DNA Match leads to 3rd Great’s

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Don Taylor

Autosomal DNA
Brown/Manning/Fannin Line

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.On 23 and Me, I contacted a cousin I’ll call “JK.” The individual shared 1.34% of his DNA with my mother and .77% of his DNA with me. He also shared .91% of his DNA with my Aunt Barbara.  Because of the match with Aunt Barbara, the match is on my mother’s father’s (Dick Brown) line and the amount of DNA suggested a second to third cousin with my mother.

JK responded to my inquiry after a few months and indicated that he had been adopted and that his mother was Elizabeth Fannin. He also provided a link to his mother’s obituary.  I immediately became excited. My 2nd great grandmother was Eliza Jane Fannin and I don’t know much about her. Fannin is a popular name in Kentucky and because Eliza could easily be Elizabeth, I hadn’t been able to identify Eliza Jane’s parents.  Could I find the common ancestor between JK and me that would lead to new discoveries?

The obituary for Elizabeth Fannin showed her father was Mason Fannin.[i] I was a little concerned because Mason Fannin was born in West Virginia and my Eliza Jane Fannin was born in Kentucky, but I continued on. The 1930 Census confirmed the Mason Fannin family with his wife and several of the children mentioned in the obituary.[ii]  More importantly, Mason’s parents were born in Kentucky.  I appeared to be on the right trail.

Photo of Andrew Jackson "Jack" Fannin

Andrew Jackson “Jack” Fannin

Next, I was able to find Mason Fannin’s parents in West Virginia Births. His parents were Jack Fannin and Susan McKnight.[iii]

Family Search quickly show me that Jack Fannin was Rev. Andrew Jackson Fannin (1863-1952)  (Family Search ID L2DN-DKR). It also showed that Rev. Andrew Jackson Fannin had a sister, Eliza Fannin born 1856. Their (Jack & Eliza) parents were [unknown] Fannin and Cynthia Ann Bare.

 

Chart of relationships

JK Individual
Elizabeth Fannin Parent
Mason Fannin Grandparent
Andrew Jackson Fannin Great-grandparent
[Unknown & Cynthia Ann Bare 2nd Great-grandparents

 

[Unknown] & Cynthia Ann Bare 2nd Great-grandparents
Eliza Jane Fannin Great-grandmother
Mary Elizabeth Manning Grandmother
Richard “Dick” Brown Parent
My mother Individual

So, if [Unknown] and Cynthia Ann (Bare) Fannin are the common ancestors between JK and my mother they would be 3rd cousins. That fits the range of shared expected DNA for both my mother and her half-sister, Aunt Barbara. JK would also be a 3rd cousin once removed to me fitting the shared DNA that JK and I share[iv].

Family Search also indicates that Andrew Jackson and Eliza Jane Fannin had four other siblings, providing a wealth of clues and leads.

Do I know for certain that this Eliza Fannin is my Eliza Jane Fannin?  No, but the evidence is compelling enough to sketch in the relationship and continue researching the family.  If I find something inconsistent with my known history for Eliza Jane I’ll reconsider and relook at the relationship, however, I have confidence that I’ve broken through a small wall and puts Eliza’s parents next in my Brown Research.

Endnotes

[i] News Herald, Files (Personal), Betty J. [Fannin] DeMark  POSTED: 04/13/10, 12:01 AM EDT. https://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20100413/betty-j-demark.
[ii] 1930 Census (NARA), Ancestry.Com, Mason Fannin – West Virginia Fayette Kanawha District 0024. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/1930usfedcen/99823152/printer-friendly.
[iii] West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, West Virginia Culture, Delayed Birth Certificate – Mason Fannin – Oct 18, 1885.jpg. FamilySearch : 4 December 2014), Mason Fannin, 18 Oct 1885; citing Caperton, Fayette, West Virginia, United States, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 1,992,467. https://(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X55N-NK3.
[iv] I use the DNA Geek’s DNA Detectives Autosomal Statistics Chart to predect relationships.  See: https://thednageek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DNA-Detectives-Autosomal-Statistics-Chart.png

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Fannin – Surname Saturday

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Name Origin

Fannin is an Irish surname. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name “O Fionnáin” meaning   ‘descendant of Fionnán’, a diminutive of Finn.[i] Forebears suggests it means “Descendant of the little, blond man; grandson of little Fionn (fair).”[ii]

Geographical

According to Ancestry, during the 1880 Census fully 1/3 of all Fannin families lived in Kentucky, which is where my only known Fannin ancestor, Eliza Jane Fannin, was born about 1860.

My Earliest Fannin Ancestors

Eliza Jane Fannin is my only known Fannin. The 1880 Census indicates she was 19 years old indicating birth between June 1860 and May 1861. She was the wife of John William Manning and they had one daughter, Mary, living with them in Pine Grove, Rowan County, Kentucky. According to oral history, she died in December 1882.

Further Fannin Research

I have been unsuccessful finding clear evidence of Eliza Jane Fannin’s ancestors through normal research methods. However, recently a DNA connection has been found who has Fannin ancestors in Kentucky in the 1860s.

My Direct Fannin Ancestors

#27 – Eliza Jane Fannin (1861-1882) – Generation 5

I have no proven Fannin cousins; however, I have encountered DNA evidence of possible Fannin relatives.

My records have 499 direct descendants of Eliza Jane identified over eight generations, which is 19% of my known Brown/Montran family line.

Today (2014) there are some 8,442 individuals with 7,158 in the United States with the Fannin surname.[iii]

Endnotes

[i] Ancestry – Fannin Family History – https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Fannin

[ii] Forebears – Fannin Surname Meaning and Statistics – https://forebears.io/surnames/fannin

[iii] Ibid.

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Donna Darling Collection – Part 12

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Don Taylor

Family Photos #1 – Russell, Donna, & Sammy

Treasure Chest Thursday

by Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.This week I took a look at ten photos from the Donna Darling Collection. Unfortunately, three of the photos were blurry or otherwise unusable. Of the remaining seven photos, five included uncle Russ as a child. One showed Russell and Donna and one showed Russ with Sammy.  One photo showed all three. There were also two additional photos of Donna but both were family type photos and not part of her vaudeville life.

Some of the photos were badly damaged but I was able to clean them up significantly. For each of the photos, I have:

  • Original scanned image.
  • Original cropped image.
  • Edited PSD (Adobe Photoshop Elements) image
  • Edited JPG image

With each edited version of the photo, I added a caption.  I am certain about the individuals shown, however, the dates are by guess and by golly.

Names:

Sammy, Russell, & Donna at the Beach, circa 1928.

Sammy, Russell, & Donna at the Beach, circa 1928.

Donna was born Madonna Montran. She used Donna Montran in her early vaudeville days. She then used Donna Darling as her stage name. I don’t believe that she ever used the surname Amsterdam.  Sometime after 1935, Donna lived with a man named Russell Kees. Although I don’t believe that Donna and Russell were ever married, Donna and her two children, Russell and Sylvia began using the Kees surname.  Sammy was born Samson Amsterdam. He used the stage name of Sammy Clark for many years. If the names aren’t confusing to you, you are good.

I have uploaded the seven photos to Google Photos. The downloads from Google Photos are generally of sufficient quality to work for most situations.  However, if you need a higher quality image of any of the photos let me know and I’ll send you one.

 

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We’re Related – Fanning, Roosevelt, & Clemmens

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Don Taylor

We’re Related – A Third Look for my Wife

Famous Friday

by Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.It had been a while since I tried using “We’re Related,” so I thought I’d take another quick look at my wife’s closest matches. Among the latest matches is my wife’s closest match so far, a 4th cousin 3 times removed – Dakota Fanning.

There are still seven individuals who are supposed to be 9 degrees of separation cousins, but I decided to focus on Theodore Roosevelt (8th cousin once removed) and Samuel Langhorne Clemens (aka Mark Twain) a supposed 6th cousin 3 times removed.

Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning – Photo by Anthony Citrano

Hanna Dakota Fanning is an actress and model. She was born February 23, 1994, in Conyers, Georgia. At the age of eight, she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for her work in “I Am Sam.” She is also known for her roles in “Coraline” (2009), “War of the Worlds” (2005) and the role of Jane in “The Twilight Saga” movie series.

The relationship with Dakota Fanning follows my wife’s Howell line:

 

The relationship From Thomas Pankey to Dakota is:

  • Thomas A Pankey (c. 1760 – 1829)
  • Nancy Branch Pankey (1797-1865)
    (I wrote about Nancy Branch Pankey, the sister of Caroline M. A. Pankey, previously)
  • Nancy Jane Pankey (1831-1898)
  • John Alva Covington (1862-1907)
  • Neil Covington (1889-1976) (Note: Neil is a female.)
  • Assumed Living Arrington
  • Rick Arrington (From My Heritage)[i]
  • Heather Joy Arrington (from IMDb)[ii]
  • Dakota Fanning

My previous research indicated that Nancy Jane Panky probably married Joseph L. Covington on 23 April 1861 in Henry Virginia. Readily available on-line resources provided Dakota’s parents and grandparents names. I readily accept the Ancestry trees that make the link from Covington to Arrington and am quite certain that Dakota Fanning is a fourth cousin three times removed to my wife.

Theodore Roosevelt

President Theodore Roosevelt Photo by Pach Brothers

The 26th President of the United States was a driving force for the Progressive Era. Famous for establishing the US Forest Service, he proclaimed 18 national monuments and placed over a quarter of a million acres of land under public protection.

The relationship with Teddy Roosevelt follows my wife’s Darling line:

John Munsell and Lydia Way were identified as ancestors on the way to a common ancestor with Winston Churchill. Both are on my future ancestor research list. However, I am not comfortable with John Munsell being born in 1690. My research found Timothy Munsell’s father John Munsell born in 1702. The Munsell family lived in and around Lyme, New London County Connecticut and there were several John Munsells. That said, I believe the relationship with Theodore Roosevelt is still possible, but with 4 generations of uncertainty, I’m unconvinced.

Mark Twain

Mark Twain – Photo By A.F. Bradley, New York [ [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better known by his pen name of Mark Twain. His novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are among the greatest classics of American fiction.

You may have noticed that one tree suggests that Lydia Way was the mother of Timothy Munsell and the other tree suggests that Lydia Morrill was the mother of Timothy Munsell. There could be one Lydia who had two different surnames before she married a Munsell. However, there could also be two different Lydia’s one the mother of Timothy Munsell, one not

Again, researching the parents of Timothy Munsell is on my research plan. A relationship with Mark Twain is possible, but we are still 4 generations away from certainty. So, I’ll put the relationship with Mark Twain to be possible.

Conclusion

Yes, “We’re Related” is fun and can provide clear direction to famous cousins.  However, it can also provide questionable lineages. Its genealogical pathways should be taken as possible but never true without your own research to follow the tangled webs.

Endnotes

[i] Biographical Summaries of Notable People MyHeritage.com [online database]. Lehi, UT, USA: MyHeritage (USA) Inc. https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10182/biographical-summaries-of-notable-people  – Record: Heather Joy Arrington

[ii] IMDb – Entry for Dakota Fanning – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266824/bio

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Ancestor Bio – Nimrod Lister (c. 1826-c. 1900)

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Don Taylor

52 Ancestors – Week 187

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Nimrod, an Old Testament character who was the great-grandson of Noah, is a fairly unusual name, so I figured I’d be able to follow him easily – No such luck. I found him in the 1860 Census with the surname Lustre, in the 1870 and 1880 Censuses with the surname Lister, but have been unsuccessful finding him in either the 1850 Census or the 1900 Census. Here is what I have found so far.

Roberts-Brown 2017 – Ancestor #22

List of Grandparents

  • Paternal Grandmother: Essie Pansy Barnes
  • 1st Great-Grandmother: Maranda A. Lister
  • 2nd Great-Grandfather: Nimrod Lister
  • 3rd Great-Grandfather: ??William Lister ??

 

Nimrod Lister (c. 1826-c. 1900)

I am sure he was born in Ohio. Every record points to his Ohio birth.  However, every census record I have found him in suggests a different birth year.

  • 1860 Census – Age 34, Ohio – Suggests 1825-1826.
  • 1870 Census – Age 43, Ohio – Suggests 1826-1827.
  • 1880 Census – Age 55, Ohio – Suggests 1824-1825.

I have settled upon “circa 1826” as his birth year.

Childhood

One researcher suggests he is the oldest of four children and his siblings were:

  • Sarah born c. 1831
  • William M. born c. 1836
  • James M. born c. 1840

I have not been successful in confirming any of these individuals as being Nimrod’s siblings.

Marriage

Nimrod’s marriage to Malinda Evans on 17 March 1854 is possibly the key to learning more about Nimrod’s earlier life.  It indicates that both Nimrod and Malinda were from Pickaway County, Ohio.  If we look at Pickaway County during the 1850s there were Lister/Lester families living there. we find a William who married a Leah Adkins. In 1850, 30-year-old Leah is living in the household of Barzilla Adkins with an apparent daughter Elizabeth Lester.  I suspect that sometime before 1850, Nimrod’s father, William, died. The widow, Leah, then moved in with a sibling and her mother.  I also suspect that the rest of the children were farmed out to several locations and may have been reported with different surnames than Lister.  This is still conjecture but fits what I am seeing. I need to do substantial research into the Lister’s of Pickaway County.

Adulthood

I believe Nimrod and Malinda had eight children. Namely:

Child                                      Born                         Where

  • James M Lister                 Bet. 1853-1855        Ohio.
  • Nancy A Lister                 Bet. 1855-1857         Ohio.
  • Charles C Lister               Bet. Dec 1859-May 1860     Indiana.
  • Eliza J Lister                     Abt. 1861                   Indiana.
  • Charlotte Lister               Abt. 1865                   Indiana.
  • Marada A Lister          27 Feb 1867           New Lebanon, Sullivan County, Indiana.
  • William Lemuel Lister   Bet. 1868-1870      Indiana.
  • Sarah F Lister                   Abt 1872                    Indiana

Discover Your Origins With Family Tree DNA
1860 – Nimrod is a farm laborer living in Turman Township, Sullivan County Indiana (Graysville Post Office).  With him is Malinda, and presumably three children of theirs, James, M, Nancy A, and Charles C. ages 6, 4, and 5/12 respectively.[i]

1870 – Nimrod is a farmer with real estate valued at $660.  Malinda is keeping house. Living with them are seven [of their] children. James M., Nancy A., Charles C., and Eliza J., were 15, 13, 10, and 8 respectively; they were all attending school. James is also working the farm. Additionally, Charlotte, Marandy A., and William L are at home and are ages 4, 3, and 1 respectively.[ii] (Sarah is born in 1872.)

1880 – Nimrod is still a farmer. He indicates that his father was born in Maryland and his mother was born in Pennsylvania. Living with him are his wife, two sons, James and William, and two daughters, Miranda and Sarah. 25-year-old James is a huxter who had been unemployed for 4 months. The three younger children all attended school.[iii]

Stories

According to Thomas J. Wolfe, in The History of Sullivan County, Indiana, pages 235 & 236, “Nimrod and Malinda (Evans) Lister, both natives of Ohio, who came to Sullivan county. They were married in Ohio, and came to this county in the autumn of 1859. The father [Nimrod presumably] worked in a woolen mill in his early life, but after moving to this county followed farming.”[iv]

Death

Thomas J. Wolfe also indicates that Nimrod and Malinda had died before his book, The History of Sullivan County, Indiana was published in 1909.[v] Likewise, it appears that Nimrod died in January, 1900, before the 1900 Census was taken but I haven’t been able to confirm it. There was a Nimrod Lester who born in Ohio in 1831, died in February 1900, and is buried in Tippecanoe County, however, none of the other “Lester” surnamed individuals are familiar to my Nimrod Lister. I believe this to be a different Nimrod.

Further Actions / Follow-up

  • Follow-up on all of Nimrod and Melinda’s children to find more about their lives.
  • Do a surname focused study of Lister/Lester/Leister/Lustre in Pickaway County, Ohio.

Endnotes:

[i] 1860 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, 1860 Census – Nimrod Lustre [Lister] – Turman Township, Sullivan, Indiana – Page 140, Line 36. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4NV-DFM.
[ii] 1870 Census (FS), Family Search, Nimrod Lister – Indiana, Sullivan, Turman, Page 12, Line 24. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX6Z-4N3.
[iii] 1880 Census (FS), Nimrod Lister – Indiana, Sullivan, Gill Township, ED 329, Page 5, Line 18. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHSF-ZKC.
[iv] Wolfe, Thomas J., History of Sullivan County, Indiana, A, Files (Personal), Pages 234-236. A history of Sullivan County, Indiana, closing of the first century’s history of the county, and showing the growth of its people, institutions, industries and wealth. New York: The Lewis Pub. Co.
[v] Ibid.

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