1850 Census, McMinn County, Tennessee

Lee Cate age 33 was the son of Thomas Cate and Avy Wilhite.  As such, Lee was the double first cousin of my third great grandmother Mary Ann (Polly Ann) Cate who married Peter H. Bryan.  That's because Thomas Cate was the brother of my fourth great grandfather Joshua Cate, and Avy Wilhite was the sister of my fourth great grandmother Nancy Cate.  Joshua and Nancy were the parents of Mary Ann (Polly Ann) Cate.

Mary Jane Cate age 6 later married Thomas Jared Newman.  Thomas Jared Newman was the son of Jared Campbell Newman and Mary (Polly) Bryan.  As such, Thomas was the nephew of my aforementioned third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan.

Mary Jane Cate and Thomas Jared Newman both had Cate ancestors, and I share both of their Cate lines.  But the two Cate lines appear not to have been related, so Mary Jane Cate and Thomas Jared Newman appear not to have been cousins who married.

Lee Cate's wife was Amanda M. Rice age 31.

Peter Lenoir Bryan was the son of William Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  As such, Peter Lenoir Bryan was the nephew of my fourth great grandfather Thomas C. Bryan.

Lucy Cate was the sister of Thomas C. Bryan's wife Nancy Cate.  So Peter Lenoir Bryan was the double first cousin of my third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan.

Peter Lenoir Bryan's wife was Anna Matilda (Matilda) Horton age 26.  Mary Malissa (Lis) Bryan age 3 and Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) Bryan age 1 were their daughters.  Allen Dennis Bryan age 13 was Peter Lenoir Bryan's brother, his parents having died in 1839.  I do not know who Rebecca Fisher was.

Anna Matilda (Matilda) Horton was the daughter of Daniel Horton and Mary Needham.

Peter Lenoir Bryan and Anna Matilda (Matilda) Horton were the great grandparents of Elizabeth Cate Manly who wrote one of the first (if not the first) books about our Bryan line.  Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) Bryan age 1 was ECM's grandmother.

Hiram Columbus Porter (Columbus) Horton age 17 married Nancy Mariah Bryan in 1853.  Nancy was the daughter of William Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  As such, Nancy Mariah Bryan was the niece of my fourth great grandfather Thomas C. Bryan Sr. and also the niece of my fourth great grandmother Nancy Cate.  Therefore, Nancy Mariah Bryan was the double first cousin of my third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan.

Columbus Horton's parents were Daniel B. Horton age 55 and Mary (Polly) Needham age 50.  Columbus's older sister Anna Matilda Horton married Nancy Mariah Bryan's older brother Peter Lenoir Bryan in 1846.  Peter Lenoir Bryan was the line of Elizabeth Cate Manly who published the book Bryans, Hortons, and Allied Families in 1978.

Pleasant B. Bryan was the son of William G. Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  He was a double first cousin of my third great grandparents Peter H. Bryan and Mary Ann (Polly Ann) Cate.

Pleasant married Mary M. (Polly) Rucker 18 Sep 1841 in McMinn County, Tennessee.  Polly was the daughter of Mordecai Rucker and Miriam Witt.

Catherine Witt was the sister of Miriam Witt.  As such, she was the aunt of Polly Rucker.  Ascynith Witt was apparently the daughter born out of wedlock of Catherine Witt.  However, the record is confused.  Catherine is reported to have married a Mr. Ball about 1843 and to have had a daughter Sene Ball.  I don't know if Ascynith Witt and Sene Ball were the same person or not.  Catherine and Ascynith were enumerated in the 1860 census in the home of Joseph N. Witt, except that Ascynith's name was listed as Amatha in 1860.

Miriam, Catherine, and Joseph Witt were the children of Nathanial Witt and Mary Cate.  Mary was the daughter of my fifth great grandparents William P. Cate, and Mary Enyard.

James C. (Jim) Bryan age 32 was the son of William Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  As such, James C. (Jim) Bryan was the nephew of my fourth great grandfather Thomas C. Bryan.

Lucy Cate was the sister of Thomas C. Bryan's wife Nancy Cate.  So James C. (Jim) Bryan was the double first cousin of my third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan.

James C. (Jim) Bryan married Sarah Ann Gulledge age 33.  Thomas age 16, Elizabeth age 25, and Emeline age 25 were Jim's brother and sisters, his parents having died in 1839.  However, Elizabeth and Emeline were probably the same person (enumerated incorrectly) rather than being twins, with her name having been Elizabeth Emeline Bryan.

Peter Jasper Grubb age 7 later married Mary Malissa (Lis) Bryan.  Lis was the daughter of Peter Lenoir Bryan and Anna Matilda (Matilda) Horton.  Peter Lenoir Bryan was the son of William Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  As such, Peter Lenoir Bryan was the nephew of my fourth great grandfather Thomas C. Bryan.

Lucy Cate was the sister of Thomas C. Bryan's wife Nancy Cate.  So Peter Lenoir Bryan was the double first cousin of my third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan.

Peter Jasper Grubb was the son of William Grubb and Mahala Anderson.  William died in 1846, so Mahala was a widow and the head of household at the time of the 1850 census.  Mahala was William's second wife.  Ameline Plank was his first wife, and Ameline was the mother of Polly, Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah, and William.  Mahala was the mother of the remaining children.

Mary J. Bryan age 26 was the daughter of William G. Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  As such, Mary was the double first cousin of my third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan who was the son of Thomas C. Bryan Sr. and Nancy Cate (William and Thomas were brothers, and Lucy and Nancy were sisters).

Mary's husband was Benjamin T. Wasson.  They were married in McMinn County in 1845.  It's a little puzzling that John Wasson was six years old in 1850.

William Bryan and Lucy Cate were both from the Dumplin Valley area of East Tennessee which is in Jefferson County and Sevier County.  They were married in 1817 in Jefferson County.  They subsequently moved to McMinn County where they raised their family.  They both died in 1839 leaving their children as orphans.

Landon C. Peters was the son of Christian/Christopher Peters and Rachel.  This Peters family was from Carter County, Tennessee.  They catch my eye because there was a Christian Peters in Greenbrier County, Virginia, my Peters family came to Tennessee from Greenbrier County, Virginia, Landon Peters had a son named Newton J. Peters, and there were various Newton Peters who were descendants of Tobias Peters Sr. of Greenbrier County, Virginia and Anderson County, Tennessee.

I am puzzled about Landon's wife.  Conventional wisdom is that Newton J. Peters was the son of Landon C. Peters and Amie Bennett.  If so, then Margaret was Landon's second wife.  But I am by no means certain that I have the story of Landon Peters' wife or wives quite right.