Hezekiah McLemore

Notes:

1801 Sampson County NC Court Order Public work 10 Aug 1801 Little Coharie Ezekiah McLEMORE and Archibald McLEMORE plus others work on river (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

Sampson County Deed Book Book 13, page 64 Abstract of Deed

" ... I Archibald Maclemore of the county of Sampson and state of North Carolina for the love and affection I bear to my son Hezekiah Maclemore of the aforementioned county and state....do give unto the said Hezekiah part of the tract of land where I now live which I purchased of Lewis HOLMES and part of another tract I purchased from the same person. The said land I now give is on the east side of Little Cohara above where I now live including the plantation where he now lives beginning at an agreed corner from between the said HOLMES and me and betwixt the said Hezekiah Maclemore on the bank of the Little Cohara creek and running out through...an agreed line of marked trees to my back line and corner at a pine and...said line to the...branch now called Hudson Branch and down said Branch...to the run of said Cohara and Corners at a Birch Willis Mayes (?) corner and down the creek as it meanders to the beginning for one hundred acres of land...more or less...to have and to hold unto him the said Hezekiah Maclemore on the said land...I the said Archibald Maclemore as bind myself my heirs Ex. and assign firmly by these presents...unto him the said Hezekiah Maclemore his heirs Ex. and or assignees forever...In witness whereof I have set my hand and seal this 9th of June in the year 1804. Archibald (his mark) Maclemore Sampson County Witnesses Thomas FISHER and Elizabeth FISHER Registered December 11, 1804, Owen HOLMES Reg.

(Abstracted from the original by Melinda McLemore Strong 26 May 2005)

1805 Sampson County NC Court order Child bond 12 Aug 1805 Evan BROOKS, age 7, to Ezekiah McLEMORE until age 21 (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

1805 Sampson County NC Court Order Deed 13 Nov 1805 Alice ROBINSON to Hezekiah McLEMORE, 200 acres, proved by Archibald McLEMORE (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

1806 Sampson County NC Court Order Public work 11 Aug 1806 River work on Little Coharie Ezekiah McLEMORE Henry McLEMORE plus others (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

Sampson County Deed Book Book 16, page 114 Abstract of Deed
State of North Carolina, Sampson County Be it known that Hezekiah McLEMORE of the State and County aforesaid for and in consideration of the sum of three Hundred and twenty five Dollars...paid by Jno. HANEY....do hereby...sell...two parcels of Land lying and being as follows...on the East Side of the Little Cohary above where Archibald MACLEMORE now lives and Running out through a Marsh on an agreed line of Mark'd trees to Archibald MACLEMORE's back line and corner at a pine and with the said line to the Ba? Branch...known by the name of Hudson's Branch, and down said Branch as it Meanders to the run of said Cohary and corners at a Birch formerly Willis MAGU's corner but now Tobias MACLEMORE's and down the Creek as it Meanders to the Beginning for one hundred acres of land...Second tract begins...at McLEMORE's Corner at the head of Hudson's Branch and turn thence along a line of mark'd trees nearly a west corner to the Hollow Branch...down the Branch to a stake formerly Willis MAGU's line but now Tobias and Henry MCLEMORE's line, thence along said line to Hudson'g Branch to a bay tree, thence up the said Branch to the Beginning for two hundred acres of land more of less...
In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the fourteenth day of March One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eleven Hezekiah (his mark) MACLEMORE
Signed, sealed and delivered In presence of us Dickson TATOM and J.G. MORRIS
Sampson County May Term 1813...Deed proved in Court for Registration H. HOLMES
Registered June the 23rd 1813 Owen HOLMES Reg.

(Abstracted from the original by Melinda McLemore Strong 18 July 2005)

Not found in the North Carolina census index from 1810-1850. Could he have died before 1820?

James L. McLemore, III noted, that while browsing through Leverett's book, "Ole Rosinheels", he ran across the following entry in the Appendix, page 172:

"1818, May 22 - Hezekiah McLemore's will was administered in Richland County, South Carolina. No list of heirs is given."

James L. McLemore, III intially showed Hezekiah as the father of only Hezekiah McLemore, Jr. with no other known descendants of either man. Jim later believed that there was no namesake son, and Hezekiah probably never had a family or children.

However, on October, 15, 2007, Jim proposed the following theory to the Sampson County, NC research group, that Hezekiah had a family later in life, and was the father of Raiford McLemore born ca 1815, who resided in Sampson County, NC in the 1840's through 1880's. Hezekiah may also have had one of more other children, yet unidentified.

Jim noted that it significant that Hezekiah's death in 1818 occurred IN RICHLAND COUNTY, SC. Richland County was the home of a major branch of his line, the line descending from the immigrant James' second son John and his wife Faith. They had three sons (and two daughters), the youngest being son Joel who was in the same generation as Wright McLemore, but was over twenty-five years younger than Wright, who was five or six years older than Joel's older brother John Jr. Joel was born in January 1739/40, and moved to South Carolina sometime in the mid 1760's dying there in 1795, and leaving behind a family consisting of several children who were only slightly older than was their cousin (third cousin once removed), Hezekiah. Could it have been possible that Hezekiah went there to visit , liked what he saw and stayed. Could he have even gotten his wife there, from amongst those cousins or more likely from among their neighbors, and when he died there in 1818, his wife stayed there in SC and raised his minor children there, accounting for the fact that Raiford (b. 1815) appears in NO census in the southeast NC area that we have found until he is an adult, age 35, with a wife and growing family of his own?

This hypothesis is consistent with the information discussed above and elsewhere, but it is not conclusive by any means. To it Jim added two or three more specific pieces of data that also does not prove it conclusively, but strengthens it considerably. Look at the family, the children, of Raiford (b. 1815); like the elder one, he had a son named Hezekiah of his own, which to me would indicate that he was the son of either the elder Raiford or the latter's brother Hezekiah (d. 1818); there are no other Hezekiahs among the descendants of Archibald except among the children of the two Raifords (b. 1790 and B. 1815) and their issue. That' s one piece of data. Second, and what Jim thought was even more telling: Only among the descendants of the immigrant James' second son John McLemore and his wife Faith do you find the given name "Joel" before the Civil War, that name being an almost sure give-away that its holder was a member of that family. ... Until now, when we find this one exception: right after Hezekiah (b. ca. 1844) in Raiford's (b. 1815) family is his son Joel (b. 1845), the only Joel of whom I am aware who can definitely be associated with another McLemore family besides that descending from John and Faith McLemore back in Sussex County, Virginia. It is a name that is most likely explained by this contact by Hezekiah with his cousins in Richland County, South Carolina, the Family of Joel McLemore, b. 1739/40 to John and Faith back in VA, d. 1795 in Richland County, SC, where Hezekiah himself died in 1818. And the third piece of evidence is that Raiford's next son is John McLemore, a name we do not find often in Southeast North Carolina until this time, yet every one of Joel's (died 1795, SC) children who had children, every single one, had a son named Joel AND a son named John! Is this where those two names come from?

So there you have it...Raiford (b. 1815) was the son of Hezekiah (b. 1780-83, d. 1818), and by process of elimination that leaves Tobias to be daddy of Amos (b. 1813). If you don't like this theory, fine; you are left with the alternative of accepting that Raiford had two-sons-named-Raiford theory, and that the older one does not show up on early census records, or of coming up with an hypothesis of your own that is more plausible than either. That is also possible. But this as a potenial working theory as it does explain a lot and gets us that much further down that road of identifying the links between Wright McLemore (b. 1813) and his children with so many of the McLemores who can be traced to the Southeast portion of North Carolina, around Duplin/Sampson/Bladen Counties a generation or two later, but who have posed such problems to all of us and others in trying to make the connections in the past. All we have to do at this point, I suspect, is find just a bit of data of some sort that will help us tie down Melinda's ancestor John McLemore (b. 1822) as the son of Tobias of that same approximate age, and we will have about filled out Archibald's descendants.

Then we can try to deal with the stubborn problems of the descendants of the other descendants of Wright (besides Archibald and his prodigy) who lived in that same area.

On October 21, 2007, Jim emailed the Sampson Research Group and addendum and correction to his theory above:

I have recently run across one other exception to the "Joel" Christian name rule being an indication of a connection to the family of the Immigrant James' second son John of Sussex County, VA, "Without Exception" (as a Lawyer, I should know better than to make "absolute" statements, instead of leaving myself an out with "Weasel Words"!).

Apparently there seems to have been a Joel in the family of Sterling McLemore (son of Ephraim Jr.) who was probably born sometime in the mid 1780's, and was a contemporary of the only Joel (in John's family) whose later life I have not discovered elsewhere, Joel the son of James (B. ca. 1762 VA, D. 1796 SC), oldest son of Joel (B. 1739/40 VA, D. 1795 SC), and who I had hoped I had found married to a Rhoda in Yalobusha Co., MS, but that Joel now seems to be Sterling's, not James', according to Melinda' posting to the herein referred to Rootsweb site.

However, after making that correction to "almost without exception" instead of "without exception", I still think the "Joel" rule is a good indicator of descent from John and his wife Faith, as stated below, so I'm not coming back in too far from the end of that limb quite yet.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Raiford McLemore was born about 1815 in North Carolina; and died.

Notes:

James L. McLemore, III author of THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE McLEMORE FAMILY OF VIRGINIA AND THE CAROLINAS, notes on the diagram titled "Family Tree of James Macklemore" that Archibald was the progenitor of the Sampson County, N.C. family. James puts his date of birth as circa 1760-1762.

Ancestry.com has an Index only record showing that Archibald McLemore State NC County Duplin County was on an Early Tax List in 1783, and also on a Sampson County Early Tax List in 1784

Source: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

The following was excerpted from "The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina" Oscar Bizell, Editor c. 1983

"Archibald McLemore-rec'd land grant in 1779 in Duplin Co for 100 acres on the east side of the Great Cohera. Purchased adjacent land.

First Sampson County Tax List Sept 1784 Arch'd McLemore 100 acres-1 Free Polls-0 Black Polls Drew McLemore 0 acres-1 Free Polls-O Black Polls Drew McLemore Jr. 0 acres-1 Free Polls-O Black Polls West McLemore 0 acres-1 Free Polls-O Black Polls William McLemore 0 acres-1 Free Polls-O Black Polls

1784 Sampson County, NC Court Order 22 Jun 1784 Public Work Archilus [Archibald] McLEMORE, Drury McLEMORE plus others to clear Little Coharie... (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

1787 Sampson County, NC Court Order Public Work 14 May 1787 River clearing duty Drewry McLEMORE Archibald McLEMORE plus others (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

1803 Sampson County NC Court Order 7 Feb 1803 Jury duty to lay off dowry lands Archibald McLEMORE plus others (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

Beginning in 1804, Archibald gave his land to his sons: to Hezekiah in 1804 he gave 100 acres; to Henry in 1810 he gave 150 acres; to Tobias in 1810 he gave 300 (sic) acres; and to Raiford in 1812 he gave his remaining land & Dwelling. Raiford b bet 1785-1790. Raiford had a son named Hezekiah born ca 1827"

These transfers are on file with the Sampson County Clerk, P.O. Box 256, Clinton, NC 28328. Abstractions from the four deeds transferring land from Archibald to his sons are included with the notes for each son.

Other land transactions involving Archibald McLemore are abstracted below. These deeds were located with the use of an index of Sampson County McLemore Deeds prepared by the Rev. William McLemore. It is not known if the index was exhaustive.

Sampson County Deeds Book 7, pages 128-129 Abstract of Deed from Archabald McLEMORE to John WRIGHT State of North Carolina, Duplin County

This indenture made the twenty fourth day of March in the Year of our Lord One thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty 1780 between Archabald McLEMORE and John WRIGHT of the County and province aforesaid...Archabald McLEMORE for and in consideration of the sum of Two Hundred pounds paid by John WRIGHT do convey...to the said John WRIGHT a survey of land containing One Hundred Acres of land on the north side of Great Coheary on both sides of the Cannady branch.... In witness whereof I the said Archabald McLEMORE have herewith set my hand and seal affixed the day and year first above written Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of us Fleet COOPER and Drury McLEMORE, Arch'd McLEMORE State of North Carolina, Duplin County October Court One Thousand seven Hundred an Eighty...proved in Open Court by the Oath of Fleet Cooper...William DECKLAN C.C.

(Abstracted from the original by Melinda McLemore Strong 26 May 2005)

Sampson County Deed Book Book 9, Page 195 Abstract of Deed

Archabald McLAMORE to Nathan PETERSON

Archabald McLemore, County of Sampson, State of North Carolina for consideration of 100 pounds?(received from) Nathan PETERSON of the County and State aforesaid?..do convey?one certain tract?.of land ?lying and being in the County of Sampson and on the West side of the great Cohary creek?containing by estimate thirty two acres of land?more of less being a part of a tract of land of Two Hundred acres of land granted by patent to Cade WEATHERSBEE ?date the 25 day of November 1761?also one other tract of land?in Sampson in the fork of the great Cohary and Little Cohary ?containing in the Whole One Hundred acres of land which was granted unto Archabald McLAMORE ?.8 day of October 1787?.

In witness whereof I the said Archabald McLAMORE have ?set my hand?.this 10th day of January 1793?.Signed?in the presence of Moses? PETERSON and Thomas SEALE (?) Sampson County February Court 1793 Hardy HOLMES Clk

Registered in the County aforesaid 21st May 1793 O. HOLMES Regt

(Abstracted from the original by Melinda McLemore Strong 6 July 2005)

Sampson County Deed Book Book 11, Page 424 Abstract of Deed

Archabald McLAMORE to Nathan PETERSON

Archabald McLEMORE, State of North Carolina, County of Sampson, for consideration of 15 pounds Current money?(received from) Nathan PETERSON of the State and County aforesaid?..do convey?one tract?.of land ?lying and being in the County of Sampson and on the West side of the great Cohara and the Est. side of the Marsh Branch?beginning at ?.Thomas PAGES Corner?East along PAGES line and?.then South West along Archabald McLAMORES line?.on the Marsh branch?Byins BAYKINS line?.containing by estimation Eighty Two acres of land be the same more or less the aforesaid land was granted to Jesse PEACOCK by Patent bearing dated the 20th day of December 1791 and conveyed by Jesse PEACOCK to me Archabald McLAMORE by deed of law and being dated the 9th day of January 1793.

In witness whereof I the said Archabald McLAMORE have ?set my hand?.5th day of May 1801?.Signed?in the presence of Willis MAGEE and Hezekiah McLAMORE State of North Carolina, Sampson County May Term 1801?. proved on the Oath of Willis MAGEE Hardy HOLMES Clk

Registered the 11th day of June A.D. 1801 O HOLMES Regt

(Abstracted from the original by Melinda McLemore Strong 6 July 2005)

1801 Sampson County NC Court Order Public work 10 Aug 1801 Little Coharie Ezekiah McLEMORE and Archibald McLEMORE plus others work on river (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

1807 Sampson County NC Court Order Deed 13 May 1807 James ROBINSON to Archibald McLEMORE 400 acres proved by Hezekiah McLEMORE

1812 Sampson County NC Will 17 Nov 1812 Wm. ROBINSON Esquire produced to this court the last will and testament of Alice ROBINSON Dec'd which was admitted to probate by the oath of Archibald McLEMORE (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

1815 Sampson County NC Deed 22 Feb 1815 Larry FREEMAN to Archibald McLEMORE for 100 acres proved by Ebnezer Bass (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)


1820 Sampson County Census Robinson's 280 McLemore Archibald 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 (Male under 10, Male over 45, female 20 to 45)

1862-Duplin County, NC #1862 Archibald McLEMORE 100 acres, grant #133, issued 1 Jul 1779, entry #36, entered May 11, 1778 book #32 pg 133, on west side of Great Cohara

Archibald married ??? ??? about 1783. ??? was born after 1754; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Not Sarah PLUMLEY/PLUMEE as is sometimes shown. See marriage notes for details.

Notes:

Married:
Archibald McLemore of Duplin/Sampson County, NC was NOT married to Sarah PLUMLEY/PLUMEE as is sometimes shown. It was actually a younger Archibald (a son of John McLemore, the Revolutionary Soldier), born 1787 in North Carolina and later moved to Knox County, Tennessee, who married Sarah Plumlee sometime before 1807, when their children were born. This was well after the birth of the four sons currently attributable to the elder Archibald McLemore of Duplin/Sampson County, NC.


In addition to at least four sons born to Archibald and his unknown wife, Robert McLemore Butler also shows they had a daughter Susan, born ca 1770, and James McLemore, III shows a daughter, Lavinia (or Susannah), born ca 1790.

Notes:

James McLemore, III writes that . "Assuming William came with his father Wright to NC in 1750+/-, I assume his son William Jr. was born in Sampson Co., NC, but it's close enough that it could have been either Va. or NC. It was this William Jr. who I have as the ancestor of a lot/most? of the Johnson County NC family, of which our local high school principal Thomas McLemore is a member."

William McLemore was patented land (#2087) on 29 Oct 1772 in Duplin County (Bk 47, pg 94)...150 acres, grant #355, issued...entry #489, entered June 26, 1779, book #47, pg 94 -- E. side of Little Cohera. This later became part of Sampson County. (Courtesy of Robert McLemore Butler)

I have in my notes, unsourced, a reference to a deed between McLemore, William Grantee Book 6, Page 432 Deed Southey FISHER to William McLEMORE Dated 30 Nov 1779 30 pounds for 100 acres "on the side of little Cohary beg by marsh branch" Wit: John MORGAIN and Joseph FOULLER

Could he also be the father of Mary McLEMORE, who wed Jordan GILLAM in Sampson/Duplin County, NC in 1779. Bond: Harris GILLAM Wit: John Heflin Cooper

Sampson County Deeds Book Book 7, Page 294 Abstract of Deed William McLEMORE to Gabriel HOLMES

Dated 24 December in the...year after American Independence and the Year of our Lord 1780...

Between William McLEMORE of the province of North Carolina and County of Duplin and Gabriel HOLMES of the (locations) aforesaid

William McLEMORE for the sum of Thirty (30) pounds paid by Gabriel HOLMES .....convey a certain plantation...containing by survey One Hundred (100) acres of land lying and being in the County aforesaid On the East side of little Cohary being the plantation whereon the above said William McLEMORE now hath his dwelling...beginning by the marsh Branch ...Gabriel HOLMES...running up the Branch North East...running to the said Gabriel HOLMES line to the Beginning of the said land for Southey FISHER ....date the twenty second day of July 1774...conveyed by deed from the said FISHER for the aforesaid William McLEMORE....date the November 30th 1779 and from the said William McLEMORE to the above said Gabriel HOLMES...(to include) all mines and minerals saving an fifth part of the ore of gold and silver...and minerals together with the liberty of Hunting Fishing and Trawling... .....Rents of four shillings...for every hundred acres of land hereby bargained and sold which yearly will become due and the said William McLEMORE for himself his heirs....

In Witness whereof I the said William McLEMORE have....set my hand...and affixed the day and year ....William McLemore (Seal) Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of Owen HOLMES John (his mark) MORGAIN State of North Carolina Duplin County January Court 1782 William Dickson, CC Registered in....September 1783 by Richard CLINTON Regstr

(abstracted by Melinda McLemore Strong on 5 July 2005)

William married ??? ??? about 1752. ??? was born before 1736; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Could they also have had a son named Drew? (Drew was one of the first taxpayers of Sampson County, NC, along with William, West and Archibald)..

James McLemore, III thinks he was also the father of Elias McLemore, born ca 1758.

Notes:

Wright MACKLEMORE had 140 acres of land patented to him on the south side of Poplar Swamp in Isle of Wight County (the southwestern part, later Southampton County), Virginia on August 1, 1734 (Patent Book 15, pg. 242). Since Wright was not among the known sons of James and Fortune, and therefore must have been one of, if not THE, oldest grandson. Hence his father had to have been James' eldest son, William, as no one else could have been married by 1713, the latest date possible for Wright's birth.

Wright is known to have had at least four sons (and possibly a fifth) and two daughters. After 1750, he and his sons Wright Jr., William, Moses, and Drewry (and according to Rudy H. Leverett, also a James), and two daughters Judeth, wife of William PITMAN, and ???, wife of James WIGGINS, are found in Edgecombe County on or near land devised to Wright's father William Sr. by James, the original immigrant. Several of these family members moved southward into Duplin (later Sampson) County, North Carolina, in the 1770's, where Wright's son William is credited with founding a large family line. (James L. McLemore, III, p 51).

Robert McLemore (Bob) Butler PO Box 487Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 Email: rmbnc@juno .com
Briar Branch Baptist Church is the third oldest Baptist Church in Bladen County. The church had its beginning as a mission of the Beaver Dam Baptist Church of Sampson County [ed: Cumberland County] which some years ago was in Bladen County. According to the records of the Beaver Dam Baptist Church that church began holding conferences at Briar Branch on Saturday before the fourth Lords Day in October of 1828. This was some four years before White Lake Baptist Church was constituted as the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church and some six years before Hickory Grove Baptist Church was constituted. But Briar Branch continued to be a mission of Beaverdam Church until 1843, and was not duly constituted.

In a conference at Briar Branch on Saturday before the fourth Lord's Day in October of 1843, Beaver Dam Baptist Church agreed to dismiss the following members to constitute the church at Briar Branch: Amos Cain, Daniel L. Smith, Daniel Smith, Daniel Register, George W. Downing, Thomas Sessoms, William D. Smith, Baseter Davis, Edward Davis, Beaman West, Sarah A. Smith, Rhoda Gardner, Mary A. Downing, Elizabeth Smith, Aley Bryant, Margaret Sessoms, Anna M. Tatum, Elsa McLemore, May J. Tatum, Mary J. Reeves, Mary Register, John Smith, Sr., Evin Downing, William Harvey, John H. Tatum, William J. Cowan, Daniel R. Cain, John D. Smith, Owen J. Gardner, Nathan H. Jones, Meredith Cain, Helen Davis, Francis Sessoms, Ann J. Harvey, Mary Smith, Susan Smith, Martha Smith, Elizabeth A. Downing, Jane Weeks, Susan Smith, Sr., Mary Sessoms, Molsey Davis, James Smith, Theophlus Tatum, Wright McLemore, John Downing, James S. Beard, John Cain, Milton J. Smith, Thomas B. Cowan, William C, West, John Edge, Elizabeth Cain, Mary Downing, Pen[n]y Hayes, Sarah Suggs, Claressa Beard, Susan Smith, Zillpha Smith, Mary A. Cain, Francis Sessoms, Martha West.

Wright married ??? ??? between 1731 and 1733. ??? was born before 1715; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Thought by some researchers to be Lavinia Drury, but this is not proven.

Notes:

Married:
James L. McLemore, III writes "But when we get down to Wright's children, I have come up with some dates of birth based on my analysis of Leverett's appendix entries in the third edition of his book "Ole Rosinheels", and the order of births then based on that analysis. I may start to get a lot of argument from one or more of you as to that, and in fact I am not entirely satisfied with having so many children born so close together (one year apart). But since several of these children went to the Duplin/Sampson/Bladen Counties area together, I figure the best place to start our discussion would be the basics, i.e., getting Wright's family more or less solidified (to the extent we can), or at least discussed, before going on down to the next generation or so where we find so many possible ancestors for those of you still trying to hook up."