As crusades go, this may be a lost cause. I am determined to find historical evidence proving that the Martin “Frentham” who arrived in Natchez, Mississippi in 1788 was Martin Trantham, Jr., my 6th great grandfather. And that the Robert “Trentham”, who not only appeared but stayed, was Martin’s son. The “Holy Grail” of evidence is an affidavit filed by “the widow of Martin Trantham” sometime after 1810. In it, she documented her rightful claim to 640 acres of land situated along the Mississippi River. According to her, this land had been “granted” to her now-deceased husband, Martin Trantham, by the Spanish governor himself. (640 acres isn’t random – it was the amount of land awarded to privates who fought in the American Revolution – but why was the Spanish governor involved?? That’s another mystery.)

I know of the affidavit because it is mentioned in a report prepared for Congress. When the United States gained control of this area, it must have been quite a mess sorting out who owned what considering Britain, Spain and France ruled these lands at one point or another. Unfortunately, lots of folks tried to take advantage of this situation and filed fraudulent land claims. Many of these documents survived. And so, I packed my backpack with research knickknacks and headed off to that venerable temple of American historical Congressional documents – the National Archives. I had already done my homework on their website and identified several collections of historic materials dealing with early land claims from “Eastern Louisiana”. Would I be so lucky as to find the widow’s affidavit tucked away in one of these collections? (No.)

Armed with a stack of printouts from the website, I made my way to the Archive’s ornate research room and waited as runners pulled the various collections which I hoped contained my prize. (They didn’t.)

Now, as quests go, this one was a bust. The affidavit was not to be found. Most of the documents in these collections were letters and reports sent to Washington, D.C. by those charged with sorting through the fraudulent land claims to find the factual ones. The affidavit was likely received in the Natchez District where the reports were prepared. Thus, it never found its way to the Archives in D.C.

As a consolation prize, I did find, however, the entry for Robert Trentham’s 425 acres captured in a 200-year-old ledger. His land claim was confirmed while the widow’s was rejected. The mystery of Robert’s parentage remains a mystery, though, as does Martin Trantham’s excursion into Mississippi. As I was wrapping up my research at the Archives, my “deskmate”, who was researching Civil War pensions, suggested a trip to old Mississippi or Madrid might be in order. After all, it was the Spanish governor in Mississippi who granted Martin Trantham the land in the first place. Maybe he’s on to something!

Below are pictures I took of the ledger containing Robert Trentham’s entry. They don’t make books like this anymore! Robert’s entry is at the top. At the far right, you’ll note it says “Confirmed”.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 6th great grandfather
Common ancestors: Martin’s father was also named Martin Trantham, my 7th great grandfather

I am auditioning titles for my new book on Martin Trentham. This is one of my favorites. In what will surely become an unfinished project laced with self-inflicted bouts of lunacy, I’ve decided that I simply can’t take it any more. I’ve developed an obsession (thus the lunacy) of trying to set people straight on the topic of Martin Trentham – all four of them. I was not born with this obsession. I came about it honestly after prolonged exposure to misinformation on the Internet about the many Martins.

Here’s an example I stumbled upon just recently: “He (Martin Trentham) was born 1771 in Kershaw Co, South Carolina, and died Bef. Nov 1837 in Tipton Co., TN.”

First, there’s no evidence that this Martin Trentham was born in 1771. Nada. People’s ages didn’t start appearing in the census records until 1850 and he was most certainly dead by then. Furthermore, we know from Lewis Peach’s 1884 letter to the editor that it was this Martin Trentham – Lewis’ great grandfather and the subject of the sentence above – who fought in the American Revolution. But he wouldn’t have been 5 years old. That doesn’t make sense.

Second, Martin’s death date is not just wrong, it’s not even his. The author references as evidence a court document from Tipton County, Tennessee in which Henry Trentham was named the administrator of Martin’s will.

Wrongo.

The person who wrote this sentence got it backwards. MARTIN posted a bond on November 6, 1837 to become the administrator of HENRY’s will. It was Henry who died before November 1837, not Martin. Had she turned the page, the misinformed writer would have seen Martin listed with two other witnesses and Martin’s “seal” next to his name. Sigh. The lemmings have copied this misinformation into their family trees and think it’s correct. It’s not. Martin Trentham was very much alive on November 6, 1837.

And so I’ve decided to compile every known historic appearance of the four men named Martin Trentham into a single, well-referenced and comprehensive tome to try to set the record straight. The Library of Congress will most assuredly see the importance of this work and will accept it readily. Besides, it’s not like I needed more work to do what with work, this blog and genealogy – but someone’s got to make sense of it all.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grandfathers named Martin Trentham
Common ancestor: the 9th

Alas, misfortune found its way to me as I tried to find a familial tie to Fortescue Turbeville who died under mysterious circumstances in South Carolina circa 1710. He may be related but he is not my ancestor.

There are two genealogical research principles I learned early on and I ignored both of them. Don’t skip generations and try to connect the dots to someone who might be your ancestor; and, always search for research done by others. In my defense, since my Turbevllle ancestors owned land in South Carolina not far from land purchased forty or so years earlier by Fortescue, I thought it was a safe bet that he might have been their ancestor and mine. Not so. It appears to have been an un-fortuitous fluke.

The Turbevilles of South Carolina, my ancestors, came from Virginia. I didn’t want to entertain the idea at first because I was fixated on Fortescue. But that all unraveled this weekend when I kept finding connections to Virginia. And so I stopped researching Fortescue and started searching for research done by others on the Turbeville family of Virginia. Good grief.

I realized my Fortescue fixation was a folly when I discovered that Francis Turbeville (a 9x great uncle) assigned power of attorney rights over land he had been granted in South Carolina from his residence in Brunswick County, Virginia. That happened in 1740. And then in 1805, my 7th great grandfather, James Turbeville, his mother, Rutha, and his siblings filed a deed for land they sold in South Carolina in the courthouse of the same Brunswick County, Virginia where Francis lived. Duh.

It didn’t take me long to realize the Turbevilles left their fingerprints all over Virginia. This is uncharted territory for me. And so, I must bid adieu to poor Fortescue of South Carolina and turn my attention northward.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Turbo-charged
Common ancestor: the chances that Fortescue is not a relative are very slim given the last name. We’ll see.

Having picked the low-hanging fruit from my family tree, I am now faced with doing the kind of genealogical research that could easily and understandably take someone 30 years. Armed with enough Diet Dr. Pepper to choke a horse, I decided to buckle down this weekend and tackle one of the tougher items on my Trantham “to do” list.

The first item is to figure out how Henry Trantham and his descendants fit into my family tree. Right now, his branch is orphaned and not connected. It is très sad. About a year ago, I became aware through social media that my 2nd cousin, 1x removed (a Trantham descendant) was friends with a woman whose last name is Trantham. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I wanted to see if I could connect the dots between her family and mine. And I successfully traced her lineage back to Henry Trantham, her great grandfather. Henry’s son, Lonnie, died in Missouri after 1910 which means his death certificate is available online. It is from this document that I discovered the name of Henry’s wife: Mary Coleman. (Thank you, State of Missouri, for this genealogical goldmine.) Now, I could have easily stopped here – after all, there are lots of Tranthams out there and it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to connect all of us. But, Henry became relevant when I learned that he and Mary were married in Williamson County, Tennessee in 1851. After Weakley County, Williamson County is “Tranthamecca”. Martin Trantham, my 5th great grandfather, uprooted his family in South Carolina and moved them to Williamson County sometime shortly after or before 1800. It is in Williamson County where many of Martin’s children were married. 

Since Henry was born about 1823 there are a couple of plausible scenarios – he is either Martin’s grandson or Martin’s son by his second and much-younger wife, Rachel. But how to prove either one?

And so, this weekend I began the arduous task of scanning courthouse documents from Williamson County and its surrounding counties in search of evidence that might link Martin and Henry. I would like to report that I have solved this mystery but alas, I cannot. This is going to take time. But I can report that I found evidence linking Martin and a Henry Trantham who is NOT the Henry I am after. In 1837, Martin posted a bond in Tipton County, Tennessee as the administrator of the will of Henry Trantham,deceased. Zoinks! Perhaps the first plausible scenario just became a bit more plausible and this Henry was the father of the Henry I am researching.

Time will tell. Or it won’t. Either way, I have much work to do and I am out of Diet Dr. Pepper.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 4th great grand uncle OR 1st cousin, 5x removed
Common ancestor: Martin Trantham is a safe bet.

Lydia Turbeville, my 4th great grandmother who tried unsuccessfully to defraud the Army pension office in 1877, may have come by her penchant for dishonesty honestly.

Fortescue Turbeville, who died mysteriously in 1710, was most likely Lydia’s direct ancestor – at least this is what I am now trying to prove or disprove. Fortescue fortified his place in history when, as a member of the Proprietor’s Council, he cast his vote for fellow council member Richard Gibbes, giving him the governorship of South Carolina. Richard Gibbes’ opponent was Colonel Thomas Broughton. Shortly after Gibbes declared his victory, Fortescue died suddenly. After his death, it was discovered that Fortescue had originally voted for Broughton but had been bribed into changing his vote for Gibbes. Naturally, this revelation caused Gibbes and Broughton supporters to come to blows. Of course, one must wonder if Fortescue died suddenly of natural causes or whether he was murdered either to keep him quiet or for revenge.

Fraud, bribery, murder. For shame!

Genealogically speaking, I know that Lydia’s father was Captain James Turbeville who was born in South Caroline around 1790. His father was Willis Turbeville, who, like his son James, fought in the War of 1812. In 1790, Willis owned land in South Carolina as did his father James Richard Turbeville. From here the Turbeville line is a bit murky. Some researcher’s believe that our Turbeville line started in Virginia and then moved to South Carolina but they offer no documentation. Fortescue was a family man. Three of his children were born in England, the last being John in 1697. It’s possible that Fortescue brought his family with him when he came to America. He may have even had additional children after he arrived and these children may have stayed in South Carolina and begat more Turbevilles including Lydia’s ancestors.

Additional research is definitely required – who knows what fresh wickedness awaits me.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Murky at best
Common ancestors: Fortescue Turbeville might very well be my 7th or 8th great grandfather

References:
McCrady, E. (1897). The History of South Carolina Under the Proprietary Government 1670-1719. New York: The Macmillan Company.

William Barnett Sims, my 3rd great grandfather, lived and died in Weakley County, Tennessee. Most Sims Family researchers believe (as I do) that his father was Alexander Sims who died in Weakley County around 1860. Alexander’s parents, according to these same Sims researchers, are also known. Well, sort of.

From census records, we know that Alexander was born around 1773 in Virginia. His wife “Isabell” was living in his household in the 1850 census. Also captured in the 1850 census mortality schedule was the death of an “Elizabeth” Sims. Now some folks think that Elizabeth and Isabell were the same person but I am not convinced. Frankly, I am having a hard time understanding how she was both dead and alive when the census was taken. Oy.

Our Alexander Sims may the be the same Alexander Sims who married Elizabeth Jordan in Henrico County, Virginia in 1799. If that’s accurate, then Elizabeth might have been his 1st wife and Isabell his 2nd. In reality, folks didn’t mess around when it came to finding a new spouse in those days. Alexander may have been standing at the alter while they were still patting down the dirt on poor Elizabeth. But I digress.

As far as Alexander’s parents are concerned, most researchers have accepted that his father was Thomas Sims and his mother was Mary Nalle. And yet, I can’t find a shred of documented evidence to support this. Making matters worse is that before Thomas died he named a mess of children in his will and Alexander was not one of them. Perhaps he was disowned. Perhaps he’s named in the will under a different name. Who knows?

Why, then, do so many Sims researchers believe his parents were Thomas and Mary? I don’t know but I think they are right. As my geneticist distant cousin put it: DNA does not lie. My father (and I) and his sister have too many DNA matches who are descendants of Mary Nalle’s close relatives for it not to be true. I examined every Nalle DNA match we have on Ancestry.com and organized the data in the table below. In the first column, you’ll find the relative or suspected relative of Mary Nalle as well as the name of his or her spouse – all of them lived in Virginia about the same time. The columns to the right contain the number of unique Nalle descendants who share DNA with either my father, my aunt, or both of them.

As an example, Winifred Nalle in the second row was Mary Nalle’s aunt. Twelve people who share DNA with my father (3), my aunt (6) or both of them (3) are descendants of Winifred Nalle and her husband Thomas Dillard.

You’ll likely notice that I’ve highlighted two rows in gray. Both Elizabeth and Agatha Nalle also married men whose last name was Sims – we might have to toss them because the shared DNA might be Sims DNA.

In any event, thirty-three unique individuals who are Nalle descendants share DNA with my father and his sister. That’s pretty compelling. So perhaps Thomas Sims and Mary Nalle were Alexander’s parents after all. But DNA technology is a modern phenomenon. There must be a reason why Thomas and Mary (Nalle) Sims made sense as Alexander’s parents before the event of DNA matches. Apparently, I just haven’t stumbled across it yet. The research continues…

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 3rd great grandfather
Common ancestors: William’s parents were Alexander and Elizabell (presumably Jordan) Sims, my 4th great grandparents

Today is Father’s Day. Although I have many male ancestors I could be writing about, I decided instead to focus on a man who is not related to me (that I know of) but of whose existence I am reminded every time I fill out an application requiring my full legal name. This man’s name was Basil Mayo and he was a medical doctor who lived and worked in Weakley County, Tennessee. My paternal grandfather – Basil Mayo Trantham – was undoubtedly named after him. And, as I inherited my grandfather’s first name “Basil” as my middle name, I am also named after Dr. Mayo sorta kinda.

As followers of this blog know, my great grandfather liked naming his children after doctors. Dr. Mayo must have made a lasting impression on him because he could not have delivered my grandfather. The family had already moved to Texas when he was born and Dr. Mayo was still practicing in Dresden, Tennessee at the time. Perhaps he delivered one of my grandfather’s older siblings who was born in Tennessee. I know not.

In any event, I decided to research the man after whom my grandfather was named.

Dr. Basil Sylvester Mayo was born April 11, 1883 to parents (The Reverend) George Thomas and Ella Savannah (McWherter) Mayo. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army during World War I and received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee. He married Daye Hillis in 1915. Together they had three children including a son named Thomas who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a medical doctor. Thomas in turn named one of his sons Basil – he is still living. (For the life of me I cannot figure out why the voice messages I’ve left him have not been returned. Clearly, he does not follow my blog.)

Dr. Mayo’s name pops up here and there in Tennessee newspapers of the time. He helped amputate a man’s foot at the man’s home. Ouch. Visitors traveled to see Dr. Mayo in Dresden and on one occasion Dr. Mayo traveled to Chicago. These were slow news days for sure. But I discovered that Dr. Mayo was a bit of a performer – now I see the “family” resemblance. In 1896 the future “Dr.” Mayo sang the role of Sylvan the wood nymph in the operetta “Eulalla”. (Never heard of it.)  His performance was heard during part one of the closing ceremonies of the Dresden Academy that year. In part two of the ceremonies, he sang a lullaby. While in college, Dr. Mayo recited poetry competitively.

Dr. Mayo died April 19, 1957. He was buried in Dresden, Tennessee.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: namesake
Common ancestors: none that I know of

References:
Dresden Academy: Splendid Closing of the Academy Wednesday Evening. (1896, June 6). Nashville: The Tennessean, p. 8. Retrieved from newspapers.com.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=62072245
Martin (news). (1915, July 11). Nashville: The Tennessean, p. 22. Retrieved from newspapers.com.
Mrs. G. T. Mayo. (1934, March 27). Nashville: The Tennessean, p. 4. Retrieved from newspapers.com.
Spring Hill, Tennessee (news) (1901, June 7). Nashville: The Tennessean, p. 3. Retrieved from newspapers.com.