Michael Starr

The book "Kentucky Cousins" by Cecil Goode states: "My great great grandmother, Catherine Starr Sherfey, was a daughter of Michael Starr, who lived most of his life in southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. Family tradition has Michael coming to American from Germany in 1798 and shortly afterward settling in Sullivan County, Tennessee. But I have found records of him in Washington County, Virginia in 1785, together with an indication that he was living there earlier than that. There is no question that the Starrs were of German origin as were the Sherfeys and many other German families that moved down the Shenandoah Valley from Pennsylvania and Maryland, some settling along the way and some continuing on to eastern Tennessee. The Starr name was often spelled, STAHR, STOEHR or STAIR, but our family has settled on STARR. Michael is believed to have had 21 children by 3 wives. Eighteen of his children have been documented." "Even though family tradition has Michael STARR as immigrating directly from Germany in 1798, we now know that he was living in Washington County, Virginia before 1795. Possibly he was a second generation German. His father could have been the one who migrated. Johnannes Sherfey's father had come to America in 1751 and the Sherfeys and the Starrs were neighbors in eastern Tennessee. A Michael STAHR was second on the list of immigrants arriving on the Duke of Wirtenburg in Philadelphia from Rotterdam in 1757. Our Michael could have been ten or twelve years old then and have come with his father. It is not likely that he could have been much older (Pennsylvania German Pioneers by Ralph Beaver Strassburger, 1966). Census records for two of Michael's children indicate that both parents were born in Germany (1880 Census for Sampson Starr in Lafayette Co. Missouri, and Solomon Starr in Bosque Co. Texas)." Summers History of Southwest Virginia (1966) mentions a Starr who was helpful in dealing with the Indians during Colonel Christian's expedition against the Indians in 1776. "A white man by the name of Starr persuaded the Indians that it was folly to resist the invasion of the whites." It is possible that on the way south to Washington County, Virginia, Michael and wife stopped off for a while in Hampshire County Virginia (now West Virginia). Romney is the county seat. The reconstruction of the first census of Virginia, which was destroyed in the War of 1812, records a Catherine Starr as living in Hampshire County in 1782 with a household of 8 whites. The 1784 list did not include her name. It is possible she was looking after the fireside while Michael was looking things over farther south (Heads of Families at the First Census of the US Taken in the year of 1790 Virginia, Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore, 1966). A land transaction in Washington County, Virginia in whom Michael Starr bought 207 acres of land mentioned adjoining land belonging to Michael STARR. It suggests that he came to Washington County earlier. The land was situated on the north side of A Middle Fork of the Halson River. In the same year Michael and wife Katron sold 100 acres of land on both sides of the South Fork o f the Halson River. The first plot was sold in 1798 for $900, almost twice the purchase price of $467. In 1800 Michael bought 171 acres in Washington County, Virginia for 270 pounds. This plot was situated on the north side of the Middle Fork of the Holston River. Then one year later, Michael and wife, Catharina sold this plot for $220 pounds. The original land, the home place, is not described in these entries and when it was bought and when disposed of is not clear. His wives name in these records is variously spelled as Catarina, Kathron, and Catharina and Catherine. The family must have been in Virginia at least as early as 1790 because there is an indication that Michael Jr. was born in Virginia in that year. The name of Michael's first wife was Catherine, but we do not know her family name. She could have been the second wife. The last wife was Michal Traylor Combs, who was the widow of Revolutionary War soldier, William Combs. She is a direct ancestor as the grandmother of William K. Combs, my grandfather (Cecil Goode). According to Sullivan County Records, a Michael Starr bought 200 acres for $350 and 100 acres for $240 in 1802 on Little Horse Creek on the south side of Bays Mountain. While these tracts apparently did not adjoin, they were probably not very far apart. This land is in the extreme western and southern part of the county not far from the northern boundary of Washington County. Bays Mountain is part of the Appalachian chain and is the largest and highest mountain in that region. Michael's land was not far from the northeast tip of the mountain, on the southern watershed of the slope. Michael's 200-acre tract included "the first bottom below the gap of Bays Mountain". Little Horse Creek probably drained the land on both sides of the opening made by this gap. The second of the county has many knobs. Michael's deed mentioned the boundary line descriptions; "The knobs on the south side of Little Horse Creek." The descriptions should make it possible for descendants to locate Michael Starr's homestead. Apparently the family stayed close together, and the sons, where they were old enough to marry, either helped with their father's home place or rented land nearby, because with the exception of Peter Starr, no other land entries are in any Starr name other than Michael's. By the fall of 1807, Michael had moved to Washington County even though he retained his Sullivan County land. County records show that at that time he bought two tracts of land in Washington County, and the deeds mentions his as a reside of that county. The new land consisted of one tract of 75 acres for $200 and one of 50 acres for $400, "including a big springs" both tracts located on Sinking Creek and purchased from Thomas Barron. This new property was probably not very far from Sullivan County farm. There were reported to have been several German speaking families there in the early days who had their own church where the sermons and hymns where in German. But as the younger generation learned to speak and read English, the old tongue died out and the Brethren Church disappeared, being replaced for most families by the Baptist church, which is now the largest church in the valley. The Sinking Creek country is hilly and green and the land at one time was probably more fertile than it is today. It is some nine or ten miles from the county seat, Jonesboro, which is located on a plateau between distant mountain ranges. The town is as picturesque today as it must have been 150 years ago. Noble Moulton Starr told his children in Kentucky many years later how as a small boy he would watch the clock in the Jonesboro clock tower as long as he could see it when he was riding in his father's wagon to and from town. In 1823 and 1824, when Michael had reached the age of about 75, he sold his 300 acres in Sullivan County. One witness to the sale was David Starr, Michael's son. Probably these farms in Sullivan County had been tilled by male members of his family, and he sold them because his sons were moving on west or had obtained their own places. These 300 acres, which cost $590 in 1802, were sold 21 years later for $1,150, a sizeable increase in value. In 1824, he acquired by land grant two tracts on Sinking Creek in Washington Co. The tracts were surveyed in March 1825. Between 1825 and 1829, Michael and his family that were still at home moved two counties southwest to Jefferson County, Tennessee, leaving several of their older children in Washington and Sullivan Counties. There is a gap in the records between 1824 and 1829, so we do not know where he lived. By then, my estimate (Cecil Goode) is that he would have been about 81 years old. How he expected to clear and farm unimproved mountain land is a difficult guess. Of course, he probably still had 3 healthy sons at home, or two or three of the married sons moved there also. Between 1829 and 1831, he bought 225 acres in Jefferson County on Little Bent Creek. In 1832, Peter Starr bought land adjacent to his fathers. The 1830 Census showed Michael as living in Jefferson County with Children as follows: 1 male 20-30 years of age, 1 male 15-20 years of age, 1 male 10-15 years of age, 1 female 20-30 years of age, 1 female 10-15 years of age and 1 female 5-10 years of age. David and John Starr where also listed; both were in the age range of 30-40 years of age. Michael was shown as between 80-90 and his wife between 50-60. Evidently Michael only lived six years in Jefferson County because he died on December 30, 1835. The Starr family spread widely from frontier east Tennessee, which was the typical practice of the day. Catherine Starr Sherfey and her brother, Peter, went to Barren County, Kentucky. Jacob Walter Sherfey went in 1846, and then Peter in 1851. Michael Jr. remained in Washington County as did Ann and her husband Samuel Douglas, and probably Martha, who never married. David moved to Johnson County, Missouri, Sampson to Lafayette County, Missouri and Solomon to Johnson County, Missouri then traveled to Basque and Erath County, Texas. The widow, Michal, moved back to Washington County. The 1840 Census for that county listed her as Mitchel Starr, between 70-80 in age (but) actually between 60-70, a female from 15-2 0 was living with her. In 1853, she obtained a pension as the widow of Revolutionary solider William Combs. She died in 1847 and bequested several dresses to her daughter, Polly (Mary); divided her estate with Polly Galloway and Martha Starr, and gave one dollar each to Nancy Combs and George Galloway. Catherine and her brother, Peter, with their families, moved to Barren County, Kentucky. Here he bought large tracts of land until he amassed 723 acres. At his death, he left each of his surviving seven children with large farms. The Peter Starr and Catherine Starr Sherfey families lived in the same neighborhood near the Poplar Grove Schoolhouse. Catherine's husband, Jacob Walter Sherfey, died in 1864 during the Civil War, three years after his daughter, Mary Ann, had married Joseph Goode, and no doubt the daughter was then living in his household. Catherine lived many years after her husband death. She died in 1890. Someday, I should like to find out what conditions induced so many families to move from Washington County, Tennessee to Barren County, Kentucky. Four families now related to us made this migration. The distance for that day was not short (some 300 miles). Of course, we know that families tended to follow the previous migration of brothers, sisters and other relatives, for example, Peter followed by five years his sisters moved to Barren County, Kentucky. The Mulkeys and Combs initially came much earlier but several members of these families tended to live near each other, both in eastern Tennessee and Barren County and Monroe County, Kentucky This is the end of Cecil Goode report.