About 1,000 years ago, my family married into the Lowther Family, who were landed gentry in the Cumbria part of England. “Lowther has been the seat of the Lowther family since the 12th century. With a continuous male-line descent over six centuries, the family is one of the oldest armigerous families in England, their arms…
My Family Line Is Filled with Preachers — Even Circuit Preachers Who Carried Their Messages on Horseback
In previous posts, I have said that along several lines, my family is among the people who left Europe to seek religious freedom. The Duval side of my family were Huguenots who left France to protest Catholic persecution, and the Whitaker side of my family were Quakers who left England for the same reason. It…
Religious Persecution Drove Much of the European Migration to America
Persecution of the Protestant French Huguenots The Bartholomew’s Day Massacre “The St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre (French: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed to have been instigated by…
What My Great Aunt Said about My Family’s Pioneer Days, Migrating to the Midwest from the East Coast
One branch of my ancestors, the Duvalls, were among the earliest people to settle in Virginia, and I have traced the route showing how another branch of my family, the Whitakers, were among the pioneers who moved westward from England down the East Coast to the midwest. My history is that of the people who…
My Duval – Claiborne – Dunscomb Family Line from England to Virginia to Southeast Missouri
I. Marc Duval de la Semee
My Claiborne Family Line from England to Virginia to Southeast Missouri
I. Rowland Cleburne [Cliburn] Born about 1364 He married Katherine de Lancaster Born 1415 II. John Cleburne Born about 1445 – 1487 He married Elizabeth Curwen| Born 1445 – 1489 III. Thomas De Cleburne Born about 1471 – 1573 He married Joan Sanford Born 1447 IV. Sir Robert John Cleburne Born about 1471 – 1553 He married Emmotte KirkbrideAnn Layton Born 1465 – 1535 V….
William Claiborne Who Surveyed Virginia for the King of England
“William Claiborne served as a member of the governor’s Council (1623–1637; 1642–1661) and as secretary of the colony (1626–1634). Born in England and educated at Cambridge, Claiborne came to Virginia in 1621 as surveyor of the colony and by 1623 was a member of the Council.” Encyclopedia of Virginia “Contributor: Warren M. Billings Contributor: the…
The Duvals of Kentucky from Virginia – Free Book to Read Online
Published in 1938 THIS book was written to meet the need of a permanent record of the history of the descendants of four brothers of the old Virginia family of Col. Samuel DuVal of “Mt. Comfort,” Henrico County, Va. On this plantation of five hundred acres was built the Chestnut Hill and Highland Park additions…
Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road & the Cumberland Gap that Carried Pioneers from the East Coast to Middle America
“The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East.” “In 1775, Daniel Boone blazed a trail for the Transylvania Company from Fort Chiswell in Virginia through the Cumberland Gap. It was later lengthened, following Indian trails, to reach the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville. The Wilderness Road was steep, rough and narrow, and could be traversed…
My Whitaker Family Line from England to Pennsylvania through the Cumberland Gap to Missouri
Robert Sr. Whitaker [His grandson immigrated to America] Birth: circa 1604 Padiham, Lancashire, England 2. Robert Whitaker, Il MP Birth: March 29, 1637 North Yorkshire, England Death: February 6, 1741 (103) Grindletown, York, England Immediate Family: Son of Robert Sr. Whitaker Husband of Margaret Whitaker 3. Joshua Whitaker, Sr. MP Immigrated to America Birth: December 22, 1675 London, Middlesex,…