Daniel A. Lewis, Son of John D. Lewis

         ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

On 1 May 1828, Daniel A. Lewis, the son of John D. Lewis, married Betsey Hughes in Madison County, Alabama. They were married by Joseph Rice, J.P. Betsey Hughes was the young widow of Thomas Hughes, who she had married on 8 November 1826 in Madison County. She was also the daughter of William Young. 

In 1830, Daniel Lewis and his family were living in Jackson County, Alabama, surrounded by households headed by other Lewis family members: Henry Lewis, William Mason (husband of Matilda Lewis), Joel Lewis, and his father - John Lewis. 

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Composition of Daniel Lewis's household in 1830:

Daniel Lewis 20001-000001

Two males 1-4 years = two unknown males
One male 20 - 29 years = Daniel Lewis
One female 30 - 39 years = Betsey (Young) Hughes Lewis

The two unknown boys under five years old could be sons from Betsey's marriage to Thomas Hughes, or one could be from her Hughes marriage and one from her marriage to Daniel Lewis or both could be from her marriage to Daniel Lewis. At this time, I am unable to identify them. 

On 30 July 1833, Daniel Adams Lewis patented 82 acres in Jackson County, Alabama.

His name appears four times on the certificate, and each time it is written out in full: Daniel Adams Lewis.

So far, this is the only primary document that contains his middle name. I'm not sure why earlier researchers came to the conclusion that his middle name was Augustus, and I don't know who was the first person to think that his middle name was Augustus. Was there a Daniel Adams for whom Daniel was named? What was Daniel Adams' connection to John D. Lewis? There was a Daniel Adams in Knox County, Kentucky before 1810.

Family Maps of Jackson County, Alabama shows Daniel A. Lewis's land in Jackson County bordered on the north by the land of his brother Joel D. Lewis and on the south by the land of  Kibble T. Daniel. The northwest corner of Daniel's land met the southeast corner of his father John Lewis's land. 

Between 1830 and 1838, Daniel and Betsey Lewis had six known children:

1. Celia Sarah Louise Lewis b.c. 1829 TN or AL
2. William S. Lewis c. 1831 AL
3. Charlotte Temple Lewis b. 14 March 1834 AL
4. Susan M Lewis b. 27 September 1835 AL
5. Mansel W. Lewis b. c. 1837 AL
6. Elizabeth Ann Lewis b. 23 March 1838 AL

I would hazard a guess that Mansel W. Lewis was named after Rev. Mansel Walter Matthews. This suggests to me that the Disciples of Christ played a big role in the family's life. At the time of little Mansel W. Lewis's birth, Rev. Mansel W. Matthews had already gone to Texas. 

The oral tradition among the descendants of Betsey (Young) Hughes Lewis is that she died in childbirth in 1838.

On 1 January 1840, John D. Lewis wrote his will. Copies of it were filed in several courthouses. One copy survived in the Tishomingo County, Mississippi courthouse. The will disinherits Daniel Lewis by bequeathing one dollar to him. Here's what the will said in regards to Daniel: "And I give and bequeath to my Son Daniel A. Lewis one dollar out of my property, at my death..." Most testators go on to state that the heir has already received an equal share in the estate. However, John Lewis's will takes a twist: "I desire that my Son Daniel A. Lewis children that is to Say his first Wife & Children to have as much of my estate between them as any other of my Sons and daughters will shear, that is I want all of my son Daniel Children above named to only have as much between them all as one of my heirs as Say Son or Daughter with the exception of one hundred dollars, that I want them to lack one hundred dollars of getting as much between them all as one of my other heirs." 

Some insights can be gained from these statements: 1.)  Daniel A. Lewis was living at the time his father's will was written; 2.)  Daniel had elicited his father's ire; 3.) Daniel had on top of everything else received $100 from his father and not paid it back, so it was to be withheld; 4.) Daniel's share was to go to his children by his first wife; 5.) Daniel A. Lewis did nothing between 1840, when the will was written, and 1843, when John Lewis died,  to redeem himself because there was not a codicil added; 6.) it seems like his first wife was supposed to be an heir as well her children by Daniel; 7.) Betsey (Young) Hughes Lewis is either still living in January of 1840 or John Lewis did not know she was deceased because she is not referred to as deceased; and 8.) if there was a first wife, there was probably at least a second wife. 

Is it possible that John D. Lewis's daughter-in-law Betsey Lewis could have been deceased for nearly two years, and he did not know it? If they were still living nearby in Jackson County, he would surely know who was still living and where they were living. Wouldn't he? Or is it an error in the way the will was written?

In 1872, Ann Sharp stated that John D. Lewis had told her that he was disinheriting his son Wiley Lewis because he was reckless and dissipated. When asked why Daniel Lewis was disinherited, she said that she did not know. 

By 1840, Daniel Lewis can be found in Crittenden County, Arkansas, where his brother Wiley Lewis still was living. Daniel's household is next door to John M D'Spaine who married as his second wife Margaret (Lewis) Daugherty, Daniel's sister after migrating to Hopkins County, Texas. Researcher Chuck DeSpain alerted me to the idea that Daniel Lewis had married John DeSpains's cousin Tempie DeSpain. Tempie DeSpain was the daughter of John and Charlotte (Daniel) DeSpain. 

Composition of the Daniel Lewis household, 1840 Crittenden County, Arkansas:

Daniel Lewis 100001 - 00001

One male 1 - 4 years = Allen Lewis
One male 30 - 39 years = Daniel Lewis
One female 20 - 29 = Tempie (DeSpain) Lewis

The 1850 census reveals more about Daniel and Tempie's family and their relationship. By 1850, Tempie was no longer with Daniel. Instead, she was married to William Thomson and living in Hardin County, Tennessee near her brother Peter DeSpain, who can be seen in the household listed above hers.  She had four children by Daniel Lewis and one by William Thomson (her daughter Louisa Thomson is at the top of the next page):

There is a lot to unpack here. Tempie is 27 years old. Daniel and Tempie's son Allen Lewis is twelve years old and was born in Alabama. That means that Daniel and Tempie's relationship began in 1837 or early 1838, at the very latest, when Tempie was perhaps as young as 14 years old. Among other things, that creates an awkward overlap with the birth of wife Betsy's last child in March of 1838. Had Betsy and Daniel separated or divorced before her baby was born? It was fairly common for men to start second families before finalizing a divorce from a previous wife. It may be that Daniel had left Betsey and before he was able to get a divorce, she died. So far, no marriage record has been found for Tempie and Daniel, but they would have needed to be legally married at some point in order for the children to have his last name. Marriage records for Jackson County, Alabama, were burned by Federal soldiers during the Civil War, so it may not be possible to find a marriage record for Tempie and Daniel. Allen Lewis's birth in Alabama would mean that John D. Lewis was very much aware of the situation. At the time of John D. Lewis wrote his will, Daniel had either had one child with Tempie and one on the way or two children. I don't think that John D. Lewis would have frowned on a second marriage if Daniel was a widower; however, if Daniel abandoned his first wife and children for a young girl, John may have found that unforgivable enough to disinherit Daniel and award his share of the estate to the first wife and children. 

The next child, Susan E. Lewis, was born in 1840 in Arkansas, probably in Crittenden County.  Daniel and Tempie were in Tennessee for the birth of Larkin R. Lewis in 1842 and Charlotte E. Lewis in 1843. By 1848, Tempie was with William Thomson. Their daughter Louisa Thomson was born in 1849. That means Tempie and Daniel's relationship ended between 1843 and 1847. 

The children of Daniel A. Lewis and Tempie DeSpain:

    7. Allen Lewis b.c. 1838 AL

    8. Susan E. Lewis b.c. 1840 Ark

    9. Larkin R. Lewis b.c. 1842 TN

    10. Charlotte E. Lewis b.c. 1843 TN

In 1854, Tempie Thomson joined with her DeSpain siblings in a suit to have her children recognized as the heirs of her father John DeSpain. This suit was filed in Harden County, Tennessee, and further solidifies her identity as Tempie (DeSpain) Lewis Thomson. 

Among the descendants of Betsey (Young) Hughes Lewis, there is the story that Daniel Lewis went west in 1848 to make his fortune, leaving his children with the Youngs. Three or four years later, he wrote that he had his fortune and was headed home, but never arrived. 

Daniel went as far west as Texas. In 1847, Daniel A. Lewis can be found on the Hopkins County, Texas tax list. Note that Benjamin DeSpain is next to Daniel on this list:

Daniel A. Lewis did not pay taxes on land that year but did pay a poll tax. Also, in 1847, Daniel's sister Margaret (Lewis) Daugherty married Tempie's cousin John DeSpain in Hopkins County. Several other Lewis siblings were in Hopkins county by then: Wiley Lewis, Matilda (Lewis) Mason, and Jane (Lewis) Wardlow. Several of Tempie's DeSpain relatives were there as well as major leaders of the Alabama Restoration Movement (Disciples of Christ). You would think this might be awkward for Daniel. 

Even so, he was still in Hopkins County in 1848, where he continued to only pay a poll tax:

After 1848, Daniel A. Lewis is absent from the Hopkins County, Texas tax list. That year he appears in  Henderson County, Texas, where he married Margaret (Masters) Digman on 25 June 1848:

Margaret was the widow of John J. Digman. 

By 1850, Daniel and Margaret had two children:

There is a lot to be learned from this census. Daniel A. Lewis was 44 years old, so he was born in Kentucky in about 1806/7. His birth would have been in either Knox County or Greene County, Kentucky. Although he had real estate in 1850, he styled himself as a hunter rather than a farmer. The children John M. Lewis and Missouri T. Lewis, both one year old, were evidently twins.

By 1860, was on the Dallas County, Texas census with her third husband, Samuel Hankins Newby. They had married in Dallas County on 12 December 1854. Again, the census reveals additional information:

 

Daniel A. Lewis and Margaret had at least one more child before their marriage ended - either by divorce or by the death of Daniel.

Children of Margaret Masters and Daniel A. Lewis

    11. John Moses Lewis b. Apr 1849, Henderson Co., TS
    12. Missouri Texana Lewis b. Apr 1849, Henderson Co., T
    13. Amanda Jane Lewis b. 25 Nov 1852, TX

It appears from existing records, that Margaret and Samuel H. Newby's marriage ended in divorce since he remarried after 1870, and Margaret was living with her daughter Amanda Jane (Lewis) Smith in 1880. 

In 1852, Daniel A. Lewis would have been only 46 years old. Did he start another family somewhere else? Did he die? At this point, his trail has run cold. I hope it's just a temporary impasse in locating more information about him. I tend to doubt that he returned to Madison County, Alabama, and died there in 1855. The only source that I have found for that piece of information is a Findagrave memorial with no burial information, no photograph of a tombstone, and no sources. 

Revised July 11, 2024.