A DIFFERENT JASPER TERRY : Grouping the Jasper Terry Groups of Botetourt Co., Va

 One of the issues in research of the Terry family of Botetourt County, Virginia is the "problem" of so many Jasper Terry groups: are the all the same? Are they all related? How to sort them out?

One line is defined as follows:

Jasper Terry, born circa 1720/30, who married a Mary Morrison b. circa 1733.

They are usually said to have had one son:

Josiah Terry  b 12 April 1755, Botetourt County, Va. who married a Mary Lloyd, who as born 16 Oct 1756, Va . Josiah is said to have died 10 June 1839 in Kentucky.

Josiah's children were:

• Jasper Morrison Terry, b. 6 Jan 1777 who married Sallie Fuller. Jasper Morrison Terry died circa 1850 in Greene Co., Il.
• Elijah Terry b. 1778, Botetourt County, Va who md a Mary Wright in Montgomery Co., Va and d. Grayson Co., Kentucky. *
• Aaron Burr Terry born 12/7/1782 or 83.
• Josiah Terry Jr., b.1784 Botetourt Co., V, md Annie Sowder
• Martha Terry b. circa 1798, Montgomery Co., Va md in Kentucky Abraham Hart b, 1795, SC. Died in Grayson Co., Ky.
• William Terry md 1804? Jane Winters in Montgomery Co., Va
• Unknown Terry.

This group of Terry are listed among the DNA results of the Terry Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA. They have very distinct DNA Haplogroup which should allow for male descendants to easily identified and connected.

Plus, from the same source they appear to also share that Haplogroup with a William Terry b. circa 1690 and who died circa 1754 in NJ.

Now, there is also another Jasper Terry found in records who is identified as a son of William Terry, he is serving as an administer of his estate, settling claims in court, and similar actions. He is identified as "Jasper Terry with wife Ruth" in records of 1793 and 1804.

There is also a Jasper Terry who leaves a will in Montgomery County, Va  in 1819 naming a wife Margaret, three daughters, and naming several male Terry's assumed to be sons. Numerous trees have conflated these two so that they are one man with a first wife "Ruth" and a second wife "Margaret,"  The question is "are they the same man?"  Are we seeing two different Jasper Terry men in these instances?  Only DNA will sort this out, apparently, because no marriage records for a Jasper and a Ruth or a Jasper and a Margaret have ever been located. Some attempt to insert "Ruth" to create a "Mary Ruth" or a "Margaret Ruth" but evidence for the families of the other groups, now coupled with the DNA differences, mean that is incorrect with solid evidence.

Theory One: The Jasper and Ruth group is a son of William Terry who assumes the administrator role and, like his siblings and friends leaves the Montgomery County area to head into TN, KY, etc. Any descendants of this line, via this theory, would no doubt join the Haplogroup of son's of John Terry, son of William and have a Haplogroup of I-02.

Theory Two: The Jasper and Margaret group is a son of William, and Margaret was a second wife he married post 1804, and the same would apply and his implied sons of Silas, Elijah (note the Elijah assigned to the above Jasper who appears to be the same one in this group), Jonathan, and a William (who looks to have married an Elizabeth). Their lines should be I-02.

Theory Three: The Jasper and Margaret Terry group with daughters Keziah Terry Graham, Karon-Happuck Terry Rose, Jemima Terry DeWeese, along with the Silas, Elijah, Jonathan and William comprise a second son of Jasper and Mary Morrison Terry, he being a brother to Josiah Terry and Mary Lloyd, uncle to Jasper Morrison Terry and Aaron Burr Terry. He and his male descendants would then share that different Haplogroup of G-02.

Which is correct?  Only time and additional DNA work will add enough knowledge to finally settle the question, unless someone finds a forgotten cemetery, lost records, or something similar that answer some of the marital and kinship questions. 

William Terry Grave Memorial

Since there is no known grave, and the information on Find-A-Grave has combined several trees, here is the memorial due William Terry.

William Terry, born circa 1824 in Pennsylvania or Virginia. 

Although his parents are unknown, it is unlikely they were a William and a Keziah ??. No evidence of this man or this woman have been found. Many family trees erroneously mix lines from groups in eastern Virginia with those in the Botetourt County area. Recent DNA research has revealed that the eastern group has a large representation of people with Haplogroup I-01; descendants of one of the sons of this William have showed a representation of I-02 and a marked potential link to Terry's in Buck's Co., PA.  The line of a Jasper Terry with wife Mary Morrison, son Josiah, grandsons Japer Morrison Terry and Aaron Burr Terry reflect a totally different DNA : G-02. As more add their DNA to the tabulations the lines of descent will become clearer.

Died: Late fall, 1792, Botetourt County, Virginia. He is mentioned as deceased and there is mentioon of his widow Rachel in a legal document of early spring 1793. 

Grave site is unknown but possibly on his acres along Black Run, a branch of the Roanoke River where he had lived since 1755.

His wife was Rachel.  She was probably Rachel Manson and they married 3 February 1759 in Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He left a widow, eight children, and a host of friends for his long life and active involvement in the region (as first Augusta County, then Botetourt County). He can be tracked in the county region from 1744 until his death in late 1792. He surveyed roads, land boundaries, worked on road crews with friends and family members, acted as constable, and supplies horses and supplies during the War of Independence.  These are all actions attested to through various historic documents such as Kegley and Chalkley's histories of the region, local court documents, and deeds. 

Court records identify his eight children who received 1/8 shares in his estate. Those same records attest he did intestate and that he lived and died in the county of Botetourt.

Children were:

William Jr. md Patience Cooper

Jasper Terry married Ruth LNU (he may not be the same man that married a Margaret and died in Montgomery Co., VA; more research is needed)

John Terry md Esther Brown

Susannah Terry md Thomas Brown

Miles Terry md Hannah Horton

Mercy Terry md Jonathan Harrison

Rachel Terry md John Martin

Jemima Terry md Ezekiel Boucher , she died 1797.

William Terry (1785 to 1869): Tennessee to Missouri, A Brief Outline

 The following outline was created by  family historian Harriet Terry (of Pratt, Kansas) and the information for this list (and others) was sent to this blog's writer in about 1986-1990. She had been in communication with Dennis Ray Terry of Wellington, Kansas, son of Roy Dennis Terry. Her information, copies of her handwritten copies of letters, etc. were shared with this writer (sister to Dennis).  Harriet Terry, in conjunction with other family researchers of descendants in Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and elsewhere transcribed rar

e, handwritten letters sent by William to his sons, letters they sent to him, and letters exchanged among other family members. These were preserved by Red River County, Texas family members who, in turn, handed them over to a state archives at one of the universities. Another descendant, Jed D. Terry, worked with a broad assortment of families to bring together in two volumes copies of most of the letters, annotations, photographs, documents, etc. The Terry Family Letters volumes can be accessed in several major research centers in Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and elsewhere. The following is her outline and my notes in brackets.

"Outline of William Terry's life put together from the letters.

1. Born Hawkins County, Tennessee [other records show sometimes Sullivan Co., Tennessee; but the area was in flux at the time of his birth and research indicates people citing birth in such locations often use several of the names later affixed to the areas]

2.Moved to Gibson County, Indiana "as a young man" [His eldest son is listed on census as being born in Kentucky; it is believed William married  Barbara Ennis about 1806 in Kentucky; bulk of his children born in Gibson County]

3.Moved to Madison County, Arkansas in April 1832 [land records indicate his brother John Jr also left about that time; his sons Martin and John will marry in the same general location in the 1830's as well]

4. Moved to Washington County, Arkansas in November 1854 (10 or 12 miles west of Fayetteville, Arkansas)

5. Spent the winter with son Martin Terry in Little Springs, Madison County, Arkansas (1855-56)

6. Made a trip to see his cousins - "The Martin's of the old stock" who lived "out on Sugar Creek on a place called Pea Ridge (Benton County, Arkansas) on  June-July 1857.  [He makes mention in a letter, also, of hearing about his brother Josiah in Tennessee and from his wife's brother John Ennis in Indiana. It is believed that William, son of John Terry born c 1760 in Botetourt Co., Virginia, would have had an aunt named Rachel Terry who married a John Martin and he or his children may have followed John into Hawkins Co., Tennessee. This, then, would be "the Martin's of the old stock."

7. Moved to Barry County, Missouri in 1858. [Where they were during the war years is unclear; from other letters we know Martin Terry and his family were uprooted and they spent several years trying to stay ahead of one army or another, loosing two children to typhus from fouled water created in the troop and ammunition soiled land and waterways.]

8. Lived with Harp and Ennis families (daughter's Nancy and Matilda's families) in Barry and Greene Counties, Missouri, 1867

9. Lived mostly with son Martin Terry in Barry County, Missouri - July1867 - April 1868.

10. Went back to Greene County, Missouri (daughter Nancy Harp or Matilda Ennis) in early 1869 where he died 15 May.

11. Buried in Green County, Missouri on farm owned by one of his son-in-laws."

"William was rather outspoken in his letters. When he didn't like something, she said so! " Harriet Terry, circa 1985.

Profiles and timelines for each of his children will be added in upcoming entries.