Hello again from San Diego...I have been researching my ancestors, WILBURNS and allied families for the past ten years and thought that I would once again, post my findings....Beware...I realize that I have rambled extensively in this posting...And I am sure that only a very few and they would certainly have to be stout headed folks would even bother to try to decipher my intent...But here goes anyway... First of all, I wish to thank so many of the residents still living in Carter Co KY for providing me with kindess and assistance...It has been my pleasure to visit this part of the world on two occasions and I have loved each and every visit...which included looking up various Wilburn families and getting acquainted... As far as I can determine, there were four sets of Wilburn families that relocated to Carter KY between 1835 and 1853. And sometime later a Wilburn family relocated from (I believe Claiborne Co TN) and settled into Greenup Co KY, circa 1870, if not sooner...All Wilburns who settled into eastern KY, either Carter KY or Greenup shared ancestors and were brothers, sisters, Uncles, Aunts first, second or even third cousins... For the sake of research it would have been neat, if only two brothers arrived and stayed put and then left descendants...Alas, this was not to be the case...And it is easy to understand why Wilburn folks in eastern KY today, cannot make any connections to other Wilburn families living in their community... I still have not straightend out these lines to my satisfaction and doubt that I will ever be able to do so with conclusively...but it's challenging and fun to keep trying... In order to present the picture of Wilburn history as I found it to unfold, let me go back to Richard Wilburn who died in Highland Co OH in 1820. NOt long ago, I believed that ALL Wilburns with roots in eastern KY descended from him...Now I am not so sure...my premise is a bit more shakey... This much I do know...Richard Wilburn was over a hundred when he died and he had two sons..Robert (b. circa 1780) and Lewis Wilburn (b. circa 1770) who settled into Carter KY sometime around 1835....There was also a J F Wilburn in Carter KY in 1838 who performed a marriage and he later went to Morgan Co KY...And there was a Jesse Wilburn who appeared in 1841 on Carter KY tax records...So as you can see, the plot thickens very early on... Just who begot whom...remains sometimes in question...RE: my own direct Wilburn ancestors... Lewis Wilburn (Sr.) arrived in Carter KY, via a flatboat...I am told handcrafted...bringing with him, his wife, grown sons and their children...along with a cat, dogs and one horse...Oral history claims that they built their flatboot in Wheeling WV and came down the OHIO River, and then on to the Little Sandy and crossed over above Ashland and then trekked into Carter KY which was then Greenup. Lewis had at least two sons who lived in Carter KY...Lewis Jr (b. 1802) and a younger son named Rueben..(b. 1808) in either TN or NC...census records claim both states...Lewis Sr. eventually moved on with his youngest son Rueben and his wife Sarah Burchett and their children, this time settling into Knox Co KY...and can be found living there in the 1850 Knox Ky census records...It is assumed that Lewis Sr. died before 1860.... Lewis Sr. also had at least fifty grandchildren, if not more...but if would appear that no more than 10 of his grandchildren lived out their lives in Carter KY....Those that did include grandson Ruben Wilburn who was married to Celia James and left her a widow with five minor children when he died from a fever in 1860 in Carter KY...Many of their descendants live in Carter KY today. (Rueben was the son of Lewis Jr. and his wife Elizabeth Fitzpatrick Wilburn)...my 2nd great grandparents... Lewis Jr. also had a daughter Mariah who married Robert Wilburn...Mariah died circa 1855 leaving five minor children...one also named Rueben and he lived with the William Stewart family until his marriage to Mary Watson in Carter KY...Another son was named Logan..his where-abouts is unk... When the Civil War errupted, Lewis Jr and his wife and two younger sons, Harvey and Nelson Wilburn, along with Henry Whitt who was less than ten years old, relocated to Harrison Co IN...today I still have first cousins living in Harrison Co IN... Harvey returned to Carter KY and appears in the 1900 census records..He married Mahalia McAdams in Harrison Co IN. an the couple had ten children...A few who settled into Witcha KS and some descendants live there still... In all my direct ancestors lived in Carter KY around 30 years before moving on during the Civil War... But there were many other Wilburn families living in Carter KY and many of their descendants live there today...And since I have made it my mission to learn as much about my Wilburn ancestors, direct or otherwise, as possible, I am including some additonal information about kin of my kin... And in particular with address those Wilburns who settled into Claiborne Co TN...before moving on again... As best as I can determine, my Wilburn ancestors (please note, I am including all Wilburns and not just my direct line here) arrived in eastern TN circa 1808...(land records in 1808 from Hawkins Co TN show Stephen Wilburn and James Wilburn both as residents in that county... I suspect that James and Stephen Wilburn were brothers...(1850 Hancock TN census records show Stephen Wilburn b. 1766 in VA)..No other record for James appears after 1808... What can be proved is this...(Highland OH court pleas 1805-1850) Richard Wilburn who died in Highland OH in 1820 and was over a hundred at the time of his death, was the father of the following sons then still alive in 1838. Stephen Wilburn b. 1766 in Claiborne Co TN in 1838 Lewis Wilburn....b. circa 1770 m Unk in Carter kY in 1838 Robert Wilburn....b. circa 1780.... m 1. Manerva Williams. 2 Priscilla Gullihue (a widow) in carter KY in 1838 William Wilburn b. circa 1760 lived in Giles, VA..m Eda Guttery in Giles, VA in 1838. and in 1838... two grandsons..Randolph wilburn (b. 1801 in VA and Russell Wilburn b 1814 in VA were residents of Pike Co OH. Other records indicate that Richard had additional sons and daughters.. Elizabeth Richard ......Rev War vet from Amherst, VA...lived in Giles, Co VA... Thomas .....Rev War bet from Amhest VA Richard was in his sixties when he last known son was born...Robert Wilburn.... remarried while in his ninties...hence, the law suit that was filed in Highland OH in 1838...against his much younger widow's estate... So it is probable that Richard Wilburn had children whose ages were separated by a generation and perhaps even two generations...I suspect that one of his wives was a HUGHES...I am convinced of this...but lack hard proof...At any event, it seems likely that all WILBURNS with roots in eastern TN descend from Richard Wilburn....For there can be do doubt that he did his best to populate the frontier with Wilburns... Unfortunately, there are many missing Wilburn links...just who begot whom is often a matter of guess work, based upon location and availability... This much I have surmised...with suporting threads of evidence to make a case... Lewis Wilburn and his brother, Stephen Wilburn were both living in Claiborne Co TN before 1819...(Lewis Wilburn is my 3rd g g f) and court records in 1891 show him serving on jury duty and also working on road clearing over the Clinch and beyond....later was promoted in charge of project... Info about Stephen Wilburn (b. 1766 ) and his descendants... Stephen left Hawkins Co TN and settled with his wife and growing family in Giles, Co VA...Indeed, Stephen appears on 1820 census records in Giles, VA....Keep in mind, that his brothers, Robert and William were also living in Giles, VA at that same time...(1820) But return to eastern TN, Stephen did...And by 1830, if not sooner, he and his wife Mourning Walling Wilburn were residents of Claiborne Co TN... Mourning was the daughter of Joseph Walling...kin to Elisha Walling of the Long Hunter fame...and in fact, the Wallers/Wallings were frontier leaders in TN and also Lee Co VA and recognized for this..Waller River is one example that carried this surname... Stephen Wilburn outlived his wife in spite of the 21 years difference in their ages...and it is possible that Stephen had children by a previous wife before his marriage to Mourning...But what has been perserved is a Family bible in the possession of William Yates who is currnetly a resident of MT.and himself a genealogist...including his own publication... This Bible shows the names and birthdates of all ten children of Stephen and Mourning Walling Wilburn...The oldest is James...b. 1803 and the youngest is Claiborne Wilburn b. 1821...one other son was named Steven and he was born in 1817 along with a twin sister... One daugter Elizabeth Jane Wilburn m David Hughes, son of David Hughes of Giles, VA..and some kind of kin to the Wilburns prior to this marriage...David Hughes and his family can be found in the 1850 census of either Claibone or Hancock...TN....would have to check my notes.. Elizabeth Jane Wilburn Hughes later died in Shelby Co IN. Other descendants settled in MO...and the family Bible went to MO also... Millicent Wilburn...another daughter of Stephen and Mourning Wilburn is believed to be the Mila who married Lewis Wilburn (b. 1805 in VA)... There has understandably been much confusion over the years as researchers try to determine the various Lewis Wilburns all running over hill and dale in eastern TN.... But there can be no mistake that the Lewis Wilburn who married Mila was NOT a son of Stephen Wilburn, nor was he the son of Stephen Wilburn's brother Lewis Wilburn...who also had a son named Lewis (b. 1802) in NC or TN...four census records show both states two times each.) Instead, Lewis Wilburn who married Mila has a father who remains unknown... But Lewis Wilburn (b. 1802) m Elizabeth Fitzpatrick...and this couple are my 2nd great grandparents...who lived into their eighties and also lived in the same household as did my grandfather, John thomas wilburn (1875-1947) when he was growing up.... Let me try to sort out before I get folks hopelessly lost with my ramblings... By 1830, the oldest two Wilburns living in Claiborne Co TN were: 1. Stephen Wilburn and his wife Mouring Walling..and family 2. Lewis Wilburn and his wife..(unk) with no children at home... Living as immediate neighbors to the older Lewis Wilburn and his wife were: Lewis Wilburn Jr. b. 1802 and his wife Eliz Fitzpatrick and five children...two daughters and three sons... And James Wilburn b. 1799 and his wife Eliz and their eight children... And Richard Wilburn b. circa 1803 and his wife and their eight children... Please note.. Stephen and his wife live in another district....and surrounded by no sons living on their own...at least not according to 1830 census records... but there was a James Wilburn in 1830 living in Hawkins Co TN with his family and children...Born about 1800...My hunch is that this James is a son of Stephen Wilburn and Mouring Walling...since Mournings people were in Hawkins TN and coupled with the fact that Stepehen also lived there... Now some tidbits about Lewis Wilburn SR... He was b. in VA (according to census records) By 1800, he was living in Wilkes, Co NC...He had five children at that time...all five years and under..three sons and two daughters...And he and his wife must have married young... By 1819, if not sooner, Lewis was living in Claiborne Co TN...On Dec 27, 1827, Lewis Wilburn (Welborn) was arrested by Sheriff Chrutchfield and changed with murder of a man named Hinton who before his untimely death, was a resident in Wilkes Co NC....In Jan of 1828, Lewis Wilburn sold off some of his land to James Wilburn...(court land records)...and so to this day, I have no idea if the Lewis Wilburn who was apprended and charged with murder is my direct ancestor or instead a kinsman of the same name...the outcome of this murder charge has never been uncovered...at least, not by me... By 1835, Lewis Wilburn Sr. his sons, Ruben and Lewis Jr. left Claiborne Co TN and settled into Carter Co KY....leaving behind at least one son...James Wilburn and possibly his son Richard Wilburn...Richard seemed to have disappeared and a study of records would indicate that he died and that Elizabeth Wilburn who later appears in 1840 and 1850 Hancock Tn census records is his widow...but this is merely guess work...and in fact, much of my research findings are not conclusive...Alas...too many old records have gone missing... But one thing is certain...Lewis Sr. and Stephen Wilburn are NOT the parents of all Wilburns with roots in eastern TN....looks like other Wilburn needs to step up and take some responsibility here...By that I mean, it appears that another Wilburn of the same generation left descendants behind in this part of the world..(ie. Lewis Wilburn m to Mila for starters)... by 1850...only one Wilburn family appears in Claiborne Co TN census records....Lewis Wilburn (b. 1825) and his wife Jane...Instead, eight Wilburn familes including two single mothers with many children were living in Hancock Co TN... by 1860...some of these families had settled into Campbelll Co TN... And one more tidbit...the Wilburns in Lee Co VA...were kin in some fashion to the eastern TN Wilburns... Now here are some of the allied family surnames that over generations, Wilburns in eastern TN married.. I will just name a few...for now... !. Bray 2. Seals 3. Carroll 4. Gullihue 5. Dunn 6. King 7. Roe 8. Easley 9. Goins 10. martin 11 Gentry 12. Gilbert 13. Mitchell 14 Walling/Waller 15 Grimes And that's it for now...As always I remain dedicated to learning more about these Wilburn ancestors of mine and also allied families...It I can be of any assistance, please let me know. Thanks, Vikky Wilburn Anders ==== TNCLAIBO Mailing List ==== Please remember....NO FLAMES, JOKES, POLITICS, ATTACHMENTS, etc., should be posted to the list. We are here strictly for exchanging information and genealogy research on our folks from Claiborne County.