Moses Workman came to Logan County from Lawrence County Kentucky, where he had lived for a while between 1829 and 1834. I will give some background on the family before getting into the family history in Logan County. All of the information in this history has been researched and personally documented by this writer. You will find some of it in conflict with other published histories, but this is my own family and I have traced them year by year in public records. I can categorically state that the information is factual and not based on hearsay. unless otherwise stated. Moses was the son of Joseph and Phoebe (McMahon) Workman who lived in Tazewell County, Virginia at the time of their deaths. (Circumstantial evidence)
Joseph Workman (second Generation and father of Moses, above), was the son of Abraham Workman. According to Pennsylvania Archives, Series 5, Vol. 1, he enlisted in the Chester County, Pennsylvania Regiment of Captain Paul Jackson. According to this record, Joseph was 5’8" tall and of thin visage. He gave his age as 21 years. The date was 6 May, 1758, and shows his place of birth as New Jersey. This record indicates that he was born circa 1736. Joseph married Phoebe McMahon, the daughter of Hugh McMahon on 4 August, 1761 at Christ Lutheran Church in York County, Pa. Phoebe’s father, Hugh McMahon was born 1698/99 in County Monaghan, Clones, Ireland. Hugh was christened 26 March 1699, the son of John McMahon. Joseph provided aid to the Revolutionary Cause in Pennsylvania, where his children were born. He came to the Tazewell area sometime between 1787 and 1795. He died in Tazewell County Virginia, between 1805 and 1815.
Sarah Marrs ( wife of Moses Workman) was the daughter of Henry Marrs and Elizabeth Maxwell. Elizabeth Maxwell was the daughter of James Maxwell, a very well known and highly respected Revolutionary War Veteran. Much has been written in Histories of Tazewell and Montgomery Counties Virginia about James Maxwell and his life. By his own statement, he went to the Virginia frontier in 1772, along with Samuel Walker.. He was born circa 1745 and according to tradition, in Ulster, Ireland. At least one of his depositions in Augusta County Court records show that he held the rank of Colonel in the Virginia Militia. One of his great grand daughters, Mary Ann Fields wrote a narrative from her childhood recollections that were passed down in the family about him. She stated that he was “ A very large man, over six feet tall, and weighed 225 pounds, broad shouldered, well built, had a powerful voice, had coarse straight hair which stood straight on his head, fair complexion, blue eyes, he was considered a very powerful man.” ( Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia by John Newton Harmon. pp. 374-375) James Maxwell was the first sheriff of Tazewell County, Virginia. Two of his young children ( Jennie and Mattie ) were massacred by Indians circa 1781 or 1782.. Some published accounts incorrectly state these were children of Robert Maxwell.) This story was passed down in the Workman family and became confused that they were Workman children. I have found nothing except “legend” that there were Workman children massacred by Indians. James Maxwell’s will was written 28 August, 1820 and proved in Tazewell County Court on 27 May, 1821. His daughter, Elizabeth ( Marrs ) was one of his heirs.
Henry Marrs ( the father of Sarah Marrs, above) was born 6 July, 1762 in Virginia. He died in Tazewell county, Va. in 1830. He served in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. ( 1782) in the Militia Company of James Maxwell., who was to become his father-in-law. Henry’s parents were Samuel Marrs and Francine Bradshaw ( tradition, about which I have doubts ). Samuel Marrs also served in the Revolutionary War. ( This writer joined DAR on this line.) Samuel Marrs was born August, 1740 in York County, Pennsylvania and died in Jessamine County, Kentucky. Henry Marrs was shown as a son and heir.
Moses Workman, the main subject of this sketch was born circa 1781, probably in Pennsylvania. He came to Virginia when he was a young boy. My grandmother told me that her grandfather came “across the waters” when he was about twelve years old. She may have been mis informed about the “across the waters” because it was more than likely that he traveled to Virginia from Pennsylvania when he was about twelve years old. Again, it is possible that it was James Maxwell who came to America when he was about age twelve. There are no extant records, so we may never have complete details. Moses Workman had two marriages. He married first to Elizabeth Muncy in Tazewell County, Virginia on 17 June, 1802. It took about three years to search all of the records at the Tazewell County Court house and the Logan County Court house to document all of his children, and to sort out which children were from each marriage. There may have been older children who died young, because there is approximately a four year gap before Elizabeth’s children were born. It could be that some of them just simply did not know for certain when they were born. The children that I have been able to document for Moses and Elizabeth are:
1. Obediah R., born circa 1806, married Rebecca Lambert, d/o Stephen
Lambert Sr. in Tazewell County, Va. on 5 August,1828
2. Nancy, b. circa 1808, married James Tomblin
3. Mary "Polly", b. 1810-1811, married Alex (ander) Tomblin in
Tazewell County on 16 November, 1829
4. John, b. ca. 1814, married Sally Dalton, d/o James and Polly
(Adams) Dalton
5. Elizabeth, b. ca, 1816-1818, married Isaac Adkins
6. Elenor "Nelly" b. ca. 1819, married Stephen Lambert Jr.,
s/o Stephen Lambert Sr. of Tazewell County.
Moses and Elizabeth bought 100 acres in Burkes Garden in Tazewell County, Virginia on Muncy’s Creek in 1802. There were several lawsuits regarding this land and they finally sold it in 1816 and bought a different piece of land, containing fifty acres in 1817. This is where they were living when Elizabeth died, quite possibly in child birth with "Nelly," leaving Mose with six children, most quite young. On 11 July, 1820, Moses remarried to Sarah "Sally" Marrs. Sarah was born circa 1797 in what is present day Tazewell County. They lived on the farm in Burkes Garden for over three years and three of their children were born there. They sold the land in Burkes Garden on 6 September, 1823 and moved for awhile to the Sand Lick Fork of Coal River, where Moses recieved a land grant. They stayed there for about four years. They moved to Lawrence County Kentucky about 1828 or 1829, and can be found on the 1830 Census of that county. They moved back to Logan County, bought land on the Bulwark Fork of Harts Creek and lived out their lives there. Moses died sometime in 1846 at age sixty five. Sarah lived with her children until she died, sometime in the 1860s. An exact death date was not recorded, but they rest high on a hill over looking the valley where most of their children lived and to where thousands of descendants can trace their Logan County Roots. The children of Moses Workman and his second wife, Sarah Marrs:
1. Abijah "Bige" born circa 1820-1821 at Burkes Garden, married
1st Nancy Perry, 2nd to Frances "Fanny" Nelson. Their
marriage record in Wayne County shows that his father’s name
was William. ( Moses).
2. Phoebe/Phebe, born circa 1822 at Burkes Garden, married
Meekin Vance
3. Henry, born 11 March, 1823 at Burkes Garden, married Nancy
Dalton
4. Jane, born circa 1824, was born when they lived on Coal
River; married James Dalton s/o James and Polly (Adams)
Dalton on 8 November, 1845 in Logan County.
5. Malinda, born ca. 1826, probably on Coal River, married
Josiah Perry
6. Barbara, b. circa 1829, probably in Kentucky, married
William Dempsey
7. Moses, born Lawrence County, Kentucky in 1832, married
Mary ‘Polly' Mullins.