Sarah (Duncan) Birdwell (1798 - 1860)

Born 12 Nov 1798 in Fayette, Madison, Kentucky, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Moses Birdwell — married 8 Sep 1815 (to about 1831) in Madison Co. Alabama

Descendants

Died 1860 at about age 61 in Montgomery, Texas, United States

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Biography

Widow of Moses Birdwell. Daughter of Charles Duncan & Mary Ann Estil Woods (Some say Margaret Ann Woods). She was a granddaughter of Charles Duncan Sr., Revolutionary War soldier, and Sarah Browning .

Deed of Sarah (Duncan) Birdwell selling her land in Marion Co., TN. to James Clepper, brother of her son-in-law, John Clepper, who married her daughter, Amanda Minerva Birdwell: Marion County Courthouse, Whitwell, Marion Co., TN Book 1, page 391: Birdwell, Sarah: To: Deed of Land--James Clepper I, Sarah Birdwell, have this day bargained & sold & hereby transfer & convey to James Clepper & his heirs forever for the consideration of eight hundred dollars to me in hand paid all the interest & claim that I have to the several tracts or parcels of land owned by John Clepper & myself in the County of Marion & State of TN. To have & to hold the aforesaid tracts or parcels of land together with all & singular members & appurtenances to the same belonging or in any wise appertaining to him the said James Clepper his heirs & assigns forever & I the said Sarah Birdwell for my self my heirs executors & administrators to warrant & forever defend the title to the said land and the lawful claims of all persons whatsoever. This the 2 nd day of September 1866 signed sealed & delivered in the presence of J.J. Brown; a.W. Harris/ Sarah Birdwell (seal) State of Tennessee--Marion County--Personally appeared before me H.G. Blansett Clerk of the County Court for said County A.W. Harris on of the subscribing witnesses to the within deed and after being sworn according to law deposeth & say that he was well acquainted with Sarah Birdwell & was present & saw her assign the within deed for the purposes therein contained & expressed & on the day it bears date. Witness my hand at office this 4th day of January 1869 H. G. Glansett, Clk. Filed & noted for registration July 24th 1869 at 10 o'clock A.M. stamped 90 cents, W.J. Johnson, Reg.

According to Lucille Clepper Mehram, "It is believed she (Sarah) is buried in an unmarked grave near the old town of Montgomery." She was living in the Town of Montgomery in 1860, according to the census, in the household of her daughter Amanda and son-in-law John Clepper, a farmer whose real estate was valued at $8,000. While she could be buried in a small community cemetery near their farm which was within the city limits, the description could likely be this cemetery since several of their neighbors were buried here.

"The Story of Madison County, Its People and Places" contains an article on Sarah (Duncan) Birdwell saying she left Marion Co, TN about Oct 1856 for Arkansas with her son-in-law and daughter John and Amanda (Birdwell) Clepper and their eight children, and her grandson John Brown Birdwell and his sister Mary Jane Birdwell, probably going through Boone Co, AR to visit with John's uncle V. John Clepper. Her son Charles Duncan Birdwell and his other eight children (Wm. David, Sarah A., Edmund Thomas, Amanda Eveline, Ruth Elizabeth, Charles Duncan Jr, Virginia Nancy, and Elvira) remained in Marion Co. TN. After visiting in Arkansas for a while, Sarah and the Clepper family moved on to Montgomery Co, TX leaving the Birdwell children in Arkansas (quoted by Effie Birdwell).

Marion County, Tennessee History Book: Sarah Duncan married Moses Birdwell in Madison Co., TN 8 Sept. 1815. They moved to Franklin Co., TN in 1823. After Moses died at his father John's home in Lawrence Co., AL., Sarah moved to Marion Co. TN to live with her daughter John and Amanda Birdwell Clepper. The article mentions grandchildren John Brown Birdwell and Mary Jane Birdwell; her son, Charles Duncan Birdwell and his children: Wm. David, Sarah A., Edmund Thomas, Amanda Eveline, Ruth Elizabeth, Charles Duncan Jr., Virginia, Nancy and Elvira and that they removed to Marion Co., TN. Sarah remained in Arkansas for a time & then she & the Clepper Family moved to Montgomery Co., TX leaving the Birdwell children in Ark. She is listed in the 1850 and 1860 Montgomery County, TX censuses but not the 1870. "It is believed she is buried in an unmarked grave near the old town of Montgomery" (written by Lucille Clepper Mehram, Palo Pinto County, Texas).

Sources

1850 Census of Marion Co., Tennessee, USA in the Household of John Clepper

1860 Census of Montgomery Co., Texas, USA. In the Household of John Clepper

Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research, Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920 (Selected Counties)

Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research, Alabama, Marriage Collection, 1800-1969

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Source number: 8840.132; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1

Find A Grave: Memorial #133762883 retrieved Sarah Duncan

Histories and Genealogies, 1907, by William H. Miller, p.676

American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) Godfrey Memorial Library, comp. Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc