Jim, Thank you so much for your precise analysis - I think you're really on to something here. I will respond in greater detail in a day or two. But you did ask: "What was the event when the "stars fell", in 1833? Was that an unusual meteor shower, or a comet? Sounds like an event that could be found in astronomical history". Your right - it is a well-documented event in astronomical history. Justine M. Sanders (a Westbrook researcher) pointed out the following article to me on this event: http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/leonids/leonids_1833.html Best regards, Thornton Gale ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 8:53 PM Subject: [PYLE] Jonathan Jackson POILL, son of Nicholas PYLE(?) > This posting is in response to the fascinating information found at Thornton > GALE's website, > http://www.thorntongale.org/Genealogy/J_J_Poill/J_J_Poill.htm. Anyone with > an interest in the Georgia PILES Families, and in particular, Samuel PILES > and Charity EASON and descendants should take a look. > > Thornton, > > I have come to believe that your Jonathan Jackson (I'll call him J.J.) POILL > is the known son John PILES/PYLE born to Nicholas PYLE and Mary Ann > WESTBROOK. My best guess had been that John was born c1836, after Everitt > (born DEC 1832) and Nicholas, Junior (born c1834). This meshes reasonably > well with the 1880 census information for J.J. (age 42, thus born c1838), > before Jonathan's birth year began to creep backwards in time with later > census. Also, J.J. reports that he was their third child, which fits our > understanding for John. Finally, one report has J.J. born in Kemper Co MS, > which is where the Nicholas PYLE Family was living in the late 1830s. > > The dark secret that your mother and aunt felt J.J. POILL might have held is > probably the 1853-1854 Shelby Co AL assault case in which Nicholas, Junior > and John were defendants. This episode presumably hurt the family, strained > Nicholas Senior's finances to their limit, and undoubtedly contributed to the > breakup of the marriage of Nicholas and Mary (which is another candidate for > the dark secret). I can imagine that John lit out on his own as a young > adult about this time, and in an effort to avoid the past, altered his name, > his age, and his personal history. His brother Nicholas, the other > defendant, seems to have done the same thing. He left the family before > 1860, and reportedly claimed in the 1880 census that his father was born in > Ireland and his mother in Holland (need to verify this report). > > If this theory regarding J.J. is true, then it doesn't leave much time for > the fanciful history of 1) being taken by his uncle John (WESTBROOK?; didn't > Nicholas Senior have something to say about this? And why weren't Everitt > and Nicholas, Junior similarly rescued from an abusive step-mother?); 2) > traveling to IL, LA, AR, TN, AL, AR again, and finally TX; 3) being "given" > to a government agent, Captain SNODDY and then to a Cherokee Indian to be > raised; 4) joining the TX Rangers in 1844; 5) escorting wagon trains to TX > and CA (later 1840s); 6) quitting the TX Rangers (1852); and 7) going to > Oregon Territory by 1856. It all seems a bit much. > > J.J. POILL mentions a Rome, Floyd Co GA connection for his father, Nicholas. > This sounds right, but I think that happened in the late 1840s, when Nicholas > appears in land and promissory-note records, not in the 1830s. > > Some of the supposed history from the 1924 interview with J.J. ought to be > verifiable (or refutable). What was the event when the "stars fell", in > 1833? Was that an unusual meteor shower, or a comet? Sounds like an event > that could be found in astronomical history. > > Can the TX Ranger service be verified? Was there a Captain DOTY? Were the > rangers fighting and killing Cherokee and Apache Indians in TX in the 1840s? > > What is the source of the information that J.J. arrived in OR by 1856? 1856 > is about the time that the Shelby Co AL difficulties were coming to a head. > John PYLE (born c1836) would have reached adulthood about then, and might > have set out on his own. The court case was resolved in 1854. Nicholas > PYLE's marriage seems to have broken up in the 1856-1858 time frame. > > Can you not find J.J. POILL/POILE/PYLE/etc in the 1860 and 1870 census for > Oregon? > > What about Civil War service. I suppose if J.J. were a resident of Oregon at > the time, he may not have been called upon to serve. > > Now the kicker in all of this is that, depending upon what you want to > believe from the 1924 interview, Mary from the 1860 Shelby Co AL census may > not have been Mary Ann WESTBROOK. J.J. says he was the third of four born to > WESTBROOK, in which case the children born after about 1840 would have been > children of Nicholas, but born to a different Mary. The marriage to the > second Mary must have taken place in Kemper Co MS, where Nicholas lived in > that era. I've never seen such a record, so I don't know what to believe > here. > > Regardless, it sure feels to me like your J.J. POILL is the known son John of > Nicholas PYLE, Senior. > > Comments appreciated. > > Jim Smee > Pittsburgh PA > > > ==== PYLE Mailing List ==== > All genealogy discussion lists can be found at: > http://members.aol.com/johnf14246/gen_mail.html > Copyright 2000-Author retains copyright >