Most of the children born to Benjamin Sollers Cecil are known based on a
reconstruction of his family group. Among the children attributed to him is
a son, William Cecil.
Not long ago, a post was made regarding a William Cecil (1802-1880) who
settled in Arkansas. He was married to Rebecca Buttram LeBow and it was
speculated that this William Cecil was possibly the son of Benjamin Sollers
Cecil.
Benjamin Sollers Cecil left Virginia and settled in Wayne Co., KY. Later his
sons would find themselves across the state line in TN where they resided off
and on (Wayne Co., KY is on the TN/KY border). It is with that background
that I relate the surviving Wayne Co., KY and Morgan Co., TN records relating
to William Cecil, son of Benjamin Sollers Cecil.
William Cecil was married to Elizabeth Sullins in Wayne Co., KY on 26 Nov
1817. It seems certain that this William Cecil was the son of Benjamin
Sollers Cecil
as his other children married in this county and were residing in Wayne
County during this time.
William Cecil is listed in Wayne Co., KY in the 1820 Census. Not long after,
he moved to TN and is recorded in the county court minutes of Morgan Co., TN
on 24 Oct 1824 along with his brother, Benjamin, as a delinquent tax payer.
William Cecil is found in the 1830 TN Census residing in Morgan County next
to his brother, James Cecil. He is not found in the 1836 Tax List for the
county.
William Cecil was most likely born about 1798 based on census records and the
known birth dates and birth date approximations of his siblings. William
Cecil, of Arkansas has a birth date supplied by descendants of 20 Oct 1802.
I don't know if this date was obtained from a family record or from a
tombstone. Since birth dates can often be off by a few years, I don't think
this is necessarily an obstacle if one wanted to argue they were the same
person.
The descendants of William Cecil (1802-1880), of Arkansas attribute him as
having a wife, Rebecca Buttram LeBow who one researcher indicated he married
after 1822. Here again, it is possible that William Cecil, son of Benjmain
S. Cecil, married Elizabeth Sullins and following her death, married Rebecca
Buttram LeBow.
I've not seen any information regarding the identity of Rebecca Buttram
LeBow.
My impression is that she was a Buttram and was perhaps a young widow upon
her marriage to William Cecil. That is pure supposition at this point and
hopefully a descendant of this line can provide some clarity regarding her
identity.
It is worth noting that James Cecil, son of Benjamin Sollers Cecil, married
Polly Buttram in Wayne Co., KY on 14 Jan 1812. Furthermore, James and Polly
Cecil moved to Arkansas and were residing in Newton Co., AR in 1850.
Based on the facts I've found in my research and what I've learned from the
descendants of William Cecil, of Arkansas I feel that it is very likely that
the two men were one and the same. The facts regarding his life in KY and
TN must be reconciled with the facts known about him through his descendants.
We must therefore question the year of his birth as it would certainly
appear to be off by several years. Also, he would have had an earlier wife,
Elizabeth Sullins, previously unknown to his descendants.
I offer this for discussion and hope it will help clarify the record of
Benjamin Soller Cecil's descendants.
Charles Ward
CMW12635(a)aol.com
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