Family History by Robert Monroe Fleming (Sr.)

Grandma Causey’s Letter on Her Contacts with Various Jennings

Transcribed by Robert M. Fleming Jr.


Salem Ore       8-6-30

Dear Kids: I dont owe you a letter. but I dont feel like writing to any one. that I have to be particular about. so I will write to you. we are still having awfulist cold weather here. I came over here so I could go out of door. & have never been off of the porch. I thot it was warm enough one day. but H said the wind was to cold. so here I have sat the whole time. & wrote letters to everybody. & I dont know when I have enjoyed myself so much as I have in writing to so many. & in reading their letter. I got one a few days ago from a Mr M D Jennings of Letterell Ky. he says his people lived over there near Celina Tenn. & he thinks they were descendents of one of my G Fathers Bros. said his Mother was helping him to hunt up all the names they could find. he asked me some questions & I ans the same day. & one of my letters was from Mrs John Henry Stone. & hisFathers sisterwas Aunt Sinias Bro. & she married Uncle Melvin my F Bro. they visited us in Ill. & their cousins are my cousins. she writes a beautiful letter. they are hunting names for me too. & j have a letter from William Jefferson Davis. his mother was a Jennings. is still living. her Father was Francis J. they are going to trace him back. & W J D is the Grandson of George W Peterman. I have written to him to find out if he is the George Peterman that spent a year at our house right after the war. I was 16. well you dont know how much good it does me to get to write to those people that has always lived there. when all the Jen lived so long. but he says that house on Grandpas Plantation is all gone. as all of the houses were all burnt and torn down by the darned Union soldiers. & the most of the fine stones were shiped north. cousin Lewis Peterman had a fine brick one. & they hardly left a brick. Celina was all towrn up & burnt. George F told us about that. he was taken prisoner. well I have found out a little about the names we will have to have to prove up on the estate.

I think Aunt Thuesa & I were crazy. about this name of one G G F & Mother. we were just guessing at it. we had heard the names & thot we would tack it on to them I guess. my F only had one sist Martha Jane. & she kept house for G F until he died. and she was 30 years old. she didnt marry until she was 33. well she knew more about our ancestors than any one else. & I have been writing to her oldest daughter for several weeks to find out some things. & just had a letter last friday. & she says her mother said our G G G F & mother left Suffolk Eng & started to the U S. was 3 months crossing. she couldnt remember their names only Jennings. well she dont know how long they were on the ship. when our G grandfather was born. & before they got across he died. & she came on with this baby. & they landed some where in the Carolinas. & when the baby small she died. well that babys name was Charles Lawson. & his wifes name was Elizabeth Bonafil. & we had him named James Samuel. & I had her named Sara Bonifiel. & Aunt Thuesa said it was Sara Margaret. I didnt have a thing right. exceptBonafile. & I didnthave that spelt the wayKate spelt it. but she couldnt give any data of their births or any thing. but it gave the names of their child. I wrote to Aunt Thuesa that I had forgotten how many bros G F had. but I knew he had a bro Johnnie & a sister. & Titia wrote to her that G F didnt have any sister & had a daughter named Nancy. a son Ezekil,Thomas, John & Samuel Bonafil. my G F & we had James tacked on to his name. Grandpa was born Jan 30-1787. marriedSarah McMurtry Sept 5-1814. & died March 13-1858. but dont have G M age an death. I wrote to Mr Jasper McMurtry to see if he could tell her birth. she was twin to his Father. he may be dead. I havent heard from him for a long time. that was all Kate could tell about it. I dont know if I told you what John J wrote. he said that baby was in North Caro after he was grown. & when he was 18 years he started back to Eng & was ship wrecked. & landed in Mary- [last line of page totally invisible except for a few dots that are the very tops of letters; the last word of visible line, “Mary-” I am guessing is “Maryland”] him he was in Washington D C woking on the capitol building. & that was begun in 1793 & finished 1800. & if Grandpa was born in 1787 that would ma [left edge of another letter beyond right margin -- context implies word is “make”] him 6 yerars old when it was begun. & he might not have been the oldest. so there was several years after he was ship wrecked before the capitol was begun. well I wrote to Senator ?ill as I had voted for him when he was electedCongressman & Senator. & he wrote to me if I ever needed help from him to let him know. so I thot this was a time to do it. so I wrote & explained all about it. & asked him if he could tell me any way I could find the names of those workmen. my letter was to late for him as he had gone home for the summer. but his cleark hunted for it. this is what he said.

I have read your letter carefully & have made rather an extensive inquiry about available records of the workmen who built the capitol.of whom you believe wasan ancestor was one I have tryed to find. some information in thisconnection through the Library of Congress . but failed. I have also cosulted the architect of the Capitol. but his records of workmen employed are incomplete. and in any case go back only to about 1850. when the House and Senate wing were added. & he has no record of the men who worked on the central building. so that was as far as he could go. so now I have a man in Va helping hunt him up. & if he fails I am at the end row. well I found out what some thing. I am proud of what I have found out any how. proud to know I had such a G Grandfather who fought his way thru the world like he did. was born on a ship bound out. ship wrecked. & helped build such a beautiful building. I have heard my F say there was so many stone quarries in Va N & S Caro Tenn & Ky. & some of the finest workmen. & ma?b? he has told us about his grandfather helping build that building. & I know he did. but we were like all young people. didnt care if we had any ancestors or not. Ill bet you or Cora could tell the names of your G F & Mother on either side. I told Frank that was where we all got our grit. Grandpa named his oldest son after him. Uncle Lawson was Charles Lawson but its awful strang to me that he only had one daughter. & named her Martha Jane. I cant see why he didnt name her Elizabeth after his Mother. & I cant think of any of my uncles naming a girl Elin.

Note; Next page of this letter seems to be missing. It endshere.


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©2009 Robert M. Fleming Jr.

This page was last revised on 28 December 2009.