Abraham Pennington_1775_11-xx-1825from http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CherokeeGene/2001-11/1006738641 CherokeeGene-L ArchivesArchiver > CherokeeGene > 2001-11 > 1006738641From: “Sheila Anderson-Lewis” Subject: [Cherokee Genealogy only] OUR PENNINGTON FAMILY HISTORYDate: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 20:37:21 -0500OUR PENNINGTON FAMILY HISTORYBy Roger Pennington 12/05/2000I wanted to compile a short history on our Pennington family as I know it’svery hard to put together a ‘history’ from Genealogy Reports. In order tokeep this short, I will only include 2 generations, starting with our oldestidentified ancestors. I will try to keep this as accurate as I can and onlylist the facts that are well documented (please forgive me if I have mademistakes).http://www.users.qwest.net/~rcpennington/pennhist.html [bad link 11/19/2015]OUR PENNINGTON FAMILY HISTORYBy Roger Pennington 12/05/2000Our oldest ancestors that have been documented and identified are AndrewPennington b.1809 and his wife Hester Ann Blevins b.1812. Several databasesadvise that Andrew Pennington’s parents were Abram/Abrum Pennington andMargera/Margery. These databases also show Andrew’s sister as ArtemeciaPennington b.1810 and his brother James Pennington b. abt 1812 (thisinformation is listed on Eastern Cherokee Applications submitted by some ofArtemecia Pennington’s children - application number 27730, 25434 and 6166). However, we have not been able to make the connection with any otherdocumented proof. Another theory is that Andrew had a sister, ElizabethPennington b.1798 who married Wells Blevins b.1795. However, some of ushave a new theory - since there were 2 Andrew Penningtons in Ashe County in1840 and 1850, the other researchers may have the Andrews confused. Thisnew theory suggests that Artemecia and James Pennington might have been thesister and brother of the ‘other’ Andrew Pennington.It has been very difficult finding Abram/Abrum on deeds, census reports andcourt records. Some researchers have advised that there is a deed in PerryCounty, KY that lists Abram and Margaret Pennington as being one of theheirs to land owned by a James Lewis, deceased. However, we have beenunable to obtain a copy of the deed and a request to the KY Dept ofLibraries and Archives has come up empty. Some researchers list one of theAbel Penningtons as the brother of Abram and that Abel and Abram marriedsisters - Patsy and Margaret Lewis. Also, the father of Abel and Abrammight be one of the Ephriam Penningtons. An Abel Pennington was found onthe 1830 and 1840 Washington County, VA census but, to date, we are unsureof the connection to our family. One family story is that there was a Biblethat documented several generations and was called the ‘Big Pennington Bible.’ We have a picture of Hiram Pennington (our Andrew’s son) holding theBible. Unfortunately, the data in the Bible was never saved (copied ortranscribed). The last known location of this Bible was in Ohio and, perfamily stories, it was lost in a flood. We are hoping this story is falseand the Bible turns up someday. Meanwhile, the family searches continue.Now back to our new theory regarding the two Andrew Penningtons in AsheCounty, NC in 1840 and 1850. Assuming that our Andrew Pennington was livingin Ashe Country from 1809-1850, he would have to be in a documentedPennington household if he were counted on the Census. The census for 1830(our Andrew would have been 20-21 years old) there are only two Penningtonhouseholds listed - Levi and Ephriam Pennington. Levi did not have a malelisted between 15-20 but one is listed with Ephriam Pennington. We mightconclude that our Andrew was living with Ephriam Pennington in 1830. In1840, our Andrew had 3 male children under 5 - Abel, Calaway and Eli. Thiswould fit for one Andrew that is listed because the oldest male is between30-40 and the oldest female is bet 20-30 (Andrew and Hester Ann). ThisAndrew also has 5 slaves and 3 ‘other’ white males (these white males areassumed to be Andrew’s or Hester’s relatives).A journal was recently found by a descendent of Samuel Pennington b.1845 whowas the son of our Andrew Pennington. The journal belonged to Willie MonroePennington, son of William Roby Pennington who was Samuel’s son. Thejournal lists his GG-Uncle as Dowell Pennington along with some of Dowell’schildren. This is the first documentation that indicated that our Andrewmay have had a brother Dowell. In 1860, our Andrew is listed on theWashington County, VA census (Andrew and Hester moved from Ashe County, NCabout 1856) and a Dowell Pennington is also listed with the same childrenlisted in the journal just mentioned. In 1870, Dowell (also known as L.D)is back in Ashe County, NC. In 1880, Dowell (or L.D.) is back in WashingtonCounty, VA, living next door to our Andrew Pennington along with Dowell’sson, William. So, our new theory is that Artemecia and James were NOT ourAndrew’s sister and brother - they were sister and brother to the otherAndrew Pennington. Its possible that the 2 Andrews were related - maybecousins or the younger one might be our Andrew’s nephew.In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota, between the US Government and theCherokee Nation, resulted in the ‘Trail of Tears’ which many thousands ofCherokees were forced to march from their land in NC, VA, TN, AL and GA tonew ‘Indian Territory’ in what is now AK, KS and OK. As a result of thetreaty, the Cherokees were to be paid for their loss of land. They neverwere paid and a successful lawsuit was brought against the US Government bythree Cherokee groups. Resulting from the lawsuit, each Cherokee and/ordescendent was to receive a portion of the settlement. However, they had tofill out an application, list two generations of family history and offerevidence that they were true Cherokee or descendents from Cherokeeancestors. Many Penningtons applied (at least 3 generations of our family)as they all believed that Hester Ann Blevins (wife of Andrew Pennington)descended from Cherokee Indians through the Sizemore family (Hester Ann’smother was a Sizemore). Each Pennington who applied said their Indian bloodcame from Edward ‘Old Ned’ Sizemore who was thought to be a full-bloodedCherokee. All the Pennington applications were rejected because the USGovernment could not find any evidence that Edward ‘Old Ned’ Sizemore was aCherokee (he was not listed on any Cherokee census). However, there is someevidence that the Sizemores did descend from Indian blood, either Cherokeeor some other tribe. And, the ECAs did provide lots of family history datathat has been very useful to genealogists. Some of the Penningtonsappeared in court to testify that they were indeed descendents from Cherokeeancestors. The following was the testimony of Matilda Pennington Davis,daughter of Andrew and Hester Ann Pennington who married Calvin Davis:‘I am going on 68 years of age and live in Ashe County, NC. I was born inthis county and, with the exception of five years in VA, I have lived hereall my life. I have always been taught that I was of Indian descent fromthe Sizemores. I do not know what kind of Indians the Sizemores werethought to be. My Indian blood comes through my mother who was a Blevins. I have heard my mother say that her grandfather was a full-blood Indian. His name was Neddie Sizemore. I reckon she was born in Ashe County andlived there most of her life. She was very old at the time of her death and her mother died when she was a small girl. My mother’s mother was LydiaBlevins, if my mother, Hettie Blevins received any money from the Governmenton account of her Indian blood, I never heard of it. I never received anymoney and never applied for land or money in the Indian Territory. Most ofmy connections applied but I told them I did not know anything about it anddid not want to tell anything that was not the truth. My connections hadall applied for this Cherokee money and I thought this time I would apply,because all the rest did. I do not think by brothers got any land fromtheir claim, but, I think, they were promised some. I have heard of myIndian blood fully twenty years ago. I have four children who did not applyfor this fund and seven who did. William, Lundy, Roby, Alle (Alie?) andMandy are the four children who did not apply.’ Signed Matilda Davis,Weasels, NC, April 6, 1908.The following is a shortened version of William H. Blevins court testimony(note that William H. was the son of Armstrong Blevins, brother of HesterAnn Blevins who married Andrew Pennington):‘I am 67 years of age. I live in Washington County, VA. I have lived in VAabout 15 years. I was born in Ashe County, NC and lived there until 15years ago, with the exception of the time of the War, when I served in theWar on the side of the Confederacy. I claim through my father, ArmstrongBlevins, who lived and died in Ashe County, NC. I think he was born there. He was the son of Lydia Blevins. Lydia Sizemore (Blevins) was a daughter ofNed Sizemore, Sr. According to proof made before me in 1888 or 1896 as aJustice of the Peace in Ashe County, NC, he was a full-blood CherokeeIndian. As a boy, my father used to tell me that he was an Indian. I neverreceived anything from the Government on account of my Indian blood. Myfather spoke of his uncles, Owen, George and Ned and his aunts CatherineHart, Sallie Osborne and his Aunt Sookey Stamper. I saw his Uncle GeorgeSizemore when I was probably ten years old and heard him preach. He was theson of Old Ned Sizemore. He passed as a White man and Indian and claimedto be part Indian. He always told me that and his brothers and sisters wererelated to the Cherokee Indians. I was not enrolled on the census ofEastern Cherokee Indians in 1885 and never heard of it before. I have heardmy father and his brothers talk something about the enrollment of 1851. They were afraid of enrollment - were afraid they would be carried to theTerritory and scattered on that account. I do not think my father wasenrolled in 1835 or any of the Sizemores that I know anything of. Theywere afraid of enrollment. I do not know about the removal of the Cherokeesonly what I have read and heard my father say. He was afraid that if he wasenrolled as late as 1851, he would be forced to go to the Territory. Theword ‘Chief’ on my application means that I am chief of the White Top Bandof Cherokee Indians, an organization of the principal Cherokee Indiansliving about White Top and was perfected about ten years ago. We organizedso as to demand our rights in a body. In 1896, we wanted to go to theIndian Territory and organized for that purpose. When the band was firstorganized there were about 2175, I believe. They were all Sizemoredescendants. No one else was allowed to become a member.’ Signed W. H. Blevins, Marion, VA, April 11, 1908.Andrew and Hester Ann Pennington had the following children:1. Abel b. 1836 d. 1920 married (1) Emily Blevins (2) Sarah V. Able2. Hiram b. 1846 d. 1914 married Margaret Huffman3. William Calaway b. 1838 d. 1904 married Nancy D. Privett4. Eli b. 1840 d.aft 1906 married Emeline ‘Emily’ Allen5. Matilda b. 1842 d. 1920 married Calvin Davis6. Neoma b. 1843 d. 1902 married Lee Blevins met Andrew Jackson Davis7. Samuel b. 1845 d. 1932 married Sarah Ann Huffman8. Andrew ‘A.J.’ b. 1848 d. married Eliza Jane Gentry9. Rebecca b. 1850 d. 1914 married Andrew J. Hart10. Abraham ‘Asa’ b. 1858 d. 1894 married Emaline Sherwood11. Edia Eveline b. 1856 d.abt 1906 married David PenningtonAbel Pennington had 12 children, 2 with Emily Blevins (Abel’s cousin) and10 with Sarah Able. Abel Pennington is buried in Green Cove Cemetery andhis tombstone has Abram Pennington on it (his full name may have been AbelAbram/Abraham). Hiram and Samuel Pennington married sisters - Margaret andSarah Ann Huffman. Margaret died from blood poisoning caused by a pin orneedle she picked up off the floor, that pricked her skin when she tried toput the pin in her apron bib. Hiram and Margaret had 7 children and Samueland Sarah Ann had 9. Eli Pennington and Emily Allen had 12 children, withsons Asa, Samuel and Hiram named after Eli’s brothers, daughters Hester Annand Lydia named after Eli’s mother and grandmother. Eli also had a sonAndrew, named after his father. Calaway Pennington and Nancy Privett had 7children. Matilda Pennington and Calvin Davis had 15 children. CalvinDavis was an Elder at Pond Mountain Baptist Church. Neoma Pennington hadchildren with Andrew Jackson Davis but did not marry him. The children keptthe Pennington name. Andrew Jackson ‘A. J.’ and Eliza Jane Gentry had 3children and migrated to Tennessee. Rebecca Pennington and Andrew Hart had8 children. Abraham ‘Asa’ Pennington and Emaline Sherwood had 8 childrenand in 1907 were living in Chilhowie, VA. Edia Eveline Pennington and DavidPennington had 6 children and migrated to Grosses, Smyth County, VA.Civil War records show that maybe Andrew and Hester Ann had 5 sons in theConfederate Army. Calaway, Eli, Samuel and Abel were in the 63rd VirginiaInfantry Company F and Andrew Jackson ‘A.J.’ was in the 63rd VirginiaInfantry Company C (note, there is some confusion about A.J. and his CivilWar experience - he may be confused with another A.J. that died in a UnionPrison camp and our A.J. may not have served). CSA Pension applications forAbel, Samuel and Eli are found at the Library of Virginia. Also, CalvinDavis, who married Matilda, Andrew’s daughter, was also in the ConfederateArmy and enlisted in NC. Other than minor to moderate wounds, all thefamily men survived (probably Calvin Davis had the worst injury). Abel, onhis pension application, said he was in a Union prison when the war ended. Samuel was well-known as a sharp-shooter (some said he could shoot the eyeout of a squirrel at 100 yards). One story about Matilda, was that she rodea horse to Lynchburg, VA to be with and care for Calvin when he was shot andcaptured by the Union army. Samuel has a ‘CSA Tombstone from the State ofVA’ on his grave in Troutdale, VA.In the late 1800s and early 1900s, we found our family spread out among 3-4states. In Virginia, the sons/daughters of Andrew and Hester Ann wereliving in Washington, Grayson and Smyth Counties in communities such asKonnarock, White Top, Azen, Fairwood, Green Cove, Camp, Park, Rugby, FlatRidge, Fox Creek, Grosses, Chilhowie, Lodi, Marion, Glade Springs andTroutdale. In North Carolina, they are still in Ashe County and near themountains. In Tennessee, they are in the eastern part of the state inJohnson and Washington counties. A few made their way into West Virginia. It seemed that all preferred the mountains. In Virginia, we can find theirtombstones at Azen Cemetery, Laurel Valley, Troutdale Cemetery, White Topand in Green Cove Cemetery (there are many others). Andrew and Hester AnnPennington are buried in the Laurel Valley Cemetery, Konnarock, VA.Over the years, we have come across several interesting Penningtons, whichto date, have no connection to our family. Two Penningtons are documentedas being part of the Jamestown colony in 1607 with Captain John Smith (onedies after being in Jamestown for two weeks and the other returns toEngland). A Richard Pennington married Daniel Boone’s sister, Hannah Boone. There are several that served in the Revolutionary War (Grayson County, VAhas their names carved on a memorial). Many served in the Union Army aswell as the Confederate Army. Several migrated into Kentucky and some ofthe towns/communities have the Pennington name (i.e. Pennington Gap, VA.). Many went West to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Arizona.If you descend from a Pennington or Blevins from Southwest VA, Western NC,Eastern TN, Southern KY or Southern WVA, then you may have an ancestor inour family. Stop by and visit with us at the Pennington reunion held eachAugust at the Konnarock Community Center, Konnarock, VA.---Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).Version: 6.0.298 / Virus Database: 161 - Release Date: 11/13/2001This thread:· [Cherokee Genealogy only] OUR PENNINGTON FAMILY HISTORY by “Sheila Anderson-Lewis”

Abraham "Abram" Pennington