John Cash: Private in the Virginia Militia

signature of John Cash

     I have a few ancestors who were known to have fought in the Revolutionary War, but I probably know the most about the service of John Cash.  Thanks to Fold3, I have a copy of his pension application, in which he details his service.  It seems fitting today to write about him and honor his service in helping to found this country.

     Based on his pension application, John Cash was born on 5 April 1757 in Amherst County, Virginia.  In September of 1776 he joined up under Captain Sale (Sayle) of the Virginia Militia as part of a mission called the Cherokee Expedition.  The Cherokee had joined forces with the British and were waging war on settlers on the Tennessee frontier.  John Cash and his fellow militiamen marched in a scouting party, mostly following the path of a larger army that had gone before them.  They did experience a "small skirmish" at Fort Chiswell in Virginia, but John was home a short three months later.

     John served two more times: for one month in Charlottesville, VA, guarding the barracks, and again as a minuteman under Captain Lawson, in which he saw battle near Jamestown, VA at the Battle of Green Springs Plantation in 1781.

     Finally, John was called up for an extra three months of service, during which he was involved in "driving hogs, Cattle & sheep" and "gathering and storing grain for the army."  Hey, whatever you can do for your country, right?  Armies have to eat too!

     John Cash was rewarded for his service when he received extra draws in the 1832 Land Lottery and won land in Henry County, Georgia.  He applied for a pension after his house burned down in 1831 when he was 75 years old.

Surname Saturday: Cash

     My Cash family line starts with two sister: Elizabeth and Sarah Cash.  Both were my Fourth Great Grandmothers, as their descendants would eventually marry and bring the line back together.  Thus, I am twice over a Cash descendant.

     Elizabeth and Sarah Cash's parents were Moses Cash (abt 1785, VA - 1846, GA) and Nancy Hudson (abt 1790-1823, GA), who were married on 6 Sep 1808 in Elbert County, Georgia.  The couple had many children, among them Moses Reuben Cash, the ancestor of singer Johnny Cash (making him my 3rd cousin, 3x removed).  Moses had come south from Virginia with his parents, John Cash (1757, VA - 1836, GA) and Lucy Campbell (1760, VA - 1848, GA).  

     John Cash was born in Amherst County, Virginia and enlisted there in 1776 to become part of the Cherokee Expedition (against Cherokee who were allied with the British) during the Revolution.  I'm currently trying to join the DAR through this ancestor.

     I can trace back one more generation on this line, to Stephen Cash and Jemima Grinning, also of Virginia.

     A map of modern day surname distribution shows that the Cash name is still popular in Amherst County (http://publicprofiler.org).  My direct ancestors might have moved on, but many of their descendants stayed put.

     One thing thats' great about this line is that it is backed up by DNA!  I have four different DNA matches on my Cash line.  In the chart here, you can see three of those matches (from ftDNA) and the DNA that they share with my dad, though none of them are on the same segment.  Yay!

   

Sigh...

     I haven't been doing much genealogy lately.  I've let my Ancestry.com subscription lapse and haven't made any trips to archives or libraries.  But I did receive a death certificate in the mail today, which has given me a bit of jump start.

     I ordered the death certificate of my Great-Great-Great Grandmother recently, when reviewing my documents for a potential DAR application.  I realized that I was missing her death certificate, as well as that of her son, so I sent off for it.  Yesterday I received her DC in the mail and... sigh... not helpful.
   

     Rossie Alexander Craft was 98 years old when she died and her death certificate was filled out by her daughter in law.  Apparently Mrs JW Craft didn't have the best information.  Rossie's father was Georgia Alexander, not George Craft; Rossie's mother is listed simply as "Miss Cash," no first name given.   So for the sake of paternity, this death certificate is practically useless.

     At the same time, it's been almost a month since I emailed my local DAR chapter (the only form of contact seemingly available).  Aside from a "I'll forward this to the right person," I haven't heard back from them.  I'm only moderately interested in joining, so I don't have a ton of patience to wait for information.  I've sent them a followup email and we'll see what happens.

A Biography Disguised as a Pension Record

     I have been meaning, for years, to put together an application for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  I had one line that I was going to pursue, but upon seeing the pension application that his children submitted, I had some doubts as to his service.  Since then, I've decided to pursue an alternative ancestor: John Cash.

     John Cash applied for a pension in 1832, when he was 75 years old.  Thanks to this pension application, I know about his military service: dates, locations, jobs, etc.  But what really surprised me was the amount of information that I learned about the rest of John's life.

     John's application is mainly about his service, but does also detail where he lived and when he moved.  I now know that John and family lived in Amherst and Bedford Counties, Virginia, and moved to Elbert County, Georgia, in 1802.  But where the really good stuff comes in is actually after his death, when his wife and then his children apply to continue the pension for themselves.

     Take this portion of his wife, Lucy's, application for example:

     The document gives the date of John and Lucy's marriage, "as well as remembered," her birth date, and her husband's birth date.  The very next page states that these dates were recorded in a family Bible, but that it was lost in a house fire in December of 1831.  However, Lucy does remember that she and John were married by a traveling minister in the home of Charles Rore and that the marriage was not recorded with the government.

     As the documents go on (73 pages!), this lack of legally recorded marriage becomes a problem.  The family Bible was the only recording of the the couple's marriage and the children's births.  Government recorded vital records just aren't available for this time. Eventually, Lucy does receive a pension, but it's unclear if the children ever received benefits.

     Probably the most interesting document is one regarding the burning of the Cash family home.  The document itself is not dated, but other documents in the file state the the house burned in December of 1831.  The family was petitioning the community of McDonough, Georgia for charitable donations to support the elderly couple and their unmarried daughters.  The petition is followed by a list of those in the community who donated a dollar or so each to help the family.

     I am a bit concerned that this pension application, which mentions John and Lucy's children, does not mention their son and my ancestor, Moses Cash.  However, Moses is listed as one of John's children in his will.  

     When I started organizing documents for this line, I also realized that I was missing some pretty basic documents.  What do you mean I don't have death certificates for my 3x Great Grandmother and 2x Great Grandfather?  I'd simply never needed them to confirm the family line and hadn't ordered them.  I've started to do so now, and hopefully I won't procrastinate too much longer and can work on my DAR application.

A New DNA Cousin Match

     I discovered a new DNA cousin match today at 23andMe. The account that I run for my cousin Anne was contacted by Charles. He and I are predicted 5th cousins in the Relative Finder results, while he and Anne are predicted 4th cousins. I accepted the request and saw the exact DNA segments that we shared. He and Anne share more DNA than he and I share:

     Charles had contacted Anne when he recognized the Cash and Campbell surnames from her profile.  I sent him our family tree and he quickly recognized our connection: Moses Cash and Nancy Hudson.  I'm descended from their daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah; Anne from Sarah; Charles from Mary. Charles and Anne are fifth cousins while Charles and I are fifth cousins once removed. I drew this chart to show the relationship:

     It's interesting that even though I should have more Cash DNA than Annette and Charles, they are more closely related genetically. In the end, it's all about how much DNA we have in common.

The Will of Moses Cash - Amanuensis Monday

     Moses Cash was my 5x-Great Grandfather, said to have been born around 1785 in Amherst County, Virginia. His will was recorded in Elbert County, Georgia in 1856. I located this will on microfilm at the Georgia Archive and I've transcribed his will below as best I can. My 4x-Great Grandmother Elizabeth Cash Alexander is mentioned in Item 4.

Moses Cash's will 1856 State of Georia \ Elberty County /            In the name of God Amen. I, Moses Cash of the state and county aforesaid being of sound mind and disposing memory and calling to mind the uncertainty of mortal existence and that it is appointed once for all men to die have thought proper to make and ordain this my last will and testament and First as touching my futural state in a world beyond this I resign my mortal body to its mother earth from whence it came and my immortal soul to God who gave it trusting in the metros of my redeemer for the remission of all my sins and on touching my temporal estate which it hath pleased God in his great goodness to bless me with in this world I gave and bequeath in the manner following, to wit. Item 1st. It is my will and desire that all my just debts be paid funeral and burial expences. Item 2nd. It is my will and intention that my beloved wife Nancy Cash have all my estate both real and personal to have and to hold the same during her natural life or widowhood and upon the happening of either her death or intermarriage that it is my will and desire for my three owns to wit James G Cash, Moses R. Cash, and Seborn J. Cash to have the tract of land whereon I now live to be equally divided between them by the said James G. Moses R. and Seborn J. Cash paing to my two daughters to with Nancy F. Cash and Lucy J. Cash the sum of one Hundred and fifty dollars in cash which amount is to be equally divided between them. Item 3rd. It is my will and destire that at the death of my said wife that all of my slaves or negro property to be loted off into five lots as equal as that situation of the property will admit of and to be drawn for by my five children, to wit, James G Cash, Moses R. Cash, Seborn J. Cash, Nancy F. Cash and Lucy J. Cash all to shear and sheare alike. Item 4th. It is my will also at the death of my said wife that all of my said estate not otherwise disposed of to be sold and the proceeds to be disposed of as follows, to wit, Permealey McMullan wife of Thomas McMullan, Elizabeth Alexander, wife of George Alexander, Sarah Craft wife of William Craft, Mary Daniel wife of Allen Daniel and Reuban Cash all to have the sum of one dollar each it being their share together with what they have had heretofore, and the balance to be Equally divided among my five first named children to wit, James G. Cash, Moses R. Cash, Seborn J. Cash, Nancy F. Cash and Lucy J. Cash all to share alike. Item the 5th. It is my will that my three sons to wit James G. Moses R. & Seborn J. Cash have a good Horse saddle and bridle each when they arrive to the age of twenty one years. Item 6th. It is my will that my two daughters Nancy F. Cash and Lucy J. Cash each to have a good Bed and Beding when they become of age. Item 7th. It is my will that my said wife Nancy Cash have full power and authority during her widowhood to sell and dispose of any ?? stock of any kind crops of cotton, corn or any thing she except land or engross or she may ?? for her own use and benefit. Item 8th. I do hereby constitute and appoint my son James G. Cash and Anderston Craft my Executors to this my last will and Testament hereby Ratifying and confirming this and this ?? and renouncing all or any others In Testimony ?? have hereunto set my hand and seal this thirtieth day of March Eighteen Hundred and Forty Six.   Signed. Sealed and acknowledged   In presents of us and attested at                               Moses Cash (Seal)   the request of the Testator   James M. Cleveland   Lewis R. Shiftlet   Anderson Craft

DNA & Tangled Trees: The Craft and Cash Families of Elbert County, GA

     I recently contacted one of my Family Finder DNA matches to see if we could find our family connection. They responded that the Cash family line looked like the most likely match. I hadn't done much research on my 4x-Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Cash or her husband, George Alexander once I'd added them to my tree, but decided to take a look. Most online trees at ancestry.com agreed that Elizabeth's parents were Moses and Nancy (Hudson) Cash. Of course, none of these trees gave any sources for this information!

     Finally, I found a tree on Rootsweb that provided tons of sources, including wills, deeds, and tax records. I'll look to find originals of the records at the GA Archive during my next visit, but because of the numerous records, I am confidant that the tree is accurate and I believe that my DNA match is through the Cash family. (And it doesn't hurt that Moses Cash is an ancestor of Johnny Cash, so it's been very well researched)

     Also in the will extract provided for Moses Cash was a mention of another daughter, Sara, wife of William Craft. This sounded familiar - and it should: this couple was also in my family tree. I had a listing for Sarah F Cash, wife of William Jasper Craft. After more research, I'm confidant that Sara and Elizabeth are sisters, the daughters of Moses and Nancy Cash.

     This connection creates yet another instance of Pedigree Collapse in my tree. I now have two sets couples who are my 5x Great-Grandparents twice over. In order to see these connections, I like to sketch out the tree, which you can see below: