~1750 - aft 1802
Virginia
I know nothing about Susanna Stephenson (or Stevenson - they weren't fussy about spelling in those days). The only information floating around the Internet is that she was married twice (to Samuel Lusk and then to Thomas Godfrey) and that she was possibly the daughter of Adam Stevenson - and the second "fact" is incorrect.
The one bit of documentation I have is a deed from Thomas Godfrey and his wife Susanna to (the younger) Samuel Lusk.
1802 Jan 14 Deed from Thomas Godfrey and Susanna, his wife to Samuel Lusk.
Tazewell County Order Book #1, p. 51 (included in Archives of the Pioneers of Tazewell County Virginia / transcribed and edited by Netti Schreiner-Yantis, p. 15)
That connects a Susanna Godfrey somehow with Samuel Lusk. And it suggests that she was still alive in 1802.
There is also a book put out by the Giles County Historical Society (Giles County, Virginia, history--families by Research Committee, Giles Co. Historical Society. ([S.l.] : The Society, c1982-)), which includes the following information, most of it incorrect:
p. 247 Thomas Godfrey m. Susanna Stephenson Lusk
children 1. Bird (land grant 1816) m Polly Solesbury 11 Feb 1811 - Giles Co
2. Absalom m Mary Ellen Bailey - 9 July 1811 - Perry, min
3. Polly - Absolum Godfrey 11 July 1811 (John Peery)
their son: John Damon b. 3 Sep 1819 m Mary Ellen Bailey
their children: Augustus, Rebecca, Josephine, George, Armour, Julina, Amaziah, Tiamandria Melissa, James A, John, Edward
So that gets us her maiden name AND her first married name. Mistakes: according to a private email (17 May 2012) from a descendant of Thomas Godfrey, Thomas was married first to Patsy last-name-unknown in about 1785. Children: Agnes/Nancy b ~1784, Burgess b ~1786, Absalom b ~1790. He married Susanna after 1792, when her husband was killed. And if you take a minute to try to figure out the ages of the Godfrey children, you would have figured that out yourself. AND - I think child #3, Polly, is actually Mary Ellen Bailey (wife of child #2), and that someone confused the license and the actual marriage. AND Their son John D. actually married Martha Bailey. The mistakes might not have been in the book, but in my copying.
There is also the testimony of Mrs. Varina Godfrey Christian
obtained by historian Goode in 1827. Mrs. Christian, a direct descendant of Thomas
Godfrey, stated that Thomas Godfrey married Susan Stephenson Lusk, the widow of
Samuel Lusk, and that the two surviving sons of Samuel were Eli and Samuel. (note from me - the Eli mentioned here is David Eli, who apparently went by either name; I think of him as David.)
(this is from Walter Bailey - Bailey Coulter Archives) It also appears in the Reference Book of Wyoming County History by Mary Keller Bowman (Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Co, 1965).
And this gives us her first husband's first name.
That's it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It has long been thought that her first husband, Samuel Lusk, was a grandson of William Lusk of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Most of William's sons moved to Virginia, and Samuel was probably born there (in Virginia) in about 1747. HOWEVER, DNA has refuted this assumption. (see DNA page) He (Samuel) was a blacksmith (well maybe. One Samuel Lusk mentioned in Chalkley got paid for smith work, but whether it was our Samuel is not certain. The date was 1766, so it could have been him.) and an Indian fighter; he died in one of the last Indian raids in the territory, in 1792. It is said that three of his (and Susanna's) sons died as well.
Some people give the names of the sons who died as: William F (b. ~1770) , Robert A. (b. ~1771), and James R. (b. ~1772). I have never seen a source for this information, but those are all good Lusk names, so it is not improbable. Two of their sons survived: David Eli (b. ~1773) and our next ancestor Samuel (b. ~1775). No daughters are ever mentioned.
Son Samuel was captured by the Indians, also in 1792, in July, (I am not clear if it was the very same raid or not; it seems to have been a different action anyway) and did not return home until the next October (1793). It must have been a difficult time for Susanna (to say the least!).
Sometime after husband Samuel died, Susanna married Thomas Godfrey, a servant of Valentine Servier (Servier was a big name in the back country) - or perhaps John/Hans Bomgardner - or perhaps both. I have seen sources that say that Thomas was a widower, with two grown sons, Bird and Absalom; others seem to make Susanna the mother. However, both boys seem to have been born on or before 1786, when Susanna's first husband was still alive, so I suspect the first scenario is correct. But the sons would not have been grown men - in 1792, Burgess/Bird was only about 8 years old.
According to the Wyoming County Book (cited above): "The Lusks and Godfreys joined the throng of homeseekers going into southwestern Virginia upon learning that peace was established after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794." (p. 394) A survey completed in November 1794 describes one corner as "nearly north of Thomas Godfrey on Clear Fork of Wolf Creek." (Archives of the Pioneers . . .)
The Godfreys and Lusks seem to have got on well together. Samuel Lusk's name is often found in close conjunction with the Godfreys, and in 1802, as mentioned above, Thomas and Susanna deeded some property to Samuel. Thomas's grandchildren intermarried with both Lusks and Baileys, and in 1840 Burgess Godfrey was living in Greenup County, Kentucky, where Samuel Lusk had settled in 1829. (He later was found in Auglaize County, Ohio, where another batch of Lusks had settled.)
The Godfreys don't seem to have been quite as litigious as the Lusks, and Thomas is rarely mentioned in the Archives. He did jury duty in 1801 (one of the cases involved Samuel Lusk - who was found guilty and sentenced to one hour imprisonment and costs). The only other mention of him (besides his signature on petitions and his name on tax lists etc.) that I have comes in 1807:
24 June 1807
(249) Ordered that Thomas Godfrey be exempted from the payment of County levies and poor rates on account of his old age and bodily infirmity.
In 1820, however, his son Absolam has 2 males over 45 listed in his household - could one of them be his aged P.?
And that's it for Thomas.
Back to Samuel Lusk page
Forward to children of Samuel and Susanna:
David and
next ancestor, Samuel
to page about the Godfreys
to possible parents of Susanna Stevenson (i.e. to Stevenson Home Page, with links to various possibilities)
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Contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
Page last updated 17 May 2012