“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
My 2nd great-grandfather Irvin Lewis INGRAM (1846-1910) was married twice. During his marriages, seven children were born. DNA has proven that his first two daughters from his first marriage to my 2nd great-grandmother Mary M. DEMPSEY were his biological children. Their third daughter’s birth was reported by her father I. L. INGRAM in March 1871.1 She likely died after the 1880 census as no other records were found.
The four other children were born after Mary’s death and during the time Irvin was married to Octavia Susan ALIFF. Irvin married Susie on 11 February 1888.2 Their first daughter was born in 1889, 17 months after the marriage took place.3 Descendants of three of her eight children had their DNA tested and are in common with matches whose MRCA (most recent common ancestors) are Robert INGRAM and Huldah JOHNSON, the parents of Irvin.
The next three children that Susie gave birth to were born in 1897, 1901, and 1904. The son born in 1897 was registered as Irvin’s son.4 Birth records for the daughter born in 1901 and the son in 1904 were not found. When the daughter died in 1918 Samuel Russell WALK was the informant on her certificate of death and gave his own name as her father.5 The delayed birth certificates of the two sons created in 1952 and 1958 both identify their father as Samuel Russell WALK.6,7
While revising my 2014 post on Irvin Lewis INGRAM, I checked it against the information in my GEDCOM file. As I moved old source citations out of his notes into the source citation window, I found a task I had not followed through on.
The divorce of Irvin Lewis INGRAM and Octava Susan ALIFF was recorded at Fayette County courthouse on 15 December 1904. This fact was not supported by a document and I failed to note who gave me this information.
Per the FamilySearch catalog, divorce records for Fayette County, West Virginia, are included in the Chancery orders. I searched the Chancery orders, 1832-1927 for a record dated 15 December 1904 and found the missing record.8
Susie Ingram vs I. L. Ingram
Chancery orders, 1832-1927, Vol. 8, page 316, 15 December 1904, Susie Ingram vs I L Ingram in chancery
In Chancery Susie Ingram vs I. L. Ingram This cause came on this day to be heard when the plaintiff’s bill and its exhibits, upon the answer of the defendant thereto and general replication to said answered when the depositions on behalf of the plaintiff and defendant when consideration of which the court is of the opinion that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief prayed for in her said bill. It is therefore adjudged, ordered, and decreed that the marriage heretofore celebrated between plaintiff Susie Ingram and defendant I. L. Ingram be, and the same is hereby dissolved and the said Susie Ingram and I. L. Ingram, be, and they are hereby divorced from each other from the bonds of matrimony.
I thought the entry for the suit would have more details about the divorce. It seems not. Susie was the plaintiff which means she was the one to file for the divorce.
How long had the divorce proceedings been going on? Are chancery records filed in Fayette County Court? Have they been filmed or digitized? Will they be available online?
By the time the marriage was dissolved on 15 December 1904, Susie’s son Joseph was nearly 8 weeks old, Mary Ann was 3 years old, Julian was 7 years old, and Ocie Ola was 15 years old. Wouldn’t the children be mentioned in records presented in chancery when the suit was filed?
If the records of the children can be believed, Irvin and his second wife Susie were living a troubled marriage long before they were divorced in 1904. Samuel Russell WALKER, the man Susie married after her divorce from Irvin, was documented as the father of Julian, Mary Ann, Joseph, and an unnamed daughter born after they married in 1905.
One record at a time, I’m learning about my ancestors. It’s always been this way but some records tell more and some leave me with more questions.
And, yes, I am still checking DNA matches for the possibility that Susie’s sons may have been INGRAMs and not WALKs.
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 Births, 1853-1930, FHL microfilm 584755, image 32, Fayette, West Virginia, Register of Births 1871, line 83, March 1871, Harriet Ingram, citing Loop Creek, Fayette County, West Virginia. (http://images.wvculture.org/584755/00032.jpg : accessed 25 January 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584765, image 166, Fayette County, West Virginia, Clerk’s Certificate and Marriage License, page 288 (stamped), Irvin Lewis Ingram (widower) and Susan Octava Holstin (widow), citing Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Vrginia. (http://images.wvculture.org/584765/00166.jpg : accessed 22 January 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, FHL microfilm 584755, image 223, West Virginia, Fayette County Register of Births, page 208-209 (stamped), line 185, 8 Feb 1889, Ociola Ingram, citing Fayette County, West Virginia. (http://images.wvculture.org/584755/00223.jpg : accessed 5 February 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, FHL microfilm 584761, image 504, West Virginia, Fayette County Register of Births, page 406-407 (stamped), 4th entry, 9 Jul 1897, ___ Ingram (Julian Lee writing in above), citing Star, Fayette County, West Virginia. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view2.aspx?FilmNumber=584761&ImageNumber=504 : accessed 10 February 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999, FHL microfilm 1952762, image 175, West Virginia, Standard Certificate of Death, Registered No. 9428, 9 July 1918, Mary Ann Walk, citing Dorothy, Fayette County, West Virginia. (http://images.wvculture.org/1952762/0000175.gif : accessed 9 February 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, FHL microfilm 4835009, image 1431, Delayed Certificate of Birth, 47395, Julian Lee Walk, 9 Jul 1898, subscribed 25 January 1952, citing Red Star, Fayette County, West Virginia. (http://images.wvculture.org/4835009/01431.jpg : accessed 10 February 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, FHL microfilm 4017263, image 272, Delayed Certificate of Birth, 6516, Joseph Walk, 22 Oct 1904, subscribed 12 Aug 1958, citing Coal Run, Fayette County, West Virginia. (http://images.wvculture.org/4017263/00272.jpg : accessed 9 February 2022). ↩
West Virginia. Circuit Court (Fayette County), Chancery orders, 1832-1927, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of originals at the county courthouse, Fayetteville, Film 1738697, DGS 7617580, Vols. 8-11 1904-1910 (v. 8 from p. 280 & v. 11 to p. 275) > image 23 of 836 > Vol. 8 page 316, 15 December 1904, Susie Ingram vs I L Ingram in chancery. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99V1-FHJC?i=22&cat=441399 : accessed 9 February 2022). ↩
Mollie’s father was Wesley G. DEMPSTER, a man who appeared in Scott County, Virginia, shortly before the 1880 census. He likely died between 23 November 1886 and 15 December 1887. A death record was not found.
Mollie married at the age of 16 and had a family of nine children born between 1898 and 1917. Six of these children have descendants who’ve had their DNA tested. Descendants of the other three may have tested. They haven’t been found on the match lists of the tests I have access to.
Can DNA unravel the mystery of George W. Dempsey’s disappearance?
It’s complicated! I’ve been learning about DNA since the end of May 2016 when my brother turned his AncestryDNA test over to me. It has been a slow, uphill climb learning to work with the DNA results. I know this post may be hard to follow, I hope I haven’t made it too complicated. I’m assuming my readers have a basic understanding of autosomal DNA.
AncestryDNA
This is an example of one of my notes on Ancestry for a match: [C8] 1C (Lois) Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY and Myrtle Hazel ROOP.
In brackets is the cluster number (from the first time I clustered my matches) followed by the level of cousinship. In parenthesis is the name of the child of the most recent common ancestors (MRCA) that the match descends from followed by the MRCA.
My private but searchable family tree is attached to the DNA tests I manage. Confirmed matches are connected in this tree. The tree is also used to work out unknown matches.
As I have few maternal matches and my mother has tested, all maternal matches are starred. This allows me to use all 24 colors for custom groups for my paternal matches. I created custom groups for each of my paternal 4th great-grandparent couples. The four blue colors were used a bit differently than the green, pink, and yellow as there is a brick wall at the 3rd great-grandparent level for my William A. W. DEMPSEY. He is not from the same line as Seaton Y. DEMPSEY.
16 custom color groups for the paternal 4th great-grandparent couples
Ancestral Quest’s Color Coding feature made it easy to work out the custom color groups on Ancestry.
My paternal grandfather’s pedigree.My paternal grandmother’s pedigree.
Paternal first cousins share the DEMPSEY-ROOP couple with me and are given each of the 16 custom groups (4 shades of the 4 colors). Second cousins who share DEMPSEY-INGRAM receive 8 custom groups (4 shades of blue and of green). Third cousins who share INGRAM-DEMPSEY receive 4 custom groups (4 shades of green). This is one way to visually cluster matches.
Note: The same system can be used for both maternal and paternal matches. In this case, the 5th generation (3rd great-grandparents) is used instead of the 6th generation (4th great-grandparents) as seen in my example.
This is my top match in the group of matches who descend from Mollie on Ancestry. The top shared matches (ICW = in common with) with Match 1 are two of my first cousins with whom I share grandparents Fred R. DEMPSEY and Myrtle H. ROOP. The next two ICW matches are both 1C1R but not from the same generation. This is confirmed by the colored groups. The match with only blue and green is a 1C1R through my paternal grandfather’s parents.
AncestryDNA
I have guest or collaborator access to a few of my DEMPSEY cousins’ AncestryDNA. They have given me permission to use their tests as examples along with their first names or initials. In the image above, the two cousins with trees are the 1C1R (E.D.) and 1C (Laura) in the table below.
DNA matches descending from 6 of Mollie’s 9 children were found to match 6 tests I have access to. E.D. (1C1R) is my father’s paternal first cousin. She is a generation closer to Seaton and Clementine than myself, my brother, my first cousin Danny, and my second cousins, Laura and Sheila. The second cousins are E.D.’s nieces through two of her siblings. If they had been her children I would not have used them as they would carry the same DNA and would only duplicate the results. All of the cousins have their DNA uploaded to Gedmatch or MyHeritage except for Sheila.
Shared Clustering Tool
My brother’s and my AncestryDNA tests were clustered using Jonathan Brecher’s Shared Clustering Tool. Clustering has given me a relatively good idea of where in the family tree a match or group of matches fit in.
Jonathan’s method uses all matches and shared matches (ICW) down to 6-8 cMs on Ancestry to form clusters that point to a shared ancestor. A cluster represents a DNA segment shared by the clustered matches. Even though Ancestry does not offer a chromosome browser, the segments can be ascertained (guessed) by comparing to matches who’ve transferred their AncestryDNA to FTDNA, MyHeritage, or Gedmatch.
The data needed for clustering was downloaded from Ancestry using the Shared Clustering Tool. I’ve been manually adding new matches since Jonathan disabled downloading of data from Ancestry in May 2020. Soon after this, Ancestry sent cease and desist orders to many third-party tools.
Early this month, I subscribed to DNAGedcom for $5/month to get an up-to-date list of matches and of ICW matches from Ancestry using the DNAGedcom Client. The ICW match list can be used to generate clusters using the Shared Clustering Tool.
Screenshot of part of a cluster report generated by Shared Clustering Tool. Clusters have a blue outline and may overlap. The green highlights in this clip were added later.
The database is stored locally on my computer and has no connection to the internet. I can import all DNA matches from the different testing companies, do triangulation and in common with (ICW) comparisons, map the chromosomes of common ancestors, mark the most recent common ancestors (MRCA), add Ahnentafels of the matches, and do analysis work that helps with the family tree research. With all information in one place, the tool provides easier-to-see patterns and clues to solve the genetic genealogy questions.
The Barron-Dempster matches who descend from Mollie were found to be in clusters [C54], [C29], [C30], and [C8]. All notes on Ancestry have been imported into GDAT. Since my notes begin with the cluster number, I can sort matches to view a list of only the relatives (matches) in a particular cluster.
Screenshot of GDAT Relative List sorted to show only [C54] matches with privatized names.Cluster [C54] is large with over 400 matches ranging from 229 cMs down to 7 cMs. The identified relatives have the following MRCA: Dempsey-Ingram, Dempsey-Gowing, Going-Potter, and Crisp-Lucy. These are parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of Mary M. DEMPSEY, daughter of Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine M. GOWING. The cluster appears to be pointing to the GOWING branch but the many matches that are still unknown will help to “walk the segment back” to the shared distant ancestor.
Of these over 400 matches, nine were found on sites with chromosome browsers. None of these have a confirmed MRCA but they share DNA on the same segment (different lengths) on chromosome 9. This segment is also shared with E.D., Danny, and Laura seen in the DNA comparison table (above, in the Ancestry section). The red segments (below) are Danny, his sister, and my Dad’s Lazarus kit. They share my paternal grandfather (PGF) and paternal grandmother’s (PGM) lines, i.e. DEMPSEY-ROOP. The blue segments are people who share only my PGM’s line, i.e. DEMPSEY-INGRAM, and include Laura and E.D.
Screenshot of GDAT Chromosome Browser information with privatized names.
Using the same process as above, I found:
[C29] includes about 200 matches. Only two in the cluster have chromosome data and share a segment on Chr. 6. An MRCA has not been found for either. The segment triangulates with a known 4C1R (George W.) Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine M. GOWING as well as E.D. Danny did not receive this segment but his sister (who did not test with Ancestry) is one of the matches who triangulate with the [C29] matches.
[C30] has about 100 matches. MRCAs in the cluster include Ingram-Dempsey(1), Dempsey-Gowing(20), Gowing-Crisp(3), Going-Potter(1), and Crisp-Lucy(4). The cluster is associated with a segment on Chr. 2 shared with E.D., Danny’s sister, and Laura.
[C8] has about 120 matches. This is E.D., Danny, and Laura’s cluster. They correlate with many other clusters but this is their main cluster. MRCAs in the cluster include Dempsey-Wood, Wood-Honaker, Wood-McGraw which suggest the cluster is coming from the PGF (blue) side. The two Barron-Dempster matches (Match 2 and 5, father and daughter) associated with this cluster share at two segments with several of us. One of these segments may have a distant connection to the blue side.
My brother received very little DNA shared with the Barron-Dempster matches – only a 12 cMs segment with Match 1 and 9 cMs of the same segment with Match 1a (child of 1).
Shared Clustering
Clusters fluctuate as new matches are added. Since my test was clustered in September 2019 many new matches have been added. I ran a new cluster report this week including all new matches and ICW matches since 2019 with 20 cMs or greater. In most cases, the matches in the original clusters have remained the same, i.e. are still clustering with the same matches. The new heatmap shows the two [C8] matches are now clustering with a [C29] and a [C30] match, on the edge of the larger [C29] cluster and correlating with a cluster made up of [C54] matches.
To give a clearer picture of the clusters, here is a screenshot of my E.D.’s heatmap. It was generated using the data of her top 333 matches with 50 cMs or higher. All of the Barron-Dempster matches (highlighted in green) over 50 cMs are found in this heatmap of clusters 4 through 8.
Screenshot of part of a report generated by Jonathan Brecher’s Shared Clustering Tool
Clusters 4 & 5 have descendants of Mary M. DEMPSEY, d/o Seaton
Cluster 6 has descendants of William S., George W., Martha Ann, and Julia DEMPSEY, all children of Seaton
Cluster 7 has a descendant of Geneva DEMPSEY, d/o Seaton
Cluster 8 has only Barron-Dempster descendants
The Barron-Dempster matches correlate only with clusters 4 through 8. They don’t correlate with clusters 1-3 or 9-33 (not seen in this close-up of the heatmap). The correlation can be seen by the red outside of the cluster boxes.
Of the 35 matches shown above, 6 are mystery matches, 8 are Barron-Dempster matches, and the rest are descendants of Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine M. GOWING through six of their eight children. The two missing children are sons who served in the Civil War, died during or soon after the war, never married, and had no known descendants. The mystery matches, like the Barron-Dempster matches, correlate only with clusters 4 through 8 and are likely descendants of Seaton and Clementine through one of their children.
What Are the Odds?
I used the What Are the Odds? tool on DNA Painter to chart Mollie’s family tree down to her descendants who are matches. This is not the real purpose of the tool.
What Are the Odds? by DNA Painter
The matches, descendants of Mollie, are shaded green. I used my E.D.’s shared cMs amounts for all matches. The numbers in parenthesis are the range of cMs shared between the match and the other tests I have access to. The bottom row represents the line that I share with my cousins and is used for comparison: my great-great-grandmother Mary M. DEMPSEY, my great-grandmother Laura Belle INGRAM, my grandfather Fred R. DEMPSEY and his brother Earl S. DEMPSEY, my father’s generation represented by E.D. (1C1R), and my generation (with my cousins and brother).
What Are the Odds? by DNA Painter
The WATO tool is used to check the probability that the amount of cM shared corresponds to the relationship in the tree. As I had already used it to chart the tree of the Barron-Dempster matches, I tried doing the reverse of what is intended with the tool. I used it to determine if the amount of cM shared by E.D. with the matches would place her in the correct position in our family tree.
Hypothesis 2: E.D. is the child of Hypothesis 1 and grandchild of Laura Belle INGRAM scored 9 (About 3 times more likely than the next hypothesis
This is the most likely hypothesis.)
Hypothesis 3: E.D. is the child of Hypothesis 2 and grandchild of Hypothesis 1 scored 3 (About 3 times more likely than the next hypothesis)
Hypothesis 1: E.D. is the child of Laura Belle INGRAM and grandchild of Mary M. DEMPSEY scored 1 (Possible but not significantly more likely than the other hypotheses.)
Hypothesis 2 with a score of 9 is the most likely and puts E.D. in the right place in our family tree and shows that it is possible that Mollie was the grandchild of Seaton and Clementine.
How does Mollie fit into my family tree?
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing along with traditional genealogy. Using all of the tools mentioned above as well as genealogy research, I have come to a conclusion on how Mollie fits into my family tree.
The cluster heatmap above shows the Barron-Dempster matches are relatives of my 1C1R E.D. and share the same ancestry as the DEMPSEY-GOWING matches. The same is true for the other tests I used in this example: my brother, Danny, Laura, Sheila, and myself. The WATO tool also backs up this assumption.
If the matches who descend from Mollie Lee DEMPSTER fit into the DEMPSEY-GOWING family group, could Wesley G. DEMPSTER be an alias for a son or nephew of Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine M. GOWING?
I don’t think the relationship was a nephew as:
Seaton’s brother Wilson M. DEMPSEY was found in the 1840 census with two persons in his household: himself and his wife. No children from the marriage that took place in 1839 and no children born before this marriage.
Seaton’s brother Isham Coleman DEMPSEY married in 1827 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, and removed to Ross County, Ohio, by 1830. He emigrated from Ohio to Missouri in 1854.
Seaton’s brother Wesley G. DEMPSEY was likely with Seaton in 1830, wasn’t found in 1840, was single in 1850, married in 1856, and died in 1890. “W. G. Dempsey left surviving him no children nor the descendants of a child, no father, no mother, no brother, no sister” per a chancery case.
Seaton’s sisters Louisa J. (md. 1840) and Eliza (md. 1843) were 18 or younger and it is not likely that one of them was the mother.
As the clusters are pointing to the GOWING-CRISP branch of the DEMPSEY-GOWING family group, the matches are likely related through the GOWING side, i.e. other possibilities are the two sisters of Clementine GOWING.
Clementine’s sister Emmeline GOWING married William Dison LAWHORNE in 1828 and in 1840 the only male child in their household has been identified and cannot be Wesley.
Clementine’s sister Martha C. “Martissa” GOWING married Wyatt F. LILLY in 1833 and in 1840 the three male children have been identified and none can be Wesley.
I believe from about 1880 George W. DEMPSEY, the only living son of Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine M. GOWING, used the alias Wesley G. DEMPSTER, and was the father of Mollie.
Consequently, Mollie Lee DEMPSTER would have been a half-sibling to George’s three children. Her descendants would share on average the same amount of DNA as the descendants of all of Seaton and Clementine’s other children. The amount shared with any of George’s descendants would not be greater as the common ancestral couple would be Seaton and Clementine. Early on in my analysis, I had not considered this and thought George’s descendants should have higher amounts of DNA which is not the case.
What else can I do to solve this mystery?
I haven’t exhausted the DNA tools to prove the possibility of Wesley G. DEMPSTER’s being the same person as George W. DEMPSEY. I’m just at a standstill as none of the Barron-Dempster matches are on any of the sites with chromosome browsers. Being able to compare the DNA segments would help to confirm I am on the right track or not.
I’ve sent messages to all of the matches. First, a short teaser asking if they were interested in figuring out who Mollie’s father was. Then messages to the same persons with the link to my second post in this series. I even mentioned the offer to upload their raw DNA file to MyHeritage and get FREE access to all DNA features. I’ve received no replies to date and none of the tests are showing up on MyHeritage. I’d hoped my messages were read even though no replies have been received.
I was only given access to E.D.’s AncestryDNA test last week. Maybe once I begin working more with her match list I will begin to make connections with people who are interested in solving the mystery.
Have I completely confused you? Have I piqued your interest in some of the tools I’m using for DNA analysis? Do you have a similar DNA mystery you are trying to solve?
Nancy Ann SIMS, my ancestress, was the youngest child of James SIMS and his first wife Phebe. She was born shortly before her mother’s tragic death in Bath County, Virginia. Nancy Ann was not yet married in 1810. She was not with her father James and his second wife Elizabeth COTTON and her half-siblings. As she was 17 years and not with her father and step-mother, it is probable she was living with one of her full siblings.
The 1810 U.S. Federal Census
Nancy Ann’s brother William SIMS, the oldest of her siblings in the area, married Elizabeth WINDSOR before 1806. By 1810 they had two sons, William Jr. and Jeremiah, and a daughter Nancy. Also living in their household was a young female age 10 thru 15. This young lady may have been Nancy Ann who was born abt. 1793. If she was Nancy Ann then she should have been included in the same age bracket as her sister-in-law Elizabeth.
1810 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for William SIMMS
1810 U.S. Federal Census 1
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Kanawha
Sheet 207A, Line 25
Simms, William
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (William Jr. and Jeremiah)
Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 1 (Nancy)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 1 (poss. sister Nancy Ann SIMS)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Elizabeth)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 4
Number of Household Members Over 25: 1
Number of Household Members: 6
The census listings of all of her full siblings have been analyzed and William’s household is the only one she could have been living in. At this time only her father James owned land and his married sons William and Martin likely lived on this land or in the homeplace as they were enumerated one after the other. Nancy Ann’s future mother-in-law Amy NELSON, widow of William JOHNSON, also was a neighbor. Hence, it is my belief Nancy Ann was in the neighborhood and most likely with her older brother William.
The 1820 U.S. Federal Census
Nancy Ann SIMS married William JOHNSON, the son of William JOHNSON Sr. and Amy NELSON, in 1814. This was not the first marriage joining the SIMS and JOHNSON families. William’s sister Susannah was the wife of Martin SIMS and his brother John was the husband of Elizabeth SIMS.
Nancy Ann and William were the parents of three children by 1820: a son Nelson, a daughter Huldah (my 3rd great-grandmother) and a son Alexander. William was engaged in agriculture.
Also in the household were two young men aged 10 thru 15 years. Who were they? In 1810 when William was not yet married he was probably living with his mother Amy. At the time she had two young boys in her household under the age of 10. Were these the same boys? If they were then they would have been under 6 years old in 1810. Amy had been widowed in 1805 and family tradition does not mention any children born so late in the marriage. Could they have been grandchildren?
1820 U.S. Federal Census of Nicholas County, Virginia for William JOHNSON
1820 U.S. Federal Census 2
Nicholas County, (West) Virginia
Page No. 204B, Sheet 152, Line 31
Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
Name: William Johnson
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (Nelson and Alexander)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15: 2 (William’s nephews?)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 1 (Huldah)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Nancy Ann b. bet. 1794-1804)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture: 1
Free White Persons – Under 16: 5
Total Free White Persons: 7
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 7
The 1830 U.S. Federal Census
Nancy Ann gave birth to Mary, John B., Amy, and Lewis during the 1820s. Her mother-in-law Amy lived with the family in 1830 and is the older woman seen in the household. From the writings of Laura Kincaid Blake (1875-1965), we know Amy lived among her children and her last days were at the home of her son William.
Nancy and William’s son John B. was born at the mouth of Rich Creek on Gauley in 1823. Some time after this and before the 1830 census the JOHNSON family moved to a place on Loop Creek (Loup Creek) in the area of what is known as Robson in present-day Fayette County, West Virginia. This is the reason they were found in Kanawha County in 1830. Fayette County would not be formed until 1831.
1830 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for William JOHNSTON (sic)
1830 U.S. Federal Census3
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Sheet 198A & 198B, Line 8
Enumeration Date: 1 June 1830
Name: William Johnston
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 2 (Lewis b. 1828, John Brown b. 1823)
Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 1 (Alexander b. 1819)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 14: 1 (Nelson b. ca. 1815)
Free White Persons – Males – 30 thru 39: 1 (William Jr. b. 1793)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1 (Amy b. 1825)
Free White Persons – Females – 5 thru 9: 1 (Mary b. 1820)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (Huldah b. ca. 1818)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (Nancy Ann Sims Johnson b. bet. 1791-1800)
Free White Persons – Females – 70 thru 79: 1 (Amy Nelson Johnson b. 1757)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 7
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 10
Total – All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 10
The 1840 U.S. Federal Census
Nancy Ann and William had four more children in the 1830s. A daughter Elizabeth was born about 1830, died at the age of 3 years, and was buried in the Nichols Cemetery on Loop Creek per the writings of Laura Blake. The three other children were William Hunter, Nancy, and Morris Houston.
Nancy Ann was incorrectly enumerated in the 30 thru 39 years range. Having married in 1814 it would be very unlikely she was born in 1801-1810.
Nancy Ann’s husband William and Alexander, the oldest son living at home, were employed in agriculture. Only one person over 20 years of age could not read and write. Later census listings would not indicate Alexander, Huldah, or Nancy could not read or write. If these can be trusted, then William may have been the person who was illiterate. This surprises me as his older brother John was a Methodist minister.
Two of William and Nancy Ann’s children had married before 1840 and had their own households.
1840 U.S. Federal Census of Fayette County, Virginia for William JOHNSON
1840 U.S. Federal Census4
Fayette County, Virginia
Page 145, Sheet 2A & 2B
Name: William Johnson
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 2 (William Hunter and Morris Houston)
Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 1 (Lewis)
Free White Persons – Males – 15 thru 19: 1 (John Brown)
Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1 (Alexander)
Free White Persons – Males – 40 thru 49: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1 (Nancy)
Free White Persons – Females – 15 thru 19: 1 (Amy)
Free White Persons – Females – 20 thru 29: 1 (Huldah)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (Nancy Ann; should be listed as 40 thru 49 yo)
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 2
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: 1
Free White Persons – Under 20: 6
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 4
Total Free White Persons: 10
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 10
Nelson JOHNSON and Elizabeth HUGHES
Nancy Ann’s oldest son was the first of her children to marry. Nelson married his first cousin Elizabeth HUGHES, daughter of Thomas HUGHES Jr. and Mary “Polly” SIMS, in 1837. Their first child Irvin Nelson was born early in the 1840 census year and was enumerated with them. Nelson was engaged in agriculture. His wife Elizabeth is the person who could not read and write as will also be seen later in the 1850 census.
1840 U.S. Federal Census of Fayette County, Virginia for Nelson JOHNSON
1840 U.S. Federal Census5
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
Page 147, Sheet No. 4A & 4B
Name: Nelson Johnson
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 1 (Irvin)
Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1 (Nelson)
Free White Persons – Females – 15 thru 19: 1 (Elizabeth)
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: 1
Free White Persons – Under 20: 2
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 1
Total Free White Persons: 3
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 3
Mary JOHNSON and David Alexander MILLER
Nancy Ann’s second oldest daughter was the first of the girls to marry. Mary married David Alexander MILLER in December 1839. Mary was expecting her first child on 1 June 1840 when the census was enumerated. The child would be born in January 1841. David, a farmer, was incorrectly counted in the 30 thru 39 range. He was only about 18 years old as will be seen in later census years.
1840 U.S. Federal Census of Fayette County, Virginia for David MILLER
1840 U.S. Federal Census6
Fayette County, Virginia
Page 146, Sheet No. 3A & 3B
Name: David Miller
Free White Persons – Males – 30 thru 39: 1 (David)
Free White Persons – Females – 15 thru 19: 1 (Mary)
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1
Free White Persons – Under 20: 1
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 1
Total Free White Persons: 2
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 2
The 1850 U.S. Federal Census
Laura Blake in her writings on the family stated, “William and Nancy died around 1845 during a typhoid fever epidemic. Afterward, most of his family went to Kanawha County to an area called the Grapevine, near Charleston.”
Nancy Ann was living in 1848 when the partition suit was filed for the sale of the land of her father James SIMS. This alone refutes her death taking place during the typhoid fever epidemic in 1845. Sons Morris Houston and Lewis both died in August 1845 and were followed by their father William JOHNSON in December 1845.
Which family members were found in the 1850 census and who was missing? Can the second part of Laura’s statement concerning the removal of the family to Kanawha be correct? As will be seen below, Nelson went to Missouri. Huldah and Alexander were in Fayette County. Mary, John, and Amy were in Kanawha County. Nancy Ann and her children William Hunter and Nancy have not been found in the 1850 census.
Nelson JOHNSON and Elizabeth HUGHES
Nelson and his wife Elizabeth were found in Madison County, Missouri. Four daughters had been born to them before they moved to Missouri. The youngest was two years old indicating the move was made around 1849. Nelson was a cabinet maker and his two oldest children attended school. Elizabeth could not read and write.
1850 U.S. Federal Census of Madison County, Missouri for Nelson JOHNSON household.
1850 U.S. Federal Census7
Madison County, Missouri
54th District
Enumerated on 26 September 1850
Sheet 241A, Lines 16-23, HH #462-462
Nelson Johnson 35 M Cabinet Maker $30 Virginia
Elizabeth Johnson 33 F Virginia cannot read & write
Irvine L. Johnson 11 M Virginia attended school within year
Mary J. Johnson 9 F Virginia attended school within year
Nancy J. Johnson 7 F Virginia
Unus E. Johnson 5 F Virginia
Virginia A. Johnson 2 F Virginia
Monroe Marrow 25 M Carpenter Virginia
Huldah JOHNSON and Robert INGRAM
Huldah married Robert INGRAM about 1841. The marriage record has not been found. They had three sons by 1850. Robert was a farmer and owned land with his brother Matthew who lived next door with their mother and two of their sisters.
1850 U.S. Federal Census of Fayette County, Virginia for Robert INGRAM and his mother Margaret INGRAM
1850 U.S. Federal Census8
Fayette County, Virginia
Enumerated on 27 August 1850
Sheet No. 365B, Lines 41-42 and Sheet 366A, Lines 1-3, HH #461-461
Robert Ingram 31 M Farmer $100 Virginia
Huldah Ingram 32 F Virginia
Vincent Ingram 9 M Virginia
Irvin L. Ingram 4 M Virginia
Wm. P. Ingram 2 M Virginia
Alexander JOHNSON and Isabella HUGHES
Alexander and Isabella HUGHES, whose parentage is unknown to me, were married before 1850. Alexander was living in Fayette County six households away from his sister Huldah. He was a farmer. Alexander and Isabella were the parents of a four months old daughter.
1850 U.S. Federal Census of Fayette County, Virginia for Alexander Johnson
1850 U.S. Federal Census9
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
Sheet 365B, Lines 7-9, HH #455-455
Alexander Johnson 30 M farmer $150 Virginia
Isabella Johnson 23 F Virginia
Lucinda Johnson 4/12 F Virginia
Mary JOHNSON and David Alexander MILLER
Mary and David who were newlyweds at the time of the 1840 census had two daughters and two sons by the time the 1850 census was enumerated. They were found in Kanawha County. David could not read and write.
1850 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for David MILLER household
1850 U.S. Federal Census10
Kanawha County, Virginia
District No. 29
Enumeration by me on the 13th day of November 1850. Andrew P. Fry, Ass’t Marshal.
Sheet 125A, Lines 12-17, HH #1790-1835
David Miller 28 M Laborer Virginia cannot read or write
Mary Miller 29 F Virginia
Vienna Miller 9 F Virginia
William R. Miller 7 M Virginia
James A. Miller 5 M Virginia
Mary W. J. Miller 3 F Virginia
John JOHNSON and Mary Ann SETTLE
John married Mary Ann SETTLE in 1846 in Fayette County. Their son Julian, seen here as a female named Julia, was born in what is today Clifton in Kanawha County placing their move to Kanawha at soon after their marriage. John was a laborer.
1850 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for John JOHNSON household
1850 U.S. Federal Census11
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Enumerated the 7th day of September 1850
Page 68A, Lines 34-36, HH #1013-1017
John Johnson 23 M W laborer Virginia
Mary 22 F W Virginia
Julia 3 F W Virginia (sic, son Julian)
Amy JOHNSON and Charles McClung HUFFMAN
Amy married Charles McClung HUFFMAN in 1849. They are listed in Kanawha as having married within the census year which would be from 1 June 1849 to 1 June 1850. As they have a one-month-old son I have given them the benefit of the doubt and estimated their marriage as having taken place in the first half of the census year. Charles was a farmer in 1850.
1850 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for Charles M. HUFFMAN household
1850 U.S. Federal Census12
Kanawha County, Virginia
Sheet 84B, Lines 29-31, HH# 1239-1256
Charles Huffman 23 M Farmer Virginia married within the year cannot read & write
Amy 23 F Virginia married within the year
Franklin W. 1/12 M Virginia
The 1860 U.S. Federal Census
Nancy Ann who was missing in 1850 along with her son William and daughter Nancy reappeared in the census in 1860. They were found in the Sissonville area where Grapevine, the place mentioned by Laura Blake, lies.
Nancy Ann SIMS, the widow of William JOHNSON Jr., was living with her youngest son William in 1860. Her relationship to the head of household is not noted in the listing however her age is correct for her being born about 1793-1794 just before her mother died. Her son William had married Louisa Lavinia SAMUELS in 1856. She was 17 years old at the time of the marriage and by 1860 had given William a daughter and a son.
Next door to William is his brother Alexander. Two households separate Alexander from his sister Amy.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for Charles HUFFMAN, Alexander JOHNSON, and William JOHNSON with Nancy Ann SIMS
1860 U.S. Federal Census13
Kanawha County, Virginia
Sissonville Post Office
Page No. 113, Lines 21-25, HH #788-788
William Johnson 28 M Farmer $0 $250 Virginia
Louisa L. Johnson 20 F Virginia over 20 yo who cannot read & write
Mary G. Johnson 2 F Virginia
James N. Johnson 1 M Virginia
Nancy Johnson 66 F Virginia
Nelson JOHNSON (dec’d) and Elizabeth HUGHES
Nancy’s oldest son Nelson died about 1855. He had returned to the Kanawha area from Missouri by September 1854 when he was the informant for the death of his daughter Joanna, a twin who had been born in Missouri in 1851. Joanna’s twin sister Josephine died in November 1856. Another daughter Virginia died in January 1857 leaving Nelson’s widow Elizabeth with four children living at home.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for Elizabeth JOHNSON household
1860 U.S. Federal Census14
Kanawha County, Virginia
Enumerated by me on the 16th day of June, 1860. Wm C Blain, Ass’t Marshal
Upper Falls Coal Post Office
Page 44, lines 9-13, HH #302-302
Elizabeth Johnson 42 F $0 $150 Virginia
Warren 20 M Laborer Virginia
Mary A. 18 F Virginia
Nancy J. 15 F Virginia
Venus E. 13 F Virginia
Huldah JOHNSON and Robert INGRAM
Huldah was the mother of six children by 1860 when the family was enumerated as INGRUM instead of INGRAM. Her husband Robert was still farming the land he’d patented with his brother Matthew in 1843. Robert bought out Matthew’s share in the land when he moved to Sissonville in 1852.
Also in the household of Robert and Huldah was Amanda BLAKE, daughter of John BLAKE and Malinda JOHNSON, with her son John. It is unknown if or how Malinda JOHNSON and Huldah were related.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Fayette County, Virginia for Robert INGRUM (sic) household
1860 U.S. Federal Census15
Fayette County, Virginia
District No. 1
Enumerated the 20th day of June 1860, P. Morton, Ass’t Marshall
Gauley Bridge Post Office
Page No. 25, Sheet No. 335, lines 12-21, HH #183-161
Robert Ingrum 41 M Farmer $1000 $200 Virginia
Huldah Ingrum 42 F Virginia
Vincent Ingrum 19 M Farm Laborer Virginia
Ervin L. Ingrum 14 M Virginia
William P. Ingrum 12 M Virginia
Amy Ingrum 8 F Virginia
Nancy M. Ingrum 7 F Virginia
Mary E. Ingrum 3 F Virginia
Amanda Blake 20 F day laborer Virginia
John A. Blake 1 M illegitimate Virginia
Alexander JOHNSON and Isabella HUGHES
Alexander and Isabella’s oldest child Lucinda lived to see three siblings born. She died in 1859. Alexander, a farmer, had moved to the Sissonville area by 1852. (see image of census page with Alexander above under Nancy Ann and her son William)
1860 U.S. Federal Census16
Kanawha County, Virginia
Sissonville District
Page No. 113, lines 16-20 HH #787-787
Alexander Johnson 39 M Farmer $0 $150 Virginia
Isabella 33 F Virginia
Harland P. 7 M Virginia
Andrew D. 2 M Virginia
Vianna C. 2/12 F Virginia
Mary JOHNSON and David Alexander MILLER
Mary and David had lost their oldest son before the 1860 census. Five children had been born since the 1850 census was enumerated. Their oldest daughter Vienna was incorrectly listed as Susannah. David was still working as a farmer. In this listing, both David and Mary were marked as not being able to read and write.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for David MILLER household
1860 U.S. Federal Census17
Kanawha County, Virginia
Enumerated by me on the 10th day of July 1860. Wm. C. Blaine, Ass’t Marshal.
Sissonville Post Office
Page No. 118, lines 30-39, HH #826-826
David Miller 38 M Farmer $200 $150 Virginia cannot read & write
Mary Miller 37 F Virginia cannot read & write
Susannah Miller 19 Virginia
James A. Miller 15 Virginia attended school within year
Margaret W. Miller 13 Virginia attended school within year
Ann P. Miller 9 Virginia attended school within year
Silas M. Miller 7 Virginia
Irvin W. Miller 5 Virginia
Mary E. Miller 4 Virginia
Joseph H. Miller 10/12 Virginia
John JOHNSON and Mary Ann SETTLE
John and Mary Ann had two daughters born in the 1850s however they both died before the 1860 census. Elizabeth Clifton JOHNSON was born in 1851 and died in 1858. Mary Susan JOHNSON was born in 1852 and died in 1853. Julian remained an only child. John was working as a carpenter. Elizabeth Elkins, the young lady in their household may have been live-in help.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for John B. JOHNSON household
1860 U.S. Federal Census18
Kanawha County, Virginia
Enumerated the day of August 1850 by William C. Blaine
Cannelton
Page 319, lines 16-19, HH #2190-2190
John B. Johnson 36 M Carpenter $1000 $400 Virginia
Mary A. Johnson 37 F Virginia
Julian M. Johnson 13 M Virginia
Elizabeth Elkins 22 F Virginia
Amy JOHNSON and Charles McClung HUFFMAN
Amy and Charles’ family increased by three with the births of their daughter Margaret and sons Perry and Charles Jr. Charles was working as a farmer. (see image of census page with the HUFFMAN household above under Nancy Ann and her son William)
1860 U.S. Federal Census19
Kanawha County, Virginia
Sissonville District
Page No. 113, lines 3-8, HH #784-784
Charles Huffman 34 M Farmer $1000 $1500 Virginia
Amy 34 F Virginia
Franklin W. 9 M Virginia attended school
Margaret K. 8 F Virginia
Perry 5 M Virginia
Charles M. 2 M Virginia
Nancy JOHNSON and William B. MARTIN
Nancy, the youngest of Nancy Ann and William’s children, married William B. MARTIN in 1853. Nancy gave birth to three daughters during their first seven years of marriage. William was a farmer.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Kanawha County, Virginia for William B. MARTIN household
1860 U.S. Federal Census20
Kanawha County, Virginia
Sissonville
Page 105, lines 36-40, HH #735-735
William B. Martin 28 M Farmer $400 $200 Virginia
Nancy 24 F Virginia
Clarissa A. 6 F Virginia
Nancy C. 3 F Virginia
Isarbinda 5/12 F Virginia
After the 1860 U.S. Federal Census
Nelson’s widow Elizabeth who had lost her three youngest children and was left with four children in 1860 had seen the three oldest marry during the decade. In 1870 only her youngest Eunice was still living at home but not for long as she died in the fall. Elizabeth was with her oldest son in 1880 and with her youngest living daughter in 1900. She died before 1910.
Huldah and her husband Robert INGRAM had their four youngest children living at home in 1870. Richard Edward was born in March 1862. Their oldest son Vincent died between 1862-1870. Their son Irvin Lewis, my second great-grandfather, married in 1867 and their son William Preston married in 1869. Both had their own households in 1870 however my ancestor Irvin managed with his wife and children to not be enumerated. By 1880 two daughters had married: Nancy Margaret in 1872 and Mary Elizabeth in 1874. Amy, the oldest daughter, and Richard, the youngest son, were still at home. Richard married in 1883. Huldah died sometime between 1880 and 1900. Amy married in 1895 at the age of 43 and remained childless. Huldah’s widower Robert boarded with a Hamilton family in 1900 and according to family tradition he died about 1902 at the home of his cousin Preston KINCAID.
Alexander and his wife Isabella had three more children during the 1860s. They lost two sons before 1870 when they had their four living children, two daughters and two sons, in their household. Both daughters married in 1879 but, although in their husbands’ households, they were also listed with their parents in 1880 with their maiden names. Alexander and Louisa’s oldest son Harlin married in 1881. Alexander died in 1887. His youngest son Alexander married in 1889 and the following year his widow Louisa remarried. She was widowed again in 1899 and not found in the 1900 census. It is not known when she may have died.
Mary and David Alexander MILLER’s three oldest children married in 1864. By 1870 their five youngest were still at home but the oldest, a daughter would marry before the end of the year. David died in 1871 and Mary was left with three sons and a daughter. The daughter would marry in 1876, the two youngest sons in 1879, and the oldest in 1880. Mary lived with her son Irvin who had married his first cousin Louisa J. JOHNSON, daughter of Alexander, in 1880. Mary died in 1898.
John and his wife Mary Ann had in their household in 1870 their son Julian, his wife, and their two children. They had married in 1867. Julian, the only living child, still made his home with his parents in 1880. His family had grown by six children born before the 1880 census was enumerated. However the two oldest children born before the 1870 census died in 1873 and 1872. One last child was born in 1882. Mary Ann died in 1896 and John in 1902.
Amy gave her husband Charles McClung HUFFMANN five more sons in the 1860s. By 1870 they had eight sons and a daughter, all living at home. By 1880 the six youngest sons were still at home. In 1900 Amy and Charles, married 50 years, were on their own with only a servant helping in the household. Amy died in 1904 and her widower Charles in 1913. This family group has not been researched by me and I have very little information on their children and descendants.
William and his wife has six more children by 1870 and three more by 1880. Louisa died of heart disease at the age of 44 years in 1884. William died 6 January 1899. Thirteen children were attributed to them by persons who contributed to the publication, Sissonville A Time To Remember. The death records of two of these children, both males, were found. The names and the ages given does not correspond with any of the sons found in the census. Smith who died on 29 April 1885 at the age of 18 years (born abt. 1867) and John B. who died on 6 March 1871 at the age of 11 years and 6 months (b. abt. Sept 1868) were not with the family in 1870.
Nancy gave birth to four children during the decade and only one of them survived to the 1870 census. Her oldest was only 15 years old when she married in January before the census. Nancy, her husband William B. MARTIN, their three unmarried daughters and their married daughter and her husband were in the 1870 household. Three sons and a daughter were born in the 1870s and none of the older girls married. Seven of the eight children lived at home in 1880. The two youngest children died in 1881, a son and a daughter. By the end of the year the second oldest daughter was married. Two daughters and two sons were still unmarried. The girls married in 1885 and 1888 and the boys in 1892 and 1895. Nancy and Martin’s children were all married by 1900 when they were found together along with a granddaughter named Effie B. MARTIN age 12 years. As the sons had only been married 8 and 5 years, the daughters were looked into. Effie was their granddaughter through their daughter Mary S. and her husband John F. FISHER. In 1910 Nancy and Martin were last seen together in the census. Nancy died in 1915 and her widower was living with their oldest daughter in 1920. His death record has not been located.
All of the living children of Nancy Ann SIMS and William JOHNSON were located in the 1870 census. She was not found with any of them and I assume she died between 1860 and 1870 when she was 66 to 76 years old. Previous conjecture had been that she died during the 1840s, likely at the same time as her husband. However, with the 1848 partition suit and her being found in the 1860 census with her youngest son and his family, this family lore was rejected. Several family trees show her death as taking place in April 1870 in Fayette County per the 1870 Mortality Schedule of Fayette County. This death record is that of Nancy KELLY, widow of Israel JOHNSON. My ancestress’ death likely took place during the 1860s, a decade in which many records were misplaced or destroyed due to the Civil War. And as more records become available online at FamilySearch, I will continue to search for any and all documentation which will help to pinpoint her time of death.
This is the last post for the census work of the children of James SIMS and his first wife Phebe. Before continuing with the children from his second marriage, I would like to share in my next post the tragic story of the demise of Phebe SIMS.
1810 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Third Census of the United States, 1810 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls, FHL 0181429, roll 69, image 405, Virginia, Kanawha, Kanawha, page 129, sheet 207A, line 25, William Simms (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 February 2018). ↩
1820 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Fourth Census of the United States, 1820 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls, NARA Roll M33_130, image 388, Virginia, Nicholas, page 204B, line 31, William Johnson. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 February 2018). ↩
1830 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Fifth Census of the United States, 1830 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls, FHL Film 0029670, NARA Roll M19_191, Virginia, Kanawha, image 37+38 of 84, page 198A+B, line 7, William Johnston. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 March 2018). ↩
1840 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Sixth Census of the United States, 1840 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls, FHL Film 0029685, NARA Roll M704_555, Virginia, Fayette, image 13&14 of 54, sheet 145, line 23, William Johnson Sr. household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Fayette, image 17 & 18 of 54, sheet 147, line 30, Nelson Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Fayette, image 15 & 16 of 54, sheet 146, line 2, David Miller household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
1850 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration,Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M432, 1009 rolls, Roll: M432_405; image 491; Missouri, Madison, image 89 of 124, sheet 241A, lines 16-23, HH #462-462, Nelson Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M432_943; image 336 and 337; Virginia, Fayette, District 14, image 72 and 73 of 91, Sheet 365B lines 41-42 and Sheet 366A lines 1-3, HH #461-461, Robert Ingram household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Fayette, District 14, image 72 of 91, Sheet 365B, Lines 7-9, HH #455-455, Alexander Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Kanawha, District 29, image image 227 of 271, sheet 125A, lines 12-17, HH #1790-1835, David Miller household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Kanawha, District 29, image 113 of 271, sheet 68A, lines 34-36, HH #1013-1017, John Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Kanawha, District 29, image 146 of 271, sheet 84B, lines 29-31, HH #1239-1254, Charles Huffman household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
1860 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Eighth Census of the United States, 1860 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls, Roll: M653_1356; Page: 113; FHL Film 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 114 of 54, page 321, lines 21-25, HH #788-788, William Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M653_1356; FHL Film: 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 45 of 321, page 44, lines 9-13, HH #302-302, Elizabeth Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M653_1344; FHL Film: 805344; Virginia, Fayette, District 1, image 23 of 26, page 25, sheet 335, lines 12-21, HH #183-161, Robert Ingrum household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., M653_1356; Page: 113; FHL Film: 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 114 of 321, page 113, lines 16-20, HH #787-787, Alexander Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M653_1356; Page: 118; Family History Library Film: 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 120 of 321, page 118, lines 30-39, HH #826-826, David Miller household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M653_1356; FHL Film: 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 290 of 321, page 319, lines 16-19, HH #2190-2190, John B. Johnson household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M653_1356; FHL Film: 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 114 of 321, page 113, lines 3-8, HH #784-784, Charles Huffman household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
Ibid., Roll: M653_1356; Family History Library Film: 805356; Virginia, Kanawha, image 106 of 321, page 105, lines 3–40, HH #735-735, WIlliam B. Martin household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2018). ↩
In mid-March I received this message from one of my siblings:
Just wanted to let you know that I ordered a DNA kit from ancestry.com. I will send you the results when I get them. Hopefully it will be useful in your research.
When his results came in late May he sent me this message and screenshot:
Hope this doesn’t mess up your research too much.
I thought he was holding out on me, waiting to let me know only after he came to visit for Mom’s 80th birthday. But the results truly did not come in until the early morning of the day he was to arrive in Luxembourg.
He turned administration over to me as he thought I would know better what to do with the test results as he does not do genealogy.
I haven’t done DNA testing but my second cousin Laura [daughter of Geraldine Dempsey Workman (1931-2007) – the first person I know of who worked on our family tree] shared her DNA page with me earlier this year. Since Laura and I share great-grandparents (William Henderson DEMPSEY and Laura Belle INGRAM) 3/4 of her matches did not have anything to do with our common line. It, however, helped me to get a feel for Ancestry’s DNA page before my brother’s results came in.
The ethnicity results (above) of 100% European were to be expected although it blew the theory of a Native American connection right out of the water. Or so I thought. Where do the 10% Italy/Greece fit into our family tree?
After a week or so of trying to figure out some kind of system to work through the matches on Ancestry, I decided to download the raw DNA data and upload it to GEDmatch. After the kit was tokenized and while I was waiting for the batch processing to complete I did a heritage test.
Admix Results (sorted):
#
Population
Percent
1
Early Neolithic Farmer
43.00
2
Western European/Unknown Hunter-Gatherer
25.49
3
Ancestral South Eurasian
18.91
4
Caucas-Gedrosia
7.59
5
NearEast
1.65
6
Amerindian
1.43
7
Ancestral South Indian
1.20
1.43% Native American DNA for my brother. I understand he got about 50% of his DNA from our father and 50% from our mother (European). Family tradition is the NA connection is through our paternal grandmother Myrtle Hazel ROOP‘s mother Rebecca Jane CLONCH. If I keep doubling the percentage (which may not be scientifically correct) I get 91.52% at the 4th great-grandparent level. Dennis CLAUNCH and Nancy BEASLEY are the only known set. Another ancestor at this level was Levina DOSS who had her children with an unknown man. The unknowns are COOLEYs and TREADWAYs.
I admit this was just a game I was playing before I begin to get serious about using the DNA results for research purposes. But who knows, maybe I’m on the right track.
Oh yes, Laura and my brother are “predicted 2nd cousins” and share 381 centimorgans across 15 DNA segments.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco of Everyone Has A Story suggested doing posts on heirlooms in a discussion in the Genealogy Bloggers Facebook group and wrote Now Where Did I Put That? Several bloggers have taken her up on the challenge to write about their heirlooms and we hope more will follow our lead.
After I graduated from high school in 1976 I went to live with my paternal grandmother, Myrtle Hazel ROOP, widow of Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY, while attending West Virginia Tech. Grandma gave me several items including a cardinal feeding her young ones and this glass relish dish shaped like a leaf and a bunch of grapes.
It belonged to Grandma’s mother-in-law Laura Belle INGRAM, my great-grandmother and wife of William Henderson DEMPSEY. It’s special to me because of who gave it to me and who it originally belonged to.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco of Everyone Has A Story suggested doing posts on heirlooms in a discussion in the Genealogy Bloggers Facebook group and wrote Now Where Did I Put That? Several bloggers have taken her up on the challenge to write about their heirlooms and we hope more will follow our lead.
Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks theme for 2015 Week 24 was Heirlooms. Visit her 52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 24 Recap for the links to more posts in the comments.
After I graduated from high school in 1976 I went to live with my paternal grandmother, Myrtle Hazel ROOP, widow of Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY, while attending West Virginia Tech. My cousins called her Grandma Dempsey but, to me, she was just plain Grandma as my other grandmother was Bomi.
In her living room Grandma had an alcove with shelves on the right side of the closed off fireplace where she kept her knick-knacks, souvenirs, pictures, and books. I believe the recessed bookshelves hid the door to the adjacent bedroom but that is a story for a later post. The shelves can be seen in this photo of my parents and me when we were visiting my grandparents in 1959.
Getting back to the time I lived with my Grandma, when I left to go home she took this figurine of a cardinal feeding two little ones off a shelf in her alcove and gave it to me as a gift to remember her and West Virginia by.
The Northern Cardinal is the state bird of West Virginia. This is not a valuable piece. On the underside of the figurine is a little gold-colored sticker which reads “Original Artmark” and “Made in Taiwan.”
Grandma may have bought it at a local souvenir shop or received it as a gift. She did not say it had belonged to anyone else before it came into her possession. I would have remembered this as she also gave me two heirlooms which had belonged to her mother-in-law, my great-grandmother Laura Belle INGRAM, which I will share in future posts.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco of Everyone Has A Story suggested doing posts on heirlooms in a discussion in the Genealogy Bloggers Facebook group and wrote Now Where Did I Put That? Several bloggers have taken her up on the challenge to write about their heirlooms and we hope more will follow our lead.
Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks theme for 2015 Week 24 was Heirlooms. Visit her 52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 24 Recap for the links to more posts in the comments.
Everett with a photo of his grandmother Florence Royalty Lillie on desk at left.
….in remembrance of Everett Isaac LILLIE who gave his life 71 years ago while serving his country during World War II.
Genealogy Sketch
Name: Everett Isaac LILLIE (1915-1944) Parents: Reese Gentry LILLY (1892-1965) and Dovie Deen (1894-1918) Spouse: name unknown Child: Patricia M. LILLIE (1944-2012) Whereabouts: Massac County, IL; Detroit, MI; and France Relationship to Cathy Meder-Dempsey: 4th cousin once removed
Everett was inducted into the U.S. Army in March 1941.
Inspection Day outside when I was a coporal. ~ Everett I. Lillie
He wrote on the back of this photo, Inspection Day outside when I was a Corporal.
Inspection Day outside when I was a coporal. ~ Everett I. Lillie
Everett and his family were proud of his service as seen in these photos (top and below) taken in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, when he was on furlough and visited with his Uncle Raymond and Aunt Ruth.
Everett with his uncle Raymond (left) and his aunt Ruth Lillie (right).Everett with his uncle Raymond (middle).
Wounded on D-Day and Died Two Days Later
Courtesy of Joe Rooney
Publication: Metropolis News
First Published: July 15, 1948
Funeral services for Staff Sgt.
Everett I. Lillie were held Tuesday
afternoon in the Brookport Baptist
Church with Rev. Albert Moore of-
ficiating, followed by burial in the
Pell Cemetery.
S/Sgt. Lillie was born in 1915 to
Reese & Dovie Lillie and was in-
ducted into the U.S. Army in
March, 1941. He was wounded in
France on June 6, 1944 and died
two days later. He is survived by
his wife and daughter of New Jer-
sey, father, step-mother and several
siblings.
Everett is listed on the World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing for the State of Michigan with serial #36106054.
Gravemarker
Courtesy of Joe Rooney
Everett I. Lillie
Illinois
S Sgt Co G 8 Inf 4 Inf Div
World War II PH
Sept 3 1915 June 8 1944
Location of marker: Pell Cemetery, Brookport, Massac County, Illinois
✻ ✻ ✻ ✻ ✻ ✻ ✻
This is a spin-off of my 52 Ancestors: #14 Albert Spencer LILLIE (1848-1913) ~ Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can blogpost in which I featured a few photos from a collection of old photographs my 4C1R Joe Rooney shared with me. I asked Joe about using the photos and he kindly wrote, “Please use them at your will. I feel it is keeping it in the family and don’t need credit. If anything, I appreciate your evaluations, identifications and detective work. I’m hopeful you and yours enjoy them. On a blog, in a book, above a cloud.”
Please contact me!
Are you related to a person mentioned in this post? Send an email to
openingdoorsinbrickwalls @ pt.lu or message me on my Facebook page Opening Doors in Brick Walls.
Links to posts in this series may be found in Old Photographs
“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.”
My fourth great-grandmother Nancy Ann SIMS (1793-the 1860s) was the youngest child of James SIMS (1754-1840) and his first wife Phebe (1755-1794). Their marriage record, which would show Phebe’s maiden name, has not been found. Old family lore, which has not been substantiated, tells of James marrying his cousin. This has led many on a wild goose chase as they only considered that she may have been a SIMS. It is believed that they married before 1777 in Culpeper County, Virginia, as this is where James was known to have been living.
On the 18th day of February 1834, James SIMS personally appeared before the Justice of the Peace of Nicholas County (who happened to be his son William) and gave an oath and made his declaration to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed 7 June 1832 for service rendered during the Revolutionary War. In the statement, he told of his living in Culpeper County in June 1777 when he was drafted.1
James Sims Revolutionary War papers (ancestry.com accessed 7 Oct 2011)
James SIMS and his wife Phebe had seven children before their youngest, Nancy Ann was born about 1793 in Bath County, Virginia.
On 17 December 1779, James and Phebe sold 118 acres of land in Bromfield parish, in the Great Fork of the Rappahannock River in Culpeper County, Virginia.9 The land had been acquired on 30 October 1762 by Jeremiah SIMS and left to his only child James.10,11 It is not known if James and Phebe left Culpeper immediately for the area which would become Bath County, in 1790, where their youngest was born, or if they lived in different locations between 1780 and 1793.12
Baby Nancy Ann’s Mother Phebe Dies in a Tragic Accident
Nancy Ann’s mother Phebe died shortly before 22 January 1794 in Clifton Forge, Bath County, Virginia. Nancy Ann, who was seen as 66 years old in the 1860 census, was born in 1794 or earlier. It is more likely that she was born in 1793 and not during the early part of January 1794. Family tradition is that James’ wife was coming home from caring for a sick friend, fell from her horse, and drowned in the Jackson River. I cannot imagine the mother of a newly born baby leaving home to visit a sick friend. The story of the drowning has been verified with the coroner’s inquest report dated 22 January 1794, which includes the following statement: “Phebe was accidently drowned occasioned by the horse whereon she rode rearing and plunging and throwing her into the water.” There is no mention of who was traveling with Phebe when this happened.13
Coroner’s Inquest Report. photocopy of original courtesy of Rose Mary Sims Rudy (received per email 9 October 2001)Coroner’s Inquest Report. photocopy of original courtesy of Rose Mary Sims Rudy (received per email 9 October 2001)
Transcript of the Coroner’s Inquest
Phebe Simms Inquisition Taken the 22nd of January 1794 Before John Dean Gent. Coroner
Bath County to wit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Inquisition indented taken [illegible] [illegible] in the County aforesaid on the twenty second day of January in the year One thousand seven hundred and ninety four before me John Dean a Gentleman and of the Coroners of the Commonwealth for the County aforesaid upon view of the body of Phebe Sims late of said County then and there lying dead; and upon the Oathes of Robert Armstrong Jr., William Morris, John Scott, John Bird, Andrew Baurland, Thomas Barber, James Armstrong, Robert McClintic, William McClintic, John Somwalt, Paul Harpole and Adam Kimberlan, good and lawful men of the County aforesaid, who being Jurors and charged to inquire on the part of the Commonwealth, when where how and after what manner the said Phebe Sims came to her death, do say upon their Oathes, that the said Phebe was accidently drowned occasioned by the horse whereon she rode Rearing and plunging and throwing her into the water. The witness whereof as well the aforesaid Coroner as the Jurors aforesaid have in this Inquisition put their Seals on the day and year aforesaid and at the place aforesaid. John Dean Robt. Armstrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andr. Baurland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Barber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jas. Armstrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert McClintic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William McClintic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Johannes Zumqualt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Harpole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam Kimberlan
Nancy Ann’s Brother Jeremiah is Accused of Causing Phebe’s Death
This was not the last that would be heard of Phebe’s death. Her oldest son Jeremiah SIMS was accused by John SCOTT of causing his mother’s death. His father James defended him and brought suit against Scott demanding damages of 100 pounds.14
Sir Please to Issue a Writ vs John Scott for saying my son was the Dam son of a Bitch that Drowned his Mother Col. C. Cameron Jas. Sims
A Stepmother for Nancy Ann
James SIMS married Elizabeth COTTON on 25 October 1796 in Bath County, Virginia.15 During the first 4 or 5 years of their marriage, they did not have any known children. James was making plans to move to Kanawha County where, in 1800, he bought land “lying & being in the County of Kanawha Containing one hundred & twenty three acres on Gauley River above the Ferry.”16 This would later be the location of Swiss, Nicholas County, West Virginia, where all of the children of the second marriage were born.
Nancy Ann’s Siblings Marry Within Eight Years of Each Other
When Nancy Ann’s father James and her stepmother Elizabeth were beginning to have children, her older siblings were marrying:
◉ Martin SIMS married Susannah JOHNSON (1784-1840) on 28 March 1800 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia18
◉ Jeremiah SIMS married Sarah MILHOLLEN (1777-1838) on 26 November 1800 in Bath County, Virginia19. Jeremiah had not made the move with the rest of the family and would later move to Ohio.
◉ Elizabeth SIMS married John JOHNSON (1777-1861) on 2 June 1802 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia.20
◉ Edward “Ned” SIMS married Hannah Mary ROBINSON (1786-1858) on 8 August 1805 in Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio. 21
◉ William SIMS married Elizabeth WINDSOR (1784-1852), daughter of Jonathan Windsor, before 1805 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia.22
◉ Mary “Polly” SIMS married John FOWLER ( -1808) on 13 January 1808 or 28 February 1808 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia (conflicting dates?).23,24 She was widowed during the year and then married Thomas HUGHES (1778-1853) on 25 August 1809 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia.25
By the time the enumerator came around visiting the families all of Nancy Ann’s siblings, except for John, were married. Her father James did not have a young lady of her age in his household. I’ve studied all of her siblings’ census listings and only her brother William, the oldest of James’ children living in the area, had a female of the correct age group.26
1810 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Kanawha (ancestry.com)
1810 U.S. Federal Census
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Kanawha
Simms, William
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (sons, William Jr. and Jeremiah)
Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 1 (daughter Nancy)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 1 (sister Nancy Ann)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Elizabeth)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 4
Number of Household Members Over 25: 1
Number of Household Members: 6
Nancy Ann’s absence in her father’s household lead earlier researchers to assume she married in 1810. This was not the case. Before she would marry it was her brother John’s turn. John SIMS and Mildred HUNTER (1790-1850) were married by Edw. R. HUGHES on 13 April 1811 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia.27
Nancy Ann Marries at about 21 Years of Age
Close to the end of the War of 1812 (18 Jun 1812-24 Dec 1814), Nancy Ann SIMS married William JOHNSON Jr. in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia, on 15 October 1814.28 They soon started a family and by 1839 had eleven children:
◉ 1. Nelson JOHNSON (1815-1855) was born about 1815
◉ 2. Huldah JOHNSON (1817-1880) was born about 1817
◉ 3. Alexander JOHNSON (1819-1887) was born on 10 June 181929
◉ 4. Mary JOHNSON (1820-1898) was born on 20 August 182030
◉ 5. John B. JOHNSON (1823-1902) was born on 23 December 182331
◉ 6. Amy JOHNSON (1825-1904) was born on 4 November 182532
◉ 7. Lewis JOHNSON (1828-1845) was born on 6 March 1828.33 He died 31 August 1845 of typhoid fever.34
◉ 8. Elizabeth JOHNSON (1829-1833) was born about 1829. She died at the age of 4 years of flux.
◉ 9. William Hunter JOHNSON (1832-1899) was born on 27 July 183235
◉ 10. Nancy JOHNSON (1835-1915) was born in August 183536
◉ 11. Morris Houston JOHNSON (1839-1845) was born on 21 January 1839. He died 11 August 1845 of typhoid fever.37
In 1824, Nancy Ann lost two of her siblings. Her oldest brother Jeremiah, who had gone to Ohio soon after his marriage, died on 12 January 1824 in German Township, Clark County, Ohio. He was buried in Callison Cemetery in that township.38 Her youngest sister Polly, who had married Thomas HUGHES, died leaving 4 young children. It is very likely that she died in childbirth as her youngest was born about the time that she died.39
After their tenth child Nancy’s birth in August 1835, named after her mother, William and Nancy Ann’s children began to marry. At the time they had only nine living children as four-year-old Elizabeth had died of flux about 1833.
◉ Nelson JOHNSON married Elizabeth HUGHES (1817-1900) on 14 September 1837 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia40
◉ Mary JOHNSON married David Alexander MILLER (1820-1871) on 13 December 1839 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia41
◉ Huldah JOHNSON married Robert INGRAM (1819-1902) about 1841 in Fayette County (West) Virginia42
Another marriage that took place around this time was that of Nancy Ann’s brother Martin who was recently widowed. Martin SIMS married Margaret “Peggy” HUGHES (1801- ) on 6 June 1840 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia.43
Typhoid Fever Epidemic in 1845
Nancy Ann’s sister Elizabeth, wife of John JOHNSON, died 1 June 1845 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia. She has a marker at Johnson Cemetery in Kincaid.44 Their father James SIMS died between 12 August 1845 and 10 March 1846 in Swiss, Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.45,46
A typhoid fever epidemic is said to have been raging in 1845. This infectious, often fatal, febrile disease caused by the typhoid bacillus which is usually introduced with food or drink came to plague the JOHNSON family. The disease usually seen in the summer months, and characterized by intestinal inflammation and ulceration, quickly took two of Nancy Ann’s youngest boys. Morris Houston died on 11 August and Lewis followed him 20 days later on 31 August.47
Nancy Ann’s husband William JOHNSON died on 18 December 1845 in Loup Creek, Fayette County, (West) Virginia. He was buried in Nichols Cemetery on Loop Creek, also seen as Nichols Hollow Cemetery, Robson.48
Following these deaths, the family moved on and there were several more marriages:
◉ John B. JOHNSON married Mary Ann SETTLE (1821-1896) on 14 July 1846 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia49
◉ Amy JOHNSON married Charles McClung HUFFMAN (1826-1913) in 1849 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia50
◉ Alexander JOHNSON married Isabella HUGHES (1827- ) before June 1849. He was living in Fayette County at the time of the 1850 census with his wife Isabella and their daughter Lucinda.51
Nancy Ann Moves to Sissonville with her Single Children
The 1850 census was enumerated as of 1 June 1850. Nancy Ann, her son William Hunter and her daughter Nancy were missed on this census. Family tradition is that they moved about 1849 from Nancy Ann’s farm in Fayette County to Grapevine in Kanawha County after the death of Nancy Ann’s husband and their father. Nancy Ann’s oldest son Nelson, a cabinet maker, had moved to Madison County, Missouri, before the 1850 census but would return to Kanawha County where he died in 1855.52
Once Nancy Ann was settled in Kanawha County the last of her children married:
◉ Nancy JOHNSON married William B. MARTIN (1831-1920) on 7 September 1853 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia. Nancy’s brother William proved the mother’s consent on oath.53
◉ William Hunter JOHNSON married Louisa Lavinia SAMUELS (1839-1884) on 26 October 1856 in Sissonville, Kanawha County, (West) Virginia54
Nancy Ann’s brother John SIMS, whose wife had died after the 1850 census was enumerated, married(2) Elizabeth NEAL, a widow, (1794-1861) in Sept/Oct 1850 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia.55
In the years that followed Nancy Ann lost three more of her siblings: Edward “Ned” SIMS died on 31 March 1852 in Cass County, Missouri, and was buried in Orient Cemetery in Harrisonville;56 Martin SIMS died after 1 September 1853;57 and William SIMS died on 15 October 1854 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.58 Only Nancy Ann and her brother John remained.
Nancy Ann lived with her youngest living son, William Hunter JOHNSON, and was seen in his household in 1860. Next door was her son Alexander and a few households away was her daughter Amy HUFFMAN.59
1860 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Kanawha > Sissonville > HH #787 and #7881860 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Kanawha > Sissonville > HH #784
By 1870 we no longer find Nancy Ann SIMS with any of her children. It has been said that she died in the 1860s in the Poca District, Kanawha County, West Virginia.60 She may have predeceased her last living sibling, John SIMS who died on 15 October 1869 in Kanawha County, West Virginia.61
Nancy Ann (SIMS) JOHNSON was survived by her children Huldah INGRAM, Alexander JOHNSON, Mary MILLER, William Hunter JOHNSON, John B. JOHNSON, Amy HUFFMAN, and Nancy MARTIN. She was also survived by five of her eight half-siblings: Milly SETTLE, Jane DARLINGTON, Charles SIMS, Dryden SIMS, and Wash SIMS.
This Post was Updated on 13 September 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
Concerning the title of this post (14 September 2022): On her marriage record and the 1860 census, my 4th great-grandmother’s name was Nancy Sims and Nancy Johnson. The descendant who submitted the Sissonville A Time to Remember article cited gave her name as Nancy Ann Simms. No record has been found with the middle name Ann.
“U.S. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” index and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1995/), citing original data: Records of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.(NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls), S > Sidway, James- Smith, Daniel > Simrall, Alexander- Sinclear, Samuel > images 217-244 of 1164 > Pension Application File SR19464 for James Sims > images 220-224 > declaration of service (accessed 7 October 2011). ↩
The Kanawha County personal property tax lists for 1797 to 1800 were missing at the time of filming. In 1801 Martin and his father James (3 tithables) were on the list. Martin was 21 years or older. As he married in 1800 and would have had to be 21 to marry without permission, he was likely born 1778-1779, after Jeremiah and before William. ↩
Peggy Nichols (email), Old Simms Cemetery (aka Sims Family Cemetery), Beech Glen, Nicholas County, West Virginia, email from Peggy Nichols to Paul Guttman (deceased) dated 25 June 2001; forwarded by Guttman to Cathy Meder-Dempsey on 25 February 2002. The email includes a list of the graves recorded in the cemetery by Peggy’s sister in June 2001, Gravemarker of William Sims Sr., born 6 Nov 1780, died 15 Oct 1854, Gunsmith. ↩
Find A Grave, database and images, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8468087/edward-sims: accessed 9 September 2022), memorial page for Edward Sims (7 Jun 1785–31 Mar 1852), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8468087, citing Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville, Cass County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by Tracie Shrader Smith (contributor 47750453); Originally Created by: HSH (contributor 46595319) on 4 Mar 2004; Photos by Richard Parker (contributor 47021994)added on 27 May 2011. ↩
I have had John Sims’ date of birth in my family tree since before 2002 when I wrote the biography of his father James Sims. The source for his being born on 15 May 1787 may be buried in old emails received from a group of Sims researchers who helped gather information for the biography. ↩
1820 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7734/), citing Fourth Census of the United States, 1820 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls, NARA Roll M33_130, image 389, Virginia, Nicholas, page 205A, sheet 153, lin 11, Thomas Hughs (accessed 21 February 2018). The inferred wife of the head of the household was aged 26-44 years and therefore born before 1794. She would have been born between 1787-1793 between John and Nancy. The estimated birth is about 1788-1792. ↩
Culpeper County Court, Deed books, 1749-1901 ; index to deeds (grantor and grantee), 1749-1913 ; general indexes to miscellaneous liens, 1922-1960 (database with images), FamilySearch, Microfilm of manuscript and photostat at Culpeper County courthouse, Culpeper, Virginia, Deed books H-I, 1775-1779 > Deed Book H > pages 475-477 > images 260+261 of 623. Land Deed James Sims to Martin Nalle 118 acres. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSY6-Q32M-V?i=259&cat=415030 : accessed 4 June 2021). ↩
“Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983,” (index and images), Ancestry, citing original data of Virginia County, District, and Probate Courts, Culpeper > General Index to Wills, Vol 1, 1749-1930 > image 488 of 787 > pages 466-467. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007644387_00488 : accessed 4 February 2018). ↩
Personal property tax and land tax lists of Culpeper, Botetourt, and Bath counties need to be checked. ↩
Before 1995, Rose Mary Sims Rudy hired Constance Corley Metheney, the professional genealogist who located the coroner’s report. Bath County, Virginia records, Coroner’s Inquest Report. Photocopy of original courtesy of Rose Mary Sims Rudy, a descendant of James SIMS and Elizabeth COTTON through their son James SIMS Jr. (received 9 October 2001). ↩
The case in Judgment – Simms vs Scott was located in a file of old law cases for 1795 by Constance Corley Metheney, a professional genealogist. Mrs. Metheney sent photocopies of the original records to Rose Mary Sims Rudy in August 1995. In the cover letter, she wrote, “This does verify that the wife of James Simms had drowned and in this case it seems that John Scott had accused the son, Jeremiah Simms.” This is in reference to previous work Ms. Metheney did for Ms. Rudy, i.e. coroner’s inquest report for the death of Phebe Sims. ↩
The marriage bond for James Sims and Elizabeth Cotton was signed 25 October 1796, surety Enock Cotton, and with Benjamin Cotton consenting for his daughter Elizabeth. The witnesses were Enock Cotton and Shadrick Cotton. No minister return was filed. I’m sure I received this information from one of the Sims researchers I was in contact with 20 years ago but failed to include the source. I have not been able to locate the record(s) online. I suspect Rose Mary Sims Rudy may have been the one to get the record using a hired researcher, Constance Corley Metheny, who with Eliza Warwick Wise, authored Bath County Marriage Bonds and Ministers Returns 1791-1853 for the Bath County Historical Society, Inc. in 1978. Contains marriage bonds, consents, and/or ministers’ returns from 1791 to 1853, copied from the records in the Court House of Bath County, Virginia. ↩
Kanawha County (West Virginia), County Clerk, Record of deeds, 1790-1946 (images), FamilySearch, (126 microfilm reels of original records at the Kanawha County courthouse, Charleston, West Virginia), Deed books, v. A-B 1790-1804, image 206 of 468, Deed Book A, p 91. 1800 Land Deed John and Frances Jones to James Sims.(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSG6-FSQG-6?i=205&cat=56556 : accessed 6 February 2018). ↩
Paul Guttman, a scan of a photo of the grave marker was received per email on 18 May 2002, grave marker in Simms Memorial Church Cemetery, Swiss, Nicholas County, West Virginia for Charles Sims listing these dates: Aug. 15, 1815–Apr. 26, 1891. ↩
Larry Heffner, email dated 10 August 2004 in reply for request of information on the marriage papers of Martin Sims and Susanna Johnson in the archives of the Greenbrier Historical Society ↩
Metheny and Wise, Bath County Marriage Bonds and Ministers Returns 1791-1853 (Bath County Historical Society, Inc. 1978). ↩
Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, History of Fayette County, West Virginia 1993 (Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, 310 Oyler Avenue, Oak Hill, WV 25901,1993), pg. 33 col. 1. Personal copy bought 2000. This source lists Nicholas County. This may be the present-day Nicholas County area but, at that time, it was likely Kanawha County. ↩
The estimated year of marriage was calculated using the oldest child’s age (1860 age 55). In a land deed dated 15 July 1820, William Sims’ wife is named Elizabeth. William Sims is referred to as the son-in-law of Jonathan Windsor in the Revolutionary War Pension Application File R11703. He was visited on by District Attorney Washington G. Singleton in 1835 while investigating Windsor’s application. ↩
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 521719, image 215, Kanawha County marriage records, page 74, entry 3, John Fowler and Mary Sims 13 Jan 1808. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 9 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 75, Kanawha County marriage records, page 9, last line, John Fowler and Mary Sims 28 Feb 1808 married by Edward Hughes. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00075.jpg : accessed 9 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, Kanawha County marriage records, image 215, page 74, line 19, Thomas Hughes and Mary Fowler 25 Aug 1809. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 11 September 2022). ↩
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, FHL 0181429, roll 69, image 405, Virginia, Kanawha, Kanawha, page 129, sheet 207A, line 25, William Simms. ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 215, page 74. line 22, John Sims and Mildred Hunter, 13 Apr 1811. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 9 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 215, Kanawha County, Marriage Records, page 74, line 16, William Johnson and Nancy Sims 15 Oct 1814. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 20 January 2020). ↩
The source of Alexander’s date of birth is unknown. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has the source for the 10 June 1819 date of birth. ↩
Luella Loving Lowther (1929-2019), William Johnson Jr.-Nancy Ann Sims Family Group Sheet, supplied by Lowther, Klamath Falls, OR, 2019. This sheet offers only a list of materials used, with no specific documentation for any piece of data. Publications used were checked with the likely source for dates of birth, marriage, and death (that could not be confirmed with other sources) coming from the Family Group Sheet of Johnson supplied by Dreama J. Blevins Stewart (1943-2012). ↩
William Sydney Laidley, History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, Richmond Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1911; pg. 979, Article on Julian M. Johnson, great-grandson of William Johnson and his wife Amy. (https://archive.org/details/historyofcharles00laid/page/978 : accessed 8 Oct 2015). ↩
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: 1762; FHL microfilm: 1241762; West Virginia, Kanawha County, Mairs, Enumeration District 59, sheet 22B, household 328-329, line 56-58, William B. Martin and wife Nancy (born Aug 1835) (accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 49, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1 Nicholas County, line 11, 24 Feb 1825, Thomas Hughes and Nancy Kincaid, married by Jno. Campbell. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00049.jpg : accessed 26 August 2022). Note: Thomas Hughes, the widower of Mary Sims. ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 196, Fayette County Marriages, page 13, 4th entry, Nelson Johnson and Elisabeth Huse married on 14 Sep 1837 by John Johnson. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00196.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
No marriage record has been found. Robert and Huldah are both reflected in their father’s 1840 census listing. It can be assumed they married after the enumeration and before the birth of their son Vincent in about 1842. The marriage has been estimated at about 1841. Geraldine Dempsey Workman wrote in 1995, “Robert and Hulda’s marriage record cannot be found since pages are missing from the Marriage book at the courthouse.” The death records of Mary Elizabeth Ingram and Richard Edward Ingram list their mother as Hulda Johnson. ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 198, page 17, Martin Sims and Margaret Hughes married 6 June 1840 by E V B__g (illegible). (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00198.jpg : accessed 2 September 2022). ↩
The marker for John B. Johnson and his wife Elizabeth Sims was placed by descendants who contributed to the cost. Elizabeth is more likely buried on Laurel Creek in Nicholas County where the family was living at the time of her death. ↩
Nicholas County (West Virginia), County Court, Order books, 1844-1928 (images), FamilySearch, (11 microfilm reels of original records at the Nicholas County courthouse, Summersville, West Virginia), DGS 7617649, Film 1639161, Vols. D,E,D 1844-1871, p 41, image 55 of 840. 1845 James Sims exempt from levies on 12 August 1845 (left page, last entry), (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9V1-FJB6?i=54&cat=99534 : accessed 7 February 2018). ↩
Ibid., DGS 7617649, Film 1639161, Vols. D,E,D 1844-1871, p 69, image 69 of 840. Letters of administration granted and appraisement order for the estate of James Sims decd at 10 March 1846 court session. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9V1-FJY6?i=68&cat=99534 : accessed 7 February 2018). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 209, Fayette County Marriages, page 39, entries 13 and 26, John B Johnson and Mary Ann Suttle, married 14 July 1846 by M. T. Bibb. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00209.jpg : accessed 3 May 2022). ↩
1850 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/), citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M432, 1009 rolls, Roll: M432_954, image 172; Virginia, Kanawha County, District 29, sheet 84B, lines 29-31, household #1239-1254, Charles Huffman (accessed 11 June 2018). A mark was made in column 10 indicating that the couple was married within the year. No marriage record was found. ↩
Ibid., Virginia, Fayette County, District 14, sheet 365B, lines 7-9, household 455-455, Alexander Johnson household (accessed 11 June 2018). The column for married within the year is not marked, therefore they married before June 1849. ↩
Ibid., Roll: M432_405; image 491; Missouri, Madison, image 89 of 124, sheet 241A, lines 16-23, HH #462-462, Nelson Johnson (accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 306, Registry of Marriage Licenses, Kanawha County/Record of Marriages Returned, line 95, license 27 Aug 1853, William Martin and Nancy Johnson married 7 Sep 1853 by Warwick Briscoe. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00306.jpg : accessed 3 May 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 343, Registry of Marriage Licenses for Kanawha County, 25 Oct 1856, William H. Johnson and Louisa Lavinia Samuels, line 99. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00343.jpg : accessed 3 May 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 263, Kanawha County minister’s returns, page 171, John Fowler and Elizabeth Lilly married by William Martin, a minister of the Gospel of the Baptist Church. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00263.jpg : accessed 19 May 2018). ↩
Find A Grave, database and images, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8468087/edward-sims: accessed 24 June 2012), memorial page for Edward Sims (7 Jun 1785–31 Mar 1852), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8468087, citing Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville, Cass County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by Tracie Shrader Smith (contributor 47750453); Originally Created by: HSH (contributor 46595319) on 4 Mar 2004; Photos by Richard Parker (contributor 47021994) added on 27 May 2011. ↩
Virginia Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery (Nicholas County), “Order books, 1818-1860,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1130223?availability=Family%20History%20Library), citing microfilm of original records at the Nicholas County Courthouse in Summersville, West Virginia, Film 1651838, DGS 8219492 > Order book, v. A, 1818-1834 — Order book, v. B, 1834-1849 — Order book, v. C, 1850-1860 > Order Book C, page 129, 1 Sep 1853, Martin Sims vs Elisha Williams (cause dismissed). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSGX-HB7Q?i=580&cat=1130223 : accessed 13 September 2022). This is at this time the last mention I have found for Martin Sims. ↩
Peggy Nichols (email), Old Simms Cemetery (aka Sims Family Cemetery), Beech Glen, Nicholas County, West Virginia, email from Peggy Nichols to Paul Guttman (deceased) dated 25 June 2001; forwarded by Guttman to Cathy Meder-Dempsey on 25 February 2002. The email includes a list of the graves recorded in the cemetery by Peggy’s sister in June 2001, Gravemarker of William Sims Sr., born 6 Nov 1780, died 15 Oct 1854, Gunsmith. ↩
1860 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/), citing Eighth Census of the United States, 1860 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls, Roll: M653_1356, FHL Film 805356, Virginia, Kanawha County, page 113, lines 21-25, household 788-788, William Johnson (accessed 5 June 2018). ↩
Sissonville A Time to Remember, “The Burgess & Martin Families of Sissonville,” submitted by Lura C. Robinson Baldwin, page 63. ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999, FHL microfilm 460366, image 58, Kanawha County, Register of Deaths, page 44 (stamped, double-page spread), line 33, John Simms, 15 Oct 1869, Brownstown, age 82, no parents listed, born in Virginia, informant A. G. Walker. (http://images.wvculture.org/460366/00058.jpg : accessed 19 May 2018). ↩
“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.”
I’m a bit behind on this week’s entry. Setting up my new laptop is taking me longer than I thought. And there are other things in my life that have priority – spending time with my husband and children, keeping myself healthy (310 kilometers/11+ hours on my bike since the 1st of the month), and creating memories.
#36 William JOHNSON Jr. 1793-1845
William JOHNSON Sr. (1755-1805) and Amy NELSON (1757-1837) married about 1774. Most family trees have their place of marriage as Bath County in Virginia but I cannot agree with this.
As is the case with all research in old Virginia, the county formations need to be considered. Bath County was created in 1790 from parts of Augusta, Botetourt, and Greenbrier counties. Greenbrier was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties. Botetourt County was established in 1770 from Augusta County. The marriage of William and Amy most likely took place in the area of Botetourt County that later went to Greenbrier or in Augusta County where the Johnston families lived. As this is a portrait of William JOHNSON Jr., I will go into the Johnston connection in Augusta County in a later post.
William and Amy were the parents of at least 8 known children, one of them being my fourth great-grandfather William JOHNSON (1793-1845) born about 1793 on Lick Run, Greenbrier County in old Virginia, now West Virginia.
William’s oldest brother Rev. John JOHNSON1 was born in 1777 in Botetourt or Augusta County. Their father may have been away from home for long periods of time due to his military service during the Revolutionary War (1775-1784). In any case, the next child Nelson JOHNSON was born about 1782. In Laidley’s 1911 History2 Nelson is named as one of the four sons of William JOHNSON Sr. Other sources3 have him listed as the son of Benjamin JOHNSON.
William Johnson Sr. moved to what is now Monroe County, West Virginia, after the end of the Revolutionary War and lived there for a number of years.4
New records brought to light by Wayne L. Johnson, a direct descendant of William Jr., may prove that William Sr. was actually in the area when Greenbrier County was formed in 1778.5 This would mean that John and Nelson were born “in the Sinks” as the JOHNSONs were there in 1784:
Among the people who were living in the Sinks at the close of the Revolution were several Methodist families. Among these were the Blantons, the Christys, the Johnsons, and the Warrens. They held religious meetings at their homes, and as their membership was growing, they organized a regular society late in the summer of 1784. This date, it will be observed, is also that of the independence of the Methodist Church.6
Note (5 September 2022): I have doubts that the Johnsons mentioned in this excerpt are William JOHNSON and his wife Amy. They were Methodists and lived in an area of Greenbrier (Lick Run) that would later be part of Monroe. However, it must be noted that there was another JOHNSON family in the area. More records are needed to establish a timeline of the Johnson families at this time.
James M. (1783-1834), Susannah (1784-1840), Mary “Polly” (1790-1850), my 4th great-grandfather William (1793-1845), Nancy (1794-1825), and Amy (1795-1859) were born on Lick Run then part of Greenbrier County.
Two land records were extracted from the deed books of Greenbrier County many years ago by David Fridley (who did not note the book or page on these). They would indicate that William and Amy left for Kanawha around 1798 selling a total of 238 acres:
◉ 25 June 1798. William Johnson and Amy deeded out 62 acres Lick Run. Witn: John Johnston7
◉ 26 June 1798. William Johnson and Amy sold 88 acres Lick Run. Witn: John Johnston, et al.8
The two tracts of land were part of a survey of 150 acres granted in 1796 to William JOHNSON by a patent lying and being in the county of Greenbrier on the waters of Lick Run.9
The JOHNSON family likely moved to Peters Creek, at the time in Kanawha County, after disposing of the 150 acres in 1798. William Sr. settled and remained there for the rest of his life.
The murder of one individual or a dozen families did not deter the sturdy pioneer from his onward march in the conquest of the wilderness, and accordingly, before a year has passed after the destruction of Kelly’s settlement, we find Leonard and William Morris both residing almost in sight of the fatal spot. Their settlement is elsewhere noticed [pg. 58, Kelly was killed in early 1773]. Among those who here found homes and become actual settlers in the next few years were John Hansford, Sr., Thomas Foster, Ransom Gatewood, Robert Perry, John Jarrett, John D. Massey, Gallatin G. Hansford, William Johnson, John Wheeler, Shadrach Childers, Peter Likens, Spencer Hill, William Pryor, Barney Green, Thomas Trigg and Shadrach Hariman.10
In the above, it cannot be assumed that William JOHNSON mentioned is William JOHNSON Sr. Laidley further mentions William in this excerpt from the biography of Julian M. JOHNSON:
Then he and his sons, William, John, Nelson and James, moved to Gauley River in what is now Nicholas County, WV, near and below the mouth of Little Elk about 1798.11
William’s youngest sister Elizabeth (1799-1840) was born the year after the family moved to Kanawha County.
At the turn of the century, William’s sister Susannah was the first to marry. She married Martin SIMS (1783-1853) on 28 March 1800 in Greenbrier County. The permission slip dated 24 March 1800 for Susannah’s marriage was signed by her father William JOHNSON.12
William’s brother John married Elizabeth SIMS (1782-1845), sister of the above-mentioned Martin SIMS, on 2 June 1802 in Kanawha County.13
William JOHNSON Sr. would only live to see these two children marry. He died on 22 December 1805 and was buried near Swiss in present-day Nicholas County, West Virginia.14
Photo courtesy of Carl L. Johnson.
Following their father’s death, the children lived with their mother Amy until one by one they married and started their own families. Mary “Polly” married Benjamin DARLINGTON (1775-1853) on 23 April 1810 in Kanawha County.15 She was with her husband when the 1810 census was enumerated. Amy was with her single children and close to son John and daughter Susannah who had married the SIMS siblings.
1810 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Kanawha > Kanawha > image 4 of 16 [ancestry.com]1810 U.S. Federal Census16
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Kanawha
Johnston, Anne (sic, Amy; listed just above her son John)
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (James & Alexander)
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15: 1 (William)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25: 1 (Nelson)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 1 (Elizabeth)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 2 (Amy & Nancy)
Free White Persons – Females – 45 and over : 1 (Amy)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 4
Number of Household Members Over 25: 1
Number of Household Members: 8
During the time our nation was at war (War of 1812), William and his two single brothers married in Kanawha County.
◉ James M. JOHNSON and Elizabeth MILLER ( -1823) were married on 4 May 1813 by Edward Hughes. A bond or license was applied for on 29 April 181317,18
◉ Nelson JOHNSON married Nancy MURPHY in 181319
◉ William JOHNSON married Nancy Ann SIMS on 15 October 181420
William JOHNSON Jr. and his family originally lived at the mouth of Laurel Creek, a tributary of the Gauley River which empties about one mile above Swiss. In 1810 the JOHNSON and SIMS families were neighbors and it is known that James SIMS, father of Nancy Ann SIMS, made his home in what is today known as Swiss. William’s son John B. JOHNSON was born at the mouth of Rich Creek on Gauley in 1823 per the 1911 biography of his son Julian M. JOHNSON. This would have been in the area of Swiss. Later, most likely after 1823, the JOHNSON family moved to a place on Loop Creek (Loup Creek) in the area of what is known as Robson in present-day Fayette County, West Virginia.
“Loop Creek flows for its entire length in western Fayette County. It rises in the city of Oak Hill and flows initially west-northwestward through the unincorporated communities of Lick Fork, Wriston, Ingram Branch, and Hamilton; then northward through the unincorporated communities of Kincaid, Page, North Page, and Robson, to Deep Water, where it flows into the Kanawha River.”21
Before William and Nancy’s next child was born two of his sisters married brothers in Kanawha County. Nancy married Peyton FOSTER (1793- ) on 11 January 1815.22 Amy and Turley FOSTER (1794-1859) were married by Edward HUGHES on 16 November 1816.23 The marriage was also recorded on 18 November 1816.24
And William’s family continued to grow with the birth of my third great-grandmother Huldah JOHNSON (1817-1880) about 1817 and Alexander JOHNSON (1819-1887) on 10 June 1819.25
The 1820 and 1830 censuses were enumerated in alphabetical order rather than in order of household visitation. This makes it less useful for locating the actual place where the family lived.
The family was in Nicholas County in 1820 and then next seen in Kanawha County in the 1830 census which supports the theory that their move to Loop Creek was in the 1820s, most likely between 1824-1830. Robson is 10 miles south of present-day Gauley Bridge. Fayette County was created on 28 February 1831 from parts of Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, and Logan counties. From then on William’s children were born on Loop Creek in Fayette County where they were seen in the 1840 census.
1820 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Nicholas
1820 U.S. Federal Census26
Nicholas County, (West) Virginia
Page No: 204B
Enumerated by: Hedgman Triplett on the 26th day of December 1820
William Johnson
2 males under 10 yo (Nelson and Alexander)
2 males 10 & under 16 yo (not sons of Wm and Nancy who were married only 6 yrs)
1 male 16 & under 26 yo (William)
1 female under 10 yo (Huldah)
1 female 16 & under 26 yo (Nancy Ann b. bet. 1794-1804)
1 person engaged in agriculture
7 persons in household
Following the enumeration of the 1820 census, William’s fourth child Mary JOHNSON (1820-1898) was born on 20 August 1820.27
William’s sister Elizabeth JOHNSON married Presley L. FOSTER (1798-1873), a brother of Turley and Peyton FOSTER, on 12 March 1822 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.28 His brother James M. JOHNSON, recently widowed, married(2) Sarah LEGG (1795- ) on 6 March 1823 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.29
Shortly before Christmas in 1823 another son, John B. JOHNSON (1823-1902), was born on 23 December 1823.30 His middle name may be assumed by many to be Brown but I have not found proof of this. The JOHNSON family was very fond of this name!
The first of William’s siblings, Nancy (Johnson) FOSTER died before 6 September 1825 leaving only one known child, a son she named Johnson FOSTER.31
Nancy gave William three more children before the 1830 census: Amy JOHNSON (1825-1904) on 4 November 1825, Lewis JOHNSON (1828-1845) on 6 March 1828, and Elizabeth JOHNSON (1829-1833) about 1829.32
1830 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Kanawha
1830 U.S. Federal Census33
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
Johnston, William
2 males under 5 yo (Lewis b. 1828, John Brown b. 1823)
1 male 5 & under 10 yo (Alexander b. 1819)
1 male 10 & under 15 yo (Nelson b. ca. 1815)
1 male 30 & under 40 yo (William Jr. b. 1793)
1 female under 5 yo (Amy b. 1825)
1 female 5 & under 10 yo (Mary b. 1820)
1 female 10 & under 15 yo (Huldah b. ca. 1818)
1 female 30 & under 40 yo (Nancy Ann Sims Johnson b. bet. 1791-1800)
1 female 70 & under 80 yo (Amy Nelson Johnson b. 1757)
7 free white persons under 20
2 free white person 20 thru 9
10 total free white persons
10 total – all persons
In William’s household, we see an older woman. This must be his mother as family tradition is that she lived among her children until her death.
William’s family was not yet complete: William Hunter JOHNSON (1832-1899) was born on 27 July 183234 and Nancy JOHNSON (1835-1915) was born in August 1835.35 Sadly, young Elizabeth, about 4 years old, died about 1833 of the flux.
A year later William’s brother James M. JOHNSON died in 1834 on Loop Creek, Fayette County, (West) Virginia.36
William’s oldest child Nelson JOHNSON married Elizabeth HUGHES (1817-1900) on 14 September 1837 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia.37
Sadly there would be another death in the family during the 1830s. William’s elderly mother Amy NELSON died on 23 December 1837 in Robson, Fayette County, (West) Virginia, and was buried in Nichols Cemetery on Loop Creek also known as Nichols Hollow Cemetery, Robson.
Courtesy of Gary Johnston (Facebook message dated 1 May 2013)
Amie Nelson Johnson lived among her children after coming to Loup Creek but her last days were at the home of her son William, whose home was near that of Mutt Ellis. This was very close to the cemetery known then as the Kelly grave yard but now called the Nuchils cemetery. This is a beautiful location for a cemetery. In a row in this cemetery is the grave of William and Nancy Simms Johnson, two children, and the mother Amie Nelson Johnson. William and Nancy died around 1845 during a typhoid fever epidemic. Afterwards, most of his family went to Kanawha County to an area called the Grape Vine, near Charleston.38
Unfortunately, Laura Blake, a local historian, didn’t get all the facts correct in the above statement. William’s wife Nancy SIMS did not die around 1845 during a typhoid fever epidemic. She was seen living with her son William Hunter JOHNSON in Kanawha County in 1860.39
After his mother Amy’s death, William’s wife Nancy gave birth to their last child Morris Houston JOHNSON (1839-1845) on 21 January 1839 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia.40
William’s daughter Mary JOHNSON married David Alexander MILLER (1820-1871) on 13 December 183941 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia.
William’s sister Susannah SIMS died before the 1840 census.42
1840 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Fayette > page 145
1840 U.S. Federal Census43
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
Johnson, William Sr. (page 145)
2 males under 5 yo (William Hunter and Morris Houston)
1 male 5 & under 10 yo (Lewis)
1 male 15 & under 20 yo (John Brown)
1 male 20 & under 30 yo (Alexander)
1 male 40 & under 50 yo (William)
1 female under 5 yo (Nancy)
1 female 15 & under 20 yo (Amy)
1 female 20 & under 30 yo (Huldah)
1 female 30 & under 40 yo (Nancy Ann; should be listed as 40 & under 50 yo)
10 persons in household
2 persons engaged in agriculture
William’s sister Elizabeth died after the 1840 census and before 9 February 1843 when her widower Presley FOSTER married Lucretia BAILES.44Update: During a recent review of the records, the correct date of marriage was found in the War of 1812 widow’s pension of Lucretia FOSTER, the widow of Presly FOSTER. Previously seen as 9 February 1840, the corrected date changes the timeline. Elizabeth would have been the woman in Presley’s household in 1840 and not Lucretia. She therefore died after the census and before Presley’s remarriage.
William and Nancy’s oldest daughter Huldah JOHNSON married Robert INGRAM (1819-1902) in about 1841 in Fayette County (West) Virginia.
Courtesy of Gary Johnston (Facebook message dated 1 May 2013)
In 1845 during an epidemic of typhoid fever, three members of the family died. William’s sons died within three weeks of each other: Morris Houston JOHNSON died on 11 August 1845 and Lewis JOHNSON died on 31 August 1845. William JOHNSON followed his sons on 18 December 1845. They are all buried in the Nichols Cemetery in Fayette County.45
This Post was Updated on 4 September 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.
I have not found any sources that list a middle name or initial for John Johnson. Many family trees include Brown as the middle name for John Johnson. Only his grave marker placed long after his death, includes the initial B. ↩
William Sydney Laidley, History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, Richmond Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1911; pg. 979, Article on Julian M. Johnson, great-grandson of William Johnson and his wife Amy. (https://archive.org/details/historyofcharles00laid/page/978 : accessed 8 Oct 2015). ↩
Christine Beckelheimer, submitter, The History of Fayette County West Virginia 1993, sponsored and published by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, page 32, “Benjamin Johnson.” ↩
Wayne L. Johnson and Carl L. Johnson, These Lost Children of the Marquis of Annandale, Johnstone-Johnston-Johnson, Notes & Compilations in three volumes, Vol. II First Americans, Charleston, West Virginia. A copy of this draft (a work in progress) was received in the mail on 16 July 2014 from Wayne L. Johnson via Tim Spradling. I haven’t tried to prove the work in progress – tentative research – by Johnson & Johnson is reliable. ↩
Greenbrier County (West Virginia) County Clerk, “Deeds (Greenbrier County, West Virginia), 1780-1901” (non-indexed images), FamilySearch, Microfilm of original records at the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg, West Virginia, Film 593545, DGS #7765144, Deeds, v. 2 1798-1803, images 37 of 380 (page 52). Johnston to Tennis deed for 62 acres (25 June 1798, entered 26 June 1798). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-V4RY?i=36&cat=98577 : accessed 31 July 2019). ↩
“Land Office/Northern Neck Patents & Grants” (index and images from microfilm), Library of Virginia Archives (https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/land-grants), citing Virginia State Land Office, the collection is housed in the Archives at the Library of Virginia, Land Office Grants No. 33, 1795-1796, p. 306 (Reel 99), Land grant 10 May 1796, Johnston, William grantee, 150 acres on the waters of Indian Creek a branch of New river and adjoing. the lands of Patrick Kenan, Edward Heathers &c. (Greenbrier). (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007778620205756 : accessed 28 April 2013). ↩
Laidley’s History, page 235, Cabin Creek District.↩
Larry Heffner, email dated 10 August 2004 in reply to my request for information on the marriage papers of Martin Sims and Susanna Johnson in the archives of the Greenbrier Historical Society. “The Marriage bond on file with the Historical Society is for Martin Sims & Susanna Johnson and is dated 28 March 1800. There is also a permission slip dated 24 March 1800 signed by Susanna’s father, William Johnson.”↩
The History of Fayette County West Virginia 1993; sponsored and published by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.↩
Laidley’s History, page 979, Julian M. Johnson biography, “William Johnson, Sr. died on Gauley December 22, 1805. His wife lived until December 23, 1837.” (https://archive.org/details/historyofcharles00laid/page/978 : accessed 8 Oct 2015). ↩
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 521719, image 214, page 73, marriages performed by Edward Hughes, 23 Apr 1810, Benjamin Darlington and Polly Johnson. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00214.jpg : accessed 2 September 2022). ↩
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, FHL 0181429, roll 69, image 405, Virginia, Kanawha, Kanawha, page 129, sheet 207A, line 20, Anne Johnston (accessed 6 February 2018). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 79, page 74, James Johnson and Elizabeth Miller, married 4 May 1813 by Edward Hughes. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00079.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 215, Kanawha Marriage Records, page 74, line 20, 29 Apr 1813, James Johnson and Elizabeth Miller. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 78, page 15, Kanawha, Nelson Johnson and Nancy Murphy, married in 1813 by John Lee. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00078.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 215, Kanawha County, Marriage Records, page 74, line 16, William Johnson and Nancy Sims 15 Oct 1814. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 20 January 2020). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 215, Kanawha Marriage Records, page 75, line 7, Payton Foster and Nancy Johnson, 11 Jan 1815. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 180, Kanawha Marriages performed by Edward Hughes, Turley Foster and Anny Johnson, 16 Nov 1816. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00180.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 215, Kanawha Marriage Records, page 75, line 8, Turley Foster and Amia Johnson, 18 Nov 1816. (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00215.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
The source of Alexander’s date of birth is unknown. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has the source for the 10 June 1819 date of birth. ↩
1820 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7734/), citing Fourth Census of the United States, 1820 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls, NARA Roll M33_130, image 388, Virginia, Nicholas, page 204B, line 31, William Johnson (accessed 21 February 2018). ↩
Luella Loving Lowther (1929-2019), William Johnson Jr.-Nancy Ann Sims Family Group Sheet, supplied by Lowther, Klamath Falls, OR, 2019. This sheet offers only a list of materials used, with no specific documentation for any piece of data. Publications used were checked with the likely source for dates of birth, marriage, and death (that could not be confirmed with other sources) coming from the Family Group Sheet of Johnson supplied by Dreama J. Blevins Stewart (1943-2012). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 38, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1 – Nicholas County, 3/12/1822 Presley L. Foster and Elizabeth Johnson married by John Campbell. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00038.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 61, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1 – Nicholas County, 6 March 1823, James Johnson and Sarah Legg married by John Campbell. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00061.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 38, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1 – Nicholas County, 6 Sep 1825, Peyton Foster and Sarah Sims, married by John Campbell. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00038.jpg : accessed 1 September 2022). It is assumed that Nancy Johnson was deceased when Peyton Foster married. ↩
1830 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8058/), citing Fifth Census of the United States, 1830 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls, NARA Roll M19_191, FHL Film 0029670, Virginia, Kanawha, image 37 of 84, page 198 (double-page spread), line 7, William Johnston (accessed 3 March 2018). ↩
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: 1762; FHL microfilm: 1241762; West Virginia, Kanawha County, Mairs, Enumeration District 59, sheet 22B, household 328-329, line 56-58, William B. Martin and wife Nancy (born Aug 1835) (accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
He was last seen on the 1835 PPT list of Nicholas County. His widow was on the list from 1836. There may be court records to prove the year of death – that need to be checked. ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 196, Fayette County Marriages, page 13, 4th entry, Nelson Johnson and Elisabeth Huse married on 14 Sep 1837 by John Johnson. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00196.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
From the writings of Laura Blake, a local historian ↩
1860 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/), citing Eighth Census of the United States, 1860 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls, Roll: M653_1356; FHL Film 805356; Virginia, Kanawha County, page 113, lines 21-25, household 788-788, William Johnson (accessed 5 June 2018). ↩
WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 198, page 17, Martin Sims and Margaret Hughes married 6 June 1840 by E V B__g (illegible). (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00198.jpg : accessed 2 September 2022). Susannah Johnson’s widower Martin Sims marries. ↩
1840 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i> (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/), citing Sixth Census of the United States, 1840 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls, NARA Roll M704_555, FHL Film 0029685, Virginia, Fayette, sheet 145 (double-page spread), line 23, William Johnson Sr. (accessed 5 June 2018). ↩
“War of 1812 Pension Files,” database and images, Fold3, citing “War of 1812 Pension and Bounty land Warrant Application Files,” compiled ca. 1871–1900, documenting the period 1812–ca.1900, National Archives, Washington, D.C., original data from The National Archives (http://www.archives.gov), Roll: RG15-1812PB-Bx1282, War of 1812 Widow’s Pension File, Wid Orig. 43160, Soldier: Foster, Presley; Widow: Foster, Lucresia; Service: Virginia Militia, image 36 and 40 of 42, 9 Feb 1843 marriage of Presley Foster and Lucretia Bailes in Nicholas County,. (https://www.fold3.com/image/312366094 : accessed 2 September 2022). ↩
Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
