Issue C
June 2005
June 2005
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Issue C
June 2005 |
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A. Cheruby Gentry of Paulding County, Georgia B. Shaderick Gentry of Jackson County, Alabama C. Henrietta and Enoch Gentry of Madison County, Kentucky by Willard Gentry Abstract A. Cheruby Gentry of Paulding County, Georgia 1850 Census Record
The logical interpretation of this is that Cheruby Gentry was the mother (or step-mother) of Cheruby Duggar and Jefferson Gentry (also known as Thomas [Jefferson] Gentry). From records of the Van Wert Baptist Church into which Dianna was received in 1854<2>, it is apparent that Dianna was unmarried (the records refer to her as "Miss Dianna Gentry"). Given the age of Eliza Gentry in particular, the Elizabeth and Eliza in Cheruby's household appear to be children of Dianna. Thela and Sarah Duggar were undoubtedly children of Cheruby Duggar, and Betsy Ann was probably a younger sister of this Cheruby. The older Elizabeth Gentry appears to have been a newly-married wife of Jefferson and John Gentry was their young son. In addition, the family of John Gentry (born in Tennessee) and that of Samuel Gentry (born in South Carolina), also appear to be part of an extended family even though they were not living adjacent to the others. The birth records for the 1850 census suggest that Allen was living in Tennessee until at least 1836, but probably died before 1840. Whether the family moved to Georgia before or after Allen's death is unknown. Three other Gentrys living not far away, an Elizabeth, another Thomas Gentry and a Matthew Gentry are believed to be part of a different family than Allen and Cheruby's. They were all born in South Carolina and had long-standing Georgia roots. They are believed to descend from Matthew Gentry Sr., born about 1765 in South Carolina and a son of Allen Cain Gentry. Proposed Relationship to Allen Gentry
The correlation is not perfect, but given the uncertainties of ages given in the census records, the age correspondence is good. The birthplace of Samuel Gentry is no problem, but the birthplace of Cheruby Duggar in South Carolina is a marginal match. Allen is thought to have served briefly in the militia of Roane County, Tennessee between October 1813 and January 1814. He is also believed to have moved from Edgefield District, South Carolina shortly before this (see refr. 3). Two possibilities might explain the birth of a daughter Cheruby in South Carolina. Either Allen's wife remained briefly in South Carolina, or returned to South Carolina, to have her child there, or daughter Cheruby's age should have been somewhat greater than that given in 1850. Either of these alternatives is quite possible. Cheruby Gentry, who is proposed as Allen's wife, was not present in the 1800 census for Abbeville District, South Carolina, at which time Allen is assumed to have been living with his parents. There is no record of Allen in the 1810 census, and we can readily presume that Cheruby was indeed born in South Carolina, and that she married Allen probably about 1805. We have no suggestion as to the identity of the missing four sons and a daughter that were in the 1830 census but missing in 1850. In summary, there is no direct evidence linking the Gentrys present in Paulding County, Georgia in 1850 with the Allen Gentry who was in McMinn County, Tennessee, in 1830, but the correlation of census data is very good. There is certainly ample reason to consider the relationship of Cheruby Gentry to Allen Gentry as being highly possible and in fact as being probable. B. Shaderick Gentry of Jackson County, Alabama 1850 Census Record
South Carolina and Tennessee Records Ancestry of Shaderick Gentry
Accordingly, we are looking for someone who may have been in the 1800 South Carolina census, born 1790-1800, and in the 1810 South Carolina census, born 1794-1800. He may or may not have been in the 1820 South Carolina census, but we have no expectation of finding him in any 1820 Tennessee census. Prior to 1800, the only Gentrys in South Carolina were members of the families of David, Nathaniel and Samuel, all sons of Samuel-II Gentry, so Shaderick must have been a part of one of these families. It was not until after 1800 that Arthur and John Gentry, sons of Nicholas-III, moved from Surry County, North Carolina, to join the South Carolina contingent. We can eliminate the family of Nathaniel Gentry. The only member of his family remaining in South Carolina in 1800 was Samuel Gentry the Younger, who was a resident of Spartanburg District. None of Samuel's immediate family, nor the families of his sons, had a child in either the 1800 or 1810 census that could have been Shaderick. Of the sons of David-III, we can quickly eliminate Elisha Gentry and Elijah Gentry. All of their families had moved from South Carolina to Georgia by 1800 and never returned. Likewise we can eliminate Nicholas Gentry, who moved before 1780 to Tennessee where his family remained. We can eliminate most of the family of Hezekiah Gentry, whose descendants can be almost completely accounted for by the wills of Hezekiah and his sons. In considering the remaining sons of David, it is helpful to observe where those family descendants moved when they left South Carolina. Some moved to Georgia, then to Alabama or Mississippi, others moved to Alabama directly, while still others moved north to Tennessee. For example, Simon Gentry's family is one that started moving at an early stage to Alabama and all but one possible son eventually settled there. These movements tended to group together by family, and while not conclusive by any means, those families with members who went to Tennessee were most likely to be part of Shaderick's family. By examining the census records and comparing with known descendants of the various South Carolina families, we are left with a situation where there is no unequivocal candidate for Shaderick's family. It has been suggested that David's son, John, had a son also named John who was missing from the 1790 and 1800 census, but re-appeared in the 1810 Edgefield District census. This John Jr. has been discussed in a previous issue of the Journal of Gentry Genealogy<7>. The 1810 census shows John Jr. with two sons born 1794-1800, neither of whom was present with their mother Susan in the 1820 Spartanburg District census. One of these missing sons could have conceivably been Shaderick Gentry. Of incidental interest, one of the other proposed sons of John was "Allen-E" Gentry (described in the previous Journal article to which reference was made above). This Allen is believed to have been present in Rhea County, Tennessee, during the period from at least 1820 to 1828, and one can speculate that Shaderick may have ventured north to join Allen and then moved to neighboring Roane County. While this family is otherwise a good match, the fact that Shaderick is consistently shown as having been born in South Carolina poses a problem. The residence of the John Gentry family described above between 1790 and 1810 is not certain. It is thought that during most of this time, John was living just across the South Carolina border in Georgia and most of his children were born there. Whether any children were born in South Carolina during this time is uncertain. Obviously if Shaderick was his son, and he was indeed born in South Carolina, either the family moved there temporarily or his mother was visiting there at the time of his birth. There is really no good alternative for identifying the father of Shaderick among the other descendants of David-III Gentry. Another imperfect match for Shaderick, however, is found in the family of "Allen-A" Gentry (a son of Samuel-III, as described in the same previously-cited article<3>). "Allen-A"'s son, "Allen-C" Gentry along with his presumed brother David are thought to be the Gentrys who were present in McMinn County, Tennessee, tax records between 1828 and 1831 at the same time as Shaderick's presence in these records. "Allen-A" had two sons born before 1800 (both in South Carolina), but they are thought to be "Allen-C" and David. He also had two sons who are shown in the 1810 census to have been born after 1800. From other census evidence, it seems unlikely that David was born after 1800, so the alternative is for Shaderick's age to be wrong -- also unlikely to that degree. One further possibility from the family of Samuel-III Gentry is his second son, Jeremiah. The latter had a son born 1790-1800 in the 1800 census. He was missing from Jeremiah's family in 1810, but that is inconclusive -- he may have died, or he may have left home. The latter is a real possibility if this son was Shaderick, for he was old enough to enlist in the militia during the War of 1812. Having served his time, if Shaderick was a son of Jeremiah it would be very reasonable for him to follow or accompany his cousins "Allen-C" and David to Tennessee. In summary, the author is not able to definitively suggest a father for Shaderick Gentry, but by limiting the possibilities to a very few choices, these choiices may be of value to other genealogists. Moreover by accumulating the information in a single location, the search for his ancestors may hopefully be facilitated. C. Henrietta and Enoch Gentry of Madison County, Kentucky David's will, recorded in 1813 in Will Book A of Madison County, Kentucky, curiously lists only his wife, Jane [Haggard], and three children as heirs, namely James, Henrietta, and Pleasant<8a>. At the time of probate, James had already died (in 1809), so it appears that the will was written several years before David's death. The presence of Pleasant Gentry as the only one of David's children by his second wife is surprising, but the purpose of this present article is not to delve into the intricacies of this will, rather to identify children of David who are not listed among those in GFA. A Henrietta Gentry was married to William Francis in Madison County in 1797<9>. Both because the age is right, and because there are no other Henrietta Gentrys in the Madison County records, we can readily assume that this Henrietta was the daughter to whom reference is made in David's will and was an unlisted child of David . From the date of her marriage, we can estimate that she was probably born in about 1780, and must surely have been a daughter of David's first wife, Jane Kendrick. The date of David's marriage to his second wife, Jane Haggard is not known exactly, but since their first child, Bright Berry Gentry is said to have been born in Sep 1784, this marriage must have been about 1783. David's oldest son, James, is estimated to have been born about 1782, so we can probably safely assume that Henrietta was an older sister. David himself is said to have been born in 1761 which means that his first marriage must have been close to 1780, with Henrietta being born perhaps in 1781. There is another Gentry listed among the earliest marriages in Madison County that lacks identification. This is Enoch Gentry who married Lucy Lee in 1803<9>. Enoch does not appear in any of the early tax records nor in the 1810 census. There are, however, estate settlement records for him and for James Gentry in Will Book A of Madison County<8b>. We can infer that Enoch must have died before 1810 leaving a family for which we have no identification. The author proposes that Enoch was a second son of David Gentry by his first wife, Jane Kendrick, born about 1783, not long before David re-married. Like Henrietta, there is no reference to Enoch any place in GFA. Four boys, all born between 1800 and 1810, were living with David Gentry in 1810 according to the Madison County census<9>, who cannot be identified as David's own sons. It is interesting to speculate that these were orphan sons of Enoch, being cared for by their grandparents. By the time of the 1820 census, these four boys were no longer present and had scattered to other homes, or one or more may have died. Later instances of Gentrys of that age in Madison County records for whom antecedents are unknown, may possibly stem from these orphaned children. A very large proportion of the early Gentry settlers in Kentucky are referenced in one way or another by "The Gentry Family in America". There still are census, marriage, tax and other records for individuals who are not mentioned in this book, or for whom the published data is wrong. The Gentry Journal is interested in trying to resolve as many of these uncertainties as possible, and we will continue to suggest solutions to nagging problems. We do caution, as always, that the proposals we have advanced in this present issue are based on informed judgments concerning collateral evidence even though they lack unambiguous documentation. References 2. Harris, Nancy of Morganton, Georgia, private communication, "Minutes of the Van Wert Baptist Church, 1854-1867". 3. Gentry, Willard, "Scrambled Allen Gentrys", Journal of Gentry Genealogy, Issue A, (March 2005), posted at URL: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg05A.htm 4. "Index to War of 1812 Pensions Files", Vol II: G-M,
transcribed by Virgil D. White, The National Historical Publishing Co., Waynesboro, TN, 1989,
p.802 5. Byron & Barbara Sistler, "Early Middle Tennessee Marriages", Nashville, TN, 1988.
6. McMinn County Tax List film 266, Tennessee State Library and Archives
7. Gentry, Willard, "Some 'Orphan' Gentrys of South Carolina", Journal of Gentry Genealogy, vol 3, #5 (May 2003), posted at URL: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg0305.htm 8. "Madison Co. Kentucky Wills and Estates 1785 - 1813", by Charles M. Franklin, pub. Heritage House, Indianapolis IN, 1986
9. Annie Walker Burns, "Record of Marriages and Wills of Kentucky",
1937
10. 1810 Federal Census, Kentucky
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