| Notes |
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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.
SHADRACK R. SUDBURY (1786-1859) was a patriarchal figure and landowner
reminiscent of his grandfather Ezekiel. Both acquired extensive landholdings over a
period of years, probably with a great deal of hard work. Each suffered the loss of his
first wife, and went on to marry and have additional children with a second wife.
One uncertainty about Shadrack is the date of his birth. Gladys Sudbury Alison gives
the date as September 28, 1786, but the accuracy of Gladys' information in this regard
is subject to question, since she also states that he was born at sea, en route to
America, while it is clear that he was born in Amelia County, Virginia. However,
some support for the birthdate of late 1786 is given by the 1850 Tennessee census, in
which Shadrack is listed as being 73 years of age.
It is interesting to speculate why William and Frances would name their first son
Shadrack, and their second son Ezekiel. It might have been expected that the name
"Ezekiel", after William's father, would have been given to their first born son. Was
"Shadrack" also a family name, perhaps that of William's grandfather, or Frances's
father or grandfather? Glenn Boyd has also done some thinking about this subject, and
writes:
One speculation I have just come across about Shadrack's name is that there was a
Shadrack Dunnivant contemporary with Shadrack Sudbury. Was this his maternal
grandfather or maybe an uncle? Certainly it would make sense to have the first
son named after Frances's father (Shadrack), the second son named after
William's father (Ezekiel) and then the third son named after William (William
D.).
Another question about Shadrack is the spelling of his first name. Sources for the
spelling which would be expected to be somewhat reliable, namely his will and
headstone, give different spellings. Whereas his will appears to record his name as
"Shadrach", the spelling on his headstone is "Shadrack". Although the author of this
history is not entirely convinced that "Shadrach" is not the proper spelling, the prepon-
derance of available sources seem to spell the name with a "k", and that will therefore
be the spelling used here.
The earliest discovered record of Shadrack's existence is the 1820 census index for
Virginia, where he is listed as living in Nottoway County. (The census record
underlying this entry needs to be looked up.) By 1822, when his first child, Jeremiah,
was born, Shadrack had married a woman named whose last name we
do not know. In 1825, a second son, John, was born to Shadrack and Elizabeth.
In late 1829 or early 1830, Shadrack and his family left Virginia and migrated to
Tennessee, where they settled in Williamson County, near Nashville. (Glenn Boyd
says Shadrack is listed in a Buckingham County, Virginia deed book, in an entry dated
November 23, 1829. Most likely the entry reflects Shadrack's sale of his property in
preparation for his move to Tennessee.) Shadrack was probably joined in his migration
to Tennessee by his younger brother, William D. Sudbury. Shadrack and William are
the only Sudburys listed in the index to the 1830 Tennessee census.
Following the 1830 census, the next public record in which Shadrack's name appears is
related to his brother William's death in early 1836. After William died, an estate sale
of his personal property was held, and purchases by approximately 50 individuals are
recorded. Shadrack is one of three Sudbury family members listed among the
purchasers. He bought, among other things, a workbench and grindstone, an oil stone,
a compass, and a tub.
Shadrack's wife, Elizabeth, died on August 1, 1838, according to the book Early
Obituaries of Williamson County, Tennessee, by Louise Gillespie Lynch. The following year, on October 31, 1839, Shadrack remarried. His new bride, SUSANNAH
POYNOR, was also from Virginia, having been born there in 1801. A daughter,
Sarah, was born to Shadrack and Susannah in 1843.
Shadrack and his family apparently remained in Williamson County until about 1848,
when they relocated to Dyer County in western Tennessee, near what is now the town
of Friendship, in Crockett County. Over the next ten years, Shadrack acquired at least
275 acres of land, on part of which he operated a mill. He also had a partnership
interest in a ginning and carding factory. These business ventures are briefly
mentioned in his will. Some of the labor for these operations was undoubtedly supplied
by the numerous slaves Shadrack owned. Gladys Sudbury Alison's history lists the
names of his slaves: Monroe, Mary and two children, Lucinda and Tom; Jane and
child Philip; Marion, Jeff, Eliza, Parthena and her four children, Rebecca, Mary, Mark
and Jim; Charles, Azey and her two children, Ann and Luke; Nancy, Sally and Bytha.
As the 1850s drew to a close, Shadrack's health declined until he was, as he stated in
his will, "sound of mind but frail in body". According to Gladys Sudbury Alison's
history, Shadrack died on May 18, 1859, at the age of 73. He is buried in the Mt.
Zion Cemetery east of Friendship, Tennessee, and his gravesite and tall white
headstone can still be visited today. (To reach the cemetery, take the Friendship-Eaton
Road east from downtown Friendship, past old Highway 20. After a short drive, the
road forks. Take the left fork until it crosses Mt. Zion Road. Turn right on Mt. Zion,
which curves around to the left and into the cemetery.)
Shadrack's will is dated February 28, 1857, with a codicil having been executed on
May 10, 1859, eight days before his death. In his will, Shadrack left his real and
personal property to his three children, but bequeathed to his "beloved wife Susan" a
life estate in the property. Gladys Sudbury Alison's history refers to a quitclaim deed
dated October 3, 1859, by which Susan relinquished her life estate to Shadrack's
children in exchange for their promise to pay her an annuity of $300.00 per year for
the rest of her life.
The date and place of Susan's death are unknown at this time. Although she is listed in
the 1860 census as living alone somewhere in Dyer County, she does not appear in the
1870 Tennessee census. Sudbury family tradition holds that Susan's only child, Sarah
Sudbury Farmer, and her husband eventually left Tennessee to settle in Arkansas.
Research may reveal that Susan joined them there.
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1786 - 1859 (72 years)
