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Myths, Mysteries & Mistakes in Rainwater genealogy research

The purpose of this page is to debunk the many hand-me-down stories and fictions about the Rainwater family that have accumulated over the years. It bears saying that where I refer to proof, I am speaking of a primary source document - a will, census record, tombstone, marriage record, family Bible and so on. "So-and-so told me", or "it's in the LDS" (or any other online database), does not constitute proof for the purposes of this page.

General Rainwater Myths and Mistakes
Myths and Mistakes about the early Virginia & Carolina Rainwaters
Myths and Mistakes about the Alabama Rainwaters
Myths and Mistakes about the Arkansas Rainwaters
Myths and Mistakes about the Georgia Rainwaters
Myths and Mistakes about the Kentucky Rainwaters Myths and Mistakes about the Tennessee Rainwaters Myths and Mistakes about the Washington Rainwaters

The Myth: My Rainwater ancestor was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian

There is a great romantic attachment to the notion that the Rainwaters are a family of Native American origin that is not borne out by the available facts.

In order to make the claim that someone was "full-blooded" all of their ancestors on both sides must also be Cherokee. Since Mary Fussell was provably English, no one claiming descent from this family can make the concurrent claim that they were "full-blooded".

The common supposition is that the Rainwaters derive from the Cherokee, one of the five native American groups in the southeast during the period when the Rainwaters lived in the Carolinas (see map). However, this seems to overlook the rather obvious problem of race relations. I have heard people claim that racial differences didn't mean much to the colonists, that they freely married the natives. What they really mean is that the men occasionally took an indian wife. You won't find many cases of a man marrying his daughter off to a Cherokee male, but if the name Rainwater is from the Cherokee, that's exactly what would have happened. (The exact parallel of this situation is found in the south's many miscegenation laws - which were used to prevent white women from marrying free black men, but never used to prosecute white men who routinely raped their female black slaves). To put it another way, if the relations between the whites and natives were so swell, why did the settlers petition the government to drive the Cherokees west?

I have seen assertions made (specifically on Genforum) that there are Rainwaters listed in the Dawes Rolls and the Guion Miller Rolls. Not, at least, in the copies I have looked at. All 15 Rainwaters who applied to the Dawes Commission were rejected (see Native American Evidence). 12 of the 15 applied as Choctaws, not Cherokees.

The Siler Rolls and Chapman Rolls are available online. Additional information is available in many public libraries in Jerry Wright Jordan's eight volume set, "Cherokee By Blood". This series of books documents the thousands of individuals applied to the government claiming to be wholly or partially Cherokee. Only five are Rainwaters and of those, only one makes the claim that his Cherokee blood is from his Rainwater ancestor. The remainder claim Cherokee descent through the Sizemore family. All of these Rainwater applications were denied for lack of evidence. Jordan points out that quite a few of these spurious applicants were merely after the money they believed they could get from the government. This is still true today. The Tunica-Biloxi tribe recently closed its membership rolls after its successful casino operations caused to membership rolls to swell with questionable members, diverting the casino's profits from those who actually needed them.

A University of Michigan website also makes the following point regarding individuals fradulently accepted on the Dawes Roll:

"To get on the Dawes Rolls, Native Americans had to anglicize their names. Rolling Thunder thus became Ron Thomas and so forth. This bit of "melting pot" chicanery allowed agents of the government, sent to the frontier to administer the Act, to slip the names of their relatives and friends onto the Dawes Rolls and thus reap millions of acres of land for their friends and cronys."

Two other notions assert themselves when the claim of Native American ancestry is being proffered. The main one is that "Grandma told me we were Cherokees and she wouldn't have lied.". This overlooks the obvious possibility that she might have been sincerely mistaken. The other is that having a photo of an ancestor in "traditional indian dress" means he or she was an indian. If you have such a photo, take the time to seek out someone at a university or museum who can validate the authenticity of the clothing. There were a number of turn of the century fraternal organizations with names like The Improved Order of Red Men whose members regularly dressed in silly costumes1 and paraded around town. You wouldn't want to claim Native American ancestry on the basis of such a photo only to discover that your ancestor merely marched in the Mummer's Day Parade!

It's frequently claimed that one's Native ancestry is supportable by the fact that some ancestor "looks dark" or "looks indian" 2 in a 19th century photograph or tintype that has been passed down in the family. I have a great many dark tintypes myself - dark because of age, or poor fixing, or the circumstances under which they were stored. Many of these individuals look non-white or at least odd, but this is largely because of the hairstyles and the length of time that a person had to sit still for a photo to be made.

I continue to be surprised by how many people cannot distinguish between "looking indian" and simply looking elderly. Having a great many wrinkles does not a Native American make.

If you take the time to examine photos of genuine Native Americans taken in the same time frame, the differences between dark, odd photos and the real thing becomes apparent. Moreover, a surprising number of the War of 1812 and Civil War discharge papers describe the Rainwater men as fair with light hair and blue-eyed - not characteristic of Native American lineage.

Recently, I've been seeing an increasing number of folks claiming that the proof of their ancestor's indian origins can be found in an odd name. I'm not speaking of names like Little Running Deer or some such, but simply old names that sound odd and have fallen out of favor. Examples of this include Karenhappuch (Biblical, from the Book of Job), Didama (variant of the Greek word diadem, meaning crown), Donamency (First and middle name run together - Dona is the Italian and Spanish spelling of the name we generally render as Donna and is a truncation of Madonna). This is just silly. Having an odd sounding name no more proves that you're an indian than being named Ivan proves you're Russian.

Finally, there are a handful of cases of Rainwater men marrying individuals of full or partial Native American ancestry. While the descendants of these few marriages can claim to be part indian, this has no bearing on whether the Rainwaters as a whole are Native American or whether the name is of Native American origins.

To date, I have found only a few traces of confirmable Native Americans who used the name Rainwater. These are detailed on the Native American Evidence page.

Tony Frudakis, the research director at DNAPrint, said the three-year-old company has coined the term American Indian Princess Syndrome to describe the insistent pursuit of Indian roots among many newly minted genetic genealogists. If the tests fail to turn up any, Mr. Frudakis added, "this type of customer is frequently quite angry." 3

1 I made this same remark on Genforum and was quickly scolded by an individual who had decided that "silly costumes" was a racial slur. Middle aged white bankers, shopkeepers and farmers pretending to be indians cannot be characterized as anything other than silly. If you're still having trouble with this one, picture Fred Flintstone in the Ancient Order of Water Buffalos costume, and maybe you'll get the idea.

2 Melungeon researcher James S. Elder points out that the same insupportable assertion is made regarding Melungeon ancestry.

3 Seeking Ancestry in DNA Ties Uncovered by Tests, Amy Harmon, New York Times, 12 Apr 2006

The Myth: The Webber Genealogy is a definitive reference for the Rainwater family

Don Webber's 1981 "The Genealogy of the Rainwater Family" is a nice family book and contains some good clues that may help researchers with some branches of the Rainwater family. However, should not be used as a definitive source. Webber does not include any sort of reference list, does not supply any original documents, does not indicate where he found his information and does not differentiate between conjecture and fact. The first page of the book indicates that he sent letters to people named Rainwater across the country asking what they knew of their family and simply compiled the responses. It's simply not definitive, and perpetuates some well documented errors. [247]

The Myth: It has been proven that Robert Rainwater (ca 1669-after 1706) is the father of John and William

The earliest record anyone has found thus far of a Rainwater in America is the listing of Robert Rainwater among those indentured to John Hurt of Virginia in 1706. This mention, combined with the proximity of Virginia to the North Carolina counties where the Rainwaters eventually settled, have caused many of us to suppose that Robert is the father of John and William Rainwater. The problem here is the word "proven". While it's likely that Robert is the progenitor of the English Rainwater line, it has never been proven. [46], [55], [402]

The Myth: John Rainwater Sr. (ca 1705-1777) was born in Danbury, VA

The problem with this claim is Danbury, Virginia doesn't exist - either as a historic or currently populated place. There is a Danville in Pittsylvania Co., VA and a Danbury in Stokes Co., NC. John might have been born in either of them, but there's no proof one way or the other. For further investigation of this point, check the US Geological Survey's GNIS Map Server.

The Mistake: The will of Thomas Fussell was recorded in Cartee County

The only reason we know John Rainwater married Mary Fussell is that his father-in-law, Thomas Fussell, mentioned his daughter by her married name in his will. As is often the case with these old documents, the handwriting is not wonderful, and the county name is difficult to read. Someone's misreading of this county name has started the tradition that the Fussell family lived in Cartee or Cartec County, North Carolina. One problem - there is no such place and never was. Thomas Fussell's will was recorded in Bertie County. [303]

The Myth: John Rainwater Sr.'s (ca 1705-1777) son William married and had children

A good many individuals claim descent from John's son William, as opposed to John's brother William. The difficulty in making this stick is a 1769 court record in which John declares that his son William is an idiot (that is, mentally retarded) and requests an exemption for him from paying taxes and the other duties that would have been required of an adult male. If William was retarded there is very little chance that he would have married. It has only been in the last 25 years or so that retarded individuals have been permitted to marry. In fact, Helen Keller's biographer (see Dorothy Herrmann's "Helen Keller: A Life") notes that the social norms of earlier times did not even permit marginally physically handicapped individuals to marry. Despite the rosy portrait in the TV series, "Little House on the Prairie", the blind Mary Ingalls did not marry and have children (see Donald Zochert's 1976 biography "Laura"). In the early decades of the 20th century, the retarded were routinely sterilized. While there were doubtless exceptions, it's not safe to assume this is one of them. John Rainwater's will makes special provisions for the care of his retarded son by Mary Fussel Rainwater, John's widow and William's mother. This is not indicitive of an individual expected to marry. Thus, our interpretation is that records contemporary with John that refer to William Rainwater and his wife, Ann, identify John's brother not son. Thanks to Robert Albert for his persistence on this point. [212], [302]

The Myth: William Rainwater, John's theoretical brother, married Ann Gilliam

Traditionally, the wife of William Rainwater is given as Ann Gilliam. In fact, there is a land record that gives her name as Ann, but no documentary evidence to support Gilliam. This Halifax county deed abstract reads: "William Rainwater and his wife Ann of Edge Co. to Nathaniel Merritt of Edge Co., Apr 1751". [218]

The 1790 census of Halifax Co., NC includes one Gilliam Rainwater, who married Nancy Christmas in Warren Co. in 1787. This unusual name is the source of this myth. A number of individuals have assumed that because it is unusual, it must be his mother's surname. While this is certainly possible, it's not provable. Moreover, it assumes that because both men have reside in Halifax County, they are father and son, though there is no other evidence to prove this. [67]

One overlooked possibility is that Gilliam is an anglicized version of Guillume, the French spelling of William.

The Myth: Descent from the children of James Rainwater (ca 1735/38-ca 1805) has been proven

This is a topic all to itself. See The Children of James Rainwater.

The Myth: James Rainwater's (ca 1735/38-ca 1805) wife was Catherine Ann Regan

This is one of those ideas that has been passed around so much that it has taken on the veneer of truth. It also illustrates the problem of generational compression, in which two similarly named individuals get merged into a single, non-existent person.

First, two different James Rainwaters are given as the husband of Catherine Ann Regan. One is James Rainwater (ca 1735/38-ca 1805) the theoretical son of the original John Rainwater (ca 1695/1705 - 1777). The other is James Rainwater (ca 1780-post 1840) whose wife was actually Charity Fowler. Simply based on date evidence, it should be clear that a man born in 1780 cannot be the son of a man who died in 1777.

As for the older James (ca 1735/38-ca 1805), we simply don't know who he married. It's not merely that no documentary evidence exists, there's not even an old family story, and because he lived in pre-1868 North Carolina, no marriage records.

Robert Albert, editor of The Rainwater Researcher, posed this theory on the origins of Catherine Ann Regan in The Rainwater Researcher Vol. 2 Issue 3, in April 1996. He suggests that the confusion originated in the family Jacob S. Rainwater (1836-1906), the grandson of James Rainwater and Charity Fowler. Jacob married one Catherine Lucinda Williamson whose mother was Catherine Regan Emmett. Robert suspects that the two Catherines - Catherine Williamson Rainwater (b. ca 1836) and Catherine Regan Emmett (b. before 1820) - have been merged into the ficticious Catherine Ann Regan. This theory presents considerable date problems, and requires three to four generations of compression, rather than two.

The more likely origin of Catherine Regan was recently illuminated by Ray Rainwater. While Catherine Ann Regan appears to be a relatively recent invention, Catherine Regan (without the Ann) goes back to the letter written by Judge Clive Pettijohn, the son of Mary Catherine Rainwater Pettijohn, to Jesse Rainwater Thompson. A transcription of this document may be found on the Rainwater Bibles page. In it, Judge Pettijohn recalls "There was a Catherine Regan and a Sanderson - I think Mother said Sanderson was the name of your great-grandfather James' 2nd wife. Maybe Catherine Regan was one of his wives. She was either his or your Grandfather James' 2nd (if he had a 2nd), I don't know. I just know Catherine Regan belongs in somewhere.".

To clarify, the individual referred to as Grandfather James was the husband of Delilah Kifer and Julia Jane Sanderson, while great-grandfather James was the husband of Charity Fowler. Since the children of Catherine Regan are always said to include Catherine, Ann and Sesame, she cannot be the wife of the oldest James (ca 1735/38-ca 1805), as these children are among the known children of James Rainwater and Charity Fowler. What is possible, however unlikely, is that Catherine Regan was the first wife of James Rainwater (ca 1780-post 1840), known to us as the husband of Charity Fowler. That this would make Charity his 2nd wife seems clear since she was still living in 1850 with their daughter's family, nine years after James's death.

According to Ray, a great many Rainwater Researchers believe that Judge Pettijohn was simply confused and point to other errors in the document as proof. There is no denying the errors. However, in my opinion, this is the most believable explanation for the persistence of Catherine Regan, and the only one which lends a glimmer of credence to the possibility of her having actually existed. [174], [485]

The Mistake: John Rainwater (ca 1759/66-ca 1832) of Spartanburg District, SC married Susannah Bobo

This is another of those ideas that has been passed around for so long that it has taken on a life of its own. The will of the John Rainwater who died ca 1832 in Spartanburg District, SC, gives his wife's name as Susannah. Among the witnesses to his will is one Simpson Bobo. Apparently these two facts have been combined to produce the belief that Susannah's maiden name was also Bobo. I suspect that additional weight is added to this claim by the Bobo-surnamed individuals involved with Miles Rainwater, also of Spartanburg see Rev. Miles Rainwater of Spartanburg District, SC married Nancy Miles.

To the best of my knowledge, there simply isn't any documentary evidence giving Susannah's maiden name, though if some turns up, I'll be happy the amend this entry. [1500]

The Mistake: Judge Clyde Pettijohn, son of Ella Rainwater Pettijohn, wrote the letter detailing the children of James Rainwater & Charity Fowler

The Rainwater Researcher, Vol. 2, Issue 3, April 1996 contains a portion of a letter detailing the children of James Rainwater & Charity Fowler. The description of this document says it was written by Judge Clyde Pettijohn, son of Ella Rainwater Pettijohn, to Jessie Rainwater Thompson.

Close, but not quite.

In trying to explain their standing to the source person, the writer says of James Rainwater, husband of Charity, "He was your great-grandfather, Jessie; my great-great grandfather". This means that Ella must be from the same generation as Jessie and be a descendant of James. But there is no Ella in that generation, and the individual who married a Pettijohn was named Mary Catherine.

Among Mary Catherine Rainwater Pettijohn's children are two individuals whose names have been confused to form this myth: Clive (not Clyde) A. Pettijohn, the writer of the document, and his sister, Era Jane Rainwater Chamberlain, who has been transformed into the non-existent Ella.

By the way, Jessie Rainwater Thompson was the daughter of Jacob Sessom Rainwater and his second wife, Nellie Pintler.

Thanks to the late Ray Rainwater and Glidie Rainwater Mobley for their assistance in illuminating this confusion. [9], [174], [485]

The Myth: It's possible to prove that James Rainwater's (ca 1780-ca 1841) wife was named Charity Fowler

We tend to take for granted that Charity Fowler is a proven fact, the definitive wife of James Rainwater (ca 1780-ca 1841) of Sevier Co., TN. In reality, Charity Fowler has been arrived at by a serious of deductions and while this is likely the correct name, proven it is not

The 1850 census of Johnson Co., IL includes the household of Burrell Wright, whose wife Anna is named in their 1849 marriage record as Anna Rainwater. Living in this household is Charity Rainwater, age 70, born in North Carolina. It's not uncommon to find elderly widowed parents of either sex living with their married children in this century, so the natural conclusion is that Charity is Anna's mother. Keep in mind, though, that the first census to explicitly state the relationship between family members was 1880. In 1850, we have no such information, and Charity could as easily be an elderly aunt as mother.

What lends support to the identifying of Charity as mother is the fact that two of her children passed on the name Charity in their own families. John Nelson Rainwater had a daughter named Elizabeth Carity, and Sessom Rainwater had a daughter named Charity by his third wife.

Fowler comes to us by a more circuitous route. In her memoirs, Sarah Fowler Rainwater, the wife of Charles Cicero Rainwater, recalls that some time after their marriage, her father-in-law remarked to her "I am not sure that you and Charley haven't committed a sin in getting married . . . because my mother was a Fowler.". Her father-in-law was Moses Fowler Rainwater, son of James Rainwater and brother of Anna Rainwater Wright. Hence, his mother was Charity Fowler.

While doubtless many have drawn this conclusion, the first place I am aware of it having been published is in The Rainwater Researcher, Vol. 2, Issue 3, April 1996 in an article by Robert Albert. [6], [174], [520], [574]

The Myth: William Rainwater's wife Molly Reaves was known as "Granny Cherokee"

Like many myths, this one is wrapped around factual data. Marriage records in Johnson Co., NC do show the marriage of one William Rainwater to Molly Reaves (one transcription says Medley Rives) on 16 Nov 1787. About this couple, almost nothing is known.

Molly is occasionally identified as the Rainwater wife who was called "Granny Cherokee". and was said to know some of the local indians languages. This was not an uncommon ability at that time, and it's just as likely that "Granny Cherokee" was a title bestowed in jest, than it was a racial designation. Knowing enough to communicate with your neighbors does not make you one of them.

The larger problem is that there is disagreement on which individual is supposed to be "Granny Cherokee". While some identify her as William's wife, others identify her as the mother of the individuals thought to be the sons of Moses Rainwater. The strongest tradition appears to be in the line of the James Rainwater who married Catherine McCall.

With so much uncertainty regarding the identity and meaning of "Granny Cherokee", this story simply can't be used to support much of anything. [928]

The Myth: Jacob and Abraham Colson, alias Reignwater, were licensed indian traders

This controversy, which has been kicking around for some time, recently resurfaced on the Rainwater mailing list. The facts are these: Three property records and an article in a regional history refer to Jacob and Abraham Colson (Collson), alias Reignwater, as "licensed indian traders".

First, let's dispose of "alias Reignwater". An alias, according to my dictionary, is an assumed or false name. The family name of these individuals was Colson, not Rainwater. Therefore, whether they were Native American or not has no bearing on the Rainwater family. Reignwater may have been the name by which they were known among the indians, but that's merely my speculation.

Second is the problem of "licensed indian traders". The writer who posed this problem on the Rainwater mailing list clearly believed that this phrase meant "Indians who are licensed to trade". However, there is another possible meaning, "Anglos who are licensed to trade with the Indians".

This is a classic example of the linguistic phenomenon of Deletion, so named by Noam Chomsky to describe a process of removing apparently unnecessary words to such an extent that the meaning of a sentence or phrase is obscured. Doubtless the people of the time understood "licensed indian traders" in a historical context that we have now lost, and out of this context, the phrase now appears to have two possible but conflicting meanings.

For additional reading on the subject of licensed indian traders, see "James Logan Colbert of the Chickasaws: The Man and the Myth" by Richard A. Colbert, The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol XX, No. 2, May 1994, pgs 82-95. [1508]

The Mistake: Rev. Miles Rainwater of Spartanburg District, SC married Nancy Miles

This case of mistaken identity has largely been caused by a profile of the good Reverend in The Reedy River Baptist Association Minutes, 1835, which names his wife Nancy Miles. The problem is further muddied by the fact that there actually was a Nancy Miles who was married Rainwater. This question has been amply researched by Glidie Rainwater Mobley who explains it as follows:

"The Nancy Miles who married James Rainwater is so named in the distribution of the estate of Jane Farrow Bobo, the wife of Rev. Spencer Bobo (the elder). Nancy was the daughter of Jane's sister Sally Farrow who had married Thomas Miles. The children of Sally were named because Sally was already deceased at the time Jane made her will.

The Nancy who married Miles Rainwater was Nancy Edwards, daughter of William and Mildred "Milly" Smith Edwards. The final settlement of William Edwards' estate on 5 Dec 1836 lists as heirs: William Edwards, Milly Edwards, the heirs of Isaac Edwards, deceased, Nancy Rainwater, George Edwards and Newman Edwards."

The Mistake: Rev. Miles Rainwater of Spartanburg District, SC had a daughter named Milly

The Reedy River Baptist Association Minutes of 1835 regarding Cedar Shoal Church, Spartanburg District, SC provide us with what has long been considered the canonical list of children born to Rev. Miles Rainwater and his wife, Nancy Edwards Rainwater. These are Mary, who married Spencer Bobo; Miles, who married Hannah Hindman and Sarah Edwards; Vashti, who married David Crossley; Mariah, who married Rev. Pinckney Lanford; Jane Amanda, who married William W. Waldrop; Silas Mercer, who married Mary Jane Hindman; and Milly, about whom nothing is known.

I accepted this list as valid because every family member, except Milly, can be verified through other sources. Recently, though, a piece of evidence has surfaced that casts doubt on the existence of Milly – or more accurately, suggests that Milly was really Sallie.

Numerous researchers have noted that Spencer Bobo, who married Mary Rainwater, had a brother, Levingston Bobo, who married Mary's sister. In the 1850 census of Fayette Co., AL, the Bobo brothers are recorded in succession – first Spencer with wife Mary, then Levingston with wife Sarah. In 1860, Sarah is recorded as Sallie.

Sallie is not listed in The Reedy River Baptist Association Minutes among the children of Miles Rainwater. I believe that Milly is a mistranscription or misrecording of Sallie Rainwater Bobo.

The Mistake: William Rainwater (ca 1790-1839) of Marengo Co., AL was married three times

This case of the compression of two Williams into one individual is so commonly believed that even I fell into it. The difficulty results from the existence of two William Rainwaters, both of whom have marriage records in Marengo Co., AL, making it appear that they are one individual. Two key pieces of evidence dispel this myth.

First, we have the William Rainwater who married Elizabeth Lucas in 1823. This couple is found in the 1830 census of Marengo Co. in a household of 4 males and 1 female. This corresponds accurately to the three sons of this couple: Richard, John R. and Elkhanny.

Second, we have the William Rainwater who married Caroline Davis in 1828. This couple is found in the 1840 census of Marengo Co. in a household of 3 males and 5 females.

There are two reasons why the 1840 household cannot be that of the first William Rainwater: he had no daughters and he died in 1839. This is borne out by a Tuscaloosa Co., AL newspaper announcement naming Cornelius Holliman as the administrator of the estate.

The second William Rainwater went on to marry Sidney Farmer in 1844, and died in 1866 in Mississippi. Two of his sons from the second marriage were charged with his murder.

Thanks to Glidie Rainwater Mobley for helping straighten out this confusion. [4], [5], [290]

The Myth: William Rainwater's (ca 1774-1825) children include Sukey and Anson

The family Bible lists a daughter named Susannah. Since Sukey is an old English nickname for Susannah, this is probably the same individual. However there is NO child named Anson! The last two children born to this family were Patsy and a twin brother who died at birth unnamed. The family Bible records this birth "Patsy Rainwater daughter and son of ditto was born March 15th 1823". The words "and son" are in minuscule script and someone apparently read this as a name - Anson. This myth has been passed around since the 1960s. [178]

The Myth: It's possible to prove that William Rainwater's (ca 1774-1825) wife, Martha "Patsy" Hodges (ca 1781-bet. 1840/1850), was the daughter of Bartholomew and Elizabeth Hodges of Surry Co., NC

No document exists giving the maiden name of Martha "Patsy" Rainwater. The citation of her name as Hodge/s is traditional, as is the identity of her parents. The source of this tradition is not known.

The 1832 will of Bartholomew Hodges of Surry Co., NC names his wife Elizabeth and four of his eleven children. Martha is not among those named. The reason for citing Bartholomew as her father appears to be tradition and the fact that she named her first son Bartholomew, a name not previously found in the Rainwater family. If Bartholomew was the only male of his age sporting the Hodges name in Surry Co., this would be enough for even a skeptic like me. Unfortunately, Surry Co. is rife with Hodges, many of whom are old enough to be Martha's father. While I suspect that Bartholomew is Martha Rainwater's father, so far it hasn't been proven. [431]

The Myth: The Abraham Rainwater found in the 1810 Pulaski Co., KY census is the son of William (ca 1774-1825)

According to the family Bible, William's son Abraham was born in 1808 and would have been 2-years-old in 1810. He therefore cannot be the Abraham Rainwater recorded in the 1810 census as a male age 26 to 45. It's possible, but not provable, that this individual is William's brother. [178]

The Myth: William Rainwater (ca 1774-1825) served in the Pulaski Co., KY 1814 militia during the War of 1812

"Roster of the Volunteer Officers & Soldiers from Kentucky in the War of 1812-1815, Adjutant General's Office" indicates that a William Rainwaters Sr. enlisted on 1 Jan 1814 in the 7th Regiment of the US Army at Fort Hampton during the War of 1812 and deserted in less than a month. Because this individual is listed as a volunteer from Kentucky, it has been common practice to assume that this is William the wife of Martha "Patsy" Hodges. The problem is that, though there were three Forts Hampton1 at that time, none was in Kentucky. The most probable candidate was in Limestone Co., AL on the Gaines Road, which ran from eastern Tennessee to Natchez and Vicksburg, MS (See map). Meanwhile, William was residing in Pulaski Co., KY, having purchased a farm there in 1813. While he might conceivably enlisted in the local militia, it seems highly unlikely that he would travel hundreds of miles to enlist in the regular army when he had a new farm and seven children to support in Kentucky.

The Rainwater family has Williams in abundance and it's quite clear that this individual was a resident of North Carolina at the time of his enlistment. Moreover, three other Rainwaters enlisted in the same regiment - William Jr., Edward and Newsom, who upon their discharge, received successively numbered land warrants in Missouri. I suspect that these three provide a better clue to William Sr.'s identity than the Kentucky book.

A related myth which I recently received in email is that William Rainwater was the Captain of the Pulaski Co. Home Guards. If there is evidence to support this, I'd love to see it. [173]

1Alabama's Fort Hampton was founded in 1809 on the Elk River, and is now called Elkmont in Limestone Co. North Carolina's Fort Hampton was in Carteret Co. on the Atlantic coast. It is listed in the USGS map server as Fort Macon, which was built in 1826-1834 on the site of the former Fort Hampton. Tennessee's Fort Hampton is described as being at Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River. This places it near present-day Florence, in Lauderdale Co. about 45 miles west of Elkmont. [1239], [1240], [1241]

The Mistake: Martha "Patsy" Rainwater (ca 1781-bet 1840/1850) can be found in the 1860 census household of her son William Howard Rainwater in Brown Co., IN

All that's required to disprove this is a look at the Brown Co., IN census microfilm. The household of William and Minerva Rainwater is on page 420. It consists of the two adults and six children - Miles, Mary, William Jr., Arthur, Mark and Luke. No Patsy.

The Mistake: Silas Mercer Rainwater's (1825-1902) wife was named Sally Hutchinson

"Bobo Cousins by the Dozens" by Newell, indicates that Silas Mercer Rainwater was married to a woman named Sally Hutchinson. According to Glidie Rainwater Mobley, this information is in error and her assertion matches the evidence of the 1850 census of Fayette Co., AL. Silas Mercer Rainwater is listed in this record with a wife named Mary J., whom Glidie identifies as Mary Jane Hindman. There are no children in the 1850 household and therefore no evidence of a prior marriage.

The Myth: Elisha Gentry Rainwater (ca 1807-post 1880) fought at the Battle of San Jacinto

Worth S. Ray's book, "Austin Colony Pioneers" indicates that Elisha Gentry Rainwater is among the heros of San Jacinto. How Ray came to this conclusion is unknown, since the book is not well documented. What is clear, though, is that his conclusion is wrong.

The records indicate that an E. R. Rainwater served as a Private in Capt. Mirabeau B. Lamar's Cavalry Corps, and that on 21 April 1836, he was one of a small group of soldiers under the command of Captain Erastus "Deaf" Smith, who assisted in the destruction of Vince's Bridge, cutting off the enemy's retreat.

E. R. Rainwater was granted a headright certificate to one-third of a league of land by the Matagorda County Board of Land Commissioners. In January 1838, the Board of Land Commissioners of neighboring Brazoria County granted him an unconditional certificate to one-third of a league of land. A check of the title records for both counties prior to 18411 suggests that the certificates were never converted into land, for there is no title of any kind under Rainwater. Moreover, no Rainwater is found in the 1840 tax rolls of the Republic of Texas.

The online version of Louis Wiltz Kemp's Biographical Sketches of the Men Who Won Independence for Texas provides the final element necessary to put this myth to rest. His sketch of this veteran names him Edwin R. Rainwater. Kemp's research reveals what mine has suggested, that Rainwater signed over his land warrants to other men, but his signature on these documents gives us his name - Edwin, not Elisha. Copies of these documents may be acquired through Texas General Land Office. [169], [689], [1069], [1089]

1Abstract of all original Texas land titles comprising grants and locations to 1841, Texas General Land Office, microfische, Dallas Public Library

The Mistake: John R. Rainwater (1810-1889) married Elizabeth Sawslip

This is commonly repeated error based on someone's misreading of the clerk's script in the old Pulaski Co., KY marriage records. John's one and only wife was Elizabeth Lawless. This is borne out by marriage and census records. [49]

The Mistake: The 1850 census gives an accurate listing of the children of Bartholomew Rainwater (1804-1889)

The only accurate source for the names of Bartholomew's children is the family Bible. The 1850 census includes five children who are not part of this family - John, Abraham, Martin, Jane and Jeminico. It fails to list four children who are members of the family - Miles, Sciota, Sarelda and Josiah.

Two of the incorrectly named children, Abraham and Jeminico, have names similar to a couple Bartholomew's nephews, Abram and Jeremiah, suggesting that these individuals may have been visiting on the day the census enumerator stopped by. It's also possible that the names were supplied by a neighbor who accidentally mixed the two families together. [56]

The Mistake: Abraham Rainwater (1808-ca 1870/75) and Anna McLaughlin (1810-ca 1870/75) had a son named Stamitor

This is misreading of the miserable 1850 Pulaski Co., KY census. The individual frequently misidentified as Stamitor is in reality Jeremiah Stanton Rainwater. He is found in his own Pulaski Co., KY household in both the 1870 and 1880 census, and his name is correctly given on the death certificate of his son, Peter. [363]

The Myth: Mary, the daughter of James Rainwater (1806-1862) and Mary "Polly" McDaniel (ca 1810-1880) married Joshua Cooper in 1851

Joshua Cooper did marry an individual named Mary Rainwater on 9 October 1851. That the record names his father, but not hers indicates that he was not of age to marry without his parents consent, but she was. In other words, Mary Rainwater was at least 21 years old and would have been born in or before 1830 (see Sandi Gorin's Kentucky Marriages) However, Mary "Polly" Rainwater, the daughter of James Rainwater, was born ca 1842 according to the 1850 through 1880 census records, making her age 9 at the date of her supposed marriage. She can be found in her parents' home each of the census years. Her father's 1862 will refers to her as one of the unmarried daughters to whom he is leaving a dowry portion. Finally, she is buried in New Hope Baptist Cemetery under her maiden name. I don't know which to which family Mary Rainwater Cooper belongs, but it isn't this family. [48], [50], [404]

The Mistake: Lydia Rainwater, Elizabeth Rainwater Loveall and others moved to Fairbault Co., MN

This is a small thing, but is an indicator of whether you are a list collector or a researcher. Someone, somewhere misspelled this county name years ago and the misspelling has been passed around unchecked ever since. Do a quick search in the GNIS Map Server of the US Geological Survey and you will discover that there is no such place. It's F-A-R-I-bault, not F-A-I-R-bault.

The Mistake: Susannah Rainwater (1815-1858), daughter of William Rainwater & Martha "Patsy" Hodge, married Bucky Vaughan

This is another piece of passed-around information, of unknown origin, that simply isn't accurate. Susannah Rainwater is found living in the household of her elderly aunt, Elizabeth Rainwater, in the 1850 census, and was unmarried at that time. According to the Pulaski County death records, Susannah died on 14 Apr 1858, of dropsy. Her surname is given as Rainwater, not Vaughan, and she is identified as the unmarried daughter of William and Patsy Rainwater. Moreover, there is no marriage for anyone named Bucky Vaughan in the Pulaski County records. [263]

The Mystery: Was John Berry Rainwater or John Nelson Rainwater the son of James Rainwater and Charity Fowler?

James Rainwater and Charity Fowler are traditionally said to have had at least six children, one of whom was named John. The difficulty is that two John Rainwaters present themselves as candidates for this ancestry, and researchers are divided over which John they believe to be the rightful heir.

The document that I call the family record of James & Charity Fowler Rainwater is in actuality an excerpt from a letter written by Judge Clive Pettijohn to his half aunt, Jessie Rainwater Thompson, describing what he recalled of her ancestors. Like Jessie, Clive was a grandchild of James & Charity Rainwater.

Judge Clive Pettijohn's document names John Nelson Rainwater as the eldest son of James and Charity Rainwater, and gives as his wife, Barbara Emmett or Emmert. That such a couple existed is not in doubt. John N. and Barbara Rainwater can be found in the 1850 and 1860 census records of Ray Co., MO; his widowed wife can be found in 1870 in Camden Co., MO.

The objection most frequently raised to this document is that it contains a number of errors, or at least confusions. This is a valid objection, and these errors are illuminated in the transcription. The document is not wholly in error, however, and does supply at least as much correct as incorrect information.

One of John Berry Rainwater's granddaughters, Mary Kate Chryst Bradford, compiled six pages of rambling, typewritten notes regarding her memories of the family's history. Like the Judge Pettijohn document, there are as many facts as mistakes. What's interesting is that Bradford also clearly accepts the idea that John Nelson Rainwater was the descendant of James & Charity Rainwater. She makes clear that she does not know the identity of John Berry Rainwater's parents.

Ray Rainwater recalls his Uncle Press (Presley) Rainwater referring to Alexander Martin Rainwater as a cousin. In fact, because of the generational offset, they would have been first cousins, once removed.

One theory recently floated on the net is that John Berry Rainwater was the illegitimate son of a Rainwater daughter, the sister of the James Rainwater who married Charity Fowler. This is an interesting notion, but I have no idea what, if any documentary evidence supports it.

To the best of my ability to determine, then, the basis for the inference that John Berry Rainwater was the son of James & Charity Rainwater rests on one fact - that he married Mary Godden Kifer in 1846. Mary, it is said, was the sister of Delilah Kifer, who married one of the children of James & Charity Rainwater. In an age where boys frequently married the girl next door, it's not uncommon to see a pair of sisters marry the neighbor brothers. However, that this frequently occurred is not proof that it occurred in this case.

I'm not closing the book on this one, but in the absence of more credible evidence, I hold that John Nelson Rainwater was the son of James Rainwater & Charity Fowler. [6], [485], [916], [1301]

The Myth: John Berry Rainwater was the son of Mary Rainwater and John Berry, a surviving colonist from Roanoke

An article by Vern Jordan, and sent to me by Dennis Rainwater, makes the following claim: "One of my maternal lines, Rainwater, is said to have descended from the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, NC. John Berry Rainwater is said to have been the son of John Berry, one of the colonists, and Mary Rainwater."

Now let's be clear about this. The author is saying that John Berry was one of the colonists at Roanoke, not a descendant. The Roanoke colony was founded in 1585 and found abandoned in 1590. John Berry Rainwater, was born, according to his tombstone, 18 July 1820. Do the math.

Even if this is a slip, and the author meant to say that John Berry was the descendant of a survivor, you still have the problem of proof. Historians have long maintained that the Roanoke colonists were killed by one of the local indian tribes. Author Lee Miller, however, augues in her book "Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony", that the some of the colonists survived, went native and a coverup was perpetuated by the authorities regarding their fate. If she's correct, it's still necessary to establish the connection between one of these surviving colonists and the purported descendant John Berry Rainwater, and this Jordan has not done.

Jordan goes on to say that "(John Berry Rainwater) took his mother's maiden name for his last name as was the old English custom." This custom is only invoked if the children are illegitimate, and this may be what Jordan means, but he doesn't actually come right out and say so.

Jordan's article goes on to claim that the Rainwaters who migrated to Washington state were of Melungeon origin, whom he hypothesizes are from a small island in Southeast Asia. Melungeon researcher James S. Elder points out that it has become fashionable to claim both Native American and Melungeon ancestry. His article refuting these false claims sounds very familiar to those of us accustomed to refuting false claims of indian ancestry. [1896]

Jordan's article is a work of poor scholarship, wild speculation and a generous dose of fiction. Nothing in it can be taken seriously.

The Myth: Bartholomew Rainwater was a childhood friend of Abraham Lincoln

According to this old chestnut, Bartholomew Rainwater, while growing up in Faubush, Pulaski Co., KY, was a childhood playmate of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is said, in this story at least, to have lived in Hodgeville.

For starters, there is no such place as Hodgeville. Lincoln's Kentucky birthplace was Hogenville in Laru Co. Unfortunately, the distance between Hogenville and Faubush is about 122 driving miles, perhaps 75 miles as the crow flies. So, did Bartholomew take the bus or what? 75 miles is not a quick sprint across the valley.

The most I'm willing to concede here is that the two boys lived in the same state for about 4 years. Bartholomew's family arrived ca 1813, while Lincoln's moved to Indiana ca 1817. Apart from that what we have here is pure wishful thinking.

The Myth: Josiah Rainwater (1843-1934) was a Captain in the Union Army under General Grant

In fairness, anyone who served in the Union Army between 1864 and 1865 can be said to have served under U.S. Grant, though in this case, the units in which Josiah served were under the immediate command of Generals Rosecrans and Sherman.

The Captain myth is a bit of a sticky wicket. Josiah's service and pension papers both refer to his being promoted to Sergeant in July 1863. He was mustered out at that rank in January 1865, and his pension application indicates this was the highest rank he achieved. However, Gene Rainwater recalls that a certificate hung over his grandfather Josiah's bed which he was told was Josiah's Captain's commission. The document has since vanished and we have no idea what it represented. While it is possible that Josiah was briefly brevetted to Captain during battle, this ought to be reflected in his service records. It seems terribly unlikely that certificate reflecting this commission would have been issued without a mention being made in his service records. I'm not aware that certificates were usual in the case of temporary brevet commissions.1

What seems more likely is that he was a member of a post-war veteran's group, such as The Grand Army of the Republic, that often bestowed honorary ranks on its members. This myth has found its way into several obituaries and newspaper articles, making it difficult to stamp out. [327], [328]

1I have actually posed this question to a military historian, and his answer was that if a certificate of commission was issued, it would have been mentioned in Josiah's service records. A temporary brevet amidst battle might or might not have been mentioned in the service records, but no commission certificate would have been issued.

The Mistake: William Harrison Rainwater (1863-1890) is the son of Milford Enoch Rainwater and Permelia Ellen Garner

This is a case of same verse different song. William Harrison Rainwater is the son of Enoch Rainwater and Martha E. Compton, and can be found in their household in the 1870 and 1880 census records. The confusion is created by the mention of an M.E. Rainwater in William's marriage record. In all likelihood, this is his mother. According to census records, none of Milford Enoch Rainwater's children were named William. [51]

The Mistake: William Howard Rainwater, Jr.'s (1850-1925) son Henry is from his 2nd marriage and his 3rd marriage was bigamous

William Howard Rainwater was married three times. His first marriage, to Julia Markwell on 7 Jun 1869 in Brown Co., IN, ended when she died between 1870 and 1871. She, not William's second wife, was the mother of Henry Clarence Rainwater. William then married Ellen Victoria Pool on 27 Feb 1872, and they had one child, William Luther Rainwater. He divorced Ellen in 1877 and removed to Wayne Co., IL. In his description of this family, Webber refuses to acknowledge the couple's divorce, preferring to say that "she could not leave the county", leaving the impression that William deserted his second family and that the third marriage was bigamous. However, divorce records in the Brown Co., IN courthouse support the assertion that the couple was parted legally. In Wayne Co., IL William married Mary Ann Buffington. The date for this marriage which their descendants give is 22 Dec 1877. This is difficult to verify because the records were lost in the 1886 Wayne County courthouse fire, but nine children and several photographs testify to the existence of the marriage. Ellen Victoria Pool also remarried, taking Bennett Wise as her 2nd husband in 1890. Thanks to Lisa Alexander for helping sort this one out. [247], [190], [191]

The Obsfucation: P.C. Rainwater (1859-1949) was completely unrelated to his wife, Martha Jane Rainwater (1866-1961)

Like many other Pulaski Countians, P.C. Rainwater migrated to Williamson Co., TX between 1880 and 1893. He married Martha Jane Rainwater in 1893, maintaining all his life that their two Rainwater families were completely unrelated. In reality, P.C. and Martha Jane were 2nd cousins, both descended from William and Patsy Rainwater, something of which P.C. was apparently unaware or preferred not to acknowledge. [363]

The Myth: The Rainwater family has a Mayflower connection

I recently received a photo via email, which has written on the back of it "Martha Jane and the mirror which was brought over on the Mayflower by her ancestors". Oh, come now. I mean, really. I am stunned that anyone would even consider this to be a possibility. The descendants of the Mayflower passengers have all been thoroughly researched and documented. There is simply no connection to the Rainwaters or any of the allied families, and this is quite apart from the fact that the mirror shown in the photograph could not possibly have been made in the 1620s.

The Myth: The Folmar Chart provides an accurate Rainwater genealogy

R. H. Folmar was a wealthy Los Angeles businessman who married Maude Love Rainwater, a descendant of the Moses Fowler Rainwater branch. In the 1950s and 60s, he corresponded with several other Rainwater genealogy researchers, among them Walter Terrell Rainwater, Jr. of Texas.

Terrell, a descendant from the Kentucky branch, had put together a chart of his interpretation of the descendants of John Rainwater and Mary Fussell. This chart went into circulation among researchers of the era, and Folmar eventually received a copy. Folmar then made "revisions", adding and deleting names, to support his own personal theories. In fairness, Terrell contributed his fair share of mistakes to the chart

The resulting family tree has come to be known as the Folmar Chart, and has received such wide circulation that it's probably caused over half of the myths found on this page. It's an excellent example of what happens when list collecting is one's primary mode of research. While the chart is interesting as an historical artifact, it's poor quality genealogy and should not be taken at face value.

The copy of the Folmar Chart available on this website was contributed by Don Pruitt. Of it, he says, "It is not actually the original Folmar Chart. Terrell Rainwater had used the old Folmar Chart and drew out this together with his [own] research. I have also added the children of Levi."

The photocopy I received from Don Pruitt is 17" x 22". The chart available on this website was assembled from six separate scans, and is optimized for monitor viewing, rather than printing.

If you are using Internet Explorer to view this file, you must turn off the automatic image resizing feature if you want to be able to read anything. Instructions (#11) on how to do this are provided in the FAQ.

Thanks to Don Pruitt for the copy of the chart and to both Don and Glidie Rainwater Mobley for the historical summary.

The Myth: John Christopher "Kit" Rayborn (ca 1788-post 1850) was married to Mary Margaret "Polly" Rainwater

A small number of Kentucky researchers are obsessed with a couple whom they identify as John Christopher "Kit" Rayborn and Mary Margaret "Polly" Rainwater. When challenged for evidence regarding these names, they have none.

The facts are these: The 1850 census of Pulaski Co., KY includes a couple named John and Margaret Rayborn, and their five children. Pulaski County marriage records reveal the existence of at least four other children.

A small amount of documentary evidence exists for this couple: tax records, census records and marriage records. No record that I have seen calls John Rayborn by the names Christopher or Kit. No record calls Margaret by the names Mary or Polly. The surname, Rayborn, is spelled in all of the various ways one might imagine: Rayburn, Rayborne, Raybourn, and so on.

Significantly, the couple's own 1815 marriage record, found in the records of Wayne Co., KY, gives both John and Margaret's surname as Rayborn. John would have been about 27, so this could be a 2nd marriage. However, to date, this is the only record anyone has found and it doesn't give Margaret's maiden name as Rainwater.

In 1838, John and Margaret Rayborn's daughter, Minerva Ann, married William Howard Rainwater. This, I suspect, is the source of the problem. Somewhere along the line, Minerva Rayborn Rainwater and her mother have been compressed into a single individual.

If you have evidence that proves otherwise, I would be happy to consider it.

Sources

  • 6: 1850 census
  • 9: 1880 census
  • 11: 1900 census
  • 46: Surry Co., VA Records, Vol. VII, 1712-1718
  • 48: Pulaski Co., KY Cemetery Records, Vol. 2, PCHS
  • 50: Pulaski Co., KY Marriage Records, Vol 2, 1851-1863, PCHS
  • 49: Pulaski Co., KY Marriage Records, Vol 1, 1797-1850, 2nd edition, Mary Weddle Kaurish, PCHS
  • 51: Pulaski Co., KY Marriage Records, Vol 3, 1864-1886, PCHS
  • 55: Cavaliers & Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Grants, Vol 3, 1695-1732
  • 56: Bartholomew Rainwater family Bible, photocopy of original
  • 67: North Carolina Marriages, Early to 1800, Jordan R. Dodd
  • 168: Austin Colony Pioneers, Worth S. Ray. Data from this source requires 2nd confirmation.
  • 169: The Heros of San Jacinto, Sam Houston Dixon & Louis Wiltz Kemp
  • 173: Roster of the Volunteer Officers and Soldiers from KY in the War of 1812-1815, Adjutant General's Office, 1891
  • 174: Rainwater Researcher newsletter (1994-1998), web site, mailing list & family association. Quality of material is uneaven - requires 2nd confirmation.
  • 178: William & Patsy Rainwater Bible, photocopy of original
  • 190: Brown Co., IN Marriage Records, Books 2-4, 1853-1901, Ruth M. Slevin
  • 191: Brown Co., IN Circuit Court Records Index, Civil & Criminal, 1836-1945, Helen H. Reeve
  • 212: Bute Co., NC Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1769-1779, Brent Howard Holcomb
  • 218: Abstracts of Deeds of Edgecomb Presinct, Edgecomb Co., NC, 1732-1758, found in Halifax Co. Deed Books 1-6, Margaret M. Hoffman
  • 247: Genealogy of the Rainwater Family, Donald S. Webber. Data from this source requires 2nd confirmation.
  • 263: Pulaski Co., KY Vital Records, Birth & Death, 1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1878, PCHS
  • 290: Glidie Rainwater Mobley (Rainwater family) grmr@emerytelcom.net
  • 302: Will of John Rainwater, 4 Nov 1771, Surry Co., NC, photocopy of original
  • 303: Will of Thomas Fussell, 4 Jun 1735, Bertie Parish, NC, photocopy of original
  • 327: Civil War service papers of Josiah W. Rainwater, 5 Nov 1861-10 Jan 1865
  • 328: Civil War pension papers of Josiah W. Rainwater and Elizabeth Jane Weddle Rainwater, 10 May 1879-2 Apr 1934
  • 363: Death certificate S63182, P. C. Rainwater, Wilbarger Co., TX, 1949, certified copy
  • 402: Land patent issued to John Hurt, King William Co., VA, 2 May 1706, photocopy of microfilm
  • 404: Will of James Rainwater, 1862, Pulaski Co., KY, Book 6 pg 115
  • 431: Will of Bartholomew Hodges, 4 Jul 1826, Surry Co., NC, transcription
  • 485: The family record of James Rainwater & Charity Fowler, originally printed in The Rainwater Researcher, Vol. 2, Issue 3, April 1996, from a letter of Judge Clive Pettijohn to Jessie Rainwater Thompson
  • 520: Obituaries of Washington Co., AR, Vol. 2, 1893-1902, Barbara Pickering Easley and Verla Pickering McAnelly
  • 574: Western Historical Manuscript Collection, ROLLA #R277, bio & summary of Rainwater holdings, Letters of Charles Cicero Rainwater and wife Sarah Hannah Fowler, http://www.umr.edu/~whmcinfo/
  • 689: 1840 Citizens of Texas, Vol. 3, Land Grants, Gifford White
  • 870: Missouri Military Land Warrants, War of 1812, Maxine Dunaway
  • 916: Knox Co., TN Marriage Records, 1792-1900, Roscoe & Virginia Carlisle d'Armand
  • 928: North Carolina Marriage Bonds, North Carolina State Archives, all counties except Granville, Microfische
  • 1069: War of 1812 service papers, Newsom Rainwater, 1811-1812, photocopy from microfilm
  • 1089: Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution, Daughters of the Republic of Texas
  • 1153: Ray Rainwater (Rainwater-Fowler family), akgrouch@alaska.net
  • 1239: Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from its organization, September 29, 1789 to March 2, 1903, Vols. 1-2, Francis B. Heitman
  • 1240: Historical Atlas of Alabama, Vol. 1, Historical Locations by County, W. Craig Remington and Thomas J. Kallsen
  • 1241: The North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 6, Numbers 1-4, Jan-Oct 1929, North Carolina Historical Commission
  • 1301: Genealogical notes of Mary Kate Chryst Bradford on stationary of the Hotel Century Genève, photocopies of undated originals. Includes copies of two letters. Abundant errors.
  • 1500: Will and probate records of John Rainwater (husband of Susannah), Spartanburg District, SC, photocopy of microfilmed original, from the South Carolina Dept. of Archives
  • 1508: James Logan Colbert of the Chickasaws: The Man and the Myth by Richard A. Colbert, The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol XX, No. 2, May 1994, pgs 82-95, in file #HR-986
  • 1895: Cherokee Drennan Roll of 1851, transcribed and indexed by Marybelle W. Chase
  • 1896: "Article in story form concerning the Melungeon People" by Vern Jordan, 1996, claims Melungeon-Rainwater connection, full of unsupported claims and speculations, complete nonsense
  • 2071: The Folmar Chart, lineage chart produced through the combined efforts of R. H. Folmar and Walter Terrell Rainwater, Jr. Result is a highly suspect, error filled work that should be used to provide clues only and not considered as factual.

Last updated 24 Nov 2006
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