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This is for Bill Polk of Kansas City and others interested in the family of John Polk & Eleanor Shelby, including in particular their purported son, the Taylor Polk who married Jency Walker.
I recall reading that Bill Polk had never been able to find any reference to Taylor Polk in Tennessee records, which is where he is believed to have lived between the time he left North or South Carolina and the time he appeared in 1810 on a petition in the Louisiana Territory.
And having gotten my curiosity fully engaged on the mystery of Taylor Polk, I began to wonder, if there really WERE two Taylor Polks, then what became of the apparently older Taylor Polk (26+ per the 1800 census) who was still in York Co. SC probating his mother Eleanor’s will in May 1803 and October 1803? At a time when the apparently younger Taylor Polk was having a child (Cumberland Polk) born on August 7, 1803 in Davidson County, Tennessee? And if Taylor Polk was supposedly in Tennessee during those years, why have there been no records of him found there?
I have now located Taylor Polk in the court records of Stewart County, Tennessee,* where he appears on a tax list for 1806 and was listed in the June 10, 1806 court session for upcoming jury service.
In these court minutes we also find multiple references to the names Charles Polk, John Polk and William Polk, names that Jency Walker identified as the brothers of Taylor Polk. In addition, there is one reference in these minutes to a James Polk and to a Benjamin W. Polk.
The discovery of these references to Taylor Polk in Stewart County TN records, together with the references therein to the other Polks in that community, is quite important in my view. As discussed below, taking this new information together with what was already known about Taylor Polk gives us a more complete picture of what likely happened, and we should reexamine in light of these new facts the apparent discrepancies related to Taylor Polk identified and discussed in my previous post to Bill Polk.
First, let me set forth the references to Polks in these records from the earliest reference found (I will stop around the year 1812 although Polks continue to be found in the records of Stewart County for a number of years thereafter), in roughly chronological order:
EXCERPTS FROM RECORDS:
12 Mar 1805 Court
- Elisha Simpson vs. Mason Bennett: defendant enters plea of exception to the award; jurors Simon Fletcher, John Brigham, Cornelius Anderson, John Acrey, JOHN POLK, Aron Fletcher, Moses Larrissee, Henry Seners?, John Frazer, William Dunbar, Benjamin Bradford, Thomas White, Samuel French, Calep Williams, David Hogan, Hamlin Manly, William Haggard, Gause Brinson, George Boyd, Martin Wells, Nathan Thomas, Zachariah Ratliff, Lewis Brock, John Kyzer, John Parchment, Jacob McCarty, Nathaniel Denson, Phillip Hornberger, William Hornberger, Malakiah Lewis, James Pyner, James Cook, James Wyatt Sr., Walter Stewart, John Graham, William Outlaw, Thomas Smith, Larry Saterfield, Bryant ONeal, Nimrod Crosswell
12 Jun 1805 Court:
- Jurors for September term: Adam McGee, William McGee, Zachariah ONeal, John Landers, William Green, John Williams, Wilson Randal, Silas Vinson, William Pryor, James Gatlin, Lewis Brock, John Forbes, Sterling May, John Rogers, Charles Cottingham, John Cottingham, John McCarty, Joseph McCarthy, John Burchim, Robert Ellison, Phillip Hornberger, Amos Roachel, Messer Ward, Daniel Young, Davis Yarbrough, Samuel French, Elisha Simpson, Peter Kindal, Jonathan May, Charles Pistole, Richard Thomas, William Piner, Gold Fletcher, CHARLES POLK, JOHN POLK, Cornelius Anderson, Moses Larisy, Samuel Luton, Charles Brandon, William Hubbard, John Jones
9 Sep 1805 Court:
- Ordered a road to be laid from Allen’s mill up Saline Creek to the state line; commissioners are John Cooper, John Brigham, John Hobbs, JOHN POLK, CHARLES POLK
- Jurors for December term: John Frazer, Benjamin Bradford, William Dunbar, Caleb Williams, Thomas White, H. Manly, David Hogan, Richard Manly, James Dunbar, Elisha Simpson, Jacob McCarty, Yancy Thornton, Lewis Realing(?), James Norrod, Martin Wells, Nathaniel Denson, George Boyd, JOHN POLK, William Crouse, George Crossnoe, James Cook, John Seals, Samuel Smith, Joseph Miller, James McCullock, Ebenezer Pyatt, George Bruton, Aaron Fletcher, Henry Gibson, Jesse Rasco, Samuel Luton, Henry Skinner, Joseph Smith, Thomas Brigham, William Hanes, Robert Lancaster, David Childress, Larry Saterfield, William Green
September 1805 Appearance Docket:
Parties’ Names: John Scott vs. Aaron & Simon Fletcher
Cause of Action: case
Plaintiff Bail: Alexander Walker
Defendant Bail: CHARLES POLK, John G. Fletcher
10 Dec 1805 Court:
- CHARLES POLK & Hamlin Manly taken the oath as Justices
10 Mar 1806 Court at the house of William Haggard:
- Ordered that Hamlin Manly receive the list of taxable property in Capt. Williams’ company, CHARLES POLK in Capt. Allen’s company, William Outlaw in Capt. Green’s company, James Tygart in Capt. Graham’s company, and make return to the Court
1806 Stewart County Tax List:
Captain John Allen’s Company, given by CHARLES POLK:
CHARLES POLK, 1 white poll
TAYLOR POLKS , 1 white poll, 2 black polls
[SCC: No acreage is listed next to either person. The watercourses listed include Saline Creek and Dyer’s Creek, so this militia district was in the northern part of the county adjoining Christian County, KY, on the east side of the Cumberland River.]
Captain William Outlaw’s Company, given by William Outlaw
WILLIAM POLK, 400 acres Cumberland River below Dyer’s Creek, 1 white poll
[SCC: Was this land owned by Col. William Polk of Raleigh NC but on which John Polk was the white poll living there? See the deed listed below for October 1810.]
10 Jun 1806 Court:
- Jurors to next term: James Scarborough, Henry Jackson, James Wyatt Sr., Drury Bird, Anderson Andrews, Nathaniel Denson, William Pryor, William Haynes, John Jones, James Gatlin, Benjamin Bradford, Daniel Lewis, Caleb Williams, Daniel Young, Samuel French, Elias Watson, Richard Ramsey, Benjamin Edwards, Dennis Rushing, George Cathey, Jacob McCarty, Yancey Thornton, William Lyons, Tapley Maddox, William Crouse, Noah Sinclair, Rowland Rushing, Elijah Rushing, David Rushing, William Hornberger, John Allen, John G. Fletcher, Simion Fletcher, Cornelius Anderson, TAYLOR POLK, Thomas French, James Haggard, William Haggard
2 June 1806 From Stewart County Deed Book 1:
William Lindsay to JAMES POLK, deed of gift of a bay mare & sorrel colt; wit: John Allen; 2 Jun 1806
25 Aug 1806 From Stewart County Deed Book 1:
JOHN POLK (Christian Co., Ky.) to BENJAMIN W. POLK, two mares and a colt; wit: CHARLES POLK, JOHN POLK; 25 Aug 1806
9 Sep 1806 Court:
Justices Thomas Clinton, James Tagart, CHARLES POLK, William Allen, George Petty, Joseph B. Neville
- Deed of gift from William Lyndsey to JAMES POLK for a bay mare & colt
- Bill of sale from JOHN POLK to BENJAMIN W. POLK proven by oath of CHARLES POLK & JOHN POLK
10 Sep 1806 Court:
Sheriff & Tax Collector William Curl reports unpaid 1804 taxes on the following tracts of land:
WILLIAM POLK, adjoining James Gatlin 400 acres
Charles Baker, adjoining POLK’s tract 640 acres
- Sheriff William Curl reports unpaid 1806 taxes on the following tracts of land:
WILLIAM POLK, below Dyers Creek 400 acres
9 Dec 1806 Court:
- Justices Thomas Clinton, William Outlaw, William Allen, Joseph B. Neville, George Petty, CHARLES POLK
11 Dec 1806:
- John Williams vs. William Outlaw (Fraud): referred to arbitration of Duncan Stewart, CHARLES POLK, J. B. Reynolds & P. W. Humphreys; arbiters find for plaintiff, ordering defendant to return plaintiff’s grey mare, and pay $8.50 in cotton or pork
1807 Stewart County Tax List
Captain John Allen’s Company:
CHARLES POLK no acreage no polls 1 stud horse
20 April 1807 Court:
Justices Joshua Williams, CHARLES POLK, Hamlin Manly, William Allen
- Clerk presents list of lands owing taxes for the year 1804:
WILLIAM POLK, adjoining James Gatlin 400 acres
Charles Baker, adjoining POLK’s tract 640 acres
- Clerk presents list of lands owing taxes for the year 1806:
WILLIAM POLK, below Dyers Creek 400 acres
- State vs. JOHN POLK: defendant fined 12.5 cents
21 Apr 1807 Court:
Justices Joshua Williams, CHARLES POLK, Joseph B. Neville
30 May 1807
The Tennessee Gazette lists lands to be sold on 17 July 1807, apparently for non-payment of taxes, which includes:
WILLIAM POLK -- 400 acres -- Dyer’s Creek
20 July 1807 Court:
Justices Joshua Williams, James Tagart, CHARLES POLK, George Petty, William Outlaw, William Allen
- John Cooper appointed overseer of road instead of JOHN POLK
21 Jul 1807:
- William Haggard, J. Hillbrand, _____ POLK, Joseph B. Neville, Yancey Thornton, Robert W. Ellison, _____ Edwards appointed jurors to next Superior Court
- John Spencer vs. William Bogard & John W. Lowther (Trespass): parties agreed to arbitration; Court appoints John Shelby, Robert Searcy, William Jordan, CHARLES POLK, William Allen, Thomas French
- Sherrod Winniham vs. John W. Lowther & William Bogard (Trespass): parties agreed to arbitration; Court appoints John Shelby, Robert Searcy, William Jordan, CHARLES POLK, William Allen, Thomas French
20 Oct 1807 Court:
- Court held election of a County Sollicitor; voters were Thomas Clinton, Joseph B. Neville, Joshua Williams, William Allen, Hamlin Manly, George Petty, CHARLES POLK; candidates were Henry Minor, George Washington Lee Marr, James Russell; Marr was elected
1808 Stewart County Tax List
No Polks listed
26 Apr 1808 From Stewart County Deed Book 2:
Benjamin Downs to John Jones, land on the S bank of Cumberland River at the state line; test: Joseph B. Nevell, CHARLES POLK, James Tagert; 26 Apr 1808, registered 20 Feb 1809
11 Aug 1808 From Stewart County Deed Book C (or 3):
James Sanderson (Alexander County, District of Columbia) to John McIver (Alexander County, District of Columbia), 14 tracts in West Tennessee for $51,253: (1) 2000a, adj. Benjamin Smith (warrant #2412), David Shelton, WILLIAM POLK; (2) 2000a, adj. first tract; ... (9) 1000a on the S fork of Indian Creek of Big Hatchie River, adj. John Gray Blount, POLK (NC grant #182 to John Gray Blount and Thomas Blount, 10 Jul 1788); 11 Aug 1808, registered 10 Aug 1809 [SCC: Judging by the river references I think these tracts probably relate, at least for the most part, not to Stewart County but rather to land in the Western District west of the Tennessee River. Col. William Polk of Raleigh NC (son of Gen. Thomas Polk) and Gen. Thomas Polk obtained rights to large tracts of land in this area which were warranted and surveyed for military veterans, but which at the time was still reserved for Indian tribes, during the 1780s, probably during the time that Col. William Polk was serving as Surveyor General for middle Tennessee. In his autobiography, Col. William Polk stated that he held more than 100,000 acres of land in Tennessee.]
1809 Stewart County Tax List
Capt. Terney’s list
CHARLES POLK 3 black polls
22 Jan 1810 From Stewart County Deed Book C (or 3)
JOHN POLK, deed of gift to William Turpin (age 4) and John Turpin (age 3), children of James and Nancy Turpin, various property; 22 Jan 1810
1810 Stewart County Tax List
Capt. Acree’s list
CHARLES POLK 200 acres Panther Creek 3 black polls
23 Oct 1810 From Stewart County Deed Book D (or 4):
Jonathan Key to WILLIAM POLK, 392a on S bank of Cumberland River, adj. Thomas Barrett’s SE corner; land was part of 428a granted by NC military warrant #679 (entry #841, located 9 Apr 1785) to Eli West, dec’d., who promised 392a to POLK in exchange for surveying work; Key was executor of West; wit: Roger B. Sappington, Robert Searcy; 23 Oct 1810 [SCC: this again seems likely to be a reference to Col. William Polk of Raleigh NC, who between 1783-1786 was Surveyor General for middle Tennessee based in Nashville. This might be the same 400 acres “below Dyer’s Creek” that William Polk did not pay taxes on in 1806, although Dyers Creek is on the north side, not the south side, of the Cumberland River.]
Unfortunately, the 1810 Census for Tennessee is not available, so we are unable to view census records for these Polks in Stewart County, TN.
We do find a couple of references to Polks in the adjoining county of Christian County, Kentucky, as follows:
1810 Census for Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky: CHARLES POLK 1 male 26-44
Marriages of Christian County, Kentucky: November 20, 1813: ANDREW POLK & Patsy Tindall
(It may be worth noting that until after 1820, because of uncertainty as to where the border lay between Tennessee and Kentucky, there was concern that the northern part of Stewart County TN down to 17 miles south might become a part of Christian County KY.)
1811 Stewart County Tax List
CHARLES POLK 300 acres Panther Creek 3 black polls
4 Sep 1811 From Stewart County Deed Book D (or 4):
Ephraim B. Davidson to Stephen English, 175a on Lost Creek of Tennessee River, part of Col. George Davidson’s 5760a tract, on the E boundary, in possession of the heirs of Genl. William Davidson, deceased; wit: JOHN POLK; 4 Sep 1811
1812 Stewart County Tax List
CHARLES POLK
JOHN POLK
ANDREW POLK
Record of commissions of Stewart County militia:
ANDREW POLK, Captain, 26th regiment August 1, 1812
WILLIAM POLK, Ensign, 26th regiment August 1, 1812
JOHN POLK, Lieutenant, 26th regiment October 4, 1814
Skipping ahead to the 1820 Census for Stewart County, Tennessee we find the following persons listed on the same census page:
CHARLES POLK
1 male 45+
1 female 45+
1 male 16-25
1 female 16-25
1 male 10-16
11 slaves
JOHN POLK
1 male 26-44
1 female 16-25
1 males <10
1 female <10
3 slaves
WILLIAM POLK
1 male 16-25
1 female 16-25
2 females <10
2 slaves
DISCUSSION:
1. Who was the Charles Polk in these records? The various references to Charles Polk we find here who is so prominent in the minutes (appearing as a Justice of the Peace) and who was the owner of 11 slaves in the 1820 census, in my view are to Charles “Civil Charley” Polk. We know from his Revolutionary War pension application that he lived in Stewart County, Tennessee, because he stated that in 1814 he served as sergeant in a company from Stewart County. Also, in genealogies of his family (such as the one on Bill Polk’s website) we see references to his residence in Stewart County reflected in facts such as his son Alfred Polk being born in Stewart County in December 1808 and his son William Knox Polk marrying Nancy Petty in Stewart County in February 1813. The references to Charles Polk are consistent with someone of the stature of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk, such as being made Justice of Polk so quickly after first appearing in the records.
In light of this identification of Charles Polk, there are two observations that I think should be pointed out here.
First, out of all of the places in Tennessee in which Taylor Polk might be found, we find him here in the very same county and within the very same militia district as Charles “Civil Charley” Polk. That is just too much of a coincidence, taken together with the other evidence, for us not to conclude that this is very likely the Taylor Polk who was the brother of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and the son of John Polk/ES.
Second, we find Taylor Polk in 1806 in a place which, we know from the historical context, was at that time the most natural and convenient point of departure in Tennessee for the area that became Missouri and Arkansas. Indeed, there are numerous people from Stewart County families who are later found in Missouri and Arkansas. And after 1806, references to other Polks in the records of Stewart County continue, but references to Taylor Polk do not. So we would have to think it likely, given these circumstances, that this is the same Taylor Polk who is next found in 1810 living on the Missouri river, in the 1810s in northern Arkansas, then in old Miller County, and finally near the Ouachita River at the “Wilds.”
2. Who was the John Polk in these records? First, it must be observed that there was more than one John Polk here. We know this because of the references to two John Polks in an 1806 deed (“JOHN POLK (Christian Co., Ky.) to BENJAMIN W. POLK, two mares and a colt; wit: CHARLES POLK, JOHN POLK; 25 Aug 1806”). Given all of these men participating in the signing of this one deed together, I have to think that one of these John Polks, probably the one from adjoining Christian County KY who owned the three horses, was likely the brother of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk, and that the other was probably John “Jackey” Polk, the son of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk.
From the circumstances in the records where we see the name Charles Polk so often together with John Polk, I have to think that these are likely references to Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and his son John “Jackey” Polk. John “Jackey” Polk is said by Mrs. Angellotti to have married Elizabeth Allen of Kentucky, and in fact we do find a prominent Allen family in these records of Stewart County, which may have been the family of his wife.
3. Who was the William Polk in these records?
Looking at the later years in these records, the William Polk we see from 1812 and onwards I think is likely William Knox Polk, the son of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk.
Looking at references to William Polk in the early years in these records, we see that there is no evidence that William Polk was physically present in person in Stewart County, only that he appears as a landowner. Given the problem with unpaid taxes, and the fact that he is not listed as a white poll in any tax list, it would appear likely that he is an absentee landowner. I suspect that this William Polk may be Col. William Polk of Raleigh NC, cousin of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk. Perhaps these Polks (Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and his sons, together with for a short while Taylor Polk) were working land acquired by Col. William Polk.
On the other hand, the William Polk found in the records of Stewart County might be the elusive “William” whom Jency Anderson named as brother to her father Taylor Polk. Perhaps after stopping in Stewart County, he then moved on into Kentucky and then across the Mississippi River ahead of the other Polks. In connection with the possibility that the elusive brother William might be here somewhere, we should note the mysterious references to James Polk and Benjamin W. Polk in the records. Were these sons of the elusive brother William Polk?
4. Who was the Benjamin W. Polk in these records? Benjamin W. Polk we must conclude is very likely a member in some way of this family, because he participates in the deed with John Polk of Christian County which is witnessed by Charles Polk and John Polk. He is the recipient of the two mares and the colt.
I note that “John A. Polk,” who is listed by William Harrison Polk and Mrs. Angellotti as being the John Polk who was the son of John Polk/ES, did have a son Benjamin, who is named as “Benjamin D.A. Polk.” He would have been 16 years old at the time of this deed. Did someone misread in an old handwriting the initial “W” as “D.A.?” Perhaps so.
There is in existence a deed referring to a Benjamin W. Polk in the records of Franklin County, Missouri: “Benjamin W. Polk and wife, Margaret, of Sevier County, Territory of Arkansas, sold to James Byrnside of Washington County, Arkansas, a parcel of land” in Franklin County, MO.**
Both Benjamin Polk, the son of Taylor Polk, and Benjamin Polk, the son of John A. Polk, had wives named Margaret. As to the latter, I see no indication in Mrs. Angellotti or in William Harrison Polk that he ever settled in Missouri or Arkansas. As to Taylor’s son Benjamin, I haven’t seen any indication that he was ever (1) located in Franklin County MO or (2) a resident of Sevier County, Arkansas (perhaps Bill Polk has information on this).
So perhaps this Benjamin W. Polk was the son of John A. Polk, or perhaps he was yet a third Benjamin, who perhaps also had a wife Margaret and settled in Missouri and then Arkansas and who was a son of the elusive “William Polk,” supposed brother of Taylor Polk.
5. Who was the Charles Polk living nearby in Hopkinsville, Christian County, KY in the 1810 census?
Charles was the only person listed in the household, and was between 26-44 years old.
Charles “Civil Charley” Polk is said by William Harrison Polk and Mrs. Angellotti to have had a son Charles who married Elizabeth Hayne. According to Mrs. Angellotti, he migrated with his father to San Augustine County TX in 1839 and later moved to Leon County TX. Perhaps this Charles Polk is that son of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk. If so, and the age is correct, he would have been born before 1784 and would have been one of the oldest children of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk. On the other hand, there is a Charles Polk, age 59 in 1860 born NC, living with Alfred Polk son of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk in the 1860 census who is believed by some researches to be Alfred’s brother and the son of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk. If that is true, then this Charles Polk living in Christian County KY in 1810 would be too old to be that son of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk.
John A. Polk, son of John Polk/ES, is not known to have had a son Charles Polk.
So perhaps this Charles Polk living nearby in Christian County, KY, if he was indeed related to these Polk families, was a son of the elusive “William Polk,” supposed brother of Taylor Polk.
6. Who was the James Polk in these records?
This James Polk is something of a mystery. His name appears in only one place (“William Lindsay to JAMES POLK, deed of gift of a bay mare & sorrel colt; wit: John Allen; 2 Jun 1806”) and not in connection with another Polk, so we cannot be sure he is even part of the same Polk family.
However, it may not be a coincidence that in 1825 we find “James Polk” together with Taylor Polk as residents of Old Miller County, Arkansas signing a petition objecting to the land on which they have settled being appropriated for the use of the Choctaw nation. Also on that petition appear the names “Benjamin Polk” and “Ruland Polk.” One wonders whether that Benjamin Polk on the petition was the son of Taylor Polk, or was this other “Benjamin W. Polk;” an examination of the original petition might help answer this question, since we know Benjamin Polk son of Taylor Polk signed documents by using his mark. Was “Ruland Polk” a misreading of the signature of, and/or nickname for, Cumberland Polk, or was this yet another Polk?
Since James Polk disappears from the records of Stewart County at about the same time as Taylor Polk, and this location was the natural jumping-off point for movement into the Missouri country, one wonders whether James Polk and Taylor Polk and perhaps Benjamin W. Polk were not part of a group that left Stewart County for westward parts perhaps late in 1806 after the end of the growing season.
Given that James was the recipient of a gift from William Lindsey, one has to wonder whether he was married to William Lindsey’s daughter, as an explanation for the gift. The gift of horses would of course be useful for a family about to depart for settlement in the west.
Neither Charles “Civil Charley” Polk nor John A. Polk are known to have had a son named James.
Perhaps this James Polk, if he was indeed related to these Polk families, was a son of the elusive “William Polk,” supposed brother of Taylor Polk.
In light of the discovery of this new evidence, which to my mind strongly supports the idea that the same Taylor Polk was (1) the brother of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and (2) the one who went into Missouri and then Arkansas and had married Jency Walker, let us go back and revisit the discrepancies I identified in my post to Bill Polk last week.
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE TAYLOR POLK DISCREPANCIES
DISCREPANCY NO 1: Shelby Polk vs William Polk – which was the son of John Polk/ES?
Let’s list what appear to be the original sources of information for the children of John Polk/ES.
1. Jency Anderson’s letter.
“My father's name was Taylor Polk....My father had three Bros. John, Charley and William. One sister Ellen.”
2. The 1849 letter of Mrs. Smart.
William Harrison Polk in Polk Family & Kinsmen set forth a letter to Bishop Polk written in February 1849 by an “aged kinswomen,” Mrs. Smart. Mrs. Smart knew these families personally, so this letter should be considered as high quality evidence, on the whole, and the letter appears entirely lucid. Nevertheless, we might expect a detail to be off here and there, because that is the case with human memory.
Writing of William Polk/MT’s son John Polk/ES, Mrs. Smart stated: “John Polk married Eleanor Shelby, a daughter of Col. Isaac Shelby. He had three sons and one daughter; the sons by name: Charles, John and Taylor Polk; the daughter Eleanor Polk. Those now living, belonging to the family, reside in the West.”
Writing of William Polk/MT’s son William: “William married a woman whose name I do not remember. They moved to Tennessee many years ago and had many children.”
3. The 1849 Polk Tree.
The 1849 Polk Tree lists John Polk/ES’s children as: Charles, Shelby, Taylor and John.
We should notice two facts about the Polk Tree. First, unlike the case for some of the other children of William Polk/MT, there is no further branching shown in the line of John Polk. So it appears the crafters of the tree had insufficient information on this line to show branches at the next level beyond what they thought were the children of John Polk/ES.
Second, there was no child Eleanor listed. Both Jency Anderson and Mrs. Smart identified an “Eleanor” or “Ellen” as a daughter of John Polk/ES, but it appears that this was unknown information to the makers of the 1849 Polk Tree. That this was unknown to the makers of the 1849 Polk Tree is quite surprising because William Harrison Polk tells us in Polk Family & Kinsmen that Mrs. Smart’s letter was written to assist the makers of the 1849 Polk Tree! One wonders whether the makers of the Tree were merely sloppy, or just uninterested in the correct details of John Polk/ES’s line, or had some evidence causing them to believe that Mrs. Smart was wrong when she named Eleanor as a child of John Polk/ES and therefore intentionally omitted the name.
Therefore, we have reason to think the quality of the information as to John Polk/ES in the 1849 Tree was relatively low, certainly compared to other branches of the tree.
It would appear that Miss Mary Winder Garrett in the late 1890’s in her genealogy of the Polks published in the American Historical Magazine took the names from the 1849 Tree and added the name Eleanor from Mrs. Sharp’s letter:
“John Polk, fifth child of William Polk and Priscilla (Roberts) Polk, was a soldier in the revolution. He married Eleanor Shelby, and his children were 1, Shelby Polk; 2, Charles Polk; 3, John Polk; 4, Taylor Polk; 5, Eleanor Polk.”
Miss Garrett had nothing further to say about this Shelby Polk.
And it would appear that William Harrison Polk, in turn, picked up this information from Miss Garrett and repeated it in chapter XXI of Polk Family & Kinsmen: “John Polk and his wife Eleanor Shelby had issue: (1) Charles Polk; (2) Shelby Polk; (3) Taylor Polk; (4) John Polk; (5) Eleanor Polk.” William Harrison Polk had nothing further to say about this Shelby Polk, except that he lists Shelby among the brothers who were a part of the “emigrating host” to Tennessee. Perhaps he just assumed that if there was a Shelby Polk, he probably went to Tennessee with his brothers.
The entire notion that there ever was a Shelby Polk who was a child of John Polk/ES appears, to my mind, to likely have rested entirely on the name shown in the 1849 Tree; and as noted above, we have reason to think the quality of information the tree-makers were working with on this branch was low.
It appears that, as in the case of John Polk/ES, the tree-makers of 1849 also had limited information on Charles Polk, son of William Polk. They listed only five children for him, and included among them the name “Shelby:” Thomas, Charlie, William, Shelby and Mike.
And once again, it appears Miss Winder picked up on this and repeated it in her own work: “Charles Polk, second son of William Polk, Sr., married in 1750, Polly Clark; had five children, viz.: Charles Polk, Thomas Polk, Shelby Polk, Mike Polk, William Polk.”
And once again, this was then repeated by William Harrison Polk in Polk Family & Kinsmen: “Charles Polk, second son of William Polk and Margaret Taylor, was married in 1750 (the year the family emigrated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina) to Polly Clark, by whom he had five sons, viz: (1) Thomas Polk; (2) Charles Polk; (3) Shelby Polk; (4) William Polk and (5) Mike Polk.”
Mrs. Angellotti, on the other hand, appears to have discovered quite a lot of information as to the children of Charles Polk son of William Polk/MT, which she set forth in her work “The Polks of North Carolina and Tennessee.” There, she identified 13 children of Charles Polk by two wives, and among none of them does the name “Shelby Polk” appear.
The fact that the tree-makers, according to Mrs. Angellotti’s work, erroneously added a “Shelby Polk” to Charles Polk’s sons might lead us to suspect they did the same thing with John Polk’s son.
So it appears we have little reason to place confidence in the Polk Tree on the lines of either John Polk/ES or Charles Polk son of William Margaret/MT. These two branches appear not to be an area of focus in the 1849 Tree, so, to my mind, little reliance should be placed on the Tree as to these two branches.
So perhaps there never was a Shelby Polk, child of John Polk/ES; who knows. We are not in a position to prove a negative, that Shelby Polk the son of John Polk/ES never existed. Perhaps he did exist.
If someone reading this has encountered any evidence (apart from the 1849 Tree, Miss Garrett and William Harrison Polk) supporting the idea of a Shelby Polk son of John Polk/ES it would be interesting to take a look at that evidence and analyze it.
So perhaps there was no Shelby Polk, son of John Polk/ES. Could it be that there was also no William Polk, son of John Polk/ES?
Mrs. Smart did not list a William Polk as a son, and she seemed in no doubt as to both the number and names of the sons, identifying them as being three.
No other source, including Miss Garrett, William Harrison Polk or Mrs. Angellotti lists a son William.
I wonder whether Jency Anderson, and perhaps her siblings, thought they had an Uncle William when in fact that William was a cousin of their father. If there was a William Polk who was the father of these other mysterious Polks we find in contact and proximity to Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and Taylor Polk, such as Benjamin W. Polk and James Polk (and even the Charles Polk of 1810 Christian Co. KY), perhaps Taylor’s children mistakenly thought this William Polk whose family was intermingled with that of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and Taylor Polk was the brother of their father, when perhaps in fact he was their cousin.
Jency Anderson and their siblings would have known that Taylor Polk was many years younger than his brothers Charles and John, and the fact of this elusive William Polk being in the same generation as Taylor’s brothers Charles and John may have contributed to their mistake, if it was a mistake.
Given the location of William “Wesley” Polk, considered by some to be the son of William Polk, son of William Polk/MT, in Missouri, he would have to be considered a candidate to be this other William Polk. Perhaps among his sons was a James Polk and a Benjamin W. (Wesley?) Polk who went very early across the Mississippi River along with Taylor Polk, and the family of Taylor Polk knew these kinsmen as sons of a William Polk whom they incorrectly thought was their uncle instead of a cousin.
Under the chapter title “Unattached Branches” in Polk Family & Kinsmen (Chapter XLIII), William Harrison Polk quoted information about William “Wesley” Polk given to him by a Capt. Charles K. Polk as follows:
“I’ve long since been sure that the Polk family sprung from one parent stock. I have never yet met a Polk but what claimed a relationship with James K. Polk and Charles Polk, of Tennessee, commonly known as ‘Devil Charley’. I am not sure of my grandfather’s name, but my impression is that it was William Wesley Polk. In talking to an old friend, after my father’s death, he referred to him (my grandfather) as Wesley Polk. I never saw him, as he died before I was born. He came from Georgia and settled in Madison County, Mo. He may have stopped in Tennessee awhile before he came to Missouri, but of this I am not sure. He had two sons and one daughter. I have no knowledge of any others – John W. Polk, the older and William Polk the younger, and the daughter Sarah Polk. William was a Baptist preacher, of whom you heard when at Ironton during the war. Our family record was burned, and for that reason I cannot give dates of births, marriages and deaths.”
It should probably be noted that the evidence given by Capt. Polk as to his grandfather’s name does not appear to be terribly strong. Also, the phrase “I have no knowledge of any [other children],” I read as meaning there quite well could be other children, as far as this witness was concerned, and he simply didn’t know and wasn’t implying otherwise.
In the 1830 Census for Madison County MO, we find on the same page within a few lines of each other:
William Polk 1 male 60-70 (i.e., born in the 1760s); 1 female 60-70; 1 male 15-20
John Polk 1 male 30-40 (i.e., born in the 1790s); 1 female 30-40; 1 male 10-15; 4 females 5-10; 1 female <10.
I gather than some have speculated or concluded that this William “Wesley” Polk might be or was the son of William Polk, son of William Polk/MT. This would certainly bear further investigation, as would the possibly that William “Wesley” Polk had additional sons James and Benjamin W. not heretofore considered.
In thinking about William “Wesley” Polk, one clue that we should keep in mind is that when a parent in the second half of the 1700s gave a child the name “Wesley,” in the large majority of cases it was because that parent was a strong Methodist. So if this William Polk really was named William Wesley Polk, in all likelihood his father was a strong Methodist. This fact should be borne in mind when we consider the possibilities that William “Wesley” Polk was a son of John Polk/ES or a son of William Polk son of William Polk/MT. And of course we should bear in mind that the evidence given by Capt. Charles Polk that the name of his grandfather was in fact William “Wesley” Polk was rather weak.
Perhaps in the final analysis, the aged Mrs. Smart, who knew these families personally, had the best intelligence of all as to them, and there were only children Charles “Civil Charley” Polk, Eleanor Polk, John Polk and their much younger brother Taylor Polk.
DISCREPANCY NO. 2: Age of Taylor Polk in 1800 census.
The Taylor Polk who married Jency Walker was 17 years old when he married in 1798, placing his birth in 1780 or 1781. However, the Taylor Polk listed next to John & Eleanor Polk in the 1800 census in York District SC, was between 26-44 years old in that census, placing his birth at or before 1774.
It is possible that this discrepancy resulted from nothing more than the census taker making a mark in the wrong column.
DISCREPANCY NO. 3: Birth location of Benjamin Polk, son of Taylor Polk & Jency Walker.
Benjamin Polk, the son of Taylor Polk who married Jency Walker, was born in 1799 according to what appear to be the most reliable census report, which state that he was born in North Carolina (there is one such return that states his birth as Tennessee, but other information on that return, such as the ages given for Benjamin and his wife, lead one to think information was provided by someone else in the household who didn’t have complete information).
The Taylor Polk who was the son of John Polk and Eleanor Shelby was living in South Carolina, not North Carolina, at the time of the 1800 Census.
In considering this, we should bear in mind here that Benjamin Polk was a frontiersman who did not read or write, and would have left the Carolinas as a small child. It is possible that Benjamin Polk knew little more than that the family originated in Mecklenburg County before moving to the west.
As an aside, I note that given the dates the censuses were taken, if Benjamin Polk was correct in his age given in the two census reports that appear reliable, then he was born in the month of September in the year 1799.
DISCREPANCY NO. 4: Birth dates and locations of Taylor Polk’s sons Taylor Polk, Jr., James Polk and Cumberland Polk.
According to Mrs. Angellotti in “The Polks of North Carolina and Tennessee,” Taylor Polk’s sons Taylor Polk, born 1800, James Polk, born 1801 and Cumberland Polk, born August 7, 1803 were all born near Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee.
However, we know that Taylor Polk was still in South Carolina in 1803, because he witnessed his mother Eleanor Polk’s will on May 6, 1803 and was present in court on October 31, 1803 when the will was probated.
This question boils down to the reliability of the dates of these births and Mrs. Angellotti’s information as to the place. Mrs. Angellotti did not disclose what the source was of her information on these points. In light of the new information about Taylor Polk in Tennessee, one suspects Mrs. Angellotti is in error on one point or the other.
DISCREPANCY NO. 5: DNA evidence
If, based on this new evidence, we conclude that it seems likely that the Taylor Polk who married Jency Walker and settled west of the Mississippi River was the same Taylor Polk who was the brother of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and a son of John Polk/ES, then the most significant discrepancy we are left with is the results of DNA comparison between a believed descendant of Taylor Polk/Jency Walker and a believed descendant of Thomas Polk son of William Polk/MT.
This discrepancy arises because the evidence of the relationship between John Polk/ES and the family of William Polk/MT is very strong, based on high quality evidence such as the pension application of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk and the 1849 letter of Mrs. Smart.
Furthermore, with this new evidence as to Taylor Polk in Tennessee, the idea that the same Taylor Polk who married Jency Walker and settled in Missouri and then Arkansas was the brother of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk seems quite persuasive.
Because the results are so preliminary and there are not yet additional relevant participants, it is premature to draw firm conclusions. Ideally, there should be included DNA tests from other descendants of Taylor Polk/Jency Walker, both through the same and other sons, as well as other descendants of John Polk/ES, such as descendants of Charles “Civil Charley” Polk, and other descendants of William Polk/MT, before we draw any conclusions.
So we are left with an intriguing mystery, which further DNA results are likely to shed much light on.
Incorporating the new information discovered as to Taylor Polk, the following is a tentative and rough chronology for the events in his life.
TENTATIVE CHRONOLOGY FOR TAYLOR POLK
1780 Taylor Polk born to John Polk & Eleanor Shelby, residents of Mecklenburg Co. NC
1798 November – 17-year old Taylor Polk marries Jency Walker. Bradley Murray mentioned in his post that it has been stated that Taylor Polk and Jency Walker were married in Nashville. I think we should consider this as a serious possibility for the following reasons:
1. Living in this very same militia district in the same county (Stewart County) during this period of time in the first decade of the 1800s is Alexander Walker. For example, we find the name in Capt. Allen’s district along with Charles Polk in the 1807 tax list. In 1808 the tax list again shows him in Capt. Allen’s district with a very large tract of land, 700 acres, along Saline Creek. Going back to prior years, in Davidson County, where Nashville is located, we find references to an Alexander Walker in the 1790s until the middle of the following decade.
2. “Genealogy of the Descendants of John Walker of Wigton, Scotland” by Emma Siggons White (1902) states at p. 630, based on “old letters and papers in the Polk family” furnished by “Mrs. F.M. Angellotti,” that “the wife of Taylor Polk was Jency Walker, daughter of Alexander Walker, a lineal descendant of John and Katherine Rutherford Walker of Wigton, Scotland.” However, Mrs. Angellotti must have come to doubt the information set forth in those “old letters and papers,” because in 1923-24 when she published “The Polks of North Carolina and Tennessee,” she identified the father of Jency Walker as Tandy Walker, also a descendant of John Walker of Wigton, Scotland. How she arrived at Tandy Walker instead of Alexander Walker, she did not say, but stated that in some genealogies of the Walker family the name of Tandy Walker may have been mistaken for Alexander Walker because of the possibility of a nickname Sandy for Alexander. I am not excluding the possibility that a Tandy Walker was Jency Walker’s father, and indeed it appears the Tandy Walker branch was also around Nashville in this time, because in the marriage records of Davidson County in 1802 we find the marriage of a Tandy Walker to an Elizabeth Grant.
3. Jency Walker was half Mississippi Choctaw, according to the Dawes Commission application by grandson Taylor Polk 3d. Now, that application by Taylor Polk, in my view, is highly questionable, not least by reason of the fact that Jency Walker Polk died in 1814, yet people making affidavits supporting Taylor Polk’s application claimed to have seen Taylor Polk 3d’s grandmother “Patsy” Walker Polk walking around the Choctaw Nation and being treated as a Choctaw years after her death. Maybe they saw a ghost. But setting that aside, it would be quite bizarre, historically, for 17-year old Taylor Polk to have met and married a half Mississippi Choctaw woman living in York District, South Carolina. Also, if we go back to the “two Taylor Polks” theory, it would also have been quite extraordinary for Taylor Polk to have met and married such a woman living in Burke County, North Carolina. But it would not be at all surprising to find that a frontiersman in the area of western Tennessee might have married a Mississippi Choctaw woman, and had a daughter Jency Walker.
How might Taylor Polk have found himself in Nashville, TN in 1798? Perhaps it was the case that some of the older Polks in the family, in the 1797-98 period, made an expedition to Tennessee to explore possibilities of relocating the family there, and took young Taylor Polk with them. Perhaps they stayed as long as a year or more in the area, during which time Taylor met and married Jency Walker. Shortly after the marriage, the group, including Taylor Polk and his bride, returned to NC/SC, but in the event did not actually carry out the relocation until several years later, perhaps in 1804.
To continue with the chronology:
1799 September – Taylor & Jency’s son Benjamin Polk is born, probably at their home in York District SC, in or around the Catawba Indian lands, and close to NC.
1803 August – Taylor & Jency’s son Cumberland is born. I suspect that the year is off, and this may have happened in August 1804 or 1805. Taylor Polk was still in York District, SC in both May and October 1803 according to court records. The name “Cumberland” suggests that the baby was named in reference to the Cumberland River, and there may well be have been some specific event such as being born on the river that resulted in the name.
1804 – this may have been the year the Polk group, including Taylor Polk, relocated from the Carolinas to Stewart County, TN.
No Polk name appears on the January 1803 petition from citizens of Montgomery County asking for the formation of a new county, which would become Stewart County. The Stewart County court minutes begin in March 1804, but there is no reference to a Polk until a year later, March 1805. Taylor only appears in the tax list for 1806, but there are only extant fragments of the tax lists for 1804 and 1805, so we cannot say whether Taylor or other Polks appeared on those lists in the earlier years or not. One would have to examine the records of Montgomery County and adjoining counties to look for any earlier records of Polks in the area. If Taylor Polk did have Walker in-laws living in the Nashville/Davidson County area, then perhaps he was living with or near them from 1804-1806 when he first appears in the Stewart County records.
1804-1806 – Children of Taylor Polk born in Tennessee likely born during this period.
1806 – Taylor Polk is shown living with 2 black polls in the Stewart County tax list. It may have been Taylor’s job to go into the fields with the slaves to oversee their work. Presumably the key crop was tobacco, as even today a nearby spot on the river is named “Tobaccoport.” Perhaps Taylor decided he preferred the life of a frontiersman to that of a plantation manager.
late 1806 – This may have been when Taylor, perhaps in company with Benjamin W. Polk, James Polk and others went west. I note that in the summer of 1806 both James Polk and Benjamin W. Polk obtained horses in Stewart County. And neither these names nor Taylor Polk appear in the records of Stewart County after the summer of 1806. Were the gifts of the horses preparatory to a move to the west by these men? Did Taylor Polk, James Polk and Benjamin W. Polk, perhaps in company with other families, leave Stewart County for the Louisiana territory after the crops were in in 1806?
1810 – Taylor Polk is found along the banks of the Missouri river. We conclude this from an examination of some of the other names signed to the same section of the petition he signed in 1810, which are found to have lived, during this time period at various places along the banks of the Missouri river from St. Charles westward. Isaac Van Bibber, whose signature appears in this section of the petition, was kin to Daniel Boone and operated a tavern that was a focal point for the area. Taylor Polk may have been sitting in Van Bibber’s Tavern when he signed the petition.
1811 December through February 1812 – A series of incredibly powerful and devastating earthquakes struck the region, centered at New Madrid. A large portion of land near the Mississippi River was sunk, and afterward many of the families that had settled in this area moved inland into what is now Arkansas.
1810s – Taylor Polk may have been living in the area of what is now Batesville, Arkansas. Visitors to this area in the 1810s make mention of a Polk’s Creek or Polk’s Bayou,*** which was likely named for some early settler. One name of an early settler in the Batesville area mentioned in the histories is John Reed, who is said to have come down from Missouri and in 1812 opened a small store house selling whiskey and other goods to the hunters, trappers, Indians and settlers in the area. It is interesting to note from the court records of Stewart County that a man named John Reed sold his lands in Stewart County in the summer of 1806. Was John Reed part of the group that may have left Stewart County for the west in late 1806, perhaps in company with Taylor Polk and other Polks? Were Taylor Polk and/or other Polks with him when he settled in the area of Batesville in the early 1810s, part of which became known as Polk’s Creek or Polk’s Bayou? This location was within what was then the vast Lawrence County.
1814 – Jency Walker Polk died.
1815 – Taylor Polk is shown on a list of tax delinquents for Lawrence County.
1821 – Some time before this date Taylor Polk had relocated his family to Old Miller County, because at this date Taylor Polk, Benjamin Polk and Thomas Polk signed a petition complaining about their land being taken for the use of the Choctaw Nation. (Was this Thomas Polk another son of the elusive supposed brother William Polk?)
1825 – Taylor Polk Sr., Taylor Polk, Jr., Benjamin Polk, James Polk and “Ruland” Polk signed another petition from settlers in Old Miller County complaining about their land being taken for the use of the Choctaw Nation.
1826 – Taylor Polk, Sr. and Benjamin appear on a list of tax delinquents for old Miller County. Prior to this time Taylor Polk and his family may have relocated to what became Caddo Township in Hot Springs County, Arkansas.
ca. 1838 – Taylor Polk, Sr. died.
S.C. Connor
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* Surprisingly, this only took a few moments to find with an internet search engine, because some kind person or persons placed early records for Stewart County online at the Stewart County USGenWeb site. See http://www.tngenweb.org/stewart/researc3.htm. Stewart County was created in November 1803 from Montgomery County.
** Genealogical Gems from Missouri Deeds, by Marsha Hoffman Rising (2004), at p. 115.
*** For example, in “History of Methodism in Arkansas,” by Horace Jewell (1892) at p. 30, a visit by a preacher named Mr. Lindsay in 1816 to the place which is now Batesville is described which notes the presence of a Mr. Reid who brought dry goods and groceries up the White River by keelboat to a place at the mouth of “Polk Bayou” where “there were some scattered settlements nearby.”
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