How Jack and Jill Helped Solve the Holly Brick Wall

This post is dedicated to the memory of Paula Kelly Ward (1942-2022) who passed away on 28 July 2022. Her passion for genealogy research and the PETERS family is reflected in her work as well as that of the many she helped. She looked forward to seeing this DNA mystery solved.

Who was the father of Sanford H. HOLLY born in May 1847 in Franklin County, Virginia?

I didn’t set out to ask this research question or try to open the door in my cousin’s brick wall. The pieces of the puzzle came together with a bit of genealogy sleuthing, DNA tools, and curiosity on my part.

Sanford H. HOLLY (1847-1924)

Sanford H. HOLLY, born in Franklin County, Virginia, first married on 15 March 1864 at the age of 17.  The marriage register names Jack PETERS and Martha J. LOYD as his parents. In the remarks column, it is noted that the husband was illegitimate.1 This would explain why the groom’s surname was not PETERS.

Franklin County Register of Marriages entry for Sanford Holley and Elizabeth Ray

Why was his surname HOLLY? Martha Jane HOLLY, the daughter of James and Elizabeth HOLLY, married Thomas J. LOYD (LLOYD) in 1861.2 It was the only marriage found and indicates she was widowed. Was it assumed she was widowed as she had children?

Further research shows her parents, James HOLLY and Elizabeth RAFE married on 1 November 1809.3

Other researchers misread the marriage register entry and/or the marriage license of Sanford H. HOLLY and assumed his parents were Jack Peters HOLLY and Martha J. LOYD. I found the marriage register AFTER I suspected the PETERS connection. More about this later. Suspecting the connection helped me to look at the record differently than others had.

An image of the marriage license is attached to my cousin Laura’s tree. I was not able to locate this record online. The image has punched holes on the left side and appears to be the scan of a photocopy made of the original at the courthouse. The scanned record doesn’t include information on the husband being illegitimate. The parents’ names were written: Jack Peters & Martha J. Loyd. As with the entry in the register of marriages, the groom’s surname was HOLLY and it has been incorrectly assumed the father was a HOLLY. With this mistake, Jack PETERS became Jack Peters HOLLY.

On the 1900 census, Sanford’s birth month and year are listed as May 1847.4 It is more likely that he was born in May 1846 as he was not yet 18 in March 1864 when he married. For research purposes, I will assume he was born between May 1846 and May 1847.

Based on the information provided in his marriage record, Sanford was illegitimate and born about 1846-1847, his mother would have had a relationship with a man named Jack PETERS in 1845-1846. The father Jack would have been born about 1825 or earlier.

PETERS families of Franklin County, Virginia

Zachariah PETERS and his wife Kesiah LIVELY came to Franklin County around 1810 from Amherst County.5,6 There were other PETERS families in the Franklin County area. They were of German descent and not related to Zachariah PETERS of Amherst.

Paula Kelly Ward, a PETERS researcher, wrote in 2000:7

Franklin County VA had more than one Peters family. Two of these families were, without question, of German descent, and they and their descendants married other German families in the area.

What has been very interesting to me is that an analysis of these families reveals that Zachariah’s descendants did not marry any of the Peters of German descent nor any other German families in Franklin County VA. However, looking at a few cousin marriages, it appears that my Peters family definitely liked their own Peters family better than others!!! 😀

At any rate, Zachariah’s descendants did not marry into the German families in that area until the 20th century, and that is what caused the confusion in our Peters family research.

As will become clear later in this post, the German PETERS lines were not considered for this research question.

The candidates: PETERS-LIVELY grandsons

The male descendants of Zachariah PETERS and his wife Kesiah LIVELY were studied.

In 1846 Zachariah and Kesiah had four sons born between 1796 and 1810.

◉ Jordan, living in Fayette County, was 50 years old, father of 14 living children, and married 5 years to his 3rd wife.8

◉ William was about 48 years old, father of 4 children, and married 5 years to his second wife. He was in Franklin when he married in 1841.9 He was missed (or not yet found) in the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses. Further research is needed to prove he was living in 1846.

◉ Willis was 37 years old, married 17 years, and father of 8 children.

◉ Joseph was 36 years old, married 16 years, and father of 7 children.

These four men were all in marital relationships in 1846 with wives who were still bearing children. Although one of them could have strayed, it is more likely one of their sons could be Sanford’s father.

Jordan had sons who could have been the father of Sanford. William had sons born in 1826 (Owen) and 1828 (Henry) but they were not as likely to be the father of Sanford as Jordan’s sons. Willis and Joseph had sons but they were not old enough to be the father of Sanford born in 1846-1847.

Jordan had four sons who were 20 years or older in 1846: Henry, Zachariah, Stephen, and Jonathan. Henry and Stephen as well as two underage sons of Jordan were in Franklin County in 1845 on the personal property tax (PPT) lists.10 The two sons under 21 were Jonathan and James. Zachariah born in 1822 was not on the 1845 list.

Jordan moved his family to Fayette County around this time. He was on the PPT lists from 1846 to 1849. He lived in an area of Fayette that became Raleigh County in 1850.

◉  Henry b. 1821 was in Fayette County (now West Virginia) in February 1847 when he married.11

◉ Zachariah b. 1822 was in Franklin County on 27 November 1846 when he took out a bond with his future brother-in-law and on 3 December 1846 when he married Ally HALE.12

◉ Stephen b. 1824 was in Franklin County in January 1848 when he married.13

◉  Jonathan b. 1827 was likely with his father in Fayette County. He was not found on the 1850 census, i.e. he was not with his father. He didn’t marry until 1852 in Raleigh County (now West Virginia).14

It is unlikely that Henry, Stephen, or Jonathan went by Jack.

Jack PETERS

From Sanford’s marriage record we know that his father’s name was Jack PETERS.

Did Jordan’s son Zachariah PETERS (1822-1899) also go by the name Jack? Zachariah PETERS is the name seen on the census and in marriage records. No middle initial or nickname.

There are online trees with his name as Zachariah Jack PETERS or Zachariah Jackson PETERS. I searched for records that might include the nickname Jack or Zack or a middle name Jackson.

A civil war muster roll card was found for Zach PETERS. A private in the 21st
Virginia Cavalry, Capt. A. O. Dobyns’ Company, Peters’ Regiment, he
enlisted on 22 August 1863 at Floyd County Court House and was absent
with leave from January 1 to October 31, 1864. The reason for his absence was given as, “At home on wounded furlough, right leg amputated.” This matches the known information on Zachariah and shows that he also went by Zach.15

In 1870 Zachariah’s brother James wrote a letter in which he twice referred to him as Brother Zech.16

Zachariah was married three times and had at least 17 children between 1847 and 1895. Birth registers for Franklin begin in 1853. The early births were not registered. Most of the birth records have Zachariah as the father’s name. In three records, the father was seen as Zach or Zack: George born in 1854 (Zach), an unnamed daughter born in 1862 (Zack), and Martha Ella born in 1875 (Zack).17,18,19

Marriage records of Charles Robert PETERS and of Bessie Lee PETERS list Zach PETERS as the father.20,21

Death records of 13 children were found. The NC certificate of death of Charles Robert PETERS (1894-1961) gives W. J. PETERS as the father.22 This is an error as his birth record gives Z. Peters as the father. The certificate of death of James Jordan PETERS (1849-1927) names James Z. PETERS as the father. 23 This is the only record indicating the name James, likely an error on the part of the informant as no other records have been found with James as one of the names of Zachariah.

The certificates of death of Mary Jane PETERS (1852-1920) and Joseph Coleman PETERS (1865-1927) give the father’s name as Jackson PETERS.24,25 It is not unusual for the names of the parents on a certificate of death to be incorrect as the information is not being given by the decedent. However, it seems possible that Zachariah PETERS was also known as Jackson PETERS as two of his children’s death records have this name.

The memorial on Find A Grave lists his name as Zachariah Jackson PETERS.26 It doesn’t include a photo or documentation. Paula Kelly Ward shared a picture of the grave marker taken by Otis C. Scott on 20 November 2009. The name on the marker is Zachriah PETERS (sic, not Zachariah).

The research question has been asked and the known facts presented. The DNA evidence will now be revealed.

Jill

In mid-June, while reviewing and adding MRCAs to my DNA matches in the 50 cM range, a match with a peculiar username caught my attention. I’ll call her Jill. A tree is attached to the DNA with the names of her paternal grandparents but without dates and places. I’d looked at this match several times and wasn’t able to figure out how she fit into my tree.

While viewing Jill’s shared matches (also known as in common with or ICW), I noticed that my father’s paternal first cousin E.D. was on the list. My match with Jill is for 51 cM across 4 segments. As I have access to E.D.’s DNA, I know that Jill shares 61 cM across 3 segments with her. At the time, I thought this match might help solve the DEMPSEY brick wall I share with E.D. since she fell in the Extended Family range for E.D. and in the Distant Family range for me.

On Jill’s Ancestry profile, there is another tree (3 persons) with the names of her parents with dates of birth and death. I recognized her mother’s name, being a cousin to my father on his maternal line.

Jill is my 3C1R (third cousin once removed) through Moses, the son of my 3rd great-grandparents Jordan N. PETERS and Rachel PROFFITT and a 5C through Betsy, the daughter of my 4th great-grandparents Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY. In the chart below, Jill’s maternal grandfather shares all of the pink ancestors with me:

Jill’s maternal grandfather’s tree

Chart #1 (pedigree chart generated with Ancestral Quest 16)

This match is on my father’s maternal grandfather’s side. As can be seen in the charts below, my Dad and E.D. are first cousins and share only their paternal lines (blue and green in the charts below).

Dad’s Tree

Chart #2 (pedigree chart generated with Ancestral Quest 16)

E.D’s Tree

Chart #3 (pedigree chart generated with Ancestral Quest 16)

E.D.’s tree has been well researched by her deceased sister Geraldine Dempsey Workman (1931-2007). Her research was sent to me in 1992 and awakened my interest in genealogy.

How are Jill and E.D. related?

I have access to 3 tests of descendants of Earl Stanley DEMPSEY (1910-1968) and Thelma Mae HOLLY (1914-1959) through 3 of their 4 children. E.D. is their daughter, Laura is E.D.’s niece through her sister Geraldine, and Sheila is E.D.’s niece through her brother James. The fourth child, a son, didn’t have any known children. E.D. is the only living child of the couple.

E.D.’s mother Thelma Mae HOLLY has an NPE (non-paternity event, i.e. father unknown) on her paternal side. The father of Thelma’s grandfather Sanford H. HOLLY is unknown hence my research question at the beginning of this post.

Jill and I share the PETERS-PROFFITT and the PETERS-LIVELY couples as MRCA. E.D. and I share the DEMPSEY-INGRAM couple as MRCA. But which couple or individual does E.D. and Jill share as MRCA?

E.D.’s and my ICW matches

The ICW matches for E.D. and myself on AncestryDNA are associated with our shared ancestors William Henderson DEMPSEY and Laura Belle INGRAM and their lines back. Matches attributed to my PETERS-PROFFITT and PETERS-LIVELY ancestors are also showing up in the list of shared matches. However, none are assigned to PROFFITT-COCKRAM (the parents of Rachel PROFFITT, 3rd wife of Jordan N. PETERS). Therefore I continued my analysis by concentrating on the PETERS branch and not the PROFFITT branch of my tree.

E.D.’s raw DNA file was uploaded to GEDmatch in 2018. Only 8 of my matches with MRCA being PETERS-PROFFITT or PETERS-LIVELY were found on GEDmatch to be in common with E.D. None of these matches share segments with E.D. and myself, i.e. there are no triangulations. All of the segments that E.D. shares with me (and/or my brother) are matches on our paternal side.

Does E.D. have matches with descendants of the  PETERS-LIVELY couple?

Over the years, I’ve worked on several generations of descendants of Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY, mainly following their son Jordan N. PETERS’ descendants. There was intermarriage in the line which makes the research a bit of a challenge. This can be seen in the case of Jill being a descendant of the PETERS-LIVELY couple through both of her paternal grandfather’s parents (see chart #1). This is only one example.

I’ve been working with E.D.’s test results since 2018. I imported her AncestryDNA matches, their shared matches, and their trees to Genome Mate Pro, an earlier version of GDAT (Genealogical DNA Analysis Tool). Her profile in GDAT has since been updated with new matches. Until now, I concentrated only on her paternal matches and ignored her maternal line.

Looking over E.D.’s maternal matches

With this new development, I began analyzing 300+ trees of maternal matches for E.D.  Concentrating on her closest HOLLY matches and their shared matches, I found that the connection to Jill is likely coming through E.D.’s great-grandfather Sanford H. HOLLY’s unknown father.

Not all matches have trees attached to their AncestryDNA or their profiles on Ancestry. The same is true for GEDmatch. By comparing associated family groups, trees were built out for matches with small trees. Having a large tree with many descendants of the ancestors of interest makes the tree-building process easier. For many of the incomplete trees, one person with the PETERS surname was enough to take the match back to the common ancestors. I use One2Tree to convert my pedigree tree to an ahnentafel list that I import into GDAT.

Maternal matches on the HOLLY branch

As I marked maternal matches for E.D. with MRCA and added notes, a picture began to develop. Each MRCA was given a group name identifying the shared ancestral couple. These are the groups with the number of matches found in parenthesis (data from July 2022):

◉ Dempsey-Holly (11) – all descendants of Earl and Thelma (324 to 2139 cM)
◉ Holly-Parrish (1) – 1C1R, a descendant of Thelma’s sister (437 cM)
◉ Holly-Wray (17) – descendants of Sanford’s 1st marriage (12 to 249 cM)
◉ Holly-Ray (22) – descendants of Sanford’s 2nd marriage (14 to 246 cM)
◉ Holly-Rafe (6) – descendants of Sanford’s maternal grandparents (33 to 57 cM)
◉ Peters-Lively (215) – descendants of Zachariah and Kesiah (8 to 113 cM)

The closest matches were for Dempsey-Holly: E.D.’s children, grandchildren, nieces, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. These were followed by matches back through the HOLLY line to Holly-Rafe.

After finding the known ancestors, I was left with 215 matches in common with the HOLLY matches who are descendants of Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY.

The German PETERS line of Franklin County

As trees were added, built out, and analyzed, the absence of matches descending from the German PETERS line in Franklin County made itself clear and that line was not considered for this research question.

Matches with PETERS-LIVELY

The PETERS-LIVELY group ranges from 112.8 cM across 5 segments down to 8 cM across 1 segment with an average of 32 cM. There are likely many more but I concentrated on matches with trees and over 40 cM. The number of generations back to the PETERS-LIVELY couple indicates the 4th cousin range (sharing 3rd great-grandparents).

More matches below 40 cM with PETERS-LIVELY in their trees were found using GDAT features to sort matches, search their trees, etc.

The PETERS-LIVELY matches were split further. These are the children of Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY (the number of matches found in parenthesis):

◉ Jordan N. thru his 1st marriage to Troup (166)*
◉ Jordan N. thru his 3rd marriage to Proffitt (25)
◉ Mary (0)
◉ William (5)
◉ Elizabeth (7)
◉ Lucy (0)
◉ Willis (42)*
◉ Joseph (1)
◉ Nancy (3)
◉ Susan (0)

*Note: Jordan’s granddaughter through his son Zachariah married Willis’ son and 29 matches come from this union. They are included in the total for both Jordan (166) and Willis (42).

Narrowing down to PETERS-TROUP

The largest amount of matches are descendants of Jordan N. PETERS and his first wife Mary TROUP. These matches were split further by the children of this marriage:

◉ Cynthia (5)
◉ Henry T. (23)
◉ Zachariah (73)
◉ Stephen (1) (+2 need to be proven)
◉ Mary (22)
◉ Jonathan (16)
◉ James (7)
◉ Jane (marriage and children have not been proven)
◉ Martha Ann (2)
◉ William (17)

Zachariah is represented by more matches than any of the other children of the PETERS-TROUP couple. The PETERS families were large. Zachariah married three times and was the father of 16 children. His father, also married three times and was the father of 21.

E.D.’s matches from highest to 50 cM were clustered

Before continuing I’d like to share the results of another tool I use. With Jonathan Brecher’s Shared Clustering tool, I clustered E.D.’s top 333 matches (50 cM and greater).

After adding MRCA notes from GDAT to the Excel sheet of the clustered matches, I identified the four grandparents and used colors for visualization. PGF=blue, PGM=green, MGF=pink, and MGM=yellow. Color highlighting is not a feature of Shared Clustering.

E.D.’s 50 cM and greater matches clustered using Jonathan Brecher’s Shared Clustering tool.

◉ Matches coming from the DEMPSEY branch were marked blue and lighter blue for more distant matches (Wood, Honaker, Wiseman).
◉ Matches coming from the INGRAM branch were marked green
◉ Matches coming from the HOLLY-RAY branch were marked bright pink
◉ Matches coming from the PARRISH branch were marked yellow
◉ Bright green indicates overlap in the DEMPSEY and INGRAM branches as two Dempsey brothers, William and Elijah, married Ingram sisters, Laura and Octavia.
◉ Purple is another group of matches that overlap. Descendants of DEMPSEY and HOLLY through the marriage of Samuel San HOLLY (son of Sanford) and Louisa A. DEMPSEY (a granddaughter of William A. W. DEMPSEY and Sarah Ann WOOD).
◉ The large lighter pink cluster represents Sanford H. HOLLY’s unknown paternal branch. Matches here include Holly-Parrish(1), Holly-Ray(3), Peters-Troup(26), Peters-Lively(19), and matches without trees(17).

The DNA picture was becoming clearer. PETERS-TROUP and PETERS-LIVELY matches (50 cM and greater) point to the father of Sanford H. HOLLY being a PETERS.

DNA segments with PETERS-TROUP and PETERS-LIVELY

Very few of the E.D.’s matches on AncestryDNA have their raw DNA files uploaded to GEDmatch. Below are 13 matches who have their tests on GEDmatch and have been identified as descendants of Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY.

Imagine what this would look like if the over 300 matches I’ve identified as descendants of PETERS-LIVELY AncestryDNA had their tests on GEDmatch or if Ancestry had a chromosome browser on their website.

Conclusion

And that is how Jack and Jill helped solve the Holly brick wall.

Taking into account the number of maternal matches E.D. has with descendants of Jordan N. PETERS and Mary TROUP in their trees, the DNA evidence clearly points to this couple being the grandparents of Sanford H. HOLLY. The largest group of matches are the descendants of their son Zachariah. Further, Zachariah PETERS seen as Jackson PETERS on the death records of two of his children may have also been called Jack PETERS.

Considering all of the above, it is likely that Zachariah PETERS (1822-1899) was the father of Sanford H. HOLLY (1847-1924).

© 2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.


  1. “Virginia, U.S., Marriage Registers, 1853-1935,” (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62154/), citing Virginia, Marriage Registers, 1853–1935 at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia., Franklin County Register of Marriages 1864, no page number, line 14, Sanford Holley and Elizabeth Ray (accessed 14 June 2022). 
  2. Ibid., Franklin County Register of Marriages 1861, no page number, line 1, Thomas J Loyd and Martha Jane Holly, married 21 Apr 1861 (accessed 27 July 2022). 
  3. Dodd, Jordan R., Et Al.; Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850, index-only database, Ancestry, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1 Nov 1809, James Holley and Elizabeth Rafe 
  4. 1900 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/), citing Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T623, 1854 rolls, Roll T623_1757, FHL microfilm 1241757; West Virginia, Fayette County, Fayetteville, enumeration district 12, sheet 32A, lines 15-28, household 533-539, John Stout household with his father-in-law Sanford Holly (accessed 27 July 2022). 
  5. Zachariah was first seen on the Franklin County PPT list in 1811. He was last in Amherst on the PPT list in 1804. From 1805 to 1810 he was not on Amherst or Franklin PPT lists. 
  6. 1810 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7613/), citing Third Census of the United States, 1810 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls, Roll 68, FHL Film 0181428, image 43, Virginia, Amherst County, page 492, line 1, Zachariah Peters (accessed 16 November 2014). 
  7. Paula Kelly Ward, RootsWeb PETERS Mailing List, “[PETERS] Re: Franklin Co VA Peters: German or English? (was: Zachariah Peters)” dated 19 April 2000 (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=peters&thread=31401154 : accessed 25 July 2022) 
  8. Virginia. Commissioner of the Revenue (Fayette County), “Personal property tax lists, 1831-1850,” (browse-only images), FamilySearch Microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 2024536, DGS 7849112, image 416 of 589, 1846 PPT, district of George Alderson, page 19, 3rd to last entry on page, Jordan Peters, 1 white male above 16 yrs (only column marked). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQK-19JW-8?cat=777450 : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  9. Franklin County (Virginia). County Clerk, “Marriage bond register, 1786-1853; loose marriage bonds and licenses, 1785-1900,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Franklin County Courthouse in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia., Film 1977991, DGS 7490230, Marriage bonds 1813-1818, image 758 to 761 of 880, 1841 marriage bond William Peters and Jesse Edwards for the 27 March 1841 marriage of William to Lydia Kemplin and bride’s permission for William Peters to obtain the license. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-HJZD?i=758&cat=765574 : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  10. Virginia. Commissioner of the Revenue (Franklin County), “Personal property tax lists, 1786-1850,” (browse-only images), FamilySearch Microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 2024543, DGS 7849118, Personal property tax lists, 1842-1850, image 206 of 767, 1845 PPT, Robert Hairston dist., page 33, line 13, Apr 4, Jourden Peters 3 white males above 16, 1 horse, 1 clock. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQ2-39CM-Y?i=205&cat=776095 : accessed 21 July 2022). 
  11. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project (database and images), West Virginia Division of Culture and History citing county records in county courthouses, West Virginia (A collaborative venture between the West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah to place vital records online via the West Virginia Archives and History Web site accessible at https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr), West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 210, Fayette County, Marriage Record 1831-1866, page 41, 5th entry, Henry T Peters and Rebecca F Clay married 2 Feb 1847 by James J Dolliver. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00210.jpg : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  12. Franklin County (Virginia). County Clerk, “Marriage bond register, 1786-1853; loose marriage bonds and licenses, 1785-1900,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Franklin County Courthouse in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia., Film 31523 Item 1, DGS 7578970, Marriage bonds register 1786-1853, image 95 of 608, page 77, line 3274, Zachariah Peters and Ally Hale, bond dated 27 Nov 1846, surety David Hale, married by John Bowman 3 Dec 1846. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-VX19?i=94 : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  13. Ibid., Film 31523 Item 1, DGS 7578970, Marriage bonds register 1786-1853, image 95 of 608, page 77, line 3270, Stephen Peters and Elizabeth Palmer, bond dated3 Jan 1848, surety Samuel T Palmer, married by Geo. W. Kelly on 13 Jan 1848. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-VX19?i=94 : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  14. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 598403, image 53, Marriage Record – Raleigh County, page 5, entry 6, 7 Jun 1852 (license) for Jonathan Peters and Catharine Dickens married 10 Jun 1852 by Fetin Ellison. (http://images.wvculture.org/598403/00053.jpg : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  15. “Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia,” database with images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/publication/42/civil-war-service-records-cmsr-confederate-virginia), citing The National Archives, NARA microfilm publication M324,  Roll 168, Twenty-first Cavalry (Peters’ Regiment) > P > Peters, Zachariah > Page 4. (https://www.fold3.com/document.php?doc=7624373&xid=215&p=ma : accessed 1 October 2022). 
  16. James Peters (Boone County, West Virginia) to “Dear Brother” [Zachariah Peters], letter, 5 November 1870; held by Franklin County Virginia Historical Society, Rocky Mount, Virginia (copy received 9 June 2014 per email from Paula Kelley Ward). The recipient, “Zechariah Peters” is identified at the end of the letter. 
  17. “Virginia, U.S., Birth Registers, 1853-1911,” (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/418338:62153), citing Virginia, Birth Registers, 1853–1911at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia., Franklin County Register of Births 1854, page 29, line 24, 4 Jul 1854, Geo. W. Peters, male, alive, father Zach Peters, mother Alen Hale, informant Z Peters (accessed 22 July 2022). 
  18. Ibid., Franklin County Register of Births 1862, page 145, line 35, 23 Aug 1862, no name, female, white, stillborn, father Zack Peters, farmer, mother Ann Peters, informant Zack Peters father (accessed 25 July 2022). 
  19. Ibid., Franklin County Register of Births 1875, page 318, line 97, 26 Feb 1875, Martha E Peters, female, white, father Zack Peters, mother Narcissus Peters, informant father (accessed 22 July 2022). 
  20. “Virginia, U.S., Marriage Registers, 1853-1935,” index and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62154/), citing Virginia, Marriage Registers, 1853–1935 at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia., Franklin County Register of Marriages 1924, no page number, line 177, 24 Dec 1924, Chas.Robt.Peters 30 single & Willie Mae Hash 22 single, groom’s parents Zack & N V Peters, bride’s parents W P & Roxie Hash, married by J W Wimbish (accessed 22 July 2022). 
  21. “Registers of births, marriages, deaths, 1853-1915; index to births, marriages, deaths, 1853-1898,” browse-only, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Franklin County Courthouse in Rocky Mount, Virginia., Film 31523 (Items 2-3) DGS 7578970, Register of marriages, nos. 1-2 1853-1915, image 590 of 608, line 7, 14 Aug 1912 Jehu Robt Booth and Bessie Lee Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XF-V6FL?i=589 : accessed 18 July 2022). 
  22. “North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976,” index and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1121/), Original data:North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina., Rockingham > 1961 > November > image 3 of 54 > Volume: 33, Page: 306, Charles R. Peters, died 2 No 1961, Rockingham, NC, age 67, born 1894, white (accessed 18 July 2022). 
  23. “Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014,” index and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9278/), citing Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia, Certificate Number: 1927024373, James Jordan Peters, male, white, age 79, born 3 Mar 1848, died 22 Nov 1927 in Franklin, Virginia, father James Z Peters, mother Alley Hale, spouse Mary Jane Peters (accessed 1 October 2022). 
  24. Ibid., Certificate Number: 1920010546, Mary J Peters, female, white, age 69, born 9 Jun 1850, died 21 Apr 1920 in Floyd, Virginia, father Jackson Peters, mother Allie Hale (accessed 19 July 2022). 
  25. Ibid., Certificate Number: 1927017432, Joseph Coleman Peters, male, white, age 61, born 13 Nov 1865, died 26 Aug 1927 in Botetourt, Virginia, father Jackson Peters, spouse Lillian Peters (accessed 19 July 2022). 
  26. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92078774/zachariah-jackson-peters: accessed 01 October 2022), memorial page for Zachariah Jackson Peters (14 May 1822–15 Feb 1899), Find a Grave Memorial ID 92078774, citing Peters Cemetery, Ferrum, Franklin County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by gardengirl (contributor 47349735). No photo of the marker as of 1 October 2022. 

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Charlotte and Jim

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims during Black History Month in February 2015 I made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors.

In 2015 I did one post a month from March until September and then six during Family History Month in October. I could have spread them over several months but I was so excited to have found the records. I didn’t want to have their descendants wait either!

Not all of these were for my own ancestors. I’m having difficulty finding ancestors who owned slaves so to get back to a monthly RELEASING post I searched through the “West Virginia Will Books 1756-1971” for Nicholas County, where my 5th grand-father James Sims lived, to find some of his contemporaries who might have also had slaves in their possession.

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Charlotte and Jim

Hedgman Triplett (d. ca. 1828) was the son of Col. Francis Triplett who owned Muskingum Island, a long narrow bar island on the Ohio River in Wood County, West Virginia, between the towns of Moore Junction, Ohio, and Boaz, West Virginia. Hedgman and his siblings are mentioned in the 1803 Chancery Records Case in Augusta County, Virginia concerning island owned by the Colonel. I skimmed through the 26 images and found no mention of slaves due, clearly due to the fact that this case was about the land.

Hedgman and his brother Robert Triplett were living in New Point, Wood County, (West) Virginia in 1810 when the census was enumerated. Neither of them have a number listed in the column for slaves. Soon after the census Hedgman moved to Nicholas County in the area which would later become Braxton County as we see in this statement:

About 1810, Hedgemon Triplett came to the county and settled near Tate Creek, from a few miles below Sutton and embracing most of the territory of Clay County. ~ History of Braxton County and Central West Virginia by John Davison Sutton, 1919

In his household in 1820 in Nicholas County was a male slave under the age of 14 and a female slave age between 26 and 44 years.

Hedgman Triplett died before 31 January 1829. No will was found. His wife Mary Triplett née McClanahan was administratix and his son-in-law/nephew by marriage William S. McClanahan was administrator of his estate. On 31 January 1829 an inventory of the estate was made. It included two slaves, one negro man named James (sic, later seen as Jim) valued at $300 and one negro woman named Sharlote (sic, later seen as Charlotte) valued at $160.

1829triplettinventory1
“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18231-21358-58?cc=1909099 : accessed 22 January 2016), Nicholas > Will book, v. 001 1820-1899 > image 38 of 158; county courthouses, West Virginia (bottom of page 48 of the register)
1829triplettinventory2
“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18231-21358-58?cc=1909099 : accessed 22 January 2016), Nicholas > Will book, v. 001 1820-1899 > image 38 of 158; county courthouses, West Virginia (top of page 49 of the register)

On 20 February 1829 Mary Triplett and William S. McClanahan sold the personal property of the estate of Hedgman Triplett. The Bill of Sale (lower part of page 49 of register and upper part of page 50 of register) does not have slaves listed.

A memorandum of property sold by the administrator and administratix of the estate was was added on 25 March 1830. Hedgman’s widow Mary bought one negro woman aged about forty-four years named Charlotte for $100. The memorandum is helpful as it includes Charlotte‘s age.

1830triplettmemorandum
“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18231-21644-61?cc=1909099 : accessed 22 January 2016), Nicholas > Will book, v. 001 1820-1899 > image 44 of 158; county courthouses, West Virginia. Top of page 61 of the register.

On 28 April 1831 the accounts and vouchers for the estate were presented to the court. During the March 1833 term of court the settlement was presented to court and ordered to be file. It was recorded during the August 1833 term of court.

1831triplettsettlement
“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18231-21648-65?cc=1909099 : accessed 22 January 2016), Nicholas > Will book, v. 001 1820-1899 > image 51 of 158; county courthouses, West Virginia. Bottom of page 74 of the register.
1831triplettsettlementrecorded1833
“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18231-21648-65?cc=1909099 : accessed 22 January 2016), Nicholas > Will book, v. 001 1820-1899 > image 51 of 158; county courthouses, West Virginia. Top of page 75 of the register.

The settlement shows one negro man named Jim was sold for $100 as well as one negro woman named Charlotte for $100. The name of the person to whom Jim was sold was not found in these records, however, I believe Mary Triplett may have bought him.

In 1830 when the census was enumerated in Nicholas County Mary Triplett was the head of a household which included a male slave age 24 thru 35 and a female slave age 36 thru 54. Charlotte who was 44 in 1830 per the memorandum to the bill of sale fits in the age group seen for the female slave. The male slave may have been around 24 years of age as the male seen in the household in 1820 was under 14. Could this be Jim? Was he the son of Charlotte?

In 1836 Braxton County was founded from parts of Kanawha, Lewis, and Nicholas counties. This is where, in 1840, Mary and her son Nathaniel appear as M. and N.H., the heads of one household, with one female slave age 36 thru 54. Charlotte was 54 and a match for this person. No male slave was in this household or the household of Mary’s son Sinnett Triplett who lived next door. If Jim was still living, was he sold or loaned out?

Charlotte‘s last known owner, Mary Triplett, died between 1840-1850 and her son Sinnett had his two unmarried brothers, Marshall and Nathaniel, in his household in 1850.

No slave owner by the name of Triplett was on the 1850 or 1860 Slave Schedule for Braxton. Clay County was formed in 1858 from Nicholas and Braxton. Mary’s son Marshall was living in Clay County in 1860 and had what looks like a family of 5 slaves living in one slave house: a male age 38, female age 30, and 3 females age 9, 6, and 1.

True's statement© 2016 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

52 Ancestors: #50 My Naughty Mr. and Mrs. DEMPSEY

Week 50 (December 10-16) – Naughty. We all have an ancestor who probably received coal in their stocking.

I’ve made a list, checked it twice, and found who’s been naughty and nice.

If you’ve been following along these past two years you’ll know who’s locked the door to my most frustrating brick wall. Mr. and Mrs. DEMPSEY, my 3rd great-grandparents!

Genealogy Sketch

Name: Mr. DEMPSEY
Parents: Unknown
Spouse: Mrs. DEMPSEY
Children: Willliam A. W. DEMPSEY (1820-1867)
Whereabouts: Unknown (some say outer space)
Relationship to Cathy Meder-Dempsey: 3rd great-grandparents

1. Mr. and Mrs. DEMPSEY
2. William A. W. DEMPSEY
3. William Henderson DEMPSEY
4. Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY
5. Fred Roosevelt DEMPSEY
6. Cathy Meder-Dempsey

What do I know about Mr. and Mrs. DEMPSEY? They were the parents of my great-great-grandfather William A. W. DEMPSEY born about 1820 in Virginia per the Fayette County, (West) Virginia census. He was seen as 28 years old in 1850 and 40 years old in 1860. He was also on the 1841 tax list of Rockbridge County which means he had to have been at least 21 yrs old at the time.

The door in this brick wall is firmly shut and no one left the key under the mat!

The most likely documents in which I might find the names of the parents of William A. W. DEMPSEY would be his birth, marriage, and/or death record.

Death Record

Unfortunately, no death record has been found. This means no death record with names of parents or any kind of information to corroborate the family tradition of William’s death in a logging accident in the late 1860s. This would have been after October 1866 when he was listed as having an account due, owing Joel B. Wills $8.50. By 1870 his children and wife were living (farmed out) in several different households.

Marriage Record

To date, no marriage record has been found for William A. W. DEMPSEY and Sarah Ann WOOD. Their first known child was born about 1846 placing their marriage in the early to mid-1840s. Sarah was from Fayette County and most of her siblings married in Fayette, one in Greenbrier and one in Kanawha.

“Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940” at FamilySearch was consulted and the WVCulture.org site has been checked repeatedly as they continue to add records.

I put a query to the Fayette County West Virginia Genealogy group on Facebook requesting information on the likelihood of loose marriage papers being in the West Virginia State Archives and/or at the county level.

I also asked the group about the possibility of there being a marriage ledger for Hopewell Baptist Church. This church is a likely place for the couple to have married as Sarah’s great-grandfather Baily WOOD was a founding member. The church burned down in the 1960s and all records in the church were destroyed. There were some records kept at members’ homes and several people offered to ask around.

I’m sure my father’s first cousin Geraldine Dempsey Workman (1931-2007) searched high and low in the 1970s and 1980s for more information on William’s parents and possible siblings. In 1995 she wrote “We still do not know his parents or family members” in a short summary of her research.

Birth Record

For the time period William was born, ca. 1820-1822 there were no birth records as we know today. A Bible would be a likely alternative but none is known to exist. It is very unlikely one survived, if there was any, as the family did not live together after his death.

Keeping with the Naughty theme, could it be Mrs. DEMPSEY was not a Missus? Should I be looking for a woman with the surname/maiden name DEMPSEY who had a son out of wedlock? This possibility has not been taken into consideration.

Pre-1850 Census Analysis

The lack of birth, marriage, and death records with the names of his parents means I need to use a different tactic to find the parents. Regrettably, William A. W. DEMPSEY was born and spent his childhood during the pre-1850 census era and cannot be found in a census which included the names of all household members.

I’ve followed the golden rule of genealogy and worked backward from myself to my great-great-grandfather. I’ve also traced his descendants forward to living relatives who may have the key I need to open the door in his brick wall.

After doing traditional and reverse genealogy I analyzed the pre-1850 Virginia census of DEMPSEY families in which William A. W. DEMPSEY may have been born.

1840 Census

There were no DEMPSEYs in Rockbridge in 1840. These are the DEMPSEY households found in what was then Virginia and includes counties that later became part of West Virginia:

  • John DEMPSEY in Fayette
  • Daniel DEMPSEY and sons Thomas, Lewis, and James in Orange
  • Daniel DEMPSEY in Spotsylvania County (son of Daniel of Orange)
  • Seaton and Wilson DEMPSEY in Amherst
  • Absalom DEMPSEY in Botetourt
  • William, John, Joseph, James, and Andrew DEMPSEY in Logan (sons of John Sr.)
  • Willis of DEMPSEY in Nansemond (free colored person)
  • Polley DEMCEY or DEMGEY of King William (free colored person)

1830 Census

  • Tandy DEMPSEY of Logan (father of John of Fayette)
  • Daniel DEMPSEY of Orange
  • Martha DEMPSEY of Amherst (mother of Seaton and Wilson)
  • Absalom DEMPSEY of Botetourt
  • Hugh DEMPSEY of Montgomery
  • John DEMPSEY Sr. and sons William, Thomas (deceased, his widow Dicy), John Jr., and Joseph in Logan (formed from Cabell, Giles, and Kanawha in 1824)

1820 Census

  • Tandy DEMPSEY in Rockbridge
  • Daniel DEMPSEY in Orange
  • Will DEMPSEY in Amherst (husband of Martha)
  • John DEMPSEY and sons William, Thomas, and Joseph in Cabell
  • Absalom and Hugh DEMPSEY in Botetourt
  • James DEMPSEY in Caroline

1810 Census

Although 1810 is too early for William A. W. DEMPSEY it is interesting to see if the individuals found in 1820 were also in the same area in 1810. The 1810 census was lost for Orange County and tax lists have been used to reconstruct it.

  • Tandy DEMPSEY in Rockbridge
  • William DEMPSEY in Amherst
  • Mildred DEMPSEY in Botetourt (sister-in-law of John of Giles)
  • John DEMPSEY in Giles
  • James DEMPSEY in Caroline

1810 Census reconstructed from tax lists

  • Daniel DEMPSEY in Orange
  • Lewis DEMPSEY in Orange (son of Daniel)

1800 Census reconstructed from tax lists

  • 1800 James DEMPSEY in Orange
  • 1799 James DEMPSEY in Caroline
  • 1799 Nathan DEMPSEY in Franklin

1790 Census reconstructed from tax lists

  • 1791 James DEMPSEY in Greenbrier
  • 1789 William DEMPSEY in Botetourt
  • 1789 Michael DEMPSEY in Shenandoah
map
Location of misc. DEMPSEY individuals in Virginia and West Virginia in the early 1800s.

Even before doing more serious research on the DEMPSEY lines found in Virginia, I gave them names to identify and differentiate between them.

The Rockbridge DEMPSEYs

Tandy did not have a young male in his household in 1820 or 1830. He was the father of John W., William S., Andrew S., Jane, Elizabeth, Mary B., and Margaret. These children are proven as they were mentioned as the children of Nancy THOMPSON, wife of Tandy, in chancery and land records in Nelson County.

Tandy married Nancy THOMPSON in Amherst County on 19 January 1801. He lived in Rockbridge in 1810 and 1820 and moved to Logan County by 1827 where he was on the 1827 tax list and 1830 census. His son William S. was in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia in 1830 and 1840. His son Andrew S. was in Logan in 1830 and in Lawrence County, Ohio, in 1840. William S. and Andrew S. both named sons William but have not been included in the census analysis as their sons were seen with them on the 1850 census.

The known children of John W. do not include a son named William. John W. does not appear to be with his father Tandy in 1820. He married(1) in 1824 in Rockbridge, was not found in the 1830 census, and lived in Fayette County from 1840 through 1870. There are no known children for John W. and his first wife for the time period from their marriage in 1824 and until the birth of son John A. born abt. 1830 in Rockbridge. The 1840 census listing includes 1 male 10 & under 15 yo – this person is unaccounted for.

Was William A. W. DEMPSEY the unaccounted male in John W.’s 1840 census listing and was he:

♦ actually younger than seen on the 1850 and 1860 census?
♦ the son of John W. and his first wife born before or soon after the 1824 marriage?
♦ the son of John W. and a relationship prior to his 1824 marriage?
♦ the son of John W.’s first wife from a previous relationship?

The Amherst DEMPSEYs

This group has also been well researched as William DEMPSEY of Amherst was my 4th great-grandfather. His children are proven to be Wilson M., Seaton Y., Isham Coleman, Wesley G., Louisa J., and Eliza through land and court records produced after his death. In 1830, his wife Martha was listed in Amherst County with their two young daughters. There were no young males in the household.

William at some time went to Ohio and did not return as newspapers in the state of Ohio were requested to publish information on his wife’s death in 1834. On 20 June 1836, a year after the last notice was published, William and Martha’s son Wilson signed an administrator bond for the deceased William.

After the 1850 census, Wilson and Seaton moved to Fayette County. Their brother Wesley, who was not found in 1830 and 1840 censuses, was in Botetourt in 1850 and lived in Rockbridge from 1860 until he died in 1890. The children of William of Amherst were too young to be parent candidates for William A. W. DEMPSEY.

I believe Tandy DEMPSEY and William DEMPSEY may have been brothers. Tandy married in Amherst less than a year and a half after William. There was also a Jane DEMPSEY who married Allen CAMERON in 1795 in Amherst. Allen CAMERON went bond with William DEMPSEY when William married which may suggest a close relationship. The CAMERON couple raised their family in Rockbridge. William’s mother Susannah DEMPSEY gave her consent for his marriage. No such record was found for Tandy and Jane.

UPDATE (23 February 2022): To date, DNA matches with descendants of Tandy DEMPSEY have not been found. This could mean that Tandy and William were not related OR that the descendants who might share DNA may not as yet have been tested.

The Orange DEMPSEYs

Daniel and his wife were past their childbearing years in 1820. His oldest son Thomas Allen was already married and had a son John L. The census numbers in 1820 for Daniel’s household show eight known children as well as his oldest son’s wife, their son, and possibly a daughter. Daniel was seen in Orange County as early as 1810 (tax list) but may have come from Caroline County where his first son was born about 1778 per death record. Could there be a connection between James DEMPSEY of Caroline and Daniel DEMPSEY of Orange?

Daniel’s second son Lewis had a son named William A. born about 1825. This William A. DEMPSEY’s Civil War service was used to obtain a marker for my William A. W. DEMPSEY’s grave. The daughters of Geraldine, who did the paperwork for the marker, are aware of and have thought of rectifying the error.

The Botetourt DEMPSEYs

The next two groups have not been as thoroughly researched as the previous three. There are errors in online databases –  a meshing of two generations and many Dempsey individuals found in Virginia in the early 1800s. I recently found chancery records on the Library of Virginia site which may help correct the errors in this line.

William DEMPSEY Senr. died intestate before 12 February 1798 and his wife Jane died before 1826 (year of chancery case). He left heirs William Jr., John, Mark, and Mary, wife of Joseph MILLER. John and Mark were not in the Commonwealth and Mary and Joseph MILLER resided in Blackwater in Franklin County in 1826.

William Senr.’s line splits into what I refer to as the Botetourt DEMPSEYs and Logan DEMPSEYs.

William Jr. died before 1806 and left widow Mildred “Milly” who resided in Fincastle; children: Elizabeth DEMPSEY resided in Fincastle, John and Samuel DEMPSEY outside of Commonwealth, Joel DEMPSEY and William DEMPSEY 3rd both decd/no issue, Absalom DEMPSEY in Fincastle, Dubartis DEMPSEY in NC, Judith the wife of Thomas WILMORE residing Giles courthouse, Susan wife of John SNYDER residing in Christianburg, and Milly wife of David CAMPBELL in NC.

For William Jr.’s line, there was only one son mentioned in the chancery records who remained in Virginia. Absalom DEMPSEY was a Baptist preacher; he and his wife did not have any children of their own.

Hugh DEMPSEY seen in Botetourt in 1820 may have been a son of William Jr. and omitted in the chancery records. He was in Montgomery County, Virginia, in 1830 and went to Cooper County, Missouri, abt. 1838 and was seen there in the 1840 and 1850 census. He had a son named William R. b. abt. 1810 and, therefore, was not the father of William A. W. DEMPSEY.

The Logan DEMPSEYs

John was in Giles County in 1810, Cabell County in 1820, and Logan County in 1830 – all due to the changing country lines during the time period. The Logan DEMPSEYs are a complete puzzle to me even though John’s second youngest son Mark left a genealogical note written in 1889 which gives the names and approximate years of birth of eleven children of John DEMPSEY and Rachel SOLOMON. I am not sure how reliable the transcription of the note is as he wrote his mother died about 1849. I found Rachel DEMPSEY age 85 in the household of James DEMPSEY, possibly a 12th child of John and Rachel, in 1850.

I’ve added pre-1850 census records for the Logan DEMPSEYs in my database but have not done extensive census analysis.

Birth, marriage, and death records need to be checked at WVCulture.org. Note: Many Logan County records were destroyed during the Civil War, and records were not kept for several years following the war.

James DEMPSEY of Greenbrier

James DEMPSEY in Greenbrier (1791) was in the county as early as 1782. James DYMSEY was seen as a resident of Greenbrier County in 1782 in Mr. Jas. Henderson’s District with 1 tithable, 3 horses, and 4 cattle. In Oren F. Morten’s A History of Monroe County, West Virginia James DEMPSEY and his wife Rosey/Rosanna are mentioned as having 375 acres of patented land on Second Creek in Greenbrier County, 180 acres patented by DEMPSEY and Ralph GATES in 1783 and 195 acres patented by DEMPSEY in 1787. Ralph GATES bought the 375 acres from James DEMPSEY and his wife Rosey DEMPSEY on 28 July 1795. A year later, on 6 January 1796 James and Rosanna DEMPSEY sold 100 acres to Mathew LYNN on Second Creek / Greenbrier River adj. Thomas LEWIS and Ralph GATES, who was a witness. In 1808 David HENDERSON bought land from John and Agatha STUART that adjoined the land of James DEMPSEY. The 1810 census for Greenbrier is lost and James DEMPSEY was not found on the 1810 tax lists.

He would have been 21 or older at the time he was first seen on the 1782 tax list. This would put his age in 1820 to over 59 years. It is unknown if they had children. No trace of him was found in Virginia after he and his wife sold land in 1796.

UPDATE: The Personal Tax List of Kanawha County was browsed on FamilySearch in January 2018. A James DEMPSEY was seen on the list for the years 1797, 1798, and 1800 suggesting he may have moved from Greenbrier to Kanawha after he sold land in 1796.

Speculation: Could he be the same person as James DEMPSEY convicted in 1772 in London and transported to Virginia in January 1773 on the ship Justitia?

Misc. DEMPSEYs

These have not been traced:

♦ Nathan DEMPSEY in Franklin (1799)
♦ Michael DEMPSEY in Shenandoah (1789) – Michael DIMSEY married Eliz. BARNHART in Shenandoah County on 17 Dec 1788. Another marriage seen in the county was Jane DEMPSEY to Jacob SAVAGE on 1 Dec 1808. Was she a daughter of Michael?

What do you think of my analysis of the census of the DEMPSEY families found in Virginia at the time of my great-great-grandfather William A. W. DEMPSEYs birth and childhood? Have I missed something that caught your eye? What else would you try?

Mr. and Mrs. DEMPSEY don’t be naughty, please be nice and send some comments my way on how I can find out your names and what happened to you.

© 2015-2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

52ancestors-2015This is my weekly entry for Amy Johnson Crow’s challenge:
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. It was so successful in 2014 that genealogists wanted to continue or join in on the fun in 2015. Be sure to check out the other great posts by visiting Amy’s blog No Story Too Small where she’ll be posting the weekly recap on Thursdays and allowing all participants to leave a link to their post(s) in the comments.

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors. During October, Family History Month, I worked through a large chancery file pulling as much information out of it as possible and posting weekly in hopes of helping the descendants of the slaves mentioned.

I RELEASED Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime, and their children Sandy, Britton, Reuben, Betsey, Pleasant, Benjamin, Cynthia, Calvin, Sarah, Susan, Adeline, John, William, Mary, Alice, Jacob, Ellender, Giles, Edward, Serena, Lucy, Margaret, Sam, an [unnamed] infant, Martha, Charles,  and Green (or Gwen) as well as Will, Cintha, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony using information found in Chancery Records file for Administrator of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022.

This is a very interesting case. If the people involved had been my ancestors I would have taken the time to transcribe the entire 127 images and put them in chronological order.

The testimony on Mary Smith by her neighbors gave me the impression she was “fooled over” due to her having a “weak mind” and “drinking spirits.” She was an old lady and may have been promised matrimony by Saunders to get possession of her slaves. She “lived like a negro” in a slave cabin on Saunders plantation until her son took her in.

delph
Graph made with Scapple from Literature & Latte, makers of Scrivener

I believe Delph, the slave given to Mary Smith by her father Robert Hairston per his last will and testament, was the mother of the other six slaves, Ben, Sukey, Jacob, Tom, Peggy, and Aime [not only Ben and Sukey as seen in the bill of sale]. One witness questioned replied:

“She had no kind of property except a gang of little negroes. She had no home, or cow, or fowls as I saw. I was frequently there. She had a little household furniture and precious little of that.”

and being asked if the slaves he saw at Saunders plantation were the same “gang” he saw with Mary Smith he replied,1

“I allowed they were the same, on account of their calling the old negro wench, Delph, mother. I knew the old negro wench well.”

Posts related to the Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders Chancery Records:

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family

True's statement© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

Save


  1. Franklin County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1753-1911. Admr. of Mary Smith v. Samuel Saunders, 1851-022. Local Government Records Collection, Franklin Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia  (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 123 of 127). 

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I’ve made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors. During October, Family History Month, I worked through a large chancery file pulling as much information out of it as possible and posting weekly in hopes of helping the descendants of the slaves mentioned.

I RELEASED Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime, and their children Sandy, Britton, Reuben, Betsey, Pleasant, Benjamin, Cynthia, Calvin, Sarah, Susan, Adeline, John, William, Mary, Alice, Jacob, Ellender, Giles, Edward, Serena, Lucy, Margaret, Sam, an [unnamed] infant, Martha, Charles,  and Green (or Gwen). This is a continuation of information found on these slaves including the Bills of Sale found for the original 7 slaves, Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, and Aime.

Bill of Sale for Peggy and Aime

The Bill of Sale for Peggy and Aime slaves of Mary Smith was found in the Chancery Records Administrator of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022.

These are screenshots of the Bill of Sale found.

billofsalepeggyandaimeggcover
Cover of Bill of Sale for Peggy and Aime (Exhibit GG) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 60 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Mary Smith
Bill of Sale
Peggy Aime
“GG”

Recd this 26th Day September 1819 of Saml
Saunders infull of the Within named Negroes
named in the within Bill Sale
                                        her
Teste                        Mary + Smith
Richard Beckett              mark

billofsalepeggyandaimegg
Bill of Sale for Peggy and Aime (Exhibit GG) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 59 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Know all men By these Presents that I Mary
Smith of the County of Franklin for and in the
consideration of the Sum of three hundred
& fifty Dollars current money of Virginia
to me in hand paid by Saml Saunders
of the Said County have Bargained & Sold
and by these Presents Doth Bargained & Sold
and Deliver & Confirm unto thre Said Saml
Saunders one Negroe Woman named
Peggy and one Negroe Girl named Aime
which I the Said Mary Smith Do Warrant
& Defend unto the Said Saml Saunders his
heirs Executors Administrators & Assigns and to
the only use & Behoof of the Said Saml
Saunders and I the Said Mary Smith
Do Warrant & forever Defend the Title
of the Said Negroes from me my Heirs
Executors Administrators or Assigns firmly
By these Presents as Witness my
hand & Seal this 8 Day August
1815
Teste                              her
Braxton James          Mary + Smith (Seal)
Spencer James               mark

Bill of Sale for Aime (additional)

billofsaleaimeiicover
Cover of Bill of Sale for Aime (Exhibit II) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 62 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Smith Mary
To          Copy deed
Gideon Smith
“II”

billofsaleaimeii
Cover of Bill of Sale for Aime (Exhibit II) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 61 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

This Indenture mad (sic) this eleventh day of June in
the year of hower (sic) Lord eighteen hundred and nine-
teen Mary Smith of the one part and Giddeon
Smith of the other part, both of the County of
Franklin & State of Virginia, Wittnessed that for
and in consideration of the Sum of one Dollar to
the said Mary Smith in hand paid by the said
Giddeon Smith the Recepts (sic) whereof she the sd
Mary Smith doth hereby acknowleg (sic) have granted
given & delievered unto the said Giddeon Smith
one female Negar (sic) Girle (sic) Named Ame (sic) to have and
to hold the said Negar (sic) Ame (sic) & all her in Crees (sic)
to the said Giddeon Smit (sic) and his heirs forever
in fee simpl (sic) in wittnessed whereof the said
sid (sic) Mary Smith have set her hand & seal
the day an (sic) year above written
Teste                                           her
James Cannady                    Mary X Smith (Seal)
James Towney                             mark
Chesley Rakes
                   At a court held for Franklin
County December 6th 1819. This Bill of
sale from Mary Smith to Giddeon Smith
was proved by the oath of James Cannady and
James Towney two of the Wittnesses hereto and
the same was ordered to be recorded.
                       Teste. Caleb Tate C.F.C.

[Transcribed 27 October 2015 from the image found in the chancery records.]

Note: Gideon Smith was the son of Mary (Hairston) Smith.

This is the last of the documents found in the Chancery Records Administrator of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022.

  • Images 2 through 5 are the bill of the plaintiff Joseph Peters, the administrator of the estate of Mary Smith (7 pages)
  • Images 7 through 13 are the answer of the defendant Samuel Saunders (10 pages)
  • Images 43 through 62 are the will and the bills of sale for the slaves
  • Depositions were given by William Martin, Samuel T. Palmer, William Herd (twice), Stephen Cannaday, Brice Edwards, Jane Radford, Frances Hale, Alvin Lewis, Edward Cockram, Samuel Sneed, Isham Cockram, Joshua Knowles, James Ingram, Chisley Rakes, Drury Haynes, Braxton James, Robert T. Woods, Thomas Stanley, Thomas Keys, Booker Mullens, Samuel Hale, Wiley P. Woods, Matthew Martin, and Sarah Boyd. If you are interested in any specific person I made notes of the images of each person who gave witness and will be happy to share.

Posts related to the Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders Chancery Records:

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family

True's statement© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I’ve made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors. During October, Family History Month, I’m working through a large chancery file pulling as much information out of it as possible and posting weekly in hopes of helping the descendants of the slaves mentioned.

I RELEASED Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime, and their children Sandy, Britton, Reuben, Betsey, Pleasant, Benjamin, Cynthia, Calvin, Sarah, Susan, Adeline, John, William, Mary, Alice, Jacob, Ellender, Giles, Edward, Serena, Lucy, Margaret, Sam, an [unnamed] infant, Martha, Charles,  and Green (or Gwen). This is a continuation of information found on these slaves including the Bills of Sale found for the original 7 slaves, Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, and Aime.

Bills of Sale for Jacob

The Bill of Sale for Jacob, a slave sold by Mary Smith and her son Gideon to Samuel Saunders, was found in the Chancery Records Administrator of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022.

These are screenshots of the Bill of Sale ($200) labelled as exhibit “EE”, Memorandum of Agreement labelled as exhibit “HH” and Bill of Sale ($450) labelled as exhibit “FF” by Samuel Saunders the respondent in the case.

12 May 1815

billofsalejacobeecover
Cover of Bill of Sale for Jacob (Exhibit EE) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 50 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Mary Smith
Bill of Sale
Jacob
“EE”

billofsalejacobee
Bill of Sale for Jacob (Exhibit EE) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 49 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Know All Men By these Presents
that I Mary Smith of the County of
Franklin for and in the consideration
of the Sum of Two hundred Dollars
Current money of Virginia to me in
hand paid by Saml Saunders of the
said County have Bargained & Sold and
By these Presents Presents Doth Bargain Sell
Deliver & Confirm unto the said Saml
Saunders one Negroe Boy Slave
named Jacob which I the Said Mary
Smith Do Warrant & Defend unto the
Said Saml Saunders his heirs Executors
Administrators &  and to the only
use & behoof of the said Saml
Saunders and I the said Mary
Smith Do Warrant & forever Defend
the title of the Said Negroe from
me my Heirs Executors Administrators
and assigns firmly by these Presents
as witness my hand & Seal this
12 Day May 1815
                                       her
Teste                       May + Smith (Seal)
Francis Hale                  mark       
Thomas Keys                  his
Braxton James     Gideon X Smith
                                      mark

13 May 1815

billofsalejacobhhcover
Cover of Memorandum of Agrement for Jacob (Exhibit HH) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 54 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Mary Smith
Agmt (Agreement)
Saunders
“HH”

billofsalejacobhh
Memorandum of Agrement for Jacob (Exhibit HH) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 53 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Memorandum of agreement made and
Entered into this Day Between Mary Smith
of the County of Franklin of the one part
& Saml Saunders of the Said County of the
other Witnesseth that the Said Mary
Smith have Bargained & Sold unto
the Said Saml Saunders one Negroe Boy
Slave named Jacob for the Sum of
Two hundred Dollars which the Said
Saml Sunders Doth agree to Pay
to the Said Mary Smith at the Experation
of three years and the Said Mary
Smith to Keep Possession of the Said
Negroe Till that TIme and In case
the Said Mary Smith Should Decease
Before that Time the Said Saml Saunders
is to have Possession of the Said Negroe
and Pay the Said Sum to Gideon Smith
for the Time Performance of which
We Bind Our Selves and Executors Administrators
firmly By these Presents as Withness
our hand & Seals this 13 Day May
1815.                                      her
Thomas Keys             Mary + Smith (Seal)
Francis Hale                      mark
                                  Saml Saunders (Seal)

10 August 1815

billofsalejacobffcover
Cover of Bill of Sale for Jacob (Exhibit FF) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 56 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Gideon & Mary Smith
Bill of Sale
Jacob
“FF”

billofsalejacobff
Bill of Sale for Jacob (Exhibit FF) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 55 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Know all men by these Presents that we
Mary Smith & Gideon Smith of the County
of Franklin for and in the consideration
of the Sum of four hundred & fifty
Dollars Current Money of Virginia
to me in hand paid by Saml Sunders of
the County of Franklin at and Before the
Sealing and Delivery of these Presents the
Receipt whereof we Do hereby acknowledge
have Bargained Sold Granted & Confirmed to the
Said Saml Saunders one Negro Boy named
Jacob To have & to hold the said Negroe
to the only use and behoof of the Said Saml
Saunders his Executors Administrators and Assigns
for ever and I the Said Mary Smith & Gideon
Smith for our Selves our heirs Executors Admistrators
the Said Negroes(sic) to the Said Saml Saunders his
heirs Executors Against me the Said Mary
Smith & Gideon Smith and heirs Executors Adminstrators
and against all & every Person or Persons
whatever will warrant forever Deferred
By these Presents as witness our hands
& Seals this 10 Day August 1815
Teste                                     her
E. Lewis                      Mary + Smith (Seal)
         his                              mark
John + Griffith                     his
       mark                   Gideon + Smith (Seal)
                                             mark

[Transcribed 27 October 2015 from the image found in the chancery records.]

Note: Gideon Smith was the son of Mary (Hairston) Smith.

Posts related to the Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders Chancery Records:

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family

True's statement

© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I’ve made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors. During October, Family History Month, I’m working through a large chancery file pulling as much information out of it as possible and posting weekly in hopes of helping the descendants of the slaves mentioned.

I RELEASED Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime, and their children Sandy, Britton, Reuben, Betsey, Pleasant, Benjamin, Cynthia, Calvin, Sarah, Susan, Adeline, John, William, Mary, Alice, Jacob, Ellender, Giles, Edward, Serena, Lucy, Margaret, Sam, an [unnamed] infant, Martha, Charles,  and Green (or Gwen). This is a continuation of information found on these slaves including the Bills of Sale found for the original 7 slaves, Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, and Aime.

Bill of Sale for Tom

The Bill of Sale for Tom, a slave sold by Mary Smith and her son Gideon to Samuel Saunders, was found in the Chancery Records Administrator of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022.

These are screenshots of the Bill of Sale labelled as exhibit “DD” by Samuel Saunders the respondent in the case.

billofsaleback
Cover of Bill of Sale for Tom (Exhibit DD) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 52 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Mary Smith
        &
Gideon Smith
Bill
Sale
Negro Boy
Tom
“DD”

billofsaletom
Bill of Sale for Tom (Exhibit DD) found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 51 of 127) : accessed 12 October 2015

Know All Men by these Presents that We Mary Smith
and Gideon Smith of the County of Franklin for and in
the consideration of the Sum of Two hundred Dollars to us
in hand paid by Saml Saunders of the County afersaid at
and before the Sealing and Delivery of these Presents
the Recpt [receipt] whereof We do hereby Acknowledge have Bargained
Sold Granted and Confirm and by these Presents Do Bargain
Sell Grant and Confirm to the said Saml Saunders one Negroe
Boy Slave named Tom to have & to Hold the Said
Negroe Boy to the only the only Proper use and Behoof of
the Said Saml Saunders his Executors Administrators and
Assigns for ever and We the Said Mary Smith & Gideon
Smith for my our Selves our Heirs Executors and Administrators
the Said Negroe Boy to the Said Saml Saunders his Executors
Administrators and Assigns against us the Said Mary
Smith & Gideon Smith our Executors Administrators and
Assigns and against all and Every Other Person and
Persons whatsoever Shall and Will Warrant and
for ever Defend by these Presents in Witness whereof
We have hereunto Set our hands and affixed our
Seals this 22 Day of March 1813
Sealed and Delivered and Possession                 Mary Smith (signature & seal)
Delivered in the Presents of us.                          Gideon Smith (signature & seal)

Signatures:
Braxton James
Joshua Knowles

[Transcribed 19 October 2015 from the images found in the chancery records.]

Note: Gideon Smith was the son of Mary (Hairston) Smith.

Posts related to the Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders Chancery Records:

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family
True's statement© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I’ve made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors.

Last week I RELEASED Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime, and their children Sandy, Britton, Reuben, Betsey, Pleasant, Benjamin, Cynthia, Calvin, Sarah, Susan, Adeline, John, William, Mary, Alice, Jacob, Ellender, Giles, Edward, Serena, Lucy, Margaret, Sam, an [unnamed] infant, Martha, Charles,  and Green (or Gwen).

This is a continuation of information found on the above group of slaves. I am sharing the Bills of Sale found for the original 7 slaves, Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, and Aime.

Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamine (aka Ben), and Sukey

The Bill of Sale for the slave woman named Delph given to Mary Smith by her father Robert Hairston and two of her children Benjamine, also seen as Ben, and Sukey was found in the Chancery Records in a batch of 127 images.

These are screenshots of the Bill of Sale found.

billofsaledelphback
Cover of Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 58 of 127) : accessed 11 October 2015

Bill of Sale: Mary Smith to Saunders, 3 negroes. Labeled “CC” by the respondent Samuel Saunders.

Recd [received] this 20th March 1817 of Saml Saunders infull of the within Negroes named in the within Bill Sale.
her X mark Mary Smith
Teste Richard Beckett

billofsaledelph
Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey found in Chancery Records for Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, Franklin County, Virginia, index number 1851-022; online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 57 of 127) : accessed 11 October 2015

Know All Men By these Presents that I Mary
Smith & G. Smith
[inserted] of the County of Franklin for and in the
consideration of the Sum of Seven hundred Dollars
to us
[me crossed out] in hand paid by Saml Saunders of the
County afersaid at and Before the Sealing and
Delivery of these Presents the Receipt whereof
We do hereby Acknowledge have Bargained Sold
Granted and Confirmed and by these Presents Do
Bargain Sell Grant and Confirm to the said
Saml Saunders a Certain female Negroe Slave
named Delph and her Two Children named
Benjamine & Sukey. To Have and to hold the
Said Negroes and their future Increase to
the only Proper use and Behoof of the Said
Saml Saunders his Executors Administrators and Assigns
for ever and I the Said Mary Smith for my self my
Executors and Administrators the Said Negroes with their
future Increase to the Said Saml Saunders his Executors
Administrators and Assigns against me the Said
Mary Smith & Gideon Smith
[inserted] our [written over my] Executors Administrators and Assigns
and against all and Every Other Person and
Persons whatsoever Shall and Will Warrant
and for ever Defend by these Presents in
Witness whereof We have hereunto Set our
[my crossed out] hand
and affixed our
[my crossed out] Seals this 10 Day of March
in the year 1813
Sealed and Delivered and                  Mary Smith
(signature & seal)
Possession Delivered in the               Gideon Smith
(signature & seal)
Presents of us.
Signatures:
Braxton James
Waddy Thompson

[Transcribed 11 October 2015 from the image found in the chancery records.]

Note: Gideon Smith was the son of Mary (Hairston) Smith.

Posts related to the Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders Chancery Records:

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family

True's statement© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I’ve made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors. Today I’m RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime, and their children Sandy, Britton, Reuben, Betsey, Pleasant, Benjamin, Cynthia, Calvin, Sarah, Susan, Adeline, John, William, Mary, Alice, Jacob, Ellender, Giles, Edward, Serena, Lucy, Margaret, Sam, an [unnamed] infant, Martha, Charles,  and Green (or Gwen).

While searching the Chancery Records of Virginia for records naming my ancestors I found this very large bundle with a bill of complaint by Joseph Peters, Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders. Joseph Peters was the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather Jordan N. Peters and the son-in-law of Gideon Smith who in turn was the son of Mary (Hairston) Smith.

I only scratched the surface of this case with the transcription of the Last Will and Testament of Mary (Hairston) Smith’s father Robert Hairston who died in 1791 in Franklin County, Virginia in my last post. The slave woman named Delph given to Mary in the will had two children and they in turn had more offspring. The Chancery Records I found have 127 images which include Bills of Sale, many passages with names and ages, and this paragraph which includes the names and ages of the originally purchased slaves as well as their increase.

This is an abstract from the answer of Samuel Saunders to the bill of complaint exhibited against him by Joseph Peters, Administrator of Mary Smith deceased in the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery for the County of Franklin.

saundersslaves
Abstract from the respondent Samuel Saunders, dated the 9th day of November 1849, online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 12 of 127)

Delph decd about 7 years ago at an advanced age without having any more children after she came into respondents possession, Sukey decd about 10 years ago leaving an only child a boy now about 22 years of age, so that the negroes purchased originally and now in respondent’s possession are Jacob about 50, Ben about 48, Tom about 40, Peggy about 51 and Aime about 39 – and of the increase of the women them are in respondent’s possession, Sandy about 22 a son of Sukey, Britton about 33, Reuben about 32, Betsey about 30, Pleasant about 28, Benjamin about 26, Cynthia about 23, Calvin about 20, Sarah about 18, Susan about 16, Adeline about 14, John about 12, William about 10, Mary about 8, Alice about 5, and Jacob about 2, children of Peggy, Ellender about 12, Giles about 10, Edward about 8, Serena about 6, Lucy about 4, Margaret about 2, and Sam 1, children of Betsy a daughter of Peggy, – an [unnamed] infant child of Cynthia a daughter of Peggy, – Martha about 24 and Charles about 21 children of Aime, – and Green(? Gwen) about 2 a child of Martha a daughter of Aime, – the said Martha had another child which died about a year ago aged 2 or 3 years. Those are all of the said negroes whether them originally purchased or their increase, which are now or ever have been in the possession of respondent.

[Transcribed 5 October 2015 from the image of the chancery records.]

From the information given by the respondent Samuel Saunders (images 7 through 14) in his answer concerning his purchase ca. 34 years previously of the seven slaves I was able to draw up this mind map:

mindmap
A first attempt to use Scapple for mind-mapping.

I plan to transcribe and share abstracts of the Bills of Sale for the 7 slaves and follow-up with information found in the depositions given by witnesses.

Posts related to the Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders Chancery Records:

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Delph, Ben, Sukey, Tom, Jacob, Peggy, Aime and the children

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Delph, Benjamin, and Sukey

Slave Name Roll Project: Bill of Sale for Tom

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale and Memorandum of Agreement for Jacob

Slave Name Roll Project: Bills of Sale for Peggy and Aime

Slave Name Roll Project: A Conclusion Concerning Delph’s Relationship in the Family

True's statement© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas, Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th grand-father James Sims I’ve made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors. Today I’m RELEASING Will, Cintha, Delph, Cate, Darkis, Roas (Rose), Alesey, Chloe, Charlote, Feby, Jude, Peggy, Rick, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal, Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony.

While searching the Chancery Records of Virginia for records naming my ancestors I found this very large bundle initiated by Joseph Peters, Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders. Joseph Peters was the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather Jordan N. Peters and the son-in-law of Gideon Smith who in turn was the son of Mary (Hairston) Smith.

I have only scratched the surface of this case with this transcription of the Last Will and Testament of Mary (Hairston) Smith’s father Robert Hairston who died in 1791 in Franklin County, Virginia. The slave named Delph given to Mary in the will had two children and they in turn had more offspring. During October I hope to go through the 127 images which include Bills of Sale, many passages with names and ages, and one long paragraph which includes the names and ages of the originally purchased slaves as well as their increase.

067_1851_022_0043.pdf p. 001
Last Will & Testament of Robert Hairston found in Virginia Chancery Records File Number 1851-022 Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 43 of 127)
067_1851_022_0044.pdf p. 001
Last Will & Testament of Robert Hairston found in Virginia Chancery Records File Number 1851-022 Admr of Mary Smith vs Samuel Saunders, online http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1851-022 (image 44 of 127)

In the name of God, Amen. I Robert Hairston being sick
of body but of perfect mind and memory, do make and ordain
this my last Will & Testament, in manner and form following:
First I recommend my Soul to God who first give it me
and my body to be buried at the discretion of my Executors
and touching my worldly goods which it has been please
God to bless me with. I give and bequeath in manner and
form following – Item. I give and bequeath to my loving
son George Hairston five shillings Starling, unto him and
his heirs forever. – Item. I give and bequeath unto my
loving son Peter Hairston, one negro boy Will, to have
after his mother’s death, to him and his heirs forever.
Item. I give unto my beloved son Samuel Hairston five
shillings Starling, to him and his heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter
Elizebeth Rowland one negro gairl Cintha, to be first
and kept in the care of George Hairston, to make what
use of it he can for the support of her and her heirs of
her body forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter
Mary Smith one negro gairl Delph, also one mare
& coalt, also two head of cattle, one feather Bed and
furniture, unto her and her heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter Ruth
Hairston one negro gairl Cate, also one named Darkis,
one dark bay mare & colt, one feather Bed & furniture
also seven head of cattle, one Chest & Trunk, to her and
her heirs forever.- Item. I give and bequeath unto
my beloved daughter Agness Hairston, two negro gairls
Roas and Alesey, also one feather bed & furniture, one mare,
seven hand of cattle, one Desk & Trunk, to her and her heirs
forever. – Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved grand
daughters Elizabeth Hairston Rowland and Martha, one
negro woman Chloe and child Charlote, also a feather
bed & furniture to be equally divided, with their increase whenever
they both comes of age, to them and their heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my belove wife Ruth Hairston
one negro Feby, also Jude, Peggy, Rick and, Cuffey, Thomas, Sal,
Easter, Jude, Lucy and Anthony, likewise the hale of my lands,
stocks of all kinds, household and chitchen furniture, with
all plantation utentials during her life, and after her
decease, to be equally divided between her six daughters,
viz. Martha Hunter, Elizebeth Rowland, Mary Smith, Ruth
Hairston, Jinny Rentfro, Agness Hairston. Item. I leave
my beloved wife Ruth Hairston, Executrix and George Hairston
Executor of this my last will & testament. In witness
whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my
searth this 26th day of May 1790.
                                                Roert Hairston
Witness
Will B. Price
Brett Stovall
Jimmey James

At a court held for Franklin County on Monday the 3d day
of August 1791 – This Will & Testament was presented in court
by George Hairston and Ruth Hairston, Executor and Executrix
therein named and proved by the oaths of William B. Price,
Brett Stovall & Jimmey James witnesses thereto subscribed and
ordered to be recorded. And on the motion of the said Executor
& Executrix, who made oath thereto certificate is granted
them for obtaining probate therof in due form.
                                        Teste.
                                            James Callaway, Clk
                      A copy.
                                 Teste. M. G. Carper, Clk

[Transcribed 30 September 2015 from the images of the chancery records.]

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True's statement© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey