Where There's A Will, There's A Source.

I have to once again give kudos to No Story Too Small for this amazing idea of blogging about a different ancestor each week and to my sister-in-law at Days of Our Lives for letting me in on it. I have learned so much about my heritage and have made a lot of new contacts with various relatives. I love it! Alongside subscriptions to Ancestry, Fold3 and Newspapers.com I also have found great success in using FamilySearch and believe it or not, Facebook. You would be surprised at how many genealogy groups you can find. Some are better than others.

 

We're now on week #18 and the theme is 'Where There's A Will'... This will prompt me to write about my 5th great grandfather John Young because it was through his will that I was able to find a source to document my 3rd great grandmother, Martha Elizabeth Young's parentage.

According to the 1850 census John Young was born in Ireland in 1773, but after joining the Buncombe Co. NC Genealogy Research Facebook group, a descendant of John's shared with me a few images she had of John's Bible!! According to the Bible entry, John was more specifically born May 11, 1773.

This Bible was found by Bruce Whitaker in an 1820's era house, last occupied by Mary Edmundson Pinkerton, who was a direct descendant of John Young's.

 

Sometime around the year 1800, John married Roseanna, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Mckey - Mackey) Hemphill. (Roseanna's father, Thomas Hemphill, mentions his son-in-law, John Young in his will.) By December 1800, their first child, Jane, was born. The next child born to this union is little Thomas Young, born December 12, 1902 and he died the following May. My ancestor William was born January 15, 1904 and the next child born, as was a common naming tradition of the Irish, was named after their deceased son, Thomas, who had been named after Rosanna's father. Thomas Lawrence Young was born March 6, 1806 followed by Mary M. , Nancy, Samuel and last but not least, Martha.

 

An article shared to me by a new found distant cousin, Shirley Summey, says that John lived in Burke County prior to moving to Buncombe County, NC. In the year of 1799 he was appointed election clerk, in the January term he served on the Grand Jury, and in the October term he served on a road jury from Morganton to Buncombe. And in 1800 John Young was appointed constable. This article was written by Linda Murdock. In gearing up for this post I have searched through the court files on Family Search and at this point in time I have only found records for John being a constable, but the year is 1799 - July Term. (I'm still searching - I've made it to image 523/998) *Other Young's mention in these files are a Joseph, Thomas, Wesley or Westley and a Rachel*








The Greensboro Patriot - 3 April 1833

In doing research on John, I discovered the tragic death of his youngest, Martha. It would seem in March of 1833, at the age of 17, when she and a friend were on their way to school, they had to cross the Swannano River. Both girls slipped and fell in and poor Martha drowned.

Notice that John's name is followed by Esq... I was curious what that signified. And I found the following:
"In the United States, the title is given to public officers of all degrees, from governors down to justices and attorneys. Indeed, the title, in addressing letters, is bestowed on any person at pleasure, and contains no definite description. It is merely an expression of respect. Webster's Dictionary, by Noah Webster, LL.D., Hurst & Company 1897"




Rockingham Post-Dispatch 1924

The previously mentioned article written by Mrs. Murdock also states that John Young was the Justice of the Peace in Buncombe County in 1813 and 28 Dec 1838 he was named as one of the commissioners to select the county seat for Henderson County. While I have yet to find any official records of being named a commissioner, I did find another article that backs her research up. (Disclaimer: I am not doubting her research. I'm just using it as a lead to do my own research and, unsurprisingly, I'm finding the same information). 



I'm not certain of the exact date of John's death but his will was signed 11 March 1850 and was proven in open court during the December term of that same year.

Below is my best attempt at the transcription of his will. I will highlight the portion that relates to my line - which was very beneficial in going one step further up the tree.


The last Will and Testament of John Young. In the name of God Amen. I, John Young of the County of Buncombe and State of North Carolina, being in my usual health but advanced age. And calling to mind the mortality of my body, do make ordain and establish this my last Will and Testament, inn manner and form following to wit by items

Item 1st - I will and desire that all my just debts be paid.

Item 2nd - I will and devise to my beloved wife Rosanna Young three hundred dollars in money, two beds, bed stands and furniture to be disposed of as she chooses.

Item 3rd - I will devise and bequeath to my daughter Jane Porter her heirs and assigns forever the tract of land on the North fork of Swannanoa River supposed to be one hundred and eighty acres being in three tracts, purchased by me from Francis Greer by referenced to which deed the boundaries there of will more fully appear. One copper mill now in possession of her husband Alexander Porter, and after the death of my wife Rosanna, one negro girl named Angeline and her increase should she have any.

Item 4th - I will devise and bequeath to my daughter in law Rebecca Young, widow of my son William, her heirs and assigns during her life or widowhood the tract of land on which she now lives, containing about two hundred and seven acres purchased by me from Levi Merrill and on her death or marriage, I will devise and bequeath that the said land be equally divided between Rosanna, Sarah, Jane, Thomas, Martha, Alla Melinda, Samuel and Mary Young, children of my said son William Young, their heirs and assigns forever.


Item 5th - I will and bequeath to my grandson Samuel P. Young his heirs and assigns one negro boy named George and a small rifle gun.

Item 6th - I will devise and bequeath to my son Thomas L. Young his heirs and assigns forever the tract of land on Swannanoa where he now lives which was purchased by me of John Patton, the boundaries of which will more fully appear by referenced to the deed of conveyance from said Patton to me. And one copper still now in his possession and a negro girl named Julia together with her increase and all my carpenter tools. I also will and bequeath to my said son T. L. Young during the natural life of my wife Rosanna five negros to wit Lucy, Spencer, Lowry, Angeline, Charlotte. All the stock of horses cattle, hogs and sheep. Wagon and geers (?) and farming tools of every kind. Household and kitchen furniture.

Item 7th - I will and bequeath to my grandson Samuel M. Young his heirs and assigns, a negro boy named Dick, and my large rifle gun.

Item 8th - I will and devise and bequeath to my daughter Mary M. Edmonston her heirs and assigns forever, the one half of the McCrary tract of land to be divided by commencing with the branch on which McCrary had a mill, crosses the North or North East line and sum wit the meander of the branch to the creek. And then to continue the same direction as the general course of the branch to the South line the part lying next to Tweeds to belong to the said Mary. And after the death of my wife Rosanna one negro boy named Sammy.(or maybe Lanny).

Item 9th - I will devise and bequeath to my grandchildren Willington Pattillo, John Pattillo, Samuel P. Pattillo their heirs and assigns forever the other or upper part of the McCrary tract of land joining the part given to Mary Edmonston in Item 8th and being the part of the McCrary tract of land not given to the said M Edmonson.

Item 10th - I will and bequeath to my two granddaughters Rosanna and Martha Pattillo their heirs and assigns, a negro girl named Louiza and her increase should she have any, to come into their possession after the death of my wife.

Item 11th - I will and bequeath to my granddaughter Martha Ann Edmondson her heirs and assigns, one negro girl named Caroline and her increase if any, to come to possession of the said Martha Ann after the death of my wife.

Item 12th - I will and bequeath to my daughter Mary M. Edmonson her heirs and assigns after the death of my wife, a negro woman named Lucy.

Item 13th - I will and bequeath after the death of my wife to my daughter in law Rebecca Young during her life or widowhood a negro girl named Charlotte and after her death or marriage the said girl and the increase after she comes to the possession of the said Mary (I think he meant to say Rebecca) to be divided among the same persons and in the same manner as the land mentioned in item 4th of this will directed to be divided.

Item 14th - I will and desire that all the rest of my property both real and personal be sold by executor at public sale on a credit of twelve months and the proceeds of such sales together with money and land debts ? me at my death. After paying my just debts and three hundred dollars bequeathed unto my wife be divided into five equal parts, and one part to be given to my daughter Jane Porter, one part to the children of my son William, one part to my son Thomas L., one part to Mary M. Edmonson. One part to the children of my daughter Nancy Pattillo deceased. I here by appoint Joshua Roberts my sole executor of this my last Will and Testament.

In witness whereof I here unto set my hand and seal the 11th day of March 1850

(Signed) John Young





If you're curious about these land deeds, a very beneficial resource was shared with me on the Ancestry Facebook group for anyone with ancestors in Buncombe County.

Going off the information in his will, we know the following about John's children: Jane married Alexander Porter, his son (my ancestor) William has already died but left a widow named Rebecca and the named children, Mary M. has married an Edmondson, Nancy married a Pattillo but she has already died, from the article I found I know that Martha died in '33 so that leaves a son named Samuel that isn't mentioned in the will at all. He must have died young as well, leaving no widow or children to inherit his portion.

Just an FYI:  Mary M. Young married James Edmondson. William (deceased) Young married James Edmondson's sister Rebecca Edmondson (my ancestor).

James and Rebecca's parent's were William and Sarah (Patton) Edmundson. John Young's was a witness to a deed between Thomas Hemphill and William Edmundson, dated Oct 1817. I cannot tell you if the Thomas Hemphill was John's FIL or BIL.

In an article found in the 1851 Fayetteville Weekly Observer there is a published court case between Miles Goforth vs John Young and Littleton Pattillo of Buncombe County, in Equity. The case was dismissed with costs. Was this Nancy's husband?

I think I have included all the information I have on our John. I hope if you're reading this and you have more to share, I would love it if you would leave a comment. I love hearing from and connecting with relatives of all distance.

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.