|
a.
|
Note: ge Washington Forrester (1803-1896) was the son of John Forrester, Jr., and he was the son of John Forrester, Sr.
***
Initial research suggested (erroneously) that Geo. W.'s parents might have been Jeremiah "Jerry" or "John" and Anna (Fisher) Forrester of Barren Co. and Harlan Co., KY. Jeremiah was born about 1774 or 1776 in Surry Co. or Wilkes Co., North Carolina; he married Ann Fisher in 1794 in Surry Co., NC, and died 23 Feb. 1852 in Harlan Co., KY.
This "Jerry" Forrester was the son of Thomas and Mildred (Glen) Forrester of Surry Co., NC; Thomas was the son of John and Ann (Ashley) Forrester who were very early settlers in what is now Orange Co., NC. Brief research indicates that these Forresters may have come to North Carolina from Virginia, Pennsylvania, or even Maryland. The family is most likely of Scottish, or perhaps English, extraction.
***
However, extensive research by Mrs. Troyer indicates that George Washington Forrester (1803-1896) was the son of John Forrester, originally of Virginia, but later of Mercer Co. and Barren Co., Kentucky, who died in 1845. He is LIKELY the same John Forrester who married Sally Quisenberry 19 July 1797 in Fauquier Co., VA.
This John Forrester had a son named Zachariah who died before 1852 (perhaps before 1845), leaving three young children. One was Sarah, over 14, who chose as her guardian Samuel W. Harbison (who had married Mary "Polly" Forrester, daughter of John, and hence Mary "Polly" was the orphans' aunt). Zachariah's other two children, Mary and Zachariah, Jr., were also made wards of their uncle Samuel Harbison, until his death in 1856, after which time, George W. Forrester of Scotland Co., MO was appointed their guardian.
Another child of John Forrester was Elizabeth Forrester who married James Foster in 1822 (bond posted in 1819) in Barren Co., KY. James Foster was later surety when bond was posted in 1827 for the marriage of George W. Forrester and Mary Myers.
John Forrester (d. 1845) left a will which names his children. His estate was probated in Barren Co., KY.
***
There is only one man named John Forester listed in the 1820 census of Barren Co., KY, although father and son of the same name seem to have been residing there at the same time. No other Forrester/Forester/Forrister/Forister is found in Barren Co. in the 1820 census. It is safe to assume that they were living in the same household. In that household in 1820, there are 2 males aged 45 and upwards and 2 females aged 45 and upwards. One interesting item on the census is the fact that four foreigners, not naturalized, were living in the John Forrester household. If our induction is correct, these would have been John, Sr., his wife Mary, and John, Jr. and his wife. This would seem to indicate that neither father nor son was born in America and that they immigrated sometime between 1771 and 1776. If so, the elder John would have been married and the son would have been a child when they arrived in Virginia.
In the 1830 census, the John Forrester household consists of one male aged between 50 and 60 and 1 female aged between 50 and 60; one male under 5 (Samuel), one male 5 to 10 (Thomas), one male 10 to 15 (Zechariah or Washington), 1 male 15 to 20 (William), one male 20 under 30 [the same unknown male 10 to 15 in 1820 census].
John's maximum age in 1830 would be 59, and the minimum would be 55 since he was over 45 in 1820. Thus we can project a birth date of 1771 to 1775. The handwritten note from Arminta Forrester, granddaughter of George W. Forrester, states that George was Scotch-Irish. So it fits that the Forrester family immigrated from Scotland or Ireland between 1771 and 1776.
The 1830 census for Barren Co., KY shows:
James Forrester, John Forrester, Bartlett Foster, Jas. Foster, John Foster, Lucy Foster
***
On the web site of Laura Civey, she has transcribed a legal document on the murder of George W. Church. In the body of this transcription the following is noted:
"Further summons were issued: To Roland Staples, Thomas Church, Sarah Ann Staples [Roland's wife, Milly Berry Church's sister], James Forrister [Parks T. Forrester's father], and Wm Griffin on behalf of the Commonwealth [of Kentucky] Aug. 25, 1832.
"To John Forrister, Jr., John Spriggs, Daniel Spencer and Nathaniel Forbes (neighbor to George Church, whose children married into the Shader family) on behalf of the Commonwealth [of Kentucky] Aug. 25, 1832."
***
The Will of John Forrester
Barren Co., KY Will Book 3, Pages 50-51:
I, John Forrester of Barren County, Kentucky, do hereby constitute make and ordain this as my last will and testament revoking all others by me heretofore made.
1st I desire all my just debt to be paid. 2nd I desire and will that my daughter Martha and my two sons Samuel & Thomas shall have all my land, except the Mill tract, to be owned and held jointly by them, the Mill tract containing about twelve acres.
3rd I will and desire that my daughters Martha and Polly and my two sons Samuel and Thomas, shall have the following horses, one to each at their valuation, viz, Black Jim, Waxey, Priss and Fan.
4th I will and desire that my Mill tract of land, stalls, tubs to all of my stock of hogs, sheep, cattle, horses and farming tools, and all my personal estate of every description and negro man be sold and the proceeds to be equally divided between my children viz. James, Elizabeth, Polly, William, George, Zacheus, and Washington.
5th, I will and desire that my executor or whoever may take upon them the discharge of the duties of this will, shall convey the title to the Mill tract when sold.
6th I will and desire that my property be sold on a credit of twelve months.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 24th day of April 1845.
Barren County set May Term 1845
The foregoing writing purporting to be the last will of John Forrester dec'd was produced in court and proven in due form of law by the oath of Thomas J. Helm and Benedict B. Crump subscribing witnesses thereto. Whereupon the same was ordered to be recorded as the true last will of said John Forrester dec'd. Att Tho J. Helm CBCC
***
It is likely but unconfirmed that John Forrester, Jr. is the same who married Sally Quisenberry 19 Jul 1797 in Fauquier Co., VA
It seems that John's first wife died by 1822 and that he married second Mary Willis that year and had three more children. The three children by the second marriage are treated differently in John's will.
John's will names the following ten children (some birth dates estimated):
(by first wife, probably Sally Quisenberry)
James (b. abt. 1798)
Mary "Polly" (1800-1890)
George W. (1803-1896)
Elizabeth (b. abt. 1804)
William M. (1810-1870)
Zachariah/Zacheus (d. abt. 1852)
Washington (probably youngest of the first marriage)
(by second wife, Mary Willis)
Martha (b. 1823)
Samuel (b. abt. 1825)
Thomas (b. 1826)
***
In 1832, "John Forrester, Jr." was summoned to appear during the case of the Commonwealth vs. Albert Berry, a murder trial for the death of one George Washington Church. Many people were summoned for the case, and the main witness was one Rolland Steeples (sic, the Staples family apparently were renting from the Church family.) See:
http://lauracivey.tripod.com/Church.html
Laura Stewart Civey
7591 CR 109G
Lady Lake, Florida 32159
e-mail: lauracivey@@earthlink.net
It is very curious why John Forrester would be referred to as "Jr." in 1832 if there was not an elder man by that name residing in the county. He may have been called Jr. to distinguish him from his father, but if the elder had died prior to 1832, this would not have been necessary. And so we are left with the possibilities that John Forrester, Sr. was still living in 1832 (at which time he would have been about 93), or that there was another John Forrester (younger than John, b. 1770s) in the area, perhaps a nephew; otherwise, John Forrester was called "Jr." even after his father died. The only other possibility is that there was a son of John and Sally (Quisenberry) Forrester who was still living in 1832 but died without issue before his father wrote his will in 1845; however, we have no other reason to suspect that John Forrester (1770s-1845) had a son named John.
***
I have noticed a few mentions of one John Forrester (it is unclear how or if he might be related) who was involved in trading slaves, and was even implicated in kidnapping free blacks and selling them into slavery between southern Illinois and Kentucky. These mentions were as early as 1809 and as late as 1825.
"... a black woman named Lotty [was] kidnapped by John Forrester from her home in Hamilton Co., Illinois. John Lockhart wrote a letter to Shawneetown lawyer Henry Eddy about the kidnapping. Working alongside Lotty‘s husband in his investigation, Lockhart described a network of houses where the kidnapped woman had been taken and hid across the Ohio River in Kentucky. ..." (John Lockhart to Henry Eddy. May 4, 1830. Eddy MSS. Illinois Historical Survey. University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Quoted in: Underground Railroad Network to Freedom / Application Form for The Old Slave House near Equality, Illinois, July 14, 2004. See: http://www.illinoishistory.com/osh-ugrr-app-2-20.pdf)
"A letter in the Henry Eddy manuscript collection [Illinois Historical Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana] tells how John Forrester stole one [black] woman from Hamilton County and took her to Union County, Kentucky. In it, the letter writer relates the woman's story of being taken to that state and moved from "house to house" in an attempt to keep her hidden. This implies an organized network of kidnappers, an effort apparently as well or better organized than the Underground Railway. The letter also proves that the victims were held in homes. In Gallatin County, [Illinois] legend identifies at least two such houses: Crenshaw's Hickory Hill plantation home and a mansion on Sandy Ridge south of Shawneetown. In the second house the victims were kept in cells in the basement and likely chained to large iron rings that were set into the basement walls in each cell. ..."
"In 1825, [John Hart] Crenshaw, John Forrester and Preston W. Davis were indicted for kidnapping. We know because Crenshaw sued Davis four years later to get him to pay his part of the defense attorney's fees. However no more is known." (History comes out of hiding atop Hickory Hill, By JON MUSGRAVE -- published in Springhouse Magazine. See: http://www.illinoishistory.com/osharticle.html)
"Another case completely developed from court records is that of Venus Davenport. The Gallatin County Slave Register presents a detailed account of the kidnapping of Venus, a former slave and indentured servant who was free, but kidnapped by her former master and taken and sold in New Orleans. After a Louisiana court recognized her freedom, she returned to Gallatin County and filed the court documents into the slave registry to establish her freedom. Venus was born into slavery in South Carolina around the year 1795. At a young age she was taken to Kentucky. Her master at that time is not known. That master sold her to John Stanley who took her to Illinois while the area of Gallatin County was part of Knox County, Indiana Territory. Stanley sold Venus as a slave to John Forrester who sold her to John Rayburn. He, in turn, followed territorial law, recognized her freedom and signed a 21-year indenture with her. This all took place prior to, or in the year, 1809. Sometime during this year she met for the first time a young white settler named Emanual Ensminger who lived in Shawneetown. Two decades later Ensminger rescued Venus by taking her case to court. ..." (Black Kidnappings in the Wabash and Ohio Valleys of Illinois, By JON MUSGRAVE. See: http://www.illinoishistory.com/blackkidnappings.html)
These mentions probably refer to John Forrester (1782-1856) who lived in present day Gallatin County, Illinois. Petitions dated 1809 and 1811 signed by a number of early settlers in southern Illinois, including John Forrester, asked for land grants. He apparently lived in or near Old Shawneetown, and was buried in Westwood Cemetery (sometimes known as Street cemetery in early records, located between Old and New Shawneetown. It is about 3/4 mile NE, of New Shawneetown, and is on a hill beautifully cared for. It is a well known cemetery in this part of the state. In Gold Hill Township, Section 24, T9S R9E.)
This John is probably the same who had a wife named Martha and a son named William Forrester (1811-1861). William was buried in Buck Cemetery (located in Shawnee Township, 2 miles N of Old Shawneetown on the Round Pond road, on a high hill. The cemetery is deserted and very much overgrown. Located in Section 17, T9S R10E. The land for this cemetery was entered by Warner Buck in 1815. It is one of the older cemeteries in county.)
(See: CEMETERIES of Gallatin County, Illinois, BOOK 1: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~davidca/Gall-cem/Book1.htm)
Note: Research by Madeline Troyer of Sugar Creek, Ohio, shows that "our" Geor
|
