John Michael Lay (1790 - bef. 1868)

Born 10 Sep 1790 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 15 Apr 1868 before age 77 in Campbell County, Tennessee, USA

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Biography

John's birth is recorded in his faded family Bible. His parents are given as Jesse Lay and Catherine. His middle name is commonly said to be Michael but documents always refer to him as John M. which helps distinguish him from John D. Lay who lived close by. His nickname was Jackie or Missouri Jack because he is said to have gone to Missouri several times but always returned.^[1]

John married Rachel Foley and raised a large family^[2], though Arlie Lay says he first married a Beams and had a daughter by her.^[3] John's family is covered extensively in Arlie Lay's book.

His tombstone, a new one, at Elk Fork Baptist Church in Campbell Co., Tenn., has a wildly incorrect death date of 1874. On 15 Apr 1868 a notice appeared in Brownlow's Knoxville Whig (Knoxville, Tenn.) calling for the out-of-state heirs of John M. Lay to appear in June County Court of Campbell Co. to defend the sale of John M. Lay's property. The heirs are Berry Croley and wife Winneford, Jackson Wilhite and wife Jane, and Thomas Lay. Michael Lay is the estate administrator.

John M. Lay is thought to have settled on "Little Poplar Creek", a creek in Knox County, Kentucky, which flows into the Cumberland River near Williamsburg. While serving as a delegate to a church association, John met Rachel of the Big Richlands Community and they married about 1810.^[4] Sometime after his marriage John supposedly settled at a place behind the "Loan on Elk Fork", now known as the Jim Chadwell place (1950s). He operated a water grist mill. The old mill is still there.^[5]

Based on the reported birthplaces of his children, John moved from Whitley County, Ky., south to neighboring Campbell Co., Tennessee, sometime around 1822. There's a single Whitley County tax entry in 1819 for a John Lay with no land which suggests that, if this entry is his, he may have made the move in 1820.^[6] There are two John Lays in the Campbell County tax list of 1818 and it is unclear who they are.

10 Sep 1790 - John's birth this day is recorded in the family Bible per Arlie Lay. The census tells us he was born in North Carolina, probably Wilkes County given that his parents were living there about that time.

1813 - John and William Lay sign a petition to the Legislature to move the seat of Campbell County to a location more convenient for settlers of Powell's Valley. It is not likely this refers to him.^[7]

1830 - John M. Lay is found in the federal census of Campbell County, Tennessee.^[8] He and his wife have six sons and two daughters.

1840 - John Lay is listed next door to Bird Lay. Four sons and a daughter are in the household. Campbell County.^[9]

1850 - John M. and Rachel Lay, both age 60, comprise a household. Sons Thomas, William, Jesse, and Moses and their families are nearby. Campbell County.^[10]

1860 - John, Rachael, their son Jesse and granddaughter Elizabeth are a household in the Campbell County census. They are living next door to son Spencer and family. John's birthplace is North Carolina and Rachael's is Virginia.^[11]

10 Jul 1868 - The land of John M. Lay deceased is sold to L.B. Croley for $1600, with $100 down and credit for one year, with William Lay, Spencer Lay, and Michael Lay as co-owners.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Arlie Lay's Book, page 95
2. ↑ Arlie Lay's Book, page 95
3. ↑ Arlie Lay's Book, page 84
4. ↑ Lay, Clouis Eugene, The Ramblin' Lays from Tennessee: A Family History. Huntsville, TN (P.O. Box 7, Huntsville 37756): Scott County Historical Society, 1999.
5. ↑ Patricia A. Wayne of Knoxville, TN.
6. ↑ Stephen H. Broyles, Whitley Co., Ky., Tax List Summary, 1819-1850, 1991
7. ↑ "Old Petition names 249 Powell Valley Settlers", Reprinted with permission from Dr. Miller McDonald's book Campbell County, Tennessee, USA: A History of Places, Faces, Happenings, Traditions, and Things, Transcribed by Mildred Collins Wasser
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP4-FGY : 10 September 2017), Jno M Lay, Campbell, Tennessee, United States; citing 217, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 178; FHL microfilm 24,536.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHT1-4MW : 18 August 2017), John Lay, Campbell, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 293, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 518; FHL microfilm 24,542.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDW-B5C : 12 April 2016), John M Lay, Campbell county, Campbell, Tennessee, United States; citing family 882, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8T7-BC7 : 26 July 2017), John Lay, 1860.
12. ↑ "Petition for Sale of Property of John M. Lay" in Lay of the Land, a publication of the Lay Family Genealogical Society, Sept. 2002, p9

• Lay, Arlie M.,Family History Records, 1984
• Elk Fork Baptist Church Cemetery, FindAGrave.com