From Unity Shirley to me: Unity Shirley (no photo exists), Angeline Shirley Lovelace, Charles Buchanan Lovelace, James Luther Lovelace, Guy Clinton Lovelace, Shirley Lovelace Williams and Scott Williams.
I wish I had named one of my daughters Unity. Not only is it something we need a little more of right now, it belonged to one of my 4th great-grandmothers. Unity Wells Shirley was the head of a very large household at time when women had few legal rights and, after the death of a husband, most had to quickly remarry just to survive. It appears Unity thrived in a time and place when the odds were certainly stacked against her.
Uriah and Unity Shirley
My 4th great-grandparents, Uriah and Unity Shirley, were the parents of Angeline Shirley who married Thomas A. Lovelace before 1855 in Haywood County, Tennessee. Unity should be included in the list of the earliest settlers of West Tennessee.
On July 17, 1814 Unity Wells was a 20-year-old widow with a small child when she married Uriah Shirley (1788-likely 1832) in Muhlenberg, Kentucky. Uriah was possibly a son of Richard Shirley of Edgecomb County, North Carolina, but that has not been proven.
Although her maiden name is unproven, she had been previously married to a man with the last name of Wells (probably a son of Muhlenberg County’s John Wells Sr. and Elizabeth Bass, possibly named Richard) with whom she had one son, Richard Thelbert Wells (1810-1894). Richard was only four when his mother married again so Uriah was the only father he ever knew.
From land grants, we know Uriah and Unity were early settlers of an area of Muhlenberg called the Pond River Country.
The Pond River Country
“The Pond River country of Muhlenberg is a section of the county that offers the archaeologist, geologist, botanist, and local historian a very interesting field of research. Murphy’s Lake and all the other so-called lakes of the Pond River country are now, as in days gone by, frequented by many fishermen. Few localities are better known to local Nimrods than the Pond River bottoms and the Pond River hills. In olden times deer and turkeys were more numerous in this part of the county than in any other. The last deer was shot about the year 1890. No wild turkeys have been seen during the past few years. None of the old pigeon-roosts have been visited by wild pigeons since about the year 1860. The ‘coon, ‘possum, and fox hunters or those looking for squirrels or birds still find this a good field for game. It is also a good field for those who are interested in local traditions. Some of the county’s most prominent pioneers settled near Murphy’s Lake and in other parts of the Pond River country, and many of them are still represented there by descendants.” From A History of Muhlenberg County, 1913
Together, Uriah and Unity had at least nine other children including: Norfleet B. (1817-1894), Berry J. (1820-1861), James R. (1821-1905), Mary M. (1821-unknown) Thaddeous C. (1826-1907), William W. (1828-1867), Lunsford W. (1818-1884), Quincy Angeline (1828-1898), who was my 3rd great-grandmother and John H. (1830-1865).
All were born in Muhlenberg.
In the 1820 federal census for Muhlenberg, Kentucky, Uriah Shirley’s home included six free, white persons and no slaves.
In the 1830 federal census for Muhlenberg, Kentucky, Uriah Shirley’s home included 11 free, white persons and one slave, a female age 10-23.
Migration to Haywood County, Tennessee
On Oct. 18, 1832, Unity is included in the will of Lemuel Cary of Columbia, South Carolina. She is referred to as “wife of Uriah Shirley of Haywood County, Tennessee” so we can assume they had migrated by then. Unity Shirley and William Wells appointed Howard Duvall of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky as their attorney. The document was signed by William Wells and Unity Shirley. Since Unity was acting legally on her own behalf rather than being represented by her husband, it can be assumed he had died.
She is also considered a head of household in this Haywood County 1836 tax record, which is another indication that Uriah was no longer in the picture.
William Wells, mentioned in the above legal document, and his family also migrated to Haywood County at the same time as the Shirley family. It’s possible that William Wells was the brother of Unity’s first husband. The possibility also exists, but is unproven, that William’s wife, Penelope, and Unity were both daughters of Lemuel Cary.
The headstone of Unity’s son Norfleet states that he migrated to Tennessee in January of 1832, and its likely he made the move with his Wells and Shirley family members so that also contributes to 1832 as the date Unity migrated.
If Uriah was dead around the time their family began clearing and setting up a farm in Haywood County, Unity clearly had her hands full. She had nine children ages 15 and younger.
Unity was once again listed as head of household in the 1840 census, and she was living near the farms of William S. Wells and Bird Wells.
Richard Thelbert Wells, Unity’s son from her first marriage, waited until 1843 to migrate to Haywood County. It wasn’t until that same year that Uriah’s estate inventory was recorded in Haywood County records. It’s possible that Uriah either never left Kentucky or died shortly after arriving in Haywood County in 1832, and that for some reason his estate inventory was not recorded until son Richard arrived in the county.
In the 1850 census, Unity was counted in District Five of Haywood County with nine slaves. As the head of the household, she was listed as farming land valued at $1,600, which was quite a lot at the time. Her son Norfleet, also living in her house, was farming land valued at $1,000. The family also included 22-year-old Angeline (who would marry Thomas Lovelace).
From this 1877 map of Haywood County, published by D. G. Beers and Co., you can see where the Shirley land was located. Appearing on the map are Uriah and Unity’s sons Norfleet Shirley, Lunsford Shirley and John Shirley. Fortunately, Zion Church is noted on the map so you can get an idea of where this is land is today. You can also see the land of Unity’s daughter Angeline recorded on the map as “Mrs. A. Lovelace.” Her husband, Thomas Lovelace, had died in October the previous year. According to Billy Wright, who lives in the area, there was once an old house known to have belonged to the Shirley family located about 200 yards east of the site of the home of settler Richard Nixon. You can read more about the Nixon site on this blog entry.
The property belonging to Angeline Shirley Lovelace is still in the Lovelace family because my Uncle Bill and Aunt Sara Lovelace, my mother’s brother and his wife, live there today.
Other families included in my list of ancestors that also appear on this 1877 map include Williams, Cobb, Watridge, Steele, White, Rooks and Jacocks.
The Lovelace family home today, located near the same spot where Angeline Shirley Lovelace, widow of Thomas Lovelace, lived when Haywood County was mapped by D. G. Beers and Co. in 1877. Thomas and Angeline were my 3rd great-grandparents.
Angeline Shirley Lovelace
In the 1860 slave schedule, Unity is recorded as owning 14 slaves, male and female, of various ages with six of them being under the age of 10. According to “Slavery’s End in Tennessee: 1861-1865,” about a third of Tennessee’s white families owned slaves. Most possessed four or less, while only eight percent had more than 20. She contributed to atrocity that was slavery, but you do wonder if her own situation made her more compassionate toward those she enslaved. Of course, all those slaves were freed after the Civil War.
Unity Shirley died Sept. 6, 1869 at age 75 and was buried in Zion Baptist Church Cemetery in Haywood County.
Various Shirley family headstones in Zion Baptist Church Cemetery.
Helen McCormick Shirley
If you have more information about Uriah and Unity Shirley, let me know by posting information using the form below or sending me a message on Facebook. If you have Shirley ancestry, check out the Shirley Association, a worldwide family organization designed to preserve the Shirley heritage for future generations.