Grandma's House

ELIZA BERRY AND FAMILY ORIGINS/SOLVING THE ANCESTRY 

KEITH RAGAN·WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018· 

FOR ALL MY FAMILY, AND ESPECIALLY FOR AUNT MARY, UNCLE JUNIOR, AND MY BROTHER KEN 

 It felt like my heart jumped a few inches upward in my chest the first time I was able to make out the defining characters on Eliza Berry Moore’s crude sandstone grave marker. Buried underneath almost 125 years of forest debris, appearing for all practical purposes like just another rock littering the glade where the mortal remains of my Moore ancestors now lay; weathered and barely legible, I made sure it now stood upright once more in the shadowed recesses of the Woolard Cemetery in Wayne County, Missouri. 

 Just as my brother Ken Ragan and I had felt compelled to find the final resting place of Great-Grandmother Leoto Gardelia Toller Wilson several years before, we were on a quest on this day to find the final resting place of Great-Great Grandparents John Moore and Eliza Berry, and of course, Civil War and Plains Wars Cavalryman, our Great-Grandfather Daniel Moore.

 

 The cemetery was thoroughly overgrown by every possible specie of underbrush including thorn bushes and their blood sucking citizens. It had not been any easy hike into the remote nether regions of the once thriving countryside. But here we were, and we were happy, to find Eliza here at last.

 

 

Eliza Moore headstone after cleaning and computer enhancement.

I should clarify. I was happy at finding my Great-Great Grandmother’s place of repose, verified finally later by computer enhancements of the crude inscription, but I felt a sadness that she was out here in this lonely place, seldom if ever visited. Not only would she soon be lost to this wilderness forever, but she was lost to us in time...not one researcher on any ancestry site even knew she existed other than immediate ancestry….and no one knew her origins or family group. Soon she would be forgotten, a child lost in the mists of time...forever.

 I have always been obsessed with finding Eliza’s origins and family, because to do so meant that I also would find our Great-Great Grandfather, John William Moore’s origins. Every clue through the years has led me to believe East Tennessee was the homes of these families in the early 1800’s. Yet, absolutely nothing panned out. And there are Berrys aplenty in East Tennessee!

 

 Aunt Mary had informed me of a letter from John Moore to Berry relatives in Illinois, and she recalled it was somewhere not too far from Paducah, where Ken lives and we were both to spend our formative years, attend grade school, high school, and college. Ken recalled to me a passage he had read in the letter when it was presented to him for the first time. Presumably it was hard times for the Moore family, perhaps in the Civil War years, and John referenced their shortage of food thus: “well, I guess we’ll have to skin a cat and eat a pumpkin”. What are you having for dinner tonight!

 

 This information was made available to me when I retired and relocated back to West Kentucky. I had been researching for clues to the Berry origins several years when I returned in 2005. The letter was was a significant lead and census research led to the discovery of the Robert Berry family of Massac County, Illinois, just across the river from Paducah on an 1860 census. Exploring old cemetery records for the county, it confirmed that several of at least the children of this Robert Berry and Nancy McCarrell union were buried in a now abandoned old cemetery named Buzzard Roost and was the place of their interment. I believe this discovery transpired in summer of 2015. Ken and I had to chuckle about the cemetery name--no Oak Lawns, Bethels, or Riverviews for a final resting spot for these Berrys would do---Buzzard Roost---that’s the ticket!

 

 So, I called Ken, gassed up the car and headed to Buzzard Roost Cemetery in Massac County hoping to find gravestones to enhance our search. I had been in contact with a woman who had read some of my stories on my Blog Site. She wrote to me informing me her mother remembers finding a headstone for Dudley Berry in a ditch some years ago in that cemetery, now a hill of weeds and brambles, just as you would expect in a search for Moore/Berry ancestors. Dudley is an unusual name to come across, and one of John and Eliza’s sons, brother to Daniel Moore, William Dudley “Boots” Moore was thus monikered. It was a promising lead. Heading up the overgrown path to the cemetery we encountered a sign, “Due to the high cost of ammunition, no warning shots will be fired”. That was good to know. But we proceeded. No cemetery is “private property”. Public access must be allowed by federal law. I hoped whoever placed the sign, knew that as well. Ken did, too.

 Sorting through the weeds, though records indicated that Berrys were buried here, none could we find. The grave markers were obscured by the undergrowth, buried under the soil of the hilltop, or simply had been of wood to begin with and were long integrated into the hill’s composite.

Buzzard Roost Cemetery on a hilltop in Massac County, Illinois

 

 Robert Berry’s origins according to the census trails, confirmed roots in East Tennessee, in Roane County. And, when I researched this United States census for 1830, it showed one female child between 10-15 years of age, and through subsequent research was able to identify her as Priscilla Snow Berry---not Eliza. Our Grandmother Eliza was born between 1820-1821 on any census that she was enumerated, and without her accounting on that 1830 census, that ruled her out at that time for that family group. Another of a thousand dead ends.

 

 It looked like an impossible riddle.

 

 And then along came DNA tests on Ancestry. And I got matches from three family groups of Berry descendants indicating I shared DNA with these individuals. But not one of them on any tree had Eliza Berry in any family group of the right age to be our Eliza or Elizabeth that married John Moore. But descendants of these three individuals were related at some point in time to me!

 

 I started with the one I felt was most logical: those descended from Ellener King. She married Thomas Berry (1802-1865) in Piney Flats, Sullivan County, Tennessee (far East Tennessee). Back to the 1830 census. No female of the correct age. Those not doing research should understand that the 1850 census is the first United States Census that actually provided the names of the family members. All 10-year incremental census’ before that time only enumerates by sex and age--no names other the head of household. Next.

 

 William Andrew Berry: William was born in 1829 research revealed, so if he was related to Eliza, he would have to be a brother or cousin. But, again, I shared DNA so he was somehow connected. William was born to the Thomas Berry and Ellener King, discussed in the previous paragraph, in Sullivan County, Tennessee. He married Nancy Anna Miller. No need to check the 1830 census, he wasn’t even born yet, and since the 1830 census for Thomas Berry proved Eliza or any female of the right age to be our Eliza wasn’t present, the best he could be would a cousin on some level. Next.

  Nancy Ann Berry: Nancy and I and her DNA group are related. But she was born to Robert Berry and Nancy McCarrell in 1826 and died in Massac County, Illinois. Again, the 1830 census had already established that she did not have a sister enumerated to be the right age for Eliza in the household of Robert and Nancy where they resided in Roane County, Tennessee. 

 Without a positive hookup on DNA in terms of specific matchups, the next step in my process was to somehow research through time and find how these people are all related--and thus related to Eliza and our family. 

 I began with the heads of households of the two senior males I have listed, the Robert Berry, born 1797, who died in Massac, Illinois and the Thomas Berry born 1802 that married Ellener King. Finding and putting together their family through records, member trees, and additional resources I could trace roots through Sullivan County, Tennessee together including a time together in Roane County. But since the census confirmed they weren’t the patriarch of Eliza, it seemed likely that they could at least be uncles. So, I began locating and putting together the brothers of these two that could be the correct age to father my Great-Great Grandmother, Eliza. 

 Then I researched records for all of their brothers to establish if any census yielded a result of a female in 1830 in their household of the correct age for Eliza, and if so, do the further research in Family Groups and future census to identify with name that particular individual. This was no small task. Another dead end. 

 Understand that all of this on my part is occurring over years.

 I kept coming back to the DNA and the matchups. What did these three individuals have in common? ELLENER KING married THOMAS BERRY. THOMAS BERRY was a brother to the ROBERT BERRY that I tried to find in Massac, Illinois. The DNA groups of WILLIAM ANDREW BERRY and NANCY ANN BERRY and the subsequent research proved they were the children of Robert and Thomas. Was I overlooking something? I had looked at every possible male through the years of these brothers and even their children to find our Eliza without success. 

And then the light bulb went on. The DNA groups would be related if somehow at ripe old ages the father and mother of Thomas (1802-1865) and Robert (1797-1872) were able to give birth to a female child. Since absolutely every other resource was explored ad nauseum, I decided to give it a look. 

 These brothers were born to Samuel Berry (1775-1834) and Nancy Crow (1778-1860). Nancy would have to have been able to give birth in her mid-forties, not unheard of today but after already delivering a household of children barely a year or two apart, it seemed like another long shot. 

 Records indicated that Samuel was born in Washington County, Virginia and Nancy in Wythe County, Virginia. They were married in 1795 in Washington County, Virginia where several children were born, including Robert in 1797. Thomas was the first born in 1802 when they relocated to Carter and Piney Flats in Sullivan County, Tennessee just across the Virginia border. Like so many of our family, they were headed west. 

 The long shot was, could I find this Samuel and Nancy in East Tennessee on the 1830 census with female(s) of the correct age to be Eliza---and never accounted for after that in any family group by a different name? 

 And the long shot answer was: YES! And not only was Nancy and Samuel of an age to have Eliza, but others even beyond this until Nancy’s mid-fifties! 

 Samuel and Nancy are moved from Sullivan to Roane County, Tennessee on the 1830 census. This excited me because every clue in past reference indicated this a likely place of origin for John Moore and Eliza Berry. They have two daughters born between 1816-1820! And never to appear on records again, lost in time! This, based on the strongest circumstantial evidence I could muster, had to be Eliza. But, if it was, then to add to the evidence piling up, there had to be a John Moore in Roane County, Tennessee in 1840 on the Roane Census, the year of Eliza and John’s marriage with none or less than 1 male under 1 year of age enumerated. I felt this would all but lock up the family group for Eliza Berry.

The 1830 Roane Census for Samuel Berry and Nancy Crow
 

 The 1840 census for Roane County, Tennessee shows two John Moores of correct age and with wife of the correct age (between 20-29 years of age) to be our Great-Great Grandparents and the parents of the Moores of Wayne County, Missouri in ensuing years, including my own Great-Grandfather, Daniel. 

 We have John Moore, JR next to John Moore SR with one male child under 1 year of age (oldest child of John and Eliza is James Robert Moore, born in 1840). Dead on!

The 1840 Roane Census for John Moore, JR and Eliza Berry If you view the actual census, this is John Moore, JR listed directly under John Moore, SR.
 

 The next John Moore and wife also are the correct ages to be John and Eliza, and they also have a child under 1 year of age---but, female. No record for our John and Eliza indicates that a female was first born, but it can’t be totally eliminated. Not likely. But we have all indicators that would suggest that this first record is our John and Eliza beginning their family in Roane, Tennessee. If you have ever driven east on I-40 from Nashville towards Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains you will recall the Harriman exit just before Knoxville. Look around. You are in Roane County, home of your Moore and Berry ancestors. Kingsport is the county seat, Harriman the largest city today. Within the county’s border are the Clinch River and the mouth of the Tennessee River. (see 1888 map at top of document) 

Mount Roosevelt in Roane County overlooking the Clinch and Tennessee River watersheds.

 The DNA from the family groups to which I share same, are all related and descended from a common ancestor. That Berry ancestor is in the right places at the right time and has daughters of the correct age to be Eliza. He is also in Roane at the same time as John Moore, SR and John Moore, JR and new bride (Eliza) and son are there also on the 1840 census right where they should be. I had everything matching exactly as it should for the first time in over 15 years on our Berry origins, and in turn, another clue to our Moore origins. 

 Most family given names of the future children of John William Moore and Eliza Berry Moore have commonalities to those of Eliza’s ancestry--parents, cousins, and uncles and aunts. 

 This is a circumstantial composite of research, but in my mind, it shows a strong likelihood that the ancestry and family of Eliza Berry has been clarified. DNA and census records match perfectly. 

Samuel Berry and Nancy Crow of Virginia and Tennessee are my Great-Great-Great Grandparents. Eliza Berry and John Moore of East Tennessee and Wayne County, Missouri are my Great-Great Grandparents. Daniel Moore and Susan Tarlton of Wayne County are my Great-Grandparents. Bessie Edith Moore and Clarence Madison Wilson of Wayne County are my maternal Grandparents. Iva Delores Wilson and Robert Nathaniel Ragan my parents. 

 Family Group of 3rd Great Grandparents that have been identified: 

Samuel Berry and Nancy Ann “Honey” Crow Family Group:

John Berry (1797-1886) 

Robert Berry (1797-1872) (that died in Massac County, Illinois) William Berry (1798-1878)

James Henry Berry (1799-1860) 

Samuel Reece Berry (1800-1877) 

James Berry (1801-1864) 

Thomas Berry (1802-1865) (that married Ellener King & sired William Andrew) 

William Lawson Berry (1806-1878) 

George Berry (1807-1875) 

Elizabeth “Betty” Berry (1813-1900) 

George Berry (1814-1877) 

Henry Berry (1814-1881) 

Rufus Marion Berry (1820-1899) (Eliza’s twin? Eliza named son Rufus) 

ELIZA BERRY (1820-1898) (implied from census of 1830 and 1840) 

Reese B. Berry (1822-1900) 

Ellenor Berry (1828-UNK) Elona Berry (1831-UNK) 

 

The last two daughters above are implied from Family Group matches on ancestry but are not confirmed through census, probate, or marriage records as of this date. 

 Family Group of 2nd Great Grandparents that have been identified: 

Eliza Berry and John Moore Family Group: 

James Robert Moore (1840-UNK) 

Rufus Moore (1841-1862) 

Robert Glenn Moore (1842-1917) 

John Moore (1844-1864) 

DANIEL MOORE (1845-1936) 

Ann M. Moore (1848-1850) 

Leroy Moore (1848-1860) 

Lewis Doctor Moore (1849-1919) 

William Dudley Moore (1852-1923) 

Samuel Moore (1856-UNK) 

Ulysses Moore (1857-UNK) 

Elizabeth “Eliza” Moore (1859-UNK) 

In conclusion, I owe the family member bothering to read this an explanation as to why so much detail. When future generations claim their Berry heritage, I felt it necessary to detail why I have come to the conclusion I have of Eliza Berry Moore’s origins and parentage. Because so much was circumstantial, even though the DNA confirms the linkage, I felt I had to provide overwhelming circumstantial evidence to draw this decision as to heritage. 

Finally, for info only, because I am tired of the pirates and lazy researchers of genealogical websites taking others research and claiming it as their own, I have copyrighted this research. I will come to include this on the Ancestry website, but I will convert our family and my tree to PRIVATE before doing so---meaning only those invited to the tree will be able to see. Sorry that my frustrations have led to this. Family has access to this document in the FILES of our FAMILY GROUP on FACEBOOK.  I have never minded sharing, but to take someone else’s research and claim it as their own has become all too common and discounts the time and energy amateur and professional genealogists put into these efforts to clarify family histories. It amounts to theft. I, unfortunately, have already experienced this dozens of times on the ANCESTRY website. Keith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyrighted by the author Keith Wayne Ragan 11/13/18. This document does not have the permission of the author to be copied onto the Ancestry or any other genealogical website. It may not be re-printed in whole or in part for submission to any publication without the written consent of Keith Wayne Ragan. It may be printed by any member of this family group for personal family files. No other usage is permitted in any form.