Gregg Bonner's Lemaster Family
Current Quest

I am currently trying to identify the LEMASTER man who married Harriett ([--?--]) Lemaster (born about 1810; probably maiden name RUTLEDGE), who was the sister to the Elizabeth Rutledge who wrote her will in 1873 in Chambers County, Alabama. There is too much circumstantial evidence to discount the probability that this man was somehow related to the family of Ralph Lemaster (described below). I would like to know who this LEMASTER man is, and also I would like to know who were the (probably) RUTLEDGE parents of Harriett and Elizabeth. Can you help me?

LEMASTER - JONES - BONNER - WILLINGHAM
Roanoke, Alabama
circa Summer 1904

Big Fortune Awaits Lemasters.

Thomas G. Lemaster
Alabama Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907

Ralph Lemaster
1830 Census, Habersham County, Georgia

A clue towards determining the father of my Mariah Ann (Lemaster) Jones is to trace Mariah's brother, Thomas G. Lemaster (sometimes Lemasters). You can see from his 1907 Alabama State Confederate Soldier's Census that it indicates that he was born in Gainesville, Havaisham County, Georgia. It can reasonably be expected that Havaisham is meant to be Habersham County, Georgia. However, Gainesville isn't there, and never was. Gainesville was next door in Hall County, Georgia. So that leads me to wildly speculate that Thomas's mother was living in Habersham county in the early 1830s, but when it came time for birth, she went to Gainesville. Thus Thomas born in Gainesville, but by being home to Habersham County as an infant, never knowing it was not that county.

But I digress...the point is that the indication is some connection with Habersham County. And guess who shows up on the 1830 Habersham County census? And Ralph is showing males in his household that are 15-20 years old. So my question is, could it be that Ralph's brother Bennett was enough younger that he could have been listed as under 20 in 1830, and yet have children of his own by 1833? It's a pretty tight window, I know.

Habersham County, though, and the onomastics, and that's the best lead I have.

I am interested in the Lemaster family that lived in and around the Georgia/Alabama border as early as the 1850s. They can be found in Chambers County, Alabama, and also in Randolph County, Alabama, and perhaps also sometimes across the border in Troup County, Georgia. This group of Lemasters appears to have been previously from South Carolina, though it appears that some of this clan was joined by a group which had been more recently from Kentucky. The most noted member of this family is Ralph Lemaster. He is said to have married Temperence Reason in South Carolina, though I have never seen any evidence of this. Below are the 1850 and 1860 census entries for this Ralph Lemaster:

1850 census, Chambers County, Alabama, District 19 (District Nineteen & a half), Page 393A, HH#138/138:
Ralf Lemaster 65 m farmer 800 Va
Richard Lemaster 24 m [farmer] SC
Lucinda 22 f Ga
Elizabeth 20 f Ga (cannot read & write)
Notes:
1. He is indexed as "Raef Lamaster" at Ancestry.com.
1860 census, Chambers County (Northern Division), Alabama, handwritten page 157, Stamped Page 865, HH#1054/1033:
{Post Office Hickory Flat}
Davis, W. F. 33m GA
Davis, Elizabeth 33f GA
Davis, Ben F. 11m GA
Davis, Osso 9m GA
Davis, James 7m GA
Davis, Charles 2m AL
Lemaster, Mary 73f NC
Lemaster, Ralph 76m SC
Youngblood, Mary A. 16f GA
Davis, Frances E. 4f AL
Notes:
1. The Mary Lemaster listed here is Mary (Spivey) Tyner Lemaster, the widow of Jackson Tyner. Together, Mary and Jackson had a daughter, Elizabeth Tyner, who married firstly to Dudley Youngblood (16 FEB 1843), and secondly to W. F. Davis (23 SEP 1847). I presume that Mary A. Youngblood is the daughter of Elizabeth and Dudley. After Jackson Tyner died in 1842, Mary remarried (13 NOV 1851) to Ralph Lemaster.
2. Ralph's age here is written "66", then the first "6" is over written with a "7", to make it read "76", but in so doing, it ends up appearing like a "96". This is why some of the census transcriptions give his year of birth as "ABT. 1764". An age of 76 here is more likely, especially in light of the 1850 census (above).

From the 1850 census, it seems that Ralph Lemaster had these children:

1. Richard Lemaster, born about 1826.
2. Lucinda Lemaster, born about 1828.
3. Elizabeth Lemaster, born about 1830.

I have tried to find ALL the census entries in the area for LEMASTER from 1850-1930. In addition to the ones given above, I suspect the ones below represent people closely related to Ralph Lemaster:

1850 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, District 19 (District Nineteen & a half), Page 393B, HH#142/142:
John Lamaster 27 farmer 600 SC
Maria 25 Ga
Thomas 23 21 SC
Thomas 7 Ga
Ann 2 Al
Note:
1850 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, District 19 (south half), Page 393B, HH#146/146:
Rutledge, Elisabeth 42f 300 Georgia
* Rutledge, Harriett 35f Georgia
Rutledge, William 20m Farmer Georgia
Rutledge, Thomas 18m Farmer Georgia
Rutledge, Caroline 12f Georgia
[Note: Although these are listed as Rutledge, I believe only Elisabeth is a Rutledge. The others I believe are Lemasters.]
1850 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, District 19 (District Nineteen & a half), Page 399A, HH#226/226:
John Lamasters 35m farmer 300 Ga
Elisabeth 35f Ga
Susan 14f Ga
John 10m Ga
Martha 16f Ga
Thomas Lamaster 25m school teacher Ga
Mary 20f Ga
Note: It appears that Thomas and Mary had married within the year.
1850 Census, Randolph County, Alabama, Beat No. 11, Page 361A, HH#1167/1167:
Bennet Lemaster 28m SC
Jane Lemaster 25f SC
Buena V. Lemaster 4f
John Lemaster 2m
Notes:
1860 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, HH#1034/1013:
Lemaster, John P. 45 SC
Lemaster, Nancy L. 40 GA
Lemaster, Silas S. 5 AL
Lemaster, John R. 1 AL
Lemaster, Lucinda 33 GA
Allen, Martha J. 12 [or maybe 22] AL
Allen, James L. 10 AL
Notes: The above wife of John P. Lemaster is Nancy Long (Harris) Allen Lemaster, probably widow of James P. Allen. She married John P. Lemaster 25 DEC 1851, Chambers County, Alabama.
1860 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, Northern Division, handwritten page 152, Page 866, HH#1658/1637:
Rutledge, Elizabeth 50f farmer 800 2000 Georgia
* Lamaster, Harriet 48f Georgia
Lamaster, Thomas 24m farm laborer 800 500 Georgia
Lamaster, Caroline 19f Georgia
Lamaster, Sarah 59f B South Carolina (cannot read and write)
Lamaster, Fannie 30f B South Carolina (cannot read and write)
Lamaster, Dick 12m B Alabama
Lamaster, Charles 9m B Alabama
Lamaster, George 2m B Alabama
Lamaster, Frank 6/12m B Alabama
Notes:
1860 Census, Randolph County, Alabama, Southern Division, handwritten page 54, Page 680, HH#374/374:
{Rock Mills Post Office}
Thos Lamasters 45m farmer 200 SC
Mariah " 30f housewife GA (cannot read & write)
Thos J. " 16m farmhand GA (attended school)
Ann E. " 12f AL (attended school)
Samuel " 7m AL (attended school)
James M. " 6m AL (attended school)
Irdianna " 4f AL
Notes:
1870 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, Beat 1, handwritten page 32, Page 16B, HH#215/215:
Rutland, E. 70f W farmer 400 - Georgia
Lemaster, T. G. 37m W farmer - 330 Georgia
Lemaster, C. J. 26f W keeping house Georgia
* Jones, M. A. 32f W at home Georgia
* Jones, H. B. 12m W at home Alabama (cannot read and write)
Jones, H. A. 9f W Alabama (cannot read and write)
Lemaster, V. C. 29f W at home Georgia
Notes: There is a mark in column 18 for H. A. Jones which I can not decipher, but seems to read "Taph".
1880 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, Beat 1, ED#16, handwritten page 24, Page 12B, HH#5:
Lemaster, Thos W M 48 [head] M farming Georgia South Carolina Georgia
Lemaster, Clarisy W F 30 wife M keeping house Alabama - -
* Lemaster, Harriet W F 70 mother Wd no ocupation [sic] Georgia South Carolina Georgia
Lemaster, Virginie W F 45 sister S no ocupation [sic] Georgia South Carolina Georgia
* Jones, Marian W F 40 sister Wd no ocupation [sic] Alabama South Carolina Georgia
Jones, Harriet W F 18 sister S no ocupation [sic] Alabama South Carolina Georgia
* Jones, Hardy W M 23 nep[h]ew S work farm Alabama - -
Notes: Harriet Jones must be the sister of Hardy, and not the sister of Thomas Lemaster.
1900 Census, Chambers County, Alabama, Precinct 1, Hickory Flat (part of), ED#1, sheet 5a, Page 5A, HH#88/90:
Lemaster, Thomas G. head W M Jan 1833 67 Wd Georgia South Carolina Georgia farmer
Lemaster, Virginia C. sister W F Mar 1840 60 S Georgia South Carolina Georgia
[Continuing, Page 5B]
* Jones, Ann sister W F Mar 1836 64 Wd 8 1 Georgia South Carolina Georgia
Notes:
1910 Census, Calhoun County, Alabama, Beat 15, ED#21, Sheet 13A, Page 71A, HH#257/266:
1537 Walnut Ave., Anniston City, Ward 1:
Leemaster, James M. head M W 52 M1 19 TN VA VA teacher public schools
Leemaster, Fannie I. wife F W 37 M1 19 9 8 AL TN AL
Leemaster, Flora M. daughter F W 18 S AL TN AL knitting mill
Leemaster, Maud E. daughter F W 17 S AL TN AL knitting mill
Leemaster, Nannie M. daughter F W 15 S AL TN AL knitting mill
Leemaster, Visy daughter F W 12 S AL TN AL
Leemaster, Henry M. son M W 10 AL TN AL
Leemaster, William E. son M W 8 AL TN AL
Leemaster, Robert son M W 5 AL TN AL
Leemaster, William E. son M W 2 S AL TN AL
Notes: Yes, there were evidently two sons named William E. Lemaster.
1910 Census, Calhoun County, Alabama, Precinct No. 21, sheet 3B, Page 210B, ED#33, HH#41/41
{McKentosh Road}
Lemaster, Tom J. 65m GA SC VA
Elizabeth 48?f 33 5 5 AL GA GA
Ida 27f AL GA AL
Elna 23f AL GA AL
Claud 21?m AL GA AL
Birt 18m AL GA AL
Jones, Becky sister-in-law 51f S AL GA AL
Notes: Birt seems to marry later to Etta [--?--], and Elizabeth seems to be later referred to as "Sarah".

From my research, I have only come across one piece of information that matches the internet. This is the marriage of Richard Lemaster to Lucy Ann Dean on 03 JUL 1851 in Chambers County, Alabama. This Richard is the one born ABT. 1826, in South Carolina. From the 1850 census, it appears that the DEAN family lived next door to the Lemasters, as the DEAN family's census entry was immediately after that of the Lemasters.

I have never seen anything concerning James Monroe Lemaster who married Fannie Pesnell, but I wonder about Thomas Lemaster, one of the brothers. Is this the same Thomas Lemaster that was born in Georgia, JAN 1833, and married Clarissa J. (maiden name unknown)? This Thomas Lemaster must have lived at least until 11 JUL 1907, when he signed an affadavit for witnesses to application of widows of his sister, Mariah Ann (Lemaster) Jones [see below]. I don't think Thomas and Clarissa J. (maiden name unknown) ever had any children.

Is this the same John Lemaster as the John P. Lemaster who married Nancy L. Allen 25 DEC 1851, Chambers County, Alabama? They can be found on the 1860 Census of Chambers County:

So this seems to tie the information of the 1850 census. Lucinda Lemaster and John P. Lemaster are siblings. Another sibling in the 1850 census is Elizabeth (b. ABT. 1830, Georgia). I wonder if this is the same Elizabeth Lemaster who married Lindsey A. Kennedy on 01 JAN 1854, at the house of Ralph Lemaster.

But even this will leave out some Lemasters. On 11 DEC 1851, Mariah Ann Lemaster married John J. Jones. Mariah and Thomas are doubtless brother and sister. And then there is William Lemaster, born about 1830 in Georgia, and Virginia Caroline Lemaster, b. MAR 1840 in Georgia. So these last four are children of Harriett (maiden name unknown) Lemaster.

So here is a list of Lemasters with presumably close birth years, enough so that they COULD be siblings:

1. John P. Lemaster, b. ~1815 {married Nancy L. Allen}.
2. John Lemaster, b. 1823 {married Maria (maiden name unknown)}.
3. Richard Lemaster, b. 1826 {married Lucy Ann Dean}.
4. Lucinda Lemaster, b. ~1828
5. Thomas Lemaster, b. ?
6. James Monroe Lemaster, b. ? {married Fannie Pesnell}.
7. Elizabeth Lemaster, b. ~1830 {married Lindsey A. Kennedy}.
8. William Lemaster, b. ~1830 [Note: I have not unambiguous deconvoluted his surname - his surname could also be Rutledge, or even Rutland - but I name him Lemaster because that followed the primary pattern in all other cases.]
9. Elizabeth Lemaster, b. ~1830
10. Thomas Lemaster, b. JAN 1833 {married Clarissa (maiden name unknown)}.
11. Mariah Ann Lemaster, b. MAR 1836 {married John J. Jones}.
12. Virginia Caroline Lemaster, b. MAR 1840.

Obviously, the above list could contain duplicates. The easiest thing to do would be to say that Ralph married three times. But there is no evidence for this. So who could be the father of these children if not Ralph? Did Harriett (b. ABT. 1810) marry a brother of Ralph?

Many questions, chiefly among them for me, who is Mariah Ann (Lemaster) Jones' father? I am sure he is related to Ralph Lemaster, because Mariah's brother, Thomas G. Lemaster, was surety for the Kennedy/Lemaster marriage, the ceremony of which was at Ralph Lemaster's house.

Last Update: 29 December 2014