Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Spouses
Birthabout 1790, Cowpen, England
Deathabout 1834, Henrico Co, VA
Marriage26 March 1827, Henrico Co, VA1888
Notes for Mary Lacy
1. Marriage records of Henrico County, Virginia 1782-1853.
Thomas Lawther marries Mary Lacy 26 Mar 1827.
I think Thomas has served his time, gotten his $671, and remarries. Mary Lacy, I am pretty certain, was a widow.
2. 1840 Census Henrico County, Virginia.
The only Lawther in Henrico County is Mary Lawther. Her household includes one female 10-16 and two females 50-60. There are no males.
This, I assume, is the former Mary Lacy and it is more evidence that Thomas died sometime in the 1830“s. But some questions are raised. Where did the younger males of 1830 go? Who is the new older female and who is this out-of-the-blue young female? Does she belong to the other older female? Theophilus would be about 20 years old and may well be off working somewhere but does not separately appear anywhere in Virginia as head of household in his own right.
3. Henrico County Deed Book. There are a series of entries in the deed books of Henrico County in 1850 and 1851 and then again in 1856 referencing Mary Lawther. They are hard to follow precisely but the gist of it seems to be that Ernest Portewig of Henrico County and wife Deloris seem to owe several hundred dollars to Mary Lawther of Petersburg, VA and to guarantee payment they deed her a piece of property of about 93 acres in Henrico and then later after the payment is made, she deeds the property back to them. Mary is represented in these transactions by David E Lacy.
Whatever the details of why he owed her money, which I have no idea about, the significance of this is that we now know there is a tie between Mary Lacy Lawther of Henrico, and Mary Lawther of Petersburg. I think this really establishes as well as it will ever be established that Thomas Lawther is the father of Theophilus. Mary Lacy Lawther is the link.
Thomas Lawther marries Mary Lacy 26 Mar 1827.
I think Thomas has served his time, gotten his $671, and remarries. Mary Lacy, I am pretty certain, was a widow.
2. 1840 Census Henrico County, Virginia.
The only Lawther in Henrico County is Mary Lawther. Her household includes one female 10-16 and two females 50-60. There are no males.
This, I assume, is the former Mary Lacy and it is more evidence that Thomas died sometime in the 1830“s. But some questions are raised. Where did the younger males of 1830 go? Who is the new older female and who is this out-of-the-blue young female? Does she belong to the other older female? Theophilus would be about 20 years old and may well be off working somewhere but does not separately appear anywhere in Virginia as head of household in his own right.
3. Henrico County Deed Book. There are a series of entries in the deed books of Henrico County in 1850 and 1851 and then again in 1856 referencing Mary Lawther. They are hard to follow precisely but the gist of it seems to be that Ernest Portewig of Henrico County and wife Deloris seem to owe several hundred dollars to Mary Lawther of Petersburg, VA and to guarantee payment they deed her a piece of property of about 93 acres in Henrico and then later after the payment is made, she deeds the property back to them. Mary is represented in these transactions by David E Lacy.
Whatever the details of why he owed her money, which I have no idea about, the significance of this is that we now know there is a tie between Mary Lacy Lawther of Henrico, and Mary Lawther of Petersburg. I think this really establishes as well as it will ever be established that Thomas Lawther is the father of Theophilus. Mary Lacy Lawther is the link.
Notes for Thomas (Spouse 1)
I believe that the parents of Theophilus Lawther were Thomas Lawther and Ann whose maiden name may have been Schofield. The earliest I can document Theophilus is in the late 1840's, he is a young man living in Petersburg, VA. There are no other Lawther's in Virginia then but starting in about 1817 and continuing through the 1840 Census I can catch glimpses of a Thomas Lawther of Henrico County (Richmond area) and his first wife Ann and then second wife Mary. It is the presence of Mary in the household of Theophilus in the 1850 Census that ties it all togther.
Thomas Lawther was born about 1790 probably in England. He may be the Thomas Lawther of Cowpen, Northumberland who married Ann Schofield in 1814 in Middlesex, London, England. Thomas and Ann Lawther appear in early records for Richmond, VA starting in about 1817. Thomas has some trouble with the law and serves time in jail from about 1819-1824, during which time, I believe, his wife gives birth to son Theophilus and not long thereafter dies. After his release from jail, he marries second on 26 Mar 1827 Mary Lacy, widow of John, and continues to live in Henrico County, Virginia until his death in about 1834.
While there is no direct proof that Thomas and Ann were the parents of Theophilus, the series of facts revealed by the documents that I can find make the conclusion incontrovertible.
1. The personal property tax records of Henrico County first document the presence of Thomas Lawther in 1817 when he is taxed just for himself. In 1818, he has a horse and in 1819, he has a horse and a slave. He then disappears from 1820 to 1829 only to reappear in 1830.
John Lacy is taxed every year from 1815 to 1826 and among other property always has a ”gig• — a kind of carriage not very common on these lists. In 1827, just below John Lacy on the list the name of Mary Lacy appears for the first time (like perhaps John has died and so Mary is of record). John has a gig. In 1828, it is only John Lacy, no Mary Lacy and John has his gig. In 1829, John Lacy disappears and Mary Lacy is taxed with a gig. When Thomas Lawther reappears in 1830, he has a gig. No Lacys are listed.
In 1831 and also 1832, Thomas Lawther has a slave, a horse and a gig. In 1833, Thomas Lawther is taxed for himself, another male over 16, 2 horses but no gig. And then Thomas disappears forever. No Lawther appears in 1834. And then in 1835 to 1839, Polly Lawther (Mary Lacy Lawther I assume) is taxed. (Polly is a known nickname for Mary). In 1836 and 1837, there is a male over 16 present. (I think the male may be Theophilus and then he leaves the household by 1838). And then Mary/Polly disappears in 1840 and thereafter.
This all is pretty consistent with the chronology of Thomas Lawther“s life. He disappeared in 1820 because he went to jail. He was out by 1825 and married by 1827 and it must have taken a few years for the personal property tax lists to catch up. Mary Lacy, I believe, was the widow of John Lacy. And then Thomas dies in the early 1830“s — about 1834.
2. From Records of the Henrico County Court. On July 10, 1819, a court was held to review the case of Thomas Lawther, and the crime he had alledgedly committed the twenty eighth day of June last. It was deemed that Thomas was not prepared for trial and the review held over to the next court -- however, try as I might, the records covering his actual trial and that would reveal the details and circumstances of the crime cannot be found.
3. Henrico County, Virginia Probate Court Records. On January 3rd 1825, Thomas Lawther a convict late in the penitentiary, brought suit to force Byrd George Executor of Reuben Tankhorsely deceased who was trustee of said Lawther“s estate to pay over to the said Thomas Lawther whatever balance may be found due from the estate of the said trustee.
Then on January 18, 1825, Byrd George stated that he had no materials from which to render the account and the court considered the exhibit submitted on the part of Lawther. After a good deal of conversation among the parties, Byrd George proposed to settle provided Thomas Lawther would distinctly state and agree that the sum of $825.34 mentioned in the exhibit embraced the whole and every part of any claim he had against the estate of Reuben Tankhorsely deceased.
Finally on the 15 Inst the said Byrd George again attended at this office and after stating that he had just found from among his testators papers produced sundry vouchers from which the said Exhibit A your commissioner has produced the annexed account showing a balance due Thomas Lawther of $686.15.
The foregoing is quite interesting for several reasons. We can conclude that Thomas Lawther must have been found guilty at his trial and must have been sent to prison and therefore must have served something like 5 years from late 1819 until late 1824 or so. When he gets out, he wants what can only be his wife“s estate which had been turned over to the Henrico Sheriff (Tankhorsely) for custody. Whoever did her cash inventory found about $872.69 but that was obviously an estimate considering that much of the cash was in various foreign currencies — so it seems to me that when this was taken to the bank, perhaps they determined it to be worth $825.34 — or maybe bank fees were deducted for currency conversion. In any event, I feel very strongly that it is Ann Lawther“s $800+ that Thomas Lawther is seeking (reduced to $671 by funeral and other expenses paid) even though that is not really stated anywhere.
8. 1830 Census Henrico County, Virginia.
The only Lawther in Henrico County is Thomas Lawther. His household includes 5 persons. There are two males age 5-10, one male age 15-20, one male age 30-40 and one female age 40-50.
So, this is the ex-con Thomas, his wife the former Mary Lacy and maybe some combination of her kids and his kids — one of whom may or may not be Theophilus.
Thomas Lawther was born about 1790 probably in England. He may be the Thomas Lawther of Cowpen, Northumberland who married Ann Schofield in 1814 in Middlesex, London, England. Thomas and Ann Lawther appear in early records for Richmond, VA starting in about 1817. Thomas has some trouble with the law and serves time in jail from about 1819-1824, during which time, I believe, his wife gives birth to son Theophilus and not long thereafter dies. After his release from jail, he marries second on 26 Mar 1827 Mary Lacy, widow of John, and continues to live in Henrico County, Virginia until his death in about 1834.
While there is no direct proof that Thomas and Ann were the parents of Theophilus, the series of facts revealed by the documents that I can find make the conclusion incontrovertible.
1. The personal property tax records of Henrico County first document the presence of Thomas Lawther in 1817 when he is taxed just for himself. In 1818, he has a horse and in 1819, he has a horse and a slave. He then disappears from 1820 to 1829 only to reappear in 1830.
John Lacy is taxed every year from 1815 to 1826 and among other property always has a ”gig• — a kind of carriage not very common on these lists. In 1827, just below John Lacy on the list the name of Mary Lacy appears for the first time (like perhaps John has died and so Mary is of record). John has a gig. In 1828, it is only John Lacy, no Mary Lacy and John has his gig. In 1829, John Lacy disappears and Mary Lacy is taxed with a gig. When Thomas Lawther reappears in 1830, he has a gig. No Lacys are listed.
In 1831 and also 1832, Thomas Lawther has a slave, a horse and a gig. In 1833, Thomas Lawther is taxed for himself, another male over 16, 2 horses but no gig. And then Thomas disappears forever. No Lawther appears in 1834. And then in 1835 to 1839, Polly Lawther (Mary Lacy Lawther I assume) is taxed. (Polly is a known nickname for Mary). In 1836 and 1837, there is a male over 16 present. (I think the male may be Theophilus and then he leaves the household by 1838). And then Mary/Polly disappears in 1840 and thereafter.
This all is pretty consistent with the chronology of Thomas Lawther“s life. He disappeared in 1820 because he went to jail. He was out by 1825 and married by 1827 and it must have taken a few years for the personal property tax lists to catch up. Mary Lacy, I believe, was the widow of John Lacy. And then Thomas dies in the early 1830“s — about 1834.
2. From Records of the Henrico County Court. On July 10, 1819, a court was held to review the case of Thomas Lawther, and the crime he had alledgedly committed the twenty eighth day of June last. It was deemed that Thomas was not prepared for trial and the review held over to the next court -- however, try as I might, the records covering his actual trial and that would reveal the details and circumstances of the crime cannot be found.
3. Henrico County, Virginia Probate Court Records. On January 3rd 1825, Thomas Lawther a convict late in the penitentiary, brought suit to force Byrd George Executor of Reuben Tankhorsely deceased who was trustee of said Lawther“s estate to pay over to the said Thomas Lawther whatever balance may be found due from the estate of the said trustee.
Then on January 18, 1825, Byrd George stated that he had no materials from which to render the account and the court considered the exhibit submitted on the part of Lawther. After a good deal of conversation among the parties, Byrd George proposed to settle provided Thomas Lawther would distinctly state and agree that the sum of $825.34 mentioned in the exhibit embraced the whole and every part of any claim he had against the estate of Reuben Tankhorsely deceased.
Finally on the 15 Inst the said Byrd George again attended at this office and after stating that he had just found from among his testators papers produced sundry vouchers from which the said Exhibit A your commissioner has produced the annexed account showing a balance due Thomas Lawther of $686.15.
The foregoing is quite interesting for several reasons. We can conclude that Thomas Lawther must have been found guilty at his trial and must have been sent to prison and therefore must have served something like 5 years from late 1819 until late 1824 or so. When he gets out, he wants what can only be his wife“s estate which had been turned over to the Henrico Sheriff (Tankhorsely) for custody. Whoever did her cash inventory found about $872.69 but that was obviously an estimate considering that much of the cash was in various foreign currencies — so it seems to me that when this was taken to the bank, perhaps they determined it to be worth $825.34 — or maybe bank fees were deducted for currency conversion. In any event, I feel very strongly that it is Ann Lawther“s $800+ that Thomas Lawther is seeking (reduced to $671 by funeral and other expenses paid) even though that is not really stated anywhere.
8. 1830 Census Henrico County, Virginia.
The only Lawther in Henrico County is Thomas Lawther. His household includes 5 persons. There are two males age 5-10, one male age 15-20, one male age 30-40 and one female age 40-50.
So, this is the ex-con Thomas, his wife the former Mary Lacy and maybe some combination of her kids and his kids — one of whom may or may not be Theophilus.