Beard and Jennings: More Interconnected Than I Thought

I spent a lot of time last year researching the descendants of my three times great grandfather, John William Jennings, Sr.'s children. But I had never gone one generation further back to the children of my four times great grandfather and American patriot, Benjamin Jennings[1] until recently.

I was working on the descendants of Benjamin's daughter, Elizabeth Jennings when I discovered my tree was more interconnected than I thought. Elizabeth's birth date is unknown, but she was born in Powhatan County, Virginia, likely well before 1800. She married Benjamin Waldron, who may have been her second husband. They had at least three children.

Elizabeth's great great grandson, Howard Preston Waldron, was my fourth cousin once removed. He was born in 1910 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and married Frances Dorothy Beard in 1937. That got my attention.

One of my great grandmothers was Effie Beard. Both Frances and Effie were from Bedford County, Virginia. I suspected they were related.

Known intermarriages between my Beard line from Bedford County and
my Jennings line from Amherst County

It turns out that Effie and Frances Dorothy Beard were first cousins twice removed. I am Frances Dorothy Beard's third cousin once removed and a fourth cousin once removed of her husband, Howard Preston Waldron.

Are you confused yet?

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[1]DAR Ancestor No. A062263