When Genealogy Worlds Collide

Sometime last winter someone sent me this story. Several interesting things about the story involved the people:  Henry Franklin alias Harry Long and Mary Curtis. Henry Franklin/Long has causes a lot of problems in that he was a Long who changed his name to Franklin, causing all sorts of problems when DNA found that his descendants only matched Longs. Click here for more information on him.

The other issue is Mary Curtis, my husband's ancestress who was 11 years old! (Dave's 6 g-grandmother on the Fry side)

The court case is on page 8.4 Spotsylvania Co. March 1737/38

Spotsylvania County Court March 1737/8In the action of Trespass between Mary Curtis, an infant by Rice Curtis, Jr., Gent., her next friend, against Henry Franklyn alias Harry Long Deft. for 10 pounds sterling damage, issue being joyned and a jury sworn by name Edward Herndon, Jr and who having heard the evidences and arguments on behalf of each party retired and after some time returned the following verdict.  We find the day and yr aforesaid at the parish and county aforesaid the sd deft did ride ye gelding aforesaid and that he then and there knew him to be the Plts (plantiffs) and borrowed him of one John King to ride as aforesaid.  And if the law be for the Plt. we find for him 15 shillings current money damage; other wise we find for the deft.(defendant) Edward Herndon, Jr. foreman, which verdict is admitted to record and the matter of law arising therefrom is referred to the next court for argument.
Rice Curtis, Jr, Gent. (House of Burgess) came into court and accepted of the commissions of the peach and took the oaths and signed the Test and as the law directs which oaths were administered to him by John Taliaferro and Henry Goodloe Gentlemen.

Spotsylvania County Court 6th of December 1737In the action of trespass between Mary Curtis, an infant by Rice Curtis, Jr, Gent, her next friend, Plt agst. (against) Henry Franklin Alias Harry Long, Deft for 10 pounds sterling damage at the motion of the deft an imparlance is granted him.

As far as we know Henry Franklin was the only Henry Franklin in Spotsylvania in 1737.  We have records which track him in Orange and Amherst and he uses Henry Franklin, Sr. in Amherst Co., VA on March 4, 1771 as a witness.  

So, my relative stole the horse of an 11 year old neighbor who is my husband's ancestor.  Who said genealogy is dry and boring?

Thanks to Sherry Cruise and Leigh Taylor for helping me with this story.

DNA Ethnicities

Mary(Polly) Sollis Reasons

Mary Ann Sollis Dickerson

As some of you know Jim and I have had our DNA sliced and diced several different ways. We have achieved our goals for the most part---we know where our Long family is from in Virginia (Culpeper), we located Grandma Vennie Wicker's mother's family (Sollis not Silas), we matched with the Wicker family I always felt we were related to  (There was a political writer Tom Wicker that I thought looked like Grandpa Wes).

My latest quest was to find out if we were part Indian which is what my grandmother and mother always said.  At first we didn't find anything (but we did find 1% African---definitely slave from 1700's---so I thought, "someone was dark, didn't want to admit African so called it Indian"?) 

I had received a photo of the SISTER of one of our ancestors (see photo) Mary Ann Sollis (b. 1834). Her descendants have no African but when examined on GEDmatch, they did show American Indian.   

I also saw a note someone left on Ancestry.com

 "I have been looking into the link that my father maintains is fact, that we have Cherokee blood in our family line. I found that Mary (Polly) Sollis,wife of John Rhodes Reasons (see photo ablove) was half Cherokee, her father, Abraham Sollis married into the Cherokee tribe and renamed his Indian wife Martha. This backs up my father's claim and puts the Indian question to rest. 

So, I put Jim's DNA and mine on GEDmatch to see if we could find that American Indian DNA.  On the Eurogenes K-13 test, we found it.  Jim has 1.1% and I have .51%.  Yes that is a very small amount.  Click here if you want to find out more about American Indian DNA and why Jim and I have differing amounts.

So, yes, we probably do have American Indian in addition to the African, but both are probably back in the 1700's.  We are primarily  North Atlantic (English, Scottish, French, Irish,  German) with around 50%.  Then, another 25% is Viking (they settled in Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Germany).  That leaves about 25% Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Red Seas, African, American Indian.  If you want to know more about the Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Red Seas, Click here to learn about our very unusual J2 on the Williams line. To get a refresher course on my DNA journey, click here.