Hi,
I have very little information on the family prior to 1880. They were living near Harrison, TN and continued to live in that area until they migrated to southwestern PA sometime between 1900 and 1910. William McKenzie was considered mulatto. His death certificate listed the name of his father as John. I don't know if this is correct, but there was a McKenzie enumerated with William in 1910 who listed his place of birth as VA. William was born in TN around 1855. The McKenzie enumerated with William in 1910 was born around 1823 and was also considered mulatto. William married Eveline McCaleb who stated on the same census that she didn't know where her parents were born because they were Indians. On previous census Eveline stated she was born in TN as well.

Until I did DNA testing I thought the family was probably from the Chattanooga/Harrison area. After testing I now know that William's DNA is European and matches with families who probably were living around Overton, Warren, White and DeKalb counties in TN. These families do not carry the McKenzie surname but are surnamed Phillips, Cantrell, Garrett, just to name a few.

What I found most unusual is that I haven't been able to find William on the 1870 census and know for sure that it was my William. There are lots of William and John McKenzies out there. Also, I believe that William might have changed his surname at some point.

There is more information on the descendants of William on my website at htt://members.tripod.com/~Linda_T . Please let me know if you find a connection.

Linda