Beyond the Lippincott's to the Manning's

Is it possible we are distantly related to two NFL star quarterbacks, Eli and Peyton Manning? In researching some family history, I did find a Manning family connection back in Virginia in 1755 - more about that later....

Everyone in my family is familiar with this picture of my great-great grandparents, David and Catherine Lippincott smoking their clay pipes. What surprised me was to find the picture posted on the internet in some Lippincott family web pages. Did I really think my Grandma Delphia had the only copy of the picture of her grandparents on her mother's side?

 Merrill Sparks wrote the above for the Adams County History book. The accompanying picture shows the couple a bit more dressed up and includes their grandson, Ami, whom they helped raise.
Ami was the son of their daughter, Rebecca. Because he was born out-of-wedlock, he took a lot of teasing - which he reportedly took good-naturedly saying, "If I'm not Ami, who in the hell am I?" I remember hearing Grandma and Mom both telling that story. I always wondered who Ami's father was, but that was something Grandma would never talk about. Today I read on one of the Ancestry.com message boards that Ami was conceived as the result of a rape. That information was posted by a descendant of Rebecca's sister, Sarah. So while I still don't know who his father was, I do have a little more information about him.

 Another thing Merrill's write up includes is that the Lippincott's operated the Mt. Etna Mill at one time - something else Grandma Delphia often talked about. The mill was located on the Middle Nodaway River south of Mt. Etna. It operated until 1929 when it was moved to Creston to the south side of the railroad tracks. It later burned down. In the 1970's, one of the mill stones was found in the Nodaway River downstream from where the mill had been. That mill stone is now one of the ones displayed in front of the House of History in Corning.
Grandma Delphia had an oil painting of the mill done by our cousin, Don Gray. It was from a different view than this photo. Grandma highly prized the painting. I believe Aunt Evelyn got it after Grandma's death.

This is a picture of Ami Lippincott which was among Grandma Delphia's photos. He lived in Gothenburg, Nebraska and is buried near there as are his mother, Rebecca and his Grandmother, Catherine.
Now, back to the Mannings. Catherine Deardorff Lippincott was the daughter of Jacob and Isabel Smith Deardorff. Isabel Smith was the daughter of Ervin Smith and Liddy Mannen (or Manning).
Liddy Mannen (or Manning) Smith was the daughter of Davis and Nancy Manning, born in 1755 in Buckingham County, Virginia.

So, from now on when I watch the Giants or Broncos play when football season begins again, I can cheer for my cousins, Eli and Peyton.