I have finally found some things that tie together my Jemima Chamness daughter of William Chamness (b.1804 s.o. Micajah Chamness Sr)and William's wife Mary Bray (b.abt 1808 d.o. Henry Bray originally of Mammoth Cave, KY who migrated to Hendricks County, IN. The connection between Henry Buck, his son John M. Buck and Jemima Chanmess, Henry's wife is also mentioned. See the following three items. Edward B. Chamness, a prominent and influential citizen and leading attorney of Alexandria, Ind., has been identified from his earliest youth with the development of progressive interests of his present locality, and was born within the limits of the county, in Monroe Township, July 22, 1836. His father, William Chamness, a native of North Carolina, was born in 1804, and the paternal grandfather, Micajah Chamness, was likewise a native North Carolinian and the descendant of a family which, from the very earliest days of our country's history, dwelt in the old Tar State. A tradition relates that many years ago a lad, stolen from the London Bridge, was taken on an English vessel on the North Coast and, sailing across the Atlantic, upon reaching the shores of North Carolina, made his escape from the boat. He being young (about four years old), it is supposed he could not spell the name correctly, and used the name Chamness, for upon inquiry no such name was found in England. Be this version correct or not, the family founded in North Carolina have, generation after generation, won their upward way to positions of influence, and many of the men and women have attained wealth and social distinction. The early members of the Chamness family were attendants of the Friends Church. They were mainly small farmers, with energetic industry cultivating the fertile soil of the sunny south, and were known as useful, law-abiding citizens of sterling integrity of character and native ability and intelligence. In 1816, Micajah Chamness, with his family and accompanied by other families of the same name, his relatives and connections, emigrated to Indiana from North Carolina, and settled in Wayne County. Micajah Chamness was the father of three sons and eight daughters, all of whom attained a mature age and married and had homes and families of their own. The sons were John, William and Micajah, Jr. The eldest, John, was a prosperous farmer, and late in life retiring from his farm, resided in Jonesboro, Grant County, where he died at a good old age in 1876. Micajah, Jr., was a noted agriculturist and owned a valuable farm in West Alexandria, a part of which is in the city limits, his farm being valued at $1,000 per acre. Micajah, Sr., gave his family a liberal education. In 1830 he located in Madison County, building the first house in Monroe Township. Having considerable means, he then entered several sections of Government land, on a part of which the city was later built. He afterward sold out in this immediate locality and moved three and a-half miles northwest of Alexandria, there improving a farm on Lilly Creek. He resided on this homestead at the time of his death. His wife, in maidenhood Miss White, survived him more than thirty years, and passed away in 1876, at the age of ninety-six years. Other members of the Chamness family came to Indiana in 1816 and they and their descendants now residing in Wayne county are numbered among the respected pioneers of the state. William Chamness, the father of our subject, was in the early part of the present century united in marriage with Miss Mary Bray, known in later years to her many loving kins-people as "Aunt Polly." Born in Kentucky in 1808 she was of German and Scotch ancestry, and her father, Henry Bray, at one time operated a saltpetre manufactory, the first established at Mammoth Cave, Ky. Henry Bray finally removed to Hendricks County, Ind., his sons, John and Edward S., becoming well-to-do farmers. The former, removing to Arkansas, died there. The latter passed away in Morgan County, Ind. In 1833, William Chamness, his wife and four children, settled in Madison County, where the father entered a quarter section of land directly east of the present city of Alexandria, and proceeded to clear, cultivate and improve a homestead in the wilderness. He often killed deer within sight of his cabin, and in time owned one of the best stock farms in the county. In 1852, the father, selling this valuable property, removed to Grant County and, purchasing four hundred acres of land southeast of Jonesboro, resided there until his death in 1858. He had occupied with fidelity various positions of trust and served efficiently as Township Trustee. After his demise the mother made her home in Jonesboro, where she entered into rest in 1869, beloved by all who knew her. The parents were blessed by the birth of five children: Jemima, Martha, Eunice, Eli and Edward B., all born in Wayne or Henry County, with the exception of our subject, who now enjoys the distinction of being the oldest living native-born citizen of Monroe Township. His sisters all married and reared families of their own. Eli is a bachelor fifty-two years of age, a long-time resident of Indianapolis, but the last two years of his life were spent in Chicago, where he died in 1891. The father and mother reared their family up to habits of industrious thrift and inculcated them with sterling integrity, bringing them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The parents also gave their children the advantage of a good education. Our subject, Edward B., attended college at New Castle in 1849 and 1850, and in the spring of 1853 went to Marion, Grant County, to learn the trade of a printer in the Marion Journal office. Mr. Chamness later removed to Hartford City, where he entered into the publication of the Hartford City Register, being the first paper published in that locality. Upon October 21, 1856, Edward B. Chamness and Miss Clara K. Craw were united in marriage. In 1857 our subject made his home in Pana, Ill., and later removed to Jefferson City, Mo. In 1859 he returned to Grant County, and in 1860 engaged in the stove and tin business at Jonesboro with his brother, and learned the tinsmith trade. When the Civil War disturbed the land, Edward B. Chamness, leaving his business, home and family, enlisted in September, 1862, in Company I, One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry, and was Orderly-Sergeant of his company. He actively engaged in important battles: Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Jonesboro (Ga.), Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, the siege and fall of Atlanta, and many others, and at the end of three years faithful and courageous service, was discharged from the army at the close of the war. In 1883 he was granted a pension for disability brought on while in the service, and it was increased in 1885. Mr. Chamness conducted the stove and tin business in Alexandria for several years, and, being a man of studious habits and ambition, read law, not at first with the intention of adopting the legal profession. People, however, began to consult him on various matters connected with the practice of law, and, constantly asking his advice, finally induced him to try cases in the justice courts. This he did and his marked success decided him to resign business and enter the professional ranks which he now so ably adorns. He was admitted to the Bar, after due preparation, in 1886, and, since then, prospering as a lawyer, has served with ability as Assistant County Prosecutor. Politically, a lifetime Republican, and interested in local and national issues, our subject has, however, not aspired to political honors. An important factor in the building up of the City of Alexandria, Mr. Chamness has been financially prospered, and, a public-spirited citizen, was one of the first to encourage the sinking of a gas well, and his name was one of the first on the subscription list, giving $100 for that purpose. He is a stockholder in the Alexandria National Bank, and has been connected with the Alexandria mining and Exploring Company, the Alexandria Improvement Company and various building and loan associations, and, in fact, has been identified with the vital interests of Alexandria from its inception as a city. Our subject is fraternally associated with the Grand Army of the Republic, and was the first Commander of the post of Alexandria. He is also a leading member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has passed through the chairs, being District Deputy Grand Master of the state, and is likewise a member of the Rebeccas, as is his wife. The forefathers of the family were Friends in religious belief, but Mr. and Mrs. Chamness are ardent Spiritualists and intelligent observers of religious development. Unto the union of our subject and his estimable wife were born four children. The eldest, Arthur M., is a successful hardware merchant at Greenstown, Howard County, Ind. He married Miss Retta Kerr and is the father of two children. Laura M. Chamness, the eldest daughter of our subject, a charming and accomplished young lady, passed away deeply mourned at the age of twenty years. Alice C. married Eugene O. Clinton, and died in 1892, leaving two children. Annetta M. married Charles W. Churchill and lives in Alexandria, where Mr. Churchill is engaged in the tin business. Mr. Chamness, although but fifty-seven years old, and mentally and physically vigorous, has hair and beard white and glossy, inheriting from his mother's side a tendency to become gray in very early youth. A courteous gentleman, of kindly manners, and recognized as a leading legal luminary of Madison County, he is widely respected, and he and his excellent wife, occupying a high position of social influence to Alexandria, together enjoy the fruition of lives of earnest purpose crowned with prosperous content. - from "Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, 1893 AND Obit: ... In the Evening News, 23 March 1908..."Judge Chamness Dead".. J. M. Buck received message of death today. J. M. Buck today received a telegram notifying him of the death of his uncle, Judge E. B. Chamness, who passed away Sunday evening at St. Petersburg, FL, at which place the Buck family spent part of this past winter. Judge Chamness was aged seventy-one and was a former city judge at Alexandria. He leaves a son and one daughter, who were with him when he passed away. Three weeks ago Sunday Judge Chamness was stricken with paralysis and became totally helpless. The body will be returned to Alexandria for burial and will arrive there Wednesday evening. The time of the funeral which the Buck family will attend is not yet known. Judge Chamness had visited this city a number of times and had many friends here.. (J. M. Buck was the son of Henry Buck who at one time was m. to Jemima Chamness, sister of Wm. Chamness.) AND FINALLY JOHN M. BUCK This prominent manufacturer and head of one of one of Bluffton's leading industrial enterprises is a native of Indiana, born at Alexandria, Madison county, on the 2d day of June, 1853. His father, Henry Buck, formerly a land owner and farmer of the above county, was of German descent, and the mother, whose maiden name was Jemima Chamness, comes from a long line of Quaker ancestors. For many years Henry Buck was not only one of the leading agriculturists of Madison county, but also achieved prominence as a local politician of the Republican party, having been one of the first men in his part of the state openly to avow and defend what was then the political heresy of abolitionism. He acquired some property, was twice married, and departed this life in the year 1867. His second wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch is still living (note: this biographical sketch was written in 1903). John M. Buck was the oldest of the children born to his father's second marriage. He was reared to maturity in close touch with nature and as a farm hand early learned by experience the true meaning of honest toil. His means for acquiring an education were such as a few months' attendance each year at the public schools afforded, consequently, he was not a learned man in the sense of the term as generally understood, although possessing a fund of valuable practical knowledge such as schools and colleges do not impart. Young Buck assisted in cultivating the home farm until his twenty-fourth year, when he started into the world for himself, first directing his attention to buying and selling lumber and later taking up the trade of wood turning. He started, in 1890, a small establishment of his own in the town of Geneva. He spent about five years at the above place, when he found it necessary to secure a more favorable location, consequently he moved his establishment to the city of Bluffton. Since moving to the latter place in 1895, Mr. Buck has built up an extensive business and, as stated in the initial paragraph, the enterprise has become on of the largest and most important of the city's industries. In addition to the plant at Bluffton, which gives employment to about twenty-five men and from three to five teams every working day of the year, he operates a branch factory at Auburn, this state, which, under his direction, has steadily increased its output and grown in public favor. Mr. Buck manufactures wooden tool handles. His weekly payroll at Bluffton alone will average about two hundred and fifty dollars, in addition to which he pays every week to the farmers in the vicinity who furnish him, very satisfactorily, with raw material the sum of four hundred dollars. Mr. Buck began manufacturing in a very small way and the large measure of success which has attended him is due entirely to his own energy, superior management and wise business foresight. At the outset, he encountered many difficulties and numerous obstacles calculated to impede and discourage, but with an inborn determination which hesitated at none of these impediments to his progress, he persevered, gradually removing everything in his pathway and gaining favor until he found himself upon a well established basis which made ultimate success a certainty. That he has achieved his aim is abundantly attested by the place his plant occupies among the industries of Bluffton, in the business circles of the city and throughout the state. The constantly increasing demands for his products necessitates the running of his several establishments at their full capacity, and , judging by present prospects, their enlargement or the building of additional plants is only a matter of time. Few men in Wells county stand higher in the esteem of their fellow citizens than Mr. Buck and none have better records for energy, honesty and sterling integrity. He is a man of actions rather than words, attends strictly to his own affairs, at the same time being not unmindful of the duty which every citizen owes to the public. He is essentially a business man and as such ranks with the most enterprising and progressive of his contemporaries, deserving of great credit for what he has done for this city in the way of giving employment to labor and providing a good market for the farmers with timber to dispose of. Mr. Buck supports the Republican party, but aside from voting for the regular nominees, takes little interest in political matters, having no ambition to gratify in the way of public distinction or official honors. He owns a beautiful and attractive home on the corner of Wabash and Market streets, where he welcomes and entertains his friends with a genuine hospitality. Mr. Buck was married in 1880 to Miss Caroline Pugh of Alexandria, Madison county, this state, a union blessed with three children: Roland C., the eldest, was born on the 20th day of June 1881, served with Company M, Twenty-eighth Regiment, United States Infantry, in the Philippines, and was shot and killed from ambush by native robbers on July 13, 1902; Clyde, the second of the family, was born December 7, 1883; Alline, the youngest, is a student in the Bluffton high school. Mrs. Buck is a member of the Methodist church and well known in the best social circles of the city. While not identified with any religious organization himself, Mr. Buck believes in the church as a great moral force among men and is liberal in his contributions to its support. Taken from pages 334-335 of the Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana : embracing a comprehensive compendium of local biography, memoirs of representative men and women of the county whose works of merit have made their names imperishable, and special articles by Hugh Dougherty ... [et al.] Logansport, Ind. : B.F. Bowen, 1903. 597 p., [57] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 28 cm. I have a handwriiten letter from my grandmother describing the Buck family tradition that matches most of the above. I have transcribed it as follows...my notes are in braces { }: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Buck Family Martin {BUCK} came to Pennsylvania from Germany - a county is named for him {I personally doubt this} Buck Hill Falls? {This is in Monroe County, PA} He was a chairmaker - Moved to Rockingham Va - not far from the "Natural Bridge" {the Virginia Natural Bridge is actually in Rockbridge County, but that might have been Rockingham County at some time} which is seen on bus tours, etc. He owned slaves in Va - His three children who lived were - Mike - "Henry" - Polly. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Henry Buck - born June 1 - 1808 died 1867. He came to Madison Co - Ind - because he objected to slavery {note - biography of John M. Buck transcribed and online at Wells County GenWeb cites his early, stong opposition to slavery} - He married Martha Edwards and their children were Jane {Martha Jane} Buck - married Pete Noble - Ann - married John Castle - Daniel P - (Uncle Pea) who lived in Iowa and his children were Iona - Arla - Nora - Cora + Emma. Spencer was the oldest (Uncle Wash) { the 1850 census lists him just as Washington...no Spencer} + he married Mary Lee - children were Henry + Phronia Buck. Henry married Ida Kelly - Lee their only child - Phronia marrried E. Jones - Lola + Mary + Walter were their children. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- Henry Buck's wife {Martha Edwards} died - then he married Jemima Chamness (my grandmother) (she was a widow twice ere they married) Their children were - 1-John M Buck - June 2-1853-May-9-1909 (my father) 2-Lavinia Catherine - Aunt Vinie Ellsworth (Wm Ellsworth) 3-Clinto Buck (Elizabeth Worts) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ There is a Martin Buck listed on Page 139 in the 1810 Virginia Census in Rockingham County...that matches our family tradition. There is also a Martin Buck on Page 186 of the 1840 Indiana Census in Madison County. There is a Henry Buck on the preceding page (Page 185) of that same 1840 Indiana Census in Madison County. This too matches our family tradition.