Mary’s petition to the North Carolina General Assembly
The last post in my 'Thirty Fathers in Thirty Days' series concerned a Scottish immigrant 7th Great Grandfather of mine, who was a Patriot, a Colonel in the Mecklenburg County, Clear Creek Militia and a Signer of the Mecklenburg Resolves or The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, John Query by name. This post will be about a very different 7th Great Grandfather.
John Query was on my paternal Grandmother's side of the family tree. Connor Dowd is on my maternal Grandmothers side. Different side of the family, different outlook and actions during the Revolutionary War.
Connor Dowd was an Irishman, born around 1730 in Cootehill, Cavan, Ulster, Ireland. He is also my 7th Great Grandfather via his daughter, Sarah Jane who married Claborne Mauldin. My maternal grandmother was a Mauldin, through and through, meaning she was born a Mauldin, and married a Mauldin and when he died, she married another Mauldin. So, this pair are sort of a super-ancestor couple, holding not one, but two spots, in my family tree. He was the son of an older Connor Dowed (1700-1789) and wife, Margaret Bourke (1704-1770), a daughter of Thomas Ruadh Bourke of Limerick. There were two known sons who came to America, Connor II and Owen. *As a matter of conflict and confusion, my Connor's brother Owen and his wife, Judah, had a son they named Connor who was born October 18,1757. He married Hannah Greave in Chatham County, NC in 1799. This Conner Dowd, the nephew, moved to Ohio and was a Revolutionary Patriot. He died March 31, 1839, in Vinton County, Ohio.*
* Widow's Petition of Hannah G. Dowd for Rev. War Pension
The Dowd brothers had arrived to Cumberland County, the part that is now Moore County, around the early to mid 1850's. When he was yet a child, Connor had learned how to bleach linen. People would weave the material at home and then sell it to the linen bleachers. They arrived in America in 1751, in Wilmington, NC, and Connor soon found employment with a Wilmington merchant. He would travel through the Upper Cape Fear River valley, making acquaintances and friends and learning the area. He was doing so while selling goods for his mercantile employer. Whilst up and down the river making his rounds, he met a widow named Nancy, by some accounts, and Mary by others, with the surname of Roberts. The widow Roberts owned 500 fertile acres. My enterprising Irish ancestor married the woman and begin raising grain and livestock. This was his settlement in Deep River. The couple also had orchards of peaches and apples and Connor created a distillery for making whiskey.
The Deep River is a 125 mile long tributary of the Cape Fear River. It begins near Jamestown in Guilford County, runs the length of Randolph County, through Randleman and Ramseur, dips into Moore County, making a right turn just above Robbins, turns north to create the border of Chatham and Lee Counties, south of Goldston and north of Sanford, before emptying into the Cape Fear south of Jordan Lake. It is a reputedly rapidly flowing stream and must have been so much more before dams and development. The opportunistic Connor took advantage of his position along the river, building four mills along its banks. He built a sawmill for lumber, a grist mill for corn and flour, a bolting mill for refining the flour, and a bark mill for grinding oak bark to extract its tannin he used to make leather in his tannery. He operated a Ferry across Deep River, near present day Carbonton. The industrious Connor Dowd grew his wealth as he grew his industry and continued to invest in land and business, running also a store and an Inn, or Ordinary. Much of the merchandise sold in his store came from his former employer in Wilmington. He was aided by a dozen slaves who helped to run his investments and businesses, and soon he was a very wealthy man. It is said that he granted his slaves great liberties, compared to other situations and habits of the day, to operate the Mills and make runs to markets on their own.
The property owned by Connor Dowd, recorded primarily in Cumberland County, lies in what is now Chatham (formed in 1771), Moore (formed in 1784), and Lee (formed in 1907) counties.
A Timeline from deeds and court records show the progression of his increase, and later the decrease after the War.
Please note the following abbreviations:
P & Q's stand for the Court of Pleas and Quaters.
LG stands for Land Grant.
B for Book and P for Page in deeds.
CumCo is for Cumberland County.
MoCo is for Moore County.
ChatCo is for Chatham County.
CD stands for Connor Dowd.
Adj. is the abbreviation for adjoining.
S is South and R is River.
1757 P& Q CumCo Connor Dowd allowed to keep an Ordinary at the house of John Overton.
1760 LG CumCo 128 acres South of Deep River adjoining Governor Johnston and John Overton.
1761 LG CumCo 150 acres on Deep River adjoining Gov. Johnston and Lord Carterett's land.
1762 Deed CumCo B2 P140 C D received 150 acres from James and Mary Finley south of Deep River part of Thomas Armstrongs 300 acre tract.
1763 LG Orange County NC for 300 acres on Deep River and Smith's Creek Adj Kings land and Nathaniel Powell.
1764 P&Q CumCo - Granted License to keep an Ordinary Tavern at his own dwelling house.
1766 C D received 83 acres from Cornelius Tyson on Deep River and the Chatham County line. CumCo B3 P61.
1766 CD purchases 250 acres from Powell Benbow.
Tax Time 1767 Connor Dowd is taxed for 4 white Polls and 2 black Polls.
1769 Deed CumCo B 3 P 436 CD to John Hunnicutt 128 acres S Deep River adj Gov. Johnston & John Overton.
1769 Deed CumCo B3 P 541 John May Deed witnessed by Connor Dowd and Richard Mauldin,(also my ancestor).
1770 Deed CumCo B4 P301 John Hunnicutt to CD, those 128 acres back.
1771 Deed CumCo B4 P 430 CD to John Hancock Jr. 150 acres.
1772 Deed CumCo B5 P 128 James Russell to CD 400 acres on Deep River and Govenors Creek.
Then the years arrived when things began to change. War came and a new country was being born. We'll look more closely at the Dowds part in that shortly, but with a new country came Tax lists. In a brief time, we can watch the literal growth of Connor Dowds wealth.
In 1777 his taxable value was $7447
In 1778 his taxable value was $19, 850
In 1779 his taxable value was $24, 750
In 1780 his taxable value was $30, 889.
including 3559 acres of land valued at $10,000, three town lots in Campbellton and 12 enslaved human beings.
Although the War was raging, Connor Dowd's wealth was increasing, at first.
1780 LG Chatham County to CD for 30 acres on Falls Creek Adj Goldston and Edward Griffin.
1780 a second LG of 300 acres on the Foggy Branch of Indian Creek including the improvements of Edward Griffin adj Duncan.
Then we see a marked change.
1788- 8 years since the last transaction - Book D Pages 581-582 Mary Dowd of Moore County to Sampson Brewer 150 acres on Falls Creek Adj Goldston. The land had been granted to Connor Dowd.
Oddly, there are two transactions the next two years that feel out of place. In 1789, in the P's &Q's, A deed to CD from to Clem Hancock proved by Edward Griffin. One year later, in 1790, in the P&Q's, a Deed from CD to William Davis was proved
1791 in the P&Q's of Chatham County North Carolina, Benjamin and Aaron Tyson were allowed to operate a ferry across the Deep River at the place Jonathan Barnes and entered into bond with Cornelius Dowd, a son of Connors'. Then it was repeated that these same Tyson's were allowed to build a water Gristmill where Connor Dowds' old mill has sat.
Then in 1797, Mary Dowd, wife of Connor Dowd, deeded to the heirs of now deceased Edward Griffin the 300 acres of Flaggy Branch of Indian Creek Adj. Duncan.
The dates are debatable, but sometime between 1760 and 1774, Connor's first wife died and he remarried another widow, Mary Overton Sheilds, the daughter of John Overton, in whose house he had established that first tavern when he had moved to Deep River. She was the widow of Reuben Sheilds. Mary was a smart lady, and a shrewd businesswoman. She helped Connor run his businesses and became his bookkeeper. They also had 10 children together. He only had two by his first wife, supposedly..
Even in the years before we were a county, Americans were not a homogeneous group. You had new arrivals with a smorgasbord of different languages and accents. You had those who were born here, descended from the earliest arrivals. You had the people who were already here to begin with. You had the people who had been brought here against their will, be it from Africa, the Caribbean Islands, poor Irish or waifs from the streets of London. Then there were the religious sects, various Catholic or Protestant groups and the odd little cults like the Shakers and Dunkers. Some in Central North Carolina, like the Quakers and the Moravians, in Salem and Bethania and the western fronts, were pacifists. War was brewing, but they didn't believe in War, at a time when everyone, no matter who you were, or where you were from, or what you believed, were forced to choose a side.
As for their part, The Dowds were members of the Haw River Separatist Baptist Church. A quick google search led to the AI utilized information below:
In the North Carolina backcountry, Separate Baptist congregations grew in the 1760s. The Haw River (Separate) Baptist Church was established in the 1760s, with its earliest members coming from the remnants of Mulkey’s church at Deep River. These settlers, including Nathaniel Powell, Conrad Dowde, Isaac Brooks, George Williams, and others, met in 1764 and united with the Sandy Creek Association in 1765 Baptist History Homepage.
The church’s first pastor was Rev. Elnathan Davis, a former Seven-Day Baptist from Maryland who embraced Separate Baptist beliefs in 1757. Davis led the congregation for many years, overseeing worship, discipline, and community life. Notably, the church passed a resolution in 1764 declaring that any member refusing to join the Regulators would be excommunicated, reflecting the political tensions of the time Baptist History Homepage.
As you can see above, "Conrad Dowde" was included in the brief list of early members. This was actually Connor Dowd. His faith played a large part in his later actions.
Dowd and his enterprises were crucial to life in the Deep Creek region. His wagons transported much needed goods between there and Cross Creek, or Fayetteville, a center oftrade and banking. Some goods were imports from Britain and France. For a while, his mills and store were the only ones between the Capitol of Hillsborough and Cross Creek. Many travelers and new arrivals crossed over on his ferry and stayed at his Inn. The Dowd place was a very important spot along the main road and for a time, a portion of the road bore his name. His actions would not go without notice.
The War and Phillip Alston
Phillip Alston (Abt 1745-1791) was a Whig Militia Leader in the Revolution, and a very wealthy, prominent man known for building the beautiful historic site known as "The House in the Horseshoe".
On July 29, 1781, his home became the site of a Skirmish, an incident considered a degree less than a battle, when Colonel David Fanning led a group of Loyalists against the Whig Militia camped at Alston's home. Alston surrendered and his home was threatened to be burned, but thankfully escaped that fate. Alston had reason to dislike the Loyalists and anyone who aided them. He became an archenemy of Connor Dowd.
As a pacifist, Grandpa Connor attempted to avoid taking sides as long as he could. He never took part in any fighting and never wielded a gun. However, with his multiple businesses and landholdings that stretched through Chatham, Moore and Lee Counties, his financial resources were much sought after for aid, from either side.
In January of 1776, Josiah Martin, the King appointed Governor of North Carolina, asked for citizens to come to the town of Brunswick, which sat near the mouth of the Cape Fear River on the coast, below Wilmington, to welcome the Red Coats expected to land there, sent by King George, in a show of support of the British and Governor Martin.
Remains of historic town of Brunswick, NC
Connor Dowd was one of the ones who showed up, although the British didn't. He declined to join the ranks of the Loyalist forces but brought supplies that were given to General Donald McDonald. He brought 100 lbs. of pistol powder, iron, linen and cotton, shoes and leather from his own stores, flour, venison and other food stuffs, and allowed for the use of his own wagons. It is said he even went in debt to supply the loyalist forces with beef and pork to sustain them. So, he didn't fight, but he did provide support to the other side, not the Red Coats, in particular, but to the Americans who stayed loyal to the crown, called Tories.
The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
The Loyalist troops that were headed to Brunswick never made it there. Again, using the AI Google inquiry:
The Battle
On the morning of February 27, 1776, nearly 1,000 Patriot militiamen waited behind entrenchments at Moore's Creek Bridge, about 18 miles north of Wilmington U.S. National Park Service. The Patriots had removed planks from the bridge and greased the remaining surface with tallow and soap to hinder crossing northcarolinahistory.org. As the Loyalists, primarily Scottish Highlanders, charged across the bridge shouting "King George and Broadswords," they were met with devastating musket and artillery fire northcarolinahistory.org+1. Within minutes, the Loyalist ranks were decimated, their leaders killed or captured, and the survivors forced to retreat northcarolinahistory.org+1. The Patriots pursued the fleeing Loyalists, solidifying their control of the area American Battlefield Trust.
Casualties and Aftermath
The Patriots suffered minimal losses, with one soldier killed and one wounded, while the Loyalists lost approximately 30 men, with 20 more wounded, including the death of Captain Alex McLeod northcarolinahistory.org. The defeat effectively ended Loyalist recruitment in North Carolina and forced Governor Martin into exile, leaving the colony under Patriot control Wikipedia+1. The battle also marked the last recorded Highland broadsword charge in history Wikipedia+1.
Phillip Alston demanded the arrest of Connor Dowd after this battle. He was eventually released on bail, but was prejudicially charged an undue bond, higher than his compatriots and peers. This battle caused a change in the minds and attitudes in many of the Carolina loyalists. They took oaths to the State, renouncing loyalty to the crown, even joining the revolutionary forces. Connor Dowd was not one of these. It had become personal for him. The Dowds aided in assembling a small militia group to meet Cornwallis, the British General, who was on his way to North Carolina. He financed and arranged for a mounted force of 40 men, commanded by his son, Owen, named for his brother. The men never made it to meet up with Cornwallis but entered into small clashes with groups of Patriots. The Dowds paid highly for this. The worst price was the death of his son. Owen was killed on September 13, 1781, at Lindley's Mill on Cane Creek in Alamance County.
A portion of Thomas Kitchin's 1781 map of North Carolina, depicting Hillsborough, the Haw River, and Lindley's Mill on Cane Creek
The link below will give more information on this particular battle. Local names from surrounding counties I recognize that participated on the Patriot side are Patrick Boggan, Thomas Wade, and Joseph Howell.
Local lore retells the story of Connor receiving the bloodied and broken body of his son, returned by his surviving men. At this point the tale tends to bend in two distinct directions. One form of the story is that Connor was again arrested and deported to Ireland. The other version claims that Connor escaped capture, fleeing to join the British troops in Wilmington and sailed off to England in 1782.
Both forms acknowledge the fact, proved by documented record, that he left Mary and his ten children, some quite young, to carry on alone. In response, Mary began to sell off a few of Connors most recently acquired lands for money to support herself and her children. An incredible woman, Mary fought back when in retaliation for Connor's support of the Loyalist forces, their land and several of his mills and business properties were seized. Abandoned, and aware of the portentous events around her, Mary did not possess the state of dejection many of the widows, and solitary women left in the wake of the War, had embraced. Instead, she fought back.
The image that is the lead in for this post is Mary's petition, an appeal to the new Revolutionary Government to return some of her shared properties, in order to support her family. The women and children were always left holding the bag for the actions of the men. Her petition was groundbreaking, the first one of a loyalist sueing, and eventually winning, to recover confiscated property.
Moore's Creek Bridge Battle between Patriots and Loyalist, primarily Scotts.
According to the pension requests of several elderly Patriots later on, one of Connor's Mills in Moore County,had been taken and used as a Headquarters for Patriot forces. In November of 1782, a lower court in Chatham County awarded Mary the return and possession of 1000 acres in property. A community group, led by members of the families of Revolutionary soldiers, voiced complaint of this action because of Connor's actions and support of the Loyalists.
In May of 1784 , Mary Overton Dowd petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the right to sue the debtors who still owed Conner, or any of his business associations, any money. She was also attempting to either have confiscated property returned, or recoup the money received from that which had been sold, and to be able to sue those individuals,or governments, in court.
So for being on the wrong side of history, this 7th Great Grandfather lost his son, his businesses, his land, his citizenship, and contact with his surviving family members.
The above document is an excerpt of a letter from Robert Rowan to Governor Richard Caswell, dated September 18, 1777. In the letter, Rowan tells Governor Caswell about the outcome of his effort to get Connor Dowd to take the oath to the new United States government. Rowan, a friend and associate of Connor's, felt like he was making headway on swaying Connor's sympathies in the direction of the Patriots side. He felt his efforts were undermined by the opposing actions of Philip Alston, who had aided in having Connor thrown in jail. The entire letter and tale can be found at the link below.
Mary Overton Sheilds Dowd worked to arrange Connor's return and managed to retain some of the family property. Connor returned to North Carolina in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War. The fifth article of the Treaty instructed Congress to 'earnestly recommend" for State legislatures to return either confiscated properties, or the money got of it, to its original owners. Not everybody listened to the recommendations. One unfortunate side effect of the act is that it also allowed people to sue Mary for Connors debts, even after his death, like the debt he owed for the pork and beef he had gotten for the Loyalists.
It is recorded that Connor made several transatlantic trips after returning to North Carolina. I wonder if this was an attempt to rebuild his trade business or legal dealings with the British or Irish governments.
North Carolina had passed a special act allowing Mary to retain use of some of her property and pursue legal actions in her own name. Connor Dowd is supposed to have died in 1789, in Chatham or Moore County, NC. Mary Dowd died in 1806; the paragraph below comes from information on the page of the House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site. I wish some of the Dowd property had survived.
By the time Mary Dowd died in 1806, most of the estate she had regained was gone. She had sold over 1,000 acres piecemeal through the years in order to repay debts that were accumulated by her husband, Connor Dowd. According to court documents, the estate took years to settle as debts against the estate were filed. Mary lived the rest of her life fighting to regain the wealth she had before the American Revolution, like many loyalists in North Carolina, her life was never the same.
Isham Robbins was a man of whom I know very little. He is first seen in the 1841 tax listing of the newly minted Stanly County, North Carolina. Isham Robbins was taxed for .40 cents for 100 acres of land owned on Cucumber Creek. Cucumber Creek is located in the western part of Stanly County near Red Cross and runs in a south/ southwest projectory between Stanfield and Oakboro towards the Rocky River, which forms the southern boundary of Stanly County with Union and Anson below.
Then there is his Will.
Probated in November of 1843, Isham's Will does not give us a great deal of information. He quotes the old adage that " it is appointed for all men once to die", commends his body to God, asks for a decent burial, requests that his debts be paid, praises God and pleads for his immortal soul. Lastly, he adds, "all the rest of my estate I Will to my dearly beloved wife Fanny Robins". The document was witnessed by Temple Whitley and David Udy (Eudy).
In the November Session of the 1843 Court of Pleas and Quarters of the County of Stanly, Frances Robbins and John Honeycutt were appointed Administrators of the Estate of Isham Robins and gave $300 bond. That is all the mentions of Isham Robbins or Robins.
John Honeycutt is an important key in the discovery of the family of Isham Robbins. He had a close relationship with Isham's widow, Fanny. He paid her taxes when she became insolvent and took care of her, an elderly lady, in multiple ways and manners.
John Honeycutt was my 4th Great Grandfather.He was born in 1803 and Fanny Robbins was born about 1780. In both the 1850 and 1860 census records, Fanny and her unmarried daugther, Elizabeth "Betsy" Robbins are shown living next to, or below, the family of John Honeycutt.
Although unmarried, Besty Robbins was the mother of two sons, Lindsey, by Samuel Coley as is reported in a bastardy bond and the younger, Green H. Robbins by John Honeycutt. I am assuming, by virtue of his age, that this John was John Timothy Honeycutt, son of John and Sylvia Honeycutt, born in 1832, as John was married and known as a pious man. But there seems more to this relationship than that connection.
In the 1860 census, in Big Lick Township, we find the family of John Honeycutt listed following that of Charles Cagle. After which is 80 year old Fanny Robbins, with her daughter, Betsy and Betsy's two sons, Lyndsey and Green. After that is 55 year old Susy Honeycutt, whom I believe was John's sister. In her home is her daughter, Sylvia and a 14 year old Fanny Robbins. They are then followed by John's son Edmund Honeycutt and family.
Susy, or Susan Honeycutt, never married, but via court records and bastardy bonds, I've determined she was the mother of 4 children by Joshua Christian Burris. Sylvia names him as her father on her marriage certificate. Some have speculated that the young Fanny Robbins was the daughter of Isham and Fanny's son, Solomon Franklin Robbins, but his daughter Frances Caroline, is listed in his home that year at age 11. It's still possible, I guess, but for now, 14 year old Fanny is a bit of a mystery.
My theory (I'm full of them), is that Fanny was the mother-in-law of John Honeycutt. Truth be told, the parentage of his wife, Sylvia, remains unknown. However, I am not the only one with this theory. Others suspect she was a Cagle, and that's quite possible as well, they are living right beside Charles Cagle.
To put my theory to the test, some time ago, I entered the Robbins as parents of Sylvia Honeycutt in my Family Tree and let the algorithms of Thru-Lines at ancestry.com work its magic. The results were an impressive number of matches to descendants of Solomon Franklin Robbins, both his children by his first wife, Sarah Hinson Robbins and by his wife in Tennesee, Mary Laton Robbins. The matches to his North Carolina born offspring, I don't take as seriously, as many of them married into the West Stanly mileau, to which I have multiple connections of Burris, Honeycutt, Lambert and others. Several of his children married into these families, so I could have connection to these matches in other ways. It's the matches to descendants of his Mississippi and Tennesee born children that intrigues me the most, as I've not found any connections to his wife or the families these children married into. Of note, Elizabeth Clementine "Lizzie" Robbins, does not show up in my Thru-lines as having any descendant matches to me, despite everyone having her listed as Solomon's daughter. Lizzy was born several years after Solomon left for Mississippi and Tennesee. However, the next child up, son George Washington Robbins, born in 1860, does have many descendants that are related to me. Solomon Robbins bought, yes bought, a tract of land from Needham Whitley in February of 1860, and is counted in Tishomingo County, Mississippi in 1860, where his second wife was living. They were then married the next year in McNairy County, Tennesee. So, Sarah was pregnant with George when Solomon left.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Robbins doesn't show up as having any descendants who match me either. This is because in the Mortality Schedules of 1870, her oldest son, Lyndsey, is showing as having died of pneumonia in Big Lick Township of at age17. Her younger son, Green H. Robbins, is listed as working as a farm laborer for J. C. Burroughs (Burris) that year and Elizabeth is living with the Davidson Burroughs family. Fanny has obviously died. Betsy and Green show up no more, so its easy to assume both of her sons died young and left no heirs.
In the 1845 Tax Listing of Stanly County, John Honeycutt is shown as owning 300 acres on Stony Run Creek, Fanny Robbins is listed as owning 100 acres on Bear Creek and her son, Solomon, is shown as owning 125 acres on Stonly Run Creek. Stony Run flows southwest from the larger stream, Big Bear Creek and both lie to the east of the town of Oakboro.
Cucumber Creek, where Isham owned land, flows to the west of the town of Oakboro and Big Lick. Two entirely different locations. What happened to Isham's property? My guess would be that it was sold for debts and expenses, and Fanny, his only beneficiary, may have purchased the property on Bear to be close to her son and to John Honeycutt.
The identity of Fanny Robbins is much more clear. She was Frances Caroline Whitley Robbins.
There are several histories written by descendants, on the George Whitley Family, mostly similar in content. The one I will be quoting is called "George Whitley Family", compiled by Walter Charles Whitley of Little Rock, Arkansas.
"George Whitley was born about 1735. Settled originally on Big Bear Creek in Montgomery County, now Stanly County, North Carolina."
"Given a grant of land by the British Government, 10,00 acres, between Stony Run and Big Bear Creek. He and two of his sons were soldiers in the American Revolution. George Whitley married twice. By the first wife, he had sons George II, born 1760 and Needham, born 1762. By his second wife, he had sons John, born 1772 and William (Uncle Billy), born 1775."
George Whitley II had a daughter named Fanny Robbins. There was only one Fanny Robbins in the area. So Fanny was likely born in the area of Bear Creek and Stony Run, and probably died there too.
I'm not discounting the Cagle connection. It too, is quite possible. Fanny's brother, George Whitley III, married a Rebecca Cagle, daughter of George and Rebecca Kegel. I have a known Cagle ancestor in my family tree, Rebecca Cagle who married Caleb Aldridge II. Many online family trees have merged Rebecca Cagle Aldridge and Rebecca Cagle Whitley into one person. They were not, they were two different women, related, both descendants of German immigrant Leonhardt Kegel (1684-1754). This family seemed to like the name Rebecca for their daughters, from an early matriarch, I bet.
I may also have another Whitley connection. My ancestor, Rev. John Lambert, arrived to the Bear Creek/ Meadow Creek area of Stanly, then Montgomery County, about 1822. Before then, he had a close association with several Whitleys in Franklin and Johnston Counties, where he was from. He even attended a Conference with a Needham Whitley, who was not the Needham Whitley in Stanly/Montgomery. There were several Needham Whitleys, several generations worth, in both areas, as well as Exodus Whitley, too. While George and John are names one would see anywhere, Needham and Exodus are not. These two branches must be connected. There were plenty of Honeycutts in that area as well, and John Lambert may have arrived here with members of either or both families. He was married and his children grown before they arrived, so his wife Piety (many trees use the transcription error of "Phida"), was probably either a Whitley or a Huneycutt. The more I look into it, the more I believe she was a Whitley and John in the tutelage of his father-in-law as a young man. This is all speculation and a bone-gut feeling delved from the several years I've been digging in the old records of that area when I can.
But I've strayed. We know who Fanny was, but who was Isham?
One of the oddest facts about Isham is that he was in the 1841 Tax List of Stanly County, but just one year earlier, was not in the 1840 census of Montgomery County, it's parent county. He wasn't there, nor were any Robbins. There were plenty of Robbins in Randolph County, but no Ishams. We don't know just how old Isham was, but his wife was born around 1780, and his two definite children were born in the 1820's. I believe they were only his youngest. 1770-1775 is a pretty good guess of the time of his birth. Not only should he have been in the 1840 census, somewhere, but he should have been in several of them, from 1800 to 1840. Where was he hiding? As his wife was born here in all liklihood, where had they concealed Isham?
My theory begins with my own research, not of him, but of a young woman named Mary Whitley. You can read the story in its entirety at the following link.
Mary Whitley, I met while researching a sad tale from the other side of the Rocky River, just south of the Stanly County border, on the border of Anson and Union Counties was about the murder of Martha "Patsy" Beasley, a tale that had garnered its own Murder Ballad. Patsy had given birth to a little girl by an evil and arrogant young man named Thomas Nash. Thomas was in love with Mary Whitley, who wouldn't marry him because of Patsy Beasley. In anger, he mudered Patsy in the most ghastly and horrific manner, leaving his daughter, Drusilla, alone. Mary Whitley still did not marry him. So what does this have to do with Isham Robbins?
While trying to discover who Mary Whitley was, I examined some land records trying to discover what, if any Whitley's, lived in the area where these families, the Beasleys, Newtons and Nashes all lived. One of those concerned the previously mentioned Exodus Whitley.
On March 18, 1809, Exodus Whitley of Montgomery County bought a tract of land from Daniel Hinson of Anson County on Cedar Branch. The property bordered the land of one John Robbins and went to Gurleys corner stake.
There's those three names of Whitley, Hinson and Robbins together again.
Another deed, in Book Y, Page 472, dated October 28, 1833, Exodus Whitley sold the property on Cedar Branch to Walker Nash, father of murderer Tom Nash. It was still bordering the property of John Robbins and the Gurleys and was witnessed by Isham Whitley and Wyatt Nance, Isham supposedly a son of Exodus.
So, who was John Robbins of Anson and Montgomery County, NC?
First I looked into North Carolina Land Grants. There were none for Isham, but 4 for John Robbinses. Two were in Edgecomb, and because of the years, this must have been a different John. But there was one in Anson and one in Montgomery. I believe these were the same man.
Montgomery County File number 351 shows that on August 9, John Robbins was granted 150 acres on the South West side of the Yadkin River on Bostons's Branch. This grant was recorded in Book 65, Page 37 as Grant Number 342. The original request was entered on March 28, 1780 as Entry number 140. It took over 6 years for the Grant to be issued.
It appears that John Robbins lived in Montgomery County before crossing the River into Anson County. This grant gives no more specifics about the location than Bostons' branch and the size of the grant.
The Anson County Grant, Number 5728, was issued on December 14, 1803. It was for 100 acres on the Waters of Rocky River. Recorded in Land Patent Book, Page 118, Page 40 as Grant # 1844. John had originally requested the land on January 24, 1797. It took nearly 7 years to be issued. The Anson County grant doesn't give much more explantion, but does declare that the property was on the banks of the Rocky River, so just across this small river, bordering Stanly County, which was Montgomery at the time. it also states that it begins at his corner white oak, or property he already owned. From what I had found when researching Mary Whitley, I knew that John's property in Anson bordered that of Exodus Whitley and his family, the Gurleys and Daniel Hinson. Also James Gilbert.
There was another Grant for another Robbins in Montgomery County, and that one was for a Charles Robbins. Further research will show Charles was the son of John, and a very important key.
Charles Robbins was issued 100 acres of land in Montgomery County on July 10, 1797, on the Southwest side of the PeeDee River. This puts him in "West Pee Dee", which became Stanly County, and the south of it, which would place him near the border, the border consisting of the Rocky River. This grant was in Land Patent Book 94 Page 81 as Grant #1060 and was assigned Entry #1459. He first requested it on October 20, 1794, so it took over 2 years to issue it.
Charles's grant is a little more informative than those of his father , John.
"No. 1060 State of North Carolina
Know Ye that we have Granted unto Charles Robbins One hundred acres of land in Montgomery County on the Southwest side of the Pee Dee River on the waters of Long Creek beginning at a pine in John Robbins line to a post oak by a pine north one hundred and seventy-nine poles to a red oak by two post oaks east ninety to a red oak by two pines south one hundred and seventy nine poles with said Robbins to the beginning to hold to the said Charles Robbins, his heirs......"
So Charles Robbins land bordered that of his father John Robbins, and was located along Long Creek. That was not the only clue and item of interest. There are three grants recorded on the page with that of Charles.
Charles's grant was in the middle of the page. The one above, No. 1059 was a grant of 25 acres to George Whitley on the waters of Big Bear Creek and the one below, No. 1061, was also to George Whitley for 100 acres on the East side of Big Bear Creek. Just a coincidence? Maybe, but the Robbins/ Whitley connection was strong.
I've seen members of my Rocky River family tree and associated families, also own land on both sides of the river at the same time, the Davis's, the Winfields, Howells, Lee, Marshalls, Allens, among them. Not to say John Robbins was a member of my family, only to point out that many did cross the Rocky River back and forth. It's a small river. In many places, during certain times of year, they could have just pulled the teams of mules across to plow.
In deeds, I first find John Robbins on March 2, 1780, with Benjamin Baird issuing 150 acres, warrant 140 for 150 acres on the Southwest side of the Yadkin River on Bostons Branch (the earlier grant), surveyed on April 22, 1785 by Edmund Lilly, "begins at a Red Oak on said Branch near where the path crosses fromParmours towards Robins'. Chain Carriers were William Ramsey and John Robbins, Jr.
There was a John Jr.! The mention of a William Ramsey also piques my interest as I descend from a Starkey Ramsey who is one of my brickwall ancestors. As Boston Branch was named as being on the southwest side of the Yadkin River, it seems to have been located before the mouth of the Uwharrie River, which is where the Yadkin ends and the Pee Dee begins.
On January 28, 1782 John Crump sold Henry Mounger 150 acres on the Northeast side of Bear Creek, which included a springhead at the head of Little Creek. Thomas Reynolds and John Robins were chain carriers. Was this the younger John Robins/Robbins? Evidence to be shone shortly that it might have been. This one was definately on the Stanly County side of the river.
On Christmas Eve, 1785, a very interesting transaction occurred. John Crump sold 100 acres to HezekiahDollarhide on Boston's Branch of Long Creek, including young John Robbins improvement, surveryed by Edmund Lilly in 1786, on Bostons Branch, waters of Long Creek, includes young John Robbins improvement (yes, they said that twice). John Parmer and Edmund Lilly Jr. were chain carriers.
A couple of observations, first, Bostons Branch sprang off of Long Creek. Second, the land sold included property that had been improved, or cleared / cultivated by 'young John Robbins'. Can we assume John Jr.?
John Parmer may have been the "Parmours" mentioned in the previous deed.
Hezekiah Dollarhide had a 1779 grant in Randolph County as an assignee of John Knight on Little River and another in Montgomery County in 1785 on Long Creek.
On October 20, 1794 John Crump to Charles Robbins for 100 acres "taking in an improvement I had joining my father's line where he lives on waters of Long Creek".....on south west side of Pee Dee River and on waters of Long Creek, border beggining at a a pine in John Robbins line, Hosea Rowland and Thomas Mainard chain carriers.
The above plot is from the grant of Hezekiah Dollarhide that included young John Robbins improvements. Hezekiah Dollarhide would remove to Wayne County, Indiana and then was in Randolph County, Indiana when it was formed off of Wayne. This fact will come into play as an important piece of the puzzle.
The above is the plat of John Robbins in Anson County on Rocky River. It is no surprise that John and Stephen Gilbert were chain carriers.
In the sheath of Hezekiah Dollarhides grant, there is mention of some work having been done by Hosea Rowland.
On October 20, 1794, John Crump to "Hose" Rowland 100 acres on both sides of Turkey Creek, beginning on Buzzard's Branch, with Charles Robbins and Thomas Mainanrd as Chain Carriers.
On December 27, 1796, John Crump warrented to Lewis Beard 300 acres on the Waters of Curltail Creek that included 'Rocky Ford', and joined the property of Charles Robbins, the description went on to describe a pine in Robbins line and and Stokers line. Barnaba Dunn and John Atkins were chain carriers. We're getting closer to determing about where Charles Robbins lived.
In September of 1799 John Neal sold 100 acres on Bear Creek to Hamblet Underwood. It joined Whitmill Harringtons old line and Thomas Nearon, located on the SW side of Yadkin River on Bear Creek and joined Dunn. Charles Robbins and Samson Gilbert were chain carriers. Gilbert being a reoccuring name.
Five years later on February 1, 1804, Joseph Parsons sold to John Gilbert 50 acres on the NW of Bear Creek, begins near said creek on his own line and joins Charles Robbins. Richard Wenleby and Neehham Smith were chain carriers. Recall there was a John Gilbert who lived near John Robbins the elder in Anson County.
Charles Robbins would settle in Henry County, Tennesee.
Besides the Grant, there's only one deed involving John Robbins in Anson County to be found, excluding all of the deeds involving properties that bordered on his.
Book H Page 321 John Robbins to Charles Harrington (any relation to Whittmill Harrington?)
" This Indenture made the 5th day of April in the Year of our Lord 1784 between John Robbins of the County of Montgomery in the State of North Carolina and Charles Harrington of Anson County in the state afore mentioned". This shows that John Robbins resided in Montgomery (Stanly) County and was the same man as had recieved both Montgomery and Anson grants. The descriptions met those of the Anson Grant with the exception of a mention of Richardsons Creek. Witnesses were James Hudson, Benjamin Thomas and Jesse Gilbert, all familiar names.
There is one more document that gives an insight into the life of John Robbins. In the 1782 tax list of Montgomery County, John Robbins is listed as an invalid.
But John Robbins status as an invalid was a cause of impending death, as one might think.
And then I found this beautiful piece of information.
"State of North Carolina Auditors for the Countys of Anson, Montgomery and Richmond. This May (hole punch) that John Robbins - Exhibited His Claim to us and was allowed Fourteen Pounds Eighteen and six pence specie. Test. Thomas B Wade, John Auld and Stephen Miller, Auditors."
John Robbins, born 1866 in Anson County, served in the Revolutionary War under Major James Crump.
In his application for a pension for his service during the Revolutionar War, John Robbins revealed that he had been born in Anson County, North Carolina in 1766 and that he had then lived in Montgomery County, NC, when he was 'draughted' into the War, under the leadership of Major John Crump. He then lived in the Sequatchie Valley of Tennesee, and then moved to Indiana and lastly, at 78 in 1846, he was residing in the town of Spadra in Johnson County, Tennesee.
All of the coincidences were not entirely coincidental, when it came to where he had lived and who he had interacted with. The reason Isham Robbins wasn't in the 1840 census of Montgomery County was that he wasn't in Montgomery County in 1840, although he was likely born there, on the west side of the river.
My theory is that Isham Robbins was a member of this Anson/Montgomery family of Robbins and was just returning home.
When I type the name Judith Taylor into my family tree, the same exact lady comes up not once, not twice, but 4 times! That is because I have 4 separate ancestrial lines back to Judith and her husband, Solomon Burris. It's easy to say I probably have more dna from Judith Taylor Burris than any other 5th Great Grandmother in my family tree as she is my 5th Great Grandmother times 4! And all 4 lines lead to my paternal grandfather.
Let's see if I can draw this out.
Judith Taylor and Solomon Burris
Gen Two
Joshua C Burris Taylor Burris Nancy Ann Burris Solomon Burris Jr.
1790-1878 1784-1856 1804-1879 1800-1873
m m m m
Susan Honeycutt Nancy Morton Benjamin F Hathcock Sarah Morgan
Gen Three
Mary Anna Burris Soloman Burris III Obedience Hathcock Gideon Green Burris
1833-1880 1822-1897 1828-1880 1831-1898
m m m m
C. M. 'Kin" Honeycutt Elizabeth Morton Gideon G. Burris Obedience Hathcock
Gen Four
Ellen Honeycutt Sarah Ann Burris David T. Burris David T. Burris again
1856-1930 1850-1885 1851-1928 1851-1928
m m m m
David T. Burris Rufus A. Lambert Ellen Honeycutt Ellen Honeycutt
Gen Five
Rowena Burris Elias M. Lambert Rowena Burris Rowena Burris
1872-1915 1875-1943 1872-1915 1872-1915
m m m m
Elias M Lambert Rowena Burris Elias M. Lambert Elias M. Lambert
Gen Six
Burley Melvin Lambert 1915-1986 all 4 Rows.
Gen Seven
Dad
Gen Eight
Me
Now, add to the fact that Charles McKinley "Kin" Honeycutt and Mary Anna Burris were 1st cousins through the Honeycutt line and that there are two Mortons in there, who may connect at some point, and you have a very limited gene pool. It's as if Red Cross, Stanly County was an island with no one else for thousands of miles.
I've posted on my Burris family several times before.
The Burris Reunion About one of the family's yearly reunions and what brings us together.
Black Sheep Sunday: Druken Duncan About Rowena's brother, who ended up being my Grandmother's Stepfather. Yes, my Grandparents were first cousins by marriage, but not biologically related, thank goodness. This would make Duncan my Great Great Uncle and my Step-Great Grandfather.
A bit confusin? Try being me. And yes, I have blogged about them alot.
As far as Judith goes, the concensus is not in on who her parents were. I've seen a Robert Taylor as her parents. In my Dad's research, he had a James Taylor and wife Lucy as her parents, which I guess I will leave in my tree until it's disproven as this was inherited genealogy.
Judith was born about 1766 in North Carolina. She was married to Solomon Burris, one date given, is December 12, 1783, in Surry County, NC. Their oldest son, Taylor Burris was born the next year.
Solomon Burris was a Revolutionary War Soldier. Judith recieved a pension after his death.
In the 1850 census, Judith was living with her daughter, Obedience Burris Willis. Obedience and her husband , McCamey "Mac" Willis, were childless. With them besides Judith were a neice and a nephew.
Judith passed away on April 18, 1856 in Stanly County. She was 89 years old.
Below is a story from The Stanly County Heritage Book. There are some inconsistencies in the story, for instance, the German part. I believe his lineage is most likely Engliah as it derives from the Anglo-Saxon Burroughs or Burrows. In the early years, some of the Burris family spelled their name Burroughs.
From: Stanly County Heritage - North Carolina, Vol.1 - By: Stanly County Heritage Book Committee #720
Happy Mother's Day Grandma Judith. I'm probably more like you than anyone else of your era.
