Ann M. Sharp's Deposition - 1872

      ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

On 26 February 1872, Ann M. Sharp provided a deposition in the lawsuit of F. A. Bryant v. John Fitzpatrick. That suit was filed in McNairy County, Tennessee, by the children of Elizabeth (Lewis) and Green B. Babb against their stepmother, Mary (Broom) Babb, and her husband, John Fitzpatrick. At the center of the lawsuit was the inheritance that the elder Babb children should have received from their mother's inheritance from her own father's estate - John D. Lewis. To determine what Elizabeth's inheritance was, depositions were taken regarding the children of John D. Lewis. Just to make it interesting, the suit was filed thirty years after John D. Lewis died, which meant that some of his heirs were deceased or had moved from Tennessee. 

The depositions in this lawsuit were critical because the probate records of McNairy County, Tennessee, were lost in a fire. One of the 1872 documents in the lawsuit is from a county clerk who stated that there was a fire in 1866 that destroyed all the probate records. That particular fire is not accounted for in the record losses for McNairy County on Family Search's wiki page. 

Ann M. Sharp lived in McNairy County, Tennessee, and was married to John Sharp. Her maiden name was Wardlow. In an earlier post, I related her connection by marriage to Ephraim D. Moore who performed the marriage of John D. Lewis's son Wiley Lewis to Charlotte Bricker.  Ann Sharp's deposition provided important information about some of the Lewis siblings. 

Cover Sheet:

F.A. Bryant et al

vs

John Fitzpatrick et al

Deposition

Filed 26 February 1872

Cmplts

Ann Sharp

about sale &

circumstances of

Lewis ded'd

F A Bryant et al          }

vs                                }

John Fitzpatrick et al  }

In the Chancery Court of McNairy County - State of Tennessee

Deposition of Ann M Sharp witness for Plaintiffs in the above case taken upon notice on the 23rd of Feby 1872 at the office of W J Sutton Justice of the peace in and for said County in the 9th Civil district in the presents of the plaintiff and defendant. The said witness Ann M Sharp aged 65 (sixty five) years being duly sworn deposed as follows

1st Was you acquainted with John D Lewis before his death if so where did he live and about what time did he die

Ans. I was well acquainted with John D. Lewis before and up to the time of his death he lived in the 9th civil district McNairy County & he died at his home in the same district at what time he died I am not positive I think at about the year 43 or 44

2nd Was you acquainted with him sufficiently for you to know anything about his situation and of his business before and up to the time of death

Ans. I have intimately acquainted with him John D. Lewis, and know him to be a man in fair circumstances

3rd Do you know that he made his last will and testament before his death and if so who was the executors and witnesses of said will and what was the nature of the provisions in said will & was the share of Elizabeth Babb set apart to sole and seperate use during her natural life and afterwards to go to her children

[Commentary: Ann Sharp would have been about 36 at the time of John D. Lewis's death. She would have been a contemporary of his eldest children. Here, she reveals the location of his death: at home in the 9th district of McNairy County, Tennessee.]

Ans. I heard him say at my house a short time before his death that he had made his will & Henry Lewis and Joel Lewis were the executors the witnesses to the will I do not remember I heard him say that he had made a provision for Emily (his youngest child) over and above her share I also heard him say that he had made his wife and equal sharer with his children. Except his two sons Wiley & Daniel Lewis whom he had made no provision for in his will As to the share of (Elizabeth Babb his daughter) being set apart to her and separate use during her natural life I do not know

4th State if you can the reason why he did not in his will make Daniel Lewis & Wiley Lewis Equal shares with the other heirs

Ans. I heard him say that he did not make any provisions in his will for his son Wiley Lewis on account of his recklessness & dissipation as to the cause of his disinheriting his son Daniel Lewis I do not know.

5th Was you at the sale of the personal property of the said John D Lewis and if so state as near as you can what was sold what it Brought State particularly how many negroes were sold who bought them and what did they bring

Ans. I was at the sale which lasted two days there was two negro men and one negro woman and child Sold at the sale Benjamin Sanders Bought one of the Negro men. I do not know what he brought Aaron Rice a son in Law of John D Lewis bought the other three they being a family the family I have mentioned were likely young negroes and my impression is that they sold very high he had good stock Horses and cattle and mules & hogs all sold at the sale also had good household and Kitchen furniture all of which was sold

[Commentary: This portion of Ann Sharp's deposition documents that Emily Lewis was John D. Lewis's youngest child, that his widow was to receive a child's share, that Wiley and Daniel were disinherited, and that Aaron Rice was a son-in-law. Wiley was disinherited because of "his recklessness and dissipation." Wiley's recklessness and dissipation will be covered in another post, but I think he was of a much higher character than this would lead us to believe. That might be reflected in his inheritance of $5. Daniel A. Lewis, however, received only $1. His transgression is never spoken of in any way in any of the documents in the lawsuit. Although Ann's deposition does not say so, Henry and Joel Lewis were John D. Lewi's elder sons. We can guess, though, that John D. Lewis was even more displeased with Daniel than he was with Wiley. Benjamin Sanders needs to be researched.]

6th Do you not know that said John D Lewis was a very cautious man never going in debt and did not owe anything at the time of his death and do you not further know that he had on hand at the time of his death a considerable amt of money

Ans. I think he was a very cautious man about going in debt. I do not think he was in debt much when he died I do not know whether he had money on hand or not at the time of his death

7th Do you not know that he John D Lewis at the time of his death owned a great deal of Land and that said Lands and also the personal property was sold for distribution among the heirs and not of pay debts

Ans I do not know how much land he owned I know of his owning four tracts of land in this county and land in Alabama which I think was very valuable. the Land here was not worth so much My understanding is that the land was sold for distribution among the heirs also the personal property.

8th Do you know that G B Babb as agent for his wife Elizabeth Babb daughter of the said John D Lewis bid off a portion of said Lands and was if not there and even afterward considered to be her Land Until her death and her childrens afterward

Ans. My understanding is that G B Babb did bid off certain portions of the lands and I afterwards heard Elizabeth Babb say that on account of difficulties between herself and husband she had been abused and driven from but now she had a home of her own and would leave no more

[Commentary: We get a glimmer of John D. Lewis's personality here - he was a "very cautious man" who avoided debt. Although John D. Lewis went to extremes to disinherit sons Wiley and Daniel because he did not approve of their lifestyles, his will made no provisions to protect daughter Elizabeth's inheritance from her husband G.B. Babb.]

9th Do you know whether or not that said lands were paid for by discount out of said Elizabeth Babbs distributive share of her father's Estate

Ans. I think that the lands bought by G. B. Babb at the Sale were bought and paid for in that way that is according to my best recollection of the matter

10th Was you well acquainted with G.B. Babb before the time of the death of Said John D Lewis and do you not know that Said G.B. Babb was at that time in very embarrassing circumstances having had to make over his property in order to evade the payment of debts and could not no did he own any thing of himself and therefore could not have paid for said lands with his own means

 Ans. I was tolerably well acquainted with him before and at the time of the death of the said John D Lewis. the report at that time was that G.B. Babb was in embarrassed circumstances on account of recklessness. he had but little property

       her

Ann x M. Sharp

     mark

The forgoing deposition was taken before me as stated in the caption by [?] reduced to writing by me and I certify that I am not interested in the cause nor of kin or consel to either of the parties and that I sealed them and delivered them up to F.A. Bryant Without being out of my possession or altered after they were taken Given under my hand the 23d day of February 1872

W.P. Sutton J.P.

witness fee

1 day Travel 10 miles

J.P. Fee         $1.00

witness..         1.40

                     $2.40

[Commentary: Here we learn that G. B. Babb was basically broke as a result of his poor decisions; therefore, the land he purchased from the estate had to be paid for out of Elizabeth's cash settlement. We know from other documents that he was brash and prone to violence.]

Welcome, 2023!

     ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

I don't know where the time goes! It's time to greet yet another new year and pause for a moment to take stock of the old year.

This has been one of my least productive years in terms of blogging about my research even though a lot of research happened. Only fifteen new posts made it to the blog. That was partly because I researched and blogged on my hobby blog. Wait! What? There are other hobbies besides genealogy?! Apparently. I spent a large block of time researching antique dolls. I find that researching people or subjects not found in my personal genealogy expands and strengthens my research muscles. Most importantly, because I am not emotionally attached to those things, I can be much more ruthlessly objective in my research. That objectivity is something that I always need to bring back with me to my own genealogy research. 

Okay, time for the stats. 2022 ended with 151,868 page views, an increase of 15,171 page views.

The most popular of the 2022 posts was Opal Miller and Henry Mayhew Elope, 1907. Who does not love a romance story?  

The second most popular post was Old House Location, Fred and Myrtle (Dendy) Duncan. This surprised me. This was the location of a farmhouse that my grandparents rented when they first married in the early 1930s. The house no longer stands and has not during my lifetime. Since my father was an only child, there are not many of us who would care about it.

The third most popular post was Opal (Miller) Mayhew's Illegal Operation. The post about her elopement was a follow-up to this post about her death following an abortion that her husband and a doctor "friend" performed on her. This particular post was a follow-up to John Deloss Brown's Letter, 1913 that was written in 2021. 

As usual, my favorite posts are not the most popular posts. My favorites always involve some sort of breakthrough. This year's breakthrough posts involved uncovering the identity of women, and those are always at the top of my list of favorite breakthroughs.

This year I finally found out what became of John D. Lewis's youngest daughter Emily. I am hoping that the post, Emily (Lewis) Hanks, Daughter of John Lewis, will eventually find its way to her descendants who are interested in sharing information. After researching Emily Lewis, I returned to the problem of identifying her mother, which has been an issue since I discovered her existence several years ago. This time, however, she also fell into place. I was able to post her identity in Jane Dameron, Wife of John D. Lewis. 

Currently, I have several posts about John D. Lewis and his family in the works. Maybe this will be the year that documentation about his wife or parents is found. Well, one can dream. 

I see that last year, I wanted to make progress on my Cawthon line. I did spend time working on it, but nothing new was found, so I still need to push on that.  And I absolutely need to dig back into the Dabb/Harding Collection.

Ephraim D. Moore and the Wardlows

    ©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

Lots of researchers warn against wasting time going down rabbit holes. Rabbit holes are intriguing tidbits of information that can eat up time and yield nothing other than interesting trivia that contributes nothing to the actual search. In other words, they are just interesting distractions. 

However, I find I can never resist a rabbit hole because there have been too many times when I have found really good information that I would not found any other way. Those few successful experiences have kept me leaping into rabbit holes.

Researching Ephraim D. Moore's exploits in Texas was one of those rabbit holes. He was the minister who solemnized the marriage of Wiley Lewis and Charlotte Bricker in Madison County, Alabama in 1821. In researching him, I learned that among other things his wife was Mary Ann Wardlow. That was interesting because Wiley Lewis's sister Jane married Milton Wardlow. In looking at trees for Milton Wardlow and Mary Ann Wardlow, I found that there is not much information about either one of them, so I don't know if they connect to each other.

In researching Ephraim D. Moore after he migrated to Texas, I found him administering the estate of David S. Wardlow in 1846 in Red River County, Texas. This notice of a suit to sell the property of David S. Wardlow appeared in the Northern Standard of Clarksville, Texas on 6 March 1847:

The heirs of David S. Wardlow were Mary Moore [Ephraim's wife], James Wardlow, John Wardlow, Ann Sharp - wife of John Sharp, and Elizabeth Tankersly. Ann Sharp's name got my attention. Reading further into the notice is the information that John Wardlow, Ann Sharp, and Elizabeth Tankersly were residents of McNairy County, Tennessee.

Based on what I know about suits like this, these heirs are probably siblings. As a group, they are either the children of David S. Wardlow or the siblings of David S. Wardlow. This information would be helpful to a Wardlow researcher. 

And Ann Sharp? She is very likely the same Ann M. Sharp of McNairy County, Tennessee, who provided critical information in a deposition that was presented in a lawsuit among the children of Green B. Babb in the early 1870s. The children of Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb sued their stepmother Mary (Broom) Babb and their Lewis half-siblings. Elizabeth Lewis was the daughter of John D. Lewis, who died in McNairy County, Tennessee in 1843. That lawsuit provided important documentation that identified John D. Lewis's children and last wife - the purpose of the suit was to sort out the inheritance of Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb, which required an inquiry into the settlement of John D. Lewis's estate. 

In an earlier post, I noted that in 1840 John Lewis lived near John A. Sharp and David Wardlow. I even provided a snippet of the census that shows them to be near neighbors. At the time, I was wondering if Ann Sharp was John A. Sharp's wife, and I noted David Wardlow because of Jane Lewis's marriage to Milton Wardlow. 

Lewis Siblings' Marital FANs

   ©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

Conventional research techniques direct us to research all the witnesses and bondsmen on our ancestors' marriage records in hopes of learning new family connections.

My Lewis siblings were the children of John D. Lewis, who died in McNairy County, Tennessee, in 1843. Their connections to him are proven through a lawsuit that was brought by a set of his grandchildren against their stepmother. Family tradition says that John Lewis's wife was Susan Daniel; however, there is no documentation to prove that. All of the marriage records that exist for these siblings were filed in Madison County, Alabama. These marriage records do not contain any witnesses or bondsmen; however, there are records of who solemnized their marriages. I thought I would delve into each officiant in hopes of discovering religious affiliations and possibly more records. The information that I gained was eye-opening and indicates that there is even more research that needs to be done.

The marriage records will be examined here in the order in which they were performed and not in the birth order of the siblings.

1. William Henry Lewis married Tabitha Cotton before 1820, but their marriage record has not been found. 

2. Wiley Lewis married Charlotte Bricker on 24 October 1821.

E.D. Moore E.C.C. solemnized their marriage. He was actually Ephriam D. Moore, a minister of the Disciples of Christ, aka the Church of Christ. He was born in Transylvania County, North Carolina, in 1782. His father, James Moses Moore, died shortly before his birth. Ephriam moved as a youth to Tennessee. He began preaching in 1807 and moved to northeast Alabama. Most sources state that he lived and preached in Lauderdale County. Clearly, though, he had some connection to Madison County in the early 1820s. He is noted for preaching on Sundays and farming the rest of the week. His wife was Mary Ann Wardlow. I have not determined yet if she was related to Milton Wardlow, who was Jane Lewis's husband. In 1835, Ephriam D. Moore set out for Texas and settled just north of Clarksville in Red River County, where he spent the remainder of his life. At the same time, Dr. Mansel W. Matthews and Benjamin Lynne DeSpain, both ministers of the Church of Christ, led a large group of settlers from Lauderdale County, Alabama, to Red River County, Texas. They are said to have traveled part of the way with David Crockett. They were traveling too slowly for his tastes, so he eventually went on without them. He had a date with destiny at the Alamo and was in a hurry to get there. My guess is that Ephriam D. Moore was probably in this group. It's worth noting that Benjamin Lynn DeSpain was a brother to John DeSpain who married as his second wife, Margeret (Lewis) Daugherty, who was a sister of Wiley Lewis. They married in Hopkins County, Texas, in 1845. John DeSpain married his first wife, Margaret Reader, in Lauderdale County, Alabama. I am anxious to see those records when they become available on Family Search and find out who solemnized their marriage

3. Matilda Lewis married William Mason on 17 November 1823.

Their marriage was solemnized by Justice of the Peace Thomas Simmons. The Masons moved to Hopkins County, Texas, in the late 1840s. In 1848, William Mason, along with John DeSpain, Milton Wardlow, and Mansel W. Matthews, was appointed an appraiser for the estate of William O. Matthews.

4. Joel Daniel Lewis married Rebecca Ingle in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on 16 December 1823. I have not found further information on their marriage.

5. Celia Lewis married William Babb on 10 October 1824. 

Their marriage was also solemnized by Justice of the Peace Thomas Simmons.

6. Rebecca Lewis married Aaron Rice on 28 October 1826. 

Their marriage was solemnized by Mansel Walter Matthews. Matthews was born in Kentucky in 1806. He taught school in Alabama and was converted by Rev. Benjamin Lynn DeSpain. Matthews had a varied career. As a minister of the Disciples of Christ, he preached sermons in Madison County, Alabama, and in McNairy County, Tennessee. Then he returned to Kentucky, studied medicine, and became a physician. Evidently, he also continued to preach. Then, in 1835, he was one of the men who was instrumental in leading a large group of settlers to Red River County, Texas. Like Crockett, Matthews joined the Texas army. He was at the Battle of San Jacinto and attended to the wounds of Sam Houston. After the war, Matthews became a lawyer. He resided in Hopkins County from about 1844 to 1855. While there, he became the postmaster at White Oak from 1847 to 1850. This was during the time period that several Lewis siblings and their spouses migrated to Hopkins County: Matilda (Lewis) and William Mason, Margaret (Lewis) Daugherty, who married John DeSpain in Hopkins County, Wiley Lewis, Jane (Lewis) and Milton Wardlow, and Daniel A. Lewis. More research is required, but it appears that they may have lived close to Mansel W. Matthews. 

7. Daniel A. Lewis married his first wife, Betsey Hughes, on 1 May 1828.

Their marriage was solemnized by Justice of the Peace Joseph Rice. Betsey Hughes was the widow of Thomas Hughes and the daughter of William Young. She had no children with her first husband. Daniel and Betsey (Young) Lewis had a son whom they named Mansel W. Lewis. My guess is that he was named after Mansel Walter Matthews.

8. Margaret Lewis married her first husband, Walter Daugherty, on 19 January 1829.

Their marriage was solemnized by Rev. Michael Mason Sr., who was William Mason's grandfather. Michael Mason was a Methodist Episcopal minister. I had forgotten until I started this sibling study that Rev. Michael Mason also solemnized the marriage of Daniel A. Lewis's first wife, Betsy Young's marriage to her first husband, Thomas Hughes, on 26 November 1826. I had forgotten until I started going back through my notes that a William Young relinquished all claims to Rev. Michael Mason's estate. It is thought that he married Michael Mason's daughter, Catherine. Could it possibly be that the William Young who raised his Lewis grandchildren is also the son-in-law of Michael Mason?! I tiptoed back into the FamilySearch tree for a peek. Betsy (Young) Hughes Lewis's father, William Young, did have a wife named Catherine, but she is attributed as being a Colquhoun rather than a Mason. This is going to require more research on another day. 

9. Elizabeth Lewis married Green B. Babb before 1831, location unknown. Her obituary appeared in a Disciples of Christ publication in 1852. In 1853, Green B. Babb was a member of the Clear Creek Church, which was a Church of Christ, in McNairy County, Tennessee. In addition, their nephews, Bryant T. Babb and Kibble Babb, the sons of Celia Lewis and William Babb, were also members. Also found on the membership list is one Jane Lewis, who had joined from a Methodist church. I believe that she was John Lewis's second wife Jane (Dameron) Hambrick Lewis. There were also several Wardlows on the membership list. 

10. Jane Lewis married Milton Wardlow before 1837, location unknown. 

My tentative conclusion is that the Lewis siblings' association with Mansel W. Matthew and Benjamin Lynn DeSpain, along with other members of the Church of Christ, probably factored heavily in their decision to migrate to Hopkins County, Texas. 

Jane Dameron, wife of John D. Lewis

  ©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

Finally identifying what became of Emily Lewis, daughter of John D. Lewis, prompted me to go back into the file of papers that comprise the lawsuit among the Lewis heirs: F.A. Bryant et al vs. John Fitzpatrick, 1872. I was looking for any reference to Emily's husband Franklin B Hanks or any other Hanks. I did not find anything, but I did pay particular attention to all references to Emily Lewis.

The questions asked in each deposition seem to be geared around the information that a specific witness could provide. In other words, they seem very specific and not exploratory. The questions about Emily mostly focus on her share of John D. Lewis's estate and how much she actually received. Per John D. Lewis's will, she was to receive her share as a child of John Lewis plus additional money for her education. Since she was only about four or five years old when her father died, it makes sense that an education fund would be set aside for her. John D. Lewis's land was sold and each heir received an equal monetary share, except for Daniel A. Lewis and Wiley Lewis, who received $5 and $1 respectively and were essentially disinherited. 

The deposition of David McKinzie, taken on 12 February 1872 contained information about Emily that I had never noticed before:

David McKinzie was asked the following:

"What amount of the property was set apart to Emily daughter of John D. Lewis and by what authority, who of the parties were present and what was said by them about said appropriation."

McKinzie responded:

"By petition there was amount set apart for her education and maintenance by the county court. the exact amount I don't remember but think it was 150$. Said amount was not to be charged to her out of said estate For the said Emily old Billy Dameron who was her uncle was present. and G.B. Babb who was old man Lewises Son in Law and a Law was opposing the appropriation."

Aside from the fact that Green B. Babb attempted to block Emily's education fund, I had never noticed that Emily had an uncle Billy Dameron. That suggested the possibility that Emily's mother Jane was a Dameron and not a Hammerick and that John Lewis was probably not her first husband. 

Then I double-checked the information that one of the depositions provided about John D. Lewis's marriage to Jane. That information was in the deposition of Robert Michie, aged 55, given on 12 February 1872:

Robert Michie was asked the following:

"State as near as you can the time of the second marriage of the Said John D. Lewis. to whom and how many children did he have by Said Second marriage."

Michie replied:

"He Married Jane Hammerick Said to be his Second wife in the year 1836. He had one child by Said Second Marriage, her name was Emily."

Robert Michie does not state how he knew the marriage occurred in 1836. Was he present? Was he related to her in some way?

The next question that elicited valuable information about Emily was this:

"State what amount was set apart to John D. Lewises Daughter Emily. By whom it was Set apart. Who was her guardian and for what purpose Said amount was Set apart to Said Daughter."

Michie's response:

"I don't know the amt that was Set apart by Said Lewis for Said Daughter Emily I Saw a Note Made by James Damron to A.J. Kincaid who was her guardian for 300$ which was given as her money. I don't know by whom Said amt was Set apart. I Suppose it was Set apart for Said Emily."

The presence of a second Dameron strongly suggests a family connection to Jane. Armed with that I googled "William Dameron" "McNairy County." Up bubbled a reference to Jane Dameron, sister of William Dameron, who married Jason Hambrick in 1820 in Madison County, Alabama. Jane Hambrick? She certainly seemed like a possibility. 

Jane Dameron married Jason Hambrick in Madison County, Alabama on 20 January 1820. Jason Hambrick next appeared on the 1830 McNairy County, Tennessee census. In his household, there was one male 20 - 30 years old (himself). There were two females: one age 20 - 30 (Jane), and one 30 - 40 (unknown). There were no children. Then Jason Hambrick disappears from the census records. 

The family tree on Family Search places Jane Dameron wife of Jason Hambrick as the daughter of Elizabeth Haynie and Joseph Dameron. She had a brother named William and one named James, among others. Her brother James Dameron had a daughter named Eliza Jane Dameron, who was married to Robert W. Michie and lived in District 9, McNairy County, Tennessee. My guess is that he is the same Robert Michie who provided a deposition in the Bryant v. Fitzpatrick lawsuit. 

Right now, my theory is that when Jason Hambrick died, Jane lived with one of her siblings in McNairy County, Tennessee, since I have yet to find a deed for Jason Hambrick. Then she met John Lewis when he moved to District 9, and they married in 1836.

If you would like to read the depositions taken for the F.A. Bryant v. John Fitzpatrick lawsuit, they are attached to John D. Lewis in Family Search. 

Emily (Lewis) Hanks, Daughter of John Lewis

 ©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

Revisiting my John Lewis line after taking a break is still paying off. In poking around Ancestry, I found a tree for Emily (Lewis) Hanks, where the user had attached the 1850 census record of Emily Lewis, daughter of my ancestor, John Lewis and his second wife, Jane (Dameron) Hambrick.

The Emily Lewis I am searching for is the youngest daughter of John Lewis who died in McNairy County, Tennessee, in  March 1842, and the only surviving child of his second wife Jane. Emily was born in Tennessee in about 1837/1838. By 1850, her widowed mother had married Holliday McGuire, and they were still living in McNairy County, Tennessee. By 1860, Emily was no longer in the McGuire household. I had not been able to determine if she died young or married. 

At first blush, Emily (Lewis) Hanks did not seem a likely candidate for the Emily Lewis I have been seeking for several years. She and her husband, Franklin B. Hanks, had gone to Jackson County, Illinois before 1870. That seemed far removed from the other Lewis children, who had either moved almost in mass to Texas or remained in Tennessee and Alabama. Fortunately, I decided to really look at everything I could find connected to Emily (Lewis) Hanks. Finally, I googled up a reference to her husband Franklin B. Hanks in the History of Jackson County, Illinois by Robert Allyn, published in 1878, and available in the Internet Archive. At the time the book was published, both Franklin B. Hanks and his wife Emily were still living and can be presumed to be the source of the information provided in Franklin B. Hanks' biography.

The biography reveals that Franklin B. Hanks was born in Maury County, Tennessee in 1834. His parents, Thomas and Nancy Hanks, moved the family to McNairy County, Tennessee, in 1849. The sentence that cinched the connection between the two Emilys was this one: "In June, 1854, he married Miss Emily Lewis, the youngest daughter of John Lewis, one of the old and prominent inhabitants of  McNary [sic] County." Of course, it would have been so nice if the biography included the location of their marriage and the name of her mother, but the information provided is golden. 

The biography goes on to say that Emily and Franklin Hanks moved to Illinois in 1863 because Franklin was not a Confederate sympathizer. They first settled in Washington County, Illinois, but within a few months moved to DeSoto in Jackson County, Illinois. In 1873, F.B. Hanks was elected sheriff of Jackson County. 

Emily Lewis and Franklin B. Hanks had a total of eleven children, four of whom were deceased by the book's publication in 1878.

The 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses reveal their children to be the following:

1. John Hanks b.c. 1854
2. James Hanks b.c. 1856
3. William R. Hanks b.c. 1859
4. Sarah Hanks b.s. 1862
5. Charles F. Hanks b.c. 1864
6. Nancy A. Hanks b.c. 1866
7. George Hanks b.c. 1869
8. Laura L Hanks b.c. 1875

Since George Hanks does not appear on the 1880 census with the family, he was likely to be deceased along with three additional undocumented children. 

One interesting tidbit in the biography is that Emily was a Methodist. 

There seems to be some disagreement over whether Emily died in 1883 (per the family tree on Family Search) or 1895 (per her Findagrave memorial with no photograph of her tombstone). The Findagrave memorials for both Emily (Lewis) and Franklin B. Hanks state that their places of burial are unknown. I'm wondering if their death dates are actually unknown as well. 

Franklin's father Thomas Hanks lived in Christian County, Missouri, where he was a minister. Emily (Lewis) Hanks' place of death is given as Christian County, Missouri on Family Search, but as Stoddard County, Missouri on Findagrave. So far, I'm finding no newspaper references to their deaths. Additionally, I have found no documentation that Emily and Franklin Hanks moved closer to his father in Missouri after 1880. 

John Lewis - in Support of Pres. Andrew Jackson, 1834

©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

I spent a few minutes revisiting my John Lewis line this week. This article was found by searching for John Lewis's son Joel D. Lewis because I was looking for Joel's activity as a guardian for his nephews, who were the sons of his sister Celia (Lewis) Babb, wife of William Babb. Because he might have been mentioned in newspapers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, I took a gamble and just ran a search of all states and used just his name. What turned up was a newspaper article in The Globe of Washington DC in 1834.  

In the preview window, I could see Joel's father John Lewis and his brother-in-law William Babb mentioned in addition to Joel D. Lewis, so I knew I had found something connected to my family. The reference to Jackson County, Alabama confirmed that this was my family. Additionally, James E. Daniel is included. He is likely to be the same James E. Daniel who witnessed John Lewis's will. 

This list of men reveals a couple of key pieces of information that I did not know before. First, William Babb's exact death date is unknown. He died intestate in Jackson County, Alabama, sometime in 1834 or 1835. This newspaper notice tells me that he was still alive on 28 June 1834 and was well enough to participate on this committee. It also tells me that my ancestor John Lewis was more politically active than I would have suspected. And, of course, it tells me that he was a diehard Jackson supporter.

I have so many questions about this committee. Were they elected? Appointed? Self-appointed? Did they have other "duties"? On the most basic level, where was Kirkpatrick's Spring? It does not show up on any current maps. This article appeared on a paged filled with similar articles from states around the nation - committees that met and made resolutions in support of President Andrew Jackson and against the Bank of the United States. The Jackson County, Alabama committee made the following resolutions:

A little research revealed that a few days before this article appeared, Jackson's nominee, Roger Taney,  for Treasury Secretary had been rejected by the Senate because of the ongoing feud with Jackson over the Bank of the United States.