[Notes are in italics.]
Front Plaque
Ancient Rome Yorkshire, England
Louisa County Va. 1738
Albemarle County Va. 1765
Wansley
Coldwater Creek, Elbert County, Ga. 1799
Back Plaque
“JOHN WANSLEY, JR. was PVT, 4th Regt., BOOTH’S GA MILITIA, CAPT. UNDERWOOD”S Co., INF, WAR OF 1812.” If John Wansley, Jr. was buried in this cemetery, his grave is unmarked.
1. Frank N. Wansley placed the front plaque on a six foot tall monument at the entrance of Wansley Family Cemetery. The plaque summarizes Frank Wansley’s view of his Wansley family, a source of great pride. Yorkshire may very well be the ancestral home of the Wansley’s; that has not been proven. [When I was in York, England ca 1990, I visited the large church, York Minster. A commemorative plaque noted a series of Wansley men who were organists at the church, as I remember in the 1700s. Jim B. Evans] The references about Louisa County, Elbert County and Coldwater Creek, Elbert County are well documented.
2. Frank N. Wansley did not include Larkin Wansley’s service in War of 1812 on the back plaque. Larkin Wanslow was a private in Capt. Charles Carter’s Co. of Inf., 1 Reg’t, Georgia Militia, War of 1812. [Military Record in National Archives and Records Administration NARA] Frank N. Wansley knew Larkin was a son of John Wansley, Sr. If Larkin Wansley was buried in this cemetery, his grave is unmarked.
3. The monument is approximately six feet tall and composed of rocks and concrete, roughly shaped like a stubby obelisk. A stone or concrete eagle is mounted near the top of the monument.
Graves and Monuments
Four separate stone markers are located at the gravesite of John Wansley, Sr. in an axial row:
[1] upright headstone
[2] large rectangular flat stone with brief history of John Wansley, Sr. including names of children
[3] small footstone
[4] Sons of American Revolution flat stone.
[5] JOHN WANSLOW, SR. Pvt Albemarle Co Va Line Rev War 1738 1835 Col Chas Lewis 14th Va Regt
Notes
1. The vertical headstone was ordered in 1955 from the United States government which provided headstones or flat markers for unmarked graves of United States and Confederate veterans. Mrs. Z. W. Copeland applied for Christian headstone on 29 September 1955. Headstone was ordered on 12 December 1955. Georgia Marble, Co. Tate, George made the headstone. Mrs. Z. W. Copeland stated, I will transfer Stone [to cemetery].” [Application for Headstone or Marker. online.] Mrs. Zach W. Copeland [Edna Arnold] [1881-1969] of Elberton, Georgia was a member of the D. A. R.
2. Frank N. Wansley refers to this marker as D. A. R. headstone. There is no D. A. R. emblem on inscribed side. It is conceivable that the reverse side has a D. A. R. emblem.
[2] A large flat stone inscribed with partial Revolutionary War record for John Wansley, Sr. and names of his children. His wife is not named. This flat stone is located at base of headstone.
JOHN WANSLEY, SR., Revolutionary soldier, born Louisa Co., Va., 1738, enlisted Albemarle Co., Va., 1776, served as private, Capt. Harris’ Co., Col. Lewis’ Va. Regt. 1781. Settled here 1799, Allowed $30 annual pension Aug. 1833, Died here 13 Jan. 1835, age 97 years. His children were: NANCY YOUNG, SARA BECK, MILLY JENKINS, PATSY DAVIS, ELIZABETH ELLIOT, JOHN, JR., THOMAS, NATHAN, LARKIN, REUBEN WANSLEY. This marker is a large rectangular flat slab of light gray local granite.
[3] At the end of the previous stone there is a small footstone with praying hands.
[4] Adjacent to the footstone there is a small flat polished stone with Sons of American Revolution emblem and “Patriot.” On 11 October 2014, Samuel Elbert Chapter of Sons of American Revolution placed this small flat stone with Sons of the American Revolution emblem and “Patriot.” Photograph of the stone markers for John Wansley, Sr. is on-line at Georgia Society Sons of American Revolution website.
NOTES
1. Frank N. Wansley provided the information on the John Wansley, Sr. flat marker and possibly the headstone.
2. On 05 August 1809, Franklin Cunningham sold his brother-in-law, Reuben Wansley, 125 acres. [Elbert County, Georgia Deeds, Vol. N, p. 237.] On 14 September 1867, Johnson Wansley conveyed 140 acres on Coldwater Creek to his mother Elizabeth Wansley. The deed excluded ¼ acre for the "family Bering ground." [Elbert County, Georgia Deeds, Vol. EE, p. 66.] No deed has been found in Elbert County transferring this tract of land from Reuben Wansley, Sr. to his son Johnson Wansley. In 1860 Elbert County, Georgia tax digests, Johnson Wansley was recorded as trustee for Reuben Wansley. Johnson Wansley may have been acting as trustee or agent for Reuben Wansley in the 1867 deed although that is not stated in the document. [NOTE: discrepancies in acreage.]
“In 1955, by agreement with Luther Burton, the adjoining owner, I [Frank N. Wansley] surveyed off one-quarter acre bounded on the east by Georgia Highway 368, and recorded the plat of same in Plat Book 2, page 385, Elbert County, Georgia records, thereby preserving it for posterity perpetually.” [Wansley, Frank N. From Rome to Ruckersville – Our Wansley History, second edition ca 1977, p. 32.]
3. “I [Frank N. Wansley] moved the granite monument for John Wansley, Sr., giving his Revolutionary War record, on Big Coldwater Creek, to his grave in the ancestral cemetery, his D. A. R. marker at the head of his grave.” [Wansley, Frank N. From Rome to Ruckersville – Our Wansley History, second edition ca 1977, p. 32.]
John Wansley’s Revolutionary War pension application documents three 3-month tours of duty. Information on the monument mentions only one tour of service. [Revolutionary War Pension Application File S.32045, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).]
Reuben T. Wansley, Sr. and Elizabeth Cunningham Wansley
REUBEN T. WANSLEY, SR., born Albemarle Co., Va., 1774
ELIZABETH CUNNINGHAM WANSLEY, born in Va., 1784
[Separate headstones]
NOTES
1. Reuben Wansley, Sr. was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, a son of John Wansley, Sr. and Mildred Whitten Wansley. Virginia records place the John Wansley, Sr. family in Albemarle County, Virginia ca 1780. Based on 1850 census, Reuben Wansley was born ca 1774. Based on 1860 census he was born ca 1780.
Reuben Wansley, Sr. died after 1860 census in Elbert County, Georgia. At the time of the 1860 census, Reuben and Elizabeth Wansley were living in the household of their son Johnson Wansley.
2. Elbert County, Georgia legal records do not consistently use middle initial “T” for Reuben Wansley, Sr. None of his siblings had middle names. The logic has been that since Reuben T. Wansley, Jr. had a middle initial, therefore his father had the same initial and name.
3. Elizabeth Cunningham was born 20 February 1783, a daughter of John Cunningham and Ann Davis. Source for Elizabeth Cunningham’s date of birth is John Cunningham Family Bible Record included in Revolutionary War pension application of Ann Davis Cunningham. Elizabeth Cunningham’s birthplace was either South Carolina or Georgia, definitely not Virginia, based on John Cunningham’s military postings during this period.
Elizabeth Cunningham Wansley died after a 14 September 1867 deed from Johnson Wansley to Elizabeth Wansley in Elbert County, Georgia. [Elbert County, Georgia Deeds, Vol. EE, p. 66.]
4. Frank N. Wansley provided information for the headstones for Reuben and Elizabeth Cunningham Wansley which he, erected during his lifetime [1901-1983]. His source for Reuben Wansley’s date of birth is unknown. He did not know when Reuben Wansley and Elizabeth Cunningham Wansley died.
R. T. Wansley, Jr
R. T. WANSLEY, Jr., 1813-11 Apr 1863, died of smallpox, leaving widow and eight children under age 15.
NOTES
1. R. T. Wansley, Jr. was a son of Reuben Wansley, Sr. and Elizabeth Cunningham. Contemporary legal records do not consistently use “T” as middle initial for Reuben Wansley, Sr. None of the siblings of Reuben Wansley, Sr. had a middle name.
2. Concerning the middle name of Reuben T. Wansley, Jr.: On 01 May 1925, Caroline Jones died in Tignall, Wilkes County, Georgia. Maiden name: Caroline Wansly. [NOTE: Transcribed as Wausly.] White, American female. Birthplace: Elbert County, Georgia. Father: Tom Wansly. Mother: Emily Cobb. [Georgia Death Index 1914-1927] This is the only documentation I have discovered for middle name other than Reuben Tabor Wansley. [Jim B. Evans]
Since Reuben Tabor Wansley [born 1906] had “Tabor” has a middle name, Wansley researchers have retroactively assumed that “Tabor” was middle name of earlier men named Reuben T. Wansley. The source for the Tabor name may be a socially prominent family in Elbert County ca 1900.
Granite marker: In 1867, JOHNSON WANSLEY reserved the ¼ acre as the “family burying ground.” Deed Book EE, p. 66. Elberton
Thomas Jefferson Wansley
THOMAS JEFFERSON WANSLEY, born Albemarle Co., Va., 29 Apr 1783, pvt Major Freeman’s Cav., Ga. Militia, War of 1812, died 23 July 1848.
JEMIMA MEANS WANSLEY, born Ga. 6 Aug 1790 – died 21 Dec 1858.
Erected by their ROWZEE descendants of Decatur, Miss., 1973.
NOTES
1. None of the contemporary legal documents for Thomas Wansley, Sr., including his will and estate records, provides a middle name or initial.
2. Thomas and Jemima Mean Wansley family record: “Thomas Jefferson Wansley, Jr., born November 29, 1820.” [Wansley, Frank N. Our Wansley History.]
The assumption was that since Thomas Wansley, Sr. had a son named Thomas Jefferson Wansley, Jr., the father therefore had Jefferson as a middle name.
John Beck
John Beck’s grave has two headstones. The smaller is on left and larger, on right [D. A. R. marker]. Frank N. Wansley stated that the smaller headstone on left is the original. Based on inscription this headstone was probably erected well after death of John Beck. On 11 October 2014, the Samuel Elbert Chapter Georgia Sons of American Revolution [SAR] marked grave of John Beck. On the same date SAR placed a flat stone marker at John Wansley’s gravesite. The plaque for John Wansley, Sr. has SAR emblem and “Patriot.” Presumably John Beck has the same marker.
JOHN BECK, born 4 Feb 1762, died 11 July 1824, Rev. Soldier, married SARA WANSHEY, Albemarle Co., Va., 5 June 1784. This smaller marker on left appears older than one on right and is not necessarily the original headstone.
JOHN BECK, Captain, Va. Regt. Continental Line, Revolutionary War, 4 Feb 1762 - 11 July 1824. D. A. R [Daughters of the American Revolution] Marker. This is the taller headstone on right. The rank of captain belonged to John Beck, husband of Rebecca Miller, who served as an officer and died in Ohio County, Virginia, now West Virginia.]
Only two Virginia men named “John Beck” have documented service in the American Revolution. John Beck [1762-1824], husband of Sarah Wansley, served in the American Revolution as a private in the fall of 1781. John Beck [1746-1816] from Virginia served as a ensign or lieutenant and later captain during American Revolution. He married Rebecca Miller [1763-1853]. They were both buried in Ohio County, Virginia, now West Virginia. The Ohio County John Beck is unrelated to the John Wansley, Sr. line. See following notes.
NOTES
1. Payroll for Capt. B. Harris’ Company, Albemarle County, Virginia, from 19 September 1781 through discharge on 06 November 1781, included Private John Beck. This is the only known Revolutionary War contemporary reference for John Beck who married Sarah Wansley. [Burgess, Louis A. Virginia Soldiers of 1776. pp. 1246-7.] This John Beck did not receive a Revolutionary War pension or military bounty land from the United States government.
In 1827 Georgia Land Lottery, Sarah Beck, widow of a Revolutionary Soldier, won 202½ acres in Lee County, Georgia. No documentation was required, only assertion of being widow of Revolutionary War veteran.
On 04 August 1856, Sarah Wansley Beck applied for a pension as widow of Revolutionary War veteran John Beck [died 1824]. Her application was rejected since she could not prove her husband’s service. [Disapproved Revolutionary War widow’s pension application for Sarah Wansley Beck. R692 National Archives and Records Administration]
2. The only John Beck from Virginia who received Revolutionary War benefits was Lieutenant or Ensign and later Capt. John Beck who died in Ohio County, Virginia [now West Virginia] on 29 August 1816. John Beck was born in 1746 in Maryland. His widow Rebekah [Rebecca] Miller Beck received a pension based on his service. Rebekah Miller Beck died 23 August 1853 in Ohio County, Virginia.
On 17 June 1783, Lt. John Beck received a warrant for 2666 2/3 acres of land for his service. On 07 June 1807, Lt. John Beck received a warrant for 444 2/3 acres. John Beck transferred land warrant No. 5150 to John Storkely. [John Beck Revolutionary War Pension W 3755 National Archives and Records Administration; Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus. Revolutionary War Records, Vol. 1 Virginia.]
Beck Family Cemetery, West Liberty, Ohio County, West Virginia.
Capt. John W. Beck [1746-29 Aug 1816]
Rebecca Ann Miller Beck [01 Apr 1763-22 Aug 1853] findagrave.com
3. The D. A. R. marker on grave of John Beck [died 1824] appropriates military service of Capt. John Beck, husband of Rebecca Miller, to John Beck of Elbert County, Georgia. The dates of birth and death are for John Beck of Elbert County, Georgia.
“The Stephen Heard Chapter DAR of Elberton, Georgia placed a marker at John Beck’s grave in the Wansley family burial plot, near Cold Water Creek bridge, Elbert County, Georgia. His grave is beside that of his son, Reuben C. Beck. It is opposite the DAR marked grave of John Wansley, Sr., his father-in-law.” Doris Steed Smith appropriates military service of Captain John Beck, husband of Rebecca Miller to John Beck, husband of Sarah Wansley. [Smith, Doris Steed. Beck History. Doris S. Smith: Sparta, Georgia, October 1979.]
4. John Beck, husband of Sarah Wansley, died in 1824. The style of the inscription smaller headstone is not contemporaneous with John Beck’s death and was erected later, perhaps as a United State government issued headstone [unverified].
5. On 11 October 2014, the Samuel Elbert Chapter of Georgia SAR placed a plaque at grave of John Beck, perhaps the same as on John Wansley’s gravesite: flat stone marker with emblem of SAR and “Patriot.”
6. John Beck descendants have posted photographs of his two headstones in public family trees on Ancestry.com. The same photograph is also on findagrave.com, dated 11 October 2014.
Reuben C. Beck
BECK, Reuben C., 24 Nov 1795 – 10 May 1811. Schoolmaster.
NOTES
1. The parents of Reuben C. Beck are unknown. He was perhaps a son of John Beck and Sarah Wansley. Sarah Wansley Beck gave birth to children from 1787 to 1803, so Reuben C. Beck’s date of birth falls within this time frame. However, there is no known documentation for this relationship. Doris Steed Smith, a descendant of Sarah Wansley and John Beck, asserted Reuben C. Beck was a son of John and Sarah Beck. [Smith, Doris Steed. Beck History.]
Stone Exit Marker
Stone Exit Marker at Wansley Cemetery:
“As you depart this hallowed shrine among the ever lasting hills from whence cometh our help, may His peace be with you now and always Frank Wansley” Monument design: Joe Fernandez [Our Wansley Family, p. 106.]
Beck Family Cemetery. West Liberty, Ohio County, West Virginia. Findagrave.com
Burgess, Louis A. Virginia Soldiers of 1776. Richmond, Virginia: Richmond Press, Inc., 1927, reprinted 1972.
Elbert County, Georgia Historical Society. Early Cemeteries and Gravestone in Elbert County, Georgia. Elberton, Georgia: Elbert County, Georgia Historical Society, 1984.
Georgia Chapter Sons of American Revolution Graves Registry. On-line
Smith, Doris Steed. Beck History. Doris S. Smith: Sparta, Georgia, October 1979
Wansley, Frank N. “Elbert County [Cemeteries]” in Georgia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3, Fall Issue – Bicentennial Issue 1976. Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Genealogical Society, 1976. pp. 159-160.
Wansley, Frank N. From Rome to Ruckersville - Our Wansley History. Elberton Georgia: second edition, ca 1977.