Anne (Howard) Tunnell (1710 - 1814)

Born 4 Jan 1710 in West Yorkshire, England

Descendants

Died 18 Feb 1814 at age 104 in Robertsville, Anderson, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Anne Howard was born 4 Jan 1710 in Yorkshire, England. She was not a child of the Elizabeth City, Virginia Howards. She was more likely to be the daughter of Elizabeth and Thomas Howard of England. She was baptised on 23 Jan 1710 in Stifford, Essex, England.^[1]

She and her husband, Guillaume de Tonnelier, (a shoemaker) immigrated from England in 1731 to Fredericksburg, Spotslvania Co., Virginia. She had many children and is known to have 4 boys who all became ministers: Robert, William, Stephen, John.

Children

1. Rev. Robert Tunnell, b. 1747 in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Virginia
2. Rev. William Tunnell, b. 1751-16 Aug 1814 in Robertsville, Anderson Countym Tennessee; married Mary Maysey.
3. Rev. Stephen Tunnell. b. 1753 in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Virginia
4. Rev. John Tunnell, b. 1755
5. Elizabeth Tunnell, b. 09 Oct 1756 in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Virginia - 19 Mar 1853 in Ewing, Lee, Virginia; married George Russell Ball, b. 1744^[2]

Later they moved to Fairfax County and lived some distance from Herndon but not far from the falls of the Potomac. William Tunnel died December 28, 1787, it is thought, in Loudon County, Virginia and was buried in Fairfax County. ^[3]

"Ann Tunnell departed this life February 18, 1814 supposed to be one hundred and four years old". (Bible record) She died at the home of her son, the Rev. William Tunnell, near Robertsville, Anderson County, Tennessee. Anne died 18 Feb, 1814 in the home of her son Robert or William... More information can be found about this family in the book: Notable Southern Families -Vol.III Compiled by Miss Lucy Ball, Published in 1926. ^[4]After she had celebrated the centennial of her birth she forded the Clinch River on horseback.

Research Notes

Snippet from USGENWEB -- "Provable data starts with the generation of William Tunnell & Ann Howard, and with the entry in the Bible concerning the death of Ann Tunnell. ... a biography of Andrew Jackson Tunnell, son of Calvin, in a Greene Co., Ill. history states the family was English with no mention of a Huguenot descent. Nor is there contemporary evidence that Ann Howard bore the title "Lady" ... An extensive search of peerages of the 18th century commencing in 1709 fails to indicate any title Howard who might be her parent. ... the Tunnells of Maryland ... descended from Thomas Tunnell, who arrived in Maryland in 1649. The possibility that the Virginia group descend from him should certainly be considered especially since there are proven marriages in the Maryland line between Tunnells, Masseys, & Howards. An additional clue lies in," the Yorkshire will of, "William Tunnell of Howden grocer."[1] Note: "Lady Anne" was a nickname only.

Ten Generations of Virginian Howards (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/340818/?offset=2#page=155&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=) in the section on The England Howards on page 134 or Page Viewer 152 for other books to investigate.

Property: 1926, A bible reported to be hers was owned by Mrs George Ball, Jacksonville IL.^[5]

History of Nicholas Money Tunnell

The story of William De Tunnelier and Lady Ann Howard, as told by Nicholas Money Tunnel to his children Hester Ann (Tunnel) Rigg and Caroline (Tunnel) Nicholes and passed down to their children – recorded by daughter Lulu Rigg. By the request of my cousin and allso of my sister and because I myself would like to remember these things my old Mother said to me about her ancesters – stories which she told me from time to time, when she was yet young and as she grew older - as we journied along lifes steep and narrow pathway. And she told them to me just as she herself heard them, as they were told to her by her father - whom she loved and trusted as she loved and trusted no other human being. This writing is according to she (Mother – Hettie Tunnell) and my aunt, her sister, Caroline, the truth. This involves also births marrages, and deaths – which I will record else where – allso of my mothers family and her fathers family. The story runs like this: Long, long years ago, there was in France, a great up riseing – the Romans (the Roman Catholic Church, as she states in another writing) killing off the Prodistans. At that time – America was in its younger days, and was decleared a place where in one could find freedom to worship the true and living God, as his conscience should so dictate. At that time - in France – there lived a family by the name of DeTonnelier. Among the boys was one named William. It is of his decendents I am writeing. This family fled to England in fear of being killed in France – because they were Christains, but not Catholicks. In England, they made their home untill another upriseing for the same cause caused them to flee to this new and wonderful country of beauty & freedom. Meanwhile, in England, William DeTunnelier accepted a job as tutor to a young lady, to teach her the French language. She was an only child of an English Lord named Howard, and her name was Lady Ann Howard. William DeTunneliar and Lady Ann Howard fell in love with each other. The girls father ordered him away and forbade them to marry. They married anyway, and William became a Methodist Minister. One child was born to this union in England. He was named for his father, William. Then occurred the terriable time of murdering the Christains in England. Then, William brought his little family & came with some of his father's family and many others to America. He setteled in Virginia. His son, William, became a Methodist Minister too and was called a cercut rider. He preached for many years. I do not know who he married, but he moved to Tennisee and there raised their family, and his mother, Lady Ann Howard Tunnel, lived there untill she was 104 years old. He (William and Lady Ann) had one son named Steven Tunnel who married a woman named Keziah Money. Then they changed their name to Tunnel. From there, he finily came to Tennisee where they bought land, and lived there many years (In another script it states that some of the Tunnels including Steven and wife with a baby who was "put on a pack horse but they walked, leading the horses"). They raised ten children. They were all boys but one. 9 June 2015 by Mary Ann Dixon Wilson

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5JN-SJP : 3 February 2023), Ann Howard, 1710.
2. ↑ [https://archive.org/details/sketchesoftennes0000burn/page/522/mode/2up/ Sketches of Tennessee's Pioneer Baptist Preachers by James Jehu Burnett]
3. ↑ Notable Southern Families Vol. III Compiled by Zella Armstrong
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91181363/lady-anne-tunnell: accessed 28 October 2023), memorial page for Lady Anne Howard Tunnell (1710–1814), Find a Grave Memorial ID 91181363, citing Tunnell Family Cemetery, Clinton, Anderson County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Mark Persons (contributor 47050163).
5. ↑ Zella Armstrong, Notable Southern Families, Vol. III, (1926; reprint 1993 Genealogical Pub. for Clearfield Co.

• Descendants of Guillaume Tonnelier: http://www.angelfire.com/folk/morgan2/descendants_of_guillaume_tonneli.htm

• Jim (2000). "Data concerning William Tunnel and Ann Howard." Biographical Data of William TUNNELL and Ann Howard, Greene County, Illinois. USGenWeb Archives. (http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/greene/bios/watunnel.txt)

• Howard, S.N. & Coleman, C. (1996, September 29). "The Virginia Howards." Howard Family Electronic Newsletter, (34). Tunnel