Richard and Jane Thornbrough Mendenhall Family
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Richard Mendenhall born 9/1/1737 Frederick Co, Va died Oct. 10, 1773, Russell Co, Va |
Jane Thornbrough born Frederick Co, Va died Unknown |
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Married: Reported married 6/24/1758 at New Garden Monthly Meeting, Rowan County, North Carolina (Report date, not marriage date!)
Children: John Mendenhall born 3/6/1759 Rowan Co, NC; married Ruth Brown Richard Mendenhall born 6/1/1761 Rowan Co, NC; married Sarah Harris Jane Mendenhall born 1/20/1763 Rowan Co, NC; married Jonathan Wheeler Benjamin Mendenhall born 1/1/1765 Rowan Co, NC Charity Mendenhall born 1/16/1767 Rowan Co, NC; married William Stanfield Margaret Mendenhall born 12/18/1768 Rowan Co, NC Joseph Mendenhall born 12/18/1770 Guilford Co, NC Aaron Mendenhall born 9/18/1772 Guilford Co, NC |
Speculations on parentage of Jane Thornbrough MendenhallConfusion reigns over the family of Thomas Thornbrough of Virginia. During the French and Indian War he fled back to Pennsylvania from Virginia, while his nephew?/cousin? Walter Thornbrough moved on to North Carolina. Thomas named only three of his children, Robert, Margaret, and Benjamin in his will. However, it is known that he had a son Thomas who went to North Carolina and probably a daughter Hannah who married Henry Mills and also went to North Carolina. The only place that Jane Thornbrough is mentioned as a daughter of Thomas is in the Henry Hart Beeson Mendenhall genealogy. Jane named two children Margaret & Benjamin possibly for her brother and sister, and this may be a clue. The main hesitation we have with this is that Jane married in North Carolina in 1758, when it seems more likely she would have gone north with her parents at the start of the War in 1756. If Jane was daughter of Thomas, her brother Thomas, Jr. and cousin Walter went to North Carolina in 1752 but it seems unlikely Jane would have gone with them as she would have been quite young.Susan Jurban, a descendant of Richard Mendenhall's uncle, Stephen Mendenhall, sent us a reference The Quaker Family of Thornbrough of Northern Ireland and Colonial America by Herbert C. Standing, 1976, which names Jane as a possible daughter of Walter and Margaret Thornbrough. We think the best clue that this might be correct is that Walter's mother's name was Jean/Jane and it is quite likely he would have named a daughter after his mother. In addition Walter and Margaret lived adjacent to Richard Mendenhall's parents, Mordecai and Charity. However, since Thomas Thornbrough died in Pennsylvania, Jane may have simply been under the care of Walter and Margaret. There is not enough evidence on either side to state definitively who her parents were. That she was either daughter of Walter or under his care seems likely as Walter and cousin Thomas Thornbrough, Jr. went to North Carolina in 1752 and Jane married in North Carolina in 1758. Charles Thornburg III who put together A Discourse on the Thornburgs was in touch with Herbert Standing who wrote the above document. Charles Thornburg III, on page 401 of the Discourse, states "The parents of Jane Thornburgh are as yet undetermined. If any reader solves the puzzle, please let me know for I have spent much time and effort in this, so far, unproductive search." The Early Death of Richard MendenhallAt Deep River Monthly Meeting in North Carolina there is a notation that Richard Mendenhall departed this life or was lost in 1773 so apparently his fate was unknown to his family. Susan Jurban sent us a link to a Russell County, Virginia, Web Site documenting the first recorded Indian massacre on Powell's River and mentioning the death on October 10, 1773 of Richard and John Mendenhall of Guilford County, North Carolina, in that massacre. The Powell River is at the confluence of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee state lines so the brothers were far from home. We are not quite sure why two good Quakers were on this mission but we know men were often drafted into protecting the settlements. People express surprise that Quakers even owned guns, but of course they did, for hunting, on the early frontier.Photo of marker at the site of the Powell River Massacre (courtesy MD Monk) This Historical Monument is located on County Rd. 684, 2 tenths of a mile S. E. of Rd. Junction Rte 58 & 684 along Indian Creek, Lee County, Va., 10 miles east of Cumberland Gap Historical Marker (originally Waldens Creek in Russell County, Va.) More on the children of Richard and Jane Thornbrough MendenhallThe children of Richard & Jane Thornbrough Mendenhall are listed at Deep River Monthly Meeting in Guilford County, North Carolina. Since Guilford County was not formed until 1770 the earlier births would have been in Rowan County although they may not have moved at all. The last of the children was born in 1772 so it was a very young family at the time of Richard�s death. When eldest son John Mendenhall and family moved to Ohio in 1804, Jane received a certificate to accompany them; however the certificate for Jane is not recorded as received at Miami Monthly Meeting, as John and family's is. We do not know if Jane remained behind, did not survive the journey, or is simply missed in the Miami Meeting records. We find absolutely no information on son Benjamin and the last three children in Quaker records except the record of their birth. We suspect they may have been absorbed into other families, perhaps even of different surnames and we are not able to track them.On 8//2/1804 John & Ruth Brown Mendenhall and mother Jane were granted certificates to Miami Monthly Meeting in Ohio. Other members of the family went to Ohio at about the same time including Jonathan & Jane Mendenhall Wheeler, Richard & Sarah Harris Mendenhall, & William & Charity Mendenhall Stanfield and their families. Curiously on the same date as William & Charity Stanfield's certificate (7/2/1804), a Joseph & Rachel Gardner Mendenhall and family were granted a certificate to Miami Monthly Meeting. This Joseph was not son of Jane & Richard, being born 4/18/1772 and being son of Phineas & Tamar Kirk Mendenhall of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Phineas was a grandson of Aaron & Rose Mendenhall Pearson while Richard was a grandson of John & Susannah Pearson Mendenhall. John & Aaron were brothers and Rose & Susannah were sisters. It was obvious families kept in touch for generations! John and Ruth Brown MendenhallSon John Mendenhall married Ruth Brown, daughter of Joseph and Ann Jones Brown, on 15 June 1785 at Deep River Monthly Meeting in Guilford County, North Carolina. They had children: Joseph (b. 2 Oct 1787 m. Nancy Barnett); Jonathan (b 11 Oct 1789); Margaret (b 10 Jun 1791); Aaron (b 4 May 1793 m Lavinia Westfall); Ruth (b 11 Apr 1795); John (b 17 Jul 1797); William (b 25 Oct 1799); Catherine (b 19 Sep 1801).On 6/2/1804 John and Ruth Mendenhall and family, and mother Jane, were granted a certificate to Miami Monthly Meeting in Ohio from Springfield Monthly Meeting in North Carolina. John and Ruth Brown Mendenhall were ancestors of Opal Thornburg, archivist of Earlham College in Richmond Indiana; and Herbert Standing who wrote the Quaker document referenced above. Charles Thornburg III follows their two lines (Aaron and Joseph) in his Discourse on the Thornburg Family. Richard and Sarah Harris MendenhallSon Richard Mendenhall married Sarah Harris, daughter of Obediah and Rebekah Harris, on 24 Nov 1785 at Deep River Monthly Meeting. They had children: Benjamin ( b. 16 Sep 1786); Obadiah (b Mar 1788); Richard (b 22 Jul 1790 d 23 Aug 1790); Jonathan (b 19 Aug 1791); Margaret (b 23 Oct 1793 d 25 Nov 1796); Rachel (b 27 Oct 1793 d 25 Nov 1796); Ira (b 3 Mar 1796); Rebecca (b 19 Nov 1800). Obediah Harris later married Miriam Rich Mendenhall, widow of Richard's brother Aaron.Richard and Sarah Mendenhall and family were received on certificate at Miami Monthly Meeting in Ohio on 1/10/1805. We have not followed them further. Jane Mendenhall WheelerDaughter Jane Mendenhall married Jonathan Wheeler, son of John Wheeler and Keziah Manlove, on 21 Mar 1781 at Deep River MM, Guilford County, North Carolina. The Wheeler family is an interesting one with many connections to our family so we have made a Wheeler page which is linked above under the child Jane.Benjamin MendenhallWe have nothing further on son Benjamin Mendenhall.Charity Mendenhall StanfieldDaughter Charity Mendenhall married William Stanfield (son of John and Philopena?) on 25 Jan 1792 at Springfield MM in North Carolina. On 7/2/1804 William and Charity Stanfield and two daughters were granted a certificate to Miami Monthly Meeting in Ohio.There is some possibility tht William Stanfield is related to Deborah Stanfield Woodward, wife of Richard, Jr., as William's father John came to North Carolina from Chester County, Pennsylvania. The North Carolina meeting records are a little hard to follow as there are several Johns and Williams (hence our question mark about wife Philopena above.) When time permits we will try to trace this family back and get more information from Pennsylvania. We have not traced Charity and children further in Ohio and Indiana. Margaret, Joseph and Aaron MendenhallWe have not followed these children further, nor do we know if they followed the rest of the family north. |
