Tarvin Family Association

Tarvin News

- Tarvin Westward Migrations is a compilation of the migrations of the descendants of Rev. George Tarvin away from Northern Kentucky to various locations farther west during the Nineteenth Century. It is interesting to see how many of the cousins and their families formed "pockets" of Tarvin kin in certain area.

- Tarvin Online Database is a new feature of this website. This new, password-protected area is a place to find ancestors in all the Tarvin lines, linked by lineage. We now have over 6,000 names in the Tarvin Online Database. See details below.

- Rev. George's Estate includes the inventory, the auction, and the settlement which were recorded in the county books of Bracken Co., Kentucky. We have scans and transcripts of these documents now on the site, an interesting insight into life on the frontier in 1813.

- Allegheny Passage: Dunkers on the Cacapon is a new feature of this web site. We have received permission to scan and re-publish a key reference work on the history of the Brethren religion in the western area of Maryland and Virginia. The chapter that contains references to Rev. George Tarvin's family is posted here online.

- Adam Thoroughgood Researcher in the News. Paul Treanor, a descendant of Adam Thoroughgood and genealogy researcher, is adamant that the latest scientific dating studies of the Adam Thoroughgood house are way off the mark. In an interview published in the Virginia Beach Virginian Pilot newspaper, Paul says that the archeologists are overlooking the documentary evidence he has found in his genealogy researches. They have dated the Adam Thoroughgood House to no earlier than 1720 but Paul insists it was built beginning in 1645. Read the article on the Pilot's website or a PDF version from our site.

- Lower Pricing on Descendancy Books. At the recent reunion, the Tarvin Family Association executive board voted to reduce the price of the current descendancy books, Lines 1, 3, and 7, to encourage members to purchase a copy for donation to their local historical society or family history library. In addition, the Line 10 Book, long out of print, is now available in electronic form, on a CD, in a PDF format. See our book order page for details and pricing.

- New Book Released A new book about the Fort Mims Massacre in 1813 has been published. "A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Creek War of 1813 - 1814" by Dr. Greg Waselkov describes the far-reaching effects of this important battle in the early history of our nation. Tarvin family partriarch William Tarvin (whom we call William II) and his wife, Mary Miller, both died at in this bloody battle. More details are available at the publisher's web site.

- The Tarvin DNA project attempts to fill in the gaps in the documentary record that ties the various branches of the Tarvin family together. We are seeking men carrying the Tarvin surname to participate. Here are some more details.

Tarvin History

• The Village of Tarvin England.
• The Origin of the Tarvin Family in America.
• Tarvin Ancestor Adam Thoroughgood.
• The Tarvin Colonial Heritage.
• The History of Reverend George Tarvin.
• George Tarvin and the Church of the Brethren.
• Dunkers on the Cacapon.
• The Marriage Returns of Rev. George Tarvin.
• The Tarvin Trees. Drawings of Tarvin families.
• The Children of Reverend George Tarvin.
• The Estate of George Tarvin, in three parts:
  • Inventory
  • Auction
  • Settlement
• Tarvin Westward Migrations.
• Some Families Allied with the Tarvins:
  • Cowgill Family
  • Craycraft Family
  • Whaley Family
• Who was William Tarvin?
• Problems in Tarvin History.

Several family members have made excellent web sites, describing Tarvin history for several branches of the family, including:

Carol Middleton's Tervin Line, a description of the William line, with interesting Creek Indian connections.

Tarvin Research

Tarvin Genealogy Database

Click here to access the Tarvin Online Genealogy Database.

Other data stores here:

Line Numbering

Association Membership

Apply Now

To join, just fill out our on-line membership form. Don't send money now; we'll send you a dues notice. If you prefer to sign up by mail, send your dues to membership chair

Dorothy Tarvin Gibson (mdtarvingibson@sbcglobal.net)

Dorothy Tarvin Gibson

725 Laura Lane

Hanford, CA 93230

Phone 559-582-0016

Tarvin Family Reunions

The Reunion Committee is headed by

Richard and Marion Tarvin,

6957 Paddison Road

Cincinnati, OH 45230.

Tarvin Newsletter

Tarvin E-mail List

Tarvin Book Project

Our website now has a searchable and browseable index of all the names published in the Tarvin Books. The Tarvin Book Index contains over 17,000 names in a single database. Check to see on which page and in which book your ancestor's name (or your name) falls. Then order the book that contains the story of your Tarvin ancestor.

To encourage family members to purchase books for themselves or for donation to local historical socities or family history libraries, the Association board has reduced the price of all current books. In addition, a CD containing an electronic copy of the now out-of-print Line 10 Book is now available.

To order your copy of these books, click on one of these forms:

• Tarvin Book Order Form in HTML Format
• Tarvin Book Order Form in PDF Format
  (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Tarvin Cemetery Project

• Tarvin Cemetery in Campbell Co., Kentucky
• Old Mt. Gilead Cemetery in Campbell Co., Kentucky
• Log Union Cemetery in Fleming Co., Kentucky

Tarvin Quilting Projects

The 2007 Tarvin Quilt

Dorothy Tarvin Gibson (mdtarvingibson@sbcglobal.net)

725 Laura Lane

Hanford, CA 93230

Phone 559-582-0016

Images of each year's quilt and its winner is included in the Quilt History page.

Tarvin DNA Project

The Tarvin Family has done a good job of documenting the thirteen Kentucky branches of Reverend George Tarvin's family with several books to show for the effort and more underway. However, other branches of the Tarvin family have gaps in the family line despite the hard work of many people over the years who have pursued the paper trail. It now appears that DNA testing offers us the best chance to close these gaps.

We know that William Tarvin of Columbia County, Georgia, had seven children and that two of them were named George and John. We suspect that William Tarvin of Baldwin County Alabama (grandfather of Dr. Marion Elisha Tarvin), and Richard Tarvin who went to Alabama with him, were two other sons. We think that Reddick, Churchwell, and William J. Tarvin, were grandsons of this William of Columbia County. These men were the patriarchs of several important Tarvin clans. We believe that DNA testing can help us to determine their relationship with each other and with the Kentucky Tarvins.

As the Newsweek article outlined, the male DNA is passed from father to son, just like the surname. By testing male family members carrying the Tarvin name, we might be able to establish relationships that we can't document from the historic record and thus close the gaps in our family history.

Since we started the Tarvin DNA Testing Program last year, a small number of Tarvin men from several of these lines have participated by submitting a DNA sample to be tested. According to Walt Tarvin, project chair, we need more volunteers from these various lines of the family to participate in order to expand the program and gather more datapoints. If you are a Tarvin man and are willing to participate or just would like more information, please contact Walt at waltarvin@aol.com. Help us close the gaps in our family history.

Tarvin Places

• Tarvin, Cheshire, England
  • Views from the village of Tarvin, courtesy of Peter Aitken, a resident of the village.
  • The home page of Chester, England, on whose outskirts Tarvin sits.
  • The Tarvin Parish, the Anglican parish that operates St. Andrew's church in Tarvin, England, a favorite stop for travelling U.S. Tarvin family members.
• USGenWeb County Sites:
• Charles Co., Maryland
  • Mason Co., Kentucky
  • Fleming Co., Kentucky
  • Campbell Co., Kentucky
  • Elmore Co., Alabama.
  • Clay Co., Indiana.
  • Vigo Co., Indiana.
• Other Maps
  • Kentucky Historical County maps on the Internet
  • Google Earth views of key Tarvin locations
• Others coming soon!

Related Web Sites

• Gene Tarvin's Tarvin-Mobley web site, covering a branch of the "William" Line
• Dent Family Home Page
• Denise Miller's Craycraft Home Page
• Dan L. Cracraft's Craycraft Family Tree
• Bob Craycroft's Craycroft and Bresnan Family Pages
• Jerry Holman Collins' database at My-Ged.com
• U.S. Map showing distribution of Tarvins in 1990 census
• Tarvin Family Genealogy Forum, part of GenForum.
• Noble surname research web site.
• Truesdell Family Resource site
• Kathleen Walker's Casson-McCandless site
• Church of the Brethren Network (COB-Net): All about the Dunkards
• Jo Crane's Crane's Southern Roost, including William J. Tarvin data (Line William)
• Jo Crane's William J. Tarvin descendancy chart.
• Others coming soon!