Obediah Small Sr. and Wife Lydia Bundy
Facts and Fiction
An Essay
By
Jim Small
2005
I began researching this line of the Small family many years ago, and thought I had done a fair job of it, until I began receiving inquiries that just didn’t add up. I tried ignoring the inconsistencies, but finally decided what I had lacked proper source identification and reluctantly I removed it from the internet and put it into a “to do” status.
I've put off again researching this line for several years, but it has become increasingly difficult of late, because people have begun quoting each others genealogy as sources rather than actual records themselves. Genealogies are poor sources, especially if they do not quote actual records. And I've found in a re-examination of this family, that many books that people quote are in error. I do not claim to be the expert on this or any other genealogy, but I have accumulated a few records. And in looking at these, have discovered glaring inaccuracies.
So begins an essay using William Wade Hinshaw's "Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy" and Miles White, Early Quakers of Virginia" as primary sources; and records from the NC State Archives in Raleigh containing deeds, wills, census records and other notable documents of interest to this study.
Miles White was a Quaker, and custodian of the Earliest Monthly Meeting books for Chuckatuck MM in Virginia, an excellent and accurate transcriber of their monthly meeting records who took great pains to copy exact spellings of the meeting records.
Hinshaw, who is more widely known, hired local Friends and financed the transcription of minutes that still exist, creating 6 volumes, but was not as accurate as Miles White. In his defense, Hinshaw's work was much more extensive than White, and because of this his transcribers were not as accurate when it came to spelling. As a point, Miles White listed the name of John Smalls' wife as Alce Hollowell, daughter of Alce Hollowell. And he spelled it that way throughout the Nansemond Chuckatuck records, exactly as it appeared. Hinshaw did not. He spelled it Alce, Alse, and Alice. But, as I said, if you check the original record, it was spelled only one way...... Alce. Many have assumed this was a short version for the name Alice, and have copied the name in this way, never considering that it might also be a short version for the name Allison, not Alice. I therefore, have used Miles White as the more accurate transcriber of Chuckatuck Quaker records where they both used the same references. Wm. Hinshaw hired Laura Worth in his work at the Hege Library where the original minutes reside, and because only abstracts of the original records appear in Hinshaw’s work, various spellings of the name emerged.
One other point of interest, Hinshaw was granted permission to extract relevant records from the minute books that relate to genealogy, but in doing so, he agreed to not publish any entry that did not look favorably upon the Friends. Therefore, many records from the business portion of the meeting were never extracted and published. Additionally, he did not include all the witnesses to marriages, and in some cases these did list other family members and allied families. Most read much like a wedding reception list would today, those attending were either members of the families, or very close friends or neighbors of the bride and groom.
Below are what I have researched, and the conclusions I have drawn, using only the records available from Hinshaw, White and actual men’s minute books from Hege Library; and various court documents. I have not used any of the various books published on this family because in checking them against actual records they quote, I have found errors. The most often quoted sources are as follows:
1. One Ladd's Family, by Ruth Kline Ladd, 1974
2. Meet Our Ancestors, by V. (Vivian) Mayo Bundy, 1978
3. The Ancestry of Allen Grinnell Cleaver and Martha Irene Jessup - 172 Allied Families - compiled by William Jessup Cleaver 1989.
Of the three books quoted, the best of the three is the book by William Cleaver. He lists family surname, (in this case Small,) pages 805-810, and after each individual, he lists the source for that person’s information. This is done for each surname he lists in his book apparently, although I only have the pertinent pages relating to Small's and the title page from his book, the other two surnames, one beginning before the Small's, and the one beginning after the Small info are likewise listed with footnotes to find the sources for his information. For the information on Obediah and Lydia Bundy, he lists Ruth Kline Ladd as his source.
Of the three books, Cleaver did an excellent job of researching his book, and documented his sources in a manner unparalleled in 1989. Unfortunately, he made a poor choice in this case of using Ladd as a source.
In the "Meet Our Ancestors" book by Mayo Bundy, (despite his first name of Vivian, he was a man, a professor of Political Science & Sociology at Bennet College in Greensboro NC. On his page v. under acknowledgements, he makes the following statement. "Information received from individuals was accepted and recorded without verification on my part, and I do thank all of the contributors." Here I must mention that a college professor has violated one of the basic rules of genealogy, and that is not to accept anything at face value without verifying records. I doubt that he would accept any paper from one of his students who did not verify their assertions. He also mentioned that he spent his time away form his college duties doing work on his book for a period of two years. I would suggest he was a collector rather than a researcher.
On page 623 of his book he lists Lydia Bundy b. 10-2-1740, d. 12-5-1789, m. Obediah Small, son of John Small and Rebeckah Moore on 8-4-1757, Little River Meeting, N.C. 10 ch.
The death date of Lydia is wrong, she died (according to Hinshaw vol.1 p117) on 12-5-1780. He also lists John Small and Rebeckah Moore as Obediah's parents. (this John was s/o John and Alce Hollowell. and according to Hinshaw 1:73; 9-3-1736 John Jr. (ltm) liberated to marry or left at liberty to marry Rebeckah Moore. If Obediah were a son of this marriage, he could not purchase property in 1756 as a minor; therefore he was born prior to this marriage. His information is close, but in error.
Two of the sources Mayo Bundy lists for Obediah are:
1. Jessup charts
2. Ruth Kline Ladd, "One Ladds Family."
Since Ladd listed Obediah as child of Obediah and Sarah, it is apparent he used the Jessup charts as source for parents of Obediah and Lydia. But a later revision of his book, he contradicts himself and lists Obediah’s' parents as Obediah and Sarah, the same as Ladd.
The most often misquoted book being that of Ruth Kline Ladd and her book, "One Ladds Family." She begins by listing various persons who arrived in this country early, mentions the New England family of Edward Small, Quakers in that vicinity, but makes NO CONNECTION between them and the Virginia family, although many persons have quoted her as saying that they were, which is in fact false. She never claimed there was any proof they were of the same family, but that has not stopped people from miss-quoting her, and the sources she used, most notably, Underhill and Savage. The first generation she lists in Nansemond County is John and Ann Small. She quotes the fact that John and Ann were witnesses in a marriage, which is true, but what most, if not all people connected to this family fail to note, she makes no claim that they are husband and wife, rather, she speculates that they may be father and daughter also. I will carry this one step further, why could she not also be John's sister? Or Mother? The only common thread is the fact that both have the same surname. They are not listed in Quaker records with any relationship whatsoever; therefore, any correct Virginia Quaker genealogy must begin with John Small, not one that begins with John and wife Ann Small; and it should be noted that Ann Small, relationship unknown attended also; and that she could be his mother, sister, daughter, or wife.
Ruth Ladd does make some major errors in her book, and I suspect that is because she lacked adequate records to determine proper linage; and since her books primary focus was the Ladd family and not the allied ones, she did not research them nearly as well as her own family. She has passed away since writing this book, so I have no way of questioning her directly, and since I cannot get inside her head to know her true intentions; I can only assume her motivations.
Once back to Obediah's generation, her records were inadequate to prove linage, therefore, I believe she based her book on assumptions rather than fact. Unfortunately, she guessed wrong. It is also possible that she missed the petition filed by John Pike, husband of Obediah’s widow, Sarah. This record proves Ladd attributes the 1788 Will to the wrong person, and in this case, to one mistaken as an older generation individual.
That this Obediah born ca.1732 is the son of Obediah and Sarah Moore as stated by others is fiction. There are no facts that back up this false assertion. And that an Obediah who was born ca. 1700 is the child of John and Alce Hollowell Small also has no basis in truth. Any serious researcher of their ancestry will not make any such claim if they have checked existing documents. This tradition that there was an older Obediah was made by Ruth Ladd in her book, "One Ladds Family." Ruth Ladd listed the death of Obediah as 1778, and the will was probated in 1788, ten years later. She makes no mention in her book why there would be that delay in having the will probated if the actual death date were in 1778 as she alleges, and why it would also take 10 years for Samuel, the executor of the estate to inventory his assets? The answer is that it did not. The date the will was written is plainly written, "88" not "78". So why did she make this assertion? The answer is, she found a Pasquotank County Tax list dated 1778 that listed the taxpayers of that county for that year. The tax list is a bit misleading. It lists each person as follows:
Obidiah Small…………..Estate…………………6..1……..12.6 0.0
Each person on the two pages of this tax list is recorded in the same manner. Ruth Ladd took this to mean “Estate of” Rather than “Real Estate”, the meaning to her was, that this was a deceased person Obediah Small, rather than a Tax list for real estate of those living in the district at the time. In examining the folder at the archives in Raleigh NC, I found numerous tax lists written in the same manner, they were lists for taxpayers, not estates of deceased persons who owed taxes.
Assuming she was looking for a deceased person named Obediah Small found the following will dated 1788, with a wife named Sarah. Knowing from Quaker minutes there was one listed as marrying in 1757 to Lydia Bundy, she dismissed him as owner of the will below.
Will of Obediah Small
Pasquotank Co, NC, Book K" page 26; -- "OBEDIAH SMALL. (Written) 15 Sept. 1788. Wit: Charles Overman, Thomas Wood, John Cosand. (Probated) December Ct. 1788." Ordered to be recorded February 1789.
[Transcribers Note: the following is a true copy of the Will of Obediah Small, including the x's inserted by the writer to fill in the blank space, apparently to prevent additional text to be written into the will. This writer has a photocopy of the actual will, not a transcript.]
North Carolina
Pasquotank County, Be it known unto all Men by these presents, that I Obediah Small Farmer of place Afs (sic) being weak of body
but of Sound & perfect mind & Memory therefore Calling to Mind the mortallity of my Body and Knowing that it is Appointed for all Men once to die, the time Uncetain do make and ordain this and no other my last Will and Testament, in manner and form following (that is to Say)
Principally & first of all I Recommend my Soul into the hands of God that gave it, & my Body I commit to the Earth to be Decently
Buried at the Discretion of my Executors hereafter Named and touching Such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to blefs
me with in this life, I give, Demise & Dispose of in the following Manner & form x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Firstly I will that all those Just Debts & Contraits, as I Do Owe inright to any manner of Person or Persons whatsoever, be well
and truly Contented & paid or Ordained to be paid in Convenient time& place after my Decease by my Executors hereafter named, x x x
Item: I give unto my loving wife Sarah Small the estate she had when I married her likewise one large iron kettle one teakettle to her and her Disposial x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Item I give unto my two sons Joshua and Nathan Small one cow & calf & their increase to them & their Disposial, also I give to my son
Joshua Small one yearling mare to him & his Disposial x x x x
Item: I give unto my Daughter Elisabeth Small one feather bed & furniture to her & her Disposial x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Item: I give unto my son Jesse Small one bed & furniture to him & his disposial x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Item: I give unto my son John Small one cow & calf & their increase to him & his Disposial x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Item: I give unto my wife Sarah Small five stocks of beas (sic) one case of bottles to her & her Disposial x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Item: I give unto my son Obediah Small one stock of beas to him & his
Disposial x Item I leave all the Remaining part of my Estate to be Sold & Equally divided (after my Just Debts & Funeral Expenses are paid) to Six of my youngest Children to them & their Disposiel
Lastly I do hereby Nominate Constitute & Appoint my son Samuel Small& my Friend William Gui Executors of this my last will &
turn over
and Testament, & I do hereby Utterly Revoke Disallow, Dosannul all & every other former wills Legases Bequeaths & Executors by one
before this time Named Willed & Bequeathed, Ratifying & Confirming this & no other to be my last Will & Testament x x
In witnefs whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this fifteenth
day of the month Commmonly Called September 1788 ---
Signed Sealed published and Declared
by the Sd Obediah Small to be his
Last Will & testament in Presence
of us the subscribers
Charles Overman affirmed
Thomas Wood
John Cosand
Sarah Small Qualifies O B A D I A SMALL (SEAL)
Pasquotank County
Dec Term 1788
Pa-----nt the Worshipfull Justice
These m----------- that the Last Will & Testament of
Obediah Small was exhibited by Samuel Small
one of the Executors therein named and proved by the
--------- of ------ ----- of Charles Overman one of
the subscrib ------ ------- and at the ---------
the said Samuel Small qualified agreeable to ---
order for letter or ---- that the will -------
Recorded the day of --
February 1789 Tes ------ --------
In Book ------
Inventory of Estate of Obediah Small dec’d, Begins:
"A true & perfect inventory of the Estate of Obadiah Small dec'd 30th 12 Mo 1788"
The list is one and one quarter pages of items, signed by Samuel Small, son, and executor of the estate.
He appraised it at L70-14-8 There is no total listed for the items actual sale price.
Items purchased by individuals, Sarah Small, (widow) John Small, Samuel Small. (Sons.) Sarah the largest purchaser of items, her name appears 42 times, Samuel 5 times, John only once.
Note: This writer has a copy of the full inventory.
Clearly, Ruth Ladd made an error in the date of death by ten years. I can only guess, but it is my belief that she did not actually have a copy of the will, but an abstract, and she supposed it to be incorrectly transcribed since she had a tax list she supposed listed him as deceased. A copy of the will plainly indicates it was 1788, that same year it was probated, and an inventory made by his son Samuel, executor of the estate. But because of the tax list dated 1778, she made the assumption that since the will named a wife Sarah, it could not be for the Obediah who married Lydia Bundy. In actuality it was for Obediah and his second wife Sarah, who is not listed in Quaker records. But the Quaker record does acknowledge his marriage and disciplined him for it because it was contrary to their beliefs. He later condemned his actions and was reinstated.
Hinshaw Vol. 1 p 165 Pasquotank MM
1783, 2, 19. Obediah dis mcd (disowned, married contrary to discipline)
1784, 7, 21. Obediah con his con and was rst (condemned his conduct and was reinstated)
Another error by Ladd. She did not find a marriage in Quaker records between Obediah and Sarah, therefore, she assumed that it had to be another individual. And, since it was the first known Will for an Obediah, he had to be older than the one who married Lydia Bundy. She then attached the children of Obediah and Sarah to this older Obediah from the names of heirs listed in the 1788 Will. (Please note the similarity between the children of Obediah and Lydia, listed in Quaker records, and the children from the Will of Obediah and wife Sarah they are the same.)
Since there was a marriage date listed for Obediah and Lydia Bundy, she apparently used that date in establishing an approximate birth date for him, then by using an approximate maturity for an older Obediah, affixed his birth as about 1700.
In addition, there appears a Joshua Small very early in Quaker records, and since he is not mentioned in records associated with other known Quakers at that time, assumed him to be another son of this older Obediah, and added his name to the list of children. Because he was disowned by the Perquimans MM in 1783, assumed him to also be disowned by Obediah, or deceased when the will was written because he was not listed in the Will.
In looking at who could be the father of this person, she chose the only one that was of the proper age at that time, John and Alce (Hollowell) Small. All assumptions and all in error. Ruth Ladd did not find, or dismissed a petition submitted to the court by Sarah Small, widow of Obediah through her new husband, John Pike in 1802. This alone should have been a giveaway, but my guess is she did not have it. If Sarah were the mother of all the children Ladd listed as belonging to her and Obediah, she would be at least 102 years of age at the time of the petition, which follows:
State of North Carolina
Pasquotank County June Term 1802
To the worshipful the justices of the County Court of Pleas quarter sessions for the County of Pasquotank the petition of Elizabeth Small, Joshua Small and Nathan Small infants under the age of Twenty one years by John Pike their guardian and next friend humbly showith That Obediah Small your petitioners late father sometime on or about the fifteenth day of September in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty eight duly made and published his last Will and testament in writing and therein among other things bequeathed as follows " I leave all the remaining part of my estate to be sold & equally divided (after my just debt and funeral expenses are paid ) to six of my youngest children to them & their disposal and thereof appointed Samuel Small & William Grier executor and shortly after departed this life without having altered or revoked his said will.
Your Petitioner further show that the said Samuel Small proved the said will in due form of same and took upon himself the direction thereof and in conveyence thereof ----himself of the whole personal estate of his testator amounting after the payment of funeral charges debts & other legacies to a considerable sum and having paid over to the other ligatees their share or portion of the said residue departed this life intestate.
And your petitioner further says that after the death of the said Samuel administration of his estate was in due form of same committed to Miriam the widow and relict of the said Samuel who in conveyence thereof took into her possession the residue of the estate of the said Obadiah and administered by the said Samuel and --- not without the remaining proceeds the application of your petitioners to that purpose to account with for injury -- to your petitioners any part thereof to the - and in order to compell the said Miriam to do justice to your petitioners -- balance unreadable.
Note: Samuel was administrator of the estate, he died before he could disburse all the residue of his fathers’ estate to all the children, and his wife Miriam took the balance into his estate as his administrator. John Pike asks the court for her to account for the remainder of the residue of Obediah's estate and the court to disburse these assets to the remaining children. Since only three of the six Obediah mentions as "his youngest" it can be assumed that the three named were children of Obediah and Sarah, and the other three, apparently by his first wife, who received their share as per the petition.
The photocopy I received was difficult to read because the writing on the back of the page bled through, causing what was very legible writing to become impossible to decipher due to the bleed through from the last page. The unreadable portion has no negligible effect on the above.
Lydia (Bundy) Small died on 12-5-1780 as noted above in Hinshaw Vol. 1, p. 117. There is no second marriage listed for him in Quaker records because he remarried contrary to discipline as per Hinshaw on 2-19-1783, three years after the death of his first wife. That he did remarry is proved in Hinshaw Vol. 1 p. 165: Pasquotank Co., 2-19-1783 Obediah dis mcd. A year later, he asked for forgiveness from the meeting: 7-21-1784 Obediah con his conduct and was rst. He had three more children by this second wife (Sarah), as noted above in the petition by John Pike. They were married as follows:
Pasquotank MM Vol. 1, p.166; 3,10,1802 Sarah, relict of Obediah, Pasquotank Co., m John Pike, at MH near the head of Little River.
One interesting point, none of Obediah's children attended the wedding. Many were already relocated in Ohio Pennsylvania or Indiana at the time this occurred, but if any were still in North Carolina, they chose not to attend. John Pike's children by his first marriage did not attend also. It would appear there were bad feelings between the first and 2nd wife's children, likely due to the dispute over the distribution of the estate or in the case of her children, the lack of it. What has been determined, is that three of Sarah's siblings did attend the marriage as noted in the witness list, which will be addressed later.
The petition lists three children still under the age of 21 in 1802. If Sarah was the wife of an Obediah who was born about 1700 as Ruth Ladd alleges, Sarah would be bearing children after the age of 80 years, which is impossible. The children were under 21 in 1802, and also indicates Obediah also could not be the father if he were born 1700.
This record is for the Obediah who married Lydia Bundy, and married second, Sarah. He would be in his 50's, and it would be entirely likely that he could have three children at that age. They would be the children of Sarah, not Lydia, because Lydia died in 1780. The children were still under 21 in 1802, therefore, born after Lydia died, and children of Obediah and his 2nd wife Sarah.
This 2nd wife of Obediah is Sarah Albertson, daughter of Elihu and Jane Anderson Albertson. Elihu names her in his will: Abstracts of Perquimans County Wills: Will of Eluhu Albertson Book C page 396 10th of 9th month 1787 probated July 1789 Wife Jane: sons Josiah and Joshua: daus Miriam Albertson, SARAH SMALL, Lydia Wilson, Abigail Bond and Elizabeth Albertson. This Sarah Albertson can be traced in Hinshaw, as married first to Benjamin Newby on 3-17-1773, he died 9-28-1779; second (mcd) to Obediah Small, before he was condemned for doing so on 2-19-1783; and he died shortly after making his will in 1788; and as his widow, Sarah married John Pike on 3-10-1802. That the Sarah, wife of Obediah listed in Ruth Ladd's book was old enough to have been rearing children in the 1730's is impossible, she was the daughter of a man younger than Ladd's Obediah alleged to have been born 1695-1700. When Sarah married John Pike, three of the witnesses to the marriage were her sisters, Miriam and Elizabeth Albertson, and Lydia "Albertson" Wilson and brother-in-law Samuel Wilson. As noted in Obediah's will, Sarah was given what property she entered the marriage with, specifically, what she inherited from her previous husband Benjamin Newby, and her father, Elihu Albertson. She is further identified in the men's minute book as Sarah Albertson, which was not transcribed into Hinshaw's records.
In conclusion, Ruth Ladd makes major mistakes in the Small genealogy, there is no basis in truth that there was an Obediah born about 1700 who married Sarah, (others allege her maiden name as Moore, but no proof has been advanced to support this contention either.) Ruth Ladd based her book on inadequate information, and a desire to have a complete genealogy. The simple truth is, she guessed, based on incomplete information, and she guessed wrong. In her defense, Ruth Ladd made no mention of the surname Moore, connected to Obediah Small. Others have made this assertion, and quote Ladd as the source for this name, which she is not. If one were to assume Ladd was correct, and an older Obediah b. 1700 did exist, a careful study of Quaker records does not reveal any record of a man named Obediah and wife Sarah born about 1700, no marriage, no list of children, no mention of any of these children in any Quaker record. Which in itself, should prompt a question, why? No marriages, not disowned by the Quakers, no mention of births, deaths, marriages of the children, no civil records? Simply put, there cannot be records for people who did not exist.
There is no basis in fact that John Small and wife Alce (Hollowell) Small had a son named Obediah, since no Quaker record, will, or other document has been advanced that proves this relationship. The Obediah Small who married Lydia Bundy is the first of that name that appears in Quaker records, and is the oldest person of that name found in any North Carolina records, civil or Quaker documents. Since the records indicate the oldest Obediah was born circa 1725-1735, this would also disprove him being the child of John and Alce Hollowell, I believe this John is his grandfather, not parent.
Obediah Small does not appear in any Virginia records (Hinshaw's Vol. 6), and no one has come forward with any document that proves parentage for Obediah who Married Lydia Bundy in 1757. No mention is made of a person named Obediah until 1755 in Quaker records, when he prcf Carteret Co. If there were an older Obediah, why was he not mentioned in MM records? Only the one who married Lydia Bundy two years later is mentioned. Monthly Meeting records list the names of members, and the birth dates of their children, but none exist for an Obediah and Sarah Moore, and none exist for any children who would have been born 1720 to 1730 for him. Again, because there was no Obediah and Sarah Moore whose birth was circa 1700. They have never been mentioned in Hinshaw, simply because they were the invention of Ruth Ladd based on circumstantial evidence, and the misreading of documents that she did acquire.
The supporting documents above clearly prove that Ruth Ladd made errors in her book, and others have perpetuated this falsehood for the past 30 years, simply because they did not investigate or look at the sources Ladd provided, and did not look for any other records. They simply copied and compounded errors, and assumed Ladd correct.
Records posted on the internet, and quoted as sources for ancestry of this individual are incorrect, because the poster of such documents has obviously not researched their work, and have done the same as Mayo Bundy and William Cleaver did in their books, they assumed Ruth Ladd's assertions were correct without looking at the records she quoted and misquoted. There is no Obediah and Sarah Moore born 1695-1700, and no children by that alleged union. And because someone publishes a book on a family does not make it indisputable simply because it is a published work. People do make mistakes, and they do publish those mistakes, and people who do not check to see if there are facts to back up those assertions do a dis-service to their true ancestors.
"The Descendant of Wm. & Elizabeth Bundy of RI and NC" by V. Mayo Bundy page 321
"On the 7th of 7th mo. 1757 Lydia Bundy and Obediah Small requested a certificate to marry in Cartrite [sic] County and on 4th of 8th mo. 1757 the committee found them clear and left to their liberty to accomplish their said request, and on 1st of 9th mo. 1757, Joseph Nicholson and Aaron Hill who were appointed to attend the marriage reported "they have no complaints." This reference by Bundy uses Ruth Kline Ladd's book "One Ladds Family" as source to tie the Rhode Island Small family to the Virginia family, which also has no basis in truth. Was the Bundy family located in Rhode Island, yes, did they migrate to North Carolina, Yes also. Did the Small family of Rhode Island migrate with them? No record has been found to substantiate that claim. As a matter of fact, no Small family genealogy that has origins in Rhode Island has been found. Because the Bundy family moved in this direction does not mean the Small family did. There is a considerable number of the Bundy family in that area. The Small family was not represented in Quaker records in that area at that time, but is well represented in Virginia prior to the Bundy family arrival in NC. The Small family in NC has been proved to have migrated from Virginia where they resided for three generations prior to the arrival of the Bundy family. If, and I say this with some reservation for fear of being quoted, if a Small family who lived in Rhode Island did migrate to Virginia, they did so at an earlier date than the Bundy family who appear in NC. I have not seen any proof of a connection between the Virginia family and those who lived farther north in the New England area. Traditions and hearsay do not constitute fact.
One final bit of misinformation
floating on the internet concerns: “Perquimans County, NC - 1754 Taxable File
contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Donna Cooper
and lists the name and number of taxables found on the list, and apparent comments by the writer to determine who some of the persons on the list are, without any benefit of any document to verify the claims made. The notation below of Thomas being the son of John and Alice Hollowell, and Joshua as s/o Obediah and Sarah Moore Small are simply false. None of the three on the tax list can be identified as specific relationships to anyone else. Lastly, there is no record of an Obediah Small marrying a woman named Sarah Moore.
Perquimans County, NC - 1754 Taxable
Thomas Small, 1: Q s/o John and Alice Hollowell Small (No facts were advanced to support this claim)
Thomas Small, 2:
Joshua Small, 2: s/o Obediah Small and Sarah Moore (No facts were advanced to support this claim)
Tax List 1767 Pasquotank County, North Carolina
Census: 1786 Pasquotank County, North Carolina
Once again, another person states facts with no document to back up their assertion. And again, there is no Obediah and wife Sarah Moore. An attempt to contact the submitter above also was not answered, therefore, one can only conclude that the submitter does not stand behind her own work.
Having said that, and I believe having proved who Obediah’s parents were not, my essay continues, to determine who the parents of Obediah born circa 1725-35 were.
The next question has to be where else does one go to perhaps find the missing Quaker ancestor?"
Obviously the answer to this question is that you look at the original records of the meeting to determine if there are records there that are absent from Hinshaw, or, if additional records can be found in other unpublished MM records still in existence. Failing that, are there any other records that would link a parent to Obediah. The answer to this is yes.
Hinshaw is the most widely accepted record of Quaker genealogy. But Hinshaw did not copy all the records of every meeting that ever existed, and there are men’s and women’s meeting minute books that do not appear in Hinshaw's Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Below is a reply I received concerning this from Jeff Palmer relating to custodian of records, Guilford College’s Friends Historical Collection.
"First of all, Hinshaw only extracted the records of certain monthly meetings. Second, there may have been gaps in some of the available records from which Hinshaw abstracted. Third, "being a Quaker" and "being a member of the Quakers" were a bit different; many individuals may have been members of the Quaker community, attended meeting and considered themselves Quakers without officially being members and appearing in the records. Finally, I'd question the rigorousness of Quaker recordkeeping. For example, I've recently discovered that my own birth did not appear in my own meeting's minutes - even though my own grandfather, a very meticulous guy - was clerk at the time. Certainly, the degree of meticulousness of meeting clerks, not to mention the likelihood that they would have been aware of every event of genealogical significance in the community, must have varied from meeting to meeting."
A final comment concerning Hinshaw, He financed the accumulation of abstracts from the men's and women's minute books, he did not actually do the work himself, but hired local Friends to transcribe the records for him. According to the director of the Quaker Collection located at Guilford College, she doubts if Hinshaw ever visited the library or saw them first hand, but rather, remained in New York City where he directed the collection of the records from the various Quaker archives across the country.
Visits to the Quaker Collection at Hege Library, Guilford College at Greensboro and North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh were undertaken.
The visits were fruitful and the expense well worth the effort achieved I have no doubt. Instead of poor abstracts of records, actual copies were obtained. In addition, the ability to actually hold these records, some being 250 plus years old was an experience beyond expectation. To hold, see the handwriting and signatures of these old ancestors was very satisfying indeed. The Hege Library is another experience altogether. The originals are safely tucked away in some vault, but original records are copied and available for inspection. In addition, one finds Hinshaw did not transcribe the minutes exactly as written, but abbreviations were inserted and texts shortened. Additionally, records that might not show a Friend in the most favorable light had to be omitted from his book as per agreement with the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting who granted him permission to copy the records. I did copy these records of the Small family when I found them, but I feel none do any dis-service to our ancestors. They were human, and had human faults like everyone else. Even so, it opens a door into our past so we can see the human side of our ancestors, and much more information than appears in Hinshaw's volumes was found. As mentioned above, Hinshaw did not collect all records, lists of witnesses to marriages were omitted from many records, and these newfound records not found in Hinshaw proved valuable.
Armed with these new resources a new process began once again, but this time with a different outlook. The first order of business was to determine if what I had accumulated was an accurate representation of the ancestors of the Small family, those who came before him, and that they were correctly placed according to all available records and recorded in a proper genealogy, so one could determine who the candidates actually were that could be parents for Obediah.
The urge to look for an obviously larger family than what is reported in The Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by Wm. Wade Hinshaw is valid. However, Quaker records address only those who were Quaker, and the individuals named Small who moved about within the various meetings, when they appeared in locations, and when they left. Therefore, my goal is to determine whereabouts of those listed in Hinshaw, using his volumes, and the original minutes from Hege Library; but also using civil records available to support the findings. Therefore, the larger family that is not Quaker, can be dismissed as not being pertinent to the search of parents of Obediah. Additionally, after the 2nd generation in Chuckatuck MM records, there are only birthright members mentioned in Hinshaw, none appear to have joined through conversion, rather, they were members because their parents were members.
What is pertinent, are the movements of those named in the Quaker records, and where they were at what time. "Where were you on the night of Dec. 15th?" may be an old movie line, but it is important to establish the time frame we are talking about, and that being the birth of Obediah. When and where did it occur?
Obediah was born circa 1725-1735. A date alleging his birth as 13 July 1732 has been researched, and there is no basis for such a date in any Quaker record. LDS IGI Birth and Marriage Index on microfishe dated Mar. 1992 gives this date as the birth for Obediah (page 22,672), entry was submitted by a family member, and carries a symbol that indicates an "Entry altered from Source." Parents listed with this birth are John Small / Rebecca Moore. Many people have accepted this date as his birth, however, that early in the history of Virginia, where civil records are sparse, that record had to have come from Hinshaw if it were accurate. The original records of Carteret Co. MM (Core Sound) were checked and likewise, no birth is recorded. That it could be contained in a family bible that has not been found is possible, therefore, the date is duly noted, but without a known source, is suspect.
Quaker records indicate John Small Jr. married Rebecca Moore on 3 Sept 1736, therefore, the submission for Obediah’s parents is incorrect and not credible. A check of this same microfishe, but dated 1988 did not contain this family submission, therefore, some time between 1988 and 1992, someone submitted a family file to LDS with this incorrect information, and this is likely the source for a lot of accepted full birthdates found in many internet genealogies. Recorders of their family history should check births and deaths they have recorded against Quaker records, if they are not recorded there, they may be incorrect. No birth and death records exist in civil records for all of the 17th and 18th century. The only exception would be a family bible, and there are not many of those recorded for this family, and the source for those is usually quoted.
Given the above information, the exact birth date for Obediah Small Sr., the one who married Lydia Bundy in Pasquotank Co. in 1757 is now in question, and can only be determined as between 1725-1735. A closer birth date can be determined by his maturity date established by his land purchase in 1756 in Perquimans County, and marriage to Lydia in 1757. I used a 10 year time frame in order to search for his parents from these dates.
Likewise, information that he was the son of an older Obediah and Sarah Moore are baseless, simply because no such person appears in Quaker records by either Hinshaw or Miles White, , and has previously been discussed, was an error made by Ruth Kline Ladd in her book, "One Ladds Family."
As a postscript to that discussion, her error in her book is widely accepted as creditable, and a copy of the book resides in the Library of Congress in Wash. DC, further perpetuating and compounding this error. Hopefully this essay will help correct this, and at some future time a corrected submission will be presented there also. At any rate, because Quaker records do list this Obediah born circa 1725/35 as the first of that name, he is hereafter referred to as Obediah Sr. Meeting minutes refer to his son as Jr., several times; therefore, the name fits, and accepts him as the first of that name.
In Vol. 6 of Hinshaw, records identify several of the Surname Small. John the eldest is too old, and no record of him appears in NC.
John has three known sons, John, Matthew and Benjamin. Of these three, all are also too old and only John who married Alce Hollowell is mentioned in Quaker records in NC, those being witnesses to marriages that took place in what was then understood to be North Carolina, but they were only listed as witnesses and there is no indication that they ever removed to that location. Matthew disappears from VA minute books and is not recorded in NC. Benjamin who m Elizabeth Belson died about 1723-1740 and cannot be the father of Obediah Sr., he had only three daughters at the time of his death, and his youngest daughter was marrying in 1723, which would indicate he was a generation older than Obediah’s parents.
John and Alce Hollowell are recorded in minutes of NC records, attending weddings of other Friends located in the upper counties of Perquimans and Pasquotank, but again, he is much too old to father a child in the 1730/40 time frame, and my contention is that he was deceased about 1735, when his known Quaker children migrated into Perquimans Co and Chowan counties NC from Virginia, which was John’s last known residence, and it is doubtful that they would have left behind aged parents. No record in Perquimans, Chowan or Pasquotank meetings indicate he accompanied his children. Library of Virginia court records indicate a John Small of Nansemond posted bonds on 10-7-1735 and was listed as deceased in March General court minutes of 1742, his death obviously occurring sometime in that 7 year period. Another bond was listed on 11-11-1736, and another notation concerning this bond indicated 1-28-1739 he was deceased by that time. This would indicate that John, who married Alce Hollowell was living in November of 1736, but was deceased by 1739.
To determine the individuals we need to account for, we begin with the following genealogy which has been researched through Volume 6 of Hinshaw’s work.
1. John Small
wife unk,
2. John Small
Alce Hollowell
3. Joseph Small
Ann Owen
3. Benjamin Small
Mary Knight
3. Thomas Small
unk
3. John Small Jr.
Rebecca Moore
3. Matthew Small
unk
3. Joshua Small
Charity Redding
2. Matthew Small
unk
2. Benjamin Small
Elizabeth Belson
3. Mary Small
3. Hannah Small
3. Amy Small
The above first two generations as stated previously are eliminated because they are too old to qualify as parent of Obediah Sr, and, these first two generations did not relocate to North Carolina. The timeline will address those children of John and Alce Hollowell Small, who do appear in NC Quaker Minutes and are the only candidates as parents of Obediah.
First however, there are two additional children attached to the genealogy above that is not previously addressed, those being Matthew and Joshua.
They only appear in Vol. 1, p. 74 of Perquimans North Carolina minutes under the date
1753, 11, 7. Matthew & Joshua dis.
Since they do not appear earlier, I consider them birthright members, those who were born of Friends, and therefore, members by birthright. This assertion is made because no meeting lists them as admitted to membership as being "converted to the truth." Their appearance in this time frame would indicate they were adult and likely dis for lack of attending meeting or other reason. Note: that same year Joshua was listed as residing in Chowen Co., likely near Joseph and wife Ann. A will dated 1790 for Joshua belongs to this sibling, Gates County later being formed from Chowen, Hertford and Perquimans in 1779. Deeds indicate his continuous residence in the area until his death. His location excludes him from consideration as a parent of Obediah.
Matthew's whereabouts are unknown, but he does not appear in Pasquotank or Carteret records, which will be discussed later. He may have died shortly after being dis in 1754, but no will has been found in NC records for him, nor are there any administrations if he died intestate. Other NC records do not reveal his whereabouts, including known tax lists and census records; apparently he left North Carolina for parts unknown, possibly to TN as records there indicate a person of that name and of the same approximate age. He is dismissed as being the father of Obediah Sr. because he also does not appear in the right location.
Because Joshua and Matthew appear in Perquimans, they have to be offspring or siblings of someone who appears there, and because of the Wills collected from NC state archives, they are not listed as children of anyone and therefore, they have to have migrated along with siblings, in generation 3 that do not have a known will, that being the children of John and Alce Hollowell. Because of their apparent age as adults in 1753, they are generation 3 individuals, possible children of John and Alce. Also, because of their geographic location, they cannot be considered as the parent of Obediah. As a postscript; can these two be definitely tied to John and Alce as children? No. John left no will that we have found, and no other document can claim them as parent, but they must be addressed because they are located in NC and although not in the right place, are of the right generation, and cannot be ignored.
Having addressed the two new siblings, I will now turn to the accepted ones, namely Joseph, Benjamin, Thomas and John Jr. Again, the test is who was where in the 1730-40 time frame for them to be identified as the parent of Obediah Sr. Additionally, we have established a time line for his birth, more importantly; we now need to examine a location.
Obediah Sr. first appears in Core Sound MM records as given a certificate to move to “the upper counties of this government” in 1, --, 1755 and Perquimans records in 8, 6, 1755 when he produced a certificate from Carteret Co. Since there is only one Quaker meeting in Carteret County; that would mean his last place of residence is at or near Core Sound MM in Carteret County.
Since monthly meetings did not observe county boundaries, but rather accommodated those who lived close enough to attend, one can assume his birthplace and location where he grew to manhood was geographically located in Carteret, Onslow or Craven County, and this is the area where his parents also would have resided. Therefore, we are looking for parents who lived in this area who had a son born 1725-1735.
No Quaker record identifies any such individual, until you examine the movements of those identified by the minutes; establish a timeline to determine where they were located during the timeframe established to determine Obediah's birth.
First records of Quakers in NC were in Perquimans and Pasquotank Co.
Perquimans MM earliest records date from 1680
Pasquotank MM original name, later changed to Symons Creek about 1770 records date from 1677
Little River MM had membership in both Pasquotank and Perquimans Co.
Carteret MM, only meeting in this county was Core Sound.
Quaker Timeline
Records Extracted from Hinshaw and Core Sound Men’s minute books
Note: my comments are contained in [ ]
Perquimans MM, p. 73-74
1736, 9, 3. John Jr. prcf from MM in VA to m [s/o John & Alce]
1736, 12, 2. Friends appointed to inquire into life and conversation of Benjamin [s/o John & Alce]
1740, 1, 4. Thomas prcf MM in VA [s/o John & Alce]
1752, 11, 1. Rachel prcf Core Sound MM [coming from Core Sound MM][Daughter of?]
1755, 8, 6. Obediah prcf MM in Carteret Co. [coming from Core Sound MM, Location where he grew to manhood, son of?]
[Note: all four sons of John and Alce appear in NC 1736 or after, likely after the death of their parents. (note a John was deceased in records above between 1736 and 1739) John Jr. Benjamin and Thomas produce certificates from VA to the Perquimans MM, but Joseph does not, and he is listed in Chowan County in 1754 when he writes his will. Although they attach themselves to the Perquimans MM, they could have actually lived in the same area of Chowan County as Joseph since the MM accepted membership from any person’s close enough to attend, and they may or may not have actually resided in Perquimans County, but it was the closest meeting they chose to associate with. (Received by request)]
1737, 9, 20. John Jr. gct to Core Sound MM [going to Core Sound MM]
1757, 8, 3, Obediah rqct MM Pasquotank having settled there 2 years hence [Note Obediah is coming from Core Sound 20 years after John
Jr. located there]
1781, 7, 4. Obediah rocf Symons Creek MM
1785, 7, 6. Obediah, of Wells, [Perquimans Co.] gct Pasquotank MM
Core Sound MM p. 275
1737, 5, --, Benjamin & family received on letter from Joseph Newby
[going to Core Sound MM from Perquimans MM]
Known children of John and Alce Hollowell who migrated to NC are as follows:
John Jr. arrived Perquimans Co., Nov. 1736 last known location Carteret Co 1746
Benjamin arrived at Perquimans Co., Feb 1736/37 dies in Carteret Co. 1751
Thomas arrived at Perquimans Co. Mar 1740 Never recorded in Carteret Co.
Joseph arrived at Chowan Co unknown. died in Chowan Co., Will dated 1754
Of the four persons identified as sons of John and Alce Small of VA, three migrate to Perquimans MM, the fourth, (Joseph) to Chowan, he did not produce a certificate or affiliate with any known MM after arriving in NC. Please take careful note of who is located in what county, when. The primary notes to study are those in italics above.
Addressing the last son first, Joseph, who m Ann Owen according to Chuckatuck MM in VA is not listed in any NC Quaker records (Hinshaw) he apparently removed himself from the society of Friends, and the only record of his being in NC is his will dated 1754 and probated 1755 in Chowan Co. He is never listed as being in Carteret Co., or mentioned in Core Sound MM mens records.
Tracing the movements of Thomas; he arrived from VA MM and brought with him a certificate that was accepted at Perquimans as noted above in 1740.
Thomas Small a witness to the marriage: 1 8mo 1720 , Nathan Newby, later of Nansemond in Virginia, son of Nathan of ye same place, married Mary Tomes at the meeting house in Perquimans. Witnesses were John, Ales and Thomas Small among others
Thomas Small a witness to the marriage: 15, 10m, 1725 between Richard Cheston and Eliza Barns at lower meeting house at Perquimans. No other Smalls were witnesses.
Thomas Small a witness to the marriage: 13, 3m, 1747 between Joseph Ratliff and Mary Fletcher at Perquimans MH at Old Neck. Matthew Small also a witness.
Thomas Small a witness to the marriage: 10, 3m, 1752 between John Winslow and Rachel White at Piney Woods MH. No other Smalls were listed as witnesses.
Thomas Small a witness to the marriage: 5, 11m, 1752 between Joseph Robinson and Sarah Pendleton at the Symons Creek MH. No other Smalls were listed as witnesses.
According to these records, Thomas apparently remained in the MM in VA, but appeared in records in NC as early as 1720, finally attaching himself to the Perquimans MM in 1740. There is no record of him associated with Core Sound in Carteret Co.
It should be noted at this time, that Obediah's location where he grew to manhood is in Core Sound MM, in Carteret Co., NC. This is assumed, based on several facts. His marriage to Lydia Bundy and her known age at the time of the marriage, and assuming Obediah is of the same approximate age; plus when he moves from Core Sound MM Carteret Co. by himself, , to Perquimans, his first land purchase there and his marriage would all indicate he is a generation younger than those who appear first in NC in 1736-7, and therefore, he grew to maturity in Carteret County.
The last two, John Jr. and Benjamin, both leave Perquimans in 1737 and move to Core Sound MM. The first appearance of Obediah is when he prcf from Core Sound to Perquimans MM (1755, 8, 6.) He then affiliates with Pasquotank MM exactly two years after his joining Perquimans (1757, 8, 3) he having lived there two years. (in other words, he came from Core Sound in 1755, joined Perquimans but actually lived in Pasquotank Co. during that two years time.
1. 1755, 1, --, Core Sound MM Obediah gc. about to rem to northern parts of this government.
2. 1755, 8, 6. moved from Carteret to Perquimans
3. 1757, 8, 3. changes MH from Perquimans to Pasquotank where he actually moved.
4. 1757, 8, 4. marries Lydia Bundy, one month after changing meetings. (ltm 1757, 8, 4)
The above dates are the first known for an Obediah in Quaker records. He came from Core Sound in 1755, so to determine who his parents were, one must look at who was in Core Sound, (Carteret County) at the time of his birth or during the time when he was an adolescent, or who would have moved there shortly after he was born. Two people qualify for this, John Jr. and brother Benjamin, both sons of John and Alce Hollowell Small.
Benjamin will be addressed first. The marriage of Benjamin and Mary had to occur before 1736 when he was examined by Perquimans MM on his life and conversations, and definitely before he removed to Core Sound Carteret County in 1737. His known children were likely born in Virginia, except perhaps John Knight, who may have been born in Perquimans Co. NC. Benjamin left a will when he died 1751. He named his children and Obediah was not one of them. Obediah did not die until 1788, outliving Benjamin, and if a son, would have been mentioned in the Will.. He therefore, is not the father of Obediah.
Small Siblings, Publication Vol 7, 1991. By Shirley Penna-Oakes;
under the subtitle ‘Deed Record’, is this:
Chowan County, NC Deed Book W.; page 346
Small, Stephen, son of John Small and Rachel, was b 14 April 1734. The above said Rachel Small, mother of above said departed this life 29 Jan 1736. John Small who had a wife named Rachel, are mentioned as having a son named Stephen. This Rachel, wife of John, dies in 1736
The Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by Hinshaw Vol. 1 page 73
9-3-1736 John Jr. (prcf) produced a certificate from MM in Virginia to marry.
9-3-1736 John Jr. (ltm) liberated to marry or left at liberty to marry Rebeckah Moore.
p.74
9-20-1737 John, Jr. gct Core Sound MM.
9-20-1737 John Jr. (gct) granted certificate to Core Sound MM from Perquimans Monthly Meeting.
Since John Jr. did not arrive in North Carolina until 1736, he apparently was married in some unknown monthly meeting in Virginia to a woman named Rachel, and possessed at least one child named Stephen. Please note, she died 29 January 1736. His physical location near the Perquimans MM apparently was in Chowan County as per the deed book entry, and likely near his brother Joseph.
John Jr. arrived in Perquimans MM on 9 Sept. 1736, was granted permission to marry that same day, and married Rebecca Moore that same month, and the following year, Sept 1737 moved to Core Sound, Carteret Co. No other family named Small resides there except Benjamin above, and none who has a male old enough to be Obediah’s father resides in this area of NC at this time except John Jr., son of John and Alce Hollowell Small.
Events happened very rapidly at the time John first appears in North Carolina, since the above record only indicates one child named Stephen born 4-14-1734, this would place John Jr.’s marriage to Rachel as about 1733 or earlier. Rachel is another child, born about 1735 and likely named for her mother Rachel. She is listed in minutes as the child of John.
Note: Hinshaw lists John and Rebecca Moore as having a daughter Rachel, no other children are mantioned in Quaker records, but civil records list others.
In looking at the death date of Rachel, John’s wife, her death is listed as 1-29-1736, very shortly before they arrived in Perquimans. At the first meeting where John is admitted, he is also granted permission to marry, and a month later, does so, he marries Rebecca Moore. Why such a rush? the answer is, apparently Rachel died during childbirth or shortly thereafter and John was in real need of a mother for his new infant child. They remain in Perquimans MM and a year later relocate to Core Sound. (I maintain that this child is named for her mother.)
John Jr. apparently did not leave a will, or it has not survived. John remains in Carteret County, and is listed with the following record:
Carteret County, Court Minutes
Dec 1742 John Small being a Quaker hath affirmed that he hath in his
family five white persons (wife Rebecca, children Stephen and Rachel with two
others) After this 1742 date, John and Rebecca could have had other children,
but who and how many is unknown at this time.
To this point, only two children can be attributed to John and his wives Rachel and Rebecca, and I believe they are children of Rachel. Daughter Rachel could also have been a child of Rebecca Moore, John naming her for his deceased first wife, except for the fact that she removes to Perquimans MM at an age when she would be too young to be on her own if a child of Rebecca. So who are the other two children?
Carteret Co.
June Court 1749
Benjamin Small made affirmation that he saw John Small Sr. sign, seal, and deliver a deed unto Thomas Jessop for three hundred acres of land in this county and that he also saw John Small Jr. evidence the same and by this court ordered to be registered.
John Small Sr. is the one married to Rebecca Moore. John Jr. is his son. Quaker records use Sr. and Jr. to identify that there are two of that name in their meeting. Benjamin also had a son named John Knight, but in 1749 he is still a minor that needed his brother Amos as guardian after Ben died in 1751. This John Jr. noted in the record above would have had to be of legal age to testify in 1749, therefore his birth has to be at least 1728, and a son of John and Rachel. He also would be the one who would marry Elizabeth Bruce 4-3-1746, being an adult, and born somewhere in the neighborhood of 1728, meaning his parents marriage occurred before that date, or circa 1727. He could have been younger at the time of his marriage, but would have to be 21 before he could testify in 1749. This young John then becomes one of the unknown children that John (now Sr.) testified that he had in his family in June court, Carteret Co. in 1742. This leaves one child to identify.
Obediah indicates he is moving to the upper parts of this government in January of 1755, and produces a certificate from Core Sound, Carteret County, to Perquimans MM later that year. Since the children of Benjamin are documented, and Obediah is confirmed to reside in Core Sound MM, there is only one other person besides Benjamin possessed of family in this MM, that being John Jr., son of John and Alce Hollowell Small, who can be of the proper age, in the right location at the right time to be the father of Obediah. That by 1749 John Jr. is now referred to as John Sr. indicates there is another of that name in the county at that time also, brother of Obediah now referred to as John Jr. If one is to believe the LDS entry that gives Obediah’s birth date as 7-13-1732, this places him within the timeline as John and Rachel Small’s child.
Obediah removes himself to the upper counties in 1755, and in 1757 he marries Lydia Bundy. His first child as noted in Pasquotank County Records is named Rachel Small. Since his father John is married to Rebecca Moore Small, John’s second wife, it’s apparent that Obediah has not named his daughter after his step mother, but named his first born daughter after his deceased mother Rachel, see below.
Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by William Wade Hinshaw
SMALL PAGE 117 PASQUOTANK MM
Page 86 [birth dates] [death dates]
Obediah Small
Lydia Small d. 12-05-1780
Ch: Rachel b. 11-03-1759
Samuel b. 07-20-1761
Benjamin b. 04-05-1762
Obediah b. 04-11-1764
Jesse b. 03-31-1766 d. 05-30-1766 [p. 159]
Joseph b. 11-26-1767
Miriam b. 01-18-1769 d. 11-09-177- [p.159]
Gideon b. 11-14-1771
John b. 10-09-1774
Jesse b. 12-25-1776
That he names his first child Rachel is no accident. I am convinced in doing so he has named his daughter after his own mother. The fact that his wife’s maiden name is Bundy may be why some traditions indicate she carried a middle name of Bundy, but a search of records to determine if this middle name is merely tradition, or there is some basis in fact still is to be determined that it is indeed her middle name. That Obediah and Lydia would name a child Rachel Bundy could also indicate John Junior's first wife Rachel’s maiden name was Bundy, but this is pure speculation.
With John’s children relocating, that would indicate once again that they are not leaving aged parents, but deceased ones. No record appears in minutes concerning Rebecca, second wife of John, and there are no further records of two John’s in Carteret Court records or Quaker minutes. Siblings, Rachel leaves in 1752, John Jr. in 1754 and Obediah 1755. It is likely that Stephen may have died early, I found no record of a Will or administration for him, and county records find him absent. The other children all move to the upper counties, likely back to Perquimans or Pasquotank. The John who moves north in 1754 is not the elder John, if this were the case, all the children likely would have moved with him at the same time. And this would be indicated in Quaker minute books. Additionally, the men’s minutes of Core Sound list him as John Jr. who requests a certificate “to remove to the upper portion of this government.” and this minute book lists him as Jr., to signify that the one moving was the younger person. I did not research the minute books up to the time that Obediah relocated to Perquimans due to a lack of time, so if there was a mention of the elder John's demise, it was not noted in my records, but was also not listed in Hinshaw, therefore my conclusion was that when the elder John died, it was not recorded in the existing minutes. No women's minutes of this meeting now exist, therefore, when Rebecca Moore, John's second wife died is also uncertain, and she is not listed as relocating to the upper counties with her children.
John Jr. and Benjamin are the only sons in this generation 3 who remain with the Quakers. They both live in Core Sound in Carteret County. Thomas, Joshua and Matthew are disowned as noted in Quaker minutes, likely for not attending meetings or conforming to Quaker discipline. When or how Joseph fell from Quaker records is also unknown, but he appears in no records of NC, therefore the conclusion is that he quit following the faith before he left Virginia.
I draw these conclusions based on the facts I put together in this timeline. I did not consider other genealogies or conjecture others have made while putting this record together, it is based solely on Quaker meeting minutes, and conclusions made by what they say, and what they don’t say, plus available civil records clearly point to John Small Jr. and wife Rachel as parents of Stephen, Rachel, John, and Obediah Small. There may have been other children besides these, but they were the only ones listed in 1742, and no others appear in civil records. I’ve not found records that would prove any, but research on this family is also not finished. The fact that absolute proof does not exist, namely a will of John which would name him as parent of Obediah, does not diminish the fact that sufficient records do exist to name him so, and a combination of circumstantial evidence is the best we can hope for. Wills obtained for the other members of John’s generation clearly discount them from being the parent of Obediah, and by process of elimination, of these individuals based on their geographic location and comparing them to that of Obediah’s known location, John remains the only logical person in the right place at the right time and the right age to qualify as Obediah’s father.
I make this assertion based on my knowledge of Quaker records, Wills, tax lists, court records and the movements of certain individuals within the Quaker minutes. That I am in error is always a possibility since I lack a conclusive document that actually says “Obediah is the son of John and Rachel.” No such document exists that I know of, and there may be others I’ve not found that will discredit the conclusions I’ve made here. If there be any, I welcome whoever can conclusively state who Obediah’s parents are; and will happily correct any error I’ve made. But at this point in time, my conclusion is that Obediah is the son of John Jr. and Rachel Small; John being the son of John and Alce Hollowell Small of Nansemond Co. Virginia.
1. John Small
wife unk
2. John Small
Alce Hollowell
3. John Small Jr.
Rachel (1st marriage)
4. John
4. Stephen
4. Obediah
Lydia Bundy
4. Rachel
Rebecca Moore (2nd marriage)
The exact order of birth is unknown, but it is likely the first two children are correct, Obediah is born 1732 as tradition indicates could be third, and Rachel, named for her mother could have been named because of the death of her mother at or very shortly after her birth.
Do you have additions or corrections to these records? Something to contribute?
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