Isaac Jones' second wife Bethania Bostick was born March 18, 1768 in southern Virginia, most likely near Pittsylvania or Halifax County. Her parents were Col. Absalom Bostick and Bethania Perkins, who had relocated their family to Surry County, NC from Virginia just prior to the American Revolution. They settled along the Dan River in the eastern part of the county which ultimately became Stokes County. Absalom Bostick had been a large source of supplies to the Patriot military during the American Revolution, also serving at the rank of captain. In 1789, he was elected to represent Surry County at the North Carolina Constitutional Convention in Fayetteville when the state ratified the U.S. Constitution and joined the Union. After the war, he bacame a successful planter and went on to serve in the General Assembly representing Stokes County as a member of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1790,1791 and 1793-1795.
On August 19, 1785 Bethania married her first husband Capt. Samuel Hampton. Samuel was the brother of Henry Hampton who founded the town of Hamptonville, which was located just a few miles southeast of where Isaac was living on Hunting Creek. Samuel Hampton was also a local Revolutionary War hero who had seen action and established his reputation at the Battle of Cowpens, the Battle of Kings Mountain, and on the Cherokee Expedition. During the course of their marriage Samuel and Bethania would have six children: James, Samuel, John, Mary, Susannah, and Manoah. The couple's marriage would come to an end after 17 years with the death of Capt. Samuel Hampton in 1802. Two years later in 1804, Bethania gets remarried to a man named Charles Perkins who also happened to be her first cousin. This second marriage would be relatively short-lived due to Charles Perkins death on February 14, 1813.
With the passing of her first husband Samuel Hampton, his entire plantation and all his slaves were left to Bethania in his will. Included in his estate were three tracts of land totaling 350 acres, all situated along the waters of Kennedy Creek which lies just to the east of Hunting Creek and flowed from Surry into Iredell County at the time. One of the tracts of land was in Iredell County and the other two were in Surry County, in essence straddling the border. The land had been under the care of one of Samuel Hampton's estate executors named John Donaldson, and Surry County land records indicate that in 1816 Bethania decided to lay claim to this land and relocate there from Stokes County. Subsequent tax lists for 1817 and 1818 show her being taxed for 100 acres along Hunting Creek which is described in the deed as being adjacent to Jesse Patterson. This is important to note because beginning in 1821 and continuing through the year 1826, Isaac Jones is shown as owning 100 acres of land adjacent Jesse Patterson and Bethania disappears from the tax record in 1819, providing the first evidence of their marriage and a possible time frame.
Unfortunately there isn't a marriage record for Isaac and Bethania's union. Bethania was living in northern Iredell County at the time, so the marriage bond would have been issued from there. It's most likely one will never be produced because most of the county marriage bonds were destroyed when the courthouse caught fire in 1854. Hardly a big deal because there are plenty of secondary sources that absolutely prove their marriage.The first piece of evidence is an Iredell County deed dated July 15, 1819 when Isaac Jones purchases a 25 year old female slave named "Delph" from Bethania's oldest son James Hampton for $575. The deed states that Isaac is "of the County of Iredell" and is witnessed by Bethania's other son Manoah B. Hampton. This same female slave can still be seen in Isaac's possession in 1851 when his estate is being probated in the Calloway County, Kentucky courts. Further evidence of Isaac's move to Iredell can be seen in the fact that beginning in 1819, Surry County tax records no longer show Isaac paying any sort of poll tax either for himself or his slaves, which would indicate that he wasn't actually living in Surry despite being taxed for land. This move to Iredell County would also explain Isaac's disappearance from the 1820 Federal Census for Surry County, a source of confusion for many researchers and often mistakenly seen as a sign that he left the state for Tennessee at that time. Isaac can actually be found on the 1820 Iredell County Census which provides an excellent picture of the wealth that came along with his marriage to Bethania, with Isaac now being shown as having eight slaves in his household.
The most definitive piece of evidence proving this marriage is a deed dated October 13, 1827 and registered in both Iredell and Surry County. The deed shows "Isaac Jones and wife Bethania" selling all the land left to Bethania by her first husband Samuel Hampton, to her son John B. Hampton. This was most likely a stipulation made in Samuel Hampton's will, because all 350 acres were sold for just one dollar. One can only guess how Isaac and Bethania came to meet, although it was most likely through their common involvement with the Methodist Church. Bishop Francis Asbury even makes mention of her father Absalom in his journal dated Wednesday March 18, 1784 when he states, "Being sent for, I went to Mr. B____'s on Dan River" followed by the next entry dated Sunday the 22nd stating, "Preached at the funeral of Absalom Bostwick's daughter"..............a sure sign that Bethania had come from a Methodist household.
1819 Iredell County, NC Deed (slave purchase)~James Hampton to Isaac Jones (page 1)
1819 Iredell County, NC Deed (slave purchase)~James Hampton to Isaac Jones (page 2)
1827 Surry County, NC Deed~Issac Jones & wife Bethania to John B. Hampton (page 1)
1827 Surry County, NC Deed~Isaac Jones & wife Bethania to John B. Hampton (page 2)
1827 Iredell County, NC Deed~Isaac Jones & wife Bethania to John B. Hampton (page 1)
1827 Iredell County, NC Deed~Isaac Jones & wife Bethania to John B. Hampton (page 2)
1827 Iredell County, NC Deed~Isaac Jones & wife Bethania to John B. Hampton (page 3)
1827 Iredell County, NC Deed~Isaac Jones & wife Bethania to John B. Hampton (page 4)
Link To An Excellent Site Detailing The Bostick Family History.
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