I often run across some of the most unusual names while researching either my own family or a client’s. I have to say, though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set of children named so “uniquely”.
They were all kin, as in related (brothers), but were also all “Kin___”. It reminded me of the Newhart television series shtick: “Hi, I’m Larry, and this is my brother, Darryl, and my other brother, Darryl.”
For this particular family the shtick might have gone something like this: “Hi, I’m Kin, and this is my other brother, Kin, and my other brother, Kin, and my other brother, Kin, and my other brother, Kin.” Perhaps I should explain – it’s a bit of an “adventure” so be patient.
I had been recently researching a DNA match I came across at MyHeritage. While I didn’t originally test through MyHeritage, I had taken my raw DNA (through Ancestry.com) and uploaded it to MyHeritage to see the matches which might might pop up. I had done the same thing by uploading my DNA to FamilyTreeDNA. In the DNA world, as the saying goes, the more ponds you can fish in the better.
It seems the majority of my matches are 3rd to 5th cousins (or even more distant), although occasionally a second cousin match will pop up. Honestly, right now I’m looking for 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins matches – anything farther out would take too much time and effort. Thus, I often just glance at the “3rd to 5th Cousin” matches. However, I had received a 1st cousin once removed match and was curious to see who it was. I recognized the name, although I don’t believe I’ve ever met him in person.
I started scrolling through some recent matches (most were 3rd to 5th cousins). I kept scrolling until one somewhat startling match jarred my memory a bit. In preparation for watching the new season of Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., I had recently been watching some old episodes. I had made a mental note of it at the time, but hadn’t followed up (and, of course, forgot about it!).
This particular 2017 episode featured the ancestry of Phillip Calvin McGraw, aka Dr. Phil. His grandmother’s surname was Strickland. I have three Strickland lines in my family – two from my father’s side (different branches) and one from my mother’s side, although the name is “Stricklin” which I believe may be a spelling variation. What jarred my memory was the MyHeritage match of someone named “Phillip McGraw” in his 60’s (Dr. Phil was 68 at the time) and his tree was private. Hmm.
So, I started looking around to see if I could find Dr. Phil’s tree. I discovered a portion of it on someone else’s tree. The last Strickland on this particular tree was Matthew Payton Strickland, born in Pickens County, Alabama. I discovered his father’s name was Kinyard and kept searching back until I came to Abel Strickland and his wife Nancy, parents of at least five male children, who were named thusly:
● Kindred (1788)
● Kinsburd (or Kinsbird) (1790)
● Kinsmon (1792)
● Kinnel (or Kinuel) (ca. 1793)
● Kinyard (ca. 1795)
Along the way I discovered another “Kin” – Kinchen Strickland. There must be a story about these about all the “Kin” Strickland names, but this Strickland kin hasn’t uncovered it as of yet.
I’ve run across more than a few “curious kin” over the years. Stay tuned for more in this series.
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