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