The Family › Temple–Catchings › Plunkett
Achilles Nivison Plunkett
1810–1884
✦ direct ancestor — Owen's 4×-great-grandfather · Plunkett line
Life
- Born
- 10 Oct 1810 · Williamsburg, Virginia
- Died
- 29 Feb 1884 · Germantown, Shelby County, Tennessee
- Buried
- Germantown, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States of America
Parents
Marriage & children
Adeline Plunkett (1838–c. 1884)
Martha Plunkett (1840–)
Mary Louise Plunkett (1842–1867)
Edward Winfield Plunkett* (1847–1930)
Rosa Planket (c. 1851–)
Lucy M Planket (c. 1855–1883)
Charles H Planket (c. 1859–1938)
Timeline
- 1829MilitaryWest Point, Orange, New York, USA — Achilles received an appointment as a cadet at West Point, though no graduation record exists. He may not have accepted the appointment.
- 26 Sep 1833MarriedAdeline Martha White — Bedford County, Virginia
- 3 Dec 1836MarriedElizabeth A Walker — Shelby County, Tennessee
- 1840ResidenceShelby, Tennessee, USA
- 1850ResidenceDistrict 12, Shelby, Tennessee, USA
- 1860ResidenceDistrict 7, Shelby, Tennessee, USA — Residence Post Office: Jessamine
- 1870ResidenceDistrict 11, Shelby, Tennessee, USA — Residence Post Office: Memphis
- 1880ResidenceDistrict 11, Shelby, Tennessee, USA
- 1884ProbateShelby, Tennessee, USA
Records behind this page
1850 United States Federal Census
1850 U.S. Census, District 12, Shelby Co., Tennessee — dwelling 1831, A. N. Plunkett household (read from the image, Ancestry coll. 8054, image 4206053_00615)
read the transcript
1850 United States Federal Census, 12th Civil District, SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE, stamped p. 207(a), DWELLING/FAMILY 1831, enumerated 20 Dec 1850. READ FROM THE IMAGE 31 Jul 2026 and RE-READ 3 Aug 2026 (Ancestry collection 8054, image 4206053_00615) — not from the index. Line 36: "A. n. Plunkett - 39 - M - Teacher - [b.] Va." — ⛔ the image reads A. N.; the Ancestry INDEX's "A W" is wrong on the image (the recurring index-initial error class, in the tree's favour: A. N. = Achilles Nivison). Household: Elizabeth 32 F (Va.) - Adeline 12 (Miss., at school) - Martha 9 (Miss., at school) - William 15 M "Pupil" (Tenn.) - Louise 6 (Tenn., at school) - Edward 2 M (Tenn.). Age 39 -> b. abt 1811, VIRGINIA — matching the tree's 1810 Williamsburg. [Correction 3 Aug 2026: this citation previously said dwelling 1131 and "A. W." — both amended after the full re-read; the page's dwellings run 1825-1831. K58; memo browser-session-2026-08-03-census-wb12-geneanet-gazette.md.]
Year: 1850; Census Place: District 12, Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: 895; Page: 207a
1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules
The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
1860 United States Federal Census
Year: 1860; Census Place: District 7, Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: M653_1273; Page: 332; Family History Library Film: 805273
1870 United States Federal Census
Year: 1870; Census Place: District 11, Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: M593_1561; Page: 303A
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census
Year: 1880; Census Place: District 11, Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: 1278; Page: 234B; Enumeration District: 124
Ancestry.com, 1840 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010)
Year: 1840; Census Place: Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: 530; Page: 239; Family History Library Film: 0024547
Ancestry.com, Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2019)
Arkansas Department of Vital Records; Little Rock, Arkansas; Death Certificates; Year: 1922; Roll: 4
Ancestry.com, Tennessee, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999)
Ancestry.com, Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records, 1780-2002 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008)
Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002
Ancestry.com, Tennessee, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015)
Probate Records (Shelby County, Tennessee); Author: Tennessee County Court (Shelby County); Probate Place: Shelby, Tennessee
Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012)
Ancestry.com, U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010)
Census Place: Shelby, Tennessee; Archive Collection Number: T1135; Roll: Roll 10; Schedule Type: Agriculture
Ancestry.com, Virginia, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1740-1850 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999)
Dodd, Jordan R., Et Al.; Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850; Publication Place: Bountiful, UT, USA; Publisher: Precision Indexing Publishers
Ancestry.com, Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014)
FamilySearch ↗free account
Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004)
Source number: 23660.013; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1
État détaillé des liquidations opérées par la Commission chargée de répartir l'indemnité attribuée aux anciens colons de Saint-Domingue (Paris, 1828-1834)
REPAIRS, Base 1825, Titre 52654 (n° ordre 6751); État détaillé, registre V, page recueil 492; paroisse de Torbeck (n° 45); décision 11 août 1831. esclavage-indemnites.fr/public/Titre/Voir/52654 — RECORD PAGE READ.
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Titre 52654 · n° ordre d'état de paiement 6751 · Valeur du titre 32.000 F · Date des décisions 11/08/1831 · Registre V · page recueil 492 · Localisation Haïti Saint-Domingue · paroisse n° 45, TORBECK. PROPRIÉTÉ — Type: Sucrerie · Nom du bien rural: "Dite Romain" · Quartier: Boucan-Lafrance · Localité: Torbeck. CIRCULATION DU TITRE: PLUNKET François — Ancien propriétaire, rang 1, précision: "pour moitié" ROYER [sic; printed BOYER elsewhere on the same record] DE LA GAUTRAYE Marie-Eutrope — Ancien propriétaire, rang 2, précision: "pour l'autre moitié" PLUNKET John-Désiré — Ayant droit 1 — "Seuls héritiers de leur grand-père, ancien propriétaire" — 32.000 F, 4 indemnitaires PLUNKET Achille-Nevison — Ayant droit 2 — idem PLUNKET Marie-Louise — Ayant droit 3 — idem BOYER DE LA GAUTRAYE Marie-Eutrope — Ayant droit 4 — "ancienne propriétaire" ⭐ THE LOAD-BEARING PHRASE: "SEULS HÉRITIERS DE LEUR GRAND-PÈRE" establishes that John-Désiré, Achille-Nevison and Marie-Louise Plunket are GRANDCHILDREN of the ancien propriétaire François Plunket - i.e. it sources the chain François [1594] -> Achilles [1586] -> the three children, in one clause. "Seuls" (sole) also means these were his only surviving heirs in 1831. ⚠️ The same woman is printed ROYER in one line and BOYER in another - transcription variance within the source itself.
REPAIRS, Base 1825, Titre 54514 (n° ordre 9144); État détaillé, registre VI, page recueil 598; paroisse de Cap Dame-Marie (n° 41); décision 27 mars 1832. esclavage-indemnites.fr/public/Titre/Voir/54514 — RECORD PAGE READ.
read the transcript
Titre 54514 · n° ordre 9144 · Valeur 28.500 F · décision 27/03/1832 · Registre VI · page recueil 598 · paroisse n° 41, CAP DAME-MARIE. PROPRIÉTÉ — Type: Cacaoterie · Nom du bien rural: "La Bossée ou Plunket" · Cap Dame-Marie. Ancien propriétaire: PLUNKET Jean. Ayants droit, all styled "Héritiers de l'ancien propriétaire", 28.500 F among 7: 1 WEBB William · 2 PLUNKET Georges · 3 PLUNKET John-Désiré · 4 PLUNKET Achille-Nivison · 5 PLUNKET Marie-Louisa · 6 BOYER DE LA GAUTRAYE Marie-Eutrope · 7 MARDOCAI Caroline. ⭐⭐ "MARDOCAI Caroline" = CAROLINE MORDECAI of Warrenton, North Carolina, widow of Achilles Plunkett - appearing in a Paris indemnity register under her MAIDEN name. ⚠️ Stated precisely: the register does NOT call her "veuve Plunket" and gives no relationship at all. The identification rests on the convergence - surname, given name, her co-listing with Achilles's mother and three of his children, and the published Mordecai scholarship that Achilles Plunkett of Warrenton married Caroline Mordecai and predeceased her (d. 26 Jan 1824). STRONG, not a statement in the record. ⭐ The heir list has an internal logic that needs no assumption: Achilles died in 1824 and the decision fell in 1832, so his share passed to his widow and his surviving children - which is exactly who is listed. ⬜ PLUNKET Georges and WEBB William are co-heirs who appear NOWHERE in the tree. The ancien propriétaire is JEAN Plunket, not François, and Cap Dame-Marie is in the Grand'Anse, far from Torbeck - the family held land at both ends of the colony.
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 13 Sep 2026
PROOF CLASS: MOTHER = ARGUMENT (Owen graded 8 Sep 2026). The 1791 ANOM act is [1586]'s only recorded marriage before 19 Dec 1820, and VMHB 1941 and the 1831 indemnity register close his first family at the same three children.
PROOF CLASS: FATHER = DIRECT (13 Sep 2026, K667; flag 1 unchanged). His own Warren Co., N.C. will, written 13 Jan 1824 and proved Feb Court 1824, read on two independent filmings: 'the remaining two Elevenths to my Son Achilles Plunkett'.
MOTHER GRADED 8 Sep 2026 - [1587] Renee Rose Adelaide Gentillot, on three legs, none of which names her as his mother.
(1) The ANOM marriage act of 1791 in Saint-Domingue, with a consanguinity dispensation - the ONLY recorded marriage of [1586] before he married Caroline Mordecai at Warrenton, North Carolina, on 19 Dec 1820.
(2) VMHB 49:4 (Oct 1941), p. 370 - Ruth K. Nuermberger, "Some Notes on the Mordecai Family", built from the Mordecai letters at Duke: Plunkett "had been previously married and had three children, John D., Louisa, and Achilles, who were grown or adolescent" in 1820.
(3) The 1831 indemnity register, titre 52654 (citation C6938): "PLUNKET John-Desire ... PLUNKET Achille-Nevison ... PLUNKET Marie-Louise - Seuls heritiers de leur grand-pere" - the same closed set of three, in a French government register, under his own distinctive middle name.
★ Caroline Mordecai appears in the 1832 register (titre 54514, citation C6939) as a separate ayant droit and is NEVER styled their mother; her marriage postdates all three births, so she cannot be.
⛔ WHAT IT IS NOT: no record names Renee Rose as his mother. The case is "the only wife at the relevant date, plus a closed set of three children attested twice", which is why the class is not the higher one. The father half already read 1 and is untouched by this batch.
Audited 31 Jul 2026 — his first. ⭐ THE 1850 CENSUS PAGE HAS NOW BEEN READ FROM THE IMAGE, closing ranked queue item #2 which had asked only for 'one page-turn from a record already opened'. 1850 U.S. Census, District 12, Shelby Co., Tennessee, DWELLING 1131: 'A. W. PLUNKETT, 39, m, PLANTER, Va.' with Elizabeth 32 (Va.), Adeline 12 (Miss), Martha 9 (Miss), William 15 (Tenn), and a six-year-old (Tenn). ★ HIS BIRTHPLACE IS NOW EVIDENCED: his Birth event (10 Oct 1810, Williamsburg, Virginia) already carried THREE citations and not one of them had had its birthplace column read. Age 39 in 1850 ⇒ b. c. 1811, within a year. ⭐ AND 'PLANTER' is the same word the Warrenton scholarship uses of his father — 'a well-educated planter driven from Santo Domingo by a slave insurrection'. ✅ THE HOUSEHOLD MATCHES THE TREE PERSON BY PERSON and nothing needed creating: [1561] Elizabeth A Walker b. 1819, [1591] Adeline b. 1838, [1592] Martha b. 1840, [195] William Achille b. 17 Oct 1834. ⚠️ The six-year-old's name is NOT legible and NO identification was entered. ⭐⭐ A MIGRATION LEG NOBODY HAD: William b. 1834 TENNESSEE, Adeline 1838 MISSISSIPPI, Martha 1840/41 MISSISSIPPI, and [1593] Mary Louise b. 6 Nov 1842 in Shelby Co. TN ⇒ THE FAMILY WAS IN MISSISSIPPI c. 1837-1841 AND BACK IN TENNESSEE BY LATE 1842. No Residence event was invented from it — children's birthplaces evidence where the parents were, and the citation records that. ⚠️ FLAGGED NOT CHANGED: [195] is recorded as a child of F345 ([814] x Adeline Martha White) but appears in Elizabeth's household here; a stepson lives at home too, so this is not evidence of maternity — do not re-parent him on this record alone. Memo: ancestry/plunkett-dunsoghly-junction.md
AUDITED 3 Aug 2026 — TWO DETAILS OF THE 31 JUL READ CORRECTED ON A FULL RE-READ (K58): the dwelling/family number is 1831, not 1131 (the page's dwellings run 1825-1831), and the head's name on the image is "A. n. Plunkett" — the "A. W." was the INDEX's error repeated (image re-read at full viewer zoom, line 36, 3 Aug 2026). New facts from the re-read: occupation TEACHER; stamped page 207; enumerated 20 Dec 1850. C6946's text amended the same session. [814] was deliberately NOT flagged for this text amendment (exposure: 21 citations would re-send; the 4 Aug duplicate mechanism) — Ancestry's copy keeps the old wording until a future natural re-send.
AUDITED 13 Sep 2026 (K667) - THE PATERNITY IS NOW DOCUMENTED, AND THE DOCUMENT HAD BEEN ON DISK SINCE 24 JUL 2026.
[1586]'s own last will and testament, Warren Co., North Carolina, written 13 Jan 1824, proved February Court 1824, recorded p. 489-490. Cited on his Probate event E4597 (cit 5901, Will Book filming, images 004772487_00127-129) and on his person record (cit 5908, Estate Papers filming, images 007640334_01783-86). BOTH carried ActualText LENGTH=0 until today, so every instrument in this project reported the will as untranscribed and no session had opened it. LENGTH=0 measures transcription, not possession (K490).
THE CLAUSE: "two Elevenths to my Son John D. Plunkett, to him and his Heirs forever and the remaining two Elevenths to my Son Achilles Plunkett to him and his Heirs forever. I hereby constitute and appoint my Son Jn. D. Plunkett Guardian to my two Children Louisa & Achilles until they arrive to the age of twenty one."
★ READ ON TWO INDEPENDENT FILMINGS and word-for-word identical on the operative clause - the Will Book copy (recorded p. 489) and the loose Estate Papers copy (folder tab "PLUNKETT, Achilles / 1824"). The transcription is not a one-filming artefact.
★ THE SHARES CLOSE THE CHILD SET BY ARITHMETIC: four elevenths to "my Dear wife and the child with which she is pregnant", three to daughter Louisa, two to John D., two to Achilles = eleven exactly. No share is unaccounted for, so the instrument names every child it provides for.
IDENTITY, settled OUTSIDE the will - the will STATES the relationship, it does not settle WHO the son is:
(1) The son Achilles is a MINOR in Jan 1824 (a guardian is appointed "until they arrive to the age of twenty one") while John D. is of age and qualifies as executor. [814] b. 10 Oct 1810 = 13; [1588] b. 1796 = 27. Both fit, and only in that order.
(2) The three children named are the same closed set as VMHB 49:4 (Oct 1941) p. 370 and as indemnity titre 52654 (cit C6938), which gives the distinctive middle name "Achille-Nevison".
(3) VMHB has the family removing to Warrenton FROM WILLIAMSBURG in 1812; [814]'s birth event is 10 Oct 1810 at Williamsburg, Virginia - a son born there in 1810 is exactly where this family then was.
(4) No other Achilles Plunkett of this generation exists in the tree (DB scan of every name row: [195] William Achille, [814], [1586] only).
★ AN INDEPENDENT CORROBORATION OF THE TESTATOR, not sought and not needed: the will provides for "the child with which she is pregnant". [1600] Francis Alford Plunkett, third child of F501, was born 2 May 1824 - three and a half months after the will was written.
⛔ THE OTHER HALF DOES NOT MOVE. The will names the wife then living (Caroline Mordecai, m. 18 Dec 1820) and her unborn child; it says nothing about who bore the first three. It CORROBORATES the existing argument's structure - the three pre-date Caroline - but supplies no new leg, and the grade stands as Owen set it on 8 Sep.
⛔ LIVE DISCREPANCY, recorded and not smoothed: [1613] Jeanne Genevieve Eutrope Plunkett (b. 3 Sep 1794, F502 child order 1, NO death date in the tree) is absent from the will, absent from VMHB's three, and absent from titre 52654's "seuls heritiers". Three independent sources close the set at three. The parsimonious reading is that she died before Jan 1824, and the share arithmetic leaves no room for her. ⛔ That is evidence about her SURVIVAL, not about her membership in this family - DO NOT DETACH HER ON IT.
⛔ FLAGGED, NOT CHANGED: E4597 on [1586] is typed Probate and dated 13 Jan 1824. That is the WILL'S OWN DATE; probate was February Court 1824.
★ COLLATERAL, DELIBERATELY NOT DONE (T6 freeze): the same clause states the paternity of [1588] John Desire Plunkett and [1589] Mary Louise Plunkett. Neither is a direct ancestor; their links are untouched by this write.
Elsewhere
This person on Ancestry (sign-in required)