Generation 5 Ira Berry
- Born
- 1833, Orange County, North Carolina
- Died
- c. 1864–1870 (probably killed in the Civil War)
- Married
- Nancy Wynn/Winn — married before 1856, probably in Tennessee or Kentucky
- Parents
- Lewis Berry and Sally (Sarah) Toler Berry, Orange County, NC
The Story of Ira Berry#
Ira Berry was born in 1833 in Orange County, North Carolina, the son of Lewis Berry and Sally (Sarah) Toler Berry. Lewis and Sally were married on October 13, 1829, in Orange County, NC.
If you check the 1850 Orange County, North Carolina, Census you will find Ira Berry age 17 at his Uncle Eli Berry’s house. Next door to Uncle Eli Berry is James and Nancy Ellison Berry Waggoner with one son John who is 9 months old.
Now if you check the 1860 census in Union County, Kentucky, you see Ira age 26 and his wife Nancy Wynn/Winn Berry living next door to James and Nancy Ellison Berry Waggoner and son John, who was born in North Carolina and was then 10 years old.
The Move to Kentucky#
Ira’s mother and father, Lewis Berry and Sally Toler, were married on October 13th, 1829, in Orange County, NC. Lewis died in Orange County, NC, in 1858. There was a worldwide flu epidemic that year. Sally (Sarah Toler Berry) removed to Kentucky soon after Lewis died.
Sally (Sarah Toler Berry) was living with her daughter Nancy E. Waggoner in Kentucky in 1860. Sally (Sarah Toler Berry) most likely died there in Union County, Kentucky.
James Waggoner married Nancy E. Berry in Orange County, North Carolina, on June 11, 1849. They left North Carolina with Nancy’s brother Ira Berry in 1854 and went to Morganfield, Union County, Kentucky.
In the 1860 Union County, Kentucky, Census, Ira’s oldest son is Franklin who is 4 years old and born in Kentucky. This would mean that Ira and his wife Nancy Wynn/Winn Berry had been in Kentucky since at least 1856.
Nancy Wynn — A Tennessee Connection#
In that same census it states that Nancy Wynn/Winn was born in Tennessee. Ira may have met her in Smith County, Tennessee, where his Uncle James Berry was living. It would be reasonable for Ira to spend some time there on his way to Kentucky. Smith County, Tennessee, would not be out of the way if a person was coming from North Carolina to Kentucky. All of this part of this writing is purely speculation, however. James Berry did live in Smith County, Tennessee, from sometime in the mid 1830’s. He is in the 1840 and 1850 Census there.
Ira Berry was born in Orange County, North Carolina, and died in Kentucky.
Children of Ira Berry and Nancy Wynn#
Ira and Nancy had six children, all born in Kentucky.
- Born 1855, KentuckyDNA DONOR LINE. Franklin Pierce Berry is the ancestor through whom our family's Y-DNA line has been tested and confirmed.
- 2. Thomas BerryBorn 1857, Kentucky
- 3. Edward BerryBorn 1859, Kentucky
- 4. William BerryBorn 1862, Kentucky
- 5. James BerryBorn 1865, Kentucky
- 6. Decator BerryBorn 1867, Kentucky
What Happened to Ira Berry?#
Nancy Wynn Berry listed her youngest child as 5 years old in the 1870 census. This would probably mean that Ira Berry was alive in 1864 but was not alive in 1870. This coincides with the Civil War years, and Ira was probably killed in that war.
What Happened to Nancy E. Berry Waggoner?#
James Waggoner did not list his wife Nancy E. Berry Waggoner in the 1870 census. He did list a baby Sally E. Waggoner who was one month old. The census was taken on June 25, 1870, which means that Nancy E. Berry Waggoner probably died soon after childbirth, sometime between May 25 and June 25, 1870.
Sally E. Waggoner was named for her grandmother Sally Toler Berry, who had lived with her daughter and son-in-law James and Nancy after her husband Lewis Berry died in 1858 back in Orange County, North Carolina.
Census Records#
Ira Berry appeared in the 1850 Orange County, North Carolina, census as a 17-year-old at his Uncle Eli Berry's house. By 1860 he was in Union County, Kentucky, with his wife Nancy. By 1870 Nancy was listed as a widow heading the household.
1850 — Lewis and Sally Toler Berry, Orange County, North Carolina
Ira’s parents Lewis and Sally Toler Berry in the 1850 census.
1850 — Ira Berry at Uncle Eli’s house, Orange County, North Carolina
Ira Berry was 17 years old and visiting his Uncle Eli Berry when the 1850 Orange County Census was taken.
1860 — Ira Berry, Union County, Kentucky
Ira Berry listed in Union County, Kentucky. Sarah Berry listed above was Ira Berry and Nancy E. Waggoner’s mother, Sally Toler Berry. Their father Lewis Berry had died 2 years earlier in Orange County, North Carolina.
1870 — Nancy Wynn Berry (Ira’s widow), Union County, Kentucky
Ira Berry’s wife Nancy was listed as head of household in Union County, Kentucky, in the 1870 Census.
Back to Joshua and Nancy Ellison Berry Ira Berry’s grandparents — Generation 3