Shannon Researchers, John Shannon and Sarah Reid of Lancaster Co. PA had a daughter Agnes (sometimes known as Nancy). Dedman and Craig both list Agnes as living from ca. 1744 to 1841, however Dedman listed her as married to a John Reid while Craig listed her as married to James Roberts, a view followed by Dexter Shannon. While Dexter Shannon included some information on the descendants of Agnes provided by my Lincoln Co. MO cousins, this line of the Shannon remains little studied. I have accumulated a little additional material, beyond that provided by Dexter Shannon and have reproduced it below. As always, I would appreciate any additional information or insights that others might add. Russ Reid Louisville, KY ===================== Descendants of James Roberts and Agnes or Nancy Shannon Generation One 1. James Roberts married Agnes or Nancy Shannon, daughter of John Shannon and Sarah Reid. He was buried at Shannon Cemetery, near Shelbyville, Shelby Co., Kentucky. On March 13, 1787, James Roberts purchased, from William Shannon, 200 acres out of a 1000 acre tract on Clear Creek in what was then Jefferson County, Virginia, . This location is now in Shelby County, Kentucky. William Shannon, brother of Agnes Shannon, was, perhaps, the largest landholder in Shelby when it was formed in 1792. The land bordered on a 500 acre tract of Agnes and William's brother, Samuel Shannon, one of the witnesses to the transaction, and father-in-law to John James Roberts. Ed Roberts, who has researched the early records of the Roberts family, is of the opinion that this was the James Roberts who, along with William Shannon, served in George Rogers Clark's Illinois Regiment. He proposes that James was the son of Benjamin Rogers, also of the Illinois Regiment, and Ann Duncan. "I'll state here who I think this James is. James Roberts b. Culpepper Co., VA son of Benjamin Roberts who was the son of John Roberts b before 1705 in Spotsylvania Co., VA (are now Culpepper) who was the son of John Roberts (John of Spots) who d. 1724 in that part of Spotsylvania Co., Va which is now in Culpepper. It is believed that this James d. before 1802 as he is not mentioned in the deed of gift from his father Benjamin in March 1802. He is named in the power of attorney given by his father Benjamin to Joseph Calvitt regarding the legacy of his grandfather, William Duncan, dated February 28, 1786 - See Nelson Co., Ky Deed Book I, pages 21 and 22." "That's the only James around that early. There were at least two and maybe three Benjamin Roberts in Geo. Rogers Clarks' Illinois Brigade. The Benjamin who is the father of James was a Sgt. in Capt. Mark Thomas' Company from 11/13/1779 to 11/3/1781 and then in Capt. Charles Polk's Company from 10/19/1782 to 11/25/1782. He is entered on the roll of Mark Thomas company as "Sgt. Benjamin Roberts, Sen." 11/23/1779 when a Culpepper resident. Three days later he and his wife Ann Duncan sold their land in Culpepper Co." (Ed Roberts, E-Mail message of 21 Sept. 1999). Agnes or Nancy Shannon is said to have been born in April 1744 or 1754 in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. She died on 13 February 1841 at Shelby Co., Kentucky, at age 96. She was buried at Shannon Cemetery, near Shelbyville, Shelby Co., Kentucky. Genealogies of the Shannon family variously claim that Agnes or Nancy Shannon, the daughter of John Shannon and Sarah Reid, was married either to John Reid son of the John Reid who left a will in Lancaster County Pennsylvania in 1752, or to a James Roberts. Descendants in Lincoln County, Missouri were of the opinion that she was the mother of Elizabeth, the first wife of Samuel Reid (son of James and Annes Reid). I have not been able to confirm a marriage between Agnes Shannon and John Reid, but it appears that Agnes was, at least later, married to a Mr. Roberts. The marriage bond of Elizabeth to Samuel Reid lists the bride as Elizabeth "Roberts" and lists her mother as Agnes Roberts. One of the daughters of Samuel and Elizabeth was called Sally Roberts Reid. The possibility remains that Agnes or Nancy Shannon was first married to John Reid son of John Reid of the 1752 will. An Agnes Roberts, but not James, appears on the first Tax List (1792-95) of Shelby County, with 200 acres on Roberts Run. This may be the same land that was purchased in 1787 by James Roberts from William Shannon, a brother of Agnes Shannon Roberts. The presence of the name Agnes Roberts but not James Roberts on both her daughter's 1806 marriage bond and on the early Shelby Co. Tax Roll, may suggest that James died sometime between 1787 and 1795. An Agnes Shannon is buried in the Shannon Cemetery in Shelby County, Kentucky (April 1774 - Feb. 13, 1841) next to the grave of James Roberts. His tomb stone is broken and reveals no dates. Shannon genealogies give a birth date of either 1744 or 1754 (not 1774) and a death date of 1841 for Agnes Shannon Roberts. If this is the grave of Agnes Shannon Roberts, then the published birth date for the tomb stone must be in error, for it would make her too young to be the mother of Elizabeth and to be the daughter of John Shannon. I suspect that this is the grave of Agnes, daughter of John Shannon and Sarah Reid, but that the published birth year on the tomb stone is in error. The two known children of James Roberts and Agnes or Nancy Shannon were as follows: + 2. i. Elizabeth, born 14 October 1784; married Samuel Reid. + 3. ii. Capt. John James, born circa 1788; Marr bond Sarah Shannon. Generation Two 2. Elizabeth Roberts (James) was born on 14 October 1784. A published cemetery list erroneously places the date 30 years earlier. She married Samuel Reid, son of James Reid and Annes Reid, on 24 September 1806 at Shelby Co., Kentucky. Marriage bond identified Elizabeth Roberts as the daughter of Mrs. Agnes Roberts. Bond was provided by Alexander Reid. This would be Samuel's brother. A marriage bond for this couple was also found in Garrard Co. KY. She died on 26 March 1820 at Warren Co., Kentucky, at age 35. She was buried at Reid & Shannon Graveyard, near Pleasant Hill, Warren Co., Kentucky. She and Samuel Reid lived in 1816 at Orange Co., IN. On this date Samuel and Elizabeth Reid of Orange Co. Indiana granted to John J. Roberts their interest in the property of James Roberts. Samuel Reid was born on 7 March 1780 at Virginia. He married Jane Gott, daughter of Cornelius Gott, on 18 February 1822 at Warren Co., Kentucky. Their marriage was performed by D.H. Phellips. A list of birth dates titled "The Ages of Samuel Reid's Family Sept. 1835," listing Samuel Reid, his wives Elizabeth (Roberts) Reid and Jane (Gott) Reid, and their children, was found in the Family Bible of Samuel's brother Alexander Reid, and is now in the possession of Russell M. Reid of Louisville KY. Samuel Reid appears on the first Tax Roll (1792-95) of Shelby County KY, along with his father or brother James Reid and his brother Alexander Reid. By 1816 Samuel and Elizabeth were residents of Orange Co. Indiana. It is possible that they later relocated to Warren County Kentucky with his parents, because it is there that his first wife, Elizabeth, was buried. It was also in Warren County that Samuel then married Jane Gott. In 1830 Samuel received a land grant in Sangamon County, Illinois. At about the same time, his brother Alexander moved from Shelby County to Lincoln County Missouri. Two of Alexander's sons, David Reid and Thomas Shannon Reid, would later marry two of Samuel's daughters, Sally Roberts Reid and Adaline Montgomery Reid. In August of 1852, David Reid and several other relatives from Lincoln County, Missouri, stopped in Springfield, Illinois on a trip to Kentucky. In a letter written from there to his brother Thomas Shannon Reid, Dave mentions that they have "all gon out to Sam's again." That letter is my last trace of Samuel Reid. The six known children of Elizabeth Roberts and Samuel Reid all born at Warren Co., Kentucky, were as follows: 4. i. James was born on 26 October 1807. He died on 17 March 1820 at Warren Co., Kentucky, at age 12. He was buried at Reid & Shannon Graveyard, near Pleasant Hill, Warren Co., Kentucky. 5. ii. Nancy Ann was born on 21 February 1810. She died on 15 August 1824 at Warren Co., Kentucky, at age 14. She was buried at Reid & Shannon Graveyard, near Pleasant Hill, Warren Co., Kentucky. 6. iii. Eliza Jane was born on 7 February 1815. She died on 21 July 1824 at Warren Co., Kentucky, at age 9. 7. iv. Sally Roberts was born on 20 May 1817. She married David Reid, son of Alexander Reid and Jane Shannon, on 19 May 1836 at Lincoln Co., Missouri. She died on 7 August 1838 at Lincoln Co., Missouri, at age 21. 8. v. Samuel was born on 20 May 1817. 9. vi. David A was born on 11 April 1818. 3. Capt. John James Roberts (James) was born circa 1788. He and Sarah Shannon, daughter of Samuel Shannon and Martha Bracken, obtained a marriage bond on 26 January 1809 at Shelby Co., Kentucky. He died on 6 May 1821 at Shelby Co., Kentucky. He was buried at Shannon Cemetery, near Shelbyville, Shelby Co., Kentucky. The presumption that the parents of John James Roberts are James Roberts and Agnes Shannon comes from an 1816 Shelby Co., Kentucky deed (DB N, p 265) in which Samuel Reid and his wife Elizabeth (daughter of Agnes Shannon Roberts) granted to John J Roberts their interest in the property of James Roberts. Sarah Shannon was born on 11 April 1790. She died on 1 February 1875 at Shelby Co., Kentucky, at age 84. She was buried at Shannon Cemetery, near Shelbyville, Shelby Co., Kentucky. The three known children of Capt. John James Roberts and Sarah Shannon were as follows: 10. i. Samuel was born on 7 November 1809 at Shelby Co., Kentucky. He died on 29 November 1860 at Shelby Co., Kentucky, at age 51. He was buried at Shannon Cemetery, near Shelbyville, Shelby Co. 11. ii. Martha Agnes was born after 1809. She married her second cousin Arnon Wallace, son of William Wallace and Sarah Shannon, on 5 October 1835 at Shelby Co., Kentucky. 12. iii. William was born on 10 February 1812 at Shelby Co., Kentucky. He died on 15 August 1835 at Shelby Co., Kentucky, at age 23. He was buried at Shannon Cemetery, near Shelbyville, Shelby Co., Kentucky. Printed on: 14 Nov 1999 Prepared by: Russell M. Reid 206 Sequoya Rd. Louisville, KY 40207 [email protected]