EARLY "ORPHAN" GENTRYS - Part 2

The John Gentrys of Hanover and Louisa Counties
and Other Gentrys

by
Willard Gentry
Rewritten with major revisions

Abstract
Family groupings and ancestry links are proposed for the John Gentry family which resided in Hanover County, and a similar John Gentry family which resided in Louisa County, Virginia at the turn of the 18th century. Evidence is presented relating to conflicting reports concerning two Patrick Gentrys and two Robert Gentrys who resided in Louisa, Hanover, and Henrico Counties. Finally, a number of previously unidentified Gentrys of Louisa County have been proposed for linkage to Nicholas Gentry, the Immigrant, in particular the proposed family of a widow, Frances Gentry, of Louisa County.

Introduction
This article assumes prior knowledge of Part 1 of this series, found in the December 2001 issue of the Gentry Journal. We will be building on and continuing to add to the framework started there. We are attempting to learn from the limited amount of evidence available, the relationship of some of the Gentrys living in Virginia in the late 18th century to pioneering first and second generation Gentrys. These are all Gentrys who have never been clearly identified as to their descent from Nicholas-I Gentry, the Immigrant.

One of the hazards of researching the early Gentrys is the multiplicity of a number of common names. In the first four generations of Gentrys, there are at least 9 Nicholases, 5 Samuels, 9 Davids, and 10 Johns. Fortunately, most of the Johns left the Hanover-Louisa County heartland of the Gentrys by the late 1700's, for example, in Samuel-II's family, a son and one grandson had moved to or been born in Lunenburg County; in Nicholas-II's family, Benajah's son moved to Albemarle County, and the sons of Nicholas, Moses, and Martin all moved to Kentucky; the son of David-II had moved to South Carolina; and John-II and family had moved to Augusta and Botetourt County. We are still left with two families of John Gentrys who remained in the area, one in Hanover County and one in Louisa County. While trying to define the place of these Johns in the Gentry line of descent, a side issue will be to try and sort out two Patrick Gentrys and two Robert Gentrys, who were also living in the area. A third issue will be to investigate the family of Fanney, the widow of an unknown Gentry.

 

A. John Gentry of Hanover County

There is convincing evidence that in the latter half of the 1780's, there was a John Gentry who lived in Hanover County and another John Gentry family who lived in Louisa County. The evidence for the presence of the Hanover County John is relatively clear and uncomplicated, so we will begin with him. What is not so clear is the identity of his father and we will discuss this further shortly.

• There is no John in any of the St. Paul's Parish vestry records which essentially end at the time of the Revolutionary War. Following the war when the new General Assembly began its administration, a state census enumeration was ordered for all Virginia counties. So in 1782 a John Gentry was recorded in the state census for Hanover County with eight members in his family. On the same page of the enumeration of Upper Hanover County (the western or upriver half of the county) by Capt. Owen Dabney on which John is listed, there was also a Watson Gentry, a grandson of James-II Gentry. Like John, Watson never appeared in any St. Paul's Parish records and is believed to have lived in St. Martin's Parish. For John to be old enough to have an eight-member family, he also must have lived most of his adult life in some location other than St. Paul's Parish otherwise he would surely have appeared somewhere in parish records.
• Also in 1782 an annual reporting of personal property tax and land tax liability was established by the General Assembly. John Gentry appeared for the first time in these lists in the 1783 personal property list. The entries continue with only scattered absent years until 1793<1>. The tax liabilities recorded for John then stop and do not start again until 1805. Thereafter, a John Gentry is listed until at least 1815. This appears to be a case where John Sr. was the individual taxed in the earlier lists, while his son, John Jr. was the individual taxed in the later records. The references to these personal property taxes are somewhat ambiguous with respect to the 1783 and 1786 tax years, but a John Gentry listed in 1786 along with a Patrick Gentry, a minor, almost surely refers to John Sr. Patrick is listed individually in 1788 to 1790, so must have reached majority by that time, leading to a conclusion that he was born about 1767.
• John Gentry was named as a witness in several deeds for land in St. Martin's Parish. The first was in 1784 when George Gentry of Hanover County bought land in Louisa County. We can assume this was George's brother, John, rather than another John Gentry. In 1786, presumably the same John Gentry is cited as an adjoining land owner in a deed for land on the St. Martin's Parish side of Stone Horse Creek, which creek marked the western boundary of St. Paul's Parish<1b>. In the same year George Gentry sold land on Stone Horse Creek, to the same man, a John Harvie of Richmond who was possibly buying up land in the area for land speculation. Some time later John witnessed a deed for a sale of land in 1789 in the same area on a branch of Taylors Creek<3c>. This creek runs into the South Anna River from the north, joining the river almost opposite the junction of Stone Horse Creek with the river (see map, Figure 1). This creek also was located in St. Martin's Parish.
• John's name as a landholder first appears in a Hanover County deed in 1785, when he and his wife, Nancy, in an arrangement with their neighbor, Benjamin Timberlake, negotiated a division of land for which there was not a clear title. This was land along Totopotomoy Creek which Nancy had originally inherited from her father. In the division Timberlake was given clear title to land on the south side of a dividing road in exchange for John and Nancy receiving clear title to land on the north side of this road<3a>.
• John appeared for the first time in land tax lists in 1787 in St. Paul's Parish, liable for tax for forty acres, but was not included in two earlier lists for the years 1782 and 1783<4>. This was probably the property in St. Paul's Parish which he acquired when he married his wife, Nancy. John continued to be assessed for land taxes in St. Paul's Parish each year until at least 1800, which is the last date for land tax records this author has been able to access. The tax records during this time list John in close proximity to a number of other Gentrys. We can see this from some 1790 tax records for which we have the dates the enumerator visited the property owners: Geddes and Susanna Gentry on one day, then a week later, David, William, Patrick and John, all on the same day<6a> From all that is known about the location of these plots of land, it is probable that John's St. Paul's Parish property lay between Totopotomoy Creek and Crump Creek.
• Hanover County census records for 1810 show a "Jack" and a "Jno" Gentry<14>. Jack Gentry is appropriate for being John Sr. as the only Gentry over the age of 45. His family included his wife, a teenage son and three daughters. "Jno" Gentry was relatively newly married with three children under the age of 10, and obviously refers to John Jr. By 1820, John Sr. and his wife had only his two youngest daughters living with him. In 1830, John was missing and his widow (born 1740-1750) appears to have been living with John Jr.
  The census records seem to contradict the personal tax records, if we assume that the records of the latter for 1805 and afterwards refer to John Jr., rather than John Sr. It does not appear to be a case that John Sr. died during the tax interval between 1793 and 1805, rather it may indicate that John Sr. was no longer liable for personal property taxes. The land taxes do seem to continue after 1793 and so it seems safe to conclude that the older John Gentry in both the 1810 and 1820 census were indeed the same John as appears in the early tax records.

Figure 1.

Father of John Gentry
With the above facts in mind, the next question to ask is "who was his father?". In the Gentry Journal article for October, 2001, we suggested that James-II was this father, and see no reason to change this opinion. We noted above that the 1782 state census enumeration for Hanover County showed eight members in his family and we assume six of these were children. Under normal circumstances with no loss of children through early death, this suggests that John was married for the first time approximately fifteen years earlier, that is about 1767. Extrapolating further assuming an age at marriage of approximately twenty-five, gives a preliminary estimate of John's date of birth as about 1742 and might have been as much as five years earlier. If we continue the extrapolation, it is unlikely that John's father could have been born later than approximately 1715 even if John was his oldest son. This places severe limitations on possibilities for this father, for the only Gentrys present in Hanover County in 1740 of the appropriate age were Joseph-II and James-II. The presence of John Gentry in the same neighborhood as George Gentry and Watson Gentry (whose father was James Jr.) very strongly supports the premise that John was a part of the James-II family, and his age places him in the middle of the family -- younger than George, but probably older than David.

While we are making estimates of John's birth and date of first marriage, we can also estimate a date for a second marriage. One inference from the 1785 deed in which John and his wife Nancy cleared title on land near Totopotomoy Creek, is that Nancy, whose maiden name was Sims, had been previously married to a Parke Smith who had apparently deserted Nancy and was believed to have died. It is apparent that her marriage to John was her second, and considering the size of family he had in the 1782 census, it was his second also. The timing of the land settlement suggests that John and Nancy were married not long before 1785.

 
Children of John Gentry of Hanover County
Information on potential children of John Gentry comes mostly from the tax records that were recorded in Hanover and Henrico Counties beginning in 1782, supplemented by census records beginning in 1810. Before considering possibilities, there are a number of Gentrys that can be eliminated because they are known to belong to other families. These are:

1. David Gentry family which includes David, Henry, Matthew, and James Gentry. Two James Gentrys, one the son of David, and the other, presumed to be the son of John, require a certain amount of care to distinguish. In the Hanover tax lists of 1782 to 1815, one set of James Gentry entries is marked "son of D." for the years 1805-1809. David's son does not appear separately in the 1810 Hanover County census, but in 1820, he can be distinguished by the presence of 17 slaves, whereas the second James had none.
2. Joseph-II Gentry family which includes Susanna, the widow of Joseph-III, the latter's sons, Joseph Jr. and Gaddis, and Robert, a son of Gaddis. We can also include Benjamin Gentry in this group for exclusion of consideration. Benjamin was a name that occurred a number of times in the Joseph Gentry families, but not elsewhere. The Benjamin who was listed in tax records was probably a son of a Benjamin C. W. Gentry who was married to Catherine Page in 1778 in Hanover County. This older Benjamin could not have been a son of John Gentry simply because of his age -- his date of birth would have been too early.
3. Nathan Gentry family (son of Nicholas-II) which would have included a reference to Nathan's widow, Mary in the 1787 personal property tax list for Hanover County. It would also include a record of a marriage by Nathan's son, Wyatt, to Mary Amos that is listed in 1808 among Hanover County marriages. (Interestingly, apparently the same marriage, that of Wyatt to a "Polly Amos" is recorded among Louisa County marriages of 1806.)

This still leaves close to a dozen names that are present in one or more records that could potentially be a part of the family of John Gentry Sr. It will be helpful to tabulate these in an organized fashion, listing them in the order in which they first appeared in the tax lists since this would be a first approximation of their relative dates of birth.

Individual	First Tax Mention	Last Tax Mention	First Census	Comments
William	1782	1787 ?	1810 Hanover	Probably nephew of John 1782 state census (1 ind) Revol. War svc. 1777-1780
John (Sr.)	1783	1790 ?	1810 Hanover	+ "Patrick, a minor" in 1786 1782 state census (8 ind)
Patrick	1788	1790	1810 Henrico
George	1789	1790	- - -	This is very probably the George (#246) included in GFA<12(b)> who died early leaving a son who was raised in Hanover County
James (Sr.)	1789	1815(?)	1810 Hanover	+ "Jr" (1791)
John (Jr)	1791(?)	1815	1810 Hanover	+ 1 adult (1812)
Nicholas	1792	1805	- - -	6 ac Hanover County (1800)
William	1793	1812	1810 Henrico	6 ac Hanover County (1794-1796) 39 ac Hanover County (1800)
Austin	1795	1795	- - -
Charles	1799	1815	1810 Hanover
Laney	1815	1815	w/John Sr(?), 1810 Hanover	married Polly Sneed, 1813 (with consent of father John)

The 1782 state enumeration showed John with a family of eight, six of them presumably sons if his wife was still living, seven if his wife had died (John had married Nancy Sims by 1785, but the date of death of a first wife is unknown). The number of Gentrys in Hanover County at the time that could potentially have been part of his family was greater than that, so we will attempt to pick the six or seven most likely from the table above. We know from marriage records that Laney Gentry was a son of John, but he was born after the 1782 census so is not involved in an identification of the family members listed there. The older William can be excluded as a son of John because he was born too early for that to be so. All of the remaining individuals were of approximately similar age, none of whom can be said definitely to belong to any other Gentry family, but all of whom could easily be sons of John. We can infer from personal property tax and census records that a John Jr.was a son. From personal property tax records, Patrick Gentry was recorded as a tithable minor in the household of John in 1786, and presumably this same Patrick Gentry was charged as a principal tax payer in 1788 and later lists. This suggests that Patrick was another son of John and was over age 21 in 1788. Further, in last month's Journal article on the various William Gentrys of Hanover County, we also concluded that the William Gentry who lived first in Hanover County then settled in Henrico County was probably a son of John.

We will consider George Gentry next. As indicated in the table, he was probably the George reported by GFA who died at a relatively young age, leaving a son Edmund who was raised by an uncle in Hanover County. Henrico County marriage records show the marriage of Edmund Gentry to Rebecca Ford in 1816. An Edmund (sometimes "Edward") appeared in Henrico County census records until 1840, and he was then replaced in 1850 by a listing for "Rebecca Gentry". These census records show him to have been born shortly after 1794. It is significant that William Gentry of Hanover County, the war veteran, had a boy living with him in 1810 of that age who was not among the children he later listed in a request for Federal pension assistance. Moreover, this is the only Gentry family in the 1810 census in either Hanover or Henrico County with a child of this age with the exception of one son of David Gentry's son, Henry. We can therefore rather confidently conclude that William was the uncle to which GFA referred, and the extra child in William's household was his necphew, Edmund.

The Hanover County tax records show George listed for 1789 and 1790, which means he was born in or before 1768. With the exception of witnessing a deed in 1782 along with Austin Gentry, there is no record of him thereafter. The deed in question was for land along the Chickahominy River on the border between Hanover County and Henrico County. GFA refers to George living in Louisa County, but there are no records in that county of either this George, or of his wife Susan. It is likely that there was some confusion of identification between this George, and his uncle, George Gentry of StoneHorse Creek, who moved from Hanover County to Louisa County in 1784. It is more likely that the younger George continued to live in Hanover County until his death.

Austin Gentry also appeared very briefly in Hanover County tax records, in fact in only one year, 1795. The appearance of Austin along with George in 1792 suggests that the two were brothers. The disappearance of their names from the records after 1795 suggests further that something may have happened to the two of them shortly after, resulting in the death of both men, possibly by accident, or more likely by sickness. There is no record of George's wife, Susan, either, and she probably died also at about the same time. This would explain the fact that the child, Edmund, was raised by a relative rather than by the widow. The year 1795 is compatible with the birth of Edmund.

This is a long-winded way of rejecting George and Austin as probable children of John Gentry. We are left with the remaining Gentrys, namely James, Nicholas, and Charles as proposed children. James and Charles continued to appear in Hanover County records for many years, and are very logical members of this family. Nicholas Gentry is a mystery. He appeared in several Hanover personal property tax lists between 1792 and 1805 and in a confusing land tax record in Hanover County in 1800 which associates his name with 6 acres of land. There is no trace of him after 1805 and we have not been able to locate him in census records in 1810 or after. The conclusion is that he must have died early like George and Austin.

Summary of Family of John Gentry of Hanover

John Gentry
--	Born about 1740 to 1745, probably in Hanover County, Virginia
--	Married (1) Unknown
--	Married (2)Nancy (Sims) Smith about 1784-5 (widow of Parke Smith) (daughter of Bruster Sims)
		Children of John and First Wife (all born in Hanover County):
	i.	Patrick Gentry born about 1767, Hanover County; died 1846, Henrico County, "age 83". Married (1) Nancy Gilman; married (2) Mary Ann [Unknown].
	ii.	William Gentry born about 1770, Hanover County; died 1819, Henrico County. Married (1) [Unknown]; married (2) 3 Jul 1816, Henrico County, Rebecca Phillips (remarried 9 Nov 1819, Henrico County to Henry Easley).
	iii.	James Gentry born about l773, died before 1815, Hanover County (survived by wife Mary).
	iv.	Charles Gentry born about 1775; died 1825-1830, Hanover County (survived by second wife, Caroline Matilda).
	v.	John Gentry Jr. born about 1778; died after 1860?
	vi.	Nicholas Gentry born about 1780; disappeared after 1805.
		Children of John and Nancy:
	vii.	Laney Gentry born about 1786; died about 1846 -1850. Henrico County marriage records list Laney's marriage to Polly Sneed on 21 Aug 1813 and 12 May 1829.
viii - x.		Three daughters, born 1784-1794, 1784-1794, and 1794-1800.
	xi.	Permelia Gentry ? born about 1804; married 30 Dec 1824 to Dabney Snead.

 

B. John Gentry of Louisa County

The earliest apparent reference in Louisa County to a John Gentry (after those in the 1740's for John of Botetourt County), was in a 1761 tax report for Trinity Parish (formed in 1761 from Fredericksville Parish, covered roughly 3/5ths of the central area of Louisa County,) where John was listed as an overseer in the home of a Nicholas Crainshaw<7>. The next reference to a John Gentry was in the 1782 state census for that county<8> in which John was listed with 3 members in his family, located in the sixth "hundred" (a division of the county for purposes of census enumeration) which was in the north central part of the county and part of Trinity Parish. A John was also in the 1783 Louisa County personal property list<7>, liable for 1 tithe and located in Trinity Parish. He was missing from the 1785 state census, but there have been estimates that from 1/4th to 1/3rd of the county residents were missed in the two census enumerations for 1782 and 1785. There is the possibility of confusion of Johns at this point, as Nicholas-III (son of Nicholas-II), who lived along Goldmine Creek in the north central section of Louisa County (see map, Figure 1) had a son John of approximately the same age as the John we are studying. Nicholas was in the same 1782 census as John, but the nine members in his family presumably included his son who was living at home. Fortunately for our task of sorting out John Gentrys, the son of Nicholas-III did not remain in Louisa County but moved to Bullitt County, Kentucky.

The Louisa County John is reported in GFA ("The Gentry Family in America") as #248<12d>. The John Gentry (#250<12f>) listed as a son of John Sr, corresponds well with the John Jr. in the Louisa County census records, and John's marriage to Barbara Haggard is confirmed by a 1799 marriage bond on file in the county records<11>. Building on the list in GFA, we can propose the following children:

• John Jr. (#250), "born about 1775"
• Matilda (see below)
• Wilson, "born in Virginia in 1783"
• Samuel, "born in Virginia"
• Susan, married Basil Duke
• Anna, married John Gafney

The Patrick Gentry included by GFA among John Sr.'s children (#249<12e>) is surely a case of mistakenly placing Patrick with this John rather than the John of Hanover County whom GFA does not describe at all. We will discuss Patrick further in a moment. Placing Patrick in this family is a problem that occurs not infrequently in the "Other Gentrys" section of GFA whereby there has been an erroneous combination of data. As to the other sons, the 1800 Louisa County census shows John Sr. with 2 sons born 1784-1790 which is consistent with the ages of Samuel and Wilson, while John Jr. is separately recorded with a date of birth as being between 1774 and 1784. The marriage of John Jr. in 1799 to Barbara Haggard<10> suggests that the earlier part of this census age range is more appropriate so that the date given in GFA is certainly reasonable. The substitute information for an 1810 census, namely a personal property tax in which John Gentry was liable for 3 tithable males<8>, almost surely applies to John Sr. rather than John Jr. The presence of Samuel and Wilson in his household is appropriate to the tax liability.

It is possible that John Sr. had a daughter, Matilda, although she does not appear in the 1800 census.. A Louisa County marriage bond dated 17 Mar 1803<11>, records the marriage of Matilda Gentry to William Purkins [Perkins]. John Gentry was the bondsman. Estimating her age at the time of her marriage suggests a birthdate of roughly 1780, so she may have been second in order of children between John Jr. and Wilson.

We have mentioned that both the 1800 Louisa County census and the 1810 tax list published as a substitute for the 1810 census are consistent with the presence of John Sr. accompanied by two sons, and a separate listing for his oldest son, John Jr. By 1820, we find John Jr.'s family present and a younger John Gentry family in which the mother and young children are present but the presumed father is missing (either absent or recently died?). John Sr. and the entire remainder of his family are missing.

Both the 1761 tax report and the 1782 census placed John in central Louisa County, in Trinity Parish. At some point thereafter he acquired land on Locust Creek<12b>. Whether he moved to this location or acquired it by purchase or inheritance and did not necessarily live there is not known. This creek runs northward into the Little River, starting just west of the Louisa-Hanover border and ending on the east side of the border (see map). This was in St. Martin's Parish, and was in the eighth "hundred" at the time of the 1782 state census. GFA reports that a deed in 1821 transferred 77 1/3 acres of this land to John Jr. The fractional acreage sounds suspiciously like a division of a larger plot of 232 acres into three equal portions. We have just said that John Sr. does not appear to be in the 1820 Louisa County census so we can speculate that perhaps the 1821 deed was written in settlement of his estate. We know that John's two younger sons, Wilson and Samuel , were in Kentucky in the early 1820's. This suggests that John Sr. died shortly before 1820 and that John's two other sons shared this estate with John Jr. and then left Virginia.

We have not considered the date of birth of John Sr. himself, nor the identity of his father. If the 1761 reference of a John Gentry serving as a plantation overseer was indeed for this John, he must have been over 16 years of age to be included in the tax list. That is, he was born before 1745. In all probability to be serving as an overseer suggests he was probably in his early twenties. This would give a date of birth of about 1738 to 1740. This suggests that his father was born before about 1715. James-II could not have been this father, his son, John, was the John Gentry of Hanover County we discussed above. Since there was no other second generation Gentry that remained in the Hanover/Louisa area, we must assume that this father was part of the third generation of Gentrys, born after the death of Nicholas-I. This leaves only one possibility among the known Gentrys and that is the elder William Gentry of St. Paul's Parish, who appeared briefly in parish records in 1732 and 1735, and then disappeared. We have mentioned him very briefly in an earlier Journal article published in October, 2001, and speculated that he left home at an early age and moved out of St. Paul's Parish to St. Martin's Parish. Whether or not William ever moved from western Hanover County to the area that became Louisa County is not known, but there is a strong likelihood that his children did so and represent some of the unidentified Gentrys that lived in Louisa County in the latter half of the eighteenth century.

 
Children of John Gentry of Louisa County
John Jr.

Wilson

Samuel

 

C. Patrick Gentrys

We have already discussed briefly the Patrick Gentry of Hanover and Henrico Counties. He appeared first in the Hanover County tax records -- as a minor in the household of John Gentry in 1786, then taxed individually in 1788 and 1790. We have concluded that Patrick-1 (as we will call him) must have been born in about 1767. This Patrick is the same as the one who was taxed in Henrico County in 1801. We can infer from the date of birth and circumstances relating to Patrick-1 that he was a son of John-IV of Hanover County, and specifically that he was John's oldest son.

Patrick-1 appeared repeatedly in Henrico County census records from 1810 to 1840 with dates of birth varying from 1750-1760 to 1775-1794<14>. In contrast to Patrick, the record for his wife (his second) are consi stent with a date of birth of 1775 to 1780. At the time of his death in 1846, he was listed in the settlement of his estate as "age 83" which would indicate he was born in 1763. Patrick was married twice. His second wife, Mary Ann, is named in his will that was written in 1838. This will and the will of Edmund Gilman, father of Patrick's first wife, Nancy, (who made bequests to his grandchildren) , give a considerable amount of detail about Patrick's children and grandchildren. This Patrick is the one listed by GFA as #249<12e>. GFA identifies him as a son of John Gentry of Louisa County which is a mistake.

The next Patrick, whom we shall designate as Patrick-2, is listed in GFA, as #32<12a>, which identifies him (correctly) as a son of Nathan Gentry, son of Nicholas-II, gives his wife's name as Mary Margaret Porter, and gives some details of his death in 1820. There are very few references to this Patrick among the Louisa County records. GFA gives his date of birth as about 1780 which is reasonable. A marriage bond for his marriage, 23 Oct 1802 is on record<11>, but the name given there is Mary Ann Porter. Both parties were listed as being over 21 years of age. Patrick's father, Nathan, died in 1784 in Louisa Co. and his widow, Marianna (or Mary Ann) Black is thought to have moved to Hanover County where a Mary Ann Gentry was listed in the 1810 census. Patrick did not appear in the 1800 Louisa County census, but there is a Patrick in the 1810 tax list, liable for 1 tithe at that time<9>. The 1820 Louisa County census has an entry for Patrick Gentry, but the individuals listed appear to be his widow and the family of their oldest son, William.

In case anyone should wonder about his connection to the Hanover and Louisa County Patricks, there was a Patrick Gentry (Patrick-3), who appeared in the 1850 Boone County, Missouri census. His age was given as 75 (which equates to an approximate date of birth of 1775), and was born in Virginia. With him in the same household, was an Elizabeth Gentry, age 72, also born in Virginia. This Elizabeth is believed to be the widow of Bartlett Gentry, son of Martin-III Gentry, who moved from Madison County, Kentucky to Boone County, Missouri, some time after 1810 and died there in 1821. Bartlett's grandfather, Nicholas-II Gentry, in his will of 1787, specifically bequeathed to him "one slave boy, Patrick", and this undoubtedly is the same Patrick who served the family as a retainer for all those years. The 1850 census has no comment on Patrick, but the 1840 Boone County census shows one free colored male living with Elizabeth and obviously Patrick was a freedman who chose to remain with his family.

 

D. Francis/Frances Gentry

Before leaving John of Louisa County, it will be helpful to briefly review some other Gentrys found in that county that may or may not be directly related to John. Of particular concern are a group that appear to be probable children of Francis/Frances or "Fanney" Gentry, the presumed widow of an unidentified Gentry. A "Francis" appears in the 1800 Louisa census with 5 children but no husband<14>. The family does not appear in the 1782 state census. An analysis of the ages of these children reported in 1800 suggests that the oldest was probably born between 1782 and 1784, and thus Frances was probably married shortly after 1780. The youngest 3 children were born between 1790 and 1800, which suggests further that their father probably died in approximately 1796, and certainly before 1800. Francis appeared also in the 1810 tax list for Louisa County with 1 tithable in the family -- presumably one of her sons<9>.

In reconstructing this family, we can estimate that the missing husband of Frances was probably born between 1755 and 1760. This places him in an age bracket where he could have been a younger brother of John Sr. of Louisa County. One might ask whether he was a son of Nicholas-IV (son of Nicholas-III and Elizabeth Stringer) who died leaving a wife and family who have never been identified. This could not have been the case, however, since Nicholas-IV died in 1787, and so could not have been the father of Fanney's children. Another possibility is that the unidentified father may have lived in Hanover County and then moved to Louisa County before his death, or his widow moved after that death. Among the Gentrys listed in the Hanover County personal tax records in section A. above, George and Austin Gentry's tax records do no extend beyond 1795. As stated above, George's wife was said to have been named Susan, and the survival of a son Edmund after his death completely eliminates him as a prospect. Nothing is known of Austin Gentry, on the other hand, and the lack of any Hanover tax records after 1795 fits what we know about Francis's family. There remains a big question, "If Austin was Francis' husband, why did he appear in the Hanover tax records only in the one year, 1795?"

In addition to census and tax list references, "Fanney" Gentry appears in the Louisa marriage bond records of 16 Jan 1810 when Elizabeth Gentry, "daughter of Fanney", married Lewis "Paggett"<11> A related entry with Lewis "Padgett" serving as bondsman, shows Nicholas Gentry marrying Nancy Carrel, 1 Jan 1814. This strongly suggests that Elizabeth and Nicholas were brother and sister. These two Gentrys fit the profile of the children found in Fanney's 1800 census record, Elizabeth born about 1786 and Nicholas born about 1790. Two otherwise unidentified Gentrys, namely John and Robert, appear in the 1820 Louisa County census and also fit Frances' family in terms of age. The family of a John Gentry who apparently was considerably younger than the John Jr. discussed above, is listed in that year. John himself was not present with the family and may have died shortly before the census (he had five children born between 1810 and 1820). A second, "orphan" or "left-over" Gentry in the 1820 census listing was Robert. His situation is discussed in more detail in Section D. below.

This leaves us with the following proposal for Frances' family:
Unknown Gentry (all Speculation)

--  Born about 1755; died perhaps about 1796. Married about 1782 to Frances/Francis ("Fanney") (maiden name unknown) presumably in Louisa County.
Children of Frances:
i	Unknown Son, born before 1784, may have died before 1810 .
ii	John Gentry, born about 1786 in Louisa County. His family is in the 1820 Louisa County census with a wife and 5 children but without John himself who may have died shortly before then.
iii	Elizabeth Gentry, born about 1790 in Louisa County; married 16 Jan 1810 (Louisa County marriage bond) to Lewis "Paggett"[Padgett], and identified as the daughter of Fanney Gentry.
iv	Nicholas Gentry, born about 1793 in Louisa County (according to the 1850 Rockingham County, Virginia, census); married 1 Jan 1814 (Louisa County marriage bond) to Nancy Carrel who was listed as being "of age" (bondsman, Lewis Padgett). Nicholas moved by 1820 to Rockingham County, where he spent the rest of his life.
v	Robert Gentry, born about 1796 in Louisa County, present in Louisa County in 1820 but missing thereafter (see discussion below).

 

E.   Robert Gentrys

Another case of duplicate Gentry names that can be difficult to distinguish like John, William and Patrick, is that of Robert Gentry. Gaddis (or "Geddes") Gentry, who was a son of Joseph-III Gentry, had a son, Robert. A family bible survives detailing the names and pertinent dates for this family. Census records in Louisa County, for 1820 and 1830, show a Robert Gentry family which matches perfectly in ages and sexes, the family outlined in the bible. The bible gives the name of Robert's wife as Mary Marks whom he married in 1813 in Louisa County. In the 1810 Hanover County census, however, there is listed a Robert Gentry who was married, of the same age as Gaddis' Robert, and with no children. This must refer to the Robert Gentry married, also in Louisa County, to Elizabeth Kersey in 1809. Looking into this further, we find in the 1820 Louisa County census two Roberts, one the son of Gaddis, and the other a Robert who was five to ten years younger than the first Robert, with a wife of similar age, and with five children (or step-children?) . There is no further record of him. Because of the difference in age, he could not have been the same as the Robert of the 1810 census. If we can believe the Gentry family bible, the only thing that makes sense for this situation is that the two Roberts involved in the Louisa County marriages were the same person. Why Robert's first wife was missed by the family bible may possibly have been simply a matter of timing -- the bible records were started some time following his second marriage. This takes care of one Robert Gentry. We are left with a second Robert, born probably soon after 1794, for whom we have no good answer, and he simply becomes one more of the Hanover/Louisa Gentrys for whom we have no verifiable identification.

 

F. Other Unidentified Hanover and Louisa County Gentrys

In the discussions above, and in previous articles about the families of Joseph-II, Samuel-II, and Nicholas-II, we have touched on almost all of the Gentrys living in Hanover and Louisa Counties in the second half of the eighteenth century. We list below two others who are among the marriages and baptisms recorded by the Rev. William Douglas of Louisa County who have not so far been mentioned:

Elizabeth Gentry
Three children of Elizabeth Gentry and Jeremiah Blacklock were baptized by Rev. Douglas between 1764 and 1773<10>. Elizabeth and Jeremiah must have been married in perhaps 1762, and Elizabeth's date of birth can be approximated as about 1740.

Keziah Gentry
A daughter, Martha, of Keziah Gentry and Will Camp was baptized by Rev. Douglas in 1772 in Louisa County<10>. Keziah's name does not appear anywhere else in Louisa County records. If Martha was her first child, we can assume that Keziah and Will Camp were married in approximately 1770, and that Keziah was born probably between 1745 and 1750.

 

G. What was the Ancestry of the Louisa County Gentrys?

We have briefly or in detail, described at least four Gentrys who were born between about 1738 and say 1755, that do not fit into any of the family groups that we have so far considered in these Journal articles on the early Gentrys. Since these four all center very much on Louisa County, it appears probable that they were siblings and spent most if not all of their early life in Louisa County rather than in Hanover County. These four are:

• Elizabeth, born about 1740
• John, born about 1742
• Keziah, born about 1745
• (Unknown), husband of Frances, born about 1755

What are the possibilities concerning their parents. The older ones could conceivably have been children of John of Botetourt County, born during the time he was living in Louisa County, and remaining there when he went on west to Augusta County. This appears very unlikely, and one is hard pressed to explain why the children did not also move to Augusta County, unless for example, John was divorced and his wife remained in Louisa County while John moved. That appears very unlikely in light of the scarcity of divorces in those days.

Another possibility is that these were children of James-II who certainly spent his earlier years in the western part of Hanover County before returning to his father's plantation in St. Paul's Parish in 1751. In addition, his oldest son James Jr. lived much of his life in Louisa County and western Hanover County. There are two problems with this. One is that we have already suggested (in the previous month's Journal article) a number of members of his family who were born during this same span of years. Given the number of children in some families during those early years, this is not necessarily a serious problem. Of more concern is the question: "Why did not these children, especially the younger ones, return to St. Paul's Parish with James along with his sons David (born about 1742) and William (born about 1745)?"

If we reject these options, we are led to a third possibility which we suggested in last month's discussion of multiple William Gentrys. This is that Joseph-II's son William who disappeared from St. Paul's Parish records after 1735, did not die, but rather moved to western Hanover County as did James-II. We can speculate that William may have moved on further west across the Hanover County border into Louisa County, while James remained in the vicinity of Stone Horse Creek.

There is no record of William during the years following 1735, but neither are there records of any of these children during that same period. There are no vestry records for St. Martin's Parish which bordered St. Paul's to the west and covered western Hanover County and eastern Louisa Co, which is where this hypothetical William probably settled. Tax lists for St. Martin's Parish do not exist before 1767, which we might postulate was after the time William died. In brief, we have no independent way of knowing whether or not William-III survived his last reference in St. Paul's Parish. The proposals we have made above are highly speculative and many cannot be backed up by any hard evidence. If the reader is willing to accept this suggestion of a family of Gentrys descended from William-III, it should be understood that this is done on the reader's own responsibility.

 
Conclusion
It must be emphasized that the present article is very much a "work in progress", and all conclusions contained herein should be carefully considered by the reader before being linked to specific family relationships of their own. We are providing a framework to facilitate further work as additional evidence becomes available. There are a number of uncertainties relating to John of Louisa County, and paerticularly to the family of Fanney Gentry. Questions remain about the Robert Gentrys, and there is very much of an open question as to whether William-III Gentry indeed survived to have children. Undoubtedly, more facts will surface in the future that will help to resolve some of the questions, and readers of this article are invited to contribute where they can.
 

References

1.	U.S. Census of 1790, publ by Bureau of Census VA county census records destroyed, substituted state enumerations for earlier years.
		Hanover Co. (1782)	List of Winston Geddes
	p. 29	David Gentry	8 people
	p. 29	Joseph Gentry	5
	p. 29	William Gentry	1
			Capt. Owen Dabney district
	p. 28	John Gentry	8 people
	p. 28	Watson Gentry	4

2.	Louisa County Deed Books
	1784 Jul 23         Deed Bk(H-471)
	John Powel [Powell] to George Gentry of Hanover County, Virgnia, 540 acres in the County of Louisa beginning on [Deruns / Dunns ?] line, continuing Capt. Terrells, to Dickinsons, to Waddy's and Edwards new line. Witnessed by John Michie, John Gentry and Judah Gentry (?). Recorded July 27, 1784.

3.	"Hanover County, Virginia Deeds 1783-1792" abstracted and compiled by Rosalie Edith Davis, Heritage Trails, Manchester, MO 1983
(a)	1785 Mar 10     (p.25)     Deed Bk p.118-119
	John Gentry and Nancey his wife of Hanover Co. to Benjamin Timberlake of same. Whereas Bruster Sims of Co. afsd. St. Paul's Par. dec'd in his life time purchased of Richard Foster and Sarah his wife a tract of land in par. and co. afsd. on branches of Totopotomy Cr. and died seised of same, having made his last will & Testament and bequeathed until his dau. Nancey Sims (now Nancey the wife of sd. John Gentry) sd. tract, who first intermarried with one Parke Smith, which land sd. Parke Smith sold unto George Parke who sold same unto Joseph Brand who transferred his right thereto to William Sims who also transferred his right to John Timberlake, dec'd which right was inherited by his son and heir at law the afsd. Benjamin Timberlake who now is in possession of sd. tract bounded as followeth: Archers corner...Taylors corner...Gentrys corner. Parke Smith who only had a right in sd. Land during the term of his natural life did convey sd. land 7 Sept 1755 departed this state and it hath been supposed that sd. Parke Smith is dead, but it being doubtful to the sd. John Gentry and Nancey his wife whether they can procure sufficient evidence to prove the death of sd. Smith without great expense and being willing and desirous to settle all disputes respecting sd. land do sell their right thereto unto sd. Benjamin Timberlake. For and in consideration of that tract lying on the north side of the road running through sd. tract being on the day of the date of these presents given until their possession, hath given and sold to Timberlake all their right to that part of the tract which lies on the south side of sd. road.         Signed:     John (+) Gentry     Nancy (+) Gentry Wit: Wm Wooddy, Jacob Christian, Charles (X) Tyler Ack 7 Jul 1785 by John Gentry and Nancey his wife.
(b)	1786 Mar 1     (p.47)     Deed Bk p.218-219
	John Crenshaw & Elizabeth his wife of Hanover Co. to John Harvie of City of Richmond; for 600 lb.; two tracts of land on both sides of Stone Horse Cr.; one tract of 160 ac. the other 32 ac.; the first tract purchased by James Crenshaw of Phillip Pryor 22 Sep 1748...on Stone Horse Cr...John Gentrys line..Thomersons line...Symes line...the other tract purchased by James Crenshaw of James Cawthon 2 Jun 1757...on east side of Stone Horse Cr... Cawthrons new line.         Signed:    John Crenshaw     Elizabeth Crenshaw
(c)	1789 Jun 18     (p.103)    Deed Bk p.487-488
	John (+) Gentry witnessed deed for land at mouth of Tussoky branch on Taylors Cr.
(d)	1792 May 21     (p.117)    Deed Bk p.559-560
	George Gentrey and Austin Gentry witnessed deed for land on "Chckahomaney" Swamp in St. Paul's Par.

4.	"Hanover County Taxpayers Saint Paul's Parish 1782 - 1815", compiled by William Ronald Cocke, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1956
	John	1783-1785,  1786 (+ Patrick, a minor),  1787-1789,  1790 (+ 1 adult),  1791-1793
	[John Jr?]	1805-1809,  1812 (+ 1 adult),  1815
	Patrick	1788-1790
	Nicholas	1792,  1796,  1799-1803,  1805
	Benjamin	1793-
	Austin	1795-
	George	1799,  1800 ("petitioner only", no property)
	Charles	1799-1803,  1805-1807,  1809,  1815
	William	(son of John?)
		1782 (no poll tax),  1783-1787,  1790-1792 (+ 1 adult),  1793-1803,  1805-1812

5.	"Hanover County, Virginia, Land Tax Books", compiled and edited by Ruth and Sam Sparacio, The Antient Press, McLean, VA, 1997
	John           40 ac:    1787-1790, 1792-1796
	William         6 ac:    1794; 45 ac: 1795-1796

6.	"Binns Genealogy, LLC" at <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ysbinns/vataxlists/> Website contains online images of 1790 and 1800 VA taxlists published as a substitute for the 1790 and 1800 Federal Census.
(a)	Hanover Co., 1790 (date of personal property enumeration):
	19 Mar	Geddes
	19 Mar	Susanna
	26 Mar	David
	26 Mar	John
	26 Mar	"Partrick"
	26 Mar	William
(b)	Henrico Co., 1801 Personal property liability
	William	1 white     10 black     2 horses
	Patrick	1 white                      1 horse
	William	1 white      1 black      1 horse

7.	"Louisa County Virginia Tithables and Census 1743 - 1785", edited and compiled by Rosalie Edith Davis, Manchester, Mo., 1988.
	From Trinity Parish [Separated from Fredericksville Parish, 1761, covered roughly 3/5ths of the center of Louisa County, boundaries running north and south approximately parallel to the county lines.]
		Head of Household	Other Members	Negroes	Tithes/Acres
	1761	(S. side South Anna River)
		Nicholas Crainshaw	Jno Gentry Ovsr	Abram	2 - 445
	1775	Nichs. Gentry Jun	son John	Cate	3 - 194
	1783	John Gentory			1 -

8.	"The Censuses of 1782 and 1785: Defective Yet Useful and Fascinating", from Louisa County Historical Magazine, vol 5, #1 (Summer 1973), p.20:
			1782		1785
		"Hundred"	White	Black	White	Black
	Gentry, Geo	four	9	4	--	--
	Gentry, John	six	3	--	--	--
	Gentry, Martin	two	7	--	6	1
	Gentry, Nicholas	six	9	2	9	1
	[Approx 1/4 of householders omitted 1782, about 1/3 omitted 1785. Louisa Co. divided into 8 "hundreds" for census, 2 and 4 in center and east lower tier, 6 in west-central northern tier.]

9.	"A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia, Tax Lists of the Counties for which the census is missing", edited by Netti Schreiner-Yantis, Springfield, VA, 1971 (includes Halifax and Orange).
			White Tithables	Slaves >age 12	Horses
	Louisa Co.	Gentry, John Sr.	3	0	2
		Gentrey, Patrick	1	0	0
		Gentry, Fanney	1	0	2

10.	"The Douglas Register", transcribed and edited by W. Mac. Jones, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977 (reprinted)
	C.    Births and Baptisms
	p.199	Nath. Gentry & Marianne Black Son named Wyat born 15 Mar 1781; bapt 9 Apr 1781
	p.167	Will Camp & Keziah Gentry Daughter named Martha born 28 Feb 1772; bapt 2 Jun 1772

11.	"Marriages of Louisa County 1766-1815", compiled by Kathleen Booth Williams, 1977, C. J. Carrier Co. (compiled from Louisa County Marriage Register which starts 1766)
	Date	Groom	Bride	Bondsman/Witness
	1780 Apr 1	John Gentry	Milly Edwards	Grant Edwards
	1799 Jan 4	John Gentry	Barbara Hogard dau of Jesse Hogard [Haggard?]	William Plant /w/ William Poindexter       Thomas Wash       Benjamin Duke
		(m. 5 Jan 1799 by Rev. Martin [who says "Hoggard"])
	1802 Aug 14	William Anthony	Elenor B Gentry over 21 years of age dau of Mary Gentry	Stanley Alvis /w/ William Perkins       David Kersey       J L Walton
	1802 Oct 23	Patrick Gentry over 21 years	Mary Ann Porter over 21 years	William Whitlock Jr.
	1803 Mar 13	William Purkins [Perkins?]	Matilda Gentry	John Gentry /w/ William Dugins
		(m. 17 Mar 1803 by Rev. William Cooke)
	1809 Dec 6	Robert Gentry over 21 years	Elizabeth Kersey John Thomasson is guardian of Eliz.	Stephen Harris
	1810 Jan 16	Lewis Paggett	Elizabeth Gentry dau of Fanney Gentry	Thomas Mann
		(m. 16 Jan by Rev. John Lasley)
	1813 May 31	Robert Gentry	Mary Marks [Polly] 21 years of age	William Sledd
	1814 Jan 1	Nicholas Gentry	Nancy Carrel of age	Lewis Padgett
		(m. by Rev. Claibourne Walton)

12.    "The Gentry Family in America", by Richard Gentry, The Grafton Press, New York, 1909. (Referred to herein as GFA).

13.	"1790-1844 Marriage Records of Madison Co., KY", transcribed by Charlotte Ramsey and posted at <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cramsey/madco_g.html>
	p. 147    24 Dec 1823    Gentry, Samuel married to Runcle, Susan.

14.	Federal Census Returns, on microfilm, displayed below in standard order appropriate to year.
	1800 Louisa Co.
		Francis Gentry	M: 2  1  1  0  0;   F: 1  0  0  1   0	widow of XX?
		John Gentry	M: 0  2  0  0  1;   F: 0  0  0  0  1	John (Lou)
		John Gentry	M: 1  0  1  0  0;   F: 0  0  1  0  0	son of John (Lou)
	1810 Hanover Co.
	p.53	Jno Gentry	M: 1  0  0  1  0;   F: 2  0  0  1  0	son of John (Han)
	p.53	Robert Gentry	M: 0  0  1  0  0;   F: 0  0  1  0  0	son of Gaddis
	p.70	Charles Gentry	M: 0  0  0  1  0;   F: 0  0  0  1  0	son of John (Han)
	p.72	Jack Gentry	M: 0  0  1  0  1;   F: 1  1  2  0  1	John (Han)?
	1810 Henrico Co.
	p.112	P.H. Gentry	M: 1  0  0  0  1;   F: 2  0  0  1  0	son of John (Han)
	p.114	William Gentry	M: 3  0  2  1  0;   F: 0  1  0  1  0	"
	1810 King & Queen Co.
	p.219	Benjamin Gentry	M: 1  0  0  1  0;   F: 1  0  0  1  0	son of Benj. Sr.?
	1820 Hanover Co.
	p.60	John Gentry	M: 4  2  0  0  1  0;   F: 0  2  2  1  0	son of John (Han)
	p.80	Charles Gentry	M: 2  0  0  0  0  1;   F: 2  0  0  1  0	"
	p.81	John Gentry	M: 0  0  0  0  0  1;   F: 0  0  2  0  1	John (Han)
	1820 Henrico Co.
	p.100	Edward Gentry	M: 1  0  0  1  0  0;   F: 1  0  0  1  0	"Edmund"?
	p.100	William Gentry	M: 0  0  0  0  0  1;   F: 0  0  0  1  0	son of John (Han)
	p.101	Patrick Gentry	M: 0  1  1  2  1  0;   F: 0  1  1  1  0	"
	1820 King & Queen Co.
	p.16	Benjamin Gentry	M: 0  1  1  0  0  1;   F: 3  0  0  0  1	son of Benj Sr.?
	1820 Louisa Co.
	p.50	John Gentry	M: 1  1  0  1  0  1;   F: 1  1  0  1  0	son of John (Lou)
	p.51	Patrick Gentry	M: 1  1  0  1  0  0;   F: 1  0  1  0  1	son of Nathan
	p.51	John Gentry	M: 1  0  0  0  0  0;   F: 4  0  1  1  0	son of Frances?
	p.51	Robert Gentry	M: 2  0  0  1  1  0;   F: 2  0  0  1  0	son of Frances?
	1820 Rockingham Co.
	p.138	Nicholas Gentry	M: 1  0  0  0  1  0;   F: 2  0  1  0  0	son of Frances?

Substantially rewritten, January 2013

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