No, Ida. None of Uncle John’s siblings or half-siblings married a Russell.
That has been very thoroughly studied and researched. I have been in touch
with family members of all branches of the tree. John’s wife was not a
Russell and she had no half-siblings.
And, YES, I will report back, when I return from my trip.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your help and for your interest.
Carole
In a message dated 11/9/2009 4:03:21 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Carole:
Having the Bible record and your great-grandfather's list of siblings
is great.
Could one of John W Spencer's sisters or half sisters have married a
Russell? Was John W's wife a Russell? Could William P be her half brother?
The value of a Y-DNA study initially would be to verify whether
William P is indeed a Russell and perhaps save you time and money in
searching the wrong paper trail(s). It would be interesting to find
out whether William P is related to our group of 5 closely related
Russell men in Southside Virginia counties who have had
direct-male-line descendants test for them. It is possible for you to
sponsor a test subject, be the contact person with the genealogical
world, and preserve the test subject's anonymity.
Adoption as we know it is pretty much a 20th-21st Century phenomenon.
In earlier centuries children frequently grew up under the surnames
of stepfathers and others whom we today would consider foster
parents. Rarely would someone go to court in England or America to
formally adopt someone. Even then it might be the case of a childless
adult male adopting another adult male for purposes of inheritance.
The book _A Place in Time: Middlesex County, Virginia, 1650-1750_, by
Darrett B. Rutman and Anita H. Rutman (New York: W W Norton, 1984)
may be a help to you in understanding guardianships and the plight of
many children and their complex families. "From the standpoint of
children, parents were ephemeral" (p. 118). "By the time [Agatha] was
ten, she had lost a father, two stepfathers, a mother, and her
guardian uncle" (p. 119).
Please report back whether your trip to the Halifax County courthouse
answers any of your questions.
--Ida Skarson McCormick, [log in to unmask], Seattle
At 06:24 AM 11/9/2009, Carole D. Bryant <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
><snip>Mainly, I'm trying to discover if it is possible that the
>father of William P.
>might be discovered through genealogical means, rather than DNA. There
are
>living direct male line descendants of William P. whose names are Spencer,
>but whether they have enough interest to have a DNA test, I could not
say.
>
>John W. Spencer's father was married twice. He had six children by his
>first wife before her death, then remarried and had ten more. That
>explains the
> wide spread of ages for the other siblings.<snip>
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