Nimrod comes to Crawford County

 

Georgia, Crawford County.  Before me John Hancock a Justice of the Peace in and for said county personally appeared before me Nimrod Lewis who after being duly sworn deposeth and saith that he was not citteson of said County on the first day of January 1834.

Sworn to and subscribed before this 29 of July 1835

//signed// John Hancock JP                //signed// Nimrod Lewis

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Georgia, Crawford County tax collector's execution

To any lawful officer to execute and return: 

You are hereby commanded that the goods and chattels lands and tenements of Nimrod Lewis you cause to be made the same of 46 cents.  It being the amount of his tax for the year 1834 and the further sum of sixty two & half cents for the Fi Fa and make due returns thereof to me according to law.  Hereof fail not.  Given under my hand and seal this 22nd day of July 1835.

   //signed/ Wm Campbell ????

Analysis:  This document gives us a date range for when Nimrod arrived in Crawford County.  Per his statement, he was not there in January 1834 and he quite obviously was in July 1835.  

Everything connects

After finishing the post on Nimrod assisting Charity Mills, I started looking at the Mills family in the area and came across Isaac Mills, who is connected to both Charity's first husband Green Mills and her second husband Alex Mills. He is also connected to Nimrod as one of the purchasers on the estate of Thomas Cates. I think he needs to be in Nimrod’s FAN club. 

Jeremiah Lewis's will

 

State of. Georgia Crawford County Know all men by these presents that I Jeremiah Lewis of said State and county aforesaid have given to my two sisters Almera Lewis and Marsena Sarah Maranda Lewis all the property belonging to me in this life after the death of my Father and Mother or my return from the army. Given under my hand and seal this April 6, 1863. 

 //signed// Jeremiah Lewis 

 //signed// Fereba Wilder 

//signed// Lizzie Wilder 

 //signed// John x Wilder (his mark)

This is the will of Jeremiah Lewis, son of Nimrod and Phereby Wilder. The original was filmed at the Georgia archives, where it is part of the Crawford County Probate Court - Misc records of the Inferior Court collection. 

  He was serving at the time with Company K of the 45th GA Infantry regiment.  Lilian Henderson's records state that he was wounded at Chancellorsville in May 1863 and sent home as a result. He died there on 22 June.   Online rosters have him in the hospital from January to April for unknown reasons but don't mention this period at the end of April.  Since his sister was the witness, he had to have been at home at the time the will was made but apparently rejoined his unit shortly after that. 

 The wording of this implies that his mother was still living.  His father died in 1868 and his mother was not listed as an heir at that time so the presumption was that she had already died.  The witnesses to this are his sister Fereby and possibly her husband Jonathan N. Wilder.   Jonathan, according to his confederate pension application, was serving at this time.  He could have been home on leave or this could be another person in his family.  Lizzie Wilder has not been identified but should probably be investigated as Fereby's sister-in-law or mother-in-law.  

 The beneficiaries of the will were his two youngest sisters.  Almira (sometimes Elmira) later married Samuel Smith and appears to have stayed in Crawford county.  The will is useful for clarifying Marsena's name since she has appeared as both Marsena and Maranda.  She is recorded in 1868 as purchasing land from their father's estate and pays taxes through at least 1878, but nothing further has been found. 

It is interesting that Fereby and her brother could both sign their names, as could Lizzie, but Jonathan could not.