1755-1825
Virginia - North Carolina - Kentucky - Illinois
Our next ancestor, William Sams jr, was born in Halifax County (later to become Henry County) Virginia in 1755. In 1773 he was listed as tithable (ie he was at least 16 years old) in the part of Halifax County which had become Pittsylvania County in 1767. Crawford Sams found no more records of him in the county between 1776 and 1779. In 1776 (on March 28) he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Virginia Continental regiment, so he probably continued in service until 1779. The 5th Virginia, by the way, was at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78 - and it is curious to think that Valley Forge was owned by a member of the family into which two descendants of William would marry (the Deweeses).
William returned to what was now Henry County (formed 1777) and married Martha Edwards in about 1779. She was the daughter of Thomas Edwards and Lucy Wade, who were neighbors of William's brother John on Turkey Cock Creek. At about the same time (1779-80), William recorded a survey of 223 acres south of Martinsville (it was on Simon Creek, a branch of Matrimony Creek, a tributary of Smith River). He was on the 1782 tax list for Henry County.
According to Crawford Sams, William and Martha Edwards Sams had 8 children:
William Sams III b. 1780 Henry Co
Rice b. 1781 Henry Co
Elizabeth b. 1784 Henry Co
Thomas b. 1787 Henry Co
David b. 1789 Henry Co, VA or Burke Co, NC
Wiley b. 1797 Buncombe Co, NC
Lavinia b. 1810-18 Union Co, Il
Valonel b. 1810-20 Union Co, Il
There is a problem with some of the birthdates, but I will go into that later.
Sometime between 1787 and 1791 he left for Burke County, North Carolina, where he
joined his brothers John, James and Edmond. In 1791 Buncombe County was formed and
William had jury duty there in 1793 and 1794. In 1799 he started showing up in the land
records of Buncombe County. (Some of these records come from Crawford Sams's book,
some from Buncombe County, North Carolina, index to deeds, 1783-1850 by James
E Wooley (Easley, S.C. : Southern Historical Press, c1983)).
1799 Jan - sold 100 acres to Blackwell (so he must have bought some land
earlier).
1799 May 3- bought 22 acres from John Strother
1801 Aug 8 - sold 22 acres to Jonathan Hunt
1805 Jan 1 - sold 80 acres to Thomas Love
Wooley says 1805 Jan 21 Wm sr sold 80 acres on Little Ivy to Thomas
Love - same transaction???
1805 Feb 15 - sold 22 acres to Jonathan Hunt
1805 July 17 - sold 65 acres to brother Rice
William was on the 1800 census for Buncombe County, North Carolina:
1800 census - Buncombe County, North Carolina
Sams, William 1 2 2 - 1 - 1 - 1
1 male under 10 b. 1790-1800 Wiley 1797
2m, 1f 10-16 b. 1784-1790 Thomas 1787 -
David 1789 -
Elizabeth 1784
2m 16-26 b. 1774-1784 Rice 1781 -
William 1780
1m, 1f 45+ b. before 1755 William 1755 -
Martha 1763
The children all fit nicely into this census scheme. The problem is that Elizabeth Sams
married John Deweese in 1793 (when, according to this schedule, she would have been 9
years old), so she should not be on this census with William at all. We have to assume that
either this is a totally unknown Sams daughter, or that John Deweese had another wife
before he married Elizabeth (a not-uncommon happening). [This would make us,
personally, not related to the Samses at all through this connection, since our next Deweese
ancestor was John's 2nd child b. 1796.] The Deweese researchers have opted for the first
possibility, and give her a birthdate ranging from 1778 to 1780 (so she would have been
between 13 and 15 when married) - and the 1850 census does give her age as 72 - but
they can't push it much further back because Martha Edwards was probably born in 1763
and would only have been 15 herself in 1778. But they don't explain who this Sams
daughter is. And we "know" that Elizabeth Sams Deweese was the daughter of William
and Martha, because she is mentioned in William III's will. So there it stands.
I do think the Deweese scenario is most likely, especially since there is another controversy regarding another daughter, Lavinah Sams. Crawford has her being born after the move to Illinois, sometime between 1810-1818. There are researchers out there who say, no, she was born in 1786 and married Jesse Carter in Buncombe Co, NC in 1805. She could be the female with William on the 1800 census - and the mysterious Minerva could be the daughter born in Union County. I think this is a much more likely scenario also.
Sometime after 1805 (he had been selling off his property in Buncombe County), William left for Kentucky.
"William and his family joined the migration encouraged by the Federal Government to settle the great Northwest Territory as it was known which included all of the land east of the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains which had been the location of the barrier prior to the Revolutionary War. . . . The mass migration from Virginia and the Carolinas of which the descendants of William Sams, Sr (b 1717) were a part, occurred down the Wilderness Trail of Daniel Boone and also through Tennessee and other portions of Kentucky to Illinois."
Sams Family of Virginia, p 45-6
They apparently settled in Muhlenburg County, because two of the Sams sons (Thomas and Rice) were married there. Brother William III married in Christian County, KY, a little further west. They apparently left for Illinois before the 1810 Kentucky census.
According to Crawford, William and Martha settled on the Cache River, just south of what
would become Jonesboro, county seat of what would become Union County. Later on,
when the western part of Kentucky (previously owned by the Chickasaw Indians) was
opened for settlement (in 1820), several of the Samses obtained land in Hickman County
along Mayfield Creek. William, William III, David, Wiley, Thomas and "Elizabeth and
Minerva, his [William's] two daughters" all went to Kentucky. William sr and Thomas
returned to Illinois; Rice never left.
This is the only mention of Minerva as a daughter of William and Martha. I
wonder if it was a typo for the mysterious Lavinah Sams??? OR PERHAPS this is the
mysterious unknown Sams daughter of the 1800 census.
Also - if Elizabeth was still with her father in 1820, it would mean that the
mysterious unknown 1st wife of John Deweese was the mother of the first 12 (at
least) of John's 15 children - one of whom was named Lavinah after (presumably)
Elizabeth Sams's sister.
I have not been able to find William on any census after 1800. He is not in the 1810 Kentucky census - and he is not on the Illinois Territorial census of 1818 or the Illinois federal census of 1820.
According to Crawford Sams, Martha died 19 July 1824 and William died in 1825. Both of them were buried in the Sams family cemetery south of Jonesboro in Union County, Illinois on land belonging (then) to Rice Sams.
Back to Sams Home page
Back to Home
To Children of William and Martha
To our next ancestor, Elizabeth Sams
To our probable other next ancestor, David Sams
To Edwards Home page
contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
page last updated 7 September 2004