52 Ancestors #30: Robert Muir (1875-1956): Union Mine Organizer?

Ancestor: Robert Muir, Great Grandfather
Haplogroup: Unknown

Robert Muir was born on 16 March 1875 in Swinhill in the parish of Dalserf, Scotland to James and Margaret (Semple) Muir. He was the couple's second child together but their oldest son had died the previous year. When the 1881 census was enumerated Robert lived with his mother at the farm of his maternal grandparents, Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple. His father was not at the home when the census was taken.

Remains of Robert Muir's Sottish birth registration; personal collection

In June of 1887 James Muir immigrated to the United States. Margaret followed later that year with their living children.  They arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 30 September 1887 aboard the Allen Line's S/S Manitoban. The ship had sailed from Glasgow, Scotland, and made a brief stop in Ireland before reaching Philadelphia. Margaret, Robert, and his siblings likely took the train to Streator, Illinois, where James worked as a coal miner. Robert Muir became a naturalized United citizen on 10 October 1896 at the Livingston County Courthourse.

In 1900 he lived with his mother and two younger brothers in Reading, Illinois, where he worked as a coal miner beside his brother Peter. Each had been unemployed for six months during the previous year.

He and Ida Mae Riggin applied for a marriage license on 12 October 1902 in Collinsville, Illinois, and were married shortly thereafter. They lived in Troy for about a year after their marriage; then moved to Novinger, Missouri, where they were living when Robert's cousin, Peter Muir, listed him as his contact when he arrived in the United States in 1903. They moved to O'Fallon, Illinois, just before Ida Mae (Riggin) Muir died in 1909. The couple had two children, Henry and Alice.

In 1910 Robert and his two young children lived in O'Fallon, Illinois, next door to his mother. I imagine she helped care for his children as they were not yet school aged.

On 26 September 1911 Robert married Elizabeth "Liz" Fausz in St. Louis. They both claimed to be over 18 years old and that was certainly the case with Robert, but Liz was only 17 and pregnant. When Robert was required to register for the World War I draft in 1918, the family lived in the Edgemont Station area of East St. Louis, Illinois. Robert's appearance was described as being of medium height and stout build with blue eyes and partially gray hair. He and Liz had four children together. All but Henrietta was born in Illinois.

Robert was not enumerated in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 U.S. federal census. However, he was listed in the East St. Louis city directories between 1924 and 1930. He owned a home on 436 North 80th Street.

His daughter, Alice, my grandmother, always said her father was a union organizer and traveled frequently to coal mines across the country trying to get the workers to unionize. She said he'd been blackballed from several mines, threatened and even shot at. I always thought these stories were fantasies of a young girl who didn't know her father very well. However, not finding him in so many census records makes me wonder.

Robert Muir applied for the new Social Security insurance program on 4 December 1936. At the time he submitted his application he lived in Iaeger, West Virginia, and worked for the Pocahontas Red Bird Mining Co.

Social Security application with Robert Muir's signature; personal
collection

He divorced Liz some time before 1940. When he retired from mining, some time after 1942, he bought a small piece of property along a river in Van Buren County, Tennessee. On that property he lived in an abandoned bus.

Robert Muir's Coal Miner's Certificate from the West Virginia
Department of Mines; personal collection

He was hospitalized in September 1956 while in southwest Virginia visiting his family. He died on 23 September 1956 at the Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital in Richlands, Virginia, of a cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease. He was 81 years old at the time of his death and was interred at Iaeger Memorial Cemetery in Roderfield, West Virginia.

Robert Muir died without a will. His real and personal property was auctioned off in two separate sales on 11 October and 15 November 1956. When his estate was settled in 1957, each of his six children received $310.52.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. The theme for this week was "Colorful," which I did not follow.

Using the Ancestral Reference Numbering System, Robert Muir, is Ancestor number 10 on my family tree:

10 Robert Muir born 16 March 1875 in Swinhill, Dalserf, Lanarkshire, Scotland, to James Muir and Margaret Semple; died on 23 September 1956 in Richlands, Virginia; married 1) Ida Mae Riggin, daughter of John Wesley Riggin and Clementine Wells, on 12 October 1902 in Collinsville, Illinois, and 2) Elizabeth "Liz" Fausz, daughter of Peter Fausz and Margaret Dietrich, on 26 September 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri (divorced)

10.1 Henry "Jack" Muir born 29 May 1903 in Adair County, Missouri, to Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin; died 24 May 1986 in Gretna, Louisiana; married 1) Mary Frances Canterberry, daughter of Howard Canterberry and Nancy Robertson on 3 July 1921 in Walls Creek, West Virginia, (divorced) 2) Armitar Ormmueth Alleman, daughter of Arrestide Alleman and Alice Istre, on 24 February 1930 in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, (divorced) 3) Eppa "Eppie" (Swan) Childs Swafford, daughter of William Henry Swan and Edna Sarah Norvell, before 1953, likely in Louisiana, and 4) Edith Mary (Davenport) Samples in May 1979 in St. Bernard Parish.

5 Alice Muir born 16 March 1906 in Novinger, Missouri, to Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin; died 14 December 1993 in Pamlico County, North Carolina; married Marvin Edward Jennings, son of Charles Edward Jennings and Effie Beard, on 13 May 1924.

10.3 Robert Muir, Jr. born 7 January 1912 in O'Fallon, Illinois, to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 22 February 1959 in Welch, West Virginia; married 1) Sadie Viola Cline, daughter of John Estil Cline and Maude Rasnake, on 1 November 1930 in Russell County, Virginia, (divorced) and 2) a woman named Carrie after 1949.

10.4 Verna Muir born 3 July 1917 in Illinois to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 18 April 2010 in Ravenswood, West Virginia; married Franz "Frank" Burglechner, son of Unknown Burglechner and Maria "Mary" Miller, before 1935.

10.5 Henrietta Muir born 14 January 1920 in Tralee, West Virginia to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 23 February 2008 in Eglin, Illinois.

10.6 Margaret Elizabeth Muir born 26 September 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Robert Muir and Elizabeth Fausz; died 14 June 1988 in Richlands, Virginia; married Cecil Roy Hess, son of Charles Robert Hess and Jessie Mae Fitzgerald, on 24 October 1942 in Buchanan County, Virginia (divorced).

_________________
'Remains of Robert Muir's Scottish Birth Registration,' personal collection
'Robert Muir's Coal Miner's Certificate,' personal collection
'Social Security Application,' personal collection
1881 Scotland Census, 03/04/1881 Semple, Peter (Census 1881 638/02 002/00 018)
1900 US Federal Census, Census Place: Reading, Livingston, Illinois; Roll: 318; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0114; FHL microfilm number: 1240318
1910 US Federal Census, Census Place: O'Fallon, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: T624_323; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0155; Image: 641; FHL microfilm: 1374336
Alice (Muir) Jennings' Genealogy Notebook, page 4, 8
Scotland, Statutory Registrations, 1855-2013, 1875 Muir, Robert (Statutory Births 638/02 0037)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1924 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1926 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1928 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, City Directories, 1821-1989, 1930 East St. Louis, IL (Muir, Robert)
US, Illinois, Livingston County Court, Naturalization Application, 10 Oct 1896
US, Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002, 1911 Muir, Robert - Fausz, Elizabeth
US, Pennsylvania, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1800-1963, 1887 Muir, Robert
US, Social Security Application, Number: 235-10-9644
US, Social Security Card, Number 235-10-9644, State: West Virginia
US, Tennessee, Van Buren County Court Administrator, Settlement of and with C. C. Greer, Administrator, 27 Jun 1957
US, Tennessee, Van Buren County Court Administrator, Goods and Chattels Sale, 11 Oct 1956
US, Tennessee, Van Buren County Court Administrator Estate Sale, 11 Nov 1956
US, Virginia, Death Certificate 1956, Muir, Robert, No. 22810
US, West Virginia, Department of Mines, Coal Miner's Certificate No. 93665
US, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, State: Illinois; County: St. Clair; Roll: 1614579; Draft Board: 1

Charles Edward Jennings' Civil War Pension Application

At the age of 70 my great grandfather, Charles Edward Jennings, moved from Roanoke, Virginia, to Erwin, Tennessee and lived with his daughter Leta Vernon (Jennings) Womack and her family. Two years previously, in 1911, he had placed his three living children by his second wife with relatives and in an orphanage.

After living in Tennessee for a few years, he applied for a pension from the State of Tennessee for his service in the Confederate States of America (CSA) Army. He would qualify for a pension after providing information about his service, how he got out of the Army, his disability or indigency, and a doctor or a trustee of a county had to provide information about his character. He completed his application on 24 March 1917, five months before he died.

Charles Edward Jennings; courtesy of Janie Darby

Soldier's Application for Pension

I, Charles Edward Jennings, native of the State of Virginia and now a citizen of Tennessee, resident at Erwin, in the County of Unicoi, in the State of Tennessee, and who was a soldier from the State of Virginia, in the war between the United States and the Confederate States, do hereby apply for aid under the Act of the General Assembly of Tennessee, entitled "An Act for the benefit of the indigent and disabled soldiers of the late war between the States, and to fix the fees of attorneys or agents for procuring such pensions and fixing a penalty for violation of the same." And I do solemnly swear that I was a member of Company H, 19th Virginia Infantry, in the service of the Confederate or United States, and that by reason of disability or indigence I am now entitled to receive the benefit of this Act. I further swear that I do not hold any National, State or county office, nor do I receive aid or pension from any other State, or from the United States, and that I am not an inmate of any soldier's home, and that I am unable to earn reasonable support for myself or my family. I do further swear that the answers given to the following questions are true:

In what County, State, and year were you born? Amherst Co., Va. 1843

When did you enlist and in what command? Give the names of the regimental and company officers under whom you served? March 1, 1862. J. T. Ellis, Captain Taylor Berry and Ben Brown, Captain. Col. Struggs, Regimental Commander.

In what battles were you engaged, and, if not wounded, state what disabilities did you receive, if any? Williamsburg and Seven Pines.

What was the precise nature of your wound or disability, if any? X

Were you incapacitated from service by reason of said wound or disability incurred? X

Were you discharged from the army by reason of said wound or disability? X

If discharged from the army, where were you and what did you do until the close of the war? X

What was the name of the surgeon who attended you? X

How did you get out of the Army, when and where? Appomattox, at end of war.

Were you ever in prison? If so, state what prison and when released? No.

Were you paroled? If so, when and where? No.

Did you take an oath of allegiance to the United States Government? No.

If so, when and under what circumstances? X

Have you applied for a pension before this? If so, about when? No.

Are you married or have you been married? Widower.

If so, what is the size of your family living together? None.

What are the respective ages of your wife and the children living with you? None living with me, but support one 15-year-old.[1]

To what sex do your children belong? Both, 5 males and 3 females.

In what business are you now engaged, if any, and what do your earn? None.

What estate do you have in your own right, real and personal, and what is its actual cash value? Real estate about $2,500.

What estate has your wife in her own right, real and personal, and what is its actual cash value? X

State the gross income of you and your wife from all sources for the past year. This must included all money received either from wages, rents or interest on loaned money, if any. Also family supplies raised or received from rents and used by your family. $432.

How have you derived support for yourself and your family for the past five years? Rent from property.

How long and since when have you been an actual resident of Tennessee? About three years, since Dec. 1913.

Have you an attorney to look after this application? No.

Give his name and address? C. E. Jennings, Erwin, Tenn.

Witness my hand this 24 day of March 1917.

WITNESSES

W. T. Woodward
Erwin, Tennessee

T. C. Payne
Clifford, Virginia

E. B. McGinnis
Amherst, Virginia

24 March 1917 doctor's assessment of the health of Charles Edward Jennings;
courtesy of Tennessee State Library and Archives

The trustee of Unicoi County certified that Charles Edward Jennings had no property and W. S. Erwin, clerk of the county, certified that the answers provided on the application were true on 24 March 1917. His doctor appeared before a notary public and provided an assessment of Charles' health:

Bronchial asthma, rheumatism, and valvular lesion of the heart. This man is entirely or totally incapacitated from performing any manual labor whatever. As a result of his heart lesion, he has swollen feet, tires easily, has shortness of breath on exertion, etc. This man needs an attendant most of the time.

W. H. Carter, clerk of the Unicoi County Circuit Court, certified that E. B. McGinnis and T. C. Payne were good, upstanding citizens of the community and personally appeared before him to witness Charles' application and verify it was truthful. They also swore he had good habits and was "free from dishonor." E. B. McGinnis also swore he served with Charles Co. H, 19th Virginia Infantry for three years and he was a "true and loyal soldier."

10 Apr 1917 response from the War Department;
courtesy of Tennessee State Library and Archives

The Board of Examiners queried the War Department on 7 April 1917 regarding the service particulars of Charles Edward Jennings. The War Department responded on 10 April with the following information:

Charles E. Jennings enlisted 1 Mar 1862 as a pvt. in Co. H, 19th Regt. Va. Inf., C.S.A. Roll for July, Aug. 1864, last on file, shows him absent, detailed in hospital Lynchburg, Va. No prisoner of war record found.

15 Jun 1917 letter to Charles Edward Jennings in response to
his pension application; courtesy of Tennessee State Library
and Archives

On 15 June 1917, two months before Charles died, the Tennessee Board of Pension Examiners, wrote to him:

Mr. C. E. Jennings
Erwin, Tennessee

Dear Sir:

In examining your application for pension, the last record I can find of you reports your "absent, detailed in hospital at Lynchburg, Va." It will be necessary for you to prove that you remained in service until the close of the war by someone who was with you, and who can speak from personal knowledge."

In reply, Charles had W. D. McDaniel certify before a notary public that he served with Charles in Company H, 19th Virginia Infantry until the close of the war.

It did little good. Charles Edward Jennings' pension application was rejected by the State of Tennessee.

The War Department was correct. He was detailed to work in a hospital in Lynchburg per a surgeon's certificate due to curvature of the spine. A board of medical examiners declared him fit to return to his regiment on 21 October 1864 and there his service records ended. So I am left with the same question I had after finding his military records, did Charles return to his unit, which was captured en masse at Saylor's Creek on 6 April 1865? Or did he simply go home to Amherst County?

I also have some new questions. Why did he not state on his application he had been detailed by special order[2] to serve in hospitals in Lynchburg? And how did he find witnesses who swore he served with the regiment during the entire course of the war when he obviously did not.

________________
[1] The 15-year-old child was my grandfather, Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr., who was placed in an orphanage in Salem, Virginia. His father paid a fee for his care.
[2] The special order was signed by Gen. Robert E. Lee and commanding the following on 18 May 1863: "Private Chas. E. Jennings of Co. H, 19th Virginia detailed for duty in Genl. Hosptl. at Lynchburg, Va. and will report to Sargt. W. O. Owen in charge for assignment."

52 Ancestors #6: Charles Edward Jennings (1843-1917): First to Leave the Farm

Ancestor Name: Charles Edward Jennings, great grandfather
DNA Haplogroup: I-M253

Charles Edward Jennings was a Virginia farmer like his known ancestors, but he also left the farm and co-owned a grocery store in Roanoke, Virginia, the first of my direct Jennings ancestors to do so. He was a Confederate Army veteran, and my great grandfather.

He was born on 23 September 1843 in Amherst County and was the third of six known children of Powhatan Perrow Jennings and Catherine Jewell. He lived with his parents and siblings on his father's farm in 1850 when the census was enumerated. His mother died in early 1854 when he was 11 years old. He father remarried that same year to a 19-year-old girl named Elizabeth Rhodes. Charles' half-sister, Willie Ann joined the family in 1855. His father died in 1858 and his Jennings grandfather a few months later. Charles' father's will stipulated the farm was not to be sold until his youngest child reached the age of 21 and was to be managed by one of his sons. When the census was enumerated in 1860, Charles and his six siblings lived on the farm with their step-mother.

Civil War

After Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, war seemed inevitable to many in the south. South Carolina seceded from the union the month after the election and Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana followed in January 1861; Texas seceded in February. Hopes for a peaceful secession from the Union ended on 12 April 1861 when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Three days later President Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called up 75,000 men. Virginia seceded from the Union two days after that.

Charles was 17 years old when his old brother and two first cousins went to the Amherst County courthouse and enlisted in the Confederate States Army. Another first cousin enlisted two weeks later. All served in the 19th Virginia Regiment. A year later, on 1 March 1862 Charles enlisted and joined his brother and cousins in Company H of the 19th Virginia Regiment. His war experiences will be included in next week's post.

Marriage and Family

On 2 November 1865 soon after returning home from the war, Charles and his brother John purchased land from their father's estate. There is no record of Charles in the 1870 census. All his siblings are included except his sister Frances Ann and her husband James Adolphus Coleman. Perhaps he lived with them?

On 23 December 1873 Charles married Nancy "Nannie" Jane Johnson in Amherst County. She was the daughter of William Marshall Johnson and Martha Ann Jennings. Martha and Charles were first cousins so his wife, Nannie, was his first cousin once removed. Nannie's older sister, Mary "Molly" Elizabeth Johnson, married Charles' younger brother, Zachariah. They settled on Charles' farm, which was enumerated in the 1880 agricultural schedule.

Analysis of the 1880 agricultural census entry for the farm of Charles Edward
Jennings; created using Microsoft Excel

Between 1875 and 1886, Nannie had six known children. On 11 April 1892 she delivered their seventh known child, Johnson Jennings. Nannie died a few days later on 25 April and Johnson succumbed on 9 August 1892. Nannie was interred at Amherst Cemetery in Amherst. Charles was left to raise six children between the ages of 17 and 6.

Postmaster of Clifford, Virginia

On 24 October 1884 Charles was appointed postmaster of Clifford, Virginia, post office in Amherst County. He took over from Valinus McGinnis, Jr., who had been appointed the year before. Charles served as postmaster until 22 January 1894 when he was replaced by Joseph K. Harvey. Clifford is in the northern part of Amherst County between the Tye and Buffalo rivers. The historic town was one of the oldest settlements in the county and stood along the stagecoach route between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. While Charles served as postmaster the town was in decline as it had been bypassed by the railroad.

Postmasters of smaller post offices were usually appointed by the First Assistant Postmaster General of the United States who received recommendations from the members of the local community or Congressmen. The position was considered a political plum. Virginia was controlled during this period by the Democrat party so we might assume Charles was a Democrat.

Newly appointed postmasters had to sign an oath of office before a magistrate or justice of the peace and execute a bond in the event of malfeasance in office. His first official duty was to take an inventory of the post office, all its property, and mail on hand. He was also responsible for appointing an assistant postmaster who would act in his stead if he were sick, traveling, or otherwise unable to perform his duties.  The post office was to remain open during the normal business hours of the town Monday through Saturday and for one hour on Sunday after church services were over. During Charles' tenure as postmaster, postage generally only covered the transit of the mail from post office to post office so the people of Clifford would have come to the post office to pick up and send mail. Therefore, it was an important source of news and gossip before the Internet and social media.

The postmaster's compensation was based on the amount of revenue generated by the post office they managed. The 1852 laws and regulations describe the compensation as a percentage of the quarterly sales: for sales under $100, 40 percent; from $100 to less than $400, 33.3 percent; and for sales over $400, 12.5 percent.

Annual compensation of Charles Edward Jennings, Postmaster, Clifford,
Virginia, as reported in the U.S. Register of Civil, Military and
Naval Service

City Life and a New Wife

Soon after leaving his job as a postmaster, Charles married Effie Beard of Bedford County, Virginia, in 1895. Effie was the daughter of David Fleming Beard, Sr., and his second wife Barbara Ann Mitchell. Both her parents' families had deep roots in Bedford County, where she grew up on her father's farm. Effie's father died when she was seven years old and her mother when she was 19. In 1891 the children from David Fleming Beard's first marriage sued the children from his second marriage, including Effie, over a piece of property. Instead of dividing the land among all the children, they wanted to sell it and distribute the proceeds. The case inched along in chancery court for 10 years before it was decided.

I suspect Charles had moved to Roanoke and met Effie there but am not sure. Effie was born in 1871 and was 28 years Charles' junior. It is possible she lived with or was visiting her older brother, who worked as a conductor for Northern & Western (N&W) Railway and lived in Roanoke.

Charles Edward Jennings; courtesy of Janie Darby

Effie (Beard) Jennings; courtesy of Janie Darby

During the time of their marriage they lived at a few different addresses in what is now known as the Melrose-Rugby neighborhood. Between 1896 and 1901 Charles and Effie had three children. Their fourth child was born on 29 December 1905 and Effie died on 4 May 1906. Their infant son, Clyde Graham, died a month later on 12 June. Both mother and son were interred in Fair View Cemetery in Roanoke. Their burial plots were owned by Robert Watkins Jennings, who was Charles' second cousin once removed.

Address in Roanoke, Virginia, where Charles Edward Jennings lived between
1898 and 1915 when he moved in with one of his daughters in Erwin,
Tennessee; created using Google Maps and Microsoft PowerPoint

Charles continue to operate the store[1] in 1909 but when the 1910 census was enumerated he was working for himself as a carpenter in the contracting industry. Something had happened. Family lore has it that his partner in the grocery store absconded with all the money from their business bank accounts leaving Charles with no business and no means to support his family. In 1911 he broke up his family by placing his threes sons by Effie out of his home. He placed his youngest son, Marvin, in a Baptist orphanage in Salem, Virginia; placed his daughter, Daisy, with Effie's sister, Sarah Birdell (Beard) Mays, who also lived in Roanoke; and his son, Leo, with his half-sister, Leta Vernon (Jennings) Womack, who lived in Erwin, Tennessee.

According to city directories, Charles remained in Roanoke until 1915. Some time after that he moved to Erwin, Tennessee, and lived with his daughter, Leta, and her family. He died on 10 August 1917 in Erwin at the age of 74. The cause of death was dysentery. He remains were shipped back to Roanoke and he was buried beside his second wife and youngest son in Fair View Cemetery.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. The theme for this week was "Favorite Name." Charles Edward Jennings is a name with special meaning to me. My Dad and middle brother are named Charles and my youngest brother's middle name is Edward. It is also the middle name of Dad's father and brother.

Using the Ancestral Reference Numbering System, Charles Edward Jennings is Ancestor number 8 on my family tree:

8.0 Charles Edward Jennings, son of Powhatan Perrow Jennings and Catherine Jewell, born 23 September 1843 in Amherst County, Virginia; died 10 August 1917 in Erwin, Tennessee; married 1) Nancy "Nannie" Jane Johnson, daughter of William Marshall Johnson and Martha Ann Jennings and 2) Effie Beard, daughter of David Fleming Beard, Sr., and Barbara Ann Mitchell.

Children of Charles Edward Jennings and first wife, Nannie Johnson:

8.1 William Powhatan Jennings born 28 May 1875 in Amherst County; died 2 November 1899.

8.2 Daniel Melvin Jennings born 15 September 1877 in Amherst County; died 23 August 1940; married Myrtle Patti Fitzgerald, daughter of David Crawley Fitzgerald and Pattie Ferguson, on 16 June 1909 in Roanoke.

8.3 Charles Albert Jennings born 27 June 1879 in Amherst County; died 28 April 1947 in Bedford County, Virginia; married Margaret "Maggie" Susan Pifer, daughter of James Edward Pifer and Margaret Loop before 1901.

8.4 Viola "Ola" Jennings born 5 December 1881 in Amherst County; died 15 March 1959 in Roanoke, Virginia; married James Solomon Raike, son of William Jasper Raike and Martha Ann Powell, between 1900 and 1902.

8.5 Leta Vernon Jennings born 5 March 1884 in Amherst County; died 15 October 1958 in Alexandria, Virginia; married Edmund Lenwood Womack, son of Jesse Womack and Elizabeth Pedigo, on 15 September 1906 in Roanoke.

8.6 Harry Lee Jennings born 29 June 1886 in Amherst County; died 22 October 1945 in San Francisco; married Nancy "Nannie" Gay Clayton, daughter of Walker W. Clayton and Josephine Mary Taylor, between 1910 and 1913.

8.7 Johnson Jennings born 11 April 1892 in Amherst County; died 9 August 1892 in Amherst County.

9.0 Effie Beard born 1 October 1871 in Bedford County, Virginia, daughter of David Fleming Beard, Sr., and his second wife, Barbara Ann Mitchell; died 4 May 1906 in Roanoke, Virginia; married 1895 to Charles Edward Jennings. 

Children of Charles Edward Jennings and second wife, Effie Beard:

8.8 Daisy Birdelle Jennings born 14 November 1896 in Roanoke, Virginia; died 28 April 1947 in Statesville, North Carolina; married William Luckey Moore, son of Jay Luckey Moore and Jane Elizabeth Steele, on 20 September 1916 in Johnson City, Tennessee.

8.9 Leo James Jennings born 31 October 1898 in Roanoke, Virginia; died 3 October 1973 in Pacific Palisades, California; married 1) Bonnie Sue Wolfe, daughter of James H. and Mollie Wolfe, on 27 November 1919 in Iredell County, North Carolina, (divorced), 2) Kathleen O'Gorman, daughter of William and Margaret O'Gorman, on 14 March 1933 in Yuma County, Arizona,  (divorced), and 3) Marcella G. (maiden name unknown).

4.0 Marvin Edward Jennings born 16 November 1901 in Roanoke, Virginia; died 1 May 1961 in Arlington County, Virginia; married Alice Muir, daughter of Robert Muir and Ida Mae Riggin on 13 May 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois.

8.10 Clyde Graham Jennings born 29 December 1905; died 12 June 1906.

_______________
[1] His grocery store was located at the corner of 12th Street and Wells Avenue in Roanoke, an address which no longer exists.

Sources:
Agricultural Schedules: 1850-1900, US Bureau of the Census,  (accessed 5 May 2014).
Court Doth Adjudge, Order and Decree, The, Tangled Roots and Trees (accessed 1 Feb 2018)
List of Presidents of the United States, Wikipedia (accessed 18 Mar 2016).
My Grandfather and the Orphanage, Tangled Roots and Trees (accessed 29 Jan 2018)
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, National Park Service, Clifford-New Glasgow Historic District (accessed 18 Mar 2016).
Mother Nobody Knew, The, Tangled Roots and Trees (accessed 1 Feb 2018)
Newly Discovered Photos, Tangled Roots and Trees (accessed 29 Jan 2018)
North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994, database, FamilySearch, Charles E. Jennings in entry for Daisy Jennings Moore, 28 Apr 1947; citing Statesville, Iredell, North Carolina, v 10A cn 10499, State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1909219.
Powhatan Perrow Jennings (1812-1858): A Life Cut Short, Tangled Roots and Trees (access 1 Feb 2018)
Prechtel-Kluskens, Nineteen-century Postman and His Duties, National Archives, NGS NewsMagazine, January/February/March 2007, pages 33-37 (accessed 16 Mar 2016).
Selected US Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, database with images, Ancestry, Charles Jennings, Temperance, Amherst, Virginia (accessed 18 October 2015)
Tennessee, Civil War Confederate Pension Application Index, database, Ancestry, Charles E. Jennings, 19th Virginia Infantry, Application No. S15175 (accessed 4 Dec 2014)
Tennessee, Death Records, 1914-1963, database with Images, FamilySearch, Chivers E. Jennings, 10 Aug 1917; citing Cemetery, Erwin, Unicoi, Tennesse, v 54 cn 505, State Library and Archives, Nashville; FHL micofilm 1299677 (accessed 25 May 2014).
Tennessee, Deaths and Burials Index, 1874-1955, database, Ancestry, Chivers E. Jennings, 10 Aug 1917, Erwin, Unicoi, Tennessee, (accessed 25 May 2014).
US Appointments of US Postmasters, 1832-1971, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Clifford, Amherst, Virginia, 24 Oct 1884, Vol. 80, Volume Year Range: 1891-1930 (accessed 9 Jul 2017)
US Appointments of US Postmasters, 1832-1971, database with images, Ancestry, Chas E Jennings, Clifford, Amherst, Virginia, 24 Oct 1884, Vol. 51, Volume Year Range: 1877-1891 (accessed 9 Jul 2017)
US Census of Agriculture, Wikipedia (accessed 29 Jan 2018)
US Census, 1850, database with images, Ancestry, Chs E Jenning, Eastern, Amherst, Virginia, Roll: M432_933, Page 149B (accessed 25 May 2014).
US Census, 1860, database with images, FamilySearch, Chas E. Jennings in entry for E B Jennings (accessed 25 May 2014).
US Census, 1870, database with images, Ancestry, Nancy Johnson in entry for William J Johnson (accessed 25 May 2014).
US Census, 1880, database with images, Ancestry, Charles Jennings, Temperance, Amherst, Virginia, Roll: 1353, FHL microfilm: 1255353, Page: 270B, Enumeration District: 021 (accessed 25 May 2014).
US Census, 1900, database with images, Ancestry, Charles Jennings, Roanoke Ward 5, Roanoke City, Virginia, Roll: 1739, Page: 7B, Enumeration District: 0102, FHL microfilm: 1241739 (accessed 25 May 2014).  
US Census, 1910, database with images, FamilySearch, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke Melrose Ward, Roanoke (Independent City), Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 125, sheet 8A, family 128, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1646; FHL microfilm 1375659 (accessed 25 May 2014).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1898 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, C E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1902 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, C E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1909 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1909 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1910 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1912 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1914 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US City Directories, 1822-1995, database with images, Ancestry, Charles E Jennings, Roanoke, Virginia, 1915 (accessed 18 Dec 2016).
US Find a Grave, 1600s-Current, database with images, FindAGrave, Charles Edward Jennings, Memorial No. 55849367 (accessed 27 May 2014).
US Find a Grave, 1600s-Current, database with images, FindAGrave, Effie Beard Jennings, Memorial 55849385 (accessed 27 May 2014).
US Find a Grave, 1600s-Current, database with images, FindAGrave, Nannie Johnson Jennings, Memorial No. 94105704 (accessed 27 May 2014).
US Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service, 1863-1959, database with images, Ancestry, C. E. Jennings, Amherst, Virginia, 1885, Vol. 2 (accessed 9 Jul 2017).
US Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service, 1863-1959, database with images, Ancestry, C. E. Jennings, Amherst, Virginia, 1887, Vol. 2 (accessed 9 Jul 2017).
US Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service, 1863-1959, database with images, Ancestry, C. E. Jennings, Amherst, Virginia, 1889, Vol. 2 (accessed 9 Jul 2017).
US Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service, 1863-1959, database with images, Ancestry, C. E. Jennings, Amherst, Virginia, 1891, Vol. 2 (accessed 9 Jul 2017).
US Social Security Applications and Claims Index, database, Ancestry, entry for Daisy Jennings Moore, citing Charles E Jennings (accessed 9 Jul 2017).
US Social Security Applications and Claims Index, database, Ancestry, entry for Harry Lee Jennings, citing Charles E Jennings (accessed 9 Jul 2017).
Virginia Chancery Court Records, database with images, Library of Virginia, Bedford County Cause No. 1901-117, 50 pages
Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, database with images, Ancestry.com, Charles A. Jennings, citing Charles E. Jennings (accessed 16 Apr 2016).
Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, database with images, Ancestry.com, Leta V. Womack, citing Charles Jennings (accessed 16 Apr 2016).
Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, database with images, Ancestry.com, Marvin E. Jennings, Sr., citing Charles Edward Jennings (accessed 16 Apr 2016).
Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, database with images, Ancestry.com, Viola Loving Raike, citing Charles A. Jennings (accessed 16 Apr 2016).
Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940, database, FamilySearch, Chas. E. Jennings and Mary J. Johnson, 23 Dec 1873; citing Amherst, Virginia, reference Mar Reg 3 p 32; FHL microfilm 30311 (accessed 5 Apr 2013).
Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940, database, Ancestry, Daniel Melvin Jennings and Myrth Ruthe Fitzgerald, citing Chas. E. Jennings (accessed 17 Aug 2014).

Powhatan Perrow Jennings (1812-1858): A Life Cut Short
John W. Jennings (1776-1858): War of 1812 Veteran
Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815): Last Will and Testament
Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815): Morgan's Riflemen
Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815): Beginnings and Endings
Who Was the Original Jennings Immigrant?
Did John W. Jennings, Sr. (c1777-1858) Marry His Niece?
Discovering my Local History Center
British Surrender at Saratoga

The Great Jennens Case
Revolutionary War Soldier
There's One Born Every Minute -- Scamming the Greedy
A Forcible Act of Possession
Dicken's Bleak House Is about My Family

DNA Discoveries: Lillian Pearl (Wells) Porter Porter Walker (1889-1990)

As I was working on some new DNA matches, I got to "meet" Lillian Pearl Wells all over again. She been in my tree for years as the wife of of Joseph "Jesse" Isaac Porter, without known parents or death information. I knew Jesse and Lillian married sometime before 1930 and he had previously been married to and divorced from Emma Mabel Riggin, daughter of Theodore Augustus Riggin (1840-1910)[1] and Caroline (Vangundy) Pritchett, and my first cousin three times removed.

Because of my new DNA match, I did a lot more research into Lillian and I believe my working theory is correct.

Lillian Pearl Wells was born on 10 April 1889 in Chicago, Illinois, to George Washington Wells[2] and his first wife, Ida Logenia[3] Ewing, daughter of Sylvester Ewing and Mary A. Briggs. George and Ida married on 21 June 1885 in McLean County, Illinois, where Ida grew up. After moving to Chicago, George became a policeman and at least one more child was born to he and Ida -- Arthur Washington Wells, who died on 4 May 1894, the same day he was born. His mother died two days later. At the age of 36, George married Bessie Sackett on 9 September 1894 in Chicago.

George Washington Wells (1858-1920); courtesy of
Michelle (Wells) Ward

Lillian Pearl, who sometimes went by Lily, married Daniel Ethan Porter in 1906 in Monroe County, Illinois. He farmed on rented land in 1910 but by 1920 worked as a pipefitter. Together Lillian and Daniel had five children:

• Lorene Lillian Porter (1909-1992)
• Clara Porter (1916-1917)
• Eunice Porter (1917-1984)
• Nellie Porter (1919-2009)
• Nettie Porter (1922-2013)

Sometime before 1927 Daniel Porter was committed to the Alton State Hospital, a hospital for the insane built in 1917. He remained a patient until his death in 1955.

Lillian married Daniel's older brother, Joseph "Jesse" Porter[4] soon after Daniel was committed. They had one son, Robert George Porter in 1927 (died in 1991) and the family was enumerated together in 1930. Joseph was an engineer at a flour mill. This second marriage did not last.

By 1940, Joseph and Lillian divorced. Lillian married Francis Marion Walker, a widower, and lived in Henderson County, Kentucky. Her two youngest children lived with she and Marion.

Francis Marion Walker died in 1948 was interred in Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky, beside his first wife. Lillian Pearl (Wells) Porter Porter Walker died on 4 October 1980 in Henderson County.

I have several DNA matches to other descendants of common shared ancestors James M. Wells and Mary Hearelson through their children: Clementine, Daniel, and George. And these matches are also shared with this new match which allowed me to discover Lillian wasn't "just" the second wife of my cousin's husband, but also an ancestor. But before I sorted all the relationships out, I spend several hours very confused!

Diagram depicting the relationships described in this blog post; created
using Microsoft Powerpoint[5]

_______________
[1] Theodore Augustus Riggin was a son of my three times great grandfather, Alfred Riggin (1811-about 1850). I descend from another son, John Wesley Riggin.

[2] George Washington Wells was the youngest son of James M. Wells and Mary Hearelson, my three times great grandparents and parents of Clementine Wells, the second wife of John Wesley Riggin (mentioned above).

[3] I had not known George Washington Wells had been married twice. Ida Logenia Ewing was a new discovery.

[4] Joseph "Jesse" Porter had been married and divorced two times previously. First to my cousin, Emma Mabel Riggin; and second, to Margaret (Bone) Purkhiser, whose first husband worked for the railroad and appeared to leave her in Illinois with two young children. He died in California in 1949.

[5] The correct surname of Lillian's third husband is WALKER, Francis Marion Walker.

I descend from James Wells and Mary Hearelson as follows:
Clementine (Wells) Riggin Collins
Ida Mae (Riggin) Muir
Alice (Muir) Jennings
Father
Me

New Wells/Murphy Family Tree Branch
Squabbling Siblings
The Wells Spinsters
New Wells Family Tree Branch

Family Memories of John Campbell Smith (1806-1888): Smith/Campbell Parents

Continued from Family Memories of John Campbell Smith (1806-1888): Smith Aunts and Uncles.

I have given a short traditional account of all Grandfather and Grandmother Campbell's children that I know except one, and that is my mother. Her name, as I have before stated, was Margaret. She is yet living and a more affectionate mother, according to my judgment, never did live in any land or country. We used to have a tradition that the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs would delineate the character of all males, each verse answering to the day of the month the person was born. So in like manner the thirty-first chapter was called the female verses. My mother being born the fifteenth day of the month of course we would have a look at the fifteenth verse to know what sort of a woman she was and indeed I think it contains as good a history of her life as can be written in as few words, it reads as follows:

"She riseth also while it is jet night, and giveth meat to her household and a portion to her maidens." 

She was a great flax spinner. I have heard her say she spun twenty outs one day when she was a girl and got beat at that time. I think the girl that beat her was named Polly Rotten. She was considered by some the fastest spinner in the neighborhood and my mother fastest by others. So a day was set for them to spin and the result was my mother got beat by a few threads. I have frequently gone to bed and left my mother spinning and awoke and heard the wheel. If I opened my eyes and looked I would there see my mother in the silent watch of the night like an angelic form sitting, turning the wheel. I do not mean to convey that my mother never slept or that she sat up all night, but that she was a very industrious woman and quite an early riser. She would emphatically rise while it was yet night and give meat to her hands and furnished abundance of clothing for her family, and bed clothing, and everything needful about a house in the way of cloth, such as she could make. She even made cloth and my father took it to the fulling mill and had it fulled[1] to make the male portion of her family big coats, as they were called. Besides this she would make flax and linen and sell it to the merchants for fine goods to dress the female portion of her household.

A woman and spinning wheel in the early 19th century;
courtesy of the Library of Congress

If a member of her family was sick, she was always ready to do what she could to make them well. If they came home hungry, she never thought it hard to cook them a meal. If they came home late in the night hungry and fatigued, she did not insult them saying, as some do, it is too late to go cooking now and you might come home sooner or been here at meal time, none of this sort of talk. It was all kindness and if we said, "Mother, we are sorry to trouble you to get up in the night to go cooking for us," she would reply, "It is not any trouble. If I had known you were coming I would have had it ready for you by the time you got here." If we cut or mashed a finger, she did not say go and get a rag and tie it up yourself, but she would say, "Sit down here and let me tie it up." In fact she was always ready to administer to their wants whether by day or by night. But perhaps we may say more about mother in another place after we speak of father's family.

***
And last but not least, my father, William Smith, the second son of my grandfather.

I know but little of his history in the early part of his life, but that he was brought up to hard labor and without the benefit of even a common English education. I think it probable that he never went to school, but if he did it was for a short time for I have heard mother say she learned him to spell after they were married and I can recollect when it was with great difficulty that he could read at all. But he persevered in trying to learn at every leisure moment until he could read the scriptures very well, a blessing which he praised very highly and was a source of great joy and comfort to him in his declining years. For the few last years of his life, scarcely a day passed over him but what a portion of it was spent in searching and reading the scriptures. In truth the Bible was his rich treasure.

According to the best data I can get, he was married to my mother in the year 1794 or 1795 in Mercer County, Kentucky.[2] They were both poor and commenced housekeeping in a cabin without a chimney. They had no land of their own. Their best axe was a tomahawk; their table furniture consisted of a butcher knife and forks made of cane. Their only bed was a coarse tick stuffed with straw. They had a tolerable supply of wearing cloths, but when that was said all was said. In respect of property, I think they could well have taken up those beautiful lines of the poet and adopted them as their own:

"No foot of land do I possess or cottage in the wilderness, a poor wayfaring man."[3]

This looks like a poor beginning at housekeeping for a newly married pair especially to those who know nothing of the hardships and trials to which our forefathers were accustomed in the first settling of this rich and happy land that we now inhabit. They were poor I admit, but they had a proverb to this effect, "that a bad beginning makes a good ending." Whether it turned out to be true, in their case I have no doubt. It was calculated to stimulate and comfort them in their poverty and penniless situation. Although they were at that time in poverty's value and destitute of religion without hope and without God in the world, yet I thank God while I write these lines, I believe they were honest and carried in their own bosoms that noble principle that they have so often taught me together with the rest of their children to live honestly with all men, never to lay your hand upon anything that is not your own, be a gentleman, etc.

How long they lived in Mercer after they were married, I am at this time unable to say, but they moved to Tennessee and settled on Gennings Creek[4], where I have been informed he learned to read when herding his horses and settled upon the rich cane[5] that grew in great abundance in that country. How many children they had at that time I cannot tell, but I have heard my oldest brother tell of the sport for the boys of the day. Besides this they would try their activity by seeing which could jump over the highest pile of cane whilst burning.

An engraving of Arundinaria gigantea, or river cane, in Louisiana; courtesy
of Bio-Diversity

This is almost all I know of their success in Tennessee except whilst they lived there father killed a great many deer and turkeys, shot a bear or two; had a dreadful encounter with a wolf, which I have heard him relate as follows: He had some beautiful young hogs that slept in different beds some distance from the house in which he lived. The wolves in that country were also very plentiful and they made no scruples in visiting hog beds and sheep folds whenever an opportunity offered. They generally left at least one hog less every time they paid a visit. It was not long until they commenced their ravages upon my father's hogs. Going one morning and finding one half flayed alive, he concluded to watch for the intruder and give him the best fight he could. Accordingly, the next morning two hours before daybreak (being very cold in the dead of winter and snow frozen on the ground) he stationed himself at the root of a large tree with his dog and gun, anxiously awaiting the approach of his adversary. The weather was so intensely cold in the dead of winter, the frost sparkling on the snow caused his dog's teeth to clatter together at his side; whilst he himself was so affected with the cold that it almost forced upon him the belief that he should be compelled to decamp for a warmer climate. But still in profound silence he waited and waited and waited on. Not a voice was heard amid the thick clusters of cane and towering forest that surrounded him to break the stillness of the morning.

At length the eastern horizon began to grow brighter, day was evidently breaking, thoughts of giving over the hunt were again entertained. But at this moment his dog sprang to his feet, raised his bristles, and fetch a whine as much as to say the enemy approaches. The direction of the wolf's approach pointed out by the dog and strong solicitations given by him to bring on the attack, but being forbidden it was not long until the wolf was plainly seen. Slowly and cautiously approaching. The fierce appearance and wishful looks of the dog to engage with the wolf, but in a low voice he forbade him. By this time the parties concerned were within about eight yards distance of each other. A small opening intervened so that a fair shot could be obtained. It occurred to the mind of my father that then was his best chance. He cocked his gun, raised it to his face, took sight and fired. At the crack of the gun, the wolf fell seized the bullet hole with his teeth and round and round he whirled. Permission was then given to the dog to execute his office, which was done with a spirit and fierceness scarcely ever surpassed. The gun was again loaded and discharged at the wolf, but with no better effect than the first. The fight with the dog and wolf still continued amongst the thick canebrake. Crack after crack went the rifle for six times one after the other as fast as it could be loaded. Although several balls had penetrated the body of the wolf, he still resumed his station and gave battle.

Canis lupus lycaon, or eastern timber wolf; photograph courtesy of
Wikipedia

My mother, hearing the reports of the gun and the barking of the dog, set out with her little fist dog[6] in order to learn the cause of all this. Her fist no sooner came in sight of the contending parties than he rushed forward as though he would in an instant entirely destroy the wolf from off the earth. The first pass the wolf made at him, he was thrown several feet up into the air among the cane tops. When his feet struck the ground, he made no further tarry among them, but without any apology left for home as fast as his legs would carry him, resolving as I suppose never again to have anything to do with a wolf. For mother said so long as he lived he would run and howl from that wolf skin whenever it was presented or thrown out where he could see it. But [father's] old dog was made of sterner stuff. He stood his ground and fought valiantly until father loaded his gun the seventh time with two balls and taking aim at the wolf's head, he pulled the trigger. This time was the finishing stroke. The balls entered the animal's head and he fell at the dog's feet, growled and died.

Having related the wolf tale killed by my father, I will now speak of another wolf scrape in which my mother was the chief actor. My father being from home one dark, cloudy night and the sheep penned close to the house in order to protect them from the wolves, as was common. Late in the night the wolves commenced howling and coming closer to the sheep pen. A gun must be fired to drive away the wolves or the sheep would be destroyed. Mother had never been accustomed to handling a gun and her children too small. She was greatly perplexed how to save the sheep. At length she resolved to try her hand with the gun. She arose and with trembling hands took the gun from the rack, sat down and fired. The howl of the wolves were hushed and she retired to bed. But on reflection, she remembered that the muzzle of the gun was pointed toward the sheep pen. When morning light appeared, her fears were relieved. The sheep were all alive and unhurt.

_______________
John Campbell Smith was born on 19 March 1806 in Barren County, Kentucky. He was a second generation Kentuckian as his grandparents had migrated west after the Revolutionary War. He is also the great grandson of Robert "the Elder" Mitchell (1714-1799), my five times great grandfather. Between 1848 and 1876, John wrote about his memories of his family. The document is the property of David S. Peden and was scanned using optical character recognition technology and then edited by Jack A. Laswell, Sr. I am indebted to them for making the electronic version available to other descendants of the Campbell, Enos, Mitchell, Shropshire, Smith, and Street families.

[1] Fulling is a step in cloth making which involves cleansing the cloth of oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. The thickening process matted fibers together to give the cloth strength and increase waterproofing.

[2] From other secondary sources, the year was 1793.

[3] From John Wesley's (1703-1791) Pilgrim Hymn.

[4] Jennings Creek now in Jackson County, Tennessee. 

[5] In the early 19th century vast canebrakes covered portions of the southeast United States. Canebrakes were comprised of Arundinaria gigantea, an American relative of Asian bamboo. The plants were used for clay pipe stems, fishing poles, baskets, chairs and other furniture.

[6] This might mean a feist dog, a small hunting dog, descended from terriers brought over by working-class immigrants. They probably included crosses between the Smooth Fox Terrier, the Manchester Terrier, and the now extinct white English Terrier. They were used as ratters and were about 10 inches tall at the shoulder and weighed between 15 and 30 pounds.

Family Memories of John Campbell Smith (1806-1888): Smith Aunts and Uncles
Family Memories of John Campbell Smith (1806-1888): Campbell Aunts and Uncles
Family Memories of John Campbell Smith (1806-1888): Grandparents
Robert Mitchell, the Elder
Kidnapped by Indians

Unrelated Riggins?

I had considered my three times great grandfather Alfred Riggin a space alien for some time. He dropped into Madison County, Illinois, in 1836 when he bought land, then pulled a disappearing act after the 1850 census was enumerated. The scant records about him indicated he was born in Tennessee about 1811 and that he married Sarah "Sally" Piper in Madison County.

I had one DNA match to a living descendant, and after communicating we both confirmed through records we had collected our shared common ancestor was Alfred, the space alien. I had four other matches that included the Riggin surname in their pedigree charts.

One DNA match particularly excited me as it was a descendant of a Teague Riggin, who came to the American colonies in the 1640s after he was exiled from Ireland by Oliver Cromwell. He married the boss' daughter and died a rich plantation owner in Somerset County, Maryland, in 1707. One of his descendants became a circuit-riding minister and settled in Sevier County, Tennessee. Three of his sons made their way to Madison County, Illinois -- one even founded the town of Troy where my space alien lived and another lost a state legislative election to Abraham Lincoln. Alfred must be the reverend's son. How many Riggin men would travel from Tennessee to one county in Illinois about the time the territory became a state and not be related? The exiting part for me was 1640 would be the furthest back in time for any direct ancestor in my tree. I even blogged about old Teague Riggin several times.

From the Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois; image
courtesy of Internet Archive

I would poke at the problem from time to time looking for definitive proof. I finally read about a reference to a book about the Riggin surname that was supposedly housed in the Los Angeles County, California public library. Unfortunately, they no longer had a copy. I did find it, however, on the FamilySearch.org website.

Harry Riggin, co-founder of Troy, Illinois, copyrighted image
purchased by my from Historic MapWorks for
non-commercial use in publications. It may not be reused
by others

The good reverend, who settled in Tennessee, had a son, who wrote a short biography about his father. It was included in the book! He had four sons, all were named...and none were named Alfred. This caused me to go back and review everything I had collected about the Riggin family. And staring out from my family tree was the proof that Alfred came from a different Riggin line. Since Rev. Riggin's son, John, married Elizabeth Reid, this had to be another John. And I knew Alfred's mother was Margaret Farris. I'd had that "proof" for several years! Argh!

Snippet from the Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois (John
Riggin and Margaret Farris are Alfred Riggin's parents); image courtesy
of Internet Archive

I now know who Alfred's daddy was and and I now know why one Riggin line disclaims the other (Alfred's daddy was more than a bit of a scoundrel), but I still believe the two lines are related in some way. How else do you explain the DNA match?

_______________
This post was written for the Little Bytes of Life May 18 blog party.

Finding Alfred's Daddy
Who's Your Daddy, Alfred Riggin
Lost an Election to Abraham Lincoln
On the High Road to Ruin
Indentured Servant to Landed Gentry

What Does the Headstone Say?

Reverend James Riggin was born on 21 May 1756 in Somerset County, Maryland, according to the Coventry Parish church records. His parents were Teague and Hannah (Harris) Riggen. Father Teague was a great grandson of the first Riggin to come to the American colonies. James Riggin converted to Methodism after hearing one of its preachers. He rode the circuit for eight years, preaching in various counties in Maryland and Virginia. Along the way he met Mary Howard and they were married in Washington County, Virginia, on 27 January 1791. Soon after their marriage the couple moved to Sevier County, Tennessee, near Pigeon Forge, and began farming.

A biographical sketch about Rev. James Riggin was written by his son, John C. Riggin. In it, he states that James and Mary had eight children, 4 boys and 4 girls, who all lived to adulthood. Only two are mentioned by name -- Sarah and Ignatius. My research indicates the children were:

• Harry Riggin (1793-1875)
• James Riggin (1794-1858)
• Mary "Polly" (Riggin) Benson (1796-1838)
• Sarah Smith (Riggin) Huffaker (1798-1881)
• John C Riggin (between 1781 and 1801-1869)
• Ignatius Riggin (1803-unknown)

You can see I am missing two daughters but the four sons are known. So my three times great grandfather, Alfred Riggin, can't be the youngest son of Rev. James Riggin. An 1820 census for Sevier County, Tennessee, would be a wonderful find. But it remains elusive to me.

Harry and James migrated to southern Illinois in 1818 and four years later, James and David Hendershott founded the town of Troy in Madison County. Harry moved on from Troy to what became Menard County, became quite the mover and shaker and lost an election to Abraham Lincoln. James moved to St. Clair County and became the first secretary of McKendree College, now known as McKendree University. John C. Riggin followed his brothers to Illinois and married, bought land, and died in Troy. Ignatius Riggin remained in Tennessee and practiced law. 

The problem is with son, John C. Riggin. His Find a Grave memorial lists his death date as 1 Aug 1869 and according to the person who created the memorial, he was 88 years old. This would make his birth year 1781, fully a decade before his parents married. If he was born then, his mother would have been 16 years old. Certainly within the realm of possibilities. However, according to son John, James and Mary knew each other only a year before they married. If John's headstone says 68 years and not 88 years, then he slots nicely into the birth order of the other known children.

Headstone of John C Riggin, which is located in the Reid-Riggin Cemetery in Troy,
Illinois; photograph courtesy of Find a Grave member Gwen Menz

John C. Riggin married Elizabeth Reid in 1824 and had three daughters and one son, who he named Ignatius. In a biographical sketch about Ignatius, which was included in the Illustrated Encyclopedia and Atlas of Madison County written in 1873, some information about his father was included:

"John C. Riggin was a native of Severe [sic] County, Tenn., and his wife of Blount County. He was married near Troy, Ill., August 26th 1824. His life occupation was that of a farmer, a business he followed with a full measure of success. He became a citizen of Madison County in the fall of 1822, where he first became acquainted with and subsequently married the estimable lady who still survives him. He commenced the struggle of life without other means than that of his own indomitable energy, and his labors have been crowned with success. Falling in with the tide of emigration which flowed toward the Galena Lead Mines, in 1828, he there became actively engaged in mining for upwards of fourteen months. During his experience while there, he was miraculously saved from the caving in of the mine in which he was working. Mr. Riggin was an active, energetic man, a good citizen, a kind parent, and an affectionate husband. His death occurred at his residence, near Troy, on the 1st of August 1869."

Biographical sketch of Ignatius Riggin, son of John C. Riggin, as published in the
Illustrated Encyclopedia and Atlas of Madison County, Illinois, 1873

No mention of other children was included in the sketch. By 1850, the first census to include all the names of members of the household, the children have left and John and Elizabeth lived alone on the farm. John's age was listed as 49, which would make an 1801 birth year more plausible. In 1840, there are seven people in the household:

• One male under 5 years
• One male 10-14 years
• Two males 20-29 years (son Ignatius Riggin)
• 1 male 30-39 years (John C Riggin)
• One female 5-9 years
• One female 40-49 years (John's wife Elizabeth)

I do not know who the other household members are. The three known daughters, Elizabeth, Mary and Rebecca, were supposed to be older than Ignatius.

Many public trees list John C. Riggin as the father of my three times great grandfather, Alfred Riggin. Possible if he was born in 1781, though the biographical sketch above does not mention two sons, only one. If John C. Riggin was born in 1801 then having a son in 1811 isn't possible.

So when was John C. Riggin born? If closer to 1781 he could be the father of my known three times great grandfather, Alfred Riggin (c1811-after 1850). If closer to 1801, not so much. I have a DNA match who is the three times great grandchild of Ignatius Riggin, John C. Riggin's younger brother, who stayed in Tennessee. So I am related. How I do not know.

Any thoughts?

_______________

Indentured Servant to Landed Gentry
Did Widow Riggin Remarry?
Who's Your Daddy, Alfred Riggin?

Lost an Election to Abraham Lincoln

Confusion and the Proof Standard