I would like to straighten out the Gano lineage, since one of them is reportedly my 7th g-grandmother. I hope to accomplish this and other genealogical tasks on my list of problems, on and with Geni, because of the wonderful tools and all the exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable people who are available and often willing to help. The concept of a world tree really amazes me, and I think it is worth the time and effort I might need to invest in sprucing up my little corner. This biggest hindrance to working here is that practically anyone can tamper with the tree, and so we have to deal with far too much wild speculation, imagination, or worse. But I realize that is all beyond my control, so I'll just do the best I can with it. I'm about to test the actual value of my Pro subscription...
According to Rev. John Gano's autobiography published in 1806, his G-GRANDFATHER, a French Huguenot, FRANCIS Gano (aka Francois Gerneaux, the French form of the name), escaped French persecution by emigrating with his family to New Rochelle in the year 1666. The story of their escape is very well-known and often repeated in history books.
Rev. John Gano's GRANDFATHER was STEPHEN Gano, (aka Etienne Gerneaux). His grandmother was Ann WALTON Gano (Etienne's wife). Etienne was born in France and immigrated to New Rochelle as a child along with his parents and some siblings.
Rev. John Gano's FATHER's name was DANIEL Gano. His mother was Sarah Britton, daughter of Nathaniel Britton of Staten Island.
His MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER's maiden name was STILWELL.
https://books.google.com/books?id=PFYwAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontco...
"My own life suggests progenitors, which were on my father's side, from France,—on my mother's, from Britain. My great-grandfather, FRANCIS Gano, brought my grandfather STEPHEN Gano, (when a child,) from Guernsey, in Jersey ; it being a time of bloody persecution. Flight, or the relinquishment of the protestant religion, of which he was a professor, were the only means of preserving his life. He chose the former. One of his neighbours had been martyred in the day, and, in the evening, he was determined on as the victim for the next day ; information of which, he received in the dead of the night. He thereupon chartered a vessel, removed his family on board, and, in the morning, was out of sight of the harbour. Of what number his family consisted, I am not able to say. On his arrival in America, he settled in New Rochelle, in the state of New York, and lived to the age of one hundred
and three.
"My grandfather, STEPHEN Gano, married, I believe, ANN WALTON, by whom he had many children, some of whom died in youth ; those who lived to marry were DANIEL, Francis, James, John, Lewis, Isaac, and three daughters, Sarah, Catharine, and Susannah, the last of whom lived to the age of eighty-seven.
"My father was the first of the beforementioned [i.e. DANIEL GANO]. He married Sarah Britton, daughter of Nathaniel Britton, of Staten Island. Her mother was a Stilwell, who made a profession of religion when about twenty years ofage, and continued a member of the Baptist church till her death ; her age was near an hundred."
So from this first-hand account we can see that there are many errors in the Gano lineage published on Geni. The following are just a few:
1. Rev. John Gano's father should be Daniel not Etienne.
2. Etienne's father should be Francis not "Etienee"
3. Rev. John Gano's father should not be married to a woman whose name is identical to that of his paternal grandmother (i.e. his father's own mother).
4. Since this is a family of some historic prominence, with potentially thousands of blood relatives -- every Gano profile should include some sort of authoritative corroborative source for every fact included therein. In many cases here, there is absolutely nothing given as sources.
Of course we must rely on second-hand sources in most cases, but that's better than no sources at all.
The published autobiography of a man of Rev. John Gano's intelligence and character is an excellent source, in the absence of something more authoritative. I don't doubt that Rev. John Gano knew his own father's name, nor would he lie about it. You can't get away with lying about such things within a tight-knit community like his of people who frequently intermarry and know one another so well. Not getting his own father's name right would have ruined his credibility forever. So his father's name was Daniel Gano.
And for what it's worth, the Gano autobiography is also listed among the sources for Wikipedia's very brief bio on Rev. John Gano.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gano
