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Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

Rebecca (Wright) Alexander, wife of Andrew Miller Alexander, and the only child of Jacob Wright, died on 1 November 1882 in Rutherford County, Tennessee, without living children. She died intestate, leaving a huge estate inherited from her father Jacob. Her husband Andrew remarried to a much younger woman shortly after Rebecca's death; and extensive probate litigation ensued, leaving a gold mine of genealogical information behind. The orders and depositions in this court file provide detailed information on the heirs of the siblings of Rebecca's father Jacob who were still alive in 1887. Jacob's siblings included:

  1. Abraham Wright
  2. Isaac Wright
  3. Thompson Wright
  4. Rebecca Goodloe
  5. Elizabeth Brashear
  6. Hannah Statler
  7. Mary Dill

This free space profile is established to encourage collaboration on collecting, analyzing, and using documents relating to this genealogical resource.

Contents

Chancery Court File

The original Chancery Court file on FHL microfilm begins with the Bill of Complaint here:

FamilySearch, "Davis, John A. vs. Smith, Lizzie - Dodd, J.B. vs. James, Mary C. [R #15] --- ca. 1817-1940," database with images, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-G3XV-8WKK : accessed 11 Feb 2023), M.M. Dill v. A.M. Alexander; FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1541.


30 Nov 1887 Decree

On 30 Nov 1887, the Court issued an order confirming the report of Commissioner J. W. Spears. The Court's order begins at image 1722

Court Findings Concerning the Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

The document incorporated by reference into the 30 Nov 1887 order appears to be a 16-page document which begins at image 1816, and summarizes the court's findings concerning the heirs who would receive per stirpes shares of the estate of of Rebecca Alexander. This document identifies those heirs as follows:

Seven Siblings of Jacob Wright

The final order identifies the following seven siblings of Jacob Wright, all deceased, whose descendants would share per stirpes in the estate of Rebecca Alexander:[1]

  1. Abraham Wright
  2. Isaac Wright
  3. Thompson Wright
  4. Rebecca Goodloe
  5. Elizabeth Brashear
  6. Hannah Statler
  7. Mary Dill

Heirs of Abraham Wright

The final order identified the following nine living heirs of Abraham Wright, all of whom were children of his only child, Anne (Wright) Schlater:[2]

Heirs of Isaac Wright

The final order identified six children of Isaac Wright, three of whom were still living, and three of whom were deceased but left heirs still living, in 1887:[3]

Heirs of Thompson Wright

The final order identified six children of Thompson Wright, all still living in 1887:[4]

Heirs of Rebecca Goodloe

The final order identified the following nine children of Rebecca Goodloe, three still living in 1887 and six who were deceased but with living heirs in 1887:[5]

Heirs of Elizabeth Brashear

The final order identified the following six children of Elizabeth Brashear, one still living in 1887, and five who were deceased but with living heirs in 1887:[6]

Heirs of Hannah Statler

The final order identified four children of Hannah Statler, all deceased with living heirs in 1887:[7]

The final order identified the following heirs of Samuel Statler who were still living or had living heirs in November 1887:[8]

The final order identified the following heirs of Alfred Miller who were still living or had living heirs in November 1887:[9]

The final order identified the following heirs of Austin Miller who were still living in November 1887:[10]

The final order identified the following heirs of Elizabeth McElroy who were still living or had living heirs in November 1887:[11]

Heirs of Mary Dill

[INSERT]

May 1883 Report

The Commissioner's Report, written on 4 May 1883, contains the commissioner's summary of findings from several early depositions in the case. Use with caution as this report contains some ommissions and other differences from the final findings of the court in November 1887 discussed above. The May 1883 Report begins at image 1724.

First Cousins Still Living in 1883

The report first identifies the fourteen first cousins of Rebecca Alexander still living on 4 May 1883.[12] These include:

Descendants of Alfred Miller (deceased)

The report next identifies Alfred Miller, deceased, as a first cousin of Rebecca Alexander, who left the following living children and grandchildren in May 1883:[13]

Descendants of Austin Miller (deceased)

The report next identifies Austin Miller, deceased, as a first cousin of Rebecca Alexander, who left the following living children in May 1883, all living in Hardeman County, Tennessee:[14]

Descendants of Thomas Dill (deceased)

The report next identifies Thomas Dill, deceased, as a first cousin of Rebecca Alexander, who left the following living children and grandchildren in May 1883, all still in Rutherford County:[15]

[...]

Descendants of Mrs. Ann Schlater (deceased)

The report next identifies Mrs. Ann Schlater as a first cousin who died in Louisiana, leaving children, but the commissioner's report does not identify the children.[16] As noted below, those children were identified in depositions submitted to the court in February 1884 by three of Ann Schatler's sons.

Depositions & Affidavits

  • Affidavit of John W. Wright, 16 Jun 1883 (concerning himself).[18]
  • Affidavits of Sarah Jones & William H. Jones, 14 Apr 1887 (concerning Martha Strayhorn family).[20]

[Addition of other depositions still in progress]

Additional Resources

The following two secondary sources provide helpful summaries of the final court order and/or other background information concerning the litigation:

Katy Divine Summary

Katy Divine (Ancestry user KatyDivine) posted a summary of the Court Order to her tree on Ancestry.com, copy available here.

Tennessee GenWeb data compiled by Don Detweiler

Don Detweiler posted a summary and additional information about the lawsuit in:

Don Detweiler, "Rutherford County, Tennessee : The Heirs of Rebecca Alexander," Tennessee GenWeb, (https://www.tngenweb.org/rutherford/alexander.html : accessed 6 Feb 2023.)

Sources

  1. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1816.
  2. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, images 1816 & 1817.
  3. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, images 1817 & 1818.
  4. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1818.
  5. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1818 -1820.
  6. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, images 1820 -1823.
  7. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, images 1823 & 1824.
  8. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1823.
  9. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, images 1823 & 1824.
  10. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1824.
  11. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1824.
  12. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1724.
  13. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1724 & 1725.
  14. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1725.
  15. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, images 1725 & 1726.
  16. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, image 1732.
  17. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, beginning at image 1680.
  18. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, beginning at image 1967.
  19. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, beginning at image 1943; copy available here .
  20. ↑ FHL 2,369,010, DGS 8,753,845, beginning at image 1951.

Collaboration on Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

Memories of Heirs of Rebecca Alexander

Photos of Heirs of Rebecca Alexander: 3

Katy Divine Summary of Final Order
(1/3) Katy Divine Summary of Final Order Heirs of Rebecca Alexander. Rutherford County, Tennessee 1887
Gravestone - Rebecca Tennessee Alexander
(2/3) Gravestone - Rebecca Tennessee Alexander Heirs of Rebecca Alexander. Wards Grove Cemetery, Rutherford County, Tennessee 1882
Schlater Depositions
(3/3) Schlater Depositions Heirs of Rebecca Alexander. Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States 4 Feb 1884


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