Stoneman, Freeman, Mooney and the Lillys

      Correction to dates per WV Archive online birth/death records in bold

This concerns those who descend from the connection between Andrew Lewis Lilly (1817-1875) and Sarah Ann Mooney (1823-1860).  Specifically, I will deal with Sarah Ann Mooney's side...


First, though...DO NOT get confused over the two men with the name of Andrew Lewis Lilly.  The one I am covering was the uncle to Andrew Lewis Lilly, born 1840.  Andrew Lewis (born 1817) was a son of John "Snakebite" Lilly*. Andrew Lewis (born 1840) was a son of Wilson (brother to Andrew born 1817).

 I wanted to clear that up because it's so easy to get these two confused.  My grandmother said that they called my great great grandfather "Lewis", so that's how I will refer to him hereafter.

   Anyway, let's look at Sarah Ann Mooney's ancestry.  She was actually the first wife to Lewis.  After she died, Lewis married Sarah Holstein.

    Sarah Mooney and Lewis Lilly had roughly six children:  Dayton, Green, Joshua, Melissa, Simpson, and Ida (Lydia) Jane Albatine (my great grandmother and first wife to John Wesley Basham).

    Sarah Mooney was the daughter of John S. Mooney (1786-1844) and Sarah Stoneman (1786-1861).  John Mooney owned roughly 500 acres at Middelton's Fork of Bluestone River in Mercer County.
 A couple of years ago I went looking for this area and couldn't find it.  I asked numerous residents in that area and none of them knew what I was talking about.  Of course, I could have been in the wrong area.

    Sarah Stoneman was the daughter of James Stoneman (1735-1829) and Sarah Freeman (1751-1844)...and this is where the story gets interesting...

    According to some accounts, James Stoneman was born near London, England (by the way, there is a biennial reunion in Galax, VA for people who descend from him).

    According to an account I came across, James Stoneman was kidnapped at age 10 and brought to America.  But, the family reunion website does not refer to this, so I am unclear if that story is true.  Also, I came across a record that appeared to report that he arrived with parents. Some of the Stoneman family claim it was James' ancestor who was kidnapped+.  Either way, he lived in Orange County, NC until after his marriage.

   He married Sarah Freeman, a Quaker.  At first, Sarah was dismissed from the Cane Creek MM, Quaker church for "marrying outside of unity".  James was not a Quaker and it was a no-no for someone to marry a non-Quaker (at the time).  Apparently, he later converted because they were eventually admitted into the fold.

  In 1793, they moved to Chisel Knob, VA (this is in Carroll County) near Fancy Gap and the Blue Ridge Parkway... not too far off I-77 .

   +If you are interested in reading more on the Stoneman family, check out The Stonemans: An Appalachian Family and The Music That Shaped Their Lives, by Ivan Tribe.  He covers the kidnapping story in detail.

   *Check out my earlier posts on John "Snakebite" Lilly, including a photo of his home that is being rebuilt.

 


   

A little on the Swopes

The Swopes were one of the first families to settle in present day Summers County.  Joseph Urlich Swope, born 1707 in the town of Leiman, Germany (roughly 4 miles south of Heidelberg) left for America and settled in Lancaster County Pennsylvania.

His son Joseph (sometimes referred to as John) migrated to Virginia.  Then, according to John Miller's account, he explored west (sometime around the birth of his son Joseph).  He followed Indian trails to the present town of Union, WV.  There he traveled to Swope's Knob (named after him) and down into Wolf's Creek.

According to Miller's story, Joseph hid from Indians in a popular tree near the Broad Run Church.

Later, he brought his wife and child back and built a home near the Connor Spring.  It was here that his second child Michael was born in 1753.  Miller states Michael was the first white child born in Monroe County, which at that time included present day Summers Co.

There are several interesting stories about the Swopes.  Joseph's eldest son (also Joseph) was abducted by the Shawnee and, according to Miller's account, was adopted by Chief Cornstalk's mother.  Later on Joseph was retrieved after the battle of Point Pleasant.

Michael Swope settled at the head of Hand's Creek.  His daughter, Sarah Ann Swope (abt 1787-1862) married Joshua Harvey.  Their daughter Elizabeth Bell (or Dell) married John R. Pack.  This is how many of us connect to the Swopes.

I have a photo on the blog (earlier post) of the tomb of Sarah Swope Harvey and description of where she is buried.  There is a tombstone for Joseph Swope at the Broad Run Church at Wolf Creek, WV but I haven't traveled there to see it yet.