Identifying the Parents of Daniel Sullivan through Tax, DNA, and Onomastic Analysis
by Shawn Henry Potter and Lois Carol Potter
renatuspress@gmail.com
I. Introduction:
In 1990, former President of the Virginia Genealogical Society and Historian Emeritus of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia, William L. Deyo, identified Burgess Sullivan (c. 1725-c. 1794) of King George County, Virginia, as a brother of Darby Sullivan (c. 1722-c. 1800), of neighboring Stafford County, Virginia.[1] Deyo further observed that Burgess Sullivan married Anne Carver in St. Paul Parish, King George County, on 3 Feb 1747/8.[2] Parish records list the births of three children of Burgess Sullivan and Anne Carver: Sallie, born 24 Oct 1748, William, born 8 Oct 1750, and Harry, born 6 Jul 1758.[3] Given the absence of records for additional children, Ann Carver may have died soon after Harry’s birth. Burgess Sullivan married secondly Linney Wilkerson, daughter of Thomas Wilkerson and Anne Fling of King George County, likely soon after 1758 but certainly before 6 Apr 1785, when Thomas Wilkerson mentioned “my daughter Linney Sullivan” in his will.[4]
More recently, Deyo privately shared his belief – drawn from a lifetime of research among Stafford and King George county records – that Burgess Sullivan was the father of Daniel Sullivan, who married Jane Settle (daughter of Abraham Settle and Judith Wilkerson) in King George County on 3 Aug 1787 and died in Hardin County, Kentucky, after signing his will on 8 Jun 1845 and before his will was proven on 21 Jul 1845.[5] Through a multi-disciplinary analysis of tax records, Y-DNA, autosomal DNA, and naming patterns, we demonstrate that Deyo is correct. Daniel Sullivan, who married Jane Settle, was a son of Burgess Sullivan and Linney Wilkerson.
II. Results:
We examined 20 years of King George County Personal Property Tax Lists from 1782 to 1802 for entries related to the Sullivan family and their kin.[6] Our search was informed by the following tree of proven and proposed relationships among Sullivan and allied families in King George County. (Note: Darby Sullivan, Sr., and Darby Sullivan, Jr., resided in Stafford County, but Martin Sullivan, Sr. – son of Darby Sullivan, Jr. – moved to King George County with his sons, Martin Sullivan, Jr., and Daniel Sullivan.)
Personal Property Tax Lists
From 1782 to 1792, King George County residents were divided into enumeration sections, which separated two branches of the Sullivan family. Burgess Sullivan lived near his sons and in-laws in one section, while his nephew Martin Sullivan, Sr., lived near his own sons in another. Abraham and Judith Settle – in-laws of Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) – resided in the same section as Burgess Sullivan, Daniel Sullivan, and other close relatives.
Sons of Burgess Sullivan and Martin Sullivan, Sr., appear on the tax lists upon reaching age 21: Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) in 1787, Martin Sullivan, Jr. in 1796, and Daniel Sullivan (son of Martin Sullivan, Sr.) in 1799.
William Sullivan, son of Burgess Sullivan, signed his will on 2 Jun 1789 (naming his wife Sarah) and his will was proven on 6 Jan 1791.[7] Accordingly, his widow Sarah Sullivan appears on the 1790 tax list. Similarly, while Abraham Settle’s will has not been found, his estate was taxed, and his widow Judith Settle appears separately in 1792. Thomas Wilkerson, father-in-law of Burgess Sullivan, signed his will on 6 Apr 1785 (omitting his wife Anne Fling, who likely predeceased him) and his will was proven on 5 May 1785. His estate appears on the 1785 tax list.[8]
Burgess Sullivan and Daniel Sullivan appear together – out of alphabetical order – at the bottom of the 1788 tax list, suggesting the enumerator missed them initially and added them later, indicating a close connection.
Burgess Sullivan is absent from the 1795 King George list but appears in 1796 and 1797 Stafford County tax lists and then appears in 1798, 1799, 1800, and 1801 Spotsylvania County tax lists.[9] This aligns with his purchase of 100 acres (“on the south side of the main branch of Rozier’s Creek”) in Hanover Parish, King George County, from Anthony and Elizabeth Price, for £45, on 7 May 1791, and the sale of this same property by Burgess and Linney Sullivan (then “of the County of Spotsylvania”) to James Edward for £45 on 4 Apr 1799.[10]
Daniel Sullivan is absent from the 1802 list, consistent with his move to Kentucky and appearance on the 1803 Green County tax list.[11]
Y-DNA Haplotypes
The Y-DNA haplotype of a direct male-line descendant of William Sullivan (son of Burgess Sullivan; FamilyTreeDNA #500922) closely matches that of a direct male-line descendant of Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle; FamilyTreeDNA #646815). Of the first 111 Short Tandem Repeat (STR) markers, 107 are identical.[12] Differences include: in the ancestry of descendant 500922, CDYb changed from 39 to 38 and DYS714 changed from 25 to 23; and in the ancestry of descendant 646815, DYS393 changed from 13 to 14 and DYS712 changed from 20 to 19.
Autosomal DNA
The proposed family structure of Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle reveals a double descent from Thomas Wilkerson and Anne Fling – through Linney Wilkerson (Daniel Sullivan’s mother) and through Judith Wilkerson (Jane Settle’s mother). Thus, Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle were first cousins. Descendants of Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle should share larger autosomal DNA segments with other descendants of Abraham Settle and Judith Wilkerson than expected without this double link.
We compared autosomal DNA from five descendants of Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle (average 6.8 generations removed) with five non-overlapping descendants of Abraham Settle and Judith Wilkerson (average 7.4 generations removed), ensuring no other shared ancestry via GEDCOM review. This represents about 14.2 transmission events. Using GEDmatch’s one-to-one comparison tool (reporting segments ≥5cM), results show:
Match frequency between these groups is 56% (much greater than the expected 10% for 14 events), strongly supporting the first-cousin relationship and double Wilkerson descent.
Naming Patterns
The name “Price” appears in the Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle family (e.g., their son Price Sullivan, born 8 Mar 1790).[13] This uncommon name links to Burgess Sullivan’s 1791 land transaction with Anthony and Elizabeth Price, suggesting naming influence or association.[14]
III. Discussion:
Personal Property Tax Lists
Separate enumeration sections highlight distinct neighborhoods: Burgess Sullivan, William Sullivan, Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle), Abraham Settle, and Thomas Wilkerson in one; Martin Sullivan, Sr., with his sons in another. These two groups represent related but distinct Sullivan families.
First appearances align with individuals turning 21, and shared sections with in-laws support familial ties. Tax records place Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) in Burgess Sullivan’s household the moment he reached legal majority.
The 1788 out-of-order listing provides compelling evidence of a close family connection.
The disappearance of Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) from King George County, Virginia, tax lists in 1802 and appearance in Green County, Kentucky, tax lists in 1803, supports the identification of Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) as the son of Burgess Sullivan.
Y-DNA Haplotypes
The near-identical haplotypes confirm they share a recent common direct male-line ancestor – Burgess Sullivan.
Autosomal DNA
The elevated 56% match frequency proves he is the son of Burgess Sullivan’s second wife, Linney Wilkerson.
Naming Patterns
The “Price” name, rare locally, ties Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) to Burgess Sullivan associates, reinforcing this parent-child link.
IV. Conclusion:
The integrated analysis of tax list proximity, Y-DNA haplogroups, autosomal DNA match frequencies, and naming patterns provides conclusive evidence that Daniel Sullivan (who married Jane Settle) was a son of Burgess Sullivan and Linney Wilkerson.
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[1] William L. Deyo, “A Sullivan Family of Stafford County, Virginia,” in Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 28, Nov. 1990, Number 4, 249. For more information about this author’s research, see https://billdeyo.com/
[2] Deyo, 249. See also John Bailey Calvert Nicklin, St. Paul’s Parish Register (Stafford – King George Counties) 1715-1798 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Book Company, 1962), 62.
[3] Nicklin, 62.
[4] Deyo, 249, citing King George County W-2 p. 85, 1785. See also Will of Thomas Wilkerson, signed 6 Apr 1685, proven 5 May 1785, Virginia, King George County, Wills No. 2, 1780-1804, pp. 85-86, images 455-456, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62347/images/007645244_00455?pId=1061116.
[5] Marriage Record for Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle, 3 Aug 1787, Virginia, King George County, Marriages, Film #007578994, page 18, image 49. See also Will of Daniel Sullivan, signed 8 Jun 1845, proven 21 Jul 1845, Kentucky Wills, Hardin County, Will Book E, page 121.
[6] Virginia, King George County, Personal Property Tax Lists, Film # 008151975, image 11 through image 230.
[7] Will of William Sullivan, Virginia, King George County, signed 2 Jun 1789, proven 6 Jan 1791, Wills No. 2, 1780-1804, p. 124, image 475.
[8] Will of Thomas Wilkerson, Sr., Virginia, King George County, signed 6 Apr 1785, proven 5 May 1785, Wills No. 2, 1780-1804, p. 185.
[9] Virginia, Stafford County, Personal Property Tax Lists, Film # 007898795, image 271 through image 372. See also Virginia, Spotsylvania County, Personal Property Tax Lists, Film # 007856308, image 295 through image 374.
[10] Virginia, King George County, Deed Book 7, Film #007645176, pp. 328-329, images 398-399. See also Virginia, King George County, Deed Book 8, Film #007676157, pp. 218-219, images 119-120.
[11] Kentucky, Green County, Personal Property Tax List, Film #007834444, image 238. The enumerator listed Daniel Sullivan on 16 Aug 1803.
[12] FamilyTreeDNA Upstate South Carolina DNA, https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/upstate-south-carolina-dna/about.
[13] Kentucky, Hardin County, Death Records, 1852-1965, Film #994037, image 295. See also Find a Grave for Price Sullivan, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83459910/price-sullivan. See also William Sullivan, Son of Daniel Sullivan and Jane Settle
[14] Virginia, King George County, Deed Book 7, Film #007645176, pp. 328-329, images 398-399.