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Marion Hargrove's Reasonable Ancestor Approach
The Jernigan Reunion normally held in Checotah, OK., is scheduled for July 4-7 2001 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Chairperson, Jacque Clonts Holladay, reports that the main event will be on Saturday, July 7th. The other day activities are planned so people can sign up for trips to the Grand Canyon, golf, outlet shopping in Sedona, Casino Night, and of course "Flagstaff July 4th Events", beginning with a morning parade. Thorp Park is initially selected for the July 7th main reunion gathering with games/events for children 12 and under, volleyball for able adults, and finally an Arizona Cook Out Dinner (Menu: hamburgers, hot dogs, cowboy beans, coleslaw, and ASU All American Cake). There are more than 40 hotel/motels, a few lodges, several bed & breakfast, and seven RV/Camping Parks in and around the city. The reunion agenda will be published in the April 2001 Jernigan Connection Newsletter.
The Econolodge Flagstaff (1-800-490-6562) has been selected as the central gathering point for the Flagstaff Jernigan Reunion. Make your reservations today! Identify yourself as with the Jernigan Reunion. Flagstaff is a very popular destination during the summer, so don't miss out by not having a room or campsite reserved. Special rates for a standard guest room with 1 King or 2 Queen beds is $79.95. A Junior Suite (kitchenette w/refrigerator, microwave, sink, table and chairs) is $89.95. Amenities included a deluxe continental breakfast, complimentary evening gourmet coffee, indoor kids play area, fireplace lobby w/TV and lots of seating, heated outdoor pool, 2 spas, guest laundry, private voicemail, cable TV & data port telephones in all rooms.
The schedule begins on Wednesday, July 4th, with the Independence Day parade, celebrations, and fireworks. A Grand Canyon tour, including IMAX Theater's "Grand Canyon, the Hidden Secrets" available on Thursday, July 5th. On Friday, July 6th, trips to Sedona and /or Cliff Castle Casino, shopping at the Outlet Mall, visit Oak Creek Canyon, and maybe even a Jernigan Golf Tournament might be organized. Saturday, July 7th, is Jernigan Day at Flagstaff's Thorpe Park. This park is a beautiful grassy area nestled in the tall pines of Flagstaff. There will be games such as volley ball, Frisbee golf, tennis, basketball, maybe even a softball game, and a great playground for children under 12. Or just sit and enjoy the day and visit with relatives until the early evening Arizona Cook Out Dinner.
The Dunn, NC, Jernigan Reunion was held May 7, 2000 at Stoney Run "Free Will" Pentecostal Church, located east of Dunn on Hwy 55. This Reunion is held annually on the first Sunday in May,
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Picture 1: (left to right) Ethel Jernigan (wife of Sheriff L. Glen Jernigan); Bobby S. Jernigan (Reunion President); Hannibal W. Jernigan (seated), and in the foreground, Paul Jernigan (son of Bill Jernigan of Fredericksburg, VA) and daughter Katlin. Picture 2: One of two lines of tables loaded with (mmmmm-good) food and we won't try to identify all the hungry people. Picture 3: Jay Jernigan (Reunion Secretary) and Karen Butler (granddaughter of Rod Jernigan from Florida). Picture 4: Ruth Jernigan Lee Fowler and Lucille Brock Lewis, the most "Senior" of all in attendance. Picture 5: Casey, Stacey, William (Bill), and Catherine Jernigan. Picture 6: Henrietta and Rupert Jernigan.
The Jernigan/Myrick Reunion was held from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. on July 6, 2000 at the Pensacola American Legion Post. Gail Schulz was in charge of arrangements that included lunch and lot of trading genealogy facts and figures.
Pictures (left to right): Group picture at American Legion; Friday Dinner at the Montana Bar-B-Q Restruant, Barbara Fowler; Gail Schulz; Sharon Tingley & Kay Stone; and Gail, Kay, Sharon, Barbara, Inez (Bill's wife) and Bill Jernigan.
Editors note: This is the third part of the series and begins with Henry, another son of the "Immigrant Thomas Jernigan". You might have noticed in the previous series there are numerous spelling errors. That is consistent with the education level of people 100 or more years ago who documented the records, where most could not write, much less spell. All records are shown with the misspellings and unusual abbreviations for authenticity.
HENRY JERNIGAN, SR. first turns up on 7 Nov 1700 in the Virginia Patent Book (9:276) as "Mr. Henry Jurnagan" (God knows why the "Mr."), granted 87 acres upper parish Nansemond; east side of Sumer Town Swamp, adj the swamp and lands of Mary Keaton. For transportation of 2 persons. The land is 13 acres short of 2 headrights, but either the grantee or the surveyor made up the difference. On 23 Oct 1703 (9:568) Henry was granted another 100 acres on the west side of Bennets Creek, the SW side of Mare Branch, adj the creek and John King. (This is the land he disposed of, about 1720, to one Thurlo O'Quin, according the deed by which O'Quin resold it in 1722.)
The quit-rent rolls for 1704, a listing of all the landowners of Virginia, have somehow managed to survive. The Nansemond list shows the following Jernigans and their taxable holdings, in this order.
 | No. 159 Thomas Jernegan Jun., 135 acres |
| No. 178 Henry Jernegan, 200 acres |
| No. 352 Thomas Jernegan, 165 acres |
| No. 353 Thomas Jernegan, 600 acres |
I have always assumed, without bothering to think it through, that these four names on a list meant four different land-owning Jernigans in the county -- namely Thomas and Henry, two of the sons of Thomas-the-Immigrant (who was deceased, more's the pity), plus two of his grandsons named Thomas (not including Thomas-son-of-Thomas-son-of-Thomas, who we well know was only nine years old in 1704). It doesn't work out that way. County tax lists in colonial Virginia were compiled by precinct captains, then gathered (in early June) by the county official in charge, who posted them at the courthouse and parish churches for public scrutiny until the next county court session. The quit-rent rolls were for taxing land, not people, and if a man owned land in seven parishes, he could turn up on the list seven times. Therefore, it would appear that, as of late Spring 1704, Thomas Jernigan, Sr. of Nansemond County was alive and well -- and in his early 60's -- living on half of his original 330 acres, probably having deeded the rest of it to Thomas Jr. early on -- meaning before Thomas Jr. had acquired six headrights or a wife. Henry had 200 acres. As for the youngest son, John, he was undoubtedly farming his father's place, which was what the youngest sons of farmers were for.
The first Jernigan in the records of North Carolina appeared in 1700 in Bath County, which in those days consisted of everything south of Albermarle Sound. But he is of little interest to family history, since he disappeared practically the same day. His name, according to Beaufort County Deed Book One, was Isaick Jernigan, and he was one of 24 headrights claimed by John White, who immediately sold his claim. Isaac was perhaps what the poet had in mind when he spoke of "the shor and simple annals of the poor."
[PAUSE: Since you and I are all now moving into a new state, permit me to re-label our characters, Leaving our 1668 "Thomas the Immigrant" behind, let us think of his three sons as Thomas Sr., Henry, Sr., and John Sr. That's the only way we'll get through the next 30-odd years. THANK YOU.]
Of the three sons John Sr. was probably the first to settle in North Carolina. Henry Sr., I would say, was the second, but his three eldest boys were all there ahead of him. I have found little or nothing to indicate that Thomas Sr. ever lived in North Carolina at all.
The first recorded purchase of land was in the Elm Swamp neighborhood, on the south bank of Meherrin Creek just above where it enters the Meherrin River -- which very shortly empties into the Chowan River -- in what was then Chowan Precinct. (The same spot in 1722 became part of Bertie County, and in 1759 part of Hertford County, where it still remains. The name "Meherrin Creek" is gone, though; it is now merely the lower reaches of Potecasi Creek.)
| Chowan deeds B:479, 17 Jan 1715/16. Andrew Barron to Henry Jernegan son of Henry Jernegan the elder, all of Nansemond Co, VA. Lease and release: for 5 shilling and 3000 pounds of tobacco: 235 acres at "Cobb's Pond" at Meherrin on the southeast side of Meherrin Creek, bounded by Sessions', Moore's, and Creaseu's lines. Including improvements. w: Andrw. Barant, Benj. Weslen, Wm. Speight. |
At that time, by my estimation, Henry Jernigan Jr. was barely 21 years old. I am not sure why he bought this place, nor even for whom he bought it. His uncle, John Jernigan, very close by and three months later, acquired title to 100 acres of his "plantation on the Branch" -- Jno. Molton Senr. to Jno. Johnakin, the deed describing both as acres were the "200 acres over the Branch, be it more or less" (it turned out to be 240) bequeathed by John to his sons Thomas and George in 1733/4. Deeds disappear, but the land abideth forever.
The following January (1716/17) there was a great deal of real-estate activity around Somerton Swamp, all of it concerned with 1000 acres of land on Cattawatskey Meadow in Bertie, being sold by William Faulk of Nansemond Co., planter, to six worthy neighbors, also of Nansemond, and also described as planters. Five sales were made on 5 Jan.:
| 200 acres to John Rawls, son of Wm. Rawls; |
| 200 acres to Edward Holmes Junr; |
| 200 acres to John Jernigan; |
| 200 acres to Thomas Jernigan; |
| 100 acres to Edward Holmes' brother, John. |
On 14 Jan., the remaining 100 acres went to Henry Jernegan of Nansemond, planter. All six deeds were proved in Chowan Court by a power of attorney in which John Jernigan was listed as "Jno. Jernegan Junr." This apparently is to distinguish him from the other John Jernigan already in the neighborhood. Namely, his uncle John (Senr.)
But what about the other two in on the dealie; Thomas and Henry? Are they John Junior's brothers, or his father and uncle? Frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn. Because THEY sure didn't. As far as I can discover, none of the three has ever shown his face around Cutawhiskie Meadow to this very day. A similar disregard for serious genealogical research is shown by John Sr., who in the very next year, received a patent of 400 acres next door to his son, which he allowed to lapse (after six years) simply because he was not in the mood to clear six acres and build a house on it.
Then, early in 1720, the whole tribe of Henry Sr. begins to come into clearer focus. That was the year in which -- Henry cut loose from his land near the head of Bennets Creek and relocated several miles down the creek on the Long Branch in Chowan County. According to the book, "Nansemond Deed Conveyances in the Upper Parish," p.99:
| 25 Sep 1722. Terlah O'Quin to Humphrey Griffin of upper parish, 100 acres of a tract formerly granted to Henry Jernigan adj Bennett's Creek, the Mare Branch and John King's land. Sarah O'Quin, wife, relinquishes her dower. |
In the Lords Proprietors' [of North Carolina] Grant Book III-B, pages 388-390, we find the following grants, all three of them dated 1 Mar 1719/20:
| Henry Jannikin Senr, 640 acres in Chowan precinct adj Richard Larence, John Davis, a little branch running out of the Long Branch, William Hughes -- yearly fee rent of 1 shilling for every 50 acres. Rights Purchased. |
| John Jannikin, 640 acres adj Richard Odam, William Hughes, Richard Larence, Long Branch fork, and Robt. Roger, &c, &c. Rights Purchased. |
| Thomas Jannikin, 640 acres adj Richard Odam, William Hughes, Jno. Jannikin, Wm. Horn, Henry Goodman, John Pipkin, robt. Rogers, &c, &c. Rights Purchased. |
Interesting enough (at least to me), neither Henry Sr. nor Henry Jr. surfaces again in the records of North Carolina until the 1730's, when both reappear as landowners in southwestern Bertie County. Even then, and even there, Henry Sr. still describes himself as "of the upper parish of Nansemond County", and I believe him, implicitly. For him, I feel sure, those three square miles of howling wilderness were for the farming of one crop; what we used to call, in fourth-grade geography, "naval stores" -- namely tar, pitch and turpentine. The raising of children and chickens was mostly done amid the creature, comforts of Somerton Swamp. When not immediately needed for seating and seeding, pitching and tarring in the deep toolies, civilized people stayed home.
Thomas Jr. seems to have been a bona-fide resident of Chowan, and maybe John. Thomas Jr. was called to serve on the grand jury "of the Genll. Court of Oyer and Terminer" at the end of March 1720 -- in Edenton, which was still called The Town Queen Anne's Creek. And there (are) two deeds in 1722 (Chowan C:331) in which he and George Hughes readjusted their mutual boundaries (with the bounds now including Knotty Pine Swamp, Merry Hill Pocosin, and the south side of Middle Swamp). If there was any Jernigan who stayed there the year round, it was Tom (and family). He was still until probably 1737, when he moved to Bertie.
John reappears only once more in Chowan records. On 20 Mar 1723, Chowan deeds C:375: Jno. Jernigan (yep, "of Nansemond") to Jno. Williams, same. For__, 100 acres in Chowan Precinct, part of a patent sd Jernigan. Adj mouth of Woolf Pitt Branch out of the Long Branch, Thomas Jernigan, Wm. Hews. /s/ JNO. JERNIGAN. W: Jno. [Crosby?], Wm. Daniel. 26 Mar 1723, acknowledged before C. Gale, C. J.
| 10 Nov 1730, Bertie deeds C:300. John x Rasberry Sr., Bertie Precinct of Albemarle County, to John Jernigan of Nansemond Co, VA. for £10 sterling, 630 acres west side of Loosing Swamp, adj. George Pollock, Sequeah Swamp. Including improvements. W: William Crawford, Thos. Bird. [No certificate] |
On 10 October 1733, Bertie E:184: John Jernigan of Nansemond sold 100 acres of the (same land) to Thomas Carrell of Bertie. I mention this only because of one of the witness signatures: JACOB JERNIGAN. Jacob was the fourth son of Henry Sr., and the last full-brother of the other three.
Henry Jernigan, Sr. turns up in Bertie County records at the court of Nov 1734, in four deeds, Bertie Deeds Bk. D:
| 8 Nov 1734. D:133. Henry x Overstreet and William x Jones to Henry Jernagan senr. of Nansemond. For £9.1.7. 340 acres south side Cashy Swamp, adj swamp, George Williams, Thomas Mann, and Radford. W: Henry Jernagan, Jun., John x Blackman. Acknowledged. That would be investment property: the land lying at Cashes" [ = Cashie] mentioned in Henry's will. William Jones is evidently William Jones, Jr., husband of Henry's daughter Ann. As usual, we get a sense of much land being bought and/or sold that nobody ever bothered to register. |
| 11 Nov 1734. D:136. Jones to Overstreet, 50 acres N side of Marratock River [now = Roanoke River] butted and bounded on Henry Jarnagan's line southward. Bgn a gum in the Apple Tree Swamp ... |
| 7 March 1733/4. D:137. Henry Jernigan of Bertie [that's what it says] to Henry Overstreet ibid. For £9.7.0, 50 acres bgn a gum at head of a slash that runs into Appletree Swamp adj Wm. Jones. /s/ Henry Jernigan (seal). w: Needham Bryan, John Blackman, Samuel Dickens. Acknowledged. |
| 29 Nov 1735. D:139. Henry Jernagan of Nansemond in VA, planter, to James Tudor of Bertie. For [£10?], 100 acres patented as 140 acres by George Stevenson 8 Aug 1728, adj John Williams Villige Swamp. Including improvements. /s/ Henry Jernagan & a seal. W: Needham Bryan, Theophilus Williams. Acknowledged. |
--- I found something I had lost for at least 20 years in the last Henry Sr. deed. It was in an old-fashioned binder, in which the pages are held close together with a metal tape, and the part quoted here in brackets was buried in the left-hand margin:
| 29 Nov 1735. Bertie E:105. Henry Jernigan of Nansemond, planter, to John Blackman Junr., planter, for £10 sterling, 100 acres, taken from 640 acres patented George Stevenson 8 Aug 1728 [except spruce timber for his plantation's use THAT THE SAID JERNIGAN NOW LIVES ATT]. /s/ Henry Jernagan & a seal. W: Needham Bryan, Theophilus Williams+. +Feb court 1736. |
I find one other. Date missing, but 1735. Thomas X Watson to Henry Jernigan. For £12 Virginia currency, 200 acres south side Casha Swamp. W: Henry Baker Junr., Jacob Jernigan, Anne Jernigan. May court 1736, acknowledged. (The witness Anne Jernigan is presumably Jacob's first wife, the otherwise anonymous "daughter of Needham Bryan.")
The will of Henry Sr., dated 9 May 1736, is long and detailed and full of personal bequests, and he had obviously given it a lot of thought and made a lot of notes. His known children seem to fall into three rather well-spaced age groups, indicating as many as three different mothers and/or a number of infant deaths and married daughters. (The only married daughter we know for sure is ANN JONES, wife of William Jones, Jr. and mother of Ephraim. Another may have been Sarah, wife of Terlagh O'Quin on p. 11, but I don't really think so. Another could have been and probably was, the wife of Edward Boyet of Nansemond and mother of Lydia Jones. Lydia was the "loving friend" in Nansemond to who Henry Jr., in 1772, made a gift of land he still owned on Somerton Creek)
In 1736, I estimate, Henry Jernigan Sr. was in his middle 60's His sons John, Thomas and Henry were all in their 40's. Jacob may have been 30, and Ann Jones in her 20's. Needham and Dempsey were both small boys. Their mother was quite young, and Henry's will is implicitly anxious to see that she is remarried early and well. Besides seven slaves "and their increase" numerous cattle, horses, sheep and pigs, various pieces of furniture, bedding, tools, odds and ends, he left:
| To his wife PHOEBE, 140 acres (outright) of the 340-acre tract on Cashie Swamp ... the use of half of the "plantation I now live on" (= 80 acres of land and orchard) "for her use the time she will live on it" ... plus four saddle horses and all my movable estate "for her proper use" &c., &c. |
| To his son Henry, THE 80-acre plantation "he now lives on" ... all my lands &c. on Somerton Creek on the north side in Virginia... |
| To his son JACOB, the plantation I now live on (with half to the use of Phoebe as above) ... 100 acres at Cashie adj Phoebe"s ... |
| To his daughter ANN JANAGEN JONES (no land) ... |
| To his son JESSE, remaining 80 acres between Henry and Jacob's ... |
| To his son DEMPSEY, the 200 acres on Cashie bought of Thomas Watson ... |
| To [his indentured servant] HENRY O'BERRY, freedom from his indentures in exchange for "a suit of clothes I own to him at his freedom" ... and 100 acres at Cashie adj Phoebe's and Jacob's ... |
| Executors: sons Henry and Jacob. |
| w: Theophilus Williams, JOHN JERNIGAN, Bennet Blackman+. +August cour 1736. Jacob Jernigan qualified as executor. |
Note: To be continued in the April 2001 Jernigan Connection Newsletter, Issue Twenty-Two, with Henry’s son, John Jernigan, Jr. around 1715/16.
Dessie Fay (Allen) Jernigan, 83, of North Little Rock, AR., passed away April 18, 2000. She was retired owner of the Jernigan Store Fixtures and a member of the Martindale Baptist Church. Survivors include two sons, George W. Jernigan, Jr., of North Little Rock and Ira Jernigan of Sherwood; two daughters, Jeanette Hall of Edgemont and Della Fay Moss of Pearcy; 13 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Burial was at Arkansas Memorial Garden.
Davis Benjamin Rash was born April 19, 2000 to Cathy and Clayton Rash, weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/2" long. Davis is the grandson of Frankie Jernigan Abbott of Freehold, New Jersey, and the first great-grandson of Frank Jernigan of Sumter, North Carolina. To complete the celebration, Great Gramps Frank Jernigan was born 80 years ago as of May 30, 2000.
Elizabeth Chaseley Dutch, daughter of Sabrina and Allen Dutch arrived August 6, 2000 just in time to keep Grandmommy and Granddaddy (Ralph and Barbara Jernigan Fowler) from making a family reunion in Marietta, GA. She weighed in at 7 lb 1 oz. Not to be left behind, Andrew Stanford Kinchen chose to make his appearance 6 days later, August 12, 2000. He was born in Atlanta to Leigh and Tom Kinchen, weighing 7 lbs. Andrew is also a grandchild of Ralph and Barbara.
Tate Austin Speaker was born May 3, 2000 to parents Michelle and Don Speaker. Tate is the grandson of Jacque and Rob Holladay and great-grandson of Dixie and Franklin Clonts.
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