Holcombs in Newton County, Missouri

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

There's nothing quite like opening an online book and finding the usual suspects. In this case, it is the assemblage of the Holcomb brothers Enoch, Nathaniel, and Azariah with their brother-in-law James Skaggs and probably their half-brother James Brown. There is an outside chance that brother-in-law Robert Jamison, who died in Jasper County, Missouri in 1848 is also included. All of this information comes from NewtonCounty, Missouri Records, Vol. 1 by Mrs. John Vineyard, which can be found among the books on FamilySearch.

On the surface, this information is about as interesting as watching paint dry, but it indicates that at least Azariah Holcomb and brother Enoch Holcomb were reasonably settled in Newton County, Missouri from 1840 until at least 1848. By 1850, Azariah Holcomb was in McDonald County, Missouri, Enoch Holcomb was in Navarro County, Texas; and brother Nathaniel Holcomb had probably lit out for California. What happened between  1848 and 1850 that prompted them all to leave?

Newton County, Missouri:

1840, February Term, 2^nd day, p. 49:

Committee to view road to Sennaca Mills by Whitaker Crabtree’s: Azariah Holcomb; James Skaggs and Isaac H. Hatlman.

February 10, 1840, p. 41:

Petition by citizens that road from Grand Falls on Shoal Creek to South West Corner of State be marked out. Court appointed Alfred Oliver, Nathaniel Holcomb, and Andrew Sparlin to view route and report.

May Term, 1840, p. 53:

Report of group appointed to lay out road to Senneca Mills names Whitaker Crabtree’s land, farms of James G. Crabtree, Simon Price, Campbell Price, James Beamond, A. Holcome, James Brown, D. Adams, Moses Crow.

p. 55 Simon Price made road overseer near Sennaca Mills; Azariah Holcome, a Justice of the Peace of Elk River Township, “to allot to said overseer the hands subject to work on said road.”

May Term, 1840, p. 56:

Azariah Holcomb, Esq., a Justice of the Peace, allowed $14.00 for holding inquest on body of an (un-named) Indian.

Court Session, February 8, 1841, p. 79:

Nathaniel Holcomb and Andrew Sparlin, appointed viewers for road from Grand Falls on Shoal Creek to southwest corner of the State, made report which mentions Vanslyke, A. Holcomb, N. Holcomb, John F. Wheeler, Matthew Blevins near Cowskin River. Report made by James Keel, John Mayfield, Ishom H. Harris on road from Neosho to Wallace’s Mill.

August Term 1841:

Pursuant to order of Court made by the Court in August 1841…road from H.G. Joplin’s farm, Wm. Sherer’s house, Andrew Sparlin’s, Noakes’ Tanyard, Plummer’s cabin on Swan’s Prairie, Squire Holcomb’s on Buffalo Creek, to A. Oliver’s Mill on Patterson Creek, to the Cowskin River at Matthew Blevin’s field, Thomas Neil’s, McGee’s, across Honey Creek…to southwest corner of the county.

August Term 1841:

Road viewers “down Buffalo Creek by Jas. Scaggs’ farm” to be Geo. W. Nutting, James Beamans, Andrew J. Grant.

John M. Richardson and James Nichols (appointed to survey Newton – Jasper County line) – made report: “Line crosses Jenkins Creek near Samuel Spence’s dwelling, leaving said house in Jasper Co…on by Jones Creek, Daniel Spences’s house (in Newton Co.), Mr. Johnson’s (Turkey Creek), Mr. Hickman’s (a citizen of Blytheville), Clisby Roberson’s by the southeast corner of his kitchen leaving his dwelling in Newton Co. by 10 – 12 feel, by Mr. Scott’s, Mr. Jamison, Bachealon’s prairie, Mr. Fullbright’s, Harris G. Joplin’s, Mr. Cornelius and Mr. Smith.”

November Term of Court – 1841, p. 124:

Andrew J. Grant, George W. Nutting, and James Bean appointed to view the road, beginning near Bean’s on Buffalo…a small black jack tree near James Beaman’s, down by house of Daniel Stockton…house of Isaac Hatman…near James Scaggs’, to be opened and repaired to a width of 20 feet…

May 10, 1842, p. 141:

Nathaniel Holcomb made overseer to Seneca line.

November Term – 1842 p. 156:

Overseers appointed [for roadwork]: - Wm. Severs, Alfred Oliver, Azariah Holcomb

May 1846 – Court Session:

Oliver M. Hickcox made magistrate of Shoal Creek District; Azariah Holcomb appointed J. P. in place of Wm. Bradford

April Term of Court – 1847:

Enumerators of school-aged children –

8. Azariah Holcomb – Elk River Twp.

Court Session – February 1848, p. 318:

Road viewers: John Stafford, Rob’t Pucket

Accounts allowed: Enoch Holcomb, Thos. Skaggs, Wm. Pickerd

June Session – 1848

Account of Enoch Holcomb accepted, for burying Amelia Lea, insane poor person.

Hugh Sprague, Son of Esther Minerva (Pool) Sprague

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Hugh Sprague's story begins with his mother, Minerva Esther Pool, who was a daughter of Phebe (Holcomb) and James Pool, the blacksmith.

Esther Minerva "Minnie" (Pool) Sprague

In 1850, Minnie Pool was living in the McDonald County, Missouri, household of her first cousin (and my great-great-great-grandmother) Hannah Holcomb, wife of John C Walker. Minnie was sixteen years old, and her sister Sarah was also living with the Walkers. At that time, their mother, Phebe, was deceased, and their father, James Pool, was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with their brother Andrew Jackson Pool.

Esther Minerva Pool married Oliver Robert Sprague in Jackson County, Missouri, on 1 April 1853.

By 1857, they were living in Mississippi. Specifically, by 1860, they were in Warren County, Mississippi, with three little boys: Hugh, age 5; Bartlett, age 3; and Morris, age 1. Oliver R. Sprague served in the Civil War and died in 1870.

On the 1870 census, Esther Minerva Sprague, widowed, was in Washington County, Mississippi, with five children. Bartlett is missing from the household and may be deceased, but three children were added after 1860: Esther I., age 8; Joseph, age 4; and Della/Delilah, age 2.

Perhaps feeling overwhelmed with five children to raise, Esther Minerva Sprague decided to go to California, where she had a brother - "Jack" Pool. A descendant of hers told me that Esther and the children were taking the train to California in 1873 when Esther became sick and died in Parsons, Kansas. The children were stranded, so their grandmother, Leah Sprague, came and got them and took them to live with her in Bourbon County, Kansas, for a few years. Eventually, the three Sprague daughters and their brother, James Maurice Sprague, made it to California. The whereabouts of Hugh and Joseph are still in question.

It is evident from the census records that by 1870, Leah (Smith) Sprague was no longer maintaining her own household. Therefore, the orphaned Sprague children would have been dependent on the extended Sprague family. Additionally, I have not found a record of Leah being in Bourbon County, Kansas, although she may have been there at some point.

In 1865, Leah (Smith) Sprague was living in her son Columbus Sprague's household in Douglas County, Kansas.

In 1870, she is head of household, living in Douglas County, Kansas, with sons Perry and John.

In 1875, Leah Sprague was still in Douglas County, Kansas, but living in her son Perry Sprague's household along with her granddaughter Delilah Sprague, daughter of Esther M. Pool. The other children of Oliver R. and Esther Minerva (Pool) Sprague are not in the household.

Clearly, not all of the Sprague children were living with their grandmother, Leah, and their whereabouts have not been determined.

Leah Sprague supposedly died in 1881, but has not yet been found on the 1880 census. In 1880, Leah and her orphaned grandchildren were not in the household of her son Columbus, who was in Bourbon County, Kansas; or her son Perry, who was in Allen County, Kansas; or her son John C. Sprague, who was in Multnomah County, Oregon. It is possible that Leah was in the household of her son, Guilford, or on her own, which seems doubtful since she has been living with her various children since 1865.

By 1880, some of the orphans or Oliver Sprague and Ester Minerva Pool, were fending for themselves. Esther Ione Sprague was in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas, in the Silas Piersoll household.

Joseph Sprague was in the household of Thomas F Blair in Marion, Bourbon County, Kansas.

James Maurice Sprague and Della/Delilah Sprague turn up later in California, so they were still living in 1880.

What happened to Hugh Sprague? He does not appear on any census after 1870. This newspaper clipping indicates that Hugh Sprague died in Oswego, Labette County, Kansas, in 1873 and is likely buried there in an unmarked grave.

Denver & Rio Grande Western Train Engine, Iley Selph Sr.

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

This a photograph that a good friend of mine took during her trip to Chama and posted on her facebook page.

It is an engine from the Denver & Rio Grande railroad for which my husband's grandfather Iley Nunn Selph Sr. worked in the early 1900s. He was a station agent for them between roughly 1912 and 1920, left them for a few months in 1920 and returned to work for them, possibly in La Madera village in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. This railroad ran between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Denver, Colorado. Later the railroad was reorganized and named the Denver & Rio Grande Western, which would have required the engines to be repainted.

Steam Engine, Denver & Rio Grande Western

(Thank you, Dana.)

This morning's Google search also pulled up this article, published TODAY in the Taos News, about the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad as it passed through La Madera!!! This new tidbit of information: the Denver & Rio Grande built a spur to La Madera in 1914 to service a temporary logging boom. That narrows down the time period when Iley Selph and family lived there.

You can read the Taos News article here.

Today, La Madera, New Mexico is barely a crossroads.

La Madera, New Mexico 

Iley Nunn Selph Jr. of New Mexico

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Honestly, it does not take much to send me working on a different family line. I must admit that I get distracted by shiny objects. This morning a friend of mine posted photographs of her trip to Chama, New Mexico, on Facebook. Among those pictures was a photograph of a train engine from the Denver & Rio Grande line for which my husband's grandfather Iley Nunn Selph Sr. worked. That sent me searching newspaper databases for any new tidbits on the Selphs, and I found a choice nugget.

Since Iley Selph is a distinctive name, I searched without narrowing down a time period or location. The pay off for that is that information appears in unexpected places. For this search, my best and newest result came from a Colorado newspaper instead of a New Mexico newspaper:

Iley N. Selph Jr. was my husband's uncle. This article gives me a description of him. It tells me that he had gone to work at a ranch near Wheatland, Wyoming in the fall of 1929. If I did not already know that they lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, it would point me to their location on the 1930 U.S. census.

This census indicates that Iley N. Selph Jr. was located and made his way back home. It reveals nothing of the family drama that the newspaper's article provides. There is no way of knowing that Iley Nunn Selph Sr. had been in a car accident serious enough that Carolina (Sandoval) Selph needed additional help from her son Iley Jr. A newspaper item about the car accident probably appeared in the Santa Fe newspaper between November 1929 and January 1930, but I have not found it yet.

The newspaper article, like the census, provides a street address for the Selphs. However, since it is featured more prominently in the article, it occurred to me that Santa Fe is an old city with plenty of old houses still standing. A google search of the street address produced a contemporary picture of the house in the street views of google maps:

377 East Garcia Street; Santa Fe, NM
1930 Home of the Selph Family

Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb's Children

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb was a daughter of John Lewis who died in McNairy County, Tennessee in 1842/43. It is possible to construct a list of Elizabeth Lewis and Green B. Babb's children based on the 1850 and 1860 U.S. census and on the 1871 lawsuit of  F.A. Bryant v. John Fitzpatrick.

The 1850 McNairy County, Tennessee census implies that Green and Elizabeth Babb's children are

1. Susan Babb age 17 born in Alabama
2. Terry Babb age 16 born in Alabama
3. William Babb age 15 born in Mississippi
4. John Babb age 13 born in Mississippi
5. Milton Babb age 11 born in Mississippi
6. Jane Babb age 9 born in Mississippi
7. Ann Babb age 2 born in Tennessee

The Bryant T. Babb, age 21, is the son of Celia (Lewis) and William Babb. Matilda Babb, age 17, is either Bryant's sister or wife.

By 1860, Green Babb had married Mary Jane Broom. Two of Green and Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb's daughters are living in this household along with three of Green and Mary J (Broom) Babb's children.

Children of Green and Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb:

6. Jane C. Babb age 18 born in Mississippi

7. Matyann Babb age 12 born in Tennessee

Children of Green and Mary Jane (Broom) Babb:

8. Martha O Babb age 4 born in Tennessee

9. Thomas J. Babb age 3 born in Tennessee

10. James Babb age 1 born in Tennessee

The Bryant v. Fitzpatrick lawsuit helps to further identify these children. F.A. Bryant was representing the heirs of Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb. They are named as "F A Bryant and wife Jane C Bryant Franklin P. Christopher C Elizabeth J. Sarah V. and May Josephine Mitchell the last five of whom are minors under that age of twenty one years who file their Bill by Jos M Mitchell their next friend Lafayette A. and Johnnie A Babb who are minors under the age of twenty one years and sue by their next friend Sarah E Babb residents of said State of Tennessee, Joel M Babb, and Witty A Anderson (formerly Witty A Babb) residents of the State of Texas Complainants."

They sort out to be the following (with the same numbers as above):

 1. Susan (Babb) Mitchell, dec'd. She married James Mitchell. Their children represented in the suit are Franklin P. Mitchell, Christopher C. Mitchell, Elizabeth J. Mitchell, Sarah V. Mitchell, and May Josephine Mitchell.

5. Joel Milton Babb

6. Jane Catherine Babb married Francis A. Bryant

7. MatyAnn Babb married Edwin Taylor Anderson and lived in Hunt County, Texas

Three of Green and Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb's sons are missing from the lawsuit: Kibble Terry Babb, William Babb, and John Babb. Given the wording of the lawsuit, it seems likely that all three of them are deceased, but only one of them left children. Those children would be Lafayette A. Babb and Johnnie A. Babb, who are represented by "their next friend" Sarah E. Babb - likely the widow. 

The minor children represented by John Fitzpatrick, the second husband of Mary Jane (Broom) Lewis Fitzpatrick are Martha, Thomas, James, Samuel, & Joel Babb.

Those children correspond to the 1860 census:

8. Martha Babb

9. Thomas Babb

10. James Babb

11. Samuel Babb born after the 1860 census

12. Joel Babb born after the 1860 census

Bryant v Fitzpatrick, John Lewis Heirs' Lawsuit, 1871

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

The lawsuit of F.A. Bryant et al v John Fitzpatrick et al was a dispute over the inheritance of land from John D. Lewis's estate. F. A. Bryant, the complainant, was the husband of Jane Catherine Babb, a daughter of Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb and first wife of Green B. Babb. Bryant represented the interests of the children and grandchildren of Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb against John Fitzpatrick who married Green B. Babb's second wife Mary Jane Broom. Among the defendants of the case were the children of Green B. Babb and his second wife. 

This suit is in folder #241 in McNairy County, Tennessee.

F A Bryant and wife Jane C Bryant

Franklin P. Christopher C Elizabeth J. Sarah

V. and May Josephine Mitchell the last

five of whom are minors under that age of twenty one years who

file their Bill by Jos M Mitchell their next friend

Lafayette A. and Johnnie A Babb who are minors

under the age of twenty one years and sue by their

next friend Sarah E Babb residents of said

State of Tennessee, Joel M Babb, and Witty A

Anderson (formerly Witty A Babb) residents of

the State of Texas Complainants

Vs.

John Fitzpatrick Mary J Fitzpatrick Ephraim Shuffield

Worthington Shuffield and W C Cornelius and

Elizabeth Green also residents of said County

also citizens McNairy County & minors under the age of 21 years

of McNairy Martha, Thomas, James, Samuel, & Joel Babb

Humbly complaining Orators and oratixes

would respectfully show unto you that John

D Lewis departed this life in said County of

McNairy about the year 1842, having first

made and published his last will and tes

tament, which was duly proven and recorded

in the office of the clerk of the

County Court of said County and that said

will has been destroyed by fire or otherwise so

that the same cannot be produced and that

upon diligent search neither the original will

or a copy thereof can be found, but if found the

same will be produced and shown to the Court

upon the hearing of this cause, that by the pro

visions of said will the property devised and

bequeathed to the daughters of said testators was

given to them to their sole and separate use and

at their death to their children, and not to be sub

ject to be sold by their husbands.

Orators & oratrixes would further show that

they are the children and grandchildren of

Elizabeth Babb formerly Elizabeth Lewis who in

termarried with G B Babb who has since died

that said Elizabeth was one of the children

and legatees of said Testator

Complainants would further represent

that by a device [?] of the Circuit Court of said Coun

ty the lands of said testator were sold for par-

tition and division amongst said legatees and

that amongst other lands sold for said purpose

were the following tracts to wit one tract of four

hundred acres lying in said County of McNairy

Beginning at a stake, hickory, elm & Spanish

Oak for 271 poles south & 193 poles East of the S. E.

corner of Entry No 1664 in the name of C C Coghill

suns South 50 poles to a post oak, 2 post oak &

spanish oak ??. then east 40 poles to a stake

& 2 post oak ???, then south 222 poles to a stake

black oak & 2 post oak ???, then west 203 poles

to a stake, 2 post oak & 2 black oak ??? then

north 102 poles to a post oak, 3 black oak & post

oak ???, then west 51 poles to a stake & 5 post

oak ???, then north 180 poles to a stake, then

east 218 poles to the beginning

Also two tracts of 160 acres each to wit the

N W quarter of each thirteen (13) township one (1)

      Range eight (8) east, and south west

quarter section ??? (12) Township one (1)

Range eight (8) east also a fractional part

of the NW quarter of Secion twelve (12) Township

one (1) Range Eight (8) east containing

83 98/100 acres. And that G B Babb who was

the husband of said Elizabeth as the agent

of his said wife became the purchaser of

the above described tracts of land, and

that the same was paid for out of the means

of said Elizabeth, by her acknowledging

the receipt of the amount of the purchase

money in the settlement with the executers of

Said will and testament

Complainants would further show that said

G B Babb on the 7^th day of August 1851

sold and by deed of that date pretended to

convey to one L W Smith said tract of 400

acres and that said Smith on the 11^th day

of July 1855 sold by deed of that date ????

did to convey said tract of land to E

phraim Shuffield and said Ephraim Shuf-

field pretended on the 6^th of February 1868

to convey to Washington Shuffield 200 acres of

said tract and that sd  Shuffields are now in possession of the same

all of which will appear by refer-

ence to the deeds which are registered and will

be produced and shown to the Court if re-

quired, Complainants would further show

that said G B Babb

to one W S Atcock 40 acres of said

83 98/100 acres, and said G B Babb by deed dated

1^st day of October 1860 pretended to convey

the same to Edward Green, who ????

in possession of the same an that said G B

Babb also sold and by deed dated the 15^th

day of December 1852 pretended to convey 45 acres

of said 320 acre tract to one William Castleby

who conveyed the same to W C Cornelius

who has the same in possession and that said

parties are now claiming said lands under

said pretended conveyances

Orators and Oratrixes insist that they are

entitled as children and heirs of their deceased

Ancestor Elizabeth Babb deceased to said

lands, that said G. B. Babb having purchased

as the agent and with the means of their said

mother acquired no title to the same and in

any event could only have become

tenant by the Curtesy, which estate (if such he

acquired by virtue of his mortal right ceased

and terminated at his death and that he

could not convey any greater estate than he

thus acquired, they insist that said deeds of

conveyance are cloudy upon their title which

they have acquired by said will or by descent from

their deceased mother

Orators and oratrixes would further show

that said Defendants John Fitzpatrick and

Mary J Fitzpatrick his wife are in possession

of the balance of said tracts of 160 acres each

and balance of 80 98/100 acres are the larger portion

of the same as dower of said Mary J who was the

second wife and widow of said G B Babb

in the hands of said G B Babb Dec when in

fact said lands did not belong to said

G B Babb

The premises considered Conplainants

pray that the parties named in the ????

of this bill be made parties defendants to this

Bill that Copy and ??? issue be, that guar

dians ad litem be appointed for said minors de-

fendents. And upon the hearing of this case that

said defendants be required to answer the

allegations of this bill but not on oath, their

oath being expressly waved and upon the

hearing of this cause, that your Honor

would decree that said conveyances be

cancelled and declared void and

inoperation, that said defendants be required

to account for rents and profits and that all

necessary orders for taking and stating an

account of the same be made and for such

other further different relief as to your

Honor shall seem right and equitable

and

that as the record of said will has been destroyed

that complainants have the right set up and

substitute a copy of the same and as in duty

bound will ever pray be

McKinney & Pace Sol

State of Tennessee}

McNairy County} Personally appeared before me

                              T R Beck & Master, & F A

Bryant who made oath in due form of law that

the matters set forth in the foregoing bill are true to

the bests of his knowledge & belief.

Sworn to & subscribed before me

23 day of February 1871

F. A. Bryant

Tom R. Beck

A M

John Lewis's 1843 Will Follow Up

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

The period copy of John Lewis's will that was filed in Tishomingo County, Mississippi prompts me to make several observations in comparing it to the documents in the F.A. Bryant et al lawsuit against Mary Jane Fitzpatrick et al. One of those documents being the will as remembered by Joel D. Lewis in 1871.

First, a few key dates:
1. The original will was dated 14 January 1840 in Jackson County, AL
2. The original will was proven 18 October 1843 in McNairy County, TN
3. A copy of the will was filed 16 November 1843 in Tishomingo County, MS
4. The copy of the will was recorded 16 December 1843 in Tishomingo County, MS
5. Son Joel D. Lewis wrote the will at his father's direction and tried to recreate its
contents for his niece Jane Catherine (Babb) Bryant on 15 March 1871
6. The McNairy County, TN courthouse burned 1881, destroying probate records prior to 1871 so that there are no period records of the type that provide valuable information about family connections: the inventory of John Lewis's property, the two day auction with a list of purchasers, a thorough list of legatees, and the list of expenses which sometimes reveal if a tombstone was purchased among other possibilities.

In the Tishomingo County copy of the will, the eldest son is named as William instead of Wiley. Based on the collective group of documents in the lawsuit and on other documents that show Henry's full name as William Henry Lewis, I would say that the name in the Tishomingo County copy is miscopied and should have been Wiley. My guess is that one of the county clerks assumed that Wiley was short for William and switched the name to what he perceived to be the formal version of the name. Joel D. Lewis's version makes a distinction between his brothers' names that I think can be trusted. Significantly, Wily was left five dollars just as Joel recalled. We know from the Sharp deposition that John Lewis considered his son Wiley to be irresponsible and "reckless," so this was his way of both providing tough love and disinheriting Wiley.

Celia is not designated as being deceased in the Tishomingo County copy, which leads me to believe that she was not deceased at the time John Lewis was writing his will, but that she may have predeceased her father so that her brother Joel D. Lewis remembered her as being deceased at the time of the will's writing even though she apparently was not. This would probably put her death as occurring between the writing of the will in January 1840 and its date of proving in October 1843.

None of the daughters in the Tishomingo County copy appear with their married names. Fortunately, Joel D. Lewis provided these in his version. Joel also seemed to think that the will provided the names of some of the grandchildren, which it did not.

Then there is the matter of Daniel A. Lewis. The will makes clear that Daniel A. Lewis is being disinherited. It leaves him one dollar and gives his child's share to his first wife and children. It is clear from the will that Daniel A. Lewis is living at the time. John Lewis seems to be under the impression that daughter-in-law Betsy Ann (Young) Lewis is still alive at the time he wrote his will even though she does not seem to be on the 1840 census. Her parents' 1840 household contains several children young enough to be grandchildren, but there is not a tick mark for a woman old enough to be Betsy. Logically, it would seem that the grandparents would need their adult daughter to be living with them to help in caring for all those children. Here is a short list of possibilities for what has happened to Betsy: 1.) she died between the writing of John Lewis's will on 14 January 1840 and the beginning of the census on 1 June 1840; 2.) she is living but the census taker neglected to put a tick mark for her in her father's household; 3.) she is working elsewhere as a servant and is included in another household; 4.) she is ill and being cared for in another relative's household; 5.) she is deceased before the writing of John Lewis's will, and he is not aware of it.

In any event, it is clear that Daniel A. Lewis has done something to cause a serious rift between him and his father. Since only Betsy's children are to inherit from John Lewis's estate it would seem that Daniel has committed some transgression against her or her children that John Lewis finds unforgivable.  That behavior was so unforgivable that no future children of Daniel's are to inherit. What could he have done? He may have divorced Betsy and remarried. He may have deserted Betsy and his children by her. He may have compounded that by taking up with another woman and starting a new family. It's possible he that abandoned his children after Betsy's death without the entanglement of another woman. With the record loss in Jackson County, Alabama, the only way this might be cleared up is through a newspaper record since divorces and desertions were often reported. Whatever Daniel did, John Lewis must have regarded it was worse that Wiley's recklessness since Wiley received five dollars but Daniel only received one dollar.

The original will does not provide a middle initial for John Lewis; however, several documents in the Bryant v. Fitzpatrick lawsuit name him as John D. Lewis. The middle initial for John's son John seems to be an N in the will.

A daughter named Harriet, wife of Kibble T. Daniel, does not appear in this will or in any of the documents included in the Bryant v. Fitzpatrick lawsuit. That suggests that she was not a daughter of John D. Lewis although she may have been a niece or cousin.

There is the question of residence. When exactly did John D. Lewis take up residence in McNairy County, TN? He seems to be living in Jackson County, AL in January 1840, but in McNairy County, TN by 1 June 1840 when the census was taken. However, his daughter Emily seems to have been born in Tennessee in about 1838. Is he moving back and forth?

The will does not mention specific pieces of property, but John D. Lewis at the time of his death John D. Lewis seems to have owned land in Jackson County, Alabama; McNairy County, Tennessee; and Tishomingo County, Mississippi. The land records need further research.

Finally, it was thrilling to see John Lewis's son-in-law and my 3x great-grandfather William Mason acting as surety for John's will.