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A GENEALOGICAL MISCELLANY HENDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE VI
By Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith
Copyright, Jonathan K. T. Smith, 2002

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HEFLEY FAMILY NOTES

Hefley Origins

            PHILIP HEFLEY, the progenitor of most if not all the Hefleys mentioned in this particular publication, appears in Chester County, South Carolina a few years after the American Revolution. In none of the extant colonial records of this state does the name Hefley or any of its variants appear. Census data suggest that Philip Hefley had been born some time in the 1750s.

            In the biographical sketch of his grandson, William V. Hefley (1820-1896), HISTORY OF TEXAS (Milam & Other Counties), Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893, page 423, Philip Hefley is given as named Thomas, possibly because his grandson's memory had faded or else someone in his family reported that given name to the compiler of that book. It is a mistaken gesture to give this man's name as Philip Thomas or vice versa. He is only given as Philip in any extant public record. This sketch states that he was of Dutch derivation.

            Philip Hefley's granddaughter, Harriet Carolina Hefley Moffitt (1832-1897), lived in her last years with a daughter, Molly Watson in Jackson, Tennessee. This lady's daughter, Carolyn Watson McLean (1885-1968), McKenzie, Tennessee, informed the present writer in several conversations in 1955 and 1956 that the information derived from this grandmother was that the Hefleys were of German descent.

            In a letter to the present writer, Baabel K. Johnson, International Reference Unit, Family History Library, LDS, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26, 2001, stated that the likely origin of the surname Hefley was that "it was originally Haeffele, Haeffeli, Heffeli or Heffele and came from a German country. . . . The Haeffele surname is common in parts of Wuerttemberg and Bavaria." It is decidedly not a Dutch-associated surname.

            Although there were people of German descent who settled in South Carolina during the colonial period, the name Hefley and its variants do not appear among them. Unless he was indeed the immigrant ancestor of this particular branch of the family, it seems likely that Philip Hefley was a descendant of persons of that name who settled in Pennsylvania, having emigrated from one of the German principalities neighboring northeast France and northwest Switzerland. Many Germans moved from Pennsylvania down the trails of the highlands of Virginia into the Carolinas.

            Migrants took ship and sailed up the Rhine River, passing into Holland, boarding ships and sailing to America from Dutch ports, hence the younger Hefleys may have heard that their forebears came "from" Holland when that was simply the country from which they had set out to the new world. Or it may be that the younger generations confused the word Deutsche, i.e. German, for Dutch. The Pennsylvania Germans were often called "Pennsylvania Dutch."

            It might be that the immigrant ancestor of the South Carolina Hefleys was a man named Johan Carl Haffelee who entered Pennsylvania through the port of Philadelphia in 1737 as noted in Daniel Rupp's 1927 book, THIRTY THOUSAND NAMES OF GERMANS, SWISS, DUTCH, FRENCH AND OTHER IMMIGRANTS IN PENNSYLVANIA, 1727-1776, pages 112-113:

        50) Oct. 31, 1737. Palatines imported in the ship William, John Carter, Master, from Rotterdam, last from Dover.—180 passengers.

Johan Carl Haffelee

 

On October 31, 1737 Johan Carl Haffelee swore allegiance to the English monarch, renouncing thereby loyalty to his former homeland. "Modern historians of the German

 

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migrations to America in the eighteenth century . . . consistently refer to the German immigrants as 'Palatines,' a precedent set by English clerks when they referred to all Germans as Palatines regardless of the states of their origin" although the actual Palatines were inhabitants of the Palatine principality. Even Wurttenbergers, among others, were mistakenly called Palatines. ("On the Use of the Term Palatine," by Milton Rubincam, THE ANERICMI-GERMAR REVIEW, volume 10 (October 1943), page 15)

 

Philip and Mary Hefley, Progenitors

            It is of record that on November 19, 1778 James Drafton sold 100 acres of land to William Mansinger who "sometimes after sold & conveyed said piece of one hundred acres of land . . . unto Philip Hafley" for forty-five pounds of North Carolina money. Mansinger was a resident of Cabarrus, formerly Mecklenburg, County, North Carolina; on January 29, 1794 he made a clear deed to Hefley for this tract located in Chester County, South Carolina, where Hefley then resided. (Chester County Deed Book D, pages 174-176; sworn to, June 13, 1794)

            Philip Hefley appears in the 1790 U.S. census of Chester County, page 15: Philip Heffly, three males under sixteen years of age (1774-1790); two males above sixteen years of age (previous to 1774); three females (no age categories provided).

            In the Chester County Court Order Book A (Page 334) Philip Hefley appears as having served on that county's grand jury in July 1788 and ditto, Book B (Pages 30, 47, 50, 160) as a member of the petite jury, particularly for April 1789 and January 1792.

            In the 1800 U.S. census for Chester County (Page 317), Hefley appears with three males born 1790-1800; two males born 1786-1790; one male born before 1755 (Philip); one female born 1790-1800; two females born 1786-1790; one female born before 1755 (Mary). There is such a continuity in the ages that it has been accepted that Philip had one wife and the mother of his children.

            The Hefleys decided on a move into far-western North Carolina, Buncombe County, where on July 25, 1801, Philip Hefley as then a resident of Chester County, South Carolina, bought 200 acres on both sides of a small creek that emptied from its west side into Pigeon River "about one mile above the old war ford [Cherokee]" from Nathan Dever for $180. This was located in the Dever settlement off Pigeon River. Witnesses to this transaction were Joseph Sorrells and Andrew Haffelley (who signed with an "x"). The deed was registered in July 1803, after Philip Hefley's demise. (Buncombe County Deed Book 4, pages 639-640) The Hefley name was spelled four ways in this one document, Hafley, Haffle, Haffly and Haffelley!

            Philip Hefley survived only briefly after moving onto this farm on Pigeon River. On July 18, 1803 "Mary Hafley came into court and prayed liberty to administer the estate of Philip Hafley, deceased, afterward taking oath as administratrix and entered into bond with approved securities William Dever and John Jarrett, ordered by court letters of administration be issued. Issued accordingly." (Haywood County Court Minutes April 1798-July 1812, page 155) In September 1810, Mary, as administratrix, sold some of the family land. (IBID., Administrations, B, page 45)

            Haywood County was created from Buncombe County in 1808 by the state legislature. (HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF NORTH CAROLINA, by John H. Wheeler, 1851, page 204)

            In the 1810 U.S. census, Haywood County, page 150, Mary Hefley appears with two males born 1784-1794; two males born 1794-1800; two females born 1784-1794; one female born 1794-1800 and herself born before 1765. In 1820 Mary Hefley's son, George Hefley, appears as head of the family's household. (Census, page 221)

            In 1830 Mary Hefley (Haffly) re-appears as head of her household (#372) as aged 70-80 years (1750-1760); one female born 1820-1825 and one female born in the 1790s.

 

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            Apparently Mary Hefley died late in 1830 or early in 1831. On April 7, 1831 her heirs appeared in a legal suit over some real property versus Asa Wilson. (Haywood County Estates 1809-1842, CR 049.508.2F). These children/heirs were given as Michael Hefley, Martin Hefley, George Hefley, Philip Hefley, Barbara Hefley, John Hefley, Polly Hefley and Susannah, wife of Bannister Turner (the latter couple were in residence in Haywood County as per 1820 U.S. census, page 222).

Larger image available

 

            Mary Hefley, born in the 1790s, ostensibly the female in Mary Hefley's (widow of Philip Hefley died 1803) household in the 1830 census quoted above, was possibly the widow of one of the older lady's sons; certainly she was a daughter-in-law unless her own daughter, Mary (Polly), had a child born out of wedlock. This younger Mary appears on the marriage record of her own daughter, Mary Amanda Hefley (1823-1897), who married Jesse Smothers in Haywood County, July 23, 1836 (bond) . Mary Hefley appears in the various censuses of that county with members of the Smothers family as late as 1880.

            Andrew Hefley who died in Chester County, South Carolina in 1820, bought a 50 acre tract of land in Buncombe County, North Carolina in December 1805. (Buncombe County Deed Book 7, page 545) He remained a resident of South Carolina. Hefley genealogists generally consider him as one of the oldest children of Philip Hefley. As he was already deceased he did not appear in the 1831 case mentioned previously. He signed Philip Hefley's deed or purchase in 1801 when, if he was a son of the grantee, he would certainly have been a young man of legal age.

            When Andrew Hefley died shortly before September 23, 1820, his son, John Hefley, qualified temporarily as administrator of his estate. However, his widow, Elizabeth (sometimes identified as a Culp by birth) was appointed administratrix of his estate on October l0, 1820. An inventory of his personalty dated October 21, 1820 was presented to the Chester County court as was the account of the sale of the personalty on November 7, 1820. The sale of the same brought $288.43. Only one child is listed in this estate file (Probate Court, Est. papers, pile 27, Pkg 399, 119-129):

 

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            This John Hefley apparently moved to Carroll County, Tennessee where he appears in the 1850, August 26, U.S. census, civil district 1, page 4 (a combined household, with his own and perhaps the children of a deceased brother and sister- in-law):

John Hefley, age 42, South Carolina
Mary Hefley, age 38, South Carolina
George W. Hefley, age 17, South Carolina
Mary Ann Hefley, age 12, South Carolina
Robert M. Hefley, age 5, Tennessee
Marcus L. R. Hefley, age 4, Tennessee
Arminta C. Hefley, age 2, Tennessee
Mary M. Hefley, age 19, South Carolina
Jane C. Hefley, age 17, South Carolina
Andrew B. Hefley, age 12, South Carolina
Susannah Hefley, age 10, South Carolina
Martha Hefley, age 8, South Carolina
John William Hefley, age T, South Carolina.

(This family is reported to have migrated further west, to Arkansas.)

 

Haywood County, North Carolina

Larger image available

 

Matthew Carey's SOUTH CAROLINA map, Philadelphia, 1814;
arrow indicating the Fishing Creek in the vicinity of which the Hefleys lived

Larger image available

 

Martin Hefley

            MARTIN HEFLEY was born in Chester County, South Carolina, Camden District of that state, one of the sons of Philip and Mary Hefley. On the tombstone he shares with his wife, Clarissa Ann, in Antioch Cemetery, Henderson County, Tennessee, his birthdate is given as November 30, 1791. When he was about ten years old his family moved to Buncombe County, North Carolina, settling in the Dever neighborhood, in what would become Haywood County in 1808.

            Martin Hefley and his brother, George Hefley, enlisted in the Haywood County Militia for service in the War of 1812. These troops were ordered to Wadesboro, North Carolina in January 1815 where they were encamped until mustered-out in the following May. (MUSTER ROLLS OF THE SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF 1812, published by the State of North Carolina, Raleigh, 1851, page 138) On September 13, 1817 Martin Hefley secured a marriage bond in his home county "to intermarry with Clarissa Mahaffy daughter of Joseph Mahaffy." Her birthdate on their combined tombstone is given as December 20, 1791. Their household appears in the 1820 U.S. census for Haywood County, page 221, including a male and female under five years of age [Eliza and William Vance Hefley].

 

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            Martin Hefley acquired several small tracts of land near his parental homeplace on the west bank of Pigeon River. On October 16, 1824 he sold a parcel of land on the north side of Dever's Creek to Spencer Bird for ten dollars. (Haywood County Deed Book C, pages 464-465; registered December 19, 1836) On November 28, 1828 he sold 100 acres of the west side of Pigeon River to Joseph Wilson for twenty-five dollars. (IBID., B, page 518; registered March 11, 1829) He became indebted to John Slate for $889. The Hefleys migrated in 1829 to Henderson County, Tennessee, leaving their 150 acre farm which was then sold by the sheriff of Haywood County to James W. Guin, December 28, 1829 to help pay for his debt. (IBID., C, pages 204-206; registered October 19, 1833)

            Martin Hefley bought 146 acres in Civil District 7 of Henderson County with which he was listed in the 1836 (Page 82) and 1837 (Page 29) tax lists of that county; valuation of $730 both years. In the July 20, 1833 issue of the SOUTHERN STATESMAN in nearby Jackson, Tennessee, a sheriff's notice was published:

Sheriffs Sale

I shall sell at the court house door in the town of Lexington on the 2nd Monday in September next a certain tract of land containing 146 acres and 48 poles lying and being in the county of Henderson, 9th surveyors' district, range 4 section 10 entered in the name of Thomas Polk by entiy No. 1831 levied on as the property of Martin Hefley to satisfy the aforesaid execution in favor of John Purdy.

Stephen Snell, Sheriff for Henderson County

 

            Hefley managed to pay off his indebtedness as he held on to ownership of this farm which was located about five miles northwest of Lexington, the county seat.

            On their tombstone, Martin and Clarissa Ann Hefley are both given as having died on November 17, 1841. It isn't known what malady caused them to die but in an April 20, 1956 interview of the present writer with their grandson, Esoc A. Moffitt (1862-1959) in Lexington, Tennessee, the latter told him that his elders had related to him that these, his maternal grandparents, had died on the same day, one shortly after midnight and the other shortly before day-break. They were buried in the graveyard of the Antioch Primitive Baptist Church [This Antioch congregation dates to 1832.] In time, some of their family had a sturdy tombstone erected at their graves:

 

            The names of the children of Martin and Clarissa Ann Hefley are given in a biographical sketch of their son, William V. Hefley, which will be reproduced in these pages presently. These children were Eliza, William Vance, Joseph M., Phillip Jackson, George Whitfield, Samuel M. and Harriet Caroline Hefley.

A-1 Eliza Hefley, born in 1818, was married to William Whittle. They reportedly moved to Alabama.

A-2 William Vance Hefley, July 25, 1820-January 10, 1896; became an enterprising farmer, having moved to the environs of Cameron, Milam County, Texas in 1854. He sold out his Tennessee real property in February of that year. (Henderson County Deed Book P, pages 441-443) A biographical sketch about him appears in the HISTORY OF TEXAS (Milam and other counties), Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893, pages 423-426:

 

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        WILLIAM VANCE HEFLEY, an old settler of Milam county and the head of a large and influential family of this county, is a native of North Carolina, born in the county of Haywood, July 25; 1820. His American ancestors, who were early settlers in the old States, came originally from Holland and Ireland, Thomas Hefley, his paternal grandfather, being a native of Holland, who emigrated to this country in an early day and settled in South Caroline, whence he moved later to Haywood county, North Carolina. Both he and his wife died in that county, having lived to an advanced age, and passed their entire lives in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. Martin Hefley, the father, of the subject of this notice, was probably born in Holland, being young when his parents came to America. He was reared in Haywood county, North Carolina. He married Clarissa Mahaffey, of Lincoln county, that State, she being a daughter of Joseph Mahaffey, a native of Ireland, who settled in the Catskill country of Pennsylvania toward the close of the last century, whence he moved about 1780 or 1785 to North Carolina. Clarissa Mahaffey was born in Lincoln county, North Carolina, in which county was situated the old family seat where her parents had for many years lived and where they died and were buried. Martin Hefley and wife resided in North Carolina for a number of years after their marriage, but in 1820 emigrated to west Tennessee and settled near Lexington, in Henderson county, where they both died in November, 1841, each aged fifty-one years. They were plain, substantial people, up to the average in point of intelligence, wealth, industry and the household virtues, and reared a family of seven children, to whom they transmitted these possessions in a reasonable degree. The father, although not a public character, was a patriotic citizen and discharged acceptably all the functions and duties of such. He was a volunteer in the war of 1812, but was never in active service, the war closing just as his company reached Wadesboro, North Carolina, and reported for duty. He was a Major in the local militia, and figured in the military annals of his county on "muster day," those great occasions of ginger-bread, hard cider and other semi-social and military festivities.
        The subject of this notice is the second in point of age of the seven children of Martin and Clariasa Hefley, the others being an older sister, Eliza, who was married to William Whittle and moved to Alabama, where she died; leaving a family; Joseph M., who died at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1884, at the age of thirty-one, unmarried; Phillip Jackson, who died in Henderson county, Tennessee, where his descendants now live; George W, a resident or Belton, Texas; Samuel M, a resident of Cameron; and Harriet Caroline, the widow of James Moffitt, living now in Henderson county. Tennessee.
        William V. Hefley, of this article, was principally reared in Henderson county, Tennessee. He was brought up on the farm and. received only the limited education offered by the schools of that date. On February 15, 1844, he married Miss Jane Emily Henshaw, a daughter of John and Martha (Walkup) Renshaw and a native of Henderson county, where her parents were early settlers. In 1854 Mr. Hefley came to Texas, leaving Henderson county, Tennessee, October 9, and reaching Cameron, Milam county, December 8 following. He came overland, the usual, and in fact only mode of travel in that day, following the trails as they had had been established from point to point and meeting with such experiences as befell the early immigrants. In Panola county, Mississippi, he was joined by his father-in-law, John Renshaw, and his family. Their route lay by way of Helena, Arkansas, where they crossed the Mississippi river, thence to Harris' Ferry, where White river was crossed, thence to Camden, where the Washita was crossed, thence by way of Palestine to the Trinity, which was crossed at Bonner's Ferry and the Brazos at the falls.
        It had been Mr. Helley's intention to locate on the Gaudalupe, but, it being mid-winter, the roads became impassable, and he made a temporary stop in Milan, county, where, liking the country, he decided to cast his lot. The first year he lived at Cameron. He then bought a tract of land consisting of 800 acres in the Lewis league, lying about a mile and a half north and west of Cameron, on which he took up his residence in 1855. When he purchased the place it was practically without improvements, all that had been done having been the breaking of some ten or twelve acres. Mr. Hefley selected as a building sites pecan grove, sufficiently high and rolling to give good drainage, which, in times past had been something of a meeting-place of the early settlers on public occasions, and which was indeed a very sightly place for a residence. Here he erected a one-story, double log house, with an open porch between, finished as was the custom of finishing houses in those days, - chinked and pointed with clay, covered with rived boards and floored with puncheons, the chimneys being made of brick and clay. The house, for the kind, was neat, commodious and comfortable, fully up to, if not ahead of, the average farm house of the times. Raving been reared to farming, Mr. Hefley resumed it in his new home. For nearly forty years he has resided in the vicinity where he first located, and he is now tilling soil which he was the first to turn more than a third of a century ago. The country then was but sparsely settled, and of those who were his neighbors at the time all, with one exception, are gone. He recalls the names of the Hall brothers, James and Peter, living about seven miles to the southwest, being the nearest neighbors in that direction, and George Green, living about a mile east, and others, as his associates in an early day, all of whom have passed away, but are pleasantly remembered for their friendship and neighborly deeds.
        Mr. Hefley and his wife, who yet abides with him, are now occupying the old homestead almost alone, but one daughter being a member of their household, the remainder of the children having married and settler in life for themselves. Of their thirteen children ten are living, the full number being John M., Mattie A. (now Mrs. Batte), Hattie E. (now Mrs. Lott), Joseph W. (deceased), Lafayette J., James S., William T., Laura A. (now Mrs. Wallace), Mollie R. (now Mrs. Lay), Lula J. (deceased), Jeff D., Henry B. (deceased), and Emma V. (now Mrs. Hardy). Of the ten children living eight are residents of this county, and all are married. The sons are among the leading businessmen of Cameron, progressive, enterprising and public spirited, - first in everything looking to the advancement of the interests of their town and county. Naturally Mr. Hefley takes great pride in his children and in his home, being a man of strong domestic tastes and gentle, sympathetic nature. His life has centered in these and he has stamped his convictions and character on them in no small measure.
        He has never sought to fill the public eye, preferring the private walks of life with the certainty of a competence and an old age filled with pleasant recollections to the turmoils of a political career and the disappointments which so often attend on such a career. He cast his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison in the famous "hard cider and log cabin" contest of 1840, and from that date on voted with the Whig party as long as it maintained an organization, going with the Democrats on the disintegration of the Whig party and voting with the Democratic party ever since. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, and have bean for many years, Mrs. Hefley coming of a family that has furnished a number of divines to that church, some of them having attained local prominence in their calling, and all of them having served well their day and generation.
        In personal appearance Mr. Hefley is large of mold, being fully six feet in height and weighing nearly 240 pounds. His physique is well rounded out, presenting no unpleasant angles. His character, marked for firmness, determination, persistence in that which . . . [item ends abruptly here]

 

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            An article appeared in the Cameron, Texas newspaper on the event of William V. Hefley and his wife's fiftieth wedding anniversary. A copy was sent to Tennessee relatives and Mary Etta Boswell Creasy of Lexington pasted it in a scrapbook. The copy reproduced here, although dim, appears at the courtesy of Brenda K. Fiddler:

FIFTY YEARS OF JOY

The Beautiful and Impressine Golden
Wedding of Mr. & Mrs.
Wm. V. Hefley

[HTML editor's note: What goes here is a long clipping. As reproduced it is small, mostly gray, and very difficult to read. This article is omitted. The anniversary celebration was held February 15, 1894. The article is dated February 19.]

 

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(photo too poor to reproduce)
Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary picture
of William V. and Jane Emily Hefley

 

 

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            The old Hefley couple are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in downtown Cameron. Jane Emily Hefley, born May 9, 1828; died December 7, 1907.

            The Hefley children, as shown in RENSHAW REFLECTIONS, by Grace Parke Renshaw, 1983, pages 84-87, and by further research of the present writer, were:

A 2-1 John Martin Hefley, born October 1844 (according to the 1900 census, although his tombstone reads 1845); he died in 1903; he and his second wife, Mary Bradshaw, had one daughter, Bessie Claire Hefley (1883-1946) who married George Waller (1877-1946). J. M.'s first wife, Mary (1850-1872). He was a successful businessman and banker of Cameron, Texas.

A 2-2 Martha Amanda (Mattie) Hefley; born in 1847; died in 1926; married Lewis Batte; no children.

A 2-3 Harriet E. (Hattie) Hefley, born in December 1848; with her first husband, a Mr. Homans, she had one son, William H. Homans, born in 1876. She married, secondly, Dr. Martin K. Lott.

A 2-4 Joseph W. Hefley, born late in 1850; died about 1881 in Dallas, Texas; unmarried.

A 2-5 Lafayette Jackson Hefley, born May 1852; he and his wife, Mary Simpson Hefley had children: James L., born 1879; Henry Martin, 1881-1945; Edna M., born 1883; Hattie L., born 1885; Hugh R., born 1888; Janie, 1891-1892; Burnice, 1894-1897; Jackson, born 1897.

A 2-6 James Samuel Hefley, born January 1854; died September 17, 1913; a real estate entrepreneur of Milam County and a sometime mayor of Cameron. He and his first-cousin wife, Frances Adeline Hefley (Feb. 11, 1864-Feb. 13, 1917) had children: Nora, 1882-1963, wife of Ralph Mahon; (Miss)Willie Vance Hefley, 1894-1972; Helen, wife of Samuel W. Tyson; James S., Jr., 1889-1956, unmarried; Tennessee, wife of Paul Ledbetter; John M.; William Tell; George Renshaw; Thomas; Frances Adeline, wife of Philip Russell; Joseph Hefley.

A 2-7 William Tell Hefley, born May 10, 1856; died February 2, 1925; an attorney; married Bessie Louise Finley (1872-1943) and had children: William T., Jr., Richard and Catherine Hefley.

A 2-8 Mollie R. Hefley, born April 1859; married Forest Lay in 1887 and had children: Annie L., born 1888; Sadie H., born 1891.

A 2-9 Lula J. Hefley, born April 4, 1861; died unmarried, January 29, 1884.

A 2-10 Jefferson Davis Hefley, born December 1862; died in 1925; a Cameron merchant; married Sadie Pannell and had children: Jefferson D., Jr., 1894-1964; Hugh, born 1897.

A 2-11 Henry B. Hefley, born August 25, 1865; died April 15, 1877.

A 2-12 Emma Vance Hefley, born in 1868; married Frank Hardy and had children: Edwin, born in 1891; Vance, born in 1895.

A 2-13 Sue Hefley, born in 1869; died in childhood.

A 3 Joseph M. (probably Mahaffy) Hefley. According to his tombstone in Antioch Cemetery (buried beside his parents) his dates: August 27, 1823-April 4, 1852; died unmarried, reportedly in Nashville, Tennessee.

A 4 Phillip Jackson Hefley was born in Haywood County, North Carolina, December 23, 1824 and died in McNairy County, Tennessee, October 1, 1884. He was married to Mary Jane McCullar (July 6, 1837-October 26, 1911), a daughter of Alexander McCullar (1795-1888) in whose last will (probated in September 1888) he noted, "I will that my daughter Mary shall have one dollar as she has already had one thousand dollars in the tract of land upon which she now lives." (McNairy County Will Book 1, pages 65-66) Jack Hefley and his wife, Mary Jane, acquired a valuable property, including gin and gristmills, on the waters of White Oak Creek in northeast McNairy County in the early 1860s. (McNairy County Deed Book 1, pages 149-150; 150-151) This couple had one child, with whom and her family they are buried in

 

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Oak Hill Cemetery in Selmer, Tennessee. Mary Jane Hefley died in Selmer having lived there with her daughter and her family.

A 4-1 Laura Hefley (July 27, 1867-November 6, 1940); married Ulysses Sidney Alexander (July 22, 1864-June 11, 1942), July 31, 1887. They lived in Selmer, Tennessee. Children: Minnie Alexander (April 1, 1888-July 17, 1982), married Henry Floyd Wilson (1885-1956), December 23, 1909; no children. Memphis, Tenn. Lula Mai Alexander (November 13, 1892-October 24, 1977), unmarried. Memphis, Tennessee.

A 5 George Whitfield Hefley was born in Haywood County, North Carolina, May 24, 1824 and died in Belton, Bell County, Texas, April 22, 1894. He married Elizabeth Ann Bradbury (August 20, 1833-January 7, 1926), October 10, 1855. They moved from Henderson County, Tennessee to Anderson County, Texas and after the Civil War to Bell County. They are buried in North Belton Cemetery. The Hefleys were the parents of seven children:

A 5-1 Mary Iee (Minnie) Hefley (July 28, 1857-January 10, 1892); niarried Dr. M. K. Lott, November 15, 1876. Children: George, born in 1883; Edna, born in 1885; Martin K., Jr., born in 1888.

A 5-2 George B. Hefley (July 3, 1860-September 12, 18924); married Minnie Martin.

A 5-3 William Joseph Hefley (December 13, 1862-October 1926); married Mayme Dalzell, May 1, 1896.

A 5-4 Robert Huckaby Hefley (December 7, 1865-August 2, 1943); unmarried.

A 5-5 Charlie Hefley (April 10, 1869; died in childhood).

A 5-6 Nannie Clara Hefley (December 18, 1873-December 9, 1938), married A. D. Potts, Feb. 5, 1895. Belton, Texas.

A 5-7 Elizabeth Hefley (October 5, 1876-March 23, 1900), married Lee Norris.

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HEFLEY NOTE
In the birth order of the children of Martin and Clarissa Hefley given in W. V. Hefley's biographical sketch, their son Philip Jackson (Jack) Hefley appeared just before his brother, George Whitfield Hefley. Jack Hefley's tombstone in the Selmer, Tenn. cemetery gives his birthdate as December 23, 1824. This, in contradiction to his reported age of 33 years in the U.S. Census 1860 (July 30), C.D. 6, McNairy Co., Tenn., page 134; age 53 years in the U.S. Census, 1880 (June 5), C.D. 12, McNairy Co., Tenn., page 174-B. These given ages would suggest a birth year of about 1827. One of George W. Hefley's Texas descendants furnished me with his birthdate from his and his wife's old family Bible, and it was given as May 24, 1826. I then submitted the record to the Genealogical Society of Utah, now the L.D.S. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, and ordinance work was begun of their family unit in December 1958. In preparing the present Hefley sketch I accidentally gave the birth year of George W. Hefley as 1824! The 1870 U.S. Census (July 18), Belton, Texas, page 1, renders his age as 43 years (circa 1827); the 1880 U.S. Census (June 3), Belton, Texas, page 261, renders his age as 54 years, more in line with the Bible date of 1826. The 1830 U.S. Census, Henderson Co., Tenn., page 90, gives in Martin Hefley's household, two males aged to 5 years; three males, aged 5-10 years, supporting the projected, William, born 1820; Joseph, born 1823; Jack, born 1824; George, born 1826; Sam, born 1829.

JKTS, July 2004

* * * * *

 

A 6 Samuel M. Hefley was born in Haywood County, North Carolina, May 1829 and died in Cameron, Texas, December 7, 1905; married Caroline Tennessee Hall (1838-1917), Feb. 6, 1856. They lived many years in Lexington, Tennessee but moved in the 1880s to Cameron. They are buried there in Oak Hill Cemetery. An obituary from a Jackson, Tennessee newspaper, for Samuel M. Hefley (courtesy of Brenda K. Fiddler):

        Ike Hefley, residing at 212 Jackson street, received a telegram Wednesday at noon which conveyed the sad news to him of the death of his aged father Samuel Hefley, which occurred at 2:30 o'clock Wednesday morning at his home in Cameron, Texas.
        The cause of his death was supposed to be old age, he being 82 years old at the time of his death.
        If Mr. Hefley had lived, he would have been married fifty years the 6th day of February. He was born in Lexington, Tenn. and resided at that place for many years before he removed to Texas.
        Mr. Hefley had seven children in all, five boys and two girls, all of whom live in Texas, with the exception of Ike Hefley of this city. He also had many relatives and friends in Lexington and this city.
        He was the uncle of Messrs Ed, E. M. and S. Moffitt and Mrs. Watson of this city. He was the last of the old Hefley family that was raised in Lexington.
        A peculiar coincidence is connected with the death of the father of Mr. Hefley is as much as Mrs. Hefley had the misfortune of loosing her mother, Mrs. Caroline Malone, exactly one month to the day before the death of her husband's father.

 

A 6-1 John H. Hefley, born in 1857; moved to Texas.

 

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A 6-2 Isaac M. (Ike) Hefley (November 13, 1858-January 11, 1929), married Caroline Lula Malone (1854-1932), April 19, 1882. Jackson, Tennessee. Children: Caroline, born January 1884, wife of William M. Porter; Benjamin F., born May 1885; Ike Sam, born April 1887; Allie, November 4-16, 1892.

A 6-3 Franklin Hefley, born in 1861; moved to Texas.

A 6-4 Frances Adeline (Fannie) Hefley (186h-1917), married her first cousin, James Samuel Hefley.

A 6-5 James W. Hefley (November l1, 1868-September 6, 1869).

A 6-6 Samuel S. Hefley, born in 1871; moved to Texas.

A 6-7 Hubert Hefley (1873-1929), married Mamie Arnold; lived in Cameron, Texas.

A 6-8 Lula Hefley, born in 1879; moved to Texas.

A 7 Harriet Caroline Hefley was born in Henderson County, Tennessee, January 12, 1832 and died in Jackson, Tennessee, November 13, 1897; married James Moffitt (1825-1890) January 21, 1852. They lived at Sand Ridge, on a large farm several miles west of Lexington except for a few years when they lived in Lexington. The Moffitts are buried in Hepzibah Cemetery in Henderson County. They had twelve children.

A 7-1 Laura Ann Moffitt (October 28, 1852-May 14, 1931), married John Brown Boswell, January 13, 1870. Henderson County.

A 7-2 Joseph (Joe) Henry Moffitt (June 16, 1854-December 17, 1928), married Eliza Ann Pearson, October 25, 1883. Lexington, Tennessee.

A 7-3 Mary Ina (Mollie) Moffitt (May 26, 1856-April 7, 1931), married Francis Asbury Watson, November 24, 1880. Jackson, Tennessee.

A 7-4 Edward Martin (Ed) Moffitt (April 14, 1858-February 28, 1914); married (1) Mable McNeely, 1887; (2) Mrs. Elizabeth (Fitzpatrick) Green, December 12, 1893. Jackson, Tenn.

A 7-5 Eliza Jane Moffitt (March 8, 1860-December 1, 1908), married Dr. John Hicks Lanier December 8, 1886 . Madison County, Tennessee.

A 7-6 Esoc A. Moffitt (March 23, 1862-December 23, 1959), married Elizabeth Stanford, December 23, 1897. Luxora, Arkansas.

A 7-7 James (Jimmy) Jackson Moffitt (May 5, 1864-January 16, 1931), married Nina McNeely, 1891. Jackson, Tennessee.

A 7-8 Emma Helen Moffitt (March 30, 1866-September 16, 1903), married William Thomas Pearson, November 8, 1885. Madison County, Tennessee.

A 7-9 Harriet V. Moffitt (April 17, 1868-October 2, 1870).

A 7-10 William V. Moffitt (May 25, 1870-July 6, 1870).

A 7-11 Samuel Sidney Moffitt (August 7, 1871-October 21, 1872).

A 7-12 George C. Moffitt (April 7, 1873-October 23, 1935); unmarried.

 

            With the help of local leaders, Miss Helen Colburn from Burlington, Vermont, opened her female school in Lexington in the fall of 1849. (WEST TENNESSEE WHIG, Jackson, Tenn., November 16, 1849). This successful girls' school became the Lexington Female Academy and operated for several years. In the Cash Book, 1849-1855, of this institution, a copy of which is in the Tennessee Room, Henderson County Library, is a reference to the Misses Hefley and Moffitt, a final bill for services being paid, likely by James Moffitt. (See next page.)

 

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*Misses Moffitt and Hefley

 

Harriet Caroline Hefley Moffitt (1832-1897),
wife of James Moffitt

 

(Page 34)

From the 1880 U.S. census, Henderson County, Civil District Seven, Tennessee:

 

Mahaffey/McHaffey

            In the biographical sketch of William V. Hefley, HISTORY OF TEXAS (Milam and other counties), Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893, Page 423, it is remarked of Martin Hefley that, "He married Clarissa Mahaffey of Lincoln county . . . she being a daughter of Joseph Mahaffey, a native of Ireland, who settled in the Catskill country of Pennsylvania toward the close of the last century, whence he moved about 1780 or 1875 to North Carolina."

            Joseph Mahaffey (who signed his name McHaffey), born in the early 1760s, does show up in western North Carolina where as a resident of Rowan County he took out a marriage bond to marry Ann Steel in Lincoln County, December 26, 1786. His bondsman was Samuel Steel and the bond was witnessed by Joseph Steel. They are listed in the 1790 U.S. census, Lincoln County, page 111, Joseph Mahaffey being the only male in his household and he was aged over 16 years; there were three females in the household, ostensibly his wife and their two daughters. The 1810 ditto, page 440, indicates that Joseph was born before 1765; there were two males, born 1794-1800; two males, born 1800-1810; three females, born 1800-1810; three females, born 1794-1800; one female, born some time after 1765.

            Ann Mahaffey died some time before August 28, 1814 when her widower took out a marriage bond to marry Elizabeth Puntch (his bondsman being William Puntch).

            The first record of Joseph Mahaffey purchasing land was when he paid 50 pounds on March 15, 1790 to Samuel Steel of Lincoln County for 150 acres in that county, located on the north fork of Lyles Creek; one of the witnesses to this transaction was Joseph Steel, Esq. (Lincoln County Deed Book 17, pages 13-14) On September 1, 1793 Mahaffey purchased 100 acres on the headwaters of Clarks Creek in Lincoln County for 52 pounds, from Philip Geyer. (IBID., Deed Book 16, page 427) On April 4, 1801 George Smith sold Mahaffey 100 acres on Lyles and Clark creeks for 50 pounds. (IBID., Deed Book 20, pages 198-199)

            On August 5, 1800 Joseph Mahaffey sold 145 acres on Lyles Creek to John Simons for 145 pounds. (IBID., Deed Book 20, pages 139-140) On November 29, 1832, Mahaffey conveyed 129 acres to his son, Thomas A. Mahaffey to be used in the support of the grantee's mother, Elizabeth. (IBID., Deed Book 37, pages 433-434). Finally, on the same date, Mahaffey deeded to his son, Joseph, Jr., 100 acres on the headwaters of Clarks and Lyles creeks, adjoining the land deed to T. A. Mahaffey. (IBID., Deed Book 38, page 214)

 

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            There were several deeds during this period for Joseph Steel, a man the censuses suggest was born before 1755. He was assuredly a close relative of Mahaffey's first wife.

            In 1833 Joseph Mahaffey executed his last will, distributing his estate to his wife, Elizabeth and his children from the second marrige as he had already given property or money to the offspring of his first marriage. (Lincoln County Will Book 1, pages 391-392); this will was probated in May 1836:

        In the name of God, amen. I, Joseph Mchaffey, Senr. being weak & low in body but of sound and disposing mind & memory thanks be to Almighty God for the same do make this my last will & testament. First I give my body to the earth to be decently buried by my herein after named executor & my soul into the hands of God that gave it in sure & certain hope of the resurrection to immortal life at the last day. After payment of just debts & funeral charges, I dispose of my world affects in the following manner, viz I first will & bequeath to my wife Elisabeth Mchaffey her full interest as a widdows right to the land & premises I now live on which it is my will shall be kept in reserve for the support of my daughters & my son Thomas Aaron Mchaffey with the widdow & as I have deeded it to my son Thomas Aaron Mchaffey it is my will the deed remains in the exetrs. hands until he marries or at the death or change of my wifes name by second wedlock at which time should the like happen then she has remove right or intrest in this said land so doing to my son Thomas A. Mchaffey but the sole right shall be his by virtue of this said deed which is his right forever. It is further my will that my wife Elisabeth shall have her bed & bedstead & all necessary furniture for the same also her spinning wheel & reel & all the kitchen furniture or so much of it as she shall think necessary for the use of the family, her saddle & bridle & as much of the stock cattle sheap & hogs as is thought necessary for the use of the family as long as they shall continue to live together as a family & if any of the family ceases to be one of the common family either by marriage or otherwise they are not any longer to be supported of the farm or out of the stock reserved for the purpose, if there is more stock on hand than my exetr. thinks necessary for the use of the family it is to be sold at publick sale to the highest bider & the money arising from such sale is to be divided as I will hereafter direct in this instrument & to my son Joseph Mchaffey I give by deed 100 acres of land which I bought of George Smith & to my daughter Ruth it is my will that she shall have her bed & beding & her saddle & a bridle her sprining wheel & as many pots & as much kitchen furniture as her cisters got that is gone to themselves, her Bible & hymn book & if she changes her sittuation of life by marriage she shall have the value of the stock her cisters got in money, also her chest. Next to my daughter Sally Maryella Mchaffey I will & bequeath as much of every thing above named to Ruth Mchaffey & to my son William Leander Mchaffey I have given by deed 105 acres of land joining Casper Bolick, David Miller & others on the waters of Lyles Creek. I also will or give him my sorrel stud colt his saddle & bridle a good feather bead & necessary furniture for the same also I will him his his /twice written/ ax & a choise of mattick, my currying knives & one steele also his choise of my fleshing knives & to my son Thomas A. Mchaffey the plantation I now live on as before mentioned in this instrument by deed, a good horse saddle & bridle & a good feather bead & bedstead & all necessary furniture for the same, also I will him an ax & a mattick one currying knife & steele also a fleshing knife a good milch cow & calf & next to my daughter Addaline Mchaffey the same quantity of every thing named to her cisters above & if there is any money notes or bonds on hand it is my will it shall be eaqually divided among my living children my lawful sons & daughers & lastly I do hereby constitute my sons William L. Mchaffey & Thomas A. Mchaffey my executors to this my last will and testament. In witness whereof I now set my hand and affix my seal this /date left blank/ and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three.

NB. It is my will that all the stock horses cattle sheap & hogs on hand shall remain on Thomas A. Mchaffeys land as the same are for the common use of the family unless either of them marr/y/ if this shall be the case then this stock is to be divided among the family as before mentioned in this my last will and testament in witness whereof I have set my hand & seal the day & year before writen.

 

            Unsigned but presumably he wrote the will and it was so allowed by the court to be probated. His name as written in the first line of the will:

 

(Page 36)

            The man identified as the father of Joseph Mahaffey was named Joseph Mahaffey, farmer, who was long a resident of East Nottingham Township, Cecil County, Maryland, just south of Chester County, Pennsylvania. He bought 83 acres on the west side of Little Elk River in Cecil County in October 1765. (Cecil County Land Liber 10, folio 286) On March 30, 1791 Joseph Mahaffey sold 214 acres on the west side of Elk River for 450 pounds "current "; it was land he had bought from Hugh Mahaffey November 20, 1762 (which the latter had purchased from James Steel in March 1747). (Cecil County Land Liber 17, folio 168) As Joseph McHaffy he was listed in East Nottingham District, Cecil County in the 1790 U.S. census, page 42, given with three males above 16 years; one male below age 16 years; three females and three slaves.

            On September 4, 1793 Joseph Mahaffey executed his last will, providing one-third of his real estate to his widow, Mary, including their dwelling. As he had given his older sons, Hugh and Joseph "their share of my estate" he left them five shillings each. (Joseph had already migrated to western North Carolina and Hugh was an independent householder.) To his son, William Mahaffey he bequeathed the slave, Solomon; to daughter, Elizabeth Steel, a slave, Hannah; to son, Rowland Mahaffey a featherbed and 83 pounds; to son, Alexander Mahaffey he devised the farm on which he lived and to daughter, Jane Hall, he left 10 pounds. His wife and son, Alexander, were designated as his co-executors. This document was probated in Cecil County on March 2, 1796. (Cecil County Liber FF#6, page 88)

            Joseph Mahaffey (usually spelled Mehafy) is identified as the person of that name born about 1733, a son of Hugh Mehafey in whose household he appeared as an "inmate," i.e. male over 21 years of age, in the tax records of Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1754-1758.

            Hugh Mehafey appeared as such the first time in Chester County tax records in 1729 and so continued for many years in the East Nottingham Township of that county. Hugh "Mahaffy" of that township bought land there in August 1766. (Chester County Deed Book O, page 313) He was given as a yeoman farmer.

            Hugh Mahaffey the younger, born about 1723, lived at New Munster on the west side of Big Elk Creek, who was murdered on November 18, 1747 by his wife and her illicit lover. (HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY, MARYLAND, by George Jobnston, 1881, page 204) His estate was inventoried in 1750 (Chester County Inv. 44, folio 8-9) and settled in 1754. (IBID., 36, folio 539-540) A HISTORY OF THE ROCK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CECIL COUNTY, MARYLAND, by the Rev. J. H. Johns, Oxford, Pa., 1872, page 31, notes that buried in the Stone Graveyard in Lewisville, Chester County, Pennsylvania were Hugh Mahaffey who died November 18, 1747 aged 26 years; Joseph and Mary Mahaffey.

            The elder Hugh Mahaffey (McHaffy) had 30 acres and livestock noted in the 1765 tax list of Chester County, Pennsylvania; Joseph Mahaffey (McHaffy) appears landless in the same tax list with livestock. Both were residents of East Nottingham Township. (PENNSYLVANIA ARCHIVES, Third Series, volume 11, pages 75-76) By 1768, Joseph Mahaffey had 120 acres in this township for which he was taxed. (IBID., page 106) In the 1785 tax list for this township, Joseph Mahaffey, having his land in adjoining Cecil County was taxed only on his livestock. (IBID., volume 12, page 771)

            William Mahaffey, identified as the brother of Joseph Mahaffey of Lincoln County, bought land in Haywood County, North Carolina as early as February 1801 (Deed Book 3, page 297); he appears in the 1850 U.S. census of that county as aged 89 years (born about 1761), a native of Maryland. Perhaps it was somehow through this man that Martin Hefley met his niece, Clarissa, and married her in Lincoln County, where she had been born in 1791. After her father's remarriage, Clarissa may have spent an extended visit with this uncle and his family. At any rate, Clarissa was living in Haywood County in 1817 as the law required marriage bonds to be obtained in the bride's home county.

 

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Larger image available

 

            Hugh Mahaffey the elder was likely the Scots-Irish immigrant to Chester County, Pennsylvania. The surname reaches back well into medieval Scotland, a variant spelling being Machaffie. (THE SURNAMES OF SCOTLAND, by George F. Black, 1946, page 461)

 

John Hefley

            John Hefley was evidently one off the younger sons of Philip and Mary Refley. In his grandson, John A. Hefley's biographical sketch, PROMINENT TENNESSEANS, 1796-1938, by James L. Gillum, 1938, page 275, John Hefley's wife is given as Jane Wylie.

        HEFLEY, JOHN ARMISTEAD, Co. Judge of Obion Co. Born in Carrol Co. Tenn., Dec. 9, 1860. Son of James Marion and Susan C. (Barksdale) Hefley. Paternal grandparents are John Hefley and Jane Wylie. Maternal grandparents are Armistead and Nancy (White) Barksdale. Finished the public schools of Obion Co. A member of the Methodist Episcopal Church So.; Democrat; Mason; Knight Templar. He entered business in 1882 at Woodland Mills. In 1900 he was elected Trustee of Obion Co., serving for four years. He was Cashier of the Union City Bank and Trust Co. remaining there and in Woodland Mills until 1934. In 1934 he was elected to the office of Co. Judge of Obion Co. He served four years as Secy. to the Obion Co. Democratic Executive Committee. His father was a soldier in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He married Lou Odom on Dec. 22, 1880 and Hattie Hurt July 1, 1908. He is the father of five children: Martha Ellington, John Harold (latter deceased), J. V., W. L., and Herbert. His hobby is fishing.

 

            In the 1820 U.S. census, Chester County, South Carolina, page 45, in John Hefley's household: one male born 1794-1804, John; one female, aged to 10 years; one female aged 10 to 16 years; one female aged 26-45 years. In the 1840 U.S. census, Chester Co., page 300, John Heffley's household: one male under 5 years; one male, aged 5-10 (James M., born late in 1835); one male aged l0-15; one male aged 15-20; one male aged 30-40; one female under 5 years; two females aged 5-l0; one female aged l0-15; one female aged 30-40.

            When the real estate of Thomas Wylie, Jane Hefley's father, was sold in February 1843, she and John Hefley were mentioned among his heirs as were Peggy, wife of Thomas A. White and Matilda, wife of James McKinney.

 

(Page 38)

            John Hefley's signature on the Wylie document:

 

            A son of John and Jane Hefley, James Marion Hefley, was born in December 1835 in South Carolina, was married to Susan Barksdale and together they appeared in Armstead Barksdale's household in Civil District 2 of Carroll County, Tennessee, 1860, July 5, U.S. census, page 46. The Hefleys moved to the environs of Woodland Mills in Obion County, Tennessee about 1866 where they lived for many years. In the 1880, June 3, U.S. census, Civil District 2, Obion County, page 6, the Hefley's children are given as John, age 20; Ada, age 16 (married Frank Pruett, June 2, 1882); Nancy [Rena], age 14 (married R. T. Pruett, November 3, 1888).

            Susan Hefley last appears in a census in 1910, however James Hefley was living at age 84 years, native of South Carolina, in his son, John Hefley's household in Obion County, 1920 U.S. census (E.D. 112, page 3).

            John Armstead Hefley (December 9, 1860-May 5, 1943), the subject of the biographical sketch reproduced on the previous page, executed his last will in August 1942 (it was probated in May 1943; in it he mentions his homeplace in Woodland Mills; he left a considerable estate for his heirs. (Obion County Will Book E, pages 22-24)

            John A. Hefley and his three wives, Lou Emma Odom (1860-1907), Harriet Barksdale (1867-1929) and Kathryn Rice (1875-1951) are buried near him in Eastview Cemetery in Union City, Tennessee, among several of his children. John A. Hefley's children with his first wife, Lou: James Verner, 1882-1960; Martha, 1886-1970; Wilbur Leslie, 1888-1965; John Harold, 1893-1920; Herbert Earl, born in September 1896.

 

Michael Hefley

            Michael Hefley was a son of Philip and Mary Hefley, one of those who remained in Chester County, South Carolina. He died shortly before October 24, 1831 when his widow, Margaret, was issued letters of administration on his estate, the papers relating to the latter (South Carolina Archives: Chester County File 30, Package 459, f 66-78) reveal that he died leaving a 183 acre farm on Fishing Creek. Among the household plunder listed in the inventory of his estate (December 14, 1831) were a cupboard, a day clock, a silver watch, several beds, a pine chest, folding table, a loom and spinning-wheel, grindstone, farming tools, a saddle and bags, a lot of books, three barrels of flour, 4422 lbs. of seed cotton, wheat, rye, oaths, three horses, cattle, hogs and geese.

            In the sale of these items on December 15, 1831 Margaret Hefley bought most of them. On February 5, 1835 the farmland was sold, the proceeds distributed among the heirs. William Hefley bought the homeplace for $626.08. In the proceedings previous to this sale the heirs' names were listed in the estate file:

 

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            Through the courtesy of Hugh Hefley Dunlap of Memphis, Tennessee, the descendancy of Michael Hefley is given here, insofar as his children are concerned.

 

Descendants of Michael Hefley

Generation No. 1

     1. Michael2 Hefley (Philip1) was born Abt. 1775 in Chester Co., SC, and died Bef. October 1831 in Chester Co., SC. He married Margaret "Peggy" Hamilton Abt. 1800 in Chester Co., SC, daughter of William Hamilton and Mary McGlamory. She was born 1774 in Chester Co., SC, and died Aft. 1860 in Gibson Co., Tn.

Children of Michael Hefley and Margaret Hamilton are:

+     2     i. Mary "Polly"3 Hefley, born 15 May 1801 in Chester Ca., SC; died 30 June 1875 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+     3    ii. Nancy Agnes Hefley, born Abt. 1804 in Chester Co., SC; died 11 August 1889 in Carroll Co., Tn.
+     4   iii. Sarah Hefley, born 27 March 1806 in Chester Co., SC; died 20 February 1847 in Madison Co., Tn.
+     5    iv. Elizabeth Hefley, born 19 August 1808 in Chester Co., SC; died 30 June 1862 in Madison Co., Tn.
+     6     v. William Michael Hefley, born 1811 in Chester Co., SC or France; died 1851 in Gibson Co., Tn.
+     7   vi. James Madison Hefley, born 25 December 1812 in Chester Co., SC; died 15 September 1885 in Chester Co., SC.
+     8   vii. Henry W. Hefley, born September 1816 in Chester Co., SC; died 1902 in Crockett Co., Tn.

 

(Page 40)

Generation No. 2

     2. Mary "Polly"3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1) was born 15 May 1801 in Chester Co., SC, and died 30 June 1875 in Crockett Co., Tn. She married William D. Dunlap Abt. 1821 in Prbly Chester or York Co., SC, son of William Dunlap and Susannah Adkins. He was born Abt. 1800 in Prbly Chester or York Co., SC, and died January 1846 in Gibson Co., Tn.

Children of Mary Hefley and William Dunlap are:
+     9     i. Margaret R.4 Dunlap, born 1822 in York Co., SC; died Bef. 1900 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    10    ii. James M. Dunlap, born 1824 in York Co., SC; died 1880 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    11   iii. John M. Dunlap, born 06 June 1827 in York Co., SC; died 12 January 1886 in Gibson Co., Tn.
     12    iv. Hilliard J. Dunlap, born 08 May 1829 in York Co., SC; died 05 August 1860 in Gibson Co., Tn.
+    13     v. William "Billy" Dunlap, born 14 August 1832 in York Co., SC; died 07 September 1883 in Pope Co., AR.
+    14    vi. Mary Ann Dunlap, born 04 May 1834 in York Co., SC; died 06 December 1907 in Crockett Co., Tn.
     15   vii. George W. Dunlap, born 01 January 1837 in York Co., SC; died 07 November 1858 in Gibson County, Tn.
     16  viii. Henry Dunlap, born 04 June 1840 in Gibson Co., Tn; died 23 December 1917 in Crockett Co., Tn. He married Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzy" Taylor 20 December 1866 in Madison Co., TN; born 15 July 1835 in Prbly Madison Co, TN; died 06 December 1897 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    17    ix. Rebecca Jane Dunlap, born 18 March 1843 in Gibson Co., Tn; died 13 November 1914 in Craighead Co., AR.

     3. Nancy Agnes3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1) was born Abt. 1804 in Chester Co., SC, and died 11 August 1889 in Carroll Co., Tn. She married George E. Ledsinger Abt. 1823 in SC, son of John Ledsinger and Rutha Unknown. He was born 07 July 1803 in Chester Co., SC, and died 03 February 1885 in Carroll Co., Tn.

Children of Nancy Hefley and George Ledsinger are:
     18     i. Ruth Hannah4 Ledsinger, born Abt. 1824 in Chester County, SC. She married John B. Collins 09 March 1843 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
     19    ii. John Michael Ledsinger, born Abt. 1826 in Chester County, SC. He married Mary C. Gillis 07 October 1849 in Carroll Cty, Tn; born Abt. 1831 in TN.
+    20   iii. Margaret E. Ledsinger, born 20 January 1830 in Carroll Co., Tn; died 16 March 1900 in McLemoresville, Carroll Co., TN.
     21    iv. Mary Eveline Ledsinger, born Abt. 1831 in Carroll Cty, Tn. She married William H. Jackson 13 November 1849 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
+    22     v. William Thomas Ledsinger, born Abt. 1833 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
     23    vi. Sarah Agnes Ledsinger, born Abt. 1835 in Carroll Cty, Tn. She married John W. Collins 09 March 1854 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
+    24   vii. Louisa Marriah Ledsinger, born Abt, 1837 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
     25  viii. James Herman Ledsinger, born Abt. 1839 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
     26    ix. Emily Caroline Ledsinger, born Abt. 1842 in Carroll Cty, Tn. She married Unknown Almond.
     27     x. George Lewis Ledsinger, born Abt. 1844 in Carroll Cty, Tn. He married Rebecca Everett 27 November 1870 in Carroll Co., Tn.
     28    xi. Isabella Ledsinger, born Abt. 1849 in Carroll Cty, Tn.
     29   xii. Matilda Jane Ledsinger, born Abt. 1851 in Carroll Cty, Tn. She married G. W. Williams.
     30  xiii. Mary Ledsinger, born Abt. 1852 in Carroll Cty, Tn.

     4. Sarah3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1) was born 27 March 1806 in Chester Co., SC, and died 20 February 1847 in Madison Co., Tn. She married John Carter 04 December 1823 in Chester Co., SC, son of Jesse Carter and Mary Adams. He was born 06 March 1803 in Chester Co., SC, and died 16 September 1865 in Madison Co., Tn.

Children of Sarah Hefley and John Carter are:
+    31     i. Margaret T.4 Carter, born 01 January 1825 in Chester Co., SC; died 18 January 1904 in Crockett
Co, Tn.
     32    ii. William L. Carter, born 11 October 1826 in Chester Co., SC; died 1829 in Prbly Carroll Co., TN.
+    33   iii. Mary Ann Carter, born 02 August 1829 in Chester Co., SC.
+    34    iv. Elizabeth B. Carter, born 13 July 1832 in prbly Madison Co., TN; died 1906 in Crockett Co., Tn.
     35     v. James A. Carter, born 13 August 1835 in Tn; died 06 January 1905. He married Nancy Campbell 18 October 1859 in Prbly Madison Co., TN.

 

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     36    vi. Ira C. K. Carter, born 12 October 1838 in TN; died 06 April 1862 in Shiloh, Tn.
     37   vii. Christopher M. Carter, born 19 April 1841 in Madison Co., TN; died 08 October 1862 in Perryville, Ky.
     38  viii. John R. M. Carter, born 24 December 1843 in Madison Co., TN; died 06 June 1863 in Chattaanooga, Tn.

     5. Elizabeth3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1) was born 19 August 1808 in Chester Co., SC, and died 30 June 1862 in Madison Co., Tn. She married John D. Rosamon 01 March 1829 in Chester Co, SC, son of Henry Rosamon and Ann Clarke. He was born 06 September 1807 in Lincoln Co., NC, and died 04 September 1861 in Madison Co., Tn.

Children of Elizabeth Hefley and John Rosamon are:
+    39     i. Henry Clark' Rosamon, born 23 May 1829 in SC; died 06 February 1855 in Madison Co, TN.
     40    ii. Margaret Rosamon, born 1831 in SC. She married William J. Henderson 17 December 1850 in Madison Co., TN.
     41   iii. Nancy Elizabeth Rosamon, born 1833. She married William J. Bell 20 September 1855 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    42    iv Julia Ann Rosamon, born 1835 in SC; died 1878 in Crockett Co, Tn.
+    43     v. Mary Jane Rosamon, born 08 February 1838 in Madsion Co., TN; died 01 May 1904 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    44    vi. George Madison Rosamon, born 08 May 1840 in Madison Co, Tn; died 07 August 1872 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    45   vii. John Wesley Rosamon, born 17 September 1842 in Madison Co, TN; died 18 August 1916 in Crockett Co., Tn.
     46  viii. L. O. H. Rosamon, born 04 December 1844 in Madison Co, TN; died 18 August 1845 in Madison Co., TN.
+    47    ix. Ruth Lucinda Rosamon, born 08 August 1846 in Madison Co, TN; died 17 May 1925 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    48     x. Sarah N. "Sally" Rosamon, born 1849 in Madison Co, TN; died 1885 in Gadsden, Crockett Co., Tn.

     6. William Michael3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1). The present writer sketches this man and his family at the close of Dunlap's genealogical account.

     7. James Madison3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1) was born 25 December 1812 in Chester Co., SC, and died 15 September 1885 in Chester Co., SC. He married (1) Rebecca Hamilton Bef. November 1838 in Chester Co., SC, daughter of James Hamilton and Sarah Hinds. She was born 01 July 1819 in Chester Co., SC, and died 19 May 1846 in Chester Co., SC. He married (2) Rebecca Olivia Unknown Bet. 1863-1866 in Chester Co., SC. She was born 28 October 1837 in Chester Co., SC, and died 01 May 1910 in Chester Co., SC.

Children of James Hefley and Rebecca Hamilton are:
+    57     i. Sarah Jane4 Hefley, born 28 July 1839 in Chester Co., SC; died 16 January 1868 in Chester Co., SC.
+    58    ii. Margaret Hefley, born Abt. 1840 in Chester Co., SC; died Bet. 1885-1888 in Chester Co., SC.
+    59   iii. Mary "Mollie" Hefley, born 14 December 1841 in Chester Co., SC; died 13 April 1912 in Chester Co. SC.
     60    iv. James Henry Hefley, born 23 September 1846 in Chester Co., SC; died 12 December 1865 in

Children of James Hefley and Rebecca Unknown are:
     61     i. William H.4 Hefley, born 10 June 1867 in Chester Co., SC; died 15 September 1885 in Chester Co., SC.
     62    ii. Nancy Elizabeth Hefley, born Abt. 1869. She married Unknown Gooch.
     63   iii. Madison Boyd Hefley, born September 1871.
     64   iii. Edward Meynardie Hefley, born 01 January 1873 in Chester Co., SC; died 07 November 1896 in Chester Co., SC.
     65    iv. Flora Alice Hefley, born 07 November 1874 in Prbly Chester Co., SC.
     66     v. Wade Hampton Hefley, born May 1875.
     67    vi. Elijah C. Hefley, born April 1878.

 

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     8. Henry W.3 Hefley (Michael2, Philip1) was born September 1816 in Chester Co., SC, and died 1902 in Crockett Co., Tn. He married (1) Elizabeth "Eliza" James 05 February 1847 in Gibson Co., Tn, daughter of Levin James and Eunice Whichard. She was born Abt. 1819 in Pitt Co., NC, and died Abt. 1859 in Gibson Co., Tn. He married (2) Sarah Bradford 31 July 1860 in Gibson County, Tn, daughter of James Bradford and Nancy Newhouse. She was born Abt. 1835 in Prbly Gibson Co, TN, and died Bef. 1870 in Unknown.

Children of Henry Hefley and Elizabeth James are:
+    68     i. James Madison4 Hefley, born 02 December 1847 in Gibson Co., Tn; died 07 February 1936 in Gibson Co;, Tn.
+    69    ii. Emily Ann "Martha" Hefley, born 1851 in Gibson County, Tn.
     70   iii. Nancy Frances Hefley, born 1852 in Gibson County, Tn; died Aft. 1870.
+    71    iv. Franklin Pierce Hefley(Sr.), born May 1854 in Gibson Co., Tn; died 1917 in Crockett Co., Tn.
+    72     v. William Rufus Hefley, born 27 April 1855 in Gibson/Crockett Co., Tn; died 26 July 1926 in Crockett Co, Tn.

Child of Henry Hefley and Sarah Bradford is:
     73     i. Nancy E.4 Hefley, born Abt. 1861. She married Willis A. Cates 15 January 1890 in Crockett Co, Tn; born 28 March 1858 in Alamo, Crockett Co, Tn; died 16 August 1930 in Alamo, Crockett Co. Tn.


 

            William Michael Hefley was born in Chester County, South Carolina, 1811; died in May 1851. According to their son, James H. Hefley's biographical sketch in W. A. Goodspeed's HISTORY OF TENNESSEE (Gibson County), 1887, page 887, W. M. Hefley married Margaret Boyd and they left South Carolina and settled in Gibson County, Tennessee in 1847 and two years later they moved to nearby Madison County where he was living when he died. He is buried beside his wife, Margaret Hefley (1816-1886) in the Rosemon Cemetery in Gadsden, Tennessee. In the biographical sketch of their son, the Reverend William G. Hefley, MINUTES OF THE MEMPHIS CONFERENCE, 1913, pages 77-80, his mother is given as Margaret Simonton [Boyd] and they are stated to have moved from Chester County, South Carolina to west Tennessee. Their children:

  1. David M. Hefley (1836-1854)
  2. James L. Hefley (April 1837-August 31, 1842)
  3. Sarah A. Hefley, born in 1841; married in Madison Co., Tenn. to John A. Kennedy, October 30, 1858.
  4. Mary Jane Hefley (1844-1906), unmarried
  5. James Henry Hefley (January 1, 1846-May 31, 1921), served as sheriff of Gibson County, 1880-1884; sometime magistrate of Civil District 7, same county; married Fannie Flowers (1864-1934), September 10, 1882. He served as a private in the 7th Tenn. Cavalry, CSA. His obituary in the HERALD-DEMOCRAT, Trenton, Tenn., April 1, 1921 lists his children: Frank Hefley, New Orleans; Joe Henry Hefley, Trenton; Thomas Hefley, Ardmore, Oklahoma; Clark Hefley, Helena, Ark.; Mrs. (Janie) John Stewart, Mrs. (Franchon) V. V. Harris; Miss Margaret Hefley, Oklahoma City.
  6. Benjamin F. Hefley (1848-1858)
  7. William Graves Hefley (November 2, 1851-April 29, 1913); he is often given as having been born in 1853 but his father, W. M. Hefley executed his last will May 24, 1851 and it was probated June 1 of the same year. (Madison County Will Book 5, pages 90-91) He is also given as nine years of age in his mother's household in 1860 (Madison County, August 7, 1860, page 202, Civil District 18) He became a well-respected Methodist clergyman. He married Luella Gardner, June 17, 1883. Their children, as per 1900 census: Estella, born April 1884; Mary, born October 1885; Harvey, born November 1892; Luella, born July 1893; William A., born May 1896; Elizabeth, born January 1898.

 

(Page 43)

Stephen Hefley of Henderson County

            According to his tombstone in Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Henderson County, Stephen Hefley was born December 13, 1816 and died September 17, 1897. His origins are lost in the mists of the long ago. His birth state in the various censuses is invariably given as Tennessee and none of the South Carolina Hefleys are known to have entered Tennessee as early as 1816, however extensive research has not been done to determine whether any of Philip and Mary Hefley's grandchildren were in Tennessee by 1816.

            According to her death certificate, his wife, Elmira Hefley, was born February 23, 1829 in North Carolina and died in Henderson County, January 26, 1921; a daughter of Hardy Haney and his wife, Elizabeth (Caudill) Haney. The Hefleys lived for many years in Civil District 11 in southeast Henderson County.

            From the vouchers signed by Stephen Hefley's heirs and the various censuses it is evident that his and Elmira's children were Elizabeth Hefley, born about 1852, wife of J. M. Davis; Mary Elizabeth Hefley (November 1853-July 23, 1930), wife of Mathew Valentine Goff; Susan Hefley (March 3, 1858-June 12, 1950), wife of George Washington Goff; Maxey Ann Hefley (August 14, 1860-March 31, 1871); Stephen A. Hefley, born September 1867. A son, George Hefley, was born in September 1855; wife, Charlotte, born February 1863; they had been married 21 years in 1900 and had children: Stephen A., born August 1881; Levoy, born October 1885; Mintie, born November 1887; Tennie, born May 1890; Nettie, born July 1891; Stanley, born October 1894; Bessy, born Oct. 1899. (Henderson Co., E.D. 52, page 10, 1900 U.S. Census)

 

Unlinked Hefleys

            Probably part of the South Carolina Hefley family are the following:

1840 U.S. census, Henderson County, Tennessee:
page 361. William A. Hefley: two males under age 5; two males aged 5-10; one male aged 10-15; one male aged 30-40; one female aged 10-15; one female aged 40-50
page 362. Elizabeth Hefley: one male aged 10-15; one male aged 20-30; one female aged under 5; one female aged 50-60
page 362. Levi Hefley: one male aged 30-40; two females under 5; one female aged 20-30

 

            Appearing as neighbors in the 1850, November 12, U.S. census, Henderson County, Civil District 12, page 198:

John Hefley, age 25, Tenn.
Elendor C. Hefley, age 19, Tenn.
Mary E. Hefley, age 3, Tenn.
Martha Hefley, age 1, Tenn.

Mary Hefley, age 43, Tenn.
Mary A. Hefley, age 20, Ark.
Philip Hefley, age 15, Tenn.
James Hefley, age 13, Tenn.
Lorenzo Hefley, age 11, Tenn.
Anderson Hefley, age 9, Tenn.

 

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