no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Margaret (Owings) Sharp (abt. 1788 - 1859)

Margaret Sharp formerly Owings aka Owens
Born about in Marylandmap
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of — married 1806 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 71 in Hendricks County, Indianamap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Chloe Stevens private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 15 Nov 2014
This page has been accessed 188 times.

Contents

Biography

According to census data and her tombstone, Margaret was born in either c.1782 or c.1788. Her daughter-in-law, Malinda Randel Sharp, says that her family was from Maryland, of old colonial stock, and that Owingsville, Kentucky was named for her family.

Owingsville was named for Thomas Deye Owings (1776-1853), the son of John Cockey Owings (1736-1810) and Colgate Deye Colgate (1754-1828).

My guess is that Thomas Deye Owings was Margaret's cousin - whether first, second, etc., I am not sure. I (the manager of the profile) have DNA matched with several descendants of George Owings (1760-1834) and Ann Wells (1762-1805). This George, as well as Thomas Deye, are descended from one Richard Owings and his wife Rachel Robert.

Though there is (currently) no way to be certain exactly who Margaret's parents are, the evidence available seems to suggest that she is also a descendant of Richard and Rachel Owings. Through what line is not known, though she is most likely a daughter of George Owings and Ann Wells.

Source Summary

1830 Census[1]: "Margaret Sharp" was listed as head of household in Bourbon County, Kentucky, with the following members: 1 free white male 10-14 [Joseph, 14], 1 free white male 15-19 [James, 16], 1 free white male 20-29 [George, 21], 1 free white female under 5 [unknown, possibly an "adopted girl" mentioned in Malinda Randel Sharp's memoir as living with her husband just before they married], 1 free white female 40-45 [Margaret, 42 or 48], total all persons: 5. Neighbors included an Elizabeth Sharp, 70-80 (only person in the household) and Vincent Sharp (30-40, several young people probably his children).

1850 Census[2]: "Margaret Sharp," 68, was living in Marion Township, Hendricks County, Indiana on her own. She was listed born in Maryland, real estate valued at $800.

FindAGrave[3]: She is buried in New Winchester Cemetery in New Winchester, Indiana. Her headstone states she died Jan 22, 1859 aged about 71 years. It also states "her husband James Sharp Ser. Having died about 18?? aged about 32 years buried in Bedford County, Tennessee."

From A Portrait and Biographical Record of Hendricks County[4]:

"She [Malinda] is the widow of James Sharp, who was born January 16, 1814, in Tennessee, the son of James Sharp, a Kentuckian, who married Margaret Owens and became the father of five children: George, Elizabeth, Anna, James and Joseph. Mr. Sharp was a millwright and settled in east Tennessee, where he passed the remainder of his days and died in middle life."

On the Owens Family from Memoir of Malinda Randel Sharp:

"So I have written of my infant days, also of Mr. Sharp and his Bro.'s infant days. Mother Sharp's name before marriage was Owens. Her mother's people lived in Maryland. I don't know their history, but they were the first settlers in Owingsville. Took its name from the Owens family."

On the death of James Sharp Sr from Memoir of Malinda Randel Sharp:

"James father died when James was 4 years old. He died in East Tenn. Left his mother 4 living children. 2 had passed away. Anna got drowned at three years old. Wm. died. James Sharps father was a mill work-man. Built mills. He bought a farm. The deed had not been finished up. He had of out standing notes that had not been paid in, but he took bad sick, did not live an hour. He had not time to tell anything about business. Now the sudden death of James Sharp's father an 2 children an all business had an effect on mother's mind. Some men managed to get hold on many papers where they owed the estate, an she never got any run of them. Some of Mothers brothers-in-law went from Kentucky to East Tenn. to assist Mr. Sharp's mother, but found the family, 4 small children an business in bad shape. So he moved the family back to Ky. an promised to come again an straiten up matters. But Mr. Sharp's father had no ledgers or books to sho. His main papers was taken. None new anything and mothers mind was so much bothered an health impaired an no one could do anything. So all was lost but 4 children had to be cared on, all gone by being betrayed by an enemy. Now something must be done.

Now the Sharps family was the first settlers in Ky., in Sharpsburg. That town took its name from the Sharp family. So all mothers people wanted her to let the relatives have the children as all their means seemed to be lost, but she said no for whether they go I will go, whether they stay I will stay, and whether they be ther I will be. So she let a rich friend by the name of Bowels take the only girl by request of friends. She took the 3 boys, Jo was the youngest 2 years old. Rented a house and with the industrious hand raised and educated 3 sons to be good farmers and business men."

Children

1. George W. Sharp: George was born about 1809 in Tennessee. He married Enfield Stone on February 26, 1855 in Putnam County, Indiana and worked as a farmer. They had two children: Vincent (1856), and Ephraim M. (1859). He may have had some children from a prior marriage as well: William (1842), Thomas (1844), and John (1846). His fate is not known.

2. Elizabeth M. Sharp: Elizabeth was born July 4, 1810 in Tennessee. According to her sister-in-law Malinda Randel Sharp's memoir, she was taken in by a "rich friend by the name of Bowels" after her father's death in 1818. She married James M. Bryan on December 30, 1827 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. They had eight children: William (1829), James A. (1834), Joseph Barton (1837), Richard E. (1841), Margaret Ann (1845), Elizabeth Ellen (1847), Jefferson Scott Bryan (1850), and Nancy Catherine (1852). They moved to Linn County, Missouri and she died there on June 11, 1867, age 56.

3. Anna Sharp: Anna was born about 1813 in Kentucky or Tennessee. According to Malinda Randel Sharp's memoir, she drowned at the age of 3, in 1816.

4. James Sharp: James was born January 16, 1814 in Tennessee. The family moved to Kentucky after his father's death in 1818. As a young man, he moved his family to Putnam County, Indiana where he later married Malinda Randel on November 2, 1837. They had ten children: William Perry (1838), George W. (1841), Elizabeth J. (1843), Nancy Margaret (1846), James Alexander (1848), Thomas Milton (1850), Malinda Mildred (1852), Joseph Gibson (1854), Matilda Ann (1856), and Mary Isabel (1859). He was a farmer and sold hogs. After a very swift illness, he died on January 16, 1872, age 58.

5. Joseph Sharp: Joseph, known as Jo, was born on May 10, 1816 in Tennessee. He married Mary Crose on April 1, 1841. They had an unknown number of children, as Mary had some children from a prior marriage. Total, they had twelve or thirteen children whose names and ages are not clear. Some that are more certain are: James C. (1842), George H. (1843), William L. (1847), Mary E. (1849), Thomas J. (1849), Elizabeth (1851), Nancy A. (1854), Charles M. (1858), and John H. (1860). He died after being struck by a fast train on May 10, 1866 in Indiana. He lived in Morgan County.

Two additional children, William and Georgiana, died very young and their birth dates are not known.

Sources

  1. "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGP-M4T : 18 August 2015), Mrgaut Sharp, Bourbon, Kentucky, United States; citing 339, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 33; FHL microfilm 7,812.
  2. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHJN-KBQ : 9 November 2014), Margaret Sharp, Marion, Hendricks, Indiana, United States; citing family 973, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  3. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23274751&ref=acom (#23274751)
  4. A Portrait and Biographical Record of Hendricks County (Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1895)--pages 944-946
  • Memoir of Malinda Randel
  • FindAGrave
  • 1850 Census




Is Margaret your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message the profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Margaret by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Margaret:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.

O  >  Owings  |  S  >  Sharp  >  Margaret (Owings) Sharp

Categories: New Winchester Cemetery, New Winchester, Indiana