William Gentry (1786 - 1845)

Born 5 Jan 1786 in Surry, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 13 Nov 1845 at age 59 in Lynnville, Warrick, Indiana, United States

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Biography

WIlliam Gentry was born in Surry County, North Carolina, United States in 1786,^[1], son of Samuel Gentry (abt.1748-1816) and Agnes Ann Brooks (1752-1787). His mother died in childbirth or shortly thereafter.^[2]

Early Life

William started his family at a very young age, living in Surry County, North Carolina in 1800 at the age of 15, presumably with his first wife (who was likely 16 or 17 years old) and two young children.

In 1800, there are twelve other Gentry households in Surry County:

• Allen
• Artha
• John
• Jonathan
• Joseph
• Matthew
• Meshach
• Nicholas
• Richard
• Samuel
• Shelton
• Simon
• Samuel, William's father

Starting in 1805, William's extended family began migrating to Barren County, Kentucky, United States, just east of Bowling Green.^[2] William, his wife, and six children were still in Surry County, North Carolina in 1810 (see research notes below) even though several of his siblings and his father had migrated to Ohio County, Kentucky.

William stayed in North Carolina until after the War of 1812 before departing to join his extended family in Kentucky. The family migrated to Warrick County in southern Indiana via Ohio County, Kentucky.^[2] William married Mary (Polly) Whittinghill^[5] in Mercer, Ohio County, Kentucky in the early spring of 1816 and their first two children were born there.

Life in Indiana

Owen Township, Warrick County, Indiana Section Map

William moved north across the Ohio River into Warrick County, Indiana in late 1819 or early 1820, making his family some of the earliest settlers there. Warrick County is between Evansville and Gentryville, Indiana. Gentryville was founded around 1824 and named after William's older brother James.^[6] William is known as one of the first settlers in what would become Owen Township in 1846 when it was separated from Skelton Township. William, his family, and some of his extended family settled there near Folsomville in 1821, remaining there for most of his life and, with his extended family, becoming prominent Warrick County citizens.^[7]

The total population of Warrick County in 1820 was less than 1,600. There is no record that William ever received a land grant though he may have acquired land through other means. However, the area where the family settled "near Folsomville" includes his brother James' second land acquisition in Warrick County. James owned large tracts of land in the area.^[9] On 31 Mar 1821, James acquired 160 acres (64.75ha) that includes the west half of Folsomville, Warrick County, Indiana, described as IN, 2nd PM, 004S - 007W, NE¼, Section 34, Warrick County.^[10] This coincides with the time that William settled "on land not far from the village of Folsomville",^[7] which wasn't laid out until 1859.^[11] When William arrived with his family, it was mostly thick forest. Two hundred years later, this square plot of land is bordered on the north by Gentry Road and on the east by Folsomville Dagonia Road.^[12] The east half of Folsomville, Indiana is on land acquired by William Robertson on 1 Sep 1838.^[13]

On 8 Aug 1824, James Gentry acquired patent for another 80 acre (32.37ha) tract of land (his 5th Warrick County acquisition) described as IN, 2nd PM, 004S - 007W, E½SE¼, Section 22, Warrick County, increasing his landholdings near Folsomville, Indiana to 240 acres (97.12ha).^[14] This second Folsomville tract was one mile (1.6km) directly north of the eastern half of the first tract. Two hundred years later, this tract of land is bordered on the east by Folsomville Dagonia Road and Dickeyville Road on the north, with Brushy Creek running through the northeast corner.

There were six other Gentry families in Skelton Township, Warrick County, Indiana in 1830:

• Shelton (too old to be his ~21-year-old son)
• Samuel
• Artha
• George
• James (probably not his brother)
• Matthew

All seven Gentry families were clustered together in the census, probably on the west side of the future Folsomville site.

By 1831, William was running a mill and the Skelton Township election in 1831 was at his home.^[16] There were only a handful of there horse-mills in Warrick County at the time. These mills were a natural place for the community to congregate and conduct business.

William and his family were still there in 1840.

Sometime after 1840, William's father-in-law Peter Whittinghill moved in with the family and lived with them until his death in 1844 at an age of over 90.^[5] William passed away the following year on 13 Nov 1845^[1] and is buried in Lynnville Cemetery, Lynnville, Warrick County, Indiana, United States.^[18]

Research

Data of Birth and Death

The best authoritative source for the birth and death dates are in the contents of the Mary Osborn Family Bible.^[1]

The engraving on the headstone reads as follows:

Aged 59 y. 4 m. 8 d. Native of North Carolina.^[18]

To validate the Mary Osborn Bible entries, one would expect the birth and death dates in the Bible to be 59 years, 4 months, and 8 days apart. This is the case.^[19]

Before Jul 2021, the date of birth in the Find-A-Grave record was incorrectly listed as 5 Jul 1786. The difference between this record and the family Bible is easily explained by headstone erosion that makes the "Jan" engraving appear to be "Jul". The Journal of Gentry Genealogy^[2] (Willard Gentry) gives a birth date of 4 Jan 1786, perhaps also as a result of a hard-to-read engraving, with a death date recorded as 13 May 1845. However, the calculation used to derive the date of death from the birth date and the engraving is one day off, indicating one or both of the two dates is incorrect.

In summary, the headstone engraving and the dates in the Mary Osborn Bible reconcile to the day, independently validating both the engraving and the family Bible entries. The profile now reflects these dates and so does the Find-A-Grave site. Sources with a birth date in January are incorrect, likely from the incorrect data on Find-A-Grave in the past.

Indiana Residences

It's likely that when William and Polly came north across the Ohio to Indiana that they were in the part of Skelton Township that would eventually become Owen Township by 1821. An 1885 history of the county notes that they were among the earliest settlers in Owen Township near Folsomville. Ironically, no census shows William in Owen Township because it wasn't formed as a separate entity from Skelton Township until the year after he died. Considering this history of townships in Warrick County, it's likely that William and Polly settled near Folsomville in 1821 and until William's death in 1845, though he may have moved near Lynnville, Hart Township where he married in 1846 and acquired land via land patent in 1849.

Disambiguation

There are two related William Gentry families that are easily confused with each other:^[2]

• William Gentry (described in this profile)
  • Born in 1786, in Surry County, North Carolina, United States
  • Son of Samuel Gentry
  • Husband of Mary Whittinghill, married in Kentucky
  • Migrated to Warrick County, Indiana. United States
• William Gentry, born in 1796
  • Born in 1796, Surry County, North Carolina, United States
  • Son of Matthew Gentry
  • Husband of Mary Hodges, married in Kentucky
  • Migrated to Warrick County, Indiana. United States

Many family trees erroneously commingle records from these two families. More research on the nephew William not described in this profile would be useful to avoid errors with both families. One of the best sources differentiating these two men is the Mary Osborn Bible,^[1] which includes listings for all of the following on a single page in a three-generation lineage:

• William Gentry (this profile) and his wife Mary (Whittinghill) Gentry
• John Gentry and his wife Elizabeth (Hall) Gentry
• The children of John Gentry and Elizabeth (Hall) Gentry

The 1810 census^[4] referenced in this profile must be William, son of Samuel since William, son of Matthew was only 14 years old at the time.

Children

One genealogist has proposed the following children, but this list is not yet fully supported by sources: Thomas, Elisha, Shelton William, David, John, William Robison, Samuel, Nicholas, Nancy Jane, Priscilla, Andrew J. John Gentry, son of this William Gentry did not have an "H" middle initial. A different John Gentry that lived in Greene County, Indiana did have an "H" middle initial.

Where in the World was William in 1810?

As referenced above, there are two similar, related William Gentry families. In 1810, William Gentry, son of Samuel, described in this profile as 34 years old^[1] with children.^[3] William Gentry, son of Matthew was 14 years old, and Matthew was in Ohio County, Kentucky, United States.^[20] Matthew was also a son of Samuel, and Samuel was also in Ohio County, Kentucky.^[21] Willard Gentry has asserted that the William Gentry in Ohio County, Kentucky in 1810 was William, son of Samuel:

Joseph and James were the first to leave home, even before their father left North Carolina, winding up in Ohio County, Kentucky. They were joined by their brothers Matthew and William and by their sister Agnes Phillips, before 1810.^[2]

However, the William Gentry in Ohio County in 1810 was recorded on the 1810 Census in the age range of 16-25 with no other members of the household.^[22] Instead, William Gentry in Ohio County, Kentucky in 1810 was more likely 14- or 15-year-old William Gentry, son of Matthew, with Matthew and the rest of the family living nearby (they are both listed on the same census page). At the same time, William Gentry described in this profile still appears in the 1810 census in Surry County, North Carolina^[4] with a matching age and family profile.

There is one other possibility: that there was a third William Gentry in Surry County, North Carolina in 1800 and that the William Gentry described in this profile was still a minor living in his father's household in 1800. In this case, the new third William Gentry could also be listed in the 1810 census with the William Gentry described in the profile in Kentucky in 1810 near his nephew William who was still living with his father, Matthew. In the absence of evidence of a hypothetical third William Gentry, this is a less likely scenario. If this less likely scenario is true, the third William Gentry would likely be related to Allen, Jonathan, or Nicolas Gentry that lived in a cluster based on the 1800 Census.^[3] Further research is needed, but it's possible and would change the conclusions about the early adulthood of William Gentry described in this profile, including the possibility that Mary (Polly) Whittinghill was his first wife and that he had no children in North Carolina.

In summary, William Gentry, son of Samuel had not migrated to Kentucky in 1810. He was still in Surry County, North Carolina. William Gentry, son of Matthew, was in Ohio County, Kentucky near the Matthew Gentry family. The assertion in the Gentry Journal of Genealogy is a less likely scenario, noting that:

Two William Gentry families, one the son of Samuel -IV, and the other the son of Matthew-V, have been difficult to distinguish in Indiana records since they differed in age by only about ten years and both had a wife named Mary. For the younger William, a positive identification can be made that his wife was Mary Hodges from the record of his marriage in Kentucky.^[2]

William's First Wife

No information is available about William's first wife except counts on the census. However, since the 1800 census places her year of birth in the range of 1774-1784^[3] and the 1810 census places her year of birth in the range of 1784-1794,^[3] she was born about 1784. As mentioned in the previous research section, there is a possibility that the William Gentry in the 1800 census is a previously unidentified Surry County William Gentry, in which case this William Gentry probably had no wife or children before 1816.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Osburn, Mary Gentry. Family Bible, photocopies in the possession of Jeff Gentry
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Journal of Gentry Genealogy: SAMUEL GENTRY OF SURRY COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA by Willard Gentry Adapted from an article published in "Gentry Family Gazette & Genealogy Exchange". Text: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg0208.htm
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRD-WGT : accessed 25 July 2020), William Gentry, Salisbury, Surry, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 656, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 32; FHL microfilm 337,908.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2V-721 : accessed 25 July 2020), William Gentry, Surry, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 647, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 43; FHL microfilm 337,916.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Cook, Michael. "The Whittinghill Family in America, 1770-1980". Cook Publications, 1979.
6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 17). Gentryville, Indiana. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:19, July 24, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gentryville,_Indiana&oldid=968070779
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present ; Together with Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc., p. 31 (1885). United States: Goodspeed. https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p1819coll6/id/58274/rec/1
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHG4-VV1 : accessed 25 July 2020), Wm Gentry, Warrick, Indiana, United States; citing p. 146, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 15; FHL microfilm 205,609.
9. ↑ Gentry, Richard. "The Gentry Family in America, 1606 to 1909". p.267. The Grafton Press, 1909. (https://archive.org/details/gentryfamilyinam1909gent). Accessed on 31 December 2018.
10. ↑ Bureau of Land Management, "Land Patent Search," database, General Land Office Records," (https://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx : accessed on 16 May 2022), entry for James Gentry (Indiana) accession #CV-0076-091.
11. ↑ Wikipedia contributors. (2020, April 12). Folsomville, Indiana. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:07, May 17, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Folsomville,_Indiana&oldid=950485816
12. ↑ Google (n.d.). [First James Gentry land tract near Folsomville, Indiana] (https://goo.gl/maps/Nn8wBSizpViEkJSCA). Accessed 17 May 2022.
13. ↑ Bureau of Land Management, "Land Patent Search," database, General Land Office Records," (https://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx : accessed on 16 May 2022), entry forWilliam Robertson (Indiana) accession #IN2170__.170.
14. ↑ Bureau of Land Management, "Land Patent Search," database, General Land Office Records," (https://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx : accessed on 16 May 2022), entry for James Gentry (Indiana) accession #IN0020__.157.
15. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPC-PLD : 20 February 2021), William Gentry, Skelton, Warrick, Indiana, United States; citing 271, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 28; FHL microfilm 7,717.
16. ↑ History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present ; Together with Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc., p. 32 (1885). United States: Goodspeed. https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p1819coll6/id/58274/rec/1
17. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHR1-FMF : 19 May 2020), William Gentry, Skelton, Gibson, Indiana, United States; citing p. 41, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #45335457
19. ↑ Wolfram Alpha LLC. 2020. Wolfram|Alpha. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=5+jan+1786+%2B+59+years+%2B+4+months+%2B+8+days (Accessed Jul 24, 2020).
20. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH29-WQ5 : accessed 25 July 2020), Matthew Gentry, Ohio, Ohio, Kentucky, United States; citing p. 88, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 181,353.
21. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH29-W7C : accessed 25 July 2020), Samuel Gentry, Ohio, Ohio, Kentucky, United States; citing p. 88, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 181,353.
22. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH29-W78 : accessed 25 July 2020), William Gentry, Ohio, Ohio, Kentucky, United States; citing p. 89, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 181,353.

Acknowledgements

Richard Gentry - wrote The Gentry Family in America, 1606 to 1909, the seminal genealogy text upon which this profile is built.

Willard M. Gentry - editor, Journal of Gentry Genealogy (http://www.gentryjournal.org/index.htm)

Isaac Brown - created WikiTree profile through the import of IsaacBrown_Extended.ged on 25 Nov 2013.