Histories: Virginia Family Mysteries: Genealogy at Pitard.net

Northern Virginia

This includes Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties. The ancestors of Helen Adams Simpson were from here. She later moved to Texas, where she married Edgar Tomlinson.

Who were the parents of Susannah (or Susan) King? She died in Virginia, but possibly reaches back to roots in Pennsylvania. I have seen them named as children of Christian King and Margaret Toot from Dauphin County, Pa., but this is only a theory, and one with a lot of holes in it—the primary problem being that the birth date for Susannah is only 6 years after the apparent birth date for Margaret. (Query updated Summer 2024)
Who were the ancestors of Mary Morrell (also Morell, Moreill, Morrill, etc.)? I've seen her identified as the wife of several people (including, for instance, Rutger Johnson Sr., and his son, Rut Johnson Jr.), generations apart. It only makes sense, however, that she is the wife of Benjamin Hixson, Sr., given her dates (and help from S233). (Query posted Summer 2005)

Central and Southern Virginia

Rockbridge Co. was formed in 1778 out of Augusta and Botetourt Counties (Botetourt itself had been formed from Augusta Co. a few years earlier). It is now home to VMI and W&L, schools which several family members have attended. Amherst County is east of Rockbridge and Augusta counties.

Who were James Strain's ancestors? The connection one candidate, David Strain from Pennsylvania, can only be rated as unlikely. The Tennessee Mysteries page includes more questions about the Strains; James' son Allen moved there in 1811. (Query posted Summer 2005)
Who were the ancestor's of James' wife Agnes McLintock? (Query posted Summer 2005)
Who were the parents of Mary Phillips? I think that she and her family were from Amherst Co., Virginia, but I have no good information here. She and her husband James Savage lived in Lewis Co., Kentucky. Mary's parents on this tree can at the moment only be called questionable. A related question is: was James really a Revolutionary War soldier? No-one seems to have joined the DAR using his name, though the narratives I have found for his descendants say that he is. (Query upodated Winter 2025)