New surnames in the search for Britta's parents

New surnames I am sure are connected with Britta's family: Gurganus/Garganus/Ganus and Swain. New surnames that may be connected with Britta's family: Mobley, Jolly, Congleton. How did I find these? A long and crooked path through DNA and records.

Where did I start?

I always record as much as possible about each potential relative. Thus we know that these facts about Britta & her siblings' (see below) parents:

1. Born in either NC or SC (various censuses)

2. Father either dead or absent by 1850; mother may be Nancy Greene but no proof of this (1850 Census)

3. At least one parent's surname was Green, Greene (in case of bastardy)

4. Name could also have been Pilgreen, Pilgrim, Pilgrim (DNA points this way)

5. In Alabama by 1834 (Britta's birth)

6. Maybe associated with Pitt County, NC, or a surrounding county (from Graphen Green's CSA enlistment papers; says he was born in Pitt County, SC, but there is none. There is a Pitt County, NC.)

https://www.fold3.com/image/237925048?xid=1022

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Then I look at the DNA.

I manage, collaborate on, or view 18 Ancestry DNA kits. Of those, 15 are descended from the Green/Pilgreen (probable) siblings associated with Britta's family of origin: Mary Ann, Graphen Holt,  Mahala, Nancy, and Britta. Each week I compare dozens of Ancestry DNA kits and family trees looking for connections. 

Sometimes a name is repeated so often that it jumps out at me. Like "Gurganus" and its variations "Garganus," "Garganious," "Ganus," and so on. I then enter the surname in the search field of the kits I have access to. If I see one of these three factors: a common ancestor; matcheswith people I know are descended from the Greens/Pilgreens; the right number of centiMorgans—then more investigation is warranted.

With "Garganus," one of those three "ifs" occurred in every single one of the kits I have access to. Yay!

For example: several common ancestors showed up, like Reuben Gurganus, Annis Garganus, Nicholas Garganus, Mary Swain. Common ancestors: Check. Matches with people I know are descended from our family of origin? Check. The "right" number of centiMorgans for a NDA match to Garganus would be 8 to 30. Check, every time. 
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Next I looked at the NC census records for Pilgreen and Garganus from 1790 to 1840. Many, many Gurganuses in counties surrounding Pitt County. A few Pilgreens in counties surrounding Pitt County.  Only one year in which Gurganuses were neighbors of the Pilgreens: 1810. 

Lo and behold!

Reuben Gurganus a few doors away from Priscilla Pilgreen, the mother (supposedly) of Book Pilgreen. Right names, right places.

https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7613/4433311_00500/395692?backurl=&ssrc=&backlabel=Return

Neighbors to the Garganii in 1810: Mobley, Jolly, Congleton. Who just happen to be neighbors of Pilgreens in 1820's Pitt County Census:

https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7734/4433161_00283/355326?backurl=&ssrc=&backlabel=Return
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So many clues point to the Gurganii as relatives of Britta's parents. Another chink in the Brick Wall of Britta. So much more research to do.

Stay tuned!