. "Carolina Portuguese" is an old Southern euphemism for mulatto.
Schrift describes Melungeons as almost Indian, barely black, and not quite white, Winkler calls them a "raceless people." While it is true some Melungeons did intermarry with Native Americans, the practice may not have been so widespread as they would have their white neighbors believe. As African slavery became more harsh and racial laws became more stringent, Melungeons who could pass for white, did. Those who couldn't, attempted to pass as Indian. Any reference to being black was generally objectionable to Melungeons for most of two centuries. And in a society in which everyone must be categorized as white, black, or Indian, it was important to be able to classify neighbors. But the Melungeons defied this simplified classification system and in many ways used the confusion of their origins to assert their rights and protect themselves.
After reading Schrift's report of her conversations with Melungeon descendents, I was curious to see how my mother-in-law Helen's experience compared. As already discussed above, Melungeon was a derogatory term until the late 20th century, one which Melungeons would not use to describe themselves. Helen moved to Michigan with her parents and siblings as a child, long before the term gained any acceptability, so I was curious to know if she had ever heard the term before, or related ones such as the Brown People of Kentucky or the Carmel Indians. Her answer was no. In Schrift's interviews, she asked Melungeon descendents if they had experienced or had any awareness of discrimination. The answers she received emphasized an awareness of poverty and low socio-economic status, but not racial discrimination. When I asked Helen about why her family moved to Michigan, she replied that they were looking for better economic opportunities. In fact this was the reason many Melungeons left the southeast in the 20th century moving to more industrialized parts of the Midwest.
Helen then went on to share two items which also correlate with the experience of other Melungeon descendants. First, a sense that something about her father's family was different although not quite identifiable, generally expressed through the description of physical characteristics such as Vernal's skin color. As with Helen, two author's with Melungeon ancestry, Brent Kennedy (whose work started the current Melungeon movement) and Wayne Winkler, both became interested in researching Melungeons because of this difference in their families. Second, Helen told me about a Cole cousin from Salyersville, Kentucky who moved to Jackson County, Michigan where Helen's family was living. Helen recalled this woman having "jet black long hair" and "dark skin" and that she would take great offense to being called black. Helen had doubts about whether the woman really was a cousin, but likely she was.
Floyd County, Kentucky was created June 1, 1800 form parts of Montgomery, Fleming, and Mason counties. Magoffin County was created in 1860 from parts of Floyd, Johnson, and Morgan counties. Big Lick, Magoffin, Kentucky was known as "Cole Nation." Price asserts these people were mixed race prior to settling in Kentucky. So the probability of any Coles from Floyd, Magoffin, or even Johnson County in Kentucky being cousins and being Melungeon descendants is high.
According to Helen, Alice Cole herself perpetuated the belief that she was 100% Cherokee. This tradition may well predate Alice, possibly going back to her great-great-great grandfather, William Cole, although maybe not. Other members of the family, including Alice's brother Turner and cousin Anderson attempted without success to join the Cherokee nation. While the origins of the Melungeons remains a mystery, it is possible that their early social networks in Appalachia included Native Americans which allowed them to identify with the Cherokee whether or not there was any intermarriage. Without doubt Melungeons experienced significant fluidity in their racial identification as demonstrated in census records. My next post will explore this fluidity in the Cole family.
Sources:
Collins, Donald Alfred. "Valentine Collins...Facts or Fiction? Part 1." Appalachian Mixed Blood Notes [blog].
Hite, Richard. Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact From Fiction in Family Legends. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2013.
Melungeon Heritage Association. Danville, VA.
Price, Edward T. "The Mixed-Blood Racial Strain of Carmel,Ohio, and Magoffin County, Kentucky." The Ohio Journal of Science. V.50 No.6 (November 1950) 281-290.
Schrift, Melissa. Becoming Melungeon: Making an Ethnic Identity in the Appalachian South. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2013.
Smithers, Gregory D. "Why Do So Many Americans Think They Have Cherokee Blood? The History of a Myth." Slate (October 1, 2015).
Winkler, Wayne. Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Forgotten Life of Significance
Today I feel compelled to preserve the memory someone I never met and few people in the College View community even remember anymore. The story starts in June 2015 when this picture, in water color with pencil, of the old College View Seventh-day Adventist Church shown below was given to the Union College Library Heritage Room. The donor claimed the picture was drawn by a Bill Harris and given to her parents in the late 1940s. College View Seventh-day Adventist Church clerk Mary Dickerson has identified two William Harrises in the membership records. I believe the artist was William "Bill" Lloyd Harris, a member of the church who died in 1949.
Bill was the son of William Allen and Susan Herron Harris of Hardin County, Kentucky born in 1859. In the 1860 census his father William is listed as a tavern keeper, born in Virginia. William died in 1864, possibly a victim of the Civil War. Susan then married Donald Ross and they moved to Illinois. I haven't been able to discover what happened to Donald Ross. In the 1880 census Susan is listed as divorced and living with her daughter Annie's family. In the 1899 Battle Creek (Michigan) city directory she is listed as a widow and in the 1900 census she is living with her son David and his family in Battle Creek.
According to his obituary,* Bill joined the Adventists in 1881 and then moved to Battle Creek, Michigan about 1885. He in fact is listed as a bath attendant in the 1883 Battle Creek city directory. His obituary supports this occupation claiming he worked as a hydrotherapy nurse. We don't know where he was a bath attendant, but chances are good it was at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. When he married Leah Faucher on January 7, 1886**, Bill was working as a painter, a career he was to fall back on for a good share of his life.What kind of painting he did is unclear. While census records and city directories list him as a painter in 1897, 1899, 1923, 1924, 1930, and 1936, the 1930 Census also lists him as a sign and house painter and his obituary claims he was a "decorator" implying that he may have been more than your average house painter.
I find no evidence that any of Bill's siblings or his mother joined the Adventist church. It appears that Bill was the first to move to Battle Creek and the others followed him, David even going so far as to take up painting as well. And when Bill and his wife and children moved to Oklahoma, they may have led the way for David and his family again. While the 1901 Battle Creek city directory still lists David, Bill is absent. What we do know is that by 1910, both brothers were farming homesteads in Oklahoma. Bill was issued a land patent in Rock Township, Ellis County (near Shattuck) on August 12, 1907. A patent for David's land was issued February 23, 1910 in nearby Beaver County. Ultimately David would give up farming to try retail, eventually settling in Wichita, Kansas where he died in 1930.
When Bill and Leah gave up farming in Oklahoma and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1920 they joined the College View church. Their membership was accepted on May 8, 1920. Their membership was taken on the basis of "other" rather than the usual letter (if transferring from another congregation) or baptism (if new to the Adventist faith). At first glance one would assume that this unorthodox membership acceptance was likely the result of no Adventist congregation in sparsely populated Ellis County, Oklahoma. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Today the Shattuck, Oklahoma Seventh-day Adventist church is the only Adventist church in Ellis County and it is also one of three originally German Adventist congregations in the state. In fact the Harris' may have been among the founding families of an English-speaking congregation. The Southwestern Union Record first reports on evangelistic meetings in Shattuck in 1907 and a church was organized by 1908 with a building under construction. Did Harris help build it? (In addition to the numerous references to Bill as a painter, the 1920 Census reported him a carpenter.) We don't know but the idea isn't farfetched. But this wasn't the first Adventist church in Shattuck. According to the Ellis County Historical Society, a German-speaking congregation was established in 1901 by immigrants who migrated from Germany by way of North Dakota and Missouri. When the Review and Herald reported a church organized with 19 members in 1906 it did not specify whether this was a German or English-language congregation. But that same year report was made of a substantial school in a German neighborhood. And whether the statistic refers to the German or English congregation or a combination of the two, in 1910 Shattuck was considered the largest church in the Oklahoma Conference.
But the interesting points of the Harris saga don't end here. Bill's wife Leah Faucher was born in St. Anne, Kankakee County, Illinois around 1865 into a family who used the name Leah far too much. Between 1863 and 1866 French Canadian brothers Augustine, Sylvestre, and Antoine all had daughters named Leah. So which one married Bill Harris? Sylvestre's daughter is easiest to rule out as her death certificate is readily available on Ancestry.com and clearly states her father's name. Augustine's daughter was born first in 1863 which is at least a year earlier than one would expect Leah Faucher Harris' birthday based on later birth estimates in marriage and census records. So Antoine's daughter is most likely the Leah Faucher who married Bill Harris in 1886. Why is this question significant enough to spend the time sorting out this family? Because while we don't know how Bill was introduced to Adventism or why he or Leah were in Battle Creek, we do know how Leah became Adventist thanks to her father's obituary as written by her brother, George:
Leah's reason for leaving Texas and going to Battle Creek in the 1880s is unknown. But like many other young Adventists she may have planned to attend Battle Creek College, the sanitarium nurses training, or work in one of the Adventist institutions in the city. Her marriage certificate does list Battle Creek as her residence in 1886.
So what about the other William Harris found by Mary Dickerson? According to Dickerson, he joined the College View Church by letter in 1945 and died shortly thereafter. She was unable to provide additional information and I've been unable to positively identify him. But he may have been the William R. Harris listed in the 1945 city directory as a maintenance man.
______________________________
**Although both bride and groom were living in Battle Creek they were married in Kalamazoo. George Hunting officiated and the two witnesses were Frances Hunting and Berniece Hunting suggesting the marriage took place in the minister's home.
Sources:
"Adventist Cemetery AKA Seventh Day Adventist AKA Weiss Cemetery SEC-15 TWP-20 R-25 Ellis County, Oklahoma." Oklahoma Cemeteries.
Baker, Richard. "German Seventh-day Adventist School at Shattuck, Okla.: Fall Term 1906." Advent Review & Sabbath Herald, v.84 no.6 (February 7, 1907) 29.
Faucher, George E. "Faucher" [obituary]. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, v.70 no.39 (October 3, 1893) 627.
"Field Notes." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, v.83 no.45 (November 8, 1906) 20.
Joyce, R.S. "Harris" [obituary]. Central Union Reaper, v.18 no.48 (December 6, 1949) 7.
Olsen, O. A. "A Tour of Kansas and Oklahoma." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, v.87 no.12 (March 24, 1910) 14.
 |
| Old College View Seventh-day Adventist church about 1945-1946, corner of South 49th Street and Prescott Avenue. |
According to his obituary,* Bill joined the Adventists in 1881 and then moved to Battle Creek, Michigan about 1885. He in fact is listed as a bath attendant in the 1883 Battle Creek city directory. His obituary supports this occupation claiming he worked as a hydrotherapy nurse. We don't know where he was a bath attendant, but chances are good it was at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. When he married Leah Faucher on January 7, 1886**, Bill was working as a painter, a career he was to fall back on for a good share of his life.What kind of painting he did is unclear. While census records and city directories list him as a painter in 1897, 1899, 1923, 1924, 1930, and 1936, the 1930 Census also lists him as a sign and house painter and his obituary claims he was a "decorator" implying that he may have been more than your average house painter.
I find no evidence that any of Bill's siblings or his mother joined the Adventist church. It appears that Bill was the first to move to Battle Creek and the others followed him, David even going so far as to take up painting as well. And when Bill and his wife and children moved to Oklahoma, they may have led the way for David and his family again. While the 1901 Battle Creek city directory still lists David, Bill is absent. What we do know is that by 1910, both brothers were farming homesteads in Oklahoma. Bill was issued a land patent in Rock Township, Ellis County (near Shattuck) on August 12, 1907. A patent for David's land was issued February 23, 1910 in nearby Beaver County. Ultimately David would give up farming to try retail, eventually settling in Wichita, Kansas where he died in 1930.
When Bill and Leah gave up farming in Oklahoma and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1920 they joined the College View church. Their membership was accepted on May 8, 1920. Their membership was taken on the basis of "other" rather than the usual letter (if transferring from another congregation) or baptism (if new to the Adventist faith). At first glance one would assume that this unorthodox membership acceptance was likely the result of no Adventist congregation in sparsely populated Ellis County, Oklahoma. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Today the Shattuck, Oklahoma Seventh-day Adventist church is the only Adventist church in Ellis County and it is also one of three originally German Adventist congregations in the state. In fact the Harris' may have been among the founding families of an English-speaking congregation. The Southwestern Union Record first reports on evangelistic meetings in Shattuck in 1907 and a church was organized by 1908 with a building under construction. Did Harris help build it? (In addition to the numerous references to Bill as a painter, the 1920 Census reported him a carpenter.) We don't know but the idea isn't farfetched. But this wasn't the first Adventist church in Shattuck. According to the Ellis County Historical Society, a German-speaking congregation was established in 1901 by immigrants who migrated from Germany by way of North Dakota and Missouri. When the Review and Herald reported a church organized with 19 members in 1906 it did not specify whether this was a German or English-language congregation. But that same year report was made of a substantial school in a German neighborhood. And whether the statistic refers to the German or English congregation or a combination of the two, in 1910 Shattuck was considered the largest church in the Oklahoma Conference.
But the interesting points of the Harris saga don't end here. Bill's wife Leah Faucher was born in St. Anne, Kankakee County, Illinois around 1865 into a family who used the name Leah far too much. Between 1863 and 1866 French Canadian brothers Augustine, Sylvestre, and Antoine all had daughters named Leah. So which one married Bill Harris? Sylvestre's daughter is easiest to rule out as her death certificate is readily available on Ancestry.com and clearly states her father's name. Augustine's daughter was born first in 1863 which is at least a year earlier than one would expect Leah Faucher Harris' birthday based on later birth estimates in marriage and census records. So Antoine's daughter is most likely the Leah Faucher who married Bill Harris in 1886. Why is this question significant enough to spend the time sorting out this family? Because while we don't know how Bill was introduced to Adventism or why he or Leah were in Battle Creek, we do know how Leah became Adventist thanks to her father's obituary as written by her brother, George:
FAUCHER. -Died of cancer, at Grand Prairie, Dallas Co., Tex. Aug. 9, 1893, Antoine Faucher, in the seventieth year of his age. Father was born in Illeverte, Komauraska, Canada. He was brought up in the Catholic faith, and was confirmed by the young priest, Charles Chiniquy. At the age of twenty-eight he and a sister and two brothers, with a French Canadian colony and Father Charles Chiniquy, left Canada and moved to St. Anne, Kankakee Co., III. At the age of twenty-nine he was married. In 1858, by an act of providence, he, with almost the entire congregation, the above-named priest included, while standing in their church, were excommunicated from the Catholic faith by a drunken bishop. They then joined the Presbyterian Church. In 1875 Elder D. T. Bourdeau went to St. Anne, and began to lecture on the prophecies in that church; and my father was captured by the convincing power of the word. This time only he and his family took the step to obey God's law and the faith of Jesus. In 1876 he with his family left Illinois and moved to Texas, and in 1890 he was seized by that dreaded malady, cancer. He suffered patiently for three years, but now it surely can be said of him, "He is at rest," Words of comfort were spoken by A. W. Jensen.
Leah's reason for leaving Texas and going to Battle Creek in the 1880s is unknown. But like many other young Adventists she may have planned to attend Battle Creek College, the sanitarium nurses training, or work in one of the Adventist institutions in the city. Her marriage certificate does list Battle Creek as her residence in 1886.
So what about the other William Harris found by Mary Dickerson? According to Dickerson, he joined the College View Church by letter in 1945 and died shortly thereafter. She was unable to provide additional information and I've been unable to positively identify him. But he may have been the William R. Harris listed in the 1945 city directory as a maintenance man.
______________________________
*HARRIS.-William Lloyd Harris was born in Kentucky in 1859, and died in Lincoln, Nebr., on Oct. 5, 1949. He became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1881 and was a member of the College View church at the time of his death. In 1885 he went to Battle Creek, Mich., where he was employed in the sanitarium. While in Battle Creek he met Leah Faucher, whom he married in 1886. He led an eventful life as bellboy, hydrotherapy nurse, farmer, baker, and decorator. One daughter preceded him in death. The surviving members of his immediate family are his wife, and son, Lloyd, both of Lincoln; a daughter, Mrs. Annie Robertson, of Scottsbluff; nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
**Although both bride and groom were living in Battle Creek they were married in Kalamazoo. George Hunting officiated and the two witnesses were Frances Hunting and Berniece Hunting suggesting the marriage took place in the minister's home.
Sources:
"Adventist Cemetery AKA Seventh Day Adventist AKA Weiss Cemetery SEC-15 TWP-20 R-25 Ellis County, Oklahoma." Oklahoma Cemeteries.
Baker, Richard. "German Seventh-day Adventist School at Shattuck, Okla.: Fall Term 1906." Advent Review & Sabbath Herald, v.84 no.6 (February 7, 1907) 29.
Faucher, George E. "Faucher" [obituary]. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, v.70 no.39 (October 3, 1893) 627.
"Field Notes." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, v.83 no.45 (November 8, 1906) 20.
Joyce, R.S. "Harris" [obituary]. Central Union Reaper, v.18 no.48 (December 6, 1949) 7.
Olsen, O. A. "A Tour of Kansas and Oklahoma." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, v.87 no.12 (March 24, 1910) 14.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Conflict of Interest
Often just identifying ancestors back to the 1600s or earlier is a major achievement. Understanding something about the time period and culture in which they lived provides context for the bare genealogical facts. To actually discover specific details of their lives, to have a window on their relationships, thoughts, feelings, and the detail of their daily lives is exceptional. In the case of my Cornell ancestors, a tragic set of circumstances left a record preserved by the Rhode Island General Assembly which reveals more than the typical facts about 17th-century Cornell ancestors. What follows is a "Cliff Notes" version of Elaine Forman Crane's book, Killed Strangely: The Death of Rebecca Cornell.
On May 23, 1673 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, my 8th great-grandfather, Thomas Cornell II, was hung for the crime of murdering his mother, "the only fully recorded case of matricide in colonial America," (4) according to Crane. But whether or not Thomas actually killed his mother is far from a closed case. In fact, the evidence can be interpreted at least four different ways. Rebecca's death could have been an accident (the first ruling), she may have been murdered by her son (the second ruling), she might have committed suicide (something she threatened to do), or possibly someone else killed her (a possibility authorities considered after Thomas had already been convicted and executed).
So with evidence which can be plausibly interpreted so many ways, what information can be relied upon as fact? First, Rebecca (aged 72) died in her own room on the first floor of her home on the afternoon of February 8, 1673. Fire was involved, but Rebecca's death was judged an accident and she was buried on February 10. During the night of February 12 Rebecca's brother John Briggs claimed Rebecca's ghost appeared to him revealing that her death had not been an accident. John shared this experience with authorities on February 20 and shortly thereafter, his nephew was arrested. Rebecca's body was also disinterred for a second examination.
How could Thomas have been arrested on the basis of an apparition which may have actually been a dream? The ensuing testimony makes it clear that Rebecca and her son did not share a happy relationship. But whether Rebecca was an unhappy, impossible-to-please, crotchedy old woman or the victim of elder abuse from a resentful and equally unhappy son is hard to determine. On Rebecca's side, as testified by her friends, she believed she was mistreated by her son and feared for her life. On Thomas' side, whatever other points of disagreement he had with his mother, as the 45-year old patriarch of the family, Rebecca should have turned her house and land over to him upon his father's death. Indeed, Rebecca exercised a great deal of authority as the executrix of her husband's estate. Instead Rebecca insisted on maintaining ownership of the property, although Thomas, his second wife, six children, and hired hands lived with her. And then there is the reported animosity between Thomas' second wife, Sarah Earle, and his mother. Furthermore, while Thomas was Rebecca's heir, her will stipulated he would receive no property from her until she died although she distributed other property among his siblings while she was still living. And her will made a bequest to one daughter-in-law, Thomas' first wife, Elizabeth, suggesting they shared a warm relationship. Rebecca appears to have not gotten along with the much younger Sarah Earle. Perhaps this tension made the relationship with her son worse.
But without modern forensic science to pinpoint the time of Rebecca's death and specific cause, determine the source of the fire and how it was extinguished before the entire house was consumed (the family was in the next room eating supper at the time), identify the object which caused a wound in Rebecca's torso, and gather trace evidence of possible assailants, it is impossible to know the truth. Although pathology was more advanced in the Europe and England, colonial medicine did not contribute any truly helpful knowledge. And most frustrating, evidence which today would be considered vitally important to the case was overlooked. In other words, not enough physical evidence was recorded to even attempt an historical forensic analysis.
But even more astounding in this case is how the legal system worked. John Brigg's apparition was admitted as evidence. The coroner, William Baulston, was also the executor of Rebecca's will and long-time friend of her husband, Thomas, Sr. In the 17th century juries were permitted to consider private information gathered outside of the trial. And religion may well have played a role. As noted in my previous post, Convergence, Rebecca joined the Quakers after her husband's death. Thomas did not and he may not have been particularly spiritually inclined as part of the generation for whom the Halfway Covenant was devised. Both inquest panels were dominated by Quakers who had reason to be more sympathetic to Rebecca. In the final trial there was a clear line between the panel of judges, mostly if not all Quaker, and jurists, mostly if not all Puritan. And in that era, judges were known to overrule juries. Based on the shakiness of the evidence, Thomas should have been acquitted, but he was not.
And after his death, authorities seemed to second guess themselves, trying Thomas' wife, Sarah, and a Native American, Wickhopash, who had resided with the family at the time. Both were acquitted. But the whole episode make people uncomfortable enough that little has been said about it in Rhode Island and Cornell family histories. In fact most genealogical notes presume that Thomas was falsely accused and executed. John Cornell in his 1902 family history calls the trial a "farce" (24). But in Crane's final analysis, although it is impossible to determine the truth over 340 years later, the possibility that Thomas really did murder his mother cannot be dismissed out of hand.
Sources:
Cornell, John. Genealogy of the Cornell Family: Being an Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, R. I. New York: A.T. Wright, 1902.
Crane Elaine Forman. Killed Strangely : The Death Of Rebecca Cornell. Ithaca: Cornell University Press; 2002.
On May 23, 1673 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, my 8th great-grandfather, Thomas Cornell II, was hung for the crime of murdering his mother, "the only fully recorded case of matricide in colonial America," (4) according to Crane. But whether or not Thomas actually killed his mother is far from a closed case. In fact, the evidence can be interpreted at least four different ways. Rebecca's death could have been an accident (the first ruling), she may have been murdered by her son (the second ruling), she might have committed suicide (something she threatened to do), or possibly someone else killed her (a possibility authorities considered after Thomas had already been convicted and executed).
So with evidence which can be plausibly interpreted so many ways, what information can be relied upon as fact? First, Rebecca (aged 72) died in her own room on the first floor of her home on the afternoon of February 8, 1673. Fire was involved, but Rebecca's death was judged an accident and she was buried on February 10. During the night of February 12 Rebecca's brother John Briggs claimed Rebecca's ghost appeared to him revealing that her death had not been an accident. John shared this experience with authorities on February 20 and shortly thereafter, his nephew was arrested. Rebecca's body was also disinterred for a second examination.
How could Thomas have been arrested on the basis of an apparition which may have actually been a dream? The ensuing testimony makes it clear that Rebecca and her son did not share a happy relationship. But whether Rebecca was an unhappy, impossible-to-please, crotchedy old woman or the victim of elder abuse from a resentful and equally unhappy son is hard to determine. On Rebecca's side, as testified by her friends, she believed she was mistreated by her son and feared for her life. On Thomas' side, whatever other points of disagreement he had with his mother, as the 45-year old patriarch of the family, Rebecca should have turned her house and land over to him upon his father's death. Indeed, Rebecca exercised a great deal of authority as the executrix of her husband's estate. Instead Rebecca insisted on maintaining ownership of the property, although Thomas, his second wife, six children, and hired hands lived with her. And then there is the reported animosity between Thomas' second wife, Sarah Earle, and his mother. Furthermore, while Thomas was Rebecca's heir, her will stipulated he would receive no property from her until she died although she distributed other property among his siblings while she was still living. And her will made a bequest to one daughter-in-law, Thomas' first wife, Elizabeth, suggesting they shared a warm relationship. Rebecca appears to have not gotten along with the much younger Sarah Earle. Perhaps this tension made the relationship with her son worse.
But without modern forensic science to pinpoint the time of Rebecca's death and specific cause, determine the source of the fire and how it was extinguished before the entire house was consumed (the family was in the next room eating supper at the time), identify the object which caused a wound in Rebecca's torso, and gather trace evidence of possible assailants, it is impossible to know the truth. Although pathology was more advanced in the Europe and England, colonial medicine did not contribute any truly helpful knowledge. And most frustrating, evidence which today would be considered vitally important to the case was overlooked. In other words, not enough physical evidence was recorded to even attempt an historical forensic analysis.
But even more astounding in this case is how the legal system worked. John Brigg's apparition was admitted as evidence. The coroner, William Baulston, was also the executor of Rebecca's will and long-time friend of her husband, Thomas, Sr. In the 17th century juries were permitted to consider private information gathered outside of the trial. And religion may well have played a role. As noted in my previous post, Convergence, Rebecca joined the Quakers after her husband's death. Thomas did not and he may not have been particularly spiritually inclined as part of the generation for whom the Halfway Covenant was devised. Both inquest panels were dominated by Quakers who had reason to be more sympathetic to Rebecca. In the final trial there was a clear line between the panel of judges, mostly if not all Quaker, and jurists, mostly if not all Puritan. And in that era, judges were known to overrule juries. Based on the shakiness of the evidence, Thomas should have been acquitted, but he was not.
And after his death, authorities seemed to second guess themselves, trying Thomas' wife, Sarah, and a Native American, Wickhopash, who had resided with the family at the time. Both were acquitted. But the whole episode make people uncomfortable enough that little has been said about it in Rhode Island and Cornell family histories. In fact most genealogical notes presume that Thomas was falsely accused and executed. John Cornell in his 1902 family history calls the trial a "farce" (24). But in Crane's final analysis, although it is impossible to determine the truth over 340 years later, the possibility that Thomas really did murder his mother cannot be dismissed out of hand.
Sources:
Cornell, John. Genealogy of the Cornell Family: Being an Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, R. I. New York: A.T. Wright, 1902.
Crane Elaine Forman. Killed Strangely : The Death Of Rebecca Cornell. Ithaca: Cornell University Press; 2002.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Convergence
After all of the time I spent on my Nantucket Origins post, I hadn't planned to write again so soon about my New England ancestors. Instead I planned to return to my Medical Cadet Corps research. As I develop my theoretical foundation for the MCC project, I'm exploring the roots of many Seventh-day Adventist pioneers and this research led me back to my own family in a surprising way.
My great-great-grandfather, Daniel Cornell Wood, was the nephew of Ezra Cornell (see Nantucket Origins). Knowing of this Cornell connection in my family tree, whenever I've seen the name Merritt E. Cornell in Adventist church history I've wondered if we were related but didn't think it was worth pursuing. But that all changed when I began looking at Cornell's family origins. In fact, with very little effort I discovered that he was descended from Thomas and Rebecca Briggs Cornell, believed to be the first Cornells in America. Those names immediately caught my interest because they were already in my family tree.
Merritt Eaton Cornell (1827-1893) was the eldest child of Isaac Cornell of New York. He and his wife Angeline became Sabbatarian Adventists in 1852 under the influence of Joseph Bates. In 1856 Merritt's brother Myron (who had married Angeline's sister Cornelia in 1853) became Sabbatarian Adventists as well. A third brother, James also joined the Adventists. All three brothers were acquainted with James and Ellen White, founders of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Myron in particular appears to have been a close friend of the Whites and was one of the first two local elders appointed by the congregation of the Battle Creek Tabernacle. Merritt, however, was the more prominent member of the family as a successful evangelist. Merritt along with John Loughborough held the first tent meetings in Battle Creek, Michigan. He also pioneered church work in Wisconsin, Iowa, and California. Merritt lived his final years in Battle Creek, Michigan where he died in 1893. James Cornell died in Boulder, Colorado in 1897. Myron lived until 1920, also in Battle Creek.
Daniel Wood and his first wife, Lydia Ann, became Adventists in early 1876 when they were baptized into the Alma, Michigan church. Lydia died of tuberculosis just a year later, on January 11, 1877. He later married Laura Maxine Travis (who died in 1885) and then Isabelle Johnson. Growing up, Grandma and Great-Aunt Maxine would talk about their Grandpa Wood being an elder in the church. Until recently, I though this simply met he was a local church elder (which he was for 30 years). But not long ago, I discovered that his name appears repeatedly in news of the business of the East Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. Obviously there was more to the story.
Although I'm unclear why, Wood held a missionary licentiate from the East Michigan Conference from 1906 to 1908, it may have been for his colporteuring activities as the Lake Union Herald in 1911 reported that "Daniel Wood and his wife of Alma are considering canvassing in their spare time during the summer." From 1908 to 1914, Wood held various positions associated with the East Michigan Conference, including a trustee for the East Michigan Conference Association, a member of the executive, auditing and nominating committees, and academy board member (most likely Adelphian Academy, a secondary boarding school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist). Wood was one of the conference delegates to the Lake Union Conference meeting in 1914 and to the General Conference Session in San Francisco, California in 1918.
It is entirely possible that at some point the paths of either Myron or Merritt Cornell and Daniel Wood crossed, but would they have known they were fifth cousins? Probably not. To find their common ancestor, one must go back five generations to my 7th great-grandparents, Stephen and Hannah Mosher Cornell of Newport County, Rhode Island.
Stephen Cornell's grandparents, Thomas and Rebecca Briggs Cornell immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1638 as part of the Great Puritan Migration and during the heated conflict between Anne Hutchinson and the Bay Colony leaders. It's uncertain as to what influence Anne Hutchinson had on the Cornells before they moved to Rhode Island. Rebecca's brother John Briggs certainly was a follower of Hutchinson. And certainly they were all neighbors in Rhode Island and later New York. In the same Native American attack in which Hutchinson and members of her family died, the Cornells lost property although none of the family members were harmed.
Thomas died a natural death in February 1655 in Rhode Island, presumably still a Puritan. But that same year the first Quakers arrived in Rhode Island and Rebecca soon joined this new faith. Although her son, Thomas, Jr. did not join her in this religious conversion, her grandson Stephen (1656-1716) did. I'm discovering that a great many of my originally Puritan ancestors followed the paths of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson out of Massachusetts to Rhode Island and later became Quakers. A trend which Eva LaPlante also notes, quoting Helen Campbell: "Becoming Quaker...was for many Hutchinsonians ' the natural ending'...because 'the heart of Anne Hutchinson's doctrine [was] a belief in the 'Inward Light'" (224).
Stephen Cornell's children are where the genealogy of my Cornell-Woods ancestors diverge from that of Merritt Cornell and his brothers. And yet there are important parallels. Both branches of the family moved west with the Yankee migration, first to New York and then Michigan. Both remained Quaker for several generations.
The Cornell-Wood branch of the family descends from Stephen and Hannah Mosher Cornell's son Stephen who married Ruth Pierce and lived in Swansea, Massachusetts. Stephen and Ruth's son Elijah married Sarah Miller, still in Swansea. While there was fluidity in residence and property ownership between Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York (and even New Jersey for a few members of the family), it was the younger Elijah Cornell (1772-1862) who finally settled in New York upon his marriage to the Quakeress Eunice Barnard, thus introducing the origin of my Nantucket roots into the family. Their most famous son, Ezra, left the Quakers when he married. However, according to Bessie Eunice Packard, both the Cornells and Woods stayed with the Quakers until at least the next generation. Of my great-great-great grandparents James and Deborah Cornell Woods' children, son Corydon Wood "became a prominent minister in the United Brethren church (Packard, 7) after an aborted opportunity to attend Uncle Ezra's Cornell University. My own great-great grandfather, Daniel Wood was either not interested or not offered the opportunity for college, although other siblings were sponsored at Albion College (Michigan) as well as Cornell University. Daniel instead took up farming in Gratiot County and married Lydia Ann Johnson.
The Cornell brothers, Merritt, Myron, and James are descended from Stephen and Hannah's son William Cornell who married Mehitable Fish and settled in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Their son Daniel married Elizabeth Allen also in Massachusetts, but sometime between 1751 and 1767 they moved to New York. Their son Zebulon was a Quaker minister. He married Ruth (last name unknown) and their son Joseph married Abigail Allen. Joseph and Abigail's son Isaac became the father of the Cornell brothers who are the subject of this post. Isaac moved his family to Michigan between 1832 and 1836 where they settled in Tyrone Township, Livingston Livingston County. This means they were much earlier arrivals than their distant cousin Daniel Wood who did not arrive with his parents until 1855.
While there are parallels in immigration pattern and religious experience, the towns in which they lived in each state, the timeframes for relocation, and the degree of relationship (fifth cousin) most likely preclude an awareness of a relationship if Daniel Wood and any of the Cornell brothers ever met.
Sources
Burkholder, H. H. and Tillie E. Barr. "East Michigan: Report of Conference Proceedings." Lake Union Herald. V. 4 No. 35 (August 28, 1912) 1-2.
Clark, A. J. "East Michigan Conference: General Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 10 No. 13 (March 27, 1918) 6.
Cornell, Rhonda L. Legacy of the Cornell Family Name. Lexington, KY: [n. p.], 2014.
"East Michigan Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 26 (July 1, 1914) 4.
"East Michigan Conference: Camp-Meeting Assignments." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 20 (May 26, 1914) 3.
Fortin, Denis and Jerry Moon, editors. The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia. Hagerstown, MD: Review & Herald, 2013.
Guthrie, William. "Delegates to Union Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 11 (March 18, 1914) 4.
Guthrie, William and Daniel Wood. "East Michigan Conference Association Meeting." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 19 (May 13, 1914) 13.
Hiner, Frank. "East Michigan Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 5 No. 41 (October 15, 1913) 12-14.
LaPlante, Eva. American Jezebel: The Uncommon LIfe of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2004.
Nelson, F. "Obituary Notices." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. V. 49 No. 6 (February 8, 1877) 47.
"News Notes." Lake Union Herald. V. 3 No. 15 (April 12, 1911) 6.
Packard, Bessie Eunice. The Edson and Eunice Cornell Packards. (December 1, 1945) [manuscript distributed to family members as a Christmas gift].
Russell, C. A. "Delegates in Attendance at Lake Union Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 19 (May 13, 1914) 1-10.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbooks. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research.
Slade, E. K. and E. I. Beebe. "East Michigan: Further Report of Conference Proceedings." Lake Union Herald V. 3 No. 39 (September 27, 1911) 5-6.
Summerville, T. M. "Wood [obituary." Lake Union Herald. V. 16 No. 44 (November 5, 1924) 10.
Wood, Daniel. "Alma." Lake Union Herald. V. 4 No. 49 (December 4, 1912) 6.
My great-great-grandfather, Daniel Cornell Wood, was the nephew of Ezra Cornell (see Nantucket Origins). Knowing of this Cornell connection in my family tree, whenever I've seen the name Merritt E. Cornell in Adventist church history I've wondered if we were related but didn't think it was worth pursuing. But that all changed when I began looking at Cornell's family origins. In fact, with very little effort I discovered that he was descended from Thomas and Rebecca Briggs Cornell, believed to be the first Cornells in America. Those names immediately caught my interest because they were already in my family tree.
Merritt Eaton Cornell (1827-1893) was the eldest child of Isaac Cornell of New York. He and his wife Angeline became Sabbatarian Adventists in 1852 under the influence of Joseph Bates. In 1856 Merritt's brother Myron (who had married Angeline's sister Cornelia in 1853) became Sabbatarian Adventists as well. A third brother, James also joined the Adventists. All three brothers were acquainted with James and Ellen White, founders of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Myron in particular appears to have been a close friend of the Whites and was one of the first two local elders appointed by the congregation of the Battle Creek Tabernacle. Merritt, however, was the more prominent member of the family as a successful evangelist. Merritt along with John Loughborough held the first tent meetings in Battle Creek, Michigan. He also pioneered church work in Wisconsin, Iowa, and California. Merritt lived his final years in Battle Creek, Michigan where he died in 1893. James Cornell died in Boulder, Colorado in 1897. Myron lived until 1920, also in Battle Creek.
Daniel Wood and his first wife, Lydia Ann, became Adventists in early 1876 when they were baptized into the Alma, Michigan church. Lydia died of tuberculosis just a year later, on January 11, 1877. He later married Laura Maxine Travis (who died in 1885) and then Isabelle Johnson. Growing up, Grandma and Great-Aunt Maxine would talk about their Grandpa Wood being an elder in the church. Until recently, I though this simply met he was a local church elder (which he was for 30 years). But not long ago, I discovered that his name appears repeatedly in news of the business of the East Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. Obviously there was more to the story.
Although I'm unclear why, Wood held a missionary licentiate from the East Michigan Conference from 1906 to 1908, it may have been for his colporteuring activities as the Lake Union Herald in 1911 reported that "Daniel Wood and his wife of Alma are considering canvassing in their spare time during the summer." From 1908 to 1914, Wood held various positions associated with the East Michigan Conference, including a trustee for the East Michigan Conference Association, a member of the executive, auditing and nominating committees, and academy board member (most likely Adelphian Academy, a secondary boarding school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist). Wood was one of the conference delegates to the Lake Union Conference meeting in 1914 and to the General Conference Session in San Francisco, California in 1918.
It is entirely possible that at some point the paths of either Myron or Merritt Cornell and Daniel Wood crossed, but would they have known they were fifth cousins? Probably not. To find their common ancestor, one must go back five generations to my 7th great-grandparents, Stephen and Hannah Mosher Cornell of Newport County, Rhode Island.
Stephen Cornell's grandparents, Thomas and Rebecca Briggs Cornell immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1638 as part of the Great Puritan Migration and during the heated conflict between Anne Hutchinson and the Bay Colony leaders. It's uncertain as to what influence Anne Hutchinson had on the Cornells before they moved to Rhode Island. Rebecca's brother John Briggs certainly was a follower of Hutchinson. And certainly they were all neighbors in Rhode Island and later New York. In the same Native American attack in which Hutchinson and members of her family died, the Cornells lost property although none of the family members were harmed.
Thomas died a natural death in February 1655 in Rhode Island, presumably still a Puritan. But that same year the first Quakers arrived in Rhode Island and Rebecca soon joined this new faith. Although her son, Thomas, Jr. did not join her in this religious conversion, her grandson Stephen (1656-1716) did. I'm discovering that a great many of my originally Puritan ancestors followed the paths of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson out of Massachusetts to Rhode Island and later became Quakers. A trend which Eva LaPlante also notes, quoting Helen Campbell: "Becoming Quaker...was for many Hutchinsonians ' the natural ending'...because 'the heart of Anne Hutchinson's doctrine [was] a belief in the 'Inward Light'" (224).
Stephen Cornell's children are where the genealogy of my Cornell-Woods ancestors diverge from that of Merritt Cornell and his brothers. And yet there are important parallels. Both branches of the family moved west with the Yankee migration, first to New York and then Michigan. Both remained Quaker for several generations.
The Cornell-Wood branch of the family descends from Stephen and Hannah Mosher Cornell's son Stephen who married Ruth Pierce and lived in Swansea, Massachusetts. Stephen and Ruth's son Elijah married Sarah Miller, still in Swansea. While there was fluidity in residence and property ownership between Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York (and even New Jersey for a few members of the family), it was the younger Elijah Cornell (1772-1862) who finally settled in New York upon his marriage to the Quakeress Eunice Barnard, thus introducing the origin of my Nantucket roots into the family. Their most famous son, Ezra, left the Quakers when he married. However, according to Bessie Eunice Packard, both the Cornells and Woods stayed with the Quakers until at least the next generation. Of my great-great-great grandparents James and Deborah Cornell Woods' children, son Corydon Wood "became a prominent minister in the United Brethren church (Packard, 7) after an aborted opportunity to attend Uncle Ezra's Cornell University. My own great-great grandfather, Daniel Wood was either not interested or not offered the opportunity for college, although other siblings were sponsored at Albion College (Michigan) as well as Cornell University. Daniel instead took up farming in Gratiot County and married Lydia Ann Johnson.
The Cornell brothers, Merritt, Myron, and James are descended from Stephen and Hannah's son William Cornell who married Mehitable Fish and settled in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Their son Daniel married Elizabeth Allen also in Massachusetts, but sometime between 1751 and 1767 they moved to New York. Their son Zebulon was a Quaker minister. He married Ruth (last name unknown) and their son Joseph married Abigail Allen. Joseph and Abigail's son Isaac became the father of the Cornell brothers who are the subject of this post. Isaac moved his family to Michigan between 1832 and 1836 where they settled in Tyrone Township, Livingston Livingston County. This means they were much earlier arrivals than their distant cousin Daniel Wood who did not arrive with his parents until 1855.
While there are parallels in immigration pattern and religious experience, the towns in which they lived in each state, the timeframes for relocation, and the degree of relationship (fifth cousin) most likely preclude an awareness of a relationship if Daniel Wood and any of the Cornell brothers ever met.
Sources
Burkholder, H. H. and Tillie E. Barr. "East Michigan: Report of Conference Proceedings." Lake Union Herald. V. 4 No. 35 (August 28, 1912) 1-2.
Clark, A. J. "East Michigan Conference: General Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 10 No. 13 (March 27, 1918) 6.
Cornell, Rhonda L. Legacy of the Cornell Family Name. Lexington, KY: [n. p.], 2014.
"East Michigan Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 26 (July 1, 1914) 4.
"East Michigan Conference: Camp-Meeting Assignments." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 20 (May 26, 1914) 3.
Fortin, Denis and Jerry Moon, editors. The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia. Hagerstown, MD: Review & Herald, 2013.
Guthrie, William. "Delegates to Union Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 11 (March 18, 1914) 4.
Guthrie, William and Daniel Wood. "East Michigan Conference Association Meeting." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 19 (May 13, 1914) 13.
Hiner, Frank. "East Michigan Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 5 No. 41 (October 15, 1913) 12-14.
LaPlante, Eva. American Jezebel: The Uncommon LIfe of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2004.
Nelson, F. "Obituary Notices." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. V. 49 No. 6 (February 8, 1877) 47.
"News Notes." Lake Union Herald. V. 3 No. 15 (April 12, 1911) 6.
Packard, Bessie Eunice. The Edson and Eunice Cornell Packards. (December 1, 1945) [manuscript distributed to family members as a Christmas gift].
Russell, C. A. "Delegates in Attendance at Lake Union Conference." Lake Union Herald. V. 6 No. 19 (May 13, 1914) 1-10.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbooks. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research.
Slade, E. K. and E. I. Beebe. "East Michigan: Further Report of Conference Proceedings." Lake Union Herald V. 3 No. 39 (September 27, 1911) 5-6.
Summerville, T. M. "Wood [obituary." Lake Union Herald. V. 16 No. 44 (November 5, 1924) 10.
Wood, Daniel. "Alma." Lake Union Herald. V. 4 No. 49 (December 4, 1912) 6.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Nantucket Origins
For the month of November I had thought it would be fun to revisit the Puritan origins of my family. But the process of reviewing the information I have on this part of the family led me in an entirely new direction and necessitated considerably more research than I had anticipated.
I started my investigation by revisiting Bessie Eunice Packard's The Edson and Eunice Cornell Packards, a manuscript distributed to family members for Christmas, December 1945. While family histories like this one are valuable and fascinating for the stories they include, the genealogy listed in them should always be checked against available records and the author's sources of information evaluated. I've not yet verified all of Packard's information in this manuscript, and in fact my recent detailed reading has generated several questions about those supposedly Puritan origins of the Cornell family. But those questions will have to wait because the further I read and pursued the evidence, the deeper I fell down the rabbit warren of maternal lines which landed me with the Quakers of Nantucket Island. Thus the extra time I needed to find the story for this post.
Any history of early Nantucket Island is rife with the names Coffin, Starbuck, Folger, Gardner, Macy, Coleman, and Barnard. And it turns out that "rabbit warren of maternal lines" includes all of these names. My branch of the family, Reuben and Phoebe Coleman Barnard left Nantucket with their children on October 26, 1778. But the cousins left behind produced a number of notable people.
Tristram Coffin, my ninth great-grandfather, was the leader of the Nantucket settlers during the first 10 years of settlement on the island. He was a Puritan and something of a despot, with a contentious rivalry with John Gardner. Wikipedia claims that, with the exception of Benjamin Franklin, nearly all famous Americans with ancestors from Nantucket Island are descended from Coffin. Wondering about the truth of this statement, I decided to go in search of a few famous Nantucket islanders.
It turns out that astronomer Maria Mitchell is my fourth cousin five times removed. Our common ancestors are my eighth great-grandparents, John and Joanna Folger Coleman. Mitchell's mother was Lydia Coleman. John Coleman's father,Thomas Coleman, was a business partner of one of the nine first purchasers on Nantucket Island, John Swain.
Rowland Hussey Macy, the founder of Macy's department store is also a fourth cousin five times removed. Our common ancestor is John Macy (1655-1691), the son of Thomas Macy who was one of the original twenty landowners on Nantucket.
Abolitionist and women's rights activist, Lucretia Coffin Mott, was a close friend of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was also my fifth cousin five times removed related through both her father and her mother. A relationship I never dreamed of when I wrote a report on Mott for American history class in high school.
Lydia Folger Fowler, the second woman in American to earn a medical degree (after Elizabeth Blackwell), is also a fifth cousin five times removed.
James Athearn Folger, founder of Folgers Coffee, is my sixth cousin four times removed. His nephew, Henry Clay Folger, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
Lydia Folger Fowler, the second woman in American to earn a medical degree (after Elizabeth Blackwell), is also a fifth cousin five times removed.
James Athearn Folger, founder of Folgers Coffee, is my sixth cousin four times removed. His nephew, Henry Clay Folger, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
Lesser known today, but famous in its day, and rather disturbing are my connections to the crew of the whaling ship Essex and other characters associated with the Essex tragedy. The inspiration behind Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, the full story of the Essex is told by Nathaniel Philbrick in his book, In the Heart of the Sea. Zimri Coffin, my second cousin six times removed, was captain of the Dauphin who discovered the surviving crew members of the Essex off the coast of Chile. Obed Macy, whose journal and history of Nantucket Island is extensively cited by Philbrick, is my second cousin seven times removed. The two principle owners of the Essex, Gideon Folger (father of Lydia Folger Fowler) and Paul Macy are both cousins, fourth cousin six times removed and third cousin six times removed respectively. In all likelihood at least three other owners of the Essex are cousins as well. Essex crew member Owen Coffin, the 18-year old first cousin of the Essex's captain, George Pollard, Jr., was my second cousin five times removed. You will have to read Philbrick's book to discover his fate.
Two other cousins Edmund Gardner (forth cousin seven times removed), captain of the Balena sailing from New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Elisha Folger (third cousin six times removed), captain of the Equator were the first two whaling ships to visit the Hawaiian Islands September 29, 1819.
When Reuben and Pheobe Coleman Barnard left Nantucket, they moved to New York where their daughter Eunice married Elijah Cornell. Eunice and Elijah's eldest son became an associate of Samuel Morse in the telegraph business making a fortune in the process. He went on to found Cornell University. His son Alonzo was a governor of New York State. Ezra's sister Phoebe moved to Michigan and through her brother's influence became the first female telegraph operator. Their sister Deborah also moved to Michigan and became my great-great-great-grandmother.
So what about Benjamin Franklin? While Franklin may not be a descendent of Tristram Coffin, thanks to a great number of intermarriages between these first families we are first cousins nine times removed through his mother's family, the Folgers. Our common ancestor is the senior Peter Folger who first came to Nantucket as a Tristam Coffin's translator for the native Americans.
So what about Benjamin Franklin? While Franklin may not be a descendent of Tristram Coffin, thanks to a great number of intermarriages between these first families we are first cousins nine times removed through his mother's family, the Folgers. Our common ancestor is the senior Peter Folger who first came to Nantucket as a Tristam Coffin's translator for the native Americans.
Sources:
Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea. New York: Penguin Books, 2000.
Starbuck, Alexander. Nantucket Genealogies. Baltimore: Clearfield, 2001.
Wikipedia contributors. "Ezra Cornell." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 23, 2016.Starbuck, Alexander. Nantucket Genealogies. Baltimore: Clearfield, 2001.
Wikipedia contributors. "J. A. Folger." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 24, 2016.
Wikipedia contributors. "Lucretia Mott." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 23, 2016.Wikipedia contributors. "Lydia Folger Fowler." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 24, 2016.Wikipedia contributors. "Rowland Hussey Macy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 23, 2016.Wikipedia contributors. "Tristram Coffin (settler)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed January 17, 2016.
Worth, Henry Barnard. Nantucket Lands and Landowners.
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