Hiram Gibbs (1785-1844)

My great times three grandfather...whose birth anniversary was actually August 30.

Here's a partial repost of:

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Graves of James Gibbs (1740-1794) and Anne Barnett Johnson Gibbs (1740-1831)

Gibbs Cemetery

Union County, SC,
It's about 2 hours drive from where I live to Union, SC the town.

The private cemetery has my grandfather's grandmother's grandparents buried there: George Rogers' grandmother was Lucinda Benson Gibbs Rogers, whose grandfather was James Gibbs and grandmother was Anne Barnett Gibbs, whose tombs are seen in the photo above.

Both the city of Union and Union County received their names from the old Union Church that stood a short distance from the Monarch Mill. When it was first founded, the city of Union was known as Unionville; later the name was shortened to Union. The county's first white settlers came from Virginia in 1749. Union County's population grew the fastest between 1762 and the start of the Revolutionary War. Settlers built log cabins and cultivated tobacco, flax, corn and wheat. Union was one of the first towns settled in the area and was untouched during the Civil War because the Broad River flooded and turned Sherman’s troops away from the town.  (Wikipedia)

The will of James Gibbs (see below) leaves his plantation to Hiram, his son...but Hiram left for Mississippi with Lucinda and the Rogers around 1850.  Lucinda and the Rogers kept going (after a while) to Louisiana then Texas. So Hiram is buried in Mississippi, but his wife, Sabra Wilbourn Gibbs  made it all the way to Huntsville, TX.

-------------------------------------
Will of Col. James Gibbs

His estate papers were found in Box 1, package 55. Zacharias Gibbs was the executor. His will was signed 8 Aug 1793. Recorded in Will Book A, p.19-20. An estate sale was held Nov 1794 and another in Oct 1795. Sale papers filed 4 Jan 1796.

The will stated his land was to be divided among the 3 youngest boys- Hiram to have the plantation. Daughter Agatha to have 1 shilling sterling. Mr. Jesse Connell and son Zacharias to manage the estate with his wife. Wife to receive 1/3 of estate, after debts paid. He desired to be buried in his own garden. The Negroes were not to be sold but rather kept on the place until the 3 youngest children were raised. Children all to have an equal part of the property, but Agatha. Oldest son Zacharias to have the cool spring land in Spartinburgh. Son John should have his negro Joe after the death of James' wife and Hiram comes of age. Daughter Susanah to have young negro June. Zacharias was to make title to all the land James had sold in Georgia.
-------------------------------------------
Gibbs Cemetery
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 34.68970, Longitude: -81.72690
 go to :
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=crMap&CRid=70116

  there are 12 internments in this private cemetery.

Gibbs, Anne "Ann" Barnett b. Nov. 30, 1740 d. May 23, 1831	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Gibbs, James 98812066 b. 1740 d. Aug. 7, 1794	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Gibbs, James 100852451 b. Feb. 11, 1812 d. Sep. 19, 1842	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Gibbs, Rev John 100849211 b. May 16, 1810 d. Aug. 23, 1880	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Gibbs, S 112593185 b. unknown d. 1816	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Gibbs, Zachariah100842912 b. May 24, 1772 d. Dec. 6, 1814	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Gregory, Infant 112593260 b. Sep. 14, 1853 d. Sep. 14, 1853	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Robinson, Berry F 112593308 b. Jan. 15, 1836 d. Jan. 18, 1836	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Robinson, M Priscilla Gibbs100848210 b. 1806 d. Aug. 9, 1836	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Robinson, Sarah A100854727 b. 1826 d. Sep. 19, 1830	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Sparks, James Franklin100855076 b. Jul., 1842 d. Apr. 4, 1858	Gibbs Cemetery Union County South Carolina, USA
Sparks, Mary Mayberry Gibbs 100852922 b. Jun. 25, 1814 d. Mar. 1, 1884

 ===================
father of Sabra Ann Wilbourn Gibbs, (w. of Hiram Gibbs, she died in Huntsville TX.)

Elijah Wilbourne (Wilburn) b. 1763, Sandy Creek, Randolph County, NC
d. 1819 Union Union County, SC

fantastic early photos of mills and Baptist ch in Sandy Creek, NC...maybe something to do with the Wilbournes.
http://randolphhistory.wordpress.com/tag/sandy-creek/

An edited repost of 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014:

The Gibbs connection

 Hiram Gibbs (1785 - 1844) married
 Sabra Ann Wilbourn Gibbs (1792 - 1864)

Birth:	1792 Union County South Carolina, USA
Death:	Jun. 26, 1864 Walker County Texas, USA
Sabra married Hiram Gibbs in Union County South Carolina in 1809. Her Father was Elijah Wilbourn

They were the parents of:
Jasper Gibbs (1810 - 1877)**
Thomas Gibbs (1812 - 1872)*
  Mary Ann Gibbs Canfield (1814 - 1864)*
  Lucinda (Luci) Benson Gibbs Rogers (1818 - 1884)
  Sandford Gibbs (1819 - 1886)**
  Angeline Gibbs (1822 - 1846)*
  Hiram Gibbs (1829 - 1869)*
Father of Hiram Gibbs: James Gibbs

Birth:	1740 Orange County Virginia, USA
Death:	Aug. 7, 1794 Union County South Carolina, USA
James married Anne "Ann' Johnson Barnett, on July 8, 1771, in Orange Co VA. She married a William Johnson in 1770, who must have died that first years of their marriage. They are buried in their old family garden, at the Gibbs Cemetery. Today, this place is known as the "C. T. S. Wilburn home place", Mrs Wilburn was the Gr-Gr Grand daughter of James Gibbs. James & Ann had 9 known children: Zachariah, John, Ambrose, James, Hiram, Agatha, Susan, Mary and Anna. Some are buried at the Gibbs Cemetery. He was the son of John Gibbs Esq. of Middlesex Co VA, and Susanne Phillipe. It has been said, that his father died in 1770 in Charleston SC, his mother died in Spartanburg Co SC about 1786. James moved from VA to NC and SC, they arrived in Union Co SC, then Old 96th district, before the Revolutionary War, building their first home near the Lower Fairforest Baptist Church. His father had recieved a land grant of 500 acres on Fairforest Creek in 1768. James received a grant of 640 acres on the Fairforest in 1772. James left a will SPT Book 1, p.34, book 2, p.43 and book C, p.251. He left his son Zachariah as administrator, and names his liviing children in the Will. James was a Revolutionary War Veteran, having served a total of 481 days in; 1778, 1779, 1780, he is also listed as serving 10 days in 1782. This was in the SC Archives No. 79, 1006/8, Bk 26, DAR Patriot Index, Vol II p.82. I have not determined a Unit Name he served with, however, most of the Union Co Patriots were in Col Thomas Branhon's unit. I've documented the lives of Hiram Gibbs children in other posts.
I'm including some links to various Union County historic sites. I've enjoyed looking at them, so you might also. The Battle of Blackstock's Historic Site, Cedar Bluff, Central Graded School, Corinth Baptist Church, Culp House, Judge Thomas Dawkins House, East Main Street-Douglass Heights Historic District, Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Fair Forest Hotel, Herndon Terrace, Gov. Thomas B. Jeter House, Meng House, Merridun, Pinckneyville, Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site, South Street-South Church Street Historic District, Union Community Hospital, Union County Jail, Union Downtown Historic District, Union High School-Main Street Grammar School, and Nathaniel Gist House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Josiah Curtiss (1662-1745)

My 8 times great grandfather...probably born Aug. 20, (or 30) 1662 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut. His death was probably in 1745.

I have blogged about his daughter, Anna Curtiss Booth HERE.

His father, and even his grandfather, were born in England, and immigrated to the American colonies...namely Connecticut.

Josiah was the ninth and last child of Capt. William Dawson Curtiss (imigrant) and Mary Lewen Curtiss, who herself had been born in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut. 

Josiah married when he was 29 to Abigail Judson Curtiss, also in Stratford, CT.  Their last  child was Anna Curtiss who married  Zachariah Booth Sr when she grew up.  Abigail Judson Curtiss (her mother) died within a few months of Anna's birth in 1697. Unless you look at an alternate date of Anna's birth as being in 1677, based on Connecticut deaths index which states she died at 56 in  1733.  However, since her mother wasn't born until 1669, it's hardly likely that she'd have had Anna in 1677 when she was just 8...sorry whoever wrote that guess at a woman's age at her death. Not likely.

Let's go back to Josiah Curtiss.  As given below in the slightly fuzzy photo copy,  "...May 1714 the General Court appointed him captain of the "Train Band" of Stratford.  In 1716 he was a deputy to the General Court.  Dec. 29, 1725, liberty was granted to him and John Wilcoxson Jr, to erect a sawmill on the halfway river. He d. 1745. She d. 1759 (Mary). (Josiah's) Will probated Nov 20, 1745 at Fairfield Conn."

He lost his first wife Abigail in 1697, and married Mary Beach Curtiss in 1698 when he was 36 and she was 29.  They had 8 more children. All 13 of his children are listed below.

From North America, Family Histories 1500-2000

 

When his father Captain William Curtiss died in 1702, his will included leaving Josiah various pieces of property. His own mother, Mary Lewen Curtiss, had died when he was 2.

In 1736, Josiah purchased the home seen below, which was adjacent to the ferry.  It's owner was assumed to run the ferry across the river.  Josiah turned 70 that year, so I imagine one of his sons did the ferrying!

He lived until he was 83 years old, dying in1745, and his grave place is unknown, but these dates are given in North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 published by Ancestry.

My seven times great grandmother Anna Curtiss Booth was part of my family tree leading down to Eugenia Booth Miller, my great grandmother after whom I was named.

Remembering my grandfather, George Rogers Sr.

A repost from:

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Poppy's birthday

Born August 28, 1877.  Died Feb. 1960. Age 82-1/2

George Elmore Rogers, Sr. was my beloved grandfather. He is survived by 8 grandchildren who are living as I write this, and most of them have children and even grandchildren of their own.  I celebrated his life a bit last year, (HERE) but wish to add more this year.

I'm in an Easter bonnet here, with Poppy, (George Rogers Sr) then Gummy (Ada Rogers, then Uncle Chauncey.  Site is our home in Houstone, TX.  About 1946-7.

George Rogers Information

Listed in 1880 Willis, Montgomery County Census as age 2. George's father, William Sandford Rogers, died at the age of 29, leaving the family with some money, but at about the age of ten, they moved from Willis to Galveston and he had to leave school to go to work as an office boy to help support the family. Some land in Tennessee that Micajah Clack Rogers had owned and had been passed down to William Sandford Rogers, was sold at the time for his widow to live on. Ironically, the people who purchased it, later found coal deposits on this land, making them quite wealthy. Anyway, George learned bookkeeping and became one at the Gulf Fisheries Company in Galveston. After the Galveston Storm in 1900, which he survived, he was pressed into service to stop the looting and pick up the dead. This was about five years before he met Ada. He was a small man, a good dancer, loved to hunt, fish, and sail, but was not considered "suitable" by Ada Phillip's Swasey's family to marry her, but they did anyway.,.

George and Ada were married at the home of the bride's parents in Galveston, Texas, by Dr. Black, Episcopal minister of Grace Episcopal church. They resided in Galveston until 1918, at which time they moved to Meadowbrook Drive in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was employed by the Fort Worth Packing Company as office manager. This began a friendship with the company Manager, Norman Dumbel (sp) that lasted twenty-five years. The family home burned in about 1927, during a re-roofing project. Unfortunately, the insurance had lapsed and the house was a total loss. Among the cherished items lost was a silver-handled walking stick given to Micajah Clack Rogers by Sam Houston and had been handed down in the family. George did rebuild, but the new house as of stone with a slate roof! When the Swift & Co. bought out the Ft. Worth Packing Co. in 1933, Mr. Dumbel started a new Packing Company in San Antonio, and asked George to be his office manager, and so they moved to San Antonio, Texas and lived there until 1942, when they moved to Houston, Texas. 

He never joined his wife's Christian Science Church, but he was a Thirty-Second Degree Mason. Source: cousin Patricia Rogers published 2001 on Ancestry DOT com.

 George Rogers Sr, 70th birthday in 1947, Houston, Texas.  Site, Brockton St. home of the Rogers. Some references to this photo say it's his 72 birthday, but that would have occurred in 1949, and I think this big crowd probably came out for a 70th.

This was an ablum of records that I believe was the Ferde Grofé, Grand Canyon Suite.  As you can see, when you have a lot of relatives and friends for a party in Houston in 1947 in August, you gather outdoors, in the shade.  (Everyone must have been standing behind the camera at this shot)

But Houston wasn't always hot, as seen here the same house in 1949 while Poppy sweeps his steps of snow.

Cousins, Sandra, Barbara, Mary Beth, and Claudette, in 1949 snow in Houston at Gummy and Poppy's home

George and Ada Rogers in San Antonio in the 1930s.

Christmas Dinner, back row: George, Alex, Chauncey, James, and Poppy, front row; Mataley with eyes closed, Donah V, and Gummy (Ada Rogers) Site probably the Rogers home in San Antonio, probably 1930s.

I like that I, and my sister, and probably my mother, also grew the philodendron plant with the leaves swagged all over the place like Gummy did.

Ralph Farnum II (1601-1642)

According to New England, The Great Migration, 1620-1635, there's this information about Ralph Farnum (Varneham) coming to America...at bottom of page.

This information states he was probably born in 1603 and died by 1648 when his widow remarried.  

His wife, Alice Harris Farnum Martin, had been born in England around 1607 and died in America in 1652. She and Ralph II had 5 children, the last 2 born in America. She remarried in 1648, and had no more children.

The North America, Family Hitories, 1500-2000 states he was born Aug. 25, 1601.  He is known as the town bell ringer, custodian of the meeting house (a combination of religious and civil gathering and distribution of law). He was also known as a barber/surgeon. Because he had a son named Ralph (the third of that name on my tree) there are some family trees that have him living until 1691.  But his wife remarrying is good enough for me, for a Puritan wife would have only married again if she were a widow. 

On my family tree he is my 9 times great grandfather!  

And I have his daughter Mary as my 8 times great grandmother.

Mary Mehitable Farnum Poor  1628–1713

Birth 13 JULY 1628 • St Nicholas, Rochester, Kent, Eng

Death 3 FEB 1713-1714 • Andover, Essex, Mass

Mary was born in England, the eldest of the Farnum children who came with their parents on the ship "James" to Boston in 1635.  Her parents were Ralph and Alice Farnum. 

Happy birthday Cyntha Cannon Rogers (1800-1855)

My great times three grandmother had a birthday 219 years ago today. I've included information about her siblings' lives as well (from previous posts.)

She was a woman who moved from east Tennessee to Texas during the forming of those states.  Her parents were both born in Virginia. Her mother, Catharine Henderson Cannon, may have been born in North Carolina in 1777,  but by the time she was 8 in 1786, her little brother was born in Tennessee.  Her father William Henry Cannon had been born in Cumberland County, VA in 1771, but his sister born in 1784 was either born in North Carolina or Tennessee.

Catharine Henderson married William Cannon in Sevier County Tennessee on Aug. 22, 1799. 

Cyntha was their first child of eight. 

I started celebrating Cyntha's birthday about six years ago on blogs...here's a snippet of one of those:

(Sunday, August 24, 2014)

Cyntha Cannon Rogers, born 24 Aug 1800, was wife of Micajah Clack Rogers, and died 24 Nov 1855 in Huntsville, Walker, Texas.

Her Mother: Catherine Henderson, born in 1778 in North Carolina, died: 15 Nov 1827 in Athens, McMinn, Tennessee
And Cyntha's grandparents were: 
Mary Catherine Beavers born abt 1750 and died after 1786
and
William Henderson.  He was born probably in 1741 in Virginia.  He died in Sevier County, TN, date unknown.
 
Father: William Henry Cannon; born 28 Nov 1771 in Cumberland, Virginia, died: 11 Jun 1868 in Sevier, Tennessee.                                                                       William Henry Cannon's parents were: John Cannon, born 18 Mar 1744 in Caswell, North Carolina; died Oct 1806 in Grass Valley, Knox, Tennessee
 and Nancy Ann Whitlow, born 18 Nov 1747 in Caswell, North Carolina, and died 01 Jul 1830 in Knox County, Tennessee.  More about her was posted HERE.
 
And an even earlier post in 2013 said:

When she was 18 she married the son of Rev. Elijah Rogers, Micajah Clack Rogers (1795-1873) who was  the eldest of 11 children born to the Reverend (from Farquier County, VA) and his wife, Catherine Clack Rogers, who was born in Henry County, VA.

Smoky Mountains

These were pioneering people.  These parents arrived in Sevier County, on the western side of the Appalachian ridges that would be called the Smoky Mountains in years to come.   And Cyntha and Micajah Rogers were among the first generation to be born there.

 Sevier County as it is known today was formed on September 18, 1794 from part of neighboring Jefferson County, and has retained its original boundaries ever since. The county takes its name from John Sevier, governor of the failed State of Franklin and first governor of Tennessee, who played a prominent role during the early years of settlement in the region.  Since its establishment in 1795, the county seat has been situated at Sevierville (also named for Sevier), the eighth-oldest city in Tennessee. (Wikipedia)

Micajah had lots of interests in business, resulting in part ownership of several, and his owning lots and buildings in Sevierville, and even part of a foundry, the Sweeden Furnace.

A Historic Marker now stands to remind us of the Sweeden Furnace, from Sevierville, TN located...

 5 miles northwest, (of Sevierville downtown) this was first called Short Mountain Furnace using local ore bank ore. Started about 1820 by Robert Shields, William K. Love and brothers operated it about 1830. Micajah C. Rogers bought it and changed its name in 1836. It closed in 1840, following the panic of 1837 and deterioration in quality of ore.

Another marker stands on Hwy 441 in nearby Pigeon Forge, TN which after all, was also the site of iron mining. Do you know what Pig-eon Iron is?  And most of you have heard of a forge...right?

About 3/4 mile southeast, Issac Love operated a forge on the site of the flour mill on Pigeon River in 1820, making bar iron. Ore came from an orebank about 3 miles east, later, pig iron came from Sweden Furnace, 5 miles east. Forge hammer and fittings are nearby. 

Micajah and Cyntha did not fare well as the economy had a down turn by 1840 while he was living still in Sevier County.  Cyntha's last child was born in March of 1841, and died in Oct. of that year in  Sevierville.  I'm pretty sure the Micajah Rogers family and the Hiram Gibbs family from South Carolina merged and moved west and south, and some of them stayed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.  

The Rogers Family Bible was a wedding present for Cyntha's eldest son, George Washington Rogers, as he married one of the 8 Gibbs children, and his sister married another.

By 1846 Cyntha and Micajah were living in Walker County, Texas.

My cousin Patricia Rogers Seliger, joined a Pioneer Society for Walker County Texas, based upon Micajah Clack Rogers arriving there before Oct. 5, 1850.

Cyntha had 11 children, and perhaps because of the economy, some of them didn't live very long.  Catherine Louisa died at 5. Amelia Amanda was 1. And Cyntha's last 3 children died within a few months of their births, all in Sevierville, TN.  The other 6 did live to become adults.

She only lived to be 55 years old, dying in 1855 in her new home town of Huntsville, Walker County, Texas. And that town was pretty new still at that time, since the Republic of Texas (1836-1845) and the statehood of Texas (1845) had occurred.
 
The Rogers were founding members of the Baptist Church in Huntsville.

Out of focus photo of marker for First Baptist Church of Huntsville, TX.

Cyntha's maiden name was Cannon, on all records except her tombstone, which says Cyntha O. Rogers.  Maybe whoever was in charge of it didn't know her real middle name.

Her son, George Washington Rogers, was my grandfather's grandfather, thus my name Rogers.

A later post (2018) talks about Cyntha's siblings:

The Cannon siblings

Cyntha O. Cannon (1800-1855) married Micajah Clack Rogers (1795-1873.)  She was the eldest of 8 children who all lived to be adults.

Let's discover what her siblings' lives were like.  Here and here were some blogs I've written about her before, focusing mainly on her husband.

I mentioned how grateful I was that some ancestors kept good records in the Rogers Family Bible.  Here's a little information about it from my own research.

The Rogers Family Bible was published in 1848, and begins with going back to Sevier County TN records of Rogers and Clack families. Micajah Rogers is listed as Col. and the Bible covers his 11 children, but not his siblings.  It kept good track of the Rogers and Gibbs births, marriages and deaths from 1848 onwards and was eventually kept in the Gibbs family.

On Sept 14 1848, his son George Washington Rogers married Lucinda Gibbs, in Bienville, LA.  All the George W. and Lucinda Rogers children were born in Bienville, LA.  (But Lucinda at some time came to Huntsville  TX where she died in 1884)

Cyntha at age 19, married Micajah at age 23.  In the Rogers Family Bible, "Cyntha Cannon, Daughter of William and Catharine Cannon, were married at the residence of William Cannon, in Sevier County, Tennessee, February 4th, 1819."

Cyntha's mother gave birth to her youngest sister in 1820, the same year she had her first son, my ancestor, George Washington Rogers.

1) But let's go in chronological order.  The next younger sibling born after Cyntha was John Overton Cannon (1803-1848) He was buried in Madisonville, Monroe County, TN.

The City of Madisonville originally began as the town of Tellico, and prior to that a Cherokee village of the same name. The Calhoun Treaty and resulting Hiwassee Purchase of 1819 opened the area for white settlement. Madisonville was founded in the early 1820s as a county seat for Monroe County, which had been formed in 1819. The town was initially known as "Tellico," but its name was changed to "Madisonville" in 1830 in honor of U.S. President James Madison in accordance with a petition from the residents presented by state representative James Madison Greenway.^[10] Madisonville was incorporated on May 16, 1850. Wikipedia.

He married Caroline Nelson in Knoxville TN in 1827...Knoxville is about 20 miles from where he was born in Sevierville.  They had two children Guilford (1834-39) and John Jr. (1837-75) and then Caroline died in 1839 and was buried in Madisonville TN.

In 1842 he remarried to Mahala Torbett in Monroe County TN. and they had a son, Willie, in 1845. John died in 1846 leaving Mahala a widow with a 4 year old son and probably a 9 year old step-son John Jr. (1837-1875) (since Guilford had died in 1839.)

This is how I get diverted...I had to go look at John Jr.'s record to see if he indeed stayed with Mahala after his father's death. His 1850 census record shows he has gone to Constable William Cannon's household in Overton County TN.

She was from another south-eastern Tennessee county, Blount County, and died in 1882 in Bradly County.  Their son died before she wrote her will, because she instructs that a monument be erected between their graves on May 28, 1882. She also leaves a sum of money from a trust to her church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  And she leaves her brother some furniture, and designates a nephew, Willie Roberts to keep the articles she has already given him. She designates a trust account that will have interest paid annually to her church and the pastor from the sale of her land and property, which she also wants her brother James to be able to cultivate.  I got a bit confused about the orders of rental and sales of the same land.

2) The next brother of Cyntha was Dr. Guilford Cannon (1806-1873) who became a doctor.  He was the Madisonvile TN postmaster from 1842-45. He married in 1838 Mary Ann Bicknell, who supposedly had been born in 1826...making her just 12 years old the way I count! Unfortunately, she died the next year, no matter how old he had been.  He then married Jane McGhee Cannon in 1843 and they had 4 children, 3 of whom lived to adulthood. His will is succinct and leaves his property to his wife, and moneys to his sons and daughter. He also was buried in Madisonville, Monroe County, TN.

3) Next child of William and Catharine Cannon was Nancy Cannon (1808-1844), who married Col. Matthew Bogle. They had one son who died at 2 years. Nancy was buried in Blount County, TN.  Her husband was about 17 years older than she was, and died in 1847.  He apparently remarried to a Mary in 1845 after Nancy's death.

4) Cyntha's next sibling was Rebecca Henderson Cannon Sharp (1812-1901)** who married James Madison Sharp Sr.  He actually outlived her by a few years! In 1900 they were living with their son John, and his family in Sevier County, TN.

John Sharp	52 head
Mary K Sharp	33
William P Sharp	21
Mary R Sharp	19
Bettie L Sharp	17
Johnie Sharp	12
Ruben T Sharp	5
James M Sharp	83
Rebecca H Sharp	88 sister of Cyntha Cannon Rogers

Rebecca and James Sharp had 4-5 children.
** Her obituary is at the end of this post.

5) Next comes Mariah Louisa Bonaparte Cannon Earnest (1814-1851).  She and Joseph Hammer Earnest (1807-1878) had 4 children. She died in Chucky, Greene County, TN and is buried in the Methodist Episcopal church burying ground. Her husband Joseph Earnest remarried twice after Mariah's death in 1851...to Ann Rebecca Barnett and then Lavinia Smith. (See below for his brother married to her sister!)

6) Next is younger brother William Henderson Cannon, (1817-1901).***  He married twice and had 2 children, Bettie and J. G. as listed in his obituary. His daughter was born while William was married to Julia Huffaker Cannon, though several other women are given on various Ancestry trees.  He died in Sevier County, TN.

It appears that William Henderson Cannon was first a U.S. Postmaster in Sevier County, Tennessee, and later for the Confederate States of America.  Because his position was a political appointment, he was not covered under the parole of Confederate soldiers and had to apply individually for a pardon, which was granted by President Andrew Johnson.   information is from http://genealogytrails.com/tenn/sevier/post.htm.

***His obituary is posted at the bottom of this page...***

7)  Cyntha's youngest sister was Martha Caroline Cannon Ernest, (1820-1847).  Her husband (also called her consort) was Nicholas Washington Earnest (1815-1866). They had 4 children, 
William (1841-1845), John Guilford (1842-1932), Maria R. (1844-), Rebecca Catherine (1846-1925).
The Ernests were buried in the Ebeneezer Methodist Burying ground in Chucky, Green County, TN.

And how were Mariah's and Martha's husbands named Earnest related?  Well, I checked with Joseph Earnest, and there it is! He had a brother Nicholas Washington Earnest born in 1815.  There were an even dozen siblings in that family.

** Obituary of Rebecca Cannon Sharp (that is "Mrs. James Sharp Dead" as title)

*** Obituary of William Henderson Cannon 

 

Great (times 3) Grandfather George Tyler Granger

Happy birthday to George Tyler Granger (1804-after 1870)

(repost and edited from Tuesday, August 20, 2013)

Born on August 20, 1804 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with parents and siblings.  What kind of education did he receive?

Just looking at his correspondence later between himself and his children, and his level of business acumen, I would say some college is probable.  But he did spend most of his life dealing in lumber.

His mother's maiden name was Tyler, so it became his middle name...which was a tradition found in many families. George Tyler Granger's mother Sarah Tyler was the daughter of Silas and Phoebe Wood Tyler.

George married Lucy Pulsifer on February 13, 1828, when he was 23 years old in Newburyport, MA.  He posted his intentions for marrying her in January of that year, which is still a record available to read, though the transcriptionist kind of messed up the name Pulsifer.

He was a lumber dealer in Newburyport at age 45 (Census taken Oct 8, 1850).  In that year he lived with his wife, Lucy Pulsifer Granger, as well as children Mary H. (21), George (20), Elisabeth P. (17), Lucy E. (13) as well as 78 year old Elizabeth Raymond. A servant was from Ireland, 21 year old Nancy Sullivan.  His son George had an occupation as a clerk already.  I wonder if Ms Raymond was a relative or housekeeper? (I don't find any relatives of that name.)

Newburyport, MA: The town prospered and became a city in 1851. Situated near the mouth of the Merrimack River, it was once a fishing, shipbuilding and shipping center, with an industry in silverware manufacture

Barque Mary L. Cushing, last merchant ship built on the Merrimack, docked at the Cushing family pier in Newburyport

George T. Granger had documented sales through Newburyport's support program for paupers, all billing for lumber sales.  I really don't know if these sales were in support of him, or other people.  They continued from 1826 when he was 21, till after his marriage until he was around 38.

By the time he was 42 he petitioned the town council to purchase a clock for the market square, along with 39 others, so his name was on the historic record of Newburyport.

Brown Square in 1913, viewed from before the City Hall.. The houses and church still stand but the street has been paved and more modern buildings inserted.

In the Newburyport City Directories from 1846 through 1850 he had a residential address of 16 Boardman, and at times a business at 10 Water St.

City Hall c. 1910. The building looks about the same today. It was constructed 1850–1851. The corner of Brown Square is visible across the street. The view is from where the Post Office now stands.

Sometime between 1850 and 1860 Granger migrated with all his family to Texas.  His brother-in-law, Joseph Pulsifer had moved first to New Orleans, then was an early settler of Beaumont Texas.  George T. Granger's eldest daughter, Mary, had married William Phillips (from Georgia) before their first child was born in 1858.

By 1860 George T. Granger was a lumber merchant in Galveston, Texas, at age 56. He would spend  more time there, as well as having connections in Beaumont, TX and Sabine Pass, TX.

Some of George Tyler Granger's correspondence with his adult children has survived. I'm transcribing it and adding it to his overview on Ancestry.Com.  I started with his letter to his daughter, Elizabeth, after finding out his oldest daughter, Mary had just died in 1856 (written from Grigsby Bluff.)  There were settlers near Beaumont named Grigsby. George T. Granger's wife, Lucy Pulsifer Granger's brother, Joseph Pulsifer, was an unmarried pharmacist who made business partnerships including the purchase of land for Beaumont.

Of George Granger's children, his daughter Elizabeth, (Izzie on some letters), lived to be 78 years old.  She was widowed farily early after having 2 children, and in her later years lived with her son and his family.  She had been born in 1833, which I just chased down today, because trees of other families had her born the same year as her brother, Joseph Granger, but I have now found his written birth record. Unfortunately he died at 15 years old. I finally found a source document for Elizabeth's birth also.

Father George T. was a lumber merchant.  When he moved to Galveston he continued that occupation in the 1860 and 1870 census, but somehow changed into a surveyor before his death. His death date and place are unknown, but sometime after the 1870 census.  His wife, Lucy has a clipping giving her death as May of 1876, but is listed as 74 years old living with daughter Elizabeth Granger in the 1880 census. (I've found many census reports that still include people who have recently died, so perhaps families were keeping them on the records for some reason or another.)

Ah August Birthdays!

This has been a week of birthdays. Today is my son Russell H's birthday (I won't give you the number!)

Last Mon. the 12th was my daughter-out-of-law, Kendra B's birthday. She and my son, Tai R.,  have a committed relationship which doesn't include legal things, like being an 'in-law.' But she's like another great daughter that I'm so proud to have.

I wish they didn't all live so far from me!

This year I've decided to write (while I still can) a poem or quotation into blank cards for birthdays.  The cards were a gift to me, and I really don't know what to do with them. They are very nice art, but I don't write letters/notes to anyone anymore.  Stationary has gone the way of telegrams.

But as anyone who reads my blogs might know, I like to save quotes and pass them along.
So that's how the birthday cards are happening - for now.

Next week is my 77th. And just the day before is my newest daughter-in-law, Barbara B's birthday.  She's great and legal too! My son Marty H. and his new wife, Barbara B.

And then the next week is my daughter-in-law-mother Joanne N.'s birthday...you know, the mother of my other daughter-in-law! (That's Joanne's wedding and her daughter (Russ' wife) Michelle.

Is that everyone?

Nope, that doesn't count the ancestors, so I've been preparing to celebrate them as well.  Without them, where would I be?

The Swasey Family tree

Have you noticed I've been posting mainly about this family this month? It was unintentional. But these ancestors left their birth dates recorded more often than many other ancestors, who often might have the years of their birth even in question, let alone the dates.

I will therefore post only about my Rogers ancestors next month.  Ha. That's an intention.

The Swasey family of the shipwright and hatter, Joseph b. 8.12.1714.

Joseph Swasey 

Joseph Swasey was baptised 12 August 1714 in Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts Colony  

The following quoted information about him has a few problems, which I've noted in [brackets.]

"Death  before (Aug) 1801 in Somerset, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, Joseph Swasey, shipwright, Bapt. in Boston, Mass. Aug. 12, 1714; died in Somerset, Suffolk County, Mass; [died] bef. 1801; married, daughter of Jonathan & Ann Sylvester Bowers, of Swansea, Mass. She was of Spanish descent.  Feb. 20, 1790, Shewamit (or Somerset) was set off from Swansea & formed a separate town.*  Joseph, removed with his family to Salem, where he lived until 1749.  He followed there the trade of hatter.  In that year he bought (in) Swansea of John Palmer, 10 acres of land on Taunton River for which he paid ~1300 O.T.

"He put up a set of buildings, including a hat shop, built a wharf & engaged in shipbuilding, floating his craft down to Fall River.  The dwelling house occupied by the family for 3 generations was taken down several years ago.  The old cellar & the broad stone step still remain to mark the site.  The "Swasey burying ground" occupied about an acre of the original lot, upon which are many tombstones that mark the resting place of his descendants.

"In 1758-9, he was a private in his Majesty's service from the Province of Massachusetts, in Capt. Stephen Whipple's Co;  Col. Jonathan Bagley's Regt; for the reduction of Canada. 

In 1801, his estate was divided among his heirs which included the widow, sons Jerathmel & Joseph heirs of his son Samuel, & daughter Hannah.

(Source, including photo: Genealogy of the Swasey Family, 1910 by Benjamin Swasey an ebook that is available on line)


[* the towns may have been separated in 1790, but that is not the time the Swaseys moved to Salem and then returned in 1749...these dates are not chronological! If he had moved to Salem, it was earlier than 1749. I found that he married in 1740 in Somerset, so perhaps went to Salem when his father died in 1739, or to be there with family who lived there. Nothing I've found indicated he lived there.]
[There's nothing in Mary's past that suggests she was of Spanish descent, unless Nathaniel Sylvester (her grandfather) had perhaps been, but my records indicate he was probably English.]

"His [Joseph's] wife Mary, took in boarders once widowed, and is listed in the 1823 Town Directory for same." [Actually she is listed in Boston Town Directory in 1823. I am still looking to see if another widow of a Joseph Swasey named Mary might have been this Mary...rather than having her be quite so elderly!]

"His son, Lt. Jerathmel Bowers Swasey, was born and died (1752-1826) in Somerset, MA, probably in the house that stood at 323 Main St. [Above, which is not the same as the one pictured from the book originally, so I think this might be a later building.]

Mary Bowers Swasey (1719-1823) was a widow of Joseph who, in  the Census of 1820, owned a boarding house in Boston MA, and was listed as living there still in 1823, when she would have been 104 years old.

They had 6 children. Most generations of Swaseys had a Joseph and a Samuel in the families, since Joseph the immigrant came in 1632 from Sherborne England to Salem Massachusetts.  So when I recently found a picture of a page in a book of 2 homes belonging to Joseph and Samuel Swasey, I had thought this Joseph born in 1714 might have been one of them.

Joseph lived his early years in Salem, then most of his life in Somerset, though he had been baptised in Boston. However, there's almost no possibility he lived in, or even built a home in Newburyport, MA...and that is where these 2 homes belonging to a Joseph and Samuel Swasey were located, according to the book which was published in 1910.  However the town wasn't called Newburyport until 1764, when it was formed out of the town of Old Newbury. So did he and a son or brother named Samuel build these homes in 1710 and 1735?

Ah, Joseph Swasey's father was Samuel Swasey (1682-1739) and his father's brother was also Joseph Swasey (1685-1770) who lived in Old Newbury (to be called Newburyport later) MA.  This Uncle Joseph (times seven greats) probably built the 1710 house, and his son, Samuel Swasey (1712-1800) (first cousin seven times removed) probably built the 1735 house in Old Newbury MA!  Thus the problem of these 2 homes having belonged to Swasey families is probably solved!

Now to connect myself to these Swaseys...

Joseph Swasey's son:

Jerathmel Bowers Swasey 

Birth 10 May 1752 in Somerset, Bristol, Massachusetts 

Death 4 Feb 1826 in Somerset, Bristol, Massachusetts

his son:

Alexander G Swasey

Birth 10 Sept 1784 in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts 

Death 28 Oct 1861 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island

his son:

Captain Alexander G. Swasey Jr.

Birth April 14, 1812 in Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts 

Death March 26, 1866 in Charleston County, South Carolina

his son: 

Alexander John Swasey

Birth May 20, 1853 in South Carolina 

Death OCT 4, 1913 in Galveston, Tex

His daughter:

Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers 

1886 – 1964

Her Son:

George Elmore Rogers Jr

Birth 9 NOV 1914 in Texas 

Death 5 JAN 1985 in Texas

His Daughter:

Barbara Rogers (me)