An Outlaw Family Bible

I was recently given the opportunity to examine a family Bible that once belonged to my fourth great-grandparents, George Washington Outlaw (1803-1861) and Luday Perry Outlaw (1800-1840).

If you are researching Outlaw family genealogy and landed on this page from a Google search, I hope these names and dates help you fill in some blanks in your own family tree. George took the time to record our family genealogy for future generations. I am grateful to have the opportunity to help preserve it.

My Outlaw Connection George Washington Outlaw (1803-1861) and Luday Perry Outlaw (1800-1840) were the parents of Elizabeth Temperance Outlaw Cobb (1836-1925). Elizabeth was the mother of Mary Etta Cobb Brantley (1871-1935). Mary Etta was the mother of William Day Brantley (1897-1969). William was the father of Virginia Brantley Lovelace (1917-2007). Virginia was the mother of Shirley Lovelace Williams (1939-), my mother.

The publishers of the bible were brothers Henry Phinney (1782-1850) and Elihu Phinney Jr. (1785-1863), sons of Cooperstown printer Elihu Phinney (1755-1813). H. & E. Phinney became known for publishing Bibles in the first half of the 19th century.

On one of the first pages of the Bible is written, “Geo W Outlaw’s Book.”

Family members whose births are recorded in the Bible are listed below. I have transcribed the entries as written, preserving original spelling, capitalization and wording. Brackets indicate my editorial notes, and question marks indicate words I could not read.

Nancy [Jane?] Perry the daughter of Jas. Perry and Lara his wife was Borned the 9 of April 1835 Marion Jackson Carter Son of Henderson H. Carter & Martha his wife was Borned 1st day of Nov. 1855 George Outlaw Carter, the son of H. H. Carter & Martha W. his wife was borned 17th of Dec 1856 [Entry very faint and mostly unreadable] William P. Outlaw Son of A. J. Outlaw and Harriet his wife was borned September ber 27th 1862

Marion Jackson Carter Son of Henderson H. Carter and Martha his wife died Jany 10th 1856 Solomon A. J. Outlaw the son of A. J. Outlaw and H. A. his wife was borned June 5th 1864 Geo. Arthur Outlaw the Son of A. J. Outlaw and Harriet his wife was borned August 6th 1865 Luday Elizabeth Outlaw the daughter A. J. Outlaw and Har- riet his wife was borned Sept. 1 1867 Elenora Carter daughter of H. H. Carter and Martha his wife departed this life the 30th of October

Winneford Outlaw departed this life Feb. [12th?] 1830 aged about 83 years Jacob Outlaw died January 21st 1832 aged 75 — in [Brownsville?] Tenn Jacob Outlaw the son of Geo. & Luday Outlaw dide March 6th 1838 Sara Jane Outlaw Daughter of Geo. W. Outlaw & Luday his wife Departed this life 11th of Dec 1840 Luday Outlaw the wife of Geo. W. Outlaw Departed this life June 24th 1840 aged 40 years 1 month & 18 days Luday Outlaw the daughter of Geo. W. Outlaw & Luday his wife departed this life 15th of [unclear] aged [unclear] months [unclear]

George W. Outlaw departed this life the 11th April 1861 Aged 57 years, 6 months and 23 days Solomon A. J. Outlaw the son of A. J. Outlaw and H. A. his wife departed this life the 24 day of August 1864 Aged 2 months and 19 days George Arthur Outlaw the son of A. J. Outlaw and Harriett his wife departed this life March 10th 1890 Minnie Outlaw The daughter of A. J. Outlaw and H. A. his wife departed this life March 11th 1871 J. A. Cobb the son of E. T. Outlaw died February 2, 1920.

George W. Outlaw was married To Luday Perry the 6th of March 1828 A. J. Outlaw was mar- ried to H. A. Williams 29th of December 1859

Martha W. Outlaw the daughter of G. W. Outlaw, was married to H. H. Carter the 1st Feb 1855

From this Bible, Joe Cobb’s Nicholas Cobb Descendants and other family research, we know a little about George Washington Outlaw (1803-1861) and his family.

George was born Sept. 18, 1803, in Bertie County, North Carolina, to Jacob Outlaw (1757-1832) and Winneford Wilson Outlaw (1747-1830). George and Luday Perry were married March 6, 1828. From the Bible and other records, we know that they left North Carolina in 1831 and settled in West Tennessee in 1832. The Outlaws were part of the group of members of Caprhardts Baptist Church that migrated west. George’s father, Jacob, died on the journey and was buried in Knoxville. They arrived in the spring of 1832 and settled in the Ararat community near present-day Huntersville in Madison County. ¹

After arriving, George and his son Jack built the Ararat Baptist Church.

George and Luday’s children included Andrew Jackson “Jack” Outlaw (1825-1903), Harriet Ann Outlaw Wynns (1829-1889), Martha Winneford Outlaw Carter (1832-1915), Jacob Outlaw (1831-1838), Elizabeth Temperance Outlaw Cobb (1836-1925), Sara Jane Outlaw (1839-1840) and Luday Outlaw (1840-1925).

The couple were founding members of Zion Baptist Church where they were active members during their lifetimes.

Luday died June 24, 1840, at age 40, leaving George with a house full of small children. She was buried in the Ararat Baptist Church Cemetery. The youngest, my third great grandmother, Bet, was just six years old at the time. Luday was buried at the Ararat Church Cemetery near Huntersville, TN.

Nearly 20 years after Luday’s death, 57-year-old George married 20-year-old Rowena Linley on March 11, 1860, in Haywood County, Tennessee. This displeased his children so much, George and Rowena moved to Earle, Arkansas, where he died soon after on April 11, 1861.

For more of my genealogy research, visit rscottwilliams.info.

1. Joe H. Cobb, Nicholas Cobb Descendants, Neighbors and Relatives, 1630–1983 (Nashville: M.L.W. Publishing Company, 1983), 331. ↩︎