1. The Nine Essays

Below is a description of what each of these nine essays address:

1. Essays on Early Todd/McMurtry/Hutton Origins (the essay you are reading)

This essay contains charts which show at a glance the family traditions in comparison to what we currently believe to be the accurate relationships between family members and between the Todd/McMurtry/Hutton/McQuiddy/McKee families that intermarried on the Virginia and Kentucky frontier.

2. The Family of William Todd of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Augusta/Bedford County, VA

This essay clarifies the relationships between all the Todd family members in Augusta, Botetourt, Rockbridge and Bedford and Campbell Counties, Virginia after the arrival of the Todds about 1750. Almost all of the references in the colonial and early statehood records in Augusta County turn out to be for William Todd and his descendants. Based on family connections and DNA evidence, it appears that William Todd was brother or cousin to Robert Todd b 1697 (the ancestor of Mary Todd Lincoln) but only a distant relation to the John Todd of Abingdon church records. William had children baptized in Abingdon Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia County between 1723 and 1738 though he seems to have lived in New Jersey during this time where he appeared as did Robert and John in Supreme Court cases. William moved to Augusta Co, VA by 1750.

3. Correcting the Traditions of Samuel Todd of Augusta/Botetourt Counties, VA

Mrs. Clementine Railey in the 1930s circulated a tradition that Samuel Todd (abt 1740-1813) of Augusta, Botetourt and Rockbridge Counties, Virginia and Clay and Jefferson Counties, KY was the son of a Samuel Todd (b1690), and the brother of the Robert and Andrew Todd who settled in Pennsylvania after 1737. Mrs. Railey suggested the elder Samuel’s wife was “perhaps a Houston” and later historians added that this wife was Ann Houston. This essay shows that Samuel Todd (abt 1740-1813) was not the son of Samuel, but rather was the son of William Todd who had come from Philadelphia County, PA to Augusta County, VA ca 1750. The essay also discusses the evolution of the “Samuel Todd-Ann Houston” incorrect tradition. It is possible that Mrs. Railey got the idea of Samuel being a brother to William from the Seilhamer publication, but how she deduced that Samuel was the father of Samuel Todd d 1813 is unclear.

4. The Making of the Todd Family History as reflected in the Emilie Todd Helm Papers

This essay describes the collaborative family history research efforts of Emilie Todd Helm collaboration with her third cousin Dr. Seymour Simeon Todd beginning in the 1870s and continuing through Dr. Todd’s death in 1899 and her own ongoing research until her death in 1930. It shows how they uncovered the sources of the history of their own family in colonial Pennsylvania and how the connection to the Irish Todds was developed. It includes excerpts that shed light on the connections with the McMurtrys and describes the scope of her collection of both related and unrelated Todd families.

5. The Evolving Family Tradition of McMurtry-Todd Connection in the Letters of Miss Myra McMurtry

This essay traces the evolution of Miss Myra McMurtry’s understanding of the relationships between the various branches of the McMurtrys in Augusta and Bedford Counties, VA and the relationships between the McMurtry’s and the Huttons and the Todds of Augusta County, VA.

6. The Nancy Todd-Hannah Todd-James McMurtry Marriage Tradition and the Letters of Dr. William McMurtry

A tradition in the McMurtry family states that James McMurtry who came from New Jersey to Bedford County, Virginia before 1754 was married first to Nancy Todd and second to Hannah Todd. This essay examines the evidence in the letters of Dr. William McMurtry, a great grandson of James McMurtry, written in the 1880s and 1890s, and the evidence in the Emilie Todd Helm Papers to identify the supporting and non-supporting perspectives on this tradition. It concludes that James’ second wife may well have been Hannah Todd, but that the evidence for the first wife being a Nancy or being a Todd is not convincing.

7. The Identity of Mary Hutton’s father (John McMurtry’s father-in-law)

Myra McMurtry, granddaughter of John McMurtry and Mary Hutton, wrote an article in 1907 that stated that Mary Hutton was the daughter of James Hutton of Augusta Co., VA. She had been influenced by letters received from Dr. Simeon Seymour Todd, a prolific family historian working in the 1880s and 1890s. This essay shows that Mary Hutton’s father was really Samuel Hutton, brother of James Hutton.

8. The Todds of New Jersey and Relationship to the Todds of PA-KY and the Todds of PA-VA

Robert, Andrew, William, James and John Todd (all brothers) and an unnamed sister all appear in the account book of a storeowner in Bound Brook, Somerset County, New Jersey beginning in 1735. DNA reveals that this family has no relation to the family of Robert Todd 1697-1775, the ancestor of Mary Todd Lincoln,

9. The Todd Family in America

This essay outlines the vast number of Todd families who lived in colonial and early statehood America. This is intended as an aid to Todd family researchers searching for their Todd origins.