A Question for the Bumpass Experts
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A Question for the Bumpass Experts
 mhallett144
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Posted: 10 Feb 2009 10:20PM GMT |
Classification: Query
Who are the parents of Nancy Bumpass (1824 – 1900)?
Nancy Bumpass was born Feb 10, 1824 in North Carolina, exact location unknown. The first record of Nancy occurs with the marriage bond of Richard Baker bearing the notation of his marriage to Nancy Bumpass in November 1849 at Edgecombe County, NC. She next appears in the 1850 U.S. census for Nash County, NC with her husband, Richard Baker.
Nancy has been identified by other researchers as the daughter of John Bumpas and Martha Etheridge. However, to date we have been unable to find definitive documentation of this relationship.
There is a John Bumpas listed in the 1840 U.S. census for Nash County who is of the age group 70-80. He has one female of the proper age group (10-15) to be Nancy. There are two males (15–20 and a female (40–50) also reported. We are unable to locate him in the 1850 census.
Documentation of the marriage between John Bumpas and Martha Etheridge exists in a number of sources. The will of Caleb Etheridge probated in 1826 identifies a daughter Martha as the wife of John Bumpers. The marriage appears in the Ancestry.com database Edgecombe County Vital Records (1720-1880), and is also recorded in “Ten Generations of The Etheredge – Etheridge – Ethridge Family of America”, Compiled by Fae Alice Etheredge and Ema Lee Etheredge Tipton.
There is a will written Oct 11, 1849 and proven November 1855 in Edgecombe County for John Bumpas. The will identifies daughters Phebre, Mary, Martha, wife Martha, and son John W Bumpas (as executor). This will is consistent with a marriage to Martha Etheridge, but poses a problem with regards to Nancy in that she is not mentioned.
Some researchers report that Martha Etheridge was the second wife of John Bumpas. There are records dated 1800 in Halifax County of a John Bumpas as married to a Sarah Crawley, widow of Aires Jones Crawley. These records pertain to the settlement of the Crawley estate and appear in "Abstracts of Deeds, Halifax County, North Carolina 1802-1807". If this is the same John Bumpas and Sarah was his first wife, she must have died prior to 1826 when John is known to have been married to Martha Etheridge. However, we are left with the possibility of a small window in time where Sarah could have been the mother of Nancy Bumpass.
While the birth of Nancy in 1824 appears consistent with the marriage of John Bumpas & Martha Etheridge in that the marriage occurred prior 1826 (Caleb Etheridge will) and lasted until after 1849 (John Bumpas will), there is no proof of Nancy as their daughter. Indeed, there is a chance that Nancy is the daughter of John Bumpas and Sarah Crawley. All we can say is that the timeline is consistent with either scenario.
To confuse things further, the Marriage & Death Notices from the Wilmington, NC Tri-Weekly Commercial (Thurs 27 Sept 1855) that states John Bumpas died on Sept 17, 1855 in Nash County, at the reported age of 98 years. It was also reported that his wife Nancy died one day later at the age of 90 years. If these are all the same John Bumpas, then there is a third wife Nancy, last name unknown. For all this to be true, Martha Etheridge would have to die after 1849 when John wrote his will in Edgecombe County, and well before 1855 when he is shown as married to Nancy LNU. Again, all we can say is that the timelines appear consistent with the scenario but we are no closer to proving the parentage of Nancy Bumpass.
We have a bit more on Nancy Bumpass herself. She was the mother to six children; Laura (1851 – 1910), Mary Frances (1853 – 1922), John Henry (1855 – 1938), Martha Ann (1857 – 1947), James Carter (1859 – 1931), and Richard Walter (1870 – 1953). The family appears to have always lived in the area of Whitakers, NC and records appear in both Nash and Edgecombe counties. Her husband, Richard Baker died in 1875 at Whitakers, NC. In 1886, Nancy divided up a 25 acre plot giving each of her six children a plot of a little over 4 acres. Nancy died Jan 28, 1900. Nancy, Richard Baker and their children are all buried in the Baker family cemetery on Fisher Road, Whitakers, NC.
So, back to the original problem; who were the parents of Nancy Bumpass? Are they John Bumpas & Sarah Crawley, John Bumpas & Martha Etheridge, some other John Bumpas, or some other Bumpas altogether? Is the John Bumpas identified in our timeline all one person, or have we become confused and merged a number of individuals with the same name (a very real possibility)?
We are searching for documentation and information that proves the parentage of Nancy Bumpass. If her father is indeed John Bumpas, then any additional information on him will also be of considerable assistance.
Thanks, Mike Hallett
mhallett@socal.rr.com
Nancy Bumpass was born Feb 10, 1824 in North Carolina, exact location unknown. The first record of Nancy occurs with the marriage bond of Richard Baker bearing the notation of his marriage to Nancy Bumpass in November 1849 at Edgecombe County, NC. She next appears in the 1850 U.S. census for Nash County, NC with her husband, Richard Baker.
Nancy has been identified by other researchers as the daughter of John Bumpas and Martha Etheridge. However, to date we have been unable to find definitive documentation of this relationship.
There is a John Bumpas listed in the 1840 U.S. census for Nash County who is of the age group 70-80. He has one female of the proper age group (10-15) to be Nancy. There are two males (15–20 and a female (40–50) also reported. We are unable to locate him in the 1850 census.
Documentation of the marriage between John Bumpas and Martha Etheridge exists in a number of sources. The will of Caleb Etheridge probated in 1826 identifies a daughter Martha as the wife of John Bumpers. The marriage appears in the Ancestry.com database Edgecombe County Vital Records (1720-1880), and is also recorded in “Ten Generations of The Etheredge – Etheridge – Ethridge Family of America”, Compiled by Fae Alice Etheredge and Ema Lee Etheredge Tipton.
There is a will written Oct 11, 1849 and proven November 1855 in Edgecombe County for John Bumpas. The will identifies daughters Phebre, Mary, Martha, wife Martha, and son John W Bumpas (as executor). This will is consistent with a marriage to Martha Etheridge, but poses a problem with regards to Nancy in that she is not mentioned.
Some researchers report that Martha Etheridge was the second wife of John Bumpas. There are records dated 1800 in Halifax County of a John Bumpas as married to a Sarah Crawley, widow of Aires Jones Crawley. These records pertain to the settlement of the Crawley estate and appear in "Abstracts of Deeds, Halifax County, North Carolina 1802-1807". If this is the same John Bumpas and Sarah was his first wife, she must have died prior to 1826 when John is known to have been married to Martha Etheridge. However, we are left with the possibility of a small window in time where Sarah could have been the mother of Nancy Bumpass.
While the birth of Nancy in 1824 appears consistent with the marriage of John Bumpas & Martha Etheridge in that the marriage occurred prior 1826 (Caleb Etheridge will) and lasted until after 1849 (John Bumpas will), there is no proof of Nancy as their daughter. Indeed, there is a chance that Nancy is the daughter of John Bumpas and Sarah Crawley. All we can say is that the timeline is consistent with either scenario.
To confuse things further, the Marriage & Death Notices from the Wilmington, NC Tri-Weekly Commercial (Thurs 27 Sept 1855) that states John Bumpas died on Sept 17, 1855 in Nash County, at the reported age of 98 years. It was also reported that his wife Nancy died one day later at the age of 90 years. If these are all the same John Bumpas, then there is a third wife Nancy, last name unknown. For all this to be true, Martha Etheridge would have to die after 1849 when John wrote his will in Edgecombe County, and well before 1855 when he is shown as married to Nancy LNU. Again, all we can say is that the timelines appear consistent with the scenario but we are no closer to proving the parentage of Nancy Bumpass.
We have a bit more on Nancy Bumpass herself. She was the mother to six children; Laura (1851 – 1910), Mary Frances (1853 – 1922), John Henry (1855 – 1938), Martha Ann (1857 – 1947), James Carter (1859 – 1931), and Richard Walter (1870 – 1953). The family appears to have always lived in the area of Whitakers, NC and records appear in both Nash and Edgecombe counties. Her husband, Richard Baker died in 1875 at Whitakers, NC. In 1886, Nancy divided up a 25 acre plot giving each of her six children a plot of a little over 4 acres. Nancy died Jan 28, 1900. Nancy, Richard Baker and their children are all buried in the Baker family cemetery on Fisher Road, Whitakers, NC.
So, back to the original problem; who were the parents of Nancy Bumpass? Are they John Bumpas & Sarah Crawley, John Bumpas & Martha Etheridge, some other John Bumpas, or some other Bumpas altogether? Is the John Bumpas identified in our timeline all one person, or have we become confused and merged a number of individuals with the same name (a very real possibility)?
We are searching for documentation and information that proves the parentage of Nancy Bumpass. If her father is indeed John Bumpas, then any additional information on him will also be of considerable assistance.
Thanks, Mike Hallett
mhallett@socal.rr.com