JANET'S JOTTINGS
There is an OBITUARY CENSUS for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880. The following information is from these census for Western NC:
1850 Buncombe Co., NC
pg 3 L. Plemmons' Infant still born February. (May have been the child of Lewis & Elizabeth)
Mary Plemmons, age 63, married, born in NC. Died June 1849 of Dropsy. She had been sick for 3 months. ( She was Mary Bailey, the wife of Andrew M Plemmons).
1860 Madison Co., NC
pg 92 James M Plemmons, age 5 months, died in August 1859 of a cough.
(May have been the son of Andrew J and Elizabeth Woody.)
Buncombe Co., NC
pg 4 Eliza Plemmons, age 1 month, died in August 1859 of Hooping cough.
( She may have been the daughter of J I and Sarah Elizabeth)
pg 5 Clarissa Plemmons, age 2 months, died in July 1859 of Hooping cough.
( She may have been the daughter of John & Nancy)
Ignatius Plemmons, age 43, married, died Oct 1859 of inflamation of the lungs. He had been sick for 6 months.
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In 1835, the poll book for the 12th Congressional District on 13 August 1835, an election was held for congress. In this book, there are some Plemons/Plemmons named. They had to vote in the area where they lived.
Haywood County was quite large at that time. The 8 voting places were from Beaverdam on the East near the Buncombe Co. line to the west at Cherokee. I will list the voting place locations and tell you of the Plemmons.
1. Waynesville
2. Elijah Deaver's home (E. Fork of Pigeon, Hwy NC 215, area near Lake Logan and across the Mt. to the East.
3. Caney Fork (Jackson Co., near Brass Town, near Tuckasefee River.)
4. Beaverdam (northeast of I-40 near Buncombe Co. line)
5. Crabtree (north of I-40 on NC 209)
6. Jonathan's Creek (north of Lake Junaluska, NC 276 connecting to I-40)
7. Shoal Creek (in Jackson Co. near Swain Co. line on US 441 at Cherokee)
8. Scotts Creek (Jackson Co. side of Balsam Gap doing down US 74/23 toward Sylvia)
Four of these precincts were in today's Jackson Co., west of current Haywood Co. This is mountain country, some Mts. between 5 & 6,000 ft. Passes were used to go from one valley to another. It was in the valleys that the people lived, on rolling land near water ways.
What is interesting for us is that in the Shoal Creek precinct, 5 Plemmons lived and voted. This is more that 60 miles away from Leicester at Asheville, where we think of the Plemons/Plemmons family at this time in history! In this rough country, 10 miles could be a good days travel.
The age for a voter had to be 21, so these men had to be born before August 1815. The names were Peter Plemmons, Thomas Plemmons, John Plemmons, Samuel Plemmons and Henry Plemmons. Another name in connection with the John & Cecelia Plemons was William Carroll. Yet these names are not in the census for either 1830 or 1840 of Haywood Co. They talk about leaving people out of the census records, tis' not new. I think these were the younger generation of that time. Perhaps, they had farms there to qualify them to vote in that election and not in Buncombe Co. where they may have lived, as well, where the Plemons/Plemmons were in the census for 1830 and 1840.
Look on a NC map for these locations to see how scattered the polling places were. In this election in Buncombe Co., the Turkey Creek Precinct, which took in Leicester, the following voted with the
variations of spelling by the registor. They spelled the way a person said a name to make it legal.
J. Plemoms, P. Phlemon, Peter Phlemon, A. Flemon (Andrew's name was sometimes spelled this way, but there is no commection to the Flemming or Flemon families,) and William Phlemon.
In Macon Co., in the Valley River Precinct, the following men voted; Thomas Plemmons and James Plemmons. For whatever reasons not all the eligible men did not vote. Still true.
Janet
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