My ancestor this week is another distant cousin, whose War
of 1812 pension file was found and posted on Facebook, just like last week’s ancestor
story was. This ancestor from my Mom’s
side of the family is George Rogers Clark Floyd who was born April 29, 1781 in
Amherst County, Virginia. George was the
son of Col. John Floyd 1745-1783, and Sarah Jane Buchanan 1759-1812, and had
two brothers and a half-sister from his father’s two marriages. George’s brothers were William Preston Floyd,
born August 1779-????, most records say he died without any children, and none
mention a wife, so he may have died young, and John Floyd 1783-1837, married
Letitia Preston, they had 12 children, and he was governor of Virginia from
1830 to 1834. George’s half-sister was
Mourning Burford Floyd 1769-1847, married John Charles Stewart, her mother was
Matilda Burford. George’s mother, Sarah
Jane Buchanan, remarried in 1784 to Alexander Breckinridge, 1752-1801. She had several children with him according
to different online sources, but the www.findagrave.com
says there were no known children from this union. I have not followed any of the
Breckinridge’s, so I don’t know much information about any of them at this time.
Living in the dark and bloody grounds of Kentucky, George
would have had to grow up quickly, especially without a father around. His baby brother, John who became governor,
was born near present day Louisville, just two weeks after their father, John
Floyd, was murdered by Shawnee Indians. I
don’t know if Sarah Jane and her sons went back to Virginia or if they stayed
in Kentucky for a while, but either way George and his brothers would have
grown up learning to shoot, hunt, and farm, to help in their survival in the
wilderness. I know they went back and
forth between Kentucky and Virginia a number of times, and George’s brother, John,
was the only native Kentuckian to serve as governor of Virginia. Governor, John Floyd’s son John Buchanan
Floyd, also served as governor of Virginia from 1849 to 1852.
Not sure how or when, but George met a young woman named
Maria Maupin who had been born in Williamsburg, Virginia and they were soon
married on September 21, 1806 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. They had a son the following year, who they
named John Gabriel Floyd, who was born July 7, 1807. There is no death date for Maria, but
different online trees have her dying around the time that the baby was born,
if was the same day or shortly after I have not been able to find out yet. John Gabriel Floyd married Ann Elizabeth
Hager and they had at least nine known children and he died in Keokuk, Lee
County, Iowa on March 4, 1868.
In 1807, when George was serving as a Captain in
the town militia in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky he was recommended
by William Clark for an appointment to be a Captain in the United States Army,
on November 26, 1807. Just a few months
later, George entered the service of the United States Army, on May 3, 1808 as
Captain of the 7th Infantry. Sometime
after his first wife’s death, he met Sarah T. ‘Sally’ Fontaine and they were
married on April 16, 1810 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. The following page showing George and Sally’s
marriage, was from Sally’s widow’s pension files.
George fought at The Battle of Tippecanoe on November 11,
1811 near present day Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana where he was second
in command. Affidavits given for and by
his widow in her pension papers, say that George enjoyed excellent health until
Tippecanoe, when afterwards, he was sickly with consumption until his death.
George and Sally’s first child, a daughter, named Georgianna
Maupin Floyd was born in 1812 and died in 1832, according to cemetery records. Georgianna had married William Byers Carroll on
July 1, 1830 in Louisville and they had one child, a daughter, named Georgianna
Floyd Carroll, born in 1831 and died in 1907 in Manhattan, New York. William Byers Carroll died in 1837 of yellow
fever, but I don’t know what caused Georgianna’s death, it could be she never recovered
from the birth of her daughter.
George was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the 4th
Infantry on August 26, 1812 while serving in Louisiana. However, George’s health had become so bad
that on April 30, 1813 he resigned his commission to return home. The pension record mentions that when George
was on his way back from Natchez, Mississippi after resigning his commission
that he took sick again by Nashville, and stayed with his uncle, Col. W. P.
Anderson for several weeks before be able to resume his journey up to
Louisville. The record further states
that George wanted his wife, Sally to come down to him to help in his recovery,
but that she was unable to because of her own health and with an infant child she
was unable to join him, so when he had recovered enough, his uncle brought him
on up to Louisville. I believe this
child was their first child, Georgianna.
In part of the pension record it says something about
George’s son from his first wife, and the children and grandchildren of Sally
T. Floyd, but does not name any of them.
I know his son by his wife Maria
was John Gabriel Floyd and his first known child by Sally was Georgianna. I also know that George and Sally had a
daughter named Jane Buchanan Floyd born in about 1822, married James Steptoe
Penn on May, 21, 1840 in Louisville and they had three children, Lucy, Evelyn
and George before Jane died around 1859 or early 1860 in Ponchatoula, Orleans
Parish, Louisiana. George and Sally may
have also had two more daughters named Matilda Floyd, about 1816 and before
1858 and Evelyn Floyd, about 1819 and before 1858. I cannot find anything out about these two
girls and I found their names in different online family trees, but no sources
were listed for either of them. I have
them both dying before 1858, because in part of Sally’s widow’s pension in
1858, it stated that she lived with her only living child, but again did not
name the child. I found Sally living
with Jane and James Penn on the 1850 census in Jeffersonville, Clark County,
Indiana so I know Jane was the only living child that Sally was talking about. I also know that the Penn’s went down to
Louisiana and that is where Sally was living in 1858 when she was writing for
an update on her pension.
On November 1, 1850, Sally applied and received a 160 acre
bounty land warrant for George’s military service during The Battle of
Tippecanoe where he was second in command and for his time serving during the
War of 1812. She was living in
Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana at the time she first applied. Sally was listed on the pension rolls in Louisville,
Kentucky on November 4, 1853 and on the rolls in Orleans Parish, Louisiana on
November 4, 1858 but by September 7, 1861 this pension was being transferred
back to Kentucky. Sally stated the
reason for her moving to Louisiana was the fact that her only living
daughter had married and went with her husband to Louisiana and that she
went with them. Her reason for moving
back to Kentucky from Louisiana, was because her daughter has since died, and
she wanted to go back to her old home and live the rest of her days there among
her old friends. While in Louisiana she had
lived in Orleans Parish in the town of Ponchatoula according to the pension papers.
I liked the following image from Sally’s pension
file because it was a letter from Congress asking that she be granted her
pension in 1851.
I have mentioned Sally and the widow’s pension she had filed
for George’s service in the United States Army from the Battle of Tippecanoe to
the War of 1812, but not when George died.
George did not live long enough to file for a pension himself. The consumption and other ailments he
contracted during his military service finally got the best of him and on June
5, 1823 at the age of 42, he died at their home near Louisville, Jefferson
County, Kentucky. The Floyd family had been fairly wealthy, but
Sally states in the papers that after George resigned his commission, that he
did not have a business mind, and did not do well with investments and so lost
most of the Floyd money and that was why she needed to ask for a pension from
his service in the army.
George is buried at the Floyd-Breckinridge Cemetery in Plymouth
Village, Jefferson County, Kentucky as are his father, mother and his daughter
Georgianna, as well as his mother’s second husband Alexander Breckinridge. From pictures on www.findagrave.com it looks like there
maybe a number of unmarked graves, which are probably other family members of
George, Sally and the Breckinridge’s. So far I have not located a death date for
George’s wife Sally, nor is she listed in the same cemetery as George. From her widow’s pension file she was still
alive on September 7, 1861 but there are no records after that time period,
which I have been able to find to date.
At www.findagrave.com
it gives the following directions to the cemetery. Located on the old property of General,
Robert Breckinridge, off Breckinridge Lane, on property of Mr. Osie Lentz in
the year 1928. Take Breckenridge Lane to
Hillsboro. Bear left onto Prince William
Street. You will be on the street that
runs behind Jamestown Apartments. Go up
approximately 3/10 mile. The second left
is Jamestown Court. The cemetery is at
the end of the cul-de-sac, surrounded by a stone wall. The following are pictures from www.findagrave.com.
So many men have served in our military throughout the
history of this great country, many died on the battlefields, but many more
died from the diseases they contracted during their military service, living
days or years after the battles had been fought. George Rogers Clark Floyd was one of many,
but he is a relative I am proud to say I am related too.
To see all I have collected on this family and my other
Floyd family members in my Floyd Family Tree online you can click on the
following link: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=williamfloyd
Great story as usual.
ReplyDeleteVickie, Is this my dad's family? Cool. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Vickie.....I just started reading James Alexander Thom's [love this author] LONG KNIFE [for about the 3rd time] which is based on life of George Rogers Clark. Early in book, GRC is old and infirm, and is facing an amputation when neighbors and friends start gathering at his house on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. Among those coming to support GRC during this ordeal is none other than George Rogers Clark Floyd. Glad to get this info about GRC Floyd.
ReplyDeleteCool post. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHis Brother John was my 4th grandfather. That is in the Color trot portrait. He named a son after his brother GRC Floyd. George Rogers Clark Floyd. nicknamed Woushippakniga. Went on to be my 3rd ggrandfather. My Father was George D Floyd. I love how they passed family names. I learned so much of my Uncle from this blog ty so much. I always wondered about Papaw John naming papaw GRC Floyd this name, well you answered this one its his Brother and two he was a great man, im too very proud to have him as kin. Great post, and ty so much Cousin for all the time and information you have given to Family Research. I have a wonderful story on us,Floyds you really should read. Please let me know i can send you the link.
ReplyDeleteSincerely
J Floyd. ..^^^
Thank you so much for your comments I would love to read what you have on the family.
DeleteHis Brother John was my 4th grandfather. That is in the Color trot portrait. He named a son after his brother GRC Floyd. George Rogers Clark Floyd. nicknamed Woushippakniga. Went on to be my 3rd ggrandfather. My Father was George D Floyd. I love how they passed family names. I learned so much of my Uncle from this blog ty so much. I always wondered about Papaw John naming papaw GRC Floyd this name, well you answered this one its his Brother and two he was a great man, im too very proud to have him as kin. Great post, and ty so much Cousin for all the time and information you have given to Family Research. I have a wonderful story on us,Floyds you really should read. Please let me know i can send you the link.
ReplyDeleteSincerely
J Floyd. ..^^^
I've researched the Floyd family for about 15 years; much of the research you refer to is from Pat Stevens' site and includes my research. William Preston Floyd died of smallpox as a small child; there are no descendants from that line. George Rogers Clark Floyd and Sallie Tevis Fontaine Floyd had three daughters - Jane Buchanan Floyd Penn, Georgianne Floyd Carroll and Matilda P Floyd. The source for these names is the Kentucky Gazette articles reporting GRC Floyd's death.
ReplyDeleteJohn Gabriel Floyd attended West Point as an appointee from the state of Tennessee but did not graduate. He worked as an engineer for the army. His children settled for the most part in Terre Haute, IN.
Jane Buchanan Floyd had four sons from her marriage to Alexander Breckinridge.
I appreciate the additional info on the children of GRC Floyd. I have been researching the Floyd's and my other family members for over 40 years now. All of the research for this article, I did myself and I have never heard of Pat Steven's before, do you have a web link for her? I would love to see what she has collected on the Floyd family. Thanks for making contact.
DeleteJohn Gabriel Floyd married Ann Elizabeth Hagar. One of their daughters, Annette, married John D Keeler, and lived with him in Bedford, Virginia. Her sister, Sallie Buchanan Floyd never married and lived with Annette and her husband John in Bedford. Sallie died about the same time as her brother-in-law (who survived his wife by 14 years). She is buried in the Keeler family plot in Bedford. Through Annette Floyd we have inherited an original of the miniature that you show in b&w.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the information, it is appreciated.
Delete