[email protected] wrote: > > It is very hard not to believe that two Darius O'Neil's traipsing around > Tennesse at the same time aren't cousins at least. There is a possible > Virginia-North Carolina connection referenced below but I have no idea where > O'dell's information came from. I suppose its also possible your Darius is > the Grandson of the Rev war Darius by first marriage (still family rumor for > me) since the rev war fellow's BD of 1764 more than supports the 1791 birth > date for your Darius's father Joseph. Marriage to Polly Bracknay (second > wife) is 1801 from the pension ap. > > In “Over the Misty Blue Hills”, her story of Cocke County, Tennessee, Ruth > Webb O’dell devotes about a page (p127) to the O’Neils. She talks about > seven O’Neil brothers who came to America; five to North Carolina and two to > Virginia (no further reference). > > Then she discusses the Cooke county O’Neils. > > “The two (brothers) who came to Cooke county before 1816, had large families. > Henry, Peggy, Betsy, Mary, Lucindy were the names of one family. The other > brother’s children were: Joseph, William, George W., Calvin, Harrison, Darius, > Nancy, and Maria. The mother of the last set was a Kitchen from Connecticut. > >From these descended the present ones of the name." I'm confused and getting more so. I too have heard that Darius might have been married previous to Mary "Polly" Brackney but have seen no evidence; only rumor. I have read and re-read Mary's application for her widow's pension after the death of Darius. From this document and attachments it is clear that Mary was the wife of Darius and she never married after his death. Calvin W. and Darius B. also sign affidavits supporting their mother's claim (which in turn verifies that Darius is their father). Now here's where I get confused. The reference cited above states that "the mother of the last set was a KITCHEN from Connecticut". If Mary (who by the way was born in Connecticut around 1786) is the mother of Calvin W. and Darius B., how does the KITCHEN woman fit in? Is she the first wife (seems unlikely)? Unlike Hugh, William, or John, Darius is a relatively uncommon name. I am working on the premis that all of the "Darius" (Darii?) are related and their common relationship will become apparent in time. Let me know what you think! Richard O'Neill [email protected] [email protected]