After months of research, I can finally say with certainty that Martin Trantham’s wife was the great granddaughter of Pocahontas.

Wouldn’t that make for a great opening sentence?

A few hearts were broken and tears were shed at our last family reunion when I revealed my DNA showed no traces of Native American ancestors. Neither did my father’s or his 1st cousin’s. But does that rule out the possibility that Pocahontas was our ancestor as our grandparents claimed? Not by a long shot.

First, Pocahontas lived quite a long time ago. Since we inherit half of our DNA from each parent, by the time it travels seven or eight generations downstream the chances that we might still carry any of it are slim. Second, historical records can also support the notion in the absence of DNA. DNA is better naturally, but at some point the odds are against us.

Thumbing through one of the many genealogy book catalogs I picked up in Raleigh, I learned that the descendants of Pocahontas are well-documented. Pocahontas’ Descendants, Third Corrections and Additions contains the names of 6,500 known descendants spanning 7 generations! That’s either a lot of cousins or a lot of strangers, or both.

I’ve ordered the book from Amazon. While my turkey is overcooking and my stuffing stove-topping, I’ll be scanning each page looking for my name.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Please, please, please let my name be listed!
Common ancestors: C’mon, let’s not push it!

Befuddled. That was my situation six months ago when I discovered a second Duewel family living near Warren County, Missouri about the same time as my Duewel ancestors. Countless hours were spent trying to figure out how the two families might be related to no avail. Fortuitously, one of the descendants from the other family wrote a book about his ancestors’ first 100 years in America. Surely this would explain everything! I located the book on microfilm and scoured through every page hoping to find a reference to my ancestors. Not one mention. Horseplop! Later, I had high hopes my researcher in Germany might connect the dots but that didn’t happen either. Das ist nicht sehr gut!

If there is a relationship between the two Duewel families (and of course there is) it goes back quite a bit and it may not be solvable.

So you can my imagine my surprise when I came across a Duewel descendant from the other family hanging out with the Winters in my family tree. Wesley Duewel, my 3rd cousin, 2x removed, is a prolific author and well-known spiritual leader. Twenty-five of the seventy years he’s been tending to the spiritual needs of others were spent in India according to his publisher’s website. Now, I am very fond of my Indian friends but I spent about 25 days in India and concluded that I loved American bathrooms more than life itself. Twenty-five years in India is impressive.

Not exactly how I imagined connecting with the other Duewels, but I’ll take it.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 3rd cousin, 2x removed
Common ancestors: Wesley’s father was a Duewel but his mother sprang from the Winters; Wesley’s 2nd great grandparents, Anton and Catharina (Bracht) Winter, are my 4th great grandparents

References:
http://www.faithgateway.com/author/wesley-duewel/

A week of research in Warren County, Missouri enabled me to answer many of the questions I had about the last few years in the life of my 3rd great grandfather, Fritz Duewel. One of the new things I learned, however, was difficult for me to understand: Fritz never owned any land. I know this because I painstaking examined every deed book from 1845 through 1880 and his name was nowhere to be found. It was only after his death about 1876 that his wife, Catherine, purchased the land they had farmed for more than 25 years. I struggled with this a bit, even questioning whether I had thoroughly searched through every possible record. He left no will either that I could find, confirming somewhat that he owned nothing of great value. How utterly perplexing!

My interest in genealogy began with a DNA test. But my obsession began with the Duewels. I needed to understand why my mother, who had amassed two volumes of family history, had left the Duewels pretty much untouched. The answer is, of course, that the information on them was sparse and required me to live in a courthouse for a few days digging for information. Plus, there’s the pesky last name and its multiple spelling variations. These folks were boogers to track down but I managed.

At this point, the only place that might have any additional information on Fritz and Catherine was Germany. I was fortunate earlier on to find a record of their marriage online so I knew the village of Bockhorst was my best hope.

But I am obsessed, not clinically insane. I don’t speak or read German so traveling to Germany to research people who lived 200 years ago seemed risky and a bit extreme even for me. So, I hired a professional researcher in Germany. I cannot do this for every German ancestor in my family tree; but, having come so far with the Duewels in America I could not pass up the opportunity to learn more about them if there was something to be learned. And, boy did I.

Johann Friedrich Düwel was born October 19, 1808 to parents Friedrich Wilhelm Düwel and Marie Elisabeth Brune. My researcher, Dr. Volker Jarren, explained that Fritz was born into a social class known as “Heuerlinge”. This is actually captured in the church records. According to Dr. Jarren, the “Heuerling” were poor farmers who lived as tenants on land they leased from others. To survive during the winter months, they maintained secondary occupations. Fritz’s father, for example, was also a “linen weaver”.

So the fact that Fritz never owned land is not so strange after all.

Dr. Jarren’s report is six pages long and filled with information that causes me to salivate just thinking about what else I might be able to learn about my other German ancestors. His rates were very reasonable. In fact, considering the price of a plane ticket, it was a wunderbargain to be sure!

Dear Santa….

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 3rd great grandfather
Common ancestors: Johann Friedirch “Fritz” Düwel’s parents, Friedrich Wilhelm and Marie Elisabeth (Brune) Düwel, are my 4th great grandparents

My (Grand) Uncle “Sonny” tells the delightful tale of how a misunderstanding lead to the unusual combination of his first and middle names. Most assuredly, when my great grandfather told the doctor’s assistant to (just) give his tenth child the doctor’s name for a first name, he meant he should be given the doctor’s first name. (Or did he?) In great grandpa’s defense, I can imagine naming ten children was probably a bit of a daunting task. After all, the child would have to live with that decision for the rest of his or her life. And if you’d already used up all of your favorites, what’s a parent to do? Let someone else name him, of course. (I am not saying that is what happened, Uncle Sonny. I am just supposing.)

I suspect my 1st cousin, 4x removed, Legal Tender Deason, wished he’d been named after a doctor because he was born on the day his parents ran out of names. That day was August 6, 1885. In all seriousness, there is probably a very interesting story behind his name but it’s likely lost to the ages. Legal, who sometimes appears simply as “L.T.”, was the son of James and Mary (Almond) Deason. Born in Weakley County, Tennessee, he married Elizabeth Summers in 1910.

However he came by that name he thought enough of it to pass it on to his youngest son, Legal Tender Deason, Jr. I know from Legal Sr.’s death certificate that he was a “telephone operator” by trade. Secretly, I had hoped he might have a been a bank teller or cashier. His story is a tragic one for sure. He died from liver cancer at the age of 44, leaving behind a wife and six children. Little Legal never reached adulthood, dying at the age of three.

Legal must have liked having an unusual name. He continued the tradition giving three of his other sons the names Bernice, Dalton and Haron. I can’t speak for Dalton and Haron, but I am guessing Bernice might have been given some grief growing up. (Count yourself lucky, Uncle Sonny. You could have been Bernice Wendell.)

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 1st cousin, 4x removed
Common ancestors: Legal’s grandparents, John R. and Lydia (Turbeville) Deason, are my 4th great grandparents

The path leading to John R. Deason‘s parents is strewn with circumstantial evidence and 30+ DNA cousins who seem to all be pointing in the same direction. While I would prefer an irrefutable “smoking gun” proving what I am about to put forth, one doth not yet exist. Nevertheless, it appears that the most likely and logical candidates for John’s parents are William Deason and Elizabeth Rushing.

Lets take the evidence for a stroll:

1. William’s last name is Deason which is the same as John’s. Okay, this is a bit lame but if I had suggested Mortimer Schmidt was his father you’d have thought I had lost it.

2. William and Elizabeth’s marriage was the 2nd for both of them. Research from other Deason-trackers indicates they had tied the knot by 1809. Fine. John was born about 1810 according to the 1850 and 1870 censuses. The 1860 census says 1809. Had they said anything earlier than this, William and Elizabeth would not be good candidates.

3. Elizabeth and her first husband were married in Anson County, North Carolina. The Deasons hailed from North Carolina and it is here that John was born according to all three censuses.

4. William and Elizabeth did have a son called “Jack” which, as you know, is a common nickname for John. Just because they had a son named John, however, doesn’t mean he’s my John.(William had two sons named John – one from each wife. Who does he think he is… Martin Trantham?)

5. John’s middle initial is “R”. While it most likely stood for “Rushing” there is no evidence to support this. HOWEVER, John’s grandson by his son Thomas was named “Henry Rushing Deason”. This appears on his World War I draft card. The name “Rushing” obviously meant something to Thomas and his wife Vandalia who was not a Rushing.

6. John’s firstborn child was named “Alzada Elizabeth” – perhaps she was named for his mother. It’s a stretch I realize but…

7. John also had a son named “William”. Why does this matter? None of John’s male children bore the names of the other possible Deason candidates who might have been his papa: Abraham, Enoch and Joel.

8. DNA, DNA, DNA. As I mentioned, DNA seems to indicate strongly that there is a “Rushing” in my family tree. (Same goes for my dad and aunt.) It is most certainly on the Trantham side.

9. Ah, the icing on my circumstantial cake. The closest thing I have to a smoking gun is my DNA cousin “KChudley529”. I love her. I adore her. I’ve never met her but her existence on this planet makes me giddy. She is a descendant of Elizabeth Rushing and her first husband, James Lytle. Both of us inherited DNA it would seem from Elizabeth only.

I am still holding out hope that buried somewhere in the annals of some courthouse in Tennessee or North Carolina is a document that will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that John’s parents were William and Elizabeth. But I am not holding my breath. This will have to do for now.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 4th great grandfather
Common ancestors: “Evidence” and DNA strongly suggest that William and Elizabeth (Rushing) Deason are my 5th great grandparents and John’s parents

So I am passing through Raleigh, North Carolina airport security this morning and the TSA agent looks at my ID and says: “We have a James Trantham who works here. Are you related?”

“Yes.”

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Distant Cousin
Common ancestor: Martin Trantham who came to North Carolina before 1755

Presidents, governors, lieutenant governors, city council-people, animal control controllers. I feel a bit obliged to recognize my cousins who served in a public office. One such individual was Thomas Ward Veazey, my 3rd cousin, 6x removed.

Thomas was the governor of Maryland from 1836 to 1839. He was the last governor who was not elected by the people – the legislature put him in office three years in a row. Thomas was a popular chap and with good reason. He entered politics in 1808 but left it to take up arms as a lieutenant colonel in Maryland’s 49th regiment during the War of 1812.  Severely outnumbered and outgunned, Thomas is remembered for having put up a good fight in defense of Fredericktown, Maryland in 1813. Reportedly, the 35 militia men under his command held off the invading British forces for 45 minutes. (46 minutes into the battle they retreated.)

Thomas had three wives – one of whom was his 3rd cousin – and eleven children. He died in 1842 and was buried in the family cemetery at Cherry Grove. As governor he was considered progressive except in one area: Thomas was an adamant supporter of slavery. Boooo, Thomas!

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 3rd cousin, 6x removed
Common ancestors: Thomas Ward Veazey’s 2nd great grandparents, John and Mary (Broccus) Veazey, are my 8th great grandparents

References:
Davis, A. V. (1995). Descendants of John Veazey. Zebulon, North Carolina: Veazey Family Association
Quesenberry, E. L. (2013, April 27). Thomas Ward Veazey: Cecil’s Whig governor & hero of Fredericktown. Cecil Whig. Retrieved from http://www.cecildaily.com/
http://www.nga.org

Note: the complete title of Ann’s book, as it appears on the title page, is: Descendants of John Veazey of “Cherry Grove” Cecil County, Maryland

George W. Bush, my half 8th cousin, 1x removed, and his father account for two of the three presidents who appear in my family tree.

The third is Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States. Genealogically speaking, he is most likely my 4th cousin, 6x removed – give or take a generation. To get to Cousin Martin, or Marty, as I like to call him, you have to shimmy up one branch, leap across a bit of a chasm and then slide down another branch.

Here we go…

My 5th great grandmother was Sarah (Quackenbush) Holladay. Her father was Peter Quackenbush of North Carolina and her mother was anybody’s guess. (Thankfully, Peter’s will is intact – in it he identifies Sarah Holladay as his daughter!)

The Quackenbush family in America originated in New Netherland (later New York) when Pieter Quackenbosch the Immigrant arrived from Holland in 1653. At some point, his descendant and my ancestor, Peter, made his way to North Carolina. There’s been a bit a debate among researchers as to whether or not the Quackenbushes of North Carolina are related to the Quackenbosches of New York.

That debate pretty much ended when the DNA results came back – my father, my aunt and I all have multiple DNA-matched distant cousins who are descendants from BOTH branches. But, while it’s clear now that the two branches are related, no one really knows for sure the identity of Peter’s father and mother who presumably stayed behind in New York while he ventured south to North Carolina. That problem existed before the DNA results came in. (An expert on the Quackenbushes identified the most likely candidate for Peter’s father which is how I was able to calculate that Cousin Marty is my 4th cousin, 6x removed. Even if he’s picked the wrong male Quackenbush as his father – and there are fewer than 10 to choose from – the number of generations between Peter and Pieter is likely accurate.)

Martin Van Buren is also a descendant of Pieter Quackenbosch. Pieter’s daughter, Maritje, married Marten Cornelissen Van Buren. Essentially, Cousin Marty and I were both Quackenbushwhacked.

Secretly, I am hoping that my 4th presidential cousin is Rutherford B. Hayes. Back in elementary school, I drew his name from a hat and had to write a paper about him. Trust me. His middle initial stands for “Boring”. Perhaps if we’re related it might make that arduous essay I had to write about him worthwhile.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 4th cousin, 6x removed
Common ancestors: Martin’s 3rd great grandfather, Pieter Quackenbosch, is my 9th great grandfather

Reference:
Andrew. A. S. Q. (1909). Quackenbush Family in Holland and America. Paterson, New Jersey: Quackenbush & Co.

Returning to the Eastern Shore of Maryland this morning, I ventured south to Dorchester County, having visited Cecil County on the northern end just a few weeks ago. The Fitzhugh, or Fitzchew, branch of my family tree was the purpose of the trip. Samuel Fitzhugh, my 6th great grandfather, was born in Dorchester County in 1765. His daughter, Polly, married James Turbeville in 1809. They would become the parents of Lydia Ann Turbeville, who married John R. Deason. Their daughter, Rebecca Deason, married Robert Floyd Trantham in 1855. Okay, moving on…

The Dorchester County Public Library in Cambridge, Maryland has in its collection Volumes 2 and 3 of The Fitzhugh Family of Dorchester County, Maryland 1684-1992. This three-volume set of genealogies was written by Harold Dean Davis, a distant cousin who lives in Benton, Arkansas. Unable to find his work, I tracked him down last week and he informed me that he’d donated a copy to the fine folks at the Dorchester County Public Library back in 1994. That makes sense. Because I had called the library ahead of my trip, I knew that Volume 1 was missing; so I was mentally prepared that I might walk away empty-handed. (Instead, I discovered Volumes 2 and 3 focus on nothing but the descendants of Samuel and his wife, Lydia (Hopkins) Fitzhugh. JACKPOT!)

When I arrived at the library, I asked the librarian for directions to Harold’s work. She informed me thusly that “the Fitzhughs are very big here in Dorchester County”.

“How big?” I asked. “Are we talking keys to the county big? I am, after all, a descendant of the Fitzhughs.”

She looked neither impressed nor amused as she led me to the correct section were the books were kept. Oh, well. Cousin Harold certainly did his homework! I have quite a bit of data to sort through but I was immediately drawn to a transcription of Samuel’s will from 1832. His daughter, Polly, and son-in-law, James Turbeville are noticeably absent from the will.

This was not a surprise to me. If you borrow money from your father-in-law, Samuel Fitzhugh, you must pay him back. Or, he will publicly chastise you. Under an advertisement labeled “CAUTION”, Samuel warned the readers of The Nashville Whig in October of 1820 against “trading” with James Turbeville who had not repaid him the forty dollars he was owed. Ouch. I am guessing there was some bad blood, so to speak, between the two of them.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 6th great grandfather
Common ancestors: Samuel is the son of John Fitzhugh, or Fitzchew, and his wife, Mary Busick, my 7th great grandparents

References:
Davis, H. D. (1993). The Fitzhugh Family of Dorchester County, Maryland 1684-1992. (Volumes 2 and 3). Benton, Arkansas: publisher unknown.
The Nashville Whig. (1820 October 24).