Three Women Named Ann Isham

Who was Ann Isham?

This past weekend I was searching for information about the Brewer family. I am a descendant of the Brewers on both my mother and my father's side. I have acknowledged the connection but have not spent a great deal of time researching the family. For some reason this weekend I was drawn to the Brewers. 

William Brewer, my 5 times great grandfather, was born in Brunswick County, Virginia in 1752. This man did not stay in Virginia. He went to North Carolina where he married his wife Phanah Risdin. (Although this weekend I found some indications that her last name was actually Roysdon) 

Right now I believe that Phanah was the daughter of William John Roysdon of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. When I discovered she was probably born not far from where I live today, I was like a dog with a bone. I wanted more. 

Phanah's mother was Ann Goad. Phannah's grandmother was Ann Isham. 

Sometimes I look at the family trees on Ancestry that include one of my ancestors, looking for research. So, I started there. Almost all the trees that included Ann Isham as Phanah's grandmother had information that her father was Henry Isham. Henry had two daughters; Ann and Mary. Mary married into the Randolph family. The descendants of Mary Randolph include Thomas Jefferson and John Kennedy. This would mean that Henry was the grandfather of some important men. Everywhere I looked I was lead to this man as the father of Ann Isham, until I came across a narrative that stated Henry's daughter Ann married an Epes.... 

Turns out Henry Isham was not the father of Ann Isham that was the grandmother of Phanah. I was disappointed but continued to search. 

Then I came across a webpage that had Ann Isham, daughter of Henry Isham, married to William Arthur Smith. William was Cuthbert's father. Cuthbert's daughter married John Neal, my 5 times great grandfather. Sure enough, I have Ann Isham as Cuthbert's mother on my family tree. I was happy to see that I do not have parents of this Ann Isham on my tree.

I looked again at other family trees on Ancestry. Sure enough, numerous people have this Ann Isham as Henry Isham's daughter. Nope, not possible. 

When the locations of these women is looked at, they lived in very different parts of the state of Virginia.

What did I learn from this experience? Don't make the leap until you have proof! Sadly, I know this very well but this weekend I allowed myself to be lead a stray. It happens to all family historians at some point. 

With this reminder fresh in my mind, I am researching again. I think I want to know more about Phanah's family...

Thanks for stopping by!

Pattie