Mary Johns and the Mathews

In 1840, Mary E. Johns of Washington County, Georgia signed a deed with James Mathews of Crawford County, Georgia and John Mathews of Sumter County, Alabama in which she gave two slaves to her daughter Amanda E. Mathews.  The two slaves were Buck, a man of about 38 years of age, and Harriet, a girl about 20 years old.   As long as Amanda resided in Georgia, the slaves were to be managed by James Mathews.  If Amanda chose to move to Alabama, the slaves would be managed by John Mathews.  In either case, the slaves were to be subject to Amanda's control and could be disposed of by her by hire, sale or exchange for land.   Mary apparently signed the deed herself and it was witnessed by H.P. Harman and J.A. McNair.  There is a copy of the deed in Crawford county.   Amanda's location was not given other than "Georgia".   There was no provision for what would happen to these slaves if Amanda married. 

 A Mary E. Johns appears in the 1840 Washington County census as a head of household, age 30-39.  If this is the correct Mary Johns, a question arises as to why she is gifting slaves to Amanda only, when there are 8 other children (not necessarily hers) in the census.   She does own a number of slaves, so giving some away is plausible.  There is also a Mary E. Johns head of household in Jefferson County in 1830.  The ages and number of the children are close enough that this might be the same Mary.  However, she is also 30-40 in 1830, meaning she is either exactly 30 in the first (40 in the second) or she fudged her age in the second one.  Again, she has a significant number of slaves.  In 1832, an Amanda E. Johns in Jefferson County married Daniel Matthews. 

There is a John Mathews in Sumter County, AL in 1840 with 3 adult males in the household, two who are 20-30 and one who is 40-50, probably but not necessarily the head of household.  In 1850, the only John Mathews in the county is age 58, married to Keziah, born in South Carolina, which is where many of the Mathews in Crawford County are also from.  In 1840, there are two James Mathews heading households in Crawford County, one age 40-50 and one age 50-60.    In 1850, the only James Mathews who might have been an adult in 1840 is one born in 1794 in South Carolina.  John born in 1792 and James born in 1794, both in South Carolina, are tempting to look at as brothers, but more information would be needed.  Amanda does not appear in 1840.  There is no Amanda Mathews in 1850.  There was an Amanda Mathis who married Hopewell Adams in Washington county, Georgia in 1843.  Mathis is the common pronunciation in Georgia of the name Mathews, but her family appears to have been literate and so less likely to use this phonetic spelling.  If this is the correct Amanda, she was born about 1825 making it impossible for her to be the Amanda who married Daniel in 1832.  
So, this leads to questions about the relationships between these people.  The only one that is certain is that Mary E. Johns is the mother of Amanda E. Mathews. 
  Possible scenarios:

A.  Amanda Johns the daughter of Mary E. Johns married Daniel Mathews and therefore the John and James Mathews are her in-laws.  With this scenario, I would assume Daniel is dead although I have not yet found an estate settlement or will for him.  If he were alive but had deserted Amanda, it is less likely that his family would be given management of her assets.  If he were alive and still married to Amanda, it would have made more sense to give him control rather than his relatives, if Mary wanted a man to be managing the slaves.  This scenario also does not take into account what happens if Amanda remarries, but perhaps that was just an oversight on Mary's part.   This also assumes that the two Mary E. Johns in the census are the same person.

 B.  James, John and Amanda are siblings, all Mary's children from a marriage before Johns.  This  explains Amanda's relative autonomy (she gets to decide what happens to the slaves and whether she lives in Alabama or Georgia) while still coming under some nominal male control.   In this scenario, based on the ages of the only James and Johns available, Amanda would probably be somewhat older and therefore unlikely to marry, explaining the lack of a provision for this contingency.  This scenario eliminates both Daniel's wife and Amanda Mathis Adams as the correct Amanda.  This also means that both Mary Johns from the censuses are not their mother but rather that she is in someone else's household. 

  C. James and John are Mary's brothers and Amanda was an illigitimate daughter born before her marriage to Johns.  Close second to the above theory with the same considerations as to why these men would have say over Amanda's life.   In this case, though, Amanda would probably be somewhat younger, so unless she had some handicap that made marriage unlikely, this option would not explain the apparent assumption that she will not marry.  This would, however, make the Amanda Adams born in 1825, possible as Mary's daughter. 

Friend of Friends Friday, Crawford County, Georgia part 3

As before, these are from the Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, Crawford County, Inventories and appraisements 1833-1913, familysearch.org

Page 93, Image 53
Property of Chesley B. Marshall, dec'd, sold 2 Dec 1834:
Andrew McVeal - one negro man named Davy
John Mathews - one negro man named Billy

Page 96, Image 55
Samuel Wilson, Admr of the estate of J.M. Williams
 The hire of Allen, 1 month $10.00
 The hire of Caroline, 1 month $6.00
 Hire of Allen 10 months for widow $60.00
 Hire of George 10 months J.D. Wilson - $90.00
 Hire of Caroline 10 months John Ross - $70.00
 Aggy, Nelson, Pompey, Mary and Henry - 10 months victuals and clothing (no amount listed)

Page 102, image 58
Division of the slaves belonging to the estate of J.D. Williams, 1835
Asa Mann, as his wife's share, was allotted Allen, valued at 650 dollars, Caroline valued at 500 dollars, Pompey valued at 250 dollars, and Mary valued at 225 dollars.  The remaining slaves were assessed a value but it did not state to whom they would be going.  Those slaves were George valued at 675 dollars, Aggy valued at 400 dollars, Nelson valued at 350 dollars, and Henry 175 dollars.

Page 104, image 59
Rebecca Northern, to the estate of William Northern
To the hire of negroes:
  Rebecca Northern hired Dave $130
           Mariah and children $39
           girl China $20
  Nathaniel Bradford hired Cyrus $120
 Stephen Wright hired boy Lewis $14
  Geo W. Clayton hired girl Mime $13.75
  Henry Crowd hired a woman [not named] and children $33
  To hire of negro girl Sally $6

Page 106, image 60
The orphans of R. B. Mason to John Ricks, guardian, 1835:
Hire of a negro man Abram to T. Garrett $75
Hire of a negro man Philip to S. Barden $35
The hire of two boys Redic and Peter to Wm Faircloth at $30 each
One negro woman and three children to Wm Faircloth for their victuals and clothes.

Page 107, image 60
An inventory of the estate of Daniel Hicks
Lettice a negro woman valued at $250
Brister a negro man $500
Morris a negro man $600
Rachel $350
Dennis $600
Luke $650
Clary $400
Jinny $450
Cate $400
Ann $450
Simon $650
Tilmon $500
Virgil $500
Jerry $450
Rhody $300
Charlotte $375
Pris $275
Crawford $300
Jorden $200
Clinton $175
Agnes $150
Mary $150
Caroline $150
Ned $150
Morgan $100
Prince $100
Winney $75

Could this be my Carl?

Today in one of the lectures at the NGS conference in Richmond, the speaker referred to an early indentured servant in Virginia, one Carl Christopherson Springer.   This interesting man was Swedish but was kidnapped in London and brought to Virginia where he was sold.  After some years, he was able to make his way up to the small Swedish colony in Delaware where he remained the rest of his life and where his fluency in both English and Swedish stood him in good stead in the local community.  He caught my attention because that is the name of one of my ancestors, who indeed lived in Delaware about the correct time frame.  It's such a fascinating sequence of events that I would love for him to actually be my ancestor.  However, wishing doesn't make it true and some real research will need to be done to see if this Carl and my ancestor are two different men or not. 

The Electrifying Machine

As I was going through Crawford county probate records recently, my attention was drawn to an item in the estate inventory of Dr. James Williams:  an electrifying machine and apparatus (worth $35).  Since this was 1832, I was fairly certain it wasn't some type of generator and felt compelled to look it up.

According to several sources on the web, especially the Fort Williams Historical Park, this was basically a machine that created static electricity and was used to treat patients for "general disability", to extract disease, and to stimulate nerves and muscle.  It was in fact a very mild form of electro-shock therapy.  Benjamin Franklin reportedly used the device to treat paralytics.  One of the first important advocates of this treatment was John Wesley, the founder of the modern Methodist church, and he even published tracts on the benefits of the "therapeutic uses of electricity." 

Apparently Dr Williams was quite up-to-date on the treatments he had available for his patients. 

Friend of Friends Friday, Crawford County part 2

As before, these are from the Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, Crawford County, Inventories and appraisements 1833-1913, familysearch.org

Page 63, image 38.   Abel Daniel to the estate of Hosea Sullivan, presented June 1834:
  Hire of the negro Nelson for the present year $81.75
 Hire of the negro Abram "      "        "       "      $82.00
 Hire of the negro Bidd     "     "         "      "      $41.00

Page 68, image 41
1833 Hiring and renting of the negro and lands of Martha Hammock orphan of Wm. Hammock by L. D. Hammock administrator
Colbert to Mary Hammock - $70.00

Page 69, image 41
Estate of Amos Hicks, inventory of 9 Jan 1834
Grace a negro woman valued at $450.00
Feaner (possibly Teaner) and child - $500.00
Lish, a girl - $400.00
Robin, a boy - $400.00
Nelas, a boy - $200.00
Jerry, a boy - $150.00
Rachael, a girl - $200.00
Ellen, a girl - $150.00
Bobb, a man - $600.00
Billy, a man - $450.00

Page 72, image 43 
June 1834 division of unnamed estate:
To Thomas Estes one negro woman name Dorcas, valued at $550
To Charles H. Hill on behalf of his wife Nancy, late Nancy Estes, one negro girl named Matilday at $400.00

Page 76, image 45
Inventory of Wilborn J. Hammack, 14 Jan 1834
1 negro boy Aron - $600.00

Page 78, image 46
Inventory and appraisement of the estate of John Glover, 10 May 1834
Negro man Washington appraised to $700.00
   "       "     Aaron               $700.00
   " woman Kiziah              $425.00
   "       "       Letty               $250.00
   "       "     Rachael            $450.00
  "   boy     Archibald         $400.00
  "   girl    Leathy                $350.00
  "     "      Tilda                   $400.00
  "     "       Katy                   $350.00

Ahnentafel #10 Warren David Hendricks and #11 Lucinda Jane Gooch

According to his own account, Warren David Hendricks was born 8 Sep 1854 to George Washington Hendricks and Jane (Jenny) Keith, in Pickens County, SC.  His mother died a few years later after the birth of his younger brother James and his life became rather peripatetic at that point. The family lived in Alabama as well as various places in Georgia, before finally reaching Lumpkin County, which is where he married Lucinda Jane Gooch.

Lucinda Jane Gooch was born 19 Mar 1857 in Lumpkin County, Georgia to James Gooch and  Elvira Grizzle.   They had moved to Union County by the time she was 13 and she married Warren when she was 16, on 27 March 1873.  The ceremony was performed by Warren's cousin (by marriage) George Whitmore, who was a J.P. 

The young couple almost immediately settled in the Gaddistown area of Union County, where they raised a very large family.  Warren was primarily a farmer, Jane was a midwife, mother, and homemaker.   For the first 20 years of their marriage, Warren's brother James lived next door to them, before moving down to Madison County.  James was married to Jane's sister Eliza.   The brothers must have been close, since they named their first sons after each other. They also lived quite close to Jane's parents as well as her brothers William and Madison. Tax records indicate that they owned 260 acres of land.

In 1880 Warren and Jane first appear in the census as a family, with their two oldest children Lucy Ann and John James.  Also in the household was a 14-year old orphan Elizabeth Rider.  Her relationship to the family is not known but Warren and Jane did later take in at least one other orphaned child whom they raised. 

In March 1890 Warren was arrested for making whiskey, although he was not charged with selling it.  He was released when one of the witnesses (who worked for him) changed his testimony.   Family tradition maintains that he did in fact make whiskey.  A few months later, the Atlanta Constitution wrote a short piece about him in their section "Dahlonega Nuggets":  'Mr. Warren Hendricks, One of Union County's most prosperous farmers, was in Dahlonega some days ago.  Mr. Hendricks is worth about two thousand dollars and made it by hard licks.  He never wore a store coat or store pants in his life, but wears clothing manufactured by the "folks at home."  Instead of furnishing his little boys with a bicycle and ((unreadable)) pair of shoes, he gives them a long pair of home-made pants, suspenders knit by his girls, tenders them a hoe and puts them in the cornfield barefooted, with instructions to cut the weeds so as to let the corn grow, is why he prospers.'

By the 1900 census, Jane and Warren's two oldest children were married, with 7 more still at home, the youngest being 4.   An additional 4 children had not survived.   Her daughter Mattie always claimed that Jane was an excellent midwife, but that she had great difficulty with her own pregnancies and was often bedridden for them.

In 1903, Warren was appointed as the road commissioner for the Gaddistown district, along with two other men.  About the same time, he was also made a jury commissioner, a position he remained in until his death.

By 1910, several more of the children had married and left home, but 5 were still living with Warren and Jane as they ran the farm.  About 1915 they fostered Evelyn Ingle from Copper Hill, Tennessee.  She was about 4 at the time.  To date, we have not discovered why she was sent to a family in Union County, Georgia.  Her father had died and her 4 brothers were also fostered, separately.  She was apparently very fond of Warren and Jane, naming two of her children after them, including her first son.

In 1920, Warren and Jane show daughters Mattie, Maude and Evelyn still at home.  Mattie and Maude were both teachers.  This census entry is not totally accurate since Mattie was also listed on the census in Emanuel county, where she was working. Since the census was taken in January, its possible that she was still home for the holidays when the census taker came by.   Maude was at home but left to marry a few months later.   The fact that Mattie and Maude were both teachers is a reflection of the importance that the family apparently attributed to education.  At least 3 of the daughters (Viana, Mattie and Maude) and one of their sons (Luther) had attended North Georgia Agricultural college in Dahlonega.

In 1930, Warren is still apparently farming, despite now being 76.  Foster daughter Evelyn is still with them, as well as their daughter-in-law Ellen Jones Hendrix Seabolt.  Ellen's first husband was their son Joseph.  In 1920, he had been serving as the mayor of McCaysville, GA when he intervened in an incident with a drunken man, who shot him in the head.   Ellen later married James Seabolt but by 1930 was listed as widowed again.

In 1940, Jane and Warren are living at the same place but he is no longer listed as a farmer.  All the children are now gone, but they do have a 15-year old maid in the house.  Both Jane and Warren are listed as having done 4 years of school.  Warren died on 28 August 1940 and Jane followed him on 25 May 1942.  Both of them are buried at Mount Pleasant #2 (the Hill Church) in Suches.

Jane and Warren had the following known children:

     -- Mary LucyAnne Hendrix, born 29 September 1875, died 29 April 1956.  She married Anderson Asberry McDougald and lived her entire life in Union County.
     -- James John Washington Hendrix, born12 Dec 1877, died 17 Mar 1954.  He was named after Warren's father Washington and his two brothers James and John.  He married Vinnie Gurley and eventually settled in Morgan County, GA.
    --  Joseph Benjamin Hendrix, born 18 Mar 1881, died 25 April 1920 while serving as mayor of McCaysville, GA.  Married Ellen Jones.
    -- Allen Luther Hendrix, born 16 Feb 1884, died 11 Mar 1959 in Gwinnett County, GA.  He became a preacher, and met and married his wife Cora Blanche Clyde while serving in Holt County, Nebraska. 
   --  Vianna Hendrix, born 22 May 1885, died 19 Sep 1947.   She married William Carl Gurley.
   --  Elvira Hendrix, born 23 Sep 1889, died 20 Aug 1968 in Monroe County, GA.  She married John Richard Bearden.
   -- William Arthur, born 20 Jan 1891, died February 1976 in Hall County, GA.  He lived much of his working life in Franklin County, Ohio, but returned to Georgia after his wife died.  He married Gilla May Sparks of Fannin County.
   -- Mattie Irene Hendrix, 13 June 1893 - 12 April 1975, Married Charles Gordon Garner
   --  Maude June Hendrix, born 21 Oct 1895, died 4 Aug 1967 in Atlanta.  She married Edward Lee Floyd, who had been one of the instructors at NGC when she and Mattie were there.
   --Alice Evelyn Ingle, born 7 Oct 1911, died 24 Dec 2007 in Haywood County, NC.  Married James Thomason and then Dennis Ammons.

Warren and Jane with their descendents, taken about 1938.

Friend of Friends Friday - Crawford County, Georgia, part 1

I just learned of the "Friend of Friends Friday" daily prompt and, since I'm going through Crawford county probate records right now, it seems a good time to post some of these.  Since all of the original records are available for free on familysearch.org, I'm only putting in the link.  If down the road, the links don't work, these are from the Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, Crawford County, Inventories and appraisements 1833-1913. I have occasionally shortened the description of the estate but the remainder of the text is as it is written on the page or as close as I can get.

Page 4, Image 9 :  Return of the sale of the negro man named Prince, belonging to Jesse Mills, dec'd.
Cash recd of John Andrews for Prince - $400.00.  Submitted by Bryan Bateman.  4 April 1833

Abel Daniel's accounting of the estate of his wards Berry and Elmyra Sullivan, for the year 1832.
Cash for the hire of Nelson - $70.75
"        "    "      "    "  Abraham - $40.00
"        "    "      "    "  Bid (or Bice) - $41.25
"        "    "      "    "  Peggy - $7.50

Page 8, Image 11:  An account between Caroline E. Jones, minor heir of William H. Jones decd and James S. Jones guardian.
Hire of Daniel - $50.00
Hire of Dave - $54.50
Hire of Henry - $55.00
Hire of Washington - $34.00
Hire of Stephen - $10.00
Hire of Phebe and three children - $20.00
Hire of Sally - $40.00
Hire of Melinda - $40.00
Hire of Epsey - $42.00

Page 16, Image 15 Susan Prosser in a/c with Henry Tarver her guardian for .. 1832.
By hire of her negro woman Jinney - $20.00
 "      "   "     "      "     girl Aley - $10.00

Page 17, Image 15  An account of the hiring of the negroes belonging to James Louisa and Ruth Prosser orphan children of Jesse Prosser decd for 1832
One negro fellow George by Luke Robinson for $65.00
One negro girl ?Thizly? by Martin Patten - $50.00
One negro girl Molly by Wm. Robinson - $25.00

Page 24, Image 19:  Inventory and appraisement of the estate of Richard Bullock, decd, Dec 16, 1833.
Harry a negro man valued at $500
Rachael a woman and her child Hosea $500
Lacey a girl - $450
Tracy a girl - $350
Faithey a girl - $200
Daniel a boy - $200

Page 27, Image 20
From the estate inventory of Chesley B. Marshall, made Jan 13, 1834.
1 negro man Billy - $200
1 negro man Davy - $250

Page 28, Image 21
John Ricks return for 1833 for the orphans of Redmon B. Mason [Susanah and Arthur].
By hire of a negro man Abram to William Exium - $75
"      "     "       "        "    Philip to R. S. Anderson - $35
"      "     "   "  "     woman and five children to Wm Faircloth - $40

Page 36, Image 25
James Jones, guardian, for minor Caroline  E. Jones, 1833
Hire of Negro boy Dave - $70
    "   "      "       "    Henry - $65
     "   "      "       "   Washington - $40
    "   "      "       "   Stephen - $22
    "   "      "     girl Sally - $50
    "   "      "       "   Epsey - $50
    "   "      "       "   Malinda & child - $30
    "   "      "       "   Phebe & three children $10

(continuation on page 37)
 Cash for sale of negro boy Daniel  $400, record 4 Feb 1834

Page 38, image 26
Inventory, appraisement and distribution of estate of Jesse Mills, dec'd. 5 March 1834:

Alexander Mills drew Hagar a negro woman appraised at $375
Susanah Mills drew Joseph a negro boy appraised at $500
Isaac Mills drew Wiggins a negro boy appraised at $325
Nancy Mills drew Michael a negro boy appraised at $400
Moses Mills drew Frank a negro boy appraised at $475

Elenor Mills drew Rency and John a negro girl and boy appraised at $450
Elisha Mills drew Joshua a negro boy appraised at $400
Martha Mills drew Fanny and Sampson a negro girl and boy appraised at $375
Green Lee Mills drew Prince a negro boy appraised at $480 [which would appear to contradict the first entry above where Prince was sold]

Page 39, image 26 
Estate of James M. Williams, appraisal done Feb 1834
One negro man Allen $600
One negro boy George $550
One negro woman Carolina $450
One negro woman Aggy and child Henry $500
One negro boy Nelson $300
One negro boy Pomfrey $550
One negro girl Mary $175

 Page 49, image 31
Appraisement of the estate of William Northern, April 1834
Cyrus a man - $625
Mariah and five children Chana, Mima, Lewis, Bob and Lucretia - $1600
Mary and four children Sally, Joseph, Evelina and Carolina - $1080