Roster of Levi J. Knight’s Independent Militia Company, 1838 with Notes on the Soldiers

Second Seminole War
Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, 1838

In 1836 as bands of Indians moved across Lowndes County, GA towards the Okefenokee Swamp, Captain Levi J. Knight’s company and other local militia companies engaged them in skirmishes at William Parker’s place, Brushy Creek, Warrior Creek, Cow Creek, Troublesome Ford and other places. In 1838, when Indians raiding from the swamp attacked and massacred nearby settlers and travelers, militia companies were again called up, first on local authority of the Lowndes County Committee of Vigilance and Safety, then on the authority of Governor Gilmer.  J. T. Shelton summarized the situation in Pines and Pioneers:

In 1838, Governor Gilmer authorized the call up of eight additional volunteer companies, notifying Colonel Enoch Hall to have any company raised there to report to General Charles Floyd in charge of the militia at Waresboro.  Levi J. Knight promptly volunteered the services of a company of mounted riflemen of which he was captain, Barzilla Staten first lieutenant, and George Roberts second lieutenant, and sixty-five men who were “ready at a minutes warning-to march where ever you may order.” Knight had been operating for some time under the Committee of Safety for Lowndes County; He had searched the west side of the Okefenokee for fifty miles and found signs of about 500 warriors who had left ten days ago; he believed they would come back to steal corn and potatoes; he approved of the executive’s use of “efficient means to rid us of these troublesome neighbors.” Gilmer quickly accepted Captain Knight’s independent company and that of Captain Tomlinson into Floyd’s regiment. Knight, with a full company complement of seventy-five men served in the “sudden emergency” from August 15 to October 15, 1838.  

The 1838 muster roll of Knight’s company was transcribed and published in the South Georgia Historical and Genealogical Quarterly. Nearly a third of the men in Captain Knight’s Company had prior military service. Many had served under Captain Knight in skirmishes with the Indians in 1836.

In 1830 William Schley became a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In 1832 and again in 1834, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives. He resigned from that position to become the 36th Governor of Georgia from 1835 until 1837.

In 1830 William Schley became a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In 1832 and again in 1834, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives. He resigned from that position to become the 36th Governor of Georgia from 1835 until 1837.

Governor Schley had noted in his November 7, 1837, address to the Georgia Assembly that militia volunteers who served enlistments in 1836 had received “payment for articles lost ‘in battle, or in the immediate pursuit of the Indians, or while employed in actual service,’ which shall not extend ‘beyond the loss of horses and equipages, wagons and wearing apparel of the soldier.’ The Governor paid “all accounts for ‘subsistence forage, ammunition, clothing, tents, camp equipage, cooking utensils, medicine, hospital stores &c.’…  “The laws of the United States allowed each militia man in the service of the United States, two dollars and fifty cents per month in lieu of clothing.” No compensation was given for horses which died of natural causes.  Militia volunteers, privates and officers received the same pay as soldiers enlisted in the U. S. Army. Sick or wounded men were compensated for any expenses for medical treatment they received from civilian physicians.
The militia volunteers enlisting in 1838 probably expected similar compensation.

Muster roll of Levi J. Knight's Independent Company, 1838. South Georgia Historical and Genealogical Quarterly

Muster roll of Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, 1838. South Georgia Historical and Genealogical Quarterly

(Editor’s Note: In 1838 the Indians in this section of Georgia went on the warpath, and the state malitia was called out to repel them. The following seven companies of state militia from Ware and Lowndes counties saw service in this war, and these rosters are taken from the records in the capitol at Atlanta. The following is the caption as copied concerning Capt. Levi J. Knight’s company:

MUSTER ROLL OF CAPT. LEVI J. KNIGHT’S Independent Company from Lowndes county, from 15th day of August, 1838 to 15th day of October, 1838, which entered the service on a sudden emergency to repel the invasion of the Indians into that county in the year 1838.

  • Levi J. Knight, Captain
  • Barzilla Staten, First Lieut.
  • George Roberts, Second Lieut.,
    Martin Shaw (1803-1876), First Sargent
    Martin Shaw (Jr.), born in SC April 1, 1803, a son of Pvt. Martin Shaw; apparently moved with his father and siblings to Liberty County, GA between 1811 and 1816; moved by 1825 to McIntosh County where he paid a poll tax of 31 cents and 2 1/2 mills in Captain Duncan McCranie’s district; moved to Lowndes County, GA about 1828; a Whig in politics; in 1834-1835, a member of the State Rights Association of Lowndes County, GA; deputy sheriff of Lowndes County, 1834-1836;   served as a private in Captain Hamilton W. Sharpe’s Company of Florida Volunteers in the Indian War of 1836; Sheriff of Lowndes County 1836-38, and at that time a resident of Franklinville, the then county seat of Lowndes County; after a short residence at Franklinville moved to that part of Lowndes County cut off into Berrien in 1856; married 1st in 1839, to Elizabeth Mathis, daughter of James and Rhoda Monk Mathis; married second Mrs. Matilda Sharpe of Colquitt County; served in the Indian War as a private in Captain Levi J. Knights company of Lowndes County Militia in 1838; served on 1849 committee to nominate a Whig candidate for Lowndes County representative to the state legislature; in 1852, administrator of the estate of Riley Deloach, Lowndes County, GA; in 1853, administrator of the estate of Abraham Deloach; He was cut out of Lowndes County into Berrien in 1856; elected one of the first Justices of The Inferior Court of Berrien county, serving 1856-1861; in 1858, served on Resolutions Committee to protest the proposed route of the Atlantic & Gulf railroad to the south to bypass Troupville, GA; paid 1866 IRS “buggy” tax in Berrien County, GA; served as County Commissioner of Berrien County, 1872-73; 1872 offered as unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Berrien County representative to the state legislature; died suddenly at his home in Berrien County, GA (now Cook), two miles east of Adel, November 7, 1876; buried Old Salem Church cemetery, now in the City of Adel, GA and known as Woodlawn Cemetery.
  • William P. Roberts, Second Sargent
    A fortunate drawer in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery.
  • Abram Register, Third Sargent,
  • Reubin Roberts, Fourth Sargent
  • James Johnson, First Corporal
  • Mark Ratcliff, Second Corporal
  • John Register, Third Corporal
  • Harmon Gaskins, Fourth Corporal

PRIVATES

  1. Box, John (1795- )
    John C. Box (1795- ) born in South Carolina; came to Lowndes County, GA sometime between 1830 and 1836;  served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, Lowndes County, GA, 1836; served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, Lowndes County, GA, 1838;moved to Clinch County, GA prior to the 1860 census; received Bounty-Land Warrant Number 55-120-74666 for military service
  2. Brance, James T. (1818-1906)
    James Thomas Branch, born February 6, 1818, Laurens County, GA; as a young man moved to Irwin County, GA; Married February 13, 1838 to Ruthie Ann Sumner; served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, Lowndes County, GA, 1838; Commissioned as militia Captain, September 7, 1861; enlisted as a private Company F, 49th Georgia Infantry Regiment, March 4, 1862; transferred to Company A, 61st Georgia Infantry Regiment; May 1864 elected Justice of the Peace, 690th Georgia Militia District, Irwin County, GA; moved to Berrien County, GA about 1878; later moved to Worth County; died November 8, 1906; buried Hickory Springs Baptist Church, TyTy,GA.
  3. Bell, David
    David Bell; resident of Mattox’s District, Lowndes County, 1832; served as militia captain in Lowndes County; supporter of State Rights Association of Lowndes County; fortunate drawer in the 1832 Land Lottery; served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, 1836; served for the January 1837 term of the Grand Jury of the Lowndes Superior Court; served as a private in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company of Lowndes County, 1838, during Indian Wars.
  4. Clements, John F. (1810-1864)
    John Franklin Clements born October 7, 1810, in Wayne County, GA; served as Wayne County Tax Collector 1830-32; moved to Lowndes County (now Berrien) in 1832; served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company of Lowndes County; married Nancy Patten, a daughter of James M. Patten and Elizabeth Lee, in 1840; served on the Lowndes County Grand Jury of 1841; died on September 23, 1864; buried at Union Church Cemetery, Lakeland, GA.
  5. Clements, William
  6. Clements, David
    Marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836;
  7. Cribb, John (1897-)
    John Cribb, born about 1897 in South Carolina; came to Lowndes some time prior to 1836; served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company, 1836 and 1838; Bounty-Land Warrant Number 55-160-38066; appears in the 1840 and 1870 census of Lowndes County, GA.  John Cribb died between 1870 and 1880. His widow, Eady Cribb, and daughter, Elizabeth Cribb, appear in the 1880 census of the 661 Georgia Militia District, the Naylor District, Lowndes County, GA.
  8. Douglas, Eaton (1800- )
    Eaton Douglas, born 1800, Burke County, GA; relocated to Tattnall County, then Appling County, GA; married Maria Branch in Appling County, GA; Administrator of the estate of Penelope Branch, 1835, Appling County, GA; about 1835 he located on Land lot 506 in the 11th District, north of Stockton, Lowndes County (now Lanier), GA;  in 1838 served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company of Lowndes County;  served as 2nd Lieutenant under Captain John J. Johnson in the Indian War, September 22, 1840 to October 18, 1840; joined September 9, 1848 to Union Primitive Baptist Church, expelled by request September 11, 1863.
  9. Douglas, Barzilla (1821- )
    Barzilla Douglas, born about 1821, son of Eaton Douglas and Maria Branch; in 1838 served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company of Lowndes County;  married Dicey Bennett about 1839; established his household next to his father’s homeplace north of Stockton, GA; later moved to Florida.
  10. Devane, Francis (c1798-1868)
    Francis DeVane, born circa 1798 in North Carolina, son of Captain John DeVane, Jr. and Ann Julia Davis, and brother of Benjamin Devane; Private, War of 1812 in Captain Montesquieu W. Campbell’s Company, New Hanover County Regiment of Militia, NC; Private in the company of Bladen County, NC Militia commanded by Captain Sellers. married  Frances Giddens about 1815; tax defaulter, 1815-16, New Hanover County, NC; in 1825, acted as attorney for Lucretia Rogers and her children James Rogers, Ann Rogers and Benjamin Devane in the sale of 585 acres of land in New Hanover Count, North Carolina; relocated to Lowndes County (now Brooks County), Georgia in 1828, moving with the Rogers family;  in 1838 served in Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company of Lowndes County; Died March 8, 1868 in Berrien County, Georgia; buried Pleasant Cemetery.
  11. Devane, Benjamin (1796-1878)
    Benjamin Devane  was born 1796 in New Hanover County, NC,  son of Captain John DeVane, Jr. and Ann Julia Davis, and brother of Francis Devane; served in the War of 1812 as a Corporal  in the New Hanover Regiment of Militia, New Hanover County, NC, serving from July 20, 1813, to August 2, 1813, under Captain George W. Bannerman; in 1814 married Mary Rogers of New Hanover County and afterwards moved to Bulloch County, GA; moved to Lowndes County, GA around 1828;  enlisted as a private at Pedro, Fl, under Captain M. C. Livingston in the 2nd Regiment, East Florida Volunteers, June 16, 1837, and was honorably discharged at Newnansville, December 18, 1837; In 1838, Benjamin Devane served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company, Lowndes County, GA; served as a private in Captain Thomas Langford’s Florida Mounted Militia, volunteering at Fort Collins, September 4, 1839, serving until March 4, 1840; In 1848 moved to Madison County, Fl; about 1858 moved to Brooks County, GA; in 1861 returned to Shady Grove, Madison County, FL; after the Civil War moved to Hillsborough County, Fl; received a land grant June 29, 1878, for services in the Indian War; received a pension for service in the War of 1812; died October 28, 1879 in Hillsborough County, FL; buried in Mount Enon Baptist Church cemetery near Plant City, FL.
  12. Durrance, William (1804-1841)
    William Durrence was born in 1804; married Lourany Deloach on February 19, 1824, in Tattnall County, Georgia and settled on land near Bull Creek; Justice of the Peace, 1829, Tatnall County; moved to Lowndes County, GA sometime after 1830; In 1836 served in Captain Hamilton W. Sharpe’s Company of Florida Volunteers; In 1838,  served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company, Lowndes County, GA; 1841, filed a fi fa action in Lowndes Superior Court, Troupville, GA, against Elias Skipper; died on March 8, 1841, in Lowndes County, Georgia, at the age of 37.
  13. Edmondson, James (1799-1870)
    James Edmondson, born 1799 in Bulloch County, GA, son of Revolutionary Soldier Isaac Edmondson and Ann Cox; married Sabra James about 1820 in Bulloch County; between 1825 and 1828 moved to that part Lowndes County, GA now in Brooks County; relocated one year later to near the Withlacoochee River, about 8 miles southwest of present day Ray City, GA (four miles east of Hahira); baptised into Union Primitive Baptist Church, December 12, 1832; a lucky drawer in the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery, drawing Lot 55, 18th District, Fourth Section, Walker County, GA; transferred Muscogee County, GA land grant to Thomas Belote in 1832; appointed by the Georgia legislature December 12, 1834 as a commissioner to determine a new location for the Lowndes County courthouse and jail; served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Independent Company 1836-1838, in the skirmish with Indians at William Parker’s place and afterwards; owned in 1840, 490 acres, Lot 3, 11th District of Lowndes; owned in 1844, 980 acres and 5 enslaved people in Lowndes County, GA; dismissed by letter from Union Primitive Baptist Church, October 9, 1847, and later joined Pleasant Church; died about 1870.
  14. Emanuel, Amos (1795- )
    Amos Emanuel, born about 1795 in South Carolina; married about 1819, wife Martha; located in Montgomery County, GA by 1820, owning Lot Nos. 250 and 240 in the 11th District, Montgomery County; involved in 1825 Fi Fas legal action with John J. Underwood against William Gibbs; sold at auction in Montgomery County, April 3, 1827, one enslaved woman, Mary Ann, property of Amos Emanuel; relocated to Lowndes County, GA about 1827; authorized by the Georgia Legislature  on November 14, 1827 “to establish a ferry across Little River where Coffee’s road crosses the same, in Lowndes County, on his own land“; enrolled for six months service, June 16, 1837 to December 16, 1837 in Captain John G. Johnson’s Company of the 2nd Regiment East Florida Mounted Volunteers; In 1838, served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company, Lowndes County, GA; removed to 719th Georgia Militia District, Ware County, GA prior to 1840; July 2, 1844 Ware County Sheriff seized seven head of stock cattle, taken as property of Amos Emanuel, to satisfy debts owed to the Superior Court of Ware County.
  15. Griffis, Joel (1803-1871)
    Joel Griffis, born 1803 in Clinch County, Georgia, a son of Nancy and Samuel Griffis, elder brother of Pvt. Littleberry Griffis and Pvt. John Griffis, and nephew of Charles A. Griffis; the father, Samuel Griffis (1775-1851), also served with Captain Levi J. Knight in the Indian Wars; moved to Appling County with his parents when he was young; Captain of the militia in the 719th district, Ware Co, 1835-1840; served a short volunteer term of enlistment in Capt. Levi J. Knights independent company of Lowndes County militia in 1836 and 1838; Bounty-Land Warrant Number 55-160-38068; married Elizabeth Bennett, 1841, daughter of John Bennett and Sallie Register; lived on lot of land number 310, 12th district of Ware County; sold out to Abraham Hargraves, of Ware County in 1851, and moved to Land lot number 149, 12th district in the southwest corner of Clinch County; Joel and  Elizabeth Griffis were received and baptized in 1847 in Wayfare Primitive Baptist Church – He was excluded in March 1867; died 1871 in Clinch County, Georgia; buried at Wayfare Church, graves unmarked.
  16. Griffis, John (1809-1880)
    John Griffis born 1809 in Georgia; a son of Nancy and Samuel Griffis, brother of Pvt. Joel Griffis and Pvt. Littleberry Griffis; the father, Samuel Griffis (1775-1851), also served with Captain Levi J. Knight in the Indian Wars; married Easter Bennett (1817-1855) about 1830;  moved in his youth with his parents to Appling County, thence to Ware County; served as a second lieutenant in the Ware County militia, 719th district 1830-35; served as a private in Capt. Levi J. Knight’s militia company in 1838 in the Indian War; married about 1843 to divorcee’ Esther Padgett who had abandoned her husband, John Stalvey, and children; moved to that part of Columbia County, FL later cut into Bradford County, FL; died about 1880 in Bradford County, FL
  17. Griffis, Littleberry (1811-1895)
    Berrian “Littleberry” Griffis, born August 24, 1811 in that part of Ware County cut into Clinch County, GA, in 1850, and into Atkinson County in 1917; a son of Nancy and Samuel Griffis, younger brother of Pvt. Joel Griffis and Pvt. John Griffis; the father, Samuel Griffis (1775-1851), also served with Captain Levi J. Knight in the Indian Wars; married Easter Bennett (1817-1855) about 1830; moved with his family to the 12th land district of Ware county (now Clinch); October 30, 1833, purchased a note held by A. E. Thomas on Lot Number 57,  Sixth District, Carroll County, GA and sold same note August 15, 1850 to Miles J. Guest; In 1838 in the Indian Wars, served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company, Lowndes County, GA; November 1st to December 31, 1839,served as a private in Captain David Johnson’s company of Ware County militia; purchased land lot 417, 12th district, Clinch County, about 1852 where he established his homeplace; married second, widow Mrs. Sarah Brooker; baptized October 2, 1874 into Bethel Primitive Baptist Church, Echols County, GA and dismissed March 9 1876 to unite in constituting Ramah Church in Clinch County, which he did April 15, 1876- expelled July 24, 1882; married third, Sidney Lee in Cinch Co, Dec 16 1878 -separated in August 1884-divorced 1892; died April 1, 1895; buried Moniac Cemetery, Charlton County, GA.
  18. Giddens, Thomas (1789-1857)
    Thomas Giddens, born 1789 in North Carolina, believed to be the son of Thomas Giddens, Sr., Revolutionary Soldier; brother of Frances Giddens Devane, Ann Giddens Rogers, Morris Giddens and Pvt. Duncan Giddens; married first  Mrs. Gregory; married second, on April 25, 1825, Mary “Pollie” Nevill in Bulloch County, GA; moved from Bulloch County to Mattox’s District, Lowndes County, GA some time before 1830; a fortunate drawer in the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery, drawing Lot 280, 9th District, Walker County, GA; marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; volunteered April 3, 1838, at Troublesome, GA (now Statenville) and served under Captain David R. Byran in his company of Lowndes County militia, and was honorably discharged there July 22, 1838; served July, 1838 to October 15, 1838 as a private in Captain David R. Bryan’s mounted company; served as a Private in Capt Levi J Knight’s Company of Georgia Militia, 1838; In 1850 assigned power of attorney to Captain Levi J. Knight to secure 80 acres of bounty land due Giddens as compensation for eight months of military service during the Indian Wars; died February 22, 1857.
  19. Giddens, Frederick (1812-1867)
    Frederick Giddens born 1812 in New Hanover County, North Carolina, son of Thomas Giddens (1789-1857); his mother died when he was a boy and from age 12 he was raised by his step-mother Mary “Pollie” Nevill; came with his father to Lowndes County before 1830; December 8-9, 1833, fortunate drawer in the Cherokee Land Lottery, drawing Lot 325 in the 4th District of Cherokee County, GA; married Elizabeth Mathis, 1833, in Lowndes County, GA; Lowndes County 1834 tax records show he owned 80 acres of oak and hardwood land in Cherokee County; settled in  Lowndes in that part which was  cut into Berrien County in 1856, on the Nashville-Valdosta Road, the homeplace later being known as the Harmon F. Gaskins place; served as a Private in Captain Levi J Knight’s Company of Georgia Militia in 1836 in the skirmish at William Parker’s place and in 1838; Bounty-Land Warrant Number 55-120-43514; Lowndes County 1844 tax records show the Frederick M. Giddens homeplace was 980 acres in Captain Sanderson’s District on Land lots 464 and 465 in the 10th District; February 6,1867, administrator of the estate of John W. Giddens, acting in the sale of 365 unimproved acres of Lot No. 334, widow’s dower excepted, in the 10th District of Berrien ; According to Berrien County court records,  Frederick Giddens sold property to Benjamin Wooding which included the grave of a Giddens’ infant, and subsequently a feud arose between the two over burial rights at what Giddens considered a family burial ground; died July 5, 1867 in Berrien County, GA; buried Woodlawn Cemetery, Adel, GA.
  20. Guthrie, Aaron (1788-)
    Born 1788 in South Carolina; Lowndes County Tax Digest show him in Captain Sermon’s District in 1840;
  21. Guthrie, John (1795-c1870)
    John L. Guthrie, brother of Aaron Guthrie; born 1795 in South Carolina; In the Indian Wars (Second Seminole War) served enlistments in Captain Johnson’s Company, Captain David R. Bryan’s Company, and Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company; donated the land for Guthrie Cemetery, Berrien County, GA; His son, Samuel Guthrie married Martha Newbern, daughter of Etheldred Newbern; Died about 1870; buried Guthrie Cemetery.
  22. Guthrie, John, Jr. (c1821-1904)
    John Hamilton “Hamp” Guthrie, son of John L. Guthrie; born about 1821; in 1849 a member of the Berrien Tiger hunting party along with brother Samuel Guthrie; received Bounty-Land Warrant Number 1855-333060 for 1838 military service; Census of 1850 shows he lived on 675 acres in Clinch County, GA; died 1904; grave unknown.
  23. Guthrie, Hamilton
  24. Giddens, Isbin (1788-1853)
    Pioneer settler of Berrien County, GA and brother-in-law of Captain Levi J. Knight; born in Blounts Creek, Beaufort County, North Carolina on November 4, 1788; lieutenant of the 334th District Militia, Wayne County, from 1816 to 1820; Member of Kettle Creek Baptist Church, 1823; Member of Union Primitive Baptist Church, 1827; Fortunate drawer in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery; marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836;
  25. Giddens, William
    Marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; , Bounty-Land Warrant Number 55-160-38068
  26. Giddens, Moses (1821-1906)
    Son of Isbin Giddens and Kiziah Amanda Knight, born November 14, 1821, Appling County,GA; served with Levi J. Knight’s company in 1836 skirmishes with Indians; a private on the 1860 muster roll of Levi J. Knight’s Berrien Minute Men, Company K, 29th Georgia Regiment; died January 11, 1906, Alapaha, GA.
  27. Griffis, John J.
  28. Gaskins, John (1802-1865)
    Pioneer settler and cattleman of Berrien County, GA; born June 29,1802, in Warren County, GA; marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; Gaskins’ own home was raided by Indians while the family was away; died July 13, 1865; buried Riverside Cemetery, Berrien County, GA.
  29. Griffis, Leighton
  30. Griffis, Richard
  31. Gaskins, Harmon (1811-1877)
    Harmon Gaskins, Brother of Pvt. John Gaskins; born January 15, 1811; among Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company of men who fought in the Indian Wars of 1836; appointed one of the first judges of the Inferior Court of Berrien County; Justice of the Peace; Died September 4, 1877; buried Gaskins Cemetery, Berrien County, GA
  32. Giddens, Duncan (1808-1907)
    Duncan Giddens, Son-in-law of Pvt. John Mathis; born in North Carolina in 1808; came to Lowndes County, now Berrien about 1827-1828; 1st Lieutenant of the militia in the 664th District of Lowndes County 1834-1840; died in Brooks County, GA, on November 26, 1907; buried Old Giddens Family Home Cemetery, Sandy Bottom, Atkinson County, Georgia.
  33. Griffis, Charles, Jr. (1800-1875)
    Charles Griffis, Jr., born 1800 in Montgomery County, Georgia, and died 1875 in Appling County, Georgia.
  34. Hodges, John (1809-1875)
    John Hodges, born in Tattnall County in 1809 and came to Lowndes County at the age of nineteen; participated in the Battle of Brushy Creek; established a mule-powered cotton gin on his farm; died 1875.
  35. Hodges, Alex. (1816-1884)
    Alexander Hodges, brother of Pvt. John Hodges; born May 17, 1816, in Tattnall County, GA; became a Primitive Baptist reverend; Died April 6, 1884, at High Springs, FL; buried New Hope Primitive Baptist Church.
  36. Hodges, James
    James Hodges, Brother of Pvt. Alexander Hodges and Pvt. John Hodges.
  37. Harnage, George (1807-1895)
    George Harnage, born 1807; came to Lowndes from Liberty County, GA; a son-in-law of Jeremiah Shaw; marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; Primitive Baptist Deacon; died about 1895.
  38. Harnage, Isaac (1804-1868)
    Isaac Harnage, Brother of Pvt. George Harnage; buried Boney Bluff Cemetery, Echols County, GA
  39.  Hearndon, Wm. Z. (c1804-1865)
    William Z. Herndon, born about 1804 in North Carolina; married Amelia Ann Freaux (or Fruhock); made their home in  Appling, Lowndes and Ware County, GA; Served in Levi J. Knights Independent Company of Lowndes County from August 15, 1838 to October 15, 1838; about 1842 moved to Columbia County, FL; appointed U.S. Postmaster, January 20, 1853 at New River, Columbia County, FL; became a Methodist Preacher in Indian River County, FL; in 1860 moved to Fort Meade, Polk County, FL; died in 1865; buried at Homeland, FL.
  40. Henley, Elmore
  41. Johnson, David (1804-1881)
    David Johnson, born January 29, 1804, Bulloch County, GA, son of Martha Hardeman and David Johnson, Revolutionary Soldier, and grandfather of J.H.P. Johnson, of Ray City, GA; moved in 1822 to the Mud Creek District near the Alapaha River in Irwin County (now Clinch) where he was among the first to settle; about 1825 moved to Leon County, Florida Territory; about 1828 moved to Lowndes County, GA near present Valdosta, GA; married about 1828 to Nancy “Mary Ann” Burnett; moved to Ware (now Clinch) County GA; served as a Private in Capt Levi J Knight’s Company of Georgia Militia, 1838; from November 1, 1839 – December 31, 1839, captain of a Georgia Militia company ordered into Federal Service in the Indian Wars; commissioned Major General of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Division of the State Militia on December 16, 1850; elected April 1, 1850, Justice of the Inferior Court, Clinch County; served as Justice of the Inferior Court April 12, 1850-1854;  in 1855 a candidate for state senator from Clinch County; Justice of the Inferior Court January 10, 1861; on February 2, 1861, resigned commission as Major General of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Division of the State Militia; delegate to the 1868 Democratic district convention at Blackshear, GA; died April 9, 1881; buried Fender Cemetery, Lanier County, GA.
  42. Johnson, James R.
    Marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; Bounty-Land Warrant Number 55-160-28492 
  43. Knight, Jonathan
    Jonathan Knight, Son of William Cone Knight; came to Irwin County (in the Lowndes territory) over the winter of 1824-25; a constituting member of Union Primitive Baptist Church; marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836.
  44. Knight, John
    John Knight, marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; In 1844 John Knight owned Lot No. 453 in the 10th District, Lowndes County, with 490 acres of pine land. His assessed property did not include any enslaved people, his total property tax being $0.85.
  45. Knight, Aaron
    In 1844, Aaron Knight owned the adjacent Lot No. 454, with all 490 acres in pines. His assessed property did not include any enslaved people, his total property tax being $0.85.
  46. Knight, William
  47. Kirkland, Lemuel
  48. McDonald, Wm.
    William McDonald, born 1810; Lucky Drawer in the 1832 Georgia Gold Lottery, drawing Lot 1034 in Cherokee County; died on December 1, 1889; buried at Cat Creek Primitive Baptist Cemetery
  49. Mathis, Riley (1817-1864)
  50. Mixon, Michael
  51. Mathis, Tyre (1806-1891)
    Tyre Mathis joined Union Church by letter April 12, 1828, dismissed by letter December 11, 1847, buried Prospect Church Cemetery, Clinch County, GA
  52. Mathis, John (1802-1875)
    John Mathis, Brother of Pvt. Tyre Mathis; born 1802, Bulloch County, GA; Ensign of Militia, District 442, Appling County, GA 1822-25; married in 1827 to Jemima Lee b 1807 GA, daughter of Joshua Lee; Justice of Peace, District 664, Lowndes County, GA 1833-38; Coroner, Clinch County, GA 1851-58 and 1861-64; transferred his church membership January 22, 1859 to Prospect Primitive Baptist Church, Clinch County, GA near his home; owned land Lot 441, 7th Dist in Clinch County, GA; died 1875, Hamilton County, FL; buried Prospect Cemetery, White Springs, FL.
  53. Mixon, Joshua
  54. McKennon, James (1804-1880)
    James McKennon (or McKinnon) Born about 1804 in North Carolina; a private in the Indian War under Captain Levi J. Knight, Lowndes County Militia; enumerated in 1840 in the 586th militia district of Ware County; sheriff of Coffee County 1856 to 1858; died 1880, Coffee County, GA.
  55. McDaniel, Benj. (1790-)
  56. Newbern, Etheldred (1794-1874)
    Etheldred Dryden Newbern, born 1794 in South Carolina, the eldest son of Thomas Newbern; came with his family to Georgia about 1798, to Bulloch County; said to have fought in the War of 1812; had moved with his family to Tattnall County by 1815; moved with his family to Appling County, near present day Blackshear, GA; married 1823 to Elizabeth “Betsy” Sirmans and homesteaded in Appling County; cut into Ware County in 1825; 1825 to 1827 served as First Lieutenant of militia, 584th district; 1828, moved to Lowndes County (now Berrien) to a site on Five Mile Creek; elected First Lieutenant of the militia in the 664th district of Lowndes County, Captain Levi J. Knight’s district; July, 1836, served as a  private in Captain Levi J. Knights Independent Militia Company in the skirmish at William Parker’s place; moved to a homestead on the west side of the Alapaha River; 1865 moved to Clinch County; purchased Lot 256, 10th District; died 1874; buried in an unmarked grave at Wayfare Church, Echols county, GA.
  57. Peterson, Eldred
  58. Peterson, Henry
  59. Prester, Henry
  60. Roberts, Lewis (1802-1854)
    Lewis Leonard Roberts, son-in-law of Jonathan Knight; his home was a polling place in the Lowndes County election of 1829; died September 1, 1854; buried Swift Creek Cemetery, Lake Butler, FL
  61. Roberts, Bryant (1809-1888)
    Bryant J. Roberts, born in Wayne County, GA on June 4, 1809, and came to Lowndes County in 1827; ensign in the 663rd district of the Lowndes County militia, 1827 to 1829; Justice of the Peace in the 658th district, Lowndes County, 1834-1837 term; private in Captain Levi J. Knight’s company of Lowndes County militia, and present at 1836 skirmish with Indians at William “Short-arm Billy” Parker’s place; Died July 8, 1888; buried Cat Creek Primitive Baptist Church.
  62. Sirmans, Jonathan (1796-1850)
    Jonathan Sirmans, neighbor of Etheldred Newbern; father of Rachel Sirmans, Hardeman Sirmans; stepfather of Melissa Rowland who married Harmon Gaskins; buried Fender Cemetery, Lanier County, GA
  63. Sirmans, Hardy
  64. Shaw, Jeremiah (1800-1883)
    Owned portions of Lots 499 and 500, 10th Land District, Lowndes County (later Berrien);
  65. Sloan, Daniel
  66. Stalvey, John J.
  67. Slaughter, Moses (c1796-1868)
    Moses Slaughter, father of Samuel and William Slaughter; the murder of his son William in 1843 resulted in two sensational trials at Troupville, GA and the hanging of Samuel Mattox; owned 490 acres on Lot 240, 10th District, Lowndes County.
  68. Sirmans, Hardeman (1821-1896)
    Hardeman Sirmans, son of Pvt. Jonathan Sirmans; son-in-law of Captain Levi J. Knight
  69. Skinner, Randol
  70. Shaw, Martin, Sr. (1773-1863)
    Martin Shaw Sr., born about 1773 in South Carolina; married 1st to unknown in South Carolina; came to Georgia between 1811 and 1816; married 2nd, Elizabeth Chancey on September 12, 1816 in Liberty County, GA; moved by 1825 to McIntosh County, owning 400 acres of pineland and 200 acres of swamp in Captain Duncan McCranie’s district; a fortunate drawer in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery, drawing 400 acres in Muscogee County, GA; moved to Lowndes County, GA about 1828, establishing residence in Folsom’s District; a fortunate drawer in the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery; in 1834 a tax defaulter in Captain Caswell’s District, Lowndes County, GA; in 1835 paid taxes on 980 acres of pineland on Cat Creek in Captain Bell’s District on Lots 408 and 420, 10th District, Lowndes County and 40 acres in Cherokee County, GA; marched with Levi J. Knight’s company in the Indian Wars of 1836; served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knights company of Lowndes County Militia in 1838;  died 1863; buried Old Salem Church cemetery, now in the City of Adel, GA and known as Woodlawn Cemetery.
  71. Slaughter, John (1798-1859?)
    John Slaughter, born about 1798 in South Carolina, son of James Slaughter, and uncle of William Slaughter who was murdered in Lowndes (now Berrien) county, GA in 1843; married Sarah ? sometime before 1825; came to Lowndes County about the time it was created from part of Irwin County, and settled in that part of the county which would be cut into Berrien County in 1856; served as a private in Captain Levi J. Knights company of Lowndes County Militia in 1838; Resided in Lowndes until 1840 when he removed to Jefferson County, FL; in the Civil War, his sons, Moses H. Slaughter and John H. Slaughter deserted Confederate service and took their families to seek refuge on the U.S.S Sagamore at Cedar Key, FL along with hundreds of other Floridians.
  72. Thomas, Dixon
    Dixson Thomas, according to family researchers born 1805 in Screven County, GA, eldest son of William Thomas and cousin of Ryall B. Thomas, Isham B. Thomas, and Elias Thomas; in 1831, occupied as a surveyor in Bulloch County, GA with his cousin Ryall B. Thomas; married on May 2, 1831 to Susannah Bennett in Bulloch County; juror for the July 1833 term of the Inferior Court of Bulloch County; by 1836 moved to the vicinity of Franklinville, Lowndes County, GA with others of the Thomas family connection; served August 6, 1836 to September 6, 1836 in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company during which time was engaged in local actions against Creek Indians along Warrior Creek, Little River, and at Cow Creek; served September 19, 1836 to October 15, 1836 in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Company;  in November 1836, held on charges of riot, along with William M. Thomas – after the two escaped from custody charges were dropped; purchased in September 1838 Lot number 180, District 11, Lowndes county for $250 – sold same to Joshua Hightower on January 14, 1845 for $250; purchased in November 1845 Lot number 89 and half of Lot number 50, District 11 Lowndes County for $150; purchased in March 1848 the remaining half of Lot 50 for $33 – “Lot 50 included all and every part and parcel of town lots originally lay out and runs off in the town of Franklinville, GA”; sold Lot numbers 50 & 89 to Thomas A. Jones in July 1851 for $600; in 1852, moved to that area of Camden County, GA which was cut into Charlton County in 1854; on March 5, 1855 received 80  acres bounty land in Lowndes County, GA, Warrant No. 47,191 for service in the Indian Wars; On April 05, cancelled warrant number 47,191 and requested William Smith to prosecute his claim and receive his (new?) Warrant when issued; In 1855 received 80 acres bounty land in Charlton County, GA, Warrant number 19383, probably at Trader’s Hill, then the government seat of Charlton County, GA; died October 10, 1857, in Charlton County, GA; said to be buried at Mill Creek Primitive Baptist Cemetery, Nassau County, FL with others of the Thomas family connection, although the grave could not be located in 2016.
  73. Thomas, Harvey
  74. Thomas, Elias
  75. Thomas, Jesse

Secretary of War Disputes Indian War Claims of Levi J. Knight

Engagements with Native Americans fought in South Georgia in the year 1842 were a topic of Governor George W. Crawford’s address of November 7, 1843 to the Georgia General Assembly.  The Governor referenced reports  submitted by Levi J. Knight and others  documenting movements and attacks by the Native Americans.  Knight was captain of militia companies that fought engagements in Lowndes County during the Indian Wars 1836-1842 (see Levi J. Knight Reports Indian Fight of July 13, 1836;   Final Report of General Julius C. Alford on Actions at the Little River and at Grand Bay, August, 1836)

George W. Crawford, Governor of Georgia 1843-1847. In politics, Crawford was a Whig, as was Levi J. Knight of Lowndes County (now Berrien). Crawford was the only Whig elected to the Governors office in Georgia. Appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Zachary Taylor and served from March 8, 1849, to July 23, 1850; presided over the State secession convention in 1861; died on his estate, “Bel Air,” near Augusta, Ga., July 27, 1872; interment in Summerville Cemetery.

George W. Crawford, Governor of Georgia 1843-1847. In politics, Crawford was a Whig, as was Levi J. Knight of Lowndes County (now Berrien). Crawford was the only Whig elected to the Governors office in Georgia. Crawford was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Zachary Taylor and served from March 8, 1849, to July 23, 1850; presided over the State secession convention in 1861; died on his estate, “Bel Air,” near Augusta, Ga., July 27, 1872; interment in Summerville Cemetery.

In the spring of 1842 Levi J. Knight’s company of men was among those activated to pursue Native Americans fleeing from Florida into Georgia, and to defend against attacks. After these actions, Governor Crawford was engaged in a dispute with U. S. Secretary of War James Madison Porter over whether Federal funds were owed to the State of Georgia for expenses incurred when militia companies were called out in Lowndes County.

In his address, Governor Crawford cites Document 200. This document was a report prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives, April 22, 1842 and titled “Depredations by Indians and United States troops in Georgia.” The report included all correspondence between the Governor of Georgia and the War Department from March 4, 1841 and April 20, 1842 “in relation to Indian depredations in Georgia; and the complaints made and evidence submitted of depredations on the citizens of Georgia and their property, by the United States troops.

The question was whether Governor Crawford’s predecessor, Governor Charles McDonald, was warranted in calling out the militia. McDonald and Crawford maintained that the federal government had failed in its responsibility to provide protection and security to Georgia citizens.  The people of Wiregrass Georgia certainly felt exposed, but federal officers believed there was little real threat from Native Americans in Georgia.  Bad relations between the federal troops and local citizens complicated the issue.  At the heart of matters was the shooting of D.S. Cone, son of Captain William Cone, by federal troops; D.S. Cone was investigating the theft of livestock by the federal troops. (Captain Cone was an uncle of Levi J. Knight.)  Furthermore, federal authorities disparaged reports by Levi J. Knight that Indians were responsible for the attack and murder of a Mrs. Oglesby in Ware County on February 28, 1842.

The War Department contended the activation of militia companies was unnecessary and disallowed payment to Georgia.

Exerpt from Governor Crawford’s address to the Georgia Assembly, November 7, 1843, Milledgeville, GA:

In execution of the act of 27th December last, “to provide for the pay, forage, subsistence and transportation, of the troops ordered out by His Excellency the Governor, and by Generals Knight and Hilliard, for the protection of the southern frontier of this State, against intrusions of the Seminole Indians, ” Col. James Rogers of this place [Milledgeville], was appointed paymaster, who proceeded to examine and report to this Department all such claims as were presented under said act, together with the evidence in support of the same.

A coppy of his report is laid before you. The evidence on which it was based is to be found on the files of this Department.  Some of the officers are discontented with the allowances made them and the men under their command by the paymaster. I refer you to copies of letters received from Captains [William B.] North and [Matthew M.] Deas on this subject, which will put you fully in possession of the objections urged against the conclusions of the paymaster, and by a comparison of which, with the testimony on file, you will be enabled to arrive at justice in your decision as to further allowances. It will be remarked that the proof consists, generally, of the affidavits of the men who performed the service.
     I call your particular attention to the letter from the paymaster, relative to Captain North’s roll,  and recommend that every dollar to which the men of his company are entitled, be allowed, but that measures be adopted to remedy such abuses as are disclosed on the part of that officer.
     A warrant has been drawn for the sum of $2,000. for the payment of these troops, which exceeds the amount of claims reported. This sum will cover every small amount of additional claims which may be proven and the pay and expenses of the paymaster who will account for any balance. I regret that the illness of this officer has hitherto prevented the execution of the duties assigned him. I addressed a letter to the President of the U. States, on the subject of the payment of the above troops, and also invited the attention of the Georgia delegation in Congress to it.  Unexpectedly to me, the President referred the matter to the then Secretary of War, an officer with whom I could not communicate with regard to it, after the evidence of his insincerity as exposed in my message to the last General Assembly.  After I was informed by the Adjutant General of the army, that the rights of the State were to be controlled by so unworthy and influence, I deemed it due to the people, whom I represented, to have no further intercourse respecting them, with any officer subject to be biased by his prejudices.  I cannot forbear, however, calling your attention to a passage in his letter of the 27th February last, to a portion of the Georgia delegation, a copy of which is herewith communicated, in which to justify his conduct in opposing the right of Georgia to pay, he remarks that,

“there was no outrage committed by any Indians in the State of Georgia, during the year 1842, and there was no probable or plausible ground to apprehend any.  Its southern border was guarded by ten military posts and by an unceasing vigilance which afforded the most effectual protection.”

These assertions are made notwithstanding the Document 200, to which he refers in the sentence immediately preceding this, being a communication made by himself, to the committee on Military affairs, contains a letter from Major Gen. Knight, giving information of an Indian murder, committed on Tom’s creek, in the county of Ware, in the month of February, of that year.

It is true, that in one of the Documents is contained a letter from an officer of the army, which is intended to create a doubt whether the murder was committed by Indians. But the evidence adduced is inconclusive on that point.  I lay before you, an extract from a letter from Captain Clyatt, of the 26th Sept, 1842, which proves that in August of that year, the Indians had passed into Georgia, and there had an engagement with a company of Georgians and Floridians.  Should there bean error in Captain Clyatt’s geography, which seems impossible, as he examined the lines, the Indians had certainly passed the ten military posts, and there was at least “plausible” ground to apprehend Indian outrages.

Related Posts:

Knights Come to Lowndes County, GA

In the winter of 1824-25 a group of Revolutionary War “Baby Boomers” came west from Wayne County, Georgia to settle in what was then Irwin County, near the area that would one day become known as Ray City, Georgia. They were among the whites who swarmed into Irwin to carve out homesteads after the Creek Indians were coerced into ceding their south Georgia land to the state. “The state parceled out the area to whites through land lotteries. Cheap land offered a golden opportunity for upward social mobility, and the region developed quickly” (Wynn & Harrison, 1998).

They were  politically connected and probably had full knowledge that the huge area of Irwin county, occupying the central third of  southern Georgia, was about to be divided into smaller counties. “Irwin County, extending from the Ocmulgee River” to the border with Spanish Florida,” was created in 1818, but as new settlers demanded control over local affairs, the Georgia General Assembly carved out of it Lowndes (1825), Clinch (1850), Berrien (1856), and Brooks (1858) counties.”

Among the leaders of this small band of settlers were William Anderson Knight and wife Sarah Cone Knight, his brother Samuel Knight, and his son-in-law Isben Giddens. They brought with them their families, children, livestock, and their possessions to make a new home in the new county of Lowndes, which was created from parts of Irwin County in 1825. These pioneers were experienced at opening up a new county. They were frontiersmen with militia experience, and also experienced at carving farms and plantations from the wilderness of the Wiregrass. In a sense, they were the first ‘Americans’, born between the time of the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. They were raised in a time of war; their fathers served as Revolutionary Soldiers. Like the baby boomers of later wars, they grew up in a sort of post-war boom period, where Americans were celebrating their new-found independence and freedom.

The Knights were true Wiregrass pioneers. They could make or “make do” for the necessities of pioneer life. According to a biographical sketch of James Madison Knight (1879-1953), among other skills, William A. Knight was known as a “rifle maker, who made many of the guns with which warfare was carried on against Cherokee Indians.

They came to this section from Wayne County, where William A. Knight had been among the very first settlers, arriving there about 1803. The Knight place in Wayne County was situated near the Old Post Road, one of the earliest roads in Georgia. On the land adjacent to Knight’s, another Wiregrass pioneer, William Clements, had settled his family.  The Knights and the Clements became steadfast friends with many family and business dealings; William Knight and William Clements served together on the Wayne county Grand Jury of 1813 and worked together in other civic capacities.

Old Post Road Historic Marker, Glynn County, GA

Old Post Road Historic Marker, Glynn County, GA

The Old Post Road…was originally an Indian trail extending from St. Augustine, Florida, northward through south Georgia into the rolling country known as the Sand Hill section. Mitchell’s map of 1756, now in the Library of Congress in Washington, shows this trail. During the Revolutionary War the American forces marched along it on their way to attack a British contingent at Fort Tonyn, which was somewhere south of [U.S. Hwy 84]. Historians have not been able to determine the exact site. The road continued to be used as a stagecoach route and post road between Savannah and Florida until the War between the States.

When Wayne County had been created in 1803, William A. Knight was one of five commissioners empowered by the Georgia Legislature to determine the site of the county seat in the new county, and “when it was done it was located on lands owned by Mr. Knight and by William Clements.” The Wayne county seat became known as Tuckersville, after resident John Tucker who served as the first postmaster there. (Waynesville was not officially designated as the county seat until 1829.) William A. Knight served as a post master after John Tucker, and William Clements served as a Wayne County road commissioner. Tuckersville  was located  somewhere north of Waynesville on the Post Road near the Buffalo Swamp, once the home and feeding grounds of herds of Georgia buffalo. The town disappeared from maps after 1850 and its exact location remains a mystery. wayne-historic-marker In its first twenty years, Wayne County was slow in developing.  William A. Knight served as the tax collector for 1806 and 1807, but no monies were returned to the state Comptroller General’s office for those years. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia “The area contained hundreds of acres of pine barrens and wiregrass country. Much of the land was undesirable for settlement… Many of the early white settlers were families who, having lost their bids to win richer land in Baldwin or Wilkinson counties in the 1805 land lottery, settled for the isolation and less desirable land offered by Wayne County.”   Perhaps the lack of economic development in Wayne County finally discouraged the Knights. For whatever reason, it appears they decided there were better opportunities in opening up a new county than remaining behind in Wayne County.

As a member of the state Legislature, William A. Knight undoubtedly knew of the impending division of the vast Irwin County into smaller counties. The military road constructed by John Coffee and Thomas Swain in 1823 had opened up the south central Georgia territory to pioneer settlers (see Daniel McCranie). Coffee’s road, as it was soon known, passed from Jacksonville, GA through the site of present day Nashville, GA and on southward to the Florida line.

Coffee Road Historic Marker, Nashville GA

Coffee Road Historic Marker, Nashville GA

When the Knights left their farms and came to south central Georgia to build their “log cabin in the wilds of the Wiregrass”, this area of Georgia was all part of the huge Irwin county. Lowndes was created from 2080 square miles carved out of Irwin, which had been plotted into Land Districts. Located on the center of Georgia’s southern border with Florida, Lowndes was still a quite large county. It would later be further divided with portions going into six present day counties; Lowndes, Brooks, Cook, Tift, Clinch, Lanier, and Berrien counties.

William Anderson Knight chose a home site on the northwest edge of Grand Bay in what was soon to be Lowndes County. This area, in the 10th land district of Irwin County, had good water and better soil than the typical pine barrens of Wayne County. It was situated between the Alapaha River to the east and the Withlacoochee and its tributaries to the west.

Children of William A. Knight and Sarah Cone:

  1. Thomas Knight, born February 6, 1799
  2. Kezia Knight, born November 20, 1801
  3. Levi J. Knight, born September 1, 1803
  4. William Cone “Big Billie” Knight, born October 8, 1805, married Rachel Carter, daughter of Jessie Carter.
  5. John Knight, born July 7, 1807
  6. Sarah Knight, born October 10, 1809
  7. Elizabeth Knight, born September 23, 1811
  8. Aaron Knight, born July 17, 1813
  9. Jonathan Knight, born January 16, 1817

William A. Knight’s place was near the route, such as it was, from Waynesville to Thomasville, GA. About nine miles to the west was Coffee’s Road; equidistant to the east was the site of Union Church, the Primitive Baptist church organized in 1825 by Reverend Fleming Bates and Reverend Matthew Albritton with the Knights, Pattens, Lees and Sirmans as founding members.

Historic Marker - Union Church, organized 1825. Sarah and William A. Knight were founding members.

Historic Marker – Union Church, organized 1825. Sarah and William A. Knight were founding members.

Knight and Union Church played a significant role in the rapid growth of Primitive Baptist churches throughout the Wiregrass region.  Union Church was at the head of the local organization of these churches into a Primitive Baptist Association, then known as the Ochlocknee Association. In 1833, Knight was appointed to travel these new churches to instruct them on their duties and responsibilities to the Association.  On July 13, 1833, William A. Knight along with Fleming Bates and John Tucker formed the presbytery to constitute Providence Church in “East Florida, Columbia County on Olustee,” according to the original minutes of that church (FL Baptist Historical Society).

By 1835, when Union Church and other churches of south Georgia and north Florida sought to divide from the Ochlocknee Primitive Baptist Association, Knight served on the presbytery in the organization of the new Suwannee Primitive Baptist Association.

The Knight’s were influential in the development of Lowndes county from the very beginning, from the  convening of the first superior court to the representation in state politics. William A. Knight became the first state senator elected from Lowndes county to serve in the Georgia Assembly, and his son Jonathan Knight became the first state representative.

Following his parents , Levi J. Knight  brought his new bride, Ann Clements Herrin Knight, to homestead in Lowndes County in 1827. Anne was the daughter of the Knights’ Wayne County neighbors,  William and Elizabeth Clements.  L. J. Knight chose a spot not far from Grand Bay, on Beaverdam Creek,   where he established his  home site.  Perhaps even then he saw that the headwaters of Beaverdam Creek could some day be impounded to provide water power for a settlement.  Levi J. Knight’s homestead became the nucleus of a community, first known simply as Knight, GA that later grew into present day Ray City, GA.

Related Posts:

Samuel Register and the East Florida Militia

According to Folks Huxford, Samuel Register came from Appling County to Lowndes County, GA about 1826 and settled in the 10th Land District near Possum Branch, not too far from the homestead of Levi J. Knight and the future site of Ray City, GA. Samuel Register’s place later became the farm of Jesse Shelby “Dock” Shaw.

Samuel Register was born in Sampson County, North Carolina on December 1, 1786, almost three years before that state would ratify the U.S. Constitution. He was a son of Dorcas and John Register.

Some time before 1804 Samuel Register came with his family to Bulloch County, GA where he apparently made his home for some 20 years, although there is no records to show that he ever owned land there. In  April of 1806 he married Elizabeth Skinner, a native of South Carolina.

When the U.S. went to war with Britain from 1812-1815 in response to British actions against American expansion and trade, it appears that  Samuel Register, like other Wiregrass pioneers (see Dryden Newbern)  joined the  Georgia Militia.   In the War of 1812 the Georgia Militia was occupied with three main theaters of operation: the Creek War of 1813-14, the British blockade, and the British occupation of St. Marys and Cumberland Island in 1814-15.  British  control of St. Marys, GA disturbed the economy of the entire Wiregrass region, interrupting trade on the Alachua Trail which ran from the Altamaha River through Centerville, GA, then across the St. Marys River and into  East Florida. The resistance of the Georgia Militia against the British incursions is described  in the New Georgia Encyclopedia  article on the War of 1812.

After the War of 1812, Samuel and Elizabeth remained in Bulloch county. GA until about 1824 when they moved to Appling County, and then on to Lowndes county in 1826.  In 1827,  Samuel Register  received a draw in the land lotteries for his service as a soldier in the War of 1812.

The land lotteries, legitimized by questionable and coercive treaties, continued the encroachment by settlers on the ancestral lands of Native Americans in Georgia, inevitably leading to conflict.  In Florida, hostilities were greatly escalated in December 1835 by the Dade Massacre, where Seminole Indians resisting forced removal to the West   wiped out a force of 110 regular army troops under the command of Major Francis Langhorn Dade.  When conflict between the Wiregrass pioneers and the resistant Indians erupted in 1836, local militia fought engagements in Berrien county.

In the summer of 1836, a company of militia under Capt. Levi J. Knight of near Ray City was sent to protect the settlers from marauding Indians on their way to join the Seminoles in Florida.  When a party of Indians plundered the plantation of William Parker, near Milltown, the militia pursued them N. E. across the county overtaking them near Gaskins Pond not far from the Alapaha River.  Several were killed and some injured as the Indians fled across the river.  A few days later the militia encountered more Indians at Brushy Creek and ran them off.  That was the last real battle with the Indians in this section.

Across the state line in Florida,  actions against Indians were being fought by militia on a regular basis. The Battle of San Felasco Hammock was fought  September 18, 1836, when a force of 25 US Army Regulars and 100 horse-mounted militia from Fort Gilleland, with 25 armed residents of Newnansville, FL engaged and routed about 300 Indians led by Seminole Chief John Jumper. Fort Gilleland, a picketed fortification located south of the Santa Fe River at Newnansville in present day Alachua County, FL, was one of a string of forts stretching from Jacksonville, FL to Clay’s Landing, at the mouth of the Suwanee River.  Newnansville,  the largest inland town in East Florida, was strategically located at the junction of the Jacksonville road and the Bellamy Road which ran from St. Augustine west to Tallahassee and Pensacola. Newnansville was about about 80 miles southeast of Troupville,  in Lowndes County, GA.

In the spring of 1837 militia troops from Lowndes county were sent across the state line to join the forces at Fort Gilleland:

Jacksonville Courier
Jacksonville, May 11, 1837

—Extract of a letter from Col. Mills, to the Editor, dated Fort Gilliland, May 8.

“Major Staniford, with two companies of the 2d Infantry, arrived here yesterday in obedience to orders from Maj. Gen. Jesup, from Lowndes county, Georgia, and are here encamped, awaiting orders.” 

The following summer, in 1837, Samuel Register and other Lowndes county men went south to join the East Florida Volunteer militia to fight against the Indians on the Florida frontier. According to the records of the Florida Department of Military Affairs, Register traveled first to Fort Palmetto, on the Suwanee River at Fanning Springs, FL.

Samuel Register and his sons, David and John,   served with “Captain John J. Johnson’s Company of the 2nd Regiment, East Florida Mounted Volunteers, commanded by Colonel William J. Mills, ordered into the service of the United States by Major General Thomas J. Jessup under the Act of Congress approved May 23d 1836, for six months from the 16th day of June 1837 to the 18th day of December 1837.  Company enrolled at Fort Palmetto, Florida, and marched sixty miles to place of rendezvous at Fort Gilliland, Fla. Company mustered in by Lieutenant W. Wall, 3d Artillery.”

His son-in-law, John Tomlinson, and two other Registers in this same service and company: Samuel Register Jr and John Register, Jr..  Seaborn Lastinger, of Lowndes County, served as a private; he would be shot for desertion during the Civil War. James B. Johnson and Young Johnson , grand uncles of JHP Johnson of Ray City, served in the Florida Drafted Mounted Militia.

Muster Roll of East Florida Volunteers

Muster Roll of East Florida Volunteers

http://archive.org/stream/floridamilitiamu05morr#page/n71/mode/1up

Muster Roll of Captain John J. Johnson's Mounted Company of the 2d Regiment of East Florida Volunteers, 2d Brigade of Florida Militia, Commanded by Colonel William J. Mills.

Muster Roll of Captain John J. Johnson’s Mounted Company of the 2d Regiment of East Florida Volunteers, 2d Brigade of Florida Militia, Commanded by Colonel William J. Mills.

http://archive.org/stream/floridamilitiamu05morr#page/n72/mode/1up

Muster Roll of Captain John J. Johnson's Mounted Company of the 2d Regiment of East Florida Volunteers, 2d Brigade of Florida Militia, Commanded by Colonel William J. Mills.

Muster Roll of Captain John J. Johnson’s Mounted Company of the 2d Regiment of East Florida Volunteers, 2d Brigade of Florida Militia, Commanded by Colonel William J. Mills.

Samuel Register was honorably discharged at Newnansville in December, 1837. He subsequently “served another enlistment in the Indian War under the same Capt Johnson (April 1, 1838-July 31, 1838). He also served a third term under this same Capt Johnson in the Georgia mounted Militia (Aug 25, 1840-Oct 18, 1840). On his Bounty Land application dated Nov 23, 1850, he was granted 160 acres of land for this service. His son-in-law John Tomlinson (husband of Zilpha) who served in the same military unit was granted 80 acres of land for his services”

Between 1840 and 1842, Samuel Register sold out his home-place in the 10th District, and moved from Possum Branch to the 11th Land District where he acquired Land Lot 500.   This lot was in that part of Lowndes county that was cut into the new county of Clinch in 1850, and in 1920 was cut out of Clinch into Lanier County.

In 1856, it was a great boon to Register when the Atlantic & Gulf railroad was charted  to run   from a connection with the Savannah, Albany & Gulf railroad at Screven, by way of his land to Thomasville. But when the surveyors for the new railroad  selected a route through Valdosta bypassing Troupville, that old town was doomed.   Register had a portion of Lot 500 platted into town lots and founded the town of “Registerville.” Although when the railroad people came through, they changed the name to “Stockton”, in honor of one of their contractors, a Mr. Stockton, who had charge of the road construction.

Children of Samuel Register and Elizabeth Skinner:

  1. Zilpha Register, born Feb. 4, 1807, married her first cousin John Tomlinson.
  2. Eady (Edith) Register, born Mar. 1, 1809, married Thomas Mathis Nov. 1, 1826 in Lowndes County.
  3. Guilford Register, born Jan. 7, 1811, married Priscilla Ann DeVane.
  4. David Register, born Apr. 10, 1813, married Matilda McDaniel of Bulloch County.
  5. William Register, born Sept. 24, 1814, married Luraney Harnage from Liberty County.
  6. John Register,  born June 10, 1819, married 1st Elizabeth Cowart, 2nd. Mary Ann Fiveash; served in Captain Levi J. Knight’s Independent Militia Company in 1838.
  7. Rebecca Register, born Apr. 5, 1821, married Reverend Hillery Cowart of Echols County.
  8. Phoebe Register, born Aug. 15, 1823, married Zachariah Lee of Clinch County.
  9. Jincy Register, born June 15, 1824, married Moses C. Lee of Berrien County.
  10. Ivy Register, born Apr. 22, 1825, married 1st Leta Lee, married 2nd Lavinia Arnold
  11. Samuel E. Register, born Sept. 16, 1826, married 1st Seneth Lee, married 2nd Mary Hutto, married 3rd Josephine Guthrie, lived in Berrien County.
  12. Elizabeth Register, born Aug. 21, 1828, married William Patten of present Lanier County.
  13. Reubin Register, born Nov. 25, 1830, married Harriet Brown, lived in present Berrien co.
  14. Martha Register, born Dec. 18, 1831, married Hillery P. Mathis of present Lanier co.

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Samuel G. Guthrie of Ray City, GA

Sam Guthrie

Samuel G. Guthrie of Ray City, GA with an unidentified friend.

Samuel G. Guthrie, of Ray City, GA, photographed in Florida with an unidentified friend.

Samuel G. Guthrie Dies in Brunswick; Burial at Ray City

      Samuel G. Guthrie, well known and highly regarded Ray City and Berrien county man, passed away Tuesday, January 9, in the Brunswick Hospital following a heart attack. He was 44 years of age.
     A son of Mrs. Lucy Newbern Guthrie and the late A. H. Guthrie of Ray City, the deceased was born and reared in Berrien county and had spent practically all his life here. He had lived in Brunswick about one year where he held a position in the shipyards.  He was a member of the Baptist church.
     Funeral services were held at the New Ramah church in Ray City Wednesday afternoon, January 10, at 4:30 o’clock, conducted by Elder Charlie Vickers of Nashville, and Elder Orville Knight of Valdosta.  Burial was in the church cemetery.
     A choir composed of N. H. Harper, Mrs. J. I. Clements Sr., Mrs. H. P. Clements and Mrs. Jack Cribb sang two songs, “Asleep In Jesus,” and “Rock of Ages.”
     Pall-bearers were Carroll V. Guthrie, June Eroll Purvis, Emmis Purvis, Archie Peacock, Rudolph Moore and A. T. King.
     Surviving besides his mother, there are four brothers and five sisters,  June Guthrie and Herman Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., P. T. Guthrie of Lakeland, and John Guthrie of Ray City, Mrs. J. R. King of Nashville, Mrs. Marvin Purvis, Mrs. O. A. Knight, Mrs. Rossie Futch, and Miss Bettye Guthrie of Ray City.

Samuel G. Guthrie (1900-1945), New Ramah Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Samuel G. Guthrie (1900-1945), New Ramah Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

 

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George Washington Knight and the Populist Party

George Washington Knight was born September 8, 1845 in Lowndes County, GA.  His parents were Ann Sloan and Aaron Knight (1813-1887), brother of Levi J. Knight.

At age 16, on  July 3, 1862, George W. Knight enlisted as a Private  in Company E, 54th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry.  His  unit fought all over Georgia; at Dug Gap, Kennesaw Mountain, and Atlanta, and other battle locales.  Matthew Hodge Albritton, James Baskin, William Gaskins, Samuel Guthrie, William J. Lamb, Jeremiah May, Rufus Ray, and Samuel Sanders, among other Berrien countians, also served in this Company.  On April 20-21, 1865, two weeks after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the 54th Georgia Volunteers, under the command of General Howell Cobb, joined in the last defense of Macon.

George Washington Knight surrendered as a corporal with Company E, 54th Infantry Regiment Georgia on May 10,  1865 at Tallahassee, FL.

On Sept 20, 1865 George W. Knight married Rhoda Futch, a daughter of John M. Futch. She was born October 31, 1846; died January 4, 1909.  At first, the newlyweds made their home on a farm owned by George’s father.  But within a few months George bought a farm on Ten Mile Bay near Empire Church, about five miles northeast of the site of Ray’s Mill. George and Rhoda resided on this farm the rest of their lives.

Rhoda Futch and George Washington Knight

Rhoda Futch and George Washington Knight

“In 1892 Georgia politics was shaken by the arrival of the Populist Party. Led by the brilliant orator Thomas E. Watson this  new party mainly appealed to white farmers, many of whom had been impoverished by debt and low cotton prices in the 1880s and 1890s.”   Georgia farmers were being driven into ruin by the combination of falling cotton prices and rising railroad freight taxes .  Populism attracted followers in all of the southern states, but it was especially strong in Georgia.

Populist Party 1892 Campaign Buttons.  Campaign buttons for the Populist Party candidate, James B.Weaver, in the presidential election of 1892.

Populist Party 1892 Campaign Buttons. Campaign buttons for the Populist Party candidate, James B.Weaver, in the presidential election of 1892.

The Populist Party ran a candidate for president, as well as candidates for Congress, Governor of Georgia, and the Georgia Assembly.

George Washington Knight was the Populist party’s candidate for Georgia state senator of the Sixth District in 1894, but was defeated.

The platform of the Populist movement called for financial policies to drive up the price of cotton, banking reform, government ownership of the railroads, direct election of senators, and an agricultural loan program, known as the Sub-Treasury Plan,  which would help farmers get the best prices for their crops.

“Realizing that the white vote would probably split between the Populist and Democratic parties, the Populists—and Tom Watson in particular—tried to gain the support of African Americans. Although never calling for social equality, they invited two black delegates to their state convention in 1892 and appointed a black man to the state campaign committee in 1894. They also demanded an end to the convict lease system, a program by which the state leased its prisoners to private mining companies. Work in the mines was dangerous, conditions were brutal, and most of the prisoners were black. Democrats quickly accused the Populists of allying with former slaves. Such racist claims drove many whites from the People’s Party movement, and the contest was marked by fistfights, shootings, and several murders.”

On election day, the Democratic party triumphed over the Populists in the races for the top offices. But the Georgia elections of 1892 and 1894 that kept the Populists out of state offices were marked by blatant corruption.  In 1894 ballot boxes in many Georgia counties were stuffed with more votes than there were voters.

When the Populist ran a presidential candidate in the election of 1896, it split the democratic vote giving the national election to the William McKinley and the Republicans. At the state level, the Populists lost the gubernatorial race to the Democrats. After the defeat of 1896, white Populists slowly drifted back to the Democratic Party, although many of the Populist issues continued in Georgia politics. The Populist Party had never convincingly embraced African-American voters,  who quickly returned to the Republican party.  The Populist party was not always acceptable to the Primitive Baptists of the Wiregrass, either.  In November, 1892, for instance, in Empire Church near Rays Mill (Now Ray City), GA charges were preferred against Hardeman Sirmans “for voting the Populist ticket in the preceding General Election.” 

In later years, George Washington Knight returned to the Democratic party.

He died 8 Feb 1913 in Lakeland, Berrien, Georgia. Rhoda Futch and George Washington Knight are buried at Empire Church, Lanier county, GA.

Rhoda Futch and George Washington Knight, Empire Cemetery, Lanier County, GA

Rhoda Futch and George Washington Knight, Empire Cemetery, Lanier County, GA

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Herman Knight Guthrie ~ 1948 Junior Class President

Herman Knight Guthrie, Junior Class President of 1948, Ray City School, Ray City, GA

Herman Knight Guthrie, Junior Class President of 1948, Ray City School, Ray City, GA

Herman Knight Guthrie was raised in Ray City, GA where many of the Guthrie family connection have resided.  As a student, he attended the Ray City School, and was President of the Junior Class of 1948.

Herman Knight Guthrie passed away in 2006. His obituary was published in the Valdosta Times:

Valdosta Daily Times
21 Mar 2006
Valdosta , GA , Us..

    Herman Knight Guthrie, 72, of Valdosta, passed away Sunday morning, March 19, 2006, at his residence after a brief illness.

   He was born in Winter Haven, Fla. on Nov. 3, 1933, to the late Herman Brown and Agnes Knight Guthrie. At an early age, he and his family moved to Ray City where he lived until his graduation from Berrien County High School. He served in the United States Air Force as a aircraft mechanic in Japan and French Indochina. After returning to Valdosta he continued his career as an aircraft mechanic at Moody Air Force Base. He owned and operated Guthrie’s Gulf for 15 years. He returned to Moody in the transit maintenance department where he retired in 1995. One of his favorite pasttimes was auto racing, which he pursued as one of the founders of Thunderbowl Speedway. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Valdosta for more than 50 years. His wife, Mary Jane Brooks Guthrie, preceded him in death.

    Survivors include two sons and daughter-in-law, Gary and Susan Guthrie of Powder Springs and Brad Guthrie of Valdosta; two grandchildren, Branyon Guthrie and Sarah Guthrie; brother and sister-in-law, Carroll and Jacque Guthrie of Ray City; two nephews, Larry Guthrie and Mike Guthrie; and two nieces, Carroll Jean Lawrence and Cara Lee Staples.

    Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, 2006, in the Valdosta chapel of Music Funeral Services with burial following in Sunset Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends tonight from 6 – 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Sympathy may be expressed online at http://www.musicfuneralservics.com. ? Music Funeral Services of Valdosta.

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Samuel Guthrie and the Capitulation of Macon

Samuel Guthrie,  whose Ray City, GA family connections have been the discussion of earlier posts, was a Confederate veteran.  His  unit, Company E, 54th Georgia Volunteers, fought all over Georgia; at Dug Gap, Kennesaw Mountain, and Atlanta, and other battle locales.  Matthew Hodge Albritton, James Baskin, William Gaskins, George W. Knight, William Lamb, Jeremiah May, Rufus Ray, and Samuel Sanders among other Berrien countians also served in this Company.  On April 20-21, 1865, two weeks after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox the 54th Georgia Volunteers, under the command of General Howell Cobb, joined in the last, futile defense of Macon.

After the war, the Federal records reported the circumstances:

Macon, Ga.,
April 20, 1865.

2nd Cavalry Division, Military Division of Mississippi.

This affair was the last engagement of Wilson’s raid through Alabama and Georgia. When within 20 miles of Macon the advance division encountered a Confederate cavalry command of 400 men. By a series of brilliant charges by the 17th Ind. the enemy was driven from behind every barricade where he took refuge and was completely routed, throwing away arms and ammunition in the haste of his flight.

When nine miles out of the city a Confederate flag of truce was met announcing an armistice between Sherman and Johnston, but Col. Robt. H. G. Minty, commanding the advance, refused to honor it and gave it five minutes to get out of the way. The Federals then continued the charge and dashed over the works into the city, which was surrendered by Gen. Howell Cobb.

The results of the capture were 350 commissioned officers, 1,995 enlisted men, 60 pieces of artillery, a large amount of small arms, and all public works.

The casualties were not reported.

Source: The Union Army, Vol.,6 p.,580

In his memoirs, General James Harrison Wilson wrote

“It is a matter of history that Cobb was not only one of the largest slaveholders, but an original secessionist, whose proudest boast was that his state followed him, not he his state. Nor is there any doubt that from the first he threw his whole heart and fortune into the Confederate cause, but he was sagacious enough to know when Lee and Johnston surrendered and Davis became a fugitive that the end had come and from that moment he did all in his power to restore order and confidence and to help earnestly in the work which pressed upon me at Macon.”

Samuel Guthrie lived through the War  and mustered out on 10 May 1865 at Tallahassee, FL.  He returned to his home in Berrien County where he lived out the rest of his days.

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Matthew Franklin Giddens

Matthew Franklin Giddens (1845-1908)

Grave marker of Matthew Franklin Giddens and Mary Elizabeth Knight Giddens. Image source: Lori Humble

Grave marker of Matthew Franklin Giddens and Mary Elizabeth Knight Giddens. Image source: Lori Humble

Matthew Franklin Giddens was born and raised in Georgia. A son of Elizabeth Edmondson and  William Giddens, he was born in 1845 in that part of Lowndes county which was later cut into Berrien County.  His boyhood was spent  on his father’s farm, near Ray City, GA in the 1144th Georgia Militia District, where he and his brothers helped work the farm.

Matthew’s grandparents were among the earliest settlers of the area. His grandfather, Isben Giddens, and father, William Giddens, both served in the Lowndes County Militia during the Indian Wars of 1836-1838, under the command of  Captain Levi J. Knight.  The Giddens were among those who took part in the Battle of Brushy Creek, one of the last real engagements with the Creek Indians in this region. His maternal Grandfather, James Edmondson served in the Indian campaign as a private in Capt. Levi J. Knight’s 1838 Independent Company of Lowndes County militia. His  future father-in-law, Joel Knight, served in the Indian Wars in the 2nd East Florida Mounted Volunteers and  during the Civil War served in the 1st Battalion, Florida Special Cavalry, Company C.  This unit was part of Lieutenant Colonel Charles James Munnerlyn’s famous “Cow Cavalry,” which was detailed to protect the supply of Florida cattle to feed the Confederate Army.

Matthew Franklin Giddens served in the Confederate army, enlisting in the Berrien Minute Men, Company G, 29th Georgia Infantry at the age of sixteen. He saw two years of active service before being captured near Atlanta on July 22, 1864.  He spent most of another year as a prisoner of war;  first seven months at Camp Chase, Ohio then four months at City Point, VA. He was released June 10, 1865 after swearing an oath of allegiance to the United States of America. The Oath of Allegiance was a condition of release since he, like other Confederate States soldiers and citizens had renounced their U.S. citizenship.

After the war he returned to Berrien County where he was enumerated in the Census of 1870  residing in the household of Thomas and Marentha Devane and working as a farm laborer.

Shortly thereafter he moved to Florida, settling in that portion of Manatee County which is now DeSoto.

Matthew Franklin Giddens married Mary Elizabeth Knight (1853-1939) on Valentine’s Day, 1872, which was also the bride’s 19th birthday. She was a daughter of Virginia Mitchell and Joel Knight, born at Knight’s Station, FL. She was a granddaughter of Mary Roberts and Samuel Knight. Her father, Joel Knight, was a farmer and cattle dealer.

In Florida, Matthew Franklin Giddens engaged first in mercantile business and later in the cattle business. By 1880, his brother Isbin S. Giddens had moved to Manatee County, Florida  and was residing in Matthew’s household while working as a grocer. Isbin enjoyed great success as a grocery merchant, forming his own company,  I. S. Giddens & Co., wholesale grocers, of Tampa. Two other Giddens brothers also settled in Tampa, where they were among the prominent  citizens of the city:  Dr. John A. Giddens, a well known dentist, and Henry Clay Giddens, a successful business man.

Matthew Giddens became county superintendent of public instruction of DeSoto County and also a member of the board of public instruction of the same county for several years. He removed to Tampa and continued to reside there till his death, in 1908, at the age of sixty-two years.

Matthew Franklin Giddens and Mary Elizabeth (Knight) Giddens became the parents of seven Children, as follows:

  1. Sumner Edmondson Giddens, born 12 Dec 1872 Manatee, Florida; married Marion McLeod, a niece of the wife of Governor Henry L. Mitchell; died 2 Jun 1944, Charlotte Harbor, Charlotte County, Florida.
  2. Larue Breckenridge Giddens, born 31 March 1876; married Elizabeth Wallace.
  3. Marcus J. Giddens, married Josephine Hill; resided at the old Knight homestead at Knight’s Station, FL.
  4. Virginia Giddens
  5. Eva Giddens, married Dr. James Smoak
  6. Paul Knight Giddens, married Mary Malone; moved to Kansas City, MO.
  7. Grady Mitchell Giddens, born 14 October 1892; Cpl US Army, WWI; died 5 September 1964; buried Woodlawn Cemetery, Tampa, FL
  8. Frances Jane Giddens, died in childhood
Obituary of Matthew Franklin Giddens

Obituary of Matthew Franklin Giddens

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Isbin Giddens (1788-1853), Pioneer Settler of Old Berrien

Isbin Giddens (1788-1853)

Grave of Isbin Giddens, Burnt Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA

Grave of Isbin Giddens, Burnt Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA

In the winter of 1824-25 Isbin (or Isben) Giddens brought his wife, Keziah Knight Giddens, and their two young children,  William and Moses Giddens from Wayne County, GA to settle in what was then Irwin County, near the present day Ray City, GA. They came along with Keziah’s brother William Cone Knight, her parents, and their minor children John, Sarah, Elizabeth, Aaron, and Jonathan Knight. Also making the move to Lowndes was Keziah’s uncle Samuel Knight, his wife Fannie, and their children Fatima, Moses, Aaron, Jesse, Thomas, and Joel.

Isbin Giddens was born in Blounts Creek, Beaufort County, North Carolina on November 4, 1788, just a few months after the ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America. He was the son of Moses Giddens and Catherine Jones.

Sometime before 1816, “when he was about grown,” Isbin Giddens moved from North Carolina to Wayne County, Georgia.  He served as lieutenant of the 334th District Militia, Wayne County, from 1816 to 1820. It was probably during that time period that he became acquainted with the family of William A. Knight and Sarah Cone Knight. William A. Knight was then serving as a Justice of Peace in the 334th District. William’s son, Jonathan Knight, was a captain in the Wayne County militia; another son, Levi J. Knight, served as a private.

Giddens became good friends with the Knights, and on Wednesday, April 7, 1819, just before Easter, Isbin married William A. Knight’s 17-year-old daughter, Keziah Knight (born November 25, 1801).

Isbin Giddens served as a grand juror the October, 1822 term of the Superior Court of Wayne County, and at other times also served on both petit and grand juries in the county.

About 1823 Isbin and Keziah Giddens were baptized into Kettle Creek Church.  Jonathan and Elizabeth Knight were organizing members of Kettle Creek Baptist Church in Ware County which it seems, was near where they lived; they were members of Hebron Church (present day Brantley County, GA) before being dismissed by letter on November 8, 1823, to constitute Kettle Creek. Fannie Knight, wife of Samuel Knight, was a member of Kettle Creek Baptist Church, as were Keziah’s parents, William and Sarah Knight.

Over the winter of 1824-25 Isbin and Keziah departed Wayne County along with her parents and brothers to settle in parts of present-day Lanier County.  Isben Giddens made his farm along what is now the Ray City-Lakeland public road. The following year, his brother-in-law, Levi J. Knight, joined the family and became the first to settle on land along Beaverdam creek at the present-day location of Ray City, Berrien County, GA.

On February 10, 1827, Isbin and Keziah moved their letters from Kettle Creek Church to Union Primitive Baptist Church.  Keziah’s father had been instrumental in the organization of Union Church, it being the first Baptist Church in this section. The church organization took place October 1, 1825, at Carter’s Meeting house, located on the west bank of the Alapaha River.  Mr. Knight was the first clerk of the new church and later became its pastor.

For the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery, Isbin Giddens registered in the 10th District of Lowndes County.  On the 33rd Day’s Drawing – April 13, 1827, he was the fortunate drawer of Lot 248 in the 13th District of of the newly formed Lee County.

In the Census of 1830, Isbin Giddens is enumerated along with early Berrien County settlers like Joshua Lee, William A. Knight and John Knight. He served on the Lowndes Grand Jury of 1833 which was convened at Franklinville, GA, then the county seat of Lowndes County.

In the Indian Wars of 1836-1838, Isbin Giddens and his sons, William and Moses served under the command of now Captain Levi J. Knight, in the Lowndes County Militia.  The Giddens were among those who took part in the Battle of Brushy Creek, one of the last real engagements with the Creek Indians in this region.

Spouse & Children

Keziah Knight 1801 – 1861

  1. William Moses Giddens 1820 – 1899
  2. Moses H Giddens 1821 – 1906
  3. Matilda Giddens 1826 – 1887
  4. Sarah Giddens 1828 – 1918
  5. Aaron L. Giddens 1831 – 1862, married Mary Smith
  6. Keziah Ann Giddens 1836 – 1904
  7. Mary M Giddens 1838 – 1901
  8. Isbin T. Giddens 1840 – July 17, 1862
  9. Matthew O Giddens 1844 – 1865
Isben Giddens died on his farm October 21, 1853. He was buried at Union Church Cemetery, in present day Lanier County, GA. He died with a legally valid will, and his three sons WilliamMoses, and Aaron served as executors of his estate.

In 1855 Kizziah Knight Giddens married the widower, Allen Jones.  She died in 1861 and was buried at Union Church, Lanier County GA.

Grave of Keziah Knight Giddens Jones, Union Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Lakeland, GAGrave of Keziah Knight Giddens Jones, Union Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Lakeland, GA

Grave of Keziah Knight Giddens Jones, Union Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Lakeland, GA

Isben Giddens’ sons, Isbin T. Giddens and Matthew O. Giddens, served in the Civil War.  On August 1, 1861, they joined the Berrien Minute Men, Company G, 29th Georgia Infantry at Milltown (now Lakeland), GA.  Neither would survive the war.  Mathew O. Giddens was taken prisoner on December 16, 1864, near Nashville, TN. He was imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio where three months later, on Feb 8, 1865, he died of pneumonia. His brother, Isbin T. Giddens, died of brain fever at Guyton Hospital in Georgia.

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