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This is a place for me to share the tons of family information with all my extended family. I am an English and history teacher and fascinated with how my family fits into the history of our nation. I have yet to find a branch that immigrated to the American Colonies after 1740, so we have been a part of this country before it even was a country. I started on this journey about 12 years ago and see no end in sight. It is a constant frustrating, yet wonderful puzzle to find all the people who somehow contributed to who I am today. There are stories of tragedy and triumph, stories to be ashamed of, but also stories that make me very proud of my family.
Most of my family are Scots Irish (or Ulster Irish). These were people of Scottish origin who lived in Northern Ireland for a few generations and were staunch Presbyterians. Eventually the tension between Protestants and Catholics as well as pressure to convert to the Anglican Church convinced these people to search out a new destiny in America. They settled first in Augusta County, Virginia and mingled with other ancestors of mine, whose descendants would eventually meet up again in Texas about two hundred years later. Most of these people can be found on the Nickell page.
Another branch of my family (Looney) is from the Isle of Mann. They also first settled in Augusta County. They fought in the French and Indian War and then the Revolution. They intermarried with the Houston and Crockett clans, who also became important names in Texas history.
The Kimberlin branch (originally Kummerlin) of my family come from Wurttemburg, Germany, an area near the Black Forest. They were Lutherans and settled first in Pennsylvania along with many other German settlers. Eventually they moved to West Virginia, although at the time it was just Virginia. During the Civil War, the family was much divided as some of the men of the family joined the Union and other sided with the Confederates. John Kimberlin brought his wife Manerva Jane (also his cousin!) and eleven children to North Texas and arrived, as he wrote in a letter to his brother, with eleven cents in his pocket.
The Buchanan's of Griffin, Georgia are a puzzling branch. I have reached a deadend at George B. Buchanan, which is particularly frustrating as I feel there are some interesting stories. Well before the Civil War, any African Americans living in their home (as listed on the census) were free, which must have created friction with the neighbors. The African American family who lived with them carry the name of King, and I hope someday to find their descendents. According to family legend, my 2nd great grandfather Robert Lee Buchanan rescued his best friend, who was black, from being lynched and the family had to leave Georgia quickly. They ended up in Waco, Texas, along with the best friend and his family. There is more of that story on the Buchanan and Thorn page.
There are always more discoveries to be made and stories to be told. As I said before, I'm not finished researching and digging, and so this site will always be a work in progress.
PS - Please feel free to email me if you have information or find any mistakes I have made. :)