The Fullertons are connected to the Jordan family line by the marriage of Blanche Fullerton, daughter of William Fullerton, to William Jordan, son of James and Sarah Jordan, on February 20, 1794 in Greenbrier County.

There are several competing histories of our Fullerton ancestors and when they came to America.  One proffers that William Fullerton, born around 1740, immigrated to Pennsylvania with his wife and children at an unknown date; that he was married at least two times, and that there were four children from the first marriage–William, John, Blanche and Elinor.

A second theory has William being born in Pennsylvania around 1740, the son of another William, who immigrated to America from County Tyrone in Ireland in the early part of the 1700s.

A third version places William‘s move to America much later, around 1772 or so.  According to this version, a daughter named Margaret died during the ocean crossing.  This account adds the information that William Fullerton was killed by Indians around 1800 in Greenbrier County, and that the family consisted of seven children.  In addition to Margaret, their names were Jane, William, Blanche, John, James and Elinor.

One can find many variations of these theories on ancestry web sites, but the evidence supporting them is inconclusive.  Simply put, it appears that there were several William Fullertons living in Pennsylvania and Virginia in colonial times and they all probably arrived in America at different times.

All we can say with reasonable certainty is that census records that recorded data on Blanche Fullerton Jordan‘s children during the 1870s and 1880s pretty consistently show them as claiming that their mother was “foreign born” and “born in Ireland.”  We also know from her marriage bond in 1794 that Blanche’s father was named William Fullerton and that Blanche was old enough then not to need his permission to marry.  Finally, we know that towards the end of the eighteenth century, William Fullerton and his son William owned three parcels of land near Sinking Creek in Greenbrier County.  The land was sold and the Fullertons moved west to Cabell County in the early 1800s.

Blanche Fullerton married William Jordan on February 20, 1794 in Greenbrier County.  They moved to Cabell County around 1798, and from there to Tippecanoe County, Indiana in 1827.  She probably died in Tippecanoe County before 1832.

Blanche‘s brother, William Fullerton Jr., was an educated man.  He served in various official capacities in Cabell County, including Justice of the Peace. He was married to a woman named Jane, but it appears they had no children (or none who outlived them).  William died in late 1831/early 1832–his will was recorded in March, 1832.

Elinor Fullerton married James Ochiltree on March 7, 1795 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia.  They remained in Virginia until their family was grown, then moved to Ohio where they lived with their daughter and son-in-law, James and Elizabeth Copenhaver, until their deaths.

John Fullerton and James Fullerton were alive in November of 1837 when the estate of their brother, William Fullerton Jr., was settled.  Jane Fullerton also inherited from her brother’s estate, but her part of the estate was settled in the name of her husband, William Rodgers, so her death date is uncertain.

Children of William Fullerton

Margaret Fullerton (died circa 1772)
Jane Fullerton Rodgers
William Fullerton, Jr. (died 1831/1832)
John Fullerton
James Fullerton
Blanche Fullerton Jordan (ca.1772-ca.1832)
Elinor Fullerton Ochiltree (1776-1853)