Family Legends - Part 7

Read Part 6

Tradition: 7 ...

"Three brothers, descendants of the Prince Llewellyn, emigrated from Wales to the United States. One of them settled in North Carolina (the grandfather of Dr. Lewellen), the other one located in Pennsylvania, and the third in Virginia. All of them reared large families ... "^[1]

In pursuit of Tradition: 7

Dr. F. E. Lewellen was a son of William and Sarah (Fryar) Lewellen, "natives of Tennessee, and early settlers of Tippah County, Mississippi." The material for this tradition comes from the above biographical sketch and also from some information in Llewellyn, Lewellan, Lualin, etc., etc., by Billie Harris.

Dr. Lewellen's grandfather, who would have been one of the "three
brothers" of Tradition 7, is not identified in the biographical sketch, although in Mrs. Harris's book he was "Mr. Le­wellen, b. 1783, who lived in North Carolina and later in Tennessee." This date, of course, is far too late to be the birthdate of one of the three brothers of those traditions published in earlier is­ sues of Llewellyn Traces.

According to the sketch, the father, William Lewellen, was born ca.1813 in Tennessee. The date and place of his marriage to Sarah Fryar is not stated and is not in Llewellyn Trace's files; she died in 1876.

William Lewellen "was a man of good education and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. In his earlier days he taught school, but his latter years were devoted to agriculture." William Lewellen was killed in 1855 by a log falling upon him at a house. raising, evidently in Tippah County, Mississippi.

According to the sketch, William and Sarah (Fryar) Lewellen had 11 children, nine of whom reached maturity. The next to youngest was F. E. Lewellen, born ca.1850, in Tippah County, Mississippi. He was a physician in Lee County, Mississippi. Other children were not named. We have not determined other names for Dr. Lewellen other than his initials, "F. E."

Dr. Lewellen was reared in Tippah County, Mississippi, "acquiring his literary education in the common schools. In 1875 he began the study of medicine in Prentiss County, Missis­sippi. When he was ready to attend lectures he went to Louisville, Ken­tucky, and attended the course provided by the medical college at that place. He afterward located at Baldwyn, Lee County, Misisissippi, and there began the practice of his profession. He remained there four years and at the end of that period he came to Corrona, where he has since resided .... In 1887 he [invested] in mercantile business and opened a stock of dry goods at Corrona. Soon after he was appointed postmaster at this place....He superintends one of the most extensive plantations in the county [with] a gin and sawmill...."

Dr. F. E. Lewellen married Sally C. McGee, daughter of Jesse McGee, a na­ tive of Mississippi. Their four children were Howard McGee Lewellen, Vera Ethel Lewellen, Jesse Lewellen, and Birdie Lewellen (the latter two were de­ceased when the "memoir" was written ca.1891).

Cemetery records in Mrs. Harris's book give us further information. Sallie (McGee) Lewellen, daughter of J. C. and Sarah M. H. McGee, was born 17 August 1855 and died 27 August 1895. She and a daughter [Vera Ester (sic), ?1890-1892?) are buried in Lebanon Cemetery, Prentiss County, Mississippi. (The name and dates for the daughter Vera Ester conflict with information in the biographical sketch.)

Because F. E. Lewellen was of a fam­ily of nine surviving children of William and Sarah (Fryar) Lewellen at the time this memoir was published ca.1891, this family should be fully researched to connect some unconnected lines in Mississippi and Tennessee. Our files include quite a lot of material on Llewel­yns in Mississipi, as well as in Tennes­see, much of which we are not able to assemble into family groups^[2].

END OF SERIES

Source: Llewellyn Traces, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 1990