October 11, 2011

 
This page contains information about the parents, grandparents, and great grandparents (ancestor generations 2, 3 and 4) of Daniel Lafayette West and Loretta Jane McElroy.  A detailed listing of family ancestors and descendants can be found in the West Family Genealogy pages, including a list of all the surnames found in the WestClan family web pages.
 

 
Family Member Index

Andrew Hamilton West, father of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Andrew Hamilton "Doc" West was born on May 14, 1872 in Conway County Arkansas to James McDaniel West and Talitha Morris.  Andrew West married Laura Edna Cherry in Yell County, Arkansas on August 23, 1888.  Together they had twelve children, one of whom was Daniel Lafayette West.     

Family Group Record

Andrew Hamilton West died on December 18, 1932 and is buried in Center Point Cemetery in Prairie County, Arkansas.  Headstone   Memorial
 

Names found on this page:

Laura Edna Cherry, wife of Andrew Hamilton West, mother of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Laura Edna Cherry was born in Warren, Bradley County, Arkansas on September 18, 1873 to Asa Allis Cherry and Lucy Ann Johnson.  Laura Cherry married Andrew Hamilton West in Yell County, Arkansas on August 23, 1888 and they had twelve children (see list), one of whom was Daniel Lafayette West.

Laura Edna Cherry West died on April 22, 1944 and was buried at Center Point Cemetery in Prairie County, Arkansas.    Headstone   Memorial
 

PARENTS of  LORETTA JANE MCELROY 

Gasham Hill (Gaash) McElroy, father of Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Gasham (Gaash) Hill McElroy was born on June 2, 1871 to John Houston McElroy and Sarah Jane Condley.  Gaash McElroy married May Jane Taylor on March 8, 1894 in Searcy County, Arkansas.  Together Gaash and May Jane McElroy raised three children, including Loretta Jane McElroy.

Family Group Record

Gaash Hill McElroy died on January 15, 1942.  He is buried in center Point Cemetery, Prairie County, Arkansas.
Headstone   Memorial

 
May Jane Taylor was born on November 5, 1880, at a location unknown to John Riley Taylor and Mary Ann Langston.  May Taylor married Gasham Hill McElroy on March 8, 1894 in Searcy County, Arkansas.  Together Gaash and May McElroy raised three children, including Loretta Jane McElroy.  May Jane was also called "Little Grandma".

May Jane Taylor McElroy died on October 11, 1956.  She is buried in Center Point Cemetery, Prairie County, Arkansas.
Headstone   Memorial
 

WEST

James McDaniel West, father of Andrew Hamilton West, paternal grandfather of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
James McDaniel West, possibly called Mack West, was born in Gibson County, Tennessee on 7 Aug 1843 to Owen West and Jane Jennie McClure.  James West married Tillitha Morris on 20 Feb 1861 in Perry County, Arkansas.  The couple raised at least four children:

Family Group Record   Seven West Brothers Pedigree

James McDaniel West died on August 1, 1926 at Perry County, Arkansas.  
 

Tillitha (Till) Morris, wife of James McDaniel West, mother of Andrew Hamilton West, paternal grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Tillitha Morris was born in Mississippi in 1843 to Joseph Morris and Jane Powell  Tillitha Morris married James McDaniel West on 20 Feb 1861 in Perry County, Arkansas.  The couple raised at least four children (see above), one of whom was Andrew Hamilton West.

Tillitha Morris West died on 9 Jan 1893 in Conway County, Arkansas. 
 

Asa Allis Cherry, father of Laura Edna Cherry, maternal grandfather of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Asa Allis Cherry was born on December 9, 1850 in Monticello, Drew County, Arkansas to James Merawell Cherry and Mary Ellen Sanders.  Asa Cherry married Lucy Ann Johnson on March 29, 1870 at Warren, Bradley County, Arkansas.  Asa and Lucy Cherry had eleven children, four boys and seven girls:

Family Group Record

Asa Allis Cherry died on September 23, 1934 at Bigelow, Perry County, Arkansas and was buried at Petit Jean Mountain Cemetery at Oppelo in Conway County, Arkansas. 
Headstone   Memorial

Lucy Ann Johnson, wife of Asa Allis Cherry, mother of Laura Edna Cherry, maternal grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Lucy Ann Johnson was born on May 5, 1852 in Kemper County, Mississippi to George Washington Johnson and Wincie Chanally Sanford Goodman.  Lucy Johnson married Asa Allis Cherry on March 29, 1870 at Warren, Drew County, Arkansas.  Together Lucy and Asa Cherry raised eleven children (see above), including Laura Edna Cherry.

Lucy Ann Johnson Cherry died on January 5, 1938 at Bigelow, Perry County, Arkansas and is buried in the Petit Jean Mountain Cemetery at Oppelo in Conway County, Arkansas. Headstone   Memorial
 

John Houston McElroy, father of Gasham Hill McElroy, paternal grandfather of Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
John Houston McElroy was born on December 17, 1829 in Wayne County, Tennessee to Thomas Jefferson McElroy and Sarah Unknown.  John McElroy married Sarah Jane Condley on February 6, 1865 in Faulkner County, Arkansas.  John and Sarah McElroy had at least seven children, including Gasham Hill McElroy.

Family Group Record

John Houston McElroy died on May 30, 1907 in Searcy County, Arkansas.
 

Sarah Jane Condley, wife of John Houston McElroy, mother of Gaash Hill McElroy, paternal grandmother of Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Sarah Jane Condley was born on December 21, 1840 in Arkansas to Epaphroditus D. Condley and Mary Ann Calhoun.  Sarah Condley married John Houston McElroy on February 6, 1865 in Faulkner County, Arkansas.  John and Sarah McElroy had at least seven children (see list, above), including Gasham Hill McElroy

Sarah Jane Condley McElroy died on January 10, 1925 at Gilbert, Searcy County, Arkansas. She is buried in the St. Joe Cemetery in Pope County, Arkansas.  
 

John Riley Taylor, father of May Jane Taylor, maternal grandfather of Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
John Riley Taylor was born in 1862 in Fayette County, Alabama to Pleasant Taylor and Elizabeth Heath.  John Taylor married Margaret Ann Langston and together they had at least six children, including May Jane Taylor.

Family Group Record

John Riley Taylor died on 12 Jan 1916 in Wapanucka, Oklahoma..

Margaret Ann Langston, wife of John Riley Taylor, mother of May Jane Taylor, maternal grandmother of Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Margaret Ann Langston was born on January 8, 1847 in Fayette County, Alabama to John B. Langston, Jr. and Phebe Jane McClung.  Margaret Langston married John Riley Taylor at a place and date unknown.  John and Margaret Taylor had at least six children (see list, above), including May Jane Taylor

Margaret Ann Langston Taylor died on April 10, 1887 at Marshall, Searcy County, Arkansas. 
 

PATERNAL

Owen West, father of James McDaniel West, paternal great grandfather of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Owen West was born in 1819 in Bladen County, North Carolina to John William West and Elizabeth Frazier.  Owen West married Jane Jennie McClure in Gibson County, Tennessee on October 12, 1841.  Together they had eight children, one of whom was James McDaniel West.

Family Group Record

Owen West died in 1893 in Conway County, Arkansas.  
 

NOTES:
Owen West and Jane Jennie McClure were married in 1841 (Marriage License Record) and began their life together in Gibson county, Tennessee.  Three of their eight children were born before 1850. The 1850 U.S. Census finds Owen West (age 32) and wife, Jane (age 28) living in Gibson County, Tennessee with sons James (8), John (6), and daughter Etna (2).  The census record further shows that Owen West was born in North Carolina, while Jane was born in Kentucky and their three children were each born in Tennessee.  We can also see that Owen and family lived near his younger brother, Daniel West and family (wife Martha, daughter Mary, and sons Wyatt and Calvin), and that both were engaged in farming. (1850 Census Record)
In about 1854, two years after the birth of their third son, Samuel, Owen and Jane Jennie West moved the family to the Petit Jean area of Conway County, Arkansas and took up residence in a cabin that had been built in about 1845 by pioneer John Walker (one of the first two settlers on Petit Jean Mountain).  It is reported that the cabin had no floor, but that Owen West put a floor in it.  It is believed that the couple lived here for a number of years and raised their eight children, four of them having been born in the cabin itself (without medical assistance).  Below is a photo of the old cabin at its original site.
Owen West cabin on Petit Jean Mountain, Conway County, Arkansas
The cabin was later moved into the Petit Jean State Park and is called "The Old Pioneer Cabin".  It now sits at the head of the Cedar Creek trail, between the park's visitor center and Mather Lodge (see map). The photo below shows the cabin as it exists today.
(Click to enlarge photo) (Click to enlarge photo) The Old Pioneer Cabin Today Old Pioneer Cabin Placard

The placard in front of the cabin indicates that Owen and Jane West had nine children, five of whom were born in the cabin, but it is believed that they actually had eight children and at most four were born here.  The first four of their children were born in Tennessee.  (More Cabin Photos)

By 1860 sons William W. (age 5) and the twins, Elisha and Elija (age 2), had joined the family and the Eighth Census of the United States finds Owen (age 40) and Jane (37) West still farming and now living in Bentley Township, Perry County, Arkansas.  The household had grown to include seven children, with James M. (15), John H. (13), Etna (12), and Samuel (9) also living at the home.  One of the West family neighbors was Joseph Morris (of Georgia), and his family, which included a daughter named Tillitha (nicknamed "Till"), who would later marry Owen West's son, James McDaniel "Mack" West and become the grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West.  (1860 Census Record) 

The U.S. Census of 1870 places Owen (age 51) and Jane (47) West in the Rose Creek Township of Perry County, Arkansas, along with sons Samuel (18), the twins Elija and Elisha (13), and nine year-old son Ephriam, who was born in August, 1860, (just after the census of 1860 was completed).  James had married the neighbor's daughter, Tillitha Morris in 1861, while John had married Laura Ellison and Sam Claud had married Harriet Morris, (Tillitha's sister), and all three were living in their own homes by the time of the 1870 census.  We have no record of daughter Etna since the 1860 census report and it is rumored that she may have had an unfortunate encounter with a bear (which is entirely possible in that time and place).  We will try to find out the full story of Etna West and report more later, if possible.  (1870 Census Record) 

Owen West (age 60) appears in the 1880 U.S. Census in Petit Jean Township in Conway County, Arkansas.  His household has been reduced to the ever faithful Jane (57), son Elija (20), and "T. Ann" (22), who is listed as his daughter.  This last entry may actually be daughter-in-law Temperance Ann Morgan, wife of son Ephriam, and who was born in 1858 (she would be 22 years of age in 1880).  Another possible discrepancy on the census report is that son Elija would have been 22 year of age in 1880 (not 20 as listed), but the youngest son, Ephriam, would have been 20 years old at this time.  Makes you wonder if the two sons have been confused in the census report and that it may be Ephriam and bride Temperance Ann who were living with the elder Wests.  Otherwise we have to wonder where Ephriam was at this time and why they couldn't get Elija's age straight.  It also makes you wonder what else in these census reports may be wrong (answer: probably a lot).  The census records also indicate that Owen West's son William W. West and family (wife Rhoda Carlock and the first four of an eventual thirteen total children) live relatively nearby. (1880 Census Record) 

Since the 1890 census data was destroyed by fire in 1921, the 1880 U.S. Census marks the last time that Owen and Jane West appear on census rolls.  

Jane Jennie McClure, wife of Owen West, mother of James McDaniel West, paternal great grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Jane Jennie McClure was born in 1821 in Kentucky to unknown parents.  Jane McClure married Owen West in Gibson County, Tennessee on October 12, 1841.  Together they had eight children, one of whom was James McDaniel West.

Family Group Record

Jane Jennie McClure West died in 1899 in Conway County, Arkansas.  

NOTE: Jane McClure may have been the child of one Elijah McClure (b.1785, South Carolina; d. 1836, Tennessee) and Susannah Gore (b.10 Aug 1796, South Carolina; d.1 May 1875, Tennessee), but we have no documentation to verify this as fact.  So, for the time being we will list her parents as unknown.
 

Joseph Morris, father of Tillitha Morris, paternal great grandfather of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Joseph Morris was born in about 1805 in Georgia to Chesley Morris and Alice Elizabeth Post.  Joseph Morris married Jane E Powell on a date and at a place unknown.  Joseph and Jane Morris raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was Tillitha Morris.

Joseph Morris died in about 1865 in Arkansas.
 

Jane E. Powell, wife of Joseph Morris, mother of Tillitha Morris, paternal great grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Jane Powell was born in 1820 in Alabama to parents unknown.  Jane married Joseph Morris, on a date and at a place unknown.  Joseph and Jane Morris raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was Tillitha Morris.

Jane Powell Morris died in 1870 in Arkansas..
 

MATERNAL

James Merawell Cherry, father of Asa Allis Cherry, maternal great grandfather of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
James Merawell Cherry was born in the year 1802 in Chester County, South Carolina to Thomas Cherry and Mary Elliott.  James Cherry married Mary Ellen Sanders, in 1827 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.  James and Mary Ellen Cherry raised at least ten children, one of whom was Asa Allis Cherry.

Family Group Record

James Merawell Cherry died on 14 Aug 1852 in Cornerville, Lincoln County, Arkansas..
 

Mary Ellen Sanders, wife of James Merawell Cherry, mother of Asa Allis Cherry,  maternal great grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West

 
Mary Ellen Sanders was born about 1809 in South Carolina to John B. Sanders and Lydia Darby.  Mary Sanders married James Merawell Cherry, in 1827 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.  Mary and James Cherry had at least ten children, one of whom was Asa Allis Cherry.

Mary Ellen Sanders Cherry died in 1856 in Cornerville, Lincoln County, Arkansas.
 

George Washington Johnson father of Lucy Ann Johnson, maternal great grandfather of  Daniel Lafayette West.

 
George Washington Johnson was born about 1826 in Pickens County, Alabama to John Johnson and Lucy R. Breazeal. George Johnson married Wincie Chanally Sanford Goodman on a date and at a place unknown.  George and Wincie Johnson raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was Lucy Ann Johnson.

George Washington Johnson died on January 30, 1863 in St. Louis, Missouri while in service during the Civil War.  He is buried at Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
 

Wincie Chanally Sanford Goodman, wife of George Washington Johnson, mother of Lucy Ann Johnson,  maternal great grandmother of Daniel Lafayette West.

 
Wincie Chanally Sanford Goodman was born about 1830 in Alabama, parent names are unknown.  Wincie Goodman married George Washington Johnson in 1847 in Mississippi.  Together George and Wincie Johnson raised at least seven children, including Lucy Ann Johnson.

Wincie Chanally Sanford Goodman Johnson died on May 7, 1884 in McKinney, Cleveland County, Arkansas and is buried in the Union Cemetery at Rye, in Bradley County, Arkansas..
 

PATERNAL

Thomas Jefferson McElroy father of John Houston McElroy, paternal great grandfather of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Thomas Jefferson McElroy was born about 1795 in Virginia, parent names are unknown. Thomas McElroy married Sarah Unknown between 1823 and 1833 in Tennessee.  Thomas and Sarah McElroy raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was John Houston McElroy.

Thomas Jefferson McElroy died in about 1865 in Tennessee.
 

Sarah Unknown (McElroy) wife of Thomas Jefferson McElroy, mother of John Houston McElroy, maternal great grandmother of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Sarah Unknown was born in 1804 in North Carolina, parent names are unknown. Sarah married Thomas Jefferson McElroy between 1823 and 1833 in Tennessee.  Sarah and Thomas McElroy raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was John Houston McElroy.

The place and date of the death of Sarah Unknown McElroy is unknown.
 

Epaphroditus D. Condley father of Sarah Jane Condley, paternal great grandfather of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Epaphroditus D. Condley was born on October 1, 1818 in Halifax county, Virginia to Anderson Condley and Catherine Cobb.  Epaphroditus Condley married Mary Ann Calhoun in Tennessee on a date unknown.  Epaphroditus and Mary Ann Condley raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was Sarah Jane Condley.

Epaphroditus D. Condley died on January 15, 1894 in Jerusalem, Pope County, Arkansas.
 

Mary Ann Calhoun wife of Epaphroditus D. Condley, mother of Sarah Jane Condley, paternal great grandmother of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Mary Ann Calhoun was born in  1821 in Giles County, Tennessee, parent names are unknown. Mary Calhoun married Epaphroditus D. Condley in Tennessee on a date unknown.  Mary Ann and Epaphroditus Condley raised an unknown number of children, one of whom was Sarah Jane Condley.

Mary Ann Calhoun Condley died about 1880 in Hector, Pope County, Arkansas.
 

MATERNAL

Pleasant Taylor father of John Riley Taylor, maternal great grandfather of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

 
Pleasant Taylor was born in 1824 in Blount County, Tennessee to Charles Taylor and Elizabeth Unknown.  Pleasant Taylor married Elizabeth Heath on a date and at a place unknown.  Together they had at least five children, one of whom was John Riley Taylor.

Pleasant Taylor died on May 18, 1862 and is buried at Shiloh National Cemetery, Tennessee.
 

Elizabeth Heath wife of Pleasant Taylor, mother of John Riley Taylor, maternal great grandmother of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

Elizabeth Heath was born between 1828 and 1832 in Georgia, parent names are unknown. Elizabeth Heath married Pleasant Taylor at a place and date unknown.  Elizabeth and Pleasant Taylor raised at least five children, including John Riley Taylor.

Elizabeth Heath Taylor died in Fayette County, Alabama on an unknown date.
 

LANGSTON

John B. Langston, Jr. father of Margaret Ann Langston, maternal great grandfather of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

John B. Langston, Jr. was born on December 8, 1813 in South Carolina to John B. Langston and Penelope Speight. John Langston married Phebe Jane McClung in 1839 at a place unknown.  John and Phebe Langston had an unknown number of children, one of whom was Margaret Ann Langston.

John B. Langston died on June 26, 1901 in Nevada County, Arkansas.
 

Phebe Jane McClung wife of John B. Langston, Jr., mother of Margaret Ann Langston, maternal great grandmother of  Loretta Jane McElroy.

Phebe McClung was born on February 10, 1823 in Fayette County, Alabama to Jonas M. McClung and Rebecca Reed. Phebe McClung married John B. Langston  in 1839 at a place unknown.  Phebe and and John Langston had an unknown number of children, including Margaret Ann Langston.

Phebe Jane McClung Langston died in Fayette County, Alabama on September 28, 1901.