DNA, Home Remedies, and Customs

This is a picture of my grandmother's maternal grandmother, Clara Inda EVANS ACORD. She went by the name "Indie". In this picture she is about 26 years old. 

Her parents Josiah EVANS and Jane CONNER were some of the early pioneers of NE Johnson County, Arkansas, and they started the little backwoods cemetery known as Evans Cemetery. It sits on a little level area on the side of a mountain  above the Little Mulberry Creek.

Family tradition has always been that Jane's mother, Effie, was Native and her last name was BULL (a few researchers say CHRYST) The only records Effie can be found in are the 1850 & 1860 census in Greene and Webster counties, in Missouri. There are no marriage records. No one can be certain who her parents were. In census records she gives her birth state as North Carolina and says she was born around 1794/5. 

While I may not be able to prove parentage, I'm starting to feel confident about heritage. 

Several years ago, I tested my DNA with 23andMe and noticed that I had trace amounts of "Indigenous American" and "Broadly Sub-Saharan" DNA. I then began to look at my DNA matches and only those who also descended from Grandma Indie also had these results. 

My grandmother's oldest sister tested her DNA with Ancestry.  Ancestry narrowed her African results down to the Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu Peoples of Africa. This really piqued my interest, but I didn't really investigate further until I began reading a book that was describing superstitions, remedies, and recipes of former slaves and one story reminded me of one that has been told in my own family. In the book a former slave mentioned that cow manure tea brewed with mint could cure consumption. My grandmother tells a story of  how Grandmother Indie made sheep dung tea to cure grandmother's sister of the measles. Her sister didn't know what was in the tea, but grandma had seen Indie making it and was told not to tell her sister! 

This reminded me once again of the African DNA results. But this isn't the only connection to possible slave roots. The Evans Cemetery, I mentioned earlier, has lots of broken pieces of pottery scattered around. Each year when it's time to clean the cemetery, descendants go through and pick up any that have been strewn from weather and wildlife and place them once again on their ancestors graves. This tradition was started by Indie's mother Jane, who was sometimes called "Black Granny". According to stories told by her descendants, Granny Jane would take her grandchildren and walk over the country gathering broken dishes. They would then take them to decorate the graves at the cemetery. Each grave had a wooden frame built around it. Just before decoration, Jane and the children would carry water from the Little Mulberry creek to the cemetery where they would remove all the pottery and glass and wash it. Then they would take newspaper and place it in the frames as a weed barrier and then take the now clean pottery and glass and place it on the newspapers. (Taken from the Evans, Oark, Patterson Springs and Yale cemetery book compiled by Doris Evans and Jimmie Dewberry).

Evans Decoration 1939 (my grandmother is the baby being held by her father, Newell)

Jane's son Rev. William Walker EVANS at his wife's grave.

Below are some current photos of the broken pottery that remains. 

 

Whenever I research this tradition of decorating graves with pottery online, the very first search result said,

The Africans of the Congo introduced this tradition of decorating graves with grave goods to America. They did this by using pots and shells as grave goods to signify certain statuses or traits, honoring and protecting the spirit. [3] This tradition has continued through the twentieth century and has evolved over time.   

Another resource said,

In North America the surface decoration of graves with ceramics and other objects is the most commonly recognized African-American material culture indicator of cemetery sites. William Faulkner, in Go Down, Moses, described a black cemetery with “shards of pottery and broken bottles and old brick and other objects insignificant to sight but actually of a profound meaning and fatal to touch, which no white man could have read”(Faulkner 1942:135; cf. Vlach 1978:139)

 

Notice above the mention of the Congo region of Africa, precisely the same area our DNA results indicate. Using Ancestry, I began to compare DNA results to other descendants of Jane and found several others had the same results ranging from 1%-3% of Cameroon, Congo and Western Bantu Peoples. From Jane's eldest daugher, Effie,  (pictured to the left and named after her maternal grandmother) my great aunt had three matches that shared this same African DNA. From Jane's son "Jody" my great aunt had one match that shared this same DNA as well as one who had Nigerian. And from another son, William, (pictured below) there one descendant who also had Nigerian DNA results. 



 
 

     From the maps below you can see that these two regions border one another. Several of these descendants also had Indigenous markers. All of this leads me to have a strong belief that not only was Jane's mother, Effie, native, but she was most likely also a descendant of a slave. We may not know the names of our ancestors going further back in Effie's lineage, but I think it's truly special that this particular custom belonging to her heritage remains today.

Also, today I noticed my flowering quince that I dug from Granny Jane's homestead a few years ago has bloomed for the first time. 

My Aunt Diane, my mother's sister, tested recently with Ancestry DNA and her results came back with Cameroon and Congo as well! 

02.28.2025 

Pieces of broken glass I've collected from my property and hikes to place around Granny Jane's flowering quince. 

Until next time, 
Becky 

Sisters; Gone But Not Forgotten

Today's prompt for September 4th is SISTER, and I wanted to do a short little write up on two different sisters a generation apart that disappear without a trace. I always wonder about the people I come across in my research that just fall out of the story line, often without any children, and therefore no descendants to come searching for them.

The first sister is Caroline CONNER. She was the sister of my 3x great grandmother, Jane CONNER.

I first came across Caroline CONNER living with her parents Joseph and Jane CONNER and four siblings: William, Thomas, Jane and Joseph in Taylor, Greene, Missouri during the 1850 census. She was 10 and her birth state is given as Missouri.

Ten years later she is unmarried and living at home with her parents in 1860 but has only aged eight years ,sigh. By 1860 the family had moved to Finley, Webster, Missouri. They actually may not have moved all that much because the county lines were moved in 1855 when Webster County was created out of Greene County. Besides Caroline, her younger brother Joseph, is also still living at home.

After 1860 I find no other records that I'm certain are her. There's a marriage record out of Morgan County, Missouri, but I don't think that is her.

I was tickled pink to be able listen to my great grandmother tell a story about Caroline. *Thank you Tarona!*

In Grandma Zulie's story Caroline goes by "Line, Line CONNER". You can listen to it here.  Or try watching it below....

The second sister to go missing is Caroline's niece, Rebecca EVANS, who was the sister of my 2x great grandmother, Clara India Evans. Rebecca would've been Grandma Zula's aunt. Looking at when she disappeared, it's possible Grandma never even knew her.

Rebecca E EVANS was the sibling closest in age to my ancestor Clara India EVANS. I did a post on the name Rebecca  where I mentioned that my maternal grandmother was named after her paternal grandmother but I wonder if she could have also been named after this sister.

Rebecca EVANS first shows up in the 1880 Boston, Madison County, census as the youngest child of Josiah and Jane EVANS. She is one year old and her birth state is Texas. Her birth is the only record I have that the EVANS family was ever in Texas.

She shows up again as Beckie E EVANS in the 1900 Hill, Johnson County, census living with her mother, Jane, her sister and my ancestor, Clarenda and a very young niece, Etha M Evans (I believe this is Jody's daughter).


There was a marriage between a Rebecca EVANS and an Adison J. ROBINSON from Coal Hill, Johnson County, two years earlier in 1898 but that is not her. California Death records indicate that Rebecca to be Sarah Rebecca EVANS, and her mother's maiden name was HESS not CONNER.

AND there was a marriage record for a Becky EVANS and Marion GILBERT. They were married July 1913 in Friley, Johnson, Arkansas. THIS MUST BE HER, right? Or is it?  This Becky Evans is about 10 years too young. But the Friley community is spot on.





Beckie GILBERT born 1898 in Arkansas and her husband FM (Francis Marion) with young daughter Kate are found living in Batson, Johnson County in 1920 so I guess this really isn't her either.



If anyone out there knows anything else about Caroline CONNER or Rebecca EVANS I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time,
Becky

Remembering The Ozarks -- Uncle Bill Evans

There is this story that is told in my maternal line that our ancestor (my 4th great grandmother) Effie Conner was Native American. It's said that her maiden name was BULL. My DNA shows traces of Native American DNA but it's very minimal. I have blogged about Effie before but one thing I always come back to is the pictures of her grandson, the brother of my 2nd great grandmother, Clara India (named after an old community in Madison County-- India) . He just looks Native American to me. I only have a few pictures of my 2nd great grandmother but they aren't as clear as this one of William or Uncle Bill as he was called.

William Walker Evans

William Walker Evans was a preacher, the son of Josiah Evans and Jane Conner. I don't want to write too much here, but rather use this as a platform to share another article written by Vernon Eaton in 1998.

This is the second article Vernon has written saying he didn't know where the Evans came from, but thought maybe Texas. They came from Webster County, Missouri. Josiah and Jane went down into Texas for a very short time before settling in Madison/Johnson County. Before Missouri, their families were from Knox County, Kentucky.

Remembering The Ozarks -- Uncle Bill Evans

Until next time,
Becky

Heirlooms, Keepsakes and Memories

This week the prompt given by No Story Too

Small in the 52 Ancestors Challenge is 'Heirloom'....

I'm super excited about this post. I started by requesting on Facebook that any of my family that had any heirlooms please contact me. The response was wonderful! While some of the items may not have necessarily been passed down generation to generation, they definitely hold a great deal of sentiment for those who now own these treasures belonging to their ancestors.

I'll start with my mother's cousin (that's easier than saying my first cousin 1x removed) Tarona who sent me a picture of a very unusual item that belonged to her grandmother, my great grandmother, Zula Jane Acord Stepp. It is a four eyed bottle opener. A little research shows it was made in the 1940's by Wilton Co. Tarona shared that her mother, Jayne, remembered that Grandma Zula got it after she was married in 1946.

Tarona says:

"When I was really little it kinda scared me and then as I got older I couldn't wait to get a coke so I could use it! It was on the door jam in Grandma Zulie's kitchen......I wouldn't take a million dollars for it."

Another cousin of my mother, Debra,  has Grandma Zula's old Singer sewing machine from 1912

 

My grandmother, Reba, has and old cast iron tea kettle made by Bridgeford & Co, Louisville, KY, 1868.  It belonged to Grandma Zula's maternal grandmother Jane Conner Evans.



My Aunt Diane has the Bynum Family Bible printed in 1884. It was given to my 3rd great grandmother, Lou Emmer Reynolds, who married John Thomas Bynum, from her "Papa" 17 May 1885 when she was only 11 years old. She kept it and wrote in it her birthdate as well as the birthdate of her children. Diane also has my great grandmother Bondell Bynum Melson's thimble.

Another cousin of mine, Mike, has his grandmother, my great-grandmother, Myrtle Rutherford Jones' old WWII ration book:

I have a few treasures of my own and a few people to thank for them. I'll start with my Dad and Dawna who gifted me this past Christmas with my great grandmother Wille Belle Foster Nall's old canning funnel. Then my dad's cousin Angie who so graciously thought of me at the passing of my great grandmother and gathered up a box full of stuff that belonged to her and then made sure I got it. In it was this old standing mixer from Montgomery Ward dated 1963 complete with beaters and two mixing bowls, a serving bowl that still had Grandma's address label she used so that her dish would be returned to her when she brought food to the church potlucks and a decorative plate. The one with a solid round edge is hers. The plate that matches it belonged to my husband's grandmother - it has more pointy edges. I love that I have these two "matching" items from opposite sides of my daughter's family. I also have one of my most treasured items; one of the last Christmas gifts I ever received from Grandma Nall - a handwritten recipe for her chocolate gravy.









From my grandmother Winnie Sue Jones Nall (We called her Mammy), I have a cook book from our church - where she wrote me a sweet note on the worn out cover. It was a gift to me Christmas 2008.




And then there's my Uncle Mike and family who were kind enough to give me the family's old wood cook stove. I remember my Mammy and Grandma Nall cooking on it during a camp out we had in the field below Mammy's house one year. My grandpa, Charles Nall, brought in the big hay trucks for us to sleep on and in the morning we had biscuits, bacon, sausage, chocolate gravy, eggs and hot chocolate for breakfast. It was quite a treat! When I posted pictures of it on Facebook, my great Aunt Dena told me that the stove had originally belonged to her Dad, Rufus Nall, and that he bought it from Chicken Hollar in Farmington because he didn't like the way propane made his biscuits taste. He kept it on the back porch to cook his 'catheads'.

  

  

My Dad has his dad's old Bible. It has my grandfather's marriage date and the names of the witnesses and who married them. They were married by Charles' father Benjamin Rufus Nall and the witnesses were my grandmother Winnie Sue's brother, Edwin Jones and Charles' sister, Mildred (Dena). The handwriting belongs to my grandmother, Winnie Sue.  

  

  

My Great Aunt Peggy shared an heirloom she and my Uncle Dwight have. Dwight's dad, my great grandfather, Newell Stepp Sr. was a machinist in the Army in WW1. He made 5 ballpeen hammers while he was in the Army. He gave one to his commanding officers and brought the others home. A few years ago Dwight was visiting his cousin, Edna McDonald and she had one of the hammers that Newell made and gave to her Mother. She said she wanted Dwight to have the hammer, which he is very proud of. We don't know where the other 3 hammers are. They have Newell's serial number stamped on them, unfortunately its too faded to make out.

  

Another heirloom from my great grandmother, Willie Belle Foster Nall, now belongs to my dad's cousin Tracie. It is her old butter churn.

What family treasures do you and your family members have?

Until next week,
Becky 

Effie BULL Follow Up: And Some Historical Geography

 

I felt my earlier post had a lot of information on several different families so I wanted to post this one to narrow the focus down to Effie and Joseph.


Passed down via word of mouth through all the descendants of Joseph H. Conner and his wife Effie is that her maiden name was Bull... this is my attempt to establish enough evidence to give this theory a leg to stand on.

In the 1850 and 1860 MO State census, Effie, wife of Joseph H. Conner, gives her birthdate as 1795 and birth location as NC. Joseph H. Conner gives his birthdate as 1803, being born in Virginia (1850) and TN (1806). Their son Thomas Conner's military records narrows his birth location to that of Knox Co., KY.

Looking at that area we see it is right near the border of TN, VA and NC. All four of these States and their counties' border lines were constantly changing during the late 1700's and early 1800's.  If you were to look at formation maps between then and the turn of the century you can see how quickly this area changed. In fact in 1784 several of these counties formed the now extinct provisional State of Franklin.... I say this to remind you not to get too hung up on Counties and States when gathering your records for this line during this time period.


Keeping in mind that this is modern day boundary lines... here is a picture of the region these families are found in, excluding their brief stint in IN. The area outlined in blue is a rough estimate of the now extinct State of Franklin.

Okay.

If you search records for this area you will see that a John Bull (sometimes listed as John Bull Sr.) appears on the 1783 Greene Co. tax list (*Note that during that time it was actually NC but by 1796 it had become TN.)

This John Bull eventually migrates to Knox County, KY where he can be found in the 1810 census where it would appear it is just he and his wife, both over the age of 45. Next door to him is a James Bull, then three more houses down, is John Bull Jr. I find no record for John Bull Sr in the 1820 census but 17 Jan 1818 shows John Bull (no suffix) with a land grant in Knox Co. KY, for 50 acres on water course Fk Yellow Cr.

Knox Co., KY, was formed in 1799/1800 and maps show it included "Indian Lands" in the southwest portion. These Indian Lands, which are not shown on maps after 1800, appear to have included the area that later became the western part of Josh Bell Co. when it was formed in 1867 and encompassed the Clear Creek land of the Bull family at the time.

Fellow researcher Darlene Ply found a warrant transfer of 50 acres from John T. Bull to Joseph Conner on Clear Creek in Knox Co.Ky. The land was bounded by William Evans, Richard Bull and John T. Bull. It was signed 10 Sept.1827 by John T.Bull

In 1825 Joseph Conner (Effie's husband) purchased 50 acres on Little Clear Creek. That same year a John Bull is listed as having 150 acres also on Little Clear Creek.

Now Joseph and Effie's son William lists in his military papers that his birth location was Hendricks Co., IN. A John T. Bull Jr. ( whom I believe to be Effie's brother) purchased about 30 acres in Morgan Co., IN which sits right below Hendricks Co. And in the 1830 census there is a John T. Bull Sr. and a John T. Bull both listed in Morgan Co. I believe the John T. Sr. to be the same mentioned above (Effie's brother) and the other John to be John T.'s son, Effie's nephew.

I can find no definitive trace of John Sr (Effie's father) in the years 1820-1830. But the 1820 census of Knox Co, KY lists an aged female (45+) living with the suspected son of John Sr., Richard Bull, and in 1830 Knox Co. there is an aged male (70-79) also living with Richard Bull. I believe the 1820 census refers to Richard's mother and the 1830 to be John Sr. living back at home with his son.

John Bull Sr. and Richard Bull are petitioners on 19 Jan 1799 in Grainger Co., TN, seeking to prevent any part of Grainger Co. from being split off to Jefferson Co., TN

Grainger Co. was formed from Hawkins & Knox Cos. in 1796 when TN was admitted as a state. The 1800 & 1810 census records for Grainger Co., TN were burned during the War of 1812. Richard is said to have moved his family (probably from Grainger Co., TN) to Knox Co., KY, in 1811-1813.  Richard Bull first appears on the Knox Co. tax list in 1815. He owned a mill on Clear Creek in an area of Knox Co. that partly went into Harlan Co. in 1819 and completely into Josh Bell Co. in 1867.  Richard is on the Knox Co., KY, tax lists annually between 1815 and 1829, with the exception of 1818.  *These tax records aren't on Ancestry*

John Bull Jr married Eleanor "Nelly" Collins in Grainger, TN in the year 1800 and Richard Bull married Fanny Bray there in 1805.

Richard Bull witnessed the 1822 Knox Co. will of neighbor, Joseph Haynes. Joseph Haynes' son Richard Haynes married Nelly *BULL* it is suspected that she is the daughter of Richard Bull's brother John who married an Eleanor "Nelly" Collins but it is plausible that she could be the daughter of Richard and Fanny Bray and was named after her aunt.

So from this I gather that sometime after 1825 and before 1834 that John Sr., John Jr and Joseph Conner migrated north to IN.... But by 1834 (the birthdate of Joseph's son Thomas) at least John Sr and Joseph had moved back down to KY. 

I can find NO census record for Joseph Conner prior to 1850. And Joseph gives his birth state as both TN and VA

I suspect he and Effie were married in Grainger County, as were here brother's. Grainger County was formed from neighboring Hawkins and Knox Counties in 1796, the same year Tennessee became a state.

I have found a likely prospect for Joseph's father in a man named Julius Conner. He can be found in the early land records of Hawkins County, TN on the dates of 15 Aug 1814, 9 Aug 1816, 22 Apr 1817 and 28 Oct 1817. Hawkins Co is right on the TN-VA line bordering Lee Co, VA making him my favorite candidate for Joseph's father. Julius is also found in Carter Co, TN during the years 1796-1799. The 1830 census find him in Cocke Co., TN with his wife and a young slave girl. He is aged (60-69), his wife (50-59). I suspect his wife's name to have been Katherine as there is a Katherine Conner (age 76) living with a Brooks family in Hawkins Co in the 1850 census. Julius and wife may have been living with a son Thomas in 1840.

The 1840 census of Hawkins Co lists several Conners - Two by the name of James, a Thomas, Edmund, Luke and a female household of a Fanny Conner in her 50's


So as you an see in researching the origins of Joseph and Effie you may find yourself getting an intense lesson in our nations early geography. We may never find out for sure who their parents were, but I'm sure I'll keep coming back and adding little pieces and nuggets here and there. HOPEFULLY if I'm lucky I'll stumble across a will.... now that I know where to look.

Becky
† Follow up: After further research I have learned that Julius' wife was indeed named Katherine/Catherine maiden name Cobb, daughter of Pharaoh Cobb and Barshaba Whitehead. I've seen in a few trees that they had a son named Joseph but a name is all they have for him.

† Follow up: Something to note - John Bull Jr.'s FIL, David Collins, died in Morgan County, IN.

BULL Maiden Name Connection Theory... and so much more!

With Valentines Day approaching, this week's 52 Ancestors writing prompt is LOVE. This post won't necessarily be about love relationships, but rather about something I love.

As an amateur genealogist I love it when I find records and leads that produce a theory and in turn when researching those theories I find myself on the same trail as others who have gone before me. It gives me confidence in my efforts and in my theories and sometimes that provides such an exhilarating feeling and that keeps me in the genealogy game. If only for a little while longer.... which will prove beneficial if I'm to finish this year with 52 ancestors being researched and written about.

Now on to the post....

For years, and generations, and throughout all the different branches (or roots?) that stem from Joseph H. Conner and his wife Effie ( my 4th great-grandparents) has been this one repeated story - that Effie's maiden name was BULL and that she was of Native American heritage. The pictures that survive of several of her descendants within the first 2 generations seem to give plenty of evidence that there was Indian blood in their line, and at this time I can't prove anything more than that, but I'm getting pretty darn close to proving her name was in fact, BULL.

Effie and Joseph both seem to be brick walls as I haven't discovered who his parents are either. I am constantly finding myself coming back to this line and digging through any and all records I can find on their children and their lives in hopes that it will provide some sort of clue that will reflect back on their parents. For years the only records I have had of Joseph and Effie was the 1850 and 1860 census records from Taylor, Greene and Union, Webster, MO, respectively. Joseph can also be found in 1870 but it would appear that Effie had died by then.

This week I began laying out all the information I had on their son Thomas Conner because I was actually going to blog about him using the idea that I LOVE ancestors who leave so many records and information behind, because there is a lot on him via military records and a few newspaper obituaries that one of his descendants has been so kind in sharing. In going back to Fold3 and sorting through all the records I could find on him I decided to give another look at his brothers William and Joseph S, who alongside my 3rd great-grandfather and their brother-in-law Josiah Evans, were enlisted in the same unit: Co 'C' of the 8th MO Cavalry. When I got to Joseph's records it mentions that he deserted at Fayetteville, AR, January 4, 1863 and was placed in confinement at Springfield, Missouri, on February 12th of the same year. From there I began searching for military prisons in Springfield Missouri and found myself at the Missouri Digital Heritage site browsing through their Provost Marshal records. I never did find any records on Joseph S. Conner but what I did find would begin the best lead I've ever had!

On reel# F1621, frame# 0708, file# 11688 you will find that in February of 1865, Thomas, his brother-in-law Josiah Evans and a man named Richard Haynes, all of Hickory County, Missouri were charged with robbing Miss Sarah A. Ellis, citizen of Webster Co, MO, and of stealing various household goods from Mrs. A. E. Lee, citizen of Greene Co, MO.  (Click here for images).

This made me curious as to the relation of this Richard Haynes so back to Fold3 I went to search for his military records. There I found that he was born around 1806 or 1809 in Knox County, KY, the same place Thomas was born and I thought that couldn't be coincidence. Now this is where it will get all sorts of unorganized and blurry as it became an intense episode of genealogical ADD as the leads and theories started to mount. I found myself on the Ancestry message boards where a distant cousin of mine was requesting marriage record information for the surname BULL in Knox Co during a certain time frame. One of the records revealed a Richard Haynes married to a Nancy BULL and ...


WAIT! In trying to find that record.... it just led to the MOST awesome discovery... this family is somehow also tied to my Josiah EVANS.... give me a minute to regroup... I'll be back in bit....

Forgive me:I'm going to place this here because this week has been a flood of information for the following surnames: Conner, Bull, Evans, and Haynes. I'm having trouble keeping it all straight.

In the 1860 Washington, Taney, Missouri, census, household 635, we have Richard and Nelley Hains with their son Stephen (8) and Thomas Ivans (19) Flemming Ivans (17) Peggy Hammons (5) and Nancey Hammons (3)

Thomas and Flemming have long been suspected by me to be brothers of Josiah Evans. Also of note is how the census taker spelled their names *Ivans* instead of Evans as he did with Josiah and Jane (Conner) who were living two houses down as household 637. ---Living with Josiah and Jane is the suspected baby sister of Josiah, Margaret J. Ivans.In the 1850 Knox County, KY census, household 315, we have Richard and Nelly living with Richard's mother Dorcus and a William Evans (20) b. in KY. 

Before now, I've not had William in my tree... but I suspect he too would be a brother of Josiah.
__________________________________________________________________________Okay back to my story.... turns out in my ADD state I can't find my record for Nelly's last name being Bull. I did find in Knox Co. KY, a John Bull Jr. married to an Eleanor "Nelly" (Collins).  Which leads me to assume that they would name a daughter "Nelly" ... another theory I came across this morning, from a woman named Connie, is that John's brother Richard Bull married to a Fanny Bray could've had a daughter named Nelly Bull after a "favored aunt" Nellie (Collins) Bull.

Though I haven't found a record (or I can't remember where I found it) a google search has the marriage info for Richard Haynes and Nelly (Bull) as 27 June 1847, Knox County, KY. And a newly found email friend and Bull Family researcher, Kent McMahan, sent me a link to a transcribed page for Knox County, KY marriage records. It lists the afore mentioned date with Richard Haynes as the groom but the bride is blank.

Both Mr. McMahan and I favor the following theory as to our Effie's BULL line. We believe it to be very likely that John Bull who married Nelly Collins and Richard Bull who married Fanny Bray to be Effie's brothers. Leaving the likely hood of Effie's father to be John Bull Sr. and Nelly the wife of Richard Haynes to be Effie's niece.

More evidence to support this theory is the fact that Effie's son William Conner gives his birth location as Hendricks County, IN, in his Civil War records. Keeping in mind that William was born around 1830, when searching the 1830 census records we can find John T. Bull age 50-59 (Effie's brother?) heading a household in Morgan County IN and John T. Bull age 20-29 (Effie's nephew?) heading his own household there as well. Hendricks County is directly above Morgan County.

Now to connect Richard Haynes to the Evanses: Richard is the son of Joseph Haynes and Dorcus Overton. From Mr. McMahan's database notes I learned that Joseph had a sister named Sarah who married John Evans. Further research led me to discover that Sarah and John were the parents of James Evans who married Nancy (?) the parents of Josiah Evans.

One more piece of  information to note (that I can't find a record for) is from a cousin from my Joseph H. and Effie line, Darlene Ply. She says, "I found a warrant transfer of 50 acres from John T. Bull to Joseph Conner on Clear Creek in Knox Co. KY. The land was bounded by William Evans, Richard Bull and John T. Bull. It was signed 10 Sept.1827 by John T.Bull."  I'm not entirely sure what 'bounded' means but Wikipedia leads me to believe it means something along the lines that the boundary of said 50 acres was shared with William Evans, Richard Bull and John T. Bull.

There are several records for these four gentlemen indexed on Ancestry... but I'm not certain if the 'bounded' property would also share the same watercourse?

I have found indexed land grant records for Joseph Conner surveyed 29 Aug 1825 for 50 acres on Little Clear Creek, Knox County, KY in Book 'X', John Bull surveyed 7 Jan 1825 for 150 acres on Little Clear Creek in Book 'B', William Evans surveyed 25 Sep 1829 Br Little Clear Creek in Book 'X'.

I know this posts has a lot of information to take in and I do hope its of some use to those out there researching Effie's origins. Though there are parts that are just theory there are enough records mixed in that I feel pretty good about those theories.

And to think it all started with records from the Provost Marshal.... just a reminder to search in every nook and cranny and ask as many questions as you can... and to make sure to reach out and help out fellow researches. This is a group effort. That's what family is for... even if you're so distantly related it would take a chart to figure out you're exact relation :)

So in answer to my question as to how Richard Haynes fits in with Thomas Conner and Josiah Evans. He was Thomas' cousin-in-law and Josiah's first cousin once removed.

*** Josiah's full name was Joseph Josiah Evans.... he is listed as Joseph with his family in the 1850 Knox County census.

*** Since first publishing this post, I've been documenting the Haynes family a bit more and I wanted to make note that while Richard Haynes did have Military Records from MO and was from Knox County, KY - it would appear that his brother's James M. and Ephraim also made the move west to MO and each named a son Richard.... I can't be certain of these (3) Richard Haynes - which was brought up on charges with my Thomas and Josiah. This I do know, Thomas was b. 1834ish; Josiah was b. 1839ish. Richard Sr. was b. 1808ish his nephews Richard (belonging to his brother James) was b. 1856 - ruling him out, I would think... but Richard (belonging to his brother Ephraim) was b. 1841 making him, IMO, the more likely companion of Thomas and Josiah.

And please be sure to check out what my sister-in-law has to say on the topic of love over at Days of Our Lives.

Until next week,
Becky