Effie BULL Follow Up: And Some Historical Geography

 

I felt my earlier post had a lot of information on several different families so I wanted to post this one to narrow the focus down to Effie and Joseph.


Passed down via word of mouth through all the descendants of Joseph H. Conner and his wife Effie is that her maiden name was Bull... this is my attempt to establish enough evidence to give this theory a leg to stand on.

In the 1850 and 1860 MO State census, Effie, wife of Joseph H. Conner, gives her birthdate as 1795 and birth location as NC. Joseph H. Conner gives his birthdate as 1803, being born in Virginia (1850) and TN (1806). Their son Thomas Conner's military records narrows his birth location to that of Knox Co., KY.

Looking at that area we see it is right near the border of TN, VA and NC. All four of these States and their counties' border lines were constantly changing during the late 1700's and early 1800's.  If you were to look at formation maps between then and the turn of the century you can see how quickly this area changed. In fact in 1784 several of these counties formed the now extinct provisional State of Franklin.... I say this to remind you not to get too hung up on Counties and States when gathering your records for this line during this time period.


Keeping in mind that this is modern day boundary lines... here is a picture of the region these families are found in, excluding their brief stint in IN. The area outlined in blue is a rough estimate of the now extinct State of Franklin.

Okay.

If you search records for this area you will see that a John Bull (sometimes listed as John Bull Sr.) appears on the 1783 Greene Co. tax list (*Note that during that time it was actually NC but by 1796 it had become TN.)

This John Bull eventually migrates to Knox County, KY where he can be found in the 1810 census where it would appear it is just he and his wife, both over the age of 45. Next door to him is a James Bull, then three more houses down, is John Bull Jr. I find no record for John Bull Sr in the 1820 census but 17 Jan 1818 shows John Bull (no suffix) with a land grant in Knox Co. KY, for 50 acres on water course Fk Yellow Cr.

Knox Co., KY, was formed in 1799/1800 and maps show it included "Indian Lands" in the southwest portion. These Indian Lands, which are not shown on maps after 1800, appear to have included the area that later became the western part of Josh Bell Co. when it was formed in 1867 and encompassed the Clear Creek land of the Bull family at the time.

Fellow researcher Darlene Ply found a warrant transfer of 50 acres from John T. Bull to Joseph Conner on Clear Creek in Knox Co.Ky. The land was bounded by William Evans, Richard Bull and John T. Bull. It was signed 10 Sept.1827 by John T.Bull

In 1825 Joseph Conner (Effie's husband) purchased 50 acres on Little Clear Creek. That same year a John Bull is listed as having 150 acres also on Little Clear Creek.

Now Joseph and Effie's son William lists in his military papers that his birth location was Hendricks Co., IN. A John T. Bull Jr. ( whom I believe to be Effie's brother) purchased about 30 acres in Morgan Co., IN which sits right below Hendricks Co. And in the 1830 census there is a John T. Bull Sr. and a John T. Bull both listed in Morgan Co. I believe the John T. Sr. to be the same mentioned above (Effie's brother) and the other John to be John T.'s son, Effie's nephew.

I can find no definitive trace of John Sr (Effie's father) in the years 1820-1830. But the 1820 census of Knox Co, KY lists an aged female (45+) living with the suspected son of John Sr., Richard Bull, and in 1830 Knox Co. there is an aged male (70-79) also living with Richard Bull. I believe the 1820 census refers to Richard's mother and the 1830 to be John Sr. living back at home with his son.

John Bull Sr. and Richard Bull are petitioners on 19 Jan 1799 in Grainger Co., TN, seeking to prevent any part of Grainger Co. from being split off to Jefferson Co., TN

Grainger Co. was formed from Hawkins & Knox Cos. in 1796 when TN was admitted as a state. The 1800 & 1810 census records for Grainger Co., TN were burned during the War of 1812. Richard is said to have moved his family (probably from Grainger Co., TN) to Knox Co., KY, in 1811-1813.  Richard Bull first appears on the Knox Co. tax list in 1815. He owned a mill on Clear Creek in an area of Knox Co. that partly went into Harlan Co. in 1819 and completely into Josh Bell Co. in 1867.  Richard is on the Knox Co., KY, tax lists annually between 1815 and 1829, with the exception of 1818.  *These tax records aren't on Ancestry*

John Bull Jr married Eleanor "Nelly" Collins in Grainger, TN in the year 1800 and Richard Bull married Fanny Bray there in 1805.

Richard Bull witnessed the 1822 Knox Co. will of neighbor, Joseph Haynes. Joseph Haynes' son Richard Haynes married Nelly *BULL* it is suspected that she is the daughter of Richard Bull's brother John who married an Eleanor "Nelly" Collins but it is plausible that she could be the daughter of Richard and Fanny Bray and was named after her aunt.

So from this I gather that sometime after 1825 and before 1834 that John Sr., John Jr and Joseph Conner migrated north to IN.... But by 1834 (the birthdate of Joseph's son Thomas) at least John Sr and Joseph had moved back down to KY. 

I can find NO census record for Joseph Conner prior to 1850. And Joseph gives his birth state as both TN and VA

I suspect he and Effie were married in Grainger County, as were here brother's. Grainger County was formed from neighboring Hawkins and Knox Counties in 1796, the same year Tennessee became a state.

I have found a likely prospect for Joseph's father in a man named Julius Conner. He can be found in the early land records of Hawkins County, TN on the dates of 15 Aug 1814, 9 Aug 1816, 22 Apr 1817 and 28 Oct 1817. Hawkins Co is right on the TN-VA line bordering Lee Co, VA making him my favorite candidate for Joseph's father. Julius is also found in Carter Co, TN during the years 1796-1799. The 1830 census find him in Cocke Co., TN with his wife and a young slave girl. He is aged (60-69), his wife (50-59). I suspect his wife's name to have been Katherine as there is a Katherine Conner (age 76) living with a Brooks family in Hawkins Co in the 1850 census. Julius and wife may have been living with a son Thomas in 1840.

The 1840 census of Hawkins Co lists several Conners - Two by the name of James, a Thomas, Edmund, Luke and a female household of a Fanny Conner in her 50's


So as you an see in researching the origins of Joseph and Effie you may find yourself getting an intense lesson in our nations early geography. We may never find out for sure who their parents were, but I'm sure I'll keep coming back and adding little pieces and nuggets here and there. HOPEFULLY if I'm lucky I'll stumble across a will.... now that I know where to look.

Becky
† Follow up: After further research I have learned that Julius' wife was indeed named Katherine/Catherine maiden name Cobb, daughter of Pharaoh Cobb and Barshaba Whitehead. I've seen in a few trees that they had a son named Joseph but a name is all they have for him.

† Follow up: Something to note - John Bull Jr.'s FIL, David Collins, died in Morgan County, IN.