Greene County, TN, was the birthplace of the legendary Davy Crockett in 1786. It was also the home of our 17th president, Andrew Johnson, who took over after President Lincoln was assassinated. After the Civil War, the Derryberrys remaining in Greene County, TN, began feeling the need to shorten their surname. Perhaps the first to do so was Thomas Derryberry who by 1870 was using the name Dayberry. Then by 1880 his father William was also using this new spelling. Both William and Thomas and their families moved to Sevier County, TN, sometime before 1880 and lived there until the end of their lives. William died in 1890 and Thomas died in 1908.

Meanwhile, recall from the previous post that James Derryberry had married a second time to Elizabeth Hansel, in 1859. Well, later that year they had a son named Robert, and before James rode off to join the southern campaign in 1862 they had a daughter named Mary. When James didn’t return after the war, his widow and two small children must have had a very difficult time surviving. Finally, in 1870, Elizabeth who sometimes went by her first name Susan, at age 33 remarried an older gentleman named Samuel Easterly who was 64. Together they had a daughter named Cenia. Unfortunately, by 1880 Elizabeth was widowed once again.

By 1880, 21 year old Robert Derryberry, had moved away from home and was called “Ball Dery”. Perhaps Ball was a nickname, but it is obvious that he was also trying on a shorter surname. That same year he married Sarah Jane Clowers who was six years older. He possibly met Sarah when when she was visiting relatives next door to where Robert was living.  However, Robert and Sarah were married using his old Derryberry surname.

Over the next 15 years, Robert and Sarah proceeded to have three daughters and four sons. They lived and farmed near Warrensburg, TN for the rest of their lives. The Nolichucky River runs right through this area. In 1900, the family was still using the Derryberry name, but shortly after began spelling their name differently.  Most of the family members dropped the “berry” syllable and began using just “Derry”. Robert died of pneumonia in 1903 at only 44 years old. Sarah lived for another 20 years and died in 1923.  They are both buried in the Methodist Church cemetery in Warrensburg, TN. Interestingly, as can be clearly seen, the name is spelled Derrie on their headstone. Only one of their offspring adopted that particular spelling variation and that was their oldest son, our ancestor, Thomas Washington Derrie.

Jim Derry who lives in the northwest corner of Georgia, not far from Chattanooga, TN is a great-great grandson of Robert Derryberry/Derrie.  Jim had a DNA test run in 2010 that matches him with the Durrenbergers of Switzerland, proving that the Derrys/Derries of East Tennessee are in fact descendants of that line. Jim and I are second cousins, but once removed since he is one generation younger than I.