The third and fourth daughters of Daniel and Jennie Adams of White County, Tennessee married brothers, as their two elder sisters had done.
Joseph Brewington married Sarah Adams on 20 December 1848, followed less than two years later by the marriage of Reuben Brewington to Malinda (Linda/Lindie/Matilda/Malvina, depending on the record you read and, yes, they are all the same person) Adams on 18 February 1850, both in White County, Tennessee.
As with the Rigsby families, who lived side by side in 1850, the same pattern was repeated with the Brewingtons, who lived in Jackson County, Tennessee for the 1850 census.
Brewington, Reuben, 19, born c1831, TN
Brewington, Matilda, 21, born c1829, TN
Brewington, Thomas, 1, born c1849, TN
Brewington, Joseph, 27, born c1823, TN
Brewington, Sally, 16, born c1834, TN
Brewington, Elsira (female), 1, born c1849, TN
Brewington, Martha, 5, born c1845, TN
Joseph had apparently married before he married Sally, as there was a five year old (supposed) daughter at home with them.
By 1860, Joseph and Sally had removed to Overton County, Tennessee and it turns out that their next door neighbor was . . . .Jane Adams, Sally’s mother. They have been indexed as Bennington, not Brewington.
Brewington, Joseph, 35, born c1825, TN
Brewington, Sarah, 25, born c1835, TN
Brewington, Alvina, 10, born c1850, TN
Brewington, Jane, 8, born c1852, TN
Brewington, James, 3, born c1857, TN
They aren’t found in 1870, but in 1880, the family had moved to Clay County, Tennessee, where Joe and Sally spent the rest of their lives.
Brewington, Joseph, 60, born c1820, TN
Brewington, Sarah, 48, born c1832, TN
Brewington, Buchanan, 23, born c1857
Brewington, John, 16, born c1864, TN
Joe died in1913 and has a military headstone because of his Civil War service. Sally predeceased him in November 1911. It is assumed she is buried next to Joe, but she has no headstone.
Children of Joseph and Sarah (Adams) Brewington:
Alvina/Elvira (Ellen) married William Bailey Stover, c1868 and died 14 November 1928, Clay County, Tennessee. They were the parents of ten children, all living in 1900.
Nancy Jane Brewington married Mathias Dulworth and died 17 December 1917, Pickett County, Tennessee. They were the parents of ten children, with six living in 1900 and in 1910.
James Buchanan Brewington married Virginia Grogan and died 21 January 1944, Davidson County, Tennessee. They were the parents of 12 children, all living in 1910.
John married Martha Belle Grogan and died in 1941, Clay County, Tennessee. They were the parents of six children with five living in 1900.
Next, we have the family sketch of Reuben and Malinda (I think, based on her name variations) (Adams) Brewington. It has a few more twists and turns than Joseph’s and Sarah’s lives.
Let’s begin with Reuben’s ending. He was a Civil War veteran, having enlisted in Co. C of the 1 TN Mounted Cavalry on 16 May 1864. He was last paid in June 1864 and supposedly mustered out on 13 December 1864. However, there is an additional index card in his file saying he was mustered out on 5 July 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee “by reason of the expiration of his term of service.”
Next, on 14 December 1885, Reuben Brewington filed a pension application, which was determined to be invalid.
On 8 May 1891, T.H. Brewington et. al. filed a claim as a minor in Kentucky, which seems to have been approved.
None of this seems especially unusual, except for the fact that Reuben Brewington appears, from the records I’ve found so far, to have been one of those many Civil War soldiers who walked away from their families at the war’s end and never returned home.
In 1870, “Ruben Bruington,” aged 35, is living with Mary Bruington, 30, and William Bruington, aged 8, in Trigg County, Kentucky, which is about a half dozen or so counties due west of Cumberland County, Kentucky. Given that Ruben and Mary are in their 30s (I can’t find any of them after the 1870 census), the time frame being right after the war, and relationships aren’t stated in that census, Mary might have been a widow and William her own son.
On 31 May 1883, Reuben Brewington married Sarah Mangrum in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, where they spent the rest of their lives. Sarah died on 20 November 1898 and Reuben passed away on 12 February 1899, not quite three months later.
Reuben has a military gravestone at Hitt Cemetery in Cape Girardeau County and the service noted on his gravestone matches that of Reuben who enlisted in Tennessee in Co. C of the 1 TN Mounted Cavalry. The 1890 veterans’ census of Cape Girardeau County includes Reuben Brewington, although he hasn’t been found in 1880.
It is important to note that Reuben Brewington who married Malinda Adams is the ONLY man by that name in Tennessee in that time period who could have enlisted in Civil War service.
Again, why would I think this is unusual? Because Reuben Brewington never appears in any records in Tennessee or Kentucky after he is at home in the 1860 census. In 1880, Malinda Brewington reported that she was a widow.
Now that Reuben’s whereabouts after the war have been explained, let’s look at the family through the census records.
Note, too, the various spellings of Malinda’s name. Her marriage record calls her “Linda” on 18 February 1850. However, I am certain that these name variations all belong to one person because the death certificates of some of her younger children call her “Lindy Adams.”
1850 – Jackson County, Tennessee
Brewington, Reuben, 19, born c1831, TN
Brewington, Matilda, 21, born c1829, TN
Brewington, Thomas, 1, born c1849, TN
1860 – Smith County, Tennessee
Brewington, Reuben, 25, born c1835, TN
Brewington, Malvina, 23, born c1837, TN
Brewington, Martha J., 9, born c1851, TN
Brewington, Thomas H., 8, born c1852, TN
Brewington, Margaret, 7, born c1853, TN
Brewington, Elizabeth, 6, born c1854, TN
Brewington, Reuben, 5, born c1855, TN
Brewington, Daniel B., 4, born c1856, TN
Brewington, Mary, 2, born c1858, TN
Brewington, Rachel, 1, born c1859, TN
Malinda was a busy lady during the 1850s!
1870 – Monroe County, Kentucky
Brewington, Malinda, 45, born c1825, TN
Brewington, Gillis, born 12, born c1858, TN
Brewington, Mary, 10, born c1860, TN
Brewington, Rachel, 8, born c1862, TN
Brewington, Callie, 6, born c1864, TN
Brewington, Nancy Jane, 5, born c1865, TN
1880 – Cumberland County, Kentucky
Brewington, Malinda, 60, born c1820, KY
Brewington, Margaret, 28, born c1852, KY
Brewington, Gillis, 25, born c1855, TN
Brewington, Mary, 21, born c1859, TN
Brewington, Rachel, 18, born c1862, TN
Brewington, Callie, 17, born c1863, TN
Brewington, Babe, 15, born c1865, TN
Brewington, Turner, 4, born c1876, KY (grandson)
Malinda isn’t found after the 1880 census and likely died before 1900. She may even have passed away before 1890, as she isn’t listed as a widow of a Civil War soldier in the 1890 census. I have no idea whether she knew Reuben was still alive, though, so it is possible that, if she knew, she chose not to tell the census taker that her husband had served in the war. In any case, she hasn’t been found in any record after the 1880 census, where the Widowed/Divorced column is checked.
Children of Reuben & Malinda (Adams) Brewington:
Thomas Hickman Brewington married Susan Elizabeth Butlon (Butler?) and died 1 December 1912, Vermillion County, Illinois. They were the parents of four children, with three living in 1910.
Martha J. Brewington is at home in 1860, but not found in any record after that. What became of her is not known.
Margaret Brewington died 26 March 1947, Cumberland County, Kentucky. She was reported as single and no marriage record has been found for her. However, she had at least one daughter.
Elizabeth Brewington is at home in 1860, but not found in any record after that. What became of her is not known.
Reuben (Gillis?) Brewington married Virginia Lollar and died 22 December 1942, Monroe County, Kentucky. They were the parents of six children. Reuben is about the same age of Gillis. Reuben is at home in 1860, while Gillis is there from 1870 onward. I believe they were the same person.
Daniel B. Brewington married Barbara Neff and died 27 September 1889, Jefferson County, Kentucky. They were the parents of at least four children and probably six children.
Mary Brewington is at home in 1880, but isn’t found after that time. What became of her is not known. One Mary Brewington married William B. Lollar and had a son, Thomas Billingsley Lollar, born 1883. However, it isn’t known whether the two Marys are the same person.
Rachel Brewington died 11 June 1916, Monroe County, Kentucky; unmarried. She had no known children. Her parents were identified as Rube Adams and Lindie Adams.
California (Callie) Brewington married Henry Harrison Smith and died 21 January 1944, Cumberland County, Kentucky. They were the parents of nine children, all of whom were living in 1910.
Nancy Jane Brewington married Mathias Dulworth and died 17 December 1917, Clay County, Tennessee. They were the parents of ten children with six surviving in 1910.
In summary, whether Reuben and Malinda ever divorced is not known. Based on the pension requests, I don’t think Reuben ever went back home after the Civil War ended.
They were the parents of ten children and had at least 31 grandchildren, so there are many descendants today.
I know much more about the lives of Daniel and Jane (MNU) Adams today than I did a few days ago. There is still more to figure out, but I’ve finally made some progress. Time for a happy genealogy dance. 🙂