Jonas Medford: The Patriot Loyalist

A Revolutionary Soldier Who Fought on Both Sides of America’s War for Independence

History often presents the American Revolution as a struggle between heroes and traitors, Patriots and Loyalists, liberty and the Crown. Schoolbooks tell us that Americans chose a side and remained loyal to it throughout the war.

The truth was far more complicated.

Nowhere was that complexity more evident than in the South Carolina backcountry, where neighbors fought neighbors, families were divided, and political loyalties often shifted as British and Patriot armies marched across the countryside. For many frontier settlers, the Revolution was not simply a war against Great Britain—it became a brutal civil war.

One remarkable soldier who lived through this turmoil was Jonas Medford, sometimes recorded in surviving military records as Jonah Medford. His documented military service reveals an extraordinary journey: first as a Patriot non-commissioned officer in the Continental Army, and later as a commissioned officer in a Loyalist regiment fighting for the British Crown.

His story reminds us that history is rarely as simple as we would like it to be.

---

The Frontier Before the Revolution

Very little is known about Jonas Medford’s early life before the Revolutionary War. Like many settlers of the South Carolina backcountry, he likely lived in the rugged frontier stretching across what was then the Ninety-Six District.

Life in the backcountry was difficult.

Families cleared forests by hand, built cabins from logs, defended themselves from raids, and survived largely through farming and hunting. Government authority was often distant, and communities depended upon one another far more than they depended upon Charleston or London.

When revolution came in 1775, many frontier families found themselves caught between competing governments. Choosing the wrong side could cost a man his land, his livelihood, or even his life.

---

Joining the Patriot Cause

The first documented appearance of Jonas Medford occurs in the records of the 6th South Carolina Regiment, one of the Continental Army’s elite rifle units.

Authorized on February 28, 1776, the regiment was organized from experienced frontiersmen in northwestern South Carolina and was adopted into the Continental Army shortly thereafter. Unlike many militia units, this regiment became part of General George Washington’s national army.

The regiment participated in numerous campaigns throughout the South, including:

• Defense of Sullivan’s Island
• Cherokee Campaign of 1776
• Florida Expedition
• Capture of Savannah
• Battle of Brier Creek
• Battle of Stono Ferry
• Siege of Savannah

These were some of the most significant southern engagements of the Revolution.

---

Sergeant Jonas Medford

Military service records begin to reveal Jonas Medford’s abilities as a soldier.

On June 13, 1777, he enlisted as a Sergeant in the 6th South Carolina Regiment.

This is important.

A Sergeant was far more than an ordinary soldier.

During the Revolutionary War, Sergeants served as the backbone of every company. They maintained discipline, drilled recruits, ensured formations remained intact during battle, and carried out the orders of commissioned officers. In combat they often stood behind the firing line, preventing panic and keeping soldiers in formation under enemy fire.

Only experienced, dependable soldiers earned this responsibility.

---

A Temporary Fall from Rank

Military records show something unusual.

On January 12, 1778, Jonas Medford was reduced in rank from Sergeant to Private.

Less than a month later, on February 9, 1778, he was restored to the rank of Sergeant.

Unfortunately, the surviving records do not explain why.

Perhaps he committed a disciplinary offense.

Perhaps he challenged an officer.

Perhaps the reduction was administrative rather than punitive.

Whatever happened, it is clear that his commanders once again considered him worthy of leadership, restoring him to his previous rank within weeks.

---

The Southern War Changes Everything

By 1778 the Revolutionary War was changing dramatically.

British leaders shifted their attention southward, believing large numbers of Loyalists would support the Crown in Georgia and the Carolinas.

Savannah fell in December 1778.

Charleston would fall in May 1780.

Between those victories lay one of the bloodiest periods in southern history.

Communities became divided.

Brothers fought brothers.

Church congregations split.

Entire neighborhoods were forced to declare allegiance to whichever army happened to control the region.

For men living in the South Carolina backcountry, survival often mattered more than politics.

---

Jonas Becomes Jonah

Following his Patriot service, military records reveal what appears to be the same man serving under a slightly different spelling of his name.

British muster rolls identify Jonah Medford serving in Captain John Bond Randall’s Company of the Georgia Loyalists.

The documented timeline includes:

June 15, 1779
Recorded as an Ensign at Abercorn, Georgia.

February 1780
Listed as a Sergeant.

October 1781
Recorded as a Private.

The spelling variation between Jonas and Jonah was not uncommon during the eighteenth century. Clerks frequently spelled names phonetically, and many individuals never used a consistent spelling throughout their lives.

---

From Sergeant to Ensign

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Jonas Medford’s military career is his appointment as an Ensign.

Unlike a Sergeant, an Ensign was a commissioned officer.

This meant he was expected to:

• Read and write official military correspondence.
• Maintain company records.
• Carry and defend the regiment’s colors.
• Lead soldiers into battle.
• Receive orders directly from Captains and Lieutenants.

Holding a commission also carried social prestige.

The British were unlikely to entrust such responsibilities to an inexperienced recruit.

Instead, it is entirely plausible that Jonas Medford’s previous service as a Patriot Sergeant made him especially valuable. Experienced military leaders were desperately needed as the British organized Loyalist regiments throughout the South.

Although no surviving record explains exactly why he accepted the commission, his previous battlefield experience would have made him an ideal candidate.

---

Defending Savannah

When Jonas entered British service, Captain Randall’s company was stationed at Abercorn, just north of Savannah.

Their mission was to defend the city against an expected Patriot offensive.

That attack came in the fall of 1779.

French naval forces joined with General Benjamin Lincoln’s Continental Army in an ambitious attempt to recapture Savannah.

For weeks, British defenders endured heavy bombardment while strengthening their defensive works.

On October 9, 1779, thousands of French and American soldiers launched a massive frontal assault.

The attack failed.

British regulars, Loyalists, and provincial troops—including Captain Randall’s Company—held their positions and inflicted devastating casualties upon the attackers.

The British victory preserved control of Georgia and became one of the greatest military successes of the Southern Campaign.

---

A Civil War Among Neighbors

Modern Americans sometimes forget that the Revolution divided communities as much as it united them.

Captain Randall’s Georgia Loyalists consisted largely of men from the South Carolina backcountry.

Many had lived near one another before the war.

Research also suggests that several soldiers serving alongside Jonah Medford—including members of the Busby family—later appear in post-war Spartanburg County records near Medford families.

Rather than strangers, these men may have been lifelong neighbors who simply chose—or were forced into—the same side during the conflict.

---

The Mystery of His Declining Rank

British muster rolls show another curious pattern.

Jonah Medford appears first as an Ensign.

Later he is listed as Sergeant.

Finally, by October 1781, he appears simply as a Private.

The surviving records do not explain these reductions.

Possible explanations include:

• Unit reorganization.
• Battlefield casualties requiring reassignment.
• Illness.
• Administrative changes.
• Personal disciplinary issues.

Without additional documentation, historians can only acknowledge the changing ranks rather than assign a definitive cause.

---

The Vanishing Soldier

After October 1781, Jonas Medford disappears from surviving military records.

When the Georgia Loyalists were absorbed into the King’s Rangers in 1782, his name no longer appears on known muster rolls.

His fate remains one of the great mysteries of the Medford family.

Several possibilities exist.

He may have died before the consolidation.

He may have been discharged because of illness.

He may have deserted as the British position collapsed.

Or he may simply have returned quietly to civilian life.

No surviving record provides a conclusive answer.

---

Rebuilding in Spartanburg?

Although Jonas disappears from military records, later documents reveal Medford families living in Spartanburg County alongside Busbys, Johnsons, and Gillespies.

Researchers have identified:

• A 1792 marriage involving Hallidith “Holly” Medford.
• A 1795 deed referencing land adjacent to Miles Medford on Two Mile Creek.
• Close associations among Medford, Busby, Johnson, and Gillespie families in post-war records.

Whether these individuals were Jonas Medford’s children, siblings, or other close relatives has not yet been conclusively proven, but the clustering strongly suggests that the family re-established itself in the Spartanburg area after the Revolution.

Future discoveries in probate records, land deeds, church records, or DNA research may eventually answer this question.

---

Remembering Jonas Medford

It is tempting to judge historical figures by modern standards.

Yet Jonas Medford lived during one of the most chaotic periods in American history.

He experienced a war in which governments changed, armies occupied towns, communities fractured, and survival often depended on impossible choices.

Rather than seeing him solely as a Patriot or solely as a Loyalist, perhaps it is better to remember him as a frontier soldier who navigated extraordinary circumstances.

His documented service in both the Continental Army and the British provincial forces makes him a remarkable figure whose life illustrates the complicated realities of the American Revolution.

More than two centuries later, his story reminds us that history is not always written in absolutes.

Sometimes it is written in the difficult decisions made by ordinary people living through extraordinary times.

And for the Medford family, Jonas Medford remains one of the most intriguing—and perhaps most misunderstood—ancestors in our Revolutionary past.

Finding Joseph Lafayette Brown

Finding Joseph Lafayette Brown

On May 31, 1862, tragedy struck the Brown family. At just 30 years old, Joseph Lafayette Brown was struck in the forehead with a bullet at the Battle of Seven Pines. The 4th North Carolina Infantry saw brutal, costly action over two days of action there, charging Union lines near the Williamsburg Road, overcoming swampy ground and formidable defenses. They suffered heavy casualties (over 50% of engaged men), and earned its nickname “The Bloody Fourth” for its ferocious fight, led by Lt. Col. Bryan Grimes in the first major battle of the Peninsula Campaign.

Joseph left behind his wife, Nancy E. Fox Brown and three young boys, my GGG Grandfather James Daniel Brown, Thomas A. Brown, and Zebulon Lafayette Brown. He also left behind a mystery. We do not know for certain who his parents were. Joseph L. Brown has been a brick wall ancestor of mine for 25 years. 

Sometimes, in order to bust through a genealogical wall, you have to research east, west, and south on the family tree, before you can head north. That is just what I have done. By finding all that I can about his wife, children and grandchildren, I have uncovered clues that have lead me to know what family he comes from, even if I still can’t say for certain who his actual parents are. This document will layout all of the facts and sources that I have uncovered in my research to date.

Because there is so little information specifically about Joseph Lafayette Brown, it is important that we closely study the lives of his three sons:

• James Daniel Brown
• Thomas A. Brown
• Zebulon Lafayette Brown

He was born August 1, 1832 according to his tombstone and thanks to the 1860 census, we know that he was living in the North Division of Guilford County in the Brown’s Summit area North of Greensboro. He is listed as being born in Guilford County while Nancy was born in Iredell County. Nancy being from Iredell might explain their eventual move to Stony Point, NC. 

Living near him in the 1860 census was 74 year old Benjamin Brown and his young wife Mary Motley Brown and their 11 year old daughter Telitha Ann Brown. There is a strong connection here to this family. According to the book “The Lambert/Lambeth family of North Carolina”, there was a Benjamin R. Brown family Bible that mentions the following children born to his first wife Elizabeth Lambeth:

• William R Brown 1808–
• Joseph Brown 1811–
• Mary Ann Brown 1813–1874
• John Brown 1813–
• Levyney Brown 1819–
• Jesse Brown 1820–1866
• Davis Brown 1821–
• Benjamin R Brown Jr 1826–
• James Swift Brown 1828–1870

Not much is known about the older three sons William, Joseph, and John. They are all of the age that would be a possible father of Joseph L. Brown. I think you can safely rule out Benjamin as Benjamin Sr. as a father because of already having a son named Joseph Brown who was born in 1811. The Lambert book also mentions several real estate dealings in Guilford County involving this Joseph Brown so we know that he made it to adulthood. 

Jesse Brown is an interesting figure in this mystery because his John Barlet Brown who ends up in Iredell County where we eventually find James Daniel Brown and Zebulon Lafayette Brown. Jesse Brown married to Mary Polly Coffery and had the following children:

• Dawson Brown 1842–1862
• Sarah Francis Brown 1843–
• James L. Brown 1845–
• Mary Peonie Brown 1846–1877
• John Bartlet Brown 1848–1912
• Margaret H Brown 1852–
• Nancy C. “Nannie” Brown 1853–1912
• Louisa Virginia Brown1856–
• Fanny Brown
• Emma Brown

According to his obituary from the John Bartlet Brown moved to Statesville Record and Landmark from 20 Sep 1912, he moved from Guilford County to the Snow Creek community of Iredell around 1893 and then moved to 5th St in Statesville around 1905. According to his obituary, children who survive him are:

• First Marriage to Emaline Elizabeth “Emma” Lambeth
• Gaston Early Brown
• Newland Brown
• Numa Estes Brown
• Ottie E. Brown
• Doskey E. Brown dies before the obituary. 

• Second Marriage to Mary Elizabeth “Bettie” Pitchford
• Nola Emmaline Brown Graham
• Era Mayne Brown Lingle
• Etta Lee Brown
• Master Dewey Samuel Brown
• Jesse Oppulus “Op” Brown
• Council B Brown 

This point of my research was when Newspaper searches became particularly handy. Especially when I learned the importance of searching newspaper articles by initials. That Statesville papers have many mention of these Browns including James Daniel Brown of Stony Point, NC as J.D. Brown, Zebulon Lafayette Brown of Statesville (and later Mt. Ulla) as Z.L. Brown, and Numa Estes Brown as N.E. Brown. 

My biggest breakthrough in the parentage of Joseph Lafayette Brown came when I found the following article from 27 May 1904 edition of the Statesville Record and  Landmark”

Miss Lillie Estelle Hendred, of Turnersburg, and Mr. Numa Estate Brown, of Chicago, were married Wednesday morning at the home of the bride at Turnersburg, Rev. J. H. Pressly, of Statesville, performing the ceremony. After the ceremony there was a wedding reception at which a number of guests were handsomely entertained. Mr. Brown is a native of this section and is a cousin of Mr. Z.L. Brown, of Statesville.He has been living in Chicago four or five years and has a position as a street care conductor. He and his bride will leave for Chicago next Tuesday and will make their home there. 

This was my first clue that Joseph Lafayette Brown is likely the grandson of Benjamin R Brown of Guilford County. The man that he lived next to in the 1860 census. This is not the only mention of the connections between these families. By December of 1904 N.E. Brown and his wife were ready to move from Chicago. 

Mr. N.E. Brown, of Chicago, arrived here yesterday and today will go to the home of his father-in-law, Mr. JE. Hendren, in Turnersburg, to spend the holidays. About the first of the year Mr. Brown will begin merchandising here in the Z.L. Brown building on Caldwell street. 
Statesville Record and Landmark 16 Dec 1904

The families were close enough that Z. L. Brown (42) helped set up his young cousin (27) in his old store location. This move set up Z.L. Brown to move his living and work situation to Mt Ulla, NC. 

Z.L. Brown, of Statesville has bought the Edd Barber property and a lot from Mrs. Sherrill near the depot. He moved his family to the place some days ago, and is now erecting a store house on his lot near the depot, so we will son have three stores where we did not have but one. We are glad to welcome Mr. Brown to our community and hope other enterprising men will see fit to locate at Mt. Ulla. 1 Mar 1905 Salisbury Globe

Zebulon Lafayette Brown and his wife Eurina Thomas Brown did not have children of their own. So the mention of his “family” likely means that they did have children with them, and we likely know who they were. In the 1910 Census, they are of course living in Mt. Ulla, and in their household is Nola Brown (21). In the column titled Relation to head of household, it lists her as cousin. She is the sister of Numa Estes Brown. She went on to marry W. E. Graham and September 6, 1953 article of The Salisbury Post about Mrs. Z.L. Brown mentions her close relative in the following portion of the article: 

Mrs Brown is childless, but Mrs. W.E. Graham of Cleveland is “almost her daughter.” Mrs. Graham, the former Nola Brown of Iredell, is her husbands niece. She made her home with Mr. and Mrs. Brown until her marriage. When her husband died, Mrs. Brown distributed most of their savings, something over $5,000 to the 12 nephews and nieces. The nephews and nieces did not want the money which was willed to Mrs. Brown. But Mrs. Brown knew that the gifts would please her husband.” 
The Salisbury Post
6 Sep 1953

Calling her a “niece” goes against the census record which defines her as cousin, and as goes against the cousin mention of her brother N.E. Brown to Z.L. Brown. I think that Nola was such a “daughter” like figure to them that calling her “niece” felt more appropriate than the cousin title. Especially with the age gap between the two. I do wonder who the 12 nephews and nieces were. I would think that it would include the four living children of his brother James Daniel Brown of Stony Point and the two living children of Thomas A. Brown of Hickory, and of course Numa Estes Brown and his sister Nola Emiline Brown Graham. After Z.L.’s wife Eurina passed away in 1957, there was a dispute of Z.L. Brown’s will by Ollie G. Moore. The dispute was the determination of the ownership of real estate devised under the will of Z.L. Brown. It required the following heirs to answer the court plea: 

• Tom Brown and wife (grandson of Thomas A. Brown)
• Helen Brown
• Edgar Brown and wife
• Ruther Brown
• Roy Brown and wife (grandson of Thomas A. Brown)
• Margaret Irene Elder and husband Ray Elder
• J.B. Hines and wife Janie Hines
• Fred Brown and wife Nell Brown
• And any other person claiming an interest under the will of Z.L. Brown

I recognize some names but not all. It would be worthwhile to dig deeper for further research. This dispute does appear to be related to our Z.L. because Ollie G. Moore is from Mt. Ulla. She is the daughter of Benjamin Hill Gray and Mattie Lee Christie. She married Carl Dewitt Moore about 1920. 

A 2001 newspaper article shows a photo of the Z.L. Brown merchandising store in Mt Ulla. The photograph was supplied by granddaughter of Nola Brown Graham. 

 

What dd the Z.L. Stand for? Ruth Graham Cook of Clemmons, who owns this picture, hasn’t been able to find out what those initials stood for, and apparently no one else in the family knows. But while traying to find out, she learned that Z.L. Brown, the large man in the center of the picture, was generally called Dad Brown. Now that, she says, is a mystery too, since he had no children, but the family thinks it was in an endearment because he probably knew everyone in town. His stoer was in the center of Mt. Ulla, where the Mt. Ulla Post Office is now located. Ruth Cook’s grandmother, Nola Brown, live with himand his wife before she married William Ellison Graham in 1911. Another granddaughter, Sally Murphy, still lives in Mt. Ulla. The other men in the picture and the car are unidentified.

We know that the Z.L. stands for Zebulon Lafayette. I would love to reach out to these cousins if they are still living. 

Another record that proves a tie between these families is when Numa Estes Browns sells a house to Z.L.s brother James Daniel Brown. 

Mr. N.E. Brown has sold a house and lot on Allison street to Mr. J.D. Brown, of Stony Point, who owns adjoining property.
22 Nov 1912
Statesville Land and Record

Before I circle back to begin my speculation of the parentage of Joseph Lafayette Brown, I should mention an interesting article from November 28, 2004 edition of the Statesville Record and Landmark, where my Stony Point cousins erected a military service stone for our family patron. This article mentions that the parents of Joseph was John M. Brown and wife Catherine Clementine Brown. This couple did have a son named Joseph Brown, but he was born six years later than our Joseph. I would love to speak with my cousins from this article to learn more about their research. 

Another useful tool in my research has been DNA. I have taken an Ancestry DNA test. I have matched with 11 other cousins that are descendants of Joseph L. Brown. 10 are descendants of James Daniel Brown and 1 is a descendant of Thomas A. Brown. I also have a DNA match with a verified descendant of Jesse Brown, son of Benjamin R Brown and father of John Bartlet Brown (NE and Nola’s father). 

Jesse Brown did not get married until Joseph was already six years old. When you look at the other sons of Benjamin R. Brown from the beginning of this article, I think there are only three possibilities for the father of Joseph Lafayette Brown:

• William R Brown
• Joseph Brown
• John Brown

Unfortunately, not a lot is known about these three men. My gut tells me that Joseph, due to name, could be a really strong possibility. The Lambert book mentioned that a couple of Benjamin’s sons moved west, but I think in the case of Joseph’s father, it might be likely that his parents may have died at a young age. This would explain the lack of available records. 

John Morris Post Office Contractor Payment Receipt

To the Postmast at Mooresboro State of North Carolina
Pay to John Morris the whol amount due from you to the United
States, including the mount accuring during the Quarter ending September 30th, 1837, as shows by your Ac-
count Current.
Oct 15th 1837 T.D. Bells Contractor
Mail Route, No. 2132
Received this Twenty Sixth day of December 1837,
from Lemuel Moore Postmaster at Mooresboro
State of N.C. Eight Dollars, 89 1/2 Cents,
being the amount due form him to the United States, for the Quarter ending September 30th, 1837, as shown by his Account Current, inlcuding all previous dues.
8 Dolls. 89 1/2 Cents.
J.D. Morris

Now Cleveland County was not formed until 1841 from parts of Rutherford and Lincoln counties. So Mooresboro was still a part of Rutherford County at the date of this receipt. This receipt references the first postmaster of Mooresboro, Lemuel Moore, who is also the namesake of the town.

John Logan’s Note to the Rutherford County Commissioners for the Purchase and Removal of the Old Courthouse Building

Six months after Date we promise to pay T.F. Burchett
John Moore, Elias Lynch, John K. Wells and Achilles Dur-
ham Commissioners for and on behalf of Rutherford
County forty two dollars & fifty cents in consumation and
or purchase money for the old Court House in Ruther
fordton; and I also promise to move the said
old court house and its foundations or stone work
out of the public [street?] on or before the 2nd Monday
of January next. Witness our hands & seals this
12th of December 1836 

So in 1836, John Logan is purchasing the old Rutherford County Courthouse building in downtown Rutherfordton, NC. He has agreed to purchase the building for $42.50 and will have it moved off the property within a month. I hate that his signature has been torn out of this piece. This missing piece of paper took with it a receipt from T.F. Burchett accepting payment in full for this transaction:

…|11th Rec. payment of the
…|wholly of the commissioners
…|Logan Esq.
T.F. Burchett
[county?]

T. F. Burchett is likely Col. Theodorick F. Burchett who was born in Virginia 20 Aug 1795 and died in Rutherford County, NC 27 Aug 1839. He was a County Commissioner and prominent slave holder with 27 slaves in the 1820 census and 32 slaves in the 1830 census. In 1822 we was nominated by the NC House of Commons for the rank of Colonel in the 10th brigade of militia. In 1831, he and John Logan were reimbursed from the State Treasury by the NC Senate for the construction of the Hickory Nut Gap road underneath the act of 1823.

Elias Lynch is likely Elias Madison Lynch Sr. who was born in Brunswick County, VA in 1775 and died in Green Hill, Rutherford County, NC on 1 Nov 1863. In addition to being a county commissioner, he was also a large slave holder with 17 to 18 slaves in the 1830 and 1840 census and 33 slaves in the 1850 census. In 1860 his personal estate value was listed at $26,000.

Achilles Durham is likely born 14 Aug 1795 and died 19 Oct 1852 in Rutherford County, NC. He was th eson of Charles Alexander Durham and Mary Patience Davis. He owned the High Schoal Ironworks in the 1840s. The ironworks village had a smithy, store, and office, corn mill, and homes for the iron-master and slaves.

If you have any ideas about improving this rough transcription, please share in the comments below. 

About the Logan Project: I possess a box of 170 documents passed down 6 generations in the Logan family that originate from John Logan (1775-1841) of Rutherford County, NC. These documents are mainly receipts that show the various business and legal dealings of many different families from Rutherford County, NC. I will be posting these documents on this blog in chronological order. The scanned images of these documents are the copyright of Jonathan Medford. You are welcome to download them for personal use. Do not redistribute these documents for the purpose of commercial gain without his expressed written permission. If you would like to start reading them from the first document, you can start here.

Taxes Collected for the building of Bridges on 2nd Broad River and Cathey’s Creek

Received of John Logan Treasurer of Public
Buildings One hundred and fifty one
Dollars & 50 cents in full of the Bridge
Tax laid to building a Bridge at
[Banks?] on 2nd Broad River and
Another Bridge on Cathy Creek Tax
Collected in 1830. This being the Tax in
full acct [laid?] for those purposes
}        W J Melton???
The Whole Tax $361.56         {       [??????????????????]
November 4, 1836                    }

We know that John Logan was Rutherford County’s Treasurer of Public Buildings from as early as 1822. There are several Google Books references to this fact as well as references in an earlier receipt called Jail Tax Receipt January 27, 1822 and the receipt Robert McAfee Receipt for putting steps to the Court House December 14, 1822. It appears that John Logan was still in this role through at least 1836.

One thing I really enjoy about this blog series is getting to learn about the different people from the documents. I’m a little frustrated that I can’t seem to make out the exact name of the official who received the tax money. I also can’t seem to make out the job title or verbiage written below their name.

I need your help!

If you have any ideas about improving this rough transcription, please share in the comments below. 

About the Logan Project: I possess a box of 170 documents passed down 6 generations in the Logan family that originate from John Logan (1775-1841) of Rutherford County, NC. These documents are mainly receipts that show the various business and legal dealings of many different families from Rutherford County, NC. I will be posting these documents on this blog in chronological order. The scanned images of these documents are the copyright of Jonathan Medford. You are welcome to download them for personal use. Do not redistribute these documents for the purpose of commercial gain without his expressed written permission. If you would like to start reading them from the first document, you can start here.

John Alley, Jr. Judgement to James Morris

[?]ber 12th 1836 then Received
of John Logan seventeen
Dollars the ful amount of
A Judgment on John Alley
Jr.

James Morris C.C.

This receipt appears to be a situation where John Logan was collecting a judgement on behalf of the Clerk of Court of Rutherford County, NC.  I had a hard time making out the last name of James, but the C at the end of the name was a clue that it was like C.C. which stands for Clerk of Court. The Clerk of Court of Rutherford County at the time of this receipt was James Morris. The last name becomes much more clearer now. The M is distinct enough. I can make out an O, two Rs that run into each other like a lower case m and the double S in the shape of the F like you often see from this time period.

John Alley, Jr. is likely Col. John Heywood Alley, Jr. who was the son of former Rutherford County Sheriff John Heywood Alley and brother of former Sheriff Frederick F. Alley.

In the 1880s he served as Postmaster of Effie, NC in Jackson County.

He died in Whiteside Cove, Jackson County, North Carolina 3 Dec 1902. He is buried in Norton, Jackson county, NC.

According to an entry on Find a Grave,  Col. John Heywood Alley Jr. was born 11 May 1814 in Rutherford County, North Carolina. He married Sarah Norton in 1847. She is the daughter of Barak Pickerel Norton and Mary Norton. John and Sarah had the following children: James Franks Alley, Susan W. Davis, Zebulon Barrick Alley, Thomas Douglas Alley, Martha J. Baumgarner, Felex Eugene Alley, Sallie E. Cannon, John Hampton Alley and Effie Mae Picklesimer.

Alley’s obituary in the Franklin Press states that he served in the Cherokee Indian war, with a Lieutenant’s commission, for which service he received a pension. He was also a Colonel in the Confederate service home guard. According to his obituary his first vote was cast for Gen. Andrew Jackson, but subsequently he affiliated with the whigs (Republicans).

The Franklin Press Franklin, North Carolina 28 Jan 1903, Wed • Page 2

We have written quite a bit about the Alley family in this blog. To see more articles about the Alley’s check out the Alley category page: https://themmedfords.wordpress.com/category/john-logan-digital-archives/alley/

James Morris II was born on the Fox Haven plantation near Rutherfordton, NC in 1785. In addition to his role as a planter, he was the first clerk of superior court for Rutherford County, NC. He held this position for 25 years. His son James Bryan Morris was born on the plantation on April 28, 1831. Like John H. Alley, James Bryan Morris served as an officer in the Rutherford County Home Guard during the Civil War. He married a daughter of Dr. John McEntire who we have written about before on this blog.

The Fox Haven plantation was posted for sale in January of 2019 for $950,000. You can view pictures of the home here. If you don’t already follow Michelle Bowers on Facebook, I highly recommend it. Her blog is all about Old Houses.

If you have any ideas about improving this rough transcription, please share in the comments below. 

About the Logan Project: I possess a box of 170 documents passed down 6 generations in the Logan family that originate from John Logan (1775-1841) of Rutherford County, NC. These documents are mainly receipts that show the various business and legal dealings of many different families from Rutherford County, NC. I will be posting these documents on this blog in chronological order. The scanned images of these documents are the copyright of Jonathan Medford. You are welcome to download them for personal use. Do not redistribute these documents for the purpose of commercial gain without his expressed written permission. If you would like to start reading them from the first document, you can start here.

John Logan’s 1836 Tax Receipt from Sheriff William Wilkins

Rec’d of John Logan Esq twenty two dollars and two cent his tax in full for the year 1836

Wm Wilkins Sheriff

William Wilkins was a first year sheriff when this receipt was written. He was the Sheriff of Rutherford County from 1836 to 1838 and again from 1842 to 1846. Wilkins also served as a representative to the North Carolina General Assembly. He was also clerk of the county court of pleas and quarter sessions.

There is some interesting history in regards to the Sheriffs of Rutherford County that I found in a 18 Dec 1930 Forest City Courier article. I’ve updated some of the facts from the article.

William Carson and J. Ed McFarland are the only other Sheriffs beside William Wilkins of Rutherford County to serve for a period and then at another date. Carson was the first man to be elected by popular vote of the people. The justices appointed the sheriffs for a period of one year until 1830, when the popular vote system was inaugurated.

Five “sets” of fathers and sons served in this office. They are Andrew Hampton and his son Jonathan Hampton; Garland Dickerson and his son, M. O. Dickerson; A.B. Long and his son, G. W. Long; Martin Walker and his son, Noah Walker; John E. McFarland and his son, J. V. McFarland, and the grandson of John McFarland son of J.V. McFarland held the office. Robert Irvine and Abram Irvine were brothers, also John H. Alley and Frederick F. Alley.

Six of the Sheriffs before 1930 were war veterans. Richard Singleton, Andrew Hampton, John Lewis and James Winthrow all served in the Revolutionary War. Abram Irvine was a colonel in the War of 1812. M. O. Dickerson was a captain in the Indian Removal of 1838 as well as in the Civil War. It’s crazy to imagine that when this tax receipt was written, the Trail of Tears was two years away from happening.

The article also mentions a very interesting tidbit:

The county has been unusually fortunate in securing as officials men of integrity, ability, and above all , honesty. During the entire period of the county’s history there has been only one defaulter in this office. This defaulter became involved in unsuccessful speculation ventures, lost his property and carried six other prominent Rutherford county men to ruin. His six bondsmen finally reimbursed the county for the defaulter’s shortage, but it broke them up.

I wonder who that could have been? Sounds like another good research project!

Until 1810 there was no standard currency in the country which made the task of collecting taxes very difficult for sheriff’s at the time. One of the sheriff’s deputies in 1795 reported that he had collected “above 500 bushels of Indian corn”, a quantity of pelts, and three gallons of West India rum. The sheriffs themselves were also paid in produce collected and not with hard money.

Much like William Wilkins, several of these sheriffs served in other political offices. James Winthrow, Richard Singleton and John J. Alley also served as representatives in the General Assembly. Richard Singleton, Martin Walker, and Jonathan Hampton served as members of the state senate. Garland Dickerson was coroner of the county for a number of years. M.O. Dickerson was clerk of the Superior Court.

If you have any ideas about improving this rough transcription, please share in the comments below. 

About the Logan Project: I possess a box of 170 documents passed down 6 generations in the Logan family that originate from John Logan (1775-1841) of Rutherford County, NC. These documents are mainly receipts that show the various business and legal dealings of many different families from Rutherford County, NC. I will be posting these documents on this blog in chronological order. The scanned images of these documents are the copyright of Jonathan Medford. You are welcome to download them for personal use. Do not redistribute these documents for the purpose of commercial gain without his expressed written permission. If you would like to start reading them from the first document, you can start here.

J. Wilkerson Beef Receipt

November the 4 1835

Rec’d of John [?] By the Hands of John Logan five 55 in full of his Beef
Recpt up to the present date Recvd by me

J. Wilkerson

It is really hard to make out the name of the person who’s beef account it is. On the back of this receipt, John Logan writes the name again larger, but it is still hard to read. It’s almost like the first letter is a lowercase E or C.

When I look up Wilkersons in the 1830 census living in Rutherford County, NC, I come across three possibilities:

1. Jesse Wilkerson – 6 free persons and 5 slaves
2. Robert Wilkerson – 3 free persons and 3 slaves
3. Jethro Wilkerson – 9 free persons and 3 slaves
4. William Wilkerson – 8 free persons and 8 slaves
5. Moses Wilkerson – 4 free persons and 2 slaves
6. John Wilkerson – 8 free persons

I am pretty sure that the first initial for Mr. Wilkerson is a J. So that narrows down our possibilities to Jesse, Jethro and John. Which one of these fellas is the local butcher?

I tried to search some newspaper archives in hopes of finding some advertisements for beef, but no luck. The only Wilkerson reference I could find was this one:

North Carolina Spectator and Western Advertiser Rutherfordton, North Carolina Friday, November 12, 1830 – Page 3

It looks like the Wilkersons of Rutherford County are the sons of Moses Wilkerson. Moses was born in July 1762 in Pennsylvania. He died in Burke County, North Carolina on 11 Apr 1830.

It’s going to be hard to pinpoint the exact Wilkerson that is being referenced above.

If you have any ideas about improving this rough transcription, please share in the comments below. 

About the Logan Project: I possess a box of 170 documents passed down 6 generations in the Logan family that originate from John Logan (1775-1841) of Rutherford County, NC. These documents are mainly receipts that show the various business and legal dealings of many different families from Rutherford County, NC. I will be posting these documents on this blog in chronological order. The scanned images of these documents are the copyright of Jonathan Medford. You are welcome to download them for personal use. Do not redistribute these documents for the purpose of commercial gain without his expressed written permission. If you would like to start reading them from the first document, you can start here.

BOMBSHELL: Uncle Ed had a SECRET FAMILY!

If you use a website like ancestry.com to put your genealogy out there, you are constantly going to be contacted by people asking you questions about your family. Most of these people are actually cousins or friends and cousins.

Because I get so many emails related to nothing but genealogy. I have a dedicated email address just for handling that. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I go for long stretches of time without answering some of these emails. I finally started digging through some emails this weekend and I had a few that were pretty interesting, but one in particular really stuck out to me. I got an email from a guy named Larry and this is what he said.

“Hi, I’m friends of Johnny D. Buff, his grandmother married a H. E. Smith in 1920. His father was Adolphus Smith. Mother, Sara. Bertha had two boys by H. E. Their names were Harley and Charlie Smith. The H. E. Smith is listed as 29 on the marriage certificate. Born 1891. It would’ve been easy for a man to have been married to two women at the same time back in the twenties. My own great grandfather they say would be gone for months at a time. If you could be of any assistance. I sure would appreciate it. Larry.”

It’s kind of interesting. Honestly I wasn’t exactly sure who H.E. Smith was at first, but I did recognize Adolphus Smith as one of my great, great, great grandfathers. When he said something about being married to two women at the same time, that kind of intrigued me. That’s an email worth responding to. But first let’s take a look and see what I have in my genealogy.

OK. So my great grandmother is a lady named Annie Smith and her dad is Thomas Smith and his father is Henry Adolphus Smith. So let’s start there. Henry Adolphus “Dock” Smith as he was called, was born in 1848, died in 1916 in Swain County North Carolina. Here’s my great grandfather, Thomas Smith, and right down here is his brother who is six years younger than him named Henry Edward Smith. This must be the H.E. Smith in question.

So here’s my 3rd Great Uncle Henry Edward Smith, born 1884, died in 1962 in Weaverville in Buncombe County, North Carolina.

Now here’s the thing, Henry Edward Smith was married to a lady named Ernestine Honeycutt in 1902. They were married to each other the rest of their lives. In fact, they both died in the same year. 1962. They have three kids together, two daughters named Anna and Lola, although in the mountains they would pronounce that Annie and Lolie and then a son named William. My first thought to Larry was, “OK, dude, how about get your facts together first, do you actually have any proof that this happened?”

He sent this email to me in October of last year, by the way, so I’m responding to him literally seven months later.

“Sorry for taking so long to respond. So you were saying the H.E. Smith who was married to Ernestine Honeycutt had another wife named Bertha and had two boys with her. Do you have a marriage certificate for this H.E. Smith and Bertha and birth records and death certificates for their children?”

I did a super quick search on ancestry.com, so I wasn’t really able to find a whole lot of information so I wanted to see if he had this marriage certificates and if you could send it to me. Surprisingly this is what he had to say.

‘I do have one. I will try and get it for you. Hi Jonathan. Let me know what you think, Larry. “

OK, let’s take a look and see what this says. State of North Carolina Caldwell County office of register of deeds, August 5th, 1922 an ordained minister or any religious denomination or any justice of the peace of said County, H.E. Smith having applied to me for a license for the marriage of himself of Caldwell County, North Carolina. Age 29 years. Color White, the son of Adolphus Smith and Sarah Smith. The father now dead, the mother dead and Bertha of Caldwell county age 33 years old, white daughter of Malton Cline and Ellen Cline, the father living, the mother, living residence of Caldwell County, North Carolina.

And then further down the document it looks like they were married by a justice of the Peace.

I, J.A. Starnes, a justice of the Peace United to matrimony H.E. Smith and Bertha Buff. The parties licensed above on the 5th day of August, 1920 at Granite Falls, North Carolina and Love Lady Township of Said County according to law,

Love lady township. That’s really interesting. Lovely township is essentially Granite Falls, North Carolina, which is actually where I grew up and my family’s ancestral lands are in the present day Great Smoky Mountain National Park. So if Henry and Bertha were married in August of 1920. Let’s take a look at what the 1920 census says for where Henry was living at the time.

So this is the 1920 census for Henry Edward Smith. He was living in Ocanalufty, Swain County North Carolina, which is now encompassed inside of the great smoky national forest. You can see right here, he’s living right next door to his brother, Thomas E Smith, who is my great, great grandfather in 1920. My great grandmother, Annie Smith who went on to marry a Medford was 16 years old at the time and you can see clearly, plain as day, Henry Edward Smith, married to Ernestine wife.

There was quite a distance between North Carolina and lovelady township, about a 122 miles to be exact. I guess if you’re going to have a secret family, that’s not a bad idea. I’m still a little skeptical though.

Now, I don’t have a photo of Henry Edward Smith, but his brother, Thomas Smith, my great, great grandfather lived right next door to them. Here’s a look at Thomas Smith House, which like I said, is now in present day great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Here’s a picture from 1910 of Thomas Smith and his family. Thomas is right here towards the right and then my great grandmother Annie is right here in the middle.

Now here’s a photo that was taken right around 1920 of Thomas Smith and his family. Again, this is not Henry, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of what Henry’s life may have looked like and he probably looked pretty similar to his brother Thomas, my great, great grandfather.

So my next question is, who is Bertie? I decided to take a look at the 1920 census and see where Bernie was living at the time.

Now Bertie was living as a widow with her mother and father in love, lady township and Caldwell County, North Carolina in 1920. She also had a 13 year old son named Henry and a 10 year old daughter named Johnsie.

The next question I want to ask is why was Henry in Caldwell county to begin with? There’s actually a logical explanation. Here’s some clues as to why Henry was in Caldwell County:

1. His parents were from Caldwell County.
2. They were married in Caldwell County.
3. Henry was born there.
4. He had lots of relatives still living there.
5. He had aunts, uncles, and cousins that lived in Caldwell County.

Caldwell County is where my family moved after eminent domain, took their land from the Great Smoky Mountain National Forest. Having a secret family, a 122 miles away makes a lot of sense, but having a secret family where you have so many relatives, doesn’t really make a lot of sense!

Did Harley in Charlie Really Exist?

So here’s the 1930 census for Birdie or Roberta. She’s living not too far away from Caldwell County, right next door in Catawba county in a city called Newton. And check this out. Her last name is Smith and there they are. Charlie and Harley. Both nine years old, Huh? I guess Charlie and Harley were probably twins, nine years old. And they have the classic twin rhyming names. Now what’s really interesting here is her marital status says married. Her last name is Smith, but what’s unusual is her husband is not listed as living in this household.

Wow. Maybe this Guy Larry is right. Let’s take a look at the 1940 census.

OK. So in 1940 her name is not listed as Smith listed as both, but I still see it in here for married and there they are. Charlie and Harley sons. Eighteen and 18.

What kind of weird thing about the m, that is listed here, the M for married, has a line through it as if it’s marked out and then there’s a number seven. I’ve never seen that before in a this record. I wonder if that really means anything. Found it pretty cool explanation on Google.

Even when a marital status married was recorded, clerks were instructed to interline the M and replace it with seven. If no spouse was included in the household. If you find a seven and the marital status column or an M crossed out and a 7 penciled in, then look for the spouse in another household.

Interesting. The circumstantial evidence here is really, really convincing. Uh, everything seems to corroborate what Larry’s telling me. Let’s just take look at Henry situation as the 5th of August, 1920 when he married Bertha.

He’s 36 years old. He is three weeks shy of being married to Ernestine for 18 years. He has a daughter named Annie who was 17. He has a daughter named Lola who is six, and he has a son named William who was just two years old. He’s working as a blacksmith at a lumber company and he lives in Ocanalufty, North Carolina, in Swain county.

Perhaps the most astonishing part is nine months after they were married. Charlie and Harley, the twins were born.

This spawns. So many questions. Did Robertha ever ever know about Henry’s wife. Did Henry’s wife Ernestine ever know about Roberta? Did Henry and Ernestine children? Anna, Lola and William ever know about any of this.

So right here is a marriage certificate for Charlie Smith who was getting married August 27th, 1947 in Charlotte, North Carolina at 26 years old. So he’s listed as the son of H.E. Smith, and Bertha Smith, the father deceased. The mother living.

Did he list his father is deceased metaphorically because he may as well be? Or is he listing his father is deceased because he actually believes his father’s dead?

Another question I have is, do the descendants of these two families know that the other exists?

I’m going to get some answers for you guys. I’ve actually been able to track down some descendants of both sides, and so what I’m gonna do is I’m going to contact the families and approach them about the situation delicately and see what they had to say about it. Be on the lookout for a followup blog as we help solve this puzzle.

Helping a Metal Detectorist Find The Family of a Lost Purple Heart!

I haven’t posted a blog since mid-2017, but I am bound and determined to continue onward with the John Logan Letters Project this year! I also have a new treat for you guys.

I am launching my own genealogy-inspired Youtube Channel for metal detecting called “Roots and Relics“. The following isn’t my first video on the channel, but it’s the first of many of its kind to come! Please check it out!

Roots and relics, genealogy inspired relic hunting. What does that mean? Well, I’ve been a genealogist for almost 18 years now. My freshman year at East Carolina University, I took a class called “Marriage and Family Relations and I had to do a genealogy project in that class and it got me hooked on genealogy ever since. The summer after my freshman year of college, I went back home and I did nothing but genealogy research that entire summer. When I decided to make a youtube channel for metal detecting, I wanted to come from it from a historical perspective and really try to mix in genealogy whenever I could. My photos are really my true treasures. I mean every single time I can put a face to a name of one of my ancestors. That is absolutely priceless to me. What’s up with all this? Talk about genealogy today. Well, that brings me to today’s video.

A few weeks ago I was on the Nugget Noggin facebook page and a lady named Amanda Johnson posted a really, really interesting find that she made. She found a purple heart from a World War II soldier named Edward F Deerey Jr. She was asking Nugget Noggin, what’s the best way to research and find the family of this person.

In her message, she said, “hey, nugget, check out our find from today at an old school house site on our family’s property. My Dad and I found a purple heart medal. The poor guy lost his life in World War II at the age of 19. We have no idea how it ended up here unless one of his distant relatives took it to school with them back in the 40s and lost it. We’re trying to find his family so we can give it to them and he suggested on fast tracking the search for this family. This is a first for us. Thanks.”

This interested me right away. I wanted to try to help do my part, put my genealogy skills to the test and see if I could help track down a close relative of Edward Deerey’s,

So I messaged to her, “Did you have any luck finding his family? I may be able to help. I do genealogy work”.

There’s a really popular website called FindaGrave.com, and so I was able to pretty quickly pull up a grave of a WWII soldier named Edward F Deerey, Jr..

The cemetery that he’s buried at is St. Mary’s Cemetery in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. He’s born January 9, 1925 and died October 29th, 1944. So my first message to Amanda was, “where did you find this? I know that Edward was from and is buried in Salem, Massachusetts.” And Amanda said, “Jonathan we found that metal detecting on a farm here in Cumberland County, Tennessee.”

Wow. Obviously Edward is from Massachusetts. He was buried in MMassachusetts. So how did this purple heart wind up on a farm in Cumberland County, Tennessee so I responded to Amanda. “Wow. I will do some more genealogical digging and let you know what I find.”

I was able to find Edward’s senior year, a yearbook from 1942 from Salem high school in Salem, Massachusetts. The yearbook is kind of fun list nickname. So Edwards nickname is obviously junior because he’s the son of Edward Deerey, um, which we already know. He was listed as a junior in the purple heart. His chief companion, “the old’s” favorite saying, “hey, take it away”, hang out “wherever he hangs his hat”. And his ambition is “fair Harvard”. Now Salem, Massachusetts is not very far from Cambridge, Massachusetts where Harvard is. So I was really curious, his ambition is to go to Harvard. Did he actually fulfill that? I found one clue to kind of help us answer that. Here is an army enlistment record from 1938 to 1946. So we had Edward F Deerey Jr. Born 1925 native of Massachusetts county Essex. He enlisted in the city of Boston, Massachusetts on 17th of November, 1943 under education status. It’s listed as one year of college. That’s a little bit of a clue that maybe he did get to Harvard.

I found out that on the campus of Harvard University, there’s a monument dedicated to those alumni who died in WWII. Edward F Deerey Jr is listed under the class of 1946. The next record I was able to find about Edward was actually an application for a military headstone. This application was applied for by his mother, Madge B. Deerey on April 2nd, 1950, and it was verified on January 19th, 1953 and ordered on July 21st, 1953. The next document is a roster of WWII dead 1939 to 1945 right here at the top is Deerey, Edward F Jr private. There are no other Edward F Deerey Jrs listed on here, so we know that the purple heart belongs to the one and only Edward F Deerey Jr who died in WWII.

The next thing I was interested in doing was piecing together what Edward’s life was like and also finding out if he has any relatives that may still be living.

When I look at the 1940 us census, it’s kind of sad. Edward F Deerey Jr is the only male in the household. Apparently his father had already passed away when he was 15 years old in 1940. His mom, Madge was 44 years old and she’s listed as widowed and the only other person living in the household is a maid. Who’s from Ireland. The curious thing, when I looked at this page, there are several houses that had hired maids who were all born in Ireland. Kind of interesting.

Now when I look at the 1930 Census, his father’s living. His father was 43 years old and his mom was listed as being 34 years old and Edward was just five. Also living in the household was someone named Anne who is a cook and she was born in Ireland and also someone named Mary who is listed as a practical nurse. Another interesting part of the 1930 census was Edward’s, dad, Edward Sr was listed as a manufacturer and he actually owned a leather factory. When I took a look at the 1920 census, Edwards sr was 31 years old and he was actually living with his mother Catherine, who was 70 and widowed at the time. His mother is listed as being born in Ireland. When you look at the occupation for him, he was in the leather business at another factory, so he had always worked in this factory apparently.

I decided to do some digging on leather factories in salem, Massachusetts to see what I could find. What I found was pretty interesting. There was a Deerey brothers leather manufacturer in Salem, Massachusetts. One of my favorite tips for genealogy is you don’t have to have a subscription to ancestry.com to find some really cool stuff. Google books is a treasure trove of genealogical data. Here’s the entry and a google book that I found to enlarge factory Deerey Brothers. Manufacturers of shoes stock have plans for an additional 50 by 100 feet, three stories high to their factory at good huge street, salem, which they recently purchased from the american hide and leather company. Their leather factory was known for making good year welts.

Amanda Johnson, who found this purple heart was really wanting to return the purple heart to the family of Edward Deerey. But one thing I found was Edward was an only child. So the thought of finding a relative who is related closely to him was starting to wain on me. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to find an uncle or a first cousin or anything like that. So what I needed to do was find Edward Sr’s family and see if maybe he had a brother or sister and follow that branch down the line.

So Edward Sr was the son of John Deerey and Catherine Brogen when neat little thing here I was able to find was a WWI draft registration card for Edward Francis Deerey Sr. He lived at Treemont street in Salem, Massachusetts. His date of birth was April 9th, 1887. His present occupation was leather manufacturing place that he was employed was the Deerey Brothers. He listed that he is responsible for the care of his mother. Do you claim exemptions from the draft business reasons to support mother as what he listed there, and he’s listed as being tall, medium, build blue eyes, light, hair color, and has the person lost arms, leg, hand, foot or both or eyes or otherwise disabled. Specify. He has a very serious condition known as “varicose veins”.

This is a picture of what the house on Treemont street looks like. I don’t know for sure if this is the exact same house, but judging by the looks of it, I think it might be.

Here’s a look at the tombstone of the Deerey’s. So they’re all buried together. Edward F Deerey, Born in 1887 died 1936. Madge born 1896 died in 1957. And then Edward F Deerey Jr died in 1944. So Edward Senior’s. Father is John H Deerey who’s born November 1845 in Ireland. John Deerey and Catherine had six children. So I had six different possibilities of people to be able to find a close relative so that Amanda could return this purple heart to the family.

Edward F Deerey Sr had one brother and four sisters since the purple heart had the name Deerey on it. I thought it’d be kinda cool to see if we could find a relative who’s last name is Deerey and make contact with them. So I decided to focus on Edward’s brother John Andrew to see if we could find a close relative.

So John Andrew was born 20th of January 1886 in Salem, Massachusetts. He married a lady named Elizabeth Furey and they had three girls and one boy. The one boy’s name was of course John Andrew Deerey Jr. They lived at 33 Loring Avenue. What a beautiful house that was and still is.

So John Andrew Deerey Jr. married a lady named Joanella. I’m hiding the last names of the women involved here for security purposes for the people that are still living. So John Andrew Deerey Jr died pretty recently and he had five children. John Andrew III. Tristram, Eliza, Desiree, Sean Deerey and Shawna Deerey. With all of this information in hand, it was time to give an update to Amanda on the situation. I told Amanda. “Ok, so unfortunately Edward Francis Deerey Jr was the only child of Edward F Deerey and Madge Bernadette Collins. His father passed away when he was only 11 years old and his mom passed away in 1957.

The closest family members would be his cousins through his father’s brother, John Andrew Deerey. Amanda wasted no time and got right on trying to contact the family.

“I’ve messaged 4 people whom I believe may be some of the cousins you’ve listed, including a copy of your post here showing your work and finding potential family members, a picture, and then a link to my original posting on another facebook page. I spoke to Andrew Deerey friday night who put me in touch with his cousin Charles Reardon. He called me today regarding the purple heart. We have confirmed that they are the family of Edward F Deerey Jr and I will be mailing the medal to Charles this week. He lIves in Colorado and is the second cousin to Edward F Deerey Jr. Every bit of the information you sent me was correct and I will also be crediting you in this journey to find the family. Thank you sir.”

Wow, that’s pretty cool. We’re actually able to connect the purple heart with the original family, which I think is pretty neat. The one thing that is still curious to me is how did this metal ended up in Tennessee? So I asked Amanda about that.

“That is so great. Did anyone in the family move to Tennessee or do you think this was auctioned away? Perhaps someone from this from his unit was from your area and was given the medal.”

Amanda said, “we’re still unsure, but I will be including in the mill some description of the area in which it was bound so that when Mr. Reardon continues to search for answers, then maybe he can make that connection.”

So what do you think it is? How did that medal end up in Tennessee? I can see a couple of different scenarios. There must have been an auction when the family passed away. With all the stuff in the household and no one to inherit it. I have to imagine that a lot of the stuff just went up to auction and maybe that purple heart made its way on the auction block and someone purchased it and it traveled somewhere and got sold at a store or someone bought it and then some kid to school and left it on the school yard. Maybe that’s a possibility. Another thing I think maybe is maybe there was a very special friend and his unit that was with him when he died and perhaps his mother gave that purple heart to one of his dear friends from his unit and maybe that friend was from Tennessee. And so maybe that’s how it ended up being there. I think there’s a lot of research to be done in that area.

We know what unit of the army that he was in. And I would like to take a look at the rosters and see if there’s anybody from that particular county in Tennessee where it was found. I hope you’ve enjoyed this video. We’re kind of taking you through the process. If you’re a metal detectorist and you found something that maybe has a name associated with it or you’re just kind of curious about a piece or a cemetery or greater that you found and you’d like some help researching the geological history behind a piece… I’d be more than happy to help you out with that. Thanks for watching.