RIGDON Surname Study
I have been hosting a George Surname Study, which is using DNA testing to supplement traditional genealogical research. The results have been very helpful in showing how different groups with the George surname are related - or not related. (See http://home.usaa.net/~dracalpha/GEORGE/George-Reconstruction.htmlhttp://home.usaa.net/~dracalpha/GEORGE/George-Reconstruction.html)
If there is interest, I would be willing to host a similar study for the RIGDON surname, particularly for the RIGDON families in the Southern United States. Because RIGDON is a very rare surname, we could gain a lot from such a study in a relatively short amount of time.
Most of the RIGDON families in the United States are descended from George RIGDON of Baltimore County, Maryland. In the Southern United States, we have at least five to six main family branches, but cannot tie these branches together with fully documented evidence.
Steven Rigdon, George Rigdon's son, b. about 1727, left for the Carolinas in 1769/1770. He appeared to have three sons, Enoch, Francis, and Thomas, who were noted in Lincoln County, NC, and York County, SC, in the late 1700s.
Thomas is the ancestor of the well documented Georgia branch (let's arbitrarily call this Group 1).
Some of the descendents of Francis Rigdon remained in South Carolina. Others are believed to have moved to Alabama, and then to Clarke and Newton County, MS (Group 2- SC, Group 3 - MS).
Enoch had three known sons, John, Martin, and Enoch (Jr.). Martin died in New Orleans in 1826 with no known descendents. Enoch (Jr.) was later noted in Monroe County, AL. All the other members of this branch were killed at Ft. Mims in a Creek uprising in 1813.Enoch's son (or nephew), Jacob Rigdon, lived in Mobile, AL, and moved to Shreveport, LA, about 1860. I am descended from this branch (Group 4).
The William G. Rigdon of Covington County, AL, (1850 census), appears to be the same William Rigdon noted in the Barnwell Distrcit, SC, census of 1810. Probably the son of Ephraim Rigdon. We believe Enoch Rigdon, son of George Rigdon, moved to the Carolinas first. The names of Enoch, Steven, and Ephraim are noted in the North Carolina records of the mid to late 1700s. So far, we have not been able to sort out their exact relationships. William G. Rigdon was probably descended from this group. To complicate matters, an unrelated William Rigdon was noted in Charleston, SC, in 1759, but supposedly moved to Philadelphia. We would probably want to put William G. Rigdon in Group 5, and the families that remained in North Carolina in Group 6.
To be of value, we would need at least one participant each from groups 2-5 (teo each would be better). It would be helpful to have participants from group 1 and 6. Please let me know if there would be an interest in this study. At the minimum, the study would show which groups were actually related (we believe they are - but ...).
Monte George
More Replies:
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
Darren Altom 2/20/10
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
Peter Gilliland 1/03/05
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Doyle Rigdon 3/21/03
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John George 3/21/03
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Doyle Rigdon 3/22/03
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steven rigdon 12/18/04
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
Bobby Rigdon 8/12/03
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John George 8/12/03
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
Shirley McLeod 10/24/04
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study
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Re: RIGDON Surname Study