One Last Morsel of Research

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take one more look before leaving town.

Conference attendees of the International Black Genealogy Summit took advantage of the extended Sunday hours (8 a.m - 5 p.m.) of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Room. I squeezed in a few moments to gather one last morsel of research at the library prior to leaving for the airport. My research focus was on Allen Pair (abt. 1843-aft. 1915), who was a slave in Greensville County, Virginia. By 1880, he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas. (I will discuss my research findings later).

I was not alone in taking advantage of the Sunday hours of the library before leaving the city of Fort Wayne. The ladies in these photos (Cristal, Janis, and Angela) also took advantage of the extended hours and we had lots of fun taking photos with our cell phone cameras and exchanging genealogy busines cards. As you can see from the piles of books on the table and cart, there were quite a few resources at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Room.

Thanks to the staff of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Room for all of your hospitality and assistance.

Tombstone Tuesday - Just Sleeping

On Sunday, July 19, 2009, I visited the Pleasant Shade cemetery in Hampton, VA for several reasons. One was to visit the grave of a relative who had been buried on July 11th. The second reason was to locate the grave sites of sevearal Pair family members, who are believed to be distant cousins of my father's family. After the burial I attended on July 11th, several family members informed me that they noticed the tombstones of some Pairs in this cemetery. I did not see these tombstones, however, through obituary research, I know that members of the Pair family are buried in this cemetery.

Near the grave site I was visiting on Sunday, was this interesting grave marker of Joy E. Jackson, (February 17, 1958 - June 23, 2001.) I do not believe that Joy is a family member, however, her epitaph "Just Sleeping" caught my attention which is the reason I took this photo. Since it was extremely hot during my cemetery visit, I did not stay there long enough to look at similar or other grave markers.

I plan to visit this cemetery again soon during a cooler time.

Brick Wall Knocked Down Through DNA Testing

I am pleased to announce that DNA test results have confirmed a paternal relationship between the descendants of Arthur “Ardie” Pair (1864-1929) and Mabry Pair (1858-bef. 1900), both who lived in Greensville County, VA. My reason for testing the Y-chromosome or paternal DNA of these two families is that the documents (two marriage licenses and death certificate) found on my great grandfather Ardie did not name his parents. However, I determined the name of Ardie and Mabry’s mother through several research methods.

1. Marriage License. Locating Mabry’s 1879 marriage license which named his parents as “Hal and Rainey.” No surname was listed for the parents on the marriage license.
2. Surname Search. Doing a surname search of PAIR marriage records in Greensville County, VA which revealed that a Rainey Pair married a Joseph Briggs in 1867.
3. Census. Search of the 1870 and 1880 censuses for Rainey Pair Briggs and Joseph Briggs where Ardie and Mabry were found living with their mother and stepfather in 1870.

Since I had not found any documentation on the paternity of my ancestor Ardie, I turned to DNA testing for answers. I wanted DNA test results to prove or disprove a paternal connection between Ardie and Mabry Pair.

In order to test these two lines, I needed to test direct male descendants of these two families. In October 2008, a great grandson of Mabry Pair took a 46-marker DNA test from Ancestry.com DNA . In November 2008, my father, who is a grandson of Ardie Pair took the same type of test. Results for both tests were received in late November with exact matches on all 46 markers. The paternal Haplogroup for these two tests is E3a.

The 46-marker test results mean that these two families share a paternal ancestor within the last six generations or 150 years. I do not know when Hal, the common ancestor in these two families, was born or died; however, I do know that he was a common ancestor within the last five generations of this family.

Further, these matching results also mean that the descendants of Mabry Pair have the same African connection as the descendants of Ardie Pair. In July 2007, one of my father’s brothers took a Y-chromosome test through the African Ancestry DNA Company) The results of this 8-marker test match present living people in three African countries:

1. Balanta people in Guinea-Bissau
2. Yoruba people in Nigeria
3. Akan people in Ghana.

These African Ancestry results mean that the Pair family has genetic African cousins living in these countries and that we share a paternal ancestor who lived thousands of years ago.

Same DNA Haplogroup for Two Family Lines

I recently received E3a Haplogroup results for Y-chromosome DNA tests for two of my family lines. Haplogroup E3a is also known as Haplogroup E1b1a. Both tests were 46-markers and were done through Ancestry.com DNA. The family lines with the matching Haplogroup are the PAIR family of Greensville County, VA and the THORNTON family of Halifax County, NC.

PAIR is the family of my father and paternal grandfather.

• Roy PAIR (1945- )
• Matthew “Mack” PAIR (1897-1987)
• Arthur “Ardie” PAIR (1864-1929)
• Hal PAIR (?-?)

THORNTON is the family of my maternal grandfather Minor Elwood Thornton (1913-1979).

• Minor THORNTON (1893-1966)
• Plummer THORNTON (1857-bef. 1910)
• Robert THORNTON (1815-?)

Although both test results matched the E3a (aka E1b1a) Haplogroup, only 24 out of 46 markers matched between these two family lines. (See matches in Red below)

Robinson Family Cemetery

Photo taken at the funeral of their father Robert Moore in April 1955.

Sitting on front row (left to right,) my grandparents, Matthew and Hattie Moore Pair and Grandma Hattie's brother Washington Moore and his wife Candace.

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The Robinson Family Cemetery is located adjacent to Antioch Baptist Church in the Skippers area of Greensville County, VA. My first visit to this family cemetery was Saturday, May 23, 1987, when my paternal grandfather, Matthew Dennis “Mack” Pair (1897-1987) was buried.

Since my parents were separated much of my life, I did not spend much time as a child getting to know my father’s family. It was around 1986, after discovering that my grandfather lived in Richmond, VA, that I began to take interest in getting to know this side of the family. My sister Doretha moved to Richmond that year and so one day we decided to visit Grandpa Mack who was living with his daughter Liz. Aunt Liz introduced us to her father and we just spoke, but did not engage in a conversation. Grandpa Mack died the next year.

While at the Robinson Family Cemetery on the day of Grandpa Mack’s burial, my father pointed out the grave of his mother, Hattie Moore Pair (1902-1956.) This was the first time I even knew her name. Later, in 1994 after I began family history research, I went back to the cemetery with Grandma Hattie’s youngest brother, Channie. Uncle Channie pointed out additional graves which not only included my grandparents, but some of their children and their spouses, as well as some of the Robinson family members, who were his maternal family. Uncle Channie pointed out an unmarked grave, which he believed to be the grave of his maternal grandfather, Joshua Robinson (1846-1935).

Below is a list of my ROBINSON, MOORE, and PAIR family members buried in the Robinson Family Cemetery.

Burials - Robinson Family Cemetery,
Surname, First Name, Birth Year/Death Year, Relationship

• Green, Amos, Sr., 1921-1974, Husband of Sarah Pair Green
• Johnson Moore, Candis, 1903-1986, Wife of Washington Moore
• Jones Moore, Thelma, 1915-1979, Wife of John Marshall Moore
• Moore Robinson, Alice Virginia, 1926-1991, Daughter of Washington and Candace Moore
• Moore, Charlie Buster, 1911-2004, Son of Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Moore, Dale Bert, 1940-2005, Son of James Jefferson Moore and grandson of Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Moore Pair, Hattie Maude, 1902-1956, My paternal grandmother
• Moore, Robert, abt. 1869-1955, My great grandfather and husband of Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Moore, Samuel Bell, 1917-2003, Son of Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Moore Foster, Sarah Ann, 1906-1995, Daughter of Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Moore, Washington, 1900-1997, Son of Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Pair Green, Lucille, 1923-1983, Daughter of Matthew and Hattie Moore Pair
• Pair, Matthew Dennis, 1897-1987, My paternal grandfather
• Pair Green, Sarah, 1928-2007, Daughter of Matthew and Hattie Moore Pair
• Robinson, Charlie, 1891-1971, Son of Joshua and Ersie Jane Providence Robinson
• Robinson, Joshua, 1846-1935, My great-great grandfather and father of Mary Eliza Robinson Moore
• Robinson Moore, Mary Eliza, abt. 1880-1920, My great grandmother and wife of Robert Moore
• Robinson, Moses, 1893-1979, Son of Joshua and Ersie Jane Providence Robinson