Pocahontas Project
Brown-Mannin(g)-Fugate Line
By Don Taylor

Last March, I learned that I may have Pocahontas as an Ancestor. I was comfortable that Rachel Fugate was my 4^th great-grandmother, but I needed to confirm the line from her to my possible 12^th great-grandmother, Pocahontas. I am now confident that Rachel’s father was Reuben Fugate, thanks to Kentucky marriage records and Reuben Fugate’s will. I also tentatively believe Reuben’s father was Josiah Fugate. I’ll review his life in a future post.

Reuben Fugate is found in 1506 Ancestry Public Trees, Family Search profile KC2X-6SF, and WikiTree as Fugate-225.

Roberts/Brown #210 – Reuben Fugate.

List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: 006 – Clifford (aka Richard Earl) Brown (1903-1990).
• 1^st Great-grandmother: 013 – Mary Elizabeth Manning  (1878-1983)
• 2^nd Great-grandfather: 026 – John William Manning (1846-1888)
• 3^rd Great-grandfather: 052 – Enoch Mannin (1823-1907)
• 4^th Great-grandmother: 105 – Rachel Fugate (1803-1870)
• 5^th Great-grandfather: 210 – Reuben Fugate (c. 1783-1833) 
• 6^th Great-grandfather: 420 – Josiah Fugate (1740-1830) – Tentative.
• 7^th Great-grandfather: 840 – Randolph Fugate (1715-1776) – Tentative.
• 8^th Great-grandmother: 1681 – Martha (or Mary) Martin (1692-c. 1757) – Tentative.
• 9^th Great-grandfather: 3362 – Francis Martin (1657-1699) – Proposed.[v]
• 10^th Great-grandmother: 06725 – Christian Pettus (1636-1701) – Proposed.
• 11^th Great-grandfather: 13451 – Ka-Okee (1611-1641) – Proposed.
• 12^th Great-grandmother: 26903 – Pocahontas Matoaka Amonute Powhatan (c. 1859-1617) – Proposed.

Reuben Fugate (1780-1833)

Reuben’s Birth

Reuben was born in 1780[1] in Virginia. Some researchers suggest he was born in Wythe County. However, Wythe County, Virginia, was formed from Montgomery County in 1790.[2] It becomes confusing because he later lived in Montgomery County, Kentucky. Also, I have not found a definitive document indicating his birthplace. I think further research is needed to confirm his birthplace. If Reuben was born in Montgomery County, Virginia, he probably moved sometime to Montgomery County, Kentucky as a child. My researching Josiah Fugate should answer this question.

At this point, I believe he had five siblings:

 Tentative Children of Josiah and Elizabeth (Smithers) Fugate

Name	Born	Married	Died
Randal F.	1762	Eleanor Bond	1836
Sarah Martha	1763	FNU Prater	1832
Mary	1770	George Belcher	1822
Reuben	1780	Mary [LNU]	1833
John*	?	?	?
Elizabeth*	?	?	?

There is a gap of 7 years between Sarah and Mary and a 10-year gap between Mary and Reuben. It is likely John and Elizabeth were born between those gaps. Research on Josiah should provide insight into their lives.

Marriage 1

Some researchers indicate that Reuben married Mary [LNU] in 1800. I haven’t found a record supporting that marriage yet, but I will continue that search.

Children of Reuben and Mary [LNU] Fugate

Name	Born	Married	Died
Rachael	1803	Meridith Mannin	1870
Grizzela	1806	Levi Prince	1861

1800s

On 8 August 1809, Reuben’s father, Josiah, gave Reuben 100 acres.[3]

On 5 October 1809, Reuben’s father, Josiah, gave Reuben power of attorney.[4]

1810s

The 1810 Census finds Reuben in Montgomery County, Kentucky, apparently with Mary and his two daughters.

On 15 January 1811, Bath County was created from Montgomery County.

Kentucky Tax Books 1811-1831 show Reuben owned 100 acres and paid taxes on it from 1812 thru 1822. Many of the books indicate his property was on Flat Creek.[5]

It appears as though Reuben’s wife, Mary, died on 18 December 1814. He then married Catherine Smallwood on 28 February 1816, 14 months later.

1820s

The 1820 Census found Reuben living in Bath County, apparently with his wife, Catherine, and two daughters.

The 1822 Kentucky Tax Books still show Reuben living in Bath County on 100 acres.

1830s

 I’m still uncomfortable with the Reuben Fugate in the 1830 census record. The census shows two children from 5 to 10 years of age and the oldest female being 30 to 40 years old. Catherine should be 49 or 50 in 1830. It is possible that Catherine left him, and another woman moved in with two young children. I hope to unravel this conflict when I further research the family.

Death 1833

Some records indicate that Reuben Fugate died on 13 June 1833; however, it appears that he signed his will on 19 June 1833, and the will was proved on 6 August 1833. As such, I’m confident he died sometime between 13 June and 5 August 1833 in Ralls County, Missouri.

Events by Location

• Kentucky, Bath County – Lived (after county creation in 1811) until 1830.
• Kentucky, Montgomery County – 1810 Census.
• Missouri, Ralls County – Death 1833.
• Virginia, (possibly Montgomery County) – Birth 1780.

Further Actions / Follow-up

• Do an in-depth search for the birth location of Reuben Fugate.
• Confirm the relationship and determine birth, marriage, and death information for John Fugate and Elizabeth Fugate.
• Document the marriage date, place, and surname of Mary, Reuben’s 1^st wife.
• Confirm the date and location of the death of Mary, Reuben’s 1^st wife.
• Determine the female and two children that lived with Reuben during the 1830 Census.

Endnotes

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[1] U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Ancestry.Com, Reuben Fugate – Catherine Smallwood – 1816 (No Image). Source number: 132.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JST.

[2] See Wikipedia – Wythe County, Virginia.

[3] Kentucky, Montgomery County Deeds, Deeds book 4 – 1809 to 1912 – Page 622 (Image 311 of 594)

[4] Kentucky, Montgomery County Deeds, Deeds book 5 – 1809 to 1912 – Page 155 (Image 411 of 594)

[5] See Anyplace America. Com for Flat Creek (aka Broad Creek), Bath County, Kentucky.