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. 

Patience Garner

Patience Garner was probably one of the daughters of Jacob Garner, in Washington County, Georgia, since she was closely associated with his other children.  Family lore has it that she married a Durden, but every record I have found for her still has her name as Garner, with no evidence that she ever married. 

Patience was one of Jacob's older children, born in 1770 while he was still in North Carolina (per her 1850 census entry).   The first public record found for her is her joining Bethlehem Baptist church on 16 July 1815, together with her neighbor Eliz.Cone.  She was one of the members of Bethlehem to move over to Sisters Baptist Church when it was founded in 1824 and then moved again to become a charter member of Union Baptist when it was formed in 1844. 

Patience had property of her own as evidenced by the 1836 tax digest, where she has 200 acres of property.  While more work needs to be done on this, it is possible that this reflects an inheritance from her father who disappears between the 1830 and 1840 censuses.  He had paid tax on 200 acres in Washington County through at least 1831, and for both of them the land was described as bounded by Long.   Her brothers Henry and John and several nephews also pay in 1836 tax records, but brothers Moses and Stephen were both listed as defaulters.   She also pays taxes in 1837 and 1838, although the acreage is not given.  However, when the online tax records resume in 1848, she is still paying on 200 acres.

In 1840, she appears as head of household in Washington County, Georgia.  The household contains three people:  A woman age 60-70 (presumably her) and two men age 50-60, probably her brothers Moses and Stephen, since they are all living together in 1850.  In 1850, the census lists the household as Moses, 63, farmer with property worth $700, born in SC; Stephen, 63, farmer born in SC, Patience, 80, born in NC and Nancy, 40, born in Georgia.   Patience continued to pay taxes on her 200-acre property through 1851.

In 1855, Nancy Garner, relationship still unknown, relinquished to William Garner (Patience's nephew) her rights in a piece of property formerly belonging to Patience Garner.  There is no description of the property, leading me to believe that this is part of an inheritance and not a purchase.  From this, her age, and the lack of any other records concerning her, I am tentatively assuming that Patience died between 1851 and 1855. 

In a family aside, looking at the possibility that Jacob left this property to Patience.  Her brother Henry also left his property to his only daughter Sally, also unmarried. 

Sister Cherry, A Slave

One person who has always fascinated me, even though she is only peripherally connected with my family, is Cherry, a slave in Washington County, Georgia.   She joined Union Baptist Church in Washington County on 25 Septermber 1848, listed as "a black woman, Cherry, belonging to one of the minor heirs of Hampton May".   In August 1855, "M. Garner, J. W. Mills, and W. Garner were appointed a committee to inquire into whereabouts of a colored sister known as May's Cherry."  The final mention was a month later:  "We, the committee on the case of our colored sister known to us as May's Cherry, find that she was suddenly carried off to Florida having no chance to apply for a letter or any to give satisfaction to the church, but we learned from good authority that her conduct was good and we heard nothing against her as a member of the church."   

This small exchange has always interested me because it does not actually concord with what I had been taught about slaves in churches in the South.  First, Cherry is apparently not going to the same church as her owners.  This is partly deduced from the fact that no one in the Church knew she had gone to Florida.  If the family that owned her also attended, there should have been reference to them leaving or getting a letter.  Even if she left because she was sold or given to another family member, they would have known and the committee enquiry should not have been needed.   I also found it interesting that the church apparently would have expected her, if she had time, to get a letter for her new church in Florida.  That and the fact that they had pursued her absence imply that they considered her an actual member of the church.  At some point, I would like to pursue what happened to Sister Cherry, just for my own curiosity.

Ahnentafel #8 Green Lee Garner and #9 Harriet Gheesling

Green Lee Garner was born on 4 June 1850 in Washington County, Georgia, the son of William and Sarah Johnson Garner.  He lived in Washington County until about 1930 when he moved to Decatur County.   He had a twin brother Lee Roy Garner.   Green and Lee Roy were just young enough to miss the Civil War, turning 15 just as it ended.  They had several brothers who served but none who were killed, unlike many of their neighboring families.  They were the 7th and 8th children of twelve who survived to adulthood.  All the children grew up working on the farm and most became farmers themselves as adults.

On 21 January 1879, Green married Amanda Lou (Lou) Walker, 19, the daughter of Freeman Flournoy Walker and his wife Amanda Lou Hooks.  Rev Asa Duggan performed the ceremony.  Both attended - and were later buried at - Union Baptist Church near the Hancock/Washington county line.  The families were also connected in that two of Lou's brothers married Garner cousins.  They settled in Hancock County, where Green farmed and Lou ran the household.   Green and Lou had two daughters, Minnie (14 September 1880) and Lou Wixie (30 May 1883).  Lou died a month after her second daughter was born, presumably of complications from childbirth, and Lou Wixie herself died the following year, just before her first birthday. 

Green married for a second time on 18 Jan 1884, to Harriet (Hattie) Gheesling. They were married by Thomas West, a minister, in Warren County.   Hattie was born on 30 June 1852 in Warren County to Samuel Gheesling and Elizabeth Duggan.  I used to wonder how they met, until I realized that Hattie's grandfather lived next to Green's father.  Again the families were or became intermingled, in that Hattie's niece Frances Emily married Green's brother James Thomas Garner.  Hattie lived in Warren County until her marriage and the rest of her life in Hancock County.  Nothing is known about her education, but in the 1860 and 1870 censuses she is listed as attending school and in the later ones she is apparently able to read and write. 

Hattie and Green had 4 sons, all of whom appear with them in the 1900 Hancock County census.  They were Thomas Lawton (Nov 1884), William Samuel (16 Aug 1886), Henry Grady (Sep 1889) and Charles Gordon (1 Jan 1893).   All of the boys went by their middle name.  Hattie was apparently a good stepmother, since Green's daughter Minnie named her only daughter Hattie Lou, after her stepmother and mother.

The 1884-1887 Georgia tax digest shows Green owning 261 acres of land in Hancock County, worth $783, worked by 10 hands.  This is a high number of hands compared to other farms of similar size.  The value of his other property (stock, tools, furniture, etc) brought his total taxable value up to $1683.  In 1900, Green and Hattie are on the farm with the boys and Minnie.  Green was a farmer, while the children were all in school.  Hattie claimed to have had 4 children, all of whom were living. Green owned his farm.  By 1910, all of the children except Gordon had married and left home.  Minnie was in Atlanta, Lawton in California, Sam in Hancock County, and Grady in Kentucky.  They had sold the farm (or given it to Samuel) and were renting a house elsewhere in the county, while Green and Gordon worked as carpenters.

In 1912, they lost their son Lawton to disease, while he was still working out in California, leaving a wife Edna and a young daughter Marcellite.  Lawton's widow married his cousin Ivey William Garner, who raised Marcellite after Edna died a few years later.   Marcellite went on to work for the early Disney company as an illustrator and as the original voice of Minnie Mouse.

The 1920 census has the same household, with son Gordon still at home.  He has now finished college and is working as a farm demonstration agent, while Green is a farm superviser.   Green and Hattie still rent the house.

Hattie died in 1925, but I have been unable to find her death certificate, even though one should have been issued.  She was buried at Union Baptist Church, near Warthen.  Green died on14 March 1930 in Faceville, Decatur County, Georgia.  I have not found him in the 1930 census, so it is unclear whether he lived there or was just visiting his son.  Like his wives, he was buried back at Union Baptist Church in Washington County.

Green Lee and Amanda Lou had two children:

    i.  Minnie Lou Garner, 14 Sep 1880 to 15 Oct 1969.  She married Robert E. L. Carroll and taught school in DeKalb county, where they resided.
   ii.  Lou Wixie Garner, May 1883 - May 1884

Green Lee and Harriet A. had the following children:

   iii. Thomas Lawton Garner, Nov 1884 - 30 Jan 1912.  Married Edna May Michaels on 10 Oct 1908. They resided in California.
   iv.  William Samuel Garner, 16 Aug 1886 - 11 Jul 1966.  Married Mary Lou Boyer about 1906.  They lived first in Hancock County, then in Decatur County and finally in Dekalb.
   v.  Henry Grady Garner, 25 Sep 1889 - 12 Feb 1937.  According to family lore, he married several times and had no children.  He lived in Kentucky most of his adult life.
   vi.  Charles Gordon Garner, 1 Jan 1893 - 27 Nov 1955.  Married Mattie Hendricks on 10 December 1921. 

John Garner's secret family, Washington County, GA

In the traditional history of the Garner family in Washington County, GA, compiled about 1956, John Lawson Garner, the son of William Garner, was shown as marrying Mary Victoria Cook, and having no children.  However, in looking at the estate records for his brother A. J. Garner, there is a document where all of A.J.'s heirs agree to share the estate with John, James and William Garner, the heirs of John Garner.  A.J. died intestate so his estate would have been divided evenly among his heirs.

This lead to a backwards trail.  The estate records for John indeed shows his property being divided among John, James and William Garner as well as with Thomas Dudley, the husband of the late Sarah Garner.   Going back to his will, which was drafted about 5 years before his death (and before his marriage), he left his estate to John, Sarah, James and William McCook, described as being the children of Mary McCook.  A check of marriage records shows that he married Mary Victoria McCook in 1892, two months after the birth of her youngest son William.

The 1880 Washington County, GA census does in fact show a household with Malinda McCook (62), Mary Victoria (25) and John (3).  John McCook is listed as a "son" in the household, but this is almost certainly an error considering Malinda's age and he would in fact probably be the son of Mary Victoria just above him.  John Lawson Garner appears in the household of his father.    John L. Garner died in 1897 and by 1900, Mary Garner, widow, is the head of a household with 3 children, John, Jim and Bill Garner.   This conjunction of dates explains why the children were not previously associated with John, since he never appears in the same household with them.  It also explains the appearance of a John Garner in the 1900 census who did not appear under that name in 1880.

The fact that the rest of the family was willing to consider these three young men joint heirs to the estate of A.J. Garner would tend to indicate that they were already known as members of the family.  This in combination with their naming pattern (named after their father, maternal grandfather, paternal grandfather) and the fact that they used the Garner name for the rest of their lives would tend to indicate that they were in fact the children of John Lawson Garner.  The question still remains as to why John and Mary didn't marry until after the 4th child was born.

Jacob Garner

Jacob's early life is a mystery except by inference. His oldest known child gave her place of birth as NC, the younger ones were SC. None of his children survived until the 1880 census, but family tradition has him born in Virginia. The first documented record is a land grant in Washington County, GA in 1805. He was a fortunate drawer in the 1821 GA land lottery and appears as head of household in the 1830 Washington County, GA census, age 90-100. He is probably the "over 45" male in the 1820 census in the hh of son Stephen. The fact that he received two draws in the 1805 census indicates that he had minor children and that he had resided in the state for over a year. He was a recipient of a headright or bounty grant in 1805.

His wife's name was reportedly Charity, surname unknown.

Jacob's probable children are:

• Patience, b abt 1770 in NC. d ? in Washington County, GA
• Charity, b abt 1776 , d after 1840 in Washington County, GA. Md Asa Jordan.
• Henry, b 1780 in SC, d. 31 Jan 1867 in Washington County, GA. Md Sarah.
• Stephen, b abt 1787 in SC, never married
• Moses, b abt 1787 in SC.

Undocumented family tradition also includes sons Baldwin and Darius/Rias. Darius allegedly moved first to Louisiana and then Texas. Baldwin reportedly died in Alabama.

Jacob probably died between 1830 and 1840 and was allegedly buried on his farm.

Recent DNA tests connect Jacob to the Garners/Gardners of Isle of Wight, VA and possibly to the Joseph Garner family of NC. Interestingly, Joseph is known, from his will, to have had a son Jacob, and it would be worth pursuing this connection to see if it is the same person. However, in the Washington County records, there is another Garner - Redick - who was allegedly Jacob's brother, which does not match with what is known of Joseph.

The GA archives indexes show that they show information for Jacob and Redick Garner both, for headright grants. Needs to be checked out.