When I begin a trek into the branches of a particular family in my tree, I  immerse myself into the whole pool of them, and swim around until I'm completely drenched by everything I can find out about them, until I know them like  neighbors I lived next to for 20 years. 

 I'm haven't gone that far  with the Falkner clan. Not yet. But Sarah seems to be a key that could help open a door for me. I've traced 13 of my DNA matches with the name Falkner or Faulkner or Falkener in their family trees back to Sarah. Four    matches lead back to her daughter, Eliza Webb Chewing, who married John C. Chewing.  This is after disregarding three other matches who have what I refer to as "cross-pollination". They have other families in their tree that I do as well, like the Carpenters, the Broadways and the Morton's. 

The thing about these Chewnings and the other descendants of Sarah compared to my matches to the descendants of Jonathan Faulkner, who removed to Tennessee and then Marshall County, MS, is in the numbers. It's all in the math, baby.

Jonathan is "supposed" to be my 4th Great Grandfather, but he's not, but I'm sure he fits into the family trees somewhere. I didn't even know about Sarah until recently, but it's my belief that she fits into my family tree much more closely than Jonathan. I match with descendants of Jonathan at between 8 and 18 centimorgans on between 1 or 2 segments. Below is an example of how much I match the Webb's, descendants of Sarah, who was born a Falkner.

Sarah's descendants share between 45 to 58 cm's over 3 to 5 segments. With this particular match, I share 47 cm's over 3 segments. Unweighted shared DNA of 54 cm's and the longest segment is 34 cm's. 

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, centimorgans, or cm's for short, are units of recombinant frequency that's used to measure genetic distance. We're talking distance along a chromosome and how often recombination occurs. 

Segments are just blocks of DNA. Think Legos. Simply put, the more centimorgans and segments you share with another person, the more closely related you're likely to be. But I'm not I'm not here to give a lesson on a subject I have the most minimal knowledge of. Suffice to say that I appear to be more closely related to Sarah than to Jonathan. 

Sarah Suzanna Falkner was born on September 4, 1804, according to her tombstone.  Based on available information online and research done by her direct descendants, Sarah was the daughter of Asa Faulkner the first, sometimes seen as Asa Elijah Faulkner, who died about 1806, or at least before 1820. Her mother was Elizabeth Huntley, 

I have a corncucopia of questions when looking at what's out there that I have found so far. First and foremost is where did they get the year of death for Asa Faulkner? He didn't make out a will and I've not yet found an estate record. Before I go into that, however, I have to comb through a pile of info that I had already put aside.

This is what I do know about this particular Asa. 

He appears in two census records in Anson County. The first in 1790, where he is head of  a household of 7 people, one male over 16, presumably himself, three under 16 and 3 total females. Other Faulkners in this census are Elizabeth, Nathan, Archibald and two Francis Faulkners. Francis may be a repeat, as the households are built exactly alike. The two closest to Asa in the listing are Elizabeth and Nathan. Elizabeth would be assumed to be a widow.

In 1800, Asa is found listed right next to John and Isaac Stanfield, and I recall when reading up about the Francis Faulkner line that the Stanfields were a closely connected family to them back East before their relocation to Anson in Warren and Cumberland Counties. He's also next to Rowland and Jason Rushing. There's also a Leonard Webb not far away.

Asa appears to head an aging household. He's over 45 and has two young males, presumably sons, between the ages of 16 and 25 in the home. This would mean they were born between 1775 and 1784. He has three females in his household, and they are all over 45. One could presumably be his wife. The other two, possibly unmarried sisters or sisters-in-law. One might have been the Elizabeth he lived near ten years prior, she might have been a relative.

The story on Sarah, is that she was the daughter of Asa and Elizabeth Huntley. Elizabeth was a young enough widow, that she remarried John Webb after the death of Asa and had several more children. All of the children attributed to Asa and Elizabeth Huntley were born after 1800, starting with Asa II, born in 1802. Therefore, in this census, they were not included, they were not born yet. 

It's quite possible that Asa was widowed this year or the next and quite quickly took a young bride, but who were his older children and where did they go?

The other Faulkners in Anson County in 1800 were Job, Nathan, Jonathan and Francis.

Nathan is probably the same Nathan that was there in 1790. He's older, over 45 and appears to have a wife over 45. There are 5 boys in the home, one over 15, 2 between 10 and 15 and two under 10. There's one female between 26 and 44 and one under 10, in addition to the one over 45. This may have been a widowed daughter and some of the younger children may have been hers. Or, the older female could have been a grandmother or mother-in-law and the younger adult female and second wife. I don't know, but Nathan is the oldest Faulkner in Anson County in 1800.

Jonathan is a newlywed. There's only two people in his household, himself, between 16 and 25 and a female of the same age. 

Job has a family of 4, himself, a young man between 16 and 25, a female of the same age, a small boy and one slave.

The Francis in this census is not the Francis in the 1790 census. This one is young like Jonathan and Job. He's between 16 and 25 with an assumed wife in the same age group, and two little boys under 10. This Francis lives near several of  the Mays families and also right next to David and Nancy Hildreth. 

My John had dealings and involvement with the Mays and also lived right near the main center of the David Hildreth Jr. family and I believe there is a genetic Hildreth connection somewhere in my tree and it seems to be connected to the Falkners.

Nathan, Jonathan and Job are listed very close to each other. There's only one listing between Nathan and Jonathan, that of Betsy Franklin. It would make sense to me that these three are very closely related, Jonathan and Job even being the sons of Nathan. But how do they link up in other folks findings and where did they go?

Jonathan is my 'supposed to be' ancestor, but he is not, however, he's related somehow, so where do I go from here?

Back to Sarah Suzanna Falkner, born in 1804. She married William Webb, son of John Webb and his first wife, Barbara Jones. Now, here comes the 'eek factor'. After Asa Falkner the first died, his widow, Elizabeth Huntley Falkner, remarried to John Webb, father of William Webb. So, basically, Susan married her stepbrother. Not basically, Susan actually married her stepbrother. Can you imagine? It was a different time, for real. But where were they in 1810, the next census.

By 1810, most of the  Falkners had died, or migrated away. There were only two families left in Anson County, and on of them was  that of an Elizabeth. Could this be the same Elizabeth that was in the 1790 census? No! This is a young woman. She's only between the ages of 16 to 25, meaning she was born between 1785 and 1794. She has three little kids, one girl and two boys, all under 10.

A different look at the 1810 census will explain who she is. Elizabeth Faulkner, now a young widow, is living right next to her father, Robert Huntley.  

So by 1810, Asa Falkiner the first has died, or, the husband of Elizabeth Huntley Falkner, and she is living next to her parents with her three children, two sons and her daughter, Sarah. She will marry John Webb, so where was he in 1810?

In 1810, it looks like John Webb's first wife, Barbara Jones Webb, was still alive. He's between 26 and 44, probably closer to the 44, as his older children are already in their teens, and he has a female in the home in the same age group, that was probably Barbara.

There's a William Webb living next to John. This would not be his son William as, this one appears to be over 45, older than John.

There's one other Faulkner in 1810 left in Anson County, and that's a John Falkner.

He's between 26 and 44, meaning he was born between 1766 and 1784. There's a woman, a wife, probably, in the same age group. There are 6 young children, 4 boys and 2 girls, all under 16. Who was this John? He's not my John, who was either a newborn or not yet born. Could he have been one of the older sons of Asa?

John and Elizabeth don't live really close to each other, either, here. John is near some Crawfords and a John Buchanan. Elizabeth, besides being near her father, is near Pleasant Mays and  William Buchanan. These names are important in more ways than one.

John Faulkner, as "John", only shows up in one census, but there are some named Falkners that don't show up in a census at all, Joseph, Benjamin, Warren, Elijah, and a few others. However, he did recieve a land grant.

 No 1497, File number 5380 John Faulkner was granted 150 acres beginning at a hickory on the Featherbed Branch, Land Patent Book 106 Page 7 and shows as Anson County Grant 1492. This grant joined the property line of Benjamin Buchanon and was dated July 26, 1799.

But this wasn't the only grant he was mentioned in, and these records clear up another question. I've seen several people merge Elijah or Elisha Faulner and Asa Faulkner into one person, as Asa Elijah Faulkner. However, as you are about to see, they were not the same person.

On April 1, 1801 Elisha Faulkner was granted 500 acres adjoining Pleasant Mays on Morris Branch. (File 5560 Enrty no. 926). A year later, on March 12, 1802, Elisha acquired another 500 acres on the head drains of Morris Branch, that began at Pleasant Mays corner and adjoined the properties of John 'Forkner', Asa 'Forkner', William Wisdom and Chiles. Chain Carriers were Job 'Forkner' and Francis Wisdom, who due to the Will of William Wisdom, I know was his son.

In November of the same year, Elisha bought another 500 acres in Anson and finally in Book 110 p 234, he was granted anoght 500 acres on the drains of Morris's Branch adjoining John 'Forkner', Bohannan (asa Buchanon), Asa 'Forkner', Wisdom and Chiles. 

So Elisha and Asa were not the same person, and John, Asa and Elisha were neighbors with the same name, Job, who does appear in a census, was a chain carrier. This was a family, but the family of who and how and what happened to them.

No Falkners appear in the 1820 census, but I have a theory on that, as there were a group of neighbors, including John Falkner, who appear with connectied properties, and none of them show up in the 1820 census. Either their page was lost or the neighborhood was skipped, and that happened. 

In 1830, there was just Asa. The above portion of the census record shows Asa living near the two Stanfields, John and Isaac. The Stanfield had a generationally old connection to the Faulkners. Above them is Thomas Wisdom and James Chiles. Both names are linked as owning properties adjoining Nathan, Jonathan, John and Asa, with mentions of Archibald, Warren and Job in the mix as well. 

But back to Sarah, whom I've deemed a key. Her life was spent as the wife of Billy Webb in the community of Gulledge Township in Anson County, where they had several children.

In 1850, which is the first census the family shows up in, Billy is shown as a farmer with real estate valued at $800.  The couple is in their 40's and were married by about 1833, and so should have shown up in the 1840 census, at least. I wonder if they had originally migrated to another state with some relatives, only to decide to return. They are shown with 9 of their 11 children, as their two oldest daugthers, Mollie and Sarah, are already married and Billy and Sarah  already have grandchildren.

Martha Caroline "Mollie" Webb married James R. "Jim" Leonard in 1842, and they are living in Meltonsville.

Sarah Elizabeth "Bettie" Webb has married a member of the founding family of their neighborhood, Gulledges, named Elisha or Elijah and has a three year old son already. 

The question sitll knaws at me, where were they in 1840?

They may have returned due to this document. After Elizabeth Huntley Falkner Webb, Sarah's mother, passed away in the early 1830's, John Webb, Billy's father, took a third wife, a widow named Lucretia Smith Pearce.

They would have only one child together, a son named Wilson Thompson Webb, who was born around 1833. This being because Lucretia was at the end of her child-bearting years and John didn't live too many years after their marriage. And there she is above, in the 1830 census before her marriage to John.

By 1860, only the 4 youngest children were left in the home, with Frances, now 30. It is noted in family history that Francis, a daughter, was handicapped in some manner.

In 1870, only unmarried daughters, Francis, Ellen and Susan are at home ant the Webbs are now in their 60's. Twelve year old Harriet Webb is noted as a servant and was African-American. This was the first census after the slaves were freed. Harriet honed her housekeeping skills and moved to Salisbury, in Rowan County. where she had a son named Rowan.

The 1880 census would be their last, as the Webbs were now well into their 70's, which was quite an achievement back then will all of the ailments and primitive medicine. Sarah was listed as suffering from paralysis, so had probably had a stroke. Frances was listed as having a dislocated ankle. I don't know if this was the source of her handicap or something that had just occured. Henry Chewning, son of their daughter, Eliza, was helping them on the farm. Billy's son William Dorsey or Dossie "W. D." Webb, lived next to them, and no doubt he had his family helped out as well. Billy had lost two sons, Thomas and Robert, in the Civil War.

Sarah was the first of  the couple to pass on. She suffered her paralysis until January of 1881 and was buried in the Webb family cemetery.

Last child to leave home, as Frances never did, was Ellen, who married Ben Gulledge in 1883.

In 1885, it was noted that William "Billy" Webb was ailing, but recovering. Billy was noted as an "Esquire", meaning he had been a respected citizen and his son, W. D. was a County Commissioner at this time.

Three years later, William Webb passed away on February 15, 1888 at the age of  85. His obituary was recorded in The Biblical Recorder, out of Raleigh, North Carolina. 

He was also buried in the Webb Family Cemetery with his wife, and several of his children. The Webb Family Cemetery is an abandoned cemetery in Gulledge Township, several miles south of Wadesboro and not far from the state line. It lies in the woods near the South Fork of Jones Creek in the general vicinity of where the Faulkner family first settled in the 1770's when arriving to Anson from Counties East.

The 11 children of William Webb and Sarah S. Faulkner Webb were:

1) Martha Caroline "Mollie" Webb1825-1913 Married James R. "Jim" Leonard. They were the parents of 10 children and would eventually settle in the Lanes Creek area of neighboring Union County.

Both lived to be in their 90's and died in 1913, within three months of each other. They were buried in the Leonard Family Cemetery in Union County, NC.

2) Thomas Huntley Webb (1926 -1863) Married Elizabeth Gulledge, 5 children born between 1853 and 1863. 

Thomas served in the North Carolina Second Infantry, Company F. He was killed on September 14, 1863, at South Mountain, Maryland. It is unknown if or where he was interred. His body was not returned home. His youngest son, Robert Lee Webb, was born in April, just 5 months before his father's death.

3) Sarah Elizabetyh "Bettie" Webb(1826-1912) Married Elisha Gulledge. 9 children. Lived in the Deep Creek area attended Deep Creek Baptist Church. Outlived her husband by a few decades and spent those with her son, J. Thomas Gulledge. Both are buried at the Elisha Gulledge Cemetery in Deep Creek.

4) Frances Webb (1830-1890) Never Married. Said to have been born blind. Buried at the Webb Family Cemmetery.

5) William Dawson "W. D." aka "Dossey" Webb (1832-1911) Married Rebecca C. Gulledge. 5 children.

W. D. was the most dominant, prominant and best documented  of the Webb children. He held multiple county offices and spent his life in Anson County, in the Deep Creek  Community. He served in the Civil War in the company known as the Pee Dee Wildcats, was deeply involved in the church andis buried at the cemetery then called the Captain Cook Gulledge Cememtery and now known as the Gulledge-Webb Cemetery.

6) Eliza Susan "Liza" Webb (1834-1915) Married John C. Chewning. 7 children. Lived primarily inGulledges Twonship. Buried at the Webb Family Cememtery.

7) Elijah Webb (1836-1856) Buried Webb Cemetery. Only appears in the 1850 census.

8) Susan Webb (1838-1888) Married Caswell D Moore. One child, Nellie, buried at the Webb Family Cemetery.

9) Robert H. Webb (1841-1862) Enlisted in the Civil War. Died at age 21 at Wilmington, NC. Never married.

His body was shipped from Wilmington to Cheraw, SC, where the family picked it up. From information on Find-A-Grave, he was buired next to a large stump, which has since rotted away. His unmarked grave lies somewhere in the woods in the Webb Family Cemetery.

10) Ellen Webb (1842-1887) Second Wife of Benjamin Franklin Gulledge, Sr. She was in her fourties when she married.

Died in childbirth. Ellen and her infant are buried in the Webb Family Cemetery.

11) Mary Ann Webb (1845-1911) Married James R. Horne. 7 children. Moved to Cleveland County, Arkansas. Buried at the Niven-Watt Cememtery.

I've made contact with a number of descendants of Mary Ann Webb Horne whom I share dna with.

Among the 42 Grandchildren of Sarah and William Webb, there were 5 Williams, (for Billy), 3 Sarah's, 4 Elijah's, 3 Roberts and 4 Thomas's. Wilson as a middle name popped up alot too, which was the maiden name of one of their Great Grandmothers. Nothing unusual, all common names , save Dawson aka Dossie.

My DNA suggests I could be related to Sarah Suzanne Falkner Webb, but where did John get his uncommn names for his children?