A Tannahill Tale...

My mother's maiden name was Tannahill.  It has been an adventure trying to find information on the family.  Mom knew a little and by opening some lines of communication with several of her living family members, we made a start and finding information on the family.  Mom's Dad died when she was six years old (Daddy's Gone)  It wasn't terribly hard to go back two further generations...Mom remembered her grandfather (John Lyons Tannahill) and by census records, we could tell who his parents were.  However, getting further than that...has been a little tricky.

We lost Mom the day after Christmas in 2005, so the search for more Tannahill information became more personal.  Mom and I worked at getting the information filled out on her aunts, uncles and cousins and we did a pretty good job with that part of the story.  Going much further was a little trickier.  So here is Mom's line:

• Mom
• Oliver Richard Tannahill m. Capitola Ester Friddle
• John Lyons Tannahill m. Sarah Rachel Kelley
• John Lyons Tannahill m. Almira Jones
• Francis Tannahill m. Mary Fillinger

We were pretty sure of the line this far until we got to Francis Tannahill.  John Lyons Tannahill shows up with his mother and siblings in the census, but not Francis.  The first census that named everyone in the household was the 1850 census.  I could tell from the census record that the children were born in Ohio...so I knew that the family had immigrated from Ohio to Iowa.  Based on a book by James Tannehill on the Tannahill family, I was convinced that Francis Tannahill was the likely parent of John Lyons Tannahill.  While the author had a lot of information and theories, he didn't have a lot of sources for his information.  I suspect that they got information on my line from a the last of John Lyons Tannahill's (Sr)' s siblings, Charlotte Tannahill Bucey.  After a lot of searching and new online data, I was finally able to prove that Francis Tannahill and Mary Fillinger were married and where they came from. A Marriage in Gallia Co., OH - Francis Tannahill

I would love to say that I am comfortable with the rest of the ancestry...but I really haven't found much proof.  Francis was born in 1788 and would have been 52 when John Lyons Tannahill Sr was born (1840) which makes me think that there was another lifetime that had been lived before he ever married Mary Fillinger at the age of 47.  I suspect that I found another earlier marriage to an Elizabeth Loper.  James Tannehill theorized in the book that Francis Tannahill was the son of James Tannehill and Jemima Smith.  The name has been spelled several ways.  On my particular line, I have mostly seen Tannehill or Tannahill, so I use them interchangeably.  (Name Changes)

So, while I still try to look for further information and proof, I have to go with the supposition that James Tannehill b. 1759 and d. aft 1836 is my 4th great grandfather.  I would like it to be true, because I suspect James is an interesting ancestor.  We know that James was born in Maryland to Samuel Tannehill Sr and Sarah Edmonston.  We also know that he served in the Revolutionary War.  Here is a section of a letter that was sent to a Mrs. Bradley that was quoted by James Tannehill in his book.  

James Tannehill enlisted in June, 1776, served in Captain Philip Maroney's company, Colonel Griffith's Maryland Regiment at Flying Camp; was at York Island and White Plains and in several skirmishes at each place and served six months; he enlisted about August, 1777, served two months in Captain John Tarr's Company, Colonel Baker Johnson's Maryland Regiment and was in the battle Germantown. After the Revolution, he lived in Maryland until about 1796; then moved to Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and lived about there about twenty-three years; then moved to Virginia, and in 1824, moved to Daviess County, Kentucky. 

According to other notes, James Tannehill's wife, Jemima Smith died about 1800.   It seems to me that James Tannehill moved quite a bit and distance in his lifetime.  So, going along with the previously mentioned Tannehill genealogy...here is the rest of the line.

• James Tannehill m. Jemima Smith
• Samuel Tannehill Sr m. Sarah Edmonston
• Ninian Tannehill, Sr m. Charlotte Isabella Conn
• William Tannehill, III m. Euphene Beall
• William Tannehill, Jr m. Sarah Harris
• William Tannehill, Sr (Immigrant ancestor) m. Alice
• Thomas Tannahill

I feel like my "Tannahill Tale" has a lot of holes in it with some tantalizing clues.  I only wish when James Tannehill wrote his book on the Tannehill family that he had included source material.  The book is called "Genealogical History of the Tannahills Tannehills Taneyhills!"  You can find copies at several genealogical libraries as well reprints.  The book was written in the early 1930's and really can be a valuable resource.  I have no idea if I will ever have access to the resources that he used to write his book.  I suspect that a lot of info on my family was partially based on actual primary sources, but likely info based on correspondence with other family members.  It is that last item that leads me to believe what I have.  The timeline fits the possibility that James B Tannehill was able to correspond with someone who really knew the information on the family of Francis Tannehill and Mary Fillinger...their last living daughter, Charlotte Tannehil and possibly her children.

So, right now my tale ends there - but the possibility of additional information shows potential.  I never know when another record will be published online that will allow me to fill in additional details in my Tannahill tale.

An Epitaph to Remember

One of the more interesting characters that I have come across in my genealogy research is Adamson Tannehill.  According to my genealogy program, he is my 1^st cousin, 6 times removed.  Adamson  was born to John Tannehill and Rachel Adamson on 23 May 1750 in Frederick Co., MD.  He married Agnes Morgan b. 1750 and they had no children.  Adamson died on 23 Dec 1820 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co., PA.  He left no descendants, but he did live an interesting life.

Adamson lived most of his life in the Pittsburgh, PA area.  He joined the Continental Army in 1776 and quickly moved up the ranks.  He ended up acting as one of General George Washington’s most trusted Lieutenant’s.  It is said that General Washington gave a ring to his sister to remember him to the family.  There is more information about him and his military service on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adamson_Tannehill .  You can even find copies of his handwriting in George Washington’s papers that have been digitized online. 

Adamson led a full life both during his military service and afterwards.  He ended his career as a Brigadier General in the military.  He worked as Justice of the Peace, served on the board of Directors for the Bank of Pennsylvania and returned to military service as a Major General during the War of 1812.  During his time as Justice of the Peace, he was accused of a crime that was later overturned; Adamson believed his reputation had been attacked.  He was elected to the 13^th Congress of the United States but failed to win reelection in 1814.

All this is quite interesting…but in James B. Tannehill’s book on the Tannehill family (Genealogical History of the Tannahills, Tannehills and Taneyhills) he quotes an epitaph that has disappeared from memory and his gravestone.  When he died in 1820 he left this in his will:

In the name of God, amen.  I, Adam Tannehill of Grove Hill, Allegheny County, Pa., do make and declare this instrument of writing, which is written by myself when in a full and correct state of mind, and each page signed with my signature, to be my last will and testament.  From the course of nature added to the belief that I am to die, and unwilling to give those who survive me the least possible trouble respecting my worldly affairs, I only desire that my body should be buried in a decent manner at my allotted graveyard at Grove Hill; that all my just debts be paid by my wife, which are few, and the expenses that may accrue at my burial.  After this is completed, it is my will that my wife, Agnes M. Tannehill, shall inherit all my estate, real and personal and mixed.  in making my will, I do not calculate on pleasing every expectant; my great and principal object is to please myself.  I have but little to give, or it would be attended with the greater difficulty in mincing it among all who might expect a little of the little.  In a former will I had directed two busts to be executed and placed in the Court House in Pittsburgh to two of the most unprincipled scoundrels who ever appeared before a court of justice, one of them A. Tannehill is dead in reality and the other is dead to all feelings of moral principle.  I now decline a continuation and direct it to be applied to a tombstone and epitaph for myself as directed,

Adamson Tannehill was born the 23rd of May, 1750. He served his country as an officer during the American Revolution with the confidence of his superiors, and honor to himself but, in the year 1798, his character was assailed unjustly by the slanders of unprincipled men and the violence of party.

He left this world with a hope for the better,

Farewell vain world, I'e seen enough of thee

And am now careless of what thou sayeth of me;

Thy smiles I court not nor thy powers do fear.

My cares are past, my head lies quiet here.

What faults you find in me, take care to show,

And look at home, enough there's to be done;

False swearing and vile slander can't reach me here---

Of each, when living, I had my shared

Adamson Tannehill

I always wanted to see a copy of this epitaph…This was a man who carried a grudge to the very end and directed that the accusation be placed on his gravestone.  He was originally buried at the First Presbyterian Church but was later moved in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh in 1849.  I have no idea if his original gravestone had the epitaph, but I had hopes.  When friend searched out his gravestone for me, I was disappointed to see that the epitaph was not there.  If you are interested in looking at a photo go to http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12760636 and you can see the picture of the actual stone

A Source of Frustration...

My mother was the daughter of Oliver Richard Tannahill…but he was known as O. Richard Tannahill meaning that I assume he didn’t like his first name.  He died in a hunting accident in 1947 when my mother had just barely turned 6.  Her memories of him were vague and hazy and she only had a few precious memories.  So much of what she knew, she learned from others who admired and loved him.  So, the Tannahill branch was never an easy family to research for me.  I didn’t have the resource of a grandfather to learn from or a mother who had a lifetime of her father’s stories.  All we had to really start with was a few names and dates…so Mom and I took it from there.

Top Left - Ted, George, Richard, Sam - Lower Left - Rachel, John & Viney - older brother Earl not pictured - he died in 1942.  Photo was taken in 1945 at the funeral of John Lyons Tannahill.

We began our research on the Tannahill family with the names of Richard’s siblings and his parents.  A photograph was taken at the funeral of Grandpa Tannahill (John Lyons Tannahill) that included 7 of the 8 siblings and allowed us to see what they looked like as adults.  Later on we also got a picture of the entire family taken at a much younger age.  A cousin had a book that she had gotten at the Family History library down in Salt Lake City that Mom and I copied.  As we began to read the book (Genealogical History of the Tannahills, Tannehills and Taneyhills by James B. Tannehill), it illuminated a lot of the story of the Tannahill family since their arrival in America in the 1600’s.  However, it soon became a study of frustration as well.  The author had lovingly articulated stories that he had gathered by letters and archived documents but he neglected to include any of the sources.  So, while the story was great it was lacking a way to use the book as proof of anything.

Our family line is an excellent example of this…John Lyons Tannahill was born on 28 Apr 1873 in Jonesburg, Chautauqua Co., KS as the 3^rd living child.  His father died eight days before his birth of an unknown cause.  John’s mother, Almira, remarried a few years later to a Samuel Pennell and had 7 more children with him.  So, we knew that Grandpa Tannahill was the son of John Lyons Tannahill and Almira Jones – but where did the line go from there.  Grandpa Tannahill’s father was also named John Lyons Tannahill and he was born 9 Feb 1840 in Ohio and died 19 Apr 1873 in Chautauqua Co., KS.  He was the third child of 8 children born to Mary Fillinger and possibly Frank Tannehill.  Of those 8 children, only two lived beyond 1900 and of the two that survived past 1900, only one can be traced to their death.  It is unknown where the family lived before they went to Iowa other than to say Ohio.  It is also unknown when Frank Tannehill died.  We know that he died before 1850, because he is not recorded in the 1850 census with his wife, Mary Fillinger.  She is recorded in every census until her death in 1897.  Tragically she must have seen the deaths of 6 of her 8 children before her own death.  Frank Tannehill was reputed to be born about 1788, so he must have been an old man when he married Mary “Polly” Fillinger, by my estimation about 47 years old.  According to James B. Tannehill, Frank was the son of James Tannehill and Jemima Smith who probably was born either in Virginia or Somerset Co., PA.  He left his father’s home in 1810 and went to Virginia and then down to Nicholas Co., KY where he is recorded in 1830 as unmarried.  According to James Tannehill, hen then went to Iowa to live out his days.  This is obviously incorrect, because the four children who were born before 1845 were born in Ohio.  The first child recorded as being born in Iowa was in May 1845. 

Most of this information is in James Tannehill’s book and although I have added detail to the line, in essence it is the same.  I believe from the way he wrote his book that he got a lot of his information from the archives in Washington D. C. and from letters that he wrote to Tannehill families all over the United States. (You might have noticed that I spell the name differently from John Lyons Tannahill down…that is because that is the way our family has always spelled it)  I believe that James Tannehill is right on the line and I suspect that he got his information from Charlotte Tannahill Bucey or her adopted sons.  Charlotte was the last living Tannahill sibling and she died in 1934.  So, if that is where he got the information, I’m sure that is correct according to the best information that he had available.  However, I’ve yet to find anything that helps me confirm anything for several reasons.

• John Lyons Tannahill died in 1873 in Jonesburg, KS and there are no death records available until after 1904.
• While I have a death record for Mary “Polly” Fillinger Tannahill, there is no listing of either her parents or her husband’s name.
• Because of Iowa laws, I can’t get a copy of Charlotte Tannahill Bucey’s official death record because I am not a direct descendant.  The copy that I obtained from the local archive doesn’t give me any information on her lineage.

So, although the James B. Tannehill’s book is a marvelous resource, it has been a source of frustration.  Although I keep trying to find information that proves my line of Tannahills – I feel as if I am chipping away at a brick wall.  Perhaps someday, I will find the magic piece of information that blows that brick wall away.  I’ve been searching for almost 15 years…so hopefully my persistence will pay off.

Revolutionary War Veterans

Seeing that it is Veteran’s Day on Friday…I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some of my ancestors who were Veterans.  On my father’s side there are several mostly from the New England/New York area and Virginia:

·         Probably my oldest American Veteran who fought on American soil was my 9^th great grandfather, John Gallup.  He died storming the fort in the Great Swamp fight at Narragansett on 19 Dec 1675.  He was buried in a mass grave alongside his soldiers.
·         His son John Gallup b. 1646 was also with him at the battle but survived.   (8^th great grandfather)
·         Col. Nathan Gallup fought in the Revolutionary War.  (6^th great grandfather)
·         John Macomber fought on the Massachusetts line despite being a Quaker. (6^th great grandfather)
·         Abel Willey – fought in the a company from Plymouth to reinforce Ft. Ticonderoga (5^th great grandfather)
·         Asa Wheelock served in Ebenezer Learned’s regiment during the Lexington Alarm of 19 Apr 1775. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Edward Montanye fought in Captain Ten Eyck’s Company in the New Jersey militia. (6^th great grandfather)
·          Abraham Pitzenberger served as Private in Michael Reader's Co., from Virginia. (6^th great grandfather)

My mother’s family were pretty well entrenched in the south for the most part and the majority of her Revolutionary ancestors fought in the Battle of King’s Mountain in North Carolina.

·        James Tannehill served as a private on the Maryland line and spent a lot of his time as POW in the Revolutionary War. (4^th great grandfather)
·         Isaac Harrington served in NY under Captain Jonathan Hallett. (5^th great grandfather)
·         William Harrington in the 6^th & 10^th Berkshire Co., of Massachusetts. (6^th great grandfather)
·         David Allen, who was Adoniram’s father also fought in the Revolutionary war at the Battle of Moores Creek despite being in his late 60’s.  (6^th great grandfather)
·         Julius Ceasar Robertson fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Point Pleasant. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Roderick Shelton also fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. (5^th great grandfather)
·         William Dollar fought in the NC militia and was also involved in the Battle of King’s Mountain. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Adoniram “Teges” Allen served as a Captain in the South Carolina Partisan rangers in the battle of King’s Mountain.  (5^th great grandfather)

The likelihood is that there are probably several more that were Revolutionary War ancestors or veterans of the early wars from the 1600’s and 1700’s.  I must admit that one of my favorite ancestors that I have researched is Adoniram “Teges” Allen.  The story goes that he was born in 1734 in New Hampshire near the Vermont border.  He immigrated south to North Carolina with his father David and fought in the Revolutionary War.  Adoniram was recorded in Georgia and South Carolina before he decided at the age of 72 to make yet another move – to Clay Co., KY.  He built a water-powered saw and grist mill in 1807 on the south fork of the Kentucky River. He was nicknamed “Teges” which was shortened from “Tedious” which was known by, because he was so particular.  If you look at a map of Kentucky today, you will find a Teges river, which was named for Adoniram Allen.  He lived to the age of 104 and died in 1838…having retired only a few years before. I have heard that Adoniram Allen was closely related to Ethan Allen, of the Green Mountain Boys.  I always thought that the tie in was with Allen side…a few years ago, I discovered that they Adoniram & Ethan weren’t related through the Allen side but rather through their mothers – who were sisters. 

I’m sure that there are probably a few more Revolutionary War Veterans in my family that I do not yet know about.  I’ve studied history for most of my life.  I have always tried to imagine the difficulties that a Revolutionary Veteran faced – by fighting for the colonies – the choices that they made helped build our nation.  I’m proud of their sacrifice and those of their families.  They fought for the idea of the United States of America and defeated the superpower, the British Empire.  What a proud heritage that we have as Americans!