Elemuel B. Cliburn

This family's genetic ancestor remains a mystery at this point. On paper, Elemuel - or Lemuel as he is listed in about half the records - initially appears to be the son of William Clyburn and Christina Croy of Giles County, VA. However, DNA analysis reveals this to be incorrect. Descendants of Elemuel B. Cliburn have 13 genetic deviations within the first 37 Y-DNA markers when compared to the Westmorland Family Modal sample. This places their Most Recent Common Ancestor between 50 and 52 generations ago.

By the 1860 census Lemuel is listed as Lemuel Clybern. What had since been discovered is that on the 1850 Giles County Census everyone is living in the house of William Clyburn. The census records show Christina Croy, Lemuel Croy, and Sarah Croy. In the 1840 Giles County Census, Christina Croy is living as the head of her own household with her two kids.

Initially I had thought that Christina was a widow, but I cannot find any marriages in any of the surrounding area that fit this idea. Furthermore, I compared the Y-DNA sample against known Croy samples and they do not match either. This effectively eliminates any possibility that Lemuel was the son of an unknowm Croy.

I have also not been able to locate any birth records for Lemuel or his sister Sarah, so there's no birth certificate to reference with the father's name on it. Based on this, my current hypothesis is that Christina's children were illegitimate and there may have been a deliberate attempt to not leave any records.

I am currently attempting some more advanced researching using genetic testing results in conjunction with other types of research, but the results are ongoing.