Nancy Isabella (Armor) Birch (1817 - aft. 1880)

Wife of John Drury Birch — married 7 Oct 1835 in Hardin, Kentucky, United States

Descendants

Died after 1880 after age 63 in Hardin, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

Nancy was born in Kentucky in about 1817 (to 1820, depending on the record consulted). It has long been thought that she was the daughter of Davis Armour and Elizabeth Lively. However, there is compelling evidence that she is not. See the Research Notes for more info.

On 8 Oct 1835, Nancy married John Drury Birch in Hardin County, Kentucky. ^[1] Her father gave his consent for her to marry, and her husband was listed as "Drury Burch."

In the 1860 census, ^[2] Nancy (43) and Drury (54) farmed in Hardin County. The children living in the households were:

• Wm Birch(23)
• Jane Birch (20)
• Mary A. Birch (15)
• Hardin Birch (18)
• David Birch (10)
• Ambrose Birch (8)
• Francis Birch (6)
• Carline Birch (1)

In 1880, Nancy (60) and "Drue" (69) lived in Meeting Creek, Hardin Kentucky ^[3] The only child left in the home was "Harison R. Birch" (15).

She passed away after 1880.

Research Notes

Sometimes genealogy involves proving who someone is not. That is the case for Nancy Isabella Armor Birch. It is fairly clear that she is not the daughter of Davis Wiley Armour and Elizabeth Lively. Therefore, her connection to them has been removed.

• The compelling reason to list her as the daughter of Davis Wiley Armour has been a marriage certificate that seems to say, according to Ancestry.com transcribers, that “Davis Armour” gave his consent for her to marry ^[4] Closer inspection of the handwriting reveals it looks more like “David.”
• The marriage bond for Drury Birch more clearly lists “David Armour” as a co-signee. ^[5]
• Nancy is in the 1860 census and 1880 census listed as born in Kentucky. In the 1880 census, her parents are also listed as born in Kentucky. [see citations]

However, Davis Wiley Armour shows as born in Georgia, and Elizabeth Lively was born in South Carolina. Davis Wiley Armour doesn’t appear in records in Kentucky. According to the obituary of Elizabeth Lively, they married in Giles Tennessee in 1815.^[6] The couple still lived in Giles, Tennessee in the 1820 census,^[7] and in the household were listed two females under 10. Those would have been Margaret Armor Rhodes (1817-1870) and Mary “Polly” Armor Roads (1819-1851), both of whom have a connection to Davis Wiley Armour on Find A Grave.^[8]

• In a biography of John Davis Armor, son of Davis Wiley Armor, on a site about Confederate soldiers, ^[9]states that John was Davis’ “fifth son and 9th child.” If Nancy is Davis’ daughter, that makes John the 10th child. Of course, the biographer could have it wrong.
• A more compelling candidate for father of Nancy Armour is a David Armour who married Treasy McCleland on 10 Apr 1817 in Hardin, Kentucky. ^[10] That puts him about the age to be Nancy’s father.

His Family Search Profile has little info, but more research can be done there. ^[11]

This profile is a work in progress. Do you have citations or information to add? Please do!

Sources

1. ↑ "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QD-W163 : 9 March 2021), Drury Burch and Nancy Armour, 8 Oct 1835; citing Marriage, , Hardin, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 390,788.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZB7-XMW : 18 February 2021), Nancy Birch in entry for Drury Birch, 1860.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCCG-68Q : 14 January 2022), Nancy Birch in household of Drue Birch, Magisterial District 5 Meeting Creek, Hardin, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
4. ↑ ”Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QD-W163 : 9 March 2021), Drury Burch and Nancy Armour, 8 Oct 1835; citing Marriage, , Hardin, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 390,788.
5. ↑ ”Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q284-THBL : 22 July 2021), Drury Burch and Nancy Armour, 7 Oct 1835; citing Marriage, Hardin, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 390,268.
6. ↑ https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020048/1858-03-03/ed-1/seq-3/
7. ↑ 1820 census. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLR-BY7
8. ↑ Find A Grave Davis Wiley Armour
9. ↑ http://msgw.org/confederate/bios.html
10. ↑ "Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4QQ-HYT : 11 May 2022), David Armour, 1817.
11. ↑ Family Search David Armour