William Samples (1822 - 1904)

Born 13 Mar 1822 in Monroe County, Tennessee

Ancestors

Husband of Martha C. (Bowers) Samples — married 22 Oct 1844 (to 24 Oct 1856) in Monroe County, Tennessee, United States

Husband of Demira (Warren) Samples — married 30 Oct 1862 in Tennessee

Descendants

Died 4 Oct 1904 at age 82 in Hickory County, Missouri

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lowell Samples [send private message]

Biography

Born: 13 March 1822 in Monroe County, Tennessee.^[1][2] Date of birth is from his grave marker and obituary. County of birth is from the obituary. William was the second of eight children of John and Elizabeth Samples. He also had four younger half siblings.

Death of mother: Elizabeth died sometime between the 1840 birth of daughter Rebecca and John's remarriage in 1848.

Marriage: To Martha C. Bowers. Their marriage license was issued on 22 October 1844 in Monroe County, Tennessee.^[3]

1850: At age 27 William, Martha, and two young daughters were recorded in Monroe County. They were five dwellings from father John and stepmother Jemima, and four dwellings from William's sister Fanny Johnston.^[4]

Death of first wife: Martha died in Monroe County on 24 October 1856.^[2]

Death of father and stepmother: William's father John and stepmother Jemima died between 1857 and 1860. John died first. They were in McMinn or Monroe County, Tennessee.

1860: Widower William was recorded in Bradley County, Tennessee, about 50 miles from Monroe County. He had two sons and two daughters.^[5] His seven youngest siblings were also in Bradley County.

Remarriage: On 30 October 1862 to Demira Warren, according to William's obituary.^[2] No marriage record found, but they probably married in Bradley or Roane County. They were married for 42 years and had eight children.

Civil War, then migration: During the war William, his family, seven younger siblings, and aunt Rachel Davis lived near each other in the northwest corner of Bradley County. As far as I know, neither William nor brother Richard joined either army. Rachel's husband was in the Confederate Army but survived, too. There were no major battles in Bradley County but it hosted large camps and field hospitals for both sides. In the five years after the war a dozen or more neighbors of Bradley County migrated to the Pittsburg area of Hickory County, Missouri. Their surnames included Samples, Snow, Eads, Ferguson, Duncan, Kirkpatrick, and Taylor. William's older sister Frances or Fanny Johnson had moved to the Pittsburg area first, in the late 1850's. Samples-1044 00:02, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

First land purchase in Missouri: According to an index of land purchases, on 18 June 1867 William Samples purchased 40 acres of land in Hickory County. The seller was Eugene Dalmont. The land was between Pittsburg and Nemo.^[6] He made several more land transactions in later years.

1870: William and Demira had six children, ages one to 24, living near Pittsburg in Hickory County.^[7] Their Duncan and Kirkpatrick neighbors were from Bradley County.

Land grant patent, 1875: In August 1875 William received a federal land grant patent for 40 acres of land near Pittsburg.^[8]

1880: Four children were in the household, ages 7 to 14.^[9] According to the Agriculture schedule, William farmed on 120 acres in Green Township of Hickory County. Of those, 35 acres had been tilled. The farm was worth $1,200. He had two horses, 24 cattle, 12 sheep, 9 hogs, and 30 chickens. The farm produced corn, wheat, potatoes, molasses from sorghum, and 30 pounds of honey from bees. ^[10]

1900: William and Demira remained near Pittsburg with an adult daughter. The census indicated they had been married for 37 years. Demira had been the mother of eight children, four of whom were living. The same census page includes a man named Judge Samples who was a nephew of William.^[11]

Death: William died at age 82 on 4 October 1904. He was buried near Demira at Pittsburg Baptist Church Cemetery.^[1]

Obituary

William Samples was born March 13, 1822, in Monroe County, Tennessee. Professed religion when young and joined the Baptist church of which he has been a faithful member ever since. He was married to Martha Bowers October 22, 1844, and to this union was born five children, of whom three are dead and two living. His first wife died October 24, 1856 and he was married again October 30, 1862 to Demira Warren. To this union there was born eight children, 4 (?) of which are dead and 4 (?) living. William Samples is the father of 13 children... (not legible) ... He had five brothers and four sisters, with just one brother and one sister living (as of 1904). William moved his family to Hickory County in 1866...^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #8682097, database and image, memorial page for William Samples (13 Mar 1822–4 Oct 1904), Find a Grave Memorial no. 8682097, citing Pittsburg Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Pittsburg, Hickory County, Missouri; Maintained by Johnna Quick Owens (contributor 46614968) .
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} From the Hickory County Index newspaper, 13 Oct 1904, page 8. A partly legible image of the article is available at Newspapers.com and the Hickory County Library. A helpful librarian enhanced contrast, making additional sentences legible.
3. ↑ "Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch. See [1].
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch. See [2].
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch. See [3].
6. ↑ FamilySearch.org: "Deed Records, 1846-1896", by the Hickory County Recorder of Deeds. See FHL digitized film 8195891, image 291.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch. See [4].
8. ↑ From the online database of the General Land Office, Bureau of Land Management. See [5].
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch. See [6].
10. ↑ "Missouri Agricultural Schedules, 1850-1880" by the Missouri State Archives. See page 22 of the pdf version at [7].
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch. See [8].