Jasper and Malissa Byerly were my second great-grandparents. Jasper was born in 1826, the son of Jacob and Sarah Brown Byerley who settled in Rhea County, Tennessee around 1836. Malissa was born circa 1835, the daughter of Michael and Sarah Smith Byerley who settled in Rhea County, Tennessee sometime between 1850 and 1857. It is believed that Jacob and Michael were brothers, both sons of Jasper and Mary Byerley.
Jasper and Malissia Byerley were married in Rhea County, Tennessee on 21 June 1857.
During the Civil War, on 3 June 1862, Jasper Byerly was appointed to the Rhea County Home Guard. The Home Guard was sort of a local militia. Members were usually men to old or boys too young for service in the field armies. They may have also been men at home recovering from wounds or men who for some reason were exempt from the draft.
To this union at least 10 children were born –
- Sarah Jane Byerley
- Margaret Alice Byerley
- Jacob F. Byerley
- Mary Ann Byerley
- Melissa Tennessee Byerley
- James Michael Byerley
- Martha Byerley
- Emma Byerley
- Hannah Byerley
- Thomas Henry Byerley
I have not been able to determine whether all their children married and had children but for those I have been able to follow the count is 27 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, 77 great-great-grandchildren, 44 great-great-great-grandchildren and 19 great-great-great-great-grandchildren. That is at least 207 descendants with more to be found and more to be added as the generations continue to be found and born!
At this time I have not been able to determine when Jasper Byerley died. I do know that he appeared on 1880 Census of Rhea County, Tennessee and I have not been able to find him on any census record for 1900. It also appears he had died before Malissia as he was not mentioned in the notices about her death. Melissia Byerley died on 1 September 1899 in Dayton, Tennessee when she was hit by a man on a bicycle.
I have also not been able to find out where they are buried, though I suspect they are buried in the Byerley Cemetery that is located somewhere off of Owl Roost Road. The cemetery is marked on several TVA Maps, however I have not been able to find the exact location as any evidence that there once was a cemetery is now gone.
Sarah Jane Byerley, the oldest daughter of Jasper and Malissa Byerley, was born around 1858 in Rhea County, Tennessee. She married twice, first on 6 December 1894 to Manley Yates and second on 26 December 1899 to Marley Yates. Both marriages took place in Rhea County, Tennessee. Sarah Yates died on 10 July 1924. She is buried in Buttram Cemetery in Dayton, Tennessee.
Jacob F. Byerley (Barley), son of Jasper and Malissa, was born on 17 April 1863 in Rhea County, Tennessee. He married twice, first to Mary Ella Webb on 2 Jan 1896 in Rhea County, Tennessee. After the death of Mary , Jacob (Jake) married Merline Mills on 2 June 1905 in Rhea County, Tennessee. Jake and his family would eventually move to northern Hamilton County, where Jake died on 29 June 1934 in Soddy Daisy. He is buried in Dodd Cemetery, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee.
His obituary was published in “The Chattanooga News” dated 29 June 1934 on page 2:
Barley, Jake, 72, died at his residence near Daisy Friday morning. Surviving are four daughters, Addie Reno, Mattie Hitchcock, Hester Barley and Irene Frizzell of Daisy; two brothers, Tom of Daisy, and Jim Barley of Old Washington; four sisters, Mary Ottinger of Graysville; Emma Henderson of Graysville; Alice Clingan of Chattanooga and Tennie Roddy of Daisy, and one step-son. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Coulter’s.
Margartette Alice Byerley, second daughter of Jasper and Malissa, was born 11 February 1861. After her marriage to Alexandar Clingan in Rhea County, Tennessee on 6 December 1884, like several of her siblings she moved to Hamilton County, Tennessee. Finding her was somewhat more difficult for me as she moved from Tennessee into Georgia. She died in Rossville, Georgia on 22 March 1943.
Mary A. Byerley was born to Jasper and Malissa on the 5th of May of 1865 in Rhea County. She married James Calvin Ottinger on 14 October 1884 in Rhea County, Tennessee. Mary and James has 3 sons and 1 daughter. Mary died on 28 May 1958 and is buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery, Graysville, Tennessee. He obituary from the Chattanooga Times:
Ottinger – Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Ottinger, 93, native of Rhea County and resident of Soddy for 23 years, who died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Tom Boyd, Wednesday night, will be held at Union Fork Baptist Church at 2 o’clock this afternoon, Rev. J. D. Kelly officiating. Other survivors are two sons, W.L. Ottinger and Carl Ottinger, both of Graysville, Tennessee; five grandchildren and one brother, Tom Byerley, Daisy, Tennessee; 10 great-grandchildren. Interment in Lone Mountain Cemetery. Active pallbearers, Henry Yates, Bill Millsaps, Oscar Reno, Perry Hitchcock, Richard Henderson, Howard Gannaway and Charles Gannaway; honorary Ed Levi, Frank Gooden, Ben Gibson, Jack Penny, Webb Weeks, John Young, and Mart Reed. Funeral arrangements are in charge of J. Avery Bryan Co. Inc. The body is at the residence.
Melissa Tennessee Byerley was born on 26 September 1869. She was known as “Tennie” to most and referred to as “Aunt Tennie” by her many nieces and nephews who knew her. She married William Columbus Roddy on 19 August 1899 in Rhea County, Tennessee. Aunt Tennie died in Daisy, Tennessee on 29 August 1948 and was buried in Spence Cemetery in Dayton. Her obituary appeared in the Chattanooga Times dated Monday, August 30, 1948 on page 7:
Roddy, Mrs. Will (Aunt Tennie), 77, passed away at an early hour Sunday at her home in Daisy following a short illness. She is survived by her husband and one daughter, Mrs. James Yother of Daisy; a sister Mrs. Mary Ottinger of Soddy, Tennessee; brother Thomas Byerley of Daisy; a foster grandson William Milisaps, Daisy. She was a member of the Daisy Baptist Church. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the home, the Revs. W. H. Black, Louis Smedley and Clarence Starling officiating. Burial will be in the Spence Cemetery near Dayton. Sawyers Funeral Service in charge.
James Michael Byerley (Barley), my great-grandfather, was born 22 October 1870 in Rhea County, Tennessee. He was a farmer and a coal miner. It was his travels as a coal miner that took him to LaFollette, Tennessee, where my grandfather, Robert Roscoe Barley met my grandmother Delia Frances Young. It was also during the time in LaFollette, Tennessee that James and his family changed the spelling of their last name from Byerley to Barley, all because a post master wouldn’t given him his mail since he did not spell his name like he pronounced it. On 21 October 1896 James married Mary Myrtle Roddy in Rhea County, Tennessee. James died in Rhea County on 27 February 1941 and is buried in Spence Cemetery, Dayton, beside his wife with two of his daughters buried beside them.
Martha Byerley, who was born after James and before Emma, lived with her brother Jacob when the 1900 Census was taken. At this point, I have not been able to find anything more about here.
Emma Byerley, daughter of Jasper and Malissa, was born on 1 April 1873 in Rhea County, Tennessee. She married twice, first to James Webb on 24 March 1900 in Rhea County. She married second, John Henderson on 5 April 1903 in Rhea County. She had one son, Roy Lee Webb by her first marriage and two children, a son (Richard) and a daughter (Annie) by her second marriage. Emma died in Daisy, Tennessee on 11 June 1940. Her obituary appeared in the Chattanooga Daily Times, dated 13 June 1940 on page 9.
Hannah Byerley, youngest daughter of Jasper and Malissa Byerley was born around 1877 in Rhea County, Tennessee. There were at least two Hannah Byerley’s around the same age in Rhea County. The research I have done seems to indicate that she may have married Will Hall on 3 March 1901 in Rhea County. Nothing more is known about her at this time.
Thomas Henry Byerley was the youngest child of Jasper and Malissa Byerley, born on 12 September 1880. Uncle Tom never married and lived most of his life in Daisy with his sister Tennie and her husband Will Roddy. He died in Daisy on 9 September 1965 and is buried alongside his sister and her husband in Spence Cemetery. His obituary appeared in the Chattanooga Times dated 11 September 1964 on page 11:
Barley, Thomas Henry, age 81 of Daisy, Tennessee died in a Chattanooga Hospital Thursday night. He was the son of Jasper and Malissa Byerly pioneer settlers of Rhea County. He was a retired employee of B. Mifflin Hood Co. and a member of the Daisy Methodist Church. Mr. Barley made his home with his niece, Mrs. Mattie Yother for many years. Services will be held 1 p.m. Saturday at the Daisy Methodist Church.
Source Comments:
- Jacob Byerley first appears in Rhea County court records when he surveyed land belonging to James Stewart on 3 August 1836.
- No direct proof has been found to clearly identify Jacob Byerley as being the son of Jasper and Mary Moore Byerley. However, other facts surrounding the life of Jacob Byerley do support him being the son of Jasper and Mary Moore Byerley. He resided in the area of Knox and Blount County where the other children of Jasper resided. He listed his birth place as South Carolina in several census records. He age fits the earlier census records for Jasper’s family. And he named his first son Jasper.
- Jasper Byerley appears in the 1850 Census of Rhea County, Tennessee with his parents. Jasper was a witness for his father, Jacob Byerley, in the claim submitted to the Southern Claim Commissions and identifies himself as the son of Jacob Byerley.
- Malissia Byerley appears in the 1850 Census of Knox County, Tennessee with her parents.
- Marriage record between Jasper and Malissia Byerley, recorded in Rhea County, Tennessee Marriage Records.
- Michael Byerley was granted power of attorney for his father to petition the courts in Newberry County, South Carolina to obtain property willed to his father in the will of Casper Byerley. (August / September 1827)
- Death Certificates, obituaries and census records prove the relationship of the children to Jasper and Malissa and to each other.
- If you would like more details around the sources, please contact me.
Copyright 2011 by Teresa Barley. Please do not replicate content elsewhere without permission.
