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| Joanna N. Gaines Stover holding her grandson Lewis Wood Pattillo 1890 |
Joanna Gaines was born in 1826 most likely in Abbeville,
South Carolina. I believe she was named after her grandmother, Joanna Watson
Thompson. The town of Abbeville experienced two fires in 1872. The first on
January 19th destroyed some of the public records and according to
the Abbeville press “the second conflagration on November 17th consumed
the remainder”. So, I have neither proof of the exact date nor location of
Joanna’s birth. I do know that her parents Hiram Gaines and Hulda Waller were
married in Abbeville and that Hiram witnessed Joanna’s grandfather’s will in 1815
in Abbeville. Also, Hiram appeared on the 1820 census for Abbeville. After the
fires marriage records were gleaned from historic newspaper notices, by a
dedicated genealogical researcher named Larry E. Pursley, to whom I am very
grateful. He published three volumes of marriage records – the first in 1980
with 7500 records and the most recent in 2003 contained 10,600 records.
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| Trinity Episcopal Church in Abbeville was constructed in 1842 so Joanna would have known this church. |
When Joanna was about two years old her mother Hulda
died. Very sadly about a year and an half later her father Hiram also died
leaving Joanna and her sister Margaret as orphans. Her aunt and uncle Nancy
McGehee Sullivan and Seaborn O. Sullivan adopted both Joanna and Margaret, according
to a court record dated January 9, 1835. Joanna would have been 9 at the time of her
adoption. I believe her sister Margaret was probably a little younger. Joanna also had a half brother William H. Gaines, the son of Hiram and his second wife Elisabeth Waller. William died in 1855 at the age of 34.
The next record I’ve found for Joanna is a marriage license
dated January 10, 1848. On January 13th she married David L. Stover (see my first blog
post on David dated June 28, 2013). On that document she was listed as Joanna N. Ganes.
At that time it was not unusual for there to be variations of surname spellings
– Gains is another common spelling. On Ancestry, some members show her middle
name as Narissa. I have found a few documents that use “N” for her middle name
but I have not found any document with the name Narissa on it, so I don’t use
it.
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| This home built in 1815 existed at the time Joanna lived in South Carolina as a young girl |
Joanna and David were married in Madison County, Florida.
For years I’ve wondered why in Florida? I now know that Seaborn O. Sullivan was
from Florida, so it is likely that she and her sister moved to Florida after
their parents died, and that is where she and her family were living in 1848. That
begs the question – how did she meet David L. Stover who lived in Carter County
Tennessee – the two counties are over 500 miles apart? I do know that David’s
brother, Samuel M. Stover married Joanna’s Cousin Caroline Brooks in 1851, so
clearly the two families had a connection.
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| Joanna N. Gaines and David Lincoln Stover marriage license, 10th day of January 1848 |
After their marriage the couple settled in Tennessee.
They appeared on the 1850 and 1860 censuses living in Carter County. On the
latter census it showed them living in the town of Elizabethton, the county
seat.
Their first child, a daughter named Sarah was born ten
months later in November of 1848. They
had a son, William “Win” about a year after that. Then on July 18, 1852 my
great grandmother, Carrie Brooks Stover was born. Clearly her middle name is a
reference to the Brooks family connection. After Carrie, Joanna and David had
three more children – two girls and one boy. Mary was born in 1854, Elizabeth
about 1856, and David Gaines “Bud” Stover was born in December of 1855. All of their children were born in Carter County.
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| 1850 Census from Carter County, Tennessee showing David, Joannah, Sarah E. and Win G. Stover |
Joanna’s husband David
died in November of 1858, shortly after Elizabeth was born. So Joanna was a
widow at the age of 32 and had six children to take care of – the oldest of
which was only 10 years old. In his will, David left his farm to his 3 year old
son David, though he did stipulate that Joanna could continue to live there as
long as she remained a widow and he noted that David “shall be
subject to her will in the management of the farm and business”. He made Joanna
responsible for “managing the farm and all his Negroes.”
The will also called for
“advice and consent of my brother’s Samuel Murray and Daniel Stover, or three
competent and disinterested judges, should they not be living” for any big
decisions she might need to make. David’s will also addressed his children’s
education, he stated, “In the management of the farm and in the
education of my children I desire my wife to consult and be guided by advice of
my brothers S.M. and D. Stover. I do not specify any particular mode but
would prefer private teaching.” Notice that he said, “my children” not “our
children”. The same was said about Joanna in her grandmother’s will – she and
her sister Margaret were identified as Hiram’s daughters. According to the
will, if Joanna were to remarry or die his brothers would become their
guardians, and his brothers would take over management of the farm.
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| 1860 Census after David had died. It shows Joanna N. Stover, Sarah E.M., Carrie B., Mary J., David G. and Elizabeth W. Stover |
Joanna
continued to live in Elizabeth and manage the farm for at least twelve more
years because the family appeared on the 1860 and 1870 censuses. In 1860 Sarah
was 11, Carrie 7, Mary 6, David was 4 and Elizabeth was just 2. Win had died
and did not appear on the 1860 census. By 1870, Elizabeth had also died. Sarah
was still living at home at age 21, Carrie was 17, Mary was 15, and David 14. These must have been difficult years for
Joanna. No doubt she had help from her brothers-in-law but they had families of
their own to care for. Fortunately, the family was comparatively wealthy,
having inherited money and property from David’s father William who inherited
the money from Isaac and Mary Lincoln. Probably Joanna was able to hire others
to help her manage the farm and even run the household. She would have owned
several farm and house slaves. The 1850 Slave Census shows that David owned
seven slaves.
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| 1870 Census Carter County - Joanna is 45, Sarah 21, Carrie 17, Mary 15 and David 14. Also living in the household are Ruth McCloud, her daughter Carrie Cox, and a 15 year old domestic servant Louisa Nave. |
Also, the
Civil War took place during this difficult time. Her family was divided by the
war. Her father-in-law William Stover and his youngest son Samuel Murray both
supported the Confederates while David’s other brother Daniel Stover was a
Colonel in the Union Army. Had Joanna needed their guidance it may not have
been available or the two brothers may have disagreed with each other. The
Civil War had devastating impacts on the entire country. Joanna must have been
a very strong woman to have endured it while raising five young children alone.
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| This covered bridge existed when Joanna lived in Carter County and still exists in 2017. It spans the Doe River in downtown Elizabethton |
By 1880 much
had changed in Joanna’s life. Her three
daughters were all married. More significant the entire family was living in
Texas. The farm in Tennessee, where the Stovers had lived for five generations,
had probably been sold or was possibly lost due to high taxation after the
war. Joanna’s eldest child Sarah was living in Stephen’s County, Texas while
Carrie and her husband James William Pattillo were in the neighboring county of
Tarrant, Texas.
In 1880
Joanna appeared on three different census forms, and each provided different
information and some different “facts”. The first census was taken on June 9th
and 10th of 1880 when Joanna was in the 91st District of Tarrant
County Texas with her daughter Carrie and son-in-law James W. Pattillo. Their
son Wirt W. Pattillo was born in May of 1880, so probably Carrie was there to help with the birth and care of her daughter and grandson.
By June 24th
and 25th, when the second census record was created, Joanna was in Stephens County living with her daughter Sarah and her husband Winfield Scott Tipton
and their three children – Maude age 9, Eugene 7 and Robert 5. Joanna’s son
David “Bud” was also living in the Tipton household.
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| This architectural remnant is from the 2nd County Courthouse in Stephens County Texas where Joanna lived with her son and daughter. This building existed at the time Joanna lived there. The third and current courthouse, where I did my research, can be seen in the background. |
By September
22, 1880 James and Carrie had moved to Handley, Texas also in Tarrant County.
Joanna had returned to their home and was recorded for the third time on the 1880
census. It is probable that Joanna was there because Wirt had died and
Joanna again wanted to help care for her daughter. There was also a servant
living in the Pattillo household at this time named Charles Hinton.
The discrepancies
recorded on these three official documents provides an excellent example of how
false facts can be created. On the first census Joanna’s age was shown as 60,
and her and her parent’s states of birth were all recorded as having been in
South Carolina. On the second census she was only 52 years old, Joanna had been
born in Florida and both parents were born in South Carolina. On the third
census, taken 3 months later, Joanna was age 54 – which I believe is correct,
she was born in South Carolina which I believe is correct, and both of her parents
were born in Virginia. I have yet to find proof of where her parents were born
but it is very possible that Virginia is correct.
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| 1880 Census taken June 9th & 10th in Tarrant County, Texas |
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| 1880 Census taken June 25th and 26th in Stephens County, Texas |
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| 1880 Census taken September 22 in Tarrant County, Texas |
In 1890 or 91
Joanna and one of her daughters, probably Sarah, travelled to Los Angeles,
California to see her daughter Carrie and
family including a newborn son Lewis Wood Pattillo, my grandfather who was born
March 18, 1890. By that time, Joanna’s son-in-law James had a well-established
concrete finishing business called Pattillo
& Lovie in Los Angeles.
Ten years
later Joanna was back in Texas living with her son David and his wife Nannie on
their ranch in Stephens County. Joanna died in March of 1902 at the age of 76.
She was buried in the Tipton Family Cemetery close to her daughter and her son’s
ranch. There are eight Tiptons buried with her. The cemetery is located on a
private farm and is enclosed by a decorative wire fence.
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| Mrs. J.N. Stover Jan. 1926 - Mar. 1902 |
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| Tipton Cemetery in Stephens County, Texas where Joanna is buried is surrounded by mesquite trees. |
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| Ranch home of David "Bud" Gaines Stover where Joanna was living in 1900. |
It gives me tremendous pleasure to be able to publish this
biography for Joanna Gaines. I have been waiting to do so until I could include
the names of her parents and siblings. Joanna is the 43rd person
entered into my genealogy program, so I’ve known of her for a very long time. But,
until I made my extended cross-country genealogy journey in 2017 I had been
unable to find any trace of Joanna’s parents, siblings or any other relatives.
While in Albany, Texas where Joanna’s son and grandson lived I
visited the city museum and inquired about the Stover family. The archivist
brought me a thin folder. One of the
items it contained was a story from a newspaper article written by James D.
Jenkins. I was familiar with that name because I’d encountered one of his
descendants during my genealogy research, so I felt confident that what he’d
written could be relied upon. The headline was “Lincoln’s Family” and the story
was about the descendants of Isaac and Mary Lincoln who lived in Carter County,
Tennessee. In this article Jenkins wrote “…and David Lincoln (Stover) married
Miss Josephine Gaines, a first cousin of Caroline Brooks ….”. He noted that
both Caroline Brooks and Miss Gaines were from “prominent South Carolina
families”. A few days later, after pondering this new clue, I decided to
include the state of South Carolina in my trip.
In my research I had one reference to Abbeville, South Carolina so
I decided to visit the courthouse in Abbeville and look for the name Gaines.
But, before I got to South Carolina I started looking at South Carolina records
at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was there that
I found the will of Joanna MeGehee that included a reference to Hiram Gaines.
The will identified Hiram as Joanna’s father. Initially, I was cautiously optimistic
that I had finally solved the mystery that had challenged me for so many years,
but after finding a few additional clues I was confident that I’d found Joanna’s
family. In Abbeville I found the documentation for her adoption and much more
material on the Gaines family.
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| Tipton Cemetery with Scott Harris in the background. Steve is a rancher who lives nearby. He found me and took me to the cemetery. I never would have found it without his generous help. |
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