A Brief Loveless/Manning Family Overview
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Loveless/Manning Family Overview



Theodosia Manning was born July 14, 1804 in what became Anderson District, S.C., to George Manning and Aleatha "Leathy" Reeves. This information comes from the Louisa Manning/Tapley Anderson family Bible.

She married James Loveless [his parents are still unknown to us] probably in Anderson or Abbeville District, S.C., probably around 1819. Although no marriage record has yet been found, the marriage date of ca 1819 is assumed because the first known child of James Loveless and Theodosia Manning was born around 1820.

James and Theodosia had several children while living in South Carolina, all assumed to have been born in Anderson District, as that is where the George Manning family remained until Leathy Reeves Manning's death in 1832. The known children born to James and Theodosia in S.C. were Quinton James (b. ca 1820), John Wesley (b. ca 1823), Malinda (b. ca 1824), Nancy (b. ca 1828) and Joshua M. (b. ca 1831). The children's birthyears were estimated from available census records, and can only be viewed as approximate. As of yet, no family Bible record has been found.

One child of James and Theodosia, Benjamin, born ca 1833, alternately gave his birthplace as S.C. and MS (in the 1850 and 1860 Tishomingo County, MS census, respectively). The birthplace of MS is certainly a mistake, as the Lovelesses did not move to MS until the 1840s; however, more research needs to be done to determine if Benjamin was born in S.C. or GA.

After the death in 1832 of her mother, Leathy Reeves Manning, Theodosia's father George Manning and several of her siblings moved to Cobb County, GA. This researcher believes that James and Theodosia and their young family also packed up and moved to Georgia around this time, although the exact location is unknown. In the 1840 GA census, there is a James Loveless in Carroll County, with children the right ages to be the James-Theodosia children. More research is needed in this area.

It is apparent that James and Theodosia spent some time in Georgia, as two of their surviving sons were born there, according to later census records. George W. Loveless was born in GA on August 16, 1838, and William P. Loveless was born ca 1839. George's tombstone gives his birthdate. William's birthdate is estimated from later census records.

In 1840, George Manning passed away in Cobb County, GA. It is assumed that around this time, James and Theodosia Manning Loveless and their family once again pulled up stakes, this time moving to the gently rolling hills of northeast Mississippi.

Land records show that James Loveless purchased two 160-acre plots of land in Tishomingo County, MS, one in 1845 and the other in 1847.

Also settling in Tishomingo County, MS, and likely making the journey from GA with the Loveless family, was the family of Christopher Kay and Frances Harriet Manning, Theodosia's younger sister. Theodosia's first child after the family's move to Mississippi was a daughter, born in 1842. She named the girl Frances, very likely after her sister.

Two more surviving children were born to James and Theodosia in Mississippi: Tabitha C., born March 13, 1844 (according to census records and her tombstone) and Joseph Bailey, born in 1848 (according to census records). The terms "known" and "surviving" children are used in this document to indicate that these are the only children we know about for James and Theodosia Manning Loveless. Since we have not yet found a family Bible record, there is no way of knowing if any offspring died as infants or young children.

Joseph Bailey Loveless was the last known child of James and Theodosia. Just three years after Joseph's birth, James Loveless died. His tombstone in Paradise Cemetery in Iuka, MS, indicates that he died on May 5, 1851 (born June 22, 1796).

Probate records after James's death tell us that he was a cotton farmer, as permission is requested to sell off a portion of his cotton crop. It is assumed that Theodosia continued on with the cotton farm after James's death, although she and Quinton did divest themselves of some of the family's land. We know that she continued farming of some sort, as the 1860 Tishomingo County, MS, census lists her occupation as "farmer".

Within about 5 years of losing her husband, Theodosia lost two of her daughters, very likely due to complications during childbirth. Malinda Loveless, who had married James Chester Kay, died before 1856, when James Kay remarried. It is possible that Malinda died after the birth of a son, John Wesley, ca 1854.

A second daughter, Nancy, who had married Matthew Elbert Hanks, a Methodist circuit rider, died around 1856, according to the book "The Hanks Family of Virginia and Westward" by Adin Baber. She left four young sons.

Needing a mother for his young family, Matthew remarried. As his second wife, he chose Nancy's younger sister Frances. Frances and Matthew had at least seven additional children, and moved away to Pope County, Arkansas, where they are found in the 1880 census.

In the late 1850s, three of James' and Theodosia's sons said goodbye to their family and set out for southeast Arkansas. John W. and George W. Loveless were living in Drew County, AR, with their wives and young children by 1860. Joshua M. Loveless, either divorced or widowed (more research is needed), was living alone in Bradley County (adjacent to Drew County) at this time.

James' and Theodosia's sons were sympathetic to the Confederacy during the Civil War. At least four of their sons fought for the South. John W. and George W. fought in Owen's Battery, Light Artillery, which mustered out of Drew County, AR. Joshua M. fought in the 9th Arkansas Infantry, Co. C , which mustered out of Jefferson County, AR. Sadly, Joshua died in a hospital in Lauderdale Springs, MS, on September 18, 1863.

Another of the Loveless sons, William P., fought in the 26th MS Infantry, Co. A. From cemetery records, it is suspected that William died in the spring of 1865 and is buried at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO, but more research is needed to confirm or refute this supposition.

James' and Theodosia's eldest son, Quinton, did not serve in the Civil War, but a few of his sons did. Joseph Bailey Loveless was perhaps too young to serve in the war. The only son we don't know about with regard to Civil War service is Benjamin Loveless. Additional research may yet turn up information that Benjamin, like his brothers, served in the Confederate army.

After losing her husband and at least five of her adult children (Quinton James Loveless died shortly after the Civil War ended), Theodosia Manning Loveless passed away in February of 1870 of typhoid fever. She was still living in Tishomingo County, MS, where her husband had brought her almost 30 years earlier.

Her youngest son, Joseph, was probably living with Theodosia at the time of her death. By the time the census taker came around later that year, Joseph was living with his sister Tabitha, by that time a wife and mother of two children.

Most of James and Theodosia's children carried on the tradition of farming. However, a couple of them chose other careers. Quinton James Loveless tried his hand at both farming and blacksmithing, as well as serving as postmaster at Cripple Deer, MS. Benjamin Loveless gave his occupation in the 1860 Tishomingo County, MS, census as "cabinet workman". And Joshua M. Loveless was listed as a "blacksmith" in the 1860 Bradley County, AR, census. Could Joshua have learned the blacksmithing trade from his older brother Quinton?

Theodosia Manning Loveless's final resting place is not known. One could reasonably expect that she was buried next to her husband James Loveless in Paradise Cemetery in Iuka, MS. However, she does not have a tombstone. It is possible that after paying her debts and expenses, there was no money left over for Tabitha and Joseph Loveless to buy their mother a proper tombstone.

Many of James and Theodosia's descendants continue to live in Arkanasas, as well as Texas and Oklahoma. A great number of descendants are still unknown to this researcher. Descendants are invited to contact the author to trade further information about the Manning and Loveless families.


Any additions or corrections to this narrative are welcome.
This family history was written January 18, 1999 by

Melissa Jones Belur
P.O. Box 18444
San Jose, CA 95158



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