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Terry Mason's Family History Site60,541 names. Major lines: Allen, Beck, Borden, Buck, Burden, Carpenter, Carper, Cobb, Cook, Cornell, Cowan, Daffron, Davis, Downing, Faubion, Fauntleroy, Fenter, Fishback, Foulks, Gray, Harris, Heimbach, Henn, Holland, Holtzclaw, Jackson, Jameson, Johnson, Jones, King, Lewis, Mason, Massengill, McAnnally, Moore, Morgan, Overstreet, Price, Peck, Rice, Richardson, Rogers, Samuel, Smith, Taylor, Thomas, Wade, Warren, Weeks, Webb, Wodell, Yeiser. |
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1Frank McKamie Mason, Homesteads in the Toledo American Settlement, 1985, p. 7 #15. "15. ... The house received an added wing and about the time my father, James II took over, the older portion of the house was replaced with a much larger rectangular building. My mother, Eulah Hartly and several other teacher friends of Marion Mason were invited to a summer vacation in British Honduras in 1909. My parents married in 1910 and children were James III, Eulah, Harry, Frank, Eugene, Elizabeth and Felix. Auntie Moore came to Fern Hill after Julia died to assist with raising the orphans. My father was sent to the USA to college but quit after less than two years. He spent much time with the Fairview cousins and was raised by Auntie Moore and daughter, Ella Pearce. Auntie Mary opened a boarding house in Mississippi and boarded nieces Maria, Annie, Bessie, Josephine and Mary (the last 3 being daughters fo the Frank Pearces. Papa's two sisters became outstanding tennis players in their final years at Vanderbuilt University. They only returned to Toledo for summer vacations. My mother bought the sister's shares of Fern Hill with inheritance money in 1912.
Brother James at age 10 went to Knoxville, Tenn. home of Auntie Ria Massey. Sister Eulah at age 11 went to an aunt in S.C. and later to Knoxville. Brother harry went to Knoxville in 1933. My mother taught us at home but in 1929 Papa announced, "That's all for school. I'm going to put these boys to work." He took Harry and me to work in a sawmill he was running on the Temash River. Eugene stayed at home to do milking and other chores. Relations between my parents had worsened and mama left home twice when he beat her. The second time she took Elizabeth and Felix with her. Mama, with the aid of Auntie Ria Massey and cousin Bess Watrous made plans for the five of us to go to the USA. We slipped away one Saturday night and began new lives. We all managed to finish high school. I was twenty on graduating but had been out of school for four years. My aunt was a history teacher and Uncle Felix Massey was Dean of Students at the University of Tennessee. Sister Eulah graduated and James lacked 3 quarters of finishing. I wanted to take electrical engineering at UT but family finances would not permit.
My father died in 1960 and since none of the others in the family were able or desirous of having Fern Hill, I bought them out. I broke up 80 acres of Mesica, providing 10 acres apiece to the Palma and Gonzales famillies in appreciation for the assistance they gave my father in his last years. Brother, Eugene got 30 acres and three of the Rob Johnston family got the remaining 30 acres. I bought some barbed wire and a few head of cattle and Macario Palma and I started a shoestring ranching operation. In 1971 my wife, Margie joined me in yearly visits to Fern Hill. Before Papa died Margie had stayed at the old house to look after Papa. Later the Gonzales family took care of him. Later Papa had Macario tear down the old house and build a little house for his use. Margie and I stayed in this tiny house during our visits.
We both retired in 1978 and began building our present Fern Hill home. We hauled all the plumbing, electrical, doors and windows from our Florida home."
1U.S. Social Security Death Index. "SSN: 413-26-4256
Born: 12 Aug 1924
Last Benefit: 37411 Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee, United States of America
Died: Oct 1977 State (Year)
SSN issued: Tennessee (Before 1951 )."
1Frank McKamie Mason, Homesteads in the Toledo American Settlement, 1985, p. 5 #8. "8. ... except Laswon remained at Shinn Cottage until he died about 1933 from cancer. Buried at Fairview after priests & nuns cared for him."
2Pearce Family Bible, John M. Wildenthal. Image.
4Pearce Family Bible. See scrapbook entry. Image.
51930 U.S. Census, T626_2298 pg 33B, 17 Apr 1930. "Pearce, Lawson M Head MW 42 M 24 Central America Mississippi Kentucky
------, Sarah M Wife FW 37 M 21 Texas Kentucky Kentucky
------, Ella E daughter FW 16 S Guatamala Central Americas Texas
------, Lawson M son MW 14 S Guatamala Central Americas Texas
------, Robert D son MW 13 S Guatamala Central Americas Texas
------, Sarah G daughter FW 10 S Guatamala Central Americas Texas
Moore, Peter M cousin WM 65 S Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky."
1Pearce Family Bible, John M. Wildenthal. See scrapbook entry. Image.
1U.S. Social Security Death Index. "Name: Lawson M. Pearce
SSN: 452-01-1743
Last Residence: 78212 San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, United States of America
Born: 6 May 1915
Died: 21 Jan 1994
State (Year) SSN issued: Texas (Before 1951)
Source Citation: Number: 452-01-1743;
Issue State: Texas;
Issue Date: Before 1951."2Texas Department of Health, Texas Death Index, 1903-2000, Ancestry.com (database on-line). "Name: Lawson Pearce
Death Date: 21 Jan 1994
Death County: Bexar
Gender: Male."3U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775-2006. "Name: Lawson M Pearce
Service Info.: SGT US ARMY AIR CORPS WORLD WAR II
Birth Date: 6 May 1915
Death Date: 21 Jan 1994
Service Start Date: 10 Jan 1941
Interment Date: 24 Jan 1994
Cemetery: Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery
Cemetery Address: 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road San Antonio, TX 78209
Buried At: Section 21 Site 1454."4National Archives and Record Administration, U.S. WW II Army Enlistment Records 1938-1946, Ancestry.com. "Name: Lawson M Pearce
Birth Year: 1915
Race: White, Not Yet A Citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Honduras
State of Residence: Texas
County or City: Dallas
Enlistment Date: 10 Jan 1942
Enlistment State: Texas
Enlistment City: Dallas
Branch: Air Corps
Branch Code: Air Corps
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Army of the United States - includes the following: Voluntary enlistments effective December 8, 1941 and thereafter; One year enlistments of National Guardsman whose State enlistment expires while in the Federal Service; Officers appointed in the Army of
Source: Civil Life
Education: 4 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Clerks, general office
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 71
Weight: 170."
1Carpenter, Virginia T (Main Author), Carpenter's of Carpenter's Station, The, pg 8, FHL 1321081 Item 9. "John Carpenter, second son of George Zimmerman, served three years as Sgt. of the Virginia State Line and fought in the battles of Brandywine and Yorktown. His warrant for Kentucky land was signed by Patrick Henry. A penciled note on the back of an envelope in the handwriting of Adam Wilson Carpenter (b. 1852, d. 1928) states, "John Carpenter was a man of great simplicity, integrity and force of character, of blameless life, one of ardent devotion his whole life long."
Many Revolutionary War veterans sold their land grants. The Carpenters did not, or if they did, they sold to one another. Lists are incomplete, but the Kentucky Land Office records that Conrad Carpenter by Treasury Warrant took up 1755 acres of land in Lincoln County and John Carpenter under seven warrants took up about 2870 acres. Bearing in mind that Adam, George I and George II were also entitled to land warrants, we are then speaking of a large area. The Virginia Department of Archives certified that John Carpenter and Michael Delph requested delivery of land warrants for military service done by George Carpenter and Daniel Delph, both of whom died in the service before the expiration of their three years enlistments.
Sometime in late 1778 or early 1779, a group was ready to leave for the western country over the mountains, along with household possessions, farming equipment, horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, fruit tree stock, etc. The entourage would travel south to Cumberland Gap, then north and west along the old Indian trails to the area that Conrad Carpenter had explored. This route is called the Wilderness Road. It is rather mind-boggling to contemplate the problems of transporting the equipment which we know they brought with them from later records. From Cumberland Gap into Kentucky, there was no wagon road. Not until nearly 1800, was a road cut through the mountains that would accommodate a wagon. So all of the Carpenter equipment had to be carried on pack animals.
It is not known if all the settlers of Carpenter's Station traveled in one group, but if not, they must have been closely spaced. The known members of the group were: Conrad Carpenter; Adam Carpenter; John Carpenter with his wife the former Elisabeth Spears; and John Frye, also a Revolutionary War Veteran, with his wife Katherine (or Catherine) Spears and their infant daughter, Leah, who was born November 11, 1778 in Rockingham County, Virginia.
Catherine Spears Frye and Elisabeth Spears Carpenter were sisters. Undoubtedly, there were also other families. Probably Jacob Spears, brother of Catherine and Elisabeth, went along too, although he may have met the group in Kentucky. He was a member of the military at Harrodsburg during the 1770's, and he later farmed land owned by his father in Lincoln County, Kentucky. In 1781, Jacob Spears married Elisabeth Neely, one of the first recorded marriages in Lincoln County, Ky.
Sometime in 1785, John Carpenter died, leaving his wife, the former Elisabeth Spears (Catherine's sister) and also three small children: George, born 1784, Margaret (Betsy) born circa 1781, and Mary (Polly). John's untimely death was the first break in the circle of founding brothers. Whatever the cause, John's will indicates that he knew death was approaching and he had ample time to make out his will so as to provide in a very loving manner for Elisabeth in her widowhood. Adam and Conrad Carpenter were executors of his will, Elisabeth the executrix. John signed his will on Nov. 19, 1784. The will disposes of 2550 acres of land to be divided among his wife and children except for 200 which he gave to Adam.
"I also lend unto my wife the plantation where on I now live (Note: the Station) during her widowhood or until my son arrives to the age of twenty-one years. I give and bequeath to my wife all my beds and such of my pots and ovens as she may choose to keep also a plow with Irons & Geers for two horses also my big(?) mare also four milk cows also six head of sheep also two good Breading sows also all my puter(pewter). It is my further will and desire that all the rest of my personal estate not here in before disposed of shall be sold by my executors and the moneys arising therefore to be equally divided between my wife & three children. I give and bequeath to my brother George Carpenter the sum of £10 to be payd him by my executors for the purposes of edicating of his children." (Note: the George Carpenter referred to is George II who remained in Virginia. His sons were Jacob and John.)
When Adam and Conrad concluded their executorship of the estate on Oct. 30, 1794, they listed 34 loans in total amount of £530.4.4, all of which had been cleared.
One provision of the will concerns his slaves: "I also give and bequeath to my son George Carpenter my two negroes but I lend said two negroes to my wife Elisabeth Carpenter during her widowhood or until son George shall arrive to the age of twenty one years." This is the first mention of slaves in the family holdings. The German farmers in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia were rarely known to own slaves, preferring to work their land themselves. However, George Spears, father of Elisabeth and Catherine, was a slave owner, as mentioned in his will. So it is quite possible that these slaves came into Kentucky from Virginia with John and Elisabeth. Elisabeth Spears Carpenter remarried on Sept. 30, 1791. She married Ezra Morrison also a Revolutionary War veteran who had been with Washington at Valley Forge. Elisabeth and Ezra are both buried at Carpenter's Station along with John Carpenter."
Dr. George Carpenter or Zimmerman
1Carpenter, Virginia T (Main Author), Carpenter's of Carpenter's Station, The, pp.3-7, FHL 1321081 Item 9. "In 1780, Carpenter's Station was established on the waters of Hanging Fork near present-day Hustonville, Kentucky by three brothers: Adam, Conrad and John Carpenter from the western section of the present-day state of Virginia, all Revolutionary War veterans. The land they chose lies at a high point in south central Kentucky, covering the head waters of both the Green and Kentucky Rivers draining to the north and west into the Ohio River, and also within reach of the Cumberland River which runs south into Tennessee before emptying into the Ohio River in western Kentucky. This land lies in the northern foothills of the Cumberland Mountains and is often referred to as 'The Knobs Region' because of the densely wooded hills which rise abruptly and steeply out of the rolling terrain. Carpenter's Station, rectangular in shape, was built on a low hill with knobs visible in almost every direction. A station was a walled settlement unmanned by military personnel.
In the middle 1700's, there lived in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, a family of Swiss descent by the name of Zimmerman. George, the father, had emigrated from Switzerland (so stated in the Adam Carpenter family Bible) around 1740. One George Zimmerman arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Neptune and signed the oath of importation on October 25, 1746. This may have been our George. He moved westward from Georgetown, the present Washington, DC area, and into Pennsylvania, then down into the southern Shenandoah Valley near McGaheysville, Stonewall District, Peaked Mountain area. This is in the vicinity of the southern tip of Massanutten Mountain. This section was originally in Orange County, Virginia. In 1738, it was placed in Augusta County, and in 1777, it was made a part of Rockingham County as it is today. George Zimmerman was a well-to-do planter and also a surveyor. Family tradition indicates he may also have been a physician.
George Zimmerman and his family were members of the Peaked Mt. Church which in 1769 combined two congregations of the Reformed and Lutheran Churches, and George Zimmerman was a signator to the agreement. In this church's records are the dates of the the births of his eleven children and some of their marriages.
p6. On May 21, 1767, one George Carpenter was appointed surveyor of highways in Rockingham County, whether Senior or Junior is unknown and immaterial since we know that both were surveyors, also Conrad and Adam. This skill was handed down several generations.
p7. George Carpenter Senior served as a private in Captain Thomas Hamilton's Company of the First Virginia Regiment commanded by Col. George Gibson. He enlisted for three years and his name is borne on the roles from September 14, 1777 until November, 1777. He probably died or was killed during that period. The major events of the war in that time period were Washington's defeat at Germantown, PA., which followed Brandywine and preceded the Valley Forge winter.
The last court record of George Zimmerman, Sr., in Rockingham County concerns the bond for the administration of his estate in the sum of £10,000, given by Ann Zimmerman, his widow, George Zimmerman (II) and Adam Zimmerman, as executors of the last will and testament of George Zimmerman, on July 26, 1779, 'in the 4th year of the Commonwealth'.
The last information in the family papers relating to George Zimmerman is contained in a copy of correspondence between Dr. J. C. (Clay) Carpenter of Clifton, Texas, and Jennie (Virginia) King Carpenter of Kentucky dated February 19, 1913. These letters corroborate the names of the children of George Zimmerman and seemingly confirm the family legend that he was a physician. Jennie Carpenter wrote as follows: "I am the widow of Will Frye Carpenter, your father's first cousin . . . Several years ago, my husband was in correspondence with a man in Virginia who had married a Miss Carpenter and his father-in-law, Billy Carpenter, was an old man and with him at the time, and furnished the following information to my husband who had written to know about the old Virginia Carpenters. The earliest one of the name of whom he had any knowledge was Dr. Carpenter from Germany, my husband's great great grandfather. . . This old German Doctor was married twice. You are descended from the first marriage from the son George (II); his only (full) brother John, was the father of old man Station George Carpenter. Then the old doctor's sons by his second marriage were Conrad, Adam, William and Henry. There were also three daughters (Note: there were actually five). The old German doctor when he first came to this country settled near Georgetown, near Washington, D. C. The Virginia Carpenters had a ware in their possession that the old doctor brought from Germany, one an old iron kettle and mortar to mix medicine in."
1Carpenter, Virginia T (Main Author), Carpenter's of Carpenter's Station, The, pr 12-13, 24, FHL 1321081 Item 9. "The Spears background is very similar to that of the Carpenters. George Spears (Speyers in German, Spiers in French) was born in Aachen, Germany (also known as Aix-La-Chappelle) c. 1731, and he was brought to this country as a child. One family paper says that the Spears were Protestant refugees, driven by Catholic persecutions from Arensburg, Westphalia, Germany, to Aix-La-Chapelle. Another paper says they were French Huguenots from the Palatinate and Alsace-Lorraine. These places are all in the same general area of Europe along the Rhine River valley. The Adam Carpenter Bible says that George Spears migrated from Germany. An interesting possible link is that the present-day city of Speyer, Germany, was the former capitol of Lower Palatinate Province which is now part of the Rhineland Province where Aschan is located.
... they had ten children, eight of whom were to emigrate to Kentucky. George, the father, appears to have been quite a well-to-do planter, since at the time of his death, the bond on his estate, consisting of land, cash and slaves, was fixed at $40,000. His name appears on land sale records in Virginia Deed Books in the 1700's like that of George Zimmerman. His children were also taught to read and write in English, girls included.
George Spears fought in the Revolutionary War at Brandywine and as a veteran was also entitled to his land grants. Records indicate that between 1780 and 1789, he obtained several parcels of land amounting to 2,700 acres by land grants, at least some of which were adjacent to Carpenters. Sometime shortly after 1800, his will was presented and proved in the November 1803 court in Rockingham County, Virginia. Catherine Carpenter inherited £40 as a specific bequest and shared in the 2/3 portion of the estate which was divided among her brothers and sisters. Several documents relating to the settlement of the George Spears estate are in the Carpenter family papers; one dated April 6, 1805, indicated that Christennah Spears (wife of George) was to have "use of the new house, stable, spring house, oven and yard that is next to Linville Creek"."
1Carpenter, Virginia T (Main Author), Carpenter's of Carpenter's Station, The, p.12, FHL 1321081 Item 9.
1Carpenter, Virginia T (Main Author), Carpenter's of Carpenter's Station, The, p.13, FHL 1321081 Item 9. "John F. Spears rode behind his father, George Spears, over the battlefield at Brandywine. He enlisted as a drummer boy and at the close of the War was paid amount due him by the U. S. Government.” Collins History of Kentucky says that this same John (F.?) Spears witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown."
