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)