The ancestral line of Lawrence Ward Epps
Generation 1:
Lawrence Epps aka Larry
b. abt. 1782 North Carolina
d. abt. 20 June 1861 Lincoln Co., Tennessee
m. 26 Jan. 1807 Wilson Co. Tennessee to Elizabeth Craton
Elizabeth Craton (later spelling is Creighton)
b. abt. 1785 Virginia
d. bet. 1859 and May 1861 Lincoln Co., Tennessee
Generation 2 - eldest son of Lawrence and Elizabeth Epps:
James Craton Epps
b. 16 Sept. 1808 (according provided by James grandson Clift Moore which was on the
death certificate of Lawrence Epps the father of Clift and the son of James Craton he was
born in Alabama. This would indicate that his father was in Alabama after leaving Wilson
Co. and coming then to live his whole life in Lincoln Co. Tenn.)
d. 16 May 1884 Lincoln Co. Tennessee (from tombston in Old Unity Cemetery)
m. bef. 1835 Nancy Ann Norris in Lincoln Co. Tennessee
Nancy Ann Norris
b. 16 Sept. 1809 (source tombstone in Old Unity Cemetery Lincoln Co.)
d. 6 May 1884
Generation 3 – third son of James Craton and Nancy Ann Epps
Lawrence F Epps (not proven but probable that Fstands for Franklin)
b. 2 Dec 1842 Lincoln Co. Tenn.
d. 1 Nov 1916 near Christiana in Rutherford Co. Tenn.
m. 15 Dec 1871 Rutherford Co. Tenn. Mary Elizabeth Smith
Mary Elizabeth Smith
b. 14 Dec 1848
d. 10 Nov 1912
note: Some have the wife of Lawrence as Mary Jane Mason but this is the first wife of a
cousin the son of Hugh M Epps that is also named Lawrence Franklin Epps and was
born 6 Mar 1842 the same year as Lawrence the son of James Craton Epps.
Generation 4 – third son of Lawrence and Mary Elizabeth Epps
Clift Moore Epps (named for Alexander Clift and Daniel Moore his brother in laws)
b. 29 June 1885 Rutherford Co. Tenn.
d. 8 Nov 1958 Cristoval, Texas and buried in Sonora,Texas
m. 29 October 1907 Susie Matthews Buchanan in Rutherford Co. Tenn.
Susie Matthews Buchanan
b. 5 July 1883 Rutherford Co. Tenn.
d. 8 July 1928 San Angelo, Texas
note: Susie is the seventh child of John Price Buchanan Gov. of Tennessee. She was
married by her brother Thomas Buchanan a Cumberland Presbyterian minister.
Generation 5 - second son of Clift Moore and Susie Epps
Lawrence Buchanan Epps
b. 13 October 1911 Rutherford Co. Tennessee
d. 10 February 1998 Greenville, South Carolina
m. Mar 1939 Edna Ruth Ward Waco, Texas
note: Marriage preformed by Lawrence’s Methodist minister father Clift Epps.
Edna Ruth Ward
b. 27 Nov. 1918 Ogelsby, Coryell Co., Texas
d. living
Generation 6 – eldest son of Lawrence and Ruth Epps
Lawrence Ward Epps aka Buck
b. 30 May 1940
d. living
m. 28 Dec. 1965 Dianne Carl Mick Freeport, Texas
Dianne Carl Mick
b. 25 May 1945
d. living
Research: What I’m doing, when I don’t know what I’m doing.
My father, born in Petersburg, TN was named John Thomas Epps Jr. His birthday was 04/13/1928. I am trying to find out his and my ancestors. Could he be a member of this family. His father was John Thomas Epps Sr. and his sister was Maggie (maybe short for Margaret Epps)
Any help will be appreciated.
Jackie Wild