Ottis G. Moore
Contributed By: Shirley J. Moore

geneshirl2@juno.com

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Clemuel and Matilda Gregory

When and where Clemuel Gregory was born has not been definitely established except for information contained in the McMinn County, Tennessee census.  In it he reports to the census taker that his place of birth was North Carolina.  I have been able to find a marriage record between Lemuel Gregory and Patsy Cullens dated December 27, 1814 in Chowan County, North Carolina.  It is not certain that this my ancestor, Clemuel Gregory.  Since the spelling is similar and sounds similar, it could be him.  Patsy is another name that was used for Matilda in that era so it can be assumed that this is the right ones.

Clemuel Gregory was probably born about 1794/95 and possibly in Chowan County, North Carolina and during the early 1800’s, people began to leave the area in which they were living to search out new territory to begin a new life.  Clemuel probably heard of land being available in East Tennessee and decided to make the trip to this area.  In those days it was common for the early settlers to travel to Tennessee by way of Virginia and into Kentucky and on to Tennessee through the Cumberland Gap in upper east Tennessee.  He may have taken this route because his oldest son, Ambrose, stated to the McMinn County, Tennessee census taker that he was born in Kentucky around 1818.  Their oldest daughter, Charlotta, gave her birth as in Tennessee in 1819 so they must have passed through Kentucky at one time before coming to Tennessee.

Clemuel and his family moved to Monroe County, Tennessee sometime prior to 1822/23.  His name appears on two petitions in that county.  The first, dated July 15, 1822, was a petition stating that the Hiwassee District occupants made improvements on lands that they had leased from Governor McMinn that increased the value of the land but when those lands became available to be bought, they were not treated fairly in the sale of the lands.  Land offered for sale once and not sold was not offered again as it had been in West Tennessee.  The petitioners asked that if the land sold a second or third time, that they get compensation for their work from whoever bought the land.

The second petition is not dated but is assumed to be about 1823 in Monroe County, Tennessee.  The petitioners, who were residents of Monroe County, were asking for the establishing of a permanent seat of justice by holding an election in each Captain’s Company to select a site.  Clemuel’s name appears on the list with a Robert Gregory and a William Gregory, whose names also appeared on the first petition.  Perhaps they were relatives of Clemuel.  Also, in the Monroe County, Tennessee census is found a Few H. Gregory who was a doctor.  Could Clemuel’s son, James F.H. Gregory, be named for this man and could he have been a relative of Clemuel?

No other records have been found yet for the years between 1823-1830 but Clemuel’s family was growing because he is listed in the 1830 Monroe County census as having 3 male children and 3 female children.  There were 2 boys under age 5 and one between 10 and 15.  The boys could have been Ambrose, William E and Green Clay.  One of the girls was 5 years old or under and 2 were between 5 and 10.  One of the girls between 5 and 10 could have been Charlotta but no record has been found for other girls if they were his daughters.

I don’t know when Clemuel and his family left Monroe county but he did sell land to Matthew Edmundson in 1839.  They may have moved to McMinn Count, Tennessee sometime after that time bringing with him their family that had now grown to 5 boys and 3 girls.  He is listed as Samuel Gregory in the 1840 McMinn County census.  He bought land in McMinn County but at this time I have not found a deed for the land.  I found a record where he sold land on November 27, 1848 to Dan Carpenter of Morgan County, Tennessee so this establishes that he had bought land in McMinn County prior to that date.

The next record is found in the 1850 census for McMinn County.  In it, he is listed as Sam Gregory, age 56.  His wife is listed as Matilda, age 48 along with three of his sons, William, 17,  Elijah, 14 and James, 12.  The other two sons, Ambrose and Green Clay, along with their daughter, Charlotta, had married by this time.  A am still searching for information on the other girls.

Between the time of the 1850 and 1860 census, Clemuel probably lived in McMinn County, Tennessee.  On November 20, 1854, he bought from William A Baker “the third part of all the land that Alexander Baker died possessed of the legacy of Wilson Baker” for $200.00 but the deed does not say how many acres its contained.  In 1860, Clemuel and his family lived in the Pine Ridge section of McMinn County which appears to be what is now known as the Rogers Creek community.  He was a farmer and had real estate valued at $600.00 and had a personal estate of $100.00.  His three sons, William, Green Clay and James F, lived in nearby households.  His son, Elijah, and his wife, Almira, lived in the household with Clemuel and Matilda.

By 1860, Clemuel started to sell off some of his property that he had bought.  On July 27, 1860, he sold 52 acres of land that lay in McMinn and Meigs counties to a Samuel P Price and on November 4, 1861, he sold to his son, Elijah, for $200.00, a tract of land containing 80 acres more or less.  On the same day, he sold to his daughter-in-law, Cynthia Ann Gregory, wife of William.  This tract of land contained 126 acres more or less and sold for $200.00.  It is thought that William was away in the Civil War at the time of this sale.

In 1866, probably realizing that at the age of 71, he might not have many years left, he began to give away to his sons what he had left of  the land that he had been able to accumulate that had not already been sold.  On January 13, 1866, he deeded to his son, Elijah, and to his son, James, 80 acres apiece “for in consideration of their natural love and affection.”  It would be two years before he made more deeds.  On January 24, 1868, he deeded his son, Ambrose, 80 acres “in consideration of his parental affection for his son.”  On July 17, 1868, he deeded his son, Green Clay, 80 acres “in consideration of the love and affection he had for his son.”

Clemuel, by his acts, must have been a caring family man who in turn must have had a loving family that was rewarded for their love and affection toward him and Matilda over the years by his gifts of land to them.  It is not known why his known daughter, Charlotta, did not receive any of her father’s land but perhaps it could be said that since she left for Missouri after her marriage a settlement could have been given to her at the time she left.

By the time of the 1870 census, Clemuel was listed as being 75 years old and his wife, Matilda, was 72.  They were recorded as living in the household of his son, Elijah, and his wife.  It is probably safe to say that they both died before 1880 as they are not listed in the census for that year.  They are thought to be buried in the Rogers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in McMinn County in unmarked graves.

We may never know the entire story of Clemuel and Matilda Gregory’s life and there will be many unanswered questions.  Research prior to 1800 is sketchy and hard to find and  unless you know particular names, it is hard to tie families together due to the use of common names.  More research will be done and hopefully a break will come that will take us back to other ancestors.  Clemuel and Matilda’s descendants have scattered to many areas of the United States and I am continuing to do research in other states that bring me back to them and it is an interesting search full of surprises and information that ties the Gregory’s to another side of my family.  My search has taken mw to Oklahoma in recent years to continue looking for information on the Gregory family.  While there, I discovered that some of Clemuel and Matilda’s grandchildren moved to Texas and then to Oklahoma in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  It is also possible that some of the family settled in, or at least spent some time in, northwestern Missouri.  There are descendants of their family living in those areas at the present time and I have been in contact with and have been exchanging information with them and have learned a lot about the family.  I will continue the search and by no doubt, more information will be found.