William FRANKLIN ¹

  Research Notes:

The family of William and Nancy Franklin presented here is a construct with varying levels of certitude. Convincing evidence exists that Elijah, Elisha and Sally are their children. Circumstantial evidence persuades me that James is also their son. Least convincing, but still probable, is the evidence for Agnes and John. I have opted to include all of them in this family, regardless of the surety level, so that the reader has available information on every Franklin who appears in the early records of Wayne County, Kentucky. The evidence for each "child" is discussed in the Research Notes for that individual.

The only countervailing evidence that suggests all those listed may not be children of William and Nancy is to be found in Madison/Garrard County, Kentucky, which is where this family lived before coming to Wayne County. What we find in the tax lists of Madison/Garrard County is the presence of a John Franklin, who is much older than the John Franklin who is the presumed son of William and Nancy. The Madison/Garrard John Franklin first appears in the 1791 tax list for Madison County, which is five years earlier than the first appearance by William in 1796. John was added to the 1796 tax list on 21 Apr 1796 and William on 22 Apr 1796, and they were in the same McNeely tax district, suggesting they lived near each other. On the other hand, John's land was on Sugar Creek while William's land was on Paint Lick Creek, which are not all that close to each other. Could John be the father or brother of William? If a brother, that raises the possibility that some of the Wayne County Franklins could be children of the Madison/Garrard John, who moved to Wayne County with their uncle and cousins. The last record that has been found for John in Garrard County is the 1797 tax list. This is also the last record for William. No later records have been found for John elsewhere.

Notwithstanding the existence of a John Franklin in Madison/Garrard County, unless and until a common ancestor is found, most likely in Virginia, I am going to treat the Wayne County Franklins as one family.

  Death Notes:

There are no records for William in Wayne Co., KY after 1813, which suggests he may have died shortly thereafter in Wayne Co. But, Elizabeth Bawden, a descendant of William and Margaret Franklin Robertson of Madison Co., AL, has found evidence in the records of Madison Co. suggesting William moved there, which is where his son Elijah also moved, and that he probably died there. The evidence consists of (i) a power of attorney dated 13 Nov 1812 from William Franklin to Wm. Hausan (Hansen?) "to recover debts, lands and negroes which Franklin may be entitled to in Virginia," (ii) a deed to William Franklin dated 16 Mar 1816 for land in Section 4, Township 1S, Range 2E, which is the same Section where Elijah owned the SE1/4, and (iii) being listed as a purchaser in the sale of personal property of Jacob Silvey on 23 Dec 1816, along with William Robinson, who may be William Robertson, husband of Margaret Franklin. Anyone interested in the records of Madison Co., AL as they pertain to the Franklin family should contact Elizabeth Bawden. Her e-mail address is gbawden@peoplepc.com and her postal address is 13242 Riviera Pl NE, Seattle, WA 98125.

Note that presumed son John does not appear in the records of Wayne Co., KY until 1819. If William's death precipitated John's move back to Wayne Co., that would suggest William died 1816-1819. Elizabeth Bawden found no estate records for William.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Tax List: 1796, Madison County, Kentucky. ³

McNeely District: Franklin, William; 100 acres, Paint Lick; 1 white male 21+; 1 white male 16+; 1 black 16+, 2 total; 1 cattle.

2. Tax List: 1797, Garrard County, Kentucky. ⁴

McNeely District: Franklin, William; 1 white male 21+; 1 white male 16-21; 1 black 16+, 4 total.

Note Garrard County was formed from Madison County in 1797.

3. Tax List: 1799, Cumberland County, Kentucky. ⁵

1799: Franklin, William; 1 white male 21+; 2 black males 16+; 300 acres, Elk Spring Creek, entered and surveyed by Thos. Matthews.

Wayne County was in part formed from Cumberland County in 1800.

4. Deed: 1802, Wayne County, Kentucky. ^{6 7}

Dated 16 Aug 1802, Recorded Sept Court 1802, Bk A:32
Joseph and Elizabeth Beard to William Franklin, 400 acres on Elk Spring for 253 pounds.

Sept Court 1802
Deed from Joseph Beard to Wm Franklin was acknowledged and ordered recorded and dower was relinquished.

Note this tract of land was part of the vast holdings of Joseph Beard, assignee of Thomas Carneal, who in turn was assignee of Thomas Matthews, by whom the land was surveyed. This land lay in an area set apart for Officers and Soldiers of the Virginia State Line.

5. Court: 1804, Wayne County, Kentucky. ⁸

March Court 1804:
Motion of William Franklin for certificate overruled.

6. Tax List: 1801-1813, Wayne County, Kentucky. ⁹

1801: Franklin, Wm; 1 white male 21+; 1 white male 16-21; 1 black 16+, 1 total; 3 horses/mares.

1802: Frankling, William; 1 white male 21+; 1 black 16+, 1 total; 2 horse/mares.

1803: Franklin, Wm; 240 acres, Elk Spring; entered, surveyed and patented to ___ Matthews; 1 white male 21+; 1 white male 16-21; 1 black 16+, 1 total.

1804: Franklin, William; 400 acres, Elk Spring; 1 white male 21+; 1 black male 16+, 1 total; 1 horse/mare.

1805: Illegible

1806: Franklin, William; 400 acres, Elk Spring; 1 white male 21+; 1 black male 16+, 1 total; 2 horses/mares.

1807: No entry for William

1808: No entry for William

1809, District 2: Franklin, William; 200 acres.

1810: Franklin, Wm; 200 acres, Elk Spring; 1 white male 21+; 1 black 16+, 1 total; 3 horses/mares.

1811: Franklin, Wm; 300 acres, Elk Spring; 1 white male 21+, 1 black 16+, 1 total; 2 horses/mares.

1812: Unreadable.

1813 and later: No entries for William.

Note: Although the acreages change, each tax list shows that the land was surveyed by Thomas Matthews. Thus, from 1799 in Cumberland County through 1811 in Wayne County, William lived on the same land on the waters of Elk Spring.

7. Census: 1810, Wayne County, Kentucky. ¹

Wm Franklin: 00001-01001-1

8. Deed: 1813, Wayne County, Kentucky. ^{10 11}

Dated 16 Feb 1813, Recorded 17 Feb 1813, Bk B:95
William Franklin and Nancy, his wife, and Elisha Franklin and Elijah Franklin to Jesse Cocke, $2500 for 344 acres on Elk Spring Creek.

Also see the following related deed:

Dated 10 Oct 1821, Recorded 10 Oct 1821, Bk C:284
Deed between Thomas Carneal and Jester Cocke. Referenced is the 16 Feb 1813 deed from Wm Franklin and sons Elijah and Elijah to Jester [Jesse] Cocke.

9. Bill of Sale: 1813, Wayne County, Kentucky. ²

Dated 19 Mar 1813, Recorded 19 Mar 1813, Bk B:104
Elisha Franklin to William Franklin and Nancy, his wife, a Negro woman (slave) named Betty, about 18 years old, for $300. After the death of William and Nancy, Betty was to be returned to Elisha.

William married Nancy. (Nancy died after 1813 ².)