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Location: Williamson Co. TN; Rutherford Co. TN; Ohio; Wapello Co. IA; TX; KY
Surname/tag: Young, Read, Martindale; Merrick, Tucker, Bridgeman, Constable, Stibbins
A search for the father of David Young of Rutherford Co. TN, who married Elizabeth Read. Minimal documentary evidence has been found to identify him. This study uses the Ancestry.com kinship list to find distant cousins who may have records or research to help.
Searching for the Father of David Young of Rutherford County, Tennessee
By Larry A. Shelley 7622 N.W. Folkstone Way Lawton, Oklahoma 73505 young444@swbell.net All rights reserved Searching for the Father of David Young of Rutherford County, Tennessee By Larry A. Shelley I’m writing this for the descendants of David Young, who married Elizabeth Read in Williamson County, Tennessee, January 1829, with news about progress in our search for David Young’s predecessors.
These were their children: Nancy T. m. William Sims William m. Lucinda Mangrum 1852 in Williamson Co. Josiah m. Lydia (Lady?) Ward, 1852 Giles d. 1861 Clem m. Ruth Sharp, 1859; d. 29 Mar 1865 Nashville TN Mary J. m. Fielding Sharp 1857 Marshall Co. Martha A. m Francis "Frank" K. Pope 1866 Rutherford Co. David Calvin Lee m. Martha Susan Young 9 Nov. 1872 Manda Louisa m. William Cole, Rutherford Co., 1869
We have been for years unable to find the ancestors of David. We do know a William Young signed with David on his marriage bond in Williamson County. That’s all we have known. Neither of the Williams on the 1830 US Census for Williamson County could convincingly be shown to have any kinship to David Young. I’ve corresponded with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins, descendants of David Young. I wondered, then, might we have 4th or 5th cousins, descendants of generations previous to David. Ancestry looked like a good tool to use. It has a large database, and it has a feature that allows users to rope off DNA kin who claim a Young in their tree. I discovered that I had a lot of them, both 4th to 8th and also distant cousins. I narrowed the field down by comparing my list to lists of 3rd cousins. Eventually, I found three 4th to 5th cousins who appeared to be going to be helpful. Judi Jagger replied to my inquiry. She and her cousin had done a lot of work on their Young ancestry. She sent me lots of information and showed me that the center of their family had been in Wayne County, Indiana. Their ancestor was a William Young who had lived there, then in Tennessee (they didn’t know where, but some of his children were born there), and eventually in Iowa. That William was a native of Union County, SC. Judi’s cousin, Don McAllister has at Ancestry an accounting of their William’s family and have found that his father was Jesse Young of Union County, SC, having moved there from Bucks, PA. On the 1820 US Census, Wayne County, Indiana, I found a William Young that I estimated to be their ancestor. About the same time, I discovered on the !830 US Census, Rutherford County, TN, a William Young. I don’t know why I had never looked in Rutherford County for a William Young because that’s where so much of our history has been. As I was evaluating the Rutherford County William’s family, I realized that it closely resembled Don McAllister’s presentation of their William’s family. Eventually, I put together A Case for William Young of Wayne County, Indiana, Being the Father of David Young of Rutherford County, Tennessee, which I will reproduce below: __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A Case for William Young of Wayne County, Indiana, Being the Father of David Young of Rutherford County, Tennessee Below is about the sum of what David Young’s descendants have known about him: __________________________________________________________________ David Young m. Elizabeth Read--Jan 1829 Williamson Co. TN
A William Young signed as bondsman on their marriage record. Census records say David was born in Indiana, except for the 1850 which has SC.
David and Elizabeth Young's children were these: Nancy T. m. William Sims William m. Lucinda Mangrum 1852 in Williamson Co. Josiah m. Lydia (Lady?) Ward, 1852 Giles d. 1861 in the war Clem m. Ruth Sharp, 1859; d. 29 Mar 1865 Nashville TN Mary J. m. Fielding Sharp 1857 Marshall Co. Martha A. m Francis "Frank" K. Pope 1866 Rutherford Co. David Calvin Lee m. Martha Susan Young 9 Nov. 1872 Manda Louisa m. William Cole, Rutherford Co., 1869
Since I have correspondence with or have found descendants of both William (son of David) and David Calvin (from whom I also descend), I thought it possible that we might find cousins descended from earlier generations by use of a triangulation method using Ancestry. Using it, I found 3 possibilities whom I’ll refer to as Judi and Don (cousins who collaborated on their family history) and James.
Their Ancestry Profiles of their ancestor, William Young, are essentially the same except for William’s father and some details of the children. [I have concluded that Judi and Don’s research is the better founded as I’ll explain later.] These are the essentials of those profiles:
William Young, b. 1780/81 SC; d. 25 Mar 1864 Wycondah twp, Davis Co. Iowa; m. Jane Floyd Burns [or Burns Floyd] (1799-1864) [Both have marriage date as 1815. Later I’ll explain why I think this is not correct.]
Children: 1. Caroline Burns, 1820-1898 b. Indiana 2. William Martindale, 1824-1898 b. Indiana 3. John L., 1825-1854 b. Tennessee 4. Martha Frances, 1827-1915 b. Tennessee 5. Mary Pauline, 1830-1869 b. Tennessee 6. Elizabeth Jane, 1832-1912 b. Tennessee 7. Giles M., 1836-1852 b. Ohio
US Census records of Wayne County, Indiana, 1820 and of Rutherford County, Tennessee, 1830
I thank Judi for pointing me to Wayne County, Indiana. In years past, we only knew that David was born in Indiana. Deciding on which Young in the whole state was impossible. However, narrowed to one county and knowing I was looking for William made it possible.
Wayne County, Indiana 1820
There was only one William in Wayne County, and since his first two children were born in Indiana, I figured this William was probably their father. This William, however, already had children in his home. Now, that wouldn’t be a problem if he had had a prior wife and children. Caroline wasn’t born until December, so she would not be counted on the 1820 census. Since William would have been at least 39, maybe 40, one would expect him to have been married before--the more usual than the unusual.
Numbered on the census in his home were 2 males, ages 10-15. (That would be a fit for David, who was born c. 1807 according to all subsequent census records, his tombstone in Christian County, Kentucky notwithstanding. (Circumstantial and speculative evidence? For sure.) Also enumerated was a female, under 10.
Rutherford County, Tennessee 1830
William’s first two children of the second (hypothesized) marriage were born in Indiana, but the family moved to Tennessee. Judi, Don, and James didn’t know where in Tennessee. We of David’s descent have been looking for the right William to have signed for his marriage bond. There were two Williams in Williamson County, and some of our families have accepted one of them as ours without solid evidence. Both have their problems for being the signer. On a whim I checked out Rutherford County, next county to the east, where so much of our family history has transpired. There was a William. I checked his 1830 census record to see if he might be a possibility.
In his home were 2 males, 5 to 10; 1 male 15-20; 2 females under 5; and 1 female 10-15.
David was married by then, so out of the house. The other male is probably out also, being in 10 years at least 20 years old. But this male of the 1820 Indiana census fits neatly into that census’s 10 to 15 bracket.
On the 1830 census of Rutherford County, TN, William and John L. are a close fit for the 2 boys, 5-10.
Martha and Mary Pauline would fit into the under 5 bracket. That’s assuming that Mary Pauline had been born by the time of the census taking.
Caroline B. would almost fit the 10 to 15. She wouldn’t be 10 until December.
The female on the 1820 Indiana census, age 10-15, at that time, would almost surely have been married and gone from the house.
Other observations
Both Ancestry Profiles that I have to go by have William and Jane’s marriage in 1815. I would expect this to be incorrect, as Don suggests in his notes. My reasoning is very simple. Caroline’s middle name is Burns, the name, it seems, of Jane’s first marriage. Caroline married a minister and is well documented in her obituary in upper Indiana. Even at that time she still is referred to as Caroline B. I would expect that William and Jane married in mid-1820 at the earliest, perhaps as late as 1822.
Jane’s maiden name was not Burns, but Floyd, as attested by William Martindale Young on his marriage record. [Don thinks a better explanation is that Jane’s maiden name was Burns, which she wanted to give to her first daughter as a middle name. Granted, it’s surely a possibility.] It so happens that there were numerous Floyd families in Williamson, Rutherford, Bedford, and Maury counties in Middle Tennessee in the early 1800’s, specifically on the 1830 census and forward. I would expect that the William’s family moved from Indiana to Rutherford County, Tennessee, to be near her relatives. [There were also Burns families in Williamson County.]
Of interest, both (as theorized) father and son named their sons, both born in 1836, Giles, one in Tennessee, the other in Ohio. Why? Would be interesting to know. But I wonder that it could be only coincidental.
Researched and written by Larry A. Shelley, email young444,@swbell.net ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All that would be simply conjecture were it not for another line of inquiry. One of the first questions Judi asked of me was did I know of any Martindales in our family tree. I had heard of the name, but had never known any Martindales and knew of no one kin to me by that name.
So I went back to Ancestry and used the same tool I’d used earlier to cordon off Youngs and entered Martindale. Was I surprised! I had lots of 5th to 8th and Distant cousins who traced back to Martindales. Then I contacted my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins asking them to do as I had done and let me know if any Martindale contacts were made. Below I’ll enter the findings as I relayed them to Don:
Hello Judith and Don. I contacted my cousins who are on Ancestry and asked them to enter Martindale in their Match list. All of them had positives for Martindales except one. Some of the cousins on their lists traced back to Jessie Young and Elizabeth Martindale of Union Co. SC. Others to Elizabeth's brother. Others to female Martindales in Indiana or Ohio and not traced beyond. [I did trace some of them on back using Ancestry tools and found them to end up in the same families.]
The most was an 80 year old granddaughter of David's son William: 11 4th cousins and 7 distant cousins. My 1st cousin Helen was 6 and 2; I was 5 and 7.
Oddly, a 2nd cousin, Sonya, had only one, a distant cousin: Moses Martindale who seems to have been Elizabeth's brother--if I read it right.
Another email to Don:
You were interested in the ancestry of my Martindale cousins on Ancestry.
I found that of the 4th to 8th cousins 3 trace to James of 1751; 2 to William of 1753; 1 to Thomas of 1771. All supposedly sons of William of 1723.
Of the Distant cousins: 1 traces to the same William of 1753. 2 others to John of 1772 who married Mary "Molly" Burns; son of William of 1723.
Recall that these cousins on our Match Lists on Ancestry are matched to us using the DNA technology. We would like to have paper documents as proof, but the DNA, if we are using it judicially can help us find trails, and if used carefully may be even more exact evidence.
TRIVIAL TRAILS
Here’s a little more. Remember how the 1850 census reported that David Young was born in South Carolina and the rest said Indiana. South Carolina was probably given to the census taker by someone who knew of the South Carolina connection, but didn’t know, or forgot, that David was actually born in Indiana. What route his parents took to get to Indiana we don’t know, but William was in Indiana at no later than age 27.
Then there’s the strange report on the 1880 census. David’s son William moved from Tennessee to Christian County, Kentucky, and took his father with him. When the census was taken, whoever reported to the taker said both William and his father David were born in “Ioway.” Whoever the reporter was, it surely wasn’t William. He would have known he was born in Tennessee. But why Iowa? I had assumed that they just got the wrong state whose name started with an “I”.
However, William would have been more than 30 years old when his grandfather died--in Iowa. So the reporter, whoever he or she was, knew of an Iowa connection--just got the facts wrong. The hint was there all along, but we didn’t know it.
Strange thing, though, how David was on the 1880 census when my data says he died in 1879.
A SUMMARY
What seems clear now is that David Young’s father was William Young, native of SC, who moved to Wayne County, IN, sometime before 1807. We still do not know David’s mother’s name. [I would request of everyone who reads this to check closely for any middle names of your ancestors who would be children or grandchildren of David. Sometimes surnames get hidden in subsequent generation names. If you find any that can’t be explained from non-Young lines, please send them to me.] He moved his family in the mid-1820’s to Rutherford Co. TN, probably to be near his wife’s family.
After living in Rutherford County, TN, for about 12 years, William and family moved on to Ohio and then to Wyaconda, Davis County, Iowa, where he and his 2nd wife died in 1864.
Don and Judi’s research, substantiated by DNA evidence, traces William to Union County, SC. His parents were Jesse Young 1755-1807 and Elizabeth Martindale 1759-1807, both from Bucks County, PA.
Evidence given on Don McAllister’s Ancestry report:
I believe that Jesse and wife, Elizabeth Martindale, are the parents of my 3rd Great Grandfather, William Young, based on some circumstantial and DNA evidence that fall short of certainty. See Some Circumstantial & DNA Evidence below
William named his first son William Martindale Young. In Jesse's will, a son, William, is named as co-executor, which suggests that William must have been an adult or close to it, contrary to many ancestry trees suggesting that William was only 4 y.o
My (catalina88) ancestry DNA is a close match with 3 people who are direct descendants of William Martindale (1723-1808), father of Elizabeth who was Jesse's wife and presumed mother of William Young (1780-1864).
Jesse made his will in 1799 and appointed sons John and William as executors. When the will was being executed only John was doing the work. William was in Indiana by then. The estate looked to be rather large including slaves besides household goods and farm equipment.
Further using the research of Judi and Don:
Jesse Young’s father seems to have been William Young 1729-1808, born in Bucks County, PA, and dying in Union County, SC.
Elizabeth Martindale’s parents were William Martindale 1723-1808 and Martha Merrick 1727-1789, both born in Bucks County, PA.
The Martindales, for sure, (I’m not sure about Jesse Young) were Quakers. Their association with that denomination began in England. They were among the settlers invited to Pennsylvania by William Penn. Research on that family is possible in the records of The Society of Friends (Quakers). One might wonder about their having slaves since Quakers were notable in the abolition of slavery. But in the early years they had not arrived yet at their opposition to it.
Here is an outline of preceding generations of Martindales as I have gleaned it from Ancestry. One of my DNA contacts lives in Aberdeen, Scotland, but with English ancestry. Her Martindales were in the area around Durham, in the northeast of England, and towards the Lakes District. Most reports I saw had ours leaving from Bristol in the southwest. I wasn’t able to find the documentation on this.
William Martindale 1723-1808 m. Martha Merrick; both born in Bucks County, PA, died in Union Co., SC
William’s father was John Martindale, b. 24 August 1676 Bristol, Somerset, England; d. 10 May 1750 Bucks Co. PA. John Martindale’s father was John Martindale, Sr. b. 28 Sept. 1620, England. John Martindale’s mother was Annette “Anne” Tucker. William’s mother was Mary Bridgeman, b. 18 Dec. 1687 Philadelphia; d. 7 Dec. 1726.
Mary Bridgeman’s parents were Walter Bridgeman and Blanche Constable. [Most of what I’ve seen says they lived in Cornwall County, England.]
Martha Merrick’s parents seem to have been Thomas Merrick 1701-1727 and Sarah Stibbins c. 1705-1749, both b. Upper Makefield, Bucks Co. PA [This I got only from Ancestry and am not totally confident in it.]
I’m sorry I haven’t found the Youngs off our continent. What I did see in my research is that there were lots of Youngs and a limited supply of names, so they get repeated--a lot. They also moved a lot. To compound the problem, researchers pounce onto a likely suspect as their ancestor and then post it as truth. So it’s heavy wading to hope we find the right Young.
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