My DNA Journey

A few weeks ago, I took the Ancestry DNA test.   It is a “Autosomal” test which means that it analyzes the entire genome rather than just the Y-DNA or mitochondrial DNA.  This means that it tests both sides of your family tree.  Since I am an Ancestry.com member I was able to get the test fairly inexpensively as compared to other outlets.  We’ll see soon enough if it is money well spent.

I’ve had a little experience with DNA tests.  My father was tested several years ago on the Johnson family line.  Family Tree DNA tested him for free because he was closely related to Pres. Andrew Johnson.  My father was a good person to test because he had a male line that traced directly back to the grandfather of Pres. Andrew Johnson.  For the Y-DNA test, you can only test the male line.  If you are adopted or if your male ancestor isn’t one thinks it is…the test isn’t terribly helpful.  Unless it puts you in a whole new family J.  My great uncle also was tested but those results won’t probably be all that helpful until several years down the road when other Gage’s get tested.  There are five known Gage lines in the United States.  My great uncle is of the William Gage of Freetown, MA line.  As of yet, there is no one else who has tested from that line who we can compare my uncle’s results with.  On the other hand, my father’s test did tell us something significant.  For many years researchers have concentrated on the Sylvanus Johnson line as the ancestral line of Pres. Andrew Johnson (and his relatives) – but as it turns out, the Sylvanus line is not at all connected – it is a separate haplogroup.

Haplogroup may be an entirely new term to some.  Essentially it s separates your ancestors by the times that they immigrated out of Africa.  They do this by looking at specific mutations in the DNA strand. My father’s Haplogroup is I2b1 which according to Family Tree DNA means “I2b1 lineage likely has its roots in northern France.  Today it is found most  frequently within Viking/Scandinavian populations in Northwest Europe and extends at low frequencies into Central and Eastern Europe. ”  According to the map, Dad’s lineage came out of Africa about 25,000 years ago and initially ended up in Scandinavia or France.  My great uncle’s Haplogroup is R1a1a which according to Family Tree DNA “is believed to have orginated in the Eurasian Steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas.  This lineage is thought to descend from  a population of the Kurgan culture, known for the domestication of the horse (circa 3000 B.C.E) These people were also believed to the first speakers of the Indo-European language group.  This lineage is found in central & western Asia, Indian and Slavic populations of Europe)  My great uncle also took the mt-DNA test. With a result of H as his Haplogroup – this meant that his maternal line came out of Africa approximately 30,000 years ago and is considered to be one of the more dominant of European Haplogroups.    I’ve not yet discovered the real value of the mtDNA test – I’m still learning.

So back to the test that I am taking – the autosymnal DNA test.  It should tell me what percentage that I am European, African or Asian.  I suspect that I will be almost 100% European.  However, I could have a percentage of Asian in men…so you might wonder what that means.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that I am Chinese, Korean, or Japanese – but it does mean that I might have some Native American ancestry.  Remember, Native Americans immigrated across the Bering strait some 20,000 years ago from Asia, which is why Native American ancestry usually traces out to be Asian.

So you might wonder why someone might get their DNA test.  In may case, it may confirm or disprove the Native American ancestry that I am reputed to have according to family stories.  If a male is tested, it can confirm or disprove a family line.  In some cases it confirms common ancestry several generations back or it can completely disprove an ancestry that was thought to be true.  Some of the DNA studies that I have been involved with by either study or family participation are the Pennington Research Association DNA study that you can read more about at http://www.penningtonresearch.org/DNA_Study or the Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone DNA Surname project at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hjohnson/New%20Index/index/j-j-j_index.htm  and the Gage DNA Project at http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/gage/ .  When I find out my results…I’ll let everyone know.  Who knows where they will take me?

Summers of Swimming

I have to admit that I am an Olympic junkie.  I love watching both the Winter and Summer Olympics.  I’m a little burned out on the gymnastics and ice skating perhaps because the media thinks that is all anyone wants to watch…but my favorite sport of all is swimming.

My first memory of watching any sporting event on TV was the 1972 Olympics and seeing Mark Spitz win 7 gold medals.  At that point in my life, swimming was part of the way my family lived in the summer.  From the time I was about 2 years old until I was 10 – swimming was large part of my family’s summer activities.  I would love to say that I was a good athlete…but I would be lying.  My siblings competed and won state titles and in some cases junior Olympic titles.  I think that my brothers have a record still on the books – mostly because they don’t have swimmers at that age swimming that particular race anymore.  One of my brother’s best strokes was the breast stroke and the freestyle.  My other brother could and can still do a great butterfly, which I was never able to do.  My sister swam distance races where didn’t have to rely on her legs as much as her arms. 

Myself (Carmen) waking up Danny!

In some ways, many of those swim team days are somewhat hazy to me.  During the large swim meets that we had locally, Mom and Dad were heavily involved with running the meets.  As a young child, I ran around as a chubby little girl in a bikini going from one of the older kids to another one.  They were my baby sitters during these meets.  There was one kid who was quite special to me.  He spent a great deal of time with me and he was a particular favorite.  I can remember riding on his back while he did his butterfly in warm ups.  It must have looked pretty funny to see a little girl riding on a teenager’s back while he swam.  Danny had curly red hair and a temper to go with that hair.  I remember one occasion when the older girls sent me over to wake up Danny because he was really grouchy when he woke up.  As I was insistently trying to wake him, he pulled me down and hugged me.  I kept on squirming until he really woke up and then he asked me who put me up to it!

I can’t really describe how many swim meets where my parents drove a car full of kids to some swim meet or another.  Through the heat, fireworks, overnight camping and sitting and cheering through all of the heats and races that involved a swim meet – my parents were enthusiastic cheerleaders and caretakers through it all.  My mother always related a swim meet that must have occurred near July 4^th.  I think it might have been in Cheney, WA but the location is pretty hazy in my mind.  Evidently some of the participants in the swim meet thought it was important to shoot fireworks off all night despite all the exhausted kids and their parents trying to sleep.  Mom finally got up and started cutting up oranges for the kids when they woke up.  One of the other parents came walking down and looked at Mom with bleary eyes and commented that he hadn’t spent a night like that since his last night on Guadalcanal in World War II. 

A carful of kids at a swim meet.

So, when you want those Olympians compete in the swimming pool – remember that there are a lot of early mornings, travel, hot days and nights spent camping out at swim meets.  Most of all, there is a lot of work involved in doing what they do as well as they do. Every one of them has parents or relatives who have made sure that they made it to swim practice, swim meets both near and far.  Those young people will inspire our next generations of swimmers.  Someday, some swimmer will talk about the Olympics that he saw on TV when Michael Phelps got 8 gold medals in Bejing or perhaps they will talk about Olympian who is yet to make their mark in London.  When I watch those athletes compete – I think of the enormous pride that their families feel and know that those families have been with them every step of the way.  

Genealogy Pioneers

When I first started doing genealogy research, a very kind researcher who worked on Johnson Co., TN gave me a lot of advice.  When I would start down some road of speculation, she would gently guide me back to the path of reality.  Through her I learned the value of the Internet and the pitfalls.  I had never found a connection with her…until one day I came across her information on the Elliot’s.   By this point, she had passed away and I had never had the chance to work with her on this family…to my everlasting regret. 

There were many evenings that I spent when I first started doing genealogy looking through some wonderful online records that a small bunch of researchers had transcribed and put online.  This was during the early days of the ability to use the Internet to search online resources.  MaryFloy Katzman and Jeff Weaver were two of the pioneers as far as I am concerned with creating online repositories of records.  Both have passed on now - but they have left quite a legacy.  These two researchers gave me quite a foundation of records to begin my Pennington research.

Mary Floy Katzman started what is still called “The Original Johnson County Tennessee Genealogy Page which is located http://jctcuzins.org/index.html - the website is still maintained by Ruby Coleman and Basil McVey.  Since I knew that my great grandmother came from Johnson Co., TN – this was one of the first places that I began researching and MaryFloy was one of the first people to lend me a helping hand.  I remember chatting online with her in the wee hours of the morning – never realizing that she lived in Boston, MA and it had to be quite late for her.  After she had passed away, I found that she and I were distant cousins.  She was descended from Harvey Pennington and I was descended from his younger sister, Elizabeth.  Both were children of Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson.  Thanks to her example and advice, I started to build my own web page with my favorite genealogy links and her website was first on my list.  I still use the site today and am still surprised at how much information is still on the site and how much is still relevant to my research today. 

I didn’t have as close a web relationship with Jeff Weaver.  We shared several email conversations through the years mostly with me asking questions and he sharing his wealth of knowledge about the New River area.  This geographic area around the New River in North Carolina and Virginia seems to be a cradle for many families.  There is a huge amount of information on the New River Notes located at http://www.newrivernotes.com/ - this website is still maintained by the Grayson County, Virginia Heritage Foundation.  Jeff Weaver passed away this last spring after years of suffering through a variety of illnesses.  Almost to the end, Jeff still supplied information and knowledge to those on the New River list.

You might wonder why I chose to discuss these two individuals and their contributions to genealogy research.  So many of our ancestors were pioneers who blazed new paths forward for those of us who followed – these two people are among the pioneers of genealogy research for laying a wonderful foundation of information and knowledge for the Internet researcher.  

The Pennington Research Association has also laid a wonderful foundation for research.  It may be a surprise that there are a few decades of genealogy scholarship that is available to Pennington researchers almost at their fingertips.  The Pennington Pedigrees have been published since the founding of the PRA and most of those journals have been scanned and are available to Pennington researchers who are members of the PRA.    Just as I started my research in the late 1990’s, the Internet was exploding with data and opportunities for contacts.  However, these earlier researchers did the hard way by perusing court house records, searching through libraries and looking at microfilmed census records.  None of the indexes that we appreciate so much today, were available.  There is no doubt that some of the information is incorrect because other resources have appeared since then but there is still a lot of great information that has been gathered and written on a typewriter before advent of the personal computer.

 

As I look through the variety of both paid and free data resources for the modern genealogy researcher, I have to remember people like Bee Holmes of the PRA (among others whose name I don’t recall) Jeff Weaver, and my Pennington cousin, MaryFloy Katzman.  They have a left a truly wonderful legacy for all researchers.  If you are interested in looking at the PRA and its research – go to www.penningtonreasearch.org and consider joining or spend some time looking at the Johnson Co., TN website that I listed above or the New River notes and think of the foundations that these remarkable people built for no other reason than the desire to share their knowledge and resources.

Will Moses Friddle’s First Wife Identify Yourself? :)

For years I have been pursuing information about my great great grandfather.  I know about when he was born and where and the first time I find any record of him is in 1859.  So, where is he between 1826 when was supposedly born in South Carolina and 1859 when he marries Amanda McKee in Carter Co., TN…and who is his first wife? During my search I tried just about every type of resource I could find at the library, online, and any newslist I could find to post on.  I have come to the conclusion that Moses Friddles is a brick wall which I may never breach.  

One of my attempts was to try to find out who Moses Friddles married first.  I first find Moses in the 1860 census with his new wife and two of his sons and his new wife in Dist. 6, Johnson Co., TN.  His daughter Julia is not in this census with him and I presume that she must be with her mother’s family.  I find a Juliana Friddle in the 1870 census at Lenoir, Caldwell Co., NC, Pg. 543A listed as a domestic servant under a Melinda Lang.  However, the family located directly above this Lang is a Jane Mundy with a John Mundy above her.  So, I wonder if this is my Julia Friddle living with family in Caldwell Co., NC.  By the next census, Julia is married to Sidney Prestwood.  They were married in 1876 in Johnson Co., TN but are living in Caldwell Co., NC and sometime after the 1900 census, Julia leaves her husband and takes her two children west to homestead near her brother in Wallowa Co., OR.

Julia Friddles Prestwood's Death Record

I know from Julia Friddles Prestwoods’ death record that her mother is a Munday…so my next step is to trace the Munday family that I found living close to Julia in 1860.  I find a John Munday who is possibly the younger brother of Julia’s mother.  Interestingly enough, his wife is listed as Mary Friddle. When I take it back even further to the John Munday in the 1850 census – I find two young women that could possibly be a mother of Julia.  There is a Jane b. abt 1836 and a Lina b. abt 1838.  Now…I’ve found Julia living with a Melinda in the 1870 census as a servant.  I would almost guess that Lina and Melinda ar the same person as they would also have the same birthdate.  Jane is listed in the 1870 census as well.  So – I suspect that a daughter of John Munday is probably born and married to Moses Friddles before the 1850 census.  Since John and Isabell were both born in the early 1800’s this a definite possibility. 

However, my problem still exists – who is the mother of Julia and her brother Albert.  She is most likely already married to Moses Friddles but as yet – I don’t have a census record or marriage record to establish her name.  All I have is a death record of her daughter that tells me her surname.  So, you might wonder what my next move will be.  I am trying to find out someone who his research John Munday’s family who might have more information.  I am also interested in finding out who the Mary Friddle was who married the younger John Munday who is mentioned in his death record.

As you can see – Moses Friddle’s first wife is yet another brick wall.  Their son Albert was incredibly important to both of my great grandparents.  He provided a parenting presence for both of them even though he was David Carl Friddle’s brother and not father.  I will keep plugging away and perhaps someday – I might finally figure out who Moses Friddle’s first wife was!

Thrashing Grain

Mom and I set up the website probably about 10 years ago.  I did most of the family data pages and she wanted to do the photo pages.  You might say that it took a while with our combined efforts to complete the webpage.  Don’t remind me how long it has been since I have updated everything.  I was going through and a looking at a few page when I came across the main photo page…and remembered that there is a quite a good story to go with that photo.

Working the land has always been an important part of our family’s lives.  It is how they made their living and what they loved to do.  From lumbering to farming – the land has been a central part of our ancestor’s lives.  There was one photo that Mom thought really was emblematic of that love of land.  It was taken probably around 1910 when my great great grandfather and his boys were thrashing grain I Nebraska.  George Christian Shawver is the adult male with his two sons Dewey and George and stepson Merle Davidson (I think Merle is the one standing on the wagon with George on the horse and Dewey standing next to his father..   Sitting in the carriage is Tamsey with Aida (Chris Shawver’s third wife) and Nettie’s head is poking out above the grain near the wagon wheel.  It was taken on the family farm near Lyons, NE.

Now a version of this picture is on our website and it is also on the front cover of the Shawver family cookbook that was published many years ago.  It wasn’t too long ago when I found a much better copy of the photo to scan that Mom and I didn’t have available when we first put it on our website.  It wasn’t on too long before Mom received an email from a gentleman named Earl Bacon.  He commented to Mom that the photo looked like on that he had seen at his Aunt Jessie’s house and wondered where we got the photo.  After a little bit of questioning we found out that the Aunt Jessie Bacon that he was talking about and the one we knew were one and the same.  So began an email friendship that lasted.  Earl and Mom started out by trading short emails and soon they were trading email jokes.  I must say that I have never seen better jokes than the ones we got from Earl.  All of the family enjoyed them and they became known as “Earl” jokes.  Mom and Earl also traded family news of their children, political beliefs and other assorted items in these emails and through email became close friends.  When Mom got sick, Earl was a concerned friend who I regularly updated.

When Mom died on December 26, 2005, I went back to our den and turned her computer on.  I was thinking about taking care of some of her correspondence and letting her friends know of her passing.  One of the first emails that came up was one from Earl Bacon wondering how Mom’s Christmas was.  It became my sad duty to let Earl know that Mom had passed.  I told him how much she had enjoyed her contact with him and thanked him for being such a wonderful friend.  I asked him to keep sending the jokes to Dad’s email because he needed the smiles.

One day in October of 2007, we received an email from Earl’s son, informing us of his death.  We mourned someone that we had never met in person but who we got to know through email.  Just as if we had been friends for years – we mourned his passing.  To think – it all started with a picture of a family thrashing grain back in 1910.  What a happy coincidence!

Daniel Pennington

Several years ago another researcher started questioning me about Daniel Pennington.  At first I thought Daniel was a son of Levi Pennington b. 1767 and therefore a brother to my Levi b. 1794.  Then I thought that perhaps he was an older son of Levi b. 1794.  Then I got a copy of a document (obtained from Doyle King) that after some careful reading cleared it all up!

Daniel Pennington was born bet 1813-1814 in Ashe Co., NC and was married to Alpha King sometime around 1830.  He left Ashe Co., NC sometime before 1849 and settled in Claiborne Co., TN where he is recorded in the 1850 census.  Like many of his era, he took his young family away Ashe Co., NC and went elsewhere.  However, he did come back and visit.  Daniel wrote a letter to his son, John Wesley Pennington that spells out the family tie.  In it, Daniel talks about staying with his brother, Andrew Pennington in Laurel Bloomery and comments that they are going to go over and see his “unke levi” the next day as well as James King.   You can look at the letter here - http://pragroup7.genheirlooms.com/images/LandDocs/Daniel_Pennington.jpg

So, Levi Pennington b. 1794 is not the father of Daniel but rather the brother of Daniel.  Andrew and Daniel are born fairly close together and could be twins.  Levi is much older than his brothers – by almost 20 years.  All three are the sons of Ephraim Pennington and as yet an unknown woman.  This Ephraim Pennington was born about 1769 if you look at Andrew Pennington in the Ashe Co., NC Census in 1850.  Andrew leaves for Laurel Bloomery, TN around 1852 and either Ephraim has passed or he travels over the mountain with Andrew’s family.  So…after many years, the mystery of Daniel was finally learned!

  Here is the information that I have on his wife and children:

Descendants of Daniel Pennington

Generation No. 1

1.  DANIEL⁴ PENNINGTON  (EPHRAIM³, EPHRAIM², EPHRAIM¹) was born Bet. 1813 - 1814 in Ashe Co., NC, and died 25 Sep 1898 in Claiborne Co., TN.  He married ALPHA KING Bet. 1830 - 1832, daughter of JOHN KING and ELIZABETH JONES.  She was born Bet. 1813 - 1816 in NC, and died Aft. 1880 in Claiborne Co., TN.

More About DANIEL PENNINGTON:

Burial: Sep 1898, Buffalo Creek Cemetery, Claiborne Co., TN

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 3: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 67

Census 4: 1880, Claiborne Co., TN

Occupation: Farmer

More About ALPHA KING:

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 3: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 67

       

Children of DANIEL PENNINGTON and ALPHA KING are:

                   i.    WILLIAM RILEY⁵ PENNINGTON, b. 1834, NC; d. Bef. 1900, Claiborne Co., TN; m. MARY POLLY KING, 28 Mar 1855, Claiborne Co., TN; b. Aug 1839, NC; d. Aft. 1900, Claiborne Co., TN.

More About WILLIAM RILEY PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #16

Census 3: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 8, # 61

Census 4: 1880, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg 106 B

More About MARY POLLY KING:

Census 1: 1880, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg 106 B

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #16

Census 3: 1860, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 8, # 61

Census 4: 1900, Claiborne Co., TN, 1st District, Pg. 7 A, #59

                  ii.    ELIZABETH MALINDA PENNINGTON, b. May 1834, NC; d. Aft. 1910; m. JAMES THOMAS, Abt. 1856; b. Sep 1830, VA; d. Bet. 1900 - 1910.

More About ELIZABETH MALINDA PENNINGTON:

Date born 2: May 1836, NC

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 3: 1870, Speedwell PO, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 2, #14

Census 4: 1900, Civil District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 1B, #9

More About JAMES THOMAS:

Census 1: 1900, Civil District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 1B, #9

Census 2: 1870, Speedwell PO, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 2, #14

                 iii.    GOVENOR SHELBY PENNINGTON, b. 1839, NC; m. LUCINDA THOMAS, Abt. 1869; b. Abt. 1845, VA.

More About GOVENOR SHELBY PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 3: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 68

Census 4: 1880, Dist. 13, Grainger Co., TN, Pg. 500A

More About LUCINDA THOMAS:

Census 1: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 68

Census 2: 1880, Dist. 13, Grainger Co., TN, Pg. 500A

                 iv.    JOHN WESLEY PENNINGTON, b. Apr 1846, NC; d. 1924; m. (1) NANCY THOMAS, Abt. 1866; b. Abt. 1848, VA; d. Aft. 1880; m. (2) LUCY PARROT, Abt. 1908; b. Abt. 1883, TN; d. 1947.

More About JOHN WESLEY PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 3: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 69

Census 4: 1880, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg 106 B

Census 5: 1900, 1st Civil District. Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 8A, #117

Census 6: 1910, 9th Civil District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 14B, #277

Census 7: 1920, 9th Civil District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9A, #162

More About NANCY THOMAS:

Census 1: 1880, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg 106 B

Census 2: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 69

More About LUCY PARROT:

Census 1: 1920, 9th Civil District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9A, #162

Census 2: 1910, 9th Civil District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 14B, #277

                  v.    OMEGA PENNINGTON, b. 31 Jul 1847, NC or TN; d. 1927, Claiborne Co., TN; m. DAVID KING, Abt. 1862; b. Abt. 1845, NC; d. Bet. 1892 - 1900, Claiborne Co., TN.

More About OMEGA PENNINGTON:

Burial: 1927, Buffalo Creek Cemetery, Claiborne Co., TN

Census 1: 1850, Claiborne Co., TN, pg 331-332, Fam. #1267

Census 2: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 3: 1870, Speedwell, PO, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, #66

Census 4: 1880, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg 106 B

More About DAVID KING:

Census 1: 1880, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg 106 B

Census 2: 1870, Speedwell, PO, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, #66

                 vi.    MARY PENNINGTON, b. 1849, TN.

More About MARY PENNINGTON:

Census: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

                vii.    NANCY JANE PENNINGTON, b. Bet. 1853 - 1854, TN.

More About NANCY JANE PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 2: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 67

               viii.    MARTHA PENNINGTON, b. Nov 1860, Claiborne Co., TN; d. 23 Feb 1934, Lily, Laurel Co., KY; m. (1) JAMES JONES, Abt. 1875, TN; b. Abt. 1857, VA; m. (2) JAMES W. BROUGHTON, 03 May 1893, Lincoln Co., KY; b. Aug 1854, KY.

More About MARTHA PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1860, 1st District, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 3, #15

Census 2: 1870, District 1, Claiborne Co., TN, Pg. 9, # 67

Census 3: 1900, Dist. 35, Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co., KY, Pg. 11A, #189

Census 4: 1910, Dist. 125, Lily, Laurel Co., KY, Pg. 7B, #118

Census 5: 1920, Dist. 143, Lily, Laurel Co., KY, Pg. 5B, #99

More About JAMES W. BROUGHTON:

Census 1: 1920, Dist. 143, Lily, Laurel Co., KY, Pg. 5B, #99

Census 2: 1910, Dist. 125, Lily, Laurel Co., KY, Pg. 7B, #118

Lulu Dollar Eldreth

It is no surprise to anyone who has read my blog that I thought a lot of my great grandmother, Sophia Dollar Friddle.  She was a unique force within our family long after her death.  Mom Friddle, as she was called, had a great deal to do with the person that my mother became, and therefore the person I am today.   However, the woman who helped to shape the woman that my great grandmother was is in her own way shrouded in mystery.

Alexander Monroe Dollar married Sarah E. Pearce (according to their marriage record) on 9 Jun 1887 in Johnson Co., TN.  According to her death certificate, she was born in Washington Co., VA.  My best guess would be in the Abingdon or Damascus area since it is so close in location to Laurel Bloomery, Johnson Co., TN which was where Alexander Monroe Dollar lived.  Monroe Dollar had been married to Elizabeth Pennington for around 25 years before her death between 1883-1887.  They had had four children and had moved their family from Ashe Co., NC to Johnson Co., TN sometime after the 1880 census.  Elizabeth probably died sometime after the move to TN and likely died of some sort of illness – as she was probably in her early to mid 40’s.  Sarah or Lulu as she was called was a 19 year old young woman when she married Alexander Monroe Dollar.  He was at least 49 years of age when he married Lulu.  I’ve never been able to find a census record for her before she is recorded with Monroe Dollar in 1900.  I’ve no idea who her parents were or where she was from beyond the mention of her birthplace in her death certificate.  However, it wasn’t unusual for a young woman to marry a much older man – especially in the years following the Civil War in the south. 

Monroe Dollar’s oldest son, John Dula Dollar married Buena Vista Bailey on 21 Apr 1889 in Johnson Co., TN.  She was about 17 years old and by October the following year, she had her first child, Claude Elmer Dollar…daughter Bessie Dozier Margaret Elizabeth Dollar followed 10 months later and the youngest, Sophia was born in January of 1894.  According to Lulu, Sophie (Mom Friddle) was born near midnight and it was a difficult birth.  No one was quite sure if the birth occurred before midnight or after midnight – so Mom Friddle always went by what Lulu had told her.  When Mom Friddle was about 10 weeks old, Buena Vista died at the young age of 21.  At 29 years old, John Dula was left with three children under the age of 4.  The children were left with their step grandmother and grandfather.  At 26 years old, Lulu had the care of three young children including a baby. When John remarried a few years later (1897), he took the older two children to live with him – but left the youngest with her step grandmother.

David Carl Friddle & Sophia Vestelle Friddle - 22 Dec 1908 - Johnson Co., TN

Lulu was the only mother that my great grandmother ever knew.  There are things that I know that she did well…but she didn’t prepare her granddaughter too well in the female arts.  When she was 14, Mom Friddle married, ill prepared for being wife and mother.  She didn’t know how to cook, clean, or sew.  As my Grandma Cappy said – Mom Friddle grew up like “topsy!”  For all her faults, Lulu did give Mom Friddle the affection, love, and care that a child needed.  When Monroe Dollar died in 1908 – John was making noises about bringing Mom Friddle to live with he and his second wife, Cleopatria Gentry.  Lulu informed her granddaughter that all she would be doing is washing diapers and taking care of her younger siblings…and strongly encouraged her to marry to escape that fate.  (That is a another story for another time. )  So, after Mom Friddle married, Lulu herself married a widower a few months later.  She deeded the house to her daughter in law (Sarah Margaret Simmons Dollar – wife of Roby Dollar) and left for Ashe Co., NC to live with her new husband, William Eldreth. 

Once again, Lulu married a much older man.  William Eldreth was nearly 20 years older than she.  William died in 1924 and once again, Lulu was left as a widow.  She is recorded with a grandson on the 1930 census and he is listed as the informant on her death record. 

Mom Friddle went back to Tennessee and North Carolina to visit family.  A great deal of time was spent with her sister, Bessie, in Ashe Co., NC.  In addition, Mom Friddle spent a lot time visiting the step grandmother who raised her.  When Lulu died in 1955, it must have been a big blow to Mom Friddle.  She had lost her beloved husband in January of that year – and now the woman who raised her.  The step grandmother was the only mother that Mom Friddle ever knew.  Even though – I’ve never found who her family was, where she grew up or what shaped her life, Lulu has always been someone that I wanted to know more about because she was very important to my great grandmother – and therefor important to me!  

Complex Family Ties - Edward Pennington Family

Edward Pennington is probably one of the more well-known children of Micajah Pennington and Rachel Jones.  Edward and Micajah, Jr are the only sons of Micajah, Sr and Rachel that we can be sure of the majority of their descendants.   After the family moved to Lee Co., VA from Ashe Co., NC – the area where Edward lived was called Pennington Gap and is still called that today.  “Neddy” Pennington as he was called married Martha “Patsy” Flanary and they had eleven children.  As the area was not too largely populated – it is not surprising to find a few intermarriages.

Neddy and Martha had six daughters and five sons.  There are several family connections with their marriages – here are a few.

• The first such family that is found in close connection with this group of Penningtons is the Parsons.  Phoebe Pennington married William Simmons Parson on 18 Aug 1814 in Lee Co., VA Phoebe’s younger sister Rebecca married William’s younger brother John “Jack” Parsons around 1826 in Lee Co., VA.  John and William were the sons of John Parsons and Mary Simmons.   
• The eldest son, Thomas F. Pennington married Mary Smyth on 29 Jan 1818.  When she died in 1848, he married Mourning Minerva Jones who was the daughter of Abraham Jones and Mary Kyle.  His younger brother, Elijah also married a daughter of Abraham Jones and Mary Kyle.  Elijah and Sarah Elizabeth Jones were married around 1831 in Lee Co., VA.    Thomas sister, Elizabeth married George Smyth, the brother of Mary Smyth who were the children of Edward Smyth and Hannah Crabtree.
• Then there is John Dees Pennington who married Rachel Zion on 2 Jan 1823 in Lee Co., VA.  Rachel was the daughter of John W. Zion and Lucy McCormick.  Rachel’s niece (by her brother John W. Zion and wife Susannah Davis) married John Dees Pennington’s younger brother Levi Pennington (m. Elizabeth Zion abt 1831)

The other children of Neddy and Martha did not intermarry with the in-laws…but by the time you get to the next few generations…it really gets messy.  When you start to throw in more Zions, Parsons, Jones, Grahams, Russell’s, Bishops,  Caltons and Flanary’s – then the tree really gets complicated.  It has been a while since I last tackled this family.  It is an imposing prospect think of pursuing these lines again!

Descendants of Edward "Neddy" Mitchell Pennington

Generation No. 1

1.  EDWARD "NEDDY" MITCHELL³ PENNINGTON  (MICAJAH², BENAJAH¹) was born 29 Dec 1769 in Wilkes Co., NC, and died 05 May 1860 in Lee Co., VA.  He married (1) AGNES LITTLE.    He married (2) MARTHA "PATSY" FLANARY Abt. 1793 in Wilkes Co., NC, daughter of JOHN FLANARY and PHOEBE BOGGS.  She was born 30 Dec 1779 in Wilkes Co., NC, and died 25 Dec 1852 in Lee Co., VA.

More About EDWARD "NEDDY" MITCHELL PENNINGTON:

Burial: May 1860, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, 1850 - Lee Co., VA, Pg 356, Family #621

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16 - 201-10133001

Census 3: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 11

Emigration: Went to Lee Co., VA...Pennington's Gap named for him

More About MARTHA "PATSY" FLANARY:

Burial: Dec 1852, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census: 1850, 1850 - Lee Co., VA, Pg 356, Family #621

       

Child of EDWARD PENNINGTON and AGNES LITTLE is:

                   i.    ANN LITTLE⁴ PENNINGTON, b. 1792, Ashe/Wilkes Co., NC; d. 1796.

       

Children of EDWARD PENNINGTON and MARTHA FLANARY are:

                  ii.    PHOEBE⁴ PENNINGTON, b. 26 Sep 1794, Wilkes Co., NC; d. 1863, Lee Co., VA; m. WILLIAM SIMMONS PARSONS, 18 Aug 1814, Lee Co., VA; b. 16 Nov 1789, Ashe Co., NC; d. 06 Jan 1856, Lee Co., VA.

More About PHOEBE PENNINGTON:

Census: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 340, Fam # 538

More About WILLIAM SIMMONS PARSONS:

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 340, Fam # 538

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16 - 200-0101-0100

                 iii.    THOMAS F. PENNINGTON, b. 05 Jul 1797, Wilkes Co., NC or Ashe Co., NC; d. 27 Mar 1858, Lee Co., VA; m. (1) MARY SMYTH, 29 Jan 1818; b. 09 Jan 1793; d. 16 May 1848, Lee Co., VA; m. (2) MOURNING MINERVA JONES, Bef. 19 Jun 1849; b. Abt. 1825, Lee Co., VA; d. 1906.

More About THOMAS F. PENNINGTON:

Burial: Mar 1858, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 347, Family #626

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16 - 0001-001-0010

Census 3: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 12

More About MARY SMYTH:

Burial: May 1848, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

More About MOURNING MINERVA JONES:

Census: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 347, Family #626

                 iv.    DAVID PENNINGTON, b. 11 Mar 1799, Ashe Co., NC; d. 28 Apr 1886, Lee Co., VA; m. VIRGINIA "JENNIE"JANE STAMPER, Abt. 1819, Lee Co., VA; b. 1803, Lee Co., VA; d. 30 Mar 1893, Ocoonita, Lee Co., VA.

More About DAVID PENNINGTON:

Burial: Apr 1886, Ocoonita Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 351, Fam # 683

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16. 1001-000100

Census 3: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 2

Census 4: 1870, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 15, #95

Census 5: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204A

More About VIRGINIA "JENNIE"JANE STAMPER:

Date born 2: 14 May 1808, Lee Co., VA or NC

Burial: Mar 1893, Ocoonita Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204A

Census 2: 1870, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 15, #95

                  v.    ELIZABETH H. PENNINGTON, b. 19 Jan 1801, Ashe Co., NC; d. 31 Jul 1818, Lee Co., VA; m. GEORGE P. SMYTH, Abt. 1817, Lee Co., VA; b. 25 Nov 1790, Lee Co., VA; d. 08 Aug 1849, Zions Mill, Lee Co., VA.

                 vi.    JOHN DEES PENNINGTON, b. 05 Oct 1802, Lee Co., VA; d. 29 Dec 1891, Greene Co., TN; m. (1) REBECCA ZION; m. (2) RACHEL ZION, 02 Jan 1823, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Jan 1807, Washington Co., VA; d. 15 Jun 1885, Dryden, Lee Co., VA.

More About JOHN DEES PENNINGTON:

Burial: Dec 1891, Greene Co., TN

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, 31st District, Pg. 340 Fam #542

Census 2: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 20

Census 3: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 39, #247

Census 4: 1880, Yocum Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 313A, # 206

More About RACHEL ZION:

Burial: Jun 1885, Pennington-Zion Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, 31st Dist. Pg 340, Fam. #542

Census 2: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 39, #247

Census 3: 1880, Yocum Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 313A, # 206

                vii.    REBECCA PENNINGTON, b. 12 Jul 1805, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; d. Abt. 1886, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; m. JOHN "JACK" PARSONS, JR., Abt. 1826, Lee Co., VA; b. Abt. 1802, NC; d. 05 Feb 1857, Lee Co., VA.

More About REBECCA PENNINGTON:

Burial: Abt. 1886, Parsons-Smyth Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 349, Fam # 642

Census 2: 1870, Jonesville PO, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 5, #27

Census 3: 1880, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 212D

More About JOHN "JACK" PARSONS, JR.:

Burial: Feb 1857, Smith Cemetery, Woodway, Lee Co., VA

Census: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 349, Fam # 642

               viii.    SUSAN "SOOKIE" PENNINGTON, b. 20 Mar 1808, Lee Co., VA; d. Abt. 1846, Jackson, Cape Girardeau Co., MO; m. ABRAHAM CHRISMAN, SR., 06 Jan 1825, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Dec 1801, Lee Co., VA; d. 1850, Sacramento, Sacramento Co., CA.

                 ix.    ELIJAH B. PENNINGTON, b. 12 May 1810, Lee Co., VA; d. 04 May 1882, Poor Valley, Lee Co., VA; m. SARAH ELIZABETH JONES, Bef. 1832, Lee Co., VA; b. 12 Sep 1809, Lee Co., VA; d. 09 Jun 1891, Acuff, Union Co., TN.

More About ELIJAH B. PENNINGTON:

Burial: May 1882, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, District 31, Pg 347, #625

Census 2: 1880, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 217 B

More About SARAH ELIZABETH JONES:

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, District 31, Pg 347, #625

Census 2: 1880, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 217 B

                  x.    LEVI PENNINGTON, b. 10 Oct 1812, Lee Co., VA; d. 16 Jun 1889, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; m. (1) ELIZABETH ZION, Bet. 1831 - 1832, Lee Co., VA; b. 03 Apr 1815, Lee Co., VA; d. 29 Sep 1862, Lee Co., VA; m. (2) MARTHA AMANDA STEPHENS, 06 Dec 1864, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Apr 1843, Bedford Co., VA; d. 07 May 1871, VA; m. (3) MARY VERMILLION LITTON, 09 Nov 1873, Lee Co., VA; b. 11 Sep 1820, Lee Co., VA; d. 09 Jun 1898, Lee Co., VA.

More About LEVI PENNINGTON:

Burial: Jun 1889, Pennington/Zion Cemetery, near Dryden, VA

Census 1: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204B

Census 2: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 38, #246

More About ELIZABETH ZION:

Burial: Sep 1862, Pennington/Zion Cemetery, near Dryden, VA

More About MARTHA AMANDA STEPHENS:

Burial: May 1871, Pennington/Zion Cemetery, near Dryden, VA

Census: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 38, #246

More About MARY VERMILLION LITTON:

Census: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204B

                 xi.    MARTHA "PATSY" PENNINGTON, b. 06 Jul 1815, Lee Co., VA; d. 15 Aug 1867, Lee Co., VA; m. ISAAC RUSSELL, 19 Jan 1833, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Feb 1805, Lee Co., VA; d. 1863, Lee Co., VA.

More About MARTHA "PATSY" PENNINGTON:

Census: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 350 #669

More About ISAAC RUSSELL:

Census: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 350 #669

                xii.    MARY "POLLY" S. PENNINGTON, b. 11 Nov 1817, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; d. 06 Feb 1901, Dryden, Lee Co., VA; m. MITCHELL CECIL, 11 Jul 1833, Lee Co., VA; b. 11 Jan 1803, Tazewell Co., VA; d. 04 Apr 1887, Dryden, Lee Co., VA.

More About MARY "POLLY" S. PENNINGTON:

Burial: Feb 1901, Ely Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 337 #501

Census 2: 1900, Dryden Precinct, Lee Co., VA, Pg 8B, #155

More About MITCHELL CECIL:

Burial: Apr 1887, Ely Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 337 #501