The Peyton Connection

Whether you’re a cousin on the Wiser side or on the Russell side of Gracie and John Wiser, you’ll find that the Peyton family line runs through your veins. All roads trace back to a man named Valentine Peyton (1749-1831) from Stafford County, Virginia.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit Stafford County, Virginia. Many of you may know it as George Washington’s boyhood home, but it’s American roots run even deeper than that. For the purposes of this blog it’s important to know that we are in Kentucky by way of Stafford County, Va.

Valentine Peyton was born on March 9th, 1749. He fought in the American Revolutionary War prior to settling in Lincoln County, KY. There is a plaque to commemorate his service located in Kentucky Historical Society Museum in Frankfort, KY. Doing research on Valentine Peyton is a little tricky. There are actually more than one man with that name who fought for America and lived in Virginia. Apparently, it was a very popular family name!

What I DO KNOW about our Valentine is this: he was an Ensign in the military, and he had a relative named George who also fought during the Revolution. This is factual and can be proven with land records at the Casey County and Lincoln County KY courthouses. After his service in the war, Valentine received a land grant to settle the wild Kentucky hunting ground. That was a pretty common practice at the time: take your best soldiers and reward them with land. If they can tame it then they can keep it.

Sometime between 1834 and 1844, the living children of Valentine Peyton petitioned for land owned by George Peyton, who was also an Ensign during the Revolutionary War. Further, the living children of Valentine Peyton petitioned for the land on behalf of his grandchildren (living heirs of his deceased children). The petition was granted and so George Peyton’s land reverted to Randolph, Buford, Simeon, and Lucy Peyton Hill (our ancestor). Already deceased at this time were Vincent Peyton, Rhoda Peyton Goode, Delia Peyton Speed, and Dilla Peyton Tinsley. Their children received what would have been their portion of the land.

Lucy Peyton Hill

So, Lucy Peyton Hill is the great-great-grandmother of Gracie Lee Russell. Lucy married William Hill. They had a daughter, Martha, who married James Richards. James and Martha’s son George had a daughter named Ann Eliza, who married Clay Russell. Ann Eliza and Clay are the parents of Gracie Lee, who married John Wallace Wiser.

James Peyton

It’s unclear what connection James and Valentine Peyton have, except that they are both from Stafford County, Va. and ended up in Casey County, KY. They also both served in the Revolutionary War and received land grants. On pure speculation, I assume that they are at least cousins.

James is the ancestor for both James and Sophronia Wiser, as well as Christopher Columbus Peyton. These are three of the four grandparents of John Wallace Wiser. Yes–you read that right–three of the four grandparents.

Let me explain: James Peyton married Elizabeth Cox. They had a daughter named Elizabeth, who married Joseph Wiser. They also had a daughter named Sally who married Thomas McGlothlin.

Elizabeth and Joseph had a son named James Joseph. James Joseph Wiser married his first cousin Sophronia Peyton, and they had a son named James Mattison. James Mattison Wiser married his first cousin named Nancy Peyton, and they are the parents of John Wallace Wiser.

Thomas McGlothlin and Sally had a daughter named Jane, who married Bennett Peyton. It’s unclear who the parents of Bennett are, but he must be a relation to James Peyton. At any rate, Thomas and Jane’s daughter is Sophronia (grandmother of John Wallace Wiser). Thomas and Jane also had a son named Christopher Columbus, who married Nancy Jane Clarkson. The daughter of Christopher and Nancy is Nancy F., who is the mother of John Wallace Wiser.

So, wrapping it up: it was common at that time for first cousins to marry because of land barriers and proximity to other families. And now you see how many intersecting lines there are in the Wiser/ Russell/ Peyton family.

Old Time Brady Bunch!

As mentioned earlier, James Mattison Wiser was married twice: first to Nancy Peyton and then to Perry Amanda Cummins. When he married Amanda on March 5, 1911 he became her second husband. She was once married to a man named George Smith and had six children with him.

James and Nancy’s Story:

James married Nancy on June 30, 1892 in Casey Co. KY. She was 17 years old and he was 21 years old. I believe that Rosetta, William Madison, and John Wallace were born in the marriage of Nancy and James because they are listed on the first census after Nancy’s death but before James’s marriage to Amanda. While I also believe she is buried in Liberty, I cannot find any proof of her burial location.

James and Amanda’s Story:

On May 5, 1911 James married Perry Amanda Cummins. As mentioned earlier, she was once married to George Smith, who registered for the Army in 1908. I can find no record of a death or divorce for George. Amanda brought to the marriage with James six children: Minnie, Dillie, Essie, Mary, Dortha, and Alva.

Where did the girls go?

In the 1910 Census, James is listed as a widow, with Rosetta, William, and John as living with him. To complicate things further, the same year’s census lists Amanda as living with George and four of their six children There is no mention of Mary (born in 1906) and Dortha (born in 1908). Where did those girls go?

Now, moving to the 1920 census we see that Rosetta, William, and John Wallace are gone from James’s house and established families of their own. Further, Amanda’s children with George are also grown and married. The 1920 census also shows that James and Amanda have Mary, Dortha, Thomas, Addis, and James living with them. The latter three were born during the marriage of James and Amanda.

So , the question is where were Mary and Dortha during the 1910 census? Were they living with another relative? Also, what happened to George? After enlisting in the Army in 1908 I can’t find any information about him – no grave site, no death certificate…nothing.

Interesting side note: James and Amanda died three days apart. They both had influenza that progressed to pneumonia and that led to their death. He, living three days longer, died intestate (without a will) and his estate had to pay the Commonwealth of Kentucky $300 to probate his possessions.

History of John Wallace Wiser and Grace Lee Russell

John Wallace Wiser was born on October 13, 1899 in Casey Co. KY. He was one of three children born to James Mattison Wiser and Nancy F. Peyton Wiser. Nancy died in 1910, leaving James to marry Perry Amanda Cummins with whom he fathered five more children.

Grace Lee Russell was born on November 28, 1902 in Casey Co. KY. Her parents were Clay Russell and Ann Eliza Richards. Grace had two brothers and one sister. She grew up in the Big South Fork area of Casey Co. KY; specifically near Ellisburg.

I can find no actual marriage document, but Grace and John must have been married just before the 1920 census. She is listed there as married and he is Head of Household. Their first son was born in 1922, in Casey Co. KY. The other twelve children were born between Casey and Marion counties in KY. In all, John and Gracie had ten boys and three girls. The family business was farming, so more hands make the work evenly divided. Further, because there were fourteen in the family work was necessary for survival.

Parents of John Wallace Wiser

James Mattison Wiser and Nancy F. Peyton were first cousins by way of his mother (Sophronia Peyton) and her father (Christopher Columbus Peyton). James’s mother and Nancy’s father were brother and sister, with their parents being Bennett Peyton and Jane McGlothlin (McLaughlin).

Parents of Grace Lee Russell

Clay Russell and Ann Eliza Richards were married on 29 August, 1895 in Casey Co. KY. Ann Eliza is the great-great-granddaughter of Valentine Peyton (1749-1831), whose family helped establish the Lincoln, Garrard, Casey County areas in Kentucky. He obtained these land grants through service in the American Revolution.

Map of Ky from 1860. Notice that county boundaries are varied from modern day boundaries. Lake Cumberland has not yet been created. This is important because Big South Fork, which was the area in Casey County where most families settled, was affected by the construction of Lake Cumberland and Wolf Creek Dam.

This is a broad overview of the connection between the Wiser, Russell, and Peyton families in Kentucky. It is by no means exhaustive. I have much more to share in future posts!

Tracey

Who Are We?

For as far back as I can remember, family history has been important to me. I come from a large family. Mama had 6 siblings; Daddy had 12. You can imagine that two families with 20 kids would make a host of cousins, aunts, and uncles.

All of these cousins, aunts, and uncles shared common threads with each other and with me. I want to know more about the specific common threads that put us all in this one place; the circumstances that allowed us to be together. As part of my recent pursuits into family history, DNA testing, and lineage vetting I decided that it might be best to share all the information publicly. After all, the information is already available. I just wanted to have it in one centralized location.

Why do this?

  • Because history connects the past with the present. It might help us understand why we are the way we are; why we value what we do.
  • Because history is inescapable.

I chose to blog publicly rather than keeping a personal journal because I want to share some of the interesting things I’ve found researching my paternal lineage. I thought it might also be interesting to those in the same line. As I said earlier, Daddy had a dozen brothers and sisters. I know there are cousins out there that I’ve never met.

At any time, please share with me stories and photos from the past. I’m also interested in knowing if corrections are necessary to the information I’ve compiled.

Looking forward to learning and growing!

Tracey