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I'm wondering whether any readers of this forum might have some thoughts on the Phipps families of Ashe Co., NC and where they originated from. Some of us have been working on this question off and on for decades.
One thought has been that perhaps they descend from the Quaker Phipps families of PA, who evidently descend from Joseph Phipps, born 1640 Reading, Berkshire, England and died 1716 Abington, Philadelphia Co., PA.
I am a direct descendant of Samuel Phipps (1762-1854) and his wife Elizabeth ("Betty") (Reeves) Phipps (1762-1845) of Ashe Co., NC. I recently had DNA testing done, and found clear evidence of British Isles roots, something I had been questioning after reading suggestions that the Phippses might have Melungeon connections. (See, for example, Robyn Vaughan Kennedy, The Melungeons, pp. 60-61 - see Google Books.)
My thinking after seeing the DNA results is that no, my Phipps family were not Melungeons who picked up the Phipps name from English settlers around them, but evidence does suggest that Betty (Reeves) Phipps was likely Melungeon or had Melungeon ancestry.
What I'm finding intriguing is the way that Phippses left the area of Ashe County, NC and Washington Co., VA in evidently two migrations - one around the early 1810s and another around the early 1830s. Some of them left around the same time as families they were associated with in NC with surnames that come up repeatedly in literature about Melungeons.
The DNA, again, however, suggests a strong tie to the PA Quaker Phippses. I've noticed over and over, in those PA Quaker records that I've read, that Phipps family members were disciplined and even disowned because they did one thing or another that was not in keeping with the Quaker beliefs. Do I descend from a disowned Quaker who lived in PA, but was kicked out of the church and so moved to VA and/or NC? If so, what is the specific tie?
My DNA appears to very closely match that of a descendant of the Joshua Phipps (1769-1857, married Elizabeth Rice and Rosanna unknown) who was born in Botetourt Co., VA and who died in Randolph Co., MO. He clearly has Chester Co., PA Quaker ancestry, and apparently was the son of an earlier Joshua Phipps (1746-1835, married Esther Acton) of Chester Co., PA. Is this earlier Joshua - or someone else closely associated with him - my "missing link" between NC/VA, on the one hand, and PA on the other?
Many, many researchers have posted all over the Internet the claim that the father of my Samuel Phipps who married Betty Reeves was Joseph Phipps, but this is not in any sense proven. I personally knew the researcher who originated this theory back in the 1980s, and even he admitted that he was not positive it was correct.
One factor that's caused a lot of confusion is changes in the county names and county boundaries over the years in both VA and NC. I need to study this area, and I don't know much about it, but it appears that Botetourt Co., VA, where this Joshua Phipps lived, is essentially around the same area as Washington Co., VA, Grayson, Co., VA, and Ashe Co., NC (areas associated with my family), depending on what time frame you're dealing with.
Joshua Phipps who was born in 1746 was born in Uwchlan Twp., Chester Co., PA. By 1772, he was living in Botetourt Co., VA. (Apparently Botetourt didn't exist until 1770, and originally covered a much larger area than it does today.) On 13 Nov 1772 Joshua, who (again) was born in Chester Co., PA was appointed to a road committee in Botetourt Co., VA. Then in 1776, he enlisted in Revolutionary War service from Botetourt Co., VA. By 1818, when he drew a pension, he was living in Green Co., KY.
Is there any possibility that this Joshua fathered more children in VA than we know about? Is it possible that he left PA for VA with a brother or two who fathered even more children? Am I getting close to the "missing link" - or at least warm?
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