The West Tree

A family tree chart or diagram is a graphic illustration of a family genealogy.  It serves to document an individual's lineage and kinship and to visually tie the present to the past in a way that a narrative of family history cannot.  Creating and maintaining a family tree chart can be a time consuming project.  Locating historical records of individuals who lived in a time when accurate record keeping was not a priority, nor as complete as it is today is difficult and it can take a great deal of time to find and authenticate these scarce records, (which may be the chief reason why most of us do not pursue it to any length).  But it can also be rewarding because you will discover things that you did not know before, (maybe even more that you want to know).  

Before I started working on putting together some sort of display for the West family reunion in May, 2010, I did not know that grandpa West was one of twelve children.  I had no idea who the West siblings of that generation were, other than one or two names that I may have heard mentioned in the past (e.g. "Uncle Ardell" or "Uncle Kenneth", even though I still don't know much about who they were).  At the time, I knew a lot more about my dad's family than my mom's family, and I was curious to learn something about them (even if grandma did hold them in a certain degree of disdain).  That's how this family tree project was started.

There are many different styles of family tree charts.  One of the most popular is the pedigree chart where the lineage of an individual is shown in a tree format.  Another type is the ancestor chart, a variation of which is in use here.  The chart begins at the upper left corner with the oldest known kinsman and flows to the right and down with each succeeding generation, usually listed in age order within each branch of the family (but, please don't hold me to that).  In this case we are attempting to show how the West family is related and have been able to draw it out to about eight generations, with the earliest birth date at approximately 1788.  

There were two versions of the West family tree chart (see the left sidebar): one with mini-photos associated with each family member, and and one without.   Note: the non-illustrated version has been deleted and will no longer be used - since the family tree has grown to its present size, it is too difficult to maintain two separate charts. The family tree diagram is color coded to make it easier to identify members of each generation.  These charts deal only with the "immediate" D.L. West family (his parents and grandparents, plus siblings and all known offspring).  Note: the tree has been expanded to include all of the offspring of John William West - and is still growing!

For a more detailed look at the family fortunes, see the Genealogy Pages, which attempts to track down more West and Cherry family members from the past.

The earliest named West ancestor that I have been able to identify (that I can feel reasonably comfortable about) is a Thomas West, (b.1718 in North Carolina).  He is shown to be married to a Catherine Easting (b.1725 in Virginia), marriage date and location is unknown.  This information was found during the last few weeks after quite a bit of searching through online records.  New sources have helped to fill in the family picture considerably, but the new information does require more digging to try to confirm the findings of others.  The ancestral information that I have included here should be considered as tentative and subject to change as more data is found.  More information about the early West findings is now available in the new Genealogy pages.

Prior to that, the earliest ancestor that I could find was D.L. West's grandfather, James McDaniel West.  And, that's still a good starting point for our family tree because, although he died in 1926, some of the family may remember something of him.  It's hard to relate to those who came much before James McDaniel's time because we have probably never heard of them before now, which makes them seem like strangers.  It's still interesting to learn about our ancestors, but we never knew them.  Note:  I have since comfortably expanded the family information to include Owen West (James McDaniel West's father), and his father, John William West, and all of their offspring (that we know about, that is). 

James McDaniel West and Tilitha Morris are listed in an "individual record" that I found (which had been gleaned by the LDS folk) as parents of an Andrew Hamilton West, born in 1871 in Conway County, Arkansas, and died in 1933.  Andrew West is shown in this record to have been married to a Laura Edna Cherry, born on September 17, 1873 in Warren, Drew County, Arkansas and died on April 22, 1944.  They were married on August 23, 1888 in Yell County, Arkansas.  If you work backward from this birth date and assume that the father was approximately twenty years of age when Andrew was born, this would place James West's birth date at around 1850, possibly earlier, (later findings put his actual birth date as 1843).

The children of Andrew and Laura West are still somewhat of a puzzle, (but much less so in 2012 than they were in 2010).  They are listed in a "family group record" that I found as Bertha West (b.before 1890 in Hazin, Prairrie Co., Arkansas [sic]), Lafate West (b- after 1894 in Hazin, Prairrie Co., Arkansas; d.1957), Alice West (b. after 1894 in Hazin, Prairrie co., Arkansas; d.1954), Gerthal West (b.after 1904 in Hazin, Prairrie co., Arkansas; d.1920), Kenneth Wade West, (b.Jan 4 1904 in England, Lonoke Co., Arkansas; d.1985), and Charlie West, (b.after 1908 in Illinois; d.1953).  I have heard the names of Alice, and Kenneth West mentioned before, but I'm not sure who Charlie or Gerthal West are.  (Note: I have since become more acquainted with the West kids and now know much more about Charlie and Gerthal West - and Lethl and Sybel, too).

Here's another note: The misspelled place names in the record (Hazin, and Prairrie) remind me of Lonoke (the town and county name) which probably refers to a Lone Oak (I have seen old letters where oak was spelled oke, -- which makes me wonder if the French named Des Arc and did they actually call it "DEZ ARC" or did they pronounce it "DE ARC"?).  From such things history is made.

Our particular limb of the West tree begins with our common ancestor, Daniel Lafayette West (b.Dec 5, 1898; d.Mar 30, 1957), aka Grandpa West.  Because we know the birth and death dates of D. L. West, Sr. and they are so close to the dates shown above, we can presume that grandpa West and this "Lafate West", listed in the family records of Andrew and Laura West are one and the same, which then lends more credence to the rest of the records that we found that were related to Andrew and Laura West.  

More confirmation is gained through anecdotal evidence from mom (and other senior members of the D. L. West, Sr. family) who remembers that her grandfather West was named Andrew and that grandmother West's family name was Cherry, and that her grandfather West's family was from around the Petit Jean area, which is in southern Conway County, Arkansas, (which may be where the term "Mountain Hoosiers" came from - more on that later).   We have also heard that grandpa West was often called "Fette" West (or "Fat" West by some less politically correct people), which seems to tie into the name Lafate listed above (census takers are murder on names).  I later found a copy of the marriage record for Grandpa and Grandma West and grandpa signed it "Lafayette West".  And, we know that there were twin girls in the West family, named Alice and Alvie (an Alice is listed above).  That sort of thing helps when following leads from documents that may not be the most reliable or complete.

The plan is to place more family history information in the West Clan Family History pages, as it is developed.  My only regret is that we have waited so long to begin putting this sort of thing down on paper that many of those with the most intimate knowledge of the West family and events are gone and it may not be possible to draw a complete picture of the family history.  But we will do our best to make it as complete as possible.

If you have information that will help fill in some of the blanks in the family history, especially the brothers and sisters of D.L. West, Sr., please send them to me at jws@westclan.info.

Thanks,  

JWS

UPDATE:  Much more ancestral information has been found through new searches of genealogical material that has been developed by other researchers.  It may be possible to trace the West family line back to around 1300 in England, although the information that leads one to that point in time is dependant on the work of others and has not been verified (and may not be verifiable).  This information has been placed in new Genealogy pages.  More information will be posted here as it is developed.