Noticeable Trends in Family History

There were some trends that really stood out as I completed the Wellons/Wyant family history, covering a time span from the late 1700’s to the late 1970’s. The trends outlined below are not necessarily in chronological order.

The industrialization of America is fully illustrated by our family history. From almost complete reliance on farming to almost complete reliance on mechanical skilled trades and manufacturing, the Wellons and Wyant clans survived the change really well. Our ancestors ended up in the right place (Anderson, Indiana) at the right time (early 1900’s).

The advent in birth control methods, first with surgical sterilization, and then with the birth control pill and other methods, changed everything. Family size dropped drastically over the course of the 1900’s. Along with this, economic wealth was not divided into ever smaller portions. Almost all of our early ancestors at least owned farm land and a home. But when you have 8-15 kids, there is nothing to inherit or pass on the the next generation. And it’s hard to build wealth when supporting so many people. America, unlike England, did not practice primogeniture, where the oldest child inherited the bulk of any wealth. Eventually, women started working outside the home, although this really didn’t happen until the baby boom generation.

The changes in transportation were drastic, from relying on horse power, to the development of trains, to the development of autos and air travel, folks could move greater distances and more quickly. In some ways however, the nomadic trend in our family branches defied this trend. Our families moved a lot and long distances when horses powered it all, mainly due to the availability of free or really cheap land as Americans drove the Native-Americans west. Although technically purchased by the federal government from the Indians, the deals were anything but fair to the sellers.

Eventually, family members started attending high school and even graduating. Although the move to college education didn’t happen until the 1970’s and later, it has mirrored national trends. Formal education was not required for farming in the early years or for even for skilled trade work and other manufacturing jobs, although some advanced mathematics was required and received as part of apprenticeships.

One thing about health stands out. The family was lucky in that there were a few deaths in infancy, but not nearly what you might expect given the level of medical knowledge in the period before World War II. Most children in our family survived and many lived long lives. There was almost a decline in the mid-1900’s as smoking contributed to early deaths. However, most folks reached middle age and senior status before smoking related diseases killed them. Maternal deaths appear to happen, but again not as frequently as you might expect.

Other Family Information

Religion

There isn’t a lot to know about our ancestor’s religion, but we know a little:

There were no Catholics in the family.

There was at least one Quaker family who settled near Richmond, Indiana.

Two men were described by at least some accounts as ministers: Daniel Hudson and Issac Fallis.


Occupations

Of course, almost everybody prior to 1900 was a farmer. One of the most significant changes in the family was the participation in the industrial revolution by working at Delco-Remy and Hill-Standard  in what are called “the skilled trades”.

There were no doctors (not counting chiropractic as practiced in the mid 1900’s).
There were no lawyers.
The two ministers were actually farmers. The ministry was very part-time.

But we had a few men who were not farmers in the 1800’s:

One ran a tannery.
One was a photographer just after the civil war.

And we get several occupations in the 1900’s other than farming and mechanical skilled trades.

We had no high school graduates until the middle 1900’s and no college graduates until the baby boomer generation.

Our Lucky and Unlucky Ancestors

Jessie Wyant, Bessie’s sister lived to 103.

Jacob Webb died at age 98, earning obituaries in 3 Madison County newspapers.

Aunt Carrie Wellons was divorced from Ralph Musick (and already remarried) when he committed a murder suicide by shooting his second wife and then himself.

Isaiah Lane died at 26 years old with a wife and 3 children. His estate was declared insolvent. Then his wife and her new husband filed to partition the property the survivors jointly inherited.

Harris Gammon died at age 20, with a wife and one child and another on the way.

The wealthiest folks in the family appear to be:

The father and son team of William and Andrew Carson, who have pages of property purchase records documented.

And Henry Wellons, who was granted 200 acres in Kentucky as a young man, plus a large inheritance from his father. A family story says he had 12 slaves on the Pulaski County, Kentucky “plantation”, and that the slaves were freed before the civil war by Henry or his son John Chapple Wellons, but there is no proof of either claim.

Veterans Roll of Honor

Ralph Robert Wellons served in World War II.

War of 1812:

Isaac Fallis
John Henry Shetterly
Andrew Carson

Civil War:

William B. Barnhizer
Isaac Wyant
John Chapel Wellons (Jr.)
And several brothers of direct ancestors.

Fun with Names

The most unusual names among our ancestors:

Three generations of the Nash family... in the Wyant line of our ancestry:

Obediah Nash (grandpa)

Pleasant Nash (pa)

Emaline Nash Carson (I like the name, but they called her Emma)

Cuthbert Webb, who is actually a Junior to Cuthbert Senior.

Mercy Mary Fallis, who named two of her daughters Mercy and Mary, of course!

And Ralph’s brother Branson (actually a first name in five generations in the family).

And his sister Pansy, who married Bessie’s brother Paul Wyant.

And let’s not forget Absolom Davenport, the father of Lucy Davenport (he’s actually another whole generation back)

And we had some old-fashioned names, like:

Delila Webb Lane

Isaiah Lane

And two Isaac’s... Isaac S. Wyant and Isaac Fallis.

The most unusual last name was the maiden name of the wife of Harris Gammon, who was Margaret Krutsinger.

There were some unusual middle names, until you realize that they are using an old custom of using the maiden name of the mother or grandmother. For example, John Chapple Wellons, John Lewis Lane, Jacob Mulford Webb.

Lots and Lots and Lots of Kids

One thing that struck me in pulling together our family trees was the large size of many of the families. Ralph Wellons came from a family with 10 kids. Bess Wyant Wellons came from a family with 8 kids. I thought these were huge families when I recalled all of our Great Aunts and Uncles... the ones we actually met in Anderson growing up. But this is nothing unusual in the 1800’s and early 1900’s for our ancestors.

For example:

Cuthbert and Mollie Webb had 14 kids and maybe 15, although Cuthbert may have had the last child with his second wife.

Thomas and Naomi Lamb had 11 kids.

John Henry Shetterly and Mary Jane Shetterly had 13 kids.

Jacob and Mary Webb had 13 kids.

John Chapple and Sarah “Sally” Wellons, Ralph’s Great Grandparents, had 14 when Sally died and John Chapple Wellons had a 15th later.

John Lewis Lane and Delila Lane had 13 kids (and 37 grandkids) according to her obituary and John Lewis Lane had one more with his next wife.

Pleasant Riley Nash had 11 kids, but with multiple wives.

FYI... the youngest parent appears to be Elisabeth Gammon Nash, Pleasant’s first wife, who had just turned 16 when she had Emma.

Where are We From?

The Wellons and Wyant ancestors described in this blog live in the following states:

Indiana
Pennsylvania
Maryland
Ohio
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Kentucky
Illinois
Oklahoma
Missouri
Iowa
Tennessee
Kansas

This does not include states that Ralph and Bess Wellons siblings lived in other than Indiana (Aunt Jessie in California, for example). This also does not include moves by their kids (Mary Alice Dixon moving to NC or FL) or grandkids (Lee in FL, Todd in NC, etc.)

There is a most typical route and a couple of alternatives that led to Ralph and Bess and most of their siblings arriving in Anderson, Indiana in the early to mid 1900’s. From the Virginia and North Carolina area to Kentucky and then to Indiana is most common. Kentucky, like Tennessee, was once part of Virginia. Another, less common route is from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana. And then some  get to Indiana and go west (for example, the Wyants end up in Kansas, Oklahoma and finally Missouri where Bess is born...then head back east to Indiana). There is also an Indiana to Illinois connection, with some rebounds back to Indiana.

What we don’t see is anyone coming from New York or the New England states. Nor do we see anyone from the Deep South other than the Carolinas. Nobody came from the west in the early years for obvious reasons. Ditto Florida.  Nobody came from or lived in the upper Midwest (north of Illinois and Iowa).

Also, although there are many early connections to what eventually become Confederate states, our family moved north prior to the civil war and supplied soldiers exclusively to the Union side.

After identifying the great great grandparents of Ralph and Bess, there are still no European born individuals. This covers the time frame starting in about 1750 or 1760. I have not examined individuals further back, although I have preliminary information and we would see some immigration from Europe in the years prior to American Independence.

And it is very possible that there is one branch of the family that is Native American in origin, although we really don’t have any specific information and may never be able to get that information to prove this connection. A DNA test might tell the story.

Elizabeth Gammon Nash

Elizabeth Gammon was the mother of Emaline Nash Carson, the grandmother of Mary Elizabeth Carson Wyant and the great grandmother of Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons, my grandmother.

She was born after her father Harris Gammon’s death on April 15, 1832 in Orange County, Indiana.

Her parents were Harris Gammon (1811-1831) and Margaret Krutsinger (1812-1894). Her step-father was John L. McCarty.

She married Pleasant Riley Nash on August 12, 1850 in Orange County, Indiana.

Their oldest of 7 children, Emaline Nash, was born in December of 1853.

See Pleasant Riley Nash article for census reports showing their movement from Indiana to Clay County, near Xenia, in Illinois.

She died on January 17, 1865 near Xenia in Clay County, Illinois. She was just 33 years old. She is buried in the Stipp Cemetery in Clay County, Illinois.

Elizabeth’s mother married John L. McCarty on January 18, 1834, before Elizabeth’s 2nd birthday.

Pleasant Riley Nash

Pleasant Riley Nash was the father of Emaline Nash Carson, the grandfather of Mary Elizabeth Carson Wyant, and the great grandfather of Bessie Ethel Wyant, my grandmother.

He was born on May 10, 1827 in Eminence Township, Morgan County, Indiana.

He died on October 30, 1899 in Songer Township of Clay County, Illinois.

His parents were Obediah Nash (1801-1851) and Nancy Edwards (1803-1888).

He married Elizabeth Gammon on August 12, 1850 in Orange County, Indiana.

In the 1850 census, he is 27 years old, still single, and living with the Mullens family. He is a farmer.

Their oldest of 7 children, Emaline Nash, was born in December 1853 in Illinois.

In the 1855 state census, they are counted in Clay County, Illinois.

In the 1860 census, he is 33 years old and living near Xenia, in Clay County, Illinois with wife Elisabeth (sic) and 3 children.

His wife Elizabeth dies on January 17, 1865 in Clay County, Illinois.

He married Nancy A. King on May 29, 1867 in Clay County, Illinois. She appears to have one child already.

In the 1870 census in Xenia, of Clay County, Illinois we have Pleasant, his wife Nancy and 7 Nash children and 1 King child. He is 42 years old.

In the 1880 census they are in Songer Township of Clay County, Illinois. He is age 53. They have 4 additional children, plus the older King child is at home.

His second wife, Nancy A. King died in 1897.

He marries Matilda Turner Gammon, his sister in law and wife of Elizabeth Gammon’s older brother, in Clay County, Illinois.

Pleasant Riley Nash died on October 30, 1899 in Songer Township of Clay County, Illinois.

Probate began on November 6, 1899.

Mary Elizabeth Carson Wyant

Mary Elizabeth Carson was the mother of my grandmother, Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons.

She was born on March 15, 1878 in Bond County, Illinois.

She married Charles Beltred Wyant on October 31, 1895 in Springfield, Missouri.

They had 8 children from 1897 to 1911 and all survived to adulthood. One was my grandmother Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons, who was born in 1908.

Her parents were Andrew Jackson Carson (1850-1911) and Emaline Nash (1853-  ).

She died of pulmonary edema due to chronic nephritis on February 10, 1941.

In the census of 1900 in Newkirk, a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, she and husband “Charley” live with their first two sons, Frank and Freddie. She is 22 years old.

In the census of 1910, the family has moved to Ward 2 of Springfield, Missouri (Greene County), where my grandmother grows up. She is 32 years old. They have 7 children.

In the census of 1920, they are still in Springfield, MO and she is 41 years old. They have 4 children still at home.

In the 1930 census they have moved to Anderson, in Madison County, Indiana, my home town. She is 53 years old. She and Charley live with their oldest and youngest sons, Frank and Charlie.

Charles B. Wyant died in 1936 in Anderson, Indiana.

In the census of 1940 in Anderson, Indiana, she is living with her daughter Mary and her husband Roy Foster on Fairview Street in Anderson.

She dies on February 10, 1941 after 14 weeks in the hospital and is buried at Anderson Memorial Park.

Lucy Davenport Lowe

Lucy Davenport was the mother of Julie Lowe Wyant, the grandmother of Isaac S. Wyant, the great grandmother of Charles B. Wyant and the great great grandmother of Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons, my grandmother.

She was born in 1777 in Powhatan County, Virginia.

Her parents were Absalom Davenport (1736-1821) and Elizabeth Steiger (1742-1826).

She died in about 1824 in Kentucky.

She married William Lowe (Jr.) on March 25, 1799.

Their daughter, Julia Lowe, was born about 1806 in Owen County, Kentucky.

She died in about 1824 in Kentucky.

William Lowe Jr.

William Lowe (Jr.) is the father of Julia Lowe Wyant, the grandfather of Isaac S. Wyant, the great grandfather of Charles B. Wyant and the great great grandfather of Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons, my grandmother.

Note: The name is often spelled Low instead of Lowe.

William Lowe, (Jr.) was born about 1776. The birthplace is unknown, but is likely Powhatan County, Virginia.

His parents were William Lowe or Low (1754-1778) and Nancy Harvey. William Lowe (Sr.) was a private in 1st Troop of Lee’s Legion of the Continental Line during the Revolutionary War.

The date and place of death are unknown.

He married Lucy Davenport on March 25, 1799 in Powhatan, Virginia.

Their daughter, Julia Lowe, was born about 1806 in Owen County, Kentucky.

His wife Lucy Davenport Lowe died in about 1824.

One source of information about William Lowe (Jr.) and Lucy Davenport Lowe is the Family History of Mrs. Maggie May Banner.

Another source is the DAR Magazine, Volune 22, published in 1903, which has a note regarding the father which also connects to the son:

Title: “Low- Revolutionary Service of William Low of Powhatan County, Virginia.

“Family tradition says that he was killed in the Revolutionary War. He left one son, William Low (sic), who moved from Virginia to Woodford County, Kentucky and afterward to Owen County, Kentucky.”

Polly Sarah White Wyant

Polly Sarah White was the mother of Joshua Wyant, the grandmother of Isaac S. Wyant, the great grandmother of Charles B. Wyant and the great great grandmother of Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons, my grandmother.

As with her husband, documentation for Polly Sarah is very slim.

She was born in about 1765 in Kentucky.

She died in about 1843 in Warsaw, Kentucky, in Gallatin County.

She married Jacob Wyant. The date and place are unknown.

Their son, Joshua Wyant, was born in about 1804. It appears that he was the last of as many as 7 children.

The family is in two different communities in Gallatin County, Kentucky for the 1810 and 1820 censuses.

Husband Jacob Wyant died on February 20, 1821 in Warsaw, Kentucky.

Polly Sarah White Wyant died in about 1843 in Warsaw, Kentucky.

Jacob Wyant

Jacob Wyant was the father of Joshua Wyant, the grandfather of Isaac S. Wyant, the great grandfather of Charles B. Wyant and the great great grandfather of Bessie Ethel Wyant Wellons, my grandmother.

Documentation is very slim for Jacob Wyant.

He was born in about 1760 in Frederick County, Maryland.

He died on February 20, 1821 in Warsaw, Kentucky in Gallatin County. Warsaw is across the Ohio River from Indiana.

He married Polly Sarah White. The date and place of marriage are unknown.

Their son, Joshua Wyant, was born about 1804.

The 1810 census has the family in Gallatin Township of Gallatin County, Kentucky.

The 1820 census has the family in New Liberty Township of Gallatin County, Kentucky.

Jacob Wyant died on February 20, 1821 in Warsaw in Gallatin County, Kentucky.

There is a note on the Findagrave.com web site that says there is an unmarked grave for a Jacob Wyant in the Wyant Cemetery near Noblesville. The cemetery is on the property of Valley Forge Farms owned by Sam Harrell. It is more likely that this grave is for an ancestor of this Jacob Wyant since Polly Sarah White Wyant survived Jacob and she died in Warsaw, Kentucky.

Mercy Mary Vaughn Fallis

Mercy Mary Vaughn was the mother of Mary Fallis, the grandmother of Delila Ann Webb Lane, the great grandmother of Florence E. Lane Wellons and the great great grandmother of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather.

She was born on August 4, 1774 in Halifax County, Virginia.

She married Isaac Fallis in Shenandoah County, Virginia on October 10, 1797.

One of their 10 children was Mary Fallis, who was born on November 24, 1810 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Another daughter was named Mercy!

The family moved from Virginia to Kentucky and eventually to the Bellbrook area of Sugar Creek Township in Greene County, Ohio, where they lived out their days.

Mercy Mary Vaughn Fallis died on August 4, 1834 and is buried in the Fallis Pioneer Cemetery on the site of their former farm in Sugar Creek Township in Greene County. Her headstone, which uses her first name, still stands.

Isaac Fallis

Isaac Fallis was the father of Mary Follis Webb, the grandfather of Delila Ann Webb Lane, the great grandfather of Florence E. Lane Wellons, and the great great grandfather of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather.

He was born on May 7, 1779 in Shenandoah County, Virginia. He died on March 9, 1858 near Bellbrook in Sugar Creek Township of Greene County, Ohio.

His parents were Jacob Fallis (1750-1797) and Sarah Springer (1750-1809). Jacob is identified as a Quaker in some family trees on Ancestry.com.

Isaac Fallis married Mercy Mary Vaughn on October 10, 1797 in Shenandoah County, Virginia.

They appear to move to Kentucky for a few years, possibly in two different counties, and then eventually find their way to Greene County, Ohio.

There is a tax list in Mercer County, Kentucky for 1800 listing Isaac Fallis.

Their daughter, Mary Fallis was born on November 24, 1810 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. She was in the middle of a family of at least 10 children.

Isaac Fallis, sometimes referred to as Reverend Fallis, served as a private in the War of 1812 in Lanier’s Independent Battalion of the Ohio Militia.

In the 1820 census, they are in Sugar Creek Township of Greene County, Ohio. This will be their longtime home. We know where the farm was located because there is a family cemetery still in existence on the site of their former farm. In 1820 the family consists of 3 adults and 5 teenage or older children. Some of the children would already have left the home.

The 1830 census shows the family consisted of 6 children under the age of 20; 2 females aged 20-29; and 4 adults aged 40-49.

Isaac’s wife, Mercy Mary Vaughn, died on August 4, 1834.

Isaac married Rebecca Brooster in Montgomery County, Ohio on May 17, 1838. I believe they continued to live in Sugar Creek Township in Greene County.

The 1840 census in Sugar Creek Township enumerates one male aged 60-69 and one female aged 30-39. Issac was 26 years older than his second wife. They have a boy aged 10-14; a girl aged 10-14; and a young man aged 20-29. These would be Isaac and Mary’s children.

In the 1850 census in Sugar Creek Township we see:

Isaac 75 identified as a laborer instead of a farmer
Rebecca 49
Martha 9
Ruth 7
Charlotte 5

These girls are the children of Isaac and Rebecca. Isaac has started a tanning business and lists the number of hides and amount of leather in stock. Although he says he is a laborer, he actually is relatively wealthy and runs a tannery. There is “non-population schedule” as part of the 1850 census which lists amounts and items of value.

Isaac Fallis died at home on March 9, 1858 and was buried in the Fallis Pioneer Cemetery near Bellbrook, in Sugar Creek Township of Greene County, Ohio. There are a couple of good articles, with pictures, about the cemetery history and it’s state today. Isaac’s headstone is said to lay on the ground in 6 pieces. There is a history of vandalism and restoration done by Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs. It is now in the middle of a fairly wealthy suburban area. It is also a source of many ghost stories.

Probate began on April 11, 1858 and the entire file is online.

The information and photos below were posted by Stanley Fallis, an ancestor of Isaac and Mercy.

Mary “Mollie” Jones Webb

Mary “Mollie” Jones was the mother of Jacob Mulford Webb, the grandmother of Delila Ann Webb Lane, the great grandmother of Florence E. Lane Wellons and the great great grandmother of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather.

She was born in 1770 in Virginia. She died in 1813 in Montgomery County, Ohio near Dayton.

Her parents were Joshua F. Jones (1739-1816) and Hannah Todhunter (1749-1824).

She married Cuthbert Webb (Jr.) on August 17, 1791 in Franklin County, Virginia.

She moved with her husband and family to Montgomery County, Ohio, near Dayton, in 1805 or 1806.

She appears to be the mother of 14 children, the 13th being Jacob Mulford Webb, who was born on July 7, 1810 in Montgomery County, Ohio. Her first child was born 2 years prior to her marriage to Cuthbert Webb (Jr.)

She died in 1813 in Montgomery County, Ohio.

Cuthbert Webb Jr.

Cuthbert Webb (Jr.) was the father of Jacob Mulford Webb, the grandfather of Delila Ann Webb Lane, the great grandfather of Florence E. Lane Wellons and the great great grandfather of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather.

He was born in 1767 in Franklin County, Virginia.

He died on September 14, 1847 in Posey Township of Rush County, Indiana.

His parents were Cuthbert Webb (Sr.) (1728-1778) and Mary Burton (1741-1820).

He married Mary “Mollie” Jones on August 17, 1791 in Franklin County, Virginia. The marriage bond was executed on March 7, 1791.

They appear to have had 14 named children, with one born a couple of years prior to the marriage. This is probably Mollie’s child by a previous husband.

Their son, Jacob Mulford Webb, the 13th of these children, born on July 7, 1810 in Montgomery County, Ohio, near Dayton. One of Jacob’s brothers is Cuthbert Webb III and census reports in 1830 and 1840 in Rush County are for his household, not his father’s.

There is a well-defined timeline of events for Cuthbert Webb (Jr.) recorded in land deeds and related documents.

On September 14, 1785 Cuthbert Jr. witnessed a deed executed by his brother in Franklin County, Virginia.

On April 4, 1791 he served as a bondsman for his sister Elizabeth’s marriage.

On October 15, 1798 he sold his share of his father’s 229 acre farm. The farm had been granted to his father in 1774.

On October 14, 1799 he was granted 90 acres on Blackwater Creek in Franklin County, Virginia.

They appear to have moved to Montgomery County, Ohio in 1805 or 1806.

His wife Mollie died in 1813 in Montgomery County, Ohio.

Cuthbert (Jr.) moved to Rush County, Indiana and settled on an 80 acre property.

Cuthbert (Jr.) purchased an 80 acre property in Posey Township of Rush County, Indiana on January 19, 1826 and moved to the new property.

On August 5, 1834 Cuthbert (Jr.) purchased 80 acres of federal land in Rush County, Indiana.

Cuthbert Webb (Jr.) died in Rush County, Indiana in 1846.

Grandparents of Mary Hiatt Wyant

The grandparents of Mary Hiatt Wyant, like her parents, are unknown. Mary Hiatt was the mother of Charles B. Wyant and the grandmother of Bessie Ethel Wyant. Mary Hiatt is not in the historical record until she marries Isaac S. Wyant.

Parents of Isaiah Lane

The parents of Isaiah Lane are the great great grandparents of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather. I have not been able to find any information about them.

Hannah Lewis Lamb

Hannah Lewis was the mother of Naomi Lamb Lane Davis, the grandmother of John Lewis Lane, the great grandmother of Florence Lane Wellons and the great great grandmother of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather.

She was born on January 18, 1782 in Guilford County, North Carolina. She died in Rush County, Indiana (probably living with a child) on October 19, 1865.

Her parents were John Lewis (Jr.) (1765-1848) and Sarah Ruckman (1761-1847).

She was married to Thomas Lamb of Guilford County, North Carolina. Date Unknown.

They had as many as 11 children.

Daughter Naomi Lamb was born in about 1804 in North Carolina per the 1850 census report.

They moved to Indiana in about 1809 to the Williamsburg area of Green Township of Wayne County, Indiana. Some accounts have them moving a little later to Vincennes at first and then to Wayne County after the War of 1812.

See Thomas Lamb article for census records from 1800 to 1850.

Thomas Lamb died on July 15, 1851 in Wayne County.

Hannah Lewis Lamb died on October 19, 1865 in Rush County, Indiana (presumably at the home of a child), but is buried with her husband in the Williamsburg Cemetery in Wayne County, Indiana.

Thomas and Hannah Lamb were Quakers who were part of a large contingent of Quakers who moved  in the early 1800’s from North Carolina to the Wayne County/Richmond Indiana area. Richmond is the home of Earlham College, which began as a Quaker boarding school for secondary students.

Thomas Lamb

Thomas Lamb was the father of Naomi Lamb Lane Davis, the grandfather of John Lewis Lane, the great grandfather of Florence E. Lane Wellons and the great great grandfather of Ralph Wellons, my grandfather.

He was born in Center Township of Guilford County, North Carolina on February 11, 1771. He died on July 15, 1851 in Green Township of Wayne County, Indiana.

His parents were Jacob Lane (1742-1800) and Sarah Stone (1746-1799).

He married Hannah Lewis in North Carolina. Date not documented.

In the 1800 census of Hillsboro Township in Randolph County, NC, there are 2 adults and a boy and girl, both under the age of 10.

Genealogies on the web indicate that the family moved to Indiana 1) in about 1809 directly to a blockhouse (protection from Indians) in Wayne County, Indiana or 2) in about 1810 to Vincennes and then moving to Wayne County after the War of 1812. The next census seems to favor the first of these stories.

Daughter Naomi Lamb is born in about 1804 as evidenced by the 1850 census report.

In the 1810 census in either Wayne County, North Carolina or Wayne County, Indiana (seems likely to be the latter), we see 2 adults and 1 boy and 1 girl under 10 years old and one girl aged 10-15 years.

In the 1820 census in Wayne County, Indiana there are 2 adults, plus 8 children in the household. Agriculture is listed as the occupation of Thomas Lamb.

In the 1840 census in Wayne County, Indiana we see 4 adults and 1 teenaged girl.

In the 1850 census in Green Township of Wayne County, Indiana (family histories indicate they always lived near Williamsburg in Green Township of Wayne County... near Richmond) we see:

Thomas 80
Hannah 68

Thomas Lamb dies in Wayne County on July 15, 1851 and is buried in Williamsburg Cemetery. His wife lives on until October 19, 1865.

They appear to have as many as 11 children.

Thomas Lamb and his wife were Quakers who are part of a large Quaker contingent that came from North Carolina to the Wayne County/Richmond area. They are said to be one of the first 5 families in Green Township of Wayne County according to one family history. One source for Thomas Lamb’s date of birth is an actual handwritten item in a Quaker Meeting House Record Book.