The Dove family and others

There is a book out there called Virginia Wills before 1799 A Complete Abstract Register of all Names.
And when they say abstract, they mean abstract.  It gives the name of the deceased, probate date, maybe date of will, wife, if any, and children's name.  Not exactly everything you would want to read, but it something anyway.
Campbell County Will Book   December 6, 1786
Robert Baber

Wife, Jane
sons:  William, John, James  daughters Jane and Mary Perrin
and Mary Perrin's children  Charles Perrin, Robert Perrin

So we know that Robert Baber's place of residence was most likely Campbell County, Virginia.  That would be where to search.

I found at the Tenessee Archives a book   Sullivan County Tennessee marriages from 1863 to 1893

Sallie Dove married James McMinnis December 21, 1881.
John Dove married Susan A. Large January 5, 1887
These are probably James and Almira's children.

I have been searching in the Pittsylvania County, Virginia records also.
Pittsylvania County Marriages  Page 1
William Abston and Sarah Dove  Daughter of George Dove  married May 5, 1826
Booker Keesee and Jane Dove Daughter of George Dove married February 21, 1814 page 89
William Roach and Peggy Dove Daughter of George Dove married January 28, 1813 page 132
George Dove and Caty Bruce  Surety James Bruce.  Married December 17, 1804
This George Dove could possibly be the father of Sarah, but I don't think he could be the father of Jane and Peggy unless he was married to someone else before he married Caty Bruce.

I believe that there was a George Dove, William Dove and a Leonard Dove living in Pittsylvania County  at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Tradition use to be that the oldest son was named after their grandfather.  Now we know that James Dove was the father of our George Dove that married Cornelia Ward.  And it looks like George Dove was the oldest child.  Could this George Dove be the grandfather of George.  Of course, this will need further investigation.
Kingsport; Past, Present and Future
Sullivan County (Images of America: Tennessee)

Dove Family Genealogy

Sometimes we don't realize how time flies by.  I couldn't believe it when I realized that I had let a week go by without writing anything.  I haven't done that in quite a while.  However, I did make a short visit to the Tennessee State Archives so I wasn't totally neglecting my relatives even if they are passed caring.

I looked in the book Pittsylvania Marriages from 1767 until 1850 and found that James Dove and Almira Murphy were married on May 30, 1840.  She was the daughter of Stephen Murphy.  Surety: Joseph Barber and they were married by Joel T. Adams.

Now so what you say, but this has so much information.  First of all, they were married by Joel T. Adams.  He was a baptist preacher.  His father was Robert Adams and his mother was Mary Terrell Adams.  One of his brothers was John Lynch Adams.  Now if you have been reading my other posts, you will know that John Lynch Adams was married to Martha Walden.. They had a daughter by the name of Elizabeth Mumford Adams.  She married William Ward.  They had four children of which one was by the name of Cornelia who married Littleton Walden and then George Dove.  Joel T. Adams was Cornelia Ward's great uncle. So James Dove and Almira Murphy were married by Joel T. Adams.  Later their son would marry his great niece.

Surety was by Joseph Baber and if I can find proof this Joseph Baber was probably her uncle.  Lucy Baber was possibly the daughter of William Baber and Candace Walden.


The Civil War in Loudoun County, Virginia: A History of Hard Times
History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia
History and comprehensive description of Loudoun County Virginia

The Dove Family James R. Dove

Well, I have been working on George's family and have found a little bit so far.

In the 1880 census records, District 4, Sullivan County, Tn I have found George's father and mother James R. Dove and Almira Dove.  The Census was taken on June 18, 1880.

They are listed  as
James R. Dove 64  Farmer born in Virginia
Almira Dove 57 wife born in Virginia
Salle Dove 34 Daughter born in Virginia
John Dove 32 son born in Virginia
James Dove 26 born in Virginia

So in 1850 he was living in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and by 1880 he was in Sullivan County, TN which is not unusual.  I cannot find James Dove or Almira Dove in Find A Grave.

I have been trying to find information on the Dove family at other sources.  I found on Dove family genealogy forum site that Joseph and Mary Dove lived in Charles City, MD  in 1743.  Their children were Leonard, Amily, James, William, Elijah and Ann.  William is the revolutionary war sailor/soldier that ended up in Pittsylvania County.

I couldn't find a Dove in the tithe records that were provided in the pittsylvania county web site.  I looked in the death records that provided.  I found the following Dove information.

Pamelia Dove died May 17, 1853 at the age of 42 of Dropsy.  I looked Dropsy up and it has to do with Kidney or heart failure.  She was the daughter of William R. and Ann Irby and her husband was William Dove, Jr.

In the 1855 death records a 15 day old child died.  The parents were Elisha and Salley Dove.  The death was reported by a neighbor Thomas Bobbitt.

Hartwell I. Dove died on October 10, 1855  at Reed Creek.  He was killed.  He was 13 years 2 months and 24 days old.  He was the son of William and Pamelia Dove.


Dove Armorial History with Coat of Arms on Elegant 11 x 17 Parchment Paper
Sullivan County (Images of America: Tennessee)Sullivan County (Images of America: Tennessee)
Historic Sullivan, a History of Sullivan County, Tennessee with Brief BiographieHistoric Sullivan, a History of Sullivan County, Tennessee with Brief Biographie
Families and History of Sullivan County, Tennessee : Volume One : 1779 - 1992

George W. Dove

I have had a few people ask me about the Dove family that lived in Pittsylvania County.  They are connected with my family through Cornelia Victoria Ward.  She married George W. Dove on September 19, 1872.  He was 30 and she was 34.  They were married at the house in the picture above.  It was a part of her father's land.
The marriage license states that his parents are James and Almira Dove.

In the 1850 Federal Census, George Dove was eight years old.  He was living in the household of James Dove and Almira Dove was the wife.  So I am absolutely certain that this is his census.  The census was taken in the Northern District of Pittsylvania County.
James Dove age 35
Almira Dove age 26
George Dove age 8
Lucy Dove age 7
Sally Dove age 4
Catherine Dove age 3
John Dove age 1.

Now it is important to notice that George's father was an overseer.  If you have been reading my Ward blogs, you will know that Cornelia's family were wealthy before the War Between the States and after the War many of the families were penniless, but not landless.  So Cornelia had land in Pittsylvania County and was probably still considered a member of the gentry.  George was the son of an overseer.  With that occupation whether deserved or not comes a connotation of poverty and brutality.  Most overseers were poor white people with the reputation of treating their slaves with brutality to achieve maximum production in the crops.  Whether James Dove was a cruel taskmaster or not is not the question here.  The question is why did Cornelia marry a younger man that was the overseer's son.

So Cornelia marries George Dove in 1872 seven years after the war.  They didn't live in the city so the bachelors were few and far between. Life was hard for a single woman.  And why would George Dove marry an older woman when there were probably women everywhere looking for a husband.  It is my opinion that he was interested in her land.
Between 1872 and 1878 Cornelia had four children, Charles, Sally, Lucy and Rose.  On December 31, 1878, Cornelia dies leaving George Dove with three small children, but in less than a year and a half, he is married to 15 year old girl.  So Cornelia survives the death of her first husband, the death of her brother Robert at Gettysburg and her younger brother William before the War.  She survives the death of one of her children in 1861, survives the war and the aftermath of reconstruction.  She marries George Dove in 1872 and is dead in six years.  When Cornelia dies her inheritance does not go to her husband, but is divided between everyone.  From a story I have been told,  they divided the land by putting names or pieces of property in a hat and each one drew what would go to them.  George was not around at the time and that is another story in itself.  So you can imagine how angry he must have been to have lost out on the homeplace. His life finally ended in an altercation over the land.