Issue E
May 2004
May 2004
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Issue E
May 2004 |
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Sons of John Gentry of Botetourt County, Virginia by Willard Gentry Introduction John died in 1779 in Botetourt County, leaving a will (written in 1778) which left his estate to his wife, Mary (daughter of Hugh Green of Augusta County) and to his children, without naming those children. Later, Mary's father's will, dated 1786, left bequests to "daughter, Mary Gentry and to each of her sons." Two of the subjects of the present article, Hugh Gentry and Joseph Gentry, are commonly thought by genealogists to be sons of this John. Another son, John Jr., to this writer's knowledge, has never previously been suggested as part of this family. A. John Gentry - Fourth Generation of Gentrys
Nothing is known of John's early history other than the fact that most of his children reported that they had been born in Tennessee. The children's birth places indicate that John's family moved north from Tennessee in about 1805. It is not until we look at probate records for John, filed in Montgomery County, Ohio in 1807, that we find any documentary evidence of his existence<2>. The estate was closed in 1812 at which time his wife Hannah was made the guardian of the five youngest children. She bought 60 acres of land in the north part of Montgomery County, and was listed in the 1820 census but not in 1830. The presumption is that she died in the interval. In the settlement of John's estate, Hannah and a William Newman were named as co-administrators of the estate. Herbert Gentry<2>, reading through the probate papers, concluded that William Newman (born about 1777 in North Carolina according to the 1850 census) was probably a brother of Hannah. Richard and John Cox, witnesses to the will along with William Newman were probably brothers of Hannah's first husband. The fact that Samuel Gentry named a son Alfred Cox Gentry, and Ephraim had a grandson named Alfred Cox suggests the possibility that Hannah's first husband may have been named Albert. Delving into John's background, it is possible that he was the John Gentry who was listed in 1805 in the tax lists for Greene County, Tennessee<3>. Much earlier, in 1779, a John Gentry filed for a land grant entry on behalf of John Sevier on a tributary of the Nolichucky River in Washington County<4a>. Then in 1787, there is a vague reference in a description of a land grant somewhat farther south in Greene County which describes the land being granted as "on River Ridge about 3/4 miles from the French Broad River, opposite John Gentry's cabin"<4b>. While there were several John Gentrys living in Tennessee in the period between 1790 and 1800, none of those that have been positively identified lived in Greene County, nor were any of them there before 1790. Even though the identification of the John Gentry of Greene County has no necessary bearing on identifying the John Gentry of Montgomery County, Ohio, if they are one and the same, it is helpful to know something about John's age, how long he had been in Tennessee, and where he entered the state. One can say with probably at least 95% certainty, that John was a descendant of Joseph-II of Hanover County, Virginia. Enough is known about the descendants of Nicholas-II that there is no logical way for John to be a descendant of his. Likewise, none of the sons of Samuel-II, with the exception of David, can be considered as ancestors of John. The name, John, was very common in David's family and several of his sons were born early enough to have possibly been the father of John of Montgomery County. One has to really stretch possibilities, however, to tie John to this family. By far the most likely candidate as father of our John was John of Botetourt County, Virginia, one of the sons of Joseph-II Gentry. Names provide little positive evidence for family relationships, but John was a very common name among the families of all of the descendants of Joseph-II (and indeed the existence of other contemporary John Gentrys eliminates several of Joseph's sons as possible fathers of this John). One can see in the case of our subject John that he could have been named for his father, while two other sons of John Sr, namely Hugh and Joseph, were named for their maternal and paternal grandfathers respectively. None of the children of John Sr. have been documented as such with the exception of a daughter, Jean. The two sons named above, Hugh and Joseph are most strongly linked to John Sr. by the naming of children (one of Hugh's being named Hugh Green Gentry, for Hugh's grandfather, and one of Joseph's being named Hugh Gentry). There is no reason that John of Montgomery County, Ohio could not have also been a son of John Sr. John Sr. died in 1779, with no indication of the date of his marriage to Mary Green, daughter of Hugh Green, except that his daughter, Jean, was old enough at the time to witness his will. As we will see, John's son Hugh is said to have been born in 1769, and Joseph several years after that. It is reasonable to conjecture that John Jr. may have been born in about 1765. If the account of the John Gentry cabin in Greene County, Tennessee, in 1787 refers to this John, he would have been in his early twenties. This matches logic quite well. The term, John Gentry's "cabin" suggests a small, possibly temporary structure, in which John may have been living as a single man, living as a hunter-trapper-guide rather than as a farmer. He may have continued in this style of life until he met Hannah Cox and married her in his late twenties. The lack of further evidence relating to John such as the buying of land, is not at all unusual among the early Tennessee settlers. John Gentry's Children Less is known of the daughters of John and Hannah. The oldest daughter, Rebecca, was not living with her mother in 1820, and could have died early or married and left home. The other two daughters, Margaret and Abigail, married members of the same Foland family that had provided wives for their brothers Ephraim and Samuel. Both settled in Madison County, Indiana also. B. Hugh Gentry - Fourth Generation Gentry
The next reference to Hugh can be found in Shelby County, Kentucky -- not for his own marriage, but as a bondsman for another marriage in 1798<5>. He is also shown in Shelby County in 1800 in the "reconstructed 1800 census" of Kentucky. There have been no records of land purchases or sales found for Hugh in Shelby County. His name next appears in Franklin County, Tennessee, in 1812<6>. For some reason, a large number of settlers from Kentucky moved to Franklin County and Hugh was among them. The timing of the mass movement was undoubtedly due to the southern tier of counties in Tennessee being created from lands taken over from the Cherokee Indians shortly before this. Hugh bought 150 acres land on Bradley's Creek in the southern part of Franklin County in 1813 and sold it again in 1819. It was probably at about that time that he moved south across the Tennessee border into the neighboring county of Jackson, Alabama. His son, Camden, was born in Alabama that year. Hugh was not listed in any 1820 census He was, however, listed in the 1830 and 1840 Jackson County, Alabama census (the latter just shortly before he died). Hugh Gentry's Children C. Joseph Gentry - Fourth Generation Gentry
This Joseph Gentry, who spent his last years in Coffee County, Tennessee, has been the subject of an unusually large number of confused and mistaken statements as to his ancestry, his marriages, and his children. Undoubtedly this is because there were several Joseph Gentrys who were living in Tennessee in the early days of its settlement, and genealogists have not always been careful about separating or able to separate them. In particular this Joseph has been confused with the Joseph of Carter/Johnson County, Tennessee. Joseph of Coffee County had very few documentary records to his name in his earlier years, but it seems certain that he moved to Franklin County, Tennessee by 1812<6>. During the latter years of his life, he lived in the northern part of that county for many years, first as a resident of Franklin County, then when Coffee County was created from Franklin County in 1836, as a resident of Coffee County. It is uncertain whether Joseph remained in Tennessee during the entire time between 1812 and 1830 (when he was known to be living back in Franklin County). A statement by one son, William, of his parents moving to Alabama in about 1816, and census birthplace listings of Alabama for another son, Hugh, who was born in 1821, if true indicate that Joseph may have moved to that state for a period of time (see further discussion in section on Joseph's children below). Also if true it helps explains why at least three of his children were living next door to each other in Alabama in 1830 and had all probably been married there. If he did go to Alabama, he must have been back in Tennessee by the time his first wife died for she is buried in Coffee County, and his second marriage is believed to have taken place there. Joseph's second wife, Mary Mash, was married to John Roach in Blount County, Tennessee, 31 Aug 1814. They moved to Franklin County before 1820, and were listed in the census with two sons and two daughters. All of Joseph's children from 1828 onwards are recorded as having been born in Tennessee, and Joseph himself is listed in the 1830 Franklin County and 1840 Coffee County census. (In both of these census listings, members of the combined families of Joseph's first marriage and that of his second wife, Mary's first marriage appear to have been living together.) The principal question concerning Joseph's movements was that of where Joseph was living before he moved to Franklin County. This writer suggests that the Joseph Gentry who witnessed two deeds in Hawkins County, Tennessee in 1800 and 1801 was probably this Joseph <9>. Court references to a Joseph Gentry who was delinquent with his taxes in neighboring Grainger County from 1803 to 1810 are also probably for the same Joseph<10>. The Grainger County Joseph had a substantial amount of land, 640 acres being mentioned at one point, but he obviously had difficulty keeping up with his taxes. If it is the same Joseph, the next we hear of him is in southern Tennessee in Franklin County in 1812, and he may have simply sold out his land in Grainger County in the tax sale of 1810 and decided to move to greener pastures. At any rate nothing is heard of the Grainger County Joseph after 1810. In Franklin County, Joseph's brother, Hugh Gentry owned land on Bradley's Creek in the south part of the county before he sold it and moved to Alabama. Joseph may have initially lived nearby and moved at the same time as Hugh to Alabama. Whether or not he moved with Hugh, in later years, he lived in the north part of the county The only land for which we can find a deed involving Joseph is a 100 acre tract on Bean's Creek (in northern Franklin County) which he sold in 1837 (the deed refers to him being of Coffee County at that time)<7>. The northern part of Franklin is what became Coffee County in 1836. Two references in Franklin County before Coffee County was formed, involve his appointment as guardian for the daughters of John Roach, deceased husband of his second wife<11>. In the latter county, Joseph is mentioned in a number of contexts other than buying or selling land such as court appearances between 1836 and 1840 in a variety of roles, including that of sheriff and deputy sheriff of Coffee County. (A number of these are detailed in Virginia Murphy's articles<8>). Who was Joseph's Father? Joseph was listed in the 1830 and 1840 census as born between 1780 and 1790. A wrong date in one census is not at all unusual, but when the date is repeated in two separate reports, one needs to pay a little more attention to it. John died in 1779, so obviously Joseph could not have been a son of John and been born after 1780. Such a late date of birth also does not match the fact that Peggy Gentry Hastings, whose tombstone is marked "daughter of Joseph and Bell Gentry", was born in 1796. The frequently quoted estimate of 1775 as being the date of Joseph's birth better fits the time line of Joseph's life. This would place him as being John's youngest child, born just a few years before his death. Another small discrepancy relating to Joseph's birth lies in the fact that Joseph's youngest son, Samuel, in the 1880 census, reported that his father was born in Tennessee not Virginia. It appears obvious that he lived there so long that Samuel thought of him as having been born there. Joseph Gentry's Children Very little is known about Joseph's daughters. The most fully-documented daughter was Margaret ("Peggy") Gentry who married John Hastings. Among other things, her tombstone in Jackson County, Alabama, is said to read, "... daughter of Joseph & Bell Gentry", along with her age and date of death in 1826. Her oldest children were born in Tennessee before she moved to Alabama in about 1824. Her widowed husband then remarried and moved to North Carolina, then Mississippi, then Missouri. Joseph's oldest son, John, moved from Tennessee to Alabama before 1825 when his son, Martin, was born. A study of census records suggests that John may have had three children then lost a first wife before the 1830 census and married Margaret Collins not long after. The next oldest of John's children, Thomas, was born about 1833. Margaret may have been the sister of Martin Collins who married John's sister, Katherine. John moved to Illinois, probably at the same time as his brother, William in 1832, and all of his younger children were born there.. He appears in the 1830 Jackson County, Alabama census, then not until the 1850 census for Williamson County, Illinois. His wife, Margaret and his younger children were in the 1860 census. His son, Martin, was living in Jackson County, Illinois, in 1850 next door to his uncle William, but had rejoined the rest of the family in Williamson County before 1860. Thomas, a younger son of John, was living close to his mother in 1860. John's children in addition to Martin and Thomas included Sarah, George, Katherine, Frances, James, Jane and Martha. William, Joseph's second son, was also listed in the 1830 Jackson County, Alabama, then was in the 1840 and 1850 Jackson County, Illinois, census. Local histories of the latter county report he arrived there in 1832. The same local history indicates that "his parents moved to Alabama when he was eight years old". This implies that his father, Joseph, moved to Jackson County, Alabama, in about 1816, then returned to Tennessee. One might wonder if this William was the son of Hugh Gentry instead of Joseph Gentry if it were not for a ten year difference in date of birth of the two Williams. Despite the record of William's second marriage in Jackson County, Illinois in 1859, and William's death there in 1878, census records for him in 1860 and 1870 have not been located. (There is a William Gentry in the 1860 Jackson County census but it is not this William.) The record of William's children through 1850 includes Elizabeth, Polly Ann, Alexander (also in the 1860 census), Maria, Caroline and John, along with an older daughter who had left home before 1850. Joseph's fourth daughter, Katherine, married Martin Collins (a brother of Margaret (?), wife of Katherine's brother, John), probably in Alabama. (There were a number of Collins family members living in Jackson County in 1830 suggesting they had all been there for some time.) At that time, the Collins were living next to John and William Gentry in 1830 and also next to an unmarried James Collins who was probably a brother of Martin. (Living with James was an elderly woman who was probably Martin and James' mother.) Census records for their children indicate that Katherine and Martin moved to Illinois before 1836, and were in Union County in 1850. They moved to Williamson County by 1860 and were living next door to the family of her brother, John, at the time of that census. Both the 1850 Union County census and the 1860 Williamson County census also list their son, (another) James Collins, who was born in Alabama in about 1827 and was living in 1860 next door to his cousin, Martin Gentry. (One of John's great,great-granddaughters, Jenniev Gentry McCamish, has followed these families that moved to Illinois and has contributed information about them to the "Gentry Family Gazette"<8>.) Joseph's third son, Joseph Green, appears in the 1840 Coffee County, Tennessee, census under the name "Green". He is listed as "J.G." (occupation wagoneer) in the 1850 Coffee County census, and again in 1860, as a farmer in Sebastian County, Arkansas. At that time, all of his children were listed as having been born in Tennessee, so J.G.'s move to Arkansas took place after 1851. His children included Mary, Thomas, William, Laura, twins Jackson and Henderson Green, and Sarah. Jarret was listed in the Coffee County census in 1850 and 1860. He was living with his father in 1830, and was probably living with his brother J.G. in 1840. Jarret married Nancy Roach in 1841, a step-sister, one of the daughter's of his father's second wife. (Nancy was probably the "Nancy Gentry" found in the 1840 Coffee County census along with a sister, living next door to Joseph. Having been a part of Joseph's family since the time of his marriage to her mother, Nancy was undoubtedly thought of as being a Gentry and so mis-labeled in the census.) As has been mentioned earlier, Jarret was named in 1847 as an executor for his father's will. Jarret's children included Mary J., William T., Joseph H., Catharine B. and Sarah. Joseph's son, Thomas, was apparently living with the family at the time of the 1830 and 1840 census, but was missing in 1850. He is not mentioned in his father's will and was not named a co-executor of Joseph's will as was Thomas' younger brother, Hugh. It appears that he had moved away by then or more probably had died. His brother, Hugh (age 27), was also living with the family in 1830 and 1840. In 1850 he was a stage driver, a single man living in Coffee County in a rooming house. A Hugh Gentry (age 38) who was living in 1860 in Lowndes County, Mississippi, was probably this same Hugh. He had apparently married just after the 1850 census, for this Hugh's oldest child was age 9, born in Mississippi. The Mississippi family continued to appear in Lowndes County censuses in 1870 and in 1880 (by which time Hugh had died). His children included Elizabeth ("Lizzey") and Georgana. The Mississippi Hugh was reported in each instance to have been born in Alabama, while the Hugh who appeared in the 1850 Coffee County census reported his birth in Tennessee. If these indeed were the same individuals and Hugh was actually born in Alabama as indicated, it would support William's remembrance of the family moving from Tennessee to Alabama in about 1816. The oldest child of Joseph's second marriage was a daughter, Martha. She was living with her parents in the 1830 and 1840 Coffee County census. In 1850, she was living with an Ervin Lowell family, next door to her brother J.G. Between 1850 and 1860, Martha married and had a son, Robert (born in Mississippi), then lost her husband. Martha and her son had returned to Tennessee and were living with Joseph's widow, Mary, in 1860. Joseph's youngest son, Samuel, was living in the 1850 census with his mother, then shown in the 1870 and 1880 Coffee County census with his own family. Samuel's children included Sarah, Martha, John H., Joseph M., George W., William, Charles Mead, Sophia, Thomas, Molly, Lee and "Ginnie" (Virginia?) George, Sarah Angeline, and Eliza (listed as Elizabeth in 1850), are the three young children of Joseph who were referred to as "unfortunate children" by Joseph in his will. George and Angelina were listed as "idiotic" in the 1850 census (today they would probably be classed simply as mentally retarded or deficient). The third sibling, Eliza, was indicated as being "insane" which undoubtedly referred to a more severe case of mental problems. George lived with his mother while she was alive, then with his sister, Martha, and eventually at the time of the 1880 census, he was living with his brother Samuel. Eliza was living with her mother at the time of the 1860 census, then we lose track of her. The third child, Angelina, who would have been 30 at the time, was not with the family in 1860. Conclusion References 2. ibid, p.36, 40. Herbert Gentry reports the contents of the probate package for John Gentry's estate, found in Montgomery County courthouse, filed in midsummer 1807. The probate shows John's survivors including his widow, Hannah, five children under the age of thirteen, and a stepson, Absalom, born 12 Feb 1789. Hannah, William Newman, Richard Cox, and John Cox were named in the security bond; Hannah and William Newman were co-administrators of the estate.
13. Federal Census Records (County, State, and Birth Date)
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