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.

EAST Virginia Terry Lines (With Groups going into NC, SC, Ga, etc.)

 One early Terry line out of coastal and eastern/southeast Virginia is the line of one JAMES TERRY (for a sight with apparently some good supports and information on this line see James Terry b. Est 1666 King William Co., Colonial Virginia d. 1744 Orange Co., NC: The Reynolds Family (reynoldspatova.org))

In brief, this line is James Terry (b. abt, 1666 in King William Co. (although from sources that county was not created until later than this date. It should probably be noted as New Kent Co. for that time period),

"This county [King William Co.] was organized in 1701, its territory being taken from King and Queen, which in turn had been formed from a part of New Kent in 1691. New Kent was a part of the original Shire of York until 1654, the latter being one of the first divisions of the Colony set apart in 1634. In 1720 Spotsylvania County was formed from parts of King William, King and Queen, and Essex, and in 1727 King William was again called on to surrender some of its territory when the new county of Caroline was organized. A history of King William would consequently be inseparable from that of all of these counties.] --History and Old Homes of King William County Virginia (genealogytrails.com)

Of note and description of this individual the Reynolds site above notes: "James Terry was an early settler and patented large bodies of land in this section. In 1757 he moved to Orange County, North Carolina. In 1764 (Halifax Deed Book) he sold to Nathaniel Terry, Hugh Innes, Robert Woodang, Thomas Dillard, Sr., Thomas Dillard, Jr., Ed. Booker, John Bates, James Dillard, Archibald Gordon, George Watkins, John Donelson, Thomas Tunstall, vestryman of Antrim Parish, for £350, 794 acres on Sandy Creek, where the said Terry formerly lived, for a Glebe for Antrim Parish."

His children are assumed to be :

• Champness Terry
• Benjamin Terry
• Joseph Terry
• James Terry
• Thomas Terry

On the DNA front, the line of Champness carries a haplogroup of I-01 - related to the descendants of assumed son of William Terry and Rachel Manson, John Terry -Esther Terry who did in Perry Co., Ind - but not closely. Related - distant cousins perhaps - but a closer familial connection. 

(See the chart of results at FamilyTreeDNA at FamilyTreeDNA - TERRY Y-Chromosome DNA Surname Project

I reviewed resources sent to me in the past by researchers and found one that lumped without sources members of the lines of Terry groups who have now been recorded as coming from three separate DNA groups. A common error is finding a record with a name and assuming that is the only person with that name!  These groups tend in the early years to cluster together but as the earlier pioneers developed the inlands and the wilderness, those eastern people moved into the same areas. A careful reading of marriage records, deeds, wills, etc. however, can usually, provide clues based on naming patterns and stated relationships.

Three distinct groups of Terry moved into Virginia in Colonial years: 

G-02 DNA appear, so far, mostly in the central and northeast, with one line moving into Illinois

I-01  DNA appear to have clustered for several generations along the eastern and coastal areas of Va, moving into NC, SC, AL, etc.

I-02 DNA appear to have moved down into Virginia from Pennsylvania. This group moved out into TN, KY, and IND and then further into Arkansas and Missouri and Texas.