DNA EVIDENCE ON ANCESTRIES OF ALFRED O’BRYANT AND NANCY FORD
Alfred O’Bryant (married Nancy Ford) was a 4th great-grandfather of Lara & Kirk Muffley, & the ancestor of various O’Bryant-line cousins via Pleasant O’Bryant (b. 1829, Ohio; son of Alfred & Nancy). Alfred and Nancy were the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCAs) for this group versus Jennie, whose ancestor Perry O’Bryant was a brother of our Pleasant O’Bryant. In the database at www.gedmatch.com Kirk’s Kit # is T945852 & Jennie is Kit # A107546. Jennie & Kirk have a sizable autosomal DNA (atDNA) match with each other, and also with Karen O’Brien A350710, who has posted GEDCOM file 2148929 at GEDmatch. Jennie & Karen have a total of 50.4 centiMorgans of shared segments, the largest segment being 40.8 cM on Chromosome 20. Where a MRCA is a 3rd great-grandparent, an average would be 50 cM of total shared chromosomal segments. Karen is close kin with the owner of Kit # A390028 (also connected by atDNA to descendants of Alfred). See the Snyder tree at https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/102418810/person/420061492877/facts which includes Karen’s father.
Karen’s 2nd great-grandfather Peter O’Briant III (of Pike County Ohio; 1816-1890) had a brother Ile, whosewww.findagrave.com bio under Memorial # 84421922 indicates also having a brother named ALFRED. If this Alfred is the same as our Alfred O’Bryant, the Most Recent Common Ancestors for Karen’s line versus our line of interest would have been Peter O’Bryant Jr. (b. 1772, Virginia) & wife Elizabeth “Betsy” Reynolds. The atDNA fit is consistent with such a scenario.
According to the Find A Grave bio for Ile O’Briant, his parents Peter Jr. & Betsy were married Jan. 29, 1791, in Fauquier County Virginia. In the 1790s they reportedly moved to Mason County Kentucky, which lies on the Ohio River. In the early 1800s they moved to then Ross County Ohio, now Mifflin Township of Pike County. Their land was reportedly at the junction of Kincaid & Sunfish creeks. Just west of this location is Washburn Cemetery, at Byington, location of some early O’Bryant burials.
Peter Jr. & Betsy had a son Peter O’Brian III (b. 1816, Ohio; m. Martha Rodgers; ancestor of Karen) whose sibs included ALFRED (likely ours), Lavinia, Malinda, Joseph (probably the ancestor of Pam O’Bryant Wacker), John, Thomas, Cornelius, Wilford (who had a son Pleasant), & William. Probate records for Pike County would be helpful to view. See the index at http://files.usgwarchives.net/oh/pike/probates/will_idx.txt At that site one finds a Pike County probate for some Pleasant O’Brian who was not our Pleasant O’Bryant (d. 1913, Payne County Oklahoma), but rather some kinsman of his. Our Pleasant O’Bryant would have been a first cousin of Karen’s ancestor Peter O’Brian IV (b. 1841), if we are correct that our Alfred was a brother of Peter III.
Our Alfred O’Bryant married Nancy Ford in 1823 in Ross County Ohio. In 1931, Delbert O’Brien was born at Chillicothe in Ross County. He was the father of Karen, who has close genetic kinship with descendants of our Alfred O’Bryant. The possibility of kinship between these two O’Bryant/O’Brien lines was raised at least two decades ago. Pam O’Bryant Wacker had a copy of the will of Peter O’Bryant Sr. (b. 1750, Va.), probable grandfather of our Alfred, Peter III, & Joseph. The given name Peter also appears in the O’Bryant records of the author of the “varmitfarm” tree at Ancestry.com who descends from John William O’Bryant (b. 1852, Fulton Co. Ill.), brother of our Lydia Lillie Lee “Anna” O’Bryant Retherford. Anna & her husband Jesse Retherford Jr. were the parents of “Aunt Glenna”, a person known to me long ago. Glenna’s brother Dewey Retherford was the father of “Ma Donald”.
Two decades ago, Pam O’Bryant Wacker specifically named Joseph O’Bryant as her ancestor. It appears to me that her Joseph was a brother to our Alfred, & to Karen’s Peter O’Bryant III (b. 1816). See this tree of Pam’s kin:https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/60682159/family/pedigree Pam’s MRCA with Karen, & with descendants of Alfred would then be Peter O’Bryant Jr. (b. 1772) & Elizabeth Reynolds. Joseph O’Bryant’s son Lemuel O’Bryant was an ancestor of Pam. Lemuel was in Fulton County Illinois at the same time as his Uncle Alfred & Cousin Pleasant. It would be nice to see atDNA from Lemuel’s descendants.
Our Alfred O’Bryant in the 1860 census of Fulton County Illinois listed his birthplace as Ohio, not the Kentucky birthplace sometimes cited. If Alfred were born in Kentucky, it would likely have been Mason County. Putnam Township, Fulton County, Illinois in 1860 had several “O’Briant” listings. Including the family of our Alfred O’Bryant (b. Ohio), with wife Nancy & 5 kids (including some grandkids). One of the kids was Leah, whose descendant Kathy is in this tree: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/55627229/family/pedigree We may soon have in the GEDmatch database atDNA from Kathy; her atDNA data is currently at FTDNA. Adjacent to the 1860 census listing for the Alfred O’Bryant household is the household of son Pleasant O’Bryant, with wife Amy Annie Clark, & kids John (ancestor of Kirk’s atDNA match George Gentry), Abigail, & Emeline. Daughter Lydia Lillie Lee "Anna" O'Bryant Retherford was not yet born.
Lemuel O’Bryant, ancestor of Pam & probable 1st cousin of our Pleasant O’Bryant, lived in 1860 in Buckheart Township, next east of Putnam Twp. In the former township lies a settlement of Bryant. Lemuel was reportedly born on July 4, 1812 in Ross County, Ohio. His Fulton County Illinois household in 1860 included wife Mary & 6 kids. Lemuel’s great-granddaughter Mary Lee O’Bryant McConkey was born at Bryant in 1909, according to https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/60682159/family/pedigree This tree’s Home Person’s atDNA would be interesting to view. Several O’Bryant persons are buried at the Marysville (Bryant) Cemetery. See http://www.illinoisancestors.org/fulton/Cemeteries/Marysville_Cem/marysville_cem_n_p.html
A son of Lemuel: http://illinoisancestors.org/cemphotos/v/fulton/maryville/Surname+O/O_Bryant_+John+W_++Diadema+O_.jpg.html
Lemuel’s biography: http://www.illinoisancestors.org/fulton/Biographies/BiographiesN_O.html#obriantlemuel
In the GEDmatch database, Jennie (from Alfred O’Bryant) & Karen (from Peter O’Bryant III) have a large number of people whose atDNA matches both of them. One of these is Debra, Kit # A238437, corresponding to this Wells tree:https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/56329490/family/pedigree This is a descendant of Mary Ann O’Bryant Stutes, sister of our Pleasant, Perry, Leah, etc. This atDNA link is important because it was once suspected that Mary Ann might have been adopted. Not so, we now see, as her descendant Debra is biological kin to other genetically inter-related descendants of our O’Bryant lines of interest. Debra & her daughter Heather carry the mitochondrial DNA of Nancy Ford O’Bryant. The Haplogroup is W1, which is not Native American.
See http://www.thecid.com/ & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_W_(mtDNA) However, the European mtDNA Haplogroup W is found among the reported kin of Shawnee Chief Bluejacket. See http://www.shawnee-bluejacket.com/uploads/3/4/8/4/34847868/native_american_bluejacker_dna.pdf & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Jacket
According to https://nativeheritageproject.com/2012/08/22/the-shawnee-bluejacket-family/ Blue Jacket’s (b. 1737-1743) town was on Deer Creek, Ross County, Ohio. Probably near the birthplace of Nancy. When I lived in Ohio & worked at Chillicothe, I read some of the novels of Allan W. Eckert, who falsely identified Blue Jacket as Marmaduke van Swearingen. DNA evidence has shown this to be wrong. See http://www.sciotohistorical.org/items/show/8
Karen (from Peter III) A350710 & Debra (from Alfred) A238437 match each other at 28.1 cM on Chromosome 8. Both also match Noel Stewart, whose reported immediate ancestry is entirely Londonderry Northern Ireland. Probably a place to look for the ancestors of our John Charles O’Bryant (b. 1725, Virginia), reported grandfather of Peter O’Bryant Jr. (MRCA for Alfred versus Peter III descendants). Noel’s GEDmatch Kit is # A672418, GEDCOM file # 7418938. Karen & Noel have a 20.3 cM shared segment on Chromosome 6, & they have a lengthy list of people In-Common-With, including some U.K. e-mails.
Where does this genetic, and other, evidence leave the alternate scenario of Lewis as the father of our Alfred O’Bryant? Without the support of genetic evidence, that’s where. Yet the Lewis scenario is to date a dominant view in online trees. Hopefully, more DNA evidence will emerge to expand our picture of these families. So far, I don’t see any O’Bryant yDNA data online relevant to our questions.
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