William Wesley Gilreath 
William Wesley was born on January 12th, 1824 in Whitley County,KY. William Wesley's father was Benjamin Jones Gilreath and his mother was Mary "Polly" Moore. His paternal grandparents were John Gilreath and Johannah Jones. He had four brothers and six sisters, named John Lewis, Benjamin Perry , Jr., Gideon, James L., Hannah, Anna, Elizabeth, Martha, Mary and Susannah. He died at the age of 61 on May 13th, 1885 in Pulaski County,KY. He was buried in Old King Cemetery,Pleasamt Run,KY.General Notes
Married in the home of his bride, Sarah Jane. William and Sarah lived in Wayne County, KY. This couple is found living next door to Sarah's parents in Wayne Co. on the 1850 census. The 1870 census had them in Whitley County, KY. The 1880 census listed William in Marsh Creek, Whitely County, KY.
William served the Union during the Civil War as a Private, Company A, East Tennessee National Guard. He enlisted at Chitwood, TN on September 6, 1863 and served at the Seige of Knoxville, TN. He was mustered out of service on December 14, 1863 at Clinton, TN.
William was granted 54 acres in Whitley County in 1852. He served as Private in the Union Army with Company "A" East Tennessee National Guard (Scott County, TN) from Sept 6 to Dec 14, 1863. The unit was activated for "60 days" to aid in the defense of Knoxville but probably saw no action. William died on May 13, 1885 and is buried in the "Gilreath" Cemetery in Pulaski County, Ky. Sarah is last listed on the 1900 census in Whitley County living with her son-in-law Joseph and daughter Julia Smith. To date no grave marker for Sarah has been found although unmarked grave sites are located on both sides of William.
Children of William and Sarah as found on various census records are:
John S Susan E James Granville
Mary E William Elijah Thomas Sylvester
George Washington Hannah G Julia Smith
(2nd marriage - Cleb Stephens)
Benjamin's will leaves the majority of his estate to 2 sons-in-law with the remaining children to receive one dollar each. William (and Elizabeth) Kidd along with John S (and Martha) Davis were recipients of the largest portion. John Davis was named as the executor while William Kidd was one of the two witnesses for Benjamin's will which bore only his mark (X).
The remaining children were listed as:
John S Anna Manning
Hannah Watkins Susannah Stephens
William Wesley Benjamin Perr
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.1665 in Aberdeen,Scotland
- b.1695 in VA d. in Bute County,NC
- b.~ 1730 in Granville County,NC d.06 May 1795 in Newberry County,SC
- b.~ 1750 in Granville County,NC d.19 Dec 1802 in Wilkes County,NC
- b.~ 1710 in Virginia Statehood 1788 d.1801 in Nash County,North Carolina Formed 1777 From Edgecombe County
- b.~ 1732 in Nash County,North Carolina Formed 1777 From Edgecombe County
- b.~ 1710 d.1801
- b.1731 in Cedars,Edgecombe County,North Carolina d.13 Jan 1788 in Greenville,South Carolina
- b.1707
- b.1741 in Virginia Statehood 1788
- b.1719
- b.1785 in Wilkes County,NC d.03 Sep 1864 in Whitley County,KY
- b.~ 1750 in Wilkes County,NC d.1825 in Wilkes County,NC
- b.12 Jan 1824 in Whitley County,KY d.13 May 1885 in Pulaski County,KY
- b.1794 in VA d.~ 1865 in Whitely County,KY
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‌William Wesley and Sarah Jane were married in a religious ceremony on October 5th, 1848 in Wayne County,KY. They had five sons and five daughters, named John Samuel, George Washington, William Elijah, James Granville, Thomas Sylvester, Mary E., Susan E., Martha A., Hannah G. and Julia.
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Children
John Samuel Gilreath
John Samuel was born on August 17th, 1851 in Wayne,KY. He died at the age of 63 on September 5th, 1914 in Pineknot,Whitley County,KY. He was buried in King Cemetery,McCreary County,KY.
William Elijah Gilreath
William Elijah was born on February 6th, 1865 in Pine Knott,McCreary County,KY. He died at the age of 57 on June 6th, 1922 in Mannford,Creek County,OK.
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