My research begins and ends with the same person: William Fletcher CENTER b.
1846 Allen Co., KY, m. Mary Ellen HOGUE 1872 Barren Co., KY, d. 1925 in Allen
Co., KY. He is missing from the 1850 and 1870 census records of KY and TN
(Allen Co., KY is a border county to Sumner Co., TN where other Senter family
settled). In the court records of 1852, he was apprenticed at the age of 5
1/2 to Anderson McREYNOLDS until he turned 21. The court records mentions him
as a "poor infant" of the county (not an orphan), and mentions "mother
assents", but does not mention her name nor does the record mention a
father's name. At the age of 14, William ran away from the McREYNOLDS
household, and joined the 12th KY Volunteer Infantry, Union army, that
mustered at Owensboro KY 1852 under the name of William McREYNOLDS. He lied
about his age. He was mustered out 9 months later in Louisville, KY due to
illness. He does not appear in any of the muster rolls of that company, but
he did receive a pension.
William is mentioned in the 1860 census in the household of Anderson
McREYNOLDS, and 2 of his siblings James b. 1848 and Jennie b. 1852 (this is
verified by oral history only by a granddaughter who remembers Aunt Jennie
visiting her home before her grandfather Bill who lived with them died) are
living with Tom and Mary RITCHIE. Jennie married a Tom STIPES and had no
children. Oral history states that James and his foster/adopted father were
bootleggers, and James was killed about 1874 by revenuers. No court records,
newspapers, etc., survive to support or refute any of this information. His
widow remarried Francis Marion HAINES 1881 in Barren Co., KY. James and
Sarah had a daughter and son per the 1880 census, but I do not know what
happened to them. Francis and Sarah had children, but this family disappears
from KY records after 1900. The Allen Co., KY courthouse burned in 1902
taking most of the records. William's death certificate mentions mother
unknown, and father as William F. Center (who never existed in any census
records). This entire family is a mystery.
What is interesting about the Allen Co., KY CENTER/S family is that they are
the only CENTER surname living outside the mountain region of Eastern KY.
What is also interesting is that the KY families are known as CENTER, and the
TN/NC/SC families are SENTER. Another oddity is that in the 1870 Allen Co.,
KY Census, all CENTER children are living in other households other than a
CENTER household, and do not reappear in the 1880 censuses in the same
households, or other households.
I believe that there were two groups of CENTER/SENTER families who settled in
Allen Co. One of the early settlers was Freeman SENTER m. to Betsy COLCLOUGH
in Warren Co., NC and arrived in Sumner Co., TN by 1811 when he appears on
the tax list. Freeman and Betsy had 12 children. His grandson Freeman was a
minister in the Sumner Co., TN and Allen/Simpson CO KY area. This family is
relatively easy, compared to the other family, to trace as they intermarried
with the DURHAM family who migrated from Warren Co., NC to Sumner Co., TN
also, and left a legacy of some property which meant leaving wills, deeds,
etc.
The other family descends from WILLIS CENTER who arrived in Allen Co., KY
about 1817 where he received a land grant. Willis had 10 children by his
first wife, unknown, and 1 child by his second wife Rebecca SPANN. This
family is difficult to research, and mostly is relegated to the coincidence
of common given names such as Guilford, Starling, Levi, and Moses. I have
presumed that this family came from SC because there is a commonality of the
names Guilford, Starling, and Moses in the SC census records. If this is
assumed correctly, then Willis is probably a son of William SENTELL, Rev War
soldier who found at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse NC (assumed to be the
origin of the given name of Guilford in the family)
The CENTERs women found in marriage records have been assigned purely on
analysis of census records, and determining the ages at marriage and plugging
them into the assumed family of Freeman or Willis
Needless to say, there are a lot of potholes in these families and my
research is open for lots of critical analysis and correction from probably
descendants.
If you noticed, I mentioned the name SENTELL. No one knows the reason, but
in the NC and SC records, the surname of SENTELL and SENTER are
interchangeable, and one has to research both in order to find the same
person. Probably William SENTELL, the Rev War Soldier is part of the SENTELL
family found in VA early 1700's where a SENTELL was instrumental in the
operation of the Blanford Church located at the Petersburg National Cemetery
in Petersburg, VA. Please visit this site for more information on the SC/VA
SENTELL/SENTER family:
http://web.mountain.net/~sentell/gen/index.html
The best conclusion I can determine is that my William Fletcher CENTER, was
an illegitimate son of Elizabeth Center, who probably had about 7 children.
Elizabeth, based on matching ages to census records, appears to be a daughter
of Willis CENTER who would possibly connect to the SC SENTERS. I also
presume that her sister Martha also had about 4 illegitimate children. The
1850 and 1860 census records give the women living together with some of the
children:
1860 Allen Co. KY Census
CENTER, Elizabeth 30, Martha 25, W.F. 4, Anthony 1 (MU), S.E. 1(7?)(f),
1870 Allen Co KY Census
CENTER, Elizabeth 40 KY, Martha 34, Judah E. 16, Gilford W. 9, Jesse S. 5
1880 Allen Co KY Census
CENTER, Elizabeth 51 KNCSC, Jessee (MU) 15 KKK, Julia E 27 (MU)(neice) KKK
All of these children are not in KY according to the 1900 census records. The
Vital Statistic Births of 1852-62 of Allen Co gives Elizabeth as mother to
Willis M. (illegitimate) who died in Carter Co., OK, with whom I have
connected with a descendant who was able to supply a biography where he
mentions his KY connection and a nephew Les CENTER. My William Fletcher
Center, a probable brother to Willis, had a son Ellis, and could possibly be
the same as Les.
The presumed children of Elizabeth CENTER:
William Fletcher Centers b. 10/1/1846
James Mc. Center/Ashford b.1848
Robert W. Senter b. 1850
Virginia'Jennie' B. Center/Ashford b. 4/18/52 m. Thomas Stipes (no children)
Willis M. Center b.11/25/1855
Anthony Center b. 1859
Jessee Center b. 1865
The presumed children of Martha CENTER:
Julia E. Center b. 1853
W. Thomas Center b. 1856
Gilford W. Center b. 1861
Wilson Center b. 1862
None of these names are found in the 1900 or later census except for William
Fletcher Centers.
I have found in searching this family that there are numerous spellings that
have to be considered based on phonetics, and the interpretation of
handwriting. E's which look like I's, S's which look like L's, the letter
T
which sounds like D, etc. So my research includes the following names:
Senter, Sinder, Sinter, Center, Cinter, Cinder, Lenter, Linder, Scenter,
Sentell, and then there are the same names ending with an S.
If any of the names above are familiar, I would appreciate correspondence.
There are only 2 families of the Center name left in Allen Co. My
grandmother was Alma Lois Centers Tabor, daughter of John Yetman and Maude
Haines Centers, son of William Fletcher and Mary Ellen Hogue Center.
I apologize for the long dissertation, but the mystery of this family is
perplexing, and I thought there might be somebody on the list who might find
a connection.
Thank you for your time and attention
Sharon Tabor