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Welcome
to the Lineage and Document Section of our family history.
New information is being continusouly added and/or updated
so check back frequently. Enjoy!Family Lineage Charts and Resources NOTE: ANY PRESSLEY/PRESLEY FAMILY MEMBERS WISHING TO OFFER THEIR LINEAGE CHART FOR THIS PAGE, OR ALTER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US. WE WISH THIS TO BE A JOINT PRESLEY EFFORT. IF ANY PRESLEY FAMILY MEMBERS DO NOT WISH THEIR ANCESTRY TO BE INCLUDED ON THIS SITE, PLEASE LET US KNOW. ALL PRESLEY FAMILY MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO SEND US PHOTOS OF YOUR CIVIL WAR ANCESTOR FOR OUR ANCESTOR TRIBUTE. {THE NC PRESLEY/PRESSLEY/PRESLAR LINE ARE KINFOLK, and are also kin to the Russell County, VA Presleys. } We wish to be more specific here about Mr. Jones involvement in Presley research. Never have we ever stated that Mr. Jones did a book, or a genealogy about Elvis. This is a total misconception, and as our remarks here have been obviously misconstrued, we would like to clarify that while "according to Presley research sources, Henry Z. Jones began the quest on Presley genealogy," this was due to his genealogical studies on the Palatinate Germans which included information on the Bressler/Preslar line. His work was followed upon and elaborated on by the further research on the Preslar/Presley line researched by Ed Dunn and Donald Presley with their publication of "The Rhineland to Graceland," which draws upon the conclusion that the Presleys of NC, and their descendants, are of German decent and descend further from the Valentine Preslar line which began in the US of A in New York. Cecil County, MD., St. Stephen Parish, begins the documentation surrounding the descendants of Valentine Preslar through his son, Andreas Preslar and family, and we can follow their journey through VA and on into NC through Andrew's sons: John, Thomas, and Andreas (Andrew), Jr. The forebears of some other Presley family lines are noted as David Pressley from Scotland and William Presley of England. {NOTE: The John Presley of South Carolina who served in the American Revolution is the son of David Pressley of Scotland and not the same John Presley from NC to TN.} These lines are not recently related to the German Bressler/Preslar lines, however, it is documented that some Bresslers from Germany did migrate to the UK for a time, namely in England and Glasgow, Scotland. The goal of the Presley family is to help unravel the mystery of all Presley origins. With many thanks owed to our Pressley/Presley/Preslar family researchers. The goal of The Kin of Rock and Roll is to aid in confirming and validating sources. SO BEGINS THE STORY... According to The Bresslers/Presslers of Niederhochstadt, by Elizabeth Bressler Bunting Offprint from Mennonite Family History, Volume XI, No. 1, January, 1992, two sets of Bresslers came from Germany in 1749 and settled in the Pennsylvania counties of Berks and Lancaster. These would be cousins of Valentine Bressler/Preslar. One Hans Valanten Bressler married an Anna Catharina.  Regarding the sons of Valentine and Christina Bressler /Preslar , we find the following information as given by a Preslar descendant, Robert Allen, who defines for us that the two sets of Preslars living in Anson County, NC, are not only the children of Andreas and Antje Wills, but of Hans Jurie Preslar, brother of Andreas. It appears that the descendants of Hans Jurie kept the "Preslar" surname while the descendants of Andreas seem to have shifted over to Pressley and Presley, perhpas to differentiate between the two families. Allen writes that "... Valentine Preslar, the founder of the family in America, was born in the Palatinate, Germany, 1669 in the village of Hochstadt (where the Preslar family was first mentioned in 1494); Valentine was employed there as a vine dresser; he married Christina Franse and immigrated to New York in 1710; In the early generations of the family the German surnames were often turned into English (in parenthesis); after the mid-1800s many menbers of the family changed their last name to Pressley or Pressly." John Valentine Bressler/Preslar Line Children of Valentine and Christina: Anna Elizabeth Preslar b. 1696 Children born and baptized in St. Stephen's Parish, Cecil County, MD: Christian Preslar b. 1725 Hans Jurie (John) Preslar
(son of Valentine) m.
Mary ____. Children: John Preslar Line of Andrew Pressley, Jr. Andrew Presley, Jr. Line - first generation NC/SC/TN/MS {Elvis direct line for those following this course} Andrew Jr., younger brother of Thomas, was born 1732. His children, according to existing and various documents, were: Charles, John, Andrew, III, Peter, and Joseph. John, born in Rowan County, NC in 1748, served in the American Revolutionary War for his brother, Peter, born in 1756. After the war, John relocated to Monroe County, TN, where he filed for a pension and received it beginning 1833. He was 84 years old. John was in Monroe County, TN, at the same time as Dunning Presley and Dunning, Jr. who was born in Monroe in 1827. However, John, it was said, moved there to be close to his children. Charles Presley also served in the American Revolution along with his wife, Polly Keziah. John Presley, son of Andrew, Jr. is the father of Dunning (Dunnan) Pressley. We do have Dunning, Sr. listed by himself on the 1810 Buncombe County Census, and on the 1820 census record for Buncombe County, NC, along with John Presley. It is now believed that John Presley may have been married to a Casiah/Keziah, daughter of Dunning Casiah, the neighbor of Andrew Prestley, and whose other daughter, Mary Polly Keziah, married Andrew's eldest son, Charles. John's son, Dunning John Pressley, providing that his mother was a Casiah, would have been, in Tuscarora tradition, named for the maternal grandfather, in this case, DUNNING Casiah. Interesting to note here are the census records and applications for Rev. War pensions that show us Andrew Presley/Priestly with Charles, John, and Anthony,and Andrew, III, born in 1754, also a son of Andrew, Jr., also had a son named John, both of who also moved to TN. Both Andrew Presley and his brother John were given Bounty-Land Warrants which is why they moved to SC and TN from NC. We have Charles Presley/Priestley who served of his own accord but also stepped in to serve in the stead of both Andrew and John, his brothers. John had recalled in his pension that he had served in the stead of his brother, Peter. Dunning (Dunnan) Pressley, Sr. was born 1780 in Lancaster County, South Carolina, and died at age 70 in 1850 in Polk County, Tennessee. He married (1) Mary. He married (2) Catherine on Abt. 1808 in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Children
of Dunning Pressley and Catherine are: Dunning Pressley Jr. was born on July 1, 1827 in Monroe County, Tennessee. On November 1, 1847 at the age of 20 he enlisted at Knoxville as a private in Captain Jno. C. Vaughn's Company C of the 5th Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers. His regiment served in the War with Mexico, and between February and April of 1848 he was in San Juan, Mexico, and in May 1848 he was at National Bridge, Mexico. By July 2, 1848 he was on board ship returning to the United States where he was discharged at Memphis on July 20th. On November 7th he was issued a warrant for 160 acres of land based on his army service. It was sent to him in care of Rufus Smith in Madisonville, Tennessee. Dunning returned home to his wife and eldest daughter whom he had left in Tennessee. He had married Elizabeth probably about 1845 in North Carolina or Tennessee and to this union were finally born five children: Elvira E. in 1846, Elizabeth in 1848, Joshua in 1851, Dunning in 1852, and Nancy Jane in 1854. Elizabeth died about 1860, and soon thereafter,
leaving his children probably with relatives, Dunning found himself
in northeastern Mississippi. On August 15, 1861 he married a second
time in Itawamba County, Mississippi, to Martha Jane Wesson. As
in his first marriage, he soon went off to war again. On May 11,
1863 he enlisted at Grenada, Mississippi, in Company E, Hamm's Regiment,
Mississippi Cavalry. Perhaps, like many other Civil War soldiers,
he was concerned about his family back home and temporarily deserted
in order to investigate their circumstances, because from January
18 to June 30, 1864 he was listed as deserted and absent without
leave. He returned to his unit for the final roll call. CHILD
OF DUNNING AND HARRIET, JAMES PRESSLEY LINE Children
of (Dumis) Pressley, Jr. and Martha Jane Wesson (direct line of
Elvis Presley) are: Children of Rosella Elizabeth
Pressley are: More About Jessie D. McDowell (?)Presley
and *Minnie Mae Hood: Children of Jessie Dunning
McDowell (?)Presley (Wallace) Vernon Elvis Pressley/Presley was born April 10, 1916 in Fulton, Itawamba County, Mississippi, and died June 26, 1979. He married (1) Gladys Love Smith on June 17, 1933 in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. He married (2) Davada (Dee) Mae (Elliott) Stanley. More About Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys
Love Smith: Children of Vernon Elvis
Presley and Gladys Love Smith are: Children of Elvis Aaron Presley and Priscilla
Ann Beaulieu are: |
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Line of Thomas Presley Regarding the founder of The Kin of Rock and Roll , her direct ancestor, Thomas Presley was the second eldest son of Andrew Presley, Sr. Andrew Presley, Jr. is the line from which Elvis Presley descended. Aside from being descended directly from the Presley line, The Kin of Rock and Roll's family descends down through many intermarriages between Presley and other inter-related lines including the Harrison, King, Edwards, Taylor, Hood, Winchester, Keziah, Crowell and Hargett families who began in NC and settled in SC, AL, TN, and then MS in Itawamba , Lee, and Leake Counties. From NC, members of the families of Thomas and Andrew migrated together down through SC, TN, and MISS, yet always remaining at least one county apart. While the brothers Presley settled in Anson County, NC, in the early 1700's, brother Andrew seems to have had the wanderlust about him. The Presleys were large landowners and during the course of the Revolutionary War it seems they were back and forth between NC and SC at frequent intervals. We know from Revolutionary War information that during the 1700's these areas were subject to Indian attacks, which could explain why some of these families moved around quite a bit. The Mystery Surrounding Thomas Presley Thomas Presley's 1st wife was a Culpepper as he married a " ? Culpetter", according to the US and International Marriage Records-1741- 1968. There is no female Culpepper fitted into an acceptable time frame for the wife of Thomas so it is with a guesstimate at this time that the lady Culpepper's was a Culpepper through marriage only. This is still under investigation. Thomas Presley's second wife was Sarah Lee. There were two Sarah Lee's. First, the wife of Robert Lee, Sarah, was widowed in 1766. A copy of Robert Lee's Will (below) shows his wife as Sarah, and Thomas Presley as one who purchased goods from the estate. It also shows another SARAH LEE, the daughter of Robert and Sarah Lee, who was married to William Crittendon of Anson County, NC. (source: David Duncan for Brooks family history. Naomi Brooks married to John Crittendon, s/o William Crittendon and Sarah Lee.) Last Will and Testament of Robert Lee of Anson County, NC Sarah Lee (Crittendon), the daughter, was born ca. 1740's and would have been closest in age to Thomas Presley. However, according to Thomas' Will, which he drew up shortly before his death, he mentions William Crittendon as his "true & trusty friend." William Crittendon is still alive at the time of Thomas' death in 1808. Sarah Lee, the elder, is the most likely candidate for the second wife of Thomas Presley. Thomas and Sarah Lee, aside from each first group of children had four more together; all girls: Rebecca (Pool), Jean Presley, Mary (Thomas), and Nancy (Pool). Thomas Presley Line - first generation NC/SC/TN/MS  Thomas Presley died in July of 1808. There lingers some confusion surrounding Sarah Presley (Preslar). A Sarah Lee had been married also to William Crittendon of Anson County, NC. (source: David Duncan for Brooks family history. Naomi Brooks married to John Crittendon, s/o William Crittendon and Sarah Lee.) William Crittendon, b. ca. 1765, was the "true & trusty friend" mentioned by Thomas Presley (Preslar) in his Will. This Sarah Lee was Sarah Lee Culpepper, a daughter of Sarah Lee and Robert Lee Culpepper. This daughter, Sarah Crittendon, is mentioned in Robert Lee Culpepper's Will. Still more confusion according to Armenia Church records and a photo of a tombstone for a Sarah Preslar buried in Armenia Methodist Church Cemetery, Chester, SC. According to the inscription Sarah was the "consort of Thomas Preslar." Sarah died 9 May 1858 at 71 years of age. That would give her birth year as 1787. Who is this Sarah Preslar? NOTE: Two of the first settlers and original landowners in Anson County, NC, were John Culpepper and John Lee. Thomas seems to have known both men quite well and had married into their families. Congressman John Culpepper was the grandson-in-law of Sarah Lee through her daughter, Amelia, whose daughter, Mary Yarbrough was his wife, and John Lee was a son of Sarah and Robert Lee.
Thomas Presley, Sr. and
first wife Culpepper had the following children: 2. Sarah Presley was born about 1756. She married George Helms, Jr., brother of John Helms. 3. Anna Presley was born about 1774. She married Levi Preslar ca. 1820 in Mecklenburg County, NC. 4. Richard Presley was born 15 March 1760. (married Mary Helms, niece of John Helms) The children of Richard Presley largely married into the Hargett family. 5. Elizabeth Presley was born about 1760.
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