Mary Gardner

b. circa 1749/50, d. 4 September 1811
FatherThomas Gardner1,2 d. bef 19 Aug 1760
MotherAnn (?)
Birthcirca 1749/50 Mary Gardner was born circa 1749/50.3,4 
Legatee23 May 1758  Mary's father wrote his will on May 23, 1758, leaving his estate to Mary and her mother Ann. The will was recorded in Augusta County court August 19, 1760.1,2 
Ward18 Feb 1761  Mary's first guardian, Thomas Gardner [probably her father's nephew] was appointed by the court on February 18, 1761 and posted bond on May 19th, 1761.5 
Ward20 Aug 1765 On August 20, 1865, Mary, at age 16, chose John Finley as her guardian.6 
Marriage She married William Moffett, son of John Moffett and Mary Christian, probably in Augusta County, Virginia.7 
Land-Sell5 Jul 1773 On July 5th, 1773, William sold land on Jennings Creek in Augusta County to his brother George. It was part of 400 acres Mary had inherited from her father, but control of it had passed to William upon their marriage.7 
Migration  Around this same time William and Mary left Augusta County and settled on land in what was then known as Fincastle County and which would later become Washington County, Virginia. 
 This was wilderness territory and the settlers were often attacked by Indians who resented the intrusion into lands they had hunted for generations. William joined the local militia which attempted to protect the frontier families. 
Widowed10 Oct 1774 On October 10th, 1774 William and many of his neighbors fought the Shawnee Indians at the Battle of Point Pleasant. William lost his life that day, leaving Mary a widow with three very young children, the youngest of whom William may have never seen.8 
Administ1 Aug 1775 On August 1, 1775 Mary was granted letters of administration to settle William's estate. She was required to post a bond to the Fincastle Court in the amount of 150 pounds, with Robert Trimble and Robert Craig providing surety for her.9,10 
Migration Following William's death Mary took her children and left Washington County for almost two years due to the continued threat of Indian uprisings.8 
Land-Sell30 Sep 1775  Her place of residence during this time is not known, but it is likely she returned to Augusta County. There, in September of 1775 she completed the sale of her inherited lands to William's brother George. Years later some of Mary's descendants would suggest that she signed away the land without understanding the process, but the deed records clarify that she was simply fulfilling a comittment made before William's death.11,12,13 
 When she returned to Washington County it was to a life far different from that which she had known as a young woman. Years later, her great grandson would write, "There she, by the help of the Masons, finally reared her three orphan children. Being an heiress under the colonial system, her education domestically was totally disqualifying for the life of a frontier woman."11 
Tax  Mary appears on Washington County tax rolls from the earliest days of the county, where she was annually charged for four or five horses and cows.14 
Court RecordSep 1792  In September, 1792 Mary appeared in Washington County court and made oath that she was the widow of William Moffet, deceased, who was killed by the Indians in the Battle of the Point in the year 1774. This entitled her to a pension from the state of Virginia which was granted the following month, ironically on Oct. 10th, 1792, exactly 18 years after William's death.8 
  In 1796 Mary's eldest son, John, sold the land he had inherited from his father's estate (and where the family had been living) to his youngest brother, Thomas. The previous year John had purchased another tract slightly to the northwest on the headwaters of Rattle Creek. 
Land-Buy15 Mar 1796 On March 15th, 1796 Mary bought 80 acres of this land from John and his wife Isabella for $200.00. 
Legatee1 Jan 1811 Mary's brother-in-law, George Moffett, remembered her and her children when he wrote his will in 1811... "to my brother William's widow and her children John, Thomas and Mary four hundred dollars equally divided."15 
Will15 Aug 1811 Mary wrote her own will on August 15th, 1811. In it she left her daughter, Mary Ann Gobble, wife of Abraham Gobble, a negro girl named Earme, as well as a saddle, her clothes and $100. She also left each of her grandchildren $3.00. And she left James Fink (relationship not stated) a Dun horse. She instructed that her lands and property be sold and equally divided between her three children: Thomas, John, and Mary Ann.16 
Death4 Sep 1811 Mary died on 4 Sep 1811.17,3 
Burial She was buried in the Moffett Cemetery located on a gently sloping rise on the family farm in Washington County, Virginia.3 
Will-Recd30 Sep 1811  Mary's will was recorded in Washington County court on September 30th, 1811.16 
Probate Recd5 Oct 1811  Mary's possessions were inventoried on October 5th and reported to the court. The total value was estimated at a little over 227 pounds and included a spinning wheel and looking glass, pewter, several beds and quilts, a loom, 2 horses, 7 head of cattle, 12 head of sheep, 7 head of hogs, oats, corn, various farming implements, and 3 Negroes.18 

Research Comment:

It is possible William and Mary had additional children to those listed below. In the late 1800s Dr. John Moffett of Rushville, Indiana corresponded with his aunt Mary Jane Beatty (Davis) Moffett of Carroll County, Illinois. He provided her with a chart listing 6 children for William Moffett and Mary (Gardner) Moffett which included the names George, James and Robert - all followed by the notation "died".

If this is accurate information the 3 children were deceased by the fall of 1774 as Mary later stated in her pension application that she had 3 children at the time of William's death. Numerous documents clearly name her living children as John, Thomas and Mary. This would also mean that Mary had to have married by about age 16 and then given birth to 6 children in a space of 7 or 8 years.

Dr. John Moffett was very interested in the family history and left other writings, not all of which have proved entirely accurate. However, from the age of about 15-23 John lived in close proximity to his grandfather, Capt. John Moffett, who would have been a sibling of the 3 deceased children. Therefore the information should not be discounted.19

Related Links and Images:

Mary's pension application (original held by the Library of Virginia)8
Mary's will
Mary's inventory
Click on the camera icon for larger image. Mary's stone is no longer distinguishable among these 4 old stones
Other interments in Moffett Cemetery
See Mary Jane's Journal for images and text from Mary Jane (Davis) Moffett's journal. In particular see pages 11, 14 and 15 for mention of Mary and to view an image of the chart mentioned above

Family

William Moffett b. abt 1745, d. 10 Oct 1774
Children
Last Edited10 Sep 2013

Citations

  1. [S1274] Thomas Gardner will (recorded 1760), Augusta County, Virginia Will Book 2: 390. The will was written 23 May 1758 and recorded 19 Aug. 1760. Thomas named his wife Ann, and his brother's son, Thomas Gardner, Jr. as his executors. The will, as it was copied by the clerk into the will book, leaves Thomas's estate to his "beloved wife Ann" and "beloved wife Mary."
  2. [S16] Thomas's original will is among the loose papers extant at the Augusta Copy courthouse. It was examined on 13 Oct. 1998 by Daniel R. Stadtfeld ("Shenandoah Valley Genealogical Research", Craigsville VA) who found that the original document states in part...."my beloved wife Ann and my beloved daughter Mary", confirming that the clerk miscopied the phrase into the Will Book. The will is extremely fragile and could not be photocopied.
  3. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 70. Transcribed record states: Mary Moffett, d. 4 Sept, 1811, age 61 (?) (stone badly worn). This cemetery was visited by the author in the Fall of 2000 at which time the writing was no longer visible.
  4. [S330] Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted From the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 3: 203. This record is abstracted from Order Book No. IX, p. 441, dated Aug. 20, 1865, and states: Mary Gardner, aged 16, orphan of Thomas Gardner, chose John Finlay guardian.
  5. [S1272] Thomas Gardner bond as guardian of Mary Gardner (1761), Augusta County, Virginia Will Book 3: 235. Entry dated 18 Feb. 1761; James Bell & Alex Crawford bondsmen (200 pounds).
  6. [S330] Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted From the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 1: 123. This record is abstracted from Order Book No. IX, p. 441, dated Aug. 20, 1865, and states: Mary Gardner, aged 16, orphan of Thomas Gardner, chose John Finley guardian.
  7. [S330] Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted From the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 3: 544. This record was abstracted from Deed Book 21: 188, dated 5 July 1773. The abstract reads: William Moffett, farmer, to George Moffett on Jennings Creek, part of 400 acres patented to Daniel McNare and by him conveyed to Thomas Gardner, now deceased and is since become the property of William Moffett by marrying the daughter of said Gardner who was heir-at-law to said land.
  8. [S754] Virginia Revolutionary War State Pensions, viewed on microfilm at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Microfilm #0029861, file 291, William Moffet soldier, applic by Mary Moffett, widow, 1792, based on William's death at the Battle of Point Pleasant. The text reads:
    "At a Court held for Washington County September 1792...Mrs. Mary Moffett made Oath that she is the widow of William Moffet dec. who was killed by the Indians in the Battle at the Point in the year 1774. Whereupon it is Ordered to be certified that the said Mary Moffet was in indigent circumstances at the time of death of her husband, and having three helpless Orphans the oldest being scarce four years old and the youngest was born in the month of September 1774 and that she was under the necessity of leaving this County near two years, after the death of her husband to escape the danger of the Indians (escaping which) she has resided in this County previous to his death.... ... A Copy Test, Andrew Russell."
  9. [S748] Michael Cook and Betty Cummings Cook, Fincastle & Kentucky Co., VA-KY, p. 288. This abstract is listed under the heading Deeds and Wills Book B, Montgomery Co. which includes a notation that Book B of Montgomery Co. commences in 1773 and includes documents for Fincastle County. The citation is to page 28 of that source: Aug. 1, 1775, bond of Mary Moffett, with Robert Trimble and Robert Craig as sureties, in the penal sum of 150 pounds, as administratrix of the estate of William Moffett, decd. Recorded Aug. 1, 1775.
  10. [S748] Michael Cook and Betty Cummings Cook, Fincastle & Kentucky Co., VA-KY, p. 448. This abstract is cited to Fincastle Co. Order Bk 2, p. 143 (book is noted to be in the possession of the county clerk of Montgomery Co. VA) and states: Mary Moffett granted letters of administration for the estate of William Moffett, dec'd, she having entered bond with sureties.
  11. [S302] Clan Moffat in America Project, "Letter John Moffett, M.D. of Rushville, IN to John Fletcher Moffett of Watertown, NY, dated Nov. 24, 1895."
  12. [S330] Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted From the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 3: 546. This record was abstracted from Deed Book 21: 315, dated 30 Sept. 1775. The abstract reads: Mary Moffett, widow of William Moffett, deceased, late of County of Fincastle, to George Moffett. Mary Moffett, late Mary Gardner, only daughter and heir-at-law of Thomas Gardner, deceased, was seised of tract on Jennings Branch, and during her coverture conveyed the same to George Moffett, and William executed deed to George; now Mary executes deed to George; part of 400 acres patented to Daniel McNare and by him conveyed to Thomas Gardner, 11 Feb. 1745. Teste: George Blackburn, James and Joseph Douglass, Henry Crisswell, James Trimble, John Bierey.
  13. [S881] Augusta Co., Virginia Deed Book 21: 315.
  14. [S1249] Washington Co., Virginia Tax Records 1782-1805.
  15. [S739] George Moffett will (1811), Augusta Co., Virginia, Will Book 11: 34. The will was written 1 Jan 1811 and recorded in court on August 26, 1811. George named his son James and his nephew John M. Estill as his executors. Witnesses were George Crosby, William Young and John A. Shector. The will was very detailed and named an array of family members.
  16. [S730] Washington Co., VA Deed Book B: 308-9. Mary Moffett will, dated 15 Aug. 1811, mentions dau Mary Ann Gobble, wife to Abraham Gobble, and sons Thomas and John. It also mentions James Fink whose relationship is not stated. John Moffett was named executor. The will was witnessed by Charles Pennington, and John and Sarah Mazingo. It was proved in court 30 Sept. 1811.
  17. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p. 14. The journal states, under the heading, "Deaths in Father Moffett's family": "The Grand Mother Mary Moffett died the 4th day of Sept 1811 aged 60 years."
  18. [S730] Washington Co., VA Deed Book B: 350. Mary's estate was appraised by Rbt McCullock, Michael Fleenor, Thomas Jameson and William Wallis. John Moffett was the executor.
  19. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p. 15.