William/Wilhelm Messamore and Margarethe Elizabeth (Peggy) May were my fourth great grandparents. They were born in Pennsylvania of German immigrants, they were married in Rockingham County, Virginia, and they moved to Tennessee between 1817 and 1825. William was enumerated in the 1830 census in Knox County, and two of his sons were married in Knox County in the 1820's.
William died before the 1840 census and his son James was in Anderson County at the time of the 1840 census. I cannot find his son John in the 1840 census, but John was in Roane County at the time of the 1850 census. James was still in Anderson County in 1850.
John moved to Union County, Illinois in 1852 and may be considered the founder of the Illinois branch of the family. James and most of his descendants continued to live in Anderson County, and James may be considered to have founded the Anderson County branch of the family.
Anna F. Messamore married Edward Payne Bray in 1833 in Anderson County. That's the first record I have found for the family in Anderson County. Anna was the sister of John and James. It makes me suspect that William Messamore died shortly after the 1830 census and that the whole family moved to Anderson County before 1833. Unfortunately, there are no Messamore deeds in Anderson County in the early 1830's, and there are no Anderson County tax records between 1806 and 1836. James Messamore did appear in the 1837 tax list for Anderson County.
Edward Payne Bray and Anna F. Messamore were my third great grandparents. Therefore, much of my Messamore research in Anderson County actually involves the Bray surname.