John West, Jr. – Was He My 6th Great Uncle?

During the last week of April of this year, my fourth cousin, Joanne, and I spent two days researching at the Old Tryon County Genealogical Society Library in Forest City, Rutherford County, North Carolina, and at the Broad River Genealogical Society Library in Shelby, Cleveland County, North Carolina.  What were we looking for? 

If you recall in an earlier post, “A Genealogist’s Progress,” on February 10, 2014, I described meeting a male West, whom I’ll call D. West, who descends from John West, Jr. (1732 Tryon, NC-1776) and his son Thomas West (1760 Lincoln, NC-1831 Rutherford, NC) who married Elizabeth Preston.  I met D. West at the Tipton Family Association Meeting in Burnsville, North Carolina, in October 2013.  In December 2013, D. West tested with FTDNA’s Family Finder test and found that he is a genetic match with my sister and me.  The only connection that we appear to have is through the West lineage.

My hunch was that D. West’s 5^th great grandfather, John West, Jr. (b 1732), was the brother of my 5^th great grandfather, Alexander West (b about 1730).  Land records from Orange County, North Carolina, reveal that a John West, Sr., a John West, Jr., and an Alexander West were involved together in land transactions in that area during the 1750s.  John West, Sr. deeded land to Alexander West and John West, Jr.  In addition, John West, Sr. sold land to Peter Anderson and his wife, Catherine.  Peter and Catherine’s daughter, Susanna Anderson, married Isaac West who may have also been a son of John West, Sr. and a brother of Alexander West and John West, Jr.

Therefore, I couldn’t wait for the long winter months of January, February, and March to end so that my husband and I could make a trip to the area which had previously been Tryon County.  This area just happened to be in Forest City, Rutherford County, North Carolina, where my cousin, Joanne, lives.  Many thanks to her husband, Bobby, for giving my husband, Doug, a grand tour of the area which included the site of the Battle of King’s Mountain.

What a great time Joanne and I had those two days searching for long-lost grandfathers!  However, I’m still not sure that we found the John West that we hoped to find.  Again, so many West men were named John!  But, how many different John Wests could have been in the areas of Orange, Tryon, and Lincoln counties in the 1720s to 1780s?  I think we may be on to something once we organize all of our data so that we can see patterns and draw conclusions.

In addition, D. West plans to take the Y-DNA test.  His results may place him in the West Family DNA Project and perhaps indicate a particular West Family Group to which he may belong.  This would be valuable information to help us with our search for our Alexander West and his parents.

Until some new information changes my opinions and “hunches,” I will continue down this research road expecting to find that my Alexander West (5^th great grandfather) was the son of John West (senior) and his first wife, Mary Madden.

Eleanor, Oh, Eleanor Harbin Triplett

                Oh, Eleanor, what a strong woman you must have been and what courage you must have had.  You were born about 1730 in Virginia, and married William Triplett sometime before 1758 when your first child was born. You and your husband William Triplett had about 11 children, Micajah, Nimrod, Mason, William, Thomas, Francis, John, Priscilla, Verlinda (my 4^th great grandmother), Nancy, and Jesse.  

                An on-line publication, “My Triplett Family,” indicates that Eleanor maintained the home front while her husband and sons were serving in the North Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War.  She continued their tradition on the farm of raising cattle, which became an important commodity when food became scarce during the war.  Her determination, fortitude, and courage were demonstrated when she contributed cattle to feed the troops in spite of any British retribution which may have befallen her.  In fact, according to the on-line article, she was compensated 982.10 pounds for providing beef to the soldiers.

                Family lore implies that Eleanor’s husband, William Triplett, and their two eldest sons, Micajah and Nimrod, died of the measles in 1782 in an army camp at Hanging Rock.  Did he die as family lore describes?  Pension papers filed by his son, William, indicate that the senior William may have died prior to 1780.  Data verified by the NSDAR also lead one to question whether he actually served in the militia.  Nevertheless, Eleanor is recognized for her patriotic service of providing supplies for the Revolutionary War.

                Both Eleanor Harbin Triplett and her husband, William Triplett, are identified by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution as NSDAR Patriots.  Eleanor is identified as a patriot because of her patriotic service of furnishing supplies (food) for the cause.  William is recognized for his civil service of serving as a juror and road surveyor.  According to the NSDAR, William died about 1782 in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

Census records indicate that Eleanor apparently never remarried but remained the head of the household rearing her children on the family farm at Beaver Creek, Wilkes County, North Carolina.  She died sometime after 1830 in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

Eleanor, Oh, Eleanor Harbin Triplett, one of few females recognized as a Revolutionary War patriot, how proud your descendants are of you with such strength, fortitude, courage, and resolve!

Sources:

·        Abbott, Hortense Ethel. Tripping Down the Triplett Path: Descendants of the Triplett Families, 1982.

·        Genealogical Research System, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/?tab_id=0

·       “My Triplett Family,” http://home.earthlink.net/~bdvw/debsfamilyhistory/id1.html