Descendants of the Greene County Weems Family
Much like my last post on the descendants of the Abbeville, SC Weems family, I thought it would also be helpful to put together a basic summary of the known descendants of the Greene County, TN Weems family. This will be a starting point for further exploration and speculation about the common history the two families might share, which is genetically and historically distinct from other known Weems/Wemyss families.
John Weems was born around 1741 or 1745 according to family historians of the 20th century, although it is important to note that none of the historical records from Orange County, NC or Greene County, TN provide his exact age or birth year. He first appeared in Orange County, North Carolina around 1767 and settled in Greene County, Tennessee with his nine children around 1792. He died in 1812. His wife went by the name Kitty, which was a nickname for Catherine, but her maiden name is unknown.
Aside from these basic facts, not much else is known about John's origins. His exact birth date, birth location, and parents' names are crucial missing pieces. I have already outlined many of the early known records on John and his descendants in my previous post, Forefathers of the Southern Weems Families.
John and Catherine "Kitty" Weems are believed to have had at least nine children: Elizabeth, John, George, William, Catherine, Thomas, Nancy Agnes, James, and Sarah. All of them were likely born in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina, but there are no birth records available for this time period.
When John and Kitty moved to Greene County, TN around 1792, three of their oldest four children were already married and starting families of their own, but it appears they likely all moved together as one large family group. Therefore, any grandchildren born before approximately 1792 were born in North Carolina, while any born after were natives of Tennessee.
Much like the Abbeville Weems family, common male names such as John, William, George, Thomas, and James appear to have been used repeatedly throughout the early generations of this family. A few female names such as Catherine, Sarah, and Rachel appear more frequently than they do in the Abbeville branch.
Although there doesn't seem to be as much confusion in the Greene County Weems branch based on multiple individuals with the same name, there are still some misconceptions to address. For example, it does not appear that any of John and Kitty's five sons ever used a middle name or middle initial on any available documents, but they are frequently assigned middle names or initials on internet sources. The original John Weems himself has been assigned the middle initial A (sometimes Abraham or Alexander) but there is no evidence he ever used any middle name or initial during his lifetime. Some of John and Kitty's descendants started moving away from Greene County relatively early, making their lines more difficult to trace.
---
I have compiled the following list of the known children of John and Kitty Weems, including virtually all available records which provide supporting evidence for their approximate birth and death dates, spouses, and/or known children.
(Note: Some dates are approximate.)
---
Died 1811 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Sarah Jones
Children of John and Sarah:
Jones Weems (1792 - 1880), married to Bethany Pogue
John Weems (1794 - 1843), married to Martha Gass and Rhoda Munsey
George Weems (1796 - 1839), married to Matilda Keele
Catherine "Catesy" Weems (1798 - 1860), married to John W. Kenney
Rachel Weems (1798 - 1860), married to William Pogue
Nancy Weems (1802 - 1828), married to James Jones and Allen Waites
Sarah Weems (1804 - 1870), married to Lewis Jones
Rebecca Weems (1808 - 1860), married to Samuel Grubbs
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
John Weems Jr. Probate Record 1(FamilySearch)
John Weems Jr. Probate Record 2 (FamilySearch)
John and Sarah's two oldest sons Jones Weems (1792 - 1880) and John Weems (1794 - 1843), along with daughter Rachel Weems Pogue (1798 - 1860) all migrated to Newton County, Missouri with several other families in 1843. John Weems (1794 - 1843) died in Cumberland County, Kentucky along the way, but his wife and children continued. Many descendants of these families still reside in Newton County, MO and the surrounding area.
The oldest son Jones Weems (1792 - 1880) was given his mother's maiden name as a first name. However, because he used an alternative pronunciation of Jones (two syllables with a pronounced short e), the name was often written erroneously as "Jonas".
---
Died 1831in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Nancy Jane Carter
Children of George and Nancy:
Sarah "Sally" Weems (1798 - 1833)
Abraham Lacy Weems (1800 - 1877), married to Mary "Polly" Young (first cousin)
John Granser Weems (1803 - 1876), married to Rutha Petty
Temperance "Tempy" Weems (1805 - 1855), married to John Malone
Catherine "Catesy" Weems (1806 - 1860), married to Thomas Harvey
William James Weems (1810 - 1881), married to Nancy Malone?
George Wright Weems (1812 - 1894)
Robert Bennett Weems (1814 - 1894), married to Rebecca Hardin
Thomas Norwood Weems (1824 - 1882), married to Mary Jane Malone
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
George Weems Probate Record (FamilySearch)
George Weems Estate File 1 (FamilySearch)
George Weems Estate File 2 (FamilySearch)
---
Died 1817 in Maury County, Tennessee
Married to Mary Edwards
Children of William and Mary:
Nancy Caroline Weems (1792 - 1880), married to Stephen Wood Smith
William P. "Ira" Weems (1794 - 1862), married to Lucinda / Lizzie Forbis
Nancy Catherine "Katie" Weems (1794 - 1881), married to John Thomas Toombs
Charles Weems (1795 - 1820)
John Weems (1796 - 1820)
Sally Weems (1797 - )
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
William Weems Deed 1 (FamilySearch)
William Weems Deed 2 (FamilySearch)
William Weems Deed 1 (Maury County Archives)
William Weems Deed 2 (Maury County Archives)
William Weems Estate Inventory (FamilySearch)
William and his family moved to Maury County, TN around 1814, which is where he died three years later. Several of his descendants eventually moved to Lee County, Mississippi.
---
Died 1829 in Marion County, Illinois
Married to Hannah / Ann Galbraith
Children of Thomas and Hannah:
Catherine Weems (1797 - )
John Wesley Weems (1797 - 1884), married to Jane Maydell Hanes
Rachel Adeline Weems (1800 - 1823), married to Thomas Allen Hanes
James Weems (1805 - ), married to Nancy Gailbreath
Sarah "Sally" Weems (1805 - 1876), married to Drury Easley
Polly Weems (1807 - )
Thomas Lewis Weems (1810 - 1844), married to Mary "Polly" Mabry and Rebecca
Elizabeth Weems (1810 - 1870), married to Joseph Helms
Rhoda Weems (1812 - 1880)
Caroline Weems (1815 - )
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
Thomas Weems on Tax Lists (Sumner County Archives)
Thomas Weems Will (FamilySearch)
Thomas and Hannah, along with their children and Hannah's parents, all moved to Sumner County, TN around 1815. It appears Thomas and Hannah moved again to Marion County, Illinois in the late 1820s with their younger children, which is where Thomas died in 1829. The older children apparently stayed in Sumner County, before eventually moving to neighboring Macon County, TN.
---
Died 1869 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to John Russom Young
Children of Nancy and John:
Catherine "Catsy" Young (1797 - 1876), married to William Luster
Margaret "Peggy" Young (1798 - ), married to George Johnston
Mary "Polly" Young (1802 - 1842), married to Abrahama Lacy Weems (first cousin)
John Russom Young Jr (1804 - 1867), married to Mary and Eliza Jane Gott
Eva Didama Young (1808 - 1884), married to John Fletcher
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
John Russom Young Probate Record (FamilySearch)
---
Died 1819 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Hannah Yeates / Yates
Children of James and Hannah:
Sarah "Sallie" Weems (1805 - 1876), married Allen Ross
John "Jack" Weems (1808 - 1885), married Anna Lane
James C. Weems (1815 - 1888), married to Mary Hankins
Elizabeth "Betsy" Weems (1816 - 1880), married to James Kenney
Thomas Weems (1819 - 1877), married to Jemima Carter
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
---
Died 1843 in Roane County, Tennessee
Married to Daniel Dugger
Children of Sarah and Daniel:
John B. Dugger (1804 - 1889)
Nancy Dugger (1805 - 1888)
Catherine Dugger (1807 - 1857)
Sarah Dugger (1808 - )
Alexander Dugger (1811 - 1850)
Elizabeth Dugger (1815 - )
James Dugger (1815 -)
Daniel R. Dugger (1816 - )
Caroline Dugger (1818 - 1890)
Samuel W. Dugger (1820 - )
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
---
So where exactly did the name Benjamin F. Weems come from? Well, John Wesley Weems (1797 - 1884) was married to Jane Maydell Hanes (1792 - 1863), who was the daughter of Benjamin F. Hanes (1748 - 1850). In my opinion, the most likely explanation is that the names of John and Jane's parents were mixed up at some point. The name of Jane's father Benjamin was assigned to John's father, and the name "Benjamin Weems" was accidentally invented.
John Weems was born around 1741 or 1745 according to family historians of the 20th century, although it is important to note that none of the historical records from Orange County, NC or Greene County, TN provide his exact age or birth year. He first appeared in Orange County, North Carolina around 1767 and settled in Greene County, Tennessee with his nine children around 1792. He died in 1812. His wife went by the name Kitty, which was a nickname for Catherine, but her maiden name is unknown.
Aside from these basic facts, not much else is known about John's origins. His exact birth date, birth location, and parents' names are crucial missing pieces. I have already outlined many of the early known records on John and his descendants in my previous post, Forefathers of the Southern Weems Families.
John and Catherine "Kitty" Weems are believed to have had at least nine children: Elizabeth, John, George, William, Catherine, Thomas, Nancy Agnes, James, and Sarah. All of them were likely born in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina, but there are no birth records available for this time period.
When John and Kitty moved to Greene County, TN around 1792, three of their oldest four children were already married and starting families of their own, but it appears they likely all moved together as one large family group. Therefore, any grandchildren born before approximately 1792 were born in North Carolina, while any born after were natives of Tennessee.
Much like the Abbeville Weems family, common male names such as John, William, George, Thomas, and James appear to have been used repeatedly throughout the early generations of this family. A few female names such as Catherine, Sarah, and Rachel appear more frequently than they do in the Abbeville branch.
Although there doesn't seem to be as much confusion in the Greene County Weems branch based on multiple individuals with the same name, there are still some misconceptions to address. For example, it does not appear that any of John and Kitty's five sons ever used a middle name or middle initial on any available documents, but they are frequently assigned middle names or initials on internet sources. The original John Weems himself has been assigned the middle initial A (sometimes Abraham or Alexander) but there is no evidence he ever used any middle name or initial during his lifetime. Some of John and Kitty's descendants started moving away from Greene County relatively early, making their lines more difficult to trace.
---
I have compiled the following list of the known children of John and Kitty Weems, including virtually all available records which provide supporting evidence for their approximate birth and death dates, spouses, and/or known children.
(Note: Some dates are approximate.)
---
Elizabeth Weems
Born 1765 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina
Died 1835 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Thomas Bailey
Children of Elizabeth and Thomas:
John Bailey (1780 - ), married to Phoebe Small
Catherine "Caty" Bailey (1783 - 1860), married to David Dugger
William Bailey (1785 - 1860), married to Margaret "Peggy" Bruner and Sarah "Sally" Tilley
Sarah "Sally" Bailey (1792 - 1874), married to Thomas McAmish / McCamish
Thomas Bailey Jr (1797 - 1864), married to Henrietta Keele
Elizabeth Bailey (1805 - 1834), married to William Strong
Thomas Bailey Probate Record (FamilySearch)
Thomas Bailey received a land grant in Greene County on 1 Sep 1788. His brother Claudius had received a land grant in Greene County the previous year. This would seem to pre-date any Weems land records, which didn't first appear until 1791.
The area settled by Thomas Bailey was known as "Laurel Gap" from the 1700s until it was renamed Baileyton in 1892. Many Bailey and Weems descendants still live in the area today.
I have been unable to locate a marriage record for Thomas Bailey and Elizabeth Weems, or any other record confirming Elizabeth's maiden name. However, Elizabeth being the daughter of John and Kitty Weems has generally been accepted as fact among the descendants of these families for a long time.
---
John Weems Jr.
Born 1768 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1811 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Sarah Jones
Children of John and Sarah:
Jones Weems (1792 - 1880), married to Bethany Pogue
John Weems (1794 - 1843), married to Martha Gass and Rhoda Munsey
George Weems (1796 - 1839), married to Matilda Keele
Catherine "Catesy" Weems (1798 - 1860), married to John W. Kenney
Rachel Weems (1798 - 1860), married to William Pogue
Nancy Weems (1802 - 1828), married to James Jones and Allen Waites
Sarah Weems (1804 - 1870), married to Lewis Jones
Rebecca Weems (1808 - 1860), married to Samuel Grubbs
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
John Weems Jr. Probate Record 1(FamilySearch)
John Weems Jr. Probate Record 2 (FamilySearch)
John and Sarah's two oldest sons Jones Weems (1792 - 1880) and John Weems (1794 - 1843), along with daughter Rachel Weems Pogue (1798 - 1860) all migrated to Newton County, Missouri with several other families in 1843. John Weems (1794 - 1843) died in Cumberland County, Kentucky along the way, but his wife and children continued. Many descendants of these families still reside in Newton County, MO and the surrounding area.
The oldest son Jones Weems (1792 - 1880) was given his mother's maiden name as a first name. However, because he used an alternative pronunciation of Jones (two syllables with a pronounced short e), the name was often written erroneously as "Jonas".
---
George Weems
Born 1770 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1831in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Nancy Jane Carter
Children of George and Nancy:
Sarah "Sally" Weems (1798 - 1833)
Abraham Lacy Weems (1800 - 1877), married to Mary "Polly" Young (first cousin)
John Granser Weems (1803 - 1876), married to Rutha Petty
Temperance "Tempy" Weems (1805 - 1855), married to John Malone
Catherine "Catesy" Weems (1806 - 1860), married to Thomas Harvey
William James Weems (1810 - 1881), married to Nancy Malone?
George Wright Weems (1812 - 1894)
Robert Bennett Weems (1814 - 1894), married to Rebecca Hardin
Thomas Norwood Weems (1824 - 1882), married to Mary Jane Malone
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
George Weems Probate Record (FamilySearch)
George Weems Estate File 1 (FamilySearch)
George Weems Estate File 2 (FamilySearch)
---
William Weems
Born 1772 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1817 in Maury County, Tennessee
Married to Mary Edwards
Children of William and Mary:
Nancy Caroline Weems (1792 - 1880), married to Stephen Wood Smith
William P. "Ira" Weems (1794 - 1862), married to Lucinda / Lizzie Forbis
Nancy Catherine "Katie" Weems (1794 - 1881), married to John Thomas Toombs
Charles Weems (1795 - 1820)
John Weems (1796 - 1820)
Sally Weems (1797 - )
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
William Weems Deed 1 (FamilySearch)
William Weems Deed 2 (FamilySearch)
William Weems Deed 1 (Maury County Archives)
William Weems Deed 2 (Maury County Archives)
William Weems Estate Inventory (FamilySearch)
William and his family moved to Maury County, TN around 1814, which is where he died three years later. Several of his descendants eventually moved to Lee County, Mississippi.
---
Catherine "Kitty" Weems
Born 1775 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina
Died 1840 in Tennessee
Married to William Bowers
Children of Catherine and William:
Katherine "Kitty" Bowers (~1794 - 1835), married to Columbus Reuben Phillips
James Bowers (~1798 - 1844), married to Pheribe / Feraby Kinman
Nancy Elizabeth "Betsy" Bowers (~1800 - ), married to Claiborne Bruce Kinman
John Bowers (1801 - 1869), married to Nancy Morgan
William Bowers (1805 - 1862), married to Hannah Posey Johnson
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
William Bowers Will
Catherine moved to Roane County, TN with her husband William Bowers a few years after their marriage. Some sources have alleged that Catherine was married to a man named Reuben Phillips, but it was actually Catherine's oldest daughter Kitty Bowers who married Reuben in 1810.
---
Thomas Weems
Born 1777 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1829 in Marion County, Illinois
Married to Hannah / Ann Galbraith
Children of Thomas and Hannah:
Catherine Weems (1797 - )
John Wesley Weems (1797 - 1884), married to Jane Maydell Hanes
Rachel Adeline Weems (1800 - 1823), married to Thomas Allen Hanes
James Weems (1805 - ), married to Nancy Gailbreath
Sarah "Sally" Weems (1805 - 1876), married to Drury Easley
Polly Weems (1807 - )
Thomas Lewis Weems (1810 - 1844), married to Mary "Polly" Mabry and Rebecca
Elizabeth Weems (1810 - 1870), married to Joseph Helms
Rhoda Weems (1812 - 1880)
Caroline Weems (1815 - )
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
Thomas Weems on Tax Lists (Sumner County Archives)
Thomas Weems Will (FamilySearch)
Thomas and Hannah, along with their children and Hannah's parents, all moved to Sumner County, TN around 1815. It appears Thomas and Hannah moved again to Marion County, Illinois in the late 1820s with their younger children, which is where Thomas died in 1829. The older children apparently stayed in Sumner County, before eventually moving to neighboring Macon County, TN.
---
Nancy Agnes Weems
Born 1779 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1869 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to John Russom Young
Children of Nancy and John:
Catherine "Catsy" Young (1797 - 1876), married to William Luster
Margaret "Peggy" Young (1798 - ), married to George Johnston
Mary "Polly" Young (1802 - 1842), married to Abrahama Lacy Weems (first cousin)
John Russom Young Jr (1804 - 1867), married to Mary and Eliza Jane Gott
Eva Didama Young (1808 - 1884), married to John Fletcher
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
John Russom Young Probate Record (FamilySearch)
---
James Weems
Born 1782 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1819 in Greene County, Tennessee
Married to Hannah Yeates / Yates
Children of James and Hannah:
Sarah "Sallie" Weems (1805 - 1876), married Allen Ross
John "Jack" Weems (1808 - 1885), married Anna Lane
James C. Weems (1815 - 1888), married to Mary Hankins
Elizabeth "Betsy" Weems (1816 - 1880), married to James Kenney
Thomas Weems (1819 - 1877), married to Jemima Carter
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
---
Sarah "Sally" Weems
Born 1784 in Hillsborough, Orange County, North CarolinaDied 1843 in Roane County, Tennessee
Married to Daniel Dugger
Children of Sarah and Daniel:
John B. Dugger (1804 - 1889)
Nancy Dugger (1805 - 1888)
Catherine Dugger (1807 - 1857)
Sarah Dugger (1808 - )
Alexander Dugger (1811 - 1850)
Elizabeth Dugger (1815 - )
James Dugger (1815 -)
Daniel R. Dugger (1816 - )
Caroline Dugger (1818 - 1890)
Samuel W. Dugger (1820 - )
Marriage Record (FamilySearch)
---
Greene County Tax Lists with Multiple Weems Descendants:
1805 Enumeration (TNGenWeb)
1809 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1810 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1811 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1812 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1813 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1814 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1815 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
1816 Enumeration (FamilySearch)
---
Additional Biographical Information on Multiple Weems Descendants:
Historic Greene County, Tennessee and Its People: 1783-1992
Greene County History Book Committee, 1992
Pages 350 and 351
The Neosho Daily News
Neosho, Newton County, Missouri
Friday, August 13, 1954
Neosho, Newton County, Missouri
Friday, August 13, 1954
---
Who was Benjamin F. Weems?
In my first Weems blog post, I briefly mentioned an additional Weems forefather named Benjamin F. Weems (1756 - 1830) of Sumner County, Tennessee. Two members of the Weems Y-DNA Project on FamilyTreeDNA have reported Benjamin as their earliest known paternal ancestor, and they both belong to Group 2, meaning they are genetically related to the Abbeville/Greene County families. However, it is not known how Benjamin might have been related to either group.
According to his WikiTree page, Benjamin was born in North Carolina in 1756, and lived in Sumner County, TN from at least the early 1800s until he died in 1830. His wife's name was Lavinia, and they had two known children: John Wesley Weems, born in 1797 and Rachel Adeline Weems, born in 1800. Unsourced family trees on other sites give the same or similar details, but none provide the names of Benjamin's parents, or reference any actual historical documents.
Compared to all of the other known Weems family lines, Benjamin's has been the most elusive and difficult to research. Although there was definitely a Weems family living in Sumner County, TN (and later Macon County, TN), I have been unable to find a single historical record for the name "Benjamin Weems" in the area around this time. The earliest record for the name Weems in Sumner County appears to be an 1815 deed from a land purchase by a Thomas Weems. He also appears in Sumner County Tax Records from 1815 to 1829, along with a John Weems from 1820 to 1833. Both tax and census records for 1830 through 1840 show a James Weems and William Weems living there, both born between 1800 and 1810.
Based on these records, it would appear Thomas Weems was the oldest, and John, James, and William were all possibly his sons. The spellings Weems, Weembs, and Wems were all used in Sumner County, but there is no evidence of any Benjamin under these spellings or any possible variation. This is a major discrepancy which is not explained in any of the online family trees I have found for Benjamin F. Weems.
Upon further research, I found a man named William Galbraith died in Sumner County, TN in 1802, and mentioned his daughter "Ann Wems" in his will, available on FamilySearch. It is believed that this William Galbraith moved to Sumner County from Greene County, TN. This would seemingly link him to a daughter named Ann (or Hannah) Galbraith, who was married to Thomas Weems (1777 - 1829), son of John and Kitty Weems. The name Ann can certainly be a nickname or shortened version of Hannah, meaning this is almost certainly the very same Thomas Weems who moved to Sumner County, TN.
The will of this Thomas Weems (who died in Marion County, Illinois) clears up any further uncertainty by specifically mentioning his land in Sumner County, his wife Ann, and his sons John Weems, Thomas L. Weems, James Weems. One of the executors is Robert Galbraith, brother of Ann (Hannah) Galbraith Weems.
In conclusion, Benjamin F. Weems simply did not exist.
So where exactly did the name Benjamin F. Weems come from? Well, John Wesley Weems (1797 - 1884) was married to Jane Maydell Hanes (1792 - 1863), who was the daughter of Benjamin F. Hanes (1748 - 1850). In my opinion, the most likely explanation is that the names of John and Jane's parents were mixed up at some point. The name of Jane's father Benjamin was assigned to John's father, and the name "Benjamin Weems" was accidentally invented.
Notably, the William Weems listed in Sumner County, TN tax/census records would turn out to be a descendant of the Maryland Weems family, unrelated to the Greene County or Abbeville Weems families.
---
By the mid-1800s, Greene County Weems descendants could be found living in Macon, Maury, Roane, and Sullivan Counties (Tennessee); as well as Newton County (Missouri); Marion and Wayne Counties (Illinois); Caldwell County (Kentucky); and Lee County (Mississippi).
The Weems families in the western part of Tennessee (Dickson, Perry, and Haywood Counties) were all descendants of the Thomas Scott / Redfearn Weems family, and not genetically related.
Comments
Post a Comment