No wonder I am weeks behind in the 52 Ancestors Challenge. In order to provide some background into their childhood and family before marriage, I look for what I have on each individual’s parents and siblings. It’s a good practice to examine your ancestors’ FAN club (“Friends, Associates, and Neighbours”), but I end up getting sucked into deeper research for the grandparents and great grandparents of the person I am writing about.
In this case, I’m supposed to be writing about my Great x4 Grandfather Daniel Thomas. Instead, I’ve spent the last few weeks researching his parents, Rev. Daniel Thomas (1739-1810) and Sarah Covington (1750-1828). In fact, while writing this paragraph, I ended up falling back into the research wormhole and spent two more hours on it before returning to this post.
Daniel and Sarah were both born in Maryland and had deep family roots in that state, back to the early 18th century when it was still a British colony.
Daniel Thomas Sr. was a Baptist minister and well-to-do plantation owner , which, of course, meant that he was a slave owner. Daniel Senior was the first minister of Dockery Meeting House in Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina, which was chartered in 1774. It was later renamed Cartledge Creek Baptist Church. While every source I have about his marriage to Sarah Covington says they married in 1770 in Rockingham, I suspect they might have married in Maryland because it seems Daniel moved to Rockingham to take up his ministerial role there.
Daniel and Sarah had eleven children in Richmond County. Daniel the younger was their third child and second son. All of Daniel’s children are named in his will, although it does not appear that he provided anything for his eldest child, Priscilla, even though she was one of the witnesses to the will. However, it may be that Priscilla was not actually Daniel’s daughter, but his niece or daughter-in-law. I could dive back into the research wormhole to find out, but I really want to make some progress here.
Daniel Senior did not divide his estate equally. Daniel junior only received ten shillings, as did two of his brothers. Sarah received Daniel’s plantation with a life estate, which passed to their eldest son, William, on her death. One son received $25, on received $100, and another received $400. Two daughters received a cows, with one receiving furniture as well, while a third daughter only received a bed and furniture.
While Daniel might not have inherited his father’s plantation, he did well enough for himself. According to his grandson, also named Daniel, Daniel Jr. could be described as “wealthy”, owning a “well equipped plantation with many negro slaves.” Another writer described Daniel as “an affluent slaveholder”.
Sometime in his early adulthood Daniel bought a 3000 acre plantation with a river running through it, which included some islands. The land cost $2.24 per acre, plus the cost of surveying and the deeds. The plantation was on the east bank of the Yadkin River about 8 miles northwest of Rockingham. Daniel built an 8-room wood frame house on the land, which had an orchard and garden. Daniel kept sheep and also had a carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, a cotton gin, and a shad fishery.
Daniel also owned about 30 slaves. It’s hard enough wrapping one’s mind around the concept of one human “owning” another, even harder to think a man of God could justify it.
On December 3, 1795, Daniel married Nancy Ann Morehead. I don’t know if this was before or after he bought his plantation, but it’s likely the two events were not far apart in time. Or not. As I noted in my earlier post about Nancy, despite all the (mostly secondary) sources indicating that they married in 1795, there was a 16-year gap between their marriage and the birth of their first child in 1811.
Together Daniel and Nancy had four children, all born in Rockingham, likely on the plantation. All four were born about a year apart from each other. The fact Nancy had four children in rapid succession after a 16-year period also causes me to question the chronology set out in the information I have. Alternatively, Daniel and Nancy might have had other children I don’t know about before 1811, but that seems unlikely.
Daniel died on November 7, 1830 in Rockingham. According to Find A Grave, Daniel might be buried at the Cartledge Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, like his father. However, if he is buried there, the site of his grave is unknown.
On Daniel’s death, his family sold his property for $3,000 and relocated to Tennessee and later to Mississippi. Of course, they kept the slaves. Heaven forbid. As contemptuous as I am, one can’t choose their ancestors. You have to take the crunchy with the smooth when you do genealogy.
A Deck of Ancestors 