DNA Connections of Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott

Date: 1 Jan 2022
Surnames/tags: Hart Elliott

Contents 1 Purpose 2 Background 3 Richard Hart - What Do We Know? 4 Richard Hart Elliott - What Do We Know? 5 Combined Timeline 6 DNA Descendants - Richard Hart 7 DNA Descendants - Richard Hart Elliott 8 Combined Matrix of DNA Descendants 9 Conclusions and Theories 10 Next Steps 11 How Can You Help?

Purpose

This Free-Space profile has been created to provide summary and detailed information about the DNA connections between individuals who descend from either Richard Hart or Richard Hart Elliott.

Background

WikiTree User Todd Dixon is the great great grandchild of Richard Hart (his mother's father's father's father). For years, traditional genealogy yielded very little information about Richard Hart. Hoping to shed some light on Richard Hart, Todd took an Ancestry DNA test and began analyzing his DNA Matches on Ancestry in 2021. Four known relatives had also taken DNA tests, which helped Todd group his DNA matches:

1. Todd's Father.
2. Two of Todd's Aunts (mother's sisters).
3. The daughter of Todd's Aunt, Todd's 1st Cousin.

Todd was able to group most of his DNA Matches into three categories:

1. Paternal - DNA Matches that were clearly related to Todd and his father.
2. Maternal but not Hart - DNA Matches that were related to Todd and his mother's mother.
3. Maternal Hart - DNA Matches that were related to Todd and his mother's father.

It was during this analysis that a fourth category emerged. A group of DNA Matches who sometimes shared ZERO common surnames with Todd's tree, but shared DNA with the individuals in the 3rd category (Maternal Hart). Luckily there were enough public trees associated with these matches that a pattern emerged - most of them included the surname Elliott. Todd built a ghost tree for these individuals (on Ancestry) and was able to show how most of the individuals in this fourth category were related to each other. It was during this research that Todd discovered that the common ancestor for this fourth category appeared to be a man named Richard Hart Elliott - a name quite similar to Todd's 2x great grandfather, Richard Hart.

Richard Hart - What Do We Know?

• ~1795, Kentucky - Estimated birth year, based on two census records.
  
• 7 Nov 1862, Mitchell County, North Carolina - Marriage to Jane Amanda McKinney. Jane was nearly 40 years younger than Richard!
  
• 1870, Mitchell County, North Carolina - Enumerated in the 1870 U.S. Census, with wife and two children. His profession is "MD".
  
• 1880, Mitchell County, North Carolina - Enumerated in the 1880 U.S. Census, with wife and two children. His profession is "Retired Physician".
  
• His birth is only estimated via census records.
  
• No records have been found for him prior to his marriage to Jane Amanda.
  
• There is no source for his death nor evidence of a burial.
  
• See his WikiTree profile for a more robust biography, including links to all sources noted here (plus a couple more minor sources).

Richard Hart Elliott - What Do We Know?

• ~1797, Kentucky - Estimated birth year, based on one census record.
  
• July 1823, Monroe County, Indiana - Marriage to Isabella Smart.
  
• 1850, St. Clair County, Missouri - Enumerated in the 1850 U. S. Census, with wife and seven individuals. Immediately next door are eight more individuals with surname Elliott. These two households are presumabley related - a confusing mixture of siblings, children, spouses of children, grandchildren, and possibly cousins, nieces, and nephews. Richard Hart Elliott's profession is "Physician".
  
• His birth is only estimated via one census record.
  
• His middle name of "Hart" is unsourced. His marriage record and the 1850 U.S. Census only use the initial "H". Thus far, no other researcher has known the origin of the name "Hart", but most guess that it is a family name. Despite the lack of a source, the middle name of "Hart" had to come from somewhere, and it is an intriguing coincidence.
  
• No records have been found for him after the 1850 U.S. Census. His wife, Isabella, was living without him in Texas in the 1860 U.S. Census.
  
• In March 1851, presumed son, Richard W. Elliott murdered his brother-in-law, John Hoover. Richard W. Elliott's wife was Mary Jane Hoover, the sister of the victim. The murder occurred at the home of Alexander Hoover, the father of Mary Jane Hoover and John Hoover. Looking at the 1850 U.S. Census, Richard W. Elliott and Mary Jane Hoover lived next door to Richard Hart Elliott. John Hoover lived two more households away. Alexander Hoover lived three households away. After killing John Hoover, Richard W. Elliott fled and a bounty of $100 was subsequently issued for his capture. No records have been found for Richard W. Elliott after this.
• Most researchers assume that he has died by 1860, but there is no source for his death nor evidence of a burial.
  
• See his WikiTree profile for a more robust biography, including links to all sources noted here.

Combined Timeline

This diagram was created to show how the known timelines of Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott fit together without conflict. Click the image to see the original diagram (view only Google Drawing created by Todd Dixon) including active links to other documents (e.g. sources, other diagrams).

Timeline - Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott v2022.08.03

DNA Descendants - Richard Hart

As of 20 January 2023, there have been 26 DNA Matches identified who descend from Richard Hart and Amanda Jane McKinney (including Todd Dixon, labeled as TD #0 in the diagram). Click the image to see a full original diagram (view only Google Drawing created by Todd Dixon). Note:

• Red connector lines indicate that there are limited (or zero) traditional genealogical sources in support of that relationship (for example, only supported by Ancestry ThruLines, or another person's unsourced research).
• The green boxes with numbers are DNA Matches who share measurable DNA with one or more DNA descendants of Richard Hart Elliott.

DNA Descendants - Richard Hart

DNA Descendants - Richard Hart Elliott

As of 29 January 2023, there have been 34 DNA Matches identified who descend from Richard Hart Elliott and Isabella Smart. Click the image to see the full original diagram (view only Google Drawing created by Todd Dixon). Note:

• Red connector lines indicate that there are limited (or zero) traditional genealogical sources in support of that relationship (for example, only supported by Ancestry ThruLines, or another person's unsourced research).
• The dark blue boxes with numbers are DNA Matches who share measurable DNA with Todd Dixon and other DNA descendants of Richard Hart (matches found on Ancestry are shown with a solid border; matches found on MyHeritage are shown with a dashed border).
• The magenta boxes with numbers are DNA Matches who do not share measurable DNA with Todd Dixon, but do share measurable DNA with one or more other DNA descendants of Richard Hart.

DNA Descendants - Richard Hart Elliott

Combined Matrix of DNA Descendants

As of 29 January 2023, this is the combined matrix of all 54 DNA Descendants found on Ancestry (from both Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott, including Todd Dixon, but not yet including 6 DNA matches found on MyHeritage). This matrix includes the amount of shared DNA between two DNA Matches (when known) and their relationship to each other (when known). This is a very large diagram. The manner in which it is displayed here has limited usefulness. In addition, it uses several colors and other notations that are not described here. Clicking the image here will take you to the full matrix (view only Google Sheet created by Todd Dixon), including the key to all of the colors and notations (provided beneath the full matrix). As more DNA Matches, or additional details about existing DNA Matches, are discovered, this matrix (and the other diagrams shared above) will be updated to reflect those discoveries.

DNA Descendants Combined Matrix

Conclusions and Theories

The only definitive conclusion at this time is that there is a DNA relationship between the descendants of Richard Hart and the descendants of Richard Hart Elliott. These two groups are related to each other. Unfortunately, there is insufficient data to declare the exact relationship.

Two theories are currently supported by the data thus far collected:

1. Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott are the same individual.
   • After his presumed son, Richard W. Elliott, murdered John Hoover, perhaps Richard Hart Elliott fled with his son to help him evade the law.
   • Since there would be two wives involved (first to Isabella Smart, later to Jane Amanda McKinney), the descendants of Richard Hart would be half cousins (of various distances) to the descendants of Richard Hart Elliott.
   • This theory is supported by all of the similarities between Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott (e.g. their similar names, both born in Kentucky around 1795 - 1797, both have occupation of Physician, their timelines do not conflict).
2. Richard Hart and Richard W. Elliott (presumed son of Richard Hart Elliott), are the same individual.
   • After Richard W. Elliott murdered John Hoover, he disappeared. Perhaps he pretended to be his father in order to evade the law.
   • In this scenario, the descendants of Richard Hart Elliott would be full cousins (of various distances) to the descendants of Richard Hart.
   • In order to pretend to be his father, presumed son Richard W. Elliott would have to have lied about his name (Richard Hart), age (born in late 1700's), and profession (Physician) on his marriage and census records.

Next Steps

Here is a rough list of ideas that Todd continues to pursue:

1. Continue to look for relevant DNA Matches at Ancestry, MyHeritage, myFTDNA, and GEDMatch. When a relevant match is found, incorporate them into the existing analysis and diagrams.
2. Create What Are The Odds (WATO) diagrams using the "twinning" technique. There are two ways to approach this, and both require more details about existing DNA Matches than is currently known:
   • Use the amount of shared DNA that Todd and his 1st Cousin have with members of the Richard Hart Elliott cluster to project how we are related to them.
   • Use the amount of shared DNA that one or two descendants of Richard Hart Elliott have with the members of Richard Hart cluster to project how they are related to us.
3. Obtain DNA test results for additional siblings of Todd's mother (there are two candidates). These results will be genetically closer to Richard Hart and Richard Hart Elliott, and therefore shared DNA amounts will be higher with possibly unlocking more insights. Completed in January 2023. A second sister of Todd's mother has successfully submitted her DNA to Ancestry.

How Can You Help?

Are you interested and curious how you could help move this to more meaningful conclusion? If you want to help, please reach out to Todd Dixon. Consider these ideas:

1. Ask Todd questions. Anwering your questions will help eliminate assumptions and improve the overall analysis.
2. If you are a descendant of Richard Hart or Richard Hart Elliott, you can:
   • Work with Todd to confirm you are properly placed in the apprpriate tree of descendants.
   • If you have taken a DNA test, share your test details (e.g. shared DNA amounts with other DNA Matches) with Todd.
   • If you have not taken a DNA test, take one and then share your results with Todd.
   • If you have a living older (i.e. a previous generation) relative who is descended from either Richard Hart or Richard Hart Elliott, work with them to take a DNA test, and then share their results with Todd. A previous generation is valuable because it has one less "reduction" in shared DNA amounts.
3. Help Todd improve the confidence in relationships within the tree of descendants of Richard Hart or Richard Hart Elliott. For example, help find additional sources that confirm the relationship between Richard Hart Elliott and the other individuals in his 1850 household.