Meredith Jennings

Abt 1786 - Aft 1850  (> 65 years)

• Name	Meredith Jennings
  Birth	Abt 1786	, , Virginia, USA
  Gender	Male
  Death	Aft 1850	, , Kentucky, USA
  Person ID	I22287	Master
  Last Modified	4 Nov 2013

  
  

  Father	Robert Jennings
  Mother	Susanna
  Family ID	F5778	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Tabitha Mustain,   b. Jan 1790, Gretna, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA d. Feb 1850, Calhoun, Henry, Missouri, USA (Age 60 years)
  Marriage	14 Dec 1807	, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Children	1. J. A. Jennings   2. Jane Jennings + 3. Byrd Thomas Jennings,   b. 14 Aug 1815, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA d. 24 Dec 1900 (Age 85 years)
  Family ID	F5775	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - Abt 1786 - , , Virginia, USA Marriage - 14 Dec 1807 - , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA Death - Aft 1850 - , , Kentucky, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Mrs. Nora Jenn1ngs Rawls. The acknowledged leader in literary circles of her community, Mrs. Nora Jennings Rawls has also been active in religious, educational and civic work, and has interested herself generally in the life of Dawson Springs, always to the betterment of the subjects or problems which enlist her attention. She is a native of Caldwell County, Kentucky, born on the old Jennings farm, eight miles east of Princeton, August 5, 1868, a daughter of J. A. and Susanna (Mitchell) Jennings. The Jennings family originated in Ireland, and the original American ancestor emigrated from that country some time previous to the War of the Revolution, settling in the Colony of Virginia. Meredith Jennings, the grandfather of Mrs. Rawls, was born in Virginia, in 1780, and became a pioneer at Belleview, Kentucky, removing a short time thereafter to Caldwell County, where he followed the vocation of a mechanic. In the evening of life he and his wife, Tabitha, moved to Missouri, where they spent their declining years with their children, the grandfather dying near Calhoun, that state, in 1870, at the advanced age of ninety years. J. A. Jennings, the father of Mrs. Rawls, was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1833, and when twelve years of age was taken by his parents to the locality of Belleview, Kentucky, and a short time later to Caldwell County. There, in the community of Princeton, J. A. Jennings, or Dudley Jennings, as he was always known, grew to mananhood and was married. Following his marriage he removed to a farm eight miles east of Princeton, where he carried on farming operations for many years and added to his income through his skill as a natural mechanic. In 1895 he went to Southeast Missouri, where he purchased land in the vicinity of Harvel, but eventually came back to Kentucky, and spent his last years with his children at Princeton, where his death occurred April .2, 1911. He was a democrat in politics, and for many years served efficiently as a magistrate in Caldwell County. He was a member of the Baptist Church and supported its movements liberally, and until the death of his wife held various lay offices in the church. Mr. Jennings married Susanna Mitchell, who was born October 15, 1828, in Caldwell County, Kentucky, and died on the home farm November 6, 1890. Thomas Mitchell, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Rawls, was born in England in 1752 and immigrated to America in 1773, settling in North Carolina. During the early days of the War of the Revolution he joined the American Army and served throughout the struggle for the winnnig of American independence, taking part, among others, in the battles of King's Mountain and Cowpens. His wife, Amelia Beryman, was a French Huguenot, and they were married in North Carolina, in which state they lived during the remainder of their lives. Cato Mitchell, son of Thomas Mitchell and grandfather of Mrs. Rawls, was born in North Carolina and died on the old home farm eight miles east of Princeton, Caldwell County, before the birth of his granddaughter. He served in the War of 1812, being stationed at Fort Okrakoke under the command of Captain Pugh, and later became a pioneer of Caldwell County, where he passed the later years of his life. Cato Mitchell married Martha Nichols, daughter of Nathaniel and Susanna (Ward) Nichols, who died on the farm mentioned at the age of thirty-three years. The children of J. A. and Susanna (Mitchell) Jennings were: Martha Byrd, born February 8, 1860, who died at Henderson, Kentucky, in 1898, the wife of F. L Grubbs, a hotel clerk now in Texas; Florence, born June 6, 1862, the widow of Robert Parker Nabb, formerly a prosperous agriculturist of Caldwell County and Todd County, Mrs. Nabb now being a resident of Dawson Springs; Nora, who is now Mrs. Rawls; Tula. born June 3, 1870, who died at Liberty, Texas, in 1910, as the wife of Thomas Sells, now an oil operator in Texas; and Delia, who died at the age of four years. The advantages of careful home training on the farm and good educational opportunities were granted Nora Jennings as she grew to womanhood. After attending the graded and high schools of Paducah she pursued a course at Clinton (Kentucky) Collegege, and then became a teacher in the rural schools of Caldwell County, her educational work extending over a period of six years. She was married June 4, 1889, near Princeton, to Wylie Bell Rawls, who was born near Springfield. Tennessee, July 9, 1861, but reared and educated in Christian County, Kentucky. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rawls lived in Christian County, where Mr. Rawls was a farmer and tobacconist until 1898. when they went to Trigg County, Mr. Rawls following the same vocations there, at Wallonia. In 1907 he became a tobacconist at Princeton, which was the family home until 1915, when he and Mrs. Rawls went to Hopkinsville. In 1919 they again changed their place of residence, this time to Dawson Springgs, where Mr. Rawls has since been a successful merchant and dealer in tobacco. He is a republican in politics, and has interested himself in the affairs of the various communities in which he has resided, having been a member of the school board at Princeton for several years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he served as a steward, and has always been an active supporter of the church. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Rawls are as follows: Charlie Hinkle, born April 21, 1890, at Friendship. Kentucky, entered the United States service during the World war and was used as a fireman on the Illinois Central Railroad, and since the close of the war has been a resident of Dawson Springs, although covering the State of Missouri as a traveling salesman for the Mueller & Carter Company of St. Louis, Missouri: Grace Lucille, born June 20, 1892, at Scottsburg, Kentucky, the wife of Bowen Garfield Grenfell, of Dawson Springs, an evangelistical singer who was born and reared in Wales; Dudley Bell, born May 9, 1895, in Christian County, who enlisted in the United State? Navy in June, 1918, was sent to the Great Lakes NaNaval Training Station, and thence to Norfolk, where he was mustered out of the service in January, 1919, since which time he has covered the State of Mississippi as a traveling salesman for the Mueller & Carter Company, men's furnishings, of St. Louis; Byrdie Florence, born May 20, 1898, at Wallonia, Trigg County, who resides at Dawson Springs with her parents; and Robert Mitchell, born at Princeton, Caldwell County, February 14, 1909, who is attending the public schools. Mrs. Rawls was reared in the faith of the Baptist Church, but now affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal Church and takes an active and leading part in the work of that body, being so active therein as to be known as something of a local preachcher. An interested and helpful member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, she has lectured in behalf of the cause of prohibition at various places. Mrs. Rawls is also possessed of marked literary talent and has been a frequent contributoor to the local press of both prose and poetry. She is the author of the well-known poem "Coming Home to Mother," which at the time of its publication rreated quite a considerable amount of favorable comment. Likewise it was her pen that produced the poem "Why?" which was originally written as a tribute to the late Mark Hanna at the time of his death, but which has been frequently used in subsequent political campaigns. Mrs. Rawls has numerous warm and sincere friends at Dawson Springs, as she has also in the other communities in which she has made her home. [2] Meredith Jennings, Ensign, Virginia Militia, War of 1812. Act of 55-160-WT. 67157 June 21, 1856 Meredith Jennings, aged 69 years, resident of Madison County, Tennessee, filed application for Bounty Land under provisions of Act of 3 March 1855. He declared he was Ensign in the Co. commanded by Captain Nat. Terry in the Regt. of Va. Militia commanded by Col. Greenhill, War of 1812; that he was drafted in "Pytsylvania" Co. about the 1st day of September 1814 for 3 months, and that he continued in actual service for 3 months and was honorably discharded at Elliott's Mills, date not remembered. Wit: R. T. McKnight, J. B. Hetton, residents of Madison County, Tennessee, before Stephen Syfert, J. P. June 21, 1856: John M. Morrill of Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee forwarded to the Pension Office the application of Meredith Jennings and requested that the Warrant be sent to himself if granted. December 2, 1856 The Third Auditor's Office reported that Meredith Jennings served in Capt. N. Terry's Co. of Va. Militia from the 1 through the 17th of September, 1814. June 11, 1857 Warrant No. 67157 for 100 acres was issued Meredith Jennings (National Archv.: Bounty Land File). February 3, 1844 Jane Jennings, daughter of Meredith, 3 Feb., 1844 & T. Phillip Hodnett Marriage Book Pittsylvania County, Virginia. [3]

  
  

• Sources

  [S546] Campbell, Jeffrey A., Marriages of Pittsylvania County, Virginia 1767-1850, (2003), p. 60. [S601] William Elsey Connelley and E. M. Coulter, History of Kentucky, (The American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1922), p. 452. [S602] Doughtie, Beatrice Mackey, Jennings and Allied Families, (Beatrice Mackey Doughtie, Decatur, Georgia, 1961), p. 605-606.