Who were these ancestors of James Sherrill - the pioneer, the inventor, the farmer who traveled over 2,200 miles on the Oregon Trail in 1852. What genetic traits did James inherit? What did his ancestors do? Here, in part, is the answer:

Hugh Sherrill, James' father, established a farm in Alabama by 1835, when it was a frontier. They grew indigo and cotton. About ten years later Hugh moved his family to Iowa, the new frontier. When Hugh died in 1849,  James went to live with his sister Margaret, and he worked on her husband's farm there in Iowa. According to Margaret's diary, written at the time, James could plow with a team of twelve oxen, yoked double.

Joshua White Sherrill, James' grandfather, Joshua was a young man in the prime of his life when the War of Independence began in 1775. Joshua went to war, and with many of his cousins, fought in a company commanded by his father.

William Sherrill. Captain Sherrill's group distinguished themselves at the Battle of King's Mountain in South Carolina. They helped win that turning point in the war.

James Sherrill. James' ancestors were farmers and pioneers, and when life demanded it, also warriors. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, James also went to farm on the frontier, which by then was Oregon Territory.

[Just to orient my young relatives in time - James Sherrill was the great-great-grandfather of Kenneth Dellinger, who fought in WWII. I have not forgotten Mary Ann and what happens to her next on the Oregon Trail. I'll get to that tomorrow.]