Robert Ernest Harrell is my wife’s grandfather.
Some sources claim John Thomas Harrell arrived in North Carolina Colony prior to 1685, I have not yet found documentation to support this claim. Nonetheless, we know the Harrells were well established in North Carolina in the early 1700s. For decades no direct link could be found, however, between Robert Ernest Harrell’s father, William Joseph Harrell (born in 1861 in North Carolina) and earlier generations of Harrells. DNA testing changed that. Several of William’s known descendants had DNA testing done. Through DNA matching and analysis, previously unknown cousins were identified. Through those cousins documentation was gathered establishing William Joseph Harrell as the son of Joseph E. (born 1837) and Molly Harrell. That, in turn, enabled us to document the connections between Robert Ernest Harrell and many earlier generations of Harrells in North Carolina.
Score one major win for DNA testing!
Robert Ernest Harrell was born in 1888 in Bosley Gates, North Carolina. In 1920 he married Marguerite Furse (born 1893). They had three children, Robert, Marguerite and James. Marguerite died in 1930, leaving Robert with the three young children. He relocated to Stuart, Florida, where he met and married Louise Burgess in 1933. Louise helped raise the three children as her own, and Louise and Robert had one child together. Robert died in 1943 following a long illness, believe to have been related to being exposed to poison gas during World War I.
Related Surnames:
WIGGINS
MATTHEWS
BROOKS
BRINKLEY
And many others