Bob Hembree 915 N. Ridge View Drive, Santa Maria, Ca. 93455
14th Edition April 1993
SOMEWHERE I saw John Hembree referred to as Old John, it has proved to be a good way to keep him separated from the other Johns, and I continue the same without any knowledge as to exactly how old he lived to be.
With this reporting of Old John and family I have now successfully completed a goal I hoped to achieve, account for the Hembree’s shown on the 1790/1800 Census of S.C. Having traced the families shown on that 1st census, I now believe we can separate all the family members originating therefrom.
Of course there is still much work to do to prove out every individual you may wish to know about, but I feel a contribution has been made to establishing the family lines beyond reasonable doubt.
I had a very difficult time placing Old John as the head of this family, largely because of I thought his son Edward belonged in another line.
However, to many conditions, date, place, age, etc. meet the criteria, for this to be in error. Old John’s son, John Jr. was the father of the line in Hembree Tennessee, where I previously have shown Meshack as the son of John but did not know which John. I had thought Meshack as the son of John but did not know which John. I had thought Meshack to be the son of John shown on the 1820C of Hopkins County, Kentucky, and born in S.C. Also, the location, ages, time periods, etc, are to much a coincidence for Old John not to be the brother of David and James, a matter that I have known for some time but needed more info to state it as a fact. I feel there must be at least three (3) or four (4) correlating factors, time periods, location, age and naming patterns to establish a family line, but if you can start with that and add to it as I was able to do here, then there can be little doubt as to relationships even though such documentation such as Bible records may be missing. To some this may seem trivia, however, to those who are descendents of William, Edward, John Jr., Meshack, William Isaac, etc. it is information they have long sought after, as I know of no one who has connected them to Old John, but that is the proper lineage.
The first proof of Old John is found as a landowner adjacent to his brother
James, on S. side of the Hyco River in Halifax County, N.C. Both he A John
and James are shown as land owners on the 1787/88 Taxpayers list in Surry
County, N.C., but I do not believe James ever lived there, or they are a
different James & John. In 1788 Old John witnessed a Deed in Spartanburg
County, S.C. and the same year in the county court minutes he is charged with
fathering a child out of wedlock. He also had a land grant for 640 acres jointly
with Joshua Pettit, in Spartanburg County, before moving to present day Pickens
County, S.C. where he is found on the 1800C. Nearby was brother David and his
family in present day Anderson County, S.C. Old John was a carpenter and
reportedly built a fort in Haysville, N.C. He had at least one daughter and
three sons. Namely, Mary, John Jr., Edward and William remained in S.C. John
Jr. was harder to trace because he was missing in the 1810C but he is found on
the 1820C in Knox County, Kentucky. Hopefully, the enclosed descendents sheet
will make it easier to follow this family lineage.
NOTE: New address shown above. We are in the process of moving, and once we are completely settled into the new home, we plan to attend the family reunion in Pinecrest, California and do some fishing in California & Oregon, then journey to Oklahoma for the 100th Anniversary of the Cherokee run. That brings us to the fall of the year, and seems the appropriate time to interrupt this newsletter and do some traveling for research purposes, and bring my files up to date. Thus, the next newsletter will likely be sometime in 1994.
RECENTLY several newsletters were returned for address changes, etc. and since the post office doesn’t refund postage, I need to update my mailing list. If you wish to receive future editions, if any, please drop me a note at the new address, otherwise your name will be dropped.
TV: Mrs. Roy (Delores) Hembree, inquired if I knew who the Hembree was that was referred to in the TV program – The Real West “Westward Ho the Wagon Trains” Host – Kenny Rogers, shown on A&E Network. From the diary of James W. Nesmith 1843 “Came upon a rock covered grave with note attached” “Here lies Joel J. Hembree age 6 years – ran over by a Wagon Wheel”. The boy was Joel Jasper Hembree, son of Joel Jordan Hembree, grandson of James Hembree, great-great grandson of Joel Hembree, great-great-great grandson of James Hembree.
If you saw the show or are interested, see the story in the 4th or 5th Edition (my files are packed for moving and I’m not sure which Edition) of the Newsletter. I believe his age should have been shown as nine, not six.
REUNION: See you in Pinecrest, July 16-18, 1993.
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