Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Matilda (Lewis) Mason, Daughter of John Lewis

© Kathy Duncan, 2018

More than fifteen years ago, in my quest to find the parents of Matilda Lewis who married William Mason in Madison County, Alabama in 1823, I found the following information on the Family Tree Maker page entitled “Ancestors of Christopher David Russell,” in generation seven:

“John Lewis, born 1777 in Albemarle, VA; died 1848 in Hardin, TN. He was the son of Charles Lewis and Mary Randolph. He married Susan Daniel 1792 in Kentucky. Susan Daniel was the daughter of Terrance Daniel.

Children of John Lewis and Susan Daniel:

1.  Spencer Polk Lewis b. Lincoln Co., KY married Martha McWhorter 11 May 1811 in Knox Co., KY.
2.  Wiley Lewis married Charlotte Brickell 1821 in Madison Co., AL.
3.  William Henry Lewis born September 14, 1799, in Knox, KY died January 4, 1879, Woodville, Jackson, AL; married Tabitha Allen Cotton on  September 23, 1819, in Jackson, AL
4.  Joel Daniel Lewis, born March 27, 1801, in Pulaski, KY; died May 12, 1876, in Piedmont, MO; married Rebecca Ingle Eagleton December 6, 1823, in Lincoln, TN.
5.  Harriet Jackson Lewis.
6. Rebecca Lewis, born Pulaski Co., KY.
7.  Daniel A. Augustus Lewis, born 1805 in Pulaski, KY; died in Madison, AL married Betsy Ann Young May 1, 1828, in Madison, AL.
8.  Matilda Lewis, born in Pulaski, KY.
9.  Jane Lewis, born Pulaski, KY.
10.  Susan Lewis, born 1812 in Pulaski, KY; married Jesse K. Webb
11.  John L. Lemuel Lewis, born in Lincoln, TN; married Elizabeth.
12.  Caledonia Lewis, born Lincoln, TN.
13.  Margaret Lewis, born in Jackson, AL.
14.  Polk Lewis, born in Jackson, AL.”

This unsourced list was all I had to go on. Other researchers had the same list, but no one had a source. Clearly, it came from somewhere. This is a very specific list of names. Surely, they were not pulled from a hat. Queries and searching, however, yielded nothing. Specifically, Hardin County, Tennessee records had nothing to offer on John Lewis. 

In the meantime, I researched the children on the list. I was able to marry off most of the girls. I tracked the children forward in the census. There seemed to be connections between them. A surprising number moved to Texas and settled near each other or in neighboring counties. I looked for one of them or one of their children to shed more light on a connection to John Lewis. Nothing surfaced. Of course, my search was not exhaustive because I had limited sources available to me.

Yesterday, I came across John Lewis's Findagrave memorial with a very similar list of children, minus my Matilda Lewis. I contacted the manager for a source. Meanwhile, I googled a bit more. Using this keyword combination--"John Lewis" "Hardin County Tennessee"--a link to McNairy County, Tennessee chancery court records came up with a blurb that had "estate of John Lewis" in it. Of course, I clicked on it, like you do.

Bingo. The right John Lewis. Different county. This is one of my favorite personal search rules; if they (the ancestors) are not doing what they are supposed to be doing where I'm looking for them, I am looking in the wrong place. In this instance, I got lucky because Hardin County was mentioned somewhere in the chancery records of McNairy County. In other words, just dumb luck.

Now I have documentation for John Lewis's children. The new list differs slightly from the original list although many of the children are the same. The children highlighted above were not in John Lewis's estate record. Polk Lewis and Spencer Polk Lewis are probably the same person. A few new children have been added, plus a second wife for John. And a connection to two Daniel men.

Here is the information that I gleaned from the documents in McNairy County thanks to Nancy Wardlow Kennedy's work. As an aside, I cannot help but wonder if Nancy is in someway a descend of John Lewis's.

Gleaned from McNairy County, Tennessee, Chancery Court File Abstracts, transcribed by Nancy Wardlow Kennedy is lawsuit between David MacKenzie vs. Thomas Babb, #233:

Concerns the heirs of Elizabeth Lewis Babb, deceased, a daughter of John D. Lewis. She intermarried with G. B. Babb. John D. Lewis had quite a bit of land and assets. Elizabeth's heirs felt that G. B. Babb had sold her portion of the land, which was their inheritance.

G. W. Babb died in 1863, leaving a widow Mary Babb, who was his second wife. Before 1868 she married Fitzpatrick. Other heirs: Thomas Babb, Martha Babb, Joseph Babb, James Babb, F. P. Mitchell, C.C. Mitchell, Elizabeth J. Mitchell, Sarah V. Mitchell, Mary J. Mitchell, all minors except the widow and F.A. Bryant and wife Jane of Dyer County, Tennessee, Joseph A. Babb and wife Mary A. residents of Texas, and the children of John Babb, deceased, names unknown of Mississippi.

Gleaned from McNairy County, Tennessee, Chancery Court File Abstracts, transcribed by Nancy Wardlow Kennedy is an 1871 lawsuit between F.A. Bryant vs. John FitzPatrick, #241:

Joseph Walker, who was the county clerk in 1862, 63, stated that the county court records were destroyed by fire and the minute docket of 1858-9, 60 and part of 61 was saved with a few others.

John D. Lewis died in March 1842 in the ninth district of McNairy County, Tennessee. He came to McNairy County, Tennessee in 1836 or 1837; however, his will is dated 1840 in Jackson County, Alabama. He married his second wife, Jane Hammonick, in 1836, and they had one daughter named Emily Lewis. John Lewis's daughter Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb married G. B. or G. W. Babb, and she died before 1871. This suit is among her children over land sold by their father.

In 1843, the heirs of John Lewis petitioned the court to sell the land and divide the land among the heirs. The heirs of Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb:
F.A. Bryant and wife Jane C. Bryant
Franklin P, Christopher C., Elizabeth J., Sarah V., and Mary Josephine Mitchell--the last five minors under the age of 21, filed by their next friend, James M Mitchell (their father)
Lafayette A. and Johnnie A. Babb, surety under their next friend Sarah E. Babb, residents of Tennessee
Joel M Babb
Mitty A Anderson, formerly Mitty A. Babb residents of Texas
[Notation: Mitty's name appears variously as Witty, Waty, and Maty. Her husband was Edwin J. Anderson. They moved to Hunt County, Texas.]

J.D. Lewis's, dec'd, wife Mary Jane received an equal portion of the estate as the children, and she remarried John FitzPatrick.

An earlier lawsuit was filed in Tishomingo County, Mississippi on 16 January 1844. This suit was brought probably by J.D. Lewis. In it is the following list of heirs with places of residence: "Henry Lewis, Joel D. Lewis, AL; Jane Lewis (Sr) Matilda Mason, Elizabeth Babb, Jane Wardlow, Susan Lewis, John H Lewis; Emily Lewis of Tennessee, except Elizabeth Babb, Spencer P Lewis, Arkansas. Celia Babb's heirs, Henry Lewis their guardian, Daniel A. Lewis, Marshall Co., AL. Signed J.D. Lewis."

The will of John D. Lewis, dated 14 January 1840, was presented in Purdy, McNairy County, Tennessee on 3 April 1843. Those mentioned in the will, in order, were son William Lewis; son Daniel A. Lewis; wife Jane Lewis; sons Henry, Joel D, Spencer P, and John Lewis; daughters Celia, Matilda, Rebecca, Margaret, Elizabeth, Jane, Susan, and Emily Lewis. Executors, wife Jane Lewis, sons Henry Lewis and Joel D Lewis. Witnesses: William Daniel and James E. Daniel.

Testimony from witness Ann M Sharp on 23 Feb 1872. She was age 65. She was a neighbor to John D Lewis. She heard him state that he made no provisions for son Wiley Lewis because of his "recklessness and dissipation." The sale of the estate took two days. Son-in-law Aaron Rice purchased two slaves.

Letter from Henry Lewis to a niece, dated 24 March 1871 from Woodville, Jackson County, Alabama. He and his brother Joel D.  Lewis were executors of their father's will. They filed copies of it in two places: Purdy, McNairy Co., Tennessee; Bellefonte, Alabama "and it was destroyed in time of war. A certificate from the county clerk of McNairy Co., TN was filed in Jacinto (Tishomingo Co., MS). Will stated that money was to be set aside for his half-sister Emily's education. Oldest brother Wiley was willed five dollars. Step-mother was to have a choice between a child's portion and a dowry--she chose a dowry. Green Babb, your father, said he no interest in purchasing any of the land, but his wife, your mother, authorized him to do so. Signed "Your Uncle Henry Lewis."

You can read a copy of these transcripts here.

Some observations.

John D. Lewis's widow Jane did not marry Fitzpatrick. It seems to be Green B. Babb's widow Mary Jane who married Fitzpatrick.

It is odd that John D. Lewis's will says that he is of Jackson County, Alabama if he had been living in McNairy County since 1836 or 1837. Could it be that he did not live in McNairy County, but owned considerable land in McNairy while remaining in Jackson County, Alabama? However, the 1840 census lists a John Lewis of the right age with a very young girl (Emily?) with near neighbors David Wardlow and John A. Sharp. 




John Lewis 000100001-100011

one male 15 - 19 = ?
one male age 60-70 = John Lewis
one female under 5 = probably Emily Lewis
one female age 20 - 29 = ?
one female age 30 - 39 = probably Jane

It is significant that William Daniel and James E. Daniel witnessed John Lewis's will. This suggests that there is, in fact, a family connection. Also, this suggests that the theory that John Lewis was in Knox County, Kentucky in the early 1800s may be accurate since William Daniel, James E. Daniel, and Spencer Daniel are also there in that time period.

What about that middle initial? John D. Lewis. Nice. Of course, it may also be an error.

A list of the children of John Lewis now looks more like this:

1. Wiley Lewis
2. Daniel A. Lewis
3. William Henry Lewis
4. Joel D. Lewis
5. Spencer P. Lewis
6. John H. Lewis
7. Matilda Lewis married Mason
8. Jane Lewis married Wardlow
9. Celia Lewis married Babb
10. Elizabeth Lewis married Babb
11. Susan Lewis
12. Rebecca Lewis married Aaron Rice
13. Margaret Lewis
14. Emily Lewis

This is, I hope, just the being of what can now be documented on John Lewis and his children.

This page last updated on July 17, 2018.








2 comments:

  1. I want to thank you for the work you have done on the John D. Lewis line. And this blog is great. Your explanations are helpful for descendants of the lines you've worked on, and also for family genealogists who are still learning the process.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Danielle - Thank you for the kind words. If you are interested, there is a facebook group for anyone researching this family or one of its allied families. I just realized that I need to revise this post. Turns out that sons Wiley and William were two different people after all. William was William Henry Lewis, who frequently went by just Henry Lewis. Facebook group: Susan Daniels & John Lewis Descendants, Allied Family Genealogy Researchers

      Delete

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