First Anniversary of The Wests of Wilkes

Yesterday, June 30, 2012, marked the first anniversary of this blog, The Wests of Wilkes.  One year ago on that date, I embarked on this literary (?) journey in order to share my findings about my West family and preserve that information for posterity.  Albeit, some of the information may change over time as new data and facts are discovered.

Thanks to you, my readers, who take the time to share this journey and thanks for the comments that some of you have contributed.  As of today, the statistics indicate that I have four followers (those who have registered as followers) and have had 3,056 “hits” over this past year.  This figure indicates that many more people than just my four followers are accessing and/or reading the blog.   By countries, the breakdown of those “hits” is as follows:  United States, 2,390; Russia, 105; United Kingdom, 72; Netherlands, 69; Germany, 57; Ukraine, 41; France, 28; Japan, 27; Latvia, 21; and India, 15.

Again, thank you, for your interest and your readership.  I continue to solicit your comments, additional information, corrections, and specific areas of interest.

First Cousins: Thomas Clingman West and Thomas Harvey West

Thomas Clingman West



Thomas Harvey West
America McNeil West

There isn’t any doubt that these two men are not related!  Their pictures are “worth a thousand words!”



In order to put this narrative in perspective, let’s go back a couple of generations from these cousins.  John Balus West and Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson, my 3^rd great grandparents, were the parents of Franklin W. West and Alexander Balus West.  Thomas Clingman West (1856-1944) was the son of Franklin W. West and Cynthia Adeline Holder.  Thomas Harvey West (1858-1949), my great grandfather, was the only child of Alexander Balus West and Nancy E. Land.  Therefore, they were the grandchildren of John Balus and Polly West and were 1^st cousins.  Not only did Thomas Clingman West and Thomas Harvey West share the same first name, only two years separated them in age, both lived in the same area of Wilkes County, and they were likely playmates.



T. C. West's Homesite, Beaver Creek



Thomas Clingman and Bethanie
Triplett West's Tombstone

Thomas Clingman West married Bethanie Triplett on February 5, 1880, in Elk Township, Wilkes County, North Carolina.  They had six children: Junius Roby, Dicia Albertha, Mary Anna, Jesse, Joel Franklin, and John Carter.  Apparently, Joel Franklin died at the age of 4.  Thomas Clingman and Bethanie moved to the Beaver Creek area of Wilkes County sometime prior to the 1895 U. S. Federal Census and remained there until they passed away.  They are buried in the Beaver Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.



America McNeil and T.H. West's
Tombstone





My great grandparents, Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil, were married on January 5, 1882, in Mt. Zion, Wilkes County, North Carolina. They had 13 children: Nannie Lou, A. Judson, Martha Alice, Milton McNeil, Rosa Belle, William Charles, Sallie Jane, Robert Leonard, Ethel Elizabeth, Willard A., Flora Annie, Guy Harvey, and Viola N.  Two of the sons, A. Judson West and Willard A. West, died at early ages, Judson at approximately 2 months and Willard between the ages of 1 to 3 years old.  Judson and Willard are buried in the Land Family plot at Stony Fork in Wilkes County.  Viola passed away at the age of 15 and is buried in the Banner Elk Cemetery on the campus of Lees-McRae College.  Thomas Harvey and America Ann McNeil and Thomas Harvey’s mother, Nancy E. Land, are buried there as well. The family moved from Stony Fork in Wilkes County to Banner Elk about 1902.

Nancy E. Land West's Tombstone



When I first saw the photograph of Thomas Clingman West, I was astounded by the resemblance that he and my great grandfather shared.  They could have been brothers!  Thanks to my 4^th cousins, Jeanette and Joanne, the great granddaughters of Thomas Clingman West, for giving me a copy of his picture.

As I look back on my past, about which I have known so little until I began researching my West family, I have become so appreciative of my heritage and of my newly discovered cousins.  I am so thankful that we are able to share information and stories about our common heritage.  Furthermore, I experience a certain fulfillment knowing that their stories are being recorded.  Isn’t this partly what genealogical research is all about?













James Larkin Pearson’s Poem, “My Love Lies Still, Lies Silent”

On April 11, 2012, Ashtyn added a comment to my December 13, 2011, post “North Carolina Author: James Larkin Pearson (1879-1981).”  In that comment she expressed an interest in finding the poem, “My Love Lies Still, Lies Silent,” which Pearson wrote after the death of his beloved, first wife Cora Ann Elizabeth Wallace.   I was able to obtain a copy of this poem from Christy Earp, the director of the Pardue Library at Wilkes Community College, and today received permission from Ms. Earp to post this poem in my blog.   Ashtyn, this is for you and others who love Pearson’s poetry!

      My Love Lies Still, Lies Silent

In Memory of Cora Wallace Pearson

My love lies still, lies silent;

She sleeps the longest while.

She does not wake at morning;

She does not speak nor smile.

Her lips are pale as lilies

Grown in some shadow’d place,

And something more than beauty

Lies on her sleeping face.

Her eyes, sealed fast with kisses,

See not the dark nor dawn,

And from her ears forever

The sounds of earth are gone.

My love does not remember;

She does not understand

How long I will be waiting

In such a lonely land.

                James Larkin Pearson

A Newly Discovered Cousin from the Land Family

Using DNA in genealogical research is a valuable tool which enables one to locate and communicate with distant cousins.  These contacts may provide the link to break down that “brick wall” that plagues so many of us in our quest for those elusive ancestors.   Recently, I communicated with one of my Family Finder DNA matches who lives in Texas. 

With relative ease, we discovered that we are 5^th cousins with our most common ancestors being our 4^th great grandparents, Jonathan Land and Elizabeth Isbell.  Their children, William L. Land (my 3^rd great grandfather) and Francis Elizabeth Land (his 3^rd great grandmother) were siblings. 

My genealogy from Jonathan Land and Elizabeth Isbell is as follows:

·         Jonathan Land (1758-aft1820)/Elizabeth Isbell (1762-aft 1820)

·         William Thomas Land (1788-1871)/Nancy Jane Carlton (1793-1865)

·         Nancy E. Land (1830-1903)/Alexander Balus West (1828-1864)

·         Thomas Harvey West (1858-1949)/America Ann McNeil (1863-1949)

·         William Charles West, Sr. (1892-1967)/Ada Beatrice McQueen (1895-1965)

·         William Charles West, Jr. (1916-2007)/Ruth Stella Hughes (1918-2007)

·         Charlotte Ruth West

In addition to our discovery of common Land ancestors, this cousin indicates that we also have West connections.  At this time, he is uncertain as to how his Virginia Wests connect with my North Carolina Wests.  In his direct line, he has an Isaac West (1741, PA-1821, VA) who married Roseanna Lewis (1752, Rowan, NC-1821, Rowan, NC).

In land records, I have found an Isaac West connected with my Alexander West I.  In fact, in 1787, an Isaac West, along with Bray Crisp, was a chain carrier for the survey of a land grant for Alexander West on Glady Fork of Wilkes County.  Was this Isaac West a brother or a son?  I have never found any documentation to prove a relationship.  In my tree I have listed an Isaac West as the brother of Alexander West I, and I have listed one as the son of Alexander West I.  However, these entries are undocumented and are included only as reminders for me that they are possibilities which need further research. 

Could the Isaac West who was born in 1741 in Pennsylvania have been the son of my Alexander West I?  The time frame is logical, and since I don’t know from where Alexander West I migrated when he immigrated into North Carolina, the location of Isaac’s birth is plausible.  Could the Isaac in my 5^th cousin’s tree be “the hammer that breaks my brick wall.”?

At this time I have DNA matches with individuals descended from Barlow, Carlton, Ferguson, and Land ancestors.  Hopefully, these are the same Barlows, Carltons, Fergusons, and Lands that I have in my tree.  Some of these matches have been confirmed by determining our common ancestors in our family trees as I have described above.  Others, particularly those descending from females, are not so easily identified.  These that lie hidden in our trees but who are genetic matches will eventually be uncovered.  

      

The Proof of the Pudding IS in the DNA!

No matter how meticulously we trace our roots using the traditional forms of documentation, the paper trail, as we call it, using birth, marriage, and death certificates, land transactions, census records, and court proceedings, the real proof of the pudding is in the DNA.  I have just discovered how true this statement is.

Recently, after contacting one of my Family Finder DNA matches (a DNA assessment which provides cousin matches across paternal and maternal lines), we found that we are probably 4^th cousins 1X removed with our most recent common ancestors being Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett of Wilkes County, North Carolina.  They are my 4^th great grandparents and his 3^rd great grandparents.  These individuals have been traced with the traditional paper trail and also with DNA testing.

What a surprise I had after making contact with this genetically matched cousin, a male with the Ferguson surname.  He has discovered that he does NOT match with any Ferguson in the Ferguson Y-DNA Project (a male surname project) who descends from Thomas Ferguson, the here-to-fore presumed father of Richard Ferguson.  Of course, he would most likely match with other male Fergusons descending from Richard Ferguson.  Apparently, none of these male individuals descending from Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett have participated in Y-DNA testing. 

In the final analysis, the Y-DNA of my distant cousin actually matches the Y-DNA of a group of other male individuals who are not in his family tree but who match with the descendants of a male individual with the Allison surname who lived in Wilkes County the year of Richard’s birth.

My cousin and other Allison researchers believe that a non-paternal event occurred resulting in Richard’s genetic disposition being different from those of the descendants of Richard’s brothers.  Such a non-paternal event could have been one of three events:  the adoption of Richard by Thomas Ferguson; a pregnancy prior to marriage resulting in Richard’s birth; or an extra-marital affair resulting in Richard’s birth.   Therefore, those of us who descend from Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett are really not Fergusons even though their descendants carried and still carry the Ferguson name.  We are most likely of the Allison lineage.  I am certain that this revealing information will be a surprise to many.

As genealogical researchers, we must be open to and accepting of such discoveries.  As one delves into his past, he is bound to find some “skeletons in the closet.”   Therefore, he must learn to be objective, remembering that no one is perfect and that all make mistakes.  And, he must recognize that, obviously, he would not be here if certain events had not occurred in his past.   

An example such as the one I have described illustrates how significant the field of genetics is becoming in understanding one’s ancestral background.  In today’s world, DNA is the only proof of the pudding!