SOME TI(E)(A)NNEY LINEAGES

SOME TI(E)NNEY LINEAGES

WILLIAM TINNEY (SR.)

William Ti(e)nney, Sr. of Newberry Co., SC is presumed to be the same individual who is mentioned in land transactions 14/15 AUG 1774, 23 NOV, 1775, and 26/27 FEB 1788 in Ninety Six District in SC (Newberry Co. is one of the counties formed from Ninety Six District). The 1774 and 1788 references are to land on “a branch of Gilders Creek* called Jackson Creek” and are “lease/release” documents. The 1775 document is a purchase of 150 acres on Davies Creek between Saluda and Broad Rivers. He apparently still has at least the Gilders Creek land in 1791 when he is mentioned as adjoining land leased to Thomas Stark on Indian Creek* branch of Gilders Creek. I did not see evidence that he had more than the 150 acres when he died.

By 1797 we find William in court for a debt owed to John Coats whose assignee in the case is George Latham. Judgement was “by default.” It is assumed this is William, Sr. as there is no designation that it is William, Jr.

In the 1800 census Newberry Co., SC, William has the following household members:

1 male 10-16 – Isaac?

2 males 16-26 – William and Richard?

1 male over 45 – William, Sr.

1 female under 10

3 females 10-16 Sarah, Polly, and Nancy?

1 female over 45 – Matsilva

2 slaves

Then 29 NOV 1807 William writes his will; his estate inventory is dated 26 AUG 1808. The will names William’s wife, Matsilva, and leaves his land to her and sons Richard and Isaac. After debts are paid, remainder of estate is to be sold and proceeds from that divided between his oldest son William, and William, Sr.’s daughters Sarah (Ayres), Polly and Nancy (wife of William Bonds). Executors are Matsilva and Richard.

RICHARD AND ISAAC TINNEY

1810 census Newberry Co., SC for Richard Tinney:

1 male 10-16 (Isaac, son of Deziah Elkins)

1 male 26-45 (Richard?)

1 female under 10

1 female over 45 (His wife Ruth? Matsilva?)

1 slave

1810 census Newberry Co., SC for Isaac Finney:

1 male under 10

1 male 16-26 (Isaac)

1 female over 45 (Matsilva?)

Settling of William’s estate is not completed until 1822. Richard’s will is dated 1812, but estate is probated in 1820, before complete settling of William’s estate; Isaac then becomes executor of William’s estate as well as Richard’s. Richard’s will is difficult to decipher, but mentions his wife Ruth and his, presumably illegitimate, son Isaac (son of Deziah Ealkins[Elkins]). Ruth was married to Thomas Stark (sometimes Starks or Starke). This is the same Thomas Stark “of Gilders Creek” who leases from Jacob King “145 acres on a branch of Indian Creek adjacent to,” among others, William Tinney on 13/14 JAN 1791. Thomas Stark dies in 1805: will dated 21 FEB 1805; Ruth is appointed adminx. 10 JAN 1806 with Richard

Tinney as one of the bondsmen; she is summoned to November term of County Court and assigned a court date of MAR 1806 for debt of Thomas Stark to William Lindsey.

Ruth marries Richard Tinney 13 NOV 1808. On the day of their marriage, Ruth deeds some of Thomas Stark’s land to his three youngest children (they had 9): Pennington, Jeremiah, and Rebecca Stark (other children had already received their share when they came of age). Ruth and Richard are “living separately” the last 3 years before he dies (1817-1820?). Richard dies probably before June 1820 (he is not listed on the census, but Isaac is listed, as Tinny). Isaac, Richard’s brother, becomes executor of Richard’s and William’s estates.

Richard dies without legitimate issue. His will names Ruth as getting 1/3 of a parcel of land known as Calhoun’s Place and then leaves the rest of that land and his land on Gilder’s Creek to his son (illegitimate son), Isaac Tinney b. 1799). In 1821 Richard’s brother Isaac (Sr., to distinguish him from Richard’s son) goes to court saying that as an illegitimate son, Isaac, Jr. is only entitled to ¼ of the estate. Isaac, Sr. is also trying to get part of the Stark land that Ruth deeded over to her children. The outcome of this suit is not known, but it is assumed that Isaac, Sr. lost as we find Isaac, Jr. in 1823 selling 197 acres willed to him by his father. He is in Gwinnet Co., GA by 1824 where he remains until his death. On 18 JUN 1822 we see the final payout of William’s estate.

Whether Isaac, Sr. got any land out of the deal is not clear. It may be that he and Richard had shared the inheritance and that the land that Richard willed to his son should have been partly his brother Isaac’s. That may be the reason for the suit: to try and get part of the land that was willed to him by his father. But if Isaac, Jr. sells 197 acres, that is more than William left Richard and Isaac and Matsilva, so it appears that Isaac, Sr. did not get anything in the way of land from his father’s estate, nor from his brother’s. Where did he go?

A possible answer to this is found in the 1830 McMinn County, Tennessee census where we find an Isaac Tinney with the following household:

1 male under 5 2 females 10-15

1 male 10-15 1 female 30-40 (his wife?)

1male 15-20 (same as 1810?) 1 female 50-60

1 male 40-50 (Isaac)

Isaac is not – as far as I have seen – in the 1840 census, but in 1840 McMinn County, TN census, with some of the same neighbors as Isaac has in 1830, there is a JAMES Tinney with one male 50-60 and one female 15-20. In 1850, an Isaac Tinney age 65, born SC, is in McMinn Co., TN with (apparently) a daughter Sarah age 27, Lucinda Lawson (married daughter?) age 25, and Isaac Tinney age 21; a slight stretch of imagination could make these fit into the male under 5 and 2 females 10-15 in the 1830 McMinn Co. census. And, finally, in 1860 we find an Isaac Tinney, Senr. age 75, born in SC, in the Edwards Co., IL census with Isaac Tinney, Jr. in the next household with wife Elizabeth J. and sons Wesley age 6 and John age 4/12. It is my feeling that we are seeing the same Isaac, son of William, Sr. of SC and brother of Richard.

WILLIAM TINNEY (JR.)

William Tinney, Sr.’s estate settlement in 1822 included payment of $54.60 to William Tinney and Sally[Sarah] Airs[Ayers], $22.65 to William Bonds & wife [Nancy Tinney Bonds], and $40.07 to Mary [Polly] Tinny. There is no indication that this William Tinney is residing anywhere other than Newberry County in this settlement. There is a court record for the March 1790 term of the Newberry County Court that William Tinney, Jr. (indicating that he is the YOUNGER William Tinney residing in the county) was arrested and escaped and an escape warrant was issued for his recapture. Nothing is indicated in the court records as to what happened as a result of this warrant, but it appears that William did stay in the county at least until settlement of his father’s estate in 1822. What happened to this William Tinney is not clear, but the following facts are submitted as a POSSIBLE series of events.

A William Tinney of an age to be the son of William Sr. above is not found in a census until 1850 when there is a William Tenney age 65, born in SC, in the household of John and Nancy Wiseman in Oktibbeha County, MS; whether this is the same William Tinney (Jr.) is not certain. However, he is the right age to be the oldest son of William Tinney (Sr.) of Newberry Co., SC, and he is born in SC.

In addition, there is this information on the Wisemans in whose household we find this William Tinney:

John and Nancy (her last name is unknown to us) came to Alabama from Newberry County, SC and were married about 1830 in Alabama. Possible locations for the marriage:

Jackson County where a William Tinney has a land grant in 1836. There is also a Griffith Tinney in the 1830 Jackson County census and Griffith has land grants in 1830, 1833, 1836 and 1852. Jackson County marriage records for that time period were burned for fuel by troops during the Civil War, so no tangible proof for the marriage exists there either way.

Shelby County where John Wiseman, presumably the uncle of Nancy’s husband John, has a land grant on 3 FEB 1823, and where this elder John dies in October of 1827. A Richard Tinney age 20-30 is in the 1840 census in Shelby County; it is POSSIBLE that this Richard could be a brother to Nancy Wiseman, though Tammy Tinney Caine believes this Richard to be the son of Rebecca Tinney of Wilkinson Co., GA. No marriage record for John and Nancy was found in Shelby County either.

John and Nancy Wiseman’s first child was born in Alabama in 1832, but they are in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi by 1833 where John is assessor and tax collector. “Approximately a mile north of Starkville, the Wisemans began operating a grist mill about 1835.” John was one of the charter members of the Reform (or United) Presbyterian Church there in 1839. [from Historical Sketches of Oktibbeha County by Thomas Battle Carroll, Gulfport, MS: The Dixie Press, 1931].

There is no evidence of any other William Tinney of the right age to be the son of William (Sr.) of Newberry Co., SC. There are any number of reasons why William Tenney, wheelwright, age 65, would be in the household of John and Nancy Wiseman in the 1850 census. But more often than not, the older person in the household like this is a parent of one of the head-of-house couple – in this case, Nancy’s father.

Another William Tinney reference I need to mention here simply because I found him; I do not know where he fits into the overall picture. There is a reference in Family Search to a William Tenney born 26 OCT 1808 in Belfast, MS, died 19 MAR 1882. I have not been able to find Belfast, MS either in old records or in present day records. The file information for this record is in the references section at the end of this summary; this person is not connected to any

other names in IG, and I do not find him in the 1870 or 1880 censuses.

JOHN TINNEY

Another Tinney in Newberry County at this same time is John Tinney. There is a John in the 1790 SC census with 1 male over 16 and 2 free white females, but he is in Laurens Co; it is NOT clear if this John is the same one that we see in Newberry Co. So we do not see John Tinney in Newberry Co. in the 1790 or 1800 censuses, but in spring of 1808, John Tinney is dead. He dies intestate since they “read,” meaning they made public announcement of his death, at 3 different places on two different days. His administrator is Reason Davis, one of the witnesses for William Tinney‘s will. Apparently there is no widow and no children. At the sale on 29 JUL 1808, buyers include Isaac Tinney, Richard Tinney, and Sarah Ayres, children of William Tinney, and Matr(s)ilva Tinney, widow of William Tinney; there are only 3 other buyers at the sale. Apparently John Tinney was a cobbler as there is a note where Reason Davis, admin. of John Tinney’s estate, is paid by the estate of George Harbert for “making shoes.” The facts that William Tinney’s widow and children were prominent at the sale and that we know from the will of William Tinney that John was not his son, we are left to assume that John was most likely William’s brother.

GRIFFITH TINNEY

Nothing here has addressed the Griffith Tinney found in the early records of Jackson County, Alabama. It is not clear where he came from except that he was b. ca. 1784 in NC as per the 1850 census. He is in Jackson County at least by the 1830 census. He has land grants there in 1830, 1833, 1836, and 1852.

Sale of some of this land for his estate took place 26 NOV 1855, so Griffith Tinney is dead before that date. Meredith King is executor of the estate. This Meredith King was b. 1818 in AL (however AL is not a state in 1818) and could be nephew of Martha King, wife of Griffith Tinney: there is a William King next to Griffith Tinney in the 1830 Jackson Co., AL census with a son in the 10-15 age range. This William is not old enough to be the father of Martha, but could be her brother. Then on 28 SEP 1865 we see Samuel Vaughn filing for letters of administration of Grifith’s estate since Meredith King has died in April, 1865. Samuel Vaughn then has estate sale June, 1866. Heirs of Griffith’s estate in Jackson Co. are: Elijah Tinney, John C. Tinney, and Martha Beard wife of William Beard and dau. of Isaac Tinney, dec’d,. all over 21; Sarah Tinney, Margaret A. Tinney, and George Tinney minors under 14 (Jason H. Dicus, Guardian); and minor children of Susan Tinney Vaughn: Griffith, Martha A., Austin M. and Rebecca J. Vaughn. Heirs outside of AL were Sarah Burton wife of William Burton “who resides in Humbolth state of Kansas”, and William Tinney whose residence is unknown, both over 21.

So from this estate and the 1850 census, we can list some of the children of Griffith Tinney as:

William (b. before 1824, probably, as he is not listed in the 1850 census)

Isaac (b. 1824 – d. bet. 1852 and SEP 1866)

John C(alhoun) (b. 1829 – d. bef. 13 JAN 1873, date of estate probate)

Elijah (b. 29 APR 1831 in Jackson Co., AL - d. 2 AUG 1888 in Crawford Co., AR according to Proctor records – see references)

Susan (b. 1834 d. bet. 1860 and 1866)(wife of Samuel Vaughn)

Andrew (b. 1838 – d. before 1866)

Sarah (b. 1835)(wife of William Burton; married about 1850? as she is not

in Griffith’s household in 1850; age based on 1870 census)

Also from the estate and from the 1850 census, we can determine the children of Isaac, son of Griffith Tinney:

Martha (b. 1845)(wife of William Beard)

Sarah Jane (b. 1846)(listed as Sarah Tinney Dicus in the 1860 census in the household of her guardian Jason H. Dicus)(She marries John Newberry Selby 17 MAR 1865; they are living next to Elijah Tinney in the 1870 census)

Margaret A. (b. 1848)(listed as Margaret Dicus in the 1860 census in household of her guardian Jason H. Dicus)

John (b. 1850 – d. bef. 1860)

George (b. 1852)(listed as George Dicus in the 1860 census in household of his guardian Jason H. Dicus)

Also from the estate and from the 1860 and 1870 censuses we can determine the children of Susan (Vaughn), daughter of Griffith Tinney:

Griffith (b. 1852)

Martha A. (b. 1853)

Austin M. (b. 1855)

William (b. 1859 – d. bef. 1866)

Rebecca J. (b. 1862)

John C. Tinney, son of Griffith, married Mary E. Bynum 22(3) JAN 1850 and died bef. 13 JAN 1873, date of estate probate. His children according to the probate record and 1870 census were:

Lucy Ann (b.1851) (wife of Dave R. Bellomy)

William Ambrose (called Ambrose)(b. 1854)(married “Aunt” B. Bellomy)

James Andrew (called Andy)(b. 1857)(married Donie Frazier; lived at Maynard’s Cove)

Charles Lewis (Charles L. in 1870 census; called Lewis)(b. 1859)

John Franklin (b. 1863)(married Mary Ada Holland)

Martha Jane (b.1862)(she is listed after John Franklin in the 18 70 census)

Elijah Tinney, son of Griffith, married Mary Elizabeth Selb(v)y 17 DEC. 1851 and had the following children as of the 1870 census and from the Annie Coleman Proctor papers from Scottsboro AL:

James A(M. in Proctor). (b. 17 NOV 1852)

John A. (b. 17 JAN 1854)

William M. (b. 24 MAY 1858)

Walter G. (b. 26 JUN 1861)

Margaret P. (b. 22 JAN 1864 according to Proctor; 1862 on 1870 census)

Elija N. (b. 3 MAR 1866 according to Proctor; 1864 on 1870 census)

Martha J. (b. 27 JUN 1870)

Isac Newton (b. 25 APR 1872)

____________________________

*Gilders Creek flows into Indian Creek just northwest of where present-day SC Hwy 176 and 121 split, close to the Brick House campground in Sumter National Forest

REFERENCES

Annie Coleman Proctor Memorial Collection, Vols. II and V. Scottsboro Public Library, Scottsboro, Alabama.

George Leland Summer Historical and Genealogical Research Files, films #4835-4843. Scottsboro Public Library, Scottsboro, Alabama.

Jackson County, Alabama Probate minutes Book A (1859-1859), p. 156.

Jackson County, Alabama Probate minutes Book B (1859-1855), pp. 468, 496-97, 557.

Jackson County, Alabama Probate minutes Book XX (1865-1866), pp. 408, 488-489.

Jackson County, Alabama Probate minutes Book C (1866-1867), p. 50.

Jackson County, Alabama Probate minutes Book EE (1868-1869), p. 403.

Jackson County, Alabama Probate minutes Book JJ (1873-1874), pp. 2, 393, 463, 477, 714, 731, 734-736.

Carroll, Thomas Battle. Historical Sketches of Oktibbeha County. Gulfport, MS: The Dixie Press, 1931.

Holcomb, Brent H. Newberry County, South Carolina Deed Abstracts, Volume I: Deed Books A-B 1785-1794 [1751-1794]. Columbia, SC: SCMAR, 1999. pp. 2, 38-39, 88.

Holcomb, Brent H. Newberry County, South Carolina Deed Abstracts, Volume III: Deed Books E-H 1800-1806 [1767-1806]. Columbia, SC: SCMAR, 2001. pp. 64, 107, 127.

Newbery County, South Carolina Minutes of the Country [sic] Court 1785-1798 [contains abstracts], pp. 124, 169, 306.

Will of William Tinney, Newberry Co., SC.

Will of Richard Tinney, Newberry Co., SC.

Will of Griffith Tinney, Jackson Co., AL.

Family Search International Genealogical Index Record: File number 183537, page 994, Reference number 33125.

1800 Census, Newberry County, SC. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7590&path=South+Carolina.Newberry+District.Not+Stated.63>

William Tinney, Sr. of Newberry Co., SC

1810 Census, Newberry County, SC. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7613&path=South+Carolina.Newberry.Not+Stated.16>.

Isaac Tinney, son of William, Sr. of Newberry, SC

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7613&path=South+Carolina.Newberry.Not+Stated.24>

Richard Tinney, son of William Sr. of Newberry, SC

1830 Census, Jackson County, AL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8058&path=Alabama.Jackson.Not+Stated.35>

Griffith Tinney and William King

1830 Census, McMinn County, TN. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8058&path=Tennessee.McMinn.Not+Stated.131>.

Isaac, brother of Richard and son of William, Sr. of Newberry, SC.

1840 Census, McMinn County, TN. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8057&path=Tennessee.Mcminn.Not+Stated.104>.

James Tinney age 50-60 with 1 female age 15-20

1840 Census, Jackson County, AL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8057&path=Alabama.Jackson.Not+Stated.57>.

Griffith Tinn(e)y

1840 Census, Shelby County, AL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8057&path=Alabama.Shelby.Not+Stated.21>.

Richard Tinney

1850 Census, Jackson County, AL. Ancestry.com.

< http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8054&path=Alabama.Jackson.District+19.75>

< http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8054&path=Alabama.Jackson.District+19.76>

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8054&path=Alabama.Jackson.Township+4+Range+6.8>

1850 Census, McMinn Co., TN. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=8054&path=Tennessee.McMinn.Subdivision+23.234>

Isaac Tinney age 65 (son of William of SC?). Younger Isaac in household age 21.

1860 Census, Edwards County, IL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7667&path=Illinois.Edwards.Not+Stated.5>

Isaac Tinney (son of William, Sr. of SC?) Younger Isaac in next household. Same as McMinn Co. in 1830 and 1850 probably.

1860 Census, Gwinnett County, GA. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7667&path=Georgia.Gwinnett.District+404.2>.

1860 Census, Tallapoosa County, AL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7667&path=Alabama.Tallapoosa.Western+Division.97>

1870 Census, Jackson County, AL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7590&path=South+Carolina.Newberry+District.Not+Stated.63>

1870 Census, Shelby County, AL. Ancestry.com.

<http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/View.aspx?dbid=7163&path=Alabama.Shelby.Beat+12.10>