Betsy (Martinleer) Trantham, my 6th great grandmother, had but one child and reportedly lived to be 154 years old. Tales of her mythic longevity (because that’s what it is) continued to be retold in newspapers across the country long after her death in 1834. But in 1884, her great great grandson, Lewis Peach, finally decided to set the record straight. In his letter to the American newspaper, he stated adamantly that Betsy had many children, not one, and that she was only 149 years old when she died. Unfortunately, I firmly believe Lewis was a bit misguided in suggesting Betsy died at such an advanced age. I have to cut him a bit of slack, though, because it was her advanced age that kept her name in the newspapers. And it was probably a matter of pride that he counted himself among her many descendants. So why wouldn’t he want he want to help perpetuate the myth?

Notwithstanding the old age nonsense, the rest of Lewis’ letter provides genealogical gemstones. In it, he identifies Betsy’s “other” children. They are the “other” children because they are not my ancestor, Martin Trantham, who is named along with:

• Rachel, who married Lawrence Burns;
• Parmelia, who married Charles Gray;
• Elizabeth, who married Luke Harp;
• Robert, who died in Arkansas; and,
• Charles, who died in Alabama.

Lewis also identifies two of Betsy’s grandchildren – Robert Happ and Sally Gray – and a great grandson, Mark Gray. Of Betsy’s son, Martin, Lewis writes that he fought in the American Revolution. Strangely, he does not identify him as “my grandfather” which he would have been. But, I digress.

Every descendant of Martin Trantham on Ancestry.com has Betsy Trantham in their family tree – all 154 years of her. But I’ve yet to come across a single descendant of her daughters Rachel Burns, Parmelia Gray and Elizabeth Happ. This strikes me as very odd. Where are they? Did they really exist? So, as a side project, I’ve decided to try and find them and figure out why none of their descendants trace their lineage back to Betsy. Perhaps Lewis was misguided about that, too. We’ll see.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 6th great grandmother
Common ancestors: Betsy’s parents, John and Barbary (Blocker) Martinleer, who were 300 years old when Betsy was born, are my 7th great grandparents

Reference:
Lewis Peach’s letter was reprinted in:
Knight, J. K. (1980). Obituaries from Tennessee Newspapers 1851-1899. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, Inc.