Surname Saturday: The Family of James Brittain

I'm finally jumping on the Surname Saturday bandwagon, and I'm not sure what took me so long. Surname Saturday is a chance for genealogy bloggers to highlight one surname in their family and trace that line from the known beginning to the present day.

Fittingly, my first Surname Saturday post spans nine generations (including my sister and me) and covers my own surname: Brittain. I'm starting with my 6th great grandfather, James Brittain, who is believed to be the first known patriarch of my line of Brittains. I also often see his father listed as Asa Brittain, but I have no idea if there's any proof of that at all. If there are any others out there researching this surname, please feel free to get in touch with me so we can share our information!


1. James Brittain (6th Great Grandfather)
b. 1709 in Wales (unconfirmed)
m. Mary Whitty in 1726 in Virginia (unconfirmed)
d. 1776 in Guilford County, North Carolina (unconfirmed) 

Confirmed Children with Mary Whitty:

1. Nathaniel Brittain (1734-1776)

(James and Mary reportedly had many other children, but I don't have confirmation of them)  

2. Nathaniel Brittain (5th Great Grandfather)
b. 1734 in Chesterfield County, Virginia
m. Elizabeth Parks (1742-?) in 1760 in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky
d. October 17, 1776 in Virginia while in service during the Revolutionary War 

Children with Elizabeth Parks:
1. Nathaniel Brittain (1761-)
2. Sarah Susan Brittain (1766-1829)
3. James Brittain (1766-1841)
4. Levi Brittain (1768-1838)
5. George Brittain (1770-1850)

6. Parks Brittain (1771-1846)

7. William Brittain (1772-1808)
8. Mary Brittain (1774-) 

3. Parks Brittain (4th Great Grandfather)
b. July 10, 1771, in Virginia
m. 1. Sally Leonard; 2. Elizabeth King (1780-1809) in about 1798 in Barren County, Kentucky; 3. Sarah Price (1775-1843) on November 10, 1810, in Barren County, Kentucky
d. September 6, 1846, in Shaky Run, Keokuk County, Iowa 

Children with Elizabeth King:
1. Harmon Brittain (1799-1875)
2. Mary Polly Brittain (1801-1842)
3. James Franklin Brittain (1803-1877)
4. Nathaniel Brittain (1804-1852)
5. Sarah Sallie Brittain (1807-1865) 

Children with Sarah Price:
6. William Brittain (1811-1884)
7. Elizabeth Brittain (1812-1868)
8. George N. Brittain (1814-1877)
9. Francis McGuire Brittain (1817-1885)
10. Eliza Jane Brittain (1820-1852)

11. Milton Price Brittain (1822-1898)

12. Matilda Brittain (1824-1897)
13. Mariana Brittain (1827-1913) 

4. Milton Price Brittain (3rd Great Grandfather)
b. June 20, 1822, in Rock Castle, Barren County, Kentucky
m. Nancy Garriott (1828-1912) on January 25, 1843, in Henry County, Iowa
d. February 19, 1898, in Payne County, Oklahoma 

Children with Nancy Garriott:
1. Matilda Jane Brittain (1844-1918)
2. William Parks Brittain (1845-1921)
3. Jonathan Francis Brittain (1848-1884)
4. John Marion Brittain (1850-1853)
5. Mary Margaret Brittain (1853-1930)
6. Sintha Ann Brittain (1857-1860)

7. Frederick Harmon Brittain (1859-1921)

8. Milton Harvey Brittain (1861-1923)
9. Nancy Etta Brittain (1864-1936)
10. Leander Brittain (1866-1939)
11. Eliza Brittain (1869-)

Milton Price Brittain & Nancy Garriott

5. Frederick Harmon Brittain (2nd Great Grandfather)
b. January 20, 1859, in Keokuk County, Iowa
m. 1. Mary Jane Rooks (1862-1904) on September 14, 1879, in Lowery City, Missouri; 2. Sarah Frances Young (1866-1960) in 1906 in Stroud Creek, Oklahoma
d. February 6, 1921, in Wheeler, Van Buren County, Arkansas 

Children with Mary Jane Rooks:
1. Infant Brittain (1880-1880)
2. Nellie E. Brittain (1881-1882)
3. Mary Olive Brittain (1883-1917)
4. Melton Park Brittain (1885-1967)
5. Sarah Serina Brittain (1886-1981)

6. Andrew Lee Brittain (1888-1954)

7. Frederick Harmon Brittain (1889-1943)
8. Robert Ellis Brittain (1891-1965)
9. Ruben Franklin Brittain (1893-1967)
10. Allouise L. Brittain (1895-1974)
11. James M. Brittain (1896-1899)
12. Alice Blanch Brittain (1901-1977) 

Children with Sarah Frances Young:
13. Georgia L. Brittain (1905-)
14. Willie E. Brittain (1908-1910)
15. Jessie Brittain (1914-)

Frederick Harmon Brittain and his kids

6. Andrew Lee Brittain (Great Grandfather)
b. February 26, 1888, in Omaha, Boone County, Arkansas
m. Jessie Luetta Halstead (1898-1974) on September 24, 1919, in Cushing, Payne County, Oklahoma
d. January 22, 1954, in Hayward, Alameda County, California 

Children with Jessie Luetta Halstead:

1. Woodie Leroy Brittain (living)

2. Amos Lee Brittain (1922-1922)
3. Audrie Catherine Brittain (living)
4. Anna Pauline Brittain (1926-1999)
5. Evelyn Lea Brittain (living)

Andrew Lee Brittain & Jessie Luetta Halstead

7. Woodie Leroy Brittain (Grandfather)
b. living
m. Edith Vivian Hunt (1921-1993) on August 18, 1938, in Oklahoma
d. living 

Children with Edith Vivian Hunt:

1. William Lee Brittain (1942-2003)

Woodie Leroy Brittain & Edith Vivian Hunt
holding William Lee Brittain

8. William Lee Brittain  (Father)
b. October 28, 1942, in Hayward, Alameda County, California
m. Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram (living) on September 12, 1964, in Reno, Washoe County, Nevada
d. January 4, 2003, in Stanford, Santa Clara County California 

Children with Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram:

1. Wendy Lee Brittain (Me!)

2. Cynthia Lynn Brittain (living)

William Lee Brittain, Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram
with Cynthia Lynn Brittain, Wendy Lee Brittain and Pepper

Stay tuned for the next Surname Saturday, when I'll focus on the Bartram family!