Andrew Johnson's Death Place

Back in 2001, when I first met traveled back to Tennessee and North Carolina...I met up with a Johnson cousin in Elizabethton, Carter Co., TN.  We both share the relationship with President Andrew Johnson.  (My 3rd great grandfather, Moses Johnson, was his uncle.  Anyway, she had found this house on a prior visit and so she took me by.  I found it to be very sad.  I know that President Andrew Johnson wasn't the most liked President and that there were many in the are who didn't have him in high esteem.  This house looked run down and about ready to collapse.  When I went back a few years later...the house was no longer there and I assumed that someone had destroyed it.

 

I later found out that the house had already been moved from the original location to this location where I photographed the house.  President Andrew Johnson had suffered a stroke while visiting his daughter (at this house) and died a few days later.  He was buried in Greenville, TN in a beautiful area and most of his family is also buried there. 

 I found it sad that this house hadn't been maintained and taken care of.  A few weeks ago, I was watching an old episode of Barnwood Builders.  They were working on a place in Elizabethton, TN and my ears perked up when I heard that the house had been moved and restored.  They didn't spend much time on the house - just a few glimpses and mentions - but it certainly perked my interest.  The house was moved and restored...and thanks to the Internet, I found an article about the house.

http://archives.starhq.com/html/localnews/1204/122204AndrewJohnson.htm

If you are interested about Andrew Johnson...check out the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site  and here is a blog that I wrote about Andrew Johnson and my connection back in 2012!

Am I related to Andrew Johnson

Thank you to Mr Schumaier for moving and restoring this house.

Genealogy Wanderings - Allen

Phebe Allen with grandchildren (Gilbert Gage Jr,'s children).

I have way too many Allen's in my family tree.  Even one is too many.  I have found it to be one of the more difficult lines to research - similar to Johnson, Smith and Jones (which I have all three).  My 3rd great grandmother was Phoebe Allen married to Gilbert Gage.  I am fairly sure that my great grandfather knew his grandmother as she died in 1910 and he left 1908 with his siblings to Nebraska after their parents died.  So, other than a picture of her, a gravestone, and a few records - I knew very little about her and her family.

I learned fairly early on that she was the daughter of John Peter Allen and Elizabeth Zen and was part of his second family.  John Peter Allen was born 24 Sept 1783 in NY and d. 2 Apr 1868 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He was first married to Anna Eva Weidman (b. 1786 d. 1821) and they were the parents of:

• Asa Allen b. 1806
• Hannah Maria Allen b. 11 Jun 1808 d. aft 1880 m. John Grassfield
• William Allen b. 11 Oct 1810 d. 7 Oct 1892 m. Elizabeth Ann Engle
• John P. Allen Jr. b. 19 Jun 1812 d. 28 Dec 1883 m. Catherine Margaret Beller and Melinda Haverly
• James Ira Allen b. 8 May 1817 d. 7 Oct 1866 m. Eva P. Ball
• Sylvester Allen b. 7 Jan 1818 d. 20 Sep 1898 m. Sarah A Bunzey
• Susanna Allen b. 7 Jul 1821 d. 29 May 1889 m. Jacob Henry Haverly

Since I don't have a definite death date for Anna Eva Weidman, I assume that she likely died in childbirth or shortly after with her last child.  John Peter Allen then remarried in abt 1825 to Elizabeth Zeh, my 4th great grandmother.  She was b. 24 Sept 1793 and d. 14 Oct 1851 to Peter Jost Zeh and Annatje Truax. Elizabeth and John Peter Allen had the following children:

• Ann Eliza Allen b. 27 July 1827
• Emma Elizabeth Allen b. 28 Aug 1828
• Phoebe Ann Allen b. 7 Jan 1830 d. 30 Dec 1912 m. Gilbert Gage (my 3rd great grandparents)
• Peter Zeh Allen b 14 Dec 1830 d. aft 1910 m. Harriet Charlotte Schoonmaker m. Sarah E m. Phoebe A Schermehorn
• Elizabeth Allen b.  27 Mar 1833 d. 22 Jan 1918 m. George Haverly

I have been lucky to have gotten some copies of records on Elizabeth Zeh's family and was able to trace it back several generations on multiple lines.  However, the Allen line hasn't been as easy. Sometime along the last 20 years, I started a correspondence with a descendant of James Ira Allen that has been more beneficial to me than to him...I am sure.  He had wonderful information on his ancestor including the fact that he had served in the Civil War.  This cousin did the research that opened a whole new group of Allen's to explore.

According to what my cousin found...John Peter Allen was the son of Samuel Allen and Sarah Shephard Hammond.  Sarah Hammond's line goes back and meets up with the line of Francis Cooke...which gives me another Mayflower ancestors. She also connects with my Wilbore line. Samuel Allen's line meets up with my Allen ancestors Nehemiah Allen and Sarah Woodford as well as Judah Wright and Mercy Burt.

I have already found some interesting tidbits on these families and there is so much more to look at.  I have a feeling that my grandparents were cousins of some sort.  Might take me a bit more time to find out.  I helped my cousin a bit with bits and pieces and he has more than paid me back with all this new information.  Now, I just have to find the time to explore!