Uncle Earl Left His Mark

One of the things I love most about blogging is connecting with others who are interested in the people and places I write about. Ten years ago I posted about my Williams great-grandparents' home in Johnson City, Tennessee. The present owners of the house found the post and we exchanged information and photos. It gave me great joy to think the house was in the hands of a family that loved it.

411 W. Maple, c. 1911

Last week I got a new email from them, sharing a recent find. With their permission I am posting it here. While working on a shared wall between the kitchen and dining room they found a penciled signature reading "Earl W". The rest of the name was painted over, but there is no doubt my great-uncle Earl Williams (1892-1915) left his name there. According to their research, the house had extensive work done in 1907, about the time my family moved there. Earl would have been 15, old enough to share in the work with his father, older brother, and uncle. 

Uncle Earl's pencil signature on a door casing, found in 2021. 

I teared up when I saw this, and am most grateful to the lovely caretakers of this old house for recording and sharing it. The house looks better than ever today.

The house on Maple Street today. 

 

Iva Belle

 I am convinced my grandmother Iva Williams Sawyer (1900-1993) was one of the most photographed children her age in all of East Tennessee. I've shared a couple photos of her as a very young child and several of her as a young woman. But these newly scanned photos seal the deal. She was named Iva Belle, but grew to hate her middle name. She used Beverly on the rare occasions she used anything other than her maiden name as an adult. 

Clockwise from the top center, Iva studying (note the telephone on the desk): Iva (on right) with her uncle, Judson McAdams, aunt, Alice Deacon McAdams, and cousin, Merle McAdams; Iva at the piano; Iva and her cousin Mary D. Williams who lived with them when Iva was a girl; Iva in a tam; Iva as a toddler with a doll and carriage (and ringlets!!); and Iva as a toddler in coat and bonnet. 

I have to wonder if her elder brothers were as well documented. Iva didn't have any portraits of them as boys beyond one of her brother Earl. 

Claiming Robert Hampton ~ a DNA victory

This is worth briefly returning to blogging. I am elated! 

Rachel Hampton Mulkey, my 4th great-grandmother has been a focus of my research efforts from my earliest days as a family historian. Given that I've been at this a while, she and I are nearing 50 years of rampant curiosity on my part and maddening discretion/mystery/stubborn refusal on her part to share her parentage. 

I've written about this before. More than once. I gave up believing the Andrew Hampton story decades ago when not a shred of any believable evidence linking her to ANY Andrew Hampton could be found. What could be found were a myriad of clues connecting her to the family of a Robert Hampton who died in 1796 in Washington County, Tennessee. 

Robert's will named his wife, Mary, five sons and no daughters. There is however, evidence  that Elizabeth Hampton Edwards (abt 1787-1840), the wife of Abel Edwards, and Sarah Hampton Bayless (abt. 1786), the wife of Samuel Bayless may have been his daughters. Abel Edwards and Hampton's sons attended a crying sale together and a marriage record exists for Sarah Hampton and Samuel Bayless. Hardly conclusive, but this is the frontier. Conclusive documentation is scant. There are also no records suggesting any other Hampton family lived in the area at the time Rachel, Elizabeth and Sarah Hampton were born. 

Rachel Hampton Mulkey lived near Jesse Hampton, a son of Robert Hampton. Rachel and Isaac Mulkey named one of their own sons Robert Hampton Mulkey. Their children served as witnesses on documents relating to the family of Robert Hampton, another son of Robert. They were members of the same church. 

A few years ago, after spending days pouring through the last boxes of documents from the era at the Archives of Appalachia and finding nothing naming Isaac or Rachel Mulkey and Robert Hampton I declared my reasonably exhaustive search complete. While I can build a convincing case, there were enough holes that I did not feel I could declare Rachel's parentage solved to my own satisfaction. 

Ancestry tree showing DNA matches to family of Robert Hampton. Rachel, as my direct line, is shown with green arrows. 

Enter DNA. I was thrilled when my maternal aunt (Rachel's 3rd great-granddaughter) matched a descendant of Elizabeth Hampton Edwards. And thrilled again when she or I matched three different Robert Hampton, Jr. descendants. And yet... The match to Elizabeth did not prove their parentage, only their kinship. One of the matches to Robert Jr. also shared other lines, so I could not be certain all of them supported the Hampton kinship. This week I found a match to a descendant of Robert's son John Hampton. That makes matches to three different documented children of Robert Hampton. The aggregate data persuaded me. I am waving the victory flag. 

Now who were Robert Hampton's parents? Who was his wife, Mary? 

Goldene Fillers Burgner, Washington County, Tennessee Wills 1777-1872 (Southern Historical Press, 1983, Easley, SC), p. 6. 

Washington County Inventories of Estates, Vol. OO, 1779-1821(WPA records), p. 113-122. Samuel Culbertson's Estate May Sessions 1799

  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Isabella Bryson McAdams Hale (1776-1855)

One of the first ancestors to capture my imagination was my 4th great-grandmother Isabella or Ibby Bryson. I first learned about her when I was 12 years old. According to information handed down in the family she was born 14 September 1776 to John Bryson and Margaret Carson. Her father died shortly after her birth in July 1778. Her poetic name, 1776 birth date and a father who died during, though not necessarily in the Revolutionary War sparked adolescent speculation about her life. When I grew up and began seriously researching my family she was one of my first projects.

I learned then, and continue to learn, that what I know is far surpassed by what I do not. What I know (or at least believe I can support) is that Ibby married Hugh McAdams in June of 1800 in Greene County, TN. The family record lists the date as 12 June 1800. A register of marriage licenses and bonds now available online gives a date of 9 June 1800. They had five children - Margaret (b. 1802), Mary (b. 1804), Thomas Cunnningham (b. 1806), Samuel Bryson (b. 1809) and Jane (b. 1811) - before Hugh's death on 13 December 1814 in Washington County, TN. Hugh's estate documents suggested he had been a cabinet maker. I have since learned that he may have been an influential cabinet maker. A PhD candidate at Middle Tennessee State University is examining his work for her thesis. I look forward to her analysis.

One year after Hugh's death Ibby married a widower, Joseph Hale. Their daughter Louisa was born about 1817. Learning of Louisa's birth was startling to me. She is not mentioned in the seemingly comprehensive family record passed on by her half-brother Thomas.

In 1816 Ibby's only known sibling, Samuel Bryson, died without having married. She was the executor for his estate. Ibby is mentioned in her husband Joseph Hale's will. According to the family record she died on 1 June 1855 and was buried in Fairview Cemetery with the children of her sons Thomas and Samuel. Standing at her grave was one of the most emotional moments of any of my research trips.

I do not know where she was born or when she came to Tennessee. Son Thomas stated she was born in Pennsylvania in the 1880 census. Son Samuel said Virginia. I do not know if Carson was her mother's maiden name. I suspect not since the only mention of her in the family record is of her death in a listing where the other women are listed by their married names. I have no information on her father beyond his presumed existence and death. I have never found any documentation that names a John Bryson or Margaret Carson that I could tie to Ibby's parents. I am not even certain of her date of death, for she is nowhere to be found in the 1850 census.

I cannot connect her with any of the established Bryson or Carson families found in the area. I have not made any DNA connections that point clearly to Ibby, though she is high on my most wanted list. I assume she was Scots-Irish, assume she was associated with the Presbyterian church, though her second marriage was performed by a Baptist minister. I hope to learn more about her parents, but their lives on the 18th c. frontier make that problematic.

Written for Amy Johnson Crow's blogger challenge 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Sources

• 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Tennessee, Washington, District 16, enumeration district (ED) 035, p. 549A, dwelling 6, family 6, McAdams, Samuel; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Feb 2014); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 1284. 
• 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Tennessee, Washington, District 17, enumeration district (ED) 035, p. 663B, dwelling 263, family 272, McAdams, Thomas C.; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Feb 2014); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 1284. 
• FamilySearch, "Tennessee Marriages, 1796-1950," database, FamilySearch (http://new.familysearch.org : accessed 14 Feb 2014), entry for Izabel Brisson. 
• FamilySearch, "Tennessee, Marriages, 1796-1950," index(www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 Feb 2014), Joseph Hale and Ibby Mc Adams. 
• Washington, Tennessee, Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 Vol. 00: 328, Hugh McAdams Estate, 6 Nov 1815; digital images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 Feb 2014). 
• Washington, Tennessee, Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 Vol. 00: 342, Samuel Brisons Estate, 22 Oct 1816; digital images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 Feb 2014). 
• Washington, Tennessee, Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 Inventories, 1844-1857, Vol. 02: 530, Joseph Hale Estate, 24 Jan 1856; digital images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 29 Jan 2014).

Moses and Sarah, bought and sold by Joseph Duncan ~ A Friend of Friends Friday

I recently spent a couple days at the library in Jonesborough, TN reviewing some of their microfilm records. I was startled to find two bills of sale recorded at the same November 1810 Session that involved a Joseph Duncan buying and selling two slaves. Duncan (either the Joseph born in 1751 or his son, Joseph, born 1788) purchased a man, Moses, and and woman, Sarah, in November 1809 and sold them two months later to Elias Bowman. The Duncans were closely associated with the Allison family, though I do not have Frank Allison listed in my database. Joseph the younger was married to Polly Allison, a daughter of Robert Allison.  

It is not a surprise the Duncans owned slaves. They appear in census records as slave holders. But they also signed a petition around the same time as these sales asking the State Legislature to abolish or reform the slave laws. Here they appear more as slave traders. 

November Sessions 1810

A Bill of Sale from Joseph Duncan to Elias Bowman for a Negro man named Moses and a Negro woman named Sarah, dated the 22d day of January 1810  Acknowledged in open court by Joseph Duncan & recorded            50  

November Sessions 1810

A Bill of Sale from Frank Allison to Joseph Duncan for two negroes a man named Moses and a woman named Sarah, dated 23 day of November 1809  Acknowledged in open court by Frank Allison & recorded          


Sources
      Washington, Tennessee, Quarterly Court Minute Books Minute Feb 1809-Jan 1826: 90, Joseph Duncan Bill of Sale, 22 Jan 1810; Washington County Library Roll No. 130_Washington. 

      Washington, Tennessee, Quarterly Court Minute Books Minute Feb 1809-Jan 1826: 93, Frank Allison Bill of Sale, 23 Nov 1809; Washington County Library Roll No. 130_Washington. 

1810 Stephenson Deed (Washington, TN) - Amanuensis Monday

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch who originated the Amanuensis Monday meme, providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This deed, copied from the Washington County (TN) Registrar of Deeds Office, involves my 4th great-grandfather John Stephenson. 

Deed
Elias Bowman
To
John Stephenson

This Indenture made on the fifth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten Between Elias Bowman of the one part and John Stephenson of the other Part both of the County of Washington and state of Tennessee
Witnesseth that the sd Elias Bowman for and in consideration Of the Sum of twelve hundred Dollars to him in hand paid by the said John Stephenson the receipt whereof is  hereby acknowledged he the said Elias Bowman hath bargained and Sold and by these _______ doth En__ off and convey to the said John Stephenson a certain tract of land lying and being In the County afforesaid on the waters of big limestone creek And bounded as followeth (To Wit)    Beginning at a white oak dogwood and gum thence South eighty Eight Degrees West one hundred and thirty six poles to a black Oak and poplar thence north one hundred and twelve poles to a white oak thence West one hundred and forty poles to a black oak and post thence South eighty three poles to a post oak and black Oak thence South thirty five East two hundred and twenty six poles to a to a white oak and stake thence north fifty degrees East one hundred And ninety two poles to a stake thence north thirty six poles To the Beginning    Containing two hundred and twenty Eight acres be the Same more or less which tract of Land with all the appurtenances therunto belonging the said Elias Bowman for himself and his heirs doth warrent and will forever Defend unto the said John Stephenson his heirs and assigns as an Indefensible inheritance in fee simple In Witness whereeof The said Elias Bowman have herunto set my Hand and affixed my seal the day and year above written
Signed Sealed and Delivered
In preasence of                        Elias Bowman {seal}              
Wm Tyler          }
M. Stephenson}  State of Tennessee}  February Sessions 1811

Ebeneazer Frain     }    Washington County}      Then this deed was proven          

                                                                                        In court and recorded let it 

be registered

Test  Jas Sevier Sheriff

by his dept Jn_ C Harris

State of Tennessee
Washington County
 Thereon duly registered in the registers office    John Adams
  of said County _____                                       County register

Notes 

The land Stephenson purchased lay east of the Big Limestone Creek, most likely in the area south of Leesburg (where two of his daughters lived) and north of Washington College. Stephenson and his wife, Elizabeth Cloyd Stephenson, were members of Salem Presbyterian Church and are buried in the Salem Church graveyard at Washington College.

Source

Washington, Tennessee, Deed Books, 12: 337, Elias Bowman to John Stephenson, 5 Nov 1810.  

                               

Mary Stephenson Wyly - Tombstone Tuesday

SACRED

to the memory of 

MARY N. WYLY

Consort of 

SAMUEL ?. WYLY

Died March 7th 1851

Aged 31 years & 4 months

Mary Wyly is buried at Leesburg Presbyterian Church (Leesburg, TN) where her husband, the Rev. Samuel Wyly, preached.  She was my third great great-aunt. 

According to our McAdams Family Record she was born 7 Nov. 1819 and married Samuel G. Wyly on 28 Sep. 1841. She was the daughter of John and Eliza Cloyd Stephenson, who are buried down the road at Washington College. 

Of Wagons, Indians and Gold

Years ago, when I first discovered genealogy message boards and RootsWeb, I was in touch with a wonderful McAdams family researcher. We shared information in the old fashioned way – snail mail. Through her I became aware of other McAdams researchers.

Recently one of those other McAdams researchers emailed me, Alan McAdams. I'd read articles he wrote in the now defunct McAdams Family Newsletter and knew what a wonderful researcher he was. We share a common ancestor – my 5^th great-grandfather Thomas McAdams (d. abt. 1813, Washington County, TN). While my family remained in Tennessee, his boarded flatboats and headed west, settling in Missouri. We've been emailing, exchanging information – actually he's been sharing and I've been oohing and aahing.

With Alan's permission I am sharing one of his McAdams stories. We seem to share a soft spot for our reverse orphan kinfolk.

Of Wagons, Indians and Gold

Or……When Life leaves you With Just an Old Buffalo Robe………..

James W. McAdams,  1836-1891

When I was growing up and we made trips to Tarkio’s Home Cemetery, my father would give us little history lessons detailing those buried on the “Home 40”.  Our beloved were interred in two different plots, each with 10 grave spots.  One plot, Dad referred to as the Wood Lots; these were purchased by Dad’s maternal grandfather, Francis Marion Wood.   The other plot was called the McAdams Lots, and was purchased by his paternal grandfather, William Montgomery, “Gum” McAdams.   Dad would give us a bit of history about each of the occupants, and then told us that he was aware of one grave that was not marked.  He did not know who was in it.  He said his uncles may have told him at one time, but he could not remember what they told him.

Years later, my oldest brother, Charles Miles McAdams “Bud” entered the genealogy field.  I went with him to the funeral home once, and we asked to see their records.  The mystery person was identified!  He was listed as “Mr. McAdams”. 

A few years later, Bud found a newspaper article from a March, 1891 edition of the Tarkio Avalanche.  Paraphrased, it went like this.  W.M. McAdams sent his eldest son, Tom to St. Joseph yesterday with a team to pick up the body of Mr. McAdams’ brother.  The brother will be interred in Tarkio until his relatives can pick him up.  This was done before copy machines, etc., so Bud only has his own transcription.  I tried some time ago to access this newspaper, but the newspaper told me these papers had been sent to the state archives for microfilming.  I’ve still not been able to find it in either location.  

When I entered genealogy, I solved some more of the puzzle.  I found a biographical sketch for Gum’s brother, Robert T. McAdams, a banker in Peru, NE.  In a family listing, Robert mentioned brother James Madison McAdams.  James was born in Tennessee, went to Colorado in 1849, to Montana in 1866, engaged in gold mining and in failing health, returned to die at the Ensworth Hospital in St. Joseph, MO.  With this information, my brother Bud, bought a temporary marker to put where we now knew James to be.  Hope we can find a way to fund a permanent marker eventually.

James was born in Washington County, TN. On 8 June, 1836 to William S. McAdams & Eleanor McNeal McAdams.  He had Brothers, James McNeal, Robert Thompson, and William Montgomery “Gum”, my g-grandfather.  Also a sister, Anna Eliza. The father, as well as having endeavors in farming and cabinetmaking, was also engaged in the flatboat trade with his brother Thomas, brother-in-law John McNeal and others.  He died in 1842, leaving his wife with five young children to what must have been a hardscrabble existence.  In 1853, these flatboat men loaded up their families and left East Tennessee for Sonora Missouri. Eleanor and her children, now teenagers, went along.  The McNeal history book says that Eleanor had property on the Southwest corner of Watson, MO.  According to land records I’ve found, that acreage was in Robert’s name.  The boys and Anna Eliza all eventually married, except for the subject of this sketch, James.  As far as I’ve determined, he remained a bachelor all of his life.  Can’t figure out the reference to “his folks” in the article Bud cited. 

Later on, I found a court document in Nemaha County, NE, Probate Court wherein Gum McAdams filed a claim for losses suffered to the late James M. McAdams under the Indian Deprivations Act of 1891. He detailed how James was an owner or part owner of a train of mule teams that was attacked by Indians in Western Nebraska and suffered losses claimed to be nearly $ 8,000 dollars.  Can’t find that anything ever came from this petition. 

The story is continued here.

Samuel Doak - Tombstone Tuesday

1749             1829
Samuel Doak
Founder
Salem Church, 1780
Washington College, 1795

Samuel Doak Chapter, Daughters
American Revolution, Morristown, Tenn.
Assisted in Erecting this Monument

This monument, standing in Salem Cemetery on the grounds of Washington College, southeast of Jonesborough, TN, was erected in memory of the Rev. Samuel Doak, an early Presbyterian minister in East Tennessee and the founder of the first college in Tennessee. Rev. Doak is twice my uncle by marriage, having married first Margaret Houston McEwen, sister of my 5th great-grandmother Alice Houston Stephenson, and second Esther Houston Montgomery, Margaret and Alice's aunt.

He was a towering figure in the early history of East Tennessee -  preaching at Sycamore Shoals to the Overmountain Men, founding Salem Church, two schools and a staunch abolitionist.

McAdams Graves - Tombstone Tuesday

In July I spent several days in Washington County researching and visiting some cemeteries. I especially wanted to find the McAdams graves at Fairview where my McAdams 3rd great-grandparents and Isabella Bryson McAdams Hale, my 4th great-grandmother, are buried.

Our family's McAdams Family Record includes a note at the end indicating ten members of the family are there.

Memorandum made by Thomas McAdams in 1913:

Graves:
Hugh Morrison McAdams, William P. McA, Isabella Hale, Hugh McA, (S. B. Sr son), Ann S. McA, Chalmer S. McA, Cynthia S McA, Thomas C. McA, Ralph E. H. McA, Charlie's baby (Martha).

The above are the McAdams' graves as they come in the cemtery at Fairview, Washington County.

I assumed it would be relatively (pun intended) simple to find the row of McAdams graves. Indeed, it wasn't all that difficult. Fairview is a small cemetery about four miles northwest of Jonesborough. But most of the gravestones have vanished. Only the markers for my McAdams grandparents and that of their infant granddaughter remain. Without their grandson Thomas McAdams' 1913 note I would have had no idea who else was buried there.

Detail of Cynthia S. McAdams Marker
In Loving Memory 
of Cynthia s. McAdams
Born
April 30, 1817
Died
Oct. 20, 1874

Thomas C. McAdams marker
In Loving Memory
of
Thomas C. McAdams
Born Dec. 5, 1806
Died
Jan. 1, 1881

The markers were almost impossible to read, but I was able to make out the names and dates for Thomas and Cynthia. The baby's marker at the end of the row was more difficult, and I did not get a good picture of it, but the first letter of the name is "M" and the last name is McAdams. 

The other McAdams family members, with information from the family record,  buried here are (from right to left in the above photo or south to north at the cemetery) 

• Martha McAdams, infant daughter of Charles A.H. McAdams and Alice Nave McAdams and granddaughter of Thomas C. McAdams. Marker standing.
• Ralph Emerson H. McAdams, 16 Jun 1881- 15 Jan 1882, infant son of Robert Newton McAdams and Maggie Good McAdams and grandson of Thomas C. McAdams.
• Thomas C. McAdams. Marker standing. 
• Cynthia S. McAdams. Marker standing.
• Chalmers Stephenson McAdams, 16 Feb 1853 - 14 Dec 1873, son of Thomas C. McAdams.
• Ann Shaw (Duncan) McAdams, 6 Feb 1813 - 7 Jul 1861, sister-in-law of Thomas C. McAdams.
• Hugh S. McAdams, dates unknown, son of Ann Shaw McAdams and nephew of Thomas C. McAdams.
• Isabella Bryson McAdams Hale, 14 Sept 1776 - 1 Jun 1855, mother of Thomas C. McAdams.
• William Plummer McAdams, 14 Mar 1843 - 18 Apr 1844, son of Thomas C. McAdams.
• Hugh Morrison McAdams, 30 Nov. 1838 - 14 Jul 1840, son of Thomas C. McAdams.

Robert Hampton Deed, 1807 - Amanuensis Monday

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch who originated the Amanuensis Monday meme, providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This deed, copied from the Washington County (TN) Registrar of Deeds Office, involves Robert Hampton, a son of another Robert Hampton. The elder Hampton purchased 200 acres of land in 1786. His will, dated 29 March 1796, named five sons and his wife Mary. The younger Robert sold what appears to be his share of the land in this deed. That he was selling 1/4 of the original land suggests one of the brothers may have died before marrying, his share reverting to the surviving brothers. The deed also helps to narrow the younger Robert's birth date. His father appeared on the 1790 tax list with 200 acres and one white poll tax indicating all the sons were under 16 in 1790 and that Robert was of age on 20 Sept 1807 when he executed this deed. Robert was the third named son in the will so his birth most likely occurred between 1778 and 1786. 

The younger Robert's family was closely associated with my 4th great-grandmother Rachel Hampton Mulkey's family.

Deed
Robert Hampton
To
Jesse Witt
This Indenture made The Twentyeth day of September Eight Teen hundred and Seven Between Robert Hamton of the one part and Jesse Witt of the other part bouth of the County of Washington and State of Tennessee Witness that the said Robart Hamton is aforesaid for and on consideration of the sum of three Hundred Dollars to ____ in hand paid the receipt of Which is hereby acknowledged hath bargained and sold and by these present doth Bargain and sell unto the said Jess Witt his heirs and assigns a certain parcel of land situate and Lying In the Hars Shew and County afforesaid taken out of the original Deed of Robart Hamton deciesed as followeth begining on the bank of the River at a Lynn thence south forty degrees west forty poles to a hicory and Sourwood on a ridge thence South forty poles to a stake In the River thence Down __d River to the Begining corner for complement fifty acres more or less to have and to hold said Jesse Witt his heirs and assigns for Ever all and singular the profits and Every thing apertaining to the said primises hereby granted in fee simple and __ the sd Robart Hamton as aforesaid hath full power & lawful and absolute athority to grant and convey the same to said Jesse Witt and that the said primises Now and are forever hereafter Shall be free and clear of all Incumbrances whatever and to bind ___ myself my heirs executors administrators to warent and defend for Ever all Claims arising against the afforesaid primises to Jesse Witt his heirs and assigns forever In Witness Whereof I the sd Robart Hamton have here unto set my hand and seal
the day and year above written
In the Present of Witness                        his
__terlined and Sined                   Robert X Hampton  {Seal}
Nathan Shipley                                        mark
John Parkison X
Wm X  Nelson X

Spelling and punctuation, or the lack thereof, have been maintained though line breaks have been changed. The deed refers to the land being in the Hars Shew or Horseshoe. The Nolichucky River makes almost a full circle north of Erwin at what is today known as Bumpas Cove, but was once known as the Horseshoe.

The Horseshoe

Sources

• Loraine Rae, Washington County, Tennessee Deeds 1775-1800 (Greenville, SC: Southern  Historical Press, Inc. 1991), p. 70, citing Washington County Deed Book 3:37-38. 
• Goldene Fillers Burgner, Washington County, Tennessee Wills 1777-1872 (Southern Historical Press, 1983, Easley, SC), p. 6. 
• Javan Micheal DeLoach, "Washington County 1790 List of Taxables Washington County, TN," database, USGenWeb Archives (http://files.usgwarchives.org : accessed 29 Aug 2011), entry for Robert Hampton.
• Washington, TN, Deed Books, 10: 66, Robert Hampton to Jesse Witt, 20 Sept 1807; Registrar of Deeds, Jonesborough.  

The House on Maupin Row - Those Places Thursday

I wrote recently about being contacted by families living in homes where my great-grandparents lived over a century ago. One of the homes is in Johnson City, TN where my grandmother Iva Williams Sawyer grew up. The homeowners were wondering if Iva's father had built the house and I thought it entirely possible. R.J. Williams was a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker. We knew the family was living in the house by the 1910 census. City records showed the house was built in 1907, though the homeowners were told that date was not the date of construction, but of when the home was remodeled and electricity added. I wondered if R.J. had done an extensive addition in 1907 to the house, adding a second story and two story addition.

R.J. and Flora Williams family, c. 1904

One of our family treasures is a photograph of the family in front of their home taken about 1904 when Iva, clutching a doll on the steps, was in her moppet phase. Her brothers Argil and Earl are standing on the porch. Brother Guy is to the right of the stairs. Her father is seated on the porch. Her mother is standing near the window in front of the house. This home is far smaller than the Maple Street house and after looking at the picture of that house, I don't think the buildings are they same. It is still possible that R.J. was involved in the construction, interior finishes or remodeling of the Maple Street house, but it is not the house the family was living in when the photograph was taken. 

The 1900 census lists the family living on Maupin Row in the First Ward. R.J. owned the home, free of mortgage. I believe this is the house in the photograph. Maupin Row is not found on modern maps, nor could I find it in the 1910 census. However I located many other streets in the same district on Google Maps. Maupin Row was listed near the pins in the top left area of the map. Whatever remains of the house is buried beneath parking lots or highways.

Sources

1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Johnson City, Washington, TN, enumeration district (ED) 149, p. 9A, dwelling 148, family 166, Reese J. Williams; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Aug 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1604.

1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Johnson City, Washington, TN, enumeration district (ED) 0202, p. 7B, dwelling 110, family 111, Reese J. Williams; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 16 Aug 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1524.

Williams Family, RJ and Flora. Photograph. c. 1904. Digital image. Privately held by Susan Clark, St. Louis, MO. 1980.

At the end of the road - Tombstone Tuesday

When I arrived in Washington County, Tennessee after following the same path south as my Scots-Irish Presbyterian ancestors (though far more comfortably and rapidly), I went first to the cemeteries dotting the countryside around the Big Limestone Creek where they settled. 

At Salem Cemetery, located on the grounds of Washington College, I found the fading markers for my 4th great-grandparents John and Elizabeth Cloyd Stephenson and for John's mother, Alice Houston Stephenson. I am a novice gravestone photographer and these are almost impossible to read without ones fingers tracing the letters. I've transcribed the engraving as best I can. Selecting individual photographs will allow you to make out some of the lettering.

              memory of

Elizabeth Stephenson

Born October 15^th 17  

Died March 30^th 18  

aged 61 years &         

             memory of

John Stephenson

Born May 2 th 1779

Died March 24^th 1842

aged _ 2 & 10 months

            memory of

Alice Stephenson

Born August 1_th 1749

Died February 27^th 1832

aged 82 years & 6 months

411 W. Maple St. - Those Places Thursday

In 1911 my grandmother Iva Williams, who was visiting her uncle in Spencer, NC, sent this off in the morning post to her mother in Johnson City, TN telling her she would be home the next day. Not today's instant communication, to be sure, but pretty fast.

The picture on the front of the card is of the Williams' house in Johnson City - 411 W. Maple Street. After Iva's parents died her older brother Argil and his family lived there. I have vague memories of visiting his widow, my great-aunt Mae there in the 1960s. Aunt Mae died in 1971 and the house was sold out of the family. My parents took the picture below about 1990 on a hunting history trip.

411 W. Maple St., Johnson City, TN c. 1990

Amanuensis Monday: Iva's History of Johnson City (part 2)

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is part two of a transcription of school report on Johnson City, TN written by Iva Williams. I am estimating Iva was 10-12 years old when she wrote this, which would put the date at 1910-1912. The report has corrections made in pencil. I have not included them but have maintained the spelling, grammar and punctuation Iva used. 

In the early eighties a boom started in Johnson City. General John T Wieler started this boom. The C.C.C. railroad was wanted run through Johnson City. On April 9, 1887 the people voted bonds. 445 votes were cast in favor of the bonds and not one against it. The people where so happy they fired over 100  guns. The whistles all over the town blew and the tar barrels were lighted after dark. General Wieler the Vice President of the company gave Mayor W. A. Dickinson $125 to get up a supper for the voters.

Along about this time the Water Works were brought to Johnson City. A Reservoir was built and 5000 feet of pipe was laid over the town. Then electric lights were put in. Mr. C.K. McCallum was at the head of the light company. Just after the electric lights were put in the telephone was put in. About this time grounds for five large blast furnaces and a Bessemer Steel works. The people thought they would have 30,000 people in Johnson city in five to eight years. The bill for all there works went through both houses, The House of Senate and the house of Representatives.

During the Boom Carnegie was bought and laid off. A little town was started. Two or three stores were built and the large Carnegie hotel. The street car was run down to Carnegie. The cars also run two miles out of town to Lake Watausee. Out here was a nice park where they had many picnics.

The Crash was in 1893 and lasted for about four years. The railroad failed, workers stopped working, the bank failed, the street car company failed and their line was torn up. Everything was dull for about four years. Then things began to revive a little. Railroads wer started and built 35 miles. It started at Unaka Springs and went about 5 miles north east of town to the Union Church.

Amanuensis Monday: Iva's History of Johnson City (part 1)

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is part one of a transcription of school report on Johnson City, TN written by Iva Williams. I am estimating Iva was 10-12 years old when she wrote this, which would put the date at 1910-1912. The report has corrections made in pencil. I have not included them but have maintained the spelling, grammar and punctuation Iva used. 

Johnson City is a thriving little city in one of the valleys of East Tennessee. It is about the sixth largest city in Tennessee.

The old Johnson brick house was about the first house in Johnson City. Mr. Johnson lived in half of this house and kept the Post office in the other half. On the west side of the square is were this building stood. Opposite this building stood the depot which was a small frame building. This was called Johnson station. Johnson City got its name from Mr. Johnson, who ran the Post office.

The old Hoss and Wilburn houses were about next to be built. They were down toward where Carnegie now stands. Another old house was the the Tipton Jobe house. It stood where the Bank of Commerce is now. Tipton street got its name from this man.

West of town was a spring known as Camptown spring, Jobe and City springs were in the center of town. These three springs give water for all of the city for a good while. The Jobe and City springs are now both filled up.

There was one railroad run through Johnson City. It was called the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. In 1880 some time later Johnson City was nothing but a watering tank.

The rivers run ...

With a blog named for the Nolichucky River, this year’s Blog Action Day! theme of water is a natural. As are rivers. Rivers move. They rage, flood, flow, wash and meander. They define our migration, our settlements. They are our boundaries, our highways. We sing of them, write of them, dream of them.

And when I was young, we watched them burn.

Even 20 years after the 1972 Clean Water Act my children, growing up along the Grand River in Michigan, were forbidden to swim in the river and all but disinfected after swimming in Lake Michigan near its mouth. While I still worry about the long-term health effects, today’s Grand is renewed. 

My 'heritage' rivers - the Nolichucky in North Carolina and East Tennessee and the Rika in the Ukraine - are smaller mountain rivers draining into large watersheds. The waters of the Nolichucky flow out of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, feeding into the French Broad, the Tennessee, the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers. The Rika, rising in the Carpathian Mountains, flows south to the Tysa (Tysza) and eventually drains into the Danube north of Belgrade.  

Relatively remote and with limited human populations nearby, they have not been polluted to the extent the downstream rivers have been. Still, there are threats to each from runoff waters. 

Siltation, or the sediment from soil erosion, is the greatest threat. The resulting cloudiness in the water reduces the light available to the river ecosystem, damages water filtration systems used for power generation and drinking water, and can even inhibit recreational uses. Logging in the Smoky Mountains during 19th and early 20th centuries dramatically increased erosion and runoff. Commercial development is the largest contributing factor today to siltation in the Nolichucky. Logging and desperately needed development in the Carpathian Mountains compete with the environmental threats to the Rika, though the Ukraine and six other governments have signed an agreement to promote sustainable development in the mountains. 

Increased levels of E. coli and contaminants from fertilizers and pesticides also threaten the rivers. 

I was pleased when I investigated the current state of the Nolichucky River to find it being monitored and improving in quality. Farmers and developers are being encouraged to limit livestock access to the river and to install drainage systems to reduce stormwater runoff. These actions resulted in improved water quality in the three sections of the river being monitored for poor quality. One section was so improved it was removed from the list. 

I have not been able to investigate the water quality of the Rika. Instead, I have watched as red sludge from an industrial site oozes into the Danube and threatens more villages in Hungary. Depressing as that vision is, I hold onto the improvements made here following the Clean Water Act and hope that similar efforts in Central and Eastern Europe will lead to cleaner rivers there.

For further information on

• Efforts to monitor and protect the Nolichucky River see the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance website.
• Logging in the Smoky Mountains see Part III of the outstanding film series Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People. Even better - watch the whole series. 
• Tennessee's Nolichucky watershed management plans see the 2008 report.
• The 2003 agreement to protect and develop the Carpathian Mountain region, see The Carpathian Convention.
• Logging in the Carpathians see "The Contribution of forestry to sustainable development in the Carpathian Mountains" by Anatoliy Deyneka. Presented at the 2009 World Forestry Congress.
• Maps of the Rika, the Tysza River Basin and information about the Danube Watershed see the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River website.

Photograph from the U.S. National Archives.

Church Record Sunday: Sinking Creek Baptist Church (Carter County, TN)

 Some rights reserved by dmott9

During 1930s the Federal government’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) transcribed historical records. One project (#465-44-3-445) in Carter County, TN was to transcribe the records of Sinking Creek Baptist Church, founded about 1775. The 1783 log church still stands on the property. The WPA transcribed records dating from 13 Jan 1787 to 1879.  The records have been grouped into one volume and published by Mountain Press.

Sinking Creek was in Washington County when the records begin.  Carter County was formed on Apr. 9, 1796.

The WPA transcription of Record Book II – (A) (dated Apr 13, 1794 -Feb 1803) includes the following references that pertain to the Mulkey and Hampton families  (names searched for were Mulkey, Hampton, Eton/Acton, Baylis, Lacey, Howard, O’dell) or to probable slaves living in the area:

• On Apr. 13, 1794 the church is “Under the care of the Revd Mr. Jonathan Mulkey”. (p. 1 original document)

• On the same day the minutes note that Hannah Hays and Sarah Mulkey were issued Letters of Dismission. Sarah Mulkey’s name is crossed out. (p. 2 original document)

• On June 15, 1794 “a negroe woman named Jane Recd. under Recommendation at Sinking Creek Meeting House”. (p. 2 original document)

• On July 12, 1794 “Read by the Revd Mr. Jonathan Mulkey, the Minutes of the association held at Cedar Creek on the fourth Saturday in May”. (p. 3 original document)

• On Sept. 6, 1794 “a charge was had & Laid in against Mary Odle … & She appeared Criminale, the Church therefore thought her worthy of Excommunication, & the Said Mary Odl has agree’d not to Blame this Church JC”. (pp. 4-5 original document)

• On Sept. 6, 1794 “The Church agrees to Cite James Edin to Church Meeting at Sinking Creek the Second Saturday in October….” (p. 5 original document)

• On Dec. 13, 1794 “The Deacons for the Church of Christ at the Buffaloe Ridge met at the House of Joseph Crouch….
… agreed to Choose a Moderator for this Church, when the Revd Brother Jonathan Mulkey was unanimously chosen JC.” (pp. 5-7 original document)

• On Jan. 18, 1797 “The Church … doeth Excommunicate John Carr on Sartain Chargis Lade in by the Church at the fork of Little which is these 1st he is Gilty of persuadeing a Negro to Run a way from his Master By his own Confestion ….” (p. 15 original document)

• An undated list of “Money Collected for the Contingency of the Church by Deacon Hendrix” is included on pages 17-19 and includes the name of Sister Ecton. She paid 9 pence. (p. 18 original document)

• On Mar. 18, 1797 a list of payments made includes Phillomon Lacey and Elizb Ecton. Lacy paid 6 pence. Ecton paid 1 shilling 6 pence. (p. 26 original document)

No further records were found.

Wordless Wednesday: 1919 Women's Basketball Team

This image is from a photograph in the collection of Iva Williams Sawyer (pictured above, 2nd from right).  It shows the 1919 Womens' Basketball Team from East Tennessee State Normal School.


East Tennessee State Normal School Women's Basketball Team.  Photograph, 1919. Digital Image.  Privately held by Nolichucky Roots [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], 1999.

Amanuensis Monday: Robert Hampton, Bond Guarantor, 18 April 1822

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This bond is one of several documents supporting a close relationship of this Hampton family with the Bayles/Bayless family. I am very interested in this Hampton family and its possible relationship to Rachel Hampton (abt 1794-bef 1880), wife of Isaac Mulkey.

William Bayles, Thomas Finch and Robert Hampton; bond for appeal; William Bayles vs. David Deaderick; April 18, 1822.

Know all men by these present that __

William Boyls  Thomas Finch & Robert Hampton

are ___ and firmly bound unto David Deaderick

in the just and full sum of one thousand Dollars

well and truly to be paid unto the s^d David Deaderick

void on condition that the s^d William Bayles shall

present this appeal with effect. this day obtained from

the county court of Washington to the next circuit

court to be held for the county  of Washington

at the court house in Jonesbor^o on the Second

Monday in September next or in ca__ of failure

____ pay and satisfy all costs & charges which

may accru by wrongfully carrying a__ the same

Witness and hands & seals this 18^th day of

April 1822

                                                W^m Bayles – (seal)

                                                Thos Finch  (seal)

                                                          his

         Rob^t Hamton (seal)

                 mark

Source: Washington County Court Records 1780-1965, Subgroup G, Misc. Judicial Documents, 1777-1928, Box 1, Folder 8, Item 25. Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee University, Johnson City, TN.