1 James Madison Flake (1815-1850) Prepared in 2011 by Ron Freeman [email protected] 291 N. 2620 W. Hurricane, UT 84737 (435)635-8011 2 Index Flake ancestors Samuel Flake........................................................................ p. 3 Jordan Flake.......................................................................... 9 James Madison Flake, birth until marriage...................................... 12 Mississippi years............................................................................. 16 Nauvoo interlude............................................................................ 27 Winter Quarters............................................................................. 34 Green Flake's cabin assignment.......................................... 37 On to Utah!..................................................................................... 42 Green Flake: slave or not?..................................................... 46 The Gold Mission............................................................................... 51 Death of James Madison Flake.......................................................... 55 The Aftermath San Bernardino................................................................... 56 A brother's visit.................................................................... 60 Death of Agnes Haley Love Flake...................................................... 67 The Flake children............................................................................ 69 Conclusion....................................................................................... 69 3 Flake ancestors: Samuel Flake James Madison Flake's ancestors were from well-known families and among the earliest residents of North Carolina. The first Flake to arrive in the area seems to have been Samuel Flake. Nevertheless, the information previously written about Samuel has come under scrutiny. Currently, two schools of thought seem to exist regarding Samuel Flake. First, we will present the "traditional" thinking as presented by Osmer D. Flake. Following, some current research and opinions will be presented. Traditional explanation The traditional description of Flake ancestors that has been passed down through several generations, starting with Osmer D. Flake, is found in the Family Tree Book1 and states the following: The Flake family is said to have been of Scotch-Irish descent. Samuel Flake and Henry Flake, two brothers, landed at New York. There Henry Flake settled, later visited his brother Samuel Flake in the Carolina and returned to New York. There are thought to be many people in the east who can claim him as an ancestor. Samuel Flake landed at Charleston, S.C. about 1720 and later located at Lilesville, Anson County, N.C., and there died in 1802, then being over one hundred years old. The first tract of land that he purchased so far as the deed records show in Anson County, was Nov. 4, 1763, then Nov. 24, 1767, and several tracts later. He was married twice and the name of his first wife is not known. His second wife was, in the will, called Alcy and her name is said to have been Sallie (Alcy) Harris. The records disclose that one James Harris obtained a deed to land in Anson County Dec. 4, 1874, Samuel Harris on June 24, 1762 and Charles Harris Oct. 19, 1758. From the will of Charles W. Harris, probated Dec. 19, 1803, we are left to think he was quite a gentleman of taste and education as in his will he left to his brother Robert Harris and sister Jenney Harris what was evidently the furnishings of an elegant and richly adorned home. It is possible that the wife of Samuel Flake was related to their people. We know nothing of any of the descendants of these Harris families. The will of Samuel Flake now in the office of Recorder of Anson County, N.C. made May 5, 1802, discloses that he had nine children then living. It is known that Mary Flake, his daughter who married John Smith No. 2, had died before then and it is thought that he had a son John Flake who had perhaps died single. His [Samuel's] children were as follows: (A) Mary Flake, born about 1748, died about 1794, married John Smith No. 2. She was a daughter by the first wife. (B) John Flake. It is thought that he was a son of Samuel Flake and died without issue. 1 Family Tree Book Genealogical and Biographical: listing the relatives of General William Alexander Smith and of W. Thomas Smith. (Data for the Flake Tables by Julia Flake Burns and Osmer D. Flake) , published by W. Thomas Smith, Evansville Ind., 1922, pp 47-67. 4 (C) JORDAN FLAKE [capitalization added], born May 15, 1764, first married Mary Penelope Williams. After her death he married Faithy Elizabeth Hanna. (D) Samuel Flake Jr., born about 1766, married Elizabeth (Betsy) Gilbert.2 (E) William Flake, who went to Warren County, Georgia (F) Elizabeth Flake, married Steven Birmingham and left Anson County, going West or South. They are said to have had children by the names of Hardy, Mary, Roxy, Ann and Jemina Birmingham (G) Delilah Flake, married Hardy Hooker (H) Sarah Flake, married Joshua Talent, so it is thought, as on Nov. 17, 1798 Joshua Talent and his wife Sarah Talent deeded to Hardy Hooker, husband of Delilah Flake, 120 acres, part of a 250 acre tract deeded to Samuel Flake by letter patent Nov. 2, 1771. As the wife in those days did not have to join in a deed save when the land was hers, this might indicate that Samuel Flake had deeded her the land, and it is thought this was his daughter. (I) Elijah Flake, married Elizabeth Williams (J) Thomas Flake, was Patriot in the Revolutionary war as will be seen by reference to the Exhibit in sketch of Samuel Flake. In 1804 he sold his land in Anson County and went West, and had sons: William Green, born 1810; Augustus, born 1812; Warren, born 1820. (K) Jemina Flake, married William Cook. (Family Tree Book, p. 47-48) In a nutshell the traditional explanation of Flake ancestry states that two brothers, Henry and Samuel Flake, immigrated to the United States in about 1720 at age 20. One brother opted for New York, but the other went to North Carolina where he married twice and sired--over a 60-70 year period of time--, a progeny of eleven children. This southern Flake was more than 100 years old when he died, and left a Will written 5 May 1802. New Thoughts about the Flake ancestry More recent research has questioned the validity of much of the information found in the Family Tree Book.3 Briefly, current researchers have questioned the following: 2 Jeff Henson states: "For reasons still unknown to me, four of Samuel's children migrated to Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina, and the info. provided [in the Family Tree Book] on 3 of the 4 children was completely wrong. [For example] Son Samuel Flake Jr. married Sarah, the widow of Reuben Patterson and had only one child with her, a daughter also named Sarah. There was a lawsuit brought by the children of Reuben Patterson against Sarah Flake because a division of the estate of Reuben Patterson was never made..." genforum.genealogy.com/flake/messages/507.html 3 William Joiner observed: "Much of the information in the Family Tree Book, which was published by W. Thomas Smith, with the Flake information attributed to Julia Flake Burns and Osmer D. Flake, was based on family tradition. I understand from my conversations with Osmer D. Flake that some (but not all) of Julia Flake Burns' information was based on information available from Family Bibles and records in Anson Co., NC. The stories written by Osmer D. Flake about the FLAKES of Anson Co., NC were based almost in their entirety on family tradition. There is no documentation that Samuel Flake had a brother, Henry . " Wm. F. Joiner, Flake Family Genealogy Forum, #179 of 520, http://www.genforum.familytreemaker.com/flake/messages/179 5 a) the Flake place of origin. Diane Ellerton writes: "I'd always heard that "Samuel the Immigrant" was Scotch-Irish" but [I] have found the name Flake absolutely non-existent in Scotland."4 Wm. F Joiner adds--without citing sources: "Samuel Flake: born between 1699 and 1701 in Isle of Wight, England"5 b) the alleged birth date of Samuel Flake (1701) Jay Stein writes: "While I have searched for proof of 1701 as his [Samuel's] date of birth, in more than 30 years of research I have never seen any documentation supporting the claim. I also question the validity of the data based on the known ages of Samuel Flake's children. is the 1701 date of birth given for Samuel Flake in some sources a reference to the birth of an earlier and older Samuel Flake and the "Samuel Flake, Sr." of whom we know much more is actually a "younger" Samuel Flake, perhaps born in a more reasonable time period?..."6 Stein and some others give 1740 as the possible birth date of this "younger" Samuel Flake. However, no definite documentation accompanies the affirmation. Michael Flake adds: "Mr. Stein mentioned in an earlier post that the date of Samuel Flake's birth has always been in question and I would agree. The only reference to Samuel Flake's birthday I have found is in the Family Tree Book and Osmer Flake states, "The Flake family is said to have" etc. Osmer goes on to mention Samuel Flake's death date and his age of death around 100 years old. It seems that subtraction has been used to come up with his date of birth being around 1700. This is all family mythology...no documentation at all. Osmer later put a marker at the home site with that date and now it's part of Flake history. This cannot be used in any way to seriously determine Samuel Flake's age or birth date. It is simply hearsay and mythology. Other individuals have Samuel Flake listed as Robert Flake the 3rd's son, being born 1740 and his later marriage to Sarah Flake at the age of approximately 21. That would also place his age in a reasonable time frame regarding Samuel Flake's obtaining land grants in Anson Co. which is documented.7 Other concerns raised by recent researchers are the supposed date of emigration and the somewhat mysterious New York brother named Henry and even the name and existence of Samuel's alleged first wife.