Elizabeth Simmons

Thus as Elizabeth Simmons, daughter of Emanuel and sister to Needham, Amos and John, she married Jacob Foy. Jacob died in Jan/Mar 1786, leaving Elizabeth and one son, Frederick, according to Jacob's will. In a Jones Co deed dated 12 Dec 1788 she, as Elizabeth Foy, deeded her land-inheritance to her son, Frederick, retaining her life estate in the property (evidently to secure the property to Frederick rather than to her next husband whom she married 11 days later.) On the basis that Frederick was at least age 21 and that she was not older than 16 at his birth we derive her birth year as 1750.

Elizabeth married Lewis Mumford 23 Dec 1788 and had one son, Edward Mumford, born 22 Oct 1789. At this date Elizabeth would have been age 39 if she were born in 1750. Lewis died 29 Nov 1791. Mumford data will show that Edward had a daughter, Maria, who was a first cousin to Frederick Foy's children. Elizabeth's derived birth year of 1750 makes her age 16 upon the birth of her son Frederick Foy and age 39 upon the birth of her son Edward Mumford.

In a Jones Co deed dated 13 Dec 1814, as Elizabeth Mumford, she deeded all her lands in Jones Co to son Edward Mumford, retaining her life estate. Even though she had deeded her Jacob Foy inheritance to son Frederick in 1788, she had accumulated a new sizeable estate by 1814, as evidenced by numerous deeds showing purchase of land and slaves. Also as Elizabeth Mumford she executed a deed 12 Dec 1815 giving "...several negroes to her grandchildren John B Foy, Elizabeth Foy, Amos Foy, Elijah Foy & James M Foy, all of Craven Co NC.". This deed establishes one of the critical links in ancestral relationships. For instance, that Amos did have three siblings in addition to those Mississippi deeds detailed under the Amos Simmons Foy notes. Also that Elizabeth Simmons was his grandmother and the mother of his father Frederick.

In his will, her father, Emanuel Simmons, called her his daughter Elizabeth Mumford and made a bequest to the children of Frederick Foy. As detailed in the Amos Simmons Foy notes, records of Jones Co NC contain documents dtd 1853-1855 in which 3 married sisters identify Amos as their brother and Frederick Foy of Jones Co as their father. Since two girls were not called in the Elizabeth Mumford deed of 1815 they must have been born after that date. These two were: Amanda and Margaret Jane. Elizabeth is identified in these papers as Elizabeth Miller or as Eliza Miller and is the Elizabeth (Foy) listed in the 1815 deed. Frederick Foy, Jr. was listed in the Dyer Co Tennessee census of 1830 as having a family which included one female in the 70-80 age bracket; most likely his mother, Elizabeth. If so, she would have had birth dates ranging from 1760 to 1750. This is compatible with our earlier assumption of 1750. Her son, Frederick died in 1838; Elizabeth probably before that. Thus Elizabeth probably died shortly after the 1830 Tennessee census at age 80+.

Commentary on the Shepard connection follows:
The book ONE DOZEN PRE-REVOLUTIONARY WAR FAMILIES (929.3), Chapter IX, discusses the Fisher Line which involves the Shepard family of Cartaret County and apparently in turn, Jacob Foy and wife. It deals with the fact that Major David Shepard, whose will was dated 30 May 1774 and proven 13 Jan 1775, had several children including Solomon, Elijah and Jacob Shepard. David's will, copied in its entirety in the book NORTH CAROLINA WILLS & INVENTORIES by J. Bryan Grimes, page 403, lists all of David's offspring.

The Fisher Line discussion continues by stating "Solomon; married Jean (last name unknown); will proved in Cartaret County court on March 15,1780. Jean, the widow, married Jacob Foy. Children of Solomon and Jean Shepard are: Solomon Jr, David, Elizabeth, Jean, Mary and Margaret........" . By this document Soloman Shepard's widow was named Jean and did not attain her eligibility to marry Jacob Foy until 1779-1780. But Jacob's son, Frederick, was born before this time and his mother was Elizabeth Simmons, not Jean. Jean could not have become Jacob's wife. In his will, Jacob recognized Elizabeth not Jean as his wife. THE HERITAGE OF ONSLOW COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA (975.600), Article #191 by Richard Kammerer, in reciting the children of Thomas and Rebecca Foy, clearly states ".....(3) Jacob Foy, born in Baltimore County, Maryland, married Elizabeth Simmons Shepard (daughter of Emanuel Simmons and widow of Solomon Shepard), and died in Jones County in 1786....". Soloman Shepard cannot have two widows! (Why not?)

Jacob's will of 1786 identifies his wife as Elizabeth, not Jean. Furthermore, in 1788, Elizabeth Foy deeded the lands, which she inherited from Jacob, to her son Frederick, retaining a life estate. To receive these lands, Frederick must have been an adult, at least 21 years of age, and born not later that 1767. Which date is 13 years earlier than Solomon's death date of 1780. Elizabeth could not have been the widow of Solomon Shepard, son of Maj. David Shepard. Could she have been the widow of Solomon Shepard Junior? He was the grandson of Maj. David Shepard. If so, his death would have had to occur earlier than 1778 in order for his widow to marry Jacob and bear Frederick by 1780. But Maj. David's will belies this possibility in that portion which reads ..."12, I give and bequeath to my grandson, Soloman Shepard, that tract of land.... to him and his Heirs forever, but if Solomon should die without Heirs of his body Lawfully begotten, that then.....". Here, a will drawn in May 1774 and proven in Jan 1775 presents Solomon Shepard Junior as alive and without issue 6 years after a death date compatible with Elizabeth's relationships with Jacob.

In the absence of the data upon which the "book" articles were based, we must summarize: Jacob Foy's widow was Elizabeth, not Jean, but Elizabeth could not have been the widow of either Solomon Shepard, son of Maj. David Shepard, or of Solomon Shepard Jr. Even Maj. David's father, also a Solomon Shepard, is not a candidate. He was very active in the colonial affairs as late as November 12, 1776, being one of those who assisted in drafting a constitution for the soon-to-be new country. In the absence of the data upon which the two books were based we choose to ignore the Shepard connection with regard to the statement that Jean ........, widow of Soloman married Jacob Foy, note that this could have only been possible if Jacob had married Jean before he married Elizabeth, his widow. Jean became a widow in 1780. We have already established that Frederick's probable latest birth date was 1767, meaning that Jacob must have married Elizabeth fully 13 years before Jean became a widow. An impossible situation! (How about a different Jacob Foy?)

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