The Manning surname comes into my family pretty far back - I think it would be my fourth great-grandmother, Esther Manning (her father was Samuel Manning, if that is any help). I am not too familiar with the family and haven't started real research on it yet, so I'm not sure if they are related to the governors. Esther's son, Manning Poole, was a pretty rich guy (lived in Anderson County), so they may indeed been a prominent family. Sorry I don't have much more information than this. Have you tried the Manning boards on Genforum and Rootsweb? Sorry I can't be more helpful - good luck in your search.
Greta Koehl
Oct 15, 2009
M. Henson
Oct 20, 2009