William Henry Sharp (1783 - 1862)

Born Jul 1783 in Stinking Creek, Botetourt County, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Jun 1862 at age 78 in Sharps Chapel, Union County, Tennessee, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jason O'Dell [send private message]

Biography

William Henry “Station Bill” Sharp was born Jul 1783 in Botetourt County, Virginia^{[1] [2]} William was a younger son of Henry "Pioneer" Sharp and Barbara Graves, paternal grandson of Isaac Sharp and Margarette Webber, maternal grandson of Johann Michael Sebastian Graff and Catherine Maria Magdalena Coble. All of his grandparents were born in Germany and immigrated to America.

Marriage

William was twice married. 1. His first wife was Rachel Stoner, a daughter of Rev. Conrad Stoner, originally from Germany, who had immigrated to Pennsylvania with his father in 1749. They were married circa 1803, probably in Sharp's Chapel, TN. Their union produced at least eight children before Rachel's death in 1823.

2. After the death of his first wife, William married Jane Irwin, a daughter of Francis Irwin and Eleanor Lyons, and the sister of his son-in-law John E. Irwin. The second marriage also produced a large family of children - William is recorded as being the father of 17 altogether.

Jane Irwin Sharp survived her husband by two years, and is buried with him. They were originally buried in the old Sharps Cemetery near Sharps Fort. In 1933, they were removed by the Tennessee Valley Authority to the current burial plot in Sinking Springs Methodist Cemetery, as part of the Norris Lake project.

Children of William Sharp and Rachel Stoner:

1. Jane (Sharp) Irwin (1804-1843)
2. Lucinda (Sharp) Miller (1807-1842)
3. Alford Sharp (1809-1876)
4. Luiza (Sharp) Loy (1811-1860)
5. Caswell Sharp (1813-1892)
6. William Hamilton Sharp (1820-1900)
7. Eli Sharp (1820-1909)
8. Orlena (Sharp) Craig (1823-1900)

Children of William Sharp and Jane Irwin:

1. Nancy Elizabeth (Sharp) Lea (1827-)
2. Eleanor "Nellie" Sharp Miller (1827-?)
3. Sarah (Sharp) Stooksbury (1831-1917)
4. Francis Sharp (1834-1912)
5. Mack Henry Sharp (1836-1921)

The land holdings of Sharps Fort and the surrounding area, owned by William Sharp and inherited by his grandson, was sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority as part of the Norris Lake project. The land which was not flooded to create the reservoir now forms the northeast section of Big Ridge State Park.

As the son of pioneer settlers of the State of Tennessee, William Henry Sharp and all of his lineal descendants can apply for recognition as members of a First Family of Tennessee with the state's historical society.

Death

William died 25 June 1862, (aged 78) in Union County, Tennessee. ^[3] At the time of his death, William was buried in Union Co. at the Lon Sharp Cemetery. His grave, along with his wife Jane's was moved to Sinking Springs in 1935, as part of the Norris Reservoir Project.

Notes:

• The 1850 census listing for his family includes Caswell, age 52. Was this a brother or his son? ^[1]
• William is probably one of 11 individuals living in the household of Henry Sharp, who is his father ^[4] listed in a Virginia tithables census of 1785.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} United States Census, 1850: [1], William Sharp, Anderson County, Anderson, Tennessee, United States; citing family 819, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ Find A Grave memorial #15778264.
3. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15778264/william-henry-sharp
4. ↑ Botetourt County Virginia, 1785 enumeration, John Reynold's Dist.page 6