Grubb Family Tree

Information concerning Samuel is taken from the Federal Census records of North Carolina, 1800, 1810 and 1820; North Carolina Land Records; and North Carolina Estate Records;

Samuel Fountain was not listed as a head of household in the 1790 federal census of North Carolina. The first mention of him is found in the Guilford County land records of 1797, when he purchases his first land in the county. Deed book 6, page 341 records his purchase of 100 acres of land from Elizabeth Newman. It was located on Hickory creek, in the southern part of the county. On page 441 of the same book is the record of a grant of 100 acres which he received from the state of North Carolina, in 1798. The land covered by this grant was also located on Hickory Creek, apparently ajoining his original land purchase. In the years between 1800 and 1820, Samuel sold the land on Hickory Creek and purchased other land on South Buffalo Creek, a short distance south of the new town of Greensboro. Deed book 9, page 3; and Deed book 11, page 123, record the purchases of this land which is mentioned in his will, in 1824. (The sale of the land on Hickory Creek is apparently recorded in Deed Book 15, pages 384 and 570, but the discription is to vague to be sure.)

The 1800 census of Guilford county records Samuel as the head of household in Guilford county. Both Samuel and his wife were in the 26 to 45 year old bracket, which would place their birtdate sometime between 1755 and 1774. Also in the home are two boys and two girls all under 10 years of age. That bracket would fit sons William and Andrew and daughter Elizabeth, however the second girl could be either Mary Anne or Nancy. Without more information there is no way to tell.

In 1810, the family consists of a man and a woman in the 26 to 45 age bracket, two boys and two girls under 10, two boys and two girls 10 to 16, and one girl between 16 and 26. Comparing the age for Samuel and Sarah with that of the previous census narrows down the period of their birth to 1765 to 1774. The two boys and two girls in the 10 to 16 bracket would be the same as the four children in the 1800 census. The two boys and two girls under ten would be John, Eli, Sarah, and Mary Anne or Nancy, depending on which one was the younger of the two.

Unfortunately the 1820 census of Guilford county is illegible on the films at the National Archives in Denver, so Samuel's birthdate cannot be determined more closely.

Samuel made out his will and signed it with an X on 19 November 1824. It was probated in Guilford county, in the November 1825 term of court, recorded in Book B, page 210. In it, he names all of his living children, along with his wife, Sarah, and his son-in-law Ancil Lane, who would have been the widower of daughter Nancy. He left land to his wife, Sarah and the four sons; personal property to the remaining three daughters; and two shillings to Ancil Lane.

There are no grave records of Samuel, Sarah or Nancy Lane in Guilford County. However, a graveyard is mentioned in later records of the sale of the land which Samuel left jointly to his three sons, Andrew, John and Eli. No trace of the graveyard has been found in any other records, however the land is now covered by the southern edge of Greensboro.

 

 

 

There is no probate record for any of the sons in Guilford County, or for Sarah, so the only source of information for the family after Samuel's death is the Census, and Land Records of the county. In 1828, the records state that Sarah was living on the land that Samuel left to her and son William. She is listed as the head of household in the 1830 and 1840 census records, but not in 1850. It is possible she died and was buried in the family cemetery which no longer exists.
Of the seven surviving children named in Samuel's will, John and Elizabeth are buried in the Fountain cemetery in Johnson County, Iowa, but no graves have been found for Andrew, Eli, Mary Anne or Sarah, to date.

Son-in-law Ancil Lane does not appear as a head of household in any census of Guilford county, however, an Ancil Lane was married about 1830 in Tennessee, and could possibly be the same man.
Samuel's children told their children that the family name had originally been La Fontaine and that they were of French origin. Some of the grandchildren also thought that Samuel or his wife, or perhaps both had been born in Maryland. (Hannah Fountain, daughter of John Sr and Hannah Trotter, gave Maryland as the place of birth of both her parents on the 1900. 1910. and 1920 census, however; I believe she was confused as both her parents were born in Guilford County. It is more likely that her grandparents were from Maryland. Hannah's brother, Emsley also gave Maryland as the birthplace of his parents on at least one census)

By the time of the 1850 census, only two of Samuel sons, Andrew and Eli, were still living in Guilford county. (Son John and his family were in Johnson County, Iowa.) Of the three surviving daughters, mentioned in Samuel's will, only Elisabeth Trotter and Sarah Heath, both widowed, were still living in the county. Each was listed as a head of household. Son William and daughter Mary Anne Harvey are not recorded there in 1850. No death records or gravestones have been found and no probate records for either one, or their spouses seem to exist, at least in Guilford county. The question, did they move away or did they die there remains to be answered.

One clue that indicates the possibity that son William in fact died there, is the court records of an eleven year old orphan, A. O. Fountain, (Albert) who was bound to the Osment family in 1842. Unfortunately, there is no mention of A. O.'s parents in the abstract of the court records which was published by the Guilford Genealogist. (Check the original court records?)

In 1850, the two brothers, Andrew and Eli were living next door to each other, probably on the land they inherited from their father. Both are apparently widowed as there are no wives in the homes. With Andrew were his three children, Sarah, Isaac, and Eli. With the elder Eli was a young lady named Polly Fountain, who may or may not have been his daughter. She could possibly be the child of William, or she could be the wife of Eli, although there is an age difference of 25 years. Polly would have been born Ca. 1829, in Guilford county, according to that record.
In the same census, the orphan A O Fountain, who is now 19 is apparently living in the Ozment family, but his surname is dittoed down as Osment. It seems apparent, from later land and probate records that this young man was Albert O Fountain.

By the time of the 1860 census, the only members of Samuel and Sarah's family that are recorded in Guilford county are Andrew, with his youngest son, Eli, and Sarah Heath. Unfortunately, this is the last record of either Andrew Fountain or Sarah Heath in Guilford County. No death records or gravestone have been found for either.
Alfred O Fountain apparently remained in the area all of his life, but there is a great deal of confusion about his last name. On 18 Oct 1855, Alfred Ozment married Isabella Lovett. His bondsman was James W Weatherly. Land records of the county identify this person as Alfred O Fountain. (Much more research needed!)

Also mentioned in the marriage records and land records of the county is a man named James I. Fountain, who identifies his parents as Isaac Fountain and Elizabeth, with no last name given, on his marriage license in 1881. He was 21 years old and he had been born in Guilford county according to that record. A year earlier, in the 1880 census, James I Fountain was living in the home of Joseph Armfield and his wife, Elizabeth. The record is very clear, and James is identified as a step-son of Joseph.

There is no one named Isaac Fountain in the North Carolina marriage bonds. There is, however a bond for Joseph Armfield and Elizabeth Ozment, issued on 17 January 1866. Four years later, in the 1870 Census, Joseph and Elizabeth Armfield are living in dwelling #79 in Morehead township. In the home is a ten year old boy named James, however his name is "Dittoed" down as Armfield. It seems that this should be James I Fountain.

James I lived out his life in Guilford county, and died in Greensboro in 1927. A great deal of research is needed to determine if James is the son of Isaac Fountain, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth Murphy Fountain. No marriage record has been found for Isaac Fountain and Elizabeth Ozment, and no divorce which would have been necessary for Isaac to marry his cousin Hannah Fountain in Johnson County Iowa in 1866.