Grace (Tanner) Hughes (abt. 1753 - 1842)

Born about 1753 in Valley, Botetourt, Colony of Virginia

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Died 18 Jan 1842 at about age 89 in Gandeeville, Roane, West Virginia, United States

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Biography

Grace was born in 1753. Grace Tanner ... She passed away on 18 Jan 1842.

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Tanner, Grace (b. 1750/56, d. JAN 18 1842) Burial: Place: Gandeeville, Virginia now West Virginia, USA Note: SOURCE: History of Harrison Co., WV

Children of Grace Tanner and Jesse Hughes are: i. Elizabeth Hughes. She married James Stanley. ii. Jesse Hughes, Jr. He married Susanna Mock 1800. iii. Lourania Lucinda Hughes. She married (1) Uriah Sayre Thomas. She married (2) William M Staats. iv. Nancy Agnes Hughes. She married George W Hanshaw. v. Rachel Hughes. She married William Cottrell 25 May 1794 in Harrison Co., WV. vi. Sudna Hughes. She married Elijah Runner. vii. Martha Hughes, born Dec 1773. She married James Jacob Bonnett 06 Mar 1791 in Harrison Co., WV. viii. Deborah Hughes, born 1775. ix. Thomas Hughes, born 1784. x. William Hughes, born 13 Sep 1785. xi. Mercy Massie Hughes, born 1788; died 31 May 1883 in Roane Co., WV.

Grace Tanner had to have been a very healthy, physically strong,independent, capable type of woman to be wife to frontiersman Jesse Hughes. He left her alone for long periods of time to fight Indians, to help safeguard their fellow pioneers, to stake out land rights, and to hunt for food. Legends tell how he kept the smell of the woods on him, so he wouldn't be detected by Indians. Many called him a "wild man". I wonder of her acceptance of such a smell into her bed to have twelve children (the son lost to the Indians is not named in records)

She would have been the one to make and grow and vegetable garden for the family until the children were old enough to help her. All stories about Jesse reiterate that he was not a farmer, but a skillful, long hunter.

There was a story of them in bed one night when Jesse felt a rattler crawling up between the covers. He awoke and was keen enough in time to throw off the covers and avoid a possibly fatal snake bite for either of them. Inspecting the log cabin the next day he found a whole nest of rattlers in a chink in the logs which he disposed of.

He did build a large two story log cabin for Grace and their large family. I know Grace felt safe with him, but just think of all the food preparation and house work it took for such an active man and the family he gave her to care for. And remember all the trauma of having two children kidnapped by Indians not recovered for years.

A ceremony was held in Gandee Cemetery, Gandeeville, W. Va. many years ago by "friends" who placed a memorial marker at her burial site: "Grace Tanner Hughes Died 1842 Wife of Jesse Hughes. Erected by friends 1950 ".

I believe Jesse was an excellent provider based on all the tomahawk land claims he cited. He would have built strong, safe abodes for he and his family.

Jesse took up 387 acres on Hacker's Creek adjoining Edmund West to include in his settlement made in 1770, about the time he and Grace were married. Jesse acquired extensive tomahawk rights in different sections, as did his father and brother Elias. Jesse had a patent grant which included the site of the historic old Harmony Church. Jess wrote the family name as "Huse", as shown by papers signed by him and recorded in Harrison County. Elias could not write. Thomas and Jonathan wrote their names "Hughes"

After Jesse's father, Thomas Hughes, was killed in 1778 Jesse took on the responsibility as the eldest living son to the head of the family left without a father and a mother. Besides this, Jesse and Grace reared a large family with the concerns of survival, a way of life in those times. their first child had been born in 1773.

Jesse staked out 400 acres for a homestead and his title was issued in 1781. He built a home but spent little time in farming as he was busy helping to protect settlers. His cabin was located on the site of the old Shawnee village, one mile from West's Fort, at the mouth of Jesse's Run. This was at the outskirts of the most western and remote settlement on the Virginia frontier. Jesse and Grace had many thrilling adventures in border life in a virgin wilderness.

In December 1787, another party of Indians led by the white renegade, Leonard Schoolcraft, kidnapped two of their children a daughter, Martha, and a son, who were taken to Detroit. They weren't returned until three years later after the Treaty of Ft. Marmor January 9, 1789. In December 1790, Jesse traded a rifle and a barrel of whiskey for their release and walked to Detroit to bring them home. The son liked his life with the Indians, returned to the tribe, and married an Indian maiden. The daughter remained with her famly, married, and lived a long life among her children.

All the incidents of Indians killing his father, and an earlier sweetheart, kidnapping his children, turned Jesse and his brother Elias into implacable enemies of the Indians.

July 16, 1798 Jesse joined with James Tanner (brother of Grace) and others in a deed of 1,000 acres of land on the Little Kanawha River, in which his wife had an interest. Again, he signed his name "Huse". He gave his power of attorney to Alexander Sleeth in March 18, 1797 because of Grace's interest in this tract of land.

Written by Lucullus Virgil McWhorter exerpted from his book Border Settlers of Northwestn Virginia

"In 1770 or 1771, Jesse Hughes was married to Miss Grace Tanner, and settled on Hacker's Creek, about a one mile above where West's Fort was afterwards built, and at the mouth of a stream which has since been known as Jesse's Run. Here he built his cabin on the site of an old Shawnee village. This was embraced in a homestead certificate, issued in 1781 to "Jesse Hughes for 400 acres on Hacker's Creek, adjoining lands of Edmund West to include his settlement made in 1770."

" In this lonely cabin, standing, as it did, on the western out-skirts of the most western and remote settlement on the (West)Virginia frontier, this young couple experienced many thrilling adventures incident to border life in the virgin wilderness. The wife possessed the sterling qualities of rugged and noble woman- hood. Endowed with that fearlessness and energy of character which a life of constant peril on the border engendered, she was admirably fitted for the companionship of her half-wild, yet renowned husband, whose savage temper was not conducive to domestic happiness. It was in this cabin that they had a thrilling experience with a rattlesnake. One night Jesse was awakened from a sound sleep by feeling a living creature trying to work its way upward between his throat and the close-fitting collar of his homespun shirt. The contact of a cold, whip-like body with his own, caused him to suspect instantly the nature of his bed-fellow, and fully aroused him to a sense of his danger. With that rare self-control and presence of mind that served him so well in more than one instance of deadly peril, he softly spoke to his wife, waking, and telling her of the threatened danger, and directing her to get out of bed with their child, and remove the bed-clothing. This she did so gently that the restless intruder , who was still endeavoring to force its broad flat head under the obdurate shirt-collar, was not disturbed. The covering removed, with a single lightning-like movement, Jesse bounded to the floor several feet away. A huge yellow rattlesnake fell at his feet.

"With an angry whir-r-r-r it threw itself into the attitude of battle, but was soon dispatched. The next morning Jesse went prospecting for snakes, and found in the end of a hollow log which was built into his cabin, five copperheads and one rattlesnake.

Sources

• WikiTree profile Tanner-560 created through the import of Brinkley Family Tree.ged on Jul 4, 2011 by Robert Brinkley. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Robert and others.

• Source: S1297640890 Repository: #R2526574106 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This 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. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=3026011&pid=15624025
• Repository: R2526574106 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com Note:

See also:

• Add sources here.
• History of Harrison Co., WV

Lucullus Virgil McWhorter exerpted from his book Border Settlers of Northwestern Virginia

• 6th great granddaughter
• Find A Grave: Memorial #13223378