The West Family Line - Peter's Children

Peter West's

Children

Peter had four children this post is devoted to the story of his son, James Peter West and his children.

James Peter born 1 Aug 1812 to 1815 in Granville County, North Carolina.
On 19 Dec 1836 he  married Nancy Currin.(9 May 1817 - 10 May 1896)
By the 1870 Census James and his family had traveled through the Cumberland Gap to Butler, Kentucky.  He would have made this trip with wagons pulled by oxen. It would not have been an easy trip but the opportunity for land was too tempting.

Cumberland Gap

The family settled in Butler Kentucky shown here on the map of Kentucky.

Butler Kentucky

They had nine children:

Stephen Spencer West was born in 1837. He married Sally Ann West on 19 Nov 1860 in Granville County. They had one son, George Spencer. George was born in 1862.   On 27 Feb 1862 he joined the Confederacy. Stephen died in the Civil War at Chancellorsville, Virginia. Sally traveled with the family to Kentucky but later returned to Granville County.

Stephen West

George and Mollie West

This is George Spencer West the only son of Stephen and Sally.
George was born in  and died in 1956. With him is his wife, Mollie Littlejohn Kinton. She was born in 1866 and died in 1942.

















Martha Ann West was born in 1844 in Granville County. She married Arthur Coswell Fuller on 13 Sep 1863 after he returned from fighting in the Civil War. He came home with a spinal injury that left him disabled.  Martha passed away in 1899 in Granville Couny.

Arthur Fuller

James Reuben West was born 25 Apr 1846 in Granville County. He married Elizabeth Thomas King on 2 Oct 1866. Elizabeth was the daughter of William King and Mary Jane Currin. (6 Mar 1845 - 2 Jul 1916) James passed away in Kentucky on 14 Jan 1909.

They had nine children

James Reuben and Biddy King

He is buried with many of the family members in Cooks Cemetery in Butler County, Kentucky.

James Reuben West

For more information about James Reuben, a great place to start would be at Find A Grave

More information about James Reuben West

The above link will also take you to others in this family line.

Rowena Ann West was born in 1848 in Granville County. On 4 Apr 1877 she married John G. Coleman from Logan Kentucky. Rowena and John had 5 children. She passed away on 5 Jan 1899.

Rowena West

Elizabeth West was born about 1850 in Granville County and died 20 Jul 1916 in Butler Kentucky.

I believe this could be her picture.

Elizabeth West

Presley West was born about 1855 in Granville County and passed away on 29 Jan 1916 in Butler Kentucky.

Ellen West was born in 1857 in Granville County. She married Shelby Dye on 21 Jun 1883. They had three children. Unfortunately this is all I have on her right now.

Ella West

William Fletcher West was born on 15 Apr 1859 in Granville County.  He passed away in Butler, Kentucky on 24 Apr 1886.

William Fletcher West

Rufus West was born on 10 Sep 1860 in Granville County. He married Nancy Adaline Cardwell of Butler Kentucky. They had nine children. Rufus passed away 20 Mar 1910 in Butler Kentucky.

James Peter passed away 11 Mar 1882 and is buried in Cooks Cemetery in Butler Kentucky.

Nancy passed away 10 May 1896.

This is the story of James Peter West and his family. 
Thanks for stopping by!
My next post will be about Peter's other children.
Pattie

The West Family Line - Peter

Peter West

Son of James

My 4x great grandfather

Peter was the third child of James and Sarah West. He was born in May of 1774, probably while James and Sarah were still in Maryland or possibly around the time they came to Granville County. Records do not answer this question. 

Peter married Susannah Edwards around 1811,  although we do not have a document at this time.

Susannah was the daughter of William Edwards and Mary Mosley of Granville County.

William and Mary were married 3 Feb 1797. William passed away by 1804 and Mary passed in 1850.

William was the son of Thomas and Sarah Edwards.

Peter and Susannah had four children:

• James Peter
• Thomas
• Mary
• Lucinda

From documents it appears that Peter provided a home for his wife's sister, Judith and her mother, Mary Edwards

In his will Peter left his entire estate to his wife, Susan. He instructed that it was his wish that nothing be sold until the fall to pay his debts and that at that time only perishable property be sold that would be sufficient to cover his debts leaving it to the discretion of Susan to sell such as she can most conveniently share. At her death, it was his wish that all be sold and divided between his legal heirs.

He also left Judith his young bay horse and her heirs forever. To Mary Edwards, if she should live longer than his wife, that Mary and Judith remain and have possession of his lands during their natural life and then it would be disposed as earlier instructed.

There was a dispute over the estate against the executor of the in July 1843 for the sum of $11.71.

From the Index in Granville we see that probate began in February of 1841 and from this we can conclude that Peter passed away in 1841.

Next post will be about the children of Peter.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pattie

The West Family Line

Children of James and Sarah

1. James was born 2 May 1769 probably in Maryland. He died as a young man and requested to be buried on Cooper's Mountain. He never married. 
2. Susannah was born 25 Apr 1771 probably in Maryland. 
3. Mary was born 15 Feb 1773 probably in Maryland
4. Peter was born in May of 1774. He married Susan Edwards the daughter of Thomas Edwards and Mary Mosely.
5. William was born Feb 1776 and married Michael Frazier 29 Dec 1802 the daughter of Malachi Frazier of Granville Co.
6. Daniel was born Nov 1777 and married Judith Frazier sister to Michael, on 7 Feb 1803
7. Abraham born Nov 1778 and married Nancy Pinson 17 Nov 1803
8. Sarah born 10 Aug 1780
9. Joseph born Feb 1784
10. Ann born Oct 1785
11. Elizabeth born 12 Mar 1787
12. John born May 1790 married Ann. J. Wilkerson 16 Dec 1822 daughter of James Wilkerson and Sarah Sanford

Some of William's children moved into Kentucky.

The West Family Line

James West

As promised, here is the page from the Bible. The Bible's copy-write date is 1850 so we are now thinking that the information was transferred by a daughter later.

West Family Bible

James died without a will in 1806. Included in his estate sale were 9 books.

Sarah's widow's portion was: 

• 9 barrels of corn
• 25 barrels of brown sugar
• 8 lbs. of coffee
• 100 lbs of bacon
• 100 lbs of pork
• 1 bushel of salt
• 1 mare about 4 years old

James West's estate sale was held on 26 May 1806.

A few of the sold items are listed below.

Sarah purchased the following items:

• 1 book and a pair of flat irons
• 3 pewter dishes and 1 basin and spoon
• 1 flax wheat and 1 barrel
• 1 coffee mill and 1 coffee pot
• 1 chest and 1 ? of furniture
• 1 sow

Son Peter purchased the following items:

• 1 ax sythe blade
• saw
• rifle
• 2 raw cowhides
• 3 shears
• 1 saddle
• 3 books
• 1 chest
• 1 bay mare

Son Abraham purchased

• 2 books
• 1 bay horse
• 2 ducks

During his life in Granville James purchased 5 tracts of land that equaled 624 acres. This land is listed as being on Ruin Creek and Mountain Creek. The earliest purchase was in January of 1785.

This date seems to go with that first record of James in Granville.

Another family story is that James was from Wales. Several descendants have researched this and have concluded that James was probably from the area of Manorowen in Wales. However no proof has been discovered as yet. 

Searching on Find My Past I found a possible 117 entries for a baptismal for James West but none were in Wales. This is an example of a James West in Middlesex where he was transported from. I have no idea if this is James but thought you might like to see an example of the parish records for that time. 

Next post will be about James and Sarah's children and the records found for them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time have fun climbing your family tree!

Pattie

The West Family Line

James West

The Story Continues

Today I will share the documents and other sources that I have found about James and Sarah. 

As I said earlier I know that he was in Granville County by 1784 and that is through primary sources. Through transcribed documents we find that he was in Granville earlier than that. 

On the NCGENWEB site I found a transcribed document that James took the Oath of Allegiance and that was probably in 1777. Why do I say 1777, because going through the Bute County North Carolina: Minutes of the Court of  Pleas and Court Sessions, 1767-1779 by genealogist Brent Howard Holcomb it was in 1777 that they sent out Justices to obtain these oaths. 

On the NCGENWEB site I also found a transcription for a Company of Foot(Infantry) belonging to Captain William Burford and James was on that list. 

From Fold3 they had the following:

James enlisted in 1782 and served for 18 months. It does not appear that he or Sarah applied for pension for his service. If they had, there would be more documents and this is unfortunate for us today. If he had applied the documents would have given us so much more information about him and the battles he was involved in. Maybe there are more records out there but as of today I have not found them. 

Below is a section of the 1786 State Census from the Island Creek District. James was not a slave owner during his lifetime. It could be for moral reasons or due to his own experience as a servant. 

Also on the NCGENWEB site was the transcribed Tax Payers in Granville County in 1788. James is listed on this document but appears to have no land or carriage wheels. It was for Abraham's Plains District. 

James West is on the Federal Census for 1790 but I do not have a copy of that document. 

James and Sarah had at least 12 children that she recorded in her family Bible. Cousin Cindy is sending me copies of the pages from the Bible and I will share them with you soon. These are the children that she listed with their birthdates:

• James West born 2 May 1769
• Susannah West born 25 Apr 1771
• Mary West born 15 Feb 1773
• Peter West born May 1774
• William West born Feb 1776
• Daniel West born Nov 1778
• Abraham West born Nov 1778
• Sarah West born Aug 1780
• Joseph West born Feb 1784
• Ann West born Oct 1785
• Elizabeth West born 12 Mar 1787
• John West born May 1790

Some people list a Hannah and an Elsie but Sarah did not record these births, so I will not either.

James died in 1808 without a will. More about his estate is on the way. 

This is all I have for today. 

Thanks for stopping by!

As Christa Cowen says from Ancestry.com, Have Fun Climbing Your Family Tree!

Pattie

The West Family Line

James West

The Story Continues

From the last post we saw that James probably was the James convicted and transported to Baltimore on the Tryal. So, what happened to him between the time he landed and appears in the records of Granville County, North Carolina. Unfortunately I have not discovered information that is directly linked to James. I have, however, discovered the general story of many that were transported. This story is conjecture... what I think might have happened. 

This week I posted on FaceBook asking for information about James West. Many people do not realize what a wonderful resource for genealogy FaceBook is. From this post I have discovered new cousins!!! I am so excited to be able to share and talk with them. One of the stories about James that was passed down went something like this; He was slopping the hogs, put down the bucket, walked to London and hopped on a boat to America. There is usually some truth in these stories... 

James life as a laborer in the new world could not have been a pleasant one. They were treated worse than slaves and many ran away. Below are some actual advertisements looking for these runaways. If James ran away, which I believe he did, it would explain how he was able to marry and start a family before his seven years were up. We may never find "his" advertisement because many of these convicts did not give their "owners" their real names. 

So, going back to the family story, maybe James did put the slop bucket down and walk/run away.

Looking for a Runaway

Looking for a Runaway

Looking for a Runaway 

Looking for a Runaway

 James was probably in Maryland or not too far away when he walked/ran away. How did he get to Granville County, North Carolina?

Let's look at the roads during that time and the best way to explain it would be to look at this map.

James would have started his travels on the King's Highway traveling down to Fredericksburg, Virginia. From Fredericksburg he would have taken the Upper Road which went right through Granville County. The Upper Road was especially popular among the Scots-Irish colonists. By 1748 the original trails had been improved enough to be considered wagon roads.

The Upper Road was actually a part of the Occaneechi Path that joined Petersburg Virginia to the Carolinas. The path was named for the Occaneechi, a small but important tribe who acted as trading middlemen between the Europeans and the Cherokee. The Occaneechi lived primarily on a four-mile long island on the Dan and Roanoke River near present day Clarksville, Virginia. Those of us that know the area are probably thinking "so close to where the West family lived". 

Here is a map of the Occaneechi Path.

The Occaneechi Path

Today parts of the Interstates 85, 77, and 20 follow the Occaneechi Path. 

The next puzzle is when and where did James meet and marry Sarah??

From the database, U.S.and International Marriage Records 1560-1900 we are given the following information about James and Sarah.

However, we need to aware that this database was built using information from family group sheets, pedigree charts, family history articles, Bible records etc. This database is not built on primary resources. Information about this particular record can be obtained by contacting Yates Publishing. 

Since James' first child was born around 1769 we can assume that they were married at least by 1768.

On my next post I hope to share the records that I have actually found that have James in them. 

Until then, happy digging!

Thanks for stopping by!

Pattie

The West Family Line

James West

My 5x Great Grandfather

I have spent several days trying to nail down this man. I know he was in Granville County, North Carolina in 1784, but where did he come from??

There were a few other men with the surname, West, in Granville in the 1700s.

• Thomas and Francis West were both listed as being on the Muster Roll of the Granville Regiment under the command of Colonel William Eaton in 1754.
• Thomas West had a land patent in 1761 on Cypress Creek.
• Thomas and his son Richard West were on the list of taxables in 1755
• Richard West had a land patent in 1761 near Bear Swamp.
• John West had a land patent in 1754 on Stony Creek.

But these men do not appear to be related to James and they seem to have moved away from Granville County. I am still looking into these men as possible father of James. I can not eliminate them definitely yet.

However since I am a DNA match to others that are descendants of Peter West, Jame's son, I have looked into other trees and we all seem to have the same sources for James.

This is what appears to be the story of James West.

James was born in the United Kingdom, probably in Middlesex, although family stories indicate that he said he was from Wales.
The database; U.S. and International Marriage Records 1590-1900, has James marrying Sarah Bowman. They both have a birth year as 1750.

In January of 1765 James appears in court documents. He was convicted of Grand Larceny in the theft of a cloak. He was transported to Baltimore, Maryland on the ship Tryal. His sentence was for seven years. He was 15 years old at the time. 

In 1718 the first Transportation Act allowed the courts to sentence felons guilty of offences to seven years transportation to America. Although it was believed that transportation might lead to reformation of the offender, the primary motivations behind this punishment were a belief in its deterrent effect, and a desire to simply remove hardened criminals from society. 

Below are the transcribed court documents. 

Transcription of the trial of James West

Transcribed from original 

Photo copy of original document

Below you see that James was (S) sentenced and (T) transported in January of 1765.

Bonded Passengers to America Volume II - Middlesex: 1617-1775

From these documents it appears that 15 year old James got into trouble and found himself in America. 

Hope you enjoyed this passage through time!

More coming on James West and his adventures.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pattie

New Member of Our Family Tree

Maverick Alexander Otis

Born April 1, 2016