So, are we actually Smiths instead of Simpsons?
Was George Simpson actually George Smith prior to 1908? It seems reasonable to believe that his name was really George Smith and he was really from Tennessee, although nothing is yet certain. Our working premise is that he had no reason to lie about his family or origins when he first enlisted in 1904, and if so his identification of his father as G.W. Smith of Estill Springs, Tennessee is likely valid information. It is possible, of course, that some or all of that information was itself fraudulent (for reasons yet unknown), but we must assume for present purposes that it is more likely accurate.
Research into the Smiths of Franklin County reveals that there were several different family groups with likely connections. Our present course of inquiry is to try to identify lost or missing Smith sons of the right age and era, and to try to confirm links using DNA analysis. This will involve trying to locate living male descendants of different Smiths who lived in the area at that time.
There are a few other clues.
It is known from the newspaper account that George returned to Tennessee in 1912. The reason for his visit is unknown, and it may be the only time or the last time that he went there.
Also, some family members recall that, as a girl, one of George’s daughters, Myrtle Ruth (Simpson) King, would correspond with a cousin in Bean’s Creek, Tennessee. The name of the cousin and the means by which they connected is unknown, but it is accepted as fact that letters were exchanged. None of the letters that Ruth received remain, but there is a chance that some family in Tennessee has retained copies of letters from their Simpson cousin in Texas.
Frank Simpson recalled that, when he was a boy, the family was visited by a woman who claimed to be George’s sister. He remembered that she was a nurse, and she arrived in a “flivver”. She took him for a ride in her car, and it made quite an impression. George told her that he had no family in Tennessee, and when she left they never saw her again. That would have been around 1924.
And yet, there is pesky DNA…
In early 2014, Clarence Simpson and Cliff Simpson began experimenting with the new class of DNA testing that promised potential breakthroughs in genetic genealogy. As they discovered, the field (and the companies offering tests) was evolving quickly, and new products were emerging every month. Several years earlier, Clarence had purchased a simple yDNA test kit from Ancestry.com, which had been completed and returned by Roy Simpson (George’s youngest son, since deceased). Clarence was the administrator of the Roy Simpson DNA kit, which had as yet revealed no clues about Simpson ancestors.
In 2014, Cliff Simpson submitted a yDNA test through Family Tree DNA, a firm specializing in genetic genealogy. The yDNA test analyzes DNA content solely through the Y chromosome, so it follows exclusively the line of patrilineal succession. If there were other descendants from the same paternal lines of George Simpson, they might show up as a match.
The yDNA test results did not prove conclusive. In fact, the closest matches for Simpson ancestors were no closer than a broad segment of the population descended from the British Isles. There were, however, a few matches that were closer than what one would expect from a random selection – and all three of the closest matches shared the surname Smith. Further analysis and research proved unable to find a likely family connection, or any connection between the names Smith and Simpson.
But…the DNA…
As we continue the search, via Ancestry.com, several “cousins” have emerged with rather close connections in DNA. And they all have links to Tennessee, to Smiths and Simpsons. We’ve essentially created a giant tree that may someday encompass all the Smiths/Simpsons in Tennessee. But someday we hope a connection will come through about a George, who moved to Texas as a Smith, and came back a Simpson. Or, vice versa.
Martha Sydow Maze, Mary Christopher Simpson, George W. Simpson, Evelyn Simpson Schmid, Emma Sydow Simpson, Myrtle Ruth Simpson King, Elizabeth Schmidt Simpson. Left to right, Front row: Clarence C. Simpson, Roy E. Simpson, Frank P. Simpson.
