Richard Senter, or some times Center or Senters, was the patriarch of probably most, if not all of those with either of the three surnames in Wayne, Clay and surrounding counties.
Richard was born in North Carolina the youngest of three children. Records farther back at this time (2008) are specious. Richard, his sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM, along with their brother, Freeman Senter, Sr., left Warren County, NC and moved to Sumner County, TN prior to 1808.
Richard met and married Elizabeth (Betsy) HUNT, daughter of James HUNT, a Revolutionary War soldier from South Carolina. Richard Center & Betsey Hunt, were married on July 9, 1808, by Moses Goins, Bondsman, in Sumner County, Tennessee. Over the next 10 years, Richard acquired several pieces of land in Sumner County on Bledsoe Creek while his brother, Freeman, and their sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM settled nearby. Freeman became a well known minister in Central Tennessee and John and Anne became prominent residents of Sumner County.
It was between 1830 and 1835 that Richard, Betsy, and their nine children moved north across the border from Sumner County, Tennessee to Wayne County, Illinois where their 10th and final child was born in 1835. There were nine boys and one girl. It is probable that the girl, Anne, died at some point prior to or during the move north. While records exist in Wayne County for Richard, Betsy and all nine boys, there is no record of their daughter.
As the years passed and the boys grew older they began families of their own. Some remained in Wayne County while others moved to Clay and Menard counties. In time, Richard and Betsy had over 50 grandchildren, most of whom also remained in the same area.
The family surname has gone through a few evolutions as has happened to many people during the mid-1700's to late 1800's. Among those who could write, spelling was not always part of that skill set. Many words were written down based on how the word sounded - phonetically. Local government clerks and clergy as well as many of the US Census takers wrote peoples names down in official documents the way they thought it should be spelled based on how they thought they heard it. One well documented case in point is all of those who can trace their surname back to Scotland and to Clan Donald.
In English, Clan Donald is known as Mac Donald which is how it usually appears in England and Scotland. But over the years after arrival in the American Colonies, the surname Mac Donald became McDonald, McDonal, Mac Daniel, Donnell or Donnelly, Daniels and a few other variations. Changes mostly based on how the hearer thought he or she heard the name compounded by how they thought it should be spelled.
The Senter surname is probably of one or two origins. There is one claim that it is German (I have so far found no basis for that) and the other possibility that it goes back to the Normans and the invasion of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. In Norman/French, it probably would have been spelled "ceinture" or "saintier" - each having a different meaning in Old French. The earliest records I find in Virginia and North Carolina, the spelling is usually Senter but sometimes Center. By the time Richard, Freeman, their sister Anne and her husband John arrived in Tennessee, it was commonly found spelled as Senter. I believe that all of Freeman's descendants retained that spelling.
After the arrival of Richard's large family in Wayne County, it is common to find many documents recording the family name as Senters. Perhaps because the family was so large, when people spoke of them it was in the collective plural; "All those Senters up by Flora!" so the plural form stuck in many people's minds. Some grave stones record Senter and others record Senters but they are still all the same family. Looking forward a generation or two, it appears that Richard's son, George, was the only one to promulgate the name as Senters.
Richard was born in North Carolina the youngest of three children. Records farther back at this time (2008) are specious. Richard, his sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM, along with their brother, Freeman Senter, Sr., left Warren County, NC and moved to Sumner County, TN prior to 1808.
Richard met and married Elizabeth (Betsy) HUNT, daughter of James HUNT, a Revolutionary War soldier from South Carolina. Richard Center & Betsey Hunt, were married on July 9, 1808, by Moses Goins, Bondsman, in Sumner County, Tennessee. Over the next 10 years, Richard acquired several pieces of land in Sumner County on Bledsoe Creek while his brother, Freeman, and their sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM settled nearby. Freeman became a well known minister in Central Tennessee and John and Anne became prominent residents of Sumner County.
It was between 1830 and 1835 that Richard, Betsy, and their nine children moved north across the border from Sumner County, Tennessee to Wayne County, Illinois where their 10th and final child was born in 1835. There were nine boys and one girl. It is probable that the girl, Anne, died at some point prior to or during the move north. While records exist in Wayne County for Richard, Betsy and all nine boys, there is no record of their daughter.
As the years passed and the boys grew older they began families of their own. Some remained in Wayne County while others moved to Clay and Menard counties. In time, Richard and Betsy had over 50 grandchildren, most of whom also remained in the same area.
The family surname has gone through a few evolutions as has happened to many people during the mid-1700's to late 1800's. Among those who could write, spelling was not always part of that skill set. Many words were written down based on how the word sounded - phonetically. Local government clerks and clergy as well as many of the US Census takers wrote peoples names down in official documents the way they thought it should be spelled based on how they thought they heard it. One well documented case in point is all of those who can trace their surname back to Scotland and to Clan Donald.
In English, Clan Donald is known as Mac Donald which is how it usually appears in England and Scotland. But over the years after arrival in the American Colonies, the surname Mac Donald became McDonald, McDonal, Mac Daniel, Donnell or Donnelly, Daniels and a few other variations. Changes mostly based on how the hearer thought he or she heard the name compounded by how they thought it should be spelled.
The Senter surname is probably of one or two origins. There is one claim that it is German (I have so far found no basis for that) and the other possibility that it goes back to the Normans and the invasion of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. In Norman/French, it probably would have been spelled "ceinture" or "saintier" - each having a different meaning in Old French. The earliest records I find in Virginia and North Carolina, the spelling is usually Senter but sometimes Center. By the time Richard, Freeman, their sister Anne and her husband John arrived in Tennessee, it was commonly found spelled as Senter. I believe that all of Freeman's descendants retained that spelling.
After the arrival of Richard's large family in Wayne County, it is common to find many documents recording the family name as Senters. Perhaps because the family was so large, when people spoke of them it was in the collective plural; "All those Senters up by Flora!" so the plural form stuck in many people's minds. Some grave stones record Senter and others record Senters but they are still all the same family. Looking forward a generation or two, it appears that Richard's son, George, was the only one to promulgate the name as Senters.
Richard Senter, or some times Center or Senters, was the patriarch of probably most, if not all of those with either of the three surnames in Wayne, Clay and surrounding counties.
Richard was born in North Carolina the youngest of three children. Records farther back at this time (2008) are specious. Richard, his sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM, along with their brother, Freeman Senter, Sr., left Warren County, NC and moved to Sumner County, TN prior to 1808.
Richard met and married Elizabeth (Betsy) HUNT, daughter of James HUNT, a Revolutionary War soldier from South Carolina. Richard Center & Betsey Hunt, were married on July 9, 1808, by Moses Goins, Bondsman, in Sumner County, Tennessee. Over the next 10 years, Richard acquired several pieces of land in Sumner County on Bledsoe Creek while his brother, Freeman, and their sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM settled nearby. Freeman became a well known minister in Central Tennessee and John and Anne became prominent residents of Sumner County.
It was between 1830 and 1835 that Richard, Betsy, and their nine children moved north across the border from Sumner County, Tennessee to Wayne County, Illinois where their 10th and final child was born in 1835. There were nine boys and one girl. It is probable that the girl, Anne, died at some point prior to or during the move north. While records exist in Wayne County for Richard, Betsy and all nine boys, there is no record of their daughter.
As the years passed and the boys grew older they began families of their own. Some remained in Wayne County while others moved to Clay and Menard counties. In time, Richard and Betsy had over 50 grandchildren, most of whom also remained in the same area.
The family surname has gone through a few evolutions as has happened to many people during the mid-1700's to late 1800's. Among those who could write, spelling was not always part of that skill set. Many words were written down based on how the word sounded - phonetically. Local government clerks and clergy as well as many of the US Census takers wrote peoples names down in official documents the way they thought it should be spelled based on how they thought they heard it. One well documented case in point is all of those who can trace their surname back to Scotland and to Clan Donald.
In English, Clan Donald is known as Mac Donald which is how it usually appears in England and Scotland. But over the years after arrival in the American Colonies, the surname Mac Donald became McDonald, McDonal, Mac Daniel, Donnell or Donnelly, Daniels and a few other variations. Changes mostly based on how the hearer thought he or she heard the name compounded by how they thought it should be spelled.
The Senter surname is probably of one or two origins. There is one claim that it is German (I have so far found no basis for that) and the other possibility that it goes back to the Normans and the invasion of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. In Norman/French, it probably would have been spelled "ceinture" or "saintier" - each having a different meaning in Old French. The earliest records I find in Virginia and North Carolina, the spelling is usually Senter but sometimes Center. By the time Richard, Freeman, their sister Anne and her husband John arrived in Tennessee, it was commonly found spelled as Senter. I believe that all of Freeman's descendants retained that spelling.
After the arrival of Richard's large family in Wayne County, it is common to find many documents recording the family name as Senters. Perhaps because the family was so large, when people spoke of them it was in the collective plural; "All those Senters up by Flora!" so the plural form stuck in many people's minds. Some grave stones record Senter and others record Senters but they are still all the same family. Looking forward a generation or two, it appears that Richard's son, George, was the only one to promulgate the name as Senters.
Richard was born in North Carolina the youngest of three children. Records farther back at this time (2008) are specious. Richard, his sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM, along with their brother, Freeman Senter, Sr., left Warren County, NC and moved to Sumner County, TN prior to 1808.
Richard met and married Elizabeth (Betsy) HUNT, daughter of James HUNT, a Revolutionary War soldier from South Carolina. Richard Center & Betsey Hunt, were married on July 9, 1808, by Moses Goins, Bondsman, in Sumner County, Tennessee. Over the next 10 years, Richard acquired several pieces of land in Sumner County on Bledsoe Creek while his brother, Freeman, and their sister Anne and her husband John DURHAM settled nearby. Freeman became a well known minister in Central Tennessee and John and Anne became prominent residents of Sumner County.
It was between 1830 and 1835 that Richard, Betsy, and their nine children moved north across the border from Sumner County, Tennessee to Wayne County, Illinois where their 10th and final child was born in 1835. There were nine boys and one girl. It is probable that the girl, Anne, died at some point prior to or during the move north. While records exist in Wayne County for Richard, Betsy and all nine boys, there is no record of their daughter.
As the years passed and the boys grew older they began families of their own. Some remained in Wayne County while others moved to Clay and Menard counties. In time, Richard and Betsy had over 50 grandchildren, most of whom also remained in the same area.
The family surname has gone through a few evolutions as has happened to many people during the mid-1700's to late 1800's. Among those who could write, spelling was not always part of that skill set. Many words were written down based on how the word sounded - phonetically. Local government clerks and clergy as well as many of the US Census takers wrote peoples names down in official documents the way they thought it should be spelled based on how they thought they heard it. One well documented case in point is all of those who can trace their surname back to Scotland and to Clan Donald.
In English, Clan Donald is known as Mac Donald which is how it usually appears in England and Scotland. But over the years after arrival in the American Colonies, the surname Mac Donald became McDonald, McDonal, Mac Daniel, Donnell or Donnelly, Daniels and a few other variations. Changes mostly based on how the hearer thought he or she heard the name compounded by how they thought it should be spelled.
The Senter surname is probably of one or two origins. There is one claim that it is German (I have so far found no basis for that) and the other possibility that it goes back to the Normans and the invasion of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. In Norman/French, it probably would have been spelled "ceinture" or "saintier" - each having a different meaning in Old French. The earliest records I find in Virginia and North Carolina, the spelling is usually Senter but sometimes Center. By the time Richard, Freeman, their sister Anne and her husband John arrived in Tennessee, it was commonly found spelled as Senter. I believe that all of Freeman's descendants retained that spelling.
After the arrival of Richard's large family in Wayne County, it is common to find many documents recording the family name as Senters. Perhaps because the family was so large, when people spoke of them it was in the collective plural; "All those Senters up by Flora!" so the plural form stuck in many people's minds. Some grave stones record Senter and others record Senters but they are still all the same family. Looking forward a generation or two, it appears that Richard's son, George, was the only one to promulgate the name as Senters.
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Gravesite Details
Patriarch of the Senter/Senters family in Wayne and neighboring counties in IL. Husband of Elizabeth (Betsy) HUNT
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