From Virgina to Kentucky

From Tazewell County, Virgina, David Fannin (he dropped the “ing” but not all the sons did this) traveled into the hills of eastern Kentucky, perhaps to visit sons George and a namesake son, David that may have already moved there. Then David (the father) continued his explorations and died in Floyd County, Indiana, in about November of 1832.

Son, George Fannin and his wife, Mary Magdeline "Polly" Mumbower, birth 11 Jun 1809, of Scott County, Virginia, and her mother, Eve Zimmerly, born about 1779 in North Carolina, (wife of Peter Mumbower), settled around what we know as Crockett.

George, Mary, and her mother, Eve are planted at the Fannin Cemetery in Crocket, Kentucky of Morgan County. We drive up the now nicely paved road to the top of the hill and leave our flowers yearly on the Decoration Day (Memorial Day) weekend. We say things like, “I wonder how hard it was for them to leave their home in Virginia and come to this unknown land”? Or, I wonder why Mary’s mother, Eve, came and left her husband, Peter, behind? And, “I wonder why David left Virginia and his wife Jane, behind, and eventually died in Indiana”? These are mysteries. Looking around the old headstones, we see the name “Steele” and see that David and George were accompanied by one of Dodie’s relatives, of the family that George’s sister, Rosannah Fannin, had married into.

I regret that Dodie pulled her Fannin family research, but I am grateful for the time I was able to take advantage of her hard work. Jim Fannin and Gene Hall are doing a great job of keeping the family trees for all of us!

Research posted by Gene Hall and Jim Fannin (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~genehall/links.html#anchor3538953)

It is with George and Mary that our Fannin line in our Kentucky home begins. George followed his dad’s example with dropping the “ing”, and we have been Fannin’s instead of Fanning’s in our line, ever since. Photos of George and Mary have a stately look about them, as they are all dressed up for the rare photo opportunity.

George’s tombstone is marked 16 Feb 1880, for his final resting date, and his wife, Mary, joined him on the hill 16 Jun 1886. You must look very carefully to find them, for the stones are very weathered. But they are there.