| Notes |
- Child-1: Margaret Hannah - b: ~1802 - nra: 1880
m: Stephen Thomas Perkins - 29/Jan/1818 - Grayson Co., VA
2: Robert Harvey - b: 14/Apr/1806 - VA
d: 23/Aug/1880 - Grayson Co., VA
bur: Woods Cem.
m: Samantha Adeline Perkins - 2/Jun/1846 - Ashe Co., NC
3: Benjamin - b: ~1808 - VA
4: Arminia (Mina) - b: ~1809 - VA
d: ~1869 - Pulaski Co., KY
bur: Anderson Farm Cem.
m: Moses Greer - 8/Apr/1823
m: Thomas Adams - 16/Oct/1848 - Pulaski Co., KY
5: Caroline Evaline - b: ~1811 - VA
m: Samuel Perkins - 31/Mar/1825 - Grayson Co., VA
6: Melvina - b: ~1813 - VA
d: Pulaski Co., KY
m: William Manson Greer - Feb/1834
7: Joseph Morgan - b: ~1815
m: Lucinda Perkins - 22/Aug/1833 - Grayson Co., VA
8: Silas D. - b: ~1819 - VA
d: 29/Nov/1856 - Pulaski Co., KY
m: Emily A. Ferrel
9: Wesley B. - b: ~1820 - VA
m: Elizabeth Price
10: Granville P.-b: Dec/1824 - Grayson Co., VA
d: 31/Aug/1908- Harrisonville, Cass Co., MO
m: Deniza Hubble - 24/Jul/1845 - Pulaski Co., KY
Biographical Details:
The birth date of Elizabeth (Betsy) Bonham has been given by different researchers as either August 8 or August 20, 1781. The reason for this discrepancy is not known, but it is likely due to poor legibility of some particular handwritten record. She was the daughter of Joseph and Naomi Parke Bonham and was almost certainly born in Loudoun County, Virginia, later coming as a child to southwestern Virginia. Elizabeth Bonham and John Fitzinger Woods were married in Wythe County on September 17, 1801, and subsequently settled in Grayson County, Virginia. He seems also to have been called 'Jehu'; however, if true, it would be an anomolous usage since Jehu is a Biblical proper name in its own right and has rarely, if ever, been used as a diminuative for John. Concomitantly, Mr. Earl C. Woods of Columbia, South Carolina, a direct descendant of John and Betsy Woods, has definitely attributed nine children to them.1 Other researchers also include one additional child, Margaret Hannah, who was born about 1802 and, hence, would have been their oldest daughter. The implied chronology is certainly plausible. Moreover, four of the Woods children, including the putative Margaret Hannah, married into the extended Perkins family, which in the early nineteenth century was quite numerous in Grayson County and neighboring Ashe County, North Carolina. Of course, this by no means proves a relationship between Margaret Hannah Woods and John and Betsy Bonham Woods, but it is strongly suggestive of one. Within this context, it is known that Stephen Thomas and Margaret Hannah Perkins left Virginia and settled near some of his relatives in north central Illinois in the spring of 1835.
Along with that of his brother-in-law, William Bonham, the name of John Woods appeared frequently in the civil records of Grayson County after the year 1800. Accordingly, John was assessed personal property tax on one tithable and one horse in 1805 and on two tithables and three horses in 1810. Within this context, it is not clear to whom the second tithable might correspond since John and Elizabeth Bonham Woods had no sons above sixteen years of age at that time. Subsequently, he was called to serve on grand juries in 1811 and 1813.2 John was, again, assessed tax one one tithable in the years 1813 and 1817 and also, respectively, on three and five horses. The household of John Woods was listed in the population schedule of the 1820 US Census for Grayson County and at that time included ten individuals, viz., an adult male and a adult female both between twenty-six and forty-five years of age, two older boys and a girl between ten and sixteen years, and three boys and two girls less than ten. Obviously, the adult couple can be safely identified as John F. and Elizabeth Bonham Woods themselves. Moreover, the remaining eight individuals correspond exactly with the known family of John and Betsy Woods, i.e., the children under ten should be identified as Evaline, Melvina, Joseph, Silas, and Wesley, and those above ten as Robert Harvey, Benjamin, and Arminia. Furthermore, if Margaret Hannah Woods was, indeed, John and Betsy's oldest daughter, her absence does not constitute an inconsistency because she almost certainly would not have been living with her parents in 1820 since civil records indicate that she married Stephen Thomas Perkins in 1818. Concomitantly, in 1821 John Woods gave testimony in court on behalf of his brother-in-law, Noah Greer. Likewise, he was assessed tax in 1824 on two tithables and six horses and in 1828 on three tithables and four horses. Within this context, it would seem clear that in 1824 the two tithables must have corresponded to John and his oldest son, Robert H., who would have been eighteen years old in that year and that by 1828 his second son, Benjamin, would have also been older than sixteen and, thus, would correspond to a third tithable.
John Woods was issued a land grant for thirty acres in Grayson County on November 1, 1817, and a second grant for sixty acres on June 17, 1824.3 It is almost certain that these do not represent the entirety of his land holdings, but they do serve to specify the location of his farm as being on Big Fox Creek. In addition, the second grant mentions Isaiah Williams as a neighboring property owner. Within this context, it would seem that they must have been involved in some dispute since there is a court record of a lawsuit between them in 1826.4 (In addition, Isaiah Williams had been plaintiff against Noah Greer and Stephen Anderson in 1821.) In 1830, the household of John Woods was, again, included in the Grayson County population schedule. Accordingly, John can be identified as an adult male between fifty and sixty years of age and Elizabeth (Betsy) as an adult female between forty and fifty years. Moreover, it seems that John and Betsy's two oldest sons remained unmarried at the time of the census and, hence, can be identified with two young adult males between the ages of twenty and thirty. Furthermore, although there is some small discrepancy in indicated ages, it seems a reasonable presumption that the four youngest males corresponded to sons, Joseph, Silas, Wesley, and Granville. Concomitantly, since daughters, Arminia and Evaline, had already married, the adolescent female between fifteen and twenty years of age should be identified as Melvina. This leaves unidentified one female between twenty and thirty years of age. Even so, this is of little consequence and she probably corresponds to a relative or, perhaps, a domestic servant. Subsequently, in 1835 John Woods was assessed personal property tax in Grayson County on two tithables and four horses. In this and prior tax lists he had no assessment for slaves. John was also issued an additional land grant for sixty-five acres on November 30, 1838, which was linked to a number of grants made to members of the Perkins family at the same time and under the same Land Office Treasury Warrant number 14073; however, the nature of the relationship, if any, remains unclear. Nevertheless, this is consistent with there having been a close relationship between the Woods, Bonham, and Perkins families.
According to family tradition, sometime after 1840 John F. and Elizabeth Bonham Woods left Grayson County and migrated to Pulaski County, Kentucky. Even so, several of their married children apparently remained behind in Virginia.5 Their motivation for such a move remains unknown, but as was common with pioneers, they were probably trying to secure a better future, if not for themselves, then for their children and grandchildren. Within this context, the household of John F. Woods has not been identified in any 1840 census records. However, John and Elizabeth were listed in the population schedule of the 1850 US Census for Pulaski County. In addition, the families of their three youngest sons, Silas, Wesley, and Granville, and their youngest daughter, Melvina, appeared on adjoining lines of the same page. Of course, this implies that they were living in very close proximity. Furthermore, from the ages and birthplaces given for various grandchildren, one can infer that the extended Woods family must have left Virginia about 1845 or 1846, perhaps, in more than one group. Concomitantly, in January of 1852 the Kentucky General Assembly mandated collection of vital statistics by county tax assessors. Accordingly, in 1856 the death from typhoid fever of Silas D. Woods, age thirty-eight, was recorded in Pulaski County; however his birth place was noted as Franklin County, Virginia, which is almost certainly incorrect. (In addition, births of several grandchildren of John F. and Elizabeth Woods were also included in these records.) Similarly, it is believed that John F. Woods died in October of 1857; however, his death was apparently not recorded. Elizabeth Bonham Woods died on December 12, 1863, and was reportedly buried in the Anderson Farm Cemetery in Pulaski County.
Source Notes and Citations:
1. Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 - I saw your entry on John F. Woods who married Elizabeth Bonham - Pulaski Co., Ky. John Fitzinger Woods is my 2gr. grandfather, who married Elizabeth "Betsy" Bonham in Wythe Co., Va. 17 Sep 1801. They settled in Grayson Co., Va. and had the following children:
1. Robert Harvey Woods 1806-1880 (my grandfather)
2. Benjamin ca 1808
3. Arminia ca 1809-1869
4. Caroline Evaline ca 1811
5. Melvina ca 1813
6. Joseph Morgan ca 1815
7. Wesley B. ca 1820
8. Silas D. ca 1822-1856
9. Granville F. ca 1824- 1908
John F. Woods and family migrated from Grayson Co., Va. to Pulaski Co., Ky. in the 1830/40 era. Leaving behind Robert Harvey Woods.
(Earl C. Woods to Monty Lee, electronic communication.) (Monty Lee; database - montylee; worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com, 2002.)
http://web.pdx.edu/~davide/gene/Bonham_Elizabeth.htm
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