Jonathan 'John' Denman Bills

Debbie Gambrell

6/3/2022 at 7:59 PM

I have a DNA match on Ancesty who has these folks in her tree. She has that this John Denman Bills died in Mississippi, not Missouri:

John Denman Bills
B:23 Mar 1791 Surry, North Carolina, United States
D:1 Jan 1867 Tippah, Mississippi, United States

I took note of that because there is a book 'out there' on my Gambrell lines that says my branch disappeared in Summerland, Jones County, Missouri and is the 'lost branch' of the family. We were never lost, because we were never in Missouri. We were and are in Summerland, Jones County, Mississippi. So when I saw that my cousin has Mississippi in her tree but Geni has Missouri...I couldn't help but ask which is actually correct for this family.

Any clarification / correction would be appreciated. Thanks.

Jim Semple, Jr

6/3/2022 at 10:17 PM

This Research commentary was made in 2017 by Alvis Ashley:
John D. Bills & Jonathan D. Bills are not the same person - there is plenty of evidence to clarify that. Whether they are both sons of Daniel & Deborah is another matter (Family Data Collection & Findagrave.com are not very strong sources; no one seems to have located Daniel Gersham Bills' will). They are both found in Maury Co TN in 1830; it would be nice if they were on the same page, but they are not (Jonathan p 348, John p 344). Jonathan moved to Missouri, where he died shortly afterwards. John moved to Mississippi, where he lived to age 75. [Alvis Ashley, 14 Sep 2017]

Debbie Gambrell

6/3/2022 at 11:30 PM

Yes, I saw that in the Overview but the fact that her tree and Geni show the exact same dates for them, just different geography is what caught my attention. Even if Daniel and Deborah had sons named John D. AND Jonathan D. Bills that even if they were twins born the same day, it would be unlikely they would also have died the same day. Plus, I've often seen men named Jonathan be called 'John' for short. So, it 'seemed' like the same person just different geography. The tree I'm working with even has the same wife - Susannah Powell. So, I can only conclude that their tree has gotten the two men merged into one, which so often can happen.

In any case, Jim, thanks for responding.

Jonathan 'John' Denman Bills - Geography

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