Complex Family Ties - Edward Pennington Family

Edward Pennington is probably one of the more well-known children of Micajah Pennington and Rachel Jones.  Edward and Micajah, Jr are the only sons of Micajah, Sr and Rachel that we can be sure of the majority of their descendants.   After the family moved to Lee Co., VA from Ashe Co., NC – the area where Edward lived was called Pennington Gap and is still called that today.  “Neddy” Pennington as he was called married Martha “Patsy” Flanary and they had eleven children.  As the area was not too largely populated – it is not surprising to find a few intermarriages.

Neddy and Martha had six daughters and five sons.  There are several family connections with their marriages – here are a few.

• The first such family that is found in close connection with this group of Penningtons is the Parsons.  Phoebe Pennington married William Simmons Parson on 18 Aug 1814 in Lee Co., VA Phoebe’s younger sister Rebecca married William’s younger brother John “Jack” Parsons around 1826 in Lee Co., VA.  John and William were the sons of John Parsons and Mary Simmons.   
• The eldest son, Thomas F. Pennington married Mary Smyth on 29 Jan 1818.  When she died in 1848, he married Mourning Minerva Jones who was the daughter of Abraham Jones and Mary Kyle.  His younger brother, Elijah also married a daughter of Abraham Jones and Mary Kyle.  Elijah and Sarah Elizabeth Jones were married around 1831 in Lee Co., VA.    Thomas sister, Elizabeth married George Smyth, the brother of Mary Smyth who were the children of Edward Smyth and Hannah Crabtree.
• Then there is John Dees Pennington who married Rachel Zion on 2 Jan 1823 in Lee Co., VA.  Rachel was the daughter of John W. Zion and Lucy McCormick.  Rachel’s niece (by her brother John W. Zion and wife Susannah Davis) married John Dees Pennington’s younger brother Levi Pennington (m. Elizabeth Zion abt 1831)

The other children of Neddy and Martha did not intermarry with the in-laws…but by the time you get to the next few generations…it really gets messy.  When you start to throw in more Zions, Parsons, Jones, Grahams, Russell’s, Bishops,  Caltons and Flanary’s – then the tree really gets complicated.  It has been a while since I last tackled this family.  It is an imposing prospect think of pursuing these lines again!

Descendants of Edward "Neddy" Mitchell Pennington

Generation No. 1

1.  EDWARD "NEDDY" MITCHELL³ PENNINGTON  (MICAJAH², BENAJAH¹) was born 29 Dec 1769 in Wilkes Co., NC, and died 05 May 1860 in Lee Co., VA.  He married (1) AGNES LITTLE.    He married (2) MARTHA "PATSY" FLANARY Abt. 1793 in Wilkes Co., NC, daughter of JOHN FLANARY and PHOEBE BOGGS.  She was born 30 Dec 1779 in Wilkes Co., NC, and died 25 Dec 1852 in Lee Co., VA.

More About EDWARD "NEDDY" MITCHELL PENNINGTON:

Burial: May 1860, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, 1850 - Lee Co., VA, Pg 356, Family #621

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16 - 201-10133001

Census 3: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 11

Emigration: Went to Lee Co., VA...Pennington's Gap named for him

More About MARTHA "PATSY" FLANARY:

Burial: Dec 1852, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census: 1850, 1850 - Lee Co., VA, Pg 356, Family #621

       

Child of EDWARD PENNINGTON and AGNES LITTLE is:

                   i.    ANN LITTLE⁴ PENNINGTON, b. 1792, Ashe/Wilkes Co., NC; d. 1796.

       

Children of EDWARD PENNINGTON and MARTHA FLANARY are:

                  ii.    PHOEBE⁴ PENNINGTON, b. 26 Sep 1794, Wilkes Co., NC; d. 1863, Lee Co., VA; m. WILLIAM SIMMONS PARSONS, 18 Aug 1814, Lee Co., VA; b. 16 Nov 1789, Ashe Co., NC; d. 06 Jan 1856, Lee Co., VA.

More About PHOEBE PENNINGTON:

Census: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 340, Fam # 538

More About WILLIAM SIMMONS PARSONS:

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 340, Fam # 538

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16 - 200-0101-0100

                 iii.    THOMAS F. PENNINGTON, b. 05 Jul 1797, Wilkes Co., NC or Ashe Co., NC; d. 27 Mar 1858, Lee Co., VA; m. (1) MARY SMYTH, 29 Jan 1818; b. 09 Jan 1793; d. 16 May 1848, Lee Co., VA; m. (2) MOURNING MINERVA JONES, Bef. 19 Jun 1849; b. Abt. 1825, Lee Co., VA; d. 1906.

More About THOMAS F. PENNINGTON:

Burial: Mar 1858, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 347, Family #626

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16 - 0001-001-0010

Census 3: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 12

More About MARY SMYTH:

Burial: May 1848, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

More About MOURNING MINERVA JONES:

Census: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 347, Family #626

                 iv.    DAVID PENNINGTON, b. 11 Mar 1799, Ashe Co., NC; d. 28 Apr 1886, Lee Co., VA; m. VIRGINIA "JENNIE"JANE STAMPER, Abt. 1819, Lee Co., VA; b. 1803, Lee Co., VA; d. 30 Mar 1893, Ocoonita, Lee Co., VA.

More About DAVID PENNINGTON:

Burial: Apr 1886, Ocoonita Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 351, Fam # 683

Census 2: 1820, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 16. 1001-000100

Census 3: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 2

Census 4: 1870, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 15, #95

Census 5: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204A

More About VIRGINIA "JENNIE"JANE STAMPER:

Date born 2: 14 May 1808, Lee Co., VA or NC

Burial: Mar 1893, Ocoonita Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204A

Census 2: 1870, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 15, #95

                  v.    ELIZABETH H. PENNINGTON, b. 19 Jan 1801, Ashe Co., NC; d. 31 Jul 1818, Lee Co., VA; m. GEORGE P. SMYTH, Abt. 1817, Lee Co., VA; b. 25 Nov 1790, Lee Co., VA; d. 08 Aug 1849, Zions Mill, Lee Co., VA.

                 vi.    JOHN DEES PENNINGTON, b. 05 Oct 1802, Lee Co., VA; d. 29 Dec 1891, Greene Co., TN; m. (1) REBECCA ZION; m. (2) RACHEL ZION, 02 Jan 1823, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Jan 1807, Washington Co., VA; d. 15 Jun 1885, Dryden, Lee Co., VA.

More About JOHN DEES PENNINGTON:

Burial: Dec 1891, Greene Co., TN

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, 31st District, Pg. 340 Fam #542

Census 2: 1830, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 315, Ln 20

Census 3: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 39, #247

Census 4: 1880, Yocum Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 313A, # 206

More About RACHEL ZION:

Burial: Jun 1885, Pennington-Zion Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, 31st Dist. Pg 340, Fam. #542

Census 2: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 39, #247

Census 3: 1880, Yocum Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 313A, # 206

                vii.    REBECCA PENNINGTON, b. 12 Jul 1805, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; d. Abt. 1886, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; m. JOHN "JACK" PARSONS, JR., Abt. 1826, Lee Co., VA; b. Abt. 1802, NC; d. 05 Feb 1857, Lee Co., VA.

More About REBECCA PENNINGTON:

Burial: Abt. 1886, Parsons-Smyth Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 349, Fam # 642

Census 2: 1870, Jonesville PO, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 5, #27

Census 3: 1880, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 212D

More About JOHN "JACK" PARSONS, JR.:

Burial: Feb 1857, Smith Cemetery, Woodway, Lee Co., VA

Census: 1850, Lee Co., VA, Pg 349, Fam # 642

               viii.    SUSAN "SOOKIE" PENNINGTON, b. 20 Mar 1808, Lee Co., VA; d. Abt. 1846, Jackson, Cape Girardeau Co., MO; m. ABRAHAM CHRISMAN, SR., 06 Jan 1825, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Dec 1801, Lee Co., VA; d. 1850, Sacramento, Sacramento Co., CA.

                 ix.    ELIJAH B. PENNINGTON, b. 12 May 1810, Lee Co., VA; d. 04 May 1882, Poor Valley, Lee Co., VA; m. SARAH ELIZABETH JONES, Bef. 1832, Lee Co., VA; b. 12 Sep 1809, Lee Co., VA; d. 09 Jun 1891, Acuff, Union Co., TN.

More About ELIJAH B. PENNINGTON:

Burial: May 1882, Pennington Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, District 31, Pg 347, #625

Census 2: 1880, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 217 B

More About SARAH ELIZABETH JONES:

Census 1: 1850, Lee Co., VA, District 31, Pg 347, #625

Census 2: 1880, Rocky Station, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 217 B

                  x.    LEVI PENNINGTON, b. 10 Oct 1812, Lee Co., VA; d. 16 Jun 1889, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; m. (1) ELIZABETH ZION, Bet. 1831 - 1832, Lee Co., VA; b. 03 Apr 1815, Lee Co., VA; d. 29 Sep 1862, Lee Co., VA; m. (2) MARTHA AMANDA STEPHENS, 06 Dec 1864, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Apr 1843, Bedford Co., VA; d. 07 May 1871, VA; m. (3) MARY VERMILLION LITTON, 09 Nov 1873, Lee Co., VA; b. 11 Sep 1820, Lee Co., VA; d. 09 Jun 1898, Lee Co., VA.

More About LEVI PENNINGTON:

Burial: Jun 1889, Pennington/Zion Cemetery, near Dryden, VA

Census 1: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204B

Census 2: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 38, #246

More About ELIZABETH ZION:

Burial: Sep 1862, Pennington/Zion Cemetery, near Dryden, VA

More About MARTHA AMANDA STEPHENS:

Burial: May 1871, Pennington/Zion Cemetery, near Dryden, VA

Census: 1870, Yokum Station, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 38, #246

More About MARY VERMILLION LITTON:

Census: 1880, District 41, Jonesville, Lee Co., VA, Pg. 204B

                 xi.    MARTHA "PATSY" PENNINGTON, b. 06 Jul 1815, Lee Co., VA; d. 15 Aug 1867, Lee Co., VA; m. ISAAC RUSSELL, 19 Jan 1833, Lee Co., VA; b. 22 Feb 1805, Lee Co., VA; d. 1863, Lee Co., VA.

More About MARTHA "PATSY" PENNINGTON:

Census: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 350 #669

More About ISAAC RUSSELL:

Census: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 350 #669

                xii.    MARY "POLLY" S. PENNINGTON, b. 11 Nov 1817, Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA; d. 06 Feb 1901, Dryden, Lee Co., VA; m. MITCHELL CECIL, 11 Jul 1833, Lee Co., VA; b. 11 Jan 1803, Tazewell Co., VA; d. 04 Apr 1887, Dryden, Lee Co., VA.

More About MARY "POLLY" S. PENNINGTON:

Burial: Feb 1901, Ely Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census 1: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 337 #501

Census 2: 1900, Dryden Precinct, Lee Co., VA, Pg 8B, #155

More About MITCHELL CECIL:

Burial: Apr 1887, Ely Cemetery, Lee Co., VA

Census: 1850, 1850 Lee Co., VA Census, Dist. 31, pg 337 #501

My Pennington Line

My Pennington line comes through Elizabeth Pennington, daughter of Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson.  She married Alexander Monroe Dollar on 17 Jan 1857 and they had four children:

• Amanda Jane Dollar b. 6 Apr 1858 Creston, Ashe Co., NC d. 01 Nov 1938 Ashe Co., NC
• John Dula Dollar b. 3 Oct 1863 Creston, Ashe Co., NC d. 6 Dec 1933 Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA
• Emeline Caroline Dollar b. 15 Mar 1866 Ashe Co., NC d. 10 Dec 1954 Burdine, Letcher Co., KY
• Roby Smith Dollar b. 18 Apr 1868 Creston, Ashe Co., NC d. 21 Apr 1944 Mountain City, Johnson Co., TN

Amanda Jane Dollar married William Davis Lyall on 3 Aug 1881 in Ashe Co., NC and had 10 children.  I know that my grandmother corresponded by letter with at least one of her Lyall cousins – Ennis.  I’ve read references to her in my grandmother’s diary’s.  Amanda never left Ashe Co., NC for Laurel Bloomery, Johnson Co., TN – she was recorded with her uncle (Larkin Pennington) in the 1880 census and is married by 1881. She is buried with her husband at the William M. Lyall Family Cemetery, Ashe Co., NC.

Amanda Dollar and William Davis Lyall

John Dula Dollar is my great great grandfather.  My great grandmother probably didn’t know her father terribly well.  When she was a baby, her mother died a few months after her birth, and her father left his three oldest children with his father and step mother while he worked.  A few years later, he married Cleopatra Gentry and took the two oldest children to live with him, leaving my great grandmother to live with her grandparents.    John had three children with his first wife, Buena Vista Bailey and seven children with his second wife.  I know that during his lifetime, he worked in a lumber mill with his father and brother, probably worked as a miner in Colorado (he is recorded there in 1920 with his family) and was also known as a shoemaker, carpenter, and store operator.  I suppose he did just about anything to support his large family.

Emeline Caroline married a man, Caleb Wills Noland who lived nearby on 27 Oct 1881 in Johnson Co., TN when she was 15 years old.  She and her husband had nine known children and to this day, I know very little about some of her children.  She was the longest lived of the Dollar siblings living to almost 89 years old.  During her lifetime, she can be found in Tennessee, McDowell Co., WV, Wise Co., VA and she dies in Letcher Co., KY.  It is no wonder that her family has been hard to piece together.

John Dula Dollar family - abt 1895

The youngest of the Dollar siblings is Roby Smith Dollar.  Roby also married a local neighbor woman named Sarah Margaret Simmons.  The Dollars and Simmons family can be found close together in the census records.  Only Roby stayed in the Johnson Co., TN area for the remainder of his life.  Roby primarily worked as a lumberman and carpenter.  There are parts of the Wesley Methodist Church in Shingletown that he built and are still in evidence today.  He and his wife Sarah aka Maggie had 10 daughters.  All lived to be old women.  He used say that he would never be poor because he had his “10 Dollars!”  On 19 Feb 1912, Maggie died of pneumonia leaving Roby with his 10 daughters and the youngest was only 6 months old.  Life took most of Roby’s daughters away through marriage, work and different opportunities.   His daughter Eva lived with him for a time because she herself was disabled and had a difficult time with sight.  She is buried next to him at the Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain City, TN.  One of his daughters came back home with her husband and stayed to take care of her father and she lived to be almost 100 years old. 

Roby Dollar family in 1905

I have often wondered if Elizabeth Pennington was sickly during her life.  It is odd in that era to have only four children and spaced so far apart in age.   I know that she moved with her husband over to Laurel Bloomery but probably died within a few years after the move.  She was probably around my age of 45 when she died.  The path my Dollars took over to Laurel Bloomery was because of the Pennington family.  Elizabeth Pennington’s uncle, Andrew Pennington, lived over in Laurel Bloomery…specifically in Shingletown.  At the time, Alexander Monroe Dollar, found a better way to support his family by working as a lumberman – so they moved over the mountain to Tennessee.   The Dollars and Penningtons came from Ashe Co., NC – but my particular branch through my great grandmother came out of little house in a holler in LaurelBloomery.