Mark Alcorn, California, recently wrote that he's a descendent of Jesse Alcorn, 1781-1852, who lived in Wayne County, Kentucky. Here's Mark's lineage:
Jesse Alcorn (1781-1852)
William Russell Alcorn (1813-1862?)
Charles Alfred Alcorn (1846-1884)
George Washington Alcorn (1876-1939), Mark's great grandfather
"I am especially interested in finding out more info about the Alcorn relatives above, as well as linking Jesse to possible parents John and Jane Breckenridge Alcorn," he wrote. " A long-time researcher who spent time researching in Kentucky warned me to be slow to link anyone to Jesse (1781-1852) due to lack of evidence. I would be very curious to see if you have made connections regarding this."
The advice Mark was given is excellent advice for anyone trying to untangle the Alcorn's tangled routes, but in this case, the evidence for Jesses' parentage is fairly strong, though circumstantial. We know from census data that there were two men named Jesse who could be John and Jane's son -- the one born in 1781 who lived in Wayne County, Kentucky, and the one born in 1806 who lived in Gallatin County.
The Wayne County Jesse married Polly Duncan on April 4, 1806. She was the daughter of George Duncan and Catherine Smiley. She was born about 1781 in North Carolina and died about 1820 in Wayne County. Jesse married Sinah Ann Jones on Jan. 28, 1824 in Wayne County. Sinah was the daughter of James Jones. She was born 1794 in Virginia and died 1864 in Wayne County. Jesse died Nov. 26, 1852, in Wayne County.
The Gallatin County Jesse married Sarah Darbro on April 16, 1830. She lived her whole life in Gallatin County, 1816-1849. He married Phoebe Ann Mulligan, born 1810 in Kentucky, on Oct. 26, 1849 in Gallatin County. They later moved to Greene County, Indiana.
If we can agree that Mark's ancestor must be one of these two men, then we're left with the question: Is the Wayne County Jesse the son of John and Jane Breckenridge Alcorn, or the son of Robert and Susannah Welch Alcorn?
Since we know that Robert lived in Gallatin County, that Susannah died there, and that several of their children married Darbros, it's a logical assumption that the Jesse who lived in Gallatin County is their son. That would make Jesse of Wayne County the son of John and Jane Breckinridge.
No, it's not proof, but it may be as close as we can get. If you have more information on Jesse and his descendents, we'd love to hear from you. Let's help Mark solve this puzzle.
I'll be following up with more information from Mark, along with some pictures he's contributed on my next posting.
