Randolph Davis was one of the sons of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott. I've always thought of him as an ancestral Uncle, and not a direct ancestor, because the name Randolph, or Randall as he is sometimes seen, did not travel down my direct line. But in a time when there were too many James', William's and John's, Randolph was one whom I could readily identify, because at the time, he and his brother Marriott I, were the only ones.
Both of them, I discovered, ended up in Brunswick and Mecklenburg Counties, Virginia. And the Davis I was looking for lived in Mecklenburg County in 1773, when my Sixth Great-Grandfather, who would come to make his home in Stanly County, NC, along the Rocky River, was born there.
Randolph Davis and his siblings were likely all born in Surry County, Virginia. Surry County was formed in 1652 from a portion of James City County, and was located south of the James River. This branch of my family tree, I have discovered, had its start in Jamestown with Captain James Davis and his wife Rebekah Keyes Davis, son of Sir Thomas Davis. Captain Davis did not stay there in the early days, but was back and forth, between the colonies and England. He and his father both, eventually did retire there, after things were healthier and more established. He did survive one really bad winter there, however, and that may have been why it was many years before he brought his family.
Henry Davis was the son of James Davis III, a Great-Grandson of Captain James, who married Elizabeth Warren, daughter of Thomas John Warren. The Warren's were also a very old Virginia family.
The line is:
Sir Thomas Davis of Devon, wife unknown.
Two son, James and Robert, both Sea Captains and sailed for England helping to establish and supply the new colonies.
"was among the company of men assembled by Sir John Popham, 1607, to settle the region of Virginia which later was designated New England." From The Adventures of Purse and Person.
He married Rachel Keyes about 1608. They had two sons. Later in his career, Captain James started a plantation South of the James River. There he died in the winter of 1622 or 1623, James City, Henrico, Nansemond County when it was noted by a man named Hotten that "James Davis, dead at his plantation over the water from James City" on February 16, 1623.
His son Thomas was born about 1613. In 1634, he was given a patent for 300 acres on Warwicksquicke Creek. He was in Norfolk by1637 and Nansemond in 1642. Thomas married Elizabeth Bagwell and died in 1673.
From History of Perquimans County by Ellen Goode Rawlings Winslow. Published 1931.
Thomas Davis of Warricksqueake, planter—son of James, late of Henrico, in
Vir’ dec’d, was granted 300a of land on Warricksqueake Creek, “100 in
right of his father, an ancient planter, who came to Va in the “George”
1617, and 100a in right of his mother Rachel, wife of sd James.” Mar 6,
1633. Thomas made deposition in Norfolk Co Va 1640. He sold a grant from
Sir Wm Berkeley June 1, 1649, to Thomas Maros, who sold sd land 400a unto
Robert Bowers, who in like manner gave the land to his dau Mary, wife of
Thomas Davis, and was conveyed by them Nov 14, 1708, unto Phillip Reynolds
Mer’cht, “lying on W. side of Western Branch,” in which deed Thomas Davis
is styled, “of Nansemond Co. planter.”
Their son Thomas was born in 1658 and died in 1720. He married Elizabeth Plaw, who was born at Smith's Fort and died in 1726 in Surry County.
They were the parents of James Davis, born in 1682 and died on 21 January 1745 who married Elizabeth Warren.
They, in turn were the parents of Henry Davis who married Mary Marriott, daughter of William Marriott and granddaughter of Mathias Marriott. More on them in another post.
Henry and Mary had a large family of 12 childdren:
The Children of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott Davis, He the son of James Davis and Elizabeth Warren, she the daughter of William Marriott and Sarah Collier. 1) William Davis married Martha Wells Thompson 2) Benjamin Davis married Tabitha Rose 3) Rebecca Ann Davis married 1st) Roger Tillman Married 2nd) James Taylor 4) Hannah Davis 5) Isham Davis married Sarah Long. Migrated to Halifax Co. NC then to Wilson Co. TN. 6) Keziah Davis 7) Elizabeth Davis married John Rose 8) Randolph Davis married Hannah Marriott daughter of his Uncle Thomas Marriott 9) Henry Davis Jr. 10) Marriott Davis married Mary Nicholson 11) James Davis married 1st) Sarah Holmes married 2nd) Lucy Walker died in 1830 in Brunswick County. 12) Sylvia Davis married Sterling Wright son of Solomon Wright. Moved to North Carolina.
At times, there is also a Joshua, Charles and Edward Davis attributed to this marriage. I will have to do more research before coming to that conclusion. There is a Joshua Davis who shows up in the early records of Anson County and Montgomery County, North Carolina.
It must also be noted that the children younger than Randolph were under 21 at the time of Henry's death and were appointed guardians in the court. James and Henry were appointed James Taylor, their brother-in-law, and husband Rebecca Ann Davis Tillman Taylor, mother of Mary Tillman Floyd with whom Job Davis migrated from Virginia to North Carolina with and Silvia Davis, the youngest child, was appointed Joshua Winfield, brother of Peter Winfield who also migrated to North Carolina and whose daughter, Sarah Winfield became the wife of Job Davis after the death of her first husband Richard Howell. After research on Richard Howell, it has become fairly clear that his roots originated with the Jordan and Howell families of this same area of Virginia.
I will cover land records in a later post, but one of the treasures of my trip to Virginia was the discovery of the Will of Randolph Davis in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. I have never seen any records in my research of the Davis family, of any of the descendants of either Marriott or Randolph Davis. Davis descendants often list Randolphs marriage to Hannah Marriott and leave it at that. But according to the records and to his will, he was the Patriarch of a large branch of the Davis Family Tree.
Listed in his will are a living wife and the following children and grandchildren:
Children of Randolph Davis and Hannah Marriott Davis living in 1825: 1) John Davis 2) Robert Davis 3) William Davis 4) Henry Davis 5) Benjamin Davis 6) Betsy Taylor 7) Rebeckah Vaughn 8) Nancy Cheatham 9) Daughter "S....Y" who married a Moon, Her children mention are Sally Moon, Harry Moon and Betsy Moon. The letter that begins the name is definately an "S" and looks the same as the S to start Sally, but the others could be interpreted as "Saucy" or "Savory". It appears most as S... ae or us..gap..sey or ssy. It could be a spelling of Susey, short for Susanna.
So far in my research of this family, I have discovered that William married Mary Cheatham, daughter of Daniel Cheatham and his wife Agnes Robertson Cheatham and Nancy Davis married her brother Samuel as his second wife.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Davis married Goodwin Taylor
Rebeckah Davis married Robert Vaughn, son of Ambrose Vaughn.
I can not find any record of a Davis marrying a Moon, in fact the only Moon marriage in Mecklenburg was that of a Joseph Moon to a Joan Johnson, several decades before the Davis children were born. It could be that Randolph's "S" daughter married a son of this couple.
The names of the sons are so common, and with the record number of migrations out of this area to less populated areas south and west during this era, it will take awhile to determine which John, Robert, Henry, William and Benjamin Davis are the sons of Randolph and Hannah. It would have been much nicer if they had named their sons Eupradites, Grief, Mitchum, Buckner or River, which are names I have seen parents give to sons during this era.
And now for the Will:
"In the name of God, I Randolph Davis in the county of Mecklenburg VA do ordain constitute & make this my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say,that as soon after my decease as may be committed my Exec. herein after named shall be moved to sell all my estate both real and personal at publick sale the personal estate in a credit of 12 months and all my real estate on a credit of one & two years selling the real estate in such tract and quantity of acres as shall appear most advantageous for my estate in the opinion of my Exectuto. I then give and bequest the proceeds arising from the sale of my estate in the manner and form following, that is to say in the first place it is my will and desire that all my just and equitable debts be justly and honestly paid as soon as possible after my decease and that the remains of my estate I give as follows viz: To my son John Davis I give and (illegible) the sum of $500, 2nd for my son Robert I give and bequest the sum of $300. To my son William I give and bequest the sum of $10. To my son Henry I give and bequest the sum of $5. To my son Benjamin I give and bequest the sum of $10. To my daughter Betsy Taylor I give and bequest the sum of $100. To my daughter Rebeckah Vaughn I give and bequest the sum of $100. To each of the children of my daughter Nancy Cheatham I give and bequest the sum of $50. To Sally Moon daughter of S****Y Moon, I give and bequest $33. To Harry Moon her son I give and bequest $33. To Betsy Moon her daughter I give and bequest $33. And all the rest and residue of my estate it is my will and desire should be equally divided between my sons John, William, Benjamin and Robert. And I hereby constiture and appoint my brother James Davis and my friends Edwin H. Peete & Daniel Middaugh as my Executors to this my last will and testament hereby revoking all wills herebefore subsribed. This 5th day of August, 1823. Randolph Davis (Seal) Signed in the Presence of Us D Middaugh Lewis G. Crutchfield Samuel x Crutchfield his mark The following codicil is upon my request added to this my last will. Item that part of the land that I purchased of William Q Cook, which the said William Cook purchased of Samuel Cheatham containing about 80 or so acres I desire may not be sold by my Executors and my will is that it be laid off by my Executors and I here by give the said tract of land to my son Benjamin in addition to what I have hereforto given him and his heirs forever. Randolph Davis
Witness:
Phillip S Land Ambrose x Vaughn his mark At Court held for the County of Mecklenburg on the 16th day of February 1824 The last will and testament of Randolph Davis within written was proved by the court into court by Daniel Middaugh the executor therein named and proved by the oaths of Lewis G Crutchfield and Samuel Crutchfield and a codicil therein proved by the oaths of Phillip S. Sands & Ambrose Vaughn subscribing witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded and on motion of Daniel Middaugh the Executor therein named who made oath according to law aCertified is granted him for obtaining probate through in one form whereupon he together with Jones Gee, Joseph S. Grigory, Benjamin P. Pennington entered into bond for that purpose and qualified according to law. Edmond L Tabb C. Comm.
And now I commence to try to find clues among the land records I copied to the fate of these persons named in the will.
The Early Patents of Brunswick, Mecklenburg and Lunenburg County before her, tell the story of the interelation, entanglement and bonds of my ancestors as neighbors and relations who intermarried, interacted and emigrated together.
When Henry Davis married Mary Marriott in Surry County, they established another connection to the oldest families then in Virginia.
Both the bride and the groom could trace their ancestory back to the early settlers at Jamestown. Davis' mother, Elizabeth Warren, was a direct descendent of William Spencer, who arrived in 1607.
Josiah Floyd Sr. was given a patent on Avents Creek. The same area the Winfields would live and eventually, several of the children of Henry Davis. The names are reflected in the later, younger arrivals to Anson/Montgomery/Stanly County, because these were their, our, ancestors.
428 Josiah Floyd 15 Dec 1758 VPB 33:526 243a Lunenburg/ on both sides of Avents Cr.
For Example, Edward Winfield, father of Peter Winfield, who migrated to Anson County along the Rocky River about 1785, own two patents, one on Jeneto Creek and another on the Branches of Avents Creek.
766 Edward Winfield 3 Jul 1752 VPB 31:126 466a Brunswick/ S side Jeneto Creek 237 Edward Winfield 5 Sep 1749 VPB 28:678 410a Brunswick/ on the Branches of Avents Creek
Peter would marry Charlotte Freeman, daughter of Arthur Freeman and his brother Joshua would marry her sister Jemima Freeman. The younger of Arthur Freeman and Agnes Stokes Freeman's daughters, Kesiah Freeman, would marry Richard Meanley (would evolve into Manley). The Meanley's along with Freeman and Stokes and Robertson relatives, would be in the party of travelers that Peter and Charlotte Freeman Winfield would emigrate to Anson County, North Carolina. Peter would buy land from Henry Mounger, whose name also shows up in Mecklenburg County, Virginia before showing up in those of Anson and Montgomery counties of North Carolina. Joshua Winfield would remain in Brunswick and after the death of Jemima Freeman Winfield, would marry Rebecca Thrower Carloss, daughter of Hezekiah Thrower and widow of Robertson Carloss. Some of Joshua's children and his stepson would migrate with Peter to Anson. While the older generation would stay there, the younger generation would continue to migrate to Marlboro County, South Carolina. Among these were the Roberston brothers, Drury Jr. and James, who had married Winfield sisters, nieces of Peter, Mary and Martha Winfield, while Peter and Drury Robertson Sr would remain in Anson along with son Booth Robertson. Also among these were nephew Joel Winfield, who would help establish Bennetsville, SC and ran an Ordinary there. Richard Meanly and Kesiah would be in the bunch of Anson residents along with Ropers, Randles, Howells and Logans who would migrate to Tennessee by the 1820's.
Other families who lived in this same area, on the creeks that crossed the northern eastern border of Mecklenburg and northwestern border of Brunswick were the Penningtons, Laniers, Taylors, Nance, Malone, Duke, Ezell, Fielding and a very good friend of Peter Winfield, Sam Marshall. Many other families some of whose relations would migrate to the Anson/Rowan/Montgomery/Cabarrus/Stanly County area of North Carolina also orignated in Southside Virginia, although from along different sections of this county and with other combinations of families including Chandlers who settled along the Meherrin River.
712 Samuel Marshall 6 Apr 1769 VPB 38:587 366a Mecklenburg/ N side of Avent's Cr.
511 Drury Malone 12 May 1759 VPB 34:290 390a Lunenburg/ Brs. of Jeneto Cr. and Avents Cr.
509 Drury Malone 12 May 1759 VPB 34:277 300a Lunenburg/ on both sides of Jeneto Creek
724 George Malone jr 15 Jun 1773 VPB 41:378 420a Mecklenburg/ on the brs. of Avents & Jenento Cr.
87 Thomas Malone 12 May 1759 VPB 34:321 705a Lunenburg/ N side of Jeneto Creek
547 John Taylor Duke 20 Aug 1760 VPB 34:661 245a Lunenburg/ head of Taylor's Cr. & Flatt Cr.
366 John Taylor Duke 14 Aug 1754 VPB 32:387 400a Lunenburg/ on the head brs. of Jeneto Cr.
277 Joseph Chandler 10 Jun 1760 VPB 34:510 1850a Lunenburg/ both Sides of the S Fork of Meherrin Riv.
276 Joseph Chandler of Lunenburg 3 Jul 1750 LUDB 2 p17-18 246a Lunenburg/ both sides S fk of Meherrin R,
725 Sack Penington 15 Jun 1773 VPB 41:399 405a Mecklenburg/ on the Waters of Jeneto & Avents Cr.
406 William Penington 16 Aug 1756 VPB 33:66 367a Lunenburg/ both sides of Stiths Cr.
225 John George Pennington 1 Oct 1727 VPB 28:231 235a Brunswick/ on E side Taylors Creek adj William Pennington
263 James Pennington 9 Oct 1753 VPB 31:423 400a Lunenburg/ S side Avents Cr. on S side Meherrin River
727 William Pennington 15 Jun 1773 VPB 41:401 410a Mecklenburg/ waters of Avents & Jenato Cr. and Adjoining
252 William Pennington 3 Nov 1750 VPB 30:403 630a Lunenburg/ on the head Brs. of Avents Cr.
689 William Pennington 25 Mar 1762 VPB 34:1002 400a Lunenburg/ on both sides of Miles Creek
726 James Pennington 15 Jun 1773 VPB 41:400 135a Mecklenburg/ N side of Avents Cr. Adjoining his own line
Both the Davis family and the Winfield family originated in Surry County. Edward Winfield was the son of Jarvis Winfield of Surry and Henry Davis, several of whose children settled in Mecklenburg and Brunswick, was from Surry. There was already a separate and possibly unrelated Davis family who was already there when Henry Davis and Mary Marriott Davis heirs arrived there. Henry Davis was the son of James Davis and Elizabeth Warren. His family roots trace back to the Jamestown Ship Captain James Davis, son of Sir Thomas Davis and wife Rebekah Keyes. Jarvis Winfield was the son of William Winfield and the grandson of Jarvis Dix and Hannah Wynne, daughter of Sir Thomas Wynne. The Win(g)field family also has roots in the origins of Jamestown. These are very old Virginia families.
I recently traveled to this part of Virginia on vacation, trying to find anything I could on the families I descend from and above all, to find definitive proof of the parentage of Job Davis. It became more clear, that my theory of his being a grandson of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott Davis, because of his close association with Josiah and Mary Tillman Floyd, whom he migrated with in 1794, at the age of 21, and according to the 1839 deposition he gave for Mary to receive a widow's pension from Josiah Floyds' Revolutionary War service, lived with them for 18 months and lived within 2 miles from them for almost 40 years.
Mary Tillman Floyd was a granddaughter of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott Davis. Records clearly trace the marriages of her mother, Rebekah Ann Davis, oldest daughter of the above couple, who first married a Roger Tillman, had 3 children Mary, Nancy and Henry. Henry named his mother and his two sisters in his will. She then married James Taylor and had several more children. James Taylor and his family, in particular, were also very entangled with the Floyd, Davis and Winfield families.
While I did not find a document that named Job as the son of any particular Davis, I was able to find several documents of close interaction between these families, and through the process of elimination, narrowed down to who were not his parents, and then possibly who may have definately been.
The biggest treasure was finding the Will of Randolph (sometimes seen as Randle) Davis, who had married his first cousin, Hannah Marriott, daughter of Thomas Marriott and niece of Mary Marriott Davis. The name Thomas Marriott, be it her father or her brother, Thomas Marriott , Jr. is often seen in close association with the Winfields as well.
What I left with was two assurances and two probabilities.
- Job Davis and his future wife Sarah Winfield, both born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1773, probably knew each other from childhood.
-They both grew up on Taylor's Creek in St. James Parrish.
- Per Randolph Davis' will, his brother James was living in 1825 when his will was written.
- James Davis, whose will I will have to order and wait on, was living in Mecklenburg County at the time of Job's birth. He married first Sarah Holmes and second, in Brunswick, Lucy Walker. Both the wills of James Davis and Lucy Walker Davis are in Brunswick County, 1830.
Most recently, I've been transcribing records from old CD's of Stanly County, North Carolina Superior Court from the 1870's. It's quite an interesting decade, an entirely different setting than the ones prior. The world of the citizens of North Carolina had changed drastically, and the County of Stanly was deep in recovery, and a preponderance of certain types of case were a testimony of that.
Thefts, debts, fights among depressed and war-scarred men drowning their sorrows in alcohol, the desperate acts of widows and orphans, all in a day's audience with the circuit judges trying to bring law and order to a scarred and bleeding land.
While all of them bear historical importance, certain of them bear more genealogical significance, especially those concerning women. Those are the ones involving divorces, bastardy and F & A charges, or Fornication and Adultery. Those are case that can break down brick walls, solve mysteries, and open up entirely new avenues, a new branch in the genetic family tree.
Case Number 16, brought before the Honorable W. A. More, Jr. in the Spring Term of 1878, is one of those cases.
It involved one Wiley Barringer, who had been charged with Bastardy. He was fined $15 immediately, signed a $100 bond and agreed to pay $12 a year for six years, as long as the child was alive.
He admitted paternity, of a little girl, born to "Joicy E. Fisher", to whom the $15 was paid.
Bastardy was an archaic term used in the 19th and 20th centuries to nominate the act of creating a child outside of the holy bonds of matrimony. The charge was taken out on the couple to place financial responsibility on the offending parties and off of the county dole. As most women did not have paying professions, the support of the illegitimate child often fell on the county government, so the courts, when officials discovered the existence of the child or the pregnancy, would force the female parent to fess up and name the male parent, so they could hold him responsible. If she refused, the courts would charge the woman and hold her in jail, until a relative pitied her and got her out, most often her own father or brother.
There were even bastardy cases wherein the offending "baby daddy" was a wealthier, married man, who would pay the woman's bond, and even give her hush money not to name him, but would set her up with property, or money. It was rather obvious what the situation was, but it happened.
I've seen Stanly County cases wherein a married man would be having children with his legal wife and intermittently, also fathering children with his mistress, who often lived near by, whom he would have listed as a "tenant" in records. Some more illustrious and lusty Stanly County gents even had a wife and two or more "tenants", with whom they would bear children. Mr. Joshua C. Burris and Mr. Jordan Kennedy are included in this latter group. But we won't go there. Yet.
This was not the case with Wiley Barringer and Joicy Fisher. It involved one child only.
My first step was to find Joicy Fisher. And I did.
The most recent census following this court case was that of the 1880 census.
In this census we find Joicy Fisher living in the Ridenhour Township in Stanly County with her parents and her two year old daughter, Ada Bell Fisher.
The name Joyce or Joicy was not an overly common one like Mary, Elizabeth or Sarah, so therefore, Joicy Fisher was not hard to find. In fact, she left a very clear paper trail for her era. She lived a long life, moved around a little bit, but not too far, never married, and only had the one child.
Ada Bell was listed as the granddaughter of D. Fisher in this census, so no confusion as to who she was.
Joyce, or Joicy as a nickname, derives from the Quaker name "ReJoyce". Joyce Elizabeth Fisher was the daughter of Daniel Fisher and Leah Dry Fisher and the granddaughter of Jacob Fisher and Barbary Lyerly Fisher and Daniel Monroe Dry and Rachel Lipe Dry.
Her parents are buried at Bear Creek Church and were among the families who lived on and around the Cabarrus/Stanly County line. It is safe to say her ancestry was mostly, if not completely German.
Daniel and Leah had a very large family and Joicy was in the batch of the youngest. She was not an orphan and her father, born in 1813, was not a Civil War veteran. It is uncertain what "led her astray". She was fortunate to be part of an intact family.
By 1870, something very different had happened to Joyce Fisher. She was 21 and living with the Clayborne and Mary Ann Barringer Misenheimer family. The census does not list a profession for her. She may have been helping out with the children, or helping out on the farm, or she may have been rebelious and kicked out of the house by her parents, and was taken in by friends. A friendship with MaryAnn may have been how she made the acquaintance of Wiley Barringer.
The twenty year gap between the 1880 and 1900 censuses encapsulated a twenty year span of great changes and growth in the American landscape. Some people lived and died entirely in this space and it is a time of much aggravation to genealogists. The loss of the 1890 census was a great one.
In 1900, we find Joycie as head of her own household, living in the John's River area of Cabarrus County, with her 22 year old daughter Ada, and taking in boarders, who work in the textile industry.
Bruner Lyerly, I believe, was a cousin, and Thomas Fisher, was her nephew, son of Julius Alexander Fisher, with his young family, wife Martha Parker Fisher and their oldest son, Clarence.
What else can this census record tell us? It tells us that all members, except for the toddler, could read and write. It tells us that Joycie was the mother of one child, with one living, that one being Ada. It tells us that Ada, Thomas, his wife Martha and Bruner Lyerly, were all weavers in the cotton mill industry. It lists no occupation for 50 year old Joicy, so besides being the Head of Household and taking in boarders, she was likely the babysitter as well.
It tells us that ALL of the neighbors, except for carpenter Isaac Freeze, worked in the cotton mill, which tells me she probably lived in or near a town, and definitely near a Cotton Mill, maybe in a traditional "Mill Village".
Ada Bell Fisher would marry on November 4, 1904 to John Mayhew Stillwell (1876-1962) from Lincoln County, son of a John Stillwell and Mary Jackson Stillwell. They were married in Cabarrus County.
1910 would find the family in Locke Township of Rowan, which was the west part of Salisbury and beyond. James Mayhew Stillwell was a farmer, and he had a hired servant to help him, Frank Strickland.
The family included two small children, and mother-in-law, Joicy Fisher. She was now 60 years old. She is given no occupation, and listed as a widow, and mother of one child, with one living. She was not widowed, but I am sure the answer was given for her dignity.
By 1920, the family had moved to Mecklenburg County, and was living in the Lemley area, near Lake Norman and the Huntersville area.
John Mayhew Stillwell was still a farmer and the family had expanded to 4 children. 70 year old Joicy E. Fisher was living with them. This would be her last census.
Joyce Elizabeth Fisher died on July 20, 1923 at the age of 73 years, 7 months and 22 days, Her death certificate gives her place of birth as Stanly County and her place of death as Huntersville, Lemley Township, Mecklenburg County. Her parents are listed as Daniel and Leah Fisher.
It is unknown where Joyce Elizabeth Fisher is buried. Most of her Fisher family are buried at Bethel Bear Creek Church in Stanly County, not far from the Cabarrus County line. Her daughter and son-in-law are buried at Hopewell Baptist Church in Davidson, Mecklenburg County. Most likely she is buried without a stone, or without a legible stone, at one of these two places.
Ada Bell Fisher Stillwell would outlive her mother by 33 years. She and her husband, John Mayhew Stillwell, would raise their family of 4 children, on a farm in Lemley township, rural Mecklenburg County, among a community that included many Stillwell relatives.
1940 would find the couple living with their only son, Jacob Holland Stillwell and his family. He must have taken charge of daily operations of the family farm.
So, this court record of Joycie Fisher and Wiley Barringer did lead to one descendant, Ada Bell Fisher Stillwell, and she was the mother of 4 children, who themselves had descendants. Thus, it bears significant genealogical importance.
The four children of Ada and JM Stillwell were:
1) Esther Lee Stillwell Born January 4, 1906 Iredell County Died March 27, 1987 Mecklenburg County Married: Frank Alexander Reagan on Jan 10, 1924 Children: 1924 James "Jim" Mayhew Reagan, 1927 Mary Bell "Dot" Reagan, 1932 Eva Mae Reagan, 1938 William "Bill" Clyde Reagan
Eva Mae Reagon Beard and husband William Marion Beard
2) Jacob Hollard Stillwell Born January 28, 1909 Rowan County, NC Died May 22, 1961 Burke County, NC Married: Susan Lee Barkley Children: 1928 Holland Ray Stillwell, 1932 Carl William Stillwell, 1933 Thomas Lee Stillwell, 1934 Christine Stillwell, 1936 Benjamin Franklin Stillwell. 3) MaryAnn Elizabeth "Annie" Stillwell Born: October 5, 1912 Rowan County Died: January 20, 2001 Resided in Exmore, Northampton, Virginia Buried in Charlotte, North Carolina Married William Cy Barkley (brother of Susan Lee Barkley, brother's wife). Children: Annie Laura Barkley Watson Peacock, Betty Jo Barkley Garrett Rice, Richard Barkley, Sr. Grandchildren's surnames include: Boseman, Barkley, Kirby, Watson, Beverly. Married Second a Mr. Rector. Tombstone name listed as Annie Stillwell Rector. 4) Lillie Pauline Stillwell Born July 15, 1915 Mecklenburg County, NC Died February 17, 2005 Mecklenburg County, NC Married: Francis Worth "Frank" Mundy or Munday (First husband) Children: 1933 Shirley Pauline Mundy Shaver, 1934 Mary Frances Mundy Long, 1937 Flake Lee Mundy, 1939 Alma Mae Mundy Hendrick, 1941 Linda Lue Mundy Potts, 1942 Barbara Kay Mundy Potts. Married: Herbert Irvin Christenbury (stepchildren Alvin Lee Christenbury, Francis Christenbury Stamey)
So this court record involving the one child, Ada Bell Fisher Stillwell involves a large number of modern day descendants from her four children. Just her youngest daughter, Lillie Pauline, alone, was credited with 16 grandchildren, 17 Great Grandchildren and 5 Great, Great Grandchildren upon her death in 2005 and the family has grown extensibly sense.
So who was this mystery Barringer branch of their family tree?
Research finds two Wiley Barringers living in Stanly County during the middle 19th century.
The first was Wiley John Barringer, son of Mathias B Barringer and Margaret Dry Barringer. He was born in 1834 and married Anna Margaret Barringer, daughter of Nelson Barringer and Crecie Melchor Barringer in 1858. They had 4 children, John, William Brantley, Alice E., Adolphus Leantes,
Wiley J. Barringer fought in the Civil War. His fate is uncertain, but Anna Margaret, his wife, married Joseph Sides in 1869 and had four more children. It is easy to assume she must have been a widow, or believed herself to be a widow and that Wiley J. Barringer was deceased before 1869.
That means he was not the correct Wiley Barringer to have fathered Ada Bell Fisher, which leaves one candidate.
Wiley Monroe Barringer.
Wiley Monroe Barriner was the son of Mathias Barringer and Elizabeth Sides Barringer. He was born on the Cabarrus County side of the county line, but still very close to Joyce Fisher's family, as he dwelt in the Bear Creek area that was plentiful with Barringers and Sides.
He was born March 4, 1856 and died July 13, 1931, making him about 7 years younger than Joyce Fisher, who was born in 1849. In the year of the trial, 1878, he was 22 and she was 29.
He must have broken Joycie's heart, because a little over a year after Ada Bell's birth in January 1878, he married a different, and younger woman, Bellazorra or Isabell Zorra Page, daughter of William M. Page and Mary Ann Newsome Page.
During that era, an unwed birth was very much a shame and left a woman "tainted". Oftentimes, as in Joycie's case, she never married.
Wiley Monroe Barringer lost his father in the Civil War. Mathias died at the prison in Elmire, New York, where many a man lost his life.
His first census was in 1860, as a child, with his brother John Barringer and sister Julia Ann Barringer Honeycutt, in the home as well.
He fathered Ada Bell Fisher with Joyce Elizabeth Fisher in 1877, the child being born in January of 1878 and the relation ended there. Besides the payment of money owed and acknowledgement in court of paternity, it appears that Wiley Barringer had nothing else to do with Ada Bell. She may not have even known he was her father. Joycie appears to have kept that under her hat later in life. Ada Bell listed no father on her marriage license, and none was unknown on her death certificate.
But descendants of Ada Bell Stillwell Fisher might find that they have many Barringer related cousins in their dna chart, if they take the test. So this is why.
Wiley Monroe Barringer did head a large family. At age 23 he married 19 year old Isabell Zorra or "Bellzorra" Page on December 7, 1879.
They had the following children:
1) Cora Lula Barringer Born: July 5, 1880 Cabarrus County, NC Died: Sept 13, 1937 Gold Hill, North Carolina age 57 Married : July 26, 1900 age 20 To: Jonas Peter Isenhour 12 Isenhour children: 1901-1980 Myrtie May Isenhour Barringer 1902-1912 Minnie Ethel Isenhour 1904-1945 Amanda Marybell "Mandy" Isenhour Cook 1907-1982 Lewis Albert Isenhour 1909-1991 Hoy Edward Isenhour 1911-1963 William Howard Isenhour 1912-1981 Luther Elmer Isenhour 1914-1965 Margie Lucille Isenhour Dease 1917-1978 Virginia Kathleen Isenhour Adams 1918-2002 Edna Lonla Isenhour Goodman 1920-1987 Burton Deberry Isenhour 1923-1992 Dona Elizabeth Isenhour Leonard 2) Paul Monroe Barringer Born: August 25, 1884 Cabarrus County, NC Died: October 20, 1959 Rowan County, NC Married: August 3, 1904 To: Elizabeth Joanna "Lizzie" Rowland (1885-1942) Married later in life to Annie Mae Hill Morgan as well. 10 Barringer children: 1905 - 2005 Hattie Margie Mae Barringer Harwood 1907-1985 James Thomas Barringer 1908-1982 John Wiley Barringer 1911-1972 Love Charles Lee Barringer 1913-1931 Paul Herman Barringer 1915-1988 Napolean Lawson Barringer 1918-1957 Lloyd Edmund Barringer 1921-2004 Vetra Coralee Barringer Klutzz 1924-2013 Madie Magdalene Barringer Hilton Deal 1926-2002 Vernon Lionel Barringer 3) John Alexander Barringer Born: May 3, 1886 Cabarrus County, NC Died: January 30, 1944 Winston-Salem, NC Married: May 30, 1909 To: Katie Beaver Two Barringer Children: 1910-2001 Ruth G. Barringer Hudson 1911-1991 Dwight Rudolph Barringer 4) George Wesley Homer Barringer Born: August 15, 1887 Cabarrus County, NC Died: November 2, 1957 Hot Springs, Arkansas Married 1st: December 25, 1902 to Lucy Roxie Isenhour (1881-1957) North Carolina Three Barringer children to this marriage: 1903-1981 Elsie Irene Barringer Sides 1905-1980 Roy Glenn Barringer 1909-1986 Howard Franklin Monroe Barringer Married or unmarried to Nina Irma Wagner (no license found) (1893-1986) Arkansas Three Barringer children to this relationship: 1911-1974 Albert Wesley Barringer 1921-2006 Perry Ralph Barringer 1925-1944 Eldred Eugene Barringer (This son of Wiley Monroe Barringer deserves his own story for his strange tale). 5) William Adolphus B. Barringer Born: November 5, 1888 Cabarrus County, NC Died: February 18, 1979 Stanly County, NC Married: July 17, 1908 to Martha Dinah Troutman (1888-1981) Seven Barringer children to this marriage: 1908-1993 Allen Monroe Barringer 1911-1913 Florence Brown Barringer 1913-1913 Clarence Barringer 1914-1993 Mabel Cleo Barringer Vanhoy 1916-2003 Helen Irene Barringer Hall 1919-1999 Lena Rebecca Barringer Morgan Slough 1923-1923 Infant Barringer 6) Charlie Lee Barringer Born: November 5, 1890 Cabarrus County, NC Died: December 26, 1975 Stanly County, NC Married: November 1, 1911 to Pearlie Lillie Helms (1896-1967) 17 Barringer children born to this marriage. 1912-1977 Raymond Monroe Barringer 1913-1914 Nellie Barringer 1914-1915 Bertha Barringer 1916-1997 Mary Letha Barringer Bailey LaForce 1917-1989 Roy Daniel Barringer (Los Angeles, California) 1919-1943 Robert Lee Barringer (Buried in Nettuno, Roma, Lazio, Italy 1920-1921 Alma Daisy Barringer 1921-2008 Pauline L. Barringer Burris 1923-1994 Ralph Junior Barringer (Buried in Chula Vista, San Diego, California 1925-2013 May Bell Barringer Burleson 1927 - ? Margaret Eva Barringer 1928 - 1990) Cora Lou Barringer Almond Swaim 1928 - 1999 Martha Sue Barringer Shaver 1930-1992 Vernie Cleo Barringer Furr 1932- ? Wilma Marie Barringer Allen 1934- ? Louise Barringer 1934-1961 Ruby Carolyn Barringer Eudy 7) Wade R. Barringer Born: May 25, 1892 Died: November 14, 1897 Gold Hill, North Carolina. Aged 5
8) Clarence Richard Barringer Born: May 26, 1894 Cabarrus County Died: February 27, 1971 Rowan County Married July 26, 1913 to Martha Louise Hatley Later Divorced. Nine Barringer children born to this marriage. Only 4 grew to adulthood, and only one of those made it past the age of 21. 1914-1933 Annie Lee Barringer - died at age 18 1916-1994 Willie Esper Barringer-died at age 68 1918-1918 James Reece Barringer - died at 10 months old 1919-1940 Boyd Baxter Barringer - died at age 20 - Auto accident 1921-1923 Clarence Richard Barringer, Jr. - died at 18 months old 1924-1945 Clarence Eugene Barringer - died at age 21, WWII,Married - 1 son 1926-1926 Mary Madeline Barringer - died at age 5 weeks old 1928-1928 Twins, son and daughter- died in infancy. 1 day old.
Clarence Eugene "Eugene" Barringer
9) Lawson Riley Barringer Born: March 9, 1895 Cabarrus County, NC Died: December 3, 1972 Palestine, Anderson, Texas Married: May 12, 1917 Van Zandt, Texas To: Eva Mae Rackley One Barringer child 1922-1971 Eva Jo Barringer Craft 10) Walter G. Y. Barringer Born: October 7, 1896 Died: May 29, 1897 11) Lilly Florence Barringer Born: August 9, 1902 Died: May 27, 1991 Cabarrus County, NC Married: January 19, 1920 Age 17 To: Will Franklin Blake, also age 17 Marriage late annulled.
One child: Franklin Aubrey Blake later known as 1920-1994 Franklin Aubrey Barringer, also seen as Franklin Aubrey McBride. Below, first and middle names are transposed and surname is incorrectly transcribed as "Black". Parental names and date of birth is correct.
Name:
AubreyFranklin Black
Event Type:
Birth
Birth Date:
2 Sep 1920
Birth County:
Cabarrus
Parent1 Name:
WillBlack
Parent2 Name:
LillieBarringer
Roll number:
NCVR_B_C016_66001
Volume:
6
Page:
670
Married: August 27, 1925 To: Guy Hampton McBride (1892-1944) 8 McBride Children: 1923-2001 Ruby Lee McBride Hinson (Cabarrus County, NC) 1925-1952 Walter Hampton McBride (Cabarrus County, NC) 1928-1998 Mary Bell McBride Measimer (Stanly County, NC) 1929-2008 William Monroe McBride (Massachusetts) 1913-1931 Infant Daugther McBride 1933-1972 Charles Theodore McBride (New Jersey, buried Cabarrus, Navy) 1935-1989 Millie Marie McBride Hill (Cabarrus County, NC) 1936-2008 Albert Archie McBride (Cabarrus County, buried Rowan, NC)
William Monroe McBride and wife Ruby
With this large number of descendants, just up to the level of grandchildren, just imagine how many living descendants of Wiley Monroe Barringer there could be now as Great-Grandchildren, Great-Great-Grandchildren and even two possible generations under those? Many of them probably do not realize the extinct and breadth of their Barringer relations and I am sure few, if any, know of the existence of Ada and Joicy Ann Fisher. Hopefully, one day, one of them will find this blog, and it will explain those odd DNA matches on their family tree, or break down one more brick wall.
