Wondering why I’ve not been posting much lately? It’s because I’ve been busy scanning microfilmed court records from 1741 to 1794 at the Library of Virginia every Saturday morning. (Well, almost every Saturday morning. Last Saturday, i was in Columbia, South Carolina for the South Carolina Genealogical Society’s Summer Workshop. That was a nice break but I felt very behind in my “work” yesterday.) Most Saturdays, I make my way to seat number 26 of the 2nd floor’s Reading Room where I spend the next four to five hours perusing court records. Yawn.

Shenandoah County, Virginia was formed from Frederick County – I don’t remember when. Having exhausted all records from Shenandoah and coming up short on the identities of my Hackney and Pearce ancestors’ parents, I turned to Frederick on a hunch that they might have lived there before it became Shenandoah. And, indeed, I found Daniel Hackney, my 6th great grandfather, witnessing a power of attorney document in Frederick County in 1764 – 20 years before he appeared in court records in Shenandoah. BINGO! He had to have been as least 20 to 21 years old in 1764 which puts his birth about 1743-ish.

While there are a smattering of other Hackney’s in the court records who are likely Daniel’s cousins, I have yet to be able to link them to Daniel. Thus, I’ve made no progress identifying his parents or those of his wife, “Jemima”. My Pearce ancestors of Shenandoah and presumably Frederick remain elusive as well. Hackney is not a common last name; Pearce/Pierce is. In Frederick County I have the added challenge of sorting through records from folks whose last name is Paris or Pearis. I haven’t been able to connect the two families. The country clerks used Pearce/Pierce/Perce/Pearis/Paris interchangeably. That’s so helpful. In any event, I believe that I am on the right track having found an Isaac and John Pearce living in Frederick County circa 1765. I suspect that this is the same Isaac and Jonathan Pearce who made their way to Sumner County, Tennessee before 1800. It is in 1799 that I found that scalawag, Robert Pearce, my 5th great grandfather, also living in Sumner. Charles Pearce, another 5th great grandfather, was a resident of Sumner County during that unfortunate lawsuit pitting grandchildren against their grandmother in1825. All roads seem to lead to Sumner County and it’s looking more and more like they started in Frederick County.

Kenfolk: Trantham
Relationship: 5th great grandfather
Common ancestors: I wish I knew