Blogs do work as very effective “cousin bait”! Last year, I wrote about Samuel Williams’s only daughter, called Polly Love, in his 1823 will. He had many sons, most of whom headed west and landed in Wythe County, Virginia, Hardin and Grayson Counties, Kentucky, Coles County, Illinois and Roane County, Tennessee.

Knowing only that Polly Williams Love was alive when Samuel wrote his will wasn’t much of a clue to follow when no marriage record was recorded for her in Cumberland County, Virginia, where the family had lived for many years.

I was more than thrilled when I received an email from a lady whose husband is descended from – YES!!! – Mary (Polly) Williams Love. From our correspondence and further researching on my part, I have been able to add quite a few leaves to the Williams family tree.

Without further ado then, I happily share Polly’s lineage:

Mary Williams³ (Samuel², Thomas¹) was born 21 March 1784, probably Cumberland County, Virginia; died 18 September 1843, Pike County, Ilinois; married William Love, c1800, probably Virginia or possibly Grayson County, Kentucky. He was born c1780; died 1820-1830, Washington County, Virginia.

Mary Love is the head of household in the 1830 census of Washington County, Virginia. Sometime before 1836, the clan removed to Pike County, Illinois.

Mary is also head of household in 1840, but that image is just about unreadable. She has a gravestone in Akers Chapel Cemetery, Pike County, Illinois with her full dates of birth and death on it.

Children: (Love)

Margaret H., born 7 December 1800, Kentucky; died 23 August 1873, Hardin County, Kentucky; married Samuel Williams, her first cousin. He was born c1797, probably Wythe County, Virginia; died 28 August 1860, Hardin County, Kentucky. (See my comments below.)

1. Leonidas Lee, born 5 June 1802, Virginia; died 26 December 1864, Washington County, Virginia; married Freelove Cole, c1823. She was born c1805, Virginia; died after 1880, probably Washington County, Virginia
2. Oscar, born 17 February 1805, Cripple Creek, Wythe County, Virginia; died 8 August 1879, Champaign County, Illinois; married Mary Hatler Bickley, c1835. She was born 17 May 1817, Russell County, Virginia; died 23 October 1899, Champaign County, Illinois
3. Harriet, born 26 February 1807, Virginia; died 20 September 1853, Pike County, Illinois; married Henry Highland Oney, but no record found. He was born 15 April 1804, Ohio; died 23 February 1874.
4. William Ligon, born c1809, Virginia; died 24 January 1881, Contra Costa County, California; unmarried.
5. Isaac N., born 15 February 1811, Virginia; died 17 February 1853, Pike County , Illinois; married Nancy Jane Porter, 20 April 1839, Pulaski County, Kentucky. She was born 7 February 1818, Pulaski County, Kentucky; died 6 October 1865, Pike County, Illinois.
6. Samuel Williams, born 31 July 1813, Virginia or Kentucky; died 2 October 1845, Pike County, Illinois; he may be the man who married (1) Rebecca Slater, 22 February 1839, Adams County, Illinois (2) Mary Jane Smith, 22 January 1845, Pike County, Illinois. However, it appears he had no children.
7. Mary McDonald, born 6 March 1815, Virginia or Kentucky; died 26 January 1850, Pike County, Illinois; married Asher Burroughs Anderson, 25 February 1836, Pike County, Illinois. He was born 16 May 1807, Worcester County, Maryland; died 20 September 1849, Pike County, Illinois.
8. Abraham T., born c1817, Virginia; died 31 July 1881, Crawford County, Kansas; married (1) Elizabeth T. Humphrey, 28 May 1842, Pike County, Illinois. She was born 3 May 1823, Washington County, Virginia; died 3 September 1853, Pike County, Illinois (2) Eliza Buffenburg, 26 March 1854, Pike County, Illinois. She was born c1828, Ohio; died 10 August 1894, Crawford County, Illinois.
9. Susannah A., born c1818, Virginia; died 30 June 1878, Adams County, Illinois; married Daniel Kenady, 22 April 1841, Pike County, Illinois. He was born c1817, Hardin County, Kentucky; died 17 March 1867, Pike County, Illinois.
10. Robert Beatty, born 17 November 1819, probably Washington County, Virginia; died 7 December 1876, Contra Costa County, California; married Armelia Harvey, 25 March 1846, Adams County, Illinois. She was born 3 December 1823, Virginia; died 13 September 1900, San Jose, California.

A few comments about this family:

Margaret who married Samuel Williams is placed as a daughter in this family, but I don’t believe that is correct for two reasons. First, there is a William Love living in Grayson County, Kentucky in 1820 who is of an age to be her father. He is not the same man as William Love living in Virginia as both appear on tax rolls in their respective states throughout the same time period. This William Love left a will, proved on 20 July 1835 in Hardin County, Kentucky. He apparently had two sets of children, as he named a wife and eleven children, but then also included this clause on page 256 of his will:

Hardin County, Kentucky Will Book D:256

My eldest sons and Daughters not named
here being all Married and provided for I have
nothing more to give them but a Father’s wishes
and a father’s blessings.

I believe that Margaret was one of those unnamed “eldest sons and Daughters.” What about proof in Virginia? Well, I think an 1831 land deed filed by the heirs of William Love, deceased, in 1831 rules Margaret out of that family. Here are the signatures of the heirs:

Heirs of William Love, Washington County, Virginia, 1831
Washington County, Virginia Deed Book 10:526

Leonadas Love
Freelove Love (note: wife)
Oscar Love
Highlands H. Oney (note: husband)
Harriet (Love) Oney
William L. Love

With Margaret removed from the list of children, these four children, Leonidas, Oscar, Harriet and William L. Love, are the four heirs of William Love who were of legal age.

There is a second land deed (Deed Book 10:526) where widow, Mary Williams Love, sells her dower portion of the land.

Given the will of William Love in Kentucky and this land deed, I firmly believe that Margaret was the daughter of William Love of Hardin County, Kentucky.

Other comments:

1. I have seen online family trees naming a son Lorenzo/Lorenza, supposedly born 1803 and died 1817. However, I have no proof whatsoever that this person ever existed. I tend to think that someone misread a bad copy of “Leonidas” with the D written in the old curly cue style because the shape of the letters in both names is very similar and Leonidas was born in 1802.
2. I have also seen online trees that attribute multiple children to Harriet and her husband, Henry Highland Oney. However, here again, I have seen no citations of family Bible records, gravestone inscriptions or anything else to support these births. They might or might not have existed, but Harriet and Henry had no children living with them in 1850 when their children would perhaps have been teenagers. Also, Highland, as he was later called, married a second time after Harriet passed away and when he died, his heirs were only two children by his second wife.
3. Abraham T. is also found in online trees as “Abner.” I have not found a single record that calls him Abner. I think this may also be another misreading of a document as I have found his name spelled as “Abram.” That could easily be misread as Abner if the image was less than clear.
4. As far as I have been able to prove, Harriet, William Ligon and Samuel Williams Love have no descendants.

I will share information on William and Mary (Williams) Love’s grandchildren in a future post.