Document 1

DOCUMENT No. 4

Jessee McAnally to James Davis
sent from: Poinsett, IA
dated: 24 July 1847
letter (publically owned) - NC State Archives -
Eliz. McAnally Estate Papers.

Jessee McAnally is the son of Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally of Stokes County. In 1844, Elizabeth Morgan McAnally died allowing for the division of her husbands estate. There appears to have been some difficulty in the division, since many court records suggest that there was some fighting among the children. Elizabeth's will is partially enterd in the County will books, but was apparently disregarded. Her will makes it apparent that she did not intend to divide the estate equally among her children. Jessee Jr. moved West with his brother-in-law John T. Wright.

July the 24.. 1847 Poinsett Ia (1)

Dear Brother & Sister (2) we take this oppertunity of righting you / A few lines informing you that we are all in common helth / Except Mary Isabella (3) she is very weakly caused By takeing / Cold she is some better then she has bin/ Polly (4) has bin very / Weakly all this Spring with the Dispepsy (5) she has got Better / the rest of us are all well at present and all of the connection / as fare as I know, ex Joseph Booth (6) he has bin sick for several / Days but is some better at this time / Dear Brother please send us our parts of the estate (7) by the / Bearer John M. Wright (8) if these Receipts is not legal give / us directions how to make them legal and we will promply / Attend to it. and send them by mail as soon as possible / Hold these until you git them. I see no difficulty why you / Cannot send us our parts consitantly with your Interest / We understand from Mr goldens (9) letter to James T. Wright (10) / that Adam Mitchel (11) and John E. Lasly (12) have filed partitions / for a Distribution Complaining against the amount allowed / the Admr. of $280 and also the amount of $87..59 cents / As a commission; we believe if they succede in their / undertakeing and gain their point that you will allow us / Our parts the same as them that went to Law about it / We should of empowered you from the first to of done / our Business but George Boothe (13) allowed as you was / Admr. of the estate you could not receipt for us. / Therefore we concluded as Golden was acting for James T. Wright / We would get him to act for us also /

Crops of corn here looks very promising at this time, wheat has / turnd out mutch better then we expected, wheat is worth about 50 cts / Corn 20 cents Bacon 61/4 hogs form 2.50 to 3 Dollars pr. hundred / Polly wants sister Elizabeth (14) to send her the draft of Dimity (15) and send / her word how to tread it by John M. Wright / Polly and all the children16 joins me in love to you all / So I remain yours James Davis

Jesse McAnally

Notes:

1 Poinsett, IA Though he uses "IA" which today would be considered an abbreviation for Iowa, it is believed that he is referning to a place in Hamilton county, Indiana where the McAnallys and Wrights settled. The Booths, McAnallys and Wrights all connected by marriage emigrated West.*
2 Brother & Sister James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis. James married the writer's sister Elizabeth in 1816. James is the son of the wealthy Stokes County planters James & Margaret (Dunlap) Davis who held large grants along the Dan River in Meadows and Snow Creek District. Probate records indicate that James Jr. took an active role in his wife's legacy from her father's and grandfather's estate. James and Elizabeth lived on a plantation/area known as Red Shoals. .
3 Mary Isabelle (1829-1847) The third child of Jesse & Mary (Wright) McAnally. Mary's birth and death dates were obtained from a second hand source, notes written into a book on the McAnally family found in the Danbury, NC Public Library's Gypsy Hollingsworth History Room. Apparently Mary died the year of this letter, probably from the sickness mentioned here. .
4 Polly Mary Wright McAnally (1797-1849). She is a daughter of John W. Wright of Stokes County. Almost nothing is known about the Wright family, but both Mary and her brother James married children of Jesse McAnally and are therefore cousins to James Davis. She married Jesse McAnally in 1822 and moved to Hamilton county, Indiana. .
5 Dispepsy Dyspepsia is in past and modern times is synonymous with indigestion; however, Mary died within two years of this letter and the medical problems described may indicate an early presense of the disease. Sources contemporary with this letter give the advise for those persons troubled with dyspepsia, "to avoid combinations such as fruit and vegetables; milk and vegetables; sugar and milk, meat, or vegetables; fates with fruits, meats, vegetables." [re: Wilson, E.B., America's Vanishing Folkways pg.74] .
6 Joseph Booth Probably one of the children of George & Mary (McAnally) Booth. Elizabeth Morgan McAnally's will referes to the four children of George and Mary, but does not name them individually. .
7 ..the estate.. The estate of Elizabeth Morgan McAnally (1764-1844), widow of Jesse McAnally (1760-21800). Elizabeth is the daughter of Capt. John Morgan (c1740-1819) who died a pauper in Stokes County, though apparently held the title of Capt. and was active in early Stokes County where he appears in the court records as a tax collector and jury man. He may have recieved his title in the Revolution. Little is known of the Morgan family, or where/when Elizabeth and Jesse married. Elizabeth marriage to Jesse connected her with of one of the leading families in Stokes politics. Her husband Jesse was a farmer and Justice for Stokes, who died suddenly in 1800. Most of his wealth seems to have been dependant on his father's, Capt. Charles McAnally, estate. Elizabeth left her own will which is found entered in the Stokes County Will Book. However, her will is abruptly ended in mid-sentence and was apparently never acted upon. What part of the will was entered makes it clear she was not planing to divide the estate equally, leaving $400 to her son John, but only 5 shillings to her son Charles, who she seems to have been at odds with. Elizabeth, her son Charles and James Davis Sr. all die in 1844. Elizabeth and James Davis were both of advanced age, but it may be likely that 1844 was the year of an epidemic for Stokes County. .
8 John M. Wright Probably the son of James T. & Ruhamah (McAnally) Wright. His mother, Ruhamah (1788-1858), is the third child of Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally. He is probably the same man who married Ruhamer McAnally, daughter of Charles & Sarah (Banner) McAnally, who would have been his first cousin. .
9 Mr. golden unidentified. Probably one of the Golding men who lived in the Meadows district or in Germantown. Apparently, he was a local lawyer. .
10 John T. Wright unidentified. A James T. Wright married Jesse's sister Ruhamer and moved West to Indiana. John is probably a son. .
11 Adam Mitchel (1800-1855) The son of Hugh & Anna (Davis) Mitchell. Adam connection in the estate is through his marriage to Mercy McAnally (1798-1877), the youngest child of Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally. Adam is the writer's brother-in-law and also a cousin to James Davis, whose paternal aunt is Anna Davis Mitchell (1791-1837). Adam Mitchell was a wealthy farmer in the Dillard area of Stokes. .
12 Joseph E. Lasly Joseph married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Charles & Sarah (Banner) McAnally of Stokes County. Charles died in February of 1844, five months before his mother. Therefore, Joseph and his wife Elizabeth became direct heirs to Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally's estate. .
13 George Booth (1775-1861) George Booth's origins are unknown and nothing is known of his early life or of his family. His death is mentioned in another letter of the Davis family, included in this volume. He married in 1808 to Mary, the eldest child of Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally of Stokes County. .
14 Elizabeth Elizabeth McAnally Davis (1796-1858) The seventh child of Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally. She married James, the son of a wealthy Stokes County planter, James & Margaret (Dunlap) Davis. James Jr. built his home place on the banks of the Dan River at a place known as Red Shoals. The Davis homested faces the McAnally homested which was located on the South side of the Dan. Elizabeth died in 1858 after bearing twelve children all who lived to be adults. She and her husband founded Davis Chapel which still stands and is used for religious functions. .
15 Dimity A type of fabric. Webster's discribes it as a, "sheer usually corded cotton fabric of plain weave in checks or stripes." .
16 ..all the children.. Jesse & Mary (Wright) McAnally had at least five children: John Fletcher, Elizabeth Jane, Mary Isabelle, Nancy Margaret, and Eliza Ruhamer. After Mary's death in 1849, Jesse remarries in Indiana to Jane Brattain and had issue.

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