Morgan’s, Beckerdite’s, Hall’s and Haltom’s

Ever since finding out that Caroline Morgan, the daughter of Col Hardy Morgan, married Colin Beckerdite, I have been on a quest to figure out how they possibly could have met. To the best of my knowledge, there were no Beckerdite’s in Montgomery County, North Carolina until after 1850. In 1853, Elmira Hall, daughter of John and Nancy (Hill) Hall of Davidson County, married Benjamin Lindsey Beckerdite in Montgomery County. Lindsey is the son of John Beckerdite and Elizabeth Yokley of Randolph County.

In 1860, Lindsey and Elmira Beckerdite live in the Fork District, current day Eldorado, and are the only Beckerdite’s listed in Montgomery County for that Census. By 1870, Lindsey and Elmira (Hall) Beckerdite have left Montgomery and are living in Randolph County.

By 1880, Lindsey and Elmira are in Stanly County.

A John Hall died from Dropsy in 1870 in Eldorado, Montgomery County, North Carolina and is found on the U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules. His age is listed as 56, making him born about 1814. This John Hall may be the father of Elmira Hall Beckerdite.

Another John Hall migrated into Montgomery County from Randolph County around 1840 when he bought three tracts of land, a saw and a grist mill from Ebenezer Morgan. This may be the John Hall that would become known as 'One Arm' John after he lost part of his arm in 1857 due to an incident that happened at his mill.

'One Arm' John Hall was the son of James Hall and Hannah Kearns. He had a brother named William. 'One Arm' John had 11 children by Frances Steed, 6 by Margaret Talbert and 5 by Margaret's sister, Sarah Talbert. He was never legally married to Sarah. 

In my post E.F. Morgan, I wrote about Ebenezer Morgan selling land to John Hall from Randolph County for the sum of $725, and lying on the east bank of Barnes Creek, land that included a Grist Mill and a Saw Mill. Two other tracts of land, known to many as the McCullough tract and Spencer tract, sold to John Hall at this same time.

I wonder if the McCullough tract could be part of the Henry Eustace McCullough land. There is a fascinating post about the McCullough tract found here and well worth the read.

The metes and bounds described in the deed states ‘sd river’ but the river is never actually named. However, the deed does state from the beginning that the land begins on the east bank of Barnes Creek at and near its mouth of sd river. There is no other river there except the Uwharrie River. Of interest to me is that the land adjoins the corner of Shadrach Stewart, who is most likely the son of John Stewart who married Rachel Morgan, the daughter of Charles Morgan, Chatham County.

Shadrach Stewart migrated to McNairy County, Tennessee and is named in the Revolution War pension file for John Stewart. Shadrach Stewart is buried in Old Montezuma Cemetery in Chester County, Tennessee – the same place John is buried. Most research I read suggests that Shadrach Stewart married Mary Hurley and at least one of the children’s death certificate states mother’s maiden name as Hurley.

Currently, the confirmed children of Hardy Morgan are Caroline, the Newspaper article dated 1843 telling of her death in Mississippi states she is the daughter of col. H. Morgan, Montgomery county, N.C. Hardy and Nancy Morgan’s other confirmed children are Whitfield, Camilla and Nancy, all found on the 1850 Census in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

Hardy Morgan made his first appearance in Montgomery County on the 1810 Census. It appears he is newly married, about 25 years old. Hardy is living in Hattom, located close to Henderson, and shows one male child under the age of ten years. The child is most likely Alexander Morgan who was born in Old Henderson and died in New Albany, Mississippi in 1860. Hardy was born about 1785 so prior to 1810; he most likely was living at home with his parents. The big questions are who are his parents? Is he new to Montgomery County or has he lived there all or most of his life?

On the 1840 Census, Colin and Caroline Morgan Beckerdite are found in McNairy County, Tennessee. Colin is about 35 years of age, making him born about 1805. Caroline is about 25 years of age, making her born about 1815. Since Hardy Morgan was already in Montgomery County by 1810, I can safely assume that Caroline was born there. Colin was not born in Montgomery County though as there are no Beckerdite’s in Montgomery at that time.

The death notice for Caroline asked that the Salisbury, Asheboro and Fayetteville N.C. papers copy, most likely, so that the family back home would know of Caroline’s death. I found it curious that the Asheboro papers were mentioned. Who did the Morgan or Beckerdite families know in Randolph County that would be interested in such family news?

In Randolph County, North Carolina, I found the estate papers of Amos Beckerdite who died Sep 1815. Mary Beckerdite, Amos’ widow, was petitioning the court for her dower rights. The underage children are provided a guardian and are listed as John Beckerdite, Colin Beckerdite and Mary (Polly) Beckerdite. On the early court papers, John is listed and the later court records Emsley is listed. I am considering the possibility that John Emsley is one and the same person, just going by his first name at an earlier age and then by his middle name as he gets older. Such is the case for Mary mentioned as Polly in the earlier record but Mary in the later.

From the court record, the guardian of the children changed at least three times. The first being William Ingram in 1815, the second being Joshua Crow in 1818, and the third being Charles Steed in 1825.

As was the usual process, when a widow petitioned the court for her dower, several men, usually free-holders, who had no connection to the widow, were enlisted to survey the lands of the deceased. Their job was to lay off and allot one third of the land to the widow, in this case 66 acres, as well as inventory the crop, stock and goods for one year’s supply of provisions for the family. The remainder of the land and estate was sold and the money divided between the heirs-at-law.

Of the free-holders enlisted to lay off land and provisions for the widow Mary Beckerdite, one name caught my eye, Phinehas Nixon. In my Blog John Stewart and Rachel Morgan I made mention of a woman who provided a letter of reference to John Stewart for his Revolutionary War pension transfer from North Carolina to Tennessee, Elizabeth Nixon (Hardy Morgan had spelled her surname as Nixtion). Hardy Morgan had stated that he had known this woman from his infancy. I was curious to find out who the Nixon woman was because there were no Nixon’s in Montgomery County and if Hardy had known her from his infancy, where did he know her from?

Unfortunately, the only watercourse listed in the dower record is the Uwharrie River and there are no neighbors listed, so I have no clues in this record that would lead me to locate where the land of Amos Beckerdite was other than being on the Uwharrie River.

Phinehas Nixon was of the Quaker community in Randolph County, NC and his name is found repeatedly in the Randolph County Back Creek Monthly Meeting Men´s Minutes, 1792-1840. In just one meeting, he was listed five times.

A Phinehas Nixon is found in the North Carolina, 1784-1787 State Census in Perquimans County. A Phinehas Nixon has two land grants for Montgomery County, North Carolina. Grant number 855 that was altered by a court order that I am not able to find, entered 1793, issued 1795, for 200 acres on Long Creek (current area of Stanly County) and grant number 900, entered 1794 and issued 1795, for 100 acres of land on Long Creek.

Long Creek, as its name implies, is a long creek. It is located on the west side of the Pee Dee River and flows nearly through the entirety of Stanly County. According to the means of travel in the late 1700 to early 1800s, Long Creek was far from Barnes Creek on the east side of the Pee Dee River, where the Morgan’s lived. By 1790, Phineas Nixon is located in Randolph County.

So, it does not appear that Phinehas Nixon ever lived on the land in Montgomery County, but rather, he chose to live on Caraway Creek in Randolph County, on land that adjoined the Beckerdite’s, the Rush’s and the Moore’s. I do not know how the Beckerdite’s acquired their land as I am not able to find a land grant for that surname (I tried various spellings on the searches). There are land grants for the Rush’s and the Moore’s that can be found at nclandgrants.com.

Caraway Creek is located on the Uwharrie River in Randolph County some 15 miles north of Barnes Creek, where the Morgan’s lived in Montgomery County. Barnes Creek is mostly located in Montgomery County but does run into Randolph County. It is not far-fetched to wonder if Hardy Morgan once lived in Randolph County. Alternatively, perhaps there was a trading post between the areas of Caraway Creek and Barnes Creek or a church community where all these families met. It is certain that the people of these two areas interacted with one another as Caroline Morgan met and married Colin Beckerdite. Somehow, they knew each other.

I finally found the estate record for Phinehas Nixon probated 1838. The estate file names his wife as Millicent, therefore, this is not the Nixon family I am looking for. I am looking for an Elizabeth Nixon. However, I now have some clues of where the Nixon’s might be from and will continue to search the records to see if I can find Elizabeth Nixon. I have a suspicion that wherever Elizabeth is from, Hardy Morgan is from the same place.

While digging through records in Tennessee, I discovered another couple with roots in Uwharrie who migrated west and is related to Colin Beckerdite. Green Haltom was born 17 May 1810 in Montgomery County, North Carolina and is the son of Charles Haltom and Rhoda Harris. In another mysterious meeting, Green Haltom happens across the sister of Colin Beckerdite, Mary, and in what must have been a double wedding; Green and Mary wed the same time as Colin and Caroline. The first children born from both of these unions, Ezekiel Haltom and Martha Beckerdite, share the same birth year, 1832.

Green and Mary did not leave for Tennessee at the same time Colin and Caroline did. Census records indicate that the first child born in Tennessee for Colin and Caroline is James Beckerdite, born in 1839. Green and Mary were still in Montgomery County in 1840 as they are found on the 1840 Census in West Pee Dee River, Montgomery.

By 1850, in what looks like a mass exodus from Montgomery County, the Russell’s, Haltom’s, Merritt’s, Reynolds’ and Saunders’ were now living in Tennessee. Green and Mary Beckerdite Haltom would remain in Tennessee the remainder of their lives.

Green died 26 Mar 1879 and Mary, Colin Beckerdite’s sister, would die in 1909. Both are buried at Pleasant Springs Cemetery in Chester County, Tennessee, just some 10 minutes away from Old Montezuma Cemetery where the Stewarts are buried.

I found your daddy, William Buck Marks

I began Uwharrie Roots on 17 Sep 2017 as a way to explore the life of my third great grandfather, William Buck Marks. I posted my first Blog about him on 24 Sep 2017 and explored some of the options available based on my family tradition that says William Marks was hired by Michael Fesperman to tutor his children but instead ran off with his daughter, Leah, who became my third great grandmother.

Family members, over the years, had been searching for Buck Marks, where did he come from, who were his parents and siblings? Not much was known about his life prior to his marriage to my third great grandmother, Leah Caroline Fesperman in 1848/9.

I DNA tested in Aug 2017 in hopes of finding Marks DNA matches. Since then, several older members of my family have DNA tested and I have many distant cousin matches that I am investigating. Some of them I have figured out and others are still a mystery.

DNA testing provided me the link to Chatham County that I needed in order to figure out which Marks line was mine. Previously, I had found many documents containing information about the Marks family from Chatham County, but the people were just names on a page and I did not know how I related to them. DNA testing linked me to several Marks lines in Chatham County and based on the amount of DNA I shared with the other tester I knew how I related to them. I was then able to trace their lines back to the common ancestor and then forward to how the common ancestor would be related to my third great grandfather.

I am happy to report that after a year of research, I have accomplished my goal and found my fourth great grandparents, the parents of William Buck Marks. I am now on the hunt for my fifth great grandparents, the grandparents of William Buck Marks.

Let me tell you what I have discovered over the past year.

Shortly after DNA testing, I found a Marks DNA match who showed as a fourth to fifth cousin. I made contact and we began the traditional genealogy research that is required to find the family connection. My DNA cousin match had the 1865 estate record of Louisa Marks from Chatham County that listed most of the Marks family relationships – what a treasure! Included in that estate record is my third great grandfather, William Marks.

The estate records of Louisa Marks shows that Wesley Pendergrass, who was married to Louisa’s Aunt, Mary Marks, to the use of E.O. Pendergrass, made complaint against J.A. Womack, public Administrator to the estate of Louisa Marks, for a debt of some $300. Louisa, the daughter of Lucinda Marks and unknown father, was living with Wesley and Mary Marks Pendergrass at the time of her death in 1865. Wesley paid room and board, medical bills and burial expenses for both Louisa and her mother, Lucinda. He was looking for reimbursement from the estate of Louisa Marks.

J.A. Womack, public Administrator, answered the complaint acknowledging some areas and stating he had no knowledge of other areas of the life of Louisa Marks.

J.A. Womack believes that Susan (Marks) Burns, the Aunt of Louisa Marks, sister to Lucinda, is a material and necessary witness for him in this cause, and states that she be summoned and questioned about the work that Louisa did as a servant for Wesley Pendergrass while living at his home. Some of the handwriting is difficult to make out but it looks like Susan Burns is delayed by sickness.

Testimony by J.S. Davis, a neighbor to Wesley Pendergrass, eludes to the fact that Louisa was a family member and that she regularly was seen working about the house and yard. So much so, that J.S. Davis says that he would be happy to clothe and board Louisa for the services she provided to Wesley Pendergrass.

The next record in the file shows that in the spring term of 1872, Wesley’s case was dismissed.

According to the court documents, Louisa was of Chatham County, she departed this life intestate (without a will), and letters of administration were granted to John Womack, who is now the defendant in the case. Louisa never married and both her mother and father are deceased and the following next of kin are entitled to her estate; William Marks (my third great grandfather), Susan Burns, Mary, wife of Wesley Pendergrass, Samuel Brewer and Asa, Bytha, Nancy and Susan Thomas who are children of Lomy Thomas, Claudia, wife of Joseph Boon, and Scott Thomas who is a grandson of said Lomy and Thomas Marks and Fanny wife of Andrew Lloyd and Lucian, William and Simeon Marks and the defendant Ewell Marks who is a non-resident of the state.

As the case unfolded, it was determined that some of the Plaintiffs are minors. Scott Thomas, Flora Thomas, and Simeon Marks are under the age of twenty-one and Wesley Pendergrass is allowed to appear on their behalf.

In an attempt to sort out the relatives, W.H. Burns (William Henry, son of Susan Marks Burns), provides some insight into who the members of the family are. Louisa Marks died after she reached the age of twenty-one and left neither mother, father, brother nor sister. The next of kin are divided up as follows:
1. William Marks who is a brother of Louisa’s mother
2. Children of Lomy Thomas, who is now dead, she was a sister of Louisa's mother and wife of George Thomas. She is dead but leaves the following children and grandchildren to wit, Asa Thomas, Bytha, Nancy, Betsy and Susan Thomas. Claudia Boon wife of Joseph Boon and the children of Evan Thomas who is dead viz, Scott and Flora
3. Willis Marks was a brother of the intestates mother. He is dead and leaves the following children Fanny Lloyd wife of Andrew Lloyd and Thomas Marks
4. Susan Burns a sister of the intestates mother
5. Mary Pendergrass wife of Wesley Pendergrass who is a sister of the intestates mother
6. The family of Zachaeus Marks who was brother to the intestates mother. He is now dead and leaves the following children, viz, Lucian, William and Simon Marks. His widow is living and is named Emeline Marks.
7. Becky Marks a sister of the intestates mother married a Brewer. She is now dead and leaves only one child, Samuel Brewer
8. Ewell Marks was a brother of the intestates mother. He immigrated to Mississippi several years ago and has not been heard from for many years

Of the above Scott and Flora Thomas and Simeon Marks are under twenty-one years of age. The others are over twenty-one years of age. The witness is a son of Susan Burns

Further attempts to sort out all the relatives revealed, not only, that Ewell Marks had left town and not heard from for many years and presumed dead, but also that William Marks had moved to Montgomery or Stanly County. Finally! Proof that this was my Marks line! In 1865, the only William Marks in Montgomery or Stanly County was my third great grandfather.

The Probate Judge, William Foushee, on 28 Apr 1875, ordered a publication in the Raleigh Weekly News, a Newspaper published in the city of Raleigh, for six weeks notifying Ewell Marks to appear at the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court within twenty days after the service of the summons.

To my knowledge, Ewell did not receive the message and never appeared. According to my research, Ewell left Chatham County as early as 1837 and is found on the Henry County, Tennessee tax list. By 1850, Ewell is married to Harriet Shelton from Tennessee and the couple are making their way to James Bayou Township, Mississippi County, Missouri where they are found on the 1860 Census with Harriet’s brother, John Shelton, an unidentified ten year old boy named Yancey Well (or Welb) and Jane Shelton, age 6. A fellow researcher and distant cousin has done some investigative work on Ewell and posted a Blog on him.

On 13 August 1875, the account of the Administrator, J.A. Womack, was taken. William Foushee, Probate Judge, found that the fees of the Administrator were $114.22 and that the estate of Louisa Marks was in debt in the amount of $22.00, which must be paid by the Administrator, which left $339.59 to be distributed among the next of kin.

Other documents in the Louisa Marks estate file elude to a certain tract of land in Chatham County owned by Louisa Marks and lying on the waters of Rocky Branch, adjoining the lands of James Brewer, William Newsman (?), Samuel Womble and others and containing 150 acres.

Louisa obtained the land on Rocky Branch from her mother, Lucinda Marks, on 8 Mar 1860 when Lucinda conveyed it to her for and in consideration of the love and affection for my daughter…and for the sum of five dollars… the land lay close to the Lee County line on the Haywood Road (current area of Hwy 1) and near present day Moncure. Other Marks and Gunter family members lived north of Moncure, in the Pittsboro area around Roberson Creek.

Lucinda Marks, on 8 Mar 1850, is shown with two land grants, # 2213 for 241 acres of land on Rocky Branch and grant # 2214 for 99 acres of land. The land adjoins that of Micajah Burns who is Lucinda’s brother-in-law. How or where Lucinda obtained the money for the land will remain a mystery.

Lucinda sold 50 acres of land to Benjamin and Frances Williams on 20 Nov 1852 for ten dollars. Note that this deed was registered again in 1885.

With court order in hand, J.A. Womack proceeded to sell the 150 acres of land that had been deeded to Louisa by her mother, Lucinda. Ironically, the highest bidder was Wesley Pendergrass for the sum of $430.00. The sale of the land on Rocky Branch to Wesley Pendergrass brings the estate of Louisa Marks to a close.

I now know who the siblings are of William Buck Marks and his nieces and nephews. However, Louisa’s case left me still wondering who Buck’s parents were. Online research offered only speculation that Buck’s parents were John and Caty Gunter Marks. Based on research that was done in the past, it was known that the daughters of Isham Gunter were Mary Marks and Caty Marks and that the sisters had married brothers, John and James Marks.

According to Isham Gunter’s will, dated 28 Sep 1818, he named and provided for all of his children. In 1834, Isham added a codicil to his will giving his grandson, Ewell Marks, property for the purpose of support to Mary Marks, Ewell’s mother. Isham’s will was probated in Jun 1834.

It has been speculated for years that the reason Isham Gunter provided for Mary as he did was because her husband had died early. Based on the Census information, everyone knew that John Marks was alive and based on records from Daniel Freeman's store ledger, John Marks was known to have resided in Montgomery County. John even signed the petition in 1838 to divide Montgomery to form Stanly County.

So, it was assumed that James Marks had died, leaving no estate, and Isham was trying to provide for his daughter, Mary, and grandchildren. An assumption was made that Mary Gunter married James Marks and Caty Gunter married John Marks and William Buck Marks was the son of John and Caty Gunter Marks who had migrated to Montgomery County, North Carolina in the early 1830s probably in search of a fortune in the gold mines in that area. It seemed reasonable.

As you can read on the Blog, I had accepted this fate as well. No amount of looking seemed to turn up any document that could prove John Marks married Caty Gunter and thus were my fourth great grand parents. I had moved on to researching another brick wall ancestor, Joseph Morgan.

Not long ago, a fellow researcher invited me to go along with her to Chatham County on a research trip. While there, we would see what we could find on the Marks of Chatham County. So, off we went to Chatham and began our search in the Register of Deeds office.

In a matter of hours we turned up a deed dated 25 Nov 1831 between John Marks, Thomas Thompson, and Abner Gunter Sr all of the county of Chatham and state of North Carolina…whereas the said John Marks has made his note payable to the said Abner Gunter for the sum of thirty five dollars due the 25th of Dec 1832…that John Marks honestly desires to secure to the said Abner the payment of the same, and whereas the said John Marks is by marriage and respect of his wife Mary, one of the legatees of Isham Gunter Senior, and at his death will be entitled to a legatees part in his estate, now therefore and in consideration of the promises...the said John Marks hath given, granted, bargained and sold unto the said Thomas Thompson...all my right title and interest which I may hereafter have in right of my wife Mary in the estate of...Isham Gunter.

Through DNA testing, traditional genealogy research and sheer perseverance, I have found the parents and siblings of William Buck Marks and my fourth great grandparents, John Marks and Mary Gunter.

Now the question is, why was John Marks and William Buck Marks in Montgomery County with Caty Gunter Marks instead of in Chatham County with Mary Gunter Marks? 

John Stewart and Rachel Morgan

In my previous post, Born at Old Henderson, Montgomery County, NC, I offered many clues on the Morgan’s of Montgomery County. One of those clues included a Revolutionary War file for John Stewart who migrated with his family from Chatham County to Montgomery County shortly after the Revolutionary War. In the file, I learned that John was attempting to transfer his war pension to Tennessee as he and his family were migrating there.

Since John had stated in his war file that he was born in 1762, was living in Chatham County at the time of the Revolutionary War; that is where he enlisted, I have focused my search on that area and any documents I could find on John. After reading his pension file, I suspected that John might have married a Morgan. I now needed to prove it.

Chatham County Deed Book D, page 416, records an indenture made on the twelfth day of February in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty eight, between John Stewart of Chatham County Planter of the one part and Charles Morgan of the same place Planter of the other part, witnesseth that in consideration of five shillings lawful money of North Carolina to the said John Stewart in hand paid by the said Charles Morgan, John Stewart hath sold unto the said Charles Morgan all the Estate rights, title, interest, property claims, and demands of him the said John Stewart in right of his wife Rachel Stewart, or otherwise under or by virtue of the will of his late father in law Charles Morgan the elder deceased.

As noted in my previous Blog, Expanding the search for the Morgan’s part three, Charles Morgan (Senior), Chatham County, who left a will, had six sons and two daughters listed in his will. He leaves the house, land and mill equally divided between all eight children. He leaves a bed and furniture to his granddaughter, Geane Stewart. His sons, Charles Junior and Joseph, appointed executors and the will witnessed by John Stewart and James Smith; dated 12 Nov 1787. The will probated in February session 1788, at the same time John Stewart sold his rights to Charles Morgan (Junior) that he had in right of his wife Rachel.

In 1790, a John Stewart can be found on the Census for Montgomery County, North Carolina along with a William Stewart who may be of some relation to him (more research required). The 1790 Census for Montgomery has been partially alphabetized so I do not know if John and William lived close to one another or not. The Census shows John Stewart with one male under 16, one male over 16 (himself), four females, one being his wife, Rachel and the other three his daughters.

The 1800 Montgomery County Census shows a John Stuart Sen with one male 16 -25, two males 45 and over, two females 45 and over, and one slave. There is no listing for a John Stewart on this Census and while the ages are close, I am not able to confirm nor deny if this is John Stewart.

The 1810 Census shows a John Stewart listed with young children. Males under 10, 1, Males 10 thru 15, 1, Males 45 and over, 1, Females 10 thru 15, 1, Females 16 thru 25, 1, Females 45 and over, 1. Near-by lives Hardy Morgan who would, in 1833 conduct the interviews for John’s Revolutionary War pension transfer.

There is no Census for Montgomery County in 1820 as it was destroyed, so I am not able to track John Stewart via Census information. I have searched Newspapers, but am not able to find any mention of John Stewart. By 1833, John’s family is moving to McNairy County, TN and he files for a transfer of his Revolutionary War pension. From the file, I learned that John has an older sister named Elizabeth Russell. Investigation continues on Elizabeth to find out whom she married, as well as who her children are.

Zachariah Morgan also vouches for John Stewart, but no relationship between John and Zachariah is noted. The file does state that Zachariah was 12 or 13 years old at the close of the Revolutionary War, he would have been born around 1770. Charles Morgan’s will does note a son named Zachariah and I wonder if he is Rachel Morgan’s brother and brother-in-law to John Stewart. The ages certainly would be close enough for them to be siblings, as it is believed that Rachel was born about 1765.

Then there is the woman, Elizabeth Nixtion, who gives her reference for John Stewart. Elizabeth is about 75 years old in 1833, making her birth year about 1758. She is only 4 years older than John Stewart is and is not his sister, as we already know that his sister, who also wrote a letter on his behalf, also named Elizabeth. My thoughts are the surname ‘Nixtion’ could be Nixon; perhaps neither Elizabeth nor Hardy knew how to spell her last name, however, there are no Nixon’s in Montgomery County in 1833. I did find one Nixon family in early records for Chatham County. Of greater interest to me is that Hardy Morgan has known Elizabeth Nixtion from his infancy. More research is required to discover who this woman is and how she connects to the Morgan and Stewart families.

John’s Application for Transfer dated 5 Mar 1836 in McNairy County, Tennessee; states the reason for transfer is that the principle part of his children had immigrated to Tennessee and thought he could do better moving there. John, by now, is old, Rachel has probably died as no mention of her made and John’s children want to ensure his welfare. The statement leads me to believe that some of John’s children remained in Montgomery County, North Carolina, most likely daughters who have married.

In McNairy County, Tennessee Shadrach Stewart and Spencer Stewart, most likely John’s sons, vouch for John’s identity and character. Finally, after much red tape, in May 1838, John’s pension transfer was complete and he was able to settle down in McNairy County, Tennessee where he lived the remainder of his life.

Unless or until other evidence is found, it is my belief that Rachel Morgan died in Montgomery County, North Carolina prior to 1833 and was probably buried in one of the old graveyards that are now lost to history or are under water from the flooding of the Yadkin/Pee Dee River in the early 1900s to build dams. John Stewart died in 1844 and rests in Old Montezuma Cemetery located on K Deberry Lane in Chester County, Tennessee.