8. Nancy (Thompson) Havens

Nancy Thompson is the sixth child and second daughter of Andrew and Ann Thompson. Nancy was born between 1786 and 1788, based on a comparison of Andrew's probate records with known birth dates of siblings (Chapter 2), and the 1850-1870 census, which list her as 64, 72, and 83, respectively. The 1810 census confirms this, listing the spouse of Charles Havens as being 16-26; Nancy would have been between 22 and 24. She was born in what was then Montgomery County. Nancy lived at least until 1870; she is living with son James at the age of 83. She probably passed away between 1870 and 1880.

Nancy married Charles Havens about 1807, since there are two small children in the home at the 1810 census. This would make her between 19 and 21 at the time of her marriage. Nothing is known about the parents of Charles. Charles was 68 in the 1850 census, making him about 25 for an 1807 marriage. Charles and Nancy received money from the probate of Andrew Sr.'s estate in 1843; the probate records for Andrew list "Charles Havens and Nancy his wife". This is best proof that Nancy was married to Charles Havens. Charles died between 1850 and 1860; Nancy is alone as head of house in 1860. I suspect Charles may be the "C. C. Haven" buried in Francisco Cemetery, 20 Mar 1856. . [Bradley Cemeteries, Vol. 1, pg 130] Charles Jr. had the middle initial "C.", and there seem to be no other Havens lines in Bradley County.

Between 1820 and 1830, Charles and Nancy moved south and west along the Appalacian Trail to McMinn, Tennessee. In 1840 and 1850 censuses, they are found in Bradley County, Tennessee, a bordering county of McMinn newly formed from Indian lands. It is clear that these are the same Charles and Nancy because of the following:

1. The 1850 census says they were born in Virginia at the right time.

2. The 1810 and 1820 censuses have only two Charles Havens in the entire United States.

Each of these years, one is in Wythe, VA, and the other in Suffolk, NY. The 1830 census still has only two Charles Havens, one is still in Suffolk, NY, and the other is now in McMinn, TN.

The census records of 1810 - 1830 show us the following family structure:

A comparison of the 1850 through 1870 censuses (next page) shows several Havens families living in the Bradley, Tennessee area. These families are notable because they live immediately next door to each other and next door to Charles and Nancy, and the birth pattern of the adult children shows the first generation born in Virginia before 1825 and in Tennessee after 1825. Almost certainly, they are related.

A constant in this comparison is that Nancy and her son James are in the same household in all three censuses. In 1850, Charles Sr. is still alive, and James is living with his parents. In 1860, Nancy is the head of household, and James is still living with her. In 1870, the roles are reversed, with James listed as head of household, and Nancy, now 83 and "keeping house", is living with her son.

A mapping of the 1850 through 1870 censuses against the unnamed children shown in the 1810 through 1830 censuses show a good fit, and provides a general structure of the family. Of course, the censuses don't have all the detail we want and leave several questions unanswered; these questions will be explored family by family in a moment. The following table fits the specific people from the later censuses into the family structure shown by the earlier censuses.

Bryant

Bryant Havens and his family are found in the 1860 and 1870 censuses living next door to Nancy. (See comparison table.) Bryant's birthplace is listed as Virginia in both censuses. It is perplexing that Martha and Tennessee only age 6 years between censuses, but it is definately the same family. The relationship of Charles E. Thomas in the 1860 census to Mary Thomas and her son in the 1870 census is not clear; it appears they are a family, and Mary is a child of Lousia and Bryant. But if Charles is dead in 1870, where is Mary in 1860? If Mary is Mary Havens in the 1860 census, why is she listed with her parents, and how is it she ages only 5 years? Maybe they were not yet married. But then, how is it that Charles M. is 12 in 1870?

Bryant's daughter Martha L. (b. 1844) married William H. Huff, 26 Oct 1872. [Manly, Bradley Marriage Book I, pg 129] Tennessee married John Thomas Huff on 20 Sept 1873, [Manly, Bradley Marriage Book I, pg 139] her middle name is given as "Bartda" on this record.

Sarah

It appears that Sarah Beavers, who lives with Charles and Nancy in 1850 is a daughter Sarah Havens that has married a man named Beavers, but is now widowed. The two boys named Beavers John and Charles are young enough that they could be the children of Sarah. Searches of the records show several Beavers families, but there are no records of Sarah Beavers before or after the 1850 census that I can find.

Howard

Howard Havens, shown living next to Nancy in the 1870 census is almost certainly a child of Charles and Nancy. He was born in Virginia, he has a son named Charles. Howard and his wife Nancy moved around. They are found in nearby Hamilton county in 1850 [Hamilton 1850 Census, 27th District, family 1197-905].

Howard Havens 24 M, Nancy 24 F, Miles 6 M, Charles 4 M, Alcana 2 F.

Howard is most certainly the Howard Haven buried in Lee Cemetery, Bradley, TN, whose tombstone states he was born 10 Feb 1820 and died 15 Nov 1886. [Bradley Cemeteries, Vol. 1, pg 223] This matches exactly the age of 50 given in the 1870 census, although it is six years off of the age given in the 1850 Hamilton census.

Charles, the son of Howard, age 21 in 1870, is possibly C.A. Haven buried in Fort Hill Cemetery, Bradley, TN, b. 7 May 1848, d. 27 Mar. 1930. Charles is the only person with the first initial "C" that I have found of that age. [Bradley Cemeteries, Vol. 2, pg 148] In the same cemetery is a "Miss Mary J. Haven", b. 15 Oct 1852, d. 2 Sep. 1928 [ibid.]. The only Mary that fits is the daughter of Howard, age 17 in the 1870 census, a sister of Charles. In the same cemetery is Miles Haven, b. 20 May 1847, d. 28 Apr. 1922 [ibid.]; this is clearly the son of Howard, age 23 in 1870. We get a bonus here because the tombstone of Margaret Price Haven "wife of Miles", b. 23 May 1848, is also there[ibid.].

Charles C.

Charles C. Havens is living next to his parents in 1850 and 1860. In 1850, he is married to Susan, but in 1860, he is married to Emeline. It appears these are not the same woman, and that Susan has died and Charles remarries Emeline. The censuses suggest that Charles dies between 1850 and 1860 because Emeline is alone in 1860. Charles may be the Chas. Haven buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery and Baptist Church, Bradley Tennessee. His death date is not listed on the tombstone, but it says "Co. E, 5th Tenn. MTD Inf.", suggesting he died during the Civil War, which would have been during the mid-1860's.

Charles' daughter Nancy C. married Benjamin Barbee, 17 May 1869 in Bradley Co., [Manly, Bradley Marriage Book I, pg 83] She would have been 20 at her marriage. It may be Charles' son James (b. 1853) mentioned in the Bradley marriage record of James Havens to Martha Goins, 23 Feb 1871. I don't know of other James, but James the son of Charles Sr. (b. 1833,) is referred to as Sr. on what I think is his tombstone (see below), suggesting he had a son James.

James

James Havens is the youngest child of Charles and Nancy. He was living with his mother in 1850 and 1860, and she with him in 1870. He married a Nancy "M. D." about 1853, and they had a daughter Rachael in 1854. Both his wife and daugher are gone in 1870, apparently passed away.

James is probably the James Haven Sr. found in the Lee, Bradley, TN Cemetery, with the tombstone inscription stating birth, 10 Jun 1833, and death 25 Mar 1910. [Bradley Cemeteries, Vol. 1, pg 223] James' son Joseph, age 5 in the 1870 census, is possibly the Joseph H. Haven buried next to James Haven Sr., b. 30 Oct 1866, d. 4 Dec 1935.

James' daughter Deloria may be the Delleray Havens who married Rober Cannon, 25 Aug 1877 [Manly, Bradley Marriage Book I, pg 184] Deloria would have been 23 in 1877, a very eligible age. It is probably James' son John (b. 1862) that is mentioned in the marriage of a John Havens to Sarah Jane Green in Bradley Co., 14 Aug 1880. There is also a John Havens that marries a Sarah Wells, 8 Jul 1885. I can't tell if they are the same John or not, but so far I've only found one John Havens in the censuses.

Hiram

There is a Hiram Havens in McMinn Co., in 1840. He is aged 30-40, with a spouse 20-30, and 3 young boys under the age of 5. He fits very nicely into Charles family as the male born 1807/1810. However, I've been unable to find any other records about Hiram, so I don't know where he was born. Even so, all the Havens in McMinn and Bradley seem to be related.

Questions

There are still many of Charles and Nancy's children left to find. Indeed, there are many holes in this family. Frontier life must have been especially hard on them, because there appear to be many untimely deaths through the years.

The question of the spelling of Haven(s) interests me. On most of the public records, the name is spelled Havens, and sometimes Havins. Usually, but not always, with an "s". On all of the tombstones, the name is spelled "Haven", without the "s". In fact, I have yet to find record of a tombstone with "Havens" inscribed on it in Bradley. Currently, I chalk this up to general variations in name spelling common to the times.

© Copyright Brian J. Cragun, 1994, 1997. All rights reserved.