Elias MAJORS ^{1 2}

  Research Notes:

What happened to Elias and Margaret after 1834 is unknown. There is a report of an Elias in the 1836 tax list for Giles County, Tennessee, but since there was an Elias Majors, age 30-40, in the 1840 Census for Giles County, I don't believe he is the right Elias (he was probably a nephew). Rhea County court records also show an Elias was appointed as an overseer of a road crew in 1842 and that he was relieved of that position in 1843, but since the subject Elias would have probably been too old to be part of a road crew, this Elias was probably the son of Peter of Rhea County. Some descendants also report Elias died in 1847 in Cedar County, Missouri. While this report seems connected to the reported death of his son, William Majors, in the same year and the same place, there seems to be no evidence to that effect. I have reviewed the records of Cedar County and not found any evidence Elias lived there, let alone died there. (Although it's possible Elias and Margaret started out for Missouri in 1839 with William and because of the move may not have been enumerated in the 1840 census, there is also no evidence to that effect.)

My own belief is that Elias and Margaret probably died between 1834 and 1840. While his disappearance from the tax lists after 1834 can be explained by an age exemption, his (and Margaret's) omission from the 1840 census, not only in Roane County, but anywhere, suggests they had died by then. While the possibility exists they could have been enumerated in one of their children's households, that seems not to have been the case with respect to their known children. While there is a Larkin Majors enumerated in the 1840 census for Giles County, Tennessee, who has a male and female in his household age 50-60, this Larkin is only age 20-30 and the Larkin who was the son of Elias would have been age 30-40. Elias' Larkin appears to have been enumerated in the 1840 census for Rhea County, Tennessee, and there were no elderly members of his household.

As much as anything, the dispersal of the children of Elias and Margaret before 1840 suggests they had died by then. Although Larkin only moved to Rhea County, Thomas and Sarah moved to Grainger County and William moved to Missouri. See also the Research Note for Thomas, which raises the possibility some of the younger children may have become part of Thomas' household. Finally, query if Sarah's marriage to Joseph Leffew would have occurred if her parents had still been alive (see marriage note for Sarah).

Other Children of Elias and Margaret:

The 1830 census for Roane County suggests Elias and Margaret had at least nine children (including Larkin and the male age 15-20 in his household): seven boys and two girls. Chris Tucker's family records suggest there may have been as many as eleven children, although no reason is given for why it is thought there may have been that many. Since there were no children under 5 in the 1830 census, it is reasonable to presume Margaret had stopped having children. If there were more than nine children, they must have been born after Larkin and before Thomas and William. There is certainly a gap there that could accommodate more children. Chris' records show the following as possible children in addition to the four listed: Pleasant Majors, born about 1810 (presumably because his namesake may have been Pleasant Henry Leffew, a neighbor of Elias); Dardini Majors, born about 1814, and Eliza Majors, born about 1823. While a Pleasant Majors can be found in the 1850 census for Rhea County, who was born about 1810, I'm concerned about the lack of tax list data for Pleasant in Roane Co., which is what would really tie him to Elias. There also does not seem to be any room for another male age 15-20 in the census. Dardani is problematical because she would seem to occupy the slot I've assigned to Sarah. Eliza fits, but what is there to connect her to Elias? [Note that none of these potential children were born during the gap years.]

Other Majors in the Records of Roane County:

Abner Majors: Abner was another son of Thomas of Rhea County. Abner was the bondsman for the marriage of Henry Haynes/Hines to Lucinda Neal/Nail in 1808. In 1822, a $.50 fine was collected from Abr. Majors. From 1836 to 1841, Abner appeared on the tax lists, where he was consistently taxed on 80 acres, although he apparently lived in Rhea County.

Absolom Majors: Absolom was another son of Thomas of Rhea County. In 1823, he was listed as a purchaser at the estate sale of William Willis, Dec'd.

William Majors: From 1837 to 1841, an unidentified William Majors appears on the tax lists for the 12th District. None of the other Roane Co. Majors lived in the 12th District.

  Birth Notes:

Year of Birth: Based on the 1830 census, which indicates he was born 1780-1790, and his marriage, which indicates he born closer to 1780.

Place of Birth: Based on fact Larkin Majors, Elias' presumed son and the only one of his children known to have lived until 1880, reported in the 1880 census his father was born in Tennessee. Of course, Tennessee didn't become a state until 1796, so Larkin was most likely referring to Washington County, North Carolina (now Tennessee), where Elias' father, Thomas, appears to have lived in the 1780s.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Tax List: 1828, Roane County, Tennessee. ⁶

1828
Capt. Casey's Co. (No. 12): Majers, Elias, 1 white poll

[The poll tax was in lieu of the property tax, for those who did not own land.]

2. Census: 1830, Roane County, Tennessee. ³

Household of Elias Majors:
2 males 5-10, 2 males 10-15, 1 male 15-20, 1 male 40-50
1 female 5-10, 1 female 15-20, 1 female 40-50

[Location was that part of Roane County that was north of the Tennessee River. The next household was that of Plesant H. Leffew. Larkin Majors was three households below the entry for Elias.]

3. Tax List: 1832-1834, Roane County, Tennessee. ⁷

1832
Capt. Haley's Co. (No. 10): Majors, Elias, 1 white poll

1833
Capt. Haley's Co. (No. 14): Majors, Elias, 1 white poll

1834
Capt. Haley's Co. (No. 5): Majors, Elias, 1 white poll

[No further entries appear for Elias. In fact, no records after 1834 have been found for him, not only in Roane County, but anywhere.]

Elias married Margaret FLOYD, daughter of William FLOYD and Unknown, on 15 Oct 1802 in Jefferson county, Tennessee.¹ (Margaret FLOYD was born about 1780 ^{1 3}.)