Nancy and Turner Cates administrative Bond

Transcription:
[Administrator's Bond]
Georgia, Crawford County
Know all men by these presents
that we, Nancy Cates & Turner Cates & Joseph Wilder & Isaac Mills securities, are held and firmly bound unto their Honors the Justices of the Inferior Court, sitting for Ordinary Purposes for said County, and their successors in office, and assigns, in the just and full sum of two thousand Dollars for the payment of which sum to the said court of justice and their successors in office we  bind ourselves, our heirs, Executors and Administrators, in the whole and for the whole sum jointly and severally, and firmly by these presents, sealed with our seals and dated this 7th Day of November 1842

The condition of the above obligation is such, that if the above bound Nancy Cates & Turner Cates admors of the goods, chattel, and credits of Thomas Cates, late of said county, deceased which have, or shall come into the hands, possession, or knowledge of the said Nancy Cates & Turner Cates or the hands or possession of any person or persons for ?them? and the same, so made do exhibit unto the said Inferior Court, when sitting as a Court of Ordinary, when they shall be thereunto required; and such goods, chattel, and credit do well and truly administor according to law, and do make a just and true account of their actings and doings therein, when they shall thereunto be required by the Court:  Shall deliver and pay to such person or persons respectively, as they may be entitled to the same by law: And if it shall hereafter appear that any last Will and Testament was made by the deceased, and the same be proven before the said Court, and Executor obtain a certificate of the probate thereof, and Nancy Cates & Turner Cates in such case, if required, render and deliver up of the said Letters of Administration, then this obligation to be void, else to remain in full force.

Signed, sealed and acknowledged in open Court

Test E. W. Dennis ?C C D?

Nancy X Cates
      her mark
Turner Cates
Joseph X Wilder
   his mark
Isaac Mills

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Nancy Cates was the widow of Thomas Cates and Turner his son.   Joseph Wilder and Isaac Mills were neighbors.  Joseph's son Jonathan would marry Turner's granddaughter Feraby Lewis, daughter of Nimrod. 

The other item of interest is that in the legal notices in the Macon Telegraph of August 30, 1842, so several months before this, Nancy Cates, Turner Cates and Nimrod Lewis had applied for letters of Administration on the estate of Thomas Cates.   There is no indication why he was removed nor why no apparent action was taken between August and November.  The assessment of the estate and estate sale occurred in late November and early December of 1842. 

Women's History Month and the ABCs of Women in the family.

I am copying a friend here, seeing how many letters of the alphabet I can fill with women from the family, as many as possible from memory because we're so much more likely to forget the women.  Most of the names (except Q, U, X, and Z) were from memory but I have gone back and doublechecked dates and places. 

A is for Agnes Petley, born about 1496 in County Kent, England.  One of 4 daughters (and no sons), she brought a portion of the Petley estate into the Manning family when she married John Manning.

B is for Betty Jean Becham my mother and most loved of my female ancestors.  She fought her family to go to college and ensured that her daughters knew that they could do anything they set their minds to.

C is for Catherine Chauser (or LeChauser).  She was born about 1342 in London.  Three hundred years later her descendants claimed she was the sister of Geoffrey Chaucer but that is highly unlikely.

D is for Delia (Sarah Lodelia) Mathews Becham, born 1870 in Brooks County, Georgia to T.F. Mathews and Kate Peterman.  She married Fate Becham and was the mother of 6 boys and 1 girl.

E is for Elizabeth Duggan 1 and 2.  Elizabeth 1 was born about 1795 to John Duggan and Mary Jane Joyce.  She married Samuel Gheesling in 1817 in Washington County, GA.  Elizabeth 2 was her niece, the daughter of Asa Madison Duggan and Susie Lord.  Elizabeth 2 also married Samuel Gheesling, in this case her cousin and the son of Elizabeth 1.  They married in 1851, again in Washington County.  Sorting these two out was a challenge.8

F is for Feraby, the wife of Nimrod Lewis.  She may (emphasis on may) have been a Cates by birth.  She only appears in one record that I have found so far, the 1850 census in Crawford County, GA. However, her name and that of her husband helped me make the connection to her daughter Martha, who named her 2nd daughter and 2nd son Feraby and Nimrod respectively.

G is for Elvira Grizzle Gooch.  How can you not love that name?  The daughter of John and Sally Taylor Grizzle, the wife of James Gooch, and the mother of (among others) Lucinda Jane Gooch Hendrix.  A mountain farm wife who probably never had it easy.

H is for Harriet (Hattie) Gheesling, daughter of Sam and Elizabeth Duggan the younger, married Green Lee Garner as his second wife.  Raised 4 sons and a stepdaughter, who loved her enough to name her own daughter after her.

I is for Irene Moore Wade.  She went back and forth between Irene and Arena as her first name, doubly confusing because in that part of Georgia they would be pronounced much the same.  Married and had 14 children with Moses Thomas Wade, before finally kicking him out.  The descendant of several strong women and apparently one herself.  Born in 1855 to John Moore and Peggy Powers.

J is for Judith Knowles or Noles, known as Judia, a name which has lead some folks to transcribe her as Julia.   She was born abt 1801 in Georgia and married Timothy Johnson in Hancock County in 1817.

K is for Kate (Susan Catherine) Peterman, mother of Delia above.  Born and raised in Georgia, 1849-1933, she married T.F. Mathews in 1866.  Although both of them were from Taylor County, GA, the disruption of the war meant that they actually married in Madison County, Florida.  They stayed in southern GA for some years but finally settled back in Crawford County, GA.

L is for Lucinda Jane Gooch.  I fell in love with her name at a young age.  She was the daughter and James and Elvira Gooch, the wife of Warren Hendricks, and the mother of many children, 9 of whom lived to adulthood.  She and her husband also raised at least one foster child.  She was known in later life as Jane but I like the Lucinda too much to leave it out.

M is for Mattie Hendrix Garner.  Daughter of Lucinda Jane and Warren David Hendricks, she married Charles Gordon Garner.  She was a graduate of North Georgia Agricultural College, as it was known at the time, and worked for several years as a teacher and home extension agent in Emanuel County, GA, until forced to give up that job after her 1921 marriage to Gordon Garner.  She was very proud of her education and career.

N is for Nancy Whitaker Horne.  Born in Georgia about 1806, she married Nathan Horne in Wilkinson county in 1821.  Her parents and her life before that point are a complete mystery.   She was left a widow with at least 7 kids in 1840 but made a success of the farm and had considerably enlarged it by her death about 1870.   She was unusual among my earlier Georgia female ancestors in that she could read and write.

O is for Ola Pauline Bryant Becham, my grandfather's first wife and mother of his 5 oldest children.  Like so many women historically and even some today, she died from complications of childbirth.

P is for Peggy (Margaret) Powers Moore.  Peggy was born to a white father John Powers and (free) black mother Sarah Turner Powers in South Carolina about 1816.   Her husband John G. Moore is the only ancestor I have who emigrated to the United States rather than the colonies, being an Irishman who settled for some unknown reason in central Georgia.   She and her full siblings successfully sued her younger half-siblings over their father's estate after his death in 1868.

Q is for Queen Victoria Pyles who is actually a cousin rather than an ancestor, born in 1860 to William Piles and Susan Becham.

R is for Rebecca Douthit Keith, born abt in Pickens County, SC in 1799  to Solomon Douthit and his wife Mary.  She lived her entire life in Pickens County, marrying Allen Keith and raising 7 children.  Her youngest daughter Jane (Jenny) married George Washington Hendricks.

S is for Sarah Turner Powers although there are many, many Sarahs in the family to choose from.  Sarah (Sally) Turner was the daughter of a former slave, John Turner, and his freeborn wife Patience and was born in Marion County, SC.  She married a white man, John Powers, by whom she had 4 children before she kicked him out for wasting away her inheritance.  She later moved with her children first to Alabama and then to Georgia.

T is for Trenilla Patrick Becham - my aunt by marriage.  Another loved memory.

U is for Ursula Thompson, born about 1745 in Virginia, she is the sister to my ancestor Patience Thompson Glenn, so my 7X great-aunt.  Not that she was memorable but it turns out that she is the only woman in the family I can find whose first, last or nickname starts with U.  She married Thomas Ray.

V is for Viola Wade Becham, my grandmother and mother to my grandfather's youngest 3 children.

W is for Sarah Wooten, who was born about 1729 in Somerset County, MD.  She married John Lord in 1745 in Sussex County, DE, which was at the time a neighboring county.  Her parents were John Wooten and Margaret Davis.

X - Stretching this one but the only person in the tree who starts with X is a Xavier.  Next best is EXie Dickson Carr, who was a cousin by her marriage to my grandfather Garner's 2nd cousin Linton Stephens Carr.

Y is for Eva Lou Young Ward, since the only woman I have with a name beginning in Y is still living so does not qualify.  Eva Lou was not really my family, but she is the grandmother of many of my cousins, so she goes here.  She died in 2009 at the age of 94, having survived her husband Fletcher Claude Ward by 25 years.

Z is for Zelma Evans, a cousin.  Born in 1919 in Irwin county, GA to Carrie Morris and Robert Evans, making her my 2nd cousin 2x removed.  She died in 1967 and is buried near her parents. She is like so many unmarried women in the records.  I know when she was born, when she died and where she was buried but find nothing in between.   She was listed in 1940 as not having attended school and being unable work, so it is likely that she lived at home her entire life. 

Laura and Grace

At one point I looked at the estate of Thomas Cates, the possible father-in-law of Nimrod Lewis, and noted that the two slaves he owned were not accounted for in the estate settlement.   In the 7 March 1843 Macon Messenger, there is a notice that the young girls Larey (Laura), age 9, and Grace, age 7, had been levied on as the property of Thomas Cates to satisfy several Fi Fas issued by the court in favor of H. B. Troutman. 

Grandma and Pa Mathews

This is a photograph discovered a while back by a cousin in a box left at his father's house by our grandmother.  It is labeled as "Grandma and Pa Mathews", indicating that it is probably Thomas Franklin (T.F.) Mathews and his wife Susan Katherine (Kate) Peterman.   T.F. lived from 1841 to 1922, while Kate was 1849 to 1933.  Considering her dress and the fact that they are older but not old, I would make a preliminary guess that this was taken around 1900, but that's speculation at this point.

Nimrod Lewis property tax lists

The published property tax lists of Crawford County list Nimrod Lewis six times.

In 1840 he is in Captain Hortman's district.  He payed one poll, and payed taxes on two lots.  One, in district 2, Crawford county was 101.5 acres.  The other, lot 46, District 16, section 2 in Habersham County, was 125 acres.  He had no luxury items listed.  This tax form is not alphabetized, from which it can be inferred that the lots are listed in at least partial neighborhood order, although the lot numbers are not sequential.  Those closest to him, therefore, were probably Jeremiah Hatcher, William Dickson, Joseph Wilder, Robert Martin, William Causey, James M. Sanders and Turner Cates on one side and David Worsham, Simpson Walker, Simon Johnson, Thomas Barran, and Martin Cloud on the other.  Thomas Cates also appears on the same page, though further down.  Thomas also paid taxes on land in Habersham although the lot and district nr were not listed on his property to compare their locations.

In 1845, Nimrod was in Capt Jones district and paid one poll and owned 2 slaves.  He claimed 101 acres in Crawford county and 125 in Habersham.  For this he paid $1.56 in state tax, 19.5 cents in poor tax, and 39.25 cents to the Poor school.  This is the only tax list that breaks out the payments. 

In 1851, Nimrod was listed as being in district 497, Osent's district.   This tax list is semi-alphabetical in that the names beginning with the same letter are grouped together.  Nimrod did not pay a poll, presumably too old, but his son Thomas did.   Nimrod is listed as having 2 slaves, 50 acres of 3rd quality oak and hickory upland, 101.5 acres of pine land in Crawford County, and 125 acres of the same in Habersham County.  All told he paid $1.08 in taxes plus Thomas' .25 poll tax.

In 1854, he is in still in district 497, now Castlebury's area.   He again is not responsible for a poll tax but Thomas is.   He does claim to have two children between the ages of 8 and 14.  This would have been Marsena and Almira.  This time he asserts 125 acres of 2nd quality land and 150 acres of 3rd quality for a total value of $700.   He has two slaves valued at $800 and other personal property valued at 106, for a total taxable amount of $1606.

1856 is still Castlebury's district.  Nimrod's son Jeremiah is now old enough to pay the poll tax as well as son Thomas.  Neither son shows property of their own.   Nimrod has 227 acres of pine land, in Crawford only, worth $700.   He now has 1 slave worth $400, $250 worth of other personal property, so $1350 worth of taxable property in total.

In 1857, still in Castlebury's, his land is again split by county with 100 acres in Crawford ($600) and 125 in Habersham ($200).   He does not list any children between 6 and 18 although Marsena definitely qualified and Almira possibly did.  Son Thomas lists one child in that range although his oldest known child Feraby was only 4.  It is possible that their two entries were confused.  Nimrod still had one slave, worth  $500, and personal property worth $175.  Interestingly, Jeremiah is shown as having cash or solvent debts of $110. 

Nimrod Lewis in the Confederate Citizens files

Nimrod Lewis appears twice in the Confederate Citizen files, having assisted two families with claims.

In July 1862, he appeared as a confirmatory witness to Louisa Wright's claim for the final pay due her husband Joseph Henry Wright.  Henry Wright had served in the Jackson Guards, in the 57th GA regiment, and had died in May 1862 while serving in Virginia.  The other witness was Joseph Henry's father Elias Wright.   As a result of this claim, Louisa Wright was paid $47.  In the 1860 census, Nimrod is household 54 in Castleberry's district.  Louisa and Joseph Wright were in Knoxville, living next door to his father Elias.  Louisa's maiden name was Gray.

In December 1862, Nimrod Lewis attested to the truth of Charity Mills claim that she was the only heir of her son Andrew J. Mills, who had left "neither wife, child, nor father".  Andrew had served in the 6th GA regt.  He had been killed at Seven Pines on May 31st of that year and according to the Army was due back pay, his bonus payment, and his clothing allotment.  The only Charity Mills in the county was Nimrod's next-door neighbor.   She and her husband Alexander had married in 1856, so Andrew could not be a son of that marriage but she had previously been married to  Green Mills and had a son A.J. with him.   Charity was a Bateman by birth and married Green Mills in Houston County.

Nimrod might have just been being a good neighbor, but putting these two here to keep in mind.  Friends, family and associates.

Nimrod Lewis and H.W. Sullivan

Augusta Chronicle, July 28, 1815, p. 4, accessed at the Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia, http://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu

Will be sold by the subscribers, to the highest bidder, on the first Tuesday in August next at the court-house in the town of Waynesborough, (if not previously disposed of), 450 acres LAND, (more or less), of an excellent quality in the county of Burke on the Walnut Branch, within four miles of the Court-house.  80 or 90 acres are cleared and under good fence.  Condition 1000 dollars paid down and the balance in one and two years, to be secured by a mortgage on the premises, or approved personal security.

H.W. Sullivan
Nimrod Lewis

July 6

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H.W. Sullivan appears to be as much of a ghost as Nimrod himself at this period, but this does give me something new to work on.  Jointly possessing the land, so brothers in law perhaps, disposing of an inheritance? 

What the census says about Nimrod Lewis

I have recently had a couple of tiny breakthroughs on Nimrod Lewis and decided it was time to sit back and look at everything I have on him.  With that in mind, here are his appearances in the U.S. censuses.

1820 - There is a Nimrod Lewis in Edgefield District, SC but probably not my guy.  However, there are some interesting connections so I'm including him.

This household contains 1 male 45 & older, 2 females 26-44, and 1 female 10-15.  My Nimrod would have been at most 35 at the time of this census.  This appears to be an older household with one child.  Perhaps a couple with a daughter and a sister or two daughters.  Or even several siblings with the child of one of them.  They owned 1 male slave age 14-25 and there were 2 people (presumably Nimrod and the slave) engaged in agriculture.  His neighbors were Robert Daniel, Thomas Kates (Cates), John Scott and John Cates on one side, with Huldey Watson, Elisha Dyes, William Green, Mary Cumby and Jemima Kates on the other.  My Nimrod did have connections to the Cates family and through them to the Dyes and Cumby families.

1830.  This is the first census where I can feel confident this is my Nimrod.  He is in Edgefield County, SC.  The household has one male 40-49 (Nimrod, now age about 45), one female 20-29 (probably Feraby, abt 26), a female 15-19, not identified, two males under 5 (Thomas, age 2 and one unidentified boy), and a female age 5-10, (Martha, age 6) .  I wonder if the 10-15 year old girl in 1820 might be the 15-19 year old in this census.  The official enumeration date in 1820 was in August, while 1830 was 1 June.  A girl born in the summer of 1810 would be 10 in the first one and 19 in the second.

The 1830 household also contains 2 slaves, a male age 10-23, just possibly the male slave from 1820, and a female also 10-23.  His neighbor is Turner Cates, future father-in-law to his son Thomas and possibly his brother-in-law.

1840:  Nimrod and his family moved to Crawford County, Georgia in 1835, so that is where he appears in the 1840 census.  The household is as follows:
   1 male 50-60  Nimrod, age 55
   1 female 30-39 Pheraby, age 36
  1  male 5-9 Jeremiah, 5.
  2 males 10-14 Thomas, 12 and unidentified boy
  2 females under 5 - Nancy (4) and Almira (infant)
  1 female 5-9  Feraby (9)

Martha had married the year before and so is not enumerated with this household. 

In this census, Nimrod has  two slaves, a male and a female, both 24-35 so presumably the same two he had in 1830, brought with him to Georgia.  Four members of the household were employed in agriculture.

His neighbors in 1840 include Turner and Thomas Cates, both of whom were previously associated with him in South Carolina, and Mary Dyes who is probably connected to the Cates family.  

1850  Division 20, Crawford county, Georgia, household 447

The Household consists of:
  Nimrod Lewis  63 M Planter   property value $400  born in Georgia
  Pheraby 48 F  born in SC  cannot read or write
  T. T.  21 M born in SC  planter  cannot read or write
  Pheraby 20 F born in SC
  Jeremiah 16 M born in GA  planter
  Nancy 13 F born in GA
  Almyra 11 F born in GA
  Marena 7 F born in GA

The other boy, presumed son, who appears in 1830 and 1840 is not with the family in this census  Since Thomas is 21 and Pheraby 20, the other boy was probably older, fitting nicely between Thomas and Martha.  There is not a Lewis male in Crawford county the right age to be him who is not already accounted for.  He may well have died by this time but he was almost certainly dead in 1868 since he is not listed as one of the heirs.

The 1850 slaves schedule shows him with 2 slaves, a male 56 and a female 37.

1860 census  Castleberry's District, Crawford County Georgia, dwelling 60, family 54

Nimrod Lewis 74, m, farmer, real estate value $600, personal property 1125
Feraby 56, F
Jeremiah, 25, M farm laborer
Almira, 20, F
Massenia, 18 F
Feraby Wilder, 30 F Widow

Everyone in the family is listed as born in Georgia except Feraby Wilder.  She was not actually a widow although her husband may have taken off.  He does appear in later censuses.   Son Thomas was married and living in the next household down with his family.

The slave schedule for this year shows Nimrod having one female slave age 40.

Nimrod also appeared on two agricultural schedules, in 1850 and 1860.

1850:  60 acres improved, 40 unimproved, value of farm $600, value of machinery $60.  He had 3 horses, 1 ass or mule, 2 milch cows, 1 ox, 8 other cattle, 7 sheep and 35 swine for a stock value of $347.   The year just ended he had produced 10 bushels of wheat, no rye, 350 bushels of indian corn, 50 bushels of oats,  no rice, no tobacco, 3 bales of ginned cotton, no wool, 10 bushels of peas and beans, 5 bushels of Irish potatoes and 50 bushels of sweet potatoes.  He did not produce any barley, buckwheat, orchard products, wine or market garden produce.   He did produce 100 pounds of butter, but no cheese, hay, clover, grass seeds, hop, hemp, flax flaxseed, silk coccoons, maple sugar, cane sugar, molasses or beeswax.  He gave no value for "homemade manufactures" but listed the 'value of animals slaughtered' as $88.

1860:  75 acres improved, 25 unimproved.  Cash value of farm - $600, value of machinery $30. He had no horses, 2 mules, 3 milch cows, no oxen, 3 other cattle, no sheep, and 16 swine for a total livestock value of $200.  He had produced 5 bushels of wheat,  250 bushels of Indian corn, 8 bales of ginned cotton, 19 bushels of peas and beans, 70 bushels of sweet potatoes, 25 pounds of butter, and 25 lbs of Honey.  The value of animals slaughtered was given as $30.

Nimrod was getting quite old by this census so it was not unexpected that his agricultural production would go down.  Son Thomas, however, was not picking up the slack.  Thomas is listed separately just below Nimrod and he shows only 8 swine, for a value of $16.  

Found! The parents of James Bryant

James Bryant has been a brick wall for many years.  First, he does not appear in any census with his parents and secondly, he had real problems making up his mind how old he was.  The person who is probably him in 1880 is listed as age 10, in 1900 his birth month/year is July 1861 and he is 49.  In 1910 he is 37 (so born 1873), in 1920 he is 50 and in 1940 he is 68.  He's not been found yet in 1930.  His death certificate, with information provided by his son-in-law states he was born on 2 July 1873.  He does not appear in the SSDI and having died in 1942, I had always assumed he never had a social security card.  However, it turns out he is in the Social security claims index so I sent for his original SSDI, which gives his date of birth as 2 July 1868 and more importantly, gives his parents as Irving Bryant and Elizabeth Hamlin.

There is no Irving in the 1870 census, but there is I Bryant age 25 with his wife E age 24.  There is no marriage record for them in Crawford county so her surname cannot be confirmed.  They have 3 children, a daughter H.E., age 6, a son C age 7, and a daughter J age 2.  It would be better if names were on here.  There are several errors as to children's sex in this census, so this could be James despite the F.  In 1880, there are no female Bryants who were born about that year, but there are two males, one of whom is James.

In 1880, James is living with John and Sarah Stripling Sandefur.  I am pretty sure this is the correct James since Sarah had a relatively unusual name (Sarah Willie) and he named his oldest daughter that.  He also married John's youngest sister.

Irwin, who is also shown as Ruben Irwin on some family trees, and Elizabeth both disappear from the censuses after 1870, which increases the odds that the apparently orphaned James in 1880 is their child.  More work needs to be done but at least there appears to be a path forward now.

Sarah Rowe Sandifer part 2

Back in February, I theorized about the death date of Sarah Rowe Sandifer, based on an estate being distributed to her grandchildren.  I finally made it to the Georgia archives to look up the file there and it sort of confirmed what I thought.  The estate was in fact hers, but she had died on 18 April 1914, so a little earlier than I had expected.  The estate was not completely settled until 1920.  Her son, John S. Sandifer was the administrator since she died without a will.  The main portion of her estate was the property, which was sold to H.C. and W.A. Belcher for $2250, a good sum in those days.

There was also an interesting document in the file showing that Sarah's guardian prior to her marriage was Elisha Mills.  In September 1849, he petitioned to be released from the guardianship on the grounds that Sarah was now married.

Nimrod Lewis's War of 1812 records

I had long ago seen that a Nimrod Lewis (and yes, there were more than one) had served with the Georgia Militia in the war of 1812.  Unfortunately, the only records remaining were muster rolls, which did not tell much about what the unit did nor was there anything to show that this was our Nimrod Lewis.

Recently the National Archives began a project with Fold 3 to index the War of 1812 land warrant applications and unlike some of the pensions, these were available to militia members as well.  The index is free and the record can then be ordered from the archives.  I looked at the Ls and there was a Nimrod Lewis from Georgia, so I ordered the record.  Unlike the militia roster, this record confirmed that it was the Crawford County man.

The records show that he actually enlisted twice.  He first enlisted at Waynesboro in Captain Roger Gamble's unit, in March 1814 and served with that unit until they were discharged in September of that year in Point Petre.  This is probably Fort Point Peter, near the Georgia-Florida border.  In January 1815, he volunteered for Capt Stephen Blount's unit, again enlisting in Waynesboro.  They were discharged in February 1815 at Savannah.

His application was made in 1851, when he was 63 years old.  In 1854 Nimrod was awarded 80 acres of land in Ohio but assigned his claim to Jesse Stone.  It is probable that he sold the claim to Stone rather than starting over at age 66. 

1837 Bridge petition, Crawford County

Found in the loose records in the Georgia State archives, Morrow.

To the Honorable the Superior Court of Crawford County We the undersigned citizens of the county aforesaid humbly sheweth to your Honour that we labour und[er] a serious inconvenience for want of a Bridge across Spring Creek where the road leading from Knoxville to Travelersrest crosses said creek this is a road of great publick utility as well as to those living in the lower part of this county Your petitioners therefore humbly hope your honors will grant an order for building said Bridge and appoint commissioners for that purpose and your petitioners will ever pray.  Jany 31st 1837.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

F. Buzbee                            Jacob Fudg Senr
Jesse Harper                        James Spires
R. H. ?Harper?                    John Spires
Jacob Slppy                        Henry Wells
David Wells                        Daniel Goodman
George Lowman                 Luke Goodman
William Grey                      Jacob Spizey
William A. Slappy              Wm W Whittiker
Henry Slppy                        Eml. W. Whittiker
Saml Clark                          Isaac Free
? Crouch                              Joseph Powel
Casper Parham                    W. B. Carr
James Gray                          F. Bacon
Thomas Gray                       N. Horne
Jonathan Ross                      Daniel Culpeper
Green Duke                         Jacob Weaver
Luke Johnson                      ?Micael? Welch
E.M. Dennis                        S. N. Slattery
? Walker                              S. W. Hicks
?I? McGarity                       L. B. Ogburn
William D. Tucker              John Tidwell
Ken Delland                       G.F. Matthews
Enoch Shivey                     John Andrews
J.S. Harman                        Alfred Coleman
Thos Livingstone               Luke Roberts
John Walpole

Always More Questions - and the Death of Sarah Jane Rowe Sandefur

According to her tombstone, Maxie Mozelle Bryant died on 22 May 1910 in Crawford County, Georgia.  As a woman in a poor rural family, she did not leave many records.  There was no newspaper obituary, no estate records, or even, as far as we know, a Bible record.   According to family members, the tombstone was added later so it is possible that that date is incorrect.  However, her last known child was born in 1909, when she was 29.  It is possible but not particularly likely that she lived past that point without having any further children.   More conclusive is the fact that her husband remarried in October 1910. 

So if she died in 1910, why does her husband James Bryant suddenly become the guardian of his children in 1916 as the orphans of Mrs. Mozelle Bryant nee Sandefur?  I had found one return from James Bryant in the Georgia Archives and decided to look on familysearch.com to see if further records were available.  Those records specified that he was appointed the guardian of Roy Bryant, Earl Bryant, Ola Bryant, Jamie Bryant, Kittie Bryant, and Henry Bryant.   The oldest daughter, Sarah Willie, was already of age and married.   The original appointment seems to have been made on 6 November 1916.

Adding to the story is that Mozelle's sister-in-law was on the same day appointed guardian for the estates of her children  Cleo Davison, Wilson Sandefur, Homer Sandefur, and Maud Sandefur, the orphan minors of James B. Sandefur, who had died in 1911.

From these two records together, it would appear that someone in the Sandefur family had died and that this reflected part of the distribution of the estate.  Looking at the family, all the children were still alive except Mozelle, James and John Perry.  Mozelle and James were married with children, so their estates would not have been distributed over the family.  Perry does not appear to have owned property and is listed in the 1900 census as a farm laborer on his brother-in-law's farm.   William R. Sandefur, their father, died in 1880.  However, we've never found a death date for his wife Sarah Jane Rowe Sandefur.  She is presumed to have died between 1910, when she is on the census, and 1920, when she is not.  She may be buried with her husband but she does not have a tombstone.  Based on the county tax records, she did own land in her own right since she regularly paid taxes on 260 acres in Crawford county.   This would have been enough to require a distribution of the estate if she died intestate - and no will has been found.

For now, I am tentatively assuming that Sarah died in 1915 or 1916 and that these guardian bonds reflect the distribution of her estate.  There is one document at the Georgia Archives that may reflect more information and of course the courthouse may have documents that are not available on line.  All these need to be checked as well.

As a postscript, James Bryant does not seem to have personally pocketed any of the money his children inherited.  His returns show no expenses claimed towards their upkeep. 

William D. Fountain bigamy claim

On 17 January 1842, William D. Fountain married Francis Dies in Crawford County, Georgia.  However, on 6 August of that same year, John Dies, presumably Francis' father or brother, brought charges against Fountain claiming that he committed bigamy.   This record was found in the Crawford county loose records at the Georgia archives.  More work needs to be done to determine what happened next.

Georgia
Wilkinson County]  Be it remembered that on the sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & forty two John Dies of Crawford County & State aforesaid by his lawful attorny and Sam Beall ..... [gap in original] personally came before me Saml J. Bush a justice of the peace and acknowledged themselves to owe to his Excellency the governor of said State and his successors in office the sum of five hundred dollars, current money of the said state, to be levied of their goods & chattels, lands & tenements to the use of the said State, if he the said John Dies shall fail in the condition underwritten.
         //signed// S.J. Bush J.P.                                    //signed// John Dies  //seal//
The condition of the above written recognizance is such, whereas one William D. Fountain was this present day brought before the justice within mentioned at the instance of the above bounden John Dies and was by him charged with commiting the offence of bigamy knowingly and wilfully on the seventeenth day of January last past, in the county of Crawford & state aforesaid, and thereupon was bound in a bond on recognizance for his personal appearance at the next Superior Court to be held for the County of Crawford & State aforesaid //insert// on the third monday in the present month August.  If therefore the said John Dies shall & do at the next Inferior Court to be held for the county of Crawford on the third monday in the present month August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fortytwo, prepare or cause to be prepared one bill of indictment of the said felony, against the said William D. Fountain, & shall then also give evidence there concerning the same, as well to the jurors that shall their inquire of the said felony, as also to them that shall pass upon the trial of the said William D. Fountain; that there the said recognizance to be void or else to remain in full force for the said State.

Deed of Trust from Abselia Morris to John Perry

Experimenting with ArchiveGrid, I found a document in the Alabama archives where Apselia (Abselia) Morris, widow of Benjamin Morris, executed a deed of trust to John Perry, trustee of her grandson Michael W. Rabun.   While not proof of anything, it does add to my speculation that there is some sort of connection between Perry and Abselia or her husband.  Names have been spelled as they appear.  Interestingly, Absela Morris also included Ned in her will to go to Michael.  However, since her will was written in 1848 but not executed until 1865, that of course did not happen. The witness Columbus Perry is John Perry's son. 

The original deed can be seen on the Alabama State Archives website. 


Georgia, Crawford County}}  Know all men by these presents that I Absela Morris for and in consideration of the sum of five dollars cash in hand paid by John Perry of said county as well as the love and affection which I have for my grandson Michael Rabun of Alabama, have bargained sold & delivered and by these presents do bargain sell and deliver unto the said John Perry a negro man by the name of Ned about twenty eight years, forever in fee simple. To have and to hold upon the following uses & trusts that I, the said Absela am to have the use control hire and benefit of the labor of the said Ned during my life, then the said trustee, the said John Perry is to convey and deliver the said negro man to the said Michael W. Rabun his heirs and assigns forever in fee simple.  In testimony whereof I have set my hand and affixed my seal this the twenty seventh day of January eighteen hundred & fifty five.

                                     Apselia X Morris
                                             her mark

In presence of
G C Hancock
Columbus Perry
G C Culverhouse J.J.C.


I hereby acknowledge the delivery and reception of the within bill of sale and the property therein conveyed & accept the trust therein ?confided? to me.  January 27th 1855.  John Perry

Recorded the 8th day of February 1855  James I Ray, clerk

Morris and Sessions connection

On a recent trip to the Wilcox County Courthouse, I found this deed which definitely seems to link the Sessions and Morris families.

(page) 161

The State of Alabama, Wilcox County} This indenture witnesseth that I Daniel J. Morris of the state and county aforesaid for the love and affection I have and bear for John Sidney Sessions and for the better support livelihood & maintenance of the said John Sidney Sessions do give grant and confirm and by these presents do give grant and confirm the following Cattle viz two cows and calves one barron cow, one two year old heifer and one two year old steer marked with a poplar leaf in the right Ear Crop and split in the left ear and I Daniel J. Morris for the love and affection I have for William James Henry Sessions and for the better support livelihood and maintenance of the said William James Henry do give grant and confirm and by these presents do give grant and confirm to the said William James Henry Sessions the following Cattle viz one cow and calf, one cow and yearling, one three years old heifer, two three years old steers and one year old heifer Marked with a poplar leaf in the right Ear Crop and split in the left ear the said John Sidney Sessions and William James Henry Sessions to have and to hold the above mentioned cattle and their increase forever and I the said Daniel J. Morris do warrant and forever defend said cattle to the said John Sidney Sessions and William James Henry Sessions theirs heirs executors administrators and assigns or against any person or persons who may or shall [one word] claim the same

Given from under my hand and seal this April 19th AD 1834 and of the Independence of the United States the fifty eighth year.

                                                    Daniel J. Morris //Seal//

Sealed signed and delivered in the presence of
  William G W Sessions
   Stephen Morris

The State of Alabama, Wilcox County} Personally appeared before me Duncan C. Smith Clerk of the County Court of said County Stephen Morris one of the subscribing witnesses to the within deed who being duly sworn upon Oath saith that he saw Daniel J. Morris sign seal and deliver the within deed on the day and year therein mentioned and for the purposes and considerations therein named to John Sidney Sessions and William James Henry Sessions, that he signed his name as a witness and that he saw William G. W. Sessions his name as a witness to the same
sworn & subscribed the 21st April 1834             //Signed// Stephen Morris
  //signed// DC Smith Clerk

Recorded the 22nd April 1834

Martha Patman Peterman letter

This letter was originally found on the Georgia Virtual Vault website, in their FileII documents, recently added on line.  Martha Jane Patman (1823-1873) was born in Oglethorpe County and died in Taylor County.  She was the first wife of Columbus James Peterman.  This letter was written to her sister and brother-in-law,  Elizabeth Catherine Patman Bowdoin and Josephus Bowdoin .  I have added punctuation where I think it would go, but all spelling is retained as she wrote it.  Other people named are:  Isham Patman (Martha and Elizabeth's brother), Lorena (Carter Patman), Isham's wife.  Hypatia - Elizabeth and Josephus' daughter, about 18 months old at this time.  Davy is uncertain but probably their oldest brother David Patman.    James Peterman is probably Columbus' brother James Robert.  I find no evidence that he had a daughter but he had married in 1851.  I have not been able to identify Martha Nate (possibly Nite?).  Elias Patman is another brother, married to Columbus Peterman's sister Lucinda. And of note- she can't spell "hear" (puts it as "here" each time) but gets acquaintance right.

F2PetermanMarthaJ01

Georgia Oglethorpe Co March the 31st 1853

Dear brother and sister i take my pen in hand to drop you a few lines which leaves us all well and i hope when these lines comes to hand they may find you all enjoying the same blesing [.]  the conexion is well as ?fore? are now a year and nothing of importance to write [.]  we have heard of the death of our brother Isham [.]  he had apoplexy [stroke] fits [.] he had one on saturday and died on thursday afterwards with the third one [.] he never spoke after he was struck with the last one[.]  Lorena is a going to live with her mar [ma?] she wrote to Davy[.]  Isham was here one saturday and had the first fit the next[.]  i would be glad to see you all and if i cant se you i would be glad to here from you[.]  You surely have forgot me and dont care for me[,] i want to here from you once and a while if i cant see you[.] you must write me son [soon] and all the nuse [news.]  if i could see you i could tell you so many things of the things there is in oglethorpe and all of your acquaintance[.] it would do you good to here who is maried and who hasnt[.]  there is some that hasnt married yet that wants to and when i come i will tell you them all[.]  it is two [too] tedious to write[.]  you must write how large Hypatia is and how much she can talk and all about her and kiss her for me[.]  i want to see her very bad[.]  James Peterman wife has a daughter and Martha Nate has a son[.] they was both born the same day[.]  Martha has the fever[.] she has had the fever ever since her baby was three days old[.] he is six weeks old[.]  she cant set up yet[.] the dr says she is mending[.] i cant see it if she is[.] Oh turn over [turn the page over]

[back page]
god [good] night Cate[.] how do you do this night[?] i wonder how you are a geting on a raising of chicanes [chickens][.]  i have 40 and has a very god garden for the time of year[.]  my pease [peas] is in blom and my plants is most large enouf to set out[.] the potatoes was nipt right smart monday morning[.] they is as hy as my hand[.] well i must write some a bout the corn crop[.] Columbus is a planting of corn[.] he will get done planting it in a few days[.] there is some dun there corn[.] there is some that is a going to commence planting coton monday[.] we expect to come this summer if we can[.] Elias and Lucinda says they will come with us when we come[.] you must write soon and all the nuse[.] give my love to all enquiring friends if there is any and except [accept] a portion yourselves[.] no more only remains your sister until death Martha J. Peterman.

[To] Elizabeth C. Bowdon and Joseph D. Bowdon

Thank you Georgia Archives!

I happened to visit the Georgia Archives webpage yesterday and saw that new information had been added to the Virtual vault, indexed original documents.  I put in some family surnames and quickly found a letter from my 2Great - Grandfather asking for financial relief after the war and, even more marvelous, an 1853 letter from my 3Great Grandmother to her sister, just chatting about the family!  That one will get transcribed on here sooner or later, but just getting to read it was such a treasure!  My family was poor,  largely illiterate, and whatever the opposite of being hoarders is, so very little has come down to us.   This was a small window on the past that I never would have expected.

Not cancer after all?

My family never talked much about Great-uncle Edgar Becham and I did not in fact know he existed until the census records.  On being asked, Aunt Louise talked about his widow and the fact that he died "young" of cancer.  The Georgia Death index gave me 1936 for his death, making him 28 or 29 when he died.  With the recent addition of Georgia death certificates 1930-1938 on familysearch.org, I finally looked him up.   According to his death certificate, he died on 29 Sep 1936 in Macon at the Oglethorpe infirmary where he had been treated for a week.  The official cause of death was listed as extensive ulcerative colitis, cause undetermined, with alcoholism as a contributing factor.  An autopsy had apparently been done to verify that cause.  He was listed as married but without his wife named and the informant was his brother Frank.  He was buried in Roberta City cemetery although he does not have a tombstone there. 

The alcoholism part certainly explains the family (Methodist and Primitive Baptist) reluctance to talk about him and possibly even the fact that they never gave him a tombstone, although that could have also been because he died during the depression.  The ulcerative colitis of unknown origin is even more interesting since his niece, Gladys, had major but undiagnosed stomach problems throughout her life and his great niece has been diagnosed with a condition that matches this description exactly.  The cause for hers is also unknown but it looks now like it may have been an unlucky draw in the gene pool. 

Ahnentafel #12 Franklin Lafayette Becham and #13 Sarah Lodelia Mathews

Franklin Lafayette (Fate) Becham was born in September 1871 in Crawford County, Georgia to Washington Becham and Ann Catherine Perry.   He was generally called Fate (short for Lafayette) but occasionally appears in the records as Frank.  He lived his entire life in the county and appears with his parents in the 1880 census. 

Sarah Lodelia (Delia) Mathews was born 26 February 1870 in Brooks County,  Georgia to Thomas Franklin Mathews and Susan Catherine Peterman.  The family had moved back to Crawford County, GA by the time she was 10, since she appears there in the 1880 census.  She is with her parents in both the 1870 and 1880 censuses.

Fate and Delia married on 22 December 1895 in Crawford County, Georgia, where he followed in his father's footsteps as a farmer and potter.  Fate's pottery has developed some reknown in Georgia and in fact an example of it is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  

 

This photo is of his great-great-

Granddaughter looking at the jug in the Smithsonian. It is the one on the far right.










 In 1900, Frank and Lodelia are renting a farm near Roberta, with their two oldest children Frank and Washington (generally known as W.P.).   This particular census is the first one I ever looked up as a genealogist, back when the only way to find one was at the Archives.  The magic of seeing my grandfather as a young child hooked me totally and I've never looked back.   In this one, they duly note that they've been married 5 years, and have had two children, both of whom were living.

In 1910, they are still on the farm, but the family is now up to 6 children, 5 boys and 1 girl.  Another child has apparently died since Delia states that she has had 7 children but 6 were living.  Their youngest child, another boy Walker, was born two months after this census was taking.   By 1920 they own their farm, although they do have a mortgage on it.  In this census, Frank and his 3 oldest sons were all listed as house carpenters.  The youngest 3 boys were in school and daughter Lucile was married.

About this time, Frank was apparently very involved with the Methodist church, since this is when he had the photo taken of himself and his sons, in the church group. Delia had been noted joining Old Bethel Methodist church in 1897. Fate may have already been a member there since that is where his father is buried. 

By 1930, all the children had left home except W.P., who continued to live there until his death in 1974.   Their son Frank was widowed by this time and had returned home with 4 of his 5 children.  The baby, Sarah, was living with her aunt Lucile.   Fate was listed as a farmer and W.P. was described as a laborer on his father's farm.  Frank was still working as a carpenter.   Fate owned the farm but no value was given for it.

In 1931, Fate and his son Frank went to a family reunion hosted by his sister Ophelia (Mrs. J.W.) Thomason, in Dry Branch GA, celebrating his brother-in-law's 71st birthday.  Also from Roberta were Fate's sisters Mrs Bill (Addie) Smith and Mrs. Virginia Smith.

In 1940, Fate, Delia and Washington are living on the farm they own, now valued at $4700.  Their son Henry lived next door.  Fate was listed as a brick mason laying brick, but not working and he had not worked the census week of 24-30 March 1940.  He had worked 10 weeks in 1939, for which he earned $50.

Fate died on 14 June 1958 age 86 and was buried in the Roberta City Cemetery.  His will left $300 to his wife with the remainder going to his son W.P. with the request that W.P. look after his mother.  The will added that this was just a request, not a stipulation, but W.P. did in fact look after his mother until her death.  Delia in turn died on 15 June 1965, age 95.  I was taken to see her a few weeks before she died and she was the only one of the great grandparents that I was aware of meeting.

Fate and Delia had the following children:

1.  Frank Jones Becham, 1897-1985, married 1) Ola Pauline Bryant and 2) Viola Elizabeth Wade.  
2.  Washington Perry (W.P.) Becham, 1899-1974, never married
3.  Henry Lafayette Becham, 1901-1989, married Edith Williamson.  Remained in Crawford County.
4.  Lucile Delia Becham, 1901-1994, married Robert Edward Hortman.
5.  James Alfred Becham, 1904-1971, married Cecile Laing while serving in the navy in California.  Eventually returned to Roberta after he and Cecile divorced.
6.  Edgar P. Becham, 1908-1936.  Married Verlin Hutto but died of cancer shortly after the marriage.
7.  Walker M. Becham, 1910-1987, married Gladys Johnston.

Fate and Delia Becham and some of their descendents, probably early 1950s.