(Pardon me as I walk you through each of the documents & facts. My research training just can’t be discarded too easily, and I do want the conclusions I found to be as obvious as possible.)
Don't forget you can click on the images for full sized viewing--
The Background
Fact #1:
Josias Lock (1795-1826)has a Stephen Lock listed among his heirs along with Joseph, Jesse, Benjamin, Asa, Priscilla & Sarah. This has always been assumed (& safely so) that these are the children of Josias Lock.
There are extensive records & info about a Stephen Lock & Nancy Hines who were the parents of Willis, Levi, Martha, Thena, Rebecca, and Nancy. There are good records listing the death of this Nancy Hines Lock in 1847.
Fact #2:
There is a Stephen Lock listed as the husband of Rhoda Reeves, an heir (and daughter) of William C. Reeves in a land transfer in Oct 1839 [Chester Co Deed Book BB Pg 287]. Interestingly, also listed as heir (and daughter) is Ruth Reeves, wife of Levi Lock (the son of Nancy Hines & Stephen Lock) and listed as heir (and wife) is Mary Culp Reeves Lock, wife of Joseph Lock.
Rhoda Reeves Lock is later listed alone in TN with her children in 1850, suggesting her husband Stephen died about 1847.
Question: Which Stephen Lock is the son of Josias Lock?? Is the other Stephen somehow related??
The online threads at ancestry.com all seemed to indicate that Stephen Lock (husband of Nancy) is the son of Josias Lock. However, no real evidence was ever listed as the source. I also found that was the obvious choice, but then who is the other Stephen??
Other Points to Ponder:
--Since Nancy clearly dies in 1847 and Rhoda is already married to her Stephen Lock in 1839, this cannot be dealing with 2 different wives of the same man.
--Since the families are clearly tied, "Stephen Lock" is likely a family name.
--Since this issue arises before 1850, the censuses do not list spouses or children which does not help much—a major problem.
I will refer to each Stephen from now on as follows:
Stephen #1—husband of Nancy Hines. Father of Willis, Levi, Martha, Thena, Rebecca, and Nancy. Likely born before 1784 (to allow for birth of Willis in 1804). Death date unknown.
Stephen #2—husband of Rhoda Reeves (step-daughter of Joseph Lock, step-sister of Josiah Lock). Listed in land transfer in 1839. Died about 1847. Likely born in 1800-1810 (age listed on 1840 York census).
The Search…
I was able to obtain the microfilm containing the probate of Nancy Hines Lock and the will and probate of her father Thomas Hines. These sources were listed in a reference book as the source for an implied marriage of Nancy Hines and Stephen Lock. I was hoping this could shed some light on the issue and at least clarify info about Stephen and Nancy that I had seen online. I will admit I was secretly hoping that Stephen #2 might be a missing son of Stephen #1 to make this quick & easy to solve. But that was not the case... but I did find some other great info!
As you can see in the document pictured below, the last will and testament of Thomas Hines dated 15 July 1826 says,
“I, Thomas Hines, snr, of the State of South Carolina & District of Chester. Being very weak & frail of body. But of sound mind & memory. Blessed be God for the same. Do make this my last will of testament in the manner following viz.
...
3rd I bequeath to my daughter Nancy Lock (widow woman) my negro girl and at her death fall to and belong to her heirs.”
...
3rd I bequeath to my daughter Nancy Lock (widow woman) my negro girl and at her death fall to and belong to her heirs.”
The will of Thomas Hines dated 15 July 1826
The phrase "widow woman" shows that Stephen #1 definitely died before July 1826. This made me remember that a Nancy Lock was listed in the 1820 Census for Chester Co, South Carolina [shown below] and is listed next door to her brother Ignatious Lock. Women are not listed on the census before 1850, unless they are the head of household—something that would only occur if widowed or with an absent husband (& maybe not even then). This would indicate that Stephen #1 died before 1820. This also is strengthened by the children listed (2 boys and 4 girls under 18 and 2 women) which match with the ages of the 2 sons and 4 daughters of Stephen #1 and Nancy. There is no indication of who the extra woman is, but perhaps a sister or helper since Nancy Hines Lock had 4 small children and no husband.
1820 Chester Co South Carolina listing Nancy Lock living next door to her brother Ignatious Hines
The death date estimation is aided by the census records for birth dates of the children. Stephen #1 & Nancy's son, Levi is listed as born around 1816 and their daughter, Nancy as born June 1817. This would indicate that Stephen #1 died 1817-1820.
1850 York Co South Carolina census listing Levi Lock as born in ~1816/1817
The 1840 York Co South Carolina census [shown below] has a Stephen listed. However, this is definitely Stephen #2 because the age of the oldest male is listed as 30-40yrs, which would indicate a birth in 1800-1810. Since Levi Lock, the youngest son of Stephen #1 & Nancy Hines was born around 1816, it would be impossible for this to be Stephen #1.
1840 York Co South Carolina Census --Stephen Locke is the last one listed
Additionally, when I was in South Carolina I was able to look at the original probate documents for Josias Lock (posted here). Other than being really amazing to be holding in my own hands the originals of my 5th great-grandfather’s documents, it showed that Stephen Lock purchased several items from the estate sale (sometime after Oct 1826) and signed a land transfer as an heir on 14 March 1827. This confirms that Stephen #1 could not be the son of Josias Lock, since he would not be alive to be listed in the will or on the land transfer.
In summary:
It appears that Stephen #1 is NOT the son of Josias Lock, rather Stephen #2 is the son. However, the family connections strongly suggest that Stephen #1 is a relative of Josias Lock. How Stephen #1 is related is the big question still remaining.
So who is Stephen #1??
My suspicion and working hypothesis of the moment is that Stephen #1 is the nephew of Josias Lock, and that Josias' son Stephen #2 is named after this older nephew. It has been indicated by others that Josias Lock had an older brother who also lived in the Chester, SC area named William. This William is listed throughout Chester documents in the early 1800s/1790s as William or Willy Lock. The name of Stephen #1's oldest son is Willis Lock--this suggests to me a possible connection as sons often bestowed on their eldest son the name of their own father. This could be a likely scenario especially since 3 of Josias' other sons (Jesse, Benjamin & Joseph) all named one of their sons Josiah. This would explain the close connections and intermarriages between the families.
This would also agree with DNA testing info I received from Vann Helms (a descendant of Levi Locke) that has shown that a descendant of Stephen #1 (via his son Levi) are directly related to a descendant of Jesse Lock, Josias' eldest son. The DNA marker that is used in this type of testing is linked to the Y chromosome & passed down directly from father to son. Since William & Josias are brothers, they would have both received the same Y chromosome from their father, and thus both carry this marker. They would have then both passed this same marker to their sons & direct male descendants.
Hopefully this has shed some light and sources on the question of the relationship of the Locks in Chester and York Co South Carolina.
