How Many Years in a Generation?

When we talk about our ninth great grandparents, how many years ago is that? Our ninth great grandparents are twelve generations ago - counting the three generations to get to our first great grandparents.

People have kids when they are teenagers; some have kids in the 40's; so what would be the nominal or average number to be used when thinking about this period of time?

How many years in a generation.

For the purposes of this post, the related question is, "How many  generations in a century?"

We have sound empirical evidence that the answer is 3. Not "about 3" but 3. Check this out then continue below the chart:

I don't think my mother noticed this pattern until her granddaughter Wendy was born.

Wendy was born in 1968, 100 years after her great grandmother Maggie (Rowlison) Cassell in 1868.

I was born in 1943, 100 years after my great grandmother Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison in 1843.

My Mother, Mildred (Cassell) Johnson was born in 1912, 100 years after her great grandfather Isaiah Walton was born in 1812.

So there you have it, three generations in exactly 100 years and it happened three consecutive times in this lineage. 

The pattern is broken with Isaiah's father Abraham Walton who was born in 1777 instead of 1768 which would have fit the pattern. But look at his father. William Walton was born in 1743 which did fit that pattern joining Rhoda (1843) and myself (1943)

So for this line, the average number of years in a generation is 33 1/3 over a period where this pattern held. Kind of cool. A coincidence of course but still cool. The real reason this worked is that Mildred was the ninth of Maggie's children, born when Maggie was 44 years old. That needed to happen again if the pattern were to continue. And you'll notice that the pattern has been broken. Wendy did not present us with another grandchild last year. Yes, I did mention this to Wendy early last year. I will not quote exactly what she said; the response I got indicated pretty clearly that this was not likely. It was not just, "No." But more along the lines of, "Hell, no!" As I said, I will not quote her exactly.

The better way to see how many years in a generation is to average the birth years at a given generation in the past. I'll use my own second great grandparents, the generation of Isaiah Walton and Aaron Rowlison (the younger).

My great grandparents were born in:

1794 Johannes Jonasson

1796 Lena Cajsa Petersdotter

1811 Jonas Petter Klintberg

1807 Ingri Cajsa Persdotter

1804 Israel P.Aspegren

1813 Anna Carin Petersdotter

1824 Andrew Peter Israelson

1833 Charlotte Sophia Larsdotter

1795 James Cassell

1791 Janet Laing

1802 William Maxwell

1806 Elizabeth Inglis

1809 Aaron Rowlison

1813 Martha Ann Kinnear

1812 Isaiah Walton

1817 Eliza Jane Hall

(Not too hard to pick out the eight Swedes and the four (actually 5) Scots there.)

The range of birth years for these people is from 1791 to 1833. The average birth year for my great, great grandparents is 1808 or 135 years before my birth in 1943 - an average of 27 years per generation.

For the math kids, five generations back you have 16 great grandparents. What's the math for that? Remember exponents? The number of ancestors at any level is 2 to the Nth power where N = the number of generations. Two to the 5th power is 16.  Ten generations back is 2 to the 10th power or 1024. At the 20th generation, you have over a million ancestors and at 30 generations you had a BILLION ancestors, or probably about the population of the planet.

Thirty generations by our math above, will be about 900 years, only 900 years or the early 12th century. I have our lines back to Charlemagne, to the Plantegenet Kings of England  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Plantagenet, some French and Spanish royalty, Geoffrey de Bouillon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_of_Bouillon and a bunch of other folks. It may sound like a big deal but at those levels, probably almost everyone is descended from all of them. The distinction is that some of us can trace those lines, others can't but could with some work.

A second reason not to get to excited about famous ancestors of the past is that the basis of genealogical research is to follow the biological path back to your natural ancestors. We know that following the maternal lines, the lines of our mothers, is much more reliable than the paternal lines. We know for certain who a newborn's mother is; she will be close by. Being certain of the father is, when we're talking about 10 or 20 generations (even fewer) a bit more problematic. Genealogist and others call this the "paternity anomaly."

On a more benign level, adoptions were not always well documented. We do see census records where a child is listed as an "adopted son" or "adopted daughter" but I've not seen it very often, far less than I'd expect was the case. It was very common for children to be raised by people not their parents in earlier times when mortality rates were higher among young adults. 

But if we understand these shortcomings and keep a clear head about what is actually going on here, it still is interesting, even somewhat comforting to be able to look at a list of 16 specific individuals from the early 19th century and know that your entire genetic makeup comes from those people and to the extent that Nature rather than Nurture determines our innate qualities, these folks "are" us, for Good or for Bad.

Gayle LuEllen (Walton) Fuller (1937-2013)

Gayle LuEllen Walton Fuller, 75

    Gayle LuEllen Walton Fuller of Wilsonville, Oregon died June 7, 2013.  She was born November 9, 1937 in Geneva, Nebraska to Gale and Helen Schwab Walton in the Geneva Hospital during a Nebraska blizzard, and came home wearing a white rabbit fur bunting made by her parents.  She was an only child and the first girl born in the Walton family in seventy-one years.
   From an early age Gayle revealed an outgoing personality and a love of performing.  When she was six, after studying baton twirling with great intensity, she became the drum majorette of the Geneva High School band.  This position of leadership became a familiar one throughout her life.
   Piano lessons followed the baton lessons, and again Gayle studied with great intensity.  When she was nine, her parents took her to a Shrine Circus performance in Hastings, Nebraska.  This event had a profound effect upon her life.  A great circus organist, Lillian Cole, captured Gayle’s attention.  After the circus, Gayle met Lillian and, soon thereafter, Gayle went to Illinois to study organ with her.    In the early 1950’s she had television shows in Lincoln, Omaha, and Hastings, Nebraska, and then performed for three summers in New York City with “Star Time Show” which showcased young performers.  Numerous television and radio performances, and recording sessions in New York followed as Gayle gained a national reputation as a Hammond Organ artist.  Following high school, she studied briefly at The Julliard School before pursuing a full-time career as an organist.  Bookings for the next several years included a six month gig at the Fremont Hotel in Las Vegas, extended bookings at the Park Sheraton in New York City and The Tropics in Daytona Beach.  She was also booked for two years of performances in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland before returning to the United States.  Other performances included gigs with Lawrence Welk, Disneyland, and the Seattle World’s Fair.
   Closing out her organ performance career in Portland, Gayle met Jerry Fuller.  They were married in 1963, and Gayle joined Jerry in his real estate business.  Many years of real estate experience led Gayle to Barbara Sue Seal Properties which became Coldwell Banker Seal.  Gayle had a stellar career as a relocation specialist and subsequently as the creator and administrator of “Quick Start”, a training program for new real estate licensees.
   Upon retirement she devoted countless hours to family genealogy, to writing her autobiography, and to a massive historical novel based on family histories.   She was a member of the Belle Passie and Tualatin Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Toastmasters Club, Rose City Corvette Club, Tualatin Golf and Country Club, and the Conchologist Club.  Her passions included music, golf, real estate, education, writing, learning, listening, Corvettes, sea shells, flow blue dishes, and Nebraska football.
   Gayle was an innovator, an artist, a teacher, a humanist, and a lover of positive thinking.  Her magnetic personality drew people to her, and they never forgot her presence.  Somewhere along the line, family members tagged her EZ Breezee.  She is now speeding somewhere across the heavens in a shiny new Corvette creating boundless ideas for new projects and goals.   She is preceded in death by her parents Helen and Gale Walton, husband Jerry Fuller in 1992, and an infant son.  Surviving to remember Gayle’s grace, charm, kindness, and million dollar smile are her beloved nanny, Helen Riel Everts, step-daughter Debbie Fuller Anderson, many cousins, and countless friends.
   Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to Vital Life Foundation, in care of Marquis Care Wilsonville, 30900 SW Parkway Ave., Wilsonville, OR 97070 or Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675 with form on-line.
   The graveside service for Gayle Fuller will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 19 in the Geneva Public Cemetery.  Family and friends are welcome.

I came to know Gayle Walton Fuller the past few years after her real estate career concluded and she had taken up genealogy and writing with a vengeance. She showed up in our driveway a couple of times during Geneva visits while on her Heritage Tours from Oregon to Indiana or North Carolina or where ever. She had a huge repertory of great stories.   - Jerry

To alleviate any skepticism about our cousin's recording career and to display the size and nature of 78 RPM to the
younger set...  My mother and Gayle's father were in close touch for many years and she had two of Gayle's records. This one has Airplane Polka on one side and (It's No) Sin on the other. The second record is Peek-A-Boo and Petite Waltz.

The Thomas Family

Our Thomas family connection is Rhoda Thomas (1781-1863). Rhoda was married to Isaac Hall (1781-1870) the younger of the two Isaac Hall's in our Hall Line. Rhoda and Isaac are buried in the Hall-Walton cemetery in a grove of trees in the interior of Section 14 of Montgomery Township, Jennings County, Indiana.

Maggie and Mom (Mildred (Cassell) Johnson) claimed that the Rowlisons were English, Irish and Welsh. Actually, they were mainly Massachusetts (ers?), Virginians, Marylanders, New Jerseyians, and certainly Indianans for the most part. There are a couple of Irish immigrants not too far back, Kinnear and McKnight/Alford but the Thomas line is the only Welsh line I've found (I think.)

Our Thomas immigrant appears to be a fellow named Ellis Thomas (1680-1763), Wales to Frederick County, Virginia, though I have some skepticism about some dates and details in that this line is fraught with guys named Ellis, Elias and Evan. Several online family trees list this Ellis has being the son of an Evan who was born in 1685. Fathers who are younger than their sons tend to call into question someone's research. And both Ellis Thomas fellows are listed as dying in 1763. We have lots of stories about the death of the younger Ellis in 1763 and the story of the two Indian raids experienced by his family including seven-year old Evan in 1764 in which his mother, Elizabeth escaped but his sisters were killed or captured.

Story about Ellis Thomas (1710-1763) and his family near Winchester in Frederick County, Virginia.
 Ellis Thomas was a farmer. His will was probated in Winchester, Frederick County Virginia on October 4, 1763.
 In July, 1763 information was received by the late Maj. Robert White (who had a small fort around his house as an asylum for the people in the neighborhood), that the Indians had been seen on that or the preceding day on Capon. He immediately went to the several families living near the base of the North Mountains, as far as Ellis Thomas’, five or six miles from the fort, told them of the report and advised them to go into the fort until the danger should be over. It being harvest time, Ellis Thomas was unwilling to leave home, and mounted a horse to go to his neighbor, Jacob Kackley’s, who had several sons grown, to propose to arm themselves and work together in their respective grain fields; but on his way to Mr. Kackley’s he was shot dead and scalped, the Indians having concealed themselves behind two logs that lay across the other end of the road.
 In June 1764, similar information of Indians being seen was received at the fort. Maj. White, as on the former occasion, went in the afternoon to warn the people of the danger, when the widow Thomas, Mr. Jones and Mr. Clouser, set off with their families for the fort; but night coming on when they reached Mr. Lloyd’s (about two miles from the fort), they concluded to stay there all night. In the morning, as soon as day appeared, they resumed their journey; but before they were out of sight of the house, the Indians attacked them, and killed, wounded, or took prisoners twenty-two or twenty-three persons. Evan Thomas, a son of the man killed the preceding summer, a boy of seven years old, ran back into the house, and hid himself behind some puncheons that he placed across a corner of the room, and remained concealed, and notwithstanding the Indians brought the prisoners into the house, among whom were his mother and sister, both tied, and kept them there till they fried bacon and ate their breakfast; they then set fire to the house in two places, and went away. Evan said he continued in the house as long as he could, on account of the fire; that he saw through a chink in the wall the direction of the Indians went; and not knowing which way to go, he concluded to take the contrary course from the one taken by them. He rambled about all that day and the most of the next before he found any person, the houses which he passed having been abandoned by their owners going to the fort. The Indians encamped the first night at a spring on the Romney road, between the North River and the Little Capon; and on the next day they stopped on the bank of the south Branch, near where Romney now stands, to eat their dinner. While thus engaged, a party who were stationed in a fort a mile or two lower down the river and who had just returned from a scout, discharged their guns in order to clean them, which alarmed the Indians, and they hurried across the river, assisting all their female prisoners except Mrs. Thomas, who being a large, fat woman, it was supposed would perish, as the water was rapid and deep. She floated down the stream, however until almost exhausted, when she had the good fortune to get on a rock, and save herself from drowning. She had put a piece of bread in her bosom the morning she was taken, and lost it in the water; but it happened to float so near her while on the rock that she caught it and ate it; which, as she said, so revived and strengthened her that she plunged into the water again, and providentially got out on the east side of the river. She reached Williams Fort, two mile below the Hanging Rock, on the same day. It was often remarked by Mrs. Thomas’ acquaintances that after her return she would minutely relate the circumstances attending the murder of her husband and children, and her own sufferings, without shedding a tear. Either five or seven of the persons wounded by the Indians, were taken to the fort of Maj. Robert White’s, and attended by Dr. McDonald though but one recovered, Hester Lloyd, who had two scalps taken from her. Mrs. Thomas’ daughter, and Mrs. Clouser and her three small daughters, were taken to the Indian towns, and after an absence of about six months, were released from captivity, and all returned home safely.
  

Other accounts are at:
 http://people.virginia.edu/~mgf2j/english.html http://books.google.com/books?id=_08VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=ellis+thomas+killed+by+indians&source=bl&ots=YlsANsKLY9&sig=jLonJDtuJESYbTXLXOz1s-Bx0C4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7P-1UfGqGKPSyAG45IHQAQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=ellis%20thomas%20killed%20by%20indians&f=false   Family references from Tenmile Country to the west in West Virginia are at:
 http://books.google.com/books?id=UM7gBFLDzvkC&pg=PA238&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

The seven-year old Evan Thomas (1757-1840) went on to be one of our Revolutionary War ancestors. His page at the website of the Sons of the American Revolution is at http://graves.inssar.org/T/thomevan.html

Evan Thomas is buried in Hopewell Cemetery on the east side of State Highway 3 north of Commiskey,

Evan Thomas' verbose tombstone in Hopewell Cemetery, Jennings County,
Indiana, from a time when one could actually read the text.

Indiana. He is buried next to his third wife, Mary Everton with old matching stones, likely from the time of their deaths in the early 1840's. Evan's old stone names him "The Old Revolutioner." It also has a cryptic reference to the Indian raid AND lists his three wives and the dates of the marriages. The text is badly weathered today. Luckily, there is a photo from its legible days. A modern small stone likely placed by a veterans group is behind the old stone listing Evan Thomas as a PVT in Col Gresham's VA Regt. Don't miss this if you're passing through the southeast part of Indiana.

Evan Thomas first married Hannah Nixon (1759-1788) on December 10, 1778. Hannah had five children: Elizabeth, Rhoda (our ancestor) Elias, George and Evan. Child #5 was an Evan Jr. born June 2, 1788. Our ancestor, Hannah Rhoda Walton's great grandmother) died June 6, 1788. Having children was a life-threatening proposition for our grandmothers.

Evan married his second wife Sarah Booth (1770-1806) on January 20, 1789. Evan and Sarah had ten children between 1790 and 1805: Amos, Booth, John, James, Hannah (Evan & Sarah named their first daughter after his first wife - I like these people), Freeman, Bathsheba, Mede, Anderson and Patience. (Evan named his 15th baby "Patience." There's got to be a joke there, or something.)

Patience was born September 22, 1805 and Sarah, her mother died on Christmas Day, 1806 with at least nine kids under the age of 15 (I don't know when Amos was born.). Kids from the first marriage were age 17 to 26 - our Rhoda was 24 and would not marry until 1807. Do you suppose she had a hand in raising those 1/2 siblings?

Evan married Mary Everton, his third wife in 1810, on Christmas Day (enter your own comment here - the man had a thing for Order and Form.)

Evan and Mary had almost 30 years together before he died on March 15, 1840. Here is a note about his will:

Jennings County, Indiana Probate Book C page 270Evan Thomas Willwife Mary, dated September, 1838 recorded April 6, 1840, Children: Bethsheba Brandon, Elizabeth McClellan, Rhoda Hall, Elias, George, Evan he gets the big bible, Booth,John, Hannah Blankenship, James, Freeman, Amos, Joseph, Anderson, Nancy Parker's four childrem and a sum left them by their grandmother. Their relationship to Evan not state, Evan mentions his house an a lot in Paris deeded to him by Mr. Goodhue. He states that he has left a certain lot ot ground for a meeting house and burying ground contrary to the law of Indiana so now he leaves it to John Ballard, William McClellan and Abram Ridely elected Trustees of said meetinghouse and the burying ground for the use of the Methodist Protestant Church. Executor Mary, his wife.Witnesses: Emond Terrell and John Denslow 

The "big bible" reference is to Evan Thomas's big bible which is widely known. Those three wives and fifteen children are documented on a page in the bible illustrated here. This photo and the photo of Evan's tombstone come from the web site at:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/u/t/Roy-W-Hutchinson/index.html

The owner of that website describes how the bible of Evan Thomas came into the possession of the Hutchinson family and finally to him. He has several photos of the bible and various pages in it.

Mr. Hutchinson's primary interest is in the Hutchinson family line and we connect to that family as well. Rhoda Walton's two grandmothers were Rhoda Thomas who we've been talking about and Mary Hutchinson of this family. I'll get that family's information up soon. We can go back a loooong ways with those folks.

So thanks to Roy Hutchinson for his work on our Hutchinson line and on preserving Evan Thomas' bible for all to see.

Family Group Sheets

Who are all these people of the James and Rhoda family? I've published the Family Group Sheets for James and Rhoda plus additional sheets for all eleven of their offspring. Those are posted under the PAGES section in the Right Column of the blog and at the link "Family Group Sheets"

Famous Relatives: FDR

see below for a note...

Note that FDR is a HALF 6th COUSIN of Maggie (and all her siblings.) We and the Roosevelts share Jacomyntje Cornelisdocter Sleght as, in my case, 7th great grandmother. This chart shows Jans Barentsen Kunst, her first husband who was the father of her first three kids including the gal leading to the Roosevelts. Jacomyntje then matched up with a Foecken fellow for three more kids and finally she married Jan Roelofszen Eltinge in 1672 in Kingston in Ulster County, New York. Jan and Jacomyntje had five more kids, the fourth was Geertje Janse Elting, our ancestor.

Geertje left the Dutch folks to marry Thomas Hall, an Englishman (that did not go over well with her family - I'll speak to that somewhere else.) 

Famous Relatives - Betty Davis???

The power of exponential numbers comes into play on these things. You have two parents, four grandparents, eight ggrandparents, 16 2nd great grandparents, 32 3rd, 64 4th, 128 5th, 256 6th and 512 seventh great grandparents, the level at which Betty Davis and myself live on this chart (putting me two below Maggie where I belong.)

So with 512 people out there for both parties, there is a decent chance for a connection. The eight great grandparents level (10 generations) has 1024 people at that level, between three and four centuries ago. Go back another ten generations (20 total) or at about 1300 and you have over a million ancestors. Another ten generations (30) is about the year 900 or 1000 and you have a BILLION ancestors or about the same magnitude as the population of the planet. This gets trimmed a bit as cousins no matter how distant encounter each other a become a couple.

But still, everybody is related.

The Kinnear Family Story

Our Kinnear family, as they say, “daughters out” with James D. Rowlison’s mother, Martha Ann Kinnear (1813-1890), wife of the second Aaron Rowlison (1809-1875). The immigrants were Michael M. Kinnear (1762-1847) and his two-year old son James (1783-1847). Note: Michael outlived his son by a few months.

Michael Kinnear came from Fife County, Scotland to Belfast, Ireland where he married Margaret McDill about 1782. Their son James was born on May 22, 1783 and two years later the little family set out for America. Margaret died on the voyage and was buried at sea. There are online family trees that give Margaret’s birth as in 1760 in Belfast, but without references as far as I’ve seen.

So now we have the picture of Michael and two-year old James disembarking from their ship in Philadelphia in 1785 – an interesting time to be there.

Michael married Elizabeth Campbell on September 19, 1786 in Rockbridge County, Virginia where they had eight children, six living into adulthood. I corresponded with a couple of the descendants of Michael and Elizabeth several years ago. It appeared that extended family was close and well organized about staying in touch.

Michael Kinnear and many of the next generation are buried in the Kinnear Cemetery on the banks of Goose Creek in the midst of Section 15, Township 4 North Range 9 East in Smyrna Township, Jefferson County, Indiana. The cemetery is on the original Michael Kinnear farm which is still in the family (at least it was in 1999). We were shown the cemetery by the owner, a third cousin, Kenneth Hord (Michael Kinnear, James Kinnear, Elias Campbell Kinnear, Nellie J. Kinnear, Ernest A. Hord, Kenneth Hord) after a ride through corn and tobacco fields. The cemetery has no recent burials; the most recent one I saw was that of Eliza (Hammond) Kinnear who was buried in 1924. She was the wife of Elias Campbell Kinnear.

James Kinnear Married Martha Littrel Harris in Virginia in 1808. The whole family of eleven children was born in Virginia through 1832. The Kinnear clan moved to Jefferson County, Indiana before 1836 as we find our gal marrying Aaron Rowlison on July 29, 1836 and James D. was born almost three years later.

If you should take off on your own Heritage Tour and visit College Hill Cemetery on the east edge of Lancaster, Indiana you’ll find three graves of Aaron Rowlison’s family. I quote a thing I wrote some time back to explain possible confusion…

Martha A. Kinnear is an ambiguous name in this family. Buried next to Aaron Rowlison is Martha A. Kinnear identified by the D. A. R. in 1931 as the wife of Aaron Rowlison. Martha A. Kinnear was the maiden name of Aaron’s wife (A = Ann). The Martha A. Kinnear buried beside Aaron is his daughter whose maiden name was Martha A. Rowlison (A = Alice). Her husband and cousin Henry Kinnear is buried with her and is identified on the reverse side of the tombstone facing a tree line. Thus Martha A. Kinnear married Aaron Rowlison to become Martha A. Rowlison. Her daughter, Martha A. Rowlison married Henry Kinnear to become Martha A. Kinnear. Got that? And Martha Ann Kinnear’s mother was Martha Littrel Kinnear, maiden name of Harris. And furthermore, there is an Indiana marriage record for a Martha A. Kinnear marrying James McElvoy in 1838 which is likely someone else entirely, or whatever.

So where is Aaron's wife buried? Some evidence supports the family folklore that the marriage of Aaron and Martha was not going well at the end. Aaron died in 1875 and we know from correspondence between James D. and his Indiana attorney that settlement of his estate was contentious. Martha died fifteen years later (less than two months after James D. died in Kansas) and the story is that Martha wished to be buried somewhere other than next to Aaron. Apparently that happened but no one in the family seems to have sprung for a grave marker for her. I vaguely remember reading or my Mother learned that she's likely buried in an unmarked grave in College Hill Cemetery.

College Hill Cemetery on the east edge of Lancaster, Indiana in Jefferson County. Aaron Rowlison (and daughters Victoria Calidonia (1846-1849) and Martha Alice (1847-1893) plus Martha's husband Henry Kinnear) are buried here. Their graves are in the exact center of this photo against the tree line on the right hand (North) slope of the knoll at the back. The right tombstone is the largest, left the smallest.

 We do have some clues as to the origins of Michael Kinnear in Ireland and Scotland. There is a public domain book at Google Books titled, "The Kinnears and their kin; a memorial volumne of history, biography, and genealogy, with revolutionary and civil and Spanish war records; including manuscript by Rev. David Kinnear."

The book includes documents written by various folks about the Kinnear family(ies). One entry is by J. H. Kinnear of Kirksville, Missouri dated May 11, 1908. This would be James Henderson Kinnear (1841-1910) a first cousin of James Demetris Rowlison, a contemporary who gets a mention in the Civil War diary on January 25th, "...Got a letter from J. H. Kinnear." James Kinnear followed James and Rhoda from Jefferson County, Indiana to Kirksville, Missouri where he a local gal, Millie Grisham on March 21, 1872.

James Kinnear recounts the story of Michael and son James Kinnear (he does not mention Margaret dying at sea). he adds some details including the news that several Kinnears were killed in the Civil War except himself and one other, Thomas J. Kinnear (further research, later.).  

He notes that his grandfather had a large body of land in Indiana - that would be Kenny Hord's farm today - and that the family  were the "...old John Knox Presbyterians of the strictest kind."

Better yet was his next story quoted here:

"Many years ago I met a temperance lecturer from Illinois, who claimed that at the time England conquered Scotland, three brothers, Kinnears, left Scotland, one went to Normandy, one to Germany, the other to Ireland; that he was French;that his ancestors were officers in the French Army under the old Napoleon; that I descended from the branch in Ireland, and that the "Dutchman" got lost; he said that he and his father went to Scotland and examined the records as far back as they ran; he was  a typical Frenchman, as I never took much stock in temperance lecturers I am giving this as he told me; the Coat of Arms, he said, "was a Shield with a ladder; a dove on each round, a scroll; Motto: I live in hope; Kinnear at the base.' "

Another entry in this book was by John Kinnier of Lynchburg, Virginia dated December 11, 1911. This fellow tells of immigrating from Ireland with his parents and sister to Lynchburg in 1852 when he was sixteen. His father had two brothers who also came to Virginia plus three sisters who married and stayed in Ireland. He knew of an uncle of his fathers named Michael Kinnear who settled in Culpepper, Virginia long before his family immigrated. The uncle removed to Indiana to get away from the "clank of the chains of slavery."

The full text of this book is at:  http://www.archive.org/stream/kinnearsandthei00maltgoog/kinnearsandthei00maltgoog_djvu.txt

The two references are entries numbered 266 and 290. There may well be important gems of evidence here that I just haven't gotten to yet. Help yourself.