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Subject: [WREN] Re: Wrens in the South
Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2002 13:09:02 EDT

Hello Emma,
Thanks for taking the list. I, too, have Wrens in the South. I haven't posted
in a while, so maybe now is the time.

Am stuck on William Wren who moved from NC to GA and appears in Heard County,
GA in 1860. Thought to have a sister named Mary Ann Wren who married John
Griffis and also moved to Heard. The name of their father is unknown; mother
thought to be named Jane. A short synopsis of the Griffis family tragedy
appears at the end of this message.

William Wren, b. 20 April 1835 in NC, d. 13 April 1895 in AL, married Martha
Wilson in 1854, dau. of James Wilson and Elizabeth Toler, and lived in Heard,
then moved to Carroll in 1880, and finally to Cullman Co., AL, where William
died in 1895. He is buried at Emeus Bapist Church Cemetery in Cullman. Martha
returned to Carroll and lived with her daughter, Emma Temperance Wren
Thompson, until she died in 1923. She is buried at Bethel Baptist Church
cemetery near Temple in Carroll County. William and Martha had 14 children. I
have more detail but will just give the short version: All children were born
in Heard County, GA except Georgia, who was probably born in Carroll.

1. Alice Ann Adeline Wren, b. June 1857, d. 19 May 1931, buried Cullman, m.
Andrew Jackson Gilland (Gilliland) 25 Dec 1877 in Carroll County. Had 9 known
children.

2. John C. Wren, b. 8 Feb 1858, d. 16 June 1903, buried Cullman, married
Emila America Alsabrook 18 July 1875 in Carroll Co.. Had 9 known children.

3. Eliza J. Wren, b. 17 Sept 1859, d. bef 1897, burial place not found.
Married William Leroy McWhorter 28 Nov 1878 in Carroll Co. (this is my line).
Had 8 known children. (William Leroy remarried a Mrs. Celia Bentley in
Cullman in 1897.)

4. Mary A. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Wren, b. 31 July 1861, d. 26 Feb 1941, buried
Cullman. Married James M. Cruise abt 1889 in GA. Had 5 known children.

5. James William Wren, b. May 1863, d. 1936, buried Carroll Co. Married Alice
Ida Muse 1 Jan 1882 in Carroll Co. Had 4 known children.

6. Elula Holcomb (Lucy) Wren, b. 2 Feb 1866, d. 18 Sept. 1938, buried Coweta
County. Married Josiah Robert Stallings 28 Nov 1885 in Carroll Co. Had 11
known children.

7. Simeon "Sim" Wren, b. March 1868, d. 14 April 1953, buried Carroll Co.
Married Sarah Adeline Justice 1893 in Cullman. Had 5 known children.

8. Emma Temperance "Tempie" Wren, b. 16 Dec 1868, d. 4 Feb 1947, buried
Carroll Co. Married Green Brittain Thompson 25 Dec 1890 in Carroll Co. Had 8
known children.

9. Ida Wren, b. abt 1871, d. bef 1910, Married Andrew B. King 15 Dec 1895 in
Cullman. Had 1 known child.

10. Robert L. Wren, b. 11 May 1872, d. 31 March 1955, buried Cullman. Married
Eliza Jane Cochran 24 Dec 1893 in Cullman. Had 11 known children.

11. Charles Jesse Wren, b. 5 March 1874, d. 24 March 1964, buried Cullman.
Married Mahala "Haley" Humphrey 23 Sept 1894 in Cullman. Had 11 known
children.

12. Walter Wren, b. 9 March 1878, d. 22 April 1958, buried Cullman. Married
Nancy Adeline King 28 Feb 1897 in Cullman. Had 9 known children.

13. Georgia Wren, b. June 1880, d. 1915 in Texas. Married Wiley J. Powell 22
Nov 1896 in Cullman. Had possibly two known children.

14. Unknown Wren, based on Martha's statement in the census that she had
given birth to 14 children.

The Griffis family (Mary Ann Wren and John Griffis) lived in Heard County as
early as 1850. In 1870, during a family domestic squabble, John Griffis was
fatally shot. Two of his children and one in-law were charged with the
shooting --- Susan Griffis Noles, Paschal Griffis, and Thomas Teal. Paschal
fled the state and moved to Arkansas. All three were later exonerated of all
charges, but Paschal is said to have died before he found out he had been
cleared.

Susan Griffis Noles, widowed by the aftermath of the Civil War, moved to
Carroll County where she died in 1911. She had one son, William Dennis Noles,
who married Pollie Ann McWhorter (sister of William Leroy McWhorter).

Thomas Teal is said to have moved to Haralson County.

Mary Ann Wren Griffis also moved to Carroll County and is thought to be
buried in a grave with no dates in Powell's Chapel Methodist Church cemetery
near Villa Rica. Susan is buried there also.

We do not have solid proof that Mary Ann Wren Griffis was the sister of
William Wren, but the paths and locations of the family are so similar, and
interactions with other family members are also similar (Newton McWhorter,
brother-in-law of Eliza Wren and brother of William Leroy McWhorter, signed
Susan's pension application), we are almost certain. We are seeking William's
parents, probably in North Carolina. Also would like to know if the many
Wrens in Campbell County, GA (adjacent to Carroll) are connected to this
family.

Thanks,
Judy in Newnan, GA

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