By James R. Henderson

The present paper contains write-ups on the first three generations of the descendants of Edward and Susannah Paris. A second paper which covers the fourth generation of descendants and their children is in preparation. This article stems from a project to document the descendants of Moses Paris, Sr. of Rowan County, North Carolina and from the hope that his origins could be found. It has been a time-consuming effort piecing together scattered clues left by families who are, for the most part, rather poorly documented. With the discovery of Moses’ apprenticeship in Baltimore County, Maryland in 1729 and the likelihood that William Paris of Baltimore and Harford Counties, Maryland was his brother, the effort has been well rewarded. Of necessity, a number of the conclusions presented herein are based on circumstantial evidence. Consequently, qualifiers such as "possibly" or "probably" have been used whenever the conclusions seem less than certain. I encourage anyone who reads this paper to contact me if they have any corrections or additional information. My e-mail addresses are:

Home: sharon@sword.net ; Work: jhenderson@vredenburg.com

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have helped make this paper possible. First, thanks to my immediate family for their support and their assistance with the research. Second, I extend thanks to the numerous Paris family researchers with whom I have corresponded and exchanged information on their several branches of the family. Third, thanks are due to GenForum for making it possible for on-line genealogical researchers to communicate so readily.

1. Edward Paris or Parris, married Susannah Molton, May 6, 1719 in Kent County, Delaware. [Kent Co. DL, Deed Bk F, p.33]. They subsequently moved to Maryland where, on 27 May 1729, they apprenticed three of their children to Thomas Phelps as recorded in Baltimore County, Maryland Deeds [Liber ISK, Folio 13]. These are the only records of Edward and Susannah which have been found to date. The children’s birthdates are given in the apprenticeship deed. Moses was apprenticed to learn carpentry, whereas Tamar and Elizabeth were apprenticed to learn domestic duties. Thomas Phelps, to whom the children were apprenticed, lived on a tract known as Arabia Petrea in what is now Harford County, Maryland.

Children:

2. Moses Paris was born on 18 Feb. 1722. As discussed above, at the age of 7 he was apprenticed by his parents to Thomas Phelps to learn carpentry. In 1754 Moses Paris was recorded as living on part of a tract of land called "Arabia Petrea" in what is now Harford Co., MD [Baltimore Co., MD Debt Book]. Other residents on this tract included Thomas Phelps. Around 1760, Thomas Phelps' son Avinton Phelps moved to Rowan Co., NC. Moses Paris appears in the Rowan Co. records starting in 1765. The association with the Phelps family makes it rather certain that Moses Paris of Rowan Co., NC is the same Moses Paris who was apprenticed in Maryland in 1729.

In the Rowan County court records, Moses "Pearis" appears once as a constable (1769) and a number of times as a road overseer or a jury member. He appears as Moses "Parish" with two tithes on the 1768 Rowan Co. Tax List. The fact that he was listed with two tithes indicates that one of his sons was of age. On 8 April 1769, Moses "Pearis" was the bondsman for the marriage of Keziah "Pearis" and Basil Pinkston. She is undoubtedly his daughter. In 1778 Moses "Pearis" was granted 100 acres of land on Rocky Creek in Rowan Co., which included "the improvement whereon his son Ezekiel now lives." On the 1778 Rowan Co, Tax List Moses Paris, Sr. was listed with 300 acres, Moses Paris, Jr. had 130 acres and James Paris was listed under "Polls", having no acres. In 1779 James "Pearis" claimed an improvement of 50 acres of land on Rocky Creek, but the land was granted to Zachariah Pinkston instead. On 4 May 1785 the Rowan Co. Court exempted Moses Paris from payment of Poll Taxes, indicating that he was either too old to work or had some other disability. Moses was not named on the 1787 Rowan Co. tax list, probably because he was tax-exempt. The last recorded appearance of Moses Paris, Sr. in North Carolina was in the deed records of Iredell Co. when he sold 250 acres on both sides of Rocky Creek to Thomas Milsaps on 20 Aug. 1789 [Iredell Co., NC Deeds, Book B p. 64-65]. (Iredell was formed from Rowan in 1788.). When Thomas Milsaps sold 100 acres on Rocky Creek in 1803 it was described as being "on Rocky Creek, joining Paris’s Mountain".

Moses Paris' known son, Ezekiel, and his two highly probable sons, Moses, Jr. and James Paris all moved to KY by 1789, as they are all listed on the Fayette Co. tax list for that year. Moses, Sr. and his son-in-law Basil Pinkston soon followed them to Kentucky. The Moses Paris who is listed as tax free, next door to Bazil Pinkston on the 1792 Madison Co., KY Tax List, is obviously Moses Paris, Sr.

Unfortunately, no record has been found to date which reveals the name of Moses Paris, Sr.'s wife. She probably died before 1789, because her name does not appear on Moses Paris' 1789 deed. Moses, Sr. himself probably died soon after 1792 since he does not appear on any later tax lists.

Children:

(Possibly others.)

3. William Paris, born about 1727, was probably a son of Edward and Susannah, based on his age, geographical location and the fact that he named children Susanna and Moses. In a Baltimore Co. deed dated 1754 his last name is spelled "Pearis". In 1762 he is named on a list of debts due to the estate of Charles Christie, along with Moses Paris, Thomas Phelps and many others. About 1756 he married Sabina (maiden name unknown, born about 1739). Their ages and those of their first nine children are based on the 1776 Special Census of Harford Co., MD. He moved to Bourbon Co., KY about 1790, where he bought 100 acres from John Hunt and wife Esther on the waters of Hinkston Creek, 19 August 1794. He appears on the tax lists there from 1793 to 1799. He died in 1813, leaving a will which named only his wife and daughter Rebecca.

Children:

4. Moses Paris (Jr.) was born about 1747. He was probably the second tithe charged to Moses, Sr. in 1768 and he appears on the 1778 tax list of Rowan Co., NC as discussed under Moses Paris, Sr. above. He moved to Fayette Co., KY by 1788 where he appears on that year’s tax list and on the 1789 & 1790 Tax Lists. In 1789-1790 he signed two petitions to the Virginia General Assembly, one asking for the formation of a new county from parts of Fayette and Bourbon, the other requesting unrestricted shipping on the Licking River. He seems to have died (or perhaps moved elsewhere) in the early 1790’s, because he does not appear on the tax lists after 1790. It seems possible that his widow may have been the Elizabeth Parris who married Levin Riley in Bourbon Co. in Aug. 1793, but this is not proven. The Moses Paris who signed the marriage bond for Betsy Paris to Daniel Talbott in 1798 was probably Betsy’s brother (#11).

Children:

5. Keziah Paris was born about 1750. She married Bazil Pinkston in Rowan Co., NC, by license dated 8 April 1769. They moved to KY about 1790. He appears on the 1792 Madison Co., KY Tax List next door to Moses Paris, Sr. In 1813 Basil Pinkston was the bondsman for the marriage of Yarby Paris (#19 below) to Sarah Richards in Madison Co. Basil Pinkston died in Madison Co. in 1829, leaving a will which named his children.

Childen (Surname Pinkston):

6. Ezekiel Paris was born about 1752. He was mentioned in a Rowan Co., NC Vacant Land Entry in 1778 as being the son of Moses "Pearis". Based on the 1850 Census for his son Ezekiel, Jr. he may haved lived in South Carolina from about 1780 to 1788. Like his brothers, he moved to KY by 1789. He was in Fayette Co. on the 1789 & 1790 Tax Lists and subsequently in Madison Co. on the 1793-1794 and 1796-1797 Tax Lists. In 1795 he appeared on the Campbell Co. Tax List and in 1799 he was on the Cumberland Co., KY Tax List. He lived in Wayne Co. (formed from part of Cumberland in 1800) between 1800 and 1802 and returned to Madison Co. by 1806. The name of his first wife is unknown. He apparently married, second, Jane Hellard in Madison Co. on 3 Jan. 1806. When Clay Co. was formed from Madison Co. 1807 he was living there, appearing on the 1807 and later Clay Co. Tax Lists until 1820. He is also listed in the Clay Co., KY 1820 Census. He apparently died in the 1820’s because he does not appear in the 1830 Census.

Children:

7. James Paris was born about 1754. He seems to have been married twice, based on the testimony of his daughter Nancy Benham for his widow Mary’s 1846 application for a Revolutionary War Pension. His probable first wife’s identity is unknown. His second wife (and widow) was Polly, who may have been a daughter of Theophilus Morgan. Her possible identity is based on the following: James Paris was listed on the 1787 Rowan Co., NC tax list next door to Theophilus Morgan and he named a son Morgan Paris. On the 1787 Rowan Co. Tax List, James Paris was listed with 1 male over 21 and under 60, 3 males under 21 or over 60, and 2 females. He moved to KY with his brothers by 1789. He appeared on the Madison Co. Tax Lists from 1793 to 1797. About 1799 he moved to Overton Co., TN where he remained until shortly before 1820. By 1820 he and most of his family had settled in Ralls Co., Missouri where he died in 1821. The records of the division of his real estate by his heirs are found in the Ralls Co., MO Deed Records [Deed Book B, p. 244; Book H, p. 26; and Book I, p. 141]. His widow Polly died in Monroe Co., MO sometime between 1846 and 1850.

Children by (probable) first wife:

8. William Paris, Jr. was born about 1768. He moved to KY with his parents about 1790. He may be the William Paris who married Elizabeth Ford in Madison Co. on 19 Apr. 1801. The bondsman for this marriage was Jacob Burgin, who was also the bondsman for his brother Samuel’s marriage. ( The Burgin family also came from the St. George’s Parish area of Harford Co., MD). If so, he subsequently married Mary (maiden name unknown), who was his widow. He moved to Washington Co., KY by 1800, where he is listed on the 1800 tax list. He had no children. His 1814 will [Washington Co., KY Will Book B, p. 285] divided his property between his wife, his brothers and his sisters.

9. Moses Paris was born about 1773. He moved to KY with his parents about 1790. He is undoubtedly the Moses who married Mary Paris (#4.ii, above) by bond dated 18 Oct 1798 in Bourbon Co., KY. In 1803 he sued Moses Paris, Jr. (undoubtedly # 11, above) for "Trespass upon the case", relating to the value of a horse and 5 yards of cloth [Bourbon Co. Circuit Court, Civil Case #155 ]. It is possible that these items were due to this Moses Paris’ wife Mary from the estate of her father, Moses Paris, Sr. (#4 above). It has been claimed that this Moses Paris was the one who married Mary Nickerson, but the Madison Co. deeds and tax lists prove that Mary Nickerson’s husband was Ezekiel’s son Moses (#14). Probably before 1810, but certainly prior to 1815 Moses Paris and family moved to Clinton Co., OH. The proof that Moses Paris of Clinton Co., OH is the same person as William Paris Sr.’s son Moses born in MD in 1773 comes from a deed recorded in Washington Co., KY. In this deed dated 8 April 1815 Moses Paris "of Clinton County, Ohio" sells his share of his brother William’s estate to William’s widow for $70.00 [Washington Co., KY Deed Book D, p.525]. Moses appears in the 1820 and 1830 Federal Censuses for Clinton Co., but is not listed in the 1840 Census. It would appear that he died in the intervening decade because there is a Mary Parris / Paris listed in Clinton Co., OH in the 1840 and 1850 Censuses who is evidently his widow. In the 1850 Census she is recorded as Mary Paris, 72 years old, born in North Carolina.

Children:

(Possibly other children)

10. Samuel Paris was born on 30 March 1777 in Harford Co., MD. He moved to KY with his parents about 1790. He appears on tax lists of Bourbon Co., KY between 1799 and 1805. On 18 Feb 1802, he married Nancy Ann Mings, daughter of Joseph Mings & Margaret Butrum, in Madison Co, KY. By the date of the 1810 Census he was living in Washington Co., KY. Samuel died in Clarkson, Grayson Co., KY on 20 Mar 1875 and was buried in the Paris Family Cemetery there. His occupation was that of surveyor and draftsman. [Information on Samuel and Nancy’s children was provided by Mary Chism].

Children: