DNA strongly indicates there’s a relationship between descendants of Henry Cato and his wife, Tabitha, and descendants of my 5th great grandparents, Martin Trantham and his wife, Massey. (The latter is a brick wall.) Henry and Tabitha lived in Lancaster County, South Carolina prior to 1800. Lancaster County sits next to Kershaw County, where Martin and Massey were living prior to 1810.

The tricky part of unravelling DNA connections to Henry and Tabitha is that their daughter, Hester, married a Deason, and Deason DNA is already “in the mix” so to speak from my 3rd great grandmother, Rebecca (Deason) Trantham. But, Henry and Tabitha had other children who did not marry Deasons and my dad shares DNA with their descendants as well.

I am faced with trying to identify Massey’s parents and am intrigued with the possibility that Henry, born about 1740, and Tabitha might have been her parents. There are couple of things beyond DNA that are compelling about Tabitha.

1. “Massey” – not all researchers agree on this but many believe Tabitha’s maiden name was “Massey.” Was this the origin of Massey Trantham’s name? (A lot of folks have her incorrect in their Ancestry trees as “Elizabeth Massey.” “Massey” was her first name; “Massey Trantham” is how her name appeared in court records when she relinquished her right of dower on land she and her husband sold before leaving South Carolina.)
2. “Tabitha” – family names are often carried forward by descendants. “Tabitha” is not exactly a common name even during that time period, certainly not as common as “Mary,” “Ann,” or “Jane.” Jesse Trantham, my 4th great grandfather, named a a daughter Tabitha Trantham! Was she named after his grandmother, Tabitha Cato?
   

Time and more research may answer both questions. The search continues.

Kenfolk: Trantham
Relationship: 5th great grandparents
Common ancestors: uhm, maybe Henry and Tabitha?