John Hambleton LEPHEW ²

  Research Notes:

John Hambleton Lephew is believed to be a son of Joseph because of (i) his 1861 claims to the Estate of Joseph Leffew, Dec'd and (ii) the fact he named a son, Joseph Pleasant Leffew, which is a double namesake. True, the early 1800s seem a bit crowded for the birth of another child, but he could have been a twin or he could have been born somewhat earlier or somewhat later, for we only have the 1850 census to go by for his year of birth.

I sure would have like to have been there when John returned to Grainger County in 1861. Was he a prodigal son? [It must have hurt his father for him, the first son after four daughters, to move away.] Did he know that his father had died in 1839? Did he return to reconnect with his sisters, only to see the visit become a confrontation with them about his father's estate, or was it the other way around? Estate disputes normally tear families apart. Hopefully, the family eventually made peace and had a great family reunion.

Danette Welch, my awesome Leffew research colleague, discovered the court records involving John and is responsible for most of the research pertaining to his family. Her findings include a biographical sketch of Henry H. Lephiew of Drew County, Arkansas, which appears in Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas. The following facts appear there:

1. Henry H. Lephiew was born 14 Nov 1830 in Marshall County, Alabama. [Actually, he was born in that part of Madison County that became Marshall County in 1836.]

2. His parents were John H. and Edna (Johnson) Lephiew, born in Tennessee and Alabama respectively. [The 1850 census says he was born in North Carolina. If he was born before 1806, it would have been in North Carolina.] They were married in Alabama, his father having moved there from Tennessee when he became an adult.

3. His father died in Alabama in 1865 and his mother died in Alabama in 1849.

4. His parents had 12 children, 9 sons and 3 daughters. Six children were then living, to wit: Benjamin F., Henry H., James E., Newton, Robert M., George W. Six children were then deceased, to wit: William J., Joseph P., John W., Elizabeth, Nancy O. and Sallie.

5. Henry H. Lephiew left Alabama at the age of 19 and moved to Monticello, Drew County, Arkansas, and became a grocer.

The Lephiew spelling was adopted by Henry. It may also have been adopted by William and Benjamin, who also moved to Arkansas about the same time as Henry. ^{1 4}

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Census: 1830, Madison County, Alabama. ⁵

Range 5
John H. Lephew: 2 white males under 5, 2 white males 20-30; 1 white female under 5, 1 white female 20-30, 1 white female 40-50

2. Land Grant: 1834, Madison County, Alabama. ²

Grant to John Hambleton Lefew, Certificate 346, issued 10 Sep 1834.
40.02 acres, SW1/4 of NE1/4, Section 3, Township 7-S, Range 2-E.

3. Census: 1840, Marshall County, Alabama. ⁶

John H. Lefew: 2 males under 5, 2 males 5-9, 2 males 10-14, 1 male 30-39; 2 females under 5, 1 female 5-9, 1 female 10-14, 1 female 30-39

4. Census: 1850, Marshall County, Alabama. ³

Dwelling 302, Family 302, Subdivision 23
John H. Lephew, age 49, male, laborer, born in NC
Pleasant Lephew, age 15, male, born in AL, attended school
James Lephew, age 13, male, born in Al, attended school
Nancy Lephew, age 16, female, born in AL, attended school
Sarah Lephew, age 8, female, born in AL, attended school
Mary Lephew, age 6, female, born in AL
Monroe Lephew, age 5, male, born in AL
George W Lephew, age 3, born in AL

[Newton Lephew, age 12, in household of Isham Fenwell at Family 303]

5. Land Grant: 1853, Marshall County, Alabama. ⁷

Grant to John H. Lephew, Certificate 804, dated 1 Aug 1853
56.35 acres, part of E1/2 of SE1/4 of Section 12, Township 7, Range 2-E

6. Court: 1861, Grainger County, Tennessee. ⁸

Sep 1861, County Court Minutes

Page 563
John H. Leffew vs. Lavinia Leffew
Petition to sell the land of Joseph Leffew, deceased

[Recall that Lavinia eventually ended up owning all the land of Joseph Leffew.]

Page 564
John H. Leffew vs. Reese Williams et al
Sought distribution of assets in the hands of Williams belonging to the Estate of Joseph Leffew, Dec'd.

[Recall that Reese Williams was the Executor of the Estate of Joseph Leffew]

Pages 575, 577
John H. Leffew vs. Wiley Mallicoat and Samuel Dotson
Sought distribution of assets in the hands of Williams belonging to the Estate of Joseph Leffew, Dec'd.

[Recall that Reese Williams died in the Mexican War. These defendants were his bondsmen.]

John married Edna JOHNSON in Alabama.¹ (Edna JOHNSON died in 1849 in Alabama ¹.)