EARLY ROUTONS
A PILLAR OF THE SPRINGHILL CHURCH
(Mary Catherine Haymes Routon)
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Mary Catherine Haymes Routon was born December 20, 1834 in Virginia, the daughter of William Haymes. As a child she came to Henry County, Tennessee. She was well educated, one of the first
female teachers in the county, and was governess of the children of
Isham G. Harris (Civil War Tennessee Governor). In 1858 she married Stephen Palmer Routon, and they had five children.
Her dedication to her community and fellow man earned her the respect of the countryside. She took in widows and orphans.
She taught Sunday School at Springhill Church for over sixty years and probably taught more children in Sunday School than any other person in Henry County. Her son, Q. E. Routon, was Springhill Church Clerk for over half a century.
She gave to Henry County some of its finest citizens. Her son
Mr. Joe Routon was Superintendent of Henry County Schools for over thirty years, bringing it into the modern age. He did much to help the black schools. Her other son S. J. Routon was a state senator, instrumental in passing child labor laws.
Her other son Q. E. Routon also was County Court Clerk.
When she died, she had one of the largest funerals at Springhill Church. She was loved and revered in the Routon
community and affectionately called Ma Routon.
MARY CATHERINE HAYMES ROUTON
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Mary Catherine Haymes was born December 20, 1834 in Danville,
Virginia, the daughter of William Henry Haymes and Mary Frances Walters. She was the second of nine children. When she was six the
family left Virginia and came to Henry County, Tennessee.
She was one of the first teachers in Henry County and at one time she was the governess to the children of Gov. Isham G. Harris.
He was Tennessee’s Civil War Governor.
She was married June 1, 1858 to Stephen Palmer Routon, son of Philip
Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon. They lived on the farm he had purchased in 1856 in the then-called Albany community, later called Routon.
When she was young she was outgoing and full of fun.
It was said that she was a spiritual medium, and held séances to
entertain her friends. Her cousin, Thorton Russell, would play the violin and she would“communicate” with the deceased.
Once she got a message in the form of handwriting on the table from George Washington “to leave the spirits alone.”
The story says the table shook, told to me by Mrs. W. D. Bond, a granddaughter of Mr. Russell.
The Civil War left the Haymes Family devastated.
Her mother had just died and her father was already old
He told her he would go to war in her husband’s place if she would stay
home and raise her younger brothers and sisters. And if anything happened to him, she would have his farm which joined theirs.
On April 2, 1862 on Island # 10 William Haymes was wounded
wearing the Confederate uniform. He died later that day near a church being used as a hospital.
The Haymes Family sent five sons to the Confederate Army. Archibald
Haymes was killed at # 10 Island with his father. Charles Haymes
never returned from the war, being unaccounted for. Mary Catherine
Haymes never stopped trying to find out what happened to this brother, writing as late as 1900 to old soldiers for possible information on him.
James, Iverson, and Felix Haymes returned from the war, but Felix was
deafened from the loud cannon noises. Once during the War the Yankees surrounded the Routon home and made Mary Catherine
cook for about 30 soldiers. They repaid her by stealing her chickens and raiding her ham house. She had one Negro slave named Harriet Routon, who returned once after the war to visit.
They called her “Aunt Harriet.”
Conditions were hard after the war. In 1860 the Routons’ first child, Quincy Everett, was born, In 1862 Horace Mortimer arrived. In
1864 Mary Gertrude was born. Joseph Senter was born in 1867, followed in 1874 by Stephen James.
Living in the Routon home was Mary Fuqua Routon, mother-in-law, who lived there until 1878 when she died.
The Routons were instrumental in the Springhill Church.
Mary Catherine taught a Sunday School class for over 50 years and her
son, Q. E., was church clerk for 58 years.
In August 1874, while mending a fence in the rain, Stephen Palmer Routon took a cold and died with pneumonia on August 22nd. He had had consumption for several years. “Ma”, as they called her, held the family together with the help of her two brothers, Felix and Iverson, who still lived with her, and later James (Jim) moved in with them. She raised cotton and corn and farmed several hundred acres.
Her youngest sister, Leannah, married William Greer and moved five miles nearer town. The sisters remained close all their lives, both living to be an old age.
In addition to giving a home to her mother-in-law, brothers and sisters,
her doors were open to all. No one was ever turned away hungry. She
took in old Routon relatives, left homeless, one being “Aunt Polly”Bush
(relative of Walters). One story about Polly is when the minister was trying to get her to tithe, with “Jesus would want you to give Him your money.” Her reply was, “Yes, I’m an old woman, and I’ll see Him before you will, and I’ll give Him my money.” Her husband, Uriah Bush, was instrumental in establishing the First Baptist Church in Paris and also Springhill Church. Ma also took in two orphans of Dr. Philip Routon, one being Grace Routon who married Ollie Watkins. Another orphan took in was the mother of Mr. Moody, owner of Moody Realty.
Ma was known far and wide for her charitable deeds. She was called “Aunt Kate” by the people in the community.
She was very strict and known to have a final word in decisions.
Aunt Catherine Routon Burton remembers from her childhood that no one could cut the bread without Ma’s permission.
Her son James would bring her fresh fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines which she held and stored behind the books, giving them out as she wanted to. She loved to read and even on her death bed she corrected incorrect English and the mispronounced words of others.
She was not over five feet, five inches tall, with brown eyes, brown hair
and a sweet smile. In later life she refused referrals to her once being a seer. She died October 13, 1920 and is buried by her husband at Springhill Church.
Daddy Jim was always a dutiful son to his mother and maiden sister and
when he made hurried trips back to the farm where the two women lived, if they needed anything they would tie a white handkerchief on the front iron gate, for him to stop; otherwise he would know they didn’t need him for anything and he would hurry on with his business.
Ma was named for her maternal grandmother, Katie Walters Stamps.
CAROLINE ROUTON – AUNT SCRAP
(Daughter of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon)
Born: September 13, 1820 Died:
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Caroline was born September 13, 1820, in Logan County, Kentucky.
She was the first child of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua.
She came to Henry County, Tennessee,
as a small child with her parents in the 1820’s.
She married Thomas Pennick, son of Henry Pennick and Sarah McGee of Prince Edward County, Virginia.
They had five children. Her husband was a preacher of sorts.
She was a wonderful quilter and made beautiful quilts.
She was always looking for scraps for her quilts, so the nieces and
nephews called her “Aunt Scrap”.
Cousin Vera did not remember where they died or
where they were buried. She and I looked for their
graves, and did not find them, but had fun.
She had five children, Oscar, Aaron, Stephen, a daughter who married a
Fields, and John Routon Penick. Stephen Penick married Fannie
Anderson March 21, 1871.
DR. AARON FUQUA ROUTON
(Son of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon)
Born: February 6, 1822
Died: 1851
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Aaron Fuqua Routon was born February 6, 1822 in Logan County, Kentucky, the son of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua. The Routons bought land in Henry County, Tennessee, in 1822.
As a baby he came to Henry County to a new region opening to white
settlers. His father died when he was a teenager and after a few years he was appointed guardian of his small brothers and sisters.
He was an understudy for a doctor in Mansfield, and thereafter became a doctor.
He was married July 11, 1847, to Elizabeth Williams in Benton County,
Tennessee. They were divorced. I do not know the cause of the trouble.
Cousin Vera said his wife tried to take his mother’s home as part of the divorce settlement, and was considered a vindictive woman. They had two children, Mary and Aaron, called Bud.
Mary married and lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Quincy Everett Routon remembers her coming back to visit.
His ex-wife married the second time to a Butterworth, in Henry County.
For many years Dr. Aaron Routon remained in Benton County and served the community as a doctor. In those days divorced people were looked down upon, and I have no record of him remarrying. He died at the turn of the century and is buried in the City Cemetery in Camden.
I wish I had more on the children and grandchildren of Dr. Aaron
Routon. Most of the information on him came from census records, court records, and Cousin Vera Routon.
In the 1860 census, his children were in Lake County, Tennessee.
I wonder if his wife was hiding them? Dr. Aaron Routon died in 1851.
DR. PHILIP ROUTON
(Son of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon)
Born: March 16, 1832
Died: March 13, 1879
(Great Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878)
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Dr. Philip Routon was born March 16, 1832 in Henry County,
Tennessee. He was the son of Philip and Mary Fuqua Routon. He
was a twin to John Routon. Twins come in on the Fuqua side of the family. I do not know about his schooling. He had an older brother, Aaron Routon, who was a doctor who practiced in Camden, Tennessee. I think at that time you could study under another doctor in an apprenticeship and be able to learn enough to practice. There was an older doctor, Dr. Joe Travis, in Manleyville, that Aaron studied under.
Philip married July 22, 1858 to Sarah Wimbish. His twin brother, John, had three years earlier married Sarah’s sister, Martha Wimbush. Both were daughters of Watson and Judith Wimbush. Later the families were further joined when their nephew, Joseph Routon,
married Minnie Wimbush, niece of their wives.
In the yellow fever epidemic Dr. Philip Routon went day and night attending the sick. His wife went along with him to help, such as holding lights, etc. Toward the end of the epidemic they both came down with yellow fever and both died. His death was March 13,
and hers a few days later, March 22, 1879. I have only heard their
names spoken of with reverence and great respect. They are both buried in unmarked graves in Springhill Cemetery. I am ashamed no monument has been erect in their memory.*
Their granddaughter, Mary Routon Smith, had plans to erect one but died before she accomplished this. Their epitaph would have been,“Blessed are the merciful”.
Their children were divided between different family members.
My great-grandmother, Mary Haymes Routon, took Grace and raised her. Miss Grace Routon became a school teacher who married Mr. Ollie Watkins.
They were unable to have children of their own and went to Nashville to the orphanage and saw the most adorable little brother and sister.
They took the girl and fives miles outside of Nashville, Mr. Ollie looked over to Miss Grace and with her big eyes she told him everything and he turned the buggy around and went back to the orphanage and they got the little brother.
There are many descendents of Dr. Philip in Henry County today but none bear the Routon name. Mary Smith Routon was my friend and most of my information came from her.
(Note: In 2010, a monument was dedicated in the Springhill Baptist Church Cemetery marking the graves of Dr. Philip Quincy Routon and his wife, Sarah Wimbish, and honoring their sacrifice for the yellow fever victims of 1879 – see Remembering the Routons, Miscellaneous, Dr. Philip Quincy Routon Dedication Program.)
MARY “POLLY” PENELOPE FUQUA ROUTON
Born: October 14, 1796
Died: 1878
Daughter of Stephen Fuqua and Susanna Garrett, Wife of Philip Routon
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
In the South, if the men were our heroes, our women were the foundations of our families. This has been true through several generations of our family, the young father dying young and leaving the mother to carry on with the small children.
Mary Fuqua Routon was born October 14, 1796, in Buckingham Count, VA, the second child and daughter of Stephen Fuqua and Susannah Garrett. The Fuqua spring from noble lineages, dating back to the Marquis de Fuqua of France. Her immigrant ancestor was Guillaume
(French for William) Fuqua who came to this country in the 1690’s.
Her mother was Susanna Garrett, the daughter of Charles Garrett and Mary Ayers. On November 19, 1813, her mother gave birth to her sixth child and thirteen days later died. Mary Fuqua with her older sister,
Sarah, helped raise her brothers and sisters. The next year her father married their mother’s first cousin, Nancy Ayers, and they had five children. Mary Fuqua had five full brothers and sisters and five half brothers and sisters. Her father left Virginia in 1818 and went to Logan County, Kentucky, where he lived the remainder of his life.
Mary Fuqua married November 4, 1819, to Philip Routon, son of John Routon and Hanna Palmer. The Routons and Fuquas had known each other in Buckingham, Virginia. In the early 1820’s Philip and Mary Routon came to Henry County, Tennessee, after West Tennessee was opened to white settlers. His bachelor brother, Stephen, came with him. I do not know if she ever saw her family again. A brother lived in Carroll County, Tennessee, and I remember seeing a letter my cousin Vera had, that he had written to his sister and it was full of praises to God, written in the late 1850’s.
Mary and Philip bought a farm in the Manelyville community with
the help of the Routon Family. Philip had a sister who was well off, married to a man by the last name of Harvey. Mary and her husband
were owners of one slave family.
1830 Mary gave birth to her fifth child on the same day that her three
year old son died (cause of death not known). Like her father, she had one set of twins and her grandson also had a set of twins. She was not rich, but was better off than most people due to her good management. Her daughter, Pertiny, married very young to Felix Hagler, who was from a rich family. Her oldest son, Dr. Aaron Routon, had a tragic marriage that ended in divorce. His wife caused a lot of trouble for the family and left. Mary had eight children and outlived two of them.
In 1852 Mary and sons bought a farm in the community called Albany, later changed to Routon. She lived with her son, Stephen Palmer
Routon, after her husband died. Her sons, Dr. Philip and John Routon, lived nearby. After her son Stephen died in 1874, she lived on with her daughter-in-law for four years. My grandfather was born in 1874 at which occasion she gave him a silver dollar, now in the possession of my brother, Dickie Routon. Like most Southerners she suffered in the defeat of the Old South which brought financial hardship and left her with only her pride and belief in Providence. Providence was the sustaining factor for women in this time. As an old woman she fondly remembered her youth in the Old Dominion as she called it. She rode side saddle like a blue blood Virginian straight in the saddle. For a little girl born in Virginia at the time George Washington was President, moved to the frontier in a covered wagon, lived through the Civil War and her children she raised to be God-fearing, she lived to see many of her grandchildren grown. She was a member of Springhill Baptist Church where she was buried in 1878. In Aunt Gertie’s notes she wrote that Mary Fuqua Routon’s favorite hymn was “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.” Philip Routon is buried in a private cemetery
on the Manleyville property they later sold.
*******************************************************
Polly remained in Henry County until her death on November 8, 1878.
She is buried in Springhill Baptist Church Cemetery, about five
miles south of Paris, Tennessee. It is said that the tombstone for
Philip and his brother, Stephen, are still standing on the original land near Manleyville.
MARY PORTER ROUTON
(Daughter of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon)
Born: July 8, 1835
Died: January 18, 1907
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Mary Porter Routon was born July 8, 1835, in Henry County, Tennessee, the last child of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua. Her father died when she was only three or four years old. She was named Mary Porter after her mother’s good friend. After her father’s death, Mr. Porter was named guardian of her father’s estate, as women had little rights in those days. The Routons and the Porters
remained friends for several generations.
When she was eighteen years old, she married William Southern on November 12, 1853 in Henry County. The young husband was killed fighting in the Confederate army in Virginia. I do not know which regiment he fought in. I doubt in later years if she was able to visit his grave. The brave young widow returned to the protection of her mother. Her four brothers, none of whom served in the war, felt it their duty to help protect their baby sister and her only
daughter, as her husband had given his life nobly for the Cause.
She never remarried. How she sustained herself in those hard times with a child, I do not know,
but in those times families stuck together closely.
Her only daughter, Emma, married Iverson Haymes.
He was the son of William Haymes, Jr. and a baby brother of Mary
Catherine Routon, the wife of her uncle, making the family ties tighter.
When Emma married and moved to Jackson, Tennessee, Mary moved with her to help care for the children. She died January 18, 1909. I believe she is buried in the River Forest Cemetery in Jackson, while the young husband of her youth rested after death a half
century earlier in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
I have never corresponded with any of her descendents, but I would like
to as I am related on both Routon and Haymes sides.
See chapter on Haymes.
**********************************************************
MARY PORTER ROUTON
Mary Porter Routon, the daughter of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua, was born July 8, 1835, Henry County, Tennessee. She married William S. Sutherlin. She died January 18, 1909.
THEIR CHILDREN (one daughter):
Emma Sutherlin married Iverson Haymes, son of William H. Haymes and Mary F. Walters. They had 4 children:
Spurgeon A. Haymes, Ivy Haymes, Mable Haymes, &
D. Mrs. J. P. Wood, who had a daughter Lizza
Emma is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Jackson, Tennessee.
Note: Porter is not a Routon name.
Mary Porter was a friend of Mary
Fuqua.
Tennessee Trailings
Above, Mary Fuqua Routon, who was born in Virginia at the time George Washington was
president, came to Henry County in the 1820s as a young mother. She died in 1878
and is buried at Spring Hill.
president, came to Henry County in the 1820s as a young mother. She died in 1878
and is buried at Spring Hill.
Locals have ties to French Huguenots
Published: Friday, June 25, 2010 11:49 AM CDT
From
STEPHANIE TAYLOE
The Routons of Henry County are descended from two
French Huguenot families, Routon and Fuqua, who were long in Virginia before the Revolutionary War.
Philip Routon, son of John Routon and Hannah Palmer Routon, was born April 17, 1792, in Buckingham County, Va. He married Mary
“Polly” Fuqua on Nov. 4, 1819 in Logan County, Ky.
She was born Oct. 16, 1796, in Buckingham County, Va., the daughter of Stephen and Susannah Garrett Fuqua.
Mary died in 1878 in Henry County and is buried at Spring Hill. The Routons came to Henry County about 1824.
The children of Philip and Mary Fuqua Routon were:
1. Caroline Routon, born 1820; married Thomas Penick;
six children: Mary, James, Aaron, Robert, Stephen, John.
2. Aaron Fuqua Routon, born 1822; married Elizabeth Williams; two children: Mary and Aaron.
3. Pertney Hale Routon married Felix Hagler, son of John Hagler; five
children: Joseph, Dr. William, Felix, John, Keiren.
4. Stephen Palmer Routon, born 1830; married Mary Catherine Haymes, daughter of William Haymes and Mary Frances Walters; five
children: Q.E., Horace, Mary G., Joe, Stephen James.
5. Dr. Philip Routon, born 1832; married Sarah Wimbish; seven children: Docia, Geneva, Mary, James, Grace, Hallie, Allen, Paul.
6. John Routon married Martha Wimbish;
nine children: William, Mary, Roland, Judith, Talitha, Milton, Theophilus, Martha, Henry.
7. Mary Porter Routon married William Sutherland: one
daughter, Mary. William Sutherland was killed in the Civil War.
• • •
Comments, queries, family history sheets and/or Bible records can be sent to Tennessee Trailings,
8110 Shady Grove Road, Puryear, TN 38251.
Queries also can be sent by e-mail to cuttincorners@wk.net
PERTNEY HALE ROUTON
(Daughter of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon)
Born: April 1, 1824
Died: 1907
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Pertney Routon was born April 1, 1824 in Logan County,
Kentucky, the daughter of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon.
She was married to Felix Bryan Hagler, son of John L. Hagler and Jolley Johnson. She was 17 years old when she married, soon after her father’s death. She made a successful marriage in a material way, but there are stories of her husband’s unkindness to her, evidence of his infidelity with slave women. His father was one of the richest men in Henry County, owning vast acres in Henry, Carroll and Obion Counties.
He boasted that he could ride from the Tennessee to the Mississippi Rivers without leaving his own property. He allegedly owned over 3,000 acres and 200 slaves. Pertney and her husband bought land that became known as Haglersville Plantation and the little town of Haglersville evolved.
Two of her sons, Joe and Quincy, served in the Confederate Army. Her great-granddaughter, Mrs. John Beck, had interesting Civil War letters that the boys had written back to their mother, promising not to swear, play cards or fall into bad company. One letter told their mother, “If the Yankees come around, don’t sign a pledge that you will not send the Negroes to aid in the Confederate Army, even if they burn you out.” Her husband died early in the war. Cousin Vera Routon said her nieces and nephews called her, “Aunt Neat” because she was such a meticulous housekeeper. Hers was a well ordered world of solid cherry and mahogany, fine linens and inherited silver, of housekeepers and yard boys, but after the war, the defeat of the South brought financial hardships. She lost much of her land for back taxes and slaves scattered. All that was left was the 300 acres, dowry from the Routons, everything gone to rack and ruin.
She waited on her boys, “hand and foot” and they were typical of many Southern boys of that day, well educated, handsome and lazy. But her son, William Q. Hagler, was a legend of sorts for his kindness.
Hers was not a life without sorrow, being a widow for over 40 years, outliving many of her children. She died in 1907 while visiting her daughter Kara in Benton County.
I have corresponded with her great granddaughter, Mrs. John Beck, who furnished me with many details of the Hagler family history.
I have known a few of her descendents.
Cousin Vera Routon remembered her well.
My grandfather, S. J. Routon, held the Hagler family in high regard.
I have been told that one of her sons was tied to a railroad track and killed. The family blamed the Busharts.
I am told she had the Fuqua chin or almost no chin at all. In the next generation Mr. Earl Routon, son of Mr. Joe Routon, had the Fuqua chin.
I knew an old woman, a Mrs. McClure, at the Paris Senior Citizens Center, who was very proud of the fact that Dr. Hagler had delivered her in the1890’s and the delivery fee was $ 2.00.
Tennessee Trailings
(Paris Post-Intelligencer)
Life of Philip Routon recapped
Published: Friday, June 18, 2010 12:01 PM CDT
From STEPHANIE TAYLOE
A dedication ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. July 2 in Springhill Baptist Church cemetery by the Routon family to dedicate a grave stone memorial of Philip Routon and his wife, Sarah Wimbish Routon, who both died in March, 1879.
The cemetery is located beside the church at 1302 Spring Hill Road, south of Paris.
Dr. Routon and his wife gave their lives treating yellow fever epidemic patients during what is called The Great Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878.
This epidemic struck New Orleans and moved up the Mississippi River to Memphis causing 5,000 confirmed deaths there. It gradually continued to move up the Mississippi River valley to Paris. Other western Tennessee cities hard hit were Milan, Collierville, Brownsville, Martin and LaGrange.
Because of the economic struggles faced by so many in the post-reconstruction South, the Routon family could not afford a stone marker in 1879 for the graves.
This couple’s graves lay unmarked for more than 130 years from the time of their death.
Routon family members purchased the memorial stone in September 2009, to commemorate these caregivers. The marker reads:
ROUTON
Dr. Philip Quincy
1832-1879
Sarah Wimbish, 1839-1879
Died Fighting the Yellow Fever
“Blessed are the Merciful”
This was one of three Routon-Wimbish marriages. The others were the marriage of John Henry Routon to Martha Hunt Wimbish and the marriage of Joseph Senter Routon, superintendent of county schools from 1903- 1932, to Minnie Greer Wimbish.
Philip Routon was born in 1832 in Henry County, the son of Philip and Mary Fuqua Routon. Philip was a twin of John Henry Routon. His older brother, Aaron Routon, was a physician who practiced in Camden, Tenn.
During the yellow fever epidemic, Dr. Philip Routon went day and night to attend the sick. His wife, Martha, went along with him to help. Toward the end of the epidemic they both came down with yellow fever and died.
His death was on March 13, 1879; her death was a few days later on March 22. They were remembered by the Paris community with reverence and respect.
This couple left children which were taken in by other Routon family members. Mary Haymes Routon took Grace to raise.
Grace Routon became a school teacher who married Ollie Watkins. Unable to have children of their own, they visited a Nashville orphanage and met a boy and girl who were brother and sister.
They took the little girl to adopt but five miles outside Nashville, Ollie and Grace turned the buggy around and returned to the orphanage to take in the little boy, too.
The dedication is open to all Routon and Wimbish descendents.
During the dedication, a brief speech will be given along with prayers and the laying of a wreath by the Routons’ graves.
The Routon family will have an informal get-together dinner at 6 p.m. at Fresh Market restaurant. The dinner is also open to Wimbish family descendents.
• • •
Comments, queries, family history sheets and/or Bible records can be sent to Tennessee Trailings, 8110 Shady Grove Road, Puryear, TN 38251.
Queries also can be sent by e-mail to cuttincorners@wk.
STEPHEN FUQUA
Born: February 22, 1769
Died: 1843
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Stephen was born February 22, 1769 in Buckingham County, Virginia. He married Susannah Garrett, the daughter of Charles Garrett and Mary (Molly) Ayres. She like her husband was born on February 22, in the year 1772. They were married on December 17, 1790. They had seven children. Thirteen days after the birth of their seventh child, at Christmas holidays, she died. Within a year, he remarried, to Nancy Ayres, first cousin of his first wife, and he had several children by her. They left Virginia about 1814 and came to Logan County, Kentucky, where he lived until 1843. He made his will there.
It was in Logan County, Kentucky, where the Routons had come from Buckingham County, Virginia, that Mary Fuqua, second daughter of Stephen, married Philip Routon in 1819. The Routon couple left Kentucky in 1828 and came to Henry County, Tennessee. I do not know if Mary Fuqua ever saw her father again.
Stephen Fuqua lived to be about 74 years old, and is buried in the Fuqua Cemetery in Logan County, Kentucky.
From the Stephen Fuqua Bible:
Stephen Fuqua born Feb. 22, 1769
Susanna Fuqua born Feb. 22, 1772
Stephen Fuqua and Susannah Garrett the daughter of
Charles Garrett were married Dec. 17, 1790, Buckingham
County, Virginia
Sarah Fuqua born Oct. 7, 1795
Mary Penelope Fuqua born Oct. 14, 1796
Stephen Fuqua born July 22, 1804
Mattheu Fuqua March 1, 1807
Elizabeth Ann Fuqua Sep. 3, 1811
Joseph M. Fuqua born Sept. 3, 1811
William G. Fuqua born Nov. 19, 1813
Susannah Garrett Fuqua departed this world Dec. 2, 1813
Stephen Fuqua took as his 2nd wife Nancy Ayres
Their children:
Martha Jane Fuqua born July 18, 1815
Susannah Fuqua born Dec. 30, 1816
John A. Fuqua born Feb. 20, 1818
Moses Fuqua born Jan. 26, 1820
Virginia Fuqua born May 6, 1822
Stephen Fuqua died 1843, Logan County, Kentucky
STEPHEN PALMER ROUTON
(Son of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua Routon)
Born: February 6, 1830 Died: August 22, 1874
From
The Routons of Paris and Henry County, Tennessee
by Stephanie Routon Tayloe
Stephen Palmer Routon was the fifth child of Philip Routon and Mary Fuqua. The third son, he was born February 6, 1830,
in Henry County, Tennessee.
The Routons had only been in Henry County a few years when he was born. Both Routons and Fuquas had lived in Buckingham County, Virginia, and both families had migrated to
Logan County, Kentucky, where they were married.
His father was a slave holder of one family,
a father, mother, and several children.
One the day he was born he had an older brother William who died on the same day of his birth. Cause of death of the three year old child is unknown. He was named Stephen after his maternal grandfather and Palmer after his father’s mother, Hanna Palmer.
Hanna Palmer was the wife of John Routon.
When he was about ten to thirteen years old his father died, leaving his mother with seven children, a farm in the Manleyville community and a few slaves to help run the farm, but Mary Fuqua managed.
In 1856 the Routons sold the Manleyville property and bought land in a nearby community, Albany, later known as Routon. I think his mother must have bought the farm because several tracts were known as Dr. Philip Routon’s place, Mr. John Routon’s place, and Stephen Routon’s place.
In June 1858 he married Mary Catherine Haymes, the daughter of William Haymes, Jr. and Mary Frances Walters.
They had five children, four sons and one daughter.
He was a farmer and at the outbreak of the Civil War his father-in-law went to war in his place. He could read and write. He had long, shoulder length dark hair, dark eyes and a beard and mustache. He died August 22, 1874 from pneumonia that he developed after staying out in a rain to mend a fence. He was believed to have had consumption several years before his death. He left a six month old baby, my grandfather. Burial was in the cemetery in Springhill Church in Henry County.
Years later his widow, while attending a revival, lost her old wedding band when she stopped to let her horse drink water in a flowing creek bed.