When I got my DNA results back, the biggest surprise I had was in all the people from the southern states who I shared DNA with. I'm pretty sure that a lot of it is from Salucia Sophronia Squibb, but that certainly doesn't explain it all. The only other unknown line, is that of Martha Brennan Davis, mother of Lillian Davis Stephenson, who was mother of my grandfather, Fred Stephenson. I have thought she was Irish, probably an Irish immigrant, and probably related to other Brennans of Galesburg, Illinois, but there is evidence she was from Indiana.
Besides the unexplained southern DNA matches, I have little Irish DNA on this line, not enough for Martha Brennan to be full blooded Irish. But more importantly, the Stephensons had dark complexions. I honestly don't know beyond that where the dark hair and eyes came from. Here is a picture of Lillian Davis Stephenson, my great grandmother.
Notice the dark hair, deep set, dark eyes. She doesn't look Irish. Her features are similar to those of the Melungeons. Melungeons were isolated groups of people in the southern United States, from the Cumberland Gap region in particular, with dark complexions and with unknown origins. They appear as a mixed race people, perhaps black or Indian. Some have said Jewish or Arab, and some Melungeons themselves claimed Portuguese ancestry. Sometimes they are lumped in with Gypsies and Black Dutch.
Eva Gardner, Abraham Lincoln and Elvis Presley are thought to have had some Melungeon ancestry. They have the dark hair, and dark deep set eyes, much like Lillian Davis Stephenson. Here are some pictures from Chiniquy Blog, Was Elvis Presley of Mixed Racial Heritage, May 13, 2016 for comparison.
Melungeon ancestry is difficult to define, let alone prove, especially given the difficulty of tracing some lines. But I suspect that the dark features in the Stephenson family came from Martha Brennan Davis' family, and that her family was Melungeon. Her family is the biggest unknown in the Stephenson ancestry. Variations of the Brennan name, e.g. Branum, are associated with Melungeons.
This is just speculation, and will take some more work.
Besides the unexplained southern DNA matches, I have little Irish DNA on this line, not enough for Martha Brennan to be full blooded Irish. But more importantly, the Stephensons had dark complexions. I honestly don't know beyond that where the dark hair and eyes came from. Here is a picture of Lillian Davis Stephenson, my great grandmother.
Notice the dark hair, deep set, dark eyes. She doesn't look Irish. Her features are similar to those of the Melungeons. Melungeons were isolated groups of people in the southern United States, from the Cumberland Gap region in particular, with dark complexions and with unknown origins. They appear as a mixed race people, perhaps black or Indian. Some have said Jewish or Arab, and some Melungeons themselves claimed Portuguese ancestry. Sometimes they are lumped in with Gypsies and Black Dutch.
Eva Gardner, Abraham Lincoln and Elvis Presley are thought to have had some Melungeon ancestry. They have the dark hair, and dark deep set eyes, much like Lillian Davis Stephenson. Here are some pictures from Chiniquy Blog, Was Elvis Presley of Mixed Racial Heritage, May 13, 2016 for comparison.
Melungeon ancestry is difficult to define, let alone prove, especially given the difficulty of tracing some lines. But I suspect that the dark features in the Stephenson family came from Martha Brennan Davis' family, and that her family was Melungeon. Her family is the biggest unknown in the Stephenson ancestry. Variations of the Brennan name, e.g. Branum, are associated with Melungeons.
This is just speculation, and will take some more work.
Interesting. When I first saw the picture of Lillian Davis Stephenson, I thought the picture was of someone on the Turner side of the family.
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