Generation 3 John Berry
- Born
- c. 1762, Orange County, North Carolina
- Died
- December 21, 1803, Jackson County, Georgia
- Married
- Martha Stepp — married September 16, 1793, Person County, NC
- Parents
- Robert Berry and Elizabeth Cate, Orange County, NC
Book Chapter: Read the full story in Chapter 5: John Berry from Our Berrys in Frontier America
The Story of John Berry#
John Berry was found by a fellow researcher sometime before 2004 in the book Georgia Intestate Records by Jeanette Holland Austin (Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore, 1986). The publication states that John Berry left five orphan children by the names of Joshua, Robert, Polly (Mary), Betsie (Elizabeth), and William Berry.
John Berry had five siblings with the same identical names, which led researchers to believe that John was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Cate Berry from Orange County, North Carolina. All of the family researchers at the time felt this was correct — but it might have been simpler if another family had not already claimed that John and Martha Berry were from their clan of Berrys.
The Proof#
It was not until the marriage bond shown above was located in Person County, North Carolina records that the connection was confirmed. The marriage bond had misspelled John’s surname. Robert and Elizabeth Cate Berry’s homestead is less than a mile from the Person County line, and Elizabeth Cate’s father had a plantation in that county.
Additional proof: Joshua Stepp listed as head of household in the 1800 Person County, North Carolina census. There were nine members of the Stepp family remaining at home. John and Martha named their first two sons Joshua (after her father) and Robert (after John’s father).
DNA Confirmation#
A descendant of the orphan William Berry — Shelby Dale Berry (deceased) — took a DNA test and matched the Robert Berry (OC) Y-DNA participants. Archival data traces this line back to John and Martha Stepp Berry. This test provided positive proof that John Berry, who died in Jackson County, Georgia, was indeed the son of Robert and Elizabeth Cate Berry from Orange County, North Carolina.
Death and the Orphan Children#
John Berry died on December 21, 1803, in Jackson County, Georgia. He died intestate (without a will), leaving five young children.
Benjamin Camp was appointed guardian of John and Martha Stepp Berry’s five orphan children by the Jackson County, Georgia court. Benjamin Camp apparently died between the time he was appointed guardian and the 1820 census, when his wife Mary Camp listed as head of household in Jackson County, Georgia.
Children of John Berry and Martha Stepp
John and Martha had five children. After John’s death in 1803, the children were raised under the guardianship of Benjamin Camp in Jackson County, Georgia.
- 1. Polly Berry (Mary)Born c. 1793Listed in Mary Camp's 1820 Jackson County, Georgia census as a female between 16 and 26 years old.
- 2. Betsie Berry (Elizabeth)Born c. 1795Listed in Mary Camp's 1820 Jackson County, Georgia census as a female between 16 and 26 years old.
- 3. Joshua BerryBorn 1797Named after Martha's father, Joshua Stepp. Listed in Mary Camp's 1820 census as a male 16–26.
- 4. Robert BerryBorn 1798Named after John's father, Robert Berry. May be the Robert M. Berry found in the 1820 Jones County, Georgia census (listed as age 26–44 with wife and two daughters under 10).
- 5. William BerryBorn 1802 or 1804 — Died 1881Married Sarah Nelson (1805–1883). Listed in the 1820 census as a male 10–15 living in Mary Camp's household. William and Sarah had many children and settled in Fayette County, Alabama. A descendant, Shelby Dale Berry, provided the DNA match that confirmed John Berry's parentage. William Berry is buried at Find A Grave.
Census Records
No census has been found for John Berry in Georgia — he died in 1803 before the next census. His orphaned children appear in guardian Mary Camp's 1820 Jackson County, Georgia census.
Mary Camp’s 1820 Household — Jackson County, Georgia (August 7, 1820):
Robert M. Berry’s 1820 Household — Jones County, Georgia (August 7, 1820):
William Berry’s Line — 1850 Fayette County, Alabama Census (November 22, 1850):
Dwelling 354: BERRY, Wm., 49, male, farmer, born Louisiana. BERRY, Sarah [Nelson], 35, female, born Louisiana. Children: Silvester (19), Elizabeth (17), Henry (12), Robert (11), Cintha (9), William (7), Joshua (5), Sarah (3), William (1).