52 Cousins~Through War and Peace: The Story of Hannah Davis Grant

 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 the RootsMagic Individual Summary from my Genealogical Software, Roots Magic. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 46 years of research. Today's Biography of Hannah Davis Grant was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled:

Through War and Peace: The Story of Hannah Davis Grant

Early Life and Family Origins

Hannah Davis was born in May 1846 in Chesterfield, South Carolina, to Robert Richard "Ricks" Davis (1821-1850) and Sarah "Sallie" Rivers (1818-1901). Tragically, Hannah's father died when she was only about four years old, leaving her mother Sarah to raise the family alone during the difficult years before the Civil War.

Hannah grew up with her siblings Frederick and Elijah Davis. After their father's death, the 1850 census shows young Hannah living in her grandfather William Rivers' household, where she appeared as his granddaughter. By 1860, when she was about fourteen, Hannah was recorded living with her mother Sarah and her brothers in Chesterfield County.

Growing Up in the Civil War Era

Hannah came of age during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. Born just fifteen years before the Civil War began in 1861, she would have been a teenager during the conflict that tore the nation apart. South Carolina, having been the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860, bore witness to some of the war's most significant moments, including the first shots fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in April 1861.

As a young woman in her teens during the war years (1861-1865), Hannah would have experienced the hardships faced by Southern families—shortages of food and supplies, the absence of men who went off to fight, and the economic devastation that followed. Her brother Frederick served four years in the Confederate Army, as noted in his 1915 obituary, giving the family a personal connection to the conflict.

Marriage and Family Life

Around 1867, at approximately twenty-one years old, Hannah married William Riley Grant (1831-1898), who was about fifteen years her senior. The couple settled in Chesterfield County, where they raised their family and built their life together.

Hannah and William had at least two daughters:

• Nancy Jane Grant (1867-1898), who sadly died at age thirty-one
• Sarah Frances Grant (1873-living), who married Henry Eddins

The 1880 census provides a snapshot of the Grant household at Court House, Chesterfield County. William (listed as "Rilah") was forty-five and working to support his family, while Hannah, then forty, managed their home. Their daughters Nancy, age twelve, and Frances (listed as "Francis" and mistakenly recorded as "Son"), age nine, were still living at home. Also residing with them was Joseph Grant, a twenty-one-year-old male relative.

Life After the Civil War

The decades following the Civil War were a period of dramatic change in South Carolina. The Reconstruction era (1865-1877) brought federal troops, new state constitutions, and attempts to rebuild the shattered Southern economy. By the time Reconstruction ended in 1877, Hannah and William were established members of their community, raising their young daughters during a time when the South was slowly recovering from the devastation of war.

The late 1800s saw the rise of the textile industry in South Carolina, transforming the state's economy from one dependent on agriculture to one increasingly industrial. Chesterfield County remained largely agricultural, and families like the Grants would have witnessed these changes reshaping their world.

Widowhood and Later Years

Hannah's husband William Riley Grant died in 1898 at age sixty-seven, leaving Hannah a widow at about fifty-two. That same heartbreaking year, her daughter Nancy Jane also passed away at just thirty-one years old. These double losses must have been devastating for Hannah.

Following William's death, Hannah lived with her surviving daughter Sarah Frances and son-in-law Henry Eddins. The 1900 census shows Hannah, then fifty-four, residing in their household in Cheraw, Chesterfield County, along with her four granddaughters: Lillie, Katie, Nancie, and Annie. Sarah and Henry had been married for eleven years and had four children, all of whom were living—a blessing in an era of high childhood mortality.

Hannah continued living with the Eddins family for many years. The 1910 census still shows her as part of their household, now age sixty-four, though by this time only three of Sarah's six children were still living. By 1920, at age seventy-four, Hannah was recorded living with her stepson John Washington Davis and his family, listed as "Step-Mother" in the census—though the exact nature of this relationship is somewhat unclear from the records.

Community and Faith

Hannah was part of a close-knit community centered around Zoar United Methodist Church in Chesterfield County. Her brother Frederick's obituary from 1915 noted that he was "a life long member of the Methodist church," suggesting the family's deep roots in the Methodist faith. This would have been an important part of Hannah's life, providing spiritual comfort and community connection throughout her long years.

Final Days

Hannah Davis Grant died on June 23, 1923, in Chesterfield County, at the age of seventy-seven (though her death certificate listed her age as seventy-nine). She was laid to rest the following day, June 24, 1923, at Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery, the spiritual home where her family had worshipped for generations.

Her death certificate recorded her parents as Robert Rich Davis and Sallie Davis, preserving for future generations the connection to the family she had been born into seventy-seven years earlier. At the time of her death, she was remembered as the wife of W. R. Grant, a testament to the enduring nature of that bond even twenty-five years after his passing.

Legacy

Hannah Davis Grant lived through some of the most transformative years in American history. Born before the Civil War, she witnessed the conflict's devastation, survived the uncertain years of Reconstruction, and lived to see the dawn of the modern era in the 1920s. Her life spanned the age of horse-drawn carriages to the age of automobiles, from a largely agricultural South to an increasingly industrialized nation, and from a world without electricity to one where electric lights were becoming common.

Through it all, Hannah remained rooted in Chesterfield County, surrounded by family and community, embodying the resilience and endurance of her generation. She is remembered not just through official records, but through her descendants and her final resting place at Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery, where her story remains part of the fabric of Chesterfield County history.

Hannah Davis Grant is my 2nd Cousin 3X Removed. 

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1. 1900 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Cheraw, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #17, Page: 37A; Line 25, Dwelling 322, Family 322, Household of Henry EDDINGS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 26 August 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T623_Roll: 1523.

2. 1850 U. S. Census, Chesterfield District, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield District, South Carolina, Page 179B, Line 16, family 1242, dwelling 1242, Household of William Rivers; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2010); citing National Archives Microfilm M432 Roll 851.

3. 1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 128B; Line 8, Dwelling/Family 489/488, Household of Sarah [RIVERS] DAVIS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 3 August 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M653_1217.

4. 1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 108; Line 26, Dwelling 206; Family 204, Household of Riley GRANT.

5. 1880 U S Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 005, Page: 334A; Line 1, Dwelling 430, Family 430, Household of Rilah GRANT; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 31 July 2022); citing  National Archives Microfilm T9-1225.

6. 1900 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Cheraw, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, ED #17, Page: 37A; Line 25, Dwelling 322, Family 322, Household of Henry EDDINGS.

7. 1910 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Cheraw, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #0032, Page 40B; Line 76, Dwelling 301, Family 305, Household of Henry EDDINGS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 27 August 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T624_1455.

8. 1920 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #40, Page: 171B; Line 84, Dwelling 276, Family 284, Household of Jno W. DAVIS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 27 August 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T625_1690.

9. Hanna Grant, death certificate #009173 (23 June 1923), Vital Records, Department of Health, Austin, Travis County, Texas.

10. James C. Pigg, Chesterfield County Cemetery Survey; Self-Published, 1995, Page #831. Tombstone of Hannah GRANT; No Birth date - June 13, 1923, Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

11. Mr. [Richard] Fred Davis, Sr. obituary, The Chesterfield Advertiser, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, 10 November 1915, page 1, col. 5.

12. Leon Madison Rivers, "Leon M. Rivers Genealogical Collection," genealogical data, 1920's, Box 3, Folder 75, reviewed 14 June 2005, Leon M. Rivers Genealogical Collection; South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, South Carolina. Elijah Davis married Mattie Deese.

13. Pvt. William Riley Grany, compiled military record (21 Regiment Company D, South Carolina Infantry, CSA), U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 (Provo, Utah: www.ancestry.com), N/A.

14. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed  26 August 2011); Memorial page for Pvt William R. Grant; (unknown - Aug. 17, 1898); Find a Grave memorial # 50687275, Citing Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery; Cheraw, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, USA.

Aunts & Uncles~Ninety-Two Years: The Remarkable Life of Peter Capley Jr.

The “Aunt & Uncle” series of biographical sketches are Artificial Intelligence (AI) compiled narratives of selected individuals from my Genealogical database.  The selected AI will used the RootsMagic Individual Summary from my Genealogical Software, Roots Magic. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 46 years of research. Today's Biography of Peter Capley Jr.{1760-1852) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled: 

Ninety-Two Years: The Remarkable Life of Peter Capley Jr.

1760-1852

From Colonial North Carolina to the Tennessee Frontier

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Early Life and Family Origins

Peter Capley Jr. was born around 1760 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, during the waning years of British colonial rule in America. He was the son of Peter Keppel Sr. (1730-1806) and Anna Elizabeth Grobb (1737-1800), German immigrants whose family name would undergo several spelling variations over the generations—from Koppel to Keppel to Kepley and finally Capley.

Peter grew up in a family with deep roots in the German Lutheran community that had settled in the Carolina piedmont. His grandfather, Paulus Koppel, had arrived in Pennsylvania aboard the ship Phoenix in 1749, bringing his family from Herbitzheim in the Northern Alsace region. The family initially settled in what became Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where they were members of the Old Goshenhoppen Union Church in Upper Salford.

Pennsylvania Years

Like many families of that era, the Keppels/Capleys moved between settlements seeking better opportunities. Records show that Peter spent time in Pennsylvania during his twenties—he appears in the 1786 Septennial Census living in Upper Salford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, at about age 26. This was a period of significant transition in his life, as he would soon make the journey back to North Carolina that would define his future.

Marriage and Family

On May 20, 1794, at about age 34, Peter married Maria Barbara Grappin (1776-1828) in Rowan County, North Carolina. This union would prove to be a fruitful one, blessed with nine children who would help settle the Tennessee frontier:

• Anna Elizabeth Capley (1795- ), who married into the Dry family
• John George "Buck" Capley (1797-1850), who married Mary Ann Crowell in 1825
• Catharine Capley (1799- ), who remained unmarried and lived with her father in his later years
• Susanna Capley (1801-1888), who married Jacob Molder in 1829
• Mary Barbara Capley (1802- ), called "Mary Barbery" in family documents
• John Martin Capley (1805- )
• David Capley (1807-1859/1860), who never married
• Sarah Capley (1809-1894), who remained unmarried
• John Capley (1812- )

Life in North Carolina

Peter was well-established in Cabarrus County by the turn of the century. The 1800 census recorded him in Salisbury with his growing family—the household included himself, his wife Maria, one son under ten, and two daughters under ten. On June 18, 1806, he received a land grant in Cabarrus County, solidifying his position as a property-owning farmer.

The following year brought both loss and responsibility. When his father, Peter Keppel Sr., passed away in 1806, Peter Jr. was involved in settling the estate. In August 1807, he joined his siblings in executing a deed to divide their father's property, which included 116 acres on Little Dutch Buffalo Creek.

The Tennessee Migration

Sometime between 1806 and 1820, Peter made the momentous decision to join the great wave of migration westward into Tennessee. Like thousands of other families, the Capleys were drawn by the promise of abundant, affordable land in the newly opened territories. By 1820, Peter was firmly established in Bedford County, Tennessee, where the census recorded his substantial household of twelve free white persons.

Bedford County, formed in 1807, was prime territory for settlement. Located in Middle Tennessee along the Duck River, it offered fertile soil and abundant water—perfect for farming families like the Capleys. Peter clearly prospered there, as evidenced by his increasing land holdings.

Building a Tennessee Legacy

In April 1824, Peter purchased 150 acres from John Newman for $300. The property was part of a much larger 5,000-acre tract originally granted by North Carolina to Anthony Newman. The deed carefully described the boundaries using natural landmarks—walnut, ash, dogwood, elm, and hickory trees—as was common practice in that era.

Just one year later, in March 1825, Peter acquired an additional nine acres from John Capley (likely a relative), paying thirty-five dollars for land situated on the north side of Duck River. These transactions show Peter's determination to establish a solid foundation for his growing family.

The 1830 census provides a snapshot of the Capley household when Peter was in his seventies. Ten free white persons lived under his roof, including several adult children and likely some grandchildren. This multigenerational household was typical of the period, when families often stayed close together for mutual support and labor.

Historical Context

Peter's long life spanned an extraordinary period of American history. Born as a British colonial subject, he witnessed the Revolutionary War as a young man, saw the creation of the United States Constitution, and lived through the War of 1812, the Missouri Compromise debates over slavery, and the Mexican-American War. Tennessee itself transformed from a frontier territory to an established state during his lifetime.

The 1840s brought changes to the Capley family. Maria Barbara, Peter's wife of thirty-four years, had passed away in 1828, leaving him a widower for the last quarter-century of his life. Their son John George "Buck" Capley died in January 1850, predeceasing his father.

Final Years and Legacy

By 1850, the ninety-year-old Peter was still living in District 9 of Bedford County, surrounded by his unmarried children. The census that year recorded him with Catharine (age 35), Martin (age 33), Barbara (age 31), Mary Ann (age 29), Michael (age 28), Joseph Dry (age 18), and John (age 12). It's remarkable that a man of ninety was still maintaining his own household in this era.

On July 19, 1849, recognizing "the uncertainty of this mortal life" and his advanced age, Peter composed his last will and testament. The document reveals much about his character and values. He requested to be "decently buried at Thompson and Graveyard beside my beloved wife." He carefully divided his approximately 200 acres among his three sons—George receiving thirty-five acres on the east end, David thirty-five acres on the west end, and Michael receiving the balance, with the provision that his four unmarried daughters (Catherine, Mary Barbara, Sarah, and presumably Margaret) should have a home there for life.

Peter's will also demonstrated his fairness and foresight. He directed that the remainder of his estate be sold and equally divided among all nine of his children, "share and share alike so as to make them all equal." He even provided for his daughter Elizabeth's children (she apparently had predeceased him) to receive their mother's share.

Peter Capley Jr. died on October 21, 1852, in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee, at the remarkable age of about ninety-two. His will was probated in November 1852, with his son Michael serving as executor. The original courthouse records, including Peter's will, were later destroyed in a fire that consumed the Bedford County Courthouse in 1863, but copies had been preserved in court records.

He was laid to rest in Crowells Chapel Cemetery Old (also known as Halls Mill) in Bedford County, beside his beloved Maria Barbara, bringing to a close a life that had spanned nearly the entire first half of the nineteenth century.

A Pioneer's Impact

Peter Capley Jr.'s life story is that of countless pioneers who built America—German immigrants who adapted, moved, persevered, and established families that would spread across the continent. From Pennsylvania to North Carolina to Tennessee, Peter and Maria Barbara raised nine children who carried forward the family name (in all its varied spellings). His descendants fought in the Civil War and continued to farm the Tennessee land he had worked so hard to acquire.

The fact that Peter lived to see ninety-two years—an extraordinary lifespan for his time—meant he witnessed his children grow to adulthood, saw numerous grandchildren, and left behind a legacy of hard work, fair dealing, and family devotion that would echo through generations of Capleys to come.

Peter Capley, Jr. is my 4th Great Grand Uncle

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1. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed  November 2023); Memorial page for Peter Capley; (1760–21 October 1852); Find a Grave memorial # 90820314, Citing Crowells Chapel Cemetery Old; Halls Mill, Bedford County, Tennessee, USA.

2. Peter Kepple, 1786 Septennial Census, Upper Salford, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA, septennial census, Upper Salford, Ancestry.com.

3. 1820 U S Census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, Salisbury, Cabarrus, North Carolina, Page: 713; Line#005, Household of Peter Kepley Jr.; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : on line November 2023); citing  National Archives Microfilm M33, Roll 80.

4. Peter Caply, 18 June 1806; North Carolina State Archives of North Carolina Land Grants, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.

5. Land Deed - Division of the Estate of Peter Kapple Sr.; 8 August 1807; Deed Book #6; Page(s) 168; Register of Deeds; Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina; 12 December 2020.

6. 1820 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, Page: 14; Line 10; Household of Peter COPLEY, Page: 14; Line 10, Household of Peter COPLEY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : on-line November 2023); citing  National Archives Microfilm M33 _122.

7. Land Deed - John Newman to Peter Kepley for 150 acres; 7 April 1824; Deed Book #S; Page(s) 11 & 12; Register of Deeds; Shellyville, Bedford County, Tennessee; November 2023.

8. Bedford County, Tennessee, DEED BOOK T: Pages 27-28, John Capley to Peter Capley; Register of Deeds, Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee.

9. 1830 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, Bedford, Tennessee, Page: 132(penciled); Line 12, Household of Peter COPLEY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : on-line November 2023); citing  National Archives Microfilm M19_122.

10. Peter Capley (1849), WILL BOOK: Will; pages 134 & 136; Probate Office, Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee.

11. 1850 U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 9, Bedford, Tennessee, Page: 182A (Stamped); Line 31, Dwelling 172, Family 172, Household of Peter CAPLEY; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : on-line November 2023); citing  National Archives Microfilm M432.

12. Bedford County, Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, Peter Capley; digital images, FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch.org (http://www.FamilySearch.org: online July 2025); Peter Capley.

13. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database, "Record, Maria Barbara Grappin Capley (unknown), Memorial # 90820431.

 

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