Evening star., 1929-11-15


maternal grandfather of Alfred E. Smi
same community in Ireland within appr
1t is likely all were related, but tn
seems to be much closer than between
Secretary of the Treasury and the forl
to be descendants of an ancient Irish
back to the mythical period of the
introduction of Christianity.
Such are the conclusions for which
Miss Jean Stephenson, prominent
washington genealogist and member of
the council of the National Genealogi-
cal Society, has secured almost con-
vincing evidence in the past few weeks,
although few missing links remain
to be connected before the proof is alb
Solute.
Long Has Studied GeneaIOgy.
Miss Stephenson long has made a
close study of Irish genealogy, especial
ly with reference to the so-called
Scotch Irish families which have played
such a prominent part in American his
tory. She gained her first clue to the
present research from line in the
autobiography of Mr.. Smith, which now
is being published in a national maga-
zine. in which he said that his mothers
grandfather was -barrister and the
proprietor of a considerable estate IN
the county of West Meath, and that MS
mothers father was named MulVanlil
and lived on this property. This Null
vahilI came to New York in 1641, just
ahead Of the great immigration from
Now. Miss Stephenson has ascer-
tanned, the Mellon family lived in West
Meath on the estate of this barrlSter
and married into that family. In oruer
to establish fairly close relationship.
1t will be necessary to link up ths
Mellon landlord with the great-grand
father of Mr.. Smith. She has not
ascertained, however, whether the
descent from the landowner was
through Mr. Smiths grandfather or
Tn any event. Mr.. Melons father
came to the United States in l840, she
saws, and at that time spelled his name
Mullen" He settled in Pittsburgh, win
a preponderant Scotch and Engllsh
population, who gave the name the pro-
nunciation Mellon" so that IL came
to be spelled that way. This has been
adonted bv the family as the official
spelling. In Ireland, she says, three
spellings are cognized-Mullin, Mallon
and Mellon.
WILSON Atuk OHAy AAVDoDAS'
There is no actual evidence support
ing a relationship between woodrow
Wilson and either of the others, except
such as is found in the laws of probabil-
ity. The father of the late President
came from West Meath, where he either
was born or was taken by his parents
shortly after birth. West Meath Is
small county which had few contacts
with the outside world at that time.
Wilson'S father came to the United
States in 1910.
The Wilson family generally is sup
posed to have been predominantly
Meath out of Ulster. But the term
Scotch -Irish," applied to the people OF
Ulster, Miss Stephenson says, is rem
dered quite doubtful by real under
standing of the history Of that section.
At the time of the conquest OF Ulster,
she points out, two settlements were es-
tablished. One was entirely English, In
County Derry, and one Scotch, in Coun-
ties Down and Antrim. These settle
the native Irish population.
ments are believed to have been made
UP entirely Of men, who took wives from
Thus, she says, the Scotch blood was
diluted one-half in the first generation
born in Ulster and in the centuries that
follow must have been thinned out al
most to the vanishing point. Acting on
! this assumption, the Wilson who came
to West Meath must have been about
as Irish" as the MELONS or the Null
vahills.
In such a small isolated county as
West Meath, the probability is that all
the people were more or less related
| despite the strong religious differences.
| But the Wilson's may have been eX-
ceptions. In any event, however, they
almost certainly had distant blood ties
with the others.
Computation Shows All Are Kin.
Mathematical computation, Miss
! Stephenson says. shows the extreme
| likelihood that all persons living today
with English blood in their veins are
| lineal descendants of William the Con-
uueror and of all the Norman mobiles
| with whom he invaded England. All
! these people likewise are lineal descend
ants of everybody else who lived IN
England at that time, total popula-
ton of only about 100000. But 1t
also is likely that much more OF tne
| blood of William the Conqueror f1oWs
| in the veins of persons OF English
descent today because, due to the liv-
ing conditions, the death rate remained
for centuries much higher among the
peasants than the mobiles. Thus the
AnglO-Sa Serf Stfaln tenueu 10 lose
out in the struggle for survival.
The same conclusions hold for
ireland. justifying the boast sometimes
made that every Irishman is descend
ant of the ancient Milesian kings who
ruled the island in the centuries of its
highest culture Both the Mullins. OF
Melons" and the Mulvahills were
prominent families at this time, theil
records finally disappearing into the
myths of legend. Every IriShman prob
ably is a descendant of everybody who
lived in ireland at that time, but much
more descendant of the Mullins and
the Mulval1ills than of plebeian families
So a connection between the Mulva'
hills. the Mullins and the Wilson's ]:
almost certain to be established. Mis-:
Stephenson says, il the gsnsalogis
wants to go back far enough. But she
feels confident they might be tied vi
much more closely.
Miss Stephenson, who now Is deliver
ing a course of lectures twice a month
at the studio OF the Pen Women's League
under the auspices of the Nationa
Genealogical Society. takes broad view
of the need for research in this sub
| ject. holding that 1t brings to light many
\ of the realities UNDERLYING history go