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DOCUMENT No. 11

James Davis to Children [Polly & Wilson Fulton]
sent from: Red Shoals, Stokes County, North Carolina
dated: April 22, 1861
letter (privately held) - original owned by Eliz. Drouet of Denver,CO.

James Davis (1793-1876) was a Stokes County planter. Son of planter and Justice James & Margaret (Dunlap) Davis. James built his home in Red Shoals along the Dan River, where he lived his enitire life. Polly Fulton is the second child born to James and Elizabeth (nee McAnally) Davis. Polly and her husband Wilson Fulton left Stokes County for Texas in 1861. They settled first in Ellis County where this letter was probably sent.

Red Shoals N.C.1 April 22nd 1861

Dear Children

I again undertake to write you / a fiew lines to let you know that we are all in / common health at present, the children took the / Hooping cough (2) about six weeks past. one negro child / about seven months old died with it, (little Sarahs child) / the rest are all better. your letter of the 8th of March / was received informing us of Pollys (3) sickness I trust / She is well again, as James W. Davis (4) stated in his letter / of the 20th of March she (Polly) was getting about again / the weather has bin cold & wet for the last two / weeks so that corn could not be planted, I only / lacked a fiew hours of finishing when the rain / commenced, now over two weeks & corn not up / yet. the wheat crop looks tolerable well, corn is worth Four Dollars pr Barrel wheat / none for sale, tho would be ready at $1-25 pr Bushel. / Bacon 162/3 pr pound - I now answer some of your / Inquireis, court was last week H.W. Adkins (5) got / Judgment against R.D. Golding (6) for over one Hundred / Dollars, nothing done with the Equaty suite that I know / of you got Judgments on R.D.G. for between two & / three Hundred Dollars, E. Manning (7) & others got Judgement /

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some other suits of the same kind against Golding / not reatched, yours & F.Golding (8) each to pay there / own cost, you got Judgment against the Sheriff (9) for / the Hollen (10) debt, and I got Judgment against the / same for M. Blackburns Heirs (11), the B. Mustin (12) suit / against you & Jesse (13) was not reached, tho more / business done then was the two last courts. Judge / Howard (14) ^ was on the Bench - John P Smith (15) has bin trad / =ing Tobacco at Fayetteville (16) & betwine there & High / Point (17) last winter & ^ this Spring for Goods Hides & other / trade do not know how much he has on hand yet / J.E. Miller (18) went home with A.J. Smith (19) to finish / plastering his Hous and is to get done next week / H.W. Adkins is Still making Iron (20)do not know / to what extent - S.H. Taylor (21) has sold his Tanyard / to S.B. Taylor (22) & J.E. Miller (23), they had a free negro (24) / working in the Tanyard last fall from Surry / S.B.T (25). has Bob the Black smith & Jack Henry Kit & Sam of W.A. Eastes (26) & a woman of Orelias Blackburn (27) / Thomas Faulkner (28) went to virgina last fall & / has not returned yet - Jesse sais Dr. McCanless (29) / took the crop & was to pay him the rent, last ^week at / court he told Jesse he must take the Tobacco to / make the rent - there is no sale for Tobacco now, / Moodys (30) duputies are Alexander Westmoreland (31) / Andy Sted (32) & a young man by the name of Newsom (33) /

[end of second page]

N. Moody (34) keeps the Jail. William Golding (35) lives / in the House bilt for the Jailer (36) - Lafayette Smith (37) / is sinking a tanyard at his Pitzer place / above Town - S.B.T. & J.E.M. (38) has opened a Grocery / in your old Store House last week consisting of / coffee sugar Salt Molasses cheas Fish &c. / the other stores have nearly dried up Prather (39) was / to have goods there last week none come it is said / he is bound for a large amount for Thos. Smith (40) of / Dobson who has failed for $18.000 so sais report / Deed of trust given on his stores & other property / it is allso said that William Gentry (41) made a deed / of trust last week. I [k]now not who next, money is / scarce - I was ready last week to start my waggon / with Tobacco to Society Hill (42). understanding the tax / law would not take effect untill may. seeing / several traders at court right from the south / who said they were then collecting the duty / which was 35 pr cent & it had to be paid when / you crossed the line whether you sold the Tobacco / or not & that in Gold or Silver, so I give out going / rather than pay $100 to leave my tobacco & weight [wait] / a year for the pay, I since learn the rumor is / nearly all fals, Wm Flynt (43) is gone I will hear / the truth of it when he gets back - the news last / week was the ware had begun fort Sumter was / taken one man killed & another wounded, the / the next report nobady hurt untill Major Anderson / fired a salute to his Flag a gun bursted & killed / two of his men (44) - Everits Show (45) is at Danbury (46) till / last Saturday & Sunday we had frost peaches all killed the apples appears to be some alive, other / vegetation bit - court week in march there are three deaths near us, Old Mrs. Patsy Martin (46), Old / Mr. John Wood (48), & Wilsher Golding (49), I had a letter / from Jesse McAnally (50) Stating that Polly Booth (51) died / the 4th of February she was 76 years of age, George (52) / was very feeble 86 years of age thought he would / not stand it long - now for the weddings, Caleb / Hill (53) to Sallie Rierson (54), James Taylor (55) to Amanda / Welch (56), Thorington Tuttle (57) to Elizabeth Abbot (58) / Mat Fulton (59) to daughter of Daniel Allin (60) / Zacharial Glidewell (61) to Manervy Glidewell (62), and old Zacharial (63) was married ^ some time ago to a Miss Smith (64) in / upper halifax - if Lincoln has made any attempt / to reinforce the southern forts I think N.C. will seceed / at present we hear nothing but ware and rumors of / ware - did you git the Ed Eaton (65) debt that you [illegible] / Jack Sisks (66) receipt for ^ he sais it is paid - I have seen G.E. Moore (67) / at Danbury Since he came form Texas / I must close let us heare from you again / A. J. Smith sais Rebecca (68) has another son (69) about / two weeks old, your doting Father

Wilson & Mary A. Fulton
James Davis

Notes:

  1. Red Shoals The name of the plantation and of the area on the Dan River which the Davis family's plantation was located. Red Shoals became a Post Office in 1830 and discontinued in 1866. The Post Office was re-established in 1869 and discontinued in 1920.

  2. Hooping cough Pertussis (Whooping cough) A highly communicable bacterial disease of the nose, throat and lungs, marked by a convulsive spasmodic cough sometimes followed by a crowing intake of breath. The term is first used in 1739, it is notable the name was a catch-all phrase for many diseases.

  3. Polly Mary Ann (nee Davis) Fulton (1819-1913) Second child to James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis. She married Wilson Fulton on the 9th of January 1840. Her father was a wealthy Stokes County planter and her mother a member of one of the county's founding families. Wilson Fulton, though a successful tanner and merchant, moved his family to Texas about 1860. The Fultons settled first in Ellis County at a place called Crystal Springs. After the War, the Fultons are found in Coryell County, Texas. After her husbands sudden death, Polly settles in Lampasas on Chestnut Street where several of her children lived. She died in the town of Lometa, in Lampasas County where her son Ed had a ranch.

  4. James W. Davis (1832-1906) The second son of James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis. James W. Davis traveled West with Wilson Fulton and his family, but returned in 1866 on a trip which proved to be disastrous. James lost his wife and most of his children to some disease contracted on the trip back to North Carolina.

  5. H.W. Adkins Hiram Washington Adkins (1822-1891) Hiram was from a Surry County family. After being educated at Emory College in Virginia, he was hired by James Davis as the plantation school teacher to educate the Davis children. Hiram was also a Methodist minister and was the preacher at Davis Chapel. Hiram eventually married the daughter of James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis, Emily.

  6. R.D. Golding Ruben D.Golding (b1803) was a prominent merchant in Danbury. Married Mary [Bitting?]. He served as Trustee of Stokes County & Clerk of Court (1837-40). In the 1860 Census he is shown as a wealthy farmer in the Germanton region. The Goldings family married into the Hollingsworth and Hill families, which in turn married into the Covington, Davis and Fulton families.

  7. E. Manning Possibly Elmode Manning "Mode" (born c1823) whose occupation is listed in the 1850 Census of Stokes as, Collier. Listed with wife Susan and five children in Snow Creek District.

  8. F. Golding Probably Francis Golding (born c1832) son of Ruben D. & Mary (unknown) Golding

  9. Sheriff In 1861, Nathaniel Moody (1805-1865) was Sheriff at this time. (see note 29)

  10. Hollen Probably Hinton Hollan (born c1811). Hinton is found on the 1860 Census with his wife Bettie and their children: Mariah, Mary, William, Henry, Martha, Hardie, Calvin, & Michael. No other family by that name is found in the county. Hollen must have recently died, when this letter was written, and James Davis was collecting money due from his estate.

  11. M. Blackburn Heirs The children of Madison Blackburn (1809-1849), James, William, John, Susanah & Margaret. Madison Blackburn is the son of William and Susannah (Bostick) Blackburn both members of pioneer families of Stokes County. Madison married Margaret Davis in 1836, Margaret is the daughter of James Davis Jr. Madison's death is recorded in the Mortality Scheduel of the 1850 Census, he died of a fever after an illness that had lasted 28 days. Margaret never remarried and relied on her father to run her estate.

  12. B.Mustin (born c1823) Listed in the 1860 Census as a small farmer and tanner. Recorded with his wife Martha and children Rebecca and David.

  13. Jesse Jesse J. Davis (1823-1887) son of James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis. Jesse lived in the Meadows district where he was a farmer. He married Arrenal Null and had several children.

  14. Judge Howard unidentified

  15. John P. Smith John Preston Smith (1816-1893) is the son of wealthy Rockingham planter Drury Smith and his first wife Frances Pitcher. Many of Drury's children married into the Davis family and these two political families seem to have been very close. John Preston Smith married Elizabeth McAnally Davis, the daughter of James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis, in 1844. Smith served as Justice of the Peace and Post Master to Smith Valley, Stokes County. He was a tobacco manufacturer, owned a lumber mill, and a tannery, before the Civil War. Newspapers mention him as a major organizer and supporter of Succession. He suffered financially at the War's end and little is known of his later life.

  16. Fayetteville, NC Seat of Cumberland County. Originally settled by Scots in 1739 and originally called Campbelltown. Fayetteville served as the State Capitol between 1789 and 1793. By 1823, this was the second largest city in North Carolina with 3,532 people. Fayetteville was a major distribution center for the Backcountry, goods were brought here to be sent on to Wilmington's port. Fayetteville was connected to Bethenia, the Morovian township, by the largest plank road in the world which stretched 129 miles.

  17. High Point, NC Its name is derived from the fact that it was the highest point on the railroad line between Goldsboro and Charlotte. This town became a major trading center in 1854 when the great Plank Road was completed. The town was incorporated in 1859.

  18. J.E. Miller unidentified

  19. A.J. Smith Andrew Jackson Smith (1825-1909) 7th child of planter Drury & Frances (Pitcher) Smith. He is James Davis' son-in-law, by his marriage to Rebecca Davis.

  20. ..making Iron.. Iron smelting was carried on in the Sauraton Mountains in Stokes County. As early as 1786, Col Peter Perkins had a forge on Snow Creek. The Davis family had a small iron works early in the century. The 1850 Census of Stokes shows six bloomeries in the County. Nathaniel Moody's was the most successful of these iron works, he sold his works around 1854 and it was later developed into the Moratock Iron Works. Many of the mines were along the Dan River and raw ore would be sent down the river by boat to one of the Forges.

  21. S.H. Taylor Samuel Hill Taylor (1820-1892) Son of William Anderson & Katherine (Hill) Taylor. Sam married Polly Fulton's sister Eliza Jane Davis. Sam is a native of Henry County, Virginia. According to the Stokes County Heritage Book, Sam settled in Danbury around 1849, when he bought a town lot. He built a large house which neighbored Wilson Fulton's Brick House and was later used as a Hotel. He was the incorporating director of the Salem & Danbury Waterworks and Clerk of Court for Stokes County. He owned and operated the Taylor Hotel which he sold in 1879 to his brother Spottswood. Samuel moved his family to Surry County where he became the Sheriff for eight years. He died in Mt. Airy, Surry County, NC.

  22. S.B. Taylor Spottswood Bassett Taylor (1824-1905) is the son of William & Katherine (Hill) Taylor. His brother Samuel marries James Davis' daughter Eliza. Samuel later moves to Mt. Airy and becomes Sheriff of Surry County. Spottswood originally followed his elder brother, Samuel to Danbury. In 1846, Spottswood married Grace Ann (1823-1892) the daughter of Micajah & Martha (Venable) McGehee of Stokes. By 1858, he operated a store in Danbury known as S.B.Taylor & Co. The 1850 Census shows Taylor as a carriage maker. Spottswood owned a hotel in Danbury for many years. The Taylor family were large landowners in Patrick and Henry Counties in Virginia, as well as in Stokes and Surry Counties in North Carolina.

  23. J.E. Miller unidentified

  24. ..a free negro.. unidentified

  25. S.B.T. Spotsworth Bassett Taylor (see #20)

  26. W.A. Estes William A. Estes (1834-1894) Son of Jesse & Elizabeth (Napier) Estes. William is a native of Henry County, Virginia. He is another son-in-law to James Davis through his marriage to Sarah Louisa Davis (his first wife). An unpublished history of Danbury, mentions that William Ested lived North of the Court House with an adjoining store [re: NC Archives; Martin, J.F. "Saga of the Sauratowns"]. Estes was Sheriff of Stokes County for 1866-67; 1878 & 1880. His political rival at the time was William Haywood Gentry, Wilson Fulton's brother-in-law.

  27. Orelias Blackburn unidentified.

  28. Thomas Faulkner unidentified. Possibly Thomas Foriner a farmer listed in the 1850 Census, recorded close to Winston Fulton in Surry County.

  29. Dr. McCanless Dr. William W. McCanless a Danbury physician. He settled in Danbury about 1850 and owned the Moody House which he ran as an inn. Dr. McCanless founded the Piedmont Springs Inn a popular summer resort.

  30. Moody Nathaniel N. Moody (1805-1864). Son of Alexander & Sarah (Follis) Moody. He served as Sheriff of Stokes County from 1860-63. Owner of an Iron foundry in Danbury, which apparently was the source of his wealth. WPA Guide mentions him as forming the foundry with Capt. Jack Martin. He married Elizabeth "Betsey" Null, the daughter of Issac Null who built a residence, grocery and saloon on the corner directely East of the Court House in Danbuy. Nathaniel built the Moody House in Danbury around 1843, which is now known as the McCandless Hotel.

  31. Alex Westmoreland (1804-1870) The Stokes County Heritage Book identifies Alexander as the son of David & Rebecca (Bynum) Westmoreland, emigrants from Brunswick County, Virginia. Alexander married Fannie Marshall. Their son Silas was a captain in the Confederate Army. His daughter Rebecca became David N. Dalton's (1826-1895) second wife. Dalton was a wealthy trader, merchant and tobacco grower, Dalton, NC in Southwest Stokes, is named after that family.

  32. Andy Sted unidentified

  33. Newsom unidentified

  34. N. Moody Nathaniel Moody (see note 29)

  35. Wm Golding Possibly the shoe and boot maker found in the Stokes County 1860 Census (born c1793). His wife is listed as Mary and his son as Wilshier, a black smith. The household also includes his daugher Viranda.

  36. ..house bilt for jailor..

  37. Lafayette Smith (1831-1891) One of Drury Smith's children by Drury's second wife Sarah (c1798-c1865) the daughter of Josiah & Martha (Jonson) Claybrook. Layfayette was raised in Rockingham County and married Martha C. Grogan. He moved to Stokes and was a merchant in Danbury during the Civil War. He took over Lemuel Pitzer's store, Lemuel was his illegitimate half-brother. By the 1860s, Layfayette had built a three story building Soutwest of the Courthouse in Danbury which he ran a store and a tobacco fzactory. His tanyard was said to be West of twon [re: Martin, J.F.; "Saga fo the Sauratowns"]. Layfayette was appointed County Salt Agent during the Civil War period. He served as a Justice of the Peace. The 1860 Census lists him with his wife Martha and one child, James. Also in the household is a merchant named Edwin Smith, who is his younger brother. Edwin was born circa 1839 and married Minerva Jane Boljack in 1870. Two of Lafayettes' older half-brothers and his illegitimate half-brother married daughters of James Davis of Red Shoals.

  38. S.B.T. & J.E.M. Spotwood Basset Taylor (see 24) & James E. Miller

  39. Prather Thomas Franklin Prather (1809-1889) A Danbury merchant, before the Civil War. He is mentioned in chronicals of the Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker of Mt. Airy, when he was dragged into a scandle sparked by an article in the Greensboro Newspaper, The Patriot. In 1852, an anonymus writer claimed interviewing a man who had bought a slave from the twins and who stated that the slave was, "the worse whipped negro he ever saw". Prather was the only person the twins had ever sold a slave to and therefore was called upon to endorse a petition denying any such claims against the character of the twins. Prather suffered financially during the Civil War period and in 1869 his holdings were put in trust to satisfy his creditors. His son marries the daughter of Sheriff William Estes.

  40. Thos. Smith Probably the son-in-law of Thomas F. Prather a Danbury merchant. Thomas was a nephew to Drury Smith, a planter of Rockingham County who had several children marry into the Davis family. Tom was one of many Stokes County men in Texas before the Civil War.

  41. Wm. Gentry William Haywood Gentry (1826-1914) son of Ira Ellis & Elizabeth (Vaughn) Gentry. Married Wilson Fulton's sister Mary Fulton (1827-1895). Gentry's father Ira, who had been one of Stokes County's leading men and a Justice was financially devistated after the Civil War when he was called upon to personally satisfy the County's debt which he had backed along with Buck Davis, the brother of James Davis. William Gentry became Sheriff of Stokes County in 1868 and held that position till 1876. His fall from favor was due to a scandal involving the disappearance of the school funds in 1874. He resigned in 1878, but was cleared of any wrong doing in 1880 by the General Assembly. After the death of his wife Mary, he married Margaret A. Watkins in 1895. The site of the Gentry home and the still standing graveyard are in Walnut Cove.

  42. Society Hill Society Hill, SC A town in Darlington County, South Carolina in the Northeastern part of the state, near the North Carolina border. Stoke County people probably used this port on the Pee Dee River as a point to ship tobacco and goods to Charleston.

  43. Wm Flynt William H. Flynt (died 12 May 1876) William was a Representative in the State Legislature and farmer in Meadows District. He is related to James Davis through his marriage to Minerva Davis, illegitimate daughter of Margaret Davis Carter and therefore a neice to James Davis. Minerva was adopted by her Uncle William Davis and became his heir. Through his marriage, Flynt became a wealthy planter in the Meadows District.

  44. Ft. Sumter Incident In reference to the first military incident of the Civil War at Ft. Sumter, South Carolina. An island fort which was one of two forts held by the Union forces at the beginning of the Civil War.

  45. Everit's Show Unidentified.

  46. Danbury Seat of Stokes County. Named for the Dan River, which the town is situated on. The story of the founding of Danbury is found in an unpublished 20th century manuscript at the NC Archives; the tale is generally accepted by local Danbury historians. The town was founded in 1849 when it was decided to relocate the County Seat from Germantown to the center of the County. Three commissioners were appointed who set off for the center of the county and climbed the highest point to survey the area for an appropriate spot. The were not able to come to an agreement and retired to the nearby tavern of Amos Shackleford. Upon finding out their mission, Shackleford, who owned much of the land in the area, convinced them that the best possible place to build the county seat would be on his land. The commission agreed and Shackleford sold the county the land for Danbury for a handsom profit [re: Martin, J.F., "Saga of the Sauratown" n.d.].

  47. Mrs. Patsy Martin Martha (Loftin) Jones Martin. Widow of Col. James Martin (died 1854) a wealthy Stokes County planter whose home farm was located in the Snow Creek District. Patsy is the second wife of James Martin , who in turn was her second husband having been married to a Mr. Jones of Greenville, VA. Col James married her on the 12th of march 1801. James left her lands amounting to 1,380 acres and around 30 slaves. Patsy left a Will written on the 9th of November 1837 and proved in in 1861, which names her sons Edmond Loftin Martin and John Julius Martin, along with her daughters Martha Scales, Isabeller and Sarah. Her will names her granddaughter Harriet to whom she leaves her wardrobe, "provided she does not go live with Rufus Smith again."

  48. John Wood John Woods made a will on the 26th of December 1856, which was proved in March Court of 1861. In his will, he names his wife Nancy and a large family: Asa, Matthew, James, Andrew, Polly (m:Taylor,Asa), Henry, Ailsy (m:Redman,Wm), Jinsy, Richard, Jackson, Elizabeth (m:Young,Wm), John, Edmund, Martha (m:Tilley,Ezekial), &William. A John Wood, who married Mary Ann Redman is named as an heir in the estate papers of Abraham Fulton. John may be kin to Wilson.

  49. Wilser Golding Listed in the 1850 Census in Germanton with his father John. Born about 1838.

  50. Jesse McAnally (1794-1866) The son of Jesse & Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally. He is a brother-in-law to James Davis. Jesse left Stokes County and settled in Hamilton County, Indiana. A letter written by Jesse McAnally from Indiana is included in this volume and the original can be found in the estate papers of Elizabeth Morgan McAnally.

  51. Polly Boothe Mary Ann (nee McAnally) Boothe (1784-1861) daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth (Morgan) McAnally. She is a sister-in-law to James Davis. George and Polly Boothe left Stokes County and settled in Tennessee.

  52. George George Boothe (1775-1861) husband of Mary Ann "Polly" McAnnally who he married about 1803.

  53. Caleb Hill (born c1823) Son of Joel & Mildred (Golding) Hill. Joel (1780-1857) was a Justice of Stokes and a prominant planter in the region. The 1860 Census lists him as a bachelor farmer.

  54. Sallie Rierson Daughter of James & Obedience (Reddick) Rierson. Her grandfather is Stephen Ryerson, who settled on Capt. Charles McAnnally's plantation near Red Shoals and was employed as a blacksmith. Ryerson's widow's application for his War of 1812 pension indicates that this family was known to the Davis family. Sallie's father, James Ryerson served in the War of 1812 in the place of James Davis Jr. James later became a wealthy farmer and Justice in Stokes County. Sallie was James' daughter by his second wife. The Rierson's were closely related to the Fulton family through their marriages with the children of Joel Hill and the grandchildren of Samuel Fulton. Sallie's sister married Caleb Hill's brother Lauriston, another sister married Sterling Gentry. Sallie's brother William Pickney Rierson married Nancy Ann Vaughn, and another brother married Cornelia Covington.

  55. James Taylor unidentified. Possibly a relation of the Samuel Taylor family that married into the James Davis family.

  56. Amanda Welch unidentified. May be kin to the Fulton family. Anna the daughter of Francis & Mary (Word) Fulton, married Daniel Welch. Anna died soon after the birth of her only child, Noah in 1819. Noah was raised by his maternal grandparents and married Delialah Pearce of the Westfield community in 1841. The couple moved to Yadkin County, NC and had a daughter named Amanda (1857-1920). Noah's daughter is clearly too young to be this Amanda Welch. Amanda of this letter is probably a half sister or close kin of Noah's, since Noah's father remarried after he settled in Buncombe County and it is known that he had issue by his second wife.

  57. Thorington Tuttle (born c1835) Son of James & Nancy Tuttle and listed in that family in the Germantown Census of 1850. Neighbor to Samuel Fulton, the Abbott family & the Taylor family. James Davis Jr.'s niece (Susannah Eason) married a Peter Tuttle.

  58. Elizabeth Abbott (born c1840) Daughter of William & Milly (Fulton) Abbott. Elizabeth is a first cousin to Wilson Fulton by his paternal aunt. Several of the Fultons married into the Abbott family.

  59. Matt Fulton Probably James Madison Fulton (born c1836). The son of Francis & Jane (Young) Fulton. Matt is a first cousin to Wilson Fulton.

  60. ..daughter of Daniel Allin.. unidentified

  61. Zacharey Glidwell Son of Zachariah Glidewell Sr. Stokes County marriage records a marriage bond dated 21 April 1861 and show his middle initial to be "T.". The 1860 Census indicates that he has a twin brother, James.

  62. Manervy Glidwell Possibly the daughter of John L. Glidewell. Census Records show her as being born in 1854.

  63. old Zacharey (born c1805) A Virginia born farmer, who lived in the Danbury area. Possibly the same man recorded as marrying Sarah Reddick on the 23rd of November 1828. Stokes county marriage bonds list a Zachariah Glidewell marrying Jane Warren on the 24 February 1861.

  64. Miss Smith unidentified. Stokes County marriage bonds show that Zacharey married Jane Warren in February of 1861. Jane Warren (born c1828) is listed in the 1860 Census in the household of Sallie Warren a Virginian. The Warren family appears to have originally come from Virginia.

  65. Ed Eaton unidentified

  66. Jack Sisks John Miller Sisks (born c1828) A small farmer in the Danbury area. County records show him marrying America Allen. In 1881 his son James E. was employed by the Davis family as a Blacksmith.

  67. G.E. Moore Gideon E.Moore (born c1823) The 1860 Census records him as a wealthy bachelor worth about $40,000. The Moore family were large land owners in Stokes and well educated. One member of this Stokes family became Governor of Alabama. Gideon E. lived in the Danbury area and was another of the Stokes County men to have gone out to Texas before the Civil War. The letters he wrote to Dr. John Pepper still exist and describe Texas and many of the people who had settled there including Wilson Fulton. He served in the War as a Captain in the 72nd Regiment, 18th Brigade of the C.S.A.

  68. Rebecca Bethenia Rebecca Davis (1833-1891) daughter of James and Elizabeth (McAnally) Davis. She married Andrew Jackson Smith in 1854.

  69. ..another son.. Drury Smith "Junior" (1861-1923). The fifth child of Andrew J. & Rebecca (Davis) Smith. Previous to this letter, the exact date for Drury's birth is not known, though Census records suggest he was born in 1861. This letter would place his birth in early April, a little over nine months after the birth of Jefferson Davis Smith on the 29th of May 1859. As an adult, Drury left Stokes and settled in Florence, S.C. where he married Elizabeth Outlaw. It is said that he died in Atlanta, Georgia in 1923.


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