I begin where I left off in my last post, with a deed in Anson County, North Carolina.
This particular deed is found in Book Y Page 35. It is dated December of 1831 and everyone living mentioned in the deed was living in Perry County, Alabama. But they all descend from families who had originally lived in Anson County and most of the individuals mentioned were also probably born there. But the deed presents a conundrum. The deed, being a factual document, obviously unseen by the individuals who really could not get past Alabama, is at odds at what descendants of these individuals have surmised concerning their own ancestors.
I have found these individuals in Perry County, Alabama. Other people have also researched them already and some of the documentation they have attached to them is factual, others are not, but apply to other people of the same name, somewhere else. The deed implies, nay, not only implies, but proves, declares, that these individuals are related. But in the family trees of Alabama, some of them have been hooked to the wrong wagon, or in one case, it appears an imaginary person has been completely invented and plucked out of thin air, because I can't even find the existence of such an individual at all.
Yet again, in coming from the roots up, instead of starting from the branches down, I'm in conflict with what was commonly accepted, that was based on what developed from grasping at straws, or in that one case, complete conjecture.
Deed Y 35 follows immediately Deed Y 34, named " William Lee and others to Abner Proctor". Y34 is a power of attorney, wherein William Lee, his wife Lydia Proctor Lee, and her brother, John Proctor make Abner Proctor, the younger brother of Lydia and John, their 'lawfull agent and attorney' to sell and dispose of their share of their deceased fathers, Ira Proctor, property in Anson County, NC.
It begins, "Benjamin Homes and others to Abner Proctor" 'Know all men by these presents tha we Benjamin Holmes Moses Holmes Solomon Lee David Lee and Asa Hinson all of the County of Perry and State of Alabama for and in consideration of the natural love and affection which we have for and bear unto Abner Proctor of the same county and state as above also for the sum of $1 to us in hand paide by the said Abner Proctor..."
This is what is known as a Quitclaim deed, wherein a piece of property is transfered from one family member to another (usually) for a nominal fee ($1.00), a legal way to give something away.
Continuing, "piece of land in the County of Anson and State of NC situated on Gould's Fork Creek bounded on the North by land formerly owned by James Holmes......being a part of a tract formerly owned by Ira Proctor and descended from him to John Holmes in right of his wife Nancy, formerly Nancy Proctor containing....... and we the said Benjamin Holmes, Moses Holmes, Solomon Lee David Lee and Asa Hinson for ourselves our heirs......forever warrant this tract of land to Abner Proctor. December 1831.
Witnesses were Purvis Johnson and Gray Allen.
I already know that Gray Allen was a family member and had married a daughter of this family. I would not doubt that Purvis Johnson might also be a Holmes/Lee inlaw.
The facts clearly stated in this deed are in fact, corrobarated by another document located in Perry County, Alabama, in Will Book B Pages 277-278, wherein Benjamin Holmes wills all of his property to his named nephew, James Lee.
In looking at the families and estates of Ira Proctor, who passed away about 1809, apparently after having just arrived with his family in Perry County, Alabama, all the while leaving property in Anson County, NC, and his son John, who made it to the 1840's, I keep finding more pieces of this incomplete and misconstrued family puzzle.
There are links to other families, that are in multiple ways, tied to each other and to the Proctor's. Several of these families seem to flow like an unhindered river from Virginia to Edgecomb County, North Carolina to Anson County, NC to Perry County, Alabama. Whether by division into smaller counties or just physical relocation, some end up in neighboring counties, but Perry seems to be the gravitational center.
Certain of these families are as intertwined as Morning Glory vines climbing a fence post. Or a bunch of muscadine vines smothering an old maple tree.
We have the Lees, the Holmes, the Hinsons and a touch of Grace. And it all revolves back to the Proctor's.
While I looked into Ira, his will in Perry, his land divisions all the way back in Anson, NC and the interactions of his oldest son, John, both in Anson, NC and Perry, Alabama, the one person I had totally forgotten and accidentally found, who had also left an estate,was his wife Rebecca.
Rebecca's maiden name is yet unknown, but certain close relationships could suggest it's possibilities. Her estate was probated in Perry County in 1819 and suggests a demise in the same calendar year. Above is the first page of her estate.
Notice it names:
Ira Proctor (dec'd) husband
Heir's:. John Proctor
Mary Proctor
Penny Proctor
Nanny Proctor
Lydia Proctor
William Dismukes Adm
Richard Lee. Adm
There are 3 glaring questions to be gathered from this list either by inclusion or omission.
Why is Abner Proctor not named? As the youngest son, he was about 4 when his father passed and about 14 here. I know from his father's papers that Solomon Lee and Ethelred Allen were named as his guardians. Solomon being a son of Rebecca's Administrator and Mr. Allen his son-in-law. Abner would be the executor of his brother John's estate in 30 years to come. Why was he omitted?
Now this is the same listing of heir's from Ira's estate. Notice the names of Sarah and Abner, who are missing from Rebecca's. Anne on here, I discovered, is the same person as Nanny on Rebecca's.
But Rebecca lists John, and Ira's don't. Rebecca also lists a Penny.
Name:
Ire Procter
Home in 1800 (City, County, State):
Fayetteville, Anson, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10:
2
Free White Persons - Males -10 thru 15:
1
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44:
1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10:
2
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44:
1
Number of Household Members Under 16:
5
Number of Household Members Over 25:
2
Number of Household Members:
7
Ira Proctor was presumably born in Edgecomb County, NC, possible son of an Abner Proctor, based on other research found online, not my own. He first appears in the 1800 census of Anson County, NC as a male between 26 and 44 with an adult female in the home in the same age group. It can be safely presumed that this is Ira and Rebecca.
There are 5 children in the home, 3 boys and 2 girls. Abner Proctor was not born until 1805, so two of the others could possibly John and Ira, Jr., the later who is mentioned in the earlier dated estate papers of Ira, Sr., but was apparently deceased by 1817, when he is no longer listed with the others.
Of note, a Linny Proctor is listed in the 1790 Heads of Families for Anson County, in a female-headed family of 6 females and 2 young males. Online family trees list the following family tree for Ira Proctor:
Abner Proctor: 1738-1798
Wife Sarah
Children: Ira 1760-1809
Henry 1764 - ?
Abner Proctor is listed as the son of Joshua Proctor (1708-1769) and Mary Ellis (1711- ?). Siblings listed were: Joshua, Mary, Lydia, Rebecca, Lucy and Abigail.
This Linny could have been the wife of a John Proctor, who is said to have been born in Spotsylvania, Virginia about 1718 and married to a wife named "Leanna". He died about 1790 in Anson County. This John Proctor left a will in Anson County in 1790 and named his wife, Linny and two sons, William and Sterling. He did not name his daughters, but the 1790 census of Linny indicates they had some.
Anson County Deed Book P, Page 197 Dated November 8, 1814, lists the heirs of Ira Proctor as: John, Lydia, Ira, Ann, Sarah, Abner and Mary. By 1817, Ira is no longer included in the list.
Ira Proctor first shows up in the Deeds of Anson County on March 25, 1799 in Book FG Page 102.
He purchased 2 tracts of land from John Hattaway for 300 'Spanish milled dollars". The tracts were located on the Southwest side of Boggan's Branch of Gould's Fork. Owners of neighboring property were named as "McNatt", William May, Joshua Hodges, and Morgan Brown. The Witness was Benjamin Parrimore.
The second deed is dated September 3, 1807 and is found in Book LM on Page 273. He adds to his land on Gould's Fork by making a purchase from his neighbor, William May, the Carpenter. I suppose his occupation was named to differentiate him from another William May in the area. It was signed by William May Jr. for William May, 'Carp', and witnessed by Daniel May.
Two years later, on November 3, 1809 is when in Book NO Page 195, appears "Rebecca Proctors Thirds or Dower", wherein 109 3/8 acres is set aside for Rebecca Proctor, widow and relict of Ira Proctor, deceased. The dower is mentioned as meeting the lands of William Dabbs and a Mr. Teal.
Then on Nov 8, 1814, the 'Division of Ira Proctor's Land" is found in Book PQ Page 197 of Anson County and names John, Ira, Abner, Lydia, Nancy, Sarah and Mary. It was signed by J. Holmes, Joseph Newsome and John Grace.
By 1830, John Proctor and William Lee and his wife, Lydia Proctor Lee, were giving Power of Attorney concerning their shares of Ira Proctors land in Anson County to Abner Proctor, and stating that they lived in Perry County, Alabama and most certainly in the 1830 census of Perry County, a William 'Lea" is living right next door to John Proctor.
Rebecca Proctor seems to have passed away in 1819. By all reason, she should appear in the 1810 census of Anson County. The estate records of Rebecca, Ira and oldest son, John, all appear in Perry County, Alabama, but none of them show up in the census records there until 1830.
Three of the daughters of Ira and Rebecca Proctor were married in Anson County, North Carolina, between 1820 and 1830. These years may be approximate and incorrect.
Anson County, NC
County Index to the North Carolina Marriages Database.
735. Holmes, John Proctor, Nancy 1831
736. Holmes, Theopholis Proctor, Mary 1820
895. Lee, William Proctor, Lydia 1830
This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by
Marceline Beem <marceline@mindspring.com>
Instead, in 1810, the only Proctor I found in Anson County was an Amy or Amey Proctor, with 4 children. She's living near my ancestors Stark Ramsey and Ludwell Carpenter, whom I know lived in the Burnsville area of Anson County.
Name:
Amey Proctor
Home in 1810 (City, County, State):
Anson , North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15:
2
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25:
1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44:
1
Number of Household Members Under 16:
4
Number of Household Members Over 25:
1
Number of Household Members:
6
Who was Amy? At first I thought Amy might have been Rebecca. I've seen women, especially, go back and forth between their first and last names. But then Amy shows up again in the 1820 census, and I know Rebecca has deceased by then, in Perry County, Alabama, no less.
Name:
Amy Procter
Home in 1820 (City, County, State):
White, Anson , North Carolina
Enumeration Date:
August 7, 1820
Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over :
1
Free White Persons - Over 25:
1
Total Free White Persons:
2
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other:
2
Amy Procter is over 45 in 1820 with another young woman in her home. Also listed in "White" is a young man, Brinkley Proctor. He could have been her son.
Name:
Brinkley Procter
Home in 1820 (City, County, State):
White, Anson , North Carolina
Enumeration Date:
August 7, 1820
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25:
1
Number of Persons - Engaged in Agriculture:
1
Total Free White Persons:
2
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other:
2
But, interestingly enough, they are not the only Proctors in Anson County, NC in 1820.
In Allen, there is a William, but transcribed rather confusedly, because on the actual document, it gives his name as "William Proctor alias Lee", indicating he was known as both William Proctor and William Lee. That's a very, VERY interesting entry. But interestly yet more to me was the fourth Proctor living in Anson County in 1820.
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other:
3
Penny Proctor, a young mother with two daughters. I know the names of those two daughters, and that is another post yet to come.
Now recall, in the land division of Ira Proctor, 7 heirs (children) are named: John, Ira, Abner, Sarah, Lydia, Mary and Ann or Nancy.
In the estate records of 1817, all those are listed with the exception of Ira, Jr.
In the estate records of 1819, for Rebecca Proctor, in Perry County, Alabama, the following heirs are listed.: John, Mary, Nanny (aka Ann, aka Nancy), Lydia and Penny. So, again, why wasn't Penny listed among Ira's heirs? Why was Abner and Sarah not listed as an heir of Rebecca Proctor? Could Ira Jr. have been old enough to have married at the death of his father -to Penelope, aka Penny and left her a widow in Anson in 1820?
Penny Proctor would marry Asa Henson/Hinson in January of 1823, in Perry County, Alabama. Together, they would have 3 children in addition to the ones she already had. Asa Henson was included in a Quitclaim Deed dated December of 1831 in Anson County, NC along with Benjamin and Moses Holmes and Solomon and David Lee, all of Perry County, Alabama, transfering their interests -as heirs of Ira Proctor- in a tract of land formerly belonging to Ira Proctor, deceasd , 'for love and affection- to Abner Proctor, youngest son of Ira Proctor.
It must be noted and reminded at this point that two daughters of Ira Proctor, Mary and Nancy, married Holmes, Theophilus and John, respectively. It must also be noted that Solomon Lee, or A Solomon Lee, was named as guardian of the minor, Abner Proctor after the death of his father. It must also be noted that Solomon Lee and David Lee both married Holmes as well, Martha and Haran, respectively.
In addition, in must be recalled that Solomon Lee and David Lee were brothers and sons of Richard Lee, administrator of both the estates of Ira Proctor and Rebecca Proctor.
The estate records of Rebecca Proctor would clear up at least one of these questions.
Rebecca Proctors estate owed money for the services of a Physcian, Dr. William Mendenhall.
Her account stated she was treated in February of 1818 with 'sundry visits and medicine' for herself for $24.25.
In May of 1818, for "Sally" for $1.25 and in November of 1818 for Nancy.
"North Carolina, This day William Mendenhall personally appeared before Jeremiah Benton, Esq and made affirmation that the above account $24.25 against the estate of Rebecca Proctor, deceased, $12.50 against the estate of Sallie Proctor, deceased and Three dollar and fifty cents for Nancy Proctor is true to the best of his knowledge.....Jan 4, 1819."
So Rebecca, Sarah aka Sallie, and Nancy Ann aka Nanny, all fell ill in 1818 and were treated by Dr. Mendenhall. Rebecca and Sallie passed away, ie why Sarah is not listed in Rebecca's estate records. Nancy survived the illness and married John Holmes.
Page 4 of the Estate of Rebecca Proctor is a receipt from John Grace for the purchase of wheat and bacon. Signatures were that of John Grace and A. Caraway, JP. I remember from land records that John Grace was a neighbor of the Proctors on Gould's Fork in Anson.
Page five deals with a man named Martin Pickett and Rebecca Proctor, wherein Rebecca promises to pay Labon Caraway.
The next section brings in Penny Proctor once more.
"On or before the 1st day of July next I do promise to pay Richard Lee, admin of Rebecca Proctor deceased .80 cents being for value recieved witness one hand and seal."
Dated July 25, 1818
her
Signed Penny x Proctor
mark
Signed by and attested to by Labon Caraway.
The inventory of the estate was simple, domestic and agricultural. The buyers of most of it being Penny, John, Mary and Nanny Proctor with a few purchases by Pleasant Little and Joseph Newsome.
Rebecca's estate record only answered one question and that was the fate of daughter Sallie Proctor. It left me with more, like why she did not list Abner as an heir and also, if Penny Proctor was her heir, why wasn't Penny an heir of Ira in 1809-1814 estate records?
So far, this is what I do know:
Heirs of Ira and Rebecca Proctor combined:
1) John Proctor born between 1790 and 1808 according to the 1830 and 1840 censuses. Name of first wife unknown. Oldest child, Ira, born in 1825. Married second, Mary Thompson in Perry County, Alabama in 1841. No children with her. Died in 1843. His widow remarried James Palmer.
2) Penny Proctor born about 1793 in NC. Oldest child born in 1814. Married Asa Henson in 1823 in Perry County. Died prior to December 1857 when Asa married Emaline Elkins.
3) Mary Ann Proctor, born about 1804, married Theophilus Holmes in Anson County, NC. Died in 1872 in Louisiana.
4) Sarah aka "Sallie" Proctor, birth unknown, probably between 1800 and 1808. Died of an illness in Anson County, NC in 1818.
5) Nancy, Nanny, Ann Proctor. Married John Holmes in Anson County NC.
6) Lydia Proctor, married William Lee in Anson County, NC, grandson of Richard Lee. Relocated to Perry County, Alabama.
7) Abner Proctor born about 1808, died in 1880 in Leon County, Texas
8) Ira Proctor, Jr. , alive in 1814, deceased by 1817.
While researching the Alabama Turners, it was quite evident, by proof of an 1853 Marriage document, that the only son from the home of Patience Turner to survive past 1860, William P. Turner, had married one Mary Carolina Proctor. However, there were two trains of thought running through the direct descendants of this family as to the maiden name of the wife of his brother James Turner, who had died proor to 1860, leaving a widow and 4 children. One son had named his mother as Elizabeth Threadgill, which was a lseanible possibility, as the youngest sister in the family, Chalotte, had married William H. Threadgill, son of Joshua Hull Threadgill of Anson County, whose property adjoined that of her grandfather, James Turner in the Red Hill Church area of Anson County along Jack's Branch.
To add to that connection, after the death of Mary Caroline Proctor Turner, her widower, William P. Turner, would marry Mollie Creps. Mollie Creps was the daughter of Eliza Jane Threadgill Creps, a sister of William H. Threadgill, so Mollie was the granddaughter of Joshua Hull Threadgill. So therefore, this theory seemed feasible.
However, the child of James and Elizabeth Turner of Sumter County, Alabama who lived the longest, their only daughter, Mary Louise, would have her mother named as Elizabeth Proctor on her death certificate. This was certainly a feasible theory too, as it was not uncommon for siblings to marry into another family of siblings in those days.
I had one clue. In the 1900 census of Porter Springs, Texas, a 20 year old young man named Joseph Proctor was living in the home of William A Turner, oldest son of James and Elizabeth Turner, and his relationship was given as a cousin. If William A. Turners mother was a Proctor, this would easily explain how Joseph Proctor was his cousin.
I have not found a marriage license for James and Elizabeth. This does not mean there was not one. It could have been in another county. Also, some records from that era just did not stand the test of time. So many different circumstances and acts of nature have destroyed records over the decades, especially, over centuries, that it is nearly a miracle that anything survived at all.
Also, James was single in 1850 and living in the home of his mother. Therefore, Elizabeth should be single in the 1850 census as well. But I did not find her. Not in Sumter County, Alabama at any rate. There were Elizabeth Proctors in other places. Was she one of them? And would Mary Caroline be found with her? Were they sisters?
The first step would be to find out more about Joseph Proctor.
If Joseph Proctor was indeed born in 1879, as given in the 1900 census, then he should show up in the 1880 census as an infant. That would give us a clue of who his parents might be. If he was named Proctor, and a first cousin of William A. Turner, then it would make sense that his father would be the brother of William A. Turner's mother, Elizabeth, if she indeed was a Proctor, herself. But the census didn't say he was a first cousin. Just a cousin. He could be a first cousin once removed, a second or third cousin, for all we know. But it's a lead.
Before going backwards, however, I had to go forward, in order to know if I had the right person or not. Thankfully, Joseph Franklin Proctor married, had a family, and lived a long life into modern times. He moved around some, but remained in Texas.
I also found him as an infant in 1880. Joe was the son of an Ira Proctor, born 1825 in Alabama and died in 1890 in Washington County, Texas, and his wife, Myra T. Lewis Proctor Hendrick (1835-1922). If Joe was the first cousin of W. A. Turner, then it is time to focus on Ira. So, now it was time to go backwards in time.
1870 found Ira at 44, married to Myra, 33 in Washington County, Texas, where he remained in 1880, with no children yet. Myra was probably expecting William, their oldest son, at the time.
In 1860, he had arrived in Washington County, Texas, where he would remain. He was 26, single, and working as an Overseer for a merchant named Jethro Atkinson. Still, no sign of where Ira came from, except that he was born in Alabama. Could it have been Sumter County or thereabouts. The 1850 census was my only hope. He would have been a teenager. Hopefully, he could be found living with his parents..
I found Ira in 1850, as a teenager alright. And he was living with a Proctor family. He should have been 16, but he was labeled as 20. The adults in the home, Abner, 40 and Sarah, 36, could logistically be his parents. But something was amiss. Normally, from what I have seen, even in these census records before the relationship of the individual began being stated, children were listed in order of age in the census by the census takers. Not always, but usually. Any other persons who lived in the household, mother-in-laws, boarders, household employees, were always tacked on at the end. A big gap between older children and younger children, especially when the heads of the household were older, could even indicate grandchildren. If Ira was the oldest child, why was he tacked on at the end, instead of being listed in between Sarah and Mary?
It was time to now turn my attention to Abner Procter. He was, after all, a Procter or Proctor. And he had a daugther named Caroline! But there is no Elizabeth. 1850 is the census that Mary Caroline Proctor could be found, if she were to be found, before she married William P. Turner. The same with William A. Turner's mother, Elizabeth, before she married William P.'s brother James.
And then I saw....that Abner Proctor had been born in 1810 in North Carolina... All roads leading back to NC? Perhaps to Anson County?
Name:
Abner Procktor
Home in 1840 (City, County, State):
Perry, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29:
1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:
2
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29:
1
Slaves - Males - Under 10:
4
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23:
2
Slaves - Males - 24 thru 35:
1
Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35:
1
Persons Employed in Agriculture:
5
Free White Persons - Under 20:
2
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
2
Total Free White Persons:
4
Total Slaves:
8
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves:
12
The first census I actually find Abner Procter in is the 1840 one, in which he lived in Perry County, Alabama. Now, Perry County wasn't Sumter County, where the Turner's lived. But it is the county where some of my Winfield family, that I researched several years ago, ended up, after living in the same part of Anson County as my Turner family. Listed on the same page to be exact.
The above map shows the distance between Perry and Sumter. They don't connect, but they are not too far from each other.
And then, the names of some of the Turner grandchildren of my focus couple, Axom and Patience, began to make sense. There was an Abner Proctor Turner, who was born in 1885 (which turned out to be 5 years after Abner Proctor, himself, died). He was the son of William P. "Billy" Turner, Jr and Laura Corder Turner and a grandson of William P. Turner, Sr. and Mary Caroline Proctor.
And Willliam P. Turner Sr. and wife Mary Caroline Proctor Turner, actually had a son named Ira Proctor Turner, a brother to Billy, born in 1873.
So, it appeared that I was on the right path, so who was Abner Proctor?
I found that he was indeed born in North Carolina about 1810. He married Sarah Hulda Mahala Morris in Perry County, Alabama on January 13, 1834. He moved to Leon County, Texas fairly early on in its development, around 1836, and there remained, raising his family there and dying on September 5, 1880 in Centerville.
He left a will. He had Mahala had 8 children:
1836-1882 Mary Ann Proctor Reed
1838-1907 Lydia Caroline Proctor McLaughlin
1841-1902 John Thomas Proctor
1844-1927 Sarah J. "Sallie" Proctor McLendon
1846-1903 William Proctor
1847-1883 James Ira
1849-1915 Frances Evelyn "Fannie" Proctor Ellis
1851-1920 George K. Proctor
James Ira was not the 20 year old Ira Proctor in the 1850 census, instead, he left was left out it seems. He married and died young, at age 35. He was an entirely different person. But that name "Ira" was a popular one in the Proctor family.
So, Abner Proctor was not the father of Ira Proctor who was living with him in 1850. Plus, there was still no sign of Mary Caroline Proctor or an Elizabeth the age of the wife of James Turner of Sumter County, Alabama. Could Ira have been a younger brother? A 20 year age difference, a big gap there, but still quiet possible, especially if there may have been different mothers. So I had to go another generation back. And I found the source of all of the "Iras" in the Proctor family tree.
Name
Ire Procter
Home in 1800 (City, County, State)
Fayetteville, Anson, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10
2
Free White Persons - Males -10 thru 15
1
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44
1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10
2
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44
1
Number of Household Members Under 16
5
Number of Household Members Over 25
2
Number of Household Members
7
An Ira Proctor is found in the 1800 census of Anson County, and it appears he leads back to an Abner Proctor (his father?) found in the 1790 census of Beaufort County, NC.
Then in the Perry County, Alabama estate files, is one for Ira Proctor, suggesting a date of death of the year 1815.
Page from the Estate File of Ira Proctor.
In this file are named his wife, Rebecca, who apparently followed him in death just two years later in 1817, and the following children: Mary Ann, Abner, Nanny, Penny, Lydia, Sarah and John.
Abner Proctor was the son of Ira Proctor the first. But there was no Ira Jr. nor was there a Mary Caroline or Elizabeth, and he died long before those 3 were ever born.
Abner Proctor was appointed guardians, being about 5 years old at the time:
"Solomon Lee and Ethelred Allen, Solomon Lee is appointed guardian for Abner Proctor, a minor of Ira Proctor, deceased.." dated September 1824. Signed by James C. Scott, Simon Williams and William Hornbuckle.
Ira Proctor also appeared on in the following Petition in Anson County.
It was then that I turned to the land records of Anson County, to see if they could shed any light.
There I found several deeds that provided as many questions as they did answers:
The above is the Dower laid off for Rebecca Proctor, 'widow and relict' of Ira Proctor along Gould's Fork in Anson County, North Carolina. "Beginning at an Ash (tree) standing in a fork of Gould's fork". This lot was surveyed in November of 1809 and neighboring properties were that of William Dabbs and a Teal. The Division was for 109 and 3/8 acres and was proved in court in Janurary of 1810. Ira Proctor died much earlier than the 1815 that I have seen given.The above is found in the deeds of Anson County, NC, Book NO Page 195.
In Book P Page 197, Dated the October Term of Court 1814, I found:
"In Pursuant of Order of Court October 1814 to lay off and allot to John Proctor real estate of his father Ira Proctor deceased 8 Nov 1814"
John Proctor was the brother of Abner Proctor, an older brother, as it appears. In this document I discovered 7 Lots more or less equally divided to the 7 children of Ira Proctor.
Lot 1 - 49 1/2 acres to Anne (I would discover that Anne and Nancy are the same daughter)
Lot 2 - 50 acres to Lydia
Lot 3 - 50 acres to Sarah
Lot 4- 50 acres to Ira (Jr. obviously. As this Ira is never mentioned in the later estate papers and this is many years before the other younger Ira is even born, I can only conclude he died as a child. The only two sons mentioned in the 1817 probate papers are Abner and John, so this Ira must have died between 1814 and 1817.
Lot 5- 44 acres to Abner Proctor
Lot 6- 51 acres to Mary Proctor
Lot 7 - 50 acres to John Proctor
As the lots were not completely even, the judge ordered leverage with the following:
"Guardian of Ira to pay John $14.66 and to Mary $8.68"
"Guardian of Ann to pay Mary $19.96"
"Guardian of Lydia to pay Sarah $2.16 and Abner $9.66 and Mary $22.35"
Witness Signatures were J. Holmes, Joseph Newsom and John Grace. "
Now, jumping ahead to 1832 - 8 years later to Book Y Page 150 in Anson County Deeds. If Abner Proctor was born in 1805, he was 27 in 1832 and as his father had to have died in 1809 or prior, he would have been 4 at most. He was raised by Guardians (Solomon Lee and Ethelred Allen) and/or his mother. His mother may have remarried. That, I haven't found.
Book Y Page 150 Anson County, North Carolina deeds:
"This indenture made this 21st day of March 1832 between Abner Proctor of the County of Perry and State of Alabama on the one part and William Grace of the County of Anson"
Abner Proctor made a sale to William Grace. Recall that a John Grace witnessed the 1814 Divison of Property of Ira Proctor to his heirs. William Grace and John Grace were most likely related and most likely neighbors of the Proctor family lands. Grace was not a name you found a kazillion of in Anson County, unlike Lee's or Allens.
For $600 Abner sold a tract on the "SE side of Goulds Fork and both sides of the Road leading from Wadesborough to Mecklenburg being the land formerly owned by Ira Proctor".
Just a short space above is a picture of a sign labeled "Gould's Fork". I made a picture of this sign while on my way to tour the old Turner Homeplace. The land sits right on Goulds Fork, a small branch not far from Brown Creek.
It continued: " beginning on the bank of Reedy Fork, Holmes Corner - except for Lot No 6, Lot 7, Lot 4, the balance to William Grace".
These lots were lots in the division of the lands of Ira Proctor. It was signed by Abner Proctor and witnessed by Rufus Johnson and John Grace.
Then, there is an addendum wherein 'Offy' Holmes and his wife Mary "have conveyed our part of Lot No 3 to William Grace". But it was signed Theophilus Holmes and Mary Holmes. I can then conclude that Offy Holmes and Theophilus Holmes are the same person, with Offy being a nickname for Theophilus like the nickname Bill is for William. I can also conclude that Theophilus Holmes and Mary Holmes were heirs of Ira Proctor. I'm no legal or real estate expert, but I've seen enough of these old deeds to understand if a male was an heir, the deeds name him only. If a married female was an heir, it would then name her and her husband, or even just her husband 'in right' of his wife.
So Mary Holmes would have been the daughter of Ira Proctor and she married Theolphilus Holmes. In the Divison of Lands in Deed P Page 197, Mary Proctor had been deeded Lot 6.
Also keep in mind, that while the land is in Anson County, NC, that Abner Proctor is named as a resident of Perry County, Alabama.
We continue on to Book Y Page 34 Anson County, North Carolina Deeds.
" Know all men by these presents that we William Lee, Lydia Lee formerl Lydia Proctor wife and consort of the said William Lee and John Proctor all of the County of Perry and State of Alabama in consideration of the confidence which we repose in our friend and relation Abner Proctor of the same state and County have nominated contributed and appoint him the said Abner Proctor our only true and lawful agent and attorney to convey and transfer all the right title of Estate......situated in the County of Anson and State of North Carolina on the waters of Goulds Fork, a parcel of land formerly belonged to Ira Proctor since deceased......."
It was dated the 27th day of October, 1830 It includes a codicil from the Governor of Alabama and an attorney in Alabama giving Power of Attorney to Abner Proctor, with a great deal more legal ramblings, but no more genealogical substance and is signed by William Lee, Lydia Lee, and John Proctor.
So, now we know that these individuals were Abner's brother John, his sister Lydia Proctor Lee and her husband William Lee. Keep in mind, that while the land was in Anson, all of the individuals are in Perry County, Alabama.
The V-E-R-Y N-E-X-T page is a deed that sheds a lot of mystery on the family. But not really. Coming from the roots up, without looking at any of the information from Alabama, it all fits together quite logically. It's just when I tried to find these individuals after this time in Alabama, that it is all over the place.
Book Y Page 35 Anson County, North Carolina Register of Deeds 'Know all men by these presents that we Benjamin Holmes Moses Holmes Solomon Lee David Lee and Asa Hinson ALL of the County of Perry and State of Alabama'....... 'for and in consideration of the natural love and affection we bear unto Abner Proctor of the same County and State as also for the sum of $1 to us in hand paid by the said Abner Proctor".
*Note that one dollar is the usual nominal legal amount used when a relative is actually giving a piece of property to another relative.
"piece of land in the County of Anson and state of North Carolina situated on Goulds Fork Creek bounded on the north by land formerly owned by James Holmes............being part of a tract formerly owned by Ira Proctor and " - This part is VERY IMPORTANT- 'and descended from him to John Holmes in right of his wife Nancy, formerly Nancy Proctor".
So, I now know that Mary Proctor married Theophilus Holmes, Lydia Proctor married William Lee, and Nancy Proctor married John Holmes AND that the property of Ira Proctor was 'bounded on the north' by the property of a James Holmes.
This deed was a QCD, or a quitclaim deed, which was used most often to transfer property between family members.
It ends with "we the said Benjamin Holmes, Moses Holmes, David Lee, Solomon Lee and Asa Hinson for ourselves, our heirs.......forever warrant this tract of land to Abner Proctor. "
It was Dated December 1831 and witnessed by Purvis Johnson and Gray Allen.
Benjamin Holmes, Moses Holmes, David Lee, Solomon Lee and Asa Hinson, by blood or marriage, were descended from Ira Proctor and closely related to Abner Proctor.
A Solomon Lee was made Guardian of Abner Proctor when he was a child.
Asa Hinson lived in Sumter County, Alabama in 1850, said to be right next door to Patience Turner, widow of Axum Turner, according to all evidence I have discovered. His son, William D. Hinson (sometimes seen as Henson) was the bondsman to the marriage of William P. Turner and Mary Caroline Proctor in Sumter County, Alabama in 1853.
See how the dots are connecting?
However, I found these 5 guys in Alabama. If you look at the family trees of descendants of them, you do not find these familial connections at all.
Benjamin Holmes was born in North Carolina about 1805 and died in Perry County, Alabama about 1869, leaving a will. Some of his descendants have him with unidentified parents, which is fine. They don't know. Others have him being the son of a William Holmes and Mildred Partin and being born in South Carolina, while the census records clearly state North Carolina.
The descendants of Moses Holmes have it even worse, tying him to an obviously very different Moses Holmes. And Asa Hinson? I'm not even going to go there....yet. This is all another post, not because I am a descendant of any of them, just related by marriage many generations back in my family tree, but just because so many people have such different ideas of who they were, when the land records of Anson County, NC, which they've never seen, lay it all out so clearly.
But, getting back on the right path. I had been looking for the parents of Mary Caroline Proctor, possibly of an Elizabeth Proctor as well. I had found an Ira Proctor whose son was labeled as a Turner cousin. I found Ira Proctor at 20, in the home of an Abner Proctor. I discovered Abner Proctor was born in Anson County, North Carolina and was the son of an older Ira Proctor, however, the younger Ira Proctor was not the son of Abner Proctor.
So, the question remains, Who was Ira Proctor?
Ira Proctor the first, who had owned land in Anson County, NC and had moved to Perry County, Alabama prior to 1810 and had died around 1809, had left a wife named Rebecca and children: John, Mary, Lydia, Nancy, Ira, Sarah and Abner. Ira, alive in 1814, was not mentioned in 1817 with the other children, the only logical conclusion being he died between those years, and as he had a guardian, he was a minor between those years. That left 2 sons: Abner and John. As Abner was not the father of Ira the younger who was alive in 1850 and beyond, it was time to take a closer look at John Proctor.
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):
5
I don't know exactly how old John Proctor was, but he first appears in the 1830 census of Perry County, Alabama as a young man between 20 and 29, giving him an estimated birth year of 1801 and 1810. As his father died in 1809, I believe he had to be in the older end. This was suggested in the 1840 census. He appears to have had a wife also between 20 and 29 with two daughters under 5 and one son under 5.
Name:
John Pricktor [John Procktor]
Home in 1840 (City, County, State):
Perry, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:
1
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:
1
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49:
1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9:
2
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14:
1
Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35:
1
Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54:
1
Persons Employed in Agriculture:
5
Free White Persons - Under 20:
6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
1
Total Free White Persons:
7
Total Slaves:
2
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves:
9
His wife, name unknown (but children's records suggest she was born in North Carolina), seems to have died before 1840. He now appears to have 4 daughters, 2 sons and has acquired two female slaves, perhaps to look after the children.
John did not stay single long.In 1841, he married a lady named Mary Thompson. The marriage did not last long.
Name:
John Proctor
Spouse:
Mary Thompson
Marriage Date:
6 Jan 1841
County:
Perry
State:
Alabama
Performed By Title:
Justice of the Peace
Performed by Name:
Wm Hornbuckle
Source information:
Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research
There was another deed back in Anson County which may give a time frame as to when John Proctor arrived in Perry County.
Source
divide between Goulds Fork and North Fork Jones Creek
White Store Road, Avery Road, US 74, NC 742, Brown Creek Church Road, Lockhart Road
Anson county Deeds, Book U Page 137
John Proctor to Duncan McRae
Indenture dated Nov 16 1820
Both of Anson
" a parcel of land alotted to me by the jury when my father's lands were divided....lying in Anson on Gould's Fork. ....by the jury in 1814."
Witnesses:
L. Caraway
Theophilus Holmes
The very next deed was from Theophilus Holmes to Duncan McRae.
Theophilus Homes to Duncan Mcrae
18th Day of Nov. 1820
Between Theophilus Holmes
and wife of Anson to Duncan McRae of same....on the waters of Goulds Fork being all the lot of land allotted to Mary Proctor of her fathers land by a jury in 1814.
Mary Proctor Holmes being the sister of John Proctor.
There was another deed between Theophilus Holmes and Duncan McRae, this one involving a tract in the "District of Illinois". It was for 160 acres in the Northwest Corner of Township 3 North in Range 7 West, "in the tract appropriated by an act of Congress for military bounties in the territory of Illinois, Warrant No 19749."
This reminded me of a genetic block under ancestry dna that I am a member of called "Central North Carolina, Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois Settlers. The map shows a great swath of migration from this area throught Tennesee into southern Missouri, down to Alabama, Arkansas and Texas, with this unconnected little blob in Illinois where a large group of genetically connected people inhabit.
The estate of John Proctor was probated in 1843. His executor was his brother, Abner. Within, his heirs are named.
:following are the heirs to wit
Mary Palmer, late widow of the said deceased, Ira, Rebecca, Elizabeth, John and Mary Proctor are the children of the said John Proctor, deceased and that Ira, Rebecca, Elizabeth are over the age of 14 and have not chosen a guardian + John + Mary is (sic) under the age of 14 and they also have no guardians".
Jno Cunningham, clerk Abner Proctor.
Another page states:
'The State of Alabama Perry County Abner Proctor admin of the estate of John Proctor deceased who being 1st sworn, upon oath states that the following are the children and heirs of the said estate, to wit, Ira Proctor, Rebecca Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, Caroline Practor and that they are all mnors underneath the age of 21 years.
Signed Abner Proctor and John Palmer in right of his wife, Mary.
Mary Palmer being Mary Thompson Proctor Palmer, widow of John Proctor who had remarried, but not the mother of the children.
Notice that on the first page compared to the second, all of the named children are the same, except on the first page, a Mary is named and on the second a Caroline is named.
This is Mary Caroline Proctor who married William P. Turner.
Her sister, Elizabeth married James Turner, brother of William P. Turner.
Ira Turner, father of "Cousin Joseph F. Proctor" was the brother of Mary Caroline and Elizabeth.
Abner Proctor was their Uncle.
Asa Hinson, father of William D Hinson who was the bondsman for the marriage of Mary Caroline Proctor and William P. Turner, was living right next door to the widow, Patience Turner and her children in the 1850 census of Sumter County, Alabama.
Asa Hinson, along with Benjamin and Moses Holmes and Solomon and David Lee, are named as relatives of Abner Proctor and heirs of Ira Proctor the first, in an Anson County, NC deed.
Solomon Lee was named as the guardian of Abner Proctor after the death of Ira Proctor, Sr.
Ira Proctor Sr lived on Gould's Fork in Anson County, a branch of Brown Creek, sometimes known as Little Brown Creek.
I crossed Goulds Fork as I approached the Turner family Homestead a few weeks ago, researching my Turner family origins.
The Carpenters, Axoms and Threadgills were not the only families whose ties to my Turners extended back many generations and from this one section of Northwest Anson County to West Central Alabama.
The Proctors held ties that went back generations, from Anson to Alabama, and perhaps further back than that.
And it all began with Ira Proctor.
In 1843, his widow married a man named James Palmer, in a ceremony performed by the same Justice of the Peace, William Hornbuckle.
