The family of General James Winchester
beginning with the father William Winchester
(with additional notes on the Sumner County families of House and Belote)
Part Two

Compiled by Karel L. (Kinney) Whyte
Copyright 1989, Revised 1997, Reprinted with permission
kjwhyte@earthlink.net

  1. MARIA ELIZA WINCHESTER, b at Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN, 14 May 1793, d 10 Sep1848, near Biloxi, Ms, m 11 Oct 1814, James Waller Breedlove of New Orleans. He d 1866. Portraits of James and Susan Winchester and of the Breedloves were kept in their home in New Orleans. Those of the Breedloves have been donated to Cragfont by descendants.

    ISSUE:
    1. OPHELIA BREEDLOVE, b 18 Jun 1816.
    2. MALVINA BREEDLOVE, b 24 Mar 1818, d 1 Dec 1818.
    3. URILDA BREEDLOVE, b 20 Sep 1819.
    4. JULIAN POYDRAS BREEDLOVE, b 27 Jan 1821.
    5. CALANTHA BREEDLOVE, b 27 Aug 1822, d 11 Jan 1827.
    6. NAPOLEON BREEDLOVE, b 11 Aug 1825.
    7. JAMES WINCHESTER BREEDLOVE, b 29 Jun 1827.
    8. PUBLICOLA BREEDLOVE, d in infancy.

  2. MARCUS BRUTUS WINCHESTER, b 28 May 1796, at Cragfont near Gallatin, TN. Marcus was educated in Maryland and entered the Army as a young man of about seventeen. He served as aide to his father, Gen James Winchester, and was captured with him at the River Raisin in 1813. They were imprisoned in Quebec, Canada, and released after six weeks. In 1819 Marcus established the first store in Memphis, TN, a town which had been founded through the efforts of Judge Overton of Nashville, General Andrew Jackson and Marcus' father, James Winchester. Marcus served as agent for the three owners and was largely responsible for the early growth of the city. He served as the city's first postmaster for 22 years beginning in 1823, and was the city's first mayor, serving from 1827 to 1829. In 1851, Marcus was elected to the state legislature. His picture appeared in the Memphis "City Directory" of 1855/56. Marcus was a well respected businessman and known for his hospitality and generosity. In Memphis, A Folk History, author Linton Weeks writes of a local story about an 1825/26 boat wreck near Memphis. One of the passengers was Davey Crockett who, having been asleep when the boat broke up, came ashore naked. Marcus Winchester provided him with a suit of clothes from his store.
    It is believed that Marcus married Mary about 1823, at which time his father had presented him with a "deed of gift". Mary was known in Memphis as generous and gracious. Walter Durham, in his book, James Winchester, Tennessee Pioneer, describes Marcus and Mary as "sensitive to the plight of non-whites" and states that they formed a "lasting friendship with Francis Wright, the Scottish reformer who came to Memphis in 1824 to establish the experimental community Nashoba." Marcus and Mary so respected Mrs Wright that they named a child for her and another child for Mrs Wright's friend Robert Owen who had started the New Harmony community in Indiana. Mary Winchester is said to have died on 19 Aug 1839.
    In Nashville, Davidson Co, TN, on 17 Aug 1842, Marcus married the widowed Mrs Lucy Lenore/Leonora Ferguson McLean (b ca 1823, KY, d 1860, Shelby Co Will Bk 3-E, p291) who reportedly was a loving mother to Marcus' children.
    Land records of Crittenden Co, AR, show that Marcus Winchester purchased in 1837, several sections of land totalling 1600 acres, most on 21 Aug 1837; 1120 acres in several sections, 28 Jul 1838; 151.7 acres in 1839; 89 acres in 1842; 160 acres in 1846; 482 acres in 1849; and 43 acres in 1850. Marcus may have sold some of this property during those same years, but those records have not been checked. Several of his children eventually settled in this same county.
    Marcus suffered the first of two strokes in Jan 1852 but seemed to have made a good recovery. The second stroke occurred on 29 Oct 1856 and resulted in his death on 3 Nov 1856 (will dtd 25 May 1850 with codicil dtd 30 Oct 1856, proven Feb & May terms, 1857). His sensitivity was once again demonstrated in the codicil which directed the executors to secure emancipation for his slaves Harry & Betsey. Marcus was buried on a plot of land deeded for use as a cemetery to the city of Memphis in 1828 by its founders, Overton, Jackson and Winchester. The last burial there was in 1874. A new cemetery had been established and the old Winchester Cemetery fell into disrepair, its stones broken and scattered. In later years, the area had a street (High St) cut through it, city stables built over a part of it, and a rail line built through it. Citizens protested and eventually a city park was established there.

    ISSUE (information from census and notes of Mildred Eason):
    1. LAURA WINCHESTER, b Dec 1825.
    2. ROBERT OWEN WINCHESTER, b 25 Aug 1827. Robert Owen appeared in the 1850 census living at home, age 23, and he was named in his father's will. He is said to have moved west. The 1860 census of AR shows a Robert Winchester in Sebastian Co in the western part of the state.
    3. FRANCIS WRIGHT WINCHESTER, b 1829.
    4. LOUISE WINCHESTER, b 1832, never m, d in 1878. She was a school teacher and in the 1860 census she was living with her stepmother, Lucy, in Shelby Co, TN, and in 1870 she lived with her brother Loiselle.
    5. LOISEL/LOISELLE WINCHESTER, b 1835.
    6. VALERIA/VALERIE WINCHESTER, b 1837.
    7. SELIMA WINCHESTER, reportedly had no children and does not show up on the 1850 census of TN.
    8. LISIDA WINCHESTER, b 1839.
WILL, MARCUS B. WINCHESTER, Memphis, TN, signed 25 May 1850

The following is the disposition which I wish and do hereby require should be made of my Estate in case of my death.
1st. It is my desire that my Executor to be hereinafter appointed proceed to settle up my business as fast as they conveniently can without prejudice to the same and that if my personal effects be found insufficient to settle my debts that they be authorized to sell any part or portion of my Real Estate to effect the said object in a reasonable time.
2nd. To my beloved wife Lucy Loonora I relinquish all claims whatever to her watches, jewelry, and etc. and give and bequeath her and her heirs all my Household Furniture, etc. Stock of Horses, Hogs, Cattle, etc. and likewise I give and bequeath to her one full third of all the Real Estate or other effects which I may die possessed of, in place of her right of Dower for which she shall sign a written relinquishment the division to be made after first paying or setting apart effects enough for the payment of my debts.
3rd. All the rest and residue of my Estate Real, Personal, or mixed I give and bequeath share and share alike to my eight children, Laura wife of John Nelson of Arkansas, Robert O., Frances wife of William Vance of Arkansas, Selina, Louise, Loiselle, Valeria and Lisida, and in the case of the death of either of these children before my decease without heirs, then his or her part or portion shall decend to the survivor or survivors of the said children.
4th. And I do hereby nominate and appoint my long tried and valued friend S. Claybrook of Williamson County and my son-in-Law William Vance of Arkansas Executors of this my last Will and Testament.
Memphis May 25, 1850

Witness
 M. B. Winchester(Seal)
Wm. Armour, Jr.David Armour

Edwd. S. Todd


B. W. EllisJuly 21st 1853

Henry G. SmithOct. 30, 1856

I M. B. Winchester do hereby solemnly declare that the will which I made several years since is the only true will which I have made and all other wills which may be found in correspondence with it are a copy of my genuine will.And the only change I desire to make in relation to it is to appoint Henry G. Smith one of my Executors and beg that he will accept of the same.

M. B. Winchester(Seal)
Witness
Brasmus T. Rose
Harriet C. Wray
Henry G. Smith Oct. 30/56

Oct 30, 1856 - I emancipate the slaves Harry & Betsey and direct my Executors to take all proper steps in regard to them to make them free & secure their emancipation & freedom. I give Harriet C. Wray a five acre lot in Hopefield, Arkansas, the lot to be selected by my Executors.
Oct 30/56
M. B. Winchester
Witness
Henry G. Smith
Wm. S. King

Part proven at the February Term and Part Proven at the May Term 1857 and ordered to be recorded. Recorded
May 15th 1857
John P. Trezevant, Clerk

  1. SELIMA/SELINA WINCHESTER, b 14 Aug 1800, Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN, d 23 Feb 1820, m in Sumner Co, TN, 17 Jun 1817, William Lord Robeson/Robison (b 30 Apr 1791, Bladen Co, NC, d New Orleans, 19 Jun 1835). William entered the Army as a young man and rose quite quickly. He was ensign 3d Infantry, 31 Oct 1812, 3d Lt 12 Mar 1813, 2d Lt 9 Oct 1813, 1st Lt 2 May 1814, disbanded Jun 1815, reinstated May 1816 in Coast Artillary, Captain, Assistant Quartermaster General 30 Aug 1816, resigned Sep 1818. For a time he served as Aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen Winchester and was stationed in LA. (Historical Directory of the United States Army, Heitman, and from pg 116 of the Robeson Genealogy.) Selima and William are both buried at Cragfont.

    ISSUE:
    1. SUSAN ROBESON, b 3 Apr 1818.

  1. BETSEY CAROLINE WINCHESTER , also known as Caroline A. and Elizabeth Caroline, b 1 Jan 1802, Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN, d 25 Oct 1827, m in Sumner Co, TN, on 30 Jan 1825, Orville Shelby.

    ISSUE:
    1. LAURA SHELBY, b 1826, Sumner Co, TN.
    2. JOHN SHELBY

  2. LUCILIUS WINCHESTER, b 23 Oct 1803, Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN, d 25 or 26 Feb 1833, m in Sumner Co, TN, 11 Apr 1830, Amanda M. Bledsoe.

    ISSUE:
    1. MARGARET WINCHESTER, b 21 Feb 1831, d 1834.
    2. JAMES WINCHESTER, b ca 1830, said to have gone to CA in 1849. The 1850 census lists a James Winchester in El Dorado Co, CA.
    3. LUCILA WINCHESTER

  3. ALMIRA WINCHESTER, b 30 Mar 1805, at Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN, d 24 Jun 1884, buried at Cragfont. Almira m in Sumner Co, TN, 14 Mar 1825, Alfred R. Wynne (b 1800, d 18 Dec 1893, buried at Cragfont, son of Col Robert Wynne & Cynthia Harrison). They lived near Cragfont in a house built about 1825 on land that was inherited by Almira from her father's estate. Designed to serve as a stage coach stop, it is considered a splendid example of the log cabin type of architecture, and is now the oldest structure of its type and size in Tennessee. Although it never became a stop on the stage coach line, the Wynne family established a very successful spa there, called "Castalian Springs". The land was farmed and the home was occupied by the Wynne family until the death of George W. Wynne. It is now maintained by the State and known as "Wynnewood" to avoid confusion with the name of the nearby community of Castalian Springs. Colonel Robert Wynne (d 1802) was the son of John Wynne (1753-1820) and Polly Lewis (data from J.R. Wynne). Robert m Cynthia Harrison in Sumner Co, TN, on 6 Jan 1800. Cynthia m 2nd, in Sumner Co on 31 Jul 1805, Samuel Kerr/Carr. Her father's will refers to her as Cynthia Carr. She was the daughter of James Harrison & Cynthia Gibson (once thought to be half sister to Susan Black). At age 16, Robert Wynne's son A.R. Wynne went to work as a clerk in James Winchester's general store at Cairo, TN. This was where A.R. met his future wife, Almira. A.R. Wynne was commissioned 2nd Major, 15th Reg, Sumner Co Militia, 8 Jun 1830 and on 27 May 1835 he became Col Commandant of the regiment. (Militia Commission Bk 5, p116; Bk 6, p110.) Throughout the years, A.R. engaged in a number of businesses, including trading on the Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers.
    NOTE: On 18 Sep 1841, Maria E. Breedlove, Susan W. Hills, Helon Winchester, James Winchester, George W. Winchester, H.W. Hills, and Malvina Winchester signed over to A. R. Wynne their claim as heirs at law of James Winchester, "for the sum of $1, three lots in the fourth quarter of township number nine and range number twelve in the county of Knox and state of Ohio."

    ISSUE (some information on descendants of Almira and A.R. has been contributed by descendant J. Robert Wynne):
    1. JAMES WINCHESTER WYNNE, b 8 Dec 1825, Sumner Co, TN.
    2. ROBERT BRUCE WYNNE, b 17 Feb 1827, Sumner Co, TN.
    3. SELIMA WYNNE, b 9 Sep 1828, Sumner Co, TN.
    4. CAROLINE A. E. WYNNE, b 4 Jan 1830, Sumner Co, TN, d 2 Dec 1854 of blood poisoning from a cut incurred while sharpening a goose quill pen. Shewas unmarried and is buried at Cragfont.
    5. IDA WYNNE, b 17 Jan 1832, Sumner Co, TN.
    6. MARIA LOUISA WYNNE, b 18 Jul 1834, Sumner Co, TN, d 28 Mar 1927, unmarried. Maria helped run "the Springs" until 1914.
    7. LUCILIUS WILLIAM WYNNE, b 6 May 1836, Sumner Co, TN, d 18 Dec 1860 of typhoid at his home in Sherman, TX. He m Rebecca Frye, no children known. Rebecca remarried prior to 1867.
    8. VALERIUS P. WYNNE, b 3 Feb 1838, Sumner Co, TN.
    9. ANDREW JACKSON WYNNE, b 8 Dec 1839, Sumner Co, TN.
    10. SUSAN WINCHESTER WYNNE, b 25 Sep 1841, Sumner Co, TN, d 18 Aug 1923, unmarried. She received an education at Vatapsco Female Institute, Elliotts, MD, receiving her diploma on 27 Jun 1860. She taught for a while in AL and returned to TN where she was associated with the Bledsoe Female Academy at Wynnewood.
    11. WILLIAM HALL WYNNE, b 18 Nov 1843, Sumner Co, TN, at 17 went west and enlisted in a TX infantry battalion in 1861 and by Jan 1862 was in the field near Hopkinsville, KY. He d 12 Jun 1862 of pneumonia in a union prison in Chatanooga. He is buried at Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN.
    12. JOSEPH GUILD WYNNE, b Nov 1845, Sumner Co, TN, d Aug 1887, unmarried, served in the Civil War in Co K, 2d Tennessee. He went to TX after the war but returned in the late 1870's to Wynnewood where he helped manage the horses. He d at Wynnewood and is buried at Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN.
    13. MARY (Molly) MERIWETHER WYNNE, Sumner Co, TN, b Apr 1847, d 6 Apr 1906, unmarried. Molly remained at Wynnewood receiving guests until 1899. She was appointed postmaster of Castalian Springs and served from Jan 1894 until 26 Oct 1903.
    14. WINCHESTER WYNNE, b 12 Jul 1850, Sumner Co, TN.

  1. LOUISA ORVILLE WINCHESTER, b 16 Mar 1809 at Cragfont near Gallatin, TN, d 15 Oct 1888 and is buried at Cragfont. She m on 25 Oct 1826 in Sumner Co, TN, Dr Edmund Rucker of Birmingham (b Rutherford Co, TN, ca 1800, d Nov 1861, Marengo Co, Al, son of Thomas Rucker of Amherst Co, VA, whose will was dated 2 Nov 1839, Rutherford Co, TN, Will Bk 12, p309). (See History of the Rucker Family and their descendants, 1927, by Edythe Johns Rucker Whitley, for additional data on the Rucker family. This book may be found in the Nashville or Rutherford Co, TN, libraries.) Dr Rucker and Louisa settled in DeKalb Co, TN, where he practiced medicine. All their children were born here. The authority on this branch, Mrs Louise Berry, tells of Dr Rucker's death in 1861. He had sent his wife Louisa and the children remaining at home to stay at Cragfont during the Civil War - "an act that saved their lives, for he was tied to a post and made to watch his home (there were two nice residences there in De Kalb Co) burn to the ground. He walked 70 miles to his daughter's (Josephine Boddie) and died two days later from hunger and exhaustion". A quilt made by Louisa for her granddaughter Florence Gayle Klipple, is on display at Cragfont.

    ISSUE:
    1. JOSEPHINE B. RUCKER, b 7 Oct 1827, DeKalb Co, TN.
    2. MARIA LOUISE RUCKER, b 13 Sep 1829, DeKalb Co, TN.
    3. NAPOLEON B. RUCKER, b 14 Aug 1831, DeKalb Co, TN, d 27 Sep 1903, unmarried.
    4. O. H. RUCKER, b 26 May 1833, DeKalb Co, TN, d 10 Sep 1858, unmarried.
    5. EDMUND WINCHESTER RUCKER, b 22 Jul 1835, DeKalb Co, TN.
    6. SUSAN PAULINE RUCKER, b 30 Nov 1836, DeKalb Co, TN, d in infancy.
    7. ALEXANDER C. RUCKER, b 7 Dec 1842, DeKalb Co, TN.
    8. SARAH ELIZABETH RUCKER, b 16 Mar 1845, DeKalb Co, TN.
    9. WILLIAM WALKER RUCKER, b 8 May 1850, DeKalb Co, TN, d 1 Dec 1872, unmarried.

EDMUND RUCKER

Edmund Rucker was the son of Thomas Rucker and Sallie Reade of Bedford Co, VA. Sallie was the daughter of William Reade, Jr, and Johanna Baylin. Thomas Rucker was born in Amherst Co, VA, ca 1760, and died in Rutherford Co, TN, his will dated 2 Nov 1839, and probated 10 Mar 1843. He married Sallie Reade on 3 Jan 1793 and moved to Rutherford Co about 1794. Their children wereThomas Jr, Edmund, Samuel who married Lucinda Alexander, and Catherine who married John Porter.

  1. VALERIUS PUBLICOLA WINCHESTER , b 24 Nov 1810, Sumner Co, TN, d 7 Dec 1837, m 24 Oct 1833, Samuella Price of Nashville, TN. He was a professor of languages at the University of Nashville, now Peabody, where a chair is named in his honor. Samuella is listed on the 1850 census in Nashville.

    ISSUE:
    1. VALERIA P. WINCHESTER, b 1835, Davidson Co, TN.

  1. JAMES MARTIN WINCHESTER, b at Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN, 5 Feb 1816, d 25/28 Mar 1856, buried at Cragfont, m *MARY E. HOUSE (b 1824, d 1888) on 21 May 1845 (Marr Bonds, Sumner Co, Tn, Archive). For more information on Mary House, see paragraph following names of their children. James and Mary lived near Cragfont on Winchester property which was later deeded to his sons by his mother, Susan Black Winchester. James' name appears on the "Muster Roll of Captain Josephus Conn Guild Company of the Second Regiment, First Brigade of Tennessee Mounted Militia, commanded by Brig Gen R. Armstrong, ordered into service of the US from 25 Jun 1836 to 25 Dec 1836" (Second Seminole War). In 1844, James was one of the trustees of Bledsoe Female Academy (Walter T. Durham, Old Sumner, p 322). An account of his death and Masonic funeral service is found in Long, Long Ago, excerpts from the diary of Susan Black Winchester Scales, edited by Ellen Wemyss, Louise Patterson, and Sue Botsaris:
    "It was the custom of our father and mother to walk on Sunday afternoons to a near-by home of Uncle James Martin Winchester. I had not known of his illness and one Sunday was surprised to see a number of people in the yard and a strange conveyance at the door. I can't describe this vehicle but remember that it was covered and that my uncle was laid on its floor. The long journey to Nashville (seventy miles distant) began. In the city he could have the constant care of a physician. After ten days he was brought -- not to his own home but -- to his mother's for burial. I remember how, from the time the news of his death was received, my mother and friends were busy night and day draping the portraits and mirrors in the parlor with crepe or perhaps other black cloth.I remember the Masonic burial, when men with white aprons and sprays of evergreen marched behind the casket to the graveyard and after chanting the requiem of the order, dropped the apron of their late comrade and the bit of green into the grave. How long after burial his funeral was preached I can't recall. As was the custom, a splendid dinner was prepared for friends and neighbors and this was served under the trees. Afterwards the company assembled and was seated in a semi-circle in front of the speaker's stand. This and the seats had been build beforehand in the beautiful grove."

    ISSUE:
    1. JOHN H. WINCHESTER, b Oct 1853.
    2. MARIA BREEDLOVE WINCHESTER, b 1849.
    3. BAYLESS WINCHESTER, d age 4.

*MARY E. HOUSE

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.
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 was probably born about 1760. He married in Bertie Co, NC, on 5 Apr 84, 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, p9, 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 M. Winchester 21 May 1845 and 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.

  1. GEORGE WASHINGTON WINCHESTER, b 14 May 1822, Cragfont, near Gallatin, TN. George m in Davidson Co, TN, on 9 Mar 1841 in a Methodist ceremony, Malvina Henderson Gaines (b 16 Dec 1821, VA, d 7 Jul 1887). For additional data on her family, see History of the Henderson Family, by Lucy Henderson Horton of Franklin, TN. Malvina Henderson Gaines was the daughter of Thomas Lewis Gaines and Lucy Paterson Henderson; Thomas was the son of Francis Moore of Albermarle Co, VA. Captain Henderson was the son of John Henderson of the same county. Captain John's brothers were Captain Bennett and Captain William, all three members of an independent company under Captain Charles Lewis and Lieutenant George Gilmer which marched in 1775 against Lord Dunmore. The three brothers also served during the Revolutionary War. Thomas Lewis Gaines was born in Culpepper, VA, in 1777; his wife was born in 1787 in Albermarle Co. They were married there in 1800. In 1806, he, his wife, and two children, at least, and Mrs Frances Henderson, widow of Captain John, had settled in Jessamine Co, KY, where the census of 1810 shows T.L. Gaines and family. Between that date and 1835 he and his family resided in Logun, Warren, Simpson, and Todd Counties, KY. In 1835, T.L. Gaines and wife settled in Nashville where she d 24 Jul 1854, and he 24 May 1858. Their children were: Paulina Frances m Liston Temple of Logan Co, KY in 1819; Mary Isabell; Thomas Pendleton; Lucy Ann; Sarah E. m William T. Mosby; Frances Asbury m Adelaide Wharton; Martha Susan m George W. Petway; Rebecca Hudson; Malvina Henderson m George Washington Winchester; John W. m Maria Frances Wair. Thomas L. Gaines was the son of Francis, he the son of James, whose wife was Mary Pendleton, sister of Isabella Pendleton, who married William Gaines, the brother of James. Judge Edmund Pendleton of VA was their brother. Francis Gaines married Elizabeth Lewis, daughter of Edward Lewis of VA. The wife of Edward Lewis was Anne. (Data regarding Malvina Henderson Gaines from letter of John W. Gaines, former Congressman).
    George Winchester graduated from Nashville University in 1840 as an attorney. He was elected to the state legislature in 1853, offered reelection, but declined. He was appointed Adjutant with rank of Major on the staff of General W. B. Bate, commander of the 2d Tennessee Reg, CSA. From an introduction to the diary of Major George W. Winchester written by Mallie Wilson Farrell, "In April, 1862, Major Winchester rode from Cragfont to Shiloh to see about the condition of his son and remained to join the Confederate Army himself." Later that year, a worried and lonely George wrote in his diary of his mother, "I tremble to hear from my dear old mother! Does she live tonight and are her thoughts turned upon her only son, or is the fitful form of life over with her. Hers has been a stormy passage, and yet has she, with more philosophy than is common with her sex met and buffeted the rude billows. There are many things in our past relations which I would I could forget. I have been at times rude in my speech to her, and neglectful of many things which would have contributed to her comfort. Did she remember it against me - or did she in a dying hour bless me, and say she loved me. I would I could realize this night, that her last prayer was for me. Next to my wife I loved my mother." (Susan Winchester lived for two years more. The diary was discovered in the office of the State Board of Health in Nashville in 1921 and turned over to the TN State Archive, author unknown until it was identified by Mrs Farrell as that of her grandfather.)
    George Winchester was captured at Missionary Ridge near Chatanooga, TN, and imprisoned on Johnson's Island (The Confederate Veteran Magazine, Vol XXXII, p176). After his release, he returned to Cragfont and the once productive farm. Soon after his mother's death in Dec 1865 George sold the Winchester property and moved to Memphis to practice law. He received a nomination for judge in 1878, but died on 30 Dec of that year. He was buried in Memphis.

    ISSUE:
    1. ALICE LAURINE/LORRAINE WINCHESTER, b 25 Dec 1841, Sumner Co, TN.
    2. NAPOLEON B. WINCHESTER, b 1 May 1842, Sumner Co, TN, d 6 Feb 1871, Confederate soldier, Co H, 2d Tennessee. Napoleon was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and was later imprisoned at Johnson's Island.
    3. GEORGE WASHINGTON WINCHESTER, b 9 Mar 1846, Sumner Co, TN.
    4. LUCY LEONORA WINCHESTER, b 6 Jun 1848, Sumner Co, TN, d 9 Dec 1854. Lucy was named for Marcus Winchester's 2nd wife.
    5. THOMAS PENDLETON WINCHESTER, b 13 Sep 1849, Sumner Co, TN.
    6. SUSAN BLACK WINCHESTER, b 9 Dec 1852, Sumner Co, TN.
    7. MALVINA HENDERSON WINCHESTER, b 1 Apr 1859/60, Sumner Co, TN. George called his daughter Mallie "big baby" in his Civil War diary.
    8. VIRGINIA LEE WINCHESTER, b 22 Aug 1862, Sumner Co, TN, d 1 Feb 1877, unmarried. Her father called her "little baby" in his diary.

  1. JOHN H. WINCHESTER, b Oct 1853, m 13 Mar 1877, *MARY (Molly) BELOTE (b 3 Dec 1854). John and Mary's marriage is recorded at the Sumner Co Archive (Marr Bonds, Sumner Co). For more information on Mary Belote refer to paragraph following entries of the names of their children.
    John and his brother Bayless, orphaned in 1856, were deeded land near Cragfont by their grandmother, Susan Black Winchester in 1861. (This property lies east of Greenfield Lane and about a half mile north of TN Hwy 25, near Cragfont, Castalian Springs, near Gallatin, TN.) Bayless d at age four and John inherited his part. In Feb 1889, John deeded the 100 acres to his wife "for and in consideration of natural love and affection and for the further consideration of six hundred dollars". The reason for this transaction remains a secret, but they must have later sold a small part of the property, for in 1903, eighty five acres were sold. Mary Belote died a few months later on 16 Jul 1904. John moved in with some of his children in Nashville and he died there on 10 Jan 1920.

    ISSUE (Birth data is from 1900 census. Farrell data source unknown.):
    1. KATE WINCHESTER, b May 1878. (L. Farrell states 27 Nov 1875, but parents were marr in 1877??)
    2. WILLIAM WINCHESTER, d 1879.
    3. NANNIE MAY WINCHESTER, b Mar 1881. (L. Farrell states 17 May 1882.)
    4. FRANCIS MALVINA (MALLIE) MONTGOMERY WINCHESTER, b Apr 1888. (L. Farrell states 27 Dec 1885.) Mallie's name is intriguing. While looking into Sumner Co marriages, I found one for Malvina G. House and William N. Montgomery on 10 Jan 1850. Mallie's grandmother was Mary House and it is possible Malvina House was closely related to her.
    5. JAMES SWANEY WINCHESTER, b Jan 1889. (L. Farrell states 12 Aug 1888.)
    6. GEORGE WINCHESTER, b Feb 1891. (L. Farrell states 22 Aug 1892), d 1913, unmarried.


*MOLLY BELOTE

Henry Belote served in NC during the Revolutionary War. He and James Bentley left Bertie Co, NC, about 1796 and took their families to the area which became Sumner Co, TN, where Henry built a log house near the Cumberland River and established a ferry. Henry had married Harriet Bentley in 1782 in Bertie Co (Nottingham Monk, Bm, from Marriage Records of Bertie County North Carolina, 1762-1868, p7, compiled by Raymond Parker Fouts). Harriet was the daughter of John and Francis Bentley, and probably sister to James Bentley who accompanied Henry and Harriet to Sumner Co.
In Sumner Co Henry Belote prospered and raised a family. His will is dated 18 Feb 1827, proved May 1827 (Sumner County Will Abstract, 1788-1882). The will names grandsons James M. Swaney and Henry A. Belote; grandchildren Jeremiah, John, Sally Smith, and Clarissa (children of deceased son Jeremiah); granddau Elizabeth B. Swaney; James, Caroline, Mariah E., Henry, Mary M., and Patsy P. Swaney (children of John L. Swaney and Ann my dau); and Patsy Belote and John Ward are mentioned. A codicil was dtd 12 Mar 1827. Executors were John L. Swaney; William Cage, and Lucillius Winchester. Henry, his wife and members of their family are said to be buried in a Belote family cemetery near Belote's Bend in Sumner Co. A second Belote cemetery is located near the Bledsoe Pioneer Monument at Castalian Springs, TN. Henry Belote had at least three children:
  1. JEREMIAH BELOTE (Sr), probably b in Bertie Co, NC, m ______ Patton. Jeremiah's will is dtd 14 Sep 1816, proved Aug 1822 (Sumner County Will Abstract, 1788-1882). His children were Jeremiah Belote, b 1 Aug 1810, d 14 Mar 1881 (m 22 Dec 1829, Nancy M., Wilson, b 1812); JOHN L. BELOTE; Sally Belote (m a Smith); and Clarissa Ann Belote (12 Mar 1829, William W. Rutledge).
    JOHN L. BELOTE, b 11 Nov 1811, d 17 Apr 1894. He m Mary E.or L. ______ (b 9 Mar 1824, d 26 May 1866) and their children (1860 census & cem records) were George E. Belote, b 20 Apr 1848, d 2 Oct 1923; John C. Belote, b 4 Apr 1850, d 14 Dec 1885; William B. Belote, b ca 1852; MARY A. (MOLLIE) BELOTE, b 3 Dec 1854; and Kate (Catherine) Belote, b ca 1859 (m Samuel Wynne, b 1853). There may have been other children b after 1860. John L. Belote and his wife Mary are buried in the Belote cemetery near the Bledsoe Pioneer Monument at Castalian Springs.
    MOLLY BELOTE, b1854, d 16 Jul 1904. She m on 13 Mar 1877, JOHN H. WINCHESTER. The 1880 Sumner Co census lists George Belote (30), Richard Belote (28), Preston Belote (18), John Winchester (27), Mollie (25), Samuel (26) and Katie Wynne (20), Jo (23) and Willie (7) Shannon, and Dave Thompson (49). Richard, and Preston may also be sons of John L. Belote. I believe John and Mollie Winchester named their daughter Kate Winchester for Mollie's sister Kate Belote Wynne.

  2. JOHN BELOTE, b 19 Aug 1788, Bertie Co, NC, d 30 Aug 1826, will dtd 26 Aug 1826. John m Patsey _____, and their children were (under age and unnamed in John's will in 1826) Henry A. Belote, and Nancy Belote (may have m George Blackmore).

  3. ANN/ANNIE BELOTE, m 5 Feb 1806, John Lee Swaney (b 8 Dec 1779, or 81, d 30 Aug 1876). Their children were James M. Swaney (shown as a blacksmith in the 1850 census); Caroline Swaney; Mariah E. Swaney; Henry Swaney; Mary M. Swaney; Patsy P. Swaney; and Elizabeth B. Swaney.


  1. KATE WINCHESTER, b May 1878 (1900 census), in a log house near Cragfont, Castalian Springs, TN, d 2 Mar 1963 in Tucson, AZ, and is buried therein South Lawn Cem. She m (1) Sanborn Decker, 23 Nov 1900 (Marr Bond, Sumner Co, TN, Archive), lived in Gallatin. He was b in 1858, probably in Chemung Co, NY, d 21 Nov 1936, and is buried in Woodlawn Cem, Elmira, NY (Lot 157, section TT) alongside his daughter Minnie. In his early years he worked as a veterinarian and was a "jack-of-all-trades". After the births of four children, Kate and Sam moved to Waverly, NY, where they divorced before 1918. Kate married (2) Frank Mason in 1918.

    ISSUE:
    1. ROY DECKER
    2. WILLA DECKER, m a Walls and lived in Tucson, AZ.
    3. MINNIE ELIZABETH DECKER, b 27 Oct 1901. Minnie married Leon Arthur Kinney and they had two children, Robert Morris Kinney and Catherine N. Kinney. Robert Morris Kinney is the father of the compiler of this genealogy, Karel L. Kinney Whyte.
    4. MARGARET DECKER
    5. DONALD LLOYD MASON, b 1919.



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