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Let me begin by saying that I have checked out the mega-DENTON website and did not find the answers to my questions. So, with that, please read on!
In the late 1700's Denton women married into the Kerr and Wilson families. To this day, Denton is a favorite family name, but the ancestry is lost. The descendant Kerr & Wilson families migrated together from York District, SC to Hall Co, GA to Benton (Calhoun) Co, AL to Randolph Co, AR to Shelby Co, TX. Some members stayed behind or died at each local, and some moved on.
I am trying to find the ancestors of the following Denton women who married into the Kerr and Wilson families:
ELIZABETH DENTON (b. 1770, d. September 16, 1839 Benton (Calhoun) Co, AL) married LT. WILLIAM KERR (b. May 07, 1744 Augusta Co, VA, d. September 18, 1835 Benton (Calhoun) Co, AL) October 1792 in York District, SC, by Abram Smith.
Their son, HUGH KERR (b. April 27, 1797 SC or Jackson, Hall Co, GA, d. September 16, 1876 Nacogdoches, TX) married SARAH DENTON WILSON (b. January 26, 1795 Hall Co, Ga?, d. June 05, 1865 Tyler Co, TX) March 16, 1820 in Hall County, Georgia.
I do not know who SARAH DENTON WILSON's parents are. I do know that HUGH KERR (with wife SARAH and children) & three brothers, BENJAMIN A. WILSON (b. 1810), JOSEPH WILSON (b. 1807), JOHN WILSON (b. 1803), all moved and bought land together in Randolph Co. AR in 1840's. These WILSON brothers were a little younger than SARAH DENTON WILSON (b. 1795) but still close enough in age to be her brothers. (In fact later, HUGH KERR & SARAH DENTON WILSON's oldest daughter died in Shelby Co. TX, and JOSEPH WILSON's daughter then married her widowed husband. These people were close!)
The WILSON family thinks that the father of BENJAMIN A., JOHN, & JOSEPH was JOHN WILSON (b. ~1780 Greenville, SC), reputed to have married a DENTON or a PATTERSON. They were in Hall Co, GA by 1810 when BENJAMIN A. WILSON was born and moved to Calhoun Co, AL in 1835.
Another possibility is JOSEPH WILSON (b. ~1760 NC or VA. His wife was MARY DENTON. They moved with their son CRAVEN WILSON (b. 1798 in SC, d. 1787) to Hall Co, GA in 1827 and to Calhoun Co, AL in 1832. This is a better age match to SARAH DENTON WILSON, but the migration dates don't quite fit her marriage to HUGH KERR in 1820 in Hall Co, GA. But perhaps the dates of the move to GA is wrong.
The names of the children of HUGH KERR & SARAH DENTON WILSON may give some clues:
1. WILLIAM EARLES KERR (after his father?)
2. JOSEPH WILSON KERR (after her father?)
3. BENJAMIN CRAVENS KERR (a Wilson favorite)
4. ANDREW TERRY KERR
5. NANCY ANN KERR (my ancestor)
6. CALAWAY DENTON KERR (any Calaway's in the Denton family? DENTON is still a popular middle name in this line)
7. MARY ELIZABETH KERR
8. ELIZABETH ALMIRA KERR
9. SAMUEL HIRAM KERR
None of the three WILSON brothers named their children DENTON, only SARAH WILSON & HUGH KERR, but remember that HUGH KERR was also a DENTON descendant. With that exception, the names of the WILSON brothers are similar. BENJAMIN A. WILSON did name a son CRAVENS like SARAH & HUGH KERR. Nancy, Joseph, John, William, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth are common to all.
A SC will shows another WILSON/DENTON laisson:
GEORGE WILSON died about 1790. His widow MARY made a will Oct. 4 1794 and died in 1796, leaving children: HESTER DENTON, MARY, MARGARET MCCLELLAND, ELIZABETH, JOHN, ANDREW.
About Indian blood: BENJAMIN A. WILSON married MARY ANN CANADY (b. 1820 SC) who was 1/4 Cherokee. BENJAMIN was Scots-Irish. A poem about HUGH KERR & SARAH DENTON WILSON's son, JOSEPH WILSON KERR, described him as "tall and light complexion", which makes me think that the DENTON ancestors of HUGH KERR & SARAH DENTON WILSON were not Indian.
That is the end of what I know. I hope you can help shed light on this mystery. Thank you!!
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