Family Group Sheet
NameStephen B. Cornett
Birth12 Oct 1822, Grayson Co., Virginia
FatherArchelaus Cornett (~1799-~1847)
MotherMary Bourne (~1800-)
Other spousesMartha Gilmore [Cornett]
Marriageabt 1840, Virginia
SpouseFanny [Cornett Comer]
Children
1 MThomas P. Cornett (Tentative Link)
Birthabt 1840/1842, Virginia
SpouseNancy A. Clark
SpouseRutha J. Helterbrand
Notes for Stephen B. Cornett
The LDS Ancestral File records the birthdate of Archelaus’ son Stephen as 12 Oct 1822. (No indication of what the primary source for the birthdate is. Births were not being recorded in Grayson Co. that early.) The date is consistent with the 1850 and 1860 censuses.
Census
1850 census of Grayson Co., Virginia, 19th district, p. 214, lists as family #756:
Cornutt, Stephen, 27, farmer; Rhoda, 59; John C., 20; William C., 16. All born in Virginia.
Based on the estate settlement for Archelaus Cornett, Stephen, John and William are brothers. According to the Ancestral File, though, Stephen’s mother’s name was Mary Bourne. So Rhoda may be the mother only of John and William (which would also be a reason for listing her after Stephen, instead of as the head of household.)
Cornutt, Stephen, 27, farmer; Rhoda, 59; John C., 20; William C., 16. All born in Virginia.
Based on the estate settlement for Archelaus Cornett, Stephen, John and William are brothers. According to the Ancestral File, though, Stephen’s mother’s name was Mary Bourne. So Rhoda may be the mother only of John and William (which would also be a reason for listing her after Stephen, instead of as the head of household.)
Notes for Stephen B. & Fanny (Family)
There may have been two Stephen B. Cornetts in early Grayson County, one of whom married a Fanny and died before 1850, the other of whom was born in 1822 and married Martha, and is recorded in the Grayson Co. censuses of 1850 and 1860.
It appears from Thomas P's marriage record that his father was married to a wife named Fanny in 1841, and that by 1862 Fanny had remarried. Typically, this would suggest that Fanny had outlived her husband. Yet the Stephen B. Cornutt who was Archelaus’s son was single in 1850 and married to a Martha G. in 1860, with no son named Thomas in either census.
If the Stephen B. Cornutt who was Thomas P.’s father is the same person as the one who was married to Martha, then one possible explanation is that the marriage to Fanny was very brief, preceding that to Martha, and Thomas was not raised by his father. They might have divorced and Fanny remarried. We aren't used to thinking of divorces in that era, but they weren't unknown, especially when the first marriage was young. Another possibility is that Fanny died very shortly after Thomas’s birth, and Thomas was raised by a relative of hers, perhaps her parents, although that would not explain why she was referred to as Fannie Comer in Thomas’s marriage record.
If they are not the same person, then it is unknown when Thomas’s father was born or who his parents were, as all the existing records with the exception of Thomas’s marriage record are for the Stephen who was born in 1822 and married Martha.
It appears from Thomas P's marriage record that his father was married to a wife named Fanny in 1841, and that by 1862 Fanny had remarried. Typically, this would suggest that Fanny had outlived her husband. Yet the Stephen B. Cornutt who was Archelaus’s son was single in 1850 and married to a Martha G. in 1860, with no son named Thomas in either census.
If the Stephen B. Cornutt who was Thomas P.’s father is the same person as the one who was married to Martha, then one possible explanation is that the marriage to Fanny was very brief, preceding that to Martha, and Thomas was not raised by his father. They might have divorced and Fanny remarried. We aren't used to thinking of divorces in that era, but they weren't unknown, especially when the first marriage was young. Another possibility is that Fanny died very shortly after Thomas’s birth, and Thomas was raised by a relative of hers, perhaps her parents, although that would not explain why she was referred to as Fannie Comer in Thomas’s marriage record.
If they are not the same person, then it is unknown when Thomas’s father was born or who his parents were, as all the existing records with the exception of Thomas’s marriage record are for the Stephen who was born in 1822 and married Martha.
