Retha Walker b. Abt 1799 Georgia, USA d. Aft 1850: Our Family History

Abt 1799 - Aft 1850 (~ 52 years)

Name	Retha Walker [1]
Born	Abt 1799	Georgia, USA [2, 3]
Gender	Female
Possible Census	1820	Humphreys County, Tennessee, USA [4]
	George Turner household 1 male under 10 1 male of 10 and under 16 1 male of 26 and under 45 1 female under 10 1 female of 10 and under 16 1 female of 26 and under 45 2 persons engaged in agriculture 0 slaves, etc. George Turner was enumerated next to Samuel A. Walker in 1820--possible indication that George was Ritha Walker's Turner husband (named as "Retha Turner" in 1823 deed of gifts from Elizabeth Walker to Elijah Walker. Conflict: Ritha, according to 1850 census, was born in 1799. Might she have been born earlier? Wrong husband?
Deed	29 Jan 1823	Dickson County, Tennessee, USA [5]
	Deed of Gifts from Elizabeth Walker to Elijah Walker, giving him a slave girl named Ailee. The deed specifies that offspring of the slave are to be given to his sisters, Elizabeth Heartly, Polly Bazzell [Brazzell], and Ritha Turner. The deed is witnessed by George H. Brazzell. This deed is important evidence of relationships, specifying that Elijah is the son of Elizabeth Walker, that Elizabeth, Polly, and Ritha, are his sisters, and that George H., also her "beloved son" is his brother. It is also evidence of who the three named girls married. On the same date, Elizabeth Walker also made a Deed of Gifts to her son, George H., leaving him a slave boy. Elijah Walker witnessed this deed.
Possible Census	1840	Hardeman County, Tennessee, USA [6, 7]
	Thomas Adams household 1 male under 5 [William T., abt 6?] 1 male of 10 and under 15 1 male of 30 and under 40 [possibly Thomas, abt 37] 1 female under 5 1 female of 5 and under 10 [Susan Adams, abt 7] 1 female of 10 and under 15 2 females of 15 and under 20 1 female of 40 and under 50 [possibly Ritha, about 41]
HISTORICAL	1845
	Dallas County created from Clark County
Note	1823-1850
	Nothing is known of Ritha in this period. She is probably the Ritha Adams located in the 1850 Dallas County, Arkansas, census enumeration (see below). From it, we can infer that her first husband (Turner) probably died prior to 1833, and it is even possible that he was not living in 1823 when she was named as "Ritha Turner" in the gift of deeds. If the children in the 1850 household are Ritha's children, then she probably married Thomas Adams in Tennessee, before 1833 (the year of Susan's birth). It is possible that Thomas and Ritha had older children, and the marriage was earlier. It is also possible that these are the children of Thomas Adams from a first marriage.
Census	15 Oct 1850	Saline township, Dallas County, Arkansas, USA [3]
	1. Thos. Adams, 47, male, farmer, Virginia 2. _____, Ritha, 51, female, Georgia 3. _____, Susan [J.?], 17, female, Tennessee 4._____, William T., 16, male, Tennessee 5. _____, Martha E., 9, female, Tennessee While the evidence is slim, these factors support the possibility that this is Ritha (Walker) Turner: Her age, 51 (born about 1799) Birthplace of Georgia, consistent with Walker siblings Children's birth in Tennessee, indicating previous residence in that state Arkansas was a common migrational path from Tennessee "Ritha," while not totally unique as a name, is at list reasonably uncommon (as opposed, for instance, to "Mary" All of these factors taken together tend to support the likelihood that this is, indeed, the Ritha (Walker) Turner from Dickson County, Tennessee.
DNA - Walker Surname Study	John Porter McMeans (descenand of Joseph H. Walker) matches a Mrs. Mary Lee Shelton, who appears to be a descendant of Ritha Walker and Thomas Adams through daughter Mary J. Adams, who married Thomas A. Atkinson. See FTDNA.
Died	Aft 1850 [3]
Person ID	I1070	Full \| ProgenitorWalker
Last Modified	7 Apr 2022

Father	(Progenitor) Walker, b. Between 1750 and 1765, d. Tennessee, USA
Mother	Elizabeth (--?--), b. 1775-1785, d. Bef 7 Apr 1823, Dickson County, Tennessee, USA (Age 38 years)
Married	Bef 1790
	Deduced from birthdates of children.
Family ID	F1130	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family 1	[Unknown] Turner
Married	Bef 1820	Dickson County, Tennessee, USA [2, 5]
	No female is present in the home of Elizabeth Walker in the 1820 census, when Ritha would have been about age 21. She was named as "Ritha Turner" in the 1823 deed of gifts from Elizabeth Walker to Elijah Walker. Ritha was probably married between 1815 and 1820 to an unidentified Turner male. The most likely candidates are: John Turner, Jr. Samuel Turner William Turner All of the above are found in the 1820 Dickson County census, and have an apparent wife of the right age to be Ritha. [See document "Walker Ritha 1799 Family" for a complete listing of Turner households, and reasoning.] Internet sources indicate that Samuel Turner of Dickson County was enumerated in 1840 Johnson County, Arkansas. Johnson County, Arkansas, Forum, GenForum (http://genforum.genealogy.com/ : accessed 1 June 2011), posting, subject "Samuel Turner TN-AR," posted by Sharon I. Cauley (sicauley@snider.net), 3 March 2000. Stating: "I have just received a book titled "Primal Families of Yellow Creek". It details the Turner family in TN in 1804. Samuel Turner moved his family to Johnson County AR in the mid 1830's. His son Jesse Norris Turner had a son named Samuel Howard Turner and a granddaughter named Mary Turner. I am from this line." "Elisha Turner," Dickson-Online (http://dickson-online.com : accessed 1 June 2011). Stating: "Elisha Turner was born in North Carolina in 1794. He is believed to be the son of John Turner and his wife Elizabeth Dillard. Elisha Turner is enumerated in Dickson County in the 1820 Census living in the Yellow Creek area. During the War of 1812 he served as a corporal under the command of M. Molton, in the regiment of Col. Searcy. He married Susan May. . . Sept. 1811. She may have been the daughter of Sterling May. They were the parents of 10 children. Elisha Turner died 3rd of September 1831 at Henderson County, Tennessee. After his death his widow moved to Johnson Co., Arkansas. ( She lived next to Samuel Turner in the 1840 Census). The 1840 Johnson County enumeration of Samuel Turner is difficult to read, but it does reflect a female between 40-50 which could be Retha. Additionally, there were females 30-40 and 50-60.
Last Modified	1 Jun 2011
Family ID	F457	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family 2 Thomas Adams, b. Abt 1803, Virginia, USA , d. 2 Nov 1859, Arkansas, USA (Age ~ 56 years)

Married Between 1823-1850 [2, 3]

Ritha was "Ritha Turner" in 1823. She could have married Thomas Adams any time after that date and prior to the enumeration in 1850 Dallas County, Arkansas.

If Thomas's children in the 1850 census were also Ritha's children, they were probably married prior to 1833, and they could have had an older child, as well.

The family group sheet prepared by Esther Pratt has a notation that appears to indicate Retha's marriage to Thomas Adams in Humphreys County, in 1843. If this is the case, the children were Thomas's by a previous marriage. [8]

Children

	1. Susan Adams, b. Abt 1833, Tennessee, USA , d. Yes, date unknown
+	2. William T. Adams, b. 10 Aug 1834, Tennessee, USA , d. 19 Dec 1882 (Age 48 years)
+	3. Mary J. Adams, b. Nov 1838, Tennessee, USA , d. 21 Oct 1901, near Kingsland, Cleveland County, Arkansas, USA (Age ~ 62 years)
	4. Martha E. Adams, b. Abt 1841, Tennessee, USA , d. Yes, date unknown

Last Modified 12 Jun 2014

Family ID F458 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Documents		Elizabeth Walker, deed of gifts to son Elijah Walker, 1823, Dickson County, Tennessee. Dickson County, Tennessee, Deed Book C: 452, deed of gifts, Elizabeth Walker to Elijah Walker (1823); FHL microfilm no. 497,422.
Documents		George Turner, 1820 Dickson County, Tennessee, census. Possible husband of Retha Walker? 1820 U.S. census, Humphreys County, Tennessee, population schedule, [no township stated], p. 203 (penned, top right), p. 104 (stamped, bottom right, crossed out in ink), line 35, George Turnerer household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 March 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M33, roll 122.

Notes

A search of Tennessee marriages (Ancestry.com) has failed to locate the marriage of a Thomas Adams to a "Turner" or "R*th*" or to any name that might appear to be "Ritha" --excepting Ruth. None of the locations and dates seemed likely to be the right person.

Arkansas marriage databases on FamilySearch were also search with varying search terms, with no success.

William T. Adams (son of the 1850 household) is still in Dallas County in 1880.

Ritha and Thomas Adams are both absent from the 1860 Dallas County census, nor have they been located elsewhere. They may have both died between 1850 and 1860.
FamilySearch has Arkansas county probate books. Am searching Dallas Co, Probate Records 1845-1860, vol A-B, got up to page p 311, image 187, searching for Thomas Adams (Jan Term 1853). No Adams yet.

Sources

[S1325] Dickson County, Tennessee, Deed Book C: 452, deed of gifts, Elizabeth Walker to Elijah Walker (1823); FHL microfilm no. 497,422.
The 1823 deed of gifts names "Ritha Turner" as the sister of Elijah Walker, whom the same deed defined as the "beloved son" of Elizabeth Walker.
[S99] Esther Pratt (6408 Worchester Drive; Nashville, Tennessee) to Sandra Johnston (Oklahoma), letter, 13 May 1997, regarding the Elijah Walker family of Dickson County, Tennessee. Privately held by Ms. Johnston. The author has lost contact with Ms. Johnston and no longer knows her whereabouts.
[S1405] 1850 U.S. census, Dallas County, Arkansas, population schedule, Saline township, p. 42 (penned, recto), p. 21 (stamped, verso), dwelling 287, family 287, Thos. [Thomas] Adams household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jan 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 26.
[S4187] 1820 U.S. census, Humphreys County, Tennessee, population schedule, [no township stated], p. 203 (penned, top right), p. 104 (stamped, bottom right, crossed out in ink), line 35, George Turnerer household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 March 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M33, roll 122.
[S1325] Dickson County, Tennessee, Deed Book C: 452, deed of gifts, Elizabeth Walker to Elijah Walker (1823); FHL microfilm no. 497,422.
[S4345] 1840 U. S. census, Hardeman County, Tennessee, [no township stated], p. 5 (penned, top left, recto), p 277 [stamped, top right, second page], line 20, Thomas Adams household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 12 June 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 522.
[S4346] FamilyTreeDNA (https://my.familytreedna.com : accessed 13 June 2014), gedcom for Mrs. Mary Lee Shelton (mlbs1@aol.com), 23. 64 cM match for John Porter McMeans. .
[S1427] Esther Pratt (Nashville, Tenn.), [Unknown] Walker-Elizabeth Walker of Dickson County, Family Group sheet; from Walker file folder, Dickson County Archives, Charlotte, Tennessee; no sources cited on the sheet.