J.E. Wilson
Born Octr 22
1805
Died March 18th
1850
Unveil thy bosom faithful lamp
Take this new treasure to thy trust
And Give these sacred relics room
To slumber in the silent dust
Nancy
Consort of
J.E. Wilson
Born Jany 1st
1812
Died April 16th
1850
We laid beneath the grave's cold sod
Thy frame so lately ached with pain
But soon the joyful trump of God
Shall call it back to life again
Buried
Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstones photographed 30
August 2018.
The above
J.E. [John E.] Wilson has often been confused with my ancestor, also named John
E. Wilson, who lived on Crooked Creek in what is now Crittenden County. Until
1842, when Crittenden County was created from Livingston County, both men lived
in Livingston County and both were married to women named Nancy. However, there
are many differences between them. My ancestor lived in the part of Livingston County that is now Crittenden County and died 1853 in Crittenden County. The other John E. Wilson lived in Smithland and is buried in Smithland Cemetery.
J.E. Wilson,
who is buried in Smithland Cemetery, shows up in Livingston County by 18 March
1830 when he married Nancy Hagey, daughter of John and Catherine Hagey.[1]
John E.
Wilson obtained a license to keep a tavern at his house in Smithland for one
year in July 1831[2]
and, in 1836, he was granted a license for a tavern on Lot #7 at the corner of
Mill and Front Streets, along the river front in Smithland.[3] There is
no indication that Wilson's taverns were in the same location.
Wilson was
also active in the community and was a Smithland town trustee in 1841 when a
parcel of land was conveyed by Benjamin and Sterling M. Barner to the Smithland
town trustees.[4]
John E.
Wilson wrote his last will and testament 23 March 1850.[5] In his will, he left one-third of his estate to
his wife, Nancy, and, at Nancy's death, it was to go to his daughter, Ann
Elizabeth Wilson. John E.'s brother, Henley, was appointed executor of the
estate.
Note the
date of death and compare it with the death date on his tombstone. Obviously, one
of these dates is incorrect, but which one?
A check of the yearly tax lists shows that Wilson appears on the 1848 and
1849 tax lists, but, in 1850, Henley Wilson, Executor of J.E. Wilson dec'd, is
listed with one town lot worth $5000.[6] So, it is obvious John E. Wilson died
1849-1850 and that is as close as we may get to his actual death date. It is of interest, too, that Nancy Wilson's
death date is given as just one month after her husband's. Did they die of the
same disease?
There are
some unanswered questions about this couple. More research is definitely needed.
[1]
Joyce M. Woodyard. Livingston County,
Kentucky Marriage Records, Vol. 1 (Oct 1799-July 1839), (n.p., 1992), 105.
John and Catherine Hagey signed a consent note permitting their daughter, Nancy,
to marry John E. Wilson.
[2]
Livingston County, Kentucky Court Order Book H, p. 41, 4 July 1831.
[3]
Ibid, p. 325, 4 April 1836.
[4]
Livingston County, Kentucky Deed Book GG, p. 61, 19 May 1841, recorded 20 May
1841. Benjamin and Sterling M. Barner to William Gordon, Gideon A. Haydock, John E.
Wilson, John C. McGraw and William Smith, town trustees..
[5]
Livingston County, Kentucky Will Book B, p. 127, dated 23 March 1850 and
recorded 1 April 1850.
[6]
1848, 1849, 1850 Livingston County, Kentucky Tax Lists. On the 1850 list Henley
Wilson, Exec. of J.E. Wilson dec'd, was shown with 1 town lot worth $5000, the same
as was listed for John E. Wilson in 1848 and 1849.
Published 24 Oct 2019, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/
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