GwinJohnJaneWalker.htm

SECTION ONE:
An Outline of the Known Family:
John's Known Ancestors and Siblings

[JMG Note: COULD THIS BE CHESLEY? We have reason to believe that there was indeed a child of Isham and Mary named Chesley, named for Isham's mother's maiden name. When he was born or where he would have appeared in the birth order is beyond speculation at this point.]

23.04--John Gwin, b. 7 Nov 1792 (from his gravestone--see photo) in (then) NC--per his report to the 1850, 1860, and 1870 AL Census takers of Dallas Co.--probably in "Crowson's Cove on Walden's Creek"--today's Wear's Cove on Cove Creek--in Sevier Co.; d. 7 Mar 1877 at Wilsonville, AL; m. age 19.5 on 8 Apr 1812 (original document found in Blount County Courthouse, Maryville, TN--see box below) in Blount Co., TN, by Justice of the Peace Joseph Walker (Jane's brother) to Jane "Jennie" Walker (right), (b. ca. 1794; d. at Cahaba after 16 Feb 1864 [Dallas Co., AL, Book _, p. 740, records a deed from John and Jane Gwin where they sell on 16 Feb 1864 to Conrad Hilderbrandt the east half of Lot #7 in the town of Cahaba, thus proving that Jane Gwin was alive on that day.] but before 1870 census; bd. at New Cem., Cahaba, Dallas Co., AL, beside her dau. Louisa A. Gwin McKnight--see note "I" below; d.o. Thomas Walker, Sr., and Elizabeth Magill, both of Virginia); nine children;

24.01--Mary Gwin--b. ca.1813-1816 (33 in 1850 Census)d. unk.; m1. 27 Dec. 1838 to Drury H. Roark; m2. on 17 May 1849 to Mr. Abel Turner
24.02--Thomas Gwin--b. ca. 1814-1816; data unk.
24.03--Isom Gwin, b. 17 Mar 1817 in Dallas Co., AL Terr.; d. 7 Dec 1853; m. Mary Burdine Wilson; MBWG m2. 28 Jan 1859 to John Steadman
24.04--William Gwin (18 Dec 1820--29 Apr 1889); m. 12 (13?) May 1842 Rosann "Roe" Carlisle Jones Wilson
24.05--Sarah Gwin, b. ca. 1826; d. 31 Mar 1885); m. 18 Mar 1841 to Louis Basset
24.06--Ann Gwin (ca. 1827--1845); m. 19 Jan 1843 to Joseph Lavalette Basset
24.07--Martha J. Gwin (ca.1828--unk).; m. 22 Apr 1847 to Jesse Comelander
24.08--Chesley R. Gwin; (ca.1828--after 1880); m1. 20 Mar 1850 Frances E. "Fannie" Bell; m2. a widow, Mrs. Blevins
24.09--Louisa A. Gwin; (ca. 1829-30--b. bef. 1830 census); m1?. Mr. Gaviness; m2. on 17 May 1849 Mr. Wm. G. (or J.) McKnight.

24.01--Mary Gwin--b. 1817 in Dallas Co., AL (she is 33 in the 1850 census); d. unk., but prob. before 1860, since her daughter Anna Turner is living with her uncle and aunt then--(i.e., William and Louisa Gwin McKnight--see 4.9 below); m1. 27 Dec. 1838 (DCAMR, 1818-1918* also says 27 Dec 1838) in Dallas Co. (prob. Cahaba) to Drury Hampton Roark (b. 1812 in SC; d. 1846 in Dallas Co., AL; s/o Jesse Vaughn Roark and Nancy Ann Morris); one child; m2. on 17 May 1849 in a double ceremony with sister Louisa by Rev. Cotten at (prob.) John's home to Abel Turner, the latter listed in the 1850 census at age 50 as a carpenter b. in NC and owning property valued at eight hundred dollars; also living in Turner's home in the 1850 census are his (second) wife Mary, 33; their daughter Anna, 4 mo.; and her son Walter J. Roark, 8.
25.01--Walter J. Roark; b. ca. 1842, Dallas Co., AL; age eight in the 1850 census and living with Abel and Mary (Roark, nee Gwin) Turner; but listed as age 15 in the 1860 Cahaba census and living with John and Jane in the Grice home then; enlisted in CSA 10 Apr 1861 at Cahaba, AL; was killed at the battle of Gettysburg 1 Jul 1863 at age 20 or 21;
m2. on 17 May 1849 to Abel Turner
25.02--Anna Turner, b. ca. June/July 1850; in the 1860 census, she is age 10 and living with her uncle and aunt, Louisa and Will McKnight in Cahaba; in the 1870 census, she is age 19 and living with her uncle and aunt, William and Roe Gwin in Wilsonville; m. their son and her own first cousin, Rufus King Gwin; 3 ch.;

[JMG NOTE: Some of the info on Mary was provided me today--3 Aug 2000--by Gene W. Rogers (grogers@mcia.com) who, with many others, is researching this Roark family. And today, 13 Feb 2001, I found even more info at a new-found cousin's webpage, http://www.phaenom.com/roark/jesse.htm#top.

*From the 4 Nov 1850* *U.S. Census of* *Cahawba Beat,* *Dallas Co., AL*
*Res.*	*Name*	*Age*	*Sex*	*Race*	*Occ.*	*Real* *Prop.*	*POB*	*JMG* *Comments*
545	Abel Turner	50	M	W	Carpenter	$800	NC
	Mary Turner	33	F	W			AL	Mary Gwin, widow of Drury Roark, now married to Abel Turner; Mary's end is unk. to me, for in ten years her only son Walter (below) will be living with her parents in the home of another couple (the Grices) and her only daughter, Anna, will be living with her sister Louisa and her husband, William McKnight.
	Anna Turner	4/12	F	W			AL	Annie Turner, who will marry her first cousin, Rufus King Gwin, and raise her family in Florida where she'll die and be buried.
	Wr. J. Rowark	8	M	W			AL	Walter J. Roark, Mary's son by her first marriage, who will die in 13 years on the first day at Gettysburg while fighting for the Confederacy.

24.02--Thomas Gwin--I had seen absolutely nothing on this son but his name, but he was in Uncle James' notes, so I included him. And when I later saw John Gwin's family in the 1830 census, there were indeed four sons. Accounting for the other three, that meant Thomas had to be born between 1814 and 1815. Then I read a copy of a letter that Linda Derry, Archaeologist and Director at Old Cahawba, had written to my now-late cousin Roy Lester Smith, in which she said that a Thomas Gwin was mentioned (in a news article?) as having helped put out a fire in a lumber mill in Orrville, Dallas Co, in 1859. If this is he, he'd likely have been in his mid 30's at the time. Anyone know more about him?

24.03--Isom Gwin, b. 17 Mar 1817 in Dallas Co., AL territory (age 33 in 16 Nov, 1850 census of Pences or Athens Bt., Dallas Co., AL); d. 7 Dec 1853, age 36, only; served Dallas Co. for several years as Justice of the Peace; m. Mary Burdine Wilson (sister of William's wife Roe, below) in Cahaba; [MBWG m2. 28 Jan 1859 to John Steadman according to LDS IGI file]; on 16 Nov 1850, Isham and Mary were living next door to Mary's parents, Nathaniel B. and Jane Wilson, and next door (on the other side) to Jesse Rasco, 38, of Kentucky, who was living alone; 2 children, one of whom is adopted;

Isom and Mary B. W. Gwin

*16 Nov 1850* *U.S. Census of* *Pences Beat,* *Dallas Co., Alabama*
*Res./Fam.*	*Last Name*	*First Name*	*Age*	*Sex*	*Race*	*Occupation*	*Real* *Prop.*	*Pers.* *Prop.*	*POB*	*JMGComments*
736 / 736	Gwinn	I.	33	M	W	Farmer	$900		AL	Isom (spelled this way because of the spelling on his and his daughter Mary Jane's tombstone--see below) Gwin
	Gwinn	Mary B.	34	F	W				SC	Mary Burdine Wilson Gwin, daughter of Nathaniel Burdine Wilson and Jane Jones, my ggg-grandparents, and sister of Roseanne Carlisle Jones Wilson, my gg-grandma.
	Gwinn	Mary J.	12	F	W				AL	Mary Jane Gwin, wife-to-be of William J. Smith; she is buried in the cemetery sw of Orrville across the road (Co. Rd. 21) from the old St. Luke's Episcopalean church that once stood in Cahaba; mother-to-be of Robert Isom Smith, her only child.
	Gwinn	Martha R.	6	F	W				AL	Martha Roseanne Gwin, who will marry first Madison "Matt" Holley and second Bryant Brown Lester.

*From the* *25 Jul 1860* *U.S. Census of* *Orrville Beat, Orrville,* *Dallas Co., AL*
*Res./Fam.*	*Last Name*	*First Name*	*Age*	*Sex*	*Race*	*Occupation*	*Real* *Prop.*	*Pers.* *Prop.*	*POB*	*JMGComments*
437 / 429	Steadman	John	59	M	W	Clergy (MP)	$9,400	$30,410	GA	Rev. John Steadman, most likely the pastor of the church Isom and Mary attended in Athens and who most likely preached Isom's funeral. When his wife died, he married Isom's widow, Mary. The fact that this is Orrville Beat (post office is Orrville) does not mean they lived in Orrville, though that is possible. They may have been living still in the Athens parsonage of the Methodist Episcopal church at what is now Martin's Station.
	Steadman	M. B.	43	F	W				SC	Mary Burdine Wilson Gwin Steadman, widow of Isom Gwin.
	Walker	J. F.	27	M	W	Farmer	$1,000		AL
	Walker	E. M.	26	F	W				AL
	Walker	J. B.	5	M	W				AL
	Walker	L. E.	3	F	W				AL

25.01--Mary Jane Gwin, b. 31 Oct 1838 (age 12 in 16 Nov, 1850 census of Pences or Athens Bt., Dallas Co., AL, but age 24 in the 1860 census) date taken from gravestone; m. 22 Dec 1853 (according to LDS IGI file and gravestone) to William J. Smith (b. ca. 1833--age 27 in the 1860 census); d. 17 Jul 1871, age 32 years, 8 months, 17 days; bd. north of Co. Rd. 21 across from the old Cahaba Episcopal church less than a mile from Hwy. 22 south of Orrville in Dallas Co., AL; one child;

William J., Mary Jane (nee Gwin), and Robert Isom Smith

25.02--Martha Rosanna "Mattie" Gwin, b. 5 Apr 1843 (but gravestone says 1844) in Dallas Co.; d. 15 Sep 1923 (but gravestone says 14 Sep) at age 80 of heart failure in Perry Co., AL, where she had lived 14 years (according to death certificate); bd. 16 Sep 1923 by J. A. Bice at Mars Hill Cem. near Marion, Perry Co., AL (gravestone is reported to say: "Lewis Independent Cavalry, from 1860 to 1865, CSA, 1833-1873"; lived and died at Perry Ridge community, Hamburg, AL, near Marion; an uncle was a Dr. [must be Isham Griffin] Wilson of Demopolis. [John M. Gwin Note: My double-fourth cousin Barbara Ward, who descends from Martha and second husband Bryant, once thought that Martha was adopted. Thanks to some of Barbara's excellent sleuthing, however, we're all now certain that Martha is the natural daughter of Isom and Mary.]

m1. 7 Sep 1860 in Athens, AL, for 12+ years to Madison "Matt" Holley (b. 7 Aug 1827, d. 6 Dec. 1872, in Marion, Perry Co., AL; bd. Mars Hill Cem. near Marion, Perry Co., AL.; six children by Matt Holley, (only three--Minnie, Carlos, and Clarance--survived to the 1880 census) and four by B.B. Lester;

MRGH m2. 6 Jan l881 (her age was 38, his 30) at the home of the bride in Perryridge, Perry Co., by Rev. A. J . Kynard, to Bryant Brown Lester, (b. 8 Mar 1851 at Perryridge, Perry Co., AL; s/o Thomas P. Lester and Sarah Ann Brown and brother of Mrs. Maggie Lester Henley who was living in Marion at the time of BBL's death, according to his obit. in the Selma Times Standard of Weds., 19 Jan 1941; d. 28 Jan 1941, age 89, at Hamburg, Perry Co., AL; bd. Mars Hill Cem., near Marion, Perry Co., AL; spent his entire life in Perry Co. as a farmer, according to his obit.); four children by Bryant Lester, 10 total;

*From the 5 Jul 1860* *U.S. Census of Athens Beat, Liberty Hill Post Office,* *Dallas Co., AL*
*Res./Fam.*	*Last Name*	*First Name*	*Age*	*Sex*	*Race*	*Occupation*	*Real* *Prop.*	*Pers.* *Prop.*	*POB*	*JMG* *Comments*
267 / 262	Smith	W. J.	27	M	W	Blacksmith	$1200	$10,453	TN
	Smith	M. J.	24	F	W	Keeping house			AL
	Smith	R. I.	4	M	W				AL	Robert Isom Smith, s/o Wm. and Mary Jane, who will be their only surviving child at her death in 1871, implied from her gravestone.
	Cobb	J. H.	32	M	W	Clerk			NY
	Cobb	A. H.	23	F	W				AL
	Bowden	J. B.	19	M					AL

From the 26 Aug 1870 U.S. Census of Liberty Hill P.O., Dallas Co., AL

Res./Fam.

Last Name

First Name

Age

Sex

Race

Occupation

Real
Prop.

Pers.
Prop.

POB

Can't
Read

Can't
Write

JMG
Comments

284/289

Smith

W. J.

Blacksmith

$1200

$800

checked

William J. Smith, who is a business partner with his wife's uncle, Chesley R. Gwin (see below)

Smith

M. J.

Keeping house

checked

Mary Jane Gwin, d/o Isom Gwin and Mary Burdine Wilson

Smith

R. I.

Attends school

Robert Isom Smith, s/o Wm. and Mary Jane, who will be their only surviving child at her death in 1871, implied from her gravestone.

Wilson

N. B.

checked

Nathaniel Burdine Wilson, Mary Jane's maternal grandfather

Stedman

M. B.

checked

Mary Burdine Wilson Gwin Steadman, d/o of NB Wilson (above) and widow of Isom Gwin AND of Rev. Steadman also!

Smith

M. J., Jr. (sic)

F (sic)

checked

If this is Mary Jane Smith and a daughter of William and Mary Jane, why is she not listed in the 1860 census (above)?

Smith

Ida

AR (sic)!

Jennings

Margaret

Domestic servant

checked

Probably (from her age) a former slave; had she been held by Isom Gwin?

24.04--William Gwin (middle name unk.)--My great-great grandpa!--b. 18 Dec 1820 at Cahaba, AL; d. 29 Apr 1889 at Wilsonville, AL, bd. there also; m. 12 May 1842 in Cahaba to Roseann "Roe" Carlisle Jones Wilson (sister of Isham's wife Mary B., above--Roe b. 22 Aug. 1822, d. 29 Mar 1907 at Tampa, FL; bd. at Wilsonville, AL); according to Rev. Cotten's diary entries, William and Roe and his parents were very active in the founding of and service in the Methodist church in Cahaba; William and Roe and their family show up in Oakleyville, Bibb Co., AL, in the 1860 census, and Linda Derry's 1992 letter to Roy Smith says that she has "an advertisement of Oakley & Gwin's Lumber Mill on the Selma and Tennessee Railroad";

[JMG NOTE: Roe died in Tampa, FL, where she likely had been living at the home of her granddaughter, Mary Alice Lochridge and MAL's husband William Russell Ham--see notes on this family at my Lochridge page.]

25.01--Mary Ann Elizabeth Gwin b. 23 April 1843; d. 23 Jan 1882; m. 25 Jan 1866, Dallas Co., AL, to Robert Guy Lochridge

25.02--Martha Jane Gwin (1845-1847); -- died as infant

25.03--William Sutton Gwin, b. 5 Jun 1848, at Cahaba, AL; d. 11 Sep 1916 at Wilsonville; m. 2 Dec 1868 to Ida E. Basset

25.04--John Wesley Gwin, D. O. b. 15 Mar 1851; d. 29 Aug. 1877, age 26;

25.05--Rufus King Gwin b. 16 May 1853; d. 20 Aug 1927; m. Ann Turner

25.06--Lucy Marcella Gwin b. 1 Dec 1855; d. 22 Feb 1871, age 16

25.07--Isham Griffin Gwin, Sr. b. 25 Sep 1858; d. 21 Dec 1919; m. 1881 to Mary Etta (Molly) Self

25.08--Thomas Wilson Gwin b. 10 Feb. 1863; d. 1877;

From the 4 Nov 1850 U.S. Census of Cahawba Beat, Dallas Co., AL

Residence Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. POB JMG
Comments

547 Guinn William 29 M W Carpenter $800 AL William Gwin

Guinn Roseann 28 F W

AL Roseann Carlisle Jones Wilson Gwin

Guinn Elizabeth 7 F W

AL Mary Ann Elizabeth Gwin, bride-to-be of Robert Guy Lochridge

Guinn William 3 M W

AL William Sutton Gwin, groom-to-be of Ida Eliza Basset

24.05--Sarah Gwin b. ca. 1826--age 34 in 1860 Census--see record under Louis' name on Basset page; d. Tues., 31 Mar 1885 in Waco, TX, at her daughter Emma McCulloch's home); m. 18 Mar 1841 [date from LDS IGI file and Dallas Co. AL Marriage Records 1818-1918 (compiled by McLaughlin & Vintson)--that makes her m. at age 15 or so] to Louis Basset (b. 27 Feb 1814; d. unk.); 2 ch.;

25.01--Emma Basset, b. 3 Aug 1843 Tuscaloosaa, AL; m. 22 May 1867 Champe Carter McCullough (1841-1907); ten children
25.02--Ann Adelia Basset b. 1846, died young

24.06--Maryann "Ann" Gwin b. ca. 1827 (source: process of elimination based on the ages of the nine children of John and Jane in the 1830 census); d. 1845; m. 19 Jan 1843 to Joseph Lavalette Basset; (b. 25 Nov 1821 in England; d. 27 Aug 1865, age 43--killed by an exploding mill rock while running a sawmill in Wilsonville, AL); Joseph at age 28 in the 1850 census is now married to a second wife, Ms. Louisa (Catherine High Blann) Basset (age 23 and native of SC); Ann and Joseph have one child; Louisa gives Joseph four more for a total of five for him;

25.01--Emily Basset, b. ca. 1844 (age 6 in 1850 census); d, unk.; bd. unk.; m. unk.; unk. ch.

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahawba Beat, 4 Nov 1850

Residence Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. POB JMG
Comments

548 Basset Joseph 28 M W Carpenter $1500 England

Basset Louisa 23 F W

SC Louisa Catherine High (widow of Sandford Blann) Basset, probable sister of Mary High, same residence, below

Basset Emily 6 F W

AL Emily H. Basset--Daughter and only child of Ann Gwin Basset and Joseph Basset.

Basset Margaret 1 F W

AL Margaret Revel Basset, b. 29 Sep 1849; (baptised 21 Apr 1850 at Cahawba by Rev. James L. Cotten); d. 18 Dec 1903, age 53; never married; no known ch.

High Mary 15 F W

AL Probable sister of Louisa; both grew up right down the street from the Blanns and the Gwins

Bridger Henry 19 M W Carpenter
England

24.07--Martha J. (I?). Gwin, b. ca.1828 (age 22 on 7 Nov 1850 in census); d. unk.; m. 22 Apr 1847 (DCAMR, 1818-1918* concurs) in Dallas Co., AL, to Jesse Comelander, (spelled Comalander on Amanda's gravestone and in Cotten's diary, below) who was first married to Amanda J. Harris [b. 13 Sep 1824; d. 3 Jul 1846 according to her gravestone at the Old Cahaba Cem.] on 26 Oct 1844 (this from the book of DALLAS COUNTY, ALABAMA, MARRIAGES, MARRIAGE BOOK I: 1818 - 1845, pg 281);

[JMG NOTE: The existence of this seventh child of John and Jane Gwin came as a complete surprise to me, as Uncle James did not have any records of her. Barbara Smith had sent the name with a summary of her late husband Roy's work on the family, the printout dated 18 Sep 1995; therefore, evidently Roy had known about Martha for some time. But none of the documentation was included, so I had no idea whence it came. The existence of Jesse Comelander was documented, however, appearing in the Wed., 12 Dec 1849 entry of Rev. Cotten's diary where he records, regarding one of the prisoners who was to be executed by hanging that day, that "His hands were bound behind him in an unfeeling manner by Jesse Comalander." As this event occurred some two and a half years after the alleged marriage of Jesse and Martha, Cotten would have had no cause to mention as fact that Jesse was married to John Gwin's daughter Martha. And now, 25 Oct 2001, I read in the 1850 Dallas Co. census that Jesse Comelander, age 46, a mechanic, and native of SC, did indeed reside at residence 560 (valued at 2800 dollars) with a woman, "Martha J.", age 22 of AL (young enough to be his daughter!) and five children: J.W., a male age 11; M. J., a female age 8; Elizabeth, age 6; G. P., a male age 3; and Jesse, a male age 1. But she is John and Jane's daughter, and she is stepmom to at least two of the five children--and possibly twin sister to Chesley, also listed in the same census as age 22!]

25.01--J. W. Comelander, a stepson to Martha, b. ca. 1839 to Jesse and Amanda (age 11 in 1850 census);

25.02--M. J. Comelander, a stepdaughter to Martha, b. ca. 1842 to Jesse and Amanda (age 8 in 1850 census);

25.03--Elizabeth Comelander, a stepdaughter to Martha, b. ca. 1844 to Jesse and Amanda (age 6 in 1850 census);

25.04--G. P. Comelander, a stepson or son to Martha, b. ca. 1847 to Jesse and Amanda? (age 3 in 1850 census);

25.05--Jesse Comelander, a son to Martha, b. ca. 1849 (age 1 in 1850 census);
25.00--T. E. Comalander, b. unk.--no birth date listed on gravestone; d.28 Jun 1846, 5 days before the death of Jesse's first wife Amanda Harris Comalander; bd. in the Old Cahaba Cem., Cahaba, AL; this could be (but not necessarily is) Jesse's child, but not Martha's; also bd. there are a woman likely to be Jesse's sister and a child, b. 5 days before the "sister" dies; therefore, she is likely the mother of this child.

[John M. Gwin NOTE: The LDS IGI file (of legendary inaccuracy!), while listing correctly our Martha J. Gwin marrying on 22 Apr 1847 in Dallas Co. to Jesse Comelander, ALSO LISTS a Martha J. Gwin marrying on 28 Oct 1847--only 6 months later--in Dallas Co. to a Mr. Richard West!]

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahawba Beat, 4 Nov 1850

*Residence*	*Last name*	*First name*	*Age*	*Sex*	*Race*	*Occupation*	*Real* *Prop.*	*POB*	*JMG* *Comments*
560	Comelander	Jesse	46	M	W	Mechanic	$2800	SC	A widower who evidently needed a mother for his three (if not four) children
	Comelander	Martha	22	F	W			AL
	Comelander	I. W.	11	M	W			AL
	Comelander	M. I.	8	F	W			AL
	Comelander	Eliz.	6	F	W			AL
	Comelander	G. P.	3	M	W			AL
	Comelander	Jesse	1	M	W			AL	Possibly the only one of these five children who is the child of Martha and Jesse, as most if not all of the others are Martha's step-children, Jesse's by his first wife.

24.08--Chesley ("Chess"--although Rev. Cotten consistently but mistakenly calls him Charley, according to the early transcriptions of his diary) R. Gwin; b. ca.1828 (age 22 on 7 Nov 1850 in census, but age 33 on 5 Jul 1860 census); m1. 20 Mar 1850 at Bogue Chitto, Dallas Co., AL, to Mary Frances Elizabeth "Fannie" Bell, (b. ca. 1830--listed on 7 Nov 1850 census as age 20--she and C.R. Gwin are the only two people living in the home of John and Jane Gwin in that census; listed on 7 Jul 1860 census as M. F. Gwin, age 29--could her full name have been Mary Frances Elizabeth Bell?); allegedly daughter of a "Hard-shell" Baptist preacher; raised a big family (and Alice Foster-Blevins' Rootsweb site states that two of these children were a son, Chesley, and a daughter, Fannie, although no other info is listed); 3 children listed on the 1860 census (see below); m2. a widow, Mrs. Blevins.

In her 1992 letter to Roy L. Smith, Linda Derry said she had "some ads from the Dallas Gazette that mention the Wagonshop of William J. Smith and Chesley Gwin in Liberty Hill;" and while the only Liberty Hill now in Alabama is in the northeast corner of the state, my cemetery records book of Dallas Co. shows a Liberty cemetery about a mile south of White's Bluff on County Road 2--this would be about ten miles southwest of Cahaba, a very likely candidate for the site of this wagon mill. And sure enough, the census of 5 July 1860 of Liberty Hill, Athens Beat, Dallas Co., AL, lists the C.R. Gwin family as living in residence #266, with the family of Wm. J. Smith living next door in #267.

The 1860 Census of Athens Beat, Liberty Hill Post Office, Dallas Co., AL, on 5 July lists C.R. Gwin, 33, wagonmaker, with real estate valued at $800 and personal property at $6425, b. in AL; wife M. F. Gwin, 29, b. in AL; and children W. J. Gwin, 8, male; J. J. Gwin, 6, male; and Enoch Gwin, 2, male, all b. in AL.

The 1880 Census of Dallas Co., AL, lists C. R. Gwin, age 53, a white, married, male, living in Browns, AL, with his wife, P. B., age 45, and a son, C. J., age 14. I believe this is Chesley R. for at least these 3 reasons: his age matches, his wife's middle initial B. could easily be for Blevins, and Browns is only about 9 miles nw of Bogue Chitto and less than a mile e. of Belvue where Chesley's grand-nephew (and my grandfather!) James Basset Gwin was born 21 Apr 1872.

Mary Bell Guin, d.o. C.R. and M.E. Guin, listed as b. 1 Mar 1856 and d. 22 Jun (no yr) is bd. in the Bell Family Cem., e. of Rt. 5 on the county rd. at Weissinger Lakes, about 3 mi. s. of Browns, Dallas Co., AL.

[JMG NOTE: Chesley is the maiden name of the alleged patriarch Richard Gwin's wife Sarah. Uncle James used this fact to reinforce the alleged reliability of the Richard Gwin story. But Rev. Cotten calls him Charley more than once, with no mention of Chesley. Was Cotten hard of hearing, misinterpreting Chesley for Charley? Or could the full name have been Charles Chesley R. Gwin? Could the transcriber have misread Charley for Chesley? Charley, in Cotten's 22 March 1850 entry, was "getting married tonight to Miss Bell at Bogue Chitto". A few months before my dad, Adrian S. Gwin, died, I asked him where Bogue Chitto is, and he said he guessed it was somewhere on Bogue Chitto Creek, which his family had to cross every time they went from McDowell to Selma and back--he said it's pronounced BOH-guh CHIT-uh Creek). Sure enough, in January 2002, several miles west of Cahaba on County Road 180, I found this community and walked through the graveyard of one of the old churches there.]

25.01--W. J. Gwin, a son, b. ca. 1852 (age 8 in the 1860 census); d. unk.; bd. unk; m. unk; unk children;

25.02--J. J. (or I.I., J.I., or I.J.) Gwin, a son, b. ca. 1854 (age 6 in the 1860 census); d. unk.; bd. unk; m. unk; unk children;

[John M. Gwin Note: a John Guin, b. 24 Dec 1853, d. 4 Oct 1907, bd. in the Bell Cem. just south of Browns in northwest Dallas Co., is listed in Vital Data from Cemeteries in Dallas County, Alabama, Central Alabama Genealogical Society, 1989; therefore, I speculate that one of the initials of this second child is "J" for this same John and that the other initial is "I" for "Isom".]

25.03--Mary Bell Gwin, b. 1 Mar 1856, according to headstone; d. 22 Jun 1857; bd. in the Bell family cem. nears Browns, Dallas Co., AL (see gravestone photos);

25.04--Enoch Gwin, b. ca. 1858 (age 2 in the 1860 census); d. unk.; bd. unk; m. unk; unk children;

25.00?--C. J. Gwin, b. ca. 1866 (age14 in 1880 census); d. unk.; bd. unk.; m. unk.; (unclear at this time if he is a son of Chesley's first wife, M. F. E. Bell, or his second, P. B.); unk. ch.

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahawba Beat, Liberty Hill Post Office, 4 Nov 1850

Res. Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. POB Can't Read
or Write JMG
Comments

585 Gwin John 58 M W Wheelwright $1200 TN checked This is my ggg-grandpa, John Gwin, master wheelwright.

Gwin Jane 56 F W

TN
This is his wife, my ggg-grandma, Jane Walker Gwin.

Gwin C. R. 22 M W

AL
This is my gg-granduncle, Chesley Richard Gwin, named for his grandfather's parents, Richard Gwin and Sarah Chesley. Chesley has learned the trade of wheelwright from his father.

Gwin Frances E. 20 F W

AL
And this is his new bride, Mary Frances Elizabeth "Fannie" Bell Gwin, of Bogue Chitto, Dallas Co., AL.

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Athens Beat, Liberty Hill Post Office, 5 Jul 1860

Res./Fam. Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. Pers.
Prop. POB JMG
Comments

266/261 Gwin C. R. 33 M W Wagon Maker $800 $6425 AL

Gwin M. F. 29 F W

AL Mary Frances "Fannie" Elizabeth Bell must have been pregnant with Little Fannie at this time. It's the last time we see her alive. We know she was alive to give birth to Little Chesley in about 1866, but what happened? Did she die in childbirth with him? She is not mentioned in the book Vital Data from Cemeteries in Dallas County, Alabama as being buried in the Bell cemetery (near Browns) where her daughter Mary Bell Gwin is buried.

Gwin W. J. 8 M W

AL

Gwin J. J. (I. I.? J.I.?) 6 M W

AL see my note in the outline above

Gwin Enoch 2 M W

AL

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Liberty Hill Post Office, 26 Aug 1870

Res./Fam. Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. Pers.
Prop. POB Att. sch.
w/in this year JMG
Comments

288/293 Gwin C. R. 43 M W Merchant $200 $500 AL
This is Chesley, John's and Jane's youngest son, who is now a widower--wife-of-his-youth Fannie has left him with three teens and a toddler to raise alone. It is clear that he needed some help, and the widow, Paralee Blevins, would come along just in time.

Gwin John 16 M W attends school

AL Yes

Gwin Enoch 12 M W attends school

AL Yes

Gwin Fannie 10 F W attends school

AL Yes

Gwin Charlie 4 M W

AL
This is Alice Foster-Blevins' Chesley Gwin (son of Chesley and Fannie). Please take a look at Anna Todd's email immediately following regarding this "Charlie".

Here's a most interesting e.mail regarding Chesley R.'s son Chesley J.:
From: Anna Todd <anna_todd2@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Sep 12, 2003 06:17:40 PM US/Mountain
To: jmcdgwin@zianet.com
Subject: Possible match for C J Gwin born c.1866

Hello John,

I happened across your web page today. I have a Chesley James Gwin in my family tree that I think might be a match to the C J Gwin you have listed on your page, although at this point I cannot say with 100 percent certainty that this person is the same C J Gwin.

I've pieced together the following information using census records and what little information my father has been able to share.
My great-grandmother's second husband was Chesley James Gwin, born c.1866 in Alabama. By my calculations (using the 1910 census) he married Elizabeth "Bessie" Flynn Boyd, born c. 1863 in Ireland, about 1902, somewhere in northern California. Prior to that (per the 1900 census) Bessie Boyd and her two sons lived in Sonora Township, Tuolumne County, California.

The 1910 census shows Chesley, Bessie and Robert (my grandfather) living in Contra Costa County, in the unincorporated town of Bay Point. They had been married for 8 years at that point and Bessie had given birth to four more children (none of whom lived past early childhood.)

By 1920 they had moved to Alameda County, to the city of Berkeley. In this census Chesley is listed as Charles W. Gwin and he worked as a grocer. Bessie and Chesley appeared one more time in census records; in 1930 they were still living in Berkeley and owned the grocery store.

My father tells me that Bessie and Chesley moved in with my grandparents in the early 1930's, not long before they died (both from cancer, Bessie on 5/21/34, Chesley on 12/31/36.) They were cremated, and for years their ashes sat on a shelf in my grandparents' garage. Eventually the ashes were spread on a mountain side somewhere in Northern California (not sure of the location.) No personal effects of Bessie or Chesley remain.

I'd love to know where Chesley was between the time of the 1880 census and the time he married my great-grandmother. I doubt I'll ever be unable to uncover anything though.

I hope that this information is of use to you.

Anna Todd

CRG m2. a widow, Mrs. Paralee Blevins (nee unk.; b. ca. 1835?--age 45 in 1880 census; d. unk.; bd. unk.; m[1?]. to Mr. Blevins);

24.09--Louisa A. Gwin; b. ca. 1832 (age 18 in Nov 1850 census); d. unk.; bd. at the New Cemetery, Cahaba, Dallas Co., AL, in the Gwin plot beside her mother Jane--gravestone reads "In Memory of Louisa A. McKnight" (so it may have been placed there at a much later time than her death, though it looks to be similar to others located there); allegedly m1. Mr. Gaviness, prob. in Dallas Co.; m2. on 17 May 1849 in a double ceremony with sister Mary Gwin Roark (4.2 above) by Rev. Cotten at (prob.) John's home (it was not at the church, because Rev. Cotten's diary entry of that date states that he went from the wedding that night back to the church where he worked on his sermon) to William J. McKnight, (b. ca. 1829--the 1850 census lists him as a printer of age 21, owning property valued at seven hundred dollars, being a native of SC, and living at residence 599 with his wife, L.A., age 18; bd. in the New Cemetery, Cahaba, Dallas Co., AL--Find A Grave Memorial# 19541437, but his stone is uprooted, broken, and perhaps in the wrong place--when I was there Jan 2002 [and again in 2005 and 2008], it was lying inside the fence in the Ulmer plot, some fifty yards from the grave of his wife, Louisa, whose stone, as mentioned above, is located beside that of her mother, Jane Gwin; his stone reads, in part, "WM. McKNIGH...").

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahaba Town, 9 Nov 1850

Res./Fam. Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. POB JMG
Comments

529 / 599 McKnight Wm. J. 21 M W Printer $700 SC I don't know why there is such a discrepancy between William's age here and in the 1860 census, below.

McKnight L. A. 18 F W

AL This is Louisa A. Gwin McKnight. We have her exact date of marriage from the diary of the pastor who married her and Bill McKnight.

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahaba Town, 2 Aug 1860

Res./Fam. Last name First name Age Sex Race Occupation Real
Prop. Pers.
Prop. POB JMG
Comments

575 / 567 McKnight W. I. (J.?) 42 M W Printer -- $600 SC I don't know why there is such a discrepancy between William's age here and in the 1850 census, above.

McKnight Louisa 26 F W

AL

McKnight Elizabeth 13 F W

AL I speculate that this is either William's daughter by an earlier marriage or his younger sister.

Turner Anna 10 F W

AL Somewhere between 1850 and 1860, Mary and Abel must have died

Brown Z. 21 M W

GA

SECTION FOUR:
What We Know and Think We Know:
Some Facts, Some Speculation--(Notes A-J)

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahawba Beat, Liberty Hill Post Office, 4 Nov 1850

U.S. Census of Dallas Co., Alabama, Cahawba Town, 1860

[NOTE: Surname is Guinn on the census, but John's, William's, and other Gwins' gravestones I've seen each clearly say GWIN, as photos attest.]

U.S. Census of Shelby Co., Alabama, Wilsonville, 1870, family number three

Res/Fam	Name	Age	Sex	Occupation	Real Prop.	Pers Prop.	POB	*John Gwin's Notes*
3/3	William Guinn	49	M	Manufacturer	$2,000	$3,000	AL
	Roseanna Guinn	48	F	Keeping House			AL	Roseann Carlisle Jones Wilson Gwin, sister of Joseph Abernathy Jones Wilson
	John W. Guinn	18	M	Sawyer			AL	John Wesley Gwin would become a medical doctor, die in Anniston in 1877 at age 26, and be buried in Wilsonville.
	Rufus K. Guinn	16	M	Works in saw mill			AL	See note below on Annie Turner.
	Lucy M. Guinn	14	F	Attends school			AL	Lucy Marcella Gwin would die two years later at age 16 and be buried in Wilsonville.
	Isham G. Guinn	12	M	Attends school			AL	Isham Griffin Gwin would marry his childhood neighbor, Mary Etta "Molly" Self; both are buried in Wilsonville
	Thomas Guinn	9	M	Attends school			AL	Thomas would die in 1877 of pneumonia and be buried in Wilsonville.
	John Guinn	77	M	Wheel (w)right		300	TN	Widower of Jane Walker Gwin (bd. in Cahaba), John would die in 1877 and be buried in Wilsonville.
	Annie Turner	19	F	Attends school			AL	We knew that Rufus King Gwin (16 May 1853 - 20 Aug 1927) married an Ann Turner. If this was the Annie Turner who is living at the William Gwin home in the 1870 census, then she was very likely the oldest child (excluding Walter Roark) of Rufus King's Aunt Mary--i.e., Mary Gwin, William's sister, widow of Drury Roark, and bride of second husband Mr. Turner on 17 May 1849--this date would make Mary Gwin Roark Turner's firstborn about 19 in the 1870 census, the exact age of this Annie Turner. It would also mean Rufus and Ann were first cousins. We knew that Mary's first husband Drury Roark died when their only child, Walter, was just 3 or 4; we knew Walter himself was killed at Gettysburg in July 1863; and we knew that Annie was living with Will and Roe in 1870. Could Mr. Turner have also died and Mary just not been able to handle it? Could Mary also have died, leaving Annie as an orphan? Aha! On 25 Oct 2001 we see from the 1850 census that indeed, Mary and Abel Turner's daughter IS named Anna, who is listed as four months old on 7 Nov 1850, when the census was taken! Ten years earlier in the 1860 census, Annie Turner was living in Cahaba with another aunt and uncle, William and Louisa Gwin McKnight.
	Texas A. Wilson	14	F	Attends school			AL	According to Dallas County Courthouse Probate Court file #65, on 12 Nov 1875, Joseph A. Wilson, a son of N.B. Wilson, had died before his father and left a "widow and four children, to wit: 3.1--William Wilson, over 21 and residing in Pulaski, White Co., AR 3.2--Texana Wilson, a minor over 14 and under 21, residing in Dallas Co., AL, part of the family household" Ten years later in the 1880 Shelby Co., AL census, Texana Wilson, 25, is living with her first cousin Mary Ann Elizabeth Gwin Lochridge's family. This would have made her age nineteen or twenty at the above Probate on 12 Nov 1875. We've since found her in almost if not every census taken during her lifetime. See Joseph Jones Abernathy Wilson's page.
	Henry Bassett	13	M	Works in saw mill			AL
	Mathew (sic) Taylor	36	F	At home			SC	Likely this is a *MRS.* Mathew Taylor, possibly a war widow, who has been taken in (with someone who is likely her daughter, next below) by Will and Roe Gwin
	Annie Taylor	9	F				AL	Probably the daughter of the Mrs. Taylor next above.
	Robert Lochridge	36	M	Laborer			MO	Husband of Will and Roe's oldest daughter, next below.
	Mary A. Lochridge	26	F	At home			AL	Will and Roe's oldest child, Mary Ann Elizabeth Gwin, and new bride of Robert (see note next above).
	John Lochridge	1	M				AL	Robert and Mary's oldest, Johnny.
	Eliz. Laurince	25	F	School teacher			AL	Unknown resident, likely another war widow taken in by Will and Roe.

J...We know that Ms. Linda Derry, archaeologist and Cahawba Project Director, wrote a letter 2 Feb 1992 to my now-late cousin, Roy L. Smith of Crowley, TX, in which she included a map of the town marked off in lot numbers and street names. Linda and others have been able to calculate that John and Jane owned the home located on lot 317 on the northwest corner of Oak and First South Streets, and that John's wheelwright shop was located on the southwest corner of Mulberry and 1st North Streets on lot 7. Thank you for all you have done and are still doing, Linda, to help all of us descendants of Cahabans learn more about our roots!

SECTION FIVE:
John's and Jane's Marriage Certificate:
Blount Co. Courthouse, Maryville, TN

SECTION SIX:
Death, Deeds, and Diary:
Links to Other Relevant Places

SECTION SEVEN:
What Was Happening When:
A Timeline for John Gwin and Jane Walker

From: JAMESTWALL@aol.com
Date: January 10, 2008 1:42:55 PM MST
To: jmcdgwin@zianet.com
Subject: Land purchases by Chesley and Isum Guinn, Alabama

http://www.dna.ancestry.com/welcome.aspx?o_iid=33070&o_lid=33070

Exact Search Results - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907

All Court, Land, Wills & Financial Results    Viewing 1-50 of 152

Name    State of Record    Issue Date    Meridian    County    Township    Range    Section

Charles Guinn    Alabama    15 May 1826    Huntsville    Tuscaloosa    18-S    12-W    1
Henry Guinn        Alabama    10 Jun 1826    Huntsville    Tuscaloosa    18-S    11-W    7
Henry Guinn    Alabama    1 Dec 1826    Huntsville    Tuscaloosa    18-S    11-W    7

John Guinn    Alabama    4 Sep 1834    St Stephens    Dallas    15-N    10-E    14

Charles Guinn    Alabama    16 Oct 1834    Huntsville    Greene    22-S    13-W    24

Chesley R Guinn    Alabama    12 Sep 1835    St Stephens    Perry    20-N    9-E    22

Henry Guinn    Alabama    20 Mar 1837    St Stephens    Sumter    23-N    2-W    19
Charles Guinn    Alabama    20 Mar 1837    St Stephens    Sumter    23-N    2-W    19
Reuben Guinn    Alabama    20 Mar 1837    St Stephens    Sumter    23-N    2-W    18
Charles Guinn    Alabama    20 Mar 1837    St Stephens    Pickens    24-N    2-W    31
Henry Guinn    Alabama    20 Mar 1837    St Stephens    Pickens    24-N    3-W    25

Isum Guinn    Alabama    15 Apr 1837    St Stephens    Montgomery    16-N    20-E    35
Isum Guinn    Alabama    15 May 1837    St Stephens    Montgomery    16-N    20-E    35
Isum Guinn    Alabama    1 Feb 1843    St Stephens    Macon, Montgomery    16-N    21-E    30
Isum Guinn    Alabama    1 Feb 1843    St Stephens    Montgomery    16-N    21-E    31
Isum Guinn    Alabama    1 Feb 1843    St Stephens    Montgomery    16-N    21-E    31

Wiley P Guinn    Alabama    1 Mar 1859    St Stephens    Choctaw    11-N    2-W    15
Wiley P Guinn    Alabama    1 Aug 1860    St Stephens    Choctaw    11-N    2-W    23
Francis H Guinn    Alabama    1 Sep 1860    St Stephens    Choctaw    11-N    3-W    1

John Gwin
(1792 - 1877)
A Biographical Sketch

by his ggg-grandson,
John McDonald Gwin

Acknowledgements: This sketch would not have been possible without the patience, love, and support of my wonderful wife, Sharon--who has endured countless lonely hours while I genealogized--and the tireless efforts of hundreds of my cousins and other friends and relatives, many of whose names are not yet even known. Some of these include my father’s brother, Uncle James Basset Gwin II, whose forty-plus years of work I inherited just before he died in 1984; Fifth Cousin James T. "Jim" Wall, known to many of us as host of his magnificent page and source of much of the information on my webpages; Double-fourth Cousin Barbara Ward, who inherited the old photo album from which we’ve seen the faces of so many of our family [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/Index2PhotoAlbum.htm]; Double-fifth Cousin Michael S. "Mike" Walker; and many, many others whose names appear on the various pages of my website.

[www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin]

.--+-+-/|\-+-+--.

“A little more to the right, Johnny! Just a hair more! There--perfect! Pull’er tight and stake ‘er down!” The 66-foot-long chain snapped taut, and the sounds of the boy’s hatchet driving in another stake echoed across the bottom land. In seconds the first link of another chain was looped over the stake, John was astride his father’s horse again, and off he slowly rode, carefully laying down more of the chain until its 66-foot length too was reached. Stretching the chain and sighting it along the line of the other, he awaited the signals from Mr. Mark Moore, the county’s surveyor, to make final adjustments and drive the next stake.

Several chains later he reached the next target, a large red oak tree, and John Gwin rested himself and the mare in the tree’s shade as Mr. Moore gathered up his transit and rode to the tree to meet him, collecting the chains as he came. He would reset his transit, and together they would start the next leg of the survey.

As he waited, John watched his neighbors’ slaves working the land across the huge field. The sun was hot, but all the farmers in the cove had been waiting--some for several years--to get their lands surveyed. All winter this had been the talk of the valley, and now he, John Gwin, was getting to be a part of it, serving as chain carrier for some of Mr. Moore’s surveys. It was amazing to him how quickly the surveys were getting done, often several farms in a day.

By 1807, the Wear Valley of Sevier County, Tennessee, was getting downright crowded. Practically all of the land in this cove, then called Crowson’s Cove (after its first white inhabitant, Aaron Crowson--pronounce the “crow” in Crowson to rhyme with “cow” and “wow”, not “grow” and “show”), had been claimed, granted, and settled, and now, in that spring and summer, it was finally being surveyed. A large farm--249 acres near the center of the cove (see the web page below for a map of this and other Crowson Cove farms)--had been granted to John’s dad, Isham Gwin, for the going price of one dollar an acre.

www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/CrowsonsCovePlatMaps.htm

Isham had farmed this land for several years with the help of his slaves. The morality of slavery had been another hot topic of discussion in those days, and as he rested briefly in the shade of the red oak, watching the black people working the land, John wondered on which side of the question his dad would come down.

The above story is my imagination of what may actually have happened based on the following documents:

1. The recorded deeds of some twenty land grants for Isham Gwin and some of his Crowson’s Cove (today’s Wear Valley) neighbors, surveys for which were done in the spring and summer of 1807 by Mr. Mark Moore, one of the chain carriers for whom was Isham’s son John Gwin (Microfilm, Greene County Genealogical Archives, Greeneville, TN);

2. A biographical sketch of one of Isham’s grandsons, William W. Gwin, in which it is recorded how Isham’s changing views on slavery led him to free his own slaves, sell his farm, and move to the new, free state of Indiana (Geneological and Biographical History of Keokuk County, Iowa, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1903).

John M. Gwin

.--+-+-/|\-+-+--.

Isham Gwin had been born somewhere in Virginia. Oral tradition had it that his father was Richard Gwin of the area near Jamestown who had married Sarah Chesley, also of the area, sometime in the latter half of the 18th century. They undoubtedly had several children, and it’s likely that John knew at least some of these paternal aunts and uncles. We only know for sure of Isham at this point, who, as a young single man, had struck out from home (Jamestown area?) and headed west, settling for at least a short time in Montgomery County, Virginia. It was there that he met and married Mary Canterbury in the mid 1780’s.

Isham and Mary had started their family almost immediately, moving to what was then Greene County, North Carolina, and what--not long after, in 1796--became Sevier County, Tennessee. Exactly where--whether in Virginia, North Carolina, or en route between--their first three children were born is not yet clear to this writer. But “Polly” (Sarah?), ca. 1787; Elizabeth, 1788; William, ca., 1790; and John, Nov 1792 (and definitely in western NC--i.e., what would soon become eastern Tennessee), were born first and probably in that order. Polly would marry the younger-than-she Tom Walker around 1815; Elizabeth would marry David Denton (who had bought a small farm up the cove from Isham, by the way, which was also surveyed in 1807); William would marry Susanna Beard; and John would marry, on April 8, 1812, Tom’s sister Jane Walker, all four in east Tennessee.

Isham and Mary lived on that farm for another dozen years or so before they would move to Indiana, and the rest of their kids were born in that interim right there on the Crowson’s Cove farm in Sevier Co., Tennessee. Virginia Jane was born fifth in 1795; Isham, Jr., came along in 1797; in 1799 an unknown child--possibly named Chesley--was born; then in 1804 came the very well documented Richard Walton; and finally the last three arrived in quick succession, all daughters: Nancy, Sarah, and Minerva, born respectively in 1805, 1806, and 1807.

Virginia Jane would marry at least twice, first to Joseph Tipton and second to Benjamin Weathers; Isham Jr. married at least twice as well, first on 1 Mar 1824 in Orange Co., IN, to Betsy Snowden and in 1819 to Mary Likens; Chesley--or whoever he was--may have married, but to whom is a mystery; Richard married Nancy Watkins who bore him 15 kids; Nancy and Sarah married the brothers Squire and William Huston from Kentucky; and Manerva married Elijah Wright and likely inherited her parents’ large Orange Co., Indiana, farm, where she, Elijah, and their family were living when her mother died in the mid 1850’s.

In fact, by that summer of 1807, young John had already been an uncle for at least three years, David’s and Elizabeth’s son Allen Denton having been born 16 July 1804 there in Crowson’s Cove. Will and Susanna may have been married by then as well--they were definitely married by June of 1813 when they joined the Miller’s Cove Baptist Church a few miles away.

And for sure John Gwin, who was born--either right here on this farm or near there--in November 1792, had helped the surveyor and Crowson’s Cove neighbor, Mr. Mark Moore, measure some of those claims that spring and summer of 1807 as a fifteen-year-old “chain carrier”.

.--+-+-/|\-+-+--.

When John’s dad, Isham, was called to preach the gospel a few miles up Cove Creek (then called Walden’s Creek) and across the divide into Tuckaleechee Cove, Blount County, it is almost without question that John and the whole family dutifully made the weekly trek with him. Tuckaleechee Cove Baptist was a sister church to their own Wear’s Cove Baptist, which had no doubt sent him and his family there with its blessing.

Jane Walker, daughter of Thomas Walker of Tuckaleechee Cove, was an attractive young lady in those years, and on 8 April 1812, she and John were married by her brother Joseph, a Justice of the Peace. Their original marriage certificate, which document I've held in my hands, can still be seen in the vault of the Blount County Courthouse Archives.

Why they were not married by John’s dad, a Baptist preacher, is unknown to this writer. Did John and Jane have a falling out with their families? Rumor has it that the Walkers may have been Quakers, and if so, perhaps neither set of parents was really behind what may have been their interdenominational marriage.

Another very possible reason for a rift may have been a disagreement over slavery. The opening paragraph of a biographical article on Isham’s grandson, William Watkins Gwin, son of Richard Walton Gwin, reads as follows:

WILLIAM W. GWIN -- It is now our privilege and pleasure to trace the life of one of Keota's most honored citizen (sic--author intended "citizens") from the time his grandfather came to this county (sic--author intended "country") over a century ago, until the present, when the grandson after a successful life is spending his remaining days in peaceful contemplation of the past and hope of the future. Isaam (sic--author intended "isham") Gwin, grandfather of William W. Gwin, was a native of Ireland (sic--we're fairly confident that it was ISHAM'S grandfather who was the immigrant, not Isham) ; his wife was Mary Canteberry (sic--author intended "Canterbury"); he left the land of his birth when very young, and settled with his wife in Tennessee about the time it became a state (sic--actually at least 4 years before). By trade he was a miller (sic--this is the only indication we have that Isham was not a planter) and by profession a Baptist preacher. Although a slave holder, the practice was abhorrent to his nature, and in 1820 he freed his slaves and moved to Indiana, that he might be in a state opposed to slavery, and in this state he died. He was the father of ten children...

"WILLIAM W. GWIN", GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY of Keokuk County, Iowa, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1903, p. 264.

In the analysis of this writer, the slavery issue had grown to a level far beyond a topic of casual conversation, and Isham, though a slaveholder, having grown to hate the institution, likely was quite outspoken everywhere he went--at home, in the community, and from the pulpit--against the practice of enslaving fellow humans.

Finally, then, sometime before 1820, Isham had had enough. He resigned his pastorate, freed his slaves, sold the farm, and moved, lock, stock, and barrel across Kentucky to the new free state of Indiana where he’d never again come in contact with people living as slaves. Most of the rest of his family and even some of his neighbors moved with him. Showing up in Harrison County in 1819 with his Crowson’s Cove next-door neighbor to the west, Kinsey Veatch, Gwin and Veatch planted a church there.

As new counties quickly developed, the newcomers moved a little more to the west, first to neighboring Crawford County, then to their last stop, Orange County. Isham was the first pastor of Providence Primitive Baptist Church he helped establish on 7 Aug 1819 in Orange County's Greenfield Township. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/GENEALOGY/INDIANA/ProvidencePrimBapCh.htm]

But sons William and John and their families did not make the exodus to Indiana with their Isham and Mary and the rest, choosing instead to move to Alabama. This move to the south--coupled with the fact that neither is mentioned in Isham's will--give fairly solid evidence of an aforementioned rift in their relationships.

.--+-+-/|\-+-+--.

Young men from the coves, hills, and “hollers” of east Tennessee were signing up for military service about then, too. Several John Gwins fought with Col. Andy Jackson’s volunteers from 1812 through 1814 in the Creek wars in Alabama and Florida, and we are not sure, of course, but fairly confident that our John was one of them. That would explain why he and Jane did not have children right away--he would not have been home to father them.

Perhaps because he saw the beauty of Alabama during his stint there, after his tour of duty John took his bride from the Wear Valley to the wilderness of middle Alabama before it was a state. Going with them were at least his older brother William and wife Susannah and their family, all of whom show up in the 1820 census of Dallas Co., AL. Possibly their younger brother Isham II and his wife Mary and their family went to Alabama as well, as shadows of an unaccounted-for Isham Gwin are seen floating through central Alabama documents from time to time; if this is the case, however, he clearly went first to Indiana with his father’s group and married Betsy Snowden and Mary Likens there before moving to Alabama.

Regardless, all of John’s and Jane’s nine known children were born in middle Alabama. Mary, Thomas, and Isom were born outside Dallas County--probably in Shelby County where John first recorded a land purchase in what's now Wilsonville. Isom’s date of birth on 17 March 1817 is the only one of those three verified (from his tombstone), but the other two are older--if the 1830 census information is correct. William (namesake for his uncle) was the first to be born in Dallas County (18 Dec 1820), and was followed by Sarah, Ann, Martha, Chesley Richard, and Louisa.

Mary would marry Drury Hampton Roark and have one son, Walter, who would die in the July 1863 assault at Gettysburg. Drury would die early as well, and his widow would marry second the widower Abel Turner, by whom she would bear Anna Turner. Anna would later marry her own first cousin, Rufus King Gwin, son of Mary’s brother William and Roseanne. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/GwinMaryDRoarkATurner.htm]

Thomas’ records are still not located, but a cousin wrote that Old Cahawba Director Linda Derry had once sent him a copy of a newspaper clipping which told of a Thomas Gwin helping to put out a fire in a lumber yard in Bogue Chitto, Dallas Co., AL.

Isom would marry Mary Burdine Wilson, oldest daughter of Nathaniel Burdine Wilson and Jane Jones, both of South Carolina. Isom, no doubt named for his paternal grandfather, would become a landowner, slaveholder, and Protestant Methodist, living in and near the now-disappeared Town of Athens (between Safford and Martin’s Station). Isom died at age 33, and his widow would marry a widower--her pastor, the Rev. John Steadman, who likely preached Isom’s funeral. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/gwinisommarybwilson.htm]

William would marry Roseanne Carlisle Jones “Roe” Wilson, younger sister of Mary B., Isom’s wife. Will and Roe would become my gg-grandparents. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/GwinWilliam.htm]

Sarah and Ann would marry the Basset brothers, Louis and Joseph. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/BassetLouisSarahGwin.htm] and [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/BassetJosMAGwin.htm]

Martha would marry the widower, Jesse Comelander, and inherit several stepchildren. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/comelanderJessMartGwin.htm]

Chesley would first marry a Bogue Chitto preacher’s daughter--who would bear him all his children--Mary Frances “Fannie” Elizabeth Bell, and second the widow Paralee (nee Blevins) Whitfield, with whom he would live for over 42 years. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/gwinChesleyR.htm]

Louisa would marry the printer, William McKnight, in a double wedding with Mary and Abel at John and Jane’s home. [www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/gwinjohnjanewalker.htm]

.--+-+-/|\-+-+--.

We know John owned quite a bit of Alabama land in and around the state's first capital and the county's first seat, Cahawba, where he had a wheelwright shop. He is mentioned in Anna Gayle Frye’s book, Memories of Old Cahaba, on p. 41:

Occupying the block on Oak Street, between First South Street and Capitol Avenue, was Academy Square, with its Indian mounds. Across the street, in front of the Academy on the corner of First South Street, was the residence of John Guiwn (sic), another old landmark of early days. Adjoining the Guiwn place, at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Walnut Street, was the Presbyterian church.

In the 1850 US Census of Cahaba Town, Dallas Co., Alabama, John and Jane were living in residence 585--an “almost-empty nest”--with their newly-wed youngest son (and likely John’s wheelwright partner), Chesley Richard, 22, and his bride, the former Mary Frances Elizabeth “Fanny” Bell, 20, daughter of the Primitive Baptist Pastor Bell of Bogue Chitto.

585/585 John Gwin----58--M--Wheel Wright--1,200--Tenn
-----------Jane-----------56---F-------------------------------Tenn
-----------C. R.----------22---M--Wheel Wright-----------AL
-----------Frances E.----20---F-------------------------------AL

According to the diary of John’s pastor, the Rev. James L. Cotten, Chesley and Fannie had married in Bogue Chitto 21 March 1850, probably at her parents’ home:

THURSDAY 21ST [Mar. 21, 1850] This morning after breakfast thought I would go to my room to study, but found Maj. Hays waiting for a talk, but after some time he left me and I turned my studies upon the Epistle to the Romans. Took dinner at bro. Lovett's and visited the prisoners. Baloom wishes me to visit him oftener. Visited Mrs. Wm. Lapsley and Mrs. Craig. Mrs. Henry Crocheron fortunately was not in the carriage when the horses ran away and broke it to pieces. Preached to a small congregation from Rom. 1:1-7. Bro. Meridith was out. He was married this week. Charley Guinn gets married to night to a Miss Bell in Bouge (sic) Chitto. Don't feel very well. Service at Church was dull. Poor Goldsby is raging. [http://www.gwingenealogy.net//GENEALOGY/ALABAMA/cottendiaryexcerpts.htm]

We know John was a spiritual man, serving as Bible class teacher in his church at Cahawba and mentor to his young, unmarried pastor, the Rev. J. L. Cotten, who once referred to the elder Gwin as “my pastor”. The following excerpts are also from Cotten’s diary:

THURSDAY 26th [April 26, 1849] Yesterday went to Selma and stopped at Sister Hornes, where bro. J.Y. Ramsey and family are boarding. After dinner walked with bro. R. to the burying ground and visited the Masonic Institute under the supervision of bro. Wright. The people in Selma have some jealousy of the R. Road from this place to Marion. Started rather late but by riding tolerable fast got home by sunset. Had class-meeting. The brethren seem to feel much interest in the properity [sic] of the church that is those present; but alas! so few come out. Two bro. Guinns [John and his son William], bro. Ulmer and bro. Francis are class leaders.

MONDAY 29th [July 29, 1850]
In a state of painful suspense and fear. if I am repulsed by Miss C. it will be a very severe wound. Sister Ulmer is quite depressed in spirit. Miss C. has gone to the country. Friends sat and conversed with me to night until 12 Oclock. Bro. Guinn is my pastor. He knows my trials and counsels wisely and sympathizes with me. Under my troubles I have support of Grace.

We know John kept at least one slave, his “old man, George”. Since John was a wheelwright and not a planter, it is most likely George was a house servant instead of a field hand.

TUESDAY 28th [May 28, 1850] Rode out to Dr. Saltmarsh's and Col. Matthew's this evening. Few out at Prayer meeting. Bro. Quinn (sic) and wife were kept away by a sudden attack of sickness upon their old man George. Docter U. says he thinks he will die soon. May grace sustain Bro. Guinn. It is a rare thing for him to be absent from service.

John’s son, Isom, a Dallas County justice of the peace at Athens, also held several slaves. Whether he held more is not known, but the following ten were willed to Isom’s widow, Mary B., and two daughters, Mary and Martha, when he died in December 1853 at the early age of 36.

"We the undersigned being appointed by the Hon. Probate Judge for Dallas County to appraise and divide the Negro property belonging to Isom Gwinn, deceased, also to assess the value of the Hire for the present year, of the Negros belonging to said deceased which were retained in the possession of Wm. J. Smith, Admstr, after being duly sworn have made the following appraisement, division and assessment--(the differense [sic] of the different lots to be made equal by the three heirs one to another--)
Viz-
Lot No 1--allotted to Mrs. Mary B. Gwinn consisting of
                      Boy Jeff valued at $1,300.00
        "          "    " Billy   "         "    815.00
        "         " Girl Ann     "        " 1,025.00
        "      "Old Woman Maria"   "    370.00
                                                 ________
                                                  $3510.00

Lot No 2--allotted to Mrs. Mary Jane Smith
        "          "    "   Joe    "         "     $1380.00
        "         "      " Jane     "         "      720.00
        "         "      " Adam "      "         1150.00
                                                     _________
                                                       $3250.00

Lot No 3--allotted to Mrs. Martha Gwinn
     "          "    "         George "     " $1780.00
           "         "      " Emily   "     "        820.00
           "         "      " Mely     "     "       700.00
                                                       _________
                                                       $3300.00

For the hire of certain Negroes as aforementioned we assess as follows--
Viz--
George-----$350.00
Joe-----------275.00
Jeff------------56.25
Maria---------50.00
Billy--------- 22.50
               $853.75
        [signed:]

            John D. Adams
[www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/gwinisommarybwilson.htm#isomgwintenslaves]

By the 1860 census, however, John and Jane were no longer living in their own home, instead showing up in the Cahawba home of a Mr. and Mrs. Grice along with two of the Gwin grandchildren: Mary’s son Walter J. Roark (who would fall at Gettysburg 1 Jul 1863) and Martha’s daughter Elizabeth Comelander, both 15. John’s and Jane’s son William and his wife, RoseAnn Carlisle Jones Wilson Gwin, had left Cahawba and were living in Bibb County with their young family in 1860.

We know Jane died about 1865 (perhaps as early as 1864 but definitely by the 1866 Alabama Census, where John appears alone) and was buried in the New Cemetery at Cahawba beside her daughter, Louisa, and Louisa’s husband, Will McKnight.

At one of the pages on my http://www.gwingenealogy.net//GENEALOGY/SURNAMES/Gwin/gwingravephotospage.htm website, , one can see the photos I took of the gravestones of William and Louisa Gwin McKnight and her mother, Jane Walker Gwin, at the New Cemetery at Cahawba, Dallas Co., Alabama.

John the widower appeared next in 1870 living with William and Roseann Gwin in Wilsonville, Shelby County. He lived there some seven more years, dying on 7 Mar 1877 at the age of 84 years and 4 months.

Photographs of John’s and Jane’s gravestones, as well as those of some of their children and grandchildren, may be seen at this web page:

http://www.gwingenealogy.net//GENEALOGY/SURNAMES/Gwin/gwingravephotospage.htm

-- John M. Gwin, February 2009 --

From: Frank Mitchell <femitch2001@earthlink.net>
Date: July 1, 2010 1:17:43 PM MDT
To: jmcdgwin@zianet.com
Subject: Too Much of a Coincidence

After my first email, I went back to Google and found your website and this, "John Gwin, b. 1792 (whose 9 children were Isom, Mary, Thomas, William, Sarah, MaryAnn, Martha, Chesley, and Louisa) and who is buried in Wilsonville, AL (I have a photo of his tombstone)."

My grandmother(Gladys Bomar Gwin, McKenzie,Carroll Co. Tn) married William Driskell Kelley, born in Childersburg and son of Emory Kelley who owned a mercantile store in Wilsonville, Al. Wm was orphaned 1868 at < 7 yrs. age. I have a lot of guardian/probate papers from Talladega Co., but have been unable to locate farm* or cemetery plots for Wm's parents. Wm and his brother are side by side in Selma's Old Liveoak Cemetery.

Please forgive if this comes across as an intrusion.

Frank M.

* My uncle said that my gg Kelley planted 1st apple orchard in Al. at Childersburg.

Section 01	John's Known Ancestors and Siblings: An Outline of the Known Families of Richard and Isom Gwin
Section 02	And now meet John's and Jane's nine children: An Outline of the Known Family of John and Jane (Abbreviated)
Section 03	Now here they are again in more detail: The Same Outline of the Known Family of John and Jane (Expanded)
Section 04	What We Know and Think We Know: Some Facts, Some Speculation (Notes A-J)
Section 05	John's and Jane's Marriage Certificate: Blount Co. Courthouse, Maryville, TN
Section 06	Death, Deeds, and Diary: Links to Other Relevant Places
Section 07
Section 08
Section 09
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12

*DATE*	*EVENT*	*SOURCE*
*1792*
7 Nov 1792	John is born...	Tombstone
(same)	...somewhere in what is now East Tennessee but then was North Carolina (probably in the Wear Valley--aka Crowson's Cove--of Sevier County, TN) [Actually, Cousin Alice Foster-Blevins states that he was born "in the Carolinas," but John himself told every census taker from 1850 to 1870 that he was born in Tennessee, so I combined both pieces of info to arrive at this speculation.]; in July 2003 I found the 249-acre farm of John's father Isham Gwin in Sevier Co., Tennessee--the farm was surveyed and the deed granted in 1808, but Isham's family had been there prior to the survey, and I believe John was born there "in Crowson's Cove on the waters of Walden's Creek..."	Speculation, 1807 deed of Isham Gwin
ca.1796-97	Jane is born in TN, [prob. Blount Co.]	1850 US Census*
*1812*
8 Apr 1812	John, 19, and Jane, 15, are married by Joseph Walker, J. P., in Blount Co., TN	County record; I've held this marriage license in my hand and have a copy of it as well.
1812-1814	John likely serves with a TN vol. unit in War of 1812, likely in AL against the Creek Nation [I base this on the fact that many if not most or even all of the able-bodied young men of the day were involved in this campaign, and also on the fact that though J & J were married in 1812, they didn't start having kids until two or three years later, probably because they were separated by his service. Further, while at Horseshoe Bend Nat'l Monument, I saw the names of three John Gwins on rosters of Tennessee Volunteers for several units.]	Speculation (see bold italics)
ca. 1815-16	John, 23, and Jane, 19, move to Cahaba, Dallas Co., AL, almost certainly with at least one brother, Wm. Gwin [Clearly J & J did move from TN to AL at this time, and I strongly believe (if not have proven) that the William Guinn who appears in Dallas Co. about the smae time as J & J likely traveled with them from TN.]	Speculation (see link)
ca. 1815-16	Probably first child, Mary, is born in [Dallas Co., AL] (age 33 in 1850 census) (John = age 25)	USCen.1830*
ca. 1815-16	Probably second child, Thomas, is born in Dallas Co., AL	USCen.1830*
1816	Cahaba area becomes one of first election precincts established	MOOC, Fry**
*1817*
17 Mar 1817	Isom, whom we believe to be their third child, is born in [prob. Shelby Co., AL] (age 37 at date of death, 7 Dec 1853) (John = age 24)	Gravestone; Obit., Dallas Gazette
1817	Alabama Territory is organized (John = age 25)	World Book
1818	Dallas Co. formed from Montgomery Co.	MOOC, Fry**
1819	Constitutional Convention meets in Huntsville, draws up Territory's first constitution	World Book
1819	Cahaba incorporates, lays out lots, selects sites to build government buildings	MOOC, Fry-p11**
14 Dec 1819	Alabama becomes 22nd State (John = age 27)	World Book
1820	Cahaba has 2 newspapers, a land office, State bank, stores, private boarding houses, hotels, etc.	MOOC, Fry-p13**
*1820*
8 Dec 1820	Fourth child, William, is born in Dallas Co., AL (John = age 28)	USCen.1850* and unk. birth record
1825	Rivers overflow, flood Cahaba (John = age 33)	MOOC, Fry**
Jan 1826	Capital is moved to Tuscaloosa, AL; Cahaba all but abandoned	MOOCFry-p14**
*1826*
ca. 1826	Fifth child, Sarah, is born in Dallas Co., AL (John = age 34)	USCen.1850*
ca. 1827	Sixth child, Mary Ann, is born in Dallas Co., AL (John = age 35)	USCen.1850*
ca. 1828	Seventh child, Martha J., is born in Dallas Co., AL (twin of Chess?) (John = age 36)	USCen.1850*
ca. 1828	Eighth child, Chesley R., is born in Dallas Co., AL (twin of Martha?) (John = age 36)	USCen.1850*
ca. 1832	Ninth child, Louisa A., is born in Dallas Co., AL (John = age 40)	USCen.1830*
1833	Fry's research uncovers this name in Cahaba among many others: John Guiwn (sic)	MOOCFry-p16**
1833	Second flood inundates Cahaba (John = age 41)	MOOCFry-p16**
*1836*
1836	Prosperity returns to Cahaba, remains until the end (late 1860s)	MOOCFry-p18**
1837	Son Isom and Mary Burdine Wilson are married.	gravestone in the cemetery across the road from former site of St. Luke's Episcopal Church at Martin's Station, Dallas Co., AL
Dec 1837	Work is authorized to be begun in early 1838 on the Cahaba and Marion RR (see 1859 entry, below).	Newspaper account of the meeting, held at Marion, Perry Co., AL
ca. 1838	Isom and Mary B give John and Jane a grandchild--Mary Jane Gwin is born (John = age 40).	1850 census of Dallas Co.
27 Dec 1838	Daughter Mary marries Drury H. Roark in Cahaba (John = age 46).	unk. record
18 Mar 1841	Daughter Sarah marries Louis Basset in Cahaba.	LDS IGI file
*1842*
12 May 1842	Son William marries Roseann "Roe" Carlisle Jones Wilson in Cahaba (John = age 49). [Evidence suggests that Roe's father, Nathaniel Burdine Wilson (see Cotten Diary entry for 21 Jul 1850) and her uncle, Ezekiel Burdine Wilson,(see newspaper notice) were colonels in the Alabama militia, and that later William himself ad also attained that rank (see obituary for Thomas Wilson Gwin.]	Dallas Co. Marriage Record
ca. 1842	Mary & Drury give John & Jane grandchild #2--Walter Roark is born (age 8 in 1850 census)	USCen.1850*
19 Jan 1843	Daughter Mary Ann Gwin marries Joseph Lavalette Basset	LDS IGI file
3 Nov 1843	J & J's grandchild #3, Emily Ann Basset, is born to Ann and Joseph in Cahaba, AL; she will live to age 74 and die 12 Dec 1917 in Ennis TX	Cara Macon Hilliard
*1846*
ca. 1846	Son-in-law Drury Roark dies, Cahaba; daughter Mary is a widow ca. age 29 (John = age 54)	unk. record
22 Apr 1847	Dau. Martha J. m. widower Jesse Comelander (John = age 55)	unk. record
1849-1855	Six-year span of the entries I have from Rev. Cotten's diary (John = age 57-63)	Cotten diary
17 May 1849	Dau. Mary m2. to Abel Turner; dau. Louisa A. m2. William J. McKnight (John, 57)	Cotten diary
16 Oct 1849	John and Jane Gwin sold to their daughter-in-law R.C.J. Wilson Gwin's uncle, Ezekiel B. Wilson, for one thousand dollars, six lots of land in Cahaba numbered 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, and 222 (except approximately the eastern halves of lots 217 and 218) as recorded in the *Dallas Co. Record Book N* on pp. 195 and 196. Was this to have something extra to give to their daughter Louisa and her new husband, Wm. McKnight?	*Dallas Co. Deed* *Record Book N* pp. 195 and 196.
20 Mar 1850	Son Chesley R. m. Frances E. "Fannie" Bell in Bogue Chitto (John = age 58)	Cotten diary
Summer 1850	Newlyweds Chess & Fannie in are living in John's and Jane's home in Cahaba	USCen.1850*
*1853*
7 Dec 1853	Son Isom, ca. age 37, Justice of Peace, dies in Dallas Co. (John = age 61)	Obit, Dallas Gazette
March 1855	Last entry I have from Cotten diary--John, 62; Jane, 58; & William are still living in Cahaba	Cotten diary
28 Jan 1859	Dau-in-law Mary Burdine Wilson Gwin (Isom's widow) m2. to the man who is probably her pastor, Rev. John Steadman	LDS IGI file
1859	Railroad is built from Cahaba to Marion (John = age 67) Perhaps this is the year it was completed; however, work was authorized in Dec 1837 to begin in Jan 1838 (see 1837 entry above)	MOOCFry-p67**
*1860*
24 Jul 1860	Son Wm. and family recorded in Oakleyville, Bibb Co., AL (John = age 68)	USCensus 1860
Summer 1860	John and Jane are living in Cahaba at the home of W.G. and Eliza Grice (reason unclear--perhaps Jane is ill; also living there are g'son J.W. Roark and step-g'daughter Elizabeth Comelander, each 15)	USCensus 1860
11 Jan 1861	Alabama secedes from the Union (John = age 69)	World Book
1 Jul 1863	Grandson Walter Roark is killed in Battle of Gettysburg, ca. age 21 (John = age 70)	MOOC, Fry**
13 Jan 1864	Granddaughter Emily Ann Basset marries G. Thomas Macon in Cahaba, moves to Texas	Cara Macon Hilliard
16 Feb 1864	John and Jane sell for $800 the east half of Lot Seven in Cahaba to Conrad Hildebrandt who had been residing there. Was this to help pay for Emily's wedding, or perhaps to give them something for their wedding?	*Dallas Co. Deed* *Record Book T* p. 740
*1865*
Spg 1865	Another big flood inundates Cahaba just before the surrender (John = age 72)	MOOCFry-p68**
9 Apr 1865	Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox (John = age 72)	World Book
1866	Courthouse is moved to Selma (John = age 73)	MOOCFry-p68**
1864-1870	Sometime in this decade, Jane dies, is bd. in the New Cemetery at Cahaba. Also bd. there are dau. Louisa and her husband William McKnight	I saw undated graves Jan 2002
*1870*
Feb 1870	John is living in Wilsonville at home of Will & Roe (John = age 77)	USCen.1870***
7 Apr 1877	John dies and is buried in Wilsonville, Shelby Co., AL, age 84 yrs. and 4 mo.	Grave Photo
29 Apr 1889	William dies and is buried in Wilsonville, Shelby Co., AL, age 68	Grave Photo
29 Mar 1907	William's widow Roe dies in Tampa, FL, is bd. in Wilsonville beside William	Grave Photo

*From the 2 Aug 1860* *U.S. Census of* *Cahaba Town,* *Dallas Co., AL*
*Res./Fam.*	*Last name*	*First name*	*Age*	*Sex*	*Race*	*Occ.*	*Real* *Prop.*	*Pers.* *Prop.*	*POB*	*JMG* *Comments*
575 / 567	McKnight	W. I. (J.?)	42	M	W	Printer	--	$600	SC
	McKnight	Louisa	26	F	W				AL
	McKnight	Elizabeth	13	F	W				AL	I speculate that this is (probably) William's daughter by an earlier marriage, making her Louisa's step-daughter.
	Turner	Anna	10	F	W				AL	Perhaps Anna is here visiting her aunt and uncle--likely spending some summer days with her step-cousin Elizabeth.
	Brown	Z.	21	M	W				GA