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

 

Wm C Cook Bedford Co. TN District 10(1846)

FamilySearch had an experimental search of the United States Wills and Deeds that they were testing some weeks back.  I hope that they will make that available again soon even if it is just the search portion and not the transcription.  While it was live I found a number of items quickly that it would have taken me months and even years to find without access to this type of search. Not knowing how long the search would be available, I collected my results in a Google Doc.   

One of the great finds was a Deed with Nathan Jackson selling 42 acres to Absalom Power in 1846. The land was located in Bedford Co TN District 10 and its description list the neighbors.

Bounded as follows
On the East by Wm C Cook
On the South by Ivy Phillips
On the West by John Scott
On the North by Samuel Jackson.

I've been having issues with the regular search at FamilySearch for awhile now and this one(while experimental) was more productive in it's time live, than the regular search function at FamilySearch has been in a long time.  This tool would be a real time saver for researchers attempting neighborhood reconstruction.  

Source:  

"Bedford County, Tennessee deed books and index, 1808-1966," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QY-KSRH-F : accessed 28 August 2023), Deeds v. OO-QQ Jan 1845-May 1849, Film # 476362( DGS 8567893) image 228 of 775; imaged by Tennessee Dept. of Education, Nashville, 1965.

1840 Bedford Co TN--Dist 10

The 1840 US Federal Census for Bedford County TN's  Dist. 10 was enumerated in two separate halves so it makes it kind of hard to follow but not impossible.  We really need to look at that district because we won't see a census listing for it until 1860.  District 10 Rover pages are missing/lost from Bedford Co TN's entries for 1850.  I used the "tallying" part of the 1840 Bedford Co TN census pages to find where the two sections were and have listed the pages with links below.  It's easier to find at FamilySearch and free so I have the links from there.  You will need to be logged in to view but registration is free as is viewing once you are logged in.  At Ancestry there is a Warren Co Pennsylvania District listing at the first part if you browse to Bedford Co. TN for 1840 which is confusing.  

1840 US Federal Census of Bedford Co TN Dist. 10 1st half p. 42-45

Image 92-pg 42a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-92Z1?i=91&cc=1786457
Image 93-pg 42b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-927X?i=92&cc=1786457

Image 94-pg 43a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-92WK?i=93&cc=1786457
Image 95-pg 43b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-92QZ?i=94&cc=1786457

Image 96-pg 44a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTB-9GR6?i=95&cc=1786457
Image 97-pg 44b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-92WJ?i=96&cc=1786457

Image 98-pg 45a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTB-9P9N?i=97&cc=1786457
Image 99-pg 45b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-92WF?i=98&cc=1786457

1840 US Federal Census of Bedford Co TN Dist. 10 2nd half p. 52-54

Image 115-pg 52a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-923G?i=114&cc=1786457
Image 116-pg 52b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-9245?i=115&cc=1786457

Image 117-pg 53a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTB-92SG?i=116&cc=1786457
Image 118-pg 53b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTB-9G5M?i=117&cc=1786457

Image 119-pg 54a https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTB-9GFD?i=118&cc=1786457
Image 120-pg 54b https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTB-9G16?i=119&cc=1786457