A Bit of Pannell Detective Work: Part 1
Prior to my investigations, our family was aware of our Pannell branch going back as far as William Dodd Pannell (1824?-1877?) [2nd great grandfather; NextGen: 3rd great grandfather], depicted above in a story from the Greenville Leader-News of March 1984 (yes, the date is right—this was a retrospective on TB Pannell published 50 years after his death in 1934). Here is how Ancestry.com describes my descendancy from Rev. William:
William Dodd Pannell 1824?-1877?
2nd great-grandfather
Son of William Dodd Pannell
Son of Thomas Benjamin Pannell
Son of Stephen Lemont Pannell
Charles Andrew Pannell [and my siblings]
You are the son of Robert Lemont Pannell
“Thomas Benjamin Pannell (pronounced Panel) was born on a farm in the Friendship community, February 23, 1860. His parents, the Reverend William Dodd and Saluda (Lutie) Ann Walker Pannell had moved from Todd County in 1855 and settled in the Friendship neighborhood (three miles south of Greenville) where he farmed and became a popular Baptist preacher in that area. The Pannells had three sons: James P., Thomas B., and Frank B. Pannell. Their father, a circuit-riding preacher-farmer, died on the family farm near the Friendship Baptist Church in 1877.”
The book A History of Muhlenberg County, by Otto Rothert (1913) says this on page 183:
“One of Friendship's best-known preachers was the Reverend William Dodd Pannell, who was born in Todd County in 1824, came to Friendship about 1855, and died on his farm, near the church, in 1877. He was the father of James P., Thomas B., and Frank B. Pannell.”
So how to find Rev. William Dodd Pannell's parents? A clue in the first quote states that he and his wife had moved from Todd County in 1855. The 1850 census for Todd County, Kentucky, might have a clue. And then, the 1840 and 1830 census, where he would probably be living with his parents, also in Todd County(?).
Our first stop will be looking for a Kentucky marriage record for a William Pannell and a Saluda Walker. Ancestry.com search comes up with a likely record. In it we find that a W.D. Pannell married an S.A. Walker on 17 Jul 1856. It says that W.D. is 30, and was born in Todd County; it says that S.A. is 23, a resident of Muhlenberg, and was born in Tennessee.
So we have some clues. William was not yet married when he moved to Muhlenberg County from Todd County. He was 30 in 1856, which would make him born in about 1826 and would be 24 in the 1850 census. And we should look for the Walkers in Tennessee at some point.
We have another clue in William's middle name, Dodd. It is not a conventional middle name, but instead, a surname. Most of the time, we would expect a middle surname to be the maiden name of the person's mother, as is the case with President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Another possibility is that the person is named after someone famous, like our great grandfather Andrew Jackson Arrington. I don't know of a famous William Dodd, so I will instead be looking for Dodd as the maiden name of his mother.
In the Todd County census for 1850 we find two possible entries, both with a Wm Pannell about the proper age. Which could be our William Dodd Pannell? Maybe both (remember that Stephen L. Pannell appears in two different locations in the 1920 census, so double counting is certainly possible)?
Here are the details:
One entry has Wm Pannell listed, aged 25, living with another family (not Pannells): The head of the family is a Levi Powell, aged 36, a farmer. With him is a female with the same last name (presumably his wife), Edith Powell, aged 26. There are no children. No occupation is given for Wm Pannell.
The other entry has Wm Pannell listed as a laborer, aged 23, living with another family (not Pannells): The head of the family is a Wm Dodd(s), aged 35, a farmer. He is living with his wife, Cynthia, aged 30. There are also two children, Henry and Susan, aged 12 and 8. It is hard to believe the last name is a coincidence! And he is a William Dodd himself! Could this William Dodd be related to William Dodd Pannell's mother, whom we suspect may be a Dodd? Could our ancestor be named after this William Dodd, presumably his uncle?
Either or both of these could be our WD Pannell. Does it matter which one? The first one would give us a birth year about 1825, the second 1827. It is possible that WD lived in both households during the year, and the age was estimated by the person who gave the information to the census taker.
The next thing to check would be the 1840 census for Todd County. WD Pannell should be 15 or 13, meaning that he should be living in a family led by a Pannell, presumably his mother or father.
There is a big problem with the census information from 1840 and earlier: Only the head of household's name is listed. The other members are enumerated in columns, male and female, reflecting their ages in decades. So it will be impossible to confirm the existence of children by name. Instead, all we can do is find an entry with a number in the appropriate column.
We do find a Pannel, Benj in Todd in 1840! I am excited to find a Benjamin, as that is clearly a family name that has been passed down through the generations! That makes me think this is our 3rd great grandfather (NextGen: 4th great grandfather)! Let's check the children: The household enumeration includes the head and all residents. [This census roll is alphabetical rather than by street address, so we also find our friend from 1850, Levi Powell, listed nearby.]
The Benjamin Pannell household has: 1 male 10-15 (we were looking for age 13-15), and 1 male aged 80-90(!). There are also 1 female 5-10, 2 females 10-15, and one female 30-40.
So we have a problem: Benjamin Pannell (or Benj Pannel) is too old to be the father of four children between 5-15. With the last name Pannell, this must be WD Pannell's grandfather, not his father. His father must be deceased, or away for some reason. The 30-40 year old woman must be his mother. It is too bad no names or exact ages are given!
If I am right, Benjamin Pannell must be our 4th great grandfather (NextGen: 5th great grandfather)! Now it is time to check the 1830 census, looking for a 1-10 year old male and a 20-30 year old female. WD's father should still be alive in 1830, since he sired additional children, but what would his given name be?
The 1830 census has a Benjamin P Pannell: The counts are 1 male 5-10 (WD!), 1 male 30-40 (WD's father), and 1 male 60-70 (his grandfather); also 2 females under 5, and a female aged 20-30 (his mother). One of the daughter's that appears in 1840 hasn't been born yet. Also, they seem to have shaved 10 years off grandpa's age.
Presumably, the head of household is Benjamin P. Pannell, Jr., although it is conceivable that this is considered the household of the grandfather, in which case we still would not know the name of the son. I will for now assume they are both Benjamins.
I also don't have proof yet that the Benjamins are the father and grandfather of William Dodd Pannell, but there is some reasonable circumstantial evidence. Armed with their names, probable ages, and locations, I can now search for other records to try to pin this down. One day, I would love to travel to Todd County, Kentucky, to nail down that birth certificate.
That is enough for Part 1. I hope it was not too tedious. If you think of it as a detective story🔍, the reward of which is family knowledge💎, then I think it can be of interest.
In Part 2, I discover an important document: a bequest by the elder Benjamin that lists his male children and grandchildren's names! We will also discover that the elder Benjamin, our purported 4th great grandfather (NextGen: 5th great grandfather), is a veteran of the American Revolutionary War from Virginia trying to get a pension!
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