The Ping Family of America

Greetings! I am James Michael Raney (call me Jim, please!), one of the crew that runs this site. I'm 58, originally from Greenwood, Indiana (just south of Indianapolis) and a resident of Breckinridge County, Kentucky since 2017. My parents were Melvin Raney Jr (1932-1987) and Carolyn Gross (1937-2010). My connection to the Ping family is through my father's side. His parents were from Pulaski County, Kentucky - and both of them descend from John Ping (1740-1823). They were Melvin Raney Sr (1898-1961) and Ida Jane Hawk (1910-1999).

My descent from John Ping (1740-1823) is a bit convoluted, as you might have guessed. My ancestry includes two of John's daughters, Sarah Ping (1778-1854) and Elizabeth Ping (1784-1861). Sarah was married twice, first to John William Pointer (1776-1803) and second to Bolling Bullock (1780-1850). My ancestors include her son, by John Pointer, Jesse Pointer (1797-1857) and her daughter, by Bolling Bullock, Elizabeth Bullock (1807-1888). Sarah's sister Elizabeth Ping married Bolling Bullock's brother William Bullock (1782-1864), their son William Cornelius Bullock (1830-1911) is an ancestor of mine as well.

That makes three of John Ping's grandchildren direct ancestors of mine; two (Elizabeth Bullock and William C Bullock) were double cousins of one another. We'll start with Jesse Pointer (1797-1857). He married Sarah Inabnitt (1803-1875). Their daughter Martha Ann Pointer (1843-1927) married Greenup E Raney (1846-1912). Their son William G Raney (1868-1939) married Susan Jane Whitis (1878-1902). Their son Melvin Raney Sr (1898-1961) was my paternal grandfather.

William Cornelius Bullock (1830-1911), grandson of John Ping, was married twice. His first wife was Surrelda Jane Hargis (1828-bef 1868). Their daughter Sophia Bullock (1858-aft 1894) married Joseph William Inabnitt (1854-1922; great nephew of Jesse Pointer's wife Sarah Inabnitt). Their daughter Elizabeth Inabnitt (1882-1972) married William Thomas Hawk (1879-1966). Their daughter Ida Jane Hawk (1910-1999) was my paternal grandmother.

Elizabeth Bullock (1807-1888), Jesse Pointer's half sister, married Edmond Taylor (1805-1888). Their daughter Lavisa Taylor (1828-1903) was married twice. Her first husband was Jesse Logan Inabnitt (1826-1860); they were the parents of Joseph William Inabnitt (see previous paragraph).

Wow, so your connection to the Ping family is strong. Thanks for all your hard work with compiling your extensive database, and setting up this site!

Thank you Jim for that information. It's very interesting. I've seen all the names you mentioned, you do have quite a Ping connection. I actually stumbled upon the Ping name in my ancestry tree a couple years or so ago. For years I was busy tracking the Barnes side and it had slipped passed me that my Barnes 3rd gr grandfather was married to a Ping. I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out the Barbados Pings, still a little confused on that. Is it my misunderstanding or was there another Barnes married to a Ping also? Maybe one of Elijah Barnes's sister?

I'd have to rummage through the database a bit, but the Barnes family of Pulaski County, KY crossed paths with the Pings more than once. A pattern that I have noticed is that members of the group whose more recent ancestors (we'll use great grandparents as a good example) were born and raised outside Kentucky tend to have nice neat family tree charts. In my own case, my paternal grandparents were something like third cousins once removed on the Ping side and fourth cousins down another line. I doubt they knew they were related (even after 23 years of work, I met a second cousin once removed earlier this year I had no idea existed!), but it does mean my family tree on that side looks more like a big pot full of spaghetti.