My Atwell Research

I’ve been climbing the Atwell tree since 1966, when my great-grandmother herself told me about her ancestry. She was born Lucy Birdie Atwell. Anyone around in the 1960s will think immediately of the Lyndon Johnson family with a Lynda, a Lucy, and a Lady Bird.

Her father was William Rush Atwell, 1854-1943, the son of…

Benjamin Atwell, 1807-1895. 

I corresponded with Hubert Atwell of Horse Cave, KY, 1919-2008, who sent details including cemetery pictures and locations. He was my half second cousin once removed. My dad met him on a trip to Kentucky in the 1980s.

I concentrated on getting census data on my Atwell ancestry, corresponded with other people, and found a few books about the Hart Co KY area. At that time, I didn’t even realize that Benjamin’s father…

John Atwell Jr, 1770/74-before 1840…

was brother to another Atwell family in that part of Kentucky, Richard Atwell, 1782/6-after 1850.

One fact Hubert Atwell gave me was that four families came to Kentucky from North Carolina together, the Atwells, the Jewells, the Nunns, and the Bastins. That was a big help in determining where in North Carolina my Atwells were from.

There was and still is a confusing situation. Two men about the same age are both named John Atwell, and both their fathers were called John as well. My family came from Maryland to Caswell Co NC after 1790. The other John Atwell, who married Martha Rice in 1786 in Prince Edward Co VA, moved to Caswell Co NC in 1819. I have never seen a connection between these families. I’ll attach what Mrs Robert Epps sent me about this family to an addendum to this long email.

A third John Atwell was also in Caswell Co NC, ca 1787 MD-1863 Iredell Co NC, married Benedicta “Beney” Smith.

Either my John Atwell or this man was a son of John Atwell, 1742-1827. This John had a son Locke Atwell, 1784 MD-1844 Rowan Co MD. I have several DNA matches to descendants of Locke Atwell. It is my opinion that other researchers have assumed this man’s wife’s name was Lockett because of Locke; but I ask, why not Locke as a surname? 

About this time in my research, a man from Alabama named Don Atwell visited cemeteries all over the south and collected many headstone transcripts, that he shared with me.

I kept for many years a list of all Atwell marriages I could find.

The Internet changed everything. This is when I was able to complete my census collection and put together valid and speculative family groups. I also traced what I could find on the Otwell family.

And DNA made another incredible leap in what could be known about our ancestry. I just checked at Family Tree DNA, that has a chromosome browser. I match Audra Reschly, who descends from Curtis Otwell through Shadrack to Sarah (Otwell) Hodson, at only 10 cM. She also has an 18 cM x-chromosome match with me, not through Otwells, unless they married early into another of my ancestral families.

I have been involved in DAR genealogy almost since I started genealogy. I currently have 25 proven Patriot Ancestors, although not any Atwell. Benjamin Atwell’s wife Susan Erwin has at least two patriots, James Curry and Joseph Bryan, so I documented my Atwells for DAR standards back to Benjamin and his wife. I have clear evidence linking Benjamin to John Atwell Jr, but don’t know if he is son or nephew of John Sr. I have many DNA links to descendants of both.