Mary Jane (Welborn) Spurgeon (1736 - 1803)

Born 20 Jun 1736 in St George's Parish, Baltimore, Maryland

Ancestors

Wife of William Spurgeon Jr. — married 1752 in , Frederick, Virginia

Descendants

Died 3 Aug 1803 at age 67 in Abbotts Creek, Davidson, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

Birth

Jane was born on 20 1736 in Saint Georges, Baltimore County, Maryland.

Death

Date: 3 Aug 1803

Place: Abbotts Creek Township, Davidson County, North Carolina, USA

Burial: Abbotts Creek (Primitive) Baptist Church Cemetery, Davidson County, North Carolina.^[1]

The following information came from Roger Spurgeon, Contributor # 47999668

Mary Jane married William Spurgin possibly in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Documentation of land sales and historical documents indicate that Mary Jane, William and others of their family relocated from Maryland and Virginia to the Abbotts Creek settlement of North Carolina in the early 1750’s. No doubt, the smoldering sparks of the French and Indian War played a role in the Spurgin Family’s decision to relocate. Her husband was appointed a justice of the peace with executive, legislative and judicial powers in 1764 in Rowan County, North Carolina. Later in 1776, he was commissioned by Gov. Josiah Martin of North Carolina to raise troops and suppress the insurrection. William had sworn allegiance to the King of England and honored his word. He joined the Kings cause in the American Revolutionary War serving with Colonel Boyd as a major, then later with General Cornwallis as a colonel. Mary Jane did not support the views of her husband. She was said to have been as true a Whig as her husband was a Tory.

Research Notes

Why is her name at birth SELLERS when her father is Welborn or Wilborn? Just looking at the listed f-a-g memorial it says she was born to the SELLERS family, not the Wilborn's... looks like we are mixing 2 daughters.........NEW profile Jane Wilborn born Jan 28 1732

A book entitled “Welborns and Related Families with Roots in North and South Carolina,” [(1994) Edward Eugene Welborn, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 929.273 W441w (online)] was reviewed and found to contain information regarding Jane Welborn, daughter of William and Ann Crabtree Welborn. The brief notation (p29) stated that Jane Welborn was born 28 January 1732 in Harford Co, MD, and that she died 3 Aug 1803 in Surry Co, NC. There is no mention of a marriage of Jane Welborn to William Spurgin in this account (or to anyone else) and there is no mention of children. Interestingly, the death date recorded for Jane Welborn of 3 Aug 1803 is identical to the death date found on the grave marker for Jane Spurgin, wife of William Spurgin (Abbotts Creek Prim Baptist Church, High Point, Davidson, North Carolina). The identical death date of Jane Spurgin on the grave marker and Jane Welborn in the Welborn history thus represents a link to William Spurgin. That a marriage to William Spurgin was not mentioned in the account may be due to the fact that Jane Spurgin had been divorced from William Spurgin for over a decade prior to her death. William Spurgin had remarried and relocated to Canada where he was living with his second family (Ann Bedsaul Spurgin and 4 children) at the time of Jane’s death in 1803. Surry Co. is a derivative county of the original Rowan County where William and Jane Spurgin settled.

There is clearly a discrepancy in the documented birth date for Jane Welborn (28 Jan 1732, St George’s Parish, Baltimore County, MD) and the birth date recorded on Jane Spurgin’s grave marker (20 Jun 1736). If indeed the two Janes are the same person, the discrepancy in the birth dates is puzzling and may not be able to be satisfactorily resolved. However, it should be noted that birth Information recorded on a grave marker should not be taken as being completely reliable, because the information is recorded many decades after the birth event. Since William was living in Canada, the birth information would need to have been obtained from family records or from the children. Perhaps, due to the divorce between William and Jane, and William’s departure to and settlement in Canada, the family records may not have remained in North Carolina, but may have accompanied William to Canada. If there was some question about Jane’s actual birth date at the time of her death, the children did not have access to the original birth record which was located in Baltimore/Harford Co, MD.

This controversy may never be completely resolved to the satisfaction of all descendents of William and Jane Spurgin. However, I believe the information in the Welborn history is consistent with the majority of the available evidence which suggests that William Spurgin was married to Jane Welborn. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L5B5-YT1

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5049311/mary-jane-spurgeon: accessed 02 August 2023), memorial page for Mary Jane Welborn Spurgeon (20 Jun 1736–3 Aug 1803), Find a Grave Memorial ID 5049311, citing Abbotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Wallburg, Davidson County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Ellie Stoumbaugh Carosa (contributor 16440698).

• Index to the register of births, marriages and deaths in St. George's Parish, Baltimore and Harford Counties, Maryland. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3L-Z95X-G. Born 17 Jan 1732, Jane Wilborn, daughter of William Wilborn and wife Ann.
• Joshua Welborn and Dorothy, his wife, 1765 deed, Rowan county, North Carolina, signed by William Spurgin and Jane Welborn. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9DH-288L
• "United States Census, 1790", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHK1-YBQ : Sun Mar 10 22:40:53 UTC 2024), Entry for Jean Spurgin, 1790.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5049311/mary-jane-spurgeon: accessed 02 August 2023), memorial page for Mary Jane Welborn Spurgeon (20 Jun 1736–3 Aug 1803), Find a Grave Memorial ID 5049311, citing Abbotts Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Wallburg, Davidson County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Ellie Stoumbaugh Carosa (contributor 16440698).

See also:

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GVN3-FJD

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Etta Eaton for creating Sellers-783 on 8 Oct 2013.
• WikiTree profile Welborn-100 created through the import of Shurtliff Family.ged on Jun 20, 2011 by Mark Shurtliff.
• WikiTree profile Welborn-204 created through the import of edd2a4e7-6f96-40c4-bc6e-fb0f4f3bcbd3.ged on Aug 20, 2012 by Michael Welborn.