William L. Sublette: 52 Ancestors #3 (Wheat side)

The subject of this post, William Lewis Sublette, has come to my attention lately, and not through genealogy. In fact, I heard about him while I was being trained as a museum volunteer. His uncommon surname jogged my memory, and I went home and looked him up in my family tree.  

William L. "Bill" Sublette is not technically my ancestor--at least, not my direct line ancestor. He is my 1st cousin, 5 times removed. His mother and my 4th great grandmother were sisters. His name might be one that you know, even though I didn't recognize it at first. He is among the group of adventurers known as "mountain men"--men like Jedediah Smith, Jim Bridger, and Kit Carson. His name and those of his brothers, as well, are written in the history books, and he was involved in many historic events in his short life of 46 years.

His mother, Isabella Whitley, came from an adventurous family. She came to Kentucky from Virginia in 1775 at age 1, riding horseback on the lap of her mother, Esther Fullen Whitley. Her sister, my 4th great grandmother Elizabeth, age 3, rode tied to Esther's back. In the 1780s William and Esther Whitley built the first brick house in Kentucky, and that is where Isabella, who had married Philip Sublette in 1797, gave birth to her first son William in 1798. They went on to have several more children: Milton, Sophronia, Pinckney, Mary, Andrew, Sally, and Solomon. 

Whitley House, Crab Orchard, KY

The Sublette family moved to St. Charles, Missouri, in 1817. William was appointed deputy constable of the township in 1820, and then constable. In 1822 he saw this advertisement in the Missouri Gazette and Public Adviser. 

General William Henry Ashley and Major Andrew Henry co-founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822. Their plan was to compete with John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company by teaching young men to do the trapping themselves instead of trading for furs with the Native Americans. 

This was also the beginning of the rendezvous. From 1825-1840 in various pre-announced locations, the rendezvous was an annual meeting of the trappers with supply wagons brought in by the fur companies. In addition to selling furs and replenishing supplies, the trappers also swapped stories, competed in races and target shooting, and did business. After the rendezvous of 1826 in Cache Valley, Utah, William Sublette and David Jackson bought out Ashley's interest in his fur company. In 1830 they sold out to William's brother, Milton, and his partners.

Map of rendezvous sites from furtrapper.com

The 1832 rendezvous at Pierre's Hole, Wyoming, was attended by up to two hundred trappers from the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, led by William Sublette; trappers from the American Fur Company; small groups of independent trappers; and large numbers of Nez Perces and Flatheads. As the rendezvous began to break up, Milton Sublette's group of about 100 trappers headed towards Salt Lake. Within a day they were involved in a incident with a group of Gros Ventre. A battle ensued with about 250 Gros Ventre warriors, and riders were dispatched to bring reinforcements from the rendezvous site.

William Sublette arrived to aid his brother and coordinated an attack against the Gros Ventres' position. In this first rush towards the Gros Ventre camp William Sublette was wounded. Tricked by the Gros Ventre into thinking that the rendezvous site was being attacked, the trappers rushed back. Returning next morning they found the Gros Ventre position abandoned. The wounded Sublette returned to St. Louis to recover from his injury.

After recuperating for over a year, William returned to the West and built Fort William as a fortified trading post (later known as Fort John, then as Fort Laramie). Over the many years of exploring the area and organizing wagon trains to supply the rendezvous, Sublette was partially responsible for blazing the Oregon Trail. He found a shortcut through the Rocky Mountains which was named Sublett's Cut. Purchased by the U.S. Army in 1849 and renamed Fort Laramie, the fort founded by Sublette protected pioneers emigrating to the Northwest.

In 1844 William Sublette married Frances Hereford of Tuscambia, Alabama. In 1845 Sublette was desirous of obtaining the office of Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis. While on a trip back East to secure the position, he died in Pittsburgh in 1845. First buried in the family graveyard on his farm near St. Louis, his remains were later moved to Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. Sublette willed his property to his widow on the condition that she never change her name. Four years later she married his brother, Solomon Sublette, thus preserving William's legacy in more ways than one.

William Sublette's grave in St. Louis

Contributions and namesakes of William Lewis Sublette:

• One of the first explorers of what is now Wyoming
• Given credit by some for naming the valley of Jackson's Hole for his partner, David Jackson
• While supplying the rendezvous, brought wagons across the South Pass of the Rockies, thus blazing this trail for future immigrants
• Helped found Kansas City, Missouri
• Built the first horse racing track in Missouri in the spirit of his grandfather and namesake, William Whitley
• For a time Yellowstone Lake was known as "Sublette's Lake"
• Sublette Street in Pocatello, Idaho, is named for him
• Sublette County in Wyoming is named for him (See www.sublette.com)
• Sublette, Kansas, is named for him (See sublettekansas.com)
• The Sublett Range is southeast Idaho is named for him
• Sublette Park and Avenue in St. Louis are named for him

Linda and Becky's Excellent Adventure, Part 1: The Whitleys

I haven't written anything in a while, because I really haven't made new discoveries lately in any of my family lines. I continue to (haphazardly) search for clues to my Smith great-great-grandfather and my Roberts and Pharris ancestors in Jackson County, Tennessee. But when I got an invitation recently to a celebration of my 5th great-grandparents, William and Esther Whitley, who have been widely documented and continue to be two of my most fascinating ancestors, I knew I would have something to write about.

One day in August I got an email invitation to attend "A Day with the Descendants of Logan's Fort," to be held in Stanford, Kentucky, on September 10. I knew that William and Esther had lived at Logan's Fort before they built their brick house on the Wilderness Road, but other than that, I really didn't know much about their lives at the fort. The planners of the event were hoping to have a descendant of each of the Logan's Fort families at this special celebration, and I wanted to be there to learn more about the fort and my ancestors' participation in its history.

I did a little research and found that it was a 12-hour trip by car from my house to Logan's Fort. I love to drive, but I didn't feel comfortable going by myself. The date of the event, on a Saturday in September, meant I would almost certainly have to take off a couple of days from work. My brother was the obvious person to go with me--we have a history of genealogical expeditions--but he would also have to take a couple of days off school, harder for him than for me. He tried to help me figure out an itinerary that included a plane trip and a rental car, but I really wanted to drive. I tried to think of someone that would be able and willing to go with me and interested in the history and genealogy of Kentucky.

Aha! My cousin, Linda Castle Hess! She's retired--busy but flexible--and she and I have shared an interest in genealogy since she moved back home a few years ago. She's on the "wrong" side of the family, I thought, since the Whitleys are my mom's side, and she is a cousin on my dad's side. But maybe, just maybe, we could travel on a couple of hours east of Logan's Fort and visit our Castle homestead in West Liberty before starting back home. I contacted her, and she was more than excited to join me on a whirlwind trip to Kentucky.

We decided to get a head start by leaving town on Thursday after I got off school. I picked Linda up at her house in Sapulpa, and as she got in the car, she gave a name to our road trip. She called it "Linda and Becky's Excellent Adventure," and it was!

We set off on the first leg of our trip--to St. Louis--and then on the next day to spend the night at Mount Vernon, KY, not far from Logan's Fort and the Whitley House. The major excitement on Friday was the incessant rain, at one time so hard that we had to stop along the way at a Huddle House restaurant in Mascoutah, IL. It was there that I saw that I had an email from Peggy Denham, one of the planners of Descendants' Day. I wrote back to tell her we were on our way. She was delighted that we were coming, because apparently I was going to be the sole representative of the Whitley family descendants at the event.

On Saturday morning, with the rain stopped at last, we traveled to Stanford, KY and the Visitors' Center at Logan's Fort. Stanford is a lovely small town, the second oldest settlement in Kentucky, due to the presence of Logan's Fort. It is the county seat of Lincoln County, which once encompassed more than a third of the state of Kentucky. Records in the courthouse there go back to the 1780's and include some recorded on sheepskin. Traveling through town, we found the dead end road--Martin Luther King Street--that led us to the Logan's Fort Visitor's Center.

The founder of the fort, Benjamin Logan, came to the area in 1774 and began to build a fort in 1775 at the site of a spring called St. Asaph's. St. Asaph is the patron saint of Wales, and Logan was Irish. It is unlikely the name originated with him, but he was happy to call the fort St. Asaph's. As you can see, that name didn't stick. The building where the festivities were being held was the former Stanford ice plant which has now become the Visitor's Center. A path had been cleared to the spring which is situated right behind the building.

Logan's Fort Visitor's Center

The spring

The spring was, of course, crucial to the fort, and Benjamin Logan had an ingenious way to ensure that water was available to the fort during times of siege. A 4' deep tunnel was built between one of the fort's blockhouses to the spring house. The fort's inhabitants could get water without ever becoming a target for attack. As we learned from the first speaker at Descendants' Day, vessels to carry the water were scarce, so sometimes the settlers used hollowed-out pumpkins.

The first speaker was Dr. Kim McBride, an archaeologist who took part in the dig in the 1990's at the site of the fort. She explained how we know what the fort looked like and how it was situated relative to the spring and other natural features. An illustration of the fort was presented to Lyman Draper, an early historian, by a Captain Briggs. The detailed sketch, housed with Draper's papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society, is only about the size of an index card.

The dig uncovered hand-made nails and a hook, pieces of pottery, and the remains of a man, presumed to be William Hudson. Hudson was one of a group of men and women (including my ancestor, Esther Whitley) who went to milk the cows outside the fort and were attacked by Indians. Dr. McBride feels confident in the identity of the remains because it is known that Hudson was scalped and buried inside the fort, and the recovered skull shows evidence of scalping. Finding the remains of Hudson also helped pinpoint the site of the fort, and examination of various levels and colors of soil have helped determine the location of the tunnel to the spring.

The next part of the program was very entertaining. Everybody loaded onto a wagon, one pulled by Clydesdales and another by a tractor, and traveled a short distance to the spot where a monument commemorating Logan's Fort was dedicated 100 years ago. Amazingly, the speech given upon that day by the vice mayor of Stanford, Dr. J.G. Carpenter, was published in its entirety in the newspaper of that day and was available to the planners of the 2016 event. The original Dr. Carpenter, portrayed engagingly by Than Cutler, must have been quite a character. His speech, full of bombast and vivid vocabulary, was hilarious. To just give you an idea, his favorite name for the monument was "this ponderosity."

Than Cutler as Dr. J.G. Carpenter

A very delicious picnic lunch followed, then we gathered back inside the Vistor's Center for a talk by a local attorney and historian, Jeff Ralston. His presentation was very informative and he gained my esteem by mentioning my ancestor, Esther Whitley, several times. He had intended to give the talk at the site of the fort, which I had not yet seen because it was up the hill and behind some trees. However, it was just too hot for any of us to stand up there for an hour, so he spoke instead at the Center.

Seven families lived at Logan's Fort and inhabited seven cabins, three on the side of the fort that had two blockhouses, and four on the side with the single blockhouse. The heads of the seven families were Benjamin Logan, Ben Pettit, William Whitley, William Menifee, George Clark, James Mason, and Samuel Coburn. Several single men also lived in the fort, occupying the blockhouses. Various accounts I have read put the attack on the group outside the fort at the beginning of the siege, or at the end when the settlers believed that the Indians had finally given up. The date seems beyond question: May 20, 1777. As mentioned before, William Hudson was killed. Another of the men, Burr Harrison, was badly wounded but still alive. Using something as a shield--a feather mattress, roll of wool cloth, or bale of cotton--Benjamin Logan was able to reach Harrison and help him back to the fort, where he later died. Eventually, the Indian attacks lessened, and by 1779 the Whitleys were able to return to their own land.

I learned much that I did not know, but was also glad to hear from an expert researcher this story about Esther Whitley: Many Indian leaders came to Logan's Fort to negotiate with the settlers. They often urged William Whitley to compete with them in shooting contests. William told them that if they could ever beat his wife that he would consent to shoot with them, but that never happened because they could never beat Esther!

Again we climbed onto wagons and took a short ride to the fort where we explored and then gathered for a photo. 

Only one wall of the fort with two blockhouses has been built. The Logan's Fort Foundation hoped to build the entire fort with only the technology available in 1775, but it has become so expensive that they may have to finish it with modern tools. The most impressive feature of the fort to me was also one of Benjamin Logan's innovations. Mr. Ralston had reminded us of all the fort gates that we have seen in movies. They all open out, and once those seeking shelter have been let inside, somebody has to pull those heavy gates shut and bar them. Logan's Fort had a different type of gate. Perfectly balanced on hinges, it could be pulled up with a mere leather thong; once everyone was inside, all that was needed was to let go of the thong and the gate closed itself.

Logan's Fort

Blockhouse

   

Gate

Linda and Becky's Excellent Adventure at Logan's Fort

On May 20-22, 2016, the siege of 1777 was reenacted at the rebuilt Logan's Fort. I wish I could have been there. This video is pretty neat and gives you a good idea of the appearance of the fort and events during the siege.

We left during the last presentation to make it to the Whitley House by 4:30, when the last tour begins. I so wanted Linda to see the house. I had told her that it was the first brick house in Kentucky but I think she was really expecting a glorified log cabin. We come from Oklahoma, after all, where anything over 100 years old is pretty special. The Whitley House is 220+ years old, and it really is pretty amazing inside and out. This is my third time to visit the house, and I always learn something new. (See my post, "Daughter of the American Revolution," for more about the Whitleys.)

We had planned to spend the night closer to West Liberty and the Castle side of our excellent adventure. But the wind was coming up, and it was looking like rain, so we spent the night in Berea, Kentucky, not knowing what an interesting day was coming up.

New Ming Cousins

One of the first blog posts I wrote was called "The Wheats in Texas." In that post I talked about my surprise when I found a gravestone with the name "Susanna Wheat Ming" in the little Carson Cemetery outside of Dustin in Hughes County, Oklahoma. It was a clue that led me to connections between the Ming and Wheat families that I didn't know existed. I found out last Sunday that that post also led me to new Ming connections with cousins I didn't know I had. 

In those early years of genealogical research, I assumed that my Wheat-Ming great-grandparents' marriage was the first combination of those two families. I knew that a Ming (Cynthia, my great-grandmother) had married a Wheat, but I didn't know that a Wheat (Susanna) had married a Ming. Then on the 1880 census I found my grandfather J.W. Wheat, age 8 months, living with his parents J. Wheat and Cynthia, who in turn were living with Cynthia's parents, William F. Ming and wife Susanna. I discovered that William F. (Fred) Ming and Susanna were first cousins. William's mother was Susanna Stephenson, and his wife Susanna's mother was Cynthia Stephenson, who had married Samuel Wheat. So Susanna Ming was originally a Wheat and now the gravestone "Susanna Wheat Ming" made perfect sense. Until recently, though, I still didn't know how she had come to be buried in Carson Cemetery.

The Mings have always been fun to research because the name is fairly unusual. Back in the day, surname message boards were a great place to connect with relatives and share genealogical discoveries. For years I saw the name "Paul Ming" on Ming family message boards. I noticed that he lived in Oklahoma, although not close to me, and it was fun to know that I had a Ming cousin nearby, even though we had never met.

And then last November, out of the blue, I got an email from Paul Ming:

"Hi Becky, my name is Paul Ming and this is a picture of my great grandmother Susanna Wheat Ming with her daughter Martha and grandchildren. Grandma and Martha are both buried in Dustin, OK. I would like to hear from you. I have several years of research on the Ming lineage. Also I can always use another cousin. I live in Texas but raised an Okie. One of my daughters lives in Owasso. Looking forward to hearing from you."

Thus began a several-month correspondence by email and snail mail. Paul sent me one packet of information about the Mings and Wheats and another with much of his research on the Whitley family and the Whitley House. In the Ming/Wheat packet was a gift beyond measure--the only picture I have of my grandfather, John William Wheat, in which he is identified. (The only other photo I had was of a group of oil workers, and I still don't know which of them is my grandfather.)

We had planned to get together at Christmas when Paul and his wife were visiting their daughter, but he came down with the flu. We kept corresponding, and finally, Paul was going to be here this past weekend for his daughter's birthday. My brother was free Sunday afternoon and picked me up for the short drive to Traci's house. What I was delighted to find was that not only was I going to get to meet Paul and his wife but all four of their daughters, my new cousins.

Traci, Bobbie, Paul, Ruthie, Toni, Kathryn

Me, Paul, and Tim

We spent almost two hours looking at family photos and all of Paul's research into the Mings and related families. Paul's wife Bobbie added so much to the conversation that it was obvious that she knows just as much about the Mings as Paul does. In fact, it was Bobbie who shared the story of how Paul had found me, and it all goes back to his great-grandmother and my 2nd great-grandmother, Susanna Wheat Ming.

Buried in the little Carson Cemetery outside Dustin, Oklahoma, is my grandfather, John William Wheat; his wife, Cora Lee Bell Wheat Altstatt; and his grandmother, Susanna Wheat Ming. Down the same row, right at the front of the cemetery, are Frank Bell (Cora Bell's uncle); his wife, Martha E. (Ming) Bell (Susanna Wheat Ming's daughter); and Frank and Mattie's daughter, May Eaunice, who died at the age of 16. I knew that Susanna was living with her daughter Martha "Mattie" Bell when she died. What I didn't understand was why her husband, William F. Ming, was living 200 miles away in Granite, Oklahoma, with his daughter Helen from his first marriage.

Paul had the answer to that little mystery, thanks to our cousin Benton Bell, another of Frank and Mattie's children. Apparently, after Fred and Susanna Ming grew older, Fred's daughter Helen asked them both to move to Granite and live with her family. Since most of Susanna's children lived in south central Oklahoma or north Texas, she preferred to stay closer to them and chose to remain in Hughes County. I always wondered at the couple's separation, and I'm glad to know that Susanna was welcome in the home of her step-daughter.

We never know what little ripples our actions cause. It turns out that Paul was responsible for the gravestone marked "Susanna Wheat Ming" in the Carson Cemetery. In 1993 he had found out from Benton Bell where Susanna's grave was, compared to the other markers, and he placed a concrete headstone there, inscribed with her name and birth and death years. I saw the marker, and it started me on a decade of research into the histories of the Ming and Wheat families. That marker became an important part of that early blog post, "The Wheats in Texas." Then last fall Paul was playing with his new Samsung tablet, a gift from one of his daughters, and was so surprised and happy to see the gravestone he had placed in my blog post. As Bobbie explained, that led to his email to me and to a happy family get-together this past weekend.

I found out that I have a cousin, Traci, who lives fewer than 5 miles from me. I could have passed her at the Owasso Wal-Mart and never known that she was my cousin. Paul says we will continue to get together when he and Bobbie are up this way. Paul says he doesn't have many cousins, and he doesn't plan on losing me now!

DNA Circles: Thomas N. Ming and Susannah Stephenson

The Ancestors

According to his headstone, Thomas N. Ming, my 3^rd great-grandfather, was born 14 February 1796 and died 20 June 1887. He was born in North Carolina and is buried in Burnet County, Texas. I can’t find Thomas Ming on the 1880 census, but more than likely, at the age of 84, he was living with one of his children. In fact, I believe that he probably was living in Burnet County with his son, Alexander Columbus Ming, when he died in 1887. According to Findagrave.com, there is only one other Ming buried in Fairland Cemetery in Marble Falls where Thomas Ming is buried, and that is Sarah F. Ming, the 6-year-old daughter of A.C. Ming, who died there in 1883. (In 1880 Alexander Columbus Ming and family were living in Hamilton Co., TX, so they must have moved to Burnet Co. between 1880 and 1883.)

There are two entries for Thomas Ming in the 1870 census, and they are a little confusing. They would make perfect sense if the dates were reversed, but as they are, they create a little puzzle. On 30 September 1870 T.N. Ming (age 66, born in Alabama) and his wife Susanna are enumerated in Grayson County, TX, living with their son William F. Ming. A different enumerator found Thomas (age 70, born in N.C.) on 1 September 1870, living with daughter Emily J. (Ming) Herst/Hurst, also in Grayson County. If the dates were just reversed, we would have a possible death date and place for Susanna, but as it stands, all we have is the question of where she was on 1 September 1870.

On the 1850 census the occupation of Thomas Ming is listed as “house carpenter”; both the 1860 census and the 1870 census (the one in which he is living with the Hersts) list his occupation as “carpenter.” A widely distributed likeness of Thomas Ming shows him holding a hammer and a carpenter’s square, the tools of his trade.

Thomas Ming married Susannah Stephenson around 1823, based on the date of birth of their first child, William Frederick Ming. Susannah was the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Whitley) Stephenson and the granddaughter of Col. William C. Whitley, and his wife Esther Gill Fullen. Susannah was born about 1802 in Limestone County, Alabama, and probably died around 1880 in Grayson Co., Texas.

Thanks to my cousin Paul Ming, a long-time Ming researcher, I also have a likeness of Susanna Stephenson. The origin for my photograph was a display at the Whitley House, but the original was donated to the house by Paul, who is a careful recorder of his sources. He got his copy from a Ming cousin who got it from her grandmother who was a daughter of William F. Ming.

Paul also gave me some background on the above-mentioned picture of Thomas Ming. He got it originally from a cousin who was a great-granddaughter of Thomas through his son, Alexander Columbus. This photograph is probably the origin of the middle name that many researchers have shown for Thomas because the back of the photograph is inscribed “Thomas Norton Ming.”

Children of Thomas N. and Susannah (Stephenson) Ming

Known children of Thomas and Susanna Ming were:

William Frederick Ming, known as Fred, was born in 1824 in Alabama. By 1829 Thomas and Susana had moved to Callaway County, Missouri, and William grew up there with his five younger brothers and sisters. (See my post, “The Ming Dynasty.”) In 1848 Fred joined the Peters Colony and moved to northeastern Texas. The 1850 census shows him married to Frances J. They had a daughter, Helen Ann, born about 1853/54, before Frances died, perhaps in childbirth. Fred took his daughter and moved to Grayson County, Texas, where his aunt Cynthia (his mother’s sister) and his uncle Samuel Wheat were living. There Fred married his first cousin, Susana, daughter of Samuel and Cynthia Wheat. They had their first child, Thomas Samuel Ming, in 1857, followed by Cynthia Frances (1859), Jefferson Davis (1862), George Alexander (1863), William Olive (1867), John (1869), James (1872), Martha (1879), and Josephine (1880). Two other children, Edney and Mary, died as infants.

(Thanks to my cousin Paul Ming for generously sharing his research into the lives of our Ming ancestors. He and I both descend from the William F. Ming family, Paul through son George Alexander, and myself through daughter Cynthia Frances. After many years of seeing each other’s names in Ming message boards, Paul contacted me just a few months ago. We have carried on a frequent email and snail mail correspondence and hope to finally meet each other this spring.)

The second son of Thomas and Susanna Ming was Whitley F. Ming, born about 1830 in Missouri. On the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses Whitley is found in Grayson Co. with wife Margaret and children: George J., Alice E., William W., Carrie L., Cora, and E.M. (Eugene.)

Frances Ming was born in 1835 in Missouri. Her story is told in my blog post, “Serendipity.” She is the grandmother of one of my largest DNA matches, Herbert Archie Miller.

Emily Jane Ming was born 14 November 1838, consistently giving Missouri as her place of birth on several censuses. At the time of the 1850 census she was living with her parents and siblings, Frances, Alexander, and Margaret, in Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas. She married Bradford C. Hurst, and their first child, Thomas Jefferson, was born about 1855 in Texas, although by the 1860 census the Hursts were living in Otoe, Kansas Territory. Four more children were born to the Hursts: Mary Frances, Franklin Pierce, Margaret E., and Bradford Lee. Emily’s husband died in 1870, and in 1871 she remarried to Rev. James Bedford, a Primitive Baptist preacher who was 30 years her senior. Remarkably, they had a child, Cynthia Ellen, who was born in 1876 in Parker County, Texas, when her father was 66 years old. Rev. Bedford died in 1892 at the age of 82. Emily went on to marry one more time to William Harvey Martin on 18 April 1895. Emily died in 1905 and is buried in Hood County, Texas. The economical headstone in the Martin Cemetery in Hood Co. includes the names of Wm. H. Martin who died in 1925, his first wife Sallie who died in 1893, and his second wife, Emily J. (Ming Hurst Bedford Martin.)

Alexander (sometimes spelled Elexander) Columbus Ming was born 18 November 1841, according to his death certificate, probably in Callaway County, Missouri. He married Margaret Lucinda Ferguson on 29 May 1865 in Grayson County, Texas, according to her application for Civil War widow’s benefits. Their children were William Alfred, Susie Catherine, Nancy Elizabeth, Margaret Emily, Sarah F., and Jane Irene. Alexander C. Ming died on 29 February 1928 in Bertram, Burnet Co., TX. According to his death certificate, he was a blacksmith and died of influenza with the contributing factor of old age. His parents are listed as Tom and Susan Ming.

Margaret Metilda Ming was born 22 Nov 1844 in Callaway County, MO. While documentation is sketchy, it appears that she married first to a Frank Baskett about 1860/61 and had two children with him: Frances Mary (Fannie) and Charles Columbus. She then married Oliver Peyton/Paten Mallow about 1872; it was a second marriage for both. They appear on the 1880 census in Collin County, Texas, with four children from his first marriage, her children by Frank Baskett, and their children, which include: W.O., born 1874; George F., born 1875; Wesley P., born 1876; Franklin Pierce, born 1879; and Grace, born 1884. Margaret Metilda died 14 July 1930 and is buried at the Orenduff Cemetery in Collin Co.

Descendants of Thomas N. Ming and Susannah Stephenson in DNA Circles

Counting myself, there are 4 members of the Thomas Ming DNA Circle. The Susannah Stephenson DNA Circle has the same 4 members. I am a DNA match to all of the other circle members. Two of the members are descended from Alexander Columbus Ming through his daughter, Susie Catherine. One member is descended from William Frederick Ming through his son Thomas Samuel; I am descended through William’s daughter, Cynthia Frances.

In the absence of a Chromosome Browser, I can’t tell if my DNA matches are on the Ming or the Stephenson side, or both. I’m not sure if Ancestry DNA differentiates its results in that way.

DNA Circles: Robert Stephenson and Elizabeth Whitley

The Ancestors

Robert and Elizabeth Whitley Stephenson are my 4th great-grandparents, three times over. As I have mentioned before, I am a descendant of three of their daughters: Esther, Cynthia, and Susannah. Ancestry.com has placed me in the Elizabeth Whitley DNA Circle with 8 other descendants of Elizabeth and in the Robert Stephenson circle with 5 other descendants of Robert. I can't explain the discrepancy in the number of circle members; I don't know whether it has something to do with our DNA tests or with the way our trees are constructed.

Elizabeth Whitley is well-documented as the daughter of William Chapman Whitley and Esther Gill Fullen, early pioneers of Kentucky. (See my post, "Daughter of the American Revolution.") I think it has been much harder for Stephenson descendants to build Robert's family tree and attribute the right parents, siblings, and children to him. Many researchers agree that Thomas Stephenson and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Logan were the parents of Robert. Others have identified Betty as the sister of the Benjamin Logan who established Logan's Fort (later becoming Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky) in 1775. It seems likely that Robert Stephenson and Elizabeth Whitley were part of the same pioneer community in Kentucky, especially since Elizabeth's family lived at Logan's Fort. Records show that Robert and Elizabeth married on 28 May 1793 in Lincoln County.

Children of Robert and Elizabeth (Whitley) Stephenson

Robert and Elizabeth moved from Kentucky to Mississippi Territory (Limestone and Madison counties in Alabama), probably sometime before 1813 when daughter Esther married William Wheat in Madison County. Robert Stephenson died before 25 August 1825 when Elizabeth appeared in Limestone County orphan's court as administratrix of his estate, asking that his real estate be sold and divided among his children, listed as:

William WHEAT and Esther WHEAT, his wife, Whitley STEPHENSON, Samuel WHEAT and Scintha WHEAT, his wife, Elliott H. NIXON and Jane NIXON, his wife, Logan STEPHENSON and Mary STEPHENSON, his wife, Thomas N. MING and Susannah MING, his wife, Greenup STEPHENSON, Freedom STEPHENSON, William SMITH and Sarah SMITH, his wife.

Andrew and James Stephenson are also listed as infant (under 20) sons of Robert Stephenson and asked to be assigned a guardian. The court minutes also state that Scintha Wheat, Susannah Ming (both my ancestors), Greenup Stephenson, and Freedom Stephenson were not residents of the state, and the court ordered that a copy of "this order" be published in the newspaper for four weeks to give due notice to these heirs.

I can't say that I'm completely versed in women's rights in the 19th century, but it is interesting to me that Elizabeth can be the executor of the estate and yet not be considered a "guardian" for her own children. I also love how the spouse of each of Robert's daughters is listed first, along with "his wife"--who is the actual child of the deceased.

Because of the way the daughters are listed, much confusion has ensued over "Logan Stephenson and Mary Stephenson, his wife"; which of them is Robert's child? Lots of trees, including mine for a while, listed Logan as the son of Robert and Elizabeth, when many Stephenson researchers believe it is Mary who is the daughter. Logan is probably the son of Robert's brother James and therefore Mary's first cousin. His name, no doubt, comes from the maiden name of their mutual grandmother, Betty Logan Stephenson. Back to this question in a minute.

I guess it's a sign of those times that members of families, formerly living within miles of each other, all feel the temptation to move west. It appears that the three youngest of the Stephenson children, Sarah, Andrew, and James--the ones that were born in Alabama--remain there, but the older children, who were born in Kentucky, keep moving west.

Cynthia (Wheat) and Susannah (Ming) had already left Alabama by 1825, according to the court records following Robert Stephenson's death. Cynthia and Samuel Wheat were on the 1830 and 1840 censuses in Arkansas, then by 1847 in Milam County, TX, where Cynthia died about 1850. Susannah and Thomas N. Ming also lived in Arkansas on the 1850 census; Susannah is on the 1850 and 1860 censuses in Grayson County, TX, and died there in 1880.

Freedom and Greenup Stephenson were also living out of the state at the time of their father's death. Searching for them is complicated by the fact that the Stephensons often used the Scottish spelling of their name, Stinson. I found Freedom Stinson living in Callaway, MO, in 1830 with his wife, Aletha Brunson. Some trees on Ancestry.com list his death date as 1839. "Green" Stinson married Malinda Jane Perry in Rutherford County, TN, on 29 Jun 1833, and is last found on the 1850 census in Limestone, AL, as "Green Stenson."

Esther and William Wheat and Mary and Logan Stephenson end up in Texas; Whitley Stinson is living in Hardeman County, TN, by 1840; some trees on Ancestry report his death in 1859 in Tippah County, Mississippi. Elliott Nixon's remarriage in 1837 in Hardeman County, TN, comes after the death of his wife Jane the same year.

Descendants of Robert Stephenson and Elizabeth Whitley in DNA Circles

Out of the 8 other members of Elizabeth Whitley's DNA Circle, I have DNA matches with 7 of them. Two of the circle members show Cynthia Stephenson has an ancestor; two of them show Susannah. The other four show Logan Stephenson as their ancestor, which is interesting since it is highly probable that Logan is not a direct descendant of Elizabeth at all. Which begs the question: since I am a DNA match with three of these purported descendants of Logan Stephenson, is it really his wife Mary that creates the connection to Elizabeth Whitley, or do we match two generations back with the parents of Robert and James Stephenson?

I am considered a Strong match to the Elizabeth circle, six members have a Good match, and two are shown to have "Some" connection. What does that mean, according to Ancestry DNA? A Strong match means there is a "considerable amount of proof that an individual is related to the shared ancestor (and other members of the DNA Circle.)" This is based on three factors: the number of connections; the strength of connections (the confidence score that each DNA match receives); and the number of people in the circle. (If you want to read about how DNA Circles are created and how matches are scored, go to one of your circles and click on the green question mark in the upper right corner of the screen.) Perhaps I have a Strong match because I have not just one, but three, connections to the children of Elizabeth Whitley?

Turning now to the Robert Stephenson DNA Circle, I am a member along with five other descendants. I am a DNA match to all of them, and all of them are members of the Elizabeth Whitley circle. Two of them are descendants of Cynthia, two name Logan as their ancestor, and one is a descendant of Susannah. Whereas I was a Strong match to the Elizabeth Whitley circle, all of us in the Robert Stephenson circle are considered "Emerging." According to Ancestry, "An emerging level means that there is some DNA evidence of a relationship but the DNA circle is too small for us to determine how strong that evidence is. As the circle grows, your connection level will most likely change."

What Next?

I don't know if Ancestry knew this would happen, or if it is an unintended consequence, but knowing how the DNA Circles work makes me want to improve my tree on Ancestry. I've already realized since starting this series on my DNA Circles that I haven't done a very good job of documenting siblings of my ancestors and their descendants.

Although I'm not a Mormon, I attended a genealogy workshop at our local LDS Family History Center a couple of years ago. One of the classes I attended was on "descendancy research," documenting the descendants of your direct and collateral lines. Not only does that sometimes help with locating ancestors in traditional paper research, but in these days of DNA testing, it pays to know the possible surnames and places of residence of as many of your family's descendants as you can find.

It looks like this research will be ever more important as Ancestry.com adds some features to DNA Circles. In a few weeks, some Ancestry DNA customers will find themselves assigned to new DNA Circles based on their DNA results alone. So, even if you don't have a known tree connection to the circle members, if you have a DNA connection, Ancestry will give you a "hint": the common ancestor of circle members whose DNA you match. With some research, you may be able to determine if you are also related to their identified ancestor.

As Blaine Bettinger, the Genetic Genealogist warns, "Only a certain percentage will actually be direct-line ancestors. It will be impossible to determine--based on the DNA Circle alone--whether an identified person is direct-line, collateral, or population-based...additional research will always, always, be necessary."

So what are my goals in advance of his new DNA Circles feature? I at least would like to get siblings, children, and documents attached to all three of my Stephenson lines on my public tree. Right now, only one of them is complete in any way at all. And before the new feature is added to the DNA Circles, I would like to write blog posts on the other 8 ancestors for whom I have DNA Circles: Thomas and Susannah (Stephenson) Ming, Champion and Catherine (Davidson) Farris, William and Rachel (Barker) Bays, Luke Russell Simmons, and Zachariah Wheat. 

Hopefully, future blog posts will show how the new DNA Circle hints helped me break down some long-standing brick wall. We'll just have to wait and see--and do more research.

DNA Circles: Samuel Wheat and Cynthia Stephenson

DNA Circles is Ancestry DNA’s new twist on DNA matches. Judy Russell, who writes the blog The Legal Genealogist calls them  “…shaky leaf hints on steroids.” While still not giving genetic genealogists the tool they really want—something that lets you compare matching segments on a chromosome to identify DNA derived from a particular ancestor—the Circles combine DNA matches with family trees to create circles of Ancestry members who may share particular ancestors. 

Critics are warning that while DNA Circles may prove helpful to genealogists, they have a couple of drawbacks: 1. Since there is no way to compare actual DNA results, you can’t know for sure that the ancestor in your circle is the common ancestor of you and your match, and 2. The matches are only as good as the data in people’s trees, and everyone has seen common mistakes in numerous trees on Ancestry.

I thought it might be useful to look at my 14 DNA Circles--what I know about the ancestor in each circle; what, if anything, I know about my matches; any inaccuracies that I am aware of; and if anything can be learned from the endeavor.

The Ancestors

My 3^rd great-grandparents, Samuel Wheat and Cynthia Stephenson, are the ancestors at the center of two of my DNA Circles. They married 13 November 1814 in Madison County, Mississippi Territory (Madison County, Alabama.) Samuel was the son of Zachariah Wheat and Priscilla Reynolds, who married 4 February 1782 in Upper Marlborough (now spelled Marlboro), Prince George’s County, Maryland, where many of our Wheat families seem to originate. Priscilla was the daughter of Thomas Reynolds and Elizabeth Bordley of Prince George’s Co.

Most researchers have Samuel’s (and his brothers’) place of birth as Loudon County, Virginia, which is only about 50-60 miles from Prince George’s County, although it appears that Zachariah Wheat died in Prince George’s County in 1792 at the age of 28. Samuel and his brothers—Josiah, William, and Benjamin--all resided in Madison Co. AL by 1813. Josiah married Martha Fletcher in Madison Co. in 1812; Benjamin married Mary Gourley there in 1812; and William married Esther Stephenson, Cynthia’s sister, again in Madison Co. AL, in 1813.

Samuel apparently makes a detour to Tennessee (daughter Mary Elizabeth was born there in 1826), before he next appears on a tax list in Washington Co. Arkansas in 1828 and on the 1830 census there. In 1840 he is still in Arkansas, but by 1846 he is in Red River County, Texas, and appears on the 1850 census in Milam, Texas. He is in Bell Co. in 1860, living with his daughter M.E. (Mary Elizabeth) and her husband, G.W. (George Washington) Cloer. He died in 23 November 1866 in Grayson Co. Texas and is buried at the Hall Cemetery in Howe.

Samuel was a Primitive Baptist preacher and helped start several churches in Arkansas and Texas. His headstone reads: “In memory of Elder Samuel Wheat, who departed this life November 23, 1866, aged seventy-nine years and one day. Elder S. Wheat had been an old school Baptist from his youth and a minister of the cross for fifty-eight years. Standing firm amidst all the siftings and schisms among the churches. The fearless advocate of electing and reigning grace. Elder Wheat was born in Virginia, emigrated to Alabama, thence to Tennessee, thence to Arkansas, then to Texas in 1847, making his first discourse to Pilot Grove Church in Grayson County to which he made his last a few days before his death. From the 48^th Psalm, Walk About Zion.”

Samuel Wheat headstone, Hall Cemetery, Howe, TX
when headstone was still intact
from findagrave.com

Cynthia Stephenson (sometimes spelled Stinson) and her sister Esther were the daughters of Robert Stephenson and Elizabeth Whitley. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Whitley and Esther Fullen, early Kentucky pioneers whose home was known as the “Guardian of the Wilderness Road” and still stands near Crab Orchard, Kentucky. (See my post “Daughter of the American Revolution.”)

Children of Samuel and Cynthia (Stephenson) Wheat

I have been able to document the following possible children of Samuel and Cynthia (Stephenson) Wheat:

Joseph Wheat, born in 1815 in Alabama; married Malitta DeRecors; appears on 1850 census in Milam, TX; most trees list death date as 1850. Some trees list Joseph as the son of William and Esther (Stephenson) Wheat. Joseph is usually in the same places as Samuel (Madison, AR; Milam, TX), but so is William. Joseph’s first son is Drecory (coined, no doubt, from his mother’s maiden name); second son is Samuel, and third son is William. (If Samuel’s brother William is also my ancestor, as I believe, I would share DNA with the descendants of Joseph Wheat, no matter whether his father is Samuel or William.)

Sarah Elizabeth Wheat, born 1817 in Alabama; married William Jackson in Arkansas; William Jackson is on tax list in Arkansas in 1849, William and Sarah are on 1850 census in Grayson Co. TX; Sarah and children (including son John, age 9) definitely appear on 1870 census in Grayson Co.; Sarah Jackson, widow, living with son John, age 18, on 1880 census; says her parents were born in North Carolina. I wish I could find proof that this person—Sarah Elizabeth Wheat—is daughter of Samuel and Cynthia.

*William Whitley Wheat, born 1820 in Madison, AL; married Cynthia Ann Maynard in 1838; was living in Texas by 1846, where he appears on the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, dying in Grayson Co. in 1890; buried in Hall Cemetery, Howe, TX. Undoubtedly son of Samuel and Cynthia. Prominent citizen of Grayson Co. where he was a county commissioner for 8 years; subject of a Texas Historical Society marker.

*Mary Elizabeth Wheat, birthdates according to censuses vary from 1822 to 1830, birthplaces both Alabama and Tennessee; married George Washington Cloer Jr., probably in Alabama; on 1850 census in Madison Co. AR; definite proof of connection to Samuel Wheat, as he is living with the Cloers on the 1860 census in Bell Co. TX; G.W. Cloer died in Civil War; Mary Elizabeth died in 1895 in Collin Co. TX.

*Martha Jane Wheat, born 8 December 1827 in Madison Co. AL; married Andrew Jackson Edwards in Arkansas in 1845; on 1850 and 1860 censuses in Madison Co. AL; on 1870 and 1880 censuses in Tarrant Co. TX; died 1916 in Parker Co. TX. The Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas, published in 1889, lists three siblings of William Whitley Wheat: Samuel, Elizabeth, and Martha.

*Susanna Wheat, born 1835 in Arkansas; on 1850 census in Milam, TX, with her parents, Samuel and Cynthia; married her 1^st cousin, William Frederick Ming, about 1856; on 1870 census in Grayson Co. and 1880 census in Collin Co. TX; living with her daughter Martha “Mattie” (Ming) Bell on the 1900 census in Garvin Co. OK. Susanna died in 1916 in Carson, OK, while living with the Bells. (More information has come to light about why Susanna, my ancestor, was living apart from her husband in 1910. Explanation to come in future post.)

*The 1850 census is the only census that lists both Wheat parents, Samuel and Cynthia, with children living at home at the time. The children were: James, age 20; John, age 18; Susanna, age 15; Samuel, age 12; and George, age 10.

Many trees list a son Andrew, born 1818. I couldn’t find any more information about him, nor anything definitive about James, John, Samuel, or George. Some trees list a younger daughter named Sallie; is she the same person as Sarah Elizabeth, even though their birthdates vary widely? Which Elizabeth is the one that The Biographical Souvenir lists as a sister of William Whitley Wheat: Sarah Elizabeth or Mary Elizabeth?

Descendants of Samuel and Cynthia in DNA Circles

So now let’s look at the descendants who join me in the DNA Circle with Samuel (11 matches) and Cynthia (3 matches). Ancestry’s claim about DNA Circles is that they look at the DNA matches first and then look at the trees to determine if two matches should share the circle with their common ancestor. You will match at least one other person in the circle by DNA; some other people in the circle will match someone else in the circle, but not you.

And as Roberta Estes, in her blog DNA Explained, points out: “The common link is, of course, that in addition to genetically matching someone in the circle, they all share a common ancestor in their tree. Now, yes, it does go without saying that if everyone has the same wrong ancestor -- the circle will show that ancestor. Conversely, if you are the only one with the right ancestor's name and everyone else has the wrong name, then you won't be shown in that circle."
From Roberta's post, "Ancestry's Better Mousetrap--DNA Circles," 19 November 2014.

Ancestry has some kind of fancy algorithm that finds reliable matches in the trees. Sometimes spelling or nicknames or quotes seem to defeat their search. Are my matches’ trees reliable? Are we all listing the right ancestor? Is the shaky leaf the real deal, or do we really connect in some other way? Am I missing some connections because some Ancestry users, including me, have used nicknames or question marks?

The first Ancestry user in the Samuel Wheat DNA Circle is a descendant of Mary Elizabeth Wheat (Cloer.) We are considered both DNA and Tree matches. Samuel would be our 3^rd great-grandfather.

The next Ancestry user in the Samuel Wheat DNA Circle gives her 3^rd great-grandmother as Sarah Elizabeth Wheat. We are both DNA and Tree matches. Samuel would be her 4^th great-grandfather.

The next Ancestry user in the circle shows her 3^rd great-grandmother, daughter of Samuel and Cynthia (Stephenson) Wheat, as Mary Polly Wheat, born 1801. There is a big problem with that. In 1801 Samuel would have been 14 and Cynthia would have been 6, according to the user’s own tree. Ancestry considers us both DNA and Tree matches. I believe we are DNA matches, not through Mary Polly Wheat, but through her real ancestor, Mary Polly Stinson, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Whitley) Stephenson, who married her 1^st cousin, Logan Stephenson. And in fact, this user and I are both in the Robert Stephenson and Elizabeth Whitley DNA circles.

The next user in the circle is the descendant of Martha J. Wheat. We share Samuel Wheat as our 3^rd great-grandfather. The next has the right wife for Logan Stephenson, Mary Francis Stephenson, but makes her a daughter of Samuel and Cynthia. Again, while we are DNA matches, Ancestry makes the erroneous assumption that we are Tree matches, just because we both have Samuel Wheat in our trees. Again, our DNA connection appears to be Robert Stephenson and Elizabeth Whitley, and again, we both appear in those circles.

Match #6 is a descendant of William Whitley Wheat. I would agree that we are both DNA and Tree matches. Match #7 is a descendant of Sarah Elizabeth (Wheat) Jackson. While I’m still uncomfortable that I can’t directly tie Sarah Elizabeth to Samuel and Cynthia, I’m prepared to agree that Match #7 and I are DNA and Tree cousins.

The next circle member is a DNA match to the Circle, but not to me. He is a descendant of William Whitley Wheat. I’m prepared to believe we are paper cousins who just don’t share an appreciable amount of DNA. The next is a descendant of Sarah Elizabeth (Wheat) Jackson. We are considered both DNA and Tree matches.

Circle member #10 is a DNA match to the circle and a Tree match to me, as we both show Samuel Wheat as our ancestor. She shows her descent from Samuel’s daughter, Mary Jane (Wheat) Edwards. While researching this child of Samuel and Cynthia, I saw her name as Martha Jane and Mary Martha, but never Mary Jane. ??? I am #11 in Samuel Wheat’s DNA Circle.

I share Cynthia Stinson Stephenson’s DNA circle with 2 other people. The discrepancy in the number of members in Samuel’s and Cynthia’s circles can be explained by the fact that the two other circle members and I listed Cynthia as Cynthia Stinson Stephenson. Apparently, the other members in Samuel’s tree showed her as Cynthia Stephenson. Makes me wonder, if I changed it, would I gain 8 more members in Cynthia’s circle?

Conclusions

My conclusions? Wow, there are a lot of mistakes out there in Ancestry Land. About DNA Circles?

Pro: I’m not sure. It seems like a good idea to have your DNA and Tree matches that show a common ancestor all in one place. And now that I’ve done all this research to verify my circle matches, I have more people to add to my tree and a better “big picture” of the Samuel and Cynthia (Stephenson) Wheat family.

Cons:

1.       You can’t depend on people’s trees, even if they appear in your DNA Circle. Duh.

2.      You can’t depend on the ancestor in your circle being your common DNA connection with the other circle members. In two instances above, Samuel and Cynthia (Stephenson) Wheat are not our common ancestors; Robert and Elizabeth (Whitley) Stephenson are.

3.     Although it seems like Ancestry has done all the work for you, it actually took me hours of research and analysis to determine that at least two of these matches were completely bogus. (However, part of that is because I had never done the necessary research to document all the children of Samuel and Cynthia Wheat—just the one who really mattered to me—Susanna (Wheat) Ming.)

4.      Ancestry needs a Chromosome Browser! With that tool and Ancestry’s extensive database, all of us could determine exactly how we are connected, but in addition, I could easily determine that for two of the members, our common ancestor is not Samuel Wheat but Robert Stephenson or Elizabeth Whitley. And with a Chromosome Browser, I could probably find out if it is Stephenson or Whitley DNA, thus helping me with future matches.

5.      Ancestry DNA users may be persuaded to make their trees Public or include theoretical ancestors in their trees in the hopes that they will be included in a DNA Circle. I have already succumbed to this myself by adding some probable (by DNA) but undocumented ancestors to my tree, hoping that inclusion in a DNA Circle will give me the “proof” I’m looking for.