Why Capt. John Hennington is NOT John Kennington

 

South Carolina 1779

A great deal of speculation has been voiced and written about the history of the Hennington family. I have researched the Hennington’s for well over forty years, and it remains one of my most challenging, and at times, satisfying families to follow.

 One of my recent discoveries uncovered a John Kennington who served for South Carolina during the American Revolution.

 My 4^th great-grandfather was John Hennington, who served as a Capt. for South Carolina, also during the American Revolution.

 These two Johns, although they both served for South Carolina in the war, each led very different lives.

 John Kennington, is listed as born 1745 in South Carolina and was a son of Edward. His brothers were Edward and William. During the war, John served 56 days as a horseman in 1779-1780, and thirty days in the infantry in 1781, under Col. Marshall. John is listed n the 1790 Census in Lancaster County. There were five females and five males in the Kennington household. John remained in Lancaster County until his death, sometime between 1800-1810. During the Estate settlement in 1815, his wife is noted as Martha, and his children as William, Edward, John, Marian (husband Edward Narrimore), Catherine, Sarah (husband David Myers), and Violette (husband William Jasper Fortenberry).  His surname is also noted as Carrington on this document.

 Capt. John Hennington was born about 1750 in possibly Beaufort, in the Province of North Carolina. His wife was Elizabeth. He had three known sons, with none as the same names as John Kennington's. 

John Hennington owned over two-thousand acres between Saltcatcher and Edisto rivers. As part of the Historical Records of Officers of the Continental Army he is part of a roster as, Hennington, John (S.C.) as a Capt. in the 3^rd South Carolina (The Rangers). He financed his own regiment. On June 28, 1776, he served under Gen. William Moultrie at the Battle of Sullivans Island. An interesting side note, during this battle, it was his cousin William Jasper that raised the South Carolina flag over Fort Moultrie. (you can find many paintings as noted below, online)

 During the Siege of Savannah, Capt. John Hennington was taken prisoner and is listed on a List of Officers Taken in Savannah Dec. 29, 1778. They were taken to British prison ships in the Savannah harbor.

 After the war, he owned land in the Orangeburg District, as well as living primarily in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1785 he was elected as Justice of the Peace. He also was elected to represent Orange Parish in the Sixth General Assembly. John continued to own land in Pendleton District, Ninety-Six District, Orangeburg, and Charleston.   

 John’s death date is assumed to be between 14 July 1798 and 24 September 1799, possibly in Charleston. In 1799, his wife Elizabeth is listed as the primary landowner in Orangeburg District, bounded by Richard Berry. 

John Kerrington died 1800-1810 in Lancaster County, South Carolina. his wife was listed as Martha.

 It is easy to see how these two men, one listed as John Kennington, and the other as John Hennington, would be confused as the same person. Each served South Carolina, one from Lancaster, the other from Charleston.  

 The Hennington research continues. I have discovered many new things that have not been released, and certainly, deserve consideration for publication at a future date.

Gilbert Town: Its Place in North Carolina and Revolutionary War History

William Gilbert, of Scotch-Irish (Ulster-Scot) heritage, came to America and settled first in Philadelphia, where he met and married Sarah McCanless, who was born there in 1737. They traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, from Philadelphia and then came to Old Tryon County.
In 1777 and 1778, he was assessor of taxes and, in 1778, collector of taxes. Mr. Gilbert held the office of justice of the peace in Old Tryon County, taking his seat in July, 1778. In 1779, he represented Tryon in the North Carolina House of Commons.
On February 8th, 1779, he was forced to resign his commission as justice of the peace on the charge of duplicating his vouchers as commissary of militia of Tryon County. His guilt or innocence can never be known. Despite the charge, when Rutherford County was formed from Old Tryon, Gilbert represented the new county in the North Carolina House of Commons. He was selected in 1779, 1780, 1782, and 1783.
Gilbert was appointed justice of the peace for Rutherford County in 1781. At the October, 1781, term of the Rutherford County Court, he was chosen chairman of the court. The court vindicated him of the legislative charge of duplicating his vouchers by an order in October 1781, reading "On motion of William Gilbert, Esq., and testimony produced to the satisfaction of the court, it is ordered that the opinion of the court be entered on the records, to-wit: It is the opinion of the court that the said William Gilbert is not guilty of the charge laid against to the General Assembly, and we do certify that the said William Gilbert never plundered, nor was guilty of plundering, to our knowledge."
Gilbert was charged with treason, because Ferguson used the Gilbert home as his headquarters. Lyman Draper in his definitive history, King's Mountain and Its Heroes, on page 159, states Gilbert "was a Loyal friend of King George." In 1897, Flournoy Rivers wrote in a Nashville newspaper that "Draper seemed to have presumed that Gilbert was a Loyalist simply because Major Ferguson camped at Gilbert Town, as though an invading army would ever quarter on a friend while in an enemy's country. As a fact, the Assembly was then sitting at Hillsborough and Gilbert, being the county's representative in the House of Commons, was most likely absent there, and Ferguson, in his absence, most probably quartered on [Gilbert] as an object lesson by way of making treason odious, as it were."

North Carolina records indicate that on October 25th, 1775, Gilbert and others, including the Committee of Safety, signed the "Association Oath," expressing profound regret that "his Brittannic Majesty had been so ill-advised as to encroach on the undoubted rights of the colonists as Englishmen, with the firmly expressed intention of sustaining both the Continental and Provincial Congresses."

In October, 1783, Gilbert wanted to visit his wife's relatives in Philadelphia. The court, sitting at his son-in-law's house, prepared, under the seal of the court, a statement of his standing and civic virtues, by way of a letter of introduction. "That the said William Gilbert hath long been an inhabitant of this county, hath frequently represented the same in the General Assembly; that he is first in commission of the place, and that it appears from the lists of assessments returned into the clerk's office that he is possessed of and hath given in for assessing more taxable property than any other person in the county of Rutherford, and that he hath uniformly distinguished himself as a warm Whig and a true friend to his county in times of greatest distress and defection during the war."
Despite his successful defense of the charges of treason, Gilbert continued to have legal problems after the war, being engaged in numerous lawsuits, and eventually lost his property. In 1786, 1787, and a portion of 1788, he lived in Charleston, South Carolina. He later returned to Gilbert Town to live at the home of his son-in-law, James Holland, where he died in 1790. He was buried on Ferguson's Hill above Gilbert Town.
Gilbert's wife, Sarah McCanless Gilbert, lived until 1822. She went with the James Holland family in 1790 to Maury County, Tennessee, and is buried at Holland's Ford on the Duck River.
James Holland married Gilbert's daughter Sarah. He represented Rutherford County in the North Carolina House of Commons and the Senate. He was elected to the first board of trustees of the University of North Carolina.
(Nancy Ellen Ferguson)

South Carolina Archives Announces Large Digitization of Rev War Records

Press Release

Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) is pleased to announce that the records series “Accounts Audited of Claims Growing out of the Revolution in South Carolina 1775-1856” is now active and images are available on the Online Records Index. This record consists of 11,170 documents presented by citizens to the treasury in support of claims for military service, supplies, and other contributions rendered during the latter part of the Revolutionary War. Most of the files contain an auditor’s cover paper, which includes the name of claimant, a brief description of their service provided, and the amount of their claim and its adjusted value. Additionally, if an indent was issued, its number and the claimant’s signature verifying its receipt were also included as well as receipts and affidavits to the validity of the claim.

Over the last six months, the SCDAH completed the process of adding these records to the Online Records Index. Our greatest appreciation goes to the Southern Revolutionary War Institute and Mr. Michael Scoggins for providing the images to the agency. Mr. Scoggins was instrumental in having the images scanned through a grant funded to the Southern Revolutionary War Institute from the National Park Service. Scoggins is the historian for the Culture & Heritage Museums in York County and research director of the Southern Revolutionary War Institute. This series is one of the most requested records series at the SCDAH. Records such as audited accounts are vital resources for genealogists and historians. Having a series as valuable and expansive available in a digital format is a milestone for any individual with South Carolina ancestry.

To view the record series, please visit the Online Records Index (http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/). After opting to enter the Index, use the Advanced Search option, choose the Record Group “Combined Index to Records Series, 1675-1929” and the Series “ S108092: Accounts Audited of Claims Growing Out of the Revolution.” For questions about this series, please contact us at 803-896-0339 or info@scdah.sc.gov.

About the South Carolina Department of Archives and History

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History is an independent state agency whose mission is to preserve and promote the documentary and cultural heritage of the Palmetto State. The department houses one of the most comprehensive state archival collections in the nation, spanning more than 325 years of South Carolina history. 

https://scdah.sc.gov/news/2018-07/scdah-announces-digitization-over-11000-revolutionary-war-records

Zadock Ford ... a work in progress

Zadock Ford was reportedly a Rev. War soldier, from Maryland, whose records have been approved by the DAR. After the war, Zadock served as a justice, in the earliest courts of Spartanburg County, SC. He owned a mill and a good bit of property in the area. His will is dated 1801 and Cassandra, his wife, is said to have died Oct. 31, 1831. The names of Zadock's and Cassandra's children were given in a DAR application; and from other records we have birth dates and marriages. There is no Samuel listed, but John, born 1790 to 1800, married Sara Johnson. One reason we believe Samuel and John to be the same person is that there was a John Ford shown in an 1856, Spartanburg land dispute, among the heirs of Zadock Ford. The children of Zadock's deceased son, John, were said to be in GA, and were listed as Andrew, Jane, John, and Millie. Millie's married name, Martin, was given, and her husband, Bird Martin."

The above paragraph is from "History of Gwinnett Co., Georgia." Several documents at the Gwinnett Co. courthouse list John and Sarah. This is the only source that even mentions "Samuel." Apparently it appeared in family records.
The same researcher who gave the above information suggests either of two people as the earliest known Ford in the Gwinnett County Ford line: William Foard, seen in Prince George County, Maryland, in 1790; or James Ford, Capt., in the South Carolina Provincial Militia. James owned 150 acres in Union County, SC, and probably came from Virginia. Apparently she found no records to prove connection to either of these two men.
We have not checked the DAR application nor any of the original sources relative to the names of Zadock's children.
Another researcher, Susan Ford, believes Zadock's father was William Ford who married Jemima Callum March 17, 1751/52 in Smithfield Township, Providence, Rhode Island. She says that Zadock was born September 21, 1752, in Rhode island and died April 9, 1801 in Spartansburg, South Carolina.
Notes from Susan Ford: Zadock Ford was reportedly a Rev. War soldier, from Maryland. After the war, Zadock served as a justice, in the earliest courts of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. He owned a mill and good bit of property in the area. His will is dated 1801.

Note from Rachel Hill (rshill@mindspring.com): "There were two Zadock Fords in the Rev. War. One was from CT and married Eunice Bridges. Ours was in the 7th Co. Maryland Militia - Montgomery Co. (I do not have the war records yet.) My theory is that our Zadock is the illegitimate child of John Cook and Mary Ford. Zadock Ford was listed as "next of kin" to John Cook,Jr. along with Mary Cook (mother of John Cook) in "Abstracts of the inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland 1772-1774. In John Cook Sr's will his son John was disowned and left one shilling sterling. In "This was the Life" by Millard Milburn Rice (Excerpts from the Judgment Records of Frederick County, Maryland 1748-1765) is the following: "Elizabeth Boyd swears in Court that John Cook was the father of her baseborn child." somewhere I have a document that states that Mary Ford had an Illegitimate child, but the father is not named. This is all theory but I can't find anything else. Also on the list of the 7th Maryland Militia John Cook and Zadock Ford's names are together.

Children of Zadock Ford and Cassandra Trail:
Rachel
Zadock
Nancy
Westwood
Cassandra
William
John Sanuel

Zephaniah Clement...an American Patriot

I am very proud and honored to announce that my application and membership to the DAR, has been approved. This membership was derived from the American Revolutionary patriot, Zephaniah Clement, my fourth great grandfather, an American patriot.

Thank you for your service and committment to a young country

DAR notes include;
"The said Zephaniah Clement who resided during the American Revolution at Edgefield Co., SC - Ninety-Six Dist., assisted in establishing American Independence, while acting in the capacity of Soldier, South Carolina Militia-Pvt. A member of the South Carolina Militia in Pickens' Brigade following the fall of Charleston.
Source: Roster of S.C. Patriots in the American Revolution, B.G. Morse, 1983, P. 177 Stub Entries, Book U-W, Ed. by A.S. Selley, Jr., 1918 u269; SC Audited Accts # 1293

After the war
Deed Book 12: 1794-1796 Edgefield County, S.C.
Page 378-380 5 Oct 1795: Sheriff's Title: William Tennet, Sheriff of Ninety Six Dist. to Charles Goodwin of Cambridge for 72 pounds, sold 650 acres on both sides Cedar Creek formerly called Walnut Creek adj. Henry Parkman, William Tillery and Thomas Davis and Grange Shaw Parkman and Reubin Frazier. Whereas Zepheniah Clements, James Coodie, & Edward Van, Senr. were indebted by joint bond to Mary Ann Hammond, Executrix, & Leroy Hammond, George Whitefield and Charles Goodwin, Executors of LW&T of Leroy Hammond, Esq. dec'd for 150 pounds with Interest and did obtain a writ at Court of Common Pleas in Cambridge 12 Nov 1794...Said William Tennent, Sheriff of Ninety Six Dist. did seize and sell from Zephaniah Clements (see above prop.) and sold at public auction for payment of said debt...to last &highest bidder...
Signed:
Wm. Tennent, Sheriff of Ninety Six Dist.
William Tennent, Esq. Sheriff of Ninety Six came into Court and ack. hisdeed to Charles Goodwin, Esq. for 500 acres and ordered recorded. R. Tutt,
Clk. Recorded 14 Oct 1795.

1795 Zepheniah, of Edgefield, S.C., sold land to Samuel of Granville, next to land of Simon and Stephen, 10 Dec. 1795. 1788 Stephen and Zephaniah Clement appointed viewers of roads. (Simon is Zephaniah's father, Stephen is his brother)

The Will of Zephaniah Clement Bibb Co., AL
{Copied from the original will in the files of Probate Office.}

I Zephaniah Clemment of the Co. of Bibb & State of AL being weak in body, but of sound & perfect mind & memory, do make & publish this my last will & Testament, in manner & form following (to wit) First I give & bequeat unto my beloved son Stephen Clemment One Dolar over & above the amount he has already received - I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved son William Clement One Negro girl named Nell & one Horse, & one cow & Calf worth Ten dollars & one Bed & furniture worth ten dollars & one Bed & furniture worth fifty dollars to him & his heirs forever -

I also give & bequeat unto my beloved son Thomas Clemment on negro girl named Harriett one Horse worth $100 one Bed & furniture worth fifty dollars & one cow & calf worth ten dollars, to him & his heirs forever- I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved son Luellen Clemment one negro girl named Rose & one Horse worth $100 one Bed & furniture worth fifty dollars one Cow & calf worth fifty dollars, tho him & his heirs forever. I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved son Alfred Clemment one negro girl named Amy one Bed & furniture worth fifty dollars, & one cow & calf worth ten dollars, to him & his heirs for-ever I do leave in the care of my executors for the support & maintenance of my beloved dau. Isabel Clemment one negro girl named Writta one bed & furniture worth fifty dollars & one cow & calf worth ten dollars to her during her natural life, & then to return to her Brothers & sisters to be equally divided among them.

I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved dau. Polly Wash one negro girl named Fanny one Horse worth one Hundred dollars, one Bed & furntiure worth fifty dollars one cow & calf worth ten dollars, eifht head of hogs worth fifty dollars to her & her heirs forever. I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved dau. Susanna Terry one negro girl named Mirah & Hundred dollars in money one bed & furniture worth fifty dollars one cow & calf worth ten dollars one sow & pigs worth ten dollars to her & her heirs forever- I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved dau. Leanna Clemment one negro girl named Betty one Bed & furniture worth fifty dollars one cow & calf worth ten dollars to her & her heirs for ever - I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved dau. Nancy Hunt one negro girl named Dina one Mule worth one Hundred & fifty dollars One bed & furniture one cow & calf worth ten dollars, to her & her heirs forever -

I do also give & bequeat untomy beloved dau. Parsada Clemment one negro girl named Juli one bed & furniture worth fifty dollars one cow & calf worth ten dollars to her & her heirs for ever - I do also give & bequeat unto my beloved dau. Annamariah Jones all my right & claim to certain tract of land lying in the state of SC Edgefield Co. Walnut Creek now contested by law, & in case she should fail to recover the said land that she is to receive four hundred dollars in lieu thereof out of the proceeds of my Estate to her & her heirs for ever - It is also my will that the following negroes (to wit) Gilbert, Nan, Milly, Lucy & Dicy, Judy, Pharo & Ester be kept together upon the plantation, under the care & direction of my Executors untill the discharge of all my just debts, & after the discharge of said debts that the said Negroes be equally divided so as to make the smallest legacies equal with the greatest. & lastly, I do appoint my beloved sons William & Thomas Clemment & John Hunt my sole Exectuors of this my last will & Testament - hereby revoking all former wills by me made - In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal the 25th day of Jan. in the year of our Lord one thousand & eight Hundred & twenty two. Signed Z. Clement {His Seal} Signed, sealed, published, & declared by the above named Zephaniah Clement to be his last will & Testament, in the presence of us, who have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses in presence of the Testator: P. Watkins, Samuel Cammack, & Lewis Cammack. Peter Watkins & Samuel Cammak proved the

Execution of the Will 25th Feby {Feb.} 1822. Let it be recorded. A.M. Lusk, Judge of Bibb Co. Ct. This will also recorded in Book C pages 10, 11, & 12.
http://www.africanaheritage.com/uploads/564/FarrisFamilyPart2uploaded.txt

Signed, sealed, published, & declared by the above named Zephaniah Clement to be his last will & Testament, in the presence of us, who have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses in presence of the Testator: P. Watkins, Samuel Cammack, & Lewis Cammack. Peter Watkins & Samuel Cammak proved the Execution of the Will 25th Feby {Feb.} 1822. Let it be recorded. A.M. Lusk, Judge of Bibb Co. Ct. This will also recorded in Book C pages 10, 11, & 12.

This was published in the "Alabama Sentinel" which was printed and published by Thomas B. Grantland of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. "March 24, 1826
Adv. Bibb County 6 March 1826. John Hunt, one of executors of will of Zephaniah Clement, deceased with William Clement and Thomas Clement to make
final settlement."

Zephaniah's estate was appraised on March 9, 1822 for $7,087.50.

In "Edgefield County Marriages, 1769-1880, implied in Edgefield County,
South Carolina Probate Records" by Barbara R. Langdon on page 22 is:
Man Woman Box Pack
Frames Lived
Z. ? Jones 15 535
180,181 1826
Zepheniah ? Jones 40 1597
302 1822

****************************************************
Lineage

Generation 1
Gayle Hennington Van Horn

Generation 2
Loyd Burdette Hennington

Generation 3
Fletcher Woosley Hennington

Generation 4
William Garrison Hennington

Generation 5
Anna Clement Hennington

Generation 6
Stephen Clement

Generation 7
Zephaniah Clement