When I began this series of posts, one feature I aimed for was to choose ancestors equally from each of my four biological grandparents. The other was to try to stay clear of too many 'Johns', as I have aplenty. The last resolution, I've kept thus far, only one, but there will be more. There's no way around it. The other has proven to be a bit more difficult. I have yet to cover the family tree of my paternal grandfather. He comes from a more insular community, intertwined in so many ways, if you cover one, you touch on all. Also, his being the line that carried the 'name', and I have covered most of his forbears fastidiously already. That said, I found a few that I have not thoroughly dissected in print, until now. This is about one of those ancestors, and his name was not John. It was Hezekiah.
Hezekiah Herrin is one of my 4th Great Grandfathers. He was the father of Telitha Herrin who married William "Buck" Lambert, my grandfather's grandfather. He was married to Amelia "Milly" Hatley, the daughter of Hardy Hatley and Isabelle Foreman, and was a bit of an anomaly in the West Stanly 'soup'.
There's been quite a bit of variance of discourse in where Hezekiah actually came from, or should I say, who he came from. The first census he appears in was the 1830, in Montgomery County, NC, in 'West Pee Dee', which became the Stanly County half. Born around 1794, he would have been about 36. He arrived prior to that, however. Who were his people?
Hezekiah's first appearance in
records, to my knowledge, was the 1816 petition. The preface of the petition is shown below
PETITION CONCERNING THE SITE OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
To the honorable the Gereral Assembly of the State of North Carolina, the Petition of the Subscribers humbly sheweth that last Session there was an act of the legislature, for the removal of the public buildings of the county of Montgomery. Your petitioners are sensible that this act was obtained through misrepresentation of facts and that the petitions to the legislature last year for the removal of the court-house was carried on through the county under under means. It was represented that the place where the court house now stands is unhealthy and there are some citizens who have lived in the place this twenty years without any material sickness,also that water could not be procured when there is as good water as any in common with other places. The place is named Henderson and was fixed upon by commissionners appointed by the legislature who could not find a place more convenient to the center of the county at large as the river Pedee almost divides the county and Uwhary river separates the upper part of the county and is called the fork, So that the town of Henderson is situated at the confluence of both rivers convient to the people on the other side of the river and also of the people in the fork. Your petitioners dare assert that there are at least two to one of the citizens of the county who wishes the court house to remain in the town of Henderson. Now the Commissioners appointed last session have pitched upon a place, which this last summer proved to be deficient in respect to water, as the springs all went dry, for Mr. Rush one of the commissioners asserted himself that all the water of this new place could be contained in a common pail and had ceased running there. Commissioners three in number viz-- Rush, Deberry, and Davidson were so eager to complete the business that they have sold the old court house to be delivered after October court, while the new court house is not to be completed untilJuly next, which will leave the county without any court house, contrary to the meaning of the act, who, your petitioners presumed did not contemplate the removal of the court of said county, untill the new court house should be finished. Your petitioners humbly represents that in public matters the majority ought to carry any point. Therefore your petitioners humbly prays that your honorable body will be pleased to repeal the act passed last session for the removal of the public buildings of said county, and decree that they shall remain in the town of Henderson where they were fixed at first, and your petitioners as in duty bound will for ever pray. Montgomery County September 20th 1816.
The particulars were that the place of the former Courthouse had been misrepresented to the Assembly, in the opinions of a group of citizens, who were petitioning. The place had been portrayed as diseased, an unhealthy location, rife with disease due to its proximity to the river. The old Courthouse had been sold and the new one not yet built, leaving the County without a Courthouse. The petitioners declared Henderson a convenient place for citizens on both sides of the river, and for those traveling down the Uwharrie as well, being situated at its mouth. They declared the reports of illness false and asked to still use Henderson as the gathering place.
On this document was found the signatures of many familiar names, some ancestors, like David Blalock and his father-in-law, Andrew Dennis, on whom I posted a few days ago. There were names of men known to have dwelt on opposites sides of the river. About two-thirds of the way down the page was the name 'Hezekiah Herrin'. He would have been about 22 years of age.
Andrew Weaks, Hezekiah Herrin, Jacob? Fisher, Daniel Ritenhour, Nedam Green, Daniel Sides,
Further down the page is "William Heron",
I can't tell if this was a relative or not. Why the different spelling of a homophone?
The 1820 census for Montgomery County was lost or destroyed, and the fact that Hezekiah doesn't appear in the 1820 census, at 24, is telling in itself, as it would indicate that he indeed was in the omitted county.
Hezekiah was a man after my own heart. First, his own name was Hezekiah, not John, William or James. Then he married a girl named Amelia, called Milly, but not Mary or Martha or Elizabeth. Together, they chose more interesting and individualistic names for some of their children, my 3rd Great Grandmother, Talitha Delphia Herrin Lambert, as an example. So, where did Hezekiah come from?
There are two trains of thought on who his father may have been, but they both lead down the same road. There are no neon lights flashing telling who his parents were, but the land can whisper its secrets, and it all comes down to a small area of settlement along Pole Bridge Creek in Stanly County, near the Cabarrus County line.
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| Location of Pole Bridge Creek |
The surname Herrin, and its alternative spellings, originate in the British Isles, primarily in south Norfolk, and refers to a seller of fish, specifically, herring.
The Progenitor of the Herrin/Herron/Herring line that settled on the Cabarrus/ Stanly County border in the later part of the 18th Century was named John, of course. Another John. John Herring (circa 1620 - 1672) settled in the Lower Parish of the Isle of Wight, Virginia. John had arrived from Bristol, England in the 1640's. He set about a career as a tobacco farmer, and his land was located around the Blackwater River and Horse Swamp. He was also the maker of Tar. His wife was named Marjorie, and she was thought to have been a Whitfield before marriage. That name was probably not her maiden name, but the name of a first husband.
The Will of John Herring was proved on June 10, 1672. The below document can be found at Herring Highlights III -1642-1698.
In this, John mentions his son, Anthony, and no others. However, he leaves "the child John Whitfield", a year-old heifer.
Marjorie Herring then dies about 1675, and she, too, leaves a Will, in Isle of Wight, Virginia. In it, she leaves everything to "John Whitfield, orphan". No mention of Anthony. She designates a man named Clement Creswell as the guardian of John, or to look after John's interests in her steed. She refers to Cresswell as Johns "father-in-law". This term was as confusing the first time you see it as "next friend".
Mr. Creswell was not logically the father-in-law as we would think of it today. There was some relationship there by marriage, however, stepfather or perhaps even the grandfather, who had stepped into an active father role. Clement Creswell wrote his own will in 1682, ten years later. Within, he transfers to John Whitfield everything from Marjorie that he was saving for him. It's my belief that Marjorie was a second wife of John Herring, and not the mother of Anthony. I believe she was a widow and that John Whitfield was her son. I am not certain what relationship that Clement Creswell held with the two of them. He could have been a relative of Marjorie, or even of John Whitfields father.
Anthony
Anthony Herrin, circa 1648-1715) was born in Isle of Wight, Virginia and continued with his father's business of being a tobacco farmer. After his father died, he acquired 200 acres on the East side of Black water Swamp, and he paid for things with tobacco.
Most of what is known about Anthony is through land transactions as he increased his holdings. In Volume 1 Page 64 of Seventh Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia deeds, William West Sr. and his wife, Rebecca, sold to "Anthony Herring" for 2500 lbs of Tobacco, 200 acres of land on Blackwater adjoining John Smith and Will Westwray, "being part of the land purchased from William West and William Oldis adjoining Nosworthy's and John Smith's line." It was dated April 28, 1694. In the above seen transaction between John Little and Anthony, on the East side of Blackwater Swamp, his surname is spelled "Herrin", as it is today among most descendants.
Anthony married William West's daughter, also named Rebecca and they had a wealth of sons, any daughters unknown. Land transactions indicate the following sons; John in 1680, Samuel 1682, Abraham 1684, Joseph 1686, Stephen 1688, Edward 1690, Daniel 1692 and Anthony Jr. 1694. I am assuming the years are estimated.
By the 1720's, the best lands of Virginia were getting full and several of Anthonys sons were migrating to North Carolina. Samuel Herring and John Herring Sr. moved down to Johnston County, NC and John became the first Sheriff of that County. Edward, one of the younger brothers would also travel to Johnston.
He had also owned land in Orange County, NC. The below transaction is found in Orange County deeds.
"
To all Christian People....I, Edward Herrin of Johnston County and Province of North Carolina Planter...fifteen pounds current money of Virginia to me in hand paid by Runnell Allen of the County and Province aforesaid.
He was wordy, but the jist of the matter was that he was selling property in Orange County on the Neuse River to Runnel Allen.
"
Being fifty acres alone be the same more or less. Lying and being in Orange County and on the South Side of Neuse River.
Edward is the Herrin who migrated first to Chatham County, where he settled on Little Beaver Creek, and later, purchased land on Kit Creek. It appears the family liked living along County lines, because they traversed between Wake and Chatham, living near the lines of both.
Seen in the Wake and Chatham County deeds with Edward, bordering his lines, and acting as Chain Carriers are Moses, Owen and Edward, Jr., assumed to be his sons. Edward Sr. dies in the Chatham/ Wake County vicinity. Portions of his estate files are indexed under Chatham County Wills and Estates
Edward Herrin was a Patriot. I can't divine if this was Jr. or Sr., but would tend more towards Jr., because of the age. "State of North Carolina Wake County. This may certify that a commissioner for the County aforesaid Had purchased from Edward Herron Seventy two pounds of Bacon amounting to Twelve...Given under my hand this 3rd day of April (AD.) 1781 Thomas Wooten Comr."
He does not have appeared to have served in the Army, he only contributed to the cause, but that was important. Having the community provide food for the militias was an essential contribution to keep the forces strong.
Edward Jr. and Owen will later be found in Montgomery County, and guess where they end up?
In 1792, Edward is a Chain Carrier for Thomas Motley's Grant.
And in 1795, Edward Herrin, Jr. enters a Grant for 100 acres of land in Montgomery County, south of the Pee Dee River on
"the Bee Branch of Pole Bridge" Thomas Motley and Younger Wardrobe (or Waldrop), were chain carriers.
So here is where the train of thought splits. It seemed always assumed that Alexander Herrin Sr. and his wife, Nancy Wadsworth were the parents of Hezekiah Herrin. When I first began tracing my family tree in earnest 15 years ago, I just took it in stride and not really knowing any better just followed the crowd. Don't we all? But, after an actual study I don't believe this to be correct anymore.
Fellow Blogger and Solomon Burris descendant, George Thomas, now an amazing author, has a different theory and I tend to agree with him, that Edward Jr. was the father of Hezekiah, instead. It all makes sense. Now, Alexander Herrin, Sr. lived in the exact same Chatham County community alongside Edward Herrin Sr. before moving down to the Rocky River area of Stanly (Montgomery) County. It is thought that Alexander could have been a younger son, or even a nephew of Edward, Sr. In any case, it would make Hezekiah a grandson of Edward Herrin Sr. Please see George's post below mentioning the Herrin family and their involvement in the 1799 petition and suit involving the University of North Carolina and land disputes. Edward and his brother, Owen, both signed it, along with connected families like the Waldrops, Motleys and Almonds.
George's post:
There was a marriage in Wake County, NC in 1792 between Edward Herrin (Jr.) and Sarah Motley.
Harrison Motley was a bondsman for Edward. And then Edward is found in what becomes Stanly County with Thomas Motley. It appears to me that the Herrins and Motleys may have arrived together as family.
There seems to have been a Pole Bridge settlement in the 1790's involving this group of related families from the Chatham/Wake border area. They settled on the Cabarrus/ Stanly border. The above map shows the flow of Pole Bridge Creek, as it follows Bridge Road and Herrin's Grove Road.
There's even the old Herrin's Grove Primitive Baptist Church, established by the family of Hezekiah Herrin. This is exactly where they lived, from the late 1700's onward. The church is still an active congregation. The cemetery is full of Herrins and Harwoods, Almonds and Hatley's and Herrin's Grove Road crosses Lambert Road. Is it any doubt that Talitha Herrin married William "Buck" Lambert?
So, back to Hezekiah. We know his people were here on Pole Bridge Creek between 1792 and 1799. This means Hezekiah was likely born here. He signs the 1816 Petition. So, he would have been in both the 1800 and 1810 census of Montgomery County.
In 1800, Hezekiah would have been 6 years old.
| Name | Edward Herlin |
|---|
| Home in 1800 (City, County, State) | Montgomery, North Carolina |
|---|
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 10 | 2 |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 | 1 Edward |
|---|
| Free White Persons - Females - Under 10 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44 | 1 Sarah |
|---|
| Number of Household Members Under 16 | 3 |
|---|
| Number of Household Members Over 25 | 2 |
|---|
| Number of Household Members | 5 |
|---|
The only Herrin in Montgomery County, or near, was Edward. He and his wife, Sarah Motley, were between 26 and 45 years of age. There was one girl and three boys under the age of ten.
And there he is near Younger Wardrobe.
In 1810, there were no Herrings or Herrins, in Montgomery County, or near it, as heads of household.
Younger Wardrobe had already taken off to Kentucky.
We were so robbed by the Montgomery County Courthouse fires. Did Edward Herrin have a Will? Was there an estate settlement? Had there existed a document with Hezekiah Herrins name in conjunction with Edwards'? We'll never know. If they existed, they went up in smoke.
My theory is that Hezekiah, now 16, was living with his mother's people, the Motleys. There was a boy in the home of the suitable age.
1830- We see Hezekiah Herrin for the first time in the census listing, sandwiched between John Parker and James Hathcock. Then, near the bottom of the page, between Edward Almond, Jr. and Henry Carter, is that James
Herrin or James
Hinson? Turns out, it was neither.
1840- Hezekiah Herrin is now sandwiched between Phillip Sell and Green Palmer. No big surprise. Once we get into the land records we will see that Hezekiah was a real estate dervish, he bought and sold property from all corners and interstices. But he was not the only Herrin in the County.
Not very far away in the listing we first find Dorris Herrin, yes, Dorris, and not a lady, residing near Loves and Tuckers. Who was Dorris?
Dorris and his wife, Bethany, lived in Stanly County and raised a family here. I will refrain from doing an entire 'who was Dorris' post here, but from what I can quickly ascertain, Dorris was probably Hezekiah's brother. I have no solid information at present, but recall that Edward had two little boys under 10 in his home? Hezekiah was born in 1794. Dorris was born in 1796. Could very well be.
Hezekiah was an opportunist. He was not comfortable with the desiderata of the Pole Bridge kingdom he had been heir to. He purchased properties near his own, and further away from where he lived. Investments is the word we would use today. On April 19, 1831, he purchased some estate property from P. Barringer, Executor of the estate of Paul Barringer, deceased. The counties had not split yet, so this was in Montgomery, and consisted of 320 acres on 12 months installment. Hezekiah had been the highest bidder.
The document gave a trail of ownership from William Whitfields grant to Augustine Rowland and from Rowland to Paul Barringer. The property was located on Big Bear Creek (
a branch called Stony Run).
Further told was that the 320 acres was actually half of a 640 acre tract.
The transaction was proved in open court on Feb. 19th, 1833.
I found this part of particular interest. The deed was attested to by Hezekiah's oldest son, Wilson B. Herrin, and also an illegible, or unreadable signature, explained as an aside, "
which is John Dry in English". In 1833, John Dry still wrote in German!
There was another deed from Zach Whitley to Hezekiah Herrin that was proved by the oath of one of his younger sons, John F. Herrin.
The deed below has Hezekiah as a grantor. It is to his daughter, and my 3rd Great Grandmother, Talitha Herring Lambert
It took place in 1851 and he sold to his daughter, for $100.00, 164 acres on Stony Run and
Jordan's Branch. Now, Jordan's Branch is a new name for me, and it bordered Lamberts line, which I will assume was Talitha and her husband Buck's place.
It was proved by the oath of Thomas Rowland the following October, as Thomas Rowland and M. (Mathias) Melchor were witnesses. My curiosity is piqued by the fact that Hezekiah sold the land to his daughter, instead of his son-in-law. It was not a gift for a nominal fee. It was a profitable sale, and married women were usually represented by their husbands in transactions such as these. Did Hezekiah have an issue with Buck? I could imagine it.
On Christmas Day, 1840, Hezekiah sold to Green Palmer, a little boy named Daniel. These were those dark days before emancipation. In the 1840 census shown earlier in this post, Green Palmer was listed below the name of Hezekiah Herrin, a neighbor. Both held more than the average amount of property, although they were not considered the wealthiest men of the area. Middle class in modern terms. I wonder what became of Daniel?
I believe I know. In the 1870 census, the first in which the formerly enslaved were listed by name, there is household of freed people led by Daniel Palmer, They are living in Ridenhour Township near D. A. G. Palmer (Daniel Alexander Graham) and his wife Permelia, a brother of Green Palmer. From there Daniel's life and family could possibly be traced to present.
In 1842, Hezekiah sells to Nathan T. Starnes a tract of land on Running Creek and Poll Bridge Creek. This, I believe, is part of the old Herrin tract that had come into his hands through inheritance. The smoke from those old Montgomery County Courthouse fires still swirls in the air and insult our nostrils. The tract bordered Motleys. Motleys no doubt related to Sarah Motley Herrin, who married Edward.
The deed was proven in 1845, witnessed by Hezikiah's son, John F. Herrin and James C. Tucker, back in the days when my ancestor Samuel Parsons Morton was the Registrar, before becoming a minister.
1845 was also the year Hezekiah entered a Grant for 75 acres on the waters of Bear Creek. They may have attended Bear Creek Church for a spell. Many of the Lamberts and others neighbors did.
In January of 1840, Hezekiah Herrin and his wife Milly, joined by letter to Meadow Creek, quite a distance from where they lived.
By July of 1846, he was a church clerk.
Meadow Creek Church records are gloriously available to us. One wonderful I had discovered in them were a few facts concerning the mother-in-law of another ancestor, Frederick Fincher Starnes, when she came to live with him and his wife, primarily her first name, and where she was born, or was from. I've written quite a bit on Finch before, a third great grandfather.
Hezekiah was mentioned several times in Church records and in several of them, like the entry above, there were things that did not sit well with him. The Herrin's, children and grandchildren of Hezekiah, eventually started their own church on their own property.
The Church was called Herrin's Grove Primitive Church. I drove through the area a few days ago, just breathing in the air. It's a glorious, rustic area as green as Ireland, with rolling, fertile hills. One could easily imagine being transported back to the days that Hezekiah and his kin walked this land.
To drive through the georgic, pastoral valley along pole bridge creek now, you would not think there could ever have been any trouble, but Hezekiah, who seems to have been a peaceable, devoutly Baptist fellow, was not able to escape some trouble he did not court, but that pulled him in any way. In 1830, while he was still a young man in his thirties, a dispute erupted between the Motley's, his mother's people, I am supposing. It was Thomas Motley by his agent, Rufus Barringer vs. Robert and Ransom Motley. Over land and inheritance, no doubt, as those issues have historically destroyed families. Maybe not the land, itself, but the greed that simmered at the base of it. Hezekiah Herrin was subpoenaed as a witness along with John Eudy, P. W. Wooley and Thomas Rowland. As Thomas Motley was represented by an Agent, it suggests that he had moved away by then.
The issues with the Motleys would not stop, as in March of 1851, in Hezekiah's older years, he was ordered to Court with his son, John F. Herrin, for a sum of $16.05 claimed owed by Thomas Motley, son of Robert. More than one of old Thomas Motley's son had named one of their own sons for him. Hezekiah had acted as what we would consider a co-signer for his son and that is how he had gotten caught up with it. That was not the only time one of his sons would be a disappointment to him.
February 1851, a month prior to the last Court appearance, Hezekiah was in court to claim $12.40 owed him as guardians of William J. Carter and Green L. Carter. They were not his grandsons, in fact, one would become his son in law.
Hezekiah had to attend Court in Cabarrus County in a case where his son, Wylie, spelled 'Willie' here, was charged with bastardy. I do not know the name of the mother who accused him in this case, or the name of the child. This was in April 1837, when Hezekiah would have been 41 years old, and Wiley, only 18 or 19. A young man acting unwisely.
In 1842, a girl named Elizabeth Herrin was bound to David D Lentz in Stanly County This meant she was underage and either an orphan, half-orphan, or an illegitimate child. Both Hezekiah and Dorris Herrin had daughters named Elizabeth, but both men and their wives were living. Any sister they had would have been far older, not a minor. Who was she? I wonder if she was the child of his son, Wiley, who had been taken to court in Cabarrus County for bastardy. While children often took the mother's name in those instances, especially if the father was not forthcoming. Others did assume their father's surname. It's possible.
Wiley died young, in 1854. His is noted as the oldest known tombstone in the Herrin's Grove Cemetery.
I will not endeavor to include all of the land transactions involving Hezekiah Herrin in this growing, tome, as he had many, several between he and Israel Misenheimer, even the Calloway's way up in Harris Township, with the Lamberts, Motleys and Rowland, Harwood's and Hatley's, many with the Hatley's his wife's family.
The above intrigued me because of the story around it. Pleasant Almond to Hezekiah Herrin, October 15, 1831. For $25, Pleasant Almond sold to Hezekiah a property on Pole Bridge Creek, on Thomas Motley's line to his corner, along John Lamberts line to Nathan Starnes line, to George Dove's line back to Hezekiah Herrins' line, containing 200 acres.
Pleasant Almond was married to Rebecca Lambert, betrayed her, they separated, and he left town, taking his younger son with Rebecca, John Almond, and a son he had with another woman, named Barbara. The couple did not divorce, but stayed separated for decades. Some of them returned to Stanly County. I've posted on this event before. You can read more about it
here. The post is called, "A Closer Look at John Almond", there are also a few others preceding it on the Lamberts that cover it.
The transaction was witnessed by Hastin Hatley and Ransom Motley.
Hezekah lived in the era when some livestock free-roamed or fencing less infallible. Ownership was noted with unique notches and marks upon the unfortunate animal's ear, called an Earmark. Hezekiah's was a "
smoothe crop and two slits in the right ear and a swallow hookover and whay moon under in the left ear". Quite an intricate combination.
I conclude the land records with the above 75 acres Grant on Bear Creek adjoining William Eudy.
Hezekiah Herrin died sometime in 1856, according to his estate papers, in Stanly County, North Carolina. He was in his early 60's. His place of burial is unknown. It is supposed that he was buried near his son, Wylie, in the family burying ground, which became the Herrin's Grove Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.
The Will of Hezekiah Herrin was a rambling monstrosity of a thing, filling 3 or 4 pages and his estate record as gangly.
He wrote his Will the year his son died. He may have figured it was time, seeing his 36-year-old son fall ill and he being a man in his late fifties. The beginning above, gives the usual preamble. I haven't included all of it.
His second bequeath was to his wife, Milly a cow and calf, her choice of wheel and cart, two horses, during her widowhood as long as she is alive. He also left her half the plantation, including the dwelling house, which was to go to youngest son, Julius Hezekiah Herrin, after her death.
The rest of the property to be divided between the rest of the children, basically.
This point was intriguing. He gave to his friend John Shinpoch, of Mount Pleasant, Cabarrus County, a merchant and farmer, the part of his estate that would otherwise go to his daughter, Isabell Herrin Fisher, plus $35.00. "
for the reason that I have already advanced to each of the others."
..."
this is the sole provision made for my said daughter Isabel ...as her husband be found. Away my papers after my death bearing date.. to this for thirty five dollars there the above met ...5th Should the child of my deceased Daughter Elizabeth Carter die before arriving at the age of twenty-one years it is my will that the portion said child received under the third Item of this will be divided among my children or their representatives..."
He continues explaining exact divisions, ifs, ands & buts. It's easy to tell a controlling personality. He wills that his wife, Milly, receive a child's portion in the sale of his personal estate. I love how he signs his name "Hez" in many of the documents, including this one. Henceforth, he will be Grandpa Hez.
Although written in 1852, Hezekiah's Will was not proved until May of 1858, indicating he lived several years after it was written.
His son Julius H. Herrin and son-in-law, William Lambert, were appointed administrators.
There was no consensus among the Herrin heirs and the probate case bounced around the court for years.
The children of Hezekiah Herrin and Amelia "Millie" Hatley Herrin were:
A) Wilson B Herrin (Abt 1814- aft 1880) Married Christina "Teena" Harwood, daughter of Howell Harwood and Celia Almond. Moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas before the Civil War. Ten children: William D, Emily, John M., Franklin H., Celia Anna, Evan Wiley, James W., Delitha, Jane and Sarah C. Herrin.
B) Wyley Ephrain Herrin (1818-1854) Married Elizabeth Almond, daughter of Achilles Almond and Sarah Melchor Almond. Five children: Eli Ransom, Sarah, John Franklin, Martha Jane and Rufus "Bud" Herrin.
C) John Franklin Herrin (1822-1894) Married Sarah Blackwelder. Nine children: Omie J., Julius A., Daniel Monroe, Millie Susan, Kiah P., Elizabeth L., Matilda, Tillman M., Lucy Linda.
D) Delphia Talitha Herrin. Married William "Buck" Lambert, son of John Lambert Jr. and Mary Margaret Almond. "Ten" children: Caleb Wiley, Rufus Alexander, Julia Leah, John William, Mary Catherine, Martha Ellen, Sarah Adeline, Josephine Talitha, Jonah M. and *"Martin Luther". * Martin Luther was an adopted, but related, child.
E) Naomi Jane 'Omie' Herrin. (1827-1910). Buried at Ridgecrest. Married Melchor Almond, son of Achilles Almond and Sarah Melchor. Seven children: Alphonso Allen, John H., Robert Franklin, Louisa, Daniel M., Sarah, Julia Ann.
F) Julius Hezekiah Herrin (1831-1913) Married Mary Adeline Lambert, sister of Buck Lambert. Ten children: Millie Elizabeth, Eli N. "Little Eli", Wiley Franklin, Mary Ann, John Wilson, Frances Adeline, Matthew Hezekiah, William Ransom.
Two daughters we don't have dates for, but they were mentioned in the Will.
G) Isabella, married an unknown Fisher. She had a debt or other involvement with Col. John Shinpoch, a merchant, of Mount Pleasant. Unknown if she had children. She didn't at the time her father wrote his Will. There was a Jacob Fisher family who lived not that far away, in Stanly County and near the Cabarrus line. Perhaps she had married into that family or another related Fisher family.
H) Elizabeth Herrin married William Jackson "Jack" Carter on December 23, 1851.
There was one son, William Hershell Carter.
Hezekiah Herrin referred to his 'deceased' daughter, Elizabeth Carter in his Will. Hezekiah appears to have had a contentious relationship with Jack Carter. The marriage was brief.
William J Carter married Mary Harwood on September 27, 1853.
William J Carter married Susan Burleyson on August 4, 1861.
Who were the Carter boys? If you recall from earlier in this post, Hezekiah had been appointed guardian in February 1851, of William J. Carter and Green L. Carter. This was William Jackson Carter and his brother, Green Lawson Carter. They seem to have confused a great number of people. It had begun much earlier than 1851.
In the fall of 1843, we find the first mention of the Carter brothers being brought to Court to be bound out.
In the February 1844 Session of Stanly County Please and Quarters Court, Jackson Carter was bound to Hezekiah Herrin until he turned 21.
In the same session of Court, Lawson Carter was bound to Nelson Shoe.
In November of 1844, the Judge could not make up his mind. He first bound Lawson Carter over to Hardy Hatley.
Then not one page over in the same Session of Court, it was revealed that Lawson had previously been bound to Nelson Shoe.
In August of 1847, in the same County and Court, Hezekiah Herrin was appointed Guardian of both Jackson Carter and Green Lawson Carter, orphans of Polly Carter decd. He gave bond of $50 with son Wilson B. Herrin as security.
In 1850, Jackson Carter and Lawson Carter were old enough to be assigned to work on the Fayetteville Road from the County line, supervised by Ransom Motley, overseer in the company of the likes of William and Nathan Lambert, John F. and Julius Herrin, Godfrey Lipe, Nathan T. Starnes and his sons, and others of the neighborhood.
In 1852, Godfrey Lipe was appointed Guardian of Green L. Carter with John F. Herrin and William Lambert, Hezekiah's son and son-in-law as security.
In the 1850 census, the next one after, Godfrey Lipe in seen living in Stanly County. He has 18-year-old Lawson Carter living with him. Godfrey's wife, Margaret, was a Carter.
In May of 1850, in the road records, Jackson Carter was ordered to work on the road with Alexander Dry as Overseer, from the Big Pond to Lambert's Branch. The Overseer was to mile mark the road from the County line to Albemarle. I'd like to have known what road that was, did it survive to modern days?
In 1853, Lawson was a witness in the case of State vs. Nathan T. Starnes.
There are two instances in the Court records that Lawson Carter was either mistaken for a Lawson Blackwelder or was referred to as Lawson Blackwelder. In one, the name Blackwelder was stricken out and Carter was written over it. And then, the above.
Lawson Carter married Martha Malinda Sossamon on October 26, 1854, and Wilson B. Herrin was his bondsman. And you've seen the three marriages of William Jackson Carter.
Sadly, something happened to young Jackson Carter, and he began to lose his sight. In August of 1859, he was exempted from poll tax due to his blindness.
William Hershell "Willie" Carter, son of Elizabeth Herrin and husband, William Jackson Herrin was born about 1852. His mother may have died in childbirth shortly after his birth. He was raised by his father and two stepmothers, Martha Harwood and Susanna Burleson. He married Sarah Elizabeth Bratton on October 10, 1873, daughter of Rev. Absolom Bratton and wife, Betsy Craver.
There were two daughters, Frances in 1874 and Amanda in 1876. He died before August of 1878, when his widow remarried Levi Tucker.
In between the row of Graves at Herrin's Grove Primitive Baptist Church, where Wylie Herrin is buried, on the right, and other Herrin's are buried on the left, are three or four rows nearly void of headstones. These rows are not empty. Within them are older graves, whose stones have not survived the ravages of time. Here may lie Hezekiah, as he died only a few years after his son, or that of Milly, who was also gone between 1856 and 1860.
We do not have a portrait of Hezekiah Herrin, but above is a picture of his youngest son, Julius Hezekiah Herrin in old age. I'm sure there was some resemblance to his father.
The verdant rolling hills of the Finger Community on the Stanly/ Cabarrus line were bucolic and tempting place for the Herrin's to settle after their move to the Piedmont of North Carolina. The steep hills and sharp curves, and vibrant agrarian scenery lush with many small streams traversing the landscape, can make one feel like they are in the foothills of the Appalachians. I rode over to Pole Bridge Road, Bridge Road, Lambert Road and Rowland Road and viewed the lands where Hezekiah walked and lived. It's an Eden.
Another post concerning the Herrin's can be found at
It's Never Really Over: More on Joseph Marshall Herring alias Matthew Elmer Harwood
