Tracing genealogy in rural communities is often convoluted. Having grown up in small towns and from a large Southern family, I often heard people say “Everyone is related to everyone somehow.” As complicated as these family trees can be, not every couple were blood first cousins, in fact, I would argue that very few were. Early in my research, I got stuck for a long time on a couple that had the same last name. The wife had to have a different maiden name, right? Upon further digging, though, it turned out that she was, indeed, first cousins with her husband, though possible only half first cousins. 

Knowing your ancestors live in such a community can be beneficial if you’re stuck on a brick wall. The FAN Club Principle utilizes friends, acquaintances, and neighbors near your target to help prove connections that might otherwise not be documented. I tried this method recently trying to understand how my relatives might have all known each other, but also to connect a random person living in the middle of all of them with the name last name, who didn’t appear on any other records that I could find. 

Here’s the census in question: 

1880 US Federal Census First Civil District McNairy County Tennessee

Rebecca, wife of  Alonzo Swinford, family number 118, is my brick wall. I was curious to see if any of the relatives around this young couple might be related to her somehow. Already, I knew that Thomas Swinford and Alonzo Swinford were brothers, both sons of William Swinford. I was also curious to prove who Mackey Swinford was, as I had not yet seen that name among Thomas and Alonzo’s brothers, and Mackey’s age puts him right between Thomas and Alonzo. 

Household NumberSurnameFirst NameAge~Birth YearRelationship to HeadRelationship Notes
113DunnHW311849SelfHW Dunn here is a junior, father HW Dunn Sr, wife was Nancy, maiden name unknown
ME291851WifeMartha was the daughter of William C. Moore and Elizabeth Carlin. The Carlin family live nearby as well
WeatherlyWH121868Step-SonSon of Issac Weatherly and Martha. Issac was the son of Henry Weatherly and Delithia King .
DunnDora81872Daughter
Lee61874Son
Victoria41876Daughter
Cornelius11879Son
RileyJohn211859Nephew
114FortuneAG281852Self
Polina A241856WifeBirth name Mary Ann Gooch, daughter of John G. Gooch and his first wife Lavina Brumbelow. John G. Gooch and his second wife Nancy Rains lives a few houses away, previous sheet.
Johnnie41876Son
Edgar31877Son
115GranthamJH361844Self
Annah N351845WifeBirth name Nancy Gooch, daughter of John G. Gooch and his first wife Lavina Brumbelow. John G. Gooch and his second wife Nancy Rains lives a few houses away, previous sheet.
Annah L81872Daughter
Mary C71873Daughter
Richard L51875Son
Susan A41876Daughter
Lawvina F01880Daughter
116SwinfordMackey211859SelfThe name is not among Thomas and Alonzo’s siblings in previous census years, but could be their brother Jackson Swinford.
Polina201860WifeLina Arnold, married in 1877, daughter of JH Arnold and Cornelia unkown
Lula11879Daughter
117SwinfordThomas241856SelfSon of William Swinford and Eloise? maiden name unknown
Jane241856Wife
Benjamin F71873Son
James T61874Son
George Lee51875Son
Bessie M31877Daughter
Lula B01880Daughter
118SwinfordAlonzo191861SelfSon of William Swinford and Eloise? maiden name unknown
Rebecca201860WifeRebecca Brumbelow, parents names unknown
119MillstedJoseph781802SelfFirst wife was Margaret Dewitt or Witty
Margaret301850WifeMarried in 1877 – Margaret M Mitchell
MitchellHannah121868Step-Daughter
McGowanThomas301850None
120SandersJohn371843SelfSon of William F Sanders and Martha Houston. First wife may have been Eutoka McCalips
Margert C301850WifeMargart Catherine May – daughter of Daniel and Harriet May, maiden name unknown
Eulola B61874Daughter
Eutoka M01880Daughter
121RainsWHH251855SelfWIlliam HH married Zilpha Atkinson in 1878, which means his older two children are from a previous marraige. First wife may have been SJ Shelton. In 1870 he was living with John G Gooch and his second wife, Nancy Rains, along with a John Brumbelow, that John Brumbelow may have been John G. Gooch’s first wife’s brother or nephew.
Zilpha M231857Wife
Mary E71873Daughter
William V51875Son
James J11879Son
122RainsJames F241856SelfIn 1870, James was living with John G. Gooch and wife Nancy Rains. Might be Nancy’s nephew.
Mary F271853WifeMary F Hunter, daughter of Mary Hunter, husband name tbd. Her sister married Daniel Brumbelow in 1874, who was the son of William Brumbelow and Elizabeth?
William John H31877Son
Mary J T01880Daughter
123BrownLewis521828SelfLewis’s wife may have been Catherine Gooch, daughter of John G. Gooch.
Martha A151865Daughter
Heskia101870Son
Emma V81872Daughter
William M01880Son

Just on this page alone, we can trace most of the neighbors are relatives through blood or marriage, resulting in a fairly wide family tree. Even though more research is necessary to prove the relationships and cite sources for them all, the tree provides a visual map of potential resources. I created this in Power Point.

Power Point Generated Wide Family Tree Chart

Of the ten households, five can be connected through blood or marriage back to John G. Gooch. If we can determine the relationship of Rebecca Brumbelow to John Brumbelow, an additional three households could be connected!

Since Rebecca is a direct ancestor of mine, and my brother, mother, and I have all taken DNA tests through Ancestry.com, I’ve been able to confirm through DNA the connection to John Brumbelow, but the missing link is still to be confirmed.

At this time, I’ve not been able to confirm that connection, due to limited online resources. Next steps will include land records, early marriage records, and obscure death records for years between 1800 through 1850. However, many of these records may be lost, missing, or never recorded at all, and so, the search continues!

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