Richard (~1780-????)
Elijah (25 Nov 1786-1860) — m. Elizabeth “Betsey” Terrell on 3 May 1813
Michael Thompson (~1788-1851) — m. Martha Corbet on 1 Feb 1815
John Thompson, Jr. (~1791-1873) — m. Polly R. Corbett on 20 Sep 1815
Mary Ann “Polly” (~1792-1884) — m. James Corbet on 31 Oct 1815
Elizabeth (~1795-1849) — m. James McCuistion III on 26 Jan 1819
Joseph (~1795-1872)
Collins (~1807-????)
Lavina C. (~1808-19 Feb 1884) — m. Charles Andrew Goforth on 17 Jun 1823
Martha Louisa () — m. Jameson
John was born in King & Queen County in colonial Virginia, reportedly the eldest of eleven children to Samuel Gresham (25 Apr 1743-1810) and Hannah Farmer (????). His father Samuel appeared in the 1782 tax rolls for King & Queen County, and in the 1787 tax rolls for Lincoln County, Kentucky, where Samuel died about 1810. John went by his middle name, possibly as Tom or Tommy, and his last name was sometimes spelled Gresham and other variants. His year of birth is doubtful.
Katie was the daughter of Frederick Vaughn and an unknown mother.
They probably married about 1785, location unclear. The list of dates for their children above is shaky.
The 1830 census for Jefferson County, Tennessee, listed the household of Thompson Grisham as a couple in their 60s.
The 1840 census listed them (under “Thomson Grissom”) as a couple in their 70s, along with an unnamed woman in her 20s. They were two doors away from the household of son-in-law James Corbet – maybe the young woman was a grand-daughter, there to help out.
Thompson reportedly died in Chestnut Grove, Jefferson County, Tennessee about 1841. There’s no record of Katie after that.
Elijah fought in the War of 1812, either before or after he married Elizabeth “Betsey” Terrell (1796-1850) in 1813. They moved to McMinn County, and had a reported nine children:
Thomas R. (1816-????) — m. Elizabeth ???? in 183x
James Wiley (1820-????) — prob. m. Mary S. Woods on 16 Nov 1864
John M. (22 May 1821-4 Apr 1856) — m. Nancy McRary
Richard Elijah “Elijah” (1822-?1872?) — m. Luann Browder on 20 Sep 1842
Jane ()
Elizabeth (1830-????) — m. Robert McRary on 2 Sep 1852
Mary Ann “Polly” (1834-????) — m. Skinner
Joseph (1836-????)
Martin Van Buren (2 Jun 1840-2 Oct 1916) — m. Mary Catherine Eaton in 1859
Betsey died in 1850. Elijah died in 1860. He is buried with Betsey in Sullins Cemetery, Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee.
See the Corbet-Reed family page for Michael’s story.
See the Corbet-Reed family page for John’s story.
Polly has her own entry in the family tree.
Data for Elizabeth is listed under her husband, James McCuistion III, in the McCuistion-Scott family page.
Lavina married Charles Andrew Goforth (1801-16 Mar 1859) in 1823 in Jefferson County. Known children:
William Marion (3 Dec 1823-10 Sep 1910) — m. Elizabeth A. Dodson on 6 Apr 1854; m. Martha Jane Strother on 15 Jul 1877
John T. (9 Jun 1825-10 Dec 1902) — m. Mary Ann McMasters in 1850
Martha Elizabeth (21 Sep 1832-13 Sep 1873) — m. Benjamin Franklin Clopton, Sr. about 1851
James Harvey (14 Oct 1833-3 May 1914) — m. Mary Ann E. Davidson on 7 Sep 1854
Susan Carolyn (Oct 1836-May 1903) — m. Hiram S. Samsel in 1857; m. John Shepherd Brooks in 1865
Charles Cornelius Tennessee (1839-31 Jan 1912)
Jasper Newton (Aug 1841-9 May 1920) — m. Nancy Kaziah Christian on 23 Feb 1873
Louisa Victoria (6 Dec 1843-23 Mar 1881) — m. John Folks on 10 Jan 1861
In the mid-1840s, the family moved to Dade County, Missouri. Charles died there in 1859. Lavina moved to California along with her married daughter Susan and family. By 1860, she was living at a boarding house in Bodega, Sonoma County, California. In the 1870 census, she was living with daughter Victoria and family in Bodega. She remained in Sonoma County until her death in 1884. She’s buried in Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County.
https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-thompson-gresham_43375073 -- John & Katie
https://www.geni.com/people/John-Gresham/3920303890640126631 -- John
https://www.geni.com/people/Katie-Gresham/3920307414930024934 -- Katie
https://www.myheritage.com/names/polly_corbett -- Various Polly Corbets
https://www.myheritage.com/names/elizabeth_mccuistion -- Confuses Elijah’s sister with his wife
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNDD-TL2 -- 1813 wedding of Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8YN-LJX -- Ditto
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP9-8VD -- 1830 census
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYL-BGB -- 1840 census
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYG-313 -- 1840 census, Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNDV-LMV -- 1842 wedding of Elijah's son Richard Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDG-WT7 -- 1850 census, Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ4-B4V -- 1850 census, Lavina
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDG-WRY -- 1850 census, Elijah's son Thomas
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDG-P6D -- 1850 census, Elijah's son Richard Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNDV-29K -- 1852 wedding of Elijah's daughter Elizabeth
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6078141 -- 1860 grave of Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8TP-PX5 -- 1860 census, Elijah's son Thomas
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8TP-P6D -- 1860 census, Elijah's sons Richard Elijah and James
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNDV-65G -- 1864 wedding of poss. Elijah's son James
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDDJ-7FW -- 1870 census, Elijah's son Richard Elijah
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNXQ-VHX -- 1870 census, Lavina