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Hello everyone,I am so glad I found this forum. I am searching for more information on my grandfather’s family. He told the story I read in many of your messages… his grandmother was “full-blooded native american, Blackfoot”. It didn’t make sense to me – since grandpa lived in west Tennessee, and his family came from North Carolina. Now – some of the pieces begin to fit.
I am searching for Rachel Davis Dowdy, born 1846 in North Carolina. Her parents were Sterling Davis and “Hattie/Hatie” Hastings. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
Looking forward to sharing information.
Lauren
Hi, lauren,
I need to ask you a couple of questions to make sure we’re discussing the same people.
Were they in Henderson Co., Tenn?
Was Sterling Davis b.abt. 1792 ?
What source shows his wife was Hattie Hastings?
Did Rachel marr. Mathew Dowdy abt. 1865 ?
Bill
Hi Bill,
Yes to Henderson county, Tennessee, and yes to 1792 and the wedding date.
I got the information on Hattie/Hatie from the Tennessee State records. I am sending you a copy of the e-mail I received:
Dear Ms M************:
Thank you for writing. We regret that after checking Lucas’s
35,000 TENNESSEE MARRIAGE RECORDS AND BONDS 1780-1870 and MARRIAGES FROM
EARLY TENNESSEE NEWSPAPERS 1794-1851, and Sistler’s volumes of early
East, Middle, and West Tennessee marriages we have been unable to locate
a record of the marriage of Matthew/Mathew J. Dowdy and Rachel/Racheal
Dowdy. Henderson County experienced a courthouse fire that destroyed
many of its early records, and has no surviving marriage records prior
to 1893.
We did find that a M. J. Downey who appears to be the same man
that you are researching served in Co. D of the 51st Tennessee
Confederate Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, and applied for a
Confederate pension on 30 April 1906. (Pension Application No. S8124).
At the time that he applied he was a resident of Gibson County. Upon his
death his widow, Rachel Downey, filed for a pension (Pension Application
No. W1806) on 28 January 1908. “Racheal” is the spelling used in her
pension application.
According to the information that she supplies on the form, Rachel
Downey’s maiden name was “Davis”. She was married to M. J. Downey on 28
December 1865 in the town of Independence in Henderson County,
Tennessee. She was unable to include a certified copy of her marriage
license as requested on the application because “Courthouse at Lexington
has been burned & record of license destroyed”.
The couple had two boys and one daughter. Their respective
application forms do not request the children’s names. When filling out
her application form, Rachel Downey stated that she was living with a
married daughter, but does not give the daughter’s name or that of her
husband.
With the Henderson County marriage records destroyed Rachel
Downey’s statement in her application is as close to such a record as
it is possible to come. If you would like a copy of her pension
application and that of her husband, as well as a copy of M. J. Downey’s
service record, ordering instructions may be found at the following
addresses on our web site:
http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/mailmil.htm#TN_Confederate_Pensions
http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/mailmil.htm#Civil_War
We would like to add that the questions asked of soldiers on their
applications emphasized their wartime experiences, while the questions
asked of widows were designed to establish their marriage to the soldier
and, consequently, their entitlement to the pension.
In his application, M. J. Downey stated that he was captured in
Nashville after the Battle of Franklin, sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, and
later paroled. Corroborative information supplied to the Tennessee
Board of Pension Examiners by the War Department in Washington and found
in Rachel Downey’s application, states that he was captured “Dec. 15,
1864 at Nashville, Tennessee, sent to Camp Chase, Ohio and paroled and
transferred to Point Lookout, Maryland, for exchange on February 17,
1865.”
Rachel Downey’s death certificate (Certificate No. 7620) names her
parents as Sterling Davis and Mrs. Hatie (possibly Hattie) Hastings
Davis, both born in North Carolina. She died in Gibson County near
Milan, Tennessee. The information for the certificate was supplied by
Joe Dowdy. The cause of death was “Influenza”. On her death certificate
Rachel Downey’s given name is spelled “Rachle”.
Ordering information for death certificates are found at this address
on our web site:
http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/mailstat.htm#Deaths
Unfortunately, a similar record is not available for M. J. Downey as
the state of Tennessee did not begin keeping death records until 1908.
We hope that you find this information helpful. Please let us know
if we may be of any further assistance.
Response Prepared by Chaddra Moore
Public Services Section
______________
Phew – sorry for the long e-mail. MY searches through the internet census records tell me that Sterling’s wife’s name was Catherine Hastings… so I wonder if Hatie/Hattie was a nickname. I have tons more information.. but I’ll send this out while it’s still not as long as a novel!
BTY – the “Joe Dowdy” who provided the information for the death certificate for Rachel Dowdy was my great-grandfather.
Lauren
Some bits and pieces…
The 20 some-odd yr age difference between Sterling and Catherine always raises the question of her being a second wife.
Your Sterling Davis is most likely the Sterling Davis listed on the 1820 thru 1840 Northampton Co., NC Census.
On the 1820 Northampton census, Sterling Davis’s presumed wife (oldest female in the household) is age 26 to 44. On the 1830 Northampton census, the oldest female in his household is age 15 to 19, matching the age range of Catherine throughout the subsequent census records for her and the age of their oldest child on the 1850 Henderson Co., Tn census of 20, might indicate Sterling and Catherine married about 1829.
This Sterling Davis appears to be the same as on a Marriage Bond of 1 June 1812 in Northampton Co to Nancy Edwards; Bondsman Jno. Wade. This is about the time Sterling would have turned 21.
There are no HASTINGS households in 1820 or 1830 Northampton Co., NC, but there are a number of HASTY households there and this group of DAVIS people married several HASTY women over time, so you might want to look into that as Catherine’s line.
There are far too many DAVIS households there to figure out who his parents were without additional information.
Matthew Dowdy, Sgt., H Company, 51st Tenn Infantry, CSA.
Rachel’s older brother James Davis may be the James (F?) Davis, Pvt, H Company, 51st Tenn Infantry.
Do you have Richard Blankenship’s line as David; Laban; Matthew; John ?
…
Bill
Hi Bill,
You are terrific! Yes, the Blankenship line is as you wrote: Maude Eva Blankenship Dowdy, Richard Anthony, David, Laban…. I am going to visit the cemetery in Tennessee where these relatives are buried the end of March.
I will look into the “Hasty” women – and will also research the possibility of Catherine as the second wife. It makes sense…
Thank you for your information… I appreciate very much the help you are providing.
Lauren Mittermann
Dear Bill,
If you check out the U.S. Federal Census for 1850 in Henderson county Tennessee, you will see that Catherine is living there with Sterling. I had to look at the original image… as the transcription on Ancestry lists Sterling as”Slerberg” though the image clearly shows it is “Sterling”. Page 12 of the census, Henderson county District 1.
Lauren
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