Margaret Beard married William Shook III

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Margaret Beard married William Shook III on 3 November 1818 in Bedford County, Tennessee.  We note that no descendants of this line have claimed any parents or lineage for their ancestor Margaret Beard.  We propose that Margaret was the daughter of Hugh, who was listed on the 1820 Bedford County census (as "Hugh Baird") before he moved to northern Alabama before November of 1826 and died there before November 1831. Hugh and Esther Beard had another daughter, Mary "Polly" Beard, who married Absalom Coffee/Coffey and this couple also lived in the counties of northern Alabama.  In an 1826 document filed in Adair County, Kentucky, Hugh Beard was said to be "of Limestone County, Alabama".  In an 1831 document filed at same, Hugh Beard, now recorded as deceased, was "of Jackson County, Alabama".  William and Margaret Beard Shook lived in Jackson County, Alabama, as well. We believe that Hugh and Esther Beard were living amongst their two daughters' families in their elder years.  Indeed, on the 1830 census in Jackson County, Alabama, there is an elderly (age 80-89) female in the home of William Shook,  and since his own mother was long deceased, this woman is the right age and place to be Margaret Beard's widowed mother, Esther Beard.
In Bedford County, Tennessee, both the Beard and the Shook family lived in the area known as Flat Creek.  Although not proven, we include the line of William and Margaret Beard Shook in this family line until proven to be incorrect, for all the reasons stated above.  Any assistance with this family would be appreciated. 
Margaret Beard was born about 1791 in what is now Knox County, Tennessee. She may have been the youngest child of her family; she was certainly the last to be married, in 1818.  She would have grown up there in Knox County until about age eight or so, when her parents moved to Adair County, Kentucky.  When she was a young woman, many of the family moved to the Flat Creek area of Bedford County, Tennessee.  This is where she would have met and married William Shook III.  The Shook family and Hugh Beard's family appear to have lived in the same part of Knox County when Margaret was little, however, so they could have known the Shooks from that earler time.  He was the son of William Shook II and wife Elender Waters, and he was born on 19 February 1796 in Knox County, Tennessee, according to Shook family histories.  In October of 1820 in Bedford County, William and Margaret produced twin sons and named them Wesley Marion and William Milborne.  They had two more children in Tennessee in 1824 and in 1829. It is interesting that their third child was named "Elihu/Elihew" Shook; we wonder if this could have been a version of Margaret's father's name, Hugh.   By 1830, they had moved not so far away, to northern Alabama near the Tennessee line, and were listed in the 1830 census of Jackson County, Alabama. As stated above, an elderly female who could have been Margaret's mother lived with them. They also appear to be well-to-do, as they owned five slaves.  In 1834, another set of male twins joined the family.  The Shook family appears to have produced a significant number of twins. Between 1830 and 1840, William Shook died.  In 1840, Margaret Shook was listed as the had of household in Jackson County, with, it appears, several of her seven known children at home.  An elderly female was still present in the home, and probably her age was mistakenly recorded as "80-89" again--one or the other censuses could have a mistaken age, but we do not know this.  The 1850 census of Jackson County showed widow Margaret Shook at home with "Millom" Shook, (one of her elder twin sons), Tabitha, Mary Ann, and twins Levi and Leroy.  Her son Elihu Shook lived next door with his wife and two young daughters.  The other twin, Wesley M., lived in same county with his wife and three young children.  Both the twins married girls named Mary.  We note that several internet family histories have confused the two older twins and attribute the wrong children to each, or worse, amalgamate both twins into one and attribute all the children to that one.   By 1860, twin Wesley Marion Shook had moved to Franklin County, Arkansas with a large family.  His brother William M. Shook was still in Jackson County, Alabama and  Margaret was still with him.  His brother Elihu and family were nearby.  In 1870, still in Jackson County, William and Mary Shook still provided a home for Margaret, who was 79.  It is interesting--and typical---that Margaret, who was born in Tennessee before it was a state, variously reported her birthplace as North Carolina (1860), as Tennessee (1850), and even as Kentucky (1870).  This helps prove that Margaret at least lived in the state of Kentucky at one time!  Margaret is not found on any 1880 census; she probably died before this, in Jackson County, Alabama.  No burial place is known for her or for William Shook III.
The children of William and Margaret Beard Shook:
1. Wesley Marion Shook was born in October 1820 in Bedford County, Tennessee.  We believe, after much census examination, that Wesley was a twin to William.  Wesley and William have the same initials---W. M.---and many researchers have confused the two and melded their records into one person. Twins do occur further down this line of descendants.  Wesley married before 1844 probably in Jackson County, Alabama, to Mary Peters, according to other researchers. She was born about 1825 in Alabama.  The eldest child in 1850 was born in Alabama in 1844, so the marriage was most probably held in Alabama.  In 1850, Wesley M. and Mary Shook lived in Jackson County, Alabama and they had two small sons and an infant daughter.  By 1860, Wesley and Mary had moved to Mulberry, Franklin County, Arkansas and they lived there with seven children, while his brother William stayed on in Jackson County, Alabama.  We so far find no further census records for Wesley or Mary Shook, but their children seem to have married and lived in Franklin and Crawford Counties in Arkansas.  It is probable that this couple passed away in one of those counties.   
: 2.  William Calvin Shook was born in Jackson County, Alabama on 26 February 1844.  William is listed as serving in the Confederate forces in Alabama troops. After the war, he married on 12 August 1866 in Franklin County, Arkansas to Sarah Jane Jordon.  Sarah was the daughter of William J. and Mary Davidson Jordon, and she was born on 30 December 1840 in Jackson County, Alabama. In 1870 William and Sarah Shook lived at Vine Prairie, Crawford County, Arkansas and had a baby son.  Before 1880, they had moved to Collin County, Texas, where they were enumerated with three children.  In 1890 the family was included on a list of Wise County, Texas residents, and that is where William died on 10 October 1894, in the town of Crafton.  He was buried at the Crafton Cemetery there.  In Wise County, his widow Sarah applied for a Civil War soldier's pension.  In 1900, Sarah lived in the home of her married daughter, Sudie Marshall, as a 56 year old widow.  Sarah Jordon Shook died on 8 December 1918 in Shamrock Wheeler County, Texas.  On the death certificate, she was buried at "McLean, Texas", which is in Gray County, but we so far have found no burial place for her.
: 2.  James P. Shook was born in Jackson County, Alabama on 2 February 1846.  He married in Franklin County, Arkansas on 13 November 1868 to Mary Childers or Childress, who was born in Alabama in 1848, the daughter of Joel Childers or Childress and wife Nancy Clark.  We find James and Mary Shook in 1880 Collin County, Texas, living next to her brother Joseph.  They had two sons.  Mary is said to have died about 1892 in Texas, but so far we can find no record nor burial place.  In 1900, James was listed as a widower in Wood County, Texas and had two young children in the home.  In 1910, James may have been visiting with his son William M. Shook's family back in Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama, as he was listed as William's father, aged 62 and a widower. After this, James must have remarried, as he shares a headstone with Myra Shook, born 25 November 1867, died 18 June 1966.  According to Texas Death records, James P. Shook passed away on 26 April 1926 in the town of Sweetwater, Nolan County, Texas and was buried at the Sweetwater Cemetery.  
: 2.  Eliza J. Shook was born about 1850 in Jackson County, Alabama.  Eliza was listed with her family on the 1850 census as a infant and on the 1860 census as a twelve year old.  We do not find a marriage or death record for her, so no other information is known at this time.
: 2.  Albert Cleveland Shook was born in Jackson County, Alabama on 4 February 1852.  He married on 15 August 1883 in Franklin County, Arkansas to Alice Lisa George.  Alice was the daughter of John Anderson and Eliza Alice Ramsey George.  She was born 17 April 1868 in Cassville, Barry County, Missouri.  The first census Albert and Alice appeared on as a married couple was in Miller, Franklin County, Arkansas in 1900.  They had nine childreen living and had been maried for fourteen years.  In the same place in 1910, they had ten children, eight still in the home.  In 1920 at same, four children were still with them.  By 1930, Albert and Alice and two grown children lived at Lynn Lane, Tulsa County, Oklahoma.  Albert died on 3 September 1932 at Broken Arrow, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.  He is buried at the Park Grove Cemetery in Broken Arrow.  In 1940, Alice and her grown daughter Bertha were living with Alice's son Ottie Shook in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.  Alice died the next year, on 9 December 1941, at Broken Arrow, Tulsa County.  She is buried with Albert at Park Grove Cemetery there.
: 2.  John A. Shook was born in Jackson County, Alabama in February of 1854, according to a census.  He married in 1873 in Arkansas to Masadora J. Ledbetter.  We do not know who her parents were nor her exact birthdate, but it seems to be about 1852 in Arkansas.  In 1880, John and Msadora Shook lived at Maxey, Franklin County, Arkansas with two young children.  In 1900, they were at Maxey, Crawford County, Arkansas with three children at home.  John Shook seems to have died before the 1910 census, as M. J. Shook was a widow with two grown children living in Maxey in 1910.  We so not find any further records for her, nor do we know a burial place.
: 2.  Talitha Shook was born in Franklin County, Arkansas about 1854.  She married there on 23 December 1877 to Robert Childers/Childress. We have not yet found any further information about this couple.
: 2.  Edmond Lee "Pete" Shook    to be continued.....
1. William Milborne Shook, born in October 1820 in Bedford County, Tennessee, was still living in his mother's household in 1850 Jackson County, Alabama, while his brother Wesley had already married and was living in the same county.  Another brother, Elihu/Hugh Shook, was married and lived nearby.  He married on 9 August 1855 in Jackson County to Mary Jane Keith. She was the daughter of Daniel Keith and Catherine Reagor, born August 1832 in Tennessee.  In 1860, they lived in Jackson County near his brother Elihu still, and Margaret Beard Shook was a widow living in the home. Still in same in 1870, Margaret was still in the home with them.  In 1880, "Milbourn" and Mary had two grown daughters only in the home.  By 1900, William and Mary Jane were listed in the home of their married daughter Sarah W. Roberts in Jackson County.  They stated that only three of their seven children were still alive, and Susan Shook was a daughter living in the home, as well.  We do not know when William or Mary Jane Shook passed away and we know of no burial place yet.
: 2.  Sarah Willie Shook
: 2.  Mary A. Shook
: 2.  Susan M. Shook
1. Elihue Shook  was born on 6 September 1824 in Tennessee. [His name is spelled this way on his gravestone.] He married 1845 in Jackson County, Alabama to Sarah Summers.  Sarah was the daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Isbell Summers; she was born in Alabama in 1823.  In 1850, Elihu and Sarah had two toddler daughters and lived amongst Shook family in Jackson County.  In 1860 and 1870 they were in same and had the two daughters at home.  Sarah Summers Shook died in 1874; we do not know a burial place.  Elihu remarried to Rebecca Ann Taylor about the same year. She was born in Franklin County, Tennessee in 1839, daughter of Miles Taylor and Margaret Nugent of North Carolina.  In 1880, Elihu and Rebecca lived in Jackson County with two young sons of their own.  They would add a third son in 1881.  Elihue died on 19 January 1896 in Arkansas and he was buried at the Center Hill Cemetery in Cleburne County, Arkansas. In 1920, widow Rebecca Ann Shook lived with her widowed daughter Johnnie Shook Brooks in Pine Township in Cleburne County.  Rebecca died on 7 February 1923 in Cleburne County and was buried at Center Hill Cemetery.
: Two children with first wife Sarah Summers:
: 2.  Malicia D. Shook
: 2.  Margaret M. Shook
: Three children with second wife Rebecca Taylor:
: 2.  Hugh Shook
: 2.  Johnnie Shook
: 2.  Ed Shook
1. Talitha Shook was born in February 1830 in Jackson County, Alabama.  She married in 1851 there to William C. Tipton.  William was born in Jackson County in 1824, the son of Shadrach and Hannah Peters Tipton.  He had been married before and had a daughter and a son.  In 1860, William and Talitha lived at Paint Rock, Jackson County, Alabama and had his two and their four children in the home.  Numerous members of their extended families surrounded them. In 1870 they were at Scottsboro in Jackson County with six children at home. In 1880 at same, three daughters were still at home.  William Tipton died before the 1900 census.  We do not know his burial place.  In 1900 in Jackson County, Talitha Tipton was a seventy year old widow in the home of her married daughter Susan B. Gray.  We do not know the death date nor burial place of Talitha.  Talitha and William Tipton's children:
: 2.  Columbus L. Tipton
: 2.  John E. Tipton
: 2.  Margaret Ann Tipton
: 2.  Permelia Ann Tipton
: 2.  Susan Benellie "Dolly" Tipton
1. Mary Ann Shook was born in December 1829-1831 in Jackson County, Alabama. (The censuses vary.  We know that on the 1900 census her birth is given as December of 1829, but her birth order in the family consistently has her behind her sister Talitha, so we believe she was born in 1831.)   She married John D. Berry on 11 October 1855 in Jackson County.  He was the son of William Berry and Chastity Ball, born in about 1830 in Jackson County, Alabama.  In 1860, John and Mary Berry lived in Jackson County at Paint Rock.  They had no children living and they lived next home to her parents and many other family members.  It is reported that John Berry died in December of 1866; we have found no record of this yet.  They appear to have had only one living child, and in 1900, living in Limrock, Jackson County, Alabama with that grown son's family, Mary Ann was age seventy and a widow.  We do not know her death date or burial place.  One child was born of this marriage:
: 2.  William C. Berry
1. Levi Clifton Shook and his twin Leroy Shook were born on 30 August 1833 in Jackson County, Alabama.  Levi married Susan Frances Berry on 3 November 1859 in Madison County, Alabama.  She was the daughter of Samuel G. and Rachel Berry, born on 30 September 1840 in Madison County, Alabama.  A few months after the wedding, they were listed on the Jackson County federal census as a young couple, and his unmarried brother Leroy was with them.  Levi served in the Civil War with Confederate troops, but we do not have details of dates and units at this time. In 1866 Levi was listed on the Alabama State Census in Jackson County but in 1870  they were present on the nearby Madison County, Alabama rolls.  There they had a two year old daughter.  In 1880, back in Jackson County, their only child was Jinnie and their nephew William Shook was with them. In the mid 1880s, the family moved to Hunt County, Texas, and it was there Levi Shook died on 27 December 1889.  He is buried at the Wieland Cemetery in Hunt County.  HIs widow Susan Berry Shook filed pension application for a Confederate pension on 6 July 1899 in Hunt County.  In 1900, Susan Shook was listed as a 59 year old mother in law to John D. Nelson in Wolfe City, Hunt County, Texas.  John Nelson was the husband of Jinnie Shook.  Susan Shook died on 14 June 1922 in Forney, Kaufman County, Texas.  We do not know where Susan Berry Shook is buried.  Levi and Susan had one known child:
: 2.  Jimmie Zora Shook
1. Leroy C. Shook, twin brother of Levi, was born on 30 August 1833 in Jackson County, Alabama.  There are reports that he married a Harriet Chorn in Jackson County in the middle 1850s, but so far we have no proof, and in 1860, he was a single man living with his brother Levi and Levi's bride, Susan.  Civil War came to Texas, and we know that brother Levi served in Confederate forces because Susan filed a pension application in later years.  It is certainly probably that Leroy served, as well, although we have not yet found a service record to prove it.  He died on 15 December, 1864, according to many family reports, but we do not know the accuracy of this date, as we have no grave location or death record.