M. about 1788 in (probably) Burke County, North Carolina2
Husband: William Sutherland
D. before June 1, 1830 in (probably) Indiana3
There was a time in early America when it was common for a pair of siblings to marry another pair of siblings. This was the case for members of the Sutherland and Franklin families of Burke County, North Carolina, and one member of this quartet was Mary “Polly” Franklin.
Polly was born to John and Phoebe Franklin in about 1770, the fifth of their eleven children.1 Her father was originally from New England and had wound up in the South after serving under George Washington in the French and Indian War.4 Burke County was located in the far western part of North Carolina and the family almost certainly lived in a log cabin. Growing up, Polly was likely close with her older sister Jemima and younger sister Lydia as the three girls learned the domestic skills they would need to live on the frontier.
When Polly was still a teen, she married William Sutherland,2 a young man from Burke County. They started a family right away with their oldest son born before 1790.2,5 They would have at least ten children, although not all of their names are known. Polly and William were a couple of years into married life when Polly’s sister Lydia married William’s older brother Fendall.2 Had Polly been a matchmaker? Perhaps, but we have no way of knowing. It’s just as likely that in a tight community in such a rural area, everyone knew everyone else socially. With few ways to get around, available mates had to be chosen from those nearby.
A log cabin during the early 1800s.
Through the 1790s, Polly and William remained in Burke County and were enumerated there in the 1800 census.6 But shortly thereafter, they picked up and moved across the Appalachians into Kentucky. This was seemingly generated by Polly’s father-in-law, who had served in the American Revolution and appears to have been awarded bounty land.2 Of Polly’s family, only Lydia joined this westward migration by virtue of being married to Fendall Sutherland; the rest of the Franklins stayed in North Carolina for another generation or two.7
For the first couple of years in Kentucky, Polly and William lived next to Fendall and Lydia, as well as William and Fendall’s parents.8 Their father passed away in 1803,2 and this seems to have split the Sutherland couples apart somewhat. While Lydia’s husband remained on the tax lists in Lincoln County, Polly’s family wasn’t named, and they next turned up in 1808 in Adair County.9 Polly and William were said to have taken in his widowed mother for a time,10 then a few years later, perhaps around 1815, both of the Sutherland couples left for a place further west: Indiana.2
There’s evidence that the families of Polly and Lydia remained closely tied; both of their husbands appeared on a voters list in August 1819 in Orange County, Indiana.11 This was a newly settled area mostly populated with people who took the same migration route as the Sutherlands. Around this time, Polly’s father died back in North Carolina, and in his will, he left her the sum of two dollars and fifty cents.12 This was a typical inheritance for daughters in large Southern families because the sons were usually the ones given their father’s land.
Polly’s youngest child was born in about 1815,13,14 likely in Orange County, but unfortunately, she would not live to see him grow up because she passed away between the 1820 and 1830 censuses.13,14 The family moved to another county, Putnam, but it isn’t certain if Polly died before or after the move. William was last known to be alive on the 1830 census,14 and died sometime during that decade. As for Polly's sister Lydia, she lived to the ripe old age of 95, dying in Putnam County on September 18, 1869.2
Children (all except Ervin and Jackson are uncertain):
1. Isaac Sutherland — B. about 1788, (probably) Burke County, North Carolina2,5
2. Ann Sutherland — B. about 1795, (probably) Burke County, North Carolina;15 D. before 8 May 1823, (probably) Adair County, Kentucky;16 M. John H. Boyer (1795-1868), 4 Apr 1815, Adair County, Kentucky17
3. William Sutherland — B. about 1797, (probably) Burke County, North Carolina2,6
4. Ervin Sutherland — B. about 1798, (probably) Burke County, North Carolina;18 D. 10 Dec 1878, (probably) Aldrich county, Missouri;18 M. Susannah Keith (~1806-?), 27 Nov 1821, Orange County, Indiana19
5. Jordan Sutherland — B. about 1799, (probably) Burke County, North Carolina;20 D. after 21 Dec 1850, (probably) Vermillion County, Illinois;20 M. Martha Patsy Bailey, 24 Aug 1831, Adair County, Kentucky21
6. John Sutherland — B. about 1802, (probably) Lincoln County, Kentucky2,13
7. Mary Sutherland — B. 28 Jan 1803, (probably) Lincoln County, Kentucky;22 D. 24 Feb 1879, Morgan County, Illinois;22 M. John H. Boyer (1795-1868), 8 May 1823, Adair County, Kentucky16
7. Jesse R. Sutherland — B. about 1805, (probably) Lincoln County, Kentucky;23 D. before 1860, (probably) Polk County, Missouri;24 M. Tabitha Wilson (~1805-?),18 Sep 1826, Putnam County, Indiana25
8. [UNKNOWN FEMALE] Sutherlin — B. between 1810 and 1815, (probably) Adair County, Kentucky14
9. [UNKNOWN FEMALE] Sutherlin — B. between 1810 and 1820, (probably) Adair County, Kentucky15
10. Jackson Sutherlin — B. about 1815, (probably) Orange County, Indiana;14 D. before 22 Apr 1878, Merriam, Kansas;26 M. Mary Fleming (1819-1907), 17 Jan 1838, Parke County, Indiana27
Sources:
1 Polly Franklin’s estimated birth year based on date of her marriage
2 Sutherlands and Their Tangled Branches, Robert J. Walsh, 1985, p. 23-31
3 William Sutherland’s household in the 1820 U.S. census had a woman of Polly’s age, but the 1830 U.S. Census did not.
4 John Franklin: An American Hero And His Progeny, Dorsey Wayne Franklin, 1987
5 1790 U.S. Census, Burke County, North Carolina
6 1800 U.S. Census, Burke County, North Carolina
7 “A Mystery Story: The Case of the Origins of John Franklin, Sr. (1729-1819) of Burke County, North Carolina,” Mary Sue Mathys and Dorsey W. Franklin, Franklin Family Researchers United, Vol. 6, April 1993
8 Lincoln County, Kentucky, Tax books, 1787-1875, FamilySearch.org
9 Adair County, Kentucky Tax Books, 1802-1878, FamilySearch.org
10 “Pioneer Life of Fendel Sutherlin,” Anne Sutherlin Waite, Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 31. No. 4, 1930, P. 372
11 History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties, Indiana, Higginson Book Company, 1884, p. 383
12 John Franklin’s will, North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970, FamilySearch.org
13 1820 U.S. Census, Orange County, Indiana
14 1830 U.S Census, Putnam County, Indiana
15 Ann Sutherland’s estimated birth year based on date of her marriage
16 Marriage record of John Boyer and Polly Sutherland, Kentucky, Marriages, 1785-1979, FamilySearch.org
17 Marriage record of John Boyer and Ann Sutherland, K., M.
18 Find-a-Grave listing of Ervin Sutherland
19 Marriage record of Ervin Sutherland and Susannah Keith, Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1806-1861, Ancestry.com
20 1850 U.S. Census, Vermillion County, Illinois
21 Marriage record of Jordan Sutherland and Mary Patsy Bailey, K., M.
22 Find-a-Grave listing of Mary Boyer
23 1850 U.S. Census, Polk County, Missouri
24 1860 U.S. Census, Polk County, Missouri showing Tabitha Sutherland as a widow
25 Marriage record of Jesse Sutherland and Tabitha Wilson, I., U.S., M. I.
26 “Death on the Rail: A Deaf Man Killed While Walking on a Railroad Track,” The Kansas Star, 11 Apr 1878
27 Marriage record of Jackson Sutherlin and Mary Fleming, Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007, FamilySearch.org
