A few years ago I was asked if I knew anything about a Jesse B Baxter, born c1817 in Barren (Monroe) county. I didn't, so I started a study of early Monroe Co Baxters. It all goes back to Francis Baxter. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence relating to Francis, and over a period of years I have sorted things out and have a scenario that probably is very close to the truth. I have a list of facts compiled in a document on my webpage: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/files/baxter/FrancisBaxter.txt My comments below are based on this document. Francis Baxter (with wife Mary) came to Monroe(Barren) Co around 1803. I have no facts prior to that time. He had both adult and minor children when he reached Monroe Co. The Mill Creek Church minutes identifies a son James and daughter Sarah who joined the the church in 1803 and 1804. A daughter Priscilla Baxter married Thomas White in 1806 and James married Jane Hestand in 1807. There were other children living with Francis and Mary, but I am certain that there were no other Baxter families in the area. About 1808 Francis left Monroe(Barren) Co and went to Henry Co, KY. I have not discovered the reason for doing this. James went with his father but Priscilla and Thomas White remained in Monroe Co. They were still there in 1840. I am almost certain that Francis Baxter and family were the only Baxters in Henry Co at this time. In 1809 in Henry Co Francis's son Jesse Baxter married Jemima Fulson and Francis's daughter Polly married Henry Hook. Thus at this time the known children of Francis and Mary Baxter are James, Jesse, Sarah, Priscilla and Polly. The 1810 Henry census shows Francis, James and Jesse Baxter. Another son is identified by an 1816 marriage record in Henry Co, John C Baxter to Elizabeth Hestand, sister of Jane Hestand who married James Baxter. This clan was still in Henry Co in 1820 and the census showed 5 Baxter families living adjacent to each other. Francis James Jesse John William William is undoubtedly a 4th son. I now lose track of James and William, but Jesse and John returned to Monroe Co about 1823. I think Francis died in Henry Co about this time. We find Jesse and John in the property tax records of Monroe Co starting about 1823. Both of them (and their families) took membership in the Pleasant Run Church (southeast Monroe Co). The church records indicated that Jesse died. Indeed, Jesse's last tax record is 1827, with Jemima (his wife) listed as head of household for 1828 ane 1829. In 1829 Jemima leaves the Pleasant Run Church and joins the Mill Creek Church. After this I can't find Jemima. My guess is that she remarried and stayed in Monroe Co. John C and Elizabeth Baxter left the Pleasant Run Church in 1828 and returned to Henry Co, where John is listed in the 1830 census. They returned to Monroe Co a few years later, and joined Mill Creek Church in 1836. I am confident that the families of Jesse and John Baxter were the only Baxters in Monroe Co starting in 1823 and continuing into the 1850s. I have worked out the details of John Baxter's family pretty well but Jesse's early death makes it hard to deal with his family. However, there are several thinks to say about the children of Jesse and Jemima. Abraham S Hestand married an Eliza Baxter (b 1811) in Monroe Co about 1828. Eliza was not a daughter of John C Baxter (didn't marry until 1816) so she obviously had to be the daughter of Jesse and Jemima. Indeed, in the 1820 Henry Co census record for Jesse, we find a daughter of the same age group as Eliza. Now we come to Jesse B Baxter. He is not John's son. The census records for John in 1820 and 1830 show exactly two sons in the 1815-1820 birth period. These are Henry and William. So by a process of elimination Jesse B Baxter belongs to Jesse and Jemima Baxter. There is a place for him in the 1820 census record for Jesse. However, there is more. In 1840 we find young Jesse Baxter living alone in the Monroe Co census. This is obviously Jesse B. But who is living next door to Jesse? None other than Abraham S Hestand, husband of Jesse and Jemima's daughter Eliza. It is quite possible that Abraham Hestand had taken in 10 year old Jesse B when his father died in 1827, so this would account for the location of Jesse in 1840. It also could be the case that Jesse was living near his sister and working on their place. In any case I am 99.9% certain that Jesse B Baxter is the son of Jesse and Jemima and the grandson of Francis and Mary Baxter. I have done a lot of work on John C Baxter. See http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/files/baxter/JohnCBaxter.txt ====================================================================== Doug Moore -- |==================================================================| | J.Douglas Moore Mathematics.. http://math.asu.edu/~moore/home | | [email protected] Genealogy.... http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore | |==================================================================| | Emeritus Prof ... School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences| |==================================================================| | PO Box 1804 Math Office: (480)965-3951 HOME: | | Arizona St. U. Fax: (480)965-8119 5223 E Tamblo Dr | | Tempe,AZ 85287 Home: (480)893-1144 Phoenix,AZ 85044 | |==================================================================| | Tempe Symphony Orchestra.. http://www.tempe.gov/arts/events/TSO/ | |==================================================================| | "An empty vessel makes the most noise." 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