Tag: Tiller

Who Was the Ninth Heir of Joseph LIVELY (1735-1793)?

When I wrote about my fourth great-grandmother Kesiah LIVELY in 2014, I relied heavily on information quoted by another researcher from a book published by the National Association of Lively Families in 1971 for her parents and siblings.1

In Livelys of America, 1690-1968, Dr. Vallentine was able to name eight heirs of the estate of Kesiah’s father Joseph LIVELY but the ninth heir remained unknown. As I reviewed and added sources to support the claims in the post, I came across the answer to the question of who the ninth heir was.

Joseph LIVELY Dies Intestate

Joseph LIVELY (1735-1793) died intestate in Amherst County, Virginia, in 1793, leaving no instructions for the division of his estate. The letters of administration were granted to his son Mark LIVELY on 22 October 1793. John HILL and William HILL were his bondsmen.2 The bondsmen were likely close relatives of Mark’s wife Mary HILL.

1793 Administrator’s Bond for the estate of Joseph LIVEY (part 1)
1793 Administrator’s Bond for the estate of Joseph LIVEY (part 2)

An inventory of Joseph’s estate was presented on 16 December 1793 by Mark. It included “an old negro woman Sarah, a negro woman Betty, and a negro boy George” as well as livestock and household goods.3 The estate sale was held about 23 November 1793 per a notation in the margin of the estate accounts given on 19 August 1797 by Mark LIVELY. The accounts were ordered to be recorded on 16 October 1797.4 Documentation of the estate sale, other than the notation, was not found.

Joseph didn’t leave a will naming his wife or children. However, he owned land at the time of his death and it was dispersed among his heirs. In 1796 and 1797 nine tracts of 44 acres were sold by his heirs with 8 of the 9 heirs being identified.

I gathered the deed records as I suspected Dr. Vallentine’s work, published in 1971, was possibly based on abstracts of the deeds. The deeds may have included key information missed in the abstracts.

Joseph LIVELY (1735-1793) and Mary CASH (1740-1793)

To better understand how this puzzle was solved, the backstory of Joseph LIVELY and his wife Mary CASH has to be reviewed.

Joseph LIVELY was born about 1735 likely in Goochland County, Virginia. His father Mark LIVELY was living in Albemarle County (formed in 1744 from Goochland County) in 1749 when he sold land he owned in Goochland County.5 This is the earliest known record for Mark LIVELY who died in 1752 in Albemarle County. In his will, he devised equal divisions of land “I now live on” to sons John, Joseph, and Benjamin after the death of their mother who received a life right in the land.6

Mary CASH was born about 1740 likely in Goochland County. Her father Howard CASH was living in that county in 1735 when he received a land grant in the county.7 Howard CASH left a will written on 8 February 1772 and proven on 6 October 1772. The fourth item of the will, “I give to my daughter, MARY LIVELY, a negro wench named Sarah.” The bequeath likely refers to the same enslaved person as “an old negro woman Sarah” listed in Joseph’s 1793 inventory.8

Historically, Mary and Joseph’s teen and early adult years took place during the French and Indian War (28 May 1754-10 February 1763). They likely married about 1760 or earlier as their oldest son is said to have been born on 16 June 1761.9

Amherst County was formed from Albemarle County in 1761. If a marriage record existed in Albemarle County it was most likely destroyed. All order books except the first and many loose papers for the years 1748 to 1781 were destroyed during the British general Banastre Tarleton’s raid on Charlottesville in 1781 during the Revolutionary War.10

Tax Records

The personal property tax lists for the years from 1782 until 1851 for Amherst can be found in FamilySearch‘s catalog: Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851 for Amherst County, Virginia. These helped to confirm the sons of Joseph LIVELY: Joseph Jr., Mark, John, Robert Cash, and Benjamin.

1782 PPT List for the elder Joseph Lively

In 1782, when the first personal property tax lists were taken in Virginia, Joseph LIVELY and his oldest son Joseph were on the list in Amherst County.11,12 They were not listed as Sr. and Jr. In the years after, from 1783 to 1793, when Joseph and Mary’s sons turned 16 but not yet 21 years of age, they were named in Joseph’s tax assessment.

Joseph paid taxes on land in Amherst County according to research done by Dr. Vallentine.13 The land tax records for Amherst are not available to the public on FamilySearch. According to Vallentine, Joseph paid taxes on three tracts of land: two tracts of 400 acres and a tract of 398 acres. Land deeds were found to confirm this.

Land Records

On 4 August 1777, Joseph bought 400 acres of land on Thesher’s Creek from Wiatt and Sarah POWELL.14 Joseph and his wife Mary deeded the same land to Robert CASH on 5 March 1780.15

Joseph LIVELY was granted 400 acres on both sides of Dutch Creek in Amherst County on 1 September 1782.16. He and his wife Mary sold it to William CABELL on 1 January 178717. This is the last record that mentions Joseph’s wife Mary.

The two tracts of 400 acres were acquired and subsequently sold leaving only 398 acres. There is no entry in the index of deeds for the acquisition of the land. No land grant was found in Joseph’s name. In all likelihood, the tract of 398 acres was land Joseph and Mary lived on since their marriage. A record of the final partition of Joseph LIVELY’s 398 acres of land located on Pucker’s Creek and Babb’s Creek was not found in the probate records. After his death, the land was divided into 9 tracts of circa 44 acres. Eight of Joseph’s heirs were identified by these.

Peter JOHNSON and his wife Nancy (seen as Ann in the record) deeded 44 acres to Matthew HARRIS on 15 February 1796.18 The tract is described as “formerly the property of Joseph Lively.”

Joseph LIVELY Jr. and his wife Sally, John LIVELY and his wife Clarissa, and Robert Cash LIVELY and his wife Elizabeth, all of Amherst County, deeded their (three) land tracts of 44 acres to the same Matthew HARRIS on 18 July 1796.19 The tracts were described as “being part of a larger tract formerly belonging to Joseph Lively.”

William GRIFFIN and his wife Ruth and Zachariah PETERS and his wife Kesiah sold their 44-acre shares of Joseph’s land to the same Matthew HARRIS on 21 November 1796.20 The adjoining tracts of land were described as “part of a larger tract formerly the property of Joseph Lively Decd which said tracts of Land upon an equal division with the rest of the Legatees and representatives of the said Joseph Lively decd by allotment fell to the said Ruth and Keziah containing by late Survey forty four acres each.”  

Benjamin LIVELY deeded his share of the 44 acres to his brother Mark LIVELY on 30 November 1796.21 The parcel being described as a “tract of land is part of a larger tract formerly the property of Joseph Lively Deceased and upon an Equal division with the rest of the Legatees and Representatives of the said Joseph Lively deceased the said Lott of Land No. 1 fell to the said Benjamin as his proportionable part.”

William GRIFFIN and his wife Ruth LIVELY deeded 44 acres to Mark LIVELY on 3 December  1796.22 William and Ruth had already disposed of Ruth’s share of her father’s estate the previous month. The tract going to Mark LIVELY was described as “a certain tract or parcel of Land lying and being in the said County of Amherst and on the south Branch of Ruckers Run and is part of a larger tract formerly the property of Joseph Lively Deceased containing by late Survey forty four acres which said forty four acres was allotted to Mary Lively upon an equal division with the rest of the legatees and representatives of the said Joseph Lively refference being had to a deed said Mary Lively to said Griffin will more fully appear.”

Mark LIVELY and his wife Mary sold 132 acres to William LOVING on 17 July 1797, “being part of a larger tract formerly the property of Joseph Lively deceased.”23 Mark appears to have sold his 44 acres as well as the 88 acres he acquired from siblings Benjamin and Ruth, the last being an intermediary for Mary. 

The above land transactions show that the eight known heirs were Nancy, Joseph, John, Robert Cash, Ruth, Kesiah, Benjamin, and Mark. The ninth heir to the estate of Joseph LIVELY was Mary LIVELY.

The deed for the transfer of the 44 acres from Mary LIVELY to William GRIFFIN was not found in the deed book of Amherst County. Order Books of Amherst County for March 1794 to May 1799 were missing at the time of filming. These would likely mention land deeds presented and ordered to be recorded. References to the records concerning Joseph LIVELY’s estate, the partition of the land, and the possible identity of Mary LIVELY who sold her 44 acres to GRIFFIN may be missing. A dower right was not claimed in the available records. No mention of Joseph’s wife Mary was found from 1 January 1787 when she signed with her mark until his death before 22 October 1793.

The nine heirs are also recorded in an indenture in Albemarle County. On 18 October 1796, an indenture was made and entered into by Benjamin LIVELY of Albemarle of the one part and Joseph LIVELY, Mark LIVELY, John LIVELY, Robert Cash LIVELY, Benjamin LIVELY, Peter JOHNSON, William GRIFFIN, Zachariah PETERS, and Mary LIVELY all of the county of Amherst of the second part. Benjamin LIVELY of Albemarle had paid the sum of ten pounds to Joseph LIVELY in his lifetime for “one certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Albemarle on Buck Island Creek containing by estimation one hundred and twenty six and one half acres of Land be the same more or less it being one third part of that tract of land devised by Mark B LIVELY to be equally divided between John LIVELY, Joseph LIVELY, and he the said Benjamin LIVELY.”24

The married daughters of Joseph LIVELY were not named in the indenture, instead their husbands were named and signed their names. As Mary LIVELY signed for herself, with her mark, she must not have been married.

The indenture of bargain and sale between the nine LIVELY heirs and Benjamin LIVELY was produced into court and proved as to all the said parties except Zachariah PETERS by the oaths of the three witnesses. The deed was unrecorded as a continuation was ordered as further proof was needed for PETERS.25 It was this entry in the order book that led me to find the deed in a collection of unrecorded deeds for future proofs for the years from 1785 to 1896.

Who was Mary LIVELY?

Who was Mary LIVELY? She received the same proportion of the estate of Joseph LIVELY as the other eight heirs, all known to be his children.

Assuming she was a child of Joseph and Mary, she would have been the oldest daughter living at home from the time of her sister Nancy’s marriage in 1784. If her mother died between 2 January 1787 and 22 October 1793, Mary may have been the person taking care of the youngest children of the LIVELY couple. At the time of Joseph’s death in 1793, John (26), Mary (24), Benjamin (21), and Kesiah (19) were not yet married. John and Kesiah married in August and November of 1794, a year after their father’s death. Marriages for Mary and Benjamin were not found in Amherst County, Virginia.

After the estate was settled, in the years between 1797 and 1804, the names of several of the sons and sons-in-law began to disappear from the Amherst County personal property tax lists.

☙ Joseph LIVELY went to Jefferson County, Tennessee. The first reference to him residing there was in 1815 but it is believed he had lived in the county for several years prior to this date.
☙ John LIVELY went to Anderson County, Tennessee before 1802.
☙ Peter JOHNSON (Nancy) was not on the tax lists of Anderson County, Tennessee in 1802 or 1805 but by 1818 he was documented as a resident of the county when he applied for a revolutionary war pension.
☙ William GRIFFIN (Ruth) went to an unknown part of Tennessee and then to Morgan County, Alabama.
☙ Zachariah PETERS (Kesiah) moved to Franklin County, Virginia by 1810.
☙ Mark LIVELY remained in Amherst until about 1815 when he moved his family to Green County, Kentucky.
☙ Robert Cash LIVELY and Benjamin LIVELY have not been traced. Robert was last seen in Amherst on the PPT lists in 1798 and Benjamin in 1796.

The Tennessee counties the children of Joseph LIVELY and Mary CASH went to were searched for traces of Mary. In Jefferson County, Tennessee, a marriage was found for Mary LIVELY and Phillip SEIBER. They were married on 29 January 1802.26 Her husband was a widower with children. Mary and Phillip had three sons, Nimrod, Joseph, and Robert. Did they name their son Joseph after Mary’s father or older brother?

1802 marriage entry for Phillip and Mary

Mary and Phillip didn’t remain in Jefferson County, moving to Anderson County, Tennessee before 1830.27 It is difficult to determine when they moved there. There is no 1810 census for Tennessee and the 1820 census for roughly 20 eastern Tennessee counties supervised by the Federal Court District out of Knoxville is lost.

When Phillip SEIBER wrote his last will and testament on 11 September 1833, one of the witnesses was Peter JOHNSON.28 At the June 1848 session of court in Anderson County, the will of Phillip SEIBER was proven by the oath of Peter JOHNSON.29 Peter JOHNSON could have been Mary’s brother-in-law, husband of Nancy LIVELY.

1850 Anderson County, Tennessee census listing for Mary SEIBER and her son Joseph in a LIVELY household

Mary SEIBER and her son Joseph were living in the household of Joseph LIVELY (b. abt. 1808 TN) and his wife Mary in Anderson County, Tennessee in 1850.30 They were surrounded by other SEIBER families including Mary’s son Robert. Joseph LIVELY was the son of John LIVELY (s/o Joseph and Mary). The families were visited on 27 September 1850. Five months later Mary SEIBER was found in the household of Robert C. G. LIVELY (b. abt. 1806 NC) in Benton County, Alabama.31 The county name was changed to Calhoun in 1858. Robert was the son of Joseph LIVELY Jr. (son of Joseph and Mary). The family was visited on 26 February 1851. In both census listings, Mary was listed as age 81 and born in Virginia.

1850 Benton County, Alabama census listing for Mary SEIBER in a LIVELY household

Although questions asked on the 1850 census were supposed to refer to 1 June 1850, Asst’t Marshall Spartan ALLEN of Benton County, Alabama, may not have followed these instructions. He visited his district from November 1850 until February 1851 and likely named all persons in the household at the time of the visit instead of the enumeration date. He listed his own household last, directly after the household Mary was in.

Mary SEIBER wasn’t in two places at one time. She lived in Tennessee at the time of the census and/or the enumerator’s visit in September 1850. She then went to Alabama by the time Mr. ALLEN visited Robert C. G. LIVELY’s household on 26 February 1851.

Mary SEIBER née LIVELY was found to have close connections with several of Joseph LIVELY’s and Mary CASH’s children. She married in Jefferson County, Tennessee, the place Joseph LIVELY Jr. lived. She went with her husband and family to Anderson County before 1830 where John LIVELY and Peter JOHNSON lived. She was enumerated with two LIVELY nephews in 1850. Further, she was the stepmother-in-law of John LIVELY’s daughter Malinda who married John SEIBER, a son of Mary’s husband Philip and his first wife.

Mary’s husband Phillip was enumerated on the 1830 and 1840 census with his inferred wife Mary listed in the age range that calculates to being born about 1771 to 1780. In 1850/1851 she was listed as age 80 or born about 1769-1770. Born about 1769, Mary fits nicely in the list of the other known children of Joseph and Mary who were born between 1761 and 1774.

Closing Thoughts

Mary LIVELY who sold land that was part of the estate of Joseph LIVELY to William GRIFFIN and his wife Ruth LIVELY was the ninth heir of Joseph LIVELY as seen in the deeds. She was more likely a child than his widow. As a widow, she would have had a dower’s share of one-third of her husband’s estate and not a share equal to a child. Mary LIVELY, the ninth heir, was in all likelihood the same person as the Virginia-born Mary SEIBER née LIVELY who was closely associated with John, Joseph, and Nancy – the LIVELY siblings who went to Tennessee. Finally, DNA matches through all three of her sons have been found in clusters attributed to the LIVELY ancestral line.

© 2023, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

  1. Vallentine, John F., Livelys of America, 1690-1968, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/437427), National Association of Lively Families, 1971. ↩
  2. “Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983,” (index and images), Ancestry, citing original data of Virginia County, District, and Probate Courts, Amherst County, Will Books, Vol 3-4, 1786-1810, Book 3, page 282-283, 22 Oct 1793, Admin Bond by Mark Lively for the estate of Joseph Lively (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007643858_00167 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  3. Ibid., Amherst County, Will Books, Vol 3-4, 1786-1810, Book 3, page 293, 16 Dec 1793, Inventory of the estate of Joseph Lively (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007643858_00172 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  4. Ibid., Amherst County, Will Books, Vol 3-4, 1786-1810, Book 3, page 450, 19 Aug 1797, Administrator’s Accounts for the estate of Joseph Lively  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007643858_00256 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  5. “Deed books (with wills, inventories, etc.), 1728-1901; general indexes to deeds, wills, etc., 1728-1969,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/406600), citing microfilm of original records at the Goochland County Courthouse in Goochland, Virginia, Film 31655, DGS 7645026, Deed books [with wills, inventories, etc.], v. 6-8 1749-1765, image 24 of 719, Deed Book 6, pages 10-11, 15 Aug 1749 Mark Lively to William Ford Land Deed (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-9K9D?i=23&cat=406600 : accessed 10 November 2022). ↩
  6. “Virginia, Albemarle County, Wills, 1748-1919; general index, 1748-1930,” browse-only images,  FamilySearch  (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/279536), citing microfilm of original records at the Albemarle County Courthouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, Film 30211, DGS 7644233, Wills and deeds, v. 1 1748-1752, image 25+27 of 306, Will Book 1, page 32-33, Last Will and Testament of Mark Lifely dated 3 Nov 1750 and proven 11 June 1752 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89PH-Z97J?i=24&cat=279536 : accessed 20 November 2022). ↩
  7. “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 Patents No. 16, 1735, p. 148 (Reel 14), Land grant 18 August 1735, Howard Cash grantee, 250 acres on both sides Meadow Creek of the south side of the Rivanna River in Goochland County (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007342630205756 : accessed 12 November 2022). ↩
  8. “Wills (Amherst County, Virginia); index to wills, 1761-1920, 1761-1870,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/279608), citing microfilm of original records at the Amherst County Courthouse in Amherst, Virginia, Film 30274, DGS 7643857, Index to wills 1761-1920 Will books v. 1-2 1761-1786, image 377+378 of 675, Will Book 1, pages 228-231, Last Will and Testament of Howard Cash dated 8 Feb 1772 and proven 6 Oct 1772 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9P7-SGZ?i=376&cat=279608 : accessed 24 November 2022). ↩
  9. Vallentine, Livelys of America, 1690-1968, p. 6-7, Joseph Lively Jr. line. Sarah Lively, the widow of Joseph Jr., quoted her husband’s birth and death dates from the family Bible on an application for a bounty land warrant based on her husband’s service during the War of 1812. Vallentine’s source was the Veteran’s Pension File No. R 181730. ↩
  10. “Lost Records Localities: Counties and Cities with Missing Records,”  Library of Virginia (https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/rn30_lostrecords.pdf : accessed 22 Nov 2014). ↩
  11. Virginia. Commissioner of the Revenue (Amherst County), “Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851,” (browse-only images), FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/775689), citing microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 2024457, DGS 7846299, Personal property tax lists, 1782-1803, image 16 of 615, 1782 PPT List, page 8. line 17, Joseph Lively 1 1 27 12 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-23BX?i=15&cat=775689 : accessed 5 November 2022). ↩
  12. Ibid., image 15 of 615, 1782 PPT List, page 6. last line on the page, Joseph Lively 1 0 3 2 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-232T?i=14&cat=775689 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  13. Vallentine, Livelys of America, 1690-1968. ↩
  14. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/282807), citing microfilm of original records at the Amherst County Courthouse in Amherst, Virginia, Film 30286, DGS 7893711, Deed books, v. D-E 1773-1785, image 238 of 617, Deed Book D, page 447-448, 4 Aug 1777, Wyatt Powell and wife Sarah to Joseph Lively 400 acres on Thresher’s Creek adjacent lands of James Smith and Pierce Wade (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-CNH3?cat=282807 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  15. Ibid., Film 30286, DGS 7893711, Deed books, v. D-E 1773-1785, image 404 of 617, Deed Book D, page 218-219, 6 Mar 1780, Joseph and Mary Lively to Robert Cash, 400 acres (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-CFFY?cat=282807 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  16. “Land Office/Northern Neck Patents & Grants,” Land Office Grants G, 1782-1783, p. 185 (Reel 48), Land grant 1 September 1782, Joseph Lively, grantee. 400 acres on both sides of the Dutch Creek in Amherst County (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007858520205756 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  17. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” Film 30287, DGS 7893712, Deed books, v. F-G 1785-1796, image 62 of 702, Deed Book F, pages 110-111, 1 Jan 1787 Joseph Lively and wife Mary to Wm Cabell, 400 acres on both sides of Dutch Creek (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-Q97R-K?cat=282807 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  18. Ibid., Film 30287, DGS 7893712, Deed books, v. F-G 1785-1796, image 59 of 669, Deed Book G, pages 676-677, 15 Feb 1796, Peter Johnson and his wife Ann to Matthew Harris (44 acres) (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-Q9W9-R?cat=282807 : accessed 7 November 2022). ↩
  19. Ibid., Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 59 of 669, Deed Book H, pages 71-72, 18 Jul 1796, Joseph Lively and wife Sally, John Lively and wife Clarissa, and Robert Cash Lively and
    wife Elizabeth to Matthew Harris (3×44 acres) (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13DF-2?cat=282807 : accessed 7 November 2022). ↩
  20. Ibid., Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 87 of 669, Deed Book H, page 126, Wm. Griffin & wife Ruth and Zach. Peters & wife Keziah to Wm. Loving two tracts of land containing 44 acres each (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13D6-X?i=86&cat=282807 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  21. Ibid., Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 116 of 669, Deed Book H, pages 185-186, 30 Nov 1796, Benjamin Lively to Mark Lively (44 acres) (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13DX-H?cat=282807 : accessed 7 November 2022). ↩
  22. Ibid., Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 123 of 669, Deed Book H, page 198, 3 Dec 1796, Wm Griffin and his wife Ruth to Mark Lively 44 acres deeded to them by Mary Lively (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13DF-1?cat=282807 : accessed 7 November 2022). ↩
  23. Ibid., Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 131-132 of 669, Deed Book H, page 215-216, 17 Jul 1797, Mark Lively and his wife Mary to Wm Loving 132 acres (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13DJ-2?i=130&cat=282807 : accessed 7 November 2022). ↩
  24. “Unrecorded deeds for future proofs, 1785-1896,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1153965), citing microfilm of original records at the Albemarle County Courthouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, Film 1892398, DGS 7644129, Unrecorded deeds for future proofs, ca. 1785-1863, surnames K-L, images 220-222 of 1165, 18 Oct 1796, Joseph Lively’s heirs sell 126 1/2 acres of land from Joseph’s father Mark B Lively to Joseph’s brother Benjamin Lively (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99PH-TWJK?i=219&cat=1153965 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  25. “Order books, 1744-1831,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/275687), citing microfilm of original records in the Albemarle County Courthouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, Film 30257, DGS 8189593, Order books 1795-1801, image 191 of 719, page 331, 5 Jun 1797, an indenture of bargain and sale between (names of 9 Lively heirs) of the one part and Benjamin Lively of the other part (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLZ-P9N6-N?cat=275687 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  26. “Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records, 1780-2002,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1169/), citing Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN, Jefferson > 1792 Dec-1881 Jul: Marriages > image 54 of 592, page 40 (stamped), entry 400, 29 Jan 1802, Phillip Sevier and Mary Lively, married by P. Taylor, justice of the peace (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6197701:1169 : accessed 23 November 2022). ↩
  27. 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_175, FHL Film: 0024533, Tennessee, Anderson County, page 187 (double-page spread), line 16, Philip Seber (accessed 24 November 2022). ↩
  28. “Tennessee, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9176/), citing Tennessee County, District and Probate Courts, Anderson > Wills, 1830-1889 > image 215 of 728 > Will Book Apr 1847 to Dec 1852, page 57, Last Will and Testament of Philip Sieber [Seiber] (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3563545:9176?ssrc=pt&tid=164805854&pid=102425988203 : accessed 23 November 2022). ↩
  29. “Court minutes, 1811-1891,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/198766), citing microfilm of original records at the Anderson County courthouse, Minutes 1831-1856, image 400 of 742, page 255, entry 4, will of Philip Sieber [Seiber] presented, proven, and ordered to be recorded at the June 1848 Session of Court (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJD-VQQ4?i=399&cat=198766 : accessed 23 November 2022). ↩
  30. 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_869, Tennessee, Anderson County, Subdivision 16, sheet 39A, 27 Sep 1850, household 546-546, lines 24-28, Joseph Lively (accessed 24 November 2022). ↩
  31. Ibid., Roll: M432_1, Alabama, Benton County, Subdivision 29, sheet 391B, 26 Feb 1851, household 872-873, lines 4-13, R.C.G. Lively (accessed 24 November 2022). ↩

52 Ancestors: #47 Johnny CASH’s 1C5R – Kesiah LIVELY

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

This is entry #47 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

#47 Johnny CASH’s 1C5R – Kesiah LIVELY

An interesting tidbit for cousins who like to find royalty and celebrities in their family tree: My 4th great-grandmother Kesiah LIVELY’s maternal grandparents, Robert Howard CASH and Ruth Walker EPPINGTON, were the 5th great-grandparents of “one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century,”1 John R. “Johnny” CASH.

Johnny Cash was an amateur genealogist. His interest was piqued by a chance encounter with Major Michael Crichton-Stuart on a transatlantic flight in the 1970s. The then Hereditary Keeper of Falkland Palace in Fife explained how abundant the CASH name was in Fife. Johnny Cash visited the Major several times in Scotland to fill in the gaps in his paternal CASH family tree which goes back to the 11th century.2

albermarle
Clipped from “Virginia 1751 Map” drawn by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson in 1751, United States Digital Map Library, a USGenWeb Archives project, online http://usgwarchives.net/maps/virginia/statemap/1751virginia.jpg : accessed 23 Nov 2014

My 4th great-grandmother Kesiah LIVELY was Johnny CASH’s 1C5R (first cousin five times removed).

Joseph LIVELY and Mary L. CASH

Kesiah was the youngest child of Joseph LIVELY (1735-1793) and Mary L. CASH (1740-1793). Both her parents were likely born in Goochland County, Virginia. Many family trees have Albemarle as the place of birth, however, if we consult the formation of the Virginia counties, Albemarle was formed from Goochland but not until 1744.

Mary and Joseph’s teen and early adult years were during the French and Indian War (28 May 1754-10 February 1763). They married before 1761, the year Amherst County was formed from Albemarle. If a marriage record ever existed in Albemarle County it was most likely destroyed. All order books except the first and many loose papers for the years 1748 to 1781 were destroyed during the British general Banastre Tarleton’s raid on Charlottesville in 1781 during the Revolutionary War.3

Tax and Land Records

1782taxlively
1782 Personal Property Tax List of Amherst County, Virginia, page 8.
1782taxlively1
1782 Personal Property Tax List of Amherst County, Virginia, page 6.

In 1782, when the first personal property tax lists were taken in Virginia, Joseph LIVELY and his oldest son Joseph were both on the list. They were not listed as Sr. and Jr. The first listing above would be for Joseph Sr. with 1 tithable, 1 slave, 27 cattle, and 12 horses. His son Joseph Jr. had 3 cattle and 2 horses.4,5 In the years after, from 1783 to 1793, when Joseph and Mary’s sons turned 16 but not yet 21 years of age, they were seen in Joseph’s tax assessment. Below, in 1790 Robert, Benjamin, and John were seen with Joseph.6 His oldest son was seen as Joseph Jr.7

1790taxlively
1790 Personal Property Tax List for Amherst County, Virginia, page 18.
1790taxlivelyjr
1790 Personal Property Tax List for Amherst County, Virginia, page 17.

Note (5 Nov 2022): The Personal Property Tax Lists were originally found on BinnsGenealogy. The owner of the website, Stephen Binns passed away in June 2020. Only selected years of tax lists were free on the site and have since been removed. The good news is that the tax lists for the years from 1782 until 1851 for Amherst can be found in FamilySearch‘s catalog: Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851 for Amherst County, Virginia.

Joseph paid taxes on land in Amherst County according to research done by John F. Vallentine, author of Livelys of America, 1690-1968.8 The land tax records for Amherst are not available to the public on FamilySearch at this time. Vallentine notes that Joseph paid taxes on three tracts of land, two tracts of 400 acres and a tract of 398 acres. Land deeds are available to back this up.

On 4 August 1777, Joseph bought 400 acres of land on Thesher’s Creek from Wiatt and Sarah POWELL.9 Joseph and his wife Mary deeded the same land to Robert CASH on 5 March 1780.10

Joseph LIVELY was granted 400 acres on both sides of Dutch Creek in Amherst County on 1 September 1782.11 He and his wife Mary sold it to William CABELL on 1 January 1787.12

Joseph died in 1793 and did not leave a will. The letters of administration were granted to his son Mark LIVELY on 22 October 1793. John Hill and William Hill were his bondsmen.13 An inventory of the estate of Joseph Lively was presented on 16 December 1793 by Mark. It included “an old negro woman Sarah, a negro woman Betty, and a negro boy George” as well as livestock and household goods.14 The estate sale was held about 23 November 1793 per the account given on 19 August 1797 by Mark LIVELY and ordered to be recorded on 16 October 1797.15

As seen earlier, Joseph also owned land. The two tracts of 400 acres were acquired and subsequently sold leaving only the 398 acres. There is no entry in the index of deeds for the acquisition of the land and no land grant was found in Joseph’s name. A record of the final partition of Joseph LIVELY’s 398 acres of land located on Pucker’s Creek and Babb’s Creek was not found in the probate records. After his death, the land was divided into 9 tracts of circa 44 acres as can be seen by land sales recorded in Amherst County deeds. Eight of Joseph’s heirs were identified by these.

Kesiah’s Siblings

The eight identified heirs of Joseph LIVELY mentioned above were all born before the American Revolutionary War (19 Apr 1775- 14 Jan 1784).

◉ Sib 1: Joseph LIVELY Jr. (1761-1838) was born on 16 June 1761 in Amherst County, Virginia. He married Sarah “Sally” TILLER on 4 November 1784 in Amherst County.16 Joseph died on 11 May 1838.

◉ Sib 2: Nancy LIVELY (1772- ) was born about 1763 in Amherst County, Virginia. Nancy Lively married Peter JOHNSON on 5 April 1784 in Amherst County, Virginia.17 This marriage was incorrectly listed in a compilation of marriages in Amherst as 1794 instead of 1784. Nancy’s estimated year of birth given in Vallentine’s Livelys of America, 1690-1968, about 1772, was calculated from the erroneous date of marriage. It has to be corrected to reflect an age at marriage of 21 years.

◉ Sib 3: John LIVELY (1764- ) was born about 1764 in Amherst County, Virginia. He was on the Amherst tax lists in 1790 with his father. John married Clara CARNALL on 19 August 1794 in Amherst County.18

◉ Sib 4: Mark LIVELY (1766-1857) was born on 11 January 1766 in Amherst County, Virginia. He married Mary HILL on 30 November 1791 in Amherst County.19 He was on the 1799 Amherst tax list. He died on 23 November 1857 in Taylor County, Kentucky.

◉ Sib 5: Robert Cash LIVELY (1768- ) was born about 1768 in Amherst County, Virginia. He was on the Amherst tax lists in 1790 with his father. He married Elizabeth BETHEL on 20 August 1793 in Amherst County.20

◉ Sib 6: Ruth LIVELY (1770-aft. 1850) was born about 1770 in Amherst County, Virginia. She married William GRIFFIN on 17 June 1793 in Amherst County.21

◉ Sib 7: Benjamin LIVELY (1762-1797) was born about 1772 in Amherst County, Virginia. In 1793 he was still listed with his father on the PPT list, therefore still under 21 years of age and the youngest son. No trace has been found after 1797.

◉ Kesiah LIVELY was born about 1774 in Amherst County, Virginia.

The estimates for the years of birth of the LIVELY children are from Vallentine’s Livelys of America, 1690-1968 with the exception of Nancy and Benjamin. Their estimates have been corrected and are supported by the records mentioned.

Kesiah’s father Joseph LIVELY died before 22 October 1793 in Amherst County. At the time of Joseph’s death Kesiah, Benjamin, and John were not yet married.

Kesiah LIVELY and Zachariah PETERS marry

A little over a year after Joseph LIVELY’s death his youngest daughter Kesiah LIVELY was married to Zachariah PETERS by Rev. Ezekiel Campbell on 18 November 1794 in Amherst County.22

Kesiah gave birth to her first child, my 3rd great-grandfather, Jordan N. PETERS (1796-1890) on 10 October 1796 in Amherst County.23 A month later she and her husband Zachariah sold her share of her father’s estate, 1/9th of the 398 acres he left.24

Before leaving Amherst County for Franklin County, Kesiah and Zachariah had two daughters and another son. The names are only known for Mary and William. The older daughter’s name remains unknown.

From Amherst to Franklin

The move to Franklin County occurred after Zachariah was seen on the 1804 Amherst tax list.25 Kesiah then gave birth to Betsy about 1805 and Lucy about 1807. She also had two sons, one born between 1801-1810 whose identity is not known, and the other being Willis born on 23 April 1808. Note: The unknown son may fit in between William b. abt. 1798 and Betsy b. abt. 1805.

After the enumeration of the 1810 census, Kesiah had four more children: Joseph born 10 December 1810, a male born between 1811-1815, and her youngest two daughters, Nancy born about 1812 and Susan born about 1815.

The children begin to marry

Following the birth of her last child, Kesiah’s brood of a dozen children shrank as the oldest children began to marry. She saw the following six marry before the 1830 census.

◉ Jordan N. PETERS married Mary “Polly” TROUP (1799-1837) on 6 October 1817 in Franklin County. Surety Jacob TROUP. Daughter of Henry and Dorothy.26

◉ William PETERS married Alice “Alla” TROUP (1795-1841) on 12 December 1818 in Franklin County. Surety Jacob TROUP.27

◉ Mary PETERS married Samuel SMITH (1800-1884) on 18 December 1823 in Franklin County. Surety Wm. PETERS.28

◉ Elizabeth “Betsy” PETERS married Jesse EDWARDS (1803-1870) on 17 June 1826 in Franklin County. Surety Zachariah PETERS.29

◉ Lucy PETERS married Joseph JARRELL (1807- ) on 4 October 1827 in Franklin County. Surety Zachariah PETERS.30

◉ Willis PETERS married Ruth SMITH (1809-1884) on 21 March 1829 in Franklin County. Surety Samuel GRIMMETT.31

Soon after the 1830 census, their youngest son, named after his maternal grandfather, married.

◉ Joseph PETERS married Martha “Patsy” SMITH (1811-1888) on 1 September 1830. Surety John Powers.32

In the second half of the 1830s, three more marriages took place. The oldest son Jordan was widowed and married for a second time. The two youngest daughters married in 1836 and 1839. Their marriage documents show that their mother Kesiah was still living as she gave her permission for both marriages.

◉ Nancy PETERS married Reuben COOPER on 2 December 1836. Her mother Kesiah gave her permission to the marriage on 1 December 1836.33

◉ Jordan N. PETERS married(2) Sarah COX ( -1841) 15 August 1837 in Franklin County.34

◉ Susan PETERS married Andrew REEL (1813-1870) 16 October 1839 in Franklin County. Surety Wm. Dixon.35

Kesiah is widowed

Kesiah LIVELY’s spouse Zachariah PETERS likely died between 1830-1840 in Franklin County, Virginia, as neither of them is named in the 1840 census. Zachariah was last seen on a personal property tax list in 1830.

As Kesiah gave permission for her daughters to marry, it can be assumed that Zachariah, if he had been exempt from tax due to old age, may have died before the first marriage that Kesiah gave permission for in 1836. No older woman was found in the households found for the children in 1840. Two more marriages took place after the 1840 census.

◉ William PETERS married(2) Lydia KEMPLIN (1821-1866) on 27 March 1841 in Franklin County.36

◉ Jordan N. PETERS married(3) Rachel PROFFITT (1817-1899) on 8 December 1841 in Franklin County.37

Kesiah passed away after 16 October 1839 and possibly before the 1840 census or these last two marriages in 1841.

This Post was Updated on 20 November 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.

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

Save

  1. Wikipedia contributors, “Johnny Cash,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Cash&oldid=1119846151 : accessed November 5, 2022). ↩
  2. “Celtic connection as Cash walks the line in Fife, Scotland on Sunday,” The Scotsman, 5 June 2006, (https://web.archive.org/web/20160310082105/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/celtic-connection-as-cash-walks-the-line-in-fife-1-1412413 : accessed 5 November 2022) ↩
  3. “Lost Records Localities: Counties and Cities with Missing Records,”  Library of Virginia (https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/rn30_lostrecords.pdf : accessed 22 Nov 2014). ↩
  4. Virginia. Commissioner of the Revenue (Amherst County), “Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851,” (browse-only images), <i>FamilySearch</i> (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/775689), citing microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 2024457, DGS 7846299, Personal property tax lists, 1782-1803, image 16 of 615, 1782 PPT List, page 8. line 17, Joseph Lively 1 1 27 12. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-23BX?i=15&cat=775689 : accessed 5 November 2022). ↩
  5. Ibid., Film 2024457, DGS 7846299, Personal property tax lists, 1782-1803, image 15 of 615, 1782 PPT List, page 6. last line on page, Joseph Lively 1 0 3 2. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-232T?i=14&cat=775689 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  6. Ibid., Film 2024457, DGS 7846299, Personal property tax lists, 1782-1803, image 193 of 615, 1790 PPT List, page 18, May 3, Joseph Lively with sons Robert, Benjamin, and John (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-2Q6S?cat=775689 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  7. Ibid., Film 2024457, DGS 7846299, Personal property tax lists, 1782-1803, image 192 of 615, 1790 PPT List, page 17, March 15, Joseph Lively Jr. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-2Q63?i=191&cat=775689 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  8. Vallentine, John F. Livelys of America, 1690-1968. n.p.: National Association of Lively Families, 1971. (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/437427 : accessed 5 November 2022). ↩
  9. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i>, citing microfilm of original records at the Amherst County Courthouse in Amherst, Virginia, Film 30286, DGS 7893711, Deed books, v. D-E 1773-1785, image 238 of 617, Deed Book D, page 447-448, 4 Aug 1777, Wyatt Powell and wife Sarah to Joseph Lively 400 acres on Thresher’s Creek adjacent lands of James Smith and Pierce Wade. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-CNH3?cat=282807 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  10. Ibid., Film 30286, DGS 7893711, Deed books, v. D-E 1773-1785, image 404 of 617, Deed Book D, page 218-219, 6 Mar 1780, Joseph and Mary Lively to Robert Cash, 400 acres. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-CFFY?cat=282807 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  11. “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 G, 1782-1783, p. 185 (Reel 48), Land grant 1 September 1782.
    Lively, Joseph. grantee. 400 acres on both sides of the Dutch Creek in Amherst County. (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007858520205756 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  12. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” Film 30287, DGS 7893712, Deed books, v. F-G 1785-1796, image 62 of 702, Deed Book F, pages 110-111, 1 Jan 1787 Joseph Lively and wife Mary to Wm Cabell, 400 acres on both sides of Dutch Creek. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-Q97R-K?cat=282807 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  13. “Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983,” (index and images), Ancestry, citing original data of Virginia County, District, and Probate Courts, Amherst County, Will Books, Vol 3-4, 1786-1810, Book 3, page 282-283, 22 Oct 1793, Admin Bond by Mark Lively for the estate of Joseph Lively. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007643858_00167 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  14. Ibid., Amherst County, Will Books, Vol 3-4, 1786-1810, Book 3, page 293, 16 Dec 1793, Inventory of the estate of Joseph Lively. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007643858_00172 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  15. Ibid., Amherst County, Will Books, Vol 3-4, 1786-1810, Book 3, page 450, 19 Aug 1797, Bill of Sale of the estate of Joseph Lively.  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9085/images/007643858_00256 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  16. “Register of marriages, Amherst County, Virginia, 1763-1853” (browse-only images), FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 305 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 21, 2nd entry, 4 Nov 1784, Joseph Lively Jr. and Salley Tiller, father William Tiller, witnesses William Tiller and Betty Loving. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XF-NC1H?i=304&cc=4149585&cat=680855 : accessed 8 November 2022). ↩
  17. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 303 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 19, 6th entry, 5 Apr 1784, Peter Johnson and Nancey Lively, securities Joseph Lively and Eben Hock (seen in other entries as Ebenezer Haycock). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9XF-NCZT?cc=4149585 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  18. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 380 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 95, 2nd entry, 19 Aug 1794, John Lively and Clara Carnall, each of Amherst Parish, Marry Shaw mother of bride, Wit. Peter Johnson, James Callaway, and Johnson Phillips. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XF-NCVT?i=379&cc=4149585 : accessed 8 November 2022). ↩
  19. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 354 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 70, 1st entry, Mark Lively and Mary Hill, father John Hill, witn. Joseph Lively Jr., Will Loving Jr., Samuel Brown, and Lawrence Long. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-NZDK?i=353&cc=4149585 : accessed 8 November 2022). ↩
  20. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 370 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 86, last entry, 20 Aug 1793, Robert Cash Lively and Elizabeth Bethell, both of Amherst Parish, father Jno. Bethell, wit. Thomas Lively, W.L. Crawford, Wm Teas, John Hall. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XF-NCGC?i=369&cc=4149585 : accessed 8 November 2022). ↩
  21. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 368 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 84, last entry, William Griffin and Ruth Lively, father Joseph Lively, witnesses Ezekiel Hill, James Calloway, and Jos. McGimmery. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XF-NCL7?i=367&cc=4149585 : accessed 8 November 2022). ↩
  22. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 738 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 453, Ezekiel Campbell marriage returns for the year 1794, entry 8, Zachariah Peters and Keziah Lively. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XF-N8GX?i=737&cat=680855 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  23. “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), RG15-1812PB-Bx2693, National Archives Catalog ID: 564415, service of Jordan N. Peters (Pvt Capt Robert Hairston Va Militia, War of 1812), widow Rachel Proffitt, images 42 and 43 of 218. Affidavit of T. G. Tatum, dated 18 April 1891, with information Jordan N. Peters requested him to write down before his death as his house was burnt up and all papers lost. This includes his date of birth, two previous marriages, the deaths of his previous wives, his pension certificate number, and his date and place of death. (https://www.fold3.com/image/642937438 and https://www.fold3.com/image/642937439 : accessed 27 March 2022). ↩
  24. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 87 of 669, Deed Book H, page 126, Wm. Griffin & wife Ruth and Zach. Peters & wife Keziah to Wm. Loving two tracts of land containing 44 acres each. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13D6-X?i=86&cat=282807 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  25. “Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851,” Film 2024458, DGS 7846300, Personal property tax lists, 1804-1823, image 39 of 661, 1804B Amherst PPT List, Zachariah Peter 1 0 0 0. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-CQN6-1?i=38&cat=775689 : accessed 6 November 2022). ↩
  26. “Marriage bond register, 1786-1853; loose marriage bonds and licenses, 1785-1900,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Franklin County Courthouse in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia., Film 1977991, DGS 7490230, Marriage bonds 1813-1818, image 638 to 641 of 880, 1817 Jordan N Peters and Jacob Troup bond for marriage of Jordan Peters and Mary Troup and Jacob and Dorothy Troup’s permission for daughter Mary to marry Jordan Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-87MT?cat=765574 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  27. Ibid., Film 1977991, DGS 7490230, Marriage bonds 1813-1818, image 818 to 821 of 880, marriage bond for William Peters and Alla Troup and permission for bride to marry from parents Henry Troup and his wife Dorothy. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99ZG-84X2?i=817&cat=765574 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  28. Ibid., Film 1977993, DGS 7490232, Marriage bonds 1823-1827, images 42+43 of 855, 1823 marriage bond of Samuel Smith and Mary Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-D91X?i=42&cat=765574 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  29. Ibid., Film 1977996, DGS 7490235, Marriage bonds 1835-1838, images 548-549 of 784, 1826 Jesse Edwards and Zachariah Peters bond for marriage of Jesse Edwards and Betsy Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-D37H?i=548&cat=765574 : accessed 12 June 2022). ↩
  30. Ibid., Film 31523 (Item 1), DGS 7578970, Marriage bonds register 1786-1853 (Gives husband’s name, wife’s name, date of bond, name of surety, name of minister), image 82 of 608, No. 2167, Jarrell Joseph and Peters Lucy 4 Oct 1827 Peters Zachariah security. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-VXYJ?i=81 : accessed 12 June 2022). ↩
  31. Ibid., Film 1977994, DGS 7490233, Marriage bonds 1828-1831, images 407-410 of 873, 1829 Willis Peters and John Powers bond for the marriage of Willis Peters and Ruth Smith and Gideon Smyth’s permission for his daughter to marry Willis Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-YW7?i=406&cat=765574 : accessed 12 June 2022). ↩
  32. Ibid., Film 1977994, DGS 7490233, Marriage bonds 1828-1831, images 630-633 of 873, 1830 Joseph Peters and Samuel Grimmett bond for the marriage of Joseph Peters and Patsy Smith and the Gideon Smith’s permission for his daughter Patsy to marry Joseph Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-T6FC?i=629&cat=765574 : accessed 13 June 2022). ↩
  33. Ibid., Film 1977996, DGS 7490235, Marriage bonds 1835-1838, images 271-272 of 784, 1 Dec 1836 marriage permission Nancy Peters to marry Reuben Peters from her mother Kizeah Peters (her mark). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-H7Y3?i=271&cat=765574 : accessed 6 June 2022). ↩
  34. Ibid., Film 1977996, DGS 7490235, Marriage bonds 1835-1838, images 526-529 of 784, 1837 marriage bond of Jordan N Peters and Sarah Cox and permission slip for bride. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-H779?i=528&cat=765574 : accessed 8 June 2022). ↩
  35. Ibid., Film 1977997, DGS 7490236, Marriage bonds 1838-1841, images 210-213 of 838, 1839 Andrew Reel and William Hixson bond for the marriage of Andrew Reel and Susan Peters and Kisiah Peters’ permission for her daughter Susan to marry. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-HFP6?i=209&cat=765574 : accessed 13 June 2022). ↩
  36. Ibid., Film 1977991, DGS 7490230, Marriage bonds 1813-1818, image 758 to 761 of 880, 1841 marriage bond William Peters and Jesse Edwards for the 27 March 1841 marriage of William to Lydia Kemplin and bride’s permission for William Peters to obtain the license. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-HJZD?i=758&cat=765574 : accessed 1 October 2022). ↩
  37. See Note #23, supra. ↩

52 Ancestors: #46 Zachariah PETERS of Franklin County, Virginia, Father of a War of 1812 Veteran

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

This is entry #46 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

#46 Zachariah PETERS of Franklin County, Virginia, Father of a War of 1812 Veteran

Zachariah PETERS was born between 1766-1770 in Amherst County, Virginia, and died between 1830-1840 in Franklin County, Virginia. Although considerable genealogy research has been done by others, his parents are to date not known or proven.

Paula Kelley Ward (1942-2022), who is to be credited for her work on this family, hired Andrew S. Webb, of Lineages, Inc., to do research in 2001-2002. After seven sessions of research, Mr. Webb concluded that circumstantial evidence suggests that John PETERS was the father of Zachariah PETERS as well as James PETERS (~1765-1823) and Elisha PETERS (~1773-1862).1

First, let’s analyze the census and tax lists to determine when my 4th great-grandfather Zachariah was born. The estimation “between 1766-1770” was made from the age ranges seen on the 1810 to 1830 census of Franklin County, Virginia.

◉ 1810 – age 26 & under 45 (1766 or later)2
◉ 1820 – age 45 & over (1775 or earlier > 1766-1775)3
◉ 1830 – age 60 & under 70 (between 1761-1770 > 1766-1770)4

If the age range was correct in these three census years then he should have appeared in personal property tax lists beginning no later than 1791. Mr. Webb wrote in his report on the first session, “Personal property tax lists of Amherst County, Virginia, were searched for anyone with the surname PETERS or PETER.” He found and listed all PETERS men for the years 1788 to 1797. Zachariah was found on:

◉ 18 June 1793  with 1 tithable, 3 horses
◉ 1794 – not found
◉ 13 Apr 1795 with 1 tithable, 2 horses
◉ 15 May 1796 with 1 tithable, 1 horse
◉ 21 Jul 1797 with 1 tithable, 0 horses

Why did Zachariah go from having 3 horses to two to one to none? Even though I don’t have an answer, I had to ask the question.

Surviving personal tax records for Virginia counties starting in 1782 are available on microfilm at the Library of Virginia or through interlibrary loan. UPDATE: In March 2021 I discovered the Personal Property tax lists for nearly all Virginia and West Virginia counties are online at FamilySearch up to at least 1851. Zachariah’s listings were checked in Amherst and Franklin counties but have not been included in this post.

Zachariah was on the Personal Property Tax list of Amherst County, Virginia, in 1790.5 In this case, Zachariah was a white tithable listed with the taxpayer Thomas NEVIL, the white tithable over the age of twenty-one.6 As Zachariah was not the person charged with tax he most likely was a tithable between the age of sixteen and twenty-one. What can this mean? Is there a family relationship between Zachariah PETERS and Thomas NEVIL or his wife of two years Elizabeth TILLER?

1790taxpeters
1790 Personal Property Tax List A > Amherst County, Virginia

Mr. Webb missed Zachariah PETERS in 1790. In his report, he wrote, “The appearance of Zachariah in Amherst in 1793 suggests that he lived in another county before 1793.” He does not speculate on why he was not on the 1794 tax list.

I suspect that Mr. Webb consulted only the pages with surnames beginning with P. If he had searched through all pages he would have found Zachariah in 1790. I realize that a hired researcher works under the restraints of the client’s purse and doesn’t have the time to search page for page.

This brings up the question: Was Zachariah perhaps listed with another taxpayer in 1791 and 1792 as he was with Thomas NEVIL in 1790? I don’t think Zachariah was with a NEVIL or NEVILLE individual as researchers Shirley L Wilcox and Jan Faulkner on the NEVILLE mailing list discussed the tax records of the NEVIL(LE) family in January and February 2000 and mentioned only finding Zachariah PETERS in 1790 with Thomas NEVIL.7 I discovered this conversation only after viewing the 1790 tax lists online. As of 3 November 2022, I have reviewed the Amherst PPT lists from A to Z for 1791 and 1792. Negative results on Zachariah PETERS.

Mr. Webb suggested that as a young, single man, Zachariah may have found work outside of the county of his birth, returning to Amherst County to marry and settle down, at least until he moved to Franklin County, Virginia. This could in fact be a good possibility as I recently received this listing of marriage bonds of Amherst County in which the groom Zachariah was listed as being from Bedford County. I submitted a photo duplication request for the marriage record found in  “Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940” on FamilySeach. Will it have more information? I’ve only used this service a few times and so far all requests were received between 7-9 days. At this rate, I should have it in time for 52 Ancestors: #47 Kesiah LIVELY, wife of Zachariah PETERS. [UPDATE 26 November 2014: There is an error in the transcript of the marriages (see image below). Zachariah PETERS was not from Bedford County. Follow this link for the reveal.]

1794marriage
Courtesy of Sylvia Rogers.

Zacharias PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY were married in Amherst County on 18 November 1794. The bondsman (surety) on the marriage bond was Austin WOODY. The marriage was celebrated by the Rev. Ezekiel CAMPBELL. 8

Two years later, on 21 November 1796, Zacharias and Kesiah were seen selling her portion of her father Joseph LIVELY’s estate, 44 acres in Amherst County, to William LOVING.9

1799taxpeters
1799 Personal Property Tax List A > Amherst County, Virginia

The image for the 1799 Personal Property Tax List shows Zachariah followed by Elisha PETERS. As the lists are in alphabetical order one cannot tell if they lived close to one another or not. However, on the earlier tax lists viewed by Mr. Webb, Elisha and Zachariah were visited the same day in 1795 indicating that they must have lived close to each other.

On 7 February 1800 Zachariah PETERS and Elisha PETERS were witnesses on a land deed for 180 acres from Rich. BREEDLOVE and his wife Mildred to Nelson ANDERSON. The land adjoined Jno. BALL, Wm. KEY, Glade road, Wm. CABELL, Jas. NEVIL, Thos. KEYS. Witnesses were Zach. NEVIL, Elisha PETERS, Zach. PETERS, Carel EADS.10

Once again the NEVIL name comes up as well as KEY and KEYS. Were they only neighbors or is there a closer relationship? Mr. Webb, in his research report, noted several instances where John PETERS, the suspected parent of James, Zachariah, and Elisha, had also been named on documents with NEVIL individuals.

Zachariah’s Possible Parentage and Siblings

A closer analysis of abstracted records that were found previously found evidence suggesting that James, Zachariah, and Elisha PETERS were the sons of John PETERS. John does not appear to have owned land in Amherst County, but the deeds that he witnessed give a fairly clear picture of where and when he lived. John lived in the same area in which James, Zachariah, and Elisha lived. John was also closely associated with many of the same people and families with which Elisha and Zachariah were closely associated. John appears to have lived as an adult in Amherst County from 1761 through 1772. John might have died about 1773, leaving at least three very young children.11

This was one of the summaries made by Mr. Webb in his research reports which totaled 77 pages. In another summary he wrote:

Although no document clearly stating their relationship has been found yet, their ages suggest that they might have been brothers, with James born about 1765, Zachariah born between 1765 and 1770, and Elisha born in 1772. All three owned land in what is today the southern part of Nelson County.12

Without going into this any further I would like to give a brief run-through of the persons who may be the father and brothers of Zachariah PETERS.

◉ Father: John PETERS (1730- ) Birth Abt 1730/1731 in England. In September 1755, John PETER enlisted in Captain David BELL’s Company in Albemarle County. John was twenty-four years old, and five feet, four and a half inches tall. He was a weaver by occupation. John was born in England, was dark with black hair and was pitted with smallpox.13

◉ Sibling 1: James PETERS (1765-1823) was born about 1765. He married Elizabeth STEVENS (1776-1850) on 11 March 1793 in Amherst County, Virginia.14 He died on 1 November 1823 in Nelson County, Virginia.15

◉ Sibling 2: Elisha PETERS (1773-1862) was born about 1773. He married(1) Jane TILLER (d. bef. 1806) on 1 June 1792 in Amherst County, Virginia.16 He married(2) Cynthia TURNER on 17 February 1806 in Amherst County.17 Elisha died before 24 Mar 1862 in Bedford County, Virginia.18

DNA May Put a New Spin on Zachariah’s Ancestry

A descendant of Elisha PETERS and Cynthia TURNER has done autosomal DNA testing and has a match with a descendant of Zachariah PETERS and Kesiah LIVELY. He wrote, “Ancestry.com said there was a 95% confidence level that [the test person] is a 4th to 6th cousin. By the birth dates, Zachariah and Elisha would be either brothers or cousins.” When it comes to DNA I am lacking in knowledge and, although normally optimistic, I wonder if the connection might be for another ancestor. [Update: Since this writing, my brother (May 2016) and I (Sep 2019) have both had our autosomal DNA tested with AncestryDNA. On average, we receive less than 1% DNA from our 5th great-grandparents.]

Sylvia Peters Rogers who shared the page with the Amherst marriage bonds (above) wrote on 14 November 2014, “You might be interested to know that before my father’s nephew’s death, he submitted 2 DNA samples for analysis.  Both proved to be closer in match to men with the surnames of KEY and MUNDY.” We have not discussed this further and Mundy is a name I haven’t run across.

From Amherst County to Franklin County

We know that Zachariah PETERS remained in Amherst County until 1804 when he was last seen in the Personal Property Tax lists of the county. While living in Amherst, Zachariah and his wife Kesiah had at least four children. My 3rd great-grandfather Jordan N. PETERS (1796-1890) born 10 October 1796 was most likely their firstborn.19

By 1810 Zachariah had moved his little family to Franklin County, Virginia, where he was seen in the census with 4 sons, 4 daughters, and his wife Kesiah. His family was no longer little!

1810censuspeters
1810 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Franklin [ancestry.com]
1810 U.S. Federal Census20
Franklin County, Virginia
Zachariah Peters
2 males under 10 yo (Willis & son b. 1801-1810)
2 males 10 & under 15 yo (Jordan & William)
1 male 26 & under 45 (Zachariah)
2 females under 10 yo (Elizabeth & Lucy)
2 females 10 & under 15 (Mary and daughter b. bet. 1796-1800)
1 female 26 & under 45 (Kesiah)

1820censuspeters
1820 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Franklin [ancestry.com]
1820 U.S. Federal Census21
Franklin County, Virginia
Zachariah Peters
2 males under 10 yo (Joseph b. 1810 and 1 son b. 1811-1815)
1 male 45 yo & upwards (Zachariah)
2 females under 10 yo (Susan and Nancy)
2 females 10 & under 16 yo (Elizabeth and Lucy)
2 females 16 & under 26 yo (Mary and daughter b. bet. 1796-1800)
1 female 45 yo & upwards ( Kesiah)
1 person engaged in commerce

1830censuspeters
1830 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Franklin [ancestry.com]
1830 U.S. Federal Census22
Franklin County, Virginia
Zachariah Peters
2 males 15 & under 20 yo (Joseph and son b. 1811-1815)
1 male 60 & under 70 yo (Zachariah range 1761-1770)
1 female under 5 yo (granddaughter?)
2 females 15 & under 20 yo (Susan and Nancy)
1 female 20 & under 30 yo (daughter b. bet. 1796-1800?)
1 female 50 & under 60 yo (Kesiah)

At this time not all of Zachariah and Kesiah’s children are known by name. These are the known and unknown children:

◉ Ch 1: Jordan N. PETERS was born on 10 October 1796. Jordan married(1) Mary “Polly” TROUP (1799-1837) on 6 October 1817 in Franklin County, Virginia. Jordan married(2) Sarah COX ( -1841) on 15 August 1837 in Franklin County, Virginia. Jordan N. PETERS married(3) Rachel PROFFITT (1817-1899) on 8 December 1841 in Franklin County, Virginia. He died on 14 October 1890 in Nettle Ridge, Patrick County, Virginia.23

◉ Ch 2: Mary PETERS born bet. 1796-1800. Mary married Samuel SMITH (1800-1884) on 18 December 1823 in Franklin County, Virginia. Her brother William PETERS was surety.24

◉ Ch 3: _____ PETERS (female) born bet. 1796-1800 (per census)

◉ Ch 4: William PETERS was born about 1798. William married Alice “Alla” TROUP (1795-1841) on 12 December 1818 in Franklin County, Virginia.25 William married(2) Lydia KEMPLIN (1821-1866) on 27 March 1841 in Franklin County, Virginia. Jesse EDWARDS, the husband of Betsy, was surety for the marriage which took place after Zachariah PETERS’ death.26

◉ Ch 5: Elizabeth “Betsy” PETERS born about 1805. Betsy married Jesse EDWARDS (1803-1870) on 17 June 1826 in Franklin County, Virginia. Zachariah PETERS was surety.27 She died between 1880-1890.

◉ Ch 6: Lucy PETERS was born about 1807. Lucy married Joseph JARRELL (1807- ) on 4 October 1827 in Franklin County, Virginia. Zachariah PETERS was surety.28 They may have gone to Tennessee.

◉ Ch 7: _____ PETERS (male) born bet. 1801-1810 (per census)

◉ Ch 8: Willis PETERS born 23 Apr 1808. Willis married Ruth SMITH (1809-1884) on 21 March 1829 in Franklin County, Virginia.29 He died on 30 March 1882 in Franklin County, Virginia. His death record names Zachariah and Keziah PETERS as his parents.30

◉ Ch 9: Joseph PETERS born 10 Dec 1810. Joseph married Martha “Patsy” SMITH (1811-1888) on 1 September 1830 in Franklin County, Virginia.31 He died on 14 February 1892 in Rocky Station, Lee County, Virginia.32

◉ Ch 10: _____ PETERS (male) born bet. 1811-1815 (per census)

◉ Ch 11: Nancy PETERS born bet. 1812. She married Reuben COOPER on 2 December 1836 in Franklin County, Virginia.33

◉ Ch 12: Susan PETERS was born about 1815. Susan married Andrew REEL (1813-1870) on 16 October 1839 in Franklin County, Virginia.34 Her father was most likely already deceased as Wm Hixon went bond. Susan died after 1880.

Research of the Zachariah PETERS’ family is made more difficult by the fact that another group of people of German origin with the surname PETERS were living in Franklin County when Zachariah moved there.

Zachariah PETERS and his wife Kesiah LIVELY died sometime after the 1830 census and before the 1840 census with Zachariah likely being the first to pass away.

This Post was Updated on 13 November 2022: Missing source citations were added, images were scaled, and some corrections were made to the text and format.

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

  1. Andrew S. Webb of Lineages Inc., “Research Reports (#38772 – Ward),” prepared for Paula Kelley Ward (1942-2022), dated 30 July 2001, 17 Sep 2001, 1 Oct 2001, 17 Dec 2001, 21 Jan 2002, 18 Mar 2002, and 29 April 2002; digital copy held by Cathy Meder-Dempsey. ↩
  2. 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, NARA Roll M252_68, FHL Film 0181428, image 43, Virginia, Franklin County, page 492, line 1, Zachariah Peters (accessed 16 November 2014). ↩
  3. 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_136, Virginia, Franklin County, sheet 160 (stamped), line 25, Zachariah Peters (accessed 16 November 2014). ↩
  4. 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_192, FHL Film: 0029671, Virginia, Franklin County, page 86 (double-page spread), line 24, Zachariah Peters (accessed 10 February 2007). ↩
  5. Binns Genealogy 1790 / 1800 Virginia Tax List Censuses  (https://web.archive.org/web/20210812034142/https://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/ : 5 November 2022). Stephen Binns, the site owner, passed away in June 2020. Information on the website is no longer freely available. ↩
  6. “Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851,” (browse-only images), FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/775689), citing microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 2024457, DGS 7846299, Personal property tax lists, 1782-1803, image 195 of 615, 1790 PPT List A, page 22, line 8, Thomas Nevil and Zachariah Peters 2 0 0 0. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-2Q6M?i=194&cat=775689 : accessed 3 November 2022). ↩
  7. Shirley Langdon Wilcox and Jan Faulker, RootsWeb Mailing List Archives, Neville Surname Mailing List, “[NEVILLE-L] Amherst Co VA Tax” dated 26 January 2000 (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=neville&thread=12502791 : accessed 4 November 2021) and “Re: [NEVILLE-L] Amherst Co VA Tax” dated 1 February 2000 (https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=neville&thread=12503135 : accessed 4 November 2021). ↩
  8. “Register of marriages, Amherst County, Virginia, 1763-1853” (browse-only images), <i>FamilySearch</i>, citing microfilm of original records at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia, Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 382 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 97, entry 9, 1794 November 18, Zacherias Peters and Keziah Lively, each of Amherst Parish, security and witness Austin Woody. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9XF-NC7R?i=381&cat=680855 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  9. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Amherst County Courthouse in Amherst, Virginia, Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 87 of 669, Deed Book H, page 126, Wm. Griffin & wife Ruth and Zach. Peters & wife Keziah to Wm. Loving two tracts of land containing 44 acres each. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-13D6-X?i=86&cat=282807 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  10. “Deed books, 1761-1900; general indexes to deed books, 1761-1903,” Film 30288, DGS 8189992, Deed books, v. H-I 1796-1802 (no v. J), image 414 of 669, Deed Book I, page 129, 7 Feb 1800, Rich. and Mildred Breedlove to Nelson Anderson, 180 acres. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLD-136G-S?i=413&cat=282807 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  11. Andrew S. Webb, Research Report (#38772 – Ward) dated 21 January 2002. ↩
  12. Ibid., dated 17 September 2001. ↩
  13. Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck, Virginia’s Colonial Soldiers (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1988), 64. Reference document 8. ↩
  14. “Register of marriages, Amherst County, Virginia, 1763-1853,” Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 367 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 83, 5th entry, James Peters and Elizabeth Stevens 11 March 1793, Barnett Stevens, Owen Haskins, and Henry Holloway, sureties. Consent of Barnett Stevens. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XF-NCTT?i=366&cc=4149585&cat=680855 : accessed 3 November 2022). ↩
  15. “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database and images, Ancestry (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., M804_1917, P > Peck, Joseph – Phelps, Elijah > Peters, Absalom – Peters, William > images 512-574 of 1138, James Peters W5503 and wife Elizabeth – 63 pages in the packet (accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  16. “Register of marriages, Amherst County, Virginia, 1763-1853,” Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 358 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 74, 6th entry, Elisha Peters and Jane TIller, 1 Jun 1792, consent of William Tiller, securities: Charles Watts, Owen Haskins, Thomas Nevils, and Robt. Holloway. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-NZDB?i=357&cc=4149585&cat=680855 : accessed 3 November 2022). ↩
  17. Ibid., Film 30273, DGS 7578824, image 479 of 786, Amherst County Register of Marriages, page 192, last entry, Elisha Peters and Cynthia Turne, 17 Feb 180, securities: Terish (Tersha) Turner and S. Garland. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-NCBD?i=478&cc=4149585 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  18. “Deed and will books, v. A-B, 1810-1888,” browse-only images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/332462), citing microfilm of original records at the Bedford County Courthouse in Bedford, Virginia, Film 30547, DGS 7644000, image 202 of 391, Will Book B, page 10-13, 16 Jul 1845 Last Will and Testament of Elisha Peters, 1 Mar 1854 codicil, and appeal of will ordered to be recorded on 24 Mar 1862. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9PH-SDZ6?i=201&cat=332462 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  19. “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), RG15-1812PB-Bx2693, National Archives Catalog ID: 564415, service of Jordan N. Peters (Pvt Capt Robert Hairston Va Militia, War of 1812), widow Rachel Proffitt, images 42 and 43 of 218. Affidavit of T. G. Tatum, dated 18 April 1891, with information Jordan N. Peters requested him to write down before his death as his house was burnt up and all papers lost. This includes his date of birth, two previous marriages, the deaths of his previous wives, his pension certificate number, and his date and place of death. (https://www.fold3.com/image/642937438 and https://www.fold3.com/image/642937439 : accessed 27 March 2022). ↩
  20. See Note #2, supra. ↩
  21. See Note #3, supra. ↩
  22. See Note #4, supra. ↩
  23. See Note #18, supra. ↩
  24. “Marriage bond register, 1786-1853; loose marriage bonds and licenses, 1785-1900,” database with images, FamilySearch, citing microfilm of original records at the Franklin County Courthouse in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia., Film 1977993, DGS 7490232, Marriage bonds 1823-1827, images 42+43 of 855, 1823 marriage bond of Samuel Smith and Mary Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-D91X?i=42&cat=765574 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  25. Ibid., Film 1977991, DGS 7490230, Marriage bonds 1813-1818, image 818 to 821 of 880, marriage bond for William Peters and Alla Troup and permission for bride to marry from parents Henry Troup and his wife Dorothy. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99ZG-84X2?i=817&cat=765574 : accessed 7 June 2022). ↩
  26. Ibid., Film 1977991, DGS 7490230, Marriage bonds 1813-1818, image 758 to 761 of 880, 1841 marriage bond William Peters and Jesse Edwards for the 27 March 1841 marriage of William to Lydia Kemplin and bride’s permission for William Peters to obtain the license. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-HJZD?i=758&cat=765574 : accessed 1 October 2022). ↩
  27. Ibid., Film 1977996, DGS 7490235, Marriage bonds 1835-1838, images 548-549 of 784, 1826 Jesse Edwards and Zachariah Peters bond for marriage of Jesse Edwards and Betsy Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-D37H?i=548&cat=765574 : accessed 12 June 2022). ↩
  28. Ibid., Film 31523 (Item 1), DGS 7578970, Marriage bonds register 1786-1853 (Gives husband’s name, wife’s name, date of bond, name of surety, name of minister), image 82 of 608, No. 2167, Jarrell Joseph and Peters Lucy 4 Oct 1827 Peters Zachariah security. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XF-VXYJ?i=81 : accessed 12 June 2022). ↩
  29. Ibid., Film 1977994, DGS 7490233, Marriage bonds 1828-1831, images 407-410 of 873, 1829 Willis Peters and John Powers bond for marriage of Willis Peters and Ruth Smith and Gideon Smyth’s permission for his daughter to marry Willis Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-YW7?i=406&cat=765574 : accessed 12 June 2022). ↩
  30. “Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911,” index and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/250856:62152), citing original data: Virginia, Death Registers, 1853–1911 from the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia., Franklin County Register of Death 1882, no page number, line 41, Willis Peters, 30 Mar 1882, spinal affection, age 74, parents Zachariah and Keziah Peters, wife’s name long forgotten, informant Geo W Jones, friend. (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/265395:62152 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  31. “Marriage bond register, 1786-1853; loose marriage bonds and licenses, 1785-1900,” Film 1977994, DGS 7490233, Marriage bonds 1828-1831, images 630-633 of 873, 1830 Joseph Peters and Samuel Grimmett bond for the marriage of Joseph Peters and Patsy Smith and the Gideon Smith’s permission for his daughter Patsy to marry Joseph Peters. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZG-T6FC?i=629&cat=765574 : accessed 13 June 2022). ↩
  32. “Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911,” Lee County Register of Death 1892, no page number, line 13, Joseph Peters, 10 Feb 1892, old age, age 82, parents Zacariah and Kizziah Peters, wifeMartha Peters, informant J C Lawson, son-in-law. (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/363890:62152 : accessed 4 November 2022). ↩
  33. “Marriage bond register, 1786-1853; loose marriage bonds and licenses, 1785-1900,” Film 1977996, DGS 7490235, Marriage bonds 1835-1838, images 269-272 of 784, 2 Dec 1836 Reuben Cooper and Zebedee Whitlock went bond on the marriage of Reuben Cooper and Nancy Peters. 1 Dec 1836 marriage permission Nancy Peters to marry Reuben Peters from her mother Kizeah Peters (her mark). (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99ZG-H75R?i=269&cat=765574 : accessed 6 June 2022). ↩
  34. Ibid., Film 1977997, DGS 7490236, Marriage bonds 1838-1841, images 210-213 of 838, 1839 Andrew Reel and William Hixson bond for the marriage of Andrew Reel and Susan Peters and Kisiah Peters’ permission for her daughter Susan to marry. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZG-HFP6?i=209&cat=765574 : accessed 13 June 2022). ↩