52 Ancestors - ROAD TRIP: Jolletts in the Northwest

image from Pixabay

Westward expansion defined 19^th century America. Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase in 1803 nearly doubled the size of the country. He believed that the health of the country depended on independent citizens who owned their own land and farmed their own farms. By 1840, nearly 40% of Americans lived west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River. They had left their homes in the East in search of economic opportunity. Like Jefferson, they associated land ownership with freedom.

At least three of my Jollett families were among those who left Virginia to build a new life in the Northwest, the part of the country now known as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Clarissa Ann Jollett, daughter of James and Nancy Walker Jollett, was born in Orange County, Virginia about 1793. When she was 20, she married John Sampson. The Sampsons were a prosperous family in Virginia, all well established with very large farms.

So why did they leave Virginia in 1836? It seems they had already achieved economic independence. John and Clarissa were hardly a young couple starting out. They were nearly 50 years old. But they did it anyway with 8 children in tow. Maybe the move was to ensure more opportunities for the children.

Clarissa’s unmarried brother James accompanied them.

While I don’t know the exact route they took, it is likely they went north to Maryland to pick up the National Road.

 

from Google Images

This was the first major improved highway funded by the United States government. It was truly the gateway to the west for travelers and pioneers alike. 

Columbus, Ohio was their first significant stop where they spent the winter. A granddaughter was born there. Then in the spring of 1837, the Sampson gang arrived in Wayne County, Indiana, where they farmed for several years. In a book honoring the early pioneers of Indiana, several of the Sampsons were featured. John and Clarissa’s son John recalled that there were deer and turkeys roaming the woods near their farm and that they always had plenty of food on the table as a result. 

Two years later they moved on into Clay County. There in Dick Johnson Township, John and Clarissa purchased about 80 acres of land. Over the years they added to the parcel, developing quite a valuable farm.

Clarissa's brother Simeon and his family may have traveled with them as well, but clearly they did not stay together for long.

In 1840, Simeon Jollett was in Jefferson, Ohio, enumerated as Simeon Jolly. Clarissa’s family had already moved on to Indiana.

MALES
1 under 5	Robert
1 5-9	?
1 10-14	Henry
1 40-49	Simeon
FEMALES
1 5-9	Elizabeth
1 30-39	Nancy

In 1850, Simeon, aka Simon Jolley, was in Harrison Township, Indiana with his wife Nancy, and three children Robert, Elizabeth, and G.W. (George). I’m confident this is the same family from the 1840 census; plus, now I can see Simeon and Nancy were from Virginia. Henry had married and moved his family to Fayette, Ohio. Still no sign of the daughter Catherine who supposedly had married one J.J. Hunter. Simeon was working as a shoemaker.

 

1850 Harrison Twp, IN census

By 1860, Simeon and Nancy Jolly “no -e” had hit the road once again, this time to Tippecanoe, Indiana. Only George was still at home. As for the whereabouts of Robert and Elizabeth, I have no clue. Vanished.  There is no shortage of Robert Jolly’s and Robert Jolley’s in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, so he could be any one of them. Meanwhile, Henry and his family were in Randolph, Illinois.

 

1860 Tippecanoe, IN census

Between 1860 and 1870, Nancy died. In 1870, Simeon lived with his son Henry and family in Lexington, Illinois. Catherine’s son Charles was there too, enumerated as Henry’s nephew. Now Simeon’s son George was among the missing. 

 

1870 Lexington, IL census

John Sampson died on his farm in Clay County, Indiana, at age 73. In 1875, Clarissa died at the home of her son Sanford. The two are buried in the Stunkard Cemetery in Brazil, Clay County, Indiana. Other members of their family are buried nearby as well.

 

Tombstone of John and Clarissa Sampson
James Jollett's name is inscribed on the top

When and where Simeon Jolly/Jollett died is another mystery that might require a road trip of my own to solve.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #1 Andrew M. CASEBOLT

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

I’m a sucker for a theme.  So when Amy Johnson Crow offered a thematic alternative to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, I had to bite.  Week 1 is “Fresh Starts.”

While many of the folks in my family tree experienced a “fresh start” in any number of ways, Andrew M. CASEBOLT was the poster child of fresh starts.  He was born before 1810 in Bath County, Virginia, so it’s a real puzzle as to how he became such good pals with my 3X great granduncle James Jollett, Jr. who lived about 100 miles away in Orange County. 

Nevertheless, they must have been very good friends.  In 1832, Andrew and James went in together on the purchase of a quarter acre lot in the newly-developed village of Rifesville (now known as Dayton) in Rockingham County.  Perhaps they bought the property as an investment, believing that this new town would take off and land prices would escalate.  Apparently neither one chose to live there.  Instead they had their eyes on other land.

Two years later, Andrew married James’s niece Louisa Sampson, daughter of his sister Clarissa Jollett and John Sampson.  It was about the same time that the Sampsons, James Jollett, and the Casebolt newlyweds all made a fresh start as early pioneers seeking to settle the Northwest Territory.  Their first stop was Ohio but within a couple years they moved on to Indiana. 

Andrew and Louisa raised 6 children.  Louisa may have died from complications of childbirth as evidenced by her death in 1845, the same year child #6 was born. 

Marriage license of Casebolt and Ellis

Andrew wasted no time making another “fresh start.”  He left his in-laws and best friend behind in Clay County to find love in Henry County.  There he married Nancy Weines Ellis on 19 March 1846.  They added a daughter to the mix.  However, that marriage did not last long.  In 1850 Nancy was on her own living with children from her previous marriage and three-year old Elizabeth Casebolt.

Andrew made another “fresh start” in 1848 with Hester/Esther Doughty.  In 1850, they were in Harrison Township of Bartholomew County.  Andrew was working as a millwright and had amassed property valued at $3000.  Hester, 10 years younger than Andrew, was caring for his six children plus their two year old daughter Louisa Ann (or Laura Ann, depending on the census).

 

1850 Harrison, Bartholomew, Indiana census

This family totally disappeared from the census records of 1860, but in 1870 they reappeared.  They had found a “fresh start” in Cape Girardeau, Missouri where Andrew worked in a printing office.  Three more daughters had been added to the family. 

1870 Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, Missouri Census

Even though Andrew was widowed in 1880, he was listed with a new wife Hattie Martha Montgomery in the 1880 census for Hubble, Girardeau County, Missouri.  However, that was his last “fresh start” in the marriage game as he died two years later. 

 

1880 Hubble, Giarardeau, Missouri Census

FAMILY

Andrew M. CASEBOLT (1810 Bath Co, VA – 1882 Cape Girardeau, MO) son of Asahel Casebolt and Susannah Seybert

M1) Louisa SAMPSON (1819 Virginia – 1845 Indiana)  25 Sep 1834 Orange Co,  VA

1. Mary Jane CASEBOLT (1836 Ohio – 1906 Indiana) & David WRIGHT (1829 Indiana – 1907 Indiana) 22 Oct 1855 Jackson Co, IN
2. Sanford CASEBOLT (1839 Indiana – 1874 Indiana) & Leora THOMPSON  18 Mar 1864 Jackson Co, IN
3. Wesley CASEBOLT (1841 Indiana – ) & Emma UNKNOWN
4. Jonathan Beard CASEBOLT (1844 Indiana – 1899 California) & Mahala SMITH (1846 Illinois – 1934 Salina, KS)
5. John Munroe CASEBOLT (1844 Indiana – 1911 Missouri ) & Eliza MOODY (1848 Alabama – 1918 Missouri) 1865 Missouri
6. Henry Clay CASEBOLT (1845 Indiana – 1916 Oklahoma)  & Sarah MOODY (1851 Illinois – 1928 Washington)

M2) Nancy WEINES ELLIS (Virginia – ) March 1846 Henry Co, IN

M3) Esther / Hester DOUGHTY (1816 Kansas – 2 Aug 1880 Cape Girardeau, MO)  29 Mar 1848 Marion Co, IN

M4) Hattie Martha MONTGOMERY (1818 –  ) 1880 Missouri

* I have listed only the children by Louisa Sampson because Andrew Casebolt is family only by marriage.

 © 2015, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #18 - James W. Jollett, Jr.

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

James W. Jollett was the son of James and Nancy WalkerJollett making him my third great granduncle.  He was born in Orange County, Virginia, probably 1808.  He lived a long life, but apparently he never married and had no children.

It wasn’t until I met a descendant of his sister Clarissa Jollett Sampson that I ever knew of James’s existence.  Shirley sent me a photo of Clarissa’s tombstone in Indiana and included a notation that James was buried there too and that his name is on the tombstone.  James?  James who?  But Shirley knew James who.

Funny.  I had seen James’s signature on the petition to form Greene County.  There was a James Sr. and James Jr., but I didn’t know if MY 4G grandfather was the Senior or the Junior on that petition.  Shirley solved that riddle for me.

Besides campaigning for the creation of a new county, James  helped develop the town of Dayton in Rockingham County, across the mountain from Greene.  It is the oldest settled community in the county.  At the time, the town was known as Rifesville, named for Jacob and Catherine Rife who held rights to the land and sold lots.  James and his friend Andrew Casebolt went in together on a one-quarter acre lot on the west side of Street No. 6.  They paid one dollar.  I don’t know if that was the full amount or a down payment.   Their deed was recorded on July 21, 1832.  A post office for Rifesville was established on July 24, 1832.

I need to follow that deed to see if James and Andrew made a killing on that one dollar investment.  Just two years later in 1834, Andrew married Clarissa’s daughter, and the Sampsons, Casebolts, and James Jollett Jr. hit the road.  They joined the migration to the Northwest Territory along the National Road to Ohio and later to Indiana. 

When Andrew’s young wife died, he moved on to Missouri.  However, James stayed with his sister.  In fact, he was enumerated along with the Sampsons the rest of his life.  In 1860, he lived with his widowed sister Clarissa Sampson in Dick Johnson Township of Clay County, Indiana.  Working as a day laborer, he claimed personal property worth $1500.  In 1870, he lived with the family of his widowed niece Clarissa Sampson Rodenbarger.  In 1880, he was on his own earning a living as a carpenter next door to his nephew Sanford Sampson. 

James died December 26, 1883 in Indiana, his adopted state for almost 50 years.

photo courtesy Shirley Ziemer

photo courtesy Wabash Valley Genealogical Society
Cemetery Committee
James's inscription is on top
of the Sampson tombstone pictured left

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #14 - Drada JOLLETT Sampson

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My third great-grandaunt Drada Ann Jollett was the sixth child of James and Nancy Walker Jollett.  She was born January 10, 1798 in Orange County, Virginia.  She married George Sampson just a couple days shy of her 21^st birthday, January 6, 1819.

Apparently the newlyweds were living in Orange when the 1820 census was taken, but the record is so faint that I cannot transcribe any of the facts.  Then in 1830, their whereabouts are uncertain.  Descendants believe Drada and George’s children were born in Rockingham County, but I can find no Sampsons there at all.  However, there is a George Sampson family in nearby Augusta County that matches almost exactly:

MALE
Under 5	2	James, Benjamin
30 - 40	1	George
FEMALE
5 - 10	2	Julia, Nancy
10 - 15	1	?
30 - 40	1	Drada

This does look promising. 

In 1840 and 1850, the Sampsons were in Monroe, Virginia, an area that later became West Virginia after the Civil War.  George was working as a teacher.  Daughters Julia and Nancy had already married and moved out.

MALE
15 - 20	2	James, Benjamin
40 - 50	1	George
FEMALE
5 - 10	1	Elizabeth Jane
40 - 50	1	Drada

Again in 1860, the Sampsons went missing.  Drada died June 6, 1867.  From then on, George lived with his various children.  He was with Elizabeth Jane and her husband Beverly Shephard in 1870.  George was earning some income as a basketmaker.  In 1880, he was living with James and his wife Sarah.  George suffered from paralysis and died the next year, October 17, 1881 in Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Three Generations:

Drada Ann JOLLETT (10 Jan 1798 Orange Co, Virginia – 6 Jun 1867 Greenbrier, West Virginia) & George SAMPSON (24 Jul 1796 Orange Co, Virginia – 17 Oct 1881 Greenbrier, West Virginia) 6 Jan 1819 Orange Co, Virginia

1. Lucretia SAMPSON ( 15 May 1820 Orange Co, Virginia - 16 Jun 1820 Orange Co, Virginia)

2. Julia Ann SAMPSON (20 Feb 1822 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 23 Dec 1867 Malden, Kanawha, West Virginia) & William J. McCOY 25 Feb 1836 Rockingham Co, Virginia

• William Harvey McCOY (Mar 1835 Ronceverte, Greenbrier, West Virginia - 10 Oct 1904 Malden, Kanawha, West Virginia) & Elizabeth S. CARROLL (May 1861 West Virginia - 29 Dec 1950 Kanawha, West Virginia)
• York McCOY (1844 – 1920 West Virginia)
• Martha Ann MCCOY (1846 - )
• James C. McCOY (1851 - )
• Elizabeth McCOY (14 Feb 1853 – 1 Aug 1935 Malden, Kanawha, West Virginia) & William Henry NEWMAN (1841 – Bef 1920 ) 15 Sep 1888 Kanawha, West Virginia
• Lewis McCOY (10 Jan 1862 Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co, West Virginia – 30 Sep 1931 Malden, Kanawha, West Virginia)

3. Nancy Ann SAMPSON (11 Jul 1824 Rockingham Co, Virginia - After 1880 Greenup, Kentucky) & Ryland D. MCCOY (1815 – 1880 Greenup, Kentucky) 04 Feb 1839 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia

• William A. McCOY (1837 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - )
• Palmyra  A. McCOY (1841 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - )
• Rebecca  McCOY (1842 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - )
• Mary J. McCOY (Mar 1844 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - )
• Granville Allen McCOY (22 Jun 1845 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - 13 Jul 1910 Carter, Kentucky) & Rhoda Elizabeth ENGLAND  (18 Jan 1856 Greenup Co, Kentucky – Aug 1929 Ohio) 9 Sep 1878 Greenup Co, Kentucky
• Winfield Scott McCOY  (1 Jun 1846 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - 4 Feb 1921 Barbour Co, West Virginia) & Mary Jane WARD (1851 – 1930) 26 Mar 1870 Barbour Co, West Virginia
• Zachariah T. McCOY (1849 Carter County, Kentucky - Before 1860 Greenup County, Kentucky)
• George Washington McCOY (18 Jan 1850 Carter County, Kentucky - 8 Nov 1936 Franklin County, Ohio) & Eliza Jane HOLLEY (6 Aug 1848 Mason Co, West Virginia – 14 May 1923 Columbus, Ohio) 27 Apr 1871 Greenup, Kentucky
• Thomas J. McCOY (1853 Kentucky – About 1913) & Susannah PORTER 13 Mar 1876 Greenup County, Kentucky
• Nancy E. McCOY (About 1857 Kentucky - )
• James Washington McCOY (27 Sep 1860 Kentucky - Jul 1937 Arkansas) & Rachel BOYD (1861 – 1948)
• Andrew Johnson McCOY (20 May 1867 Kentucky - Oct 1931 Texas) & Sarah Ann HALL (4 Feb 1870 – 6 Dec 1942 Texas) 10 Sep 1911 Oklahoma

4. James William SAMPSON (7 Oct 1826 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 17 Feb 1900 Greenbrier, West Virginia) & Sarah Jane BRACKMAN  (10 Sep 1833 – 30 Apr 1908) 11 Jan 1855 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia

• William Oliver SAMPSON (14 Dec 1855 - 14 Mar 1951) & m1) Sarah Harriet DOLAN (Dec 1857 – 15 oct 1884) 1 Nov 1877 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia ; m2) Hettie Ladenia WHITMORE  (27 Oct 1861 – 18 Mar 1950) 1887
• George David SAMPSON (16 Mar 1858 - 23 Aug 1933) & Mary Susan SHERWOOD (4 Sep 1861 – 19 Sep 1934) 8 Apr 1877
• Catherine Ann SAMPSON (26 Nov 1861 – 1945) & James Letcher ANDERSON (Jun 1859 - ) 6 Oct 1881 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia
• Samuel Franklin SAMPSON (9 Apr 1864 - 23 Feb 1939) & Emmie Effie SHERWOOD (10 Mar 1870 – 9 Oct 1943) 28 Oct 1886 Fort Spring, Greenbrier, West Virginia
• Martha Jane SAMPSON (6 Sep 1866 - ) & William O. THOMPSON (Oct 1865 – 1952) 24 Dec 1885
• James Lewis SAMPSON (10 Oct 1869 - 25 Nov 1941) & Ellen CAVANAUGH (Mar 1874 - ) About 1898

5. Benjamin Franklin SAMPSON (10 Apr 1830 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 4 May 1871 Greenbrier, West Virginia) & Naoma J. Adeline PROPST (1833 - After 1888)

• Margaret SAMPSON (1852 - )
• William SAMPSON (14 Jun 1854 - ) &  Alma UNKNOWN
• Charles Lewis Nickson SAMPSON  (17 Feb 1860 Sewell, Fayette, Virginia - 24 Sep 1941 Edmond, Fayette, West Virginia) & m1) Martha Ellen RAMSEY (23 Feb 1853 Monroe Co, Virginia – 4 Feb 1917 Fayette, West Virginia) 23 Dec 1879 Fayette Co, West Virginia ;  m2) Rachel Ann HOLLIDAY (3 Feb 1870 Fayette, West Virginia – 23 Dec 1943 Oak Hill, Fayette, West Virginia)  17 Nov 1918 Fayette County, West Virginia
• Alice SAMPSON (1862 - )
• Emma Caroline SAMPSON (23 Apr 1865 – 25 Jan 1904 Walla Walla, Washington) & Jacob EMMICK (1850 – 1928) 21 Sep 1882 Fayette Co, West Virginia
• Mary Louise SAMPSON ( 1869 Greenbrier, West Virginia – 1943) & Benjamin Franklin THOMASSON (1867 Greenbrier, West Virginia – 1939 Fayette, West Virginia)  1890 Fayette, West Virginia
• Annie H. SAMPSON (1870 - )
• Iona Minter SAMPSON (7 Feb 1874 – 7 Jan 1959 Fayette, West Virginia ) & Agnes Cordelia SKAGGS (1879 West Virginia – 30 Jun 1951 Fayette, West Virginia) 29 Oct 1899 Fayette, West Virginia

6. Elizabeth Jane SAMPSON (13 Oct 1832 Rockingham Co, Virginia - After 1870) & Beverly SHEPHARD (1834 Greenbrier, West Virginia – After 1880 Greenbrier, West Virginia) 15 Feb 1864 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia

• James Franklin SHEPHARD (16 Nov 1865 Greenbrier, West Virginia - 16 Feb 1954 Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co, West Virginia)
• Annie B. SHEPHARD (1869 West Virginia - )

7. Frances Virginia SAMPSON (19 Feb 1842 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia - 8 Nov 1930 Ronceverte, Greenbrier, West Virginia) & James Madison Marshall STONE (19 Oct 1843 Patrick Co, Virginia – 15 Dec 1903 Logansport, Cass, Indiana) 28 Jun 1866 Greenbrier, West Virginia

• Leonadus “Lonnie” A. STONE (1 Jun 1867 West Virginia - 20 Nov 1927 Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia) & Laura MARTIN (Jun 1870 West Virginia - )
• Kate Lewis STONE (Mar 1874 – 1951) & Henry W. MILLER (Mar 1869 - ) 17 May 1899 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia
• William Arthur STONE (16 Dec 1870 - 25 May 1911) & Dollie V. FELTY (Mar 1874 - 17 Sep 1943 Boyd, Kentucky)
• Charles Emmit STONE (15 Sep 1872 - 11 Dec 1960) & Mary Elizabeth O'BRIEN ( - Before 1960) 16 Dec 1897 Greenbrier Co, West Virginia
• Sallie Belle STONE (Aug 1873 West Virginia - )
• Willie Robertie STONE (1874 West Virginia - )
• Ira Bliss STONE (28 Feb 1876 Greenbrier, West Virginia - 15 Aug 1948 Ronceverte, Greenbrier, West Virginia) & Nellie T. HAGAN (1887 Ohio - )
• James DeWitt Cecil STONE (1878 West Virginia - 20 Apr 1903 Mercer Co, West Virginia)  
• Joseph Ingram STONE (12 Jul 1881 Fort Spring, Greenbrier, West Virginia - 20 May 1949 Ronceverte, Greenbrier, West Virginia) &  Harriett Ann WARE (24 Aug 1891 Greenbrier, West Virginia – 27 Feb 1978 Winchester, Virginia)  1911 Ironton, Lawrence, Ohio
• Dallas P. F. STONE (Jul 1891 West Virginia - ) 

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

A to Z April Challenge: D is for Dawson

My theme for the A to Z April Challenge is “In-Laws and Out-Laws – Friends of the Family.”  I will be researching friends, colleagues, neighbors - those people who came and went touching my family’s lives in both small and large ways. 

is for Dawson.  Richard Dawson.  But not the original host of “Family Feud.”  This Richard Dawson was a neighbor to my William and Sallie Sampson and others of the Jollett family living in the McMullans Mill district of Greene County, Virginia in the mid-1800s.

I first noticed Mr. Dawson when, as a volunteer for the Greene County Historical Society, I was indexing a daybook from the Price-Hill General Store.  Dawson.  Sims.  Runkle.  Jarrell.  Melone.  Name after name had the air of familiarity.  And why not?  They were the names flanking my own family’s names in each census record for Greene County, Virginia. 

Born about 1814, Richard Dawson was a blacksmith.  In 1850, at age 36 he was head of a small household that included his wife Mary 34 and his mother Lucy 80. 

In 1860, the Dawsons claimed real estate valued at $2000 and personal property worth $1800.

Dawson died of pneumonia in March 1880. 

If I had only Ancestry.com to rely on, that would be the sum total of what I know about Richard Dawson.  But because he was a regular customer at the Price-Hill General Store in Stanardsville, Virginia in 1855, I know some funny little things about William and Sallie’s neighbor:  

• In a couple months time, he stopped by the store for tobacco at least 4 times.  
• He bought typical staples like salt, coffee and sugar, but in November he purchased 8 pounds of sugar.  Maybe Mary was baking for the holidays.
• Richard also ran some errands for Mary purchasing candles and 2 yards of calico. 
• Three pounds of nails comprised one day’s purchase.  Was he repairing the house or shed?  Were the nails used for something in his blacksmith shop?

• 
• That he was able to read and write is almost certain as one time Richard purchased some quills and a quire of paper.  (That’s 25 sheets of paper or one-twentieth of a ream.)

I have to wonder what kind of friendship he might have had with my ancestors.  Did William and Sallie have Richard make horseshoes or fireplace pokers for them?  Did Richard take his corn and wheat to William to be ground?  Did they attend church together?  Maybe answers to questions like these are contained in some scraps of paper in somebody’s attic, just like the Price-Hill Daybook had been.

Discover delightful displays of daydreams and discourse at the A to Z April Challenge.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #11 - Sallie JOLLETT Sampson

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

For many years Sarah “Sallie” Jollett Sampson has presented one of my biggest challenges.  She and her husband William were one of at least 4 sets of William and Sarah Sampsons living in Greene County, Virginia at the same time.  Two of the pairs can be eliminated fairly easily because of their age or because they moved out of state.  But then there were two.  The use of maiden names would be helpful, but in this case the “other” Sarah was Sarah Sampson Sampson, so it is difficult to know for sure if the name on a document was the maiden name or married name.  And to make matters even more confusing, THIS Sarah Sampson who married William Sampson was daughter of another William Sampson.  See why this family makes me crazy?

I thought the neighbors surrounding the Sampsons would help me place Sallie in the right family.  Or maybe marriage between cousins would be the deciding factor.  But no.  In 1850, Sallie’s nephew John Marsh (son of Peter and Lucy Walker Jollett Marsh) was living in the household of the wheelwright William & Sarah Sampson.  I thought Ah –ha – that must be MY Sallie.  But then there’s the miller William & Sarah Sampson living next door to Sallie’s nephew Madison Marsh (son of Peter and Lucy Walker Jollett Marsh).  Then in 1860, the wheelwright’s daughter Peachy was married to Sallie’s nephew Hiram Marsh (again, son of Peter and Lucy), the miller’s son George was married to Sallie’s niece Amanda Melvina Marsh (daughter of Peter and Lucy), and the miller’s widow “S Sampson” was living two doors down from Sallie’s sister Tabatha.  What a neighborhood!

When I learned that a marriage record for Smith Sampson named Sallie JOLLETT as his mother, I finally had my first real clue to Sallie’s line.  But which set of siblings did Smith Sampson go with?

Today, I believe I have the two Sampson couples clearly defined. 

MY family is likely Sarah/Sallie who married William the miller and had the larger family most completely named in 1850:  Nancy, Cinthia, William, Virenda, Mary, Martha.  Smith was already married and on his own. 

The other family was Wiliam the wheelwright with the smaller family:  Bluford Marshall, Maria, Franklin, Peachy, and Virginia.

This is why I believe so.  Looking at the earlier census records when only the head of household was named and everyone else was simply a member of a category, the only room for Smith Sampson was in the larger family:

1830 Orange Co, VA	MY Sampsons	The other ones
MALES
Age 5-9	George, William J.	X
Age 10-14	Smith, and one unknown	Franklin
Age 15-19	X	Bluford Marshall
Age 30-39	William	X
Age 40-49	X	William
FEMALES
Under 5	Eliza, Virenda	X
Age 10-14	Nancy, Cinthia	Maria
Age 15-19	one unknown	Virginia, Peachy
Age 30-39	Sallie	Sarah

See – there’s no room for Smith in the other family.

The second support might be a little less convincing.  In 1883, Franklin Sampson married Sallie’s niece Clarissa Ann Sampson Rodenbarger in Indiana.  On the marriage record, the widow Clarissa Ann named her parents as John Sampson and Clarissa JOLLETT.  Franklin named his parents as William Sampson and Sarah SAMPSON.  Is it not reasonable to assume that maiden names would have been listed in both cases on the same document?              

THREE GENERATIONS:

Sarah “Sallie” JOLLETT (1794 in Orange Co, Virginia – June 1863 Greene Co, Virginia) was the third known daughter of James and Nancy Walker Jollett.  She married William SAMPSON (Apr 1788 - 4 Sep 1853 Greene Co, Virginia)   8 Jan 1809 in Orange Co, Virginia 

1. Smith SAMPSON (1814 in Madison, Virginia - 15 Jul 1889 in Rockingham Co, Virginia) & m1) Sarah MICHAEL (26 May 1811 – 13 May 1844 Rockingham County, Virginia)  7 Jan 1840 in Rockingham Co, Virginia ; & m2) Elizabeth HAYNES (Abt 1826 – Abt 1881 Rockingham County, Virginia) 16 May 1844 ; & m3) Emma J. SIPE (1851 – 12 Jan 1885 Rockingham County, Virginia) 24 Feb 1881 Rockingham Co, VA.

**There is some confusion as to which children were born to Sarah and which to Elizabeth.  It is safe to assume there were no children with Emma.  Since Smith married Elizabeth three days after Sarah died, it is possible he had children with Elizabeth even before he was widowed.  Therefore, I am simply listing the known children chronologically.

• William Jackson SAMPSON (26 Jun 1836 in Rockingham County, Virginia - 21 Jan 1913 in McGaheysville, Rockingham Co, Virginia) & Mary Ann LEAP (20 Feb 1841 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 15 Oct 1923 Rockingham Co, Virginia) 1859 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• Mitchell Adam SAMPSON (12 Jan 1840 Rockingham Co., Virginia - 18 Jul 1910 Madison Co., Virginia) & Mary Catherine MAY  (9 Mar 1844 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 22 Jul 1915 Madison Co., Virginia)  27 Nov 1867
• Henry Michael SAMPSON (23 Sep 1841 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 18 Jul 1910 Madison County, Virginia) & Sarah Ellen MICHAEL (5 Nov 1846 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 22 Jan 1917 Rockingham Co, Virginia) 10 Jan 1865 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• Margaret SAMPSON (1845 Rockingham Co, Virginia - About 1880) & m1) Y. C. AMMON ; & m2) Archibald  SIPE (4 Aug 1839 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 14 Jun 1921 North Dakota)  21 Jul 1869 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• Jacob H. SAMPSON (1847 Rockingham Co, Virginia - ) & Margaret SIPE 30 Dec 1874 in Rockingham Co, Virginia

2. Nancy SAMPSON ( 1818 Madison Co, Virginia - Before 1880 )

• Mary SAMPSON (1837 - )

3. Cinthia SAMPSON ( 1822 Madison Co, Virgina  - Before 1864 Greene Co, Virginia)

4. William Joseph SAMPSON ( 24 Jun 1824 Madison Co,  Virginia -  30 Dec 1902 Greene Co, Virginia) & Catherine ANDERSON (1809 Madison Co, Virginia - )  18 Jun 1854 Madison Co, Virginia

• Gibbon A. SAMPSON (19 Jun 1854 in Greene Co, Virginia - 16 Aug 1924) & Mary Susan WOODSON  (Nov 1853 – 8 Feb 1931 Greene Co, Virginia)  23 Dec 1875  Greene Co, Virginia,

5. Eliza Jane SAMPSON (1825 Orange Co, Virginia - Sep 1896 Greene Co, Virginia) & James W. SOUTHARD (1817 Orange Co, Virginia - ) 1839 Madison, Virginia

• Elizabeth Arenna SOUTHARD (1841 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Louisa M. SOUTHARD (1842 Greene Co, Virginia – 1884) & Benjamin OLIVER (1838 Virginia - )27 May 1866 Greene Co, Virginia
• William H. SOUTHARD (1843 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Eliza Jane SOUTHARD (1846 Greene Co, Virginia  - ) & James Wade SNOW (1838 - 8 Jan 1914 Greene Co, Virginia)  30 Dec 1869 Greene Co, Virginia
• Peachy F. SOUTHARD (13 Oct 1853 - Greene Co, Virginia - )
• James A. G. SOUTHARD (1860 Greene Co, Virginia - )

6. George W. SAMPSON (1828 Orange County - ) & m1) Amanda Melvina MARSH (1831 Orange Co, Virginia – Before 1878) 28 Jan 1848 Greene Co, Virginia ; m2) Sarah L. BREEDEN (23 Mar 1853 - ) 14 Dec 1878 Greene Co, Virginia

**Children with Amanda Melvina:

• John A. SAMPSON (1848 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• George Lewis SAMPSON (1850 Greene Co, Virginia – After 1920) & m1) Laura Cordelia DELPH (Dec 1857 Madison Co, Virginia - ) 26 Sep 1872 Madison Co, Virginia ; & m2) Mary S. JUEL (1865 Greene Co, Virginia - ) 7 Sep 1886 Page Co, Virginia ; & m3) Mary E. BAUGHER (1878 Rockingham Co, Virginia - ) 11 Dec 1896 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• M. F. SAMPSON (1851 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Elizabeth Virginia SAMPSON (1853 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Andrew Jackson SNOW (1848 Green Co, Virginia - ) about 1870
• U. D. SAMPSON (1854 -  )
• Eugenia SAMPSON (1857 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• A. L. SAMPSON (1857 - )
• Francis M. SAMPSON (1859 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Lucretia MARSH (1849 - )
• Richard E. SAMPSON (1861 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Daniel B. SAMPSON (1863 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Robert B. SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia – 24 Aug 1938 Rockingham County, Virginia)& m1) Annie KNIGHTING ( - Before 1910) 28 Dec 1886 Rockingham County, Virginia; & m2) Daisy WILLIAMS (16 Dec 1883 – 18 Jan 1968) 21 May 1914 Rockingham County, Virginia
• Henry SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• James A. SAMPSON (Jul 1873 Greene Co, Virginia – 1937) & Virginia Belle JENKINS (10 Jul 1874 – 29 Oct 1945 Charlottesville, Virginia) 15 Jun 1893 Page County, Virginia

**Child with Sarah BREEDEN:

• Thomas W. SAMPSON (14 Oct 1886 Page Co, Virginia – 1962 Page Co, Virginia) & Lula Frances BREEDEN PURDHAM (1872 Page Co, Virginia - ) 24 Sep 1908 Page Co, Virginia

7. Virenda E. SAMPSON (1829 Madison County, Virginia - ) & Albert W. SOUTHARD  (1825 - )  1 Mar 1849 Greene Co, Virginia

• Josephine E. SOUTHARD (1854 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Annie M. SOUTHARD (1857 in Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Alberta SOUTHARD  (1859 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Sylvester L. BROWN (1867 Shenandoah Co, Virginia  - 1919 Page Co, Virginia ) 23 Apr 1890 Page Co, Virginia
• Lucy SOUTHARD (1871 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Nat JARRELL 23 Feb 1896 Greene Co, Virginia
• Jane Lee SOUTHARD  (1862 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Benjamin Franklin SOUTHARD  (1866 Greene Co, Virginia - 17 Jun 1952 Gordonsville, Orange, Virginia) &  Luttie CLATTERBUCK 15 Sep 1887 Greene Co, Virginia

8. Mary SAMPSON ( 1832 Orange Co, Virginia - )

9. Martha  A. SAMPSON (1833 Orange County, Virginia – After 1880 Madison County, Virginia) & William S. DELPH (1832 Madison County, Virginia – Before 1880 Madison County, Virginia) 23 Dec 1853 Greene Co, Virginia

• Sarah DELPH (1856 Madison County, Virginia)
• Laura Cordelia DELPH (Dec 1857 Madison County, Virginia - ) & George Lewis SAMPSON (1850 Greene County, Virginia – After 1920) 26 Sep 1872 Madison County, Virginia
• Marcellus DELPH (1858 Madison County, Virginia - )
• Fanny DELPH (1861 Madison County, Virginia - )
• Harriett Hattie DELPH (1866 Madison County, Virginia - )
• William DELPH (1869 Madison County, Virginia - )

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.