Introduction
Aaron Gentry was among the earlier of the Gentrys to move from Virginia and settle in
Tennessee, arriving there in about 1807. Mentioned briefly in an earlier Gentry Journal article,
he deserves a more detailed description along with other early Tennessee Gentrys. References
to Aaron in printed documents and on the internet show an interesting tendency to report
either his family and circumstances in Virginia or those in Tennessee, but not both. We will
attempt to provide a comprehensive overall summary of this family here.
Aaron Gentry's Parentage
Before delving further into Aaron's immediate family, we will mention briefly his parents and
ancestry. His father was George Gentry of Hanover, Louisa and Albemarle Counties, Virginia, (a
son of James Gentry of Hanover County). His mother was named Elizabeth, her maiden name
is not known. Aaron was the ninth of ten children of George, all of whom were named in his
father's will. One of the best authorities on George in the country is John Reed of Pine Island,
Minnesota. He published an article on the George Gentry family in this journal<1> and
has also contributed further information to the Shiflet Family Genealogy Website<2>. The
very comprehensive information which he has provided will not be repeated here.
Aaron Gentry's Family
Aaron's children illustrate a curious combination of variations in names found in different
sources. Aaron is listed in Richard Gentry's "The Gentry Family in America, 1676 to 1909"
(GFA)<3> as family #188, along with eight children. The presumed
children of Aaron Gentry of Knox County, Tennessee as deduced from census, marriage, land
and other documents in that county, appear differently. Names of his children from the two
sources are listed below along with the location where the individual was first listed in census
records or listed in marriage records.
"GFA" Names | Knox County Names | ||
George A (lived Greene Co., VA) Susan Jane Hardin James Garrett Joseph Fountain William |
[George A] (of Orange/Greene Co., VA) John T (m. Knox Co., TN) James O (m. Knox Co., TN) Aaron G (c. Knox Co.,TN) Elizabeth (m. Knox Co.) Susan J [(m. Albemarle Co., VA.)] Margaret R (m. Knox Co.) Hardin S (m. Knox Co., KY) Peter F (c. Knox Co., TN) Joab C (c. Knox Co., TN) William E (c. Knox Co., TN) |
While there are duplications in the two lists, at first glance they seem like different families. A more detailed look, however, resolves most of the discrepancies, and we can propose the following family composition.
Aaron Gentry | ||
– Born about 1771, Hanover County, Virginia, – Died 2 Aug 1852, Knox County, Tennessee. | ||
– Married (1), 18 Nov 1801, Albemarle County, Tennessee, Polly (Mary?) Ogg. | ||
(died probably in childbirth or shortly after). | ||
– Married (2), 13 Jan 1803, Albemarle County, Tennessee, Margaret (Peggy) Ogg | ||
(died 10 Jul 1832, Knox County, Tennessee). | ||
– Married (3), 14 Feb 1833, Knox County, Tennessee, Mrs. Elizabeth Reynolds. | ||
Children of Aaron and Polly (speculation): | ||
i. | George A. Gentry (speculation as to mother), born about 1802, Albemarle County, Virginia; married (1) 28 Dec 1827, Madison County, Virginia, Elizabeth A. Jackson; married (2) 3 Oct 1846, Greene County, Virginia, Mahala ("Frances") Lamb. | |
Children of Aaron and Peggy: | ||
ii. | John T. Gentry, born about 1805, probably Albemarle County, Virginia; married 2 Mar 1824, Knox County, Tennessee, Jane McNeil. | |
iii. | James Overton Gentry, born 10 Oct 1806, probably Albemarle County, Virginia, died 11 Mar 1870; married (1) 24 Jan 1826, Knox County, Tennessee, Charlotte Reynolds; married (2) 14 Jul 1841, Knox County, Tennessee, Sarah Grimmitt. | |
iv. | Aaron Garrett Gentry, born about 1807, Knox County, Tennessee, died 2 Dec 1850, Knox County; married Sarah --?--. | |
v. | Elizabeth Gentry, born about 1808, Knox County, Tennessee; married 25 Jan 1826, Knox County, George F. Reynolds Jr. | |
vi. | Susan Jane Gentry, born 18 May 1811, Knox County, Tennessee; married 18 Dec 1830, Albemarle County, Virginia, William E. Jackson. | |
vii. | Margaret R. Gentry, born about 1812, Knox County, Tennessee; married 2 Oct 1833, Knox County, Pleasant Grills. | |
viii. | Hardin S. Gentry, born 1814, Knox County, Tennessee, died about 1859; married 30 Apr 1840, Monroe County, Kentucky, Lucinda Kirkpatrick. | |
ix. | Peter Fountain/Fontaine Gentry, born 21 May 1816, Knox County, Tennessee, died 3 Jul 1893; married 17 May 1858, Knox County, Maria/Mariah Spradling. | |
x. | Daughter?, born about 1818-1820, Knox County, Tennessee. | |
xi. | Joab C. Gentry, born about 1822, Knox County, Tennessee; married 17 Dec 1846, Knox County, Mary Ann Cox. | |
xii. | William E. Gentry, born about 1825?, Knox County, Tennessee. |
As we compare this table to the two tables of children above, it is readily seen that GFA in several instances used the individual's middle name, which may have been the name commonly used by the family. Richard Gentry obtained much of the information for GFA from a son of Hardin Gentry, namely, W. A. Gentry of Black's Ferry, Kentucky. The Joseph Gentry whom he names as a son of Aaron has no counterpart in any Knox County records and probably was an erroneous reporting of Joab Gentry.
More information on Aaron's family was published by Lucy Gentry Bates, of Nashville, Tennessee in 1993 in the "Gentry Family Gazette & Genealogy Exchange"<4a>. She is a granddaughter of the same W.A. Gentry who wrote to GFA's compiler. Lucy Bates relates:
"Aaron settled in the Powell Station section of Knox County, this area is northwest of the city of Knoxville. Polly [sic - should be Peggy] was the mother of all of Aaron's children. Their children were: George A. Gentry, John T. Gentry, James Overton Gentry, Aaron Garrett Gentry, Elizabeth Gentry, Susan Jane Gentry, Margaret Gentry, Hardin S. Gentry, Peter Fountain Gentry, Joab C. Gentry and William E. Gentry.
"Aaron was a very influential citizen; a justice of the peace, and often called for grand jury duties on important cases. He served on many appointed boards. He was commissioned to lay out and construct Emory Road (which was used by Andrew Jackson when he traveled to Washington from the Hermitage, his home in Donelson, Tennessee).
"Aaron was continuously buying and selling land; today he would be known as a real estate broker. An old court record shows that one year he paid taxes on 1500 to 2000 acres of land. He also owned land at times in Illinois, Virginia (Hanover, Orange, Louisa, and Greene counties), Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee (Knox and Roane counties). Aaron was 78 years old when his last transaction of record took place on 5 November 1849 when he sold 320 acres for $5000.
"He contributed generously to his children. There are court records of many valuable gifts (or sales for a token price) of land, slaves, horses, etc. There is a record of 20 or more slaves who changed hands from Aaron to his various children. Peggy/Margaret (Ogg) Gentry, his wife, died on 10 July 1832 and is buried in the Brown Cemetery #3 in Powell. Aaron married Mrs. Elizabeth Reynolds, widow of George F. Reynolds, Sr. on 14 February 1833. Aaron died in 1852 'owning valuable and large real estate in Knox County' according to the Chancery court records. His will was probated on 2 August 1852 but was not settled until 10 years later."
Mrs. Bates' account very succinctly summarizes Aaron Gentry's life. She writes that in the process of tracing down clues to her family heritage, "We have made trips to Knoxville, Tennessee, Washington DC, Free Union, Rural Point, Charlottesville and Richmond in Virginia. We have climbed cliffs and crossed pastures to view old family cemeteries. We have endured the perils of curious bulls and sharp barbed wire fences as well as electric-charged fences. We have found that genealogy is a never ending quest. There are always additional places to go, more information needed, more time to dig yet deeper into the source of information."
Aaron's Children - George A. Gentry
The George A. Gentry whom
Richard Gentry reports as being a son of Aaron, living in Greene County, Virginia, is an
interesting study in his own right. A number of family historians credit Aaron with a son,
George A. Gentry, but there is some uncertainty as to whether this George was a child of Polly
Ogg (the only one), or was the oldest child of Aaron's second wife, Peggy. There is no record of
a son of Aaron's by the name of George in Tennessee records, although that by itself is no
indication of whether or not he was there with the family since the first surviving census
records for Knox County were not until 1830. Richard Gentry's source, W. A. Gentry, wrote
that his grandfather, Aaron Gentry, "moved to Tennessee leaving his two oldest children
married in Virginia". They may have been left behind, but it was as infants and any marriages
took place many years later.
There is good evidence that George Gentry was Aaron's oldest son and that he indeed was left behind in Virginia, probably in the care of grandparents, when Aaron moved to Tennessee. It is probable that George was the son of Aaron's first wife, Polly, and George's grandmother may have cared for him from birth if Polly died in childbirth. Regardless of who was his mother, when Aaron and Peggy moved to Tennessee in 1807, his care must have been too much for Peggy who may have been pregnant with another child at the time of the move. (This kind of arrangement is known to have occurred in other cases. This writer's grand-aunt was raised from early childhood by her grandparents separately from the rest of her very large family by agreement of the family.) There is no evidence, other than the comment of W. A. Gentry in GFA, that a second child was left in Virginia. (But see below for the marriage of George's sister, Susan Jane, in Virginia.) George lived in Greene County (originally Orange County), Virginia, throughout his life. He had very close associations with Susan Ogg (possibly a younger sister of Polly and Peggy Ogg). In 1850, his children by his first wife (recently deceased) were living with Susan while George, a new wife, and their infant child were living not far away.
George Gentry was first listed in the 1830 Orange County census, then in the 1840 Greene County census (this was a change in county name, not a change in location), and again in the 1850 Greene County census (age 47). In 1830 and 1840 in particular, he was a close neighbor of John Gentry, a first cousin who was a generation older in age. One might argue that George was a son of John rather than Aaron, but the family of John can be completely accounted for in the 1820 to 1850 census records and did not include George.
John Gentry
The report of a second child being left in Virginia by Aaron and Peggy Gentry when they moved
to Tennessee, may or may not have been true. If so, John appears to have rejoined the family
before reaching maturity. He is thought to be the John Gentry who married Jane McNeil in
Knox County in 1824, although the marriage bond record shows him as John "W" rather than
John "T" Gentry. (Two court references give his name as John "T", so that appears to be
correct<6>.) His last appearance in Knox County records was in 1826, and he does not
appear in any Knox County census records, but may be the John Gentry who was listed in the
Robertson County, Tennessee, census in 1830, and then in Davidson County in 1840. If this is
the same individual, he must have set a precedent for his younger brother, Hardin, who left
Knox County some time after 1840 and resettled northwestwards in Monroe County, Kentucky.
James Overton Gentry
Besides the record of his marriages and his census records, James is named a number of times
in proceedings of the Knox County Court<6>. These records, beginning in 1829, are
mostly in connection with the fact that he and his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Reynolds were
named as administrators of the estate of his father-in-law George Reynolds. [George's widow,
Elizabeth, in time married James' father, Aaron Gentry.]
There is also in the court records, a curious order of apprenticeship in 1846 in which a John L. Gentry [born 1830] was bound until age 21 to a Lewis Ragsdale. This seems to be the John Gentry who was living with James Gentry in the 1850 Knox County census and presumably the same son, born 1825-1830, who was in James household in the 1830 and 1840 census. The difficulty arises in the court records which state that John's "mother" was present in court and gave her consent. James had remarried in 1841, we assume after the death of his first wife, Charlotte, but had they in fact divorced?. Was this a son born out of wedlock, or was it John's step-mother, Sarah, that was actually in court? It is also interesting that in 1840, the age given for James' wife was appropriate for Sarah whom he married the following year in 1841, but was too young for his first wife, Charlotte. This makes one wonder whether Sarah moved in with James before their marriage.
Susan Jane Gentry
A bride by this name was recorded in Albemarle County, Virginia, marriage bonds in a marriage
with William E. Jackson in 1833. This writer is not aware of documentary or family evidence
concerning this marriage, but this Susan is thought to be the Susan Jane who was a daughter of
Aaron Gentry. The 1830 Knox County, Tennessee, census records suggest that she was living
with her father at that time. The exact circumstances of her presence in Virginia three years
later are not known. One can speculate that she went to visit her older brother, George Gentry
who lived in neighboring Greene County. Since George was married to an Elizabeth Jackson,
we can speculate further that Elizabeth and William were brother and sister and that Susan
met her future husband at some family get-together. GFA's informant on
the Aaron Gentry family, William A. Gentry, stated that two of Aaron's children were left in
Virginia and married there. George and Susan's marriages must be the ones of which he was
speaking.
Hardin S. Gentry
In the genealogy literature and website family trees, one can find two Hardin Gentrys with a
son William A. Gentry, who are purported to be the son of Aaron Gentry. One of these Hardins
lived in Arkansas, and had a son, William Arthur Gentry who died in Tillman County, Texas.
Lucy Bates provides the following information on the authentic Hardin<4b>.
This Hardin had a son William Aaron Gentry who was born 1843 in Kentucky and spent his entire life on his father's farm, dying in Monroe County in 1919. He was Richard Gentry's informant for the Aaron Gentry family as listed in GFA, and was Lucy Bates' grandfather.
Other Children
There is little about which to comment concerning Aaron's other children. The middle name of
his son Peter is a point of some small difference. It is given here as "Fountain" and derives
apparently from family or friends of Aaron in Virginia, for the name is found there with other
Gentrys. Some sources give a spelling of "Fontaine" for Peter's middle name.
There is a lack of information concerning a son, William E. Gentry. Both GFA and Lucy Bates include such a son (presumably through their common source, Hardin's son, William A. Gentry). There are no marriage or census records for this William E. Gentry, but his name is found in Will Book 10, p.118 (1849) in Knox County.
Three unidentified children are found in the 1830 Knox County census, living with Aaron. The oldest, a girl born 1815-1820 could have been a daughter of Aaron and Peggy who did not survive to 1840. The other two, a boy and a girl, both born 1825-1830 do not fit other census records as being children of Aaron. It is possible they were grandchildren living with him temporarily. In 1840, neither of these girls were present, but the boy born 1825-1830 and another boy born 1830-1835 were living with Aaron. Peggy Gentry died in 1832, so all of these children were born before she died, but it is unlikely she was the mother of the younger ones.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped to pull together loose strings connecting Aaron Gentry to
his family. As always, there are still gaps in our knowledge and more to be done to clarify
uncertain points, but in the meantime this will serve as a comprehensive survey of Aaron, his
wives and his children.
References
5. Lucas, Silas Emmett Jr. and Sheffield, Ella Lee, "35,000 Tennessee
Marriage Records & Bonds 1783-1870", Southern Historical Press, Easley, SC, 1981, vol 2
[Extracted marriage bonds and marriage records found in index card file at Tennessee State
Library and Archives, Nashville, TN, supplemented by:]
Roscoe Carlisle
d'Armand and Viginia Carlisle d'Armand, "Knox County, Tennessee Marriage Records
1792 - 1900", 1970.
Knox County Marriage Bonds
Date | Groom | Bride | Father | |
1806 | Sep 3 | Gentry, William | Elizabeth McPherrin | Jesse Gentry |
1807 | Nov 14 | Gentry, John | Elizabeth Newman | Jesse |
1812 | Oct 20 | Taylor, Ezekial | Betsy Gentry | Jesse |
1817 | Oct 6 | Gentry, Martin | Sally Mitchell | Jesse |
1818 | Sep 20 | Gentry, Isaac | Elizabeth Lewis | Jesse |
1820 | Mar 6 | Mitchell, Jesse | Rachel Gentry | Jesse |
1823 | Sep 12 | McPherrin, Sam'l | Eleanor Gentry | Jesse (?) |
1824 | Mar 2 | Gentry, John W. | Jane McNeil | Aaron |
1826 | Jan 24 | Gentry, James Overton | Charlotte Reynolds | Aaron |
1826 | Jan 25 | Reynolds, Geo.F. Jr | Elizabeth Gentry | Aaron |
1833 | Feb 13 | Gentry, Aaron [Sr] | Elizabeth Reynolds | George |
1833 | Oct 2 | Grill, Pleasant R | Margaret R. Gentry | Aaron |
1840 | Jan 14 | Gentry, Alfred | Sarah Nelson | Isaac (son of Jesse) |
1841 | Jul 14 | Gentry, James A [O?] | Sarah Grimmitt | Aaron |
1842 | Apr 24 | Branson, Enoch | Altamirah Gentry | Isaac |
1846 | Dec 17 | Gentry, Joab C | Mary Ann Cox | Aaron |
1852 | Jan 4 | Gentry, George Wesley | Jane Ayres | James O. ?? |
1853 | Dec 21 | Gentry, John | Caroline Cox | James O. ?? |
1858 | May 17 | Gentry, Peter F | Maria C. Spradling | Aaron |
Note. The early records of Knox County, including marriage bonds, reflect the presence of Jesse Gentry and his family. Jesse was one of the earliest Gentrys to leave Virginia, joining his father Robert Gentry and his brother Charles Gentry in settling Washington County of what was then North Carolina by 1778. He moved to Jefferson County, Tennessee, then to Knox County in 1797. He died there between 1830 and 1840. A summary of his life and family has been reported in Journal of Gentry Genealogy, vol 1, #6 (Jun 2001), posted at URL: <http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg0106.htm>.
6. WPA Transcripts of Knox County, Tennessee County Court Minutes (through 1850).
5 Jul 1826 | Bk(13-512) | |
John T. Gentry vs Jesse Ayres. | ||
3 Oct 1826 | Bk(14-12) | |
John T. Gentry vs Jesse Ayres. | ||
6 Oct 1829 | Bk(14-370) | |
James O. Gentry & Elizabeth Reynolds, admrs vs John Boyd, Wm Boyd & James Alldridge. | ||
9 Jan 1830 | Bk(14-418) | |
James O. Gentry, etc. Case continued. | ||
7 Apr 1830 | Bk(14-438) | |
James O. Gentry and Elizabeth Reynolds, admrs of Geo. F. Reynolds Dec'd, etc. | ||
5 Dec 1842 | Bk(17-167) | |
James O. Gentry appointed guardian to Wesly Reynolds a minor, whereupon the said James O. Gentry entered into bond with Aaron Gentry and Pumroy Carmichael as security in the sum of $1500 as the law directs. | ||
2 Feb 1846 | Bk(17-392) | |
Pumroy Carmichael vs James O. Gentry. Petition to compel James O. Gentry, surviving administrator of the estate of George F. Reynolds, deceased, to appear in court and give security for his administration of said estate or surrender to the court the negroes and assets belonging to the late George F. Reynolds now in the possession of said surviving administrator and his father Aaron Gentry. | ||
6 Jul 1846 | Bk(18-35) | |
Pumroy Carmichael vs. James O. Gentry, admr. etc. James O. Gentry presented to the court R. H. Reynolds as his co-security for the administration of the George F. Reynolds estate. | ||
2 Feb 1846 | Bk(17-393) | |
The court orders bound to Lewis F. Ragsdale a child by the name of John L. Gentry, aged fifteen years and five months until he attains the age of twenty-one years, the mother of said child appearing in open court and concurring with the court in said binding. |
7. Federal Census Records Relating to Aaron Gentry and Family
Birthyear ranges are given for the years 1830 and 1840. With the exception of James O.
Gentry, the separate listing of family members not in Aaron's household has been restricted to
the individual and spouse and are included in parentheses. All counties are Tennessee unless
otherwise noted.
Sex | 1830 | 1840 | 1850 | 1860 | |
M F F F |
Aaron Gentry – sp1 Polly Ogg (d.1802) – sp2 Peggy Ogg – sp3 Elizabeth Reynolds |
Knox 1770-1780 1780-1790 |
Knox 1770-1780 (d.1832) 1780-1790 |
Knox age 75, VA (d.1848) |
(d.1852) |
M F F |
– George A Gentry – sp1 Elizabeth Jackson (m.1827) – sp2 Mahala (Frances) Lamb (m.1846) |
(Orange, VA) (1800-1810) (1810-1815) | (Greene,
VA) (1800-1810) --- |
(Greene, VA) (age 47) (age 25) |
(Greene, VA) (age 58) (age 35) |
M F |
– John T Gentry – sp Jane McNeil (m.1824) | (Robertson?) (1800-1810) (1800-1810) |
(Davidson?) (1800-1810) (1800-1810) |
--- | (d.1852?) |
M F F M M F F |
– James O Gentry – sp1 Charlotte Reynolds (m.1826) – sp2 Sarah Grimmitt – George Wesley? – John L?   –sp Caroline Cox – Daughter? |
(Knox) (1800-1810) (1800-1810) (1825-1830) (1825-1830) |
(Knox) (1800-1810) (1810-1820) (m.1841) (1820-1825) (1825-1830) (1830-1835) (1830-1835) |
(Knox) (age 47, TN) --- (age 33, TN) --- (m.1852) (age 20, TN) (m.1853) --- |
(Knox) (age 53, TN) (age 44, TN) --- (Knox) (age 30, TN) (age 22, TN) |
M F |
– Aaron G Gentry – sp Sarah | 1810-1815 |
(Knox) (1800-1810) (1810-1820) |
(Knox) (age 43, TN) (age 32, TN) |
(Knox) (d.Dec 1850) (age 38) |
F | – Elizabeth (Reynolds) | (m.1826) | |||
F | – Susan J (Jackson) | 1810-1815 | (m.1830, VA?) | --- | |
F | – Margaret R (Grills) | 1810-1815 | (m.1833) | --- | |
M F |
– Hardin S Gentry   – sp Lucinda Kirkpatrick | 1815-1820 |
1810-1820 (m.1842, KY) |
(Monroe, KY) (age 33, TN) (age 27, KY) | (Monroe, KY) --- (age 39, KY) |
M F |
– Peter F Gentry – sp Mariah Spradling | 1815-1820 (m.1858) |
1810-1820 |
(Knox) (age 40, TN) |
(Knox) (age 40, TN) (age 20, TN) |
F | – Daughter (?) | 1815-1820 | --- | ||
M F |
– Joab C Gentry – sp Mary Ann Cox | 1820-1825 (m.1846) | --- |
(Knox) (age 28, TN) (age 18, TN) |
--- |
M | – William E Gentry (?) | 1820-1825 | --- | --- | |
(with Aaron) | (with Aaron) | ||||
M F M |
– ??? – ??? – ??? |
1825-1830 1825-1830 |
1825-1830 --- 1830-1835 |
April 29, 2005, Minor revisions, August 2014
© 2005, 2014, W.M. Gentry - All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided that proper attribution (including author and journal name) is included.