Introduction to George Scott Pegram, Jr.
The earliest record found of a Pegram in Davidson County, Tenessee, is that of George S. (Scott) Pegram, dated April 18, 1823. On this date he purchased "730¼, more or less," acres of land, in what was then, Davidson County, now Cheatham. When Chatham County was formed in 1856, the Pegram area was taken into the new county. George Scott Pegram, Junior, a banker from Petersburg, Virginia, his family, and some of their neighbors and friends, left their homes in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and headed for the hills of Tennessee. They left some time after the 1820 Dinwiddie County census was taken, since George's name appears on it, and arrived after the 1820 Davidson County census was recorded.
They had arrived by the purchase date of the above tract of land. Some of the members of the Woodward family were in this group of early settlers. The desire for land is probably what motivated these people to make the long, hard journey. These rugged pioneers had traveled in oxcarts, making their way slowly across the beautiful Shenandoah Mountains to reach their destination. These innovative individuals had tied small trees to the rear of their carts, and raised and lowered them, when needed for brakes, as they descended into the valleys.
After reaching Middle Tennessee, and passing through the Ashland City area, the group made it as far as what is now, Pegram, when a wheel came off of one of their carts, forcing their journey to come to a halt. After looking the countryside over, they must have liked what they saw, or were just too bone weary to travel farther. Whatever the reason, they remained, and began to clear the land, build their homes, and cultivate the soil. There were other settlers already here when they arrived. Joseph Hannah had received a preemption land grant of one hundred acres, in this area of the county, on February 27, 1791. This was only part of his grant. It is not certain when William Pegram, George Scott's brother arrived, but records show that he was here prior to January 19, 1831, the date of his marriage to Agnes Mays.
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Early Pegram Land Owners
It is not surprising that this town was given the name of Pegram, when you look at the early deed books, showing that nearly all of the land here once belonged to the Pegrams. They owned a combined total of, at least three thousand, four hundred and forty acres. April 18, 1823, is the earliest date recorded, that a Pegram acquired land in Davidson County. On this day, George Scott Pegram, Junior, purchased seven hundred and thirty and one fourth acres. The earliest record of land ownership, in what is now, Pegram, is the preemption grant to Joseph Hannah, dated February 27, 1791.
On July 29, 1823, George S. Pegram purchased one hundred and forty additional acres, on Big Harpeth River, from Lewis Dunn.
March 12,1828, George Pegram acquired land in this area, which bordered,on the eastern side, a twelve hundred acre tract belongingto William Drennan Hutton, and on the west, the property of Benjamin Woodward. On March 3, 1834, George Pegram obtained three hundred and forty additional acres on Big Harpeth River, from William Reeves. June 11, 1835, George Pegram acquired another one hundred and thirty-two acres from Arnold Russell, also on Harpeth River.
George Scott Pegram, Junior, was granted a five hundred acre tract of land, on March 10, 1838, in a Tennessee Land Grant, signed by James K. Polk, Governor of Tennessee, and later President of the United States.° This land also bordered the twelve hundred acres belonging to William Drennan Hutton, mentioned above, then ran north with land that was owned by Turner J. Evans, and Benjamin Woodward. March 15, 1838, George Pegram acquired one hundred and forty-six acres of land, as the assignee of William Greer, Junior, on a Tennessee Land Grant.
This property began at Francis Newsom's west boundary, joining a tract already owned by George. Then it followed his line on to John Dill's land on the north, then back east to Newsom's line. On June 2, 1843, George Pegram obtained more land on Big Harpeth River, this time from his son, Roger Pegram. Records show that George Scott Pegram, Junior, was the owner of at least nineteen hundred and eighty-eight acres of land in this area, making him the biggest land owner of the Pegrams, or anyone else in the area. His brother, William Pegram, owned at least three hundred and thirty-nine and one half acres, in the Pegram, Tennessee area. After the death in 1860, of George's widow, Frances, the plantation where their mansion stood, was sold. In accordance with his will, the proceeds were divided among his children.When you consider the amount of land owned by the Pegrams, they were not big slaveholders. They owned a total between them of only twenty-three, in 1859. The biggest slave owner here was Dr. W.J. Carter, with thirty-two. In 1859, Pegrams owned two thousand four hundred and ninety acres of land, in District 9 and 11, of Cheatham County.
On March 12, 1861, John Peter Pegram purchased two hundred and eighty-two acres, in Cheatham County, from John N. Barclift, for seventy-eight hundred dollars. He already owned eight hundred acres in this county. By 1865, Pegrams owned a combined total of three thousand, four hundred and forty acres. By 1878, the amount of land owned by persons by the name of Pegram, in the Pegram area, had decreased to only eleven hundred and forty-one acres. Apparently some of them had sold part, or all, of their land.
Following is a list of the names of land owners in Pegram, in the years 1859 with the number of slaves taken from Davidson Co., TN Tax Book:
NAME ACRES SLAVES Roger Pegram 740 11 Robert W. Pegram 800 06 John Peter Pegram 800 06 J.W. Pegram 150 - Susannah Thompson 142 03 Joseph Mays 351 04 W.W. Thompson 650 - J.W. Thompson 87 07 Mastin Ussery 600 04 Benjamin Woodward 440 11 Henry Kellum 146 04 E.J. Kreider 146 04 Kellum Heirs 219 11 Joseph Kellum 219 11 Elizabeth Woodward 440 11 Henry M. Hutton 600 01 William Greer 826 07 J.W. Fulghum 250 - W.J. Carter 900 32
Sources and Notes:
1. Note by N. Duffy: This is transcribed (subject to minor changes) with permission from Some Middle Tennessee Pegrams and Their Ancestors by Dorothy Pegram Roland, a descendant of Daniel Pegram of Warren Co., NC, who still lives in Pegram, TN. and holds the copyright to all information from her book. It is based in part on research by Robert E. Pegram of Dallas, Texas and in part reflects his opinions as to the ancestors of George Scott Pegram, Jr. To date, there is no clear documentation to prove the ancestry of George Scott Pegram, Jr. and others have strongly suggested that George Scott Pegram, Jr. was descended from George Pegram, brother of Edward Pegram of Dinwiddie Co., Va. rather than from Edward's line. While we are more inclined to believe that George Scott Pegram, Jr. was descended from George Pegram, son of Daniel Pegram and brother of Edward Pegram, we will leave it to researchers of this family to find the documentation to prove this line. We do feel it is safe to say that George Scott Pegram, Jr. was descended from our common ancestor, George Pegram of Williamsburg, Va. In fact, we had communication with family members in Tennessee during the 1970s when someone wanted to establish the line for Colonial Dames XVII Century and the line was accepted. We are just not in a position to affirmatively state who his father was.
2. Davidson Co., Tn. Deed Book Q, p.308
3. Tennessee State Library and Archives Leaflet.
4. Interview by Dorothy Pegram Roland with Lottie Mai Ivy.
5. Letter from Mary Lou Linton Beach to Dorothy Pegram Roland writer.
6. Davidson Co., Tn. Land Grant #141, Roll 241, Book F-6, p.113.
7. Davidson Co., Tn. Marriage Records, Roll #469, Vol. 1, p.394.
8. Some Middle Tennessee Pegrams and Their Ancestors
9. Davidson Co., Tn. Deed Book Q, p.308.
10. Davidson Co., Tn. Land Grant, Preemption, #141, Roll 241, Book F-6, p.113.
11. Davidson Co., Tn. Deed Book Q, p.579.
12. Davidson Co., Tn. Deed Book S, p.308.
13. Davidson Co., Tn. Deed Book X, p.344.
14. Davidson Co., Tn. Deed Book Y, p.19.
15. Davidson Co., Tn. Land Grant, #16248.
16. Davidson Co., Tn. Land Grant, #16792, Book 17, p.892, Roll 120.
17. Davidson Co., Tn. Will Book 14, p.191.
18. Davidson Co., Tn. Tax Book-1859, 1865, & 1878.
19. Check out the tax records of Dinwiddie Co., Va. showing possible ancestry of George Scott Pegram, Jr.