The following data and discussion are my attempt to correlate the known data and family lore to try to prove the father and forebears of John Verner, Sr., born ca 1725, who married Mary Cochran Pettigrew ca 1758-9. Several authors have written that the circumstantial evidence suggests that his father was David Verner/Vernor who showed in the records of Chester and Lancaster Counties, PA from 1725 until his death in 1743, but no one has provided proof of that relationship. David was a proven son of Samuel Varner/Verner/Vernor who immigrated ca 1722-24 from County Armagh, Ireland (now Northern Ireland). Samuel's father is not known. It is also not known if Samuel was a member of the Verner family who lived elsewhere in County Armagh and other nearby counties. While I agree that the evidence suggests that David was the father of John Verner, Sr., there was at least one other man in the Pennsylvania records who could have been John's father.
Before proceeding, I would like to comment that most authors tend to weave facts and lore into a story, probably in an effort to make their writings more interesting. They often theorize a relationship, cause, date, or event in one part of their publication and then subsequently write the theory as if it were fact in other parts of their publication. They also often repeat another author's conjectures as if they were facts. Those practices tend to confuse what is fact and what is conjecture, which in turn causes readers to believe and repeat misinformation. I hope to avoid those confusions in this work. I have tried very hard to be specific regarding what are facts versus what are my opinions or inferences. That might make the reading more cumbersome and dull, but I think it keeps the material more factual.
I will first list a timeline of what appear to be some proven facts, and I will then discuss various men and authors/publications, starting with John Verner, Sr. and working backward in time. Because there were other men named John, I will try to consistently distinguish our John as "John Verner, Sr." and use other means to distinguish the other Johns.
John first showed in the records of Lunenburg County, VA. According to Varner Families of the South, Volume Two by Gerald H. Varner, page 24, on 10 Feb 1749 (1749/50?) John Verner (sic) of Lunenburg County purchased from John Ruffin of Surry County 100 acres of land in Lunenburg County, "including the plantation whereon the said Verner now lives". The land had previously belonged to John Lidderdale. The deed was recorded on 4 Apr 1758 in the Lunenburg County Deed Book 5, page 190. The deed was signed by John Ruffin and witnessed by James Anderson, Alexander Joyce, and James Frances. On his page 18, Gerald wrote that "John Verner" paid taxes there in 1750 and 1751, which is somewhat confusing, because on his page 24 he listed the tax data and wrote that "John Vernor" was taxable in Lunenburg County in 1749 and 1750. He listed the same reference for both sets of dates. Regardless of the exact dates of taxes, Gerald was very careful to write names exactly as they showed in his references, so I must assume that the name was recorded as "Verner" in the deed and as "Vernor" in the tax records. In Varner, Verner, Werner Families of America, page 113, Janice B. Palmer wrote that a "John Varnon" was listed as taxable there in 1752. There was reportedly a Vernon family in that area, so it is not clear if the John Varnon of 1752 was the same man as John Verner/Vernor of the previous years, but the lack of other men named John implies that he was. There are no records listed by either author that show how long John Verner/Vernor had lived on his land, where he had lived before that, what his relationship with Ruffin was, or why there was a nine-year gap between the time of purchase and the time that the deed was recorded. That deed appears to prove that John was born by 10 Feb 1728 (1728/9?). I questioned the 1749 date above because it is not clear to me if the New Calendar was in effect in that location at that time. Although most folks in the colonies had begun to adopt the New Calendar by the mid-1700s, England did not adopt it until 1752, and many in the colonies did not adopt it until much later. Thus, when looking at records before about 1760, one must compare a record with other dates and events in order to be sure of the exact year for the periods January 1 through March 24 to be sure which calendar was being used by that particular clerk. According to Janice's page 82, Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776 shows that "John Vernor and James Vernon" served in the Virginia militia in September 1758. It is not known if John and James were related. According to Janice's page 12, John Verner sold his land to Robert Hannah, as reportedly recorded in May 1761 in the Lunenburg County Order Book 7, page 2. Gerald wrote that the exact date of the sale is not given in the deed. John probably sold his land before May 1761, based on the following item, but that is not certain. Janice wrote that John bought land in April 1761 in Granville County, NC, as recorded in Deed Book D, page 220. Men often acquired land in new areas before disposing of their previous holdings. They often went to another area, obtained land, and then returned for their families. One would have to study the details of the deeds to see if there are any clues as to exactly when John left Virginia and moved to North Carolina. From the above data we can infer that John was born before 10 Feb 1728 (1728/9?); that he was living in Lunenburg County, VA for some time prior to 10 Feb 1749 (1749/50?) when he purchased land; that he was in Lunenburg County, VA until at least September 1758; and that he probably moved to Granville County, NC by mid-1761.
According to Janice's book, John's land in Lunenburg County, VA was part of the Caldwell Settlement on Cub Creek, which was created by Presbyterians. That suggests, but does not prove, that John might have been a Presbyterian, which is consistent with family lore. Janice also wrote that men in Lunenburg County by 1748 included: Thomas Vernon, Sr.; Thomas Vernon, Jr.; Isaac Vernon; James Vernon; and Jonathan Vernon. It is not known if John Verner, Sr. was related to the Vernon family. The consistently-different spellings of the surnames suggest to me that, if they were related, the common connection was at least a generation before John Verner, Sr. Other names listed in the Lunenburg County records of that period include: William Caldwell, John Midleton, George Moore, John McNeese, Henry Parrillo (sic) and his brother George Pattillo (sic), and families named Cochran, Poindexter, Sandfer, Daniel, Goar/Gore, Jackson, Nance, Pearson, Tate, McGee, Major, Lindsey, Lucas, McNeese, McKnight, Ragsdale, Vance, Wallace, Vaughn, Brewer, Carr, and Henry. George Pattillo married Martha Varner/Varnon/Verner/Vernor, as discussed in the next paragraph. Several of those surnames are similar to names found in the 1730s in Chester and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania.
According to Janice's page 113, Martha Varner/Varnon/Verner/Vernor was born on 1 Feb 1735 (1735/6?) and married George Pattillo in Lunenburg County (later Charlotte County), VA on 1 Jul 1757. George was listed as taxable there in 1752. George had a younger brother named Henry, but the names of their parents and other possible siblings is not listed. George and Martha named their children James, Sarah, William Henry (sic), David, John Varner (sic), Mary, Samuel, Martha, and Jane Johnstone (sic). Three of the children are shown with the middle names as listed. Because of the place and name associations, Janice believed that Martha (nee Varner/Verner) Pattillo was a sister of John Verner, Sr. and that they were children of David Varner/Verner/Vernor and his wife Sarah of Lancaster County, PA, who are discussed in the next section below. That David was a proven son of the immigrant Samuel Varner/Verner/Vernor from County Armagh, Ireland (now Northern Ireland). According to Janice's sources, George Pattillo was a Methodist from Scotland, who immigrated in 1740 with his younger brother Henry. That is interesting considering that George and Martha lived in the Caldwell Settlement, which was settled by Presbyterians, and it shows that everyone in that settlement was not a Presbyterian. Without knowing George's exact order of birth in his family or the names of his parents and other possible siblings, it is hard to draw strong inferences from the naming pattern, but the names do suggest that Martha's mother might have been named Sarah and that the names James, David, and Samuel were important. Those names are very similar to those used by John Verner, Sr. and his wife Mary, who also named a son George. Those name similarities are circumstantial evidence that John Verner, Sr. and Martha Varner/Verner Pattillo were siblings or close cousins.
What about John Verner, Sr.'s bride Mary Cochran Pettigrew? According to Janice's page 11, the immigrant James Pettigrew married Mary Cochran in County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) in 1731. According to an 1825 history by their youngest son William, they immigrated to America, arriving at New Castle, DE in November 1741, and settled at "March Creek" (a variant of Marsh) near Chambersburg, PA. According to Gerald's page 15, data published in the "Pettigrew Family Quarterly" show that their children were Rachel, born ca 1732 in Ireland; Martha, born ca 1734 in Ireland; John, born ca 1736 in Ireland; James, born ca 1738 in Ireland; Mary Cochran Pettigrew (sic; given her mother's maiden name as a middle name), birth date not known; Charles, born March 1743 in PA; George, born April 1746 in PA; Jane/Jean, born 1750 in PA; Elizabeth, born in PA, date not known; Ebenezer, born 1752 in PA; unknown daughter, born ca 1754, died 1755 in PA; Nancy, born ca 1755 in PA; and William, born February 1758 in VA. The daughter Mary's exact birth year and place are not known. William Pettigrew did not give the dates and places of birth for his siblings, except to say that Rachel was the oldest, that Mary was the third daughter, and that the parents migrated to America after having four children, leaving Rachel in Ireland. When William listed his siblings, he first listed Rachel as the firstborn child. Then, he listed the three children who married before the family left Virginia (Martha, John, and Mary). Then, he listed those who were single when the family left Virginia (James, Charles, etc). That order of listing apparently caused some readers to infer (wrongly, I think) that Mary was the fourth child and that she was older than James. That in turn caused some researchers to rationalize that Mary was born in Ireland, which I do not believe to be true. In "Leaves From The Pettigrew Family Tree", Penelope Allen wrote that the parents James and Mary Pettigrew left Ireland with one daughter and two sons (apparently Martha, John, and James). Because of the confusion in the birth order of children, at least one author listed the daughter Mary as the sixth child, born ca 1745 between Charles and George. That in turn apparently led to the story that Mary was only about thirteen years old when she married. It appears more likely to me that Mary was the fifth child, that she was younger than her brother James, and that William Pettigrew listed her before her brother James in his letter simply because he was grouping her with the other married children. Children were usually born 18-36 months apart, because breast feeding suppresses ovulation and acts as a natural form of birth control. Most of the known birth dates of the Pettigrew children follow that pattern. It is likely that a child was born between James of ca 1738 and Charles of 1743, and that child was probably Mary Cochran Pettigrew. While it is theoretically possible to squeeze Mary between Charles and George, it is more likely that Mary was born between James and Charles. She was probably born in Pennsylvania in late-1741 or early-1742, shortly after her parents arrived in America, which in turn implies that she was probably about seventeen years old when she married. The Pettigrews moved to Lunenburg County, VA between 1755 and 1758, where John Verner, Sr. had already lived for at least six years. It appears that the maternal Pettigrew history has been somewhat wrongly applied to John Verner, Sr. over the years. Some authors have repeated the unproven statement that John Verner, Sr. was born in County Tyrone, Ireland and sailed to America with the Pettigrews, whereas the evidence does not support that belief. There is no evidence that John was an immigrant, and his name appeared in Virginia records at least six years before the Pettigrews moved there. Janice Palmer stated that the Verners and Pettigrews attended the Cub Creek Presbyterian Church, but she did not give a specific reference for that statement, so it is not clear if that is documented or if that was an assumption.
John Verner, Sr. married Mary Cochran Pettigrew, presumably in Lunenburg County, VA, probably in late 1758 or early 1759, based on the fact that their first child David was born there on 20 Feb 1760. According to the published pedigrees, none of Mary's near-relatives in the Pettigrew family were named David, which in turn implies that the name David came from John's family and that John's father, an older brother, or a very close relative was probably named David. Although it was not always practiced, the most common naming custom of that period was for the eldest son in a family to name his firstborn son after his father and his firstborn daughter after his wife's mother. He would name his second son after his wife's father and his second daughter after his mother. Then, he would use other names, e.g. grandparents, siblings, or his own. A younger son in a family would usually name his firstborn son after one of his brothers or after his wife's father or brothers before using the name of his father. John and Mary Verner, Sr. named their known children David, James, John Jr., Mary, Samuel, George, Sarah, Diana, Charles, Jane, and Nancy, most of whose birth dates are just estimated. David Verner/Vernor of Lancaster County, PA was married to a Sarah and was a proven son of the immigrant Samuel Varner/Verner/Vernor, but he was probably not the eldest son in his family. Pennsylvania records suggest that David probably had brothers named Robert, James, Samuel, and John. Clara Verner Wallace wrote that John Verner, Sr. was the only son of David of Lancaster County, PA. She said that information was provided by a descendant in Colorado who had a family Bible that had belonged to a grandson of John Verner, Sr., but she did not name the person who reportedly had the Bible, so there is no way to verify that information. It is also possible that the Bible was a secondary source recorded based on hearsay, rather than a primary source recorded as the events occurred. It is also possible that someone had just inferred a relationship based on the naming pattern. However, if there was such a Bible, one would expect a grandson to probably know the name of his great-grandfather. It would certainly be nice if someone could find that Bible. The sequence of names of John's children suggests that he was a son of David and Sarah and a grandson of the immigrant Samuel. The first son could have been named after John's father, the second son after Mary's father, the first daughter after Mary's mother, and the second daughter after John's mother. The third son was named after John, the fourth son might have been named after John's probable grandfather Samuel, and the other two sons could have been named after grandparents or Mary's brothers. The names of John's and Mary's other daughters are similar to some of Mary's siblings except the daughter named Diana. Perhaps John had a sister named Diana. John Verner, Sr.'s theorized father David was apparently not the eldest son in his family, so he would have probably named his firstborn son after one of his brothers or after his wife's father. It appears that the "elder" John Verner of Lancaster County, PA was probably a brother of David Verner, so John Verner, Sr. might have been a namesake of the elder John, which would have been compatible with the custom of that period. David Verner/Vernor of Lancaster County died in 1743 and probably had minor children. John Verner, Sr. was old enough to purchase land by February 1749 (1749/50?), so he could certainly have been a child of David and Sarah. Those names could also be consistent with John having been a brother or cousin of the Martha Varner/Verner who married George Pattillo.
Who else might have been John's father? A James Verner/Vernor of Pennsylvania appears to have been another son of the immigrant Samuel. He died intestate in 1736/7 and appears to have left a widow Mary and possibly minor children. The names James and Mary were common in the descendants of John Verner, Sr., but that is not very helpful in theorizing relationships, because John's father-in-law was James Pettigrew and his mother-in-law was named Mary. If James Verner/Vernor was the father of John Verner, Sr., it would be compatible with the custom for James to have named his first son after one of his brothers, i.e. the elder John who appears to have been a brother of James. However, if that were true, why would John Verner, Sr. have named his first son David? One could argue that the son David and the daughter Sarah might have been named for a favorite uncle and aunt who perhaps had been influential in John's life, but that would not have been consistent with the naming customs of that period. If James was the father of John Verner, Sr., it would have been more likely that John Verner, Sr. would have named his first son James and named a later son David, rather than the reverse. In musing about names, we must remember that it is not certain that David and James of Lancaster County had minor children when they died.
What is not factual?
Penelope Johnson Allen was reportedly commissioned to write about the Pettigrew family for DAR purposes, and she wrote the article "Leaves from the Pettigrew Family Tree". In that article, it appears to me that she misinterpreted the letter by William Pettigrew, that she embellished some of the data, and that she wrongly listed as "facts" some dates that she had apparently inferred. Subsequent researchers and authors apparently assumed that Mrs. Allen's paper was entirely factual, so they repeated the misinformation. For instance, she wrote that Charles Pettigrew was the fifth child and that Mary Cochran Pettigrew was born in Pennsylvania in 1745, apparently based on her interpretation of the letter by William Pettigrew. I remind you that there is no proof of when or where Mary was born or her order in the family. I think that she was the fifth child, as I discussed above, but that is just my interpretation of the circumstantial evidence.
Clara Verner Wallace misinterpreted the facts and wrote that John Verner, Sr. was born in County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) and that he accompanied the Pettigrews to America and migrated south with them. That misinformation has been repeated by other authors. There is no evidence that John was ever in Ireland or was an immigrant. William Pettigrew said nothing about John in his family history. Circumstantial evidence suggests that John was probably born in America to one of the older men who were in Lancaster County, PA, most likely David, but possibly James. John was apparently in Virginia for several years before the Pettigrews moved there. He and his wife Mary moved to North Carolina at about the same time as the Pettigrews, but the Pettigrews moved to South Carolina several years before John and Mary did.
There are other similar items of misinformation in the various publications, so one must be cautious in interpreting them.
Please go to the link: SAMUEL VARNER/VERNER/VERNOR, born ca 1660, died by Oct 1725: for the continuation of Foy Varner's e-mail letter.