Happy St. Patrick’s Day: Are we Irish???

reposted from 2016

Isn’t everyone?
On St. Patrick’s Day, it would seem so.

• There are more Irish-Americans than there are Irish in Ireland.
• About 33.3 million Americans—10.5% of the total population¹— claimed Irish ancestry², that’s 5 times the number of the Irish population in Ireland.
• Another three million people are separately identified as Scotch-Irish³.

A good portion of Irish-Americans claims Irish ancestry based on:

• sustained family traditions and stories or even decent from a recent ancestor. These can be considered valid claims to Irish ancestry.
• vague or circumstantial evidence such as the origins (or perceived origins) of their last names or family rumors of Irish ancestry. These claims might seem a little vague to consider valid, but:

When you consider about 250,000 Irish immigrated to Colonial America in the 16th and 17th century, before the later Irish Potato famine migration, it would be a save conclusion that Irish ancestry can be probably be found in at least one branch of any family that traces its arrival in America to the pre-Independence period.

Would our claim be valid?

For those of us that descend from other than Timmons Literal this essay will only address your Littrell/Luttrell line of ancestry.
For those of us who descend from Timmons and Mary Catherine (Urban) Literal the Luttrell/Littrel, Landtroop, and Urban information is also your information.
For those who descend from John Daniel and Kizzie (Comer) all the information is your information.

Let’s consider several possibilities for making a valid claim to Irish Ancestry:

1. 1. Known decent from a recent ancestor
   2. Family connections
   3. Possible ‘ Irishness’ of our family names
   4. A known direct ancestor who immigrated from Ireland to America

Known decent from a recent ancestor

• Urban: We have only one ancestor known to have immigrated to America after the Revolutionary War; Cassander(Cassandra) Urban migrated to America before 1830. We don’t know when, but we know he was born in Prussia (Germany) and arrived in America before his marriage to Catherine Wise in 1830.
  Our remaining family lines, Littrell, Comer, Belew, Ezell, and Landtroop, are far too ancient to have birthplaces noted in public records.

Family connections

• Littrell/Luttrell: A common assumption about our Littrell/Luttrell family line's origins has been that our ancestors were Irish, considering that our ancestors' migration pattern has been consistent with those of the Irish immigrants of Colonial America, this would seem to be a valid assumption. Adding fuel to this argument is the town of "Luttrellstown, Ireland" and the prominence of the Luttrell name in Irish History. However, the name Luttrell is also very prominent and long-standing in English history.
  The earliest observations of a possible connection to the Irish Luttrells can be traced back to Laura Luttrell and Elston Luttrell ( circa 1890), two early Luttrell family researchers. Since their work, many have referenced them or apparently followed their lead and concentrated on the Irish line to the point of totally excluding the English possibility. Elston does refer to a family history that indicates who might be the original immigrant heads of his branch of the American Luttrells. Still, his reference does not include any mention of his source. Most other speculation seems to center on the possibility that a known member of the colonial family may have connected to the Irish family through Anne Luttrell. This connection seems to have been inferred based on Colonel John Luttrell's rise to prominence as a partner in the Transylvania Company. 130 The problem with any connection between Anna and Col. John is that his ancestors migrated over a hundred years before the Colonel’s time. Additionally, Colonel John’s rise in stature was not linked to any advantages of birth… he was a self-made man.
  The conclusion that our Littrell/Luttrell colonial ancestors were Irish immigrants based on these assumptions is not ironclad, though. We should not overlook the possibility that these connections are a result of “wishful” research. Elston and Laura may have had information and facts that they did not put forth or that did not survive, and it is just as possible that they had limited information that narrowed their focus on the Irish branch of the family.
  Regarding the connection to the Luttrellstown Family, it is important to note that in only three cases (below) has a direct connection between an American ancestor and an Irish parent or point of departure been identified. There is no proof put forth to support the identification in those cases, nor is there any explanation of what the connection might be based on. Most of the evidence connecting us to the Luttrellstown Family is circumstantial such as the prominence of certain given names and surnames.
  Mr. William Q. Hill believed James Lotterell of Northumberland County, Virginia, to be the same James Luttrell of Tankardstown, Meath County, Ireland. Mr. Hill seems to have based this connection on circumstantial evidence. Having had the privilege of reviewing Mr. Hill’s notes, the strength of the evidence is adequate. Still, I must point out that in two attempts at gaining confirmation from Irish sources (an Irish genealogist and the Gilbert Library, Dublin, Ireland), the responses he received were not conclusive. I do not dispute his conclusions, as they appear to be very possible, and I agree with him that the assistance he received from the Irish was not exhaustive, but the connection to the Irish James Luttrell of Meath County should not be viewed as conclusive.
  Our Comer, Belew, Ezell, and Landtroop families have no identified or suspected connections to similarly named ancestors in Ireland.

Possible ‘ Irishness’ of our family names

Only the Littrell/Luttrell name is prominent in Ireland, but it is not a typical ‘Irish’ name. It comes to Ireland from the English family in the 1300s, but its prominence and character remains firmly English until later wars and conflicts with the English. The name itself comes to England from the Norman-French invasion of England in 1066.

Any known direct ancestor who immigrated from Ireland to America

Identifying immigrants from Europe to the Americas is accomplished by finding a departure from Europe and an arrival in the Americas. Unfortunately in the case of all our ancestors (regardless of surname) we do not find anyone with a departure and arrival… only one or the other. This makes establishing a firm transatlantic connection unlikely through this method alone.

• Littrell/Luttrell: Of the known emigrant from Europe, none of their departures are from Ireland. Two arrivals match-up to the name of our immigrant ancestor James Lotterell; unfortunately, there is no evidence of where they came from. We know the name of their ships and Captains but not of their departure from Europe. Our conclusions about which of these James is our James is too inconclusive to identify their place of origin. Their ships could have easily departed from English or Irish ports… or both.

• Landtroop: We have a similar problem with our Landtroop ancestor; we’ve identified the Captain, his ship, and his port of arrival, but no more. There is no doubt that our Landtroop ancestors come from England or Ireland but no certainty. Like easier researchers of the Littrell family, some Landtroop researchers have employed researchers in England, but not Ireland, and like the Littrell inquiries, no conclusive European ancestors have been identified.

• Comer, Belew, and Ezell: The Belew and Ezell families arrived in America at a very early date. In the Ezell and Comer families' case, we have not identified a point of arrival for any ancestor. Many suggest that Ezell maybe French and the Comer name maybe German.
  The Belew family has been heavily researched, and most arrival information suggests that they arrived in America from France (the name and varied spellings are very French). Some research suggests that they were Huguenots and/or might have been religious refugees from England.

Conclusion:

As it stands now, it appears that the most reliable possibility for an Irish connection would be our Littrell and Landtroop ancestors, with a small chance of the Comer and Ezell line being a possibility. So until some concentrated research into the immigration from Europe to America results in knew resources and discoveries, we would probably have a 50/50 chance of being correct in identifying ourselves as Irish Americans.

¹ American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
² an ethnic group comprising Americans who have full or partial ancestry from Ireland, 3 whose ancestors were Ulster Scots who emigrated from Ireland to the United States.
Littrell Family Journals: Volume I, Our European Ancestral Namesakes

58 / 64

The Murder Of John Perry Luttrell:

When Rodhom Literal (#599) migrated from Casey Co., Kentucky to Lawrence County, Tn., he left at least one grown son in the Casey County area around Dunville.

Rodhom Literal, JR and his wife Matilda Horton, along with the descendants of his father's brothers and cousins from the Virginia migration, left generations of Luttrells in the south-central area of Kentucky.
A grandson of Rodhom Literal, JR., was one of these descendants. He (John Perry Luttrell) and his wife Rebecca lived in the Dunville area in the early 1900s. Rebecca was also a Luttrell by birth. She descended from her great-great-grandfather Richard Luttrell,  a cousin of Rodhom Literal (#599).
According to one source, John was an “M.G., minister of the Gospel, performed several Luttrell marriages”
In August of 1909 there occurred a deadly incident at Dry Fork Church near the community of Phil that left John and his son-in-law, Addie Chapman, dead:
Known to be involved in the fight was John and Addie (both stabbed to death), John Chapman, as well as John Luttrell’s daughter, Polly Jane (Luttrell) Chumley and her husband John, and at least 3 other Luttrells and 2 other Chapmans.
Polly and her husband received life-threatening wounds (gunshot and stab wounds), but both survived.
The 3 unnamed Luttrells and 2 unnamed Chapman’s were arrested.
We don’t know if Addie’s wife, Rebecca A. (Luttrell) Chapman, was involved or not, but it appears the fight erupted between John and Addie Chapman and Mr. Luttrell.
The article says the Luttrell and Chapman families for a long time had bad feelings between them, which is surprising when you realize that Addie Chapman had married John Luttrell’s daughter Rebecca just 6 months before the fight.
(Phil is about 4 miles east of Dunville.)

Note: For Descendants of John Daniel Littrell (LITTRELLFAMILY.net ON FACEBOOK) John Daniel Littrell and John Perry Luttrell would be 2nd cousins. To figure your relationship to John Perry Luttrell count your ancestors from John Daniel Littrell (he would be 0) to yourself (X), You would be 2nd cousin, X removed from John Perry Luttrell).

250 

Rites Conducted For East Prairie Women: I had no idea.

I was very surprised to discover this obituary and even more surprised by what it contained. The misspelling of Noble’s last name is not unusual, it’s a problem that occurs and reoccurs as far back as our European ancestors. It is however a spelling that usually occurs back in the 1800s, not one used by recent generations of our family line. The spelling does suggest to us that whoever submitted the obituary information was not a Littrell.

Over the last few weeks I have come unexpectedly across information for Noble’s first wife Corene; such as her tombstone, and finding her parents family on the Census, and then this obituary. Read the obituary and see if you don’t get a surprise.

                                                                            From the Missourian 3-9-1943.

Do you see it? Where’s Rex? Noble and Corene had two sons? Billy & Bobby?

Its not unusual for obituaries to contain mistakes, but these are doozies.

Now maybe I’m the only one who didn’t know about this, but it sure was a surprise to me. I was afraid to post anything until I got some kind of explanation. So here goes:

Noble and Corene got married in 1937. She already had a child at the time, Billy Belew(?). Billy must have been born earlier in 1937 for him to be 5 years old in 1943. But where was he on the 1940 census where Noble and Corene are living with Noble’s parents, John & Kizzie?

Seven households away from John and Kizzie, on the 1940 census, is Corene’s parents and siblings… and Billy.  On the census he is listed as Billy Harold Belew, son of W.D. and Ivy (Iva Shelton) Belew. Obviously he was WDs grandson, not son. His age is consistent with an early 1937 birth. If this Billy is indeed Corene’s son, then Ivy Belew raised him as her own to the grave. Her 1969 obituary list as a surviving son, Bill Belew of Hampton, Virginia. On the other hand, her daughter Mary Juanell "Jill" (Belew) Johnson’s obituary,  list Billy Belew of Hampton, Virginia as a surviving nephew along with Rex. Mary Juanell’s obituary was in 2005.

So where is Rex and who is Bobby? Well they’re one in the same. When Rex was born Corene wanted to name him Bobby, but Noble wanted to name him Rex. When it came time to fill out the birth record it fell to Noble and he said Rex.

Assuming from the misspelling, (that does not resemble the Littrell families spelling commonly used by the family) and the use of the name Bobby instead of Rex we can assume that the Belew family submitted the obituary information, and that they evidently were using Bobby for Rex at the time.

You would think that after all this Rex would have gotten a middle name out of this confusion, but no, he’s still just plain ole’ Rex to us.

Thanks to Rex’s wife, Nancy, for clearing this up.
                                                                                        see also

UPDATE: 

Penny Chapek Corene was ill for a long time with TB. She died from complications from TB and alcoholism. Rex says he believes that Ivy adopted Billy(William Harold) and raised him. Rex says that Ivy wanted to raise Billy because she didn't have any sons. Billy lives in Virginia. Noble married Azilee in September 1943 in Georgia. Noble, Azilee, and Rex moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee soon after.

MO., East Prairie, W.O.W. Cem.

The Family’s Migration Story: Tennessee To Missouri Ferry

The story told about Uncle Jim's journey references “...they landed in New Madrid on the ferry...”. The story told of Grandpa John's journey does not reference how they got across the Mississippi River. In trying to trace the journey and migration of John & Kizzie family from Tennessee to Missouri, I investigated several possible crossing points in Mississippi and New Madrid counties.

We know of four ferries in the New Madrid area: the Dorena-Hickman Ferry, the Belmont-Columbus Ferry, and the Tiptonville Ferry (Ferryland in Missouri) and the New Madrid Ferry.

• The only one still operating is the Dorena (MO)-Hickman(KY) Riverboat Ferry crossing. Having ridden it several times during this research its history is sketchy and appears to have been an on again off again operation for sometime.
  

• The Belmont(MO)-Columbus(KY) Ferry is probably the oldest of the four ferries, dating back to 1825. The community of Belmont was located north of Dorena and like Dorena no longer exist. The only reference to the Belmont-Columbus Ferry I have found is one that mentions it was established in 1825 and was re-opened in 2014. I will investigate this on my next trip.
  

• Tiptonville-Ferryland Ferry, I was checking out the Point Pleasant, Missouri area when I was directed to a place called 'Ferryland' to the south. It looked to be very promising, primarily because when I spoke to several people fishing on the bank they were familiar with the history of the area and the ferry landing. They pointed out the corresponding landing on the Tennessee side of the river and affirmed that it the Tiptonville Ferry was in operation in the 20 and 30s, that it also operated off and on maybe as late as the 70s. (Ferryland, State Highway 162 dead-ends at the rivers edge)
  On a subsequent trip I went to Tiptonville. I found the ferry location (Tiptonville Ferry Rd.) and once in town I was informed that one of the owners of the ferry in the past was still alive. I was directed to the local Ace hardware store owned and operated by the former ferry owner and his son. As it turned out he and his father owned the ferry and they, with his son had all worked on it. Unfortunately (see New Madrid Ferry below), he informed me that the ferry wasn't in Tiptonville until 1950.

  		Tiptonville Riverboat Ferry VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

• New Madrid Ferry, with Uncle Jim's migration story “...they landed in New Madrid on the ferry...”, the first place I started this search was in New Madrid, but on several visits I was always told there had been no ferry in New Madrid. This was always a letdown because Troy and I had vague memories of a ferry ride in the area. It was because of the negative responses I got from the New Madrid search that I started looking for other possible crossing locations like Dorena, Belmont and Tiptonville.
  In the above paragraph on Tiptonville I finish with the unfortunate news that the ferry was not in Tiptonville until the 1950s, this news was unfortunate for only a few moments, for as the conversation continued he revealed that his father had moved the ferry to Tiptonville from New Madrid!
  He could not date how long the ferry had been in New Madrid but he said New Madrid was a logical location until a sandbar had developed that interfered with the ferry.

As is the case quite often in this type of research a little mis-information, or missed information, can send you on a maddening detour.

There were several things I learned about ferries that would influence the movement of a ferry: sandbars, droughts (sometimes more so than floods), new roads, shrinking towns, river traffic, competition, and changes in ownership.

The case for the New Madrid Ferry

Ferry Crossings were more common than bridges in 1929 and 1932. The most logical route would have been due west to Memphis and a crossing there or somewhere north of there to Tiptonville, Tennessee which is directly across from New Madrid County, MO.
In 1929 there was only one bridge across the river between Memphis and St. Louis. So one has to assume they crossed by ferry somewhere from Memphis to Cairo. Even though there were bridges in Memphis and the newly opened (old) Cairo Bridge (at the current Ft. Defiance location), they might have still taken a ferry if the toll was cheaper. Back then most bridges were toll bridges. In addition we can rule out the use of the Cairo bridge since it was only connecting Missouri and Illinois, not Kentucky, the Cairo-Kentucky bridge over the Ohio River was not yet built.

In the case of Grandpa John’s migration the same scenario would apply. The fact that John's migration story makes no mention of a ferry doesn't mean they took a bridge. Bridges were infrequent, newer, expensive and probably had higher tolls. Ferries on the other hand were more numerous, older and less costly.

Let’s look at the most logical routes:

On this 1926 map Lawrence County was on the state line between Columbia, TN., and Florence, AL., and New Madrid was at the top of the bootheel on the Mississippi. Keep in mind this map shows only the main roads, by necessity back roads would be used, but for major portions of the trip the main roads shown would most likely be used.

There would be three choices in 1929 and 32:

1. From Lawrence County go due west or south to Highway 72 which would take them to Memphis where they would then cross into Arkansas and then take Highway 61 north to New Madrid. Even today, using the newer interstates, this is a possible route.
2. At Memphis take  Highway 51 north and then the backloads west to the river and a ferry (New Madrid)
3. From Lawrence, go northwest to Highway 45, take it north to Highway 51. From there go west on back roads to the ferry(New Madrid) or go north on Highway 51 and then west on back roads to the ferry(New Madrid)

All three routes appear practical, we have no knowledge of conditions that would favor one rout over the other except for three things: the third route appears to be more direct as it angles northwest towards New Madrid, the third route also avoids Memphis (would Memphis be an enticement or a deterrent to these hill folk?), and last, but not least, the second and third routes literally require a ferry to New Madrid.

So, until we have evidence, or at least information, that contradicts taking the family’s migration story literally doesn’t the New Madrid crossing make since?   

GlennDL~~2014

note: There were two other possible ferries (one in Caruthersville and I think the other in Dyersburg? I will look into this in the future.

John & Kizzie’s Grandson tells of family tradition concerning the naming of the first born son:

Note: the below table and information has NOT been updated since 2006.

At the 2005 reunion in St. Louis (Wentzville) Jeffrey Dolan Littrell [a grandson of Jessie Daniel Littrell] told of a family tradition that his father told him about.  It concerned a practice of naming the first born son in a manner that resulted in the initials "JD."  This was the first I heard of this, but looking at the limited information I brought to the reunion it became apparent that there was an interesting pattern in the naming practices that had heretofore escaped me.

Has anyone else heard of this practice????
(see note at bottom of page)

In the case of John Daniel Littrell's family the following pattern emerged:

Jessie Daniel (oldest son of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children)	Jessie Dolan (oldest son of 8 children)	Jeffrey Dolan (oldest son of 5 children)	Jennica Devonne (oldest daughter)  (other daughter also Jaemie Dannelle)	Jennica's first daughter named Jaclinn Diane (no sons)
		Deanna J. (oldest daughter, second child of 5 children)	Jason Dolan (oldest son of 4 children)
		Cheryl Marie (one of 5 children)	Jade Renae (oldest child of 3 children)
	Gary Russell	Jesse Daniel (oldest son of 3 children)
Verily Viola "Sis" (oldest daughter of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children)	J. Fred (only/oldest son of 5 children)	Jeff (oldest of 2 sons)	Jared Aaron (oldest of 2 sons/children)
		Gregory Wade (one of 2 sons)	Jennie Ann (only child)
	Mable Lurene	Tony Reed (only son of 2 children)	Justin Reed (only son of 2 children)
Bertha (daughter of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children)	Joyce Darlene (oldest daughter/child of 3 children)
Redford "Red" (son of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children)	Janet Pandora (youngest of 2 children)
JD (son of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children, the initials are believed to be for John Daniel Jr., even though JD adopted Junior Dolan)	Troy, Glenn & Richard
Leatha Mae (daughter of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children)	Billy Lee (oldest son of 4 children)	Wayne Lee (oldest of 2 sons)	Jessica Leigh (younger of 2 children)
		Jeffrey Scot (youngest of 2 sons)
	Jerry Gale (second son of 4 children)
	Joyce (3rd of 4 children)	Jamie Doran (oldest son of 2 children)
OJ(son of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children, his original name is unknown, OJ adopted Oliver James)	Sheila Diane (second of 5 children)	Joanna Christen (youngest of 2 daughters)
	Wallace James (second son of 4 children)	Jamie (second son of 4 children)
		Joshua Caleb (youngest of 4 children)
Leslie "Les" (son of John Daniel & Kizzie, of 12 children)	John L. (only son/child)	Jenifer (first born)
		John R. (only son)
including John Daniel there are 3 JDs	3 JDs 1 JF, JP, JL, JG	3 JD 1 DJ, JR, JS, 2 JC,	3 JD 2 JR, JA 1 JL	1 JD

Including Jesse's father John Daniel there are 13 JDs among his descendent, two of his sons (the first and fourth) are JDs.  Of the remaining 10 JDs seven of them are descendants of Jesse, four are oldest sons and three are daughters in the absence of sons (2 of them are the first born).  So if nothing else the tradition is evident in the descendants of John thru Jesse and two of his son's (out of six who had children).
          Of the remaining 3 JDs one is an oldest child (daughter), one is the youngest child (daughter), and one is the oldest son.
         The presence of the oldest child/son having the first initial of "J" is very common, but when taking the total number of first born the occurrence is not of a significant proportion.  The presence of the "J" initial in John's siblings and uncles occur with the first born son in the case of his oldest brother, "James Carroll," and his uncle "James W".  So what we do have is the oldest son of Eli is James W., the oldest son of Timmons (James W's brother) is John Carroll, the oldest son of his brother John Daniel is Jesse Daniel, his oldest son is Jessie Dolan, his oldest son is Jeffrey Dolan, his oldest child is Jennica Devonne, her oldest child is Jaclinn Diane.  From Eli to Jaclinn there is at least one occurrence of an oldest child i each generation having the first initial of "J" for 7 generations!

NOTE:  At the 2005 October Timmons Reunion (later that same year) I asked Jeffrey's Uncle Gary Littrell if he heard of this tradition and he had.  After some discussion though we surmised that it wasn't a Littrell tradition but a Comer one carried on by Kizzie. 

To wit:

Daniel Comer named his eldest son Jesse D. in 1816 (at least on of Jesse's daughters, Sarah Comer~Springer named her oldest son Jesse)
Jesse may have continued the tradition as his oldest son is John Comer, no knowledge of hi middle name.
Jesse's daughter Hannah Comer~Powell named her oldest son John Daniel Powell.
Jesse's second son, Daniel P. Comer, named his first son by his 1st wife John Comer, no knowledge of his middle name, and his second son by his second wife Jesse D. Comer
Daniel P. Comer's oldest daughter (our Kizzie) by his 2nd wife named her oldest son Jessie Daniel Littrell and her 5th son 'JD' (believed to be John Daniel, JR) and thus begins the chart above.

So there appears to be a Comer tradition, but like many family naming tradition the practice is not written in granite.  Conflicts of two family traditions or other influences may forestall or modify the practice over time.  Since we don't always know the complete name of our more distance Comer relatives we don't know how prevalent the practice was among other branches.

Kissing Cousins: The Exaggerated Myth of Intermarriage.

The stereotype of hill folk, or ‘hillbilly’, engaging in intermarriage is both unfairly associated with them as an exclusive trait and exaggerated as a common tendency.

Even the term ‘hillbilly’ is (often seen as a derogatory label) has grown into an equally unfair stereotype in spite of its origins having nothing to do with the people of rural, mountainous  areas of Appalachia and the Ozarks.

Hillbilly: The term originated in 17th century Ireland for Protestant supporters of King William III. The Irish Catholic supporters of James II referred to these northern Protestant supporters of "King Billy", as "Billy Boys". However, in America hillbilly was first used in 1898, which suggests a later, independent development."

Use of the term outside the Appalachians arose in the years after the American Civil War, when the Appalachian region became increasingly bypassed by technological and social changes taking place in the rest of the country. Until the Civil War, the Appalachians were not significantly different from other rural areas of the country. After the war, as the frontier pushed further west, the Appalachian country retained its frontier character, and the people themselves came to be seen as backward, quick to violence, and inbred in their isolation.

The "classic" hillbilly stereotype – the poor, ignorant, feuding family with a huge brood of children tending the family moonshine still – reached its current characterization during the years of the Great Depression, when many Appalachian mountaineers left their homes to find work in other areas of the country. The 1930s through the 1950s, saw many mountain residents moving north to the Midwestern industrial cities of Chicago, Cleveland, Akron, and particularly Detroit, where jobs in the automotive industry were plentiful. This movement north became known as the "Hillbilly Highway". The same period saw similar migrations from the Ozarks and other poor rural folk such as the Okees from dustbowl destroyed communities migrating west to California. As is true with any derogatory and hate filled stereotype the term Hillbilly and Okee grew to mean any person or group of person that was viewed negatively, regardless of origin or circumstance. The advent of the interstate highway system and television brought many previously isolated communities into mainstream United States culture in the 1950s and 1960s. The Internet continues this integration.

The stereotype of intermarriage, like many stereotypes is born out of ignorance, repetition of unfounded facts and generalities.

As any genealogist can attest to the presence of many families with the same surname does not prove a family connection. As often as not for every  person of a certain surname decent marrying a person of the same surname decent the connection goes so far back as to make the term intermarriage inappropriate even if it is technically correct. In many cases the connection is so many generations removed that finding a connection of two surnames in an isolated area requires going back generations to before the migration to that isolated area. Two Smiths in the same community may derive from two families that were previously in two different states. 

That isn’t two say that all or even a majority of surnames marrying surnames didn’t involve the re-crossing of bloodlines. It happened, but the emphasis on brother marrying sister or aunt was an offensive exageration. The labeling of this as a hillbilly trait would be to ignore the preexistence of the practice of marrying a relative. It is biblical and it is part of the heritage of any descendent of European immigrants. Intermarriage to maintain property and title rights goes back to the dark ages of European history as it was not unusual for nobles and monarchs to get the Pope’s, or church’s sanction of a marriage by making an exception to or acceptance of such and arrangement.

Another contributing factor to the practice of intermarriage being widespread in less populated or isolated areas is our misunderstanding of the original or archaic definition of words that have different connotations in different eras.

1. The titles Jr. (junior) and Sr. (senior) are used very differently now than they were a hundred or more years ago. Today the titles have come to be parts of our names. John, Sr. and John, Jr., mean father and son, but a hundred (or less) years ago they were mere sub-titles, placeholders or descriptive words attached to names for purposes other than distinguishing between father and son.
   
   Typically if there was a father and son in a community they would be referred to as John Smith the father or John Smith the son. This is how in more ancient times, before the common use of surnames existed, such surnames as Smithson came about ( historical example: the Viking Eric, and his son Leif Ericson). If they were not father and son they might be distinguished by the term ‘the elder’ or ‘the younger’, but that practice also declined for the same reason that ‘the father’ and ‘the son’ did, people began adopting Elder and Younger as surnames.
   
   In pre-1900 America if there were two John Smith’s in a community or on a document, whether they were father and son or not, they would be distinguished from each other as senior or junior, based on age, not relationship. In family history research failing to understand the use of these word leads to misidentifying family lines. Accepting the misuse of the terms Sr., and Jr., not only led to false identification of father and son connections but also to the misidentification of marriages between descendents of a sibling and another misidentified non-sibling. Contributing to the intermarriage myth as being more common that it truly was. *note
2. Similarly, the title ‘cousin’ has a long history of mis-use. In more ancient times it included everyone from a distant aunt or uncle, in-law,  family friend, to the modern use of the child of our uncle or aunt. This practice was common from the first foot placed on Plymouth Rock to the early 1900s. Common examples to these varied uses can be seen in modern cinema in movies like ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Gone With The Wind’. Just like the example of the misinterpretation of the Sr., Jr., titles, the identification of a family friend as a cousin could serve to mis-identify the relationship of a family friend marrying into the family.
3. And finally we have a modern day culprit that in some cases may lead to the illusion of intermarriages generations later, and that is the modern and cavalier use of the title ‘uncle’ to refer to a close family friend. ie., childhood friends with strong bonds as adults and their two unrelated families encouraging the use of the terms aunt and uncles by their offspring.

In recent decades some members of stereotyped groups have fought back against the negative stereotypes by embracing the negative language of stereotype labels and seeking to redefine them in a positive manner. Quite often this is done through self-effacing humor. A common example is the humor of Jeff Foxworthy through his ‘”You might be a redneck, if…” humor.

While this approach often opens the door to rational discussion of the inappropriateness of stereotyping it can also take on a hostile self-defense mechanism when it fails to stimulate discussion of its basic inappropriateness, becoming a self-effacing version, self-inflicted version of the originally oppressive language.

Because we have several cases of inter-marriage in our family that, if misidentified, could serve to contribute to the myth of the ‘inbred hillbilly’ we will, under the title ‘Kissing Cousins’ seek to correctly identify and  embrace these marriages as an appropriate strengthening of these family bonds. 

*note: An example of this practice can be found in researching the family of a Rodham Luttrell, in Kentucky during the early 1800s. This Rodham (but not our Rodham) had a son who appeared on census documents as Rodham Jr. Years later, in the same household, Rodham Jr., appeared, but he was about ten years younger?  Later research discovered a document (letter, probate, pension papers or something like that, I can’t remember) in which it was stated by the mother that the first son named Rodham had died and that when the other son named Rodham was born they named him Rodham also. This was not confusing to the family, they completely understood what they were doing, but the census taker was unaware of this and noted both children as JR., instead of the ‘III’ (third). In the document we discover the revelation the mother never refers to either child as Jr., simply “… ‘my first son’ and ‘after his death we named our next son Rodham….”, no use of the title Jr. or Sr.

Family Myth? Were any of our ancestors Native American?

Growing up I had heard on several occasions that we had Native American ancestry. While the source was usually from my father (JD) I now I heard it from others too, I cannot recollect who but I'm sure he was not the loan source.

Since beginning the family research I have also been asked this question several times and usually the cousin asking it affirmed that they had heard the story too.

Seldom has the discussion resulted in any details or cited a firm source for the story, but over the years it seems to have centered around the Cherokee tribe and the most common lineage that has been suggested was from Kizzie Comer's line.

Having done first hand research or at least studied multiple second hand sources I can say with certainty:

Littrell line – Our direct Littrell line is traced back to the original immigrant stepping off the boat in Virginia circa 1670. From that Luttrell to John Daniel Littrell there are 4 marriages where the wife(mother) has only been identified by there first name. The three most recent marriages (John's, his father and grandfather) involve Kizzie (see below) Eli's wife (Mary Cox), and Timmons wife (Mary Catherine Urban)

• We have identified Mary's parents and the general belief is that they were first or second generation immigrants.

• Both sets of Mary Urban parents go back at least two generations. Her father was possibly born in Germany, we know he spoke German and his father was an immigrant. Any introduction of Native American ancestry on her mother's side would have had to have occurred prior to 1800.

Comer Line – Her direct Comer line goes back to the birth of her great-grandfather in 1780. Her grandfather's wife is identified as a Springer, a common family in their county in1821.That leaves her mother and the spouses of her her great-grandfather, Susannah Belue.

• Susannah's grandfather, Rennie Belue, is believed to be a French Huguenot immigrant from the northern colonies. Rennie's tentatively identified wife's ancestry can be traced back another two more generations to 1737.

• Kizzie's mother, Ollie Ezell, can trace her mother's ancestry back two more generations to William Poteet and his wife Jemina ?? to circa 1800s. Ollie's fathers line can be traced back to Timothy Ezell, born before 1628. Of those 6 generations there is only one unidentified wife and she was born before 1689.

As we can see there are several opportunities for one of those unidentified wives, or those male lines that do not originate with an identified immigrant, that would allow the introduction of an unidentified Native American. On the other-hand our ancestral lines present an above average line of ancestry. Throughout all my research, the research of others, and accepted historical research there is nothing to establish the existence of a Native American ancestry, but...

Where does the story come from?

Every family has stories that get passed down for generations. Over time these stories outgrow their originators and like a child’s game of 'telegraph' they take on facts and fictions that were absent in their original form.

In addition there are stories that are so common that they appear in the mythology of most families. Nearly every family has the brother vs brother conundrum of the civil war, or the family splitting-up or disowning each other over the spelling of the family name. Every southern family has a story about sons having to hide in the woods, getting fed through the floorboards and having to work the fields at night to avoid impressment gangs who roamed the countryside looking for deserters or eligible males trying to avoid conscription into the war. This last one is so prevalent that one has to wonder who was available to fight for the south. Our family has a version of all three of these stories.

The last point of origination for unconfirmed stories often lies with those like myself who, while trying to discover the facts of a family history, sometimes fall into the trap of trying to rationalize an explanation for every anomaly or un-provable fact. A perfect example is this article itself. While attempting to disprove or prove the family story I will do one of four things:

1. Prove it totally unfounded, without merit and stamp it with an adamant denial.

2. Declare it as unfounded, but not beyond being possible.

3. Find proof and establish the story as true to some degree or in some form.

4. Dispel the myth but find a logical explanation for how it came to exist, entered our family history, or speculate about possibilities.

Number 1 is virtually impossible to do, quite simply proving a negative is always difficult, but in genealogy it is inadvisable. Closing the door completely is contrary to the never ending mystery of solving the next problem.

Numbers 2, 3, and 4 will always have the effect of at the most clearing up the truth behind the myth, but with time the corrected story will be passed on and with each telling the facts will be forgotten, misstated or ignored until the story will return to the original, cloudy version we set out to prove or disprove.

So with that soon to be useless explanation let me clear the air, for the moment.

Our Native American Ancestry: The Descendents of John and Kizzie Littrell.

In 20 plus years of researching our ancestry I have not come across one reference to our direct ancestors being Native American. But I believe I have found a credible source for the stories origination and an explanation of how it was passed down and absorbed into our heritage.

As mentioned earlier the story as told sometimes referenced Kizzie's family line as the source of our suggested Native American ancestry.

At this point that does appear to be the case. At one point there a marriage to a Native American in her ancestral families, just not in her direct line, which means it isn't our ancestor. To wit:

• Samuel Belew was the brother of Susannah Belew who married Daniel Comer. Susannah and Dan were Kizzie Comer's great-grandparents.

• Samuel, born about 1795, married Mary Polly Bryant about 1813 in Union Co., SC. Mary was the daughter of John Bryant, a Cherokee Indian, born in Pendleton, Va.¹

• Susannah's migration to Lawrence Co., Tn occurred when her son Jesse was about 9 years old. The wagon train included Susannah's aged father and other family and neighbors, so it is reasonable that Jesse would be aware that his 1^st cousins were part Native American.

As the story gets handed down from a young Jesse to his son Dan, to Kizzie and her siblings and half-siblings it would be natural for the details of an Uncle who was part Indian becoming an ancestor who was part Indian. Or as Dad would put it “We have Indian blood somewhere.”

More on Mary Polly Bryant Belew's ² ancestry:

Mary's father, John Bryant was the son of Zachariah and Lucy Bryant. Zachariah was killed in the War of 1812. In 1817 Lucy is on the Reservation Indian Rolls and was granted 640 acre of land in Helen, Ga.³

“In 1826, after gold was discovered along Dukes Creek on her property, her home was taken from her by the laws of the land at that time. Indians were considered savages if not of the Caucasian race thus on census reports many hid the very fact that they were Indian. This is were we get the saying to day of "Black Dutch" many that claimed to be "Black Dutch" were really of mixed bread Indian or some other race. We don't know if Lucy was in the Trail of Tears or not but we do know her heart must have been heavy and she must have shed tears at the loss of her beautiful mountain land, all she owned, and the hatred that now spread across the land.”   http://www.oocities.org/guledisgohnihi91/Chunannee.html 

Because of the Gold that was found on her land and the waterfall thereon Lucy's land is now a tourist attraction. At the foot of the path that leads to the Chunannee Falls is a plaque that reads:

“Chunannee Falls Land Lot 91: The 640 acre Reservation formerly known as Chunannee, was originally the home of Lucy Bryant/Briant. She was a Cherokee Indian widow, as shown on the Reservation Roll of 1817, who was granted this land under the provisions of article 8 in the Treaty of July 8,1817. It was here on Duke's Creek that gold was first discovered in 1828.”

Glenn Littrell: 2013

1Assuming that John was full blooded, and his wife Fanny was not, then Samuel Belews children would be 1/4 Cherokee and Susannah's children would be 1^st cousins.

2The story and details of Mary come from several citable sources, but the source that pulls all the details together comes from Bill Sherrill in the form of an untitled document that list no author or resources.

3 Turkey Town Treaty 7-8-1817

Family Myths: Col. John Luttrell

Col. John Luttrell is probably one of the most famous Luttrells in American History.  He was instrumental in the founding and settling of Ft. Boonesborough, was one of the partners in the Transylvania Company that employed Daniel Boone to blaze a trail into Kentucky and was a war hero during the Revolutionary War.  He died gallantly in combat at the Battle of Lindley Mills in North Carolina.

On a recent trip to North Carolina I spent hours trying to locate the Lindley Mills Battlefield.  I found the actual Lindley Mills on Cane Creek [est.1755].  It is a functioning [and modernized] business, but I couldn't find the actual battlefield or marker.  This Marker depicts the event that led to the battle and death of Colonel Luttrell.

There are two myths that have existed concerning the Colonel, the lesser myth is that:

"...some believed that the stature of the Col. was a result of being connected to the Earls of Dunster and/or the Earls of Carhampton in England and Ireland [respectively]. But while he may have been descended from these families the evidence is that his stature may have been more self-obtained than due to any connections." 1999, gdl

The more unfortunate myth that surrounds Col. John Luttrell concerns his descendants.  The Fact over the Myth is that he had no descendants! 

I know of at least one family branch that has held a family reunion for over 50 years now and sincerely believes that they are descendants of Col. John Luttrell.

Where the confusion comes in is that they are confusing their John Luttrell [m.Winnefred Lawrence] of Fauquier County, VA. with Col. John Luttrell [m.Susannah Hart] of Orange County, NC.  The situation is even further complicated by the presence of a third John Luttrell [also m.Ann] in Fauquier County, VA. 

Both of the Johns in Fauquier County were cousins and both died within a year [1789/90] of each other and were survived by their widows at a much later date than the Colonel who died in 1781.

Colonel Luttrell died and left a widow as he mentions in his will dated c.1775 [probably in connection with his partnership in the Transylvania Company]: 

...be aplied towards defraying and paying all my just debts and lawfull debts and that one third of the residue of the said lands to be given unto my three brothers Thomas LUTRELL, Hugh LUTREL and William LUTRELL to them and their heirs and assigns forever. Secondly; my will and desire is that my beloved wife, Susannah Lutrell have the residue of my estate both real and personal until the time that my child or children that she is now great with shall arive to the age of twenty one years or get married whichever of them circumstances first happens. My will is that my estate be equally divided between them to them and their heirs or assigns forever, but if it should so happen that my wife should no be with child or that her child she is now great with should die before it arives to twenty one years of or gets married as before mentioned in that case it is my desire that after the sequence paid my brothers and my just debts satisfied my estate be at her disposal to do with as she pleases. In testimony where of I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 20th day of March 1775.

As it turns out the child that Susannah 'is now great with' must of died because in the much contested and documented estate settlement never mentions a child of the Colonel.  Susannah remarries a man of questionable character after the death of the Colonel and the estate becomes contested by the brothers.  No where is the child mentioned in papers filed in the settlement of the estate or papers dealing with the disposal of some of the property.  Susannah and her second husband [Dr. John Umstead] purchase some of the Kentucky land [willed by the Colonel to his three half brothers] from William and Hugh.  Thomas is not mentioned and some believe he was dead by this time.

The Colonel fails to mention another half brother Richard in his will [there is constant confusion over who is and isn't still alive] and in probate papers filled by Richard he appears unsuccessful in obtaining any of  the Colonel's estate.

Papers were still being filed as late as 1821 by Susannah and the doctor and still no mention of a child, who would have been in his forties and would have more than likely been relevant to any claims or disposal of the properties.

So as you can see there is no proof of offspring and the overwhelming documentation points to there being no offspring of the Colonel.  There is on the other hand established evidence of the other John Luttrells both outliving the Colonel and there descendants are well established.

Sources:

LITTRELL and LUTTRELL HEROES In the WAR for American Independence [All Spellings]: By KARL DEWITT LITTRELL [decsd] with NANCY LITTRELL GOLDSBERRY

Kentucky Records, Vol II, "From Original Court entries", Compiled by Mrs. William Breckinridge Ardery, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland.

Henderson County, Kentucky Deed Book A, Abstracted by Bettie Cummins Cook.

The Southern Genealogist's Exchange, Fall 1979, Vol. XX, #91.

The Transylvania Company and the founding of Henderson, Kentucky, By Archibald Henderson.

Kentucky Court of Appeals Deed Books, A-G, Volume I, by Michael L. Cook, C.G. & Bettie A. Cook, C.G., Cook Publications, Evansville, Indiana, 1985