The earliest possible ancestor I have found for Mary E. House is THOMAS HOUSE, whose will was recorded in Albermarle Co, NC, 4 Jul 1733. The will names GEORGE HOUSE, Bayliss house (executor), Ann House, and Edith House (Abstract of North Carolina Wills, J. Bryan Grimes, p173). I am quite sure that this George House was Mary's g-g-grandfather but this is a line that is in need of more documentation.

Several deeds are found in Bertie Co, NC in the name of GEORGE HOUSE, but it's difficult to tell which George each piece of land was registered for since George (Sr) named a son George (Jr). George House (Sr) died in 1770, his will dated 28 Sep 1770, and proved in Jan Court 1771, Bertie Co, NC. His children named in the will were Thomas House (a Thos House was a Sgt serving under Capt David Anderson, commanded by Col Richard Richardson, 8 Oct 1759-10 Jan 1760); GEORGE HOUSE (Jr); John House (m Martha Bond); Ann (House) Averet; daughter unnamed who m Peter Smith (children of Peter Smith are named in the will); Elizabeth (House) Moore (m James Moore); and a James House is also a possibility.

I found in the records of Bertie Co a will for GEORGE HOUSE (Jr). It was dated 13 Apr 1763, proved Feb 1763, and names wife Mary. The will of George Sr (1770) also stated that his son George was deceased and called his son's children "orphans". Assuming that in order for them to be called orphans, they would have had to be under 16 years old in 1770. The children's names as shown in the 1763 will were BALIS HOUSE and Edith House. Edith is also shown in other records as Eda and Eady, misread as Cady in one instance, and an Edey House married Thomas Bond on 14 Oct 1780. Thomas Bond may have been the son of Thomas Bond who died in 1767 in Bertie Co.

GEORGE HOUSE Jr's son BALIS/BALISS HOUSE was probably born about 1760. He married in Bertie Co, NC, on 5 Apr 1784, Penelope Bond (Marriage Records of Bertie County, North Carolina, p17, Thos Bond was BM, but this book doesn't say what BM stands for). Baliss House signed an oath of allegiance in Bertie Co in 1774. He moved with some of his sons to Sumner Co, TN, about 1800, and died there in 1806. His will (Will Bk 1, p98, Sumner County Will Abstracts, 1788-1882) names executors Thomas House, ____ Gardner, & John Pervin. Witnesses to the will were John O. Mitchell, Willis C. Holland, and Stephen Norris. Six sons were named: Thomas House (no record in Sumner except he was exec of father's will in 1806); John House; George House (no record in Sumner Co); WILLIAM HOUSE (b 1795 or 1796); James House (b 1795, d 1866, m (2) on 22 Jun 1836, Ann P. Crenshaw in Sumner Co, TN. James and Ann are both buried in Gallatin); and Baliss House (b 1798, d 1883, buried in Gallatin, TN). Baliss is shown in 1850 living with his brother James and James' wife Ann. Also shown were William, b 1830, Ann B., b 1834, Mary E., b 1837, John, b 1837, James, b 1840, Amanda, b 1841, Sarah, b 1845, Maria, b 1848.

WILLIAM HOUSE was born about 1795. In 1817 he signed a petition in Sumner Co to organize the first bank in Gallatin. He married Sally/Sarah Gardner (born 1795) 15 Dec 1818. The 1860 Sumner Co census shows William, Sally, and two of their four children. Their children were MARY E. HOUSE, born about 1824; John House, born about 1826; William House, born 1832/1835 (1860 census); and Sarah House, born about 1840 (1860 census). The son William served as a state convention delegate in 1861. This may be the William House who d in 1880 (Sumner County Will Abstracts, 1788-1882). Children named were B.C. House (m), and Lydia Meng.

MARY E. HOUSE married JAMES MARTIN WINCHESTER on 21 May 1845 and she was widowed ten years later. Children shown with Mary in 1860 were Maria, 13, John, 7, and Bayless, 3. Also living with Mary in 1860 was her uncle, Bayliss House, 56, who appears never to have married.