Transcription taken from a Reprint of Pace Society of America, BULLETIN No. 25 (September 1973), Marion Pace Mehrkens, Editor. Permission to reprint on this webpage granted 2 June 2000 to Rebecca Christensen.

[Note: No documentation is given for any of the conclusions below. Please use this information for clues, not given facts. An example of an inaccuracy: In the first paragraph, it states that William Pace, son of James and Mary Ann Pace, was the founder of the Mormon line. Two other children of James and Mary Ann (Loving) Pace, James (b. 1811) and Nancy, also joined the Mormon church and moved to Utah. rc]

To view a map of Pace land grants along the border of Franklin and Nash Counties, NC, click here. Map of Pace NC Land Grants The map is also from the Pace Society of America, BULLETIN No. 25 (September 1973).

GENEALOGY

THE WILLIAM PACES OF NORTH CAROLINA

III- THE MORMON LINE

A group of Paces, evidently brothers, appears on the tax rolls of Rutherford County, Tennessee, in 1809. Their names were William, James and Wilson. James was killed in the battle of New Orleans in December 1814, leaving a widow, Mary Ann, and 8 children. One of these children, William, was the founder of the Mormon line. Many of his descendants now live in Utah.

James had come from Clarke County, Ga., where his family had settled in the first years of the 19th century. His daughter, Rutha, was born there on March 19, 1804. His son, William, was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., on July 3, 1806. He must therefore have come to Tennessee between those dates. He had selected a 48-acre tract "on the east fork of Stones River" and built his house and barn on it before the actual grant came through in 1810. The survey mentions such "improvements". In 1812 another application was filed for a 50-acre tract "near the Double Springs". This is given as the birthplace of William.

James had sold his 120-acre plantation back in Clarke County to John Hailes. This sale was recorded in 1808, but was probably made earlier. The land lay "on Shoal Creek of the Oconee River". This area lies just south of Athens, Georgia.

There were other members of the family there, the older ones having also secured land on Shoal Creek. They were William, Jr., Wilson, Drury, John, Jeremiah, Kinchon and Isaac. They all appear later in Rutherford, Hickman and Perry County (formerly a part of Hickman) in Tennessee.

If there was a William Jr., there must have been a William, Sr. A William Pace does appear on the tax rolls of Oglethorpe County, Ga., as owning 100 acres in 1795, and for several years thereafter. Both Oglethorpe and Clarke Counties had been formed in part from Greene County, and were contiguous. Shoal Creek and the Oconee River ran not far from the Oglethorpe County line. William Sr's sons just went a little farther west for their land.

The census records in Tennessee for the counties of Rutherford, Hickman and Perry are very helpful in forming a picture of this family. For instance, the 1810 census for Rutherford shows 2 William Paces, one over 45, who must have been William Sr., since William Jr. would be only 37 that year. William Jr. is shown as between 26 and 45. John, James and Wilson are shown in the same age range, i.e., 26-45.

The census of 1820 shows William Jr., Wilson, Kinchon, Jeremiah and Drury as then in Hickman County. That for Rutherford shows Mary Ann, widow of James, and Sally, widow of John, as still in Rutherford County. Probably William Sr. was still there, for he appears on the 1830 census for Rutherford as between 70 and 80 - (he would be 79 or 80 if born, as we believe, about 1750 or 1751).

The census of 1850, which is the first one to show ages, places of birth, and names of wives and children, indicates that some of these sons of William Sr. were born in North Carolina. This is true of William Jr. and Wilson. Jeremiah, in the census of 1860, is shown as born in Tennessee, age 72, i.e., born in 1788. However, he could not have been born there, for the family was at that time living in North Carolina; it must have been an error.

From census data and family records, an estimated chart of this family can be established, an follows:

We are now concerned with the questions of who William Sr. was; where did he come from; and who were his forebears? We know from the census data that he came from North Carolina, but from what County?

In Nash County, N.C., starting in 1779, three men named Pace, and obviously related, applied for adjoining grants of land, running south from Turkey Creek. There were two Turkey Creeks in Nash, one north of, and one south of the Tar River. Both arose in Franklin County, and both crossed the county line into Nash about seven miles apart, and then turned south. We are inclined to feel that the southern creek is the one involved in the grants. It is only a few miles from Pace lands on Crooked Creek in Franklin County.

The first grant was to William Pace, and was for 140 acres lying on the southern bank of Turkey Creek. The next two grants, dated in 1784, were those of James and George Pace. James' grant was for 95 acres, and, its northern boundary was William Pace's grant. George's grant was for 100 acres, and its northern boundary was James' grant. They all bounded, to the west, on the land of Solomon Strickland, Jr.

Just before the survey of his 100 acre tract, George deeded it to a William Pace for only six pounds, which seems to have been a token payment, as between relatives. (The government charged ten pounds per 100 acres).

There were thus two grants in the name of William Pace, but they were not owned by the same William. On January 23, 1790 the first tract - (140 acres) - was sold to a John Rice for 70 pounds by William Pace "of Franklin". He signed the deed himself. In 1795 the 100-acre tract - (deeded to William Pace by George) - was sold to a William Fore for 50 pounds by William Pace "of Georgia". He signed the deed with a cross.

We believe that this "William Pace of Georgia" was the William Pace shown on the tax rolls of Oglethorpe County for 1795, the same year the land in Nash County was sold.

In these days of change, when planters of the fourth generation were seeking new, more fertile land, it was customary for some of their neighbors to accompany them, and to settle nearby in the new area. We find the names of witnesses to deeds and wills - neighbors whose land in the old neighborhood was next-door or not far away - reappearing in the records of the new location. Marriages between neighboring families often occurred, and were another reason for migrating together. This circumstance is often of great help in identifying and tracing a family line by location.

In the case of William of Georgia, there are several facts indicating that he came from the area of the grants on Turkey Creek, and settled in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and later in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

His older sons settled just over the Oglethorpe County line, in Clarke County, on "Shoal Creek of the Oconee River". According to research on the Solomon Strickland line, Solomon and his brothers also settled on Shoal Creek. There was a marriage connection between Solomon and the Paces. He had married an Amy Pace in 1764 - (she may have been the daughter of Thomas Pace who, while he owned land in Northampton County, was apparently developing a new plantation in Franklin County, not far from the Edgecombe-Nash County line, when he died in 1764. It was sold for a debt).

The Stricklands were associated with the family of William Pace, Sr, after they resettled in Rutherford County, Tenn. A Barnaby Strickland was very helpful to Mary Ann Pace, widow of James, there. He posted bond as her security when she was appointed guardian of her children. He also bought some items at the sale of James' perishable estate. He seems to have been a close friend.

Another Nash County family - the Atkinsons - was associated with the Paces in both Nash County, and Clarke County, Ga. A Ben Atkinson was the surveyor for the 140-acre tract of William Pace (of Franklin), and a James Atkinson witnessed the deed when it was sold. Down in Clarke County, Ga., in 1808, an Arthur Atkinson bought 200 acres from William Pace, Jr. In 1814 Thomas Atkinson was witness to a deed given by Jeremiah Pace. The lands involved were on Shoal Creek.

The census of 1790 for Nash County shows only one William Pace. His household consisted of four males over 16, and three females. He was obviously not William, Sr., of Georgia, whose daughters were not born in 1790.

On the other hand, the same census in Franklin County shows a William Pace as having 6 sons under 16, a wife, but no other females. This seems to fit William of Georgia. His six oldest sons, up to and including Jeremiah, were under 16, - except William, Jr., who was 17. However, the census may have been taken before his birthday. Of course, he was then 16, and not "under", but perhaps the census-taker didn't bother with such fine distinctions.

Obviously in 1790 William of Georgia was a resident of Franklin County. He may have farmed the 100-acre tract in Nash but not lived on it. It was only three miles away from Crooked Creek in Franklin County, where Paces did live.

Now we come to the question of William's forebears. This cannot be answered readily.

William must have been born about 1750, (since his first child was born in 1773). He was therefore of the fourth generation of Paces in North Carolina. We have carefully checked all the known Williams of this generation - none of them fit. They either died in North Carolina, (and not in Tennessee), or were too young to have had a child by 1773. We have concluded that he was one of those whose birth and parentage are not indicated in any records.

There were no birth records kept in North Carolina in the 18th century, and we find only two Pace marriages recorded: Amy Pace to Solomon Strickland, and Ann Pace to John Jones in 1762. (Ann was probably a daughter of John Pace, who came late to North Carolina, and settled on Beaver Dam Creek in southern Edgecombe).

We must depend on wills and Court records, which occasionally list the names of the children, usually only the minors, in connection with the appointment of their guardians. Where no will is left, and there are no helpful Court records, we are at a loss. That seems to be the case here.

However, we are not without clues as to William's line.

There were two main lines of Paces in North Carolina; one descended from John I, and the other from Richard III. They were the sons of Richard II of Maycox. They came down to North Carolina - John in 1719, and Richard III in 1726 - and settled in Chowan-Bertie County.

John Pace I's oldest son George, with his wife Obedience, settled on Elk Marsh Swamp in central Edgecombe (later Halifax) County about 1727. When he died about 1740 he left no will, but the Court records do list all the children in the division of the estate. Such list shows two sons: William and James.

William, born about 1716, and married to Mary Evans about 1737, would have his children in 1738 and the 1740s. James, six years younger according to his place on the list, was born about 1722, married probably about 1743 - (we do not know the name of his wife) - and could have had a younger son in 1750. He could be the father of William of Georgia.

Both William and James migrated to western Edgecombe County, which became Granville in 1746, Bute in 1764, and finally Franklin in 1779. Both took up land on or near Crooked Creek in the southeast corner of Franklin, not far from the Nash County line. James obtained his first grant "on the south side of Tar River at the mouth of Cedar Creek". He sold it in 1747. A second grant "in the fork of Crooked Creek" was also sold by him in 1747.

William's land stayed in the family for three generations, but we are not certain of where James lived after 1747. There are records of large tracts of land north of the Tar River, on both sides of Cypress Creek, granted to a James Pace, but whether this was George's son James, or the son of a Solomon Pace who originally had land in Granville up near the Virginia line, we do not know. The latter could have come south and settled near the Tar River. More research must be done on the James Paces in this area.

William I, the older son of George and Obedience, did have a son William. The muster roll of a Captain Sims, in the French and Indian war, in 1754, includes a William Pace Jr. He must have been only 16 at the time. (The muster roll of another Captain - Edward Powers - shows a Corporal William Pace and a James Pace. This company was from Bute-Franklin. These must have been the first William and James, sons of George, who were then in their thirties. Another member of this company was John "Stricklin". In another record a William Pace Sr. and a William Pace Jr. witnessed a deed together.

This William Jr. died in 1790, leaving a will naming two sons, John and George, and. several daughters. He could not be William of Georgia.

However, we believe he was the William Pace who obtained the first grant on Turkey Creek - (140 acres) - and was a first cousin of James, George and the William who signed his name with a mark, (as did George). The William who died in 1790 signed his will himself, as he had signed the deed to John Rice for his Turkey Creek land.

William of Georgia is reported - (from family records) - as having married a Ruth Lambert. There was certainly a Lambert family owning property next-door to John Pace, son of the William who died in 1790. In 1805 John sold a 100-acre tract to a John Anderson. The boundaries are given as "Bryant's land, Tabitha Lamberts corner, and Heartsfield's line''. In 1802 John had applied for a grant of 64 acres "joining Heartsfield's and his own line on the waters of Turkey Creek". John apparently owned land just short of the Nash County line on the "fourth prong of Wolfharbor Branch". On modern maps this is shown as Turkey Creek.

The records of the Poplar Springs Church in Franklin County, for June 7, 1788 include as members William Lambert, Dec'd.; also Jemima Pace, wife of the William who died in 1790, and his daughter "Beedie". Also an Obadiah Strickland.

In short, these Pace's were all identified, one way or another, with Turkey Creek where it crossed the line between Franklin and Nash. They were all in the same neighborhood, regardless of county.

Taking into consideration the census of 1790 in Franklin, and the records of a Lambert family in the same neighborhood as these Paces, we believe it very likely that William, Sr., the father of the Clarke County, Ga. Paces, was from Franklin County, and was a member of this particular Pace family. It might be pointed out that the use of the names William and James covered three generations of this line. From the sons of George and Obedience, to the sons of the James who was killed in the War of 1812, this combination appears.

In 1750, when William of Georgia was probably born, the only Paces in Bute - Franklin County were the brothers William and James. He could not be the son of this William because his son died in 1790. He would have to be the son of James.

Here we can only speculate that James had three sons - James, Jr., George and William. They were all three involved in the Turkey Creek grants, as was their first cousin, William II - (the one who died in 1790). We do not know much about James, Sr., or when he died. He left no will.

Perhaps the strongest argument for William of Georgia's descent from George and Obedience Pace of Elk Marsh, Edgecombe County, is the fact that one of his daughters was named Martha Bedie. "Bedie"" is surely a contraction of "Obedience", and she must have been named for her great-grandmother, as was her cousin "Beddie", daughter of the William II who died in 1790.

Last updated on 17 January 2004 by Rebecca Christensen. ([email protected])
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rchris/pace/psa25.htm
Please e-mail me with any comments. Thanks.

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