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DAY-1904 CURRENT PROJECT B

THANKFUL DOAK PROFILE

US Southern Colonies.
... ... ... resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776.
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Contents

Biography

The following biography is based on the primary sources diovered to date which reefer to Thankful Doak, and the most recent published research interpreting those records.

Thankful's Appearances in Documents

Named in John Finley's 1791 Will

This is the profile for Thankful, named as wife of John Finley in his 1791 will. The will, presented in a linked page, Space:John Finley of Augusta County, Virginia: 1791 Will should be considered the central primary source for this profile.

Two versions of the will exist, one presumably the original and containing an original signature, and the other apparently a court docket copy. The differences consist of varying spellings of words and the substitution of a Thomas for a James among the named children. The two versions of the will contain no differences regarding Thankful or her husband. [1]

From the will we learn that:

  • the woman named Thankful was married to a man named John Finley.
  • Thankful and John were living in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1791
  • John Finley was the father of children named, in the will's order, David, George, Robert, Margaret, James, John, Jean and Thankful.

Thankful was to receive from John all household furniture except "one old bed and furniture," his Negro woman, Hannah, and a saddle and horse, with maintenance out of the estate willed to David. [2]

Tools enumerated in John Finley's estate reveal he was a cooper. John Finley of Middle River was also identified as a cooper in a May 1746 document addressing the location and supervision of a road. [3]

Named in a 1767 Land Sale

Carmen Finley observes that John and Thankful (Doak) Finley, were among the earliest settlers of the Shenandoah Valley in what is now Augusta County, Virginia -- and most likely having come from Pennsylvania. Like their early neighbors, they were Scotch-Irish Presbyterian farmers. [2]

The earliest mention of Thankful in a currently available primary document occurs in November 1767 when John Finley deeds 179 acres, "a part of the Tract John Finley now lives on": to their son George Finley for 5 shillings, and Thankful gives the required legal consent. [3]

The naming of John, Thankful and George in this document

  • establishes them as the same people named in the 1791 will
  • establishes their location as the Middle River area of Augusta county
  • identifies this as the same land John Finley purchased in 1740. The first record found for John appeared in Augusta County records of 1 December 1740 when he received a patent for 183 acres "on a branch of Cathey's River called Finley's Branch" (now Middle River). [4]

Finley adds that George soon moved to Washington County about 170 miles to the southwest and sold his Middle River property to Robert and Margaret Clendenen for £16, less than five years after it was given to him. [5] The Clendenens, in turn, sold it back to John and Thankful three years later for five shillings. [6]

Finley also adds that this property was described as being adjacent to land owned by Alexander Breckenridge, whose son, George, married Thankful's sister, Ann Doak, the next year (1741) [7]

1773 Named in Craig Accounting

In 1773 John and Thankful Finley were both named in an accounting of Samuel Craig, who served as a guardian for John Black, orphan of Anthony Black. John received £5 and Thankful received £5 6s. for services or goods. [8]

Thankful's Husband John

Middle River and South River

Finley observes that three of the persons with whom John is associated in these documents, John Brown, Hugh Young, and John Trimble, can be found in the extreme northwestern corner of Hildebrand's map of The Beverley Patent. They lived either on, or close to, the Manor line and near Middle River. [9]This gives us a good indication of the location of John and Thankful's property as being just outside the Manor line along Middle River.

Finley identifies another John Finley who lived near South River. This John was identified as a "gentleman," was a Commissioner of the Tinkling church, and married to Mary Caldwell. Finley found no evidence of any relationship between John Finley of Middle River and John Finley of South River. [3]

1771 Husband John Finley Named in Thankful's Brother's Will

In November 1771 when Samuel Doak wrote his will he referred to John Finley as his brother-in-law. [10] Augusta County Will Book 4, 497 Rec. 19 May 1772. ... I [Samuel Doak] constitute make and ordain my well beloved wife Jane & my son David and son in law William Brown my sole Executrix and Executor and my very good Brother in laws John Finley and John Tate to give their advice if need.

This document establishes Thankful's maiden name as Doak, and Samuel as her brother.

Thankful's Children

The Tinkling Springs Baptisms

Between 1740 and 1749, Rev. John Craig recorded his baptisms at the Tinkling Springs and Stone Meeting House congregations that he served. "John Finly" was the father of the following infants baptized; Wilson notes that there appeared to be two persons with the name John Finley, and those asterisked fit a particular family. [11] Those asterisked and bolded were all named in the 1791 will:

Elizabeth, 18 Jun 1741
William, 30 Jan 1743
George* 30 Jan 1743
Robert* 21 April 1745
Margaret* December 1746
James 8 March 1747
George, 4 June 1748 (bapt by Rev. John Thomson)
James, 26 March 1749

In 1768 John Finley of Middle River was named as one of the representatives and commissioners of what became known as Brown's Meeting House. [12] They received two acres on Meadow Run, a branch of Middle River, from John and Margaret Brown. [13] The North Mountain Meeting House (later Hebron), was the church nearest the Middle River neighborhood. It had originally been "Old Side" Presbyterian and held only sporadic services until the mid-1740s when the "New Side" revivalist Presbyterians stepped in. Brown, not pleased with this turn of events, joined with his neighbors to build a meeting house near his home. Brown's Meeting House officially opened its doors 16 February 1748. [14]

Finley observes that this, perhaps, explains why John and Thankful's children were baptized at Tinkling Spring, some twelve miles away, until December 1746. [2]

Children in the 1791 will

The following composite view of the children named in the 1791 will is obtained by combining the content of the will (in the order of names in the will) with Carmen Finley's observations where available.

1. David Finley (1762-5) .
Will: All my lands and tenements and every part of my Estate not herein separately willed to others....likewise sole Executor." [1]
Finley: David is presumed to be the youngest male. [2] Probably the youngest child. Given referenes indicating when he became an adult, he was born between 1762 and 1765. [15]
2. George Finley (1743)
Will: 5 shillings Virginia currency [1]
Finley: George, christened at Tinkling Spring, 30 January 1743. [11]
3. Robert Finley (1745)
Will: 5 shillings Virginia currency [1]
Finley: Robert Finley, christened 21 April 1745, at Tinkling Spring. [11].
4. Margaret Finley Shields (1746)
Will: 5 shillings Virginia currency [1]
Finley: Margaret Finley Shields, christened 21 November 1746, at Tinkling Spring. [11]
5. James Finley] (1748) (Given name "Thomas" in court docket copy) [1]
Will: One hundred twenty pounds Virginia Currency with interest from this date to be payed by my son David out of the land part I now ill to him. [1]
Finley: Fifth child named in will, so born after 1746 if in order. [15]
6. John Finley
Will: One bed and furniture at my beloved wife's decease.[1]
Finley: John [16] Finley adds that John was the sixth child named in the will, so he would have been born after James. Stout gives dates in 1742, but there is no record of him at Tinkling Springs. [15]
7. Jean Finley Trimble
Will: "One negro woman at my wife's death and to her son John Trimble my sadle and bridle." [1]
Finley: Jean Finley, married Joseph Trimble [17]
8. Thankful Finley McCarter
Will: six shillings Virginia Currancy" [1]
Finley:

Death: after 1791

Thankful, named in the 1791 will, was living when it was written.

Carmen Finley observes, "It is not known how much longer Thankful lived. However, David sold his entire holdings on 1 October 1794 to John Johnston for 1,100 and moved on," [18]suggesting, perhaps, that Thankful had died prior to that time. [2]

Research Notes

Earlier Research Compilations

These historic secondary sources are similar to each other in major themes, but differ in some details.

Clifford Bransford (1928)

Clifford Bransford, writing in 1928, credits the earlier research of John Borland Finley, Ph. D. of Pennsylvania for research in Scotland, and credits Albert Finley France of Annapolis, Maryland with assistance in untangling the Finleys. [19]

  • With Brothers From Ireland to Virginia. Bransford states that Thankful Doak was the sister of three brothers, Robert, Samuel and David Doak, who had come from the north of Ireland and settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1720.
  • Marriage to John Finley in 1723. In 1723 in Pennsylvania Thankful married John Finley, Sr, second son of James and Elizabeth Finley. [20]
  • Move to Virginia in 1737. Bransford adds that John Finley then moved with his family to Augusta County, Virginia in 1737. [20]
  • John Sr and Jr. There were two persons named John Finley in Augusta County. Bransford identifies them as father and son, senior and junior. Bransford states that John Finley, Jr., eldest son of John and Thankful (Doak) Finley, was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1724, and moved with his father John Finley, Sr, to what was later Augusta County, Virginia, in 1737. [21]
  • John Finley Jr wrote the 1791 will. Bransford makes John Finley Jr the author of the 1791 will: "John Finley, Jr, died in 1791; his will dated April 17th, was proved in Augusta County, VA Sept 20, 1791. By his wife, Mary Thankful Caldwell, he had eight children, five sons and three daughters, as follows: [22] Bransford then enumerates the children named in the 1791 will.
  • John Finley Jr's wife Mary Thankful was the wife Thankful in the will. Bransford consistently refers to Mary, the wife of John Finley "Jr" as "Mary Thankful." This permits him to make her the wife named "Thankful" in the 1791 will, but in no primary document does she have both a first and middle name, which were rarely used in the colonial period,
  • Children. Since Bransford identified the 1791 will and its children with John Finley "Jr", he provided the following children for Thankful and John Finley "Sr": [23]
  1. John Finley, Jr, born in Pennsylvania in 1724, died in Augusta County, Va in 1791
  2. Herbert Finley, born 1725
  3. James Finley, born 1726
  4. Margaret Finley, born 1730
  5. Samuel Finley, born 1732
  6. Andrew Finley, born 1736
  7. Alexander Finley born 1738
  8. Thankful Finley, born 1739
  9. Elizabeth Finley, born 1741
  10. William Finley, born 1745
  11. George Finley born 1745

Albert Finley France (1939)

In a typewritten narrative dated 1939, Albert Finley France of Annapolis, Maryland adds the following:

  • Parents from Ireland. Thankful Doak, along with Samuel, David, John, and Robert, "were children of James and Elizabeth Doak who immigrated from the north of Ireland in 1710 and settled in East Nottingham Township, Chester, County, Pennsylvania." [24]
  • Born at sea. "Thankful Doak was born on the ship coming over. There was a severe storm at sea in which many of the passengers and crew died and they were so glad to land safely they named her thankful." [24]
  • 1724 Marriage. Thankful Doak, daughter of James and Elizabeth Doak from the north of Ireland was married to John Finley Sr by the Rev. George Gillispie of Rock Presbyterian Church, Chester County, Pennsylvania on March 10, 1724. [25]
  • John Finley Sr. baptism in Dublin was the older son of James and Elizabeth (Patterson) Finley; he was baptized at St. Peter's Church, Dublin, Ireland, December 18, 1706. [25]
  • John Finley Sr. 1773 death. John Finley, Sr, died at South River, Augusta County, Virginia January 6, 1773, and was buried in the Tinkling Springs Presbyterian church graveyard. [26]
  • Children of Thankful and John Sr
  1. John Finley, Jr. born Nottingham Township, County of Chester...married April 21, 1741 Mary Caldwell. [27] John Finley, Jr, oldest son of John and Thankful (Doak) Finley, born Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Dec 28, 1724, died Augusta County, Virginia between April 17, 1791, date of will and September 20 1791, Proved. [28]
  2. Robert Finley, born Pennsylvania March 10, 1726, died Staunton, Virginia 1796. Married June 5, 1750 Martha Henderson.[27]
  3. Margaret Finley, born June 18 1728, no record.[27]
  4. Andrew Finley, born October 6, 1730, no record. [27]
  5. Thomas Finley, born Nov. 18, 1734, No record. [27]
  6. Rose Finley, born April 1736. Married June 1756 John Henderson.[27]
  7. Samuel Finley, born Virginia March 10, 1739, died in Virginia 1797, married March 16, 1761 Elizabeth Fulton.[27]
  8. Elizabeth Finley, baptised by Rev. John Craig June 17 1741.[27]
  9. William Finley, baptised by Rev. John Jan 30, 1743.[27]
  10. James Finley baptised by Rev. John Craig May 8, 1745, died Whitley County Kentucky 1830, married 1759 Keziah Martin.[27]
  11. George Finley baptised by Rev. John Thompson Jan 4, 1748, died Logan County, Kentucky 1812 married Jean Lyle.[27]

Herold F. Stout (1942, 1956)

Stout's works written in 1942 and expanded in 1956 provide an outline similar to Bransford and France but some variance in details:

  • Arrival Chester County Pennsylvania 1720. Thankful Doak, daughter of James and Elizabeth Doak, in 1720 came to Chester County, Pennsylvania with her brothers Rev. Samuel, Robert, and David. [29]
  • Married 1724. Thankful and John Finley (born 18 December 1706 in Dublin) were married April 10, 1724. [29]
  • Arrival Augusta Co, VA 1740 Thankful and John came to Augusta County, Virginia, in 1740. [29]
  • Children of John Sr and Thankful, according to Stout:[29]
  1. John, 1724-1791
  2. Robert, 1726-1798
  3. Andrew, b. 1730
  4. Thomas, b 1734
  5. Rose, died 1766
  6. Thankful, b. 1737
  7. Samuel, b. 1739
  8. Elizabeth, b. 1741
  9. William Joseph, 1743-1802
  10. James, 1745-1830
  11. George, 1747-1831
  • Mary "Thankful" Caldwell married John Finley Jr. John Finley (1724-1791) married 4/21/1724 Mary Thankful Caldwell (1728-1787), daughter of David and Mary Caldwell. [30]
  • Children of John Jr and Mary Thankful's children as presented by Stout [30]:
  1. John (1742-1818)
  2. George (1743-1809)
  3. Jean, b. 1744
  4. Robert Osborne, b 1745
  5. Margaret (1746-1802)
  6. David (1748-1803)
  7. Samuel, b. 1749
  8. Thomas Caldwell, (1750--1821)
  9. Mary Thankful, b. 1751.

Three Apparent Errors of Earlier Research

In 1928 Clifton Bransford credited A. F. France of Annapolis for his "invaluable assistance in straightening out the Finley genealogy." [31] Regrettably, Bransford, followed by France and Stout, made significant errors demonstrated by Carmen Finley in her research.

Error #1. The John Finley who lived in South River Augusta County, was the son of the John Finley who lived near Middle River, Augusta County.
Error #2 The 1791 will was the will of John Finley of South River, and his wife Mary was actually Mary Thankful, addressed as Thankful in the 1791 will.
Error #3 As a result of Errors 1 and 2, the children named in the 1791 will were the children of the South River John Finley and his wife Mary "Thankful", rather than children of the Middle River John Finley and his wife, Thankful.

In addition, while Bransford cites various public documents naming John Finley, he assigns them to John Sr and Jr without regard to their location on Middle River or South River.

Error #1: Father and Son

There were two or more persons named John Finley in Augusta County, Virginia during this period. The first error is that Bransford, France and Stout refer to the John Finley, husband of Thankful, who lived near Middle River as John Finley, Sr; they named the John Finley, who lived near South River and was husband first of an unnamed daughter of Rev. John Thomson, and secondly of Mary Caldwell, as John Finley, Jr.

Carmen Finley found no records that would establish the two John Finleys as father and son. John Finley of South River, who became a commissioner of the Tinkling Springs Church, was termed "Gentleman" in documents, a high social status reflecting a degree of wealth that would typically be hereditary in colonial Virginia; John Finley of Middle River was not termed "gentleman" but rather identified as a "cooper." [2]

Carmen Finley observes, "like many other readers I first used Albert Finley France and Herald F. Stout as basic references in the study of my family. It was in the mid-1980s I first recognized that at least some of their information did not agree with basic information I was finding about my third great grandfather, David Finley (Stout's 5-02-114)--and my information was coming from Bible and cemetery records. [2] This experience led me to be skeptical of other information presented by Stout, especially as I worked my way back to Augusta County to the John Finley who married Mary Caldwell. I began to question the relationship between this John Finley who lived on South River and the John Finley who married Thankful Doak and lived on Middle River. Scouring every Finley document in Augusta County from the late 1730s through 1800 led me to the inescapable conclusion that the John Finley who married Mary Caldwell was not the son of John and Thankful, as claimed by Stout. These two Johns were independent, contemporary persons living but fifteen miles apart and not related, at least not proven in that generation. It would not surprise me to learn by going back another generation they were cousins, although the proof of that has not yet been established. [2]

Error #2: Mary Caldwell Finley as the "Thankful" of the 1791 Will

The second error is that Mary Caldwell Finley is given the middle name of Thankful, and becomes the wife named in the 1791 will. Middle names were extremely rare during the colonial period, however. Neither Bransford, France or Stout provide documentation of Mary Caldwell Finley having a middle name of Thankful; she is addressed as Mary in all documents pertaining to her, and the name "Mary Thankful" appears only in the narratives of Bransford, France and Stout.

Error #3: Misidentified Children

Stemming from the first two errors, Bransford, France and Stout when providing added detail for the children of both John Finleys and their wives assign the children listed in the 1791 will to the wrong John Finley. Thankful and her husband were assigned children they didn't have, and Mary and her husband were given the 1791 will children rather than their own.

Bransford, having assigned the children of the 1791 will to "John Finley, Jr", provided other children for "John Finley, Sr." He did not provide a source for these children:

In Carmen Finley's presentation, the children named in the 1791 will are the children of Thankful Doak and her husband, John Finley of Middle River, referred to by Bransford, France and Stout as John Finley, Sr.

The presentation of Tinkling Springs church records for the 1740's, however, which still exist, display other children for John Finley of South River, which is one of the challenges facing the Bransford-France-Stout narrative.

Additional Research Questions

When Was Thankful Born?

No reliable records exist confirming a birth year for Thankful.

However, Carmen Finley has calculated the birth year of son David as between 1762 and 1765. [32] Calculating that a woman's childbearing years end at about age 45, and that Thankful was no older than age 45 in 1765, her birth year would not be earlier than 1720, and "after 1720" is used as the birth year in the data field.

No evidence of the claimed 1724 marriage has been found. If there was a Thankful born in 1704 or 1710 and/or married in 1724, it would be a different Thankful.

Is There a Record of Thankful's Marriage?

Carmen Finley asserted at one point that "We cannot be sure whether John Finley and Thankful Doak were married in Pennsylvania or in Virginia. The Doaks were also early settlers in this region and it is possible that John and Thankful met after both families arrived in the area. Thankful's brothers, Samuel and David Doak, had properties about ten miles due south of John's Middle River property. Her sister, Ann Doak, was married after the Doaks moved to Augusta County."[2]

Elaine Doak reports, "We were unable to find Thankful's marriage to John Finley which is supposed to be there, but Pennsylvania didn't require marriage licenses or bonds till the 1850s, so if the record is there it's probably in some church's files. [33]

Which John Finley is the son of John and Thankful?

There are several theories regarding the identity of Thankful's son John.

  1. John is named in the 1791 will to receive bed and furniture. Bransford identifies this John as John C. Finley, son of John Finley, Jr, who moves to North Carolina.
  2. According to Bransford, France and Stout, Thankful's husband John Finley Sr, whom they assert is NOT the author of the 1791 will, is the father of John Finley, Jr, whom they assert IS.
  3. Lee Bain presents another approach, concluding that the son of John Finley and his wife Thankful is the John Finley who guided Daniel Boone into Kentucky.

Is Thankful Buried at Tinkling Springs?

Find-a-Grave states that Thankful died 20 September 1791 in Augusta County, Virginia, USA and that she was buried in the Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Fishersville, Augusta County, Virginia. [34]No actual record of her death has been found, and the date provided is the date Thankful's husband's will was proved. While it is possible she was buried at Tinkling Spring, her family was more closely associated with neighboring Presbyterian churches.

DNA Research

Thankful Doak is sister of Samuel Doak, and Samuel Doak is considered to be brother of John, David and Robert Doak, which has been shown to be consistent with Y-dna results of their descendants. Ann Doak is another sister. [35]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 John Finley, 1791 Will Augusta County, Virginia, USA, August 17, 1791. Original available at Augusta County Courthouse. Court Docket Copy proved 20 September 1791, Book 3, p. 404.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Finley (1995)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Finley (2003) 5
  4. ↑ . Virginia State Land Office, Patent #19, reel 17, p. 852. Cited by Finley,(1995)
  5. ↑ Augusta Co., Va., Deed Book 18:92-93. Cited by Finley, (1995).
  6. ↑ . Augusta Co., Va., Deed Book 21:17 (lease), 21:19 (release). Cited by Finley, (1995) .
  7. ↑ . Louis A. Burgess, Virginia Soldiers of 1776, vol. 2 (Richmond, Va.: Richmond Press, 1927), pp. 586, 733. Cited by Finley, (1995).
  8. ↑ . Augusta Co, Virginia. Will Book V:74-75. Cited by Finley, (1995).
  9. ↑ . J. R. Hildebrand, The Beverley Patent, 1736, including original grantees, 1738-1815, in Orange & Augusta Counties, Va., folded map attached to back cover of Wilson's Tinkling Spring. Cited by Finley (1995).
  10. ↑ Augusta County, VA. Will Book, 4, p. 497. Cited by Finley (2003), p. 5. and France (1939)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 . Wilson, 474.
  12. ↑ . Others named were John Trimble, William McPeters, Jr., George Berry, and Hugh Young. Cited by Finley, (1995).
  13. ↑ . Augusta Co., Va., Deed Book 14:450. Cited by Finley (1995)
  14. ↑ Wilson, 485
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Finley (2010)
  16. ↑ Stout, p. 104, claims he was born 11 January 1742, but baptismal records at Tinkling Spring do not support this date. Cited by Finley (1995).
  17. ↑ Stout, p. 104., claims she was born 16 February 1744, but baptismal records at Tinkling Spring do not support this date. Cited by Finley (1995).
  18. ↑ . Augusta Co., Va., Deed Book 28:368. Cited by Finley (1995).
  19. ↑ Bransford (1928), 1, 8
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Bransford (1928), 7
  21. ↑ Bransford (1928) p. 9
  22. ↑ Bransford (1928), p. 12.
  23. ↑ Bransford (1928), 8
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 France (1939) 132
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 France (1939) 52
  26. ↑ France (1939) 51
  27. ↑ 27.00 27.01 27.02 27.03 27.04 27.05 27.06 27.07 27.08 27.09 27.10 France (1939), 52-53. Issue Family Record, citing Register Rock Presbyterian Church, Maxwell's Genealogy Baptism, Virginia, and Chalkley's Augusta County Records.
  28. ↑ France (1939) 53
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 Stout (1956), p. 37. John Finley (1706-1773) is #3-02-1.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Stout (1956), p. 61. John Finley (1724-1791) is #4-02-11
  31. ↑ Bransford (1928), p 12
  32. ↑
  33. ↑ Elaine Doak, Notes on Doak Family
  34. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #80509844 Profile for Elizabeth Doak. Accessed 30 June 2022 jhd
  35. ↑ See Augusta Co. Doak DNA Project.

Bibliography of Frequently Cited Works

  • Armstrong, Zella, Notable Southern Families, Volume VI: Doak Family of Tennessee. Originally published 1933. Reprinted, Clearfield Publishing, Baltimore, 1993. Filmstrip available at Ancestry.com (Paid site) Accessed 13 August 2022 jhd </ref>
  • Bain, Lee. J. Identity of John Finley, Boone's Companion. Published in two parts in Kentucky Ancestors, Vo 36, No 1, Autumn 2000.
  • Bransford, Clifton W, Owensboro, Kentucky.. Finleys of Virginia Typed Manuscript. Federal Writers Project, Work Project Administration for State of Florida. University of Florida Digital Collections. 26 pages. August 25, 1928. Accessed 3 July 2020 jhd
  • Chalkley's Augusta Records. Extensively cited by Bransford and others, this work has been cited by the Daughters of the American Revolution in its Report on the Chalkley manuscripts, 1912, "can not be accepted as an original source of historical and genealogical information", since "condensation has been carried to the extreme limit ; that they are lacking in clearness of statement arising, doubtless, from a desire to be brief, and that this very brevity will permit of too great latitude for misleading application of the real facts presented, by opening the way to substitute for omitted words, those that modify the fact presented or admit of a wholly different meaning."
  • Finley, Carmen J. (1995).The John Finleys of Augusta County, Virginia Reprinted from "Finley Findings International," vol. 9, no. 2, September/October, 1995, published by Timothy Kessler, Wynne, Arkansas. Accessed 4 July 2022 jhd
  • Finley, Carmen J. (2003) The John Finleys of Augusta County, Virginia: Correcting the Record. Virginia Genealogist 46 (2003). (Requires paid subscription) American Ancestors.org,
  • Finley, Carmen J. (2010). The Finleys of Early Sonoma County, California. Heritage Books, 2010.
  • France, Albert Finley: House of Finley, unpublished manuscript sent to Finley descendants (1939. Digital images of partial excerpt attached to this profile. Major France indicated his sources were Professor John Finley (University of Glasgow) and Edward C. Finley (Native Dublin Irishman). See also: The Clan Finley Annapolis, Maryland, 1942. John Finley (1688-1760), Robert Finely (1681-1741), and Michael Finley (1683-1750), sons of Robert and Margaret Lauder Finley of the Parish of Mulloughbrec, County Armagh, Ireland, immigrated to America in 1732-1734 with their families and settled in Chester Pennsylvania. Descendants listed lived in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and elsewhere.
  • Stout, Herald F. (1940) The Clan Finley: a Condensed Genealogy of the Finley Family At Home And Abroad (Dover: The Eagle press, 1940). Online at HathiTrust, "Ancestry Abroad" 4-1-1" Image copy. Also at Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/clanfinleyconden00stou/mode/2up : accessed 17 Nov 2021).
  • Stout, Herald F. (1956) The Clan Finley, Second Edition. Revised and Corrected, 1956. Volume I. Dover OH: The Eagle Press, 1956. Accessed 4 July 2022 jhd Image copy. Hathitrust (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005730918 : accessed 17 Nov 2021).
  • Wilson, Howard McKnight. The Tinkling Spring, Headwater of Freedom, A Study of the Church and Her People, 1732-1952 (Fisherville, Va.: Tinkling Spring and Hermitage Presbyterian Churches, 1954), p. 474.

See also:

  • "Doaks of Virginia," in Acklen, Jeannette Tillotson, comp. Tennessee Records: Bible Records and Marriage Bonds. (Nashville, Tenn.: Cullom & Ghertner, 1933); digital image, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9DF-591B : accessed 20 Nov 2021); FHL microfilm 1,000,313, DGS 7,549,555 (Narrative, original source(s) not identified).

NOTE: It is not certain that all of the following refer to the same Thankful Doak. Carmen Finley's genealogy collection may have explanations of data in these sources that does not always agree.

  • Ackerly, M D and Parker, L E J Jeter family section in Virginia Genealogies reference.
  • Calhoun, William Gunn: The Rice Famiiy 1680 to 1973, Pioneer Printers, Washington College TN, 1973.
  • Finley, Carmen: Finley-McFarling Genealogy Collection, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park CA. (Includes articles discussing contradicting data in various sources, and results of research at historic family sites.

INTENTIONS WITH RESPECT TO DATA FIELD (NOT PART OF PROFILE)

Date born:
Current: after 1702
Revised: after 1720
Parents
Current: Daughter of James Doak & Margaret Unknown (no change)
Revised: Unknown (links to James Doak in narrative.)_
Wife of John Finley (no change)
Married:
Current: after 1 January1724
Revised: before 1741
Children:
Current: includes Robert, born 1726
Revised: remove the first Robert
Died:
Current: date unknown
Revised: after 1791

MATERIAL NO LONGER PART OF PROFILE

Children in the 1791 will

Taking the children identified by primary sources, we now add information from secondary sources. Bransford provides a detailed view of the children he believed belonged to the couple who wrote the 1791 will. In the view of Bransford, followed by France and Stout, this was John Finley, Jr, and his wife Mary "Thankful" Caldwell, and he identifies eight children, five sons and three daughters. [22] Since we are using the children named in the will as the determining factor, then Bransford's narrative of the children belongs here.

The following composite view of the children named in the 1791 will is obtained by combining the content of the will (in the order of names in the will) with Carmen Finley's observations where available, and Bransford's narrative:

1. David Finley born 1762.
Will: All my lands and tenements and every part of my Estate not herein separately willed to others....likewise sole Executor." [1]
Finley: David is presumed to be the youngest male. [2]
Bransford: David Finley, fourth son of John Finley was born in Augusta Co, Va, and was baptized Jan 20, 1748 by Rev. John Thompson. He grew up on his father's farm and at his death inherited it. He served as Lieutenant in Captain Kirk's company in the Revolution. [36] and on ?April 5, 1781 was granted 1000 acres of land on Dix River in Lincoln Co, Ky, presumably on account of his service in the war. [37] His old homestead was known as "Camp Dick Robinson", to which he moved about 1783. He singed a petition May 21st 1783, as a citizen of Lincoln County, to the General Assembly of Virginia, to pass a law authorizing "some civil power to solemnize the rites of matrimony". [38] Before he moved to Kentucky he married Elizabeth Mounts, and by her had a large family of children. He subsequently sold his farm in Kentucky and moved to Orange County, Ind. Little is known of his descendants. he died in 1843, aged 95 years. [39]
2. George Finley
Will: 5 shillings Virginia currency [1]
Finley: George, christened at Tinkling Spring, 30 January 1743. [11]
Bransford: George Finley, second son of John Finley.
3. Robert Finley b. 1745
Will: 5 shillings Virginia currency [1]
Finley: Robert Finley, christened 21 April 1745, at Tinkling Spring. [11].
Bransford: Robert Osborn Finley, third son of John Finley, was born in Augusta Co, Va March 21, 1745, and baptized by Rev. John Craig, April 21, 1745. He moved in early life to Lincoln Co, N. C. where he enlisted June 7, 1766, at the age of 21 years, in the N. C. militia, under Captain Adam Alexander; was a sergeant in Captain Pauling's company at the battle of Point Pleasant, October 10 1774 [40] Lieutenant in Washington Co, Va. Regiment in 1780; took up land near his brother John in Lincoln Co, NC. No record of his marriage, but in the census of 1785-90 he is listed in that county with three sons over 16 years, two under 16 years and one daughter. [41]
4. Margaret Finley Shields b. 1746
Will: 5 shillings Virginia currency [1]
Finley: Margaret Finley Shields, christened 21 November 1746, at Tinkling Spring. [11]
Bransford: Margaret Finley, second daughter of John Finley, was born in Augusta Co, Va, March 2nd, 1746, and baptized by Rev. John Craig, Dec, 1746. She married June 26, 1768 John Shields, who died 1802, son of James Shields, who had emigrated to America in 1737 and settled in Rockingham Co, Va. John Shields moved to Nelson Co, Va. [42]
5. James Finley] born 1748. (Thomas in court docket copy) [1]
Will: One hundred twenty pounds Virginia Currency with interest from this date to be payed by my son David out of the land part I now ill to him. [1]
Finley:
Bransford: Thomas Finley, fifth son of John Finley, was born in Augusta Co, Va., Feb 26, 1749, and baptized in April, 1749 by Rev. John Thompson. He moved to North Carolina at an early age and settled in Mecklenberg County, June 7, 1766. [43] Later in life he moved to South Carolina and settled on a plantation in the Ninety-Six or Abbeville District. Thomas Finley, with one son 16 years and one son under 16 years and wife reported in the Ninety-Six District, S. C. in the 1790 census of the United States. He was granted several large tracts of lands according to the records of the Land office at Columbia. Two of his nieces, Ann and Catherine Finley, came to live with him on the death of their father and his brother, George Finley, 1809. Ann married Major Robert Green of the Abbeville District, and had one daughter, Mary Gaines Green, who married P. H. Earle, a banker of Birmingham, Ala. [39]
6. John Finley b. 1741
Will: One bed and furniture at my beloved wife's decease.[1]
Finley: John [16]
Bransford: John C. Finley, eldest son of John Finley, was born in Augusta County, Virginia Jan 11, 1742, and died in Gaston Co, N. C. where he moved in 1762. His old home on the South Fork of the Catawba River was not far from the famous battlefield of King's Mountain. He enlisted on June 7, 1766 [44] in Capt. Adam Alexander's company of militia against the Cherokees; served under Capt. Even Shelby in the battle of Point Pleasant, Oct 10, 1774, and with the Lincoln County men, under Lieut. Edmondson in Capt. Evan Shelby's company, at the battle of King's Mountain October 76, 1780. His old sword and flint gun is now in the possession of his great-great-grandson, Herbert Wallace Finley. John C. Finely married Ann, daughter of David Miller of Gaston County, NC. They had eight children. Their eldest daughter, Mary Finley, married Joseph Sevier, son of Col. John Sevier, one of the heroes of King's Mountain and Governor of Tennessee 1803-1819. [22] Their eldest son, William Finley, married Jean Kennedy, and were the parents of Kary Finley, wife of the pioneer soldier and politician, David Crockett, one of the heroes of the Alamo. [45]
7. Jean Finley Trimble
Will: "One negro woman at my wife's death and to her son John Trimble my sadle and bridle." [1]
Finley: Jean Finley, married Joseph Trimble [17]
Bransford: Jean Finley, first daughter of John Finley, was born in Augusta Co, Va, Feb 16, 1744, and baptized April 21, 1`744 by Rev. John Craig. She married in 1764, John Trimble, son of William Trimble, of Washington Co, Va. They had four sons, all of whom became distinguished citizens. Robert Trimble was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Kentucky in 1826, and John Trimble was a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.[39]
8. Thankful Finley McCarter b. 1761
Will: six shillings Virginia Currancy" [1]
Finley:
Bransford: Thankful Finley, third daughter of John Finley, was born May 3, 1751, and married McKarter. She was living as a widow with her father at the time of his death in 1791. No further record. [42]




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Categories: Augusta County, Virginia | Augusta County, Virginia Colony | Virginia Colonists