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When I first started learning about my ancestors I had no idea of who they were. My mother had done a lineage of her parents and there ancestors, but the parential side of my family still remained mythical or oral tradition. My grandmother told me that I was a decendant of Rev. Johnathan Edwards the Hell, Fire, and Damnation preacher and I grew up believing that, but little did I know that I was way of base. My Edwards roots start off in Virginia and end in Texas, my grandmother's and her sister's home.
I first became interested in surnames when I was about 15 and wanted to know where the name Jernigan came from. My father told me that it was Danish, but he had no clue of any Jernigan History. I soon began doing some research and came upon a gold mine of lineage. The Jernigan genealogy has been researched by many people that I didn't even know. Most of the people that were from my Grandpa Jernigan's ancestors stayed in North Carolina. Some moved to Tennessee and the other southern states. Thomas Jernigan was one of the first Jernigans to come to America. From what all the other decendants of Thomas say he was the son of Sir Thomas Jernegan and Eleanor Wentworth of Somerlyton, Suffolk Co. Engand. The reason for leaving is unclear, but presumible his father sold the land to the Wentwoth family and now it is held by the Lord and Lady Somerlyton or I forget their name. That Lineage goes back, as documentation, the 11th century, but the maritial line of the Jernegans goes back to Japith, son of Noah, but I don't want to be too optimistic. Hope I can help anyone link up to my tree. It is amazing from the small seed that was planted to the giant tree I have uncovered.
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