~1796 - ~1840
North Carolina - Kentucky - Illinois
Once again, our story so far:
Hendrick Dewees, 1570 Holland - nothing known, but he is presumably the father of
Adriaen Hendricksz, 1595-1674 Holland - the bookstore owner, wife Hilegond Govertsdr
Hendrick Adriaensz, 1615-1661 Holland - New Amsterdam - captured in a raid, died in captivity
Gerrit Hendricksz, 1640-1770 Holland-Pennsylvania - farmer? - wife Zytian Lieuwes
Cornelius, 1678-1734 Holland - Pennsylvania - farmer - wife Margaret Kuster
Garrett, 1710-1769 Pennsylvania - occupation unknown - wife Mary Unknown
Henry, 1746-after 1830 Pennsylvania-Virginia-North Carolina-Kentucky-Tennessee-North Carolina
- occupation unknown - wife Elizabeth Hughes
John, 1769-1843 Pennsylvania or Virginia - Kentucky - wife Elizabeth Sams
It's an odd thing, but often there are more documents to be found about the early ancestors than about the ones that lived in the middle. Once they started moving to the mountains and beyond, fewer documentary sources survive. There were an amazing number of courthouse fires that destroyed whatever documents had been available. Such is the case with Ballard County, where the Deweeses lived for the early to middle part of the 19th century. So there are some (hah!) gaps in our story.
Henry Deweese was the 2nd child (probably) and the 1st son of John and Elizabeth Sams Deweese. They had moved from the Philadelphia area down to the Valley of Virginia shortly after they were married, and then on to North Carolina. Their 1st child (we think) was a daughter, but no one has ever figured out her name. The early censuses list only the name of the head-of-household, and the rest of the people are just numbered. The Deweese genealogists have managed to match up names with most of the numbered children, but not for the first little girl, born in about 1794. She was with the family up to the 1820 census (she would have been 26 then, which is quite late not to be married) and then she disappears.
Our Henry was born in about 1796, when the Deweeses were probably still in North Carolina. They began appearing on the tax rolls in Kentucky (Logan County) in 1799, and the rest of the children (13 more - 15 in all) were born there - or in Butler County, which was formed from parts of Logan in 1810. He is with his parents for the 1810 Butler County census (there were, by the way, only a little more than 2000 people living in the county that year). In 1816 (he would have been about 20), he married Amelia Hudson. They were married on February 12 by JP Taylor.
Amelia Hudson is another genealogical mystery. There were two Amelia Hudsons in Butler County in the early 1800, and both married in the 1810s (our Amelia in 1816, the other Amelia in 1814, to John McMurtry) - and both Amelias had descendants who ended up in Warrick County, Indiana. Naturally it is the other Amelia who is better documented. She is the daughter of Isaac Hudson, originally from Delaware, who served in the Revolutionary War, so there is a DAR file with information about her on it. Our Amelia . . . well. One researcher, without giving any sources, says her father was William Hudson and her mother Susannah Unknown, but possibly McDonald. Putting together bits and pieces found on various lists on the Internet, it seems pretty likely that our Amelia had a sister Rebecca Merritt Hudson, who married Frances Shrode (also in 1816, in December) and moved to Warrick County. William Hudson possibly died before his daughters married, because Susannah apparently was the consenter (I haven't seen the actual documents, just a book that lists marriages performed) for the marriages of both our Amelia and Rebecca. Then there was a Susan Hudson who married William Williams in Butler County in 1817 (and then moved to Warrick County); she may have been the mother of Amelia and Rebecca - or she may have been their sister, given the way the generations overlap. There is some connection between all these people!!!! But for now the exact connection is unknown.
At any rate, our Amelia married Henry Deweese and they had possibly 12 children, at least 5 of whom ended up in Warrick County.
The children: JW - b.~1816 - d. before 1860 - married Emeline Unknown - 3 children
Jack Vaughan does not list him as a son of Henry
and since there is another John AND another William, it is difficult to think what JW might stand for
Absalom - our next ancestor - b. 12 Mar 1818 - d. 9 June 1875
- married (1) Elizabeth Sams - 5 children
(2) Mary Ann Armer Sharp - 3 children
died in Warrick Co
Isaac - b. 25 Mar 1820 - d. April 27, 1905
- married (1) Louisa Sams - 6 children
(2) Ann Smith
died in Warrick Co
Louisa - b ~1821 - married John Davis
John - b. ~1823 - married Nancy Unknown - 1 child (known)
Rebecca - b. ~ 1825 - married John W Deweese
Garrett - b. ~1827 - married Mary Lee Walton
William - b. 1 March 1830 - d. 27 Dec 1875
- married Elizabeth Maryann Jones - 14 children
died in Warrick Co
Elijah - b. 8 Apr 1833 - d. April 1907
- married Sarah Margaret Shrode
died in Warrick Co
Talbert - b. 29 Aug 1838 - d. 24 June 1912
- married Mary Elizabeth McCool
died in Vanderburgh Co (next to Warrick Co)
Nancy - b. ~1840 - d. 17 June 1905
M (female) - b. ~1838
Jack Vaughan does not include her
In 1820, Henry and Amelia were in the Butler County census:
1820 - Kentucky, Butler - total population 3083
Henry Deweise 2m under 10; 1m, 1f 16-25
JW age 4; Absalom age 2; Henry age 24; Amelia age 28
Oddly enough, the third son Isaac was, according to his obit, born in Cumberland County, Kentucky in 1820. This is today a little bit south and east of Butler County, and not in the direction the family eventually headed.
Henry and Amelia moved with the rest of the family to Hickman County, and Henry was on the tax lists there starting in 1826:
1826 1827 1828 1829
Deweese, Henry 1001 1000 1000 1000
white males over 16, black (males?) over 16, total blacks, horses+mares
His brother William was also on the lists starting in 1826; father John did not appear until 1827.
He was on the 1830 census for Hickman County:
1830 Kentucky, Hickman 013 : 212- - 1 -2- - 1
2 males under 5 Garret 3, William 0
1 m 5-10 Isaac 10, John 7 or 11
2 m 10-15 JW 14 - or John 11 or Isaac 10, Absalom 12
1 m 30-40 Henry 34
2 f 5-10 Louisa 9, Rebecca 5
1 f 20-30 Amelia ~30
In 1833, for some reason, Henry sold some land to his father (because he was planning to leave the county? because he had a sudden need for cash?):
Henry Deweese to John Deweese Sr 26 April 1833. Sum of forty dollars to them in hand paid, for tract of land, being the west half of the south west quarter of Section 12 TS 5 Range 3W, containing 74 acres, six acres of said half being deeded to Daniel Martin, Signed by Henry and Amelia Deweese. Deed from Henry Deweese to John Deweese Sr was acknowledged and admitted to record this 23 Aug 1833. Deed Book B, Page 137 Hickman Co, Ky Deeds Book 1832-33
Son Absalom (our next ancestor) got married in 1837 in Hickman County. Not too long after this Henry and his Uncle Henry (and many of the children) went to Johnson County, Illinois. This is not far from Union County, where many of his Sams uncles had lived since 1818 or so.
Both Henrys are on the 1840 census:
Our Henry
1840 Illinois Johnson p. 413 - Henry Dueese 0211101 // 1001001
1f under 5 Nancy = 5 - 1835 [M 1838]
2m 5-10 Talbut = 2 - 1838, Elijah = 7 -1833
1m 10-15 William = 10 - 1830 [Garrett 1827 = 13]
1m, 1f 15-20 Isaac? 20. Rebecca 15 Louisa married 1838
1m 20-30 John 21, [JW 24] Absalom m 1837 - in Hickman this year
1m, 1f 40-50 - Henry 44, Amelia
Uncle Henry
1840 Johnson Co, Illinois p. 412 - Henry Dueese - - - 1 1 - - 1 - - - 1 1 - - - 1
1f 10-15 (b 1825-30)
1m, 1f 15-20 (b. 1820-25)
1m 20-30 (b. 1810-1820)
1m, 1f 50-60 (b. 1780-90) Henry b. 1789
It was in Johnson County that two of the girls, Rebecca and Louisa, got married:
Dewese, John - Deweesee, Rebecca - 5 Aug 1841 (168)
Dwease, Louisa - John Davis - 13 Feb 1838
There was also a Henry Deweese who married in 1841:
Dweese Henry - Lore, Nancy P - 16 Jan 1841 (161)
These marriages come from: Foss, Carolyn Cromeenes. Johnson County, Illinois early marriages.
(Newburgh, IN : C.C. Foss & J.F. Lee, 1992-) v.1. 1834-1877
This could have been Uncle Henry taking a 2nd wife, or it could have been one of Henry's children. I suspect the John Dewese who was married to Rebecca was also Henry's son. (There is very little information posted on the Internet about Henry the uncle.) However, there was also a Solomon Deweese in Johnson County in 1840 - and I have absolutely no idea who he might be. He had 3 children under 5 and one male 15-20, possibly a brother?, living with him.
According to Jack Vaughan, our Henry died around 1839 - but it must have been after 1840, because there is the census. Apparently both Henry and Amelia died in the 1840-1850 decade, because by the time of the next census, their young children are shared out among their relatives.
And that is all there is about Henry. I don't even know what his occupation was, but I always assume anyone not otherwise occupied is a "farmer" - meaning by that that he does whatever is necessary to get by.
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To Amelia Hudson
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Forward to Children of Henry and Amelia
Forward to next ancestor, Absalom Deweese
Questions, comments, additions, corrections? Contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
page last updated 31 August 2004