Bridget Smith. I had never heard of her, but she's my ancestor.
Gedmatch.com has started a new project called "Ancestor Projects". It's genealogical studies of a certian group of persons, families, tribes, countries, certain parts of countries, immigrants from a certain area or to a certain area. You get the picture. I've joined several that apply, or may apply, to me.
One I've just joined is the Duke Project. I know I am descended from James Duke who lived near the current town of Norwood, NC and is buried right across the road from my cousins house. His daughter, Elizabeth married Calvin Lee and from there, I can take one easily down the old family tree to myself. I had seen where someone had Old James Duke as the son of a Robert Duke and wife Isabell Vinson. That's as far as I had ever gotten.
However, today, one of the administrators from the Duke Project interjected the parents of Robert Duke into my line, and his wife, Bridget Smith.
This is all I know about Bridget. She was born about 1674 in Isle of Wight, Virginia. She married John Duke II, date unknown.
She had 3 sons: Robert, John III and Benjamin.
They rented property from William Boddie.
They later purchased the land from William Boddie.
They sold the land in 1689.
He sold land that had belonged to his father, John Duke Sr. Bridget signed the document and Elizabeth Mercer was his mother, having remarried after his father's death.
Know all men by these presents that I John Duke of the County of Isle of Wight (planter) have my
in hand already (returned) (satisfaction) to the value of three thousand pounds of tobacco and Coffe? de?y
These presents acknowledge to have sold and made sale unto John Burnett (Shoemaker?) of the same county.
A parcell of Land Containing fifty acres or thereabouts which land my father John Dukedeceased for-
merly bought of Jeremiah Rutter of (Chuckatuck) (then) in Nansimund County (being) out of a pattent of (three)
hundred acres lyinge and bounding betwene the land of John (Gossling) and the house of my father John -
Duke whene he was then situated with said land I the said John Duke doe acknowledge to have So(u)ld
(u)nto the above said John Burnett for ever with all right profitts Comodities and hereditaments whatsoever
there (Contd) belonginge: and that free and cleare, and freely and clearely defend keepe harmelesse: the said
Burnett from all or all manir of psons that shall lay claim or claime any right title or intrest to the
above mentioned fifty acres of land but the same to hould and injoy for ever with he the said John Bur-
nett: his heirs Executors administrators: or assignes according to the tenor of my father Duke deceased,
Conveyance forfieth and to the true permormance hereof I the said Jno Duke doe (do) auknowledge to have
Sett my hand and Seale this 23rd of Sept. 1689
Signed Sealed and delivered I Elizabeth Mercer doe: freely Consent with
with presents of as my Sone John Duke to this bill of Sale as written by
Will Bradshaw My hand and seale the day and year above written
Signed
Rich(ard) R Bealle Awknowledged in open Court held for the Isle of Wight
(Mark) County by John DukeEliz(a) Mercer & Bridgette Duke to be
(act) and deed and ordered & Recorded Test. John Pitt CC
Signed
John (I) DukeSeal
(Mark)
Signed
Bridgett (O) Duke Seal
Elizabeth (Z) Mercer
her mark
John and Bridget may have lived near the Cypress Swamps. She may have been the daughter of Arthur Smith who had a land grant near the Duck (Duke) grant.
John Duke died March 16, 1719. His probate records referred to him as "John Duckes". His property was appraised by Ambrose Adley, Timother Tyens and Jeremiah Fly. It was signed by Bridget Duckes and ordered Feb. 27, 1720. So she could sign her name.
It appears she married a Jackson after she was widowed.
She died 1762 in Brunswick County, Virginia. She was 86 years old.
Her sons and Grandsons would become Patriots.
Happy Mother' Day Grandma Bridget. Nice to finally meet (become aware of your existence) you.
While researching the families of the siblings of my Fourth Great-Grandmother, Sarah Winfield Howell Davis, I often discovered they led interesting lives and traveled greatly. But sometimes, they seemed to disappear into the wind.
Oddly, at times, I feel a lingering tug, some little voice in my ear that tells me that their story did not end there, at whatever brick wall I may have stumbled upon while trying to find them.
That was the case in the family of Ancena Winfield Morrison Avett, her sister and my Fourth Great-Grand Aunt.
Sometimes you have to step away and revisit things at a later date and with a fresh approach. And that is exactly what I did one day last fall.
I was attempting to discover the final resting place, and perhaps a date, for the demise of Ancena. What I found instead, was her daughter, Euxena, or Erexena, as this lady with the unusual name, is found with multiple spellings and misspellings of her moniker.
First the name. Apparently, it was a rare, but not unheard of, trendy name for girls born in the late 1700's - early 1800's. Just with one Google, I found:
Exerena Lull 1791-1870
Exerena Brown 1824-1844
Exerena Roberts Baker 1795- 1883
While these Exerena's were from New York, ours was from North Carolina and her mother, Virginia.
In North Carolina, not much was found of her, save her marriage record in 1822 in Anson County to George Singleton of Montgomery County.
George Singleton to Euxene Morrison 1822
Then there is the land division after the death of James Morrison, and the division among his children and widow, all listed in Anson County records, and the deed wherein George Singleton and wife "Euxena" sell their inherited property to Richard Randall
But after that, Euxena had disappeared into thin air. The census records and most land exchanges did not list women, and I could not find George Singleton anywhere.
Then I took a closer look at the children of Ancena who I knew had moved to Tennessee, Thomas Avett Jr. , Alfred Morrison, Margaret Morrison Scarborough, Annabelle Morrsion Beard.
And I found Erexena.
Sometimes, a scan of the actual census record and the adjoining pages, can reveal a great deal.
The family was all in Anson County, NC in 1830, but by 1840, they had migrated to Tennessee. It appears that Ancena went with them, as the oldest female in this census record of Thomas Avett, Jr.
Name
Thomas A Vett
Home in 1840 (City, County, State)
Fayette, Tennessee
Free White Persons - Males - 50 thru 59
1 Thomas
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49
1 Sarah W.
Free White Persons - Females - 80 thru 89
1 Ancena
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23
3
Slaves - Males - 55 thru 99
1
Slaves - Females - Under 10
2
Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23
2
Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54
1
Persons Employed in Agriculture
6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49
1
Total Free White Persons
3
Total Slaves
9
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves
12
I have not determined if Thomas Avett, Jr. was her son or stepson, as she did not marry Thomas Sr. until 1819.
It also appears Ancena was living with them in 1830 as all were a decade younger.
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other:
16
The 1850 census was the kicker.
Name
Erixena Duke
Age
50
Birth Year
abt 1800
Birthplace
North Carolina
Home in 1850
District 12, Fayette, Tennessee, USA
Gender
Female
Family Number
1383
Household Members
Name
Age
Robert G Duke
55
Erixena Duke
50
William Duke
22
Cristina Duke
19
Robert Duke
17
Eliza Duke
15
Mary Duke
13
Lucius Duke
10
Jane Singhton
28
In and of itself, it would have probably be missed, this family in House number 1383,
But in House number 1382 was "Ann B. Baird" or Annabelle Morrison Beard/Barid, daughter of Ancena Winfield Morrison Avette and widow of John Beard, with her younger children, Ann E, 19, Edwin L. 15, William H. 16 and Margarite A. 13.
Not only that, but just above this family was the family of Abraham Scarborough, 49, his wife Margaret, 44 and their children, Alfred, William, Jane, John, Lemuel and Thomas. Margaret Morrison Scarborough was also the daughter of Ancena and James Morrison.
The Sisters had stuck together. This was Erexena Morrison Singleton and an additional supporting fact, was the addition in the household of a 28 year old Jane Singleton, who obviously had to be the daughter of Erexena and her first husband, George Singleton.
Erexena obviously was widowed young, with the little daughter Jane, and married Robert G. Duke in North Carolina, where their children were born. They afterwards migrated to Fayette County, Tennessee to be with her family there.
We learn more of Erexena through her children, actually, most notably her son, Robert Spain Duke, the 17 year old in the 1850 census.
He and his family moved to Lonoke, Arkansas, which turned out to be a popular relocation spot for multiple branches of the same family tree that migrated west.
His biography appeared in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lonoke County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing in 1889.
It states, "Robert Spain Duke, a leading farmer of Prairie Township, was fourth in a family of 9 children born to Robert G and Erexena (Morrison) Duke, his birth occurring in North Carolina, April 30, 1833. Robert G Duke was born in North Carolina, July 5, 1795, and was a son of Robert Duke, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, of Irish decent, who settled and married in Anson County, North Carolina, and died there in about the 100th year of his age. Robert G. Duke moved from North Carolina to Tennessee in 1845, where he lived until his death. which occured May 3, 1879. His wife (Erexena) was born in North Carolina January 3, 1801 and died in 1856."
The biography goes on to tell how Robert Spain Duke grew up in Tennesee, married twice and had 5 children, three by the first wife, two by the second, served in the Civil War and established himself well in the community.
Further research reveals that this article may have been mistaken in the Grandfather of Robert Spain Duke. The story of the American Revolutionary War veteran, who lived to be nearly 100, sounds like my ancestor, James Duke, who settled in Stanly County, which was part of Montgomery County for most of his life, and lived to be nearly 100. Records of Robert G. Duke, put him in the right area, at the right time, to be the son of James Duke, and brother to my ancestor Elizabeth Duke Lee, not the son of some illusive and undocumented Robert. So, it is my belief that the writer simply got the grandfather's name wrong, it being James, not Robert.
So Erexena shows up in her marriage license to George Singleton, the land division after her father, James Morrison's death, the sale that land to Richard Randle, and the 1850 census.
Most likely, George Singleton died in North Carolina and Erexena and Robert G. Duke married here, as all of her children, including the youngest, Lucian, in 1840, were born here.
Erexena Morrison Singleton Duke's date of death is given as 1856 in Fayette County, Tennesse, by her sons' biography. Her place of burial is unknown.
By dashes on the older census records, it appears there may have been 2 more children, a male and a female, born between Jane Singleton in 1822 and William D. Duke in 1828. It is not known if they were Singletons or Dukes or if they were living in 1850, just as adults and not with the family, or died as children. Another odd clue is Robert Spain Dukes' biography naming him as the 4th in a family of 9 children, implying the two missing children came after his birth, as he is fourth in the known lineage of Jane, William, Christina and Robert Spain.
So as follows are the 7 known children of Mary Erexena Morrison Singleton Duke, daughter of Ancena Winfield Morrison Avett and granddaughter of Peter Winfield and Charlotte Freeman Winfield.
4. Robert Spain Duke b 1833 d 1898 Married Susan Catherine Allison
Married Rebecca I Mason
Died in Prairie, Lonoke, Arkansas
Six children
5. Eliza Duke b 1835
Shown with family in the 1850, 1860 and 1870 census.
Futher research needed.
6. Mary Abigail Duke b 1837 d 1878
Married James Teague. 3 children. Died in Fayette County, TN
7. Lucious Alexander Duke b 1840 d 1912
Married Susie Elizabeth Ormsby 7 children. Died in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
Lucious A. Duke and Susie Ormsby Duke
Addendum: Shortly after publishing this post, I immediately began researching the daughters of Erexena Morrison Singleton Duke. Eliza came quickly. In the 1870 census, she is shown living with her father at 35, and a farmhand named John Thompson.
ame
Mr John Thompson
Gender
Male
Marriage Date
25 Dec 1870
Marriage Place
Fayette, Tennessee, USA
Spouse
Eliza Duke
Household Members
Name
Age
Mr John Thompson
Eliza Duke
That year, on Christmas Day, Eliza was married to John Thompson by Rev. W. P. Simmons, a family member and son-in-law of her mother's (half or step) brother, Thomas Avett.
John Thompson ended up being Jonathan Wilkerson Thompson, born in 1846, the son of George H. and Sarah T. Davis Thompson. He grew up in Center, or Norwood, the brother of David King Thompson, who was well established in that area.
Jonathan and Eliza also moved to Lonoke County, Arkansas and raised 3 sons, William J. , Vernon Culpepper and John Edgar Thompson.
Name
J. W. Thompson
Birth Date
May 1858
Death Date
31 Jul 1914
Cemetery
Oak Grove Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place
Austin, Lonoke County, Arkansas, USA
Has Bio?
N
Spouse
Eliza S. Thompson
Children
William J. Thompson
They are buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Austin, Lonoke County, Arkansas.
