Jeremiah Cloud's Father

Traditional Genealogical Evidence

Jeremiah Cloud's ancestry has long been an enigma for researchers.  Many proposals have been offered, but no reputable documentary evidence has surfaced.  His obituary, which appeared in the Hempstead Courier [1] of April 6, 1861, says he was born in 1784 in Twiggs county, Georgia and emigrated to Alabama in 1814.  From Republic of Texas documents we know he emigrated to the Republic of Texas in 1837 and he died there in 1861.

A tantalizing tidbit appears in the book Youngblood-Armstrong and Allied Families on page 301, which states "... Henry George Washington Cloud, son of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Cloud, formerly of South Carolina".[2]  If H.G.W. had been in South Carolina, did Jeremiah reside there also?

DNA Evidence

The DNA shows that Jeremiah Cloud (1784 GA - 1861 TX) is descended from William Cloude (1621-1702) [3] who married Susan James.  The DNA trail takes us to his grandson, William Cloude (1691-1747) who married Elizabeth Hayes.

* One of the male descendants of William Cloud and Elizabeth Hayes is the father of Jeremiah Cloud, proven by DNA testing.

The figure above shows the DNA markers (SNPs) that were experienced by Jeremiah Cloud's ancestors.  SNP R-BY106858 [4] occurred around 1600 CE (95% probability) and was experienced by William Cloude-the-immigrant or one of his male ancestors.  SNP R-BY60009 [5] and SNP R-BY111185 [6] were experienced by each succeeding son, respectively.  There is a gap of about 90 years where the lineage is unknown, but R-BY116001 is a proven descendant of R-BY111185.  The missing lines can be filled as more people test.

Jeremiah Cloud of this article [7] or one of his close patrilineal ancestors experienced SNP R-BY116001 [8].  The man in our Project who reflects that SNP was our deceased cousin, Gary Thomas Cloud, the closest descendant of Jeremiah, being a great-great grandson through Jeremiah's youngest son Francis Marion Cloud.[9]

The "child" SNP of R-BY116001 is R-BY13865 [10] and is directly descended from Jeremiah and represents his son William Cloud.  It is reflected in the test results of three third cousins, each a fourth great grandson of Jeremiah through his eldest son William Cloud who married Margaret Frizzle.

Direct Male Descendants of William Cloud

William Cloud (1691-1747) who married Elizabeth Hayes is the last person identified by DNA as Jeremiah's ancestor.

Jeremiah or Ezekiel, his grandsons, appear to be the most likely father of Jeremiah – but bear in mind that there is confusion over the numerous Jeremiahs and that there may be incorrect or missing information in the genealogical data.

• 1. William Cloud (1691-1747) – proven by DNA
  • 2. Jeremiah Cloud (1722 VA - 1783 GA)
    • 3. Jeremiah Cloud (1750 VA - 1783 GA)
    • 3. Ezekiel Cloud (1762 NC - 1850 GA)

The listing below includes all known and proven direct male descendants, stopping at men who were born after 1770 as they would have been 14 years old or younger at Jeremiah's birth.  When studying the list, consider that the person probably lived in the vicinity of Twiggs county, Georgia and anyone who died before about 1783 could not be his father.

Proofs:

• The DNA lineage is primary evidence.
• Jeremiah's death date and place are primary evidence as it was provided by witnesses to the event.
• His birth date and place are secondary or tertiary evidence as there is no direct witness to the event.
• See Jeremiah's grandaughter Mary (Cloud) Rogers' Interview August, 1929.[11]

Potential Problems:

• The available information may be incomplete or inaccurate.
• Twiggs county, Georgia is reported as Jeremiah's birthplace in his obituary, but it wasn't created until 1809, 25 years after Jeremiah was born, and white settlers were discouraged from living in that region at the date of his birth.  See the research of Cecil Stokes — "In Search of Jeremiah Cloud Birthplace - Maps & Data". [12]  Wilkes county, Georgia is another location suggested as his birthplace.  That county is a little over 100 miles NE from where Twiggs county would later be formed.
• The genealogy may be inaccurate.
• There may be missing descendants.
• The Youngblood-Armstrong book is accepted as proof by the DAR, but the remark about his son H.G.W. Cloud being "formerly of South Carolina" may not refer to Jeremiah's residence and may be irrelevant.
• John Cloud, R.S. (1740 NC - 1840 LA) who married Elizabeth Lacey cannot be Jeremiah's father.  He had a son by the same name, born five years later in Kentucky, who is well-documented and has living descendants.

Conclusion:

The search for Jeremiah Cloud's father isn't over, but it has been significantly narrowed in scope.  The identity of his father is now a better educated guess than before.

Quick DNA Review:

This Project uses the Y chromosome, which identifies the male patriliineal line only.  The chart above comes from the Family Tree DNA [13] BigY test,[14] which uses stable mutations on the chromosome (SNPs) to create a pedigree tree.

See "Introduction to Genetic Genealogy".[15]

The sources below include a note specifying their level of authority (proof); 1) Primary – based on firsthand knowledge of an event, i.e. witnessing or participating in it.  2) Secondary – hearsay evidence by a non-observer; e.g. a family history, gravestone, newspaper article, a summary or story or letter, etc.  3) Tertiary – anecdotal, derivative or narrative accounts esp. those distant in time from the event.

Footnotes