Notes |
- William married November 8, 1805 in Fauquier County, Virginia. He married Nancy Corley who was born September 12, 1786 in Virginia. She died in 1860 in Henry County, Kentucky.
Nancy was the daughter of Aquilla and Mary (Maddox) Corley. William and Nancy lived on the Hedgeman River near Pipes Church, Fauquier County, Virginia.
William and his wife, Nancy, lived on the Hedgeman River near Pipes Church, Fauquier County, Virginia. Fauquier County was formed May 1, 1759 from Prince William County, Virginia. Warrenton (22,186) is the County Seat. It received its name from Francis Fauquier, Governor of Virginia at the time.
On September 5, 1796 William, and his father, Dickerson, witnessed the Will of John Smoot in Fauquier County, Virginia. As we will see the favor was returned when Leonard and Enoch Smoot witness Dickerson's Will in 1803.
Fauquier County, Virginia 1800 Tax List, District of Elias Edmonds Junior, Virginia Genealogist Volume 19 (pages177-182) and Volume 20 (pages 250-257) enumerated as 1-1 (1 free male over age 16 and 1 horse).
William, Nancy and their family, moved to Carrollton, Henry County, Kentucky in the spring of 1816, after buying 50 acres of land from Henry Davidage on August 8, 1815.
They traveled by flatboat down the Ohio River. William brought his oldest brother Dickerson's female slave, “Poll,” whom he registered with the county officials in Henry County, as required by law.
Registration required he certify he was not engaged in the business of slavery.
William died within three years of moving to Kentucky. He may have died of the same illness that killed his slaves several years later. They may have been tubercular--a common problem of the time. Malaria was also a problem--a reason many did not settle in the Carrollton, Kentucky area.
In September 1819 William's estate was being settled. His estate was unusual in that it did not include real estate. Of the total estate appraisement over half the value was in slaves. There was $641 in household goods. The three slaves were valued at $750. The slaves were Lizza, Mariah and Jerry.
The slave named Poll may have been the fourth of four slaves. Poll was originally given to William's brother, Dickerson Wood, in 1803 when their father, the elder Dickerson Wood, died (Source: Fauquier Will Book 3, page 441.) Poll may have died at the same time as William.
William may have earned his living "from outside of" his farm. The two compasses he owned infers he did land survey work while the slaves maintained the farm.
The William Wood Administrators Estate Settlement is recorded in the Henry County, Kentucky Will Book at pages 63-64.
Allowance made to the administrators February 1821 $ ¢
Cash paid Willis Hughs for Smiths work 1 87 ½
Clothing for the children for the year 1821
9 yards of calico at 3/2 per yard 4 50
5 yards of cotton casimore for George Wood at 3/2 per yard 2 50
2 handkerchief at 7/6 each 2 50
1 pair of shoes at 3/9 0 62 ½
To one bonnet for daughter $8 00
4 pair stockings 6/2 each 4 00
To ¾ yards of wool & muslin at 9/2 1 12 ½
14 yards of cotton cloth at 3/2 7 00
10 do " do 3/2 5 00
7 pair shoes at 3/2 3 50
To 3 yards linen 3/2 1 50
To 1 pair cotton stockings 1 00
To 6 pair yarn stockings 3/2 each 3 00
3 yards of linsey at 3/9 1 87 ½
Allowance made for Boarding of five children 125 00
180 75
To $3 paid Speer pr. Order orch Voris for schooling 3 00
Smiths Receipt $17.27 cents 17 27
7/6 paid Suddath crying sale 1 25
Paid Hughs 11/3 for Smiths work 1 87 ½
Shar receipt for taxes 2 65
Fee bills 1 37
Money paid John N. Middleton for schooling $15 00
Two dollars seventy eight cents for taxes 2 78
Fee Bill Rowland Thomas 1 92
$227 81 ½
Amount Brought Over $227 81 ½
Allowance made for Children for the year 1820
Cash paid William Henderson 2 25
To Cash paid Wilson $1. Cash paid Middleton 6/2
The Henry County December Court 1821 ordered that Daniel Sandford, Moses Olds, John Campbell and Robert Thomas be appointed Commissioners or any three being first duly sworn to settle the administration of William Wood dec. and reprt. to the next Court a copy. Att. John T. Payne Henry County Court.
This day Moses Olds John Campbell and Robert Thomas appeared before me David Adams one of the Commonwealth Justices of the peace for said County and were sworn to act agreeable to be within order given under my hand this 6th day of May 1822. The commissioners appointed to settle the accounts of the Administrator of William Wood deceased made report which being examined by the Court is ordered to be recorded which is done accordingly. David Adams JPHC Henry County Court.
Notes of Donald Clark, of Lexington, Kentucky, indicate the date of marriage of William Wood and Nancy Corley might be November 8, 1805 instead of 1806. Also that Nancy's burial place may be at the "old Turner burying ground" at Turner's Station, Kentucky with her mother, Mary Ann Maddox.
When William Wood died, leaving Nancy as his widow, the children were quite young. Nancy did not remarry. It is likely her stepfather, Joshua Turner, was a big help raising the children between 1819 and 1825. William's daughter, Margaret "Peggy" Wood would have been about 7 or 8 years of age when William died and probably had a stronger awareness of her Turner, Maddox and Corley connections than of her own Wood family.
In preparation for the final settlement of William Wood's estate, the Henry County, Kentucky Court appointed Nancy Corley Wood guardian for her five children in 1821. She was also asked to post "Common Security as Guardian to the orphans of Will Wood."
In February, 1822, the three court-appointed administrators of the estate reported an estate worth $144.21. Also they reported the expenses for 1820 and 1821. Expenses involved clothing, schooling, taxes and an "allowance made for the boarding of five children at $125 per year, at $25 each child." (Obviously child care was cheaper in 1820 than 2007). It should be noted that the tutoring of the children was a unique benefit, as Nancy did not read or write and this particular era seems to have frequently overlooked the value of formal education. It is interesting that Kentucky became one of the first states to recognize the need for equal rights for women due to its having so many surviving spouses that needed equal legal rights and privileges.
Between 1820 and 1830 Nancy paid taxes on 50 acres of land that had been surveyed by Peter Shepherd. Shepherd had entered many surveys in the Mill Creek area (near Turner's Station, Kentucky). No actual deed or lease has been located for William or Nancy Wood. It seems plausible that the William Wood who purchased 50 acres from Henry Davidage of Gallatin County, Kentucky that was witnessed on 8 August 1815 and delivered on 8 September 1817 was the husband of Nancy and it was this land that was taxed to her. (Source: Gallatin County Deed Book C, page 211).
The 1823 valuation of her tax was $445. It jumped to $1,580 in 1825 and was back down to $275 in 1830. It is not exactly clear where she lived but it is presumed to have been near the Henry/Carroll County line east of Turner's Station and along the East Fork of Mill Creek.
I had the good fortune of going to Turner's Station and driving along Mill Creek in July, 1999. The area has a lot of lush green foliage. Well kept homes and lawns lined the highway which followed the banks of Mill Creek.
Indications are that Nancy and her family became associated with the Sulphur Fork Baptist Church in 1828. This church was originally started in 1801. By 1809 the records had been destroyed by fire, twice. The surviving records would be interesting. It would seem that when the Turners, Maddox’s and Woods, along with others from Virginia, came in the 1816-1820 period they added considerably to the vitality of this church. Joseph Turner was a stalwart member by 1825 and the Nancy Wood family clearly involved by 1828. Daughter Margaret was "received by experience" (whatever that means) on January 1, 1828 and it was in this same year that Eliza Jane and Nancy also appear on the membership rolls.
The location of the Sulphur Fork Church near present day Campbellsburg, Kentucky on Route 55 would not have been particularly convenient to the Woods living near the west fork of Mill Creek. One suspects there was a certain social significance attached to attending what was probably the most influential group at that time.
However, daughter Eliza Jane was married to Walker Bledsoe in December of 1830 by a rival Christian Society minister, Samuel Turner. In August 1831 Margaret, Eliza's sister, was married to Elias Clark by the same minister. This would suggest that going over hill n' dale to Sulphur Fork was not what it first seemed to be and that changes had been made by this time. The Little Cane Run Baptist Church near Port Royal, Kentucky would have been a lot more convenient.
There are no tax records for 1830-1832 and it is guessed that by 1833 the only child left at home was George Edward Wood (my Great Grandfather) who was now acting as head of the household. Nancy briefly appeared on the tax rolls of Gallatin County, Kentucky in 1835 with property valued at $35 which would probably be a horse or cattle and not land.
In 1836 Nancy appeared with her son-in-law, Elias Clark, when they were given $50 by the Gallatin County Court for "the keeping of the children."
She was apparently living with Elias and Margaret Clark and helping to rear the "orphaned children of Josiah Clark" who were part of the household at the time.
On March 6, 1837 George Edward Wood married Nancy Jane Batts (My Great Grandmother) in Gallatin County, Kentucky. He also appeared in the newly formed Trimble County records as being part of the boundary line that James Brown was to be the surveyor for that part of the Mill Creek Road from Peter Hartman's to the county line. This would suggest that he lived near Tom-Tom, Kentucky.
In 1841 George Edward Wood was listed in the Carroll County Tax List with 67 acres valued at $400 and two horses at $50. In 1842 he appeared with no land and 2 horses valued at $50. It wasn't until 1857 that George purchased his own land in Henry County. It was 117 acres at a cost of $1,082.75 ($413 hand paid).
It is presumed that Nancy Corley Wood lived with George in the 1850's but this can't be established. The last official record of Nancy is the 1850 pension application of her mother, Mary Ann Maddox. Nancy was 64 years old and her mother 91. It is suspected that Nancy lived well into the 1860's, but again it can't be proven. Her daughter, Margaret Wood Clark, met an untimely demise on May 7, 1859.
Margaret Wood Clark was 47 when she died of phlistic (asthmatic consumption). It is believed she is buried with Elias Clark on the original property near Vance and along the Davidson Road.
Since Margaret had received some tutoring as a child it is presumed she may have helped her son, Monterville Clark, learn the rudiments of reading and writing since there is no record of his having attended anything like a public school. Her ties to the Turner family would have also been a positive influence. There are undoubtedly many other contributions that came by way of Margaret Wood and her earlier family that are now lost with time, but hopefully this brief account helps shed some light. (Source: Notes of Donald Clark)
In her 1825 Guardian Report Nancy Wood noted that the four slaves "descended to her children" had died and that "Sally (Sarah) had married Joseph Berry." In the 1826 court report the expenses were again for schooling, store goods, and coarse clothing. (Wood's Heirs Guardian Report, Will Book 3 page 304)
Nancy Wood made the following report to the court:
She states that four of the Negroes descended to her children have died since her last report-
She has hired the Negro man named Jerry for $70.00
She charges $40 for clothing and
A doctor’s bill for attending her Negroes has not been made out.
She has nothing further to report.
October 5th 1825 Nancy Wood Item 5th 4 coffins @ $2 apiece
Wood Heirs Guardian Report (Henry County 1826 Will Book 3, page 450)
Hire of one Negro man $10 the third taken out --$40.00
To Schooling 5.00
To Store goods for four children 30.00
To course (coarse) clothing 20.00 55.00 Nancy Wood Guardian for Margaret, George, Ann died, and Eliza Jane Wood.
Test her Pryor Nancy x Wood Mark Henry County Guardian for Margett George Ann D, Eliza Jane Wood infant heirs of _____ Wood dec. made her report which being examined by the Court is approved and ordered to be recorded. Att. Row. Thomas
In 1827 Nancy bought a side saddle from the estate and her brother, Aquilla Corley Jr., for $5.75. Her daughter Ann Dickerson Wood married Samuel Edrington in 1829.
The 1830 Henry County census showed the family unit as 1 male 20-30 (That would be George Edward) 1 female 10-15 (Eliza) 1 female 20-30 (Margaret) 1 female 40-50 (Nancy)
Nancy Corley Wood stated to the Henry County Court that "as guardian of my children I certify I have hired the old Negro for $47 and with the same money I have schooled clothed and boarded the children" 8 August 1830 (Will Book 4 page 422)
William and Nancy had the following children:
1. SARAH B.1806 VA. D.1870 KY. M.1825 JOSEPH BERRY B.1796 D.11/6/1857 KY. SON OF THOMAS & MARY BERRY
2. GEORGE EDWARD B.4/9/1806 VA. D.3/13/1883 MO. M.3/6/1837 KY. NANCY JANE BATTS DAU. OF THOMAS BURCHETT BATTS JR. THEY HAD 9 CHILDREN
3. MARGARET B.8/10/1812 VA. D.5/7/1859 KY. M.8/10/1831 KY. ELIAS CLARK B.1809 VA. D.8/1865 KY. SON OF JOSIAH & JANE (ADAMS) CLARK
4. ANN DICING B.1807 B.1807 VA. D.1904 M.4/29/1829 KY. SAMUEL EDRINGTON B.1804 KY. D.1860 KY. SON OF JOHN & LOVEDAY (JADSON) EDRINGTON
5. ELIZA JANE B.8/12/1814 VA. D.1836 M.2ND 12/4/1830 KY. WALKER BAYLOR BLEDSOE B.9/12/1802 KY. D.1860 MO.
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