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As of today, there have been 3 people who have taken the 67 marker DNA test for the Toler / Towler DNA Project.  I started off with the 67 marker test, and then 2 other have upgraded from the 12 to the 67.  One of the upgrades can trace his line back to David Toler of WV.  The other upgrade is a mystery.  I was talking and we discovered that we may have found a "New Toler" branch.  Obviously it is not a "new line" but it is new to me and the other Toler / Towler researchers, and as such it is a bit of a mystery....

This is all important becuase the upgrade shows that we are a 66 for 67 match, so not exact, but we are related.  It is likely that our most recent common ancestor (MRCA) will be found at the start of settlement in the United States (read: James Town / early VA) or just before they came to the United States.

After I spoke to the person that did the upgrade, we came up with the following line, which I have also been able to prove using US Census records.  Starting with the man who took the DNA test working backward we have the following:

1. The man that took the DNA test.
2. His Father
3. Carl Eugene Toler (married Melissa Alice Farr) b. 1878, KS
4. Oliver P. Toler (married Clarissa) B. 1851 in IN
5. Russell Toler (married to a Cynthia) B in 1817 in Virginia......found in Hancock County, IN in 1870 Census.

The interesting thing here is that Russell Toler is not in any of my records, and he is not found in any of my fellow Toler researchers records either.  Based on the 1870 US Census record we see that he was born in Virginia, and that he was 53 years old.  Beyond that we do not have much.  Russell Toler's children moved to Kansas, but I cannot determine if he followed.

So now the questions are:

1. Who is this Russell Toler?
2. Who is his father?
3. Did he move from Virginia to Indiana, or did he stop in Kentucky (like a lot of the other Toler / Towler did)?
4. Where and when did he die?

The task now is to figure out as much as we can about Russell Toler and see if we can connect the lines.  If you have any info please feel free to use the contact form and let me know.