Family Tree & History

A Brief Summary of the Maness Family History

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The Maness Family can trace their history to Loch Catrine, near Inverness, Scotland to a man named John Maness. John was born in 1655. He left Scotland and traveled to Colonial America (PA) shortly after the battle of Culloden, in 1745. John’s wife is unknown however, they had five children. He died February 21, 1728/29 in Bertie County, North Carolina. William Maness Sr., a son of John was born on the Isle of Man, Scotland in 1715. William’s wife is unknown. From this union, there were 8 children. William “Billy” Jacob Maness Jr., a son of William Sr. was born in 1738. He married Keziah Brooks and they had 14 children. Three were triplets Sharach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Billy enlisted in 1773 and served during the American Revolution. In 1747 he and his father William Sr. moved their families from Pennsylvania to Moore County. Billy received a land grant for 200 acres in Moore County, North Carolina what was then Cumberland County between Bear Creek and Deep River. They later received additional grants for large tracts of land of 100 and 1,000 acres in what is now the town of Robbins, North Carolina. These grants were some of the earliest in the county as he was one of the first to settle in what is now Moore County, North Carolina.

William Maness Jr. died in 1832. Daniel (Enoch) Maness Sr. the 4th child of Billy and Keziah was born in 1763 in Moore County, NC, and died after 1850 in Tennessee. Due to lost records and courthouse fires records to prove Daniel is a son of William Jr. were not available. However, it has been proven through oral history. Daniel married Nancy Willaimson and they had 5 children. Nancy’s death date is unknown however she died in Moore County. Daniel (Enoch) Maness Jr., son of Daniel Sr. and Nancy Maness was born about 1784 in Moore County, NC. He married Mariah Garner who was born in 1785 in Moore County. From this union there were 7 children all were born in Moore County. Their children were John Wesley (1810-1893), Elizabeth (1811 – ?), Mary (1825-1913), Lewis, Enoch, Elias, and Lottie. The children all lived on land that was part of the grant along Bear Creek in a town called Hemp, now known as Robbins, NC. Elizabeth Maness the oldest daughter of Daniel (Enoch) Jr. and Mariah Maness had 5 children. The children’s birth years and names were; Lewis (1831), Margaret (1832), Mary “Polly” (1838), Enoch (1842), and Dumas (1845).

Research showed no evidence that Elizabeth ever married. The father of some of her children is assumed to be a man of color, African and or Native American. The 1850 census listed all of Elizabeth’s children as white except Polly who is listed as Mulatto. The 1860 census reported Dumas, and his sister’s and all of her children as Mulatto. This same census reported Elizabeth and her mother Mariah and the other two sons as Caucasian. There is also no record that any of the children or their descendants were listed as slaves. Dumas the youngest son of Elizabeth married Emeline Strickland the daughter of Brantly and Timey Strickland from Randolph County, NC. She was of Native American descent. Emeline and her family were slaves owned by several owners. A will for James Whittle in 1824 lists Branson and Timey and eleven other slaves as personal property that was left to his daughter Mary Asbill. In 1854 Mary Ashbill’s will divided her slaves between her two children Willaim Asbill and Mary Ashbill Spinks. Emeline became the property of Mary Spinks and was listed as personal property when Mary Spinks died in 1860. Brantley and Timey had several children some could stay with them others were sold. Slaves were emancipated in 1865. No longer slaves Brantly and Timey’s marriage was legalized in 1866.

Dumas and Emeline married in 1867 and lived beside his mother in the same community as his siblings and other Maness descendants in Sheffield Township. There were nine children born from this union. The children’s names are; Jesse, Kenneth, Jetson, Ervin, Candis (Candace), Adelaide, Melinde, Sophia, and Annita. They also raised granddaughter D’Etta. Their children attended school at St. Phillips church which was located North of New Zion Cenetery. Dumas was a farmer and did other odd jobs to support his family. He was a founder and trustee of New Zion A.M.E. Zion Church established in 1879. He worshipped there until Bear Creek Congregational Church was established on October 25, 1914, where he also served as a trustee. Emeline died on October 9, 1915. Dumas died on October 5, 1921.

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Dumas & Emeline Maness’s Children

Jesse & Mishie Maness	14 Children
Kenny Mainess & Margaret Barbara Odell (1995, NC) a. Kenny also fathered – 2 sons before leaving NC b. Mary J. Mainess (1920, FL) – No children c. Precious Davis Mainess (1931, FL)	1 – Child 2 – sons 2 – Children
Candace (Candis) Maness Garner & Williams Garner	8 – Children
Jetson & Katie Maness	2 – Children
Ervin & Sallie Maness Rose B. Wallace (1916)	3 – Children 1 – Adopted Child
Adelaide Maness Brower & Wyatt Brower	6 – Children
Melindie Maness (never married)	No Children
Sophia Annie Maness (never married)	1 – Child
Annita Maness Brower & Henry Brower	6 – Children

Dumas & Emeline Maness, Children with Spouses

Top Right

• Kenny Mainess
• Ervin & Rosa Maness
• Henry & Annita Maness Brower

The above data was researched by the following: