The Two Jeremiahs

Is Jeremiah Lockett Jr. born in Virginia in 1809 the son of Jeremiah Lockett Sr. born in Virginia between 1771 and 1775?

Based on the names alone you might say yes and I have seen several researchers who have made this assumption; however, no one to my knowledge has any  "primary source" evidence (birth records, land records, etc) that would link the two.  I try not make assumptions and typically don't include things with out proof.  At this point, the evidence linking these two is all circumstantial; however, based on other (non-primary source) information and things that would seem to be too great a coincidence, etc. I have made the leap of logic and concluded that the two Jeremiahs are in fact father and son.

The case

Due to the fact that most Locketts can trace their roots back to Thomas Lockett of Virginia, Thomas and his descendants have been heavily researched by other Lockett family researchers.  This is a generally accepted family tree for Thomas Lockett starting around the mid 1600's or so.  Thomas Lockett

    Follow this tree down our direct line starting with:
        Thomas
            Benjamin
                Benjamin
                   Richard
                        Jeremiah Sr. (it ends here, no children listed)

I’m not endorsing any of this information; however, this seems to be the accepted line by the Lockett researchers I’ve run across and as far as I can tell, generally correct. I have seen a lot of this information verified in a couple of books I have (some are cited as sources for this tree). The submitter of this tree, Mildred Fournier, is one of the most thorough researchers of the "Old" Locketts. Her line branches off with one of Jeremiah Sr.’s brothers Josiah, so nothing from her from there on down.

Beside the obvious things:
    - Both being from Bedford County, VA
    - Sharing a first name
    - No problem with dates such as births, marriages, etc......

    Census Data

Censuses taken prior to 1850 only list the head of the household and the number of persons (by sex) that fell into certain age ranges.  It is possible to make an "educated" guess regarding the possible identity of these individuals by comparing the age ranges they are listed in and, using birthdays, their ages at the time they were believed to be living in the household.

  • Jeremiah Lockett appears on the Virginia, Bedford County 1810 Census, age Range = 26 to 44
       - Jeremiah Lockett Jr. (born in 1809) appears in the 0 to 9 age range.

  • Jeremiah Lockett appears on the Virginia, Bedford County 1820 Census, age Range = 45 and up
       - Jeremiah Lockett Jr. (born in 1809) appears in the 10 to 15 age range.

  • Jeremiah Lockett appears on the Virginia, Bedford County 1830 Census, age Range = 50 to 60 (Lockett spelled Locket)
       - Jeremiah Lockett Jr. (born in 1809) appears in the 21 to 29 age range.
       - Edmund Lockett (Jeremiah Jr.'s son, born in 1829) appears in the 0 to 5 age range.

Later censuses as well as family records list both Jeremiah Jr. and Edmund Lockett's birth places as Virginia (as well as their first daughter, Lydia born in 1831).  If Jeremiah Jr. and his wife Phebe Karnes were living in the household of Jeremiah Sr. then Phebe would be listed as well.  Phebe was born March 27, 1812 and would be 18-19 years old at the time of the 1830 Census.

    Religious Affiliations

Another researcher told me that Jeremiah Lockett, Sr. may have been an itinerant preacher.

  • Jeremiah Hatcher and Jeremiah Lockett are listed as ordained ministers in North Fork of Otter Church, Bedford County, in 1790 [John Asplund, ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION IN NORTH AMERICA TO THE FIRST OF NOVEMBER 1790 (1979, reprint of 1791 edition), page 24]. Hatcher, a native of Chesterfield County and a product of Cumberland Church (now Old Powhatan Church) in Powhatan County, was the minister of Tomahawk Church in Chesterfield County from 1777-1780, moved to Bedford County in 1780, and was the minister of North Fork of Otter Creek Church from 1780-1804. My guess is that Hatcher might have been a friend, mentor, maybe even a relative of Jeremiah Lockett's and that Lockett's Baptist connections closely paralleled those of Hatcher's, including the move to Bedford County. Here, Hatcher is clearly "the" minister of North Fork of Otter Church and Lockett is either the assistant minister or an itinerant evangelist based out of that church.

  • Hatcher and Lockett are listed as ordained ministers in North Fork of Otter Church from 1790-1794 [John Asplund, UNIVERSAL REGISTER OF THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION IN NORTH AMERICA FOR THE YEARS 1790,1791,1792,1793, AND PART OF 1794 (1980, reprint of 1794 edition), page 24. Here, however, Hatcher is definitely "the" minister of North Fork of Otter Church and Lockett definitely an itinerant evangelist based out of that church.

Forty years later in Niles Township, Delaware County, Indiana on April 1, 1836 a meeting was held for the organization of the Mississinewa Baptist Church. Jeremiah Lockett Jr. was one of the constituent members who signed the articles of covenant, probably at a later date. This makes sense given the involvement that Jeremiah JR's father, Jeremiah Sr., had with the Baptist church in Virginia.

Marriage Information

While the above section has suggested that Jeremiah Sr. was affiliated with the Baptist Church, his as well as his son, Jeremiah Jr.'s marriages both appear in the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy which suggest that they were Quakers.  It is interesting to note that Thomas Lockett was thought to be a Quaker.

    Jeremiah Lockett Sr.

  • Found in "Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850" (Dodd, Jordan R, et. al.. Bountiful, UT: Precision Indexing Publishers, 19xx.) - JEREMIAH LOCKETT and LYDIA BONDERVANT were married 19 September 1807 in Bedford County.
  • This marriage also shows up in Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy: Virginia Alexandria, Virginia and Washington, D. C. as: Sep. 19, 1807; Jeremiah Lockett & Lydia Bondurant; Ephriam Bondurant, Surety; Consent of John Bondurant.

    Jeremiah Lockett Jr.

  • His marriage to Phebe Karnes is documented in "Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850" (Dodd, Jordan R, et. al.. Bountiful, UT: Precision Indexing Publishers, 19xx.)
  • This marriage also shows up in Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy: Virginia Alexandria, Virginia and Washington, D. C. as: - he was married - "1827, 8, 16. Jeremiah, Jr. & Phebe Karnes. Jacob Karnes, Surety. Consent of Jeremiah Lockett, Sr."
  • Jeremiah's marriage to Phebe Karnes is also verified through family records.

It is the surety of Jeremiah Lockett Sr. for Jeremiah Lockett Jr. that I believe most researchers have assumed/derived the relationship. I'm so concerned with proof that I have always been reluctant to assume the relationship. What really sort of clinched it for me was when I discovered Jeremiah JR's first daughter (also born in Virginia) was named Lydia (for her Grandmother Lydia Bondurant?)

What do you think?

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