Mary Ella NEEDHAM

Born: 13 Apr 1826, Grainger County, Tennessee ⁴
Marriage (1): William BOWERS on 20 Jan 1842 in Grainger County, Tennessee ¹
Marriage (2): John McNEW in Aug 1848 in Grainger County, Tennessee ² ³
Died: 17 Sep 1906, Lonoke County, Arkansas ⁴

Mary married William BOWERS, son of Andrew BOWERS (Jr.) and Katherine HOWETH, on 20 Jan 1842 in Grainger County, Tennessee.¹ (William BOWERS was born on 17 Oct 1820 in Grainger County, Tennessee ⁵ and died between 1845 and 1848 in Grainger County, Tennessee.)

bullet Marriage Notes:

The marriage license was issued on 14 Jan 1842. They were married by Jessee F. Beeler, J. P. ¹

Mary next married John McNEW in Aug 1848 in Grainger County, Tennessee.² ⁴

bullet Marriage Notes:

There are conflicting sources as to the precise date of marriage. Even the cited source for marriage records is confusing. It appears the marriage license was issued 13 Aug 1848, yet the marriage appears to have been performed by Wm. H. Odell, J. P., on 8 Aug 1848. The John McNew Family Bible lists the date of marriage as 4 Aug 1848.

1 Porter H. McCarty, Miss Lucille Renean and Mrs. Ellen H. Wilson, Compilers, Marriage Records 1838-1857, Grainger County, Tennessee, (The Historical Records Survey, 22 Feb 1939), FHL Film No. 024,657, Item 3, Page 58 of Record, Page 14 of Film.

2 Porter H. McCarty, Miss Lucille Renean and Mrs. Ellen H. Wilson, Compilers, Marriage Records 1838-1857, Grainger County, Tennessee, (The Historical Records Survey, 22 Feb 1939), FHL Film No. 024,657, Item 3, Page 155 of Record, Page 38 of Film.

3 John McNew Family Bible. The John McNew Family Bible is in the possession of Ellis Smith, who received it from his great grandmother Sallie Bradberry McNew. His postal address is 610 Coventry Court, Vacaville, CA 95688, and his e-mail address is TRae12@aol.com. The author is in possession of a color copy of the family pages.

5 Andrew Bowers Family Bible. The whereabouts or even continued existence of the Andrew Bowers Family Bible is unknown. However, there are two known transcriptions of the family information contained in the bible: first, a 1978 transcription by Ruth Bowers Dommestrup, at which time the bible was in the possession of Rector Bowers (William Rosecrans Bowers, Thomas Bowers, Andrew Bowers); and second, a transcription of unknown date and authorship that was obtained from collateral Howeth descendants and which contains the following note at the bottom of the transcription, "this is copied from the old record. the only one any of us knows of anywhere. this record is very fraile and looks to be written with pokeberry ink." The transcriptions are nearly identical, but do have differences: Ruth's has Grainger Co., TN as the place of marriage for Andrew and Katharine, while the Howeth version has nothing in that respect; Ruth's has daughter Katharine being born 6 Apr 1827, while the Howeth version spells her name Kathrine and has her date of birth as 16 Apr 1827; and Ruth's has son Andrew being born 9 Jun 1829, while the Howeth version adds his middle initial "J." and has the date of birth as 19 Jun 1829. Neither transcription provides places of birth nor dates of death. The dates for which this source is cited are from Ruth's transcription.

Mary Ella NEEDHAM

Sources