Mary Benson was born to Hugh Benson sometime after his 1671 immigration, probably between 1673 and 1678 in St. Clements’s Hundred. Her mother’s name was Catherine.

St. Clement’s Hundred was defined as St. Clements Island and 5 miles into the mainland of present-day Maryland.

Mary was married to Bowling Speake sometime before March 31, 1739, when they conveyed land that she inherited from her father to Thomas Spalding.

Bowling Speak was born in 1674, so it’s likely that Mary was born around the same time. She would have been about 65 years old in 1739.

Were it not for that deed, we would have no link to the identity of Mary’s father.

Archives of Maryland, Volume 42, Assembly Proceedings, May 26-June 22, 1741.
The Lower House. Page 212; Liber L. H. J., Page 272: (Saturday Morning June 6.
1741) By the Committee appointed to enquire into the Facts contained in the Petition of Thomas Spalding and Catherine his Wife June the 6. 1741

Your Committee find on Inspecting the Papers of the Petitioners that the Land called Crackbornes Purchase containing 200 Acres was Granted on the 24th day of October Anno Domini 1659 unto Richard Crackborne Assignee of Walter Peak and Peter Mills Assignees of Paul Simpson in Fee.

Your Committee further find that the said Richard Crackborne by his Deed bearing date the 17th day of November 1681 did Bargain and Sell the said Tract of Land to Richard Gardiner of Saint Marys County in Fee Your Committee also find that Richard Gardiner and Elizabeth his Wife of St. Marys County aforesaid did Convey to Hugh Benson of the same County Planter 100 Acres Part of the said Tract in Fee [p. 273]

Your Committee likewise find that Mary Speake is the reputed Daughter and Heiress at Law of Hugh Benson and that she intermarried (as it is said) with Bowling Speak of Charles County and that the said Bowling Speak and the said Mary his Wife, by their deed Bearing date the 31st of March 1739 did Convey the said Parcell of Land unto the Petitioner Thomas in Fee All which deeds appear to Your Committee to be duly Executed Your Committee further find by the Information of W James Swann a Member of your House that the Land called Crackbornes Purchase mentioned by the Petitioners to be Granted is of greater Value than that Part of the Land the Petitioners pray to be enabled to dispose of called Seamour Town or known by the name of Leonards Town
All which is humbly Submitted to the Consideration of the House
Signed p Order Richard Dorsey Q Com.

On page 252, Crackburns is mentioned again.

And Whereas the Land also lying at the Head of Britains Bay in Saint Marys County called Crackburns Purchase Containing One hundred Acres which he Conceived to be of much more Value than the other and is desirous the same may be settled to the same uses as the aforesaid Part of a Tract of Land…

These records tell us that this land was located at Leonard’s Town, today Leonardtown, at the head of Breton Bay, very close to, if not a part of, St. Clements.

Mary would have grown up here.

It’s possible that Mary and Bowling Speak lived at Crackborne’s Purchase, aka Leonard’s Town, after their marriage which probably occurred sometime between 1795 and 1798.

Mudd’s Rest

In 1708, Bowling and Mary purchased Mudd’s Rest from Barbara Mudd, a daughter of Thomas Mudd. Thomas’s first wife was Juliana Gardiner, daughter of Captain Richard Gardiner, who died in 1674. His second wife was Sarah Boarman. Bowling bought land in Boarman’s Manor and in Zachia Manor from Luke Gardiner, so these families were tightly intermingled. I’ve always wondered if Mary’s mother is a member of these early families but to be very clear, that’s pure speculation.

Unfortunately, early land and lease records are incomplete, and marriage records are nonexistent.

We know that Bowling and Mary had at least three children who were living when Bowling wrote his will in 1750.

Truth be told, they probably had several more children, assuming that they married about the time Mary was 20 years old, so roughly 1795. If she had her last child at age 43, and had one child every 18 months, she would have birthed approximately 15 children. If some babies died at birth, she may have had more.

While they were living in Leonard’s Town, they would have attended the original St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church established in 1661, located where the cemetery is today.

Clearly, Mary buried many children. At least some very likely rest here in tiny graves that are unmarked today, but would have been marked with small wooden crosses at the time.

After Bowling and Mary moved further north, their children were probably buried in the cemetery that became the Original St. Peter’s Cemetery on land owned by Bowling beginning in 1718.

St. Peter’s Church cemetery, then just known as the Upper Zachia chapel, was much closer to where they lived near Bryantown than St. Francis Xavier’s near Leonard’s Town.

It was 27 miles back to St. Xavier but only 6 to St. Peter’s which was then just a cabin surrounded by the cemetery that started with one burial beside the “church,” then grew. The “cabin,” perhaps someone’s home, would have been where services were held. Catholicism was illegal, so there were no official Catholic Churches, nor publicly-known services. Burials would probably have been small and quiet.

Based on the fact that Bowling and Mary purchased Mistake in 1718, where the old cemetery and the present-day church are located – Bowling and Mary’s land was the location where the early clandestine Catholic church was located. It’s also a possibility that the burials of their children were among the first in the early cemetery.

This is undoubtedly where Mary rests too, surrounded by her loved ones, buried on her son’s land.

Mudd’s Rest Location

Bowling and Mary were living in Mudd’s Rest after 1708. Where was Mudd’s Rest?

According to Mudd family researchers, they conclude that Thomas Mudd’s children were born in Port Tobacco, as was Bowling Speake, and that the land included in Mudd’s Rest was included with or near other land owned by Mudd at the southern end of Zachia Swamp, as can be seen here.

I circled this area on the map, above. You can see the southern portion of Zachia Swamp to the left.

This land driving north from Allen’s Fresh in the area where Mudd’s Rest was located is still a combination of forest, woodland, farmland, and modern-day homes. This road parallels and curves along Zachia Swamp to the west.

We don’t know when Bowling and Mary sold Mudd’s Rest, but in 1718, Bowling bought both “The Mistake,” land that would one day be inherited by his two sons, in addition to “Boarman’s Manor,” where he and Mary lived for the rest of their lives.

Boarman Manor

You can see Bowling’s Boarman land on the map above, with a closer view, below. The red pin marks the beginning of his land on Hunter’s Run.

In 1718, Bowling and Mary would have been about 44 years old. They would have had a young family – children from newborn or toddlers to maybe 20 or so. Their son, Thomas of Zachia, would have been 18 or 20 in 1718. Eventually, Thomas and his brother would inherit Mistake.

It looks like Bowling and Mary were trying to provide for their children by purchasing two tracts of land from the Gardiner family.

The Speake family was very closely allied with the Gardiners. I don’t know if that’s because of neighborly proximity, their Catholic faith coupled with the fact that the Gardiner family amassed in excess of 5000 acres of land, or if they were related through Mary’s unidentified mother.

We know almost nothing of Mary’s life on Boarman’s Manor.

Part of their land was tillable, part was forest, and part was swamp.

Archaeological excavations show that the early families interacted with the local Native people who may have lived in a village on their land.

Mary’s children would have grown up roaming the woods and learning to navigate the swamps.

The boys would have hunted and farmed, and the girls would have learned how to spin, weave, probably tend the garden, and of course, cook.

Life in Colonial Maryland

What was life like in Maryland just a few years after settlement in 1634 on St. Clement’s Island? According to the National Register of Historic Places registration for Port Tobacco:

According to contemporary descriptions, most of those lots maintained as private residences or inns and stores with living quarters above were usually fenced with paling or posts and rails for the better properties and wattle or brush fencing for others. Almost all of the lots included a small garden, a detached kitchen, a meat house and one or two smaller outbuildings. Lot sizes were a half-acre or less and a surprising number had as many as 7 or 8 buildings standing on them.

I would wager that this description of the homestead was probably similar for outlying plantations too. The more compact your buildings and homestead footprint, the more tillable land.

One building in Port Tobacco was 18X22 with a brick chimney.

One of the early homes in Port Tobacco known as Chimney House, for obvious reasons.

The largest and most opulent home was 46X34, or just over 1500 square feet. I wonder if inns were larger. Perhaps not, since men were expected to share beds with other male guests.

Within a generation, many of the original families had procured land further away. Port Tobacco was located on a swamp, stiflingly hot and humid in the summer. Waste disposal from both humans and animals was problematic due to the chronically low water table. Stagnant water is unhealthy in many ways.

It’s no wonder that when Bowling didn’t inherit his father’s land in Port Tobacco, he turned to farming. Bowling purchased Mudd’s Rest in 1708, then, described as a planter, bought Boarman’s Manor and Mistake at Zachia Manor in two separate transactions, 3-months apart, in 1718.

In 1743, when Bowling, again described as a planter, sold 250 acres of Mistake, Mary signed a release of dower.

Bowling’s 1750 Will

According to Bowling’s will, prepared in 1750, they had three living children. Bowling also remembered, by name, two grandchildren, although he and Mary unquestionably had several more:

• Son Thomas (of Zachia) Speake to whom Bowling left part of Mistake where Thomas lived. Thomas was born about 1700 and married an unknown woman named Jane. They had 8 living children in 1755, including Edward, below.
• Son William Speake to whom Bowling left part of Mistake with his dwelling place. William was born about 1716 and married Elizabeth Hagan, his sister’s husband’s cousin, and possibly a woman named Mary later in life. In 1779, he sold his portion of Mistake and was living in Frederick County, MD.
• Granddaughter Ann Higdon to whom Bowling left “second choice of my beds an furniture my great chest one Dish & three plates one iron pot & Cattle and Sheep.” What we don’t know and can’t tell from this is which of Bowling’s children Ann Higdon was born to. We also don’t know what happened to Ann.
• Daughter Mary Baggott to whom Bowling left cattle, sheep, one feather bed and furniture and one chest. Mary was born about 1710 and married John Baggott.
• Grandson Edward Speake, son of Thomas Speak, to whom Bowling left “my Dwelling Plantation and also a small tract of land c(alled) the meadow also his first choice of the negroes and the first choice of my beds and fuz”

Men in colonial America didn’t write wills “just in case.” They wrote wills when they believed they were going to need them imminently. This tells us that Bowling was ill in 1750, and by inference, Mary was caring for him.

However, Bowling clearly recovered. In fact, so much so that in 1752, two years later, on March the first, he got himself in trouble.

Trouble!

Catholicism was outlawed in Maryland, and the Speake family was very clearly Catholic. We find Bowling in the court record in the Lower House of the Maryland judicial records:

The Lord Proprietary against Bowlen Speak} The said Bowlen Speak being bound by Recognizance for his Appearance here this Court, to answer of and concerning a Presentment by the Grand Jurors, for the Body of the Province of Maryland, against him found; for that he, on or about the first Day of March last, did, in a public Manner, drink the Pretenders Health, and good Success in his Proceedings; and being demanded whether he is guilty of the Premisses in the Presentment aforesaid mentioned, or not guilty, says he is guilty thereof, and submits to the Court’s Judgment thereon.

Bowling was fined 10 pounds of current money, but didn’t have it, so off to jail he went.

Jail!!!

A historic survey of the Port Tobacco jail site identified CH-172, above, as the historic location.

The old jail was built in the 1860s on the location of an earlier jail, conveniently located behind the 1820s courthouse. In 1727, the county built a courthouse and jail on this 3-acre site adjacent Chandler’s Town that eventually became Port Tobacco.

In 1729, the county surveyor laid out the town. More than 100 lots were arranged along a grid of streets, lanes, and alleys, plus a marketplace. A number of already improved lots were incorporated, including one owned by Mary Speake, the widow of Bowling Speake’s brother, John. Mary, John’s widow, succeeded her husband as an innkeeper.

Although we don’t know exactly where the Speake Inn was located, we do know that John Speake, Bowling’s brother, was the most prosperous innkeeper in Portobacco. On May 12, 1717, for example, while establishing some specific property lines, the commissioners met at the “House of John Speake’s in Portobacco Towne” to inspect land records.

I can just see those men, in their colonial era attire of long-sleeved collared shirts, knee-breeches, long stockings, a waistcoat or vest, and black buckled shoes, wearing their powdered wigs, huddled around a table, with mugs of grog, of course, pouring over parchment papers.

Today, little remains of the original Portobacco Towne of more than 80 homes.

The red arrow points to the location of the jail, behind the courthouse.

I visited a few years ago, but I had no idea at the time that my ancestor was confined in that jail, even if it was for a relatively short time. I should have walked around back.

Today, only the courthouse and three historic homes remain of Port Tobacco.

The other homes lining the market square would probably have resembled these.

Today, the old brick courthouse functions as a museum.

The interior of the courthouse is restored in the style of a colonial courtroom. Bowling would have seen something like this, minus the contemporary people, of course.

Did Mary attend court with Bowling that fateful day? Was she watching? What about their children? Were they sitting with their mother? Women didn’t typically “attend court,” but maybe Mary did anyway.

Did Mary stare out the window at the jail with a sinking feeling as Bowling defiantly and perhaps a little too gleefully, with absolutely no remorse, pronounced that he was, indeed, guilty, and submitted to the court’s judgment thereon?

Did she know what was coming? She knew they didn’t have money to pay, and his fine wasn’t payable in tobacco. Actual coinage was required.

Was Mary frightened for her 72-year-old rather outspoken and unapologetic husband to be remanded to jail?

Were Catholics safe? What if he got into an argument? He clearly had no hesitation when it came to expressing his sentiments about what was, at that time, a highly controversial and political subject. Politics and religion, especially combined, are extremely volatile topics. A 72-year-old man wouldn’t be able to protect himself in jail.

Bowling’s friends pledged security that he would pay his fine and bailed him out, but apparently, the judge, obviously knowing Bowling, was not convinced that he would behave. His friends had to fork over 50 pounds to ensure his good behavior until the next court.

I’d wager that Mary, at home was MUCH harder on him than the judge. Maybe Bowling wished he were back in jail. Or maybe he went to Edward’s house, or Thomas’s, or William’s. Or maybe we went and cleaned the barn. At least until the next court when he had to show up with the money. How would Bowling have raised that money anyway?

Why did Bowling get into trouble?

The Pretender, of course, whose health Bowling was toasting, refers to Charles Edward Stuart, “Bonnie Prince Charlie,” grandson of the deposed King Charles – a Catholic. The 1745 attempt of father and son to reclaim the throne from the Protestant monarchy is known as the Jacobite Rebellion. In other words, Bowling was very publicly proclaiming that he supported overthrowing the British King. Not a good idea.

Given that Bowling’s exclamation was public, and he drank to the Pretender’s health, it’s fairly obvious that he visited the local pub and maybe had a mite too much to drink. So, not only did he probably come home drunk, in his 70s, he also managed to get himself arrested, prosecuted, fined, and jailed.

Yep, I bet Bowling was in one HEAP of trouble with Mary.

I can just hear his children now, “Mom, PLEASE keep him at home!!!!”

Grief

In 1754, Bowling and Mary must have been feeling their age, and they sold part of both Boarman’s Manor and Mistake.

On July 23, 1755, Bowling was still transacting business. He sold 121 acres of land in Mistake to his son, Thomas of Zachia. Ten days later, Thomas wrote his will.

What happened?

As difficult as those early years must have been for Mary, burying three or four times as many children as survived, plus Bowling’s 1752 “indiscretion,” which landed him in “gaol,” 1755 had to have been the worst.

On September 13, two wills were probated, one following the other, on the same day. Mary had lost both Bowling and her son, Thomas of Zachia, between July 23 and early September. For all we know, they could have died within days or even hours of each other.

I can’t even begin to image the grief Mary experienced. It’s hard enough to lose a spouse, but to lose an adult child at the same time would have compounded that immeasurably. Not to mention that Mary had grieving grandchildren as well. Who would take care of them? How would they all survive?

Did William, her surviving son, build the coffins for his father and brother both? Were other people sick too? Were they buried side by side at St. Peter’s?

We know that Mary was living in both 1750 and 1755, because she is named as the executor of Bowling’s will. He described Mary as “my well-beloved wife” and left her life estate in his “dwelling plantation” and the rest of his personal estate. After that, it was to belong to their grandson, Edward Speake.

This bequeath to Edward is quite interesting. Edward was born to Thomas of Zachia about 1727. By 1750, Edward would have been in his early 20s – strong and marriage age.

In 1750, Bowling and Mary would have been in their mid-70s, quite aged for that time and place. I don’t know of course, but I’d wager that Edward was living with Bowling and Mary, or at least on their property, helping them and farming the plantation. Perhaps this bequeath was Bowling’s way of guaranteeing that there was someone nearby to help. After all, his two sons were living up on Mistake, six or seven miles distant.

I’m sure the idea was that Mary would continue to live on their home property and Edward would farm it and take care of things for Mary.

After that, it would be his.

Apparently, Edward didn’t love the farm quite as much as Bowling did.

Mary’s Death

Mary died sometime after Bowling’s estate inventory was filed, although, unfortunately, not detailed, on February 12, 1756. She probably died before June 17, 1758, when Edward sold 17 acres known as Speake’s Meadow adjoining the upper tract of Boarman’s Manor to Philip Edelen for 2000 pounds of tobacco. However, that conveyance may not be an outright sale. The Speak/e/s Family of Southern Maryland book reports that part of the original deed is missing, but it appears that Edward may have mortgaged this land, not sold it outright. The 17 acres remained in Edward’s name until 1769, when it appears in Philip Edelen’s name, suggesting that Edward may have defaulted on the loan.

Not to complicate matters, but It’s possible that Edward was able to take a mortgage on that land even though Mary was still living, since he clearly had a right to it after her death. By 1758, Mary would have been about 83 years old.

Mary may have died before 1758, though, because Edward is shown on the rent rolls for 1756-1758 as owning the 17 acres of Speake’s Meadow. It’s hard to know whether they would have recorded Mary as holder of the life estate, or the person who was actually working the land, paying the taxes and who would be the eventual owner in fee simple.

In 1760, Edward sold the remaining 159 acres of Boarman’s Reserve to Samuel Hanson, complete with “houses, gardens, orchard, fences and other improvements” for another 2000 pounds of crop tobacco. Mary was unquestionably deceased by this time.

I wonder at the disparity of 17 acres for 2000 pounds of tobacco, and 150 acres plus the rest of the farm for the same amount.

Having stood on this land, much of it is woodland and swamp, so perhaps this 17 acres of meadow was quite valuable, comparatively speaking.

No Mitochondrial Lineage

I think the high colonial mortality rate in Maryland, plus the various types of “swamp sickness,” have come home to roost.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mothers to all of their children, but only passed on to the next generation by females.

To find Mary’s mitochondrial DNA, we either need to begin with her own female descendants or those of her mother or sisters.

• Since we don’t know who Mary’s mother is, that avenue is not possible.
• Mary Benson had no known sisters, so we’re striking out there too.
• Mary Benson had one daughter, Mary Speake, her namesake who married John Baggott.
• Mary Speake Baggott may have had more than two surviving children, but the only children we know of are John Bowling Baggott and Samuel Baggott, both living with their father and listed on the rent rolls after Mary’s death.

It’s possible that there are actually female lines, but we need to be able to identify and confirm them.

At this point in time, a Bible or maybe previously unknown letters or a family story is pretty much our only hope of identifying either Mary Benson’s mother, sisters (if she had any,) or additional children of her daughter, Mary Speake Baggot, assuming, of course, that she had more than two children who survived.

If you meet this criterion, please reach out. I have a DNA testing scholarship for you.

Mitochondrial DNA might well be the only remaining key we have available to unlock the identity of Mary Benson’s mother.

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Thomas Speake of Zachia was born about 1700, the son of Bowling Speake and Mary Benson. He was named after his grandfather, Thomas the Immigrant.

To understand Thomas’s life, we need to tell his story, at least partly, in reverse.

Thomas’s father, Bowling wrote his will on October 20, 1750, but he didn’t pass away for another five years.

Bowling left a life estate to his wife, Mary, but after her death, his plantation was to descend to Edward, Thomas’s son, along with another tract of land. Edward was also to receive first choice of enslaved persons owned by Bowling, and first choice of beds and furniture.

Bowling’s will was quite unusual, given that Bowling’s son, Thomas of Zachia (Edward’s father,) was living, as was Bowling’s other son, William.

Why was Bowling’s grandson Edward his primary heir and not sons Thomas or William? Why not Bowling’s other grandchildren?

Was there friction within the family?

Was Edward living with Bowling, helping his grandparents, perhaps? Bowling would have been 75 or 76. Was Edward a favorite grandchild?

Was Thomas ill? And what about William?

At that time, it was typical for men to marry about age 25, so if Edward was Thomas’s eldest son and was approximately 25 in 1750, and Thomas was 25 when he was born, that puts Thomas’s birth around 1700, or possibly before. Thomas could have been born as late as 1708 if Edward was 21 in 1750, and Thomas was 21 when he was born.

Thomas of Zachia

Bowling’s son, Thomas Speake is called Thomas of Zachia to differentiate him from other men by the same name, including his first cousin. He was listed by that name on the St. Mary’s County, Maryland 1750 rent rolls and that’s also how he refers to himself in his will.

To fully understand what was transpiring, we need to step back a generation.

Bowling Speake’s brother, John had inherited land from Thomas the Immigrant in Port Tobacco that included an inn, giving him the name of John the InnKeeper or InnHolder.

Bowling, on the other hand, not inheriting as the eldest son, had to fend for himself. He purchased, leased, and otherwise farmed various parcels further out, in the Manor of Zachia. These lands were swampy and much less productive than land near and in Port Tobacco. Sacaya, later Zachia was reported to have meant “dense thicket” in the Algonquian-Fox dialect of the Native people who hunted and camped there before white settlers arrived.

In an article about the Alvin family, we discover some interesting information about the lands of Zachia Manor, which would certainly include the Speak lands that abutted those lands.

“The lease was relatively cheap—Zachia Manor had the poorest soil of any of Lord Baltimore’s manors. And Lord Baltimore’s leases were on better terms than private landlords could afford to offer.”

Therefore tenants in Zachia Manor, also known as the Jourden Tract, tended to be relatively poor, and the land comparatively inexpensive.

Added to that, within a few years, the nutrients in the land would be depleted by continuous tobacco growth, requiring more land to produce as much tobacco. With multiple sons inheriting, productivity dropping, and less land available, the next frontier was quite inviting. Maryland was no longer a place of opportunity by the 1770s. There just wasn’t enough land to go around.

Thomas of Zachia was caught up in that transition generation.

Early Years

We know almost nothing of Thomas of Zachia’s early years, other than through his father, Bowling Speake.

We know the family was Catholic, so Thomas would have been baptized by a traveling priest, probably in his own father’s home.

We also know that Thomas inherited some of his father, Bowling’s, land.

Bowling’s Land – It’s Complicated

Over his lifetime, Bowling owned various tracts of land, and had one resurveyed, both losing part of the acreage and gaining adjacent acreage.

I told you it was complicated.

You can read about the Maryland land in detail, here and here. This article only deals with that land that involved Thomas of Zachia.

• In 1718, Bowling bought 220 acres from Luke Gardiner in Charles County called Mistake, located on the northern boundary of Zachia Manor, for 5000 pounds of tobacco.

Thomas would have been 18 or 20 years old, or maybe older when his dad bought that land. Perhaps Bowling bought Mistake with the idea that his son, Thomas would work it. In Bowling’s will, 32 years later, he still lived on his land at Boarman’s Reserve at his death, so there’s no reason to think he ever lived on Mistake.

Part of me can just hear that original landowner, after maybe claiming that land, then having it surveyed and realizing just what he had, saying, “Wow, what a mistake.” And his wife, “Yep, that’s what we’ll call it, the mistake. Maybe you can sell it.”

• In 1735, a resurvey of Mistake increased the size to 572 acres, more than doubling the total, although Bowling lost part of the original tract. Surveying was difficult in swampland.

The St. Peter’s Church 300^th Anniversary book tells us that the land now occupied by St Peter’s Church includes 37 acres of Mistake where the church and school stand and another few acres between St. Peter’s Church Road and Poplar Hill Road where the present-day cemetery is located, pictured below.

• In 1738, Bowling acquired Speaks Meadow which added another 17 acres.
• The 1742 rent roll shows Bowling with a total of 869 acres, of which Mistake was 572 acres.
• In March of 1744, Bowling sold 250 acres of Mistake where he’s described as a planter.

In this drawing contributed years ago by Jerry Draney, the original Mistake is in green, the resurveyed Mistake is in burgundy, and the St. Peter’s Church land is in yellow.

• In February of 1754, Bowling sold 60 acres of Mistake to Philip Edelin and in December, 100 acres of Mistake to James Montgomery which are today still undeveloped swamp.
• On July 23, 1755, Bowling deeded his son, Thomas Speake of Zachia, 125 acres of land that included the home where Thomas was living. Both men were clearly alive at this time.

However, the deed was not recorded until September 20, 1755, a week after Bowling’s will was probated on September 13, 1755. His will left:

• Tract 1 – to Thomas of Zachia, 121 acres (parcels E and F on the map, below, also contributed by Jerry Draney)
• Tract 2 – to William Speake, 202 acres (probably should have been 102), with his dwelling place (parcels C and D on the map)

Unfortunately, this map conflicts with the map, above, and the contributor is deceased. Using the St. Charles County GIS system, I can’t resolve these boundary lines. Typically I can see at least some of the original survey lines, but not this time.

These maps and some other information are from the comprehensive book, The Speak/e/s Family of Southern Maryland, which I highly recommend for any Speak researcher, published by the Speak Family Association, John Morris, Editor. While it doesn’t answer every question, the book provides a HUGE amount of wonderfully organized information.

So, does Thomas of Zachia have a total of 125+121 acres, or does he just have 121 (or 125) acres? Did Bowling simply deed Thomas the land he was going to inherit, or does Thomas actually own two parcels totaling 246 acres?

Thomas of Zachia’s Will

On August 2, 1755, just ten days after that deed was conveyed, Thomas wrote his own will.

Thomas willed his portion of his father’s land, as follows:

• Tract 1 – to Thomas Bowling Speak and John Speak, 120 (sic) acres in Mistake to be divided equally between them the crossways and not the length unless they should so agree. Thomas Bowling was to have first choice. Parcels E and F on the map.
• Tract 2 – to Charles Beckworth Speake and Nicholas Speaks, all the remaining part of that track called Speak’s Enlargement and the remaining part of Mistake containing together 90 acres after the decease of his wife, Jane. That land to be equally divided by a line drawn from Jordon’s Swamp to the opposite line, with Charles having first choice. There is no record of the disposition of this land.

This is clearly more land than Thomas had received in his father’s will. But it’s not equal to what was deeded to him plus what was willed to him. This only totals 210 acres, not 246.

Ironically, both Bowling and Thomas’s wills were probated on the same day, September 13, 1755, so they had died within days, or maybe even hours of each other. It’s likely that both of their deaths occurred after the prior court session, a month earlier.

My assumption was that Bowling deeded his son the land that he wllled to him, but now I don’t think that was the case.

There is no record of Thomas purchasing any land. Bowling deeded Thomas 125 acres and then willed him 121 acres, although Bowling wrote his will in 1750, before he deeded the land to Thomas. That totals 246 acres.

However, a month later, Thomas leaves a total of 210 acres to his heirs.

Something, someplace, is missing. Like 36 acres.

However, this wasn’t Thomas’s first confusing land transaction. Nor Bowling’s.

Marriage

We know that Thomas was married before August 28, 1734, when he and his wife, Jane, conveyed two tracts of land in St. Mary’s County to George Plater. One was called Pope’s and contained 200 acres, and the other was Mount Clipsaw, containing 68 acres and adjoined the first parcel.

Thomas Speake and Jane to George Plater. Liber P.L. #8 p.284-286. Indenture 28 Aug 1724 / recorded 28 Apr 1724 between Thomas Speake of Charles County, planter and Jane his wife to George Plater, Esq. of St. Mary’s Co for 18 lbs 15 shillings current money, tract called Pope’s whereon John Pope formerly dwelt near Potomac River at the mouth of a creek called Baker’s Creek in CC. 200 acres. Also land called Mount Clipsaw, 68 acres which land was conveyed by Thomas George Plater to a certain Barton Smoot of Charles County.

We have no idea where Thomas and Jane obtained this land, but it was located near the Potomac River at the mouth of Baker’s Creek. John Pope had previously lived on Pope’s and, according to the rent rolls, Plater had owned both tracts before that and conveyed them to Barton Smoot in April 1724.

This probably accounts for the persistent rumors that Jane was a Smoot, but to date, there is no evidence to support that. There is no Jane listed in either Barton Smooth’s will, nor that of his father.

You may be noticing a persistent theme that the St. Charles County early property records are incomplete.

The Catholic Church

Thomas and Jane were probably married by a visiting priest in the fledgling mission church on Upper Zacchia Swamp that was founded in 1700. That “church” may very well have been in his own father’s home.

Jesuit Priests from St. Ignatius Church at St. Thomas Manor, 20 miles distant, visited the area occasionally on horseback to minister to the needs of the faithful and would ring a bell that they carried in their saddlebag to announce to everyone within earshot that a priest had arrived, and services would be held.

In 1692, Maryland barred Catholics from all civil rights, establishing the Church of England as the official religion. However, the Upper Zachia Parish was established in 1700, located near the headwaters of Upper Zachia Swamp. In 1704, it became illegal to practice Catholicism openly, so churches were officially closed. Priests then disguised themselves as peddlers, and of course, there was no more bell-ringing to announce services, although chalices disguised as bells were hung from the sides of their horses. Catholics worshiped in small, private chapels or private homes. Religious freedom would not be secured again until 1775.

This chalice, housed at St. Ignatius Church was carried by the priest and would have been used for communion. Bowling and Thomas both would have taken communion from this very cup.

Additionally, the priest from St. Ignatius carried a “relic of the true cross” in a silver and glass case which he wore around his neck. This relic was a piece of wood that is supposed to be part of the cross upon which Christ was crucified that was brought back from the Holy Land during the Crusades.

In the photo, above, I’m holding both, knowing that very likely four generations of my ancestors took communion and drank from this chalice and marveled at this relic.

Church services were held either in a log cabin, or after 1704, in the home of fellow Catholics, such as Bowling.

The original St. Peter’s cemetery is found on Bowling’s land. Many unmarked graves are located in the open, grassy space.

The name of St. Peter’s was conferred after the Revolutionary War when Catholicism could once again be practiced openly.

The land once owned by Bowling, then by his sons, was donated to the Catholic church by Thomas Reeves in 1825, and a church building was built in 1860 where the current St. Peter’s Church stands. However,  Reeve’s Chapel stood across the road from the old cemetery. In 1941, the current St. Peter’s Church was built in the current location, a couple of miles away. The old church, Reeves Chapel, shown in a painting, above, was demolished in 1972.

Thomas Reeves (1753-1825) and his wife, Elizabeth Edelen (1755-1840) are buried in the St. Peter’s Cemetery across the road.

Elizabeth’s parents were Philip Edelen and Jane Gardiner. Bowling sold his Boarman Manor land to Philip Edelen, and Thomas of Zachia’s son, Edward sold the land he inherited from his grandfather to Edelen as well.

It’s worth noting that Bowling purchased his land in Boarman Manor in 1718 from Mary Gardiner, and Mistake on Zachia Swamp in 1718 from Luke Gardiner whose wife was Mary Boarman. This may or may not be significant genealogically. These families were connected one way or another – perhaps only through these purchases, or perhaps more.

It’s certainly possible that the lands of Upper Zachia Swamp, six or seven miles on north of where Bowling lived, was the next location of available, unsettled land.

Zachia, now Zekiah Swamp is the dominant feature of this landscape, and the lives of the people who lived here.

It remains the largest and densest hardwood swamp in Maryland, meandering some 21 miles through Charles and Prince George’s counties.

This very remote area even has its own urban legend – the Goat Man, a strange hairy man-creature with horns who has been “spied” off and on for decades and maybe centuries. He is reported to hack his victims to death while bellowing like Satan.

Clearly, Bowling hadn’t heard that tale before he purchased!

Zachia Manor

In December of 1749, Thomas leased Lot 69 of Zachia Manor, owned by the Lord Proprietor.

According to an old map, this was likely at the northern end, probably close to the land that Bowling purchased, near or even abutting the blue stars.

Lot 69 is not shown on the map, but probably beside or close to Ignatius Baggett.

 

 

Zachia Swamp also known as Jourdan’s Swamp or Jordan’s Run, marked with red arrows on this topo map, runs from the St. Peter’s Church at the top, where Bowling, then Thomas owned land, to the Wicomico River at the bottom of the map which then feeds into the Potomac.

Zachia Manor ran right along that swamp. Bourman’s Manor where Thomas may have been born, and where Bowling lived is marked with a red star, and the Zachia Manor/Zachia Swamp land, with blue stars.

Thomas’s three-life lease for Lot 69 meant it was in effect until as long as any of the three people named were alive. In this case, that would be, presumably Thomas, Jane, and John. In 1768, the proprietor conducted a survey of the Manor and indicated that two of the three were still living, Jane, age 54, and John, age 35. Clearly, Jane would have had to have been a decade older to have been married before 1724.

On the 1750 and 1753 rent rolls, Thomas of Zachia is noted with 100 acres, plus 20 acres, of Mistake. In 1754, the parcels were combined.

In 1755, Bowling conveyed 125 acres of Mistake to Thomas where he lived, presumably the land Thomas was already paying taxes on.

Bowling Speake to Thomas Speake. Liber A #1 ½, p.388. 23 Jul 1755 / 20 Sep 1755. Bowling Speake of CC, planter. For the love and affection for my son, Thomas Speake, 125 acres of land being part of a tract of land called Mistake, where said Thomas Speake’s dwelling place now is and at that end of Mistake next to Speake’s Enlargment, lying in CC. Signed Bowling Speake. Wit: Smith Middleton and John Pigion Vincent.

Thomas also received 121 acres of Mistake in his father’s will.

I’ve drawn the approximate location of Thomas’s land based on Jerry’s earlier map. The 121 acres accounted for in Thomas’s will is shown in the red triangle, with Thomas of Zachia’s dwelling place in the top 60 acres chosen by his son, Thomas Bowling Speake.

The bottom 60 acres was inherited by Thomas of Zachia’s son, John.

However, there’s another 90 acres that are included somehow in Mistake and Speak’s Enlargement that I can’t account for. Basil’s original land isn’t entirely accounted for either, so I just don’t know.

I created this spreadsheet to track Basil and Thomas of Zachia’s land, but some transactions are clearly missing. Suffice it to say that Thomas owned another 90 acres of land adjacent the portion of Mistake that he willed to his sons.

It may also be worth noting that Mudd Road is nearby, just west of this land, and was owned by the Mudd Family in the mid-1800s. Dr. Samuel Mudd conspired with John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln’s assassin who became lost in Zachia Swamp after attempting to escape through the Swamp after being treated by Mudd.

If you crossed the swamp behind the Mudd home, you would have been on the land that had belonged to Bowling, then Thomas of Zachia and his brother, John. 

You can view a YouTube video of Zachia Swamp behind the Mudd farm, here.

Bowling bought land from the Mudd family in the early 1700s. These families are all found down by Bourman Manor, and then a few miles further north in Zachia.

Poplar Hill Road, running east to west, Gardiner Road running south, then Piney Church Road running west, then angling north, traverses Bowling’s land and probably Thomas’s. Piney Church Road is now the Gardiner Mine Site and is inaccessible from either end.

This area is still extremely dense and unpopulated, and I really don’t know how Thomas or either of his sons would have been able to eek a living out of this triangle of land. It’s evident from the aerial that some has been cleared and is being farmed today, but not much.

Historical documents indicate that plantations were set out in three-to-ten-acre plots for growing tobacco, the major source of revenue and currency in colonial Maryland. Access to the bay was essential to be able to transport and sell one’s produce.

Perhaps this is why this parcel was named Mistake, although if Thomas enslaved two people, plus a poor pregnant convict, clearly he was engaged in some type of farming that required labor. It’s also evident from his estate inventory that they were living at a subsistence level.

It’s possible that the map reconstruction is incorrect and this portion of Mistake is closer to St. Peter’s Church. Jerry, the individual who did the original map work is deceased now, and his two maps conflict somewhat with one another.

Regardless, we know positively that we are very close.

The Original St. Peter’s Cemetery

One big hint is the location of the original St. Peter’s Cemetery at the intersection of Poplar Hill Road and Gardiner Road.

One thing is for sure – Thomas is assuredly buried here. His father, Bowling probably is as well. Catholics would have wanted to be buried in consecrated ground.

The family would have buried two men within days. Thomas’s mother lost her husband and her son. Thomas’s children, their father, and grandfather. It would have been a time of great sorrow.

The earliest stones here date from the 1820s and the most recent burial was in 2017.

The Original St. Peter’s Cemetery is at the intersection of Gardner Road and Poplar Hill Road, on Bowling’s land.

Thomas’s portion of his father’s land was south on Gardiner Road. Just turn right at this corner.

This was definitely Bowling’s land, but we may not be able to see far enough to view Thomas’s land.

That’s likely Thomas’s land in the distance. I’d love to know where his homestead was located.

Unfortunately, the Google Street View vehicle didn’t drive down those side roads.

Thomas’s Death

It’s unclear whether Bowling or his son, Thomas died first. Their wills were probated the same day. Thomas’s was filed first, which may not mean anything.

We know for sure they were both living in July.

• July 23, 1755 – Bowling deeded land to Thomas
• August 2, 1755 – Thomas of Zachia wrote his will

Thomas was clearly unwell by August 2^nd, just days later. I hope they didn’t infect one another on July 23^rd.

• September 13, 1755 – Wills of both Bowling and Thomas were probated

In the Name of God Amen, I Thomas Speake of Zachia of Charles County in the province of Maryland being weak in body but of perfect sense and memory thanks be to almighty God for it do make & ordain this my last will and testament in Manner & form following:

FIRST my soul unto the hands of God who gave it & my body to the Dirt from whence it was taken to be buried at the Discretion of my Executer herein after named;

Also I give & bequeath to my loving wife Jane Speake my Dwelling plantation on whereon I now live during her natural life together with all that tract or parcel of land called Speakes Enlargement during her natural life also all my personal Estate as negroes crattles & cattle household furniture and plantation utensils of all sorts whatsoever except one Dun Mare;

Also I give & bequeath to my son Edward Speake five English Shillings;

Also I give & bequeath to my two sons Thomas Bowling Speake & John Speake one hundred and twenty acres of land to them & their heirs & assigns forever the said land to begin at the second course or line of a tract of land called Mistake & to run with the courses of the said land as they are laid out for me in the said tract of land called Mistake & at the end of the course next to Jordan Swamp take in part of a tract of land called Speakes Enlargement with one line & from the last end of that line to run with one straight line to their beginning and then to divide it equally between them the cross way & not the length way unless they should so agree & my son Thomas Bowling Speake to have the first choices provided that they nor either of them or any person or persons by or through their means may not disturb or molest my aforesaid wife Jane Speake from occupying and abiding on that part of the said land on which tract of my Dwelling plantation now is;

Also I give and bequeath to my two sons Charles Beckworth Speake & Nicholas Speake all the remaining part of that tract of land called Speakes Enlargement & my remaining tract of that tract called Mistake containing both together ninety acres to them & their heirs and assigns forever after the Decease of my wife Jane Speake to be equally divided between them by a line drawn from Jordan Swamp to the opposite line & my son Charles Beckworth Speake to have first choice;

Also I give to my daughter Elizabeth Ann Mary Smith the wife of Peter Smith that tenement whereon they now live for the space of five years & no longer provided they keep but one labouring hand (as we commonly call it, threon) at one time besides their two own slaves.

Also I give & bequeath all my personal estate aforementioned after the decease of my wife Jane Speake to be equally divided among my two sons Charles Beckworth Speake & Nicholas Speake and my three daughters Elizabeth Ann Mary Smith the wife of Peter Smith, Ann Speake & Eleanor Speake

I do ordain constitute & appoint my said loving wife Jane Speake to be the sole executrix of this my last will & testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed my seal the second day of August in the Years of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred & fifty five.

Signed sealed published & declared by the said Thomas Speake to be his last will & testament in the presence of us.

Edwd X Miles
John Baggot
James Smith
Thomas X Speake seal

John Baggott witnessed his will, and Ignatius Baggett leased Lot 67 and 68 of Zachia Manor.

On the back of the foregoing will was endorsed the following probate

To wit: Maryland for 13th September 1755 Edward Miles John Baggot and James Smith the three subscribing witnesses to the within will who being duly and solemnly sworn on the holy Evangelists of almighty God does depose & say that they saw Thomas Speake the Testator sign & seal the within Will and heard him publish & declare the same to be his last will & testament and at the time his so doing was to the best of their appurtunicions of sound & disposing mind & memory and that the severally subscribed as witnesses to the said will in the presence of the Testator and at his Request which probate was taken in the presence of Edward Speakes heir at Law who did no object to the same.

7 1/2 Lides Sworn before Dan. Jenifer DC of Chas.Cty.

[Will Book 29, p. 544]

Thomas signed with an X, although he may have been too ill to sign his name.

It was startling to turn the page and see his father’s will, written into the book the same day.

Thomas only left Edward five shillings, but if you look as Bowling’s will, you’ll see why. Bowling left his grandson a substantial inheritance, and apparently, Thomas knew that. Edward already had his share, so his father remembered him in his will, but left the balance to his other children.

I hate to even ask, but what happened to Thomas’s daughters? Unfortunately, the St. Ignatius Catholic records burned in a church fire, and county marriage records don’t exist until the mid-1800s, so we may never know. The marriage records for Thomas of Zachia’s sons perished too.

Thomas’s Inventory

Fortunately, Thomas’s estate had an inventory, but for some reason, his father’s did not, or at least it wasn’t recorded.

An inventory of Thomas’s estate was taken on February 2, 1756 and included:

• One young negro man
• One old negro man
• One servant woman, a convict, bigg with child 3.25 years due
• One feather bed and sorry? covering, bedstead and ?
• 30 pounds of good feathers
• 45 pounds of old feathers
• One servant’s bed of hen feathers
• One bedstead and some sorry bed covering
• Two mares, four cowes and four yearlings
• Seven yews and 1 yearling a ?
• 12 shoats and 1 sow
• 40 barrels of indian corn
• 4 bushels of corne beens
• 20 bushels of wheat
• 23 pounds of old puter (Pewter)
• 5 pounds of old broken puter
• 1 old gun and hale part of a pair of shoot molor?
• One pr pincher shoe hammer, 3 pegging aules and two lathes
• One pair coopers compasses and small parcels of carpenter tools
• Small parcel of old tin
• Three horn bells, one old box iron and heaters
• One small looking glass, one wore out ?, wore out sifter
• One broken King sever? And a small parcel of stone ware
• Six wore out cape books, some old books
• 1 very small gilt trunk
• Three sides of sole leather and a dog skin
• 513 pounds of corn fed pork
• 17 hogs gutt fatt
• 6 old hundred gallon sider casks
• 8 bushels of oates
• One old frying pan and parcel of planters tooles
• 2 iron wedges and 8 pounds old iron
• The 8^th part of a wore out saine and rope
• 1 large old chest
• Wearing apparel
• A parcel of old lumber
• 1 old tobaco box, three glass bottles,
• 54 pounds pott?
• 3 pounds of wrought iron
• 1 small grind stone and a ? of old ? lanyards

Errors excepted James Keetch, ? Darnall

Some of this document is very difficult to read.

It’s worth noting that there is no Bible, which I found unusual.

The hundred-gallon “sider casks” tell us that Thomas had apple trees and of course, pressed cider. Maybe hard cider.

There’s no tobacco, which suggests his land was planted in corn, beans and wheat. This is very unusual for this region, but tobacco is back-breakingly labor intensive.

There are lots of old, worn-out, and broken items.

Someone was making shoes. Were some of those shoes made out of dog skin?

Cooper and carpentry tools are in evidence too, although it’s impossible to know if those items were for farmstead use or if Thomas and/or his enslaved people were providing these services for neighbors. They might have been making cider casks.

The highest value items are, in order:

• Young negro man – 55 pounds
• Old negro man – 45 pounds
• 40 barrels of Indian Corn – 20 pounds
• Two mares, 4 cowes and 4 yearlings – 14 pounds
• The female servant with more than three years left to serve was only 4 pounds, the same as the feather bed, bedstead and covering or 20 bushels of wheat.

The fact that Thomas owned humans hurts my heart. I wish we knew their names, but they are effectively lost to history.

I’m curious how Thomas came to be the master of a female convict servant. Was she deported while pregnant, or did she become pregnant after arrival?

I hope, really, really hope that the servant’s bed of hen feathers was where this woman slept.

What happened to her and her child? Whose child was it? What was she convicted of, and where?

According to the Journal of American Studies in the article, Convict Runaways in Maryland, 1745-1775:

“The existence of convicts in Virginia and Maryland stemmed from the provisions of the Transportation Act passed by the British parliament in 1718. This stated that felons found guilty of non-capital crimes against property could be transported to America for seven years while the smaller number of criminals convicted on capital charges could have their death sentence commuted to banishment for either fourteen years or life. Between 1718 and 1775, when the traffic ended with the approach of war, more than 90 percent of the 50,000 convicts shipped across the Atlantic from the British Isles were sold by contractors to settlers in the Chesapeake, where there was a continuous demand for cheap, white, bonded labour. Though many convicts were people who had resorted to petty theft in hard times rather than habitual criminals, they were often viewed with jaundiced eyes in the Chesapeake as purveyors of crime, disease and corruption. They also had to endure, along with slaves and indentured servants, the everyday reality of lower-class life in colonial America: the exploitation of unfree labour. It is therefore not surprising that many convicts, like other dependent labourers, tried to free themselves from bondage by escaping from their owners.”

If the woman was convicted for 7 years, she would have arrived in 1752 and become pregnant in Maryland. Indentured servants weren’t allowed to marry, so it’s unlikely that convicts were permitted to marry either. Furthermore, if an indentured servant had a child, years were generally added to their servitude for the “bother” to their master. I wrote about Enforced Bastardry in Colonial America, here.

Of course, this also begs the question of whose child she was carrying.

And did either of them survive?

What happened to those two enslaved men? How old was “old” in this context?

Death in the Chesapeake

I’m fascinated by the fact that Thomas died within days of his father. Is there a story here?

Life expectancy in the Chesapeake was a full decade shorter than in New England.

Why?

The Chesapeake region was swampy and the residents battled malaria, dysentery, and typhoid.

Average life expectancy from 1650-1700 was 41 years, and from 1700-1745 was 43 years.

Both dysentery and typhoid killed fairly quickly. Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease can torture its host for a long period before death, is almost always fatal if untreated, and thrives in the heat. Many people die of complications. Those who survive can become infected again. The cause of malaria wasn’t understood until 1897, having been attributed to “bad air” or miasma. The colonists had no idea why they got sick, nor how to protect themselves.

Of course, malaria is caused by bites of infected mosquitos, but so is yellow fever. The death rate from yellow fever is so high that those not-yet-infected often had to work day and night to bury the dead during an outbreak.

Due to the low water table creating stagnant water, risk of human waste contamination, the cause of both dysentery and typhoid, was significant.

Typhoid was more common in hot months and anyone unfortunate enough to get both typhoid and dysentery at the same time simply wasn’t going to survive. The hallmark of both was “bloody flux” accompanied by fever, often high fever, followed by severe dehydration and systemic organ shutdown.

Nearly half of the indentured servants in the Chesapeake died before finishing their contract. Colonists began to learn that the area was unhealthy, and their children moved toward the Piedmont.

Given that Bowling and Thomas lived six or seven miles apart, they wouldn’t have been sickened by the same contaminated water supply, unless they were visiting with each other. However, smallpox was a recurrent, contagious, epidemic that would affect many people within a region.

We haven’t even mentioned consumption, known as tuberculosis today, but it seems that many people would have died of something else before they had the opportunity to contract a disease that would kill them slowly.

So, what killed Basil at about age 81 years of age, and his son Thomas at about 55, within days of each other, but not the wife of either man?

Spouses share water supplies, so the women would have contracted dysentery or typhoid as well. Of course, they could have survived.

Spouses also shared close living quarters, not to mention drinking water from the same gourd dipper, for example. If one person had something contagious, every other person in the household could be expected to contract it.

My guess would be malaria, also known as ague or marsh fever due to its association with swamps, and because it’s not contagious from person to person.

After all, Bowling and Thomas both lived along the length of Zachia Swamp. They died in the summer. Mosquitos would have been rampant. And their wives didn’t die.

Zekiah Swamp Run is literally the name of the intertwined, braided stream system snaking through Thomas of Zachia’s land.

It’s ironic that his own nickname may hold the clue to his demise.

All things considered, Bowling was exceptionally lucky to live double the local life expectancy of 41 or 43 years, and Thomas outlived that by a decade or so as well.

Such was life in 1755 in Zachia Manor, aka Zachia Swamp.

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We know very little about Elizabeth Dobkins. Most of what we know is told through the lens of her husband, John Dobkins Jr. who was born around 1708 and died sometime after 1788.

We know that Elizabeth was Protestant, and having her children baptized was important to her. A baptism record is one of only two places where we find Elizabeth’s name.

Thank goodness for the baptism of Elizabeth’s child by the Lutheran minister, Reverend John Stoever, in the Shenandoah Valley.

• John Dawbin (Shenandoah.) – Dawbin, Thomas, b. Nov. 8, 1736; bap. June 8, 1737. Teste: James Gill

John Dawbin and his wife Elizabeth also witnessed the following baptisms, children of James Guill:

• John Dawbin testis, June 8, 1737, baptism of Thomas Guill, son of James.
• Elizabeth Dawbin, testis, June 8, 1737, baptism of James Guill, son of James.

These baptisms tell us that Elizabeth’s son, Thomas, was born on November 8, 1736, one of the early European children born in the Shenandoah Valley to the 49 original settlers.

We don’t know if Thomas was her first child.

We do know that Elizabeth and her husband, John, were in the Shenandoah Valley on September 24, 1735, when Benjamin Borden issued her father-in-law, John Dobkins Sr. a bond stating that he would be able to obtain a patent on his land. The two families had already arrived together by that time.

Based on Thomas’s birth date, Elizabeth would have become pregnant for him in mid-February, 1736, during their first cold winter on the frontier.

It gets downright cold and snows in the Valley. Their tiny cabin would have only been heated by the fireplace, assuming they even had a cabin, with a door, and a fireplace, that first winter. They probably didn’t mind keeping each other warm.

When John and Elizabeth first arrived, this part of the Shenandoah Valley fell into Orange County, VA. The Shenandoah Valley was far from the county seat, more than 60 miles, across the Blue Ridge mountains, probably through Swift Run Gap. I find it hard to believe that anyone would be heading there for a marriage license.

More likely, people simply got married when the first minister of whatever denomination rode through. Stoever performed marriages when he baptized children. In one case, he married a couple and baptized their children at the same time. If there wasn’t a minister, there wasn’t a minister, and people are going to be people with or without an official blessing. Blessings can be deferred, life can’t. Life on the frontier was tenuous.

Given that we don’t find any marriage for John and Elizabeth Dobkins in Stoevers journal, the courthouse was days away across the mountains, almost as far away as they had come from Maryland, and Orange County marriage records don’t begin until 1757 – I’m going to make a leap of faith here and presume that Elizabeth married John before they arrived in the remote Shenandoah Valley.

If Elizabeth already had a child, that child would have been about 18 months old when she got pregnant for Thomas. That pushes the date of that child’s birth back to about August of 1734, which means Elizabeth would have gotten pregnant for that baby in about November of 1733.

Now, of course, this is assuming that no child was born and died during that period, which means the mother would get pregnant again a month or two after she stopped nursing the baby.

John Dobkins Jr., along with his father, John Dobkins Sr., migrated from Prince George’s County, Maryland between August 1734 and September of 1735 when we find the bond between Borden and John Dobkins.

Young men in the colonies didn’t set up housekeeping until they married, so the fact that in 1733, John Dobbins Jr. and Sr. were both listed on the Prince George’s County, MD tax list individually tells us that John Jr. was married by 1733.

Unfortunately, Prince George’s County marriage records don’t begin until 1777, so we aren’t going to find Elizabeth’s marriage record there, either. Complicating things even further, Prince George’s County seems to have been both a destination and a jumping-off place for more distant locations. Prince George’s was full of people from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Many, if not most, were immigrants, so the neighborhood would have been interesting with a plethora of languages being spoken.

We don’t know If John Dobkins Jr. and Elizabeth were married in Maryland, and if so, when and where.

What else do we know about Elizabeth?

She had two more children, Jean and John, who were baptized by the Presbyterian minister in 1741.

That makes at least 3 children by 1741.

Assuming that John Dobkins only had one wife, we know that Elizabeth had additional children – some that we know about, and some that we probably don’t.

There is also rumored to be a Moore connection.

The Moore Connection

The only other definitive record that we have of Elizabeth is when she signed as John Dobikin’s wife on a June 1753 deed where they sold their land on Holman’s Creek to Thomas Moore.

Family oral history, with no source, indicates that Elizabeth was Thomas Moore’s daughter, but there are two Thomas Moores. Elizabeth, born about 1711, is NOT the daughter of Thomas Moore, the son of Riley Moore who was born in the 1730s.

It’s very unlikely that she is the daughter of the Thomas Moore who arrived with Riley Moore and appears to be the uncle of the Thomas Moore to whom they sold their land. Sorting the two Thomas Moores’ land transactions is quite difficult.

Thomas Moore, brother or half-brother of Riley Moore, was born sometime between 1707 and 1720, depending on which type of calculation you use, and died in 1790. He did have a daughter named Elizabeth. However, if she was married, he didn’t state her married name.

The problem is that Elizabeth Moore is born about the same time as both Thomas Moore and Riley Moore, so she is more likely to be their sister than their daughter. However, their father, William Moore, is not shown with a daughter, Elizabeth, so this jury is still out. We’ve eliminated several possibilities, but we still have no idea who Elizabeth actually was.

There are many common first names in the Moore, Allen and Dobkins families – including Reuben, Jacob, Thomas, and John. Both the Moore and Allen families accompanied the two John Dobkins’s and their families from Prince George’s County, MD. Both Riley Moore and Thomas Moore named sons Reuben, probably in honor of Reuben Allen, the father of Mary Allen who married the older Thomas Moore. That doesn’t explain why Riley named a child Reuben, though.

Elizabeth and John Dobkins named one of their sons Reuben too, as did their son Jacob. Reuben is clearly clue, a family name of some sort, but how and why?

These families seem to be somehow intertwined before arriving in the Shenandoah Valley – and became moreso in the next several generations.

Life on Holman Creek

Most of Elizabeth’s children were born here, in this log cabin in the tiny 3 or 4 house hamlet known as Moore’s Store today.

We know they were living here before 1746 when the men surveying the Fairfax line camped in their field and pastured their horses in their meadow.

Elizabeth would have carried water from Holman Creek, behind the cabin, obscured by the underbrush behind the house today. The road, such as it is, would have been a horse path along the creek, and nothing more.

It looks like the original cabin was only half this size and the second story was added later. Imagine trying to cook in your one or two pots, in the fireplace, with more than half a dozen children running around.

If John and Elizabeth had a bed, it would probably have been one bed, or two at most. The cabin had one room, so very limited space. Their trip from Maryland was made on foot and by horseback, because the trail wouldn’t be widened for numerous years to accommodate wagons. Furniture would have been built from the trees being cleared after arrival.

Only metal items like pots, and maybe seeds for planting, would have been brought along.

The Holman family and Thomas Moore, along with John Dobkins Jr., settled along Holman Creek, beginning at the mouth of the Shenandoah River in about 1735. This location is about 5 miles upstream, probably in a somewhat isolated settlement.

The stone mill across the road wouldn’t have existed at that time, at least not as a mill. In fact, this might have been the stone structure originally built by John Dobkins to protect his family and function as a frontier fort, later being expanded with a second story, and being retrofitted as a mill.

We know the early “forts” were made of stone and were often just one home in which the neighbors congregated in times of danger on the frontier.

Regardless of which house they lived in, both were quite small, and both were located on their property.

John and Elizabeth sold this land on Holman Creek to Thomas Moore in 1753 when they moved about 15 miles north to Stony Creek, which is probably where the assumption that Elizabeth is Thomas Moore’s daughter arose.

They may have lived to regret that move.

Elizabeth’s Children

I assembled Elizabeth’s children, estimating their birth years based on the few clues we have.

Name	Estimated Birth	Records	Marriage	Comments
Thomas Dobkins	Nov. 8, 1736	Chainer In 1753		Baptized by Lutheran John Stoever, nothing after 1753
Jean Dobkins	Estimate 1738	March 6, 1741 baptism		Baptized at Presbyterian Rockish, nothing more
John Dobkins	Estimate 1740	March 6, 1741 baptism	Maybe married Rachel Johnson, dau of Peter	Baptized at Presbyterian Rockish
Jacob Dobkins	1751	Birth year in his Rev War pension app, family of 8 in 1783, 1784 Shenandoah Tax list	March 11, 1775 to Dorcas Johnson, dau of Peter Johnson	On 1775 militia list, Wash Co. (NC) by 1785 with Evan and Reuben in Wash. Co., NC
Evan Dobkins	Estimate 1752	1778 Constable, on Rockingham tax list in 1782, 83 and in Shenandoah 1784	Jan. 30, 1775 to Margaret Johnson, dau of Peter	On 1775 militia list, by 1785 in Washington Co., NC
Reuben Dobkins	Estimate 1754	1782 tax list – in 1783 has 4 family members, 1784 in Shenandoah, 1788 Martin’s Campaign	Elizabeth Holman – married about 1777	On the 1775 militia list, In Jacob Holman’s will in 1784, in 1786 voted in Wash. Co., NC (TN)
Rebecca	Estimate 1756		Married Patrick Shield(s) Feb. 21, 1783	Marriage bond signed by John Dobkins

Elizabeth probably had more than seven children, given that she would have been of child-bearing age for approximately 22 years. That equates to 14 or 15 children, assuming none died at birth and there was an average of 18 months between children. Just looking at the spread of those dates, we have about 6 missing children.

That means that someplace, probably in the family cemetery on their farm, or maybe buried beside his parents, there are six little crosses, plus one for Thomas who died sometime after the age of 17.

Elizabeth’s son, John, may have married Rachel Johnson, according to Johnson family recollections, or, John too may have perished, one way or another. Half of the children born in this era didn’t live to adulthood. The frontier was a dangerous, treacherous place to live.

Massacre at Stoney Creek

Elizabeth’s son, Thomas, died after they moved up the road to Stony Creek. Why would they leave a perfectly good farm and begin all over again, just a few miles away?

We know that there were Indian attacks and massacres along Stony Creek, and we know Thomas was assisting a surveyor along this Creek, on land adjoining his father’s in 1753.

I still wonder if Thomas was one of the fatalities of the French and Indian War when warfare broke out in an attempt to push the settlers off of Indian land. Thomas was nearly a grown man. While women and younger children were often captured and adopted into Indian families, men were not. At that age, Thomas would have been killed if he was caught outside and unprotected.

Calculating Elizabeth’s Birth

Rebecca Dobkins married Patrick Shield(s) in February of 1783, with John Dobkins signing for her.

If Rebecca Dobkins married when she was 21, her birth year would have been in 1761 or 1762. She could have been born earlier, but probably not later.

We know that Elizabeth was married by 1732. Let’s assume that she was age 20 or 21 on her wedding day, so born about 1711.

If she was born in 1711, her last child would have been born no later than 1756 when she would have been 45. Given that, Rebecca would have been born no later than 1756, not in 1761.

In 1756, the Dobkins family was living in this small cabin along Stoney Creek.

Life Along Stoney Creek

This cabin too was stone, indicating a fortified structure.

The settlers really needed the protection. The Indian raids associated with the French and Indian War began soon after they moved.

On September 17, 1757, a band of Shawnee Indians descended on the settlers living on Cedar Creek and Stoney Creek. Historians report that 34 people were killed or captured, but we have no names. Thomas would have been 21.

Elizabeth would have faced the depredations with a house full of stair-step children, including a baby. John, as part of the militia may or may not have been home. I’d bet Elizabeth, as a frontier wife, could wield a gun and shoot with the best of them.

We don’t know when Elizabeth died, only that it was after 1753 when she signed the deed, and probably after 1756 when Rebecca would have been born.

And she probably eventually died right here, in this house, hopefully peacefully, quietly, warm, and near the fireplace – not in one of the Indian raids.

Wild Child

Every mother has a wild child, and Jacob Dobkins appears to have been the one Elizabeth would have worried about – especially if she had lost Thomas as a result of those Indian raids. They would have lost neighbors and other family members, too.

Warfare and death were a reality on the frontier, but that doesn’t make it any easier for the mothers who lost their children and other family members.

And who knows, Thomas’s death and the raids upon the settlers might have been what spurred three of her sons, Jacob, Reuben, and Evan to serve in the militia in 1775.

Jacob, however, might have been her wild child, with a lust deep in his soul for the unknown. Or, maybe revenge for his brother’s death.

Jacob Dobkins apparently struck out on his own early, then enlisted to serve in the Revolutionary War.

In 1773, Fincastle County, VA included the land west to the Mississippi that would become Kentucky. Jacob had apparently been living there because he is listed as “not found” on the delinquent tax list.

A young man, and not burdened by marriage, he had already moved on.

In 1774, Jacob fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant in Lord Dunmore’s War.

The Battle of Point Pleasant pitted the Virginia Militia out of Augusta County against the Shawnee and Mingo warriors at Point Pleasant, VA, along the Ohio River.

Did Elizabeth know? How she must have worried. She clearly knew Jacob was marching off to engage the Indians – into unknown danger, through wilderness unfamiliar to the Augusta men, but quite familiar to the Indians. That just sounds like a recipe for disaster.

You can read about that day, here, but thankfully, Elizabeth would only have known about this deadly battle after it happened, and after Jacob returned.

Jacob returned home and married in Dunmore County in 1775. So did his brother, Evan. Maybe Elizabeth heaved a sigh of relief – thinking Jacob would settle down to farming – but that sigh was premature. Adventure was infused in Jacob’s blood, seared into his being.

All three of Elizabeth’s sons, Jacob, Evan, and Reuben appear on the 1775 militia list. The Shenandoah Valley was bracing for what would evolve into the Revolutionary War.

Elizabeth’s grandchildren began arriving in late 1775 or 1776. Maybe THAT would keep her sons close to home.

Nope.

The War Cometh

In May of 1779, Jacob enlisted and served for two incredibly dangerous years. The Battle of Point Pleasant was only boot camp. Jacob pushed even further into the wilderness, was at what would become Harrodsburg, KY, built Fort Harrod, marched across Kentucky, then against the Shawnee in Ohio, and joined with George Rogers Clark in the Piqua Campaign. By now, he was a seasoned soldier at 28 years old.

Clearly, Jacob was getting more than a taste of life beyond civilization. Jacob, of course, had helped his father establish their home on the frontier as well, so he had lots of backwoods survival experience.

Some John Dobkins claimed land on the frontier in what became Kentucky, not too far from where Jacob was serving, so maybe John and Elizabeth were considering setting out once again.

Jacob fought at the brutal Battle of Pickaway where the soldiers faced more than 450 braves on their own territory in a battle that lasted three and a half hours. Jacob reported that he did not receive any wounds, but there were several bullet holes through his clothes.

Of course, these close calls are the fodder of legends, but only for the survivors who live to tell those tales. And of course, they are every mother’s worst fear. Jacob came just that close, over, and over, and over again.

Jacob returned home to Shenandoah County after the war, in May of 1781, having walked more than 450 miles. He’s still in Shenandoah County in 1782 and 1783 showing as a head of household, with a family of 8, meaning they had 6 children by that time, or someone else was living them. Jacob never owned property, so I’d wager he built a cabin on his father’s land. His parents were getting up there in age anyway, in their 70s, and probably welcomed the help.

Elizabeth’s daughter, Rebecca married in 1783 to Patrick Shields and left immediately for Kentucky where they are found in 1784.

Apparently, Jacob had the itch too, and by 1785, he was testing the waters in Washington County, NC in the area of the fledging State of Franklin near Jonesboro, TN. In 1785, no one knew for sure if they lived in NC or Franklin, but everyone had an opinion.

By 1788, the conflict within and surrounding the State of Franklin escalated into a war with the Cherokee, and Elizabeth’s son, Reuben set off with General Martin to settle that score in a Campaign against the Cherokee.

If Elizabeth was still living, and still in Shenandoah or Frederick County, VA, she may not have known about this. She would, however, have known her sons and daughter were living on the dangerous frontier, with her grandchildren.

In November 5^th, 1787, there’s a court record indicating that John Dobkins had joined his sons on the frontier. If Elizabeth was still living, she would have been there to see Reuben march off to war, following another massacre, not knowing if she would ever see him again. Men return from war changed people – but Elizabeth probably already knew that – in spades.

John and Elizabeth’s Land on Stoney Creek

What happened to John Dobkins’ land on Stoney Creek has always been a mystery, but recently, in the land patent book, I discovered a 1788 land patent transfer where John Dobekin assigned his land patented in 1755 to Joseph Pugh. Since it wasn’t a sale, I’m unclear whether Elizabeth would have needed to sign.

However, as the wife of the patentee in 1753, she signed when they sold the land on Holman’s Creek.

• June 23, 1753 – John Dobikin, grantor, Elizabeth Dobikin, grantor’s wife, from Fairfax August 7, 1750, 400 acres on Holman’s Creek.

Therefore, one might, and I stress *might*, interpret the lack of her signature or any mention of her to mean that Elizabeth had died by 1788. She would have been roughly 77 years old, and my guess is that after she died, John decided to accompany his sons rather than stay in Frederick County, Virginia, alone.

Or, perhaps they were both still living and neither of them wanted to stay in a location with no help after all of their children had set out for the next untamed frontier.

Elizabeth might have wondered, “What got into those boys anyway?” Oh, wait…that’s how we brought them up and the example we set, raising them on the frontier and all. Never mind.

If Elizabeth joined them in body on this next journey, not just spirit, she would have accompanied John and her sons as they bumped and bounced 300 miles down the rough old wagon road to join other adventurous souls in the land that would one day become Washington County, Tennessee. Of course, that would be after they suffered through the failing of the State of Franklin.

I can’t help but wonder if the lure of establishing a new state was part of the attraction – plus plenty of land to be homesteaded of course. The Dobkins boys were settling smack dab in the middle of yet another war, this time between John Sevier and John Tipson. The Seviers were their neighbors back in Shenandoah Valley, and from the lawsuits filed, my guess would be that their alliances fell with John Tipton. It’s difficult to tell. Let’s just say it was very “messy” from 1784 through 1788, when Franklin imploded. The Battle of the State of Franklin would be fought in February of 1788.

If Elizabeth wasn’t dead by then, she might have wished she was. That had to be a miserable journey if you were nearing 80, followed by more warfare, conflict, and uncertainty. That seems to be a repeating theme in her life.

Elizabeth homesteaded on either two or three treacherous frontiers; colonial Maryland, the Shenandoah Valley, and, possibly, the State of Franklin.

She lived either during or through three or four wars in which her husband and/or sons were involved; The French and Indian War, Lore Dunmore’s War, the Revolutionary War, and the State of Franklin. That’s assuming the family didn’t get caught up in Cresap’s border war back in Maryland. Living in a war zone stretched across more than three decades of her life, beginning not long after they arrived in the Shenandoah Valley. I can’t help but wonder if Elizabeth ever regretted leaving Maryland.

DNA

Can DNA help answer the question of who Elizabeth’s parents were?

The answer is, “possibly.”

It would be very helpful if we could obtain the mitochondrial DNA of Elizabeth. She received her mitochondrial DNA from her mother, and passed it to all of her children, but only her daughters passed it on.

The challenge is that her daughter Jean appears to have perished before reaching adulthood, which only leaves Rebecca, assuming Rebecca is Elizabeth’s daughter. I really dislike that “assume” word.

I can find one Patrick Shields who received land grants in Jefferson County, Kentucky in March of 1784 and Fayette County in June 1784. His wife apparently died, and he remarried in 1792 in Lincoln County, Kentucky to Mary Ann Worthington.

Patrick died in 1797 in Henry County, leaving his wife, but no mention of children in his will.

If he and Rebecca were married for 9 years before he remarried, they likely had 3 or 4 children. Unfortunately, we don’t know who they were, if any survived, and if any were female. To obtain Elizabeth’s mitochondrial DNA through Rebecca, it would have to be transmitted female to female in every generation to current, where the present generation can be a male.

Clearly, this isn’t going to happen.

Autosomal

Can autosomal DNA help?

The answer is “potentially,” but the problem is that Elizabeth is 8 generations back in time for me. That’s beyond the reach of either ThruLines at Ancestry, or Theories of Family Relativity at MyHeritage. I would love to see these tools extended back another couple of generations, but I doubt that will happen at all, and certainly not anytime soon.

I need to do one (or more) of three things:

• Search my DNA matches by ancestor, not just surname. I want to search for people who I DNA match and have Riley Moore, a Thomas Moore, or Reuben Allen in their tree as a direct ancestor.
• Identify segments descending from the Dobkins line, then search by segment to find other testers with whom I triangulate on those segments. At that point, I need to look for Moore and Allen families in the trees of people who match my “Dobkins” segments.
• Search for commonalities in the trees of the people I match on those segments attributed to my Dobkins line, even if the common people in their trees aren’t in my tree. That may be the only way I’ll ever figure out who Elizabeth’s parents were.

Unfortunately, I can’t do those things at any of the vendors.

I can triangulate my segments and download my matches at 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, and MyHeritage, but I can’t search by ancestor, nor automatically look for common people in multiple trees.

23andMe does not provide or support trees, so there’s no possibility for an ancestor search there.

GEDmatch, a third-party tool, allows me to triangulate and do segment searches, but GEDmatch users seldom upload trees, and there is no direct tree comparison tool. However, GEDmatch does provide AutoKinship, licensed from Genetic Affairs.

Genetic Affairs

I touched bases with EJ Blom at Genetic Affairs and he said he’s considering working on a tool similar to what I’ve described for his customers who use FamilyTreeDNA.

It won’t work at 23andMe because they have no customer trees, and his AutoCluster tool is already built in at MyHeritage, so he can’t use his external tools there. Ancestry served him a lovely cease-and-desist letter some time back, so Ancestry customers can’t utilize his tools there either, which is truly unfortunate.

However, this potential new tool would be wonderful news for FamilyTreeDNA customers, and maybe, just maybe, it will encourage more people to upload their results (and trees) there as well.

So, I have my fingers crossed for a “common ancestor” tool soon for matches at FamilyTreeDNA, hopefully accompanied by segment reporting. That would make a wonderful Christmas present, don’t you think, Santa EJ! 😊

I’m desperate to find Elizabeth’s parents – and knock down a few other brick walls too.

_____________________________________________________________

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We don’t know where John Dobkins was born, nor when he, or his ancestors, arrived in the colonies. We don’t know if he was born here, or overseas. If he was born in the old country, where was that? Was he married when he arrived, or did he marry here? We do know that his wife’s name was Mary, or at least, his wife when he died.

We aren’t even positive about the spelling of John’s surname. John wasn’t able to write, so others would have written his name as it sounded to them. There were Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch and probably English settlers in the Shenandoah Valley, so they would have heard and written his name differently. It’s no wonder we find his surname recorded variously as Dobkin, Dobkins, Dobikin, Dobikins, Dobin, Dobins, Dobbin, Dobbins and more variations. Two generations later, my ancestor, Jacob Dobkins spelled it Dobkins, as did the descendants of his brothers, Reuben and Evan, at least most of the time.

I discovered a significant amount of information in an undated, uncopyrighted book that I think was written about 1978, The Dobkins Family in America, 1730-1978, by Cecil B. Smyth Jr. (1929-2014.) It was this book that showed me where to dig further. Cecil did an incredible amount of work on this family, including historical research on the ground and in the region. I communicated with Cecil before his death, and I think he’d be pleased that we’ve used his work as a foundation building block.

County Formation

Between 1720 and 1734, what would become Shenandoah County was a part of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. From 1734 to 1738, it was included in Orange County. In 1738, the area of Orange County west of the Blue Ridge Mountains was separated to become the new counties of Augusta to the south and Frederick to the north.

In 1753, the dividing line between Augusta and Frederick Counties was made to coincide with the Fairfax line. On March 24, 1772, a new county was formed from Frederick County which was to be known as Dunmore. In 1778, its name was changed to Shanando which eventually morphed to Shenandoah.

Early Settlement

In 1716, Sir Alexander Spotswood, the Royal Governor of Virginia, headed west with a small army along the Germanna Trail. Many in the exploratory party contracted German measles along the way, but Governor Spotswood and a few hearty souls continued on and crossed the Blue Ridge at Swift Run Gap.

The Governor forded the Shenandoah River and buried a bottle on the west bank. This bottle contained a note he had written which claimed all territory west of the mountains to “The River of the Spaniards,” now the Mississippi, in the name of and for King George I of England. After the French were driven out of the Ohio Territory, the claim lasted until the end of the American Revolution.

On June 17, 1730, John and Isaac Van Meter were issued “land orders” from Governor Gooch authorizing them to select 40,000 acres as a buffer zone against raids by the Indians and the French moving into the Ohio River Valley.

Van Meter, a trapper and Indian trader, held a 10,000-acre tract in the Shenandoah Valley which he had acquired from Lord Fairfax. A condition of this sale was that one hundred German families were to settle in the Valley. Van Meter sold this land to Jost Hite of eastern Pennsylvania in 1727. You can read more about the confusing details, here.

Hite proceeded to search for one hundred German families, and, in 1731, the group headed for the Valley.

Hite purchased the Van Meter’s rights for unpatented parcels within the 40,000 acres on August 5, 1731.

Hite personally migrated to the Shenandoah Valley in 1731. Local tradition holds that he brought 16 German and Scotch-Irish families in the initial settlement caravan. They lived near the Pack Horse Ford crossing over the Potomac River until completing their houses further south on Opequon Creek.

At the time, there were no roads crossing the Blue Ridge. Travelers on foot had passed through mountain gaps for 10,000 years, while colonial explorers using horses had been crossing the mountains since John Lederer in 1670. However, it took two decades after first permanent colonial settlers arrived in the Shenandoah Valley before the old trails were improved enough for wagons to make a reliable crossing over the mountains into the Piedmont.

In 1734, the Van Meters sold Hite the parcels they had previously patented, except for some parcels near Shepherdstown (then Maryland, now West Virginia) where John Van Meter had lived. Hite may have been John Van Meter’s cousin or nephew, a relationship that could have facilitated their dealings.

Enroute west, they encountered Robert McKay and his group of Scotch-Irish settlers from the coast. They perfected a plan to pool land and money so that they could eventually obtain more land from Lord Fairfax. They purchased 70,000 more acres over the next two years and determined a plan for dividing it.

The Scotch-Irish were to settle the eastern half from Winchester to Luray, in essence the South Fork of the Shenandoah. Hite’s Germans would occupy the western portion from Winchester to beyond what is now Strasburg, the North Fork of the Shenandiah. Hite erected a house five miles south of Winchester along what was to become the “Valley Pike,” U.S. Route 11.

Two of his grandsons built much larger homes along Cedar Creek near Strasburg a half century later. His son-in-law, George Bowman, settled along the south side of Cedar Creek in what is now Shenandoah County in 1731 or 1732.

Another son-in-law, Paul Froman, settled along the creek eight or nine miles northwest of Bowman.

Other settlers were soon to follow. Benjamin Allen, Riley Moore and William White arrived from the Monocacy Valley in Maryland and settled in the area of what is now Mt. Jackson, just a few miles north of John Dobkins’ land.

Jacob Funk bought 2,030 acres between Fishers Hill and Strasburg, including part of the present town of Strasburg, from Henry Willis in 1735.

By 1738, many people had settled what would become Shenandoah County forty years later, in 1778.

The first Indians encountered by the settlers were friendly, and the two groups lived together peacefully for about 20 years. Apparently, the Native people didn’t object to the Pennsylvania settlers due to the treaty William Penn had struck with the Native Americans on the banks of the Delaware. It probably didn’t hurt that Van Meter traded with the Indians, earning their trust, and some backcountry settlers had purchased land directly from the Indians. According to Wine, in Life Along Holman’s Creek, the Native people objected violently to any migration of the “long Knives,” which would be the English for the most part, from east of the Blue Ridge.

Jost Hite and Robert McKay advertised to residents of the Philadelphia, PA area that settlements of the land west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Northern Neck of Virginia were available. John Dobkins Sr. and his wife, Mary were among the takers.

Cecil reports that “John was a Scotch-Irishman from Ulster, Northern Ireland. We do not know the year he emigrated or anything about his wife. They settled in what was Orange County, VA in 1731 or 1732.”

I surely wish that Cecil had documented his source for either his arrival date in the Shenandoah Valley or John Dobkins’ origin in Ulster. The name Dobbins is found in Dublin and Sligo in 1848-51 when Griffins Valuation of Ireland was conducted. It’s also spelled Dobbyn around County Armagh. However, there are several early Dobikins in England, so the jury is still out on this one.

The Shenandoah Valley region, nestled between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountain ranges was extremely rugged, remote and stunningly beautiful. It still is.

There were no courts opened in Frederick County before 1743 nor in Augusta before 1745. Records for Frederick and Augusta counties were recorded in Orange County until 1743.

Found in Pioneers of Old Frederick County, VA by Cecil O’Dell.

John Dobikin Sr. (b 1685 c) received a bond from Benjamin Borden on 24 September 1735 for “150 pounds Sterling to make patent in full and ample manner as the King gives me” on 150 acres, part of Benjamin Borden’s 3,300 acre tract. The 6 January 1735/36 Morgan Morgan/Peter Woolf census listed John Sr. as a settler on the McKay, Hite, Duff and Green 100,000 acre Colony of Virginia grant land.

This grant proves critically important.

In the Hite/Fairfax lawsuit, William White stated that he was present when Benjamin Bordon gave a bond guaranteeing a good title to the land on Smith Creek that has been purchased by John Dobbin on September 24, 1735. Borden had received 100,000 acres along the branches of the James River in the upper part of the Shenandoah Valley from the Governor’s council in May of 1735.

This is noteworthy, because Borden’s land was supposed to be south of the Beverly Grant, outside of the area claimed by Lord Fairfax. The fact that Borden is guaranteeing John a good title tells us that his land should be south of what would become known as the Fairfax line. We will see in a few minutes why this is an important piece of data.

Clearly, based on that testimony, John Dobkins was physically in this location at that time.

Peter Wolf’s deposition in the lawsuit taken 6th March 1754 and witnessed by Isaac Parkins, Ger’m Keys and Thomas——–(?).

Peter Wolf being first sworn…Deposeth as followeth, That he is now in the fifty fourth year of his age that he came into this Colony from the Jerseys some time in the year 1733, and that he settled upon a tract of Land which was supposed to belong to Joist Hite and as this Deponent believe the same was in Dispute That sometime in the year of our Lord 1736 this Deponent was sent for by the Lord Fairfax who was then as Samuel Timmands’s to Pilot him up to Joist Hite’s which accordingly he did.

There are also a couple of references to Peter Wolf’s list that he took known as “the number of Settlements upon the Grant granted to Robert McCay Jost Hyte and their Partners in the forks of Shannando and the several Branches thereof.”

This is the 100,000-acre grant given to Jost Hite and his Quaker partner Robert McKay. They needed to seat 100 families to fulfill their obligation under that conditional grant to seat 1 family per 1000 acres.

They list the 49 names, as follows:

1. • Robert McCay Senr.
   • John Funk
   • Henry Johnston
   • Thomas Parmer
   • John Denton
   • Jonah Denton
   • Henry Falkenburg
   • Edward Wormwood
   • Andrew Falkenburg
   • Jacob Falkenburg
   • David Carlock
   • Benjamin Allen
   • Reiley More
   • John Lewis
   • William White
   • John Dobikin Senr.
   • James Gill
   • Andrew Bird (Burd in 1770)
   • John Nichols
   • William Bridges
   • Charles Smith
   • Daniel Holeman
   • Charles Robinson
   • William Linviel
   • John Gorden
   • John Wood
   • John Cannaday
   • Robert McCay Jr.
   • Joseph Whites
   • William Oldham
   • William Barke
   • William Anns (?)
   • Barnel Hegin
   • Samuel White
   • Joshua Jobe
   • George Robinson
   • James Sickles
   • William Barnett
   • James Leeth
   • John Calbreth
   • John Edmondson
   • Isaac Howell (Houser in 1770)
   • John Read
   • Joseph Tindell
   • Michael Brook
   • Joseph Read
   • David Keath
   • William Goodwin
   • George Leeth

Whereas the said Robert McCay, Jost Hyte and their Partners have requested of us George Hobson and Morgan Morgan two of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace at Opeckon in the County of Orange to view the Settlements within their said Grant and that Mr. George Hobson went part of the Way with me in order to view the same the weather proving bad he returned and there being no other Magistrate over the Ridge Mr. Jost Hight appointed Peter Wolfe in his room to go with me to view the said Settlements within the said Grant.

I the said Morgan Morgan do hereby certify that the said Peter Wolfe and myself have viewed and that we seen the above Settlement being in number forty-nine and that the same are now improving by the above named persons within the said Grant Given under my hand this 26 day of January A:Dom: 1735/6.

Morgan Morgan

This is followed by Peter Wolf, on January 26th, 1735/36, stating that he “had in fact viewed the settlements in the Fork of Shannando and the several Branches thereof and that he did see forty-nine Settlements in number and that the same were now improving by the Persons named in the list.”

The names in red, above, are shown on map 15, shown below, representing the original settlers. The blue names are found in 1770 and shown on map 15A. However, referencing other records, including grants, deeds, court and other records, and baptisms, we find many families who are clearly active in the community but not listed among the original grants along Smith Creek.

The fact that John Dobikin is noted as Senr., and his son by the same name is not listed tells us that they are homesteading together, as one family.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that, at least at first glance, these earliest settlers don’t appear to have Scots-Irish names.

In 1737, William Mayo surveyed this region and noted “Many families of forreign protestants are settled hereabout, under grants from his Majesty’s Governor.”

Where is Smith Creek?

Smith Creek runs for about 20 miles, as the crow flies, in the Shenandoah Valley along what is now Interstate 81 near New Market.

If you pan out, you can see the migration path directly down the valley from Pennsylvania, through the Hagerstown area, on down the valley to the newly minted Borden grant for settlement. On the early maps, this is called the “Waggon Road to Philadelphia.”

I found John’s land on Smith Creek, but what happened to it remains a mystery.

The land patented to his son, John, in 1750, which we had all assumed to be his father’s original patent land was found 8 or 10 miles away, on Holman Creek, not Smith Creek.

It was not this same land, but I spent a lot of time trying to make those pieces fit together. They don’t.

However, Holman Creek dumps into the Shenandoah River not terribly far from the intersection with Smith Creek.

The intersection between Holman Creek and the Shenandoah River is shown at left, and between Smith Creek and the Shenandoah at the right arrow.

The original grant owners were mapped in the book, Pioneers of Old Frederick County by Cecil O’Dell, and included in Cecil Smyth’s book, but John Dobkins is missing.

The Holman family was granted land at the intersection of Holman Creek and the Shenandoah River, and still owned that land in 1770. On those two property owner lists, no individual owned 150 acres, the amount granted to John Dobkins. But the entire grant of 3,300 acres is short exactly 150 acres when adding the total of the known property owners.

However, by studying the property owners, one can learn more about the neighborhood, and I found important clues.

The above drawing shows most of the earliest land grants and shows clearly where the grants lay along Smith Creek. Note the Fairfax line that divides Frederick County from Augusta County.

Map 15A shows the same parcels with their 1770 owners.

By 1770, John Dobkins Sr. had been buried for almost a quarter century, and his 150 acres is still missing.

John Dobkin Sr. became ill in 1743, sick enough to write his will on November 3, 1743, appointing wife Mary and son John Jr. as executors. This confirms that John Jr. was of age at that time.

In the name of god amen the 3^rd day of Nov 1743, I John Dobikin of Orang County in the Colony of Virginia, farmer, being ? sick and weak in body but of a perfect mins and memory thanks be given unto god thereof caulling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is ? for all men once to dye do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say principally and first of all I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and for my body I recommend it to the earth to be buried in a Christian like and decent manner at the discression of my executor not doubting but at the general Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty Power of God and as touching such World by ? with it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give my wife and dispose of the same in the following manner and form.

Imprimis it is my will and I do so order that in the first place all my just debts and funeral charges be paid and satisfied.

Item I give and bequeth unto Mary my Dearly Beloved Wife all my goods and chattles, tenements and lands and at her decase to dispose of as the shall think proper leaving her and my son John Dobkins executors of this my last will and testament and I do herby utterly disalow revok and disanul and ? all former tesament wills….

John signed his will with a somewhat fancy mark, not just an X. This suggests to me that he could not write. If he were simply too sick to sign, he would just have made an X, I would think.

Witnesses were William Jeames (James), William Galenbe and Samuel Brown (his mark.)

This will is unusual because he left his land to his wife. This means she would either have:

• Sold or transferred the land
• Had a will
• Had an estate if she died without a will
• Or remarried when the land would have become the property of her husband

There’s no evidence of any of those four things, but one of them had to have happened. His land didn’t just vaporize..

John Dobkins Sr.’s will was probated on May 12, 1746 in Augusta County where John Dobkins Jr. and Mary were appointed as executors.

Ten days later, on May 22, 1746, John Dobkin, Benjamin Allen and Tunis Hood are bound as sureties for Mary Dobkin and her son, John Dobkins, as executors of John’s estate.

On June 12, 1746, the estate inventory of John Dobkins Senior was filed and had been appraised by William White, William Carrell and William James. I absolutely love estate inventories, because they describe EXACTLY what was in the house, and barn, and I mean everything, Right down to hammers and dung forks. These inventories convey the story of how these people lived – both by what is present and what is absent.

• Four milch cows
• Two year-old heifers
• One three-year-old steer
• One three-year-old bull
• Three two-year-old steers
• Three yearling calves
• One bay horse five-years-old
• One bay mare and colt three-years-old
• One sorrell mare and colt seven-years-old
• One black mare four-years-old
• One dunn horse fifteen-years-old
• Twelve sheep
• Two sows and ten piggs two barrows and a boar and three shoats
• A plough and clevis
• A cart and cart saddle
• One feather bed and pair of sheets a pair of blankets and a rug
• Two spinning wheals one small and the other bigg
• A great Bible
• A chest and trunk
• A sithe and two sickles
• A dung fork
• A brand iron
• Old iron
• 2 axes
• Old iron
• A hammer and pinchers
• A broad ax
• Two augers and a drawing knife
• One iron pot and a iron racing
• Two iron potts
• One iron hatchall
• Three pewter dishes
• A parcel of old brass
• One brass candlestick
• A bed a pair of sheets and blanket and covlet
• A grindstone with an iron hasel
• A side saddle
• A suit of wearing cloaths
• One gray horse two-years-old
• One gunn

The total estate was valued at 72 pounds, 13 shillings, no pence, and had been appraised on March 18, 1746. I sure wish we knew who purchased items at his estate sale, or maybe there wasn’t a sale given that he had left everything to Mary.

I realize looking at this list that the 15-year-old horse would have been their pack animal over the mountains, lo those many years ago. That horse had been through the entire trip with the family. They depended upon one another. I wonder if the horse realized John had died, and pulled a wagon with his casket to the burying ground.

What I wouldn’t give to see that Great Bible. Clearly, his son John would have eventually taken possession of the Bible, but what happened to it after that? Hopefully someone penned John’s birth and death dates, as well as those of his children. Maybe his parents and wife’s name too, if we only knew where it was today.

John styled himself as a farmer, but many farmers had a secondary skill in addition to farming. We see evidence of that by finding carpenter tools, blacksmith tools, or similar craftsman items in their estate sale. John apparently truly was a farmer, because he owned 14 cattle of various sorts, 6 horses, 12 sheep, and 16 pigs of various ages. Interestingly, the side saddle would have been Mary’s, so where is his saddle?

The rug would have been a woven bed rug, not a floor rug.

That “snug as a bug in a rug” saying – yep – that was referring to a bedbug and a bed rug. That featherbed and bed rug was the most valuable item inside the house. Four times as valuable as John’s only gun, as hard as that is to believe on the frontier.

I can just see Mary insisting on having a feather bed. She probably plucked hundreds of chickens and geese before they went into the pot, saving the feathers. That was probably their only creature comfort, given that they only had one candlestick and three pewter plates, but no table or chairs. Yes, that feather bed was valuable indeed!

John had assuredly passed the half-century mark, and probably three-score, yet, other than the clothes he was buried in, he had one “suit of wearing clothes.” I surely would like to know if that has a meaning beyond the individual words. Is this a specific type of clothing, or a specific cultural saying? Since it was referenced as a suit, was it a jacket, breeches and waistcoat? If so, why would he have hauled that overland, on horseback, to the frontier? His dunn horse surely already had enough to carry.

John’s Land

Since John Dobkins’ will was probated in Augusta County, not Frederick County, this tells us that he was living in the area of the map below the county dividing line between Augusta County and Frederick County. The fact that Bordon provided his grant confirms the same.

Based on the map of the grants provided in the book, and the county dividing line, I attempted to reconstruct that area, today.

This area on Google maps is located just east of US11, known at Valley Pike, near the intersection with Greatview Lane. You can tell by the shape of the river. Note that Smith Creek to Thornton Gap Road on that original map is now 211.

John assuredly lived close to the existing grants. He wouldn’t have wanted to be by himself. That wasn’t safe. As it was, it looks like he might have been one of the furthest south homesteads, bordering on the untouched wilderness.

I’ve reconstructed this portion of the grant using the river and the approximate edges of the grants.

There is one grant that is not labeled. Y and Z are labeled. Z extends on both side of Smith Creek, apparently. Y is on the east side of Smith Creek but the parcel on the western side of Smith Creek, opposite Y, is not labeled.

Unfortunately, Craney Island Road, crossing this land is only one lane, and the Google vehicle does not drive down one lane roads, so we can’t view it more closely.

Still, we can look across the field, knowing that Smith Creek is just over yonder, below those mountains. I believe we’re looking across John Dobkins land here.

These plats are not shown on the original survey map with names, so it’s likely that one of these belonged to John Dobkins. Probably the one with the question marks since none of the accounted-for plots are 150 acres.

Plats Y and Z, along with the unlabeled plat to the west of Y are shown within the red arrows.

It’s very likely that John Dobkins Sr., with help from John Dobkins Jr. cleared these fields, built a log cabin, and set about farming.

When Was John Born?

The fact that John Sr.’s son, John Jr., had a child born in 1736 tells us he was married by at least 1735. Given the marriage age for men of about 25, John Jr. had to have been born about 1710 or maybe even earlier

That pushes John Sr.’s birth back to at least 1685, or perhaps earlier.

If John Sr. was born in 1685, he died at age 61. If Mary was the same age, they would have been having children from about 1705ish to 1727-1730ish. Of course, John Jr. could have been their youngest child, not their oldest, which means they would have been 20 years older, dying at 81. I find it doubtful, though, that a man of 71 would have homesteaded in the wilderness. It’s remarkable enough that a man of 50 or 51 did.

I can’t imagine doing something like that, knowing that one was literally starting over with absolutely nothing. He would have been manually felling trees to clear land and cutting logs to build what was necessarily a small cabin. Without wagons, how did they keep the wildlife at bay while they built their cabins?

Loose Threads

This also causes me to wonder if John and Mary had other children. They must have. If they had additional living children, why were they not mentioned in John’s will? There are no other Dobkins families in evidence, other than John Jr.

There is a James Dobbins in 1751 and 1753 in Augusta County, but he shows no connection to our Dobkins family and eventually moves to South Carolina.

Griffith Dobbins is a Quaker man, and I found no connection with him either, other than naming a child Thomas. In 1813, that Thomas obtained land from a former neighbor family of John Dobkins Jr., more than a half-century after John Sr. died, and a quarter-century after the last of our Dobkins family had loaded up the wagons and departed for the next frontier. Given that John Dobkins Jr. had a son, Thomas who is unaccounted for after 1753, that 1813 Thomas Dobbins sent me on a wild goose chase. Thanks so much to my cousin who found the actual deed record, allowing me to track him down, and putting me out of my misery:)

By all appearances, John Dobkins Sr. and Mary led incredibly difficult, challenging lives, fraught with danger daily, and filled with heartache if only one of their children lived to adulthood. Perhaps they were simply grateful that one child had survived – John’s namesake, John Jr.

I sure wish we knew more about their story.

Actually, I just made a new discovery, and we do, although this too creates more questions than answers…

Stay tuned.

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We know nothing about John Dobkins Jr. between his birth and when we first find his father, John Dobkins Sr. in Orange County, Virginia in 1735 when he received a bond from Benjamin Borden for a patent on 150 acres in the Borden Grant.

Borden, a land speculator, had moved to this area by April 1734 and received a patent on October 3, 1734 for the area including Smith’s Creek, where John Dobkins Sr. settled.

Borden also received 100,000 acres along the branches of the James River in the upper part of the Shenandoah Valley from the Governor’s council in May of 1735.

This is noteworthy because Borden’s land was supposed to be south of the Beverly grant, outside of the area claimed by Lord Fairfax. The fact that Borden is guaranteeing John a good title tells us that his land should be south of what would become known as the Fairfax line. This is an obscure, but important piece of data that we will eventually need to locate John Dobkins Sr.’s land.

John Dobkins’s surname was sometimes written Dobikins, Dobbins, and other sound-alike derivatives.

Clearly, his son, John Jr., probably born about 1710, was with him when he arrived. The Dobkins family was one of the first 50 families to settle west of the Blue Ridge, or anyplace in the Shenandoah Valley, for that matter.

In the book, The Dobkins Family in America by Cecil B. Smyth Jr., Cecil tells us that in 1730 Jost Hite and Robert McKay advertised to residents of the Philadelphia, PA area that land was available for settlement west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Northern Neck of Virginia. They had obtained grants of 40,000 and 100,000 acres. Among the takers was John Dobkins Sr. and his wife, Mary.

According to Smythe, John Dobkins settled in what was Orange County, VA in 1731 or 1732, although I can’t find anything before 1735. The first settlers did arrive at that time, but additional groups from other areas, including the Scots-Irish, Quakers, Germans, and other protestant groups arrived over the next couple of years too. This part of Orange County would later divide into Augusta and Frederick County.

However, there were no courts opened in Frederick County before 1743 nor in Augusta before 1745. Records for Frederick and Augusta counties were recorded in Orange County until 1743. The area that became Shenandoah County was part of Augusta and Frederick counties from 1738 to 1753. In 1753, the line dividing those counties was moved up the Valley and made identical with the Fairfax line. In 1772, Dunmore County was established from Frederick and in 1778 was renamed to Shenandoah County. Yes, land division and county formation on the western waters was much like sausage-making. Messy.

Found in Pioneers of Old Frederick County, VA by Cecil O’Dell.

John Dobikin Sr. (b 1685 c) received a bond from Benjamin Borden on 24 September 1735 for ‘150 pounds Sterling to make patent in full and ample manner as the King gives me” on 150 acres, part of Benjamin Borden’s 3.300 acre tract. The 6 January 1735/36 Morgan Morgan/Peter Woolf census listed John Sr. as a settler on the McKay, Hite, Duff and Green 100,000 acre Colony of Virginia grant land.

Traveling Ministers

In the early frontier settlements, circuit-riding ministers were quite welcome. They provided religious services and brought news from the outside world. Maybe even letters from family members. Without churches, baptisms couldn’t be performed, and funerals were clearly handled locally by someone saying a few words over the casket of the deceased.

One of the earliest, if not the earliest minister to travel to the Shenandoah Vannoy to service the founding families was the German immigrant, Lutheran Reverend John Stoever.

Fortunately, he recorded the location of the baptisms as he traveled from place to place.

His first recorded Shenandoah baptisms were performed on March 31, 1735 when he baptized numerous babies and children. Some had been born as early as 1727, but most were born in the 1730s.

Many families had several children in need of baptism. They probably hadn’t seen a minister, or heard a sermon in a long time.

Children

The year after John Dobikins Sr. received his grant, his son, John Jr. and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, gave birth to their son, Thomas, who was baptized when Reverend Stoever came to preach.

Baptism Records of Rev. John Stoever

• John Dawbin (Shenandoah.) – Dawbin, Thomas, b. Nov. 8, 1736; bap. June 8, 1737. Teste: James Gill

John Dawbin and his wife Elizabeth also witnessed the following baptisms, children of James Guill:

• John Dawbin testis, June 8, 1737, baptism of Thomas Guill, son of James.
• Elizabeth Dawbin, testis, June 8, 1737, baptism of James Guill, son of James.

Years later, in 1753, one Thomas Dobekin was a chain carrier on Stoney Creek, on land adjoining John Dobekin. He would have been 17.

That was the last mention of Thomas, so he seems to have disappeared, leaving no breadcrumbs behind.

In the book, Tinkling Springs and Her Families, we discover the Presbyterian Reverend John Craig’s record of baptisms from 1740-1749:

John Dobbins children Jean and John both on March 6, 1741, at Rockfish, a settlement and meeting house east of the Blue Ridge and 15 miles SE of Tinkling Spring.

The fact that two children were baptized at the same time suggests that the church was far away. And indeed, it was.

Looking at Google maps, the closest church to John Dobkins Sr.’s home was actually Tinkling Springs, not Rockfish. It was even 9 miles further to where John Dobkins Jr. lived in the mid-1740s, which makes me wonder if the minister might have gone into the “backcountry” settlement preaching and baptizing children.

No additional Dobkins children were baptized, ever, in this church, nor do we find additional baptism records for this family by Stoever who was in Shenandoah again on May 1, 1739, performing baptisms.

This would suggest that at least one child was born, and died, in the intervening years.

While normally finding a Presbyterian baptism would suggest a Scots-Irish family, I’m not so sure this time. In the backcountry during this timeframe, there were no other churches. As one of my Brethren cousins who is a minister says of frontier families – “people attended the church of opportunity.”

We know from these records that by 1741, John Jr. had at least three children. Thomas, John, a son named for himself (and his father,) and a daughter named Jean. We find Thomas mentioned one more time. Nothing more about Jean.

We don’t find John unless the John who is found on the next frontier with John Jr.’s other children in 1787 is actually his son, John. There is no marriage record for John, but there is a hint from the Johnson family descendants who had recorded the marriages of both Darcus and Margaret Johnson to Dobkins boys. That family reported that a third daughter of Peter Johnson and Mary Polly Philips, Rachel, may have married a John Dobkins. Researchers had discounted that, in part, because, before finding the baptismal record for John Dobkins (the third) in 1741, no one knew he existed.

We know that John Dobkins Jr. did have other children:

• Reuben was probably born in the 1740s
• Jacob was born in 1751
• Evan was probably born in the 1740s or early 1750s
• Rebecca was probably born before 1763. She married Patrick Shields in 1783, but we know nothing further.

John Dobkins Jr.

Several trees show John Dobkins Jr.’s wife, Elizabeth, as a Moore. There is no evidence for this, and I suspect that assumption occurred because John Dobkins lived next to and sold his land to Thomas Moor.

That’s backwards though, because normally it’s the father-in-law who sells to the son-in-law.

We know that John was married by 1735, and it’s not unlikely that he married before arriving on the frontier with his father.

I found nothing to indicate that John Dobkins’ wife was a Moore, although there’s nothing to preclude it either.

Early Records

Prior to 1746, when the older John Dobkins died, it’s sometimes difficult to tell which John Dobkins is being referenced. The John Dobbins in the following record could have been either father or son.

• Pages 234-37. 23-24 Sept. 1741. William Beverley, Esq., of Essex County to Samuel Doeg (Doak) of Orange County. Lease and release; for ₤20 current money. 647 acres in Beverley Mannor… corner to John Mitchell… Alexr. Brackenridge’s line… Pat. Campbell’s line… (signed) W. Beverley. Wit: Francis Beatty, Patrick Hays, John Dobbins. 25 Sept. 1741. Acknowledged by Wm. Beverley, Esq. [Orange County Virginia Deed Book 6, Dorman, pg. 32].

Military Service

The next record of John Dobkins, is a 1742 military record, which clearly seems to be John Dobkins Jr.

Cecil tells us that each Virginia County appointed a county militia Lieutenant who functioned as the militia commander and was responsible for organizing and maintaining the county militia. The militia was made up of volunteers who were responsible for protecting and defending the local residents, particularly in the event of an Indian attack.

Local militias were called upon during the French and Indian War (1754-1763,)  Dunmore’s War in 1774, and the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). All was not peaceful on the frontier.

By 1742, John Dobkins was Captain of the Augusta County militia which means he is a fully functional, responsible adult capable of organizing and leading other men. If he were baptized in 1741 as an adult, he would not have been noted as the child of his father.

It’s worth noting that there is one John Johnson in John Dobin’s 1742 militia Company 6.

In 1743, John Dobbin is listed on the Militia Roll as the Lieutenant of Horse in Orange County.

He probably moved from his father’s land in Augusta County to his claim further west on Holman Creek in Orange County between 1742 and 1743.

Based on the fact that the militia references where John is being referred to as “Capt.” continue uninterrupted between the time John Dobkins Sr. wrote his will, until and after his death. It would appear that the John Dobkins in the militia was John Jr.

Of course, it’s possible that the 1742 entry is for John Sr. and the 1743 entry is for John Jr.

A court-martial was held on January 15, 1745 and John Dobins was present.

Later that year he is listed as a Captain of Horse and is present at another court martial on September 11^th.

On September 3, 1746, another court martial was held, but Capt. John Dobin was fined for not attending the general muster and the court martial.

This unquestionably tells us that the man serving in the militia is John Jr., because his father’s estate was probated in May of 1746.

On September 2, 1747, John attended another Court Martial.

Settling in the Shenandoah Valley Wilderness

When John and his father first arrived in Orange County, the family settled very near New Market, not far from where Holman Creek dumps into the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. John Dobkins Sr. lived just south of the county line that would one day divide Frederick and Augusta Counties.

Augusta was formed in 1738 from Orange County and Frederick County was formed from Orange in 1738, but not officially organized until 1743.

John Dobkins Sr. lived near the red arrow in the lower right. The Fairfax dividing line between Augusta County and Frederick County is found (approximately) in a straight line drawn between the purple arrows.

John Dobkins Jr. lived near the red arrow in the upper left-hand corner.

The green arrows point to the path of Holman’s Creek from its headwaters near the purple arrow on the left, to its intersection with the North Shenandoah River near Interstate 81.

We know that by 1746, when his father died, John Jr. was not living on the same land as his father. At some point, John Jr. had moved 9 or 10 miles further west, on Holman Creek.

We know where John Dobkins Jr. lived based on the survey of the Fairfax line which formed the border between Augusta and Orange County, then between Augusta and Frederick County when Frederick split from Orange in 1743.

Come along on a surveying trip. You’re in for a big surprise!

The Fairfax Line

When the Fairfax grant was surveyed and mapped in 1736, the connection between the Rappahannock with the head springs of the Potomac was not surveyed, so the question of where that boundary should actually be located was hotly disputed. The Fairfax grant was massive, the size of the rest of Virginia, which of course, at that time, included what would become West Virginia.

The dispute didn’t end with the survey though. In fact, it’s thanks to a later lawsuit that we have the surveyor’s journal. The journal was used as evidence in the Supreme Court case, State of Maryland vs the State of West Virginia, filed in 1891, to settle that dispute once and for all. The lawyer, George Price, of West Virginia, who submitted that journal as evidence returned it to the surveyor’s descendants in 1910, at the conclusion of the case, documenting why he was in possession of the journal in the first place.

Beginning in September of 1746, surveyors were contracted to establish the Fairfax line, the southern border of Lord Fairfax’s land to establish the limits of the Northern Neck Land Grant, also known as the Fairfax Grant, consisting of over 5 million acres. Surveyors were Peter Jefferson, father of the future President Jefferson, along with Thomas Lewis who, fortuitously, kept a journal, which has been transcribed, here.

This 1751 portion of the Fry-Jefferson map shows the Fairfax Boundary line, along with Smith’s Creek and the Indian Road, also known as the Great Indian Warpath, by which the settlers arrived. This would become known as the Great Waggon Road to Philadelphia as well as the Carolina Road.

Eventually, millions of settlers would seek their fortunes along this road, turning off onto capillaries and settling along streams, but that was still in the future. John Dobkins was among the first, brave, or maybe foolhardy, fifty families to try their luck in the backcountry. One massacre, and they would all be dead and entirely lost to history.

The history of the Wagon Road had yet to be written. When John set eyes upon it, they could only have used pack horses because it was just a rugged Indian trail, impassable to wagons.

The 1746 Fairfax survey extended from the head of the Rappahannock to the head of the Potomac, as was written on the outside of Lewis’s journal. The journal was 3.5 inches wide and 5.5 inches tall, and he faithfully recorded the day’s activities in a quill pen

By Monday, Sept 29^th, they were having problems crossing the Blue Ridge. He noted that, “it being impossible to take our horses over the Peaked Mountain, they were sent over Masenuten Gap with the commissioner and baggage. Mr. Brook and I went up to where we left off on Saturday.”

The author who lived in New Market transcribed and published the journal, and placed notes at the bottom of the page. This note says that Peaked Mountain is between McGaheysville and Kezeltown.

The surveyors had sent their baggage train a different way with the idea that they would meet up again in Shenandoah Valley.

On October 1, (page 19 in the printed booklet) John Lewis penned this entry in his journal:

Wednesday, October 1^st – Set forward with our baggage in order to overtake
Colo. Jefferson and Capt Winslo. We did about 2 o’clock at John Dobins.

Their notes for Tuesday:

216 pole X (X=cross) Smith Creek runs to Rt.
429 X ye Indian Road
810 X ye North Branch of Shanando
1600 poles a pine marked
21 miles

The author’s note at the bottom of the page states that “this first line crossed from Smith’s Creek to the North Shenandoah River exactly where new Market now stands. The Indian Road is the forerunner of the Valley Turnpike.”

Wensday worke and from the marked pine
206 poles Masunuten Gap Bears S 60 E
960 poles a tree marked 24 miles in Dobins cornfield
1000 total for this day.

We encamped in Dobins meadow
Raind in the evining

We know that John was raising corn and had a meadow. We also know that the Fairfax line ran through John’s land.

John’s house and the Armentrout Mill are located at the red arrow. You can see meadowlands and a substantial field, today. That just might have been John’s cornfield.

I believe that Massanutten Gap is actually known as New Market Gap in the Massanutten Mountain, today. You can watch a beautiful drone video, here.

Surveying was not for the faint of heart. Lewis reports that several horses were killed, falling over rocks and “precipes” in a place called Purgatory. He also mentions that Col. Fairfax turned back at the 1000 pole mark, unable to undergo the fatigue of the journey. Two days later, he says that they had to press forward because the horses were starving and their provisions were not sufficient for themselves.

Two days later, on the 5^th, Lewis tells of the horrible conditions in the mountains and that both horses and men were injured with broken bones. On the 6^th, he reported that the horses had had nothing to eat since they had left Dobins four days earlier.

Lewis tracks the miles they have surveyed from the origination point.

A few days later, he notes that “the mountains prodigiously full of fallen timber and ivey as thick as it could grow – so interwoven that horse or man could hardly force his way through it.”

A day or two later, at the Styx River, he records:

The appearance is so dismal as to strike terror into the heart of any human creature. Ye lorals, ivey and spruce pine so extremely thick in ye swamp through which this river runs that one cannot have the least prospect except they look upwards. The water of the river dark brownish, cooler and its motion so slow that it can hardly be said to move. Deep about 4 feet and the bottom muddy and banks high which made it extremely difficult for us to pass the most of the horses when they attempted to ascend the farthest bank tumbling with their loads back in the river. Most of our baggage that would have been damaged by the water were brought over on men’s shoulders such as powder, bread and bedclothes and c. There was not a place big enough for one man to lye on, no fire wood except green or rotten spruce pine and no place for our horses to feed. To prevent them from being poisoned by eating of loral we tyd them all up.

Then, at 68 miles on the 15th. Lewis pens:

Never was the Elysian fields more welcome to a departed soul than this place – if I may be allowed the expression was to us. I wish it were possible for me to give a just description of this place that might others judge was reason we who were engaged in this affair have to say so.

The Swamp, (which is very uncommon in places of ye kind) is prodigiously full of rocks and cavitys whose covered over with a very luxuriant kind of moss of a considerable depth. The fallen trees of which there was great numbers and naturally large were vastly improved in bulk with their coats of moss. The spruce pines of which on all sides there are great plenty their roots grown out from the trunk a considerable height above the surface, covered over and joyned together in such a manner as makes their roots appear like semie globs. The loral and ivey as thick as they can well grow whose branches growing of an extraordinary length are so well woven together that without cutting away it would be impossible to force through them provided they grew on a good even surface, their roots together with the pines are spread over the rocks and under the moss like arches. In what danger must we be, in such a place all dangerous places being obscured under a clock of moss such thickets of loral to struggle with those branches are almost as obstinate as if composed of iron. Our horses and often ourselves fell into clefts and cavities with out seeing the danger before we felt the effects of it. No ones misfortune was of much to service the others, for in striving to evade a seen dangerous or bad place often fell into a worse. Frequently we had the roots to cut and the rocks to break to free our horses of which 4 or 5 might have been engaged at a time.

The next day, he reported that they “lay by” in order to rest because they are much fatigued and crippled.

On the 17^th, they encountered another laurel swamp so difficult they were afraid of not being able to get out.

On the 19^th, they were lost and discouraged, thinking themselves too far west, but they were actually too far east.

On the 20^th, the men took a break to hunt and to see if they could find the head of the Potomac. The boundary line was supposed to have been run ten years earlier, in 1736, but the author of the pamphlet penned a footnote indicating that they think that the 1736 line was not run. The men heard guns in the distance which they believed to be Indians.

In case you’re wondering why on earth anyone would want to homestead there, his entry on the 21^st is enlightening.

The land or soil on the NW side of the river is black and very moist a great many small springs and ouzey places and pretty stoney and hilly. Exceedingly well timbered with such as very large spruce pines, great multitudes of Beach and Shugartrees, Cherry trees the most and finest I ever saw. Some 3 or 4 foot diameter thirty or forty foot without a branches. Some few Oaks, Chesnuts and Locusts though not many.

On Thursday, the 23^rd, they created the Fairfax Stone by engraving their initials and the year, dined on a venison loin, and drank to his Majesty’s health. The stone still existed in 1859, but was described as “indescript sandstone, shapeless and would scarce attract the attention of a passerby.” It was destroyed in 1883.

The surveyors turned around and began their way back, still surveying. A second line was surveyed to check the first line.

Peter Jefferson was “very much indisposed,” even though he had been described as being one of the “strongest men of this country.”

Monday, the 13^th:

Never was any poor creatures in such a condition as we were in nor ever was a criminal more glad by having made his escape out of prison as we were to get rid of those accursed lorals.

Lewis continues to describe the swamp again as twice as bad as the Styx, with horses sometimes tumbling in places out of sight.

Then:

Mr. Brook was taken very ill with a dizziness in his head and fainting in the middle of the swamp which we had reason to fear would have been his sepulcher.

A couple of days later, the men camped at a settler’s house and were eating, drinking, gambling, and having fun.

By this time, it would have been getting cold. They celebrated the King’s birthday, then set out on November 1^st.

By November 3^rd, they reported being on the top of what is interpreted to be Shenandoah Mountain, and out of water.

On November 4^th, they had to let their horses ramble to find food, and they could not find them. So they left a man to hunt for the missing horses and told him to meet them at Dobins.

On November 6^th, they made their way back to John Dobkins place.

Lewis’s entries continue later:

1060 pole marked a Dogwood 47 miles
1380 pole marked a Chesnut Oak 48 miles on the side of Black Jack Hill
1700 pole a white oak marked 49 miles by a branch
2020 pole a pink marked 50 miles
2340 poles a black oak marked 51 miles

2580 pole X the head of Holmans Creek. Run to the left down to Dobins hear we left off and road down to Dobins here we met with Mr. Brook who had been with the commissioners round by Wests Gap and then left them on the road. We pitched our camp by Dobins field and had the liberty of his meadow for our horses.

That meadow, either John’s or nearby, above, probably doesn’t look a lot different today.

Friday, November 7^th:

Went to where we left off the day before.
Thence 80 poles marked a hiccory 52 miles.
Hear we stopt thinking proper to measure the distance between the two lines the course N 44E 460 poles to the old line a little to the NW of Dobkins house.
Then returned to camp.

A pole is 16.5 feet, so 44 poles would be 726 feet and  460 poles would be 7590 feet.

The good news is that because they traversed and measured twice, coming and going, we have two descriptions of where John Dobkins land was located.

Today, this is the Fairfax line on North Mountain Road, not far from John Dobkins house.  Holman’s Creek is running parallel to the right, and the present-day St. Luke’s United Church-Christ cemetery is visible on the left.

Additionally, a later land survey references John’s land as being near the head of Holman’s Creek.

Saturday the 8^th:

Beginning at the end of 80 pole run the day before (which is the head of Holman’s Creek), thence
320 pole a red oak marked 53 miles
640 pole a white oak marked 54 miles
960 a black oak on the east side of Timber Ridge marked 55 miles
1280 pole a pine marked 56 miles
1600 pole a pine marked 57 miles
1788 pole X the north branch of the Shanando a pine on the NW side marked Fx the River Bears up N 80 down ye contrary
1920 pole a pink marked 58 miles
2240 a hiccory marked 59 miles
2266 X the Indian Road
2560 a read oak marked 60 miles
2620 X Smith Creek and left off

By the 13^th, they were back at the beginning point, fired off a “discharge of 9 guns” and drank to the health of “his majesty & L. Farfax.”

They had missed the original mark by 100 yards, or 300 feet, in a distance of 76.5 miles, which was pretty amazing, especially considering the extremely challenging terrain and the equipment of the time.

The next day, Lewis noted they had “sider and apples which now was become expence. A great novelty.”

A day or so later, they discharged the men and auctioned off the horses and tents. I’m sure the settlers were glad to purchase them.

By the 19^th, Lewis reported 4 inches of snow. That entire trip had to be rather cold and miserable, especially because the men were wet so much of the time in rivers and swamps.

This survey, indeed, confirms the location of John Dobkins’ land, on or near the Fairfax line, on or near Holman’s creek, and about 7 or 8 miles west of the Indian Road, which is US11 today.

As difficult as this trip was for the surveyors, remember that John Dobkins, and his father, John Sr. had carved homesteads and a life out of this wilderness more than a decade earlier. Wine tells us in his book that some of the lands were prairie tracts, having been burned over by the Indians every year, but the land along Holman’s Creek was forested and had to be cleared.

The first settlers were free to choose their own land, and as much as they could actually use.

I’m so grateful for Lewis’s journal that painted such a vivid picture of early life in the mountains for posterity.

Holman’s Creek

At some point, probably between 1742 and 1743, John Dobkins Jr. moved onto land of his own, where the surveyors found his home. He moved further west on Holman’s Creek with his young family.

The land granted to John Dobkins (Jr) in 1750 is shown at left. Holman Creek is tracked with the red arrows, and Smith Creek is shown at far right. This path is at least 6 miles as the crow flies, and more along any road or path. I wonder how often John Jr. was able to see his parents.

John Dobkins Sr. left his land to his wife when he wrote his will in 1743, and she, along with John Jr. were his executors in 1746 when he died. For a long time, researchers presumed that the land owned by John Dobkins Jr. was the same land owned by John Dobkins Sr., especially since we don’t find a sale of John Sr.’s land, nor a death of Mary. I have no idea what happened to his land, or when. Perhaps tracking current deeds back in time would reveal that story.

Life Along Holman’s Creek

In the book, Life Along Holman’s Creek, we find that Capt. John Dobkins is noted as one of the first settlers in the area and was granted title to 400 acres on August 2, 1750.

This John Dobkins is clearly not John Dobkins Sr. who died in 1746.

Jost Hite was instrumental in settling the Borden Grant in the 1730s. We find Jost Hite in the southern Pennsylvania and northern Maryland region, on the border area north of Hagerstown recruiting fellow German settlers.

While the initial 50 settlers brought by Hite did not appear to be heavily German, John Dobkins Jr.’s land on Holman Creek was surrounded by numerous Germans, many of whom were Brethren and migrated from Frederick County, Maryland on the Pennsylvania border. I recognize many names associated with my Mueller (Miller) family line. In fact, one of my ancestor’s sons, Lodowich Mueller (Miller) settled here, along with many associated families.

In fact, the Miller and Wine families were baptized in Holman Creek, between Moore’s Store where John Dobkins owned land, and Forestville. J. D. Wine, a Mueller (Miller) descendant would come to own the favorite local swimming hole, where the women would modestly swim upstream from the men in hot weather. Those adventures were still decades in the future when John Dobkins carved a homestead out of the wilderness along Holman Creek.

Once that stream of immigration down the valley began, it never ended – increasing after the French and Indian War, Dunmore’s War, and again during and after the Revolutionary War when Lodowick Mueller arrived from Frederick County, Maryland accompanied by his daughter, Susannah, and son-in-law, Michael Wine. Pietists like the Brethren were penalized for their refusal to serve in the militia, or military, so many “escaped” to the less-organized frontier. That and the lure of land were powerful motivators.

John Dobkins’s land is marked with the red star. His direct neighbors included both the Zirkle/Circle and Miller families. Brethren families include Miller, Zirkle, Myer, Garber, Fry and Wine. Many other German families are also found in this neighborhood, and most of the early deeds and wills are signed in German script.

The southeast corner of John’s tract later became the village of Moore’s Store, specifically the area where John Dobkins lived which is now an orchard.

Apparently, apples were being raised in this area back in 1746 too, given that the surveyors were enjoying apples and cider. This is John’s land today. I wonder if he planted fruit trees when he first cleared this land.

The second page, below, attaches to the right of the map above.

On this page, the Wine family cemetery is located on the original Jacob Holeman land. In addition to the Brethren families, there is also a Quaker Church. These families, by and large, do not appear to be Scots-Irish, which is part of why I question that statement about John Dobkins.

Cecil Smythe located John Dobkins land, and even though all I has was a horrible black and white, meaning mostly black, copy of a bad copy of a picture in the copy I had of his book, I found the house on Google maps based on his description of the house and the fact that Holman Creek was nearby, literally “across the way” at Moore’s Store. I could see “just enough” of that poor quality photo. Thanks Cecil.

I love approaching his house, at right, on this timeless old road. The homes built back then weren’t constructed planning for roads as we know them. They were built along animal and Indian paths, following streams, near fresh, uncontaminated water.

Cecil stated that later owners added the second half-story and the red bricks on the original stone fireplace on the log cabin that John Dobkins built on the land where he lived in the 1740s and early 1750s.

I wish we could see the interior and the original logs.

Across the road, we see the Armentrout Mill, a beautiful historic landmark. Was it built when John lived here? John sold this land to Thomas Moore, and we know that Moore’s son Peter ran the mill, but we don’t know when this stone house was built.

The original cabin is on the right in this photo.

John Dobkins’ home backed up to Holman Creek. All early cabins needed easy access to water.

Thomas Moore purchased this land from John Dobkins in 1753, which remained in his family for the next 200 years according to Wine.

Based on the reconstructed neighborhood in the Wine book, this is approximately where John Dobkins land was located. The Wine book does not show the county boundary through John’s land. The surveyors corrected for a surveying error in this vicinity though.

The address, if you want to take a look on Google maps, is 3912 Flat Rock Road, Quicksburg, VA, at the tiny crossroads known as Moore’s Store.

Given that John Dobkins Jr.’s three children, Thomas, John and Jean were born between 1736 and 1741, they may have born right here.

John had at least three additional, and probably four more children. Son Reuben was probably born in the 1740s and Evin/Evan either in the 1740s or 1750s. Those boys probably were born here.

In 1751, John Sr.’s grandson, Jacob Dobkins was unquestionably born in this log cabin on Holman Creek.

Rebecca Dobkins was married in 1783, with John Dobkins as her surety, so she was likely born in the late 1750s.

Given that we know Elizabeth was pregnant in 1735, Rebecca would not have been born after 1757 or 1758, so she was probably born at their next home.

John Jr. was born wherever the family came from, but his children never knew any home other than the frontier – that is – until they struck out on their own for yet the next untamed frontier.

The Johnson Family

Jacob, my ancestor, would marry Dorcas/Darcus Johnson in March of 1775 in Shenandoah County before he served in the Revolutionary war.

Jacob’s brother, Evan married Margaret Johnson on January 30, 1775.

Both Johnson women were reported by Johnson family descendants to be the daughters of Peter Johnson/Johnston and Mary Polly Philips.

It’s very clear from many triangulated matches, and other evidence that Peter Johnson was indeed related to Dorcas and Margaret Johnson, believed to both be his daughters. Additionally, his family notes also recorded that it’s possible that Peter’s daughter, Rachel, married one John Dobkins. I have no evidence either way.

I’m mentioning this at this point, because somehow, these families met. Using the FAN (friends and neighbors) principle, I’m particularly cognizant of any Johnson/Johnston that interacts with any Dobkins family member.

There is one Henry Johnston listed in the original 49 settlers, although he is not shown on the original grant map, or the 1770 map. But then again, neither is Jacob Dobkins although we assuredly know he received a land grant. Perhaps Henry Johnson lived near John Dobkins on those Borden Grant lands. I should work on Henry Johnson’s family history, if I can determine where he originated.

We know that Peter Johnson lived in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, very near the border with Frederick County, Maryland, where some of the Monocacy settlers lived. Is that the connection? We also know that the Shenandoah Valley settlers came from the Lancaster County, PA area where Peter Johnson first settled.

Was Peter Johnson visiting family members in the Shenandoah Valley? Did he settle here for a short time around 1775 before moving on to Allegheny County, Pennsylvania? How did the Johnson girls meet and marry the Dobkins boys?

Let’s keep our eyes open for Johnson/Johnston connections.

What Else Do We Know About Capt. John Dobkins?

What was going on in the everyday life of John Dobkins aside from his militia duties, plowing fields, and harvesting crops?

• In 1747, Zebbulon Harrison sued John Dobekin for debt. The writ was dated August 24, 1747, but the debt was from 1746. It’s worth noting that the Burr Harrison family, in 1770, lives on the X parcel that is missing from the original Beverly map. So, did Zeb sue his neighbor’s son, or did the Harrison family wind up with John Dobikin Sr.’s land?
• May 21, 1747 – Road ordered from Fork of the New Road, near Jumping Run, or Colletts, to the Co. Ho., and John Dobikin, John Smith, Jacob Dye, Thomas Moore, and William Brown lay it off.
• January 16, 1748 – John Dobikin executor for Rudal Brock’s will – son Frederick; son George, daughter Christiana Funkhouse, daughter, Julian Brock, daughter, Eve. Executors, John Dobikin and William James. Proved by Peter Gartner and John Bare, Proven Feb. 15, 1748
• Feb 14, 1748 – John Dobikin executor bond
• 15, 1748 – John Dobikin surety for Jonathan Cobourn’s bond as administrator of James Coburn.
• December 23, 1748 – John Johnston’s will – wife, Hannah. Executors, wife and John Dobins, Proven May 17, 1749

Here’s another Johnson connection.

In the Northern Neck Land Grant book along with Chalkey’s Chronicles, we find:

• May 17, 1749 – William Hill’s will – weaver; children Sarah, James, Mary, John, Joseph, Hannah, Rachel, Elizabeth; wife, Mary. Executors wife Mary and Thomas Moore. Proved by John Dobikin and Isaac Johnson. Proven May 17, 1749.

Who was Isaac Johnson? How is he connected?

• July 13, 1749 – William James, of Smith Creek, will – yeoman; wife, Sarah, estate until eldest son Thomas James comes of age, Three sons, Thomas, Joshua, and Joseph. Executor wife and Thomas Moore, proven August 22, 1749.
• July 21, 1749, Archibald Ruddle of Augusta County was granted 406 acres on Holman’s Creek adjoining Capt. John Dobkins and Peter Gartner. This land was surveyed on May 24, 1751.
• February 27, 1750 – John Dobikin surety for Magdalene and Andrew Bird’s bond as admin of Andrew Bird.
• August 2, 1750 – Capt. John Dobkin, of Augusta County was granted title to 400 acres of land on Holman’s Creek by Lord Fairfax, called Forest, probably because it was wooded.
• March 13, 1751 – John Dobkin appraiser for Michael Rinhart’s inventory with Nicholas Seehorn, David Magit, and George Shuneman.
• April 9, 1751 – John Dobikin surety for James Robinson’s will, yeoman – wife, Mary, and her daughters, two youngest sons, Isaac and Jonathan, son James, son David, 200 acres on Shanado River where he now lives. Exec wife Mary and son David. Proved by McDonal. Proved May 28, 1751.
• May 24, 1751 – John Dobekins patented 406 acres on Holman’s Creek surveyed for John Dobikins.
• August 22, 1751 – Henry Carson’s appraisement by John Dobikin, Adam Reader, and Alexander Painter.

The Fairfax line eventually became the line between Rockingham County, Virginia, and Hardy County, West Virginia.

I attempted to extend this line on the map. John Dobkins’ home on Holman Creek is shown with the red pin. I do know that the county boundary was adjusted “up the valley” a bit at one time to coincide with the Fairfax line. I also don’t know which line they used, the original or the second one surveyed on the way back.

Stoney Creek

In 1752 or 1753 John sold the four hundred six acres on Holman Creek to Thomas Moore and moved to land along Stoney Creek.

John was listed as Captain when he sold that land to Thomas Moore.

• June 23, 1753 – John Dobikin, grantor, Elizabeth Dobikin, grantor’s wife, from Fairfax August 7, 1750, 400 acres on Holman’s Creek.
• August 10, 1753 – Capt. John Dobkins is mentioned as an adjoining neighbor along with Peter Gartner in a grant to Archibald Ruddle and then Archibald to Stephen, delivered to Charles Hyleton or Styleton in October 1763.

In 1755 a deed dated January 3rd refers to land on the northwest side of Stoney Creek as being adjacent to John Dobkins.

• A few days later, on May 5^th, Burr Harrison Sr. of Prince William County received 200 acres on Stoney Creek in Frederick County surveyed for Henry Burge and plot returned by Robert Rutherford on January 3, 1755. Burge did not comply with order from office of [in] 1768. Adj John Dobekin. (See Book N)

These properties are listed, transcribed and mapped on Jeffrey La Favre’s map.

I’m incredibly grateful, once again, to Jeffrey La Favre whose ancestors lived near my McKee family in Washington County, Virginia, as well.

The two parcels BH200 and GC400 on the map both touch John Dobkins’ land, so his land must be WB400 which is 400 acres.

By the time John Dobkins moved to Stoney Creek, the French and Indian War was beginning in earnest.

French and Indian War 1752-1766

The French and Indian War started before and extended after the Seven Year’s War. This conflict pitted the English colonies against the French who were aided by the various Indian tribes. The French promised to honor the Native land rights and stop the European encroachment. The English, busting at the seams with 1.5 million settlers east of the Appalachian Mountains wanted their land. The French, with 70,000-80,000 settlers scattered through Canada and the Mississippi corridor wanted to convert the Native people to Catholicism.

This 1750 map shows the lands claimed by various entities in 1750. It’s no wonder that the Native people felt displaced. They were.

For the first 20 years or so after the first settlers arrived in the Shenandoah Valley, along Smith Creek, the settlers lived peacefully with the Indians, but that would change with the onset of the conflict.

Areas much further east, including Hagerstown and most of western Maryland and Pennsylvania were entirely depopulated during this war. The Indians had more to lose than anyone else and were extremely effective warriors against the scattered homesteads of the encroaching European settlers.

Raids in the Shenandoah Valley were vicious and brutal, but often undocumented. No one made a list of who died.

Dr. Patrick Murphey, author of Life on the Inner Frontier: The French and Indian War in the Shenandoah Valley presents enlightening information in this YouTube video.

We have very little information about the Shenandoah Valley residents during this time.

This war was one of guerilla warfare wherein the Indians appeared out of no place, stuck and killed, then vanished. Their goal was to terrorize the settlers into leaving. It didn’t work.

Everyone was terrified, clustered in homes serving as forts. The season named Indian Summer received its horrible nickname during this war. The settlers left the safety of the forts in the fall and winter, but that’s also when the Indians often struck, during the last warm spell before the frozen winter set in.

I will never hear “Indian Summer” again without thinking of their terror.

In the springtime and summer, the settlers returned to the forts or fortified homes, packed in together, but safe. Of course, this also meant that any disease, like cholera, dysentery, or consumption, ran rampant, killing many, in addition to the raids themselves.

You would have known your neighbors well. Very well. Too well.

The Valley Road, also known as the Great Warrior Path transected the original settlement, along Smith Creek, right where John Dobkins Sr. originally settled.

In many cases, the raiding Indians killed the men and took the women and children captive to be adopted into Indian families as replacements for family members lost either to warfare or other causes.

Both the French and English paid the Shawnee and other “Ohio Indians” for scalps.

Fort houses were often constructed of stone to prevent fire, built over springs so no one had to venture out for water, with pull-up stairs, loopholed for guns to shoot outward, and often, but not always, stockaded. Sometimes the local militia built blockhouses for protection.

Jacob Dobkins, the son of John Dobkins Jr., would build a blockhouse during the Revolutionary War at Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Born in 1751, Jacob spent his entire childhood under the long shadow of warfare. By the time the French and Indian War, and the raids ended, he was 15 or 16 and probably quite experienced in how to protect himself and his family.

If you think about it, it’s a miracle that he, or any of the settlers, survived. Many didn’t.

The Shenandoah Valley residents constructed Holman’s fort at the mouth of Holman’s Creek where it intersected with the Shenandoah River. Of course, this might explain why the Dobkins family, and others, were close to the Holman family.

John Dobkins Jr. would have been living dangerously, very dangerously, if he lived 8 miles west of the Fort during this time. He had obviously claimed this land, built his cabin, and moved prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

Perhaps, given that John was a Captain in the militia, he and his neighbors constructed another fortified home to protect the residents further west, along Holman’s Creek. Otherwise they would have made themselves targets, literally sitting ducks.

I can’t help but wonder about the stone Armentrout Mill, right beside what we think is John Dobkins’ home. What about its earliest history? Could this have been Captain Dobkins fortified home, instead of, or maybe in addition to, the cabin across the road?

In 1753, the Valley Indians began meeting with those across the Allegheny Mountains and, soon thereafter, disappeared to the west. Then, raids commenced, and the French and Indian War was underway.

I was able to piece together some information about Indian raids in this area, and a few poor souls who died.

In 1753, during the beginning years of the war, John Dobkins sold this land and moved further north – to Stoney Creek.

• On September 17, 1757, 34 people were killed or captured on Cedar Creek and Stoney Creek.

This literally made my blood run cold, knowing John Dobkins and his family were living there. Is this, perhaps, what happened to John’s son, Thomas Dobkins? What about his namesake son, John? And his daughter, Jean?

You’ll recognize many of the names of people known to have perished as neighbors with whom John Dobkins interacted.

• In 1758, fifty Indians and four Frenchmen arrived at the home of George Painter near Shenandoah, nine miles below Woodstock, at the location still called Indian Fort Stock Farm.

Painter had a large basement. He was killed there along with four babies before the house and stable were burned. The indentation in the ground where the structure collapsed remains to this day.

Forty-eight people were taken prisoners. Two of Painter’s sons and Jacob Fisher who hid were the only ones to escape capture, which is how we have that history today.

• That same summer at Fry’s Fort, a stockaded fort on Cedar Creek, the Young and Day families were killed and some members captured.
• On June 1, 1764, Bowman’s Fort, near present day Strasburg on Valley Pike was attacked, with 32 people killed. George Bowman was the son-in-law of Jost Hite and had arrived in 1732. Bowman’s neighbor, George Miller, was killed as was John Dellinger whose wife was captured and child was killed. If these families were Brethren or Mennonite, they refused to use violent means to protect themselves. The Indians knew that, which may be why there are a disproportionate number of Brethren names on the list of known attacks.
• Next came Nisewanger’s Fort, near Middletown.
• Jacob Miller’s Fort may have been attacked in 1766, near Millerstown, now called Woodstock.
• In 1766, after the war had supposedly ended, five Indians attacked the Sheets and Taylor families as they traveled to the fort at Woodstock. The men were killed immediately, but the wives picked up axes and managed to save themselves and their children. These women clearly weren’t Brethren.

No attacks are recorded after 1766. It was very probably a very tense peace for a very long time. The residents had lived under constant threat for 12 long, frightening, years.

Some people refer to the French and Indian War as the beginning of the American Revolution. It would only be a few years until the next war began on the frontier in 1774.

Life After the War

Life continued. John’s children were growing up, or were grown. We know John was still living because several records exist.

• March 8, 1768 – Thomas Moor of Frederick County (so north of the Fairfax line) was granted 293 acres on Holeman’s Creek adjoining John Dobekin, Stephen Ruddle, John Thompson, Reese Lewis, Boon’s survey.
• August 19, 1773 – John Dobbins buyer at the estate sale of Thomas Rutherford
• On April 14, 1774 – George Coffield of Dunmore Co., assignee of Edward Rian, 400 acres on Stony Creek in said County. Surveyed Dec. 29, 1753 for Edward Rian and forfeited by advertisement and recorded in Book N. Adj John Dobekin, John Bayly.

Bailey is at JB400 on the La Favre map, so Jacob has to be WB400. The current address is 4109 Jerome Road, Edinburg, VA.

On John’s tract, at the intersection of what today is Jerome Road and Alum Springs Road, right beside Foltz Creek, we find another old stone cabin still standing, with an old chimney.

This old cabin is clearly on John Dobkins’ land, seen in the distance across Stoney Creek, shown above.

You can see the original stone in both the house and the fireplace.

The Revolutionary War

Dunmore County was formed in 1772 from Frederick County. Dunmore was renamed to Shenando, now Shenandoah, in 1778 with no boundary changes.

Many of Shenandoah County’s citizens were involved in the American Revolution. In June, 1774, some residents met in Woodstock, with the Reverend Peter Muhlenberg heading the meeting. He was elected Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions which and issued a fiery statement about tyranny, taxation and representation.

Muhlenberg was appointed colonel of the Eighth Virginia Regiment in December, 1775. One Sunday in January, 1776, Muhlenberg delivered a stirring farewell sermon to his congregation and left for battle with his German regiment.

The men of Shenandoah were experienced wilderness settlers and made a major contribution to the war, including John Dobkins’ son, Jacob.

While the Revolutionary Was not yet in full swing, Lord Dunmore’s War had begun in which the Virginia Governor essentially declared war against the Native people.

The 1775 list of men in the Dunmore County militia during the Revolutionary War under the command of Capt. Jacob Holman includes Evin Dobkin, Jacob Dobkin, and Reuben Dobkin. John is not listed, but he would have been about 65 by this time. We know Jacob was of age by this time, and it’s likely that both Reuben and Evin were too.

In 1775, John Dobkins’ sons were marrying:

• January 30, 1775 – Evan Dobkins married Margaret Johnson
• Before 1783 – Reuben Dobkins married Elizabeth Holeman who was listed in her father’s 1784 will.
• March 11, 1775 – Jacob Dobkins married Dorcas Johnson

In the midst of the War, life continued.

• On April 20, 1777, a lease between Cutbert Harrison of Dunmore County to Elias Coffelt of same for 5 shillings, a parcel of land lying on Stoney creek, the line of John Dobins survey on a steep hill…containing 200 acres…rent one peppercorn on Lady day next. Witnesses Edwin Young, John Sehorn and G. Garrison.
• In April 1778, Evan Dobbins was appointed as Constable. John’s sons were doing well for themselves.
• In November 1780, the court ordered that John Dobkins be relieved from payment of future county levies.

Generally, this was done when a person reached a specific age, or was infirm and unable to earn a living. To have baptized a child in 1736, John had to have been born before 1715, and more likely about 1710. If he was born in 1710, he would have been age 70 in 1780, so that sounds right.

• In December 1780, John Daubin sat on a jury. The next day, he proved his attendance for 3 days at the suit Holdman vs Bean. I’d guess Holdman is Holman and Bean may be Boon.
• In 1780, the Dunmore County militia was called to action to repel the British invasion. By that time, John’s son, Jacob Dobkins, was already in Kentucky.

In 1782, John Dawbin is shown on the personal property tax list with no poll tax, two horses, and 6 cows. Reuben has one poll, 3 horses and 11 cows. Jacob has 1 poll, 2 horses and 2 cows. Evan is missing.

According to the “Census of 1783,” there were 1,302 families residing in Shenandoah County. That’s a huge increase from 49 families in roughly 50 years.

• In 1783, John Dobkins was shown on the Shenandoah County Tax list as head-of-household with 4 whites. His son, Jacob Dobkin had 8 family members, which means at least one child died that we don’t know about, and Reuben Dobkin had 4.

Who was living with John Dobkins? One daughter, Rebecca possibly, and her newly minted husband? Where’s Evan? Maybe he’s one of the people living with John. Are there children we still don’t know about? So many unanswered questions.

• On February 21, 1783, Rebecca Dobbins married Patrick Shield, with John Dobbins signing as bondsman.

John’s signature isn’t just an X, but is unique, suggesting that he doesn’t know how to write his name but artfully draws the same signature each time he signs.

What Happened to John?

Cecil Smith says that John Dobkins Jr. went to the western land that would become Tennessee about 1785 with Jacob and Reuben, although I’m not so sure.

What happened to John’s Stoney Creek land? Was it sold? If not, what happened to that land? I found a deed reference in 1813 that his former land belonged to Joseph Pugh, but I was unable to figure out how Joseph Pugh acquired the land. I did research the entire group of deed books between the formation of Shenandoah and 1813, but I was simply unable to discern the trail of ownership.

Cecil probably felt that John accompanied his sons because records of a John Dobkins are found in the new location, on the next frontier.

One hint that John may have been bitten by the land bug is the fact that one John Dobbin had applied for land between 1773 and 1780 on Elkhorn Creek in what was then Fincastle County, Virginia, but would become Kentucky one day. Jacob Dobkins was “not found” on the Fincastle tax list in 1773 as well.

If this John is Jacob’s brother, John, born in 1740s, he would have been 33 or older at the time someone named John Dobkin applied for land on Elkhorn Creek. Jacob’s father, John would have been 53 or older at the time. That land was sold, not settled.

Another interesting, but apparently disconnected tidbit, is that Joseph Pugh purchased another Shenandoah County man’s land on…you guessed it…Elkhorn Creek. So apparently, this was discussed in the area.

By 1785, Jacob Dobkins had struck out for the western country, probably hoping to own land of his own. He wasn’t alone. At least two of his brothers and either his brother or father, John were along on that wagon train.

No Dobkins name remains on the 1785 Shenandoah County tax list, but Jacob, then living in the contested portion of North Carolina that eventually became Washington County, Tennessee was summoned to give a deposition.

• Page 252 – Friday the 6th (think this is May 1785) – ordered the justices of Shenandoah Co. Virginia to take the depositions of Jacob Dobkins, Sylvia Foella, and other witnesses in the suit between Valentine Sevier Sr. and Andrew Bird.

In November 1787, we find mention of John again.

• Washington County, TN Page 294 – Nov. 5, 1787 – Will of Rudolph Cresslias – executor Elizabeth and John Cathart Cresslias – William Noodling Sr., John Dobbins, and Abraham Riffe appraisers.

Who is this John Dobbins? Jacob’s son, John was born about 1777, so this clearly isn’t him.

Evan married in 1775, so this John isn’t his son.

Reuben married Elizabeth Holman, but for this John to be his son, he would have had to born about 1766, or earlier, which means that Reuben would have been married by 1765. It’s possible, but unlikely.

Any person assigned to appraise an estate would be someone with experience. Not a task for a young man.

Is this the John Dobkins baptized in 1741 that was rumored to have married the third Johnson sister, Rachel? That’s certainly a possibility. He would have been about 47 years old.

The two most likely scenarios are that this John Dobkins is either the father or the brother of Jacob, Evan and Reuben. However, we don’t find hide nor hair of John again for several years.

• Page 345 – Jacob Dobkins of John Wier for 100 acres dated February 21, 1788, by Abraham Riffe
• Page 358 – Evan Dobkins finds a stray horse on November 13, 1788.
• Reuben Dobkins (spelled Dobbins) takes part in Martin’s campaign of 1788 against the Cherokee near present-day Chattanooga, Tennessee, also known as Dragging Canoe’s War.

These Dobkins men simply cannot escape warfare. It must be a way of life for them.

The less than straightforward Treaty of Sycamore Shoals with the Cherokee was at the heart of the conflict in this region, and when combined with local emotional politics, the situation boiled over.

• March 1794 – Jacob Dobkins vs John Sevier and Benjamin Mooney – appeared – found for plaintiff for 63.10 and 6 cents costs.

Jacob and Reuben Dobkins settle, at least for some time, in Washington County, then in Jefferson County, Tennessee.

• Reuben is found in Jackson County in 1802, but is back in Jefferson the next year. In 1820, a Reuben is found in Overton County.
• Jacob Dobkins was in Jefferson County in 1796 when he sold land, then in Claiborne when the new County was formed from Grainger in 1801.
• Evan Dobkins was in Washington County in 1793. One Evan was found in 1810 in Sevier County. Evan had married Margaret Johnson, and we find Johnson Dobkins emerge in the 1810 census in Sevier County, along with Evan. John Dobkins obtains a land grant in Sevier County in 1810.

One final clue about John Dobkins may be two petitions, although it’s impossible to know for sure without actually viewing the petitions to see if John signed with a signature. We know that John when signing for Rebecca Dobkins’ marriage signed with a unique mark.

John Dobbins is reported to have signed a petition to the Tennessee General Assembly to form a new county for Sumner County, Tennessee in 1799. Also in 1801 for a county northwest of the Clinch River. I found this reference by another researcher from years ago, but I don’t find his name on a transcribed list of petitioners.

Given that our John Dobkins, Jr., was born about 1710, I doubt this is the same man. He would have been 90. It’s much more likely that this John is either his son, or his grandson, a child of Jacob, Reuben or Evan who would have been born in 1778 or earlier.

John Dobkins Jr. could have died in Dunmore or Shenandoah County, Virginia, before 1785, but a will does not exist for him. But then again, neither does a land sale, at least not that I’ve been able to find.

I suspect that John Dobkins died in Washington County, sometime after 1787, in his late 70s. He had a remarkable life spent entirely on a series of frontiers with disputed and fluctuating boundaries. He is probably buried in land that was once Virginia, North Carolina, the State of Franklin, the Territory South of the Ohio, and eventually became Tennessee. John didn’t move so much as the states and counties moved underneath him.

Capt. John Dobkins was one rugged frontiersman.

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Her full name was Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of the House of Windsor. She was born as Princess Elizabeth of York to The Duke and Duchess of York, later to become King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth. After King George died, her mother was known as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother to avoid confusion with her daughter, then Queen Elizabeth II.

Not being British, at least not in the past 246 years or so, the British tradition of names combined with titles that change is somewhat confusing to my American mind. Let’s just say I encourage you to read the Wikipedia article here.

Queen Elizabeth has been Queen of the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth realms longer than I’ve been alive. She ascended to the throne in February 1952 when her father, King George, died, pledging herself to the service of her country in a speech to Parliament.

A little-known fact about Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, who was really quite remarkable, is that she was literally in a treehouse in Kenya when she was informed that her father had passed away unexpectedly, and consequently, she had become Queen.

She was staying at the Treetops Hotel at the foothills of Mount Kenya, in a treehouse built in the branches of a huge fig tree on a series of tall but quite spindly-looking stilts. Her husband, Prince Philip, learned of King George’s death from a reporter, before Elizabeth, and conveyed the sad news to the 26-year old woman who had no idea she was, at that very moment, already the Queen of England.

You can view the original treetop structure here.

Clearly, Elizabeth returned immediately to assume the mantle of public service she would humbly wear for the next 70 years.

Seventy years and seven months – the longest reigning monarch in British history and the longest-reigning female monarch in world history. Only one other monarch, ever, reigned longer than Queen Elizabeth – French King Louis XIV who ascended the throne at age four. Clearly, he wasn’t making decisions at that age. Her Majesty celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in June of this year. I’m glad that both she and the British people were able to experience that celebration together.

Her Majesty, the Queen, had recently been experiencing health challenges after having contracted Covid in late February this year, although there’s no evidence that was a factor in her death. She passed away at Balmoral Castle, her home in Scotland, on September 8^th, 2022, at 96 years of age, after fulfilling duties just two days previously.

The Queen was greatly-loved, not only in England but also in much of the rest of the British Isles and Commonwealth countries. Many of the British subjects, and others, never met the Queen in person, but are grieving deeply. She was widely viewed as a lovely, kind, grandmotherly person.

Nature published an article explaining the science behind the outpouring of public grief. Let’s face it, Queen Elizabeth has been a constant in all of our lives for most all of our lives. While some of her family members have been embroiled in numerous scandals, she herself has been a unifying factor within the Royal family and also, for the most part, the rest of Great Britain too. She always offered hope and comfort.

The Queen brought four children into the world, and the monarchy has descended to her eldest son, Charles, now King Charles the third. While he is officially King, he has not been ceremonially crowned, as yet, and won’t be until several months after Queen Elizabeth has been laid to rest. No one feels like celebrating just yet.

If you’re interested in the royal line of succession, which also baffles me, there’s a good article here with a pedigree chart – something genealogists understand. The net-net of this is that Prince William is next in line, and then his eldest son, who is, of course, still a young child.

Cousin Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth, although I didn’t know it for a very long time, even after becoming a genealogist, was my 11^th cousin, three times removed, 11C3R. Her great-grandchildren are my generation. We appear to also be related in other ways as well, but those are either unproven, and what I would consider speculative, or more distant.

If you’re rolling your eyes right about now, trust me, I was too. That’s part of why I discounted that tidbit for such a long time.

Several years ago, cousin Bill Nevils told me that we connected to the Royal Monarchy through the Muncy line. Bill was a remarkable, meticulous genealogist, as was James Muncy who also, independently, reached the same conclusion long before the days of quick copy and paste internet trees.

I’ve spent the past several years confirming my ancestors, one per week, in the 52 Ancestors Series (plus DNA when possible), and to date, I’ve worked my way through 6 and most of 7 of the 14 generations between me and Sir Andrew Windsor and his wife Elizabeth Blount who were married about 1490, my common ancestors with Queen Elizabeth,

I’m not terribly concerned about the accuracy of The Queen’s genealogy. Once one intersects with a Royal line, the genealogy has been scrutinized with a microscope by people with far more resources and money than I have at my disposal. I’m VERY grateful for that!

Queen Elizabeth, along with all of the other British Monarchy, are descended from William the Conqueror – along with an estimated 5 million other people. William the Conqueror is descended from Charlemagne, as is most if not all of the rest of Europe, including the British Isles, and the European diaspora.

So, one way or another, or more likely in many ways, if you have any European heritage at all, you too are probably related to the recently deceased Queen.

Gateway Ancestors

If you’re looking for what are known as “Gateway Ancestors” in the US, colonial immigrants, you can find a curated list of well-researched lines at WikiTree, along with the Magna Carta Project gateway ancestors here.

Our Connecting Lineage

The genealogy connecting Queen Elizabeth and me, which sounds very odd, I must admit, beginning with Sir Andrew Windsor and Elizabeth Blount is shown below. Beneath that, I’ll provide the WikiTree links and my ancestor stories, where they exist.

Gen	Name	WikiTree	52 Ancestors
1	William Sterling Estes	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Estes-2199	Many, see Wikitree entry
2	Ollie Bolton	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bolton-1715	Ollie Bolton Estes Robbins (1874-1955) and the Wrath of a Woman Scorned
3	Margaret Clarkson/Claxton	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Claxton-738	Margaret N. Clarkson/Claxton (1851-1920, Baptist Church Founder
4	Samuel Claxton	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Claxton-328	Samuel Claxton/Clarkson (1827-1876), Civil War Veteran
5	Agnes Muncy	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Muncy-246	Agnes Muncy (1803-after 1880), A Grieved Mother
6	Samuel Muncy III	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Muncy-93	Samuel Muncy (1761/1768-1839), Who’s Your Daddy, Your Mamma, and Your Kids?
7	Samuel Muncy Jr.	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Muncy-225	Revolutionary War Veteran
9	Samuel Muncy Sr.	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Muncy-95	Revolutionary War Veteran
10	Francis Muncy	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Muncy-96
11	Hannah Brewster	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brewster-1099
12	Sarah Ludlow	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ludlow-121
13	Roger Ludlow	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ludlow-37	Immigrant – Great Migration
14	Thomas Ludlow	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ludlow-8
15	Edith Windsor	https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Windsor-38

London

Twice I’ve been to London and in close proximity to the two Royal castles that grace central London. The Royal family is front and center everyplace in England, and the Royal flag indicates whether Her Majesty is in residence at the time, or not, in any specific location. I was stunned that everyone in London knew, without looking.

In 1970, as a student and long before I was interested in genealogy, I visited Buckingham Palace and watched the ceremonial changing of the guard.

My cousin, The Queen, would have been 44 and not even approaching her mid-life point yet. Of course, none of us knows at the time when that milestone occurs.

A few years ago, I stayed just a couple blocks away from Kensington Palace.

Here, I’m walking through Hyde Park on the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, with Kensington Palace in the background. I’m not at all sure I realized that until I saw this photo later that the Palace was back there. I wanted my picture with the marker in the walk. I was glad Diana hadn’t been forgotten and omitted altogether. I didn’t realize Diana had been my 12C2R by marriage, and her children, Princes William and Harry, are my 13C1R.

The palace gate was a block or so from my hotel, and across from the bus stop.

I wondered out loud to my husband if the black car exiting the Palace grounds might have been the Queen. I discounted it as even a possibility due to the lack of pomp and circumstance – then a local told me that no, the Royal Standard flag was not flying over the Castle, so she was not there. She was in Balmoral for a visit, I was informed, just matter of factly. Everyone felt an affection and kinship with the Queen, like a favorite family member.

It was just accepted that everyone knew where the Queen was, and what was going on with the Royals. As someone said to me, “She is ours, and we are hers.”

Here’s the Royal flag flying above Buckingham Palace.

Apparently, the Royal Standard also flies on the car in which the Sovereign is riding and on the Royal plane when it’s on the ground. Right now, it is also draping the Queen’s coffin.

Preparing to Lay the Queen to Rest

Queen Elizabeth will be laid to rest on Monday. Londoners are waiting for 24 hours now, in the cold, and the line stretches for many miles to leave flowers and pay their respects. These are no casual acts of reverence – but a deeply felt connection to the woman who served Great Britain as the only Monarch most have every known. Simply put, they love her.

King Charles, along with Elizabeth’s other children are standing ceremonial guard over their mother’s coffin as she lays in state in Westminster Hall, which is also Westminster Palace, the famous complex where the British Parliament meets, seen here from across the Thames River.

Queen Elizabeth’s four children, including the King, entering together in full dress military uniforms, standing vigil, each on one side of her coffin, was emotion-packed and exceedingly difficult to watch. Grieving is hard enough in private – but this is on full display to the world.

Today, however, was the most agonizing part for me – watching her grandchildren stand vigil. You can see Prince William’s lip quiver as he fights public tears as the world watches. I couldn’t even breathe when my mother died, let alone manage to grieve combined with upholding an exceedingly public Royal tradition, broadcast ’round the world. Nothing could ever prepare you for this.

My condolences to the entire Royal family and the British people as well. I hope their memories and great love sustain them.

The good news is that they had decades to make wonderful memories – and Queen Elizabeth was remarkably healthy right up to very near the end. The bad news is that everyone had so long to form those bonds that have been snapped. Great love equates to great grief – and these people, all of them, are clearly in mourning.

Funeral Service

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral will take place Monday, September 19^th in Westminster Abbey, the same location where she was crowned in 1953. She will be interred in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, beside Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years who died in 2021, and her parents. Her funeral service commences at 11 AM UK time and will be broadcast live on probably every news channel imaginable if you care to join me in watching what will assuredly be a memorial like no other. The doors open at 8 AM, so if you’re one of the dignitaries attending in person, don’t forget your invitation, and don’t be late! 😊

At 11:44 AM, sharp, the Queen’s coffin will be moved from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, an 8-minute trip, with King Charles III leading the Royal family as they walk behind, escorting their beloved mother and grandmother, a woman who just happened to also be their revered Queen, one last time.

The funeral service will be followed by two minutes of silence at noon. Details can be found here.

History is literally being made with the first funeral of a ruling British Monarch to be televised. I hope you’ll watch. After all, Queen Elizabeth is probably your cousin too.

_____________________________________________________________

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Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Uploads

• FamilyTreeDNA – Y, mitochondrial and autosomal DNA testing
• MyHeritage DNA – Autosomal DNA test
• MyHeritage FREE DNA file upload – Upload your DNA file from other vendors free
• AncestryDNA – Autosomal DNA test
• 23andMe Ancestry – Autosomal DNA only, no Health
• 23andMe Ancestry Plus Health

Genealogy Products and Services

• MyHeritage FREE Tree Builder – Genealogy software for your computer
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• NewspaperArchive – Search different newspapers for your ancestors

My Book

• DNA for Native American Genealogy – by Roberta Estes, for those ordering the e-book from anyplace, or paperback within the United States
• DNA for Native American Genealogy – for those ordering the paperback outside the US

Genealogy Books

• Genealogical.com – Lots of wonderful genealogy research books

Genealogy Research

• Legacy Tree Genealogists – Professional genealogy research

Elizabeth was Andrew McKee’s wife, but who was she? What do we know about her?

I can tell you one thing after researching the details of her life and fleshing out as much as possible – that woman was made of absolute grit! I would love to sit down for a few days and talk to her about her life and what was going on around her. I know, I just know that there’s an untold story here. I can smell it, but I can’t find it.

Amazingly, we didn’t even know Elizabeth’s name until her husband died.

Everything we know about Elizabeth’s early life, we know through Andrew and her children.

Given that Elizabeth’s youngest child was born in either 1810 or shortly thereafter, and if we estimate that she was 43 years old at the time, we can reasonably establish her birth about 1767. Of course, she could have been anyplace from 40-45, so born between 1765-1770.

Based on this, it makes sense that Elizabeth would have been marrying about 1788. She would have been about 21 years old.

Why 1788?

Andrew McKee, her husband, had land surveyed on October 5, 1789. Now this could mean a couple of things.

Andrew could have already been living on this property, leasing, and decided that, indeed, he did want to purchase the patent option, have it surveyed, and settle here permanently.

He did, in fact, settle there permanently. The home he brought his bride home to is the only home they ever had. The only one either of them lived in.

In fact, it still stands – as amazing as that sounds. How cool is this?!!

The home is listed as having been built in 1765, so, it’s possible that Andrew didn’t just obtain a hill with a forest that had to be cleared, but land with a home. Yes, the surrounding land was probably mostly uncleared. I’m not convinced that this house was built in 1765, but it’s certainly the home where Andrew and Elizabeth lived. There’s no question about that.

It’s unlikely that Andrew, as a single man, purchased this land. It’s possible of course.

Marriage records for Washington County do exist, but they seem to be only partially complete, and there is nothing for this timeframe for Andrew and Elizabeth.

Where Was Andrew Before 1789?

That’s a good question.

The early Washington County records, including the tax lists beginning in 1782 don’t show any McKee men, except for one Elias Mackey in 1784. He lives 9 houses from John Kelly, who became Andrew McKee’s neighbor in 1789 when his land was surveyed. John Kelly is in the county as early as 1782 and possibly earlier, along with the Robinsons and lots of Edmistons (Edmondson) – families that would be Andrew’s neighbors his entire adult life.

In 1785 and 1786, there are no McKee or Mackey men in the county.

Andrew McKee apparently wasn’t in Washington County prior to 1787 when he first appears on the tax list. Either that or he was too young to be taxed, or on someone else’s list. On the 1787 tax list, he’s 21 or over, but he has no property at all, not even a horse. His birth year was 1766 or earlier.

If he was living with someone else in 1787, he was taxed on his own and not on their list.

Unfortunately, the 1787 tax list is recorded in letter order, not tax or house order. Andrew McKee is listed as the person chargeable and the white male above 21 – no blacks, no horses, no cattle, no stud horses – nothing else.

Andrew had to come from someplace. Did he come with other McKee men?

The 1788 property and land tax list is, unfortunately, in alpha order, but shows several people of interest.

• May 21 – John Mackey 1 – – – 3
• July 26 – Samuel Mackey 1
• Sept 10 – Alexander Mecke (I believe this is Meek or Meeks from later lists) 1 – 1 2
• Sept 19 – Andrew McKee 1
• October 5 – Thomas McKee 1

Those last two are definitely McKee, but apparently, Thomas moved on. They were not visited on the same day, or even close, so they may be entirely disconnected.

All these men have one tithable, which means they are living in their own households and only have one white male, age 21 or over, no horses (except John) and no blacks.

Thomas’s name was definitely McKee, but he is never found again.

Andrew may have arrived by himself on the frontier. If those other men in 1788 were family, they moved on. Elias did serve in the Revolutionary War from Washington and Montgomery Counties, but he moved on too. Andrew named none of his boys any of these names except Alexander, and that’s the name I’m fairly certain is actually Meek or Meeks.

Courting

In 1787 and 1788, Andrew was probably calling on Elizabeth, maybe picking wildflowers along the way, Queen Anne’s Lace and Daisies perhaps, and tying them into a bouquet, trying to win her heart.

Maybe Elizabeth is the reason why Andrew didn’t move on with those other McKee men.

Given that he didn’t have a horse on the 1787 tax list, we know Andrew was walking or, if lucky, maybe riding a mule. Maybe 1787 is when they married, which is why he’s on the tax list.

Maybe Andrew proposed as soon as he could afford a horse. Or maybe his father-in-law-to-be took pity on young Andrew and sold him an old nag real cheap!

Ahhh, young love.

If Andrew and Elizabeth were married in 1788, or thereabouts, then they would have been married in the Ebbing Springs Church that no longer exists. It wasn’t located too far away. In fact, people in a Facebook group for Washington County, VA say they can remember walking from the land that John Kelly owned, across Price’s Bridge spanning the Holston River to the cemetery where the old church used to be. Of course, back when Andrew lived there, no bridges existed, and the river would have either been waded, forded on horseback, or in a wagon when (if) the water was low enough.

Of course, it’s also possible that Andrew married Elizabeth elsewhere, and they came with her family.

Andrew’s not on the land or personal tax list in 1789, but then his district could be missing.

On August 18, 1790, Andrew McKee had 1 tax levy, himself, and one horse/mare, no blacks or any stud horses or anything else.

At least he’s been able to save up enough for a horse.

Given that Elizabeth probably would have been too young to marry before 1787, it’s likely that Andrew married a local gal and settled down near her parents. Maybe even beside her parents.

Hmmm, who are the neighbors?

Neighbors

Andrew’s immediate neighbors, whose land borders his, are:

• John Kelley (Kelly)’s land was surveyed in 1782
• Samuel Kithcart had his land surveyed in 1782
• Jacob Halfacre whose land was surveyed in 1783 and acquired the Dozer survey
• James Thompson’s 2600 aces was surveyed in 1746 and some also in 1794

Near neighbors include

• John Starnes who settled in 1774
• Aaron Lewis whose land was surveyed in 1785
• John Kirk who settled in 1772, but whose land wasn’t surveyed until 1783
• David Craig whose land wasn’t surveyed until 1801
• Nathaniel McClure settled in 1770 and his land was surveyed in 1785
• Henry Oakwood settled in 1773 and his land was surveyed in 1784
• Jonathan Cunningham settled in 1775 by George Hice and had lis land surveyed in 1782
• Abraham Lefever settled in 1774 and had his land surveyed in 1785, also another trace surveyed in 1784
• Adam Morrow settled n 773 and had his land surveyed in 1784
• Joseph Cole settled in 1771 and had his land surveyed in 1782
• Philip Grever settled in 1773 and had his land surveyed in 1782
• John Bowles settled in 1773 and had his land surveyed in 1784
• Thomas Edmundson had two tracts of land surveyed in 1783
• Jonathan Cortney has his land surveyed in 1798
• Patrick Watson’s land was surveyed in 1783
• James Robinson’s land was surveyed in 1783
• David and Samuel Robinson had land surveyed in 1785 and David in 1796

Jeffrey La Favre mapped these early land grants, here, and discovered that there’s n marker in the David Robinson 1796 survey that refers to a corner with Andrew McKee. I’ve drawn that with a green arrow. (It’s also worth noting that point is very close to the old McKee cemetery.)

The problem is that Andrew McKee’s land is shown in yellow, at the top. What gives?

We know from Andrew’s 1805 will that he had “two plantations,” adjoined.

Jeffrey also discovered that Samuel Kithcart sold 192 acres to Andrew McKee in 1791.

Samuel Killhart [Kithcart] sells to Andrew W. Kee [McKee] 192 acres on the Middle and South Forks of the Holston River. Washington Co., VA Record of Deeds 1, p. 226. David Robinson’s 100-acre tract surveyed 27 June 1796, lists Andrew McKee as owner of adjoining land, which on the map below is Samuel Kithcart’s 191 acre tract. Actually, due to problems in fitting the tracts on the map, Robinson’s tract does not adjoin Kithcart’s tract, although the survey descriptions indicate that they do adjoin.

Now we know that Andrew McKee bought Kithcart’s land. Was that an arm’s length transaction, or had Andrew married Kithcart’s daughter?

The land transaction was for 105 pounds and lay between the middle and south fork of the Holston. The original survey referenced James Dozer and Zachariah Wolsey, whose land Andrew McKee patented originally. It mentions John Kelley’s line along with Thomas Edmondson and Adam Morrow.

The deed was proven in court on August 16, 1791, where Elizabeth Kincart, his wife, relinquished her right of dower. Unfortunately, the name Elizabeth is very common, so we can’t really draw any inferences from that.

The following deed registered in the deed book was another sale transaction from Samuel Kithcart to Samuel Eakin, also for 110 pounds of Virginia money, so indeed it does sound like Kithcart was selling out and leaving.

I was so hoping that Kithcart had sold his land to Andrew at a low price, a lower price than normal, which might have suggested that Andrew was his son-in-law, but no such luck.

Or maybe, Elizabeth was John Kelly’s daughter?

Of course, maybe neither, but you have to be close enough to court a gal before you can ask her father for her hand in marriage and then propose to her.

Did Samuel Kithcart, who had been settled there since at least 1782, sell out and move on a decade later? Where did he go, and more importantly, perhaps, did he leave a will?

The Beginning of the Family

We know that Andrew and Elizabeth’s children started arriving not long after their presumed marriage about 1788.

For example, we know that son James McKee was born on January 12 of 1791, but he may not have been their first child. In fact, I’m fairly certain that he wasn’t.

How I wish the 1790 census existed. Although, James McKee, on his War of 1812 bounty land requisition, says he was drafted and that on April 23^rd, 1852, he was 59 years old, which places his birth in 1793, not 1791.

His tombstone provides his birth, by subtraction, as December 22, 1790, as does the Washington County, VA death register. The book, High on a Windy Hill provides the location of James’s grave as the McKee Cemetery. This would have been on the land he owned, originally owned by his father, and may very well be where Andrew, Elizabeth, and his siblings are buried as well.

I wrote about the McKee Cemetery, here, including the location.

Daughter Sally McKee was probably their firstborn child, maybe in 1788 or 1789. She married Robert Larimer in December of 1810.

Now would probably be a good time to mention that I compiled a large spreadsheet involving every record for Andrew’s children that I could find that would even hint at their age. I’ve used the various columns to hone in on the most likely birth years I’ll be publishing the information about their children in birth order. The spreadsheet includes:

• Andrew’s 1805 will – list of his children
• 1810 census
• Marriage date
• Andrew’s 1814 estate sale purchasers
• Tax list appearance date
• Guardianship date
• 1820 census
• 1830 census
• Elizabeth’s estate purchasers
• Margaret’s estate purchasers
• Spouse’s estates
• 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 census
• Death information
• Their children’s birth information
• Military records
• Other resources

James was probably the oldest son based on the order of children listed in Andrew’s will and also based on the fact that he served as the guardian for his minor siblings after his father’s death.

Based on this, we can presume that Elizabeth probably had Sally 18 months to 2 years earlier than James, so July of 1789, just before Andrew’s land was surveyed. Since we didn’t find Andrew on the tax list that year, was he on his father-in-law’s tax list, or did I miss the listing or was his page missing? If their child was born in July of 1789, then we might say they were married in the summer of 1788.

That makes sense, especially since we first find Andrew on the 1787 tax list.

Children Sally and James would have been baptized in the old Ebbing Springs church just a few miles away from home.

We don’t have all the tax lists, but by 1790, according to that year’s tax list, Andrew had obtained a horse. Thank goodness!

On May 21 of 1791, Andrew had 5 horses, and 4 in 1792.

Their family kept growing, year by year.

I suspect their son William McKee was born about 1792 or 1793, especially if James actually was born in January of 1791, which I suspect is accurate. That date comes from his War of 1812 pension application.

William McKee, Merchant of Abingdon

I’m going to take a minute here to dispel some misinformation. We know, based on Andrew McKee’s will that William was born before March 24, 1805, but we don’t know when, exactly. We also know that William is listed as the second son in the will, which means that William could NOT have been born before 1791. If Elizabeth and Andrew were married about 1788, William would not have been older than 16, at the oldest, when his father wrote his will in 1805.

There is a William McKee and Company who is granted a merchant’s license in Abingdon, 8 or 9 miles away, in 1803, two years before Andrew wrote his will.

It’s almost impossible that this William, who would have been at least 21 AND had the money for inventory, is Andrew’s son, William.

Because of the same name, but without thorough evaluation, it has been assumed (there’s that word) over the years that William of Abingdon is William, Andrew’s son. Plus, William of Abingdon has a grave marker, so he’s easy to find. However, notice that one of his children, Julia Ann, died in New York in 1826 at age 13. New York???

As it turns out, William McKee of Abingdon married one Phebe Ogden of New York.

He has ties to New York and a home in Richmond. William is a wealthy merchant with a store that carries silks and upscale items. He also owns a tanyard, and in all of his business dealings, not one person is a familiar person or surname associated with Andrew McKee’s group in the northern part of the county. I can’t help but wonder, though, if Y DNA were involved if those two lines descend from the same line back overseas. William McKee is also a Presbyterian based on the location of his grave marker, in the Sinking Spring Cemetery.

William McKee’s will was probated on May 27, 1833, and dated October 29, 1832. William estimated that his estate was worth a quarter million dollars, back then, and mentioned his nephew, Thomas Wallace.

He lists several underage children, including son William Carlton McKee who he suggests be placed in a dry goods store in NY after his education. Also, children Mary Elizabeth McKee, Adeline Taylor McKee, Sarah Ann Helms McKee, and Henry Ogden McKee. Elias Ogden is the executor. The children’s guardian is William Fulton out of Lynchburg, and William mentions Richmond, VA. His long estate settlement can be seen here.

The New York Evening Post reported his death and referred to him as “of this city.”

Furthermore, the 1803 merchant date means that if William was 21 at that time, he would have been born in 1782 or before, which means that Elizabeth, if she were his mother, would have to have been born in 1764 to have a child as late as 1810. This isn’t impossible, but we have an entire group of improbable things that would all have had to occur in series.

The William McKee, merchant, in Abingdon, is NOT the son of Andrew and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s Son, William

I don’t know what happened to Andrew and Elizabeth’s son William, but perhaps tax lists and other records can help us sort through what might have happened to William, and when. As it stands, we only know that he was alive in 1805 and seems to be in 1810.

Ebbing Springs Church

Something else happened in 1792 that would have reverberated through the community. I’m guessing that opinions were split about this rather dramatic change.

Andrew and Elizabeth would have been attending church at the Ebbing Springs Presbyterian Church. That alone tells us that Andrew and Elizabeth were probably Scots-Irish. We know that Andrew was, but we don’t know about Elizabeth. Given that these were the only churches in the region, and the majority of the settlers were Scots-Irish, I’d say it’s a good bet.

For some reason, in 1792, the congregation abandoned the Ebbing Springs site and moved to Glade Springs, about three miles away. Without knowing why the move was made, it’s hard to gauge how church members might have felt. If Elizabeth was a local gal, which I suspect she was, then she likely had family members buried in the graveyard beside the Ebbing Springs church.

This 1950 aerial view of the remnants of the buildings where the original Ebbing Springs Church and cemetery were located, circled in red, showing the proximity to what I believe is the Ebbing Spring, itself, at the red arrows. The Holston River is the dark meandering line.

Here’s the same location on Google Maps today.

Andrew and Elizabeth lived at the star in the upper right. Andrew owned about 250 acres to the west of Friendship Road, between the Holston and the road, and John Kelly owned most of the rest south to Kelly Chapel Road.

Ebbing Springs Church was about two miles as the crow flies, and maybe five as the wagon traveled.

The original Ebbing Springs Church was established on Capt. James Thompson’s land back when Fort Kilmachronan existed, before Washington County was even established in 1776 from Fincastle County.

You can view photos of some of the original gravestones, here.

Charlie Barnette posted an entire public album of Ebbing Springs photos in the Historical Society of Washington County, VA Facebook group, here. The original James Thompson survey can be seen, here with the Ebbing Springs land in the very lower left corner, where you can see dotted lines showing the old wagon road that ran alongside the river to the church.

Ebbing Spring itself, which would have provided water for Elizabeth and the other churchgoers, as well as the baptismal font, can be seen, here.

These stones mark all that is left of the chimney of those log cabins that were still standing in the 1950s and 1960s, with a remembrance stone placed by Glade Springs marking the cemetery, in the distance near the river on the right.

Of course, a new cemetery was begun at Glade Springs Church, about 3 miles further away. It’s unclear what happened to the old Ebbing Springs Church, but the gravestones were pushed into the river sometime in the 1900s, except for one. The current owner has fenced the cemetery area to prevent further desecration, and the Glade Springs Church erected a monument in the field, seen in the distance at right in the above photo.

One local person says they grew up on the old John Kelly land, and they remember walking from Price’s Bridge up to the old cemetery when they were a kid.

We do know that John Kelly, who died in 1834, stipulated in his will that he was to be buried by his wife in the Ebbing Springs cemetery, so it was still in use at least occasionally then.

The new church, Glade Springs, was another 3-ish miles distant.

Did Andrew and Elizabeth make that 7-mile trip, one way, every Sunday? Somehow, I doubt this. Especially not with young or newborn children, and Elizabeth was either pregnant or had a young baby for more than two decades of her life.

Was another child born, and lost, about 1793 or 1794, or maybe both? Were those babies buried here?

The McKee Homestead

Andrew McKee was a farmer, and a distiller based on the still sold in his estate sale. While no one was wealthy in the country, he also wasn’t poor. Their home was not a small 8×10 or 10×12 one-room log cabin, and Andrew owned more than one horse.

On April 16^th, Andrew had four horses on the 1793 tax list, enough for a team to pull a wagon or even two. In 1794 and 1796, he had 7 horses and probably 3 were colts. The 1795 list was illegible.

A third son, Edward McKee, was born about 1795. He married Mary Hand in 1818.

Elizabeth spent her days cooking in this fireplace where the family gathered ’round the hearth on cold winter days.

Soup or beans would have been simmered in the kettle on the pothook almost all the time in the days before refrigeration.

Elizabeth would have stirred these embers thousands of times in her life. Andrew would have chopped and split wood to be brought inside to keep the fire burning, and carried ashes out in the ash bucket.

Elizabeth had to be careful to keep the children away from the fire, of course.

The next child, Andrew McKee, named after her husband, arrived about 1797, making me wonder if James and William were named after his and her fathers, respectively.

That made four boys and one girl.

Life was humming along quite nicely in the McKee homestead within sight of the Middle Fork of the Holston River.

Andrew and Elizabeth were back to their 4 horses in 1797 and 1798, which suggests they might have been breeding horses and selling the colts.

A new baby joined the household every 18 months or so. It would have been a relief when the oldest child could begin to help watch the younger ones.

The 1799 tax list showed Andrew’s land split into two entries, one for 150 acres which is the original plat where the three horses were listed, and a second entry for 192 acres for the second “plantation,” as he called it. Plantation did not mean what it meant further south. Neither Andrew nor his children enslaved others.

Mary McKee joined the family in 1799, according to her death record on December 17, 1855, when she died of consumption at age 56. She married John Larimer in January of 1820 and lived the longest of the children who stayed in Washington County, and the second longest of all of Elizabeth’s children.

Ann McKee, my ancestor, was probably born between 1799 and 1801, but no later than 1804, based on multiple census records. Considering the dates on all of them, the most likely birth year was 1800. She married Charles Speak in February of 1823. For some reason, when her sisters were being assigned guardians in 1822, she was not, which lends credibility to the 1800 birth date.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the 1800 census either, but the tax list shows Andrew with 4 horses in 1800, 6 in 1801, and 7 again in 1802.

By 1800, his oldest sons, James and William, would have been maybe 8 and 10, old enough to ride horses and certainly to help at the barn and in the fields.

Daughter Charity McKee was born sometime between 1801 and March of 1805. Charity was a minor in June of 1818 when a guardian was appointed. She married William Griever in May of 1823.

Daughter Jane McKee was born after 1801 and probably in 1802 or 1803 based on the fact that she was a minor in January of 1822 and married about 1823.

Elizabeth McKee, named in her father’s will, also called Eliza in other records, was born probably in 1803 or 1804, but before March 1805 when Andrew wrote his will. She was a minor in January of 1822 and married Eleazer Rouse in January of 1823

In the spring of 1803 and 1804, Andrew had 8 horses.

Something Happened in March of 1805

Something bad happened in March of 1805 – so severe that whatever it was caused Andrew McKee to write his will at about 40 years of age. We don’t know what, but he was obviously either very ill or badly injured. Elizabeth must have been terrified. She was either pregnant, or had a babe in arms, and probably both.

Story of her life. Her oldest child, Sally, was probably 15 or 16, so at least able to help reliably in the house and with food preparation. Her next four older children were boys and could help in the barn and at least tend the stock.

It’s thanks to Andrew’s will that we discover Elizabeth’s name, and he refers to their children and names them, first the boys, then the girls, in what appears to be birth order.

Andrew pulled through, survived, and was well enough to father at least three additional children.

On April 5, 1805, Andrew had 10 horses on the tax list, so during his illness, someone had to look after the horses and his other livestock. Not to mention, March and April are plowing time, getting ready to plant. Who helped him?

Tax Lists

Given that I was already reading more than 3000 unindexed tax record pages, one by one, spanning nearly 60 years (yes, you read that right), I was also keeping an eye on William McKee in Abingdon, just in case there would be something to tie him to Andrew. Sometimes you find amazing and unexpected tidbits.

Normally, William in Abingdon had one horse, or none, but paid a hefty tax for one and sometimes two stores, plus eventually, a tanyard.

In 1806, Andrew had 8 horses, then 7 in 1807. 1808 is missing.

Tithables Tell Tales

In 1809, Andrew is taxed with two tithables for the first time, plus 9 horses. This complicates things a bit. To begin with, we don’t know if white male tithables are taxed at age 16 or 21 that year. Based on what I know of other years in Virginia records, and Washington County later, white males 16 and over are taxed because they could work productively. This additional tithe would be James which would put his birth year at 1793. However, remember that 1808 was missing. If he were on that tax list, that puts his birth year at 1792, which is at least more in line with other records.

The next year, in 1810, Andrew had two tithables and 5 horses.

Finally, a Census – 1810

Between 1805 and the first extant census, in 1810, Elizabeth had two more girls and a boy not listed in Andrew’s will.

Based on the fact that they had 10 children in 1805, and 13 in 1810, we can infer that Elizabeth had a child every 19 months or so from 1788 through 1804. That’s just about exactly how often one would expect if every child lived, which would have been very unusual.

If a child died at birth, the mother had another baby about a year later, so we have no way of knowing if Elizabeth lost a child or two – but we do know that the majority of her children lived.

Daughter Rebecca McKee was born sometime between 1805 and 1809, probably about 1808, based on what little we know about her children.

Another daughter, Margaret McKee, only discovered this past week, was born after March of 1805 and before the 1810 census. More on her rather amazing story in a few minutes!

A male child was born after Andrew’s 1805 will and the 1810 census. That could be Alexander McKee, but I’m not convinced. I think he was born later, and the child in the 1810 census died.

But before we discuss that, let’s look at what else happened in 1810.

Sally McKee and Robert Larimer

On December 6th, just a few weeks before Christmas in 1810, Elizabeth’s first child, Sally, married Robert Larimer. Sally’s first child and Elizabeth’s last child were the same age. In fact, it’s possible that Elizabeth’s last child was younger than Sally’s first child. They would not be the first mother-daughter pair giving birth at the same time.

Sally McKee and Robert Larimer had many children before Sally’s death sometime after 1840. Robert married Rachel Debusk in July of 1847. Rachel was 18 years younger than his oldest child with Sally.

• Rebecca Larimer 1811-1841
• Andrew J. Larimer 1812-1849
• William Larimer 1814-1879
• John Larimer 1815/1818-1859
• Mary Jane Larimer c 1817-1855
• Female born 1810-1820 (1840 census)
• James Larimer 1819-1890
• Robert Eakins Larimer 1822-1882
• Andrew Edmondson Larimer c 1824-1908
• Isaac Larimer 1828-1856 (was living with James McKee, his uncle, in 1850)
• Samuel M. Larimer 1831-1875
• Emmett B. Larimer 1832-1877

It appears that Sally and Robert lost at least three children, the daughter born between 1810 and 1820, one in 1826 and another in 1830.

William’s Death

In 1811, Andrew McKee has three tithables, plus 4 horses which means the second son has turned 16. Based on this, second son William’s birth year would be 1795. However, this does not add up for William’s birth year – but is almost exactly Edward’s birth year of 1795.

Given this, I think that William probably died in either 1810 after the census, or early 1811 before the tax list.

Is that 1810 Male Child Alexander?

The last child was Alexander, probably after the 1810 census. He never married, and thanks to him mentioning his sisters and their children in his 1839 will, we know that Rebecca existed.

However, there’s something interesting about Alexander. We know that Elizabeth and Andrew have a boy in the 1810 census, and also a boy under 10 in the 1820 census. It’s probable that these are two different boys. To be Alexander, the boy on the census would have to have been born in 1810 before the census, because in 1820, he’s in the under-10 category, and in 1830, in the 15-19 group, which would mean he was born 1811-1815. Of course, we know that census ages can be fluid. So, I’d say Alexander was born about 1811, but this also means that Elizabeth lost another child – the boy on the 1810 census.

If Elizabeth was 21 when she married in 1788, she would have been 43 in 1810. Of course, she could have been a couple of years younger when she married.

All I can think of is how bone-tired that woman would have been.

Maybe after Alexander’s birth, Elizabeth thought perhaps she would have a few years of relative peace and quiet, meaning no new babies arriving. Well, she was wrong about the peace and quiet part. She had no idea what was up ahead.

In 1812 and 1813, Andrew still has three tithables, meaning himself, James, and Edward, with 6 and 5 horses, respectively.

The tax list shows that there is one carriage, not to be confused with a wagon, in the entire county, plus two “riding chairs.”

Return From the War of 1812

In 1813, James McKee, Elizabeth’s eldest son, then about 21 years old, would march away to war.

He enlisted to serve in the War of 1812 in August of 1813, served at Fort Norfolk, Virginia, and was discharged on March 10, 1814.

He was allowed 24 days for travel home, 480 miles to Washington County, VA from Fort Norfolk, which means about 20 miles a day, hopefully on a horse and not on foot. However, I’d bet he was walking, because horses were expensive commodities and my ancestors who served in that war all walked, including Nicholas Speaks who also served from Washington County. In fact, that connection may be how James McKee’s sister, Ann, met her future husband, Nicholas Speak’s son, Charles, but I digress.

James, according to his enlistment, had dark hair and blue eyes.

James would have arrived home in the first week of April. He might, just might, have been in time.

Andrew Dies

Andrew McKee’s will was probated on June 21, 1814. Andrew would have died sometime in the 90 days prior.

Andrew’s death was probably sudden, and probably a shock, given that he never updated his will.

If Elizabeth turned 43 or so when her last child was born in 1810, in 1814, she would have been roughly 47. Perhaps as young as 45 or as old as 50. Andrew was about the same age, maybe slightly older.

Regardless, she had a three or four-year-old child and stair-step children, with at least 11 children still at home.

Andrew’s will was probated in court on June 21, 1814, with both Samuel Kelly and John Kelly Jr. serving as executors, just as they had been instructed back in 1805. The men who had signed as witnesses to Andrew’s 1805 will were Andrew Edmiston, John Todd, and Andrew E. Kelly. The Kelly men were all sons of John Kelly Sr., Andrew’s original neighbor.

Three Kelly men are involved, two as executors with no bond required. That’s exactly what one would expect to see of close family members or very close friends. I suspect the answer to who was helping Andrew McKee back in 1805 was John Kelly and probably his sons, who were somewhat older than Andrew’s children.

Andrew Jr.

The 1814 tax list confirms an approximate birth year for Andrew Jr.

Unfortunately, the 1814 tax list is not dated. Dates range from February through late April. Andrew McKee is still listed with 2 tithes. He would be gone, although the farm would still be in his name. James wouldn’t be listed either because he was in the military, so these two tithes would be Edward and Andrew, which places Andrew’s birth year about 1798, which is about right.

Andrew’s Will

Like with every widow in that time, the terms of Andrew’s will dictated the rest of Elizabeth’s life, unless she chose to remarry, of course.

Andrew left his two plantations to the four boys who were living in 1805.

Elizabeth can stay in the “dwelling house” so long as she doesn’t remarry. She has the right to one-third of the money from the sale of Andrew’s personal property. Of course, everything is Andrew’s personal property except for Elizabeth’s clothes.

Elizabeth can keep as many children with her as she wants, but the executors are to bind out the rest of them to learn a trade. Generally, that only means males unless the children are literally starving.

The executors are to rent out the plantations to provide income and support for Elizabeth and the children.

The balance of his money, except for Elizabeth’s third, is to go to his six daughters, plus the sons are to pay the daughters $200.

Of course, by the time Andrew died, one of his original sons had died, and he had a new one – at least one. He also had eight daughters instead of six.

Life is What Happens When You’re Making Other Plans

Elizabeth’s life came unraveled at that point. Thank God her son James was back home, because she really, really needed his help on the two plantations.

I’m actually very surprised that Elizabeth didn’t remarry. That was certainly the custom of the time, especially for widows with young children. Of her 13 children, 11 were still at home, and Alexander was 3 or 4.

Elizabeth’s older sons were adults. In 1814, James was 23, William was gone of course, Edward was about 19, and Edward was about 17.

My guess, and that’s what it is at this point, but it’s logical, is that everyone stayed put in the homeplace, and James simply took over the daily chores and running the farm.

In fact, that’s what the 1815 tax list tells us.

Elizabeth has 2 tithes (Edward and Andrew), 3 horses, 5 cows, and 1 chest of drawers. More personal property is being taxed that year.

James McKee also has 1 tithable, 3 horses, and 5 cows.

By comparison, William McKee, the merchant in Abingdon has 12 rush bottom chairs, 1 side board, 2 looking glasses, 4 plates, 5 cut goblets, 3 tumblers, 1 bowl and several other things. Yes, he’s doing VERY well. He has a new business partner and is paying for 2 stores.

Andrew’s Estate Sale

The difficult part for Elizabeth was going to be the estate sale. Everything had to be sold. How was James, or any of the sons, supposed to farm without Andrew’s farm tools?

Yet the estate sale had to take place.

Other than Elizabeth, James bought the most, including a saddle and bridle, a bull, a heifer, 2 steers, a black mare, and a grindstone.

Andrew, who was 18 or so by the time the sale took place, bought a saddle and bridle too, along with some farming equipment, a black horse, and a sorrel colt. He was obviously planning to farm.

That left Elizabeth. Poor Elizabeth.

She would have had the right to one-third of the proceeds of the sale, including the money she spent, herself.

I’m hoping they allowed her to just run a “credit,” and subtracted the money for what she wanted from the total. I can’t even imagine having to purchase my own items from my “husband’s” estate.

To care for herself and all of her children, she purchased:

• 1 bedstead, bed and furniture
• 1 small and 1 large bedstead and bed
• 1 bed
• 1 chest of drawers
• 2 spinning wheels
• 1 table
• 6 old chairs
• cupboard and furniture
• 1 counting reel
• 3 old keggs
• 1 bag
• 2 baskets
• 2 lines
• 1 loom
• 1 hackle
• 2 pair cards
• Flat iron
• 1 large kettle
• 2 churns
• 1 small pot
• 1 pot
• 1 oven
• 1 pail and washtub
• 2 pot racks
• 4 cows
• 1 grey mare
• 6 sheep

It’s evident that the cows were for milk, as evidenced by the churns to make butter. The sheep would have been for wool, as evidenced by the spinning wheel to spin the wool into strands which can be carded and woven on the loom.

I was curious about the hackle which is a type of comb used to clean wool and flax before spinning.

The counting reel is used to wrap yarn before producing shanks of yarn.

The cards were to card and comb the wool.

Elizabeth was very clearly a weaver. You can watch a video of a woman reenact weaving from this timeframe, here and here. Notice the basket hung on the loom. Women used baskets and bags for everything from gathering produce from the garden and eggs from the chickens to holding wool.

Today, the bedroom in the McKee home retains the spinning wheel, probably where Elizabeth’s sat all those years ago. The only difference would have been a candle instead of a lamp, and no fan, of course. I wonder if the loom was here too, or maybe in front of the second hearth.

Elizabeth spent a total $85.56 buying her property back. Everything else was sold, including pots, ovens, skillets, and kettles. Some went to her children, James and Andrew McKee. Her son-in-law, Robert Larimer, spelled Larrymore, bought 17 geese and 4 sheep. I bet her daughter, Sally, was a weaver too.

John Larimer, who was not yet her son-in-law, bought Andrew’s still, the single most expensive item at the sale. I guess the still left the family, then eventually married back in a few years later!

The total sale brought $671.69, which means Elizabeth was entitled to $223.90. She bought $85.56 worth of goods, so she would have been due $138.34.

The final sale document was filed with the court on February 20, 1816. The sale had taken place the previous August.

James McKee and Sally Roe

According to James McKee’s widow, Sarah (Sally) Roe’s pension application, she states that they were married by the Baptist preacher on January 4, 1816. James was clearly buying equipment at his father’s estate sale with the intention of marrying and starting a family.

James and Sarah would have:

• Nancy McKee 1817-1875
• Mary Ann McKee 1820-1897
• Andrew J. McKee 1822-1862
• John R. McKee 1826-1863
• Eliza J. McKee 1827-1911
• Rebecca McKee 1830-1907
• Madison McKee 1831-1855
• William B. McKee 1832-1902 who died in Smyth Co., VA
• Margaret L. McKee 1835-1875
• Sarah J. McKee 1838-1915, who died in California
• Joanna McKee 1841-1898, who died in Exeter, California
• James A. McKee 1842-1918, who died in Parsons, Kansas

It looks like they may have lost children born in 1819, presumably the boy in the 1820 census, 1824, maybe 1829, maybe 1834, 1837, and maybe 1839. Elizabeth would have been alive for all of these deaths except the last one.

Elizabeth lived beside James until her death, so she would have been close to these children.

Andrew McKee and Nancy Roe

Just two months later, on March 17, 1816, Andrew McKee married Nancy Roe, possibly Sally’s sister. They had two children, in 1817 and 1819, before Nancy died between 1820 and 1822.

Spreading Wings

Fortunately, Elizabeth’s children had begun to marry – but unfortunately, of course, it was the eldest who were the ablest to help.

1816 seems to be the year that several children spread their wings and set out on their own. Of course, the boys had their father’s property and the money from the sale. They settled on the same land as Elizabeth, or nearby. James likely took the neighboring plantation. Maybe the other boys built houses on some of the land, creating their own little “McKee Village.”

The 1816 tax list shows:

• James McKee 1 – 3 – 54 cents
• Edward McKee 1 – 1 – 16 or 18 cents
• Elizabeth McKee 0 – 2 horses – 30 or 36 cents
• Andrew McKee 1 – 2 – 36 cents

It’s interesting to compare the amount of taxes with the amount various items brought at Andrew’s sale. A wheel was 30 cents, which I’m presuming is a spinning wheel. An oven was 50 cents. A pot rack was 30 cents, and a small pot was 25 cents.

For William of Abingdon, the cost of one merchant license for his mercantile store in Abingdon was $20.

In 1817, Elizabeth has no tithes, so no males 16 and over, 2 horses, and paid 30 cents tax. James, Edward, and Andrew McKee had one tithe each and 4, 1, and 2 horses, respectively.

What Happened in 1818?

Something is going on in 1818. I wonder if Elizabeth, by then 51 or so with 8 children at home, became ill. She’s missing on the tax list. She would only be listed for her personal property, at least until Alexander reached age 16, but she’s absent entirely, meaning she had no horses either. All 3 of her adult sons are listed with 8 horses between them.

On June 16, 1818 — John Clark was named guardian of Charity McKee, orphan of Andrew McKee, deceased.

Charity was probably the oldest child at home who was not of age, but she wasn’t the oldest at home. Ann and Mary were both still living at home. Furthermore, her 5 younger siblings did not have a guardian appointed.

This is strange.

Edward McKee and Mary Hand

On December 20, 1818, Edward McKee married Mary Hand. They had a child in 1819 who died before 1830, then a child in 1820 and 1822.

• Andrew G. McKee was born in 1824 and died in 1883 in Texas.
• Another child was born in 1826
• William McKee was born in 1828. In 1847, Andrew McKee was named guardian of William McKee, orphan of Edward. James McKee was the surety.
• Another child was born in 1829.

Sadly, Edward McKee’s inventory was dated October 27, 1831. His wife was pregnant at his death. He was only 35 or 36 years old

• Alexander B. McKee was born in 1832 and died in 1833.

In 1819, James, Edward, Andrew, and Elizabeth are still listed on the tax list. Elizabeth has no tithes, of course. James has 4 horses and is taxed 72 cents, and everyone else has one horse each and is taxed 18 cents. I wonder if Elizabeth’s horse is for riding or for plowing, or both.

Everything is the same in 1820 except Edward and Elizabeth now have 2 horses each

Interestingly, the neighbor, John Kelly is on a list of people to whom licenses were issued for merchants, hawkers and peddlers, ordinary keepers, and keepers of houses of private entertainment. I can’t help but wonder what John was up to. My guess, based on an account book a generation or so later, is that he started a country store that catered to farm families.

Mary McKee and John Larimer

On January 20, 1820, Mary McKee married John Larimer. Yes, the same John Larimer who purchased several items a few years earlier at her father’s estate sale, including his still. His first wife had died, and Mary became a stepmother to two children only slightly younger than her.

Mary and John had:

• Jessee Larimer born in 1821
• Andrew Larimer 1822-1895
• William G. Larimer 1823-1896
• Alexander W. Larimer 1827
• Eliza Larimer 1829
• Ann Larimer 1831
• Nancy Larimer 1833
• Edward F. Larimer 1835
• Jeremiah Fulton Larimer 1836-1919
• Catherine Larimer 1837

Looks like they lost one baby in 1825. Elizabeth would have helped her daughter with that grief.

1820 Census

The 1820 census is interesting. Unfortunately, it’s in alphabetical order, not in house order.

We find:

• Andrew and Edward McKee, both with young families. Both are ages 16-25, both with a wife the same age, 1 son and 1 daughter, each, under 10. Both are engaged in manufacturing of some sort.
• James McKee with a family of 5, including 1 male 26-44, 2 females under 10, 2 females 16-25, one of whom may have been his sister.
• Elizabeth McKee with a family of 6, 1 female over 45, 2 females 16-25, 2 females 10-15, 1 male under 10.

Also, in 1820 Andrew McKee sold his share of his father’s estate to his brother, James.

Sometime between the census in 1820 and December of 1822, Andrew McKee’s wife, Nancy Roe, died. Of course, we’ll never know why. After her death, I expect her mother and Elizabeth would both have been trying to help Andrew with two babies.

I wonder if this is what caused Andrew to sell his land to James.

Nov. 11, 1820 – Andrew McKee to James McKee 8-289 – Andrews McKee Jr. of Washington Co. for $75 to James McKee “my right and title of all claims in my father’s estate.”

I don’t know where Andrew was living, or maybe he was still living in the same place, but working for his brother. Maybe he left for a while. He certainly couldn’t nurse or raise a baby and a toddler and farm by himself.

On the 1821 tax list, we find Elizabeth with 2 horses and colts, James with the same, and Edward with 1 horse, but no Andrew.

Guardian Drama

In 1822 we find Edward McKee with 1 horse, James with 5 horses, and again, no Andrew. Elizabeth is missing this year too.

The events in January 1822 might provide a clue about Elizabeth.

On January 15, 1822, James McKee was named guardian of Jane and Eliza McKee, orphans of Andrew McKee, deceased, Bond: $250. Surety: John Clark.

Is this Andrew who died in 1814, or his son, Andrew? Did son Andrew die too? As it turns out, no, he didn’t. These are Elizabeth’s daughters, but it’s certainly unclear from this record.

In 1822, Elizabeth would have been about 55. Was she ill or unable to provide for her children? If so, then why were guardians appointed for just the older minor children left at home? Yet, there were three other minor children at home, the youngest three, with no guardian appointed.

I sure would like to know what was going on, and why.

Andrew McKee and Rachel Fisher

On December 19, 1822, Andrew McKee married Rachel Fisher. They had children in 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1828, and 1830. In 1847, Andrew was appointed guardian for his brother Edward’s son. I can’t find Andrew or Rachel after that.

The 1823 tax list shows that Andrew is back again with 1 tithe and no horse, but the tax list must be incomplete because neither James nor Elizabeth are listed.

I’m so glad Andrew seems to be doing better and starting over again. Elizabeth must have heaved a huge sigh of relief.

1822 and 1823 were clearly a time of joy and weddings!

Eliza McKee and Eleazer Rouse

Eliza McKee, Elizabeth’s namesake, married Eleazer Rouse on January 23, 1823. She reportedly died after 1870 in Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana, but I cannot find her on the census. She and Eleazer migrated after his father, John Rouse, died in 1831. In 1835, Eleazer obtained a land grant in Indiana.

They had children:

• Frank Rouse 1823-1823
• Male Rouse 1824-1940
• Eunice Rouse 1825-1825
• Andrew J. Rouse 1826-1826
• Mary Ann Rouse 1829-1860 died in Bartholomew County, Indiana
• Female Rouse 1830-1840

• John Rouse 1830-1883 was an invalid by 1877 according to his Civil War pension index card and died in Bartholomew County, Indiana. I can’t help but wonder if his eye condition is congenital or a result of an injury, and if he was allowed to serve with the condition.
• William Rouse 1833-1886, born and died in Bartholomew County, Indiana
• Sarah Rouse 1834-1861, born and died in Bartholomew County, Indiana

Eliza buried at least three children in Washington County before leaving for Indiana.

Eliza would have been Elizabeth’s second child to leave, taking with her 3 or 4 of Elizabeth’s grandchildren that she would never see again.

Elizabeth’s tears must have watered their hair as she hugged and kissed them goodbye one last time – committing their faces to memory forever. Would they remember her?

Ann McKee and Charles Speak

On February 27, 1823, Ann McKee married Charles Speak, son of Nicholas Speak who would found the Speaks Methodist Church in Lee County, Virginia. Ann and Charles joined him there shortly after their wedding. So far, none of Elizabeth’s children had left, except for James who went to war. But he returned.

It must have been crushing for Elizabeth to watch the wagon pull away with her daughter, headed for Lee County. I wonder how she felt about her daughter marrying a Methodist who converted from being a Presbyterian.

Of course, 114 miles today would have been a week in a wagon then, one way, or perhaps more, depending on the weather and terrain.

Elizabeth knew she would never see her daughter again, or any of Ann’s children. How her heart must have ached.

Anne’s father-in-law, Nicholas Speaks, the Methodist minister, built this tiny cabin where he raised his family. Charles and Ann probably lived in a very similar cabin on the same land. It makes the McKee house look huge by comparison.

Ann had six known children, but there must have been more, specifically in 1830, 1834, 1836, 1838, and 1840.

• Sarah Jane Speak 1824-1888, married Andrew Callahan
• Nicholas Speak 1825-1869, married Rachel Callahan
• Andrew McKee Speak 1826-1900, died in Grant County, Kentucky
• Rebecca M. Speak was born in 1827, married James Painter and died after 1867 in Kentucky
• Charity Speak 1829-after 1880, married Adam Harvey Johnson
• Elizabeth Ann Speaks 1832-1907, married Samuel Claxton and died in Hancock County, Tennessee

Ann’s last known child, Elizabeth Speaks, named for her grandmother, was born in 1832, in Lawrence County, Indiana, of all places. This family didn’t stay in Indiana, but returned to Lee County, Virginia before 1840. I can’t help but wonder why they reverse-migrated.

We are fortunate that pictures exist of two of Elizabeth’s grandchildren who were living in the time of the Civil War when cameras began to be used, but only for very special occasions. This is Elizabeth Ann Speaks who married Samuel Claxton, a Union soldier from Tennessee who died as the result of that War.

Both Ann McKee and Charles Speaks died sometime between 1840 and 1850. At least Elizabeth never had to receive THAT letter, but she probably did receive letters telling her that at least three of Ann’s children, in a row, had perished prior to 1840. Or maybe Ann spared her mother those messages and simply said nothing.

Not only did Elizabeth never see her daughter again, but Ann didn’t see her mother either. That must have been incredibly difficult.

Charity McKee and William Griever

The third 1823 marriage (and 4th McKee wedding in 6 months) took place on May 22, 1823, when Charity McKee married William Griever.

They had at least five children.

• Mary Ann Griever born in 1824
• Male child born about 1825
• John Griever born about 1826
• Charles Griever born about 1827
• Female child born about 1830

Charity had died sometime before February 1837 when William remarried to Mary Wisely. Between 1838 and 1840, this family relocated to Lee County, Virginia.

In 1824 Elizabeth is on the tax list with 2 horses. Andrew has 1 tithe and no horses. How is he living without a horse? James has 2 horses, and Edward has 1.

In 1825, Elizabeth still has 2 horses, James has 3, and Edward has 2. Un oh – Andrew is missing again.

Jane McKee and Richard Jones

Jane McKee married Richard Jones sometime after 1822 when she was assigned a guardian and before 1825, based on the 1830 census. She died before her brother, Alexander, whose will mentioned her children. She and Richard had five children.

Richard Jones was dead by October 28, 1837, when his property was sold, and he was noted as deceased. Jane was gone before March of 1839.

• Andrew McKee Jones 1824/26-1911
• John Jones 1826/28-1864
• Elizabeth M. Jones 1830-1905
• Sarah Ann Jones 1836
• Fanny R. Jones c 1838-1861

Jane lost at least three children, in 1828, 1832, and 1834. I wonder if all these McKee children are buried in the McKee Cemetery.

On March 13, 1826, Elizabeth has three horses, Edward has 1, and James has 3.

On March 1, 1827, Elizabeth has 2 horses, James has 4, Edward has 1, and Andrew has none.

Alexander McKee Turns 16

In 1828, one male tithe appears on Elizabeth’s tax list. That would be Alexander. If he is 16, that puts his birth in 1812. These years seem to be a year odd, so maybe this is the tax for the prior year. That would put his birth in 1811, which makes perfect sense. That does, however, suggest that the male under 10 in 1810 is not Alexander and subsequently died before 1820.

Rebecca McKee and William Jamison

Rebecca McKee married William Jamison sometime around 1829 or 1830 following his wife’s death. He had four children from his first marriage. Rebecca and William had two known children:

• William Hardy Jamison 1833-1887
• Sarah (Sallie) Jamison 1835-1837/1842

William Jamison’s estate was probated November 27, 1837. Rebecca attended her mother’s estate sale in 1838, but was gone by the time that Alexander wrote his will in March of 1839

The 1829 tax list shows tithes and horses

• Andrew McKee 1 – – –
• James McKee 1 – – 5
• Elizabeth McKee 1 – – 3
• Edward McKee 2 – – 2

The 1830 Census

The 1830 census shows us that Elizabeth is 50-59, so born between 1771 and 1780. I suspect she is older than that.

She has three children living with her. I have connected the names with the ages of the people they must be.

• Rebecca is 20-29, so born 1801-1810
• Margaret is 20-29, so born 1801-1810. It’s this record that confirms that the Margaret we discover a few years later fits into this family in this location.
• Alexander is 15-19, so born 1811-1815.

In 1830, the tax man made his rounds on March 25^th:

• James McKee 1 – – 5 40 cents
• Elizabeth McKee 1 – – 3 24 cents
• Edward McKee 2 – – 2 16 cents
• Andrew McKee 1 – – – no tax

Andrew never seems to do as well as Elizabeth’s other children.

Edward McKee Dies

1831 was a grief-filled year for Elizabeth. While losing a young child is difficult, losing an adult child is devastating. When a young child passes, the parent loses the possibilities and hope. Loses their sweetness and the vision of their life. But when an adult child passes, a parent loses the entirety of their life.

In this case, Elizabeth also had to watch Edward’s pregnant wife, Polly, and children suffer. Polly had given birth to 4 children, as recorded in the 1830 census, but only two of those children lived to adulthood. Polly’s grieving wasn’t over.

Edward clearly didn’t expect to die. He was only 35 or 36 years old and had 4 children under the age of 7. Things seemed to be going well. Polly was pregnant for baby number 5 who would be arriving sometime the next year.

There was no will, not even a deathbed nuncupative, or oral, will. He didn’t even have time for that. Just Edward McKee’s estate inventory, dated October 27, 1831, submitted by Polly. That tells us that Edward died in the 90 days prior, probably in the summer of 1831. Perhaps Elizabeth helped Polly make the list of their household goods to submit to the court.

Based on Edward’s inventory, he had been a shoemaker and also owned carpentry tools.

He probably lived on the land where Elizabeth lived, or the property next door. There were two farms, and Andrew had left the farms to the boys. Andrew (Jr.) had already sold his portion to his brother James. Someone had to be working the farm where Elizabeth lived.

Polly gave birth to the child sometime in 1832, and that baby died the following year, joining Edward on the other side.

Edward is present on the 1831 tax list.

• Andrew McKee 1 – – – – –
• Edward McKee 2 – 3
• Elizabeth McKee 1 – 3
• James McKee 1 – 5

The 1832 tax list reflects Edward’s death.

• February 8 – Mrs. Polly McKee – – 1
• March 12 – Mrs. Elizabeth McKee 1 – 2
• James McKee 1 – 4
• April 14 – Andrew McKee 1 – – –

Alexander Comes of Age

The 1833 tax list shows some changes.

• James McKee 1 – 3
• Alexander McKee 1 – 1
• Mary McKee – – 2

Polly is still there under the name of Mary, synonymous with Polly, and she has two horses.

However, Elizabeth is absent, and now Alexander has taken her place on the tax list. This tells me that he has come of age, 21 years, so born about 1812 or maybe as early as 1811, and he is taking over the farm where Elizabeth lives. He’s no longer a tithe on his mother’s tax list, but in charge as an adult. The farm will be his, and so is the accompanying tax bill!

Elizabeth is now 67 years old and is likely very grateful for this shift.

She probably has her hands full trying to help Edward’s wife, Polly, with her babies and trying to manage that farm. I suspect that James is helping too, as is Alexander and Polly’s family, although her parents are elderly and pass away within a year or so. I can’t help but wonder if another wave of dysentery or flux is being passed among family, friends, and neighbors there on the Middle Fork of the Holston River. Death records from a few years later show this pattern.

On November 12 of 1833, Mary “Polly” Hand McKee remarried to Robert Sherwood, which was probably a relief for everyone.

They were living in Washington County in 1840, but I don’t find either of them in 1850. In 1847, Andrew McKee was named guardian of William McKee, orphan of Edward. James McKee was the surety. This might be a sad clue as to what happened to Polly and Robert.

Elizabeth’s oldest grandchild, Andrew J. Larimer, married Isabella McClure on October 26, 1833, in Smyth County, Virginia. The next generation is beginning. This must have been a joyful day!

I wonder if Elizabeth sat down at her loom and wove her first grandchild to marry a special wool comforter. I bet she did!

In 1834 Alexander had one horse, and James had 4. They had the same number as 1835, and the tax man visited one day apart, February 24 and 25.

In 1836, both were visited on February 17^th, and by this time, Alexander had 2 horses.

Of course, the tax list is only a very broad brushstroke of what was actually happening within the family. Elizabeth had many grandchildren. Several were born each year, and sadly, several probably died as well. We will never know all of their names. Perhaps Elizabeth spent a lot of time helping her daughters and daughters-in-law.

The changes that happened in 1837 aren’t shown by the tax list. On March 1^st, 1837, James and Alexander had the same number of horses as the year before.

That was before all Hell broke loose in the McKee family.

The 1830s Were Brutal

Something was happening in the middle and late 1830s. Or maybe it was just the grim reaper carrying his staff of Dysentery, Consumption, and Bloody Flux, raging across the countryside again.

Elizabeth’s daughter, Charity had died sometime after 1830 and before March of 1837 when William Griever remarried. My best bet would be that they lost all the children born in the 1830s, then finally Charity herself in 1835 or 1836.

James McKee lost a child in 1837.

Jane McKee’s husband, Richard Jones, died, with his estate being sold on October 28, 1837. Jane was pregnant at the time and had a baby in 1838, but Jane herself was gone before May of 1839, and the baby too, soon thereafter.

The estate of Rebecca McKee’s husband, William Jamison, was probated on November 27, 1837.

Elizabeth McKee and Margaret McKee both died in the 90 days before their estates were filed on February 26, 1838, so sometime during the winter.

Rebecca McKee Jamison died sometime between her mother’s estate sale in March of 1838 and her brother’s death in May of 1839.

Alexander McKee, a young man about 27 or 28, wrote his will on May 20, 1839 and probably died shortly thereafter. It was probated on July 22, 1839.

However, there was someone else who died in late 1837 or early 1838 that we didn’t know about before.

Another Child for Elizabeth

The fact that Elizabeth McKee never remarried served us in good stead, because it meant she owned her own personal property, and her estate was registered with the court. Maybe she swore she’d never have to purchase her own property back again.

I can only wish she had a will, but she didn’t.

Cousin Carol found and sent me the link to Elizabeth’s estate administration, but that’s not the only thing I found. Of course, to find Elizabeth’s entry, I had to read the entire page, beginning at the top.

February 26, 1838

On motion of James McKee who took the oath of an administrator…bond $500 with Robert Larrimor his security as the law directs. Granted to administer the estate of Margaret McKee decd, in due form.

Of course, James McKee is Elizabeth’s son, and Robert Larimore is her son-in-law.

Ordered that Andrew E. Kelly, Samuel Kelly, Alexander M. Robinson, and James Allen or any 3 of them sworn before a justice…to view and appraise all the personal estate of Margaret Mckee decd.

Wait?

Margaret?

Who’s Margaret McKee?

No, no, I’m searching for Elizabeth.

There’s Elizabeth, following Margaret.

For a minute, I thought that either they had incorrectly written Elizabeth as Margaret, or Elizabeth’s name was actually Margaret, but then I realized that there were actually two nearly identical entries, scribed the same day, by the clerk, one after the other.

Who was Margaret McKee? I had to know. This question sent me into an insane rabbit hole – literally for days. Ok, maybe a couple of weeks. But when I emerged into the light of day, I knew who Margaret was, AND, far, far more about this family. That’s the information I’ve compiled, here, to write Elizabeth’s story.

What else can we discover about Margaret?

And why would her estate have been entered just ahead of Elizabeth’s?

What the heck was going on?

March 3, 1838 – Margaret’s property was inventoried, appraised, and filed on April 28^th in court.

Also, on March 3^rd, her estate was sold.

The proceeds were filed on April 23^rd in court.

Purchaser	Item	Amount
Granville C. Parks	1 dun cow	11.00
William Allen	1 black cow	10.675
James C. Kelly	1 brindle heifer	5.00
Nickerson Snead	1 dun calf	4.00
Samuel Snodgrass	2 sows 4 pigs	4.60
James McKee	1 bed and furniture	20.25
Adams Helnick	1 saddle	12.00
Samuel Parmer	1 bridle	1.00
James McKee	1 set plates	.77
Lucy Franklin	1 set plates	.60
Lewis Smith	Set cups and saucers	.40
Lewis Smith	Set cheny cups and saucers	1.00
Rachel Grieves	3 glasses and 1 pitcher	.60
Lewis Smith	1 sugar bowl	.40
Rachel Grieves	1 lot of ware	1.17
Andrew Kelly	4 bowls	.40
John Ensly	Pitcher 70 cents, looking glass 1.55	2.25
Rachel Grieves	1 baker and lid	1.20
Susan Calihan	1 tin bucket	.57
James McKee	1 table	.35
Andrew Edmondson	1 iron shovel	.55
Thomas Lilley	1 wooden bowl	.50
Nelly Winn	1 lot crocks	.47
John Kelly	2 chairs	.40
James Lilly	1 rone mare	35.00
William Griever	7 geese	1.75
Lewis Smith	1 sheet	.55
Andrew Larimore	1 set knives and forks	1.25

Elizabeth’s son and son-in-law both purchased items. I’ve bolded family members making purchases, along with items in Margaret’s and Elizabeth’s estates that match items purchased by Elizabeth at Andrew’s estate, back in 1814, all those years ago.

I notice that Margaret has eating utensils, but no cooking items, like pots and kettles. I’d wager that those were all Elizabeth’s.

People apparently paid Margaret’s estate during 1838, 1839 and 1840.

Just a month earlier, Elizabeth’s own estate had been appraised and sold. You’ll notice many of the same purchasers.

Elizabeth’s Estate

On the motion of Robert Larriser (Larimer) who took the oath as administrator…bond of $500 with James McKee granted him to administer the estate of Elizabeth Mckee decd.

The same two family members as administrator and bond, just the roles are reversed.

Ordered that Andrew E. Kelly, Samuel Kelly, Alexander M. Robinson and James Allen or any 3 of them sworn before a justice…to view and appraise all the personal estate of Elizabeth McKee decd.

Item	Appraised $	Purchaser	Purchase $
Lot of chairs (5)	1.25	James Houston	1.50
2 pots	1.00
Oven and griddle	.25	Arthur Speer (oven)	.45
Table	1.00	Miss Franklin	.55
1 dresser	1.00	James Lilley	.55
2 pales	.375	Andrew Larrimer	.69
lot of old lumber	1.00	John Robinson	.40
1 case (chest?) of drawers	6.00	Robert Larimer	6.90
2 bags	.25	Thomas Palmer	1.05
1 loom	4.00	Robert Larimer	3.30
1 reel	.50	William Griever	1.00
Hackle	1.00	Rebecca Jamison	1.25
1 lot of books	.25	Sinder	.50
Vinegar bag	.50	Claiborne? Kelly	.70
2 cans or canes	.30
2 cards and wool shears		N Snead	.125
Smoothing iron		Andrew Edmondson	.50
1 pot trammeble or trammelle?	.50	Claiborne Kelly	.50
1 pewter dish		Miss Griever	.375
1 lot of old ware		James Robinson	.31
1 lot of old ware		Miss Winn	.12
2 small wheels	1.25	Andrew Edmondson	.5625
1 large wheel	.25	Leven Quillen	.55
1 churn	.25
1 lot of hogs	6.00
1 lot of sheep	2.50	Susan Callihan 5 heard sheep	3.75
1 bed and furniture	12.00	Miss Farnsworth	15.25
Lot of corn	20 cents per bushel	Thomas McGee 45 cents bushel	16.615
Lot of oats	20 cents per bushel	Moses Robinson 21.5 per bushel	5.3675
Lot of wheat	62.5 cents per bushel	Robert Larrimer 93…5 per bushel	4.625
1 black cow	9.00	N Snead	8.50
1 lot of crocks	.875	Sincler or Linder	1.45
1 lot of flax	.50
1 crock of fat	.30	William Griever	.75
1 lot of bacon	6.25 cents per bound	Daniel Troxel – 8 cents per pound	7.38
1 sifter	.375	Claiborne Kelly	.695
1 set plates	.375	Lewis Smith	.32
4 plates		Lewis Smith	.24
1 bed and furniture	7.00	Miss Franklin	10.125
1 bed and furniture	3.00	Mitchell Robinson	3.125
1 lot of old lumber	12.5	Robert Sherwood	1.00
2 fat hogs	10.00	Samuel Snodgrass (lot of hogs)	10.55
1 fat hot		N. Sneed	5.60
1 fat hog		John Tucker?	5.05
1 sow	1.00
1 lot teacups and saucers		Arthur Speer	.1625
1 lot knives and spoons		James Surber	.3
1 lot cupboard ware		Arthur Speer	.35
1 pot		James Kelly	.60
1 baker		Robert Larimer	Can’t read
2 pot hooks		Miss Franklin	.21
1 pot		William Griever	.135
1 kettle		James Kelly	.70
1 kettle		James McKee	1.86
1 sheet		Miss Griever	.50
1 sheet		Seavis? Smith	.40
1 lot wheat		Alfred Surber	10.57
2 reeds or reels		William Griever	.125
1 coffee mill		Robert Larimer	.0675

Robert Larrimer admin.

Signed by Andrew C. Kelly, Alexander Robinson and Samuel Kelly

Inventory and appraisement of estate of Elizabeth McKee decd returned to court and ordered to be recorded on March 27, 1838.

Several of Elizabeth’s children and their spouses purchased items. Of course, two of her daughters, Ann and Eliza had moved on. Ann was in Lee County, Virginia, and Eliza was living in Indiana.

William Griever purchased. Elizabeth’s daughter, Charity, had already died, but William was clearly still on good terms with the family. Did he bring his daughter, Mary Ann, born in 1824, so would have been 14 years old? Is that the Miss Griever who purchased a sheet and a pewter dish of her grandmothers? Be still my heart.

Elizabeth must have been beaming! From the other side, of course.

I noticed that Elizabeth had purchased six chairs from Andrew’s estate, which were now five. Or maybe one of those chairs was in Margaret’s estate.

Many of the items from Andrew’s estate were purchased by family members, probably in part for sentimental reasons.

Rebecca McKee Jamison had recently been widowed, but was still living and purchased a hackle which tells me she, like her mother, was a weaver. She, too, would be gone before March of 1839.

A settlement of the estate of Elizabeth McKee deceased was returned to court by the commissioner and ordered to be recorded on May 27, 1839.

October 28, 1839

In Elizabeth’s settlement, bills were paid to several people including one to a “girl for nursing the decd when in her last illness – $1.25.” I surely hope that girl didn’t catch whatever it was that was killing McKee family members.

Alexander McKee’s Death

The McKee family’s hell wasn’t over yet.

The tax collector gave me the first hint. Apparently, Alexander wasn’t farming anymore, and I’d wager that James had taken over.

In 1839, on March the second, James McKee has 5 horses, but Alexander isn’t listed.

Elizabeth’s administrators filed on May 27, 1839 with the court that they were ready to settle her estate, but her son, Alexander, had made his will a week earlier signaling that something was very wrong.

Did the family wonder when this string of death was ever going to end? Whatever was claiming this family was brutal.

Alexander McKee’s will was written May 20, 1839, and probated on July 22, 1839 at the next court session.

He stipulated that:

1. Perishable part of estate to be sold immediately
2. Land to James McKee which fell to me by heirship to him and his heirs forever and $30
3. Sister Ann Speaks and her children $30
4. Sister Jinny Jones children $10
5. Sister Rebecca Jamison children $10
6. James McKee executor

Witness Andrew Patterson, Robert Sherwood, James Allen

Probated July 22, 1839, James McKee exec with John Clark Sr. his security

This signifies that both sisters Rebecca and Jinny have passed away. Robert Sherwood is Edward McKee’s widow, Mary Hand McKee’s second husband.

Alexander’s inventory was taken on September 14, 1839 and submitted to court January 27, 1840. It’s worth noting that he has no furniture or kitchen items.

Given that he lived with his mother, between his inventory, that of Elizabeth and Margaret, I’d wager we are seeing the entire contents of that home.

I surely wonder about those three books. Books give us so much insight into the reader.

Given the proximity of their deaths, that they lived together, and that two of the three were relatively young, I can’t help but wonder about consumption. We also know that Elizabeth didn’t die quickly because someone was paid to care for her during her last illness. Consumption is also what took James McKee and his sister, Mary, in 1855.

Widow For 24 Years

Elizabeth was almost widowed in 1805 but was actually widowed nine years later, in 1814, leaving her to care for a passel of stair-step children.

She probably buried Andrew beside or near to their children who had already died, and those who would soon, perhaps in the McKee Cemetery.

For a woman whose name we almost didn’t know, she led an incredibly eventful life. For starters, she lived on the frontier – and survived – for 70 years, plus or minus a year or two.

She was born near the end of the French and Indian War and before the Revolutionary War. She would have been about ten years old, or so, at the outset of the Revolutionary War, and probably lived in either Pennsylvania or Virginia. Her father and brothers may have been soldiers.

I have no idea who her parents were, but I’ve eliminated a number of possibilities. She and Andrew seem to be particularly close to the John Kelly family, their near neighbors, but John Kelly had a will and Elizabeth is not there.

What I can tell you is that Elizabeth was European, based on her base mitochondrial DNA haplogroup J. I’d love to have a direct descendant through all females who is willing to take a mitochondrial DNA test. The tester can be male in the current generation but must descend from Elizabeth through all females to carry her mitochondrial DNA. If this is you, I’m offering a no-cost scholarship, so please reach out.

Elizabeth would have moved westward with her family into the newly formed Washington County, Virginia, still uncut, uncleared woodland, probably after the final battle of the Revolutionary War. Cheap land called opportunity beckoned.

Elizabeth married Andrew McKee, a Scots-Irishman, sometime around 1788. It’s likely that one or both of them had blue eyes, because their son, James, did, along with dark hair.

They settled within sight of the Middle Fork of the Holston River, where they stayed until, literally, the wagon took them to the graveyard. Them and their children too. Elizabeth staked her ground, and she was NOT giving up. That woman’s tenacity is utterly amazing.

The community graveyard was at the Ebbing Springs Church in the beginning, but the family probably established the now lost McKee Cemetery at the southernmost tip of their property during her lifetime. We know son James is buried there, so it stands to reason that she is too. This family alone would have filled the church cemetery!

Elizabeth cooked and cleaned and bore children, like the other pioneer wives. First with Andrew, then alone. But that wasn’t all.

Elizabeth repurchased her own kitchen utensils, along with her spinning wheel, loom, beds, furniture, and livestock at Andrew’s estate sale in 1814.

She would have farmed and butchered and put vegetables up in this root cellar, beside the house, for the winter.

The house was raised and designed defensively.

The family lived in the upper level, probably for safety in terms of possible Indian attack as well as the notorious Holston River floods. The attacks seemed to be mostly in the past after the Revolutionary War, but the floods were everpresent.

Elizabeth likely stored items in the lower level, like these crocks where vegetables and possibly meats would have been brined and pickled. Those three “old keggs” she purchased at Andrew’s estate sale were probably stored here too. She opened this old door thousands of times, bringing vegetables, wool, and other things into the lower level from outside.

We know that Elizabeth churned butter because she bought cows and her own churn at Andrew’s estate sale. She would have milked cows at dawn every morning.

Her extra workspace, even though it did flood from time to time, was probably the envy of every woman in the neighborhood. Of course, when it flooded, the family had to move quickly to keep things dry. They would have had to move their animals to high ground too. Did they get stranded on the second floor by floodwaters from time to time? Those Holston flood waters rise rapidly, and the current is swift and dangerous.

After Andrew’s death, this would all have fallen to Elizabeth to manage.

The house was divided into two sections, with two fireplaces, one at each end with its own chimney. The second fireplace would probably have been the area where her adult son, Alexander, and possibly her daughter Margaret would have lived too. I an only imagine how difficult it was to cut and hew those beams, and lift them into place.

Margaret and Alexander both died about the same time as Elizabeth – Margaret within days, and it’s evident from both of their estate inventories, plus Elizabeth’s, that her children owned no cooking utensils. The good news is that they had each other. The bad news is that they likely all died of Consumption, today’s Tuberculosis, or some other equally-as-awful malady that they shared within the same household – their lives winking out one after the other.

The actual size of this home was probably a luxury, although the stairs weren’t, especially as Elizabeth aged.

Elizabeth packed all 13 of her children into 2 or 3 beds that she purchased at Andrew’s estate sale, as was the custom of the day.

That woman would have worked from sunup to sundown, and past, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Church, where maybe she could fall asleep unnoticed for a few minutes, might have been her only respite.

Or maybe spinning and weaving on her loom provided that as well – along with much-needed fabric for bedding and clothing.

Based on the tax lists, and guardians being appointed for Elizabeth’s children at different times, it appears that perhaps Elizabeth became ill, or something happened.

Once in 1818, when Elizabeth would have been about 51, and again in 1822.

It baffles me why guardians were only appointed for some of her children, but not all of her minor children.

But, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, Elizabeth rallied every time. She beat the odds more than once, and, it appears, more than several times. Somehow she managed not to succumb.

Yet, death surrounded her. I simply cannot imagine what this woman endured, or how she managed not to be broken when she had to bury so many people she loved – and that’s not counting her parents and siblings.

Keep in mind that the relatives listed here are only the closest people we know about. Every single one was a person she loved dearly. Someone she missed every day for the rest of her life.

Elizabeth’s son William died in 1810 or 1811 at 17 or 18, which probably broke her heart.

She lost another, younger son, about the same time, who we see in the 1810 census but whose name we don’t know. I wonder if he died of the same thing, at the same time as William – likely Dysentery or Flux.

Then came her husband Andrew’s death in 1814, of course.

Elizabeth also buried her son Andrew’s wife, Nancy Roe about 1820. Andrew didn’t seem to do well after that, at least for a couple of years.

Then, Elizabeth’s son Edward passed away in the fall of 1831, leaving a pregnant wife and small children.

Elizabeth’s daughter, Charity, died sometime after 1830 and before March of 1837 when William Griever remarried. My best bet would be that they lost all the children born in the 1830s, then finally Charity herself in 1835 or 1836.

Elizabeth’s son James McKee lost a child in 1837.

Jane McKee’s husband, Richard Jones, died, with his estate being sold on October 28, 1837. Jane was pregnant at the time and had a baby in 1838, but Jane herself was gone before May of 1839, and the baby too soon thereafter.

The estate of Rebecca McKee’s husband, William Jamison, was probated on November 27, 1837.

This string of very close family members who died must have devastated Elizabeth, and I can’t help but wonder if the entire group was infecting each other with Consumption. Given that Elizabeth’s estate was probated in February of 1838, she was likely already sick by the late fall of 1837 when her two sons-in-law died.

Of course, her daughter Margaret died within days of Elizabeth’s own death. That could have been the final straw. It’s unclear who died first, but it’s very clear that they died within days of each other based on their estate filing.

What Elizabeth didn’t know was that two of her daughters died not long after she did. Jane/Jenny Jones was apparently living when her husband died in late 1837, but gone before May of 1839.

Rebecca McKee Jamison died sometime between her mother’s estate sale in March of 1838 and her brother, Alexander’s death in May of 1839.

Alexander McKee wrote his will on May 20, 1839, and probably died shortly thereafter. It was probated on July 22, 1839.

Wow, I just need to stop and take a deep breath. I can’t even imagine so much illness and grief, so close together.

Grandchildren

Elizabeth had a plethora of grandchildren, despite the fact that she buried children and that two of her adult children never married. The people bolded died before Elizabeth, except for Margaret, who died at almost exactly the same time. The last column indicated grandchildren that we know perished in Elizabeth’s lifetime.

Child	Birth-Death	Spouse	Total Children	Died Before Elizabeth
Sally	c1789-1840/1847	Robert Larimer	14	3
James	1791-1855	Sally Roe	17	4
William	c1792-1810/1811	never	0
Edward	c1795-1831	Mary Hand	5	3
Andrew	c1797-after 1847	Nancy Roe died c 1820, Rachel Fisher	6?	?
Mary	1799-1855	John Larimer	11	1
Ann	c1800- died VA 1840/1850	Charles Speak	11	5
Charity	1801/1805-before 1837	William Griever	5	3
Jane/Jenny	c1802/1803-1838/1839	Richard Jones estate Nov 1837	8	3
Elizabeth/Eliza	Before Mar 1805-died Indiana aft 1870	Eleazer Rouse	10+?	3
Rebecca	c1808-1838/1839	William Jamison estate Oct 1837	2	1
Margaret	1805/1809-1838	never	0
Male	1810-bef 1820	never	0
Alexander	1811/1812-1839	never	0

Elizabeth welcomed at least 84 grandchildren into the world, although the final arrivals were likely celebrated from the other side.

A few, those that were born in distant locations, she never got to meet and didn’t get to enjoy watching them grow and flourish.

Sadly, she buried 26 of those children, or about one each year, many as babies, except for the children of Ann who moved to Virginia when she married, and Eliza who moved to Indiana after burying some children in Virginia.

Thirty percent, or almost one in three children died, which means that they were actually luckier than some families, where half of their children perished. Of course, these are only the children we know about.

Elizabeth lived long enough for her grandchildren to begin to marry as well, a blessing not afforded to many in that time and place.

Elizabeth and Andrew were married for about 26 years. That’s a long marriage. When he slipped away, all of Elizabeth’s children were still at home except for Sally who married in 1810, and James who had been away at war. At least Andrew was able to welcome his first grandchild, or maybe even two, before he passed over.

Amazingly, Elizabeth did not remarry. She raised all of those 11 or 12 children remaining at home by herself. The youngest, Alexander, may not even have remembered his father. He seems to have been born in 1811 or 1812, so at best, vague, fuzzy memories.

Elizabeth functioned from that point on in the stead of a male farmer. She did what needed to be done – sewed crops and tended to livestock in addition to handling the traditional women’s chores. The reason most people remarried was because raising a family on the frontier was literally a full-time job for two able-bodied people. I wonder how she did it. Her older children must have helped a lot.

Elizabeth was apparently ill, or injured, twice, and recovered. Something happened in 1818 and 1822. She lived for another 24 years after Andrew’s death – nearly a quarter century. She was widowed almost as long as she was married.

For the duration of Elizabeth’s life, she never lived alone. Her last child “at home,” Alexander, died a little over a year after she did, in the spring of 1839.

Margaret, who died when Elizabeth did, would have been her mother’s companion, probably weaving and spinning and working together, side by side. Regardless of who died first, Elizabeth clearly knew that Margaret was very ill and unlikely to survive. She knew the signs of death well.

This door would have shut for the last time behind Elizabeth’s children living in her household when Alexander left on his final journey.

The McKee home descended to James, who died in 1855, the last of the McKee boys, and then passed to generations of his descendants. Stewards of the McKee homestead and Elizabeth’s incredible legacy of enduring strength.

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