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JOHN (JOHANNES) MAY (b. January 06, 1760, d. January 25, 1813)
JOHN (JOHANNES) MAY (son of FRANTZ "FRANCIS" PETER MEY I and ANNA MARIA) was born January 06, 1760 in near Baltimore, Maryland, and died January 25, 1813 in Floyd Co., KY. He married SARAH JANE PHILLIPS on March 1780 in Berkley Co., VA, daughter of JOHN THOMAS PHILLIPS SENIOR (COLONEL) and POLLARD (maybe).
Notes for JOHN (JOHANNES) MAY:
John (Americanized spelling for Johannes Mey) May and Sarah Jane Phillips were my great-grea t-great grandparents. My line of descendancy is: John May and Sarah Phillips, Thomas May an d Dorcas Patton, David May and Mary Elizabeth Bickley, Ashbel Patton Willard May and Mattie R ebecca Burk(e), Arthur Willard May and Mary Bernice Tapp, to me, Virginia Burke May Rhoades.
In addition to family stories, most of the information that is included here
is from various sources: (1)" MAY GENEALOGY - SOUTHERN BRANCH with BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 1776 -1956" by Tress May Francis (Mrs. R. G. Francis), Kentucky Historical Society Library at Fran kfort, KY; (2) "The Descendants of JOHN MAY, SR. and SARAH JANE PHILLIPS MAY, 1760-1967" (inc omplete) compiled by Mrs. Howard Walker Woodruff of Kansas City, MO, Family Folders (Vertica l Files), Kentucky Historical Society Library at Frankfort, KY; (3) ANNALS of TAZEWELL COUNT Y, VA. from 1800 to 1924, Vols 1 and 2, by John Newton Harman, Sr., Tazewell, VA, 975.502 a t Kentucky Historical Society Library, Frankfort, KY.
I have also consulted various Historical Papers, Pike County Historical
Society, Inc., which I understand is no longer in existence and have turned
their materials over to the Library at Pikeville College, Pikeville, KY. I saw these items a t the Kentucky Historical Society Library in Frankfort, KY.
John May was born near Baltimore. He and Sarah Jane Phillips were married in
March of 1780 in Martinsburg (Berkley Co.) Virginia (now West Virginia).
John May and Sarah Jane Phillips May died in Pike County (then Floyd County) KY and are burie d in the William Keathley Cemetery which was then part of his
farm. Their stones are no longer legible, if standing. But, the cemetery was "read" befor e they became illegible. In later years this was the "Willie
Riddle" farm, Rickham Station, on Shelby Creek, Pike Co., KY" ("Inventory of
Cemeteries" by Eldon J. and Ruthie J. May).
A great4 granddaughter of John May, Ellen Chadwell, is now (1995) an attorney in Tallahasse , Florida, wrote a paper for a high school project in the 1970's
about her family tree. Data about the May family was taken from a pamphlet
that her uncle, Tolbert May, distributed in the 1940's or 1950's. The pamphlet is lost but sh e did copy the following paragraphs from it: " John May: The May family, pioneer settlers i n Pike County, Kentucky, had its origin in America when three brothers, John, Leonard, and Th omas May, migrated from Germany early in the eighteenth century and landed in Baltimore, Mary land". (NOTE: See the results of research and trip to Germany by Fred T. May of Texas for d iscoveries about the origins of this famil. See his book: "The Shoemaker's Children".
Continuing to quote from the Chadwell report: "From Baltimore the Mays moved out onto the fro ntier, founded homes, and left a number of offspring before the Revolutionary War. John May , son of my great5 grandfather, John May, the
immigrant, became a settler of Pike County, KY. He was born in Baltimore and
lived in Berkely County, Virginia (now West Virginia).
(NOTE: At Oct.. 1997, there is documentation to indicate that the name of the first"emigrant " was NOT "John" but Franz Peter Mey. See the material of Fred T. May of Texas, especially t hat following his trip to Germany in the summer of 1997 - Virginia Burke May Rhoades). Refe r to his book "The Shoemaker's Children, Gateway Press.
In 1777 John May enlisted in the Virginia Continental Line and was in
charge of artillery for two years. He returned home in 1779 to Martinsburg
and married Sarah Jane Phillips in March the following year, 1780.
Several years later, John May became associated with a David Ross, and in 1788 they crossed t he Cumberlands and surveyed, or had surveyed, a tract of 25,000 acres of land lying on the pr esent Shelby Creek. The land was then in Bourbon County, VIRGINIA at the time because ther e was NO Kentucky until 1792. It was MAY and ROSS's intention to settle the land but the Bi g Sandy was a wilderness and May and Ross decided to wait until the baronial estate would b e safe from prowling Indians. Meanwhile, the May family moved to Carter County, Tennessee. M AY and ROSS, however, acquired a patent in 1794, two years after Kentucky became a state. He re is an excerpt from the old grant: `Isaac Shelby, Esq., governor of the Commonwealth of Ken tucky...greetings...
know ye...that there is granted...unto JOHN MAY and DAVID ROSS a certain tract of land...25,0 00 acres by survey bearing date 20th day of April, 1788,
situate..in Bourbon County (VA) on waters of Big Sandy and bounded as follows.. north bank o f west fork of Big Sandy and about 4 miles from the mouth of said fork...Signed Isaac Shelby , Governor, April 11, 1794'.
Sometime between 1802 and 1805, John May moved to this land on Shelby Creek,
settling a very big part of Pike County. David Ross disappears from the story. He may have s old his one-half interest to John May years earlier, but the MAY FAMILY continued to live o n there years after John May died in 1813." (End of quoting from the paper by Ellen Chadwell . This was given to me by Ellen Chadwell's father, David Hatler Chadwell in 1995.
NOTE: What became of this land -- where were the actual boundaries?
Did it become contested and voided in the same manner as many of the large
land patents? I need to have someone in that Shelby Creek area to help
define the area described. I just want to be sure that this 1974 land patent
is not being confused with some taken by another John May who was with Simon
Kenton obtaining land along the Ohio River, especially at the Maysville, KY
area, now Mason County, earlier Bourbon Co., KY (then, VA.), Virginia
Burke May Rhoades, Evansville, IN, Aug. 1999).
Many D.A.R. Rosters have the record of the Revolutionary War Service of
John May and a list of the descendants as applicable to the person who got
into D.A.R. on his record. To quote from only one of several I found:
John May was a Revolutionary soldier." Service: Enlisted at age 17 in 1777
at Martinsburg, VA. Served two years in Artillery of VA. Continntal Line under Capt. Cherry" . (Vol. 1, A ROSTER OF REV. ANCESTORS OF THE INDIANA DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, Mr s. Thomas Martin Egan, State Regent, 1973-1976, Central Public Library, Evansville, Indiana , R 929.337 D, vol. 1, page 414).
From the book, " MAY GENEALOGY, The Southern Branch, with Biographical Sketches, 1776-1956" , by Tress May Francis (Mrs. Rydal Gordon Francis) of Prestonsburg, Floyd County, Kentucky (s he lived from 1896 to 1989; and, her line descends as follows: JOHN MAY & SARAH JANE PHILLIP S, THOMAS MAY & DORCAS PATTON, WILLIAM JAMES MAY & CYNTHIA POWERS, JUDGE BEVERLY CLARKE MA Y & ANNIE LAURIE AUXIER to Tress May Francis):
Quoting, " The first we know of our ancestor JOHN MAY who came to Pike County, Ky (then Floy d Co.) in 1800 is: That he served in the Revolutionary War and the following information wa s copied from the Pension Department at Washington, D.C. from a declaration made by his wif e SARAH MAY when she applied for a pension September 15th, 1845 at the age of 86 years and li ving in Pike County,
KY. She alleged that JOHN MAY was in the artillery of the Virginia
Continental Line of the Revolutionary War. She was not able to state the exact year that h e entered service, but that he enlisted in Berkely County, Virginia (now West Virginia) at Ma rtinsburg, while living there with an aunt, `a widow MAy', and was seventeen years of age: an d, that he served two years. Her recollection was that his Captain name was Cherry, and a p ortion of the time he was under General Lee. She also remembers hearing him speak of being o n the opposite side of the river from the Battle of Long Island and speak also of General Was hington's retreat over the river.
When he returned from the army she saw two young men, one Jacob Orr, and the
other Jacob Pink and many others take him into Kinney's Tavern in Martinsburg
and treat him to something to drink. They seemed to be rejoicing together and on inquiring t he cause she was told that it was JOHN MAY who had just returned from the Army and of this sh e had a distinct recollection. This was in April 1779 or 1780, and in March of the followin g year they were married. They were married by publishing bans (meaning announcing their int ention to marry) and the certificate given her by the preacher who married them was lost wit h other records of the family".
There were different papers to prove that they were man and wife. One, an
affidavit by SAMUEL MAY, her son, dated 1845; in this he says he remembered
hearing his father tell stories of his service, also that all of their records burned. Fro m the "Woodruff" papers: "A son, Samuel May, living in Prestonburg in 1845 (Kentucky State Re presentative 1834-1839) writes a personal note accompanying his deposition to J. S. Edwards , Commissioner of Pensions, and addresses him as `Dear Jim'. Samuel says that he recalls seei ng his father's discharge papers many times. `My father kept his important documents in a clo th bag, and when the need arose the contents of the bag would be emptied upon a table, an d I was told, `these are my discharge papers'. Samuel says that he left home at the age of 2 0 (about 1803) and he does not know what became ofthe bag and its contents. (VA R7056)."
In her pension claim, Sarah Jane Phillips May stated that prior to John May's
enlistment, he lived in Martinsburg, Virginia, and upon his return he lived
with "widow May" who she believed to be an aunt. The aunt was possibly Mary,
the widow of Daniel May who died in 1777. This leads to speculate about John's parents. M y guess would be that while John was in the service, the mainstream of his family moved to As he County, N.C., and upon his return --finding his family gone -- he lived with his widowe d aunt. Sarah Jane goes on to say that he later purchased her house and property in Martinsbu rg. The three eldest of their eight children were born there -- John May, Junior, born Apri l 28, 1781; Samuel May born 17 Oct. 1783; and, Thoms May born 1 Feb. 1787.
According to Fothergill's list of early Taxpayers 1782-1784 there was only one MAY still resi ding in Berkley Co., JOHN MAY. (Maryland, now West Virginia). I believe this to be our Revolu tionary ancestor who was known to have married in 1780 and soon after purchased the propert y of his widowed aunt.
In her claim statement Sarah Jane Phillips May says "they left VIRGINIA in
1789 and went to CARTER COUNTY, Tennessee at the mouth of Roan's Creek". At this time the are a was a part of Washington County, N.C. and did not become Carter County until seven years la ter in 1796. Thus, John Hanson, historian, was correct in his statements that the family lef t Virginia and migrated to North Carolina. Here three additional children were born. (Danie l May, 1791;
Elizabeth "Betsy" May, 1794; and Mary Polly May, 1797).
(We do know that John May was in Carter County, Tennessee on Feb. 10, 1802
because that is the date of his certification as surety for the marriage of
his son John May to Mary Catherine "Caty" Hanson. - Virginia Burke May
Rhoades).
Then, Sarah states that Tlepolard May her youngest son was born July 26, 1805
in the 14th year of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and his name was taken from
HOMER (foot note added `Tlepolard, the son of Hercules and King Rodiah or
Rodes').
The number of this pension claim is VA. R. 7056 and it is signed by John D.
Mims and James Bevins, Pikeville, Ky." (End of quote from Pension Claim).
The older families say they were married in 1780. Her statement was that they
left Virginia in 1789 and went to Carter County, Tennessee, but doesn't say how long they the y lived in Virginia or in how many different Virginia locations other than at Martinsburg, V A (now W.VA). They probably did have other locations in Virginia before going to Tennessee, f or some of the older
descendants say that their particular ancestor (a child of John and Sarah) was born in CULPEP PER CO., VA and, others, SPOTTSYLVANIA CO., VA, and some say SCOTT County, but they could hav e lived in those different counties in moving about and some of their children been born at t hose places. (This is quoting the opinion of Tress May Francis in her book," May Genealogy-th e Southern Branch" as mentioned previously).
We know that they came to Floyd Co., Ky (now Pike Co.) in the year 1800 and
settled on Shelby Creek about two and one-half miles from its mouth, where they lived continu ously until their death. John May died on January 25. 1813. His wife before their marriag e was Sarah Jane Phillips, daughter of John Phillips (some say Thomas Phillips, possibly a mi litary "Colonel"). Some descendants say her mother was a POLLARD before marriage; I cannot f ind proof of this yet.
Sarah May was born 1759 and died 1845, dates given by her grandson, Reuben
May, son of Thomas May and Dorcas Patton May. This is evidently correct for
she was 86 years of age in Sept., 1845 when she applied for the pension,
and must have died soon after that. We don't know where she was born, only
that she was living in Martinsburg, VA, when she married. (The penson was denied).
They are both buried in the William Keathley Graveyard which was on his farm.
The graves have a stone enclosure and hand-made headstones, which are also of
native stone. The only inscription on his stone is: "JOHN MAY was born" and
there is none on Sarah's. (That is from an earlier "reading" of the stones).
At the KY Historical Society Library at Frankfort, KY (1991) in the "Family
Folders (Vertical Files) there are photocopied pages from "Cemetery Inventory" by Eldon J. an d Ruthie J. May: "Keathley Cemetery at Richam Station on the Willie Riddle Farm on Shelby Cre ek -- At the lower side of the cemetery is a rock enclosure with two graves. One is a Revo lutionary War Soldier, JOHN MAY, SR. The other is his wife, SARAH PHILLIPS MAY. Their grands on put up the stones. They are not legible. (1) JOHN MAY, SR., B. 1760; D. Jan. 25, 1813. ( 2) SARAH PHILLIPS MAY, b. July, 1759; D. 1845." This inventory lists no other "May" or "Phil lips". (NOTE: a few of his descendants visited their graves at Richam Station, on the Willi e Riddle farm near Shelbiana, Ky at the time of our first reunion at May Lodge, Jenny Wiley P ark, Sept. 27, 1997).
There were eight (8) children in the John May/Sarah Phillips family. Viz:
John, Junior; Samuel; Thomas; Daniel; Elizabeth "Betsey"; Mary "Polly"; Reuben; Tleopolard (P hillip Pollard) born July 26, 1805. All of these children were born BEFORE coming to Kentuck y except the last two mentioned (Reuben and Tleopolard Phillip Pollard May)." End of quote fr om the Eldon J. and Ruthie J. May "Cemetery Inventory".
(Note that Sarah Jane Phillips May was 46 when Phillip Pollard May, her last
child, was born.)
I have other material on JOHN MAY that is mostly lengthy repetitions of the
items contained in the above Pension application.
JOHN MAY might have been JOHN B. MAY; because in some information about his
eldest son (and first child), John B. May, the son is referred to as "Junior". (NOTE: the te rm "junior" did NOT then mean just what it does now - sometimes it was a way of referring t o the younger "John". Records about this branch were compiled by Homer Eiler of Topeka, Kans as and can be read at the KY Historical Library at Frankfort, Ky. (Charles Woodrow "Woodie " May, Naples, Florida,tells me that his father, Thomas May (son of David May and Mary Elizab eth Bickley May) corresponded with Homer Eiller and they were going to write a book about th e May Family -- this was in 1926 and Woodie gave me a copy of their beginning notes which wa s more of a outline sketch.
Many D.A.R. Rosters have the record of his Revolutionary War service and
partial descendants as applicable to the person who got into the DAR on his
record. These are usually published by Local Chapters of the DAR in the
states of the petitioner for membership and are available at most libraries
that have genealogical material.
Mrs. Howard Walker Woodruff of Kansas City, Missouri, in 1967, wrote a
manuscript about the family of John May and Sarah Jane Phillips May (Kentucky Historical Soci ety Library, Frankfort, Kentucky, Vertical Files (Family Folders). Her account reads:"John M ay, Our Revolutionary War Ancestor, was born near Baltimore, Maryland in 1760 (Harman II:420 ) He died January 25, 1813. (Revolutionary War Pension Application VA.R7056) He is buried i n the William Keathley Graveyard located on his original homestead in Pike County, Kentucky . John May (Sr.) was the son of John May, the Emigrant ancestor (Harman)." (She is quotin g from "Annals of Tazewell County, VA by John NewtonHarman, Sr., Vol. II:420). (I find thi s book disappointing as far as my ancestor, Thomas May who married Dorcas Patton, because h e is omitted from the list of John May's children. - Virginia Burke May Rhoades).
To continue quoting Mrs. Woodruff: "In March 1780 John May married Sarah Jane Phillips in Ma rtinsburg, Berkley Co., Virginia (now West Virginia) by
`publishing the banns'. (VAR7056). Sarah Jane Phillips was born in 1759. She died in the f all of 1845 and is buried beside her husband. (VaR7056,
gravestone, grandson Reuben May). Sarah Jane Phillips was the daughter of
Thomas Phillips and according to family tradition, her mother was a POLLARD."
(End of quotes from Mrs. Woodruff).
Thomas May (1853-1933), a great-grandson of this John May, prepared some notes in about 192 6 with Mr. Homer Eiler of Topeka, Kansas, because they were going to write a book about the M ay family. The notes I have were mostly about Samuel May and Catherine Evans May's children . Therefore, I assume that Homer Eiler's line was Samuel May. Thomas May's descendancy wa s from Thomas May who married Dorcas Patton. Quoting," John May, Leonard May and Thomas May , three brothers, emigrated from Germany about the year 17-- (blank). John May settled in th e state of Maryland and his son, John married Sarah Phillips, a daughter of Thomas Phillips . Said John and Sarah had eight children (and he named them). Said John and Sarah left Maryl and, removed probably to North Carolina. Thence to Watauga River, East Tennessee, and thenc e about the year 1800 to Kentucky, where they both died". (End of quoting from these notes wh ich were given to me by Charles Woodrow May of Naples, Florida, a son of Thomas May (1853-193 3). (NOTE: Fred T. May in researching the history of the family consulted Homer Eiler's wri tings).
In a book "ANNALS OF FLOYD COUNTY, KENTUCKY", by Charles G. WELLS;(seen at the Library at Vir gie, Kentucky, R076.922), in the section 1800-1826,page 24, there is the following: "Nov. 27 , 1815: Indenture between John Spurlock, Henry B. Mayo and Jonathan Mayo, Commissioners of t he Floyd County Court of one part and John May, Jr., Samuel May, Thomas May, David May, Bets y Little, late Betsy May, Polly Justice, late Polly May, Reuben May and Phillip Pollard May , heirs of John May, deceased, for land on Shelby Creek, a branch of Sandy River". This name s all eight (8) of the children of John May and Sarah Phillips May and apparently concerns th e estate settlement. I have not viewed this document at the court house.
Also in the same book cited in the previous paragraph, on page 101, "County
Court Book 2, March Term (of court), 1815, Tuesday, 28th of March, 1815: Second Day. Ordere d that the Commissioners convey title to the land which David Morgan sold to JOHN MAY, DECEAS ED, to the heirs of said May, to-wit: John May, Junior; Samuel May; Thomas May; Daniel May ; Betsy Little (late Betsy May); Polly Justice (late Polly May who divorced Peyton Justice an d married John Hamilton); Reuben May and Phillip Pollard May." And, on the same court date t he following: "Ordered the Commissioners to settle with
the following administrators: Daniel May, administrator of the estate of JOHN MAY".
In the same book as previous paragraphs there are the following entries
on pages 40 and 41: "Dec. 27, 1817: Indenture from the Trustees of the
Floyd Seminary Lands to Samuel May in the amount of $500.00 for 450 acres
located on the Elk Fork of Licking River, James Day's land noted." "Dec. 27,
1817: Indenture from the Trustees of the Floyd Seminary Land to Samuel May in
the amount of $500.00 for 884 acres located on the Open Fork of Little Sandy
River; Dec. 27, 1817: Indenture from the Trustees of the Floyd Seminary Land
to Samuel May in the amount of $500.00 for 770 acres located on the Main Fork
of Blaine Creek". (Note that at this time Samuel May was about 34 years old and had been marr ied to Catherine Evans for about 9 years. - Virginia Burke May Rhoades.
In the same book as previous paragraph, page 40, there is the following: "July 23, 1817: Ind enture from Thomas May and Dorcas, his wife, to Phillip Cole of Botetourt County, VA in the a mount of $787 for 450 acres on Shelby Creek, a branch of the Russell Fork of Sandy River, ATT EST: James Honaker and Harry Stratton". (Note that at this time Thomas May was about 30 year s old, married to Dorcas Patton for about 4 years and had begun to add more land to his inher itance. Thomas May and Dorcas Patton May were my great-great
grandparents. - Virginia Burke May Rhoades).
More About JOHN (JOHANNES) MAY:
Burial: Wm.Keathley Cem., Floyd Co., KY.
Record Change: March 02, 2004
More About JOHN (JOHANNES) MAY and SARAH JANE PHILLIPS:
Marriage: March 1780, Berkley Co., VA.
Children of JOHN (JOHANNES) MAY and SARAH JANE PHILLIPS are:
- +JOHN B. MAY JUNIOR, b. April 28, 1781, Berkley Co., VA, d. November 22, 1849, Shelby Co., ILL.

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