War of 1812: Bowling’s Detachment

War of 1812: Bowling’s Detachment

Etheldred “Dred” Newbern was a pioneer settler of Old Berrien County, Georgia.

During the War of 1812, while still residing in Bulloch County, GA, Dred Newbern was mustered into a Georgia Volunteer Militia company organized by Peter Cone. In the spring of 1814 Peter Cone’s Company was deployed on the coast of Georgia, first at Savannah then sent with Bowling’s Detachment (reconstructed roster below) to the seaport at Sunbury, GA. Sunbury, and other Georgia ports were then under blockade by the British fleet.

Peter Cone’s Company of Georgia Militia organized at Paramore’s Hill and marched to Savannah where, along with other Georgia militia companies they were mustered into a U.S. Army regiment commanded by Colonel Richard Manning. They were enlisted on March 26, 1814 and issued equipment.

From Manning’s Regiment, a detachment of three companies was formed and placed under the command of Major Robert Bowling. The three companies were led by Captain David Clarke, Captain Roger L. Gamble, and Lieutenant Peter Cone.

Bowling’s Detachment was ordered to March to Sunbury, GA south of Savannah to take up a station on the Midway River for the defense of the town. The maritime trade from Sunbury was threatened by the British frigate HMS Lacedemonian, which was anchored off Cumberland Island. Sunbury residents often saw the Lacedemonian’s armed launches in St. Catherine’s Sound, where they captured and burned American coastal vessels.

Bowling’s Detachment

NameRankInduction/Discharge
Bowling, RobertMajorInduction: Major, Discharge: Major
Clarke, DavidCaptInduction: Capt, Discharge: Capt
Gamble, Roger LCaptInduction: Capt, Discharge: Capt
Bower, Benanuel1st LtInduction: 1 Lt, Discharge: 1 Lt
Cone, Peter1st LtInduction: 1 Lt, Discharge: 1 Lt
Meriwether, Alexander1st LtInduction: 1 Lt, Discharge: 1 Lt
Burke, Michael2nd LtInduction: 2 Lt, Discharge: 2 Lt
Marks, Leon H2nd LtInduction: 2 Lt, Discharge: 2 Lt
Rawls, John2nd LtInduction: 2 Lt, Discharge: 2 Lt
Clarke, James3rd LtInduction: 3 Lt, Discharge: 3 Lt
Gamble, John3rd LtInduction: 3 Lt, Discharge: 3 Lt
Hall, Thomas3rd LtInduction: 3 Lt, Discharge: 3 Lt
Elias, [Blank]ServantInduction: Servant, Discharge: Servant
Hannibal, [Blank]ServantInduction: Servant, Discharge: Servant
June, [Blank]ServantInduction: Waiter, Discharge: Servant
Lettuce, [Blank]ServantInduction: Waiter, Discharge: Servant
Boyd, JamesSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Burns, WilliamSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Conner, James GSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Gordon, JamesSgtInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Sgt
Hagan, JosephSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Ladler, JohnSgtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Sgt
Lamp, MichaelSgtInduction: 1 Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Langston, Seth SSgtInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Sgt
Moore, EtheldredSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Raifield, Alexander GSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Rutledge, JohnSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Shirley, William SSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Stanaland, RichardSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Waldron, JohnSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Sgt
Welch, IsaacSgtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: 1 Sgt
Bigham, JamesCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Bryan, Redding DCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Fields, MilesCplInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Cpl
Fokes, ShadrachCplInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Cpl
Goodman, HenryCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Grant, ThomasCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Hichcock, JosephCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Hitchcock, JosephCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Jones, Tandy CCplInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Cpl
Lamp, LewisCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Scott, JamesCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Stewart, AlexanderCplInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Cpl
Chambers, JohnEnsignInduction: Ensign, Discharge: Ensign
Lovett, CuylerEnsignInduction: Ensign, Discharge: Ensign
Crossley, AndrewArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Darsey, JosephArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Kirk, JosephArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Marshall, JohnArtificerInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Artificer
Moore, CaswellArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Salter, Edward TArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Sample, JamesArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Woods, JohnArtificerInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Artificer
Hall, JohnMusicianInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Musician
Hendley, ThomasMusicianInduction: Musician, Discharge: Musician
Miller, SebornMusicianInduction: Musician, Discharge: Musician
Sasser, JosephMusicianInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Musician
Sheppard, John BMusicianInduction: Musician, Discharge: Musician
Starling, StarlingMusicianInduction: Musician, Discharge: Musician
Arrington, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Arrington, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Askew, RobinsonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Baggs, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt; Gamble’s Company
Baggs, WilliamPvtInduction: Cpl, Discharge: Pvt
Bailey, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Baker, AsaPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bandy, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bennet, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Berryhill, ThomasPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Best, JacobPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt; Cone’s Company
Best, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Birch, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bird, JasPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bird, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Birt, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Boatright, ReubenPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt; Clarke’s Company
Boget, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bothwell, John WPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bowles, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bowles, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Boyd, BaniahPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Boyd, StephenPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bracket, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bragg, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Bryan, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Butler, CharlesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Carter, JacobPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cato, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Caulie, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Caulie, ReasonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cobb, HPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cobb, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cobb, RashPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cochran, RobertPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Coleman, IsaacPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Coleman, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Coleman, WadePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Colliday, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Conner, IsaacPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Conner, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cook, HenryPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cook, John RPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cooper, PhineasPvtInduction: Sgt, Discharge: Pvt
Coursey, AllenPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Coward, JPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Coward, JPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cravey, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Crops, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Cunningham, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Curle, WilsonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Davis, JosephPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Davis, MosesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Deal, FerneyPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Deloach, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Dokes, Campbell SPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Donaldson, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Drawdy, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Drew, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Driggers, SimeonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Emanuele, AmosPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Evans, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Ferrell, CharlesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Fisher, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Fleming, Laird BPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt; Gamble’s Co.
Floyd, JosephPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Ford, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Ford, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
French, CharlesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
French, ReasePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
French, RobertPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Gaines, TheophilusPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Gardner, AaronPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Glass, LevyPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Gooden, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Gooden, StephenPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Gooden, WileyPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Goodman, DennisPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Goodman, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Goodwin, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Green, DanielPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Green, ElishaPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Green, LewisPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Gregory, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Hadbury, WilsonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Ham, AaronPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Hammond, DanielPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Hand, Henry Harrison PvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt; Cone’s Company
Handbury, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Handley, ThomasPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Havens, AndrewPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Hendrix, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Herrington, MosesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Hiers, SolomonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Higgs, JessePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Hilton, JeremiahPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
House, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Humphrey, DanielPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
James, MikelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Jeffers, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Johnston, EliasPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Johnston, JaredPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Johnston, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Jordan, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Jordan, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Kelly, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Kemp, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
King, WilsonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Kirkland, McCullersPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Lamb, AbrahamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Lang, RobertPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Lankford, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Lee, LeviPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Lewis, NimrodPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Long, RobertPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Lovett, Thomas CPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Mallory, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Mallory, ThomasPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Mason, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Mathers, IsaacPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
McCullough, JacobPvtInduction: Artificer, Discharge: Pvt
McNelly, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Metts, ReddingPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Miller, JosephPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Mims, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Mitchell, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Moore, AldridgePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Moore, AugustusPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Morris, MosesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Morrison, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Moy, EdwinPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Nates, ZachariahPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Newborn, DredPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Nobles, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Norman, A. B.PvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Norman, James MPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Norris, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Olive, BenjaminPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Olive, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Overstreet, StephenPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Owens, JessePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Parker, StarlingPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Patterson, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Pierce, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Pipkin, UriahPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Pomeroy, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Pye, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Raiford, RobertPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Rawls, JosephPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Reddy, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Register, JosiahPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Roberts, JPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Robinson, AbramPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Ross, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Rowland, NathanPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Sample, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Sanderlin, OwenPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Scarbrough, JacksonPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Scarbrough, ReddickPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Schley, MichaelPvtInduction:1 Sgt, Discharge: Pvt
Scott, JPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Scott, RobertPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Shepherd, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Simonson, IsaacPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Smith, DanielPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Smith, NorrisPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Spence, IsaacPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Spence, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Stephens, BenjaminPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Stone, HenryPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Stone, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt Clarke’s Company
Stone, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Streetman, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Stringfellow, EPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Sugs, MosesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Thornton, RedickPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Trimble, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Tyre, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Tyre, LewisPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Vickery, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Walden, SamuelPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Walters, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Walton, DanielPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Walton, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Waters, GeorgePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Waters, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Webb, WilliePvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Wester, HenryPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Whiddon, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
White, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Wilde, DavidPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Wilkerson, JamesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Williams, JohnPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Woods, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Wren, WilliamPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt
Wright, MosesPvtInduction: Pvt, Discharge: Pvt

Etheldred Dryden Newbern: Rendezvous of the Georgia Militia

War of 1812: Georgia Militia Called Out

Updated

Dred Newbern, a pioneer settler of the Ray City, GA area, served in the Georgia Militia in the War of 1812, as documented in War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files. When the Declaration of War was issued in 1812, Dred would have been 18 years old and just become eligible for militia service. At that time, he and his family were living in Bulloch County, Georgia.

In Georgia, military service in the local units of the state militia was compulsory; The right to bear arms came with the responsibility of military training and participation in military service. According to Georgia historian Gordon Smith, “The General Militia Acts of 1803, 1807, and 1818 directed that all district male residents from eighteen to forty-five years old, except those exempted by laws such as ministers, enroll in their district company and perform regularly scheduled drills, at the designated unit muster ground.

Georgia was divided into Militia Districts and every able-bodied man was required to register in the militia company in his district. Each militia company was commanded by a captain. The companies were organized into regiments, battalions and brigades. The Governor was Commander in Chief of the Georgia Militia.

Furthermore, by order of the Georgia General Assembly, any fit man might be compelled under penalty of law to serve a 12 month enlistment in the district police.

Peter Early, Governor of Georgia 1813-1815. Likeness generated from AI-enhanced engraving.

On Feb 7, 1814, the Georgia militia companies were called out to convene for muster, by order of Governor Peter Early. (Early, whose family owned one of the largest slaveholding plantations in Greene County, GA had been an outspoken opponent of any attempts to outlaw the trafficking of enslaved people.) The Georgia Assembly elected Early governor in 1813 when the War of 1812 was under way. “He firmly supported the goals of the James Madison administration and cooperated fully with the government and its military measures. This included raising money, troops, and supplies…” (Encyclopedia of the War of 1812). When criticized for his support of the war, Early replied, “Georgia would survive or go down with the other colonies.

Governor Peter Early’s orders calling up the Georgia Militia, published in the Columbia Museum & Savannah Recorder, March 7, 1814 edition

The following order has been directed by his excellency Gov. Early, to Adjutant-General Newnan.

Head-Quarters,
Milledgeville, 7th Feb. 1814.

You will proceed to the annual convention of the field, staff, commissioned and non-commissioned officers, in every county or regiment within this state, in order to instruct them in the discipline prescribed by Congress – and as it is of the highest importance at the present critical period, that the privates should be particularly taught the duties required of them in the field, the commanding officers of the respective brigades, regiments, and battallions, are called upon to act in concert with the Adjutant-general, by ordering regimental and battalion musters at such times as they may be notified by him, that he will attend for that purpose.

The Commander in Chief deems it highly expedient and necessary for the good of each particular regiment, and the benefit of the militia service at large, that an uniform system of discipline should be introduced and strictly adhered to throughout the state. The Adjutant-general is therefore ordered to furnish the several Brigadiers-general with a detail of the evolutions to be performed by the respective regiments under their command, at the annual reviews and inspection; – and the Brigadiers-general are required to transmit to each Colonel, a copy of such detail.

Columbia Museum & Savannah Recorder, March 7, 1814

When Dred Newbern and other men of Bulloch County were called out for militia duty they were probably happy to follow a leader like Peter Cone. It was customary at the time that militia companies elected their officers, and Peter Cone was well qualified to serve as a Captain of the militia. Although just 24 years old, the Bulloch County native was an experienced combat leader. Cone was a veteran of the Patriot War of East Florida.

 On March 13, 1812 a group of seventy Georgian and nine Floridian “Patriots” crossed the St. Mary’s River to Amelia Island, to establish the “Territory of East Florida.” They read a manifesto and raised a flag with the Latin inscription, “Salus populi lex suprema,” or “The safety of the people, the supreme law.” This so-called “rebellion” against Spanish rule create a pretext for a U.S. military invasion of Florida. Image adapted from: Florida Dept of State

In March 1812, Peter Cone was among a force of Georgia “Patriots” who, with the aid of nine U.S. Navy gunboats, invaded Spanish Florida and captured Amelia Island and the town of Fernandina, then turned control of the area over to regular United States troops from St. Mary’s, GA. Although there was no formal U.S. declaration of war against Spain (Spain was England’s ally in the war against Napoleon), this invasion had the tacit approval of President Madison who had commissioned former Georgia governor George Mathews to organize the effort. Within days of capturing Amelia Island the Patriots, along with a regiment of regular Army troops and Georgia volunteers, moved toward St. Augustine, the Spanish capitol of East Florida. On this march the Patriots were slightly in advance of the American troops, led by Lt. Col. Thomas A. Smith, US Army. The Patriots would proclaim possession of some ground, raise the Patriot flag, and as the “local authority” surrender the territory to the United States troops who would then substitute the American flag for the Patriot flag. But when the Patriots and regular US Army invaders reached St. Augustine they encountered stiff opposition: from the Spanish at Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine; from Blacks who fought for Spain (e.g. Prince’s Black Company), many of whom had escaped from enslavement in Georgia and South Carolina; and from the Seminoles and Black Seminoles, who were the targets of frequent raids by militia companies from Georgia hunting people escaped from enslavement as well as land and cattle.  With insufficient force to capture the Spanish fort, Governor Mathews had called for more Georgia volunteers to join the invasion. The occupation of parts of Florida lasted over a year, but after United States Army units were withdrawn and the Seminoles entered the conflict, the Patriots were dissolved.

Castillo de San Marcos, Spanish fort at St. Augustine, FL. In the 1812 Patriot War of East Florida, Georgia militia invaded the Spanish territory of east Florida capturing Amelia Island, but were unable to capture the fort at St. Augustine. Photographed circa 1890. Library of Congress.

Captain Cone’s 1812 Company in the Republic of East Florida
In August 1812, Peter Cone had taken a company of militia to St. Mary’s, GA to join Georgia militia Colonel Daniel Newnan’s Detachment of about 250 Georgia militiamen, officers and their enslaved African-American manservants in the “Patriot” invasion of Florida. Under orders, Col. Newnan reported to Lt. Col. Smith (US Army), near St. Augustine, then made a sortie with 117 volunteers against Native Americans at Lotchaway (present-day Alachua County, FL) to destroy their towns and provisions. Included in this force were nine Patriots under the command of Capt. Cone. On September 27, 1812, a band of Native Americans intercepted Newnan’s Detachment about seven miles east of the Lotchaway villages. Newnan’s force never reached the Seminole towns, losing eight men dead, eight missing, and nine wounded after battling Seminoles for more than a week and suffering through a major hurricane of October 1, 1812 (Colonel Newnan describes fighting ” among several pine trees that were laid prostrate by the hurricane.”) Captain Cone was among the wounded. Losses among the Native Americans were greater, including the death of King Payne, leading chief of the Seminoles. Newnan reported that the Georgia militia scalped the Indian dead. King Payne was succeeded as leading chief by his brother Bolek, called Bowlegs by the Anglo-Americans. The Patriot effort to seize Florida territory fell apart when Congress became aware of the unsanctioned invasion and grew alarmed at the possibility of being drawn into war with Spain. Secretary of State James Monroe promptly disavowed the actions and relieved Gen. Mathews of his commission. Drawn out negotiations for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from East Florida finally concluded in 1813. On May 6, 1813, the US Army lowered the American flag at Fernandina and the remaining troops retreated across the St. Marys River back into Georgia.
Cone was praised for his part in the action in Col. Newnan’s report to Georgia governor David Mitchell, published in Niles Weekly Register, Dec 12, 1812. Mentioning Cone by name, Newnan wrote, “My pen can scarcely do justice to the merits of the brave officers and men under my command, their fortitude their privations and distresses never forsaking them…Captain Cone, who was wounded in the head early in the action, behaved well.”
Cone returned to Bulloch County, GA, where he recovered from his head wound. Some of the “patriots” under Cone’s command in 1812 were also mustered into his 1814 company of Georgia militia.

Captain Cone’s 1814 Militia Company

Cone’s 1814 militia company rendezvoused about March 20 at Paramore Hill, a prominent bluff and local landmark overlooking the Ogeechee River. The troops were expected to provide themselves with blankets, knapsacks and canteens, and suitable clothing for a summer campaign of six months. Among the company were Dred Newbern, William Burns (1790-1871), James G. Conner (1790-1876), Henry Cook (1788-1873), Allen Jones, the Green brothers, Elisha (1792-1875), Daniel and Lewis, and others. (Lewis Green and Dred Newbern later moved to Lowndes County, GA; Green to that part of Lowndes County which in 1850 was cut into Clinch, and Newbern to the section that was cut into Berrien County in 1856.)

Paramore Hill

Paramore Hill was the regular designated gathering point for the militia brigades in that sector. It was at an important crossroads and the gathering point for the annual boot camp of the Georgia Militia. In Place Names of Georgia, John Goff gives this description:

Paramore Hill, a high sandy ridge that stretches for a mile or so down the east bank of the Ogeechee River … to the south of Millen, GA. The summit of the hill is some 270 feet about sea level. This height is not appreciably greater than that of some other rises in the general locality, but Paramore Hill is distinctive because the western slope is a steep face that drops precipitously almost to the edge of the river, permitting an open and rare view over the Ogeechee Swamp and its moss-draped trees below (Place names of Georgia).

(Place names of Georgia).

Paramore Hill was a noted waypoint on the ancient trails of Native Americans and the colonial settlers of Georgia. At the foot of the bluff there was a ford across the Ogeechee River. Furthermore, the Capitol Road ran along the top of bluff. The Capitol Road, one of the early thoroughfares of Georgia ran between Savannah and Louisville, which had served as the Georgia capitol from 1796 to 1806.

Following the formation of Cone’s Company at Paramore Hill, Dred Newbern marched with Peter Cone’s men to Savannah, GA, a distance of some 80 miles. After eight miles of marching they crossed the Rocky Ford Road which led one mile south to the river crossing. Rocky Ford was one of the prime crossing points across the Ogeechee River. Another eight miles brought the company to the settlement at Cooperville, founded by William Cooper in 1790. After 26 more miles they reached the outskirts of Whitesville (now Guyton, GA), founded by Squire Zachariah White in 1792. From Whitesville to Savannah was another 29 miles.

Savannah was defended by Fort James Jackson and Chatham County’s own militia and artillery companies, as well as the 8th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army, Colonel Lawrence Manning commanding. Private Lewis Green of Cone’s Company recalled, “upon their arrival…[they] were mustered into service and formed into three companies under the command of Major Robert Bowling…and Colonel Manning…on the twenty sixth day of March, A. D. 1814. Manning was Colonel of a Regiment of Regular [ U.S. Army] troops residing… at that time at the Barracks in Savannah.” About March 30, 1814, militia privates Lewis Green and William Burns were detailed “cutting wood with which to cook their rations, when the hatchet used by said Burns glanced from the stick he was cutting, and cut [Green] on the left ankle, on the back and inner side thereof, just above the heel, cutting the tendon or hamstring completely in two. [Green] averred that the injury was completely accidental and in no respect the result of carelessness on the part of himself or Burns. This happened early in the morning. He was immediately visited by a surgeon of the Regular Army…who then and there dressed his wound, split and sewed together the tendon and bandaged his leg. He was immediately removed to the hospital of the Regular Army at Savannah where he remained under the care of Dr. Rogers (possibly James Rogers), a surgeon in the Regiment.” Green remained in the hospital “until some eight or ten days thereafter, when he accompanied his Company to Sunbury, Liberty County, Georgia where he remained in the regimental hospital under the care of Dr. Rogers for another two months.

From Manning’s Regiment, a detachment of three companies was formed and placed under the command of Major Robert Bowling. The three companies were led by Captain David Clarke, Captain Roger L. Gamble, and Lieutenant Peter Cone. (Although a captain of the Georgia Militia, it appears Cone was mustered into U.S. Army service as a lieutenant.) A compilation of War Department records in the National Archives provides a reconstructed roster of 255 men in Bowling’s Detachment.

Bowling’s Detachment was ordered to take up a station on the Midway River for the defense of the town and port of Sunbury, GA, south of Savannah.

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Etheldred Dryden Newbern: War of 1812

SERVICE IN THE WAR OF 1812
When the War of 1812 came to Georgia, Etheldred “Dred” Newbern (1794-1874) was living with his father and step-mother in Bulloch County, GA, in the watershed of the Ogeechee River west of Savannah. Dred was a teenager, “about 5 feet 3 or four inches, Black hair & Eyes,” according to his future wife. The young man followed the military legacy of his father and grandfather, who had fought the British in the American Revolution. Dred Newbern was enlisted in the Bulloch County Militia Company in Captain Peter Cone’s district. Samuel Register, another Bulloch County pioneer, also joined the Georgia Militia. Both men would later relocate to the South Georgia region of present-day Ray City, GA.

The Declaration of War against Great Britain was signed by President James Madison on June 18, 1812. The President’s address to Congress listed three grievances: British impressment of American citizens, blockade of maritime commerce, and the British agitation of Native American hostilities on the southern frontier of the United States.

Georgians learned of the state of war eleven days after President Madison’s declaration, when the news appeared in the Georgia press under a modest column heading next to an advertisement for shoes:

Declaration of War announced in the Savannah Republican, June 29, 1812.

The major events of the War of 1812 would occur in theaters far from Georgia, from the U.S. invasion of Canada, to the British burning of the Capitol and White House, to the Battle of New Orleans. Most concerning to Georgians was the disruption of Georgia’s maritime trade and the threat of invasion at Georgia’s ports.

Some of these concerns were expressed in the American pro-war slogan, “Free trade and Sailors’ Rights,” protesting the strict naval blockade the British had imposed since 1806 on any American trade with France or French allies.  British ships stationed off the American coast were intercepting American ships and seizing any cargoes destined for France. Furthermore, under the doctrine of the “English Right to Search,” British warships routinely stopped and boarded American vessels to inspect the crew and seize, or “impress,” sailors for alleged desertion from the Royal Navy.

British officer looking over a group of American seamen on deck of ship. ca. 1810. Library of Congress.

England was desperate for men to fill the great shortage of sailors needed for its war against Napoleon, and British deserters from the Royal Navy were certainly known to be serving on American ships. The British warships were notorious for their horrendous treatment of seamen. While the Royal Navy claimed the right to recover these deserters, impressment frequently scooped up American sailors as well. By 1811, the American newspapers considered the British actions little more than piracy, asking “What ought the feelings of the American government to be when they have certain knowledge that more than 8000 native citizens of these United States have been impressed, and are now suffering in the ‘Floating Hells of Old England?” (Savannah Republican, Feb 11, 1811). In reprisal for British seizures of American ships and cargoes, the U.S. Congress had passed its own Nonintercourse Acts, making it illegal to import British goods into the United States. The U.S. began seizing British cargoes and the ships found carrying them, even when the cargo came into American waters by way of some third neutral port.

Savannah Artillery company called to muster in on July 4, 1812 “to celebrate the Birth Day of the only free Government on earth.” In preparation for war, the Savannah City Council moved to conscript every ounce of gun powder jn the city.” -Savannah Republican, June 27, 1812.

Certainly the British blockades and impressment were disruptive to maritime trade from Georgia’s ports. Anxiety ran high. A royal navy proclamation of the blockade of American ports specifically called out the Georgia ports at Darien, Sunbury and Savannah, along with the ports of New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Port Royal, and New Orleans.

According to New Georgia Encyclopedia,

Georgia, with its long coastline and prosperous coastal cities, once again was on the front line. Georgia had been subdued, for the most part, by the British in the American Revolution. Its coastal cities had been occupied, and in 1812 it seemed possible that a powerful British force could do so again. Little protection was forthcoming from the federal government because of its serious deficiency in ships and sailors. British warships hovered off Georgia’s coast, snapping up coastal trading craft and disrupting the livelihood of Georgians. Georgia’s citizens and leaders clamored for help.” 

New Georgia Encyclopedia

A Leda-class British warship, HMS Lacedemonian, was stationed off Cumberland Island.

A Leda-class British warship. The HMS Lacedemonian, a ship of this type, was stationed off Cumberland Island, GA in 1812. Image: Public Domain

The HMS Lacedaemonian was built at the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth and launched in 1812. Measuring 150 feet along the lower deck and 40 feet in the beam, it had a tonnage of 1073 in builder’s old measurement. The upper deck was armed with twenty-eight 18-pounder guns, six 9-pounders on the quarterdeck and two 12-pounders on the forecastle. The ‘Lacedaemonian’ was a large frigate carrying up to 46 guns but only rated at 38 guns.

British gunboats off the Georgia coast threatened the considerable trade that was carried on between Savannah and the Spanish port of St. Augustine. The American traders were small vessels that traveled the intercoastal waterways of the Georgia sea islands, carrying cotton and rice to St. Augustine and returning with dry goods and groceries.

Armed launches from the HMS Lacedaemonian prowled Georgia’s intercoastal waterways attacking the American merchant ships. These small British gunboats carried a carronade mounted in the bow, and captained by a lieutenant with a crew of 12 seamen and marines. Larger vessels battled on the open sea within hearing distance of the Georgia Coast. Sunbury residents recalled listening for hours to the roar of cannons.

Soon Dred Newbern and men all over Georgia would be called out for militia duty for the defense of the nation.

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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

William Jackson Taylor, Sr.

William Jackson Taylor, Sr.

Special appreciation goes to Linda Ward Meadows, 3rd great grand daughter of William Jackson Taylor, Sr. and Samantha Jane Rogers Taylor, and 2nd great grand daughter of Benjamin Thomas Cook and Samantha Jane Taylor Cook, for her avid research and contributions to this post.

William Jackson Taylor, Sr. (1801-1885) was a settler of that part Lowndes County, GA which was cut into Berrien County in 1856. He came to the area about 1851, first renting land from William J. Lamb and later establishing a homeplace on the Indian Ford Road (Upper Mud Creek Road).

Grave of William Jackson Taylor, Empire Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA. Image source: ShelbyGT2011

Grave of William Jackson Taylor, Empire Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA. Image courtesy of Linda Ward Meadows.

William Jackson Taylor was the subject of a biographical sketch compiled about 1927 by William H. Griffin, an early historian of Berrien County, GA.  Griffin described how William J. Taylor came from South Carolina to settle in Georgia:

William J. Taylor
The subject of this sketch was born in Marion Township, South Carolina, January 4, 1801 and died at his home in Berrien county, Georgia, July 18, 1885.

In the year 1851 he decided to cast his fortunes in the state of Florida, consequently he set out by private conveyance to reach that state but for some cause halted at the village of Alapaha, later known as Milltown [now Lakeland, GA], and rented land from William Lamb remaining there a short period when he moved over into what is known as the Upper Tenth district and bought land, cleared up a farm and remained there until his death.  The farm he cleared is a portion of the land [later] owned by E. B. Taylor, a grandson, on the Indian Ford or Upper Mud Creek road.

Mr. Taylor in addition to being a farmer was an expert blacksmith and maker of bells, trivets, etc.  It was his custom to make a lot of these useful articles and take them on the old fashioned two-wheeled horse cart and peddle them out among the people of the surrounding country, often going into other counties in the sale of his wares. Among the stock raisers of South Georgia, and almost every resident in that day was engaged in stock raising, it was an easy matter to make a sale of one or more bells of different sizes at every house, while the housewife who did her cooking on the open fireplace never failed to barter with him for one or two trivets for use under her cooking utensils.  A trivet, as its name implies, is a 3 legged utensil for use under the pots, spiders and ovens to raise the pot or oven up from the hearth so as to give room for building the fire underneath.  It is formed by welding three legs on to an iron ring about eight inches in diameter, the legs being about four inches in length.  It was a great help to the housewife in her primitive method of cooking. Other articles of Mr. Taylor’s man——- —— —— ———- —– fireplace and on which the pots and kettles were suspended while boiling.  Mr. Taylor’s approach was always heralded by a ringing of his bells of different tones in unison and his quaint method of showing off the merits of his bells were always a source of great amusement to the children who would leave their tasks and gather about his cart while he was bartering with the father and mother.

South Carolina Beginnings

William Jackson Taylor was born January 14, 1801 in South Carolina.  His lineage is uncertain, but his presence is well established in the Census records of  Marion County, SC, along with others of the Taylor family connection.

William J. Taylor first married Samantha J. Rogers. She was born in South Carolina February 3, 1800.  In the 1850 census of William Taylor’s household, his wife “Mantha” and eight children are enumerated by name, all of whom moved with their parents to Lowndes County, GA (now Berrien) in 1851.

1850 census enumeration of William J. Taylor and family in Marion County, South Carolina

1850 census enumeration of William J. Taylor and family in Marion County, South Carolina

In 1850 in Marion County, SC, William Taylor’s neighbors  were Robert Taylor, age 75, and Thomas Taylor, age 50.

A William Taylor appears in the 1840 census of Marion County, SC, with the same neighbors Robert Taylor and Thomas Taylor. Although names of spouses and children were not recorded in the 1840 census or earlier, this enumeration  shows three female children and one male child in William Taylor’s household, as would be expected from the ages given in the 1850 census.  Despite some discrepancies in ages of William, his wife and children, it seems almost certain that the  William Taylor in the 1850 and in the 1840 census of Marion County, SC are one and the same person.

William Taylor also appears as a head of household in the 1830 census of Marion County, SC , as do Robert Taylor and Thomas Taylor. In William Taylor’s household in 1830 there are his spouse and  three children, two boys and one girl. But all of the children named in the 1850 census were born after 1830. If this is the same William Taylor, which seems most likely,  then these three children all left their father’s household before 1850. Given their ages were at least twenty-something by then, it is entirely reasonably that they should have married and established their own households.

In 1820, William Taylor and Robert Taylor both appear as heads of households  in Marion County, SC. William’s household includes his spouse and two children.   William Jackson Taylor and Samantha J. Rogers in 1820 would have been 19 and 20 years old, respectively. If this was indeed their household, then their marriage must have occurred about 1817.  Unfortunately, no documentation of their marriage date has been located.

From Federal Census records, though,  it seems that by 1820  William Taylor and Samantha J. Rogers had established their household in Marion County, SC.  The names of the three eldest Taylor children are not known, and it appears that they had left their father’s household by the time of the 1850 census, but the names of the known children of Samantha J. Rogers and William J. Taylor are listed below.  All of these children were born in South Carolina. The reported dates of birth of the children show typical variances found in 19th century census records; where given below the dates of birth are taken from  grave marker inscriptions.

  1. unknown male Taylor, born about 1818 in South Carolina
  2. unknown female Taylor, born about 1819 in South Carolina
  3. unknown male Taylor, born about 1826 in South Carolina
  4. Fannie R. Taylor, born January 21, 1832; died June 30, 1904; never married; buried Empire Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA.
  5. Mary Taylor, born 1833; at home with her parents in Berrien County, GA in 1860
  6. Thomas L. Taylor, born November 7, 1838; married Fairiby Cook (b. 1846), daughter of Elijah Cook;   died June 18, 1922; buried Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church, Berrien County, GA.
  7. Emeline Taylor, born about 1839, in South Carolina; married Joseph Lewis, January 28, 1866 in Berrien County, GA.
  8. Jemima Taylor, born January 22, 1842; married on December 25, 1856 to William Hill Boyett, who was born July 27, 1834 and died December 16, 1897; Jemima died June 28, 1926; buried Empire Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA
  9. Robert Lewis Taylor, born 1845; married 1st Nancy Tison, daughter of Henry Tison, on June 22, 1834; married 2nd Sallie Boyd, daughter of Aden Boyd; said to be buried in an unmarked grave at Empire Church Cemetery
  10. William Jackson Taylor, Jr. born 1847; married Eliza H. Boyd, daughter of Aden Boyd, on July 29, 1862.
  11. Samantha Jane Taylor, born December 28, 1848; married Benjamin Thomas Cook in Berrien County on December 14, 1865; Jane died June 7, 1888; Ben died October 5, 1924; buried Empire Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA.

The 1860 Federal Census of Berrien County, GA lists two other children living in William J. Taylor’s household.  They were Martha, age 3, and Harriet, age 1. Both girls were born in South Carolina.

William Jackson Taylor and his wife, Samantha, joined with the Primitive Baptist congregation of Empire Church.  Their future in-laws, Nancy Sykes and Aden Boyd, gave land in 1854 to establish Empire Church,  located on Empire Road near Five Mile Creek,  about six miles northeast of Ray City out the Sam I. Watson Highway.

The Sons of William Jackson Taylor

According to W. H. Griffin, all three sons saw service in the Confederate army. The sons were:

  • Thomas Lang Taylor who married Ferraby Cook, a daughter of Elijah Cook, and they were the parents of George M., E.B., William J., Archie and Arthur, twins, and the three daughters. Thomas Lang Taylor enlisted in Company I, 50th Georgia Regiment on March 22, 1862, and mustered out on February 15, 1863 at Camp Winder, Richmond, VA. He was enumerated at age 23 in Berrien County, in the 1864 Census for Re-organizing the Georgia Militia. His profession as “shoemaker”  was critical to the war effort; “keeping the troops adequately shod was a problem that plagued Confederate authorities from first to last.” Thomas L. Taylor later served as  Justice of the Peace in Berrien County.
  • Lewis Robert Taylor, who married first Nancy Tison and after her death Sallie Boyd, a daughter of Aiden Boyd. Pvt L. R. Taylor enlisted in Company E, 50th Georgia Regiment on January 28, 1863 at Coffee Bluff near Savannah, GA.
  • William J. Taylor Jr. was too young for service when the Civil War started. He was enumerated at age 16 in Berrien County in the 1864 Census for Reorganization of the Georgia Militia. William J. Jr., [was] still living [in 1927] and was married to Eliza Boyd, another daughter of Aiden Boyd.  William J. Jr., [was then] in his eightyeth year.

Widower and Groom in a Month

Samantha J. Rogers Taylor,  scarcely survived the end of the Civil War.  William J. Taylor was left a widower on November 6, 1865; Samantha was buried at Empire Church Cemetery, near Ray City, GA.

Samantha Jane Taylor tombstone

Grave of Samantha J. Taylor, Empire Cemetery, Lanier County, GA. Image courtesy of Linda Ward Meadows.

William J. Taylor was not in mourning for long. Within days following the death of his first wife, Mr. Taylor married Mrs. Mary Ford. She was the young widow  of William A. Ford, who apparently died at home in Berrien County, GA about 1864. Born Mary Patience Ellen Musselwhite, she was daughter of Asa Musslewhite, of Lowndes County.   Mrs. Ford had four young children:  Mary Ann E. Ford, age 7; Nancy E. Ford, age 5; John S. Ford, age 3; and Anna Ford, age 1.

There seems to be some confusion of the military records of William A. Ford with those of William D. Ford.

William D. Ford (1839-1862)
William D. Ford, of Berrien County, GA was the husband of Lydia M. Baker.  Military records show he served with The Berrien Light Infantry, Company I, 50th Georgia Regiment.  He enlisted on March 4, 1862 at Nashville, GA and died on October 26, 1862 at Winchester, Frederick County, VA. Extensive research on the 50th Georgia Regiment by James W. Parrish, author of Wiregrass to Appomattox, indicates William D. Ford died of disease at Winchester Hospital and was buried at Stonewall Confederate Cemetery, Winchester VA.

William A. Ford (abt 1825 -abt 1864)
William A. Ford, married Mary P. E. Musselwhite in 1851 in Dooly County, GA and moved to Berrien County, GA before 1860. He  did not serve in the Civil War, claiming the equivalent of “conscientious objector” status.  William A. Ford was enumerated in the 1864 Census for the Re-organization of the Georgia Militia  at age 42 years and 7 months.  His occupation was farming but he was also a preacher, which was the basis of his exemption from Confederate service. Apparently William A. Ford died shortly after the 1864 Georgia census; the date of death and place of burial is not known.

 

William J. Taylor, Sr. and Mary Musslewhite Ford were married in Berrien County on November 30, 1865.  The groom was 64;  The bride was exactly half his age, at 32.

William J. Taylor, Sr and Mary Ford, Certificate of Marriage, November 3, 1865, Berrien County, GA

William J. Taylor, Sr and Mary Ford, Certificate of Marriage, November 3, 1865, Berrien County, GA

The Taylor children’s position on their father’s remarriage so soon after the death of their mother, and to a much younger woman, is unknown.  The wedding ceremony was performed by the widower’s son, Thomas L. Taylor, who was Justice of the Peace.  On the other hand, William J. Taylor’s youngest daughter, Samantha J. Taylor, left the home of her father and new step-mother just two weeks later, to be married to Benjamin Thomas Cook.

On October 27, 1866  William J. Taylor was expelled from the Empire Primitive Baptist Church, presumably on account of his association with a Missionary Baptist church.  According to W. H. Griffin, “Mr. Taylor was a member of the Missionary Baptist church and was a co-temporary and fellow worker with Moses G. Sutton and other pioneer citizens in the establishment of Poplar Springs church out ten miles east of Nashville…”

In 1867,  William Taylor  signed the Oath of Allegiance to the United States in order to have his national citizenship restored and to qualify for the right to vote.  The Oath of Allegiance was required of all southern men whose national citizenship had been renounced by way of the Ordinance of Secession, oaths of  abjuration of national citizenship, oaths of allegiance to Confederate states,  or acceptance of Confederate citizenship.

In 1867 William J. Taylor signed an oath of allegiance to the United States and sought to have his civil rights restored.

In 1867 William J. Taylor signed an oath of allegiance to the United States and sought to have his civil rights restored.

William  and Mary made their home in Berrien County in the 10th Land District.  The children of William J. Taylor and Mary  P. E. Musselwhite were:

  1. Moses A. Taylor, born about 1868
  2. Sarah Ann Taylor, born August, 1870
  3. Ephraim Taylor, born about 1872

The 1870 Census shows William J. Taylor and Mary PE Musselwhite Taylor were enumerated on their farm in the 1148 Georgia Militia District, Berrien County, GA. In their household were their children Moses and Sarah Ann, and Mary’s children by her former marriage, Mary A., Nancy, John and Ann.  Their neighbors were the families of John Sapp, William Garrett, William Gaskins, and Emily Gaskins Newbern, widowed daughter-in-law of Etheldred Newbern.

1870 Census enumeration of William J. Taylor and Mary P E Musselwhite Taylor in Berrien County, GA https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0135unit#page/n501/mode/1up

1870 Census enumeration of William J. Taylor and Mary P E Musselwhite Taylor in Berrien County, GA https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0135unit#page/n501/mode/1up

In 1880, William  and Mary were still in the 1148 th District of Berrien County. In their household were their minor children Moses , Sarah, and Ephriam, and Mary’s daughter, Nancy Ford.  Enumerated at age 81, William Taylor was still working as a blacksmith.  On neighboring farms were the families of his son, Thomas Taylor, and of James Sirmans.

 

1880 Census enumeration of William J. Taylor and Mary P E Musselwhite Ford in Berrien County, GA. https://archive.org/stream/10thcensusl0134unit#page/n432/mode/1up

1880 Census enumeration of William J. Taylor and Mary P E Musselwhite Ford in Berrien County, GA. https://archive.org/stream/10thcensusl0134unit#page/n432/mode/1up

William J. Taylor, Sr. is buried by his first wife Samantha in Empire Church Cemetery. Several of their children are buried nearby.  His second wife Mary survived him by many years.

SOURCES:
Griffin Papers, by William Henry Griffin; Taylor Family folder found in Huxford Library; 1820, 1830, 1840,1850 Federal Census for Marion County, SC; 1860, 1870, and 1880 Federal Census for Berrien County, GA; Tombstone inscriptions in Empire Cemetery; Berrien County marriage records.

 

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Notes on Sarah Malinda Clements

  • Sarah Malinda Clements (1862-1947)

Sarah Malinda Clements was born March 12, 1862 in Berrien County, GA. She was the youngest of 13 children born to David G. Clements and Gincey Sirmans.  She was a sister of Levi Jordan Clements, who was the patriarch of the Clements sawmill business at Ray City.

Sarah’s parents were pioneer settlers of the area. They were married in Lowndes County, GA on January 1, 1835.   Her father came with his parents to Lowndes County about 1832.  Her grandfather William Clements and William A. Knight had been neighbors in Wayne County, GA, and her aunt Anne Donald Clements had married Levi J. Knight in 1827. Her mother was  Gincey Sirmans, a daughter of Abner Sirmans and Bettie Kirkland. Abner Sirmans, his brothers, and father, Josiah Sirmans, were among the first permanent settlers of Clinch County, GA, having arrived there in 1822. Her aunt Elizabeth  “Betsy” Sirmans married Etheldred Dryden Newbern, another pioneer settler of Berrien County.

Sarah’s father and both of her grandfathers, fought under the command of their friend and neighbor Levi J. Knight in the Indian Wars of 1836-1838.  David G. Clements, William Clements and Abner Sirmans all served with Captain Knight’s Independent Company. David Clements was among those who took part in the Battle of Brushy Creek, one of the last real engagements with the Creek Indians in this region.

Soon after marriage, David G. Clements acquired lot of land 406, 10th district, on which he lived and farmed until his death. He was cut into Berrien out of Lowndes County, 1856. In Berrien County, the Clements home place was in the 1144th Georgia Militia District just north of Ray’s Mill (now Ray City), GA.

lot-470-471-maps-w-roads-ac

In 1854, Sarah’s sister, Elizabeth Clements, married William Gaskins. The Clements were neighbors of William Gaskins, son of Fisher Gaskins.   The Gaskins were another of the early pioneer families of Berrien County.  William Gaskins came to the area with his father and brothers, John Gaskins and Harmon Gaskins, with their large herds of cattle,  about the same time the Knights and Clements were homesteading in the area around Beaverdam Creek (site of present day Ray City, GA).

At the outset of the Civil War, Sarah’s father and brother, John C. Clements, answered the call of General Levi J. Knight to form a company of men for Confederate service; their names appear on an 1861 muster roll of the Berrien Minute Men.  John C. Clements served with Company K, 29th Georgia Regiment; David G. Clements later appears on the 1864 census of southern men who were excluded from the draft on account of age.

1870 census enumeration of 8-year old Sarah Clements in the household of her mother, Gincey Clements. https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0135unit#page/n438/mode/1up

1870 census enumeration of 8-year old Sarah Clements in the household of her mother, Gincey Clements. https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0135unit#page/n438/mode/1up

Sarah, born during the Civil War, grew up on her father’s farm during the Reconstruction period in Georgia.  She attended the local country schools and was educated through the 5th grade. It appears that she lived in her father’s home until his death in 1888.

Although  Sarah married twice, she was not lucky in love. She did not marry until the age of 36.

1880 census enumeration of Sarah Ann Clements in the household of her father, David G. Clements. https://archive.org/stream/10thcensusl0134unit#page/n379/mode/1up

1880 census enumeration of Sarah Ann Clements in the household of her father, David G. Clements. https://archive.org/stream/10thcensusl0134unit#page/n379/mode/1up

In the Census of 1880, 18-year-old Sarah Ann Clements was enumerated by Census taker Lacy Elias Lastinger in her father’s household. Also present was Sarah’s older sister Mary Ann, to whom she was devoted for life, and their siblings.  Next door were Sarah’s sister, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Clements, and her husband William Gaskins. Also neighbors were William’s niece Mary Evelyn Gaskins and her husband George W. Fender.

On October 26, 1898 Sarah married William J. “Bill Jack” Knight.  He was born in 1860, but otherwise little is known of his history. The ceremony was performed by Albert Benjamin Surrency in Berrien County, GA.

Sarah Clements

Sarah Clements

Sarah Clements and William J. Knight are enumerated together in the census of 1900 in their Rays Mill home. Sarah’s spinster sister, 59-year-old Mary Ann Clements, had also come to live in the Knight household.   Sarah’s brother, John C. Clements, and his family remained as neighbors, as did George W. Fender.

William and Sarah owned their farm near Ray’s Mill  free and clear of mortgage.  Only one offspring was born of this union, but the child died young.

William J. Knight died on January 22, 1909 at his home near Ray’s Mill, GA.

Obituary of William J. Knight, husband of Sarah Malinda Clements

Obituary of William J. Knight, husband of Sarah Malinda Clements

Tifton Gazette
January 29, 1909

Information reached here Monday of the sudden death of Mr. “Bill Jack” Knight, a prominent resident of the Ray’s Mill district. Mr. Knight had been slightly indisposed for two or three days.  After eating a light supper Friday night as he was sitting at the fireside he suddenly fell over and died.  Mr. Knight was fifty years of age and was married about seven years ago to Miss Sarah Clements, of this place.  He was laid to rest at the Beaverdam burial grounds.  – Milltown News.

The widow Sarah Knight was enumerated (as Sarah Clements) in 1910 with her sister Mary Ann Clements in their home just east of Ray’s Mill.  They were neighbors of John B. Fountain and Frank Gallagher.

Some time before 1920 Sarah married for a second time, joining in matrimony with James W. Suggs.  He was from Dooly County, GA, a son of Malinda “Lynne” Proctor and Wright Suggs.

Sarah and James W. Suggs were enumerated together in the Census of 1920, at their farm on a settlement road near Ray’s Mill. Sarah’s sister and constant companion, Mary Ann Clements, resided with the Suggs.  On adjacent farms were Parnell Knight and Henry D. Bennett.

The 1926 Influenza epidemic reached its peak in Georgia in March;  1926 was the worst flu year since the pandemics of 1918-1919 which had claimed 675,000 lives in the U.S. and more than 30 million worldwide. Sarah’s sister, Mary Ann Clements, at the age of 86, succumbed to Influenza, dying  on March 26, 1926.  She was attended by her nephew, Dr. Henry W. Clements, who was a son of Rowena Patten and Levi J. Clements.  She was buried at Empire Church Cemetery.

Death certificate of Mary Ann Clements, March 26, 1926, Ray City, GA

Death certificate of Mary Ann Clements, March 26, 1926, Ray City, GA

Sometime between 1920 and 1930 James W. Suggs died, leaving Sarah widowed for the second time. Sarah, now on her own, boarded in the farm home of Sherrod Winfield Fender and his wife, Lula Bell Smith. Sherrod was a son of George W. Fender, and a neighbor of Henry Studstill, Arrin H. Guthrie, and Phil McGowan. Also lodging in the Fender household was Chester Nobles.

Sherrod W. Fender died in 1931, but Sarah continued to live with the widowed Lula Smith Fender. The 1940 census shows Sarah Suggs enumerated as a “companion” of Lula Fender.

1940 census enumeration of Sarah Clements Suggs in the Ray City, GA household of Lula Fender.

1940 census enumeration of Sarah Clements Suggs in the Ray City, GA household of Lula Fender.

Sarah Malinda Clements Suggs died April 8, 1947.   She was buried at New Ramah Cemetery at Ray City, GA. (Lula Fender was a member of the New Ramah Primitive Baptist Church.)

Grave of Sarah Clements Suggs (1862-1947), New Ramah Cemetery, Ray City, GA. Image Source: Robert Strickland, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52222556

Grave of Sarah Clements Suggs (1862-1947), New Ramah Cemetery, Ray City, GA. Image Source: Robert Strickland, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52222556

Related Posts:

Widow Clements was a Planter of Berrien County, GA

Clements Lumber Company and the Company Town

Levi J. Clements

Clements Lumber Company and the Company Town

WWI Boom for Clements Lumber Company at Ray City, GA

William F. Luckie ~ Luckie Lumber Mill

November 6, 1923 ~ Big Fire Loss at the Ray City Sawmill

The Family of Aden Boyd and Nancy Sykes

Aden Boyd and Nancy Sykes Boyd were among the  pioneer settlers of  Berrien County, GA.

According to Huxford, the children of Aden and Nancy were:

1. Blansett “Blanche” Boyd, born 1823, married Henry Tison.
2. David Boyd, born 1827, married Anna Ford, October 27, 1858.
3. Aden Boyd, Jr. born  1829, married Maxie Cook, daughter of Elijah Cook and Sarah “Sallie” Webb.
4. Lucinda Boyd, born  1832, married William Baldree, September 9, 1857.
5. Sarah Boyd,  born 1835, married Robert Lewis Taylor.
6. Mary E. Boyd,  born 1836, married Elbert J. Chapman.
7. Eliza H. Boyd, born 1838, married William J. Taylor, Jr., July 29, 1862.
8. William H. Boyd, born 1841, married – Tyson in Florida.

 Aden Boyd(1784-1864) was a son of David Boyd and Sarah Dabney. His father “was a Revolutionary soldier, enlisting in Culpepper County, VA, in Captain Ladson’s company, later being tranferred to Captain Clark’s company and serving under General Benjamin Lincoln at Charleston and Augusta” in the 1780’s.

After the Revolution, David Boyd RS settled in Old Washington County, GA. His property there was later cut into Montgomery and Tattnall counties.

“Aden Boyd was born in Georgia in 1800 according to the 1850 census, but in 1784 according to his tombstone.”

When Aden Boyd was about 12 years old his father was convicted of stealing a cow from a neighbor and received a severe sentence which included 117 lashes and being branded with an “R” for Rustler. (In 1999 David Boyd’s descendants were able to secure a full and unconditional pardon for David Boyd.  See 1999 Pardon for Revolutionary Soldier Balances Scales of Justice  for the complete story.)

“His wife, Nancy, was born 1802 in this state according to the 1850 census, but her tombstone shows she was born 1790. They were married in Tattnall County, GA on December 19, 1819 by J.A. Tippins, Justice of the Peace.  The bride was formerly Nancy Sykes, daughter of Arthur Sykes (she had a brother of the same name), and had previously been married, so that her name in the marriage license appears as Nancy Jones.”

“Aden Boyd and wife immediately after their marriage, proceeded to Appling County and made their home there until about 1828-30, 

Aden and Nancy Boyd made their home in Appling county, and are documented as residents of Appling County in the Census of 1820.  In 1823 the couple had their first child, a daughter they named  Blansett. Around that same time Aden’s parents both died, passing within a month of each other in Tatnall County, Ga. When the Georgia legislature created Ware County in December, 1824 Aden Boyd’s home was cut into the new county. On July 11, 1826, Aden Boyd purchased lot #155 in the 8th land district of Ware County, near a railroad stop known as “Old Nine” or “Number Nine”– a lot now within the city limits of Waycross, GA.  Aden Boyd sold this lot to Jeremiah Walker on Sept. 24, 1827.

About 1827, a son was born to Aden and Nancy Boyd. They named the boy David Boyd, after his paternal grandfather. Around 1828, Aden Boyd moved his family  to Old Lowndes County, where he established a home in the portion of the 10th land district which in 1856 was cut into Berrien County.  It appears that Aden’s brother, Bani J. Boyd, and nephew, Henry Boyd came to Lowndes from Tatnall County about this same time and settled nearby. In 1829, Nancy delivered another boy and the couple named him Aden Boyd, Jr.

In 1830, Aden Boyd and his young family were enumerated in Lowndes County, GA.   They were original members of Union Church which they joined on professions of faith, he being baptized November 12, 1831, and she on January 7, 1832. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd were neighbors of Dred Newbern and Jonathan Sirmans. Nearby were the homesteads of  Bani J. Boyd, and Henry Boyd.  Aden Boyd’s place was in the same vicinity as William Parker’s homestead, which was raided by Indians on July 10, 1836. It appears that Aden Boyd did not join Captain Levi J. Knight’s militia company in the pursuit of the Indian raiders. However, he did serve in Captain Knight’s company in 1837, for which military service he was later awarded bounty land (Bounty-Land Warrant Number

According to the 1830 census Aden Boyd did not own any enslaved people at that time. Over the next eight years, four more daughters were born to the couple, Lucinda B. (1832), Sarah B. (1835), Mary E. (1836), and Eliza (1838).   County deed records show that on February 22, 1839, Aden Boyd purchased land from Levi J. Knight, original settler of Ray City, GA . This land was a part of lot 356, 10th district of what was then Lowndes but now Berrien County.

By about 1845, Aden and Nancy’s eldest daughter,  Blansett Boyd, married Henry Tison and settled with her husband on a farm next door to her parents.

The Agricultural Census of 1850 shows Aden Boyd owned 735 acres of land, 40 acres of it improved. The cash value of his farm was $400, and he owned another $50 in farming implements and machinery. His livestock included 3 horses, 20 milch cows, 24 other cattle, and 100 swine. The total value of his live stock was $460 dollars. He had 300 bushels of Indian corn and 40 bushels of oats.  He had 1 bale, 400 lbs, of ginned cotton; 50 bushels of peas and beans; 20 bushels of sweet potatoes, 50 lbs of butter, and $125 dollars’ worth of slaughtered animals. His neighbors were John F. Clements and Henry Tison.  Nearby was the farm of Aaron Knight, and his family.

About 1852, son Aden Boyd, Jr married Maxie Cook, daughter of Elijah Cook and Sarah “Sallie” Webb. Aden and Maxie settled on a place next to Stephen W. Avera, father of William Greene Avera, and the neighboring farms of William H. Boyett, Moses G. Sutton, Elijah Cook, and Mark R. Watson.

According to Folks Huxford, Aden  and Nancy Boyd had continued as members of  Union Church but in 1854, with their children marrying and settling around them, “a meeting-house was erected on the Boyd lands called Boyd’s Meeting House. Aden Boyd gave land for a church and cemetery, and a new church called Empire was organized there.  Empire Church is located near Five Mile Creek, about six miles northeast of Ray City out the Sam I. Watson Highway, on Empire Road.

“Aden Boyd donated the land for Empire Church and Cemetery in Land Lot # 335, Lowndes County on 26 May 1855. The church lands were later cut into Berrien and Lanier counties. This deed transferring property from Aden to Empire is registered on page 369, Book A, Berrien County, GA deeds. Aden and Nancy were among the charter members of Empire Primitive Baptist Church, which was previously known as Boyd’s Meeting House. Aden’s tombstone inscription also states that he donated the ground for this cemetery. Minutes from the first church Conference held on Saturday, 27 May 1854 referred to the church as Boyd’s Meeting House, which was now to be called Empire.”

Mr. and Mrs. Boyd became charter-members of Empire Church by letter of transfer from Union Church dated March 11, 1854.” He and his wife continued as members at Empire for the rest of their lives.

On Feb 4, 1856, Aden Boyd and his sister, Mrs. Blansett Jones (wife of Abner Jones of Berrien County) Filed an application in Lowndes county for a pension as orphans of a deceased Revolutionary Soldier. Their pension application was denied since they were both adults with families of their own at the time of their father’s death.

Aden Boyd was one of the early rice growers of Berrien county. The Berrien County agricultural and manufacturing records  for 1860 show he had on hand 80 pounds of rice, along with 50 bushels of corn, 10 bushels of oats and 5 bushels of peas and beans.  By 1860, Aden Boyd kept a farm of just 100 acres for himself. Of this, 15 acres were improved and 85 unimproved. The land was assessed at $400, and his home furnishing were worth $5. His livestock consisted of one mule, two sheep, and ten swine, altogether valued at $100.

In 1860, Adin Boyd and his wife Nancy were living in Berrien County. His daughters Sarah, and Eliza H., and son William H. were enumerated in his household. His neighbors were William G. Aiken and Henry Tison.

Aden Boyd died in April 1864, and was  buried in the cemetery at the church he helped to found.  Nancy Sykes Boyd died in April, 1872 and was buried in the cemetery at the church.

aden-boyd-nancy-sykes

Grave marker of Nancy Sykes and Aden Boyd, Empire Cemetery, Lanier County, GA. Image detail courtesy of CT Zeigler http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37125179

 ~

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Inscription detail, grave marker of Nancy Sykes and Aden Boyd, Empire Cemetery, Lanier County, GA

In 1857,  daughter Lucinda Boyd married William Baldree,  and the couple made their home adjacent to her parents and siblings.  The following year, David Boyd married Anna Ford and they also made their farm near his parents’ home place.

1860-boyd-family1

1860 census pages showing households of Aden Boyd and Nancy Sykes Boyd; Henry Tison and Blansett Boyd Tison; William; William Baldree and Lucinda Boyd Baldree; and David Boyd and Anna Ford Boyd.

Source: https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu111unit#page/n394/mode/1up

In June of 1859, Aden Boyd’s daughter Mary Boyd, married Elbert J. Chapman who was known locally as “Old Yeller” because of his pale complexion.  During the Civil War Old Yeller enlisted with Levi J. Knight’s company of Berrien Minute Men, and served in the 29th Georgia Regiment along with William Washington KnightJohn W. Hagan and other men of Berrien County.  But Chapman grew frustrated with relegation to a rear position and  abandoned his unit to seek action with  a westbound cavalry unit.  Although Chapman fought bravely with his new unit, he was eventually shot for his desertion from the 29th Georgia Infantry. Mary Boyd Chapman was later denied a Confederate Widow’s pension.

Sarah Boyd and Eliza Boyd married two brothers, Robert Lewis Taylor and William J. Taylor, respectively. They were brothers of Jemima Taylor, who married William Boyette.

The youngest son, William H. Boyd, married around the end of the Civil War or shortly thereafter.  According to Folks Huxford, he married a Tison woman in Florida.  The 1870 census provides her given name as “Georgia A.”, but no Georgia Tison has been located.  In 1870, William H. Boyd and wife Georgia, along with their sons Henry Harrison Boyd and Thomas H. Boyd, were making their household in the 1144 Georgia Militia District, the “Rays Mill” District of Berrien County, GA.  They were next door to William’s sister Blansett “Blanchy” and her husband, Henry Tison. Also living on the next farm was William’s widowed sister Mary Boyd Chapman, with her 8-year old daughter Mary A C Chapman and an infant daughter, 7-month-old Cressey Chapman.

Pages 91-92 of the 1870 Census of Berrien County, GA showing the adjacent households of Blansett Boyd Tison & Henry Tison; Jasper Tison; William H. Boyd & wife Georgia with sons Henry H Boyd and Thomas Boyd; and Mary Boyd Chapman with daughters Mary A C Chapman and Cressey Chapman.

Pages 91-92 of the 1870 Census of Berrien County, GA showing the adjacent households of Blansett Boyd Tison & Henry Tison; Jasper Tison; William H. Boyd & wife Georgia with sons Henry Harrison Boyd and Thomas Boyd; and Mary Boyd Chapman with daughters Mary A C Chapman and Cressey Chapman.

By 1880 William H. and Georgia Boyd had moved to the 1058 Georgia Militia District in Echols County, GA. They were enumerated there with their son Harrison.  Also in the Boyd household was William’s sister, Mary Chapman, and her daughter Cressey Chapman.

1880 Census, Echols County, GA, enumeration of the household of William H. Boyd & wife Georgia with son Henry Harrison Boyd, sister Mary Boyd Chapman, and niece Cressey Chapman.

1880 Census, Echols County, GA, enumeration of the household of William H. Boyd & wife Georgia with son Henry Harrison Boyd, sister Mary Boyd Chapman, and niece Cressey Chapman.

https://archive.org/stream/10thcensus0145unit#page/n58/mode/1up

It appears that Georgia Boyd died shortly after 1880 and that William H. Boyd remarried.   William H. Boyd, himself, apparently died before 1900, but his second wife, Penny Boyd, appears in the Valdosta, GA household of his adult son, Harrison Boyd, along with her minor children in the  census of 1900.

Related Posts:

Sheriff Swain and Legal Affairs in Old Troupville.

Morgan G. Swain, subject of previous posts, moved to Troupville, seat of Lowndes County, GA in 1838.  In Troupville, he operated a blacksmith shop and later became owner and innkeeper of the Jackson Hotel.  He also worked as Deputy Sheriff, Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and Jailor.  (see Morz Swain was Innkeeper, Blacksmith, Sheriff & Jailor of old Troupville, GA  and Morgan Goodgame Swain and the Estate of Canneth Swain)

In these roles he would have been well known to all citizens of Lowndes, including those pioneers who settled at the site of Ray City, GA.   He certainly would have known Levi J. Knight and his father, William Anderson Knight, who were also engaged in civic and political matters, although in politics Swain was a Democrat, whereas the Knights were staunch Whigs.  Morgan Swain served as 1st Lieutenant of Militia in the 763rd District in Thomas County while Levi J. Knight was a Militia Captain in Lowndes County. While Swain was a Justice of the Peace in Troupville, Knight was the Justice of the Peace in his home district.

From the time Swain moved to Troupville, GA through the 1840s the state newspapers carried literally hundreds of legal notices issued under his authority, especially the papers at the state capitol in Milledgevillge, GA,

An interesting series of legal advertisements in the pages of The Milledgeville Federal Union covered the affairs of one Uriah Kemp, of Troupville,GA.  “Of the merchants who did business there in the old days, were Moses and Aaron Smith,  E. B. Stafford,  Uriah Kemp, and Alfred Newburn,” according to an 1899 Sketch of Old Lowndes County.

On January 6, 1839 Kemp obtained a judgement to seize a horse owned by Jacob Croft.

Deputy Sheriff Morgan G. Swain advertised on Jan 15, 1839, for the Lowndes County Sheriff's Sale

Deputy Sheriff Morgan G. Swain advertised on Jan 15, 1839, for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Sale

In May, several lots owned by Uriah Kemp in the town of Troupville were auctioned off by the Lowndes county Sheriff to satisfy a debt owed to Joseph Sirmans.

Deputy Sheriff Morgan G. Swain advertised for the Lowndes County Sheriff's Sale, May 21. 1839

Deputy Sheriff Morgan G. Swain advertised for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Sale, May 21. 1839 Advertised in the Milledgeville Federal Union.

In the fall of 1839 Kemp was forced to sell lot 61 in Troupville, GA  and Lot No. 238 in the 13th district in Thomas County to settle  debts owed to Morgan G. Swain, himself.

Morgan G. Swain levied on theTroupville, GA property of Uriah Kemp to collect on a debt.

November 5, 1839 Morgan G. Swain collects on a debt in Thomas county.

November 5, 1839 Morgan G. Swain collects on a debt in Thomas county. Sheriff’s Sale ad appeared in the Milledgeville Southern Recorder.

A little more than a year later, Morgan G. Swain and Uriah Kemp were co-defendants in a lien action brought against them by Ryall B. Thomas.

As reflected in the legal advertisements in the Milledgeville Federal Union, Morgan G. Swain entered duty as Sheriff of Lowndes County, GA. in  1840.

As reflected in the legal advertisements in the Milledgeville Federal Union, Morgan G. Swain entered duty as Sheriff of Lowndes County, GA. in 1840.

In other action handled by Sheriff Swain was a case concerning William C. Newbern, who was the brother of Etheldred Dryden Newbern and the uncle of Martha Newbern Guthrie (see Babe of the Indian Wars),

One interesting case concerned a levy on 100 bushels of corn made by William C. Newbern against John A. Priester.

One interesting case concerned a levy on 100 bushels of corn made by William C. Newbern against John A. Priester. Milledgeville Federal Union.

As Sheriff of Lowndes County, Morgan Swain also was responsible for the arrest of escaped slaves.  Again, legal advertisements were placed by the sheriff in The Milledgeville Federal Union.

Later advertisements gave Swain’s position as Jailor in Troupville, GA

A clipping of the August 11, 1847 edition of The Albany Patriot lists Morgan G. Swain as Jailor of Lowndes County, repsponsible for the incarceration of captured runaway slaves.

A clipping of the August 11, 1847 edition of The Albany Patriot lists Morgan G. Swain as Jailor of Lowndes County, responsible for the incarceration of captured runaway slaves.

Related Posts:

Etheldred Dryden Newbern ~ Pioneer Settler

Etheldred Dryden Newbern (1794-1874) was a pioneer settler of Berrien County and a noted participant in the last Indian encounters in Berrien County (see Martha Guthrie: Babe of the Indian Wars).

Monument for Etheldred Dryden Newbern, buried at Wayfare Church Cemetery near Statenville, GA. Newbern was one of the pioneer settlers of Berrien County.

Monument for Etheldred Dryden Newbern, buried at Wayfare Church Cemetery near Statenville, GA. Newbern was one of the pioneer settlers of Berrien County.

The Newbern’s homestead was located on the east bank of Five Mile Creek, perhaps about eight miles northeast of Ray City. This was probably somewhere in the present day vicinity of the Highway 168 bridge over Five Mile Creek.

The Newberns were the nearest neighbors of Short-arm Billy Parker. The Parker place was located a few miles further to the east, at a spring on the Alapaha River. When marauding Indians  came by the Parker place in 1836, Mrs. Parker and her daughters fled to the Newberns:

…the women ran through the field, a back way, a distance of five miles to the home of Dread Newborn.

Arriving there she related what she had seen, as fast as her fright and exhaustion would allow, for she had run every step of the way, and she was almost overcome with heat and fatigue. On learning this Mr. Newbern realized that the cause of their own experiences of the night before when the horses had become greatly frightened, snorting and breaking out of the horse lot and coming back the next morning. It was supposed that they had become frightened at the sight of the Indians who were prowling around the neighborhood to steal.

A company of men soon collected together, under the command of George Peterson, Dread Newborn, William Parker, and others. The Indians were overtaken at the Allapaha river and three were killed, others made their escape but were overtaken at the St. Illa river [Satilla], at what is now known as Indian Lake, about two miles northeast of the town of Axson, Ga. They were all shot and killed, except one squaw; it was reported that she was captured and shot. Dread Newborn, the son of Dread Newborn, who followed the Indians, informs me that the Indian woman was kept in prison for a while and then by direction of the government was returned to her own people.

Etheldred Dryden Newbern (1794-1874), commonly called Dred or Dryden, was born 1794 in South Carolina. He was the eldest son of Thomas Newbern.  Folks Huxford said the name of Dred’s mother was not known, but some Internet genealogies indicate she was Nancy Christian.   Dred’s grandfather, also called Thomas Newbern, was a revolutionary soldier.

About 1798 Dred’s father, Thomas Newbern, brought the family from South Carolina to Georgia,  Thomas Newbern served as a lieutenant and captain in the Bulloch County militia.

Dred’s mother died about 1803 when he was a boy, probably nine or ten years of age.  His father, a widower with seven young children, quickly remarried and Dryden was raised into manhood by his stepmother,  Kizzie Collins. 

Dred Newbern served in the Georgia Militia in the War of 1812, as documented in War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files. Dred would have been 18 years old at the time the war broke out, and followed the military legacy of his father and grandfather who fought the British in the American Revolution.  Dred enlisted in Captain Peter Cone’s Company of Georgia Militia and was stationed at the port of Sunbury, GA for a six-month deployment. After discharge from the militia, Dred returned to Bulloch County.

Shortly after the war, sometime prior to 1815, Thomas Newbern moved the family to Tattnall County, where he was elected Justice of the Peace.

About 1823, Thomas Newbern relocated the family again, this time moving to Appling County and homesteading on a site about five miles northwest of present day Blackshear, GA. Dred Newbern, now a man of 29, apparently came along with his father to Appling county for there, on June 28, 1826, Dred married.  His bride was Elizabeth  “Betsy” Sirmans, a daughter of Artie Hardeman and Josiah Sirmans, Sr.  Of her father, Huxford wrote, “According to the best available information, the first permanent white settlers in what is now Clinch County were Josiah Sirmans, Sr., and his family.

About Dred Newbern’s father, Huxford’s History of Clinch County relates the following:

 OF the Clinch County Newberns, Thomas Newbern was the progenitor. This old pioneer came to this section from South Carolina and settled in what is now Ware County, about 1820. He was married twice. By his first marriage he had three children, viz. : John, William C, and Dryden Newbern. By his second marriage he had five children, viz. : George W. Newbern ; Cassie, who first married Martin Nettles and later Chas. A. Griffis; Lucretia, who married Jack Lee ; also a daughter who married James Sweat, and one who married John Sweat. Thomas Newbern was a prominent citizen of his time. He was elected surveyor of Ware County and commissioned February nth, 1828.  Two years later he was elected a justice of the Inferior Court of Ware County, to which he was commissioned April 28th, 1830. He was also commissioned justice of the peace of the 451 district of Ware County, April 3d, 1833. He is the fore-father of many of Clinch’s prominent citizens.

After their marriage in 1823, it appear that Betsy and Dred Newbern for a time made their home in Appling County, near the homestead of Dred’s parents. In 1825, their farms were cut into Ware County into the 584th  Georgia Militia District. From 1825 to 1827 Dryden Newbern served as the First Lieutenant of the militia in the 584th district.

About 1828, Betsy and Dryden moved their young family to Lowndes County (now Berrien) to a site on Five Mile Creek.  They established a homestead about  seven or eight miles northeast of the home of Levi J. Knight,  who had settled a few years earlier on Beaver Dam Creek at the site of present day Ray City, GA. In Lowndes County, Dryden was elected First Lieutenant of the militia in the 664th district. Levi J. Knight was the Justice of the Peace in this district.

At that time the land was still unsettled ,  and the Native Americans who had occupied the territory for so long in advance of white settlers were  being driven out of their ancestral lands.  As Wiregrass historian Montgomery Folsom said, “The Indians were goaded into madness.”  When open conflict with the Indians emerged in 1836,  Dryden Newbern was one of the first responders in the area.  Sending out the alarm when the Parker place on the Alapaha River was raided, he was among the leaders in the skirmish that routed the Indians (see Short-Arm Bill Parker and the Last Indian Fight In Berrien County). In the Indian Wars,  Ethedred Dryden Newbern served as a  private in Captain Levi J. Knights Independent Militia Company.

Huxford says the land on Five Mile Creek where  Betsy and Dred Newbern established their Berrien County homestead later became the property of John Fender.  The Newberns then  acquired land a few miles to the east and moved there, making a home on the west side of the Alapaha River.   About 1865 they sold this property, which later came into the hands of George N. Sutton, and moved east to Clinch County. They purchased Lot 256 in the 10th Land District and made their home there for  several years.  When their youngest daughter, Sarah “Sallie” Newbern, and  and her husband, William Franklin Kirkland, moved to Echols County, the elderly Newberns moved with them.  In Echols county, the Newberns purchased land and a herd of cattle; the late 1860s and early 1870s were a time of expansion in Georgia livestock production.

In 1874 Etheldred Dryden Newbern suffered a “rupture” and died.  He was buried in an unmarked grave at Wayfare Church, Echols county, GA.  A monument has been placed in the cemetery in his memory.

Children of Etheldred Dryden Newbern and Elizabeth “Betsy” Sirmans:

  1. Benjamin Newbern (1824-1895) married Nancy Griffin, daughter of Noah H. Griffin. In the Civil War enlisted in 9th FL Regiment. Burial at Wayfare Church Cemetery.
  2. Rachel Newbern (1826-) married Ashley Winn and moved to Florida. Burial at New River Cemetery, Bradford County, GA
  3. Thomas “Tom” Newbern (1828-1877) married Elizabeth Moore, daughter of John Moore. In the Civil War enlisted in Company G, 29th GA Regiment as a private in 1861.
  4. Caroline Newbern (1829-1891) married Edward Morris. Burial  at Arna Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Atkinson County, GA.
  5. Joseph Newbern (1834 – ) married Emily Gaskins, daughter of John Gaskins.
  6. Martha Newbern (1836-1925) married Samuel Guthrie. Burial at Guthrie Cemetery, Berrien County, GA.
  7. John Ashley Newbern (1839-1864) married Mrs. Sarah Ann Sirmans Gaskins, widow of John Elam Gaskins. In the Civil War joined Company H, 29th GA Regiment. Killed in action near Atlanta, GA in 1864. Burial at Arna Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Atkinson County, GA..
  8. Etheldred Dred Newbern (1844-1933) married Wealthy Corbitt, daughter of Elisha Corbitt. In the Civil War enlisted in Company I, 50th GA Regiment.  Burial at Arna Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Atkinson County, GA..
  9. Berrien A. Newbern (1845-1863) never married. In the Civil War enlisted in Company H, 29th GA Regiment. Died of wounds received in battle in Benton, MS on 26 June 1863. Burial at Arna Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Atkinson County, GA.
  10. Sarah “Sallie” Newbern (1848-1921), born November 7, 1849; married William Franklin Kirkland. Died July 13, 1921. Burial at North Cemetery, Dupont, Clinch County, GA.

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Short-Arm Bill Parker and the Last Indian Fight In Berrien County

In 1836, a band of Indians raided the homestead of William Parker, pioneer settler of Berrien County.  Since the spring of that year, pioneers all across Wiregrass Georgia had been facing increasing hostilities from the Native Americans who were being forced out of their ancestral lands.

A previous post recounted a story by Martha Guthrie, and the role of her family in the last Indian encounters in Berrien County (see Martha Guthrie: Babe of the Indian Wars).  Her parents, Dred Newbern and Bettsy Sirmons, were the nearest neighbors of William Parker. The Newbern’s homestead was located on the east bank of Five Mile Creek, perhaps about eight miles northeast of Ray City. This was probably somewhere in the present day vicinity of the Highway 168 bridge over Five Mile Creek. The Parker place was located a few miles further to the east, at the Alapaha River.

Coffee County historian Warren Preston Ward gave the following 1922 account of the raid on the Parker place, which was a prelude to the Battle of Brushy Creek.   According to Ward, the timing of the event was in the winter of 1836, but the letters of Levi J. Knight state the engagement occurred on July 12, 1836:

Short-Arm Bill Parker and the Last Indian Fight In Berrien County

The Atlanta Constitution
Warren Preston Ward
December 6, 1922 pg F15

About the year 1836 William Parker, (Short-Arm Bill) as he was called, and the father of C.G.W. Parker, and later a well-known doctor, was living in Berrien county on the old Patterson place. 

One winter day when Mr. Parker was away from home, several Indians appeared at the foot of the hill, at a spring, where the family got water. It is said that the Indians began to beat on logs, thereby attracting the attention of the people.  It appears that the Indians meant to rob and not to murder, but as there were no men at home the women ran through the field , a back way, a distance of five miles to the home of Dread Newborn. The Indians robbed the house, broke open a trunk and got $300 in cash, cut the feather beds open, emptied the feathers out and took the ticks with them.  A company of men soon collected together, under the command of George Peterson, Dread Newborn, William Parker, and others.  The Indians were overtaken at the Allapaha river and three were killed, others made their escape but were overtaken at the St. Illa river [Satilla River], at what is now known as Indian Lake, about two miles northeast of the town of Axson, Ga.  They were all shot and killed, except one squaw; it was reported that she was captured and shot.  Dread Newborn, the son of Dread Newborn, who followed the Indians, informs me that the Indian woman was kept in prison for a while and then by direction of the government was returned to her own people. About this time a whole family by the  name of Wilds was killed by the Indians, near Waresboro, Ga.  One little boy, Reuben Wilds, made his escape.  Of course there are a great many Indian stories, but the narratives I have given you are facts testified to by living witnesses and most worthy tradition, for the first time they are put into history of the Wiregrass country.

1927 Atlanta Journal account of the massacre of the Wildes family, 1832.

1927 Atlanta Journal account of the massacre of the Wildes family, July 22, 1838.

The Wildes Family Massacre

I will tell you one more incident, because it puts the ingenuity of white men to test against the cunningness of the Indians.  It is only through tradition that I have been able to get this story, which  runs thus: Way back in the early days people living in south Georgia had no markets near and so the people would gather their little plunder together, go in carts to Centerville on the St. Maria river, in Camden county, Ga.  The Indians robbed and killed a good many of these people going to market, at a point near the Okefenokee swamp.  A company [under Captain Elias Waldron] of brave pioneers decided to put a stop to this nefarious business, and, if possible, make it safe for people to go to market.  And so with guns and such other necessaries as they would need, they went to the point near the Okefenokee swamp and pitched their camp, they cut small logs into pieces five or six feet long, about the length of a man. They laid the logs around the camp fire and covered them over with quilts and blankets. On the ends of the logs they placed hats and fixed it up in such a manner as to make it look very much like a bunch of travelers lying around the camp fire.  The men, with their guns, went a short distance from the camp fire and concealed themselves in the woods.  Away in the midnight hour, as the fire burned low, the pioneers saw the heads of Indians beginning to peep out from behind trees and stumps and from over logs. In a minute there was a volley of shots fired and the Indians sprang to their feet and with the war-whoop charged upon the campfire. As they pulled off the hats at the end of the logs, instead of finding the heads of white men they saw the joke.  For a moment they stood still in bewilderment; at that moment every Indian was shot dead, not one of them made his escape.  Every hat had a bullet hole in it. That was the last of the robberies committed at Centerville by the Indians…
      By the year 1841 there was not an Indian in Georgia, who had a right to be here.  The people of Georgia, and especially south Georgia, were happy indeed to be rid of the Indians and to have the Wiregrass land without fear of molestation.  Some one wrote a song, about this time, which reads as follows:

“No more shall the sound of the war whoop be heard
The ambush and slaughter no longer be feared,
The tommy hawk buried shall rest in the ground.
And peace and good will to the nation round.”

More about the Wildes Family