Betty:
You have said it very well re the Revolutionary service of the
two William Carmacks. As you know, my husband was a
descendant of the Lee County, VA William, and I have done
research on his family. The birth date of 5 Jan 1761 belongs to
the William Carmack who applied in 1832 in Lee County, VA
for a Revolutionary War pension. The 1840 census reported
names and exact ages of Rev. War pensioners. William was
counted in Lee Co., VA and listed as a Rev. War pensioner,
age 77 and blind. He was still in Lee Co. (age 90, blind) and
living with his son Levi at the time of the 1850 census. I have
not seen a census record listing the Washington Co, VA William
as a pensioner. He may very well have served without receiving
a pension, but I, too, believe he was too young. The Lee Co,
VA William was 18 years old when he enlisted. Both men
were still living in 1840.
Pat asked which William went to Missouri and which William
married Mary "Polly" (Yeary) Ball. I have not seen any
documentation to prove either marriage. However, I know
that John Ball (Mary's first husband) and the Yearys lived in
lower Lee County. Levi Carmack (William's son) lived in
Claiborne Co, TN which is just over the Lee Co. line. The
Bristol, VA area (Washington Co.) is about 95 miles away
over a mountain. This distance alone is enough to make me
believe that the Lee Co. William was the one who married
Mary Yeary, but I could be wrong. I have just recently
transcribed the Lee County pension application of William
Carmack. He tells at length of his military service and his
travel from what was then Washington Co, VA to Vincennes,
IL on the Mississippi River and back home again after 16 months.
After all this, I would not be surprised if he "went to Missouri"
and returned. And he could even have made the trip back and
forth between Lee Co. and Washington Co. as some of the
genealogies suggest, but somehow 95 miles seems a long way
to travel in the early 1800's.
Once again, I could be wrong. I welcome comments. --Gail
----- Original Message -----
From: <densmom(a)webtv.net>
To: <CARMACK-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2001 4:58 AM
Subject: Re: Post from Washington Co,VA list
Norm,
This is Betty in Oklahoma and it has been a long time since I had an
exchange with you. You asked Dale which John Carmack and William
Carmack are the ones listed for Wash. Co. VA. on the Rev. War Veteran
list.
I know that the John should be the John born to John Carmack and wife
Elizabeth Barton. I have his Rev. War Pension file and he is buried at
High Point, Bristol, VA. A DAR monument was placed on his grave. His
wife was Elizabeth, surname unknown, tho Dr. Peckham's book says she was
Elizabeth Dines with no source given.
The William is brother of this John and is my ancestor. His wife was
Elizabeth Walker. His grave is on his homestead very near to John's
grave. There is a monument on his grave put there by the DAR in 1936
and a ceremony was held honoring these 2 brothers. But and a very big
BUT here, I am firmly convinced that this William did not serve in the
Revolution, and the record on which it was based is the service record
of the William Carmack who lived in Lee County and was a son of
Cornelius Carmack and Mary Catherine Hartsock.
There are several reasons I believe this and I am not alone in my
belief. As I explain this I will use Lee Co. and Wash. Co to
distinguish which I am speaking of, because from 1820 onward the
William, son of Cornelius and Margery Evans lived in Lee Co. and from
1800 onward my William, son of John and Elizabeth Barton, lived in Wash.
Co.
The William of Lee Co. did go into service from Wash. Co. in 1779, but
he filed for his pension in Lee Co. In that pension application he gave
proof of his birth date as 5 Jan 1761 from a bible of his parents
Cornelius and Margery Evans. We have no proof for our William's
birthdate (Wash. Co.) He was born between 1760 and 1770 and that is all
we know. One other person besides myself believe he may have been too
young to have served. One reason we believe he was younger is because
the William in Lee Co. had his last child (Evan) about 1795 and William
of Wash. Co. had his 1st child about 1798 (Sarah) The National Archives
did not have a service record for a William Carmack whose wife was
Elizabeth Walker and who died in 1849 as my William (Wash. Co.) did and
living in Wash. Co. VA.
The DAR monument on my William's grave (Wash. Co.) shows death in the
year 1851. Again, that is the year the other William (Lee Co) died in
Lee Co. The William buried in that grave on his own homestead died in
1849. We have his will when it was filed for probate in 1849. The
census records for Lee Co and Wash. Co. for 1840 shows each William in
their own county. Then on 1850, there is only the William in Lee Co.
who is living with his son Levi, and it shows that he was a Rev. War
veteran and was blind. The Wash. Co. William had died the year before
and is not on the census. It seems no one has ever found the grave of
William Carmack who lived and died in Lee Co., but it is unlikely that
he would be buried on the other William's homestead.
If you have Dr. Peckham's book, compare the Revolutionary service shown
for both of these men. It is the same. My William (Wash Co.) pages 93
& 94. William (Lee Co.) pages 108 & 109. On page 109 it says he
received his pension until his death in 1851. That would not be the
William who died in Wash.Co in 1849.
I realize that my William's descendants in 1936 believed that the
service was his so I don't fault them. I could be completely wrong in
my belief, but I believe there is a preponderance of evidence for my
case.
I have decided to post this to the Carmack List, though I know it will
likely stir up a hornet's nest. But in my search for my own William I
couldn't ignore what seems to be incorrect.
How would you vote???
Betty