Land Grant to Wm Harrison Mentioned in Bedford Co TN Deed

 I found a deed(E C Harrison to Wm Weaver) that was registered in Bedford Co TN Deed books(1851-1852) in 19 July 1850 though the indenture date was 13 Dec 1825.

The description mentions land Granted to William Harrison(640 acres on Alexander Creek)

"A Certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Bedford and State of Tennessee, in the Second District, Eleventh Section and said fourth Range. On the waters of Alexander's Creek. And being a part of a six hundred and forty Acre tract of land, Granted to William Harrison"

It wouldn't be the same as the Bounty Land listed in the pension papers for Wm & widow Elvira.  I would think that was federal and the 640 acres would be granted by the state of TN. 

I've contacted the TN State Archives and I'm awaiting their response which hopefully will point me in the right direction for finding out more about this grant.

Source:  Bedford Co Tennessee Deeds Book v. 1851-1852   p 55, E C Harrison to Wm Weaver; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKX-M84Z : accessed 21 October 2025), IGN 8150805, Image 532 of 848.[There is an index at the start of 1851-1852 though the vol is not named(image 486 of 848)]

Probate Records Revisited: New Discoveries on the Second Pass

Almost two years ago I blogged about some finds I made while reading thru the images for Franklin Co NC Will Book C at FamilySearch. I now have a copy of Franklin Co NC Will Books A, B & C 1785-1812 which contains abstracts by Dr. Stephen E Bradley, Jr. The book was originally published by ColonialRoots  publishing but is now a part of the selection of books available at Heritage Books Inc Looking thru the index of the published book I located two items of interest that I had missed on my readthrough.

1.  In the inventory and sale listing of Drewry Jones, Pope Cook is listed as having purchased 1 looking glass.

Source:
Franklin Co. North Carolina, Wills, Inventories, 1804-1812, Vol C, p 57, Inventory & sales of Drewry Jones estate; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-JZDS-F : accessed 16 Oct 2025), IGN 4755060, image 135 of 630.

2.  The inventory of Harbert Hight's estate records the division of the Negroes he enslaved. In that record it states that Goodman Smith on behalf of his wife Molly drew lot which contained Louis valued at $400. This is of interest to me because I found a record of Wm P Cook selling an enslaved man named Louis in 1821 Maury Co TN.  There is a great deal of interactions between the Smiths, Harrisons ,and Hights and while this could be a coincidence, it's  something I want to keep in mind especially since there are many of them among my family's DNA matches from our paternal side.

Source
Franklin Co. North Carolina Wills, Inventories, 1804-1812, Vol C, p 180, Division of Negroes Harbert Hight estate;  images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-JZND-9 : accessed 16 Oct 2025), IGN 4755060, image 383-4 of 630.

My 23&me Ancestry Composition Update

 Today I checked out my updated Ancestry Composition at 23&me.  No real surprises.  I have loads of Colonial American ancestry on both sides of my family.  Still, it's entertaining to see what locations my ancestors may have lived.

Petition for Settlement: Estate of William Cook

Newspaper notice 27th Dec 1845 of the Greensborough Patriot(NC)

State of North Carolina, Moore County.
Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions October Term, 1845.

Joseph, adm'r
of William Cook
vs.
David Cook & others               Petition for settlement

In this case it appearing to the satisfaction of the
Court that David Cook, Lydia Norvell, Martha and Coaly Hornsley, William P. Cook, defendants in this case, are not inhabitants of this State-- it is therefore ordered by the Court that publication be made as to them for six weeks in the Greensborough Patriot, for them to appear at the next term of this Court on the Fourth Monday of January, 1846, at the Court House in Carthage, and plead, answer or demur to the petition filed in this case or the same will be taken pro confesso and set for hearing, and heard ex parte as to them.

Witness, Alexander C. Curry, Clerk of our said Court at office the 4th Monday of October, A.D. 1845.
A.C. Curry, Clerk

More on the Bedford Co TN and Franklin Co NC connections

The Fall 2025 edition of the Bedford County Tennessee Quarterly is out and has an article about Revolutionary Veterans who were in Bedford County.  I was happy to see such a listing.  The article mentioned my 4th Great Grandfather, William Harrison noting that the info for his listing came from Texas DAR Roster.  I am baffled by the year of death they are showing  as 1816 so I'm trying to find the listing in the Texas DAR.  I found several who had joined under his service but they were all showing 1833 as the date of death.  There has been some confusion whether the month was Jan. or Jun., his year of death is 1833(given in widow, Elvira's pension file.)   William Harrison is enumerated in the 1830 census in Bedford Co. TN's  District 9 surrounded by family.  He is mentioned on the 1835 listing of pensioners but as having died in 1833.  His listing is under Rutherford County but the age would imply that it is him since he was born about 1749.  Rutherford County was over the county line just north of where he was in 1830. Since this was from a file

WILLIAM HARRISON

RUTHERFORD COUNTY
LIEUTENANT
NORTH CAROLINA CONT'L LINE
$240.00 ANNUAL ALLOWANCE
$2,424.66 AMOUNT RECEIVED
OCTOBER 6, 1820 PENSION STARTED
AGE 84
DIED JUNE 22, 1833

Source:  http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/statewide/military/warof1812/pensions/pen1835.txt

The is a deed between Thomas Callen and Jackson Lile in Bedford County TN Deed Book FF page 159 in October of 1834 that mentions Harrison in the land description in reference to a nearby tract. Specifically it says "beginning at a Black Oak & Dogwood near South of the place old man Harrison lived & died."  I'd really like to get this all figured out and find out where he is buried as well.

It's also worth noting that Jackson Lyle/Lile mentioned in the deed likely is connected to the Jackson Lyle who was in the Franklin Co NC Tax lists.

I need to look further into the females within the families as their might be a connection. Also need to work the deeds for Franklin Co NC.

Sources:  

Bedford County Tennessee Deeds v. EE-GG Sep 1834-Apr 1838,  images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK6-13CW-W : accessed 16 September 2025), IGN 8150803,  image 361 of 819; citing Bedford County TN Deed Book FF page 160.

Carolyn Smotherman, “Revolutionary War Veterans in Bedford County, Tennessee,” The Bedford County Historical Quarterly 51, no. 3 (2025): 80–91.

My Memories of Living in Charlotte, Tennessee in the mid-1970s

I don't have a lot of memories from my childhood.  I probably used a good bit of that space to store 1980s song lyrics. When I started first grade in the fall of 1974, my family was renting a home from Ray and Rebecca Taylor on Liberty Road in Charlotte, Tennessee. At that time, kindergarten was not required, so I went directly into first grade.

The house we rented no longer exists. It was torn down around 1976 when the Taylors built their new home farther back on the same lot. The property is now addressed as 1171 Liberty Road. The older home sat to the right of the driveway near the front of the property, shaded by a few trees.

I remember several details about that place. A drain or gully ran along the yard, carrying off wash water. Wild apricots grew there, and my family planted a small garden to the right of the house. I loved running through the garden rows. Feral cats roamed the property—we named them Sluggo, Nancy, and Rare-Back. To the left of the driveway stood a tree with moss at its base. I used the moss to build tiny towns and lawns, with acorns serving as cars.

Because the house was surrounded by fields, ticks were a constant problem. We also heard mice and flying squirrels stirring around in the attic.

I was in Ms. Rachel Weaver’s first grade class at Charlotte Elementary, where Bill Caldwell served as principal. I rode Mr. Petty’s bus to school—possibly bus number 37.

In the fall of 1975, we moved from Charlotte to a house in the Spanish Oaks subdivision located in the Pomona community. At the time, I was in Mrs. Elliot’s second grade class at Charlotte Elementary. Since Pomona was then part of the Burns school district, I transferred to Mrs. C Richardson’s 2nd grade class at Burns Elementary. In that class they used a color coded reading program which I think was called SRA. I really loved these. 

About two years later, the school district lines were redrawn, and Pomona was placed in the Dickson district. From that point on, I attended Dickson Elementary, James E. Sullivan Middle School, Dickson Junior High School, and Dickson County Senior High. We remained in Spanish Oaks until the fall of 1986.