HULDAH WILES FAMILY of Mecklenburg Co., VA
Newly discovered Yancey connections

 

 

The following Mecklenburg, VA  court document below -  a copy of which was sent to me in 2012 by researcher John Wyles - brings to light some relationships with the Yancey family  that were heretofore unknown by most researchers.

 

The document is in ref to one Huldah/Huldy Wiles and her family of Mecklenburg Co., Virginia.   She was born about 1764 in Virginia and lived to the ripe old age of about 87 or so - being recorded on the 1850 US census.    For various reasons all the children of Huldah Wiles have not always been clearly identified  from the records.   The record below, however,  identifies 6 children. There may have been others.  Who her husband was (if she was ever  married) who fathered these children is uncertain at this time. 

The children listed are as follows:

Interestingly TWO of the children married Yancey descendants. The court document states that Henrietta Wiles married one T. P. Yancey and  and had at least two sons James and Lewis.  Other records indicate this was one Thornton P. Yancey who had sons (among others)  James and Lewis Tillotson Yancey.  Thornton, and some of his descendants lived for various years in Christian County, Kentucky.  The document below refers to two sons James and Lewis who both moved to Georgia where they lived in  Putnam County.  Huldah's daughter  Lily Wiles is to have married a man named Baines (Baynes).  Other records point to this being one Thornton Baynes who lived and died in Caswell County North Carolina after having many children.  This Thornton Baynes was the son of John and Mary Yancey Baynes of Virginia.  Two other children of Huldah, James and Dicey, never married.  The son Hepburn Wiles had died about 1826,  many years before these proceedings. Hepburn had various children and descendants.  The remaining  child  Temperance Wiles married one Mr. Culbreath - and one can find her on the 1850 census of Tipton County, Tennessee living with an apparent son's family.

 

There are various clues that kind of suggest this wasn't the "average typical" family.  One kind of wonders if this was rather a dysfunctional family.  But it is of interest to note how even with the legal reasons for trying to contact the descendants of Huldah - that the court was not able to make contact with various of them.  In the days when there was no telephone / Internet / computers / radio / TV etc. - even with more traditional families - as members of the family married and moved away - it was not always easy to keep in touch. Many  times grandchildren did not even know their own grandparents.  We take so much for granted the instant and virtually free  communication that we enjoy in the modern era as compared to those who lived on the American frontier.

Many times when families are difficult for current researchers to trace - it is often that the family in question didn't have a close-knit connection across generations and from one geographic location to another.  In both these Wiles-Yancey connections - most of the descendants of these marriages didn't know of their Wiles ancestor - until this document came to light. And it seems evident Hulda herself didn't even know all of her own grandchildren.
 

 

Dennis Yancey - djyancey1965@gmail.com

John Wyles: The lawsuit involves land which Hulda Wiles gave to her grandson to use for the keep of two of her elderly children, namely James and Dicey Wiles. At the end of James and Dicey’s lives, the land is to be given to her remaining heirs.  James makes the same deal with a third party and sells the land to them in exchange for his provision. This lawsuit starts in 1850 and is finally resolved in 1872 and encompasses many countersuits and becomes very complicated. Hulda is the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Wiles and was born in 1764 in then what was Lunenburg County, VA. She passed from this life in 1850 [after the 1850 census had been taken].  No records have been uncovered as to whom Hulda married.

 

 

Averett vs. Wiles, Circuit Court, Mecklenburg County, VA

 

The answer of William Wiles Noblin, Louisa Wiles and Avey Wiles (Noblin formerly Wiles who married George Noblin, now deceased) each of whom is sometimes called Noblin to a Bill of Complaint exhibited against them and others, in the Circuit Court of Mecklenburg County______(blank in the original)__________ by the other.

 

These defendants demur generally to the Bill of the plaintiffs and say that they ought not to have or maintain their suit in equity because they have a full and adequate severy at law.  And in the event that this demurrer is overruled then defendants aswering say that they own the tract of land which plaintiffs seek to recover by conveyance from James Wiles, who died in the year  _____(blank in the original)___, a copy of said deed marked exhibit “A” is herewith filed and proved to be taken as a part of their answer.    These defendants further answering, say that James Wiles their grantor was the illegitimate son of a woman named Huldah Wiles, who died in Mecklenburg County about the year 1850 or 1851, having previously and for a long time previously put James Wiles in possession of the tract of land which complainants seek to recover.  These defendants charge that the said Haldah Wiles at her death left five living children namely, James Wiles, their grantor, Dicy Wiles, who died many years ago without ifal, Lily Wiles who married a man named Bains and moved with him to Caswell County N.C. where she died after having given birth to thirteen children only two of whom namely Rainey Bain and Thornton Bain were known to these defendants.  Temperance Wiles, a daughter who married a man named Calbreath and went to Tennessee and has never been heard of.  Another daughter named Henrietta commonly called Ritta who married a man named T. P. Yancey, by whom she had two children, namely Lewis and James Yancey and then went away before the war to the State of Georgia and have not since been heard of by these defendants. 

The said Huldah Wiles had another son named Hepburn Wiles to whom she gave a tract of land called “Seaton Hill” and the same Hepburn died several years before the said Huldah Wiles died leaving among other children one son named Leroy Wiles.

 

These defendants answer aver that a short time before her death the said Huldah Wiles executed a Deed of settlement whereby she gave to James Wiles and Dicey Wiles, or rather to Leroy B Wiles as trustee for them the tract of land in the plaintiffs Bill mentioned, to hold for them during their natural lives, and at the death of the survivor of them to go to her three daughters, Lily, Temperance, and Ritta herein before mentioned and to vest in them and their heir absolutely, in the event of the failure of Lawful heirs  to James and Dicey Wiles, this deed purports to have been signed, sealed and delivered by Huldah Wiles with her mark in the presence of William Tillahorn and Susan Tillahorn, Wm. Tillihorn also signing with his mark, a copy of said deed marked “B” is herewith filed as a part of this answer and an inspection of it will show that it purports to have been made on the 12th day of Sep 1850, and dated the 5th day of May 1850, and that on April 30th of the same year 1850, many days prior to either aforementioned in the deed it was received in the Clerks Office and surety promised by the oath of Wm Tillason who signed his name with a mark and to this day almost thirty eight years since the oath of the said Tillatorn was made has not been recorded and is therefore no deed.  These defendants further say that if any such deed as the one just above mentioned was ever made by Huldah Wiles to Leroy B. Wiles for the purposes therein stated it was without the knowledge and approbation of James Wiles there grantor, for Haldah Wiles, his mother, had many years previously put him in absolute possession for valuable consideration of the tract of land in complainants.  Bill mentioned (?) and to make it an estate in trust with limitations over to others was an allegation of James Wiles tille (?) which Haldah Wiles had as power to make, the Haldah Wiles had already provided for her only other son Hepburn Wiles by the gift of a tract of land herein before mentioned called  “Slatens Hill” which her descendants, many of whom are plaintiffs in the Bill have enjoyed and do still enjoy.  These defendants further charge that Leroy B. Wiles who was named as trustee in the aforementioned preceding Deed from Haldah Wiles, never had any knowledge of said deed and never accepted one acre under said trust.

 

These defendants claim said land by virtue of their purchasing for a valuable consideration from James Wiles, who had ample right and full power to sell said land to whomever he chose.

 

Whether this be so or not these defendants say that the complainants have no right whatsoever to said lands except from the said preceding deed from Haldah Wiles to Leroy B Wiles trustee aforementioned and not even under that Deed until Lily Bain and her heirs, Temperance Culbreath and her heirs, and Ritta Yancey and her heirs are a counted (?) for and having fully answered these defendants pray to be hence dismissed with their cash.

 

 

                                                                                    William Wiles

                                                                                    Louisa Wiles

                                                                                    Avey Noblin