The first actual documentation of Ann’s name is found in a 1760 lease where Ann and her husband, Edward Mercer, are leasing land in Frederick County, Virginia to their son, Moses Mercer.  This land was located “under the mountain on the easternmost part of Back Creek.”  Both Edward and Ann sign, so Ann was able to at least sign her name.

This is a picture of that land today.

This branch of the Mercer family was found in Back Creek Valley during the 18th and 19th centuries very near and adjacent to Babb’s Mountain.

Edward Mercer died in 1763, and he named his wife Ann in his will, in addition to his children.

Edward stipulates:

I give and bequeath unto my son Edward Mercer the plantation whereon I now Live containing two hundred and nine Acres and also a survey adjoining thereto containing Ninety six Acres of Land to him his Heirs and assigns forever.

I also Will that my wife shall have the best Rooms in the new House now part built until my son Edward shall build her a compleat house on some part of the plantation at his proper cost which House shall be sixteen foot wide and Twenty foot Long. I also give to my wife Ann Mercer one third part of my parsonal Estate that may remain after the debts and Legacies mentioned are paid.

Lastly I constitute and ordain my well beloved wife Ann Mercer and my son Edward Mercer and Joseph Foset my sole Executors of this my Last Will and Testament revoking and declaring void all former wills and Testaments by me made and done in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

It’s interesting that Edward stipulated that Ann received a new house.  At that time, a house the size of 16X20, especially for only one person, was indeed a luxury.  This also tells us that there were two houses involved, an older home and a new house, partly built.  If Edward Jr. built the new house for his mother, there would be a third house too.

Of course, without more completely identifying the land and doing deed work, we would never be able to tell exactly which land was his and if any of the houses are still standing today.  It’s certainly possible that at least one of them remains.  There are a number of historic houses in the area.

Who was Edward Mercer’s wife, Ann?

A letter written by one Harrington to Wilmer Kerns on Oct. 27, 1993 states that Edward Mercer married Ann Croat, Croats (or Coats) in 1726, and he married second to Mary Gamble. However, we know that Edward was married to Ann when he died, based on his will, so this makes no sense.  Another rumor bites the dust – at least the Mary Gamble portion.

Unfortunately, the Croat portion may be incorrect as well.  We have no direct evidence and only scanty indirect evidence that isn’t particularly positive.

The indirect evidence consists of none of the descendants of Ann Mercer matching anyone with a Croat family  line – except for people who have entered Ann Croat in their family tree.  Even if Ann’s surname was Croat, we might still not have an autosomal DNA match for several reasons.

People from that line might not have tested or the line could have died out, at least the American part of the line.  Europeans aren’t nearly as likely to DNA test as Americans. Or, maybe Croat descendants have tested, but we just just not have inherited any of the same DNA from our common ancestors, or not in sufficient quantity, nine generations later.  So while DNA could potentially prove the Croat surname, it can never truly disprove it unless we discover a different surname to prove – and do.

Edward Mercer was born about 1704 or maybe slightly earlier.  Edward and Ann were having children by about 1724, or shortly thereafter, so Ann was probably born about this same time or maybe just a couple years later.  Aaron Mercer was her youngest child and was not of age in 1762 when Edward wrote his will, so Aaron was born after 1741.  Aaron obtained his own land grant in 1774.  This puts Aaron’s birth between 1741 and 1753, which puts Ann’s birth, if she was age 42 when she had her last child, at between 1699 and 1712.  We know she was born before 1712, because she was having children by 1724, so Ann was likely born between 1699 and 1705.

Edward Mercer Jr. began selling land in 1786 when he sold land near Thomas Babb’s fence and in 1790 when he sold the land left to him my his father, which abutted Thomas Babb’s corner.  This would be the land that his mother was supposed to have the house built upon, so this likely tells us that Ann was deceased by this time, although there is an Ann Mercer on the Southampton County tax list in 1791.  Doubtful that this is her, at the other end of the state and at about 90 years of age, but then again, you never know – and the age fits.  Ann, were she living, would have been about 90 in 1790, give or take a couple years.

Ann and Edward first appear in Frederick County in 1744.  Most of their children would already have been born wherever they came from before Frederick County.  Unfortunately, we don’t know where that was, although from the work done for the Edward Mercer article, it appears that this family was in Chester County, PA at least for a while, and before that possibly in New Castle or Marcus Hook, Delaware.

Rumor states that Edward Mercer immigrated in 1737, but this is very unlikely, unless Ann and children came with him.

Another rumor says that youngest child Aaron’s Revolutionary War pension papers state that he was born in Ireland.  This would mean that his parents were still in Ireland between 1741 and 1753 which we know are the bracketing years of Aaron’s birth.  We know that Edward was already in the court records in Frederick County in 1744, so this gives a brief window of 1741-1742 IF Aaron was actually born in Ireland.

I doubt this evidence seriously, especially in light of the fact that Aaron died in 1800, a full 18 years before the first Revolutionary War pensions were given for those veterans who were destitute.

Regular pensions weren’t awarded until 1832.  The only way Aaron could have a Revolutionary War pension application is if his widow lived long enough to collect, and never remarried.  Just to be safe, I checked www.fold3.com and found no Revolutionary War pension application for Aaron.  If this actually does exist someplace, please send it in my direction.  I’d be very grateful.

Aaron did receive a bounty land warrant for his Revolutionary War service , however, which may be how and why he migrated to Hamilton County, Ohio in the 1790s, building Mercer Station with his sons and sons-in-law at what became Cincinnati.  I did not find bounty land application for Aaron at Fold3 either, but if it exists, his birth information might be included in that document.

Life in Frederick County

What was Ann’s life like in Frederick County, Virginia?  She lived there for at least 20 years and probably 30 or 40.  Ann lived here while the French and Indian War was escalating.  Her husband, Edward, marched off in 1754 to Fort Necessity with General George Washington to participate in the Washington’s first defeat.  What did Edward do?  He did what every self-preserving Virginian would do under the circumstances.  He turned tail and ran, with the rest of the Virginians, back to the fort, leaving the professional soldiers standing alone in an unprotected field to face the French and Indians.  Then, the Virginia men broke into the liquor and got drunk.  Probably not Edward’s proudest moment.  But maybe Ann never knew.  Maybe what happens in Fort Necessity stays in Fort Necessity.  And it would have too, were it not for George Washington’s report describing the event.  But the people of Frederick County would never have seen that report.

What was Ann doing while Edward was off chasing French and Indians?  She was home defending the homestead if need be.  She would have had 2 children who were adults, possibly two more who were of age, and several at home.  She needed to do everything that had to be done with her husband present, except without her husband.  If the family was lucky, they had two guns.  One for Edward to take with him, and one for Ann to use at home.  Edward’s estate showed “2 old guns” so perhaps this is exactly what happened.  I’m betting Ann could shoot with the best of the men.  Frontier women had to be able to take care of themselves – and their family.  It was that or perish – and we know that Ann’s family did not perish.

Edward and Ann also owned land abutting the Indian trader, John VanMeter and his sons.  It’s certainly possible that the friendly relations garnered by the VanMeter family, and the Tuscarora living on the land of neighbor James Crumley paved the way for these families to be left alone – although many of their neighbors up and down the valley were killed or kidnapped.

The brutality was unrelenting.  George Washington reported that many families had abandoned their land and returned back east.  He further said that there were no settlers beyond Winchester, that Winchester was now the edge of the frontier.  That means that they could no longer defend anything further west, and the line of mountains that we see in these photos was indeed the edge of the frontier, where raids occurred daily and one’s property was very likely to be burned.  Only the brave or crazy stayed, and maybe those who remained were some of each.  Needless to say, the Mercer’s remained, but they may have had friends among the traders and Native people that helped pave the way.

Someone else writing about this timeframe also said that anyone who lived in this region has surely lost at least one family member.  Unfortunately, there are no records, but I have to wonder what life was like for Ann, especially when Edward was gone to war.

The year 1763 brought another terror in the form of Pontiac’s War where Chief Pontiac tried and very nearly successfully eradicated European settlers to the seacoast.  Once again, farms were abandoned and life was quite tentative.  Most of Maryland along the eastern side of the mountains was abandoned.  The Virginians weren’t quite as likely to leave – they didn’t in 1754.  But as Quakers, they weren’t very likely to fight either.  These attacks abated in 1765 when Pontiac was killed and the Indians realized their French cohorts were truly defeated.

If Ann lived long enough, she would also have lived to see the Revolutionary War which began another decade later, in 1776.  In many ways, the Revolutionary War was the second or third act of the French and Indian War which culminated with a treaty relative to European settlement that was almost immediately broken, before the ink was even dry.  The Proclamation Line of 1763 might as well not have existed, for all the good it did.  This line was the boundary of which settlers were not to encroach.  That lasted about half a day, if that long.  It’s no wonder that the Native people were constantly furious with the Europeans and their broken promises.  In this case, it appeared that this promise was never meant to be kept and only made to appease the Indians immediately.  If that was the case, it was very short-sighted and caused an immense amount of grief on the frontier.

Apple Pie Ridge

The area of Frederick County where Ann and Edward Mercer settled was bountiful, a good farming area without too many rocks and with plentiful game and clean water.

The area received its name from the numerous apple trees in the area which still exist in abundance today.

Everyplace you look you find apple trees weighted heavily with fruit.  Today, the area is a major exporter for apple juice, but it has always been an apple harvest area.

The ridge, ever-present and always in the distance marked the border and boundary for a long time.  For the Native people, it marked the north/south path across this part of the continent, which became the Wagon Road and then contemporary interstate 81.

We’re fortunate that we are able to generally locate Ann and Edward Mercer’s land based on the proximity to both the Babb Family and James Crumley.  Hannah Mercer, Ann’s daughter married William Crumley, the son of James Crumley, who also lived on Apple Pie Ridge Road.  The photo above is taken on the land between Edward Mercer’s land and William Crumley’s land, near the border of Virginia and West Virginia, in northern Frederick County.  The ridge however, runs the entire distance of the county, and much further.  Winchester, Virginia is not called the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley for nothing.

I was recently able to take a driving tour of the area that would have encompassed Ann and Edward Mercer’s land in Frederick County.

On this map of Frederick County, the forested area to the right of and above Cedar Grove is Babb’s Mountain.  To the right of Babb’s Mountain would have been Babb’s Great Meadow.  Cattail Run is the eastern most portion of Back Creek.  The road labeled 677 is known as “Old Baltimore Road” and it is the old way, literally, from the east coast.  You can always tell which are the truly old roads by the age of the homes on the road.

Just slightly on north, we find White Hall and then just north, at the top of this screen shot, the James Crumley home on Apple Pie Ridge Road (just above the 739 sign) – about 3 miles today between the Mercer area and the James Crumley area.

Let’s take a driving tour and see what the area is like.

Babb’s Mountain and the Old Baltimore Road

Starting at Old Baltimore Road and Babb’s Mountain Road, the area looking towards Apple Pie Ridge is quite pleasant.  People graze cattle, as Edward Mercer did.  The could well have been the area called “Babb’s Great Meadow.”

Looking back toward Babb’s Mountain, which can be seen from anyplace within several miles proximity, we can clearly see the mountain and the lands at the base or “under the mountain” as the early deeds said.

This is the land of beautiful barns.  Stunningly beautiful barns.  The Mercer’s barn was surely much larger than their house.  They were then and still are today.

And of course, this is the land of never-ending apple trees with the ever-present ridge in the background.

When a man died in Virginia in the 1700s, his estate inventory included everything in the household.  The wife had to “buy back” whatever she wanted, AFTER his debts were settled, if anything was left, so the estate inventory was comprehensive.

Edward Mercer’s estate inventory would reflect Ann’s possessions too, although legally, she didn’t have any possessions except her dower right which was one third of the value of the land.  Edward left Ann one third of his personal possessions, which would have included furniture, pots and pans and such.  I’ve always wondered how the man though his wife would “make do” without two thirds of her things – meaning all of the tools she had been using before his death to take care of the family.  Two thirds of the need didn’t disappear because he did.  Some men just split everything between the children and omitted the wife entirely.  Of course, I’m sure the wife wasn’t absolved of the work, just relieved of most of her tools to do that work.

Edward’s estate included apple cyder, of course, which tells us they had apple trees.  Apple presses, similar to the one shown below, were used to extract the juice from the apples before it became cyder, or hard cyder.

Apples not made into cyder were boiled in large cauldrons and turned into apple butter which was used in place of butter.

Interestingly enough, a newly found cousin who grew up in Frederick County sent me this tidbit about local apple tradition:

“When I was a kid, the neighbors annually gathered and snitzed apples for cider on Friday, then all day Saturday would be cooking down apple butter.  A high school classmate of mine lives near where you were in Virginia and they continue the ritual every year.”

Of course, I had to ask what snitzing apples was.

“Scnitz or Snitz is Pennsylvania “Dutch” for dried apple slices. We used it as a verb (to make snitz’s) as we sat around peeling, coring and slicing the apples. We didn’t dry them.. they went for apple butter.  As a kid, my favorite part was the apple peeling machine. I was pretty happy over there cranking away watching the apple whirl around while the blade took the peeling off.”

Thank you so much cousin Tom for sharing a bit of our apple culture heritage.

Another item in Edward’s estate that certainly wasn’t his was a loom.  The loom would have been paired with the unbroken flax (flax that had not yet been shelled) which would have eventually been spun and woven.  Interestingly enough, there is no spinning wheel, which makes me wonder why.  Was Ann only a weaver and someone else did the spinning.  A loom is no small item, which maybe is why Edward stipulated the size of Ann’s house to be built.  Colonial Williamsburg includes a wonderful page on Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing practices of this timeframe.

This, along with casks of flax seeds tells us that one of the plants grown on the Mercer plantation was flax, used to spin linen threads which was then woven into cloth, then made into clothing.  It’s no wonder that clothes were listed in estate inventories and most people only had one outfit – and that’s what they were buried in.

Cloth itself was quite valuable, not just within the home, but as a commodity.  Thread and linen fabric was quite difficult to make and required several discrete steps after harvest including shelling, bleaching, drying, crimping, cleaning, combing or hackling and spinning.  It was easier to spin linen if you added a bit of wool, hence linsey-woolsey.  In spite of this, the average frontier home would produce about 62 yards of cloth per year.  Of course this had to clothe everyone.  A good piece of clothing would buy 20 acres or more.

Ironically, those women who wove that valuable cloth went barefoot in the summer – hence the saying, “barefoot and pregnant.”

Religion

Religion, in some cases, is guilt by association.  That’s the way Quakers are.  We know that Ann was a Quaker because Edward was a Quaker.  We know Edward was a Quaker because he got thrown out of the Quaker church in 1759 for drinking to excess.

Ironic isn’t it that his estate had absolutely no liquor, nor still.  Perhaps Edward was too friendly with his Quaker neighbor, James Crumley, who did indeed own a still.  Edward’s daughter Hannah married James Crumley’s son, William.  James and Edward would have been contemporaries.  James died in 1764, about the same time that Edward died.  They lived down the road from each other for the entire time they lived in Frederick County, and they attended the same church – well – up until Edward got the boot.  There is a good possibility that they came to Frederick County together, because both men are first found there in 1744.  During this time, there was a significant migration of Quakers from the Chester County, PA region – and Ann and Edward Mercer may have been among them.

If Ann was not a Quaker, Edward would have been thrown out of the church much sooner, for marrying outside the church.  Therefore we know Ann was Quaker.

The Hopewell Friends Meeting House was established in Frederick County in 1734 and this is the church that both the Crumleys and Mercers would have attended.

Ann would certainly have attended this church from 1744 up until 1759 when Edward got himself removed from the church.  How Ann reacted to this is unknown.  She still had young children at home.  Was Ann too embarrassed to attend church after Edward got into trouble?  Was she painted with the same brush?  Was she ostracized or unwelcome because of his behavior?  Or did Ann just lift up her chin and attend, deciding that she could not control Edward but she was going to go to church with him or without him?  Was that allowed once he had gotten himself in trouble?  How did Edward’s actions affect Ann’s relationship within the church, officially and unofficially?

How did this episode affect Ann’s relationship with others in the community?  How did if affect Edward’s relationship with Ann?  Was she supportive of Edward or disgusted with him?  Was she simply tolerant of his activities, or actively opposed?  Did Edward truly have a drinking problem, or did he have a wild Saturday night?  From the church statement, it appears that he is “drinking to excess” not just having an isolated binge or having too much fun at an apple snitzing.  This is also the same church that overlooked the fact that James Crumley was distilling liquor and made him a vestryman in the Anglican church representing the Quaker interests.

Did Edward have a drinking problem by “Quaker standards” or did Edward truly have a drinking problem?  I hope he was not mean to Ann or the children.  Alcoholism seems to be such a continuing theme in my family.

How this affected the family has a direct impact on where Ann was buried.  Was she still a Quaker at her death?  Was she a practicing Quaker?  Did her children bury her in the Quaker Cemetery or did they bury her beside Edward, who was surely NOT buried in the Quaker Cemetery?

This also makes me wonder where Ann’s son, John Mercer, was buried in 1748 when he died.  Is he buried in the Hopewell Cemetery?  This was before Edward Mercer got himself into trouble, so it’s likely that Ann and Edward’s son, John, is buried here.  I surely wonder what caused the death of a young man.  And I wonder if Ann is buried by John or by Edward.  Ann outlived Edward by at least 23 years and possibly more.  A lot can change in that time.  Had she initially been very angry with him, that could have mellowed, especially after his death.

One of my friends whose husband had been exceedingly difficult for her to deal with for many years was grieving her husband after his death.  Talking to her before his death, I would have expected her to be the merry widow.  I knew her well enough to ask her about the discrepancy, and she blessed me with these words of wisdom, “Honey, some of them are a lot easier to love after they are dead.”  Touche!!!

Furthermore, Ann didn’t have to decide where she was going to be buried.  That fell to her children.

Perhaps the earliest burials at Hopewell are found here, in the center, under this ancient tree who stands silent sentry.  Perhaps Ann rests here.  If trees could only talk.

Children and Descendants

Ann and Edward Mercer had seven children that lived to adulthood.  Son John died before both Edward and Ann in 1748, in Frederick County, already an adult.

• Richard Mercer could have been the Richard who married a woman named Mary and lived in Berkeley County. John Mercer mentioned a brother Richard in his 1748 will that was filed in Winchester.  It’s difficult to tell when Richard first appears in the records because there is an earlier Richard that is found with Edward Mercer as well.
• Elizabeth Mercer was born about (or after) 1724 and married by 1748 to William Heath who was born on Sept. 18, 1724. William was mentioned in the 1748 will of his brother-in-­law, John Mercer.
• John Mercer was born circa 1727 and died in 1748, apparently unmarried. John lived in Frederick County, where his will is on file in the courthouse. His father, Edward Mercer, was named administrator for his estate.
• Moses Mercer was of age and leasing land from his father by 1760. Moses was born in 1732 and died in 1805, in Frederick County. Appraisers of Moses’ estate were Jacob Rinker, Richard Barrett, and Thomas Babb. Moses married Dinah Morrison, who was called Dianna in his will. She was born Dec. 24, 1729, and died in April 1810. After Moses’ death in 1804, Dinah received all moveable property during her natural life, plus one-third of profits from real estate. She wrote her will on April 10, 1810 and it was probated June 7, 1810. Witnesses were Aaron and John Mercer, and John Barnard. Her close friend, Abraham Lewis was named the executor. Moses and Dinah signed their names with an X “His mark” and “Her mark,” respectively.
• Hannah Mercer married William Crumley about 1763 and had died by 1774. Hannah was mentioned in the will of her brother John in 1748, and in the will of Elizabeth Morris in 1760. This begs the question of the identity of Elizabeth Morris? Might this be a clue to the identity of Hannah’s mother, Ann?
• Edward Mercer (Jr.) was given “the plantation where I now live – 209 acres plus adjoining 96 acre survey” by his father. Edward was born about 1744. His age was proven from a deposition given in the Augusta County Circuit Court. The name of his spouse is not known.
• Aaron Mercer, the youngest son, not of age in 1752 – served in Revolutionary War. On October 28, 1799 he obtained a Virginia Revolutionary War land grant in Ohio and moved to Ohio. Reportedly in his pension application (which is not at www.fold3.com as of 9-15-2015) he says he was born in Ireland. Aaron died on December 17, 1800 in Hamilton County, Ohio and is buried in the Old (Columbia) Baptist Graveyard. Given that there were no Revolutionary War pensions before 1818, there would have been no pension application by him, although if his wife, Elizabeth Carr, was still living, she could have applied in either 1818 as destitute or 1832/33 as a surviving veteran’s wife. She is reported to have died in 1820, so I’m quite suspicious of the claim that his Revolutionary War pension paperwork stated that he was born in Ireland.

Of these children, only two are females.  Both Ruth and Hannah had daughters.  These daughters would propagate the mitochondrial DNA of Ann Mercer.  Woman give their mitochondrial DNA to both genders of their children, but it is only passed on by the females.  Today, to see what Ann’s mitochondrial DNA looks like, we need to find someone who descends from Ann through all females to the current generation.  The current generation can be male.  From Ann’s mitochondrial DNA, we can look through a periscope back in time to see where her ancestors were from in the world – and we might be lucky enough to match a Croat female line.  Could we be that lucky?

• Hannah Mercer married William Crumley and had daughter Ann who married Thomas Reese and had four daughters, Hannah, Nancy, Rachel and Sarah.
• Hannah Mercer Crumley also had daughter Catherine who married James Mooney and then John Eyre. She had daughters Catherine, Mary (Polly), Eliza, Hannah and Nancy. This family migrated to Fayette County, Ohio.
• Ann’s daughter Elizabeth Mercer married William Heath. Nothing further is known about this couple.

If you descend from these women, I’d love to hear from you and if you descend through all females to the current generation (you can be a male), there is a DNA scholarship waiting for you!

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I had been planning to make my way to Apple Pie Ridge for some time now, when an opportunity presented itself by way of a speaking engagement in Richmond, VA in the fall of 2015.  I checked the map, and sure enough, Apple Pie Ridge, where my Quaker ancestors, James Crumley and his wife, Catherine, lived, was right on the way home.

When driving in Frederick County close to Apple Pie Ridge, how the Ridge obtained its name becomes immediately obvious.

There are indeed apple orchards everyplace.  This time of year, the apples are being harvested and there are semis taking the apples to be processed into yummy goodies that will provide people from all over the US with apple products until next year’s harvest.

However, this is not how James and Catherine would have harvested apples or what they would have done with them.  The Museum of the Shenandoah, in Winchester, VA, provides a wonderful exhibit of farm implements of yesteryear, including an apple picker, right under the “What is it?” question, below.

I had no idea what this was, being so long, but when they provided the answer – it seemed obvious.

Since we’re on the subject, the item on the bottom is a mash stirrer.  Mash, for those who don’t know, is part of the whiskey making process.  James Crumley was a Quaker, but a still was listed in his estate inventory, so he would likely have used one of these as well.

Directly under the basket of the apple picker is a weighing system.  James had a brass scales, stillyards and money scales in his estate inventory too, so it probably looked something like this.

Apples, however, were not made into whiskey, but into “cyder’ and sometimes hard cyder and things like applesauce and applebutter.  Not to mention items like pies, but pies didn’t keep.  Apples were also dried.

Below, an apple butter pot probably similar to one Catherine would have used.

When I was a child, we made a lot of applesauce and applebutter, but we did not cook it in a pot outdoors, although some of the “less progressive” families did – in the same outside facility they used for maple sugar in the winter time.

And of course, there was apple juice which preceded hard cyder.

The first step to juicing apples were to press them in an apple press similar to the one above.

Apples were a staple in Frederick County and were raised with little effort to provide for the family for the upcoming winter and until next fall.  Today, they are an important cash crop for the families of the region.  The orchards are beautiful, but it’s surprising that there are few farm markets.  We did find one, but it was a bit north, towards Martinsville in Berkeley Co., West Virginia.

Orr’s Farm Market sells lots of different varieties of apples.  They also allow tasting and the apples were so good.  I was surprised at how different the differing varieties tasted.

The Ridge

Sometimes when you visit a location, things become obvious which were not obvious previously.  For example, that there was a ridge of mountains that “began” the Blue Ridge just to the west of James and Catherine Crumley’s land.  Apple Pie Ridge Road runs along that ridge, parallel, in the valley, north to south.

The “good land” for faming lies in that valley to the east of those mountains which run the length of the county and of course into two adjacent counties, one to the south in Virginia, the beginning of the Shenandoah Valley and then extending north into Berkeley County, West Virginia.  In fact, James and Catherine also owned land in Berkeley County, just a hop, skip and a jump up the road.

Who Was Catherine?

Catherine has been rumored to be a Gilkey, but I doubt seriously if she is.  Or better stated, other than family stories, there is nothing at all to substantiate this claim, and several reasons to introduce questions.

In Paul Morton’s book, “The Crumley Family,” he reports that James married a Scottish lass named Catherine Gilkey in 1732 in Chester County, PA, but he provided no documentation.  A Scottish lass would have been Presbyterian.  If James had married a Presbyterian, he would have been dismissed from the Quaker Church, so either she became Quaker or he did not marry a Presbyterian.

Paul Nichols reports in his document, The Crumley Family, that “very old family records from Richard Griffith, a prominent Frederick County genealogist, indicate that the Gilkeys may have been the parents of his wife Catherine, but no marriage documentation has ever been found.”

At the Handley Library and Archives in Winchester, VA, among the papers of Richard Griffin, a local genealogist from the 1930’s is the following dating from 1872:

“NOTES ON MY FAMILY”

Written by Aaron H. Griffith, 1872

“My grandfather John Griffith 2nd married Mary Faulkner daughter of Jesse Faulkner and Mary his wife. Mary Faulkner was the daughter of James Cromley and his wife Catherine. James Cromley lived on Apple Pie Ridge on land he bought from his father-in-law Davie Gilkie. This land was originally granted by the King to our kinsmen James Wright and John Litler in 1734 who sold it to John Cheadle the eminent Friend who lived in eastern Virginia. John Cheadle sold it to David Gilkie who as I have said sold it to his son-in-law James Cromley, who in turn, willed it to his son John Cromley. John Cromley sold it to his brother-in-law Jesse Faulkner who sold it in 1778 to his son-in-law John Griffith. There my father was born, and there I was born on the 11th of the 3rd Mo. 1802.”

Of all the evidence, this seems to be the most credible, because Aaron Griffith was born only 40 years after James Crumley died, and only a couple years after James’ wife Catherine died.  His parents and family would have known this family first hand.

In 1758, it seems that James Crumley had a bit of a meltdown in court, potentially having to do with Barbara Gilkey Hagen, the remarried wife of David Gilkey.  If Catherine Crumley is a Gilkey, Barbara is her mother.  In the court records, the first record immediately before a proceeding with Barbara Hagen having to do with her bond (probably in conjunction with an estate, probably David Gilkey’s estate), states that it was ordered “that the sheriff take James Crumley into custody for behaving indecently before the court.”  In a 1936 letter, J. W. Baker, another Frederick County genealogist interpreted this behavior as evidence of some kind of family row.

However, James could have been in court to testify for Barbara, or it may have been circumstantial.  I do have to wonder what would provoke a Quaker into doing something “indecent” before the court.

If Catherine was the daughter of David and Barbara Gilkey, why are there no children named David or Barbara?

Sometimes family stories are true, but sometimes, they aren’t.  In this case, we have two stories to choose from.

There is also another family story that Catherine in a Bowen which has exactly as much credibility as the Gilkey story, and for exactly the same reason.

The Bowen rumor says that Catherine was the daughter of Henry Bowen.  James Crumley and Henry Bowen were neighbors in Frederick County, VA, but James Crumley’s marriage to Catherine took place years before in Pennsylvania.

However, “A.C. Nash, David Williams Cassat and Lillian May Berryhill: their descendants and ancestors,” (1986) has a chapter on the Crumleys. This book indicates Catherine may have been a Bowen and not a Gilkey.

Dorothy T. Hennen in “Hennen’s Choice: a compilation of the descendants of Matthew … “(1972), page 390, also suggests Catherine was a Bowen.

There is other circumstantial evidence that also hints at this possibility.  In Virginia, at that time, when a man died, three men were assigned to appraise his estate.  Typically, one was the dead man’s largest creditor, one was someone in the wife’s family, and one was a disinterested party.  The three individuals had to agree on the value of the man’s estate, with the exception of his land, and submit their report to the court to be filed.

The three men who appraised James Crumley’s estate after his death in 1764 included Henry Bowen.  If Catherine was a Bowen, then this Henry was her brother.  Of course, the Bowens were neighbors, so it’s impossible to surmise whether this interaction was a result of living in the same neighborhood or being related to Catherine.

There is a Bowen family in the Nottingham Quakers book referencing the church in Cecil County Maryland, adjoining Chester County, PA, but there is no Henry and no David or Barbara Gilkey, nor a Catherine Gilkey or Bowen mentioned.

I do, however, know why both stories exist.  James Crumley bought land from both David Gilkey and Henry Bowen, both men reputed to have been the father of Catherine.

On October 1, 1745, James purchased 219 acres of a 438 acre tract, part of a November 12, 1735 patent from the Colony issued to James Wright and John Littler who later sold the land to David and Barbara Gilkey his wife. (Tract 71A, Map 5.) James Crumley paid 37 pounds to the Gilkeys, who had lived on the land. James then sold the Gilkey land to his son John on February 28, 1757 for 25 shillings. Later, the same 219 acres was willed to John in his father’s will.  Perhaps James wanted to assure that John did actually receive this land.

On April 1, 1755, Henry Bowen sells to James Crumley for 5 shillings a tract of land containing 53 acres being part of a larger tract containing 103 acres.  It’s signed by Henry Bowen and witnessed by Charles Parkins and Evan Thomas and recorded in Deed Book 3, page 447.

Granted, 5 shillings is an artificially low price for 53 acres, but then again, we don’t know what kind of land constituted that 53 acres.  It could have been prime, cleared farmland or swamp – and that would make a huge difference in how much the land was worth.

Henry Bowen’s land abutted James land – so they were neighbors as well.

However, Henry Bowen left a will and named his children; Henry, John, Jacob, Mary, Hannah, Margaret, Jean, Ann and Persilla.  He lists both Isaac Eaton and Peter Babb as sons-in-law, but neither a daughter Catherine nor a son-in-law James Crumley are mentioned.  Henry did, before his death, deed land to daughter Presilla and her husband, William Gaddis, but Presilla is still mentioned in Henry’s will. In the deeds where Henry Bowen sells to his children, the price is “for love and affection.”  Of course, none of this resolves the 5 shilling question relative to James Crumley.

James Crumley married his wife, Catherine, before they came to Frederick County.  In fact, he married her several years before, back when they were living in Chester County, PA, and I have yet to find any record of either David Gilkey or Henry Bowen in Chester County, PA. Now of course, one can’t prove a negative, but autosomal DNA testing and matching has also failed to connect to either of these families.  Again, that’s not proof that Catherine is not a Gilkey or a Bowen, but together the evidence is suggestive that she is not.  Said another way, the DNA evidence is not suggestive that Catherine was a Gilkey or a Bowen, but new people test daily and we don’t know what the future will hold.

Unfortunately, we have no idea, besides those two stories, what Catherine’s surname might be.

However, what we do know is that James and Catherine did not live on the Gilkey land.  How do we know this?  Because James was considerate enough to die with a will.  In his will, he left ”the plantation” to his youngest son Samuel, and when John sold that land in 1793, the deed very specifically said that this was the land James purchased of Giles Chapman.  In James Crumley’s will, John inherited the Gilkey land.  We know this because John states such when he sells that tract as well.

Virginia tax records indicate that Catherine lived for at least another 18 years after James Crumley’s death, as she is listed as a white female head of household in 1782 with one white male and three blacks, and in 1783 with two slaves, two horses, and seven head of cattle. Her name continues to appear in the records until 1787, with an additional 3 slaves.  The white male was probably John, because Samuel appears to be dead by 1768 or Samuel.

There is no 1790 census, and John sells the land in 1793, so Catherine is assuredly gone by this time.  By 1782, Catherine would have been about 70 years old, or perhaps slightly younger.  She lived to be at least 75.

The 1793 deed from John Crumly and wife Hannah, then of Newberry in the 96 District of SC, tells us that the tract contains 150 acres and is part of a larger tract granted to Giles Chapman by grant and that he conveyed that land to James Crumley and then a second tract granted by James Crumley and devised in his will to Samuel Crumley and said John Crumly was his heir.  This tells us that Samuel probably was underage when he died and John was likely James’ eldest son.  Another possibility is that Samuel was not underage when he died, and moved away, leaving a will elsewhere that names his brother as his heir.  There is no Samuel Crumley will in Frederick County.

There is also a very interesting deed from William Crumley, Henry Crumley and Thomas Doster, all of Frederick County, on January 30, 1768 where they are bound to their brother John Crumly for the sum of 1000 pounds to secure their obligation that after the death of their mother Katherine Crumly they convey all their rights to the plantation on which she now resides and to allow said John Crumly the quiet possession of said property, signed by the same.  Witnesses were Henry Ross, M. Morgan, John Lindsey Jr. and Josiah Pickett, recorded in Deed Book 12, page 351.

Thomas Doster marries Mary, the daughter of Catherine and James, so he is the brother-in-law of Henry, William and John.

This indicates that Samuel had died by 1768, but sometime after the 1757 will.  That would explain why Katherine was living on the estate that John owned and he would eventually retain possession. If Samuel were living, Katherine would have been living with him on the home plantation that Samuel would have owned.

This means that Catherine, probably after burying her husband, also buried her son.

The Crumley Home

Sometimes luck smiles on a genealogist, and it smiled on me.  When researching James Crumley, cousins discovered that the home he and Catherine once owned was now a historic property and had been lovingly restored.

When visiting Frederick County, I had only planned to drive by, pull into the driveway by the road, and take some photos.  I was accompanied by my Crumley cousin, Pam.  However, when we arrived, the property is fairly heavily treed, and while you can see the house, you can’t see all of the house.

Pam and I decided to muster our combined courage and go to the door to ask permission to take closer photos of the house.  The dog was chained, so we felt relatively safe.  The owner came to the door, was a bit surprised to say the least, but was extremely gracious and provided a great deal of information.  She went inside to call her husband who had information in his office, and when she came back outside, she offered to give us an impromptu tour of the old section of the house.

Pam and I thought we had died and gone to heaven.  This is the house that Catherine would have lived in – all two rooms of it – from the time she was about 30 years old until her death.  She clearly had children within these walls, because in 1757, when James made his will, at least one of her children, Samuel, was underage, indicating he was born sometime after 1736.  Catherine would have had children until she was in her early-mid 40s, 42 or 43, so about 1754 or 1755. When Catherine was the woman of the house, she would have been managing at least 5 children, if not more, plus her husband, herself and at least 4 slaves in these two rooms.  Not exactly a wealthy plantation owner.

The second half of the house was added in the 1800s as a separate building that shared a wall, but at that time, there was no connection inside between the two halves of the house.  You had to go outside to go into the “other half” from whichever half you were in.  You can clearly see the divide, looking at the front of the house.  Cousin Pam and a friendly cat are posing, below.  The old half is on the left.

In the photo below, the original log cabin is the part with the fireplace, and the entire section beginning with the door that extends to the rear (left) was added as a third section much later.

Eventually, the owners, sometime in the late 1800s cut an inside doorway between the two halves of the house.  A rear addition was also put on, doubling the size of the house.  However, the piece that Catherine would recognize was the left part, looking straight on to the house from the road, which is the right section in the photo above, taken from the side.  Furthermore, the upper level was at one time raised to make a full story.  In Catherine’s day, it was about half-height – perfect for children.

This picture is of the original chimney.  You can see that it was extended with bricks when the roof was raised.  The chimney must extend above the roof to prevent the roof from catching on fire, so the original roof was likely below the second story window that was added when the second floor was raised.

When Catherine lived here, it was a half story and probably where the children slept.

This floor, upstairs, is most likely original.

My ancestor, Catherine’s son William Crumley, born in 1735 or 1736, climbed these stairs and played on this floor, perhaps, and slept in this very room, but probably not in a bed by himself.  Children shared beds – those children lucky enough to sleep in a bed and not on straw on the floor.

The upstairs was accessible through an unusual stairway beside the fireplace.  In the photo below, you can see the yellow door to the far right.

It’s extremely narrow and is accessible today.  Here is what it looks like from the upstairs.

Here is cousin Pam emerging from the stairway on the bottom floor.  You can tell from her smile what a wonderful day we are having!

There are two original windows that remain.

One original windows is shown in the photo above to the right of the fireplace on the lower floor  An exact duplicate looks into the second half of the house.  Of course, at one time, that second window looked outside.

The house is dark (without lights) as it would have been when Catherine lived there.  The only other source of light would have been a front and back door.  The front door is original.  That in itself is absolutely incredible, almost 300 years later.

This “old” door is far more substantial than any door manufactured today.

The logs of the house itself can still be seen in the rear of the original part where the new addition was added.  The owners exposed that portion and it’s beautiful.  It’s now part of a hallway.

You can see the square headed forged nails.

It’s unusual, but there were rows of rock between the logs.

Here, you can see the logs chinked together at what was the original corner of the house.

Looking down, there is a metal something sticking out of the log.  We don’t know what this is.

You can see another view of this metal piece in a photo provided by Pam.

If anyone knows what it is, please let me know.

Pam and I both had to touch the logs – knowing that James and Catherine both touched them.

The current owner has marked “age lines” with each of her children’s birthdays on the door jam.  I remember my mother doing the same thing, and it makes me wonder if Catherine did something similar, oh so long ago.

Looking at James Crumley’s estate inventory, we can get some idea of how much furniture they had and where it might have fit in the two room cabin.

James had “beds and furniture” but unfortunately, they don’t tell us how many beds – although we know there was more than one.  About the only other things inside the house were brass scales, stillyards and money scales for conducting business, chests, pewter, stove and kitchen iron ware.  It says nothing about plates and such, and often those things are listed individually.  It also does not list any books or a Bible.  Nor a mirror.  Nor pewter plates, so they likely ate out of wooden trenchers.  While James did have a nontrivial amount of “cash, silver, gold and paper” to the tune of 26 pounds, and he was owed notes for 119 pounds, they didn’t seem to have much in terms of physical property.

Catherine probably cooked over the fire in the fireplace.  There could possibly have been an outside kitchen as well, but so far, nothing like that has come to light.  There would be evidence of a cooking area, and none has been found.

Furthermore, there have been no slave quarters found either, and we know that James had at least four slaves and Catherine continued to have slaves through the 1787 tax list.  Did they sleep with the family or perhaps upstairs with the children?

And then there was the matter of the still…

The Still

A still was not a common estate inventory item in Frederick County.  This means that not everyone had one, and I’m guessing that most of the Quaker men did not have a still.  But James assuredly did, and used it liberally according to his estate inventory where he had 15 gallons of liquor, a cyder mill and casks.

This still likely caused Catherine no small amount of heartburn.  This family was Quaker, but they apparently weren’t fanatically Quaker.  How much trouble did this still cause Catherine at church or within the community?  For that matter, did it cause trouble at home?

Or is the fact that there was so much debt owed to James indicative of the fact that he was a successful “businessman” within the community?  Yes, he appeared to be a shoemaker, but he also appeared to be what we would term a moonshiner today.

However, there may be more to this story than we already know.

The road that intersects Apple Pie Ridge Road in front of James and Catherine’s home is called Tuscarora Road.  The current owner told us that the Tuscarora migrated through the area.  This makes perfect sense given that they left North Caroline beginning in 1713 after the Tuscarora War, and groups migrated back and forth from then until the last group left North Carolina for New York in the early 1800s.  There are many place names along the Blue Ridge mountains, roughly paralleling I81, that include the word Tuscarora. In fact, Tuscarora Creek runs through the center of Martinsville, West Virginia, the next county north of Frederick County.

The local people tell us that the Tuscarora camped and lived in these locations for some time.  It’s unlikely that they all left.  Some would have worked and traded within the community.

We visited the historic village of Gerrardstown, about 10 miles north of James Crumley’s land where the “History of Gerrardstown” also told us the same story – that the Tuscarora were found throughout this area and along the ridge as they migrated to the north – except this book also says that the Tuscarora lived here.  There are many local areas and landmarks there with Tuscarora in their name.

Did the fact that James Crumley had a still have something to do with why the Tuscarora continued to stay and perhaps live on his land?  Was he simply an opportunist after discovering that the Tuscarora, whose chiefs had asked the whites not to provide drink to their Indian men, were camping and perhaps living on his land?  Is that part of why he carried so very much debt owed to him?

How did Catherine feel about this?  It makes me wonder if their “slaves” were African or if they were perhaps Indian – although if they were Indian it begs the question of why they simply did not just leave.  If they were Indian, they would not have been Tuscarora, but captives of other tribes that the Tuscarora held or sold or maybe used to pay their debts.  The men captives were often killed, but the women and children, being much easier to control and less likely to cause trouble, were generally sold into bondage.

There may be yet more to this story to be unraveled.

The French and Indian War

This part of the country was incessantly raided, up and down this valley, during the French and Indian War which began in 1754.  The old Indian Path became the Wagon Road which has now become I81.  During the French and Indian War, this area became the ingress and egress for both the French and hostile Indians conducting raids, hoping to drive the settlers out of their area and back from whence they came.

Areas from Martinsburg into Gerrardstown and down the valley through Winchester and further south were raided by the French and Indians.  This is exactly where James and Catherine lived – on the old main road.

Prisoners were taken, settler families were killed and life during this time period was in a state of upheaval.  In some areas, entire counties were abandoned, to be resettled later.  But that didn’t happen in Frederick County.  These settlers stayed put right where they were.  They had put down roots and they weren’t going anyplace, not even upon threat of death.

The Tuscarora Indians sided with the Americans.  Perhaps the proximity of the Tuscarora to James Crumley provided him with some modicum of protection – or at least forewarning.  Neither James nor any of his sons show any record of having served in this conflict, with the exception of one entry regarding being absent from militia service.  James would have been in his early 40s and his eldest sons between 18 and 20, so any of these men could have served.  Maybe their Quaker religion precluded it in their case, but their Quaker religion did not seem to preclude the still.  Perhaps they were selectively Quaker.

Cousin Jerry Crumly in his book, “Pioneer Ancestors: Crumley, Copeland et al” states the following:

At a Court Martial convened in Frederick County, Virginia on October 13, 1760, Captain Lewis Moore returned his muster roll and ordered that John Crumley, of the company commanded by Captain Moore, be fined 40 shillings for absenting from three private and one general muster.ⁱ Again, it seems unusual for a Quaker to be a member of a military unit, but here is evidence that John was in the militia during the French and Indian War. Hopewell Friends History, 1734 to 1934, Frederick Co., VA records that “in the years 1754-1755 a determined effort was made by the colonial government to force Friends to bear arms against the French and Indians, and upon their steady refusal some of them were beaten and imprisoned.”ⁱⁱ Perhaps John Crumley and his father, James, both found it preferable to serve in the militia rather than to be beaten and imprisioned. John’s Court Martial would indicate that his heart really wasn’t in it.

I have to wonder if Catherine ever hid in the cellar.  This is one of the very few log cabins I’ve ever seen with a cellar.  Would the cellar have been considered an area of safety or a sure trap with no exit?  Did the men have guns to protect the homeplace?  No guns are listed in James Crumley’s estate inventory in 1764, just a few years later.

Catherine was raising her children on a frontier that was also a war zone – a situation that never entirely resolved until after the Revolutionary War ended.  Catherine lived to see that as well.  Of her three sons, we know nothing of the children of Henry, but William and John had 8 sons between them.  We know that son William, then living just north of Catherine on land once owned by James and Catherine spanning the border with Berkeley County, now West Virginia, provided supplies for the use of the Revolutionary army.  He was allowed 5 pounds for 8 days of service as a “receiver” in collecting clothing and provisions.  He also contributed 11 bushels and a peck of wheat along with his wife’s brother-in-law and his wife’s step-father.

Perhaps those supplies were stored in William’s barn, shown above, on land left to William by his father, once granted to James and Catherine by Lord Fairfax.

Fortunately for Catherine, and the other settlers, there were no actual battles in Frederick County in the Revolutionary War.  However, when living there, with war and raids raging all around, following the French and Indian War which was not really resolved until 1763 – it must have felt like there was always some kind of unrest and conflict that threatened not only your possessions and home, but your very life and that of your children and grandchildren. This must have somehow become “normal” to Catherine, because life went on.  She raised her children and did all the things that needed to be done – somehow.  Both before and after James’ death.

Let’s take a look at how Catherine would have lived on the farm, outside of her 2 room cabin.  One thing is for sure, with very little space, most activities other than some cooking, sleeping and keeping warm in the winter likely took place outside.

Out Buildings

There were some outbuildings on the property.  The one I find the most interesting is nestled behind the house.  It’s quite close today, but before the additions, it was a bit further away.  The owner thinks it may have been a smokehouse just for hanging meat, since no evidence of fire has been found there either.  She does not think it’s original to the property, but it does look quite old and I wonder if it is.  It’s log, not sawed planks, so it likely predates a sawmill.

This little building is just fascinating.

I wondered about this house being for the still, but a still would have required a fire as well, and there is no evidence of a fire being built inside this building.  The owner told us that the construction was said to have been of Irish origin by on one of the individuals who came to look at the property when it was being listed on the Historic Register.  of course, since we don’t know when it was constructed, we don’t know if this is a hint as to James and Catherine Crumley’s origins or not.  We don’t even know who said it was Irish, why, and if that was accurate or not.

There are two other outbuilding, but both of them date to after the Crumley’s owned this land.

This building was rebuilt with many of the original materials.

This corn crib has never been rebuilt, but doesn’t date to when Catherine lived here.

The original well still exists too, just a few feet in front of the house.  Behind the house, down a hill, is a creek.  I’m sure the well was a welcome addition, but I doubt it was here when Catherine was alive.  She, I’m sure, walked to the creek, or sent her children or slaves.

Another outbuilding that is “gone” would be the outhouse, of course.

One final building was the all-important barn.  The barn on this property was substantial.  The owner indicated that the barn was in very poor condition when they bought the property some 40+ years ago.  They felt it was a second barn built on an original foundation.  The foundation remains, and we could see differences in construction styles in different sections.

Ironically, the barn was substantially larger than the original log cabin house.

Last on the tour was the cellar.  While many people would not find this exciting, we did.  We don’t know if James built this cabin or not, but it was rather “deluxe” for its time with two rooms and a cellar – albeit a dirt floor cellar.  It would have provided storage for root vegetables through the winter and probably storage for perishables like milk in the summer as well.

These steps would have been original of course, although the doors have been just recently replaced..

These stones are huge and very heavy.  I wonder how they found or quarried them, transported them and placed them.

The chestnut beams supporting the house are in amazing condition considering their age and moist conditions under the house.

Based on modifications made to the walls for ductwork, we could see the significant depth of the walls.  This looks more like a fort than a house.  Maybe this is part of the answer as to the defense of the family.  It could also explain why there are rocks between the logs.  Rocks deflect gunfire better than wood.

These walls appear to be more than 2 feet thick in some areas.

The Cemetery?

Where is Catherine buried?  That’s a good question.  Most likely, where James and her son Samuel are buried.  So, where is James buried?

He would have been buried in one of two places.  Either on his own land or at the Hopewell church.

James and Catherine were Quakers.  Some of their children and their descendants continued that Quaker tradition for generations.  Some may still be Quaker today.

However, James didn’t seem, from his estate inventory, considering his liquor and still, to be a fundamentalist Quaker, although we have no evidence he was ever in any trouble within the church.  Whether he was discreet, meaning perhaps the church elders were among those who owed him money, or the elders were simply turning a blind eye – we’ll likely never know.  He was also a vestry member of the Anglican church which was likely political in nature but shows that he was a respected citizen.  For the rest of that story, see the James Crumley article.

The property owner told us that when they bought the property, there was one single gravestone propped up in the barn.  They wanted that stone, but the previous owners took it when they left.  We don’t know where on the property that stone would have been located, or why it was in the barn.  It was from a later date when the Lodge family owned the land.  But it does tell us one thing.  There was a cemetery at one time.  Was it the Crumley cemetery repurposed for new owners?  Or was it truly the Lodge cemetery with only one burial?  Are James and Catherine along with their son Samuel buried at their home or at Hopewell Friends Church?

The Hopewell Friends Church

Churches and religion were extremely important to these pioneer families.  Many had sacrificed greatly in order to be able to participate in their religion of choice – and not just in the present generation – but often for many preceding generations.  Most of these people demonstrated a willingness to lay their lives down and risk everything for their religion.  This leads me to believe that, if possible, James Crumley would have wanted to be buried at Hopewell, according to his Quaker beliefs.

The Hopewell Church was the first Quaker Church or Meeting House in this area and was established in 1734, before James and Catherine arrived, but not terribly long before they arrived.  They would have worshipped in this church, part of which has been expanded.

If James and Catherine Crumley are buried here, it is likely in the center part under this very old tree where the earliest burials likely took place.  There are many unmarked graves.

This church, except for modernization somewhat, likely has not changed much since Catherine attended.

Did Catherine pick flowers and sit them in the windows of the house or the church to cheer the family or to lift her own spirits when warfare, strife and sorrow invaded her life?

Gazing across the fields from the back of the church, we see the ever-present mountains in the distance.  These mountains at once defined boundaries and opportunity.  Did Catherine look at them and think about the lands she came from?  Did she think about her parents and perhaps children buried in hallowed ground left behind?  What did Catherine think about when she gazed at these mountains?  Did she have any idea that her descendants would spread across and settle the rest of the country within just a few generations?

Those mountains would be both a barrier and a highway. It would be down those mountains and through the valleys that at least one of Catherine’s sons and many of her grandchildren would venture.  It would be across those mountains that the husbands and sons of settlers would march to fight the French and Indians in 1754 and to settle distant places, founding Quaker churches wherever they went.  The mountains were somewhat of a barrier for settlers, at least for a little while, but they provided no barrier at all to Indians who raided the settlements, hoping to stem the ever-growing tide of intruding settlers.  That didn’t work, and the settlers pressed on, through the mountains, into the heartland and eventually, from sea to sea.

Catherine’s Children

Catherine and James had a total of five known children, four that lived to adulthood.

• John Crumley, probably the oldest, born about 1733 or 1734 in Chester County, PA. He married Hannah Faulkner and moved to Newberry County, SC before 1790.
• William Crumley, born about 1735 or 1736, also in Chester County. William lived his life on land bordering Frederick County, VA and Berkeley County, West VA left to him in his father’s will. William married Hannah Mercer.
• Mary Crumley married Thomas Doster and possibly secondly to Jesse Faulkner.
• Henry Crumley married Sarah whose last name is unknown. All we know about Henry is that he left the area and apparently died about 1792.
• Samuel Crumley is mentioned in his father’s will as underage, but he did not live to claim his inheritance.

In that day and time, there would likely have been at least twice and maybe three times that many children born to a pioneer couple, so at least some of those children are buried someplace in Frederick County – likely the same place James, Catherine and Samuel are buried.

Catherine’s Mitochondrial DNA

Of the four surviving children, only one was female, which limits our ability to find someone who carries Catherine’s mitochondrial DNA.  Fortunately, daughter Mary Crumley who married Thomas Doster and had three daughters, Ruth, Sarah and Mary.

Mother’s pass their mitochondrial DNA to both genders of their children, but only females pass it on.  Mitochondrial DNA can tell us a great deal about the ancestry of Catherine – information we will likely never know unless we find someone who carries her mitochondrial DNA and who is willing to test.

If you descend from Catherine’s daughter, Mary Crumley, who married Thomas Doster and possibly Jesse Faulkner, through all females to the current generation, in which you can be male or female, and you’re willing to DNA test – I have a DNA testing scholarship for you!!!!

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Hannah Mercer was the daughter of Edward Mercer who made his will on September 25, 1762, although it wasn’t probated until December 1, 1763.  In his will, Edward left several items to daughter Hannah.

“I give and bequeath to my daughter Hannah Mercer five pounds and five shillings worth of Puter the same being now in her possession. And also one bed and furniture thereto belonging likewise I give to my said Daughter Hannah Six head of young cattle the same being now in her possession which said cattle shall be kept on the plantation until they be three years old.  I also give her a side sadle and the Keeping of her mare on the plantation whilst she continues unmarried.”

The wording is a bit odd, with the phrase “being now in her possession” seeming to hint that she does not live with her parents, and therefore might be married.  But Edward refers to her as Hannah Mercer, not by a married name.  Edward, however, removes all doubt about her marital status in the last sentence where he says “whilst she continues unmarried.”

Edward also left Hannah his plantation if his sons Edward and Aaron were to die without issue.  One of the reasons this is so unusual is that Edward Mercer (the father) had another son, Richard, and another daughter, Elizabeth.  Typically all the males would come before a daughter in an inheritance situation like this, but in this case, no.  As it turns out, it didn’t matter because Edward and Aaron did not die without issue or before their father.  Still, this must have made Hannah feel very good. It perhaps speaks of a close relationship between Hannah and her father.

It was previously thought that Hannah married William Crumley in about 1761, because their oldest son, James was born in the 1763/1764 timeframe.  If James was born in that timeframe, then it looks like Hannah married sometime after Edward wrote his will in September 1762 and before the 1763/1764 birth, so Hannah’s mare didn’t stay on her father’s plantation very long.  Hannah clearly wasn’t married in September of 1762, nor, apparently, was a wedding imminently planned.

Hannah’s Childhood Years

The wording of Edward’s will, plus when Hannah began having children would suggest Hannah’s birth about 1740-1742.  We don’t know positively where, but we do have an important clue, although it needs to be confirmed.

Hannah’s youngest brother, Aaron Mercer, fought in the Revolutionary War.  His papers where he applied for a land grant reportedly stated that he was born in Ireland, although I have been unable to verify that actual information.  http://www.fold3.com does not have Aaron’s paperwork and service records, although he very clearly served because he is mentioned as an officer in several other veterans pension applications.

In Aaron’s paperwork, he doesn’t dirctly give his birth year, but working backwards, genealogists have surmised that he was born about 1746. If this is the case, then Hannah would have been born in Ireland as well.  It’s difficult to resolve Ireland and Quaker but we do know that several Quaker families left England and went to Ireland before coming to America.  James Crumley may have been part of this group, and Edward Mercer may have as well.  If Edward Mercer were Scotch-Irish, he would have been Presbyterian and if he were Irish, he would have been Catholic.  However, Edward Mercer is living dead center in the middle of the Quaker community.

Hannah’s mother, Ann was living at the time Edward made his will.

We know that the Mercer family was living in Frederick County in 1759 when Edward Mercer was on the Frederick County, VA rent rolls.

Edward received a land grant in 1751 and another in 1760.  The 1760 grant was located at the head of Babb’s Great Meadow adjoining Babb’s Mountain.  Babb’s Mountain (red balloon) wasn’t far at all, just a little over a mile, from Apple Pie Ridge Road where James Crumley, William Crumley’s father, lived, just north of White Hall.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any marriage information for Hannah Mercer and William Crumley.

What information we do have is that William’s wife was positively named Hannah, based on her signature on deeds, and their son was named Aaron Mercer Crumley.  The middle name Mercer continued to be passed down this line to future generations as well.

Their Home

After Hannah and William were married, they lived on the land that William Crumley bought from his father, James, in 1757.  This land was part of the large land grant obtained by James Crumley and the southern 200 acres of that grant purchased by William spanned the Virginia/West Virginia border, right under that “10 min” sign below.

On the map above, William’s land extended south of the border on 51/2, but they lived on the Berkeley County, West Virginia side of the border.  We know this because William’s will was probated in Berkeley County, not in Frederick County. William’s father, James, lived at what is now 3641 Apple Pie Ridge in Frederick County.

While looking for something quite different, I stumbled across the probable location of William and Hannah’s home.

I was able to find William Crumley’s land on an 1890 map by following the ownership of the Francis Silver land, as stated below:

Francis Silver acquired the William Crumley land in two tracts. The first tract of 62 acres before 1820. He built the beautiful brick house in 1821. The 1820 land book lists no house. The 1822 lists $1,000.00 added for improvements added last year. He purchased the larger tract from Abraham Waidman in 1829 (DB lost). In 1836 Francis Silver sold the brick house with 275¾ acres to his son Zephaniah Silver who had married Martha Jane Henshaw April 17, 1834. They kept the plantation until after the Civil War and sold in 1868 for $12,000.00 to John Hershey. John Hershey sold the house with 197 acres for $5,000.00 to Andrew B. Houck and Samuel Garver. May 1, 1876 (DB 73, p. 275). Samuel Garver and A. B. Houck sold in 1880 to J. R. Brown and Robert M. Brown (DB 77, p. 119, page 259). Joseph R. Brown sold his half interest to Robert M. Brown in 1885, who sold the same year to Charles G. Boyles and James K. Boyles for $8,100.00. Charles G. Boyles sold his half interest to James K. Boyles in 1919. James K. Boyles died in 1932 leaving all his estate to be divide equally between his children (WB 27, p. 386). Daughter Maggie R. Busey died in 1951. The heirs of James K. Boyles sold to James A. Lockard in 1959 who gave a Deed of Trust to Darrell K. Koonce.

On the following 1890s map, you can see the location of J. Boyles home at what looks like the headwaters of Mill Creek, just north of the border of Berkeley County and Frederick County, on the road that today leads to Gerrardsville.  You can also see North Mountain, an important landmark, to the left.

On these satellite views, you can see the same road today.  The house on the map above is about half way between the dog leg in the road north of the house and the state line ot the south, between the creek and the road.

On the map view of the area, you can see the same dog leg in the road and today, there is  Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, shown in green, across from this area.  The location of this cemetery surely makes me wonder if this was William Crumley’s family cemetery and if he and Hannah are buried here.

Moving to the satellite map, you can see the farms in that location today.

Moving a little closer.

Moving even closer you can see that there is a working farm in this location.

Unfortunately, there is no street view of this area.  The address of this property today is 3647 Dominion Road.

This looks like the original structure.

Children

Hannah Mercer and William Crumley (the first) had five children:

• James Crumley born about 1763/1764, married Mary Stonebridge by whom he had children, and then second to Elizabeth Downey. James died in Frederick County, VA after 1830.
• Ann Crumley born about 1766 married Thomas Reese, had 9 children, and died on August 29, 1819. Ann had three daughters, Hannah, nancy, Rachel and Sarah.
• William Crumley (the second) born about 1767, married an unknown wife and moved by 1796 to the frontier of what would become Greene County, Tennessee that year. He married for a second time in 1817 to Elizabeth Johnson in Greene County and moved about 1820 to Lee County, Virginia on the border with Claiborne and Hawkins County, Tennessee, where he died about 1839.
• Catherine Crumley was born about 1769/1770 and married James Mooney and then John Eyre. She had daughters Catherine, Mary (Polly), and Eliza by James Mooney and daughters Hannah and Nancy by John Eyre. Catherine died on December 20, 1857 in Fayette County, Ohio.
• Aaron Mercer Crumley was born Oct. 22, 1771 in Frederick County, VA. He married Jane Atherton on February 3, 1796. They had 10 children. It appears that Aaron first lived in Greene County, Tennessee and probably migrated with his brother, William (the second), as 8 of his children were born there and the youngest two in Ohio. Aaron died on August 18, 1835.

Hannah’s Death and William Crumley’s Remarriage

We don’t know for sure when Hannah died, but we do know that it was before William’s marriage to Sarah Dunn.  In 1774, after Sarah’s marriage to William, the Hopewell Friends disowned Sarah for marrying out of faith.  They first summoned her on August 1, 1774 to explain herself, which probably wasn’t long after her marriage.

They petitioned her again in September and October, but Sarah never explained herself.  The explanation was obvious.

This tells us two things.  One, Hannah died sometime between Aaron’s birth in late 1771 and William’s marriage to Sarah in mid-1774, and it also tells us that William wasn’t Quaker at that time, in 1774, and so Hannah likely wasn’t Quaker either.  At one time, both William and his father, James, had been Quaker, and are mentioned as such in the Quaker minutes in 1759.

Ironically, Hannah’s father was Quaker too, and he was mentioned in those same records in March 1759, but in very much of a different light.

Apparently Edward decided not to appear, so they discussed the issues without him being present.

Was Edward Mercer being thrown out of the Quaker Church a family scandal?  Was his drinking a scandal?  What did his wife, Ann, do when this happened?  Did she and the children continue to attend the Hopewell Friend’s Meeting, or were they too embarrassed?  Or was she angry and decided to attend elsewhere?  I would love to have been a fly on that wall!

Were William and Hannah married as Quakers at the Hopewell Meeting House (above) sometime around 1763?  Were they converted as a couple outside the faith.  Was Hannah not a Quaker after 1759 and William defected when he married Hannah, in effect thrown out of the church at that time?  If so, why are there no records?  Maybe he just decided to stop attending.  So many questions.

If Hannah was a Quaker when she died between 1771 and 1774, then she is likely buried in the Hopewell Meeting Cemetery, shown below.  Otherwise, she would have been buried in a family cemetery, possible the one across the road from where she and William lived.  If she did die in childbirth, then the child was buried with her as well.

Given that William Crumley would have had 5 children under the age of 10 when Hannah died, I’m guessing he was not single long. He would have remarried as soon as possible, and his second wife, Sarah, inherited 5 children immediately, and then added another 10 to their family.  She gets my nomination for sainthood!

How agonizing for Hannah to know she was dying and leaving her children, and there was clearly nothing she could do about it except pray that her husband would marry another woman who would love her children – or at least not be mean to them.  I can only imagine how a mother would feel leaving such young children motherless.

Hannah’s oldest 2 or 3 children may have remembered her.  My ancestor, William, born about 1767 or 1768 may have remembered her vaguely, depending on when she died. He would have been between the ages of 3 and 7.  In other words, the only mother most of Hannah’s children ever knew was Sarah.  Hannah must have loved Sarah from the other side for loving and caring for her children.  There was never any hint of conflict in the court records between the children of Hannah and Sarah, or between Hannah’s children and Sarah.

Given this situation, my best guess would be that Hannah died in 1773 having another baby.  The timing would be right given Aaron’s birth in late 1771 and William’s remarriage in 1774.

Regardless of what took Hannah’s life, it was horribly sad, because she was a woman in her prime.  If she was born about 1740, she would have been about 33 when she died.  Much too young and certainly not taken by anything “normal.”  Sadly, deaths in childbirth were much too common at that time.

DNA

The closest thing we had to proof that Hannah, William Crumley’s wife, was Hannah Mercer was the fact that their son, Aaron Mercer Crumley was named after Hannah’s brother, Aaron Mercer.

However, with the advent of DNA testing, I match multiple descendants of Edward Mercer through son Moses at Ancestry, and have other Mercer matches at Family Tree DNA.

We now have confirmation through matching and triangulation that William Crumley’s wife Hannah was indeed Hannah Mercer.

We know nothing more about Hannah, unfortunately, but since she did have daughters, if we could find a descendant who descends from Hannah through all females to the current generation (which can be male), we could obtain a sample of Hannah’s mitochondrial DNA, which would tell us about her deep ancestry.  That would be wonderful gift and is information not available any other way.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mothers to all of their children, but is only passed on by the daughters and is not mixed with the DNA of the father.  Because if this, we get the opportunity to “see” the DNA of the direct matrilineal line without dilution.  Through that, we can tell where in the world Hannah’s direct matrilineal ancestors came from.

If someone does descend from Hannah through all females to the current generation, please let me know as I have a DNA scholarship waiting for the first person.  If someone does test, I’ll post the results here – otherwise, we’re still waiting.

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Moses Estes Sr. did us a huge favor.  Both of his wives were named Elizabeth, so when he was an old man, he didn’t have any “jealous wife” memory type issues when he mistakenly used his first wife’s name in a fit of pique (or a fit of whatever) when talking to his second wife.  That’s a good thing, because indeed, he was an older gentleman when he married the second Elizabeth, Elizabeth Talbot, a widow, and he had a lot of years experience having said “Elizabeth.”  The favor he did was to tell us when, exactly, he married the second Elizabeth.  In 1782, they had a prenuptial agreement which was filed with the court.  How’s that for ahead of your time!

However, it’s the first Elizabeth I’m interested in, the mother of Moses’s children and specifically, my ancestor, Moses Estes Jr.

Was Elizabeth a Webb?

We’re actually fortunate that we know the first Elizabeth’s first name.  It’s her last name that is in question.  However, if you take a quick look at the Ancestry trees for Moses Estes, born in 1711 and who died in 1787, you’ll find that the majority of those trees list Webb as her last name, or mistakenly list Elizabeth Jones Talbot, Moses’s second wife.

Those same trees will list another tree as a source…and so it goes.  Around and around.  For the record – we don’t know the first Elizabeth’s last name.  It’s a myth – but a myth that might have a source.  You see, there was a reference to a record…someplace.

I have to confess here, I’ve never seen the original record, BUT, someplace, I have seen a researcher’s notes referring to a land record that included Moses Estes and a male Webb.  That researcher had made the “connection” that because Moses Estes bought or leased land from the Webb male, that the Webb male was Moses’s wife’s father.

A leap of faith you say?  Yes, a leap of something, that’s for sure.  But, it could be true and it’s a place to begin further research…if I could only find that doggone reference.

But the problem is that I’ve lost the reference and I don’t remember where I saw it…other than it was in someone’s handwritten notes years ago.  I remember thinking to myself “that’s it??!!!”  That’s how someone connected some extremely tenuous dots that Elizabeth’s surname was Webb?  I remember being incredulous and thinking that there was surely more.  Then, in the 1980s, a historical novel was released that included the Estes family, and Elizabeth’s name in that novel was Webb too.  The deck was stacked at that point, and in the annals of mythology, and online trees, Elizabeth’s surname became Webb and took on a life of its own.

I’ve pulled every record I have in this house, and didn’t find that reference.  Now I’m doubting myself.  Did I even see it?  Did I dream it?  Does it exist at all – even the researcher’s note?  And if that researcher’s note exists, does the real record exist?  As many Virginia records as I’ve extracted, I’ve never come across an Estes/Webb transaction and neither has my cousin, the retired lawyer who extracted half of Virginia for Estes names.  OK, that’s an exaggeration, probably not half, just the early counties, but still, she doesn’t have it in her records either.  Of course, not everyone extracts EVERY record by that surname.  Some people are sane humans and only extract their own line’s records.  So, if that happened, maybe Moses’s record was overlooked by other researchers.

So, if you happen to come across any Virginia land record of a Webb and an Estes – or any other record, for that matter, of a Webb and an Estes between about 1730 and 1770 or so, please, PLEASE send it to me complete with the reference and source.  I promise, I will never, ever, lose it again.

Because, you know, Elizabeth’s surname actually might be Webb, but I can’t research it any further until I find that doggone slippery reference that I know I saw at one time or another.

So, if we don’t know Elizabeth’s last name, what do we know about her?

Life in Virginia

We first find Moses Estes as an adult in Hanover County in 1734.  He would have been age 23 at that time, and he was purchasing land jointly with his brother Robert and his other brother John served as a witness.

In 1736, Moses patented land adjoining his brother’s land.

In general, men did not purchase land before they married, so it’s quite likely that Moses was married about 1734 to a local gal from Hanover County, the area that would become Louisa and then Amelia as new counties were formed.

Elizabeth’s son, William was born sometime between 1735 and 1740, so Elizabeth was probably born in 1715-1720 or maybe even slightly earlier.

In 1742 Louisa County was formed and the Estes lands fall into this county.  That’s a very fortunate turn of events, because Louisa County records exist where most of Hanover’s have been destroyed.  Unfortunately, the Hanover records that might include a marriage document, or estate documents for Elizabeth’s parents, are gone.

We know, due to later deeds, that Moses lived in an area between Contrary and Northeast Creeks in Louisa, later Amelia County, between the red arrows.  It was here that Elizabeth had her children and raised her three young boys.

1742 is also about the time that Elizabeth’s son John was born.  Son Moses Jr. was born about that time as well. Elizabeth and Moses were probably just like all other pioneer couples and had a child every 18-24 months for as long as the female was fertile, which would have been until about 1755-1760 for Elizabeth.  However, we only know of three sons.

The transaction that tells us Elizabeth’s first name is a land sale in Amelia County in 1751 in which Elizabeth, wife of Moses, relinquished her dower right in the land.  Dower right in Virginia meant that if a man died, his wife was entitled to one third of his estate by right of dower.  The husband could not relinquish his wife’s dower rights, so she had to sign to relinquish those.  Typically, the wife was “examined separately” from her husband, so the husband could not influence her answer.  Of course, she had to go home with her husband, so I’m not sure how effective asking the wife privately if she relinquished her dower actually was.  Can’t you just imagine that ride home, had the wife said, “no” that it wasn’t by her own will that she was signing away her dower rights?  How many ways can you spell ugly??

A great many deeds don’t have this additional signature, and I know of one case where the man sold his land and died a couple years later.  The wife then sued the purchaser for her one third of his land and won.  Not only that, but she got the third with the house in which she was living at the time.  One gets the idea that maybe she didn’t know her husband sold the land they were living on, especially since it was a mortgage that defaulted, which is how the sale came about – through the default to the mortgage holder.  In that place and time, the mortgagee signed a deed that the mortgage holder redeemed if they defaulted.  That kind of situation, is, of course, exactly the reason that the wife had to sign, and woe be unto the buyer that doesn’t see to that detail.

In 1758, Elizabeth and Moses are living in Amelia County and the French and Indian War is in full swing.  The House of Burgesses passed an act for the defense of the frontier and we find Moses, John and William Estes of Amelia County on the roster.  These young men are probably still living at home, as they were late teenagers or in their early 20s and not yet married.

This list suggests that perhaps Moses Jr. was the youngest of the three sons and not quite old enough to serve with his father and older brothers.  He probably felt very left out and I’m sure he did not want to be left at home with his mother as his father and brothers got to ride off to war and do all of those “exciting” grown-up manly things – at lease from Moses Jr.’s perspective.

I’m sure Elizabeth was glad to have a son remain at home.  He may have been too young to ride with the men, but he was certainly old enough to provide some protection, farm labor and partnership to his mother.

Moses Sr. is mentioned in the court minutes and deed books from time to time, but another decade would pass before we hear from Elizabeth again.  In 1768, Moses Jr. sells the land he had purchased from his father-in-law, John Combs’, estate and that sale is witnessed by his father and mother, Moses Estes Sr. and Elizabeth.

By 1768, Elizabeth had attended the weddings of all three of her sons, had gained three daughter-in-laws and had at least half a dozen grandchildren to enjoy.

An Uncomfortable Juncture

In 1769, Moses Sr. filed suit in Amelia County against his brother, Elisha, surrounding his father, Abraham’s, estate distribution – never mind that Moses’s father died more than 48 years earlier.  This may be the worst case of procrastination I’ve ever seen.  Or maybe, a long-festering boil erupted between the brothers.

I suspect that when one person in a household does something that dramatic, it is reflected via the domino effect to the rest of the family members too.  This was probably a highly emotional time, with depositions, threats and high drama.  It’s hurtful to think or know that your sibling betrayed and cheated you.  Whether it was true or not, it surely appears that Moses believed it to be true.  Elisha, in essence, in court documents, called Moses a liar, another upsetting turn of events.  Moses surely paced and swore and cried, if he let Elizabeth see his tears.  It’s hard to be the one betrayed.  And either he was the one betrayed, or he was the betrayer.  Either way – a family ripped apart.  You know Elizabeth’s household was in a state of upheaval as these unpleasant events unfolded like layers of an onion.

Elizabeth’s three sons were married and had families of their own by this time.  They may have been living with Moses and Elizabeth, or on their property, or nearby.  If Elizabeth and Moses had other children, they would still have been at home.  Elizabeth probably tried to function normally, attending church and other normal social functions of the day.  But, assuredly, Elisha’s wife and children were there too.  Not only would this suit have divided the family, it likely divided the community as well.

Maybe this court suit and the level of discomfort it caused had something to do with why Elizabeth and Moses moved to Halifax County, taking all three of their grown sons and their families along.  Maybe they were trying to put the lingering past behind them with a new beginning.

On to Halifax County, VA

By 1771, the family was moving to Halifax County and Moses Sr. bought land just west of South Boston on the Pole Bridge Branch of Miry Creek.

In 1771, Moses sells his land in Amelia County and once again, Elizabeth relinquished her dower rights and signs with an X, which tells us that she could not write – and probably could not read since the two tend to go together.

However, they may not have moved right away, because in January of 1772, Moses (of Amelia County) sells to William Estes (of Amelia County) 100 acres of his land in Halifax County.  Elizabeth signs this document as well.

We know that Moses was living in Halifax County by this time or very shortly thereafter, because in March of 1772, the court authorized paying him as a road hand for building a bridge across Burches Creek, near his land.

Later in October of 1772, Moses sells the balance his land in Halifax County to his 3 sons and Elizabeth does not sign, so her death may have occurred between January and October of 1772. Given that we know that Moses owned the land on Pole Branch, and he is buried there himself, it’s very likely that Elizabeth is buried in the Estes Cemetery on that land as well.

Or, did Elizabeth not sign because the deed was to her sons and she (and they) saw no need for her to go to the courthouse to sign?

Given that Elizabeth’s death seems to have occurred after Moses sells his Amelia land, it’s most likely that Elizabeth did make it to Halifax County, but possibly, just barely.  Did she ever get to live in this house that Moses built?

We don’t know for sure that Elizabeth died in 1772, but we do know for sure she had died by 1782.  Elizabeth was not an old woman.  If she was born in 1715, she would have been 57-67 and if she was born in 1720, age 52-62.  She may still have had older children at home.  If there were no other living children, then she had likely buried 6 or 7 of her children, or maybe more – and then left their graves behind when she moved to Halifax County.  I can’t even begin to imagine that heartache.

Elizabeth may have lived long enough to see the Revolutionary War which began in 1775.  In 1778, the focus of the fighting shifted to the south, including Virginia.  She certainly lived through the ramping up process that led to that war which was focused on resistance to taxes imposed by England on the colonies which the colonists felt were unjust.  All men paid taxes and I’m sure it was the hot topic of conversation for months and maybe years before the war actually began.  Halifax County was involved in the fighting by 1780 and 1781, and it’s quite likely that Elizabeth’s son Moses’s land was used as an encampment by soldiers.  Elizabeth’s grandson, George fought in that war.  Did he come to tell his grandmother goodbye before he left, if she was still living at that time, or did he visit her grave one last time?

If Elizabeth didn’t die before 1780, she would have buried her adult son, William, in the family cemetery on Grubby Road in Halifax County.  About that same time in 1780, son John left with his family for the Holston River in what is now Tennessee.  At that time, Tennessee was not yet a state and that area was unsettled and wild frontier, with settlers still skirmishing with the Indians.  Once a family left, it was forever.  No one came back.

I hope that Elizabeth did not have to bury her son.  1780 would have been a year of terrible loss for her.  When a grown child left for parts unknown, not only did they leave, but they took with them the grandchildren and the only form of communication was an occasional letter – if that – assuming people could read and write.

Men, in that timeframe, did not remain single for long – so it’s possible that Elizabeth did live to see 1780 – and it may have broken her heart.  She was assuredly resting in the cemetery, beside son William, by 1782.

In 1782, Moses remarried (with that prenuptial agreement) and 5 years later, Moses was dead, probably buried beside his first wife Elizabeth and his son, William, in the cemetery on his property.  In fact, it appears that Moses second wife predeceased him, so it’s entirely possible that Moses lies between the two Elizabeths. If a man ever had to behave, he does!

I found Moses’ land in the early 2000s when I visited Halifax County several times, working on the various genealogy records in the courthouse.  Based on the land records and following them forward in time, I was able to locate Moses’s original land, with the help of a couple of wonderful cousins, an incredibly patient and generous landowner and some unimaginable good luck.  I think Moses and Elizabeth were helping me!

I wonder how long Elizabeth lived on this land.  Did they live in the house Moses built, or did she die while they would have been living in a cabin.  Was the cabin they lived in first the cabin that sat back on the hill where John, Moses and Elizabeth’s son, eventually lived before he headed out for the frontier in 1780?

There are so many questions and so few answers.

Elizabeth’s Children

Elizabeth had the following known children.  I’ve always suspected that she also had some daughters, but to date, none are known.

Elizabeth’s sons are as follows:

1. The oldest son born to Moses and Elizabeth was probably John, born between their marriage and 1742, or so. We don’t know the year for sure, but what we do know is that John’s eldest son, Abraham, born in 1764, gave the following testimony when applying for a Revolutionary War pension.

“I, Abraham was born in Amelia County, Virginia.  My father moved from there to Halifax, Va. where he lived until the fall of 1779, where he moved to the Holston River until 1780.”  After that they removed to Warren Co., KY.

John Estes married Elizabeth Chism, daughter of John Chism and Elizabeth Gillington.  She was remembered in her grandfather, Nicholas Gillington’s will in Halifax County in 1772.  John Estes died in 1824 in Warren Co., KY.

2. Another son, Moses Jr., was born about 1742 or maybe slightly earlier, married Luremia Combs about 1762, whose father, John Combs also lived in Amelia County. Moses Jr. bought land in Lunenburg County from his brother-in-law after John Combs death, but moved with his father, Moses Sr. to Halifax County about 1770 where they both spent the rest of their lives.  He died in 1813 with a will.

Moses had a son, Moses (the third), who was born between 1775 and 1780 in Halifax County and died in 1875 in Smith County, TN, per the probating of his will in 1875.  And no, those dates are not typos.  He married Selah Palmer.  To the best of my knowledge, this is the only grandchild of Elizabeth whose photo we have.  Most of her grandchildren died before the camera was in wide use, after the Civil War.  Moses (the third) lived to be over 100, as did his brother George Estes as well as George’s son, John R. Estes.  Longevity runs in this family.  I look at this man and wonder if he looks anything like Elizabeth and Moses Sr.

John R. Estes, my ancestor, below, would have been this man’s nephew.  John R. and his father, George, both also lived to be around 100, as have several of their descendants.

3. The third son of Moses Sr. and Elizabeth, William Estes, was also born in the same 1735-1740 timeframe. William married Mary Harris.  He died in 1780 and his estate was probated in Halifax County, VA.  Family legend says that he was a drover of horses and drove them to the East coast being gone for long periods of time.  He apparently had what was probably an appendicitis attack and became very ill.  His wife was sent for, but she was days away and did arrive, but William had already died.  Mary brought his body home and buried him in the family cemetery.

DNA

Unfortunately, DNA won’t help us with Elizabeth in this circumstance, at least not directly or immediately.

It’s ironic that the one trait that has a huge potential to affect my life, that of longevity, is most likely genetic, yet, we can’t identify that gene (or genes), nor do I know if I carry it.  We do know that several people downstream of Moses and Elizabeth lived to the age of 100, and a few slightly older.  Two of my aunts and my grandfather are in that group – so I potentially could carry the Estes longevity gene.  We also don’t know where it came from – meaning from Moses’s or Elizabeth’s family.  All I do know is that Moses’s father’s line does not seem to be responsible for the longevity gene – but we know nothing about Moses’s mother nor Elizabeth’s family.

Elizabeth’s mitochondrial DNA is dead to us unless she had daughters that we don’t know about – and they turn up “proven” in some fashion.  I do find it hard to believe that only three sons survived from a marriage that would have produced children for more than 20 years – so at least 10 children and quite possibly more.

Of course, another avenue to find Elizabeth’s mitochondrial DNA would be through her sisters, or her mother’s sisters, if they have any descendants through all females – but of course – I’d have to know who her parents were to identify her siblings, or her mother’s siblings.

I have looked at my autosomal DNA results for Webb, but without knowing the name of the man I’m looking for, I can’t pinpoint anything obvious.  Perhaps I should create a “Webb” tree out of my matches trees and see what turns up the most “close” to me since I carry less of the ancestor’s DNA than the generations that are further upstream than I am.

Although since I’m not even sure I have Webb ancestry, those people with Webb in their tree could be solely circumstantial.  Webb is not an uncommon surname and it is a Virginia family in close proximity with all of the other early colonial Virginia families – so possibly and probably intermarried.

Right now, my only hope against hope is for an Ancestry NAD – New Ancestor Discovery.  As upset as I was that Ancestry gave me an ancestor that wasn’t mine who hung around for months before disappearing, and has now reappeared, I’d be very interested in a Webb NAD – because that might be possible and I could then at least attempt to convince my relevant NAD matches to download their result to GedMatch where I can view the matching DNA segments to see if they triangulate.

Having said that, it would be my luck that I’d get a NAD that really looked to be “real” but wasn’t.  However, it I had a NAD, I could at least then attempt to work with the results.

However, regardless of how much I wish for a Webb NAD, it’s probably too far back time.  Initially Ancestry was planning to reach back 10 generations in time.  Elizabeth’s parents would be 9.  However, when the NADs and Circles were released, Ancestry was only reaching back 6 or 7 generations.  In some cases, for DNA Circles, I believe this has been expanded by maybe one generation or two, but not to 9 or 10 – at least not yet.  But I’m still hoping that Ancestry reaches back more generations as they become more confident and refine their new features.  I’m also hoping for a Webb NAD and praying for Ancestry to add a chromosome browser so I don’t have to try to convince my matches (it’s so unbecoming to beg) at Ancestry to transfer to Family Tree DNA and/or download to GedMatch.

While I’m wishing, I’d like for Family Tree DNA to add tree matching as well.  They already have the chromosome browser feature and trees, so tree matching would be a very logical follow-on step.  And from there, maybe ancestor predictions???

We are truly DNA and genealogy junkies aren’t we!  Anything to find those elusive ancestors.  I just want to know if Elizabeth is a Webb, and if not, who is she???

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