The “52 Cousins” series of biographical sketches are Artificial Intelligence (AI) compiled narratives of selected individuals from my Genealogical database. The selected AI will used documents and data from my RootsMagic Genealogical Software. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 46+ years of research. Today's Biography of Daniel Earnhart (1809-1883) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled:
"Roots in Carolina Clay, Legacy in Tennessee Soil"
Daniel Earnhart
1809 – 1883
Rowan County, North Carolina · Bedford County, Tennessee
A Life on the Tennessee Frontier
Daniel Earnhart was born on February 13, 1809, in Rowan County, North Carolina — a region that had been home to generations of German-descended settlers, including the Earnhart family. He came into the world at a fascinating moment in American history: just six years after the Louisiana Purchase had doubled the size of the young nation, and as the frontier was rapidly pushing westward into Tennessee and beyond.
Daniel spent the first two decades of his life in North Carolina before making the move that would define the rest of his days. By 1835, he had settled in Bedford County, Tennessee, in Civil District 18 — a rural, agricultural stretch of Middle Tennessee that he would call home for the rest of his life. He farmed, raised a large family, accumulated land, and lived to see the Civil War tear apart the very county where he'd planted his roots. By the time he passed away in early 1883, Daniel Earnhart had witnessed nearly three-quarters of a century of American history, from frontier settlement to Reconstruction.
Family Roots — His Parents
George Earnhart (1759–1850) and Margaret Keppel (1759–1840)
Daniel was the son of George Earnhart (1759–1850) and Margaret Keppel (1759–1840), both born in 1759. His parents were part of the broader wave of German and Scots-Irish settlers who populated the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the late 18th century. Rowan County, where Daniel was born, was a well-established community by that point, with strong German Lutheran and Reformed Church roots. George lived to a remarkable 91 years of age, and Margaret to 81 — remarkable longevity for the era, suggesting the family was hardy stock. The names of Daniel's siblings are not recorded here, but as one of likely several children in a large farm household, Daniel would have grown up surrounded by extended family and the rhythms of agricultural life.
Moving West — The Tennessee Years
By the mid-1830s, Tennessee was booming. The state had been a magnet for migrants since the early 1800s, and Bedford County — established in 1807 and named for Revolutionary War general Thomas Bedford — was a productive farming county in the heart of Middle Tennessee. Shelbyville was its county seat, and Civil District 18, where Daniel settled, was a rural farming community.
On September 18, 1835, Daniel acquired his first recorded property in Bedford County (Deed Book FF, p. 49), signaling that he was putting down permanent roots. He appeared on the 1836 tax list for Bedford County — a sign that he was a property-owning adult citizen in good standing. Then on July 4, 1846 — fittingly, Independence Day — he purchased 47 acres of land from James A. Walker in Civil District 18 (Deed Book 1845–1846, p. 377), which became the heart of his farm operation.
In 1882, a year before his death, Daniel and his wife Ann sold a smaller parcel of about 12 acres and 89 poles to C.A.D. Davis of Rutherford County for $100.51½ — a transaction that was carefully witnessed and certified by the Clerk of the County Court, Robert L. Singleton.
His Two Marriages
First Marriage: Martha Ann "Lucy" Lentz (c. 1811 – after 1870)
Around 1830, when he was about 21 years old, Daniel married Martha Ann Lentz, known by her middle name or nickname "Lucy." Martha was born around 1811 in North Carolina, and the couple likely met and wed there before making the move to Tennessee together. She was the mother of all seven of Daniel's children, and the two were partners through the hardest decades of American life — building a farm from scratch, raising children through the Civil War years, and working the land together for over four decades.
Martha last appears in the 1870 census, listed at age 59 alongside Daniel in District 18, Bedford County. She is not present in the 1880 census, suggesting she passed away sometime between 1870 and 1880. Also living with them in 1870 was a Susannah Earnhart, age 54, born in North Carolina — possibly a sister or sister-in-law — and their son George, age 25, with a young Margaret, age 10, likely a grandchild.
Second Marriage: Ann Kimmons (1854–1925)
Before the 1880 census, Daniel married his second wife, Ann Kimmons, who was born in 1854 in Tennessee — making her 52 years his junior. In the 1880 census, Daniel is listed as 79 and Ann as 27. Their marriage is noted in Daniel's own will, in which he left her generous provisions: use of his farm for her natural lifetime, a wagon, two bay mares, livestock, furniture, a clock, a cooking stove, and more. Ann outlived Daniel by over four decades, dying in 1925.
His Children
Daniel and Martha raised seven children, all born in Tennessee:
1. William Earnhart (1831–1901) — The eldest, William lived to age 70.
2. Malinda J. Earnhart (1833–1925) — She had a remarkably long life, dying at about age 92.
3. Harriett Earnhart (1835–1864) — Harriett died young, at about age 29, likely during the Civil War years. She married into the Paschal family. Daniel's will specifically called out "the children of my deceased daughter Harriett Paschal," ensuring her children would receive one-seventh of his estate — a touching provision for grandchildren who had lost their mother.
4. Mary C. Earnhart (1837–1923) — Mary later became Mary Crowell (per Daniel's will), and lived to approximately 86 years of age.
5. John Henry Earnhart (1841–1896) — Known as J.H. in census records.
6. James A. Earnhart (1843–1925) — James lived to about age 82.
7. George Earnhart (1845–1904) — The youngest son, still living at home at age 25 in the 1870 census.
The Census Records — A Picture of Family Life
The federal census records paint a vivid picture of Daniel's growing household across five decades:
1840: Daniel, age 30–39; Martha, age 30–39; and young children including a boy 5–9, a girl 5–9 (likely Malinda), and a girl under 5 (likely Harriett). The family was young and growing.
1850: The household shows eight members: Daniel (41), Martha (39), and six children — Melinda (17), Harriett (15), Mary (13), John (9), James (7), and George (5). William, the eldest at 19, may have already been on his own.
1860: The older children had started leaving home. Daniel (51) and Martha (49) are listed with Mary (23), J.H. (19), J.A. (17), and George (15).
1870: After the war, the household had thinned to Daniel (61), Martha (59), Susannah Earnhart (54, likely a relative), son George (25), and young Margaret (10).
1880: By now Martha had passed. Daniel (79) and his new young wife Ann (27) are living together in a simple two-person household in District 18.
The Civil War Years — Living Through Conflict
Daniel and his family lived through one of the most turbulent periods in American history. Bedford County, Tennessee was deeply affected by the Civil War (1861–1865). Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and the first Confederate state to be restored, and Middle Tennessee was bitterly contested throughout the war.
Shelbyville and Bedford County changed hands multiple times. In 1863, the area was swept up in the Tullahoma Campaign, when Union General William Rosecrans maneuvered Confederate General Braxton Bragg out of Middle Tennessee. The county experienced raids, requisitions of food and livestock, and the constant upheaval of armies passing through.
For the Earnharts — a family with sons of fighting age — these were harrowing years. Daniel's daughter Harriett died in 1864, right in the thick of the war's final brutal chapter. His sons John (born 1841) and James (born 1843) would have been prime military age. Whether they served in the Confederate or Union army (or avoided service) is not known from these records.
The War Claims recorded in 1888 — five years after Daniel's death — are especially intriguing. A Daniel Earnhart of Shelby/Fayette County was awarded $534 by the U.S. Court of Claims, likely for property (livestock, crops, or supplies) taken or destroyed by Union forces during the war. This was a common postwar process for Unionists or those who could demonstrate loyalty to the United States. The county listed (Shelby or Fayette) differs from Bedford, so this may or may not refer to our Daniel — but it is included in his record.
His Last Years — The Will of Daniel Earnhart
By March 1883, Daniel was 74 years old and evidently feeling the weight of age. On March 2, 1883, he put pen to paper and signed his Last Will and Testament — a remarkably personal document that reveals much about the man and his values.
He opened by requesting that his body be "decently interred in the graveyard near my house, known as the Earnhart Graveyard" — a family burying ground on the home property, which speaks to how rooted the Earnharts were in that particular patch of Bedford County soil.
His provisions were thoughtful and fair. To his young wife Ann, he left the farm for her lifetime, along with a substantial list of personal property: a wagon, two bay mares, three sheep, two milk cows and their calves, a sow, three hogs, two bedsteads, beds and bedding, all the chairs, a bureau, a clock, a dining table, a cooking stove and utensils, a cupboard, farming tools, looms, and a large wash pot. He also gave her full control over any stock she raised and anything she produced.
Upon Ann's death, Daniel directed that the farm be sold and the proceeds divided equally among his seven children (or their descendants if any had predeceased the division). He specifically named: William, Malinda, Harriett Paschal's children, Mary Crowell, John, James, and George. His executor was named as Hiram Harris, described warmly as "my esteemed neighbor and friend."
Daniel Earnhart died before April 2, 1883 — likely just days or weeks after signing his will. The will was probated at the April Term 1883 of the Bedford County Court, with Hiram Harris qualifying as executor and posting bond of $400 with three securities.
His Legacy
Daniel Earnhart lived a full and characteristically American life of the 19th century: born on the Carolina frontier, he moved west with the tide of settlement, carved a farm out of Middle Tennessee, raised seven children, weathered war and loss, and died in the county where he had spent nearly half a century. His descendants — the Earnharts, Crowells, Paschals, and others — carried his story forward.
His will, his deeds, his census appearances, and his family Bible entry all paint the portrait of a man who was diligent, fair-minded, and deeply attached to family and place. The Earnhart Graveyard near his house — where he asked to be buried — stands as perhaps the most lasting symbol of that attachment: a man who wanted to rest in the same ground he had worked and called home.
At a Glance — Key Dates
Born: February 13, 1809 — Rowan County, North Carolina
Died: Before April 2, 1883 — Bedford County, Tennessee (age 73–74)
Father: George Earnhart (1759–1850)
Mother: Margaret Keppel (1759–1840)
First wife: Martha Ann "Lucy" Lentz (c. 1811 – after 1870), married c. 1830
Second wife: Ann Kimmons (1854–1925), married before 1880
Children: William (1831–1901), Malinda (1833–1925), Harriett (1835–1864), Mary (1837–1923), John Henry (1841–1896), James A. (1843–1925), George (1845–1904)
Settled in Tennessee: By 1835, Civil District 18, Bedford County
Land purchased: 47 acres on July 4, 1846
Will signed: March 2, 1883
Buried: Earnhart Graveyard, near his home, Bedford County, Tennessee
Daniel Earnhart is my 1st Cousin 5X Removed.
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1. Bedford County, Tennessee, FF: 49 & 50, ; Register of Deeds, Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee.
2. Tennessee, United States, "Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895, 1836, Daniel EARNHART; Tennessee Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
3. 1840 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, Bedford, Tennessee, Page 60B, Line 21;, Household of Daniel EARNHART; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 May 2022); citing National Archives Microfilm M19.
4. 1850 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 18, Bedford, Tennessee, Page: 185A (Stamped); Line 7, Dwelling 2, Family 2, Household of Daniel EARNHEART; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 May 2022); citing National Archives Microfilm M432.
5. 1860 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, Western Division District 18, Bedford, Tennessee, Page 248 (Stamped); Line 8, Dwelling 1241, Family 1195, Household of Daniel EARNHEART; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 May 2022); citing National Archives Microfilm M653.
6. 1870 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 18, Bedford, Tennessee, Page: 327B(Stamped); Line 33, Dwelling 135; Family 139, Household of Daniel EARNHART; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 6 June 2021); citing National Archives Microfilm M593.
7. 1880 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed ); citing National Archives Microfilm T9_.
8. Last Will of Daniel Earnhart (1883), WILL BOOK: Wkll Book #1; page 460 & 461; Probate Office, Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee.
9. Bedford County, Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, Sale of Inventoried personal property items; digital images, FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch.org (http://www.FamilySearch.org: online mar 2024 ); Daniel Earnhart Estate.
10. Bedford County, Tennessee, Administrator and Executor Bond, Daniel Earnhart Estate.
— compiled from primary sources, March 2026 —
