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Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 12:25PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway, Lutes, Barrett, Berry
I am at an impasse on this ancestor of mine.

Thomas Jefferson Treadway, born 2/1/1821 in Lee County, Kentucky. He's my ggg-grandfather. His children:
Priscilla Treadway (1849)
Christopher Columbus Treadway (1852)
William M Treadway (1854) (My gg-grandfather)
Millard Filmore Treadway (1856)
George Washington Treadway (1859)
Mary Nelson Treadway (1863)
Helen Treadway (1895) -- More about this one later.

Mystery #1: Who are Thomas Jefferson's parents? I can't find a connection to any of the other Treadway lines in and around Lee County. I have an abridged version of a document called "The Descendants of Moses Treadway" which posits (you guessed it!) that Thomas Jefferson is the son of Moses Treadway and Caty Dewitt. This is, at best, unlikely, as they have another son named Thomas (Tillery) who would have been living at the time of Thomas Jefferson's birth. Also, Caty would have been nearing 50 at the time of TJ's birth.

It's been speculated that perhaps TJ is a son of Peter D Treadway, from a first marriage, but I cannot find any evidence one way or another on this. It may be a piece of evidence that the only "sibling" of Thomas Jefferson listed in my "Descendants..." document is William Walton Treadway (who is indeed a son of Moses and Caty).

Mystery #2: I have a photograph (sent by a wonderful individual here that I won't name!) of the headstones for Thomas Jefferson Treadway and his (first) wife Demandia Lutes. The stone for Thomas reads: "T J, Husband of Demandia Treadway...", and the one for Demandia reads: "Demandia, Wife of TJ Treadway..."

This is odd to me as, after Demandia's death in 1888, Thomas Jefferson remarried to a "Armina"/Hermione Barret/Barrot/Barritt. He apparently even had a child with this second wife, when he was 74 years of age (Helen Treadway, listed above).

The 1900 Census for Lee County shows Thomas J Treadway living with "Armina" ("wife"), her two sons (listed here as stepsons to Thomas), Helen (listed as daughter), and also "Abbergale Berry" listed as a sister to Thomas J. This last line is particularly interesting to me, as it might help out in solving Mystery #1. Abbergale is listed as being born in 6/1816.

My question is, would it be unusual for a person in that era to be buried with a first wife if they subsequently remarried and had children by the second wife? I can't help wondering if there isn't "another" burial somewhere else, and perhaps this stone that matches Demandia's (first wife) was put up later by descendants.

Can anyone help me with these two mysteries?

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 9:20PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway
Actually, there is no evidence supporting Thomas Tillery Treadway being the son of Moses Treadway. All we know about his "origin" is that he claimed to be born in KY. The book by William T. Tredway contains correspondence with descendents of Moses Treadway who mention that Thomas Jefferson was indeed the son of Moses Treadway of KY. If I'm not mistaken, these family members were old enough to have known Thomas Jefferson personally. I don't have my copy with me or I would give page numbers. Thomas Jefferson is listed in the index, so the information should not be difficult to find. I would be more inclined to make Thomas Tillery a son of either John Treadway (b. 1781 in VA, son of Moses, son of Thomas) or Daniel Treadway (b. 1774 in MD, son of Thomas, son of Daniel, son of Thomas) or perhaps Isham Treadway (b. ca 1777, son of either William or Aaron, sons of Thomas). These are my own pet hypotheses, however, and need to be researched. If this is true, your line can be somewhat confidently extended back to Richard Treadway of MD (d. 1720) as follows: Richard I, Richard II, John, Moses, Thomas Jefferson, William M., etc. I hope this helps!

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 30 Jun 2007 10:29PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway
Wow! That's surprising! I was assuming that Thomas Tillery's parentage was pretty much settled. If you do find Thomas Jefferson in the William T Tredway book, I'd certainly like any info you find threin.

Thanks for responding. I hope I can get this riddl solved.

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 24 Dec 2007 3:56AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway
I was so glad to find your post. I have been trying to verify the very same information. Many of the dates surrounding Thomas Jefferson and Moses Treadway just don't seem right. I've started thinking there is another generation between Moses and Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson is also my ggg-grandfather, and William M. is my gg-grandfather. William T. is my g-grandfather.

I would appreciate any additional information you may have found. I would also like to get copies of the headstone photos. Do you have them in a digital format? Do you have any specific information on the location of the cemetery? I have Fincastle, Lee County, KY. I am wondering if there is a more precise location in order to find it.

I'd appreciate any information you can share.

Best regards,

Harold Damron

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 24 Dec 2007 12:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway
Send me an e-mail to duffymoon[at]gmail.com (and, of course, replace the [at] with a @). I have some stuff you might be interested in.

Glad to meet you, cousin.

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 18 Mar 2008 8:24PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway, Barrot, Berry
Hello, I am a gg-granddaughter of TJ and Armina Treadway. Their daughter, Helen King, bore 14 children, including 2 sets of twin sons, and my maternal Grandmother Edna. Edna is almost 88 and the last living of her siblings.

Regarding your #2 question - TJ Treadway, widowed from wife Demandia, was about 71 when he married Armina Barrot. She was 27, and brought to the marriage two illegitimate sons, Elbert "Eb" Barrot and Shelby "Dick" Barrot. Armina is said to have been full Cherokee, spent her early years living as a traditional Native American in a "teepee" (my Grandmother's words), and was illiterate. I know nothing more about Armina Barrot's parents or the father of her two sons.

TJ Treadway's first family would have nothing to do with TJ, Armina, and their children, and when TJ died, buried his body with his first wife, Demandia. Armina married John Shoemaker, a "wealthy" man, and is buried in the Shoemaker Ridge Cemetary, somewhere near Natural Bridge Park, KY.

I found at usgennet.org/usa/ky/county/lee/census/1900/thomas.html a census list, pp. 127/128 for Thomas Jefferson Treadway and Armina. It lists the two stepsons, Elbert and Shelby, as well as the daughter Helen. Also listed in the household is Abbergale Berry, b.6/1816 older widowed sister of TJ Treadway.

My Grandmother, Edna, has told me the following from her memory, which is quite sharp: TJ Treadway was an Elder and played the organ in the early Christian Church, and was also a High Sherrif.

Grandmother remembers and uncle "Lom" (sp.?) Treadway. He had a long white beard, and a son named Porter.

Grandmother has photos of TJ Treadway, Armina, and a few of Helen. I would like to figure out how and where to post them in case others are interested in seeing them. I'm new to researching my family's history, and this is my first post.

Hope this helps. Lastly, by which of TJ Treadway's children are you a descendent?

Carolyne

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 19 Mar 2008 11:53AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway, Lutes, Barrett
Great to hear from you, Carolyne!

I sent you an e-mail. I'd LOVE to see any pictures you have of TJ and Armina. I'm descended through Demandia. I may have some TJ-related documents that you might be interested in.

I have lots of info about TJ's descendants through Demandia, and basically nothing on TJ's parentage (though I have some theories that are difficult to prove/disprove).

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 15 Oct 2008 7:34AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway, Roberts, Barrett, Dewitt
I obtained some information today that, in my view, raises serious questions about Thomas Jefferson being the son of Moses Treadway and Mary Catherine Dewitt.

I obtained a copy of the marriage bond for Thomas Jefferson and his second wife, Armina Barrett from the Lee County, KY Clerk. Thomas Jefferson and Armina married on 14-DEC-1892. This was Thomas Jefferson's second marriage at the age of 71. Armina's age is listed as 27. Unfortunately, it doesn't list the names of the parents of the groom or bride. But, it lists their places of birth. The groom's father was born in Montgomery County, KY. The groom's mother was born in Clark County, KY. According to the best information I have found regarding Moses and Mary Catherine, their places of birth were MD and VA, respectively.

The marriage bond indicates that the marriage ceremony took place at "Moses Roberts", presumably the home of Moses Roberts. The ceremony was officiated by J.M. Roberts and was witnessed by Moses Roberts and Peter Barrett, Armina's father. Thomas Jefferson and Peter Barrett signed the marriage bond as principal and surety, respectively (Peter made a mark "X", which was noted and his name filled in.)

"The Descendants of Moses Treadway" was written in the 1930's, about 30 years after Thomas Jefferson died. According to that document, much of the information was obtained from William T. Treadway, who was Thomas Jefferson's grandson. William T's father, Wiliam M., was alive at the time of the document's writing. Both of them were old enough to have personally known Thomas Jefferson. So, it's hard to believe that this document would be incorrect. Moses would have been William M's grandfather and William T's g-grandfather. I have to believe they were close enough to the Moses Treadway generation to have known that they were descended from Moses. But, was it "The" Moses Treadway who was married to Mary Catherine?

My theory (which I can't prove at this time) is that Moses and Mary Catherine may have had a son, Moses "Jr." who would have been the father of Thomas Jefferson, or that one of Moses' brothers had a son named Moses.

BTW, I was able to recently obtain records from the National Archives pertaining to Thomas Jefferson's service for a Kentucky regiment on the side of the Union during the Civil War. Aside from the fact that it verifies Thomas Jefferson's service in the Civil War, it verifies his date of birth as 01-FEB-1821. This is on a medical document signed by him. I have seen several different DOB's for him.

I've raised more questions than answers. I hope we can solve this mystery soon.

Harold Damron

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 2:33PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway, Barrett
Well done, Harold. This is a tough nut to crack, apparently. I think one of your theories must be correct: that TJ Treadway is indeed descended from Moses Treadway, just not the Moses Treadawy born in MD.

How to prove that is, however, something I don't know.

Re: Thomas Jefferson Treadway (b. 1821, Lee Co, Ky) - Two Mysteries

Posted: 14 Dec 2009 11:27AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Treadway, Pigg, Dewitt
With the help of a certified genealogist in Kentucky, I have found documentation that clearly supports Thomas Jefferson Treadway being the son of Moses & Mary Catherine.

First, the reconstructed marriage records of Owsley County, KY (the original records were destroyed in a courthouse fire) list Thomas Jefferson marrying Demanda Lutes in 1845. Thomas Jefferson's parents are listed as Moses and Mary Catherine.

Second, a lawsuit was filed in Powell County, KY by one Anderson Pigg shortly after Moses' death. The suit alleged that Pigg purchased land from Moses before he died and that he, not Moses' heirs, was entitled to it. The judge summoned all of the heirs, including one "Thomas" of Owsley County. The 1850 census lists three Treadways in Owsley County, including one "Thomas" with a wife, Demanda. The 1853 Owsley County tax records indicate one "Thos J".

Third is the matter of Thomas Tillery Treadway. While this research didn't prove or disprove his relationship to Moses and Mary Catherine, marriage records clearly show that he was living in Indiana by the 1830's, where he died ca 1870. Taken with the above information, he is clearly not the "Thomas" listed as an heir in the suit. Since only one "Thomas" is listed as an heir, and it evidently refers to Thomas Jefferson, not Thomas Tillery, this might cast some doubt that Thomas Tillery is related to Moses and Mary Catherine.

The discovery of the lawsuit provided the key information to help resolve this matter. For those of us who have had previous doubts about Thomas Jefferson being the son of Moses and Mary Catherine, I think this information removes that doubt.

Harold Damron
Mokena, IL
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