So I'm a couple days late on this one, but I'm adjusting to a new work schedule (3:30am wake-up calls! Yikes!) and my brain is not functioning by the time I get home. I finally had an idea yesterday, and today that solidified a little bit more, so here we are.
I need a fresh start on DNA. I tested long ago, and other than confirming a couple of relationships, I haven't done much with it. Thanks to Robeta Estes' blog, DNA Explained, I've recently learned of new (to me) tools to help with autosomal DNA results. I'm excited to make a plan and get started!
My first project is going to be those pesky Hortons of East Tennessee. I've written about them before, but to recap, Richard D. Horton and Rhoda Frost married in Anderson County in 18521. By 1861, they divorced2 and within two years, Richard married Mary Jane Trail.3 Richard and Mary moved to Kentucky shortly thereafter, and had several children there.
In the 1850 census, Richard, age 19, is enumerated with one Rebecca Horton, age 47, in Anderson County.4 Others listed in the household are America Horton (age 26), Lucy F. Horton (age 9), and Zachariah T. Horton (age 3). I've always assumed that Rebecca is Richard's mother, but I have nothing linking them together except this census document. I have no clue who Richard's father may be, as it appears that Rebecca never married.
I'm hoping DNA can help solve this mystery!
From his marriage to Rhoda Horton, Richard had the following sons:
Elijah Walker Horton, born 1853
Benjamin Franklin Horton, born 1853 (twins)
George Horton, born about 1857
Richard and Mary Jane had the following sons, that I know of:
Joe Smith Horton, born about 18665
William H. Horton, born about 1872
Richard Horton, born about 1874
My initial plan is to find direct-line descendants of these men and, hopefully, identify cousins that can Y-DNA test (or have already).
I also need to start using the tools discussed on Roberta's blog, and will focus my initial efforts on identifying Horton cousins through these resources.
Sources:
1. "Tennessee County Marriages, 1790-1850," database with index, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed January 9, 2020), Anderson County, entry for R.D. Horton and Rhado [sic] Frost.
2. Hutton, Edith Wilson. Anderson County, Tennessee: Divorces and Naturalizations, 1844 through 1920. Knoxville, TN: E.W. Hutton, 1992.
3. "Tennessee County Marriages, 1790-1950", database with images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed January 9, 2020). Knox County > Marriage licenses, 1860-1863 > image 1353 of 1936. Entry for R. D. Horton and Mary J. Trail.
4. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed January 9, 2020), Tennessee > Anderson > Anderson County > image 128 of 158 > entry for Rebecca Horton; citing NARA microfilm publication M432, (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed January 9, 2020), Kentucky > Warren > Rich Pond > image 20 of 33, entry for R.D. Horton household; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
