1840 Riley Township, Pope Co AR----Evan Axley is listed with 1 male under 5, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 60-70, 1 female 20-30, and 1 female 60-70.
James Axley is listed with 1 male under 5, 1 male 40-50, 2 females under 5, 1 female 10-15 and 1 female 20-30

1850 Duchess Creek Township, Yell Co AR---Evan Axley (39) born TN, Elizabeth (29) born NC, Nimrod (13) born LA, Sally (10) born AR, Melissa (8), Elizabeth (6), Hillery (4), Evan (2), and Josephine (1).
James Axley (51) born TN, Druwhitta (4), John (15) born TN, and Polly (13)

James Axley was my ggggrandfather. He was born Dec. 9, 1799 and died November 4, 1979. He is buried at Tobey Cemetary in Burnet County Texas. He is on the 1860 and 1870 census for Burnet County Texas. He was married twice. His second wife was named Elizabeth (Betsy). She and daughter Margaret were living with Jonathan and Narcissus Williams on the 1880 Burnet Co Census.

Evan Axley and family is still living in Yell Co in 1860 although some of the information is different from the 1850 census.

His daughter Narcissus married Jonathan Williams in Yell Co AR on Jan 18, 1849. She was my gggrandmother.

I think that my grandpa James and Evan were brothers. Does anyone know who their parents were, for certain?

There was an Arkansas military bounty grant for the War of 1812 to John Axley, Faulkner Co., Warrant No. 22,987 issued on 11/27/1820. Could this be their father?

Narcissa Axley Williams was also my ggg grandmother. Jonathan and Narcissa's daughter Mary married my gg grandfather Robert Herring. Robert & Mary Herring are listed between the Axley's and the Williams' family on the 1870 Census of Burnet County, TX. In 1880 they can also be found with the Williams' and Axley's on the Bell County, TX census. Family history has it that Robert and Mary were second cousins but I haven't found that connection yet.

Thanks for your reply. I had never heard that Robert and Mary might be second cousins but I have been thinking for some time that James Axley's first wife may have been either a Herring or a Millard. A lot of the same names were used in all of those families.

In the 1830 Haywood TN census, there is a James Axley listed with a wife and child which would fit the age of Narcissus. There were also Herrings and Millards listed on the same census. I know he was married at least twice and possibly 3 times.

I also think that his father might possibly have been John Axley who got a military land grant in Faulkner County Arkansas for service in the War of 1812. Bright Herring also fought in the War of 1812 and got a land grant in Arkansas.

My grandmother used to have a very old bible that had quite a few names and dates in it. I don't know what happened to the bible but it listed Mary Herring's death as July 1884. Fortunately my sister wrote the information down because she was doing a genealogy project in high school. I now have the big bible that my great grandfather gave my great grandfather but there isn't much information in it.

Becky Pfeiffer

Yes, I think the Axleys, Herrings, Millards, Iveys and Bass' moved together over time to Yell County and that they may have been related. That I can find there were three Herring brothers, Hillery, John C. and Bryant in Haywood County. I believe there was a fourth over in Tipton County too. I was told that James Millard married Edna Herring in Sullivan County, TN in 1825 and then they moved on to Haywood County. I think Edna might have been a sister to these brothers and would help explain their close connection. I too, think James Axley's first wife may have been a Herring but it's just a guess on my part. John C. Herring's son, Logan named his eldest son Millard Herring. Also, my great uncle that moved to Oklahoma from Arkansas around 1910 was named Millard Bass. I need to look through my records but I think I had information on a Bass that also married a Herring. Could Evan have been James Axley's son?

No, Evan was born in 1811. I think they may have been brothers. James Axley was born 9 Dec 1799 and died 4 Nov 1879 in Burnet Co. TX. He and wife Elizabeth are buried at Tobey Cemetery in Burnet Co. James Axley had at least 4 children.

Narcissus born 23 Oct 1826 married Jonathan Williams in 1849 in Yell Co. AR

John born in 1837 married Elizabeth Hunt in 1860 Williamson Co. TX

Mary (Pollie) Axley born 3 Mar 1836 married Lewis Williams in 1858, Burnet Co. TX.

Unknown daughter. May have married/may have died. She was on the 1840 census in Pope or Scott (I would have to look up) with James. She is not on the 1850 census.

One of Evan's children was born in Louisiana. There are quite a few Axley's in Natchitoches LA (I think 1850). That census is on the internet. I think these may be related to the Yell County families.

Becky Pfeiffer

I forgot to mention this in my last e-mail but there are quite a few Ivie/Ivy family members who lived in Bell County. Look up "Maxdale Cemetery Bell County TX". Either I or members of my family are related to most of the people in the cemetery. I think the oldest grave in there was Elisha Ivy.

Thanks for all the information Rebecca. I don't think there is any doubt that we are cousins. Robert and Mary's first born was named Narcissa. She was known as Sissy in our family. She married a Myrick in Bell County and they moved on to Oklahoma for the Land Lottery of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache lands in 1901 with one of Robert's sons, William Thomas Herring (my grandfather). How were the Ivey's related? I'm sure there was a marriage as far back as Tennessee since they migrated with the other families from TN to AR to TX. Was the date of birth for James Axley in the family Bible? Was there any information on any of the Herrings listed other than the death of Mary? I know that James Axley was born in Tennessee but it looks like the other family heads that were born in the early 1800's were born in North Carolina. I've been trying to trace Robert Herring's linage, my great grandfather. He is listed in the Lewis Herring household in the 1860 Census of Yell County, AR but I don't believe he was Lewis' son. Lewis had just moved to Yell County from MS in 1857-58. This family of Herrings is well documented in several books, the latest "HERRING Highlights III" by James Maurice Grimwood. Lewis Herring's second wife was Elizabeth Austin Harrell and many Herring genealogists believe that Robert was a Harrell. I have been DNA tested though and compared to several Harrell descendants and we are not even closely related to any Harrells. I hope to find a male Herring descendent that will agree to some DNA testing too. I think that by 1860, Robert was an orphan of a James Herring and was just living with the Lewis Herring family. I believe Lewis was a cousin of the Herrings already in Yell County at that time. Due to the closeness of ages I think that Hillery, John C., Bryant and James were all brothers but this is just guess work on my part. Sometime in the early 1860's Robert at age 13-14 had moved to Burnet County, TX ( to avoid Civil War service I think) and lived with the Axley's. He married Mary Williams in 1869. After Mary died, Robert married Prudence (?) they moved back to Yell County where one of Robert's sons, James Hilery Herring, met and married his first cousin (as our family history tells us), Della Mae Herring. Della was the daughter of Logan who was the son of John C. Herring. Robert and Prudie, two sons and a daughter and their families moved on to Oklahoma by 1911. Robert died in 1938 and is buried at the Highland Cemetery, Lawton, OK.

I wanted to ask too ... do you have a burial place for Mary Williams? Thanks, Earl Herring

Rebecca, I just ran across this site by Bob Baird. One of his family lines are the Iveys. Decsendants of Robert Ivey, Sr. were Turner Ivey and John E. Ivey. They moved to Haywood County, TN and then Turner moved on to Yell County, AR. John E had a daughter named Narcissa. Could this be one and the same Narcissus Axley? The site is http://www.genfiles.com/ivey/iveyrobert1.html .

Earl Herring

Earl: In a very old bible that my grandmother used to have (I don’t know who has it now, or if it still exists) there was a list of my g-great-grandfather’s brothers and sisters and dates. They are:

Lydia Rebecca Williams born 6 Dec 1824
Jonathan Williams born 1 Jan 1826 (This was our Jonathan that married Narcissus)
Thomas Williams born 21 Nov 1828
Joseph Williams born 11 Apr 1830
William Williams born 20 Jul 1832
Tabitha Williams born 1 June 1834

Other names listed were:

Mary Herring died July 1884
Elizabeth Williams died July 27, 1836 (I believe this to be the Betsey Young that David Williams married in Orange Co. IN in 1825)

Alfred Young born Sep 7 1820
William Wilson Young born Feb 27 1842
Elizabeth Williams born Dec 29 1849

Thomas Henry Williams born Jun 18 1882
James Earnest Williams born Dec 12 1884
Lillie Edna Williams born Oct 3, 1886 died 12 Feb 1887

My e-mail in beckympv@hotmail.com if you want to contact me directly. I will send you a lot of family info plus some pictures.

Becky

Evan and James are related I just don't know how as of yet but I am a descendant of Evan Axley, he is my 4th great grandfather..if you would like to share information that would be great I will give you all that I have...:) thanks :)

So, are you saying that Narcissus AXLEY, who married Jonathan Williams in Yell Co., AR on Jan 18, 1849, was the daughter of Evan AXLEY? or James AXLEY?

Do you know what the relationship is between Narcissus AXLEY WILLIAMS and Margaret AXLEY (daughter of Elizabeth AXLEY)? The 1860 census for Burnet Co., TX shows Elizabeth and (her apparent husband) James AXLEY (and Margaret, age 4) living next door to Narcissus and Jonathan WILLIAMS. The 1880 census for Bell Co., TX shows Elizabeth AXLEY (age 63) living with Narcissus and Jonathan WILLIAMS, and listed as "step-mother-in-law". This would indicate that she was Narcissus's step-mother. If so, does this mean that James AXLEY (living next door to Narcissus and Jonathan WILLIAMS in 1860 in Burnet Co., TX) was the father of Narcissus - and not Evan? If so, what was Narcissus's mother's maiden name?

Also, do you happen to know Elizabeth AXLEY's maiden name? I am actually researching Elizabeth's daughter, Margaret, who married Thomas T. HAVINS, Jr.

Thanks so much for any additional information you can provide.

Narcissus Axley was the daughter of James Axley and his first wife. She was the half sister of Margaret June who married Thomas Havins, Jr.

I think that James Axley and Evan Axley were probably brothers, and that their father may have been John Axley. Evan and James both lived in Pope County AR in 1840. Evan had a male and female living in his household that were both betwen 60 and 70 years old.

Some of my online cousins and I think that James Axley’s first wife may have been a Herring. I have no information on his second wife except her first name was Elizabeth, but I believe they must have been married in either Pope, Yell, or Scott Co AR between 1850 and 1855. Are you descended from Margaret?

James Axley was also listed in the Haywood County TN census for 1830 with a wife and daughter (which would have been Narcissus).

Thanks, Becky, for all your help.

Do you happen to have any actual birth record (or other source) documentation for Margaret AXLEY, daughter of James AXLEY?

Our relationship to Margaret AXLEY HAVINS is via a collateral line.
Her mother-in-law (mother of Thomas Tobert HAVINS, Jr.) was Louisa CRAWFORD HAVINS.
Louisa's father, Marshall CRAWFORD, is the 2nd great-grandfather of my husband.

Thanks again.

I am related to the Axleys. My grandfather was Kin Axley and my father is Dillon Axley. Evan was my great grandfather.

hey don..i think we have emailed each other before..did you get another email address..cause i have more info if you would like it...just let me know...brandie :)

Hi Brandie:

Yes, I have a new email address. Looking forward for more information on the Axleys.

Don