John Duke (abt. 1790 - abt. 1821)

Born about 1790 in Laurens County, South Carolina

Husband of Mary (Thornton) Cruse — married 1807 in Georgia, United States

Descendants

Died about 1821 at about age 31 in Walton County, Georgia

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Biography

John was born about 1790. He passed away in 1821.

Posted 20 Jul 2012 by rgyoung146. Polly Thornton and John Duke.

"Although I cannot locate the marriage record, Polly married John Duke sometime before the lawsuit mentioned above. While there were several Dukes living nearby, I cannot determine how John connects to any of them. John and Polly moved to Walton Co., GA by 1819, but I cannot conclusively locate John in the 1820 census.

John Duke died the following year, and Polly and her brother-in-law are listed in this probate record: Issue of June 26, 1821, Georgia Journal, Georgia, Walton County. Whereas Mary Duke and Alexander Walden, made application to me for letters of administration on the estate of John Duke, late of said county, deceased. John and Polly probably had several children, but I am only confident of these three:

-- Joshua T. Duke (born abt 1813). In Sep 1835, Joshua T. Duke applied for letters of administration of the estate of "John Duke, deceased, late of Coweta Co." Since Joshua's father had been dead many years by this point, I believe this John must have been a brother or half-brother. Joshua moved to Mississippi soon after this record and married Jane Ann Suttle on 15 Dec 1838 in Nuxobee Co., MS.

-- Elizabeth Ann Duke (born abt 1818). She married Isaac M. Clayton in west Georgia in the 1830s (no marriage record has been found, but their son John Thomas Clayton listed her maiden name as “Elizabeth Dukes” in his own marriage record). Isaac and Elizabeth moved to the Tallapoosa Co., AL area by 1850. One of their sons was named Joshua Thornton Clayton.

-- Lucinda Duke (born about 1821). John A. Clayton (brother to Isaac M.) married Lucinda Duke on 1 Dec 1835 in Coweta Co., GA. John and Lucinda also moved to the Tallapoosa Co., AL area by 1850, where John died soon after. On 14 Feb 1856 in neighboring Coosa Co., AL, John Shaddix married Lucinda Clayton; John Shaddix is believed to be a first cousin to John A. Clayton.

Polly Thornton and Nathaniel Tate Newton Co., GA marriages; 25 Dec 1825. Nathaniel Tait and Mary Duke. Sometime between the death of John Duke and Polly's remarriage to Nathaniel Tate, she had an out-of-wedlock son, Berry Coleman Duke. In the 1827 Georgia land lottery, “Coleman Duke, illeg.” of Newton Co., GA was a fortunate drawer for land in Muscogee County. The "illeg." category indicates he was an illegitimate child under the age of 18. On 22 Dec 1829, he was legitimized by the Georgia General Assembly and allowed to change his name to Berry Coleman Tate. I am not certain if Nathaniel Tate was actually his father or just adopted him. Perhaps the name Berry Coleman is the clue to his father’s identity, but I cannot find the connection. On 18 Jan 1844 in Muscogee Co., GA, Coleman Tate married Kizrah Smith.

I have no other records for Nathaniel Tate other than his marriage to Polly. He died by 1830, as a Polly Tate is listed in the 1830 census in Newton Co., GA. That record indicates that Nathaniel and Polly had one son and one daughter together during the span of their marriage. I have only been able to find the daughter, Mary Caroline Tate, born about 1827. On 19 Jan 1843 in Muscogee Co., GA, Stephen Johnson married Caroline Tate. Soon after, they moved to Alabama, and on 1 Mar 1858 Stephen Johnson and Isaac M. Clayton both received land patents for adjacent 40-acre plots in Tallapoosa Co., AL. Stephen and Caroline named one son Richard Coleman Johnson and another Joshua Johnson.

Polly Thornton and Richard Cruce Coweta Co., GA marriages; 30 Sep 1838. Richard Cruce and Mary Tate. Richard Cruce was a widowed Irishman, who had seven adult children by his first marriage. It appears he and Polly did not have any children together. They are listed in Meriwether Co., GA in the 1840 census, and Richard died in 1847 (according to a family bible). I cannot locate Polly in the 1850 census, but she shows up in the 1860 census in Tallapoosa Co., AL, listed as Mary Cruce (age 70, born in GA), living in the household of her daughter Caroline, wife of Stephen Johnson. The last likely record I have for Polly is the elderly female (age 70-80) listed in the 1866 AL state census in Tallapoosa County in the household of Isaac Clayton (husband of Polly's daughter Elizabeth Duke).

Thornton Connections to Descendants of Thomas Clayton of Columbia Co., GA Joshua Thornton's brother Wiley married Mary "Polly" Wadsworth (at least 20 years his junior) on 1 Nov 1853 in Pike Co., GA. Polly's siblings, nieces, and nephews intermarried extensively with the Jones and Clayton families. Alexander Walden, Jr. and Sally Thornton's daughter, Sarah S. Walden, married Robert Alexander Shaddix on 19 Aug 1830 in Coweta Co., GA. Robert is speculated to be a grandson of Thomas Clayton and Milly [Willingham].

Another likely (but unproven) daughter of Alexander and Sally, Elizabeth Walden, married Joseph Jones on 27 Nov 1834 in Coweta Co., GA. Joseph is somehow related to the Columbia Co., Jones family, as his marriage is listed in the family bible of Isaac Jones and Milly [Clayton].

John Duke and Polly Thornton's daughter, Lucinda Duke first married John A. Clayton, and later John Shaddix. Both men are believed to be grandsons of Thomas Clayton and Milly [Willingham].

Another daughter of John and Polly, Elizabeth Ann Duke, married Isaac M. Clayton, brother to John A. Clayton above.

John A. Clayton and Isaac M. Clayton also had a brother, Jarrell B. Clayton, who married a Caroline Duke on 27 Feb 1842 in Muscogee Co., GA. Caroline Duke (born about 1827) is not a daughter of Polly Thornton, but she must be somehow related to the family of Polly's first husband John Duke."

Disambiguation

William Duke did not have two sons named John: John Duke and Col John Duke. Although the two Johns both have daughters named Ann who could perhaps be merged, the two Johns cannot yet be merged because each of the Johns have different wives; one John married in GA and died in GA and the other John married in Mississippi and died in Mississippi. Research and a source were added for John Duke but there is no evidence to indicate he is the son of William Duke. A DNA triangulation supports that Col John Duke is the son of William Duke.

The 1820 census for a John T. Duke previously used here as a source is for a different man -- the son of Major Duke and Elizabeth Drury. ( (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=7734&h=1353431&ssrc=pt&tid=8271429&pid=25329392942&usePUB=true)

Sources

• John Duke probate record: Issue of June 26, 1821, Georgia Journal, Georgia, Walton County, GA. Mary Duke and Alexander Walden, made application to administer the estate of John Duke,