Medders of Coweta County Georgia

The first phase of this journey will be told with respect to the individual men of our Medders line, going back as far as I have names for them. Though we probably never will know the identities of earlier men, there is still quite a story to tell of those times. The second phase will take our line back to England, and how its Y-chromosome tells us where they came from before the advent of human civilization. The final phase will cover the rest of the family tree of Nancy Medders, my great-great grandmother, through all of her great-great grandparents. Keep in mind that most of them lived their lives before the Revolution, so documentation becomes scarce.



Eli Hollis's wife was Nancy Medders, born 1845 in Coweta County Georgia. The first thing to remark about this line is the spelling of the name. It came from Meadors, and Medders quite evidently is a southern phonetic. But it was spelled that way in documents and on tombstones, so it became official. Meadors itself originated from Meadows, so change seems to be the norm for this line. Nancy's father was Reuben Medders, born 1805 in Anson County North Carolina. Reuben's father was William Medders, born 1770 in Anson. William took the family to Georgia by 1820. William's father was Jason Meadors, born 1729 in Essex County Virginia. Jason's father was also named Jason, but the last name seemed to be form Meador, making a similar 's' ending shift that the Morris line did around that time. He was born 1704 in Essex. Sr's father was John, born 1658. It was the same location, but at that time was called Rappahannock County.

Getting our line to this point with only documentation was quite a challenge and took many years, due in large degree to the shifting form of the name. I didn't have confidence in it until ThruLines agreed with it, up to John. And it happens that John's father is documented as Thomas, born 1636. There's a lot of confusion amongst cousins' trees, where I think a lot of children are mis-attributed to uncles rather than fathers, but ThruLines clarifies our line. Theirs are probably based on pre-ThruLines research, so hopefully it will all get ironed out. I used to be uncertain that our Meadors came from the form Meadows, but Y-DNA has helped to prove that. Our line traces all the way back to the Normans. I won't name all of them, but along the way was a William Meadowe of Suffolk England born 1504, and at the origin was an Edmund de Wytnesham born 1090. His place of birth is spelled Witnesham today, which means "Witta's home", and is also called Witta's meadow. I've found no evidence of slaveholding in this line, which is probably explained by them having been Quakers. Jason Sr is documented as having been persecuted for being a Quaker.



See a photo above of a church in Witnesham, that stood in the 16th century. Edmund's son was called Robert de Medewe. A descendant of Thomas Meador has been tested as haplogroup R-DF27, and so has a descendant of Robert de Medewe. See the map below of R-DF27, which originated in the Pyrenees. It's relatively rare in Britain. This map's depiction of even spread I doubt. It's entirely possible, probably likely, that our Medders line came to Britain with Celtic migration during the Iron Age. But it's also possible that it came with the Romans. See the Draper document, which has the same Y-DNA, for that potential explanation.

Nancy Medders' other Great-Great-Grandparent Lines

In the last phase of this document, I collect all that I know about the non-Medders paternal lines of the great-great-grandparents of my great-great-grandmother, Nancy Medders. Refer to the McAtee Pedigree page for a simple view of Nancy's ancestors.

Martindale

Reuben Medders' wife was Nancy Martindale, born 1813 in Clarke County Georgia. Nancy's father was John Martindale, born 1752 in Bucks County Pennsylvania. The big question of this line is was John really Nancy's father, or was he her grandfather, as he would've been 61 at her birth. Even more, Nancy's mother would've been 54. I've attempted, assuming that John had a son of the same name, that his son was Nancy's father, to insert a generation between. John is claimed to not only have fathered Nancy and other children, but to have been a soldier in Georgia around 1820 when he was 70 years old. It seems clear that two generations have been conflated. But I had no luck separating them. DNA would be the key to solving this, if another attempt is made, to find the younger John's wife and determine if she was a direct ancestor.

But continuing with John 1752, the line moved to Union County South Carolina in 1767, and John moved to Clarke a decade or so before Nancy's birth. A John Martindale was in the South Carolina militia in the Revolutionary War. This may have been ours, but there was a John Martindale from Maryland who I think wasn't ours and is part of the confusion in this line. Other researchers have our John going to Maryland when he was 15 years old, without his parents. John's father was William Martindale, born 1723 in Philadelphia. My research points to him wedding into land in Bucks County. William's father was John Martindale, born 1676 in Bristol England. John said he was a shoemaker and immigrated when he was eight years old. John's father was also named John, born in England. The line traces back to Westmoreland England in the 16th century. Even though they immigrated as Quakers, they later became slaveholders. I've had no luck finding a Martindale Y-DNA test. Every descendant of this line that I've seen tested are women. I have to guess that they were of haplogroup R-M269.

Bailey

William Medders' wife was Elizabeth Bailey, born 1775 in Randolph County North Carolina. Elizabeth's father was John Bailey, born 1750 in Pasquotank County North Carolina. John's father was David Bailey, born 1721 in Pasquotank. David's father was also named David, born 1683 in Pasquotank. David Sr's father was Patrick Bailey, born 1650 in Wiltshire England. I know nothing else about the Baileys, though they likely began with considerable wealth, as was the case for early immigrants to eastern North Carolina. What's drawn interest in our Bailey line is that David Sr's wife's name was Thamar Suman. I originally assumed that Suman is South Asian, i.e. from India. This was significant soon after my mom and her mom took autosomal DNA tests, because they initially both registered a small amount of South Asian DNA. I thought Sumar was the source. I couldn't figure how an Indian woman was born in very early North Carolina. I wondered if there was some connection to the East India Company. I even went to a library in Elizabeth City myself to do some research.

But it turns out she wasn't Indian. First, the ethnicity estimate for my mom and grandma dropped the South Asian element. Then, I learned that Suman is actually an English name related to Seaman. Then I learned that Thamar is really a Biblical name that was used for girls back in the day. I wonder now if ancestry.com initially included the Y and X chromosomes in their autosomal results, because my mom's mitochondrial DNA has a distant connection to India. This is very distant, but around 1% of European women have it today, so it might register around that in her overall DNA. I used to have a small amount of Italian registered in mine and my dad's, and our Y-DNA is Middle-Eastern and is fairly common in Italy. I don't know that ancestry.com actually initially included the X and Y chromosome in their autosomal calculations, but it would have an outweighed prevalence compared to the other chromosomes, because it persists today even if the ancestor it came from lived thousands of years ago and all the other chromosomes were replaced by typical European ones. But this was an interesting story in the family for a time. Like the Martindales, the Baileys immigrated as Quakers and yet later became slaveholders. The only Y-DNA connection to this line is of haplogroup I-M170. This is actually the parent mutation of I1 and I2, so I'm not sure why the test wasn't refined to one or the other. The only other I's in the Bailey DNA project are M253, so I assume that was ours. The Bailey surname came to England with the Normans, and is equivalent in meaning to sheriff. Our line probably was Norman itself, but could've also come from the earlier Danelaw period.

Young

Nancy Martindale's mother was Rachel Young, born 1758 in Union County South Carolina. Rachel's father was Thomas Young, born 1736 in Westfalen Prussia. Thomas's father was Wilhelm Jung, born 1713 in Kassel, in what was then Prussia. Today Kassel is in central Germany between Hanover and Frankfurt. While this location is farther west than the usual German immigrant in our trees, I trace the line back to the typical Rhineland. Apparently the Jungs first attempted to stay in Germany by moving away from the war-torn region of the French border, but it didn't work out and they came to America. I don't know how many Youngs in America trace back to German Jung, but ours does. Presumably they were Lutheran. I've found no evidence of slaveholding. The Y-DNA connection isn't solid, but looks like haplogroup R-M269. Wilhelm and Thomas immigrated in 1749 to Philadelphia and Thomas soon moved to South Carolina, an extraordinary journey from birth to death.

Mobberley

William Medders' mother was Sarah Mobberley, born 1732 in Prince George's County Maryland. Sarah's father was Edward Mobberley, born 1696 in Anne Arundel County Maryland. Edward's father was John Mobberley, born 1657 probably in Cheshire England. An ancestor of his named Edward was born in Cheshire 1553. I don't know what the etymology of Mobberley is, but it's a parish name in Cheshire. Descendants of Edward have tested in the Mobley DNA project as haplogroup R-M269. Presumably they were Quakers, as the Medders had been. The most recent male in the line died before the first census, so I've found no indication of slaveholding.

Lamb

Elizabeth Bailey's mother was Dorcas Lamb, born 1758 in Pasquotank County North Carolina. Dorcas's father was Esau Lamb, born 1734 in Nansemond County Virginia. Esau's father was Henry Lamb, born in 1697. Though the Lambs wed into a Quaker family, given that they came from Virginia, I'm certain they were Anglican. I've seen claim that the name Lamb meant gentle like a lamb, or alternatively derived from French Lambert. I tend to lean toward the latter for our line. Descendants of Esau in the Lamb DNA project claim that Henry came from Scotland. They were tested as Y-DNA haplogroup R-M269.

Merrick

William Martindale's wife was Martha Merrick, born 1727 in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Martha's father was Thomas Merrick, born 1701 in Bucks. Thomas's father was John Merrick, born 1675 in Hertfordshire England. It looks like this was an English Quaker line when they immigrated, but Merrick is said to be a Welsh surname related to Maurice. The Merrick DNA project isn't public, so I have to guess this line was of haplogroup R-M269.

Brandon

Rachel Young's mother was Catherine Brandon, born 1731 in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. Catherine's father was George Brandon, born 1702 in Chester County Pennsylvania. George's father was John Brandon, born 1662 in London England. I presume this line was Anglican. I found no connection in the Brandon DNA project, but all Pennsylvania Brandons were of haplogroup R-M512. This is curious for an English line, as the only other cases I've seen of R1a came from Germany and Switzerland. I haven't researched R1a in Britain, but I suppose it came with the Angles and Saxons. I've seen claim that the name Brandon comes from Old English, so that would fit.

Stone

Jason Meador Sr's wife was Elizabeth Stone, born 1709 in Essex County Virginia. Elizabeth's father was William Stone, born 1685 in Richmond County Virginia. William's father was also named William, born 1645 in Richmond. William Sr's father was George Stone, born 1597 in England. Houseofnames.com says that Stone is a Cornish surname, so maybe George was from Cornwall. Presumably this was an Anglican line. I found no clear connection in the Stone DNA project, but it looks like this line was of haplogroup R-M269.

Duvall

Sarah Moberley's mother's name was Susannah, born 1702 in Anne Arundel County Maryland. The database maiden name for her is Deruel, but her father was Lewis Duvall born 1663 in Prince George's County Maryland. I don't know if Deruel was a widowed name or some other confusion. I've seen this happen with French names elsewhere in my tree. Esther Duvall in the Burrell tree on my dad's side is from these same Duvalls. Lewis's father was Mareen Duvall, born 1625 in Normandy France. I've heard that the name Duvall traces back to Charlemagne, but I've not pursued this theory. I presume that Mareen was Lutheran. Descendants have been tested as Y-DNA haplogroup R-M269.

Ledford

John Bailey's mother was Elizabeth Ledford, born in 1732. Her maiden name is very uncertain, and Ledford might actually be a widowed name. Info on her has her being from Massachusetts. It's not impossible that she was, as the Baileys very well may have travelled the Atlantic coast. But I doubt it. I've seen Ledfords in Virginia, which would make more sense. I assume this line came from England, but being so deep in the tree I haven't pursued it.

Newby

Esau Lamb's wife was Elizabeth Newby, born 1738 in Pasquotank County North Carolina. Elizabeth's father was Samuel Newby, born 1704 in Pasquotank. Samuel's father was Gabriel Newby, born 1665 in Nansemond County Virginia. Gabriel's father was William Newby, born 1637 in Durham England. Newby is said to come from old English meaning "new farm". I found no Newby DNA information.

Bridgeman

William Martindale's mother was Mary Bridgeman, born 1687 in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Mary's father was Walter Bridgeman, born 1655 in Cornwall England. I presume they were Quakers.

Stebbins

Martha Merrick's mother was Sarah Stebbins, born 1705 in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Wikitree's parents for Sarah conflict with Ancestry.com members, so given the depth here in the tree I haven't attempted to straighten it out. Given that she was in Bucks like others in this tree, I assume she was a Quaker like they were.

Wagner

Wilhelm Jung's wife was Anna Wagner, born 1771 in Heudorf of Baden, what would become part of Germany. Anna's father was from the Rheinland. I presume they were Lutheran.

Armstrong

Catherine Brandon's mother was Mary Armstrong, born 1715 in Chester County Pennsylvania. I believe Mary's ancestors came from Dumfriesshire Scotland. I presume they were Presbyterian.

Summary of Nancy Medders' Great-Great-Grandparent Lines

I confirmed only two of the sixteen lines were slaveholders. There probably were a couple more, but given the prominence of Quakers in this tree I would definitely expect less than half were. Nancy's ancestors were almost three quarters English, mixed with Scottish and mainland Lutheran Europeans. This is definitely the least-Anglican part of our tree, being half Quaker. I guess that three quarters of Nancy's male ancestors were of haplogroup R-M269, which is typical, but this tree is very much lacking in DNA information.

Migration paths
Medders: 1840 Newnan, Coweta, Georgia - 1800 Athens, Clarke, Georgia - 1770 Wadesboro, Anson, North Carolina - 1725 Hanover, Hanover, Virginia - 1635 Haskins Creek, Rappahannock, Virginia - 1600 Watford, Hertfordshire, England - 0 Witnesham, Suffolk, England
Martindale: 1805 Athens, Clarke, Georgia - 1767 Cross Keys, Union, South Carolina - 1700 Newtown, Bucks, Pennsylvania - 1684 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 1600 Bristol, Lincolnshire, England - 0 Martindale, Westmoreland, England
Bailey: 1775 Asheboro, Randolph, North Carolina - 1675 Core Sound, Pasquotank, North Carolina - 0 Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Young: 1755 Union, Union, South Carolina - 1749 Kingsessing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 0 Kassel, Hessen, Prussia