Y DNA results on William Graham

 

Margaret Graham Blake

Dwight, grandson of Margaret Graham Blake, wrote the following after getting the results back on our cousin Joe's Y-DNA (R-M269).  Y DNA traces the paternal line back for many generations.  We were surprised to see that we match Henry and Thomas Parks DNA---we were expecting Graham or Grimes (they are both the same name---just spelling differences).  So, Dwight went back to the autosomal DNA results we had gathered from about 12 William Graham descendants using primarily GEDmatch.  Autosomal or atDNA analyzes all of a person's DNA but only goes back 5 generations accurately.  What we wanted was information on7 generations back.  To do that with atDNA, we had to lower threshold from 7cM to 4cM and we could only do that on GEDmatch.  We were able to find several among the dozen of William Graham's descendants who were able to match Henry Parks and Henry Grimes family members barely below the 7cM threshold and several above that threshold.  For more on DNA and genealogy, click here.

For more on R-M269, click here

"I think just Y chromosome test, and tables showing correlation of us with Henry Parks and with John Grimes... we then learn three things.

1. Our Y chromosome matches that of Henry Parks (b.1758 in Albermarle County). Henry Parks Y chromosome is a sub-variant type of that for the other Parks of Albermarle County. It can not be conclude that Henry Parks is a male descendant of the Thomas Park family of Albermarle, as the difference in Y chromosomes has about 8 mutations. But, he did migrate with the family of Thomas Parks to Wilkes County NC, after his birth.
2. The atDNA analysis of our WmGraham group compared to 4 Henry Parks descendants shows high cM correlation values for that many generations back. This is consistent with the data demonstrating the matching of our Y chromosome to that family
3. The atDNA analysis of our WmGraham group with the descendants of John Grimes (b. 1758, Hannover County VA) shows an equally high, if not higher, cM correlation value. John Grimes, and his brother Henry Grimes, obtained early land Patents in Washington County TN, along with our James [Graham], in 1777. Our family name Graham probably comes from this family. John and Henry Grimes are known sons of Capt. William Grimes (with his 1^st wife). Captain William Grimes was killed in the Service of our young Country in Philadelphia in July 1777, under the command of General Washington.

This information together has provided us with windows into our shared heritage. We think we now know the lineages, but are not for sure which line is James Graham's father and which his mother. Unfortunately, the Court House in Guilford NC was destroyed in the Revolution, and the Court Houses in Hanover and Albermarle Counties of Virginia were destroyed in the Civil War. With the loss of these Court houses, and with the fact that DNA matching decreases effectiveness quickly with increasing number of generations, identification of our shared heritage has been difficult. It was only because of the large number of people on our side that had DNA tests done that we were able to draw these conclusions. It was the large number of people working together that was able to give confidence."

Thank you for all who helped us try to solve this puzzle.  We are still working on it, so stay tuned.

Ancestry Thru-lines

Ancestry.com has been rolling out a wonderful tool called "Thru-lines".  It combines DNA with family trees and sometimes projects who the mutual ancestor is.

So, each of these children of James ? Graham has a DNA match for me.  The only thing "for sure" is that each of us matches DNA (I've blurred some of the photos for privacy reasons) and we have a common ancestor.  Several of us have speculated that James ? Graham is our ancestor, so Ancestry pulled us all together.  Now whether that common ancestor is James would require us all to match James' siblings.  Since we all only match at about a 5th-6th cousin level, that isn't really possible at this time unless we find a very strong strand of DNA. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

 That we all match at all,  is a miracle since I don't really have strong Graham genes.  His wife Sarah Broyles is where my strength is---I match her family for several more generations back.  James has a ?? because I was never very sure about him.

Also note that I am the only William Graham descendant on this and yet I know there are 31 of his descendants who match William.  Here are his children's descendants who have DNA matches:  Margaret (8), Theodore (2), Susan (5), James Madison (3), Mary Polly (11) and Thomas (2).

This means that the strand I match all of these under James, is not shared by the other 30 descendants of William.  They probably have different matches than I do.  DNA is so fickle.

Sarah Broyles James Grayham

Cousin Dwight found some documents of Grahams in Washington Co. MO.  The first is a law suit involving Sarah Broyles Graham, window of James Graham who is suing Israel McGready of Greene Co, TN for the slave Sam:

County of Washington November Term 1821
Sarah Graham administrating full and singular the goods and challets, rights, **** and effects of James Graham, deceased, by her attorney over claims of Israel McGready of a ****, that he under to the said Sarah administrating as aforementioned a certain negro man named Sam, about thirty three years of age, & about five feet five inches high, of great value, to wit, of the value of six hundred dollars of lawful money of the respected States, which he unjustly retains from her. For that whereas the said Sarah heretofore, to wit, on the first day of September last, at Washington aforesaid, was unjustfully ***** of a certain negro man named Sam, about thirty three years of age and about five fee five inches high, of great value, to wit, of the value of six hundred dollars of lawful money of the United States, as of the property of James Graham deceased, in his capacity of administrating as aforementioned, and being so predisposed thereof, she the said Sarah afterwards, to wit, on the day and year aforementioned at the county aforesaid, casually lost the said negro out of her protection, and the same aftermath, to wit, on the said first day of September last at the county aforementioned came to the protection of the said Israel by finding; yet the said Israel well knowing the said negro to be the just property of the said Sarah in her capacity of administrating aforementioned, and of right to belong and appertain to her, in such capacity, hath and as right **** the said Negro to the said Sarah after requested so to do, but hath hitherto wholly refused to do, and hath retained, and still doth retain the said Negro from the said Sarah, to wit, at Washington aforesaid. To the damages of the said Sarah causing of six hundred dollars, and therefore she requests of.
Thomas J. Brickey

This is significant because it shows that this Graham family was in Washington Co. Mo. in the early 1800's.  Coupled with DNA showing that I and another 5th cousin are related to members of the Broyles family, show a probably relationship with them.  This Graham family had also married into the McCarrell family and into the Long family (not sure yet if it is the Bromfield or Ware Long famiy though---both were from Culpeper) Other documents make another connection---lead mines.

Lead Mining and William Graham

We haven't made much headway in figuring out where William Graham is from and who his parents are, but we feel we are making some progress.  We have known for some time that he was involved in Lead.  Click here for an earlier post on his lead business

William Graham's Jefferson County Farm

As Dwight says, the Graham farm was in the heart of lead mining.  Click here for a court case involving William Graham with mining being the topic.  Click here for what the area to the right looks like today.

Nearby in Washington County, Mo were Grahams also in the lead mining industry. Click here for a document on that area.  Note that it mentions Moses Austin who is buried in Potosi, Mo (capital of Missouri's leadbelt)  which is in Washington Co. not far from the Graham farm in Jefferson County. Moses Austin went broke in Wythe County, VA and fled to the other major lead district which was in Missouri. After that time, the Major Robert Graham family of Wythe County VA became the dominate lead mining family in the USA. Is it possible that they sent one of their poorer relatives to Washington County MO to work with Moses Austin?

We do know William Graham lived in Knox County, TN before coming to MO because he was involved in a lawsuit there.  The lawsuit was for infringement on property between James McCarrell, Wm Graham and B. McGhee against McClellan. Click here for the link to the document.

Dwight hypothesizes: "I always asked, what does Barclay McGhee have to do with this...

When I learned last week that he had a Ferry business, I put 1+x, together in an algebraic equation and solved for x. Margaret McCarrell told me that there were two lawsuits between the two parties for infingement (I have only seen one). One that we won, and one the other side (McClellan) won. Interestingly, she said the lands were across the river from each other". And this was also possibly lead country.  The ferry that Barclay McGhee operated was out of Vonore or Von (from) Ore when one of the town leaders renamed it with hopes they would become a mining town.

So, we are going to try to follow the Lead Belt to find our roots, or we may just let DNA help us out thanks to a cousin we have located in Canada!

The Daughters of James McCarrell and Margret McKibbon

We have been fortunate to have made contact with members of the McCarrell family who have sent us some documents which were gathered by Ray McCarrell several years ago.  Some of this information is from the James McCarrell family bible, and "loose papers found in McCarrell's Old Family Bible"

I assume the photos on the left and below were information on "undated loose papers". Combining the two sources, here: 

James McCarrell Sr (1728-1813) was born in Ireland, married twice Mary Bohanan and Margaret McKibbon in Fincastle Boutetourt Co., Va.  Margaret McKibbon (1758-1819) was born in Pennsylvania and died in Knox Co. TN.

The McKibbon and McCarrell 


marriage resulted in seven daughters (11 children):

Lettis McCarrell (8 Sept 1779-April 1863) who married William Prather in 1795 in Fincastle Va. Later lived in Indiana Jennings County

Mary (Polly) McCarrell(9 Nov. 1780) who might have married a Blake lived in Virginia.  But another note says she married Theopheus Gillaspia and lives in 1819 in Virginia six miles below the mouth of the Elk on the bank of the river[I cannot read the name of the county but it would be Kanawha County today].  Their older son is named Samuel Gillapsia.

Nancy McCarrell(8 Nov. 1782)who is listed as marrying John Blake living in Ohio (Galla County) But another document says she is Nancy Gillespy living in Jasper County Indiana.

Hannah McCarrell(18 Mar 1785) married first John Eddington and second Stephen Wells.  Hannah Wells is listed as living in Missouri and attended Mt. Olive Baptist Church until 1846 when they asked for dismission.

Margaret McCarrell (17 Aug 1787)married William Graham "lives in Missouri at or near the Old Mines.  Her oldest son is named Jefferson Graham."

Janey (Tancy) McCarrell(9 May 1795-20 Dec. 1838/9)married John B. Carter in 1811

Salley McCarrell(21 Oct. 1797- 24 Jan. 1884)married James Robertson 12-14 March 1824.

Although there are many William Grahams in the early 1800's, there shouldn't be that many Margaret McCarrells who are the daughters of James McCarrell and yet we found one who was married to William Williams.  We think the two Margarets were probably related. We think that James McCarrell is the son of our ancestor by the first wife.

We may not know much about William Graham and Margaret McCarrell but we do know they were married (although we can't find the records which might have been in a courthouse which burned) due to a Family Bible belonging to. . . .a 21st century Margaret McCarrell.

I have also seen documents stating that William Graham married Hannah McCarrell which family records don't corroborate.

William Graham's signatures

Cousin Dwight has been communicating with one of our McCarrell relatives who had a document with William Graham's signature as well as our ancestor James McCarrell (William's father-in-law).  "The document settles a lawsuit. On "our side" was James McCarrell, William Graham and B(arclay) McGee. On the other side was William McClellan. Our side won, and McClellan paid 250$ in settlement to end the dispute. If I remember correctly from Margaret McCarrell talking with me that this was a dispute over land.... Barclay McGee from what I had seen always signed his name B. McGee..."

Although it is very hard to read what this is about, it was Jan. 7, 1805 in Blount Co TN which pre-dates William Graham and Margaret McCarrell marriage but establishes a relationship of the Graham and McCarrell families. Those witnessing this document are James McCarrell, William Graham, B. McGhee and Enoch Parsons.

We know this is the same William Graham because we have his signature on a Jefferson County Missouri document (along with other relatives).  His is on the upper right side with Mothershead, Bakers and Browns.  Notice how similar the signature below is to the one above.  Samuel Graham (not sure how he is related) is shown as a comparison.


http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mojchs/Courts/PetitionList_1826.htm

William McClellan also sold property in Pennsylvania to a John Graham (whom we believe to be a relative).  It is also possible that a McClellan in St. Charles Co. married a Graham.  Not sure if all of these are of the same McClellan family.

Another name was B. McGhee which we believe to be Barclay McGhee who was an Indian agent.  Which is interesting since we believe the John Graham family was associated with Ft. Bellefontaine near the confluence of Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
http://wardepartmentpapers.org/searchresults.php?searchClass=fulltextSearch&fulltextQuery=Barclay+McGhee

Finally Enoch Parsons was one of the first lawyers in Tennessee and ran for governor in 1819.  So, although I can't read all of the details of the document, there is a lot of history in just the names.

Bethlehem Baptist Blog

I haven't totally neglected this blog, but I did want to finish posting photos and documents for this blog.  This lovely country church in Jefferson County, Missouri has been the worship place for many of my ancestors.  Although the early records are lost, I feel very deeply that I have ancestors buried here going back to my g-g-g-g grandmother Margaret McCarroll Graham.  Someday, I hope to find some evidence of this. 

Her husband William Graham died in the St. Louis area---we can't find any evidence of his burial either, but click here for a really good possibility.  He died near here, Carondolet,  in 1835.

Frumet and Big River

This is the 1898 Township map (double click to enlarge) showing my great-grandfather's farm on the far right (Thomas Long), but this blog is about the area to the left by the Big River wending it's way up the map.

My Graham ancestors are often said to be from Frumet (seen above on the map--where their land was is outlined in yellow) Almost all of my ancestors on Grandpa Roy Long's side of the family are from Big River Township---the Longs, Reiters, Tyreys, Browns and Grahams. As children, my cousins and I played in the Big River at Uncle Lawrence's club house.

The Quest to Find William Graham's Land

Looking west toward Big River near Highway H in Missouri

On genealogy web-sites William Graham and Margaret [Mc] Carroll (my 4 greats) were said to live in Fremont which is supposed to be Frumet Missouri. But, we never really knew where they lived until Dwight carefully read an article on the Jefferson County Historical Society web site. Scroll down to the Dugan Cemetery and begin reading on the second page:

28th June 1825 we find deed from William Graham to Stephen Lamarque of Washington County, 640 acres, for $426.26, being the settlement right of Elijah Benton and by him conveyed to Burnell J. Thompson who sold it to William Clinton who sold it to William Graham, as recorded in Book B Page 214.

Scroll down a bit more to see where the red crosses are on the maps which Dave Halleman has provided. Independently, Dwight and I agreed where the land was on a Google map. With the GPS co-ordinates, my husband and I headed to Frumet, Missouri.

I was concerned that I might not be able to find a place to explore on the west side of Big River, so my first plan was to go down Hidden Valley Ranch Lane to see if I could photograph the hill side across the river.

I met two young men who were "processing" a deer they'd just shot. They told me that Norm Valle owned the land---they warmed up a bit when I told them I was related to Norm and had talked to his aunt a few months ago. So, they looked at my maps and pointed me in the right direction.

Bethlehem Baptist 1898-1899

I was very fortunate to be able to photograph some old records from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Jefferson County, Missouri.  Although I am related in some way to many of the people in the records, these records were beginning to "take over" this blog.  So, I have created a new blog devoted to these records, the history and cemetery of this church.  There will be some posts on this blog concerning my immediate ancestors and their siblings, but the 3rd cousins twice removed have been moved to my new blog: http://bethlehemjeffco.blogspot.com/

Bethlehem Baptist Records 1892-1897

Minerva McCulloch Manion 1836-1904

Double click on any of the documents and photos of Bethlehem Baptist Church to enlarge them, then use your back arrow to return to the page. Again, I'm missing a number of pages due to several factors: they weren't there, they were too faded to read, they had no information on them. Although Bethlehem Baptist is considered to be in Grubville, a new church appears in the community--Grubville Baptist Church, just a few miles down the road.
May 7, 1892 ". . .the case of Bro. L. Willson was taken up and laid over until next meeting on motion. The case of Sister Mary Williams. . .committee consisting of Len Williams, Minerva Manion and Josephine Manion to see the sister. Wm McKay moderator, Lewis Reiter, clerk pro tem" This is Louis Henry Reiter the son of my g-g grandfather Louis/Ludwig Reiter who emigrated from Germany. Josephine Manion could be the daughter of Minerva McCulloch and William G. Manion who was the son of Susan Graham.

Bethlehem Baptist Church 1887-1891

Samuel G. Medley, Baptist Pastor

These are from the Bethlehem Baptist Church near Grubville, Mo. There are many missing pages, but this time I didn't photograph them all. My camera battery was getting weak, so I didn't photograph pages that basically said, "We had no business and the meeting was adjourned." But there were some pages missing too.

Dec. 1886 ". . .who should constitute the presbytery. Bros. Steel, Cox, McKay and Frazier were named and clerk ordered to write to the brethern. . ."[George Steel and J.R.Cox---not sure which McKay nor Frazier]
Jan. 8, 1887 ". . .Deacon L. H. Lee offered his resignation as deacon of the church as he was getting old, could not hear [he was 74 years old]. The church requested him to remain as deacon which he consented to do. The church appointed a committee to visit Deacon Brown and ascertain the cause of his staying away from church and request him to come to church the next meeting. The committee Bros. S. Medley, Edsell, and Robert McKay. Bro. S.S. Bittick and his wife was granted letters of dismission from the church." [Jacob Edsell or James Edsell]
April 14, 1887 ". . .the committee made a report and brother Joseph Brown excluded from the fellowship of the church by request. . . Bro. Wm. Alwood was chosen deacon. . . Elder Wm. McKay and Bro. Short was chosen to assist in ordination. . ." Joseph Brown later became re-instated because he's mentioned in the minutes for Sept. 1888.

Bethlehem Baptist Minutes 1881-1885

These records are from the Bethlehem Baptist Church near Grubville, Mo. The tombstone above, for James W. Thompson who died Feb. 21, 1890, is in the cemetery there. The membership records for this period, show the condition of some of these documents and why there are pages missing. Click here.
Feb. 12, 1881 ". . .Owing to a violent storm there was no meeting of the Church on Saturday nor any preaching on the Sabbath. . ." George Steel, Clerk [married to Margaret Julia Graham's granddaughter Mary Mildred Lee]
March 12, 1881 ". . . The Committee in the case of Bro. Wm. A. Jones made a report and was discharged. Bro. Jones having written a letter to the Church in which he acknowledges his faults and asks foregivenes, the church forgave him and the case was dismissed. Bro. Jones also applied for a letter of dismission which was granted. The case of Mary Patton was next taken up but as the sister was sick, the case was continued. The clerk George Steel tendered his resignation. . .Bro. Stephen Pounds [Lucinda Graham's brother-in-law] was unanimously elected. . .Bro. Wayne K. Deffenbach applied for a letter of dismission which was granted. . .Bro. George Steel applied to the church for license to preach which was granted. . . The case of Sister Margaret Leeper [daughter of Arah Graham and Giles Sidney Lee] having obtained a letter from the church and having united. . ."

Bethlehem Baptist Meetings 1873-1874

George Steele is beginning to play a major role in the history of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Although born in England (according to the census), he married Mary Mildred Lee who was the daughter of Lewis Harrison Lee and Margaret Julia Graham. We believe he is the large, bearded man beside Abner Medley in a gray shirt with white suspenders. This photo was taken in 1913 at the 60th Anniversary of the Jefferson County Baptist Association. For more photos from that meeting, click here. To read the documents in their entirety, double click on the photos to enlarge them.

p. 63 February 1873 ". . .Church made an effort to hire a preacher during the remainder of the Associational year in which they procured the services of Elder W. Stephens for the sum of twenty-five dollars. . ."
p. 64 May 1873 ". . .that the church take up a collection for the purpose of fitting up the church house with comfortable seats which was done and the money or a part thereof put in the hands of Br. Steele as committy to superintend the job. . ."
p. 65 August 1873 ". . .church gives the moderator power to appoint delegates to the Jefferson County Association to be held with the Temperance Mission Church to commence on Fryday before the second Sabbath in Oct. 1873. Said delegates are as follows Br. Elder Wm. McKay, Silas Pounds and the church clerk [John P. Lollar]. . ."
Sept. 1873, the Moderator read a letter which will be read at the Association but there is no indication as to the nature of the petition.
p. 67 December 1873 ". . .Saturday before the fourth Sabbath in Dec. 1873. No one came to church. On Sabbath came two persons. They left without any time set to come back. J.P. Lollar Clerk. . .
January 1874 . . .Brother Steele presented an account with receipt on lumber, bills for seats to be put. . ."
p. 68 January 1874 cont.
. . . money and pay Mr. Graham on lumber bill by motion of Br. Robert Wilson. Brother Wm. McKay put in nomination for pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church during the Association year ending Oct. 1874 with a unanimous vote. It was with some degree of reluctance that Brother would accept the Pastorate. The church agreed to pay Br. McKay the sum of twenty dollars for his services.
May 1874
. . .Br. Robert Wilson was appointed a committee to confer with Brother Couch ans report at our next meeting. . .
p. 69 May 1874 cont.
Also the case of Joseph P. Bridgeman [in 1870 census, Joe Bridgeman worked on Oliver Lee's farm which was near Wm. McKay and George Frost] was taken up for reconsideration as his whereabouts is not known to the church. Bro. O.T. Bittick will try and find his whereabouts and report at our next meeting. . Also, the 8th article was reconsidered and amends as follows that the Practice of Dram drinking in or at public saloons or dram shops has an Evil and Pernicious influence and should be abstained from by all Christians. . .Also the case of Br. L. Couch was taken up. The committy made his report and was discharged. Case continued until next church meeting. . .
p. 70 July 1874
The case of Br. L. Couch (Leonard Couch) was reconsidered. Br. Couch failing to come to time according to promise was dismissed from church. . . Br. Bridgeman wishes to be dismissed from the church as he thinks he is not fit to be a church member. The church by request dismissed Br. Bridgeman from the church. Also Brother George Steel moved that the building committy examine all the papers and ascertain the indebtedness of the church to the committy.
P. 71 cont. . . .George Steel and Robert Wilson would report at next church meeting.
Aug. 1874 . . .Robert Wilson and George Steele are delegates to Jefferson County Association at Sandy Church. Sept. 1874 . . .Pastor is sick and not able to attend.

P. 72 Dec. 5, 1874
Bro. Wm. McMurtay commenced a ___________missionary meeting aided by the help of Br. J.M.Henseley and Wm. McKay the latter during meeting we had many gospel sermons with powerful appeals in behalf of sinners. Our meeting lasted about twelve days. There was 31 professions, 19 added to the church, 17 by experience and baptism, one by letter, one reclaimed. Click here for the church membership records from this meeting.

Bethlehem Baptist Church Minutes 1868

These records are from the Bethlehem Baptist Church near Grubville and Dittmer, Missouri. Double click on the photographs to enlarge them. Be sure to read to the end. . . The tombstone above in the Bethlehem Cemetery is for the nephew of Adaline McKay and Rev. William McKay. For more about the Wilson-McKay-Lee Family, click here.
Page 37 Dec. 1868 [sic]
After a prayer by Elder Gibson, "The case of Br. Brazeale [Drewey Brazeale] and William Hanvey was taken up" and "J.P.Lollar [Jonathon P. Lollar] was appointed to wait on Br. Brazeale and Br. Joseph Brown [brother of my great-great grandmother Catherine Caroline Brown] to wait on Brother Hanvey." William Hanvey was the brother of Joseph Brown's wife Mary Ann Hanvey. J.P. Lollar was a neighbor of Brazeales in the 1860 Census.

Bethlehem Baptist Minutes 1866-1867

These are minutes from Bethlehem Baptist Church near Grubville and Dittmer Missouri. Double click on the photos to read the entire document.

Page 26 February 1866. . .the case of Bro. James Williams was taken up he being charged with having a ball at his house and Bro. Wesley Scaggs was appointed to cite said Bro. to attend church and answer said charge. Also, although Sister Evans was charged with dancing or giving a ball at her house. Sister Unity Evans was appointed to cite her to attend church.
Page 27 March 1866. . .case of James S. Williams was taken up. Committee report received and _____ dismissed. Bro. Williams being present answered to charge and acknowledged to and asked to be forgiven of the church for the same, promising to do so no more. The Brother was restored to fellowship. The case of Sister Malissa Evans was called. Committee report received and committee discharged. Committee repeated that Sister be sorry for the charge and tried to attend but not being present her case was referred to the next meeting. Letters of dismissal was granted to Bro. Michael Brinley and his wife Sister Brinley.

Bethlehem Baptist Minutes 1864-1865

Stone of Joseph Columbia Brown in Bethlehem Cemetery

In addition to Bethlehem Baptist (Grubville, MO) membership records, there were several hundred pages of meeting minutes dating from 1864 to 1932. I'm going to try to include everything that would be interesting to family members and genealogists without totally transcribing each document. If you are interested in reading the entire document double click to enlarge it. The passage below has information relating to the membership records on the previous page. This also mentions an earlier record book----the church was reportedly formed in the 1820's but probably needs that book to verify the date.
p. 13 Feb. 1864
Prayer by William McKay; L. H. Lee [Lewis Harrison Lee husband of Margaret Julia Graham] moderator pro temp; C.E.Frost clerk was instructed to get the church book from Newman Pounds [husband to Lucinda Graham]while being relieved from his clerkship by request and N. Pounds. Stephen Pounds being appointed and declined to accept. The new clerk was instructed to write. . . .new book. . .The church proceeded to appoint William McKay as pastor of the church.

Graham--Grimes

****We are no longer certain this family is related to our family, but will keep this blog up to help other families*****
It's no surprise to genealogists when researching a name to find variations in spelling. Sometimes a name changed spelling at immigration (Ludwig Reiter became Louis Reiter), sometimes ancestors changed it themselves (William Farncombe became William Reed), sometimes the family was illiterate and didn't know how the census taker wrote the name (Sallez became Silas), sometimes the family anglicized the name (Mueller became Miller) and sometimes the family just interchanged the names for whatever reason.

We have recently found documents for the Grimes family in St. Louis 1826-1833 that sure answer a lot of questions we have about our Graham family. Here is what we know: John Graham ("Grayham" in Maryland) married Mary McGowey (McGowley, McGauley, McCauley,so many spellings on that last name including McCoy), moved to Kentucky and ultimately to St. Louis, Missouri where he had a Spanish Land Grant in 1797. John Graham witnessed the burial of Jean Baptiste Carrico. Vincent Carrico was the administrator for John, Jr.'s estate. Carricos and Grahams were neighbors, but we suspected they were related since they had both come out of Maryland. See this blog to see how close the Carricos lived to the Grahams.

The Carricos were, indeed, related to the Grimes family---there were several marriages among the families which was very common among frontier families. Being an administrator and witness of a non-family member would have been uncommon especially among the Spanish Land grant families. Before I do a blog on the Grimes-Carricos, let me cite a few people on the Grimes/Graham name. One person was concerned because they had 67 marker match with someone named Grimes but their family name was Graham. Here are the responses of two people:

Bethlehem Baptist Members 1880's

I'm working on the Bethlehem Baptist Church (Grubville, Mo) Records and found one more page of membership records---with my own great-great grandmother Catherine Brown Long. For more records spanning from 1860's-1930's, click here.
I'd known that she was buried in the Bethlehem Baptist Cemetery---this stone was placed by my grandfather Roy Long and his brother Clarence Long.
Double click to enlarge this, but I'll try to transcribe it. Some have partial death dates. At least one is repeated on another page: William G. Manion, James S. Williams, Lewis H. Lee, Joseph Brown, Catherine Long, Elizabeth Wideman, Michael McKay, Dennis Wilson, John P. Lollar, Silas M. McKay, Mary H. Manion, Nancy Wilson, Lucinda Wiley, Margaret Carrow, Elizabeth McKee, Sarah Wideman, Mildred Steel (dismissed by letter), Malinda Wilson, Febey C. Brown (Phoebe Evans Brown?), Elizabeth Balding, Martha Pounds, Margaret A. Lee, Malissa J. Brown, Eliza Wilson (colored), Alpha Whitsett, John S. McKay (dismissed by letter), Sophronia Miner, William Brown, Frances Lee, Mary F. Strickland.