An American Strain
The History and Stories of My Family and Ancestors
By James Allen Strain, D. M. A.
Copyright © 2004 - 2005. All rights reserved on all pages of this website, including texts and graphic images. Feel free to link to my homepage, and of course, please ask my permission to quote, copy, or print anything you find here.
I began this website on Christmas Eve, 2004. I'm certain it will take a long time to add all of the information that I have collected as documentary evidence. Each of the links below should take you to a surname found in my Ancestral Tree. Not all surnames are identified here, just the most prominent. I'll gladly share factual information, sources, and conjecture on any of the lines mentioned on my pages. If you don't see the information here that you might be interested in reading about, please email me or write, and I'll do my best to reply. If you see any errors, please let me know, also!
SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR MORE FAMILY LINKS!!
My Family Tree
beginning with my
If you see a name on any of my family tree pages with no link, then I've just not had time to post my information. Most wives directly link to their respective husband's page.
My personal interest in genealogy and the history of my family began while I was in college and visiting my grandmother, Virgie Mae Edwards Strain. By chance, or design perhaps, she gave me a folder that my grandfather had written; telling me that she thought I would be interested in reading what he wrote. It contained about 50 pages of memoirs of his life, including details of his military service in the "Great War" and his extensive teaching career. It also documented his personal life as both a child, teenager, and young adult, with stories about his father, mother, stepmother, and grandparents. I have been hooked for about 30 years now, and continue to search out connections and information regarding who I am, and why.
Another factor that spurred me to continue my research was an old Bible with several people named Strain. It was obvious that they were related to me, but no one in my family knew how. The dates didn't seem to match well enough to be my Great Grandfather, or his father. This Bible, as I later found out, belonged to my GGgrandfather's older sister, and allowed me to discover his origins in Abbeville, SC. Without this Bible, I would never have known more than 4 generations prior to me on my Strain surname.
One of the primary reasons for seeking my roots has always been the lack of any sense of belonging to any culture other than being "An American." Having heard so many people speak of "the old country" when talking of their heritage, I often wondered why I had no "old country" to talk about. Genealogy answered that succinctly for me in that most of my ancestral lines have been here since before the American Revolutionary War. None have been here less than five generations, the last arriving in the 1840s.
As a result of my search for my origins, it's become clear that the "old country" is Colonial America and the United States, and my history lies here, primarily. My "old country" became the pioneer settlements of first Virginia and Pennsylvania, then North and South Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Mississippi, with brief stops in each fledgling colony or state between migrations. My ancestors fought for the independence of this country, built the roads west, and wrote or executed the laws that preserve what we all take for granted. Read on, to see the bricks and mortar that make me, society in the United States, and probably you also, who we are today.
STRAIN FAMILY (PA/VA, Abbeville SC, OH, MS, FL/TX)
MIZELL FAMILY (Jamestown, VA, NC, KY, IN, MO, AR, MS)
EDWARDS FAMILY (SC, AL, MS)
ALLEN FAMILY (PA, VA, TN, AL, MS, TX)
DORR FAMILY (MS)
WORTHINGTON-CRAWFORD-ROBINSON (Pilgrim connection, MA, PA, MS)
DUNN FAMILY (Quakers, Revolutionary War Colonel, NC, GA, AL, MS)
CONLY FAMILY (SC, AL, TN, MS, TX)
WELLS FAMILY (Revolutionary War Drummer, SC)
HAYNSWORTH FAMILY (Pury Expedition, SC)
CALDWELL FAMILY (NC, SC)
WILSON FAMILY (SC)
THANK YOU <<<Click here to see all the people who have so graciously helped me gather information. Although this research is mine, I would never have known where to start, or connected many of the lost "dots" without the aid from so many generous people.
SOURCES <<<Click here to see the best sources I have found to begin a study on each of my surnames.