Searching for Heritage

"I made up the list from my own imagination." - Diana Muir, then known as Diana Hanson, speaking to the FBI in 1983. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time doing genealogical research will probably be aware of the persistent myths which tend to surround many American family histories - Cherokee princesses, undocumented Mayflower passengers, and other vague recollections supposedly passed down through the generations. If you could travel back in time, perhaps you might find small grains of truth here and there, but largely these stories turn out to be unprovable and are generally regarded as extremely unlikely by any serious genealogist or reputable historian. Occasionally, you will come across more fantastical tales of buried treasure and descent from royalty, or even Biblical patriarchs. It isn't uncommon to see hastily thrown together trees on genealogy websites showing relationships which are mathematically or geographically impossible. Because of this, ...

Forefathers of the Southern Weems Families

Research on the history of the surname Weems in the Southern United States will usually lead back to one of three large families who settled in the Carolinas and Tennessee during the mid to late 1700s. Thomas Weems was born around 1704, most likely in Pennsylvania or Maryland. He lived in Augusta County, Virginia from the mid-1740s until he settled in Abbeville, South Carolina around 1767. He had at least six children, and died between 1794 and 1800. One of his sons was also named Thomas, and he had at least two or three grandsons named Thomas. His wife's name was Elinor (or Eleanor) Jacobs. Thomas Scott Weems was born around 1730, and first appeared in Cheraw District, South Carolina around 1774. He had at least eight children, and died between 1800 and 1810. His wife's maiden name was probably Redfearn, and there is a likely connection to the Redfearn family of North Carolina. His presumed descendants moved to Franklin County, Georgia and Perry County, Tennessee. John Weems...

Descendants of the Abbeville Weems Family

In a previous post , I outlined most of the known historical records tracing several seemingly unrelated Weems family lines through Virginia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee during the middle to late 1700s. Although many internet sources have mistakenly combined or confused these separate lines, a close examination of the available records will hopefully clear up any further misunderstanding. These next posts will dive deeper specifically into the family of Thomas Weems and Eleanor Jacobs of Augusta County, VA and later Abbeville, SC. (Note: I have seen Eleanor's first name spelled Eleanor, Ellenor, Elinor, and Ellinore. Variations of her last name include Jacobs, Jacoby, Jacobse, and Jacob. I tend to use Eleanor Jacobs for consistency, but to my knowledge there is not necessarily one correct or incorrect spelling. Similarly, the Weems family used the spelling variations Weems, Weams, Weemes, Wims, and several others, all derived from the original Wemyss.) Notably, multiple Y-DNA test...

Weems Family

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Modern Myths of the Weems Family History: Separating Fact from Fiction

Forefathers of the Southern Weems Families

Descendants of the Abbeville Weems Family