Reuben B. Fanning

My husband's Virginia and Missouri family connections are extensive. Most of his family that ended up in each of those states originated mostly in North Carolina, and even more specifically, mostly in Randolph County. The families I've decided to highlight today are a few generations removed from their North Carolina origins though.

Reuben B. Fanning was born in Virginia around 1804. First cousin, once removed of the David Fanning that ransacked both Randolph and Guilford County, North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War just a generation before.

Reuben married his first cousin, Martha Lineberry, on 4 May 1828 in Giles County, Virginia. She was born in Grayson County, Virginia around 1812. Reuben's father was Martha's mother's sibling. Together, Reuben and Martha had at least the following children:

• Jacob Fanning, born 1829
• Mary Ellen Fanning, born 1831
• Martha Jane Fanning, born 1838

In 1830, Reuben and Martha are living in Wythe County, Virginia.

Clipping from 1830 Census showing Reuben, his wife, their son, and another male adolescent

There seems to be an extra male child, between age 10 and 14, living with them. I am unsure who this could be. It is possibly a younger sibling or nephew, but I can't be sure. The child is too old to be their natural child, so I can safely rule that possibility out.

In 1840, the family is seen living in Lee County, Virginia.

Clipping from 1840 Census showing Reuben, his wife, and their three children.

Martha died sometime after this census, presumably around 1844. If that's the case, her widower didn't seem to wait long after her death to find another woman to help him raise his children. Reuben married Mary S. Owens on 7 April 1844 in Linn County, Missouri.

Excerpt from Linn County, Missouri Marriage Records

Whether they were living in Missouri when they got married or they moved there after they got married is unclear, but by 1850, the family is shown living in Sullivan County, Missouri. 

I know very little about Reuben's second wife. I do know that Mary was born in North Carolina according to the 1850 census. Reuben and Mary had at least the following children together:

• Rebecca Fanning, born 1846
• Reuben Fanning, born 1849
• David Fanning, born 1850
• John Fanning, born 1852

Mary is still living with her children in Missouri in 1860 after Reuben dies around the birth of their youngest child, John. I am unsure when or where Mary died.

Sources:

• 1830 Wythe County, Virginia U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1840 Lee County, Virginia U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1850 Sullivan County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1860 Owasco, Sullivan County, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• Linn County, Missouri Marriage Records (accessed on Ancestry)

John and Rosanna L. Bennett

The family that I've decided to highlight this week is a family I haven't researched very much on my own. Most of the information in this post is a compilation of the work of various other researchers on this line. I am hoping by posting this information that others will be able to find me and assist me with this line further.

John Todd Bennett was born about 1786 in Guilford County, North Carolina to Elisha Bennett and Elizabeth Coble (also seen spelled Gobel).

He married Rosanna Lineberry on 5 September 1807 in Orange County, North Carolina.

Marriage Record

Rosanna was born about 1785 in North Carolina to Jacob Lineberry and Rebecca Chrisman. Together, John and Rosanna had at least the following children:

• Daniel Bennett, born about 1810
• Emanuel Bennett, born about 1810
• Sarah Bennett, born about 1815
• Emily Bennett, born about 1816
• Mary Bennett, born about 1818
• Jeremiah Bennett, born about 1819
• John Bennett, born about 1821
• William Bennett, born about 1823
• Eliza Bennett, born about 1824

Based on the birth and death locations of the children, I know that sometime before Eliza was born in 1824, the family moved to Tennessee. Sometime after their daughter, Mary, died in 1833 in Tennessee, the family moved to Illinois.

It is said that the family moved to Savannah, Georgia sometime just before John's death in 1836; he is supposed to have died in Cherokee Nation. This puts Rosanna moving to Illinois as a widow sometime between John's death in 1836 and her own death in 1873. Rosanna is buried at Shiloh Valley Cemetery in Shiloh, St. Clair County, Illinois.

Sources:

• Marriage Record, John Bennett and Roseanah Loinberry (as found on Ancestry - uploaded by melody_pryor)
• Tombstone, Rosanna Lineberry Bennett (as posted by acl on Find A Grave)

Benjamin Beeson

The following is an edited repost of my Patriots Remembered post on DAR Patriot Benjamin Beeson.

Benjamin Beeson was born 14 January 1715 to Richard and Charity Grubb Beeson. Benjamin and his family is rather special to me because my husband and I connect through this family via a few intermarriages of our families. (I love seeing families that married or had friendships centuries ago coming back together in later generations!)

Benjamin was given his Patriot status with the Daughters of the American Revolution because of "patriotic service." His source of service is from the "North Carolina Revolutionary War Army Accounts." He is credited as having "furnished supplies" for the War. As a Quaker by faith, it makes sense that he would not have taken up arms against the British in the War (even though his son, Edward served as a Captain in the War).

Benjamin married Elizabeth Hunter in 1738. According to the New Garden (located in Guilford County, North Carolina) Monthly Meeting Minutes, Benjamin and Elizabeth had the following children:

• Isaac Beeson (born 26 December 1739)
• Benj. Beeson (born 9 February 174?)
• William Beeson (born 11 November 1743/1744)
• Frances Beeson (born 10 December 174?)
• Richard Beeson (born 11 March 1747)
• Ann Beeson (born 3 May 1749)
• Charity Beeson (born 25 August 1751)
• Betty Beeson (born 30 July 1754)
• Edward Beeson (born 1 January 1757)
• Rachel Beeson (born 14 February 1759)
• Jane Beeson (born 22 March 1760)
• Mary Beeson (born 21 September 1762)

Taken from New Garden Monthly Meeting Minutes

Supposedly, Benjamin died in Randolph County on 4 June 1794. I haven't found any supporting documents for this date and location, but that is what other family researchers tend to have recorded for him. I hope to visit his grave in the Centre Friends Meeting Cemetery in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina this summer when we visit North Carolina.

Sources:

• Centre Monthly Meeting Minutes (accessed at the Florida State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Orlando, Orange County, Florida)
• Deep River Monthly Meeting Minutes (accessed at the Florida State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Orlando, Orange County, Florida)
• New Garden Monthly Meeting Minutes (accessed at the Florida State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Orlando, Orange County, Florida)

John B. and Christina W. Smith

John Benjamine Smith was born 25 November 1815 in North Carolina. His parents were Frederick and Elizabeth Lineberry Smith.

John married Christina Charlotte Walk, daughter of Johann Joseph Alexander and Elizabeth Goss Walk. Together, they had at least 11 children. They are:

• Martha Elizabeth Smith, born 1843
• Webster Smith, born 1845
• Lawrance Smith, born 1845
• Caroline Lucetta Smith, born 1846
• John Reuben Smith, born 1850
• Joseph Coke Smith, born 1851
• William J. Smith, born 1854
• Constantine A. Smith, born 1856
• Benjamin Alford Smith, born 1859
• Louisa V. Smith, born 1862
• Frederick F. Smith, born 1863

I couldn't help but notice that the children stopped before the end of the Civil War. I decided to look for military service for John. I thought I found him in the 35th North Carolina Infantry, but that man died in the War, and I know from John's tombstone that John lived until 1895.

Clipping from 1860 Census

John still could have enlisted in the War, but I haven't found him in the service rolls yet in North Carolina, but maybe I've been looking in the wrong state. I do know, sometime between 1860 and 1870, the family moved from Davidson County, North Carolina to Carroll County, Virginia. I've been trying to pinpoint the exact timeframe of their move, and I think I have a pretty good idea of when that happened.

As far as I can tell from census records, all of John and Christina's children were born in North Carolina, so that means the family would have moved sometime after 1863. So, I thought, maybe John enlisted in the War after moving to Virginia. This would have put their move between 1863 and 1865. In my mind though, I imagine moving to another state during the Civil War, even within the South, would have been incredibly dangerous. 

Or maybe the family moved to Virginia after the War since it would have been too risky to move with so many young children during such a turbulent time. This would have put their move between 1865 and 1870. This would mean John probably did not serve during the Civil War. He would have been rather old compared to the 20-something year olds that often enlisted, but I won't be convinced until I check the Virginia records a little more.

The last thing I will say about this family is how I love the work ethic that they seemed to have according to the census records.  In the census clipping above, you see how John had $800 of Real Estate and $400 of Personal Estate in North Carolina as a farmer. Just 10 years and an entire Civil War later, he's moved to another state and he's not much worse off for it.

Clipping from 1870 Census

Most farmers that didn't move lost most of the value of their property after the War. John went from $800 down to just $600 during this time. That's pretty impressive on its own. When you consider he was starting over from scratch with a new farm in a new state in a country still trying to rebuild, it is truly an incredible story. I think I would have liked to have known this man very much.

Sources:

• 1850 Davidson County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1860 Salem, Davidson County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1870 Fancy Gap, Carroll County, Virginia U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• Tombstone, John B. Smith (as posted by Dan Stevenson on Find A Grave)