“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” ~ Alexander Graham Bell
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 18,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #52 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
I’d apologize for the long title but I couldn’t resist! Thank you, Amy Johnson Crow, for a wonderful journey. To all my readers, thank you for coming back time and time again. After reading the last entry for this year, I’d appreciate it if you would please leave a comment letting me know what you liked, disliked, loved, or even hated about this challenge. Thank you and Happy New Year!
One unmarried mother in my family tree would be easy to take. But two is a bit harder especially since they were mother and daughter. In July I wrote about my 3rd great-grandmother Mary E. “Polly” DOSS being a single mother. Her mother, my 4th great-grandmother, Levina DOSS was also a single mother.
The DOSS family had strong roots in Halifax and Pittsylvania County, Virginia. In 1755 Levina’s grandfather James DOSS Sr. received a land grant for 272 acres in Halifax County, an area soon to become part of the newly created Pittsylvania County in 1767. This land grant was located adjacent to Beechtree Creek and Staunton River.1
Pittsylvania County lies in south midland Virginia, bordering on the North Carolina line. Bordering counties are Bedford (northwest), Campbell (northeast), Halifax (east), Caswell in North Carolina (southeast), Rockingham in North Carolina (southwest), Henry (west/southwest), and Franklin (west/northwest).
My 4th great-grandmother Levina DOSS was born between 1771-1775 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to James DOSS Jr. and his wife Elizabeth.2 James was born about 1742 in Amelia County, he married Elizabeth about 1771 and died 1812 in Pittsylvania.3 Levina had 5 known siblings:
Sib 1: Elizabeth DOSS (1772-1830) was born about 1772. Elizabeth DOSS married Ebenezer ANGEL (1769-1850) on 15 December 1794 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.4 She died between 1830-1840.
Sib 2: Phillip Valorius DOSS (1775-1814) born about 1775. Phillip married Rhoda Elizabeth THURMAN (1787-1850) about 1804 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He died before 14 June 1814 (the date his widow Rhoda was mentioned in court records). Descendants of this line might be interested in some old photos that Vickie Beard Thompson posted on her blog I Dig My Roots and Branches.
Sib 3: Mary Ann DOSS (1780- ) was born about 1780 [I am not very comfortable with this estimate considering her marriage in 1811]. She married(1) Preston DUDLEY (1773-1816) on 2 January 1811 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.5 She may have married(2) James BELL in about 1820.
Sib 4: William DOSS (1785-1820) was born about 1785. William married Martha CREWS (1789- ) on 29 April 1812 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.6 He died before 1820.
Sib 5: Edward DOSS (1795-1850) was born about 1795. Edward married Nancy MITCHELL (1803-1860) on 19 December 1822 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.7 He died before 1850.
Pittsylvania County censuses for the years 1790, 1800, and 1810 are lost but a substitute is available.8 The loss is unfortunate and the substitute is helpful but doesn’t do for me what the 1810 census would have done. I was hoping to see what the household of James DOSS looked like in 1810 and if his daughter Levina had her own household or was living in her father’s home with her three children.
Levina’s father James DOSS Jr. died about 1812 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.9
In 1820 Levina DOSS was living in Pittsylvania County most likely on or near the land granted to her grandfather in 1755. She was an unmarried mother and the head of a household that included her four sons, two daughters, and most likely her mother Elizabeth who was widowed about 1812.
1820 U.S. Federal Census10
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
Levina Doss
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (William b. abt. 1811 & Phillip b. abt. 1814)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15: 1 (unknown son b. bet. 1804-1810)
Note: no males 16-18 yo (therefore Thomas was 19 & under 26 yo)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25: 1 (Thomas b. abt. 1801)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 1 (Mary E. b. abt. 1816)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (unknown daughter born bet. 1795-1804)
Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44: 1 (Levina b. abt. 1775)
Free White Persons – Females – 45 and over : 1 (poss. mother Elizabeth b. abt. 1750)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture: 2
Free White Persons – Under 16: 4
Free White Persons – Over 25: 2
Total Free White Persons: 8
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 8
By 1830 Levina had given birth to another daughter she named after her mother. Young Elizabeth and my 3rd great-grandmother Mary E. were the only children still living at home. Next door was Levina’s son William with his wife and young son. Also next door was her brother-in-law Eben ANGEL, a Baptist minister, with his wife, Levina’s sister Elizabeth and their children.
1830 U.S. Federal Census11
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Page No. 348
Levina Doss
Free White Persons – Females – 5 thru 9: 1 (Elizabeth bet. 1821-1825)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (Mary E. b. abt. 1816)
Free White Persons – Females – 50 thru 59: 1 (Levina, b. 1771-1775)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 2
Total Free White Persons: 3
Total – All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 3
As can be seen in the above listing Levina’s mother, or the older woman who had been seen in her household in 1820, was no longer with her. Let’s take a look at another person who was very close to Levina on this census.
1830 United States Federal Census12
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Name: Bettsy Doss
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 2 (unknown)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (unknown)
Free White Persons – Females – 70 thru 79: 1 (“Bettsy” widow of James DOSS)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 2
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 1
Total Free White Persons: 4
If the lady who was the head of the household was also the older female then her age was 70 and under 80 years and could have been Levina’s widowed mother. Who was the younger lady living with Elizabeth in 1830? Was she a granddaughter with two small children? She couldn’t have been a daughter-in-law with such young children as Phillip and William died before 1820 and Edward was living in Campbell County.
Levina DOSS and her mother Elizabeth both died between 1830 and 1840.
In the 1830s Levina’s children Thomas, William, Polly, and Elizabeth moved to Mason County in what would later become West Virginia. The DOSS siblings were a tight bunch. It is not known if their mother Levina was still living and made the move with the group or if she had died before the children moved. Only her son Phillip remained in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
Child 1: Thomas DOSS (abt.1801-1881) was born about 1801 in Pittsylvania County. He married(1) Elizabeth EADS (abt.1802-bet.1860-1867) on 6 March 1827 in Caswell County, North Carolina.13 He married(2) Martha Forbes GORDON (1824-1881) on 28 April 1867 in Chariton County, Missouri.14 Thomas died on 1 April 1881 in Chariton County and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in the same county.15
Child 2: _____ (female) DOSS born bet. 1795-1804 (inferred from the 1820 census)
Child 3: _____ (male) DOSS born bet. 1804-1810 (inferred from the 1820 census)
Child 4: William DOSS (abt.1811-1888) was born about 1811 in Pittsylvania County. He married Elizabeth BARBER (abt.1814-1898) on 12 May 1828 in Pittsylvania County.16 It is possible that his wife died as he married again on 28 December 1837 in Mason County to Elizabeth HENRY.17,18 William died on 22 November 1888 in Mason County, West Virginia.19,20
Child 5: Phillip Valorius “Phil” DOSS (abt.1814-aft.1880) was born about 1814 in Pittsylvania County. He married Elizabeth BAILESS (abt.1815-aft.1880) on 25 December 1835 in Campbell County, Virginia.21 Phillip died after 1880.
Child 6: Mary E. “Polly” DOSS born about 1816 in Pittsylvania County, died bef. 1892 in Mason County, West Virginia. She never married but had eight children with William CLONCH.
Child 7: Elizabeth “Betsy” DOSS born bet. 1821-1825. She married(1) John CLONCH (abt.1810-bet.1844-1847) on 15 February 1842 in Gallia County, Ohio.22 She married(2) John William STEED (abt.1806-aft.1880) on 26 October 1848 in Gallia County, Ohio.23 Betsy died after 1880.24
The only documentation I have found for Levina are the two census listings in which she was named as the head of a household. None of her children’s marriage records have their mother’s name mentioned. All of her known children died after 1880 and before 1900. Only her son William’s death record was found but it didn’t include information on his parentage.
While preparing to write this last blog post for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge I learned Libbie Griffin started up the Doss Family Association in 1994 for the purpose of sharing information among all Doss descendants. She should be credited for researching and compiling genealogical information that was published in their newsletter The Doss Connection. In our world of social media today it is so easy to find other researchers but what do you do when the person has “retired” from her hobby? If I can find my ancestors shouldn’t I be able to find Libbie? In the days prior to social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), we used message boards and mailing lists. I searched through them until I found the most recent email address.
Saturday before Christmas I got an early present. Libbie replied to my email and told me about a bundle she found which included depositions that proved many connections in the Virginia Doss families.
“On one trip to Richmond for research I discovered that the information I needed to find the original papers was in Lynchburg, more than 100 miles away. I went there and obtained the detailed title of the case and case number. When I returned to Richmond the next day with that information I was handed a bundle of papers that had not been opened since a string was tied around them nearly 200 years earlier….I can’t tell you how excited I was!”
Reading this gave me goosebumps. Isn’t it the dream of all genealogists to find the mother lode? She told me she had written an entire issue of The Doss Connection about the find with transcripts of the important documents. She offered to scan and email it to me. YES! Thank you very much! She also wrote, “It felt wonderful to be reminded of that ‘find’.”
What Libbie found was a bundle that has not been scanned and therefore is not available in the Library of Virginia‘s collection of Chancery Records that are online. The case details of the bundle are indexed online.25 In the issue of the newsletter Libbie sent me, pages 2-12, 17-18, and 22 were filled with information on the case and the families involved. A plat drawing of the land in question was included:
Although I would love to share all of the information found in this issue of The Doss Connection I have chosen to only share excerpts, with Libbie’s permission, concerning my 4th great-grandmother Levina DOSS. First, the deposition given by Levina spelled Lavina in this excerpt, and second, the deposition of her mother Elizabeth. Words in brackets are Libbie’s and some punctuation and spelling corrections were made for easier reading but don’t change the meaning:
The Testimony of Lavina Doss
“Deposition taken in Pittsylvania Co., Va., 7 May 1817: Lavina Doss … deposeth and sayeth that in the last sickness of her Grandfather, James Doss Senr. & but a Short time before his death, he sent for her Father James Doss Junr to come & see him, accordingly he went & this deponant went with him & we both went together, into the room where my Grandfather lay alone. He spoke to my father & said I am glad to see you Jamey, I have been uneasy & have sent for you to have some talk with you about our affairs. I am about soon to leave you my son & want you to have your rite. I know that I am owing you money that ought to have been paid before now but it was not in my power to do it, but I have now directed my Ext [Executor] to pay you without putting you to any trouble about it. As to the land, it is yours. It was gave to you & I wish you to have it for you have an undoubted rite to it & cannot be kept out of it after my death, your uncle Edward Nicks, gave you the land by Deed of Gift & I have no Claim to it any longer than I live; altho I have directed the land to [defer?, unclear] other ways than I ought to have done, it is not intended to keep you out of your Rite, but only to try to keep peace a little longer over my old head, for I wish to leave my family in peace & I know you will get the land after my death — altho it may put you to the trouble of goin’ or sending for the deed of gift, which I did no want you to have the trouble of. But for the sake of peace in my family, I could not help doing as I have, you know when I agreed to give you up the land below the Shop branch, what an oneasiness [uneasiness] & interruptions it made in my family, till you consented for the business to rest as it was till my death.
This deponent further sayeth that in the life time of the said James Doss Senr. he frequently said that the land belonged to his son James Doss Junr. after his death, that it was gave to him by uncle Edward Nicks and that he held no claim to it any longer than life. This deponent further states that her grandfather James Doss senr. dec’d., put her father James Doss Junr. into possession of the said land below the Shope branch, as above mentioned, & her father began to run a fence on the said land, but was stopped at the request of his father, on account of the disturbance & uneasiness it made in his family, but told my father, James Doss Junr. he would get the whole of the said land after his death. [signed: Lavina (X) Doss, her mark]
Notes (by Libbie): We should keep in mind that Lavina had something of a vested interest in the outcome of this case, and might have stressed her father’s right in the land a bit overmuch. In addition to providing us with an account of James Sr.’s last day, and his love for and concern for his family, Lavina’s testimony also tells what we had previously suspected: that although Lavina had 5 or 6 children, she never married. More on her family appears later in this issue.”
The Testimony of Elizabeth Doss
“Pittsylvania County, 27 September, 1816 [omitting the beginning].… the tract of land in the bill mentioned was in the possession of my husband James Doss Junr. at the time of his death but was afterward sold (sometime in the year of 1812) at publick sale to the hightest bidder, subject to my dower, by the defendant Samuel Pannill, under a deed of trust executed by my said husband James Doss Junr. to the said Samuel Pannill to secure the payment of a debt due from my husband….to David Pannill’s Estate … neither the said complainant [Nathan Thurman] nor any other person forbid the sale, but since the sale the said Complainant Nathan Thurmon [sic] hath applied to this Respondent to purchase the dower land she holds in her possession & having thus fully answered this Respondant prayes to be hence dismissed with her Costs. [signed: Elizabeth (X) Doss, her mark]
Note (by Libbie): Elizabeth was taxed for 56 acres until 1827, when this land was taken by the county (see Pittsylvania Co. Deed Bk. 28, p. 121). She and her children and grandchildren may have continued to live there afterward.”
This post was ready for publication before I heard from Libbie. I did not want to change what was written and added footnotes to items that have additional remarks or information.
I’m going to let Libbie have the final word.
“I’m sure you can imagine how hard it was for me to keep from cheering loudly in the hushed halls of the Virginia State Library when I cut that string and read those old documents! A similar experience led me to the answers I needed about my own Doss family. It’s amazing what’s there to find if we look long enough.”
This Post was Updated on 25 December 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
Things went so well during the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, blogging my paternal ancestors from my Dad to my 4th great-grandparents, that I’ve decided to continue in 2015.
Amy Johnson Crow posted Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition on December 17th. Although I love the suggested themes for January, I’m going to do things a bit differently next year.
In my posts for 2014 I did an ancestor and discussed his/her parents, siblings, spouse, and children which caused quite a bit of overlapping and repeated information. So I’ve decided to combine the husband and wife into one post. This will help me get two for one!
I’m scheduling a family group each week – an ancestral couple and their offspring- for my children’s paternal lines and my maternal lines. I’ve gotten used to posting on Mondays so that will stay the same.
These are the families I want to do, again in order so that I can do the grands, then the greats, all the way to the 3rd great-grandparents. As you can see by the pedigree charts below, there are no ancestors missing in these generations. This will get me to #46.
The first two are my children’s paternal pedigree:
♥ This is where the posts for 2014 on my paternal line fit in.
Followed by my maternal pedigree:
The next generation has 48 sets of 4th great-grandparents and ONLY 2 of these are unknown – the parents of couple #24 – I’m working on the doors in those brick walls. There are absolutely no America families in the pedigree charts above. Mostly Luxembourgish families and some German ones from the border areas.
I’m thinking about doing a few more of my American ancestors – 5th, 6th, 7th great-grandparents, in no special order – we’ll see who I can dig up!
© 2014 Cathy Meder-Dempsey
Dear Amy,
Thank you for a fantastic journey. I don’t know if I ever would have taken such a big step on my own. Your 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is the reason that I began my blog on 23 January 2014. Although people who drop by may think that I began in 2012 as I’ve included some things I wrote on my Facebook page prior to your challenge.
I shared #1, #2, and #3 on our closed family group on Facebook. It was going so well that I decided to start a blog so that I could also reach the more distant cousins.
I had a plan and followed it! Not only did I write a story for every paternal ancestor from my father to my 4th great-grandparents, I got my family tree cleaned up, added sources, made new discoveries, met other genealogy bloggers, and found new cousins. And a secret dream to write something that someone would enjoy reading came true.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Who could have known when you wrote this on January 3, 2014 that you would start an avalanche of family stories.
I plan on continuing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2015 Edition) next year. Love your idea of doing optional week themes but I have another idea! I’ll be posting my schedule for 2015 before the end of the year.
Merry Christmas and thank you Amy!!
Best wishes,
Cathy
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #51 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
We are nearly there! I’ve made it this far – didn’t miss a week – this one and then THE LAST!!!
My 4th great-grandmother Nancy BEASLEY is another one of my brick walls. I have no idea who her parents were or where they came from. She was first seen in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, on 8 November 1803. On that day William JUSTICE was security on Nancy’s marriage to my 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLAUNCH.1
Nancy was born in Virginia before the end of the American Revolutionary War (19 Apr 1775-14 Jan 1784). From early census listings I calculate her birth at about 1781-1784.
Year Range (Calculated)
1810 26 thru 44 (26 thru 29)
1820 26 thru 44 (36 thru 39)
1830 40 thru 49 (46 thru 49)
1840 50 thru 59 (56 thru 59)
1850 75 (66 thru 69)
In 1850 she was listed as 75. This is not reliable as it doesn’t match the age range on the pre-1850 censuses which appear to be consistent. I took the 1840 range of 50 thru 59 and worked back; 1830 was 40 thru 49; 1820 would be 30 thru 39; 1810 would be 20 thru 29. Since the 1810 range was 26 thru 44, the range 20 thru 29 can be narrowed further to 26 to 29. Then I added 10 years for each decade as seen in the parenthesis. The range 66 thru 69 for 1850 is off by 6-9 years compared to what is seen on the actual 1850 census. Could it be that the 1850 age of 75 was correct and the previous years were off?
Following their marriage, Nancy’s husband Dennis CLAUNCH was seen on the 1804 and 1805 tax lists of Mecklenburg County.2 By 1806 Nancy and Dennis had moved to Kanawha County in what would later become West Virginia. Her husband Dennis was on the 1810 census of that county with his name spelled CLOUNCH.3 Nancy had given birth to two girls and a boy by this time.
Following the 1810 census Dennis CLOUNCH, as he was last seen, disappears and it is believed that he died between 1811-1820 as Nancy is seen with her own household from 1820 until 1850.4 Nancy and Dennis’ children were most likely all born in Kanawha County:
◉ Child 1: _____ CLONCH, born bet. 1805-1809. A tick for her is on the 1810 and 1820 censuses. This daughter remains nameless.
◉ Child 2: Elizabeth CLONCH, born bet. 1805-1809. She married Meridith PARSONS (1805- ) on 26 February 1825 in Mason County, (West) Virginia.5 She died before 1840.
◉ Child 3: William CLONCH (1807-1863) was born about 1807. He married Ann Eliza HILL (1812-1895) on 20 August 1832 in Gallia County, Ohio.6 They went separate ways and William had a relationship with Mary E. “Polly” DOSS with whom he had 8 children. He died on 20 January 1863 in Mason County, (West) Virginia.7
◉ Child 4: John CLONCH was born about 1810. He married Elizabeth DOSS (1817-1880), sister of Mary E. “Polly” DOSS, on 15 September 1842 in Gallia County, Ohio.8 He died between 1844-1847 most likely in Mason County. His widow married again in 1848.9
◉ Child 5: Sarah CLONCH was born about 1811. She married William WILLIAMS (1808-the 1850s) on 4 January 1832 in Mason County.10 After his death and before 1860 she married James William GALLIWAY (1832-1880). She died after 1880.
1820 U.S. Federal Census11
Mason County, (West) Virginia
Page 121
Name: Nancy Claunch
Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (John and unknown b. bet. 1811-1815)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25: 1 (John W. Clark? age 24-25)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 1 (Sarah)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 2 (Elizabeth & unknown b. bet. 1805-1809)
Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44: 1 (Nancy)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Manufactures: 1
Free White Persons – Under 16: 6
Free White Persons – Over 25: 1
Total Free White Persons: 8
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 8
Nancy was engaged in some kind of manufacturing in 1820. She wasn’t involved in agriculture or commerce. What was she doing to earn a living for her family? Who was the young man living in her household? Is the other unknown younger male seen in her household another son born between 1811-1815?
Nancy’s oldest known daughter Elizabeth married Meridith PARSONS (1805- ) on 26 February 1825 in Mason County.
1830 U.S. Federal Census12
Mason County, (West) Virginia
Page 138
Name: Nancy Claunch
Free White Persons – Males – 15 thru 19: 2 (John and unknown b. bet. 1811-1815)
Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Males – 30 thru 39: 1 (John W. Clark? age 34-36)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (unknown b. bet. 1816-1820)
Free White Persons – Females – 15 thru 19: 1 (Sarah)
Free White Persons – Females – 40 thru 49: 1 (Nancy)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 4
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 3
Total Free White Persons: 7
2 persons cannot read & write
Total – All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 7
By 1830 Nancy’s children William, John, and Sarah are still at home. But, as in 1820, there are also other persons in the household who cannot be identified. I wonder if the age range for the girls is correct. Could the older girl be the unknown daughter and the younger girl Sarah? This census did not include the column for the occupation of the adults in the household. Was Nancy or the man living in her household still working in manufacturing or in agriculture as seen later in 1840?
Two of Nancy’s children married in 1832, her youngest daughter Sarah and her oldest son William. Her oldest known daughter Elizabeth died during the 1830s.
1840 U.S. Federal Census13
Mason County, (West) Virginia
Page 219
Name: Claunch, Nancy
Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1 (John)
Free White Persons – Males – 40 thru 49: 1 (John W. Clark? age 44-46)
Free White Persons – Females – 20 thru 29: 1 (unknown b. bet. 1816-1820)
Free White Persons – Females – 50 thru 59: 1 (Nancy)
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: 4
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 3
Total Free White Persons: 4
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 4
In 1840 one person in Nancy’s household was engaged in agriculture. This was most likely the older man who was living in her household or perhaps her youngest son John who would be marrying in 1842. And who is this young lady born between 1816 and 1820? Is it possible I’ve gotten the family group wrong and Nancy had a daughter younger than Sarah and the older daughter was married by 1820?
Nancy’s son John CLONCH died between 1844 and 1847 most likely in Mason County, (West) Virginia. Her son William’s wife Ann Eliza left him leaving two children. William raised their daughter Mariah Jane but the “son” Dennis lived with his grandmother Nancy.
It is my belief that Dennis was the son of Ann Eliza HILL and may not have been acknowledged by her husband William CLONCH as his. Could this be the reason they parted ways? Dennis CLONCH (1838-1893) was born on 8 March 1838 in (West) Virginia.14 He married Mary Ann BAKER (1842-1920) on 16 Nov 1858 in Gallia County, Ohio.15 They had a son named John William CLONCH born on 19 March 1860 and died on 9 February 1861.16,17 The first name given to the child may have been what caused an earlier researcher to assume that he was the son of John. Dennis began using the HILL surname on 21 February 1862 when he enlisted in the Union Regular Army at Gallipolis, Ohio.18 Neither Dennis CLONCH nor Dennis HILL was mentioned in the will of William CLONCH in 1863.19 He moved to Missouri about 1871 and died in Miami, Saline County, Missouri on 31 July 1893.20
In 1850 John W. CLARK is the head of the household that Nancy and Dennis are living in.
1850 U.S. Federal Census21
Mason County, (West) Virginia
The 38th District, Sheet No. 385A
Enumerated by me on the 14th day of August, 1850. C. B. Waggener, Ass’t Marshal.
HH #333-334
John W. Clark 56 M Laborer Virginia cannot read & write
Nancy Clonch 75 F Virginia cannot read & write
Dennis Clonch 12 M Virginia
Nancy BEASLEY died between 1850-1860 most likely in Mason County, (West) Virginia. Surviving were two children: her son William, my 3rd great-grandfather, and her daughter Sarah. John W. CLARK must have had a close relationship with the CLONCH family as he was found in William’s household in 1860.22
As early as 1820 Nancy had a male in her household who was not a son. He consistently shows up in the later census listings until we see Nancy living in the household of John W. CLARK in the 1850 census. There are also a male and a female seen in 1820 and 1830 who could have been children of Nancy and her husband Dennis but I wonder if they could be children of John W. CLARK. The female is still living in Nancy’s household in 1840. Later in 1860, as seen above, John CLARK is living in the household of Nancy’s son William CLONCH. Who was John W. CLARK? Was he a widower with two small children hired by Nancy to help out? Was there a relationship between Mr. CLARK and Nancy? Was he a son-in-law? The husband of the unidentified daughter seen in 1810 and 1820 as born between 1805-1809? So many questions that need to be answered.
ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ
Last week I left you with a cliffhanger:
You might ask why I call my 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLONCH and not Dennis CLAUNCH as he was seen in all records except the 1810 census where his name was spelled CLOUNCH? I’ll tell you that story next week.
During the early years after Hieronymus GLANTZ came to America, the surname evolved from Glantz to Glance to Glansh, Clansh, Clanch, Claunch, Clounch, Clonch. Dennis didn’t change his surname. After Nancy and Dennis died the children and grandchildren were seen with their surnames spelled CLONCH. Dennis’ brothers who went to Kentucky had children who kept the spelling CLAUNCH. All of the names – Claunch, Clounch, and Clonch were pronounced the same.
Now that I’ve re-evaluated all of the records available to me (I admit there weren’t many), I see that Dennis should be listed as Dennis CLAUNCH and the change in the spelling of the surname should only show up in the next generation. It was easier to think of him as Dennis CLONCH as his son, my 3rd great-grandfather, was William CLONCH but, to be consistent and avoid confusion, it is best to use the spelling seen in the records: Dennis CLAUNCH.
This Post was Updated on 18 December 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #50 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
And the countdown continues. Two more to go!
“I have not made a positive connection from my earliest CLONCH ancestry (Dennis CLONCH of Kanawha County, (West) Virginia to the emigrant Hieronymus GLANTZ).” ~ Ralph L. Hayes
The late Madison Lockhart “Matt” Claunch of Brownsville, Texas, and Ralph L. Hayes of Alamo, Texas, are to be credited with the work done to connect Hieronymus GLANTZ (a.k.a. Jeremiah CLAUNCH) to my 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLAUNCH (a.k.a. Dennis CLONCH). Matt Claunch and Ralph Hayes used tithe lists, tax rolls and lists, levies, land records and surveys, debt collections, ordinary licenses, and court records.1 The surname spellings in these records varied: Glantz, Clonch, Claunch, Clansh, Clanch, Clounch.
The immigrant Hieronymus GLANTZ came to America in 1732 with his wife, a daughter, and a son. On the ship list he was seen as Jerimy GLANCE age 29, his wife as Marrea Medl GLANCE age 30, his daughter as Anna Margreate GLANCE age 9, and his son Hance Michalle GLANCE age 4.2 He signed the Oath of Allegiance with the name he had used in the old country, not the name seen on the ship list.3
His wife died soon after their arrival and Hieronymus married Anna Barbara MACK on 15 October 1733 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.4,5 It is very likely that Jeremiah and his bride Barbara knew each other from the old country. Her father Georg Michael MACK arrived in America on the Adventure, the same ship as Jeremiah, on 23 September 1732. Barbara arrived 10 days earlier on 13 September 1732 on the Pennsylvania Merchant.6 From 1750 through 1752 George MACK was seen in the household of his son-in-law Jeremiah CLAUNCH in Lunenburg County, Virginia.7
I considered making a chronological chart of all of the information listed in Ralph L. Hayes’ 2004 post “Chronology of the Early Glance/Glantz/Clonch/Claunch Family.”8 However, every time I looked through the list I saw a different possibility for the family configuration. I have not been able to look up all of the information and cannot vouch for accuracy and completeness. Perhaps others who study Ralph’s chronology will come up with a different scenario. But this is the short version of what I think the connection is from the immigrant to my 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLONCH:
Hieronymus GLANTZ was known as Jeremiah CLAUNCH once he settled in Lunenburg County, Virginia. He may have married again as he is seen with a wife named Margaret in 1748 and 1758. Since his father-in-law was seen with him in 1750-1752 it is also possible that Anna Barbara used a different name (Margaret) once she came to America. Please remember that this is pure speculation on my part. Jeremiah may have had sons or grandsons named Jeremiah Jr., Edmund, Jacob, John, and Barnet/Barnaby. These names were found at the same time on the tax lists of Montgomery and Wythe counties. Jeremiah CLAUNCH Jr. seen in Montgomery and Wythe from 1783-1793 (and even later in Grayson – all due to the changing county lines) cannot be the Jeremiah CLAUNCH who was seen in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, from 1783 to 1799. Note that the use of Jr. was seen in the records and does not necessarily indicate that Jeremiah Jr. was the son of Jeremiah Sr. Conclusion: The correct relationship to the immigrant is not known. Sorry folks! If the records do not turn up, DNA testing may have to be done.
Jeremiah CLENCH was in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, at the time of the first tax lists were recorded in 1782 with 6 whites and no blacks in his household.9
In 1783 Jeremiah CLAUNCH bought 60 acres of land from Joseph and Ann DECKER on the North prong of Eastlands Branch in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.10
Update 29 November 2021: the land tax lists for the years 1787 to 1799 were found on FamilySearch but have not been included in this post.
Jeremiah was on the land tax records with his 60 acres in the Lower District of Mecklenburg County from 1787 to 1799. Images were found for the years 1789 and 1799:
There was no standard form and tax collectors had to draw up their own forms with column headings: Name of individual charged with tax; Quantity of land; Rate of land per acre; Value of land; Amount of tax.
Jeremiah CLAUNCH was found on the Mecklenburg County personal property tax list the year following the acquisition of land up until 1805:
● 1784 Jeremiah CLAUNCH
● 1785 Not on a list
● 1786 Jeremiah CLAUNCH
● 1787 Jeremiah CLAUNCH
● 1788 Jeremiah CLAUNCH
● 1789 Jeremiah CLAUNCH
● 1790 Jeremiah CLAUNCH (image below)
● 1791 Jeremiah CLAUNCH
● 1792 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Wm
● 1793 Jeremiah CLAUNCH (the year Wm married)
● 1794 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Matthew
● 1795 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Matthew
● 1796 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and sons Matthew and Dennis
● 1797 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Dennis (Matthew missing)
● 1798 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Dennis (Matthew missing)
● 1799 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Jacob (image below), Dennis CLAUNCH (image below), and Matthew CLAUNCH (image below)
● 1800 Jeremiah CLAUNCH and son Jacob (Dennis and Matthew on their own)
● 1801 through 1805 Jeremiah CLAUNCH (his sons have their own listings)
In the above Jeremiah was seen alone on the tax lists in the earlier years and then sons’ names were included as they reached the age of 16. The order of birth of the sons was: William, Matthew, Dennis, and Jacob.
Following the date and name of the taxable person, the first column was the number of white male tithables over 16, 2nd column was the number of slaves above 16, 3rd column was the number of slaves 12 to 16, and 4th column was horses, mares, colts, and mules.
Jeremiah’s oldest son William CLAUNCH married Betsy ALVIS on 5 August 1793 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. William BLACKETTER was security. Notes were included from Jeremiah CLAUNCH, father of William, and David ALVIS, father of Betsey, giving their permission. Sherd HICKS was a witness.11
Although William was not found on the tax lists mentioned above, this marriage shows that he was the son of Jeremiah. He was not on the 1794 tax list. Could this mean that he moved to Mercer County, Kentucky following his marriage in 1793?
“Jeremiah CLONCH” went bond with Peter JONES for the marriage of Peter JONES and Sarah JACKSON on 11 December 1797 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.12
Jeremiah CLAUNCH married Prudence JACKSON on 21 March 1799 with Samuell ALLGOOD as security in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.13 Prudence was the sister of Sarah JACKSON. They are named in their mother’s will written in 1800 and proven in December 1807.14
At first, I thought this marriage was for the son of Jeremiah. After studying the tax records and the earliest census records I have come to the conclusion that Jeremiah who married Prudence must be the same person as Jeremiah seen on the tax lists above. This would mean that Jeremiah, father of William, Matthew, Dennis, and Jacob was widowed before 1799.
Matthew CLAUNCH married Elizabeth ALLGOOD on 29 August 1799 (Samuel ALLGOOD, security) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.15
Dennis and his brother Matthew were on the 1799 tax list:
Father Jeremiah was on the same tax list with their brother Jacob who was not yet 21 years of age in 1799.
From the tax records, we know that Jeremiah was still living in 1799. His oldest son William was widowed and remarried in 1798 in Mercer County, Kentucky. This gives us a 1793-1798 window for his move to Kentucky which I believe can be narrowed to 1793-1794 as William was not seen in Mecklenburg tax lists. According to information supplied by Ralph L. Hayes, Jeremiah CLAUNCH sold livestock and household goods in Mecklenburg County in 1800. Was he preparing to move? Family tradition is that William, Matthew, and Jacob moved to Mercer County, Kentucky, in the late 1790’s – tax lists prove this wrong in the case of Matthew and Jacob! They left only about 1805.
Let’s see what’s going on in Mecklenburg County after 1800.
◉ Dennis CLAUNCH and Nancy BEASLY were married on 8 November 1803 (William JUSTICE as security) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.16
◉ Sally CLAUNCH married Allen CHAVOUS on 7 September 1804 (Drury JOHNSON, security) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.17
◉ Jinny CLAUNCH married Samuel ALLGOOD on 29 December 1804 (Matthew CLAUNCH, security) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.18
There is no mention of their father Jeremiah in these marriage records. However, we see that Matthew was still in the area in December 1804 as he was security for his sister Jinny’s marriage. If he moved to Kentucky with his brother Jacob, the move took place in 1805 or early 1806 as we see Jacob CLAUNCH marrying Mary “Polly” GRAY on 26 June 1806 in Mercer County, Kentucky.19 Their sister Jinny and her husband Samuel ALLGOOD moved to Henderson County, Kentucky, sometime after their marriage and before 1820. There is no 1810 census for Kentucky.
Jeremiah CLAUNCH and his wife Prudence were mentioned in chancery records of Mecklenburg County dated 10 January 1809. The images are not online (as of December 2014 — I have since been able to access them) and can only be viewed in original at the Library of Virginia. I will definitely be checking back from time to time to see if the images are available. I am hoping that they will include information about their location and status. In the meantime this is what another researcher found:
“On 10 January 1809 Ann Stewart was called “widow of John Stewart formerly Ann Jackson” in a Mecklenburg County chancery suit by which she and Patsy Jackson, Peter Jones and Sally his wife (formerly Sally Jackson), and Augustine Smith sued Isaac Jackson, Jeremiah Claunch and Prudence his wife (formerly Prudence Jackson), William Jones and his wife Charity (formerly Charity Jackson), to sell 296 acres which had belonged to Henry Jackson, deceased. The land was sold to Roderick Coleman who distributed 17 pounds, 14 shillings to each litigant on 11 July 1809 [Orders 1809-11, 5].”20
My 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLAUNCH was seen on the tax lists of Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1800, (missing on 1801 and 1802), 1803, 1804, and 1805. He most likely moved from Mecklenburg County to Kanawha County in 1805-1806. This is about the same time as Jacob and Matthew’s move to Kentucky. Did they travel together with Dennis and his family stopping in Kanawha as his brothers continuing on to Mercer County, Kentucky?
I have one last record that I believe belongs to this family group. In about 1791 a boy named Jeremiah CLAUNCH was born in Mecklenburg County.21 This was before any of Jeremiah’s sons married therefore I believe that he may have been a son of Jeremiah – and his youngest child if he did not have children with Prudence.
Many of Jeremiah CLAUNCH’s children were born during the American Revolutionary War (19 Apr 1775-14 Jan 1784). Assuming that Jeremiah was 21 years of age when his oldest child was born, I estimate his birth at 1752 or earlier.
❧ William CLAUNCH (1773-aft 1820) was born about 1773. William married(1) Betsy ALVIS on 5 August 1793 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He married(2) Rebecca BOTTOM on 14 June 1798 in Mercer County, Kentucky.22
❧ Matthew CLAUNCH (1776-1846) was born about 1776. Matthew married(1) Elizabeth ALLGOOD on 29 August 1799 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He married(2) Mahala NICHOLS (1812- ) on 3 March 1843 in Mercer County, Kentucky.23 Mahala was 21 years of age. He died in 1846 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
❧ Dennis CLAUNCH (1779-aft. 1817) was born about 1779. Dennis married Nancy BEASLEY on 8 November 1803 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He died after the 1810 census.
❧ Jacob CLAUNCH (1782-1843) was born about 1782. Jacob married Mary “Polly” GRAY on 26 June 1806 in Mercer County, Kentucky. He died before 1843 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
❧ Sally CLAUNCH (1785- ) was born about 1785*. Sally married Allen CHAVOUS on 7 September 1804 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. No further information found. It has been estimated that she was close to 18 when she married.
❧ Jinny CLAUNCH (1785- ) was born about 1785. Jinny married Samuel ALLGOOD on 29 December 1804 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. *In the census for the years 1820 through 1840 she was consistently seen in an age group that shows her birth being between 1780-1790. Assuming she was close to 18 when she married, it would put her closer to being born between 1780-1786.
☙ Jeremiah CLAUNCH (1791-?) was born about 1791 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He served during the War of 1812. If his age on the record of enlistment is correct he would have been 16 in 1807, two years after his father was last found on the Mecklenburg PPT lists. No further information was found.
Dennis is said to have been on the 1806 and 1809 tax lists of Kanawha County. Years ago I requested a lookup of these lists but did not receive any replies. UPDATE 21 March 2021: I have since been able to access the PPT lists at FamilySearch and wrote An Example of What You Can Do With the Personal Property Tax Lists.
In 1810 Dennis and his wife had three children under the age of 10 in their household, a boy and two girls.
1810 U.S. Federal Census24
Kanawha, Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Name: Denis Clounch
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44: 1 (Dennis, b. 1784 or earlier)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 2 (Elizabeth and unknown)
Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44: 1 (Nancy, most likely 26-30)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 3
Number of Household Members Over 25: 2
Number of Household Members: 5
Note: Dennis first showed up on the tax lists with his father in 1796 which would mean that he was over 16 at the time putting his year of birth at abt. 1779. By 1799 he was seen alone on the tax list which normally would mean that he was at least 21 putting his year of birth at abt. 1778. The age range for 1810 puts his birth at 1784 or earlier. Dennis most likely was born between 1778-1780, I’ll pick the middle value and say he was born about 1779.
As Dennis was in Kanawha in 1810 this would mean that he moved his family to Mason County following the census and before his death OR his widow Nancy moved to Mason County following his death as she was the head of a household in Mason in 1820. My 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLONCH died between 7 March 1817 and 7 August 1820.25 There is no family tradition concerning his death and no death record was found.
You might ask why I call my 4th great-grandfather Dennis CLONCH and not Dennis CLAUNCH as he was seen in all records, except the 1810 census where his name was spelled CLOUNCH? I’ll tell you that story next week.
This Post was Updated on 11 December 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #49 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
Can you believe it’s December and time for the last four ancestors in this wonderful challenge?
My 4th great-grandmother Sarah COCKRAM was most likely the youngest daughter of Edward COCKRAM (1748-1816) and his wife Mary (d. aft. 1816).
Edward COCKRAM was born on 7 June 1748 in Newport, Charles County, Maryland.1
Others who have researched this family have claimed Edward Cockram’s wife, Mary, was an Edwards and sometimes an Isham, although never with any documentation for this claim. ~ Truman Adkins
In May 1999 Truman Adkins made this statement in a study he wrote titled “Edward and Nathan Cockram.” In his write-up, he discussed evidence he found that led to his conclusion that Edward was the son of Nathan COCKRAM and his wife Sarah who married Mr. HARRIS after Nathan’s death in 1778. Mr. Adkins did a remarkable job of studying deed, plea, will, and county order books from 1764 through 1816.2 He posted an update on the Floyd County, Virginia, mailing list in December 1999.3 The evidence he presented clearly proves his case. The birth/christening record in Maryland with Edward’s parents as Nathan and Sarah still needs supporting evidence, i.e. proof that Nathan and Sarah came from or through Maryland.
Edward COCKRAM was a Revolutionary War soldier in the 1st Virginia Regiment. He joined George Rogers Clark on his expedition into the northwest territory to wrest the forts from the British in what is now Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.4 His name was spelled COCHRAN on this payroll of Botetourt County’s Capt. Isaac Taylor’s Company of Volunteers in the Illinois Regiment commanded by Colonel John Montgomery. He was a private, enlisted on 29 January 1779, and discharged on 22 August 1780 after serving 206 days, his pay being 13 £ 14 shilling 8 pence.5
Edward Cockram, Sr. lived on the lower waters of Shooting Creek near where the creek enters Smith’s River. The old home was on the east slope of Renfro Ridge.6
He paid taxes in Franklin County, Virginia, is 1788 and 1799 as seen here:
Of course, he paid taxes in other years but these are the only two that are online. UPDATE: In March 2021 I discovered the Personal Property tax lists for nearly all Virginia and West Virginia counties are online at FamilySearch up to at least 1851. Edward was found in Franklin County every year from 1787 until 1816, the year he died. From 1809 until his death he was levy free.7
By 1810 both he and his wife were getting into their sixties and still had three daughters living at home. One of these would have been my 4th great-grandmother Sarah who would marry in 1813.
1810 U.S. Federal Census8
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: Edward Cochran
Free White Persons – Males – 45 and over: 1 (Edward)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 2 (Charlotte and Sarah b. abt. 1794-1800)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Mary b. abt. 1785-1794)
Free White Persons – Females – 45 and over : 1 (wife, Mary)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 2
Number of Household Members Over 25: 2
Number of Household Members: 5
Edward COCKRAM died between 26 May 1816, the date he wrote his will, and 1 July 1816, the date it was proved. He was buried in a cemetery on the Franklin and Patrick County line 1/2 mile east of Road #820.9
Last Will and Testament of Edward Cockram, 1816 – Franklin County, Virginia10
“In the name of God Amen, I Edward Cockram Senr. of the county of Franklin and State of Virginia being weak of body but of perfect memory and calling to mind the mortality of my body and that it is appd onst for all men to die, have made this my last will and testament. Fir of all I resign my Soul into the hands of Almighty God who give it me, and my body to be Buried in Christian like Manner at the discretion of my Executors, nothing doubting but I shall receive the same again by the might power of God at the General Reseraction at the last Day. And as touching my worldly Estate whare with it has bin Please to Bless me with, I give and bequeath it in the following manner that is to say, I give and Bequeth my whole Estate – real and personal to my Beloved wife Mary so long as she lives and after her Disseas the whole that is left Land and other Property of every kind to be sold at publick Auction on a Credit of twelve months by giving Bond and approved Security and the money arising from such Sale to be Equally divided between my ten Children namely: Leah Pedigo, Nathan, Isham, Rachel Wood, wife of Richard Wood; Lydia, Preston, Mary, Edward, Charlotte, Sarah Proffitt. Also I appoint my wife Executrix Nathan my son Executor of this my last will and testament. Signed, Sealed and Acknowledged this twenty-sixth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand and eight hundred and sixteen.
(Signed) Edward Cockram
Teste: Thomas Hale, Brice Edwards, John Wood
Proved: July 1, 1816
His wife Mary was mentioned in the will and died after 7 February 1820 when she was visited for the personal property tax list.11
From Truman Adkins’ work, I know that Edward and Mary were married as early as 1786 as they are seen selling land in Henry County. Edward Cockram and his wife, Mary, convey to Preston Kendrick 50 acres on the south side of Smiths River for 15 pounds. The property description is: “Beginning at the Loer Small pond in the lo ground of the river thence north to the back line thence east to Edwards line thence along Edwards line to the river, down Smiths river to the beginning.” Both sign by a mark “X”. With the witnesses being Gabreal Roberts and Joseph Goodwin, the deed was recorded on 27 July 1786.12
More importantly, Edward mentioned his 10 children by name. Was the wife Mary mentioned in Edward’s will the mother of all of his children? If he listed them in order of birth, then my 4th great-grandmother Sarah was the youngest of the bunch and definitely Mary’s child as she was born after 1786.
After locating the census listings of most of the children I wonder if they might not have been listed in the exact order of birth. I mostly had pre-1850 censuses to work from which gave only age ranges, making it impossible to draw up close estimations on the years of birth. Update: As the PPT lists were checked, the four sons of Edward and Mary were found in the year they would have been 21 allowing a more precise estimate for their years of birth: Nathan abt. 1772, Isham abt. 1773, Preston abt. 1778, and Edward Jr. abt. 1784.
◉ Child 1: Leah COCKRAM (1770-1840) was born about 1770 or as early as 1765 (1810 age 45 & over). She married Henry PEDIGO ( -1810) on 17 November 1790 in Franklin County, Virginia.13 She was widowed before the 1810 census as she was seen in Barren County, Kentucky, in 1810 (4 boys and 3 girls) and 1820 with her own household.14,15 I have not been able to locate her in 1830.
◉ Child 2: Nathan COCKRAM (1772-1860) was born about 1772 (1793 PPT age 21, 1850 census age 80). Nathan married Bathsheba PEDIGO on 12 January 1798 in Patrick County, Virginia.16 He died on 19 May 1860 in Patrick County, Virginia. In the death register, his parents were listed as Edward and Mary COCKRAM.17
◉ Child 3: Isham COCKRAM (1773-1860) was born about 1773 (1794 PPT age 21, 1850 census age 77). He married Sarah RAKES in March 1795 in Patrick County, Virginia.18 He died on 2 October 1860 in Patrick County, Virginia.19
◉ Child 4: Rachel COCKRAM (1775-1823) was born about 1775. Rachel married Richard “Dickey” WOOD (1774-1859) in about 1797. She died 13 December 1823 in Patrick County, Virginia.20
◉ Child 5: Lydia COCKRAM (1791-1860) was born before 1785. She married Henry PEMBERTON, most likely before 1803 as she had two daughters born before 1805. She had 4 children under 10 in 1810 and was in the 16-25 yrs. range; 1820 age 26-44; 1830 age 40-49; [and then it gets complicated] 1840 age 60-69; 1850 age 59; and 1860 age 90! Lydia died between 1860-1870 in Casey County, Kentucky.
◉ Child 6: Preston COCKRAM (1778-1840) born about 1778 (1799 PPT age 21). He married(1) Susannah PEMBERTON (1778-1829) in about 1800. He married(2) Mary Elisabeth EDWARDS on 16 June 1832 in Barren County, Kentucky.21 Preston died about 1842 in Barren County, Kentucky.
◉ Child 7: Mary COCKRAM may have been born between 1785-1794 (per 1810). No further information was found.
◉ Child 8: Edward COCKRAM (1786-1867) was born about 1786 (1805 PPT age 21). Edward married Mary RAKES on 1 November 1806 in Patrick County, Virginia.22 He died before 31 January 1866 in Patrick County, Virginia.23
◉ Child 9: Charlotte COCKRAM (1794- ) born between 1794-1800 (per 1810). She married James PARKER ( -1822) on 9 September 1818 in Franklin County, Virginia, and was widowed 4 years later.24.25 No information was found on Charlotte.
◉ Child 10: Sarah “Sally” COCKRAM was born between 1794-1800 in Franklin County, Virginia. She was my 4th great-grandmother and the subject of this post.
The War of 1812 (18 Jun 1812-24 Dec 1814) was in full swing when Edward and Mary’s daughter Sarah “Sally” COCKRAM married David PROFFITT on 21 October 1813 in Franklin County, Virginia.26 In 1850 she was listed on the census as 47 years old and in 1860 as 57. This would put her year of birth at 1803 which is very unlikely as she would have been only 10 years old when she married. From 1830 to 1840 her age range remained the same on the census. Could it be that once she passed 40 she began fibbing about her age?
Sally and David had two daughters, Hessie (1814) and Rachel (1817), by the time the 1820 census was enumerated.27 My 3rd great-grandmother Rachel was likely named after Sally’s sister Rachel – could she, in turn, have been named after her maternal grandmother, Mary’s mother, who is not known?
The 1820s saw the birth of three sons, Austin (1822), Preston (1825), and David (1827), and a daughter who remains unknown. Austin and David are names from the PROFFITT side of the family, the father and grandfather of David PROFFITT. Was Preston the first name of the maternal grandfather, Mary’s father, who is not known?
Sally and David continued to name children after their parents with the birth of their son Edward (1831) who was named after Edward COCKRAM. They then ran out of parents and grandparents and named the last two children Samuel (1837) and Stabina (1840).
Samuel became a very popular name in the PROFFIT family. Six boys were named Samuel in a 15-year period from 1853 through 1878 – you can imagine the confusion they caused in the family tree. If Truman Adkins had not established that Nathan COCKRAM was the father of Edward one might consider all the unsourced family trees that list Samuel COCKRAM as his father ~ or maybe not!
Sally’s oldest daughter Hessie “Esther” married Owen STEVENS (1821-1900) on 19 August 1835 in Franklin County, Virginia.28 She made Sally and David grandparents to two granddaughters before they completed their own family.
When Sally’s second daughter Rachel PROFFITT married the twice-widowed Jordan N. PETERS on 8 December 1841 in Franklin County, 11 step-grandchildren joined the family.29 Jordan’s oldest daughter was about the same age as his bride Rachel and his youngest was only two years old.
Three of Sally’s sons married in the 1840s: Preston married Martha WRIGHT (1820-1880) on 1 June 1844 in Floyd County.30 Austin married Vincey NEWBERRY (1827-1910) on 14 September 1844 in Franklin County.31 Edward “Ned” married Sarah “Sally” KEEN (1825- ) on 6 January 1848 in Tazewell County.32 The locations of these marriages coincide with the move of the PROFFITT family from Franklin County to Russell County.
Sally saw three more of her children marry before 1860. Stabina/Statina married Jessee R. MUSICK on 13 September 1855 in Russell County.33 Two of her sons married PINION ladies however marriage records were not found. David married Jane PINION before 1855. Her maiden name was found on the 1933 death certificate of their son William.34 Samuel married Tabitha PINION before 1860. Samuel and Tabitha were found in the 1860 census with a little girl with the surname PINION.35 This led to the 1850 census listing of Tabitha PINION. This may not be a reliable method of determining a maiden name but in this case, the names were not common and the method worked.36
Sarah “Sally” COCKRAM died between 1860 and 1870. Her husband David PROFFITT followed her during the 1870s decade. They were survived by all of their children except possibly Stabina who died on 15 October 1874 in Lawrence County, Kentucky, while bearing a child.37
The dates of death of many of their children are not known but they appear to have all lived long lives. My 3rd great-grandmother Rachel was 88 and her brother Austin was in his nineties when they died.
This Post was Updated on 4 December 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #48 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
Since writing Rachel’s story in June 2014 I’ve been working on and off, and more intensively the past two weeks, on the two men who may have been her father: David PROFFITT and his brother Austin PROFFITT. I had planned on discussing both sets of possible parents in two posts as I still had unresolved questions concerning Rachel’s parentage.
Then I changed my mind because I think that it is more likely that David and his wife Sally were her parents than Austin and his wife Patsy. Is it a gut feeling or based on evidence?
Rachel PROFFITT, my third great-grandmother, was born about 1817 in Franklin County, Virginia. Although her married life is well documented, the names of her parents have not been found in any written records. Her maiden name is seen on the death certificate of her youngest child Nannie Ellen CATES who died in 1942.1
Many online GEDCOMs show that Rachel was a daughter of David PROFFITT and Sarah “Sally” COCKRAM who married on 21 October 1813 in Franklin County, Virginia2. Another possibility is that she was the daughter of Austin PROFFITT and Martha “Patsy” RAKES who married on 4 June 1813 in Franklin County, Virginia.3
Austin and David were brothers and the only children of Austin PROFFITT who died before 1803. Their mother “Betsey PROPHET” is enumerated with her two young sons ages between 10 and 15 years on the 1810 census of Franklin County and may also be reflected in the household of her son Austin in 1820 and 1830. The ages found for the brothers in the 1850 and later censuses show they were quite young when they married in 1813.
Nelson County (Va.) Chancery Causes 1808-1912, John Proffit vs Heirs of David Proffit 1810-005
These Chancery Records mention the deceased David PROFITT’s son Austin PROFITT, who predeceased his father, and his minor children David and Austin PROFITT. This establishes that David and Austin were the only children of Austin PROFITT, deceased. Also mentioned are the other 10 children of David: John PROFITT, Randolph PROFITT, Jesse PROFITT, Rowland PROFITT, Elizabeth PROFITT, Nancy PROFITT, Molly (née PROFITT) and Duncan CAMERON, Sally (née PROFITT) and William JOSLIN, Susannah (née PROFITT) and Joseph WILCHER, and David PROFITT.4
Austin PROFFITT (1770-1803) was born on 17 January 1770 in Amherst County, Virginia, to David PROFFITT and his wife Elizabeth SMITH. In 1790 he was not yet 21 years of age when he was seen on the Tax List of Amherst County with his father David Sr.5
Austin married Elizabeth “Betsey” ROBERTSON on 22 November 1790 in Amherst County, Virginia. Austin’s name was seen as Augusten on the marriage record.6 Betsey was born about 1773 in Amherst County, Virginia, to Arthur ROBERTSON and his wife Milly. Austin and Betsey, as established above, had two sons born in Amherst County: David PROFFITT born about 1793 and Austin PROFFITT (1796-1871) born about 1796.
Austin’s father David died intestate. On 19 April 1803 John PROFFITT, Rowland PROFFITT, and James MURPHY went bond for the letters of administration. His sons John and Rowland were administrators of their father’s estate.7
The inventory of the estate of David PROFFITT was returned by Shelton CROSTHWAIT, Charles EDMUNDS, and Zachary WHITE on 20 June 1803 and ordered to be recorded.8 The estate of David PROFFITT was valued at £262, 6 shillings, 9 pence. A guardian bond was filed for Betsy PROFFITT as the guardian of David and Augustine PROFFITT, orphans of Augustine PROFFITT.9
It is not known when Betsey and her boys moved to Franklin County or even if Austin may have been living there when he died. The chancery record seen above does not include the location of the persons involved other than the fact that four of the children of David were not living in the Commonwealth of Virginia. By 1810 Betsey was living next door to her father Arthur ROBERTSON in Franklin County. There was an unknown older man in her household.
1810 U.S. Federal Census10
Franklin County, Virginia
Betsey Prophet
2 males 10 to 15 yo (David and Austin b. bet. 1795-1800)
1 male 45 and older (unknown person)
1 female 26 thru 44 yo (Betsey)
no other free persons or slaves
During the time period of the War of 1812 (18 Jun 1812-24 Dec 1814) both of Betsey’s sons married:
◉ Austin PROFFITT married Martha “Patsy” RAKES (1796-1871) on 4 June 1813 in Franklin County, Virginia11
◉ David PROFFITT married Sarah “Sally” COCKRAM on 21 October 1813 in Franklin County, Virginia12
The fact that David and Austin were the only children of Austin and Betsey and the only men with the surname PROFFITT in Franklin County during the years from 1810 to 1840 makes the study of the two family groups a bit easier. These are the children of each of Betsy’s sons:
◉ Ch 1: Hessie “Esther” PROFFITT (1814-aft. 1800) was born about 1814 in Franklin County, Virginia. She married Owen STEVENS (1821-1880) on 19 August 1835 in Franklin County, Virginia. “David PROPHET” was surety.13 Hessie died between 1880-1900.
◉ Ch 2: Rachel PROFFITT (1817-1899) was born about 1817 in Franklin County, Virginia. She married Jordan N. PETERS (1796-1890) on 8 December 1841 (estimate) in Franklin County, Virginia.14 Rachel died on 5 March 1899 in Nettle Ridge, Patrick County, Virginia. No record was found to prove that she was the daughter of David and Sarah.
◉ Ch 3: Austin PROFFITT (1822-aft. 1910) was born April 1822 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Vincey NEWBERRY (1827-1910) on 14 September 1844 in Franklin County, Virginia15 Austin died after April 1910. In 1870 his father David was in his household, however, the relationship is not specifically stated.
◉ Ch 4: Preston PROFFITT (1825-aft. 1880) was born about 1825 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Martha WRIGHT (1820-1880) on 1 June 1844 in Floyd County, Virginia.16 He went to Morgan County, Kentucky, with his family before 1860. Preston died between 1880-1900. No record was found to prove that he was the son of David and Sarah.
◉ Ch 5: David PROFFITT (1827-1887) was born about 1827 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Jane PINION (1838- ) before 1855. David died on 27 December 1887 in Lebanon, Russell County, Virginia.[8] The death record lists David PROFIT as his father.17
◉ Ch 6: _____ PROFFITT (female) born between 1826-1830 in Franklin County, Virginia
◉ Ch 7: Edward “Ned” PROFFITT (1831-1894) was born about 1831 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Sarah “Sally” KEEN (1825- ) on 6 January 1848 in Tazewell County, Virginia.18 Edward died on 18 February 1894 in Doran, Tazewell County, Virginia.19 The parents are listed as David and Sally PROFFITT on the death record.
◉ Ch 8: Samuel PROFFITT (1837-1910) was born ab.t 1837 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married(1) Tabitha PINION (1840-1880) before 1860. Samuel PROFFITT married(2) his cousin Malinda PROFFITT (1838-1884) on 18 December 1883 in Tazewell County, Virginia. The marriage record shows that Samuel was the son of David and Sallie PROFFIT while Malinda was the daughter of “Ostin” and Patsy PROFFIT.20 Malinda may have died before August 1888 as Samuel married(3) Elizabeth “Lizzie” HUFFMAN on 24 August 1888 in Russell County, Virginia.21 His father was listed as David PROFIT.
◉ Ch 9: Stabina “Stella” PROFFITT (1840-1874) was born about 1840 in Franklin County, Virginia. She married Jessee R. MUSICK (1830- ) on 13 September 1855 in Russell County, Virginia. David and Sarah are listed as her parents.22 Stabina “Stella” PROFFITT died on 15 October 1874 in Lawrence County, Kentucky.23 The death record lists David and Sally PROPHET as her parents.
◉ Ch 1: Harvey PROFFITT (1815-1885) was born about 1815 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married(1) Sarah Jane BARTON (1818-1893) on 3 December 1835 in Floyd County, Virginia. 24 They appear to have divorced as Harvey married(2) Rosannah NEWBERRY (1845-1885) on 17 November 1876 in Russell County, Virginia. The parents were listed as Austin and Martha PROPHET.25 Harvey died after 30 December 1885 (the date that his 2nd wife died).
◉ Ch 2: Delilah PROFFITT (1818-1892) was born about 1818. She married(1) Berry WOOD on 11 July 1836 in Franklin County, Virginia. Surety was Austin Prophet.26 She married(2) William HICKS on 16 June 1841 in Hawkins County, Tennessee.27
◉ Ch 3: Lewis PROFFITT (1820-1898) was born about 1820 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Eliza GEORGE (1821-1881) on 27 December 1842 in Patrick County, Virginia.28 Lewis died on 10 October 1898 in Missouri.29 No record was found to prove that he was the son of Austin and Martha. He lived in Hancock County, Tennessee, 15 households away from Austin and Martha PROFFITT in 1850.
◉ Ch 4: Elisha PROFFITT (1826- ) was born about 1826 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Malinda UNDERWOOD (1826- ) on 22 May 1845 in Franklin County, Virginia. The marriage record shows that he was the son of Austin.30 He died after 1880. His wife was still living in 1910.
◉ Ch 5: _____ PROFFITT (daughter) born bet. 1826-1830
◉ Ch 6: _____ PROFFITT (son) born bet. 1831-1835
◉ Ch 7: Joseph M. PROFFITT (1838-1911) was born on 17 March 1838 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Margaret F. CARTER (1840-1877) in 1860. Joseph died on 14 April 1911 in Buchanon County, Missouri. The death certificate lists “Oscar” and Martha PROFFIT.31
◉ Ch 8: Malinda PROFFITT (1838-1884) was born about 1838 in Franklin County, Virginia. She married(1) David BROOKS on 11 January 1854 in Claiborne County, Tennessee.32 She married(2) John BRUNTY before 1870. She married(3) her first cousin Samuel PROFFITT (1834-1884) on 18 December 1883 in Tazewell County, Virginia. The names of her parents are seen as Austin and Patsy.33 Malinda may have died between 1883-1888.
From 1810 until 1840 we see David and his brother Austin living in Franklin County, Virginia. It is important to know that while both PROFFITT families lived in Franklin County there was no change in the boundaries which were nearly the same as they are today. Franklin County was formed from Bedford and Henry Counties in 1785-1786. In 1844 Franklin gained a small area from Patrick County, the little peninsula-like piece on the southern border. In the 1870s a tiny bit of Floyd County, where Floyd, Patrick, and Franklin join, went to Franklin County. See Virginia Formation Maps
In 1820 both David and Austin had been married 7 years and each had two children. And this is where I thought things would get complicated. My 3rd great-grandmother Rachel was born about 1817 and “fit” into both households.
1820 U.S. Federal Census34
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: David Proffit
Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44: 1 (David)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 2 (Esther and Rachel)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Sarah)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Commerce: 1
Free White Persons – Under 16: 2
Free White Persons – Over 25: 1
Total Free White Persons: 4
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 4
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: Austin Proffit
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 1 (Harvey)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25: 1 (Austin)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 1 (Delilah)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Patsy)
Free White Persons – Females – 45 and older: 1 (poss. Austin’s mother Betsey)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture: 1
Free White Persons – Under 16: 2
Free White Persons – Over 25: 1
Total Free White Persons: 5
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 5
1 person engaged in agriculture
Note: David had two daughters, Esther and Rachel, while Austin had only one, Delilah.
By 1830 David and Sarah had 3 boys and 3 girls; Austin and Patsy had 4 boys and 2 girls. The age ranges of the children varied, showing some as younger or older than in 1820.
1830 U.S. Federal Census36
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: David Proffit
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 1 (David Jr.)
Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 2 (Preston and Austin)
Free White Persons – Males – 40 thru 49: 1 (David)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1 (Lucinda)
Free White Persons – Females – 5 thru 9: 1 (Rachel)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (Esther)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (Sarah)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 6
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 8
Total – All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 8
1830 U.S. Federal Census37
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: Austin Proffit
Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 2 (son b. bet. 1821-1825 & Elisha)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 14: 1 (Lewis)
Free White Persons – Males – 15 thru 19: 1 (Harvey)
Free White Persons – Males – 30 thru 39: 1 (Austin)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1 (daughter b. bet. 1826-1830)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (Delilah)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (Patsy)
Free White Persons – Females – 50 thru 59: 1 (poss. Austin’s mother Betsey)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 6
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 9
Total – All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 9
David’s daughters Esther and Rachel and Austin’s daughter Delilah are still at home.
I believe that the older woman seen in Austin’s household in 1820 and 1830 was his mother Betsey. Austin’s parents-in-law were both living at this time. Elizabeth “Betsey” ROBERTSON most likely died between 1830-1840 in Franklin County, Virginia, as she is no longer reflected in the 1840 census.
By 1840 David and Sarah had 2 more sons and a daughter and their oldest daughter Esther had married. Austin and Patsy also had 2 more sons and a daughter and their oldest son had married. And this is where it becomes problematic. Their daughter Delilah married in 1836; Austin was seen as surety. However, a female of her age appears to be at home in 1840. It is not known how her marriage ended but “Delia Proffet” was seen marrying in 1841. My dilemma was that without evaluating the information on all persons in each household it looked like both David and Austin could have been the father of Rachel who married Jordan N. PETERS until 1841.
1840 U.S. Federal Census38
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: David Proffett
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 2 (Samuel and Edward)
Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 2 (David and Preston)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 14: 1 (Austin)
Free White Persons – Males – 40 thru 49: 1 (David)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1 (Statira)
Free White Persons – Females – 5 thru 9: 1 (unknown female)
Free White Persons – Females – 15 thru 19: 1 (Rachel)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (Sarah)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 8
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 10
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 10
Franklin County, Virginia
Name: Austin Proffet
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 1 (Joseph)
Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 1 (son b. 1831-1835)
Free White Persons – Males – 15 thru 19: 1 (Elisha)
Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1 (Lewis)
Free White Persons – Males – 60 thru 69: 1 (Austin, wrong column for age?)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1 (Malinda)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (daughter b. bet. 1826-1830)
Free White Persons – Females – 20 thru 29: 1 (??Delilah, md.(1) 1836; md.(2) 1841)
Free White Persons – Females – 40 thru 49: 1 (Patsy)
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 3
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: 2
Free White Persons – Under 20: 5
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 3
Total Free White Persons: 9
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 9
Esther marries with David Proffitt being her surety and Delilah marries with Austin being her surety. Rachel is still at home with her father David in 1840 and would marry in 1841. A young woman in the 20-29 years age range is in Austin’s household suggesting a possible end of the marriage for Delilah who would marry again in 1841.
I hope that you have been able to follow how I studied the two family groups to come to the conclusion that my 3rd great-grandmother Rachel PROFFITT was the daughter of David PROFFITT and his wife Sarah COCKRAM.
During the 1840s both David and Austin moved their families a little bit farther west. David ended up in Russell County, Virginia, while Austin crossed the state line to live in Hancock County, Tennessee, in 1850 and 1860. Austin was in Lee County, Virginia, in 1870, and died in Maiden Spring, Tazewell County, Virginia, in 1871.
The 1850 census listing shows that David was born in Amherst County and his wife and three children still living at home were born in Franklin County.40 The move was made after David’s youngest daughter was born. I checked the entire agricultural schedule for Russell County for 1850 through 1870 and found only David’s son Austin in 1860 and 1870. David did not own land in Russell County. This is also seen in the 1860 and 1870 censuses where the column for real estate is blank.41,42
In 1860 David and Sally were in Rose Dale, Russell County. In their household was also a granddaughter Mary STEVENS, daughter of their oldest daughter Hessie.
Sarah “Sally” COCKRAM died between 1860-1870 most likely in the Rose Dale area of Russell County, Virginia, where she had been living with her husband David in 1860.
By 1870 David had moved in with his oldest son Austin (named after his grandfather) who lived in the Elk Garden Township in Russell County. Austin had 20 acres of improved land in 1860 and this increased to 25 acres of improved and 120 acres of woodland in 1870.
David PROFFITT died between 1870-1880 most likely in Elk Garden, Russell County, Virginia, where he was living in 1870.
This Post was Updated on 27 November 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #47 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
An interesting tidbit for cousins who like to find royalty and celebrities in their family tree: My 4th great-grandmother Kesiah LIVELY’s maternal grandparents, Robert Howard CASH and Ruth Walker EPPINGTON, were the 5th great-grandparents of “one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century,”1 John R. “Johnny” CASH.
Johnny Cash was an amateur genealogist. His interest was piqued by a chance encounter with Major Michael Crichton-Stuart on a transatlantic flight in the 1970s. The then Hereditary Keeper of Falkland Palace in Fife explained how abundant the CASH name was in Fife. Johnny Cash visited the Major several times in Scotland to fill in the gaps in his paternal CASH family tree which goes back to the 11th century.2
My 4th great-grandmother Kesiah LIVELY was Johnny CASH’s 1C5R (first cousin five times removed).
Kesiah was the youngest child of Joseph LIVELY (1735-1793) and Mary L. CASH (1740-1793). Both her parents were likely born in Goochland County, Virginia. Many family trees have Albemarle as the place of birth, however, if we consult the formation of the Virginia counties, Albemarle was formed from Goochland but not until 1744.
Mary and Joseph’s teen and early adult years were during the French and Indian War (28 May 1754-10 February 1763). They married before 1761, the year Amherst County was formed from Albemarle. If a marriage record ever existed in Albemarle County it was most likely destroyed. All order books except the first and many loose papers for the years 1748 to 1781 were destroyed during the British general Banastre Tarleton’s raid on Charlottesville in 1781 during the Revolutionary War.3
In 1782, when the first personal property tax lists were taken in Virginia, Joseph LIVELY and his oldest son Joseph were both on the list. They were not listed as Sr. and Jr. The first listing above would be for Joseph Sr. with 1 tithable, 1 slave, 27 cattle, and 12 horses. His son Joseph Jr. had 3 cattle and 2 horses.4,5 In the years after, from 1783 to 1793, when Joseph and Mary’s sons turned 16 but not yet 21 years of age, they were seen in Joseph’s tax assessment. Below, in 1790 Robert, Benjamin, and John were seen with Joseph.6 His oldest son was seen as Joseph Jr.7
Note (5 Nov 2022): The Personal Property Tax Lists were originally found on BinnsGenealogy. The owner of the website, Stephen Binns passed away in June 2020. Only selected years of tax lists were free on the site and have since been removed. The good news is that the tax lists for the years from 1782 until 1851 for Amherst can be found in FamilySearch‘s catalog: Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851 for Amherst County, Virginia.
Joseph paid taxes on land in Amherst County according to research done by John F. Vallentine, author of Livelys of America, 1690-1968.8 The land tax records for Amherst are not available to the public on FamilySearch at this time. Vallentine notes that Joseph paid taxes on three tracts of land, two tracts of 400 acres and a tract of 398 acres. Land deeds are available to back this up.
On 4 August 1777, Joseph bought 400 acres of land on Thesher’s Creek from Wiatt and Sarah POWELL.9 Joseph and his wife Mary deeded the same land to Robert CASH on 5 March 1780.10
Joseph LIVELY was granted 400 acres on both sides of Dutch Creek in Amherst County on 1 September 1782.11 He and his wife Mary sold it to William CABELL on 1 January 1787.12
Joseph died in 1793 and did not leave a will. The letters of administration were granted to his son Mark LIVELY on 22 October 1793. John Hill and William Hill were his bondsmen.13 An inventory of the estate of Joseph Lively was presented on 16 December 1793 by Mark. It included “an old negro woman Sarah, a negro woman Betty, and a negro boy George” as well as livestock and household goods.14 The estate sale was held about 23 November 1793 per the account given on 19 August 1797 by Mark LIVELY and ordered to be recorded on 16 October 1797.15
As seen earlier, Joseph also owned land. The two tracts of 400 acres were acquired and subsequently sold leaving only the 398 acres. There is no entry in the index of deeds for the acquisition of the land and no land grant was found in Joseph’s name. A record of the final partition of Joseph LIVELY’s 398 acres of land located on Pucker’s Creek and Babb’s Creek was not found in the probate records. After his death, the land was divided into 9 tracts of circa 44 acres as can be seen by land sales recorded in Amherst County deeds. Eight of Joseph’s heirs were identified by these.
The eight identified heirs of Joseph LIVELY mentioned above were all born before the American Revolutionary War (19 Apr 1775- 14 Jan 1784).
◉ Sib 1: Joseph LIVELY Jr. (1761-1838) was born on 16 June 1761 in Amherst County, Virginia. He married Sarah “Sally” TILLER on 4 November 1784 in Amherst County.16 Joseph died on 11 May 1838.
◉ Sib 2: Nancy LIVELY (1772- ) was born about 1763 in Amherst County, Virginia. Nancy Lively married Peter JOHNSON on 5 April 1784 in Amherst County, Virginia.17 This marriage was incorrectly listed in a compilation of marriages in Amherst as 1794 instead of 1784. Nancy’s estimated year of birth given in Vallentine’s Livelys of America, 1690-1968, about 1772, was calculated from the erroneous date of marriage. It has to be corrected to reflect an age at marriage of 21 years.
◉ Sib 3: John LIVELY (1764- ) was born about 1764 in Amherst County, Virginia. He was on the Amherst tax lists in 1790 with his father. John married Clara CARNALL on 19 August 1794 in Amherst County.18
◉ Sib 4: Mark LIVELY (1766-1857) was born on 11 January 1766 in Amherst County, Virginia. He married Mary HILL on 30 November 1791 in Amherst County.19 He was on the 1799 Amherst tax list. He died on 23 November 1857 in Taylor County, Kentucky.
◉ Sib 5: Robert Cash LIVELY (1768- ) was born about 1768 in Amherst County, Virginia. He was on the Amherst tax lists in 1790 with his father. He married Elizabeth BETHEL on 20 August 1793 in Amherst County.20
◉ Sib 6: Ruth LIVELY (1770-aft. 1850) was born about 1770 in Amherst County, Virginia. She married William GRIFFIN on 17 June 1793 in Amherst County.21
◉ Sib 7: Benjamin LIVELY (1762-1797) was born about 1772 in Amherst County, Virginia. In 1793 he was still listed with his father on the PPT list, therefore still under 21 years of age and the youngest son. No trace has been found after 1797.
◉ Kesiah LIVELY was born about 1774 in Amherst County, Virginia.
The estimates for the years of birth of the LIVELY children are from Vallentine’s Livelys of America, 1690-1968 with the exception of Nancy and Benjamin. Their estimates have been corrected and are supported by the records mentioned.
Kesiah’s father Joseph LIVELY died before 22 October 1793 in Amherst County. At the time of Joseph’s death Kesiah, Benjamin, and John were not yet married.
A little over a year after Joseph LIVELY’s death his youngest daughter Kesiah LIVELY was married to Zachariah PETERS by Rev. Ezekiel Campbell on 18 November 1794 in Amherst County.22
Kesiah gave birth to her first child, my 3rd great-grandfather, Jordan N. PETERS (1796-1890) on 10 October 1796 in Amherst County.23 A month later she and her husband Zachariah sold her share of her father’s estate, 1/9th of the 398 acres he left.24
Before leaving Amherst County for Franklin County, Kesiah and Zachariah had two daughters and another son. The names are only known for Mary and William. The older daughter’s name remains unknown.
The move to Franklin County occurred after Zachariah was seen on the 1804 Amherst tax list.25 Kesiah then gave birth to Betsy about 1805 and Lucy about 1807. She also had two sons, one born between 1801-1810 whose identity is not known, and the other being Willis born on 23 April 1808. Note: The unknown son may fit in between William b. abt. 1798 and Betsy b. abt. 1805.
After the enumeration of the 1810 census, Kesiah had four more children: Joseph born 10 December 1810, a male born between 1811-1815, and her youngest two daughters, Nancy born about 1812 and Susan born about 1815.
Following the birth of her last child, Kesiah’s brood of a dozen children shrank as the oldest children began to marry. She saw the following six marry before the 1830 census.
◉ Jordan N. PETERS married Mary “Polly” TROUP (1799-1837) on 6 October 1817 in Franklin County. Surety Jacob TROUP. Daughter of Henry and Dorothy.26
◉ William PETERS married Alice “Alla” TROUP (1795-1841) on 12 December 1818 in Franklin County. Surety Jacob TROUP.27
◉ Mary PETERS married Samuel SMITH (1800-1884) on 18 December 1823 in Franklin County. Surety Wm. PETERS.28
◉ Elizabeth “Betsy” PETERS married Jesse EDWARDS (1803-1870) on 17 June 1826 in Franklin County. Surety Zachariah PETERS.29
◉ Lucy PETERS married Joseph JARRELL (1807- ) on 4 October 1827 in Franklin County. Surety Zachariah PETERS.30
◉ Willis PETERS married Ruth SMITH (1809-1884) on 21 March 1829 in Franklin County. Surety Samuel GRIMMETT.31
Soon after the 1830 census, their youngest son, named after his maternal grandfather, married.
◉ Joseph PETERS married Martha “Patsy” SMITH (1811-1888) on 1 September 1830. Surety John Powers.32
In the second half of the 1830s, three more marriages took place. The oldest son Jordan was widowed and married for a second time. The two youngest daughters married in 1836 and 1839. Their marriage documents show that their mother Kesiah was still living as she gave her permission for both marriages.
◉ Nancy PETERS married Reuben COOPER on 2 December 1836. Her mother Kesiah gave her permission to the marriage on 1 December 1836.33
◉ Jordan N. PETERS married(2) Sarah COX ( -1841) 15 August 1837 in Franklin County.34
◉ Susan PETERS married Andrew REEL (1813-1870) 16 October 1839 in Franklin County. Surety Wm. Dixon.35
Kesiah LIVELY’s spouse Zachariah PETERS likely died between 1830-1840 in Franklin County, Virginia, as neither of them is named in the 1840 census. Zachariah was last seen on a personal property tax list in 1830.
As Kesiah gave permission for her daughters to marry, it can be assumed that Zachariah, if he had been exempt from tax due to old age, may have died before the first marriage that Kesiah gave permission for in 1836. No older woman was found in the households found for the children in 1840. Two more marriages took place after the 1840 census.
◉ William PETERS married(2) Lydia KEMPLIN (1821-1866) on 27 March 1841 in Franklin County.36
◉ Jordan N. PETERS married(3) Rachel PROFFITT (1817-1899) on 8 December 1841 in Franklin County.37
Kesiah passed away after 16 October 1839 and possibly before the 1840 census or these last two marriages in 1841.
This Post was Updated on 20 November 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”
This is entry #46 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
Zachariah PETERS was born between 1766-1770 in Amherst County, Virginia, and died between 1830-1840 in Franklin County, Virginia. Although considerable genealogy research has been done by others, his parents are to date not known or proven.
Paula Kelley Ward (1942-2022), who is to be credited for her work on this family, hired Andrew S. Webb, of Lineages, Inc., to do research in 2001-2002. After seven sessions of research, Mr. Webb concluded that circumstantial evidence suggests that John PETERS was the father of Zachariah PETERS as well as James PETERS (~1765-1823) and Elisha PETERS (~1773-1862).1
First, let’s analyze the census and tax lists to determine when my 4th great-grandfather Zachariah was born. The estimation “between 1766-1770” was made from the age ranges seen on the 1810 to 1830 census of Franklin County, Virginia.
◉ 1810 – age 26 & under 45 (1766 or later)2
◉ 1820 – age 45 & over (1775 or earlier > 1766-1775)3
◉ 1830 – age 60 & under 70 (between 1761-1770 > 1766-1770)4
If the age range was correct in these three census years then he should have appeared in personal property tax lists beginning no later than 1791. Mr. Webb wrote in his report on the first session, “Personal property tax lists of Amherst County, Virginia, were searched for anyone with the surname PETERS or PETER.” He found and listed all PETERS men for the years 1788 to 1797. Zachariah was found on:
◉ 18 June 1793 with 1 tithable, 3 horses
◉ 1794 – not found
◉ 13 Apr 1795 with 1 tithable, 2 horses
◉ 15 May 1796 with 1 tithable, 1 horse
◉ 21 Jul 1797 with 1 tithable, 0 horses
Why did Zachariah go from having 3 horses to two to one to none? Even though I don’t have an answer, I had to ask the question.
Surviving personal tax records for Virginia counties starting in 1782 are available on microfilm at the Library of Virginia or through interlibrary loan. UPDATE: In March 2021 I discovered the Personal Property tax lists for nearly all Virginia and West Virginia counties are online at FamilySearch up to at least 1851. Zachariah’s listings were checked in Amherst and Franklin counties but have not been included in this post.
Zachariah was on the Personal Property Tax list of Amherst County, Virginia, in 1790.5 In this case, Zachariah was a white tithable listed with the taxpayer Thomas NEVIL, the white tithable over the age of twenty-one.6 As Zachariah was not the person charged with tax he most likely was a tithable between the age of sixteen and twenty-one. What can this mean? Is there a family relationship between Zachariah PETERS and Thomas NEVIL or his wife of two years Elizabeth TILLER?
Mr. Webb missed Zachariah PETERS in 1790. In his report, he wrote, “The appearance of Zachariah in Amherst in 1793 suggests that he lived in another county before 1793.” He does not speculate on why he was not on the 1794 tax list.
I suspect that Mr. Webb consulted only the pages with surnames beginning with P. If he had searched through all pages he would have found Zachariah in 1790. I realize that a hired researcher works under the restraints of the client’s purse and doesn’t have the time to search page for page.
This brings up the question: Was Zachariah perhaps listed with another taxpayer in 1791 and 1792 as he was with Thomas NEVIL in 1790? I don’t think Zachariah was with a NEVIL or NEVILLE individual as researchers Shirley L Wilcox and Jan Faulkner on the NEVILLE mailing list discussed the tax records of the NEVIL(LE) family in January and February 2000 and mentioned only finding Zachariah PETERS in 1790 with Thomas NEVIL.7 I discovered this conversation only after viewing the 1790 tax lists online. As of 3 November 2022, I have reviewed the Amherst PPT lists from A to Z for 1791 and 1792. Negative results on Zachariah PETERS.
Mr. Webb suggested that as a young, single man, Zachariah may have found work outside of the county of his birth, returning to Amherst County to marry and settle down, at least until he moved to Franklin County, Virginia. This could in fact be a good possibility as I recently received this listing of marriage bonds of Amherst County in which the groom Zachariah was listed as being from Bedford County. I submitted a photo duplication request for the marriage record found in “Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940” on FamilySeach. Will it have more information? I’ve only used this service a few times and so far all requests were received between 7-9 days. At this rate, I should have it in time for 52 Ancestors: #47 Kesiah LIVELY, wife of Zachariah PETERS. [UPDATE 26 November 2014: There is an error in the transcript of the marriages (see image below). Zachariah PETERS was not from Bedford County. Follow this link for the reveal.]
Zacharias PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY were married in Amherst County on 18 November 1794. The bondsman (surety) on the marriage bond was Austin WOODY. The marriage was celebrated by the Rev. Ezekiel CAMPBELL. 8
Two years later, on 21 November 1796, Zacharias and Kesiah were seen selling her portion of her father Joseph LIVELY’s estate, 44 acres in Amherst County, to William LOVING.9
The image for the 1799 Personal Property Tax List shows Zachariah followed by Elisha PETERS. As the lists are in alphabetical order one cannot tell if they lived close to one another or not. However, on the earlier tax lists viewed by Mr. Webb, Elisha and Zachariah were visited the same day in 1795 indicating that they must have lived close to each other.
On 7 February 1800 Zachariah PETERS and Elisha PETERS were witnesses on a land deed for 180 acres from Rich. BREEDLOVE and his wife Mildred to Nelson ANDERSON. The land adjoined Jno. BALL, Wm. KEY, Glade road, Wm. CABELL, Jas. NEVIL, Thos. KEYS. Witnesses were Zach. NEVIL, Elisha PETERS, Zach. PETERS, Carel EADS.10
Once again the NEVIL name comes up as well as KEY and KEYS. Were they only neighbors or is there a closer relationship? Mr. Webb, in his research report, noted several instances where John PETERS, the suspected parent of James, Zachariah, and Elisha, had also been named on documents with NEVIL individuals.
A closer analysis of abstracted records that were found previously found evidence suggesting that James, Zachariah, and Elisha PETERS were the sons of John PETERS. John does not appear to have owned land in Amherst County, but the deeds that he witnessed give a fairly clear picture of where and when he lived. John lived in the same area in which James, Zachariah, and Elisha lived. John was also closely associated with many of the same people and families with which Elisha and Zachariah were closely associated. John appears to have lived as an adult in Amherst County from 1761 through 1772. John might have died about 1773, leaving at least three very young children.11
This was one of the summaries made by Mr. Webb in his research reports which totaled 77 pages. In another summary he wrote:
Although no document clearly stating their relationship has been found yet, their ages suggest that they might have been brothers, with James born about 1765, Zachariah born between 1765 and 1770, and Elisha born in 1772. All three owned land in what is today the southern part of Nelson County.12
Without going into this any further I would like to give a brief run-through of the persons who may be the father and brothers of Zachariah PETERS.
◉ Father: John PETERS (1730- ) Birth Abt 1730/1731 in England. In September 1755, John PETER enlisted in Captain David BELL’s Company in Albemarle County. John was twenty-four years old, and five feet, four and a half inches tall. He was a weaver by occupation. John was born in England, was dark with black hair and was pitted with smallpox.13
◉ Sibling 1: James PETERS (1765-1823) was born about 1765. He married Elizabeth STEVENS (1776-1850) on 11 March 1793 in Amherst County, Virginia.14 He died on 1 November 1823 in Nelson County, Virginia.15
◉ Sibling 2: Elisha PETERS (1773-1862) was born about 1773. He married(1) Jane TILLER (d. bef. 1806) on 1 June 1792 in Amherst County, Virginia.16 He married(2) Cynthia TURNER on 17 February 1806 in Amherst County.17 Elisha died before 24 Mar 1862 in Bedford County, Virginia.18
A descendant of Elisha PETERS and Cynthia TURNER has done autosomal DNA testing and has a match with a descendant of Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY. He wrote, “Ancestry.com said there was a 95% confidence level that [the test person] is a 4th to 6th cousin. By the birth dates, Zachariah and Elisha would be either brothers or cousins.” When it comes to DNA I am lacking in knowledge and, although normally optimistic, I wonder if the connection might be for another ancestor. [Update: Since this writing, my brother (May 2016) and I (Sep 2019) have both had our autosomal DNA tested with AncestryDNA. On average, we receive less than 1% DNA from our 5th great-grandparents.]
Sylvia Peters Rogers who shared the page with the Amherst marriage bonds (above) wrote on 14 November 2014, “You might be interested to know that before my father’s nephew’s death, he submitted 2 DNA samples for analysis. Both proved to be closer in match to men with the surnames of KEY and MUNDY.” We have not discussed this further and Mundy is a name I haven’t run across.
We know that Zachariah PETERS remained in Amherst County until 1804 when he was last seen in the Personal Property Tax lists of the county. While living in Amherst, Zachariah and his wife Kesiah had at least four children. My 3rd great-grandfather Jordan N. PETERS (1796-1890) born 10 October 1796 was most likely their firstborn.19
By 1810 Zachariah had moved his little family to Franklin County, Virginia, where he was seen in the census with 4 sons, 4 daughters, and his wife Kesiah. His family was no longer little!
Franklin County, Virginia
Zachariah Peters
2 males under 10 yo (Willis & son b. 1801-1810)
2 males 10 & under 15 yo (Jordan & William)
1 male 26 & under 45 (Zachariah)
2 females under 10 yo (Elizabeth & Lucy)
2 females 10 & under 15 (Mary and daughter b. bet. 1796-1800)
1 female 26 & under 45 (Kesiah)
Franklin County, Virginia
Zachariah Peters
2 males under 10 yo (Joseph b. 1810 and 1 son b. 1811-1815)
1 male 45 yo & upwards (Zachariah)
2 females under 10 yo (Susan and Nancy)
2 females 10 & under 16 yo (Elizabeth and Lucy)
2 females 16 & under 26 yo (Mary and daughter b. bet. 1796-1800)
1 female 45 yo & upwards ( Kesiah)
1 person engaged in commerce
Franklin County, Virginia
Zachariah Peters
2 males 15 & under 20 yo (Joseph and son b. 1811-1815)
1 male 60 & under 70 yo (Zachariah range 1761-1770)
1 female under 5 yo (granddaughter?)
2 females 15 & under 20 yo (Susan and Nancy)
1 female 20 & under 30 yo (daughter b. bet. 1796-1800?)
1 female 50 & under 60 yo (Kesiah)
At this time not all of Zachariah and Kesiah’s children are known by name. These are the known and unknown children:
◉ Ch 1: Jordan N. PETERS was born on 10 October 1796. Jordan married(1) Mary “Polly” TROUP (1799-1837) on 6 October 1817 in Franklin County, Virginia. Jordan married(2) Sarah COX ( -1841) on 15 August 1837 in Franklin County, Virginia. Jordan N. PETERS married(3) Rachel PROFFITT (1817-1899) on 8 December 1841 in Franklin County, Virginia. He died on 14 October 1890 in Nettle Ridge, Patrick County, Virginia.23
◉ Ch 2: Mary PETERS born bet. 1796-1800. Mary married Samuel SMITH (1800-1884) on 18 December 1823 in Franklin County, Virginia. Her brother William PETERS was surety.24
◉ Ch 3: _____ PETERS (female) born bet. 1796-1800 (per census)
◉ Ch 4: William PETERS was born about 1798. William married Alice “Alla” TROUP (1795-1841) on 12 December 1818 in Franklin County, Virginia.25 William married(2) Lydia KEMPLIN (1821-1866) on 27 March 1841 in Franklin County, Virginia. Jesse EDWARDS, the husband of Betsy, was surety for the marriage which took place after Zachariah PETERS’ death.26
◉ Ch 5: Elizabeth “Betsy” PETERS born about 1805. Betsy married Jesse EDWARDS (1803-1870) on 17 June 1826 in Franklin County, Virginia. Zachariah PETERS was surety.27 She died between 1880-1890.
◉ Ch 6: Lucy PETERS was born about 1807. Lucy married Joseph JARRELL (1807- ) on 4 October 1827 in Franklin County, Virginia. Zachariah PETERS was surety.28 They may have gone to Tennessee.
◉ Ch 7: _____ PETERS (male) born bet. 1801-1810 (per census)
◉ Ch 8: Willis PETERS born 23 Apr 1808. Willis married Ruth SMITH (1809-1884) on 21 March 1829 in Franklin County, Virginia.29 He died on 30 March 1882 in Franklin County, Virginia. His death record names Zachariah and Keziah PETERS as his parents.30
◉ Ch 9: Joseph PETERS born 10 Dec 1810. Joseph married Martha “Patsy” SMITH (1811-1888) on 1 September 1830 in Franklin County, Virginia.31 He died on 14 February 1892 in Rocky Station, Lee County, Virginia.32
◉ Ch 10: _____ PETERS (male) born bet. 1811-1815 (per census)
◉ Ch 11: Nancy PETERS born bet. 1812. She married Reuben COOPER on 2 December 1836 in Franklin County, Virginia.33
◉ Ch 12: Susan PETERS was born about 1815. Susan married Andrew REEL (1813-1870) on 16 October 1839 in Franklin County, Virginia.34 Her father was most likely already deceased as Wm Hixon went bond. Susan died after 1880.
Research of the Zachariah PETERS’ family is made more difficult by the fact that another group of people of German origin with the surname PETERS were living in Franklin County when Zachariah moved there.
Zachariah PETERS and his wife Kesiah LIVELY died sometime after the 1830 census and before the 1840 census with Zachariah likely being the first to pass away.
This Post was Updated on 13 November 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
