George Leonard Darnell on geni.com or findagrave...is my grandfather. Through him we pass on this amazing history. At the bottom of this piece of writing are the ancestral lines to our Darnall's in Mary's Land
Birth: Jul. 10, 1883
Death: Dec. 12, 1944, USA [Edit Dates]
The Darnall family came from England and settled in Mary's Land as it use to be named when the ships came from England, went up the Patuxant River and started settlements. Our grandfather Col. Henry Darnall was given 30,000 acres of land and he dispersed this land among family. We still have two houses there in 2017, Portland Manor and Darnall's Chance. When you get born into a Darnell family you get history lessons. There is a direct and easy to follow line of ancestors that lead directly to George Leonard Darnell who mostly went by Leonard. The ancestral lineage is at the bottom of this writing. "Lens" father would say his name is Leonard G Darnell. The Leonard stuck as a first name but formaly his first name is George. Grandpa "Len" is my grandfather. I never met him as he died in 1944 and I was born in 1949. My dad said he died because of war wounds. I have George L Darnell's WWI registration card for 1917 and 1918. His son, also my father, is John A. Darnell. I recall learning about my father's feelings for his father when my dad took me to a furniture store where his father use to work. In that one story I heard the voice of a son, a sentimental kindness towards with my father gave much love and respect. My father mostly went by Jack. The A in the name stands for Asbury which was my dad's mother's maiden name: Vivian B Asbury. Vivian shows up on a census in 1900 and is living with Franklin Pierce Grubbs and Nancy "Nannie" E. Steers Grubbs. She's been fostered by them and refers to them as mom and dad. Nobody knows what happened to her biological parents but in the 1880s it could be disease and no proper medicine. My father is buried in Ohio but when his dad died in Ohio there was a request that George Leonard Darnell's body be taken back to Kentucky. "Leonard" as he was ordinarily called had bought a gravesite for his family in 1922 in Highland Cemetery. "Len" was a Kentuckian through and through. His dad John Taylor Darnell along with all the kids and wife Maude, moved out of the heart of where the Darnell's live in Millville, Woodford co., KY and brought the family into city life. Records can be found of the Darnell's in Covington, KY. George Leonard Darnell was good at finance. Around 1912 it seems that George and his soon to be bride Vivian B Asbury [Weidp/Widdup/Widup] crossed the river from KY into Ohio and registered their marriage: Vivian says she is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and George writes he is from Dayton. But these two had been Kentuckians through and through. I assume "Len" found work in Ohio and that was the reason for the move. Vivian went with him as did their little girl "Marie". "Marie" aka "Frankie" was from Vivian's first marriage, which ended in 1905. Records show Marie was born in 1906. The Darnell's in Mahoning county Ohio lived all their married life in Mahoning county where I/susanldarnell@gmail.com lived as well. Grandpa Len died in Ohio, his residence at the time was 149 Clarendale, Youngstown, Ohio. His dad had visited his son "Len" in 1941.
Here is an edited doc from 1930 when Granpa's family was all together. I added a few things like b day, full middle name.
George L Darnell
United States Census, 1930
Event Place at The Darnell Family Home
McClurg Road, Boardman, Mahoning, Ohio, United States
George L Darnell, "Len" Head, Male, 46, Kentucky b. 1883 d. 1944
Vivian Asbury Darnell, Wife, Female, 42, Kentucky b. 1884 d. 1976
Leonard Curran Darnell, Son, Male, age 12, Ohio b. 1918
John Asbury Darnell "Jack", Son, Male, 10, Ohio b. 1920
Everett B Wilson Son-in-law, Male, age 24 Kentucky
Marie Wilson Daughter Female age 22 born in Kentucky
Mary Lou Wilson Grand daughter
Other info: George's dad John Taylor Darnell
In 1900 John Taylor Darnell's whole family is in the heart of the Darnell territory Millville, Woodford co., KY. The Darnall's, especially the generation before owned property around Glenn Creek and Griers Creek Church in Millville. Our family men and women were pioneers in this geography: Aaron Darnall is the first and he can be found by googling. To note another famous person in the Darnell/Darnall line ...Mary Darnell who married Charles Carroll signer of the Dec. of Ind. We have many famous relations to the founding of America. John Quincy Adams was related to us...as another example. I have a really good picture of John Taylor Darnell. His generation of Darnell’s was the first to almost always use the new spelling Darnell, instead of Darnall. His dad, William Whittington Darnall [b. 1827 d.7/9/1909], also lived with his family in Woodford, KY. WWD married Sarah Jane Taylor and she was John Taylor Darnell's mother. For a few years the entire family went to Missouri and that is the state John Taylor Darnell was born in, but, the family returned within a year or two and went back to their Woodford county place. Sometimes census show JTD born in KY, but it is not so. SJT died early and then WWD married another Taylor gal, Ellenor H. Yancey Taylor[Oct 8 1882]. At one point John Taylor Darnell worked in the families Taylor Distillery which is still around today but may have changed names.
In 1900 census for the town or village or settlement called Millville, in Woodford co., KY we can find
John Taylor Darnell age 41 b. Nov. 1858 Husband and father
Maude J. Cook Darnell age b. Oct 1863 wife
Leonard G. Darnell age 17 b. July 1882 (usually we see 1983)
Bennie R Darnell age 13 b. 1887
Lizzie M Darnell age 11 b. 1888
Carrie M Darnell age 9 b.1891
Adah Darnell age 5 b. 1894
In this Family Maude divorced John Taylor Darnell and lives with Adah for a while. But Maude returns to John after a while and is buried next to him. John and Maude would have been my father's grandma and grandpa. I do remember the name Maude!
Here is the brief explanation of this Darnall/Darnell lineage: In today's slang they'd call us Brits, and from Britain we did come. In Hawaii, when I lived there for several years they called me "English." I have digressed the last name Asbury some. It too comes from England. Our line of people is full of Queens, Kings, Noblemen and women of every sort, and back in the medieval periods we have knights in our family. I take you back below to the 1400s.
me/Susan Louise Darnell → John "Jack" Asbury Darnell
my father
→ George Leonard Darnell his father [lived in KY abt 21 years, then OH]
→ John Taylor Darnell his father [KY all his life and importantly Woodford for the first 20 or so years]
→ William Whittington Darnall his father [he lived and died in KY, his roots were Woodford, KY]
→ Randolph Railey Darnall his father
→ Aaron Darnell his father [b. in 1761 he's the one who first came to KY...at first he lived in Farquier, VA which is right next to where he went in Woodford, KY where he died in 1816. He liked the land steeped in trees, fruit, animals, super rich soil...everything needed to be a pioneer who cut down the woods and built their homes]
→ John Darnall his father [b.and d. in Farquier, VA.]
→ Morgan Darnell his father [b. and d. in Richmond, VA]
→ Morgan Darnall his father [b in St. Mary's a city named after the King who discovered this land and who loved his wife Mary. Died in VA.
→ Dr. David Darnall his father [b. 1648 in St. Mary's City, Mary Land as it was called before being a United States. Dr. Darnell moved and lived the rest of his life and died in Virginia.
→ John Darnall his father [b. circa 1647 in England, came to America, lived at the still standing Portland Manor in Anne Arundel, MD]
→ Philip Darnall his father b. 1684 at Birds Place, Essendon, Herfordshire, England d. 1677
→ Henry Darnall, I his father
Well done grand father, well done. susanldarnell@gmail.com. Come visit me as I lay dying to cross over. I asked a few days ago when calling the Highland Cemetery if there was room for me next to Vivian B Asbury Darnell. I have her ring and picture with me and see her everyday. My heart and role model as a great soul.