Eli Boggess (1788- bef 1819)

Eli Boggess was the tenth child born to Richard H. Boggess and Nancy (Ann) Smith.  He was born about 1788 in Prince William County, Virginia, or in North Carolina.  

Eli Boggess was not mentioned in his mother’s will in April 1819 so it is assumed that he died before that time.

Hannah Boggess (1787-1863)

Hannah Boggess

Daughter of Richard H. Boggess & Nancy (Ann) Smith

Hannah Boggess was the ninth child born to Richard H. Boggess and Nancy (Ann) Smith.  She was born about 1787 in Prince William County, Virginia, or in North Carolina. 

Hannah married Thomas Bell October 2, 1803 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  She was 16 years old and he was 30 years.  Thomas was born in Caroline County, Virginia on April 29, 1773, the son of William Bell and Mary Foster.  

Thomas and Hannah were the parents of the following seven children:

                        Wyley A.                                 born about 1804

                        Charles C.                               born about 1806

                        William                                    born January 2, 1807

                        (Daughter)                               born about 1808

                        Sarah Ann                              born about 1809

                        James Montgomery                 born 1812

                        Martha H.                                born August 29, 1820

Thomas and Hannah Bell lived with their children in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky for the remainder of their lives.  Thomas was a prominent man in Muhlenberg County and was colonel of the militia for a number of years. 

Thomas Bell died on November 14, 1852 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, at the age of 79.  Hannah Boggess Bell died ten years and ten months later on September 16, 1863 in the same county.  She was about 76 years old.

 
Notes for Hannah Boggess

Birth and Death:  Ancestry.com, OneWorldTree for Thomas Bell. Accessed on 12 Jan 2008.  http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=24843210.

Marriage:  Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Marriages, by Mrs. Evelyn M. Cox and Mrs. Leila F. McCulley

Notes for Thomas Bell

Birth and Death:  Ancestry.com, OneWorldTree for Thomas Bell. Accessed on 12 Jan 2008.  http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=24843210.

Military Career & Residence:  Kentucky newspaper, The Record, issue published on December 8, 1910, page 2, “The Bell Brothers” article:  http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87060049/1910-12-08/ed-1/seq-2/

Nancy (Ann) Smith (1740- )

Nancy (Ann) Smith

Daughter of James Smith & Elizabeth

Nancy (Ann) Smith, daughter of James and Elizabeth Smith, was born about 1740 in Fairfax County, Virginia.  She married Richard H. Boggess, also of Fairfax County, about 1767.  Robert Boggess is listed in connection with the purchase of land in the early Fairfax County records.  Richard may have been a son of Robert.          

Nancy and Richard moved their young family to North Carolina sometime between 1760 and 1773.  On July 3, 1773, Richard Boggess and William Bailey Smith were witnesses to the will of Stephen Martin in Orange County, North Carolina.  Richard must have been a citizen of the community or he would not have been asked to serve in this capacity.

Richard Boggess went to Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, about 1797.^[1]  He and Nancy settled near Pond Creek, in the vicinity of Greenville, where he died about 1805. 

Richard and Nancy had a large family.  It has been difficult to determine the correct order of birth, but I have done my best to place them as accurately as possible.  Their children are:

            1.  Joel Boggess                               1768 –

            2.  J. Warren Boggess                     1769 –

            3.  Robert Boggess                          1772/1780 – 1850

            4.  Lemuel Boggess, Sr.                  1776 – 1833

            5.  Richard H. Boggess, Jr.             1776 –

            6.  William Rusbook Boggess        1774 –

            7.  Elenor or Ellen Boggess           1770/1780 –

            8.  Peter Boggess                           1775/1780 –

            9.  Hannah Boggess                       1787 – 1863

            10.  Eli Boggess                               1788 – 1819

                       

Record has been found of the first four marriages listed below.^[2]

            Hannah to Thomas Bell, October 1803;

            Robert to Rosanna Rumaldy, February 6, 1809;

            Lemuel to Rachel Oates, October 11, 1821;

            Peter to Sally Kirtley, January 22, 1824;

            Elinor to John Price.

            It is quite probable that some of the Boggess children married before they went to Kentucky; thus, their marriages are not on record in Muhlenberg County. 
 
Nancy Ann Smith Boggess died in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, in the home of her son, Lemuel Boggess, on April 20, 1818.  Her will is recorded in the Muhlenberg County Abstracts of Wills and Administrations.

The will is as follows: "Nancy or Anne BOGGESS will being present on the 14th day of April 1819 at the house of Lemuel BOGGESS where his mother lay on her death bed, she said it was her desire that if any thing was got of her brother W. B. (William Bailey) SMITH estate that Thomas BELL wife should have an equal part with the rest of her children divided into 9 parts, she should have one. We asked her if she was in her senses, she said she was and repeated the same thing again. She died the 20th of April 1819". Witness this day April 24, 1819, signed Peter A. BOGGESS and Margaret A. ALLISON. Proven May Co, Court 1819.

BOGGESS heirs agreement: "Nancy or Ann BOGGESS departed this life on 20th day of April and in the presence of two witnesses, Peggy ALLISON and her son Peter A. BOGGESS". The estate of William Bailey SMITH, brother of Ann or Nancy BOGGESS, is to be divided among Thomas BELL's wife, Hanna, who was a grand-daughter former BOGGESS, and her children who were Joel BOGGESS, Richard BOGGESS, William BOGGESS, Peter A. BOGGESS, Warren BOGGESS, Ellen PRICE, Lemuel BOGGESS, Robert BOGGESS. Proven May Co, Court 1819. Book II, pp. 119-120.

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[1]  History of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, by Otto Rothert, 1913, p. 48

[2] Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Marriages, by Mrs. Evelyn M. Cox and Mrs. Leila F. McCulley
Muhlenberg Co, Abstracts of Wills and Administrations, pp. 20. Will and Heirs Agreement.

Lemuel Boggess, Sr (1776-1833)

Lemuel Boggess, Sr.

Son of Richard H. Boggess & Nancy (Ann) Smith

Lemuel Boggess, Sr. was the fourth child born to Richard H. Boggess and Nancy (Ann) Smith. He was born about 1776 in Prince William County, Virginia, or in North Carolina.

At about age 46, Lemuel married Rachel Oates, age 13, on October 11, 1821 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Rachel was born on March 22, 1808 in the same county. Rachel was the daughter of Major Jesse Oates and Zilpha Mason. Pioneer Richard Boggess, father of Lemuel Sr., had come to Muhlenburg County from Fauquier County, Virginia, around 1797. He settled near Pond River, above the Russelville Road. He and Major Jesse Oates were both wealthy and influential, thus giving Lemuel and Rachel had a good financial start. Lemuel and Rachel raised their six children in Muhlenberg. Lemuel was a farmer by profession and owned as many as a dozen slaves to help with the agricultural and household labor.  

Rachel Oates

After twelve years of marriage, Rachel became a widow at the age of 25. She was left with six children, ranging from newborn to eleven years old, and a large farm to care for. Lemuel Boggess, Sr. “met a violent death” in Muhlenberg County in 1833, the same year his youngest child was born. He was about 58 years old at his death. Richard Oates was appointed guardian over the fatherless children, but died the following year. Thereafter, Vachel Dillingham took his place as guardian. When Rachel married John Wickliffe, they assumed guardianship of the children. 

Three years after the death of her husband, Rachel Oates Boggess married John Davis Wickliffe on February 2, 1836 in Muhlenberg, Kentucky. She was one month shy of her 28th birthday, and he was about 36 years old. John was born in Virginia in 1799, the son of Arington Wickliffe and Catherine Davis.

John and Rachel Wickliffe lived in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky for the remainder of their lives. Along with the six children from Rachel’s first marriage, she and John added seven more children to their family. Like Lemuel, John was also a farmer and worked in the agricultural industry until his death sometime between 1860 and 1870. The 1860 census lists the worth of his real estate at $2,000 and the worth of his personal estate at $500.

John Wickliffe fought for the Confederate Army in the American Civil War.  Private Wickliffe enlisted October 2, 1861, trained at the Green River Camp, and promoted to Captain February 1, 1862. Captain John Davis Wickliffe mustered out (was killed) August 12, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg.  He was 64 years old at his death.

Once again, Rachel was left a widow, this time around her early 60’s. After her second husband’s death, Rachel lived in the city of Boggess in Muhlenberg County with her daughter, Martha Wickliffe, at least until 1880, maybe even until her death in 1897.

Rachel Oates Boggess Wickliffe died at the age of 89 years, on June 1, 1897 in Boggess, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

The presumed children of Lemuel and Rachel Boggess are:

             

1.  Charles Haise     born September 10, 1822  

2.  Zilpha Ann           born November 9, 1824                 

3.  Elizabeth              born September 3, 1826                

4.  Lemuel, Jr.           born September 3, 1828                

5.  Presley M.            born September 15, 1830  

            6.  Richard Oates     born April 27, 1833