CHANNELL RESEARCH
(CHANNEL)

Contents

1. George Washington Channell's Parents
2. Connecting Pennsylvania Channells
3. The Old Channell Family Tree

George Washington Channell's Parents

The Certificate of Death for George Washington CHANNELL lists his parents as Wm. CHANNELL and Charity HEAPS. For added reference the Certificate of Death also says that he died on 21 Apr 1937 at 78 years, 3 months, and 21 days old; which matches t he dates of the family Bible. It also indicates that he is widowed (his wife died days before).

I have not been able to find Charity and William CHANNELL in any further censuses. George W. CHANNELL appears again with Allen A. and Sarah R. CHANNELL in the 1880 census; and is listed as son.

George Washington CHANNELL's Certificate of Death is incorrect. His son, William, the informant for the civil record, probably knew of William and Charity (HEAPS) CHANNELL, as they died in the same area as he grew-up. His true grandparents however died years before, probably leaving Uncle William and Aunt Charity to fill their place. William A. CHANNELL's Last Will and Testament located in the York County Archives, clearly lists George Washington CHANNELL as a nephew, and sole beneficiary following his wife, Charity.

Connecting Pennsylvania Channells

In my search to find the common ancestors of the CHANNELLs of the Fawn Grove, York Co, Pennsylvania area, I had divided the families into Family One and Family Two. My line, Family One, included all known descendants of Allen A. CHANNELL, namely through my great great grandfather George Washington CHANNELL. The Family Two line consisted of every other CHANNELL still living in the Fawn Grove area that I wasn't able to connect into my own lineage. I learned a great deal about how Family Two was "arranged" from a helpful Fawn Grove resident, Norman B. CHANNELL.

Although it is was possible to follow my own and other CHANNELL ancestries to the early 1800's, it proved difficult to link the two known lines together. Before receiving a copy of John J. ANDERSON's Civil War Pension Application from fellow researcher, Charles CHANNELL, the idea that the lines might be related had been speculation. Within the correspondence of pension applications however, John J. ANDERSON (formerly John Anderson CHANNELL) provided details of his family in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania. More crucial however, was the mention of James Clark CHANNELL, M.D. (a member of Family One) as a cousin. I could only hope that the "cousin" reference wasn't a casual one.

The information still was not conclusive, nor did it provide the necessary names and relations to map the link between the families. It did however, provide some insight into an extended family tree known by York Co CHANNELLs in the 1800s, but lost a century later. If the records existed, I expected to find the link in the final years of the 18th century. The earliest known CHANNELL of the area, "Edmnd.", lived in Harford County, Maryland circa 1765. The Biographical Record of Harford & Cecil Counties Maryland briefly outlined the ancestors of Family Two as originating in Harford county. To date I've been unable to verify much of what is referred to in this book.

The Old Channell Family Tree

A folder marked "CHANNEL" at the York County Historical Society, contains a transcribed (typed) family tree that was copied from an original document "purchased at public auction". The family tree contains a host of CHANNELL names and connections, most of which collaborate with information and links that I have already made. The documents do not however cite sources, so there is no way to verify its accuracy.

What the family tree does do is connect Abel CHANNELL, father of Allen A. CHANNELL, into the larger CHANNELL families (Family Two) of the Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania area. The family tree falls short of following the family back to John CHANNEL of Cecil Co, Maryland.

Last updated 27 Feb 1997
©1996, 1997 The Genealogy Bits