Merry Christmas! Our 4th Great-Grandfather Rainey Found!

Pulaski County, Kentucky

When Pat Raney took the YDNA test over ten years ago to discover distant male Raney relatives, it revealed our family was not related to known descendants of the James Raney born in North Carolina, who served on the Carolina Line during the American Revolutionary War. Our James was not his son or grandson in that large family that established its roots in Pulaski County after abandoning their Revolutionary War bounty land in Tennessee. Whenever I ran across the 1810 and 1820 censuses for Pulaski County for James Raney/Rainey, I assumed they were that other North Carolina James or his son Aaron James. Boy, was I wrong.

DNA matches led me to the siblings of our 3rd great-grandfather James (b.1814). We have rather close matches (4th-6th cousins) to descendants of William Rainey (1805 KY or NC - 1885 Sumner Co, TN); Susan C. Rainey (1815 KY - 1904 Searcy Co., AR), who married Robert Parsley; John C. Rainey (1817 KY - 1880 Wilson Co., TN). Their descendants on Ancestry don't appear to recognize that these people were siblings or know who their parents were. Many think Susan C. Rainey was the daughter of a William Rainey of Gibson County, IN, but he was living up in Indiana when Susan married the Parsley boy, who never left Warren County, Tennessee, until they moved to Searcy County, Arkansas, to live with a son.

Warren County, Tennessee

Then I discovered Stephen Rainey (c1800 NC - death unknown), who married Delilia Dunn in 1825 in Pulaski County, with a James Rainey as a witness. Our 3rd great-grandfather James Rainey was still too young to be a witness. I knew Stephen didn't belong to the other Rainey/Raney families, so I looked again at the census records for 1820 Pulaski County for James Rainey. His age didn't help because it states "over 45." But then I noted no wife was listed. This man was a widower. I knew Revolutionary War James Raney was survived by his wife, Lydia, and his son, Aaron James, was survived by his wife Polly. If Stephen Rainey married in 1825, where was Stephen living for the 1830 census?  There is no 1830 census in Pulaski County for James Rainey or Stephen Rainey. 

White County, Tennessee

I found Stephen and his father James, Sr., farming on adjacent land in White County, Tennessee, for the 1830 census.  Son William Rainey lived a few farms over.  Having married Elizabeth Lefever in White County, in 1828, William farmed near his new father-in-law, Andrew Lefever.  James Sr.'s age was listed as 50-59. A female 15-19 must have been daughter Susan C. Rainey, age 15, who married Robert Parsley in 1832 a few miles away in Warren County. A male 15-19 must have been our James, age 16. Also listed was a female, aged 30-39. Was this a new wife? I discovered that a James Rainey married Polly Drew in Pulaski County in 1821. If this woman was Polly Drew, she must have been a widow with a son.  Two males aged 10-14 were listed. One surely was son John C. Rainey (1817-1880), then age 13, who married Eveline Organ in 1838 in Wilson County, Tennessee, living there for the rest of his life. The other male of that age must have been the stepmother's son.

Wilson County, Tennessee

So, I now believe our 4th great-grandfather was James Rainey, Sr., born about 1774 in Virginia. He must have died in White County, Tennessee, before 1840 because he doesn't appear on a census after 1830.

If James Sr., sons Stephen, William, James, John and daughter Susan were in White County by 1830, how did our James end up marrying Millie Roberts back in Pulaski County in 1832?  I think he had family to return to. The 1810 Pulaski County census for James Rainey Sr. shows three males under 10 (William and 2 unknown males); one male 10-15 (Stephen); the parents; and two unknown females under 10. In the 1820 census there are three males between 16 and 25, and I can only account for Stephen; and a female 10-15 and one 16-25; and listings for the known children. So our James may have had married sisters; maybe even married brothers now claimed by descendants of the other Raney families.  James and Millie Roberts farmed on Buck Creek near Millie's father John Roberts, our 4th great-grandfather, for about 20 years, before moving with Roberts in-laws and other families to southern Indiana. I imagine leaving her old parents broke Millie's heart, but the land there was never really good farm land and they had a growing family to feed.

I'll go into more detail about our James Rainey's siblings, aunts and uncles, father James, Sr. and his putative family, putting some flesh on their bones as I do more research. To end this year, here's Auld Lang Syne in honor of our Scottish heritage. HERE

Our Raney Ancestors' Last Wills & Testaments

Much can be gleaned from a man's will. It's all about land, tobacco, livestock and featherbeds. Yes, the featherbed - the original duvet - was the most precious item inside the home in the 18th century, the filling plucked from the breasts of living geese, it took a lot of pluckings to make one.

Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Our earliest ancestor's American-made will I've found was composed in 1698 by Capt. Henry Hanslap, our 8th great-grandfather, an Anglican, probably born  c.1635 at Aynho Parish, Northampton, England, who arrived in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, in 1676, embarking from London on the Hound. He paid for the transport of 11 other persons, so was able to claim a lot of land - 50 acres per passage. He was a lawyer, mentioning his collection of law books in his will; also a captain of militia; Coroner of Anne Arundel County in 1678; Clerk of that county court 1682 -1685; and then Sheriff of the county until about 1688. He owned Hanslaps Advantage (300 acres); Aynho, named for his English parish, (400 acres); Dodo Situate (500 acres); and Hickory Hills (100 acres). His inventory included several horses, pigs and cows; four "Negroes," one servant boy and one woman servant, the last two  indentured [which had value, too]. He requested to be buried at the east end of the All Hallows Parish grounds.

All Hallows Parish Church cemetery

He died that same year of 1698; his wife Elizabeth and possibly a daughter Elizabeth died in 1702, as did his only son Joseph Hanslap, our 7th great-grandfather, perhaps due to an epidemic. 

I lived in Anne Arundel County and occasionally drove past this church, never dreaming I had ancestors buried there.

Joseph Hanslap (1674 England-1702 Anne Arundel Co.), our 7th great-grandfather, lived long enough to father our 6th great-grandmother, Frances Hanslap (1701-1797), mother of Henry Warman (b.1726 Anne Arundel Co.), father of Elizabeth Warman (1770 MD-1825 KY), who was the mother of William Hill Dyson (1801 MD-1870 Warrick Co, IN), our 3rd great-grandfather.

Inside of All Hallows Parish Church. rebuilt1730, where Henry Hanslap's descendants, our ancestors, worshiped.

Charles County, Maryland

In the Name of God Amen. I Thomas Dyson of Charles Co., seeing I am in a very low and weak condition, but in perfect memory, thanks be to God, I do Desire that all my Debts be fully satisfied and my funeral Charges and also my body I bequest to be Decently buried and my Soul to my Saviour Jesus Christ. - Item - I give and bequeath to my loving son Thomas Dyson fifty-five acres of Land lying within a tract of land called St. John's and a part of that land called Disons Chance to be Divided by a branch that is called the Spring Branch to the North line of Swan Hill.-Item- I give my son John Dyson one hundred acres of Land called Swan Hill and the remaining part of Dysons Chance both lying in Charles County. - Item- I do constitute my Dear and Loving wife Ann Dyson to be my full and whole executrix of all my goods and Chattels whatsoever During her life - after her Decease what moveables there is to be equally Divided between my two Sons Thomas and John. This Being my Last Will and Testament this thirtieth Day of October 1702.

Thomas Dyson, another 8th great-grandfather, born 1657, possibly in Worcestershire, England, didn't die until 1709. He'd arrived with wife Ann and two sons in 1694, which gave him little time to acquire a substantial estate before his demise.  I've wondered how he acquired Swan Hill, which had belonged to an earlier comer, our 9th great-grandfather Edward Swann (1630 Kent, England -1699 Eagleston Plantation, Maryland). Thomas Dyson Sr. didn't marry into the Swann family, so he  must have purchased it. Thomas Dyson, Jr., our 8th great-grandfather (1688 England - 1759 MD), did marry Sarah Swann (b.1688 Charles Co, MD), granddaughter of Edward Swann in 1708.

Thomas Dyson, Jr. purchased another part of Swann Hill in 1732 from Samuel Amery and part of Nevit's Desire (25 acres) for 8000 pounds of tobacco and in his will of 20 Nov 1758, since his son Thomas (our 7th great-grandfather) had expired the previous year, he left Swann Hill and Nevit's Desire to his grandson Maddox Dyson, our 6th great-grandfather, then but 16. This was convenient because Maddox, his numerous siblings, and his widowed mother, Mary Ann Maddox Dyson, were living there. They sold off Swann Hill in 1766.


I've wondered what's become of Swann Hill. The name still exists in Charles County. There's a Swann Hill development with condos and a golf course. And this old photo may have come from Swann Hill. Who knows, perhaps it's where Maddox, his father Thomas, and his mother Mary Ann lived.

Maddox Dyson had four children by his first wife, Jean Turner, our 5th great-grandmother, widow of another Swann, but when she died, he up and married a woman named Elizabeth and moved down to York County, South Carolina. She gave him three children and when he made out his will in 1814, he left everything to those three youngest children. "It is my will and desire that my four Children that I had by a former Wife shall have no part of what I leave behind . . . My will and desire is that if my Wife shall marry again that the Land is to be sold and the money to be for the three aforesaid children and that my Wife to have no part of it . . ." Decreeing that the widow be cut off from any support upon remarriage was common. It's possible Maddox's four older children, by now adults, had been provided for when they came of age. One of those children was our 4th great-grandfather, Bennett Dyson, who died after 1840 in Union County, Kentucky.

Union County, Kentucky

 Once our ancestors crossed the Appalachians they seldom left a will, for death found them unprepared or they had little to bequeath.

Dorchester County, Maryland

Solomon Turpin (1673 Somerset, MD-1741 Dorchester Co., MD), our 7th great-grandfather, was a child when his father William died young. Because William Turpin had been transported from England as an indentured servant in 1661 at age 21, he was granted but 50 acres at the end of his seven-year indenture. Solomon had seven children with Elizabeth Beauchamp, and when he made out his will in 1741, he had become a man of some property. It's thought he was involved in the mercantile business with his wife's family, shipping tobacco to Britain and Europe and importing goods to Maryland.  To his youngest son Solomon (our 6th great-grandfather) he bequeathed the land the son then lived upon called Cannons Finiss [or so the 250 year-old handwriting appears to read] and 4 shillings and one shilling sterling to be raised from the father's estate after his decease. He had already settled his three other sons on land, which he bequeathed to them. To his unmarried daughters, he left each seven pounds to be taken from his appraised estate, which indicates how much a dowry for their class was at that time. The married daughters were granted a shilling each. Son Solomon moved to Augusta County, Virginia, which eventually became Monroe County, West Virginia in 1862.

Monroe County, West Virginia

He was possessed of 400 acres when he died in 1775. Eventually, his heirs moved on, including son Moses Turpin, our 5th great-grandfather, who died in 1816 in Pulaski County, Kentucky.

Randolph County, North Carolina

Down in Randolph County, North Carolina, Col. Edward Sharp, our 6th great-grandfather, made out his will in 1789. Born 1744 in Paxtang, Pennsylvania, to Edward and Sarah McNeely Sharp, who had immigrated from Ulster in 1738 and then to North Carolina by 1763, Edward was only 45. He had actively served with the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War and had given his daughter Hannah in marriage to Col. James Dougan, our 5th great-grandfather. Edward was Presbyterian, as were the Dougans.

In the name of God Amen. I, Edward Sharp of the County of Randolph and State of North Carolina being of sound and perfect mind and memory, Blessed by God, do this first day of April in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine make and publish this my last will and testament in manner following that is to say--

First I give and bequeath to Mary [Graham Sharp] my Beloved wife my Riding horse the little bay her saddle [,] bed and Furniture. Together with the use and benefit of the home plantation for the support of her and the children during [their] continuance with her and their good behavior whilst she remains my widow. I give and bequeath to my Eldest son Michael Sharp the two new tracts of land next to the Court house [in Asheboro] as also the house and lot at the Court house as soon as the time is up that it is Leased for. I give and bequeath to son Samuel my home plantation as soon as he arrives to the years of maturity provided that both my sons do find and maintain their mother in a peaceable and decent maintenance during her widowhood.

Furthermore I order and allow that plantation joining William Bell to be sold together with all the movable property except what is first mentioned and the money arising from the sale together with that of bonds, notes and book debt accounts after paying all my just debts to be divided in manner following[,] that is to say be it observed that my daughter Isabel is to have five pounds of the money arising from the sale and no more [you might wonder how she offended her father]. I also allow ten pounds apiece to my three youngest children to give them education over and above their share and the remaining part to be equally divided between my wife and all my children and I hereby make and ordain my loving wife Mary Sharp, William Gray and William Bell executors of this my last will and testament in witness whereof I the said Edward Sharp have to this my last will and testament set my hand and seal the day and year above mentioned.

Short and to the point, although he omitted the large veteran's land bounty of 5000 acres the grateful state of North Carolina granted him in what became Dyer County, Tennessee, way out on the Mississippi River. That was settled up later when the land acquired value as American migration pushed westward. Colonel James Dougan was given a similar grant in the same place. You'll recall that North Carolina claimed what became Tennessee and Virginia claimed what became Kentucky.

When his widow, Mary Graham Sharp, died in 1809 at age 74, her two sons were deceased, and a Graham relative administered her estate. When the inventory was done in August of 1809, she had cash on hand of $10.25; had lent money to three individuals, whose debts were being called in for a total of $158.81. She possessed: 1 mare, 1 saddle & bridle, 2 feather beds, 1 bolster, 3 pillows, 2 sheets, 1 counterpane, 2 blankets, 1 rug, 1 bedstead and cord [cords were laced under the tick mattress],1 tow tick, some ginger, 1 nutmeg, some cloves, 1 fine comb, 3 yards of red flannel, 5 yards of durants [perhaps a heavy durable cloth], 5 phials, 1 snuff bottle half-full of snuff, one pair of scissors, 5 yds blue durants, 7 yds purple camblet [but auctioned as Bumbeazet, which might have been bombazine - a woven cloth of silk and wool], 1 padlock, a pair of spectacles and case . . . 7 yds of sinew [perhaps dried gut for closing wounds or other uses], 1 trunk, 2 small boxes, 18 old books, yarn & thread, 5 saucers and cups, 1 sugar dish, 1 cream jug, 6 delph plates, 6 knives & forks, 1 tea canister, 6 spoons, 1 teapot, 1 pewter teapot, 2 pewter dishes, 1 pewter basin,1 pair brass scales, 1 chain and her wearing apparel. By the time of the sale a year later, the mare had had a colt and a chair and a hair brush had appeared. No mention of candlesticks or lanterns.  Everything was purchased by her daughters and her extended Graham family, which raised 52 pound sterling, 11 shillings [Americans still sometimes used British terminology for money transactions].

Merchants Hope, Brandon Parish, Prince George Co., Virginia

As for our Rainey ancestors, I'm pretty certain William Rainey (1666 Antrim, Ulster -1722 Brandon Parish, Prince George, VA) was a direct ancestor, so here's William's will: 

Prince George County, Virginia

In the Name of God, Amen. I William Ranye of Brandon Parrish,Prince George County, being very Sick and weak, but of perfect mind & memory do make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament in manner & form following.- Imprimis. I give and bequeath my Soul to Almighty God that gave it,trusting in the mercy and merits of my blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for pardon and remission of all my sins in general, my Body to the Earth to be decently Int'r. after the manner of the Church of England, my Worldly Estate my Debts being first paid as follows. Item- I give my Land to my Son John and his Lawful heirs of his Body,for want of such heirs the said Land to my Son Roger Ranye and his heirs for ever. I give my Son John my horse called Mettle, 1 small Iron pot, one Little feather bed & furniture.-Item. I give my Daughter Susannah my Bed and furniture that I now Lye on, my Black Calf, the Biggest brass kettle, four gall. Iron pot and pot hooks, 1 pewter Dish, 1 Basin, 1 smoothing Iron and heaters, my side saddle. Item - I give to my son William one brass kettle[of] about twelve gallons,and the Debts that James Gretion owes me.-Item. I give to my Daughter Elizabeth one gown & Petticoat, one young Cow. Item - I give to my Son Roger two Cows.-Item. I give to my Daughter Sarah my great Iron pot.-Item. I give my new Bed and furniture to my Daughter Rebecca, 1 Dish,one Iron pot, 1 heifer.-Item. I give my son Richard three Ells of Ozenbriggs [a basic cloth for sheets and work clothing].-Item. I give all the rest of my Estate to be equally divided between my Son Roger, my Son John, my Daughter Rebecca, and my Daughter Susanna,she having her first choice.-   Feby. the 12th 1721/22. William Ranye Teste. 

All right, not very interesting, but it does reveal how simply our ancestors lived. Every handmade utilitarian item was used, passed down, and re-used. I'll end this with what I consider a very interesting will; indeed,it gives insight into the complicated moral life of a plantation owner. Frederick Rainey (1753-1803) was the great-grandson of the above William Ranye.He married Mary Ann Morgan in 1775 in Mecklenburg County and she outlived him by seven years. We might not be directly descended from Frederick, but rest assured, he was our kin, probably an uncle to some degree.

Mecklenburg County, Virginia

Frederick Rainey's will, dated 14 Dec 1802. After the preliminaries: First, I give to my wife Mary Ann the land where I now live on Great Creek, three negroes - Bob, Ester, and Jim. I also lend her the use of a boy, Amos, born 25 Mar 1786, until he is 25 then he will go free. I also give her 2 horses, Snip and Nancy, 10 head of cattle, 10 head of sheep, and 4 head of hogs. Second, I give to my children Frederick, Reuben, Betsy, Francis, John, and Phillip one bed and furniture when they come of age. Third, I give to my sons Smith, Frederick, Reuben M., and Francis the tract of land beginning along Bozmans path at Thomas Rogers Line, then along this line to Berryman Jones line, then along this line to Stephen Jones line then along this line to Great Creek, then along Great Creek to Rocky Spring Branch, then along Rocky Spring Branch to Thomas Rogers line. Williamson Rainey, Lewis Williams, Thomas Rogers and James Meacham should divide this tract equally among these four sons. Fourth, I lend to my son Smith Rainey the use of a girl, Lucy, born 14 Mar 1788, until she is 25 then she will go free along with her future increases. Fifth, I lend to my son Frederick the use of a boy, Jack, born 1 Jan 1791, until he is 25 then he will go free. Sixth, I lend to my son Reuben M. the use of a boy, Henry, born 2 Feb 1793, until he is 25 then he will go free. I also give to my son Reuben M. the sum of five pounds.

Seventh, I give to my daughter Betsey the tract of land northeast of Presimmon [Persimmon] Branch and lend her the use of a girl, Agnes, Born 11 Apr 1795, until she is 25 then she will go free along with her increase. Eight, I lend to my son Francis the use of a boy, Stephen, born 17 Apr 1797, until he is 25 then he will go free. I also give him a colt, Buckskin, the sum of five pounds and five months of schooling [for the horse]. Ninth, I give to my son John the parcel of land on the east side of Great Branch along widow Roberts line to Thomas Rogers line. I also lend him the use of a boy, Isaac, born 3 Apr 1800, until he is 25 then he will go free. I also give him the horse Jolly Fare and five months schooling. Tenth, I give to my son Phillip, at my wifes death or marriage, the tract mentioned in the dower, less Johns tract and the colt, Brittain, and two years schooling. I also lend him the use of a boy, Abraham until he is 25 then he will go free. Eleventh, I appoint my sons Smith and Reuben M. as Executors. Dated 14 Dec 1802. Signed Frederick Rainey. Witnessed by Williamson Rainey. Will proved 12 Dec 1803 with bond set at $10,000

I suspect all those children he intended to free were his children by Ester or another enslaved woman, by then dead. Were these children actually freed? In 1806 the Virginia Assembly passed a law to suppress the manumissions of slaves by tying the emancipation with deportation. Those who remained in the state for a year after being freed could be put on trial and, if found guilty, would forfeit their right to freedom and be sold, the proceeds going into the state treasury. Most of Frederick's sons and his daughter Elizabeth Rainey King emigrated down to Georgia about 1812, taking their slaves with them.

Some Wore Blue and Some Wore Gray

A friend recently said, "I've never been more pessimistic about our country. We seem to see one another as the other - the other religion, the other race, the other ethnicity, the other political party."

I agree that we live in a trying time . . . but there was an earlier period when Americans became so estranged from one another that those in the South saw no valid reason to remain in a united America.
I'll tell you about some direct and collateral ancestors connected to us by blood and DNA, who fought in the American Civil War. But, first, listen to "Two Brothers" by The Weavers HERE

You may have read the series "Gone for a Soldier" that Pat Raney penned about our 2nd great-grandfather Everett Rainey (1844-1891) and his military service with the 91st Indiana Infantry Regiment, fighting to preserve the Union. The series begins HERE. He fought at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the Siege of Atlanta, the Battle of Lovejoy's Station, the Battle of Spring Hill, the 2nd Battle of Franklin, the Battle of Nashville and the Carolinas Campaign. Despite the family's southern roots in southern Kentucky, I believe they felt the Union must be preserved. Not all southerners fought for the Confederacy.

Powder horns we believe Everett Rainey carried during the Civil War (or so our grandfather claimed), now under Pat Raney's stewardship.

The Rainey family could later boast, were they so inclined, to having numerous veterans. William W. Heath (1838-1892), who married Everett's sister Elizabeth (1827-1924), served with the 42nd Indiana Infantry Regiment, fighting at Stones River, Chickamauga, Kennesaw Mountain and Atlanta. William H. Mason (1844-1895) married sister Serena Susanna Rainey (1843-1923) after war's end in December 1865 (a week after Everett married Nancy Ann Dougan), also served with the 42nd. John Miller (1842-1907), who married sister Sarah Rainey (1840-1881) in 1864 and Robert Barrett (1839-1900), who married sister Cordelia Ann Rainey (1842-1920) in 1870, both served throughout the war with the 24th Indiana Infantry Regiment, which saw action at the Battle of Shiloh and the siege of Vicksburg. Everett's brother-in-law Peter Dougan (1845-1922), our 3rd great-uncle, enlisted in the Indiana 42nd Indiana Infantry Regiment on 8 March 1864, was promoted to corporal, and mustered out 17 May 1865. Did the men talk about the war at family gatherings, or did they keep their ordeals and the horrors they witnessed to themselves? We can only guess.

Reunion of 24th Indiana Infantry Regiment (or so it appeared on the Internet). No date, but woman's dress is from late 1880s

I've told you that we descend from the Southside Virginia Raineys, although I'm missing the link between our 3rd great-grandfather James Rainey and his ascent. However, I know through DNA matches which Raineys are our distant cousins. We'll begin with the toll the Civil War took on some of our Virginia kin. We have DNA matches to the descendants of a brother and a sister of Madison L. Raney, born 1839 in Mecklenburg County. They were 6th degree cousins.  Madison enlisted on 22 June 1861 in Company B, Virginia 56th Infantry Regiment. The first land battle in Virginia had been fought 12 days earlier at Big Bethel. Loyalty lay foremost with the state and Virginia was sacred ground to its residents. No northern army would invade unscathed. He probably fought the following month at the Battle of Bull Run.

[The 56th]  moved to Tennessee and was attached to Floyd's Brigade, and was captured in the fight at Fort Donelson [Feb 1862 on the Cumberland River in Tennessee]. After being exchanged, the unit returned to Virginia and was assigned to Pickett's, Garnett's, and Hunton's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia . . . In June 1862, it contained 466 effectives and reported 100 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles. This regiment carried only 40 men into action at Sharpsburg and eight were wounded. Of the 289 engaged at Gettysburg, more than 65 percent were disabled. . . . [O]nly three officers and 26 men surrendered on April 9, 1865. Madison was not one of them. He had been killed on one of the first three days of July 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Pickett's Charge at Battle of Gettysburg

Madison's first cousins were the sons of Williamson Rainey, Jr. (1789-1857), who had fought in the War of 1812. In the 1840 census Williamson possessed 19 enslaved people. There was such fever in the air to fight for Virginia. Hadn't the Raineys lived on its soil for nearly two hundred years and prospered?  Born 1837 in Mecklenburg County, Joseph H. Rainey, as had his cousin Madison, enlisted in Company B, Virginia 56th Infantry Regiment on June 26, 1861. He was mustered out on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg, killed in battle with Madison. His widow Narcissa remarried in January, 1866.

Burying the fallen at Gettysburg

State of Virginia Memorial at Gettysburg

Joseph's brother, John J. Rainey, born 1830 in Mecklenburg County, enlisted in Company C, Virginia 15th Cavalry Regiment on June 28, 1861, but was later transferred to Company "F" of the 14th Regiment of Infantry, "The Chambliss Grays."  He'd wed Mary Walker in 1854 and had a fine family. John was killed in August 1864 in a skirmish at Chester Station, Virginia. In 1888 Mary applied for a Confederate widow's pension. In 1937 their descendant Annie Sims applied for a headstone for his grave. The brothers are our distant cousins; we have a DNA match with John's direct descendant.

John J. Rainey, killed August 1864 at Chester Station, Virginia

Their older brother Herbert Bart Rainey, born 1829, had a wife, Martha, three sons and two daughters. He enlisted in Company D, Virginia 2nd Light Artillery Regiment and died April 18, 1862 at Richmond General Hospital, either from wounds or disease. The youngest brother in this family, Charles W. Rainey, born 1838, enlisted as a private in the 11th Regiment, Virginia Infantry, but time and casualties raised him through the enlisted ranks and by the time he mustered out at war's end, he had obtained the rank of 2nd lieutenant. He was about thirty years old when he died some three years after the war.

Some Raineys left Virginia for Georgia after the Revolutionary War. We match DNA with a descendant of Enoch John Rainey, born 1829 in Bibb County, Georgia. In the 1860 census he was listed as an overseer, probably at the adjacent plantation, whose owner listed his personal property (i.e., slaves) as worth $40,000.00. Enoch joined the 4th Battalion, Georgia Sharpshooters, raised in 1863, its members taken from other units. 
 

Battle of Resaca, Georgia

In the middle of May, 1864, General Sherman's armies were blocked at Resaca, Georgia by General Johnston's Army of the Tennessee. After two days of maneuvering and intense fighting, Johnston withdrew. Sherman would continue to advance on Atlanta, but take precautions against ordering further massed assaults where high casualties would occur. Enoch Rainey died May 24, 1864, a week after that battle and is buried in the Covington Confederate Cemetery in Georgia. His widow Lucy Ann remarried and lived until 1924.

Enoch Rainey headstone in Georgia

Enoch's brother Reuben Rainey, born 1827,  joined the 10th Georgia Infantry and survived the war to die in 1898.

Another distant cousin, Mark Rainey, son of Benjamin, was born in Georgia in 1828. Married to Sarah Flanders, he was a farmer with two children in the 1860 census. As the Confederacy's position became desperate, it raised the age of conscription to 45. Older than most soldiers, Mark either enlisted or was conscripted into the 64th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, on December 22, 1863. In early May of 1864, the 64th marched north into Virginia. Mark was one of 400 men of the regiment who fought at the Battle of the Crater on July 30th, a horrendous bloodbath. It was there or perhaps two weeks later at Deep Bottom that he was captured. He and other prisoners were carried north to a prisoner of war camp at Elmira, New York, where he died on September 14, 1864, at age 35, the 292nd death there since July. By May 16, 1865, 2963 Confederate prisoners would die from wounds or disease at that prison. He's buried at Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira. We match a descendant of his sister, Elizabeth Rainey Cravey.

Confederate Prisoner-of-war Camp, Elmira, New York

 Virginia Rainey descendants spread across the South. Woodson V. Rainey, born 1832 in Mississippi, a blacksmith like his father, John Y. Rainey, enlisted 23 March 1862 in Company G of the 21st Regiment of Mississippi Infantry. The regiment was sent to Virginia, where he fought in the Seven Days' Battle in May 1862, the Battle of Sharpsburg, which the North called Antietam, in September. In the beginning of July, 1863, 424 men of the regiment took part in the evening assault through the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg, breaking the Union line, driving them back to the the foot of Cemetery Ridge before being pushed back. The regiment lost 18 men killed and 85 wounded on that day, but Woodson survived. Over the three days of fighting, the regiment had present 1598 men, killed 105, wounded 550, missing 92, totaling 747 casualties. The regiment retreated south by rail, and then into Tennessee, where Woodson fought at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Knoxville, the assault on Fort Sanders. After winter quarters, the regiment returned to Virginia, where Woodson fought in the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864.

Skulls in aftermath of Battle of the Wilderness, where fire trapped combatants

He fought in battle after battle until, finally, only four officers and 44 enlisted men surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in April, 1865. Perhaps Woodson had been a blacksmith behind the lines, that he was able to survive the war, but it's more likely every able-bodied man was given a gun, or had brought one with him. He returned to Mississippi and to blacksmithing, farming 80 acres. He died in Mississippi in 1912 and was granted a headstone by the federal government in 1932 to be placed at the Itta Bena Cemetery on his unmarked grave. Perhaps it never arrived, for now no record of his grave can be found. Woodson's brother John Augustus Rainey (1833-1904) survived his service in the 24th Mississippi Infantry. No gravestone marks his grave, either. Their brother Francis Marion. Rainey, born 1836, like his brother Woodson,  joined Company G of the 21st Regiment of Mississippi Infantry. There is no evidence, such as an 1870 census or a marriage record, that he survived the war.

Elisha Franklin Rainey

In Tennessee, Elisha Franklin "Frank" Rainey, born 1834, enlisted September 30, 1862 at Chapel Hill, Marshall County, for three years with the 11th Regiment of Tennessee Cavalry and was brevetted a 2nd Lieutenant. It appears from the 1860 census that his father, Stephen William Rainey (1806-1884), valued his personal property (slaves) at nearly $15,000. The son of a large plantation owner, Elisha must have obtained a fine cavalry mount.

Originally called Holman's Battalion, the 11th took part in the fighting prior to, and in the Battle of Murfreesboro, December 31, 1862. After the battle, the battalion, under Wheeler’s command, was engaged in scouting and skirmishing along the Cumberland River below Nashville, culminating April 8, 1863, in an attack on Dover, Tennessee by the combined forces of General Wheeler and General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Elisha and his regiment rode into Georgia in late spring 1863, but a short time later were ordered back to middle Tennessee, where they fought with Forrest in the retreat of General Bragg’s Army to Chattanooga in July, and fought in the Battle of Chickamauga. He remained with his unit in east Tennessee until April 1864, when it rejoined the Army of Tennessee near Dalton, Georgia. It eventually returned to Tennessee and participated in the Battles of Franklin and Nashville (as did Everett Rainey on the Federal side), and the retreat from Tennessee. Forrest’s forces returned to Mississippi, and the 11th Regiment remained in his command until the end of the war. It appears Elisha survived the war and died about 1879 in Marshall County, Tennessee. We have a DNA match to a descendant of his aunt, Mary "Polly" Rainey Gault (c1813-1878), whose son, John R. Gault, (b.1836) was killed at Mufreesboro, Rutherford, Tennessee, in early January, 1863, fighting with the 23rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Martin's).  

Marcus De Lafayette Raney (he kept this spelling of his surname) may have lied about his age when he joined up because as an old man he claimed to be born Sept. 12, 1848 in Wilson County, Tennessee. His father John Rainey (1817 Kentucky -1880 Tennessee) was a farmer and sometime tailor (and just possibly our James' brother).  When Marcus joined Colonel Richard "Dick" Morgan's Regiment in April, 1863, he claimed to be 17. He was five months shy of 15. He was about to have the adventure of a lifetime, for Colonel Morgan's brother was General John Hunt Morgan and in June of 1863, against orders, he launched a guerrilla raid from Tennessee through Kentucky and into Indiana and Ohio. Marcus claimed in his pension application to have ridden in Company D under Captain Payne in Morgan's Brigade of Kentucky Cavalry. Read about the raid HERE 

Depiction of Morgan's Raid

After being with Morgan in the 1863 and '64 raids, he rode with Captain Jerry Stone's Company A in Lyon's Tennessee Cavalry until war's end. Years later, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he died in 1928. We have DNA matches to his direct descendants.

Marcus DeLafayette Raney and his prosperous-looking family

As already mentioned, the Raineys spread throughout the south and into Texas. But they went north and west, too. Wilson Rainey (1839 Gibson County, IN-1894 Warrick Co. IN), grandson of William Rainey (1770 NC-1840 Gibson Co., IN), served with the 65th Indiana Infantry Regiment from August 1862 until mustered out at Greensboro, North Carolina in June of 1865. Jonathan Rainey (1836 Xenia OH-1902 Jay Co. IN), grandson of Buckner Rainey of Mecklenburg Co., Virginia, served with the 25th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. For the most part, the Raineys remained south of the Ohio River. And so it isn't strange that just a cursory perusal of our family tree finds over 30 Raineys who fought for the Confederacy. I'll top off this blog with this tough kid, William Henry Rainey.

William Henry Rainey

William Henry Rainey was born in August 1843 in Coffeyville, Clark County, Alabama. By 1860 he and his family were living in Union Parish, Louisiana, below the Arkansas state line. His father, William James Rainey, born in Brunswick County, Virginia in 1813, had wandered far from his ancestral home. William Sr. was a poor dirt farmer without slaves. William the younger enlisted August 13, 1861, at Camp Moore, Louisiana in Company L, 12th Louisiana Infantry. He had just turned 18. 

In the late spring 1863 he was part of a large contingent outside Vicksburg during its siege by General Grant. 

The main body of the 12th Louisiana, led by Colonel Scott who was obeying orders from Brigadier General Abram Buford, withdrew from the battlefield on the night of May 16th and followed the rest of Major General William W. Loring's Division in a 35 mile forced march to Crystal Springs, Mississippi on the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad. Loring's Division quickly reported to General Joseph E. Johnston who was collecting additional troops at Jackson, hoping ultimately to relieve the siege of Vicksburg. Morale among the soldiers in Johnston's army dropped sharply after the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4th and Port Hudson on July 9th. When ordered to retreat from Jackson on the night of July 16th, a large contingent from the 12th Louisiana deserted and went home to Louisiana.

William did not desert. A lad with a strong constitution, he was hospitalized only once.

Illness and temporary hospitalization during June and July 1863 took an additional heavy toll. Of the 659 men who marched away from Baker's Creek to Crystal Springs, only 504 were present for duty when the regiment reached Morton Station, Mississippi in late July at the end of the retreat from Jackson. [This regiment began with 1200 men]


Nine months later, the regiment took 499 men into action at Resaca in northwest Georgia on May 10, 1864. A truly heroic effort requiring determination, courage, and personal sacrifice was made by the men of the 12th Louisiana Infantry during the last full year of the war. Combat casualties became a significant factor in reducing regimental manpower. Between May 10th and September 5th while serving with the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Generals Joseph E. Johnston and John Bell Hood, the 12th Louisiana was in nearly daily contact with elements of the Federal army under Major General William T. Sherman. Battle casualties totaled 106 men: 32 killed or mortally wounded, 65 seriously wounded who required hospitalization, and 9 men captured. Many others were slightly wounded but able to remain on duty with their companies. Disease and exhaustion from combat fatigue forced the long term hospitalization of another 63 men. By September 1864, the number of men present for duty dropped below 360.

William fought at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain at the end of June, 1864, and at the battles of Franklin and Nashville in December 1864 during General Hood's disastrous invasion of Tennessee. Our Everett Rainey shadowed him the entire time on the opposing side.
 

Site of Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia

Transferred to North Carolina, the regiment participated in the last infantry charge of the war made by the Confederate army gathered under General Joseph E. Johnston at Bentonville on March 19th. Documented casualties were 4 killed, 11 wounded, and 1 captured. The regiment was surrendered and paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina under the terms and conditions of an agreement reached between Generals Johnston and Sherman on April 26, 1865 at Durham Station. 

William returned home to Louisiana and took up farming. He married Anna Gates in 1868 and they produced a large family. He died in 1908. We have a DNA match to their descendant. Here's a photograph of William and Anna in later years.

 We'll finish with another Weavers' song, "Wasn't That a Time." HERE

Raney, Dyson & Dougan Family Tree

Artist: Norman Rockwell

I feel we're losing track of individual ancestors as we go up and down our ancestral branches so, despite its being rather boring, I'm going to set out our family tree for your future reference. Our family has deep roots in Colonial America. Many of our ancestors were illiterate and led uneventful lives, but sometimes circumstances forced them to come forward to participate in a war, a movement or an event. I'm not finished telling our family stories - but I am taking a deep breath.

A portion of our family tree on Ancestry.com, using my mom Geneva as starting point.

I'll begin with our Raneys, but won't travel very far up that branch because I'm still uncertain of the missing link between James Rainey and his forebears. Remember, if you are not my first cousin, but a 2nd or 3rd cousin, you'll have to add a "great" or "two greats" to the designations of our ancestors. I'll also branch up into the Dysons and Dougans. Pay attention to what they died of - high blood pressure appears to be the bete noir of our family : 

Frank and Mary (Smith) Raney

1. Our grandfather, Frank Whitman Raney (1888 Princeton, Gibson Co., IN - 1969 Spokane, WA), married June 1910 in Fredonia, Kansas, Mary Emma Smith (18 Jul 1882, Fredonia, Wilson Co. KS - 10 May 1979, Spokane, WA); Mary died at age 97. Her parents were Eugene Smith (Schmitt) (1850 Shelby Co., Ohio - 1928 Spokane, WA) and Louisa (Petitjean) Smith (1849, Belfort, Franche-Comté, France - 1931 Spokane, WA), our great-grandparents. The Schmitts and Petitjeans and their forebears were French Catholics.

Mary, Eugene, Laura, Gusta, Louisa (Petitjean) Smith

James Eugene Raney (1911-1921)

     1) James Eugene Raney (8 Apr 1911, Fredonia, KS - 8 Sept 1921, Spokane, WA; died from sepsis subsequent to foot puncture from barnyard wire). 

Louise, Geneva, Paul, Mary Agnes, Denny Raney

     2) Paul Whitman Raney ( 14 Feb 1913, Fredonia, KS - 23 Dec 2005, Maricopa Co, AZ). Died of a stroke at 92.  Married 2 Jul 1934, Spokane, WA, Grace Bernhardt (13 Apr 1914, Duluth, St. Louis Co., MN - 9 Apr 1989, Seattle, WA). After her death he married a second time.

         a. Children: Patrick; Sandra; Larry (1942-2008), died of cancer; Paula; Michele.

    3) Dennis Patrick "Denny" Raney (13 Oct 1915, Princeton, Gibson Co., IN - 17 Sept 1991, Spokane, WA); married on 11 Nov 1938 in Kellogg, ID, Junice Vivian Moe (28 Aug 1916, Maple Creek, Sask., Canada - July 2012, Spokane WA). Junice died at age 95.

          a. Children: Dennis "Jack"; Franklin "Frank" (1942-2012); died of neck trauma from bicycle accident;  Mary Jean; Geraldine; Kathleen.

     4) Louise Ann Raney (5 Apr 1918, Princeton, Gibson Co., IN - 12 Sep 1949); died on Highway 10, Newman, WA in a one-car rollover; married Donald Wayne Hunter (1917 Spokane, WA - 30 Dec1996, Oregon).

        a. Children: Nancy (1938-2003) died of renal failure; James; David (1945-2015) died of complications from MS; Douglas; Dale.

    5) Mary Agnes Raney (12 June 1921, Spokane, WA - 4 Aug 2003, Spokane, WA); died of complications from breast cancer;  married on 1 June 1940 in Spokane, WA, Omer J. "Red" Charbonneau (6 Jul 1917, Rolette Co, ND - 2 Feb 1987, Spokane, WA); died of a stroke.

         a. Children: Charles "Chuck"; Richard; John (1943-2001), died of cancer;  Thomas; Gregory; Nicholas; Paul; Sharon; Steven.

     6) Geneva Elizabeth "Jean" Raney (20 Mar 1925, Spokane, WA - 4 June 2014, Post Falls, Kootenai Co, ID); died of complications from dementia at age 89; married 20 Nov 1944 in Spokane, WA, Albert Joseph Charbonneau (cousin of Omer) (28 Feb 1921, St. John, Rolette Co., NC - 23 Oct 1994 Kootenai Co, ID); died of a heart attack.

         a. Child: Karen "Kerry."

 

2. Frank Whitman Raney's father was our great-grandfather, James Samuel Raney (1868 Pike Co., IN - 1954 Spokane, WA). Married 7 Sept 1887, Pike Co., IN, Nancy Ann Dyson (1867 Pike Co. IN - 1938 Gibson Co, IN); she died of a stroke. He married a second time in old age.

Jame Samuel, Great-aunt Esther, Nancy (Dyson) Raney

    Children:

      1) Frank Whitman Raney (26 Aug 1888, Princeton, Gibson Co, IN - 23 Oct 1969, Spokane, WA). Died of kidney or liver failure (I think).

      2) Claude Raney (c1890 Gibson Co., IN - bef. 1900 Gibson Co., IN)

     3) Laura Esther Raney (1902 Gibson Co., IN - 1953 Princeton, Gibson Co, IN). Married and divorced Jess L. Kolk. Married Everett Straw late in life. Great Aunt Esther died of a brain aneurysm, the weakened arteries in the Circle of Willis now considered a hereditary condition.

          a) Walther James Kolk (c.1919 - c.1921)

3. James Samuel Raney's father was our 2nd great-grandfather, Everett Rainey (changed spelling of surname to Raney) (1844 Pulaski County, KY - 1899 Blodgett, Scott County, MO); married 1st on 12 Dec 1865, upon returning from serving with the 91st Indiana Regiment (1862-65) in the American Civil War), Nancy Jane Dougan (1847 Warrick Co., IN - c.1876 in a house fire, Monroe Township, Pike Co, IN).

    Everett and Nancy (Dougan) Raney's children:

     1) Sarah Raney (1867 IN - c1876 Monroe Township, Pike Co, IN in the house fire with her mother)

     2) James Samuel Raney (1868 Pike Co., IN - 1954 Spokane, WA); died of complications from diabetes.

     3) Cordelia "Della" Raney (1872 Warrick Co., IN - 1955 Lawrence Co, IL). Married Asa Gibson Nichols (1874-1947). 

Everett married 2nd on 28 Feb 1877,  Mary Ann "Polly" Early, 1856 IN - 1941 Scott Co., MO.

     4) Henry Raney (1880 IN - 1933 WI)

     5) Rose "Rosie" J. Raney (1883 IN - 1948)

     6) Alminta Mae Raney (1884 IN - 1973)

     7) Cora E. Raney (1888 IN - death unknown)

     8) Rebecca S. Raney (1889 IN - 1965)

4) Everett Rainey's father was our 4th great-grandfather James Rainey (1814 KY - before 1870 Pike Co., IN). He married in 1832 in Pulaski Co., KY, Milla "Millie" Roberts (c1808 - after 1880 Pike Co., IN); in the 1880 census she was suffering from being "struck by thunder" (stroke). Milla's father was John Roberts (c1771 in what became Hawkins Co., TN - 1857 Pulaski Co., KY) and Jane "Jennie" Patton (1775 - after 1860 Pulaski Co., KY), our 4th great-grandparents.

   James' and Millie's children:

    1) Absolom E. "Al" Rainey (1833 Pulaski Co., KY - 1907 Warrick Co., IN); married in IN Sept 1853 Mary Jane Riddle; died of acute cerebral meningitis.

    2)  James C. Rainey (c1836 Pulaski Co., KY - 1884 Kenton Co., KY); married Sarah Ann Taylor.

    3)  Larkin Rainey (c1838 Pulaski Co., KY - 1914, Gibson Co, IN); married 1858 in Pike Co., IN Eleanor "Ellen" Lance (1840-1863); he married 2nd 1864 in Pike Co. Eleanor's sister, Martha Lance Ambrose (1844-1880);  he died at the county farm. 

    4)  Sarah A. Rainey (1840 Pulaski Co., KY - 1881 Pike Co., IN); married Civil War veteran John Miller in 1864.

    5)  Cordelia Ann Rainey (1842 Pulaksi Co. Ky - 1920 Pike Co., IN; married 1870 in Pike Co., IN,  Civil War veteran Robert Barrett; died at the Pike Co. Asylum (I assume she had dementia).

    6)  Serena Susanna Rainey (1843 Pulaski Co., KY - 1923 Lewis Co., KY); married 5 Dec. 1865 in Pike Co., IN, Civil War veteran William H. Mason of Buckskin, IN (this must be Everett's best friend "Buck" that our grandfather spoke of, saying they went through the war together, although Mason was in the 42d Indiana Regiment, and that "Buck" married Everett's sister at the same time Everett married Nancy); Serena died from influenza and "of old age."

    7)  Everett Rainey (1844 Pulaski Co., KY - 1899 Blodgett, Scott Co., MO); married 12 Dec 1865 in Pike Co., IN, Nancy Jane Dougan; after her death he married Mary "Polly" Early in 1877. A poignant discovery as I write this - Casey Bricker, a volunteer for "Find a Grave" copied a paragraph of Pat Raney's story on Everett's death from my blog and published it with the photo of his grave. HERE

    8)  Elizabeth Rainey (1847 Pulaski Co., KY -  1924 Posey Co., IN); married Civil War veteran William Heath between1865 and 1871in Pike Co., IN;  died of kidney disease.

    9)  Malvina Rainey (1852 Warrick Co., IN - 1888 Pike Co., IN); married 1878 in Pike Co., IN, David Hanover. It was Malvina who cared for her mother Millie (Roberts) Raney at her death; Malvina died after the birth of a child.

Dyson Family Tree

1. Our grandfather Frank Whitman Raney's mother was our great-grandmother Nancy Ann Dyson (1867 Pike Co., IN - 1938 Patoka, Gibson Co., IN); married 1888 in Pike Co. James Samuel Raney. She died of a stroke. 2. Nancy Ann Dyson's father was our 2nd great-grandfather Whitman Hill Dyson (1836 Warrick Co., IN - 1914 Pike Co., IN). He married 1st in 1858 in Warrick Co., IN, our 2nd great-grandmother Elizabeth "Ella" Turpin (1841 Owen Co., IN - bef 1870), daughter of Moses Turpin (1812 Pulaski Co., KY - 1892 Decatur Co., Iowa) and Frances "Frankie" Utterback (1818 Woodford Co., KY - 1865 Decatur Co., Iowa), our 3rd great-grandparents. It was William Turpin (1640-1685), our 9th great-grandfather, who came as an indentured servant to Maryland from Oxfordshire, England, in 1661  (his voyage paid for); served 7 years before being granted 50 acres and married Margaret Ivory (1654-1721). As for the Utterbacks, our 9th great-grandfather Hermann Otterbach (1663-1748 in what became Prince William Co, VA) and his family emigrated from Trupbach, North Rhine-Westphalia in 1714 at the invitation of Virginia's royal governor Alexander Spotswood to work his iron mines. The colony established Germanna, Virginia. They were of the German Reformed religion, a branch of Presbyterianism.

  Children (our great-great aunts and uncles): 

     1)  Mary Dyson (1856-??); married Timothy Wiry (she is on Whitman Hill Dyson's 1860 census, but perhaps from an earlier marriage or was a niece)

     2)  Clary A. Dyson (1857 Pike Co. - ??) (also on 1860 census, perhaps from an earlier marriage or a niece)

     3)  Alice "Alsie" A. Dyson (1859 Pike Co. - ??)

     4)  Margaret Ellen Dyson (1861 Pike Co. - 1944 Park Co., IN); married William Butler; suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis for 10 years, but immediate cause of death was influenza, which turned into bronchial pneumonia.

     5)  Sarah Elizabeth Dyson (1865 Pike Co. - 1940, Pike Co., IN); married James Bass; died of liver cancer (of "long" duration, but the two people I've known with liver cancer died within 6 months of its discovery).

     6)  Louann Dyson (1866 Pike Co. - 1943, Posey Co., IN); married William Leach; died after 17 years of severe arthritis.

     7)  Nancy Ann Dyson was the youngest of this first family, born in 1867. Her mother died shortly thereafter and Whitman Hill Dyson married 2nd in January 1871 in Pike Co. Sarah Jane Combest Roy (about 1837 Ky - 1886 Pike Co., IN). She came into the marriage with children, including her deaf and dumb daughter, Sarah Ellen "Ella" Roy (1865 Pulaski Co., KY - 1934 Warrick Co. IN).

     8)  Willard Jackson Dyson (1879 Pike Co. - 1936 Gibson Co., IN); married Lucy May Nalley; died of a heart attack.

       After Sarah's death in 1886, Whitman solved the dilemma of having an unmarried non-blood female living in his house. He married Sarah Ellen Roy in 1888.

    9)  Grover Dyson (1890 Pike Co. - 1957 Evansville, IN); married Pearl Reed.

  10)  Joseph Alva Dyson (1891 Pike Co. - 1970 Pike Co. IN); married Margaret Riddle; died of a cerebral thrombosis (stroke)

  11)  Lydia Dyson (1893-1896)

  12)  John Whitman Dyson (1897 Pike Co. - 1971 Evansville, IN); married Charity Nixon and then Gladys Roy; died of pancreatitis.

  13)  Leonard Cleo Dyson (1901 Pike Co. - 1977 Evansville, IN); married Nellie Pearl Woolsy; died of acute pulmonary edema (from congestive heart failure)

Joseph Alva, Ella, Willard, Whitman, and Grover Dyson c1896

3. Whitman Hill Dyson's father was our 3rd great-grandfather, William Hill Dyson (1801 St. Mary's Co., MD - 1870 Warrick Co., IN); married in 1826 in Union Co., KY Alice Julian (1806 Rutherford Co., NC - after 1870 Warrick Co., IN), daughter of Methodist minister Samuel Denton Julian (1780 Rutherford Co., NC - 1851 Warrick Co., IN) and Mary Condry (Condrey) (1786 NC - 1854 Warrick Co., IN), our 4th great-grandparents. The name Whitman came from Alice's brother Whitman Julian (1809-1849). The Julians descended from our 7th great-grandfather Rene Julian (c1665-8 Vitre, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France - 1745, Winchester, Frederick Co., VA) and his father Pierre de St. Julien, French Hugeunots, who sought religious freedom, arriving in South Carolina in 1694, then resettled in Maryland and finally in Virginia. William Hill and Alice Dyson had 5 daughters and three sons.

4. William Hill Dyson's father was our 4th great-grandfather, Bennett Dyson (1768 Frederick Co [became Montgomery Co]., MD - after 1840 Union Co., KY); married Elizabeth Warman (1770 MD - c1825 Union Co., KY). Elizabeth's 2nd (and our 8th) great-grandfather Stephen Warman (1631 London, England - 1695 Anne Arundel Co., MD) emigrated to America in 1660.

5. Bennett Dyson's father was our 5th great-grandfather, Maddox Dyson (1744 Charles Co., MD - 1820 York Co., SC); married widow Jean Turner Swann (1736 Prince George's Co., MD - 1778 Frederick Co., MD). Bennett Dyson served in the Revolutionary War (3rd Co., Upper Bn, Montgomery Co. troops of Maryland Line). He had four children by Jean and three children by his second wife Elizabeth.

6. Maddox Dyson's father was our 6th great-grandfather Thomas Dyson (1715 Charles Co., MD - 1757-8, Charles Co., MD); married in 1740 Mary Ann Maddox (1718, Charles Co., MD - 1784, Charles Co., MD); they had ten children. Mary Ann's parents were Benjamin Maddox (Maddocks) (1693, Charles City, VA - 1770 Charles Co., MD) and Frances Posey Wheeler (1695 Charles Co., MD - 1785 Charles Co., MD), our 7th great-grandparents. It was Benjamin's father Cornelius Maddox (Maddocks) (1661 Eastbourne, Sussex, England - 1705 Port Tobacco, Charles Co., MD), who immigrated to America in 1680 and married Mary Smallwood (1670-1736). Her father Col. James Smallwood arrived in Maryland from Cheshire, England in 1664 and married Hester Evans (our 9th great-grandparents).

7. Thomas Dyson's father was our 7th great-grandfather Thomas Dyson (1688 possibly Inkberrow, Worceshire, England - 1759 Charles Co., MD). His wife was Sarah Swann, whose grandfather (our 9th great-grandfather), Edward Swann arrived in Maryland from Kent, England about 1653, and married Hannah Heath from Surrey, England. 

8. This Thomas Dyson's father was our 8th great-grandfather Thomas Dyson (Dison) (1657 possibly Inkberrow, Worceshire, England - 1709 Charles Co., MD). He and wife Ann Walford emigrated to Maryland from England in 1694. The Dyson family and spouses were of the Anglican faith until they migrated beyond the Appalachians. The Great Awakening affected the religious beliefs of many Americans, converting them toward more fundamentalist religious thought, such as the Baptist religion, into which our grandfather Frank Whitman Raney was born.

 

Before I had the DNA of cousins Pat Raney, his sister Michele Raney Betts, Jack Raney, and Paul Charbonneau,  I only suspected that James Dougan (1754-1837) was our 5th great-grandfather. We inherited such a nice mix of inherited DNA, it's with a sigh of relief I now claim without hesitation that James Dougan, fierce patriot of the American Revolutionary War, is our 5th great-grandfather, whom I wrote about last year HERE 

Dougan Family Tree

Beginning with our great-granfather, James Samuel Raney (great-grandfather) mother Nancy Jane Dougan, here is the Dougan line:

1. Nancy Jane Dougan (1847 Warrick Co, IN - c1876 Pike Co., IN); died in house fire; married Everett Rainey 12 Dec 1865.

2. Nancy Dougan's father (3rd great-grandfather) Samuel B. Dougan (c1820, possibly Franklin Co, TN - died c1872-80 Pigeon, Warrick Co, IN); married in 1847 in Warrick Co., IN Mary "Polly" Erwin (c1817 Ohio Co., KY - c1850 Warrick Co, IN). Polly Erwin's parents were William Erwin (c1790 VA - c1855 Warrick Co., IN) and Elizabeth Whittinghill (1794 VA - 1859 Union Co., Ohio), our 4th great-grandparents. Elizabeth's father Peter Whittinghill (1752-1844 Warrick Co., IN) served in the American Revolutionary War on the Virginia Line.

     Samuel B. and Polly Dougan's children: 

               1)  Peter Dougan (1845-1922) served in the American Civil War; died of mitral regurgitation (valve disease) and perenchymatous nephritus (kidney disease).

                      2)  Nancy Jane Dougan (1847-c1876 in house fire). Married Everett Rainey.

       Samuel B. Dougan married 2) Mary Ann Shoulders (1832-1919) in 1851.

                      3)  Sarah Ellen Dougan (1856-1881)

                      4)  Mary C. Dougan (1857-1930); died of pneumonia.

                      5)  Sophrona Dougan (1860 - bef 1880)

                      6)  Isaac Monroe Dougan (1862-1933); died of complications from diabetes

                     7)  Ella Mariah Dougan (1865-1920); died of myocartitis (inflammation of heart muscle) subsequent to contracting the Spanish influenza.

                     8)  Sherman T. Dougan (1867-1936); died of a stroke.

                     9)  Georgia F. Dougan (1873-1921); cancer of left kidney.

3. Samuel B. Dougan's father was our 3rd great-grandfather James Dougan, Jr. (c1782 Randolph Co, NC - 1827 Dyer Co., TN). Married in Logan Co., KY in 1797 Anne Cross (c 1781 - c1827). (I've yet to discover Anne's parents). After James and Anne's deaths, son John appears to have been reared by his grandfather James or an uncle in Franklin Co., TN; Charles Carl and Samuel B. migrated with Dougan relatives to southern Indiana. There may have been more children.

        Known children: 1) Charles Carl Dougan (c.1816 TN - 1896 Pike Co, IN).

                                    2) John Forrest Dougan (c1817 TN - 1886, AR) 

                                    3) Samuel B. Dougan (c1820 - c1872-80, Warrick Co. IN)

4. James Dougan, Jr.'s father was our 4th great-grandfather James Dougan (1754 Lancaster Co., PA - 1837 Franklin Co., TN); eventually attained a colonelcy in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War. He married in 1780 in Randolph County, NC, Hannah Sharp (1762 Somerset Co., PA - 1831 Franklin Co., TN). They had five sons and four daughters.

5. James Dougan's father was our 6th great-grandfather, Thomas Hill Dougan (1719 Donegal, Ireland - 1769 Randolph Co., NC). He married in Lancaster Co., PA in 1744 Mary Kerr (1726 probably Scotland - 1826, Randolph, NC).

6. Thomas Hill Dougan's father was 7th great-grandfather Thomas Dougan (1685 Donegal, Ireland - 1776, Randolph, NC). He married about 1705 in Donegal Eleanor O'Connor (1687 Donegal -1784 Randolph Co., NC). The Dougan family, Scots-Irish and Presbyterian, arrived in Philadelphia in 1731; most of the family resettled in Randolph Co. NC in the 1760s.

                                 

As you can see, there are still ancestors' identities to discover. If any of you Raney descendants want to add your DNA to our mix, you can order a DNA kit from Ancestry.com/DNA. When you register your kit, name as manager Karen Charbonneau at shipscatbooks@jrcda.com. You'll still have access to your results.  The  more DNA for our extended family I have access to, the easier it will be to pinpoint the identities of our ancestors, especially on the elusive Raney line.