The Tennessee Genealogical Magazine; "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS ...... ....------ .. --- ,,. .... ... -- , o ..e ..... -... - ,/ ..,.- .......- ",---..-----... ------ ...-- .... -_.. , ,-- ... -- -- .. ---- ," ... -- ... ... ----.. ..----... ------- " -,."".--,-.. ..---...... -:--------- ---- , "",,,,,." ---::--------- , .,. ...- ..-_ --:---- '..... --' ..--...........: -- ------------------. -~::~~----------------- Since 1954 ... For all oj Tennessee The Tennessee Genealogical Society P O. Box 111249 Memphis, Tn 38111-1249 Vol. 38, No. 4 Winter, 1991 THE TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY P•O. Box 111249 Memphis, Tennessee 38111-1249 OFFICERS AND STAFF FOR 1991 President Betsy Foster West Vice-President Brenda Evans Johnson Business Manager Harry Milton Cleveland Jr Editor Gerry Byers Spence Librarian Lincoln Johnson Recording Secretary Elizabeth Riggins Nichols Corresponding Secretary Ella Reynolds Emery Treasurer Charles ·C. Yates Director of Surname Index Lucille Ledbetter Hastings Director of Membership Director of Sales Horace G. Ball Director of Certificates Beverly Smith Crone Directors at Large Sarah Anderson Hull - Marilyn Johnson Baugus EDITORIAL STAFF LIBRARY STAFF BUSINESS STAFF Mary Louise Graham Nazor G. Nelson Dickey Lynn Pierce Appling Associate Editor Assistant Librarian James E. Bobo Marion Frances Graves Margery Audas Elizabeth Davidson Chancellor Dorothy Carter Greiner Sandra Hurley Austin Judy Chambless Cleveland Geraldine Blanton Holstun Martha McKenzie Carpenter James/Chris Columbus Margaret Norvell Sinclair Wanda Hurley Hawkins Miriam Woods Dye Clarence W. Spence Jane Cook Hollis William Lesueur Holstun Johnnie O. Hollis Estelle Atkins Horn Douglas Kendrick Bradford Livingston Jarratt Ruth Hensley O'Donnell Iona Fish Marbry Emma Fisher O'Neal Jean Alexander West Marcelle/Bobbie Stigall THE TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE, "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS is the official publication of THE TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. All subscriptions begin with the first issue of the year. Non-delivery of any issue should be reported to the Society within two months of the date of usual delivery. A charge of $3.00 will be made for redeeming and re~mailing copies which are returned to us and which must be forwarded. Sub­ scribers may submit ONE query per year of fifty words or less which must be received in this office by September first of that year. Contributions of all types of genea­ logical material will be accepted. We publish previously unpublished Tennessee con­ nected data, preferably that with pre-Civil War dates, all of which is subject to editing to save space. Every effort will be made to print accurate material; however, neither THE TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS, nor the Editor can assume responsibility for errors on the part of contributors. Corrections of proven errors will be published. Contributions are filed in our library for the use of our members. Books donated to our library will be reviewed in the earliest possible issue of the quarterly. "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS VOL. 38, NO.4, WINTER 1991 THE TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE, "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS, ISSN 110003-5246, is published quarterly in March, June, September and December for $15.00 per year by The Tennessee Genealogical Society (3340 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38111). Second Class postage paid at Memphis, TN. POSTMASTER: Please do not destroy. Forwarding and Return Postage Guaranteed. Address Correction Requested. Send changes to "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS, P.O. Box 111249, Memphis, TN 38111. Copyright 1991 by THE TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY wht Wtnnt.alitt ~ttttul1lgind !llltagui!int, Mrs. Clarence W. Spence, Editor VOLUME 38 WINTER 1991 NUMBER 4 - CONTENTS - OVER THE EDITOR'S DESK 146 FAMILY GATHERINGS .. 147 Murphy-Haralson INDEX TO 1840 CENSUS, STEWART COUNTY, TENNESSEE . 153 1840 STEWART COUNTY, TENNESSEE REVOLUTIONARY & MILITARY PENSIONERS. 157 TENNESSEE STATE MAPS - 1790 and 1990 . 158 PROBLEMS WITH GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN TENNESSEE 159 AGGREGATE POPULATION OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE 1790 - 1820 164 PETITIONS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF TENNESSEE ...... 165 Davidson (2), Washington, Sevier ?, Knox, Sullivan (2) and Sumner (2) HAYWOOD COUNTY, TENNESSEE DEED BOOK A •....... 171 NEWS AND NOTES - A DIRECTORY OF PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED 178 STUDENTS OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE, JONESBORO, TENNESSEE . 179 INDEX TO PROBATE RECORDS IN MEMPHIS/SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE ARCHIVES 181 JEFFERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE MARRIAGE RECORDS, 1815-1840 187 BOOK REVIEWS . ...• 194 QUERIES ..... 196 CSA TENNESSEAN BURIED IN TEXAS . 200 1991 SURNAME INDEX •.. 201 The Tennessee Genealogical Society Post Office Box 111249 Memphis, Tennessee 38111-1249 Telephone (901) 327-3273 146 "Ansearchin'" News OVER THE EDITOR1S DESK This is our final issue for 1991. We hope "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS has helped in your Tennessee research. Many subscribers indicated their special counties of interest, and we published information for them when possible and will continue to do so in the future. We have been unable to comply with some requests. On page 159 of this issue the article, "Problems With Genealogical Research in Tennessee" will show why some information is simply not available. We consulted many sources for this arti­ cle and found many discrepancies in reports of known county records; therefore, you will need to carefully check data for counties you are researching. This is also my final year as Editor of "ANSEARCHIN'" NEWS. Serving as editor has been a rewarding educational experience; without the assistance of others, it would have been an impossible task. To all those who have helped, let me say "Thanks": to Mary Louise Graham Nazor for being my Associate Editor (while continuing her Family Gatherings feature and putting the annual Surname Index into the computer); to Elizabeth Riggins Nichols for proofing everything two or three times; to Betsy Foster West, our President, who took time to help us with maps and reading film; to Margaret Norvell Sinclair for preparing the Queries; to Geraldine Blanton Holstun, Marion Frances Graves and Martha McKenzie Carpenter for proofing, proofing and proof­ ing; and finally to my husband, CW "Skeet" Spence for all his computer work, his patience and tolerance. A special thanks to Bettie Brandon Davis and Marilyn John­ son Baugus for transcribing microfilm and submitting articles for publication. Thanks to you, our subscribers, for your continued interest and support. If you have Tennessee genealogical materials (Bibles, diaries, etc.) you would like to have considered for publication in "ANSEARCHIN"' NEWS, please submit copies. As with Book Reviews and Queries, we cannot specify which issue will have your information; it will be used as soon as possible when space is available. Calling all CLEVELANDs. Vikkie Lyn Cleveland is compiling a multi-volume Cleveland genealogical encyclopedia and plans to include information on as many Cleveland lines as possible. She would like to hear from descendants of Alexander and Milly Presley Cleveland. Family group sheet data and family "anecdotes" are of particular interest. Write to her at: 328 Vincent, Salem, IL 62881. A seminar sponsored by the Mississippi Genealogical Society and Mississippi Depart­ ment of Archives & History will be on Saturday, 18 Jan 1992 at the Coliseum Ramada, Jackson, MS (400 Greymont Ave). Mary Bondurant Warren is the speaker and her topic is "South Carolina Research - State & County Records." Contact the MGS at: P.O. Box 5301, Jackson, MS 39296-5301; or Jack P Dean, 2241 Wild Valley Dr., Jack­ son, MS 39211-6165, phone (601) 362-4920. The Jackson County Genealogical Society of Pascagoula, MS (P.O. Box 984, 39567) will host a seminar 14 Mar 1992 at the Gautier Convention Center, Gautier, MS. GeLee Corley Hendrix of Greenville, SC will speak on South Carolina Genealogical Research. HERITAGE DAY II will be 25 Apr 1992 at the Cleveland County (NC) Fairgrounds. For details contact: Broad River Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 2261, Shelby, NC 28150. The CHEN(N)AULT/SHINAULT/SHINALL Reunion Association will meet 17-19 Jul 1992 in San Antonio, TX. Contact: Deurene Oates Morgan, 1118 Curlew Ct., San Antonio, TX 78213-2009. Winter 1991 147 FAMILY GATHERINGS Prepared for publication by Mary Louise Graham Nazor WESTWARD HOI THE SETTLEMENT OF WEST TENNESSEE - Contributed by Bettie Brandon Davis (Mrs. Gene F.), Route 1, Box 109A, Halls, TN 38040 A graphic story of the 1820's settlement of West Tennessee unfolds through The Papers of Archibald D. Murphey. These letters, copied by Mrs. Davis from a set of books in the University of Illinois Library, relate the exploits of the land speculators. " .. This committee consisted of Haywood, William Polk, Henry Potter, Ruffin, and Murphey, with the governor as chairman ex officio, when present. The lands entrust­ ed to its care were the subject of an interstate controversy which occupies a large part of Murphey's correspondence. By statutes passed in 1782 and 1783 officers and soldiers of the North Carolina Continental Line, their heirs or assigns, were en­ titled to certain quantities of land (from 640 to 12,000 acres each) in the vast wilderness in the western part of the state, now Tennessee, to be obtained by apply­ ing to the secretary of state for a warrant directed to an official surveyor at Nashville, upon whose survey a grant was to be issued by the governor. In the lat­ ter year also, with a view to the redemption of the State's paper money, represent­ ing the debt of the war, a land office was opened at Hillsboro, usually called "John Armstrong's office",