Union Ridge Baptist Church--Bedford Co TN Deeds

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I discovered a deed on which W C Cook(my 2nd Gr Grpa) was a witness.  It had to do with lands for the Union Ridge Church.  Record loss for the period of 1850ish to the early 1860s makes that era difficult to research, so anytime I find something covering that time period it really helps.  There was an attempt made to record lost deeds in a notebook by the county clerk.  Another great help is a book published on that effort by Helen and Tim Marsh. 

Marsh, Helen C., and Tim R. Marsh. "The Burned Deed Index of Bedford County, Tennessee 1852-1861". Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1999. 

The deed book entry(Deed Book NNN pg 69) on which I found W C Cook as witness is written in very faint ink but it appears that it is an attempt to make sure that the original bargain of 1854 is on record.  I've listed notes below on the dates and persons mentioned.

Thomason & John Jordan  

To 

Deacons of Union Ridge:

Wm Elmore and R A Gantt 

Original Bargained on 7 Oct 1854

Witnessed on 6 Nov 1854 by
William C Cook

D A Elmore 

William Floyd

Signed:

W T Thomason

John Jordan

Noted on 7 Nov 1854 in Notebook #2 pg 32
Recorded the same day in Book VV pg 404-405
Act of 1865 Ch 28
Registered 28 April 1877
Recorded 30 April 1877

Source:  

"Bedford, Tennessee, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QY-K92B-L : accessed Mar 24, 2024), image 61 of 638; IGN 008567899; citing, Bedford Co. TN Deed Book NNN, p 69, Deed from W T Thomason & John Jordan to Wm Elmore  &  R. A Gantt-- Deacons of Union Ridge Baptist Church part of the Duck River Association

 

Deacons of Union Ridge:

James Jackson, A L Little, Jas H Elmore. and Bryant Landers

 to 

School Directors of Dist 10:

A T Thomason, J E Kimmons, and  W G Hight

Successors to Wm Elmore and R A Gantt

Original Bargained 13 June 1877

Witnesses:

J F Johnson

S B Hoskins

B R Thomason

Signed:

James K Jackson

A L Little

J H Elmore

B Landers

A J Thomason

Witnessed 3 Sept 1877

Noted 4 March 1878

Recorded 8 March 1878

Also mentioned in deed description is Mrs Jno B Knatt whose lands are North and West of the Union Ridge Church land.

Source:  

Bedford, Tennessee, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QY-K925-3 : accessed Mar 24, 2024), image 287 of 638; IGN 008567899; citing Deed Book NNN pg 518-519, deed James Jackson, A L Little Jas H Elmore & Bryant Landers(Deacons of Union Ridge) to A T Thomason & J E Kimmons and W G Height( School Directors)

Notes:  The ink of the first deed is so light that attempts to bring out the writing did not help as much as I had hoped.  

Further research on:  

• Elmore, Gantt, & Knatt families(also several others)
• Union Ridge Church(which I believe is now Rover Baptist) I haven't read anything on the church's history lately but I believe it had a number of record losses over the years.
• Act of 1865 Ch 28