22 February 2009

Mary (Polly) Trousdale, wife of John S. Patillo

Identifying Mary (Polly) Trousdale's family tree has not been a straight-forward process. I first sought a Miss Polly Sullenger who married my ancestor, John S. Patillo (and was my 4th great-grandmother). After finding reference to Alexander Sullenger as John Patillo's step-son in a Hamilton Co., Illinois county history, it was assumed that Polly was first married to a Sullenger. Another publication "Early Pioneer Gravestones of Pope County, Illinois" stated that Polly was married to James Sullenger and also mentioned that Polly's maiden name was Trousdale. It was then determined that Polly was the daughter of Alexander Trousdale (b. 1766) [not to be confused with other Alexander Trousdales] and Fannie Clendenin. Alexander Trousdale checked out, but what about Fannie Clendenin?

A NEGHS article (search page for article) stated that Polly's parents were Alexander & Fannie (Clendenin) Trousdale, which left the impression that Polly's mother was Miss, not Mrs. Clendenin. I no longer believe that is the case. While first researching that angle, however, the general belief (as I remember it) was that Fannie Clendenin was the daughter of Lieutenant John Clendenin. My research concluded that Mary (Fannie) Clendenin was Lieutenant John Clendenin's widow, not his daughter. The article also stated that Polly Trousdale married Patrick Dolan before she married James Sullenger, which was news to me.

[Another Clendenin reference here and here]

Blog (here) about Ann (Clendenin) Martin, daughter of Lt. John & Mary (Webb, according to this source) Clendenin and half-sister of my 4th great-grandmother, Mary "Polly" Trousdale.

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