Email sent by James Ronald "Ron" Thompson, dated 27 Nov 2010, to Nova Lemons and few others:
"I found your e-mail addresses from links on Nova Lemons' website [Estep Connections]. I've been in contact with her previously a couple of years back while researching the Esteps.
The attached file is a list of cousin matches to me resulting from my FT-DNA cousin finder test. I'm descended from Henry Estep and Sarah MNU through their daughter Rutha Estep who married James Thompson. There are some Estep files on my web site at link: www.afreegospelmusic.org/page18.htm. Henry Estep was the son of Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep. He married first Sarah MNU. Henry's second wife was Milberry Daniels and the Daniels family also migrated with Henry and Milberry to Overton County, Tennessee. My cousin Zelma Lea Thompson Arnold said that she found the Overton County, Tennesse Cemeteries book and one of the people who lived near the Philander Smith Cemetery was Ward Sells was stated that there are 11 unmarked graves in the cemetery and that his father told him that part of them belonged to the Daniels family and the Estep family. So Henry and Milberry Daniels Estep are probably buried in an unmarked grave in the Philander Smith Cemetery. Henry Estep was a timber cutter and followed the logging industry to Overton County, Tennessee from Buncombe County, N. C.In the book "The Covenanter's Quest" linked from my web site you will find Rowan / Davie County, N. C. maps showing the exact location of the Samuel Estep property. Also on the map the locations of the other Estep properties are labeled. Samuel Estep had a land grant property that lay just north of the Yadkin River to the west of the Horseshoe Bend. The Thompsons owned property just above the Yadkin River to the east of the Horseshoe Bend.A year or so ago I paid for the DNA test for Larry Estep who is descended from John Estep. The profile for that test is found in the appendix of the above book. My intention was and still is to obtain a DNA test from a male Estep descendant from Henry Estep. This past month I was able to locate brothers Fleutes Estep and Henry Estep who live in North Carolina. They are direct descendants of Henry Estep through his son Abner Estep and Abner's son Henry Jackson Estep. I have extended an offer to them to pay for their DNA test and I probably will also include the cousin finder test also should they accept my offer. I hope to obtain a match to the DNA profile for the John Estep descendant.In my research I found at least one lady who is descended both from John Estep and from the Joshua Penix family. Both families lived in Russell County, Virginia between 1810-1822. Since Joshua Penix is my maternal ancestor that person is a double cousin to me.I'm trying to sort out my cousin matches which apply to families connected to the Estep family. If you don't mind, please look through the attached document and see if you recognize any surnames for those who are connected to the Esteps. Most likely the Estep relationship will be in the 1820 time period because the matches appear to be 5th cousin distance to me. I suspect that there are four families who are connected to the Esteps and whose names are listed below:George M. HuffJames Richard HowardWilliam Anthony BiltonRobert Hodgson EinhausFrom the ancestral files some of my matches I have found the Coleman family, Dotson family, and Zimmerman family. I think that the Coleman family is common to a couple of these and suspect a marriage between a Coleman and an Estep. I found an Estep site in Kentucky which includes all three names.There is another interesting match in these files. FIVE of the people who match me as cousins (some 3rd cousins) have Marmaduke Cheatham in their ancestral files. Marmaduke Cheatham was the father of an illegitimate son who took the DUGGER surname from his mother. Two of the matches are descended from the Dugger line.Other matches are possibly to a Nagle family who lived near the Esteps in Rowan / Davie County, N. C. (Their property was located on Bear Creek.) So I am wondering if Henry Estep's wife was possibly Sarah Nagle or someone in the ancestral files of the Nagle family. This Nagle family was also present in Catawba / Lincoln County, N. C. where my Treffenstatt and Eckard maternal ancestors lived.If any of you have taken the cousin finder test I would appreciate the details about that. The test is shown to only provide a portion of the real cousin matches for the distance of 5th cousin so you might not show up as a match. Anything more distance than 5th cousin will likely not show up.Your thoughts will be appreciated."Email sent by James Ronald Thompson to Nova Lemons, dated 30 Oct 2009:
"I located three people who claim to be descended from Thomas Estep Sr. But of those people, one has the Johnson surname, another is Les Estep who is supposedly descended from Shadrach Estep of Ashe County, N. C. but thinks his ancestor was a Wilson, and the third is documented as descended from Thomas Estep Sr.'s son John.
I contacted the wife of the John Estep descendant and paid for his DNA test. The test results appear to be valid to me but do not match either of the other two people. By doing a Y-Search I found that Les Estep's DNA profile is a match to my Taylor family relatives who live in Ashe County, N. C. So, it appears to me that the John Estep DNA profile is the correct profile for the family but that hasn't been proven.I've attached a copy of the Larry Estep profile. My thinking is that the profile can be used to compare to the descendant profiles from Abner Estep, son of Henry Estep and grandson of Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep. Abner Estep died in Polk County, Tennessee and his son Henry Jackson Estep died in Gilmer County, Georgia. Abner's grandson John Sylvester Estep is buried in West Hills Cemetery at Rasaca, Georgia and my thinking is that paternal line descendants probably still live in the area.An interesting match from the John Estep descendant, Larry Estep, profile is to an Adams who lived in Wilkes County, N. C. That is interesting because Samuel Estep, my ancestor, married Susannah Adams and lived near the Yadkin River just below the Davie County, N. C. line. The Esteps and Thompsons all migrated from Davie County, North Carolina and are on census records for Wilkes County, North Carolina.The Les Estep DNA profile is a match to the Taylor descendants from George Taylor, brother to my great-great-great-grandmother Elizabeth "Betsie" Taylor Thompson. Some of these Taylors still live in Ashe County, N. C.Just an update which I think could be of interest to you in confirming research."Email sent by James Ronald Thompson to Nova Lemons, dated 26 Mar 2011:
"You have my permission to make the following available AND access to the book to whomever Estep researchers are interested in Samuel Estep and Susannah Adams Estep. My opinion is that these details apply specifically to them.
The Henry Estep Family DNA Analysis Book can be downloaded at link:You have to set your security to "medium". The user name is thompsons and the password is ronsfile.
My opinion is that my ancestor Henry Estep, born about 1794, was the son of Samuel Estep and Susannah Adams Estep. I excluded Shadrach Estep and Ruth Dugger as possible ancestors because Lee Henry Estep is not a cousin to the Dugger family. This matches the Estep family files and fits the evidence I have collected. There are not enough paternal line Y-DNA profiles to prove or disprove it but I believe that Samuel Estep was a paternal line Horton and that the Jacob Estep descendants will have the same profile as Lee Henry Estep who took the DNA test for our line. It's up to them to prove or disprove this opinion.I know that there are paternal line Taylors (descended from George Taylor of Davie & Ashe County, N. C.), paternal line Hortons (descended from Caleb Horton and Phebe Terry through son Nathanial Horton of Wilkes / Ashe County, N. C.), paternal line Adams (related to Zachariah Adams of Wilkes / Ashe County, N. C.) and others all claiming paternal descent from Thomas Estep Sr. There isn't sufficient evide3nce to reliably establish the Y-DNA profile of Thomas Estep Sr. and it seems very very likely that stepsons from widows of a second or third marriage have taken the Estep surname. There is also court evidence of bastardy bonds for Samuel Estep in the Rowan County, N. C. records. There are at least four different paternal lines of Estep surname who claim descent from Thomas Estep Sr.The cousin finder matches indicate that Susannah Adams was probably the daughter of John Adams and in my direct ancestral line. There are very strong reasons for believing this. The attached files show that the Webb family is descended from the John Adams family. John Adams was the ONLY Adams who was living in a location near Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep. Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep named one son Jacob, most likely after his uncle Jacob Adams, a documented son of John Adams. If Henry Estep, born 1794, were the son of Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep, his descendants Lee Henry Estep and James Ronald Thompson would be cousins to this Webb family who went to Wilkes County, N. C. and then to Kentucky AND they ARE cousins, per the family finder test. This Webb family was intermarried with the Boone family who also lived in this location in Davie County, N. C. These same families are intermarried with the Horton and Estep families. (To see the exact relationships you have to read through the Henry Estep DNA analysis book. The Adams, Webb, Horton, Butler, Hall, and Estep family files are in the appendix I and appendix IV of the book. I haven't done any research to see how Caleb Webb and this line tie into the Estep family in Russell County, Virginia but I suspect they are the same family, possibly a different branch. There seems to be a difference of opinion in the Adams DNA project researchers as to whether Zachariah Adams was from the same line as John Hobbs Adams Sr. They are claiming two different DNA profiles for people whom researchers have grouped as part of the same family.By looking at the attached original Davie County, N. C. land grant map per file Daviecuz.jpg you see the related families, based on cousin finder matches, all circled in red. The exact relationships between the Sparks, Bailey, and Nail families have not been sorted out."Email sent from Ron Thompson to Nova Lemons, dated 27 Mar 2011:
"You can add this update to the informatin pertaining to Samuel Estep.
I've confirmed that my cousin Lee Henry Estep and I are descended from Samuel Estep and Susannah Adams Estep. Our ancestor was their son Henry born about 1794. I proved this with Lee Henry's family finder matches. I wasn't able to prove Samuel Estep but did prove the connection to Susannah Adams' father and mother, John and Nancy Ann Caudill Adams, through DNA connections. I ended up with between six to 12 cousin matches that all have the Webb and Adams family as common ancestors. I was able to triangulate the GED files and the exact same matching autosomal dna block 7 as common to all. The map I sent you previously shows all of these people as neighbors in Rowan County, N. C. in the area which is just north of the Yadkin River in Davie County, N. C. I also found a connection where an Adams female married a Sparks male. One of Henry's matches is to Mary Sparks.John Adams Sr. and wife Nancy Ann Caudill were the parents of Jacob Adams and several brothers but the names of only a couple of the females were recorded. There are a mulitude of Adams family deeds in the Rowan County, N. C. deed books. Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep named one son Jacob Estep after his uncle Jacob Adams. Additional proof of relationship is that this is the only Adams family who lived in that location. After Samuel Estep died I think that Susannah Adams Estep probably went back to live with her parents. I found no record of a second marriage for her.There is no record of Henry Estep ever owning property. He was a timber cutter who followed the industry. In 1820 and 1830 he was living in Iredell County, N. C. In 1840 through 1860 he was living in Buncombe County, N. C. He left Buncombe County, N. C. after 1860 and was living in Overton County, Tennessee by 1870. I believe that after he died some of his children from his second marriage moved back to Polk County, Tennessee.Henry Walker was the bondsman for Samuel Estep for his marriage to Susannah Adams. I found the following deed record for Henry Walker:#2570 21 April, 1780 Jesse PHILIPS 250 A on Miery Branch of Dutch Second Crk and adj Rubin PHILIPS,Fredrick MOUROR, & William Temple COLES. Made over to Henry WALKER.(Dutchman's Creek was the location of the John Adams land grant property.)When you read through the GED files that I put into the book you find that the Adams females were intermarried with the Webb family and that is the cousin links to us. John and Nancy Ann Caudill Adams are the common ancestors."Email sent from Ron Thompson to Nova Lemons, dated 31 Mar 2011:
"FT-DNA finally processed Henry Estep's remaining 12 markers. I've attached the markers as file hny37dna.jpg. I've also attached a list of matches from the FT-DNA data base. Henry matches two paternal line Hortons at 34 of 37 markers. That would equate to a common ancestor about the time Samuel Estep was born. This match is exclusive of anyone other than the same family. Even the Johnson and Grant listed as a match comes from the same Horton paternal line family.
The way that a paternal line dna profile is established is by the matching profile of people descended from brothers who were the sons of a known ancestor. A random match of another surname usually does not represent the actual paternal line. When you have three or more people descended from a common ancestor born about 1750 or earlier you have evidence that establishes that y-dna profile as from the valid paternal line.The evidence indicates that Samuel Estep was likely descended from Caleb Horton and Phebe Terry. Most likely the line of Nathaniel Horton who lived in Wilkes County, N. C. were the ancestors of Samuel Estep. You can expect that Jacob Estep, Henry Estep, Jesse Adams Estep, and the other children of Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep will have the Horton paternal line dna profile.The Jacob Estep line went to Carter County, Tennessee and some to Kentucky. Maybe some day they will take a dna test and match up to Henry.At this point in time there is absolutely not enough evidence to establish the y-dna profile for Thomas Estep Sr. I think that Samuel Estep was probably not his son but the son of a Horton widow. But if at least three proven descendants from Thomas Estep Sr. from three different sons should take the test and match then THAT and THAT ALONE will establish the Thomas Estep Sr. profile. Until then, everything is purely speculation about him, although it could turn out to be correct."Email sent from Ron Thompson to Nova Lemons, dated 29 Jun 2011:
"I have found the ancestry of Susannah Adams who married Samuel Estep. Her mother was Ann Caudill whose father was Stephen Caudill and mother was Mary Elizabeth Fields. Susannah's father, John Adams Sr. was born about 1727 in Stafford, Virginia. (There are internet files showing his probable ancestry but I won't include those.)
Some internet files show John Adams Sr's wife as Mary Ann Caudill and other files show her as Nancy Ann Caudill. Her son, John Hobbs Adams Jr. married Nancy Ann Caudill whose father was Benjamin Caudill, the brother of Ann Caudil Adams. It seems to me that the Ann Caudle Adams' niece, Nancy Ann Caudill, was named after her. So John Hobbs Adams Jr. married his first cousin, the daughter of Benjamin Caudill. I have the y-dna profile for a PROVEN direct line descendant from John Hobbs Jr. who has also taken the family finder test. We are currently awaiting the results of the family finder test which will also prove that we are cousins to the multitude of people who descend from John Adams and Ann Caudill Adams.In the Rowan County, N. C. deeds you find that David Caudill, Benjamin Caudill, and Isham Caudill also owned property or lived in Rowan/Davie County, N. C. There is a deed for a purchase of property by David Caudill on Reeds Creek just north of the Yadkin River which appears to either adjoin or contain the Samuel Estep property. I think that David Caudill was another undocumented brother of Ann Caudill but for certain her brother Benjamin Caudill signed as a witness on that deed. This property purchase is significant in showing a direct connection to Samuel and Susannah Adams Estep since Benjamin Caudill was her uncle.The Buckner family was intermarried with the Caudill family. There is a Rowan/Davie County, N. C. deed abstract showing where Edward Buckner purchased property near John Buckner approximately one mile north of the Horseshoe Bend of the Yadkin River. The witnesses on that purchase were John Buckner, Isham Caudill, and Benjamin Caudill. The family connections are that Edward Buckner was married to Nancy Thompson, the daughter of my ancestor James Fields Thompson. Isham Caudill was married to Elizabeth Buckner, probably the sister of John Buckner. John Buckner was the uncle of Edward Buckner and the father of Annie Buckner who married Azariah Pack Thompson, another James Fields Thompson son. The Thompson, Buckner, Adams, Caudill, and Estep families were connected by marriages long before they migrated through Wilkes County, N. C. to Buncombe County, N. C.The dna evidence has proven the connection of Susannah Adams Estep to this Caudill family. The presence of her parents and her uncles Benjamin and Isham in the same location are documented evidence to support the same conclusion. So those who are descended from Samuel Estep and Susannah Adams Estep will be interested to know that there is a book written about this Caudill family who were the ancestors of Susannah's mother, Ann Caudill Adams. Book Title: The Caudills: An Etymological, Ethnological, & Genealogical Study [Paperback] Lochlainn Seabrook (Author) I've ordered two copies of the book. I don't know what is in the book but am anticipating it has the ancestral history of Stephen Caudill, the father of Ann Caudill Adams and grandfather of Susannah Adams Estep. If you are descended from Susannah Adams Estep I think this is your ancestral history recovered and documented for you.At this point in time Lee Henry Estep's y-dna profile is the only profile representing a paternal line descendant from Samuel Estep. It will take another matching profile from another descendant line to confirm that Samuel Estep bore the same profile but it seems likely to be the situation. It has been proven that Lee Henry Estep's and my own family finder matches are to cousins who descend directly from these Rowan/Davie County, N. C. families who are the same families that also migrated to Wilkes County, N. C. and Floyd/Letcher County, Kentucky. I've included a link below to a an article which gives the ancestry of the Horton family to whom Lee Henry Estep's y-dna profile matches. This family migrated to Ashe County, N. C. which was originally part of Wilkes County, N.C. The link is: http://www.fmoran.com/wilkes/horton.htmlAt this time I have no idea how Henry Estep line came to have the Horton y-dna profile. Samuel Estep could have been from a completely separate line that migrated from England from the same location as the Horton family. But the Estep cousin match connection to a Reems Creek, Buncombe County, N. C. Davis family descended from Nathaniel Horton would seem to discount that possibility because that match is in 5th cousin range, thus long after the time of migration.If someone can come up with a paternal line Estep surname PROVEN descendant from Jacob Estep, the brother of Henry Estep, I would be willing to pay for the y-dna test to see if the profiles match. I already know that we have family finder cousin matches to the same families who were related to Jacob Estep in Wilkes County, N. C. and who migrated with them. Thanks, Ron Thompson"[If you can add more to this, please contact Nova Lemons or Ron Thompson. At this time I am unable to attach the files Ron sent me so if you are interested in seeing them, please contact Mr. Thompson. Contact him if you would also like to see the Larry Estep profile mentioned in the 30 Oct 2009 message.]
ESTEP DNA COMMENTS
