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Sixth Generation
117. Archibald
Bedwell73 was born
between 1781 and 1790. He died before 4 Oct 1847.
• 1820 Census for Bedford County, Tennessee shows Archibald Bedwell as head
of household containing two males under 10; one male 10-15; one male 16-25; one
female under 10; one female 16-25; one female 26-44; two males slaves under 13;
one male slave of 45+; and two female slaves of 26-44.
• 1830 Census for Bedford County, Tennessee, page 105, shows Archibald Bedwell
as head of household containing: one male of 5 and under 10; one male of 10 and
under 15; one male of 20 and under 30; one male of 30 and under 40; 2 (or 3?)
females under 5; one female of 5 and under 10; and one female of 30 and under
40.
• 1840 Census for Marshall County, Tennessee (Tennessee, MARSHALL, Roll
531 Book 1, Page 185a) shows Archie Bedwell as head of household consisting of:
one male between 5-10; two males between 20-30; one male between 40-50; one female
under 5; one female between 5-10; one female between 10-15; one female between
15-20; and one female between 40-50. They do not own slaves. Marshall County
was formed from parts of other counties including Bedford, so they likely are
living in the same place they were in 1830.
• 1840 Oct 14. Marshall County DB D pg 319. Archibald Bedwell to Martin
Dowdy land on N side of Duck River on Caney Spring Creek adj Wm H. Howards corner
and by Jonathan Wilsons line. Wit: John A. Rylie and WH Howard.
There is an Archibald Bedwell living with the William House family in Hardeman
County in 1850, but he is only 40 years old. Who his parents were is unknown
at this time. The ancestry.com index incorrectly lists this same Archibald Bedwell
as appearing in the census records for both Hardin and Hardeman, but he is only
in the latter (I checked every page of the Hardin census).
My current theory is that the widow and children of Archibald Bedwell moved to
Henry County, Tennessee after his death but prior to the 1850 census. They may
be the "three brothers from Ireland (Iredell)" that Cleland Bedwell
told Robert Henry Bedwell about in the 1960s. Here is the evidence:
• The 1850 Census for Henry County, Tennessee shows two Bedwell families
living side-by-side:
Mary Bedwell, age 55, owns $750 in real estate;
Ailsey Bedwell, age 25;
Elizabeth Bedwell, age 21;
Hester Bedwell, age 17;
Reuben Bedwell, age 17;
Jane Bedwell, age 14.
James M. Bedwell, age 30, Blacksmith;
Rebecca Bedwell, age 29;
Nancy Bedwell, age 9;
George Bedwell, age 5;
Sarah Bedwell, age 4;
Isabel Bedwell, age 1.
All were born in Tennessee except Mary, who was born in North Carolina.
These families are almost certainly descendants of Reuben Bedwell of Bedford
County, Tennessee. Reuben Bedwell is known to have had children named Ailsey
(sometimes spelled Alcey), Hester, James, Isabella, and Archibald. The presence
of children named Ailsey, Hester, Reuben, James, and Isabel in these two families
living in Henry County in 1850 would be too great a coincidence to have occurred
without direct descent from Reuben.
Accepting that Mary Bedwell, age 55, is Reuben's widowed daughter-in-law and
that the other children are his grandchildren or great-grandchildren, the next
question that arises is which of Reuben's children was Mary's husband? Records
show that when Reuben died in 1836, his land was sold and the proceeds divided
between his sons Archibald and James Bedwell, and his sons-in-law James Gambell
(Gammill, husband of Hester Bedwell), Joseph House (husband of Alcey Bedwell),
and Archibald Oglesby (husband of another daughter whose name is unknown). It
seems probable that these five individuals were Reuben's remaining living children.
James Bedwell is known to have moved his family to Arkansas by 1850 (with parts
of the House and Gammill families), which leaves Archibald Bedwell as the remaining
son.
Archibald is listed in Ericson's book as being married to Mary Allen and having
died by 1847, but I don't yet know where that information comes from. However,
if correct, the presence of Mary Bedwell, age 55, as head of household in 1850
fits the theory that this Henry County family belonged to Archibald. Her age
also is consistent with Archibald's 1840 family, which shows a female between
40-50. Mary Allen5
was born between 1781 and 1790. She died after 1860.
Archibald Bedwell and Mary Allen had the following children:
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