James DUNCAN (~1800-1 Mar 1842) +
Elizabeth Wilson ROBERTSON (~1800-186x)

Daniel David (Jan 1824-24 May 1904) — m. Mary Adeline Medaline Ring on 10 Jan 1856

William Preston (1826-1868) — m. Susan Ring on 18 Oct 1849

Owen (~1829-????) — m. Nancy A. Sedgley on 10 Dec 1853

Rebecca Jane (28 Feb 1832-17 Jun 1915) — m. John Martin on 5 Oct 1865

?Lucinda? (~1836-????)

Louisa E. (~1837-????) — m. John Russ on 16 Apr 1857

Eli (~1837-????)

John Wilson (~Jul 1841-1903) — m. Lydia C. Fletcher in 186x

William Alexander (Jan ?1843?-28 Nov 1915) — m. Eliza Ann “Lizzie” Miller on 28 Oct 1866

There are stories about the Duncan family being mixed-blood Cherokee, part of the 1831-1840 diaspora of the eastern tribes known as the Trail of Tears. I don’t know whether that’s true. The Cherokee of North Carolina were forced out beginning in 1838. Their trail ran from western North Carolina into central Tennessee, and then west through Arkansas.

James was born probably in North Carolina about 1800. His middle name might have been Virgil, or might have begun with J. He’s thought to have been the son of Henry Duncan and Christine Keziah Avery of Johnston County, North Carolina.

Elizabeth was born in Tennessee, details unknown. According to her sons Daniel and John, both of her parents were from Tennessee as well.

There’s supposedly a record that shows James reporting for military duty at Ross Landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1838, but this is probably a confusion with the James Duncan from Illinois who later commanded units of the US 2nd Artillery Regiment in the Mexican-American War. The 1840 census in Tennessee listed four families headed by a James Duncan of the right approximate age. I don’t know which, if any, was him. Two were near Knoxville, one was in Washington County at the far eastern tip of the state, and one was in Hardeman County in the southwestern part.

James reportedly died in 1842 in Cannon County, Tennessee. The 1850 census showed Elizabeth “Dunkin” (50) in Cannon County with children Daniel (22), Owen (21), Rebecca J. (18), ?Lucinda? (14), Louisa E. (13), Eli (13), John W. (10), and William A. (7). All the children were born in Tennessee.

The 1860 census listed Elizabeth (claiming to be 40) in Piney Fork Township, the area of Evening Shade in Lawrence County, Arkansas. Still with her were children Rebecca (23), Eli (21), John W. (18), and Alexander (15). None of these folks were real precise about their ages.

I can’t track Elizabeth after 1860. She probably died in the 1860s. Family stories say she was buried in Evening Shade, or in Maxville between Evening Shade and Cave City. That probably means the Maxville Cemetery, just north of Maxville proper, although there are no records of Duncans there.

Children

Daniel David Duncan (1824-1904)

Daniel married Mary Adeline Medaline Ring (Mar 1835-1918) from Missouri on 10 Jan 1856 at the home of her parents in Lawrence County. Known children:

Jefferson C. (6 Dec 1859-2 Oct 1923) — m. Julia Ann America Lassiter on 31 Oct 1877

Margaret E. (1860-by 1899) — m. George Washington Columbus Williamson on 30 Nov 1881

Amanda E./A. (18 Sep 1862-????) — m. Winfield Scott Claxton on 12 Jan 1882

Mary Ellen (24 Jan 1864-30 Mar 1939) — m. Joseph Price Chrisco on 8 Jan 1885; m. Joseph Franklin Lassiter on 7 Dec 1893

Buckey A. “Buck” (?Apr 1871?-after 1920) — m. M. Emeline “Emma” Douthit on 31 Aug 1898

Susan Jane “Susie” (20 Aug 1871-6 May 1957) — m. Francis Asbury “Berry” Lassiter on 8 Feb 1893

Charley Wesley (25 Jun 1878-9 Jan 1924) — m. Laura Ersley Douthit on 26 Dec 1900

In 1870, they were in Franklin Township, Independence County with four children – Margaret was missing, and there was a 2-month-old baby boy who must have been Buck. The 1880 census showed them in Sullivan, Sharp County.

They were still there in 1900, with just the two youngest sons at home. Son Buck listed himself as widowed, but his “late” wife Emeline was back with her father and siblings in Strawberry Township and also listing herself as widowed, so what was going on? Daniel died in 1904 and is buried in Eutopia Cemetery, Cave City, Sharp County, Arkansas. Mary died in 1918 and is buried with him.

Meanwhile, Buck and Emma reunited and had one child, Ora Madeline Duncan (15 Oct 1901-9 Feb 2004). Maybe they were helped along by the marriage of their siblings Charley Duncan and Laura Douthit.

William Preston Duncan (1826-1868)

Preston has his own entry in the family tree.

Owen Duncan (~1829-????)

Owen married Nancy A. Sedgely (~1831-????) from Alabama on 10 Dec 1853 in Cannon County. Their children:

James W. (1853-????)

Mary J. (1856-????) — poss. m. J. R. Tharp on 21 Aug 1884

Martha E. (1858-????)

John W. (1860-????)

Lizzy J. (1862-????)

Tildy N. (1868-????)

They moved to Lawrence (later Sharp) County, Arkansas in the early 1860s. The 1870 census showed them in Washington Township there. The 1860 Tennessee census had listed the older four of their six children as born in Alabama, but the 1870 census changed that to Tennessee.

I can’t find most of them after 1870. The 1880 census showed Owen Dunkin (45) in Sullivan Township with three of the children of his niece Nancy, even though Nancy was living nearby (previous page of the census) with her husband and their oldest child. Owen’s age was off, but for the Duncans, that’s kind of expected. Other near neighbors included his former sister-in-law Susan Ring Duncan Kent.

An M. J. Duncan of Maxville, daughter of Owen Duncan, married in Sharp County in 1884, but she claimed to be 17, so I can’t be sure she was our Owen’s daughter. That would be a stretch even by Duncan standards. The wedding certificate included a note from Owen Duncan saying he has no objection to the marriage, and a George Duncan – M. J.’s cousin, if it was the right Duncan family – was the security for the license.

Rebecca Jane Duncan (1832-1915)

Rebecca, claiming to be 27, married Arkansas native John Martin (Oct 1840-19xx) in Independence County, Arkansas on 5 Oct 1865. He had been a sergeant in Company H, 24th Missouri Infantry, a Union regiment, during the war. They were living in Independence County in 1870, then Sharp County in 1880, then back to Independence County by 1900. Their children:

Ellen (~1864-????) — prob. died in 1870s

Eliza Jane (5 Oct 1869-19 Jan 1934) — m. George William Croft on 13 Jan 1889

Margaret E. (5 Jan 1873-29 Aug 1957) — m. Samuel L. Russ on 26 Feb 1893

John A. (5 Jul 1874-4 Sep 1935) — m. Mary B. Russ on 26 Jul 1896

In the 1900 census for Jefferson Township, Independence County, Rebecca reported having four children, three still living. In 1910, she and John were living with daughter Margaret and her family, still in Jefferson. Rebecca died in 1915, and is buried as Rebecky Martin in Eutopia Cemetery, Cave City, Sharp County. John is buried there as well, although his gravestone doesn’t have dates. Rebecca, in keeping with family tradition, kept changing her story about her age, but her tombstone nails it down.

Lucinda Duncan (~1836-????)

Haven’t found Lucinda after 1850. She might have married before her family left Tennessee.

Louisa E. Duncan (~1837-????)

Louisa married John Russ/Ross on 16 Apr 1857 at the home of her mother in Lawrence County. This might have been the John Ross, age 12, who was listed by the 1850 census in Black River Township. And then they just disappeared.

Eli Duncan (~1837-????)

Can’t find Eli after 1860.

John Wilson Duncan (~1841-1903)

John’s year of birth in the 1900 census is 1843, but others censuses indicate it was a year or two before that. During the war, John enlisted in the 2nd Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry, and later with the 4th Iowa Cavalry. Both were Union units. He married Lydia C. Fletcher (Apr ?1846?-?1920?) from Tennessee, daughter of John and Catherine Fletcher. Their children:

William H. (1865-????) — prob. died young

Sarah Louise (27 Apr 1867-14 Mar 1920) — m. Whitfield “Whit” Anderson

Priscilla “Allie” (Jan 1868-19xx) — m. Henry Stalnaker/Stolnicher on 9 Oct 1887

Lititia “Belle” (3 Sep 1871-19 Oct 1965) — m. James W. Know on 11 Feb 1893

Andrew Jackson (9 Jun 1875-31 Mar 1952) — m. Rosa A. Horned on 13 May 1897

Frances Luella “Ella” (Jul 1878-193x) — m. Andrew Jackson Mattocks/Maddox on 16 May 1899

Minnie B. (Jan 1882-19xx)

Thomas Minter (23 Nov 1885-Jul 1962) — m. Verna Ann Hall on 9 Oct 1910

William H. (Apr 1888-19xx)

Henry Wilson (30 Aug 1890-1 Mar 1921) — m. Margaret Frances Henry on 3 Jan 1914

They must have spent some of the war years in Missouri, because the 1870 census, which showed them in Washington Township, Sharp County, listed William H. (5) as born in Missouri, with Sarah L. (3) and Percilla (1) born in Arkansas. The household also included Lydia’s two younger brothers.

In the 1880 census, they were in Strawberry next door to the Norrises, with children William (15), Sarah L. (13), Bell (11), Andrew (5), and Frances E. (2); Priscilla was missing.

By 1900 John and Lydia were in Davidson & Lebanon Townships, Sharp County with a long list of children and grandchildren, although Priscilla, her children, and Minnie were also listed living in a separate residence in Jackson, Sharp County. John died in 1903 and is buried in Buchanan Cemetery, Center, Sharp County, north of Poughkeepsie and Nelsonville.

The 1910 census showed Lydia still in Lebanon with just sons William and Henry (apparently the son listed in 1900 as Robert W.) still there, although son Minter was living alone next door. Lydia reportedly died in 1920.

In the 1920 census, sons William and Henry were sharing a place in Jackson Township, Sharp County. Henry died the following year in Memphis, and is buried in Williford Cemetery. A William H. Duncan of the right age, married, was working for the Arkansas School for the Deaf in Little Rock in 1930.

William Alexander Duncan (~1843-1915)

Alexander always claimed to have been born in 1845, apart from the 1850 census, but if his father really died in 1842 that doesn’t work. Like his brother John, he enlisted first in the 2nd Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry and then with the 4th Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. He married Arkansas native Eliza Ann “Lizzie” Miller (Dec 1850-1920) on 28 Oct 1866 in Independence County, which adjoins Sharp County on the south side. They settled in Sharp County. Their children:

Mary E. (20 Oct 1868-13 Jun 1937) — m. Thomas Collard

Sarah Louisa (Jan 1870-after 1920) — never married

William Alexander, Jr. (Mar 1872-after 1920) — never married

Sophia (8 Feb 1874-11 Oct 1875)

John Marina (13 Oct 1876-15 Feb 1953) — m. Mima Miranda Bryant on 26 May 1904; m. Minerva Forsythe on 30 May 1923

Amanda J. “Mandy” (24 Dec 1879-12 Apr 1945) — m. John McIntosh on 26 Feb 1902

Fannie Roberta Adella (13 Apr 1880-2 Mar 1967) — m. Ephraim Levi Sipes on 1 Jan 1899; m. George Adam Beaugate Poole on 29 Dec 1913; m. Walter Lang Poole on 8 Jun 1928

Powell Jefferson “Jeff” (12 Aug 1884-13 Sep 1960) — m. Maude M. Hicks in Sep 1913

Charles Granville (12 Aug 1885-30 Mar 1952) — never married

Ada (Mar 1890-19xx)

Helen Marie (21 Dec 1891-21 Oct 1982) — m. William Henry Preston “Press” Pool; m. Thomas Alex “Tom” Manry in 1929

Theodore (Dec 1893-19xx)

The 1870 census showed them in Washington Township, Sharp County with their first two children. In 1880 they were in Sullivan Township, Sharp County.

In 1900 the family were living in Hogan, Franklin County, Arkansas; presumably widowed daughter Mary and her daughter Eva had joined them, although the census recorded Eva as a daughter of Alexander & Lizzie rather than a grand-daughter.

In 1910 Alexander and Lizzie were in Finley, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, still with most of the children. Alexander died in 1915, and is buried in Emet Cemetery, Johnston County, Oklahoma. Lizzie died in 1919, and is buried with him. There are records of pension payments to Lizzie up to around the time of her death.

Jeff and Charles were twins, but their tombstones disagree on year of birth.

Grand-daughter Eva Esjella Collard (23 Apr 1892-19xx) married Shelby Hicks on 21 Sep 1913. She and Shelby and their children were living with her mother Mary in Black Dog Township, Osage County, Oklahoma in the 1930 census.

Links

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