Washington Family Of The South Genealogy Project! 

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Washington Genealogy Updates

Welcome to our Washington family genealogy research web site! My name is Terrie Washington, Washington family genealogy researcher. Our Washington family genealogy research project began some fifty-six years ago when the wife of W. W. Washington, Pauline Moore Washington, was told a story by family members Benjamin and Andrew Washington. The story was about our ancestor, George Washington b. 1821, who was supposed to be born in Virginia, a cousin to President Washington and had lived down the street from his home. Our Washington handed down family story tells how our ancestor George Washington was born in Virginia and traveled through Salem NC, Columbia SC, Columbus GA, Florida, Alabama, then ending up in Mississippi. Ever since Pauline heard the story, she has made it her lifelong hobby to try and solve our Washington family genealogy mystery. 

Washington Ranch, Washington, Pontotoc County, Mississippi

About five years ago, I began assisting Pauline with her Washington family research. With the technology of the Internet, I have been able to fill in some blank areas of our genealogy. These blank areas were filled when I found the family in Lee and Russell counties Alabama and then I began tracking them to Coosa and Elmore counties Alabama, then tracked our George Washington along with son John C. and ex father-in-law John C. Halford to Mississippi. Counties they were found in included Simpson, Jasper, Kemper, Chickasaw, Calhoun and Pontotoc counties. I have learned that there were at least two trips to MS over the years for land purchases and probably more.

A cousin, Marka Bland, who volunteers her time doing cemetery censuses one day tripped over a headstone at Sarepta Cemetery in Calhoun county. The headstone she tripped over was that of our oldest known ancestor George Washington born 1821 VA...

Original cypress headstone marker of our ancestor George Washington reads, 
"Sacred to the memory of George Washington 
Born in VA. 1821 Died 1869"

Marka Bland had found our long lost ancestor!

 Genealogy notes: George WASHINGTON b. 1821 is found in Russell Co. AL (1840 census), Wetumpka, Coosa Co., AL (1850 census), Elmore County AL (1856-58 BLM Land Record #13576) and is buried in Calhoun Co., Sarepta, MS (1869). George was a Civil war soldier and a farmer. I found George's son John C. WASHINGTON listed in the 1860 Sarepta, Calhoun Co., MS census living in same household as his grandfather John C. Halford (misspelled Holford in census). John C. Halford and wife Catharine Brown lived next door to our George Washington in 1840 Russell Co. AL, next door to George's #2 wife's parents the Kirkham McEwen family in 1850 Coosa Co. AL, and lived in same household as our John C. Washington (George's son) in 1860 Sarepta, Calhoun Co. MS. 

John C. HALFORD and wife Catharine BROWN are the parents of George's first wife Jincy. The name Jincy may be a nickname, since researching her has not been productive. According to tradition, George and Jincy's second son was named John C. after the father of the mother and also their first daughter was named Catharine after the mother of the mother. According to research conducted by Jimmy Stribling, for his book on the Mississippi Dixie Rebels genealogy, Jincy Halford was listed as the mother of John C. on John C. Washington's death certificate. Also according to Stribling, John C. Washington's wife Margaret Lewellen was in error when she applied for his pension. She stated that John was in 42nd MS when in actuality he was in the 31st MS Infantry, Company D. I have since verified this through his service records. Hudson's diary for the 31st MS Infantry states, "John Washington came in today." [At or near Haynes Landing.] John Washington was the only white John Washington in the state of Mississippi at that time serving the Confederacy.

Washington genealogy updates:

August 2, 2009 - Have traced the John C Halford family back to the Dalton, Redd and Dandridge families. George Washington's wife Jincy Halford was 1st cousin 5 times removed to Martha Dandridge, wife of President George Washington. Descendants of John C and brother Francis Marion Washington tie in here.

Larry Hellums has contacted me regarding placing a headstone on George Washington's [Sergeant, Co. F, 2nd Miss. Cav. (Ballentine's Cavalry Partisan Rangers)]grave at Sarepta City Cemetery in Calhoun county Mississippi. According to Larry, there is a short memorial service planned at Sarepta Cemetery on the 3rd of October (the day before Sarepta Homecoming) in honor of the Confederate veterans buried there. If we could get the application to VA sometime soon, there might be enough time for the marker to arrive before that date.

News from Washington Surname DNA Project Administrator- The president of Family Tree DNA has given the Washington Surname DNA Project a free DNA upgrade of one of the presidential DNA participants in the project so as to verify the presidential Washington line. Soon we will have verified DNA of President George Washington's two brothers Charles and Samuel! There has been much interest in this line of Washington's recently and you soon will be reading more about the results.

August 1, 2009 - September is Mississippi Reunion time!

Washington Family Reunion & Potluck
Saturday, September 19, 2009
8:30 A.M. - Late afternoon

New Cooke Memorial Baptist Church
5962 Redland - Sarepta Road (corner Cook Rd and Redland-Sarepta)
Washington Community of South Pontotoc (near Chickasaw county line)
Pontotoc County, Mississippi

December 2008 - Seasons Greetings!

September 2008 - Family reunion time.

Washington Family Reunion & Potluck
Saturday, September 20, 2008
8:30 A.M. - Afternoon

New Cooke Memorial Baptist Church
5962 Redland - Sarepta Road
Washington Community of South Pontotoc
Pontotoc County, Mississippi

Greetings! Our Washington family reunion time is nearly here. We will gather on September 20th, 2008 at New Cooke Memorial Baptist Church Family Living Center. We are expecting more cousins this year who just became aware of our gatherings. We need to be sure to invite our younger generations to join us, especially newlyweds and young families!

Please bring pictures of families, ancestors, and children. Also bring family records, charts, Bible records and stories. Pauline will be at the Family Living Center on Friday afternoon to prepare for Saturday. We welcome helpers, visitors, or anyone who wants to share or research our records.

For more information contact:
Pauline Washington 901-358-0595

January 2008 - Jincy Halford's genealogy chart blanks are finally being filled. Jincy was the first wife of our George Washington. Her second great grandmother was Anne Dandridge who married George Redd, both from Virginia. Could she be the cousin to the president that our ancestors talked about? I would like to stress that Jincy's father went by the name of John C. Alford in the 1840 census of Russell county Alabama on page 8 next door to our George Washington. Ten years later her father was going by the name John C. Halford. I do not know the reason for this change except perhaps the census taker misunderstood. In 1860 John C. Alford Halford was listed in Calhoun county Mississippi census as John C. Holford and living in the same household with his grandfather was George Washington's second son John C. Washington and wife Margaret.

February 2007 - The two long lost daughters of Francis Marion Washington have been found! Francis was George Washington's first born son who died after fighting in the Battle of Shiloh with 18th Alabama Infantry, company I. Francis' oldest daughter Sarah Jane Washington married Levi Blackerby and moved to Texas. The other daughter, Mary F. E. Washington married Joseph W. Blackerby, brother of her step-father William Blackerby, and she stayed in Shelby County, Alabama. Both daughters named their first sons Marion.

Received the death certificate of John C. Washington back from the Mississippi Department of Health. It lists his mother as Jincy Halford, (not Martha Law). Details for death certificate were provided by Albert Washington, youngest son of John.

Our forum has been closed due to Internet spammers. I cannot keep up with the message deletions required due to trash postings. In the meantime I am looking at other options. You may send any queries or files you would like posted to the webmaster.

December 2006 - Story as seen in the Calhoun County Journal, The Unsung Life Of A Lousy Lad: 2006, By Egbert Phillips. Egbert Phillips was a native of Pontotoc County who later in life donated the land for the Boy Scouts' Camp Phillips. The story was provided by Bob Cooper who recently found it in some of his files. The story highlights past days with John C. Washington and family.

September 2006 - Family Reunion time!

June 2006 - Ever been to McGee Cove in White County, Tennessee? The McGees' settled there for several generations. Some of our YDNA matches are to McGee, McGaw and McGeehee. Dean McGee is really into DNA testing analysis. He has made software that breaks down the YDNA modals into time periods. We go back to the "Ulster Plantation" in Northern Ireland/Scotland, and even further back according to Family Tree DNA to Wales, the UK, and British Isles. I have upgraded our YDNA to the 37-marker test, results are due back June 28th.

May 2006 - Added files to our "files" page. More Washington family gedcoms, census records, land records, related families, and various other tidbits.

Have found several more land records in Mississippi for George Washington's first father-in-law John C. Halford dating between 1826-1841. Will give update when records are received from Department of Archives. This includes Jasper and Simpson counties, with living relatives in Warren county.

Have also found additional land record for George Washington in Kemper County which is close to Warren county where some of Halford's descendants still live today. Again, will update when records are received from Department of Archives. Seems that George Washington and John Halford may have been traveling together for these land transactions in 1841.

February 2006 - Going over old genealogy records it was discovered that George Washington lived in the town of Wetumpka, Coosa county, Alabama. We never knew it was Wetumpka! Always a good idea to go over old records occasionally to see if info was previously overlooked!

September 15, 2005 - Someone has hacked our message forum. Working to get it back up. Users will need to re-register and be verified through admin. Sorry for any inconvenience.

September 14, 2005 - Found grave of "Catharine Brown b. 13 Jan 1795 d. 1 Feb 1854, Wife of John", Catharine was wife of John C. Halford, mother of George Washington's first wife Jincy. She must have died shortly after arriving in Calhoun County Mississippi from Coosa County AL. Catharine is buried in Methodist Campground (Ragland) Cemetery, off Hwy 9 between County Roads 181 and 185. The legal description is: SE corner of SW 1/4 of Sec 11 T11S R1W, Calhoun County MS. This cemetery is on private property and permission must be obtained prior to visiting. The cemetery is in pathetic condition according to Shed Hill Davis, who was source of information on Rootsweb dot com. Finding Catharine's grave tells us that the Halfords' were the first to arrive in MS from Coosa County Alabama. Additionally, Catharine Brown-Halford's father was James Brown b. SC who had resided in Warren County MS.

May 2005 - Land records received by National Archives. Witnessed by F. M. McEwen, our George's brother-in-law of second wife. This in fact was our George Washington's 119 acres of land in Elmore county Alabama (see March 2005 update. George was listed as the original patent holder, and paid $59.95 or 0.50 cents per acre.

Found John C. Alford living next door to another George Washington in 1820 St. Clair County Alabama census. This particular George Washington was son of Thomas Washington. According to Gwen Washington of the St. Clair County Alabama Washington's, this particular George Washington moved to Harris County Georgia and is found in the 1830 Harris County Georgia census records. Harris county borders Russell county Alabama, where our George Washington lived next door to John C. Alford Halford. Is this the father of our George in 1830 Harris County GA? Will let you know what is found in the next Washington family update.

New Gedcom, descendants of Andrew Crawford BIFFLE of Wayne Co. TN and Pontotoc County MS.

March 2005 - Land records found, "George WASHINGTON of Coosa County." He purchased 119 acres of land in Elmore County Alabama on 3/1/1858 according to the 1820 law of record. George was in Pontotoc Co., MS, by 1860 where the family purchased land from the MATHIS family.

BLM Serial Nr.: AL NO S/N 
SWNE 2/ 20-N 17-E No St Stephens AL Elmore 
NWSE 2/ 20-N 17-E No St Stephens AL Elmore 
NESW 2/ 20-N 17-E No St Stephens AL Elmore 

October 2004 - Gedcom, Descendents of Peter Young and Martha Anne "LOST THE HORN" many of which lived in Pontotoc Co. MS.

August 2004 - Washington family reunion time is coming in September. Special interest this year will be YDNA research.

July 2004 - We are seeking test subjects of the presidential line. We have been doing YDNA testing to find the source of our roots. One particular exact match comes from the Carter family who has ancestral ties to Sir Walter De Washington and Sir William De Washington of England, ancestors of President George Washington.  It may take some time to find the trail (if any) of this potential match, but will keep you informed of the outcome. 

July 2004 - YDNA surname matches of male descendants of our George Washington, b. 1821 family.

12 marker YDNA exact matches:

Barr, Washington, Reddy, Schwiesow, Herron, Saxon, Connor,. O'Brien 1, O'Brien 2, Marshall

25 marker, 1-step mutation YDNA matches:

McGee, McGeehee, Milligan, Smith, Saxon 1, Saxon 2.

25 marker, 2-step mutation YDNA matches:

Alexander, Barr, Brown, Byrnes, Connor, Cowan 1, Cowan 2, Cowan 3, Curry, Degnen, Devaney, Doherty, Dorsey, Eckhardt, Flanagan, Gilmour,  Harrison 1, Harrison 2, Hearl, Heath, Hill, Kennedy, Kenny, Laws, MacAulay, MacKenzie, MacTiernan, McCall, McCord, McGee, McLaughlin, McNeil, McTernan, McTiernan,  Megaw,  Millican, Mulllikin, Neel, O'Brien 1, O'Brien 2, O'Hara, O'Shaughnessy, Reddy, Shanahan,  Schwiesow, Sinor, Thomas, Vickery, Walker, Wilson.

Regardless of the outcome of our families genealogy research and YDNA testing, we have met many other fine Washington's along our journey in the United States, Canada and abroad; solved other Washington family mysteries (like the Fairfax Washington mystery), but still search for our own Washington Family genealogical answers.

This web site came about as a means for all the Washington families to connect, research their ancestry, have a place to meet by scheduling chats, post messages, query, share photos and clippings or whatever else that comes to mind. 

This is YOUR Washington Family Web Site

Here are some of the highlights the Washington-Family.us web site will be offering with much more to come in the near future:

• Forum/Message Board (Now closed)
  Post your Washington Family queries, bible records, cemeteries, reunions, weddings, births, census records and more. We have several different categories and forums. This will provide a wealth of Washington family information for researchers.
  

• Live Chat (Now Open)
  Post your chat schedule on the message board if you like. Bring your family or friends. Global Washington chat monthly, so stay posted for the date/time.
  

• Washington Family DNA Test Project (Now Open)
  The new millennium offers advances in information, science and technology that were not previously available to other Washington generations. Find out how to participate in our new Washington Family DNA Test Project.
  

• Files/Databases (Submit Yours)
  Easily access any submitted Washington Family database
  

• Gedcom
  Our family tree (limited by FTM).
  

• Picture Gallery (Submit Yours)
  This is going to be so much fun visualizing all the Washington's
  

• Notable Washington's (Coming Soon)
  Famous and not so famous Washington's
  

• Washington Stories
  Have a funny or interesting Washington Family story, poem or works to post? Share it with other Washington family members.

Our web site is brand new and I invite all the global Washington families to participate in another great web site, Bill Couch's Washington Family DNA Test Project, learn more. My name is Terrie Washington (Routh), your host, webmaster and 3rd great-grand daughter of our mysterious George Washington and first wife Jincy Halford. I have whole heartedly jumped on the Washington research band-wagon and plan to pick up the pace in the coming months. 

Leaving...

                        ... no stone unturned!

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