Pierre Chastain And His Descendants

A collection of two articles by Cameron H. Allen, F.A.S.G.: "The Chastain Families of Manakin Town in Virginia and their Origin Abroad" and "Pierre Chastain Revisited," documenting the genealogy of Huguenot refugees in America in the 1700s, and their European origins. This collection is reprinted with permission by the Pierre Chastain Family Association. * About the Author: Cameron Harrison Allen, J.D., retired as a law librarian at Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, N.J., and was a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists since 1962. In addition to researching and publishing articles on the Chastains, Soblets, and other Huguenot families over four decades, he was a contributing editor to The American Genealogist and a popular lecturer at genealogy conferences. Cameron Allen is also the author of "The Sublett (Soblet) Family of Manakintown, King William Parish, Virginia," documenting the family of Pierre Chastain's wife Anne Soblet, her siblings, and parents.

The volume at hand--a reprint of Volume II of the printed records of Cambridge--is a transcription of the records of Cambridge town meetings and meetings of selectmen from the town's beginnings until 1703.

Winged History: The Life and Times of Kenneth L. Chastain, Aviator, Updated Edition is a must read for anyone interested in 20th century American aviation history. The visually documented chronicle, written by Chastain's only son, Ken Jr., traces the life of an American pilot over a period of 37 years and aircraft from early wood and fabric, small horsepower biplanes to the advanced Boeing 707 jetliner. In addition, Ken Jr. adds his intimate perspective on being the son of a professional pilot. Like most pilots of his era, Ken Sr flew military aircraft during World War II. Winged History details major milestones in American political and technological history, interwoven with Chastain's historical aviation adventures.

Chastain genealogy is traced back to Chateigner, Seigneur de la Chateignier of France (fl. 1084). His descendant Peter Chastain (1660-1729) and Marie Madaline de la Rochefaucauld (1666-1726) emigrated to Powhatan Co., Virginia in 1699 with their six children. The Lochridges or Loughridges descend from James Lochridge and Susan Goodwin of Carnesville, Franklin Co., Georgia, who had eight children born to them in the early 1800s. The Stocktons descend from William Stockton, who came with his family from Ireland to the Sugar Loaf Valley, near Russellville, Kentucky about 1780; and Mary Morrow, who bore him sixteen children. They later settled in Madison and Walker Co., Alabama and Monroe Co., Mississippi.

In 1925 Texans were stunned when a young man’s severed head was found in an abandoned farmhouse near the town of Stephenville. An investigation led to ex-convict F. M. Snow and the mysterious disappearances of his wife and mother-in-law. But this shocking, bloody saga began 50 years earlier . . . Beautiful, vivacious Samantha Jones had a penchant for dangerous men. Her teenage marriage to gambler Amos Smith ended when he was gunned down in a hit orchestrated by his wife’s alleged lover, who was lynched. The widow then married the abusive Bill Olds, who was later arrested for theft, forgery and murder. Violence stalked the next generation when Samantha’s daughter, Maggie Olds, was twice widowed with the brutal murders of her second and fourth husbands. Yet Maggie’s unfortunate choice for a fifth husband, F. M. Snow, led to a gruesome, triple tragedy. In Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders, James Pylant delves into family history and sheds new light on a tale of twenty shocking deaths fueled by greed, insanity and revenge. "From hits to lynchings to black widows, this chronicle proves endlessly intriguing." —The Midwest Book Review "Set in the seemingly quiet isolation of small-town Texas, Blood Legacy is a well-written, well-researched true tale with Gothic overtones and more than a hint of Stephen King-style horror." —Carlton Stowers, best-selling and award-winning author