Another sibling of Rev. Thomas Hansford

To continue...
Let's look at other children born in the family of William and Sarah Mary Polly Hyde Hansford siblings of Rev. Thomas Hansford, my 4 greats-grandfather.

An interesting brother was Major John Hansford 1765-1850.

Major John Hansford House

(Copied from Early West Virginia settlers 1600-1900's, page 41-45)

Major John Hansford
Genealogy.com Family Archive Image

John and Jane lived near the home of William Morris until they built in 1798 on the opposite side of the river.His house that he first lived in was near where J.G.W. Thompkins built his brick house, which is not far from the mouth of Kelly's Creek.

John Hansford built his  house in 1798, below Paint Creek on land given
to him by his father-in-law William Morris. John had patent for 530 acres on
Kanawha River which he obtained in 1793, also for 400 acres on Paint Creek
in 1800, and for 410 acres on Kanawha River in 1818, and for 197 acres on
Paint Creek in 1822. His house was the best when built that was in the valley.
It was a frame two story, the lumber was made by hand and the nails were hand
made. The bricks were brought from England. The inside finish was of cherry and
walnut.

Mrs Martha Jane Hansford Smith says that he was a handsome clean shaven
man, and dressed in blue broadcloth and silk hat and entertained most hospitably.
That at the age of eighty years he could mount and dismount from his pony and
would come into the house as gay as a boy.

He represented Kanawha County in the House of Delegates of Virginia at Richmond
in 1811 thru 1818. He was a Magistrate of his county, and was a Capt. in the Militia
of his state. The original commission was signed by George W. Smith, Lt. Gov.
of Virginia, dated July 3,1809. It appointed him Capt. of the 80th. reg. in the 13th.
brigade in the 3rd. division of the Virginia militia. He was a Whig and a baptist, a
farmer and a salt maker and a man of affairs. He owned two salt furnaces,one of
which he ran himself and the other he rented out.

He died Oct.6,1850 and is buried on his property on a hill where other members of
his family are buried.

1850 census Kanawha Co.Virginia family #1040

Hansford,John age 83 born VA.
Jane age 79 born VA.
Alva age 47 born VA.
Marshall age 43 born VA.
Milton age 39 born VA.

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I didn't find who Martha Jane Hansford Smith might have been, who had seen him when this description was written.  It does say he was a Capt. of the militia of Virginia as of 1809.

As mentioned above, he received some of his property from his father-in-law.  He (John Hansford) wrote his own will, where he named his 10 sons and 1 daughter (but left off her last name) and 3 grandsons (just by their first names.) Actually with a bit of search on Ancestry records I found his daughter Sary's husband's name as Morris (like her mother's family) but there are 2 possible men, and many children but only 2 of whom are among those grandchildren mentioned by John Hansford in his will. I'm not going to spend any time trying to figure out who Sarah (Sary) married, and she had died before her father, John actually.

John Hansford's wife, Jane Morris Hansford was mentioned in her mother's will, Catharine Morris.

I also can't find any records of his being a Major, or having served in the Revolutionary War. But in his will he gives each of his 10 sons (or had already given them) one thousand dollars.  That's pretty well off, I'd say.  There is an inventory of his estate, as well as a list of the enslaved people he owned, those on whose backs he made his fortune, you might say.  Most of the plantation owners in Virginia did the same, unfortunately.  But I'll give them credit whenever I see their names listed in a census or a will.

And another interesting note is that his home was in what became West Virginia...Kanawha...though it had been part of Virginia at the time.


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So to continue to see if there's anything interesting to learn about other siblings of Rev. Thomas Hansford...next time, folks!