Walk the Line

(Author's note: This is straight up genealogy. Some of it is still unresolved. To me, all of it's interesting. This is just my simple caveat. You may wanna run before I take you down the next rabbit hole - smile and peace out.)

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As always, lyrically unedited.

Okay, well, I thought it was cool. What can I say? The genealogical conundrum of cousins in common and country singers is, well, a veritable fodder for country music. (lol) Now I know I am getting ahead of myself, but I hope you'll bear with me as I attempt to "walk the line" here, at least genealogically speaking. And no, before we get too far, I need to disclose that this post has nothing to do with "The Man in Black," other than that he, Mr. Cash, is strategically (and quite nicely) placed between the two effervescent ladies - the two subjects at hand.

Like most 'genealogical uncoverings,' I hadn't really expected to find it. I'd been working on polishing up a DAR patriot line from Captain Henry Connelly to my client Paige's husband, Kevin O'Neal, when it happened. I'd been unraveling the legend of both Captain Connelly's and Kevin's quasi-connection to that famous Scottish warlord of Rob Roy via the MacGregor clan when it "sang out." However, it was only after I'd relegated Captain Connelly and Kevin's relationship to Rob Roy back to the stack of genealogical "sure maybes" that I saw it. There it was: In smallish letters on the backpage of some smoke filled internet honky tonk bar, it said, "...and Captain Henry Connelly is a fourth great-grandfather to Loretta Lynn..."

Okay, I'll play. Drinks on me.

This, of course, would mean that Paige's husband Kevin would also be a cousin of country singer Loretta Lynn. 

However, I kept thinking, A cousin to what degree? Could it be proven? So I thought that, given the provisional pedigree shown below, I would give it a whirl, or at least a cursory look at viability. I figured that, like most celebrities, Loretta Lynn's ancestry had likely already been parsed out ad nauseum, so it really shouldn't be too tough to pair this country singer up with Kevin. (I am pretty confident in my assessment of Kevin's ties to Captain Henry Connelly.) However, I soon discovered that documenting Loretta Lynn's ties back to Captain Connelly was going to take more work than I'd originally thought. I would just have to see if I could resolve it and stay outta that unknown area or any genealogical "Ring of Fire." (Sorry, Johnny, Loretta, and Kevn, I just couldn't resist.)

Oh, before I forget, here is the basic pedigree I was working off in the image below:

Let's start by seeing what we have in the way of proofs for Loretta Lynn's line back to Captain Henry Connelly generationally:

Some of Generation One we will have already covered in the last blog post concerning Kevin's relationship to Captain Henry Connelly. Bear with me as I repeat some of it here. Images below:

         

      Captain Henry Connelly's documented son Edmund/Edmond 

Above: William Elsey Connelley, Ellis Merton Coulter, History of Kentucky, Volume III, American Historical Society, 1922, cropped from page 49

For Generation Two, I was lucky and found Edmund's alleged son, William Connelly, and his marriage to Anna McCarty. It's a very cool record. However, it differs from the family tree above in that it does not state that William Connelly's marriage to Anna McCarty was witnessed by his father, Edmond Connelly. It says rather that there was a (marriage) certificate given by "his father [William's] and Edmond Connelly" for William Connelly. (See image below)

So, yeah, that's a problem...while it's definitely a "Connelly family" marriage, it likely means that William is a grandson or nephew of Captain Henry's son Edmond Connelly. The relationship between Edmund Connelly and William Connelly is definitely a family one.  However, it's likely not that of a father and son. The relationship here feels more like that of a grandfather or an uncle bearing witness, or possibly a brother. Logically, it spells out like this: 

"Connelly Father of William" + Edmond Connelly + William Connelly."     

Still, even given this, I think we can move on from here down the line, at least provisionally, insofar as "Edmond, son of Captain Henry Connelly, was related to William Connelly" (and his father) named in the certificate.

                 

 Above: Kentucky County Marriages, 1786-1965, FamilySearch.org, Film no. 007747389

In the next generation, Generation Three, we find (the couple from the marriage certificate above) William Connelly and Anna (McCarty) Connelly's daughter Rachel Conley, age 17, living with her father William Conley and a woman who appears to be her stepmother. (Records show that Rachel Conley Salyer died about 1850 and that William quickly remarried a woman named "Dicey Bailey." (What kind of woman is named "Dicey"? Just saying...)

Their daughter Rachel Conley married John Salyer. (See marriage certificate below)

 

U.S. Census 1850, Floyd County, Kentucky, Family Search.org

And here below, where Rachel Conely marries John Salyer

 

Above: Kentucky, Marriages, 1785-1979, Family Search.org, Image Group Number 007734342

Generation Four: Rachel (Conley) Salyer and John Salyer's daughter, Rebecca Jane Salyer, is shown in the first image below, living with her parents, John Salyer and Rachel Conley Salyer. Rebecca Jane Salyer, who married Charles Gordon Ramey in the second image below:             

Above: U.S. Census 1860, Johnson County, Kentucky, Ancestry.com

   

Above: Kentucky Marriage Records, Family Search.org

     

Generation Five: The son of Rebecca (Salyer) Ramey and Charles G Ramey was Nathaniel Ramey, who married Sarah Blair:

       

Above: Kentucky Death Certificate for Nathaniel Ramey names his parents in Generation Four.

                            

Generations Six and Seven. (This obit for Loretta Lynn's mother should wrap things up pretty well. (No pun intended.)

                               

 Above: Loretta's mother, born Clara Ramey, living in the household of her father, Nathaniel, in 1920     

    

                                                             "Clara"

                 

              

To complete this, and in the interest of full genealogical disclosures, the line from Loretta Lynn to Captain Henry Connelly isn't fully resolved, at least insofar as I have been able to present it here. In 2012, a newspaper, the "Salyersville Independent," published a piece about a descendant of Edmond Connelly who was trying to get money for a marker for Edmond's grave. In the article, he lists all of Edmond Connelly and Lydia (Joines) Connelly's children. 

             

There is no mention that Edmond had a son named William. 

The article does, however, contain A LOT of other clues. There is an Edmond Connelly, Jr. that needs to be investigated, and also mention of the surnames "Salyer" and "McCarty" among the family names that Edmond's children married into. 

Remember from the pedigree above: "William Connelly married Anna McCarty"

                                                        Rachel Conley married John Salyer.

Throw in a birth record for Rebecca...

Now check out this image from the 1860 census:

            

There's no way the Connellys, McCartys, and Salyers aren't deeply connected.

So I'm good with holding that Loretta Lynn's fourth great-grandfather was Captain Henry Connelly - although if the pedigree holds true, he was actually her fifth great-grandfather. But since we know it doesn't necessarily hold true as presented ...we need to find that "fourth great-grandfather" Connelley mystery.

That being said, it all still makes Loretta Lynn and Kevin about sixth cousins.   

Now, why do I bring all of this up aside from walking the line around a genealogical ring of fire? Well, because Paige Dunham has her own country singer in her near and dear family tree in the beautiful June Carter Cash. I figured that if Paige has her own country singer that Kevin ought to also have his own. Enter the charming Loretta Lynn - oh, yeah, and her sister Crystal Gayle, too.

Just don't call me a Boy named Sue. lol.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Wink!

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