In the 1850 Census, she is living with George W Herring, her son. Also 1860.

Dicey Scott is listed in both the 1850 and 1860 Censuses, but not 1870. She is 72 in 1850 and lives in the household of George W Herring, age 30. We know from the will of Stephen Herring that George Washington is one of his sons. In 1860, she still lives in this household and is now said to be 87. So we can bracket her birth year as about 1773-1778 and her death year as after 1860 and before 1870.

For a long time, I knew nothing of Dicey’s pedigree but then I found an Internet Family Tree with a fair amount of detail (much of which was wrong). But in checking that out I found and corresponded with a Scott family researcher and I now have learned a little more about Dicey’s ancestry. Dicey was the daughter of Nehemiah.

The Herring Book says she married Stephen in 1799 in Sampson County.

1820. Stephen Herring lives in Sampson County, Captain Roberts District, neighbor of his brothers Enoch and Gabriel Herring and brother-in-law John Treadwell. His sister-in-law Bathsheba Herring, widow of John is on the next page. He has 6 or 7 sons and 3 daughters. He is 45+ and his wife 26-45. Everything checks out.

Stephen Herring was born 9 Jun 1773 in Clear Run, then New Hanover County but now Sampson. He died 26 Nov 1838 in Sampson County, so has the distinction (as we’ll see) of being the first in the Herring line to more or less stay put. He married Dicey Scott on 19 Sep 1799 in Sampson County. Their marriage date was recorded in a family bible maintained by Stephen’s sister and is referred to in the discussion as to the name of Stephen’s mother.

Now back to the Herrings. Stephen wrote his will 12 May 1834 and it was probated in Feb 1839. He names his wife Dicey, sons John, Hardy, Amos, Stephen, Nehemiah, Richard and George Washington and daughters Elizabeth, Sally J and Dicey (all apparently not married yet at the time of the writing of the will.). A witness to the will was Mary J Herring, likely the wife of son Amos. It is the will that proves he had a son named Amos, of course there could have been several men named Amos Herring but in this case I think there is only one of the right age and found in Sampson County and I think the witnessing of the will by Mary J Herring also suggests that the Amos we have identified was the son of this Stephen.

Stephen was the son of Richard.

The Pensions book says that Stephen b.1773, d.1839 married Dicey Scott.