Revolutionary Pay Vouchers of My Ancestors

Today while taking it easy (all I seem to do anymore) I came across another record collection on Family Search; North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers 1779-1782  (Remember these records are free. All you have to do is create an account- for free).

I thought I would do a quick post sharing what I found on my North Carolina Revolutionary War Ancestors -- I have a ton.

*Remeber to click on links for more information where I have blogged about them before.

I'll start with my Irish ancestor General Griffith Rutherford and also his son James Rutherford who died in the Battle of Eutaw Springs. This is a paternal ancestor that I get to from my Mammy's side. Her mother was Lurie Myrtle Rutherford. From there you can trace a straight paternal line back to James and then his father Griffith. (James Walter, Thomas Franklin, Thomas, David, James, Griffith).





Bradbury Teal is another ancestor stemming from my Mammy's side. Her father was John Arthur Jones. His Father was John Calvin Jones. His mother was Mattie Teel and from here you go two more generations to get to her grandfather Bradberry Teel who ended up getting into severe legal troubles over counterfeit money.



Robert Lemond/Lemmond/Lemmon also on my Mammy's side. Thomas Rutherford (from above) married Margaret Adaline Lemmond. She was the daughter of James McCullough Lemond who was the son of Robert Lemmon.

I couldn't find a single record for my maternal line ancestor George Upton in these records but he was a Revolutionary War Veteran from Alabama (not North Carolina). 


George Horner is on my maternal side. My great grandfather Obie Zearl Melson, his mother Julia Bohannon, her mother Oma Boen, her mother Zilpha Horner, her father Spencer and his father George.



James Stepp is a maternal ancestor going four generations back from my great grandfather Newell Stepp. His father was James Jonathan, his father William and his father James and his father was James (this line has several James Stepps going even further back).



Thomas McKie/Mackey/ is another Irish ancestor, on my mother's side. My great great grandmother, Rebeccca Merrill Stepp, her mother Martha Young, her father William Young, his mother Rosanna Hemphill, her mother Mary McKey, her father Thomas Mckie/Mackie/Mackey.



Thomas Hemphill was the above Thomas Mackie's son-in-law, married to his daughter Mary. He was also a Captain in the Revolutionary War.




Robert Patton is my 6th great grandfather on my maternal side. My great great grandmother Rebecca Matilda Merrill's mother, Martha Young, her mother, Rebecca Edmondson, her mother Sarah Patton and her father Robert.



And last but not least, another Irishman, George Cathey, the father-in-law of the above Robert Patton.



** Interesting Tidbitt on my PATTON line** I can trace my maternal and paternal lines back to Robert's grandfather William. And I have copies of records where my paternal ancestor Griffith Rutherford gave testimony on a land survey belonging to my maternal ancestor George Cathey.

Small world.

Until next time,
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  

It's A Family Tradition

Here we are 12 weeks into this genealogy blogging challenge. This week the writing prompt is 'same' and I've decided to write about a recent discovery I made about my name and the name of FIVE of my ancestors. You see my given name is Rebecca Sue. I was named after both of my grandmothers - maternal first, paternal second. This year while building my tree on Ancestry, I discovered that my maternal grandmother was named after her grandmother and that her grandmother was named after hers and her grandmother was named after hers - for a total of NINE generations! The line in which I discovered this comes from Northern Ireland. The Irish follow a tradition in naming their children.

1st Daughter named after Mothers Mother
2nd Daughter named after Fathers Mother
3rd Daughter named after Mother
4th Daughter named after Mothers eldest sister
5th Daughter named after 2nd oldest sister or Fathers eldest sister

So while this tradition may have started out intentional, I wonder when it just became coincidence.  Now that I've picked up on it, I hope at least one of my three children will have a daughter and name her Rebecca and that her granddaughter will also be named Rebecca and on and on and on ....

My maternal grandmother's name is Rebecca Inda. She was also named after both sets of grandmothers. She was the fourth child born to Newell McKinley and Zula Jane (ACORD) STEPP. Newell's mother's name was Rebecca Matilda MERRILL and Zula Jane's mother was Clara Inda EVANS (Sometimes misunderstood to be Clarinda.) My grandmother married my grandfather, Leroy Harrison MELSON on November 23, 1955. She didn't have the opportunity to know her namesake because her grandmother died nearly three years before she was born. Also, just as I go by Becky instead of Rebecca, my grandmother goes by Reba, instead of Rebecca.

My grandmother's grandmother, Rebecca Matilda MERRIL, was born October 12, 1867 in Henderson or Buncombe County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Abner MERRIL/MERRELL and Martha Elizabeth YOUNG. I still have a bit of a road block when it comes to Rebecca MERRILL's paternal line as I can't prove who Abner's father is. There were twin boys, William and Jacob MERRILL both of whom, apparently, named sons Abner. I have documented proof of William having a son, Abner. But only "word of mouth", undocumented, online family trees that say Jacob did. William's wife was Nancy McCRARY and Jacob's wife was Jennie M. McCARSON. Does the 'M' stand for Matilda? What was Nancy's middle name? Either way, I do know that Rebecca MERRILL was named after her mother's mother, Rebecca EDMONDSON.

Rebecca EDMONDSON was born around 1806 in North Carolina. She was the daughter of William EDMONDSON and Sarah PATTON (Sarah's sister is Elizabeth PATTON -who married Davy CROCKETT). Rebecca EDMONDSON married William YOUNG sometime before 1830. The two of them had at least six children together as he died fairly young sometime before 1850. Rebecca and her children are mentioned in her father-in-law, John YOUNG's,  Will as his son William's widow and heirs.



And much to my excitement, I just discovered while doing some research for this post that Rebecca EDMONDSON was named after her maternal grandmother Rebecca CATHEY. Rebecca CATHEY was the daughter of George CATHEY and UNKNOWN and was the wife of Robert PATTON. She was born around 1766 in Rowan County, North Carolina. Proof of her parentage and marriage to Robert PATTON comes from a court document, apparently a land dispute, out of Wilson County, Tennessee. It can be found in pages 112 - 115 - Wilson County (Tennessee) Court Minute Book - 1821-1825.

Below is the record transcribed and below it I included a cropped picture of the document so you can read the part that includes Robert and Rebecca PATTON:

Robert Neill versus George Cathey. William Neil, the complainant's father, sometime in the month of October 1783 gave to one George Cathey sixty-five pounds and securing for him lands in the western country. Said George purchased 640 acres in partnership with William Campbell. The bill also charges that William Neil gave to his son John Neil the tract of land. The bill also charges that the complainant purchased said land from John Neil his brother. The bill also charges that William and George Cathey, sons of George Cathey, executed their bonds of John Neil to convey to him said tract of land. Said bond has been lost. The bill also states to Violet Cathey, one of the daughters of said George Deceased and John Reed who had intermarried with Esther another of the daughters of said George executed a deed of relinquishment to the complainant. The bill also exhibits a release of Alexander Neil and James Neil, brothers to the complainant. The deed of relinquishment, dated 1 August 1821 given by John Neil, James Neil, Sarah Neil, John Plumley, William Plumley, Archibald Plumley, Jacob Howe, Hannah Howe, Benjamin Howe, and William Howe. That George Cathey, Violet Cathey, Jane Adkins, Samuel Lusk and wife Betsey, Benjamin Burgen and wife Mary are the children of said George Cathey deceased, that George Patton, John Logan, and wife Rebecca are the grandchildren of said George Cathey by his daughter Margaret who intermarried with Elija Patton and who are both deceased. Also Robert Cain and Daniel Cain, grandchildren of said George by his daughter Elizabeth who intermarried first with Robert Cain, also James Reed grand child of said George deceased by his daughter Elizabeth by her second husband Robert Reed, the said Robert Cain, Robert Reed and Elizabeth being all now dead. Also Robert Patton and his wife Rebecca who is daughter of said George, John Reed and wife Esther who is also a daughter of said George. Also Andrew Neil and wife Mary, the said Andrew being a son of William Neil Deceased and his wife Mary, a daughter of said George (Note: this last refers to the wife of Andrew-mp) Also Robert Gillespie and wife, Ann granddaughter of said George by his son William Cathey and George Cathey, James Cathey and Andrew Cathey and William Mahaly and wife Betsey, grandsons and daughter of said George by his son William Cathey now dead. And also the defendants James Neil, Mary grand daughter of said William by his son Archibald who is also deceased. Also Hardy Hightower and wife Hariet grand daughter of said William by his son Archibald, Alexander Neil, Samuel Neil, and gilbreath Neil, sons of said William and James Neil and wife Sally, Hannah Howes daughter of said William, also William Plumley and John Plumley, Jr., grandchildren of said William by his daughter Betsey who had intermarried with John Plumley, Sr. and is now dead. 1822

This PATTON/CATHEY line is new to me, as I only discovered them this week. I haven't been able to find conclusive evidence that Sarah PATTON was indeed married to Wm. EDMUNDSON/EDMONDSON other than records cited and kept at the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society. I did however find a land record where William EDMUNDSON sold land to Thomas HEMPHIILL. Ages aren't given so I am uncertain as to whether this Thomas is Jr. or Sr. The younger Thomas would be William's son-in-law's uncle where as the older would be his son-in-law's grandfather. The land borders John YOUNG, Rebecca EDMONDSON'S father-in-law. The land description also mentions that a section of the land was originally granted by the State of North Carolina to a William YOUNG on the 17th of October 1796 - this William YOUNG is probably John YOUNG's father or brother as I haven't made it any further than John at this point in time.

So to recap - This tradition of naming daughters after their grandmothers has been going on for at least nine generations, spanning at least 200 years... unless one of my children continues the tradition.

Me (Rebecca Sue), my mother, my grandmother (Rebecca Inda), her father, her grandmother (Rebecca Matilda MERRILL), her mother, her grandmother (Rebecca EDMONDSON), her mother, her grandmother (Rebecca CATHEY).

Until next week,
Becky

And as always please be sure to check out my sister-in-law's blog over at Days of Our Lives.