CLAN PAISLEY DATABASE – HISTORY & STATS (Jul 2025):
Overview: The Clan Paisley Database provides family history researchers a digitized library of genealogical information on persons surnamed “Paisley” (by any recognized spelling) and their descendants. The database is the property of the Paisley Family Association and can be found at Ancestry.com (viewable with specific permission). In addition to ancestral facts, the database contains scanned copies of documents, links to various online records, photographs, etc., making it a complete historical archive.
History & Current Status: The project to develop the database was commissioned at the July 2017 annual meeting of the Paisley Family Association. The database itself was originally seeded with a portion of member Gary Paisley’s personal digitized family tree containing approximately 24,000 Paisley descendants (all in the so-called “Ireland A” family group). Several additional contributors subsequently provided their own family trees which were merged with the initial data, such that, within 3 years, the database had grown to 50,000 individuals in multiple Paisley family groups. Since then, a steady process of history/document collection and digitizing has enlarged the database to its present size.
Currently, Gary Paisley continues providing primary development and maintenance of the database via a sync process using Family Tree Maker software running on his personal computer. Gary began creating digitized genealogy trees 40 years ago (in 1985 – then using the LDS’s newly-released, DOS-based, Personal Ancestral File 1.0 software in the original GEDCOM 1.0 open-source format, which he ran on a likewise newly-released IBM PC/AT 5170 desktop computer). In 1996, he transferred his data to Family Tree Maker software (then Windows 95-based Broderbund FTM Version 4.0). Gary has since continued updating both his hardware and software as necessary to the latest versions (now MacOS-based Software Mackiev FTM 2024 Version 25.0.0, running on an Apple MacBook Pro M2 Max laptop).
Ancestry.com launched its online genealogy services in 1996, which have also rapidly grown to their current prominence. Second only to the LDS’s FamilySearch.org in overall size, and also headquartered in Utah, Ancestry.com currently has 3.5 million paying subscribers, 27 million DNA contributors, 65 billion records, 21 billion ancestral profiles, 1,300 employees, and 10 petabytes of data, making it, by far, the largest subscription genealogical services website.
Current Statistics: As of July 2025, the Clan Paisley Database contains:
- Genealogical profiles for over 137,000 Individuals (+14,000 in the previous year), in 17 family groups
- 1.25 million facts (i.e. vitals, occupations, military service, etc.)
- 35,000 documents & records (+7,000 in the previous year)
- 6,500 photographs (+3,000 in the previous year)
The aggregate size of the Family Tree Maker version of the database, including the primary database (plus internal back-up), media gallery (plus internal back-up), and raw media file, is now 8.5 gigabytes (+2.6 gigabytes in the previous year).
Diligence: The database is maintained exclusively at Ancestry for the private use of the Paisley Family Association. Access is restricted via Ancestry’s privacy settings. Viewing the database is limited to Ancestry subscribers who have been specifically invited by the PFA. These viewing permissions are further ranked, with only 4 total persons currently having the ability to edit the database.
For protection against loss of data, the database employs multiple redundancies. Firstly, Family Tree Maker software provides its own internal backup. Next, Gary Paisley’s current Apple Macbook Pro computer, including the aggregate Clan Paisley Database, is backed up by Apple Cloud Services. Gary also maintains a complete back-up copy of the database on an external hard drive stored in a locked, fire-proof box. A further back-up of the database is provided remotely by Software Mackiev Cloud Services (via TreeVault software Version 2.0). Finally, any of the four designated editors for the Ancestry.com-based version can download a GEDCOM formatted copy of the database from Ancestry.com at any time.
Necessary subscriptions for developing and maintaining the database, including required updates to Family Tree Maker software, All-Access membership to Ancestry.com, and subscriptions to Apple Cloud Services and Software Mackiev Cloud Services, as well as use-appropriate hardware, are currently provided by Gary Paisley.
Further notes:
- During the previous year, the database’s primary article, “About Us”, was updated to Version 2.6, providing readers more specific details about the database as well as the Paisley Family Association’s overall genealogical research activities
- Also during the previous year, a crossover marriage was discovered between the Ireland A and England G family groups (Shirley Jean Young to James Ronald Cantrell). While the two groups remain separate due to dissimilar yDNA evidence, they are thusly connected within the database
- Almost all additions to the database made in the previous year were to the Ireland A family group, which currently comprises 47% of the database
- Growth of the Clan Paisley Database is expected to continue, un-interrupted, for several more years. The current estimate of yet-to-be-digitized data in hand is enough to grow the database to approximately 250,000 individuals – future work which will require 7-8 more years to complete at the present pace. The largest single source for the yet-to-be-digitized data are the skeletal, typewritten notes of Eugenia Paisley Vogel, which are now also kept by Gary Paisley
- For comparison, the historic volume, “Paisley & Allied Families”, the first definitive research of Paisley genealogy published in 1972, contained genealogical profiles on approximately 7,000 individuals, mostly of the Ireland A family group (approximately 1/20th the size of the current database)
- Approximately 20% of the photographs contained in the database are of grave markers, mausoleum niche plaques, and decorative burial urns, constituting a “sub-project” that focuses on creating a permanent record of such monuments, which could otherwise disappear with the passage of time
- The PFA’s database project is advancing in parallel with the PFA’s separate DNA research project managed by member Diane Langston. In the previous year, several contributors provided 700+ marker yDNA test results which led to the conditional consolidation of some family groups within the database, from 20 groups one year ago to 17 currently. Former groups, Ireland K, Ireland S, and Ireland V are now included in Ireland A. Further consolidations may be possible if more yDNA contributors are found who agree to take the 700+ marker “Big Y” DNA test now offered by FamilyTreeDNA.
About Us: Version 2.6
Welcome To The Clan Paisley Database (Getting Started):
About This Database:
Commissioned by the Paisley Family Association in 2017, this database, maintained at the website, Ancestry.com, combines multiple family trees detailing numerous, presently unconnected, Paisley family groups. The ultimate goal is to include all people surnamed Paisley by any recognized spelling, their descendants and spouses. It remains a “work in progress” as the various family groups are regularly updated with additional information, and more groups are being added. Presently, the size of the database has surpassed 137,000 individuals, 35,000 records, and 6,000 photographs. It spans a time period from the 15th century to the present.
Since several family trees exist within the database, this article, “About Us”, is linked to the earliest positively identified patriarch(s) of each family group. The viewer may select “Tree Overview” and then “Documents” in the drop-down menus to find this article and reveal an interactive list of links to those patriarchs. By clicking on each individual, the viewer will be immediately redirected to the top of each family tree.
Reproduced here is a list of those patriarchs and their associated family groups that are included in the database (17 trees, currently):
“England A” – Sir William Peasley (Lady Anne Calvert), b. 1605 in England
“England D” – Samuel Paisley (Elizabeth Elliot), b. 1798 in Durhamshire, England
“England G” – Joseph Peasley (Mary Johnson), b. 1598 in Gloucestershire, England
“England H” – Hugh Pasley (Mary LNU) b. abt.1748 in Virginia
“England M” – William Moses Pasley (Elizabeth Stanley), b. 1774 in Virginia
“Ireland A” – William Paisley (Eleanor McLean), b. 1707 in County Tyrone, Ireland & brother, John Paisley (Margaret Gray), b. 1710 in County Tyrone, Ireland, Samuel Paisley (Margaret LNU), b. 1780 in County Tyrone, Ireland, James Paisley (Margaret Kyle), b. 1801 in County Tyrone, Ireland, Richardson Paisley (Mary LNU), b. 1813 in County Tyrone, Ireland & brother, Thomas Paisley (Margaret Foster), b. 1815 in County Tyrone, Ireland
“Ireland B” – John Paisley (Jane LNU), b. 1771 in County Down, Ireland
“Ireland D” – Robert Paisley (Amanda Connolly), b. 1758 in Pennsylvania
“Ireland E” – David Paisley (Elizabeth Elliot), b. 1759 in Pennsylvania
“Ireland H” – Hugh Paisley (Diane Rogers), b. before 1752 in either Ireland or Pennsylvania
“Ireland J” – John Paisley (Frances Wilson), b. 1803 in either Ireland or Pennsylvania
“Ireland M” – James Paisley (Jane Arnot), b. 1796, Ireland
“Ireland N” – David Paisley (Mary Spence), b. abt 1767 in Pennsylvania
“Ireland R” – Thomas Paisley (Martha Kurk), b. 1790 in Ireland
“Ireland T” – John Paisley (Elizabeth Cameron), b. abt. 1775 in County Antrim, Ireland
“Italy B” – Francesco Paglia a.k.a. Frank Paisley (Genevieve Carozzo) b. 1875 in Italy
“Scotland C” – David Paisley (Isabella Bailey), b. abt. 1817 in Scotland
About Our Clan and Our Surname:
Clan Paisley is an armigerous clan of Scotland, recognized by the Lyon Court. Its chieftain is Duncan W. Paisley of Westerlea. Further information about the Clan and its activities can be found at the website, https://www.clanpaisleysociety.org.uk/
Probing our surname’s origin, the book, Those Names of Ours, by A. W. Dilquest, states that the Paisley surname originates locally in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, which has been a Scottish “burgh of barony” for over 500 years.
This town’s location, which straddles the banks of the White Cart Water, a tributary of the River Clyde approximately 12 miles west of Glasgow, has been historically called Pasley, Paselay, Passelet, and Passeleth. The earliest surviving place name record dates to 1157 AD. Some believe the place name was a derivation of a gaelic term meaning “at the front of the slope” (consistent with the town’s location). Others believe, it was derived from the word “basilica” – coincidentally, a chapel was erected on the site of the future town of Paisley by St. Mirin in the 6th/7th century AD, and gradually grew into a major church and pilgrimage destination, making Clan Paisley, arguably, the only Scottish clan with a patron saint.
The usage of surnames began in Scotland in the 12th century but remained rare until the 13th century. Early surnames were consistent with the names of places (i.e Paisley), occupations, nicknames, or derived from a parent’s given name (i.e. O’Brien, McDonald). Coinciding with this earliest use of surnames, the first known record of the Paisley place name as a surname dates to between 1179 and 1202 AD when William Passelue/Passelaw was a witness to various charters of William of Lyon and Alan filius Walteri. There is also a surviving record of Johannes de Passelet as the canon of Glasgow in 1320 AD.
At least as early as the 15th century, persons bearing the surname “Paisley” began emigrating from Scotland to other regions, ultimately including England, Ireland, continental Europe, Australia, and America. From 1630 to 1900, at least 4 dozen, possibly more, separate sets of immigrants, surnamed Paisley, entered America and started families whose descendants can still be found and identified.
The Paisley Tartan and Badge:
Mr. Allen C. Drennan, employed by Anchor Mills in Paisley, Scotland, designed the tartan in 1952 as the Paisley district tartan. The creation immediately won 1st Prize at the Kelso Highland Show. Members of the Clan Paisley Society have appropriately adopted this design as the Clan Paisley tartan:
Various artistic interpretations of the Clan Paisley livery badge, as well as the Clan Paisley Society emblem can be viewed online. A more accurate description of the badge is: A dexter (right) arm clad in armor from the shoulder with gauntleted hand grasping a dagger. Motto: Be Sure:
Are All Paisleys Related?
Since the origin of the Paisley surname is a place name, it is possible, even likely, that multiple persons (who were not closely related) adopted the name near the end of the middle ages. To date, dissimilar DNA evidence between certain Paisley family groups supports this theory. However, DNA research in the United States has also found close ties among several immigrant Paisley family groups with no “new world” connections, leading to the certainty of a common “old world” ancestor, and the conditional consolidation of certain groups within the database. Further research could reveal additional linkages, as well as the possibility of identifying the common ancestor(s). The Paisley Family Association has commissioned a project that includes both yDNA and autosomal DNA testing opportunities. All Paisley descendants with an interest in their genealogy are encouraged to participate.
For further information on ancestral DNA testing, contact Diane Langston, dlangsto@yahoo.com
About the Paisley Family Association:
The primary purpose of the Paisley Family Association (PFA) is to celebrate the descendants and ancestors of William and John Paisley, American colonists who emigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland in 1736. They are identified within the family group, “Ireland A”, in the Clan Paisley Database. While it is a “corporate member” of the Clan Paisley Society and supports their mission of “gathering the Clan” worldwide, the PFA’s major focus is family history, genealogy, and DNA research.
The PFA is believed to be the only Paisley family organization that is heavily involved in genealogy research at this time. Therefore, the PFA proposes to be the primary ancestral research center for all Paisley family groups. As such, membership in the PFA is not limited to descendants of the “Ireland A” group. Any interested person may join – further information is available at the website, https://paisleyfamilyassociation.com
Accepted Surname Spelling Variants:
A wide variety of spellings of this surname can now be found in U.S. public records, including Paisley, Paisly, Paistley, Pastly, Pasley, Paslay, Pasely, Pacely, Pacley, Peisly, Peasley, Peasly, Peaslye, Peaslie, and Peaslee, but it is believed that all these spellings originate from the place name for Paisley, Scotland. While the surname, Parsley, is officially recognized as a separate surname originating in France, it is also possible that some persons of the Paisley line later adopted that surname.
Notable individuals Listed in the Database (Paisley descendants and spouses):
The Clan Paisley Database includes numerous persons, living or deceased, who were prominent or distinguished in some manner during their lifetime. The following is a list of such individuals who are thus far identified:
Maj. Gen. Forrest Anderson Abbott – World War II veteran & Trustee, U.S. Army War College
Gen. Samuel Egbert Anderson – U.S. Air Force 4-star General, led 9th Bomber Command in Europe during World War II
Miller Westford Barber – Professional golfer, 11 PGA tour victories, 3-time U.S. Senior Open winner
Willia Dean Doughty a.k.a. Deannie Best – Movie actress, known for Shanghai Chest
Gen. Charles Graham Boyd – U.S. Air Force 4-star General, survived 7 years as a POW in North Vietnam
Lawrence Neville Brand – Broadway, movie, & television actor, star of TV series, “Laredo”
Lt. Cmdr. Robert Marion Brinker – Commander U.S.S. Grayling (submarine), lost at sea with all hands during World War II
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown – Author, historian, wrote Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Wiley Clifford Bunn – Director of Quality, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Sir Michael Dacres Butler – British diplomat
Pvt Charles Patterson Cantrell – Spanish-American War veteran, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
Malcolm Paul Cantrell, Politician, McMinn County, Tennessee
Lenore “Leonora Corona” Cohrone – Metropolitan Opera singer
Kathleen Alston Collins – film actress of the silent era, co-starred in approximately 20 feature films
Carl Calvin Conley – Texas State Legislator
Edmond Rufus Doak Jr. – Aviation pioneer, founded Doak Aircraft Company, developed VZ-4 vertical takeoff airplane
Robert Renfrow “Peanut” Doak – First head coach, North Carolina State University Women’s Basketball Team
Julia Angeline Drake – Author, known for From Millwheel to Plowshare, Flame O’ Dawn, and Red Glory
Vincent Harris Duckles – Professor of Music, University of California, called nation’s foremost music bibliographer
Leonard Clyde Dunavant – State Senator, Tennessee
Mary Louise Palmer Dunn – Founding director, Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States
Troy Ardell Fendrick – Captain, U.S. Navy
Dr. Susan Elizabeth “Bess” Frost – Professor for Neurodegenerative Disorders, University of Texas, 2020 O’Donnell Award in Medicine
Ida Mae Pinckney Fuller – World-renowned interpretive dancer
Earl Smith “Smitty” Gatlin – Gospel music singer, Oak Ridge Boys, Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame
Samuel Creed Gholson – Artist, sculptor, and art teacher
Gene M. Gomes – Appellate Court Justice, State of California
Jack Edgar Hafer Jr. – Hollywood film producer, known for the award-winning movie, To End All Wars
Jesse Lee Hall – Texas Ranger, & Inductee, Texas Rangers Hall of Fame
Hal Brantley Hargrove – Journalist & author, known for The Man Who Caught the Storm
Talbot Edward Harper – Commander, U.S.S. Kingfish (submarine) during latter stages of World War II, retired as Rear Admiral
Madge Fisher Harrah, a.k.a. Monique Harrah – Author & playwright, known for Honey Girl & My Brother, My Enemy
Maj. Gen. John Charles Hayden – World War II & Korean War veteran, Commander, 4th U.S. Army
Clarence Wilson Hewlett Jr. – Designer of instrumentation, Oak Ridge Uranium Diffusion Plant, Manhattan Project
Carlisle Wallace Higgins – Attorney & Supreme Court Justice, State of North Carolina
Carlisle Wallace “Buck” Higgins Jr. – President & CEO, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company
Harold Fred Holtz Jr. – Founder, Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute, University of Georgia
Derek Bruce Hough – American professional Latin & ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer
Julianne Alexandra Hough – American dancer, actress, singer, songwriter, & cast member, Dancing With The Stars
Edgar Howard – Lieutenant Governor & 6-term Congressman, State of Nebraska
Lawrence Truman Hoyle Jr. = Philadelphia crime-fighting trial lawyer, volunteered to defend individuals during Civil Rights movement
Elizabeth Paisley Huckaby – Educator, protected female black students during desegregation of Central High School, Little Rock, AR
Willis Eskridge Hunt – Yacht broker to numerous Hollywood stars, was married to actresses, Carole Landis & Deannie Best
Travis Calvin “Stonewall” Jackson – American professional baseball player, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
Harry William Jefferson – NASCAR Winston Cup & Winston West racing driver
George Frederick Jewett, Jr. – Philanthropist, America’s Cup Hall of Fame
George Washington Jones – Lieutenant Governor of Texas & U.S. Congressman, Texas 5th District
Donald Ray Kennard – Member, Louisiana State House of Representatives
Alice Paisley Flack Kiernan – Vice-President, Women’s Suffrage Association of Pennsylvania
James Patrick Kilgo – Professor & noted author, won Townsend Prize for fiction for Daughter of My People
Don Jackson Kinsey – Asst Manager, Los Angeles Water Department & author, known for River of Destiny and Romance of Water
Fred Ferdinand Kitzing, Jr. – Marketer, known as the “Father of Tradeshow Marketing”
Kevin Wayne Klee – Movie actor & comedian, appeared in Gretchen and Idiocracy
Frances Lillian Mary Ridste a.k.a. Carole Landis – Movie actress, known for I Wake Up Screaming & Topper Returns
Maj. Gen. John Albert Lang Jr. – World War II Veteran, U.S. Air Force
DeeGee Lester – Founder, Hellenic Institute of Cultural Diplomacy, Director of Education for The Parthenon Museum (Tennessee)
Frank Harris Lieberman – One of Elvis Presley’s inner circle & publicist for Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Danza, Siegfried & Roy, & others
Bruce Alan Lietzke – Professional golfer, won 13 PGA tournaments & 7 Senior PGA tournaments
Dr. Paisley Nathan Livingston – Professor Emeritus, Lingnan University, author of over a dozen books in field of philosophy
Sosia Manzo – Opera tenor, performed at Teatro San Carlos, Naples & Carnegie Hall, New York City
Charles Louis Marshall, Jr. – Founder, Marshall Hotels & Resourts
Eleanor Louise Marvak a.k.a. Ellye Marshall – Hollywood actress
Bert Deems May Jr. – Professional football player, tight end, National Football League
Edgar Allyn McKeen – Head football coach, Mississippi State University, won 1941 SEC championship
Robert Henry “Fast Floyd” McKenzie – Punk rock guitarist, member of bands, Mink DeVille & Fast Floyd & The Famous Firebirds
Dr. James Edwin McLean – Dean & Professor Emeritus, College of Education, University of Alabama
Archie Lee Meyers Jr. – Novelist, international lecturer, chairman & CEO of Crawford & Company
James Calvin “Uncle Cal” Milam – Thoroughbred horse trainer & pinhooker, owner of Exterminator, Thoroughbred Hall of Fame
Madison Fred Mitchell, Jr. – World-recognized artist in abstract expressionism
Dr. John Earl Naugle – Doctor of Physics & Astronomy, Chief Scientist for NASA, known for book, First Among Equals
Stephanie “Stevie” Nicks – Grammy-winning rock music singer; Vocalist, Fleetwood Mac band; Inductee, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Maj. Gen. Ralph Morris Osborne, World War II & Korean War Veteran, Commandant, American Sector of Berlin
Brad Douglas Paisley – Grammy-award winning American country music singer & songwriter
Daniel Patrick “Danny” Paisley – Front man for American bluegrass band, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass
Eileen Emily Cassells Paisley – Baroness Paisley of St George’s, Lady Bannside
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley – European MP, Moderator of Free Presbyterian Church, Leader of Democratic Union Party of Northern Ireland
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley Jr. – MP for County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Keith Watkins Paisley – State Senator, South Dakota
Rhonda Paisley – Author, former politician for Democratic Union Party of Northern Ireland
William Louis Pappan – Kaw Nation, first Native American BATF agent killed in the line of duty
Eric Thomas Paslay – American country music singer & songwriter
Miriam Greene Paslay – Classicist, Professor of Latin & Greek, Mississippi College for Women
Thomas Gilbert Pearson – Conservationist, Founder of the National Audobon Society
Aaron Merrill Peasley – Renowned early American maker of buttons, now prized collector items
Edward “Ed” Peasley – American football player, University of Washington, & Head Coach, Northern Arizona University
Marvin Warren “Marv” Peasley – Major League Baseball pitcher, Detroit Tigers
Ralph Erskine “Captain Matt” Peasley – Sea captain, made famous in the short stories of author, Peter Bernard Kyne
Lord Charles Maurice Petty-Fitzmaurice – 9th Marquess of Lansdowne, member of England House of Lords
George Franklin Pegram Jr. – Award-winning 3-finger banjo musician, known for numerous Old-time songs including “John Henry”
Brig. Gen. Charles Henry Phipps Jr. – World War II, Korean War, & Vietnam War veteran, Legion of Merit, DSM, JSCM
Rr. Adm. Robert Nelms Pitner – World War II & Korean War veteran, aviator, F4U Corsair fighter, DFC, 4 air medals
James Wyatt Posey – Star tackle and football coach, University of Georgia Bulldogs
Dorothy Jean Hayes Priddy – Member, Kentucky General Assembly
Dr. Carl Emmett Rankin – Superintendent, North Carolina School For the Deaf
Charles Russell “Chuck” Ransom – San Bernardino, California Fire Captain and renowned inventor, known for the Ransom Pistol Rest
Kent Leon Rideout – Chief Operating Officer, Abilene Christian Investment Management Company
Cary Lee Roberts – Director, Texas Civil Justice League & Vice-Chief, Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America
Dr. J. W. Roberts – Minister & Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Abilene Christian University
Sankey Wright Robinson – Attorney & Member, North Carolina State Senate
Nathaniel Sims Rogers – President & CEO, First City Bancorporation of Texas; Member, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System
Christina Modell “Tina” Jones Sadler – Gospel singer & songwriter
William Shuford Self – Renowned organist & choirmaster
Gordon Frank “Gordie” Shuck – Dirt Track Racer & Inductee, National Midget Racing Hall of Fame
Dr. Harrison Talmadge Smith – Physician & multi-term Member, Virginia House of Delegates
John Steinbeck – Pulitizer prize-winning American author & Nobel Prize winner in literature
Pvt Franklin Runyon Sousley – U.S. Marine Corps, flag raiser at Battle of Iwo Jima, World War II (Rosenthal photograph)
Richard Dale “Dick” Taylor – Member, Iowa State House of Representatives
Charles Wayne Thomasson – Officer, Nashville Tennessee Metropolitan Police, killed by gunshot during traffic stop
Col. Donald Newman Wackwitz – Pioneer air mail pilot, U.S. Army Air Corps & World War II Veteran
Frank Charles Watson – State Representative, Illinois
John Ashley Wells – Rhodes scholar, attorney, presidential campaign manager for Nelson Rockefeller
Albert Coudon Whitaker – President, Whitaker Iron Company, Wheeling Corrugated Company, & Riverside Bridge Company
John Meek Whitehead – State Senator, Wisconsin
Thomas Donald Wilbanks Jr. – Hollywood character actor, appeared in over 50 television series plus feature films
John Joseph “Jack” Winninger – Wyoming state representative, cattle breeder, and owner/operator of 14,000-acre Winninger Ranch
Dr. Percy Wootten – Cardiologist & President, American Medical Association
William Wendell Wyatt – United States Congressman, 1st Congressional District of Oregon
Dr. Ernest Harshaw Yount Jr. – Chairman, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University
Honoring Our Veterans:
The Clan Paisley Database attempts to cite all included veterans who served during a time of armed conflict. An individual’s rank, military unit, and honors may also be included if known. Anyone with additional information or corrections may contact the Paisley Family Association.
Key Database Contributors:
The collective contents of this database include many years of combined research by numerous Paisley family members. While it is not possible to cite every contributor individually, special recognition and gratitude must be paid to a few of them: Silva Dell Wilson Partridge (California), Oscar Calvin Paisley (Idaho), Ethel Bouton Baird (Tennessee), John Calvin Paisley (Maryland), Evelyn Paisley Waters (Pennsylvania), Anna Llewelyn Samuel (Virginia), Alice Downs Behrens (Illinois), John Robert Neeland (Missouri), and Edward Allen Rindeikis (Texas), all now deceased; Eugenia Paisley Vogel (Iowa), Martha Paslay Milam Brown (Georgia), Diane Jones Langston (Virginia), Dr. Mark Allen Carey (West Virginia), Nancy Marie Poquette (California), Mark Stanley Ulmer (Florida), Lyle Duane Tallon (Illinois), Donald Milton Paisley (Virginia), Matthew Pryor Paisley (Ohio), Azure Rae Robinson (Washington), and Gary Vance Paisley (Georgia).
Authorized Use of the Database:
The Clan Paisley Database can be found at the website, Ancestry.com, which requires a subscription. Further, the database is maintained as private using Ancestry’s security settings – viewing the database is by invitation, and is open to active members of the Paisley Family Association.
Questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this database and its contents can be directed to Gary Paisley, geepazlee@gmail.com
CLAN PAISLEY DATABASE – HISTORY & STATS (Jul 2024):
The database is maintained, and can be viewed with permission, at Ancestry.com
The database project began in July 2017, originally seeded with a portion of Gary Paisley’s personal digitized family tree containing approximately 24,000 Paisley descendants (all in the so-called “Ireland A” family group). By July 2020, the database had grown to 50,000 individuals in multiple Paisley family groups.
Currently, Gary Paisley continues as the primary in maintaining the database at Ancestry.com by sync with a Family Tree Maker version maintained on his personal computer. He first started making digitized genealogy trees in 1986 (using Lotus 123 software running on an IBM 8088 desktop computer) and transferred his information to Family Tree Maker (Broderbund ver 4.0) in 1996 (the current version of the database uses Software Mackiev FTM ver 24.2.2). Ancestry.com also started its online genealogy services in 1996.
For protection, the FTM version, as well as a back-up copy are resident on Gary Paisley’s current Apple Macbook Pro computer, which is further backed up by Apple Cloud Services. There is a 3rd back-up copy which he maintains in an external hard drive stored in a locked, fire-proof box, and a 4th back-up maintained by Software Mackiev Cloud Services. Further, there are 3 additional editors for the Ancestry.com version who can download a GEDCOM version of the database at any time.
Currently, the Clan Paisley database contains:
- Genealogical data on 123,000 Individuals (+13,000 in last year) in 18 family groups (due to consolidation)
- 1.25 million facts (i.e. dates, locations, etc.)(+ .25 million in last year)
- 28,000 document records (+15,000 in last year)
- 3,500 photographs (+2,500 in last year)
Also:
- Almost all additions in the last year were to the Ireland A family group.
- Ireland A currently comprises 40% of the database.
- The file size of the FTM version of Clan Paisley Database is now 1.05 gigabyte.
- The media gallery for the database is an additional 1.85 gigabyte plus a 0.4 gigabyte media folder (for original items that Gary Paisley has personally loaded to the database)
- The current estimate of yet-to-be-digitized data on hand is that it is sufficient to bring the database to 250,000 individuals, approximately double its current size, and that work will require 6-7 more years to complete at the present pace.
- The largest single source for the yet-to-be-digitized data are the skeletal, typewritten notes of Eugenia Paisley Vogel, which are now also kept by Gary Paisley.
Paisley Family Association 