• General Notes

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  Pruitt Missing pieces from the family history puzzle can make family research f rustrating.  Through Ardis Phillips Rasperger we have recently filled in two mi ssing pieces in our family puzzle. Two daughters of Charles and Sarah Powell, R hoda and Mary Ann (Polly), married in Mercer County and shortly thereafter disa ppeared from all Kentucky records.  Rhoda married George Cole March 11, 1790 an d Mary Ann married Fields Prewitt November 13, 1797.  Since we found no George Cole nor Fields Prewitt on the 1810 census for Mercer County we have always ass umed the sisters and their families probably left Kentucky together.  When Ardi s told us Fields and Mary Ann Prewitt settled in Illinois we decided to look fo r George Cole there also and found the sisters together as we expected. Land re cords in Bond County, Illinois indicate Fields Prewitt, Jr. and his father Fiel ds Prewitt, Sr. moved to Illinois about 1807.  This was the same time Charles P owell, Sr. and Sarah Powell separated.  When Sarah accused Charles of threateni ng to sell his land and leave the state with his slaves, maybe he was thinking of going to Illinois with his daughters. Fields Prewitt, Jr. (the name is now s pelled Pruitt) was a son of Fields Prewtt, Sr. and Mary Burke.   They settled f irst in Bond County, Illinois and later Morgan County, Illinois.  The know chil dren of this couple are: 1. Sarah (Sallie) b. Nov. 20, 1799 mar. John Sample ca . 1817 Bond Co. Ill. 2. Patsy b. May 19, 1810 mar. Lowery Hoskins 1829 3. David D. mar. Sarah McDaniels 1829, Ill. 4. Nancy mar. Daniel Boothley 1830, Ill. 5. Fields mar. 1 Mary Ann ca. 1840 in Tx., mar. 2 Rhoda Barker ca. 1855 John and Sallie Sample were parents of fourteen children, all born in Morgan County near Jacksonville.  They were Southern Baptists and quite active in the Church. Fie lds Prewitt is listed on the 1818 census of Bond County with two white males ov er 21 and nine other white inhabitants.  In 1820 he is in Morgan County with on e male over 21, two males under 21, and five females.  His son-in-law, John Sam ples is listed with one male over 21, two males under 21, and two females.  Geo rge Cole with one male over 21, two males under 21, five females, and one slave is shown close by. Robert Cole, surely George's and Rhoda's son, is listed rig ht after George with one male over 21 and one female. In 1830 Fields and David Prewitt are both shown in Morgan County on page 128 of the census, John Samples and Robert Cole are both on page 72, Joseph Cole is on page 71, and George, Ch arles, and William Cole are all on page 79.  Stephen and Elijah Cole are also l isted. A. F. Prewitt is found on the 1840 Morgan County census with a male and female both 60-70, and I would assume this to be Fields and Mary Ann.  Robert C ole also appears on this census.  There is no trace of Fields or Mary Ann Prewi tt or Robert and Rhoda Coleon the 1850 Morgan County census, so we assume all f our died ca. 1840-1850. I was pleased to see on the 1850 census that these two sisters had children still living next to each other.  House # 561 is Charles S amples, eldest child of John and Sallie; House # 562 is Robert Cole, probably R hoda's first son; and House # 563 is John and Sallie Sample. I do not know any more about the fate of Rhoda's children, but the children of Fields and Sallie Prewitt seem to leave Morgan County one by one after 1850.  David Prewitt repor tedly went to Adams County, Illinois. Ardis reports her line of descent from Fi elds Prewitt as follows: James Monroe Sample & Rufina Hamilton; Mary Isabel Sam ple & James House; Addie House & Charles Phillips; Ardis J. Phillips.  She goes on to say, My grandparents, James & Mary House came to Jackson County, MO in 1 883 and both died here.  I have three children, ten grandchildren and nineteen great- grandchildren so I have lots of reasons to find all I can about our ance stors. With this information about the fate of Mary Ann and Rhoda we come close r to a complete picture of the family of Charles

Details of Mary Ann Polly's family with Fields Prewitt