Thursday, October 23, 2008

James, Lorenzo, Nancy, and Ransom Womack

Some links on these Womacks:

http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/FamHist-Hardin.html

http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/FamHist-Pope.html

http://newsfeed.rootsweb.com/th/read/ILHARDIN/2000-11/0974159246

http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/ILPOPE/2002-08/1029205092 - James, Lorenzo, Nancy, and Ransom Womack

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ILHARDIN/2000-11/0974159246

http://freepages.religions.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jgholson/1833.htm

These Womacks are mentioned in the records of Big Creek Primitive Baptist Church, as well as Grand Pier Primitive Baptist Church, in Pope Co, IL and Hardin Co, IL.

The area of Pope / Hardin / Gallatin is very complex for Womack genealogy. There were at least 5 Womack families here:

1) William Womack & Rebecca LNU - sons Green, Benjamin, Levi, Joseph, Clement.
2) Abraham Womack & Unknown - sons Abraham & John Wesley
3) George Womack & Margaret LNU - sons George W, John G, Sheppard, and Green B.
4) Obediah Womack & Elizabeth Woods - see this blog post.
5) James, Lorenzo, Nancy, and Ransom Womack

There was also Walton Cox Womack in the area -
WAMICK, WALTON C WILSON, REBECCA 1837-11-01 OOA/0267 00000000 POPE

Walton had a land patent in modern-day Hardin Co, IL (then part of Pope) in 1838, which lists him as "Walton Cox Womack of Gallatin County, Illinois". He had later patents in Franklin Co, IL where he was in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. In 1870, he was enumerated as "Mathew Warmick" in Jefferson Co, IL.

I want to focus on James, Lorenzo, Nancy, and Ransom Womack, though Walton may be part of this family too.

All 4 married in Pope Co, IL:
WOMACK, RANSOM MCDONNAL, SUSANAH 1835-06-05 Q0A/0196 00000000 POPE

WOMACK, JAMES JOHN, POLLY 1836-07-28 OOA/0222 00000000 POPE

STORY, DUDLY WAMACK, NANCY 1836-12-07 OOA/0233 00000000 POPE

WAMACK, RANSOM P HOGG, MARTHA 1836-12-22 OOA/0236 00000000 POPE

WAMACK, LORENZO COLIER, ELIZABETH 1837-01-22 OOA/0237 00000000 POPE

Some of the families that they married into also attended the Primitive Baptist Churches - Collier, Story, Hogg.

The Hoggs in the area seem to descend from Francis R Hogg - 1840 Census of Pope Co, IL. His second wife was Aquilla Story Carter, widow of John Carter (whom she married 26 Mar 1806 in Christian Co, KY):

Carter, Aquila
Hogg, Francis
14 Jan 1816
IllinoisPope County

Interestingly, many people seem to believe that Aquilla's maiden name was Womack. I do not know why.

Martha Hogg who married Ransom P Womack was likely the daughter of Fransis R Hogg and Aquilla Story. Ransom & Martha had a son named Francis Marion Womack and a daughter Martha Jane Womack, both of whom ended up in Wayne Co, MO (though only very distantly related to the large Warmack family in that county). There is a bio on Francis Marion Womack in one of those Goodspeed-type books for Missouri that give his parents and sister.

See http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/MOWAYNE/2006-02/1140616409

The part in the thread about Francis Marion Womack's father being Ransom Pinckney Womack, son of Abner Womack, is entirely incorrect, since Ransom son of Abner married Nancy Burks and died in 1892 in Warren Co, TN.

Ransom Womack is on the 1840 Census of Pope Co, IL, shown in his 30s. He has two males under 5, and a female in her 30s, apparently Martha Hogg Womack. From Pope Co, IL marriage records, it appears he was married to Susannah McDonald first.

Ransom is list right after 4 Floyd families, which were also in the church records, and who came from the Bedford / Lincoln Co area of TN. They were closely related to Anthony Floyd who married Mariah Womack, dau of Michael Womack of Bedford Co, TN. So, perhaps the proximity of Ransom Womack to the Floyds is a clue.

Ransom died before 1850. I cannot find any trace of his family. Interestingly, in the 1850 Census of Pope Co, IL, in the HH of Spencer Floyd, there is a 13 year old male named Frances [sic] Vermont. Vermont does not seem like a real surname. In fact, this "Frances Vermont" is one of only 12 people in the US with the Vermont surname according to ancestry. Anyhow, I think it is possibly this was Francis Marion Womack, and that when the census was hand-copied, Womack or Warmack was mis-read as Vermont.

I know nothing more of Lorenzo Womack other than the church record mentions and his marriage to Elizabeth Collier.

It is possible that Lorenzo died soon after marriage, since there is a 1 Oct 1839 land patent for Elizabeth Womack in modern-day Hardin Co, IL (then part of Pope). This land patent was adjacent to land patents for Abraham Womack Sr, believed to be a son of Thomas Womack & Louvisa Rice, and his soon Abraham Jr. Also, another adjacent land patent for an Elizabeth Womack (same one?) on 10 Jun 1848.

James Womack married Polly John. Ancestry has her name as Mrs Polly John. Besides the Church records, this is all I know of James. He also may have died soon after marriage and his widow may be the Mary Womack with a land patent dated 28 Jul 1838, also adjacent to Abraham Womack Sr.

Nancy Womack married Gilford Dudley Story, brother of Aquilla Story who married Francis R Hogg. Gilford also spelled Guilford. Here are the census citations for Nancy:

Nancy Story, 36, TN - Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: , Pope, Illinois; Roll: M432_125; Page: 252; Image: 6.

Nancy J Story, 44, TN - Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 5 S Range 3 E, Franklin, Illinois; Roll: M653_177; Page: 532; Image: 533.

Nancy J Story, 51, TN - Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 6 Range 3, Franklin, Illinois; Roll: M593_221; Page: 214; Image: 430.

In 1860, the Story family was in the same township as Walton Cox Womack, exactly 40 households before Walton.

I think that James Womack may be the same James Womack who was the son of Thomas Womack & Louvisa Rice, and who was in Warren Co, TN in the 1820 Census.

See http://www.womacknet.com/message/archive/2001/2001.04.html - look for "Caney Fork". It is actually Caney Fork Primitive Baptsist Church. A James Womack was a member, and was apparently involved in an argument with a William Dunham - who coincidentally moved to Effingham Co, IL and was the grandfather of James C Cohea who married Hester Ann Womack, dau of Levi and Polly Baker Womack.

I do not know how many Womacks were Primitive Baptists, but here we have a James Womack who was a Primitive Baptist in Warren Co, TN. Then we have another James in Pope Co, IL near Abraham Womack and George Womack, who were also part of the same Warren Co, TN Womack bunch. There is a good chance they are the same James.

I think James was in Warren Co, TN in 1830, but missed in the Census. I think Susannah Womack who married Lewis Mason was his daughter; they were married by 1830. When James moved to Illinois, I think his son Arsey Womack stayed in Warren Co, TN. After James died in Illinois, I think his unmarried daughters - Sarah, Sarilda, and Dorinda - returned to Warren Co, TN where they stayed with their brother Arsey. The names Sarilda is a very rare Womack name - Walton Cox Womack had a dau named Sarilda.

Several undocumented online genealogies list James Womack's family. All have him married to a Margaret Bowers, which is bogus. The Margaret Womack in the 1840 Census of Hardin Co, IL and the 1860 Census of Pope Co, IL was the widow of George Womack, James's brother.

Some of the supposed children of James can be dismissed easily. Harriet and "Mioranni" are sometimes listed. These were Harriet and Missouri Womack, daughters of Shepherd Womack and Larinda Brinkley; Shepherd Womack was the son of George Womack & Margaret LNU.

Also, Shepherd, Green, George W, and John were not the sons of James Womack, but rather of George Womack & Margaret LNU.

A Newton Womack is sometimes listed as the son of James, but that is from confusion over the several Green Womacks in Illinois, one of whom had a brother named Newton. In any case, James was not the father of Green or Newton.

That leaves Arsey, Sarah, Sarilda, Alonzo and Walter as the commonly cited children of James.

Here is the theory:

I do not know the name of James Womack's first wife. Perhaps the church records will reveal that. His second wife was Mrs Polly Johns. Alonzo and Walter were really Lorenzo and Walton.

Here is a list of known children for James:
Arsey
Ransom P
Walter Cox
Lorenzo
Nancy m Dudley Story
Susannah m Lewis Mason
Sarah m James Mooney Green
Sarilda m Thomas Womack
Dorinda m Lewis Mason

In the 1880 Census, Dorinda was listed as born in IL. Could this be confusion from having lived there?

See http://www.womacknet.com/message/archive/1997/1997.08.html - Your father's Grandmother, DORINDA WOMACK MASON was born in 1825 of native born american ????? who were the parents of 19 children. They lived at various times in KY, OH, IN, IL, TN and GA.