Few Hall GREGORY Susannah Virginia GREGORY James Few GREGORY Mary Elizabeth GREGORY George Washington GREGORY Martha Georgiana GREGORY Ann Eliza GREGORY Cora Frances GREGORY Martha Lynn REYNOLDS Mini tree diagram
William Richard GREGORY

William Richard GREGORY1,4,2,3

18481,2,3 - Nov 18702

Life History

1848

Born in Tennessee.1,2,3

Nov 1870

Died in Ocala, Marion, Florida.2

Notes

  • 1850 Federal Census, Roane County, Tennessee, 10 September, Subdivision 20, p 167, Hse #430, Fam #454
    Fu H Gregory 52 M Physician $14,400 Real Estate b Virginia [b abt 1798]
    Martha Gregory 26 F b Tennessee [b abt 1824]
    Susannah V Gregory 7 F b Tennessee Attended School [b abt 1843]
    James F Gregory 6 M Farmer b Tennessee Attended School [b abt 1844]
    Mary E Gregory 4 F b Tennessee Attended School [b abt 1846]
    William R Gregory 2 M Farmer b Tennessee [b abt 1848]

    1860 Federal Census, Monroe County, Tennessee, [no date] September, P O Sweetwater, page 8, Hse #50, Fam #54
    F H Gregory 68 M Married Farmer $400 Real Estate $400 Personal Estate b Virginia [b abt 1798]
    M L Gregory 35 F b Tennessee [b abt 1825]
    S V Gregory 17 F b Tennessee [b abt 1843]
    J F Gregory 16 M b Tennessee [b abt 1844]
    M E Gregory 13 F b Tennessee [b abt 1847]
    W R 12 M b Tennessee [b abt 1848]

    Richard has not been found in the 1870 or 1880 census.  It is not known when he or his brother James moved to Marion County, Florida.

    Few Hall Gregory, MD -- married Martha Lynn Reynolds, June 1, 1841
    Children of F H and M L Gregory were:
    1. Susanna Virginia, b. May 13, 1842. PO 1913, Nashville
    2. Jas. Few, b. January 27, 1844; d. April 30, 1897 at Citra, Fla. Married to Georgia Dallas January 19, 1876
    3. Mary Elizabeth, b. February 1, 1846. Married to Daniel J Fogg, January 19, 1885 at Lake Gregory, PO Belleview, Marion County, Fla
    4. William Richard, b. 1848. Died November, 1870, at Ocala, Fla
    5. Geo Washington, b. January 12, 1851; d. February 3, 1855
    6. Martha Georgiana, b. January 17, 1857; d. in infancy.
    7. Ann Eliza, b. October 15, 1858; d. an infant.
    8. Cora Francis, b. January 1, 1861; d. December, 1887, at Livyville [Levyville] Fla. She married Wm. Bro???ni January 1, 1885
    --  History Of Sweetwater Valley, by W B Lenoir (Published by Presbyterian Committee Of Publication, Richmond, Va., 1916), pp 158-159, Archived on Archive.org, http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofsweetwa00leno/historyofsweetwa00leno_djvu.txt

    In 1960, the enumerator listed everybody by initials only./  The last entrance was for William Richard, age 12.

    1860 Federal Census, Monroe County, Tennessee, [no date] September, P O Sweetwater, page 8, Hse #50, Fam #54
    F H Gregory 68 M Married Farmer $400 Real Estate $400 Personal Estate b Virginia [b abt 1798]
    M L Gregory 35 F b Tennessee [b abt 1825]
    S V Gregory 17 F b Tennessee [b abt 1843]
    J F Gregory 16 M b Tennessee [b abt 1844]
    M E Gregory 13 F b Tennessee [b abt 1847]
    W R 12 M b Tennessee [b abt 1848]

    Robert Hankins informed me of a story in the Hankins family tradition about the murder of Edward Ezell Hankins in December 1866.  The story was that he was returning from the Civil War when he was ambushed and shot by three of Few Hall Gregory's children.

    Edward's burial memorial on Find a Grave reports that Edward was returning from the Civil War when he was shot.  But that did not track.  The shooting was over a year after the end of the Civil War, on 1 December 1866.

    The story as received says the Gregory assailants were indicted by a grand jury but fled the area before the case could go to trial.  Their father paid the court costs, but nothing further was done on the case.  Robert reported that court documents name the three Gregory murderers as James F Gregory, Susannah Virginia Helton (his sister) and their younger brother William Richard Gregory.

    -------------------------
    I am hoping that someone in the Gregory family can report stories, or family lore, surrounding my GGGrandfather, Edward Ezelle Hankins, who was a neighbor of the Gregory family.  Edward was shot and killed at his home after he returned from the Civil War.

    The three named children of Few Hall Gregory were indicted for the murder but left the area and were never prosecuted.  Edward's widow left afterwards and moved to NW Missouri.  It is from this line that my family comes.

    We have known of the incident but have no information about any relationship between the families, what motivated the shooting, how the families got "cross-ways" with one another, etc.  Hoping that someone might be able to provide insight and information.
    --  Robert Hankins, Ancestry Messaging to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 13 April 2020
    -------------------------

    Two days of searching and reading through some discussion groups yielded no reference to this event.  I similarly had nothing about it in any of my collected source documents.

    Neither James nor William was enumerated in the 1870 census in their parents' home or nearby, but their sister Susannah was still in the home.  An anomaly is that though the court documents in January 1867 named her as Susan Helton, her married name, the census three years later reports her under her maiden name as Susan Gregory, and no reference was made to a husband.  (Susan is a variation of her name found in some records, as we do with others of that name in that era.)

    Though the tradition says Hankins and Gregory were neighbors, no Hankins family was found for several census pages before and after the listing for Few H Gregory.  Similarly, neither son was found in a similar search of the 1870 census.  Neither has been found anywhere in the 1870 census.

    This is consistent with the story from the Hankins family tradition about Few's sons fleeing the county after their indictment for murder.  However, though Susannah was one of the three indicted, she stayed there, being enumerated still in her parents' home in the in 1870 census.  She lived out her life right there in Monroe County.

    Persistence finally led to a genealogy on TribalPages that had a statement of the murder.  The text was actually said to have come from Edward Ezell's burial marker.

    -------------------------
    About Hankins, Edward Ezelle

    Tombstone reads "Held in fondest remembrance his children"

    Murdered - Two brothers and their sister were indicted for his murder.  Could have been a property dispute.  Both the murder suspect (James F Gregory) and Edward were in the 59th Tennessee Mtd. Infantry Division (Confederate) together in Company E.  The other in Company G.  Both were Privates.  Edward was shot as he answered the door one night   He fought in the Civil War with two brothers, one of whom was killed in battle.

    --   Clevenger and Takes, TribalPages, https://takes.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=takes&view=0&pid=19632#moreinfo_
    -------------------------

    Robert Hankins provided a summary quote from the grand jury case on the murder.

    -------------------------
    Wednesday January 16th, 1867

    The State vs. James F. Gregory, William R. Gregory, Susan Helton
    Murder
    Came the grand jury into court headed by their foreman and brought with an indictment for murder. . ..

    Circuit Court January term AD 1867.  The Grand Jurors for the State of Tennessee. . . present that James F. Gregory, William R. Gregory and Susan Helton late of said County, not having the fear of God before their eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigations of the Devil on the first day of December A.D. 1866 with force and arms . . . in and upon one Edward Hankins, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, maliciously, feloniously and of their malice aforethought, did make an assault . . . with certain pistols and guns. . .  they held to against and upon the said Edward Hankins . . . did shoot and discharge (weapons). . . in and upon the said head, breast and body of the said Edward Hankins. . .divers mortal wounds. . . of which the said Edward Hankins, languishing did live and of which mortal wounds, he the said Edward Hankins afterwards, to wit, on the third day of the said month of December AD 1866. . . died... .
    J. M. Shernburgh, Atto., Gen.
    Witnesses: Julia Hankins, Sophia Hankins, Mat Hankins, Milly Hankins, sworn in open court and sent before the Grand Jury Jan. 16th 1867.
    -------------------------

    William was mentioned in his father's will.  His father died in 1872.

    Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008
    F H Gregory
    Will written 22 Mar 1871 Monroe, Tennessee, USA
    Wife Martha L Gregory nominated as Executrix
    Children mentioned:  Susannah V Helton, James F Gregory, Mary E Gregory, William R Gregory, Carra F Gregory
    (p 14)
    Witnesses C B Martin and S J Martin
    Probated September Court Term 1872. Monroe County, Tennessee, USA
    Registered Will Records, Vol 1-4, 1833-1922, pp 13-14

Sources

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