An alternate view, held by Gail Felts Davis (see Sources below) and others, is that W.D. and the James Conner who died in Pulaski in 1856 (born about 1806) were brothers, sons of Henry Conner. It's true that James's minor son, Bryant, was living in the W.D. Conner household in the 1860 census and that W.D. was administrator for James's estate; it's likely the two were brothers. However, Henry Conner was living in Walton County, Georgia, in 1830, and his household profile shows two males 15-20, too old to be W.D. and too young to be James.

Trying to untangle these family lines continues to be a challenge, between the limited information available in earlier censuses and the very real possibility for errors in transcription, but my own observations and conjectures would go something like this:

The first Conner I found in Pulaski was James (40-50), shown in the 1830 census with sons 10-15 and 15-20 (both 20-30 in 1840). The older son is probably Kendrick (K.O.) Conner, who was head of a household in 1850 that included Nancy Conner, age 62, likely James's widow. I originally thought the younger son was my W.D. Conner, but closer scrutiny shows it more likely to be William F. (W.F.) Conner, 30 in the 1850 census and living a couple doors down from K.O. The fact that there's a Susan Conner, 15, living with W.F., too old to be his child but of an age to be the youngest daughter in James Conner's 1840 household, adds credence to this idea.

With the 1840 census three additional Conner households were in Pulaski: L. Conner (30-40), probably the Lewis Conner who married Elizabeth Adams 6 Jan 1842 in that county; M. Conner (20-30), probably Milenton Conner; and Tho. Conner (60-70).

I suspect that the Pulaski Conners new and old came from Clarke County, where Conner heads of household in 1830 included Thomas, Thomas Jr., John and James. This latter James Conner is 20-30 (right age), with a wife 20-30 and a son <5; there is a 7 Jan 1830 marriage record in Clarke County for a James Conner and Ellender Pitts to tie things up nice and neat.

Jumping forward to Pulaski County, 1850: my James Conner is 44 and has children in the home who are obviously from a previous marriage as they're too old to be from his 6-year marriage to Ada Davis. It looks like James was widowed in 1842 or later based on the ages of these children (Thomas, 18; Jane, 13; Bryant, 9; and James, 8).

I looked for this James Conner household in 1840 (i.e., a proper fit for the known family members) but found none. It's possible they were simply overlooked, which happened at times with the census. But I also found a close fit with the John Conner household in 1840 Clarke County, which is brimming over with what seems to be about 3 generations of Conners; from the looks of it (my interpretation), a 70-to-80-year-old patriarch; a married couple 50-60; another married couple (30-40 and 20-30), another male 20-30, and various and sundry boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 15. The 30-40-year-old male might be the James Conner who married and set up a household in that county in 1830, now living with his relatives; I think this may also be the James who ended up in Pulaski in 1850. If so, the 20-30 year old male could well be my W. D. Conner, his younger brother.

The Thomas Conner in Pulaski in 1840 looks to be the same Thomas Conner who was living in Clarke County 10 years earlier. The John Conner household in 1830 Clarke County includes two males of the right age to be Milenton and Lewis Conner, who were living in Pulaski by 1840 but not before. Milenton named a daughter Nancy (after his aunt, wife of the first James Conner in Pulaski?); the younger James and William F. both named sons Thomas. James and W.D. were both in Pulaski by the time they married local ladies there (1844 and 1841, respectively), but not before 1840 as far as I can tell. I wouldn't make book on any of this, however: the 1840 Pulaski households alone account for 7 males between the ages of 15 and 40, some combination of which made up the various Conner clans in 1850 (with a little help from Clarke County, possibly). Figuring it out is sometimes like trying to grasp wisps of smoke.

Oddly, W.D. and his family were the only Conners I could find in 1860 Pulaski County. I did a very cursory search for some of the 1850 Conners (Milenton, William F. and K.O., and their families) but have had no luck finding them yet.

1. William W. Conner, b. 12 May 1842; d. 19 or 20 Mar 1862
2. James Wilson Conner, b. 17 Aug 1843; d. 27 June 1862 at Cold Harbor, Virginia
3. John Wesley Conner, b. 7 Aug 1845; m. Mazura (Missouri Drewseler) Felts
4. Martha A. Conner, b. 23 Aug 1847; m. C.T. Lane
5. Nancy Elizabeth Conner, b. 2 Dec 1850; m. James Rodolph Felts
6. Mary Elizabeth Conner, b. 25 Mar 1853; m. Abraham William Newman
7. Sarah M. Conner, b. 25 Apr 1855; d. 6 Feb 1874
8. Elmira J. Conner, b. 31 Oct 1857; m. Green W. Bruce
9. W. Elnorah Conner, b. 2 Feb 1859; m. William T. Brown

James Wilson Conner was with the 31st Georgia Infantry, Co. F, Pulaski Blues, and died at Gaines' Mill, near Richmond, Virginia, on 27 Jun 1862. This battle, known as First Cold Harbor, was part of the Peninsula Campaign that lasted from March through September 1862. W.D. Conner died 22 Mar 1862, according to the Conner Family Bible. Per Ms. Davis, W.D. was listed as a 1st Lieutentant, 764th District, Pulaski County, Georgia, Militia, on 2 August 1837. No service end-date is given, but W.D. was shown on the muster roll on 4 Mar 1862. It's possible that W.D. died of natural causes as I could find no military record for him. There's a compiled service record for a soldier variously recorded as William W., Willis W., and Wiley M. W. Conner who enlisted 27 Oct 1861 in Hawkinsville with Co. F, 31st Regiment Georgia Infantry and was reported to have died 20 Mar 1862 in Hawkinsville. This may have been W.D. and Lucinda's son, William W. Conner; the Conner Family Bible records his death as occurring 19 Mar 1862.

The transcription of the Conner Family Bible contained in "German Carolinians" erroneously shows M.E. [Mary Elizabeth] Conner as having married W.T. Brown, but this marriage was with her younger sister W. E. [W. Elnorah] Conner. From "Marriage Records of Pulaski County, Georgia 1810-1885": Wm. T. Brown m. Elnora Conner, 5 Dec 1875. In the 28 Jul 1881 Hawkinsville Dispatch, the following appears: "Obituary: Elnorah Brown, wife of W.T. Brown, and daughter of William D. and Lucinda Conner, was born February 2, 1859, and died of pneumonia June 30, 1881. In July 1874, she was converted and joined the Church under the preaching of Rev. R.J. Corley...She was an obedient child, a kind and loving sister, affectionate wife and tender mother....her sister Elmira."

Also appearing in the Hawkinsville Dispatch, 2 Aug 1883: "Obituary: Died, at her home near Minden, La., June 30, 1883, Mrs. Nannie E. Felts, wife of Jas. R. Felts, and sister of J.W. Conner, of this city. She was married in the fall of 1869, and moved to Louisiana the following winter, where she lived happily with her husband until the time of her death. She was a kind and obedient wife, a fond and loving mother, a bright and shining light of the M.E. Church South, of which she had been a faithful member for the past thirteen years. She leaves five little children, a kind husband and a large family connection to mourn her loss. J.W.C."