Back to the Drawing Board—John West and Mary Madden Revisited

Sometimes one needs to go back and retrace his steps and revisit an earlier analysis, observation, or decision.  That’s what I am doing.  I am going back to the possibility that John West and Mary Madden were the parents of my 5^th great grandfather, Alexander West I.

 

For quite some time, the preponderance of my data or, as some prefer to define it, the circumstantial evidence indicates that they were likely his parents.  First, let’s review my data relating to John West, the hypothetical father, and Alexander West, his hypothetical son.

·        John West was born about 1707.  Some writers suggest that he was born in Virginia. 

·        Alexander West (born between 1720 and 1730, died after 1790) was my 5^th great grandfather.  For purposes of differentiating him from the myriad other Alexander Wests, I have labeled him Alexander West I. 

·        According to my data and based on land and tax records and the birth years of the sons of Alexander West I, he was probably born between 1720 and 1730.  His sons were Alexander West II (born 1751, Orange County, NC) and John West (born about 1760, Orange County, NC).

·        In 1752 (entry of land) and 1754 (survey of land), William Mills had 216 acres of land surveyed on Stoney Creek, waters of Haw River [Orange County, NC] in November 1754.  This land was noted as joining that of John West.  Alexander West and William Mills, Jr. were the chain carriers for the survey.

·        Between 1752 and 1768, a John West, Sr. sold 100 acres of land in Orange County, NC, to Alexander West [Alexander West I]. [This entry in which “senior” is mentioned indicates that another John West existed.]

·        In 1755, Alexander West was listed in the North Carolina Census, 1790-1890, as living in Orange County, NC.

·        In 1775, Allexander West and Allexander West 2 were listed in the Surry County and Wilkes County, NC, Taxables, Vol. 1, 1771-1777.  His son Alexander West II would have been about 24 years old and would have been included in the tax records.  Alexander West II married Hannah Langley in 1777 in Orange County, NC.

·        Between 1778 and 1781 Alexander West was living in Wilkes County on or near the Yadkin River near William Triplett’s 160 acres.  It is impossible to determine if this Alexander was Alexander West I or Alexander West II.

·        In 1778 in a land entry book, James Tugman’s name was marked out and Alexander West’s name was written in place of it.  This entry was for 50 acres on the south side of Glady Branch in Wilkes County, NC.  Again, it is impossible to determine if this Alexander was Alexander West I or Alexander West II.

·        In 1779, a land entry for Alexander West for 100 acres on the north side of a branch that ran through John “Farbusons” [Ferguson] plantation had the names of Alex West, Wm. Brown and Daniel Johnson marked out.  John “Farguson” [Ferguson] was written in.   This record cites evidence of Alexander West’s presence in Wilkes County in 1779.  It is impossible to determine if this Alexander was Alexander West I or Alexander West II.

·        In 1784, Wilkes County, NC, land records indicated that Daniel Sutherlin received a 50 acres grant on “Glady Fork…Alexander West corner.” It is impossible to determine if this Alexander was Alexander West I or Alexander West II.

·        In 1787 Alexander West received 50 acres on both sides of Glady Fork. Isaac West and Bray Crisp were the chain carriers. It is impossible to determine if this Alexander was Alexander West I or Alexander West II.

·        North Carolina Tax Lists indicate that in 1782 Alexander West owned 30 acres in Wilkes County, and in 1805 Alexander West owned 200 acres in Burke County [present Caldwell].  It is impossible to determine which of these Alexanders was Alexander West I or Alexander West II.

·       The 1790 Census, Burke [present Caldwell], North Carolina, listed Alex West Senior in a household with 1 FWM under 16, 2 FWM over 16, 6 FWF for a total of 9 household members.  [This household was likely that of Alexander West II.  By this time, Alexander West II had a young son named Alexander West whom, for the sake of clarity, I have named Alexander West III.  Alexander West III married Patience L. Allen in 1804.  Let’s go a bit further with this line – Alexander West III and Patience L. Allen had a grandson named Alexander West (son of Ananias West and Abigail Lawes Crouch) who was born in 1844 and married Sarah Jane Brazeal.]

·       As previously noted, naming patterns often provide clues to familial relationships.  My 4^th great grandfather, John West, may have received his name from his grandfather John West, Sr. or from his uncle John West, Jr.  The name John was also given to John’s son, John Balus West, my 3^rd great grandfather.  Of course, the name Alexander was also given to my 2^nd great grandfather, Alexander Balus West.

·        In addition, an Alexander West is given as the father of Edith “Edy” West who married Archibald Fowler.  Edy was born about 1772.  I find it quite interesting that some of her sons were named West I. Fowler, John Wesley Fowler, and Alexander W. Fowler.  Of her grandchildren, the following names are evident: Alexander Fowler, John W. Pike, and Balus M. Pike.  Balus was the name given to my 3^rd gr grandfather, John Balus West, who would have been a 1^st cousin 1R of Balus M. Pike.  I do not have proof that Edith “Edy” West was the daughter of my Alexander West.

·       One of my on-line connections, Tom, who descends from Bray Crisp, believes that Bray Crisp married one of the daughters of Alexander West I. His information cites Bray Crisp’s wife as “Miss” West.  You may recall from information provided above that Bray Crisp and Isaac West were chain carriers for the survey of land purchased in 1787 on Glady Fork, Wilkes County, NC, by Alexander West.  Sometime later, Bray Crisp is found in South Carolina.

Several years ago, while researching at the North Carolina State Library and Archives, I found Blodwen West Boyle’s unpublished manuscript, Isaac West’s Family of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Dickson County, Tennessee, 1745-1814, printed in 1974.  I was quite fascinated by her work, believing that it was the answer to my dilemma.  Even though it did not prove that my Alexander West was a son of John West and Mary Madden, the document gave credence to my belief that he was their son and the brother of Isaac West.

In her document, Mrs. Boyle described Isaac West, whom she believed to be her ancestor and the son of John West and Mary Madden.  According to Mrs. Boyle’s documents, Isaac West was born about 1745 and married Susanna Anderson in 1769 in Orange County, North Carolina.  My 4^th great grandfather John West (born about 1760) and his brother Alexander West (born about 1751) were born in Orange County, North Carolina.  Isaac West and Susanna Anderson had a daughter, Phoebe West, who married Isaac Green.

Another interesting fact that I discovered in Mrs. Boyle’s document is that one of Isaac Green and Susanna Anderson’s grandsons was named Madden West, presumably after his great grandmother, Mary Madden.      

I recently learned of a Family Tree DNA, Family Finder, match that my sister, Sandy, and I have with Debbra whose 6th great grandmother was Phoebe West, wife of Isaac Green!  However, since my sister and I match this individual also through the Triplett lineage, it is difficult to know if our Family Finder match is through both lines or just through the Triplett line.

Another recent occurrence was the discovery of a published family history linking my Alexander West to John West and Mary Madden.  One of my blog readers, Ginger, sharing her West information with me, told me about the published genealogy, Relatives of the Browns of Mill Springs, Kentucky, Including the Fisher, Gaar, Gholson, Hutchison, Weaver and West Families, by James E. Brown and Margaret Brown Altendahl, published in 1992.  The compilers of this family history stated that John West (born about 1707) and Mary Madden were the parents of Solomon (born about 1726) who married Isabella Boyd, Mary Boyd(?), and Martha Norton; John West (born about 1728); Alexander West (born about 1728); an unidentified female (born about 1734) who married John Collins; an unidentified female (born about 1738) who married an unidentified Cole; Mary West (born about 1742) who married Hezekiah Collins; Isaac West (born about 1745), who married Susanna Anderson, daughter of Peter and Catherine Lynam Anderson; and Eleanor “Nellie” West (born about 1748) who married Alexander Barnhill.  Additionally, these compilers indicated that William and Thomas may have been two other sons.  Again, this published family history supports my theory that my Alexander West was the son of John West and Mary Madden.

However, the most revealing and confirming revelation came on October 29, 2013, in a response to an email that I sent a couple of weeks ago to one of my sister’s DNA matches, Tom.  Tom’s sister, Jane, shared the following West information that she had received from a recently deceased cousin. 

·        John West (born 1691 in Prince William County, Virginia, died in 1780 in Richmond County, Georgia) and Mary Madden were married in 1724 in Orange County, North Carolina, and had four children:  Solomon, b 1725; Alexander, b 1730; Isaac, b 1745; and Eleanor, b 1747.

·        After Mary’s death John West married Eleanor Massey in 1752 in Orange County, North Carolina, with whom he had the following children:  Daniel, Jacob, John Massey, Lucy, and James.  James had sons named Ephriam and Francis.

·       Jane and Tom descend from James’ son, Ephriam West.  Whereas, my sister and I descend from Alexander’s son, John.  Alexander and James, having different mothers, were half-brothers.

I knew that many of the Wests, including my 4^th great grandparents, John West and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon, the Isaac West family, and, possibly, for a short time, the family of Alexander West II, moved to South Carolina.  Jane indicated that most of the West ancestors descending from Eleanor Massey West moved to Georgia.  Only from the family history published by Brown and Altendahl did I first learn that Alexander West I may have migrated to Georgia, also.

Of the two of us, my sister, Sandy, is a DNA match with Tom; I am not a genetic match with him.  A significant fact about this genetic match between Sandy and Tom is the West connection Sandy shares with Tom is the only connection that we can confirm with the paper trail, indicating that the genetic connection with John West is likely a valid one.

In addition, Jane indicated that the source of her information, a recently deceased cousin, was sound.  Apparently, her cousin met a physician with whom he was a DNA match.  The physician-cousin, who descended from James’ son Francis, hired a “top gun” genealogist to determine the parentage of Francis West.  The information that Jane shared with me was obtained by that genealogist.

As I try to piece all of this information together, I believe, based on my research, that, in addition, to the four children listed by Jane, John West and Mary Madden had four other children: John West, Jr., born about 1728 in Orange County, North Carolina; Mary West, born in 1742 in Orange County, North Carolina, who married Hezekiah Collins; and another daughter who married a Cole.

Many thanks to Ginger, Debbra, Jane, and Tom for sharing their valuable and significant information.

Whew!  At long last, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together!

Melinda’s Legacy

When I began searching for my 3^rd great aunt, Melinda West, I immediately found her and her husband, Israel Presnell, in the 1880 United States Census living in White Water Township, Bollinger County, Missouri. She was 81 years old, and Israel was 85.  Both were listed as paupers.  According to the definition of paupers as used in census records, they may have been individuals who were dependent on some type of assistance or lived in the home of a family member.  However, Melinda and Israel were the only individuals listed at that residence.  Therefore, determining how they qualified as paupers is nebulous.

My first reaction was one of sadness to find that she was identified as “a pauper” in a state many miles from her birthplace of South Carolina and her childhood home of Wilkes County, North Carolina.  At the time of my initial search, I found no information about any children that she may have had.

Little did I know that my Aunt Melinda did, indeed, leave quite a legacy!

My search for Melinda was initiated a couple of years ago with the expectations of learning more about my 4^th and 5^th great grandfathers who were John West and Alexander West I.  John West was Melinda’s father, and Alexander was her grandfather. Since I began my genealogical endeavors, Alexander West I has been my “brick wall.” John West, her father, has been elusive, also.

Family lore and the 1810 census record indicate that John’s wife, Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon, and their three young children returned to Wilkes, North Carolina, after John’s death in South Carolina.  The couple had moved from Wilkes, North Carolina, to South Carolina sometime after their marriage in 1796.  According to census records, the three children were born in South Carolina.  John Balus West was born about 1798, Melinda about 1799, and another daughter after 1798.

Recently, I learned about Melinda’s legacy from my cousin, Joanne, who discovered it through her research.  Although Melinda never lived to see the accomplishments of her descendants, several of them became prosperous and well-known.

My paper trail revealed that Melinda and Israel married in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on December 12, 1819.  In 1820 they appeared in the census for Wilkes, North Carolina. By the 1850 census, they were living in Brazeau, Perry, Missouri; in 1870 they were in Union, Bollinger, Missouri; and in 1880 they resided in White Water, Bollinger, Missouri. Their five children, Stephen Joseph, Eveline, Isaac, Solomon, and Carolina, were born between the years of 1828 and 1843, one in North Carolina, one in Kentucky, one in Illinois, and two in Missouri.  The lives of Melinda and Israel certainly were typical of those who moved westward to find a better life in the first half of the 1800s.

Surprisingly, the lineage from Melinda and Israel’s son, Stephen Joseph Presnell, and his daughter Susan Frances Presnell led to the Limbaugh family!  The following list represents the direct-line descendants from Alexander West I to the Limbaugh family.

·         Alexander West I (between 1720-1730 - after 1790) and unknown spouse

·         John West (1760-about 1800) and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon (1760-after 1840)

·         Melinda West (about 1799-after 1800) and Israel Presnell (about 1795-1884)

·         Stephen Joseph Presnell (1828-1881) and Elizabeth Hudson (1826-1904)

·         Susan Frances Presnell (1852-1938) and Joseph Hadley Limbaugh (1844-1898)

·         Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Sr. (1891-1996) and Beulah Maude Seabough (1891-1977)

·         Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Jr. (1918-1990) and Mildred Carolyn Armstrong (1925-2000)

·         Rush Hudson Limbaugh, III

Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Sr. was a lawyer who served as a Missouri prosecutor, judge, special commissioner, member of the Missouri House of Representatives, and president of the Missouri Historical Society. The Federal Courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is named for him.  Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Jr. was also a lawyer.   Rush Limbaugh, III is the conservative talk-show host.

At this point in my narrative, my readers must be curious as to what my relationship is with Rush Limbaugh, III.  According to my genealogical paper-trail, my cousin Joanne, my sister Sandy, and I share the relationship of 5^th cousins with Rush Limbaugh, III.  Our most recent common ancestors were John West and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon who were our 4^th great grandparents.

Melinda would have been proud; she left a legacy that will not be forgotten.

Thanks, Joanne, for your discovery!

Sources:

·         Missouri, Find a Grave Index, 1812-2011

·         Missouri, Deaths and Burials Index, 1873-1976

·         Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002

·         North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868

·         North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004

·         Social Security Death Index

·         United States Census Records for 1810, 1820,1850,1870, 1800, 1900, 1920, 1930

·         U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

·         West, John Foster. “History of West Family Is Given,” The Journal-Patriot, North Wilkesboro, NC, Nov. 8, 1976

·         Wikipedia.org

The West Patriarchs: 3rd in a Series, John Balus West

John Balus West was the first child and only son of John West and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon.  Various census records indicate that he was born between 1795 and 1798 in South Carolina. The only documentations found for the year and location of his birth are those given in the North Carolina census records.  Since his name was written on land records as “Balus” West, his friends and family must have called him by that name. I have always been puzzled by that name, Balus.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, the name is spelled several different ways.  I use the spelling, Balus, which is one spelling most commonly found on the latest court documents.  Where did the name come from?  Was it a surname of a maternal grandmother?  However, I have found no evidence that it was a maternal grandmother’s surname.  The best explanation is that provided by Irene Hendrix Basey.  Mrs. Basey indicated that he was probably named for a prominent figure, John Baylis Earle, in the Greenville District of South Carolina, which is now Greenville County, South Carolina.  Mrs. Basey said that John Baylis Earle’s “local popularity was such that numerous male infants were named for him.”  She continued that the name “still occurs with some frequency in that part of South Carolina.”[i]

John Balus West’s father, John West, died while the family was living in South Carolina.  His mother, Peggy, returned to Wilkes County, North Carolina, with her three young children.  Peggy West is found in the 1810 Wilkes County Census with these children: 1 FWM of 10 and under 16, 1 FWF of 10 and under 16, and 1 FWF under 10.  The head of the household was Peggy West (1 FWF of 45 and over).  Other than some of the census records listing John Balus West as born in South Carolina (1850 census) and his sister, Melinda, as born in South Carolina (1880 census), no other documentation for this family having lived in South Carolina has been discovered at this time.

John Balus West married Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson on August 21, 1818, in Wilkes County, North Carolina.  Mary Ann was the daughter of William Swanson and Elizabeth Stations.  She was born about 1799 in Mount Zion, Wilkes County and died after 1880 in Mt. Zion, Wilkes County.  She was noted in the 1880 census as living with her son Franklin West but was not listed again in the 1890 census.  John Balus West died on July 20, 1871 in Mount Zion, Wilkes County.  At this point in time, no burial site can be found for John Balus and Mary Ann.  Again, how sad, it is when no evidence exists of one’s remains.

According to John Foster West[ii] and Mrs. Basey, John Balus and Mary Ann Swanson West continued to live for several years in the same section between Elkville and Ferguson of Wilkes County where Balus had grown up.  According to land records that I have researched and documented, in 1835 John Balus purchased 200 acres of land from John B. Ferguson on the waters of Stony Fork and Mason’s Branch. In 1842 he received a land grant for 50 acres on the waters of Redy Branch.  His sons Franklin and A. B. West served as chain carriers – those who carried the heavy metal chains, which were about 66 feet or 4 poles, used to measure the land.  In 1847, he received another land grant for 30 acres on Stony Fork for which he paid $5.00 per hundred acres.  In 1855 with another land grant he received 86 acres on the waters of Stony Fork.  In 1860 he purchased 73 acres from A. M. Foster on the waters of Naked Creek.  Recently, I found an abstract which indicates that John Balus received a land grant for 100 acres on the Yadkins River as early as 1832.  This, perhaps, was in the vicinity of Lewis Fork. With about 560 acres of land, I would assume that John Balus West could be considered a somewhat, well-to-do farmer in his time.  He was relatively uneducated according to “schooling” as was evident by the “X” that he made for his name on legal documents.  The fact that he could not read or write may be the reason for the various spellings of his name.

In 1847 John Balus sold 230 acres on the waters of Stony Fork for $300 to his second son, Alexander Balus West.  Then in 1860, he sold 86 acres on Mason’s Branch for $86 to his eldest son, Franklin W. West.

John Balus and Mary Ann “Polly” had nine children:

·         Franklin W. West (born bet. 1818 and 1820- died 1897) who married Cynthia Adeline   Holder;

·         Margaret “Peggy” West (1828 -?) who married Wilson Hendrix;

·         Alexander Balus West (1828-1864) who married Nancy Land;

·         William Thomas Jefferson West (1830-1863) who married Nancy West, his third cousin, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson West and Elizabeth McCrary of Caldwell County[iii];

·         Melinda “Linda” West (1832-1919) who married Tom Cox;

·         Elizabeth West (1835- bef 1850);

·         Mary Ann “Ann” West (1837-1917) who married William Hamilton Barnett;

·         John Witherspoon West (1840-1915) who married Catherine West, his third cousin, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson West and Elizabeth McCrary of Caldwell County[iv]; and

·         Lucy West (1842-?).

Franklin West’s tombstone(s) reflect(s) the inscription of 1818 for his birth year.  However, census records indicate that he was probably born in 1819 or 1820.  His parents married on August 21, 1818. The mystery surrounding his tombstone(s) will be a saga for another post.

No records can be found for Elizabeth West. Her birth date is undocumented, and she is not found in any census records in which the names of the family members are provided.  The first census which included names of household members was the 1850 census; she was not listed in that census.  However, Lucy who was born in 1842 or 1843 was included in the 1850 census as being 7 years old.  No other evidence of Lucy exists; she would have been 17 by the 1860 census and might have been married by that time.

Sadly, for this family two of their sons were killed in the Civil War fighting with the Confederate States of America.  William Thomas Jefferson West was killed at Petersburg, Virginia, in 1863, and Alexander Balus West, my 2^nd great grandfather, was killed at Winchester, Virginia, in 1864.  Franklin West, who would have been about 40 or 41 years old in 1861, too old to serve in the regular army, served in the North Carolina Senior Reserves.  John Witherspoon West was of an age to serve with his brothers but was not eligible because of a crippled hand.[v]

John Balus and Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson West left a quite a legacy with many descendants, many of whom still reside in Wilkes and neighboring North Carolina counties.  I have been so fortunate to have made contact with several of these cousins, my “Internet cousins,” descended from our common ancestors, Alexander West I, John West/Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon, and John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson.  These Internet cousins are my second, third, fourth and sixth cousins with some being one or two times removed. I haven’t yet discovered any fifth Internet cousins. I have actually spoken with a few of them on the telephone but have never yet met any of them in person.  However, I am excited about meeting a fourth Internet cousin in the near future!  I truly appreciate and enjoy my contacts with them and thank them for the assistance that they have given me in my ancestral quest for our West ancestors.

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[i] Dunn, Linda Basey, Ancestry.com. Nov. 2, 2010,                  http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/20904524/person/1110849032/media/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum

[ii] West, John Foster, “History of the West Family,” Journal-Patriot of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Nov. 8,

   1976.

[iii] Thomas Jefferson West was the son of Alexander West II and Hannah Langley and the brother of John West who

   was John Balus West’s father.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] West, John Foster, “History of the West Family,” Journal-Patriot of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Nov. 8,

   1976.

The West Patriarchs: 2nd in a Series, John West

After an interruption in this series, which I started a couple of weeks ago so that I could address some other topics that were lying heavily on my mind, we will get back to those founding fathers of this West family by discussing my 5^th great grandfather and his wife, John West and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon.

Previously and frequently, since I have expressed my dismay at finding so little evidence for my sixth great grandfather, Alexander West I, I am reluctant to mention my fifth, John West (about 1760-about 1800), who is even more elusive than his father, with no written records to support his existence.  Only the oral family histories recorded by individuals who lived much closer in time to these ancestors provide us with some information on which to base our claims.   Two of these individuals were John Foster West and Irene Hendrix Basey, whom I have referenced in previous posts.  All of us who are researching this West family are certainly indebted to these two individuals for their contributions in recording this oral history.  Without them, we would have nothing!

Supposedly (Remember, I have no proof!), John West was the son of Alexander West I, was born about 1760 in Orange County, North Carolina, and married Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in 1796.  Peggy’s parents were supposedly John and Elizabeth Witherspoon.  If indeed, this John and Elizabeth Witherspoon were the parents of our Peggy, some evidence exists that John Witherspoon migrated from New Castle County, Delaware, and died in 1801.  His will was dated March 11, 1801, in Rowan County, North Carolina and also, in New Castle County, Delaware.  Another will, the first in Wilkes County, of another John Witherspoon was probated in 1778.  So, which one is the real father of Peggy West?

Sometime after their marriage, John West and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon West moved to upper South Carolina where their three children were born and where he died at a relatively young age.  In researching South Carolina records, finding the “right” John West has been impossible since so many John Wests lived there during this period of time.  And, I do not have a middle name for this John West which makes research additionally difficult. I hope to make a research trip to the State Library of South Carolina in Columbia this fall.

Apparently, after his death, Peggy, as she was called according to John Foster West[i], returned to Wilkes County “to live near her relatives in the same general neighborhood where Alexander West I had lived.”[ii]   She appears in the 1810 census as head of the household with three children: one free white male age 10-15 who would have been John Balus West; one free white female age 10-15 who would have been Melinda West; and one free white female under 10 who would have been an unknown daughter.  The other individual listed in the census was one free white female 45 and over who would have been Peggy, the head of the household.  Other on-line genealogists who are researching this same West family include additional children in their family trees, but my research does not support any other children born to John West and Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon.  In the 1830 census Peggy was recorded as being between the age of 70-79 and living with “Balus” West who was her son.  Again, in the 1840 census she was in his household and was listed as between 80-89 years of age.  Since she did not appear in the 1850 census, the assumption may be made that she died between 1840 and 1850.

As with Alexander West I, no evidence of a grave may be found for John West or Peggy West.  One may assume, perhaps inaccurately, that he was buried in South Carolina where he died.  But where is Peggy buried?   Was her body placed in a family plot which may or may not exist today?

According to the data from census records, John Balus West was born in South Carolina about 1798.  His sister, Malinda, was born about 1799 in South Carolina.  She is found in the 1880 census at the approximate age of 81 living with her husband, Israel Presnell, age 85, in White Water, Bollinger, Missouri.  According to North Carolina Marriage Bonds, they were married in Wilkes County on December 12, 1819.  This census record indicates that she was born in South Carolina.  Sadly, in the 1880 census, she and her husband were recorded as being paupers.  I have not been able to locate any documented information about the younger sister who would have been born in South Carolina, also.

So many questions to be answered about John West :   his parentage, his middle name, the name of and information about his younger daughter, where he died, where he is buried, why he died apparently at a relative young age, why he moved to South Carolina...   Will we ever know?

The more that I research my ancestors, the more I am saddened that so many died without a trace of their existence. 

[i] West, John Foster, “History of the West Family,” Journal-Patriot of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Nov. 8, 1976.

[ii] Basey, Irene Hendrix, “West Family,” Heritage of Wilkes County, 1982.  Mrs. W. O. Absher, ed., Wilkesboro, NC: Wilkes County Genealogical Society, Inc., 1982.

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The Cemetery

In my last post I described the land at Stony Fork.  In this one I would like to go a step further in the description by telling about the family cemetery plot that is located there.

During my first visit to Stony Fork with my cousins, one cousin (CALT) told about her mother, Flora West Lowe, visiting the homeland sometime prior to her death in 1993.  According to the story, Flora took her cousin, Edna Triplett Coder, with her, and the two of them cleaned up the family plot and put a split rail fence around it. The farmhouse where Thomas Harvey and America Ann McNeil West had lived was still standing on the site across and down the road from the cemetery on Mt. Zion Road just before Stony Fork Road branches to the right off Mt. Zion Road.  Land records indicate that the Wests owned land on both sides of Stony Creek.  An assumption can be made that their land must have been on both sides of Mt. Zion Road, also.

In our efforts to locate the land, we talked with several individuals in the area, one of whom identified the family plot and said that the owners kept a path mowed up to it.  The plot is located adjacent to a barn and corral on a knoll in a well-maintained field or pasture.   We drove to the location and walked up the knoll to the plot.  We found the fence rotting and falling down and the ground within the fence covered with thick, high grass which was taller than our heads.  Even though CALT ventured into the thicket of grass, she didn’t stay very long and said that she saw no evidence of any grave markers.  I, being afraid of poison ivy and snakes, didn’t risk going in.  Out of respect and desire to preserve the cemetery, both of us felt that we would like to clean it up.

The farmer who helped us identify the land and cemetery said that it was owned by a Jesse Horton and that “he planned to do something with it.”  We didn’t know exactly what this meant.  Did he mean the development of a subdivision or some other type of development? 

For almost a year, I have been trying to find out who owned the land on which this family cemetery is located and to get in touch with this owner.  Even though I searched the White Pages and Yellow Pages on the Internet, called directory assistance for phone numbers, made phone calls, and wrote a letter, I was unable to find the owner.  In February 2011, I received a phone call from the one who received my letter.  He had been the mail carrier on the Stony Fork/Mt. Zion mail route and had known the Wellborn family very well.  He described the nickname that Mr. Wellborn had given him.  Of course, these Wellborn heirs would have been a much later generation of Wellborns than those who originally took ownership of the farm.  He was extremely helpful in confirming that we had found the location of the farm and that we had identified the site where the farmhouse had been.   He described the farmhouse, which burned sometime after 1993, as being a very nice, well-kept, two-story white house.  He thought the present owner, Mr. Jesse Horton, who had lived for some time in a double-wide home on the site of the farmhouse, lived in Wilkesboro.  I still didn’t know how to reach him!  

Oh my!  I have gotten sidetracked again, but some additional knowledge about the farm is important to understanding the context of the cemetery.  And now, back to the cemetery!

Of course, we assumed that this cemetery plot was the West Family Plot about which CALT had learned from her mother.  Recently, with the help of a 4^th cousin whom I have met on the Internet (JJL) and Wilkes County cemetery research completed by a 5^th cousin 1x removed (GFM),  I have learned that this cemetery is the Thomas Land Family Cemetery.   William Thomas and Nancy Jane Carlton Land (my 3^rd great grandparents) were the parents of Nancy Land West who was the wife of Alexander Balus West and mother of Thomas Harvey West.   Many thanks go to JJL and GFM for your help in solving this piece of the puzzle.

As I have researched land documents and, more recently, minutes of church proceedings, I have found that the Wests, Swansons, Witherspoons, Lands, Carltons, McNeils, Fergusons, and Barlows, apparently all lived within close proximity to each other, often owning adjacent properties.  As a widow, Nancy Land West bought land from her parents which, of course, went to her only child, Thomas Harvey West. 

Likewise, Thomas Harvey’s father, Alexander Balus West, had purchased some of his father’s land (John Balus West).  Moreover, Franklin West had purchased some land from his father, John Balus West.  Other children of John Balus West may have purchased land from him, also.  I just haven’t delved that deeply into the records of Alexander Balus West’s siblings.  Therefore, determining who originally owned which parcels of land is extremely difficult. 

In retrospect, remember that the parcels of land in this area that belonged to Alexander Balus West/Nancy Land West and their only child, Thomas Harvey West/America Ann McNeil, were traded by Thomas Harvey West for the land in Banner Elk, North Carolina, owned by the G. W. Wellborn family, about 1902.

Furthermore, one may easily see why recent generations thought that the cemetery was the West family plot.  In fact, two “known” West children, A. J. West and Willard A. West who were the young children of Thomas Harvey and Nancy Land West, are buried in the Thomas Land Family Cemetery. 

According to the Wilkes County Cemetery Database[i] maintained by GFM and JDM, the plot is 75’X50’ with 8 marked graves and approximately 10 unmarked graves.   At the time of the verification of the cemetery and graves in 1989, identifiable graves were those of the following:  Jane Carlton Land, T. C. “Tommy” Land, Thomas Land, Jim Pennell, Robinett Infant, Molly Land Robinett, A. J. West, and Willard A. West.  Some of these tombstones were turned over and/or broken.

During my last visit to Wilkesboro, North Carolina on June 16 and 17, 2011, I was able to determine the present owners of the property on which this cemetery is located.  Currently, nearly 5,000 acres of land in the Stony Fork/Mt. Zion community, which likely includes all of the land formerly owned many years ago by the Wests, Swansons, Witherspoons, Lands, Carltons, McNeils, Fergusons, and Barlows, are currently owned by the Tuscarora Ranch, LLC, the grantee, with the grantors being the trustees of the Mingo Tribal Preservation Trust.  The trustees are listed as Jesse W. Horton, Jr., Mark R. Ricks, and George R. Wilson. 

I have written the Tuscarora Ranch asking permission to repair the fence around the plot and possibly cut back some of the tall grass that covers it.  Also, I have asked permission to make periodic visits to the cemetery and to do some minimal maintenance.   Cutting back the grass and repairing the fence, along with occasional visits, would indicate that the cemetery has not been forgotten and abandoned.  If we are granted this permission, I hope to find some “cousins” who would be willing to help!

Regarding the tall grass – I have recently learned from cousin GFM that the tall grass found on the plot was planted by the owners as, I presume, a means of protection.  Cutting the grass only makes it come back thicker.  Digging it up would only disturb the graves.  Therefore, the best thing to do at the end of winter weather before new growth begins would be to cut it back enough in order to reveal the markers and provide the appearance of being maintained.

Note:  In legal documents, the name Wellborn is spelled several different ways (Welborn, Wellborn, Wellborne,  Welborne, and Wellbourne).  I am using the spelling found in a family historical article written by Homer C. Wellborn, G. W. Wellborn’s son.

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[i] McNeil, George F. and Joyce D. McNeil. “Wilkes County Database.” Wilkesboro, NC, 2009.