Lewis Puckett & Rhoda Newby family, Part 1

 This is the first of a series of posts involving the family of Lewis Puckett and his wife Rhoda Newby.

Daughters who married in Virginia

Edney Puckett to Ethrol Pitchford, Amelia Co, VA - 15 Sep 1830 - marriage record does not state parentage of either.  In Chesterfield Co, VA OB 29:4, 13 Mar 1837, a road crew order lists the following men in a row "Asa Perdue , Thomas Perdue, Ethrall Pitchfort".  All three were married to daughters of Lewis Puckett and Rhoda Newby.  By 1840, "Etheal Pitchfort" was on the 1840 Federal Census (FC) of White Co, TN.  In 1850, Ethel Pitchfort is on the FC of White Co, TN; he is 45, born in VA, with 'Emily' 35, VA and children born in VA and TN.  In 1860 FC of White Co, TN, again we find Etherel & Emily Pitchfort, but he must must have died before 1870, as the 1870 and 1880 censuses list just Edney Pitchfort.  In White Co, TN Probate Deed Book E:40, Ethel Pitchfort and his wife Edney, on 11 Apr 1853, gave Power of Attorney to William M Puckett (who was Edney's uncle).  Unknown why Edney listed as Emily in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, perhaps a middle name.

Edney was probably a nickname for Edna.  In Chesterfield Co, VA DB 27:644, Lewis Puckett, on 1 Aug 1829, gave to "my daughter Edna Puckett" for love and affection and one dollar, his inheritance he was due from "the estate of my father John Puckett deceased" as well as his interest in the estate of "my mother Dorothy L Puckett at her decease".

Martha Puckett married Thomas Perdue in Amelia Co, VA on 24 Dec 1832; the marriage record says she was the daughter of Lewis Puckett.  Exactly 3 years later, on 24 Dec 1835, Frances Puckett married Asa Perdue in Amelia Co, VA; the marriage record does not list parentage of either.  

Martha was buried at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, VA, which has very good records.  The record of her burial states she died 24 Sep 1862 at age 50 of typhoid fever, that she was the wife of Thomas S Perdue, and she was born in Chesterfield Co, the daughter of Lewis and Rhonda [sic] Puckett.

Virginia Death Records state that Frances Perdue died 5 Sep 1893 at age 80 in Matoaca, Chesterfield, VA; that she was born in Chesterfield; that she was the widow of Asa Perdue and the daughter of Lewis and Rhoda Puckett.

Asa and Frances Perdue were in Chesterfield Co, VA for the 1850 census after which Asa must have died, since Frances is listed without a husband, living with her children, in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses.  Thomas and Martha Perdue were in Chesterfield Co, VA for the 1850 census, and in Petersburg, VA for the 1860 census.

Martha Puckett and Frances Puckett have been conflated, confused and combined into "Martha Frances Puckett" in multiple online genealogies, but they were two separate women, sisters who were both daughters of Lewis Puckett and Rhoda Newby.

Ancestry of Samuel O Puckett

 Samuel O Puckett - born 1820 in Laurens Co, SC; died 1893 in Sevier Co, AR.  - https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/L7BT-N4R

On 1850 Census of Laurens Co, SC with wife Elizabeth C (Hairston) age 25; also in the household is William Puckett age 19.

Laurens Co, SC Will Book A:69 - Will of George Dillard, dated 1846, wife Martha, mentions several heirs including grandson Samuel Puckett - Samuel's parents not given.

Union Co, SC Will Book C:233 - Will of Martha Dillard, dated 1861, mentions several heirs including grandson Samuel Puckett - Samuel's parents not given.

From this, we know that Samuel O Puckett's parents were a Mr Puckett and a Miss Dillard.

There were three sets of Puckett families in Laurens Co, SC - see here.

In Rankin Co, MS, Dr Samuel M Puckett administered the estate of James Puckett, and probate records there reveal that Samuel O Puckett was the son of James Puckett.  Dr Samuel M Puckett was the son of John Puckett, son of Charles Puckett, son of the 'original' Douglass Puckett (first person by that name in America).  

Charles Puckett left Prince Edward Co, VA before the Revolutionary War and moved to South Carolina, settling near Duncans Creek of Enoree River in what became Ninety-Six District, then Laurens District, renamed to Laurens County.  Charles Puckett had four sons - James D Puckett, Chatham [or Cheatham] Puckett, John Puckett [whose name was often preceded with 'Esquire'],  and Douglass Josiah/Josephus Puckett [he appears to have changed his middle name after becoming an attorney].

James D Puckett spent a few years in Knox Co, TN and Anderson Co, TN in the late 1790s, early 1800s, before moving to western KY, then finally to Claiborne Co, MS where he died; the name of his wife is unknown.  John Puckett's first wife was Ann, nicknamed 'Nancy', her maiden name unknown; they sold their land in Laurens Co, SC and moved to western KY, where John Puckett remarried after his first wife's death; John Puckett was a justice of the Livingston Co, KY court.  Later, John Puckett moved to Hinds Co, MS where he left a will in 1825 naming several heirs, including his son Samuel M Puckett, who was named executor of John's will.

I mention James D Puckett and his brother John Puckett because their children were in Mississippi, a place where several Puckett lines get confused, because sometimes Pucketts who were distantly related lived in the same counties.  Also, Dr Samuel M Puckett, son of John Puckett, administered the estate of James Puckett, father of Samuel O Puckett.  

In 1845, James Puckett bought land in Rankin Co, MS - a lot in the town of Brandon.  This lot had been sold by Samuel M Puckett to his sister and brother-in-law, who defaulted on a loan, and the bank then sold it to James Puckett - all of this detail in the deed.  Rankin Co, MS DB 9:10.

The Pucketts of Rankin Co, MS are very confusing.  Samuel M Puckett was there, as well as his sons.  There are also records of Samuel M Puckett's brothers, and his Puckett first cousins (sons of James D Puckett).  Also, there was the extended family of Thomas Puckett, who was distantly related.

By April 1849, James Puckett was dead, and Samuel M Puckett named administrator.  

The link to Samuel O Puckett is given in Rankin Co, MS Record of Petitions, B:75, 'Estate of James Puckett' - administrator Saml M Puckett, in Apr 1849, described the property of James Puckett in Rankin Co, MS and what he knew of James' family - that he left a widow, Sarah Puckett in South Carolina, and 6 children:

"Samuel O. Puckett, who is one & twenty years of age and four children who are minors John Puckett, Isaac Puckett, Ira Puckett & Martha Ann Puckett as your Petitioner is informed and believes, these four children reside as your petitioner is informed in the State of South Carolina , the sixth child named Thomas Puckett is a minor under the age of twenty one and resides, or make it his home in the County of Rankin."

Note that Samuel O Puckett is described as 'one & twenty years of age' in 1849, a fancy way of saying 21.  This was legalese meaning he was least 21, the same way we say you must be 21 to buy alcohol.  At this time, 21 was the age of adulthood, and children under 21 were considered minors.

We find James Puckett's widow, Sarah Puckett, on the 1850 census of Union Co, SC, age 47, with children Isaac 16, Ira 14, Martha 12; also Asbury Hendricks age 27, male living with them.  Thomas Puckett, son of James, was on the 1850 Census of Rankin Co, MS as 22, born in SC, a carpenter, in the household of C N Langford.  

By the 1860 Federal Census, Sarah's family was in Hempstead Co, AR, not too far from Samuel O Puckett in Sevier Co, AR.  Sarah Puckett has the same children with her in 1860, plus John W Puckett, 28, born in SC.  John W Puckett must be the John Puckett listed as child of James Puckett, and the W likely stood for William, and he was the William Puckett with Samuel O Puckett in 1850.

From various records of Hempstead Co, AR, Sarah Puckett's maiden name appears to be Hendricks, daughter of a Thomas Hendricks.  Sarah Hendricks was the second wife of James Puckett, after his first wife, a Miss Dillard (given name currently unknown) died.

Later probate records of James Puckett in Rankin Co, MS show that Sarah Puckett of Hempstead Co, AR gave Power of Attorney to Isaac Puckett to handle the estate of James Puckett.

Given the age gap, and the fact that George & Martha Dillard only mentioned one Puckett grandchild, it appears James Puckett and Miss Dillard had only one child, or least only one who survived to 1849, which was Samuel O Puckett, born 1820.  James Puckett and second wife Sarah Hendricks had Thomas (born circa 1828), John William (c 1831), Isaac M (c 1834), Ira Allen (c 1836) and Martha Ann Melissa (c 1838).

I am pretty sure James Puckett was the son Benjamin Puckett and Sarah Hansell.  My reasoning will be in another post.  Benjamin Puckett was, I believe, the younger brother of Charles Puckett, father of John Puckett, father of Dr Samuel M Puckett who administered the estate of James Puckett.  This makes Samuel O Puckett the second cousin of Dr Samuel M Puckett of Rankin Co, MS.  

Why was James Puckett in Rankin Co, MS, away from his family in South Carolina?  He may have been ill, and perhaps Samuel M Puckett, a medical doctor, was treating him.

More later.