The amount of time we spend trying to understand allied families is amazing.  This is especially true in the north part of Weakley County.  It seems that there are vague and distant ties between every family line.  There are few records so we are constantly trying to find clues about our families by looking at the people around them. To the best of my knowledge, I have no direct connection to any STUNSTON, SUMMERS, or PRICE family.  But these families lived along side the McCLAINs in District 1 in the far northeast corner of Weakley County in the earliest years of the county.  Their destinies were tied to one another in several ways.

My interest is in the McCLAIN family.  They were first generation settlers in District 1, coming from Rockingham County, NC.  They also settled in the northwest corner of Henry County and soon were in the southeast corner of Graves County, KY.  The North Fork of the Obion River with its bottoms was a far more confining boundary than mere state and county lines.  My original McCLAIN in this area was George McCLAIN, b. Apr 13, 1783 d. May 13, 1857.  His wife was Mary (Polley) KEEN from Caswell County NC, b.1787 d. aft 1860.  George was first married to Jane DILL.  Their only child was Rachel Christa  who married Elisha PASCHALL of Caswell County NC and moved to Weakley County about 1825.  She was probably the first McCLAIN in the County.  They moved a few miles east to the area just north of Jones Mill in Henry County about 1828.  Their descendants abound in this area. 
 
George and Mary arrived in District 1 in late 1828 or early 1829.  They had 12 children. The oldest was John who settled in the northwest corner of Henry County about 1827.  John is the ancestor of most of the McCLAINs in Graves County and Calloway County KY.  George and Mary had 4 daughters and one son that haven’t been identified.  All the other known children came to Weakley County with George and Mary.
  
This isn't all of the McCLAINs in the early days.  Charles McCLAIN, who may be a brother of George or who may be a cousin moved into what is now District 13 on the north side of the North Fork of the Obion river in 1827.  This is about 10 miles (as the crow flies) southwest of the George McCLAIN home place located on the road today known as Jaybird Lane.  Interestingly for this discussion, Charles came to Weakley County from that part of Gallatin County IL that became Saline County IL.  He came with a group of people named DAMRON, ATKINSON, and SHULTZ.  This Charles had a son who lived in District 1, about one mile east of George, from about 1831 to about 1838.  He also had a daughter, Susan Elizabeth, who married William STUNSTON.  They had children Synthia b.1828, Charles b. 1832, and Levi b. 1834.

There was a Charles S McCLAIN who moved into what is now District 5, about two miles south of Latham and perhaps three miles southeast of Charles, in 1830.  He may have also come from Illinois.  He may be a nephew of George.  (There is still a lot of work to do on this family.)

George had a sister, Mary 1794-1871, who married a James ALDERDICE also from Rockingham County.  They moved to District 1 sometime in the 1830's.

And finally George had a brother, Joseph b. abt 1785 d. abt 1840, who moved from Rockingham County to the same area mentioned above in Northwest Henry County in 1835 or 1836.  He had two sons who had children who muddy the water a little also.

George's neighbor to the West was William PRICE.  To the south lived Henry STUNSTON who had purchased his farm in 1828 from George’s son-in-law, Elisha PASCHALL.  To the east lived James ALDERDICE and then further to the east lived the John STUNSTON family.

There were two STUNSTON families in Weakley County in 1828, John and Henry.  It is an unusual name.  It is inconceivable that they weren't related.  When John made his will, Henry witnessed it.  When John's son, James, left the county, Henry's son Lewis bought his land.  And Henry posted a security bond for both James and Levi while they administered John's estate as well as posting the security at one time or another for several of John's children.  There were many other interactions that suggest they were related.  But we do not know just how they were related at this time.

There was a Richard SUMMERS who witnessed the Entry Deed for the John STUNSTON farm.  The Entry is undated but it was probably in 1827 and could have been no later than 1838.  And a David SOMERS of Graves County bought Levi STUNSTON's land in 1838.  

Now let me discuss some of the interactions between these families.  The details of the story are not known.  Very few facts have been recorded and it isn't clear if all of them are relevant.  I believe the story may well start with the John STUNSTON family. John had six children: James, Levi, William, Juliea, Nancy and Elizabeth.  I believe all were born between 1800 and 1820 but I am not certain of this.  I also believe James was the oldest.  We don't know the name of John's wife although we do know she survived him.

James married a young woman named Burnetta SUMMERS.   She left him two times, claiming he was mean and that she didn’t love him and she was forced to marry him.  The second time she left him was in October 1828 when she went to the house of Henry STUNSTON.  James petitioned the state legislature for a divorce in 1829.  Elizabeth STUNSTON and Elizabeth SUMMERS filed affidavits on her behalf.  The divorce was not granted.  I have no proof but I think it likely that the divorce or lack of it was a factor in subsequent events.  

William STUNSTON married Susan Elizabeth McCLAIN daughter of Charles McCLAIN (of District 13) as noted above.  He was declared an idiot by a court appointed jury in February 1837 and Charles McCLAIN was appointed as his guardian.  Nancy married a DUNN.  Elizabeth married Richard (Dick) SUMMERS.
 
In the spring of 1836 the interactions between these families became quite intense.  On Tuesday June 14, 1836, George W McCLAIN (23 year old son of George), William PRICE, and Benjamin MERRELL were indicted for first degree murder for the death of John STUNSTON.   STUNSTON was shot and mortally wounded in front of his corn crib.  I will quote here from the autobiography of John GARDNER.  "John STUNSTON was a tall, raw-boned, stoop shouldered, illiterate pioneer who at an early day settled in the northeast corner of this county, near the town of Boydville.  He was a successful cattle breeder and common report said a cattle thief.  However this may be, he accumulated a good estate, and died worth several thousand dollars.  He was shot and killed at early twilight one morning, at his crib door while feeding his stock, by McLAIN. ... STUNSTON had several grown daughters, one of whom married Dick SOMERS, an ignorant man who lived in the neighborhood."  It isn't clear when the crime occurred.  The bill for guarding the defendants locally was submitted to the court on May 26.  The defendants had been in custody for many days, possibly more than 22, prior to that.  STUNSTON's will was dated April 8. 

The indictment against MERRELL was apparently dismissed.  It was never mentioned again in the records.  A decision was made to try McCLAIN first.  No reason was given; but he was probably the shooter.  Both McCLAIN and PRICE pled not guilty.  They were remanded to the Henry County Jail in Paris to await trial because the Weakley County jail was not adequate.  To skip ahead, George was tried in October and, after deliberating for several days, the jury found him guilty.  Levi STUNSTON was the prosecutor in these trials.  I believe this means he was the principal accuser as opposed to the prosecuting attorney.  The attorney general was the actual prosecutor.  (There was a lot going on and there is no record of the evidence presented.   The STUNSTONs were not the most popular people in the county.  Remember that John was rumored to be a cattle thief, James' wife left him in a day when that wasn't so common.  James' sisters and Henry sided against James.  There were at least two civil suits pending between John and his neighbors at the time of his death.  These included Peter WILLIAMS and William TAYLOR and there was another civil suit pending, John STUNSTON vs George W McCLAIN and William PRICE.  I don’t know the cause of this suit.  It was an appeal from the Justice of the Peace and may have been connected to the shooting and filed before STUNSTON died.  This is completely supposition on my part.  George W was sentenced to hang in Dresden on November 4, 1836.  He appealed and the State Supreme Court agreed to hear his case so he was remanded to the Henry County jail to await the outcome.  In the meantime, William PRICE's trial was repeatedly postponed until George W's case was completed.  Both were being held in jail all this time.  The Supreme Court heard the case in April 1837 and ruled in a precedent setting case that a major error was committed by allowing some of the jury to be unattended.  George W was awarded a new trial.

But the murder trial wasn’t the only issue.  James Stunston was indicted, tried and convicted of Perjury in November 1832.  He was sentenced to three years hard labor.  He appealed and remained free on bond.  He won a new trial which was repeatedly delayed until November 1835.  A mistrial was declared when the jury couldn't agree and the case was continued several times.  It finally came to trial again on October 11, 1837.  Again the jury could not agree.  Two days later the Attorney General came into court and declined to prosecute the case any further.  Charges were dismissed.

In November 1835, James STUNSTON and Temperance McCLAIN were charged for open and notorious lewdness.  John STUNTSON posted their security.  I believe Temperance was a daughter of George (and therefore a sister of George W.) but I cannot be certain of that at this time. (The only other likely possibility is that she was a daughter of Charles from District 13.) Open and Notorious Lewdness is difficult to define.  Black's Law Dictionary defines Lewdness as gross and wanton indecency in sexual relations so notorious as to tend to corrupt the community’s values.  Open and Notorious is just that, conspicuous.  In modern times, this could be nothing short of public intercourse.  In the early nineteenth century standards were different even if behavior wasn't.  It is worth noting here that the grand jury brought a bill of presentment rather than an indictment for this charge.  The difference is that the grand jury made the charge based on their own knowledge without any prosecutor making a charge or bringing any evidence.  One could even surmise that someone on the grand jury had a grudge against STUNSTON.  I do not know the details or issues of these charges.  I suspect that Temperance and James were cohabiting.  James had sought but been unable to get a divorce.  Everyone knew that so they were openly and publicly living in sin.  When seen in the context of all the other legal problems of this family it is easy to imagine that people were looking for charges to press.

At the same time as the Open and Notorious Lewdness presentment was made, James was also indicted for malicious mischief.  John STUNSTON helped James and Temperance post bond on these charges.  When the charges came up in District Court in June 1836, the Attorney general refused to prosecute and these charges were dropped.  It is worth noting that the murder of John occurred while these charges were still pending.  James and Temperance were charged the court costs and Levi STUNSTON was their security.  

Just to complete the picture, in that same November 1835 term of the Circuit Court, Levi STUNSTON was indicted for assault with intent to kill.  Levi had attempted to stab James CLOYD.  This case was also continued for term after term.  In each term of the court the defendant had to appear as well as all the witnesses.  They all then posted or pledged a security (like a bond) that they would appear in court at the next term for the trial.  This continued until February 1838 when the Attorney General decided not to prosecute the case.  In that same month Levi lost two civil suits against him.  On February 15, 1838 Levi sold his 200 acre farm to David Summers of Graves County KY.

To get back to the murder trial, George W. McCLAIN and William PRICE were being held in the Henry County Jail all this time without bail.  In each term of the court they were brought to Dresden, the Attorney General would ask for a continuance for the Price case and he would be returned to Paris.  George's first trial and appeals were conducted and he was also transported back to Paris after each event.  George's second trial was scheduled for June of 1837.  In the meantime George's lawyer, William R HARRIS, was appointed Circuit Judge and he couldn't hear the case.  The case was continued to the October term and George and William were sent back to jail in Paris.  In October, the case was continued until February 1838.  This was the last time George's case came up in court.  We know from various historical accounts that George escaped from the Henry County Jail and disappeared.

In February 1838, William PRICE's trial was held.  It began on a Thursday and the jury was in session over the weekend.  On Monday, the jury returned and found PRICE not guilty.  He was set free after almost two years in the Henry and Weakley County Jails.  Those accounts literally give no more information than that.  There is no certain record of George after the October 1837 Term of the court.  (I believe there are traces of George to be found in following years but that is the subject of another paper.)  The fact that George is not mentioned in the record again and that PRICE's trial was conducted at the beginning of the February 1838 term gives a rather narrow window for that escape, between late October 1837 and early February 1838.  His escape was likely in late 1837.  There is an old family story about a McCLAIN man who was in jail for some time.  He was visited by a brother who looked like him and who wore a long coat.  During the visit, they exchanged clothes (coats) and the prisoner left in his brother's clothes.  After a suitable interval, the brother called the guard and asked to be let out as he wasn't supposed to be there.  The family has forgotten the names but not the incident.  I believe it must refer to the escape of George.  The last Weakley County record I have of William PRICE is an entry in the Pleas and Quarter Session Court of Weakley Co from later in 1838.  The Court ordered Aaron FARMER paid $3 for giving information to the coroner regarding the death of William PRICE.  

On August 8, 1837, James sold all his household goods, furniture, animals, etc to Temperance.  The deed took the form of a trust deed or mortgage but my guess is that he was transferring his assets to Temperance in anticipation of the perjury trial slated for October.  He had finally obtained his divorce from Burnetta the previous October and there is no record of he and Temperance getting married in Tennessee so this would be his only way of providing for her.  The deed was witnessed by Rebecca STUNSTON and Letty PRICE.  Henry STUNSTON had a daughter named Rebecca.  This could also have been the wife of John.  Letty was the wife of William.

So 1837-1838 was a pivotal time for all these families.  James STUNSTON finally got his divorce and he was cleared of all the criminal charges against him.  In December 1838, Lewis STUNSTON gained title to all of  James' land.  Levi STUNSTON  was cleared of the criminal charge against him.  He sold all his land in early 1838.  And he lost a couple of civil suits.  William STUNSTON died in late 1837 or early 1838.  William PRICE was acquitted of the murder of John STUNSTON in February 1838 after spending almost two years in jail.  He was then murdered sometime between March and August of that same year.  George W McCLAIN escaped from the Henry County jail in late 1837 or January 1838 and was ostensibly never seen again.  A review of the 1840 census data reveals that all were gone from the county (except Lewis STUNSTON) by that date. 

We also have the Civil War Pension application of David Price.  These papers clarify several issues.  First they make it clear that Levi STUNSTON left Weakley County in 1838 and went to Gallatin County IL and subsequently to Saline County IL, next door.  They also make it clear that Letty Price was the wife of William Price, that William PRICE was ambushed and murdered in Weakley County, that Letty PRICE apparently left Weakley County with Levi and then married him in Saline County, IL on August 9 that same year, and that Letty PRICE's maiden name was SUMMERS.  Just to complete the picture of Levi STUNSTON, consider the following from the David PRICE Pension application:  "Stunston was a very bad man, when drinking.  He loaded up an old fashioned horse pistol and declared his purpose to kill a Mr. Sheppard of this County <Saline County> before night.  Sheppard was advised of the situation and he and another man who had trouble with Stunston laid their loaded guns upon the court yard fence at Raleigh and fired at Stunston, killing him instantly.... They were tried and acquitted."  So shortly after Levi's assault charges were dismissed William PRICE, the accused killer of Levi's father, was acquitted and released from jail after having been imprisoned for 22 months.   PRICE was ambushed and murdered, Levi sold all his property and left the state, and Levi married PRICE's widow (now using her maiden name) almost immediately.  

There are intriguing possibilities for further research in these families.  We know that the District 13 McCLAINs came to Weakley County from Gallatin County IL. In fact they came from that part of Gallatin County that became Saline County.  There are several STINSON/STUNSON families in this area in 1840 and 1850 as well as SUMMERS families.  James STINSON married Tempa McCAIN in Saline County on May 5, 1855.  This is very likely James and Temperance from Weakley County but it hasn't been shown.  Levi STUNSTON was killed about 1857.  The guardian for his son, Alexander, was David PRICE.  My part of the story ends here.  Perhaps this will help others with a more direct interest in these families complete the story.
 

The following is my transcription of the affidavits filed with James STUNSTON's divorce petition in 1829.  The divorce was not granted by the legislature.
 

30-1829-1

To the Honorable the general assembly of the state of Tennessee

 Whereas your petitioner doth petition you that my wife Burnettey eloped from my house and premises in Weakley County about the ninth of October 1828 without any provocation and will not return by any means or any insinuations that I can make or do and states that she never will return to live with me any more and that she has no love for me nor never had with many more unbecoming expressions which I could mention and also prove was it necessary. Therefore I trust your Honorable Body will take the matter into consideration and grant me a Divorce or put it in such a way as it can be obtained, and your humble petitioner will for ever pray.
         his
      James           Stunston
       mark

State of Tennessee
Weakley County  Personally came before me-Joseph Wilson one of the acting Justices of the Peace in and for the said county-James Stunston and made oath in due form of law and states that the facts in the above petition is true.

Sworn and subscribed      his   
Before me on the 17th day of     James        Stunston
September 1829     mark
J Wilson JP

30-1829-3

State of Tennessee
Weakley County  Personally came before me-Joseph Wilson one of the acting Justices of the Peace in and for the said county-Elizabeth Stunston and Elizabeth Summers after being sworn in due form of law and saith that James Stunston and Burnetty his wife parted twice.  She came to the house of Henry Stunston both times.  I persuaded her to go back and live with him.  She answered she would not live with him for she hated him so bad that she would not live with him and the moment he came to the door that it was nothing but a quarrel and a cursing each other for she hated him so bad that she could not bear him in her sight.  And she said God damn him she wished he was in hell as far as a pigeon could fly in two weeks and she never married him for love and that she was forced to do it and that her father says if she would forgive him that he would dress her as fine as fine clothes could dress her and further I heard her say that he was a man that she did not like and that she would not live with him another day.  She would spit in his face and do everything that she could to have a fuss with him and further these deponents saith not.
           her
Sworn to and subscribed    Elizabeth      Stunston
Before me the 17th day of        mark
September 1829
J Wilson JP          her
       Elizabeth      Summers
          mark