Genealogy Data Page 886 (Notes Pages)

Smith County, TN

Mema Gregory hill at the extreme upper end of Peyton's Creek is name after Jemima Willis Gregory.

The following is an excert from article was printed in March 3, 1949 andlater reprinted Novem ber 4, 1976.

The Mima Gregory Hill takes its name from Jemima Willis Gregory. the wife of Ambrose Gregory , the son ol Bry Gregory, our ancestor and our great-great grandfather. Ambrose evidently married Jerima abo ut 1812 and died rather young in 1827, leaving his widow with a large number of children, nearly all of whom were too small to do much toward making a living. She resided in the hollow just south of the hill, striving in adetermined manner to make a living for her children. The writer once found at Carthage a record of the sale of the personal property of her late husband. In that day and time, l aws exempting certain property from the claims of creditors were unknown, and we were once told how that onthe day of sale, Aunt Mima was sick and in bed. The pillow under the head of this sick widow and mother of a large number of children was put up and sold at auction. However, she managed to hold the farm lands and also managed to make a living for herself and children, rearing a large family to manhood and womanhood . On one occasion In February perhaps 115 years ago, she had "tapped" a number of maple trees or as they are commonly called, sugar trees, and had troughs, dug out of wood, under the place chipped in the trunk of the trees. On one warm night, she knew that the trees would be "running;" that is, the sap would be flowing and would be lost if she did not get to the grove in time to gather it up as it flowed into the troughs. Wolves were common then and lanterns were unknown. So Aunt Mima gathered the numerous offspring with her and set out for the grove of sugar trees, about a quarter of a mile from the home. She then built a big fire, placed the children about the fire and admonished them not to leave it. She then took a torch, made of strips of scaly, hickory bark, tied it together, lighted it and set out to visit the' running trees, gathering up the water in perhaps a piggin or some other sort of rude pail. The gleaming eyes of the many wolves that then infested that section could be seen in nearly every direction, but they were afraid of the flames and would not approach this brave, pioneer woman, who never heard of federal relief. By and by with her pail of th esweet water, she would return to the fire where her children were, deposit the sap gathered from the dripping trees, in an iron kettle and then leave her children again to visit other troughs and gather up the sweet liquid that later would be boiled down and made into a delicious syrup or even into a tasty kind of sugar. The howls of wolves filled theair, but Aunt Mima had to have food for her children and buying sugar in that distant day and time was virtually out of the question. This grove then covered the long, narrow field just above the present home of H. M. Kemp and the writer seldom passes by this place without thinking of the bravery, the tremendous self-sacrifice of pioneer women and of the honorand credit due them for establishing homes in a wilderness , of being really and truly help meets, of the many, many hardships that they faced without a murmur and without self pity, The women of today have not perhaps a hundredth part of the hard times those poor women had. Aunt Mima's husband,' as we have also stated, was Ambrose Gregory.

From Cal's Column: "The Mima Gregory Hill takes its name from Jemima Willis Gregory....She resided in the hollow just south of the hill. Peyton’s Creek ... rises at the Highland Rim, its westernmost headwaters being in the vicinity of the Nima Gregory Hill, seven miles east of Lafayette; and the easternmost part of Gibbs Cross Roads, some twelve miles east of Lafayette. This is a historic stream upon which some of the earliest settlers of what is now Smith County built their log cabins in early days."

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James Tony Nabors [Male] b. 1 AUG 1894 Smith Co., TN - d. 31 DEC 1970

Change: 17 JAN 2013

Bascom Cemetery, Vervilla, Warren Co., TN
4843

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Sylvester McFarland [Male]

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4844

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Paul McFarland [Male] d. Greenville, KY

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4845

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Barthenia 'Thenia' Gregory [Female] b. 1789 NC

Source
Title: Gregory.FTW

Change: 17 JAN 2013

48469185

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Laban 'Labourn' Gregory [Male] b. 1789 NC - d. 24 JAN 1849 Crawford Co., IN

Change: 17 JAN 2013

4847
From Cal's Column - December 7, 1950

A some time ago a relative of ours, who lived in St. Louis and was aprominent man and cashie r of a large bank, arrived in Lafayette andsought out the writer. He asked that we go with hi m to Carthage and lookthrough the old records to learn, if we could, whose son hisgreat-great -grand father, Laban Gregory, was. Cal frankly confessed thathe did not know. So we went ove r to Carthage and began to prowl throughthe old court records. In a matter of perhaps 15 minu tes, we found thisitem: "Laban Gregory appeared before the Court and stated that NancyWilmor e had given birth to an illegitimate daughter, who had been namedEliza Wilmore, that he belie ved the child to be his, that he wished tomake her/his heir that her name be changed to Eliz a Gregory." The writerhanded ever the old record book to his St. Louis relative and noted the reaction. `Whew! the old man had been stepping out. My sister, who isvery conventional, wil l disown the old man when she learns of this." Weinformed him that he was not as bad as he co uld have been, giving as ourreasons that he sought to undo as far as he could, the wrong he h adcommitted, and seemed to have repented of his error. Our banker frienddid not disown his an cestor, but sought to find out who Eliza Wilmorewas, but was unable to learn any additional f acts. Later `investigationrevealed that Laban Gregory was the son of old Bry Gregory , the wr iter'sgreat-great grandfather. So there is no need for any family to feel thatit is so far ab ove the "common herd" that there could not' have been `a"black sheep" in the family, or a "de ad limb" on the family tree.

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Sina Perkins [Female]

Change: 17 JAN 2013

4848

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George Niel McDuffee [Male] b. 1788 NC

Source
Title: Gregory.FTW

Occupation

Source
Title: Gregory.FTW

Change: 17 JAN 2013

1832
McDuffee in Sanderson Cemetery in Smith Co., for the record

Mcduffee, Arch L. b. Apr. 18, 1855 d. Feb. 1, 1925
Mcduffee, Cager W. b. Mar. 24, 1892 d. Jul. 30, 1935
Mcduffee, Effie Sloan b. Oct. 10, 1894 d. Feb. 11, 1993
Mcduffee, Ella b. Dec. 10, 1866 d. Mar. 17, 1959
Mcduffee, G. Sterlin b. Jul. 29, 1890 d. May 25, 1919
Mcduffee, Martha J. b. Oct. 14, 1833 d. Mar. 3, 1929
Mcduffee, William J. b. Oct. 13, 1864 d. Jun. 17, 1936

McDuffees in Haysville Cemetery, Haysville, Macon Co., TN

McDuffee, Brady C, b. Sep. 7, 1907 d. Jun. 22, 1985
McDuffee, Eli C. b. Apr. 11, 1883 d. Jul. 6, 1963
McDuffee, G. Cordell b. Jun. 21, 1930 d. Feb. 15, 1999
McDuffee, Goldie Oline b. Jul. 31, 1917 d. Apr. 19, 1972
McDuffee, Grady T. b. Nov. 18, 1911 d. Oct. 6, 1966
McDuffee, Infant b. Dec. 13, 1929 d. Dec. 15, 1929
McDuffee, Jimmie Garrett b. Oct. 7, 1941 d. Apr. 1, 1942
McDuffee, Lue Etta b. Feb. 10, 1892 d. Jan. 8, 19659184

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Vinson Willis [Male] d. 1775 NC

Change: 17 JAN 2013

485

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Ambrose Gregory [Male] b. 1792 NC - d. 1827 Gum Springs, Community Head, Waters of Peyton

Source
Title: Gregory.FTW

Change: 17 JAN 2013

Smith Co., TN
Gum Springs Community, headwaters of Peyton Creek
4850
The following is an excert from article was printed in March 3, 1949 andlater reprinted Novem ber 4, 1976.

Ambrose Gregory was the son of Bry Gregory, a Revolutionary soldier whocame to Smith County , Tennessee, in 1791, from Chatham County, NorthCarolina, with his wife and children. He wa s the father of Mila, Ambrose,Ansil and perhaps other Sons. He had several daughers, among th em beingLain, or perhaps Elaine. married John McKinnis; Thenie, married NealMcDuffie; Bettie , our own ancestor, married her cousin, Big Tom Gregory;Brina, or perhaps Sabrina, marrie d a Dycus; Polly, married MalachiShoulders, the ancestor of the numerous Shoulders in this se ction. and ofthe two Doctor Shoulders in Na shville; Sina marreied Neal Goad, andNannie marri ed a Bishop. Ambrose and Mimas children were Guy or Gion,married his own cousin, Amanda Grego ry; Riar, married a Willis, Johnmarried Eliza Moore; Jo e Red, married a Brawner; Betsy,. mar ried aWitcher; Sallie, married George Thomason; Ann, Married Sheridan Willis;and Nancy marrie d Joe Brown.11082From Cal's Column: "The Mima Gregory Hill takes its name from Jemima Willis Gregory....She resided in the hollow just south of the hill. Peyton’s Creek ... rises at the Highland Rim, its westernmost headwaters being in the vicinity of the Nima Gregory Hill, seven miles east of Lafayette; and the easternmost part of Gibbs Cross Roads, some twelve miles east of Lafayette. This is a historic stream upon which some of the earliest settlers of what is now Smith County built their log cabins in early days."

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Joseph Paul Davis [Male]

Change: 17 JAN 2013

10892

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Nancy Gregory [Female] b. 1818

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4851

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Joe Brown [Male]

Change: 17 JAN 2013

4852

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