Exploring the Gaw side of the tree

Back in November 2015, I wrote about the family of my 3rd-great-grandmother Nancy Jane Flatt. She was a daughter of Pleasant Flatt, who was born in Jackson County, Tennessee. Nancy Jane's mother was Mary Gaw. I have this name from the death certificate of Nancy Jane's sister, Martha Flatt, who died on 23 December 1913. In the 1860 US Census, Pleasant Flatt and his second wife Mary A. Flatt were living in the 3rd District of Overton County, Tennessee. Mary Flatt was listed as 25 years old, which would put her birth year about 1835.

In the 1850 US Census, there is a 16-year old Polly Ann Gaw listed in the household of John and Nancy Gaw in District 9, Jackson County, Tennessee. Polly is a nickname for Mary, and at 16, her birth year would have been 1834, putting her in the right range to be the same Mary A. from the 1860 Census.

Ancestry, 1850 US Census, Jackson County, Tennessee.

Our AncestryDNA results have turned up quite a few matches to the Gaw family, especially to the families of John Gaw (born 1801, died 1863) and his parents, Thomas Gaw and Nancy Hood.

John Gaw was born in Greenville County, South Carolina. According to other researchers, his birth date was 3 February 1801. The Gaw family appears to have arrived in Jackson County, Tennessee around 1812. I have not yet verified this by checking for land deeds in Jackson County. In the 1830 Census, the Gaw family can be seen in Jackson County, Tennessee. John's father Thomas and several of John's brothers appear on this census entry. John Gaw was my 5th-great-grandfather, making Thomas my 6th-great-grandfather.

1830 US Census, Jackson County, Tennessee.

John Gaw appears in the 1862 tax assessment list in Jackson County, Tennessee. He had 195 acres.

I have not been able to verify this, but several researchers list his date of death as 13 March 1863. John Gaw appears in several North Carolina and Tennessee early land records, and I will highlight those in the next post.