Issue D
May 2004
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Introduction
Tennessee was a major crossroads in the early spread from Virginia of descendants of the original Gentry families. Kentucky was settled in its early stages (with only a few exceptions) by essentially only a single major branch of the Gentry family, namely by the descendants of Nicholas-II. North Carolina was settled by members of the Samuel-II family with minor additions from three sub-branches. South Carolina was settled exclusively by members of the Samuel-II and David-II families. But Tennessee, lagging somewhat behind the Carolinas in time, had major contributions from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, with a small contribution from Kentucky.

We have already provided an overview in the pages of the Journal of Gentry Genealogy (in volume 3, issue #9) of the pioneer Gentry families in the eastern half of Tennessee. The earliest appears to be the family of Robert Gentry, son of Nicholas-II. Among the other early settlers of Tennessee, arriving soon after Robert Gentry, were two Joseph Gentry families. The individual we will be discussing here was born and raised in Hanover County, Virginia (and we will distinguish him by the name "Joseph of Hanover"). The other Joseph, who will be a subject of a later article was born and raised in the area that became Botetourt County, Virginia (identified as "Joseph of Botetourt").

Joseph Gentry - Fourth Generation of Gentrys

Joseph's ancestry and Virginia roots are sketchy and poorly documented. He is believed to be one of the sons of Joseph-III Gentry, who in turn was the youngest son of Joseph-II Gentry. The latter has been described earlier in the Journal of Gentry Genealogy (vol 1, issue #10)<1>. along with comments about Joseph-III. There are brief references in Tennessee to a Joseph Gentry in 1778, 1784 and 1787 that appear to apply to our subject Joseph<2><3>, but at the same time, tax lists in Hanover County, Virginia continued to include a Joseph Gentry who owned 100 acres of land until 1795, well after the death of Joseph-III in about 1785. One possibility is that these two Josephs were the same and that the Hanover County Joseph did indeed move to Tennessee before 1778 but that he continued to own land in Virginia until 1796. It is quite possible that he had an interest in his father's estate that was not completely settled until that time. A second possibility is that the later Hanover County references were for a different Joseph who at this point has not been clearly identified.

The earliest records for Joseph in Tennessee indicate he settled initially on the head waters of Roans Creek in the South Holston River valley. A short biographical account of Joseph appears in "The History of Johnson County", published by the Johnson County Historical Society, which appears to be reasonably accurate. The county history relates that Joseph owned an iron works on Roan Creek and helped organize Roans Creek Church of Christ in 1794, the first in the area (now the First Baptist Church of Mountain City). Joseph sold 126 acres on Roans Creek to Nathaniel Taylor in 1805 and filed for 500 acres of new land on Rodgers Creek at the head of Laurel Creek, South Fork of the Holston River<3>. This became known as Gentrys Creek, then eventually Laurel Bloomery. This became part of Carter County in 1796 when Washington County was divided, then in 1836, Carter County was split and the Laurel Bloomery area became a part of Johnson County. Census records provide much information for Joseph's family. Those that lived in Tennessee can be found in the census for Carter County in 1830 (the earliest census that still exists), which then in 1840 and subsequent years was replaced by the census for Johnson County<5>.

Two of Joseph's sons, William and Benjamin, bought land from their father in 1811 which adjoined land on which Joseph continued to live. A third son, John, was given land by his father-in-law, Benjamin Brown, so had no need to buy land from his own father. The youngest son, David, is presumed to have lived with his father and inherited the estate after the latter died. Joseph Oliver, who is certainly most easily explained as being a son of Joseph Sr., moved to Green County, Kentucky, at an early stage and does not appear in any of the Tennessee records. Perhaps this was due to his becoming a minister and undertaking an entirely different life style and mission. These sons are discussed in more detail below.

John Gentry - Fifth Generation.

John lived next to his father-in-law Benjamin Brown, and his brother-in-law, Jesse Brown, on Beaver's Dam Creek (or Fork) of Laurel Fork of the South Holston River on land given to him and to his wife by Benjamin in 1811. This area became known as Shady Valley, a small community existing today. John was listed in the Carter-Johnson County census from 1830 until 1860. In the latter year he was living with his daughter Susannah. In 1850 his occupation was given as shoemaker. John's family is described in a biographical sketch in "The History of Johnson County", published by the Johnson County Historical Society.

Sarah Gentry is believed to have died between 1840 and 1850, as she was in the census record for the former year but not the latter. The 1850 census has a small anomaly for John's daughter, Keziah. She married Elijah Wright in 1848 and had a nine-month-old daughter, Sarah, living with her in 1850, but she and the baby were listed as "Gentrys" in the census and her husband was not present. A Keziah Wright is listed in the 1860 census with a daughter, Mary A., age 8, and no younger children. It is possible that Keziah's husband died before the time of the 1850 census, and the census enumerator erred in listing Keziah's name as Gentry.

Another unusual census listing for John Gentry was in 1840 where it appears that a daughter-in-law and five young grandchildren were living with John. Since the daughter-in-law and the children correspond rather well with the census listing for Jesse Gentry in 1830, and Jesse was missing in 1840, there is a strong probability that he had died in the intervening time. Two of the proposed children were listed in the census as being born between 1835 and 1840, so Jesse apparently died between about 1838 and 1840. John's other son, Joseph, was included in the 1830 census for Carter County, the 1840 census for Johnson County, and then moved to a new location in Carter County for the 1850 and 1860 census.

William Gentry - Fifth Generation

We have mentioned above that Joseph's son, William, bought land from his father in 1811. He sold this land in 1818 and another ½ acre of iron ore deposit in 1819, at which time he was identified as being of Washington County, Virginia, "late of Carter County". This county is immediately north across the state border from the land William sold. There is no information as to why William left. We speculate here that the William Gentry who was present in Pulaski County, Kentucky from 1820 to 1850, was this same William, and that he had moved a relatively short distance westward along the Tennessee - Kentucky border from Carter County, Tennessee to Pulaski County.

We speculate further that the Joseph Gentry who was present in Green County, Kentucky in 1850, was a son of William. The 1850 census lists Jane as the spouse of this Joseph, and shows his children with birth places in Pulaski County, Illinois, Missouri, and finally in Green County, Kentucky. To further reinforce this proposal, land records in Pulaski County link a William Gentry with a Joseph Gentry<4>, and presumably this same Joseph was married to a Jane Burgess in Pulaski County. Joseph's widow, Jane, was present in the 1860 Green County census, but not Joseph so the presumption is that Joseph died between 1850 and 1860. The identification of Thomas and William Jr. as being other sons of William Sr, are reasonable enough judging from census records. Both of them were missing from the 1860 Pulaski census, so since they were still young, we can assume they both moved on to new pastures after their father had died. (There was a Thomas Gentry in the 1860 Pulaski County census, but he was a member of a different family, not William's son.) The marriage bond for Elizabeth, for which William was a bondsman, and the census record for Cassa or Cassander give us information as to two of William's daughters. The rest are unknown.

Joseph Oliver Gentry - Fifth Generation

Joseph Oliver was a minister. Unlike his siblings, he did not remain long in Tennessee and had moved to Green County, Kentucky, before the birth of his second son, Solomon. He spent most of rest of his life there; he is said to have died in neighboring Hart County, Kentucky. His census listings, between 1820 and 1850, were all in Green County. The composition of his family, particularly the children of Beatrice, is speculative. They are partly hypothesized from marriage records of Green County, partly from census records, and partly from online family trees that do not agree completely with each other. An unidentified son of Joseph and Beatrice corresponds to a census entry in the 1830 and 1840 Green County census, but not identified thereafter. He may have been the N. Gentry, born about 1825, living with a group of unrelated individuals in Hart County in 1860.

Joseph's sons, Joseph Jr., and Solomon were in Hart County, Kentucky, in 1840. Joseph is missing from the 1850 census (the Joseph Gentry who was living in Green County in 1850, age 38, is presumed to be the son of William Gentry as we have commented above, and not the son of Joseph Oliver.) Joseph Oliver's Joseph appears again in 1860, however, still in Hart County. Solomon had returned from Hart County to Green County in 1850, and his widow and family members were still there in 1860. Joseph O's son, Benjamin was in Hart County in 1850 and in 1860. His youngest son, John, was with Joseph in earlier years, then was listed in his own right in the 1860 Hart County census.

Benjamin Gentry - Fifth Generation.

An unusually complete, and for the most part apparently correct, biography of Benjamin and his family is given in "The History of Johnson County", giving further details than those listed above as to children of the various family members. The biography lists as the oldest son of Benjamin, a son named Jesse. This appears to be a duplication of the Jesse who is believed to have been a son of Benjamin's older brother John. This may have come about because Jesse was living very close to Benjamin at the time of the 1830 Carter County census. There is no further record of this Jesse and this writer believes his listing in Benjamin's family is in error.

There is little to say about Benjamin's son, Joseph S. He was not in the 1830 Carter County census but was present in the 1840 Johnson County census along with other members of Benjamin Gentry's family. The biographical account of Benjamin's family records that Joseph married a Nancy and moved to Carter County where he raised his family. The biography must have this Joseph confused with his cousin, Joseph (son of John), who also moved to Carter County and was in both the 1850 and 1860 census. Benjamin's son moved to Lee County, Virginia, before 1845 and was listed in the 1850 census there. He then moved to Owsley County, Kentucky, where he was in the 1860 census and eventually he moved to Jackson County, Kentucky.

It may seem at first glance to be unusual that William chose to move to North Carolina when all the rest of his family stayed in Johnson County, but Ashe County was very close, directly across the state border from Johnson County and so it was not much of a move. This appears to have taken place shortly after 1840, comparing the place of birth with the ages of his younger children. William was in the 1830 Carter County and 1840 Johnson County census in Tennessee, then was recorded in Ashe County, North Carolina in 1850 and subsequent censuses.

John was present in the 1830 Carter County census and in the 1840 and 1850 Johnson County census. He is missing from the 1860 census, and perhaps moved westward in that interval. Two of John's son, however, John R. and Thomas F. were in that census in place of him. The fourth of Benjamin's sons, General Washington, was living with his father in 1830 but is listed separately in Johnson County in 1840 and subsequent censuses. His mother, Rhoda, appears to have been living with him in 1840, judging from the census age records, and she is indeed identified by name in the 1860 census, living with this family.

David Gentry - Fifth Generation

Like Benjamin, David has a rather complete biographical description in "The History of Johnson County", and much of the information above comes from this source with a cross-check against the census records for Johnson County. While David was listed by name with his family in the 1830 Carter County census, all the rest of his family appeared for the first time only in Johnson County. Joseph Oliver was listed in the 1840 census but had moved to Washington County, Virginia, before 1850. Richard W. and William B. appeared in the 1850 census and also the 1860 Johnson County census. Five of David's children were still living at home with him in 1850. Three of them, John A., Thomas, and David Jr., appeared separately in the 1860 census. David Sr. was still living in Johnson County at the time of the 1880 census, listed as age 88. His wife, Sarah, died in the period between 1870 and 1880.

Conclusion
The many Gentrys that settled in the northeast corner of the State of Tennessee and still live in Carter and Johnson Counties can readily trace their lineage to Joseph Gentry, one of the earliest Tennessee pioneers. The preponderance of evidence then extends that lineage back to Hanover County, Virginia, to the grandson of Nicholas Gentry, the Immigrant, Joseph-III, and the son of Nicholas Gentry, Joseph-II. (We can joke now about a lack of imagination in naming, matched by the presence of the name Joseph and Benjamin in Joseph-IV's family and in the family of each of his sons, but such was the custom of the day.) This family proved to be particularly cohesive in remaining for the most part in the same neighborhood. We will see in further articles that some of the pioneer Tennessee families matched this characteristic, while others were very different.

References

 
5. Federal Census Records
Gentrys listed as Head of Household along with reported year of birth.

Revised 6/4/2004   (Additions to Joseph S. Gentry, son of Benjamin and Joseph O, son of David).