Billie Harris - May 21, 2011
I know what the postings show about the records of Richard Lewellen for his service in the Revolutionary War.
1781 - RICHARD LEWALLEN entered service as a pivate.
Supposedly he was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia and he lived in Prince Edward County.
He applied for a pension and his wife applied for a widow's pension. That information is on Ancestry.
But what I'd like to know is - is there any information on his application for pension or anywhere else stating where he was born?
I've been checking what we have for Prince Edward County and I don't find ANY Lewellens or any variation of the name there in 1763 when Richard was born. In fact, the first mention is of a Charley Lewellen with some Rices witnessing a land transaction in 1771 and the next mention is in 1780 when Freeman Lewallen applied for bounty lands for his service in the War. After that, the next documented information is when William Lewallen married Hanna Smith and the following year Anderson Lewallen married a Rice.
Richard did live in Prince Edward County; there's no doubt about that. But was he actually born there or is that simply someone's guess?
HELP.
Sue Cooper - May 23, 2011
According to Richard Lewallen's Revolutionary War pension file; on 8 April 1833 in Anderson County, Tennessee, Richard gave oath to William McKamy, an acting Justice of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Anderson County, "he was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, in the year 1763 according to the best information he can get on the subject, the month and day he is not certain of. He has no record of his age." signed Richard "x" Lewallen. This was part of an amended declaration for pension filed on 29 August 1829. This entire pension file (64 pages) can be found on footnote.org. Anyone interested in copies but does not have a footnote subscription, let me know; scooper@heritageresearcher.com
Billie Harris - May 23, 2011
Sue, thank you. It seems we can always depend on you to come up with good documented information.
Since it was the "best information he could get on the subject" then I'm still inclined to believe he was born in Norfolk. Or at least there weren't any recorded Lewallens in Prince Edward County in the 1760s.
Thanks again.
Clete Ramsey - May 23, 2011
Sue,
Is Gracie Stokeley, or any other Stokeley, mentioned in the 64 pages of the pension file?
Regards,
Clete
Billie Harris - May 23, 2011
I'll make a bet that she wasn't since you found that important piece of information that Grace remarried after Richard died. This is a different Richard.
Sue Cooper - Aug 28, 2012
Clete, I just wanted to apologize for not responding to your post. Some how, I must have over-looked it. If you still do not have the answer, I will take a look for you. I will say that I agree with Billie's post of May 23rd. Again, I apologize and please let me know if I can be of any help. Thanks.
Clete Ramsey - Aug 28, 2012
Sue,
I’ve slapped this together quickly. I’m sure I’ve made some typos/errors.
I’d gotten tired of pounding my head against the Richard Lewelling/Gracie Stokeley “brick wall,” and haven’t done it in some time.
As a refresher, abstracts of marriage bonds for Norfolk County, Virginia, reflect these marriages:
30 March 1793. Richard Lewelling and Gracie Stokeley. Surety: Eyrs Stokeley.
22 December 1798. James Kilgore and Sally Stockley. Surety: Richard Lewelling. The entry noted that Sally Stockley was a sister-in-law of Richard Lewelling.
10 March 1799. Gideon Kilgore and Ann Lewelling.
22 September 1801. Woodman Stokeley and Mrs. Peggy Lewis. Surety: John Gray.
17 July 1802. Turner Stevenson and Mrs. Grace Lewelling. Surety: James Kilgrow
8 April 1825. Gideon Kilgour and Mrs. Elizabeth Potts (widow). Security: Abel Lewelling.
From these marriage bond abstracts, it appears likely to me that Grace first married Richard Lewelling, one of the numerous Norfolk Lewellings, who died before July 1802. After Richard’s death, the widow Grace married Turner Stevenson, about whom I know nothing more. I also don’t know the fate of Grace (Stokeley) Lewelling Stevenson.
I can’t find any documentary evidence connecting Richard Lewallen of Prince Edward to the Gracie Stokeley who married in Norfolk.
I don’t know Mrs. Elizabeth Potts’ maiden name.
I don’t know if the Norfolk Potts/Lewelling connection was an echo of the ties between the Lewellin and Potts families clear across Virginia in Loudoun County, the next county north of where I sit writing this, or merely coincidence. My mother had Lewallen connections; my father Potts connections.
Questions:
Were Gracie Stokeley and Sally Stockley sisters, or was Sally the widow of a brother of Gracie?
What was their relationship to Eyrs Stokeley?
Was Eyrs Stokeley actually Ayers Stockley?
Was Eyrs Stokeley a member of the Stockley family of Accomack County, Virginia? If so, which of the numerous Ayers/Airs/Eyre Stockley’s was he?
One Ayers Stockley, who appears to have been about the right age to be the Surety in Gracie Stokeley’s marriage to Richard Lewelling, was a ship’s captain. Many of the Lewelling men clustered in Norfolk County, Virginia, in the 18th century, boat builder Abel Lewelling among them, appear to have been shipwrights living on Paradise Creek, off the south branch of the Elizabeth River. I don’t know if shipbuilding or ship repair brought the Stokeley and Lewelling families together in Norfolk County.
The Gracie Stokeley who married Richard Lewelling in Norfolk County reportedly was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. What connection, if any, might Gracie have had to the Elizabeth Stokely listed on the Isle of Wight County Personal Property Tax List "B" in 1787?
Did either Gracie Stokeley or Eyrs Stokeley have any connection to Stockley Landing or Stockley Plantation/Farm off the Nansemond River in what is now Suffolk, Virginia? Stockley Plantation was in the hands of the Godwin family in the late 1700s. How did the plantation and landing come by their Stockley names?
What connection, if any, was there between Eyrs Stokeley and Woodman Stokeley? Like Ayers, Woodman was a common given name in the Eastern Shore Stockley family, whose members appear to have spread into Maryland and Delaware.
Were Gideon Kilgore and James Kilgore close kin? Brothers? Cousins?
Was Ann Lewelling, who married Gideon Kilgore, a sister or cousin of Richard Lewelling?
At least one WorldConnect family tree has Richard Lewallen, reported husband of Grace Stokeley, living in Tennessee by 1798. Did he return to Norfolk from Tennessee to post the bond for the marriage of James Kilgore and Sally Stockley? Did a person posting bond for a Virginia marriage at that time have to be physically present to do so?
Regards from Virginia,
Clete (the Confused)
Billie Harris - Aug 29, 2012
Clete, I'm not Sue, but I will say that the Prince Edward Lewallens and the ones from Norfolk are two entirely different families. They may have been related someplace in England, but no connection here in the colonies. The ones in Norfolk come from Richard, Edward, Abel. I don't know if they were Flewellings or Llewellings, but the ones in Prince Edward came from the Richard (probably a brother of Daniel) of Charles City County. I'm now working on that line and will be posting it in the next few days, trying to bring it down and hoping others here on the site can help with it.
Clete Ramsey - Aug 29, 2012
A little more. . .
The following abstracts appear in “Will Book II (Nov. 1800-Jul. 1810), Clerks Office, Corporation Court, Norfolk, Virginia,” as compiled by Norma L. Gates and typed and indexed by James and Esther Chauncy of the Norfolk Genealogical Society. Their work was published in 1986.
LEWELLIN, Richard, boat builder, of Boro of Norfolk, Will dtd 04 Oct 1801, proved 24 May
1802, Norfolk Boro, Hustings Ct. [Clete Note: Hustings Court]
Wife, Grace; Son, Joshua; Dau, Nancy.
Wit. John Pretlove, Joseph Evans, Jas. Dyson, James Kilgrow P.114
LEWELLIN, Richard, Est App recorded 27 Jul 1802. P.129-130
LEWELLIN, Richard, Est Acc recorded 28 Feb 1803.
Adm. Turner Stephenson P. 162
I assume the will’s witness, James Kilgrow, was the James Kilgore who was Surety for the 17 July 1802 Norfolk County marriage bond of Turner Stevenson and Mrs. Grace Lewelling. Likewise, I assume that the will’s administrator, Turner Stephenson, and Mrs. Grace Lewelling’s groom, Turner Stevenson, was the same person.
I also assume James Kilgrow/Kilgore was the groom James Kilgore, noted with bride Sally Stockley, on the 22 December 1798 Norfolk County marriage bond for which Richard Lewelling, Sally’s brother-in-law, was Surety.
I've yet to discover what became of Richard and Grace Lewelling's son Joshua and daughter Nancy.
Sue Cooper - Aug 31, 2012
Hello Clete (the Confused), While I certainly do not have the answers to all of your questions, wish I did!, I am in total agreement that the Richard who married Grace Stokley and the Richard who shows up in TN are two different people. Richard's will, written 4 October 1801 in Norfolk, VA, proves that when he names his wife as Grace. He only names two children, and when you write a will you can name whomever you choose, but, we know, from Richard's Estate settlement in TN, that he had a lot more children, plus there is no mention of any children Joshua or Nancy. I also agree with your assumption that Turner Stevenson/Stephenson are the same person, Administrator and 2nd husband of Mrs. Grace Lewallin. Now, seeing the term Administrator brings another question to my mind. Administrator usually indicates there was no will. However, if Richard named an Executor in his will who did not wish to serve as Executor, then the Court would appoint an Administrator. Don't mean to cause more confusion. I have not looked at my Lewallen research/papers/notes in a long time, but I am still interested in news of the research of this family. I commend each one of you for your efforts and dedication to your research and encourage you to keep up the good work! Sue, in Tennessee, but, sometimes found in the State of Confusion!!
Sue Cooper - Aug 31, 2012
Clete includes: "At least one WorldConnect family tree has Richard Lewallen, reported husband of Grace Stokeley, living in Tennessee by 1798. Did he return to Norfolk from Tennessee to post the bond for the marriage of James Kilgore and Sally Stockley? Did a person posting bond for a Virginia marriage at that time have to be physically present to do so?" First,I can not stress enough to be very careful of family trees posted On-line. I often use them myself for clues but unless they have included sources/documentation which you can follow up on for yourself, don't rely too much for their contents. Most of these are the results of someone creating trees with no sort of documentation but simply wanting their family tree On-line and others come along, know just enough about their family to tie in and copy and paste. Then, it is all over the Internet! Now, having this said, it is not my intent to insult anyone and I have found some very good family trees but these are usually filled with sources, notes and documentation. Yes, I believe you would have to be present to post the bond, there was money involved.
Billie Harris - Aug 31, 2012
Couldn't agree more, Sue. Unfortunately once the family trees get posted online with erroneous information, many assume they're corect and run with it. It's hard to get that information corrected.
Rick Llewellyn - Sep 28, 2011
I uploaded his Pension Application to the File Cabinet - [NOTE: broke link]
Billie Harris - Sep 29, 2011
Rick, thank you so much for posting copies of the documents. They were filled with valuable information. We know from what Clete found that he isn't the same Richard as the one in Norfolk but the question remaining in my mind is was he married previously or was Parazida his first wife?
Mary Hubbell - Aug 27, 2012
The one thing that impressed me the most is the change in spelling of Parazedda/Parazida to Barazeda on that a couple of sheets sheet. Why? The name was spelled Parazedda right above it on one. It does revert to Parazeda later but I wonder what her name actually was? She signs with an 'x' so the person is writing what he hears. P?B?
Why do I wonder? Because Anderson Lewellen named one of his daughters Balzada. Neither of these names are exactly common. I can see how easy it would be for it to be passed on, slightly altered. For me it might serve a another clue for connecting Richard Lewellen to Anderson Lewellen as an ancestor.
Darlene Luallen Griffin - Aug 27, 2012
Mary, could you tell me where you got the information about Anderson Lewellen's daughter Balzada? Thanks.
Mary Harris Johnson - Aug 28, 2012
Balzada is Mary's great Grandmother and my grandmother. Balzada also had a sister named Balzora and I have a sister Zada. We've always wondered where the names came from.
Mary Hubbell - Aug 30, 2012
This doesn't exactly have anything to do with this - but I was reading a website about the Yorkshire accent today and they mentioned that their Ps are pronounced as Bs. Of course, since we had just had this discussion, it popped into my head.
Mary Ann
Carol Redd - Sep 29, 2011
Thank you, Rick. I posted some questions there if you or others can answer sometime. I'm hoping to begin creating a spreadsheet which will show chronologically who we have where. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. No time for such fun in the next three weeks, though - WWAAAHHH!