Allen line: John Campbell of Madison County, Kentucky inventory

As far as I know, my ancestor John Campbell died in Madison County, Kentucky in 1806.  I believe he was dead before Lemuel Dunn married Sarah (Sally) Campbell in 1809 because Jane Garvin Campbell, John's widow, gave written permission for Sarah to be married then, even though Sarah was about 20 years old at the time.  I had found this document on FamilySearch but it was a real thrill to actually hold the original handwritten note in my hands this past week.  (Incidentally, the ink was as clear and the handwriting as legible as if it had been written 9 years ago, not 209 years ago).  I have always been puzzled as to why no will for John Campbell can be found.  I still don't know the answer to that question, but on a brief trip to Richmond, Kentucky this past week I found an inventory for him.  It answers some questions and poses a whole set of new questions, and unless I get to go back to Richmond (not likely) I don't know how many answers I will find. 


The first part to the inventory is an actual listing of John Campbell's inventory.  No land is listed and I have never found a record that he owned land, so I am going with the idea that he was either a tenant farmer or had some kind of trade, or both.  I've found several John Campbell's in early tax records but can't say which is ours for certain.  At any rate, the farm animals he had would be considered the minimum to farm.  Most of what he had was farm implements, household guns, a rifle, and a few things that may indicate he had more than the usual amount of nuts, bolts, gudgeons, and other metal items.  He had 20 kegs, listed after the rifle, and they were valued at $17.00.  Were these kegs of whiskey, or were they empty kegs that he hoped to sell, or what?  I don't yet know.  The last three items on the inventory may be revealing.  He had a bond "on" Joseph Barnett for $50, cash in hand of $135, and one bond on "Ken Hutchison in Virginia" of $52. 

Purchasing items at the sale were Schuyler Barnett, David McWilliams, Ralph Allen (several items), Jane Campbell (who purchased several items including a bed and other items necessary for housekeeping), Samuel Glasgow, James McCormack, Thomas Reid (several items), John Campbell (possibly a son), Samuel Ervine, Hugh Kilpatrick, Wiley Wood, David McAlexander, Lemuel Dunn (son-in-law) and William Brok (?).  There is no mention of what happened to the cash or the bonds. 

The inventory was signed by Jane Campbell as administratrix, and ordered recorded on the 5th day of November, 1810.

I have several questions.  Besides the question of land ownership, or at least where John lived, I would like to understand why the inventory wasn't filed until four and a half years after John died.  There were children born in 1797 and 1799, who would have been too young to have been considered an adult in 1810.  (I haven't located guardianship papers and they may, if found, hold some answers to this question). Was Jane perhaps preparing to move to Mercer County, Ky with Lemuel and Sarah Dunn and perhaps others of her family?  I would like to understand why there were at least four "bands" that were sold separately, and what the kegs represented, and whether gudgeons would have played into this in any way.  I would like to know what some of the words are in the inventory that I am not sure I am reading correctly.  I'd still like to know where John is buried, but perhaps if the FAN club (names listed above) helps me locate some of these people,  I'll have a better idea of that. 

I love to research at courthouses and I am truly grateful for the unexpected time I was able to spend there.  I have been at a dead end in researching John for quite some time and now I have clues to follow, and more thoughts to think.  I'll be working on these questions for a while yet and will update or write another blog post if I make any more breakthroughs!

The line of descent is:

John Campbell-Jane Garvin
Sarah Campbell-Lemuel Dunn
Margaret J Dunn-Archibald Allen
George R Allen-Nancy McCoy
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen and Holbrook lines: Actively pursuing, too (AKA brick walls)

My last post was about the people who are still in hiding in the Beeks and Harshbarger lines.  Today I'll write about the folks I'm still looking for in the Allen and Holbrook lines. Some of these people I have already written about, but I'm putting them all in one place for my own benefit as much as for anyone else's.  I do truly hope that someone, somewhere knows something about some of our missing people. Again, these are third and fourth grandparents for my generation.  Without further ado, here are the "Elusive Eight": 

Allen line: 

James Allen apparently dropped out of the sky and landed in Goochland County, Virginia.  We first hear of him in 1755, when his son Richard was born, in St James Northam Parish. We know he was married to Sarah Croudas (various spellings), and we know he died in 1801.  He owned land around Licking Creek Hole, I think (not sure it was the same James Allen.  He and Sarah had nine children: Richard, Martha, James, Mary May, George, William, Sally, Susannah, and Elizabeth.  His will can be found on the Library of Virginia website.  He left everything to his wife, Sarah, and when she died it all went to his children.  Based on the 1755 birthdate of Richard, James could have been born from 1725 to 1735, so I'm guessing about 1730. 

Mary Hill was married on January 20, 1761 to Moses Parrish.  She was probably born around 1742, but I don't know who her parents were. There were three marriages in this time period between Parrishes and Hills, but so far I have not been able to tie them together.  This couple may have lived in Louisa County or in Goochland County, Virginia. There were 6 known children.  Mary is my hero because of the life she had to live while her husband was fighting in the Revolutionary War for at least three years, so I'd like to honor her by learning more about her.

Michael Dunn is pretty much a total mystery. The one known fact about him is that he had a son named Lemuel who died in 1829.  Michael is believed to have fought in the Revolutionary War, and is thought to have been born in Virginia although of Irish ancestry.  He may have lived in the Henry County, Virginia area in the early 1780's. 

John Campbell is supposed to have been born in Pennsylvania in about 1760.  He married Jane Garvin, who was Irish, but I don't know if she was born there.  They had 6 children together.  John died in Madison County, Kentucky in 1806 and Jane died 50 years later, in 1856 in Putnam County, Indiana.  Both John and Jane are on my "missing" list.

In the Holbrook line, I have three missing ancestors.  I've written about two of them previously.

James Lamphire (various spellings) was born in 1773, somewhere in the world.  He married Hannah Eames in 1796 in Bozrah, Connecticut.  They had 6 children together.  James was married to a second wife, Susan Roster, when he died in 1847 in Cazenovia, Madison County, New York. 

Sarah Goodnough (spelled any number of different ways, probably) may have been an ancestor. Or the one I'm looking for may be Lydia M. unknown maiden name.  Both of these ladies were married to Jude Foster, but it's not clear who the mother of his five children were. Maybe it's more specific to say I'm looking for Betsy Foster's mother.  Jude Foster was a Revolutionary War soldier who died less than a month after his pension was finally approved in 1789.  I believe I am looking for people in Rowe or Western, Massachusetts.

And finally and always, there's Molly Wright.  The lady who haunts my dreams was born in 1759, married Amariah Holbrook in 1779, had 7 children, and died in 1845 in Bellingham, Massachusetts.  Of all my missing ancestors, she tugs at my heart and calls to me. 

It would be a happy dance day indeed if someone can help me with any of these people.  It's not likely that I will ever be able to travel to Virginia, or Massachusetts, or Connecticut, to look in person through old records to try to give these people a birth family.  It's also unlikely that I will be able to pay for research help.  I will of course keep looking, learning, and hoping, but a nudge from someone who knows something would certainly be welcome.