Disclaimer: Much of the following information was gathered in the early days of my research at a time when I did not always adequately record my sources. Please review this article with a critical eye.
Martin Turpin and
Elizabeth Russell (married 1805 in Knox County, Tennessee) were the progenitors of the East Tennessee Turpins. Elizabeth Russell’s lineage reaches back into ancient times.
Elizabeth’s father was
Andrew Russell, Jr., and Andrew, Jr.’s mother was
Florence Henderson. Florence Henderson’s parents were
John Henderson and
Rose Finley. From this point on back into the lineage, the history becomes very interesting.
Let us here consider the ancestral line of Elizabeth Russell’s great-grandfather, John Henderson.
The story of
John Henderson's ancestry begins with a man named
Adam of biblical fame. Yes, we are talking about the Adam that God made from the dust of the earth--the man whose wife's name was Eve.
Descendants of Adam. The descendants of Adam and Eve are in this order: Seth, Enos, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah.
Descendants of Noah. Prior to the Great Deluge of biblical fame, Noah had a son named Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was one-hundred years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
Descendants of Arphaxad. The descendants of Arphaxad in our proposed family line are in this order: Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor and Terah. After Terah had lived seventy years, he had three sons: Abram (later renamed by God, "Abraham"), Haran and Nahor.
Descendants of Abram. Abram was born in Ur, Chaldea. He married Sarai, a daughter of Haran. The Book of Genesis in the Bible conveys the detailed account of Abram's life, including the record of how Yahweh, the God of Abram and his people, gave Abram his new name: Abraham.
Abraham had a son named Isaac, Isaac had a son named Jacob (also known as Israel), and Jacob had many sons, two of them being Judah and Levi.
Descendants of Jacob. At least three ancestry lines of the Turpin family seem to lead back to Judah (son of Jacob), and at least two proposed lines lead back to Levi. Levi (son of Jacob) had a daughter named Jochebed and a son named Kohath.
Kohath had a son named Amram.
Amram married Jochebed, his aunt--the daughter of Levi. Amram and Jochebed had two sons worthy of note: Moses and Aaron. Our Turpin origins connect to the descendants of Aaron.
Descendants of Aaron. The descendants of Aaron follow in this order: Eleazer, Phinehas, Abishua, Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah, Meraioth, Azariah, Amariah, Ahitub, Zadok, Shallum, Hilkiah and Jeremiah.
Descendants of Jeremiah. Jeremiah had a daughter named Hanutal who married Josiah (son of Amon and Jedidah). Hanutal and Josiah had two sons: Zedekiah and Jehoahaz.
Descendants of Jehoahaz. The descendants of Jehoahaz (son of Josiah and Hanutal) follow in this order: Salethiel, Zorobabel, Rhesa, Joanna, Juda, Joseph, Semei, Mattathias, Maath, Nagge, Esli, Naum, Amos, Mattathias, Joseph, Janna (daughter), Melchi, Levi and Mattan.
Some undocumented source in my files states that Mattan, son of Levi, was born about 58 B.C. in Jerusalem and died before 1 B.C. in Nazareth, Galilee. Mattan was the father of the man of biblical fame known as Joseph of Arimathea.
Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph of Arimathea, son of Mattan, was born about 38 B.C. in Bethlehem, Judea and reportedly died 82 A.D. in Glastonbury, Wales.
[Information related to the Joseph of Arimathea connection can be studied on the Early British Kingdoms Home Page (http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com). I have chosen to include the Joseph of Arimathea connection in this family tree seeing that many Russell family researchers deem his association with this line as credible.]
Descendants of Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph of Arimathea had a daughter named Anna.
Anna, daughter of Joseph of Arimathea, by some reports married Manogan, the son of Capoir, a Celtic. By the same account, they had a daughter named Penardim who married Lear (Llyr), son of Baran. Lear and Penardim had a son who became known as Bran "The Blessed".
(An alternate proposal is that Anna actually married Bran and that he became known as Bran “The Blessed” after receiving the blessing of his father-in-law, Joseph of Arimathea.)
Bran was a man of legendary stature. In fact, great care must be taken to separate fact from legend or fiction when studying his life. The Encyclopedia Americana reports the following regarding Bran "The Blessed":
"...A legendary king of Britain. He was the owner of a cauldron that reputedly could restore the dead to life, though without power of speech. An omnipotent god, who eventually sacrificed himself for his people, Bran is described as being of enormous size and strength; he could wade across the Irish Sea, his body was as large as a mountain, and his eyes were like two lakes. Forced into battle with Matholwch, King of Ireland, he was wounded in the foot by a poisoned arrow. Bran then ordered that Matholwch's head be cut off and carried to London, where it was to be buried as a talisman to preserve the land against invaders."
Possibly Bran was an actual historical figure whose story was later enhanced with such legends. Some report that the cauldron was actually the "holy grail" passed down to him from Joseph of Arimathea.
Descendants of Bran "The Blessed." The descendants of Bran "The Blessed" follow in this order: Caradoc Caractacus, Cyllin (also written Seal) the Britain, Coel (also written Coilus), Lucius, Cadwaller (also written Cadvan), and Friege Frea (daughter).
With inadequate documentation of my source, my records show that Friege married Woden, son of Frithuwald (a descendant of Memnon), about 236 A.D. Woden and Friege had a son named Skjold Odinsson.
Descendants of Skjold Odinsson. Skjold Odinsson (meaning "son of Odin" or "son of Woden") was born about 237 in Hleithra, Denmark. He married Gefion about 258.
(As a note of interest, legend says that Gefion also had relations with a giant by whom she gave birth to four oxen.)
The descendants of Skjold Odinsson and Gefion follow in this order: Fridleif Skjoldsson, Frodi Fridleifsson, Fridleif Frodasson, Haver Fridleifsson, Frodi Havarsson, Vermund Frodasson and Olaf "The Mild" Vermundsson, Dan "The Proud" Olafsson, Frodi "The Peaceful" Dansson, Fridleif Frodasson, Frodi "The Valient" Fridleifsson, Halfdan Frodasson, Helgi Halfdansson, and Yrsa Helgi (daughter).
Yrsa Helgi (daugher of Helgi Halfdansson) married Adils Ottarsson (son of Ottar Egilsson--a descendant of Njord), about 593. Adils and Yrsa had a son named Eystein Adilsson.
Descendants of Eystein Adilsson. Eystein Adilsson was born about 594 in Sweden. His descendants, in this order, were Ingvar Eysteinsson, Braut-Onund Ingvarsson, Ingjald Braut-Onundsson, Olaf Ingjaldsson, Halfdan Olafsson.
According to one source (with inadequate documentation), Halfdan Olafsson was born in 725 in Romerike, Norway. He married Asa Eysteinsson, daughter of Eystein Haardaade and Solveig Halfdansson, about 745. They had two children:
Eysteinn I "Fretr" Glumru Halfdansson and
Gudrod Halfdansson.
The descendants of
Gudrod Halfdansson, in this order, were Olaf, Rognvald and Aseda who married Eystein (Glumra) -- Eysteinn I Glumru Halfdansson's great-grandson.
The other son of Halfdan,
Eysteinn I "Fretr" Glumru Halfdansson, was born about 746 and had
a son named Halfdan II "Milldi" Eysteinsson.
Halfdan II "Milldi" Eysteinsson was born about 767 in West Scandinavia. He had a son named Ivar Halfdansson, and Ivar had a son named Eystein (Gumra) Ivarsson.
Descendants of Eystein (Gumra) Ivarsson. Eystein (Gumra) Ivarsson was born about 810 in Maer, Norway. He married Aseda Rognvaldsson, daughter of Rognvald Olafsson and great-grand-daughter of Gudrod, about 831. Their children were Sigurd Eysteinsson and Rognvald I "The Wise" Eysteinsson.
Rognvald I "The Wise" Eysteinsson had at least three children: Sigurd the Stout, Turf Einer and Thorfinn. Turf Einer was Earl of Orkney and taught the Orkney people and neighboring islanders the use of burning peat for fuel. Thorfinn was also an Earl of Orkney. Rognvald I died in 890 in Orkney, Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Sigurd the Stout. Sigurd the Stout (son of Rognvald I "The Wise" Eysteinsson) held a great part both in war and in diplomacy. He was killed in the great battle of Clonfarf in Ireland. This battle was fought in 1014 and stands in the Irish histories as the crisis that saw the destruction of the Norse power in Ireland and the restoration of Celtic rule.
As the Earl, Sigurd the Stout was asked to join the confederacy of the Norse against Brian Boroomk, the leader of the Celtic party, but he stipulated as a condition that if the party he joined were victorious he should be king of Ireland, and have for wife the renowned Gormflaith, the Messalina of her day, who divorced from Brian, her third husband, was the inspiring spirit of the confederacy against him, and we are told that in promise both conditions were conceded.
Sigurd was reputed to have lived a charmed life invulnerable to weapons. Due to a magical banner, he supposedly bore an additional guarantee for immunity. He was killed in the contest.
He left several sons, but one of them, Thorfin (or Thornfinn), inherited Caithness, most northern part of Scotland, and other districts of the mainland, because of the fact that his mother was a daughter of King Malcolm of Scots.
Despite the fact that he had so liberal a share of estate he fought with his brothers for a share in the Earldom of the islands.
Descendants of Sigurd the Stout. Sigurd the Stout married Ingebiorg, daughter of Eriend (son of Thora, son of Sumarlidi Oepakson, son of Oepak). The descendants of Sigurd the Stout and Ingebiorg follow in this order: Thornfinn, Gunhold, and Snaekoll Gunnison. In light of Lucy Henderson Horton's research, there may be additional generations between these three three names (See Lucy Henderson Horton's
Family History Compiled by Lucy Henderson Horton, Madison, Wisconsin: Press of the News, 1922, page 202.).
Snaekoll Gunnison. Snaekoll Gunnison lived in 1232 having fled then to Kilben Hougas Castle on the Island of Wier after slaying Earl Johnson, of Harald Maddason, the last of the Norwegian Earls of Orkney. Snaekoll Gunnison is regarded as the first Gunn. He had a son whose name we do not know.
Snaekoll's son had a son whose name was James DeGunn.
Descendants of James DeGunn. James' descendants, in this order, were Ingram DeGunn, Sir Donald Gunn, Sir James Gunn (of Ulster), George Gunn ("The Crowner"), Henry, and Robert Henderson, the first of the Hendersons.
Descendants of Robert Henderson. Robert Henderson was born about 1430. He married a woman named Janet. Robert Henderson was a well known poet of Scotland. He was the schoolmaster of Dunfernline, Fifeshire, Scotland. Robert Henderson died after 1486 in Inverkeithing.
The descendants of Robert and Janet follow in this order: James Henderson (1st of Fordell), George Henderson (2nd of Fordell), William Henderson, James Henderson (3rd of Fordell), Sir John Henderson (4th of Fordell), Sir John Henderson (5th of Fordell), Sir John Henderson, and Gentleman John Henderson.
Gentleman John Henderson. Gentleman John Henderson was born in 1650 in Fifeshire, Scotland. He married Margaret Hamilton, daughter of Sir John Hamilton. On July 15, 1664 it was noted that Gentleman John Henderson was Baron of Nova Scotia. Gentleman John Henderson and Margaret had a son named William Henderson of Fordell.
William Henderson of Fordell. William Henderson of Fordell was born April 30, 1676 in Fifeshire, Scotland. He married Margaret Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce, a descendant of Robert de Bruce, on February 7, 1704. William and Margaret had at least three children: John, Samuel and James. William Henderson of Fordell died August 1, 1737 in Virginia.
John Henderson. John Henderson (son of William Henderson) was born February 9, 1705/06 in Northern Ireland. He married Rose Finley (daughter of John Findley and Thankful Doak) on June 23, 1738. They had at least three children: Florence, Mary and John. John and Rose left Scotland and came to Virginia in 1740. John, Sr. was an ensign in the Augusta Militia in the French and Indian War, and in 1758 received fourteen shillings pay. He died May 1, 1766 in Augusta County, Virginia.
Florence Henderson. Florence Henderson was born 1718. She married Andrew Russell in Beverly Manor. Andrew Russell and Florence Henderson had a son named Andrew Russell, Jr.
Andrew Russell, Jr. Andrew Russell, Jr. had a daughter named
Elizabeth Russell—the mother of the East Tennessee Turpins.
[Sources: Encyclopedia Americana, (Grolier Incorporated: Danbury, Connecticut, 1986), vol. 4, p. 437; Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine (April 1937), 360-3611; Broderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #0620, Date of Import: Oct 10, 1997; Judy Dill (dmerlin@wesnet.com); Broderbund WFT Vol. 2, Ed. 1, Tree #3702, Date of Import: Oct 10, 1997; Mary McPherson; and others]
