Nicholas Clayton NORRIS, Jr. (~1827-12 Jun 1863) +
Martha “Tennessee” McFARLIN (16 Jul 1832-10 Feb 1922)

William Thomas J. “Little Tom” (28 Sep 1854-31 Oct 1930) — m. Sophronia Duncan on 12 Jan 1881; m. Martha “Patsy” Johnson Stewart on 27 Feb 1907

Maria Catherine (20 Jun 1857-26 Apr 1936) — m. Doc Beford Werner in 187x

James Harvey (28 May 1859-2 Feb 1950) — m. Eliza Caldonia May on 29 Jan 1880

Nicholas was born in Arkansas, son of Nicholas Norris, Sr. and Nancy Tucker from Tennessee. His gravestone says he was born in 1825, but census data suggests 1827 or 1828. Before 1830, his family settled in Lawrence County, Arkansas. I don’t know when his mother died, but on 15 Aug 1844, his father Nicholas, Sr. (57) married Temperance Gardner (24).

Martha was, as her nickname suggests, born in Tennessee, daughter of Harvey A. McFarlin from North Carolina and his wife Mariah from probably Tennessee. McFarlin is the same name elsewhere written as McFarland. The McFarlins reportedly moved from Tennessee to Lawrence County, Arkansas in the early 1840s.

Nicholas probably fought in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, as there is a record of an Arkansas soldier with his name. Also, his brother John took part in the war, and was killed in 1846.

The 1850 census for Lebanon Township, Lawrence County listed Harvey (40) and Mariah (40) McFarlin with children Martha T. (18), Thomas (15), John H. (10), “Mag” N. (6), James H. (5), and Moranda O. (3). Lebanon Township is northeast of Poughkeepsie, in what’s now Sharp County.

Also in 1850 in Lebanon Township, Nicholas (23) was living with his twice-widowed father Nicholas Sr. (63, farmer), his unmarried sister Nancy (25), and his half-sister Elizabeth (6). These relationships are deduced, since the census recorded name and age but not relationship.

Nicholas and Martha married on 15 Dec 1853.

The 1860 census found Nicholas (31) and Martha (26) settled in Lebanon Township, near their two surviving parents. Their children were William T. (5), Maria C. (3), and James H. (1). Living with them was one Martha McFarland (15), born in Tennessee, doubtless a relative of Martha’s. It could have been her younger sister Mary with her name mis-recorded, although the same census showed Mary still living with her mother. They also had Nicholas (15) and Andrew (8) Dotson living either with them or next door; these were the orphaned sons of Nicholas’s sister Jane.

During the Civil War, Nicholas enlisted as a private in the 38th Arkansas Infantry, Company D. He died in 1863 while AWOL from his unit, either on his way home or right after he arrived – the stories vary. One account claims he died at Wilsons Well. State Highway 1, which runs south from just west of Poughkeepsie to just east of Cave City, is called Wilsons Well Road, so probably somewhere along there. He’s buried in Spotts Cemetery, Sharp County, Arkansas.

Before the war ended, Martha married Major H. Sanders from Tennessee, who had been in the same unit as her late husband. Major was his name, not his rank; he was a lieutenant. He was a son of Clark ancestors John Sanders and Keziah Mauldin. The children of Major and Martha:

Tint (4 Oct 1865-2 Feb 1963) — m. Perry H. “Bud” Norris on 14 Jan 1883

Tipton “Tip” (1869-????)

Clementine (Jul 1872-16 May 1957) — m. Carrol M. Medlock on 17 Aug 1890

Tint Sanders’s husband Bud Norris (10 Dec 1862-18 Aug 1943) was the younger brother of our ancestor John Norris, and that same John Norris married Major Sanders’s sister. The Norris and Sanders families liked one another.

The 1870 census of Lebanon Township showed farmer M. H. Sanders (35) and wife Tennessee (36), with William (17), Catherine (15), James (12), Tint (5), and Tip (1). There was another Sanders family nearby headed by Martha Sanders (46), widow of James Sanders. I think the late James was Major’s first cousin, son of another, older Major Sanders (see the Sanders-Mauldin family page).

Major died sometime in the 1870s, but I can find no record.

In the 1880 census, Martha, widowed for a second time, was living in Strawberry Township, between Poughkeepsie and Smithville in Sharp County, with daughters Tint (14) and Clementine (7), son Tipton (10), and two hired hands from Tennessee named James Wheeler (19) and Wesley Jenkins (22). Their near neighbors included Martha’s son James Norris (21) and his wife Eliza (18), with Martha’s other son William T. (25) as a hired hand, and also the household of our ancestors John & Mary E. (Sanders) Norris and their children.

In the censuses for 1900, 1910, and 1920, Martha was living with daughter Clementine Medlock and family in Big Rock & Washington Townships, Sharp County. She died in 1922. She’s buried in Spotts Cemetery, Sharp County, Arkansas. So are Tint and her husband Bud Norris.

Martha “Tennessee” McFarlin Norris Sanders and descendants
Martha “Tennessee” McFarlin Norris Sanders and descendants

Children

William Thomas “Little Tom” Norris (1854-1930)

Tom has his own entry in the family tree.

Maria Catherine Norris (1857-1936)

Maria was presumably named for her maternal grandmother, so her first name might have been spelled Mariah. Her findagrave.com memorial claims her actual first name was Malinda. In the early to mid-1870s, Maria married Doc B. Werner (3 Oct 1846-1 May 1895). They had three children:

William Jackson (12 Sep 1875-21 Mar 1943) — m. ???; divorced

Margaret L. (17 Feb 1878-21 Jun 1953) — m. ??? Swain; divorced

James Major (30 Jan 1880-31 Dec 1947) — m. Sudie M. ???

Doc died in 1895 and is buried in Marvin Cemetery, Sharp County, roughly halfway between Black Rock and Evening Shade. The family moved to Dallas, Texas, where the 1910 census showed Maria with all three grown children. In 1930, she was living in Dallas with daughter Margaret. Maria died in 1936 and is buried with Doc back in Arkansas. Her children remained in Dallas.

James Harvey Norris (1859-1950)

James Harvey Norris
James Harvey Norris

Jim was named for his mother’s younger brother James Harvey McFarlin. A family account calls him One-Eyed Jim, but doesn’t explain why. (Note there was another, slightly older James Norris from Sharp County. There was also a Jasper Norris from Sharp County, slightly older than Jim’s son Jasper.) Jim married Eliza Caldonia May (18 Mar 1860-2 Jan 1928) from Tennessee in 1880. The 1880 census showed them, newly married, living in Strawberry Township with Jim’s brother Tom and near their mother. They went on to have eleven children:

Oscar P. (2 Mar 1881-10 May 1940) — m. Martha Melissa Kent on 8 Feb 1902

Dollie (15 May 1883-16 Nov 1976) — m. Wesley P. Heath on 20 Jan 1901

Omar (13 Jul 1885-Aug 1885)

Ordan E. (12 Mar 1888-Dec 1977) — m. Bessie Earl Daniel on 12 Feb 1918

Arthur (9 Jun 1890-1890)

Nettie (28 Nov 1892-1895)

Almeta M. “Allie” (1 Sep 1895-30 Dec 1986) — m. Albert John Norris on 8 Sep 1912

Jasper William (14 Feb 1898-13 Oct 1918)

Newton “Newt” (14 Feb 1898-4 May 1972) — m. Ethel Lois Nanney on 27 Jul 1919

Otto (Dec 1899-23 Dec 1900)

Otho (12 Jan 1902-1902)

The 1900 census for Big Rock & Washington Townships listed the family with children Asker (19), Dollie (17), Orden (12), Almeda (5), Jasper (2), Nate (Newton, 2), and Otto (1). This census recorded Eliza as mother of 10 children, 7 still living.

The 1910 census for Big Rock Township listed James and Lizie “Nerris”, both age 50, with children Allie (14), Jasper (12), and Nate (Newton, 12). In 1920, James and Eliza were living in Jonesboro, Craighead County.

Eliza died in 1928, and is buried in Barnes Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, Sharp County. In 1930 and 1940, Jim was living with daughter Allie and her family. He died in 1950, and is buried with Eliza. The children who died young are also buried in Barnes Cemetery.

Children with Major Sanders

Tint Sanders (1865-1963)

Tint married Perry H. “Bud” Norris (10 Dec 1862-18 Aug 1943) on 14 Jan 1883. They lived in Big Rock & Washington Townships and later Strawberry Township, Sharp County. Their children:

Ira (~1884-????)

Martha L. (8 Nov 1887-25 Oct 1973) — m. John Dan Himes on 18 Feb 1917

Corda (16 Apr 1889-17 Dec 1974) — m. Jesse Goff on 16 Dec 1913

Ola (~1892-????) — m. John M. Parsley on 1 Dec 1910

Bud died in 1943, and Tint in 1963. They are buried in Lebanon Cemetery, Nelsonville, Sharp County.

Tipton Sanders (1869-????)

I don’t have anything about Tip after 1880.

Clementine Sanders (1872-1957)

Clementine’s gravestone gives an 1868 birthdate, but she wasn’t in the 1870 census, and her age in every census thereafter indicated she was born in the early 1870s. The 1900 census specified July 1872. Anyway, she married Carrol M. Medlock (3 Dec 1869-29 Mar 1928) on 17 Aug 1890. They lived in Big Rock Township, Sharp County. Their children:

Rillagold “Rilla” (14 Aug 1892-17 Jul 1979) — m. Robert James Huckabee on 1 Jul 1917

Coy Burl (~1895-7 Feb 1980) — m. Ella Mae ???

Corbett E. Grant (9 Sep 1899-1 Jan 1971) — m. Myrtle Himes

Homer C. (3 Aug 1902-6 Sep 1977) — m. Audrey Neely in 1922

Myrtle W. (6 Mar 1906-25 Jun 2000) — m. Jefferson M. “Jeff” Atkinson in 1926

Trina G. “Rena” (?4 Aug 1908-2 Jun 1988?) — m. Horace Dee Hulett on 9 Oct 1929

Lowell Hubert (19 Apr 1912-22 Nov 1940) — m. Alma Lee Lawrence in 1934

Carrol and Clementine are buried in Barnes Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, Sharp County.

Grandchildren

Jim’s daughter Allie Norris had a distant cousin the same age also named Allie Norris, who, like her, also married a man with the last name Norris because she wanted to confuse genealogists.

Links

Not Relatives, Despite Coincidence of Name and Origin