Welp, Ancestry.com got me again- except this time it may have revealed that my parents are related to each other. Through my 8th great-grandfather.
See, I’ve got a good bit of info on my father’s side of the family thanks to my cousin Gratia Inge Chatfield also having an Ancestry account, so I can fill in a lot of holes with her info.
But then Ancestry will sometimes prompt me with clues, usually after I cancel my membership (sneaky devils). This time around, I clicked on the prompts of new hints. Chased on down and found I’m related to Pat Robertson somehow. Chased down the next one and found that President Zachary Taylor is my 2nd cousin 7 times removed. Not too surprising to find a US President in there because a lot of my ancestors were various leaders around the time of the Revolution, so I figured it was a matter of time.
Mention this to my mom and she says “well, your Memaw (her mother) has found that we’re related to President James Madison through the Corley side of the family”. I haven’t had the chance to verify this, but as I’m researching President Taylor and our shared direct ancestor of my 8th great-grandfather James Taylor – who is President Taylor’s second great-grandfather- I find that it’s said that James Taylor was also the second great-grandfather to President James Madison.
So, if my grandmother is right and we are related to James Madison in some kind of way then that means by Mobile born father and Macon born mother are related in some kind of crazy way. I think that’s hilarious.
It also speaks to how we Southerners love to know our roots. We love being able to tell these stories about who our people are and were and many times it fills us with a sense of pride. Sometimes, a sense of shame.
When learning about James Taylor, I found this:
“On June 6, 1933, a memorial tablet in memory of James Taylor I was erected by Miss Gresham of King and Queen Co., VA, and Mrs. Jacquelin P. Taylor, president of the Taylor Family Association of Richmond, VA, both descendants of James. The tablet is inscribed as follows:
James Taylor of England emigrant lawyer, public officer, lived in St. Stephen parish, King and Queen County, VA, died April 30, 1698, first wife Frances Walker, born 1640, died April 22 or Sept. 22, 1680, she was the daughter of Thomas Walker and niece of Edward Walker of Virginia. James’s second wife, Mary Gregory, daughter of John Gregory, the son of Roger Gregory who first married Mildred Washington, aunt of General/President George Washington. Mary was from Essex County, married August 12, 1682, from him were descended President James Madison, President Zachary Taylor, Colonel James Taylor (Knight of the Horse Shoe), Judge Edmund Pendleton, John Penn, signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Taylor of Carolina, General James Taylor of Kentucky, Admiral David Taylor, Admiral Hugh Rodman, Admiral Robert M. Berry, and other distinguished churchmen, soldiers, sailors, and officials, in each generation who assisted in the formation and perpetuation of the colonies and this nation.”
It’s incredible to know that these are my people, in some kind of way. That they had direct ties to how our country was formed.
(President Zachary Taylor, who died shortly after his election.)
But the fact is, these men were many times also slave owners. Specifically, in regards to President Taylor, it looks like while he was a slave owner that he did not support the idea of the Union breaking. What does this mean for me and the history of my family?
I don’t know, but sometimes just saying it out loud may be all that we can do.
And why do we Southerners love to talk so much about our roots? I’ve always been told it’s because that’s just how we are, that we love to honor our people. But a little part of me wonders if this also doesn’t go back to the Civil War. When many of our ancestors ways of life were taken from them. Or even during the Great Depression, or the 60’s, whenever things changed… I wonder if it made us hearken back to our ancestors and those who came before us.
I’d like to think this isn’t how that got woven into my life, but I cannot say with any certainty. I can’t speak on the motivations for others. I’m just a history nut over here who loves digging around in any kind of history, and when it’s my own I find myself even more fascinated.
Well, and if nothing else, it’s kind of amusing to find that my parents might be related in some way! Now to go track down President James Madison on my Mother’s side… 😉
Love to all y’all,
Molly
