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These excerpts from the History of Fentress County, Tennessee, published by the Fentress County Historical Society in 1987, were transcribed by Michael Allen in 2000.  See notes at the end.

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Belfield Wood, Sr., 1752-1836

by Wilma Reagan Pinckley a Great-great-great-granddaughter of Belfield, Sr.

According to Belfield’s Revolutionary War Application for a pension, he was born in Orange County, Virginia in 1752. As a child he moved with his family to Chesterfield County, Virginia. From there they moved to Burke County, North Carolina, where he enlisted as a private volunteer militiaman under Captain Reuben White and Col. Charles McDowell. In February, 1776, they joined Gen. Rutherford’s army in Salisbury, North Carolina. He volunteered and did two more tours of duty including fighting against the Indians on the Catawba River.

From North Carolina the Belfield, Sr. family went to Pendleton County, South Carolina. he and his first wife lived there several years. The name of this wife is unknown. Neither do we know the names of their children living there. While living in Pendleton County, South Carolina, Belfield married his second wife, Nancy Kidwell, on March 15, 1810. She was born in 1792.

When the family left Pendleton County, South Carolina, they went to Madison County, Kentucky and stayed there several years; then to Wayne County, Kentucky; then on to Fentress County, Tennessee. In 1826, Belfield, Sr. obtained land on Mill Creek, Fentress County, Tennessee Grant No. 331. Son, Jesse, (born 1771,) by Belfield’s first wife, secured land the same year by Entry No. 131 near or in Jamestown. Jesse’s son, Matthew Wood, received land in Poplar Cove in 1830. Another early Wood entry was by Jesse’s son, Spencer, in 1827 when he received land by Entry 414 in or near Jamestown, Fentress County.

Belfield Wood applied for a Revolutionary soldier’s pension in Fentress County 8-231833 before Robert Richardson, J.P. He was placed on the Tennessee Pension Roll by certificate No. 22,319 on 10-25-1833. He died 4-8-1836 and is buried in Fentress County, Tennessee, though his grave has not been located.

Nancy, the widow, continued to live in Wayne County, Kentucky. She married a Thomas Milsaps who preceded her in death. She drew a widow’s pension of $96.00 per annum – No. 6841, January 1871. This pension was granted to her as Belfield’s widow. Seemingly, she spent her last days with her son, Belfield, Jr., near Parmelly’s Mill about fifteen miles from Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky.

Known children by Belfield, Sr. and his first wife; Jesse, born North Carolina about 1771, probably Burke County. He gave land in 1815 for the Jamestown City Cemetery. His will, dated 5-20-1846. is recorded in deed `book D, page 480. Jesse married widow Mary (Polly) Wright of Fentress County as his second wife. This Jesse’s children were: John (1797-1868), who married Elizabeth Helms (1804-1863); Matthew (May 1, 1800-July 12, 1877), who married Elizabeth (Betsy) Woolsey, born January 9, 1805 or 1808, died February 21, 1898, both buried Poplar Cove on Mitch Powell Farm, former home of Matthew and Betsy; Spencer Wood (1802 – died before 1846), married Winnie Owen (born 1802-died after 8-7-1880); Isaac Wood (1803-?), married Nancy Bookout. The above four sons were born in North Carolina.

Belfield’s and Nancy Kidwell’s children: Elisha (born 1810 or 1811), married Sarah (born 1812); a second Jesse (1812-1883), married Matilda Beaty (born 1812), daughter of 1780 John and Abegail Beaty; Belfield, Jr. (born 1815), married Sarah (born 1821). There were other issue of Belfield, Sr. but names are unknown.

Source: https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bp2000/fentress/belfield-sr.htm

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Matthew Wood

by Wilma Reagan Pinckley a Great-great-granddaughter of Matthew

Matthew Wood was born in North Carolina, probably in Burke County. His father was Jesse, born in 1771 in North Carolina. His mother may have been Nancy Cate, born in 1775. We are not sure of the first wife’s name. However, one of Jesse’s grandsons was named Matthew Cate Wood. Matthew received land in Poplar Cove in Fentress County, Tennessee in 1830. This land was a few miles west of Jamestown, the county seat. Some of his land was the Moses Solomon Tract.

Matthew married Elizabeth (Betsy) Woolsey, born in Virginia January 9, 1805 or 1808; died in Fentress County February 21, 1898. Both Matthew and Betsy are buried in Poplar Cove at their old home place. Betsy was a daughter of Jeremiah Woolsey, (1785-1851), born in VA, and Polly –, (born in 1785 in PA). Other family Woolsey children listed in Fentress County’s 1850 census were: George, Anny, Sarah, Abagail, Eliza or Louisa, who married Isaac Reagan; and Matilda, who married Jonathan Wood. Jeremiah, (1785-1851), wife, Polly, and son, George, are buried at the George Beaty cemetery near Little Crab in Fentress County. Each grave is covered by stacked limestone rocks in a unique fashion. The old Woolsey place was near this cemetery.

Matthew was a community leader. He served in the 1830s as a trustee for the Mt. Cumberland Academy located in the Poplar Cove. Matthew and Betsy Wood’s children, all of whom were born in Poplar Cove, were as follows:

Mary (Polly) Wood, born February 7, 1827, died September 8, 1899, believed to have married a Beaty [Pleasant Beaty, s/o John Beaty, Jr.].

William Woolsey, born Sept. 26, 1829, married Elizabeth Jane Smith (1834-1913), died Dec. 7, 1861 as a result of the Civil War. His widow married Anderson Hogue (1835-1887). They were the parents of the historian, A.R. Hogue; also, there was other issue. W.W.’s will is on record in the Fentress County Register of Deeds office in Book P, page 450.

Jeremiah (Jerry), born April 12, 1830, died September 16, 1904. He married Lady Jane Gray Harmon, born November 14, 1833, died of typhoid fever November 14, 1892. She was the daughter of John Harmon (1800) and Margaret Ramsey Harmon (October 1, 1800 – March 21, 1888). Jerry and Jane Wood’s (my great grandparents) eight children were:

1. Alice, (November 10, 1858-June 18, 1934), never married;
2. Armilda, (August 20, 1860-May 8, 1930), married John Allen Beaty;
3. Vestina, (Jan. 15, 1863-died as an infant);
4. Martha, (Dec. 12, 1864-Jan. 30, 1946), married Dr. John Newton Chism in 1906;
5. Mary Caroline, (August 24, 1867-November 19, 1951), married Lawrence B. Chism, (my grandparents);
6. Belle, (February 6, 1870-September 23, 1951), married Dr. John Newton Chism in 1884, divorced in 1899;
7. Cora, (October 18, 1872-February 10, 1962), married Marion Beaty and then Joe Phillips;
8. Porter Seymour, (July 10, 1875-September 25, 1913), married Hattie Roberts.

(Matthew’s family continued):

John Fleming, born 1832, died 1906, lived in western states.
Isaac, born July 22, 1834, died May 17, 1871, murdered by robbers in Fentress County, married Sarah Milsaps.

Jesse, born 1836, died 1890, married Molly Storie.

George W., born 1837, died March 3, 1863, murdered by Rebels in the Civil War.

Catherine, born Jan. 6, 1840, married Hiram Frogge, b. 1833.

Nancy Jane, born April 12, 1842, died Sept. 27, 1843 in infancy.

Sarah Ann, born Dec. 11, 1844, died Nov. 22, 1928, never married.

Charles C., born April 22, 1849, died November 5, 1923, never married.

Source: https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bp2000/fentress/wood-matthew.htm

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Matthew Cates Wood

by Roscoe Hollis Wright

Matthew Cates Wood was born Dec. 2, 1832, in Fentress County, Tennessee; and died Jan. 10, 1910 in Casey County, Kentucky. His parents were John Wood, who was born May 29, 1797 in North Carolina; and died in 1868 in Fentress County; and Elizabeth Helm, born Aug. 6, 1804 in what is now Fentress County, and died there in 1863. They married Oct. 13, 1824, in Fentress County. Matthew’s paternal grandfather was Jesse Wood, who was born about 1771, in Burke County, North Carolina, and died in Fentress County, Tennessee. (Death date not known). Matthew’s paternal great-grand father was Belfield Wood, who was born in 1752, in Orange County, Virginia, and died Apr. 8, 1836, in Fentress County, Tennessee.

About 1859, in Fentress County, Matthew Cates Wood married Dillery F. Beaty, who was born Aug. 25, 1834, in Fentress County, Tennessee; and died Mar. 17, 1915, in Casey County, Kentucky. Her parents were William Beaty, Sr., (1794-1877), and Martha (Westmoreland) Beaty, born in 1797, in what is now Fentress County, Tennessee.

Children of Matthew and Dillery (Beaty) Wood were:

• Diane, born Aug. 25, 1860, in Fentress County, Tennessee, and died Dec. 23, 1879, in Casey County, Kentucky;

(plus the following, who all were born and died in Casey County, Ky.):

• Victoria, born June 19, 1862; died Aug. 28, 1928;
• Mary, born Sept. 28, 1866; died Mar. 4, 1868;
• John William “Billy” born Sept. 1, 1868; died Oct. 24, 1961;
• Josephine, born Oct. 8, 1871; died Apr. 12, 1928;
• Loretta, born Oct. 21, 1873; died Feb. 16, 1951;
• and twin boys, Henry Martin and
• Matthew Winfield “Wince” Wood, born in May 1877.

I have no death date on Henry M, but Matthew W. died in 1941.

Victoria Wood was married Apr. 29, 1886, to James H. Martin;

John William Wood was married Apr. 25, 1895, to Mary Catherine Warner;

Josephine Wood was married Dec. 7, 1899, to Calvin Crockett;

Loretta Wood was married Dec. 23, 1896, to Thomas J. Cooper.

Apparently, Matthew C. Wood, his wife Dillery, and their oldest daughter Diane migrated to Casey County, Ky. about 1861. Dillery’s parents, with their children, also moved to Casey County, Ky. about that time. Or, at least, one son, William Beaty, Jr., and perhaps one or two of the youngest daughters came along. Matthew Cates Wood, wife Dillery, their daughters Diane and Mary Wood, Victoria (Wood) Martin, Josephine (Wood) Crockett, Loretta (Wood) Cooper, husbands and some descendents of Victoria and Loretta, their son Winfield Wood, and grandson Robert Wood, (son of John William Wood), all are buried in Hyder Cemetery in Adair County, Ky., a mile or so from the Casey County line. John William Wood, I, his wife Mary Catherine (Warner) Wood, (b. Oct. 28, 1880; d. Jan. 10, 1924), sons Charles, John William, II, Elmer Irvine, wives of the 3 sons, daughter Dillery, and some grandchildren are buried in Salem Cemetery, near Rheber, in Casey County, Kentucky.

John William Wood and his family were the only ones with whom I was personally acquainted. They were a very friendly, jolly and closely-knit family. They greatly enjoyed getting together with one another, or with relatives or friends, to talk, laugh and to have a big time. The sons and daughters were:

Charles; (1896-1971);
Henry (b. in 1897);
John William, II, “Crippled John”(1899-1962);
Dillery (1902-1982);
Tom (b. in 1904);
Robert (1906-1921);
Nannie (b. about 1909);
Elbert (b. about 1911);
Woodrow (b. in 1913);
Luther (b. in 1916);
Irvine (1919-1976); and;
Dorothy (b. in 1923).

Charles married Linnie Patterson; Henry married Eliza Carter; John William, II married Geneva Lucas; Dillery married 3 times; 1. Wiley Adams, 2. James L. Woodrum, 3. Elmer Clements; Tom married Nellie Walls; Robert died young; Woodrow married Bessie Luster; and Irvine married Violet Irene Randolph. I don’t know who Nannie, Elbert, Luther or Dorothy married; as they did not marry in Casey County.

I have been around these Woods, off and on, most of my life. One Sunday in 1921, my folks spent the day with the John William Wood family. With his family and ours together, it was a fairly large group. Woodrow, Luther, my younger brother Carl and I waded and played in the creek together. In 1926, “Crippled John” spent a night with us. He was one of my favorites – always so jolly and cheerful. He taught me a funny song about the 3-night experience of a drunk man; a 48-line song, of which I still remember every word. In earlier years, one of his legs had drawn straight back; so he walked with crutches. In 1940 or 1941, I attended a candy-breaking and took Dorothy into the neighbor’s dining room with me 2 or 3 times to break candy. Also, Eula Mills, another neighbor girl, who is a great-great-granddaughter of William Crockett, Sr., who lived in Fentress County, Tennessee about 125 years earlier. Both girls were 16 or 17 years of age and quite pretty; Eula being one month and a half older than Dorothy. And, in November 1984, I attended the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Tom and his wife Nellie. Their oldest daughter was hostess. And their pretty, young daughter Patty came in, hugged her father, then me, then her mother, then she went into the dining room and hugged her brothers. It was the second time that I had met her. She is my favorite one of Tom’s family; but all of his daughters and sons are sorter nice. (There are 3 daughters and 3 or 4 sons). Tom used to chum with my older brothers Poe and Al; and he told me of a little caper that he and Al pulled against one of our neighbors. Guess what I took him as an anniversary gift? I took him 50 family group sheets (filled out, of course) on his ancestors and relatives.

It appears that William Beaty, Sr. (1794-1877) was an older brother to my great-great-grandfather Thomas Beaty (b. 1801). So, Dillery (Beaty) Wood (1834-1915) was a first cousin to my great-grandmother Nancy Agnes (Beaty) King (1824-1904); John William Wood, I; (1868-1961) was a second cousin to my grandmother Elizabeth Ann (King) Wright (1854-1911); Tom Wood (b. 1904) is a third cousin to my father James David Wright (1872-1928). So, Patty and her generation are fourth cousins to me, Roscoe Hollis Wright, (b. in 1914), and others of my generation of Thomas Beaty descendants. I told my older sister Eva that I had learned through my genealogy research that we are kin to John William Wood and his descendants — and, in fact, to all the descendants of Matthew Cates Wood — and she said that she already knew it, that our father had told her so.

William Beaty, Sr., his wife Martha (Westmoreland) Beaty, their son William Beaty, Jr. and perhaps a few other relatives are buried on a farm near the Casey-Adair County Ky. line. Matthew Cates Wood’s older brother Jonathan Ellis Wood (1827-1903), his wife Jane (Williams) Wood (b. 1836), and their oldest son William also migrated to Casey County, Ky. about 1864, where 9 other children were born to them. One of their granddaughters, Janie Peck, married my uncle Peter John Wright, a grandson of Mathias Austin Wright, who lived at Little Crab, Fentress County, Tennessee. Jonathan, Jane, their sons John and Luther, and John’s wife, Rosalie (Lewallen) Wood are buried in Salem Cemetery, Casey County, Ky. Janie (Peck) Wright is still living, at Wheatfield, Jasper County, Indiana.

Source: https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bp2000/fentress/wood-mattcates.htm

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Pleasant Beaty and Nancy Jane (Moody) Wood

by Janice B. Lee

Pleasant Beaty Wood was born April 3, 1847 in Tennessee. He was the son of Jessie Wood and Matilda Beaty Wood. Jessie Wood was born in 1810 in North Carolina, the son of Jesse Wood and Nancy Cates Wood. Jessie married May 19, 1833 to Matilda Beaty who was born in 1812, the daughter of John Beaty, Jr. Pleasant’s brothers and sisters were Thomas G., David W., Matthew Benton, William Yeatman, John, Mary Jane and Dudley D. Jesse Wood the first was born in 1771 in North Carolina and was the son of Belfield Wood, Sr. The first Jesse was married a second time to Widow Wright but his first wife is unknown to me. His children were: Matthew, Spencer, John, Isaac, Elisha, Jesse, Belfield, Jr. Belfield Wood, Sr. was born in 1752 in Virginia and died April 8, 1836. His first wife’s name was unknown but he married the second time to Nancy Kidwell on March 15, 1810. Nancy was born in 1792. My information is that Belfield Sr. lived in North Carolina as a child but moved to Pendleton County, South Carolina with his first wife and lived there twenty-two years. He came to Fentress County in 1826. So far all I know is he was the father of Jesse, Belfield, Jr., Elisha, Matthew, and Spencer.

Pleasant married Nancy Jane Moody born April 16, 1851, the daughter of Peter and Nancy Evens Moody. They had seven children: Johnny Eddie who married Tint Crouch; Matilda Ann who married Wood Gillentine and John Wesley Crouch; Sophia who married Charles Gilletine; Bates who married Isobel Koger; Garden who married Minnie Parris; Kate who married Tom Crouch and Martha Abigail who married Elmore Crouch.

Pleasant Beaty Wood died December 9, 1926 and Nancy Jane died November 7, 1908. They are both buried in the Ben Moody Cemetery in Travisville, Tennessee.

Source: https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bp2000/fentress/pleasant-wood.htm

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Transcriber’s note:  Most, but not all, [transcribed] excerpts relate to Beaty families. Don’t forget the first rule of genealogy — everything should be backed by primary documentation — This book was written by the Fentress Co. Historical Society. It’s mainly a collection of personal histories told from memory and family tradition with little documentation, and should be taken as such.

TNGenWeb Coordinator’s note:  Curtis Media Corp. gave permission to post this material originally, and it was uploaded in a free account at Rootsweb.  We do not intend copyright infringement on anyone.  However, Rootsweb has experienced viability issues in the past.  We want to make sure the information is retained and available for Fentress County researchers.

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