Barbara Breedlove Rollins' Family Files

THE LOVING FAMILY WITH RELATED HARGROVE LINE

A.)   John LOVING of Lovingston, Virginia.

The most authoritative source of information about the LOVINGS, other than the original documents and extensive independent research, is the book The LOVING Family in America, 1705-1981 by Carl and May READ. The introductory paragraphs of that book are quoted here at length:

The hard facts about John LOVING of Lovingston are scant. His place of birth may have been England, but it is more likely that he was born in Virginia, possibly in King and Queen County. The year was 1705, a fact generally accepted by most genealogists. Names of his parents are unknown. A persistent legend that he was married to Susanna LOMAX, while unproved, continues to make the rounds and surface in little family histories all over the nation. Proof has never been found to confirm or deny this tale. A LOMAX history written at the turn of the century mentions a Susanna LOMAX born 11 September 1710 at Port Tobago, daughter of John LOMAX. It mentions not even one LOVING in all its entirety. Susanna is said by some to have died of a congenital heart disease at age thirteen and this ailment appears to have been hereditary, causing many of the LOMAX family to die in youth or early adulthood.

John LOVING had three children, Keziah, born about 1737, John, Junior, born about 1739 and William, born about 1741. These dates will be contested by some and they are given here only as a rough guide. Some say William was the elder of the two boys, based on an entry in court records dealing with settlement of the estate of their father. What is important here is to examine these vague statistics. If John LOVING was born in 1705, he was 32 years old when his first child, Keziah, was born. It was unusual for a man to wait that long to get married. The custom was for a man to marry at age 21 or as near that age as he possibly could, in order to rear a family to help him run his farm. John either wasted ten good years, or he was married first to a woman who bore him no children. This unresolved question leaves room to speculate on the Susanna LOMAX story. It is in such a hiatus that all family legends are spawned....

Among the earliest records naming John LOVING is a land purchase dated 7 August 1758 in Albemarle County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, page 55. This states that John REID sells to John LOVING 100 acres for 21 pounds 10 shillings, the land being located on Verdiman's Thoroughfare adjacent to that of William WRIGHT, Harmer and King Co....

...[I]n Deed Book A, ... page 49, is found an entry that has baffled researchers for a very long time. It records a purchase: John FIDLER alias LOVING and wife, Sarah, Amherst County, to Valentine HALL of Amherst County... Small Ivy Island is mentioned and also 240 acres that had been patented to John FIDLER, alias LOVING, on 2 June 1760. John signed his papers but Sarah was able only to make her mark....

To go back to that entry calling our subject John FIDLER alias LOVING, it is not as sinister as it first sounds. The word "alias" has a criminal connotation today, but in the language of that period it merely meant "also known as" and we wonder, of course, why he was known by two names. Some say such entries indicated a man born out of wedlock and this may very well be true. John could have been known in his childhood as John FIDLER and later he could have chosen to be known as John LOVING, choosing, perhaps, the name of his natural father. Amherst County Deed Book F carries an entry dated 1786 which says Thomas LOVING of Powhatan County, Virginia, "is an uncle of William LOVING and John LOVING, Jr."

A search for the FIDLERs would surely be fruitful in this problem, but time has not permitted that. One entry in the records of Albemarle County tells us that James FIDLER and John KEY were involved in litigation in the year 1746. FIDLERs were among the early settlers, but few records of their family have been found. An entry in land records says that John FIDLER patented land in "Albemarle, (now Amherst) County" in 1760. Was this our John LOVING, or a cousin, uncle or brother? Or his father?

The little town of Lovingston, Virginia was named for John LOVING, who was a respected citizen and land holder. Legend says the land for the court house was donated by John LOVING and this may be true, but the history of Nelson County says the court house was al- ready in existence in 1764, when John LOVING leased the lands around the court house from Lunsford LOMAX. That does not disprove the legend, of course. John may have had some land holdings there in addition to that he leased from LOMAX. County records show that court was often held in the home of Henry KEY until the court house was built, but those records examined by the editors do not mention the donor of the land the court house was built upon.

A loan arranged between John LOVING and Alexander McCAUL of Henrico County is found in Deed Book A, on page 302, Amherst County. McCAUL, a factor for George KIPPEN and Company of Glasgow, Scotland, merchants, loaned John 189 pounds 10 shillings. As collateral, John LOVING put up some of his land holdings: 400 acres in Spotsylvania County, patented to him in 1756; 400 acres in Amherst County; and 200 acres in Lunenberg (now Halifax) County, which he had acquired in August 1759. He also gave as collateral four of his slaves. Mention is made in this entry of an additional tract in Spotsylvania which was not a part of the collateral offered.

In May 1764 John gave a slave girl to each of his sons. To John he gave Hannah and to William he gave a girl named Fanny. (See Amherst County Deed Book A, page 214.)

In 1769 John sold 101 acres of land to his son, William LOVING, said land being located on branches of Rucker's Run in the County of Amherst. (Deed Book B, page 247, dated 1 May 1769.) The entry reads "John LOVING and his wife Sarah" and again, John signed the papers and Sarah did not.... Witnesses to this land transaction were John LOVING, Junior, William NEVILL and Wm. HANSBROUGH. In this one entry are mentioned all of John's children except Keziah, whose husband, William HANSBROUGH, is represented. But Sarah, the wife, remains a mystery. Her maiden name is not known, and we are not certain she was the mother of Keziah, William and John.

The early court records tell us there was a man named John LOVING and that he had a wife named Sarah and three children. He lived in what is now Nelson County and he owned considerable land in several counties of Virginia. His father may have been James LOVING of King and Queen County, or he may have been a man named FIDLER. Or was his mother's maiden name FIDLER? He seems to have had a brother, Thomas LOVING of Powhatan County. There may have been a sister, or sister-in-law, Mary ISHAM LOVING of King and Queen County. Amherst County records say that Mary LOVING was sister to John LOVING, Senior, but terms like sister, brother, cousin were often used carelessly by court clerks. Beyond establishing the time and place of his residence in Virginia, we actually know very little about the real man, John LOVING. What color was his hair? Did he have blue eyes or brown? Was he tall or short, fat or thin? Was he amiable and well- liked? It is not likely that anyone can tell us these things about him.

One clear fact has come out of the screening of old papers and records, and that is the year of his death. For a long time he was always said to have died in 1769. This error, probably written in a little family history somewhere, has been copied without question and accepted as truth, but it now seems clear that John died in 1785 or 1786. Mrs. Josephine WASSON of Birmingham, Alabama, who has studied the LOVING lineage carefully, says John is recorded in Deed Book D, page 43, Amherst County, 20 January 1773, swearing to pay 17 pounds and 10 shillings to his son-in-law, William HANSBROUGH. Witnesses were John LOVING, Jr., and William LOVING. Will Book #3, page 1, (Amherst County) shows the appointment of William LOVING as Administrator of the estate of John LOVING, Senior. Custom was to appoint the eldest son to this duty. The appointment was made in 1786, so it is reasonable to assume that John LOVING was about 80 years old when he died. Burial was probably in the Lovingston area, but it is doubtful that his grave can be found today. [Source]

The daughter of John LOVING, as stated, was Keziah LOVING who married William HANSBROUGH. She was born about 1737 and married in 1754 or 1755. They had ten children, who are listed with their children in the READ book. Keziah's husband had patented lands in Albemarle County in 1760 and in Amherst County in June 1765. He died in 1779 and she was named Executrix of his estate. The will was probated in September 1779. She survived her husband by 31 years and died in Nelson County November 27, 1820. A genealogist researching this line is Peggy Fusselman.

John LOVING, Jr. is also described extensively in the READ book, and further discussion of him will not be offered here.

While the line will not be traced here, one descendant of interest to West Texans was Oliver LOVING, for whom Loving County, Texas, was named and who was an early cattle rancher who took cattle to the fort at Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the process laying out the Loving Trail and exploring much of the western part of Texas.

John LOVING's son William LOVING was our ancestor.

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B.)   William LOVING and wife Elizabeth Beverley HARGROVE.

William LOVING was born Goochland County, Virginia in 1740 or 1741. An entry in the Bible of Samuel LOVING, his son, notes that William was born September 14, 1740. William married Elizabeth Beverley HARGROVE, September 21, 1763 in Amherst County, Virginia. Elizabeth was born in 1742 and died May 31, 1808 in Amherst County. It is thought that Elizabeth's mother was a BEVERLEY and that her middle name was given her to honor her mother. This was a common custom of that time. The BEVERLEY family was among the first in Virginia, dating from Major Robert BEVERLEY (1641-1687) and the surname is prominent in Virginia history, as is the surname HARGROVE.

William was a land owner, farmer, and at one time served as deputy sheriff of Amherst County. He attained the rank of Captain in the militia, serving as commissary (supply) officer for that county. During the Revolution, he served by procuring much needed new recruits and foodstuff, horses and feeds for the fighting forces. The infant government of these United States had limited resources of cash and material and only a very tiny military establishment. The militia and the draftees carried the burden of that war, defeating a much better trained, better clothed, better fed army.

William and John, his brother, established their homes in Lovingston, just a half mile apart, with John on the north side of town and William on the south.

William died on February 20, 1792 in Amherst County, at the age of 52 years. He left thirteen children, most of whom married and had families. His will, drawn up in June 1791, mentions each of the thirteen, and names his wife as Executrix along with sons William and John as Executors.[Source] His lands went to his sons--to William, the land purchased from Dabney MINOR; to John, the land bought from William BIBB; to Joseph, the land purchased from Marble STONE in Fluvanna County; to Samuel, the land purchased of Charles STEWART and John DePRIEST, a tract of 20 acres and one of 136 acres; to son James, "the land and plantation whereon I now live, also all the land I possess adjoining thereto except (that) given to my son Samuel..." [Source]

Children of William LOVING and wife Elizabeth Beverley HARGROVE were:

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C.)   Joseph LOVING and wife Rosa Berryman TALIAFERRO.

Joseph LOVING, the sixth child of William LOVING and wife Elizabeth Beverley HARGROVE, was born in June of 1791. He married Rosa (or Rose) Berryman TALIAFERRO December 18, 1797, in Amherst County, Virginia. Rosa was born January 21, 1783, in Amherst County, Virginia, the daughter of Col. Charles TALIAFERRO and his wife Isabella McCULLOUGH. Rosa died in 1872, in Prairie County, Arkansas, and is buried in Des Arc Cemetery.

Joseph LOVING, a captain in the Army during the War of 1812, was seriously wounded in action against the British when General ROSE captured the nation's capital. Joseph was evacuated from Washington, D.C., to his home in Lovingston, Virginia, where he died in a few days. His widow moved the family to Tennessee about 1820, but the exact date of the move to Arkansas is not known.

While there is perhaps some uncertainty that this is our ancestor, there is a much stronger case that he is. The book THE LOVING FAMILY IN AMERICA shows a daughter of Joseph LOVING and wife Rosa Berryman TALIAFERRO named Isabella. However, this source indicates that she married a "Mr. RENCLEW" and that nothing else is known about her. I share the belief of Alice JACKSON who states:

About the possible parentage of Isabella LOVING. It is my belief that she was the daughter of Joseph LOVING and Rosa (Rose) Berryman TALIAFERRO. In the book The LOVING Family in America, by Carl and May READ ... they are listed (as I have found in other sources) as having a daughter Isabella who married a Mr. RENCLEW. I have been unable to find a source for the "Mr. RENCLEW" and strongly doubt it.... My belief is based on the following: Aunt Dora told me her grandparents were John McKENDREE and Isabella LOVING and thought that Isabella's mother was a TALIAFERRO. She always claimed we were part Italian and that was the source. The census indicates both John McKENDREE and Rosa LOVING lived in Haywood County, Tennessee, in 1840, had moved to Fayette County by 1850. The family repeated the name Rosa and Isabell several times. Rosa LOVING had loaned money to John McKENDREE, evidenced by the probate of his estate. I feel he had been her son in law and she was helping her grandchildren by helping him. [Source]

Rosa Berryman TALIAFERRO LOVING died in Prairie County, Arkansas, and was buried in Des Arc Cemetery, where our family lived. The families knew each other since we can trace the fact that Martha LOVING married Wilson Capers McKENDREE, a son of John A. McKENDREE and Isabella LOVING McKENDREE. This would make first cousins marrying, which was not uncommon.

The transaction which Alice JACKSON spoke of as evidencing the relationship is found in Book T, Page 62, Deed Records of Prairie County, Arkansas, and reads:

Thos. McCARLEY, Adm. Est. J. A. McKENDREE, Decd. To A. J. LOVING

To all person to whom these presents shall come I Thomas McCARLEY of the County of Prairie in the State of Arkansas as administrator of the goods and Estate which were of John A. McKENDREE late of said County of Prairie and state of Arkansas intestate, deceased send Greeting, Whereas heretofore on the 24th day of January AD 1867 an agreement was made between the said intestate and A. J. LOVING of the County of Haywood in the State of Tennessee whereby the said John A. McKENDREE agreed to sell and convey to the said A. J. LOVING of the following described Real Estate to wit: The South West quarter of Sec. 29 and the East half of the South East quarter and the North West quarter of the South East quarter and the South half of the North East quarter of section 30 all in twp 4 north of Range 5 West and containing three hundred and sixty acres lying and being in the County of Prairie in the State of Arkansas for and in consideration of the sum of $4,000, $2,000 to be paid on the 15th day of Nov. 1867 and the remaining $2,000, $1,000 should be paid upon notes due by the said intestate to Rose LOVING, and that the other $1,000 should be paid to said intestate on the 15th day of Nov. 1868, and whereas the said John A. McKENDREE departed this life before perfecting said sale of land by writing, and whereas the substantial facts of said sale was by petition by this said Administrator represented to the court of Probate for the said County of Prairie praying that said sale of lands be confirmed, and he as administrator as aforesaid be authorized, empowered and licensed to convey the same to the said A. J. LOVING according to the instruction and agreement of his said intestate, and whereas by an order of the said Court of Probate for the County of Prairie made at the April Term thereof 1868, said sale of land was confirmed and this said administrator authorized, empowered and directed to perfect, carry out, and execute all necessary conveyances for the faithful execution of said trade, according to the true intention of the Parties, Now Therefore I Thomas McCARLEY as administrator as aforesaid by virtue of the authority and decree said court and to carry on his part; and in the further consideration of the payment of said $1,000 on said notes due from said intestate to said Rose LOVING, and of the further sum of $1,350 cash in hand paid me; and also in the still further consideration that the said A. J. LOVING has this day executed to me as such administrator as aforesaid, his promissory note for the sum of $1,836.27 due and payable on the 11th day of Feb. 1870 being the balance due on the purchase of said land as herein before described including interest thereon have this day sold and assigned A. J. LOVING his heirs and assigns all the said John A. McKENDREE's right, title, interest and claim, which he had at the time of his death or which may have accrued to his estate since in and to the said abovedescribed land and premises, To have and to hold the same to him the said A. J. LOVING his heirs, and assigns forever in as full and ample a manner as I the said Thomas McCARLEY in my capacity of administrator as aforesaid deed by force and virtue of said decree and authority or license of said court am empowered to convey same.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand as such administrator and affix my seal hereto on this the 6 day of May in the year of our lord 1869.

The children of Joseph LOVING and wife Rosa Berryman TALIAFERRO are as follows:

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