yesterday's tennessee

HERRIN FAMILY SKETCHES AND COMMENTARIES - Benton Co. TN

(Three sketches posted on Prodigy by Sandra Joyner, with public commentary) (from the research notes of Francis Thomas)

Please note that the following info is as it appeared in the "Benton County - Families & Histories" book just released. Please understand the information is submitted by persons having an interest in the above names. No references were given as to how the info was obtained.

 

HERRIN-ABIMLICK

Wm. Elisha HERRIN brought his family to the Rushing Creek Settlement before 1795, making him one of the earliest settlers in what is now Benton Co. traveling through the Cumberland Gap along the southern fork of the Wilderness Rd. to Fort Nashboro & then farther west to the TN. River was no accident. They left the Kings Mtn. area of N.C. to join family members who were establishing a new community at Rushing Creek. Joseph RUSHING, a founding settler of the new community, was married to Wm. Elisha's sister, the former Emily HERRIN.

Ties between the HERRIN-RUSHING families began in VA & N.C. Colonies. Early records from Isle of Wight Co., VA. show both families in that area since 1715. At that time HERRIN was spelled "HERRING" and RUSHING was "RUSSIAN". Past these early connections & the marriage of Emily HERRIN to Joseph RUSHING, three of Wm. Elisha's children married RUSHING family members.

Wm. Elisha was b. at Herrin's Grove or Herrin's Creek in the disputed area of Kings Mtn., N.C. on July 7, 1730. He is the oldest fully documented Patriarch of this family branch. His parents are believed to have come to the Colonies from Wales even though the actual family origins are in the Black Forest region of So. Germany around Herrenalb.

On May 5, 1765, Elisha was m. to Mary Agniss ABIMLICK. Mary Agniss was b. in N.C. on Oct. 2, 1735, but no information is available concerning her parents. The couple had eleven children, all of whom migrated to W. TN.

Following Elisha's military service with Gen. Sumpter's S.C. Brigrade during the Rev. War, the couple migrated to the new lands west of the Appalacian's. They acquired over 400 ac. of farm land in Humphrey Co. and land belong to family members on all sides.

The couples children were: Thos. Jasper who m. Sophia RUSHING; Nancy Ann who m. Benj. HANSIL; Mary Agniss who m. Wm. RYAN; Martha Ruth who m. James BAKER; John William who m. Martha BOYD; James Elisha who m. Sarah RUSHING; Rachel Leah who m. Wm. EVANS; Issac Noah who m. Mary HARPER; Sarah Jane who m. Abel RUSHING; Caleb Abimlick who m. Sarah McWHORTER; and Margaret Louisa who d. in childhood.

Wm. Elisha d. May 11, 1803 at the age of 73 and is buried at Lick Creek Cemetery. Mary Agniss d. Sept 3, 1825 at the age of 89 & is buried in the family plot at Rushing Creek Cemetery. Both died while Rushing Creek was part of Humphreys Co., but this pioneer family descendants were among the first residents of Benton Co. Their progeny numbers well over 1,200 direct descendants, many still living in this area.

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TO: SANDRA JOYNER (TNGJ30B)

FROM: FRANCES ABERNATHY (NWBN22A)

SUBJECT: RUSHING

Sandy, thanks so much for posting the Herrin "connections". I have quite a big problem with a number of statements in it however. I don't believe for a minute that at age 50-55 he goes to SC to fight in the Rev. That looks mightily like someone trying for DAR membership put it together. And THEN at age 65 he goes west into Indian Territory, in 1795. If he did go during that timeframe, he would have needed a passport to the Western Territory which would be on file in

Nashville in the archives. That area was not opened up for white settlement until 1821, although a few snuck over the river in 1817-1821 timeframe, incl my Swor's, but they had permission because there was a surveyor among them. Also King's Mountain area was subject of several Indian massacres I believe. Maybe wf ABIMILICK was a Cherokee, which might have gotten him permission to live in Indian Territory in W TN--One or more of the Swor's also had an Indian wf. Anyway it's an interesting story with prob. 95% true. Fran A.

 

TO: FRANCES ABERNATHY (NWBN22A)

FROM: SANDRA JOYNER (TNGJ30B)

SUBJECT: RUSHING

Fran: I noticed the time difference too, even while I was typing it! If you just had the names & addresses of the persons who submitted it, added to the bottom of the article, you could contact them to compare notes. Oh, well we can't have everything we would like, I guess. <g> But it sure would be nice. Sandy

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HERRIN-MCWHORTER

Caleb Abimlick HERRIN, youngest son of Wm. Elisha & Mary Agniss HERRIN, was b. 13 July 1789 near Herrin Grove in the Kings Mtn. area of N.C. His family migrated to the Rushing Creek area when he was quite young so he probably considered himself a native of W. TN.

As a young man, he went to the Nashville area with two of his cousins, Beverly and Lemuel HERRIN, and there he met & married Sarah MCWHORTER on Sept. 2, 1810. Sarah's aprents were Jeremiah & Sarah MCWHORTER of Nashville & she was b. Dec. 27, 1790, one of none children.

Abimlick & Sarah lived in the Nashville area for the first 10 yrs. of their marriage & 5 of their 12 children were born there. Also during the Nashville years, Abimlick, and Capt. McADAM's Nashville Co. during the War of 1812.

The returned to Rushing Creek after 1820 & lived there the remainder of their lives. Land records show them acquiring over 200 ac. of land under the "Homestead" acts but they bought and sold large amts. of land in Humphreys & Benton Cos. Their "homeplace", however, always remained in the midst of the HERRIN family land at Rushing Creek.

Four of Abimlick & Sarah's sons migrated from Rushing Creek to present day Webster Co., KY. in 1846 to join other family members who had settled along the Shawnee Trace.

Three of the young men married daughters of Wm. WATSON, who led the wagon train to KY., creating another large group of inter-related families. Descendants of these children were instrumental in settling large areas of So. ILL. & W. KY. Their progeny still live in these areas but are well aware of the W. TN. heritage.

The children of Abimlick & Sarah were: Eunice d. as a young woman; Beverly who m. Sarah WATSON; James E.; John D.; Abimlick Wesley who m. Eliz. WATSON; Geo. Washington who m. Sarah CREWS; Nancy who m. her cousin, Abner C. HERRIN; Enoch C. who m. Polly Ann WATSON; Alexander who d. as a youth; Wm. Allen who m. Martha WISEMAN; & Oliver who died in childhood.

The records of Abimlick & Sarah's family was preserved in old songbook published in 1711 in Scotland & titled "Songs of David" and in an old family Bible kept by Abimlick's sister, Rachel (HERRIN) EVANS. Both of these books remain available to those interested in heritage.

Caleb Abimlick d. 73 yrs. to the day after his birth on July 13, 1862, & Sarah MCWHORTER HERRIN d. Sept 1, 1864. They are buried in the family plot in Rushing Creek Cemetery along with their son, John D. & other family members.

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TO: SANDRA JOYNER (TNGJ30B)

FROM: FRANCES ABERNATHY (NWBN22A)

SUBJECT: RUSHING

Sandy, you should feel proud of the item(s) you submitted, if these are examples of the ones in the book--bet you didn't have any 54-year old woman bearing children. Notice that prev. note says Mary Agniss Abimlick was b. 2 Oct 1835 and this one says her son was b. 1789. I think the story of them going back and forth betw Nashville and Humphreys Co/Benton Co was just an effort by some genealogist to try to prove these folks were the "earliest" in Benton Co. I think they prob. lost a generation in their travels, maybe in or around Fort Nashboro BEFORE they headed to W TN. Bizarre.

Nearly all of the DAR info claims it is documented in some family book. I saw with my own eyes at the DAR library pages out of a family Bible which claimed to be contemporaneous scribed family records spanning about 150 years and the ALL were in the same handwriting and the same ink.

Like I say, Sandy. Any mistakes you made were honest errors. Not like this. Be proud. Regards, Fran A.

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HERRIN-LOCKHART

Ephriam Homer HERRIN was b. Feb. 6, 1876 son of Thos. Beverly "Tubby" HERRIN (Feb. 4, 1845 to June 1930) & Fredonia Ann LOCKHART (8143 to 1922). They were married Oct. 28, 1866 & the HERRIN family is of Scotch Irish decent.

Among the children b. to them were Dollie Ann (7-11-18970 to 1-29-1943). She m. Harrison Lafayette LOCKHART Dec. 21, 1892 and he d. Nov. 6, 1940. Delia HERRIN youngest child married Joe BAIN & later moved to East Prarie, Mo. where she d. in April of 1949 & is buried there. A brother, Richard "Bud" HERRIN was b. 7-7-1872 to 3-24-1957. His wife was Bertha BERRY (7-18-1875) to 9-15-1964. Both are buried in Rushings Creek Cemetery. Their dad "Tubby" HERRIN later seperated from Fredonia & she lived alone for several years near Bud & Bertie near the Bain community. Tubby was a wanderlust type of person who served with the Confederate So. Army in Capt. Barbee's Co. In a letter written to the Board of Pensions he stated he was sworn into Nathan Bedford Forrest's unit in Dec. 1863 for 12 mos. & he furnished his own horse, clothes and money, & did not draw any money or suit of clothes from the Confedate gov. & began service as a recruit in Nov. 1863. In Sept of 1864 their company was detailed & sent behind enemy lines to Benton Co., their home, by Gen. Forrest to spy & plan how he could get the enemy at Ft. Henry & Johnsonville. They did this work in Oct. of 1863 & Tubby reported they gave Forrest a map & plan how to get to the river above & below Johnsonville. They did this work in Oct of 1863 & Tubby stated Gen. Forrest fixed them in Nov. He says that after Forrest had gone up the Tn. river from Ft. Hymen to Johnsonville, Tubby reported to his company on a hill near Eva, & the river at Johnsonville was a blaze of burning boats. About Christmas of 1864 his horse was taken from him by some of our scouts where Big Sandy is now & he was given a job watching gov. property at Blanting Mill in Henry Co. Later, Tubby rode & walked around the countryside selling wares. His son Ephriam HERRIN m. Ida LOCKHART (1843 to 1913), dau. of Troy & Myrtle LOCKHART. To this union was b. 3 daus., Chloe (1904-1984) m. Robt. Anderson MCMURTRY. They had 4 children, Elwanda, Marcelle, Mildred, & Bobby. Audry b. 1906 m. John FRENCH & they had 1 dau. Billa Jean. Mary Emma m. Purcelle DOUGLAS & they had 1 dau. Eldred. The HERRINS lived in the Bakers Chapel community having donated land for a small school bldg. Some of the children would help Mrs. Ida pick cotton at recess. One of the students from that little school remembers that Mrs. Ida had beautiful dark red hair. She d. of childbirth with twins (boy & girl) who d. one day apart. They were buried in the mother's arms in a coffin. She remembers that Mr. Eph, her husband, said "There is my angel". He never remarried. They were buried in Bakers Chapel Cemetery. His mother Fredonia "Granny" moved in to help care for the family & she lived with them until her death from heart dropsy in March of 1922. She is also buried in Bakers Chapel Cem. Thos. Beverly HERRIN "Tubby" is buried at Rushings Creek Cem. Ephriam's dau. Chole & family lived with him for several yrs. He suffered a stroke & d. Christmas Day 1944, & is buried at Bakers Chapel Cem.

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TO: SANDRA JOYNER (TNGJ30B)

FROM: FRANCES ABERNATHY (NWBN22A)

SUBJECT: RUSHING

Now Sandy, that story on Tubby Herrin and Fredonia was wonderful, especially the part about their son Ephraim and his beloved Ida who died in childbirth. I think Miss Ida's birthdate is prob. wrong, since she would have been 67 when she had the twins. The publishers should have caught little things like that and had the author check it. (probably a typo or a transcription error from a tombstone). Fran A.

 

TO: FRANCES ABERNATHY (NWBN22A)

FROM: SANDRA JOYNER (TNGJ30B)

SUBJECT: RUSHING

Fran: But doesn't it help your mathmatical skills to read some of these!! <BG> Sandy

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HERRIN-RUSHING/James Elisha/SarahHERRIN

James Elisha HERRIN was b. May 13, 1780 in N.C. & came to what is now Benton Co. in his early teens. His parents, Wm. Elisha & Mary Agniss HERRIN came to W. TN. around 1794 where his uncle, Joseph RUSHING, had been instrumental in founding the Rushing Creek Community.

Shortly after his 21 birthday, "Elisha" was m. to Sarah RUSHING on June 15, 1801. Sarah's sister, Sophia was m. to her husband's bro. Thos. Jasper, & her brother Abel, was m. to his sister, Sarah Jane (HERRIN). Additionally, Sarah was a niece of Joseph RUSHING, a founder of Rushing Creek & James Elisha was his nephew. Sarah & James Elisha's marriage created the 3rd family of "double-cousins" & one of the largest inter-related families in the area.

The couple moved east to Franklin Co., TN. during the first years of their marriage but returned to Rushing Creek in 1823 where they lived the remainder of their lives. In 1823, James Elisha & SArah are listed as charter members of the Rushing Creek Baptist Church hwere "Elisha's" cousin, Lemuel HERRIN became the first pastor.

As well as church activity, James Elisha was involved in local gov. On Nov. 26, 1826 he was commissioned as a Magistrate for the Humphreys Co. dist. which was later instrumental in the formation of Benton Co & served in several other offices of the county gov.

Land records show that James Elisha & Sarah bought & sold land extensivley, but always retained the family "homeplace" of some 200 ac. which adjoined other family holding in Rushing Creek. James Elisha is listed in various records as a builder, a mechanic, or carpenter and a farmer. Following Sarah's death, he finished raising the family at the "homeplace" next door to his brother, Caleb Abimlick.

Sarah & James Elisha had 10 children, many of whom remained in W. TN. & have descendants here today. Their children were: Eliz. who m. Laben RICE; Wm. G.; Sopheen who m. James MCGILL; Mildred who m. her cousin, Beverly HERRIN; Elisha N. who m. Mary WYATT; Uriah Martin; Peyton G. who m. Nancy HORTON; Sarah Agniss who d. at age 18; Parthena who m. W. K. PERKINS; & Abner Calvin who m. his cousin Nancy HERRIN.

Sarah d. in 1836 at the age of 55 & James Elisha d. Sept 3 1855 at the age of 75. Both were buried in the family plot at Rushing Creek Cem. alongside "Elisha's" mother, Mary Agniss HERRIN.

Their descendants number well into the hundreds & live throughout the country, but many still live in W. Tn.

 

HERRIN-TURNER

Stephen Alexander HERRIN b. Jan 17, 1857 - d. Nov. 21, 1929 & Josephine TURNER b. Sept. 26, 1864 - d. Sept. 28, 1941 were m. in 1882. This union was blessed with one dau., Myrtle HERRIN who m. Grover VANHUSS, 2 grand daus., Martha Jo VANHUSS & Margaret Jean VANHUSS MANNON, 2 ggrand children: Michelle Ranae MANNON SCHWOEBEL & Steven Lynn MANNON, 3 gggrand daus.: Brittany Ranae, Ashley Nichole & Courtney Lynn SCHWOEBEL.

Stephen & Josephine were farmers in the Bakers Chapel Community. They were life long members of and leaders in the Bakers Chapel Methodist Church. Both are buried in Bakers Chapel Cemetery.