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My ancestral search
My ancestral search hit the proverbial brick wall with my Great Great Grandfather, William A. J. Snow born about 1813 presumably in Georgia. The first documentation found was his marriage to Nancy Riley on 3 April 1836 in Henry County, Georgia. Nothing has been found prior to this document.
He appeared in the 1840 Gwinett County, Georgia Census record showing a household with one male between 20 and 30 years (himself), one female 15-20 years old (Nancy), one male and one female under five years of age (James Marion & Hanna Snow).
He next appeared in the 1850 US Census as a Blacksmith living in Henry County, Georgia with Nancy and six children.
In the 1860 US Census he was living in Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia with Nancy and seven children.
In the 1870 US Census I found him still in Cedartown with Nancy and five children. Thomas Snow, my Great Grandfather, first appears as an eight year old boy.
He then appeared in the 1880 US Census as a Farmer in Polk County, Georgia. Presumably still in Cedartown. William states on the Census that his mother and father were both born in Ireland. Listed were William, Nancy and two children. Thomas was 18 years old at this time.
There is a document settling William’s estate bearing the earliest date of 28 Dec 1897. An accurate date was not stated, therefore he must have died in 1897, presumably December.
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For many years a rumor persisted that Thomas J. Snow, my GGF, was adopted into the Snow family. In April of 2008 I contacted Family Tree DNA service and had a DNA test done. I was able to compare my DNA results with hundreds of other Snow family members who also listed their DNA results in the FTDNA data base. I did not match any of these. Instead, FTDNA announced that my first 12 DNA markers matched exactly that of a 15th century Irish Warlord named Niall Naoighíallach. W.A.J. Snow stated in the 1880 Census that both his parents were born in Ireland. This strongly suggested that I have an Irish ancestry.
Through the auspices of the internet I eventually met with other family members who also claim direct decendancy from William. I was fortunate to contact James Randolph Snow who is a descendant of William’s oldest son, James Marion Snow. Randy agreed to have the FTDNA test done, and when the results came back they demonstrated that Randy and myself matched exactly on all 25 DNA markers done. This proved conclusively that Thomas J. Snow was in fact William’s child. And that the Thomas Snow listed on the Census records is our Thomas J. Snow, my Great Grandfather.
During our internet communications, Randy told of a story passed down from his Father and Uncles. Randy’s Father told him that they were originally from a Henderson family. This is his story and I quote. “4/16/2009 - As told by my father and uncles when I was growing up...The story goes that a family named "Henderson" (A Man, His Wife, and Two Boys) came to America and on the way over the Mr. Henderson took sick and died. When the ship landed they would not let Mrs. Henderson and her two sons debark the ship. To avoid being a ward of the state she would have to return to her country unless she could find a way to support herself and her two sons. A man named "Snow" saw her predicament and being single decided to marry her and adopt the two boys whom took on the name Snow.”
Randy continues, “ 4/27/2009, I found the Henderson man listed on a passenger list on Ancestry. Several years back I did some research on a friends computer who had Ancestry. If I remember correctly I had found information on a William (or Wm.) Henderson who left Ireland and arrived (I believe) in Pittsburgh. The year was around 1795. I don't remember the ships name but I do remember typing in the keywords "Died Enroute". I didn't get to pursue the research in depth and am not sure if this William Henderson is the right Henderson. The year (1795) sounds like it could fit since W.A.J. was born around 1813-?? ”
John Snow: After learning of the above information, I conducted DNA comparisons with all the Hendersons on the FTDNA database. There were no close matches. However, these were U.S. Hendersons for the most part. Perhaps the Henderson family in question is still in Ireland and have never performed the DNA testing, or their results are posted on an Irish database that I have not accessed as yet.
Research is still in progress.
John Anthony Snow
He appeared in the 1840 Gwinett County, Georgia Census record showing a household with one male between 20 and 30 years (himself), one female 15-20 years old (Nancy), one male and one female under five years of age (James Marion & Hanna Snow).
He next appeared in the 1850 US Census as a Blacksmith living in Henry County, Georgia with Nancy and six children.
In the 1860 US Census he was living in Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia with Nancy and seven children.
In the 1870 US Census I found him still in Cedartown with Nancy and five children. Thomas Snow, my Great Grandfather, first appears as an eight year old boy.
He then appeared in the 1880 US Census as a Farmer in Polk County, Georgia. Presumably still in Cedartown. William states on the Census that his mother and father were both born in Ireland. Listed were William, Nancy and two children. Thomas was 18 years old at this time.
There is a document settling William’s estate bearing the earliest date of 28 Dec 1897. An accurate date was not stated, therefore he must have died in 1897, presumably December.
_______________________________________________________________________
For many years a rumor persisted that Thomas J. Snow, my GGF, was adopted into the Snow family. In April of 2008 I contacted Family Tree DNA service and had a DNA test done. I was able to compare my DNA results with hundreds of other Snow family members who also listed their DNA results in the FTDNA data base. I did not match any of these. Instead, FTDNA announced that my first 12 DNA markers matched exactly that of a 15th century Irish Warlord named Niall Naoighíallach. W.A.J. Snow stated in the 1880 Census that both his parents were born in Ireland. This strongly suggested that I have an Irish ancestry.
Through the auspices of the internet I eventually met with other family members who also claim direct decendancy from William. I was fortunate to contact James Randolph Snow who is a descendant of William’s oldest son, James Marion Snow. Randy agreed to have the FTDNA test done, and when the results came back they demonstrated that Randy and myself matched exactly on all 25 DNA markers done. This proved conclusively that Thomas J. Snow was in fact William’s child. And that the Thomas Snow listed on the Census records is our Thomas J. Snow, my Great Grandfather.
During our internet communications, Randy told of a story passed down from his Father and Uncles. Randy’s Father told him that they were originally from a Henderson family. This is his story and I quote. “4/16/2009 - As told by my father and uncles when I was growing up...The story goes that a family named "Henderson" (A Man, His Wife, and Two Boys) came to America and on the way over the Mr. Henderson took sick and died. When the ship landed they would not let Mrs. Henderson and her two sons debark the ship. To avoid being a ward of the state she would have to return to her country unless she could find a way to support herself and her two sons. A man named "Snow" saw her predicament and being single decided to marry her and adopt the two boys whom took on the name Snow.”
Randy continues, “ 4/27/2009, I found the Henderson man listed on a passenger list on Ancestry. Several years back I did some research on a friends computer who had Ancestry. If I remember correctly I had found information on a William (or Wm.) Henderson who left Ireland and arrived (I believe) in Pittsburgh. The year was around 1795. I don't remember the ships name but I do remember typing in the keywords "Died Enroute". I didn't get to pursue the research in depth and am not sure if this William Henderson is the right Henderson. The year (1795) sounds like it could fit since W.A.J. was born around 1813-?? ”
John Snow: After learning of the above information, I conducted DNA comparisons with all the Hendersons on the FTDNA database. There were no close matches. However, these were U.S. Hendersons for the most part. Perhaps the Henderson family in question is still in Ireland and have never performed the DNA testing, or their results are posted on an Irish database that I have not accessed as yet.
Research is still in progress.
John Anthony Snow
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