Showing posts with label Shearer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shearer. Show all posts
December 12, 2014
Robert Shearer (1823-1895) of Watauga Co., NC
“In Memory of Robert Shearer.
“The subject of this sketch was too well known in this and adjoining counties to need eulogy from any pen to introduce his worth to family, state or church. His life so pure and gentle, yet firm and dignified, is the best encomium.
“Robert Shearer was born July 24, 1823, lived and died in Watauga county, N. C. He professed a hope in Jesus and joined the Baptist church at Three Forks, by experience, on the first Saturday in Jan., 1853. He ever lived a member of the church he joined till death took him away. He lived the religion he professed; his hope was an anchor to his soul, both sure and steadfast, and entered within the vale whither Jesus the forerunner has gone. He loved the cause of his Master dearly and his interest never abated in his old days; although feeble in health ever ready he stood to do his part in everything. He esteemed it not only a duty but a high privilege to do all he could to advance the cause of Jesus.Truly it can be said of him:
“I love thy church O God,
Her walls before thee stand,
Dear as the apple of thine eye,
Engraven on thy hand.
“For her his tears did fall,
For her his prayers ascend,
To her be given my toils and cares
Till toils and cares did end.
“He was a kind husband, father, and friend to all, and gave liberally of his means to the cause of God and humanity. One aim of his life was to fill his seat in the church which he always did unless sick, and a part of his last day on earth was spent in Three Forks church attending the funeral of Bro. Jonathan Horton. When he came home Sunday evening from the church, he said to his family: ‘I will be the next member of Three Forks church to go.’ And he did go that night; ate a hearty supper with his family on earth, and took his morning repast in heaven with loved ones who had gone before.
“He had been married twice – first to Myra Coffey on the 26 day of Nov. 1854. By this marriage two children were born, Mr. M. G. Shearer now living and Jane Shearer, who died six years ago. His wife, Myra, died Mar 39th [sic] [Mar.30], 1857 [sic] [1859]. He was again married to Martha M. Estes Feb. 18, 1860, and became the father of three more children. One departed this life in infancy, the other two yet living, Mary F. Perkins and Myra H. Pulliam. He struggled against the trials of life but never murmured, looking to the great reward. The battle or life is fought and bravely too, by our brother. The victory is won. Death came softly and silently Dec. 2nd,1895, as a servant to carry him over the river, and without a struggle he breathed his last.
“He walked so close with God that he had nothing to do but die and go home. His death was so sudden that he had no time to tell loved ones good-bye. He was 72 years, 4 months and 7 days old when the summons came, and found him on the borderland of heaven waiting for heaven’s game to swing open and let him in. The world had lost its charms to him. He had his business all fixed up, therefore was ready. He had talked to death often to his family,and gave directions about his coffin and other things pertaining to his burial,which were strictly carried out by his family and friends. He had often said he hoped he would not have to linger and suffer long here to be a burden to any one. The Lord granted his desire. At the usual bedtime he was bright and cheerful, retired and slept soundly for two or three hours, the awoke and said to his wife: ‘A sharp pain is hurting in my heart,’ but got up, sat by the fire an hour after taking some remedies, said he was better and would lie down again, which he did. His wife went to the bed to see that he was well covered, wiped the perspiration from his face and asked if he was better. ‘Yes, a little,’ he replied, and in a moment he was gone. The chariots of God came after him, he stepped on and went home twenty minutes after twelve.
“His funeral was preached by elders J. J. L. Sherwood and E.F. Jones to a large concourse of neighbors and friends, who mourn his departure and who will miss his generous hand which was always open to the wants of all worthy objects. Yes, ‘thon [sic] [thou] hast gone to the grave, but we will not deplore thee.’
“His remains were interred in the family burial ground near his house to await the glorious resurrection, when they shall come forth fashioned like the glorious body of Jesus. ‘Asleep in Jesuus [sic], blessed sleep from which none ever wakes to weep.’
“His devoted pastor, S.”
Myra Emeline Coffey was born Feb. 20, 1836 in NC and died in Yadkin Valley on Mar. 30, 1859. She was a daughter of Welborn and Sarah "Sallie" Cottrell Coffey; Welborn was a son of William and Anna Boone Coffey, Sallie a daughter of William and Lucy Day Cottrell. She, Robert (death date Dec. 2, 1895) and second wife Martha Estes are buried at the Shearer Family Cemetery at Perkinsville, Watauga Co., NC.
This tribute was published Dec. 19, 1895 in the Watauga Democrat, Boone, Watauga Co., NC, Page 2, Cols. 1 & 2; transcribed by Jack Coffee, Dec. 11-12, 2014
November 30, 2011
Nathaniel Hayes & Louisa Jane Ellis Coffey
Nathaniel Hayes & Louisa Jane Ellis were married on Feb. 28, 1854* in Rowan Co., KY. His marriage records his name as Hays and omitted Nathaniel. In a few census records he was enumerated as Hays, or a variant thereof, and in others he was Nathaniel H. In 1860 he was enumerated as Hayse Coffey, Jr.
His father was John Hayes Coffey and his mother was Mary "Polly" Burkett who were married on Feb. 7, 1815 in Staunton, VA.** John was born in Wilkes Co., NC in 1793 and Polly was a native of VA, born there c1798.
Louisa was born in Dec., 1836 in KY to Clayton and Martha Ellis.
Hayes and Louisa became parents of 14 children, all born in Russell Co.*** It appears that less than half of them lived to adulthood. Their first four children, all daughters, failed to survive. Mary J. was born on Aug. 1, 1855; Emma E., born Apr. 22, 1857; and Martha A., born Dec. 16, 1858, did not appear in the 1860 census. Amanda Frances, born Jul. 20, 1860 died on Oct. 3, 1861.
The first to survive to adulthood was Francis Wolford "Frank," born Mar. 11, 1862, died Dec. 18, 1940 at St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO. His wife was Hannah Frances Sharp and they were married c1883. He is buried at St. Joseph Memorial Park Cemetery in Buchanan Co. Frances was born Jul. 24, 1859 in Russell Co., and died Nov. 9,1936 in Washington Twp., Buchanan Co. She is also buried at St. Joseph.
Elijah Grant was born Aug. 27, 1864 and died on Oct. 10,1940 in Russell Co. He married three times, first to Martha Shearer in about 1884. She was born c1867, died c1889. Two children, Florence Jane (1887-1951) and Ella (1889-1924) were born to this union. It appears from death dates that Martha died giving birth to Ella, or shortly thereafter.
The second wife was Marticia Kimber, daughter of William and Martha Kimber. She was born in Nov.,1867 and died c1904 in Russell Co. They were married c1891. Five additional children were born: John B., born Jun., 1892; Bertha, born Mar. 17, 1894, died Feb. 4, 1942 at Creelsboro; Exra, born Sep., 1895; Warren, born Sep., 1899 and Thadeus, born c1903. It appears that Marticia also died shortly after giving birth to the last child.
Elijah's third wife was Ida A. Antle, born Jul., 1873 to Jacob and Elizabeth Hammond Antle. They were married very shortly after Marticia died but the first child I find for them wasn't born until c1910. Perhaps there were earlier births that did not survive. Those I know of were Lizzie, born c1910; Nettie, born c1912; Bessie, born c1913 and Josie, born c1915.
Elijah is buried at Kerns Cemetery in Russell Springs, Russell Co. I have not found death dates or burial sites for his three wives.
Following Elijah was Nancy Ellen, born Feb. 8,1866, died Mar 8, 1918 in Russell Springs. I do not believe she ever married and at death was buried at Crocus in Adair Co. Two more daughters followed Nancy: Ruth J., born c1868 and Rosetta, born c1870. I have found no additional information on these two girls.
Josephus was next born on Jul. 2, 1870. He died on Oct. 18, 1936 in Russell Co. and was buried at the Holt Cemetery in Russell Springs. I know only that his wife was Bertha, as given on his death certificate.
Fielding followed Josephus on Jun. 21, 1873, died Jun. 2, 1957 in Berea, Madison Co., KY. His wife was Delia, born Jun. 2, 1877, died Oct. 17, 1910. Both are buried at Kerns.
There are birth records for two unnamed males born to "N. H. Coffey" and "L. J. Ellis." The first record reports the birth of an unnamed male on Dec. 5, 1875 in Russell Co. and, the second of an unnamed male on Dec. 8, 1875 in Adair Co. This is somewhat confusing for me because I can't imagine that the family would move at such a time in their life. Louisa reported in 1910 that she had given birth to 14 children and, without both of these unnamed children, her total would have instead been 12 births.
The 14th child born to Hays and Louisa was Harlan on Mar. 15, 1877. His wife was Larcy or Lorcy E., last name unknown, who was born on Jun. 18, 1882 in KY. They were married there c1898. Children I have for them are: Frank, c1902; Sammy, c1905; Alma, c1906; Ruth, c1908; Rufus, c1915 and Carrie, c1917, all in Russell Co. Harlan died on Jun. 27, 1945 in Jamestown, Russell Co. Larcy's death date has not been found. Harlan and his wife are buried at the Lawless Cemetery, just outside of Jamestown.
*"Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979, 1839-1960," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/.
**Lyman Chalkley, Compiler, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 3 Vols (Rosslyn, VA: The Commonwealth Printing Co., 1912), [Chalkley is probably incorrect. There is a marriage record for this couple in Botetourt Co. for same date. See Virginia Historic Marriage Register by John Vogt and T. William Kethley, Jr., 1984]
***The Family appeared in every available Federal census for Russell Co. from 1860-1900
His father was John Hayes Coffey and his mother was Mary "Polly" Burkett who were married on Feb. 7, 1815 in Staunton, VA.** John was born in Wilkes Co., NC in 1793 and Polly was a native of VA, born there c1798.
Louisa was born in Dec., 1836 in KY to Clayton and Martha Ellis.
Hayes and Louisa became parents of 14 children, all born in Russell Co.*** It appears that less than half of them lived to adulthood. Their first four children, all daughters, failed to survive. Mary J. was born on Aug. 1, 1855; Emma E., born Apr. 22, 1857; and Martha A., born Dec. 16, 1858, did not appear in the 1860 census. Amanda Frances, born Jul. 20, 1860 died on Oct. 3, 1861.
The first to survive to adulthood was Francis Wolford "Frank," born Mar. 11, 1862, died Dec. 18, 1940 at St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO. His wife was Hannah Frances Sharp and they were married c1883. He is buried at St. Joseph Memorial Park Cemetery in Buchanan Co. Frances was born Jul. 24, 1859 in Russell Co., and died Nov. 9,1936 in Washington Twp., Buchanan Co. She is also buried at St. Joseph.
 |
| Elijah Grant Coffey |
The second wife was Marticia Kimber, daughter of William and Martha Kimber. She was born in Nov.,1867 and died c1904 in Russell Co. They were married c1891. Five additional children were born: John B., born Jun., 1892; Bertha, born Mar. 17, 1894, died Feb. 4, 1942 at Creelsboro; Exra, born Sep., 1895; Warren, born Sep., 1899 and Thadeus, born c1903. It appears that Marticia also died shortly after giving birth to the last child.
Elijah's third wife was Ida A. Antle, born Jul., 1873 to Jacob and Elizabeth Hammond Antle. They were married very shortly after Marticia died but the first child I find for them wasn't born until c1910. Perhaps there were earlier births that did not survive. Those I know of were Lizzie, born c1910; Nettie, born c1912; Bessie, born c1913 and Josie, born c1915.
Elijah is buried at Kerns Cemetery in Russell Springs, Russell Co. I have not found death dates or burial sites for his three wives.
Following Elijah was Nancy Ellen, born Feb. 8,1866, died Mar 8, 1918 in Russell Springs. I do not believe she ever married and at death was buried at Crocus in Adair Co. Two more daughters followed Nancy: Ruth J., born c1868 and Rosetta, born c1870. I have found no additional information on these two girls.
Josephus was next born on Jul. 2, 1870. He died on Oct. 18, 1936 in Russell Co. and was buried at the Holt Cemetery in Russell Springs. I know only that his wife was Bertha, as given on his death certificate.
Fielding followed Josephus on Jun. 21, 1873, died Jun. 2, 1957 in Berea, Madison Co., KY. His wife was Delia, born Jun. 2, 1877, died Oct. 17, 1910. Both are buried at Kerns.
There are birth records for two unnamed males born to "N. H. Coffey" and "L. J. Ellis." The first record reports the birth of an unnamed male on Dec. 5, 1875 in Russell Co. and, the second of an unnamed male on Dec. 8, 1875 in Adair Co. This is somewhat confusing for me because I can't imagine that the family would move at such a time in their life. Louisa reported in 1910 that she had given birth to 14 children and, without both of these unnamed children, her total would have instead been 12 births.
The 14th child born to Hays and Louisa was Harlan on Mar. 15, 1877. His wife was Larcy or Lorcy E., last name unknown, who was born on Jun. 18, 1882 in KY. They were married there c1898. Children I have for them are: Frank, c1902; Sammy, c1905; Alma, c1906; Ruth, c1908; Rufus, c1915 and Carrie, c1917, all in Russell Co. Harlan died on Jun. 27, 1945 in Jamestown, Russell Co. Larcy's death date has not been found. Harlan and his wife are buried at the Lawless Cemetery, just outside of Jamestown.
*"Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979, 1839-1960," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/.
**Lyman Chalkley, Compiler, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 3 Vols (Rosslyn, VA: The Commonwealth Printing Co., 1912), [Chalkley is probably incorrect. There is a marriage record for this couple in Botetourt Co. for same date. See Virginia Historic Marriage Register by John Vogt and T. William Kethley, Jr., 1984]
***The Family appeared in every available Federal census for Russell Co. from 1860-1900
May 5, 2010
The Elrod Family of Watauga Co., NC
I recently received as a gift A History of Watauga County by John Preston Arthur (Richmond, Everett Waddey Co., 1915). It was brand new and still in the cellophane wrapper when it was presented to me. It's probably unnecessary for me to tell you - especially if you are a descendant of most anyone in Watauga County - that a large number of families in that county in the 1800's were either related by blood or by marriage. Many of them are represented in this work by Arthur.
Some researchers have told me that Author made many mistakes in connecting some of the families but, so far, all have checked out pretty accurately; that is, I have not yet discovered any gross errors. I am using census records to confirm family members, marriages, births, and where available, death records found at Ancestry.com.
So, for the foreseeable future, I'll be filling in some of the blanks that I have for many of those early families and reporting on a few of them in the blog.
The Elrods are said to be from France. Conrad Elrod, the father of William, is first found in 1800 Burke County and again in 1810 in Morganton, Burke Co. William's mother was not named by Arthur. Conrad was not found in the NC census after 1810.
William Elrod appeared in the 1820 Ashe County census. There were no other heads of household with that name in the NC census that year. William married Elizabeth Lowrance and was the father of at least two children: Alexander, born c1823 and Mary, born c1827. There were probably others but, I have not yet found them.
Mary married Thomas Cook c1845 and at least five children resulted from that union: James Hamilton, born 1849; Sarah, born c1852; Martha Ellen, born Jul. 3, 1858; Alberton, born c1861 and Julia, born c1868.
Martha Ellen married Thomas Carlton Coffey on Nov. 14, 1875 in Watauga Co. Thomas was born to Jesse Calton and Nancy Raines Coffey on Jan. 1, 1853 in Haywood Co., NC. He died Dec. 17, 1915 in Watauga Co. and was buried at the Coffey Family cemetery at Blowing Rock. Martha Ellen died Mar. 25, 1939 and was also buried there.
They had at least 13 children; too many to describe right now. However, drop me a note if you are interested in their descendants. I will get to them in later blogs.
Alexander Elrod was born c1823. His wife was Mary B. "Polly" Shearer, born c1833 in NC. I have not yet found a marriage date or death dates for them. He and Polly had at least nine children. Their fourth child and first son was William Thomas, born Apr. 17, 1858, died Aug. 4, 1941 in Caldwell Co., NC.
William married was married c1881 to Laura Velora Green, a daughter of Augustus and Sarah Green. She was born May. 29, 1862 and died Sep. 15, 1923 in Caldwell Co. I do not yet know where either of them are buried.
He and Laura were parents of at least seven. Their fifth child and third daughter Lester Pearl Elrod married Roby Columbus Coffey. Roby was born Jun. 16, 1881 and died in Boone on Sep. 26, 1964. He is buried at Mt. Zion Baptist Church cemetery in Hudson, Caldwell Co. Lester Pearl died on Aug. 17, 1939 in Forsyth Co. but I do not know where she was buried.
Roby Columbus was a brother to John Wesley "Happy John" Coffey, sons of Joseph Reubin and Martha Elizabeth Gragg Coffey. They and Thomas Carlton were second as well as third cousins.
Some researchers have told me that Author made many mistakes in connecting some of the families but, so far, all have checked out pretty accurately; that is, I have not yet discovered any gross errors. I am using census records to confirm family members, marriages, births, and where available, death records found at Ancestry.com.
So, for the foreseeable future, I'll be filling in some of the blanks that I have for many of those early families and reporting on a few of them in the blog.
The Elrods are said to be from France. Conrad Elrod, the father of William, is first found in 1800 Burke County and again in 1810 in Morganton, Burke Co. William's mother was not named by Arthur. Conrad was not found in the NC census after 1810.
William Elrod appeared in the 1820 Ashe County census. There were no other heads of household with that name in the NC census that year. William married Elizabeth Lowrance and was the father of at least two children: Alexander, born c1823 and Mary, born c1827. There were probably others but, I have not yet found them.
Mary married Thomas Cook c1845 and at least five children resulted from that union: James Hamilton, born 1849; Sarah, born c1852; Martha Ellen, born Jul. 3, 1858; Alberton, born c1861 and Julia, born c1868.
Martha Ellen married Thomas Carlton Coffey on Nov. 14, 1875 in Watauga Co. Thomas was born to Jesse Calton and Nancy Raines Coffey on Jan. 1, 1853 in Haywood Co., NC. He died Dec. 17, 1915 in Watauga Co. and was buried at the Coffey Family cemetery at Blowing Rock. Martha Ellen died Mar. 25, 1939 and was also buried there.
They had at least 13 children; too many to describe right now. However, drop me a note if you are interested in their descendants. I will get to them in later blogs.
Alexander Elrod was born c1823. His wife was Mary B. "Polly" Shearer, born c1833 in NC. I have not yet found a marriage date or death dates for them. He and Polly had at least nine children. Their fourth child and first son was William Thomas, born Apr. 17, 1858, died Aug. 4, 1941 in Caldwell Co., NC.
William married was married c1881 to Laura Velora Green, a daughter of Augustus and Sarah Green. She was born May. 29, 1862 and died Sep. 15, 1923 in Caldwell Co. I do not yet know where either of them are buried.
He and Laura were parents of at least seven. Their fifth child and third daughter Lester Pearl Elrod married Roby Columbus Coffey. Roby was born Jun. 16, 1881 and died in Boone on Sep. 26, 1964. He is buried at Mt. Zion Baptist Church cemetery in Hudson, Caldwell Co. Lester Pearl died on Aug. 17, 1939 in Forsyth Co. but I do not know where she was buried.
Roby Columbus was a brother to John Wesley "Happy John" Coffey, sons of Joseph Reubin and Martha Elizabeth Gragg Coffey. They and Thomas Carlton were second as well as third cousins.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)