Railey line
Who were Edwin Railey's parents?
Edwin Jefferson Railey, born about 1812 to 1814 in Southampton County, Virginia, married in 1843 under the name Edwin Robertson, and appears as Robinson in the 1850 census before settling into the name Railey. A woman named Sally Railey headed a Southampton household in 1820 and 1840 with a boy and then a young man who fit his age, so we think she was his mother and that his father was a Robertson or Robinson. We have found nothing that says so.
What would help
- A family Bible, letter or oral story mentioning Sally Railey, or a Robertson or Robinson in Southampton County
- A DNA test from a Railey man descended in the male line from John Wesley Railey, to see whether the line is really Railey or Robertson
- Anything about Joseph Gray, who stood surety for the 1843 marriage and may have been a neighbour or relative
- Southampton County court papers about children bound out or placed under a guardian in the 1820s
See Edwin Jefferson Railey’s page
Brett line
Who were Jonathan T. Britt's parents?
Jonathan T. Britt was born about 1790 in North Carolina, married Margaret Ward in Hertford County in December 1813, served in the War of 1812 and died in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1866. A Virginia death register entry for 'Jonathan T. Britt' names parents Silas and Mary Britt, and a Silas Britt lived in Hertford County in 1790, 1800 and 1810. But that entry gives his wife a different name and his death a year late, so we treat Silas and Mary as a good lead, not a fact.
What would help
- Hertford County marriage bond for Jonathan and Margaret, 1813, and who stood bondsman
- Any will, estate or guardian papers for a Silas Britt in Hertford or Northampton County, North Carolina
- A family Bible or letters of Jonathan's descendants
- Jonathan's War of 1812 pension file, which may name family members
See Jonathan T Britt’s page
Brett line
Who were Margaret Ward's parents?
Margaret Ward was born about 1792 in North Carolina, married Jonathan T. Britt in 1813 and lived to at least 1880, when she was 88 and widowed at Maneys Neck, Hertford County. She is buried at the Britt Cemetery near Newsoms, Virginia. Some online trees give her a Ward family of Charleston, South Carolina, but the gravestones show that family's Margaret died as a baby, so we have removed it. Her real parents are unknown.
What would help
- Wills or estates of Ward families in Hertford, Northampton or Southampton counties around 1800 to 1830
- The 1813 marriage bond, which may name a Ward as bondsman
- Death records of her children, such as William Douglas Brett, that might name her parents
- A family Bible or letters mentioning her maiden family
See Margaret Ward Britt Brett’s page
Bruce line
Where did Mary Callaghan come from?
Mary Callaghan was born about 1851 in Ireland and by 1871 was a machine seamstress in Tamworth, Staffordshire, living with her married sister Ann. She married John Bruce there in October 1871 and died in March 1885. We do not know her parents, her home county, or when the family left Ireland. Online trees name a father Thomas and a mother Hetty, but no record we have seen names her father, and the Thomas Callaghan who died at Ballinvoash, County Mayo, in 1898 probably belongs to a different family.
What would help
- The 1871 marriage certificate for Mary and John Bruce, or her sister Ann's 1867 certificate, either of which should name a father
- A Catholic baptism, perhaps in Mayo, for a Mary or Ann Callaghan around 1850
- A Tamworth burial of a Hetty Callaghan in 1870, aged about 50, which may or may not be her mother
- Family stories of where the Callaghans came from, or letters from relatives in Ireland
See Mary Callaghan’s page
Reese line
Who was Polly Trent?
Mary, called Polly, was the widow of John D. Reese of Shade Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and the mother of eight children. Family trees call her Mary Trent and give her life as 1787 to 1881, but those details trace back to one unsourced tree. The only Trent head of household in Somerset County in 1800 and 1810 was James Trent, who died in 1823, and we have found no record that names her as his daughter.
What would help
- A church register entry for the marriage of John Reese and Mary Trent, probably between 1805 and 1815
- The 1847 Reese estate file and any papers of James Trent's estate naming a daughter Mary or Polly
- A family Bible, letters or stories from the Reese, Ackerman, Cable or Snyder families
- A death notice or grave for Mrs. Mary Reese, who was alive after 1847
See Mary "Polly" Trent’s page
Québec line
Where was Alexandre Emon baptised?
Alexandre Emon, a miller, married Gertrude Brassard at La Malbaie in 1828, and the register names his parents as the late Joseph Emon and Marie Claire Bois. He was born between 1803 and 1807, but we cannot find his baptism. We have read the baptism registers of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, La Malbaie and Rivière-Ouelle for the likely years without success.
What would help
- Baptism registers of Les Éboulements, Baie-Saint-Paul or the Kamouraska parishes for 1803 to 1808
- The age given for Alexandre in later records, such as the 1851 and 1861 censuses
- Descendants in St Lawrence County, New York, who may know the name Amo or Hamon
- Any family papers recording a birthday or a godparent
See Alexandre Emond’s page
Gayner line
Who were William Gayner's parents?
William Gayner, a blacksmith of Thornbury, Gloucestershire, made his will in 1630 and is the earliest Gayner we can name, with his wife Margaret. His parents are unknown. A John Gayner made a will in 1560 leaving everything to his wife and 'John my son', and another John Gayner was buried in 1593 and another in 1596, so one of these Johns could be his father, but we put that at about one chance in three. The manor court rolls of Thornbury for 1580 to 1650 are mostly kept at the Staffordshire Record Office and have not been searched.
What would help
- A researcher who can read Latin court hand to search the Thornbury manor rolls for a Gayner death, heir or land transfer around 1630
- Gayner family papers, deeds or notes in Thornbury, Falfield or Chipping Sodbury
- Baptism entries at Thornbury for a William Gayner around 1590 to 1595
- Other descendants who have researched the Gayners of Thornbury
See William Gayner’s page
Avent line
Who were Robert Avent's parents?
Robert Avent was born about 1827 in Virginia and married Martha Cato in Autauga County, Alabama, in May 1849. He is last seen in the 1850 census, and his widow remarried in Florida by 1858. No older Virginia-born Avent was living in Alabama in 1850, so the family probably stayed in Virginia, perhaps Greensville or Sussex County, where several Avents lived. A Robert Avent received a land patent in Bullock County, Alabama, in 1848 and may be him.
What would help
- Autauga County, Alabama, guardian or probate papers from 1850 to 1858, which may name Robert's son William
- A Riggs and Avent marriage license in Alachua County, Florida
- Wills or chancery suits in Greensville or Sussex County, Virginia, naming a son Robert who went to Alabama
- A family Bible or letters among the Avent or Riggs descendants
See Robert Avent’s page
Stalter line
Who was Catherine Huddle's father?
Catherine Huddle was born on 31 December 1808 or 1 January 1809 in Rockingham County, Virginia. She married Christian Stalter in 1832 and died in 1891 at Elida, Ohio. A published Hottel family history makes her the third child of George Hottel, spelled Huddle in Ohio, who moved to Fairfield County in 1812 and died in 1849 near Bremen, and his wife Barbara Hottel. That book is a compiled source, so we hold the link at about 85 percent.
What would help
- George Huddle's or Hottel's 1849 estate in Hocking or Fairfield County, Ohio, naming a daughter Catharine Stalter
- The 1832 marriage record of Christian Stalter and Catherine Huddle
- Church records from the Bremen area naming Catherine as a daughter
- Family letters or Bibles from Stalter descendants
See Catherine Huddle’s page
Haggard line
Who were Nancy Jane Strait's parents?
Nancy Jane was born about 1849 in Ohio and married John Haggard in Fayette County, Ohio, on 25 June 1870. Online trees make her the daughter of Daniel Strait, but we now think that is wrong, since a different Nancy J. Strait married James Justice in 1864. Her children's death certificates give her maiden name as Street, and one Ohio birth index lists 'Nancy J. Streets'. A Samuel and Hester Street of Darby Township, Pickaway County, had a daughter Nancy aged 8 in 1860. That is about a two-in-five chance, not proof.
What would help
- The 1870 marriage record in Fayette County, which may name her parents
- Records of Samuel and Hester Street of Pickaway County, Ohio, and a daughter Nancy born about 1849 to 1852
- Letters, photographs or a family Bible from the Haggard descendants
- Her own death record, which we have not yet found
See Nancy Jane Strait’s page