There is a road located in the Caney Valley that runs through the counties of Claiborne and Hancock County, Tennessee and perhaps Grainger County too. It is peppered with cemeteries and would be a fine place to spend Memorial Day honoring the dead. The road is the Upper Caney Valley Road.
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| Upper Caney Valley Road |
Some of the cemeteries found along this road are the Barnard Cemetery, Clark Cemetery, New Bethel Cemetery, Brogan Cemetery, and the Cook Cemetery. It is also the road we traveled on before turning to on the Jackson Ridge Road to navigate to the old Epperson family farm where Nelson and Martha Epperson are buried along with their daughter, Gracy.
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| Cook Cemetery (aka Pleasant Valley Missionary Baptist Church Cemtery) located on the Upper Caney Rd. & Jackson Ridge |
It was a cool fall day in October 2018 when Pam Epperson and I stopped at many of these cemeteries to look for relatives. As I was strolling through the Cook cemetery lo and behold I was pleasantly surprised to find headstones for McHenry Sutton and his wife, Sarah Wilburn Sutton.
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| Sarah Sutton |
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| McHenry Sutton |
McHenry Sutton is my 2nd great-uncle and the fourth child born to James and Malissa Sutton. Like all of his siblings, he was born in Hancock Co., Tennessee but, unlike brothers John, James, and Noah, he remained there along with several other siblings. He married Sarah Wilburn in 1875. True to his roots, McHenry farmed the land that he obtained from his brother, Peter Sutton in the following land deal:
We Peter Sutton and wife Emley Sutton have this day bargained and sold to McH Sutton a certain tract or parcel of land lying in the 7thdistrict of Hancock County and State of Tennessee for and in consideration of the sum of Fifty Dollars to us in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, said land lying in the Caney Valley it being Peter Sutton’s part of a tract of land formerly belonging to his father James Sutton decd. We Peter Sutton and Emley Sutton doth bind our selves our heirs and representatives to warrant and forever defend the title to said land and every part thereof to McH Sutton his heirs and assignes representatives against the lawful complaints of all persons whatever.
Given under our hands and seals August 31, 1886
Peter Sutton
Emley X (her mark) Sutton
Witness
J.B. Dodson
J.W. Givins
State of Tennessee, Hancock County: Personally appeared before me Henry Tyler deputy clerk of the County Court for said County, Peter Sutton and wife Emley Sutton with whom I am personally acquainted and acknowledged their signatures to the foregoing deed of conveyance for the purposes therein contained. Also came Emley J. Sutton wife of Peter Sutton and after being examined separately and apart from her said husband acknowledged that she executed the same freely voluntarily and understandingly without compulsion or constraint upon the part of her said husband and for all the purposes therein expressed.
Witness my hand at office in Sneedville this the 31stday of August 1886. H. Tyler D.C.
State of Tennessee, Hancock County: the foregoing deed of conveyance with the clerks certificate was filed at my office in Sneedville August the 23rd1887 at 11 o’clock A.M. Entered in note book “A” page 2nd Registered in book M:pages 156 & 157. N.T. Baker Register.
We the undersigned heirs of James Sutton decd. have this day bargained and sold and doth hereby transfer and convey to McH Sutton and his heirs forever for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred and forty dollars to us in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged a certain tract or parcel of land lying in the 7th District of Hancock County and State of Tennessee, containing by estimation twenty-five acres to be the same more or less. And bounded as follows:
Beginning on sugar tree & black walnut on the east side of the Cane Ridge. Thence eastwardly to a buckeye and mulberry. Thence straight to the “second class road” where George H. Seals now lives. Thence north-westwardly with said “second class road” to a walnut corner. Thence eastwardly with a marked line to a buckeye corner on top of a little ridge. Thence with a marked line to the branch near where the aforesaid McH Sutton now lives. Thence with said branch to a hickory corner on the aforesaid branch near a field. Thence northwardly to the top of the Caney Ridge to a marked chestnut. Thence westwardly with the top of said ridge to the “Old Wilson line.” Thence back with the aforesaid Wilson line to the aforesaid “second class road.” Thence with Isham Sutton’s line back to the beginning corner. To have and to hold the said to the aforesaid McH Sutton his heirs and assigns forever. We do covenant with the aforesaid McH Sutton that we are lawfully seized of said lands. Have a good right to convey it and that the same is unencumbered. We do further covenant and forever defend the title to said land. Given under our bond and seals. This August the 22ndday 1887.
Malisa J. X (her mark) Sutton, James X (his mark) Sutton, Martelia X (her mark) Sutton, Noah Sutton, Aley X (her mark) Sutton
Attest: Joseph M. Seal, George H. Seal
McHenry and Sarah did not have any children but they may have helped raise one of John Sutton’s daughters, Sarah, after the death of her mother, Nancy Bray Sutton, as Sarah is enumerated with her uncle and aunt in 1900. I suspect that McHenry and Sarah were members of the Pleasant Valley Missionary Baptist Church as the Cook Cemetery is located by the church.
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| Pleasant Valley Missionary Baptist Church |
Luckily, I can end this blog with a photo, provided by my 3rd cousin Betty Seal Turner, of McHenry and Sarah. It is great to put a face to the name:
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| McHenry Sutton and Sarah Wilburn Sutton |
I was looking at the photo and thought perhaps there was some resemblance to an unknown man photo from Susie Kelley Clarke's collection. The photo was taken at the Foster Studio in Bonham, Texas. Could it be a younger McHenry? Perhaps he visited Noah and Alley sometime during the land deal?
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| Unknown man |
There is something about the way he holds his jacket as a young man and then the way McHenry holds his jacket as an older man. They both sport a mustache that appears the same and the hair texture that is a bit wavy. Last but not least they are both handsome men. Chime in and let me know if you see a resemblance.
Oh and the best thing about running across their headstones is I seized the opportunity to add their headstone photos to their Find A Grave profiles!
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