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The photo of the above Viking could well be representative of one of our Viking ancestors (although, hopefully, our ancestor was a bit smaller in girth!).....

Genealogically speaking, every Childers/Childress DNA Participant whose test results place him in this Clan is a cousin to one another.  We may be third, fourth, fifth or even 20th cousins, but we are in fact all cousins by virtue of the scientifically proven fact that somewhere back in time, we all shared a common Viking ancestor.  The purpose of this page is to display a photograph (or painting, etc.) of the oldest Childress/Childers male in each DNA Participant's lineage.  The order of these photographs follows the same order of the Viking DNA spreadsheet discussed in some detail on the previous page.  A Participant who has submitted a photo for this page has a photo notation beside his name on the spreadsheet.

(Click on any photograph thumbnail for a higher resolution photo.)

GROUP A - (CDYb=37)      

                   
1                         2                       3                          4                       5                          6

                   
7                                                    8                          9                        10                        11                              12

The first photo (1) above is of William Thomas Childress (b. 1874) and was taken around the turn of the century in Tyler, Texas.  "Will" was a farmer all his life.  He married Fannie Speer in 1900 and they had two children.  William's oldest known ancestor was William Childress, Sr.,  who was born in South Carolina circa 1750 and died 1834 in Birmingham, Alabama.  The contemporary DNA Participant is Joel Patrick Childress, born 1945 in Smith County, Texas.

The second photo (2), taken circa 1910, in the above row is of William Mathis (Tom) Childers (b. August 15, 1869) and his wife Maggie Lougene (Gable) Childers (b. 1880).  Tom Childers died in Pike County, Georgia and both he and his wife are buried at the family plot in the New Hope Baptist Cemetery.  Tom Childers is the grandfather of the contemporary DNA Participant, Larry Lee Childers of South Carolina.

The third photograph (3) above is of William Benton Childers (b. November 3, 1866) and his wife Mellisa Ola Rothgeb and was taken around 1920.  William Benton Childers lived in Ohio all his life.  His most distant, known ancestor is Mosby Childers, born 1759.  The contemporary DNA Participant is Jack Childers of Delaware.

The fourth photo (4) in the above row features Jesse Walker Dover (b. May 7, 1877 in Baxter County, Arkansas) and his wife Nancy Ellen Thompson.  Jesse Walker Dover was the son of Thomas Jefferson Dover (b. circa 1831 in Tennessee) and his wife Lucinda Kasinger.  One of Jesse Walker Dover's sons was Jesse Franklin Dover (b. 1918 in Arkansas).  The contemporary DNA Participant, Albert Walker Dover, is the son of Jesse Walker Dover.  The Dover family were surprised to find their DNA tests resulted in their line being placed with the Childress/Childers Viking Group, but are quite willing to explore various family alignments in order to trace their true heritage.  Several members of the same Dover family are DNA Participants, but please communicate with Carol Dover (wife of Albert Walker Dover) if you come across any of their family names while researching your Childers/Childress genealogy.

The fifth photo (5) above is an oil painting of Dr. Erasmus Ripley Childers (1819-1857) of Twiggs County, Georgia and Summerfield, Alabama.  Dr. Childers was a physician, planter and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical College in 1840.  He married Amanda Melvina F. Pinson.  This painting is owned by the great grandson of Dr. Childers, Benjamin Meek Miller Childers, who is the contemporary DNA Participant.

On the first row, photo (6) is of the grandparents of Terry Childress, Willie Wiley Childress (March 31, 1863 to June 05, 1943) and his wife Georgia Louella Freeman Childress (October 15, 1871 to June 18, 1962).  Willie and Georgia married on November 06, 1895 and lived their entire lives in and around Lafayette County, Mississippi (Lafayette County is about three counties north of Choctaw County, where many other "Viking" Childress families lived during this same time period).  Willie served in the 34th Infantry of Mississippi in the Civil War.

The seventh photo (7) above features John Middleton Childress and his wife, Nancy Oswalt Childress.  John was born to William G. Childress and wife Sarah Poe in Choctaw County , Mississippi in 1851 and lived in that general area until his death on February 5, 1930 in Montgomery County, Mississippi.  He was a farmer, Justice of the Peace, and Mayor of the little town of Kilmichael .  The contemporary DNA Participant and direct descendent of John Middleton Childress is William A. (Bill) Childress of Tennessee.  (Editor's Note: there were many Viking Childress ancestors living in the Choctaw County, Mississippi area during the mid-19th century.)

The eighth photo (8) above is of William Leftwich Childress, born July 19, 1846 in Kanawha County, Virginia (later to become West Virginia).  He was the son of Henry and Rebecca Pauley Childress.  William L. Childress was in Company L, 7th W.V. Cavalry during the Civil War.  William's grandfather Robert Childress came to Kanawha County from Pittsylvania County, Virginia in 1810.  The contemporary DNA Participant for William is Clayton Robert Childress of West Virginia and his test was sponsored by Greg Whitlock, great grandson of William Leftwich Childress.

The ninth photo (9) above features Robert St. Clair (b. 1864 in West Virginia), son of William and Mary St. Willis St. Clair.  His great granddaughter, Amber St. Clair Dalakas, reports that Robert was orphaned and raised by an aunt and uncle with the surname of Spade.  He was one of five known children.  Robert's father William fought in the Civil War with the Monroe County, West Virginia 30th Battalion Virginia Sharpshooters.  Robert married Martha Stickler in 1889 after moving to Summers County, West Virginia.  Presumably, the most distant known ancestor is Wayman Sinkler, b. 1751 in Prince William County Virginia; however, in light of the new DNA evidence, further research is needed.  This St. Clair/Sinkler/Sinclair clan settled in Bedford County, Virginia with William's parents, James and Elizabeth Lawhorn St. Clair settling in the western-most counties of VA/WV in the 1800s.  The contemporary DNA Participant is Carlos St. Clair (Amber's father) who still lives on the land on which Robert and wife Martha farmed and raised their family in Summers County, West Virginia.

Photograph number ten (10) above is of Henry Jeff Childers, born August 4, 1844 in Johnson County, Kentucky.  He was the son of Robert Childers and Jentz Vanhoose.  Henry later moved to Lawrence County, Kentucky and died November 15, 1918.  He is buried in the Graves/Childers cemetery in Ulysses, Lawrence County, Kentucky.  Henry Jeff Childers was a veteran of the Civil War, enlisting in the 39th Kentucky Infantry on November 30, 1862.  He was discharged in 1865 after attaining the rank of Corporal.  Robert Eugene Childers is the contemporary DNA Participant and is the grandson of Henry Childers.

The eleventh image in this group is a painting that features Colonel Francis Gracey Childers (Spanish American War,) born February 11, 1860 in Logan County, Kentucky and died July 3, 1895 in Eddyville, Kentucky.  He was the son of Reverend James Francis William Childers, born 1828 in Logan County, Kentucky.  Samuel Graham Childers is our contemporary DNA Participant and is the great grandson of Colonel Childers.

Number twelve above is a circa 1910 photograph of Bud Lewis Childers, born November 26, 1880 in Howard County, Missouri.  Bud married Mary Elma Burrus who was born November 1891.  Bud and Mary had three children including one son who was Billy Ross Childers, the grandfather of the contemporary participant, William Benjamin Childers.

GROUP B - (CDYb=38)

                   
1                                             2                            3                               4                       5                                                6

The first photograph above features the white-bearded John William Childress (born July 10, 1819) and his son John Mitchell Childress (born November 14, 1849) and their family.  This photo was taken in Dyersburg, Tennessee around 1905, according to descendent Cody Childress, contemporary DNA Participant, who still lives in Tennessee.

The second photograph in the row above is of Fleming Childress, who was born in 1814 in Goochland, Virginia.  Fleming was the fifth son of John G. and Margaret (Faudree) Childress.  He left home at the age of 14 for Kentucky and settled in Barren County, later marrying Nancy Glover on October 2, 1839.  Initially a farmer, Fleming studied and became a Baptist preacher, remaining in that profession until his death.  Fleming Childress served Temple Hill Baptist Church on three separate occasions.  Ron Childress, contemporary DNA Participant in Kentucky, reports that he found this old picture hanging in the Temple Hill Baptist Church in 2003.  Ron's most distant, known ancestor is William Childress, born 1740 in Goochland, Virginia.

Photograph #3 above features John Childress (born September 1898; died October 1957) and his wife Shirley Gibson Childress.  John was born and lived in Pike County, Kentucky.  He is the grandfather of DNA Participant Basil "Bazz" Childress, who also currently resides in Kentucky.  John's father was William Childress and his grandfather was George Washington Childress who was born in Buchanan County, Virginia and served as a Corporal with the 10th Kentucky Cavalry in the CSA.  G.W. Childress was the son of Jesse "Jake" Childress who was the son of Pleasant Childress, Revolutionary War veteran out of Buckingham County, Virginia.

The fourth old photograph above is of George William Childress, born March 12, 1885, son of George Washington Childress and Anna Nancy Vandalee Hood; lived in Knox County, Tennessee.  The young boy in picture is Loney Fred Childress, born August 30, 1936 and died July 2, 2001. George William married Bessie Myrtle Sexton and they had four children; Melba, Loney Richard, Ella Mae and Edith.  These are the oldest known ancestors of Bradd M. Childress of Nevada.

Featured in photograph 5 (taken before 1917) are four of the seven sons of Thomas and Catherine Helmick Childers.  Shown from left to right is Enoch Childers (b. 1842), Daniel Childers (b. 1845), Phillip Marion Childers (b. 1852) and standing is Robert Floyd Childers (b. 1854).  Enoch married Rebecca Hinkle in 1866 after returning home from the Civil War, they had 10 children.  Daniel married Alice Zinn in 1882 and they had 5 children.  Phillip married Elizabeth Jane Myers and they had 7 children.  Robert married Susan Virginia Carter in 1878 and they had 6 children.  Those brothers not pictured were Archibald born in 1841, Absolum born in 1847, and Jesse born in 1849.  Enoch Childers is the second great-grandfather of Kenneth E. Childers.

The sixth photograph above is of William Sanders Childress who was born April 11, 1827 in Knox County, Tennessee, son of Richard Hamilton Childress (b. 1796).  William was a farmer and stock raiser.   He moved to Coles County, Illinois in 1848 with little over $200 in personal possessions.  Working diligently at chopping firewood for 30 cents a cord and railroad rails for 50 cents each, William managed to accumulate an estate comprised of more than 1,000 acres, at least a hundred head of cattle, 125 hogs, 150 sheep and  numerous horses.  What William bought, he never sold.  Consequently, most all of his original purchases were still in his possession at the time of his death.  Mac Warren Childress is the contemporary DNA participant and his daughter, Linda Childress Keeler, furnished all of this information and photographs.

GROUP C - (12 or 25 marker only)

        
1                            2                          3

The above left photograph is of Samuel Childress, born July 21, 1831, and his wife Amanda Jane Stewart, born October 14, 1831.  Samuel was born in Lafayette County, Mississippi.  He and his wife Amanda had five children, all boys.  Mary Wiley Smithey is the great, great granddaughter of Samuel and Amanda and furnished the photo above.  A cousin of Mary's, Larry Wayne Childress, is the DNA donor in this project and currently lives in Texas.

The second photo features Rufus Morgan Childress, born April 11, 1856 in Guntersville, Alabama.  Rufus married Deliah J. Bryant on January 20, 1878 at William Womack's house. Thirteen children were born to this union: Clemons Clay (b. 1879), Montgomery (b. abt. 1880), Walter G. (b. 1882), Maud Myra (b. 1884), Eva Arizona (b. 1887), Grace Mae (b. 1889), Katy (b. 1893), Gunter Rufus (b. 1895), two infants (b. about 1897 and 1898), Alberta Dolvin (b. 1899), twins Riley Clayton and Rubin Clenton (b. 1903).  Rufus Morgan Childress is the great grandfather of James Clemons Childress, the contemporary DNA participant.  (photo furnished by Sherion Childress Bowers, cousin of James.)

Photograph number 3 was submitted by "Indiana" Jack Childers.  Pictured are Andrew Jackson Childers (1882 - 1965) and his younger brother Milford Childers (1887-1974) along with their mother, Elizabeth Trump Childers.  Andrew and Milford both were born in Lake County, northwest Indiana.