Joseph Thornbrough of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana
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Joseph Thornbrough Families
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Joseph Thornbrough was oldest son of Thomas and Abigail Brown Thornbrough of Ireland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. Joseph married twice (1) Wellmet Beeson and (2) Rebecca Mills, widow of William Morgan.

Wellmet Beeson was daughter of William & Mary Mills Beeson. Rebecca Mills was daughter of Thomas & Elizabeth Harrold Mills. Thomas Mills and Mary Mills Beeson were brother and sister, so Rebecca Mills and Wellmet Beeson were first cousins. For more on William and Mary Mills Beeson and Thomas and Elizabeth Harrold Mills see Cheska Wheatley's Mills Family.


Joseph Thornbrough
born 11/26/1741 Virginia
died 8/6/1823 Wayne Co, In
burial Springfield MM
Wellmet Beeson
born 10/30/1742 Virginia
died 2/6/1775 Guilford Co, NC
burial New Garden MM


  Married: 6/23/1763 at New Garden Monthly Meeting in Rowan County, North Carolina

Children:
William Thornbrough, born 8/12/1764 in Rowan County, NC; married Rachel Beals
Thomas Thornbrough, born 4/30/1767 in Rowan County, NC; married Rebecca Unknown
Richard Thornbrough, born 5/1/1770 in Rowan/Guilford County, NC; married Elizabeth Mills (mou)

Rebecca Mills Morgan
born 12/15/1744 Guilford Co, NC
died 9/20/1821 Wayne Co, In
burial Springfield MM

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  Married: 2/5/1778 at New Garden Monthly Meeting in Guilford County, NC

Children:
Wellmet Thornbrough, born 11/30/1778, Guilford County, North Carolina; married Robert Patton
Morgan Thornbrough, born 5/9/1781, Guilford County, North Carolina; married Hannah Harle
Joseph Thornbrough, born 10/10/1785, Guilford County, North Carolina
Asahel Thornbrough, born 2/5/1786, Guilford County, North Carolina; died 3/26/1790, burial Deep River MM
Abigail Thornbrough, born 3/30/1788, Guilford County, North Carolina; married Isaac Cooper

Rebecca Mills Morgan, widow of William Morgan, brought children: Ruben Morgan (12/18/1761), John Morgan (8/26/1763); Thomas Morgan (11/7/1765); Elizabeth Morgan (11/13/1767): and William Morgan (3/2/1770) to the marriage so the blended family was quite a large one.

Family Quaker Records

Joseph Thornbrough was received by request at New Garden Monthly Meeting in North Carolina on 9/25/1756. He was a member of that meeting until Deep River Monthly Meeting was formed in 1778 when he became a charter member there.

The family was then received on certificate at Westfield Monthly Meeting in Surry County, NC, on 6/4/1792. Westfield at that time was accepting certificates for those families moving to the Holston River area in future Jefferson County, Tennessee. Joseph and Rebecca actually were members of Lost Creek Monthly Meeting when it was set up in Jefferson County, Tennessee.

On 11/25/1809 Joseph and Rebecca were granted a certificate from Lost Creek Monthly Meeting to West Branch Monthly Meeting in Ohio. The certificate was received on 3/17/1810 at West Branch. Then on 8/25/1810 Joseph and Rebecca were granted a certificate to New Garden Monthly Meeting in Wayne County, Indiana. He and Rebecca are found in the 1820 census in Wayne County, Indiana, and in 1823 transferred to the Springfield Monthly Meeting. Their deaths are recorded at Springfield Monthly Meeting in Wayne County.

More on the children of Joseph Thornbrough

Joseph and Morgan Thornbrough, sons of Joseph and Rebecca

Sons Joseph and Morgan Thornbrough followed their parents to Ohio. Son Joseph was dismissed for attending a marriage out of unity and for dancing on 6/18/1803 at Lost Creek Monthly Meeting in Tennessee. The marriage was that of his brother Morgan Thornbrough and Hannah Harle who were married in Jefferson County, Tennessee, in a civil ceremony on 12/20/1802. Morgan was condemned at Lost Creek on 10/22/1803 for his marriage contrary to discipline. (There is a little discrepancy here - marriage out of unity would have meant marrying outside the Quaker faith and marriage contrary to discipline would have meant marrying a Quaker in a civil ceremony. Marriage contrary to discipline is probably correct.) Both Joseph and Morgan made their peace with the Quakers as on 1/26/1811 Lost Creek Monthly Meeting gave them a certificate to transfer to West Branch Monthly Meeting in Ohio. There is a cryptic note in the Lost Creek Meeting minutes that on 7/25/1807 Joseph Thornbrough was left at liberty to remove to Ohio. It is not clear whether this was Joseph, Sr., or Joseph, Jr., but at any rate they both obtained certificates later.

Richard Thornbrough, son of Joseph and Wellmet Thornbrough

Son Richard Thornbrough was dismissed on 3/4/1793 for his marriage out of unity to Elizabeth Mills (daughter of Richard and Hannah Osborn Mills and granddaughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Harrold Mills). This couple also went to Wayne County, Indiana, as they are found next to Joseph and Rachel in the 1820 census.

William Thornbrough, son of Joseph and Wellmet Thornbrough

William Thornbrough married Rachel Beals, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Andram Beals, in 1789 in Guilford County, North Carolina. William Thornbrough was recorder of Lost Creek Monthly Meeting, Jefferson County, Tennessee, appointed 7/22/1797. He wrote his will on July 1, 1796, naming son Abel Thornbrough. Wife Rachel was evidently already deceased. William died 5/18/1801 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Son Abel Thornbrough was received on November 8, 1804, at Miami Monthly Meeting in Ohio along with an uncle and his grandmother Beals, who evidently had care of him. He had a wife Rhoda who transferred on certificate 5/11/1841 from Whitewater Monthly Meeting in Indiana to Springfield MM. Children named were Lydia; Mary Ann; Rachel; Susanna; and William J. Abel and Rhoda had another son John Thomas Thornbrough recorded as born 4/10/1843 at Springfield MM.

Wellmet Thornbrough, daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Thornbrough

Daughter Wellmet Thornbrough married Robert Patton on 7/17/1804 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. We have recently heard from Olivia, a descendant of Robert and Wellmet Thornbrough Patton. She gives children as: 1)Unknown born about 1806; 2) Unknown born about 1808; 3)Joseph born about 1810, Jefferson Co, Tn; 4) Thomas Cunningham Patton, born April 17, 1811, Jefferson Co (Olivia's line); 5) Unknown born about 1812; 6)Elizabeth, born about 1816; 7)William Patton, born April 14, 1818, Jefferson Co. We attempted to locate the Robert Patton family in the 1850 census in Jefferson County, Tennessee, to fill in the names of the unknown children but they were gone. The name "Robert Patton" is too common to try to locate them in other places without more information.

Olivia tells us that Joseph Patton married Ursula Wilhite on July 25, 1833 in Jefferson County and died October 20, 1888 in Ray County, Missouri. Thomas Cunningham Patton married (1) July 30, 1831 in Jefferson County to Susannah Carney, and married (2) Feb 14, 1861 in Washington County, Arkansas to Lucinda Reed (Olivia's line). Thomas died January 12, 1892 in Parker County, Texas. Elizabeth Patton married Jesse Jones on Aug 28, 1838. William Patton married (1) Rebecca Parker on Aug 28, 1838 in Jefferson County and (2) Mary A. Phillips on Aug 7, 1862 in Andrew County, Missouri. William died July 31, 1897 in Andrew County, Missouri.



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