Robert WEAKLEY
descendant's
genealogy mailing list archives
weakley5.html

Digest Issues 1 - 10

Today's Topics:
#1 Weakley web page [Genny1@aol.com]

X-Message: #1  Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999
From: Genny1@aol.com
Subject: Weakley web page

My Weakley web pages are located at:
http://members.aol.com/genny1/weakley.html
and at:
http://members.aol.com/genny1/weakley1.html

The first consists of various queries on the Weakley family and the second consists of the list of the descendants of James Weakley (C).
My father, Calvin Phillips, is 7th generation Weakley descendant from Robert Weakley, 1.
Nancy Phillips Goodman in TN

Today's Topics:
#1 Introduction ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]

X-Message: #1  Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999
From: "Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Introduction

Hello, Family:

My name is Ken Powers. I am the list-owner of this mailing list, which means that I am responsible to keep things moving and to administer the list. I hurriedly wrote the opening paragraph of the welcoming message you received after signing on because I wanted to get the list up and operating as quickly as possible. Within another couple of days, I will revise that message to contain more information that should be interesting and helpful to subscribers. Meanwhile, I suggest that those of you who have subscribed write a message of introduction, so we can begin to become better acquainted.

I have a brief bio on my website, which I invite you to visit.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

My Weakley descent is through Robert Weakley (B) and Elinor Stewart, through their second child Thomas (B2), and so forth until I have reference number B2.8a.7.6.1.3, a referencing system used by Sam Weakley in his book. It refers to the birth order within each family unit. The "8a" means the mother is the father's second wife; a third wife would be designated by the letter "b" and so on. It doesn't seem to be a common method of referencing, but I find it very clear and helpful. My Weakley connection is through my paternal grandmother.

I have been interested in genealogy for many years, but have been in a position to pursue it for only a few years. I admit it: I am a novice. And I still have too many involvements to permit as much research as I would like to do. Also, I am more interested in current relationships than long lineages. It is a great joy everytime I meet a cousin. That is much of my motivation for creating this mailing list; looking forward to the day we meet at a Weakley Family Reunion.

I am an Evans on my mother's side. The descendants of David Augustus Evans (who died in Mississippi in 1838) and Betsy Bearden Evans, who moved her family to Neptune, TN during the 1840s have created The Evans Family Association of Tennessee, of which I am secretary. We hold an annual reunion in Clarksville on Sunday before Memorial Day. About 150 or so attend, which is only a small portion of the whole family. Still, we have a great time, and are learning better each time how to appreciate each other and enjoy being together. I look forward to that day for the Weakley family!

Well, this has grown long, so I will stop. Looking forward to hearing from the rest of you.

Best Wishes to Each One!
=Ken=
366 Blue Door Road
Portland, TN 37148
(615) 325-0906

Today's Topics:
#1 Fw: WEAKLEY ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#2 Fw: WEAKLEY ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#3 Fw: Weakley History ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#4 Fw: WEAKLEY ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#5 Re: Weakley History ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#6 Revised Welcome Message ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]

-----Original Message-----
From: mjs <maryjanes@worldnet.att.net>
To: Ken Powers <kenpow@bellsouth.net>
Date: Friday, January 22, 1999
Subject: Re: Weakley History

>....>Mother sent all that info in Cousin Sam Weakley's book on our side to him -
>& then my parents moved - & we never knew when the book came out & I have
>no copy!! I actually cried when I finally found that out & they were all gone!
>Have copied some of the pages from the copy at DAR library. If I send you
>the pages I've done, could you possibly send me the others & will reimburse
>you for copying & mailing charges? If you will, I will send the pages to
>Heckman's & have them bound into a book. We have 3 sons - everyone is so
>spread out these days - 1 in CT & 2 in CA - but I want SOMEONE of them to
>have my genealogy.
>I have decided what am going to do with ALL my work when am satisfied have
>gone as far as possible.
>George Archer, Chm. of Computer Committee of National Genealogical
>Society here in Arlington, said
>to me, "Put it on the net and it will die." He's published 3 books. the
>first one he sold enough copies to break even. The second 2, he said, were
>disasters from the standpoint of number of books sold. I know the author has
>to pay for those that aren't sold. What he's doing is putting his families
>into separate sets of pages using archival paper. Leave a 2" margin for
>binding by the library - and sends his data to the
>historical/genealogical societies/libraries in the counties involved, the
>state archives involved, & then to Newberry in Chicago, San Francisco, that
>big one in Indiana, he says New york Public, Library of Congress takes
>everything - inquire from DAR - That way one doesn't have to publish & yet
>the info is out there & in paper form.

>I think this is the best yet & is
>what am going to do. Since there is a Weakley book & a Trigg book already, I
>have to think what is the best way to put these personal events down.
>NOW - a word about the Weakleys - Cud'n Sam found them in Lunenburg Co
>VA  middle of 18th century - but how did they get there? Are you-all doing any
>further work on trying to find out any more details about the immigrant
>ancestor? Or are you satisfied that he came to - Jamestown? - or its parent
>co Brunswick? I don't have Cud'n Sam's book at hand. I have lots of letters
>from him written to Mother
>as they worked together. Please let me hear!
Best, Mary Jane

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ken Powers <kenpow@bellsouth.net>
>To: maryjanes@worldnet.att.net
>Cc: GOODMAN, Nancy <Genny1@aol.com>
>Date: Friday, January 22, 1999
>Subject: Weakley History>>

>>Hi, Mary Jane:>>
>>Nancy Goodman forwarded your messages. What a great find!
>>There are many of us interested in your remembrances and any history of the >>family you have.
>>They need to be preserved in more ways than just on the web; on paper as
>>well.>>
>>Using the information you gave Nancy, I deduce you are Mary Jane Barnes,
>>m. Carl A. Steinhagen. That is all the information Sam Weakley gives in his
>>book. I would appreciate having any other information you would care to
>>give me: dates of birth, marriage, children, dates and place of birth, etc. As
>>Nancy said, we are both descended from Robert Weakley and Elinor Stewart;
>>you from Robert (B7) and I from Thomas (B2). We are fifth cousins. I am
>>most happy to have this contact with you, and I look forward to getting to
>>know you; hopefully even meeting you some day.>>
>>By all means, please subscribe to the WEAKLEY-ROBERT mailing list.
>>To do that, send an email to WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L-request@rootsweb.com
>>with only
>>the one word SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. If you prefer to get the
>>messages grouped, rather than individually, substitute the letter D for the
>>letter L in the address line.>>
>>The Fambroughs, who are also related to us, have a family association with a
>>family historian. That may well be one of our goals. I am working on a
>>revision to the welcome message for those who subscribe to the mailing
>>list.
>>Your messages to Nancy have helped by reminding me of the family
>>association and family history purpose for the list.>>
>>Best Wishes to You!>>
>>Ken Powers
>>Portland, TN>>
>>http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779>>

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

-----Original Message-----
From: Genny1@aol.com <Genny1@aol.com>
To: maryjanes@worldnet.att.net <maryjanes@worldnet.att.net>
Cc: kenpow@bellsouth.net <kenpow@bellsouth.net>
Date: Saturday, January 23, 1999 8:46 AM
Subject: Re: WEAKLEY

>Hi again Mary Jane...
> I will be glad to put anything you want to send onto a page under Robert
>Weakley and link it to the other Weakley pages.....(until I run out of "free web space" on AOL...
> As to the origins of the early Weakley family, that is very interesting....you are
>in a good position to find out more from where you are located....
> Ken has placed the names from Sam Anderson Weakley's book into his family
>history program.......
>Where are your Barnes? There is a book about Barnes family in the Cheatham
>county area of TN.....don't know if yours are in that area....Lois Barnes
>Binkley wrote the book, from what I recall offhand..
....
> thanks,
> NancyG in TN>
...
>maryjanes@worldnet.att.net writes:>
><< Subj: Re: WEAKLEY
> Date: 1/23/99
> From: maryjanes@worldnet.att.net (mjs)
> To: Genny1@aol.com>
> Hi & thanks for contacting me again about getting my Weakley family stuff to
> you. ....Have been busy researching
> Daddy's family - BARNES - has never been done - ....My
> object is NOT to go over old ground & type in all that Weakley & all other
> families' info into the computer. That's not my idea of progress!! So will
> probably just write out what I have to write & put it on - what? The Robert
> Weakley roots web page? (I joined that). Your web page is dedicated to your
> own line & other families & don't think it really belongs there....? Guess
> it should be on a general WEAKLEY page - or ROBERT WEAKLEY page - ?????
...> Am in the DC area. Of course, Mother's folks - Weakleys, Triggs, Lockes -
> went from VA to TN - Davidson Co - then Memphis (when Susan Weakley m
>Thomas Bradley Trigg) - then to Miller Co AR
> (on Red R - right north of Texarkana AR) where Mother was born.
> Am in an ideal place to do research here - both DC sources, Richmond at VA
> Archives, & court houses.

>That brings me to something I mentioned to Ken:
> are we all satisfied that everything that can ben done HAS been done to find
> further info on the immigrant WEAKLEY? They were in Lunenburg Co - did
>they come in through Jamestown? Don't have Cud'n Sam Weakley's book at
>hand -but as memory serves me, his book started there.
> Could the Weakleys have come into PA as others did - then when they found
> out the good land was gone, they came on down into VA & NC? Many came
> through New Castle Del as they didn't have to get mixed up with the many
> Germans who were taking oaths required of non-citizens - DE allowed for easy
> passage to persons who were already citizens of the British Isles. I just
> wondered whether any of this has ever been explored. Do you know? Please
>let me hear your thoughts!
>Best,
maryjanes@worldnet.att.net >>

George Archer is right; web pages are temporary. That's why I said your memories and research need to be preserved on paper. Computers and word processors make doing that so much easier, because they can produce camera ready copy. Then, depending on how many copies one wants, they can be reproduced on everything from a fast copy machine to an offset press. Binding is likewise easy, and relatively inexpensive, depending on number of copies and what one is looking to do. Some of my Hogan cousins are publishing their material by copy machine and plastic spine binders -- a very handsome way of doing it.

As for Sam Weakley's book, I have made several attempts to copy it, but it so massive that I lose energy. Once I thought about taking it apart so it could be copied by individual pages in a fast-feed machine, but when I thought about the labor of love it had been for Sam and Mary, I couldn't bring myself to destroy it. The same when I remembered how I came by my copy. Another cousin of ours, another genteel lady who is only a few years older than you, Kate Thompson Hesse, having no descendants and seeing my obvious yearning for a copy, let me have hers at what I considered a bargain price. So, I share information from it freely, but I don't know when or if I will ever get it all copied. The Cheatham County Historical and Genealogical Society wanted a copy, and I explained the difficulty, offering to give it a try if they would send someone to help me, but they never answered. All of that by way of saying, it is a big job to copy the book, and I am never able to stick with it long enough to get it all done. It may be that we could create enough interest through our Weakley-Robert mailing list to warrant having it reprinted by a professional company. I don't think there are any copyright problems -- I don't see any copyright information in the book, and it is 36 years old.

I am still considering a Weakley website. I would do it on geocities.com, as my own site is; it is a free service. The problems are having enough material to make it interesting and having enough time to keep it current. I would see the site as supportive of our research, a permanent (as permanent as web space can be) display of important information; and maybe in time, with some help, descendancy charts, taking care to protect the privacy of living individuals. The letters you have of correspondence between your mother and Sam Weakley would be interesting material. Sam and Mary were interesting in their own right, and I think a page devoted to their life and work would be interesting. Let me know what you think of this idea; both you and Nancy.

I have been pondering the origin of the Weakley family and will post something on this in the near future.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

I have revised the welcome message; forwarding to you since you are already subscribed.

Welcome to the WEAKLEY-ROBERT Mailing List! (Revised January 23, 1999)

My name is Ken Powers. I am the owner of this list, which means I am responsible for the administration of the list.

Please save a copy of this message for future reference. You may want to make a print copy.

SOME BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS:

1. There are two versions of the list. You may subscribe to either one.
There is probably no reason to subscribe to both, but you may if you want to.

2. To subscribe send an email to:
Weakley-Robert-L-request@rootsweb.com (for the individual message version)
Weakley-Robert-D-request@rootsweb.com (for the multiple message version)

Use only one word in the body of the message: subscribe

3. To unsubscribe send an email as above, according to which list you are a member of, using only one word in the body of the message: unsubscribe

4. When subscribing or unsubscribing, if your message system requires a subject, you may use the same words, as appropriate: subscribe or unsubscribe

5. When it is necessary for you to leave the list temporarily -- vacation, out-of-town business, etc. just unsubscribe; to sign on again, just subscribe

6. To Post a Message to the List: Send an email to Weakley-Robert-L@rootsweb.com

PURPOSE OF THE LIST and SOME BACKGROUND:

The purpose of this list is to promote exchange of information among descendants of Robert Weakley, a pioneer immigrant to Southern Virginia, whose family is now scattered over the world. A major part of the family moved to Tennessee in the 1790s and later, with a large number of descendants now living in several Middle Tennessee counties.

The main source document, which has served as the launching pad for additional research, is The Southern Virginia Weakley Families and Their Descendants (abbreviated SVWF) by Samuel Anderson Weakley (abbreviated SAW), privately published in 1963. This work was done manually, and involved many hours of travel, interviewing, photographing, recording, and arranging material. Mary Weakley, SAW's wife, then wrote camera-ready copy of the 500-page book by hand. While there are errors and shortcomings, this was obviously a labor of love for Sam and Mary, and a contribution of inestimable value to our family and to genealogy.

The referencing system used in SVWF appears to be unique, and is quite simple and convenient. Each of the four children of Robert Weakley, the patriarch, is assigned a letter according to order of birth: William is A, although there are no descendants in his line as he never married; Robert is B, m. Elinor Stewart; James is C, married Hannah Coffee; and Jean is D, married John Stewart. Descendants in each line are given a number according to birth order; for example, I am decended from Thomas, the second child of Robert and Elinor, whose reference number is B2. By the time it gets down to me in the seventh generation, my number is B2.8a.7.6.1.3. The reference 8a indicates the second wife of John C.H. Weakley, the 8th child of Thomas. Third spouses are designated by the letter b, and so forth, but numbering of children continues according to the Weakley or Weakley-descended parent. SAW stopped with the seventh generation, and had many gaps prior to that. He also stopped his lines of descent after two generations in female lines. One of our purposes could be to expand descent to further generations and to greater depth in female lines.

Another purpose of this mailing list could be to grow in relationship to the point that we could create and sustain a Weakley Family Association with a family historian and whatever that may involve. Whatever our purposes might eventually come to be, there has to be a beginning, and I am happy that you have chosen to be a part of that.

MAILING LIST ETIQUETTE: It may come as something of a surprise to you, but a reminder of mailing list etiquette has proven necessary on most lists. So I am posting a few here for your consideration.

1. Please participate in discussion. Share your information and insights. Lurkers will not be ejected, but perpetual lurking does not contribute to the common good.

2. Please keep your messages on topic; that is, related to matters of interest and applicability to the Robert Weakley Families, as discussed in the purposes section. Topics of interest include migrations, immigrations, historical and biographical sketches, Weakley settlements, census data, wills, family Bibles, vital records, web sites, etc. Public announcement of information of interest to genealogists in general, though it may not be Weakley-specific, may be posted, but please use discretion.

3. In replying to posted messages, keep quoting to a minimum, in order to keep the length of messages down. A good rule is to quote only enough to identify the thing to which you are responding, and that only when it is not apparent from context.

3. Do Not Post announcements or opinions on current political events, and in any case, keep such postings relevant to Weakley history.

4. Do Not Post virus warnings, test messages, chain letters, items for sale, personal messages of a general nature, etc.

5. Do Not Attach files to messages. If a member wants a file that you have, send it by private email.

6. Do Be Courteous; no flaming. It seems that should go without saying on a family mailing list, but experiences of other family lists shows the warning to be warranted. One of my responsibilities as list owner is to maintain a friendly environment. I am committed to that purpose, and although I would not enjoy removing a member from the list, I will if it becomes necessary to maintain a proper environment. PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This mailing list is hosted by rootsweb.com. Rootsweb was founded in 1996 by Dr. Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson. Due to their foresight, expertise, and financial commitment, we have a wealth of genealogical information and communications resources available to us. Visit the http://www.rootsweb.com website and learn how you can contribute to the maintenance of this resource.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

Today's Topics:
#1 ORIGIN OF OUR WEAKLEY FAMILY ["mjs" <maryjanes@worldnet.att.net>]
#2 Re: Weakley History ["Jim Maroon" <storypage@usa.net>]
#3 Re: Weakley History ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#4 Re: ORIGIN OF OUR WEAKLEY FAMILY ["Ken Powers"  <kenpow@bellsouth.net]

X-Message: #1  Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999
From: "mjs" <maryjanes@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: ORIGIN OF OUR WEAKLEY FAMILY

Hello to the list!
My remembrance also is that this family originated in WALES. There is supposed to be in existance somewhere a Welch pitcher that originally came over with the family.
1. Does anyone on the list do any Welch research?
2. Can someone join a Welch rootsweb or other list connected with Wales?
3. We all know about the Scotch having been persecuted and how they fled to NORTHERN Ireland. Stayed awhile & things weren't too great there either! So they came to the colonies -
Many of these folks came to PA & then south. We already know there is a PA Weekley family.
4. Another - & better - port of entry at that time was New Castle DE - easier for persons who were already citizens of Britain to enter. From there they often went into PA - found no good land left - & came south.
5. Has anyone ever explored possibility #4 above?
6. Does anyone know whether the Welch followed the same path as the Scotch - ie, to No.Ireland?
7. If they left at the time of Cromwell - ca 1650 - they could have gone to the West Indies. Has anyone ever searched for them there?
We need to give some thought to trying to trace our Weakleys back from Lunenburg. Any ideas?
Anyone on any lists that can help - or willing to join?
Mary Jane
maryjane@worldnet.att.net

>As for Sam Weakley's book, I have made several attempts to copy it, but it
>so massive that I lose energy. Once I thought about taking it apart so it
>could be copied by individual pages in a fast-feed machine, but when I
>thought about the labor of love it had been for Sam and Mary, I couldn't
>bring myself to destroy it. The same when I remembered how I came by my>

Hello, Ken and all.

You are all probably aware of this, but Sam Weakley's book is available in microfilm through LDS family history centers. All one need do is visit one and ask them to help you look it up and order it. The cost is very reasonable, something less than $4 where I live. Salt Lake City will then send it to your local family history center and you can look through it there at your ease. For those who live near enough, the Dallas Public Library has a hard copy in their genealogy room.
Sorry if that is information y'all already have.

--Jim Maroon

Jim Maroon writes:
>You are all probably aware of this, but Sam Weakley's book is available in
>microfilm through LDS family history centers.<

No, I was not aware of this. It is good news for many. Thanks for passing it on.
Also, there is a hard copy at Tennessee State Library and Archives. And I understand David Weakley may have made a copy and placed it in the Nashville Room of the Metro-Davidson County Library; think I saw a posting to that effect.
I am glad to see postings to this list picking up.
Best Wishes to All!
=Ken=
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

Mary Jane makes good points.

The Wales origin is stated in a letter from Robert Weakley Brahan (B7.1.1) to his cousin Robert Weakley Brown (B7.4.1), both grandsons of Col Robert Weakley (B7), dated May 6, 1879. He wrote, "I have heard our Gran Father say that his Gran Father Robert came from Wales England with other Stewart refugees driven by the Cromwell Roundheads." (SVWF p.9)

Wales is a separate country in the British Isles, subject to England, but not part of it. Secondly, the Cromwellians held power mainly during the decade 1650-1660. William Weakley (A), first child of our patriarch, died in February or March 1753 as a grown man; Robert (B), the second child, was born about 1720; and Jean Weakley (D), the youngest of the four children, was born about 1730, seventy years after the latest date that the family could have been "driven out by the Cromwell Roundheads." This suggests to me that our patriarch came from Wales as a child. The question is: Where did they go?

The natural tendency is to suppose they went to Ulster, Northern Ireland, where they would have become part of the Scotch-Irish culture. But this may not have been the case. Mary Jane Weakley (B7.3.2), a granddaughter of Col. Robert Weakley, also referred to the Walesh origin, but indicated the family went to County Wicklow, Ireland, which is near Dublin. SAW argued against this, saying, "As to the reference to Wicklow County, Ireland, it should be remembered that the Weakleys were Protestants, and that the Wicklow part of Ireland is Catholic; the Protestant section is in Ulster, in the north of Ireland." (SVWF p.19)

It should also be noted that Wicklow is directly across the channel from Wales, while Ulster is many miles to the north. Further, religious differences were not so great in Ireland in those days as they appear to be today; the Irish were severely persecuted even in their own land. Even today religious distribution is not as sharply defined as many Americans think; many Protestants in the Republic and many Catholics in Ulster. So, we should not too easily discount Mary Jane's reference to Wicklow; it may well be the place our Welsh family went to first after being driven out of their homeland. One thing I have learned well in my study of history; don't be too ready to close any doors on research.

I put this question to the Scotch-Irish list on which I participate, where there are several very knowledgeable people. From that list, it has been suggested that our Walesian Weakleys may have been Welsh or English Presbyterians, but they may also have been Quakers, a more radical Protestant sect. I think it would be well to look into these two possibilities. What happened to these people under Cromwell, and where did they flee to escape his persecution?

What do you think?

=Ken=
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

X-Message: #1  Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999
From: "mjs" <maryjanes@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: ENGLISH RECORDS OF WEAKLEYS - 17th CENTURY

Just got onto the VA State Library site, Colonial records section, & found the following WEAKLEYS. These are ENGLISH records only, PERTAINING to Virginians - NO records of VA at this site.
"WEAKLEY, JOHN -1675 - Source: 'Port Books; Port of London; Searcher; Exports from London by English Merchants.' S.R.#03775i, p. 59."
"WEAKLEY, WILLIAM - 1697 - On the muster roll of the ship 'Pembroke.' Source: 'S.R.#08935.' "
Well, after all our discussion about Wales - it does look as if there were WEAKLEYS in England. This time frame would fit in with Ken's observation about Cromwell. Maybe they hid in the vastnesses of Wales & came back to England when Cromwell left?? Seriously, to what use shall we put the above info? Is anyone interested in finding out how to obtain a copy of the above records? Doesn't it make you wonder for what port the ship "Pembroke" was bound?
Let's do something about this, shall we?
Mary Jane
maryjanes@worldnet.att.net

Yesterday, 1-26-98 , I went to an local LDS Church and ordered ( SAW ) book on microfilm for $3.25 . Expect delivery in 2-weeks . Thanks for the tip .
Jack

Today's Topics:
#1 [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Let the Convers ["Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net]
#2 Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Let the Con [Genny1@aol.com]
#3 [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] NEWSPAPER ARTIC ["mjs" <maryjanes@worldnet.att.net>]
#4 Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Let the Con [Genny1@aol.com]
#5 [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] NEWSPAPER ARTIC ["Jim Maroon" <storypage@usa.net>]

X-Message: #1  Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999
From: "Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net>
Subject: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Let the Conversation Begin

Hello, Cousins!

One of the reasons this list was started was because some of you were discouraged with the INACTIVITY on the WEEKLEY list, which relates to all Weekley families of whatever spelling.

We have a total of 19 subscriptions to our list; 14 to the list mode and 5 to the digest mode, with 2 subscribed to both. That is surely enough for us to keep the ball moving. So, let the conversation begin! I would suggest we start with each one giving an introduction of himself/herself. I have modified the welcome messages to include this suggestion.

I will take a shot at it. My name is Charles Kenneth Powers. Friends and family call me Ken. I am 68 years young; married to Carol, my high school sweetheart(celebrating 50th later this year); father of 6; grandfather of 17; Carol and I are grateful to God for each one. I retired from the US Army after 25 years service, a good many years ago, after which I tried banking and journalism before I sensed a call to ministry. Have been a minister in the United Methodist Church since 1984; now retired, serving a small country church in the far northeast corner of Sumner County, TN. Carol and I live on 5 acres of land, which we call "the farm" near Portland, TN. I am of the 7th generation of Robert Weakley's descendants. My paternal grandmother was Caroline (Callie)Virginia Weakley who was born and died in Montgomery Co., TN. When my time comes I will be buried beside her and my grandfather at Bethlehem UMC in Clarksville. Although Callie died quite young, and my grandfather married again and had other children, I was always aware of my Weakley connection; then I had the great find of Sam Weakley's book, and began an earnest study, from which I have located many cousins in several families of different names. I am interested in a modern-day reconnection of the family, and hope that someday we will together produce the sequel to Sam Weakley's book, so our descendants will have a more complete record of their heritage. At this time I am interested in the family's origin in Wales, so I am studying the history of Wales to get some insight into the depopulation that occurred in the 14th and 15th Centuries.
Looking forward to reading your introductions.
Best Wishes to All!
=Ken=

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

Hello to the list....
I am Nancy Phillips Goodman, just turned 56 on January 10...youngest of 7 children of Calvin Nesbitt Phillips and Annie Lizzie Lynch, with my dad, Calvin (better known to family and friends as "Whit") being the 7th generation descendant of Robert Weakley..
I got bitten by the "genealogy bug" in 1977 or so, when I was working at the old National Life and Accident Insurance Company in Nashville, Tennessee....what actually happened was that my mother was looking for the deed to our church, the New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in Houston County, TN, where I was born and bred. With me working within a block of the Nashville/Metro Public Library I volunteered to try to find some history on the church for my mother.....I did find a book on early Cumberland Presbyterian church history, but I also found census record index books in the same row.....Census, Church, Cumberland....I picked up one of the census books and browsed through it....found some of my Phillips family listed and then some of the Lynch family (which is all I knew at that point) and the rest, as they say, is history... The Tennessee State Library and Archives was a block away from my work and I began spending my "lunch 45" at one of these two wonderful libraries.
I learned about the Weakley family history book a little later when one of my aunts said there was a book on the family, but that nobody on our side bought it....
I am in Sumner County, Hendersonville, TN....married, with 3 children and 3 grankids....currently among the unemployed, but normal work for me is in office work, bookkeeping, or accounting.
Ken Powers and I met online some time ago and discovered our mutual kinship on the Weakley line....we have been "compatriots" ever since, sharing all of the Weakley queries we get with some of the rest of you who are now on the list.
I have Weakley web pages at:
http://members.aol.com/genny1/weakley.html
and at:
http://members.aol.com/genny1/weakley1.html
Thanks, Ken, for starting the list, and maybe we can do an update to the book at some point...at least insofar as those on the list have the information on their particular lines....

NancyG in TN

There is a lengthy newspaper article about Robert Weakley, parts of his life & some descendants, his home at LOCKELAND plantation in the following newspaper:
NEWS & RECORD, South Boston VA, September 30, 1976, pp 1, 2, & 3 D.
The article was by Kenneth H. Cook & is 2 1/2 pages in length. It features many photos, including one of 4 columns' width of Robert Weakley III, which is a copy of the protrait by Washington Bogart Cooper& a 2 column photo of his wife, Jane Locke Weakley which hangs with other Weakley portraits at EVERGREEN in Nashville. (I have copies of both of the above - as well as Susan Narcissa Weakley Trigg, a dau of Robert Locke Weakley, son of Robert III).
There are also photos of LOCKELAND, the plantation home of Robert III in (now) Nashville and named for his wife's family's surname, LOCKE. Pictures of their tombstones are also included, along with a picture of the old burial vault on the plantation which has been destroyed. The graves were moved to Mt. Olivet Cemetary in Nashville in 1947 (photo from the TN Library & Archives).(Photos of the tombstones courtesy Hershel G. Payne).
When I noted the existance of this article, I contacted the author, who told me that he was doing a series on some of the more notable families from Halifax Co VA - I do not know which other families may have been written up. When Mr. Cook & I corresponded, I pointed out to him 3 errors occurring in the article - he was most receptive & wanted to keep the facts straight. In the event that anyone is interested in seeing whether this newspaper has been put on film & get a copy of the article,

I hasten to point out the following:
1. The article states that Robert III attended Princeton University when in fact, it was his son, Robert Locke Weakley, who attended Princeton. Mr. Cook notes in his article that Robert III himself stated during his lifetime about the small amount of education he had received. Robert Locke Weakley met & married Evelina Belmont MORFORD in Princeton NJ. Evelina's father was Zebulon MORFORD. Records exist as to these facts. 2. Mr. Cook has shown Robert III's wife's name to be "Mary Jane Narcissa Locke" when in fact her name was JANE Locke. She had a SISTER Mary - & the "Narcissa" came from the name of one of Robert Locke Weakley's daughters - who was my gr-grandmother. There was NEVER anyone named NARCISSA in the LOCKE family - I have all those records.
3. Mr. Cook states, also on page D1,in column 8, that Robert Locke Weakley married Evelina Belmont. This is also incorrect (see above). Her mother named her EVELINA BELMONT MORFORD after the heroine in a novel she was reading while carrying Evelina! Has NOTHING to do with the Belmont family. I have these records also.(ie, Morford records).

This article is well worth having if it can be had on microfilm. The photos themselves are priceless; they are credited to Sarah Bradford Saunders; material from Mrs. Fran Eads of TN Archives. ZIP for South Boston is 24558.
Best,
Mary Jane
maryjanes@worldnet.att.net

Hi Jim....
When you hit reply, it came to me only, so I am forwarding on to the list...
(so you don't have to re-send it)
So, folks, when you want to send to the list be sure the SEND TO box indicates:

TO: WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L@rootsweb.com

Jim, I am going right now to check out your web site.....many of my dad's family are in neighboring counties of Montgomery, Robertson, Cheatham and Dickson, and may have been in Stewart county, too, at one point....
Glad you are on the list....
  NancyG in TN

In a message dated 1/28/99 10:27:24 PM Central Standard Time, scaevola@telalink.net writes:
<< Subj: RE: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Let the Conversation Begin
Date: 1/28/99 10:27:24 PM Central Standard Time
From: scaevola@telalink.net (James Long)
To: Genny1@aol.com ('Genny1@aol.com')
Hello everyone,
I'm Jim Long, a native of Clarksville (now living in Nashville) and a 7th generation descendant of Robert Weakley, through my grandmother, Emma (Weakley) Long.

I started genealogy 19 years ago, at the uncharacteristic age of 13, as part of a 7th grade school assignment. I soon found that almost all of my ancestors had arrived in Montgomery and Stewart Counties in the early 1800's, so I didn't have to go far to track them down. Of course, that  means that some branches of my family tree merge, but I seem to be pretty  normal. I really enjoy the detective work that genealogy requires.

I'm a full-time computer programmer at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill.
I've been there 6 years and find the work very challenging, and thankfully not overly demanding on my personal time. I spend many Saturdays at the Archives, and winter weekends re-discovering old family cemeteries.
I first saw the Weakley book at the Clarksville library some years ago, and was actually relieved that someone else had done that part of my family tree for me. I figured that it was up to me to do the same for my other family names, so here I am.

The combination of computers and genealogy has allowed me to put a lot of my research on my web site, so if you have Stewart or Montgomery Co. connections, stop by for a visit:

http://www.telalink.net/~scaevola/

Jim in Nashville

-----Original Message-----
From: Genny1@aol.com [SMTP:Genny1@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 1999 9:00 PM
To: WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Let the Conversation Begin
In a message dated 1/28/99 kenpow@bellsouth.net writes:
< I would suggest we start with each one giving an introduction of himself/herself. >
<Hello to the list....I am Nancy Phillips Goodman, ...>>

>This article is well worth having if it can be had on microfilm.>

Actually, with the precise citations you have given, people should be able to get copies of them via interlibrary loan. They could just go to the reference desk at their friendly local library and request them. Perhaps someone could even volunteer to do that, then share the articles with others who are interested via snail mail.

By the way, I'm not a RW descendant, but descend from the James Weakley/Jane Wilson clan out of Cumberland County, PA. I am following your line and research based on a vague but unfounded suspicion that the two families could still be connected some time in the past, before your Robert or my James.

I also have a Weakley page at
http://millennium.fortunecity.com/ellerburn/419/

--Jim Maroon

X-Message: #1  Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999
From: "Ken Powers" <kenpow@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT ROBERT WEAKLEY, SOME OF HIS LIFE & DESCENDANTS

Welcome, Jim! We have corresponded before, so I am glad to see you here on this list. I have bookmarked your homepage and will visit from time to time to keep up with your progress.

I admire your interest in a possible family connection predating your James and our Robert. My father was in the habit of saying, "There are a lot of Powerses, but none of them are related to us." I always thought that was shortsighted, to say the least. For my part, I will never have too many "cousins."
So, hang in there, and we will be the beneficiaries.

Best Wishes!
=Ken=

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779

I am Martha Canopy, a 55 year old school teacher from Rome, IL, born in Herrin, Williamson Co., IL. I am the ggg-granddaughter of Isaac Weakley. Now the big question is: Is Isaac Weakly the ninth child of Robert Weakly and Elinor Stewart? Some say yes, and some say no. Mary Jane, in a letter about 2 years ago, you said that Isaac was not Robert's son. Have you changed your mind? Please <g>. It sure would make life a lot easier if Isaac was Robert's son. If he is not Robert's son, who does he belong to?

I thought maybe I would contribute this. I have photocopies of several letters written in the 1940's by Louise Fowler of Detroit, MI to a cousin. They were researching the Weakley and Watson lines to find a way to join the DAR. She apparently knew Samuel Weakley and this was the period he was working on the famous book. Here is what she writes about SAW in 1944:

"Mr. Weakley is extremely busy right now. He is First Lieut of Engineers and has been for years. He is the head of the Operations Division and has charge of 25 Navigation Locks on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. His district extends from Ashville, N.C. and S.W. Virginia into Ky, Miss., Ala, and Tenn and as far West as Paducah. I have loads of Weakley information here in my big thick file but I am sending you only the part that you would be particularly interested in. We have no chance for DAR there, for only two of the four brothers were soldiers in the Rev. Isaac was our ancestor, and he was not a soldier. Bur, it is interesting to know that our Susan (Isaac's daughter) came from a very fine family. Robert Weakley (Col) was one of those who sat on the committee who approved the Articles of Constitution. Was a senator, congressman, and a dozen different things and ran for Gov. of Tenn., but was not elected I suppose, or Mr. W. would have said so. This Mr. W. is from the Samuel Weakley line. He and our Isaac were the two that were not soldiers. It appears that the State, in some way and for the reason that the Weakley family was very important in the early days of Tenn., has asked Mr. W. to make as nearly as complete record as possible of the Weakley family as possible. When it is finished, it will be placed in the State House for any one to see. What he is seeking is the dates on the children of the children of the 4 brothers. He has traveled thousands of miles and it has cost him quite a bit of money but he has from what he tells me, had a most interesting experience."

I would love to know what happened to the "big thick file."

If anyone has comments, opinions, or more importantly, proof on the Isaac question, I would LOVE to hear from you.  
By the way, I was one of the two that was subscribed in List and Digest--I went for List first, then switched to Digest.

Keep up the good work!!!

Martha Canopy

X-Message: #1  Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999
From: "Elaine Oakes" <eoakes@blueridge.net>
Subject: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] Fw: Roll Call

-----Original Message-----
From: Elaine Oakes <eoakes@blueridge.net>
Date: Saturday, January 30, 1999 12:06 PM
Subject: Roll Call

I'm afraid I won't have a lot to add, as most of the list members probably know more than I do about the family.
One question or comment about SAW -- according to information we had from my grandmother (since given to cousins who were researching the family), there was a handwritten Weakley document on file in one of the libraries in Nashville, and my aunt and mother were supposedly listed when they were born (over 80 years ago). Was SAW working on it that long ago, or did he complete an existing record?
My name is Elaine Oakes. My grandfather was Hudson Garland Brunson, youngest child of Isaac Dortch Brunson and Harriet Nichol Weakley (daufhter of Robert Locke Weakley and Evelina Belmont Morford). I live in North Carolina now. I suppose there are still some Brunson cousins in the Clarksville area but my mother lost touch (she was born and raised in Florida).
If anyone else who is descended from the Robert L. Weakley/Evelina Belmont Morford line wants more information on the Morford family, try
www.pacific.net/~cmorford/index -- Clifford Morford's web site.
Elaine Oakes

Missed the following when doing the English WEAKLEY records:
"WEEKLEY, William - 1704 - S.R. 09443, p.1
P.R.O. Class High Court of Admiralty - 32/80
"High Court of Admiralty Examinations & Ship's Papers."
The ship was the "Ruby."
Would we not be willing to bet that this William WEEKLEY and the William WEAKLEY of my previous post of these English records pertaining to VA were the same person? Think we better go back & cogitate as to whether WEEKLEY & WEAKLEY were really different families entirely. Maybe spelled WEEKLEY in PA & WEAKLEY in VA.
The really important thing about this info is that it pertains to VIRGINIA.
What does that mean as to when & where the Weakleys came into VA? Were these ships, the "Pembroke" and the "Ruby," shipping into and out of VA? Was that how the family became interested & finally moved to VA? William old enough to be aboard ship "Pembroke" (previous post) 1697 - if cabin boy age 12 he'd have been born 1681?- probably LATEST date he could have been born. Could this have been "our" William?? Those of you with SAW's book - and mathematicians! - please figure it out & let the rest of us know!
Mary Jane
maryjanes@worldnet.att.net

Today's Topics:
#1 Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] WEEKLEY, WI ["Jim Maroon" <storypage@usa.net>]

X-Message: #1  Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999
From: "Jim Maroon" <storypage@usa.net>
Subject: Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] WEEKLEY, WILLIAM, IN ENGLISH RECORDS

>Missed the following when doing the English WEAKLEY records:
>"WEEKLEY, William - 1704 - S.R. 09443, p.1
>P.R.O. Class High Court of Admiralty - 32/80
>"High Court of Admiralty Examinations & Ship's Papers."
>The ship was the "Ruby."
>Would we not be willing to bet that this William WEEKLEY and the William
>WEAKLEY of my previous post of these English records pertaining to VA were
>the same person? Think we better go back & cogitate as to whether WEEKLEY &
>WEAKLEY were really different families entirely. Maybe spelled WEEKLEY in PA
>& WEAKLEY in VA.

The folks in PA spelled their name WEAKLEY and WEAKLY. It appears these are the same family. Eighteenth century James and Jane Wilson Weakley had several sons, one of whom, William, appears to have moved down from Cumberland to Adams County, PA. At some point his branch of the family began to spell its name WEAKLY, or perhaps others began to spell it that way for them. As far as I know none of the early PA WEAKLEYS ever spelled their name WEEKLEY.

In any case, I don't place TOO much stock in the differences in spelling, which was less a science in those days than an art. I am also descended from Adam BRITTAIN, and his children spelled their name BRITTON, BRITTAN, BRITON, etc. Now, based on his will, this was a literate family, yet they didn't seem to think it mattered much how they spelled their name. There is some speculation that the Revolution had something to do with the variance.

That said, the spelling WEAKLY is one of the very tenuous links I see to your family, that and the striking similarity in timing and given names, which are almost identical in the two families. I believe that SAW said that there was a very early WEEKLEY family in North or South Carolina.

Essentially, all of these families are the same, if you go back far enough. Or at least come from the same place. And they are all English in origin. WEEKLY people are named for the location Weekly in England, or Wych Elm Wood, in Northampton. The family (or families) branched out from there to many different locales and intermarried with the local populace. There are Welsh, Scot, Irish, and Scotch-Irish WEAKLEYS, with various spellings of the name, all of whom were more of their adopted country than their ancient root. Therefore, a branch of the family from Wales was far more Welsh than English by the time it emigrated to America. And of course there were/are still the English WEAKLEYS. Some records I have seen say that my WEAKLEYS emigrated from Devonshire, England, but there is a great deal of doubt about that, given the other errors in that same record, and the fact that almost everyone who settled in Cumberland County area in the 1720s were of Scotch-Irish descent.

But about your question about the William on the ships, I have no idea and will follow the discussion with great interest.

--Jim Maroon

X-Message: #1  Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999
From: "Jim Maroon" <storypage@usa.net>
Subject: Re: [WEAKLEY-ROBERT-L] WEAKLEY, WILLIAM
Hey!
I just got an e-mail from a Weakley co-researcher. I mentioned my James and Jane Weakley of Cumberland, PA. Well, apparently there was a fellow who patented land next to his by the name of William Weakley in 1734. We don't know if this was a father or brother, but we do know he disappeared from the record. We don't know if he died, or if he moved. I'm wondering when your William Weakley appeared down there in VA.
--Jim Maroon

I discovered the book by Sam Weakley when reading a book about early American history during the mid-1960’s and a copy of a letter written by Davy Crockett was postmarked from “Weakley County, Tennessee”. This reminded me that when I was about 6 or 7 years old, in Texarkana, Arkansas, I heard my parents and my Aunt Vera talking about a man from Tennessee who was gathering information about the Weakley family. They had said he was a distant relative. So, just for fun, I contacted the library in Tennessee through our local library and sure enough, they had a book, “The Southern Virginia Weakley Families and Their Descendants” written by a Sam Weakley. After borrowing the book on inter- library loan, I knew I must somehow get a copy. Contacted Sam Weakley, who was in his 80’s at the time and asked about getting one. He said all the books were gone but if he ever heard of one becoming available, he would let me know. In the meantime, he sent me copies of pages that pertained to our immediate family. Almost a year later, I received a telegram from Mr. Weakley that a book had become available and did I want it? Of course. So that’s how I came into possession of this wonderful book, full of family history.
Sam Weakley was a retired lawyer and at the time I contacted him, in the late 1960’s, he had a son who was president of the Florida Bar Association. I was born on October 25, 1929 and have 2 sons, the oldest, James, born 1950, from my first marriage is an attorney in Fresno, Calif. , and the younger, John, born 1965, lives near me in Bentonville, Ark.  James has 2 boys, neither married yet and John is expecting a boy in March this year!
My main regret is that my Dad’s sisters and brothers have all passed away and did not get to see the Book. They were all very interested in family as our line is the only Weakleys who had moved to Arkansas as far as we know. As a small child it was impressed on me by my aunts and uncles that I was the last of our line and must have sons!
Hope this helps some.
Darvin A. Weakley (Dave)
My code: B-2-9-5-3-8-1

Following is the source information from Dave Weakley, my friend, fellow researcher, and possible cousin, on William Weakley:

Begin quote:
"Blunston's Licenses. A record of licenses granted to sundry persons to settle and take up land on the west side of Susquehanna River. By virtue of a commission from the Honorable Thomas Penn, Esquire, bearing date of 11 January 1733. To Samuel Blunston of Lancaster Court. Filed in the Land Record Bureau of the Department of Internal Affairs at Harrisburg, Pa., and designated as Blunston's Licenses. 24 August 1734 - William Wakely. 150 acres. On the south side of LeTorts Spring and joyning to the west side of William Craig. N.S. 24 August 1734 - James Wakely. 200 acres. Near head of LeTorts Spring on the west side joyning on west to James Rutherford. - N.S. 24 August 1734 - Robert Carter. 200 acres. Joyning to James Wakely's tract -N.S."
Other information refers to the surveys for the land, and the spelling of James' name becomes "Weakley". The information came from "Publications of the Genealogical Society of Penna., Vol XI, No. 3 - March 1932, page 269.

End Quote

I know about the confusion regarding Robert son of James in Frances Weakley's book The Weakley Family in America, but this is way too early to have contributed to that. There is a legitimate question here about what happened to William of PA, and the date for your William is tantalizingly coincidental.

--Jim Maroon