Small World

When dancing with the ancestors, even after years of doing it, I'm still amazed that it's a small, small world after all. As anyone who reads this blog with any amount of frequency knows, on my mother's side, the smallness of the world is, well, small. On my father's side . . . well, not so much.

Okay, I thought not so much, but just found out . . . well, a wee bit smaller than I first imagined.

My paternal great-grandfather is Charles A. Mitchell. He married Martha Ann Tate, daughter of James Douglas Tate and Mary Jane McGregor. Mary Jane McGregor was the daughter of Mary "Polly" McGee and Ezekial McGregor. Mary was the daughter of Esther Clendennon and John McGee. Her brother was Clendennon McGee. Remember that name, it plays into it's a small, small world after all.

Charles Mitchell, from what I have determined, is the son of William Mitchell and Martha Forrest. No, I don't have 100% proof. What I do have is verification that the only Forrest family in Warren County, TN was that of Richard Albert Forrest and his wife Sarah Matlock and their children. Their daughter Martha married William Mitchell. Enough proof for me, at least at this point. Anyhow, Sarah Matlock died in 1827 and her husband Richard Albert Forrest married Lucy Wilcher-England, who had children from her previous marriage, one of which was her daughter Martha who married . . . Clendennon McGee.

I told you to remember that name. Oh, and Martha also divorced Clendennon! Go figure, and back in the mid-1800s! Now that was a rarity! 

So, Clendennon McGee was my 3rd great grand uncle and brother to my 3 x great grandmother on my paternal side, through my great grandmother Martha Ann Tate-Mitchell. Clendennon's wife was the daughter of Lucy Wilcher-England who married Richard Albert Forrest, my 3 x great grandfather on my paternal side, through my great grandfather's mother! Oy!

So, you see, it is a small, small world when dancing with the ancestors. You never know when your 3 times great grandfather's step-daughter will actually be your 3rd great grand aunt by marriage!

S