Rutherford County TN court record books have eight records for the two minor heirs of Hardy Pope, deceased. The records begin in Nov. 1842 and go through Jan 1854; so Hardy Pope appears to have died around 1840-1841. Heirs are John & Jane Pope. John comes of age in 1853, making his birth year about 1832; Jane appears to come of age with the last entry in Jan. 1854, making her birth year 1833-1836 (depending on whether she came of age at 18 or 21.) Or she could have married or died after the last entry.
Their guardian is William Pope. Money is paid for their boarding and schooling to Mrs. Sarah Pope, presumably the wife of Hardy Pope, dec’d.
I believe this John Pope may be my g-g-grandfather John Hardy Pope, born in TN 26 Dec 1832, died in Coffee County 31 May 1913. He has in his household in 1860 Coffee County TN a woman named Sarah Pope born abt. 1788.
1860 TN Coffee Co Dist-5 Tullahoma p33
JH Pope 28 M farmer (b. 1832) TN
Sarah 22 F TN
Lydia 3 F TN
Syrena 11/12 F TN
p33b
Sarah 72 F (b.1788) KY
Cyrena 46 F (b. 1814) TN
John Hardy Pope came to Coffee County from Bedford County TN District 10, with his wife Sarah Elizabeth Ward Pope & father-in-law Burrell Ward, after their marriage in 1853.
I assume that Hardy Pope is either his father or grandfather, possibly married to Sarah. Who is this Hardy Pope? He is NOT the Hardy Pope who married Evaline Jane Gambill, because they did not marry until 1833, and he died in abt. 1851 according to court documents. He cannot be Hardy Pope son of Charles Pope, because he lived from abt. 1825-1875. He is most likely not Hardy Pope son of Ezekiel Pope, because he lived in Williamson County, then Weakley & Carroll County, and died after 1850.
There is a Hardy Pope in Bedford County District 10 in 1840, age 70-80, with children the right age to be John & Jane Pope. He is a few doors down from John Hardy Pope’s father in law Burrell ward.
1840 TN Bedford Co p44
Hardy Pope 1 male b.1830-35, 1 male b.1760-70, 1 female b.1835-1840, 2 females b.1810-20, 1 female b.1780-90
The only other Hardy Pope in the area is Hardy Pope b. 1764-1774 NC, who married Penelope Ward b. abt. 1773. They lived in Rutherford Co, TN between abt. 1805-1820.
There is no definitive death date or place for Hardy & Penelope. Could Hardy have moved to Bedford county and died there c.1840? Could he have married a second wife named Sarah? If so, and John Hardy Pope is his grandson, who would John Hardy Pope’s father be? He does not fit into the families of any of Hardy & Penelope’s other sons:
Solomon Pope b. 1786 m. Margaret Hobson 12/20/1808;
Ezekial Pope b. 1787 d. November 1828 in Williamson Co. TN m. Margaret Burleson 7/21/1810;
William Pope b. 1788 m. Elizabeth;
Winfield Pope b. 1792 d. 1840 m. Elizabeth Arnold 1820;
Charles Pope b. 1793 d. 9/20/1860 m. Elizabeth Smith 12/28/1815;
Benjamin Ward Pope b. 1/9/1806 d. 12/6/1868 m. (1)Sara Lundy Reed 11/4/1824, (2) Abigail Richards 2/25/1846.
Adding to the mystery is the presence of a woman named Cyrena Pope b. abt. 1813 TN in John Hardy Pope’s HH in 1860. She could be an older sister or his mother? I have never been able to find ONE SCRAP of data about her other than the 1860 census. Who is she?
Adding to the frustration is the fact that the 1850 Bedford County District 10 census was apparently LOST. This combined with the loss of many other Bedford county records in fires & such has left me at a brick wall with the ancestry of John Hardy Pope. And oh yeah, he died in 1913—the ONE YEAR they didn’t keep death certificates in Tennessee.
Anyone have any ideas for me??