Stephen Marion Hairgrove (b. 24 July 1784, d. 11 December 1858)
Stephen Marion Hairgrove61, 62 was born 24 July 1784 in Guilford Co., NC63, and died 11 December 1858 in Shelby Co., TX. He married Nancy Mary Brown on 29 August 1805 in Randolph Co., NC, daughter of William M. Brown, Sr. and Elizabeth [Pope].
NOTE: The paternity of this Stephen Marion Hairgrove is claimed by two families of Hairgroves. Until his paternity is resolved, detailed data about his ancestors will be kept separately.
SOURCE: 'Laborer's Champion,' March 3, 1881 issue [a newspaper printed in Center, Shelby Co., TX]
'Stephen Marion Hairgrove and Nancy Mary Brown were married August 29, 1805 in her native state of North Carolina. Her husband was born in North Carolina also, July 24, 1784. He was only twenty-one and she eighteen years of age when married. Both belonged to good families. Captain Hairgrove was descended from the Adams family and was related to President Adams. Mrs. Hairgrove was a niece of George Pope, a leading Baptist minister of North Carolina. The year after their marriage, in 1806, they emigrated to the Duck River Purchase in middle Tennessee, becoming a part of the most noble heroes and heroines known in our history, who under the Jacksons, Boones, Harrisons, and other brave leaders, drove back the savages and peopled the great Mississippi Valley, extending our country from a mere strip on the Atlantic to the regions beyond the "Father of Waters" and building up great communities which are destined to control our great country. They both inherited those hardy and noble qualities from the ancestors of the Revolution and those heroic ages preceding which peculiarly fitted them for the duties attending the settlement of this savage frontier. Captain Hairgrove was a soldier under General Jackson in the British and Indian Wars of 1812. On an important occasion [at the time of the desertion], he held Fort Jackson in the Heart of the Creek Nation with only seventy men, and his brave and patriotic services on that occasion were highly complimented by his Commander-in-chief, General Jackson. The subjects of this sketch spent nearly half a century in Tennessee, from its early settlement until it became one of the leading states in the South and West. They had twelve children, eleven of whom they were happy in raising to years of manhood and womanhood. Their children, like their exemplary parents, in their early years desired to move West, and in common with thousands of Tennesseeans, determined to make their future home in the great state of the Southwest, our noble Texas. So in 1853, they removed from Bedford County, Tennessee and settled in Shelby County, Texas. Mr. Hairgrove always took a great interest in politics and was always ready to serve his country, either in the field or at home. He was a well informed politician and the friend and associate of General Jackson, General Houston, President Polk, and all the leading and prominent men of his state and party of his day. He voted in every presidential election from the time of Thomas Jefferson, the great Republican leader and defender, down to President Buchanan. Mr. Hairgrove died at his residence near Buena Vista, Shelby County, Texas on December 11, 1858 in his 75th year, his devoted consort surviving him nearly 22 years.'
SOURCE: 'War of 1812 Veterans in Texas'
Stephen Marion Hairgrove was drafted at Williamson Co., TN and served as an Ensign in Captain Kirkpatrick's Company of Tennessee Militia. [Pension W.C. 4522; Bounty Land 16,414080 and 43-619-80-55] His National Archives service records indicate that he lived in Bedford Co., TN in 1850 and appeared before William Taylor, J. P. In 1855, he appeared before Joshua Hooper, J. P. in Shelby Co., TX. In 1871 in Shelby Co., TX, facts of death of the veteran were established by N. A. [Newell Adams, his son] Hairgrove and William Brown [probably a brother of his wife]. Loyalty affirmed by J. W. Smith and A. J. Brunson. In 1872 in Shelby Co., TX, his widow apeared before R. L. Parker, Clerk of District Court.
SOURCE: Shelby Co., TX District Court Records
On November 23, 1872, R. L. Parker, Clerk of the District Court of Shelby Co., TX, certified that 'he had examined the family records of Stephen Hairgrove, two leaves of which were extracted in my presence and hereto attached and that I believe that the same is the family records of said Hairgrove having been intimately acquainted with him and his family for fifteen years, and that the names written thereon and written herein are the names of him, his wife, and children.' [Note: These records are NOT in accord with those of Silas Brown Wright in his book about the Hairgrove family, 'Our Family Record,' Fort Worth, TX, 1950.]
NOTE: Two different groups of Hairgrove researchers claim the paternity of Stephen Marion Hairgrove. The first was Silas Brown Wright of Fort Worth, TX who wrote a book about the Hairgrove and allied families in 1954. Another group of Hairgrove researchers who claim that the same Stephen Marion Hairgrove was a son of George Hairgrove and Elizabeth Adams also recently emerged.
SOURCE: Wright, Silas Brown. 'Our Family Record,' Fort Worth, TX, 1954.
Initial information about the ancestors of Stephen Marion Hairgrove and the descendants of Stephen Marion Hairgrove and Nancy Mary Brown came from this source. Wright was very specific about many dates and places, but gave absolutely no sources for this information; although, I know that he visited HAIRGROVE relatives all over Texas to get their family information. First, he gave specific information that my Stephen Marion HAIRGROVE was b. in Guilford Co., NC on 24 Jul 1784 and was the son of Stephen William Hairgrove, who was born in England in 1750 and migrated to the Newburn District of Johnston Co., NC. And further, that Stephen m. Nancy Mary BROWN, a daughter of Revolutionary War soldier William Brown of Guilford Co., NC and SC, in Guilford Co., NC in 1805.
A Wiliam Hairgroves [NOT a STEPHEN Hairgrove] was indeed listed in the 1790 Census for the Newbern District of Johnston Co., NC as a Head of Household with members of the household categorized as: 1 male over 16 years old [presumably William Hairgroves] and 3 females [one presumably being his wife and the other two their daughters].
This data would seem to indicate either a family with relatively young parents or parents up in age.
Wright listed 4 sons, BUT 9 year old Britton [b. 1781], 7 year old Burrell [b. 1783], 6 year old Stephen [b. 1784], and a 4 year old William [b. 1786]--all surely too young to be out on their own--were not even indicated in this census!
SOURCE: Beebe, Dorothy P. and Hargrove, Johnny L., 'The Hargrove Family Study,' second edition, printed privately, 1993.
'This Stephen was listed on the 1790 Census in the Hillsborough District, Granville Co., NC on pg. 90, the same page where John and Richard Hargrove were also listed. John and Annie Newsome didn't marry until 1772, which indicates that John must have married and had children before he and Annie were married.
This information [about the descendants of Stephen William Hairgrove] was taken from a Family sheet. There are two separate records. We did NOT research for detail.'
Beebe and Johnny Hargrove apparently recorded [cf. p. 26] Wright's information which had been forwarded to them by HAIRGROVE families in TX with the following note: 'This information was taken from a family sheet, there are two separate records. We did not research for detail.'
They indicated the descendancy of Stephen Marion7 Hairgrove as follows: [Stephen William6 Hairgrove, John5 Hargrave, Richard4 Hargrave IV, Richard3 Hargrave III, Richard2 Hargrave II, Richard1 Hargrave I]
It is interesting to note that Beebe and Hargrove also recorded [cf. p. 278] sons Britton HARGROVE [b. 30 Nov 1746], Arthur [b. ca 1750], Moses [b. ca 1753, Sussex Co., VA], a Burrell [no dob], and an Aaron [b. ca 1748, Halifax Co., NC] as descended from John4 HARGROVE [Bray3 Hargrove, Richard2, Richard1] and Judith Rogers Hargrove. It is also interesting to note these same names of Britton and Burrell were some 40 years earlier than Wright indicated for sons of Stephen William Hairgrove, but no Stephen or William were in the family. It makes one wonder whether Wright might have thought that they were the same individuals.
SOURCE: George Hairgrove and Elizabeth Adams
Then, along comes what I call the 'George Contingent' for short, claiming that my Stephen William HAIRGROVE was actually a son of George HARGROVE and Elizabeth Adams. The roots of George Hairgrove appear to be in DE and/or MD. He probably migrated to Randolph Co., NC, where a George Hartgrove was listed in the 1790 Census in the Hillsborough Dist of Randolph Co., NC. George subsequently migrated to Marion Co., SC, where he and one of his sons were listed in the 1810 Census for Marion Co., SC. He has not currently been found in the 1800 Census.
PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS:
The following factors appear to make it more plausible that George Hairgrove and Elizabeth Adams were the parents of Stephen Marion Hairgrove rather than Stephen William Hairgrove as suggested by Wright:
1] George's wife's maiden name was ADAMS. An ADAMS/HARGROVE or an ADAMS/BROWN connection was suggested in Stephen Marion Hairgrove's Shelby Co., TX obituary;
2] George and Elizabeth named one of their children Newell--as did my Stephen Marion and Nancy Mary. While their son, Newell, was b. in Bedford Co., TN, he migrated to Aberdeen, Monroe Co., MS, where he married before migrating on to Smith Co., TX after 1850. At least one of the children of George Hairgrove and Elizabeth Adams was also known to have resided in Aberdeen, Monroe Co., MS at about the same time;
3] A George HARTGROVE was listed in the 1790 Census [133] in the Hillsborough Dist of Randolph Co., NC, where Stephen and Nancy m. in 1805;
4] Stephen was presumably b. in adjacent Guilford Co., NC, from which Randolph Co., NC was formed in 1779;
5] There is also a BROWN/HARGROVE family relationship in that Nancy Mary BROWN was a daughter of Revolutionary War soldier, William BROWN, who was presumably b. in Guilford Co., NC and later enlisted for service in the Revolutionary War from Pendleton Co. and later York Co., SC--both counties located in NW SC near Charlotte and not too far from Rowan, Guilford, and Randolph Co.'s, NC; and
6] The plot thickens further when the possibility that an Elizabeth [POPE] might have been the first wife of Revolutionary War soldier, William BROWN, who was presumably b. in Guilford Co., NC according to Wright. A POPE and a HAIRGROVE researcher also places POPE and BROWN individuals in Kent Co., DE and/or Kent Co., MD at about the same time HAIRGROVEs and BROWNs were there.
More About Stephen Marion Hairgrove: Burial 1: Aft. 11 December 1858, Shelby Co., TX. Burial 2: Aft. 11 December 1858, Buena Vista, Shelby, TX. Census 1: 1830, Bedford Co., TN. Census 2: 1840, Dist 10, Bedford Co., TN. Military service: 1812, Capt. Kirkpatrick's Co.,, Williamson Co., TN Militia. Residence 1: Abt. 1848, Monroe Co., MS. Residence 2: 1805, Guilford Co., NC. Residence 3: 1806, Duck River Purchase, Bedford Co., TN. Residence 4: 1853, Shelby Co., TX.
More About Stephen Marion Hairgrove and Nancy Mary Brown: Marriage: 29 August 1805, Randolph Co., NC.
Children of Stephen Marion Hairgrove and Nancy Mary Brown are:
+Nancy Jane Hairgrove, b. 31 May 1816, Bedford Co., TN, d. 29 September 1896, Marysville, Cooke, TX.
Stephen Marion Hairgrove (b. 24 July 1784, d. 11 December 1858)
Notes for Stephen Marion Hairgrove: