(1) Members of our family are seeking to learn the parentage, ancestry, and other facts about James McNelly, who was reportedly born on November 30, 1822 in Jefferson County, Ohio, and died on January 24, 1900 near Gillingham, Wisconsin. (Gillingham is a small town near Richland Center, Richland County, Wisconsin.) James McNelly married Lydia Marshall, in 1843 in Ohio. She was born on a farm on Brush Creek near Irondale, Ohio, on May 27, 1824 and died near Gillingham, Wisconsin, on October 7, 1905. She was the daughter of John Marshall and Elizabeth Gillingham.(2) Dates and geography strongly suggest that there was a relationship between Fannie Milner, a Quaker (born about 1770, died 1845 in Highland Town, Ohio), who was the wife of Thomas Gillingham (born March 1, 1769 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died July 7, 1826 near Irondale, Ohio), and Samantha Milner (born August 12, 1828 in Salineville, Ohio, died June 1, 1911 near Gillingham, Richland Country, Wisconsin), who was successively the wife of Alex Russell, James Criss (born in Pennsylvania), and Harvey Marshall (born on Brush Creek near Irondale, Ohio, July 15, 1826, died 1912, near Gillingham, Richland Country, Wisconsin). (a) Did Fannie Milner and Samantha Milner have a common ancestor? (b) what were the dates and places of Samantha Milner's three marriages?
(3) John Lamborn Marshall (born about 1785 in Washington County Pennsylvania, died June 21, 1875) asserted that he was related to John Marshall (1755-1835), the chief justice of the U. S. supreme court. Is there any truth his statement?
(4) It has been said that we are descended from or related to John Hart (1711-1779) of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. However, according to the "Hart Family History: Silas Hart, His Ancestors and Descendants" by William Lincoln Hart (Alliance Ohio, 1942), which lists Theodore McNelly on page on p. 163, the Harts who are descended from Deacon Stephen Hart (1605-1682) are not related to the Harts to which John Hart, the signer, belonged (page 13). Is our immediate branch of the McNelly family related to the family of John Hart, signer of the Declaration of Indendence as well as to the family of Deacon Stephen Hart?
(5) Was Zona Gale, the famous authoress born in Wisconsin, related to the Gales of Galesburg, Ill. (i. e., the family of George Washington Gale, a founder of Galesburg)?
(6) What is ancestry of H.F.McNelly, attorney at law in Muscoda Wisconsin, born in Richland Co. Wisc. in 1854, son of Henry McNelly, M.D. of Muscoda. This individual is mentioned in C. W. Butterfield, "History of Grant County, Wisconsin" (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1881)p. 967.
(7) In addition to the above mentioned book by William Lincoln Hart on the descendants of Deacon Stephen Hart, there is also the book by Alfred Andrews on the same topic. See http://www.ultranet.com/%7Eharts/family/andrews/index.shtml. The book by William Elmer Gillingham, "The Descendants of Thomas Gillingham," has also been extremely helpful in my research. (I use "WEG" as an abbreviation for this volume.)
(8) It has been rumored that the actress, Jean Seberg (1938-1979) was related to the Gales of Galesburg, Illinois. What are the facts about this?
(9) My ancestral family tree and that of my wife, Myra Koehler McNelly, are contained in the CD ROM World Family Tree Vol. 25.
(10)I am a newcomer to genealogy and would deeply appreciate any enlightenment on the above questions and would be happy to share genealogical information with those who kindly help us with our research.
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