The Pension Mess of Margaret McDaniel aka McDonough

 It all started in 2019, when I published a story titled “John McDonald/McDaniel Revolutionary War Soldier”.  I had hopes of becoming a DAR member and honoring my paternal line through this ancestor.  The application did not fly, and DAR has coded my Patriot red so future applicants will know there is a problem.  I was irritated but was given a year to find proof of his service. It just wasn’t meant to be, and I want to show my readers why I let this mess be until recently.  I want to thank researcher/genealogist, Rebecca Whitman Koford, for sharing her expertise on the problems with these old pension files, the importance of reading every page, and understanding the assigned file number. 

 I remember using Google to see what I could find on this ancestor after things went awry.  The first was a transcription by Will Graves of Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters who made the following observation after he transcribed “Pension application of John McDaniel (McDonald) R6681”.  This was his note, [Facts in file: John McDaniel (alias John McDonald) married Margaret Watkins in 1778 in Botetourt County, Virginia; in another document the date of their marriage is given as November 1, 1786; John McDaniel is said to have died April 27, 1833 [but that cannot be right if the date of his declaration is correct and it appears to be correct]; Margaret died August 7, 1849; in 1857, their children are said to be Mary Louderback, 70; John, dec'd, 68; Daniel, dec'd, 66; Avery, dec'd, 64; Thomas, dec'd, 62; Edward, dec'd, 60; Margaret Wolf, 58; Elizabeth Coffee, 56; Catharine Taylor, dec'd, 54; Nancy, dec'd, 52; and James McDaniel, 50.”

Table 1 File No. R.6681

Patriot  Name	File No.	State Served	Application County	Patriot’s Date of Death	Date of Application	Agent/ Lawyer Name
McDaniel, John or McDonald, Margaret	R6681	North Carolina	Rhea, Co &   Hancock Co., Tennessee (reopened by James McDaniel son/admin. of Margaret’s estate)	27 Apr 1833* (John) 7 Aug 1849 (Margaret)	3 Apr 1835   6 Jul 1857	Robert Cooley JP   Nicholas Baldwin, Shff. Thomas Lumpkin, Esq.

*More to read on this death date for this file number.

 

Now Margaret’s testimony is not included in File R.6681. Her application is found under R.6690 that I discovered later. Let’s begin with her words revealed on March 17^th, 1834, when the widow Margaret McDonough appeared before Lewis Mitchell, Acting Justice for Hawkins County, Tennessee in hopes of getting money owed to her husband John for his Revolutionary War service.  Are these the same patriot? Let’s see:

Table 2 File No. R.6690

Patriot  Name	File No.	State  Served	Application County	Patriot’s Date of Death	Date of Application	Agent/ Lawyer Name
McDonough or McDaniel or McDonald, John	R6690	Virginia	Hawkins Co., Tennessee Filed by the widow Margaret McDonough	14 Apr 1833	1834 Mar 17	Lewis Mitchell John Mitchell

 

Danger, danger Will Robinson! Besides the different file numbers, state of service, county of application, and date of application, did you notice that I didn’t enter John of Rhea County’s death date?  Hmmm…that can’t be right unless he was resurrected in Rhea County after dying in Hawkins County in 1833.

Then came the talk of two families from other researchers on Ancestry.com which I highly doubt given the vigor it would have taken John McDaniel to travel between Hawkins County and Rhea County, Tennessee in the early 1800s.  He was getting a bit long in the tooth (he was about 90 in 1830 according to the Hawkins County census) to make that trip which was dangerous at the time.  Think about it…driving from Rogersville (Hawkins) to Washington (Rhea), Tennessee in this day and time would be about 2 ½ hours. The common mode of travel in the 1830s would be stagecoach (aside from river travel or horseback) and that stagecoach ride would have taken almost three days.

 

Finally, a few other statements made in File R.6690 from the widow Margaret, "I was married to my husband John McDonough the spring after peace was made 1783 in Frederick County in the State of Virginia in which county he was living when he first went in to the service of the United States”.  Margaret also explains why she does not understand the spelling of the name that may appear on the military records, “I am unlearned and so was my husband that I cannot tell how his name was spelt”.   Look at the signature above.  That is John McDaniel’s signature of Rhea County who was literate. Aside from applying for a Revolutionary War pension in April 1835, he also wrote his will on June 13^th, 1835, that was probated in Meigs Co., TN on September 8^th, 1840.  This is an abstract of the Will:

 

McDaniel, John
Will Written: 13 June 1835; Probate: 8 September 1840; page 34
Children: Patsey, Samuel
Relatives: Thomas F. Taylor, grandson
Elizabeth B. Taylor, grand daughter
Sally E. Cox, grand daughter
Racheal B. Box, grand daughter
Elizabeth A. Cox, grand daughter
John Cox, grandson
Nelly McDaniel, grand daughter
Mentions: Old plantation below the mouth of Goodfield Creek where John Hampton now lives
Place where Taylor Inman now lives, for the use of his grandchildren
Place where Zackariah Cross now lives above the Goodfield Creek to grandchildren
Executors: Joseph McCorkle; Samuel McDaniel
Witnesses: Joseph McCorkle; James H. Briges 

 Interesting that there is no mention of a wife named Margaret, a son named James nor any aforementioned names in paragraph #2.

 

These are my thoughts; Margaret’s son James was handling her estate and had the pension case reopened at some point but probably around 1857.  This involved a new group of people as John Mitchell, who helped his mother, had passed away. Nicholas Baldwin was the high sheriff for Hancock County, Tennessee who was assisting James.  Had James McDaniel moved from Hawkins to Hancock County?  Probably not as Hancock County was created in 1844 when it was created from parts of Hawkins and Claiborne Counties. James was also represented by a lawyer named Thomas Lumpkin.  Who is Thomas Lumpkin?

 

A biography was found on mosiacnc.org:

 

“Thomas Lumpkin was born in Virginia in about 1808. A former clerk in the U.S. Pension Office for seven years, in 1849 he opened his own private legal firm and served as an attorney for many people that were pursuing pensions and other legal claims against the U.S. Government. He died in about July 1863.”  I also found the following ad that was published in many newspapers:

Source: Daily National Intelligencer and Washington Express, Tue., Jan 15, 1850, p. 4, Newspapers.com.

Thomas Lumpkin also circulated letters to various sheriffs in 1855 offering his services to help secure bounty land for “…the soldier, his widow, child or children….”  The fee breakdown: $5 for 40 acres, $7 for 80 acres, $10 for 160 acres and recommends the Sheriff “…charge whatever fee you deem proper….”  (Source: Library of Congress, Lumpkin, Thomas. Washington City, D. C. January 12th, . To the Sheriff of the County of Sir: Allow me to call your and the public attention to my circular herewith enclosed. The proposition now before Congress to give one hundred and sixty acres of land to e. Washington, 1855.). Hmmm…

 

So, Margaret clearly stated that she married John in Spring 1783 in Frederick County, Virginia but when File R.6681 was reopened the marriage certificate submitted took place in Botetourt County, Virginia in 1778. Reading through Margaret’s court appearance in Hawkins County on March 17^th, 1834, she stated that she was 67 years old making her birth year about 1767. That would make her 11 years old in 1778!   Now I wonder if her maiden name was really Watkins?  The statements she made in R.6690 never revealed her maiden name.

 

Now my mind is reeling! Had the previous application of Margaret been lost and then reopened under the wrong man? Was the woman who appeared in Hawkins the mother of James in Hancock County? I believe it is since James McDaniel was enumerated next to Peter Wolf (his sister Margaret’s husband) in 1840 and he also has an elderly woman between the age of 70-80 in his household. 

The result was James McDaniel's efforts made it all the way to the House of Representatives on April 13, 1860 and then I couldn't find anything else so I contacted History Hub (historyhub.history.gov) and received a response, "...on Feb. 17, 1860 a petition was submitted and referred to the House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions; on April 13, 1860 H.R. 642 was reported out of committee to the Whole House accompanied by a report; and on March 2, 1861 the papers of the children of John McDaniel, among others, were withdrawn from the files of the House for reference to the Commissioner of Pensions. 

 

Given that the papers were referred to the Commissioner of Pensions, I would not expect to find record of the McDaniel family among the records of Congress. According to the Federal Records Guide, the records of the Commissioner of Pensions are part of RG 15 -- Records of the Veterans Administration. 

If you'd like to find the report accompanying H.R. 642 mentioned in the Journal (it's numbered H.Rpt. 36-424), I recommend finding access to ProQuest Congressional, a subscription database with the full text of the U.S. Serial Set -- which has the published reports and documents of congressional committees. ProQuest is usually available through local academic and law libraries. It's also available through computers at National Archives research locations.

 

The Center for Legislative Archive, a unit within the National Archives, holds the official records of congressional committees and the records of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives as a whole. I did a quick check in the petitions referred to the House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions in the 36th Congress, as they're arranged alphabetically by claimant, but unsurprisingly (per reference above) I did not see anything.

 

If you have further questions, you are welcome to email the Center for Legislative Archives directly at legislative.archives@nara.gov...."

Did someone intentionally try to deceive the pension office?  I doubt that we will ever find the answer to this, but I like the following quote as I think of how many times explanations were provided regarding John’s name:

 

The Hon. Nyrum Reynolds, of Wyoming county, one of the American barristers of a former generation, was one day accused in court of bad penmanship and worse spelling. "Gent'l'men of the jury," said he "the learned counsel on the other side finds fault with my writin' and spellin', as though the merits of the case depended upon such matters! I'm agin luggin' in any sich outside affairs, but I will say that a man must be a great fool who can't spell a word more than one way."

 

Source: 1855 December 8, The Latter-Day Saints Millennial Star, Vol.17, No. 49, Page 784, F. D. Richards, Islington.

 

Bailey Sutton's Connection

Many years ago, the journey into my Sutton ancestry research began. I learned of the connection between my third great-grandfather, Thomas Sutton, and a man living in the same area (Claiborne County, Tennessee) named Bailey Sutton. It was assumed these men were brothers who descended from John Sutton and Nancy Coleman (I've also seen Mary Coleman), but the documentation was lacking. In 2008, I learned that Family Tree DNA offered Y-DNA testing and after much grumpiness, my father swabbed his cheek and mailed off the kit. I was so excited as I had visions of matches to many Suttons with documented family trees but when the results came in, I was shocked. Not one match to another Sutton and a mention by another researcher in the Sutton Group Surname Project that perhaps there had been a NPE (non-paternity event) in my dad’s line. Groan! My quest for the elusive Suttons continued. One thing I did learn was the Sutton Project did not have a large number of Sutton males who had tested. Note to self and others – don’t assume that all men with the same last name descend from the same ancestor and share the same haplogroup, etc.. 

A few years later, while reading Roberta Estes’ DNAeXplained blog, I learned that a man named Smith Sutton lived in Lee County, Virginia in 1806 and was a member of the Thompson Settlement Church.  Thomas had also been a member of that church.  Lee County shares a border with Claiborne County, Tennessee and that find was worth further investigation. I began scouring the internet for more information on Smith and stumbled on some old messages about him posted by Greg Clark. We exchanged information and he provided me with some old Lee County, Virginia court documents. We recruited one of his male Sutton cousins for Y-DNA testing. Greg and his cousin descend from Zacheus Sutton who has been proven to be the son of Smith Sutton through Lee County, Virginia court documents dated February 28, 1815, "...John Mark one of the constables of this county having made return that he had executed the said attachment in the hands of James Gilbert and summoned him as a garnishee this day came as well one the plaintiff by their attorney as the said garnishee in his proper person to ho being sworn declared that he was indebted to the said Smith Sutton some time past in the sum of one hundred dollars and that at the request of the said Smith Sutton he executed his note for the said sum of one hundred dollars to Zachariah Sutton, son of the said Smith Sutton payable in good trade on the first day of January next...."   Zacheus and his wife, Susannah Applegate, left Lee County, Virginia in 1820 and settled in Scott County, Indiana. The DNA results arrived, and his cousin was a close match to my dad. Progress! Greg and I began to look for a male Sutton descendant of Bailey to participate in the Y-DNA testing to prove that Thomas, Zacheus, and Bailey were most likely brothers and the sons of Smith Sutton and Mary unknown. Finally, that day arrived (after several years of waiting) when his fourth great-grandson, through John Sutton and Sarah Pridemore, agreed to test. The results are in, and he is closely related to my dad and Greg’s cousin at 37 markers. 

Now I want to share with our new match what is known about Bailey’s connection to Smith and Thomas through the paper trail. The first record that connects Bailey to another Sutton is found in Lee County, Virginia’s 1813 Personal Property Tax List. The older man is Smith Sutton who is first recorded in Caswell County, North Carolina. We estimate that he was born about 1767 so he is old enough to be his father or uncle.

On March 30, 1815, in Lee County, Virginia a lawsuit was on the docket naming Joab Matlock, Smith Sutton, and Bailey Sutton as defendants and the plaintiff was Dennis Burnes.  The lawsuit appears to have been dismissed since Mr. Burnes was not a resident of the state.  

Bailey purchased 50 acres of land in Claiborne County, Tennessee on March 26, 1827.  This was very interesting to me since the assignee was Drury Lawson (Thomas’s father-in-law) and the chain carriers were Diadamma Sutton and James Dooley.  This discovery was a few months ago as I perused the Claiborne County, Tennessee land deeds on Familysearch.org.  It not only shows a connection to Thomas, but also introduces another Sutton, Diadamma!  Who is she?  Could she be a first wife as it is known from later records that Bailey’s wife was Sarah (she is believed to be Sarah Worley or Sarah Petitt).  Perhaps Diadamma is a sister?  Sworn chain carriers had to be of legal age (males had to be 21 years of age) so I assume she was at least 21 years old.  Also, who is James Dooley?  Further investigation or documents revealed he lived in Claiborne County for several years. His first land entry was recorded in 1815.  James Dooley continued to live near Thomas and Bailey until the 1850 census where he was enumerated as an 88 years old White male born in Virginia.  It is assumed he died before 1860 since he is not found on that census.  That is all to be discovered on the chain carriers.

Back to Bailey.  He is enumerated in Lee County, Virginia in the 1830 and 1840 census records and on the personal property tax there in 1831-1834, 1836, and 1837.  He was appointed as the Mulberry Road overseer from the Crocket Works to the Powell River in Claiborne County in 1834.  Two hundred acres was purchased by him in 1845 in Claiborne County from William Roark.  Bailey was enumerated in Subdivision 7, Claiborne County in 1850 along with his wife, Sally, and 10 children (he is believed to have had 14 children).  We also learn from this census that he was born in North Carolina (Thomas and Zacheus were also born in North Carolina) around 1795, his occupation is farmer, and his real estate property is valued at $400.00.  Bailey and the family aren’t found on the 1860 census, but he is taxed on 160 acres in Claiborne County in 1862.

 

In 1868, Bailey purchased a tract of land (196 acres) in Laurel County, Kentucky on the Laurel River for $125 from Jarvis and Francis Jackson.  Bailey and the family are enumerated in Laurel County in 1870. His household consists of his wife, Sally, and daughters Mary Jane (unmarried) and Mahala and her husband James Sulfridge and their five children.  Bailey’s real estate is valued at $100, and his occupation was wheelwright.  The 1880 Laurel County census would be the final enumeration for Bailey and Sally who are living in the household of his daughter Mahala Sulfridge and family.  

 

Sarah passed away in May 1886 and her obituary was published on May 7, 1886, in The Mountain Echo, London Kentucky, “Died on last Tuesday evening at the residence of H.C. Sutton, of general debilities, Mrs. Sarah Sutton, wife of Uncle Bailey Sutton. Mrs. Sutton was between 80 and 85 years of age and leaves quite a number of children and grandchildren to mourn her death.”  Soon after his wife passed away, Bailey sold his Laurel County land on October 18, 1886, to his son and daughter-in-law, Harvey C. Sutton and Mary Sutton (Justice), for $300.

Bailey’s obituary was published in The Mountain Echo on May 10, 1889, as follows “The funeral sermon of Uncle Bailey Sutton will be preached at Slate Hill Church on the first Sunday in June by Elders Ewell and Cheek.  Everybody is invited to attend.”  Both were buried in Breastworks Hill Cemetery, which is also known as Cemetery Hill in Laurel County, Kentucky.

It is amazing to think that we now have three descendants of Smith Sutton connected from the states of Oklahoma, Indiana, and Tennessee. Thomas' grandson, Noah Sutton, left Tennessee around 1890 for Fannin County, Texas and his Y-DNA representative was my father who lived near Oklahoma City. Zacheus' Y-DNA descendant lived in Jackson County, Indiana.   Bailey's Y-DNA descendant still lives near where I began researching records in Claiborne County, Tennessee. 

 

If at first you don’t succeed, search, search again. That is why we call it re-search.

--Mary Harrell-Sesniak, Genealogy Humor

 The Hornes of Perry County, Alabama

I’ve often thought my second great-grandfather, Milo Washington Leonard (also known as Mack or Wash) was a bit of a mystery.  His parents were Levi A. Leonard and Mary Ann Horne and married on June 15, 1825, in Bibb County, Alabama.  Levi is one my few relatives that was born in Massachusetts but headed to the South as a young man without family.  I suspect his journey started through military service in the 1820's.  He was appointed as the Justice of the Peace in Bibb County in 1826, served in the military in 1849 Perry County, Alabama as an adjutant for the 3^rdDivision, 14^th Brigade, 32^nd Regiment.  Levi’s final census (1850) lists him with two sons (Silas, 12 and Alvin, 7) working as a penmanship teacher in Tuscaloosa County.  Of course, I wondered where his wife and Milo was.  Unfortunately, Levi passed away from consumption at the age of 60 as recorded on the January 1860 Perry County, Alabama mortality schedule.  

This ad ran for a few months in "The Independent Monitor" newspaper.  Source: Newspapers.com

Meanwhile in 1850, Mary Ann was enumerated with her parents, Jesse and Mary Horne (nee Duke), along with two brothers named Washington and Andrew.  She was found in Perry County, Alabama again in 1860 with her siblings Washington and Elizabeth but her mother had passed away.  Jesse died in 1861 and mentioned in his will that two of his heirs, George W. Horne and Mary Leonard, are of unsound mind.  A review of the 1860 census confirms this, but the enumerator wrote a comment for Washington Horn and Mary Leonard that said, “Idiotic studying morma”.   Strange.  Could “morma” be Mormon?  There were two heirs mentioned in her father’s will that were living in Utah territory – Thomas and Andrew Horn.  Now I am intrigued so onto see what can be discovered about these two brothers.

 

Thomas is the youngest of Jesse Horne’s children being born about 1831.  If this birth year is correct, then he married his bride, Sarah Carpenter, on November 29, 1848, when he was only 17 years old.  He is missing from the 1850 census but found in Utah with his family in 1860; however, he united his niece Louanna Leonard in marriage to Theophilus Nixon on November 4^th, 1852 in Perry County.  This document provides some great information!  It states that Thomas is an Elder of the “Mormon Church” and the marriage was performed in the presence of James and Lucindy Rhone (this couple is Louanna’s sister and brother-in-law), Andrew Horne (Thomas' brother), Martin Harrison (this gentleman is most likely the husband of his niece Malinda Carolyn Horne), and Washington Horne (Thomas’ “idiotic” brother).  

 

Now I am amazed at this point.  I have spent many hours at Family History Centers (branches of the Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah that is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and peruse their digitized catalog on Familysearch.org.  I owe many thanks to the preservation of genealogy records to this organization.

Source: https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/settlementmap

Back to Thomas Horne, he is found in the Church History Biographical Database as a “pioneer”.  To earn this designation means travel to Utah was completed by 1868 by wagon or handcart (Source: Mormon Pioneer Emigration Facts, Christine T. Cox, Manager of Visitor and Reference Services, March 2018).  He and his family traveled with the Moses Thurston Company that departed on July 3, 1855, from Mormon Grove, Kansas and arrived in Salt Lake Valley on September 19, 1855.  Thomas and his wife, Sarah, died just a few days apart in 1914:

 

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Horne who were taken last August by their daughter Mrs. Matt McDonald to Butte, Montana, were brought here for burial last Wednesday.  They had been sick quite a while before they went to Montana, and Mrs. McDonald felt she could give them better care if she had them at her home.  They both passed peacefully away only a few days difference between their deaths.  Mrs. Horne was 83 years of age and Mr. Horne 82. (Source:  The Journal (Logan, Utah), 5 Feb 1914, p. 8).

 

Were more family members of Jesse Horne affiliated with this faith in Alabama?  Yes, his older brother Henry Horne was listed as an Elder of the Five Mile, Perry Alabama branch on 29 Feb 1844.  Given that Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism and the Latter-Day Saints movement) and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered by an armed mob at the Carthage Jail in Illinois on June 27^th, 1844, then I wonder if many people abandoned this new faith for fear of being harmed.  Henry and his family remained in Alabama, and it is hard to ascertain if the Five Mile branch continued.

 

Now as this story ends, I must say that I would never have known that Levi Leonard and Mary Ann Horne were the parents of Milo Washington Leonard if it had not been for connecting with previous researchers on Ancestry.com.  He never appeared on a census record with his parents or siblings. I did find Washington Leonard listed as a 21 year old on the 1860 Tuscaloosa census which is most likely him since he enlisted for the Confederacy at Tuscaloosa, Alabama on September 13, 1861, as a private in Co. K, 20 Reg’t Alabama Infantry.   Returning to the probate records of Milo’s grandfather, there was an update of the heirs published on March 18, 1867 that includes a documented connection to his mother and some siblings, “…Silas Leonard living in Perry County, Mack Leonard supposed to be living in Texas, Lucinda Roane widow of James Roane dec’d living in Perry County, & Eliza Brelland wife of Arch Breland living in Mississippi in right of their deceased mother Mary Leonard and all twenty one years of age…].  Did I mention that Milo is known as Mack, Wash, Washington, and M.W.?!  

Milo Washington Leonard passed away on April 24, 1907 at the age of 64 in Fannin County Texas and is buried in the Gum Springs Cemetery in Carson.  His wife, Mahala Duke Patillo would outlive him 24 years passing away on September 5, 1931 and was buried beside him.  

Source: Milo Washington Leonard Source: Ancestry.com

Pioneer Settler Died Saturday in Carson Community

 

With the death of Mrs. Mahala Leonard last Saturday afternoon at 4 o’clock at her home near Carson, there was removed from our community one of the oldest as well as one of the best-known residents.

 

Mrs. Leonard was 83 years of age and had resided in Fannin County over 60 years.  She and her husband who died several years ago were identified with the activities of the county in its pioneer days.  Mrs. Leonard enjoyed a wide acquaintance over the county and in adjoining counties. She was the last charter member of the Baptist church at Carson having assisted in its organization over a half century ago.

 

She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. T. J. Welch of Carson and Mrs. Will Brewster of Lockney, Texas, and two sons, D.S. Leonard of Ravenna and T.E. Leonard of Carson.  Many grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive her.  Deputy Sheriff Jack Leonard of Bonham is her grandson.

 

Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon, being conducted by Rev. Thos. Reece, Baptist preacher. Interment was at Gum Springs, near Carson.  A large number of relatives and friends from various sections of Fannin County were present.

Mahala Duke Leonard nee Patillo (from my grandmother's photo collection)

 

Early East Tennessee Connections

Who is in my 4^th great-grandparent’s F.A.N. club (that’s short for family, associates and neighbors) that many people overlook?  Which grandparents you say?  Joseph and Jane (Walker) Epperson who lived near Thomas Epperson of Hawkins.  There are so many connections so why has it taken so long for me to realize this?  All I can say is if it was a snake, it would have bit me! Read about Thomas’ path to East Tennessee and if you are related tell me if you agree. There are some fascinating connections to early Tennessee history.  Yet Thomas is showing us where the family lived along the way.  First, there is some explanation as to why I call him Thomas of Hawkins (Hawkins County, Tennessee).

Source: Olddesignshop.com

He is often confused with Thomas Epperson of Charlotte County, Virginia because both served in the Revolutionary War and survived the war; however, Thomas of Hawkins served for the state of North Carolina as a private and died around 1848 in Tennessee while Thomas of Charlotte served for Virginia as a lieutenant and died in August 1805 in Virginia.  The proof is in the documents (a will and pension files).  

Thomas of Charlotte’s will was written on September 15, 1791 and proven in court on October 7, 1805.  He left 20 shillings to his sister Martha Wood and her heirs and 20 shillings to his nephew Carlos Wood.  His wife, Martha, inherited his real and personal estate.  Upon her death the estate is left to his nephews named Thomas and William Atkins.  The executors are his wife along with Quin and Jacob Morton (Source: W. B. 2, Pg. 316, Charlotte County Courthouse).  His pension application was filed by his widow on December 10, 1838 and we learn that Thomas and Martha, daughter of John Cardwell, were married on July 20, 1778 in Charlotte County, Virginia.  This is definitely not the Thomas Epperson who lived in Hawkins County, Tennessee!

 

Thomas of Hawkins’ pension was granted in 1834, Hawkins County, Tennessee.  He tells us he was born in Buckingham County, Virginia in 1760 and entered as a volunteer in 1779 under the command of Col. Joseph Williams, Capt. Pleasant Henderson, Lt. John Colbert in Surry County, North Carolina.  He was discharged at the Long Island of the Holston after serving four months.  He volunteered again in 1780 in the Regiment of Col. Henry Clark, Capt. Benjamin Clark, Lt. John Wheeler in Sullivan County, North Carolina “now Tennessee Broad River on the big island...” and served three months.  Thomas was living in Washington County, North Carolina now State of Tennessee when he volunteered in September 1782 under the command of Col. John Sevier (the future governor of the State of Franklin and State of Tennessee), Capt. Amos Bird (one of the first Justices of the Peace in Greene County, Tennessee and owned over 1,000 acres of land in Tennessee), and Lt. Gragg.  Thomas also mentioned that he moved to Greene County, Tennessee and then Hawkins County when questioned for his pension.

Thomas Epperson Pay Voucher 12 Jun 1783 Washington Sullivan, NC

He purchased 200 acres in Hawkins County, Tennessee while residing in Greene County, Tennessee on June 13, 1809, from Jonathan Hale of Hawkins County.  The tract is described as bounded on War Creek the waters of Clinch River.  The document one of the witnesses for this transaction was Jesse Epperson.  Who is Jesse?

 

Curiosity compelled me to read through the catalog of documents for Greene County, Tennessee.  There is a tax list for 1783 with the names of David and Joseph Epperson. Could that be one of the David Eppersons of Albemarle County, Virginia (The story of David Epperson & his family of Albemarle County, Virginia)?  A discovery of not one but two Joseph Eppersons was made in court records.  The entries were found in the May term Minutes 1784:

 

Joseph Eppison Junr Vs David Black, Henry Conway, Jno. Bird, James Gillasby, William Gillaspy, Saml Glass, and Adam Kuykendol } T.A.B. damage 5000 £ LB atts issd. and on the following page another entry for Joseph Eppison Senr. Vs The Same Adam Kuyl Exd}…

 

Source: Ancestry.com

Since Thomas mentioned Washington County then it would be interesting to see what can be found there.  A land record dated 3 Jul 1792 for 200 acres on Lick Creek for Joseph Epperson that was surveyed by Alex Outlaw (a veteran of the American Revolution, served in the assembly of the State of Franklin, delegate for North Carolina that ratified the US Constitution in 1789, and represented Jefferson County, Tennessee in the Tennessee Senate).  Fascinating!

 

More Eppersons were found in Washington County Tennessee prior to 1800 (William, Peter, Samuel, Thomas, and Benjamin).  Apparently, Anthony Epperson was among the members of the Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church that was formed in 1779 and the pastor was Tidence Lane.  Joseph and Jane Epperson have a connection to Tidence Lane as he was involved in the organization of the Big Springs Baptist Church located in Claiborne County, Tennessee where they were listed as members in the Minutes of August 4, 1802.

 

Source: Piedmonttrails.com

One Joseph Epperson purchased 500 acres on Cedar Creek in Hawkins County, Tennessee on July 20, 1792.  He sold 200 acres to Jno. Rainey on April 3, 1793 and another portion (amount is not legible to Jno. Terry the same day.  Could this be my 4^th great-grandfather or is this Joseph Sr. mentioned in that Greene County, Tennessee lawsuit?  The land purchase on March 31, 1803 in Hawkins County was definitely my 4^th great-grandfather Joseph.  One hundred acres was purchased from Neal McCoy for 20 pounds and described as situated on Indian Creek on David McCoy’s line.  John Walker who was Joseph’s father-in-law was a witness along with William Paine.

 

Thomas, Jesse and Joseph Epperson appear on the 1811 tax list of Capt. Allen’s Company in Hawkins County, Tennessee.  My theory is these three men were brothers.  Jesse was also named as an executor in Joseph’s will dated September 26, 1814.  Was Jesse living nearby?  Yes, he purchased 200 acres from William Lea merchant of Leasburg, North Carolina on December 14, 1803, in Hawkins County “…in the valley between Clinch Mountain & the Copper Ridge in a part of War Creek…”.  This deed was witnessed by William Byrd and Jonathan Hale (connection to Thomas’ land purchase).  

 

After Joseph died, he left 100 acres to Jane (most likely the 100 acres purchased from Neal McCoy) and indicated that the land should go to his sons John and Thomas after her death.  After Joseph’s death, Jane purchased an additional 140 acres from Thomas Johnson on the waters of Indian Creek in Hawkins County.  This purchase took place on September 3, 1819 and was registered on January 26, 1824.  Jane Walker is enumerated within a few households of Thomas on the 1830 census.  

 

What else is known about Thomas of Hawkins?  His wife is said to be Mary Cross but I have not confirmed this; however, his wife was definitely named Mary (she was mentioned in the lawsuit of William Mills vs Jeremiah Sims and Peter Elrod in Hawkins County April, 1819).  Thomas and Mary’s known children are Shadrach M. Epperson, Esq. and Elizabeth Epperson. Possibly another daughter named Lydia Epperson. Shadrach married Jane (maiden name said to be Orick). Elizabeth married Walter Allen on April 29, 1802, in Greene County, Tennessee and enumerated on the same 1830 census page as Thomas in Hawkins County.  Lydia Epperson married John Hayes on March 14, 1818, in Hawkins County, Tennessee and died in 1888 in Indiana.

Source: https://tslaindexes.tn.gov/search-all-collections

Back to Jane and another connection to Thomas.  On June 6, 1853, his son, Shadrach M. Epperson, was a witness to the sale of a tract of land owned by Jane to her son-in-law Archibald McCoy.  This sale became the issue of a lawsuit, Claiborne Walker & Others Vs. Archibald McCoy & Wife, in 1859.  Claiborne was the son-in-law of Jane Epperson and administrator of her estate.  The heirs mentioned in this suit were Hester Walker (Claiborne) and Polly Walker (John A.) County of Hawkins, Nancy Bowman County of Grainger, Thomas Epperson who resided in Missouri, the children of her son John Epperson (my 3^rd great-grandfather) who was deceased (Calvin Epperson, Elizabeth Allen, Thomas Epperson, Nelson Epperson, Phamy Hipshear wife of Martin) all living in Grainger County except Elizabeth who resided in Hancock County.  

 

Thomas of Hawkins lived a long life and died around 1848 in Grainger County.  He has proven to be a great resource for connecting the whereabouts of my Epperson ancestors in the early development of the State of Tennessee.

 

Note to self:  Follow Ancestry genealogist Crista Cowan’s advice and don’t create your own brick walls!

 

A Murder in Kentucky

I suspect that Bailey Sutton is my 3^rd great-granduncle which makes him a brother to my 3^rd great-grandfather Thomas Sutton of Claiborne County, Tennessee, and Zacheus Sutton who settled in Scott County, Indiana.  A few descendants of Bailey shared a story on Ancestry.com about one of his sons.  It was published in many newspapers.  Before I share the sad details, please consider updating your family tree if it has John Sutton and Nancy Coleman as the parents of these men.  Ponder this, the 1813 tax list for Lee County, Virginia shows Bailey and Smith Sutton as the only two Sutton’s there. They are also defendants in a lawsuit in 1815.  Smith is also much older than Bailey.  So where are the sources for John Sutton and Nancy Coleman?  Hmmm…onto the story.

Bailey’s son, George Washington Sutton, age 16, appears on the 1850 Claiborne County, Tennessee census in subdivision 7 (p. 53 on Ancestry and Uncle Thomas is on p. 100) along with his parents and siblings.  The following year he became a married man as he wedded Martha England in Claiborne County.  The marriage was performed by James Cheek, J.P.  By 1860, he is employed as a laborer, head of his own household, and the father of six in subdivision 9, Claiborne County.  His personal estate is $125.  At the age of 27, he enlisted in the infantry for the Union during the War between the States.  George survived the war and mustered out on February 23, 1865.  Sadly, the 1870 census will be his last enumeration.  He and Martha have eight children in their household ranging from 5 to 18 (three girls and five boys). He is working in a shoe shop with a personal estate of $200.  He applied for a military pension on May 7, 1878.

The newspaper presses were turning and the hacks writing their stories on January 17, 1879, when the body of George W. Sutton, a native of Tazewell, Tennessee was found.  The story published in The Memphis Evening Herald wrote that his body was found about four miles from Hall’s Gap with a rifle ball through the skull.  Another story mentions that the body was found near the house of Mr. John Warren with a load of 10 d. nails in his head (I believe this was meant to be John Weaver who owned the tavern where George had spent the night).  The suspects names are Ike Stapleton and a man named Ferrill and goes onto say Sutton was a shoemaker by trade from Tazewell, Tenn. but goes out peddling liniment. They say he is an unoffending and sober man.

 

Halls Gap Station 1879
Source: shop.old-maps.com

The papershake.blogspot.com has posted a few more articles about the murder.  

 

January 24, 1879:

Sutton, Ferrell, and Stapleton spent the night at John Weaver’s (5 or 6 miles from Crab Orchard), “a frail damsel being the object of their visit.”  Hmmm…  Sutton left the next morning and Ferrell followed with the intention to kill and rob him.  The deed was done, and Sutton’s pockets were emptied, and his body dragged from the road to the woods.  Fortunately, the shot was heard.  Ferrell apparently returned to Weaver’s with blood on his coat and said it was from a rabbit he had killed.  Stapleton and Ferrell were arrested and questioned.  Stapleton admitted that he knew Ferrell was going to murder George.  Ferrell was held without bail.

 

Now picture this, the reporter writes of threats of lynching the prisoner as it was the most brutal murder that happened in Lincoln County, Kentucky.  The writer goes onto say that Ferrell acts like a wild man, pacing his cell ever and amen, apparently fearful that a moment’s rest would be too much for his over-burdened conscience as to leave but little doubt that he is not wrongfully accused.  Ferrell is described as a young man of passably fair exterior and not looking the person capable of such a deed.

 

An acquittal was published on February 7, 1879, for Jacob Weaver, Sarah Jane Weaver, Ike Stapleton, and Elizabeth Stapleton who were arrested as accessories to the murder of George.  Apparently, Ferrell told them he planned to kill Sutton and then informed them that he had done so, and they were afraid to report it.  Nice.

 

On Friday, May 2, 1879, John Ferrell was convicted of the murder of George Washington Sutton and given a life sentence.  It is thought he was given leniency for confessing to the murder.  However, another story was published on August 8, 1879, informing us that William Barnett, Moses, Barnett, and John Ferrell, life prisoners, and James Martin and Jos. Lambert, sentenced for five years, had escaped from the Penitentiary.  Moses, Martin, and Lambert were captured but the others were at large.  Still yet another story on August 15, 1879, describes John Ferrell’s conviction and blames the jury for the escape as it says, “Ferrell would have long since dangled from the end of a rope, instead of being loose, seeking whom he may destroy.”

 

September 5, 1879, a reward is offered by the Governor of $250 and another of $100 by the Keeper of the Penitentiary.  One-week later Ferrell is captured in Hawkins County, Tennessee and now in his “old quarters at Frankfort.”

 

Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort 1846-1860
Source: Wikipedia

“July 2, 1897, Pardoned. – John Ferrill, who killed a shoemaker named Sutton in the East End [of Lincoln County] in 1879 and got a life sentence, has been pardoned.  The reasons given for his pardon are his long imprisonment, his bad health and his heroic behavior on the occasion of Fires and other disasters in the prison.”

 

According to the author of the papershake blog, Governor Bradley’s list of pardons indicated that Ferrell was pardoned on June 29, 1897, from the Eddyville Penitentiary.

 

It is such a shame that George survived the Civil Way only to be shot down by a thief.  For those who descend from this line, I would encourage you to order the court documents regarding his murder as they are probably available.  Also, if you are a male Sutton of Bailey Sutton's line, please consider submitting a Y-DNA kit to Family Tree DNA.  Thank you!

 

In remembrance of a life taken much too soon.