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Notes for James Hearne of Anson, Montgomery Co., Rowan Co. North Carolina

For quite some time we have been looking for the parents and siblings of
Joshua and Moses Hearne of Lincoln Co. N.C., who began to appear in Lincoln Co.
prior to 1800 (Fed. Census), particulary, Moses Hearne (Herron) as he is in our
direct line.

Other researchers who have good information on the Hearne/herron/Herren
families in Mecklenburg Co. could find no Moses associated with them.
These families included Hugh, Andrew, Allen, and Samual, as well as, George
and Jesse Hearne in the southern part of Mecklenburg County.

Since there was a flood of Pennsylvania German and Scotts-Irish to the region
after the the Revolution, I researched the Hearnes and like names there also.
However, no reasonable connection could be made in that state.

In North Carolina, searching out other surrounding counties to Lincoln, including
Rowan-Montgomery-Anson, and the Catawba area, turned up good possibilities only
in Rowan-Montgomery Counties.

The search in N.C. was for a family:
That was probably close by in surrounding counties to Lincoln.
That according to the 1790 census showed sons younger than 16.
That names Moses (and probably Joshua) in a Last Will & Testament.
That if [Moses and Joshua] were found thusly, they were not tracked to
other places.

Eventually, thanks to Carol Ealey, I came to concentrate on researching James
of Montgomery Co. (1790) and Rowan Co. (1800).
With Carol's generous help a good amount of information on James of Montgomery/Rowan
Counties (Rowan Co. was made from the western portion of Montgomery Co.) was obtained and is
presented below with my interpretation of it.

If James, in his 1823 Will, followed normal practice and named children in order
of their birth then it can be seen how they fit.
According to James Hearne's Last Will & Testament, Hamilton Co., Ohio, 1823, James
had seven sons.
From the first wife and in order of age: Joshua, Moses, Jesse, and Beverly Allen.
From the second wife, Elizabeth Miller: James H., Stephen M., and Isaac.

The 1790 Montgomery Co. North Carolina Federal Census shows:

James Hearne 1-5-2

This means:
1 male over the age of 16 yrs.
5 males under the age of 16 yrs.------(sons born 1774 to part of 1790)
2 females.

The 1800 Rowan Co. N.C. census shows:

James Hearne 2-1-1-0-1/3-1-0-1:

This means:
2 males under 10 yrs.---(1790 to 1800)
1 male 10 to 16 yrs.------(1784 to 1790)
1 male 16 to 26 yrs.------(1774 to 1784)
no males 26 to 45 yrs.---(1755 to 1774)
1 male over 45 yrs.-------(before 1755)

3 females under 10 yrs.
1 female 10 to 16 yrs.
no females 16 to 26 yrs.
1 female 26 to 45 yrs.

What we know of the ages of James' older children are that Jesse was born in 1783,
Elizabeth in 1785, and Beverly Allen in 1790.
It is not known if Beverly Allen was born before or after the census enumeration.
Up to now nothing was known about the ages of Joshua and Moses, except that they were
older than Jesse.

Something peculiar arises when comparing the 1790 census, 1800 census, and James' Will.
That is, to qualify for being one of the 5 sons in James' household in 1790, a son must
be born in the years 1774 and part of 1790 depending on the month of the census.
Referring to the 1790 Montgomery Co. and 1800 Rowan Co. Census information above
it can be seen that the five sons from the 1790 census must have been born between
1774 and part of 1790. However, only three sons shown in the 1800 census are present in the
household. This assumes Beverly Allen, born 1790, is the one in the 1784 to 1790 bracket
and Jesse, born 1783, is the one in the 1774 to 1790 bracket.
Joshua can qualify for two brackets; the 1755 to 1774 and 1774 to 1784.
Moses, being older than Jesse (1783) and younger than Joshua (unknown), can only qualify
for one bracket, the 1774 to 1784 bracket.

The only conclusion that could drawn from this is that Joshua and Moses
were no longer in James' Household in 1800 Rowan County.

Further, if Beverly Allen is the son in the 1784 to 1790 bracket, then one of the sons in the
1790 to 1800 bracket is a lost, unknown son, and must have died before James' 1823 Will,
since we know that James H. Hearn was born to Elizabeth Miller Hearne in 1793
and Stephen M. Hearne was born in 1804.

Likewise, if Beverly Allen (bn. 1790) was one of the sons in the 1790 to 1800 bracket
along with James H. Hearne (bn. 1793) then there are two missing sons.
The son in the 1784 to 1790 bracket and one from the 1774 to 1784 bracket.
I believe that Jesse is 1774 to 1784 bracket because he went with his father to
Ohio in 1802/1803 and Joshua and Moses did not.

In either case two things have to be true.
One, there is (one, and probably two) missing sons from the 1790 Montgomery census
with respect to James Will and the 1800 Rowan County census.
Second, Joshua and Moses have left the fathers' household between 1790 and 1800.

Joshua Hearn was found in the 1800 Lincoln Co., N.C., census:
Joshua Hearn ------ 0-0-0-1-0/0-0-0-1-0
Which means Husband and Wife 26-45 yrs.

Marriage: Moses Herron and Mary Froneberger, 1803, Lincoln Co.
(source:Leona Eakers' "German Speaking People West of the Catawba River").

The following Tax List information courtesy and generosity of Researcher
and Author, Robert Carpenter, "Carpenters Aplenty".

1805 Tax list, Lincoln County, Captain Featherstone's Company, Morgan District near Dallas:
Joshua Herren---- one white poll.
Moses Herren----- one white poll.

1810 Lincoln County census.
Moses and Joshua Hearne are enumerated with there respective families.

Tax List, Lincoln County, 1818, Captain Mauney's Company near Dallas:
Moses Herron: Tax on 200 acres of land worth $400 and one white poll.

Tax List, Lincoln County, 1822, Captain Mauney's Company:
Moses Herron: Tax on 237 acres worth $600 and one white poll.

The 1850 Gaston Co. Census shows that Moses must have been born late 1781 to early 1782.
Gaston County was made, in part, from the southern portion of Lincoln Co.

The ages of the children seem to fall together as follows:
Joshua, bn. about 1774.
Unknown Lost son. bn. 1775 to 1780.
Moses, bn. late 1781 to early 1782.
Jesse, bn. 1783.
Unknown Lost son, bn. 1784 to 1790.
Elizabeth, bn. 1785.
Beverly Allen, bn. 1790
James H. Hearne, bn. 1793.
Stephen M., bn. 1804.
Isaac, bn. 1810 to 1820.
The other daughters I have no clue about.

Conclusion:
Joshua, Moses, and probably one other son, left the father James' household sometime
after the death of their mother between 1790 and 1792 and the father's marriage to
Elizabeth Miller in 1792 and subsequent birth of half brother James H. Hearn and sisters.
Joshua had married and moved 40 miles or so down River from Salisbury to Lincoln County
and was enumerated there in the 1800 census.
It is probable that Moses and the other brother were in the area also and could have been
enumerated in another household.
In 1802 to early 1803, the father James and family, migrated to the Ohio River valley in the
year Ohio became a state, 1803, leaving some of the sons from the previous wife in North
Carolina.

Mitigations:
There is a record of a marriage bond between a Moses Hearne and a Betsy Hearne in 1803
Rowan County. It is natural to assume, using the proximity rule, that this Moses is the son
Of James.

However, there are plenty of Hearnes in the Montgomery / Rowan Counties area
who could have produced this Moses. Further, I can't find this Moses and Betsy after this
marriage and do not know what became of them.
The familysearch.org (Mormon data base) has this Moses being born in Cabarrus Co.
I have no idea why the submitter would believe this, but if true then this Moses was
was not the son of James of Montgomery Co.
Whats more, I think it pretty evident that Moses, son of James, had left Rowan County before
this 1803 Rowan County Moses / Betsy marriage took place as the discussion above points out.
Further, I believe that Moses' father, James, and family left Rowan County in late 1802 to
early 1803 in order to arrive in Ohio in 1803.

Contributions of Bertha and Al Hearne:
In 1810 NC Census there is:
Betsy Herning (i think) PASQ p190 N Twp L - on eastern seaboard
Betsey Heron NORT p066 N Twp L - borders VA almost to sea coast
Moses Herrin LINCOLN CO. p327 No Twp L
Joshua Hern LINCOLN CO. p362 Lincoln

1840
Betsey Heren MART p371 6th Dist - Martin is above Craven -see 1850
Joshua Herron LINCOLN p136 Lower (unreadable)
Moses Herron, Sr LINCOLN P136 Lower (unreadable)
Joshua Hearen MONT p216 or 218 or even 215 (hard to read)

1850
Betsy Hearne CRAV p332 No Twp L Craven is near the east coast
Joshua Hearne STAN p061 Albemarl
I don't have Moses on the Index because his name was slaughtered and I didn't
copy the HU pages.

The other Moses shows up only to marry Betsy Hearne. I still wonder if her name
could have been Mary Elizabeth Fronebarger and they were married twice -- a civil ceremony
and a religious ceremony????????

1840
Elizabeth Hearne MONT p244

1850
Elizabeth Herren (Hard to read) MECK p074 Providen
Elizabeth herren (Hard to read) MECK p013 Steel Cr


If anyone can shed light on this Moses - Betsy Hearne marriage please contact me.

Another usuable but less reliable tool in finding relationships is name commonality.
Fortunately, Hearnes tend to name offspring after family members.
For example, Moses' brother Beverly Allen had a son, Moses.
Beverly Allen's brother, Moses, had sons Joshua Allen and Moses.
Another common name in the line of the Somerset Co. Maryland Hearnes is the
name Purnell.
James had a brother Purnell who moved to Wilson Co. Tenn. about the same time he
moved to Ohio. James son, Jesse, had a son Purnell.
James son, Moses, had son Joshua Allen who had sons Moses Allen, John Allen, James,
Marcellus, and Purnell. Moses' son, John T. Hearne had a son, Purnell.

Although the relationship between James and the young men in cir. 1800 Lincoln County
is not "Ironclad" I am virtually certain of its correctness.

If anyone has information to the contrary, please contact me.

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