Possible Ancestral Origins of John A. Todd b 1814 VA md 1835 Mary Searcy and the Franklin Co MO Todds

Richard McMurtry

June 2014, Oct 2022

 

For decades, family historians have wondered about the parentage of John A. Todd b 1814 VA who married Polly Searcy in 1835 in Washington Co MO.

 

Then, in 2007, there was a breakthrough when the DNA sample for Richard Todd, a descendant of John A. Todd revealed that John A. Todd was somehow descended from the family of Thomas Todd 1619-1675 who settled in Gloucester Co Virginia in the early 1600s.

 

Then in 2021, we discovered that Charles Rankin Todd 1817 KY – 1869 Franklin Co MO was also a genetic match to this family.   Charles may have been the son of William Todd who bought land straddling the Washington-Franklin Co line in 1840.  There was also a Benjamin Franklin Todd b 1820/1822 KY  living in Franklin County.  William was in the 1830 and 1840 census for Franklin County. In 1830, he had a son born 1825-30, 2 sons b 1815-1820, 3sons born 1810-1815 and William was born 1770-1780.  One would think we could find this William Todd in the 1820 census in Kentucky or that we could find other of his children than Charles.   Also in Franklin County were an Isaiah Todd b 1760-1770 d 1840 of the Rowan Co NC family and a Thomas Jefferson Todd of a different branch of the Rowan Co NC family.  

 

Close inspection of the family tree of this family shows that if John A. Todd were born in KY , then he could be close kin to Benjamin Lankford Todd and Richard W. Todd (who died in Washington Co the year John Todd was married there), but if he were born in Virginia (as the 1850 census indicates) then he could be close kin to Joseph and Bartlett Todd.  These possible parents of John A. Todd are highlighted below.

                                                    

There are two lines of research possible:
1.  Flesh out the Franklin Co Todds and get multiple DNA samples from this branch

2.  Attempt to gather DNA samples from the Charlotte Co Virginia and Woodford County KY Todds and see if a match can be made with the John A. Todd descendants and the Franklin Co MO Todd descendants.

 

 

Now what is needed is to track down a living descendant of Joseph or Bartlett or Christopher Todd and get a DNA sample from the descendants of one or several of  them.

 

William Todd 1685 d after 1736 md Martha Vicaris King and Queen Co Virginia

            Richard Todd 1726-1766 md Elizabeth Richards 1732-1777

                        William Todd 1750-1815=>Woodford Co KY md Jane Shelton (See elsewhere on

this site for descendants)

                        Thomas Todd 1765-1826 md (1) Eliz. Harris (2) 1812 Lucy Payne

                        Richard Todd d 1795 md Mary Lankford

                                    Benjamin Lankford Todd 1785-1848 md Elizabeth Hepsey Green

                                    Richard W. Todd b 1780s d 1835 Washington Co MO md Amelia

                                    Mildred Todd

                                    Thomas Todd (fate unknown)

                        Mildred Todd md Thomas Tunstall

Thomas Todd md Elizabeth Waring b 1710

                        William Todd 1738-abt 1782 md 1760 Catherine  Katy Waring b 1744 d 1817

                        Martha Todd b 1732/45 in Caroline Co md 1756 Col Thomas Lowry

Dr. Henry W. TODD (b.Abt 1740 d.1789 Georgia
            Bernard Todd 1740-abt 1814 md Elizabeth Pollard

                                    Thomas W. Todd 1776- md 1808 Eliza Pendleton 1786-

William Todd 1778-1855 md Harriet Smith

                                    Christopher Todd 1781-1868 Maury Co TN md Sarah Dick 1784-1853

                                                Susan Kelso Todd 1824-1886 md Col A. M Looney 1820-1904

                                                            Edmond Looney 1863-1939 md Elizabeth Avent

                                                                        Mary looney 1902-1983 md Friedrich Ziegler

                                                                                    Berryville, VA or Venice Fl

 

                                    Bartlett Todd 1786-1863 md Mary Epes (no evidence of a John)

                                                Bernard Todd 1817-1880

                                                Joseph Todd 1824-1869  md Susanna Maben 1840-1885

                                                            William H Todd 1901

                                                Elizabeth Todd 1820-1885 md Augustine Robins

                                                            William Robins 1861-1931

                                                William Todd 1829-1869 md  Sarah Mason

                                                            Martha Todd 1858-1941 md George Grizzard 1855-1934

                                                            Katherine Todd 1856-1932 md Pierce Ryan Farley 1845-

1908

                                                                        Fitzhugh Farley md Virginia Mae Stone 1900-1961

                                                                                    Katherine Farley 1918

                                    Joseph Todd 1789 Charlotte Co VA 1853 Nottoway Co VA md Judith b

1808

                                    Phillip Garland Todd 1794-1830 Kanawha Co VA md Minerva Reynolds

                                                Althea Todd 1824-1897 md Richard Putney 1818-1894

                                                            Minnie Putney 1860-1944 Iraneus Stanley

                                                                        Alethea Stanley 1902

                                                            Alethea Putney 1848-1910 md Joseph Alderson 1848-1901

                                                                        Joseph Alderson 1887-1965

                                                                                    Frances Alderson 1911-2008 md Kenneth

Swope

 

                                    Mary Todd

                        Betty Waring Todd md Temple Walker

           

 

Here is what I know about the descendants of this branch of the family.

 

        5 Bernard Todd 1744-1814 md Elizabeth Pollard

               6 William Todd b 1778 d 1855 md Harriet Smith

                       7  Sarah Virginia Todd b 1799 

   6  Christopher TODD 1781-1868 Maury Co md Sarah Dick 1784-1853

           7 susan Todd b 1824 d 1885 md A. M Looney

           7  Sarah Todd  md Wm Partee

           7  margaret Todd md Charles Calhoun

           7  James Dick Todd d 1843 New Orleans

   6  Bartlett Todd 1786-1863 md Mary Epes

           7 Bernard Todd b: 1817 Nottoway Co, VA md Mary Parks Ridley

                   8 Sally b 1852

                   8  Kate

                       7 Thomas Todd b: 1821

                       7 Joseph Todd b: ABT 1823 in Nottoway County, Va md

                                      Susanna Maben

                               8 Robert M Todd 1859

                               8 William H Todd 1861 md Mary O Donnell=>Phila.

                                      9 William Todd b 1901

                                      9 Florence Todd d 18 Jan 1945 in Upper

                                              Darby, Delaware co, md Alfred Beaky

                                              10 Gertrude Beakey 1915-1990 md

                               8 Susan Todd b 1870

                       7 Kate Todd b: ABT 1825

                       7 Susan P. Todd b: 1825

                       7. William T. Todd b: BET 1825 AND 1829 in Nottoway

                       7. Virginia Todd b: 1832

               6 Joseph TODD 1789 Charlotte Co d1853 Nottaway, VA md Judith b 1808

                       7  Bernard H.TODD b 1835 Prince Edwd  

                       7  Rachel V.    TODD b 1838

                       7  Lucy J.      TODD b 1839

                       7  Thomas W.    TODD b 1841

                       7 Ellen E.     TODD  b 1843

                       7 Robert K.    TODD  b 1846

   6  Phillip Garland Todd 1794-1830 Kanawha Co VA md Minerva Reynolds

           7 Alethia Todd b 1824 d 1897 md Richard Ellis Putney

 

                       

                                               

For example, if John A. Todd b 1815 were a son of Bartlett Todd, then Richard Lee Todd b 1945 and a child of Gertrude Beaky would both be 6h generation descendants of Bartlett Todd b 1786 and would be 4th cousins to each other. The DNA test is able to detect 4th cousins but it would be much better if we could find a donors from the previous generation so that they would be 3rd cousins.

1

 

Bartlett Todd 1786-1863

 

 

Joseph Todd 1789-1853

Henry b 1740:

Henry b 1813

 

2

John A. Todd 1815-1857

 

Joseph Todd b 1823

William Todd b 1825-29

Siblings

Ellen b 1843 md Oscar Knight

Henry W 1779 1816

Siblings

3

John S. Todd

David b 841

William H Todd b1861

Harry Todd 1854-1913

1st cousins

E Wilson Knight 1869 (f) or Everett Wikcliff Knight md Cyrus de Camp

 

 

Henry Waring Todd 1813-1871

1st cousins

4

Albert A. Todd

Martin Van Buren 1873

Florence Todd

Louis T Todd 1897-1974

2cd cousins

Cyrus De Camp d 23 Nov 1972 Dade Co FL

James Scott 1847-1914

2cd cousins

5

John Cleo Todd

Floyd 1917

Gertrude Beakey 1915-1990

 

3rd cousns

 

James Scott 1879-

3rd cousns

6

Richard Lee Todd

 

Child of Gertrude

 

4th cousins

 

James Scott 1911

4th cousins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what is needed is:

1.       Compile a list of all the descendants of John A. Todd to see if there is a 5th generation descendant of the father of John A. Todd b 1814 still alive.  That is to say, a 4th generation descendant of John A. Todd b 1814.

2.      Compile a list of all the descendants of Bernard Todd to try to find a 5th or 6th generation descendant of one of his children is still alive.

 

If one person could take Bartlett Todd and another take Joseph Todd and another take John A. Todd and begin to compile a complete listing of descendants, that would be a very efficient way of proceeding.

 

Any one interested in any of these research projects?