Updates on the Family of William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reviewing the sources for my fourth great-grandparents William WOOD and Mary Ann McGRAW. The posts written in 2014 were updated with source citations and shared on social media on July 24 and 31. However, readers who follow by email don’t receive notifications of changes to posts.

While reviewing and adding sources, I try not to make significant changes to the original posts. Short update notices were added to correct small mistakes.

Some corrections and additional information need to be discussed in depth for the family of William WOOD (1777-1835) and Mary Ann McGRAW (1781-bet. 1836-1840).

Correcting a death estimate

In many GEDCOM files Mary Ann McGRAW’s date and place of death are seen as about 1845 in Nicholas County. I believe this to be incorrect. Due to changing county lines, the land owned by her deceased husband William WOOD was originally in Monroe County, fell to Nicholas County when it was formed in 1818, and then to Fayette County when formed in 1831.

In my early research into the WOOD-McGRAW couple, I found Ann WOODS (age 40 to 49) in Nicholas County on the 1840 census with a male age under 5 and a female age 5 to 9.¹ At the time, I thought this might be Mary Ann with unknown younger children. However, as new records came to light, I dismissed this possibility.

Personal property tax lists (PPT) were searched in Nicholas County for WOOD and WOODS. Two distinct groups were found:

◉ William WOOD and his sons were in Nicholas County until the formation of Fayette County.

◉ Stephen, John, and Zachariah WOODS were in Nicholas County at the same time as the WOOD men and remained in Nicholas County from 1831.

Dates of visits on the PPT list also indicate the men with the surnames WOOD and WOODS didn’t live in the same area. In 1833, and only in 1833, Ann WOODS was listed.² Would this be the same person as seen in the 1840 census?

From the PPT list, it is clear that William, his brothers Bailey and James, and his sons Enoch and Elijah lived in an area of Nicholas County that became Fayette County in 1831.

All 1840 census records for William and Mary Ann’s children were checked. None of the households include an older woman. Nor was Mary Ann listed as the head of a household in 1840.

Mary Ann McGRAW wasn’t living in Nicholas County when she died. She was not found on tax lists or census in 1840 or later.

I went looking for more records to fill in the timeline…

Court minutes

New collections have been added online in the last two years at FamilySearch including court minutes, land deeds, and tax records.

The will books of West Virginia counties have been online and searchable for quite some time. In this collection, there was no will for William WOOD but his estate was appraised and a bill of sale drawn up. Would the court minutes reveal records ordered to be recorded other than the appraisal and bill of sale?

While searching the index of the court minutes for the administrator’s bond entry for the estate of the deceased William WOOD, I found several other entries of interest.

On 18 August 1835, Elijah WOOD and Amos WOOD, sons of the deceased, entered into a bond for the letters of administration of the estate of William WOOD.³

On 15 September 1835, the appraisement bill of the estate of William WOOD, deceased, was presented in court, inspected, and ordered to be recorded.⁴ Another entry made the same day was more revealing.⁵

On motion of Amos Wood it is ordered that Miles Manser, James B. Westlake, Thomas McVay, Jacob Kious, and Joseph Paxton or any two of them do lay off and assign to Mary Wood her dower in the lands of her late husband Wm Wood deceased in this county and make report to this court.

Several months later, at a court held on 19 January 1836 Mary’s dower rights to the land were assigned. The entry included a description of the land tract.⁶

An assignment of the dower of Mary Wood in the lands of her late husband William Wood was this day returned and is as follows Pursuant to an order of the county court of Fayette made at the Sept Term of said court 1835) We the undersigned did go upon the land of William Wood deceased and at the request of Mary Wood wife of Wm Wood deceased we laid of her right of dower of a tract of land containing fifty acres at the lower end including the house and other buildings which is bounded as follows To wit Beginning at a poplar near the Road corner to the original survey and with a call there of N°45W 100 poles to two white oaks and maple in a flat beginning corner of said survey thence with an other call there of S°1W75 poles to two white oaks corner to same thence through the survey N°87 1/2 E75 poles to the beginning containing 16 acres and 88 poles given under our hands this 19th of November 1835.
Jacob Kious
Thomas McVey
Whereupon the same is established as the dower of the said Mary Wood in the lands of her late husband William Wood decd and it is ordered that the Mary Wood hold the said land assigned her as aforesaid as and for her dower.

At the same session of court, Elijah WOOD was assigned guardianship of his younger siblings Bailey and Mary Ann.⁷

The court doth assign Elijah Wood Guardian of Bailey Wood and Mary Ann Wood Children of William Wood deceased who together with J B Hamilton & John Young his securities entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of $200 conditioned according to law.

As of 19 January 1836 Mary Ann McGRAW, widow of William WOOD, had the right to occupy the dwelling place and live off the land. While her older children were married and on their own, she cared for two underage children, Bailey and Mary Ann, who were legally under the guardianship of their older brother Elijah.

No mention was found in the court minutes of Mary Ann McGRAW aka Mary WOOD’s death.

Land deeds

Assuming that her children would divide up the land or sell their interests after their mother’s death, I searched the land deeds of Fayette County.

The grantor index of Fayette County was checked for the children’s names for the years from William’s death until the mid-1840s.

On 15 July 1841 Enoch WOOD and his wife Margaret, Elijah WOOD and his wife Rachel, Bailey WOOD and his wife Lucinda, and Martin HESS and his wife Mary sold their interest in the 50 acres tract to their brother Amos WOOD.⁸

On 12 August 1841 Margaret and her husband Thomas WITHROW sold Margaret’s interest in the 50 acres tract to her brother Amos WOOD.⁹

Mary Ann McGRAW appears to have died after 19 January 1836 and before 15 July 1841 when the first of her children gave up their interest in their father’s land.

More questions came up

Question #1

The land deeds account for all of William WOOD and Mary Ann McGRAW’s children except for the son Allen. Was Allen WOOD not their child? A quick review of the records showed that Amos WOOD appointed his brothers Elijah and Allen WOOD executors of his last will and testament dated 24 May 1845.¹⁰ This doesn’t explain why Allen’s interest in William’s estate isn’t documented but it shows that Allen, Elijah, and Amos were brothers and therefore Allen was a son of William WOOD and his wife Mary Ann McGRAW.

Question #2

The first land deed brings up a discrepancy in the timeline. On 15 July 1841, the date the deed was dated, it was explained to the wives apart from their husbands. They acknowledged that they had signed the deed under their own free will and not by threat or promise of reward. The deed was presented to the court and ordered to be recorded on 11 March 1842.

Martin HESS and Mary Ann WOOD were married by John JOHNSON on 1 October 1841.¹¹ How could they be named as husband and wife in a land deed dated 15 July 1841? Is the date recorded by John JOHNSON not correct? Did they backdate the deeds to the time their mother died?

Question #3

In January 1836 Bailey WOOD was underage and in need of a guardian. In 1840 he was old enough to have his own household on the census.¹² He was enumerated in the 20 thru 29 years range. Also in his household were two young ladies. The elder was in the same age range as Bailey. The younger, age 15 thru 19, could only be his sister Mary Ann who would marry Martin HESS on 1 October 1841.

No trace of Bailey had been found after the 1840 census. As I looked further in the court minutes, I found that Elijah WOOD was appointed administrator of Bailey WOOD Jr.’s estate on 10 November 1842.¹³ He was considered Jr. as his uncle Bailey WOOD was still living.

With this entry, I learned that Bailey WOOD had died by 10 November 1842. From the land deed dated 15 July 1841, I discovered that he had a wife named Lucinda. This was new information. They likely married before the 1840 census and the woman in the 20 thru 29 years range could be Lucinda.

I searched the West Virginia marriages. No marriage between Bailey WOOD and a lady named Lucinda was found. Marriage records for the 1840s are known to be missing in Fayette County. Could this be one of them?

A marriage between Lucinda WOOD and Archibald PARRISH took place in Fayette County on 4 July 1843. The record is a minister’s entry and includes no further information.¹⁴

I have many WOOD individuals from this area in my database. Until now, I had not come across a woman named Lucinda WOOD. Could she have been the widow of Bailey WOOD?

In 1850 A. P. Parrish, a blacksmith, was enumerated with his wife Lucinda and their three children: Median age 5, James age 3, and E. J. (female) 5 months. Lucinda was born in Vermont.¹⁵ As none of the WOOD individuals in the area at the time were born in Vermont, I suspect she was a widow, i.e. possibly the widow of Bailey WOOD. The husband and wife were both 33 in 1850, born about 1817. Lucinda’s age would have been 23 in 1840 and a match for the woman in the household of Bailey WOOD.

Interestingly, Archibald and Lucinda were living only two households away from Bailey’s brother Elijah WOOD in 1850.

Rabbit Hole

The marriage of Archibald PARRISH and Lucinda WOOD on 4 July 1843 sent me down a rabbit hole.

To prove/disprove this Lucinda WOOD was the widow of Bailey WOOD, I needed to follow her trail. And what a trail it was.

The PARRISH families have ties to many families in my family tree. I haven’t researched them to the extent that all persons with the surname PARRISH in the Fayette County area have been connected in my database.

I had information on one of the earliest family groups. William PARRISH died about the same time as William WOOD leaving a will that was ordered to be recorded at the September court term of 1835. He named children Joshua, Archibald, William, Nicholas, Rachel (Burton), Susan (Coleman), Polly (Coleman), and Nancy (Arthur).¹⁶

A man named Archibald PARRISH lived in Fayette County in 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. He was not, however, listed with a wife named Lucinda. His age during those years places his birth between 1804-1810. He would be the son of William PARRISH.

A. P. PARRISH with a wife named Lucinda on the 1850 census of Fayette County couldn’t be Archibald, son of William. He was likely the son of one of William’s sons. But I will leave it to PARRISH researchers to figure out this relationship.

I followed Lucinda’s family to Linn County, Missouri, in 1860 and to the neighboring Sullivan County, Missouri, in 1870 and 1880.¹⁷,¹⁸,¹⁹

Archibald and Lucinda had two children who survived them. A death record for the son James H. PARRISH was not found. The 1924 death record of daughter Isabelle PARRISH (seen as E. J. in 1850) showed her mother was Lucinda WITHERELL.²⁰

From 1860 to 1880 the census listings indicated that Lucinda was born in Massachusetts. Further, in the 1900 and 1910 censuses, Isabelle’s mother (Lucinda) was noted as being born in Massachusetts.²¹,²² The place of birth isn’t Vermont as seen on the 1850 census but the names of the husband and children match those in the censuses from 1860 to 1880. Only the 1920 census has the places of birth for Isabelle (Missouri instead of Virginia or West Virginia), her mother Lucinda (Ohio instead of Massachusetts), and her father (Kentucky instead of Virginia or West Virginia) that conflict with the earlier records.²³

WITHERELL is not a name found in Fayette County but it is a common surname in Vermont and Massachusetts. How did Lucinda WITHERELL, born in Massachusetts (or Vermont), come to be in Fayette County as early as 1843 when she married Archibald PARRISH?

Bottom Line

Although I was very tempted to burrow deeper into the PARRISH rabbit hole, I forced myself to keep on track with things that need more attention. These are the corrections and additions I’ve made to the family of William WOOD and Mary Ann McGRAW.

William WOOD died shortly before 18 August 1835 when his sons filed an administrator’s bond for his estate. I had previously listed his death at about September 1835 when his estate was appraised.

His widow Mary Ann McGRAW most likely died after 19 January 1836 when her dower right to the land of her deceased husband was assigned and before 15 July 1841 when the first of her children sold their interest in this land. Her place of death was presumably Fayette County. I had previously listed her death as being between 1840 and 1850.

Bailey WOOD, son of William and Mary Ann, married a young woman named Lucinda, likely before the 1840 census. He died shortly before 10 November 1842 when his brother Elijah filed an administrator’s bond for his estate and motioned for the personal estate to be appraised. It had not been known that he was married before finding the land deed mentioning his wife Lucinda.

Looking forward to hearing from descendants…

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

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1. 1840 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (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, Roll: 571; Family History Library Film: 0029690; Nicholas, Virginia; Page: 3; Ann Woods. ↩
2. “Personal property tax lists, 1818-1850,” (browse-only images), Virginia Commissioner of the Revenue (Nicholas County), FamilySearch, microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia. Personal property tax lists, 1818-1850, 19 March 1833, Ann Woods, 1 0 0 0 tax 0 cents. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJ-W9JB-P?cat=637422 : accessed 8 August 2022). ↩
3. “Court minutes and order books, 1837-1928,” browse-only images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Fayette County, West Virginia courthouse., Film 585502, DGS 8613652, Minute books, v. 1-2 1837-1848, image 12 of 470, August Term 1835, 18 Aug 1835, page 11, 3rd entry, Amos and Elijah Wood, bond for letters of administration. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-T9J7-H?i=11&cat=100698 : accessed 23 July 2022). ↩
4. Ibid., Film 585502, DGS 8613652, Minute books, v. 1-2 1837-1848, image 17 of 470, September Term 1835, 15 Sep 1835, page 20, first entry, appraisement bill of the estate of William Wood presented and ordered to be recorded. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-T9FQ-Z?i=16&cat=100698 : accessed 23 July 2022). ↩
5. Ibid., Film 585502, DGS 8613652, Minute books, v. 1-2 1837-1848, image 16 of 470, September Term 1835, 15 Sep 1835, page 19, 3rd entry, Amos Wood’s motion to assign Mary Wood her dower in the land of her deceased husband William Wood. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-T9FW-X?i=15&cat=100698 : accessed 31 July 2022). ↩
6. Ibid., Film 585502, DGS 8613652, Minute books, v. 1-2 1837-1848, image 24 of 470, January Term 1836, 19 Jan 1836, page 34-35, Mary Wood’s dower rights. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-T9FB-T?i=23&cat=100698 : accessed 23 July 2022). ↩
7. Ibid., Film 585502, DGS 8613652, Minute books, v. 1-2 1837-1848, image 24 of 470, January Term 1836, 19 Jan 1836, page 35, Elijah assigned as guardian of young Bailey and Mary Ann Wood, children of William Wood. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-T9FB-T?i=23&cat=100698 : accessed 23 July 2022). ↩
8. Fayette County (West Virginia), Clerk of the County Court, “Deed book, 1831-1902; deed book index, 1831-1951” (database with images), <i>FamilySearch</i>, filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1969, citing microfilm of original records at the Fayette County courthouse, Film 583734, DGS 8152866, image141 of 419, Deed book, v. C 1839-1841, pages 255-256, 15 July 1841, Enoch Wood and wife Margaret, Elijah and wife Rachel, Bailey and wife Lucinda, and Martin Hess and wife Mary to Amos Wood, 50 acres. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKV-FSR4-3?i=140&cat=100754 : accessed 9 August 2022) This is the 50 acres from Mary Ann McGraw’s dower rights. ↩
9. Ibid., Film 583734, DGS 8152866, image 150 of 419, Deed book, v. C 1839-1841, page 274, 11 Aug 1841, Thomas Withrow and wife Margaret to Amos Wood, 50 acres. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKV-FSRN-3?i=149&cat=100754 : accessed 9 August 2022) This is the 50 acres from Mary Ann McGraw’s dower rights. ↩
10. “West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch, digital images of originals housed at local county courthouse in West Virginia, Fayette > Will book, v. 001 1832-1866 > image 224 of 292 > page 66-67, Last Will and Testament of Amos Wood dated 24 May 1845, proven June term 1845. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18271-58322-39?cc=1909099&wc=M6DN-5NG:179689901,179689902 : accessed 9 August 2022). ↩
11. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project (database and images), West Virginia Division of Culture and History, citing county records in county courthouses, West Virginia (A collaborative venture between the West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah to place vital records online via the West Virginia Archives and History Web site accessible at https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr), West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 201, page 23, entry 3, Martin Hess and Mary A Wood, 1 Oct 1841, married by John Johnson. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00201.jpg : accessed 30 July 2022). ↩
12. 1840 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (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, Roll: 704_555; FHL Film: 0029685, Virginia, Fayette County, page 149, line 5, Bailey Wood (accessed 30 July 2014). ↩
13. “Court minutes and order books, 1837-1928,” Film 585502, DGS 8613652, Minute books, v. 1-2 1837-1848, image 287 of 470, November Term 1842, 10 Nov 1842, page 521, 1st and 2n entry, Amos and Elijah Wood, bond for letters of administration and appraisers of estate of Bailey Wood Jr. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-T9KW-6?i=286&cat=100698 : accessed 31July 2022). ↩
14. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 206, 4 Jul 1843 Archibald Parish and Lucinda Wood married by W. Carnafix. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00206.jpg : accessed 10 August 2022). ↩
15. 1850 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i> (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: 943, Virginia, Fayette County, District 14, sheet 337A (stamped), household 92-92, lines 6-10, A.P. Parrish (accessed 3 April 2022). ↩
16. “West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” Fayette > Will book, v. 001 1832-1866 > image 33 of 292 > Will Book 1 page 42, 5 Oct 1831 Last Will and Testament of William Parrish, proven Fayette County Court Sept. Term 1835 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-C9SQ-75?cc=1909099&wc=Q816-MG7%3A179689901%2C179689902 : accessed 10 August 2022) ↩
17. 1860 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i> (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_630; Family History Library Film: 803630; Township 57 Range 20, Linn, Missouri; Page: 693; Arch Parish household. ↩
18. 1870 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i> (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/), citing Ninth Census of the United States, 1870 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls, Roll: M593_823; Duncan, Sullivan, Missouri; Page: 189A; Archibold Parish household. ↩
19. 1880 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i> (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/), citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls, Roll: 738; Scottsville, Sullivan, Missouri; Enumeration District: 199; Page: 178B; Archibald Parish household. ↩
20. “Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 – 1971,” database with images, Missouri Digital Heritage, citing original data: Missouri Death Certificates, Missouri State Archives; Sullivan, 1924, Certificate of Death 30822, Isabelle Bagwell  (https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1924/1924_00033784.PDF). ↩
21. 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: 905; FHL microfilm: 1240905; Polk, Sullivan, Missouri; Enumeration District: 0161; Page: 14; Leonard Creason household. ↩
22. 1910 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/), citing Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls, Roll: T624_826; FHL microfilm: 1374839; Polk, Sullivan, Missouri; Enumeration District: 0172; Page: 22A; Leonard Creason household. ↩
23. 1920 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/), citing Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls, Roll: T625_964; Milan Ward 3, Sullivan, Missouri; Enumeration District: 175; Page: 20B; Leonard Creason household. ↩

The Ancestors: Isaac WISEMAN (1738-1818) and Elizabeth DAVIS (1738-1807)

This was a hard piece to write. A month ago, after spending weeks gathering and reviewing all the information I had on these ancestors, I began writing this post. While drafting the post I kept finding other things to do. I went back and forth considering how I should write it. I’m now at the point that I just want to get it out of the way by publishing it as is.

Isaac WISEMAN (1738-1818) and Elizabeth DAVIS (1738-1807) were my 5th great-grandparents and the parents of my 4th great-grandmother Rachel WISEMAN (1769-bet. 1821-1824) who married Frederick HONAKER (1757-1824).

When I was new to genealogy research, I trusted the information I found and did not challenge it. As I began to do my own research, I questioned work done by others. In some cases, I made an effort to prove or disprove their research. I’m especially fond of working on my female lines but the WISEMAN family has always been put on the back burner.

For the WISEMAN line, I  attempted to locate evidence of the parents, siblings, husband, and children of my 4th great-grandmother Rachel WISEMAN and wrote about my findings in my 2014 post 52 Ancestors: #33 Rachel WISEMAN 1769-bet. 1821-1824.

The post was written during my first year of blogging. I didn’t include source citations. Links to online documents were used throughout the post but I doubt many readers clicked on them to view the records.  When I revisited my post and research I added 28 citations to make it easier for the reader or researcher to review the sources. [Did I mention the other things I’ve been doing?] 

Rachel’s story includes the names of all of her siblings as well as their spouses’ names and their dates of marriage. I’ve pondered how to write about Rachel’s parents Isaac and Elizabeth. Should I start from scratch or should I build on what has already been published?

Taking the middle road

I’ve decided to take the middle road which led me to work done by dedicated historians and genealogists of the WISEMAN family.

The Wiseman Family Association was first organized in 1908 by Dr. B. W. S. WISEMAN, compiler and author of a WISEMAN genealogy.¹ Benjamin Winfield Scott WISEMAN was a great-grandson of Isaac WISEMAN 1738 through his son Samuel (1771-1861). WISEMAN descendants and members of the association have continued to update the WISEMAN family tree originally created from information in B.W.S.’s book. Their website was initiated on 22 August 2003 and appears to have been last updated in 2017, likely before Ancestry took down the RootsWeb site. I don’t know if more recent additions to the family tree are available online.

B.W.S. WISEMAN, in his 1908 publication, acknowledged the work of his second cousin C.M.L. WISEMAN who published in 1902. B.W.S. gives a more detailed genealogy of most of the sons of Isaac WISEMAN 1738. Neither of the authors had any biographical information on the four daughters of Isaac other than their married names.

Charles Milton Lewis WISEMAN of the 1902 publication was a great-grandson of Isaac WISEMAN 1738 through his son Rev. John WISEMAN (1760-1842). He wrote the following:

Brief Sketch of the Wiseman Family

My grandfather, Rev. John Wiseman was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, before the War of the Revolution; indeed, was old enough and served in that war, and was in the memorable winter quarters at Valley Forge with Washington. His father, Isaac Wiseman, moved from Berks county, Pennsylvania, with a large family of sons and daughters to Rockingham county, Virginia, soon after the war, and there my grandfather married Sarah Green, one of another large family. From that county they moved to Monroe county, Virginia, where my father, Philip S. Wiseman, was born. Of the descendants of Isaac Wiseman and James Green some few remained in Virginia, others moved to Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana. The greater number moved to Ohio and Kentucky. The descendants of Isaac Wiseman alone must exceed 1,000 persons in number. The names of father’s uncles were William, Joseph, Isaac, Abner, Jacob and Samuel. Samuel died near New Salem at 90 years of age; Jacob and Abner in Kentucky, William and Joseph in Virginia, and Isaac near Gallipolis, Ohio. One of his aunts married a Blanton, who moved to Kentucky, and one a Honiker, who died in Virginia. I have been in the graveyard in Virginia, near Union, Monroe county, where Isaac Wiseman and wife are buried, and where father’s sister and brother are buried, and I have also been in the church near by, where they all attended Methodist church, and where my grandfather often preached. It is a lovely spot, with a hight range of mountains in full view for more than twenty miles.²

A bit further into the sketch of his family, C.M.L. wrote:

Rev. John Wiseman was commissioned a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the year 1785, by the first American Bishop of that church, Francis Asbury. The commission, in the Bishop’s own writing, is in the possession of the late Judge Wiseman’s widow at New Salem.³

I used the document he mentioned as the background of the featured image of this post. Immediately following this statement, the author listed names and dates for his line down from Isaac beginning with this list of the children of Isaac WISEMAN 1738:

FAMILY RECORD OF ISAAC WISEMAN, OF VIRGINIA.

Joseph Wiseman, born March 29^th 1759.
John Wiseman, born August 18^th, 1760.
Sarah Wiseman, born July 17^th, 1762.
Isaac Wiseman, born June 19^th, 1764.
Jacob Wiseman, born January 12^th, 1767.
Rachael Wiseman, born March 1^st, 1769.
Samuel Wiseman, born February 15^th, 1771.
Abner Wiseman, born 1772.
Betsey Wiseman, born 1774.
Peggy Wiseman, born 1777.
William Wiseman, born 1779.

Rachael is my 4th great-grandmother and all the rest are my 4th great-grand uncles and 4th great-grand aunts. Does a WISEMAN family Bible still exist today with the dates found in this derivative source?

The many men named Isaac WISEMAN

According to Robert N. WISEMAN, a historian of the Wiseman Family Association, the Isaac WISEMAN situation gets a bit confusing when it comes to how Isaac WISEMAN’s name is seen in family genealogies. Shortly after B.W.S. published his book in 1908 he discovered that Isaac WISEMAN (1738-1818) who he considered “Isaac I” had a father whose name was also Isaac. [I believe I’ve found how he made the discovery and will discuss this in a moment.] The Wiseman Family Association decided to dub the father “Isaac Sr.”⁴ One of Robert’s lines goes through Isaac Sr., Isaac I, Isaac II, Isaac III.

Personally, I believe it would be more helpful to consider the men by the year they were born as no records are to be found with the suffixes I, II, or III. I’ve opted to refer to my 5th great-grandfather as Isaac WISEMAN 1738 instead of Isaac I. His father will be considered Isaac the elder or Isaac Sr. as no year of birth is known.

As noted previously, historians of the Wiseman Family Association have been researching the family and sharing their information. The research notes and part of The Story of a Wiseman by Robert Dean WISEMAN (1933-2015) can be found here: Bob Wiseman Research. He included different steps taken to gather information and prove events as well as marking unproven or questionable information as such. Mr. Wiseman and the researchers he worked with spent years putting the information together. It would take a lifetime to check and follow-up on the research.

Many entries on tax lists for Berks County for Isaac Wiseman are listed by year and township in Bob’s research. I recently found the Tax Lists, 1752-1856 for Berks County, Pennsylvania are available online at FamilySearch. They are not indexed and browse-only. With the years and townships given in Robert D. Wiseman’s research notes, I may be able to locate some of these. A to-do item for a later date as it should be thorough and not restricted to locating the records already found. What if something important to the timeline has been missed?

Isaac WISEMAN (1738-1818) and Elizabeth DAVIS (1738-1807)

Isaac’s oldest son Joseph (1759-1836) applied for a pension in 1832 for his service during the Revolutionary War.⁵ He stated he “was born in the year 1759 in the County of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, as he has read the record of it in his Father’s bible, from which he recorded it in his own bible which is now in his possession.” After his death in 1836 and his widow’s death in 1842, his son Samuel applied for pension money on behalf of himself and his surviving siblings in 1847. He submitted his father’s family record with the dates of birth and date for my 5th great-grandparents Elizabeth DAVIS and Isaac WISEMAN.

In Joseph’s hand, as copied from his father Isaac’s Bible, “Elisabeth Wiseman daughter to Samuel Davis was born August 26th 1738 and Decst (deceased) July 19th 1807.”

Pages of Joseph Wiseman’s family Bible found in his Revolutionary War Pension Application file.

Also, “Isaac Wiseman son to Isaac and Marey Wiseman was born August 18, 1738 and Decest (deceased) May the 3 in 1818.”

Pages of Joseph Wiseman’s family Bible found in his Revolutionary War Pension Application file.

The above images are only two of the five images from the family Bible included in the file. The pension file also includes correspondence dated 1911 from B.W.S. WISEMAN requesting copies of the entire file. As Joseph’s family record gives the names of the parents of Elizabeth and Isaac, I believe this is the source that led to B.W.S.’s discovery that Isaac WISEMAN 1738’s father was also an Isaac.

Samuel DAVIS, father-in-law of Isaac 1738

Only the name of Elizabeth’s father is known from the family record submitted by his grandson Samuel (son of Joseph). Even with the maiden name, a marriage record of Isaac WISEMAN and Elizabeth DAVIS has not been found. It is assumed they married before the birth of their oldest child in 1759.

Isaac and Mary WISEMAN, parents of Isaac 1738

The maiden name of Isaac 1738’s mother Mary is unproven although some genealogists report it to be MARSHALL. While writing this, I have pruned the tree, removing John MARSHALL as the father of Mary and now showing her name as Mary _____.

Isaac 1738’s father Isaac, according to an old family traditional story, was born aboard a ship en route to America. Two dates are often noted: 1699 and about 1706. The first – 1699 – is from the theory that the father of Isaac the elder came over with William Penn on the Canterbury Merchant in 1699. No known passenger list exists for the ship. The second – about 1706 – is from the theory that Isaac the elder was the son of Thomas WISEMAN first seen in Germantown, Philadelphia County in 1706 when he purchased land from Matthias Van Bebber. Professional genealogists were hired by the Wiseman Family Association to obtain records but neither theory has been proven.

Isaac WISEMAN, the father of Isaac 1738, left Berks County around 1768 and was first seen on a tax list in Rowan County, North Carolina, in 1772.⁶ He bought land in Rowan County in 1778 and left it to his heirs in his will in 1779.⁷,⁸ His widow Mary left a will written 28 December 1790 and proven 10 November 1791⁹,¹⁰ as well as an inventory dated February 1792.¹¹ Although Isaac and Mary named some of their children in their wills, they did not mention Isaac.

The daughters of Isaac WISEMAN 1738 and Elizabeth DAVIS

Isaac and Elizabeth were the parents of eleven children born between 1759 and 1779. Much is known of their seven sons’ lines as they were looked into by the great-grandsons. Neither of the authors of the early genealogies of the WISEMAN family knew much of the four daughters.

From the brief sketch of the WISEMAN family it is knows that the family was in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Rockbridge County, Virginia. Sarah, the oldest, married in Rockbridge County, Virginia, in 1782 where she and her husband James BARLEY raised their children.¹²

The next oldest daughter, Rachel also married in Rockbridge County. She married Frederick HONAKER in 1795.¹³ It was a second marriage for Frederick and Rachel brought a 10-year-old daughter into the marriage. Rachel and Frederick went with her parents and siblings to Greenbrier County around 1797-1798. They settled in the area that would become Monroe County in 1799. Rachel and Frederick raised their family in Monroe and are buried in the Rehoboth Church Cemetery where her parents are also said to be buried.

Elizabeth married John BLANTON in 1798 in Greenbrier County.¹⁴ They went to Kentucky where her brothers Abner and Jacob had also gone.

The youngest daughter Margaret, also known as Peggy, married Bartholomew RAMSEY in 1799 in Monroe County.¹⁵,¹⁶ They raised their family in Nicholas County and Fayette County when it was formed in 1831.

Now that I know where the information found in so many family trees is coming from, I have a better feel of what I can work on to leave a documented history of my 5th great-grandparents Isaac WISEMAN 1738 and Elizabeth DAVIS.

It would be awesome if someone reading this post would reach out to me with more information, especially on Elizabeth DAVIS during Women’s History Month.

© 2020, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. Dr. Benjamin Winfield Scott Wiseman, Wiseman genealogy and biography, digital images of original, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/163120-wiseman-genealogy-and-biography : accessed 12 February 2020), FL52150_TN-1474326, digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2008 [originally published: Culver, Indiana, 1910] ↩
2. C. M. L. Wiseman, The Wiseman Family and the Old Church at New Salem : a brief sketch, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/57919-the-wiseman-family-and-the-old-church-at-new-salem-a-brief-sketch : accessed 12 February 2020), FL1103481_TN-76231, digitized by FamilySearch International, 2013, [originally published: Columbus, Ohio : Fred J. Heer, 1902], p. 7-8. ↩
3. Ibid., p. 23-24. ↩
4. Robert N. Wiseman, Senior Historian of the Wiseman Family Association, comment posted 3 February 2020 in the Nicholas County WV Genealogy group on Facebook and personal message conversation between Robert and Cathy on 24-25 February 2020. ↩
5. “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database and images, Ancestry.com, citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls. Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Images of the papers in the Revolutionary War file of Joseph Wiseman including images of family bible pages with the names and dates of birth and death of his parents. ↩
6. Bob Wiseman Research. ↩
7. “North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998,” index and images, Ancestry, North Carolina County, District and Probate Courts, Wills and estate papers (Rowan County), 1663-1978, North Carolina, Rowan County, Original wills, Verble, Daniel – Zimmerman, Christian, file of Isaac Wiseman. (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 June 2019). ↩
8. Ibid., North Carolina, Rowan County, Wills, Vol A-F, 1757-1807, Isaac Wiseman, page 184. (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 June 2019). ↩
9. “North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998,” North Carolina, Rowan County, Original wills, Verble, Daniel – Zimmerman, Christian, file of Mary Wiseman. (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 June 2019). ↩
10. “North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970,” Rowan > Wills, 1781-1791, Vol. B > image 94+95 of 230, Will of Mary Wiseman, pages 179-181. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S7WF-3Q9C-79?cc=1867501&wc=32LR-7M3%3A169928201%2C170967101 : accessed 6 March 2020). ↩
11. “North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing State Archives, Raleigh., Rowan County > W > Wiseman, Mary (1792) > image 2 of 3. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PPC-9MZF?cc=1911121&wc=Q6W1-9GT%3A184173301%2C183410401%2C198415701 : accessed 6 March 2020). ↩
12. Dodd,Jordan,  Virginia, Marriages, 1660-1800, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997. Original data: Electronic transcription of marriage records held by the individual counties in Virginia. ↩
13. Ibid. ↩
14. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project (database and images), West Virginia Division of Culture and History (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 http://www.wvculture.org/vrr), West Virginia, Greenbrier, Jno. Blanton and Eliza. 1797/9 (1798), left page, last entry. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=10970066&Type=Marriage : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
15. Ibid., Monroe County, 1799, Margaret Wiseman and Bartholomey Ramsey. 1799 Marriage Bond. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11370451&Type=Marriage : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
16. Ibid., Monroe County, 22 October 1799, Margaret Wiseman and Bartholomey Ramsey. 1799 Marriage Record. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369649&Type=Marriage : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩

The Ancestors: Martin McGRAW and his wife Margaret (394 & 395)

The parents of my 4th great-grandmother Mary Ann McGRAW were Martin McGRAW and his wife Margaret. This was proven by a tiny slip of paper in which they gave permission for their daughter to marry William WOOD in June 1800.¹

June
Sir, this coms (sic) to let you now (sic) that
I Marten and Marget Mcgraw
is willing that William Wood should
have our daughter Mary Ann
To John Hutchason (Clerk)
The above was sworn to by
John Wood one of the witnesses
present.

The bond² entered 18 June 1800 for the marriage of William and Mary Ann doesn’t give information on their parentage nor does the entry made in the register for marriages performed in the county of Monroe by John ALDERSON.³

Martin McGRAW and his wife Margaret

Very few records link my 5th great-grandparents Martin and Margaret McGRAW to their possible children.

Were Martin and Margaret the only family of this name in the area at the time? Were they or could they be the parents of each of the young McGRAW men and women who married in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Nicholas counties from 1798 to 1820?

[1] Anthony McGRAW married Elizabeth BRYANT 3 October 1798 in Greenbrier⁴
[2] John McGRAW married Sally ANDERSON 15 February 1799 in Greenbrier⁵
[3] Mary Ann McGRAW married William WOOD 18 June 1800 in Monroe (see above)
[4] Martin McGRAW Jr. married Nancy WOOD 3 May 1806 in Monroe⁶
[5] William McGRAW married Lucretia WITHROW 11 March 1813 in Monroe⁷
[6] Elender McGRAW married Solomon NELSON 1 March 1810 in Greenbrier⁸
[7] Samuel McGRAW married Elizabeth WOOD 28 May 1812 in Monroe⁹
[8] Thomas McGRAW married Catherine WITHROW 30 July 1820 in Nicholas¹⁰
[9] Henry McGRAW married likely before 1821. No marriage record found.

These marriages took place during a period when census records were lost for Virginia (1800) and Greenbrier County (1810) where Martin and Margaret were living. This makes analyzing the family group(s) in a census impossible. What other records are available to replace the missing records?

Personal Property Tax Lists

The early laws required the tax commissioner in each district to record in “a fair alphabetical list” the names of the person chargeable with the tax, the names of white male tithables over the age of twenty-one, the number of white male tithables between ages sixteen and twenty-one, the number of slaves both above and below age sixteen, various types of animals such as horses and cattle, carriage wheels, ordinary licenses, and even billiard tables.¹¹

Personal property tax records provide important data. Individuals with the same names may be distinguished by a junior or senior or named by the districts or location they resided. Parentage may be inferred by the number of male tithables between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one in the household of the taxpayer. When a free male appeared in his own name rather than in the household of another, he was probably twenty-one years of age. The name of a woman appeared only when owning property in her own right or as the widow of a property owner.

The Personal property tax lists, 1782-1850 for Greenbrier County and the Personal property tax lists, 1831-1850 for Fayette County are presently only available online with additional restrictions, i.e. accessing the FamilySearch site at a family history center or at a FamilySearch affiliate library.

Julie McGrew Ayres accessed these records and shared her transcriptions in February 1999 on USGenWeb Archives Special Projects. I used her lists of McGRAW tithables in Greenbrier County for 1792 to 1833¹²  and in Fayette County for 1831-1839¹³  to form the possible family group of Martin and Margaret.

Martin McGRAW and Anthony McGRAW first appear in the 1796 Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia Personal Property Tax List. In 1792 and 1795 no McGRAW was listed. This would suggest the McGRAWs came to the area just before 1796.

[1] Anthony McGRAW b. abt. 1775

As Anthony married in 1798 and was the only McGRAW other than Martin on the tax list of 1796, he was likely the oldest son. He was continuously seen on the tax list up until 1812. From 1813 to 1816 there were no McGRAW men on the lists for Greenbrier. Anthony served as a Private in Capt. McClung’s Company of the 4th Regiment of the Virginia Militia during the War of 1812. He died on 1 August 1814 per documents in his widow’s War of 1812 widow’s pension application.¹⁴ It may have been later in the month as she gave in this statement in her an application in 1853:

 …that her said husband the aforesaid Anthony McGraw died at Norfork about the last days of August 1814 in consequence of decease contracted while in the Service of the United States and in the line of his duty…

[2] John McGRAW b. abt. 1776 in Pennsylvania

John shows up on the 1797 tax list which would suggest he was born about 1776. He was seen on the tax list until 1800, the year after his marriage. In 1810 he was found on a tax list for Russell County, Virginia.¹⁵ According to descendants of the Russell County McGRAWs, his wife Sally died in 1805.  If this is the case, John must have remarried as there are children born after 1805. In 1850 he was listed as born in Pennsylvania.¹⁶

[3] Mary Ann McGRAW b. abt. 1781

Mary Ann’s age can only be determined by the year of her marriage. She married in 1800 and was likely not yet 21 years of age as her parents gave their permission. This record proves she was a child of Martin and Margaret.

[4] Martin McGRAW Jr. b. abt. 1785 in Pennsylvania

Note: Martin McGRAW, son of Martin, has not been seen with the suffix Jr. following his name. It is used here to distinguish him from his father Martin.)

Martin Jr. was married in 1806. He was likely the second white tithable in his father’s tax listing from 1803 to 1805. His father Martin was last listed on the 1805 tax list. His mother Margaret was listed from 1810. Martin Jr. lived in Monroe County in 1810 and was on the census as a male white age 26 thru 44.¹⁷ He died 25 October 1858 in Fayette County per his widow’s War of 1812 widow’s application.¹⁸ His widow was his second wife Sarah JOHNSON who died about July 1890. His first wife Nancy WOOD died 1 July 1833 (proven by Neighbors’ Affidavits in the pension file). In 1850 Martin was listed on a census in Putnam County as born in Pennsylvania.¹⁹ Ages weren’t listed for persons enumerated in this area of the county in 1850. His year of birth has been estimated at about 1785.

[5] William McGRAW b. abt. 1787-1788

William first showed up on the tax list in 1809 and 1811. No tax was collected in 1808 as no law was passed. As he was on the 1809 list he must have been born 1787-1788. William has not been traced after his marriage in 1813.

[6] Elender McGRAW b. abt. 1789

Elender was likely 21 years of age when she married in 1810. She died in 1846 in her 57th year per her tombstone.²⁰

[7] Samuel McGRAW abt. 1792 in Augusta County, Virginia

Samuel, born about 1792, may have been one of the two tithables noted on his mother’s tax list in 1810. His age was consistent on the census of 1850 to 1870, allowing his year of birth to be estimated at about 1792.²¹,²²,²³ Samuel gave his age as 74 years and his place of birth as Augusta County, Virginia, on 15 September 1866 on a voters’ list.²⁴

[8] Thomas McGRAW b. abt. 1795 in Virginia

Thomas’ wife gave the names of his parents as Martin and Margaret McGRAW when she reported his death in 1855. He died at the age of 60.²⁵ Using this record, his birth was estimated at about 1795 making him 22 years old when he was first seen on a tax list in Greenbrier on 11 April 1817 with 1 white male over 16, no slaves, 1 horse. He was born in Virginia per the 1850 census²⁶ but unknown was listed on the death register by his wife.

[9] Henry McGRAW abt. 1797 in Greenbrier County

Henry was seen on the census from 1850 to 1870 with the ages 52, 63, and 72 which places his birth at about 1797.²⁷,²⁸,²⁹ In 1820 he was the head of household in Monroe in the age category 16 thru 25. Also in the household was an older woman age 45 and over, likely his mother, and a younger boy age 10 thru 15.³⁰ Henry may have married in late 1820 after the census was enumerated as his first child was born in 1821. In 1830 Henry had an older woman in his household age 70 thru 79.³¹ This was the last time an older woman was seen in the household of the presumable youngest child of Martin and Margaret.

Martin McGRAW and Margaret McGRAW on the Tax Lists

As can be seen on the list below, Martin was in Greenbrier County as early as 1796 and up until at least 1805. From 1803³² to 1805 he had at least one son who was over 16 and under 21 years of age. This was likely Martin Jr. The sons William, Samuel, Thomas, and Henry were all under 17 years of age in 1805.

1796 April 17 – Martin Mgraw, 1 white tithable, 3 horses
1798 May 4 – Martin Megraw, 1 white tithable, 1 horse
1799 April 19 – Martin Megraw, 1 white tithable
1802 May 22 – Martin McGraw, 1 white tithable
1803 April 5 – Martin McGraw, 2 white tithables, 1 horse
1804 March 14 – Martin McGraw, 2 white tithables, 2 horses
1805 – Martin Magraw, 2 white tithables, 3 horses

Margaret McGRAW, the widow of Martin, showed up on the Tax List in 1810 with 2 white tithables and 4 horses.³³ Her sons Samuel and Thomas were likely these tithables. Henry was younger than 17 and not counted. In 1811 Margaret was on the Tax List with only 3 horses. No tithables. Her three unmarried sons would have been between 14 and 19 years of age and two tithables would have been enumerated if they were living at home. Were the two older boys accounted for in someone else’s household in Greenbrier or Monroe?

Missing Land and Probate Records

Land deeds in the area were consulted. Martin McGRAW did not own land in Greenbrier or in Monroe (the counties of Nicholas and Fayette were formed after his demise). He did not leave a will nor was there an estate administered, inventoried, or sold. All of these records which might have included information about the children of Martin and Margaret were not produced.

Proven Children

The parentage of my fourth great-grandmother Mary Ann McGRAW and her brother Thomas McGRAW is proven as seen above. As Martin and Margaret were the only McGRAW couple in the area at the time can it be inferred that the other seven children were theirs as well?

More Questions

With the proven and assumed children of Martin and Margaret established, several more questions remain. Where did they come from? Who were the parents of Martin McGRAW? What was Margaret’s maiden name? Who were Margaret’s parents?

Martin’s older sons John b. abt. 1776 and Martin b. abt. 1785 both claim to have been born in Pennsylvania. His son Samuel claimed to have been born in Augusta County in 1792. Martin was first seen on a tax list in Greenbrier in 1796. Can it be assumed the McGRAWs came from Pennsylvania after 1785 via Augusta County in 1792 to Greenbrier by 1796?

Learning more about Pennsylvania research appears to be one of the next steps in solving the question of the parentage of my 5th great-grandparents Martin McGRAW and his wife Margaret.

Confirming Relationships with DNA

Can DNA open the door in this brick wall? How much work needs to be put into analyzing DNA matches to confirm the assumed relationships seen above?

Ancestry’s ThruLines™ is showing 159 matches for Martin McGRAW’s children for my test and 187 for my brother’s. Matches for each child are (mine/his): Anthony (15/24), John (27/32), Mary Ann (45/32), Martin (21/48), William (1/1), Ellender (2/2), Samuel (26/17),  Thomas (8/11), and Henry (14/19).

Interesting is the high number of matches for John who left the area and raised his family in Russell County, Virginia. Also interesting is the very low number of matches for William and Ellender. I suspect William is a false match. Ellender’s matches are close family members and one of them is showing up on Gedmatch. The chromosome segment overlaps the segment shared with a known descendant of Henry McGRAW.

Three of the McGRAW children (in bold) married WOOD siblings. This produces many double cousins through the McGRAW and the WOOD lines. This will make walking the segments back to the common ancestors more challenging – if the matches transfer their raw DNA to sites with chromosomes browsers.

And now it’s your turn, dear McGRAW descendants, to comment and question the family group established for my 5th great-grandparents, Martin and Margaret McGRAW.

© 2020, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project (database and images), West Virginia Division of Culture and History (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 http://www.wvculture.org/vrr), West Virginia, Monroe County, June 1800, William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw, permission slip from her parents. 1800 Marriage Permission Slip. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11370465&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
2. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, Marriage Bond dated 18 June 1800 for the marriage of William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw. “Marriage Bond #39
   William Wood and John Wood went bond on the marriage of William Wood and Mary Anne McGraw (both of Monroe) on 18 June 1800 in Monroe County, Virginia.” 1800 Marriage Bond (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11370480&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
3. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 18 June 1800 William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw married by John Alderson. 1800 Marriage Record entry (right page, 1st entry under Alderson). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369625&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
4. Ibid., West Virginia, Greenbrier County, 3 October 1799 marriage entry for Anthony McGraw and Betsy Brien married by John Alderson. 1799 Marriage Entry (right page, 11th entry from bottom). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=10975169&Type=Marriage : accessed 10 January 2020). ↩
5. Ibid., West Virginia, Greenbrier County, 15 February 1799 marriage entry for John McGraw and Sally Anderson married by B. Grigsby. 1799 Marriage Entry (right page, 12th entry from bottom).
   (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=10975169&Type=Marriage : accessed 10 January 2020). ↩
6. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 3 May 1806, Nancy Wood and Martin McGraw married by John Alderson, banns were published. 1806 Marriage Record (right page, 4th entry from bottom). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369727&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
7. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 11 March 1813, William McGraw and Lucretia Withrow married by John Alderson. 1813 Marriage entry (right side, middle). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369506&Type=Marriage : accessed 10 January 2020). ↩
8. Ibid., West Virginia, Greenbrier County, 1 March 1810, Solomon Nelson and El McGraw married by Joshua Osborn. 1810 Marriage entry (right page, second to last entry)
   (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=10976269&Type=Marriage : accessed 10 January 2020). ↩
9. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, marriage bond dated 19 May 1812, Samuel McGraw and Bailey Wood went bond on the marriage of Bailey’s daughter Elizabeth Wood and Samuel McGraw. 1812 Marriage Bond. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11371819&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
10. Ibid., West Virginia, Nicholas County, 31 July 1820, Thomas McGraw and Caty Withrow married by James Ellison. 1820 Marriage Register (line 2). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11432815&Type=Marriage : accessed 10 January 2020). ↩
11. Using Personal Property Tax Records in the Archives at the Library of Virginia, Library of Virginia (https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/rn3_persprop.pdf : accessed 18 January 2020) ↩
12. Julie McGrew-Ayres, “Greenbrier County, WV – McGraw’s in the Greenbrier Co. Tax Lists – 1792-1833,” abstract of the tax lists submitted in February 1999, USGenWeb Archives Special Projects,  (http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/greenbrier/taxlists/mcgraw.txt : accessed 9 January 2020). ↩
13. Julie McGrew-Ayres, “Fayette County, WV – McGraw’s in the Fayette Co. Tax Lists – 1831-1839,” abstract of the tax lists submitted in February 1999, USGenWeb Archives Special Projects, (http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/fayette/taxlists/mcgrawtx.txt : accessed 9 January 2020). ↩
14. “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), Record Group 15, Roll RG15-1812PB-Bx2276, National Archives Catalog ID: 564415, service of Anthony McGraw (Capt McClung 4th Reg’t, Virginia Militia, War of 1812), widow Elizabeth Gill formerly Elizabeth McGraw. (https://www.fold3.com/image/316993307 : accessed 4 January 2020). ↩
15. 1790 / 1800 / 1810 Virginia Tax List Censuses, (reconstructed 1790, 1800, and 1810 federal censuses using tax list, microfilm images with every name indexes), Binns Genealogy (http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/) citing original records from Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia or Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, Russell County, Virginia, 1810 Personal Tax List A, page 13, right line, line 12, John McGraw. 1810 Russell County, Virginia Tax List. (http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/FreeSample/CDR-000497/1810/1810PersonalA/13.pdf : accessed 16 January 2020). ↩
16. 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, Year: 1850; Census Place: District 54, Russell, Virginia; Roll: M432_975; Page: 307A; Image: 184. John McGraw (head of household) listed as born in Pennsylvania. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 9 January 2020). ↩
17. 1810 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i>, citing Third Census of the United States, 1810 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls, Year: 1810; Census Place: Monroe, Monroe, Virginia; Roll: 70; Page: 575; Image: 00022; Family History Library Film: 0181430Family History Library Film: 0181420. “.” (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
18. War of 1812 Pension Files, Roll RG15-1812PB-Bx2276, National Archives Catalog ID: 564415, service of Martin McGraw (5th Regiment, Capt. James R. Nemal’s Company, Virginia Militia, War of 1812), widow Sarah Jane (Johnson) McGraw. (https://www.fold3.com/image/316993473 : accessed 4 January 2020). ↩
19. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Year: 1850; Census Place: District 46, Putnam, Virginia; Roll: M432_971; Page: 287A; Image: 243. Martin McGraw (head of household) born in Pennsylvania. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
20. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 January 2020), memorial page for Elender “Nellie” McGraw Nelson (1788–2 Aug 1845), Find A Grave Memorial no. 55298224, citing Nelson Cemetery, Richland Township, Madison County, Indiana, USA; Maintained by Bonnie Morris Conrad (contributor 46480766). ↩
21. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Year: 1850; Census Place: District 14, Fayette, Virginia; Roll: M432_943; Page: 351A; Image: 307. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
22. 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, Year: 1860; Census Place: District 3, Fayette, Virginia; Roll: M653_1344; Page: 367; Family History Library Film: 805344. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
23. 1870 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Ninth Census of the United States, 1870 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls, Year: 1870; Census Place: Mountain Cove, Fayette, West Virginia; Roll: M593_1686; Page: 140B; Family History Library Film: 553185. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
24. County Clerk, Register of the Names of Voters in Fayette County, West Virginia 1866, FamilySearch, Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1958 (Microfilm of originals at the West Virginia University Library, Morgantown), Names of persons voting and tally of votes, Item 7, Mountain Cove, image 130 of 154, last line. 15 September 1866 Samuel McGraw gave his age as 74 years and his place of birth as Augusta County, Virginia. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34W-543H?i=129&cat=220730 : accessed 16 January 2020). ↩
25. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project (database and images), West Virginia Division of Culture and History, (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 http://www.wvculture.org/vrr). 1855 Death Register entry for Thomas McGraw line 68. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=4786546&Type=Death : accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
26. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Census Place: District 46, Putnam, Virginia; Roll: M432_971; Page: 281B; Image: 232. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
27. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Census Place: District 14, Fayette, Virginia; Roll: M432_943; Page: 338A; Image: 281+282. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 7 September 2014). ↩
28. 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Census Place: District 3, Fayette, Virginia; Roll: M653_1344; Page: 410; Family History Library Film: 805344. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 7 September 2014). ↩
29. 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Census Place: Mountain Cove, Fayette, West Virginia; Roll: M593_1686; Page: 156A; Family History Library Film: 553185. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 7 September 2014). ↩
30. 1820 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i>, citing Fourth Census of the United States, 1820 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls, 1820 U Census Place: Peterstown, Monroe, Virginia; Page: 179; NARA Roll: M33_133; Image: 218. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
31. 1830 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), <i>Ancestry</i>, citing Fifth Census of the United States, 1830 population schedule, National Archive and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls, Census Place: Greenbrier, Virginia; Series: M19; Roll: 190; Page: 192; Family History Library Film: 0029669. “.” (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 7 September 2014). ↩
32. Virginia Tax List (Binnsgenealogy), Greenbrier, 1803 Personal Tax List B, page 14, line 18, Martin McGraw. (http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Greenbrier/1803PersonalB/14.jpg : accessed 7 September 2014). ↩
33. Ibid., Virginia, Greenbrier County, 1810 Personal Tax List B, page 8, right side, line 2, Margaret McGraw. (http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/FreeSample/CDR-000484/1810/1810PersonalB/08.pdf : accessed 16 January 2020). ↩

The Ancestors: Bailey WOOD and Nancy, his wife (392 & 393)

Once you’ve worked your way back to ancestors who lived in America in the late 18th and early 19th century, it becomes more difficult to gather the records to tell their stories. This is the case with most of my paternal 5th great-grandparents.

Difficult does not mean impossible.

Bailey and Nancy WOOD are a set of these 5th great-grandparents. They lived in the counties of Greenbrier, Monroe, and Nicholas in western Virginia (present-day West Virginia) as early as 1781 and as late as 1826. Neither were ever listed by name on a census. Neither left a known marriage record. Neither left a birth or death record.

They were likely born about 1750 in unknown parts. Bailey as will be seen below, died about 1820 while Nancy lived at least until 1826.

Two important records have been found by previous family researchers that help to tell a part of their story. One of these is from 1781 and gives insight into the religion of the family while the other is from 1826 and concerns land owned by Bailey WOOD.

Original Members of the Old Greenbrier Church

On 24 November 1781, the Baptist faith gained a more permanent footing in the Greenbrier region when Pastor John ALDERSON organized the Old Greenbrier Church at Alderson. It was the first Baptist organization west of the Alleghenies and the oldest of any denomination to be established in this section of the country. Its twelve original members were John ALDERSON, Mary ALDERSON, Thomas ALDERSON, John KIPPERS, John SHEPPERD, John SKAGGS, Katherine SKAGGS, Joseph SKAGGS, Lucy SKAGGS, Bailey WOOD, Ann WOOD, and James WOOD.¹

Is has been assumed by many WOOD descendants that Ann WOOD who was a charter member of the church was Bailey’s wife. However, an 1826 record names his wife as Nancy WOOD. Were Ann WOOD and Nancy WOOD the same person? To answer this, the record from 1826 needs to be examined.

1826 Indenture

This 1826 indenture is a deed of bargain and sale by the heirs of Bailey WOOD to John ALDERSON.² For easier reading commas missing in the original have been added to this transcription in red.

This indenture made the 21st day of September one thousand eight hundred and twenty six between James Wood & Polly his wife, Bailey Wood and Lucretia his wife, William Wood & Mary his wife, Richard Skaggs and Susannah his wife, Martin McGraw & Nancy his wife, Samuel McGraw and Elizabeth his wife, Katherine Wood, heirs and legal representatives of Bailey Wood dec^d and Nancy Wood widow of Bailey Wood dec^d of the county of Nicholas and state of Virginia of the one part and John Alderson of the County of Monroe and state aforesaid of the other part. Witnesseth that the said heirs & widow of Bailey Wood Dec^d for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar to them in hand paid the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have bargained and sold and by these presents do bargain and sell unto the said John Alderson and his heirs a certain tract or parcel of land containing one hundred acres more or less lying on the south side of the Greenbrier river in Monroe County adjoining the lands of William Johnson and James Graham and bounded as followeth. To wit: Beginning at a popular and beech corner to John Lusk on the south side of the river and with his line S12° E74 poles to 2 Beaches S55° E64 poles to a poplar & sugar tree S22 poles to a poplar and white oak nigh a draugh S75° E38 poles to 2 Buckeye N30° E27 poles to a buckeye and sugar tree N22° W8 poles to 2 Elms N30° E50 poles to 2 hickories N10° E42 poles to 2 Buckeyes N23° W36 poles crossing the river to 2 birches on the river bank and from there to the beginning with all its appurtenances. To have and to hold the said tract or parcel of Land with its appurtenances & with all and singular the appurtenances heriditriments thereunto belonging and the said heirs & widow aforesaid do covenant with the said John Alderson the said tract or parcel of Land from themselves & from their heirs Executors & administrators the tract or parcel of land aforesaid from all and every person or persons will warrant and forever defend in witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this day and date first above written.

James Wood (seal)
Polly (her X mark) Wood (seal)
Bailey Wood (seal)
Lucretia (her X mark) Wood (seal)
Wm Wood (seal)
Mary (her X mark) Wood (seal)
Richard (his o mark) Skaggs (seal)
Susannah (her X mark) Skaggs (seal)
Martin Magraw (seal)
Nancy (her X mark) McGraw (seal)
Sam^l McGraw (seal)
Elizabeth (her X mark) McGraw (seal)
Katherine (her X mark) Wood (seal)
Nancy (her X mark) Wood (seal)

Nicholas County to wit:
We William Carnefix and James Skaggs justice of the Peace of the County of Nicholas and the state of Virginia do hereby certify that James Wood, Bailey Wood, William Wood, Richard Skaggs, Martin McGraw, Samuel McGraw parties to a certain deed bearing date 21st September 1826 and hereunto annexed personally appeared before us in our county aforesaid and acknowledged the same to be their act and deed & desired us to certify the said acknowledgment to the Clerk of the County Court of Monroe in order that the said deed may be recorded. Given under our hands and seals this 21st day of Sept^r 1826.

W. Carnefix (seal)
James Skaggs (seal)

Nicholas County
We William Carnefix and James Skaggs justices of the peace in the County of Nicholas aforesaid in the state of Virginia do hereby certify the Polly Wood the wife of James Wood Lucretia Wood the wife of Bailey Wood, Mary Wood the wife of William Wood, Susannah Skaggs the wife of Richard Skaggs, Nancy McGraw the wife of Martin McGraw, Elizabeth McGraw the wife of Samuel McGraw, Katherine Wood and Nancy Wood widow of Bailey Wood, dec^d parties to a certain Deed bearing date the 21st of September 1826 and hereunto annexed personally appeared before us in our county aforesaid and being examined by us privily and apart from their said (said marked out) husbands and having the deed aforesaid fully explained to them they the said Polly Wood, Lucretia Wood, Mary Wood, Susannah Skaggs, Nancy McGraw, Elizabeth McGraw, Katherine Wood and Nancy Wood widow of Bailey Wood dec^d acknowledge the same to be their act and Deed and declared that they had willingly signed sealed and delivered the same and that they wished not to retract it.
Given under our hands and seals this 21st day of Sept^r 1826

W. Carnefix (seal)
James Skaggs (seal)

Monroe county clerks office February 10, 1842:
     This deed of bargain & sale from Bailey Woods heirs to John Alderson was acknowledged before two Magestrates in the county of Nicholas & certified and admitted to record.

Teste: Geo. Hutchinson, Jr, CMC

Transcription vs Original Record

Until last week I’d never seen the actual document. On New Year’s Day, I found the original record on FamilySearch. It seemed like a good omen for my genealogy research and a great start for the New Year 2020.

I did my own transcription even though I’ve had a transcript of this indenture for nearly two decades. I received it from a WOOD researcher and descendant, Vernon A. Fox (1924-2002), in an email dated 31 May 2001. My transcription is not 100% the same as the work sent to me by Mr. Fox. Some of the call lines did not match, several words were different, commas had been added, some words were missing, and abbreviated words and symbols had been written out. All of these differences could mean the transcriber was working from a different or less legible copy of the deed.

Narrowing the range for the date of death of Baily WOOD

It has been assumed Bailey WOOD died before 21 September 1826, the date of this indenture. He was not found in the 1810 or 1820 census, i.e. he was not found as a head of household. The 1800 census is lost for Virginia. Bailey did not leave a will in any of the counties he was known to have lived in. No administrative bonds for his estate were found. What other records did he produce which might narrow the range of death?

While checking the catalog at FamilySearch for records in Monroe County, West Virginia, I not only found the above indenture in the Deed Book but also the Land Books, registers in which the tax on land was recorded for each year since Monroe County was formed in 1799.

In the Land Book, I found the 100 acres mentioned in the deed above was taxed from 1810 until 1842. From 1810 to 1819 the owner is listed as Bailey WOOD. From 1821 to 1842 the owner is listed as “Bailey WOOD heirs.” The district in which the land was listed is missing for 1820. How was the landowner listed in 1820? As Bailey WOOD or his heirs? Even with this missing year, the death of Bailey WOOD can be estimated at between 1819-1821 as taxes were paid by him in 1819 and by his heirs in 1821.³

The Heirs and Legal Representatives of Bailey WOOD

Let’s take a look at the heirs and legal representatives. Who were they and when were they married? If their marriage records did not prove Bailey WOOD was their father, would they at least show the individuals were old enough to be children of Bailey and not grandchildren of deceased children?

The indenture shows Bailey WOOD left a widow named Nancy WOOD and the following heirs and legal representatives:

• James Wood & Polly his wife
• Bailey Wood & Lucretia his wife
• William Wood & Mary his wife
• Richard Skaggs & Susannah his wife
• Martin McGraw & Nancy his wife
• Samuel McGraw & Elizabeth his wife
• Katherine Wood

Of the heirs who were married, records have been found for of all except Bailey WOOD Jr. and his wife Lucretia SKAGGS. All were performed by John ALDERSON – not unusual as the WOOD family were practicing Baptists and members of Alderson’s Old Greenbrier Church.

Susannah WOOD married Richard SKAGGS on 10 March 1789.⁴ The marriage entry does not name the parents of either the bride or groom.

William WOOD married Mary Ann McGRAW on 18 June 1800.⁵, ⁶, ⁷ Martin and Margaret McGRAW gave permission for their daughter to marry. John WOOD went bond with William WOOD on this marriage. The identity of John WOOD is unknown.

Nancy WOOD married Martin McGRAW Jr. on 3 May 1806.⁸ The marriage entry does not name parents of either Nancy or Martin.

Bailey WOOD Jr. married Lucretia SKAGGS, likely before 1807. No marriage record has been found. A similar indenture to the 1826 Wood indenture with heirs was found. This 1841 John SKAGGS heirs to Joshua ELLIS deed of bargain and sale includes Bailey WOOD and wife Lucretia as heirs of John SKAGGS who left a widow Catherine SKAGGS. This couple was two of the charter members of the Baptist church formed by John ALDERSON. This record proves Bailey WOOD Jr.’s wife Lucretia was a SKAGGS, daughter of John SKAGGS and Catherine HICKS.⁹

James WOOD married Mary HALSTEAD on 26 April 1810.¹⁰, ¹¹, ¹² Neither the marriage entry nor the bond gives information on the parentage of the bride and groom.

Elizabeth WOOD married Samuel McGRAW on 28 May 1812.¹³, ¹⁴ The marriage bond identifies Bailey WOOD as the father of Elizabeth WOOD.

Bailey WOOD was only identified as the father of Elizabeth, the youngest child who was the last to marry. As all of the other heirs married prior to Elizabeth they cannot be grandchildren and therefore must be children of Bailey WOOD.

As Katherine WOOD was named as an heir in 1826 she must have been of age (21 or older) at the time and born 1805 or earlier. An 1850 census listing for Fayette County was found for one Catherine WOOD age 56 (born abt. 1794) living in a SKAGGS household along with a man named James C. WOOD age 27.¹⁵ The two WOOD individuals are alone in a household in 1860. The occupation of the woman is governess but crossed out and replaced by wife even though the age of the man is 30 and the woman 60.¹⁶ This was done on several other listings on this census and cannot be reliable. I suspect this could be Bailey’s daughter Katherine and that she had a son out of wedlock. Further research is needed as neither were located in the census after 1860.

Who was Bailey WOOD’s wife?

Was Nancy WOOD named as the widow of Bailey WOOD in the indenture the mother of all of the children?

Bailey acquired 450 acres by grant in Greenbrier County in 1788.¹⁷ In 1803 he sold 127 acres of the 450 acres land grant to William GRAHAM.¹⁸ The other 323 acres were sold to Robert GWINN by Bailey WOOD and his wife Nancy in 1804.¹⁹ Nancy was, therefore, his wife as early as 1804.

Ann WOOD, a charter member of the baptist church (1781), was dismissed from the church on 23 April 1825 as was another woman named Polly WOOD.²⁰ Members were dismissed when they left the church for other parts. As both of these women were dismissed on the same date, it would seem probable that they were from the same family. Polly WOOD could be Mary HALSTEAD, wife of James WOOD. If Polly was Mary, could Ann who had been a member for 44 years be her mother-in-law Nancy?

In 1820 Richard SKAGGS (husband of Susannah WOOD)²¹, William WOOD²², Martin McGRAW (husband of Mary WOOD)²³, and Bailey WOOD Jr. were in Nicholas County. They had all moved to Nicholas County before the census.

James WOOD²⁴ and Samuel McGRAW²⁵ (husband of Elizabeth WOOD) were in Monroe County in 1820. James WOOD would move to Nicholas County by 1830. Samuel McGRAW would be in Greenbrier by 1825.

Only James WOOD’s census listing includes an older woman who could be his mother Nancy and a young woman who could be his single sister Katherine.

These census listings account for all of Bailey’s children and his widow in 1820. If my analysis is correct, Bailey WOOD must have died 1819-1820 after the land tax was recorded for 1819 and before the census was taken in 1820. This would support the assumption that the older woman in James’ household was Bailey’s widow Nancy.

Putting the speculation to rest

I strongly believe Ann and Nancy were used interchangeably by Bailey WOOD’s wife. To date, Nancy’s maiden name is unknown. There are hundreds of family trees on Ancestry that have her listed as Nancy HICKS. The maiden name is undocumented.

I found an old post on the Hicks Surname Forum on Genforum by Kitty Steele Barrera dated October 2006 in which she wrote, “I know that the Nancy Hicks/Bailey Wood connection is tentative because I was the first to make the connection. I posted “Bailey Wood married Nancy Hicks?” and before long, it was all over the internet as a fact.”²⁶ Kitty mentioned in another message in the same forum that she can be blamed for starting the rumor and the Hicks part is pure speculation.

It is pure speculation that Bailey’s wife Nancy was born Nancy HICKS.

Bailey and Nancy’s son William WOOD was my 4th great-grandfather. No record has been found indicating he had a middle initial or a middle name. As with his mother’s maiden name, William has also been given Hicks as a middle name by some unknown person and the mistake has been copied into hundreds of family trees.

The internet is an amazing tool for genealogy research however misinformation grows quickly and is widely spread. In hopes that this post will help clear up some of the misconceptions and encourage descendants of Bailey and Nancy WOOD to find the records to push back another generation.

© 2020, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. Otis K. Rice, A History of Greenbrier County, Lewisburg, W. Va. : Greenbrier Historical Society, 1986, page 193. ↩
2. County Clerk of the County Court, Monroe County (West Virginia), “Deed book, 1789-1901” and “Deed index, 1789-1969” (manuscript on film, browse-only images), FamilySearch (Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1969; 34 microfilm reels; 35 mm), Film 589502, DGS 8219401, Deed book, v. N 1840-1846, pages 187-189, image 124+125 of 411. Citing microfilm of original records at the Monroe County courthouse, Union. 1826 Bailey Wood heirs to John Alderson deed of bargain and sale. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSGX-491G-C?i=123&cat=98998 : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
3. Monroe County (West Virginia) County Assessor, “Land book, 1799-1900” (manuscript on film, browse-only images), FamilySearch (Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1968; 12 microfilm reels, 35 mm). Citing microfilm of original records at the State Auditor’s Office, Charleston. (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/60462?availability=Family%20History%20Library : accessed 5 January 2020). ↩
4. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project (database and images), West Virginia Division of Culture and History (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 http://www.wvculture.org/vrr), West Virginia, Greenbrier County, 10 March 1789, Susannah Wood and Richard Scags married by John Alderson. 1789 Marriage Record (right page, 7th entry from bottom). Note: bride indexed as Ward and image could be Ward or Wood. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=10975982&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
5. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 18 June 1800, William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw, permission slip from her parents. “June /newline/ Sir, this coms (sic) to let you now (sic) that I Marten and Marget Mcgraw is wiling that William Wood should have our daughter Mary Ann /newline/ To John Hutchason (Clerk) /newline/ The above was sworn to by John Wood one of the witnesses present.” 1800 Marriage Permission Slip. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11370465&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
6. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, Marriage Bond dated 18 June 1800 for the marriage of William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw. “Marriage Bond #39 William Wood and John Wood went bond on the marriage of William Wood and Mary Anne McGraw (both of Monroe) on 18 June 1800 in Monroe County, Virginia.” 1800 Marriage Bond (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11370480&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
7. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 18 June 1800 William Wood and Mary Ann McGraw married by John Alderson. 1800 Marriage Record entry (right page, 1st entry under Alderson). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369625&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
8. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 3 May 1806, Nancy Wood and Martin McGraw married by John Alderson, banns were published. 1806 Marriage Record (right page, 4th entry from bottom). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369727&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
9. County Clerk of the County Court, Monroe County (West Virginia), “Deed book, 1789-1901” and “Deed index, 1789-1969,” Film 589504, DGS 8219402, Deed book, v. P-Q 1846-1852, pages 487-490, image 686+687 of 743. Citing microfilm of original records at the Monroe County courthouse, Union. 1841 John Skaggs heirs to Joshua Ellis deed of bargain and sale. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSGX-49SY-L?cat=98998 : accessed 1 January 2020). ↩
10. West Virginia Vital Research Records Project, West Virginia, Monroe County, 17 April 1810, James Wood and James M. Condon went bond for the marriage of James Wood to Mary Halstead. 1810 Marriage Bond. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11371453&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
11. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 26 April 1810, James Wood and Mary Halstead by John Alderson. 1810 Application for the marriage license. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369951&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
12. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 26 April 1810, James Wood and Mary Halstead married by John Alderson. 1810 Marriage Record entry (right page, last entry). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369380&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
13. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, marriage bond dated 19 May 1812, Samuel McGraw and Bailey Wood went bond on the marriage of Bailey’s daughter Elizabeth Wood and Samuel McGraw. 1812 Marriage Bond. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11371819&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
14. Ibid., West Virginia, Monroe County, 28 May 1812, Samuel McGraw and Elizabeth Wood married by John Alderson. 1812 Marriage Record entry (right page, 6th entry). (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11369509&Type=Marriage : accessed 2 January 2020). ↩
15. 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, Year: 1850; Census Place: District 14, Fayette, Virginia; Roll: M432_943; Page: 336B; Image: 278. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
16. 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, Year: 1860; Census Place: District 3, Fayette, Virginia; Roll: M653_1344; Page: 373; Family History Library Film: 805344. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
17. “Land Office/Northern Neck Patents & Grants” (index and images from microfilm), Virginia State Land Office, Grants A-Z, 1-124, reels 42-190; Virginia State Land Office, Grants 125- , reels 369-. The collection is housed in the Archives at the Library of Virginia, Library of Virginia Archives, https://www.lva.virginia.gov/ (Records on Library of Virginia site accessible through the new Collections Discovery System https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01LVA_INST:01LVA&lang=en), Land Office Grants No. 18, 1788-1789, p. 269 (Reel 84). Wood, Bailey Land grant 31 July 1788, 450 acres on the south side of Greenbrier River adjoining the land or James Givin and the land of Mathias Keen.(https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/18mtacj/alma990008443800205756 : accessed 24 April 2013). ↩
18. County Clerk of the County Court, Monroe County (West Virginia), “Deed book, 1789-1901” and “Deed index, 1789-1969,” Film 589348, GDS 8152873, Deed book, v. A 1789-1805, pages 280-281, image 369+370 of 463. Citing microfilm of original records at the Monroe County courthouse, Union. 1803 Bailey Wood to William Graham 127a. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKV-23MT-F?i=368&cat=98998 : accessed 1 January 2020). ↩
19. Ibid., Film 589348, GDS 8152873, Deed book, v. A 1789-1805, pages 330-331, image 394+395 of 463. Citing microfilm of original records at the Monroe County courthouse, Union. 1804 Bailey Wood and Nancy to Robert Gwinn 323a.(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKV-23M5-S?i=393&cat=98998 : accessed 1 January 2020). ↩
20. Journal of the Greenbrier Historial Society, page 92. Greenbrier Historical Society, Lewisburg, West Virginia (a yearly publication, year unknown). (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 2 August 2017, courtesy of Kitty Steele Barrera) ↩
21. 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, 1820 US Census; Census Place: Nicholas, Virginia; Page: 204A; NARA Roll: M33_130; Image: 388. Richard Skaggs household (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
22. Ibid., 1820 US Census; Census Place: Nicholas, Virginia; Page: 205A; NARA Roll: M33_130; Image: 389. William Wood and Bailey Wood households (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
23. Ibid., 1820 US Census; Census Place: Nicholas, Virginia; Page: 204; NARA Roll: M33_130; Image: 387. Martin McGraw household (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
24. Ibid., 1820 US Census; Census Place: Union, Monroe, Virginia; Page: 188; NARA Roll: M33_133; Image: 227. James Wood household (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
25. Ibid., 1820 US Census; Census Place: Peterstown, Monroe, Virginia; Page: 179; NARA Roll: M33_133; Image: 218. Samuel McGraw household (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 8 January 2020). ↩
26. Kitty Steele, “Re: Bailey Woods and Nancy Hicks,” Hicks Surname Forum, 29 October 2006, message 9940, Genealogy.com, GenForum (https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/hicks/9940/ : accessed 1/1/2020) ↩

Time to Pull up Stakes and Move on

William JOHNSON Sr. (1755-1805) and Amy NELSON (1757-1837) were my fifth great-grandparents. I wrote about their son William JOHNSON Jr. (1793-1845) and his wife Nancy Ann SIMS (abt. 1793-1860s) in 2014 during my first year blogging.

I’m reviewing William and Amy’s records and looking into opening some doors which have remained closed mainly due to my not having access to Virginia records from their period. Instead of starting with the earliest records, I’m going to move back into time.

A few weeks ago I wrote about The 1806 Administrator Bond for the Estate of William Johnson Sr. (1755-1805). An inventory of his estate has yet to be found. With the Administrator Bond, we learned William died before 9 April 1806 and likely during the winter of 1805. I have not found a primary or secondary source confirming he died 22 December 1805.¹

In the General Index to Deeds of Kanawha County William JOHNSON Sr. wasn’t listed as a grantor nor as a grantee. He was not found on the land tax records of the county. Apparently, he did not acquire land during the seven years he lived in Kanawha County.

David Fridley, my double 6th cousin through William JOHNSON Sr. and Amy NELSON and through James SIMS and his first wife Phebe _____, has been supportive when it comes to researching our common ancestors over the years. We e-met in the days when mailing lists were active on Rootsweb and still keep up via email and Facebook.

David once mentioned two land records he’d abstracted from the deed books of Greenbrier County. He hadn’t noted the book or page number at the time. The deeds indicated William JOHNSON and his wife Amy deeded a total of 150 acres on Lick Run on 25 and 26 June 1798. As this was the last mention of them in Greenbrier County we believe they must have left for Kanawha County around 1798.

At the end of July, I located the deeds David found many years ago while checking into new collections on FamilySearch. The first thing I did was to send David the citations.

Johnston to Tennis, 62 acres on Lick Run

William JOHNSTON and Amy his wife sold 62 acres on Lick Run to William TENNIS as seen in the following deed.²

This Indenture made this 25 Day of June one Thousand seven Hundred and Ninety eight Between WIlliam Johnston and Amy his wife of the one Part and William Tennis of the other Each of the county of Greenbrier & State of Virginia Witnesseth that the said William Johnston and Amey his wife for & in consideration of the some (sic) of Five Shillings Current money of sd [said] State to them in hand Paid on or before the seling and delivering of their presents the Receipt whereof the Dead (sic) Hereby acknowledged have Bargained & sold & by these presents doe Bargain & sell unto the sd William Tennis and his heirs or assigns a certain tract or Percil of Land Containing sixty two acres it being part of a survey of one Hundred & fifty acres Granted to the sd Johnston by paten, lying & being in the county of Greenbrier on the Waters of lick run where sd Tennis now lives & is Bounded as followeth (to wit) Begining at a Double white oak and chesnut corner to the old survey & thence through the survey south Eighty three Degrees East one Hundred & twenty pole to an aposite Corner of the old survey & Flathers & with old line North Thirty six Degrees west one Hundred and sixty eight pole to four Locusts and soth (sic) Seventy Degrees wet forty four Pole to two white oaks & South thirteen Degrees East one Hundred and fourteen pole to the Begining with its appertainances to the sd William Tennis and his Heirs to the sole yeo? & behoof of the sd William Tennis his heirs or assigns forever and the sd William Johnston & Amy his wife for themselves and their Heirs Doth covenant with the said William Tennis and his heirs the said tract or parcel of land from themselves and their heirs to the said William Tennis and his Heirs or assigns against all and every person or persons whatsoever will warrent and will forever Defend in Witness Whereof we have hereunto set our Hands and seals the Day and the year above Written. 

Signed seald & Delivered
In the Presents off………………………..Williams (his mark) Jonston Seal
Edward Keenan
John Johnston………………………………Emey (her mark) Jonston Seal
Michael Kounts

At a Court held for Greenbrier County June the 26th 1798
This Deed from William Johnston to Wm Tennis was prest in Court & provd by the Oaths of Edward Keenan John Johnston & Michl Kounts and ordered to Record.
………………………………………Teste
………………………………………John Stuart C.G.C. (Clerk Greenbrier County)

Johnston to Kounts, 88 acres on Lick Run

William JOHNSTON and his wife Amy sold 88 acres on Lick Run to Michael KOUNTS as seen in the following deed.[^3]

This Indenture maid this Twenty ___ day of June one Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Eight between William Johnston and Eamy his wife of the one part and Michael Kouns of the other Each of the County of Greenbrier and State of Virginia Witnesseth that the said William Johnston and Eamy his Wife for and in consideration of the sum of one Dollar current Money of said State to them in hand paid on or before the Sealing and delivering of these presents the receit whereof the do hereby Acknowledge have bargained and sold and by these presents doe bargain and Sell unto the said Michael Kouns and his Heirs and Assigns a Certain Tract or parcell of Land containing Eighty eight Acres & being the Land sd Johnston now lives on Lying and being in the County of Greenbrier on the Lick Run Joining the Land of Edward Keenan Isaac Palton and Kounces own Land Bough of Keenan & being the S.W. End of said Survey of 150 Acres and is bounded as followeth (to Wit) Beginning at a black Oake & White Oake Corner to Kouns and with South thirty Eight Degrees East forty pole to two white oaks and North fifty two Degrees East one Hundred and Eighty two pole to Red Oak & two white oaks Corner to Keenan and the old Survey, thence through the Survey with Tineses line North Eighty three Degrees West one Hundred and twenty pole to the apasite Corner of old Survey and c? to Tennis on a Double White Oak and Chesnutt Oake on a Ridge and with old line South thirty two Degrees West Sixty six pole to Chesnutt Oake and black Oake and South Seventy Degrees West Ninety pole to two white oaks and South ten degrees west fifty pole to two White Oak Corner to Kounses own and with North Sixty Degree East Ninety one pole to the Beginning with all the appertainances thereunto belonging to the said Michael Kounts and his Heirs and Assignes to the sole use and behoof of the said Michael Kounts and his Heirs and Assignes forever and the said William Johnston and Eamy his Wife for themselves and their Heirs doth Covenant with the said Michael Kouns and his Heirs the said Tract or Parcil of Land from themselves and their Heirs to the said Michael Kouns and his Heirs, against all and every Person or Persons whatsoever will Warrant and will forever defend in Witness whereof we have hereunto set our Hands and Seals the Day and year above Written
Signd, Seald & Acknowledgd
in the Presents off……………………………William (his mark) Jonston Seal
Edward Keenan
John Johnson………………………………….Eamey (her mark) Jonston Seal
Wm Tennis

At a Court held for Greenbrier County June the 26th 1798
This Deed from William Johnston to Michael Kounts was presented in Court and proved by the Oaths of Edwd Keenan John Johnston and William Tennis and the same is order to Record
………………………….Teste
…………………………..John Stuart

Interesting thoughts from David

When I contacted David with the citations he wrote, “Thanks so much for following up with these citations! There’s an awful lot of data I have still from my days decades ago of visiting courthouses that need adequate citation today, and I’m thankful for the increasing amount of digitized records on FamilySearch.”

He further wrote, “It’s also useful to revisit the original documents, since there’s more to be learned from a current perspective, for example noticing that “Eamey E. Jonston” included a middle initial, which I don’t think I’ve seen before.”

I hadn’t noticed the use of the middle initial. When I transcribed the deeds I saw where David thought a middle initial was used. However, I believe it is a scribble and meant to be her mark.

Here are close-ups of the “signatures” on the recorded deeds. I don’t think these are their actual signatures.

“Signatures” on Johnston to Tennis deed (top) and Johnston to Kounts deed (bottom)

Taking a closer look at the names, on the bottom image, it is clearly noted these are their marks. William appears to have signed with an x. The mark copied into the book by the clerk for the second deed (bottom) looks similar to the E in the first name Eamey and likely why David thought she was using a middle initial. I believe Amy’s mark is two close or consecutive circles. It must be noted that Amy’s name was spelled Amey, Eamy, and Eamey in the records above.

David also considered the price paid for the land and sent me a map with the location of the land. He wrote:

I also looked at the neighbors and grantees to see if there might be a family relationship given the very low price William sold his land for, but I’m not finding any right away. The price is a relative pittance compared to what land in the Shenandoah Valley was going for at the same time, but then, this was fairly remote, and I doubt William had any quantity of good bottom land that would make it more valuable. I’m attaching a map I created showing Lick Run in context of Monroe Co. with an inset showing the specific topography of Lick Run. It is a branch of Indian Creek, so the bottom land was only down by the creek. (There is another Lick Run in the SW portion of the county that emptied into Hans Creek, but looking at the other records of Tennis/Keenan/Counts-Koontz, it is apparent it is the Indian Creek one.)
William Tennis resold this land sometime after 1800 and headed to Adams Co., OH (bordering KY on the Ohio River). A list of his transactions (including the one with William) is compiled at https://www.ancestry.com/boards/localities.northam.usa.states.westvirginia.counties.monroe/439/mb.ashx. In this list are a number of land transactions from 26 June 1798 that involved William Tennis and Edward Keenan, some of which were also witnessed by John Johnson (doesn’t appear as Johnston), and one by a Thos Johnson. I wonder if either is related.

Map courtesy of David Fridley.

David refers to the land being in Monroe County. He is correct in terms of present-day geography. When William and Amy sold it in 1798 it was in the part of Greenbrier which would become Monroe County the following year.

Time to Pull up Stakes and Move on

With the sale of the land in Greenbrier County in 1798, the family of William JOHNSON and Amy NELSON were getting ready for their northwest move to Kanawha County where William died in 1805.

Next week will take us further back when I discuss how William JOHNSON came into the 150 acres he and his wife sold in 1798.

© 2019, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. 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). ↩
2. 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, image 80 of 380 (page 145). Johnston to Kounts deed for 88 acres (__ June 1798, entered 26 June 1798)(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-V45L?i=79&cat=98577 : accessed 31 July 2019). ↩

Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING: Evaline (formerly seen as Evoline)

In Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING: Henry, a Slave in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia, the slaveholder of the enslaved Henry was John S. Roberts as seen in an appraisement bill from 1832. The research continued with Slave Name Roll Project: RELEASING: Violate, Evoline, and Samuel in which I found the 1835 Appraisement of the Estate of Nathaniel Landcraft, father-in-law of John S. Roberts.

About the time Nathaniel Landcraft died, his daughter Adaline, widow of John S. Roberts, married the Baptist minister Edwin W. Woodson. They made their home in Monroe County, (West) Virginia. In 1840 Woodson had two slaves in his household, a male and a female, both were 10 thru 23 years old. Could either of them be one of the slaves mentioned in the Landcraft appraisement?

In 1850 E W Woodson owned one female slave age 20. In 1860 Adaline Woodson owned one female slave age 30. Who was this female slave?

Edwin W. Woodson died on 14 May 1853 leaving a will and an appraisement which named the enslaved person, Evaline.

Last Will and Testament of Edwin W. Woodson of Monroe County, (West) Virginia

“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-C9SC-5C?cc=1909099&wc=Q816-MGN%3A179686801%2C179794201 : 22 May 2014), Monroe > Will book, v. 005 1849-1853 > image 326 of 334; county courthouses, West Virginia.

In the name of God Amen. I Edwin W. Woodson of the County of Monroe and State of Virginia being of sound mind and disposing memory do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following to wit
Item 1st. I desire that after my death my representatives may sell all of my personal property that can be spared from the support of my family my library and Tobacco excepted, the latter of which is to remain in a partnership concern with N. H. Roberts and Andrew Campbell and myself for twelve months as per partnership agreement, at the expiration of which time, my interest in the Tobacco concern the amount of sale for my personal property and amt. from any debts due me is to be appropriated to my debts.
Item 2d. Any deficit in the payment of my debts after the appropriation of the above funds as above named is to be made up out of my negro gril & her increase & my tract of Land on on (sic) which Nehemiah Bonham now lives, or either as my representatives may deem most expedient.
Item 3d. In the event that the funds already named above & set apart for the payment of my debts should not be sufficient to pay the same, in that event I desire my home tract of land to be sold on a reasonable credit & the whole of my debts to be paid out of the same, & the residue if any remaining together with that arising or remaining from any other portion of my estate to be divided as follows, one third to my wife Adaline and the ballance equaly amongst my children.
Item 4th. Any of my lands that may be left after the payment of my debts, I give to my wife Adaline until the youngest child has arrived at the age of twenty one years at which time it is to be equally divided amongst my children subject to the dower of my wife Adaline.
Item 5th. In the event that my negro girl Evaline and her increase in part or whole should not be appropriated to the payment of my debts in that case, I give the same to my wife Adaline so long as she may live and at her death to be equally divided amongst my children.
Item 6th. I desire that my Library shall not be sold, but equally apportioned between my children

“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-C9SC-LN?cc=1909099&wc=Q816-MGN%3A179686801%2C179794201 : 22 May 2014), Monroe > Will book, v. 005 1849-1853 > image 327 of 334; county courthouses, West Virginia.

the oldest to have choice of lots.
Item 7th. I do hereby appoint my dearly beloved wife Adaline to be my Executrix and Grandison C. Landcraft my Executor of this my last will & testament.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this the 12th day of May 1853.
Edwin W. Woodson *seal*
Teste
Boswell Vass
John Woodram
N.H. Roberts
At Monroe June Court 1853.
The Last Will and Testament of Edwin W. Woodson decd was presented in Court by Grandison C. Landcraft one of the Executors therein named and was proved by the oaths of John Woodram and Nathaniel H. Roberts two of the subscribing witneses thereto and the same is ordered to be recorded and thereupon the said Landcraft together with Rufus Pack, Robert L. Shanklin, Mathew Campbell and Nathaniel H. Roberts his securities entered into & acknowledged his bond in the penalty of $5000 with condition according to the law, probate of the said will in due form is granted him, reserving the liverty to Mrs. Woodson the Executrix named in said will to join in the probate hereafter if she choose.
A Copy
Teste
Geo W. Hutchinson CMC (Clerk, Monroe County)

Appraisement of the Estate of Edwin W. Woodson

“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-C9SH-9K?cc=1909099&wc=Q816-MG6%3A179686801%2C179821301 : 22 May 2014), Monroe > Will book, v. 006 1853-1857 > image 215 of 371; county courthouses, West Virginia.

In Obedience to an order made at the June term to us directed John Vass, Boswell Vass and Nathaniel H. Roberts who were appointed to appraise the personal Estate of Edwin W. Woodson decd do now proceed as follows after being duly sworn

1 Negro Girl named Evaline $ 600.00
1 White Mare 50.00
1 Brown Horse 65.00
1 Grey Yearling Colt 45.00
1 Iron Gray Mare 85.00
1 Black Cow 12.00
1 Spotted Do. 12.00
1 Mewly Heifer 10.00
1 White face Do. 10.00
1 Speckled Cow 15.00 (subtotal 904.00)
20 head of Sheep at $1 20.00
2 Calves at $4 8.00
15 Hogs at $2 30.00
5 shrats at $1 5.00
1 wheat Fan 22.00
1 Scythe & Cradle 1.50
1 mowing sythe & snaith 0.75
2 Sets Plow Gears at $1.37 1/2 2.75
1 two Horse Wagon & 3 Bodys 65.00 (subtotal 155.00)
2 Single Trees & 1 Double do 1.00
1 Sog chain 1.50
1 Big Plow 5.00
1 shovel Plow, clevis do. 1.25
1 Bull Tounge Do. 0.75
1 Coalter Plow & Clevis 1.25
1 Plow shovel 0.37
1 Choping Axe 1.25
1 mattock 2.75
1 Iron Tooth Harrow 3.00 (subtotal 18.12)
$1077.12
Amount brot. over $1,077.12
2 Hilling Hoes 1.50
1 Weeding do 0.25
1 Bee stand 1.50
1 Brass Clock 4.00
5 feather Beds & Bedding 50.00
2 New Bed steads at $5.00 Ea. 10.00
2 old do at $2.00 Ea 4.00
2 old do at $1.00 Ea 2.00
1 shot gun 2.50 (subtotal 75.75)
1 Jack Reel 0.75
1 Flax spinning wheel 3.00

“West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-C9SH-9K?cc=1909099&wc=Q816-MG6%3A179686801%2C179821301 : 22 May 2014), Monroe > Will book, v. 006 1853-1857 > image 215 of 371; county courthouses, West Virginia.

1 big wheel 1.50
1 man’s saddle & 2 riding bridles 12.00
1 Cupboard & contents 16.00
1 Beauro & Book Case 8.00
1 small table with drawer 1.00
1 Cooking glass 0.50 (subtotal 42.75)
1 Dining Table 2.50
10 Chairs 5.00
1 pr. small steelyears 0.34
1 old Hand saw 0.25
1 drawing Knife 0.25
2 Iron Wedges 0.50
Kitchen furniture including Pots, Ovens, Skillets
Kettles, Buckets, Pans & & & 5.00 (subtotal 13.84)
July 29th 1853 $1,209.46
Boswell Vass
John Vass
N.H. Roberts
Boswell Vass, John Vass, N. H. Roberts appeared before me and was duly sworn by me a justice of the peace for said County. Given under my hand.
Joseph Ellis J.O.
At Monroe County Court Octo. Tm. 1853
An appraisment of the Estate of E. W. Woodson decd was returned & ordered to be recorded
A Copy Teste Geo W. Hutchinson CMC

Fiduciary Records

I do not normally go to Ancestry to check on wills etc. for West Virginia as they are on FamilySearch. In this case I discoved fiduciary records for the estate of Edwin W. Woodson which included 200 images in the West Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1724-1985 database.

I only skimmed through the images until I found this record which shows Evaline was included in the personal property which went to the widow Adaline B. Woodson.

West Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1724-1985; Fiduciary Records, Monroe County Court. (Ancestry.com : accessed 31 August 2017) Image 182 (full package from image 19-221)

Received from G. C. Landcraft Exr. of E. W. Woodson decd., as of the 29th day of July 1853, nine hundred and forty one dollars & 46 cents, in personal property belonging to the estate of said E. W. Woodson decd. at its appreaised value. The above includes one negro girl named Evaline, appraised at $600.00.
Given under my hand this 25 day of April 1873
                                                 A.B. Woodson Widow of
                                                  E. W. Woodson decd.

Evaline was most likely the young girl Evoline mentioned in Landcraft’s appraisement in 1835. By 1870 she would have been about 40 years old (1850 age 20 and 1860 age 30 as seen in the slave schedules). I was not able to locate her in the 1870 census but hope that by releasing her name a descendant may recognize her, make the connection, and leave a comment.

Following my three part series on the slaves of my 5th great grandfather James Sims during Black History Month in February 2015 I made a commitment to write a post on a monthly basis until I’ve RELEASED all of the names of slaves owned by my ancestors or owned by persons I’ve researched who were relatives or neighbors of my ancestors.

These posts are part of the Slave Name Roll Project (About the Project) administered by Schalene Jennings Dagutis who also blogs at Tangled Roots and Trees.

© 2017, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #36 William JOHNSON Jr. 1793-1845

“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is entry #36 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

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

In 1815, soon after William married my 4th great-grandmother Nancy Ann SIMS, sister of Martin and Elizabeth SIMS mentioned earlier, their first child Nelson JOHNSON (1815-1855) was born in Kanawha County. In all records found for Nelson, I have only seen “Nelson” as his first name. Denise Jackson of Our Family Heritage©1974-2022 is a great-great-granddaughter of this son. Family lore is that his full name was Joseph Nelson JOHNSON and his grandson Joseph Nelson “JN” JOHNSON was named after him. On 9 May 2014, she wrote “It is only word of mouth about JN’s grandfather being Joseph Nelson Johnson and he (JN) being named for him” in response to my email to her about the full name. Before replying, she checked with two of her cousins, the sons of her father’s sister, and her two brothers as she said, “I wanted to check with all of them to make sure I had heard (and remembered) correctly.” They confirmed that she was right about the family lore.

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.⁴⁴ Update: 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.

© 2014-2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. 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. ↩
2. 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). ↩
3. 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.” ↩
4. See Note 2, supra. ↩
5. 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. ↩
6. Oren F. Morton, The History of Monroe County, West Virginia, published by McClure Company, Inc., Staunton, Virginia, 1916, page 140 (https://archive.org/details/historyofmonroec00mort/page/230/mode/2up : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
7. 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). ↩
8. Ibid., Film 593545, DGS #7765144, Deeds, v. 2 1798-1803, image 80 of 380 (page 145). Johnston to Kounts deed for 88 acres (__ June 1798, entered 26 June 1798)(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-V45L?i=79&cat=98577 : accessed 31 July 2019). ↩
9. “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). ↩
10. Laidley’s History, page 235, Cabin Creek District. ↩
11. Laidley’s History, page 979, Julian M. Johnson. ↩
12. 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.” ↩
13. The History of Fayette County West Virginia 1993; sponsored and published by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce. ↩
14. 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). ↩
15. 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). ↩
16. 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). ↩
17. 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). ↩
18. 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). ↩
19. 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). ↩
20. 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). ↩
21. Wikipedia contributors, “Loop Creek (West Virginia),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loop_Creek_(West_Virginia)&oldid=1094195964 : accessed September 1, 2022). ↩
22. 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). ↩
23. 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). ↩
24. 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). ↩
25. 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. ↩
26. 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). ↩
27. 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). ↩
28. 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). ↩
29. 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). ↩
30. See Note 2, supra. ↩
31. 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. ↩
32. See Note 27, supra. ↩
33. 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). ↩
34. Laidley’s History, page 820-821, article on W.S. Bean. (https://archive.org/details/historyofcharles00laid/page/821/mode/1up : accessed 1 September 2022). ↩
35. 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). ↩
36. 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. ↩
37. 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). ↩
38. From the writings of Laura Blake, a local historian ↩
39. 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). ↩
40. See Note 27, supra. ↩
41. Sissonville A Time to Remember, The Sissonville Historical Awareness Committee, pg. 108, Miller (an article on this family) (http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wvkanawh/Sissonville/hphphp186.jpg : accessed 31 August 2022) ↩
42. 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. ↩
43. 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). ↩
44. “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). ↩
45. See Note 27, supra. ↩

52 Ancestors: #35 Margaret KINCAID abt. 1794-abt. 1865

“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is entry #35 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

#35 Margaret KINCAID abt. 1794-abt. 1865

Margaret KINCAID was my four times great-grandmother. Although many family researchers have her nicknamed Peggy, I haven’t seen any document with this name and cannot bring myself to refer to her as “Peggy.” Margaret was the daughter of John KINCAID (1760-1834) and Elizabeth GILLESPIE (1760-1829). Her parents were both born the year George III became the King of England.

John KINCAID and Elizabeth GILLESPIE married on 11 February 1782 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia by John ALDERSON.¹,² This was towards the end of the American Revolutionary War (19 April 1775-14 January 1784) and in the middle of the little over one year that John served his country: 6 or 7 months from February 1781, 3 months from September 1782, and 3 months in the summer of 1783.³

Court Records Prove A Lot of the Children, In-Laws, and Outlaws

While visiting West Virginia in June 2007, Linda Crowder Perdue found the “micro film for the Kanawha County Court Records in which the case against John Kincaid and Matthew Kincaid for burning down the bridge across the Gauley River in July 1826 is recorded.”⁴,⁵

At a Court held for Kanawha County at the court house thereof on Monday the 24^th day of July 1826 for the examination of Matthew Kincaid and John Kincaid who have charged with having on the 11^th of July 1826 feloniously burned the bridge across the Gauley River.

This wonderful find included the names of witnesses called for the defendants, Margaret’s brother Matthew and her father John, and for the Commonwealth. The persons listed, as Sarah Kincaid so aptly wrote, prove some relationships in the KINCAID family including in-laws and outlaws.⁶

Update as of 1 January 2020: Since this post was written five years ago, the content from the old archives of Rootsweb’s mailing lists has been imported into new archives. The links (now in the footnotes) to the Kincaid Mailing List (kincaid@rootsweb.com) for the posts made by Linda Perdue and Sarah Kincaid have been updated (once again in August 2022 as the links had again changed). Thank you to my cousin/reader for bringing the broken links to my attention.

Who Were Margaret’s Siblings?

I needed help with this question. Who better to ask than Linda who found the court records? I had one or two persons who were not correct and a couple of siblings were missing. At the present time, with the research that has been done so far, this is, I believe, a reliable list even though I question the estimated birth of son Samuel.

John KINCAID and Elizabeth GILLESPIE were the parents of the following children, all born in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia:

◉ Sarah “Sallie” KINCAID (1783- ) was born about 1782
◉ Hannah KINCAID (1783- ) was born about 1783
◉ Matthew KINCAID (1785-1857) was born about 1785
◉ Samuel KINCAID (1787- ) was born between 1787-1791 [or about 1802??]
◉ James Gillespie KINCAID (1792-1852) was born on 19 December 1792⁷
◉ Elizabeth “Betsey” KINCAID (1793-1850) was born on 2 December 1793⁸
◉ Margaret KINCAID (1793-1865) was born about 1794
◉ Virginia “Jane” KINCAID (1795-1870) was born about 1795
◉ Nancy KINCAID (1801-aft 1880) was born about 1801
◉ Magdaline “Lina” KINCAID (1806-1876) was born on 7 March 1806⁹
◉ Lanty KINCAID (1806- ) was born on 7 March 1806

Marriages of Margaret’s Siblings

In 1798 when Margaret was about four years old her two oldest sisters married, Sarah in October and Hannah in December. They appear to have been very close in age but not yet of age as their father signed permission slips for both. It is not known if they were twins like Lina and Lanty.

◉ Sarah “Sallie” KINCAID married Thomas Alexander TERRY ( -1839) on 23 October 1798 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia¹⁰,¹¹
◉ Hannah KINCAID married James M. WALKER on 13 December 1798 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia¹²,¹³
◉ Matthew KINCAID married Mary “Polly” MURDOCK (1788-1839) on 2 June 1807 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia¹⁴
◉ Samuel KINCAID married Elizabeth “Betsy” WALKER ( – ) on 26 Apr 1809?? This marriage has not been proven.¹⁵
◉ Margaret KINCAID married James INGRAM on 24 October  1809 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia¹⁶
◉ James Gillespie KINCAID married Mary “Molly” Magdalene TRITT (1792-1869) on 17 December 1809 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. No marriage record was found.¹⁷
◉ Virginia “Jane” KINCAID married William “Moccasin Bill” KINCAID (1787-1870) on 22 November 1810 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia¹⁸
◉ Elizabeth “Betsey” KINCAID married(1) Samuel LINEGAR (1789- ) about 1810. No marriage record was found.
◉ Magdaline “Lina” KINCAID married Reuben WYATT (1796-1853) on 25 June 1823 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia¹⁹
◉ Elizabeth “Betsey” KINCAID married(2) Squire James STURGEON (1785- ) before 1823. No marriage record was found.
◉ Nancy KINCAID married Thomas HUGHES (1778-1853) on 24 February 1825 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia²⁰
◉ Lanty KINCAID married Nancy FLANAGAN (1802- ) on 25 December 1827 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia²¹

Margaret’s Life With/Without James INGRAM

As noted above, Margaret KINCAID married James INGRAM on 24 October 1809 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. She was only 15 at the time of her marriage (1850 age 56) and James, her groom, was more than twice her age, about 35 years old (1860 age 86).

In 1810 when the census was taken Margaret and James were most likely in their own household and not yet parents. Greenbrier is one of the counties that were “lost.” We see James INGRAM as head of household in 1820, 1830, and 1840 censuses with tick marks for his wife Margaret and children:²²,²³,²⁴

1820 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Greenbrier [ancestry.com]. Listing: 3 males under 10 yo (James Jr., Joshua, Robert), 1 male over 45 yo (James), 1 female under 10 yo (unknown daughter), 1 female over 45 yo (Margaret, her age would be ca. 26 per 1850 census), 1 person engaged in agriculture, 6 persons in household.

1830 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Kanawha [ancestry.com]. Listing: 1 male under 5 (Matthew), 1 male 5-10 (John), 2 males 10-15 (Joshua & Robert), 1 male 15-20 (James Jr.), 1 male 50-60 (James), 1 female under 5 (Cynthia), and 1 female 40-50 (Margaret), 8 persons in household.

1840 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Fayett [ancestry.com]. Listing: 2 males 10-15 (Matthew & John), 1 male 15-20 (Robert), 1 male 60-70 (James), 1 female 5-10 (Ruth), 1 female 10-15 (Cynthia), 1 female 50-60 (Margaret), 7 persons in household, 2 engaged in agriculture.

Margaret’s Children

◉ Ch 1: James INGRAM (1811-1835) was born about 1811 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia, and died before April 1835 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia. He did not marry or have children.²⁵
◉ Ch 2: Joshua INGRAM (1813-1860) was born about 1813 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. Joshua married Mahala C. STEELE (1823-1888) bet. 1841-1845 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia. They were the parents of six children. Joshua died between 1860-1862. His widow remarried and applied for a Mexican War Pension after the death of her second husband.²⁶
◉ Ch 3: _____ (daughter) INGRAM was born between 1811-1820 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. This child was not with the family in 1830.
◉ Ch 4: Robert INGRAM (1819-1902) was born about 1819 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. Robert married Huldah JOHNSON (1817-1880) about 1841 in Fayette County (West) Virginia. They were the parents of seven children. He died about 1902 in Fayette County at the home of his cousin Preston KINCAID, son of Margaret’s brother James Gillespie KINCAID.²⁷
◉ Ch 5: John INGRAM (1820-1870) was born about 1820 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. John married(1) Lucy Jane SKAGGS (1824-1853) on 13 February 1851 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia²⁸; married(2) Delilah CRAIG (1826-1869) on 12 July 1860 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia²⁹; and married(3) Mary F. LEGG (1843-1870) on 1 December 1869 in Kanawha County, West Virginia.³⁰ John had a son with his first wife and a daughter and a son with his second wife. He died after 1870 and was buried near his home on the Poca according to family tradition.
◉ Ch 6: Matthew INGRAM (1824-1900) was born on 9 January 1824 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia.³¹ Matthew married Sarah Francis MARTIN (1834-1906) on 20 August 1854 in Meigs County, Ohio.³² They were the parents of ten children. He died on 12 July 1900 in Sissonville, Kanawha County, West Virginia, and was buried in Pauley Cemetery on Little Sandy in Elk District in Kanawha County.³³,³⁴
◉ Ch 7: Cynthia INGRAM (1828-1910) was born on 25 March 1828 in (West) Virginia.³⁵ Cynthia married John B. “Johnny” TINCHER (1815-1890) on 23 March 1851 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia.³⁶ They were the parents of six children. She died on 3 May 1910 and was buried in Carter Cemetery, Dempsey, Fayette County, West Virginia.³⁷
◉ Ch 8: Ruth INGRAM (1832-1880) was born about 1832 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia. Ruth married John Johnson DARLINGTON (1826-1900) on 9 January 1851 in Fayette County, (West) Virginia.³⁸ They were the parents of a dozen children. She died between 1880-1900.

Other Events in the Life of Margaret

In 1826 while Margaret was raising her family, her husband James INGRAM was one of the persons who had to make a personal appearance to give evidence at the trial of his father-in-law John KINCAID and his brother-in-law Matthew KINCAID. They were on trial for the 11 July 1826 burning of the first bridge built across the Gauley River.³⁹,⁴⁰,⁴¹,⁴²,⁴³,⁴⁴

Following the trial, Margaret’s sister Hannah and her husband James WALKER moved from Kanawha County in (West) Virginia to Darke County, Ohio. The move must have been soon after Hannah was a witness for the trial and before 1830. In a biographical sketch of their son-in-law Samuel LITTON we see that the WALKERs, Hannah and James, moved to Adams County, Indiana, in 1850 where they died in 1871.⁴⁵ I read the article several times to be sure the author was referring to Hannah and James and not to their daughter Margaret and her husband Samuel LINTON as  I have not been able to prove Hannah and James were living in 1850.

Margaret’s mother Elizabeth GILLESPIE died in 1829 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.⁴⁶

Margaret’s youngest brother Lanty KINCAID, who was last seen in a land deed dated 1832, disappeared around this time.⁴⁷ The search for him has been hampered by another Lanty KINCAID of approximately the same age who lived in Greenbrier and Fayette counties. This second Lanty left a few more records that prove that he was the son of Lancelot “Lanty” KINCAID and Catherine SCOTT.

Margaret’s father John KINCAID applied for a Revolutionary War pension. He appeared in the court of Fayette County on 15 February 1834 to give his statement about the service rendered.⁴⁸ His death is not mentioned in the pension papers and is estimated at after 15 February 1834.

Margaret’s sister Elizabeth STURGEON was most likely the first of her siblings to pass away about 1850.⁴⁹ This is assuming their youngest brother Lanty did not die between 1832-1850.

In 1850 Margaret had her own household while her husband James INGRAM was living in the household of John TINCHER who would become his son-in-law in less than a year.⁵⁰,⁵¹

1850 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > HH #462-462 [ancestry.com]

In the 1850s Margaret lost two brothers and a sister. James Gillespie KINCAID died bef 10 June 1852 in Kincaid, Fayette County, (West) Virginia.⁵² Matthew KINCAID died after 1857, possibly in Missouri. Sarah TERRY died between 1850 and 1860.⁵³

In 1860 Margaret was not found in the census. Her children were married and had their own households. Her husband James INGRAM was listed alone in a household.⁵⁴ There are two family traditions concerning the deaths of Margaret and James. One is that James moved to Sissonville to live with their son Matthew after Margaret died. The other is that James died first and Margaret lived with her nephew James Gillespie KINCAID Jr. until her death several years later. The year 1865 seems to be the pivot point as Margaret’s husband James is said to have died in the fall of 1865.

Margaret’s surviving siblings were Virginia “Jane” KINCAID⁵⁵ and Magdaline “Lina” WYATT⁵⁶ died after the 1870 census while Nancy HUGHES⁵⁷ died after the 1880 census. Her brothers Samuel and Lanty KINCAID, whose whereabouts remain a mystery (for now), may have also survived her.

This Post was Updated on 28 August 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.

© 2014-2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. 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 595040, image 32, Greenbrier County Minister Returns, page 71, entry 4, 11 Feb 1782, John Kincaid and Eliz^a Gillaspy married by John Alderson. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00032.jpg : accessed 24 March 2020). ↩
2. The bride’s name was written Eliz^a Gillaspy on her marriage record. The middle name Hannah appears to have been added by someone in their tree and copied by others. I have found no record of her being named Elizabeth Hannah Gillespie (or Gillaspy). ↩
3. “U.S. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900” (index and images), Ancestry.com, 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), Roll M804_1485, Surname Range: Kimmer, Nicholas – Kiney, James, images 467 thru 501 of 1150, John Kincaid, pension file number S 19367 (accessed 6 October 2011). ↩
4. [KINCAID] Surname Mailing List, RootsWeb (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid), [KINCAID] Gauley River Bridge Burning by Linda Perdue dated 9 Nov 2007. (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid&thread=4774008 : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
5. Ibid., [KINCAID] Gauley River Bridge Burning–Part 2 by Linda Perdue dated 9 Nov 2007. (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid&thread=4774018 : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
6. Ibid., Re: [KINCAID] Gauley River Bridge Burning by Sarah Kincaid dated 11 November 2007. (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid&thread=4773999 : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
7. Transcribed from the Gillespie Bible. On the back inside cover is written: “James Gillespie Jr. His book. July 20, 1760 Cow Pasture.” The dates of birth of Elizabeth Gillespie, Elizabeth Kincaid, and the twins were included between the covers. ↩
8. Ibid. ↩
9. Ibid. ↩
10. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 595040, image 62, Greenbrier County Minister’s Returns, page 143, entry 27, 23 Oct 1798, Thomas Terry and Sarah Kincaid, married by Josiah Osbourn. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00062.jpg : accessed 25 August 2022). ↩
11. The original marriage bond and consent are held by the Greenbrier Historical Society. “Sir Please grant Thomas Terry marriage licience to marry my dauter Sarrah Kinciad and in so doing you will oblige ……….. friend. John Kincaid and Elizabeth Kincaid. Test: George Kincaid and Archibald Campbell” ↩
12. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 595040, image 68, Greenbrier County Minister’s Returns, page 160, entry 9, 13 Dec 1798, James Walker and Hanna Kincaid, married by Jno Alderson. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00068.jpg : accessed 25 August 2022). ↩
13. Greenbrier Historical Society. “December the 7 day of 1798 Sir
    please to grant marrage lisons to James Walker and my dauter Hannah
    Kincaid and in so doing you will much oblidge your friends. John Kincaid Elizabeth Kincaid Test George Kincaid Tho. Terry. This certificate sworn to by George Kincaid A Hamilton. Col John Stuart” ↩
14. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710518, image 1138, 2 Jun 1807 Matthew Kincade and John Murdock went bond for the marriage of Matthew Kincade and Polly Murdock in Monroe County. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710518/01138.jpg : accessed 25 August 2022). ↩
15. 1809 marriage not proven. I have a problem with this one as I found a marriage for a couple with the same names in Kanawha County on 26 September 1826. This could be a match with Samuel Kincaid b. abt. 1802 who is seen in the 1850 census in Fayette County with two children Mary and Alex. Is there a document that proves that Samuel who married Elizabeth Walker was the son of John and Elizabeth? ↩
16. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 595040, image 31, Greenbrier County Minister’s Returns, page 64, entry 16, Jas. Ingram and Margaret Kincaid, married by Josiah Osburn. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00031.jpg : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
17. No marriage record was found in Greenbrier or Monroe. There are discrepancies in facts and locations; material found may be based on tradition and “facts” related by family members. ↩
18. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 595040, image 33, Greenbrier County Minister’s Returns, page 72, lin 22, 22 November 1810, William Kincaid and Jane Kincaid, married by X. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00033.jpg : accessed 26 August 2022). ↩
19. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 130, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1 Nicholas County, line 4, 25 Jun 1823 Ruben Wiatt and Magdelina Kincade, married by Isaac Reynolds. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00130.jpg : accessed 26 August 2022). ↩
20. Ibid., 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). ↩
21. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 595040, image 33, Greenbrier County Minister’s Returns, page 73, line 21, 25 Dec 1827, Lanty Kincaid and Nancy Flanagan, married by C. Alderson. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00033.jpg : accessed 26 August 2022). ↩
22. 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_132, image: 154, Virginia, Greenbrier County, Lewisburg, page 176 (crossed out, should be 178), line 14, James Ingram (accessed 22 August 2014). ↩
23. 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, page 197 (double-page spread), line 17, James Ingram (accessed 22 August 2014). ↩
24. 1840 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (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 County, page 3 (double-page spread, left side), line 17, James Ingram (accessed 22 August 2014). ↩
25. 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. 21. Personal copy bought 2000. In April of 1835, an election was held in Fayette Co. (including the area that is now Raleigh Co.) to determine the location of the new Court House and County Seat, James Ingrahm and his son Joshua Ingraham are on the list of voters who voted for Kanawha Falls. James, Jr. could possibly have been deceased at this time. ↩
26. “United States Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing NARA microfilm publication T317 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.) Lea, Adolphe – Memorank, Ferdinand, v. 9 > image 383 of 4434 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBCZ-5R1?cc=1979390&wc=M61R-NZ9%3A321930601 : accessed 3 October 2018). ↩
27. Luella Arlene Loving Lowther, First Tidbits of Information on Robert Ingram and Huldah Johnson (email correspondence in May 2000). ↩
28. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 218, Fayette County Marriages, page 57, entry 7, 13 Feb 1851, John Ingram and Lucy Jane Skaggs, married by Allen Wood. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00218.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
29. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 379, Registry of Marriage Licenses, Kanawha County, no page number (double-page spread), lin 8, 11 Jul 1860 (license), John Ingraham and Delilah Smith . (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00379.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
30. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 521719, image 511, Register of Marriage Licenses, Kanawha County, and Record of Marriages Returned, page 26 (stamped), line 184, 29 Nov 1869 (license), John Ingram and Mary E. Adkins, 1 Dec 1869 (marriage). (http://images.wvculture.org/521719/00511.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
31. Ibid., Kanawha County, Upper District, Register of Deaths, page 191, line 23, died 12 Jul 1900, Mathew Ingram, born 9 Jan 1824. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view2.aspx?FilmNumber=460366&ImageNumber=206 : 27 April 2013). ↩
32. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing digital images of originals housed at the county courthouses in Ohio, Meigs > Marriage records 1852-1862 vol 2 > image 77 of 271 > page 96 (stamped), entry 1, 20 Aug 1854, Matthew Ingram and Sarah Frances Martin, married by R. Wilkinson, M.G., citing Meigs County, Ohio. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-91QN-R8?cc=1614804&wc=Z51G-DP8%3A121348301%2C121390201 : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
33. See Note 29, supra. ↩
34. James Simon Ingram, compiler, History of the Ingram Family, includes family groups sheets and census information sent per email by the compiler to Cathy Meder-Dempsey in May 2001 (prepared in October 1997). Before 1850. ↩
35. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999, FHL microfilm 584754, image 164, Fayette County Register of Deaths, page 165 (double-page spread), entry 27, 2nd district, Cynthia Tincher, 3 May 1910, age 82 yrs 1 month 8 days, died in Page. (http://images.wvculture.org/584754/00164.jpg : accessed 18 August 2022). Note: age at death calculates to a birth date of 25 March 1829. ↩
36. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 219, Fayette County Marriages, page 59, entry 2, 23 Mar 1851, John Tincher and Cinthy Ingram, married by John Johnson. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00219.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
37. See Note 3, supra. ↩
38. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 584764, image 218, Fayette County Marriages, page 56, entry 9, 9 Jan 1851, John Johnson Darlington and Ruth Ingram, married by John Johnson. (http://images.wvculture.org/584764/00218.jpg : accessed 24 April 2022). ↩
39. Kanawha County (West Virginia). County Clerk, County Court record book, 1803-1880 (images), FamilySearch (Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967 citing microreproduction of original at the County Courthouse.), Record book, v. 4 1825-1837, image 54 of 561, page 76-77 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-B9C2-J?i=53&cat=295049 : accessed 1 January 2022). ↩
40. Ibid., Record book, v. 4 1825-1837, image 55 of 561, page 78-79 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-B9C3-D?i=54&cat=295049 : accessed 1 January 2021). ↩
41. Ibid., Record book, v. 4 1825-1837, image 56 of 561, page 80-81 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-B98M-1?i=55&cat=295049 : accessed 1 January 2021). ↩
42. [KINCAID] Surname Mailing List, RootsWeb (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid), A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information regarding the Kincaid surname and variations in any place and at any time; [KINCAID] Gauley River Bridge Burning by Linda Perdue dated 9 Nov 2007 (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid&thread=4774008 : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
43. [KINCAID] Surname Mailing List, [KINCAID] Gauley River Bridge Burning–Part 2 by Linda Perdue dated 9 Nov 2007 (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid&thread=4774018 : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
44. [KINCAID] Surname Mailing List, Re: [KINCAID] Gauley River Bridge Burning by Sarah Kincaid dated 11 November 2007 (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=kincaid&thread=4773999 : accessed 18 August 2022). ↩
45. Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana
    (The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago 1887), “History of Adams County,” a biographical sketch of Samuel Litton, page 284 (https://archive.org/details/biographicalhistawcty01chic/page/n523/mode/2up?view=theater : accessed 1 September 2014). ↩
46. [WVFAYETT] County Mailing List, RootsWeb, (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=wvfayett), [WVFAYETT] 2001-06-13 Kincaid info posted by Barb Harvey (her source Gertrude Settle Draper)(https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=wvfayett&thread=18960581 : accessed 19 August 2022) ↩
47. 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 593552, DGS 8589066, Deeds, v. 13-14 1829-1840, Deed Book 13, page 330-331, 24 Dec 1832 Lanty Kincaid and Nancy of Fayette County Virginia to Mathew Kincaid, $1.00, one moiety of an undivided tract of land containing 50a in Greenbrier County on the waters of Lick Creek, bounded … , it being the one undivided moiety of the same tract conveyed to John Kincaid Senr. by Sam’l Withrow and wife by deed bearing date the 28th May 1816 … (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37T-HT99?i=173&cat=98577 : accessed 26 August 2022). ↩
48. See Note 3, supra. ↩
49. “U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index, 1850-1880”, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3530/), compiled and digitized by Ron V. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes, Elizabeth Sturgeon, 1850, Fayette County, WV, age 56, female, died in April, state of birth not given, occupation none listed, cause of death fever, ID# 197_321570, index only, no image (accessed 19 August 2022). ↩
50. 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_943, Virginia, Fayette County, sheet 366A, household 462-462, lines 4-7, Margaret Ingram (accessed 11 June 2018). The official enumeration day of the 1850 census was 1 June 1850. ↩
51. Ibid., Virginia, Fayette County, sheet 362B, household 419-419, lines 10-15, laborer in the John Tincher household (accessed 19 December 2012). The official enumeration day of the 1850 census was 1 June 1850. ↩
52. “Court minutes and order books, 1837-1928,” browse-only images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Fayette County, West Virginia courthouse., Film 585503, DGS 8613698, Minute books, v. 3-4 1848-1861, image 106 of 393, page 487, 10 June 1852, entry 5, letters of administration for the estate of James Kincaid granted to John Kincaid. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34C-1GRR?i=105&cat=100698 : accessed 27 August 2022). ↩
53. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Roll: M432_943, Virginia, Fayette County, sheet 334A, household 56-56, lines 37-41, Thomas Terry including his mother and sister (accessed 30 August 2014). The official enumeration day of the 1850 census was 1 June 1850. ↩
54. 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_1344; Family History Library Film: 805344; Virginia, Fayette County, District 4, sheet 422, page 126, household 937-864, line 33, James Ingrum (accessed 22 August 2014). ↩
55. 1870 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/), citing Ninth Census of the United States, 1870 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls, Roll: M593_1686; West Virginia, Fayette County, Falls of Kanawha, sheet 105A, page 21, household 138-134, lines 22-30, Sam Kincaid family with his mother Jane (accessed 10 July 2018). The official enumeration day of the 1870 census was 1 June 1870. ↩
56. Ibid., Roll: M593_1231; Ohio, Lawrence County, Perry, sheet 450A, household 22-22, lines 33-38, William H. Wyatt family with his mother Magdaline (accessed 28 August 2022). The official enumeration day of the 1870 census was 1 June 1870. ↩
57. 1880 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/), citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls, Roll:1409; West Virginia, Nicholas County, Grant, Enumeration District: 103, page 6, sheet 68B, household 48-48, lines 28-32, Thomas Hughes family with his grandmother Nancy Hughes in household (accessed 29 August 2014). The official enumeration day of the 1880 census was 1 June 1880. ↩

52 Ancestors: #33 Rachel WISEMAN 1769-bet. 1821-1824

“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is entry #33 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

#33 Rachel WISEMAN 1769-bet. 1821-1824

My 4th great-grandmother Rachel WISEMAN was born on 1 March 1769 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. She was the 6th child of Isaac WISEMAN (1738-1818) and Elizabeth DAVIS (1738-1807).

Isaac WISEMAN and Elizabeth DAVIS, both born in August 1738 in Berks County, were married about 1758, most likely in that county. They were the parents of 11 known children all born in Berks County, Pennsylvania:¹

1. 1. Joseph (1759-1836) born 29 Mar 1759
   2. John (1760-1842) born 18 Aug 1760
   3. Sarah (1762-aft. 1841) born 17 Jul 1762
   4. Isaac (1764-1852) born 19 Jun 1764
   5. Jacob (1767-1839) born 12 Jan 1767
   6. Rachel (1769-bef. 1824) born 1 Mar 1769
   7. Samuel (1771-1861) born 15 Feb 1771
   8. Abner (1772-1830) born abt. 1772
   9. Elizabeth (1774-1830s) born abt. 1774
   10. Margaret (1777-1869) born abt. 1777
   11. William (1779-1842) born 6 May 1779

WISEMAN Family and the American Revolutionary War

Rachel was six when the American Revolutionary War began on 19 April 1775. By this time Isaac and Elizabeth had nine children aged between 1 and 16.

In August 1776 Rachel’s oldest brother Joseph WISEMAN was drafted in the first militia that went out of Berks County. This was only the beginning as can be seen in the declaration of service given by Joseph D. WISEMAN in 1832 at the age of 73 to obtain his Revolutionary War pension.²,³ His pension file includes the family records that his son Samuel submitted in 1847 when he applied for pension money on behalf of himself and his siblings as their parents were both deceased. These papers show the dates of birth and death of Rachel’s parents Isaac WISEMAN and Elizabeth DAVIS.

Elisabeth Wiseman daughter to Samuel Davis was born August 26th, 1838 and died July 19th, 1807.

Isaac Wiseman son to Isaac and Nancy Wiseman was born August 18, 1738 and died May the 3 in 1818.

WISEMAN Family Moves from Pennsylvania to Virginia

Family tradition is that Isaac and his brood, both married and single, left Berks County, Pennsylvania, and went up the Shenandoah Valley to Rockingham County, Virginia. In his declaration, Joseph states that he lived in Rockingham County, Virginia, about 10 years before moving in 1794 to Greenbrier County [the area which would later be Monroe County, West Virginia].

By the end of the war on 14 January 1784, the family had increased to 11 children, the oldest son Joseph and the oldest daughter Sarah were married. The marriage record for Sarah shows that she married on 3 November 1782 in Rockingham County. This would suggest that the WISEMANs made their move in 1782 [or earlier] and Joseph may have followed them only after he married his second wife.

Marriages of the WISEMAN siblings

1782 – Sib 1: Joseph D. WISEMAN married(1) Susannah MANLY abt. 1782 in Berks County, Pennsylvania

1782 – Sib 3: Sarah WISEMAN married James BARLEY on 3 November 1782 in Rockingham County, Virginia⁴

1785 – Sib 1: Joseph D. WISEMAN married(2) Elizabeth BATEMAN on 10 February 1785 in Robeson (Rabbesin) Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania⁵ (location confirmed by son Samuel)

1786 – Sib 2: John WISEMAN married Sarah GREEN on 10 May 1786 in Rockingham County, Virginia⁶

1790 – Sib 4: Isaac WISEMAN married Mary Magdalene ARMENTROUT on 9 August 1790 in Rockingham County, Virginia [record not located]

???? – Sib 5: Jacob WISEMAN married Rachael _____. She is listed as his wife in his will in 1839 and seen in the 1840 census as the head of the household.

1795 -Rachel WISEMAN married Frederick HONAKER on 28 September 1795 in Rockingham County, Virginia⁷ (The marriage bond, per an article in the Honaker Family Newsletter, was recorded in Shenandoah County. Shenandoah bonds on FamilySearch were browsed 6 August 2022 and the record was not found.)

1797 – Sib 7: Samuel WISEMAN married Polly BOWYER on 10 May 1797 in Rockingham County, Virginia⁸

1798 – Sib 9: Elizabeth WISEMAN married John BLANTON on 9 August 1798 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia⁹

1799 – Sib 10: Margaret WISEMAN married Bartholomew RAMSEY on 21 October 1799 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia¹⁰, ¹¹

1800 – Sib 8: Abner WISEMAN married Isabel BLANTON on 18 February 1800 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia¹², ¹³

1801 – Sib 11: William WISEMAN married Polly RAMSEY on 22 Oct 1801 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia¹⁴, ¹⁵

1804 – Sib 11: William WISEMAN married Phebe KILBURN on 31 January 1804 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia [record not located]

Rachel WISEMAN Marries Frederick HONAKER

As seen above the marriage of Rachel WISEMAN and Frederick HONAKER took place in 1795 in Rockingham County and the marriage bond was recorded in Shenandoah County as follows:

Know all men, by their presents, that we Frederick Conickor and Isaac Wiseman are held and firmly bound unto his Excellency Robert Brooke, Esquire, Governor of Virginia, and his Successors, in the sum of one hundred fifty dollars to the payment whereof, well and truly to be made, we do bind ourselves, our heirs, and each of our joint and several heirs, executors and administrators, jointly and severally firmly by their presence, felled with our feats, and dated the 24th day of September 1795 in the 24th year of the Commonwealth. The condition of the above Obligation is such, that whereas there is a Marriage suddenly to be solomized between the above bound Frederick Coniker and Rachel Wiseman, daughter of Isaac Wiseman of Rockingham County; if therefore there shall be no lawful cause to object of said Marriage, then this obligation be void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue.
Witness: M. Gambill. Signed Frederick Honaker, Isaac Wiseman
[Source: Honaker Family Newsletter]

Rachel and Frederick Had 8 Known Children

• Ch 1: Isaac Morgan (1796-1885) born Bet.1796-1799
• Ch 2: Elizabeth “Betsy” (1797- ) born Bet. 1797-1800
• Ch 3: Margaret “Peggy” (1798-1879) born Abt 1798
• Ch 4: Rachel (1804-1860) born Abt 1804
• Ch 5: Sarah (1805-1862) born Bet. 1805-1806
• Ch 6: Anna (1806-1873) born 10 Sep 1806
• Ch 7: Letty (1810-1825) born Aft 1810
• Ch 8: Frederick Styrus (1810-1836) born Aft 1810

As Rachel lived with her husband Frederick in Monroe County, (West) Virginia, following their marriage until her death, her children were most likely all born in that county. Estimated years of birth were calculated after analysis of the pre-1850 censuses for children who did not live to be seen in 1850 and later censuses.

Many changes took place in Rachel’s life. She gave Frederick six children before her mother Elizabeth DAVIS died on 19 July 1807. Rachel had two more children following the 1810 census. Her father Isaac WISEMAN died 3 May 1818. Isaac and Elizabeth spent the rest of their days in Monroe County and were buried in the Old Rehoboth Churchyard near Union, the county seat. Three of their children, Abner, Jacob and Elizabeth who married John Blanton went to Kentucky; Samuel, John, and Isaac II went to Ohio; Sarah who married James Barley remained in Rockingham County, Virginia; Joseph, William, and Margaret, who married Bartholomew Ramsey, and Rachel, who married Frederick Honaker, stayed in West Virginia.

Following the 1820 census Rachel saw her oldest son Isaac Morgan HONAKER marry Rebecca Ann SAMS (1799-1860) on 28 October 1820 in Monroe County.¹⁶, ¹⁷

The next two marriages in the HONAKER house were those of Betsy and Peggy. As we do not know the exact date of Rachel’s death, she may or may not have seen these daughters marrying.

Elizabeth “Betsy” HONAKER married William SANDERS (1795- ) on 17 January 1822 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia.¹⁸, Betsy’s half-brother John HONAKER went bond with William SANDERS on 15 January 1822 in Monroe.¹⁹

Margaret “Peggy” HONAKER married Alexander CAMPBELL (1798-1881) on 30 Oct 1823 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia.²⁰ Peggy’s brother Isaac HONAKER went bond with Alexander CAMPBELL on the 20 October 1823.²¹

Rachel was the first of the WISEMAN children to pass away. She died between 1 April 1821 and December 1824 in Monroe County.²² She predeceased her husband Frederick HONAKER who died about December 1824 in Monroe County.²³

Three of Rachel’s daughters married within the year following Frederick’s death:

Rachel HONAKER married Elijah WOOD (1806-1885) on 4 January 1825 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.²⁴

Sarah HONAKER married Thomas J. REYNOLDS (1785- ) on 3 March 1825 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia.²⁵ Thomas went bond with Dudley G. Reade.²⁶

Anna HONAKER married Owen DUFFY (1800-1867) on 1 Sep 1825 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia.²⁷

The Burial Place of Rachel’s Parents

The log structure that was named Rehoboth was constructed in 1786 on land donated by Edward KEENAN. In 1788 the first American Methodist bishop, Francis ASBURY, preached the dedication service. In 1796 he ordained Frederick’s brother-in-law John WISEMAN as a Methodist minister. Nearly 50 years after Frederick HONAKER joined his parents-in-law in the grounds surrounding Old Rehoboth, a new meeting house was constructed. The old log relic lay abandoned for another half-century until it was restored in 1927. Another 30 years later a shed was constructed to further preserve the structure.

Robert N. Wiseman, the Senior Historian of the Wiseman Family Association, gave me permission to use this photo of the church taken in 1934 before the “shed” was added.

Old Rehoboth Methodist Church, near Union, WV — Oldest existing Protestant church west of the Alleghany Mountains. Left to right: Cousin Ambrose SLAGLE, Uncle Ernest Newton WISEMAN, Grandpa John Newton WISEMAN. Their ancestors Isaac WISEMAN I and Elizabeth (Davis) WISEMAN (my 4th great grandparents) are buried near the right back corner of the church. Submitted by : Robert Newton Wiseman, Wiseman Family Association. Photo courtesy of Robert N. Wiseman, used with permission.

And this is what the building looked like 70 years later when Irene Warner and her husband took her parents to visit the cemetery and meeting house.

Old Rehoboth Meeting House near Union, Monroe County, West Virginia. Courtesy of Irene (Rose) Warner (Find A Grave Contributor #46586932)

After giving me permission to use her photos Irene sent more with this explanation: “I have attached pictures of the inside of the church.  It was so special to get to see this old building in its original shape – very small inside; but it had a balcony…..[in this picture at the bottom and on the balcony are what] look like flat boards or similar; unfortunately, cameras didn’t do 3-dimensional pictures.  They are pictures of the LOG seats – a log was split in half; a person sat on the inside part of the seat, the bark was at the bottom; there are “peg legs” on the logs.  I’ll bet there weren’t too many long sermons in that church….don’t know how anyone could sit very long on a seat that hard…..”

Old Rehoboth Meeting House near Union, Monroe County, West Virginia. Courtesy of Irene (Rose) Warner (Find A Grave Contributor #46586932)

Balcony in Old Rehoboth Meeting House near Union, Monroe County, West Virginia. Courtesy of Irene (Rose) Warner (Find A Grave Contributor #46586932)

Outside walls of Old Rehoboth Meeting House near Union, Monroe County, West Virginia. Courtesy of Irene (Rose) Warner (Find A Grave Contributor #46586932)

A New Discovery – What Do You Think?

Working my way back on my paternal line has me looking at things that I haven’t worked on in a long time. In the case of the HONAKER and WISEMAN lines, I never really went in and checked on all the census and vital records for collateral lines. Both families have associations with historians who are keeping track of these families and updating as new information is uncovered. The list of Rachel’s siblings grew and then shrunk as I checked and checked for supporting records while writing.

I thought I’d found another child for Rachel’s parents but she turned out to be a granddaughter.

When Rachel WISEMAN married Frederick HONAKER on 28 September 1795 Rachel brought Edith, her 10 years old daughter, into the marriage.

Supporting documentation? I don’t have three sources for every event but I’d say, “Yes!”

On 23 May 1803, in Monroe County, Frederick HONAKER went bond with Seth BOGGESS for the marriage of Edith WISEMAN to Seth.²⁸ Edith and Seth were married on 9 June 1803 in Monroe by John WISEMAN.²⁹ I did not find a permission slip from her parents.

After finding the marriage I searched for the couple/family in the census, found them in 1820 and 1830, and then hit a dead end. As a last resort, I searched the internet for possible queries about the couple. An old GenForum posting³⁰ helped me locate the death record of Edith BOGGESS. I had been so focused on trying to locate the entire family in the census that I didn’t check for her death record.

On 5 February 1857 in Monroe County Edith BOGGESS died of cancer at the age of 72 years and 1 day. She was the daughter of Rachel WISEMAN (no father listed) and the consort of Seth BOGGESS. The informant was Wm SMITH, a relative.³¹

Further research shows that William SMITH was Edith’s son-in-law, the husband of her daughter Elizabeth.³² Per Edith’s death record she was born in Monroe and the date of birth can be calculated as 4 February 1785. The place of birth is not reliable as Monroe wasn’t formed until 1799. Her birth would have taken place about the time that the WISEMAN family came down the Shenandoah Valley to Rockingham. At this time, the only Rachel WISEMAN in the area who would have been old enough to have a child was Isaac and Elizabeth’s daughter Rachel who would turn 16 on 1 March 1785.

Would you agree that my 4th great-grandmother Rachel WISEMAN was the mother of an illegitimate daughter? Please leave a comment telling me what you think.

This Post was Updated on 14 August 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.

© 2014–2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. C. M. L. Wiseman, The Wiseman Family and the Old Church at New Salem : a brief sketch, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/57919-the-wiseman-family-and-the-old-church-at-new-salem-a-brief-sketch : accessed 12 February 2020), FL1103481_TN-76231, digitized by FamilySearch International, 2013, [originally published: Columbus, Ohio : Fred J. Heer, 1902], pg. 24, Family Record of Isaac Wiseman of Virginia, includes the dates of birth or year of birth for all of the known children. ↩
2. “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database and images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1995/), citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls. Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C., Joseph Wiseman and Elizabeth, file number R11741 (accessed 11 February 2020). ↩
3. “Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters,” RevWarApps.org (online database http://www.revwarapps.org/), Pension Application of Joseph Wiseman (R11741) Elizabeth Wiseman NC PA, transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris, revised 3 March 2015. (http://www.revwarapps.org/r11741.pdf : accessed 12 February 2020). ↩
4. Dodd, Jordan. Virginia, Marriages, 1660-1800 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997. Original data: Electronic transcription of marriage records held by the individual counties in Virginia. ↩
5. Pennsylvania Church Records – Adams, Berks, and Lancaster Counties, 1729-1881 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Extracted from microfilmed transcriptions of the original church records. The microfilmed records are located at the Family History Library. ↩
6. Dodd, Jordan. Virginia, Marriages, 1660-1800 ↩
7. “Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940,” database with images, FamilySearch, FHL Film Number: 7579045, Rockingham County (Virginia) County Clerk, Marriage register (ministers’ returns), 1791-1852, Item 2, image 84 of 520, page 11, entry 8, Fred Coniker and Rachel Wiseman, 28 Sep 1795. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XF-296G-D?i=83 : accessed 6 August 2022). ↩
8. Ibid., FHL Film Number: 7579045, Rockingham County (Virginia) County Clerk, Marriage register (ministers’ returns), 1791-1852, Item 2, image 82 of 520, page 8, entry 8, Samuel Wiseman and Polly Bowyer, 10 May 1797. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XF-29DK-D?i=81 : accessed 12 August 2022). ↩
9. 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 595040, image 11, Greenbrier County minister returns, Jno. Blanton and Eliza. 1797/9 (1798), left page, last entry. (http://images.wvculture.org/595040/00011.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
10. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710517, image 1380, Bartholomew Ramsey and John Wiseman went bond on 21 Oct 1799 in Monroe for the marriage of Margaret Wiseman and Bartholomey Ramsey. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710517/01380.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
11. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1167, minister’s return by John Wiseman, page 1, 22 Oct 1799 Bartholomey Ramsey to Margaret Wiseman. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01167.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
12. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710517, image 1405, Abner Wiseman and William Blanton went bond on 17 Feb 1800 in Monroe County for the marriage of Abner Wiseman and Isabel Blanton. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710517/01405.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
13. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1168, Monroe County minister returns, page 3, entry 13, 18 Feb 1800, Abner Wiseman and Isabel Blanton married by John Wiseman. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01168.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
14. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710518, image 116, William Wiseman and John Ramsey went bond on 17 Oct 1801 in Monroe for the marriage of William Wiseman and Mary Ramsey. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710518/00116.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
15. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1169, Monroe County minister returns, page 6, entry 3, 22 Oct 1801, William Wiseman and Polly Ramsey married by John Wiseman. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01169.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
16. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710519, image 1427, 28 Oct 1820 Isaac Honiker and Saml Sams went bond for the marriage of Isaac Honiker and Rebecca Sams. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710519/01427.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
17. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1195, 9th entry, 31 Oct 1820, Isaac Honicker and Rebecca Sams. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01195.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
18. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1350, Monroe County minister returns, entry 2, Jas Christy married Wm Sanders to Betsy Honicker on 17 Jan 1822. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01350.jpg : accessed 11 August 2014). ↩
19. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710519, image 1837, William Sanders of John Honicker went bond on 15 Jan 1822 in Monroe for the marriage of William Sanders and Betsy Honicker. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710519/01837.jpg : accessed 11 August 2014). ↩
20. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1352, Monroe County minister’s return, 4th entry, 30 Oct 1823, Margaret Honicker and Alexander Campbell, married by James Christy. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01352.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
21. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710520, image 10, Alexander Campbell and Isaac Honicker went bond 20 Oct 1823 in Monroe County for the marriage of Alexander Campell and Margaret Honicker. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710520/00010.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
22. Monroe County (West Virginia). Clerk of the County Court, “Deed book, 1789-1901; deed index, 1789-1969,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Monroe County courthouse, Union., Deed book, v. F-G 1814-1823, images 547 of 651, Deed Book G, page 415, 31 March 1821, Frederick Honiker and wife Rachel to Hugh Caperton and Henry Alexander 13 acres in Monroe near Rehoboth Meeting House . (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKV-G3X7-7?i=546&cat=98998 : accessed 7 August 2022). ↩
23. “West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch, digital images of originals housed at local county courthouse in West Virginia, Monroe > Will book, v. 002 1819-1829 > image 149+150 of 295 > page 255-257, Last Will and Testament of Frederick Honaker presented in December Court 1824 and proven. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-HRS3-Z?cc=1909099&wc=M6DN-B38%3A179686801%2C179709801 : accessed 17 August 2014. ↩
24. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 130, West Virginia, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1–Nicholas County, line 6, 4 Jan 1925, Elijah Wood and Rachel Hannaker, married by Jno Campbell, citing Nicholas County. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00130.jpg : accessed 25 April 2013). ↩
25. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1351, Monroe County minister return, 3 March 1825 Thomas Reynolds and Sally Honeker married by Jas. Christy. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01351.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
26. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710520, image 401, Thomas J. Reynolds and Dudley G. Reed went bond on 3 March 1825 in Monroe for the marriage of Thomas Reynolds and Sally Honeker. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710520/00401.jpg : accessed 12 February 2020). ↩
27. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710520, image 491, Owen Duffy and Will Spotswood went bond for the marriage of Owen Duffy and Ann Honiker 1 Sep 1825 in Monroe County. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710520/00491.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
28. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710518, image 414, Seth Boggess and Frederick Honaker went bond on 23 May 1803 (27th year of the Commonwealth) in Monroe County for the marriage of Seth Boggess and Edith Wiseman. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710518/00414.jpg : accessed 12 August 2014). ↩
29. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1171, Monroe County minister’s return, 1803 entry 3, 9 Jun 1803, Seth Boggess and Edith Wiseman. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01171.jpg : accessed 12 February 2020). ↩
30. GenForum, Wiseman Surname Forum, message 824, Re: Edith Wiseman b. 1780 PA or VA by Patricia Boggess 10 January 2001. (https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/wiseman/824/ : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
31. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999, FHL microfilm 589915, image 17, Monroe County Register of Deaths, page 13, line 6, Edith Bogess, born abt. 1785, died 5 Feb 1857 in Wolf Creek, 72 years 1 day, married, mother Rachel Wiseman, spouse Seth Boggess. (http://images.wvculture.org/589915/00017.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
32. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710879, image 466, William Smith and Seth Boggess went bond on 17 Sep 1832 in Monroe County for the marriage of William Smith and Elizabeth Boggess. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710879/00466.jpg : accessed 12 February 2020). ↩

52 Ancestors: #32 Did Frederick HONAKER Use An Alias?

“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is entry #32 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

#32 Did Frederick HONAKER Use An Alias?

My fourth great-grandfather, Frederick HONAKER’s father Hans Jacob HONEGGER emigrated from Switzerland to America in 1749. Hans Jacob left Switzerland with his young wife and one-year-old son. Both perished at sea and Hans Jacob arrived alone in Philadelphia.¹

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Frederick HONAKER was born about 1757 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, to Hans Jacob HONEGGER (1718-1796) and his second wife Maria GOETZ (1737-1805). At the time of Frederick’s birth, his parents had been married for four years and had two sons, Jacob (1755) and Henry (1756).

Frederick County, Maryland

Around 1758 Frederick’s father moved the family to Frederick County, Maryland. Hans Jacob leased 56 acres of land owned by Lord Baltimore at Mount Pleasant on 16 March 1758 for £25.² He brought his land holdings up to 121 acres on 3 December 1761 by adding two adjacent tracts of 51 and 14 acres for £18.³ Not only did he increase his land holdings, but he also increased the size of his family giving Frederick two more brothers, Peter (1762) and Benjamin (1764).

The land was becoming scarce in Frederick County, Maryland, and the 121 acres of land that Frederick’s father had leased would not be enough to support the growing family. The 7-year stopover in Maryland ended when Hans Jacob and Maria executed a deed for the three tracts of land for £108.15 on 20 March 1765 to Frederick Eyson and headed for the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

Shenandoah Valley in Virginia

Frederick was eight years old when the family made the move to Frederick County, Virginia. They settled on Passage Creek, at what is now Waterlick, where Hans Jacob bought 97 acres on 2 August 1765. Five more siblings were born: Joseph (1765), Nicholas (1767), Mary (1768), Elizabeth (1769), and Martin (1770). In the early 1770s, Hans Jacob began the lengthy process of acquiring a land grant from Lord Fairfax. Most of this land had been originally surveyed for Lord Fairfax by George Washington. On 5 March 1773, the grant for 121 acres was deeded to him. It adjoined his 97 acres tract and brought his holdings to 218 acres.

Frederick now had seven brothers and two sisters and the family was still growing. In 1772 the area of Frederick County where the HONAKER family was living became Dunmore County. Frederick’s brothers Abraham (1774) and Isaac (1775) and his sister Anna (1777) were born in this new county. In 1778 the name of the county was changed to Shenandoah County.

American Revolutionary War 19 Apr 1775 – 14 Jan 1784

“His [Frederick’s] early adult life involved him in an historic event of great importance to America. At about the same time that General George Washington and the Continental Army were emerging from a terrible winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Gen. George Rogers Clark was dispatched from Virginia with a small military force to break British control in the so-called Northwest Territory in the Illinois countery. Among the 178 recruits were three of Hans Jacob Honaker’s sons, Frederick, Henry, and Peter. Frederick was the first of the brothers to enlist with General Clark on 29 August 1777, in Capt. Thomas Buck’s Dunmore Militia in Woodstock, Dunmore (later Shenandoah) County, Virginia while his brothers enlisted on 1 March 1778. The determined force set out from Redstone on the Monongahela River in the spring of 1778, reaching the present site of Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. It continued marching for six exhausting days to Fort Kaskaskia, Illinois, through tackless wilderness inhabited by hostile Indians, in icy, high waters sometimes up to the men’s shoulders, with rations so short that the men were two days without food.”⁴

I am grateful to the researchers who have worked on the HONAKER family and have left a wealth of information. When no citations are given I cannot take the information at face value without searching for documents that confirm the given history. And this is good since it helps me make new discoveries!

Contrary to the above, I found that Frederick and Henry both enlisted on 29 August 1777. By searching through the “United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783” at FamilySearch, I found the original list of persons who enlisted with Capt. Thomas Buck’s Dunmore Militia.⁵

Frederick Honaker enlisted on August 29.

Henry Honaker enlisted on August 29.

Gen. George Rogers Clark’s Illinois Campaign ended with this dramatic climax:

Illustration of George Rogers Clark’s march to Vincennes in the American Revolutionary War, 1779. The Hero of Vincennes: The Story of George Rogers Clark, by Lowell Thomas 1929. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

“The sudden emergence from this waterlogged wilderness of Clark’s muddy, buckskin-clad warriers, with their flintlock rifles and tomahawks, took the Vincennes garrison so completely by surprise that the fort fell, after a brief struggle. It was one of the most heroic feats of arms ever performed, and it saved Illinois and Kentucky from falling to the British. When the treaty of peace was signed in 1783, Clark’s conquests were the major factor in the award of the entire northwest to the Americans.”⁶

After the Illinois Campaign, Capt. William Harrod spent the winter of 1778-1779 building a town at the Falls of the Ohio River, present-day Louisville. Frederick and Henry HONAKER were listed on this muster roll.⁷

As payment for their services in the Illinois expedition, Frederick, Peter, and Henry each was awarded 108 acres of land in Clark’s grant along the Ohio River in Indiana. They later sold their claims.⁸

Did Frederick HONAKER Use an Alias?

I have a slight problem with the above statement about the three brothers. In William Hayden English’s Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778-1783 and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark I found Henry and Peter received 108 acres each⁹, Henry and P. sold their allotments¹⁰, and Henry and Frederick were on a payroll¹¹. However what has me puzzled is that, while I haven’t seen a list that includes Frederick receiving or selling his 108 acres, I did find the following:¹²

What does “Peter, alias Frederick Honaker” mean? Did Frederick go by the name Peter? Were there only two HONAKER brothers in Capt. Thomas Buck’s Dunmore Militia? If Peter enlisted on 1 March 1778 he would have been only 16 years old.

Frederick Returns Home, Marries, and Begins Raising A Family

Frederick returned to Shenandoah County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth GOLLIDAY (1759-1794) of that county in about 1782. In 1785, Frederick bought 243 acres of land in Rockingham County, Virginia.¹³ In 1788, he was reported to be in Capt. John Ruddell’s Company.¹⁴ In 1790 he was seen on the Rockingham County Tax List as Frederick Honnaken with 4 white souls, 1 dwelling, and 1 other building.

Frederick and Elizabeth had Magdalene, Polly, Jacob (1783), and John (1793) before Elizabeth died. These children were listed, in this order, in a deed executed by themselves with their father Frederick, on 21 July 1812, when they were all residents of Monroe County, (West) Virginia. The deed conveyed their undivided interest in the estate of Jacob GOLLIDAY, Elizabeth’s father, to William Baserman.¹⁵

On 12 August 1795 at the age of 77 years, Frederick’s father Hans Jacob executed his last will and testament.¹⁶ The original will is in a file drawer marked “Wills Etc. 1796-1814-1820” in Bundle 2 in Wythe Courthouse, per Rev. Al Elswick, Honaker Family Association Historian. Hans Jacob had moved to what is now Draper in Pulaski County in 1784. At the time that he lived there, the area was part of the county of Wythe, formed in 1790 from part of old Montgomery County. The will was probated on 10 May 1796 narrowing the time of Hans Jacob’s death to between August 1795 and May 1796.¹⁷

As Hans Jacob’s will was probated in May 1796 it is very likely that he was still living when Frederick remarried in September of 1795, a little over a month after Hans Jacob wrote his will.¹⁸

Frederick Conickor and Isaac Wiseman entered into a bond on 24 September 1795 in Shenandoah County on the marriage of Frederick Coniker and Rachel Wiseman, daughter of Isaac Wiseman of Rockingham County.¹⁹

Frederick’s second wife Rachel WISEMAN (1769-1821) was born on 1 March 1769 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, to Isaac WISEMAN and Elizabeth DAVIS.

From Rockingham County to Monroe County

Following the marriage, Frederick made plans to move his family from Rockingham County to what would become Monroe County in 1799. He bought a farm from Edward KEENAN and his wife Nancy near the Rehoboth Meeting House in the Sinks in Greenbrier County on 26 June 1798. KEENAN and his wife sold 243 acres of land conveyed from Patrick KEENAN and adjoining WISEMAN and SCARBROUGH for 5 shillings to Frederic HONIKER. Witnesses were William TENNIS, John JOHNSON, and John BLANTON.²⁰

As this transaction took place the year before the formation of Monroe County it was recorded in Greenbrier County.

In 1799 “Frederick Honecor” was listed on the first list of personal property owners in Monroe County, the earliest known list of citizens of the newly formed county.²¹

Library of Virginia

In July 1800, Frederick received a land grant of 57 acres on Lick Run adjoining the land of Edward KEENAN and KEENAN’s father’s land. The location of the grant is seen as being in Greenbrier. When the land was surveyed it was “lying and being in” that county. Frederick HONAKER now owned 300 acres in Monroe County.²²

Frederick HONAKER was on the Monroe Voters list in 1800. This was a list of qualified voters for the presidential election on 3 November 1800. It is of interest as suffrage at that time was very much restricted and a voter was a person of some property and consequence.²³

Frederick’s mother Maria GOETZ died about 1805 in Wythe County, Virginia.²⁴

By the time the 1810 census was taken Frederick and his wife Rachel had seven children: Isaac M., Elizabeth B., Margaret P., Sarah, Anna, Letty, and Rachel, my third great-grandmother. The exact order of birth is unknown as birthdates are not known for all of the children. A son Frederick Styrus was born following the census as no male under 10 is seen in the household in 1810.²⁵

1810 U.S. Federal Census
Monroe County, (West) Virginia
Monroe
Name: Fredk Honaker
Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15: 1 (Isaac M.)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25:   1 (John H.)
Free White Persons – Males – 45 and over: 1 (Frederick)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 4 (Rachel, Sarah, Anna, Letty)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 2 (Betsey, Margaret)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1 (Rachel, range is off)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 7
Number of Household Members Over 25: 1
Number of Household Members: 10

1820 U.S. Federal Census²⁶
Monroe County, Virginia
Peterstown
Sheet No. 171
Frederic Honachar
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 3 (Frederick Styrus, 2 grandsons?)
Free White Persons – Males – 16 thru 25: 1 (Isaac)
Free White Persons – Males – 45 and over: 1 (Frederick)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 3 (Letty, 2 granddaughters?)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 2 (Sarah, Anna)
Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 3 (Betsy, Margaret, Rachel)
Free White Persons – Females – 45 and over : 1 (Rachel)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture: 2
Number of Persons – Engaged in Manufactures: 1
Free White Persons – Under 16: 8
Free White Persons – Over 25: 2
Total Free White Persons: 14
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 14

Frederick’s four children from his first marriage were married in 1803, 1808, and 1814.²⁷,²⁸,²⁹,³⁰ The first of his children from his second marriage Isaac Morgan HONAKER married Rebecca Ann Sams (1799-1860) on 28 Oct 1820 in Monroe County, (West) Virginia.³¹

Frederick HONAKER and his wife Rachel sold 13 acres to Hugh Caperton and Henry Alexander “near Rehoboth Meeting House where Honaker lives” on 31 March 1821.³² Frederick died in 1824 without mentioning Rachel in the will he left. Rachel WISEMAN must have died following the land transaction and before Frederick’s will was written on 30 November 1824.

Two of Frederick and Rachel’s girls married before he died: Elizabeth “Betsy” married William SAUNDERS on 15 January 1822 and Margaret “Peggy” married Alexander Campbell on 20 October 1823.³³,³⁴

Frederick HONAKER died about December 1824 and left a will naming all of his children.³⁵

Last Will and Testament of Frederick HONAKER

In the name of God, Amen. I, Frederick Honicker of the Co. of Monroe and state of Virginia being sick in body but of sound and disposing mind, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner following that is to say. First I will and bequeath unto my beloved son John Honicker sixty acres of land part of the tract of land whereon I now live to be taken off that part of it where the S. John now lives so as to include the house and improvements which he has made, to him and his heirs forever. Second, I will and bequeath unto my son Isaac Honiker all my blacksmith tools of every description to him and his heirs forever. Third, I will and bequeath unto my daughter, Magdaline Cantley the sum of one dollar to be paid her by my executors. Fourth, after my death and after my children all come of the age of twenty one years I desire that the balance of the tract of land whereon I now live be sold by my Executor to the best advantage, and the proceeds thereof I desire to be equally divided between my children to-wit: Mary Davis, Jacob Honicker, Peggy Campbell, Rachel Honicker, Sarah Honicker, Anna Honicker, Letty Honicker, Betsy Saunders, and Frederick Styrus Honicker and until that event takes place I desire that my son John Honicker see to the management of my affairs and take care of the property which may remain on the place for use of such of my children as any choose to live here until the same shall be sold and such of the perishable part of my estate as may (on the sound discretion of my executor) be of use to support my children who may live on the plantation until the same be sold as aforesaid to be kept and supported on the plantation until the period aforesaid, and the balance of the personal property which may not be deemed necessary for the purpose aforesaid by my executor I desire may be sold immediately after my death, and the money arising therefrom after paying my just debts and funeral charges be equally divided between my last mentioned nine children and whenever my land shall be sold as herein before directed, I desire that all the property which may have been kept for the use of my children as aforesaid be sold and the money be equally divided between the aforesaid nine children to-wit: Mary, Jacob, Peggy, Rachel, Sarah, Anna, Letty, Betsy , and Frederick Styrus. Fifth, it is my will and desire that my son Isaac together with my children who now live with me, still continue to live on the plantation as usual and farm the same as they now do until my plantation be sold as I have before directed and the proceeds thereof be enjoyed in common as usual – I also desire my debts and funeral expenses to be paid out of the money arising from the sale of my personal property which may be directed to be sold by my executor Lastly, I do hereby constitute and appoint Richard Shanklin executor of my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other wills by me made and declaring this only to be my true last will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 30th day of November 1824. Signed, sealed and ackd. in presence of Charles Keenan, George Whitcomb, and Jno. Hutchinson, Jr. (Frederick signed by mark).
At Monroe Court, December 1824: This last will and testament of Frederick Honiker dec. was presented in Court and proved by the oath of John Hutchinson, Jr. a subscribing witness thereto and the same is continued for further proof.
At Monroe Co., Court, 1825: The last will and testament of Frederick Honiker decd. was further proved by the oaths of Charles Keenan and Geo. Whitcomb two of the subscribing witnesses thereto whereupon the same is ordered to be recorded. (It appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that Richard Shanklin, executor named therein refused to take upon himself the execution thereof and thereupon Hugh Caperton is appointed Admr. with the will annexed, who came into Court and made oath and together with Richard Shanklin his security entered into and acknowledged bond in the penalty of One Thousand dollars, conditioned as the law directed, certificate for attaining probate thereof in due form is granted him.

Before the appraisement of the personal estate of Frederick HONAKER on 18 January 1825³⁶ and sale on 22 January 1825³⁷, his daughter Rachel HONAKER married Elijah WOOD on 4 January 1825 in Nicholas County.³⁸ His daughter Letty died soon after him and later in the year his daughters Sarah and Anna married.³⁹,⁴⁰ His son Frederick Styrus had a guardian, Henry Alexander, and boarded with his sister Anna and her husband Owen DUFFY in 1825.⁴¹

 

Courtesy of Irene (Rose) Warner (Find A Grave Contributor #46586932)

Frederick’s parents-in-law Isaac and Elizabeth WISEMAN are buried in the Rehoboth Church Cemetery. Frederick and Rachel’s burial places are not known but must have been nearby, maybe among the many unmarked graves surrounding Old Rehoboth Church. In 1988 the Honaker Family Association placed veterans’ memorial markers in the church cemetery for Frederick and his son Jacob beside the marked grave of Jacob’s son John B.⁴²

Frederick Honaker #12277437; Courtesy of S.G. Thompson (permission for use requested 8 Aug 2014 and received 26 Feb 2015)

This Post was Updated on 7 August 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.

© 2014-2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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1. Nadine W. Larson, Hans Jacob Honegger, From Switzerland to America, published by Stevenson’s Genealogy Center (Provo, Utah), 1987, pg. 44-46, 127-147. Digital Wythe County Collections (https://digitalwythe.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/hans-jacob-honegger.pdf : accessed 7 August 2022). ↩
2. MDLandRec.Net – A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland, database with images, Maryland State Archives, Annapolis (online http://mdlandrec.net/), MSA CE 108-3, Frederick County Court (Land Records) 1756-1761, Deed Book F, folio 0429-0431 [3 images]. 1858 Land Deed for 56 acres. (http://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm : accessed 28 January 2020). ↩
3. Ibid., MSA CE 108-4, Frederick County Court (Land Records) 1761-1762, Deed Book G, folio 0321 to 0323 [3 images]. 1761 Land Deed for two tracts of land, 51 acres and 14 acres. (http://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm : accessed 4 February 2020). ↩
4. Frieda Patrick Davison, Editor, Honaker Family in America, (Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD, Copyright 1998 by The National Association of Hans Jacob Honaker Families) ↩
5. “United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing NARA microfilm publication M246 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1980), 114-Virginia (jacket 341-364) > image 77 of 459, 2nd and 4th document on image (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G94M-4W3T?cc=2068326&wc=M61K-G38%3A355093201 : accessed August 2014) ↩
6. Virginius Dabney, Virginia – the New Dominion, (Doubleday & Co., New York, 1971, pg. 145) ↩
7. Howard L., Leckey, The Tenmile County and Its Pioneer Families, A Genealogical History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, (Apollo, PA: Closson, Press, 1993), pg. 254-255. ↩
8. Davison, Honaker Family in America, pg. 43. ↩
9. English, William Hayden, 1822-1896, Conquest of the country northwest of the river Ohio, 1778-1783 : and, life of Gen. George Rogers Clark, published by Bowen-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, Ind., Kansas City, Mo. in 1897. Digital copy of the book is available on Archive.org. page 846.  (https://archive.org/details/conquestofcountr6308engl/page/846/mode/2up?q=honaker : accessed August 2014). ↩
10. Ibid., page 1072. ↩
11. Ibid., page 1034. ↩
12. Ibid., page 1100. ↩
13. Davison, Honaker Family in America, pg. 43. ↩
14. Ibid. ↩
15. Shenandoah County (Virginia) County Clerk, “Deed books, 1772-1900 ; general indexes to deeds, 1772-1900,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Shenandoah County Courthouse in Woodstock, Virginia, Film 33895, DGS 8153239, Deeds, Vols. S-T 1810-1813, images 498-500 of 534, Deed Book T, pages 383-386, Honaker et al to Baserman deed. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKK-XQYZ?i=497&cat=385833 : accessed 6 August 2022). ↩
16. “Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983,” (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62347/), citing original data of Virginia County, District, and Probate Courts, Wythe County, Virginia, Wills, Vol 1-3, 1790-1831, Volume 1, page 39-41, image 181+182 of 863. 1796 Last will and testament of Jacob Honaker (accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
17. Ibid., Wythe County, Virginia, Wills, Vol 1-3, 1790-1831, Volume 1, page 39-41, image 181+182 of 863. 1796 Last will and testament of Jacob Honaker (accessed 22 January 2020). ↩
18. “Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940,” database with images, FamilySearch, FHL Film Number: 7579045, Rockingham County (Virginia) County Clerk, Marriage register (ministers’ returns), 1791-1852, Item 2, image 84 of 520, page 11, entry 8, Fred Coniker and Rachel Wiseman, 28 Sep 1795. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XF-296G-D?i=83 : accessed 6 August 2022). ↩
19. Honaker Family Newsletter, National Association of Hans Jacob Honaker Families, Inc., misc. issues (2000-2014). I was unable to find the marriage bond in FamilySearch‘s collection “Marriage bonds and licenses, 1772-1901” for Shenandoah County, Virginia. ↩
20. Greenbrier County (West Virginia) County Clerk, “Deeds (Greenbrier County, West Virginia), 1780-1901,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg, West Virginia, Film 593545, DGS 7765144, Deeds, v. 2 1798-1803, image 44 of 380, pages 66-67, Keenan to Honaker. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-V4T5?i=43&cat=98577 : accessed 6 August 2022). ↩
21. Virginia. Commissioner of the Revenue (Monroe County), “Personal property tax lists, 1799-1850,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library and Archives in Richmond, Virginia, Film 1854107, DGS 7857028, Personal property tax lists 1799-1834 (1808 list not filmed and may be missing), image 16 of 1380, left page, 14 May 1799, Fredrick Honecor 1 0 0 3 tax 0.23. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS73-S9T8-1?i=15&cat=637416 : accessed 6 August 2022). ↩
22. “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. 46, 1797-1801, p. 34 (Reel 112). Honaker, Frederick. grantee, Land grant 16 July 1800, 57 acres on the Lick Run adjoining the land of Edward Keeman and his father’s land. (Greenbrier County). (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007718220205756 : accessed 8 August 2014). ↩
23. Oren F. Morton, A History of Monroe County, West Virginia, McClure Company, Incorporated, 1916, pg. 472-473. ↩
24. Larson, pg. 134-147 ↩
25. 1810 U.S. Federal Census (index and images), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7613/), citing Third Census of the United States, 1810 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls, Roll 70, FHL Film 0181430, image 21, Monroe, Monroe County, Virginia, page 7, line 20, Fred(k) Honaker (k is superscript) (accessed 6 August 2014). ↩
26. 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_133, image 210, Peterstown, Monroe County, Virginia, page 171 (stamped), line 20, Frederick Honaker (Frederic Honachar), (accessed 13 March 2013). ↩
27. 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 1710518, image 454, 1803 marriage bond. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710518/00454.jpg : accessed 6 August 2022). ↩
28. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710518, image 1316, George Cantley and Jacob Honaker went bond for the marriage of George Cantley and Modlen Honaker daughter of Frederick 21 March 1808. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710518/01316.jpg : accessed 7 August 2022). ↩
29. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710518, image 1244, 18 Oct 1808 Jacob Honaker and Henry Groves went bond for the marriage of Jacob Honaker to Catherine Groves daughter of Jacob Groves. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710518/01244.jpg : accessed 7 August 2022). ↩
30. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710516, image 1187, 24 Sep 1814 John Honaker and Peggy Salms (sic, Sams) minister’s return by John Wiseman. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710516/01187.jpg : accessed 7 August 2022). ↩
31. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710519, image 1427, 28 Oct 1820 Isaac Honiker and Saml Sams went bond for the marriage of Isaac Honiker and Rebecca Sams. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710519/01427.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
32. Monroe County (West Virginia) Clerk of the County Court, “Deed book, 1789-1901; deed index, 1789-1969,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Monroe County courthouse, Union., Deed book, v. F-G 1814-1823, images 547 of 651, Deed Book G, page 415, 31 March 1821, Frederick Honiker and wife Rachel to Hugh Caperton and Henry Alexander 13 acres in Monroe near Rehoboth Meeting House . (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKV-G3X7-7?i=546&cat=98998 : accessed 7 August 2022). ↩
33. WVCulture.org, Virginia, Monroe County, 15 Jan 1822, Betsy Honicker and William Sanders marriage, William Sanders and John Honicker went bond. 1822 Marriage Bond. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11371626&Type=Marriage : accessed 11 August 2014). ↩
34. Ibid., Virginia, Monroe County, 20 Oct 1823, Alexander Campbell and Margaret Honiker. 1823 Marriage Bond. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11372163&Type=Marriage : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
35. “West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” database with images, FamilySearch, digital images of originals housed at local county courthouse in West Virginia, Monroe > Will book, v. 002 1819-1829 > image 149-150 of 295 > pages 255-257, Last Will and Testament of Frederick Honaker (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-HRS3-Z?cc=1909099&wc=M6DN-B38%3A179686801%2C179709801 : accessed 17 August 2014. ↩
36. Ibid., Monroe > Will book, v. 002 1819-1829 > image 153 of 295, page 262-263, Appraisement of the personal estate of Frederick Honaker. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-HRS6-9?cc=1909099&wc=M6DN-B38%3A179686801%2C179709801 : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
37. Ibid., Monroe > Will book, v. 002 1819-1829 > image 154 of 295, page 264-265, Bill of Sale of the estate of Frederick Honaker. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-HRS8-1?cc=1909099&wc=M6DN-B38%3A179686801%2C179709801 : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
38. WVCulture.org, West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 495643, image 130, West Virginia, Re-Index and Copy of Marriage Record No. 1–Nicholas County, line 6, 4 Jan 1925, Elijah Wood and Rachel Hannaker, married by Jno Campbell, citing Nicholas County. (http://images.wvculture.org/495643/00130.jpg : accessed 25 April 2013). ↩
39. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710520, image 401, 3 March 1825 Thomas Reynolds and Sally Honeker marriage bond. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710520/00401.jpg : accessed 12 February 2020). ↩
40. Ibid., West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, FHL microfilm 1710520, image 491, Owen Duffy and Will Spotswood went bond for the marriage of Owen Duffy and Ann Honiker 1 Sep 1825. (http://images.wvculture.org/1710520/00491.jpg : accessed 17 August 2014). ↩
41. “West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971,” Monroe > Will book, v. 002 1819-1829 > image 194 of 295, page 338, 1825-1827 accounts for guardianship of Letty and Frederick Styrus Honaker.
    (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-HR9F-6?cc=1909099&wc=M6DN-B38%3A179686801%2C179709801 : accessed 17 August 2014) ↩
42. Find a Grave, (database and images) (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12277437/frederick-honaker: accessed 8 August 2014), memorial page for Pvt Frederick Honaker (1757–Dec 1824), Find a Grave Memorial ID 12277437, citing Old Rehoboth Cemetery, Union, Monroe County, West Virginia, USA; Maintained by S.G. Thompson (contributor 46616521). ↩