Family Group Sheet
NameStephen B. Sexton, 1C6R
Birthabt 1805, Virginia
FatherBenjamin Sexton Jr. (~1785-<1870)
MotherNancy Taylor (~1786-)
SpouseMartha [Sexton]
Birthabt 1805, Kentucky
Children
1 MIsaac Sexton, 2C5R
Birthabt 1833, Indiana
2 MWilliam Sexton, 2C5R
Birthabt 1842, Kentucky
SpouseNancy Jane Donathan , 3C4R
SpouseSusan
4 MRichard French Sexton, 2C5R
Birthabt 1847, Morgan Co., Kentucky
SpouseDelilah Susan Stafford
SpouseMinerva Ann Dixon
5 MIra Sexton, 2C5R
Birthabt May 1850, Morgan Co., Kentucky
6 MJoseph H. Sexton, 2C5R
Birth29 May 1850, Kentucky
Death3 Dec 1927, Ringos Mills, Fleming Co., Kentucky
SpouseMary Elizabeth Prater
SpouseEllen Highley
SpouseMary E. Gee
SpouseSarah L. Brown
Notes for Stephen B. Sexton
The attribution of this Stephen B. Sexton as a son of Benjamin Sexton and Nancy Taylor is from online family trees (many of them), but I question it on several grounds.
If the birthplace of Stephen’s son Isaac in Indiana (from the 1850 census) is to be believed, and I see no reason not to, then Stephen may not have arrived in Kentucky until sometime after 1833, whereas the Benjamin Sexton family was in Kentucky by 1809. Benjamin and Nancy were not married until Aug 1806, whereas all census records for Stephen suggest that he was born in 1804 or 1805. There is no Stephen Sexton or variant spelling listed as a head of household in the 1830 census of Kentucky (I searched on Ste*, any surname, and on Sex*, any given name), and the 1830 census for Benjamin Sexton shows only one adult son, who would fit to be his proven son Obediah, also not yet a head of household in 1830.
Also, the relatively unusual name Enoch does not otherwise appear in the Benjamin Sexton descendants, whereas there are a large number of them in Indiana (including, in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, one born about 1795 in North Carolina, one born about 1813 in Virginia, and one born about 1816 in Virginia.) The given name Isaac also appears very frequently in the Indiana Sextons, and not otherwise in the children or grandchildren of Benjamin Sexton Sr. These Indiana Sextons, who are clustered in adjacent Sullivan and Greene counties, appear to have stemmed from the same Russell Co., Virginia group that the Carter Co., Ky Sextons are from.
It could be that one or more other researchers simply guessed at placing Stephen in the Benjamin Sexton and Nancy Taylor family, based perhaps on the fact that they were the only two Sexton families in the 1840 census of Bath Co. (although 20 pages apart, which in a census that has 50 families per page is a long way off), and the 1820 census of Bath Co. listed two sons 10-14 for Benjamin, and then everyone else copied it without question.
On the other hand, perhaps those other researchers have access to some other sources showing a stronger link between Benjamin Jr. and Stephen other than simply being in the same county in 1840, such as a will, estate settlement or deed, so for now I will leave this link in, but flagged as questionable. (I wish more people put the details on their sources and reasoning in their online trees.)
If he is a son of Benjamin and Nancy after all, then his year of birth is probably 1807, since they were not married until August 1806.
If the birthplace of Stephen’s son Isaac in Indiana (from the 1850 census) is to be believed, and I see no reason not to, then Stephen may not have arrived in Kentucky until sometime after 1833, whereas the Benjamin Sexton family was in Kentucky by 1809. Benjamin and Nancy were not married until Aug 1806, whereas all census records for Stephen suggest that he was born in 1804 or 1805. There is no Stephen Sexton or variant spelling listed as a head of household in the 1830 census of Kentucky (I searched on Ste*, any surname, and on Sex*, any given name), and the 1830 census for Benjamin Sexton shows only one adult son, who would fit to be his proven son Obediah, also not yet a head of household in 1830.
Also, the relatively unusual name Enoch does not otherwise appear in the Benjamin Sexton descendants, whereas there are a large number of them in Indiana (including, in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, one born about 1795 in North Carolina, one born about 1813 in Virginia, and one born about 1816 in Virginia.) The given name Isaac also appears very frequently in the Indiana Sextons, and not otherwise in the children or grandchildren of Benjamin Sexton Sr. These Indiana Sextons, who are clustered in adjacent Sullivan and Greene counties, appear to have stemmed from the same Russell Co., Virginia group that the Carter Co., Ky Sextons are from.
It could be that one or more other researchers simply guessed at placing Stephen in the Benjamin Sexton and Nancy Taylor family, based perhaps on the fact that they were the only two Sexton families in the 1840 census of Bath Co. (although 20 pages apart, which in a census that has 50 families per page is a long way off), and the 1820 census of Bath Co. listed two sons 10-14 for Benjamin, and then everyone else copied it without question.
On the other hand, perhaps those other researchers have access to some other sources showing a stronger link between Benjamin Jr. and Stephen other than simply being in the same county in 1840, such as a will, estate settlement or deed, so for now I will leave this link in, but flagged as questionable. (I wish more people put the details on their sources and reasoning in their online trees.)
If he is a son of Benjamin and Nancy after all, then his year of birth is probably 1807, since they were not married until August 1806.
Census
There is no Stephen Sexton (or variant spelling) as head of household anywhere in Kentucky in 1830.
He may be the following, however:
1830 census of Greene Co., Indiana, lists on p. 16, line 16:
Stephen Sexton, 1 male < 5, 1 male 5-9, 1 male 20-29, 1 female < 5, 1 female 20-29.
No match for the above Stephen Sexton appears in Indiana in 1840 or 1850, suggesting that he moved out of state. (There are a large number of other Sextons in Greene Co., though, so it is possible that he died instead.)
1840 census of Bath Co., Ky, east of Slate Creek, lists on p. 83, line 26:
Stephen B. Sexton, 1 male 5-9, 1 male 10-14, 1 male 30-39, 1 female 30-39.
1850 census of Morgan Co., Ky, lists as family #302:
Sexton, Stephen B., 45, Va; Martha, 45, Ky; Isaac, 17, Ind.; William, 8, Ky; Enoch, 5, Ky; Richard, 2, Ky; Ira, 1/12, Ky.
The large gap in age between Isaac and William suggests that Martha may be a second wife.
I cannot find a match for anyone from this family in 1860 or later except Enoch (who is known to be Stephen and Martha’s son from his death certificate), unless Stephen and William are the following:
There is a Stephen Sexton age 55 born in Virginia listed in 1860 in Mercer Co., Missouri, with wife Edny age 59 born S.C. and son William age 21 born in Indiana, who also appears in 1870 in Greene Co., Indiana as Stephen B. Sexon, age 66 born Virginia with wife Edna age 68, born N.C., who does not match any other family (nationwide search) in 1850. So it could be the same person with the birthplace of William entered incorrectly in either 1850 or 1860, but if so, I do not know what happened to Martha, Richard and Ira.
He may be the following, however:
1830 census of Greene Co., Indiana, lists on p. 16, line 16:
Stephen Sexton, 1 male < 5, 1 male 5-9, 1 male 20-29, 1 female < 5, 1 female 20-29.
No match for the above Stephen Sexton appears in Indiana in 1840 or 1850, suggesting that he moved out of state. (There are a large number of other Sextons in Greene Co., though, so it is possible that he died instead.)
1840 census of Bath Co., Ky, east of Slate Creek, lists on p. 83, line 26:
Stephen B. Sexton, 1 male 5-9, 1 male 10-14, 1 male 30-39, 1 female 30-39.
1850 census of Morgan Co., Ky, lists as family #302:
Sexton, Stephen B., 45, Va; Martha, 45, Ky; Isaac, 17, Ind.; William, 8, Ky; Enoch, 5, Ky; Richard, 2, Ky; Ira, 1/12, Ky.
The large gap in age between Isaac and William suggests that Martha may be a second wife.
I cannot find a match for anyone from this family in 1860 or later except Enoch (who is known to be Stephen and Martha’s son from his death certificate), unless Stephen and William are the following:
There is a Stephen Sexton age 55 born in Virginia listed in 1860 in Mercer Co., Missouri, with wife Edny age 59 born S.C. and son William age 21 born in Indiana, who also appears in 1870 in Greene Co., Indiana as Stephen B. Sexon, age 66 born Virginia with wife Edna age 68, born N.C., who does not match any other family (nationwide search) in 1850. So it could be the same person with the birthplace of William entered incorrectly in either 1850 or 1860, but if so, I do not know what happened to Martha, Richard and Ira.
