Husband John Parker Grinstead
Born: 25 Nov 1810 - Washington Co., Va 1 2
Christened:
Died: 12 May 1888 2
Buried:
Father: Edward Walton Grinstead (Abt 1787-1850/1860)
Mother: Catharine Donovan (Abt 1791-1860/1870)
Marriage: Abt 1830
Other Spouse: Sarah Malise Auxier (Abt 1829-1870/1880) - 14 Mar 1869 - Knox Co., Kentucky 3 4
Other Spouse: Matilda Westerfield (1847-1900) - 27 Dec 1883 - Knox Co., Kentucky 3 5 6
Wife Mary Ann Hinds
Born: 15 May 1815 - Wayne Co., Kentucky 1 2
Christened:
Died: 17 Nov 1868 2
Buried:
Father: Stephen Hinds (Abt 1794-Abt 1844)
Mother: Sarah Reese (Abt 1798-Abt 1849)
Children
1 F Sarah M. Grinstead
Born: Abt 1831 - Kentucky
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
2 M Smith Grinstead
Born: Dec 1833 - Madison Co., Kentucky
Christened:
Died: 6 Jan 1918 - Madison Co., Kentucky 7 8
Buried: - Flatwoods Cem., Waco, Madison Co., Kentucky
Spouse: Emily Jane Todd (1836-1908) 9
Marr: 18 Dec 1854 - Madison Co., Kentucky 9 10
3 F Margaret Jane Grinstead
Born: 3 Feb 1836 - Madison Co., Kentucky
Christened:
Died: 29 Jun 1924 11
Buried: - Liberty Cem., Grant Co., Oklahoma
Spouse: Jesse Hopper (Abt 1836-Bef 1860) 9
Marr: 11 Jan 1855 - Madison Co., Kentucky 9 12 13
Spouse: John W. Crumbaugh (1805-1880)
Marr: 16 Sep 1874 - Scott Co., Kentucky 14
Spouse: George W. Lewis (1841-1916)
Marr: 7 Aug 1894 - Sedgwick Co., Kansas 15 16
4 F Julia Grinstead
Born: Abt 1839 - Kentucky (Madison Co.)
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
5 M Joel P. Grinstead
Born: Abt 1840 - Kentucky (Madison Co.)
Christened:
Died: 17 Jan 1862 - Lebanon, Kentucky
Buried: - Lebanon National Cemetery
6 F Catharine Grinstead 17 18
AKA: Kate Grinstead
Born: 30 Jan 1842 - Lincoln Co., Kentucky
Christened:
Died: 10 Jan 1928 - Navasota, Grimes Co, Tx 19
Buried: - Oakwood Cemetery, Honey Grove, Fannin Co., Texas
Spouse: Marshall Emory Parker (1841-1923) 17 18 20
Marr: 7 Jan 1863 - Madison Co., Kentucky 9 17 21
7 M George T. Grinstead
Born: 24 Sep 1843 - Madison Co., Kentucky
Christened:
Died: 7 Aug 1917 - Madison Co., Kentucky 7 22
Buried: - Flatwoods Cem., Waco, Madison Co., Kentucky
Spouse: Elizabeth Burton (1847- ) 9
Marr: 9 Oct 1867 - Madison Co., Kentucky 9 23
8 F Elizabeth Grinstead
Born: Abt 1845 - Kentucky (Madison Co.)
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
9 F Mary "Mollie" Grinstead
Born: 2 Apr 1847 - Madison Co., Kentucky 3
Christened:
Died: 21 Aug 1938 - Shepherdsville, Bullitt Co., Ky 24
Buried: - Barbourville Cem., Barbourville, Knox Co., Kentucky
Spouse: John Hannah (Abt 1840-Bef 1880)
Marr: 20 Mar 1871 - Knox Co., Kentucky 1 25
Spouse: William Thomas Gibson (1848-1915)
Marr: 29 Mar 1881 - Knox Co., Kentucky 26
10 M James C. Grinstead
Born: May 1853 - Madison Co., Kentucky 27
Christened:
Died: 1900-1910
Buried:
Spouse: Sarah C. Kinser (1860-1936) 28
Marr: 8 Oct 1875 - Knox Co., Kentucky 28 29
General Notes: Husband - John Parker Grinstead
CENSUS:
<pre>1840 Madison Co., Kentucky, Eastern division
John P. Grinstead 110001 -- 20001; 1 in agriculture; no slaves
male female
1 < 5 2
1 5-10
10-15
15-20
20-30 1
1 30-40 </pre>
Matthew Grinstead, his brother, is 5 entries away, and another brother William A. Grinstead is also in the Eastern Division.
<pre>1850 Madison Co., Kentucky, District No. Two; August 31
331/335
John B. Grinstead 39 MW Va $300 Pat Mouldr & Preacher
Mary " 35? FW Madison
Smith " 16? MW Madison
Margaret " 13? FW Madison
Julia " 12? FW Madison
Catharine " 8 FW Madison
Joel " 10 MW Madison
George " 7 MW Madison
Elizabeth " 5 FW Madison
Mary " 3 FW Madison </pre>
He is not in the Slave Schedule. His brother M. D. Grinstead lives at 377/381. "Madison" means "Kentucky". No one is designated as having been born in Kentucky. The ages followed by '?' have been written over in the original.
<pre>1860 Trimble Co., Kentucky, Bedford; July 17; pg 63
420/420
John P. Grinstead 49 MW Va --/$400 Minister of M.E.?.S
Mary " 45 FW Ky
July an " 21 FW Ky
Catharine " 18 FW Ky
Mary " 13 FW Ky
James C. " 7 MW Ky </pre>
He is not in the Slave Schedule. The eldest son Smith is still in Madison Co., and his brother George is living with him. Joel is living in Madison Co. with John F. Emorine, a relative of his uncle's wife. Margaret is a widow living with her daughter in Madison Co. Of the children in 1850, only Elizabeth is unaccounted for.
<pre>1870 Knox Co., Ky, Subdivision No. 93, p.o. Barbourville; Aug 25; pg 158
8/8
J. P. Grinstead 59 MW Va $5000/$1890 Potter & Farmer
Sarah M. " 41 FW Ky
William A. " 14 MW Ky
Julia A. " 30 FW Ky
Mollie " 21 FW Ky
James C. " 17 MW Ky
E. W. McCland 18 MW Va </pre>
The surname of William A. is Ridgell. He is the adopted child of Sarah's previous husband Joel W. Rigdell. See notes under William A. Rigdell.
<pre>1880 Knox Co., Ky, ED57, Barbourville Magisterial Dist.; June 15,16; pg 28
258/267
John R. Grinstead 69 Va Va Va SW Minister of Gospel
Julia " 40 dau Ky Va Ky S Keeping House
Mollie Hamnah 29 dau Ky Va Ky SW School Teacher </pre>
All are single, and John and Mollie are either widowed or divorced. Mollie's surname is Hannah.
WGFA and CHILDREN:
The William Grinstead Family in America (Gorrell Shumaker and John L. N. Grinstead, 1974):
pg 127: "Parker S. Grinstead married Callie ?. There were eight children, maybe nine, since some list a Kate between George L. and Betty L. Children: Sarah M., Smith, Maggie, Julia A., George L., Betty L., Mattie H., James C. Grinstead."
Supplement, published October 1974, pg S-21: "Parker S. Grinstead, possibly Parker Smith Grinstead. We believe now that the Miss Callie was not his first wife. We have found a family with a similar child list that may one day help us solve this family."
A cursory examination of the census shows that the above information in WGFA is partly right and partly wrong. I have a copy of a document prepared about 1920 which shows the descendents of John Grinstead and Mary Walton. It says "Parker m. Miss --- Callie" and their children are "Sarah M., Smith, Maggie, Julia, George L., Kate G., Bertie H., and James C." This information is also partly right and partly wrong. See notes under John Grinstead II for the full contents of this document. The 2 sources are probably not independent; I suspect that the document that I have is the basis for the information in WFGA. Both lists contain most of the children, and the birth order is almost correct.
The position of Sarah M. in both lists suggests that she was the eldest child, but she is not in the 1850 census entry for her father, and there is no record of her having married in Madison County before 1850. Moreover there is no slot available for her in the 1840 census entry for her father. If she is the eldest child, she presumably died before 1840.
Consider now Sarah's mother Mary Ann Hinds. Because no slot is available for her (Mary Ann Hinds) in the 1830 census entry for her father, it is convenient to assume that she married just before the 1830 census was taken. She was about 15 at that time. The marriage records for Pulaski Co. in the period 1864-86 often give the age of the bride and of the groom. It is not uncommon for girls to marry at 15, and in a few cases one finds a marriage at 14. If Smith Grinstead, born in December 1833, were Mary Ann's first child, then the gap between marriage and first child is larger than is usual. It would be very normal for the first child to be born about 1831.
One of my first cousins, Dorothy Kinkead Andrews, wrote a family history in the 1970's. It is mostly about her mother and her mother's parents, but she includes some information about the Grinsteads and she says that this information is from material gathered by one of her great-aunts (Mattie Lee Spong, wife of John Harrison Parker) who went to Kentucky in June 1950 and visited with Parker relatives there. Aunt Mattie Lee probably also did what research she could in the courthouses of Pulaski and Wayne counties. She may also have visited with Grinstead descendants.
Dorothy says that John Parker Grinstead, born in 1810, married Mary Ann Hinds, born in 1815, in 1833, and then she says, "He was a Methodist preacher. There were 13 children: Smith, James Henry, Margaret Jane, Julia Ann, Joel Peak, Catharine, George Taylor, Elizabeth Moberly, Mary (Mollie), Robert Evans, Naomi, James Clark, and Green Clay. His wife died in 1869; then the minister married Sarah Melissa Ridgel -- she died in 1878, and he took a third wife, a Mrs. Hale. They had one child, Hannah."
Nine of the above children are in the census and their order in the list corresponds to the census. Four of them are not in the census and 3 of those 4 correspond to gaps in the birth dates of the other 9. The other of the 4 is the youngest. There is nothing implausible about there being 4 children who died before they could be registered in the census. That John P. Grinstead had another child, Hannah, when he was about 70 seems a little doubtful, but it is possible.
As for Sarah M., I don't know whether she ever existed or not.
FAMILY SOURCES:
In my "Log of Life" book there is a family tree with the names of the 4 grandparents of my paternal grandfather (Lewis Parker). Inserted in the book is a slip of paper on which are typed the full names, and birth and death dates, of those 4 grandparents, including John Parker Grinstead. I suspect this was typed in the early 1940's, and that it represents information that my mother got from my grandfather (Lewis Parker) or from his sister in law, Aunt Mattie Lee (wife of J. Harry Parker). She (Aunt Mattie Lee) was interested in family history and had gone to Kentucky to do research.
-- Neal Parker, April 1999.
KNOX CO. MARRIAGE RECORDS:
The following is from "Knox County, Kentucky Marriage Bonds and Records" (Knox County Genealogical Society):
John P. Grinstead performed several marriages in Knox Co., including that of his daughter Mollie (Books BB & C). The marriage record says that he was born in Washington Co., Virginia and that the bride's mother was born in Wayne Co., Kentucky. Note that the groom's surname is Hannah, not Hannor.
March 20, 1871
John Hannor to Miss Mollie Grinstead
By John P. Grinstead, M.G., at Barbourville, Ky.
Witnesses: J. H. Wilson, H. B. Hudson, H. D. Burnett
Principal & Surety: John P. Hannor and J. P. Grinstead
groom:
Res: Hopkins Co., Ky.
Age: 31, first marriage
Occ: preacher
Born: Allen Co., Ky.
Father born: North Carolina
Mother born: Kentucky
bride:
Res: Knox Co., Ky.
Age: 22, first marriage
Born: Madison Co., Ky.
Father born: Washington Co., Va.
Mother born: Wayne Co., Ky.
Book D reports that J. P. Grinstead, M.G., married John H. Israel and Marth Mongold on October 20, 1874, at J. P. Grinstead's. The witnesses are James C. Grinstead and F. R. Israel, and the bondsmen are William Ridgel and Rus Kinser.
Also according to Book D, on January 12, 1876, J. P. Grinstead asks that a marriage license be granted to Wm. A. Ridgell and says that his wife is his guardian by law. He was adopted by Col. Ridgell in his lifetime. More specifically
groom:
William Ridgel
Res: Knox Co., Ky.
Age: 19, first marriage
Occ: farmer
Born: Boon Co., Ky.
Father born: Clay Co., Ky.
Mother born: Floyd Co., Ky.
bride:
Verrilda Gray
Res: Knox Co., Ky.
Age: 16, first marriage
Born: Knox Co., Ky.
Father born: not given
Mother born: not given
To be married at James W. Davis' January 13, 1876
Bondsman: P. B. Reeder
Mr. Thomas Wyatt, Wm. A. Ridgell will be in your office today to obtain license to Marry Virilla Gray -- It is all right to grant it -- My wife being his guardian by Law -- He will be 20 years old 26th of March -- adopted by Col. Ridgell in his lifetime -- Born in Boon County, Kentucky -- January 12, 1876. Yours truly, John P. Grinstead.
MADISON CO., KENTUCKY DEED AND TAX RECORDS:
John P. Grinstead first appears in the Madison County tax book in 1835. He is a white male over 21 in the 35th regiment, Lipscomb company. He owns no land, no blacks, no horses, no cattle, and no studs. Total value = $0, meaning presumably that he has no taxable assets. He was not in the tax book in 1833 or in 1834, so I deduce that he arrived in Madison County about 1835. His entry for 1836 is the same as for 1835. The deed records show that he and his brother Mathew purchased an 85 acre tract on Muddy Creek on 27 Mar 1837, and in the 1837 tax book they appear jointly as J. P. and M. D. Grinstead (2 white males over 21). They own the 85 acres on Muddy Creek, no blacks, 1 horse, no cattle, and 1 stud
I deduce that Mathew (M. D.) Grinstead arrived about 2 years after his older brother John P. They make no further land purchase until 1850. The tax books for 1838-1840 are missing. In 1841 there are 3 Grinsteads in the county:
<pre>
Matthew Grinstead 1 2 $100 $100
John P. Grinstead 1 1 $50 2 $50
William A. Grinstead 1 2 $75 $75 </pre>
where the categories, from left to right, are "white males over 21", "horses and mares", "value", "children between 7 and 17", and "total value". In 1841 and subsequently the tax records are on preprinted sheets, and year after year one of the categories is "horses and mares". I believe that "horse" means gelding and that "stud" means stallion. Horses were sufficiently important to merit 3 designations. Donkeys merit two: jack (male) and jenny (female). Mules, cattle, hogs, and slaves were not categorized by sex. Horses were much more common than either mules or donkeys.
The three brothers are in the 1840 census, and I assume that William A. arrived after 1837 and before 1840. He never purchased any land, and disappears from the tax books after 1843, whereas John P. and Mathew D. routinely appear year after year until 1868. Occasionally one or the other is missing for no obvious reason. According to the tax records from 1844 to 1846 John P. owns no land and Mathew D. owns 100 acres and from 1847 to 1849 neither owns any land. That is not consistent with the deed records. On 30 Mar 1850 Mathew D. bought 104 acres on Flint Creek and also in 1850 John P. bought a tract on Falling Branch. The 1850 tax records reflect their new purchases, but do not mention the 85 acres on Muddy Creek, although there is no evidence in the deed records that they have sold it. In fact Mathew D. sells 45 1/4 acres of it much later in 1862. Could this be an early example of creative accounting?
Mathew D. sells the 104 acres on Flint Creek a few months after he purchased it, and according to the tax records in 1852 he owns no land and John P. owns 40 acres on Muddy Creek.
Smith Grinstead, John P.'s oldest son, turns 21 in 1855 and in that year shows up for the first time in the tax book. He owns nothing. His father owns 2 horses/mares worth $100 and 7 hogs worth $200. The tax books for 1856-1860 are missing. In 1861 Smith owns 2 horses or mares worth $150, 100 bushels of corn, and is enrolled in the militia. In 1861 his father is also enrolled in the militia and owns much more than usual: 6 horses or mares worth $300, 7 cattle worth $50, 500 bushels of corn, and 20 bushels of wheat, AND 175 acres worth $1500. The location is not specified. Can this be the 175 1/2 acres on Big Hill Road which his brother Mathew D. purchased in 1856? There are no tax books in 1862-1863, and by 1864 John P. owns no land and Mathew D. own 130 acres on Muddy Creek worth $1800.
In general one can see correlations between the deed records and the tax records but not a high degree of consistency. Maybe some property is not subject to taxation, or maybe it was intentionally (and illegally) omitted from the tax rolls. It may be that some deeds were not recorded.
In 1864 besides John P. and Mathew D., 5 of their sons are in the tax books. John P. appears for the last time in 1868 (2 acres, Muddy Creek, $250; 1 horse/mare, $80; total $330). Since he is in the 1870 census for Knox County, I deduce that he left Madison County about 1869. He stayed in Knox County until his death in 1888 although he never bought property there. His last purchase in Madison County was a tract on Drowning Creek which he bought from his son Smith 6 Feb 1862. His last appearance in the deed records is a sale 1 Oct 1883 of a tract on Drowning Creek (probably the same tract).
Although according to the census, John P. was living in Trimble County in 1860, he never bought property there. He is in the Madison County tax book in 1855 and again in 1861 (1856-60 are missing), and I deduce that his sojourn in Trimble County was relatively brief. He was employed there as a preacher, and he may have been assigned to some church in that county.
In the index to the Madison County deed records, John P. appears only three times as a grantee and only once as a grantor. Mathew D. appears much more frequently.
In summary I conclude that John P. Grinstead came to Madison County about 1835 and left about 1869. Although he was in Trimble County in 1860, possibly on a preaching assignment, he seems to have maintained his association with Madison County. Two of his sons spent all their lives in Madison County, but his youngest son continued to live in Knox County, to which his father moved about 1869.
His brother William A. was a wanderer and was in Madison County for a few years before and after 1840 before he moved on (1850 Boyle Co., 1860 Casey Co., 1870 Clark Co., 1880 Pulaski Co.)
His other brother Mathew D. arrived in Madison County about 2 years after John P., or about 1837. He lived there for many years. His last purchase was a lot in Waco on 1 Apr 1881. He is a grantor various times in the 1880's, and appears for the last time in the index of the deed records 20 Jun 1889. However, in the 1880 census he is living in Somerset in Pulaski County very close to his niece Catharine Grinstead and her husband M. E. Parker.
John Parker Grinstead was not the first Grinstead in Madison County. A Jesse Grinsted married Elizabeth Clopton there 6 Mar 1823, and he is in the tax records in 1828, 1829 (as Jesse C. Grinstead), and in 1830. He never owned any land. He appears in the real property records only once (7 Jan 1828) when he and the clerk of the County Court sign an indenture according to which he takes on a minor as an apprentice, promising to "learn him the art and Mystery of the Farming business". This Jesse C. Grinstead is clearly the same Jesse Grinstead in the 1840 census of Pettis Co., Missouri. He lived there the rest of his life. He was born about 1800 in Virginia, and 3 of his children were born in Kentucky from about 1826 to 1829. He was not a first cousin of John Parker Grinstead. I conjecture that he may have been a second cousin related to the Grinsteads of Barren Co., Kentucky, but I do not know who his parents were.
CIVIL WAR:
Two sons of John Parker Grinstead (Joel P., George T.), three sons of William Alexander Grinstead (Parker S., Elihu G., Thomas R.) and two sons of Mathew D. Grinstead (George, Wesley) were soldiers in the Union army. Joel P. and Wesley were in Company B of the 8th Infantry, and George T. was in Company E of the same regiment. Parker S. was in Company A of the 1st Cavalry, and Thomas R. was in Company C of the same regiment. Elihu G. was in the 8th Cavalry. George was in the 10th Cavalry.
CURIOSITY CONCERNING NAMES:
In the next generation after John Parker Grinstead there are 2 men with the name "Parker S." One is the eldest son of William Alexander, and the other is a son of Benjamin Franklin. The latter is specifically "Parker Smith". The eldest son of Samuel Kelly is named "John Parker", and the eldest son of the John Parker being discussed here is Smith. It would be interesting to investigate the provenance of these names, which are usually surnames.
POTTERY:
In a Spring 2020 Stoneware Auction an "unusual J. P. Grinstead stoneware jug" was sold for $960. There are 4 images of the jug and a description at the following website.
https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2020-03-21/lot-5/Unusual-JP-GRINSTEAD-Kentucky-Stoneware-Jug/
One-Gallon Stoneware Jug, Stamped "J.P. GRINSTEAD," Madison County, KY, circa 1850, ovoid jug with semi-squared rim, the surface covered in a salt glaze. The jug's maker, John Parker Grinstead (1810-1888), is listed in the 1850 Federal Census of Madison County, Kentucky, as a "Pot Molder and Preacher." He learned the potter's trade with his brother, Matthew, in Washington County, VA. A 1 1/4" chip to underside at edge. Other lesser base chips. A recessed stacker mark to shoulder, including a small piece of adhered clay. A 4 1/2" x 4" inverted fork-shaped line at base, emanating from a ping. A minor 1 1/8" Y-shaped line emanating from a tiny ping on front. An in-the-firing separation line to top of handle near upper terminal, not visible on underside. A minor in-the-firing chip to underside of handle.
A long research article entitled "Nineteenth-Century Stoneware Makers of Madison County, Kentucky" is in the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts) at
https://www.mesdajournal.org/2012/research-note-nineteenth-century-stoneware-makers-madison-county-kentucky/#AppendixB
The part about the Grinsteads follows:
The Grinsteads
The earliest documented potters in Madison County, John Parker Grinstead (1810-1888) and his brother Matthew D. Grinstead (1814-1890) were trained salt-glazed stoneware makers from Washington County in southwest Virginia. The brothers were in Madison County by 1837 when John and Matthew purchased eighty-five acres of land on College Hill Road just north of Waco.[11] Although they probably produced stoneware in the 1840s, it is not until the 1850 census that positive evidence is found to identify John P. Grinstead as a potter (see Appendix B).
The Grinsteads achieved success over the next twenty years in building a viable, long-term pottery industry in the area through their training of local workers and the continuation of the business by successive generations of family members. John Parker Grinstead's stoneware pots marked "J.P. GRINSTEAD" (Figs. 10 and 11) and "J. P. G." survive today, although they are very scarce and highly sought by collectors. No stoneware has been found with a definitive Matthew D. Grinstead mark. This might be explained by the fact that producing stoneware was not a full time business for the brothers. Matthew was identified as a farmer in the 1850 census, and John Parker Grinstead was listed as a "Pot Molder & Preacher." Thus, John may have been the primary potter for the family as well as working as a minister and the younger brother Matthew may have been more involved in a supporting role and/or doing much of the farming for the families.[12]
There is also extant stoneware stamped "GRIGGS & GRINSTEAD, / WACO, K.Y." (Figs. 12 and 13). While it has heretofore been accepted that that mark was for John Parker Grinstead, it seems questionable because the inclusion of "Waco" in the mark indicates that the stoneware was probably made after 1861 when John Parker Grinstead was no longer living in Madison County-the 1860 Federal Census recorded him in Trimble County, where he was a working as a preacher (see Appendix C).[13] [14] It is possible that the "Griggs and Grinstead, / Waco, K.Y." stoneware was produced by John Parker Grinstead's son, Smith Grinstead (1834-1918), in partnership with Lucien T. Griggs. (Lucien Griggs's involvement in the stoneware trade will be explained later.) Smith Grinstead was listed in the censuses as a potter in Madison County for several years, and moved back and forth between producing the traditional salt-glazed consumer wares and the colorfully glazed art pottery products made later in the nineteenth century.
Lastly among the Grinstead product is stoneware marked "G. W. GRINSTEAD & BRO, WACO, KY." (Figs. 14 and 15). Pottery with that mark was produced by John Parker Grinstead's sons George Webb Grinstead (1856-1932) and Smith Grinstead, or possibly Joseph Parker Grinstead (1862-1903), the son of Smith Grinstead and grandson of John Parker Grinstead.
General Notes: Wife - Mary Ann Hinds
The starting point for my investigation of the Hinds of Pulaski, Wayne, and Madison Counties is Mary Ann Hinds, my great-greatgrandmother, who was the wife of John Parker Grinstead. According to information from my family she was born May 12, 1815 and died Nov 17, 1868. They arrived in Madison County about 1835, and her husband moved to Knox County about 1869. Due to the absence of a marriage record, most Hinds researchers would never be aware that she existed.
John Parker Grinstead was a potter and a preacher. In 1871 he conducted the wedding of his daughter Mollie, and the marriage record says that her mother was born in Wayne Co., Kentucky. There are 4 men named Hinds in Wayne Co. in 1820 who have a daughter less than 10 years old, but for reasons that I indicate below I conclude that her father was most likely Stephen Hinds, who married Sarah Reece in Oct 1813 in Wayne Co. and who by 1820 was living in Madison Co. and who by 1830 had moved to Pulaski Co.
The following 4 considerations suggest to me that Mary Ann is Stephen's daughter. None is by itself conclusive, but in their totality I find them persuasive.
1) John Parker Grinstead was born in Washington Co., Virginia in 1810, and by the early thirties he was a young man just over 20 years of age who had left home, travelled a considerable distance to an adjoining state, and found a wife. By 1835 they had moved to Madison Co. There were no Grinsteads there, so why Madison Co.? A plausible reason is that his wife's father (Stephen Hinds) had recently lived there and could have provided them with information and contacts. Apart from Stephen's older brother Joseph, none of the other Hinds in Wayne Co. have any known connection with Madison Co.
2) By 1830 Stephen had moved to Pulaski Co. Mary Ann spent almost all her married life in Madison Co. She raised her children there. Two of her sons were potters, like their father, and lived all their lives in that county. One of her daughters, Catherine, (my great-grandmother) married in Madison Co., but she married a man, M. E. Parker, whose family was associated with Pulaski Co. How did she meet a man from Pulaski Co.? A plausible explanation is that she had relatives there because her grandfather lived there from about 1824 until his death about 1845. In the early 1860's several of her aunts and uncles lived there. This is not a particularly strong argument since Pulaski and Wayne are adjoining counties. She could have met somebody from Pulaski while living with or visiting relatives in Wayne, but the probability is greater if she was living or visiting in Pulaski.
3) Mary Ann has a brother named Joel, and one of her sons is named Joel. 'Joel' is only moderately common.
4) 'John' is ubiquitous, but the combination 'John Parker' as a given name is rare. In the case of John Parker Grinstead, the provenance of 'Parker' is unknown. Mary Ann's younger brother Samuel named one of his sons 'John Parker Hinds'. It appears likely that he was named for one of his uncles by marriage who was held in high regard by his father.
Another reason for believing that Mary Ann is a daughter of Stephen involves a process of elimination. There are 4 census entries in Wayne Co. in 1820 with surname Hinds which have a female child less than 10. There are 2 in Madison Co. Consider these one by one. One of the entries in Madison Co. is Stephen and the other is his older brother Joseph. Since Joseph left Madison Co. and was in Perry Co., Missouri, by 1825, it seems unlikely that a daughter 10 years old in 1825 would have married in Kentucky. She would have gone to Missouri with her father and would have married there. The four entries in Wayne Co. are Samuel, Jr. (born 1792, son of Samuel), Mrs. Joseph Hinds, George Hinds (brother of Stephen), and Levi, Senior (born 1766, son of Levi). 1) Based on the Wayne Co. tax records Samuel, Jr. left about 1823. He went to Fentress Co., Tennessee. As in the case of Stephen's brother Joseph, his daughters would probably have married in Tennessee and stayed there, or moved westward. 2) From the census and from a May 24, 1871 deed in Breckinridge Co., Kentucky, it is possible to build a list of the children of George and Mary Hinds. No child is named Mary Ann. 3) In 1820 Mrs. Joseph Hinds has 2 females in her household less than 10. The large number of children suggests that the Brady children are there. One of those young females is Elizabeth Hinds and the other is probably Charity Brady. There are numerous deeds in the 1830's, 40's and 50's in Wayne Co. in which the legatees of Joseph Hinds (10 children and 4 named individuals with surname Brady) sell their inherited property. By means of these deeds it is possible to establish the names of all of his 10 children. Mary Ann is not among them. 4) In 1820 Levi Hinds, Senior, has 1 daughter less than 10. That daughter is Clarissa, born about 1817, whose existence is well documented. The minutes of the probate court in Brazoria, Texas, where Levi died, provide a complete list of his 12 children. Mary Ann is not among them.
The censuses in 1820, 1830, and 1840 suggest that Stephen's first 3 or 4 children were girls and that the rest were boys. It is convenient to assume that he had 4 girls. The oldest daughter is presumably the Scynthia Hines who married Washington Reese Gragg January 9, 1829. In the 1830 census Washington Gregg is living next to Stephen Hines. Two girls, Nancy and Margaret, are still at home in 1830. Presumably Mary Ann married shortly before 1830. Margaret married in 1865, and is inexplicably absent from the census in 1840 and in 1850.
The timing relative to Stephen's first 2 children is possible, but uncommon. He married Sarah Reece in October 1813 in Wayne Co. Assume that their first child (Scynthia) was born 9 months later in July 1814. Scynthia is then 14 1/2 when she marries in January 1929. The marriage records for Pulaski Co. in the period 1864-86 often give the age of the bride and of the groom. It is not uncommon for girls to marry at 15, but only in a few cases does one find marriages at 14. They do, however, occur. Another problem is the short time lapse between the births of the first two children. Mary Ann was born May 12, 1815 according to my family information, and that date is consistent with 2 census entries. She was born only 10 months after her sister based on the assumption that Scynthia was born in July 1814. I have been told by a gynecologist that that is possible although uncommon. Note the case of Charity F. Hinds and Tennessee L. Hinds, daughters of Mary Ann's uncle, old Benjamin. Based on tombstone inscriptions they were born August 25, 1846 and June 23, 1847, respectively. Another possibility is that Scynthia was born in early 1814, based on the adage "the first one can come at any time; all the rest take 9 months".
FAMILY SOURCES:
In my "Log of Life" book there is a family tree with the names of the 4 grandparents of my paternal grandfather (Lewis Parker). Inserted in the book is a slip of paper on which are typed the full names, and birth and death dates, of those 4 grandparents, including Mary Ann Hinds. I suspect this was typed in the early 1940's, and that it represents information that my mother got from my grandfather (Lewis Parker) or from his sister in law, Aunt Mattie Lee (wife of J. Harry Parker). She (Aunt Mattie Lee) was interested in family history and had gone to Kentucky to do research.
Apart from Mary Ann Hinds it is possible to confirm the birth and death dates from other sources. It is hence reasonable to regard Mary Ann's dates as reliable.
Neal Parker, April 1999.
