Son, Husband, Father, Soldier, Teacher, Freemason and Justice of The Peace

The prompt set for this week by No Story Too Small is 'wedding'. The first story that came to mind was that of my great grandparents Rufus and Wille Belle Nall and how they were married in a car garage and then as soon as they said their "I dos" they went to slaughter hogs. But I've already written about them here.

I couldn't recall any other wedding stories so I put out a Facebook request to anyone who might suggest an ancestor for me to write about. My Aunt Diane suggested my 3rd great grandfather Francis Marion Melson. And I think he will fit the bill perfectly.

According to his Civil War service records, Francis Marion Melson was born in DeKalb County, AL on 31 July 1838, to Absalom Patton and Ferbia Melitia (Upton) Melson. Absalom Patton Melson was a member of the House of Representatives for the State of Arkansas.


Francis Marion was the oldest child, followed by a sister, Mahala Kathleen, then a brother James W, sister Jemima, brother Andrew Jackson, sister Sarah and the baby of the family, named after his father, Absalom Patton Jr.

According to a family history, compiled by Andrew Melson, the family made their way from near Rome, GA to Mobile, AL in 1852.  They were said to have traveled in a homemade covered wagon and a team of oxen. At Mobile, Absalom sold most all of his possessions and got on a boat to travel to the mouth of the Mississippi River then to the Arkansas River to Morrison Bluff Landing near Clarksville where they unloaded and traveled up into the mountains about 12 miles NW of Clarksville and settled on a tract of land about six miles west of Ozone, AR or one and half miles SW of what is now known as Log Gap Springs.

In their Civil War Service Records, Francis gave his place of birth as DeKalb, AL and his brother James W gave his place of birth as Floyd Co. GA. Looking at Formation maps of the two states during the time of their birth we can see that these counties are VERY close one another. Absalom gives his place of birth as Burke Co, NC.

On 27 Dec 1860, two days after Christmas, Francis Marion Melson married Mary Emmaline Kinnerly. She was the daughter of John P. and Lucinda (Harbour) Kinnerly.

On 20 February 1862, Mary gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Amanda Catherine. Nearly one year later, on 6 February 1863, Francis enlisted on the side of the Union into Co A, 2nd Regm't of the Arkansas Infantry along with his father, Absalom and brother James W, at Warren, Arkansas. They mustered in on December 7th at Ft. Smith. Absalom was discharged due to disability caused by old age 25 Oct 1864. From the Adjutant General's office there is a record dated 1867 where the charge of desertion is removed from Francis' file and replaced with 'absent without leave' from 25 September 1864 - 1 Dec 1864 . He "deserted" from Lewisburg, AR.  I wonder why he left or where he went? One record shows that he "joined from desertion" Dec 1/1864 Johnson Co. On March 3, 1864 it shows he was "reduced from sergeant to the ranks" no further information is given.

I suspect the answer to Francis' "desertion" and reduction in rank comes from the previously mentioned book, compiled by Andrew Melson. On page 38 it gives the sad story of Francis and Mary's second child, Lucinda Anglin born 6 Jan 1864.

James W. Melson could be called the undertaker. While his brother, Francis Marion Melson was away in the Civil War, he scouted during the night taking care of his family and his brother's family - Mary and two small children. One morning, just before daylight, he went about one mile down on Bear Branch to where Francis had settled before the war when he married. Jim found that his brother's baby, Lucinda, had died during the night. He split out boards and made a box for the baby. He put it on his shoulder, with a pick and a shovel, his rifle in the other arm, and walked about four miles up the head of Bear Branch Canyon and buried the baby the next night himself, out on the mountain in what is now known as Sherman Cemetery.

Lucinda died 6 Feb 1864. I wonder if the right brother was given credit for this story as James W. was enlisted and serving with his father and brother. In his records it actually shows him as "present" for Jan & Feb '64.  I suspect it to have actually been younger brother Andrew Jackson "Jack" Melson that did the scouting and buried the baby, as I have found a few **errors in this book. Jack would've been only 16 at the time of baby Lucinda's death. Between the death of his baby and the lawlessness that plagued Johnson County, I suspect Francis left Lewisburg and went back home to check on his family.

The best information I have been able to find about the roll of the 2nd Regm't Arkansas Infantry is as follows:

 

Organized at Springfield, Mo., and Fort Smith, Ark., October, 1863, to March, 1864. Organization completed at Fort Smith March 13, 1864. Attached to District of the Frontier, Dept. of Missouri, to January, 1864. District of the Frontier, 7th Army Corp., Dept. of Arkansas, January, 1864. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, 7th Army Corps, to March, 1864. 1st Brigade, District of the Frontier, 7th Corps, to May, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 7th Corps, to December, 1864. 1st Brigade, District of the Frontier, 7th corps, to February, 1865. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 7th Corps, to August, 1865.

SERVICE.--Skirmish at Clarksville December 15, 1863. Affair at Jacksonport, Ark., November 21, 1863. At Fort Smith until March, 1864. Steele's Expedition to Camden March 23-May 3. Prairie D'Ann April 9-12. Moscow April 13. Limestone Valley April 17 (Detachment). Jenkins' Ferry, Saline River, April 30. Duty at Little Rock until July and at Lewisburg until September. Ordered to Little Rock September 10, and duty there until October 18. Escort train to Fort Smith October- November. Moved to Clarksville December 31, and duty there and at Fort Smith until August. Mustered out August 8, 1865.

 

 

Francis' family lived in a notorious place for lawlessness during the Civil War. According to the 'Melson Book',  while Francis and most of the men were gone, Mary helped dig the first two graves in the Oark Cemetery and buried two men who had been found shot by bushwhackers in the road above Oark near a spring in 1863.

After returning home from the war, Francis is said to have taught the first term of school that was taught in Low Gap Township, Johnson County. The school house was a little log cabin about 200 yards north of Low Gap Springs.

Children born to Francis M. and Mary E. Melson after the war were:

Sarah Isabell b. 15 Sept 1865
William Robert b. 21 Dec 1867
Clerica Armindo b. 10 Dec 1869
Mary Elizabeth b. 20 July 1871
John Wesley b. 17 Jan 1874 and died 28 Sept 1875
Alabama b. 27 March 1876
Ida Lee b. 2 March 1878
Francis Elmer b. 9 Jan 1880 and died 10 May 1881
Columbus C. "Bud" b. 18 March 1882
Tennessee Easter b. 13 April 1884
Absalom b. 14 Oct 1886 d. 6 August 1887
Benjamin Harrison (my ancestor) b. 10 Sept 1889



 Back row: Columbus Melson, Benjamin Harrison Melson, Easter Tennessee 'Tennie' Melson. Sitting: Francis Marion Melson, Mary Melson holding grandson George Washington Campbell, whose mother, Amanda Catherine had died during childbirth.

Francis Marion also served as the Justice of the Peace in 1870, where he performed the marriage of his younger brother Andrew "Jack" Melson to Jane Heinsley on 22 Jan 1870. In going through the old marriage records I also found where he married Zecharia Cowen and Polina Wagers on 6 March 1870, as well as J T Sykes and Martha Ann Summers on 11 Sept 1870.

Francis Marion Melson was also a Freemason - as you can see from his headstone.

Francis can be found in the Abstracts from Masonic Records from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, for the years 1873-1879, 1880-1883 & 1884-1886.

There is one more piece of lore I would like to add to the life story of Francis Marion Melson. My grandfather, Leroy Harrison Melson, has always told of a story involving treasure. Family lore says that during the war Francis discovered or somehow came into some gold and by the end of the war he had enough money to buy all of his children their own homestead. I haven't been able to find much else about this story... but in the mean time here's another Civil War hidden treasure story from not far off in Madison County.

**I want to address that I mean no disrespect in pointing out that the "Melson-Book; 1813-1973" has errors. In fact I have the utmost respect and appreciation for those who put these books together. Most were done before all the easily accessible information we have today. A lot of information that was given was done so by word of mouth and were taken from the memory of those most acquainted with the individuals documented. Mistakes happen. Memories fail. Even today with all the information that can be gathered, mistakes happen. So to Andrew Melson, I am extremely grateful.

Let's Begin - Again.

The prompt this week from No Story Too Small is 'commencement'. I've chosen to write about possibly THE biggest brick wall in my tree. My 4th great grandfather, Maize R. Foster. I have spent hours, along with many other cousins trying to find out more about the beginning of Maize's life. His last 15 years are pretty accountable, but it's his first 35 that are impossible to document it would seem.

The only evidence I have to the date and location of his birth, comes from the 1850 Collin County, TX census. Family #264 lists M R Foster, a farmer, (43) born in NC, wife Sarah (39) born in NC, daughter L J (20) born in IL, daughter N P (17) born in MO, son Wm H. (13) born in MO, daughter Mary (11) born in MO, son Jno T (9) born in MO, son M (3) born in TX, and son Jas (4/12) born in TX.  All children of age are attending school.



Don't you love the census records that didn't use names - only initials.

So from here, shall we work backwards or forwards?

Maybe I should start with his estate records, to prove this family is who I claim them to be.

The first page of his estate is from the Nov Term 1856, Collin County, where it states that Maize R. Foster, a citizen of said county died on or about the 10th day of January A.D. 1856 without leaving a legal will. John M. Salmons petitions the court to be the administrator of said estate.

On page 11 of the Estate, Maize's eldest son William is appointed guardian to the three youngest surviving children: Malcolm, James and Mary. Malcolm is my ancestor.



In January of 1857, the property of Maize Foster is appraised and several items are claimed by W H Foster and N P Foster (Wm and his sister - who you will soon find to be named Nancy).



Now as I dig further into the estate records one piece of paper tucked away inside the file has always left me curious. It's a written "receipt" for 3 coffins purchased in Feb 1856. If Maize died "on or around 10th of January" who are the other two coffins for? I suspect them to be for his wife and son, John T Foster. What kind of illness did they die from? Was it yellow fever? Influenza? Or as I later begin to wonder, maybe Maize is already buried and it could be for his oldest daughter as well?

 As I dig a little further I find a receipt dated 1856 to David Ford, Dr. Listed are dates and amounts for "pres med & cupping". According to Wikipedia cupping was used to treat respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia and bronchitis. He treated Mary on the 25th of January, Nancy on the 31st. On the 5th of February at night "visit to wife pres med & cupping". On the 5th "for self wife Mary and Nancy"

Enclosed in the estate file is also a receipt ledger for Dr. Henry Dye from Plano, TX. I have trouble making out a lot of what it says. But the date given is for the year 1857 and there is mention of cupping and treating blisters. Also for buying 8 loads of wood and 4 poles. From researching cupping therapy, I find that blisters are usually a terrible side-effect of the treatment. Were the 8 loads of wood for the heating process used in "cupping"? What are the 4 poles for?



Keep digging through the estate files and there's yet another receipt from a George H. Peguez, who was elected Justice of the Peace of Collin Co in 1857, where planks for a coffin for son are purchased in 1856 followed by planks for a coffin for self. What a surreal thing to know you and your loved ones are dying. I believe the son to be John T.



Nothing that provides any insight into what caused the death of Maize, his wife and his son, but it is interesting to note, was a receipt from Charles DeMorse for what appears to be newspapers subscriptions to The Standard. Specifically Vol. 10 #13 through Vol 13 #17.

I won't post the actual document, you'll just have to take my word for it, but by the Nov term of 1859 land is divided and distributed among the remaining heirs of Maize as follows - 33 acres to James Foster, 33 acres to Malcolm Foster, to Sanford Hosacks 33 acres, to Mary F. Dasson (Dawson) 33 acres, to Wm H. Foster 36 and 50/160 acres, to Nancy Stigal 31 and 125/160 acres



This leaves me asking, who was Sanford Hosack? Was he the widower of Maize's daughter L J born 1830 in ILL? There is no mention of her or John T or Maize's wife Sarah. After researching Sanford Hosack, I come up empty. I found a William Sanford Hosack, born in TX in 1856 who ends up in Merced CA in 1884 but that's as close as I get. *Follow-up* After going back to research this further, I find in the probate records of Collin County where William Sanford Hosack was the minor heir of Hosack and is entitled to an interest in the Estate of Maize R. Foster. Click here for the file. In this file it calls him the heir of L J Hosack... confirming my theory that Sanford Hosack was the widow of Maize's daughter.

So, here we are with a beginning to Maize's life-- 1807 in NC, and an end, 1856 in Collin County, TX. Now to fill in the gaps.

We know that Maize was in Collin County, TX because of the 1850 census and his estate files. In 1842 there is an M R Foster with 640 acres. In 1843 he is listed as Maise Foster. In 1844 Maze R Foster. In 1845 there is a "Mays Foster" all listed in the Fannin County Tax Rolls. Fannin and Collin are neighboring counties and according to a formation map of the state, Collin County was formed from Fannin County in 1846.

Maize R. Foster is still the name on the original abstracts in Collin County as abstract #332. In the online transcription of his land records it is listed in Fannin district as a 3rd class headright. 3rd class headrights were issued to those who arrived in Texas between October 1, 1837 and January 1, 1840. Heads of families received 640 acres, while single men received 320 acres.

I'm currently trying to verify if Maize was a member of the Peters Colony. There is an 1852 survey map that allegedly shows the EAST boundary of the Peters Colony. You can find that map here. The red line is extremely faded and runs through James Maxwell's plot, directly to the east of the plot surveyed for Maize. I haven't been able to find on the map where it is labeled as the East boundary - only in the description of the map. If you look at the above picture where Maize's land was divided between his heirs you can see Rowlett's Creek. This is a Peters Colony Grant Map circa 1842-44 where Rowlett's Creek is clearly marked. After contacting the Texas Land Grant office - I was told Maize was NOT a member of Peter's colony.

After looking at his birth year and his location during the time of the Mexican-American war I decided to search Fold3 for "Maize", hoping to find a service record. I came up empty. But after seeing his name listed as "Mays" in the tax records I decided to do a search spelling it that way and got a hit for a "May Foster" who was enlisted on 1 Nov 1847 and assigned to Belle's Reg't Texas Mounted Vols. Is this him? It's doubtful as his age is given as 21 in 1864.

About 10 years ago, when I first learned of Maize, thanks to my great aunt Dena, I began searching online and came across Terry Foster who was researching his ancestor, James Foster, in Benton County, MO.  On his page he me mentions Goodspeed's “History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries and Osage Counties, Missouri.” where Maize R. Foster is mentioned as serving on a grand jury in Warsaw, Benton Co., MO in 1835 along side Terry's ancestor James. Are the two connected? We know from the 1850 census that 3 of Maize's children were born in MO between the years 1837-1841 (approx.) This must be him, yet there is no Maize or Maize R or M R Foster to be found in all the state of MO for the census year 1840. Today while going through the images on FamilySearch for the Court Minutes of Benton County, 1838-1846, Vol A; page 13, I found Maize R. Foster. The previous page (12) gives us the date of February 1835 when he was appointed as a commissioner along with Hugh M. Donaghe and Hugh C. Donaghe to "view and mark out" a road going from Rives County to Fristoe's Ferry on the Osage River. Hugh M and Hugh C. were first cousins.

**I recently (2016) discovered a little book on The Portal to Texas History called "Between The Creeks" that mentions "Maise" was a chainman under Daniel Rowlett and Daniel Montague and helped survey the lands of Fannin County, Texas. I wonder if surveying was a skill/trade of his?** To see the entire land record (bottom of page 6) where Maize is shown as a surveyor click here

Terry does make an interesting connection with Maize's son-in-law, George G. Dawson, in Rives, MO that same year, and a Malcolm Foster living next door. (Remember Maize's son and my ancestor was also named Malcolm - not him, but is it a namesake?)
We also know from the 1850 census that Maize's oldest child was born around 1830 in IL. Terry's ancestor James Foster, also hails from IL and in the 1830 STATE census there were 8 Foster families living in Morgan County. Again - No Maize is listed in the entire state of IL. The heads of families listed in the Morgan County census are: John Foster, Elizabeth Foster, James Foster, Mary Foster, Wm Foster, Wm F. Foster, James Foster (different from first) and John Foster (different from first). Is the Wm F. Foster listed the same Wm F Foster who shows up in the Fannin/Collin County Tax records the same year as Maize?

There is no luck searching the 1830 FEDERAL census either. More than likely because according to this website: "The 1820, 1855, and 1865 schedules have survived reasonably intact, but most returns for 1825, 1830, 1835, and 1845 are missing, and almost half of the 1840 state census has been lost."

Before 1830 Maize would be lumped in with his father's family in any census records, so this is where my trail runs cold.

To wrap things up, I don't know Maize's wife Sarah's maiden name or where they were even married. I know it would be sometime prior to 1830 if she were indeed the mother of his eldest child. Possibly in Illinois but I can't be certain.

The following children belonging to Maize I can document:

William H. Foster born about 1837 in MO, marries on 5 April 1866 Lucy Jane Stigall, the daughter of Peter Stigall and Mary "Polly" Edwards.

Nancy P. Foster born 5 Sept 1841 in MO (I'm not certain her birth date is correct - she was older than Mary and wasn't in need of a guardian appointed at the time of her father's death). She was the second wife of Peter Stigall, who again was the father of Lucy Jane Stigall. Nancy and Peter were married 27 Jan 1859 in Collin County.

Mary Foster born about 1839 in MO married first to George G. Dawson, Dec 1858. George died during the civil war. Mary then becomes the wife of David Smith 19 July 1865  she then marries again to James Nicholas Stigall, the son of Peter Stigall and Mary "Polly" Edwards on 2 Apr 1879.

My ancestor, Malcolm "Mack" Foster born in July of 1847 in Collin County, TX. He married Mary Knox 5 April 1866, the same day as his brother, William H. married his wife Lucy.

Then James Foster who was born in 1850, Collin County, TX. I don't have a spouse listed for him and I only know he and his brother Malcolm are buried side by side in Sims, TX, with two headstones splitting the word BRO-THERS.



In closing, if you're reading this and can make a connection this family, please reach out. I would love to connect with you. Also, I would love to find descendants of Malcom's siblings. Myself, and a few cousins of mine (descended from Malcolm) have tested with 23andMe and have uploaded our raw data to GEDMatch. We have compared our genomes with that of Terry Foster (descendant of James Foster) and there are no matches. I'm not sure that definitely means we're not related, possibly just that we didn't inherit the same genome as Terry may have. But then again, I really don't understand DNA well enough to make assumptions.

I hope you have enjoyed this wild goose chase. I hope we can eventually fill in all the missing pieces.

Until Next Week,
Becky



A cousin responded on FB and had this to say about Malcolm and his brother James: "My mother, Evie Foster Alexander, always referred to them as grandpa and uncle Jim. She told me that they were both widowers and lived together when she was little."

Captured At Vicksburg

This week the prompt from No Story Too Small is 'Military', and I have chosen to write about my 4th great grandfather Asa Franklin Moore.

According to census records, Asa was born about 1830 in South Carolina. I am not certain of his parentage, but I believe it to be Hutson and Susanna Moore. In the 1850 Laurens County South Carolina census, dwelling #1941, is Hutson  (53), Susanna (44), Oliver (22), Alsey F. (21), Luraney (19), William (18), Stephan B. (16), Parthena (14), Perncey (12), Malissa (10), John B. (8), Lei M. (6) and Munro (4).

I believe "Alsey F." to be my Asa. I have looked up the will of Hutson Moore, who died in 1874 and he makes no mention of any of his children -- only his wife, Susanna. But "Perncey" aka "Perneecy" from this household ends up marrying William Marion Riddle and settling not far from my Asa Franklin Moore in the same county (Johnson) in Arkansas. Also - my ancestor Franklin Redford Moore, son of Asa, named his first child, a daughter, Alsey. Maybe Alsey was his nickname?

Also in Laurens County, SC 1850 census is family # 1717 - the household of Solomon and Barbary "Golasby" (Gillespie) with several children, including 19 year old daughter Amanda. Sometime between 1850 and 1852 Amanda and Asa Franklin Moore marry.  In 1852 Amanda gives birth to their first child Mary J. Moore. I find Asa that same year in the Franklin County Georgia Tax books. I also find him in the tax lists for the years 1854, 1858 & 1867. In 1854 Amanda's father Solomon is also in Franklin County, GA, where he remarries a MUCH younger Elizabeth Pierce. His former wife, Barbara is still alive and in Laurens, South Carolina, living with a Vaughan and Bolt family.

In 1855 Amanda gave birth to their second child, Martha, then George Washington in 1859, and Amanda Silvenus in 1863 (I'm sure Asa was gone fighting, possibly at the siege of Chattanooga, at the time of her birth.).

On May 12 1862 Asa F. Moore, along with his brother-in-law *Simeon Thomas, volunteered on the side of the Confederacy in Franklin County GA with Captain Russell A. Jones Company, Johnson's Regiment Georgia Infantry which later became Company G, 34th Regiment Georgia Infantry.

"This unit was sent to Tennessee, then Mississippi where it was assigned to T.H. Taylor's Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. It participated in the battle at Champion's Hill and was captured at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Exchanged and reorganized it was placed in General Cummings' Brigade, Army of Tennessee. The 34th was active in many engagements from Chattanooga to Nashville, and ended the war in North Carolina. It reported 34 casualties at Chattanooga, contained 369 men and 266 arms in December, 1863, and had 219 fit for duty in Janaury, 1865. Very few surrendered in April. The field commanders were Colonel J.A.W. Johnson, Lieutenant Colonel J.W. Bradley, and Majors Thomas T. Dorough and John M. Jackson" ~ Taken from The National Park Service.

Below is the roster in which Asa F. Moore is listed as prisoner #351, captured at Vicksburg.

Known skirmished that Asa's unit fought in are:

Vicksburg Campaign (May-July 1863)
Chattanooga seige (Sept.-Nov. 1863)
Battle of Cahttanooga (Nov. 23-25, 1863)
New Hope Church (May 25 - June 4, 1864)
Atlanta (July 22, 1864)
Jonesboro (Aug 31-Sept 1,1864)
Nashville (Dec. 15-16, 1864)
Bentonville, NC (March 19-21, 1865)
they were at Joe Johnston's surrender on April 26, 1865.

 

Asa with his youngest son William.
(Notice the way he holds his right hand)

After Asa returned home from war Amanda gave birth to my ancestor, Franklin Redford "Red", in 1866, the following year they had Rosanna E.

In 1870, the same year Amanda gave birth to Solomon Jasper, the family can be found living in St. Clair County, AL where they are also found 10 years later in 1880. By then Amanda had given birth to their last child William T. who had been born in 1873. I wonder what prompted them to move.

By 1889 Asa and his family had moved again to Johnson County, AR where on Christmas Eve of that year Amanda passed away at the age of 58. She is buried in Stillwell Cemetery, in Johnson County.

In  July 1897 Asa filed his application for his pension. According to his application on July 25th 1864, at the Battle of Atlanta, he was shot in the forearm of his right hand. Dr. John W. Mitchell said in his report that the wound was "of right forearm midway between wrist and elbow" When asked  how this wound was cause for disability pension the doctor's response was "Feeble heath incapacity due not only to old age, but the wound lacerated muscle of arm causing wasting or atrophy and inability to grasp anything and at times becoming almost useless."


Fellow members of the 34th Regiment who came forth as witnesses for Asa's pension were Benjamin F. Ellis, Andrew J. Burgess and of course, *Simeon Thomas.

In March of 1901 Asa's pension was approved and he was allowed $60.00 to be drawn from.

On 25 Mar 1909, Asa Franklin Moore passed away. He was buried in Stillwell Cemetery, Johnson County, AR with his wife.


*Simeon Thomas married Amanda Gillespie's sister, Elizabeth Jane Gillespie.

Until Next Week,
Becky

A Warrant Was Issued

This week's 52 Ancestors theme is 'Black Sheep'. And I have chosen to write about my 6th great grandmother Ann Brandon, whose first child, my ancestor, was born out of wedlock. That's a pretty big deal today in some circles. And it was big enough to land you in court and subject to a hefty fine in the 1700's.

Ann Brandon is said to have been from a pretty respectable and prominent family in Colonial America. She was born in Anson County, North Carolina sometime around 1752 to John Brandon and Elizabeth (Patton) Brandon. Several online trees say that she is the daughter of John Brandon and Mary Cathey, but in my research I have found an Elizabeth Brandon's Will, dated September 1797, (Will Book G, p. 154, Rowan Co, NC) that mentions her son, William Brandon,  daughters, Jane Nichols, Sarah Smith and Ann Todd. (We'll get to the "Todd" in a little bit.) And going one generation further I found the will of a *William Patton, dated 5 September 1742, that mentions his daughter Elizabeth Brandon... without any further sources at this time, it my assumption that the line is Ann Brandon, daughter of Elizabeth (Patton) Brandon, who was the daughter of William Patton.

From some pretty exhaustive research I have discovered what I believe to be the source of the error in the other online trees. As often times happened during the 1700 - 1800's names were repeated generation after generation. Siblings would often times name their children the same names as their sibling's children, making it VERY difficult to keep up with generation changes and/or family groups. My Ann's father was John Brandon who married Elizabeth Patton. He was the son of John Brandon who married Mary Cathey. John Sr. and Mary Cathey had a daughter named Anne Brandon, b. 1722 who married Francis Locke. NOT my Ann Brandon but her aunt. Are you confused yet? (To add to this confusion: There were 2 Francis Locke's - Francis Locke (1722-1796) m. Anne Brandon and Francis Locke (1754-1808) married Blanche Rutherford.) Still keeping up? Because John Brandon Sr. married the eldest Francis Locke's widowed mother Elizabeth (the widow of John Locke d. 1744). after the death of his first wife Mary Cathey. The younger Francis Locke was the nephew of the eldest via his brother Matthew Locke.

So, now that I have that all sorted out, hopefully, I'll begin her colorful story:

Ann grew up during the height of the Revolutionary War and her family was neighbors and friends with the Rutherford's, as in Gen. Griffith Rutherford, who is quite well known in parts of North Carolina and Tennessee for his military career during the Revolutionary War and for his part in the removal of the Cherokee Indians. Both North Carolina and Tennessee have counties named after Gen. Rutherford.

John Brandon Jr. and Griffith Rutherford were members of the Assembly and Provincial Congress from Rowan County, along with Matthew Locke, the brother-in-law of John's sister Anne Brandon and the father-in-law of Gen. Rutherford's daughter, Blanche.

Sometime prior to 1776 my Ann began a relationship with Griffith Rutherford's son James Rutherford. There is a book that claims James to have been married to a Mary Gilleson, but from everything I've read online, none of the current Rutherford researches have been able to document this union, nor have I.

By March of 1777 Ann Brandon, unmarried, gave birth to a son, whom she named David Rutherford, my 5th great grand father.

As I write this blog ( a wee bit early ) I'm waiting for copies of a court record where a warrant was issued for Ann and she was brought before the court in 1777 on charges of having a bastard son. Documents pertaining to this court case are said to be in Court book 4, pages 106, 126, and 132 in Rowan County, North Carolina.

After mailing in a request to Rowan Public Library with a check for $10, the documented court case arrived in the mail today! A lot of it was difficult to make out, but below is the information I was looking for!

Transcription of above image: James Rutherford charged on oath of Anne Brandon with having begot a Bastard male child on her body appeared in court agreeable to a warrant issued by Christopher Beekman and Matthew Troy, two of the Justices of this County according to law, and paid 25 shillings. The fine required by law and was bound with Adlai Osborn and Francis Lock Jr. in the sum of £200  to keep the county indemnified from said child, and Anne Brandon also paid 25 shillings as by law required -- The money by order of the court was given to Solomon Davis, a poor man of the county.

James Rutherford, the said father of her bastard child, died 8 Sep 1781, at the battle of Eutaw Springs. I don't know if James and Ann had plans of getting married or not. I like to imagine that they had a short romance whenever they could find the opportunity to be together and that any conventional courtship and marriage would've been hindered by the confusion and business of the war at hand. The reality of what actually took place will never be known.

After the death of James Rutherford,  Ann Brandon married a John Todd Jr. in 1782.

John Todd Jr. drew up his Last Will and Testament April 13, 1796, where he mentions the following children: Nancy, John, Elizabeth, Mary, Thomas, "and the child with which she (Ann) is now pregnant". In the Estate records of John Todd Jr. the name of the unborn child is revealed to be James. His brother John is appointed guardian. In the third portion of his will he mentions his step-son David Rutherford... (I have yet to find a copy of the original will, only a transcription.)

Thirdly my will and desire is, that my stepson, David Rutherford, live with my wife, and have the free use, and occupation of all my smith tools and shop, for the space of four years, but that one half of the profits of the labor done in the shop, shall annually be paid my wife Ann, by the said David and the remainder of the profits he the said David to have and to hold the same forever.

 I have found a copy of the original will of **Thomas Todd, the son of John Todd Jr. and Ann Brandon, dated 16 January 1858, where he mentions his half-brother, David Rutherford, already deceased and his heirs:

 

Sometime after the death of John Todd Jr., Ann married again to a Joseph Thomson/Thompson. The only record I have of this is a transcribed ledger index of marriages in Rowan County that lists a Joseph Thomson and an Agnes Todd married 6 Aug 1805 and the fact that Ann's previously mentioned son, Thomas Todd, erected a stone in memory of his mother at Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery where he and his maternal grandparents are also buried. The name on her stone is Ann Thompson. She died 17 Dec 1821 at the age of 61.

To the memory of Ann Thompson who died Dec 17th A.D. 1821 in the 61st year of her age. This Marble was erected by "Ths.Todd, alone, son of sd. decd. as a token of gratitude from a child to a parent"

 

*The Last Will and Testament of William Patton can be found in Will Book B, pg 122, West Marlborough Township, Chester County, PA. In addition to mentioning his daughter Elizabeth Brandon, he also mentions his eldest son James Patton, his second eldest son Robert Patton, his daughter Jane Graham, his son William Patton Jr., his grandson John Patton (son of James) and his grandchildren William Graham, Elizabeth Graham, and John Graham. Find-A-Grave says that he has a son, John Logan Patton, but if this is true - he was obviously left out of the will.

**The Last Will and Testament of Thomas Todd can be found in Vol. 1, Wills 1868-1881, pgs 29-31, Rowan County, NC. He also mentions his brother John B. Todd, and sisters, Nancy S. Thomason, Elizabeth P. Trott, and Mary Kerr.

Until next week,

Becky