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John Henderson Sizemore (abt. 1743 - abt. 1803)

John Henderson [uncertain] Sizemore
Born about in Virginiamap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 1763 in Halifax County, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , , , , and
Died about at about age 60 in Halifax, Halifax, Virginia, United Statesmap [uncertain]
Problems/Questions Profile managers: E. McCraw private message [send private message] and Walter Fiedler private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 26 Jun 2013
This page has been accessed 2,344 times.

Contents

Biography

"Henderson" is anecdotally noted as John's second given name, but there is no documented source confirming it, nor is the origin of this assumption yet known.

Origins

A previous version of this profile, citing the research of Ron Blevins, theorized that John Henderson Sizemore (c1743-1803) was a possible son of Edward "old Ned" Sizemore and Elizabeth / Rachel Jackson.[1]

A previous version of this profile claimed he was born in Pittsylvania, Virginia, but Pittsylvania did not exist until two decades later.

According to the testimony of his grandson, James H. Sizemore, which was given during the Guion-Miller trials, this John Sizemore had "two or three brothers.... George, Ned, and Joel." He said that Joseph Sizemore is the same as Joel. [2]

Lilly Martin makes the case for John Henderson Sizemore being son of William, grandson of Ephraim Sizemore, and great-grandson of William Sizemore, based on ... [add evidence here]...

Deborah Lake's Ancestry.com tree[citation needed] apparently makes the case for John being: the son of William Sizemore and Winnifred Green; grandson of Ephraim Sizemore and Mary; and great-grandson of William Sizemore and Margery.

We seek reliable evidence for the identification of ANY parents of John.

Life in Virginia

The following biography was posted online on the Clarence "Chuck" Townsend Home Page at Genealogy.com. Note that Townsend does not include the middle name "Henderson." We seek sources for the various claims made within the biography.

"John Sizemore was born about 1740 in Virginia, and died after May 23, 1803 in Halifax County, VA. He married Mary Mollie Gregory on Abt. 1763 in Halifax Co. VA, daughter of Joseph Gregory and Sarah Vaughan.
John was a Tobacco farmer in Halifax Co. Virginia. John was presented to the grand jury of the county on the charge of profanity and drunkenness. A lot of the old court records are filled with charges such as this, so we know that John wasn't any worse than his contemporaries back then. In 1797, while enjoying the merrymaking at Captain Howerton's muster on a Saturday, John's tongue was loosened with liquor and he was caught swearing a couple of times. Being about 57 yrs old at the time, he probably had many opinions of his own and may have overdone trying to get his point across to one of his neighbors. Muster day was when the militia were called together for drills, having to be ready for action against threats of Indian attacks and other military excursions. The militia, usually called after the tobacco crops were gathered in late summer, was composed of all able-bodied citizens of a certain age and was a time for great social activity. Contests for marksmanship, horse racing, cock fighting, card playing, storytelling and sometimes fighting were among the activities to be enjoyed. By days end most participants had consumed large quantities of rum and beer. There were usually many names listed on record for fines on the next court following the muster.
It was typical of Americans then to be skilled in many things. Not only was John a planter, he apparently was also a silversmith. In June of 1802, he was identified as such when he was brought to court on the charge of passing a counterfeit dollar to a man named Caleb Cleet for liquor. John was jailed for this charge, but found not guilty and acquitted.
I, DEBORAH LAKE, have copies of some of John's original land surveys in Halifax CO. VA. John patented 400 acres in Halifax County and it was surveyed on 23 Oct 1771. One-third of this land was plant-able according to the survey. On the 8th of Nov in the same year, 840 acres inclusively were surveyed for him. In the survey book, there is a notation that this land was half plant-able. He bought and sold other tracts of land during his lifetime, including another original entry of 350 acres of land on Aaron's Creek surveyed in November of 1786."[3]

In 1794, John and Mary sold 50 acres of Halifax Co., Virginia, land to Stanley Hite for 17 pounds.[4]

John died before August 1804 when a record was made in Halifax County[5] citing a "John Sizemore" as heir of John Sizemore, deceased, and not an inhabitant of state of Virginia. (This would have been his son, John "Gourd" Sizemore.)

Children

An article in the Virginia Argus, published multiple times in the Spring of 1805 summons to the Halifax County Court: "Daniel Sizemore, George Sizemore, Solomon Sizemore, John Sizemore, William Sizemore, Hiram Sizemore, Mary Sizemore, and Joseph Sizemore, the heirs and representatives of John Sizemore, dec. James Baird and William Baird, defendants" in a chancery suit filed by plaintiff, John Griffin. It goes on to state that the court was satisfied that John and William Sizemore and William Baird were not inhabitants of the state of Virginia.[6] This source supports the general assumption that the children of John Sizemore were (those with (*) were also named in ECA #38075):

  1. Daniel, b. ca. 1764, m. Easter Hall, d. ca. 1842/50; however, DNA results support his father being a Vaughn; see his profile for details.
  2. George,(*) b. ca. 1767, m. Elizabeth Callicut, d. ca. 1809
  3. Solomon,(*) b. ca. 1770-71, m. Nancy "Ann" Newton
  4. John "Gourd",(*) b. 1772-74, d. 28 Dec. 1864
  5. William, b. ca. 1775, m. Mary Moore, d. ca. 1820 in Franklin Co., TN
  6. Hiram,(*) b. ca. 1776, m. Jane Whitlow (24 Jan 1803), d. 13 Mar. 1815 (War of 1812)
  7. Mary Polly,(*) b. 1777-89, m. Mr. Chamberlin (ECA #38075 indicates she never married)
  8. Joseph,(*) b. ca. 1782, m. Martha Fitts/Fitz, d. 5 Aug 1861

The following two additional children were named in the 1907 Eastern Cherokee Application of 72-year-old Missouria Sizemore Stephenson (daughter of Joseph above):[7]

  • Ned Sizemore, "residence unknown; went west"
  • Fannie [others say Frances] who married Thomas F____ [can't decipher]

DNA

Y-DNA results from the Sizemore Project at FamilyTreeDNA.com show that the descendants of this John Sizemore are haplogroup I-M253 and do not match the DNA of descendants of George "All" Sizemore of Kentucky.[8]

Descendants of Wilkerson Sizemore and "Navy Bill" Sizemore match yDNA results with other descendants of John Sizemore, including at least one descendant of his son, John "Gourd".

There are, however, two descendants of a John Sizemore born in 1782 in Stokes County, NC, who do carry the Q marker (haplogroup Q-M242). The 1790 census of Stokes County has the following heads of household: Elizabeth Sizemore, Newman Sizemore, William Sizemore, George Sizemore. One of these would likely have been the parent of this Q-M242 John Sizemore.

Sources

  1. ↑ Ron Blevins, "Sizemore Legend and Fact," (1998) https://www.therainwatercollection.com/reference/ref2562_Ron-Blevins_Sizemore-Legend-and-Fact.pdf
  2. ↑ Sworn testimony of James H. Sizemore given 25 March 1908 during Guion-Miller Trials, Application 29255.
  3. ↑ Clarence "Chuck" E. Townshend, Information about John Sizemore (Genealogy.com), undated; largely unsourced.
  4. ↑ 1794 Halifax Co. VA, Deed Book 16: On April 6, 1794
  5. ↑ Halifax, Virginia, Plea Book 23, p. 207
  6. ↑ John Barksdale, d.c.h.c, (1805, March 16) "Virginia: At a court held for Halifax County, the 25th day of February, 1805", Virginia Argus, Volume 12, Page 2. Accessed online at: https://virginiachronicle.com on 31 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Missouria Sizemore Stephenson, Eastern Cherokee Application #38075 (1907)
  8. ↑ https://www.familytreedna.com/public/SIZEMORE_DNA?iframe=yresults

See Also:

  • Ancestry Family Trees; Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=9773793&pid=370




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with John:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 24

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Marbeth Sizemore
Marbeth Sizemore Ramirez

My father, Woodrow W Sizemore, s/o Grover C Sizemore s/o “Navy” Bill Sizemore, s/o Polly Wilder North d/o Rhoda Sizemore Wilder, d/o George All Sizemore and Aggie shepherd. “Navy” Bill Sizemore also s/o Wilkerson Sizemore grandson of George all Sizemore and Aggie Shepherd

My gr gr grandmother spoke of her parents, George All Sizemore and Aggie Shepherd, to my grandfather many times. Yet this states that dna results show Wilkerson and Navy Bill are descendants of John not George All. How is this possible when my gr gr grandmother told stories of them as her parents.

posted by Marbeth Sizemore
E. McCraw
Hi Marbeth,

Thank you for your input. As is written in the context of this profile, nearly everything about John "Henderson" Sizemore is conjecture. We have very little proof of anything. If your grandfather told you that his mother told him that her parents were George Sizemore and Aggie Shepherd, then that's a great piece of evidence for us--thank you. If you look at the profile of Rhoda Sizemore Wilder, it appears that Rhoda had children with several different fathers. And if Rhoda was also related to any of those men or any of those men were related, well, the DNA starts to get "messy" as evidence...I think. That might be an explanation. I created a profile for Polly WIlder North, so that's a start. If you can create profiles for Grover and Woodrow, then you can include in them your firsthand account as a source.

Looking through the profiles (what a mess!), somewhere it says that George "All" Sizemore was the birth son of a Native American and a European-descended mother who had been kidnapped and then returned to her husband, who raised the child as his own. Someone has also said that George "All" was the grandson of Ephraim Sizemore. So it's POSSIBLE that George and John were half-brothers whose mom had been kidnapped by Native Americans and impregnated during her time with them. This might explain SOME of the DNA conundrums. it seems like there was a lot of what we would today call "blended" families in the Sizemore clan.

You wrote that your great-great grandmother was the daughter of George Sizemore and Aggie Shepherd. Based on the ancestry you've given, this would be the wife of "Navy" Bill Sizemore. Do you have more information? Was she named "Sallie"? What was her maiden name?

Thank you!

posted by E. McCraw
edited by E. McCraw
Jennifer Campbell
I would vehemently disagree that most of what we have on this John Sizemore is conjecture. It is far more provable than most Sizemore profiles. The middle name of Henderson has no evidence to support it but who his children were is supported by lots of documentation. The yDNA study seems to be where things get sticky. The repetition of names in the family also causes problems. There were TWO John Sizemores in Halifax and Mecklenburg Counties at the same time (the other having only daughters) and yet another one of about the same age (who moved to IL) in Stokes who is different than the John Sizemore who was "Dr. Johnny Gourd" and was son of THIS John Sizemore. The issue HERE with the yDNA is likely because two females were named in her lineage, Polly and Rhoda, which means that George "All" Sizemore could be a maternal line grandfather (therefore yDNA not where you look) while another Sizemore could be, through straight-line male descent, another Sizemore. They did seem to marry within the family quite a bit.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer Campbell
YDNA is passed by males, so goes straight up the line through fathers. Because you mention two women in that lineage, Polly Wilder North and Rhoda Sizemore Wilder, the yDNA would follow the father of "Navy Bill" Sizemore and the father of his father. Also, intermarriage happened a lot with the Sizemores. So, that doesn't take away that George and Aggie are lineal grandparents, you just get there through some females.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer Campbell
I can't upload an image because it's probably copyrighted. I have a newspaper clipping (announcement) from the Virginia Argus newspaper from 1805 (it was posted in the newspaper numerous times) that names John's heirs because he was the defendant in a chancery case but he died so his heirs were named in the lawsuit and published to appear in court. The names were Daniel, George, Solomon, John, William, Hiram, Mary, and Joseph. I believe Daniel moved to Mecklenburg Co., George (my 4th g-grandfather) died within a few years after, Solomon I'm not sure about at this point, John went to Stokes Co., William went to Franklin Co., TN, Hiram died in 1815, Joseph also went to Stokes Co., NC but returned to Halifax before he died. In one court record it gave Mary's last name as Chamberlane but I had never seen anything else that suggested any other last name than Sizemore. She appears to be in the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Halifax Co. The announcement states that John Sizemore and William Sizemore hadn't entered an appearance. Likely because neither of them were living in the area at the time. I don't know of a Frances or a Ned or Ed. I do think John had a brother Edward, not a son. ECA #9508 of Daniel H. Sizemore: In that ECA he states that the only name he remembers of his grandfather's brothers was Hiram. That matches with information available. Another time he states brothers "George, Ned, and Joel" and the George and Joel (Joseph) add up but I haven't found any other record that suggests that John had a son Ned. I don't have anything to show where the name "Henderson" came from.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
E. McCraw
This is so exciting! Thank you, Jennifer! First "hard source" connecting the children. So helpful...
posted by E. McCraw
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
Jennifer, Really great find. E., thanks for finding and adding a citation; I just added a link to that readers can go directly to the page where the original text is found.
posted by Jillaine Smith
edited by Jillaine Smith
Jennifer Campbell
Glad it helps. I'd prefer to leave any editing of the biography to you but I think it would be helpful to correct the name of Joseph's wife. Her last name was Fitts or Fitz, but with no "r" in it. It's minor but I think it would be more helpful to researchers to have the correct name. She was the daughter of Robert Walker Fitts (another time an individual had a middle name and most records show it). Find a Grave may not be the best source but I think it may be helpful as a start. There's a good Find a Grave entry for Robert Walker Fitts in Fitts Cemetery in Pittsylvania, Va. It contains a biography that states he served in the Revolution under Captain Reuben Vaughan. I find that interesting because there are many connections between the Sizemore and Vaughan families. John *may* have served in the Revolution, at least one of the ECAs mentions that. In a "Baynham" chancery case Solomon Sizemore is a deponent and states that he made a trip south in 1829 with "Waker Fitts."
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer Campbell
Can you link Sizemore-1497 (Joseph) as his son?
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
Both items dealt with (typo of son's wife's name; adding link to profile of son Joseph).

Jennifer, while it's clear that John sizemore had a son Joseph, how do we know it's the Joseph that later married Fitts?

posted by Jillaine Smith
Jennifer Campbell
That's a good question considering that documentary material has been hard to come by so it's difficult to provide. So, it relies more on circumstantial evidence. If I can find better documentation I will let you know. In addition to what I had written earlier (above), Joseph and Martha had a son named Tandy that is mentioned in a chancery case of the John Goode family. The Goode and Sizemore families were allied. I cannot really find any records, otherwise, so far for Tandy. But Martha Fitts Sizemore had a brother named Tandy Walker Fitts that makes it obvious from where the name came. It's mostly connecting the dots. I continue to look for documentation.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
Sorry for the delay; I got distracted (easy to do in this Sizemore family...)

Jennifer, would you please add text to Joseph's profile that summarizes how you concluded Joseph was son of John. You're more familiar with the data than I am. Thanks.

posted by Jillaine Smith
Jennifer Campbell
I added some to it and will work on the family line and connecting them together as soon as I get some time to do it.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer Campbell
In the last paragraph under DNA on the biography....the John Sizemore referred to, b. 1782 Stokes, is likely Sizemore-1748.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
Link added.


Your comment must be at least 30 characters long.

posted by Jillaine Smith
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
6 months later, I went ahead and added text to Joseph's profile for why the son of John was he who married Martha Fitts. Jennifer, can you take a look at that and see if I got it right? Many thanks.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Jennifer Campbell
What I wrote before about Solomon (Joseph's brother) being a deponent in a case where he mentions taking a trip south with "Waker Fitts" who is Walker Fitts, or Robert Walker Fitts. Walker Fitts would be Joseph's father-in-law. That and naming patterns show the connection but actual documentation to support it is a lot harder to find. It looks like Joseph and Martha had a lot of daughters first and named their first son, John. Possibly after his paternal grandfather. Their second son was named Sandford, another name taken from her side of the family, just like Tandy.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
What is the source for the middle name "Henderson" please? Thank you.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Cindy (Sizemore) Hofmeister
Jillaine, I'm not sure if you located where the name Henderson comes in. I honestly believe it may be coming initially from Missouri (Sizemore) Stephenson ECA -38075. On page 4, Mrs. Stephenson list the name of her parents as Joseph Sizemore and Martha Fitts. On page 5 of her application, she identifies the names of her aunts and uncles. She implies four maternal ancestors with the surname Fitts, then six paternal ancestors with the surname Sizemore. No. 1 for Sizemore she states Ned Sizemore. [my research into what Ned Sizemore she is speaking about has been inconclusive. It is NOTED: NONE of the Chancery cases that identify John's children list an Edward or Ned Sizemore].

Line No. 4 Mrs. Stephenson states Henderson Sizemore as one of John's children. However, she does NOT name William Sizemore who was living in Tennessee and who was clearly listed as an heir of John Sizemore in the Halifax Chancery case. Basically, she has the name Henderson in place of William.

posted by Cindy (Sizemore) Hofmeister
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
Thank you Cindy. I'll attempt to incorporate this into the narrative. EDITED TO ADD: Actually this explanation belongs on the profile of the son William, not the father John.

Would you be willing to share ECA 38075 with me? I just tried to find it on familysearch, but it requires going to a center and viewing from there. And I don't have a fold3.com account.

Thanks.

posted by Jillaine Smith
edited by Jillaine Smith
Jennifer Campbell
In chancery case index #1810-027 all of the legatees of John are listed and about 1804 these locations for them: Daniel, Mecklenburg. George, Halifax. Solomon, Halifax. John, North Carolina. William, state of Tennessee. Hiram, Halifax. Mary, Mecklenburg. Joseph, Mecklenburg.
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Jennifer Campbell
What Missouria did was name her cousin, Fanny, who married Thomas Faulkner, as her aunt. There was 35 years age difference between the two of them so that may have something to do with it. She names 9 when there were only 8 children of John, but, if you removed Frances/Fanny from it she has the correct number and genders of John's children. The only one who moved west was William. So, was William ever called "Ned" or did she just goof up the name? She leaves out Daniel and William and inserts Henderson and Ned. I don't see that either of them went to Yadkin, NC and can't find anyone else who it might be. It was Isom (and family) who went to Yadkin and many of his children were older than she was which makes me think she could have just got the generations wrong. Isom was her cousin, too, but about 41 years age difference between them. There was a Henderson who was the son of Daniel, Jr. (Mecklenburg) b. abt. 1812
posted by Jennifer Campbell
Joseph-746 Janis (Joseph) Denison
Sizemore-845 and Sizemore-293 appear to represent the same person because: same person
posted by Janis (Joseph) Denison
E. McCraw
Sizemore-644 and Sizemore-293 appear to represent the same person because: Same birth/death dates. Not sure how I missed Sizemore-293 when I created 644. Sorry about that. I will merge 644 into 293 with your permission.
posted by E. McCraw

Rejected matches › John Sizemore (abt.1744-1803)

Featured National Park champion connections: John is 14 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 21 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 15 degrees from George Catlin, 12 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 21 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 18 degrees from George Grinnell, 24 degrees from Anton Kröller, 17 degrees from Stephen Mather, 24 degrees from Kara McKean, 16 degrees from John Muir, 18 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 24 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

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