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NOTES


NOTES:
1. In 1816, John Tucker & Joseph Waltrip jointly bought land in Breckinridge Co., KY. When they sold the land in 1819, the deed was signed by Joseph & Hernietta Waltrip and by John & Patsy (Martha) Tucker. At this point the question came up as to why they might have bought land together.

We found Joseph Waltrip first paid tax in Breckinridge Co., KY in 1808, which was the same year that John Tucker first paid tax in Breckinrdge Co., KY. The next question was to wonder if Joseph Waltrip & John Tucker moved to Breckinridge Co., KY with their families from the same place.

By 1810, the Breckinridge Co., KY census showed Joseph Waltrip, Wm Waltrip and Luke Waltrip. In 1820, the Breckinridge Co., KY census showed Luke Waltrip and Michael Waltrip.
Joseph Waltrip (b. 1776 - d. 1822) paid tax in Breckinridge Co., KY 1808 thru 1819.
Joseph Waltrip (b. 1776 - d. 1822) paid tax in Daviess Co., KY 1820, 1821 and 1822.
Joseph Waltrip died 1822 and is buried between Calhoun, McLean Co., KY & Glenville, McLean Co., KY.
His widow Henrietta (b. 1785 - d. 1844) bought land in Daviess Co., KY in 1829 and the deed names all her children:
James, Wilson, John, Luke, Wm., Stephen, Andrew, Joseph P., Mastin, Elizabeth, Polly, Henrietta and Patsy.

From the 1850 Daviess Co., KY census we found the ages & birthplaces for Joseph and Henrietta Waltrip's children as follows: James Waltrip 46, VA; Wilson Waltrip 44, TN; John Waltrip 43, KY; Luke Waltrip 41, KY; WM 39, KY and the other younger ones born in KY.

This indicates Joseph & Henrietta were in VA 1804, maybe in TN 1806 and arrived in KY about 1807.

Note the similarity to Tucker births:

Allen b. 1802 VA; Thompson b. 1805 - we thought VA, but his death record shows him to be born in TN; Rial b. 1807 KY, and all the other children born after Rial were also born in KY.

In 1838, Wm Waltrip (son of Joseph & Henrietta Waltrip) and Thompson Tucker (son of John & Martha Tucker) bought adjoining farms in Daviess County, KY (presently in McLean Co., KY.}

After finding this information, I started research on the Waltrip family to see if I could come up with anything to make a connection between the Waltrip and Tucker families. From my research, what I came up with was an almost certain connection to the Waltrip family. However, the connection is not for the Waltrip/Tucker families. The connection is between the Bunton/Waltrip families.

I found the parents of Joseph Waltrip (b. 1776 - d. 1822). They were Luke Waltrip, Sr. & Mary (Polly) Bunton who were married in 1774. Luke Waltrip, Sr. was born about 1744 in Amelia Co., VA and Mary (Polly) Bunton was born about 1754. Luke Sr., died 12 Mar 1820 in Greene Co., IL. The children that I found for Luke Sr., and Mary (Polly) Bunton are as follows:

1. Luke Waltrip, Jr. b. 1775, Halifax Co., VA, d.1845 Clay Co., MO, married Susannah Fentress.

2. Michael Waltrip b. 17 Feb 1788, Halifax Co., VA, d. 21 Mar 1843, Hutton Twp., Coles Co., IL, married Mary Polly Glascock.

3. Joseph Waltrip b. 19 Sep1776, Amelia Co., VA, d. 19 Sep 1822, Owensboro, Daviess Co., VA, married Henrietta Pryor in Halifax Co., VA.

4. William Waltrip b. about 1777, Halifax Co., VA, d. 28 Feb 1850, Green Co., IL. He married Elizabeth Thaxton 27 Dec 1802 in Halifax, Halifax Co., VA. The cause of his death was gravel (know to us as kidney stone).

5. Sarah Ann Waltrip b. 05 Apr 1785, Halifax Co., VA, d. 05 Sep 1859, Clay Co., MO, married Howard Everett.

6. Mary Ann Waltrip b. 05 Apr 1785, Halifax Co., VA . 04 Nov 1855, Clay Co., MO, married James Everett 09 Apr 1813.

If the birthdates are correct for Sarah Ann and Mary Ann, they are twins and possibly married to brothers (Howard Everett & James Everett).

Now going back to Virginia at an earlier date. In the "Virginia State Enumerations of 1782-1785" we find in 1785 in Halifax County, the following:
Bunton, William P. - 7 white souls, 0 dwellings & 0 other buildings.
Waldrope, Luke - 7 white souls, 0 dwellings & 0 other buildings.
William P. Bunton and Luke Waldrope (this was an early spelling for Waltrip) are listed next to each other in the enumerations, I believe this to be Luke Waltrip Sr., that married Mary (Polly) Bunton. I believe the William P. Bunton may very well be the father of Mary (Polly) Bunton, but of course, I have no proof of that.

What is the relationship between Mary (Polly) Bunton and our Martha (Patsy) Bunton? I believe there is enough evidence to show that they are closely related. Mary (Polly) was born in 1754 and Martha (Patsy) in 1770 so there is 16 years difference in their ages. This is in a range where they could very well be sisters. Of course, they could be related in some other way as an aunt and niece, I guess.

I believe that more research on the Bunton family in Virginia could lead us to our John Tucker's family in Virginia, prior to the time he came to Kentucky.

3. John and Martha Bunton Tucker came to Breckinridge County with Joseph and Henrietta Waltrip and maintained a close relationship there. Later the Waltrips and Tuckers associated in Daviess Co.

4. Some Tucker researchers that lived in Kentucky have searched extensively for their graves but have never been able to locate them. There is no listing for John & Martha (Bunton) Tucker in the Breckinridge County Cemeteries book either.

5. The eldest Luke married a Mary Bunton (Mary was old enough to have a son married in 1812 so may have been a sister, cousin, etc, or even one generation removed than our Martha b 1770, who married John Tucker b 1759 Amelia Co, Virginia per family information. This eldest Luke is noted by the article as also possibly having been born into an Amelia Co, Va family.

6. Pleasant (one of our lines), a son of John Tucker and Martha Bunton married Martha "Patsy" Fentress, daughter of Valentine Fentress and Sarah Hogg, originally of Albemarle Co Va. Valentine and Sarah also moved to Breckinridge Co Ky. An extensive recounting of the Fentress family was done by Wavie Fentress (now deceased, but I don't know what happened to the material, or if it was ever published. We had corresponded once or twice and had established the connection). I have a print-out of his partial gedcom somewhere.

7. So we know that at least one or their children married into the Tucker family thus establishing a relationship of knowledge between the families.

8. The Susannah Fentress who in 1812 married Luke Waltrip, son of the elder Luke Waltrip and Mary Bunton could have been of an age to be sister or cousin, etc to Valentine, or one of their older children. The elder Valentine is noted as over 45 yrs old in 1820 but does not appear in the Breck Co 1850 census. His wife Sarah is shown as being 94 on the 10th of August, 1850. We may be able to find more information regarding Susannah as Valentine is listed as a veteran of the Revolutionary War and family line has been proven.

9. The 1810 Breck Co census shows listings for John Tucker (over 45 yrs), Valentine Fentress (over 45 yrs but Sarah not listed?!!)and Waltrips Luke (45 or older), and Joseph and William, both age 26-45. Luke's wife is listed as being over 45 (article says she died in 1820's), so who/where was the Luke-who-married-Susannah?

10. Many other family names who married into the Tuckers are shown on the 1810 Breck Co census. Of interest to Tuckers may be an 1810 head-of-household listing for Sarah Rial, over 45 yrs of age with 3 sons and a daughter between ages of 16 and 25. She lived right next door to Pleasant Fentress.

11. Last of all, the list of children's names at the end of the article isn't conclusive proof of connection to the same Valentine and Sarah Fentress, but it sure knocks a heavy hole in the wall.

12. History of the Carrollton, Illinois Area 1821 - 1989 book put together by Ada Eileen Smith Cunningham.
Info By:
Richard Sanson (Waltrip Descendant)


Click for picture of clipping
WALTRIP, LUKE AND MARY


F979

Here is the paste of the transcription....................................

Thaxton - Waltrip Families -
First Settlers of Wrights Township

A few Thaxton and Waltrip families left Halifax County, Virginia via the Cumberland Gap (see note below) into Breckinridge County, Kentucky where they remained until 1819 when they came up into Madison County, Illinois near Edwardsville. Leaving their families there for awhile they scouted for a place to make their homes including Missouri and Illinois. They decided on a place in Green County, Illinois in Wrights township, section 18 on Apple Creek just east of the border of what is now White Hall township and east of what is now Belltown and where later in the 1800's was known as Byer spring - a spring being a convenient part of their living conditions.
(paragraph break by transcriber)
Here Luke Waltrip, the father of the Waltrip clan died in 1819 and buried, but funeral was not held until the following spring of 1820 when William Jones, a Baptist minister who lived on Wood River, came. Luke's wife Mary Bunton Waltrip, who supposedly died in 1820's was probably also buried there. At one time there were grave markers which have long since disappeared. After the land was surveyed, the clan moved southeast across Apple Creek on what a little later was known as Waltrip Prairie or Thaxton Prairie. Luke Waltrip, a son of Luke and Mary Waltrip, had married Susannah Fentress in Breckinridge County, Kentucky in 1812 and after scouting in Missouri for land, came to Green County, Illinois with the Waltrip clan. He entered land in Wrights township in 1830 but in 1831 sold it, and in 1837 is found in Washington County, Arkansas. His children in 1837 were: Martha, Polly Ann, Valentine, Susan Jane, Luke, Elizabeth, Sarah, James, and Lucinda wife of Ezekiel Boyd.
The elder Luke Waltrip, who had died in 1819 was probably a son of Joseph and Ann Waldrop whose will of 1775 in Amelia County, Virginia listed a son, Luke. However, a definite connection to this is not been proven.

By Greenfield, 1834-1984, Mabel Tucker Sheffer

Waltrip/Thaxton Connection

13. Luke Waltrip, Sr. & Mary (Polly) Bunton's son William Waltrip b. about 1777, Halifax Co., VA married Elizabeth Thaxton on 27 Dec 1802 in Halifax Co., VA. William Waltrip died 28 Feb 1850 in Green Co., IL. The cause of death was gravel (kidney stone).


We know that the Tucker and Waltrips came from Virginia to Breckinridge Co.,Ky by 1808. There is a possibility that they went from Virginia to Tennessee for a short time before coming to Kentucky.
By....Irma Ewy



BIOGRAPHIES
HISTORY OF GREENE & JERSEY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS - 1885
Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Co.

Page: 944
WILLIAM WALTRIP was the first settler of what is now Wrights township, locating on the north side of Apple Creek, on the southwest quarter of section 18, in Dec., 1819. In October of that year he left Kentucky, in company with his and several other families, with the intention of locating in Missouri, where one of his brother's had gone the previous year. But on crossing the river at Smeltzer's ferry, and going to St. Charles, they met his brother returning to Kentucky. They then returned to the neighborhood of Edwardsville, Ill., where the family were left until a location could be decided on. Mr. Waltrip and his brother, Luke, came up into Greene county, and selected the location previously described on section 18, in this township. They then returned to Edwardsville for their families, and arrived at the place selected, in Dec, 1819. There were about 20 of them, and they passed the winter in a camp, which the men had arranged, their food consisting principally of venison and corn bread. The following spring a clearing was made, and quite a crop of corn was raised that year. They remained here until the spring of 1823, when they removed to the northeast quarter of section 31, and made a settlement, where they remained many years. Mr. Waltrip was born in Halifax county, Va., Aug. 1, 1776, and was a son of Luke and Mary (Bunton) Waltrip, also natives of that state. He was married Dec. 27, 1802, to Elizabeth Thaxton, a daughter of William and Sarah (Gravitt) Thaxton, natives of Virginia. In 1803, they removed to Kentucky, where they remained until coming to this county. They were the parents of 10 children - Bird, Sarah, Michael, Mary, William G., Martha, Eliza, Luke, Lucretia and Wilson. Mr. Waltrip died Feb. 28, 1850, and Mrs. Waltrip, Aug. 23, 1885.


Notes On Cumberland Gap:

The story of the first doorway to the west is commemorated at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, located where the borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia meet. Carved by wind and water, Cumberland Gap forms a major break in the formidable Appalachian Mountain chain. First used by large game animals in their migratory journeys, followed by Native Americans, the Cumberland Gap was the first and best avenue for the settlement of the interior of this nation. From 1775 to 1810, the Gap's heyday, between 200,000 and 300,000 men, women, and children crossed the Gap into the unknown land of Kentucky.