THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412070118
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
Here a Brinkley, there a Brinkley, everywhere a Brinkley - especially in Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Gates County, N.C.
Who are they? From whence came they?
The answers are in ``The Brinkley and Allied Families of Nansemond Co. VA and Gates Co. NC,'' a decadelong labor of love by Freddie L. Brinkley.
The 230-page publication - which features 1,486 individual names, 256 surnames of related families and 89 photos - traces the family tree from 1684 to the present.
It begins with Jacob Brinkley of Woodbridge County, England, who emigrated to Virginia. Wife? Unknown. Sons? Peter and Isaac.
The book, which takes it from there, is available by mail and will soon be sold in several locations in South Hampton Roads.
It is the result of heavy, sometimes frustrating, research.
``Three fires in Suffolk, through the years, destroyed many family records,'' said Brinkley, who received a lot of help from his immediate family.
``I visited the National Archives in Washington and wandered into a room with census records. I saw a Brinkley mentioned, and that sparked my interest.''
Brinkleys galore were mentioned in Utah where the author spent a lot of research time at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Library.
It is the place to go to trace a family history - second only to family members, many of whom supplied Brinkley with information and photographs.
Like any historian, he did the best he could with what he had.
``I've been unable to connect the Brinkley branches,'' he said in a recent interview. ``There's a lot more we haven't found.''
He has found no connection, yet, with television journalist David Brinkley, a Wilmington, N.C., native, and famed model Christie Brinkley.
However, he did find family members who garnered some measure of fame.
Capt. William Brinkley, described as a ``rich and influential citizen,'' was assigned to the North Carolina 1st Regiment during the Revolutionary War.
In the 1980s Beth Polson of Corapeake became one of the televison industry's leading producers, referring to her company as Corapeake Productions.
Otherwise, according to Brinkley, ``most of the family are farmers, people of the earth. There was one physician.''
There are multitudinous branches of the family tree.
``I was surprised to find so many of us,'' Brinkley said, ``more than 250, excluding the women who wed non-Brinkleys.''
Brinkley-Brinkley marriages were not uncommon. Several cousins were related, such as the author and his wife, Eleanor.
``Her grandmother's sister married my great-grandfather's brother,'' he said.
That meant a double dose of research, a his-and-hers family tree check.
``I worked on this about 10 years,'' Brinkley said, ``before I realized I was writing a book.''
The book notes that the family ``remained in the same general area for several hundred years and have contributed immensely to the history of the region.''
Church histories are part of the book, particularly Cypress Chapel Christian in Suffolk, which has had Brinkleys on the rolls since it was organized in 1743.
Other churches important to the family history are Eureka Baptist and Parker's United Methodist both in Corapeake, and Liberty Spring Christian in Suffolk.
Brinkley was born in old Nansemond County in an area near Whaleyville called Harrell's Siding. The family moved to Norfolk County in the 1940s. Brinkley is a Wilson High School graduate.
He and his wife, the former Eleanor Gurganus, were high school sweethearts.
Brinkley, a graduate of Virginia Tech and the U.S. Naval War College, recently retired from a career of federal service with the Department of Defense in Maryland. The family lives in Pasadena, Md.
The book was published by Gateway Press Inc. of Baltimore, a leading genealogy publisher.
Brinkley and Gateway might get together again in a few years. His next project is researching his wife's family tree. MEMO: ``The Brinkley and Allied Families of Nansemond County VA and Gates
County NC'' will soon be available in this area at locations to be
announced. It is available now by mail by writing to Freddie Brinkley,
100 Litton Dale Lane, Pasadena, Md. 21122-4058. The cost is $30
including postage and handling. For more information, call (410)
544-0084.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Freddie and Eleanor Brinkley display artwork from a book tracing the
Brinkley family tree.
You may be a twig on Brinkley tree
It's possible. You may be a branch of the family tree - a
descendant of William, Riddick, James Henry Brinkley or Susie May
(Brinkley) Umphlette.
Check this list. If there is a familiar name, you may want to
check further.
William Brinkley: Bailey, Carey, Carr, Catalina, Chandler,
Conner, Dearing, Dennis, Dougherty, Edmondson, Franklin, Hall,
Havener, Hickman, Hoge, Holland, Horton, Hunter, Jones, Kaplan,
Knight, Lynch, McNeill, O'Berry, Parsons, Polson, Satchwell,
Saunders, Sawyer, Smoot, Spartz, Speight, Williams, Woyer.
Riddick Brinkley: Mathias, Morgan, Murray, Sharpe, Tew, Wiggins.
James Henry Brinkley: Blevins, Crawford, Eure, Horton, Pollard,
Swain.
Susie May (Brinkley) Umphlette: Bane, Byrd, Dixon, Earley, Eure,
Faulkner, Holleman, Spessard, Wiggins.
On the maternal side, names are associated with Babb stemming
from James C. Babb, born around 1794, a Nansemond County farmer.
These names are connected with Babb: Duke, Duval, Gardner, Joyner,
Parker, Whitley.
- Frank Roberts
by CNB