Am I Related to a Vice President?
I spent a good part of my day off today doing research on my family tree. Today was mostly a day of dead ends and cold trails. Some times the documenation ends and you have nowhere left to go. Today was one of those days.
But even on days when I hit a brick wall, I still learn plenty. That's why I find researching my family history so intriguing. It is never a waste of time.
One interesting detail I looked into today was mentioned in the McGowan family history book which my parents bought some 35 years ago. The authors of the book stated that for years there had been family folklore suggesting John Cabell Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States under James Buchanan (and later, Secretary of War under Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America), was a distant relative.
At the time the book was published (1982), the authors could find no connection.
A bit of a backstory here: my great-great-great grandmother's maiden name was Ann "Nancy" Breckinridge. We have solid documentation that she was born in 1806 in Pennsylvania. Her story is interesting -- when she was just 13 years old, she married a man with the surname Love. His first name is not known. She had three children with him before he died.
At the age of 28, she married Uriah McGowan (my great-great-great grandfather) in 1834 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Back to Nancy Breckinridge. We know for certain her father was David Breckinridge and her mother was Sarah Jones. Little is known of Sarah other than she passed away in September 1846. Surprisingly, even less is known of David.
It is understood that David is the "connection" to Vice President Breckinridge, but I can find no further detail on our David Breckinridge. This is where the trail stops. And one must tread carefully here because there are many David Breckinridges out there.
For example, there is a family tree on the web site FamilySearch.org, and someone tried to make the connection by suggesting our David Breckinridge was the son of Samuel Miller Breckinridge, the famous Presbyterian minister. Samuel was the son of Dr. John Breckinridge, who was the uncle of Vice President John C. Breckinridge. This was shoddy guess work or (at best) horrendous research.
Why?
Samuel Miller Breckinridge was born in 1828. His supposed granddaughter (Nancy Breckinridge) was born 22 years before him. That just won't work.
In lieu of any direct documentation on our David Breckinridge, we have to fill in the blanks with secondary source research and plausibility.
We know that David and his wife Sarah were in Pennsylvania in 1806; that is where and when Nancy was born according to documented census records.
Digging a little deeper, I discovered the original Breckenridge/Brackenridge/Breckinridge (often spelled phonetically and used interchangeably) family was settled in Pennsylvania by Robert Breckenridge, who emigrated from Scotland. Robert also had two brothers who settled their families in Virginia and Kentucky. This was in the mid-1700's.
It is reasonable, then, to say our David Breckinridge is somehow related to the Robert Breckenridge Pennsylvania lineage. He had the right surname and he was in the right place at the right time, but we simply have no documentation (the ultimate proof) on how he is related or to whom. We don't even have a definitive date when he was born, although we can comfortably guess it was in the later 1700's.
The Virginia and Kentucky Breckinridge families are quite distinctive; they were wealthy and educated: several becoming senators, politicians, judges, doctors, high ranking religious leaders and even military generals. And, of course, Vice President of the United States. In fact, John C. Breckinridge ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States in 1860.
So I must conclude that is is plausible, although certainly not proven, that my Walker/Campbell family are distant descendants of Vice President John C. Breckinridge. The circumstantial evidence is there, but proof beyond a doubt is not.
Most likely, we will never know for certain.
But even on days when I hit a brick wall, I still learn plenty. That's why I find researching my family history so intriguing. It is never a waste of time.
One interesting detail I looked into today was mentioned in the McGowan family history book which my parents bought some 35 years ago. The authors of the book stated that for years there had been family folklore suggesting John Cabell Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States under James Buchanan (and later, Secretary of War under Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America), was a distant relative.
At the time the book was published (1982), the authors could find no connection.
A bit of a backstory here: my great-great-great grandmother's maiden name was Ann "Nancy" Breckinridge. We have solid documentation that she was born in 1806 in Pennsylvania. Her story is interesting -- when she was just 13 years old, she married a man with the surname Love. His first name is not known. She had three children with him before he died.
At the age of 28, she married Uriah McGowan (my great-great-great grandfather) in 1834 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
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| John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States 1857-1861 |
Back to Nancy Breckinridge. We know for certain her father was David Breckinridge and her mother was Sarah Jones. Little is known of Sarah other than she passed away in September 1846. Surprisingly, even less is known of David.
It is understood that David is the "connection" to Vice President Breckinridge, but I can find no further detail on our David Breckinridge. This is where the trail stops. And one must tread carefully here because there are many David Breckinridges out there.
For example, there is a family tree on the web site FamilySearch.org, and someone tried to make the connection by suggesting our David Breckinridge was the son of Samuel Miller Breckinridge, the famous Presbyterian minister. Samuel was the son of Dr. John Breckinridge, who was the uncle of Vice President John C. Breckinridge. This was shoddy guess work or (at best) horrendous research.
Why?
Samuel Miller Breckinridge was born in 1828. His supposed granddaughter (Nancy Breckinridge) was born 22 years before him. That just won't work.
In lieu of any direct documentation on our David Breckinridge, we have to fill in the blanks with secondary source research and plausibility.
We know that David and his wife Sarah were in Pennsylvania in 1806; that is where and when Nancy was born according to documented census records.
Digging a little deeper, I discovered the original Breckenridge/Brackenridge/Breckinridge (often spelled phonetically and used interchangeably) family was settled in Pennsylvania by Robert Breckenridge, who emigrated from Scotland. Robert also had two brothers who settled their families in Virginia and Kentucky. This was in the mid-1700's.
It is reasonable, then, to say our David Breckinridge is somehow related to the Robert Breckenridge Pennsylvania lineage. He had the right surname and he was in the right place at the right time, but we simply have no documentation (the ultimate proof) on how he is related or to whom. We don't even have a definitive date when he was born, although we can comfortably guess it was in the later 1700's.
The Virginia and Kentucky Breckinridge families are quite distinctive; they were wealthy and educated: several becoming senators, politicians, judges, doctors, high ranking religious leaders and even military generals. And, of course, Vice President of the United States. In fact, John C. Breckinridge ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States in 1860.
So I must conclude that is is plausible, although certainly not proven, that my Walker/Campbell family are distant descendants of Vice President John C. Breckinridge. The circumstantial evidence is there, but proof beyond a doubt is not.
Most likely, we will never know for certain.
