Sherod Moses Callaham or Sherod and Moses?

As one can see from the title, I want to hash out this person or people.  It is very commonly see in many genealogies that Sherod was Sherod Moses Callaham.  I have been looking at many trees and records that are available to see what I can determine about this man or men.

First we want to tackle what we know about Sherod.  He is the son of Nicholas Callaham and Mary Green.  He married Mary Ussery, daughter of John Ussery on October 3, 1786 in Lunenburg County, Virginia.  We know that she is the daughter of John because he is stated as surety of the marriage record.  This is really all I have been able to find on Sherod at this time. 

Now lets look at Mary, his wife.  On March 7, 1798, a Molly Calliham married a Mathew Calliham in Lunenburg County, Virginia.  John Ussery again served as surety.  On November 24, 1803, Mary is named in her father's will as Mary Calliham.  Mathew Calliham serves as a witness to this will.  It is believed that Molly and Mary are the same person, since Molly is a nickname for Mary and since she is a daughter of John and they both appear in the will of John Ussery in some form or fashion.

Now, lets look at what we have for Moses Callaham.  On January 1, 1800, a Moses Callaham married a Polly Ussery in Lunenburg County, Virginia.  This Polly is said to be "wife of Moses, daughter of John Ussery" in a land transaction.  On December 12,1805 sale of John Ussery's property, both Moses and Mathew buy land from John. 

I feel that Sherod and Moses must be two different people, and here is why:

1.  If Mary remarried to Mathew in 1798, then Sherod would most likely have died sometime prior.  Though I am sure it did happen, it was very uncommon for a women to leave her living husband and marry her brother-in-law in this time.  Mathew is also still alive in 1805, so Mary would still be married to him... unless she left him and went back to his brother?

2.  In 1810 census, Moses is listed as being between 26-44 years of age.  If Moses and Sherrod were the same, Sherrod would be listed as 45+ since he would have been well over 50 at the time.

3.  Polly is not necessarily the daughter of the same John Ussery.  John had a son named John, and depending on how old he was, he could have had a daughter who married Moses by 1800.   This could also explain why both men (Mathew and Moses) bought land from John Ussery's estate.

4.  If this Polly was the same one as Molly and Mary, then why did her father not serve as surety and why was she listed by her maiden name instead of her married name as she was in her previous marriage record?

I feel the confusion of Sherod and Moses comes from the fact they both married women who were named Mary Ussery (Molly and Polly are both nicknames for Mary) and both Marys were daughters of a John Ussery.  It would seem from the information gathered that Sherod and Moses were more likely two different people.  I have no idea who Moses's parents would be, except perhaps he was a cousin or brother of Sherod.  Moses would have been born after 1765 for the 1810 census to be accurate. 

Moses Callaham and Polly Ussery had the following children:  Martha, Elizabeth, Dolly, Patsey, Henry, James, John and Colin.  I have no children recorded for Sherrod and Mary Ussery, or for Mathew and Mary. 

Sources not mentioned in the above article:
Nicholas Callaham and his known descendants by Willie Mae Woods, 2000

Elam Farmer

This post will attempt to hash out all the Elam Farmers living around Chesterfield County, Virginia in the 1700s.  I am a descendant of one Elam Farmer who married a woman named Polly, through his son, George. 

The first Elam Farmer I will look at is my ancestor.  Elam Farmer was born before 1745. He died in 1811. He was married first to an unknown woman.  With this unknown woman, he had at least three children.  George was born around 1765.  Tabitha was born on February 13, 1775.  She married a Thomas Boles.  He also had a son named Elam who had died by 1811, presumably without child.  Elam, born before 1845, lists himself as Elam Farmer Sen'r in his will, so he must have had a son named Elam at some point.  On September 10, 1795, Elam married to his second wife, Polly Harding.  Some people say she is a widow and her maiden name was Hudson, but I cannot find any proof of this.  Polly was considerably younger than Elam, as she was still able to have children.  The 1810 census of Chesterfield County, Virginia lists 2 females between 0-10 in Elam's home.  One of these should be Anna Farmer, the only unmarried daughter listed in her father's will.  The other daughter is not known and probably died before the will in 1811.  Some people list the Elam Farmer who married Polly Harding was the son of Lodowick Farmer and Sarah Cheatham. Lodowick's will, however, does not mention a son named Elam. There is a connection between Elam and the Cheathams, as we see several mentions of Cheathams in Elam's will, but being that his father, Elam Farmer married second to Phebe Cheatham, that would explain the connection. Phebe and Sarah were sisters. Both children of Benjamin Cheatham and Grace Williams.

The next Elam is the one who married Lucy Nunnally.  Though I do not know for sure that her name was Lucy, it seems to be the most common name given to this Nunnelly woman.  In the will of John Nunnally, from 1765, it lists grandchildren, Elam Jr and Martha.  I feel that this Elam Jr. is my ancestor, who married second to Polly Harding.  In his will, Elam Farmer had married a second wife, Phebe Cheatham.  The following children, in addition to Elam and Martha, are listed as Henry, Lodowick, Hezekiah, Mary, Rhoda, Salley, and Judith.  

A third Elam is one who married Mary Stratton.  They were married in 1808 in Powhatan County, Virginia.  This Elam is the son of Hezekiah Farmer and grandson of the Elam and Phebe Cheatham Farmer.  Hezekiah Farmer left land to his son Elam in Powhatan County, so it seems logical that this Elam, who married and lived in Powhatan County was Hezekiah's son.  In 1820, Elam and Mary had 3 living children, 2 sons between 0 and 10 and one daughter between 0 and 10.  

In 1810, there is an Elam Farmer living in Goochland County, Virginia.  He is listed as 26-44 years old.  His wife is 16-25 years old and his children are one son, 0-10 and one son, 10-15.  I do not know where he fits in our tree.  Any help is appreciated.

In 1830, there is an Elam Farmer living in Chesterfield County, Virginia.  He is listed as 40-49.  There is no wife listed.  He has 3 sons, one is 15-19, one is 10-14, and one is 5-9.  This could be the Elam who married Mary Stratton.  His 2 sons under 10 from the 1820 census could be the two older sons.  The daughter from 1820 could have been married.  Mary could have died.  Without further information on the family, I cannot tell yet.

So, you have the following tree

Elam Farmer married Lucy Nunnelly

...Elam Farmer married unknown

......Elam Farmer

...Elam Farmer married 2nd Polly Harding

Elam Farmer married second to Phebe Cheatham

...Hezekiah Farmer

......Elam Farmer married Mary Statton. 

 

Update on Blog

I have a new blog where I am placing my information in detail.  I am leaving this blog to hash out difficult people and post questions and concerns with research I am doing.  As you may have noticed, this blog has not been posted in since last year, almost a full year ago.  I have not been doing a lot of new research with which to write about since the birth of my daughter, so I have not had anything to write.  I still am not doing a lot of heavy research, just here and there. 

I am trying to update my new blog with my files so that they can all be viewed.  It is a slow going process, so patience is necessary!

My new blog is jcgenealogy2.blogspot.com.  Please go there to see my research.  If you look under "Introduction" you will see the trees that I have begun to enter.  Please feel free to browse and leave comments as needed.