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greetings,
does anyone have any information on the duffs, masons, coopers, sorrells, beverlies, colemans, tyrees, or painters from amherst and rockbridge counties, va. have information, oral history and photos to share.
my gggranfathers were peter h. mason ( mentioned in a morman journel of 1884 ) and halbert “long hair” duff. peter married diannah sorrells and halbert married edy ann cooper.
does anyone know of a black foot chief from rockbridge county.
rob
dr. robert k. kubena
728 dinco road
derry, pa. 15627
724 537 6709
Welcome to the board. My fiancee, Becky (Mousini) has Sorrell from Westmoreland co Va. The following link is to another thread on this forum which will be a good place for you to start. You have several surnames on the list.
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=330&highlight=pleckers+list
Hi, Robert:
Welcome to the forum. I have Masons in my line, not direct, but one of my ggg-something aunts was a Mason. There is evidence in my family also of some, although I can’t speak for the Mason line, coming from Rockbridge County. Most of mine come from PA to OH to Iowa.
Techteach
techteach and dreaminghawk
we have quite an extensive file on the masons and the other surnames mentioned in my first post.
if anyone would like me to check any names against our file, please let me know.
rob
Rob:
Mine is named Bennett. His daughter married the brother (Eldad Sinkey) to my ggggrandmother. I can’t give you dates though, at least not right now. One computer with that information is still in our old house waiting to be moved, the other is in the shop waiting to be repaired. The laptop that I am using does not have this information on it. The daughter was in Iowa. I think Bennett was in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The cousin I have who is descended from this family remembers a picture of the daughter dressed in native American dress.
Techteach
techteach,
i was unable to find bennett in our 62 pages of sorrells, but will check with my cousin who wrote a book on the sorrells. she thinks the ohio sorrells are from the james sorrells line.
the native american dress is interesting. i was recently contacted by a sorrells descendant in ohio whose gggrandfather (?) claimed blackfoot blood. her grandfather remembered many indian artifacts in his grandfather’s home. they were from the clifton forge, va area. my sorrells were from that area and this put me onto the black foot connection.
we always thought we were cherokee, but who knows how tribes intermarried. most of our people seemed to have married within their “race.” i have some great photos of sorrells descendants. indian blood is apparent down through my mother. if you could email me directly, i could send a couple.
our people all seemed to have intermarried. guess you didn’t date farther than you could walk. you said you have masons. the masons, duffs, colemans, coopers, beverlies, painters and sorrells all seem to have intermarried. guess they didn’t have much choice.
in fact. our atha sorrells is from the infamous 1925 case in which she sued to be married as an indian. plecker lost that one. WOULD ANYONE HAVE ACCESS TO THAT CASE? it might state tribal affiliation.
rob
Rob,
I have Duffs living in Guilford County, NC in the 1770’s. Two generations later they were in Perry County, KY. I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that about them.
As for the intermarrying…in my lines it’s the Campbell’s. I have Campbell’s on both sides of my family, and any generation that didn’t actually carry the Campbell surname seemed to marry a Campbell. Then when they married a non-Campbell there was a Campbell Grandparent somewhere along the line in THAT family.
As one of my Dad’s cousins said at a family reunion, “A man can only ride a mule so far…….” and I guess your choice of a spouse was limited by how far you could ride that mule!
Bob,
Sorry I misled you; the name was Bennett Mason, not Sorrell. However, the story in my family is the same as that of your family, Cherokee Blackfoot.
Techteach
patty,
some of our duffs moved south. there is a living granville duff in ky. i was interested because my grandfather was a granville duff.
did not make a connection. asked the wrong questions.
have two campbells in my line. arthur m. and bruce leon.
techteach,
will check on bennett mason. one of my mason kin is an lds member and, thus, has the definitive file on the masons.
rob
Welcome Rob,
Was Peter Mason’s father Jesse Mason, b.1776-1785, moved from Albermarle Co to Amherst Co in the 1820s and is the only Mason there in 1830?
bill,
our peter h. mason was born april 14, 1814. he was the son of “polly” mason. he married dianna sorrells oct. 09, 1865 in amherst co.
they had 14 children. all were listed as “mulatto.” one of whom was my ggrandmother mary agnes. i have a great portrait of her.
like many of our ancestors, peter moved to rockbridge. he claimed a homestead on timber ridge and bought additional acres. we have the deed and the mormon journel entry on him.
he is also discussed in donna huffer’s book on the clarks.
would like to know more on your jesse and peter.
rob
From the 1850 Amherst Co., Va Census; Eastern District; dated 7 December; page 143B; dwelling # 978, family # 978:
Peter MASON, 37, male, Mulatto, Laborer, R.E.value $0, born VA.
Diannah, 38, female, Mulatto, born VA. (“White” on 1880 census)
Valentine, 10, male, Mu, Va. (“White on 1870 census)
John, 8, m, Mu, Va.
Josephine, 6, f, Mu, Va.
Polly, 4, f, Mu, Va.
Susan, 3, f, Mu, Va.
Judith, 2, f, Mu, Va.
Jesse, 15, m, Mu, Va.
Children added on later census records:
Emaly, b.abt. 1849/50, Va.
Sally, b.abt. 1850/51, Va.
Marble, (male)b.abt. 1852, Va (“Marville” on later census records.)
Henry D. J., b.abt. 1859, Va. (prob. same person as “Jourdan”)
William, b.abt.1860, Va.
Sheridan, b.abt. 1862 (same ? as James?)
(Also in 1850 Amherst Co., are 2 other MASON households:
1) Nancy Mason, 48, Va., with George, 10, Va.
2) Henry Mason, 35, Va., with Sarah, 34, Va., plus 5 children.
……………………….
On the 1840 Amherst Co., Va census; Eastern District; page 207; is the only MASON household indexed for this county:
Jesse MASON (“F.P.C.” = Free Person of Color):
household contained
1 male 10 to 23 yrs old.
1 male 55 to 100. (b.bet. 1740 to 1785.)
1 female under 10.
2 females 10 to 23.
1 female 36 to 54.(b.bet. 1786 to 1804.)
(COOPERs, BEVERLEYs & TYREEs were also here.)
……………………….
On the 1830 Amherst Co., Va census; Eastern District; p.510:
Jese MASON (F.P.C.):
household contained
1 male under 10.
1 male 10 to 23. (Peter would have been about 16 yrs old.)
1 male 36 to 54 (constraining the birth year to bet. 1776 to 1785)
2 females under 10.
1 female 10 to 23.
1 female 24 to 36.
1 female 36 to 54.(constrains birth year to bet. 1776 to 1794)
On page 498 of the 1830 Amherst Co., Va census is a
Joshua DUFF, (white), 70 to 79 yrs old.
In his household are also
2 males 20 to 29 yrs old.
2 females 20 to 29.
1 female 60 to 69.
……………………..
There are no MASON households in 1820 Amherst Co.
On the 1820 Albermarle Co. (next county East of Amherst Co), in Fredricksburg Parish, Va census, page 11:
Jessee MASON (F.P.C.)
household contained
1 male to 14 yrs old.
1 male 26 to 45.
1 female to 14.
2 females 14 to 26.
1 female 26 to 45.
There is also a James MASON (F.P.C.) on this same page of the 1820 census:
He is the only person in that household and is listed as being 14 to 26 yrs old.
Additionally, there is a Ewell MASON, “white”, on the next page (page 12) listed as:
1 male 10 to 15.
2 males 26 to 44.
1 female under 10.
1 female 26 to 44.
………………………
On the 1810 Albermarle Co., Va census; page 203:
Jessee MASON, listed only as 9 F.P.C.s in the household.
There is a second listing 3 lines further down for a Jessee MASON also listed as 9 F.P.C.s but I think this could be a duplicate listing, not a second person. Arguing against my opinion is that in 1820 there is a second Jesse MASON in Halifax Co., Va.
Finally, in the marriage records of Louisa Co., Va (next door to Albermarle Co), in a database compiled for the LDS by Liahona Research, Salt Lake City, Ut., is the following entry:
“Jesse MASON married Polly Ann BRANHAM on 21 March 1796.”
This is most likely, in my opinion, the same Jesse MASON as the Albermarle and later Amherst Co Jesse Mason. The coincidences of his having married a “Polly”, and probably had just turned 21 at the time, and lived near Louisa Co., raises the probability level that is is the same Jesse Mason.
Bill
bill,
i would like to thank you for taking the time to share this information. it will take me a day to digest it. while research has been my life for 40 years, this area is fairly new to me. i will consult with my cousins who are better at this than me.
but, you have many of our masons. after peter, most were listed as mullatos. plecker again.
“family history” has peter being left with polly by his mother who was being chased by another tribe. we don’t know that we believe this. but, the mormon description of peter matches that of my grandfather. indian, long black hair and always wore a bandana.
dianna’s father was thomas mason and his mother was jane (?).
do you have any connection to these families?.
rob
Cindy,
Eldad Sinkey and Mary Mason were married 18 March 1873 in Iowa I think! Okay this is odd. Eldad’s parents moved to Iowa in 1842. Eldad was b. in 1850 and I show born in Iowa. I show Mary born in Lincoln Co., Ohio in 1855. Okay, so I guess the Mason’s moved to IA also, but I show that Eldad and Mary’s son Albert is born in Ohio…it’s on the 1900 census (I have a copy of the original census form). I show their oldest son Orrin born in 1874 in Iowa, Albert b. 1877 in Ohio and James 2 mos old born in Illinois…this is on the 1880 Iowa Census in Brandon Twp, Jackson Co., IA. (I have a copy of that original also). They must have moved back to Ohio for awhile or something.
So is Bennett Mary Mason’s father then? I have no info on the Mason’s.
Deb
Deb:
Bennett Mason is one of those mysteries that turn up so often when researching native American genealogy like Nancy McLane. Who were her parents; who were his parents? His descendent believes that he was at least some native. She remembers a picture of Mary Mason Sinkey dressed in native clothing. Bill did some searching for me; I asked him to on behalf of this descendent. I don’t remember the exact results. It is on the computer that we have not set up since we moved.
This movement sounds similar to my ggggrandparents. John and Nancy McLane Ralston had a child born in PA too, since they went back at one point briefly. One thing that I don’t think I told you is that Bill found someone with the same name living with Nancy and Matthew Sinkey in Iowa as lived with a Ralston family in PA sometime around 1860. I believe that the name was the same as the herbal doctor that my gggrandmother, Ernest Uriah’s wife, and my gggrandmother, her mother, who was the Rhoads that I believe might have been a relative of the whole bunch, worked with in their respective roles as midwives. It is mentioned in the book I sent you. The Rhoads family lived around Peoria, Illinois. Given that we believe that Emeline, IA was a settlement of related mixed people, it might help your research to look at what little that book says about the Rhoads family, even though they are not in your direct line. My ggggrandfather, Joseph Rhoads is buried in Gnaddenhutten, Ohio, but he was born near Fort Wayne, IN. in 1814. One member on this forum emailed me about his family being documented Catawba and buried in the same area in Indiana. In fact, that graveyard includes a Willis. The Willis’ intermarried with the Greens.
My ggggrandmother who married into the Rhoads family was a Brown, born in Sayersville, OH, but I believe that that is not quite correct. I think it might have been Salyersville, KY, which places her down in the area that many of the folks on this forum have mentioned. That is the only place I can find that has a similar name to what the book mentions.
While this is addressed to Deb, if anyone has any info that might provide further information on this side of my family, the Rhoads, please reply. I know very little more than this about this side. My ggrandparents family would have nothing to do with any of their Emeline relatives, so I have little information.
Cindy
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