Lucy (Hart) Nelson (1772 - 1846)

Born 11 Dec 1772 in Moore, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 4 Nov 1846 at age 73 in Coffee, Tennessee, United States

Biography

In Her Own Words:

23 Oct. 1843 Coffee County, Tenn. (from a pension statement)^[1]

'Lucy NELSON aged about 71 states she is the widow of pensioner John NELSON. They were married by Rev. Sherwood WHITE in Chatham County, N.C. on 12 Oct. 1786.

"[Husband John Nelson] died in Coffee County 19 Aug. 1843. She presented the record of their family as proof. (Torn piece from the Bible record)

• John NELSON was born 9 July 1775

• John NELSON and Lucy HART married 12 Oct. 1786 by Shurwood WHITE Baptist preacher.

• Lucy HARTT was born 11 Dec. 1772

• Mary NELSON , daughter , was born 25 May 1789

• Rebeckah NELSON, daughter, was born 11 June 1791

• James DAVIS and Rebeckah NELSON married 25 June 1807 by John HENRIX, Minister Duncard Church. 
23 Oct. 1843 Coffee County, Tenn.

Mary HAITHCOCK [daughter] aged 52 states the family Bible of John NELSON has been in her possession since his death. She saw him write the entry of his marriage in it, transcribing it form an older Bible which was nearly worn out.


27 Feb. 1844 Coffee County, Tenn. Lucy Nelson states that no license for her marriage was ever issued. An announcement that the marriage was to take place was made at he meeting house before and after preaching, in accordance with the laws of North Carolina at that time.

William D DUNCAN, aged about 67, states he knew John and Lucy NELSON for about 42 years, having met them at the church where they were members. They were not persons of education but John NELSON could write. When DUNCAN first knew them, the oldest of their children was about grown. John NELSON died in Coffee County. [Note: William D. Duncan is the brother of Mary Nelson's first husband, Lewis Duncan]

John BANKS Aged 6(?) states he became acquainted with NELSON about 1808. They then had grown children and were then and continued to be members of the Methodist church. John NELSON was a member of the Masonic fraternity. They had lived in Coffee County about 15 years before the death of John NELSON.

2 April 1846 Lucy NELSON aged 74 states a Mr. JACKSON of Murfreesboro wrote her previous pension application and obtained proof of her marriage from her brother, James HART, who was present at the wedding. James VAUGHN, J.P., vouches for Lucy NELSON and states she is too old and infirm to appear in court.

Lucy Nelson, with her husband John Nelson, lived in several states.

1786: They were in Chatham, NC for their marriage. ^[2]

1790: Moore NC census ^[3] This is the house in Moore County where John Nelson, in his pension application, stated he had been living when it burned down, destroying his military discharge papers in the fire, as well.

1800: Greenville SC ^[4] This fits the fact that John Nelson, in his pension application, stated that they had lived for a time in South Carolina. In this census, the ages fit, as well as the fact that their daughter's first husband, Lewis, also lived in Greenville SC.

After this, the Nelsons also lived in Kentucky and Indiana, finally settling in Warren and Coffee county, Tennessee, where their daughter Mary was living with her large family.

1840: Coffee TN^[5]

Lucy died in Coffee TN Nov. 4, 1846. ^[6]

Research Notes

It is not yet clear which line of Harts Lucy descends from. It is frequently given in family trees that her father was John Hart of Chatham NC. The will of this man, however, does not suggest that Lucy Nelson was his daughter. (he names a daughter Lucy, but the indication is that she is still single, and at the time of this will, Lucy had been married for a few decades.) The other possibility is that in the Greenville SC census the Nelsons are living next door to an older John Hart household. But again, the will of this man is problematic. In it he does not even mention Lucy, which seems odd because she was living right next door to him. Still, not an impossibility. Research is ongoing.

The following clues are of interest:

• Lucy mentions in her pension statement that she has a brother James, old enough to have attended and remembered her wedding in 1786.

• Since their marriage took place in Chatham NC, we note that this area was formed from Orange, NC about the time Lucy was born. This opens the possibility that the large family of Harts that were early settlers in the Hawfields, Orange Co. NC region could be her relations.

• Related to the above, the Wrightsborough, Georgia, Quaker settlement contained the names of three Hart men, as well as the family of John Duncan whose family Lucy's daughter Mary would later marry into.

Name

Lucy /Hart/^[7]

Sources

• Source: S65 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.; Repository: #R1 NOTEThis information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.
• Repository: R1 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com E-Mail Address: Phone Number:

1. ↑ Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
2. ↑ Source Citation Source number: 1442.001; Source type: Pedigree chart; Number of Pages: 1 Source Information Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived from an array of materials including pedigree charts, family history articles, querie.
3. ↑ Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; First Census of the United States, 1790.; Year: 1790; Census Place: Moore, North Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 7; Page: 163; Family History Library Film: 0568147 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1790 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
4. ↑ Source Citation Year: 1800; Census Place: Greenville, South Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 47; Page: 264; Image: 512; Family History Library Film: 181422 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Second Census of the United States, 1800: Population Schedules, Washington County, Territory Northwest of the River Ohio; and Population Census, 1803: Washington County, Ohio. NARA microfilm publication M1804 (1 roll).
5. ↑ Source Citation Year: 1840; Census Place: Coffee, Tennessee; Roll: 519; Page: 172; Family History Library Film: 0024543 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14206036/lucy-nelson: accessed 20 June 2023), memorial page for Lucy Hart Nelson (11 Dec 1772–4 Nov 1846), Find A Grave: Memorial #14206036, citing Butler Cemetery, Manchester, Coffee County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Matt (contributor 46551360).
7. ↑ Source: #S65 Page: Ancestry Family Trees

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Sandy Harris for creating WikiTree profile Hart-2680 through the import of Clark Goudy Odenbaugh Price Family Tree_2013-02-04.ged on Feb 4, 2013.

Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Sandy and others.