William Foster Tinker-Part Two

This post is a continuation of the topic of learning just who William Foster TINKER really was. You can find the first part HERE.

Today I was able to get my hands on part of William Ralph Phillips notes. (I have referred to him in earlier posts) Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Cousin Ray Ford for scanning and sending them to me with more to follow. I sincerely appreciate all the help he has given me this past few days, it is greatly appreciated. I will be working through them and seeing what I can glean from them.

When we left off on Part One of this topic I had discussed the information that I had thus far regarding a connection between the TINKER family and the FOSTER family.  During this post I will share with you what my records contain about a connection between these two families.

What I Know

Cinda (Cynthia??) Lavada (Lovada?) FOSTER-born 18 November, 1886 in Washington (Unicoi) County, Tennessee. Cinda was the daughter of one Kennedy FOSTER Jr (1845-1928) and Charlotte C. WILLIAMS (1844-1936). Cinda married one William Alexander TINKER born 26 January, 1885 Washington (Unicoi) County, Tennessee. William was the son of one James Franklyn TINKER  (1859-1927) and Sarah Elizabeth PHILLIPS (1862-1950).  James Franklyn was the son of Phillip Parks TINKER  (1831-1914) Sr and Anne Hessaltine GRAHAM.(1838-1903). Phillip Parks Sr TINKER was the son of James Abraham TINKER (1805-1866) mentioned in Part One of this topic along with his wife Nancy PARKS (1807-1875).

The above mentioned Kennedy FOSTER Jr was the son of Kennedy "Kan" FOSTER Sr (1814-1890) also known sometimes as Kennedy Powell FOSTER Sr. and Rebecca KERSAWN (1816-1874) I have seen Rebecca`s surname spelled many different ways. Kennedy Sr had two wives, his second was one Katherine SHEEHAN (1860-__) I have also seen her surname spelled in different fashions.

It appears that Kennedy Sr made quite a name for himself. The following was written by Beth Bradford-Pytel:

The Tub Miller and Trader of Coffee Ridge who helped stranded travelers get back home to Jonesborough. Kan Foster was described as a handsome man with weathered features and a short black beard. He was of medium height, wiry built and a confident man with stern dark eyes "like a hawk." He was a man of the forest who knew how to survive the wild terrain of Coffee Ridge where bears, wolves and other creatures abound. Kan was born about 1814 in Washington Co., Tennessee and was the son of Thomas T. Foster and Sarah. In 1839, he was awarded 640 acres from the State of NC [grant # 618 ] on the Indian Creek; subsequently acquired an additional 300 acres which spanned a large portion of what is now the Coffee Ridge area of Spivey near the NC border. Aside from being a trader of goods and supplies, he ran an important tub mill which was vital to support the families in these remote areas of the Appalachian. People from all over Spivey and Coffee Ridge brought sacks of corn to have ground at Foster's mill. In December 1857, traveling journalists from Jonesborough were leaving Burnsville, NC and proceeded to take a short cut through the Bald Mountain pass to TN. It was cold and the days were short. Losing their path and dusk, they came to a sharp drop off called "Tumbling Fork" only to lose their footing and a horse. They had to negotiate the rest of trip by foot. Hungry, lost and cold in the nightfall, the bewildered travelers finally came across Mr. Chandler's home on the TN side at the foot of Tumbling Fork. Although Chandler desired to help the men out, he explained that Kan Foster was better equipped to help. He had a larger place with an abundance of food. Kan gladly assisted the travelers, providing them with meals, shelter and assistance, as well as as a little knowledge about the wild woods of Coffee Ridge. During their short stay, one of the travelers was an artist who took notice of how beautiful Kan's daughters were, in particular Nancy who was described as being "slender and graceful" like a Greek goddess. The artist sketched the entire Foster family at different intervals to include Kan's sister-in-law and her children which pleased them well. Kan was married first to Rebecca Kersawn on March 17, 1833, and sired 11 children. After Rebecca's death, Kan married Caroline Shehan on February 4, 1879, and they had 2 children. Kan died about 1891 and is buried at the Kan Foster Cemetery on Spivey Mountain. His Tub Mill was sold to the neighboring Tilsons, after which time was dismantled for parts to support an overshot wheel grist mill. The Tilson's mill was donated to the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. 

If you note in Part One the above Kennedy Kan FOSTER Sr & wife Rebecca KERSAWN were said to have a daughter named Elizabeth FOSTER. It is this Elizabeth that is alleged to be the wife of the elusive William Foster TINKER whom I know nothing of.  Remember that Kennedy SR was born in the year 1814 and his son Kennedy Jr (brother to Elizabeth) was born about 1845. So said Elizabeth would have had to have been born in the mid 1840`s-1850. Based on those Dates alone William Foster TINKER would have had to have been born between 1840-1850 give or take a few years.  Folks are stating that they believe William Foster TINKER may have been the brother to Abraham Sr. TINKER. According to my records Abraham Sr was born about 1775. Speculation have both Abraham SR & William Foster as being the sons of one John TINKER of Burke, North Carolina. John is estimated to have been born about 1750. So doing the math one could state that if these birth years are correct it would mean John was 25 years old when Abraham Sr was born and about 80-90 years of age when William Foster TINKER was conceived. I find it hard to believe that a Gentleman of that age could bear a child. So, if this was not possible, who then is William Foster TINKER and why can't I find him on any records? With that being said James Abraham TINKER had a brother name William TINKER born about 1810, my records show that this William married one Mary Elizabeth CLOUSE daughter of William CLOUSE & Elizabeth LOUDERMILK.

There are still so many questions surrounding this individual. Ancestry searches turn up nothing for him nor his wife Elizabeth FOSTER. I am going to have to do some more digging before I am confident enough to say with all certainty that there was a man named William Foster TINKER at all.