Leonard Shoun

THE LEONARD SHOUN FAMILY

Leonard Shoun was born on 10 November 1773, in Loudoun County, Virginia. Barbara Virginia Slemp was born on 3 May 1775, on the South Fork of the Holston River, in Montgomery County, Virginia, and they were married on 14 August 1792, in Wythe County (now Washington County), Virginia. After their marriage, they immediately came over the mountains to the area at the northern and easternmost part of Tennessee. The area at that time was Carter County, but became Johnson County in the 1830s. They settled in a valley that is now known as Shouns Cross Roads, about two miles from downtown Mountain City, Tennessee.

At that time there were no more than 150 families living in the area now comprising Johnson County. Most of these families had migrated west from North Carolina and Virginia. There, Leonard and Barbara found fertile valleys, plenty of water, lots of timber, and iron ore. Leonard built a forge and produced iron for farm equipment and tools.

Leonard passed away on 9 June 1845 at Shouns, Tennessee. Barbara passed away on 20 April 1851, at Shouns, Tennessee. Both of them, along with some of their descendants, are buried on a knoll in the area known as Shouns Cross Roads, Tennessee.

Recent research has determined that the family of Leonard and Barbara consisted of 17 children which are listed below. Two generations of descendants are listed on separate pages for each of these children who married and had families. We are especially interested in obtaining information on the later generation "cousins" for inclusion in this listing.

1. John S. Shown was born 28 June 1793 at Shouns, Tennessee. He married twice, first to Susan Baker, on 13 May 1816, and upon her passing before 1850, he married Hillary A. Campbell. To the first marriage were born 13 children. John S. Shown was over 90 years old when he passed away on 25 November 1883, at Mountain City, Tennessee.

2. Mary "Polly" Shown was born on 5 December 1794 at Shouns, Tennessee. She was married to Peter P. Parkey on either 15 December 1814 or 12 December 1817, in Carter County, Tennessee. To this marriage were born 12 children, all born in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Mary "Polly" passed away on 25 July 1850 in Hancock County, Tennessee. Peter Parkey passed away 2 November 1858 in Virginia.

3. Elizabeth Shown was born 27 February 1795 or 1796 at Shouns, Tennessee. She was married to James O. Speer (or Spear) on 3 March 1814 in Carter County, Tennessee. To this marriage were born 11 children, all born in what is now known as Washington County, Virginia. Elizabeth passed away on 9 June 1881 in Johnson County, Tennessee. Descendants of Elizabeth and John have been found to spell their name as: Speer, Spear, or Spears. Elizabeth's gravestone is spelled "Spears." James O. Speer passed away on 22 June 1872 in Johnson County, Tennessee.

4. Andrew Shown was born on 3 September 1797 at Shouns, Tennessee. He was married to Elizabeth "Betsy" Powell, Ca., 1820. To this marriage were born 11 children, all born in what is now known as Johnson County, Tennessee. Andrew passed away on 28 February 1879 in Johnson County, Tennessee. Betsy passed away in August 1866 in Johnson County, Tennessee.

5. Isaac Shown was born on 17 February 1798 at Shouns, Tennessee. He was married to Katherine Mary "Polly" Wills, on 25 January 1827, in Doe Valley, Tennessee. Polly Wills was a descendant of Lewis Wills who also came from the Alsace Lorraine region of Germany, settling in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1748. He and his family lived in Virginia before coming to the Johnson County, Tennessee area in 1796. To this marriage were born 10 children, all born in Johnson County, Tennessee. Isaac passed away at the young age of 47, on 16 June 1845, in Doe Valley, Tennessee. Polly passed away on 22 June 1883, also in Doe Valley, Tennessee.

6. Frederick Shown was born on 22 March 1800 at Shouns, Tennessee. He married Sarah Salome "Sally" Burkett, around 1828. To this marriage were born 13 children, all believed to have been born in Johnson County, Tennessee. Frederick passed away on 17 April 1881 in Butler, Tennessee, however, he lived much of his life in North Carolina, where many of his children settled. Sally passed away on 4 February 1866, location unknown.

7. William Shoun was born on 8 June 1801 at Shouns, Tennessee. He married twice, first to Jane "Jennie" Brown, on 1 September 1825 in Carter County, Tennessee. Jennie was born 5 June 1809. Her parents were George and Sarah (Roberts) Brown, from Virginia and later North Carolina, before moving to Carter County, Tennessee, in 1813. To this marriage were born 9 or 10 children, all born in Carter, or what is now Johnson County, Tennessee. Jane "Jennie" (Brown) Shown passed away 6 July 1855. William married a second time, to Catherine "Katy" Heaton Goodwin, Ca 1856/1859. Katy, born 15 August 1817 and died 30 June 1901, was the wife of Allen Goodwin, and they had seven children, four of whom married into the Shoun family. William and his family lived about five and one-half miles west of Mountain City, Tennessee, alongside his brothers, Frederick and Joseph. William passed away 6 June 1876 at Mountain City, Tennessee.

8. Joseph Shown was born 27 February 1803 at Shouns, Tennessee. He also married into the Wills family, marrying Mary "Polly" Wills, on 12 February 1828, in Johnson County, Tennessee. To this marriage were born 9 children, all born in Johnson County, Tennessee. All of his children made Johnson County their home place, with the exception of Isaac, who later went to Oregon in 1884. Polly was born on 30 January 1808, in Johnson County, and died there on 4 March 1892. Joseph died on 8 May 1881 in Doe Valley, Tennessee.

9. Catherine "Katie" Shown was born 6 November 1804 at Shouns, Tennessee. She married Rufus Moore in the early 1820s. Rufus was from the Shildes Moore family (Shildes, Risdon, John), and a brother to Green Moore, who married Katie's sister, Sarah. His family is included in the "Associated Families of Johnson County, Tennessee." We know little about Katie or Rufus, other than they lived in the Mountain City, Tennessee area, and had three children. They raised some of their grandchildren, when their youngest daughter died at the age of 24. Both Catherine and Rufus are shown in the 1880 Johnson County census, at age 75, but no record can be located of their passing.

10. Rachel Shown was born 3 June 1806 at Shouns, Tennessee. She married David Haga Wagner, on 13 March 1827 in Carter County, Tennessee. David was born 14 April 1804 in Carter County. His family is included in the "Associated Families of Johnson County, Tennessee." To this marriage were born four children. Rachel passed away on 6 June 1887, and David passed away on 14 March 1891, both in Johnson County, Tennessee.

11. Sarah "Sally" Shown was born 22 April 1808 at Shouns, Tennessee. She married Greene Moore in 1825. Her husband's family background can be found in the "Associated Families." There were 14 children born to this marriage, most born in North Carolina, although some of the records indicate that a few children could have been born in Johnson County, Tennessee. Most of the family made their home in North Carolina, although a few returned to Johnson County, while others moved to Illinois. Sally passed away in 1886, in Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina. Greene Moore passed away on 10 November 1884, also in Lenoir.

12. Nancy Shown was born on 4 January 1811 at Shouns, Tennessee. She married Caleb Raynor Phillips on 12 February 1832, in either Johnson County, Tennessee or right across the line in Ashe County, North Carolina. To this marriage were born seven children, all born at Pine Swamp, Ashe County, North Carolina. Nancy, her husband, Caleb, and six of their children raised their families in Ashe County. The date of death for Nancy and Caleb are not recorded.

13. Rebecca Shown was born on 4 June 1813 at Shouns, Tennessee. She married John Smith Vaught in the early 1830s. He was born 13 June 1810, also in Johnson County, and is from the large Vaught family, also included in the "Associated Families of Johnson County." To this marriage were born seven children, all born in and around the Shouns area of Johnson County. Rebecca died at the age of 39 on 28 April 1853, at Mountain City, Tennessee. John married a second time to Nancy (surname unknown) prior to the 1860 census. John died on 14 May 1885, in Mountain City, Tennessee.

14. Louisa Leah Shown was born 2 July 1815 at Shouns, Tennessee. She married John L.N. Maddox on 25 February 1836, at Shouns, Tennessee. There were four children born to this marriage. Louisa died before December 1841, the date of her father's will, leaving the children to live with their grandparents. No further record is found of John Maddox in Johnson County. He apparently was not in good favor with his father-in-law at the time of the writing of his will.

15. David Henderson Shown was born 9 January 1817 at Shouns, Tennessee. David married Sarah D. Baker on 26 February 1836 at Mountain City, Tennessee, and died 17 months later. There was only one daughter to this marriage. Sarah married a second time to Joseph Sutherland on 14 May 1853. There were two children by this marriage. However, she was living alone with her children in 1860, and with her daughter in 1870 and 1880. Sarah died on 6 August 1888 in Johnson City, Tennessee.

16. Susannah Shown was born on 31 January 1819 at Shouns, Tennessee. Susannah married Andrew Wagner, on 8 December 1846, in Johnson County, Tennessee. Susannah had two children, born before this marriage, as the children are listed in the census with their last name being Shown. They were never adopted by Andrew, but lived with them in their home. Susannah passed away on 31 March 1902, at Mountain City, Tennessee. Andrew passed away on 9 November 1900, also at Mountain City.

17. Elihu A. Shown was born on 15 November 1820 at Shouns, Tennessee. Elihu married Mary Nancy Hardin in 1847. There were two children born to this marriage, and Elihu passed away at age 31, on 16 December 1851, at Shouns, Tennessee. Mary remarried in the early 1850s, to Daniel Wagner, and they had six children. Mary died in 1890 in Johnson County, Tennessee.

Please note that the spelling of the name used above is "SHOWN." This spelling was customary at the time of the births of the children. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that family members started changing the spelling to "SHOUN." Even then, some of the children, now grown, continued to use the "Shown" spelling, and one branch changed the spelling to “Shawn”.

Leonard was unable to read or write, but did an excellent job using symbols to keep track of his debtors at the country store. Barbara and Leonard were believed to be very good parents, and worked hard to give each of the children as good a start in life as was possible. The above listing completes the family of Leonard and Barbara Shoun.