Ann (Underwood) Rhoads (abt. 1750 - 1839)

Born about 1750 in London Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Wife of William Rhoads — married before 4 Jan 1772 in Orange, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 1839 at about age 89 in Jericho, Randolph County, Indiana

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Beth Stephenson [send private message]

Biography

Ann was a Friend (Quaker)

Ann "Nancy" Underwood was born circa 1750 to Samuel Underwood and Anne Travilla.^[1] Her parents were early American Quakers of London Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania.^[2] On April 4, 1754, Samuel Underwood purchased 50 acres in Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania.^[3] The Underwood family briefly settled there, where Samuel Underwood farmed and the Underwood family attended Quaker meetings at the Warrington Monthly Meeting house. Ann would have grown up with 10 brothers and sisters. Samuel Underwood and Ann Travilla raised eleven children to adulthood. All were named in the will of Samuel Underwood,^[4] but three were missed by Lucien Underwood in his family history book:^[5]

Samuel Underwood Family of North Carolina

Ann Underwood's grandfather, the Reverend Alexander Underwood, was known for his adventurous stories of traveling from Pennsylvania to North Carolina as a Quaker minister.^[6] Samuel and Ann (Travilla) Underwood eventually decided to move their large family from York County, Pennsylvania to Orange County, North Carolina.

On June 12, 1762, Samuel Underwood requested to transfer the Quaker membership of his family from Warrington, Pennsylvania to Cane Creek, North Carolina. The Underwood family attended their first Cane Creek Quaker Meeting on November 4, 1762.^[7]

Anne Travilla Underwood and 5 daughters

In 1762, the women's Quaker Meeting registered Ann Travilla Underwood and her 5 daughters (Mary, Ann, Jane, Sarah & Elizabeth) at Cane Creek, Orange County, North Carolina.^[8] A sixth daughter named Ruth was born sometime after 1762. Eleven children, six daughters and five sons, were named in Samuel Underwood's 1773 will.^[9] Although many Underwood descendants place Samuel Underwood in Chatham County, North Carolina, his will was probated in nearby Orange County.^[10] Eleven children were specifically named his heirs, including Ann:

Samuel Underwood Will

Sometime before January 4, 1772, Ann Underwood married non-Quaker William Rhoads.^[11] It seems that the Quakers forgave her and allowed her to remain a Quaker. There is no evidence of William Rhoads ever joining the Quakers. There are two Quaker sources for the marriage:

The North Carolina Cane Creek Monthly Meeting Records of January 4, 1772:

Ann Underwood Rhoads Marriage

The Jericho Friends Meeting Records, as published in 1958 from original sources:

Source for Old Ann Rhoads's Marriage

Ann Underwood and William Rhoads made their home near what is now the southwest corner of Alamance County, North Carolina. The Underwood family homestead appears to have been near the Alamance/Chatham/Randolph county junction. This location was not too far from the Cane Creek Quaker Meeting house, and Ann Underwood Rhoads did remain a member there for many years, along with most of the Underwoods. Cane Creek Friends

Alamance was Orange County During Revolutionary War

Ann would have lived within walking or horseback riding distance of the small country Quaker church. During the Revolutionary War, the area was part of the Hillsborough District and within Orange County, North Carolina. This same area is now called Snow Camp, Alamance County, North Carolina. Snow Camp It was renamed after the American Revolutionary War, some people claim the town got its name because British General Cornwallis used a mill and church there as his "snow camp" after the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781.^[12] Not all historians agree on the matter.^[13][14] The young Rhoads family were certainly living in the area at the time of the Battle of Lindley's Mill and the Battle of Cane Creek.

In 1781, in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, General Cornwallis's Tory soldiers terrorized the simple farmers and Quakers of the Cane Creek and Snow Camp area. He commandeered the Quaker church and turned it into a slaughterhouse and commissary for feeding the British troops. He also poached livestock from the local farmers, who were understandably outraged.^[15] It is unknown how the war specifically affected Ann Underwood Rhoads. Three of her brothers, James, Samuel and Alex Underwood, sided with the North Carolina patriots in the Revolutionary War. Two of her brothers, Benjamin and Henry Underwood, joined the Tory army and fled to Canada when the patriots took over. Many records of the time were lost.

In 1794, after the Revolutionary War, Ann's husband William Rhoads purchased some land in Randolph County, North Carolina. Ann's sister Jane Underwood Mann, brother Samuel Underwood and sister Sarah Underwood Barton had settled in Randolph County before 1790, so the family had some established relatives there. The William Rhoads family was enumerated at Randolph County, North Carolina in the 1800 Federal Census.^[16] Eight of their children are counted. Their eldest daughter, Jemima, would have been married to Jeremiah Cox before 1800. Later, her daughters Anne, Mary & Keziah Rhoads also married into the Cox family. The Quaker Cox family was known for their strong support of the abolitionist movement.

In 1802, William Rhoads/Rhodes died, leaving Ann with 9 children and only a small widow's lot of "one year's provisions."^[17] Her son-in-law Jeremiah signed the probate papers.^[18]

Estate Papers of William Rhodes

Ann, the widow of William Rhodes of Randolph County, North Carolina, was given one year's provisions as a condition of the probate. After that year, she had to vacate the premises. Her one year grace period may have started as early as November of 1802:

Ann, widow of William Rhodes, One Year Provisions

Each purchase from the Randolph County estate sale of the William Rhodes estate was itemized. Interestingly, Ann Underwood Rhodes had to purchase her own dishes and kitchen items back from the estate:

Sale of William Rhodes Estate

By October of 1805, Ann Rhoads had requested a certificate from Cane Creek Quaker Meeting to wagon-train west to Miami MM in Waynesville, Warren County, Ohio. ^[19] Jeremiah Cox also ended up moving there. Ann Rhoads's eldest daughter Jemima died before the move. In November of 1805, Ann's arrival was noted in the Miami MM minutes. ^[20] Jeremiah Cox arrived a year later with his new wife and children. Ann's brother, James Underwood, was thought to have been one of the leaders of the wagon train group of 1805.

Requests Quaker Certificate to move West

Ann Rhodes was received in Quaker membership at the Miami Monthly Meeting in Waynesville, Warren County, Ohio on November 14, 1805.^[21]

Ann Rhodes Moves West From North Carolina to Ohio

In 1820, Ann Rhoads is mentioned in the Fall Creek MM minutes near Hillsboro, Ohio.^[22] She was requesting a move for her family into Indiana at the New Garden Quaker Settlement. This western movement was very likely spurred on by her relations with the Cox family. Daughters Jemima, Anne, Mary & Keziah Rhoads had all intermarried with the Cox family. Benjamin Cox, a known Underground Railroad operator and abolitionist Quaker, was a member of the same family. He was instrumental in helping freed slaves receive education and shelter. The Rhoads and Cox families were very closely affiliated.^[23]

Ann Underwood Rhoads died in Randolph County, Indiana.^[24][25] Here is a link to her findagrave page.^[26] She is buried at the Old Jericho Burial Ground.^[27] Her tombstone has long since disintegrated, but her death was recorded by the Jericho Friends Meeting:

Source for Ann Underwood Rhoads Burial

An old Randolph County history book states that when the Old Jericho Burial Ground was dug, many Hopewell and Adena Indian bones and artifacts were discovered.^[28] The area had been an Indian mound and burial site in prehistoric times.

Jericho Old Burial Ground Burials

Sources

1. ↑ https://archive.org/details/underwoodfamilie02unde/page/n91/mode/2up?q=chatham&view=theater
2. ↑ London Grove Pennsylvania Monthly Meeting Quaker Records.
3. ↑ Bryant, Carol. Abstracts of Chester County Pennsylvania Land Records, Volume 2, 1729- 1745. p 190.
4. ↑ Orange County, North Carolina, Will Book A, page 148. The Will of Samuel Underwood.
5. ↑ Lucien Marcus Underwood. The Underwood Family in America, Volume 2, page 440. Published in 1913.
6. ↑ Underwood, Lucien Marcus. The Underwood Family in America, Volume 2, published 1913, page 438.
7. ↑ US Quaker Meeting Records, North Carolina, Alamance, Cane Creek MM, Guilford College; Greensboro, North Carolina; Women's Minutes, 1751-1803; Collection: North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, the 4th of the 9th Month, 1762. p 16 of 116, ancestry.com repository.
8. ↑ Guilford College; Greensboro, North Carolina; Women's Minutes, 1751-1803; Collection: North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, the 4th of the 9th Month, 1762. p 16 of 116, ancestry.com repository.
9. ↑ "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GGNB-R9M?cc=1867501&wc=32L6-DPX%3A169812501%2C170288501 : 21 May 2014), Orange > Wills, 1752-1788, Vol. A > image 81 of 414; county courthouses, North Carolina.
10. ↑ Orange County, North Carolina, Will Book A, page 148.
11. ↑ Online publication - Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - Ladd, Ruth Kline,. One Ladd's family : including cousins near and distant. Naperville, Illinois: unknown, 1990.Original data: Ladd, Ruth Kline,. One Ladd's family : p 82
12. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guilford_Court_House Guilford Court House
13. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Camp,_North_Carolina
14. ↑ https://localwiki.org/alamance/Snow_Camp_Outdoor_Theatre
15. ↑ Teague, Bobbie T. Cane Creek: Mother of Meetings. 1995. pages 66 - 67.
16. ↑ "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRD-9LQ : accessed 23 August 2018), William Roads, Hillsboro, Randolph, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 338, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 32; FHL microfilm 337,908.
17. ↑ "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ8G-M9PL : 20 November 2015), William Rhodes, 1802; citing Randolph County, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 2,078,996.
18. ↑ "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9GHL-9H6Y?cc=1867501&wc=32GM-VZ9%3A169889001%2C170828401 : 21 May 2014), Randolph > Wills, 1794-1804, Vol. 02 > image 62 of 79; county courthouses, North Carolina.
19. ↑ William Wade Hinshaw, Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol I, North Carolina, Cane Creek MM, p 417.
20. ↑ William Wade Hinshaw, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Volume V, Miami MM, p 114.
21. ↑ Quaker Women's Meeting Records for Miami Monthly Meeting, Warren County, Ohio, Family History Library Film # 008198604, Image 634.
22. ↑ Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy Vol· V, Fall Creek Monthly Meeting, page 310.
23. ↑ William Wade Hinshaw, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Volume V, Miami MM, p 114.
24. ↑ Jericho Friends Meeting and Its Community, Randolph County, Indiana, 1818 to 1958, p 126.
25. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV27-G9YD : 21 June 2017), Ann Underwood Rhoads, ; Burial, Harrisville, Randolph, Indiana, United States of America, Old Jericho Burying Ground; citing record ID 65871970, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
26. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65871970
27. ↑ Jericho Friends Meeting and Its Community, Randolph County, Indiana, 1818 to 1958, p 145.
28. ↑ History of Randolph County, Indiana by Ebenezer Tucker, 1882. pp 14-15