The earliest information I could find concerning my maternal Estes Family that came to Smith/Dekalb County, TN., begins in Kent, England, with Abraham Estes (1647-1720) Abraham, a linen weaver, immigrated to Virginia in 1684, after his first wife died (c.1683) in England. His second wife was Barbara Brock. A brother of Abraham went to Australia, so there are Estes family members there that are distant cousins. The son of Abraham that I descend through is Moses (1710-1788) of King & Queen County, Virginia, and then to Halifax County, Virginia by 1782. He died in Halifax. His wife was Elizabeth Jones Talbot (1712-1782)
John was the son of Moses. John (1732-1825) of Lunenburg/Carolina County, Virginia; Amelia County, Va. by 1764; Hallifax County, Va. c 1782-1799; Grainger/Hawkins County, TN. 1779; Warren County, KY 1800+ and he died in Warren County, Ky. His wife was Elizabeth Chisum (1736-1795) of Carolina County, Va. c.1762. Va. and she died in Logan County, KY.
William was the son of John Estes and Elizabeth Chisum. William's birthdate is unknown, but he was in Warren County, Ky. when, on March 15, 1800, he married Elizabeth Whiteside, daughter ofSamuel Whiteside and Elizabeth Brackett Whiteside. Their first child, Brackett, was born January 14, 1801, and apparently they lived in Warren County and perhaps even went with Elizabeth Whiteside's family to Illinois, where an Indian attack may have caused them to return to KY.
In 1809, William Estes obtained a land grant in Smith County, Tennessee, (later Dekalb County) and his family moved to that area of Tennessee. William and Elizabeth Whiteside Estes had five children: Brackett, born 1801; William Estes, b. about 1803, Nancy, B. about 1803, Elizabeth, b. about 1807; and Keziah, b. about 1809. In William's will, filed in Smith/Dekalb County, TN., he only names his wife, Elizabeth and Brackett.
William Estes died in 1815 and I am told his tombstone is still standing, perhaps one of the oldest in Dekalb County. He is buried in the Estes Cemetery at Smith Fork.
William's son, Brackett Estes (b. 1-14-1801 and died April ?, 1875), was first married to Hannah Newby (m. Sept. 1, 1825). He and Hannah had seven children and my line is through their first son, William W. Estes (b. October 1, 1826) who married Elizabeth Bridges (m. November 11, 1854) in Dekalb County, TN. They had five children and my line is through the youngest son, Hiram (b. Nov. 9, 1866). In the 1870 census, William and Elizabeth Estes were living in District 13, Forks of the Pike, in Dekalb County, TN. and Hiram was three years old. His sister Laura was 13, brother James was 11, sister Sara was 9, and brother William Robert (Dr. Bob) was 7 years of age.
Hiram married Sara Samantha Chapman about 1887. In the 1900 census it was stated that they had been married for 13 years. They were living in Dekalb County at that time in the 43rd District. By 1910, they were in Cannon County. Hiram and Sara lived near Auburntown, TN. on a farm located only a few miles east of the town in Cannon County. Hiram was a farmer.
Sara Samantha Chapman Estes was the daughter of Mary Jane Wauford Chapman and Samson Chapman. Mary Jane and Samson married October 10, 1869, and Samson died sometime the next year. Their child, my grandmother, was born September 14, 1870. The children of Chapman's first wife apparently brought suit after Chapman's death in an attempt to block Mary Jane from any of the Chapman estate but finally she was awarded a child's part. Mary Jane then married Thomas E. Chumley (July 5, 1874) and it seems they left Dekalb County and moved to Wilson County. Additional research indicates that the parents of Mary Jane Wauford were Benjamin Wauford and Sarah Frances Crook. I think Sarah Frances Crook's father was Robinson Crook.
It was while searching for records to establish when William Estes and Elizabeth Whiteside married that I became interested in the Whiteside family.
When Elizabeth Whiteside Estes' father, Samuel, died in 1811, he left all of his estate to his wife, Elizabeth Brackett Whiteside, to be divided equally among their children after her death. The children apparently quarreled after Mrs. Whiteside died. A lawsuit was brought in Warren County, Ky. Equity Court and pages and pages of information were filed concerning the family. All of the 14 children of Samuel Whiteside and Elizabeth Brackett Whiteside were listed along with their known children and where they were living. Of course, Elizabeth Whiteside Estes was listed and that established exact proof of lineage.
The lawsuit, which dragged on for several years, was finally dismissed but the wealth of information about the family was invaluable. It was mentioned that Indians killed Samuel, in 1811, near the Gasper River farm in Warren County. It gave the whereabouts of the children and to whom they were married and then bits and pieces of what neighbors knew about the family from depositions taken. Elizabeth Whiteside Estes was the only member of the Whiteside family to come to Tennessee. She and William Estes remained in Smith/Dekalb County until their death and they still have descendants in that area.
I am still working on the Estes family and if anyone has new information that can be added to this family history I would appreciate the information. My email address is bastien@scrtc.com.
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