1850 Census, Roane County, Tennessee

John Messamore was the son of my fourth great grandparents William/Wilhelm Messamore and Margarethe Elizabeth (Peggy) May.  As such, he was the brother of my third great grandmother Anna F. Messamore.

Elizabeth (Betsy) Minton was the daughter of Ebenezer Minton and Elizabeth Fletcher.

John and Elizabeth were married in 1827 in Knox County.  They were enumerated in the 1830 census in Knox County.  John was on the 1836 tax list in Knox County.  I cannot find the family in the 1840 census, and I do not know when they moved to Roane County.  It seems likely that there were a couple of older children who had either died before the 1850 census or had married before the 1850 census.  But I cannot find any of the possible older children in the 1850 census.

Michael H. Smith age 18 married Margaret L. Messamore in 1856 in Union County, Illinois.  Margaret L. Messamore was the daughter of John Messamore and Elizabeth (Betsy) Minton (see above, dwelling number 217).  The John Messamore family moved to Illinois about 1852.  I assume that the Michael Smith family must have moved to Illinois in about the same timeframe.

John Messamore was the son of my fourth great grandparents William/Wilhelm Messamore and Margarethe Elizabeth (Peggy) May.  As such, he was the brother of my third great grandmother Anna F. Messamore.

The age for Michael Smith's wife Phoebe is correctly transcribed as 42 years old, but I believe she was really 52 in 1850.

Alonzo Ragsdale age 2 later married Lucy Caroline (Liney) Bryan.  Liney was the daughter of Peter Lenoir Bryan and Anna Matilda (Matilda) Horton.  Peter Lenoir Bryan was the son of William G. Bryan and Lucinda (Lucy) Cate.  As such, Peter Lenoir Bryan was the double first cousin of my third great grandfather Peter H. Bryan.

Alonzo Ragsdale was the son of Gabriel Ragsdale and Miriam C. Alexander.

I transcribed the census entry of Joseph Wyatt Sr. for a couple of reasons.  His name seems to keep popping up in odd places in my research of the Peters family.  Plus, I am descended from Henry Peters Sr. and his wife Mary Wiatte.  I wonder if Joseph may have been related to Mary, possible her younger brother or her nephew.

I would personally guess that Telitha was a granddaughter, but other researchers list her as a daughter.

I have transcribed the census entry of Joseph Wyatt Jr. for the same reasons as for Joseph Wyatt Sr. (see dwelling number 1155 next door, above).  Joseph Wyatt Jr. served in the Civil War in the same unit as several of my relatives from Anderson County.  For example, Joseph was mentioned in the Civil War pension application of my third great grandfather John England.

I am including this census entry for James Polk Butler and Maleta Wright because their daughter Rhoda Elizabeth (Rhody) Butler m. James England, son of Frederick England and Mary P. McKamey.  Rhoda Elizabeth (Rhody) Butler was b. 11 Dec 1849, d. 12 May 1919.  She and James England are buried in the Butler Cemetery in Roane County, Tennessee.

My connection to Frederick England, if any, is very uncertain.  Frederick was one of several Englands in Anderson County who were originally from Burke County, North Carolina.  I have two England lines in Anderson County, one from Burke County, North Carolina, and one from western Virginia (e.g., Montgomery County).