Yep, there are at least two of them, too…
So The Legal Genealogist was dismayed to learn that the John Baird of Wilson County, Tennessee, who is her 5th great grandfather isn’t the one who left all the cool probate records.
Sigh…
I mean, I’ve only been trying to identify the John who’s the father of my known fourth great grandfather Hiram Baird for roughly forever…
But hey… there was a clue in a deed that noted that John had a son Zebulon,1 and that should be a good clue, right?
I mean, how many Zebulon Bairds can there be in the first decades of the 1800s in Wilson County, Tennessee — a county that barely had 25,000 people by 1830?2
Sigh…
If I’m counting right, I think the answer is “at least two, maybe three, possibly even four…”
Sigh…
First, we have a Zebulon who’s the son of William Baird. This Zebulon can be identified from the 1824 partition deed of William Baird’s lands in Wilson County. It was split into eight pieces, with one piece going to each of eight named individuals: Thomas Baird, Margaret Baird, Sally Baird, Murphy Kemp, Elizabeth Baird, Matilda Baird, Zebulon Baird, and Absolan Smith.3
That son of William ended up in Morgan County, Illinois, by 1833, when he and a bunch of the other heirs of William ended up selling those pieces to one of the John Bairds 4— which John isn’t yet certain.
So this Zebulon can’t be Hiram’s brother Zebulon. For one thing, Hiram’s father is clearly proved to be one of the John Bairds by repeated deed references to land Hiram received from his father John.5 And this Zebulon was already in Morgan County, Illinois, by the time Hiram’s brother Zebulon went to court to prove Hiram’s signature on a deed in 1837.6
So… that’s at least two Zebulons.
And then there might be a third.
There are also early deeds naming a Zebulon Baird. One in 1806 where he and William Blackburn bought a tract of land on Cedar Lick Creek.7
But then there are two more — in 1808 and 1812 — by a William Baird as attorney in fact for Zebulon Baird Jr.8
Which means as of 1808 at least there were two adult Zebulon Bairds in the county who were being distinguished, one older and one younger. It isn’t at all clear whether Hiram’s brother is one of them — or whether there’s a third one out there.
And it’s not possible that either of the 1808 Zebulons was William’s son Zebulon, because he wasn’t born yet. He was just 10 years old in 1820 when William A. White was appointed his guardian after his father’s death.9
So… unless one of those early Zebulons was Hiram’s brother, there could be four of them.
In other words, not one Zebulon, at least two Zebulons, probably three… and maybe even four.
Sigh…
This is going to be a challenge…
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “Zufferin’ Zebulons!,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 2 Sep 2023).
SOURCES
- See Judy G. Russell, “The other John,” The Legal Genealogist, posted 26 Aug 2023 (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : accessed 2 Sep 2023). ↩
- See Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.com), “Wilson County, Tennessee,” rev. 6 June 2023. ↩
- Wilson County, Tennessee, Deed Book K: 110, Baird partition deed, 26 March 1824; digital images, DGS film 007900939, image 82, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 Sep 2023). ↩
- See ibid., Wilson Co. Deed Book R: 476, Zebulon Baird to John Baird, 4 Oct 1833; digital images, DGS film 008142718, image 258. ↩
- See ibid., Wilson Co. Deed Book N: 483, Hiram Baird to Peter Mosley, 8 Aug 1829; digital images, DGS film 008265178, image 255, and Deed Book N: 540, Hiram Baird to Peter Mosley, 22 Dec 1828, DGS film 008265178, image 283. ↩
- See ibid., Wilson Co., Tenn., Deed Book R: 452, Wynn to Avery, 19 Nov 1831; digital images, DGS film 008142718, image 246. ↩
- See ibid., Wilson Co., Tenn., Deed Book B: 258-269a; digital images, DGS film 008265179, images 396-397. ↩
- See ibid., Wilson Co., Tenn., Deed Book D: 484 and Deed Book D: 515; digital images, DGS film 008142717, images 403 and 419. Both involved “William Baird attorney in fact for Zebulon Baird Jr.” ↩
- Wilson County, Tennessee, County Court Minute Book 1819-1822, p. 191; digital images, DGS film 008265271, image 107, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 Sep 2023). ↩
And, of course, the Zebulons continue in later generations as one of them married my great-great-grand-aunt, Mary Ann Norris. Oh, the webs we weave!
Just getting my feet wet. Can you tell me what is a great, great, grand aunt? Thanks in advance.
The sister of one of your second great grandparents.
One of my matches has Barzillai similarly.