My father is Jonathan Edward (Jack) Yeldell born in 1927. His grandfather was Jonathan Paul Yeldell fo Mexia, Tx. His GGF was Jonathan Miles Yeldell from Butler County Alabama near the Wilcox county line. He has the Yeldell baptismal records from the 1400's in England. The Yeldell's imagrated from Yeldell England 50 miles south of London in 1697. They bought a lot on the Deleware river (Walnut & Front Street) in Philadelphia Penn. In 1702 they bought the lot next to them. They were hoopers (barrel makers). He has the wills where African-Americans were given their freedom in the early 1700's. Jonathan Paul Yeldell came to Mexia as a time-keeper on the railroad that was being built between Dallas and Houston in 1860's. He married a rich plantation owner's daughter Sophie Elmore Ross daughter of General Elmore who served at Senator and Representative in South Carolina and Alabama. My father has copies of letters he wrote back to Alabama asking 2 black Yeldells if they would like to come to Freestone County (Cotton Gin) Texas as free men. Thus began a close relationship of the black and white Yeldells in Texas that continues today with the attendance to reunions. My email is
syeldell@tca.net if you need any information along this part of the family linage. (sp)