William Mothershead


Pierce Mothershead Family Ties



William Mothershead

William Mothershead is the father of either Clifton Mothershead (born 1800, KY), or of Clifton's wife, Martha/Patsey Mothershead (born 1809, KY). Clifton and Martha were cousins, and it's been hard to prove which one of them was actually William's child. I personally believe that Clifton might be the son of Charles Mothershead because Charles and Clifton were involved in several transactions in Cape Girardeau County MO prior to 1820. More information on that is available on Clifton's page.

Many other children are also attributed to William and his wife, Lucy nee Long, some I have seen listed are just not possible. As an example, Whitaker Mothershead is listed in one book as being a son of William and Lucy. Whitaker was alive, well and living in Jefferson County Missouri at the time that William's estate was being probated yet Whitaker is not listed as an heir. To me, that means only one thing: Whitaker was not a son of William Mothershead. All of William's 7 living heirs are listed in his intestate probate record in Jefferson County Missouri. Minor Mothershead, besides being an Administrator of William's estate, is also an heir-at-law. I believe this proves that Minor is William and Lucy's only surviving son at the time of William's death in 1828.

What we list here are the records that pertain to William Mothershead; I will try to have all conjecture clearly indicated.

If you would like more information or are a long-lost cousin, please don't hesitate to email! (Please be sure to put genealogy in the subject line of the email, so I won't delete it by accident :-) Also, please do not send attachments without checking with me first. All unexpected attachments are autormatically deleted due to enormous problems with viruses.)

William Mothershead:

  • died Intestate circa 1828, in Jefferson County, MO [source: Jefferson Co. Probate Records of 1830].
  • Minor Mothershead and Clifton Mothershead were appointed Administrators of William's Estate [source: Jefferson Co. Probate Records of 1830].
  • William had an eleven-year old grandson named Hazelet Sarver [source: Jefferson Co. Probate Records of 1830]. At the very least, Hazelet's mother, Margaret has already died and it's possible both of Hazelet's parents have died since Minor Mothershead is appointed guardian for Hazelet upon the death of his grandfather, William. There is a marriage record for John Sarver to Margaret Mothershead December 13th, 1816 in Allen Co Ky and a few land transactions.

    Another child of William and Lucy who appears to have died before William since she is not included in the probate, is their daughter Polly. The marriage record of Polly to Simon Hall, 30 Jan 1810 in Warren County KY, is recorded in Kentucky Marriages 1801 - 1825" by Liahona Research, Heritage Quest, 1999. There is the notation that "consent was given by the bride's father, William".

  • The probate record for William Mothershead lists seven heirs. The heir receipts are as follows:
    Clifton Mothershead Minor Mothershead "on behalf of Hazelet Sarver"
    John Williamson Orson Baker Milton Baker Samuel Thurmond
  • Since they are "Heirs-at-Law", John Williamson, Orson Baker, Milton Baker, and Samuel Thurmond appear to have married daughters of William. Their receipts are also witnessed by an outside party.
  • The receipts signed by Minor and Clifton are not witnessed and there is no seal. We're not sure yet if a witness was not required for them because they were the administrators of the estate, or if it was because they were William's actual sons instead of son-in-laws. My personal opinion is that it was because they were the administrators as I believe that Minor was William's son while Clifton was a son-in-law, I think. If you know 19th century probate law for Missouri, please email!
  • There are two other receipts found in William Mothershead's Probate File:
    First Receipt: In 1831 Clifton Mothershead received $12 for the boarding of Hazelet Sarver for the past twelve months.
    Second Receipt: In 1830 Charles Mothershead received $10 for tutoring Hazelet.
  • William Mothershead bought at least three parcels of land in Jefferson and Washington Counties MO in 1821 [source: Goodspeed's History of Jefferson County; Bureau of Land Management official records].
  • At least two land transactions involve William Mothershead's heirs and land William owned in Missouri and Kentucky. (1) In 1830, William's heirs sold their portion of land in Jefferson County to Clifton Mothershead. (2) In 1855, John Murrell was given a power of attorney by other heirs to sell their portion of William's land in Kentucky.
  • William lived in Warren County KY for over fifteen years; the tax records list him on Bays Fork from at least 1800 through at least 1817 [source: Warren County KY tax lists from 1797 - 1817 on microfilm; 1810 Warren County KY Federal Census].
  • The 1810 Warren County KY Federal Census shows in William's household: 1 free white male under 10, 1 fwm 10-16, 1 fwm 16-26 and 1 fwm 45 & over; 4 free white female under 10, 1 fwf 10-16, 2 fwf, 1 fwf 26-45. Living in very close proximity to William in Warren County at that time are Richard Long, Benjamin Long and Elijah Baker.
  • William was named Administrator of the Estate of Mary Long (widow of Benjamin Long); October 1809 in Warren County KY [source: Warren County KY Wills and Settlements Will Books A & B 1797 - 1823 by Mary Moltenberry Rabold and Elizabeth Moltenberry Price].
  • 15 August 1809, William was given a Power of Attorney from Brumfield Long and Richard Long to receive any monies, etc, due them in Counties of Culpepper and Orange, VA, as heirs of estate of Benjamin Long, deceased and of his widow Mary Long, deceased [source: Deed Abstracts of Warren County, KY 1797 - 1812 by Joyce Martin Murray].
  • The marriage of a William Mothershead to one Lucy Long is recorded as of  11 March 1788 in Culpepper County, VA.
  • The 1781 Will of Nathaniel Mothershead, of Orange County, VA, includes a son William, who is presumed to be under 21 at that time. This William was possibly born circa 1761. [source: Wills and Deeds of Orange County, VA on microfilm] This Nathaniel Mothershead has at least eleven children, as recorded by his Will, including his son Nathaniel Mothershead, Jr. who served in the American Revolution and later moved to Scott Co KY and had an extensive family of his own.


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