Like many others I have been hunting for the parents and origin of Griffith Tinney, who appears to have been born c. 1784 in North Carolina (which could have been Tennessee) and who raised a family on some former Cherokee land he picked up at a steal in Jackson County, Alabama. Griffith is my 3rd g-grandfather through John Calhoun then Charles Lewis then William Ambrose then William Ancel/Ancil (my father). I am not alone, it seems, in getting nowhere.

Recently I found the family history of one Ambrose Tinney, born c. 1810 not sure where and resident in 1828 in St. Charles County, Missouri. Ambrose married in St Charles County and later moved to Caldwell County, Texas and became one of the earliest Anglo settlers in what would be the birthplace of the Texas war of independence. Along the way, Ambrose had children, among whom were two sons names John Lewis and Griffin.

I note that I have seen Griffith rendered as Griffin more than once. It's this occurrence of the names Griffin(th), Ambrose, *Lewis, in the two Tinney lines that attracts my attention.

Here is some of my wild speculation: If Ambrose was born in 1810, Griffith would have been about 26 years old. I show Griffith marrying Martha King (my ancestor) in 1814. Could there have been a previous marriage? Or could Ambrose be an illegitimate son of Griffith? Or, striking out along a different path, could Ambrose be a nephew to Griffith, son of an unidentified brother?

Anyone with information about the siblings of either Ambrose or Griffith, or the birth records, birth place, and/or parents of either, please contact me!