To all Pannell cousins out there: I recently discovered that William the Conqueror gave much of the land around Newport, Isle of Wight to the PAGNELL family. Not sure if this was after the Battle of Hasings, 1066 or before; there were some Normans (and some of our ancestors) in England before the Norman invasion. Just thought that might be of interest to some of my fellow root-hunters.

Hi Cindy, It's nice that you would share this info especially since the name Pagnell came from the old Scottish name Pagan. The Nordic hords (Vikings) brought it to Scotland

Curious too that when I was doing some research in Atlanta of my family, we also found references to "pagan" in the history of the name. I was curious because I found a large number of African-American families named Pannell in the MS areas and along through some of the southern states but our family had migrated down from VA and had never been large slave owners. A researcher in Atlanta told me that the name "Paynelle" was the Norman term for the Celts in England and later Scotland and Ireland because they were pagan worshipers. He further stated that the French Slave traders bringing africans to the US through New Orleans would likely have refered to them using the same term. When they left the ships and their names were recorded they would give their African name and when asked for their "other" name they would likely only know the one they had been called by the French, "Pannells"

I have run into African-American Pannell's in Texas, also. My Pannell line traces back to South Carolina (likely from Pennsylvania) to MS to, LA and AR, then to TX. Jehu A. Pannell was a medical doctor, graduated from Tulane in New Orleans in late 1800's. He was my g-grandfather.

As I investigated the Pannell's in Texas at the National Archives, I went to Caldwell and Hayes counties and got some nice "hits" for Pannell's that seemed to match dates and locations that I sought. However, they were African-American, and my family is white. It did occur to me, however, that the route of the family, PA-SC-MS-LA-TX, could well be such that part of the groups of people who moved might be include a diverse mix. Clearly, the surnames were adopted in many cases. I have not run across any family stories that recall any slaves as part of the Pannell line.

--Charles Nethaway, Reston, Virginia, whozit1130@aol.com

I am caucasian. To my knowledge I do not have African American relations. My family does migrate from S, Carolina to Georgia to Alabama to Texas. My Grandfather was Elias Washington Pannell and married Marietta Gladney. They had 14 children. My dad was Eunice Ancel Pannell

My Pannell's also came from SC -> GA - and my line stopped and stayed in the Coweta Co area. I now live in Texas, interestingly in Hays and near Caldwell County!!

As far back as I've been able to find - I'm sure there were no slaves in our Pannell line, although it appears from photos that they were more well-to-do than the sharecropper line from which my great-grandmother came when married into the Pannell family.

I've spoken to some of the remaining Pannell's in Coweta Co - and noone is very forthcoming with info at all. I've tried to connect my lines with the SC/GA Pannell families I've found on-line and on message boards and can't find that missing link. I've not given up yet, though.

Keep posting, and I'll keep looking and maybe that link will show itself.

William C. T. Pannell and Sarah Ann Shaddix are believed to be the Parents of Elias Washington Pannell, William T. Jr. Pannell and Marion Pannell in Clay County or Tallega County, Alabama. Both Parents were born in Georgia. Sarah was born in Coweta County, Georgia

I'd be interested in any more information that you might have concerning your branch of the family. It appeared, at least in my family's case, that they were migrating along the same paths as many others. They entered Georgia in the early 1800's about the time the Cherokee Indian lands and the discovery of gold in north Georgia enticed a lot of folks to go there hoping to get land grants. Ours didn't directly but married into some of the families that did have land and money. They apparently didn't hang on to any of it though.
Please feel free to contact me directly at panell@juno.com to compare notes. I haven't recognized many of the names that I've seen on the net but I'm hopeful that one day I will.

On a recent trip to Alabama I found out at the Talledega, County Court House page 209 of marriage records that" W. M. C. Pannell and Sarah Shaddix" obtained a marriage on Feb. 14, 1860 and were actually married on Feb. 16, 1860 by a Justice of the Peace. That was the way it was listed however I have seen other documents referring to him as W.M.T. Pannell and her whole name as Sarah Ann Shaddix Pannell

I've come across a stumbling block, I'm from the Panell's in
Puerto Rico and that is as far as I have gotten. Up to father's
grand-parents. Mid 1800's, HELP!