Daniel R. Musser1
b. 22 January 1823, d. 11 March 1896
| Father | George Musser2 |
The following narrative was written and shared by Patricia (Craig) Johnson who has extensively researched the Fields family (contact information at end of report) :
Elizabeth Fields (1818 - 1855) Daniel Musser (1823 - 1896) Elizabeth Fields was born in 1818, the fourth child of William (1) and Elizabeth (Lynch) Fields. One of two daughters of their eight children, this child had for years been the nameless enigma of the family. Census schedules before 1850, when only heads of households were named, showed two young females in the William (1) Fields dwelling. One of these appeared in the later enumerations as daughter, Sarah Ann. We had only two clues about the identity of the other girl. One was an 1847 marriage recorded in Abingdon, Washington County VA for an Elizabeth Fields and Daniel Musser. The other was an 1850 census listing for a coach maker, Daniel Musser, living in Abingdon with wife, Elizabeth, and child, Sarah E. Neither of these entries could prove this Elizabeth to be the unknown female in the William (1) and Elizabeth (Lynch) Fields family, but since we found no other options we followed Daniel Musser. There were complications in even doing that. The persons who recorded the names in the early census schedules used the archaic form of the double "ss", which, when handwritten looks somewhat like "fs" or "ps". Modern transcribers, unaware of this peculiarity, indexed MUSSER as MUPER, so he did not show up in the index. Once this was resolved we stayed with Daniel Musser. In 1860, Daniel Musser, a wheelwright, was boarding with a cabinet maker, George Galloway, in Abingdon. Sarah E. was not with him nor did we find her with any other family. Elizabeth Musser does not appear in any records and, although no grave site was located, she was presumed to be dead. The 1870 census schedule showed Daniel, a carpenter, with a new wife, "Mary Ann", and with children, Wm. H. Musser-18 years old and Mary Jane Musser-age 16. Twenty-one year old Sarah E, with husband, Isaac Debusk, also a carpenter, was living in the Musser home. These three children, born before Daniel's marriage to Mary Ann, were thought to belong to first wife Elizabeth. Since Mary Jane was born in 1854, a tentative death date was established for Elizabeth as "after 1854". Finding these two other children in the 1870 census prompted another look at the 1860 census. At that time, Wm. H. Musser, age 8, and Mary Jane Musser, age 6, were in Wythe Co VA, adjoining Washington Co, living in the home of Peter and Catherine Dutton. In the neighborhood were many Musser and Dutton families. We then learned that Daniel was originally from Wythe County so we hoped that these were his loving relatives caring for Elizabeth's children. We did not find Sarah E. Deeds signed between 1853 and 1860 were found concerning the inheritance of undivided property by the children of William (1). The three Musser children were included in the distribution proving that Elizabeth Musser was daughter of William (1) and Elizabeth (Lynch) Fields. Then another Fields researcher, who also descends from William (1), came across the following death notice in the March 29, 1855 issue of the Nashville Christian Advocate, a publication which reported news items from over a wide area in the south. Elizabeth Mercer, wife of Daniel Mercer; daughter of William and Elizabeth Fields; died Abingdon VA, Jan 17, 1855 in her 37th year. All the data in this notice fit the profile for Elizabeth except the name Mercer. Pronounced with a soft southern drawl, however, Musser and Mercer sound remarkably similar. While it was unusable as proof, it did provide a tentative birth date, 1818, and we added it to our file on the elusive Elizabeth. It was not until the will of Jacob Fields surfaced that Elizabeth assumed her rightful place as fourth child in the family of William (1). Jacob, seventh child of William (1) and Elizabeth Lynch, never married and left his estate to various relatives including "one third to the three children of my second sister, Elizabeth Musser." We could now with certainty report that Elizabeth's siblings were William, Edward, Sarah Ann, James, Daniel, Jacob, and David. There our information stopped. We did pursue Daniel with new wife, Mary Ann (Harrow) Crickmore, and the Musser children in the census, but found nothing more on Elizabeth Fields Musser. Then came the break for which all researchers pray. The newsletter of the Historical Society of Washington Co VA in Abingdon reported that a small volume, Remembering Milton Heiskell Musser, Sr. had been donated by the author, Ann Musser Howard, to the HSWC collection. It was a long shot, but I felt that this person could be connected in some way to Elizabeth. The librarian agreed to approach Ann Howard about contacting me. In a few days Ann called from her home in Atlanta, delighted to have found someone who knew about the family of her great-grandmother Elizabeth Fields Musser, because she knew nothing at all. She then amazed me by saying not only did she have the bible of her grandfather, William Henry Musser, but also that of Daniel Musser, her great-grandfather and his wife, Elizabeth Fields. She mailed copies of the family records from both those bibles. After nearly twenty years of surmising about Elizabeth, there, right in front of our eyes, in spidery writing, was her date of birth, January 12, 1818; date of marriage, March 30, 1847; date of death, Jan 17, 1855. From this, surely, we could make some assumptions about her life. When their father, William (1) died in January 1829, William, Elizabeth's oldest brother, was not yet eighteen. Edward was about fifteen. Sarah Ann was fourteen, young Elizabeth - eleven, James - nine, Daniel - seven, Jacob - five, and their mother, Elizabeth, was pregnant with David. William and Edward, no doubt, knew enough about laying brick and running the brick-making operation to produce some income. Elizabeth had always provided a home for the apprentice brick masons, very young boys sent by their parents or guardians to learn a trade, so she merely kept on with her contribution to the family business. The girls, Elizabeth and Sarah Ann, probably had to take part in the cooking and food preparation plus the myriad household tasks required to run this busy household. In addition to keeping a garden, laundry and sewing had to be done; perhaps even spinning and weaving of cloth. The younger boys helped in the brick yard, and so learned the brick mason trade at an early age. It appears that this situation continued for a number of years and the business prospered. Then on March 30, 1847, twenty-nine year old Elizabeth married Daniel Musser, a carpenter, some five years younger than she, and moved into her own home. The 1850 census reveals that Sarah Ann, Jacob and David were still living with their widowed mother, Elizabeth, along with five young apprentices and brick masons. Also in the household with them was Jane Lynch- age forty, Elizabeth's spinster sister. At that time Elizabeth owned three adult slaves. As already mentioned, the 1850 census for Daniel and Elizabeth Musser lists them in Abingdon with two year old Sarah E. Elizabeth (Fields) Musser died January 17, 1855. The cause of her death was not recorded and no gravesite has been found. She was survived by Daniel and three children. See: Children of Elizabeth Fields and Daniel Musser. Daniel married widow Mary Ann (Harrow) Crickmore on October 10, 1860. No children were born to them. He was the owner of or a partner in a carriage shop. On August 25, 1863, Daniel, age 40, enlisted at Abingdon as a private in the VA Light Artillery Regiment, 13th Battalion, Co C. and served in it until he received a disability discharge on May 28, 1864. No details are known about the disability. Note that Daniel did not join the Confederate States Army (CSA) until August 1863. This was probably due to the fact that the conscription law enacted in early 1861 was never actively carried out. As the vast resources of supplies and manpower of the industrialized Federal states relentlessly ground down the agricultural south in this third year of the war, the Confederacy was compelled to belatedly enforce the conscription law. By the first of August 1863, many of the older, well-qualified men who had not volunteered were being drawn upon to bolster the waning strenghth of the south. At the war's end Daniel became a contractor who built homes and commercial buildings over a wide area around Abingdon. With his son, William, he operated the construction firm, Daniel Musser & Son. He died March 11, 1896. Mary Ann died May 5, 1901. They are buried together in Abingdon Sinking Spring Cemetery. Children of Elizabeth Fields and Daniel Musser Sarah Elizabeth (Lizzie) Musser born August 9, 1849 married Isaac Debusk, a carpenter, in 1869. Isaac was the son of Ira DeBusk and Eunice DeBusk (maiden name Debusk). Isaac died August 24, 1879 and is buried in Widener's Valley Cemetery near Damascus. Lizzie married again and is recorded in the Musser Bible as Lizzie Debusk married Davis Widner March 21, 1895. Lizzie and Davis lived in Damascus, Washington Co until her death in May 13, 1926. She is said to be buried in the Mock Cemetery near Damascus, but is not recorded in High on a Windy Hill, the "bible" of Washington County Cemetery data. Davis died in Richmond City VA on August 31, 1926. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery. Marker shows his name full name, Davis Alderson Widener, and CSA service - Co I, 13th Battalion, VA Reserves. Children of Sarah Elizabeth Musser and Isaac DeBusk: Sallie Floid Debusk born 1870, married Edward L. Cover about 1904 in Bristol, Washington Co VA. They had daughter Mildred Roberta Cover, born 1905. Sallie died in Asheville NC when Mildred was very young. According to her mother, Lizzie Musser Debusk Widener, who lived in Damascus, she brought Sallie's body back to Washington County for burial, but no gravesite has been identified. Mildred lived with her grandmother when she was a child but is thought to have spent time later with her father. Edward and Mildred are buried in the Mock Cemetery near Damascus, Washington Co. Their markers read: E. L. Cover - 1865 - 1932 Mildred R. Cover - 1905 - 1925 - daughter Martha Anna Debusk - born Dec 1, 1872, married William Holmes Hockett in Washington County VA on October 25, 1894. (This Hockett family is entered as Hockette in all census enumerations until 1930) In 1900 and 1910 they were living in Saltville, Washington Co. William, a farmer, was later a miller in a flour mill. The 1910 census shows Martha as having borne six children with all six living. They were Mary E. 14, Isaac P. 12, Sallie M. 10, Grace L. 8, *Benjamin J, 5, and Ralph N. 2. Sometime after the census was taken on April 20th 1910, Pocahantas R. was born. William died Nov. 27, 1910. He is buried in Wolfe Cemetery. 1920 found widow Martha A. Hockette farming in Saltville with six of her seven children still at home. Isaac was a salesman in a grocery store and Grace was teaching school. Mary E. was not in the household. There is a 1930 census enumeration in Bristol, Sullivan Co TN which shows 57 year-old Anna M. Hockett with daughter, Roberta P. Hockett, who is 19. I believe this is Martha Anna Debusk Hockett and daughter, Roberta Pocahantas. (Note: sister Sallie Floid Debusk Cover had daughter Mildred Roberta.) No further search on this family. Isaac William Debusk - born Sep 30, 1876. On June 1, 1897, he married Nettie E. Turner in Russell County VA. In 1900 they were still in Russell Co with James E. age 2 , where Isaac was a bookkeeper. Isaac's cousin, Daniel Musser, 25, son of W. H. Musser was boarding with them. In 1910 in Abingdon, Washington Co, Nettie reported that she had borne 5 children with 4 still living: Jenneta b. 1903, Janis b. 1906, Willie F. (daughter) b. 1908, and Ira John b. 1910. Baby James from Russell Co was no longer with them. 1920 and 1930 found Isaac's family in Norfolk (Independent City), Norfolk, VA. Isaac Woodrow had been added to the family in 1913 and Daniel J. in 1915. William Henry Musser (W. H.) William Henry born September 7, 1851 married Elizabeth (Betty) Cummings in 1873. They had eleven children, six of whom were still living in 1900. The living were Daniel 25, Cherry 21, Milton Heiskell 18, George 14, Sophia 8, and Katherine 5. Betty died in Sep 1901 at age 46. She is buried in Abingdon in Sinking Spring Cemetery. In December 1902, W. H. married widow, Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Smith) Satterfield, daughter of Joseph M. and Jane Smith of Wise Co VA. Lizzie brought her two daughters, Anna Satterfield-age 8 and Georgia Satterfield-age 5, into the Musser household. W. H. and Lizzie had four children. The fourth child, born April 27, 1913, lived only a few hours. Six days later, on May 3rd, Lizzie died. W. H. continued to live in the home with various other family members. Sometime before 1920 W. H. married again. This short-lived union ended in divorce. We have no facts about this marriage. A highly respected contractor, W. H had a long and successful career until his death in 1924. W. H. is buried in Abingdon in Sinking Spring Cemetery next to first wife, Betty, with second wife, Lizzie, on his other side. The Musser family home at 152 East Valley Street was built by Daniel Musser around 1879. It is said to have started out as a small "box house" and over time evolved into its present Victorian gingerbread style. The original structure is still somewhere inside, disguised by modern building materials, but the wood shingle roof is visible in the attic. After Daniel died in 1896, W. H. and his family lived there until W. H.'s death in 1924. Milton Heiskell Musser, Sr., son of W. H. and first wife, Betty, married Anna Satterfield, daughter of W. H.'s second wife Lizzie Smith Satterfield in January 1914. Milton was also a building contractor. Although he traveled to other places to build, frequently taking his family with him, the house on Valley Street was his Abingdon home. His daughter, Ann Musser Howard, our angel with the Musser bible records, was born there and lived there until her marriage in 1951 to Sam Howard. Milton died in 1953 and his wife, Anna, continued to live in her beloved home until her death in 1987 at age 93. She is buried with Milton at Abingdon in Knollkreg Memorial Cemetery. The house then passed out of the Musser family but remains a charming presence on Valley Street. Mary Jane Musser born March 18, 1854, married wagon maker, David H. Dutton, on March 31, 1874. Their two children, Katherine M. born in 1876 and Daniel M. in 1878, were living with them in 1880 in Glade Spring, Washington Co VA. Mary Jane died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1888 and is buried in Abingdon in Sinking Spring Cemetery. David married again in 1889 to Mary E. Thompson. They had two sons, William, born 1891, and Charles, 1893. David's brother, Joseph Peter Dutton, had gone to Illinois about 1876 and was farming in Schuyler County. David must have followed his brother to Illinois because in 1900 he and his new family were living in neighboring Adams County IL where David was a wagon maker. David's first son, Daniel M, now 22, was farming with his uncle Joseph in Schuyler Co. David's second wife died in 1907 and in 1908, he married a third time to widow Mary A. (Carpenter) Quisenbery. By 1910 he was back in Glade Spring VA with Mary A., her daughter, Vannie(?) Quisenbery and his son, Charles Dutton, 18. In 1920 David and Mary A. were living alone in Glade Spring. David died in 1929 and is buried in the old Baptist Cemetery near Glade Spring VA with second wife, Mary E. ******* As we were closing out the meager story about Elizabeth, our companion researcher in NC, *Carol Mancuso, came up with the transcript of a case in the Virginia Supreme Court in 1919 which involved the custody of a child. Excerpts from proceedings: Maternal grandmother of 13 year old girl held, in habeas corpus proceedings, entitled to her custody as against her father, awarded access merely, who had deserted his wife, the child's mother, during the child's infancy, and never thereafter supported them, but had left such obligation to be met by the grandmother; his intention being to place the girl with his sister. The above mentioned grandmother was Sarah Elizabeth (Musser) Debusk Widener, oldest daughter of Elizabeth Fields and Daniel Musser. The court ruled in her favor. We felt that some of her testimony and the remarks of the judge added a dimension to this narrative not found elsewhere. Mrs. Widener further testifies that she is the daughter of Daniel Musser, of Abingdon, Va., and the sister of Wm. H. Musser; that her first husband was Isaac De Busk, of Washington County, and that her second husband, to whom she has been married for 20 years or more, is Davis Widener; that there are no children as a result of this union. It was agreed by counsel, inasmuch as the court was personally acquainted with the father and husband of Mrs. Widener, that no evidence would be introduced as to their moral, religious, and financial standing. This being conceded to be good, Mrs. Widener further stated that she had reared three sets of children; that her mother died leaving a house full of young children, and that upon her, as the elder daughter, fell the responsibility of their rearing; that by her former husband, Isaac De Busk, she was the mother of three children; that since her marriage to Mr. Widener, who was a widower with several children, upon her had fallen the responsibility of the care and rearing of his children; that she had been a consistent member of the Methodist Church for 50 years, and that, while she was unable to leave as a heritage, either to her own children now living or to the grandchild Mildred, worldly goods of any large amount, yet she had the consolation of knowing that of those who had been entrusted to her care not a single one had ever gone astray. Inasmuch as to the court was left the consideration of the standing and character of Mrs. Widener, I deem it but proper to state that the state of facts shows that for womanly virtue, Christian character, and motherly devotion Mrs. Widener is without a superior, in my opinion. Her father, Daniel M. Musser, was one of the most esteemed citizens the town of Abingdon has ever produced, a man who had lived to the ripe old age of 70-odd years, was a consistent member of the Methodist Church for 60 years, and against whom, so far as the agreed facts show and so far as I know of my own knowledge, naught of evil was ever spoken. He was a successful contractor and builder, and there are many evidences of his constructive work in the town of Abingdon, which bear testimony to the fact that he was a laborer who wrought well and honestly. Though he was the architect and builder of the majority of homes and buildings in the town, the court records fail to disclose any evidence of any litigation whatsoever in regard to his many contracts. The brother of Mrs. Widener, W. H. Musser, has followed closely in the footsteps of his father. So firmly has his reputation for honesty been established that in business dealings with his fellow men it is seldom that a bond is required, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his contract. As an evidence of what I mean, but recently the board of supervisors of Washington county has awarded him the contract to remodel and repair the county courthouse, calling for an expenditure of several thousands of dollars, and this without requiring him to execute bond for its performance. For 100 years or more the ancestors of Mrs. Widener have lived and dwelt in the county of Washington, and not once has there ever been a charge against any male member of the family of a violation of the laws of the land, nor against any female member of the family for any departure from the strict paths of morality. As stated by Mrs. Widener, she does not belong to the set known as the society set, but the heritage which she will leave to those who come after her, that 'no one who has ever been entrusted to her care has ever gone astray" is a heritage any one should be proud to leave behind. Petitioner, Edward L. Cover, states that he wished to place his child in a different environment. The evidence shows that the child's associates are the children of Henry Diggs. Those who are acquainted with the Diggses, Grays, and Bakers, who are the pioneer families of Washington County, could not desire more suitable companions for their children than the members of this most distinguished family. The Fields family is not mentioned by name in paragraph four: For 100 years or more the ancestors of Mrs. Widener have lived and dwelt in the county of Washington and not once has there ever been a charge against any male member of the family of a violation of the laws of the land, nor against any female member of the family for any departure from the strict paths of morality. The judge was clearly making a general statement in referring to the ancestors of Sarah Elizabeth Musser Widener in Washington County going back more than 100 years. The Fields family, by default, has to be included in that. *Carol Lindsay Mancuso is the gr-gr-gr-granddaughter of William (1) Fields through the line of his oldest son, William. Her gr-grandfather, Thomas Edward Boyd Fields - called TEB, is the youngest brother of John Davidson (J. D.) Fields - patriarch of the Sutton County TX Fields family. Patricia Craig Johnson 8600 Skyline Dr. Box 1132, Dallas TX 75243 (email link in endnotes) |
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Family | Elizabeth Fields b. 12 Jan 1818, d. 17 Jan 1855 | |
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| Last Edited | 22 Mar 2013 |
Citations
- [S2439] Patricia Craig Johnson, "Daniel Musser-Elizabeth Fields" family group sheet, (e-mail address). Mrs. Johnson cites the Daniel Musser Bible.
- [S2439] Patricia Craig Johnson, "Daniel Musser-Elizabeth Fields" family group sheet, (e-mail address).
- [S2548] Nanci C. King, Places In Time Vol. I, p. 45. Photo used with permission of the author.