This week's #52ancestors: Anderson WALTERS 1794-1863

This week's post, in the year-long challenge by genealogist Amy J. Crow, is in the LEWIS-RICE line: Anderson WALTERS, the second great-grandfather to my children's father, their third great-grandfather.

Anderson WALTERS was born 10 May 1794 in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, the eldest child of parents, Archibald "Archer" WALTERS and Edyth "Edy" SLAYTON. According to death records, his father Archer lived to 100 years of age.

In 1815 in Sumner county, Tennessee, Anderson married Elizabeth JOYNER, the eldest child of Whitehead JOYNER and Lucy TAYLOR. The families lived close by, and I was able to find that Elizabeth's younger sister Lucy Walters married Thomas Joyner in about 1830. The young Walters family moved to Tennessee soon after they married.

All their children were apparently born in Sumner county, Tennessee, although I have seen a few Ancestry trees stating Montgomery county as their birthplace. I have not yet researched all the children's details. The family moved to White county in the south east corner of Illinois in the mid 1830s. Note that Illinois achieved statehood in 1818.

Children of Anderson & Elizabeth:
   1.  Martha, b. abt 1818 [possibly in Virginia]; m. James Herald
   2.  Louisa/Lucy, b. 5 Feb 1820, d. IL; m. abt 1839 in TN, Isaac Jones Bruce; 10 children
   3.  William, b. 25 Dec 1825, d. 21 Dec 1904, IL; m. 1841 in IL to Margaret A. DeLap; 3 children
   4.  Elizabeth, b. 1828
   5.  Albert, b. 16 Sep 1834; m. 28 Nov 1860 in IL to Margaret Riley; 6 children
   6.  Margaret [ancestor], b. 1836, d. 1918 in IL; m. 13 Dec 1855 in IL to Phillip Wesley VINEYARD; 10 children.
   7.  Mary Ann "Polly", b. 1837, d. after 1900 in IL; m. Benjamin F. Morris; 13 children.

Anderson WALTERS served in the 7th Regiment of Virginia Militia, in the War of 1812. I also found that his brother Asa served in the 5th Regiment, and his brother Archibald served in the 4th Regiment.

By 1840, the Walters family were living in White county, IL, on 200 acres in Township 6 S Range 8E.  The 1850 Census taken October 18th, 1850, shows that Elizabeth JOYNER's brother Thomas and his family were farming next to them. Most of the Walter's children had married by this time, and living at home were only Albert and Margaret. Two young Yates boys also were listed as living with them on this census. On the previous Illinois census, there were seen several Yates families nearby them, and I wonder if there is a possible family connection with the surname Yates.

Illinois took a State Census in 1855, and Anderson is listed in the section labelled Township 6 S Range 8E.

On 26 Oct 1852, Elizabeth died, aged 57 years of age.  Two years later, Anderson married Mrs. Christena Shaw on 16 Sep 1854, in Hamilton County IL. This county is directly west of White county. There were no children of this second marriage. In the 1860 Census for Township 6 S Range 8E, only Anderson and Christena are listed together. He states his real estate holdings as worth $1600, with personal value of $725.

Anderson WALTERS died aged 68 years, on 30 Apr 1863, and was buried on private property in White County Illinois. Apparently the stones of Anderson and wife [Elizabeth?] can be seen from the road, County road #025E, just north of County road #500N.

His probate list showed a distribution, after payment of all claims, to widow and heirs, with funds distributed to them.  Likely land and other items would already have been passed on and distributed.

I love probates and wills: Here we see a number of Anderson WALTERS' children listed, with the daughters' married surnames as well. The Executors were daughter Margaret's husband, Phillip Wesley VINEYARD and Anderson WALTERS 2nd son, Albert Walters.

Because of the way the listing is shown, with equal specific amounts to each child, with one-third to his second wife, I am assuming that there was no will at the time of his death. I will certainly go looking again, to be more certain.

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in my family trees.

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Phillip Wesley VINEYARD 1834-1874 White County, Illinois

Phillip Wesley VINEYARD was the eldest son, second child, of Thomas Milligan VINEYARD and Priscilla POOLE.

Phillip is the great-grandfather of brothers Jack and Bill LEWIS (LEWIS-RICE lines). 2nd great-grandfather to the next generation (i.e., Jack & Bill's children). Phillip was born approximately 1834 and registered in Norris, the nearest town to his parents' Indian Creek land; birth year estimated from censuses.

Thomas M. VINEYARD's father, John, purchased 160 acres in Section 28 of Indian Creek, White County, Illinois. The growth of Illinois was very rapid between the time it achieved statehood in 1818, when the population was under 55,000, to 1840 when it had swelled to 476,000 people.  Where the red dot is on the green map, is Norris; Indian Creek region is just outside Norris on left side.  This southern region of Illinois had excellent land for farming.

As mentioned, the VINEYARD family were farmers, and Phillip continued as a farmer, as shown on the 1850 Census, District 13 in White County, Illinois. Here I found 3 generations living together: Phillip's parents, his grandparents John and Leanah, and all Phillip's siblings but the eldest daughter Rebecca. She had married the previous fall to John F. Hill.

Five years after the 1850 Census, on December 13, 1855, Phillip married Margaret C. WALTERS, daughter of Anderson WALTERS and Elizabeth JOYNER.  Margaret's parents had come from Virginia and Tennessee to Illinois shortly before 1840.  The two families farmed relatively near each other, in District 13, White County, Illinois.

Phillip & Margaret's children, all born in White county, IL [not all researched]:
   1.  Florence, b. Nov 1856; m. 1 Jul 1882 to Samuel M. Orr; 4 children
   2.  Priscilla, b. 1858
   3.  William Anderson, b. 20 Nov 1860, d. 31 May 1940 Los Angeles CA;
             m. 13 Dec 1883, McLeansboro, Hamilton, IL to Arabel Hill; 6 children
   4.  Martha Jane, [LEWIS line] b. 2 Aug 1864, d. 19 Mar 1954, Los
              Angeles CA; m. in 1887 Henry Luther RICE; 8 children 
              [Reba RICE was 5th child of Henry & Martha]
   5.  Lucy, b. 1866  NB: may be nickname for #7 child, Leanah
   6.  Leanah, b. 1867 [named for namesake, Phillip's grandmother, Leanah
            SNEED Vineyard]
   7.  Thomas Milligan, b. Jun 1869 [named for namesake, Phillip's grandfather,
            John VINEYARD]; m. 22 Nov 1891 Rhoda B. Pettigrew, 2 children
   8.  Rebecca E., b. 1871

On the 1860 Census, Phillip  married 5 years to Margaret, resided and farmed next to his father, Thomas. Thomas lived with his 2nd wife Samantha, and their family, plus Thomas' mother, Leannah [SNEED] Vineyard, aged 93.  Phillip's mother Priscilla, had died in 1857, several months after her 10th child was born. Second wife, Samantha Garrett, had 4 children with Thomas; those would be Phillip's half-siblings, and he would have known them fairly well. After Samantha died in 1867, Thomas married the following year for a third time, aged 68 yrs, to Martha Thompson, aged 42. They had no children, but Martha would have been stepmother to Thomas' youngest children from his previous wife, plus Phillip's youngest full sibling, Jesse, 11 years old.

Although Phillip would have been old enough to fight in the Civil War, 1861-65, there is no record of him actively fighting. However, we have the record that he did register in the 13th Congressional District of Illinois, on August 31, 1863:

"Indian Creek | [No.] 18. Vineyard, Philip W | 34 | " [white] | Farmer | Married | "[b. Ill.]

Phillip died February 6, 1874 in White County, likely in Norris, aged only 40 years. Possibly there might be information in the local newspapers of the times, in 1874, with a notice of his death, or of an epidemic in the region, or an accident. I'm curious because 40 is very young to die.  At his death, he left 8 children, the youngest only 1 year old, Rebecca.  This name, Rebecca, is one of many repetitions of names in the Vineyard families.

His widow, Margaret, married for a second time in 1878 to Francis Marion Berry, and they subsequently had two boys: Louis and Garfield Berry.  Margaret died in 1918 in Mcleansboro, Hamilton County, Illinois, where she is buried with her second husband, Francis Berry, and their second son, Garfield.

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If you know anything more about any of the above VINEYARD individuals or other surnames mentioned, I would be so pleased for more details. And if you wish more information on them, I'm also happy to share. Contact me at my address at the bottom of the page calewis at telus dot net or, in the Comments section.

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