I’m trying to find information on my great great grandfather - John Hale. He was born 1800-1820 in Virginia.

Question

I’m trying to find information on my great great grandfather - John Hale. He was born 1800-1820 in one of these Virginia counties: Grayson, Washington, or Wythe.  He is shown in the 1850 census for Perry County, Kentucky and the 1860 census for Magoffin County, Kentucky. In these census he is shown with his wife – Sarah ”Sally” Fawbush  and children. According to Magoffin County court records he died at the Magoffin County Home in 1877, while at the Home he was known as ‘Ol Cherokee John Hale.
 

I submitted a Y-DNA test at Family Tree( DNA (FTDNA) hoping to find matches with other Hale’s at the Hale DNA Project at FTDNA. My only match was with a known cousin at the Hale DNA Project, my cousin and I only matched each other and no other Hale’s.

FTDNA notified me of a perfect match through the 12 Marker and 25 Marker tests with a person of the surname – Aker. On the 37 Marker test I match this Aker with a 2 Marker difference, and on the 67 Marker test I match them with a 3 Marker difference. According to a chart on genetic difference these matches and even with the genetic distance, I’m related to this Aker.  I joined the Aker DNA Project and noticed that I also match an Akers with a perfect match on the 12 Marker test, and I match an Acker with a 1 Marker difference on the 12 Marker test.  Again, according to the chart on genetic difference, I am related to the Akers, and probably related to the Acker (with additional info provided, such as traditional genealogy records).  My known cousin, also matches these same Acker, Aker, and Akers.

This had led me to believe that my great great grandfather was not a Hale, but an Acker, Aker, or Akers. Would you have any information of an Acker, Aker, or Akers that may have been adopted by, indentured as a laborer/servant, or changed their name to Hale?

Thanks for any help.

John Hale

Answer 1

I am also descended from a John Hale from Virginia who had some Indian in him according to family lore. My John was born in Franklin County, Virginia in 1815. He married Margaret Williams.

Comments

This is the John Hale I am trying to find more information  on. It would appear he is my 4th great grandfather. I have not dug too deep yet, but I'm also not finding much additional information on him or who his parents are. If you could point me somewhere that would be great!

Answer 2

John, It would greatly help us in helping you to have some of the data that you have. The census records should help with the birth year etc. You might try posting what you have on wikitree and we can go from there.

If you have posted the data else were that would help.

If I did any searching now would probably come up with the data you already have.

Comments

John,

Michael's info is spot on.  You could, also, go to the various search engines; enter some of your know facts, and just ding around.  I have come up with some fantastic  info this way.

VA is well documented.  You could read for the rest of your life.

Try to take the family oral history and prove it.  I have found that most of it has a kernel of truth, however distorted.  My GGfather was adopted; but, by his own father, and there is a court record.  Now, we would like to know which Culpepper girl was his mother!

Don't expect your family pedigree to be served up like a gift; uless you intend to pay a genealogist  and they are only human.  One elder of my family was told of royal bastardy--there wasn't.   But, another line did go through Scottish clans to old English royalty.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Data based on info you gave, perhaps additional info (your records) could help.

Comments

1850 Census Perry Cunty KY District 2
Name:

John Hall    Age 30
[John Hale]

Birth Year: abt 1820

Birthplace: Virginia

Home in 1850: District 2, Perry, Kentucky

Gender: Male

Family Number: 55

Household Members:
Name         Age

John Hall    30

Sally Hall    26

William Hall 7

Mary Hall    6

Henry Hall   3

Elisa Hall     1


1860 Census Magoffin County, KY

Name:          Age in 1860

John Hale      45
Birth Year: abt 1815
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1860: Magoffin, Kentucky
Gender: Male
Post Office: Licking Station

Household Members:
Name                    Age

John Hale              45

Sarah Hale             48

Wm Hale                 18

Mary A Hale             15

Henry Hale               14

Eliza Hale                 12

Madison Hale             10

John Hale                  6  (my great grandfather)

Silas Hale                  5

Rainey Hale               1

Brackenridge Hale not on 1860 census - born 1861

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Here's a link to some resources: http://www.kygenweb.net/
I have a John Hale listed on my Shepherd lineage. His daughter, Sarah (Sally) Hale married John Edward Shepherd Sr. .  Sarah was born in 1826 and was the daughter of John Hale and Sarah Mosely. My Shepherds came from Virginia, went to Magoffin County, and some of them ended up in Floyd County, Kentucky.

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Any idea of where your John Hale was born, what his birth date was, who his parents were? Thanks.

John

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Not yet. I haven't checked that part of my lineage, but I will begin looking.

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Here's the link where I got my info on John Hale:  http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/o/w/Dallas-Howard-Indiana/GENE1-0005.html .  the top of the page should say Clay Shepherd.

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Janice, thanks for the link. This John Hale doesn't seem to match, my John Hale. I know of another John Hale family in Magoffin County, KY during the 1860 census, along with my John Hale and his family. The other John Hale was killled in 1863, my John Hale according to court records was living at the Magoffin County Home and died there in about 1877.

Answer 4

I have been researching Celia Hale, who lived in Wythe County, Virginia, born around 1810.  I can find no record of her owner and all her children were free born.  What I think connects us is that the death certificate of one of her sons identifies her as "Celie Clark Indian".  She is listed as Hale in almost all census records and the father of children was Kenley Clark.  The children took the name Hale.  I am wondering if your 'Ol Cherokee John Hale could be her brother.  Also, in 1880 my Hales were living next to a white man named John Aker.

Comments

Thanks for that info, Virginia. My father told us our gg grandfather John Hale’s wife (our gg grandmother) Sarah Fawbush was Cherokee. I found a statement my great uncle William Hale attached to his Guion Miller Roll application, it states that his father John Hale (my gg grandafather) was Cherokee, and his mother was a white women. I am assuming his mother to be Sarah Fawbush. He further stated that his father was born in or around Abingdon, Washington County, VA. He states that John Hale was born 1808, and that John’s father died when John was about a year old.

My gg grandfather John Hale is shown in the 1850 Perry County, KY census as 30 years old, making his birth year as 1820. He is also shown in the 1860 Magoffin County, KY census as 45 years old, making his birth year 1815. A birth listing for a child of John Hale and Sarah Fawbush (Breckenridge Hale, born July 26, 1861), shows John’s birthplace as Wythe County. VA, and Sarah’s birthplace as Sullivan County, TN.

I had a Y-DNA test performed by Family Tree DNA (FDNA) hoping to find Y-DNA matches with other Hale's at the Hale DNA project at FTDNA. The only Hale I matched was a known cousin. My cousin and I  DO NOT match any other Hale at the project. FTDNA notified my cousin and I that we matched the following surnames: Acker, Aker and Akers. Another cousin I found through ancestry research said her mother told her and her brother that they were not really Hale, they were Aker. This cousin's mother said an Aker was taken in by a Hale family and changed their Aker name to Hale.

I think your info on Celia Hale is very interesting. I would love to find more about this John Aker. Where were your Hale’s living at the time they lived next to John Aker? I would love to know of any descendants of this John Aker, and if anyone of them have done any DNA testing.

Thanks again Virginia. Keep in touch.

John Hale

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Sorry it took me so long to reply.  In 1880 John and Margaret Akers live in Lead Mines on the same page as Celia Hale and many of her children.  I just found out that when Celia was younger she was bound out.  I don't know who to, but it did call her an "Indian girl".

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Thanks for that info. I wish I had a contact for John Akers that might give me info if he had relations with Celia Hale, and any Akers from that family that have taken a Y-DNA test. Please keep me informed on any other info you might come across, and I'll do the same.

Answer 5

 

Update to the original post. After taking Y-DNA and Autosomal tests and using various DNA tools, I have discovered and it had been confirmed through DNA analyst that Michael Aker born 6 May 1766, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, died 18 June 1833, Wythe County, Virginia, is the father of my 2^nd great grandfather John Hale born 1815, Wythe County, VA; died 1887 Magoffin County, KY.. It has not been determined who John Hale’s mother is, as not enough DNA matches have been discovered to prove that John’s mother would be Michael Aker’s wife. It is believed that John’s mother may have been someone other than Michael Aker’s wife. Thanks for everyone’s replies. One brick wall knocked down, another raised.