Barbara, In your postings on Thursday, you mentioned the Tinkling Springs in Augusta County VA. In our Spence-Bluford mailing list group, we have worked on the history of Tinkling Springs. The original church (Presbyterian) was known as the Tinkling Springs Meeting House. It was also the site of Fort Defiance, and the site is now known as the Old Stone Church on Rt 11 at Verona, VA, near Staunton. This area was originally a part of Orange Co. VA, before becoming Augusta County. The area was settled about 1740. The reason the Spence-Bluford group was researching the area is because we have a Jane Bluford who married a James Spence and resided in Augusta County. One of their sons, William Spence married Mary Anderson on 5-26-1792 there in the Old Stone Church. The Anderson family were one of the first settlers of the region. Another son of James & Jane Bluford Spence, namely James, married Jane Palmer before 1790. The Palmers were also one of the first families, getting land in 1740, and Jane Palmer's father William Palmer was living there in 1744. One Thomas Spence was serving as a Colonial Soldier under Capt. Ephraim Love, there in Augusta County in 1758. We think possibly this Thomas Spence was the father of James Spence born ca. 1748, who married Jane Bluford. The early Augusta records also yielded a Absolom Spence mentioned in 1760. Another William Spence was bound out to Sampson Matthews in 1760. So, that is where our group is stumped. I thought it might be a connection to the other families that you ran across, who originated around Tinkling Springs....... Hoping ! We do not know if these early Augusta Spence families came from the Westmoreland line, the Southampton line, or were recent immigrants to the area. Any help appreciated... Thanks, Carolyn Spence Listowner: Spence-Bluford group

Hi folks! Since I've noticed no activity, thought I'd pop on just to say "Hi!" .... I enjoyed St. Patrick's Day...had a few green beers. Meet some gals by the name of LeMaster (of French Descent), thus Carolyn...I meet me some French Broads! Top of the Day to ya.... Jim James F. Carver 610 Gay Street, Box 214 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662-0214 e-mail: heritage@zoomnet.net

Hey, Thanks for the link to the "simple" genealogy site ! I too get so tired of waiting for graphics to load. I want to get down to business when I'm looking. I still need a file on the Bluford line, if anyone has one ! I want to put up our Spence webpage on Rootsweb, with pages for Burwell, James, Moses. James Green, may I link to your webpage for the GA/SC Spences ? If we can get the webpage up, I think we stand a better chance of finding new cousins ! Jan Robertson: You got a copy of the message from Sharon Seaver also ? Will you answer her ? I think she is missing Isham and Nancy. Invite her to join the group...... Gotta run, Carolyn

Gang, While sitting here this Sunday afternoon with no new revelations on our Spence families, I reread an article by Fred Hughes of High Point NC concerning the Surry county NC neighbors of one Thomas Spence. Those new to the group, understand that I am grasping at any shadow of the lives of a Spence ! Since I have found the depositions online of Peter Spence and David Spence in TN to which they had moved, I thought it a good time to share what the William Ridge court case was all about. This case clogged up the court system for almost 20 years in Surry and surrounding counties. The following article was written by Fred Hughes on his Surry County Historical map. Fred was a cartographer and completed several counties of NC before his death. He went through the deeds in each courthouse and charted the approximate location of the settlers homesteads. A WIDOW , A THIEF, AND A QUAKER Quakers are noted for their quiet manner, plain speech and dress and hatred of war. There is something astonishing in the thought that one would deliberately use violence. Yet, it happened, repeatedly. Anger that has been raised to righteous wrath is wonderous to behold. William Ridge died in 1780 leaving his widow Winifred and six orphan children; Mary, Elizabeth, Sythe, William, Thomas and Winifred. Ridge had been an associate of David Allen (Ironworks) and left nine slaves, apparently workers in the ore beds or forges. In the eighteenth century, the courts took the responsibility for looking after orphans. In case of need, the courts would assign orphans to responsible adults to insure proper food, clothing, shelter and education. William Terrell Lewis was a Justice in Surry County and the case of the Ridge orphans came before him for proper disposition. Recognizing the potential of the situation, Lewis immediately converted three young female slaves to his own use. He claimed purchase- but did not pay for them. Winifred Ridge tried and tried to collect from Lewis, to no avail. She finally resorted to lawsuit- which Lewis promptly had thrown out of court. Every time Winifred tried to collect or recover, the court would retaliate by demanding an "accounting of the Estate of William Ridge, deceased." This kind of harassment went on for 4 years. Winifred had remarried, to Nathan Allen, and he too was being harassed by the court. Lewis had fabricated a charge of arson against the only witness to the fraudulent transaction, Thomas Ridge, brother of William. Lewis had the witness locked up in Morgan District jail. Arson was a hanging offense, so Thomas Ridge broke jail and fled to Virginia. He knew he could not survive in Lewis' court. Lewis promply declared Thomas Ridge an outlaw ! 12 August 1784- During one of her court fights Winifred Ridge sold her slaves "now in possession of William Terrell Lewis" to Jonathan Haines. Haines was taking her problems off her shoulders, he thought. When Haines tried to collect or recover, a fist fight ensued. For the next 6 years he was in nearly every court on assault and battery charges. He fought with William Terrell Lewis, Joel Lewis, James Martin Lewis. Twice Haines would "submit" and pay his 25 shilling fine, but a couple of times he countersued. And every fight would trigger another demand by the court for Winifred to account for her dead husband's estate. 11 May 1786- "Mary Ridge and Elizabeth Ridge, orphans of William Ridge, deceased, chose William Cook and Jonathan Haines as their guardians: At the same time court assigned Cook and Haines as guardians to Sythe Ridge, William Ridge, Thomas Ridge and Winifred Ridge, orphans of the said deceased William Ridge." And the fights continued...... May 1786... with James Martin Lewis and William Terrell Lewis August 1786.... with William T. Lewis, Haines countersued. November 1786 with William T. Lewis and James Martin Lewis February 1787 with William T. Lewis May 1787... with James Martin Lewis Another problem came up ! Threats to Winifred- Feb. 14, 1788..... Ordered Jonathan Haines and William Cook take possession of Winifred's children and Winifred to appear in court and show cause why her children should not be bound out. Still another complication- May 15, 1788.... Job Cole, blacksmith, prosecuted Jonathan Haines for assault and battery. Cole had abused Jacon Mosby an orphan boy bound into his custody. Jonathan Haines had whipped Cole. Haines was exonerated. Jacob Mosby was removed from Cole's household and Cole was prosecuted. In 1790, the Assembly met in Fayetteville on November 1. William Cook and Jonathan Haines submitted a petition for removal of the Outlawry charge against Thomas Ridge. Within 6 weeks the Assembly acted, starting the process that solved Haines problems. Assembly minutes, Fayetteville, Monday December 13, 1790- "The Bill for the relief of Thomas Ridge was read for the 3rd time, passed and ordered engrossed." The false charge of Outlawry was lifted ! Another petition was presented for relief of Winifred, also approved. In August of 1791, William Terrell Lewis was brought to trial. He was ordered to pay 150 pounds comensation to William Cook and Jonathan Haines, guardians of the Ridge orphans. Haines and Cook sold to William Ridge and Thomas Ridge, for this 150 pounds, " 200 acres, south of the Yadkin River, opposite the mouth of the Mitchell River." Deed records show that William Cook paid 200 pounds for this land, 50 pounds more than he charged the orphans ! Jonathan Haines was so impressed by the actions of the Assembly, that he ran for and was elected Assemblyman 1791-92 and 1792-93. END OF TRANSCRIPTION For what it is worth, this gives us a clue in how things were ! Let's not forget that Thomas and David Spence ( whoever they were) were moving and shaking with William Terrell Lewis ! Whether it was out of friendship or fear, I do not know. I do know that the hostilities didn't end in 1791. William Terrell Lewis died in Davidson County TN in 1802, and the year before in 1801 was when David Spence gave his deposition in Robertson County TN. Again, it was pending action between Jonathan Haines, plaintiff with William T. Lewis as the defendant. They say this was one of the biggest files that they have in the NC Archives ! David Spence's deposition is the one I referenced in an earlier post . In it, he seems to be trying to keep himself in a neutral corner. But he says he was in Surry County NC in 1780, which is what I have trouble understanding...... And leads me to question exactly who he was ........ If you delve further into the William Ridge case you will see that most of these depositions indicate that William Ridge was a Tory, and it goes into accusing the Ridge family and Combs families and others of murders and all sorts of activities. The other factions contended that William Terrell Lewis was the truly "bad" one, with his abuse of power in his position as Justice of the county. If you have time, check out all the depositions and get a fascinating study of what our ancestors of old, said and did ! They certainly had more to do than watch the chickens scratch ! HA HA <A HREF="www.mindspring.com/~baumbach/cody/tory/index.html">William Ridge Tory</A> click here to go the depositions Carolyn

Hi Folks.... Slow progress is being made regarding the military activity of WILLIAM SPENCE during the War of 1812 (Wm. of James Spence line). I think I've pinpointed William serving during the War of 1812 ...but before I state so I'm going to be researching, if I can, his Militia unit, and the possibility of receiving Bounty Land. "IF" my hunch is correct...I've possibly found the reason for his relocating from then Wythe Co., VA. to Tazewell Co. VA. ...free land from his brief military service. The game continues. (No Carolyn...William didn't leave Wythe Co. for Tazewell in a search for French Broads...) Jim James F. Carver 610 Gay Street, Box 214 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662-0214 e-mail: heritage@zoomnet.net

Dale, thanks for the post ! Bette and Dale both come out of the same Gardner/Spence line...... Hope you too are comparing notes ! Bette, I will send you those addresses ASAP..... Carolyn

Hi gang, Sorry about that I hit the wrong key. since I am starting over let me give some notes on Isham. Records at Independence,VA Show that Isham bought land from John Bolt, Feb. 1821, Book 4,Page 204: from Nathan Tompson & wife Jan 1834, Book 7, Page 3 CC. It was said he owned a squar mile of land here. He sold 117 acres to the second William Kemp for $300. Sold Eli Spence 50 acres for $130. Will Book 1 pages 203 & 204. This page on Isham and Nancy lists 4 children and the following footnote. (There may have been other children, Uncle FED thought there was a son William. Isham and Nancy lived just above Hugh's barn, futher up the ridge. There was once a spring up the hollow. As I said Iam decended from Nancy Spence Gardner and her husband Daniel A. Gardner. Their son William R Gardner married Mary Elizabeth Freemman. Their daughter Lula Married John A Atkins and are my paternal Grandparents. If anyone wants more info and I have it, I send it to you. Again sorry about the wrong key. Dale

Hi gang, Let tell you that my name is Richard Dale Atkins and I go by Dale. I am sure all of the following info, however, I will record it here. I am decended thru Isham and Nancy Redpath Spence thru their daughter daughter Nancy (Spence) Gardner. Nancy Spence Gardner spence Gardner married

Carolyn, Mary Anne and others: I must express my appreciation to everyone for helping me find what I cherish most....family! Your time and effort means so much to me and my daughter, Kristen. Our plans are to share copies of our collected info to all distant cousins we can find. It seems almost always there will be at least one member of each branch of family who will someday find meaning as we do in discovering our history and take heart in learning how our own ancestors survived and in some cases thrived throughout life's hardships. Starlit Blessings to all! Deborah Shelton Wood

Hello Gang, I want to thank some of you for your efforts. Jeff..... I appreciate the "nudge" on the Bell family. I should have remembered that ! The Bells are connected into the coastal NC Spence line. I don't have one yet, but the Randolph County Bell families connected with some of the Spences in Surry County, so that link to ours is still under investigation. I just found out that one of my g-grandfathers in another line (Hurd) married Minta Fain in Patrick County VA. Got anything on the Fains? Luanne, bless your heart ! Hope you are feeling better ! Thanks for the note about the bonds. Luanne found out that the bonds of guardianship in Augusta County were not microfilmed and are in the VA library at Richmond. LDS doesn't list a film on them either, so that is a trip one would have to make in person, and we all know what horrors await a researcher in Richmond.... Marilyn and Clyde..... thanks for the reply about getting DAR records. Mary Anne.... thanks for helping out with the Susannah Spence Reynolds line. Although we discovered that Deborah doesn't have Susannah, she and Patricia can connect on Asa Reynolds and work together on his line...... Deborah.... I was so sorry to hear that you lost all your pictures and research due to flooding ! Bless you dear.... Deborah is operating on memories of what she had before the flood, and trying to reconstruct..... Please don't hesitate to call on us if we can be of further help.... Dale, I will be mailing your printout tomorrow ! Dale descends through Isham & Nancy......and I have misplaced my note on which one of the children it was ! Eli, I think... Right, Dale ? Jean, thanks for sending me the census... I'm still working on that..... I want to compare several transcriptions before I post it here. I'm going to write to Louise Fowler and ask her to join us. I have tried and tried to figure out this David Spence who was in Surry Co. NC. The William Ridge, Tory site recently added the deposition of David Spence of Robertson Co. TN. I was excited ! In it David states that he knew the accused and plaintiffs in Surry Co. NC " in the time of the War" and he lived "little more than one mile from William Terrell Lewis". To me, that puts David in Surry County, long before the David from Pennsylvania came back to marry Mary Ann McElyea. So it does look like there were 2 David Spences in Surry Co. NC. ( One of which was most probably a brother to our Burwell) The deposition was taken in 1801 in Robertson Co. TN, which is also where the PA David moved to after he married Mary Ann. So.... are there 2 David's.... are they both in the same county of TN ???? The pieces will not fit ! I realized that David's deposition could have been a slight perjury ?..... He was defending his neighbor William T. Lewis, who also had moved to TN because charges were brought against him, for being too "greedy" with land. Meaning that Mr. Lewis had "his" ways of acquiring land in Surry Co. I'm probably confusing you... I'm sorry.... David Spence of Surry was a mover & shaker, along with Thomas Spence and Mr. Lewis. He signed, ( I think... the transcriptions did not say he signed by a mark ) his name on deeds and legal papers in Surry, yet from what I understand, he signed for his pay vouchers with an "X" in PA as late as 1783. The William Ridge incident began in 1781,and David is saying in the deposition that he was in Surry Co. in 1781...... ??? Yet, everyone says that the David Spence who lived in Robertson Co. TN was the Pennsylvania David Spence.... Did I miss something ? I did confirm that the 3rd David of Surry Co. NC, who came from Randolph (home sweet home) County NC, didn't move to Surry until after 1804. Or at least he married in Randolph County in 1804. Oh well, enough of that ! I need someone who has Family Tree Maker with the James & Jane line, to make me a copy of the Spence line on disc and mail it to me, so I can add the file to my computer, so I can upload it to James & Jane's webpage I am putting together. I have Burwell's finished with only the first 4 generations, because some of the grandchildren in the 5th generation are still with us. WHO WILL VOLUNTEER ??? Chief Mischief Maker, Carolyn

Sorry, I lost this cousin. :-) She had asked for the children of Ewell and Alice Maude Coleman Reynolds. Next time I promise to put the address in my names file. Anyway, I list five children for them. Dexter Buford Reynolds b ca 1912, m. Wythe Co. 1934 to Odessa Mabry. Ewell B. Reynolds Jr. b ca 1914, m 1936 to Edith Virginia Russell Mary Sue Reynolds, b 1916, m Wythe Co. Johnnie R. Stoots. Elizabeth Louise Reynolds, m 1938 Wythe Co. Gordon Brinkley Cline Katherine Virginia Reynolds, b ca 1920, m. Wythe Co. 1941 William Curtis Thompson.. Mary Anne SPENCETOP@aol.com wrote: > Deborah, > All right ! We made a connection and the dry spell seems to be over. > I've forwarded your message to the list, so all can see it. Maybe Mary Anne > and Patricia can jump in on this one.... I only have 3 children listed for > Susannah and Asa: Narcissus, Susannah and Mary Jane. Anyone know whether > Ewell Reynolds was Susannah Spence's son ? > > Carolyn

Sorry people, I am getting behind in my lookups and I had promised this lady Reynolds information. Too many snow days and keeping grand children.;-) Ewell B. Reynolds was the son of Asa B and Mary, "Polly" Bradner Spence. b 1882, d 1906, Ewell married 9-15-1906 to Alice Maude Coleman. I have 6 children for Asa and Susannah Spence Spence Reynolds. 1. Mary Jane b 1866, m James Jefferson Dalton. 2. Narcissis Pheobe, b 1867, m Sedgewick McPherson SPENCE 3. Martha Catherine, b 1871, m William Brack Coleman 4. Josephine b 1873, m Marion Martin 5. Virginia Susan, b 1875, m Giles Coleman 6. Alseberry b 7-1-1877, d 12-29-1879. I am showing ten 10(!) children with Polly as the mother. 1. Lydia b 1880, m John Gregory 2. Ewell B 3. James B. b 1884, m Annabell Odell 4. Alice Lee b 1886 m George Cabel Hurst 5. Stella b 1898 m James Suratt 6.Bethel m Belle Odel 7. Amelia m Robert Dalton 8. Malissa b 1896 m. Ernest Lindsey 9. Ruth Edith b 1899, m. Charles Lee Franklin 10. William R. Reynolds b 1888, d. 9-21-1890 I have more complete dates and some children for some of this family. Regards, Mary Anne SPENCETOP@aol.com wrote: > Deborah, > All right ! We made a connection and the dry spell seems to be over. > I've forwarded your message to the list, so all can see it. Maybe Mary Anne > and Patricia can jump in on this one.... I only have 3 children listed for > Susannah and Asa: Narcissus, Susannah and Mary Jane. Anyone know whether > Ewell Reynolds was Susannah Spence's son ? > > Carolyn

Gang, I didn't send Deborah's message. Her grandfather was Ewell Branson Reynolds, who was either a son of Asa Reynolds and Susannah Spence Spence ( HA) or Asa's 2nd wife. Does anyone know ? Carolyn

Deborah, All right ! We made a connection and the dry spell seems to be over. I've forwarded your message to the list, so all can see it. Maybe Mary Anne and Patricia can jump in on this one.... I only have 3 children listed for Susannah and Asa: Narcissus, Susannah and Mary Jane. Anyone know whether Ewell Reynolds was Susannah Spence's son ? Carolyn

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --part0_920091387_boundary Content-ID: <0_920091387@inet_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Amen.... --part0_920091387_boundary Content-ID: <0_920091387@inet_out.mail.rica.net.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: <5L20country@rica.net> Received: from rly-ya03.mx.aol.com (rly-ya03.mail.aol.com [172.18.144.195]) by air-ya02.mx.aol.com (v56.26) with SMTP; Fri, 26 Feb 1999 22:15:44 -0500 Received: from mx20.rmci.net (saturn.rmci.net [205.162.184.24]) by rly-ya03.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with SMTP id WAA17303 for <SPENCETOP@aol.com>; Fri, 26 Feb 1999 22:15:41 -0500 (EST) Received: (qmail 15569 invoked from network); 27 Feb 1999 03:15:42 -0000 Received: from har2-di56.rica.net (HELO default) (208.1.109.56) by mx20.rmci.net with SMTP; 27 Feb 1999 03:15:42 -0000 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990226221621.007c3960@rica.net> X-Sender: 5l20country@rica.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 22:16:21 -0200 To: Roys@cheerful.com From: Cora Sue Linton <5L20country@rica.net> Subject: HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH? In-Reply-To: <00ca01be6215$82675d40$4998d4cd@aandl> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH? I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone >From the beginning......to the end. He noted that first came her date of birth And spoke the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years. (l900 - l970) For that dash represents all the time That she spent alive on earth... And now only those who loved her Know what that little line is worth. For it matters not, how much we own; The cars...the house...the cash, What matters is how we live and love And how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard... Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left, That can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough To consider what's true and real, And always try to understand How other people feel. And be less quick to anger, And show appreciation more And love the people in our lives Like we've never loved before. If we treat each other with respect, And more often wear a smile... Remembering that this special dash Might only last a little while. So, when your eulogy's being read With your life's actions to rehash... Would you be proud of the things they say About how you spent your dash? --part0_920091387_boundary--

Cousins, During my computer storm, I did manage to maintain contact with 2 new cousins in Burwell's Bunch that I want to introduce. Patricia descends through Martha Reynolds Coleman, daughter of Susannah Spence and Asa Reynolds. Richard descends through---- guess who ? Isham & Nancy.... I was checking my records and we have more Isham & Nancy descendants than anyone else... Only John and I are in Lewis' line. Where are all the Spence's ???? Jim, if you locate any other French Broads, please let us know........ Since the list is rather quiet now, I hope some of you will welcome Patricia and Richard....... And Richard and Patricia can send us all a message by writing mail to SPENCE-BLUFORD-L@rootsweb.com Looking forward to hearing from you ! Carolyn Still lost in Windows manuals and driver configurations

Hi Folks, Back on 28 Jan I sent off for Pension records for ...William Spence 1772-1820+ for his possible service in the War of 1812. Received response from the National Archives today ...record response...just less than a month...was impressed. According to the National Archives....NO records exist for our William Spence...as far as Pension Records. I'm still working on getting any Military Records. Shake your family tree and watch the nuts fall. Jim James F. Carver 610 Gay Street, Box 214 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662-0214 e-mail: heritage@zoomnet.net

Hi Folks, What's up, everyone on vacation?? Am I the only person up my tree...sure seems like it! Carolyn...did you get the Boone data sent directly to you?? For those who research early Virginia, I've been doing so for years and in the late 1700s I've always seen references to a character called: "Lord Dunmore" ...finally realized this character was "John Murry", Virginia Governor..."Lord of Dunmore" ....dah...hey, I'm slowly catching on. Jim James F. Carver 610 Gay Street, Box 214 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662-0214 e-mail: heritage@zoomnet.net

Jim and everyone, I am in the land of computer woe ! Bought new laptop. Everything great..... until I installed my scanner. A free program included called Adobe Acrobat which came with the scanner Knocked out Win98 and everything...... Slowly piecing it back together... Still can't print........ AOL works......... Please pray for me, I need it ! Carolyn

Hi Folks ! Yes, I'm still alive and kicking...just been busy. Was doing other research when I came upon the following ...... Wythe Co., VA. Court Orders 14 Nov 1821 "HUGH SPENCE, a native of Ireland, declares his intention to become a US Citizen, and renounces his allegiance to George the Fourth, King of Great Britain and Ireland. " __________________ Wythe Co., VA. Court Orders 16 June 1830 " Michael Ketring granted a license to keep... ...A HOUSE OF PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT. " What does this have to do with Spence??? dah...nothing...makes one wonder what type of "entertainment" he was in charge of....??? Carolyn...could Michael have known any of those French Broads???? For your Information ............. ..."I looked into my family tree and found out I was a sap" ...... Jim James F. Carver 610 Gay Street, Box 214 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662-0214 e-mail: heritage@zoomnet.net