Family Group of John Duggan (1770-1829) (“John2”)

Hugh Duggan I (1740-1792) (“Hugh1”) of Sevier County, TN married Margaret Wilson while still
in Ireland, and they had at least six sons and one daughter. Their son John Duggan I (1770-1829)
(John2) was likely the fourth child, and the last born in Ireland.1 He immigrated with his family as
a small child, and migrated with them to the area now known as Tennessee. John2 staked out his
own homestead in what is now Sevier Co. and received an occupancy grant for land he had settled
in 1810.2 By then he had married and started his family.

John2 and his first wife (name unknown) had several children. Later in life he would move to
Monroe Co., where he would marry Rebecca Copeland. She is often (incorrectly) listed as the
mother of his children. This article will examine documentation that evidences the children of
John2, and then the evidence that confirms that Rebecca Copeland was not their mother.

I. The Children of John2

No bible record or Will has been located for John2, but on 15 Jan 1834, in Monroe, Tennessee,
the heirs of John Duggan, deceased of Monroe Co., signed a deed to James Dunlap. The heirs
who signed that deed were: William J. Arthur, John Duggan Jr., James P. Duggan, Nancy Caldwell
and her husband Thomas, Margaret Roades and her husband Alfred, and Elizabeth Duggan, a
single woman of legal age.3 Presumably Elizabeth had turned 21 by that time, suggesting that
she was born on or before 15 Jan 1813.
Land records also help to narrow the timeframe for John2’s death.
• John2 filed an entry for 160 acres in Monroe Co., TN (NW4/S3, T2, R2E) in the Hiawassee
Dist., and received his Grant on 30 Nov 1820, reflecting his agreement to pay $2 per acre.
He paid one fourth of the purchase price as a down payment, and agreed to pay the
balance due of $240 over time.4
• John2 assigned his interest in this land to his son, John Jr., on 29 Sep 1827.
• On 22 Oct 1830, John Jr, as executor of his father’s estate, made a payment on the land.5

1
Three of his children were still living in 1880, the first census year where the nativity of the parents
was recorded. James reported that both John and his mother were born in Ireland. His sisters Jane and
Margaret both reported that their father was born in Ireland, but their mother was born in Tennessee.
2
See Appendix-7. Previously, this author stumbled across a plat (or reference to it) that showed John2
owning land in Jones Cove, Sevier, TN in 1798, adjacent to Hugh Duggan Jr., but failed to make a copy it
at the time and has not been able to locate it since. If others have access to this information, a copy would
be appreciated. This was likely the same land, as the Duggans moved south of the French Broad River and
began homesteading there soon after the 1785 Treaty as Dumplin Creek (if not before). The formal grant
process followed, with preference given to those already occupying tracts in the area.
3
R. Boyer, Monroe Co. TN Records, Vol. 1, p. 112, Deed Books A-I and L (884). This deed was likely
given soon after Elizabeth turned 18.
4
A copy of Cert. 758 evidencing his entry and initial purchase is attached as Appendix-1. No subsequent Grant
Deed has been located. By contrast, grant deeds were located for Rebecca Copeland (see Appendix-6) but a
certificate reflecting the initial purchase was not found.
5
Boyer, p. 188.
These dates place John2’s death after 29 Sep 1827 and before 22 Oct 1830. John2 does not
appear on the 1830 census, further confirming his death by 1830.
Several transactions involved the heirs of John2.6
• On 14 Feb. 1831, James P Duggan assigned his interest in a tract to John Duggan, Jr.
• On 20 Oct. 1832, Joseph McSpadden deeded property to John and Elizabeth Duggan, heirs of John
Duggan, deceased, all being of Monroe Co. (witnesses were John Henderson, and Anna Duggan).7
• 10 Sep 1834, James P. Duggan deeded to John Duggan (both of Monroe County) the land that John
Duggan Sr. had willed to James.
• 15 Jan 1834 was the date of the deed first referenced above, in which the Duggan heirs
joined in a deed to Dunlap.
• 17 Jan 1834, Margaret Rhodes and her husband Alfred Rhodes deeded to John Duggan the land
that John Duggan Sr. had willed to Margaret.
The deeds provide a guide for reconstructing the children of John2. His sons were John, Jr. (John3-
1803) and James, and his daughters included Elizabeth Duggan, Nancy Caldwell, Margaret
Rhodes, and the daughter who married William J. Arthur.
Census records for 1830 offer additional guidance. The 1830 census shows the family
immediately after the death of John2, with three Duggan households clustered together in
Monroe Co. 8 William Arthur was in neighboring McMinn Co., in his 30s, with a wife still in her
20s, and their five children. Solomon Copeland is also noted, for he was likely a step-brother.
This census record provides placement for all six children of John2 (noted in yellow boxes).

• Jane Duggan Arthur, b. around 1802, was likely the oldest child of John2.9 She would have
been about 28.
• John3-1803 was living with two young daughters (Maria J, Margaret E), a young son
(Adolphus D.), a wife (Eliza C), a sister (Elizabeth, probably around 17),10 and a female in

6
Id.
7
It would be helpful to see this deed and understand what land was involved. It is possible that there was
another daughter, whose interest was cashed out by sale to John Jr. before the estate was fully settled, but the only
Joseph McSpaddin located so far was the son of Samuel, and his wife was Elizabeth Boucher, born in VA. The best
theory currently is that Joseph was merely doing business of some sort with John Jr that related to some prior
business with his father.
8
Monroe Co. TN, Rgmt 67, page 99
9
It is possible that the daughter who married William Arthur had predeceased, and that “Jane” was William
Arthur’s second wife, but regardless, the Duggan wife of William Arthur was likely the eldest child of John2, given
the number and ages of the Arthur children in 1830. More detail on Jane and her children follows.
10
Elizabeth did not marry Silas Bell until 1843, when he was 19 years old. He was listed on the 1850 census as
age 26, and on the 1860 census as age 36. Although Elizabeth’s age was shaved to 30 on the 1850 census (she died
 her 50s (possibly Rebecca Copeland Duggan, John2’s widow, although this could have been
Eliza’s mother).
• James P. Duggan was born around 1807 (James3-1807). In 1830 he was in a separate
home, probably on the same land, with a female -- likely his sister Margaret, in her 20s.11
• Nancy Duggan Caldwell lived with her husband Thomas on adjoining land, with newborn
daughter Eliza.

The family of Wm J. Arthur was in Monroe Co., TN by 1840, appearing on page 15 of the census,
but only one household separated him from John3-1803 on p. 16 (John lived with his wife, six
children, and sister Elizabeth, who didn’t marry Silas Bell until 1843).12 Alfred Rhodes, next to
John, had married Margaret Duggan. A teenaged female was living with them (identity unknown).
Thomas and Nancy Caldwell were also in Monroe Co, with 6 young children. James has not been
located on the 1840 census. He may have been working on someone else’s farm. The appearance
of the Arthurs next to the Duggans offers additional inferential evidence that Jane was a Duggan.

By 1850 William and Jane Arthur were in Gordon Co., Georgia, which is just south of Murray Co.,
GA (immediately south of Bradley Co., TN). This
record is the first that provides Jane’s given
name.
Based on the place of birth for their youngest
child, they moved to Gordon Co., GA by 1844.
Some of the Duggan cousins were living in
neighboring Bradley Co., TN and Murray Co.,
GA at this time.
By 1860, Jane was a widow. She was listed in
the 1860 Gordon Co., GA census as head of her
household.

in 1851, so there are no later years to compare), she was likely born no later than January 1813, for she was of legal
age when she signed the January 1834 Dunlap deed. If anyone has information suggesting that the legal age for a
woman to sign a deed was less than 21 in Tennessee in 1834, please share that. For now, the best assumption is that
the family was waiting for Elizabeth’s 21st birthday to execute this deed, thus the inferred birth date of January 15,
1813 has been given to her. If the legal age at the time was 18, then her inferred date should be adjusted to on or
before January 15, 1816.
11
James3 was about 45 when he married Laura McKenzie in 1852 in Monroe Co. See Appendix-2. He had no
children before that date, and there is no record of an earlier marriage for him.
12
See Appendix-2.
By 1870 her family had moved on to Lamar Co., TX, where they settled. Jane appeared on the
1870 and 1880 Lamar County census, living with some of her children. In 1880 she claimed that
her father was born in Ireland, and that her mother was born in Tennessee, additional inferential
evidence that Jane was the daughter of John2.

Jane died in Lamar Co., and her tombstone says she was born 16 May 1802 and died 20 Aug 1883,
wife of Wm J. Arthur. 13 Although no marriage record has been found for the Arthurs, William’s
joinder as an ‘heir’ of John2 suggests that Jane3-1802 was John2’s daughter. The following
summary offers additional information on the ties of the Arthur family to the family of John2,
and further supports Jane’s inclusion.

• This Jane Arthur named her two oldest sons John and
James, the names of her two brothers. She named two
daughters Margaret and Elizabeth, names of two of her sisters.
She named her youngest daughter Mariah J. Arthur. Her brother
John named his oldest daughter Mariah J. Duggan. Jane may
have been Mariah Jane – and this could be a clue about the
identity of their mother, the first wife of John2.
• John2 died around 1829. His son John3 died around 1843.
Wm J. Arthur died in 1859. John3’s wife Eliza died before 1860.
• Most of John3’s children left Tennessee after their mother’s
death. In 1860, the Dade Co., MO census listed Adolphus (and
wife Elizabeth), in the same household with Wm, John,
Margaret, and Angelina, his siblings (children of John3-1803).
• In 1860 Dade Co, MO., two doors down from Adolphus,
was Moses Arthur (son of Jane Duggan Arthur). These first
cousins were migrating together.
• By 1870, they were all living in Lamar Co., TX. – John3’s
descendants, and Moses, Jane’s son.

13
See Appendix-3.
 • By 1870, Jane3-1802, and her children James, Margaret and China were also in Lamar Co,
TX, where they appear on the census.
• Her son Moses M. Arthur was living with his own family in Lamar County. Based on births
of children, Moses was in MO around 1861, in AR around 1863, in Lamar Co by 1870.
• Jane’s son John and his family also joined them all AFTER 1880 in Lamar Co., Tx.
• Another cousin, the son of Judah Duggan Blackwell (daughter of Hugh Jr., the brother of
John2) also had descendants who moved to Lamar Co.14

II. Activity of John2 in later years, including his marriage to Rebecca Copeland
The records noted above offer a good record of the children of John2, and a solid basis for
reconstructing his family group. They do not, however, deal directly with the issue of his wives,
and when each marriage occurred. Many online trees persist in naming Rebecca Copeland as
their mother, but this is wrong. Rebecca married John2 long after his children were born. The
following discussion addresses the John2’s later life, and his connection to Rebecca Copeland.

The land records suggest John2’s second marriage took place between 23 Nov 1820 (when
Rebecca “Copeland” registered a land entry of her own in Monroe County) and 2 Jan 1823 when
“Rebecca Copeland, now Rebecca Duggan” and John2 assigned all interest in her claim to William
Copeland,15 likely her son. If John2’s second marriage occurred @ 1821-22, then all of his children
were from his first marriage. As noted above, Elizabeth, his youngest, was likely born by 1813
(1816 at the latest). John2 died between late 1827 and the first half of 1830 (he was not on the
1830 Census). He and Rebecca were therefore married only 5 to 9 years.
Some records have been preserved as to the business activities of
John2 between 1810 and his death. The earliest of these is a
Sheriff’s sale conducted at his request. James P.H. Porter was an
attorney and early settler in Sevier Co. At some point, Mr. Porter
took a judgment against a man named William Green, and then
assigned that judgment to John Duggan. Judgements were often
bought and sold in this manner, like a commodity. John attempted
to collect on the debt, but it was not paid, and in the meantime, Mr.
Green died. John then asked the Sheriff to sell a 57 acre tract
located on Knob Creek in Sevier Co. that had been owned by Mr.
Green when he died. 16
The tables would be turned on John2 a few years later when 177
acres of his land would be posted for sale for failure to pay taxes in

14
Judah Duggan was a widow living with her son, James Wiley Blackwell, in Murray Co., GA in 1860. (She was
Judah Duggan due to a second marriage to Thomas- Duggan, a cousin). Her son was in Lamar Co., TX by 1870.
15
R. Boyer, Monroe Co. TN Records, Vol. 2, p. 189, Hiwassee Dist. Entries, Book B (83).
16
Notice of the sale was posted in Nelson’s Knoxville Gazette on 23 Jul 1810. It is not clear from this
record whether John2 bought the land at the sale, whether someone else bought it, and proceeds were
applied to the debt, or whether the same was averted by payment in advance of the sale.
1817. A careful review of the Sevier Co. Deed records may reveal whether the taxes were paid,
or whether the sale went through. 17 It is possible that by this time the land had simply been
abandoned. Some of the early petitions coming from Sevier Co. residents to the government
related to excessive land costs for some of those early claims, and a request for abatement of the
originally set purchase prices. Rather than pay for the claims, many residents left them behind,
and took out claims in newly opened areas where land was more affordable for homesteaders.
By 1820, John2 had a land grant in Monroe Co., so he may have simply let the Sevier Co. land go.
Deed records may be lost, due to the 1856 Sevier Co. courthouse fire.
The newspaper articles referenced here were provided to the author by Linda Arnold, a Duggan
descendant and an avid researcher. The third item she located was the real jewel, for it confirmed
several details about John2 and his wife Rebecca Copeland, and offered new information. 18
The third article details how Solomon Copeland obtained a Land Grant for 226 acres in Jefferson
Co., TN in 1808, and later sold the same to Snodgrass for his promise to pay the agreed price over
time. Snodgrass died without paying. Later Solomon Copeland also died, and his widow Rebecca
Copeland was named Executrix. She then married John Duggan of Monroe Co., and they sued for
payment. Aside from the legalities of whether they were entitled to money, or just return of the
land, these details included important family history information.
1. Rebecca Copeland was the second wife of John2.
2. Copeland was not her maiden name, she was using the surname of her prior husband.
3. Rebecca previously was married to Solomon Copeland. She lived in Jefferson Co.
4. Other facts suggested that John2 and Rebecca were married between 1820 (when she
made a land entry as Rebecca Copeland), and 2 Jan 1823 (when “Rebecca Copeland, now
Rebecca Duggan” and John2 assigned all interest in that Monroe Co. claim), but the facts
of the lawsuit offer additional evidence that this second marriage (for both John2 and
Rebecca), occurred after 1820, for Solomon was still alive at that time.19
With this information, it was
simple to do a little research
on Solomon Copeland (1772-
1821) of Jefferson Co., TN.
He married Rebecca DAVIS
(1772-1837) in Jefferson Co.
on 24 Mar 1794.

17
Knoxville Register, 21 Jan 1823. See Appendix-4.
18
Knoxville Enquirer, 15 Feb 1826. See Appendix-5. This article offers details on a court case involving
the Copeland family. Because some of the defendants lived out of state, the Court ordered that the
Complaint filed against them be published in the newspaper. Publication notice was often used in such
cases so that the case was not stymied by an absentee defendant, but expecting that word would get out
when notice of the suit was broadcast to the world, so that a defendant could return and defend himself.
19
This also resolves the issue of whether John2 married Rebecca, widow of Solomon, or their daughter Rebecca,
as is set out in numerous online trees.
In 1797 Solomon bought items from Jane Rebecca Davis, Admx of the estate of John Davis.20
Solomon and Rebecca Copeland had several children (including a son William and a son Solomon
Jr.) Solomon died in 1821 and was buried in Jefferson Co., according to his Find-A Grave record
(the headstone is not visible). Family Data Collection – Individual Records (online database
compilations) places his year death in 1822.
In any event Solomon’s death was well before 19 Nov 1822, when a
publication notice was issued stating that Zachias Copeland had
perfected a judgment against the Estate of Solomon Copeland,
deceased, with Rebecca Copeland, adminx. That notice provided for
the sale of 35 acres in Jefferson Co. to satisfy the claim of Zachias. This
means that by that date, following Solomon’s death, his widow was
appointed to manage his estate, Zachias had filed his claim, the matter
had been heard and resolved in favor of the claimant, payment had
not been made, further proceedings were filed to seek a levy on real
property, the court heard and approved that request, and the court
issued orders to the Sheriff to conduct the sale. Each step took time,
and the 1821 date of death seems reasonable in light of the status by
Nov. 1822.
In 1820 Solomon and Rebecca were embroiled in yet another lawsuit in which she had been
accused of slander, for she had called out a man for being a liar and a thief. The last date entry in
that suit followed an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court after the Copelands prevailed in
the first appeal. The transcript was dated 30 Sep 1820, suggests that Solomon was still living as
of that date.21 1821 seems a reasonable estimation of Solomon’s year of death, although it could
have been in late 1820, for Rebecca took title to land in her own name in Nov. 1820,22 something
one would not expect if she were married.
The evidence suggests that Solomon died in late 1820 or in 1821; and that John2 and Rebecca
married around 1822. This confirms the prior (inferential) evidence that Rebecca was a second
wife to John2, and that she was not the mother of his children who were all likely born by 1813.
The remaining task is to sort out the identity of John2’s first wife. The Duggan DNA Project seeks
additional John2 descendants for its participant pool to do the task justice. Those who have done
DNA tests can visit the Duggan DNA Project site, and reach out to the Admin about joining the
DNA project. It takes a village to do an autosomal DNA Project!
Karen Caton
Administrator of the Duggan DNA Project
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DugganDNA/

20
Will Books, 1792-1844 (pp. 185-186) Jefferson County, Tennessee; Author: Tennessee State Library and
Archives (Nashville, Tennessee).
21
Gregory v. Copeland (Jefferson Co.), Tennessee Supreme Court Cases, East Div., Range 5, Sect. D, Shelf 2, Box
No. 63, https://supreme-court-cases.tennsos.org/ (use date range 1819-1820 and keyword Copeland to access pdf
file of the transcript).
22
See Appendix-6.
 Appendix-1
1820 Hiwassee Dist. Land Grant for 160 acres (NW4 of Section 3, T2, R2E)
 Appendix-2
Snapshots of Marriage License entries from early Monroe Co., TN Marriage Book

Source: Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee State
Marriages, 1780-2002.
Appendix-3
Appendix-4
Appendix-5
 Appendix-6
No. 552 (page 504) - NE4/S20/T3/R1E
 Appendix-6 (Con’t)
No. 555 (page 517) - SE4/S20/T3/R1E
 Appendix-7
Original 1810 Land grant of John2 in Sevier Co.