David "Blue" Cornett and Phebe "Feby" Sutherland

David Cornett (November 3, 1805-January 25, 1886)

Feby Sutherland (March 15, 1808- March 5, 1885)

Married: February 22, 1826

Buried in Central Cemetery

Flat Ridge, Grayson County, Virginia

Children                       Birth                 Death            Spouse Name           Birth                Death

**Allen	03/27/1827	12/08/1844	N/A	N/A	N/A
*Rachel  Isobel	04/25/1828	11/18/1908	*Nelson Anderson	11/11/1824	4/16/1905
Peter	03/03/1829	11/11/1866	Aseneth Welch	09/11/1824	N/A
James Monroe	12/23/1831	03/13/1885	Polly Ann Cornett	12/25/1835	12/17/1900
*Lorenzy Dow	09/24/1833	01/24/1900	*Rose Ann Anderson	01/08/1840	05/08/1936
Joseph Alexander	03/16/1835	N/A	Mitchel Moore	N/A	N/A
*Margaret Jane	05/20/1837	05/06/1919	*Wesley Robinson	N/A	N/A
Dudley Jackson	03/30/1839	N/A	Virginia Evaline Livesay	02/25/1847	10/17/1904
*Wesley Isom	03/27/1841	08/03/1921	*Sarah Jane Livesay	11/03/1849	04/1933
*Barbara Evaline	01/02/1843	04/01/1894	Wiley Livesay	N/A	N/A
**Olive Melvine	06/12/1844	02/06/1847 (Died at 2 yrs, 8 months)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nancy Levine	07/11/1846	N/A	? Cascio	N/A	N/A
*Stephen Thomas Columbus “Doc”	03/09/1849	08/15/1926	Elvira Lutitia McKee Weiss	09/21/1848	03/30/1923
**John	07/13/1851	03/13/1852 (Died at 8 months of age)	N/A	N/A	N/A

 ** Three children died young: Allen (#1), Olive Melvine (#11), and John (#14)

   *Buried at Central Cemetery, Grayson County, VA




A cousin I just recently made contact with through a genealogy source, sent the following photos of David and Feby Cornett's home. Someone else now owns the home and has for the past 30 years or so. If you can look past all the "debris" and just look at the main structures and woodwork, you will see what it would have been like at one time. The gentleman who lives here now, apparently gives tours of this old house to the descendants of David "Blue" Cornett and Phebe "Feby" Sutherland. I wish I lived closer because I would definitely take the tour of my 3rd Great Grandparents home!

Original 4x4 boards in the house. 

These are two of the boards in which were used to build the house. 

There are 2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs.

This is a photo of the original ceiling inside the home.

Exterior of the house and the front porch.

The stairway from the kitchen maybe?

 It looks pretty steep too but not so narrow as I thought it might be.

Original flooring. Can you imagine what these floors 

would look like if they were sanded and buffed to a shine?

A touch of varnish or polyurethane and they would be brought back to life!

Original fireplace but looks as if it was closed up for some reason.

Photo Credit: Jo Ann Leifeste

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Stuart "Marvin" Monroe Cornett

Stuart was my great grandfather and I believe he was also the grandson of James Monroe Cornett and Mary Ann Cornett. He was born on September 22, 1881 in Grayson County, Virginia and died on February 3, 1966 in Smythe County, Virginia at the age of 84. His immediate family includes his wife, Gincy Malinda Caroline Long and their 14 children. The children's names are Della Pauline Cornett, Grover Cornett, Mary Frances Cornett, Anna Mae Cornett, Lucia Rose Cornett, Pearl Mildred Cornett, Elbert Wayne Cornett, Charles Estel Cornett, Lillie Edna Cornett, Carl Wesley Cornett, Ora Lee Cornett, James Donald Cornett, Billy Cornett, and Claude Scott Cornett. 

Stuart didn’t like his middle name of Monroe, so he changed it to "Marvin" (although his grandfather was named James Monroe Cornett). Stuart and his wife, Gincy Malinda Caroline Long were both born in the Flat Ridge area of Grayson County, VA and were married on April 5, 1905, by Johnson Stamper. At their wedding party they said they wanted 14 children like great-grandparents David Cornett and Feby Sutherland and great-great grandparents, William and Mary Hatfield Cornett— Stuart and Gincy did indeed have 14 children- 7 sons and 7 daughters! 

They began housekeeping in a little house just over the hill from his fathers farm. They had several children when they purchased a neighboring farm from Lucinda Nelson and her son, Jasper. This is where all the other children were born. About 1938, they built a new home just “hammering distance” away and this home and farm are now owned by their son, Carl Wesley. (Curtis Cornett bought the farm in 1993). 

Stuart was a hard working, honest man who was an affectionate but strict father. He had cancer of the shoulder bone and had his left arm removed in 1960, the doctors were amazed by his speedy recovery. He managed to do almost everything for himself and did not consider himself handicapped. His special fork had a “knife” tine on the edge and he seldom asked for any help at the table. He loaned money to his children when they needed it and charged the local ones 1% interest. His children living out of state had to pay 2% because he couldn't “see” what they were doing with the money! He and “Lindy” promised all their children $100 or a horse if they did not drink or smoke before they turned the age of 21. That was a lot of money back then and doubly hard when six sons went into service. (Some of the children claimed their prize.) 

Malinda was a good neighbor and mother who remembered each child’s favorite foods and made sure they were on the table during their visits. With 14 children, that was remarkable! She lost the sight of one eye after cataract surgery but she still quilted, embroidered, and crocheted. The family attended Bald Rock Methodist Church. Stuart, Malinda and their oldest daughter, Pauline Wright, are buried in Central Cemetery in Flat Ridge, Grayson County, Virginia.

Note:The information above was given to me by my father, Billy Cornett. I am not sure who compiled the given information, but I am thankful for it!

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David "Blue" Cornett

David "Blue" Cornett was born in 1805, married Phoebe "Feby" Sutherland (born March 6, 1808) on February 2, 1826, and died January 24,1886 (March 5, 1885- Grave Marker Image below) in Grayson County, Flat Ridge, Virginia. According to Ancestry Library, the marriage records indicate that his last name was Connute. The 1850 Federal Census of Grayson County,Virginia has his occupation as being a farmer. You can access the above information here: Ancestry Library. (In this posting I will be referring to David as "Blue" and Phoebe as "Feby".)


Blue's father was James Cornett, born in 1783 in Grayson, Virginia. His mother was Rachel Wright, born circa 1783 and died circa 1827. Rachel was 22 years of age when she gave birth to "Blue". How ironic is it, that when Rachel died, "Blue" was 22 years old. I have seen other references as to whom "Blue's" mother was- Polly Rankins was her name. But this hasn't been confirmed yet. See It Here!


"Blue" and "Feby" had 14 children! I  couldn't imagine having to feed, clothe, and shelter 14 children in those days, or even today for that matter. That's a lot of children to care for in any day and age. They had a daughter named Olive Melvine that died at the age of 3, she was born June 12, 1844 and died on February 6, 1847; so she almost made it to her fourth birthday. They also had a son by the name of John Wesley Cornutt, who was not even a year old by the time he passed. John Wesley was born July 13, 1851 and died on March 13, 1852. 


From an email I received:
"Phoebe's maternal grandmother, who was believed to be related to the West family in early Virginia.  It's possible that she may be a descendant of Thomas West, Lord De La Warre, who saved the Jamestown Colony and for whom the State, River and Bay of Delaware are named."


"There is some reference to the Sutherland family (Feby) being involved in the Revolution and with Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in the Carolinas and Kentucky."


I am keeping the sender of this email private, but wanted to thank them for sending this information to me. <3 I will update as I come across more information about David "Blue" Cornett and Phoebe "Feby" Sutherland.

This is all the information I have on David "Blue" Cornett and Phoebe "Feby" Sutherland. If anyone can add anything to this post, I would be forever grateful!

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