Tombstone Tuesday: John Harvey Sawyer

Photo by Linda Moore Mora - Find A Grave Contributor

John Harvey Sawyer was born on 10 January 1866 in Williamson County, Tennessee. He was the son of Lemuel Sawyer and Charlotte Carrington. He married Alice Taylor on 6 March 1889. They had six children: William Leslie Sawyer (born 14 February 1890), John Allen Sawyer (born 20 January 1892), Jane Sawyer (born March 1894), James Henry Sawyer (born 15 February 1896), Etta Sawyer (born about 1904), and Alice Sawyer (born about 1908).

John worked as a farmer. He was the sheriff of Williamson County in 1920, and possibly longer (either before or after 1920).

John's wife Alice died on 27 October 1923. On 1 June 1942, John married Emma Beech. John died on 6 July 1943 in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin.

John was my second cousin 4 times removed. Charlotte Carrington's mother was Malvira Russell, the sister of my 4th-great-grandmother Sobrina Russell. Charlotte's sister Sophronia Carrington married Lemuel Sawyer's brother William D. Sawyer on 1 January 1852. Lemuel and Charlotte married on 26 December 1854. Malvira (Russell) Carrington, the widow of William or Wiley Carrington, married Lemuel and William D.'s father, William Sawyer, on 30 November 1859. I suspect that William was the brother of James Sawyer, who I believe was the father of my 3rd-great-grandmother Amanda Russell. So John may be my double second cousin 4 times removed.

52 Ancestors: Week 8 "Good Deeds": Sobrina Russell

In more ways than one, "good deeds" enabled me to find my 4th-great-grandmother Sobrina Russell. Two deeds (one from 1858 and one from 1888) led to her identification. And I have those deeds because Sarah Peery Armistead, one of the authors (along with her sisters Ova Lee Peery Sawyer and Lorraine Peery Russell) of the book Tarkingtons of Tennessee: Genealogy of John G. Tarkington, sent them to me.

On 23 May 1888, my 3rd-great-grandparents Joseph and Amanda (Russell) Tarkington sold land in Williamson County, Tennessee. to Wilks P. Hayes. Amanda had inherited the land as the only child of Sobrina Russell. On 26 January 1858, James Russell, as trustee for his sister Sobrina Russell, purchased this land from Thomas M. Clardy.

Through these deeds, I learned the name of Amanda's mother, and I learned that her mother's maiden name was also Russell. Since then, I have learned more about her mother's life and her ancestry.

Sobrina Russell was born about 1810 in Kentucky, probably in Somerset, Pulaski County (her family resided there in 1810). She was the daughter of Andrew Russell and Hannah Hardgrave. By 1820, Sobrina's mother Hannah was head of household, and the family was living in Davidson County, Tennessee. On 20 February 1830, Sobrina gave birth to her only child, her daughter Amanda. Since Amanda had her father's surname, she was probably illegitimate. I believe that Amanda's father was a man named James Sawyer. Amanda was listed as Amanda Sawyer in the family tree in my father's baby book. Amanda's oldest son James William Tarkington (my 2nd-great-grandfather) was listed as a grandson in the household of James and Louisa Sawyer in 1880. (For more in-depth analysis, see my posts on Amanda Russell and Joseph Tarkington.)

In 1840, based on the composition of Hannah Russell's household, I believe that Sobrina and Amanda were living with Hannah, and that Sobrina's widowed sister Malvira (Russell) Carrington and her children were living with her as well. In 1850, Sobrina lived with her mother Hannah. Her recently married daughter Amanda lived nearby with her husband and baby son. Her sister Malvira (listed as Elvira) and her children lived nearby as well, and so did her brother James and his wife and children.

Sobrina's mother Hannah died about 1853. Sobrina purchased the following items from her mother's estate: an oven, two skillets, a bed and furniture, a wooden bowl, three table cloths, a counterpaine, and a quilt.

In 1860, Sobrina lived in Williamson County, Tennessee, on the land that her brother James had purchased for her. Amanda and Joseph Tarkington and their children lived with her. In the 1870 United States, the households appear to have been misnumbered on page 9 of the 7th Civil District, Williamson County, Tennessee. Sobrina is listed in the household next to Amanda and Joseph and their children, but I believe they were actually in the same household. Looking at the entire census page, all the households appear to be off by one line. I could not find Sobrina in the 1880 United States Census. She probably died between 1870 and 1880.

The "good deeds"

Williamson County, Tennessee Deeds,  roll 147, page 124. Thomas M. Clardy to James Russell as trustee for Sobrina Russell, 26 January 1858.

Williamson County, Tennessee Deeds,  roll 147, page 125. Thomas M. Clardy to James Russell as trustee for Sobrina Russell, 26 January 1858.

Williamson County, Tennessee Deeds, vol. 13, roll 157, page 109. Joseph and Amanda Tarkington to Wilks P. Hayes, 23 May 1888.

Williamson County, Tennessee Deeds, vol. 13, roll 157, page 110. Joseph and Amanda Tarkington to Wilks P. Hayes, 23 May 1888.

Census Sunday: The Russell Family in 1840 and 1850

In 1840, my 5th-great-grandmother Hannah (Hardgrave) Russell was enumerated as head of household in Civil District No. 14, Davidson County, Tennessee. Her son James Russell was listed as head of household on the same page of the census return.

1840 United States census, Davidson County, Tennessee, roll 520, page 349, image 718. 

 Hannah's household included one free white female age 40-49 (likely Hannah, although the age is incorrect; perhaps the census taker marked the wrong column, or Hannah's age was reported incorrectly), two free white females age 30-39, one free white female age 10-14, one free white female age 5-9, two free white females under age 5, and two free white males age 5-9.

In 1850, many of the same people were listed on the same census return page for Davidson County, Tennessee.

1850 United States census, Davidson County, Tennessee, population schedule, roll M432_875, page 279B, image 564.

Hannah and her daughter Sobrina (my 4th-great-grandmother) are enumerated in the same household, and her son James and his family are listed nearby. Two of the other households enumerated on this page also belong to the same family group. "Elvira Carrington" is Hannah's widowed daughter Malvira (Russell) Carrington, but her name is incorrect (perhaps the census taker misheard the informant), and her age is way off. Malvira and her children were probably living with Hannah in 1840. Hannah's granddaughter Amanda (Russell) Tarkington (Sobrina's daughter, and my 3rd-great-grandmother) was probably also in Hannah's household in 1840. Amanda married Joseph Tarkington in 1849, and she and her husband (my 3rd-great-grandfather) and their baby son James (my great-great-grandfather) lived near Amanda's mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins. Four generations of my family are listed on this census page.

52 Ancestors: #8 Hannah Hardgrave, A Woman of Strength

March is Women's History Month, so it is a good time for me to write about my female ancestors. My 5th-great-grandmother Hannah Hardgrave seems to have been a strong woman. She was born on 22 February 1782 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, and was the daughter of Francis Hardgrave (a captain and major in the Revolutionary War) and Sarah Greer. Around 1796, the Hardgrave family moved from Wilkes County, North Carolina to Lincoln County, Kentucky. In 1799, Hannah's parents and brothers moved to Tennessee. Hannah and her two sisters remained in Kentucky. Her sister Sarah, who had married Isaac Lowe in Wilkes County, North Carolina on 8 September 1790, was living in Barren County, Kentucky in 1810. Her sister Nancy married Archibald Mills in Lincoln County, Kentucky on 29 January 1797. Hannah married Andrew Russell in Lincoln County, Kentucky on 28 June 1799, and they settled in Pulaski County, Kentucky, which had been created from Green and Lincoln Counties in December 1798. The family appears there in the 1810 United States census, living in the town of Somerset. By 1820 Hannah and her family were living in Davidson County, Tennessee, near her parents Francis and Sarah Hardgrave. She was listed as head of household in the 1820 United States census; she was the head of a large family. Her husband Andrew Russell had probably died. On 7 August 1828, her father Francis Hardgrave died. He left Hannah the land that she was living on, and specified that after her death, it was to go to her son James Russell (her youngest son). Hannah's mother Sarah died on 30 November 1832. By 1840, Hannah was the only one of the children of Francis and Sarah still remaining in Tennessee, and may have been the only one of them that was still living. Her two oldest sons had moved to Kentucky. She was listed as head of household in the 1840 United State census. Again, she headed a large family, which probably consisted of her widowed daughter Malvira Carrington, Malvira's children, her daughter Sobrina (my 4th-great-grandmother), and Sobrina's apparently illegitimate daughter Amanda (my 3rd-great-grandmother). Her youngest son James lived nearby. Hannah could not read and write, and yet she managed, in a male-dominated society, to successfully raise three sons and five or six daughters, and to help raise her grandchildren, including one who appears to have been illegitimate. Sobrina lived with Hannah until Hannah's death; Hannah seems to have been a very supportive mother to her. Although Hannah had help from her father Francis Hardgrave until he died, and her son James Russell probably helped the family too, Hannah still strikes me as a remarkably strong woman for her time.

Hannah died in Davidson County, Tennessee about 1853. Below is her estate inventory.

Davidson County, Tennessee Will Books Microfilm Reel #433 Volume 16, Page 263, Hannah Russell Estate Inventory Dated 16 March 1854, Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Davidson County, Tennessee Will Books Microfilm Reel #433 Volume 16, Page 332, Hannah Russell Estate Inventory Sale, Tennessee State Library and Archives.

 Davidson County, Tennessee Will Books Microfilm Reel #433 Volume 16, Page 333, Hannah Russell Estate Inventory Sale, Tennessee State Library and Archives.