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Looking for Picture of "Bennett Mansion" and Conflicting Information on when James Bennett Arrived in Henry County.

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News and Success Stories

JimChumney — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 21:37:33 CST

NOTE: Click here for the automated journal of all web page updates

March, 2013

Added information to William C. Watson's webpage to wit: his death date (September 17, 1827) and his service as sheriff of Baldwin County, Georgia for several terms. This new information was courtesy of member Old Columbia.

October 28, 2012

To the Migrations Facts and Theories section added a list of names of soldiers from Fort St. Marks and Fort Gadsden in north Florida that match the names of several pre-1830 Henry County Pioneers. John A. Chumney migrated from Fort St. Marks/Fort Gadsden to Henry County. Did some of the other soldiers take the same route?

June 14, 2012

Added an image of General William Irwin to the photo album and William's web page. The image was courtesy of Larry Smith. It was published in the June 2012 issue of "The Patrick Henry Orator," a quarterly publication of the Henry County Historical Group.

January 23, 2012

A discussion thread was started at the bottom of the "W Surnames" page seeking help with determining Stephen Wood's father. Please respond if you can help.

January 19, 2012

It pays to browse around in FamilySearch.org's online Henry County Estate Case Files. I found my GGG Grandfather John A. Chumney's 1855 estate case file -- all 180 pages of it -- misfiled under John A. Clenny 1859.

January 15, 2012

The digitized images of the Henry County estate records for years 1820-1916 are now online and can be viewed for free. Thanks a million to Jeff Gamble for this great scoop, and bless FamilySearch.org for providing the records free of charge. Most Estate Case Files contain a wealth of information and are often very interesting. Follow this LINK, click on Henry, and take a look.

Thanks to new member Richard L. Cawthon, we discovered that William Cawthon and William Wilson Cawthon were different men, and so a new web page was created for William Wilson Cawthon.

The website has been intolerably slow for weeks. Unfortunately, when Wetpaint reinvented itself as Wetpaint Entertainment, they apparently lost interest in their Wiki product and customers. I suppose we're fortunate they haven't pulled the plug on us completely. Moving the Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneers content to Google's Wiki platform has been considered but no action taken because it would take a lot of work. For now, please bear with us and keep your fingers crossed.

October 24, 2011

New additions to the website during the past several weeks were:

Richard McGriff's and William McGriff's birth and death dates were added to their web pages.

John A. Chumney's parents and birthplace were added to his web page.

Jeff Gamble added factoids from Early County, Georgia deeds to the web pages for Thomas Fulgham, Wiley Hays, Bryant Sholar, Anthony McCulloh, and John McDougald. The original information for the factoids was provided in discussion threads by "Old Columbia" (David).

Jeff Gamble added Early County, Georgia Deeds as a new source for Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneers and information.

Discussion threads were started for: Save Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery and William Erwin Hunt.

June 7, 2011

During the past eight weeks:

The web page for Mrs. E.W.I. Taylor was deleted. She was already included on the website under her maiden name E. W. I. Hodges, daughter of Joseph Hodges.

New member “Old Columbia” (David) created a new Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneer web page for John McDougald. John McDougald’s pre-1830 Henry County residency was proven through a new source: Early County, Georgia deeds. This source could easily lead to the discovery of additional pre-1830 Henry County settlers.

David was also very active providing new information on existing Pre-1830 pioneers through enlightening discussion threads and photos. So far, these include:

The “Benjamin Lewis deed, Henry County, Alabama, 1839” thread attached to Benjamin Lewis’s web page. Furthermore, David created a new “Benjamin Lewis deed, Henry County, Alabama, 1839” photo album and added images of the deed to it.
The “Bryan Sholar” thread appended to Bryant Sholar’s web page. Bryan Sholar was a witness to Benjamin Lewis’ deed to his land in Early County, Georgia.
The Wiley Hays thread appended to Wiley Hays’ web page. Wiley Hays was a witness to Benjamin Lewis’ deed to his land in Early County, Georgia.
The “Battle of Breakfast Branch - Time line on Josiah Dabney Cawthon” thread appended to Josiah D. Cawthon’s web page.
The “Mr. Attaway from Columbia” thread appended to Ezekiel M. Attaway’s web page.
The “Benjamin C. Lansdale - Henry County Surveyor” thread appended Benjamin C. Lansdell’s web page.
The “Anthony McCulloh buys land in Early Co., Ga.” thread appended to Anthony McCulloh’s web page.
An image of an 1844 Henry Co. Deed Witnessed By A. C. Gordon.

A lively discussion ensued on “The Scattered Thoughts of a Simple Minded Man” by Daniel Henry Pelham, and member pcpurvis (Chris) shared images of the preface to the book with the group. It’s attached to the bottom of Humphry Pellum’s web page.

There continues to be a lot of interest in the “Earliest Land Ownership Records” thread. Take a look and add your two cents.

An anonomyous “Pelhams of Henry County Al” thread was added asking for information on John King who was living with the W. L. Pellum family in 1850.

An anonymous Watson/Dorough thread was added to the slave Harry Waton’s web page asking if the two Henry Watson slaves could have been sold to their neighbor John Dorough.

An anonymous “Jane Crawford Whitehurst” thread was added to John Whitehurst’s web page asking for information on Jane’s parents and/or maiden name.

Member JBailey3062 started the “Children of Joel T. and Mary McClendon” thread. Member bbatdega subsequently identified the couple’s four children.

Member ae2harris started the “general William Irwin” thread asking about William Irwin’s parents and relationship to Governor Jared Irwin of Georgia and received the answer from member MaryAnn Caldbeck.

April 20, 2011

During the past seven weeks:

March 7th was the Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneers Wiki's second anniversary on line. Discoveries of Henry County's earliest pioneers and history continued to delight and inform throughout the website's second year.
New web pages were created for Hasting E. Owens, Linsy Hays, Capen Freeman Smith, James Alexander Williams, and Reason Smith.
Additional facts were added to the web pages for William Owens, George N. Trawick, Nancy Galloway Trawick, Phoebe Price, and John A. Chumney.
William H. Goocher was added to the Excluded Individuals page.
Discussion threads were started about John Green Holley, William C. Williams alleged father of James Alexander Williams, and Cuffie Powell (Wade Powell's father).
The preface to "Scattered Thoughts of a Simple Minded Man" by Daniel Henry Pelham was attached to Humphrey Pellum's web page.
A photo of Wade and Mary Powell was added to the photo collection of descendants of pre-1830 Henry County pioneers.

March 1, 2011

A discussion thread was started on why there are no land deeds in Henry County prior to 1830.
Factoids from the Memorial Record of Alabama were added to the web pages for William R. Kelley, Bryant Sholar, and Polly Kirkland.
Jeff Gamble added land warrant factoids to the web pages for Benjamin Lewis, Hickman Davis, Leonard Ham, John Shoulars, and Joel Strickland.
A new pioneer web page was created for Charles Cox and a related discussion thread started on the relationship between Charles Cox, Edward Cox, and Ichabod Cox.
A discussion thread was started on the children of Joel T. and Mary McClendon.

February 26, 2011

Added factoid to Ezekiel Alexander's web page.
A discussion thread was started by MaryAnn Caldbeck on Ezekiel Alexander's web page.
Additional factoid added to Whitman Owens' web page.

February 23, 2011

Added a photo of Virginia Pynes Leslie, youngest daughter of pre-1830 Henry County Pioneer James Pynes, to the Descendants of Pre-1830 Pioneers photo album.
Added Hickman Davis's obituary to his web page.
Added Whitman Owens' obituary to his web page.
Added Sarah McGriff, wife of Richard McGriff, to the Excluded Individuals List and started a discussion thread about Sarah at the bottom of Richard McGriff's web page.

February 21, 2011

Added the July 11, 1873 "Early Recollections of Henry" article from the "Henry County Register" to the Henry County History web page. The article was previously intentionally omitted but is included now for completeness.
Updated James Pynes' web page with birth date, death date, and tribute from Masonic lodge.
Added Masonic lodge membership rolls and minutes to research dead ends list because earliest lodge was chartered in 1848.
Jeff Gamble added bounty land warrant information to Benjamin Parmer's web page.
No additional "Old Settler" articles were found in the "Henry County Register" through July 31, 1874 (the end of the microfilm). A few tidbits were found that will be added to the website.

February 14, 2011

Added web page for Achey McMillan Pellum, wife of Humphrey Pellum.
Three discussion threads were started at the bottom of Humphrey Pellum's web page.
Jeff Gamble added bounty land warrant information to Whitman Owens', Laban Beauchamp's, Green Beauchamp's, and WilliamBeauchamp's web pages.

February 10, 2011

Added new factoids to Green Beauchamp's, Littleton Beauchamp's, Laban Beauchamp's, and William Beauchamp's web pages.
Deleted Caroline Kennon Beauchamp's web page, and added her to the Excluded Individual's list. Decremented the count of pioneers accordingly.
Added a note that a microfilm of the "Henry County Register" was received and will be researched forthwith for additional "Old Settler" articles, obituaries of pre-1830 pioneers, etc..

January 28, 2011

A wonderful photo of Pre-1830 Henry County pioneer Colonel James Bennett was added to the photo album courtesy of Michael Bennett. Incredibly, the website now includes photos of eight pre-1830 Henry County pioneers.
In addition, two threads were started about Colonel James Bennett:

The write-up on unresearched sources was updated to include input from T. Larry Smith, Official Henry County Historian, on the "vast record books" in the Henry County courthouse annex building that have not been researched.

JHutto created the Stephen Johnagin thread.

January 23, 2011

Jeff Gamble and Jim Chumney finished adding Military bounty land locations to Blackshear's and Lewis's Company rosters in the Creek War of 1836. In addition, an image of John Gamble's land warrant was added to the newly-created Historical Documents photo album as an example of a typical land warrant. Plus, they added land warrant factoids to the web pages of several pre-1830 Henry County pioneers who were members of one or the other of the companies.
Rodney Lassiter started a thread seeking information about a cemetery that includes a number of Farmer family members near the old town of Franklin.
A new web page was created for Mathew Jackson, and images of Mathew Jackson's tombstone were added to the photo album by Kaye S. Also, Mathew's web page was renamed to reflect the correct spelling of his given name.
J. Hutto started a thread regarding James Fears is Seminole Indian War Veteran.
Gail Walsh started a thread regarding the Sion Smith and Moses Speight families of Henry County.
Jim Chumney started treads regarding two Sidney A. Smiths in early Henry County and a Second Peter Messer in early Henry County.

January 12, 2011

A Success Story from Jim Chumney

Thanks to a tip from Jeff Gamble, I recently broke through a 10-year-old brick wall. What worked for me could work for you, too.

The breakthrough came from an unlikely source, the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office (BLM GLO) records. The BLM GLO recently started putting land warrants on their free searchable website. Land warrants were awarded to soldiers who fought in some of the country’s earliest wars, such as the War of 1812, the Creek Indian War, etc. I was unaware of the BLM GLO’s actions and would probably not have paid much attention anyway, if it were not for Jeff. He advised me that the application file, which was created when a soldier applied for a land warrant, should contain his enlistment date, town, county, and state. Furthermore, Jeff explained, the information on the land warrant should allow me to get a copy of my ancestor’s compiled military service record which would include, among other things, the county and state where he was born.
I hurriedly searched the BLM GLO’s records and discovered my forefather served in Captain Peter’s Company, Seventh Regiment, United States Artillery in the Seminole War. Bingo!

Armed with the information from my forefather’s land warrant, I ordered a copy of his Bounty Land Warrant application file and a copy of his Compiled Service Record from the National Archives using its efficient on-line ordering process. It cost me $25 for each file ($50 total). I elected to receive the documents electronically on a CD (pdf format) which worked great for me.

When the information on my forefather finally arrived, I discovered a number of interesting details about him and his military service, AND I discovered the key evidence that I needed in his Compiled Service Record: the state and county where he was born. Knowing his birth county allowed me to quickly break through the brick wall that had thwarted me for so long, and I rapidly determined my forefather’s parents which pushed back my family tree another generation.

Disclaimer* If a soldier served in a regular army unit the record will show his place of birth. If he served in a volunteer unit the place of birth will not be available in the Compiled Service Record, except in rare cases.

It could work for you, too. Give it a try, and let us know what you discover by adding it to your ancestors' web pages or starting a thread.

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Watson, William C.

JimChumney — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 21:29:47 CST

Watson, William C.	From 1811 through 1817	Sheriff of Baldwin County, Georgia for several terms.	Numerous issues of the Georgia Journal (Milledgeville newspaper) where public notices of his "Sheriff''s Sales" were printed.
Watson, William C.	12/13/1819	The Act of Creation named Watson, John Fannin, Joel T. McClendon, Johnson Wright, Captain S. Smith as commissioners for the location of the seat of justice and establishment of the boundaries of Henry County.	Historical Marker, Henry County Courthouse Lawn.
Watson, William C.	12/15/1819	One of five first county court justices of Henry County	JOURNAL OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, Pg. 185, Wednesday, December 15, 1819
Watson, William C.	12/18/1819	Appointed 1of 5 First Henry County Commissioners	ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA PASSED AT ITS FIRST SESSION, Pg. 53, Dec.18, 1819
Watson, William C.	12/18/1819	One of three homes where first Henry County Elections Held.	ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA PASSED AT ITS FIRST SESSION, Pg. 56, Dec.18, 1819
Watson, William C.	5/20/1821	Judge of the County Court who performed marriage ceremony for Johnson Scroggins and Jane Gamble on 5/20/1821.	Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A, Page 3, Entry # 32.
Watson, William C.	8/9/1821	Judge of the County Court who performed marriage ceremony for James Arthur and Delilah Higdon on 8/9/1821 .	Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A, Page 1, Entry # 5.
Watson, William C.	12/4/1821	Declined judgeship of Henry County	JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, THIRD SESSION, Pg. 141, Wednesday, December 4, 1821
Watson, William C.	12/20/1821	Plaintiff. William C. Watson vs Abner Copeland.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 28, 29, 31, 32, 33.
Watson, William C.	1/15/1822	Plaintiff. William C. Watson vs Armstrong, Attaway, & Co.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Page 34.
Watson, William C.	1/19/1822	Bondsman. McAlister vs Armstrong, Attaway, & Co.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Page 42.
Watson, William C.	6/18/1822	Jury Foreman. Pios Chambers vs James Hughes for Mary Rogers.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 48, 50.
Watson, William C.	11/15/1824	Henry County's Alabama state representative	JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, SIXTH ANNUAL SESSION, Pg. 3, Monday, November 15, 1824
Watson, W.	1/7/1825	Postmaster at Irvine's [Irvin's] Store, Henry County, Alabama. Entry also includes Anthony McCulloh, R. Irvin. Other postmasters have varying dates.	Record of appointment of postmasters, 1824-1828. FHL US/CAN Film 1695565 part 2 entry 3455.
Watson, [no first name given]	8/29/1825	Received 402 votes for Henry County representative versus 443 for Fitzpatrick, 194 for Bryan, and 14 for McDaniel. Election was for Henry, Pike, and Covington.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 15, August 29, 1825
Watson, William C.	9/24/1825	Postmaster at Irvine's [Irvin's] Store, Henry County, Alabama. Entry also includes Anthony McCulloh and R. Irvin. Other postmasters have varying dates.	Record of appointment of postmasters, 1824-1828. FHL US/CAN Film 1695565 part 2 entry 3455.
Watson, William C.	9/24/1825	Postmaster at Irvine's [Irvin's] Store, Henry County, Alabama. Entry also includes W. Beauchamp and M. Watson. Other postmasters have varying dates.	Record of appointment of postmasters, 1824-1828. FHL US/CAN Film 1695565 part 1, entry 3667.
Watson, William C.	11/21/1825	Henry County's Alabama state representative	JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, SEVENTH ANNUAL SESSION, Pg. 3, Monday, November 21, 1825
Watson, William C.	4/1/1826	Resigned as Lieutenant Colonel of the 25th Regiment Alabama Militia (Henry County). The date of his commission to Lieutenant Colonel was not recorded.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: U-Z, FHL US/CAN Film 1462807.
Watson, W. C.	4/26/1826	W. C. Watson was replaced by Joel T. McClendon when McClendon was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County) on April 26, 1826.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: Long-Moody, A.L., FHL US/CAN Film 146280.
Watson, Col. William C.	9/17/1827	Died - "In Henry County, Alabama, on the 17th Sept. after a protracted and violent attack of billious fever, Col. William C. Watson, a native of North Carolina and formerly a citizen of Baldwin County."	Macon [GA.] Telegraph newspaper death notice, November 1, 1827, page 3.
Watson, Wm C	12/12/1827	Ordered that James Gamble administrator of the estate of George Gamble deceased be allowed three hundred nine dollars the amount of his vouchers this day exhibited against the estate of said deceased. Paid doctor Alex. Watson, Joseph P McCullough, Mathew Watson, Wm C Watson, Taytor Watson, J Howerton, D Caldwell, Anthony McCulloh, N Martin, R Irvin, John Koonce, A McKissic, Judge Caldwell	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 404.
Watson, William C	04/06/1829	On application Thomas B Paterson ordered that letters of administration issue to him on the estate of William C Watson deceased. Ordered that Stephen Mathews, John H Gilmore, Robt Irvin, Archibald B Mathews, and John Howerton be and they or any three of them are appointed appraisers of the estate of William C Watson deceased and that they make return to the court	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 407.
Watson, William C	05/25/1829	On application of Thomas Paterson administrator of William C Watson deceased ordered that said Thomas Paterson sell stock and articles from the estate.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 407.
Watson, William C	06/06/1829	Inventory and appraisement of the estate of William C Watson deceased. Negro's listed: Clark, Caswell, Shaanck, Jack, Harry, Henry, Milchik, Nancy, Dolly, Flibby, Julius, Eliza, Milly, Dinah, Matilda, Sealen, Nancy, Beby, Winny, Pamilia. Note on Alex McCall due 20 Jan 1822, note on A M Watson due 24 June 1828, note on A M Watson payable to L Smith due 25 Dec 1827, note on W Torrence due 7 Aug 1828, receipt of L G Mathews, note on Wilson Collins due 6 March 1828, note on A B Mathews to L Smith due 1 March 1827, note on A B Mathews to L Smith due 27 Dec 1826, due bill on Stephen Mathews, due bill on T Pittman 24 Oct 1826, due bill on B & G Feagan due 25 Dec 1827 payable to B Jacobs, note on Wm Spear due 25 Dec 1828, 1 note on S P Ward to Smith due 25 Dec 1827, note on Wm C Huson due 11 Feb 1829, note on Bay May due 24 Dec 1828, note on Wm Wilkens due 16 June 1827, account on Neil McAllister, note on Drewery Bagget account on John Howerton, account on John H Gilmore, account on John Atkinson Jr, account on John Atkinson Sr., account on Wm Wilkens, account on James Fears, account on George Stubs, account on Robert Irvin, account on John W Odom, account on James Spear, account on A B Mathews, account on Bryan Sholar, account on George Barratt, account on D Caldwell, account of Levin Pullery. Note: See the web page "Slaves of William C. Watson" for an overview of all of William C. Watson's slaves.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 410- 411.
Watson, William C	06/06/1829	Estate of William C Watson. Cash received from Mathew Watson, account on Hudson Hardee, account on Alex McAllister, account of Benj. Clark, order on A Rice from J Seller, 1 execution vs Jas. Moss in favor of H Nall due 15 April 1815. 1 bond on Jas Moss payable A Boolard due 25 Dec 1814. 1 due bill on E Palmore due 1 Oct 1824, bill on John Blackman, 1st March 1824, 1 due bill on S Walker payable to F Farmer, 1 note on G P Bird payable to D Scurlock, 1 note on D S Walker, 1 note on S Parker.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 411.
Watson, William C.	1/23/1833	The Sarah S. Cone (formerly Sarah S. Watson) widow of William C. Watson (deceased) was given one fifth of the slaves of William C. Watson's estate with the remaining slaves divided equally among William C. Watson's children Mary A. Watson, James S. Watson, and William C. Watson [Jr.]. Note: The Orphans Court Record Book C entries do not state whether Sarah S. Watson/Sarah S. Cone was or was not the mother of William C. Watson's minor children.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 443.
Watson, William C.	1/26/1833	John H. Gilmore, Judge of the County Court, ordered that letters of guardianship to James C. Watson to take charge of the persons and property of Mary Ann [,] James S. and William C. Watson [Jr.] minor heirs of William C. Watson deceased.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 438.

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Farmer, Luke

jgambl02 — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 17:15:15 CST


Farmer, Luke	1789-1796	Joseph Farmer willed son Luke 50 acres from his estate. The will was written on 07/21/1789 and proved Nov 1796.	Joseph Farmer will Bertie Co. NC Will Book D p. 362
Farmer, Luke	12/15/1796	Sold 50 acres of land for 50 pounds to Thomas Mitchell in Bertie County, North Carolina. This land was the inheritance from his father's estate.	Bertie Co. NC Deeds Bk R p. 315
Farmer, Luke	09/08/1797	Jerusha Barns was "big with child" and stated Luke Farmer was the father. Luke Farmer, Perry Standley, Samuel Jarnigan, and Joseph Farmer were bonded for 200 pounds.	Bertie Co. NC Bastardy Bonds 1739-1805
Farmer, Luke	1814	Luke Farmer was a corporal in the Georgia Cavalry Mounted Riflemen under Captain William Permenter. Commencement of service November 11, 1814; expiration of service November 22, 1814; stationed at Ft. Mitchell, Hartford, Pulaski County. He served on an expedition out to the Indian Nation. His brother King was a private in the same company.	Georgia Military Record Book 1799-1839
Farmer, Luke	1820	Luke was a fortunate drawer in the 1820 land lottery of Georgia while a resident of Twiggs County. He won land lot 247, section 7 for 490 acres in Irwin County He also won land lot 22 in section 2 for 250 acres in Early County.	The Third or 1820 land lottery of Georgia / compiled by Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr
Farmer, Luke	1820's	Settler in early 1820's.	HENRY—THE MOTHER COUNTY, by Dr. Hoyt M. Warren, 1976, page 10
Farmer, Luke	1/10/1822	Bondsman. Robert Windham vs John Chanceller.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 36.
Farmer, Luke	1/21/1822	Date signed original note from Israel Blades over to William Hopkins.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 188.
Farmer, Luke	1/21/1823	Endorsed original note from Hartwell Tarver to William Hopkins. William Hopkins vs Israel Blades.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 117.
Farmer, Luke	2/1/1823	Endorsed original note from Israel Blades. William Hopkins vs Israel Blades.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 186, 187, 188, 190.
Farmer, Luke	1824	Luke Farmer, 1824, father of Thomas Jefferson Farmer born that year in Shorterville, married second to Mary Simmons, third to Jane Seymore, and fourth to Mary Seymore.	THE HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY, ALABAMA, by Mrs. Marvin Scott, 1961, pages 235-236.
Farmer, Luke	9/29/1829	Along with Charles Jackson, George Farmer, Robert Irvin, and Elias Miller, witnessed a contract between Polly Factor, a woman of the Creek Indian Nation, and John W. Grace to collect and sell Polly Factor's slaves.	Henry County, Alabama Deed Book A-C, Page 25.
Farmer, Luke	Dec. 1848	There is an estate case for a Luke Farmer. Since the widow hath refused to administer on the estate of the deceased or any of the kin to do so Hastings E Owens appointed administrator. Wm Gamble, John Garner, Thos. Glover, John Davis, and Wm Davis appointed appraisers of the estate. The estate was insolvent. No heirs named in the file.	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files.

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Here's a link http://books.google.com/books?id=64GMpvcKgqwC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=migration+from+carolinas+to+Alabama&source=web&ots=cVUzpzpeCK&sig=5GDVt4xmJ7RrUe-C_CcxUlmO-4Y&hl=en

Migration Facts and Theories

JimChumney — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 21:39:22 CDT

Danger Zone! Fact and Theory Intermingled!

A lively discussion thread was started when a member asked, "Why the Migration from North Carolina to Henry County in the 1820's?" The same can also be asked of South Carolina. The size of the discussion messages quickly outgrew the size alloted by Wetpaint, and so, the facts and theories were inserted on this page to facilitate continued discussion. Through collaboration and additional research, perhaps a concensus can be reached on the most probable reasons for the mass migrations. A special thanks to Chris Strickland for extracting the initial input for this discussion from the Henry County RootsWeb message board.

From Jim Chumney

Migration from Florida’s Fort Gadsden and Fort St. Marks to Henry County, Alabama From early 1818 until November 1822, my forefather John A. Chumney served in the regular US Army at Fort Gadsden and Fort St. Marks in north Florida. The two forts were built in 1818 when Andrew Jackson led an expedition into north Florida during the First Seminole War. After John A. Chumney was discharged, he lived in Jackson County, Florida for a short spell before making his way north in 1824 or 1825 to Henry County, Alabama where he settled, married, and lived the rest of his life. Did other Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneers make their way to Henry County from the military forts of north Florida the same way my forefather did? To try to find out, I compared the list of pre-1830 Henry County, Alabama pioneers with the men who survived their service at Fort Gadsden and Fort St. Marks and came up with the following list of names that are recorded in both places.

Name	Comments
Allen, William B./H.	Different middle initials could be transcription error. Soldier William Allen was born and enlisted in New York City. Blacksmith before enlisting. Artillery Loomis. Deserted July 20, 1821.
Best, Edward	Soldier Edward Best was born Westmoreland, PA. Enlisted in Louisville, KY. Shoemaker before joining service. Artillery Fanning. Discharged June 1, 1821 from St. Marks.
Blackstone, Thomas	Soldier Thomas Blackstone was a Captain at Fort Gadsden. Infantry. 7th regiment.
Brown, Isaac	Soldier Isaac Brown was born in Hudson, NY. Enlisted in Easton, PA. Gunsmith before enlisting. Artillery. Co. D. Last present at Fort St. Marks June 1, 1821.
Brown, Thomas	Two soldiers were named Thomas Brown. (1) Born in Fredericktown, MD. Enlisted Louisville, KY. Artillery. (2) Born and enlisted in New York City. Artillery Loomis' Company.
Burke(s), John	Two soldiers were named John Burke. (1) Born Hampton, VA. Enlisted Frankfort, KY. Artillery. Deserted on May 8, 1818 from St. Marks. (2) Corporal. 4th Infantry. Capt. Glapell's Co. Discharged at end of term from Fort Gadsden on Sept 22, 1819.
Campbell, John/Jon	Soldier Jon Campbell was at Fort St. Marks on October 31, 1824.
Chumney, John	Enlisted in Kingstown, Tennessee on Nov 4, 1817. Served in Seventh Artillery commanded by Captain George P. Peters. Honorably discharged Nov 24, 1822.
Cook, William	Soldier William Cook was born in Chesterfield, SC. Enlisted Savannah, GA. Farmer before enlisting. 2nd Lt. 7th Infantry, Capt. Blackstone. St. Marks. Last entry Nov. 1823 "absent."
Dill, John	Soldier John Dill was born Darlington, VA/SC. Enlisted Knoxville, TN. Farmer before enlisting. 7th Infantry at Ft. Gadsden. Discharged from Ft. Gadsden May 4, 1818.
Edwards, John	Soldier John Edwards was born in KY. Enlisted Newport, KY. Artillery. Captain Fanning.
Frasure/Frazier, John L./G.	Soldier John Frazier was in the artillery. Co. D. Discharged June 1, 1821.
Grace, John	Soldier John Grace was born in SC. Farmer. Infantry. Drummer. Served with J.E. Twiggs.
Green, John H./S.	Soldier John Green was born and enlisted in Philadelphia, PA. Artillery.
Hill, Henry/H. B.	Soldier Henry Hill was born in Rowan Dist., NC. Farmer before enlisting. Enlisted at Ft. Hawkins (GA) March 28, 1814. Discharged from Ft. Gadsden March 27, 1819. 7th and 8th infantry.
Holly, John	Soldier John Holly was discharged at Fort Gadsden on October 29, 1818 at end of service.
Hopkins, William	Soldier William Hopkins was a 2nd Lt. in the 7th Infantry. Cashiered out at Fort Gadsden Sept 25, 1819.
Howard, Henry	Soldier Henry Howard was a private. Discharged from Fort St. Marks. Term of service expired on October 26, 1818. Born Greenville, VA. Enlisted in SC. 7th and 8th infantry under Capt. Allison.
Hughes, William	Soldier William Hughes was in artillery. Discharged December 31, 1818 from Fort Gadsden for inability.
Hutcheson/Hutchinson, William	Soldier William Hutchinson was born in Cecil Co., MD. Enlisted Philadelphia, PA. 7th Infantry. Last entry June 30, 1820 sick at Fort Gadsden.
Hutto/Hutter, George	Soldier George C. Hutter was a first Lt. in the artillery. Fort Gadsden and Fort St. Marks.
Johnson, John (C.)	Soldier John Johnson was a sergeant. Discharged at end of term of enlistment on Sept 29, 1819 at Ft. Gadsden. Capt. Glassel's company, 24th became 4th Infantry. Farmer before enlisting. Born Bertie Co., NC.
Johnston, Thomas/T.	Soldier T. Johnston was a lieutenant in the 4th Infantry at Fort Gadsden.
Lewis, Joseph	Soldier Joseph Lewis was born in Havana, New Spain. Enlisted in GA. Discharged October 8, 1818 at Ft. Gadsden at end of term of service.
Major(s), John	Soldier John Major was born in MD. Enlisted in Lexington, KY. Artillery. Capt. Fanning. Last entry June 30, 1821 present at Ft. St. Marks.
Smith, John	Two soldiers named John Smith. Both are probably the same man. (1) Born South Hampstead, NJ. Enlisted New York City. Artillery. Fort Gadsden. (2) Born New Brunswick, NJ. Enlisted New York City. Artillery. Fort Gadsden.
Stewart, John	Soldier John Stewart served in the 7th Infantry. 2nd Lieut. Last entry present Apalachicola Bay June 30, 1820.
Teal, Robert	Soldier Robert Teal was born in TN. Enlisted W. TN. Infantry. Capt. Thomas Blackstone. Discharged March 20, 1819.
Williamson, William	Soldier William Williamson was born in Mecklenburg, VA. Shoemaker before enlisting. Enlisted Nashville, TN. Artillery. Captain Peters. Deserted May 18, 1818 from Fort Gadsden.

Like my forefather, some of the men above may have applied for military bounty land for their service at Fort Gadsden or Fort St. Marks. If so, their Bounty-Land Warrant Application will probably hold the key to determining whether a Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneer and Fort Gadsden/Fort St. Marks soldier with the same name are indeed the same man. Sources: · John Chumney’s Bounty-Land Warrant Application · US Army enlistment applications for soldiers listed · US Army returns from Fort St. Marks, Florida · US Army returns from Fort Gadsden, Florida

From Bill B.

From my own research, primarily in the northern part of South Carolina and Mecklenburg Co, NC there is usually one of two reason for migration from those areas and it depends on how long they have been in the NC/SC area.

First - If they have been in the area more than 10 years the most probable cause was fertile farm land since land that was primarily forest and cleared for farming very quickly turned poor for lack of certain nutriants in the soil depending on the type of crops being grown. Tobacco was notorious for depleting the forest soils quickly with cotton a close second. Garden type produce was slightly slower but then most farmers did not do "rotation" cropping which would have again depleted nutriants for that crop quickly. Also during this time frame (1790-1830) is when certain RV soldiers who had fought while in Ga/Al/Ms had reported back to their families, friends and neighbors about the abundance of good land in those area. Some would have tried for the Cherokee Land Lotteries of Georgia but from what I have notices, it was about one in ten that actually acquired land that way and when someone reported "land for the taking" in Alabama many of those that did not "win the Lottery" decided not to wait around for the next lottery but to go to Alabama instead. One of the families I research in the Lancaster Co, SC/Mecklenburg Co, NC are part of the group, about 1833, that went direct to Alabama (Butler Co and surrounding) because of reports from RV vets.

Second - Area becoming too civilized and wanting to move to more open country. Many of these just plain did not want to have "close" (within 1/2 mile) neighbors and had heard rumors from others about the "open lands" of Alabama (some rumors would be about specific areas) but about the "Bugs" and marshes of the Mississippi and Louisiana areas.

Whatever the reason, it is not likely that the true reason will ever be known unless someone on one of the migrations actually put pen to paper and left a record somewhere. One part of the Bates family that moved to Arkansas after they had settled in Cherokee Co, Ga was of the second type but actually sent a couple of boys/men to scout the area before making up a wagon train and moving lock/stock/barrel in ten wagons. The matriarch kept records and they were passed down through the generations and included the problems they had traveling in early winter across Georgia, Alabama and up into northern Arkansas. Most of the time, the only clue to why someone moved from where they had settled down is the time they had been there along with if settled before or after the RW.

Have fun making guesses and che-ers
Bill B

From (Mr.) Val McGinness

In my research, which doesn't cover everybody, I've found that many moved into Henry County from old Sumter District, South Carolina as an example. They were sons and daughters of ones who originally lived in NC, and migrated to SC. The land was really cheap in southeastern Alabama, and was a reason for the migration of those sons and daughter. Some have said that the land sold for about $1.25 per acre, a real deal even back then. If you don't already know, Henry was originally much, much larger than today, and there was plenty of land available after the Native Americans were moved out. The big migration was in the 1820s and 30s.

Hope this helps.
Val (Mr.) Val McGinness

From Unknown

From Jeff Gamble

A motivating factor in the move of John Starling from Columbus Co. NC to Henry County, AL in the 1820s was most likely John's losing his 300 acres of land. His land was sold in Columbus Co. by the sheriff in 1824 due to his failure to pay the taxes.

From Jeff Strickland

In the 1820's land in Henry County, AL was not available for sale yet from the federal government. The early settlers in the 1820s were squatters on federal land until it became available for sale in the 1830s.

From Steve Elliott
(Excerpted from a message to Jim Chumney on May 7, 2007)

Not to get strung out on it, as you know I can easily do, here are some of the basics. I have long believed that Henry County was formed by waves of settlers coming to Alabama after the Treaty of Fort Jackson 1814 during the largest folk migration in America before the California Gold Rush of 1849--"Alabama Fever". It happened, Alabama Fever filled the Alabama Territory up so that in just 30 months from the creation of the Alabama Territory on June 3, 1817 to December 13, 1819, enough people flooded the area to gain statehood--but the Wiregrass Country of Southeast Alabama had nothing to do with that at all. And hints of that come to mind now.

There is a book sold by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission, or was, named "So Remote a Frontier". That sums it up in a nut shell! But I couldn't see the trees for the piney woods. Green Beachamp stated that in 1818 there were "less than 100 people in the whole territory". The "whole territory" in 1818 covered 4,000 square miles!

In 1816, with William Brown and George Gamble being the first two to cross into MONROE COUNTY, Mississippi Territory (I had missed Monore County for 36 years) in January, the spring saw the arrival of Col. Robert Irvin, his brother-in-law Jarrett Patterson, Edward S. Cox, George Keith, Jonah Keith and James Kieth--that's it, all, no more! Gamble brought his family, and Brown had a son, but other than that the other men were either single or were preparing a place to bring a family to later. In all, I would say from these 8 heads of household, there may have been 16 people and that's really pushing it. The affects of the Seminole War of 1817 forced them to flee back across the river to the newly constructed Fort Gaines--James Keith being killed in his sick bed at the start of the uprising. The fort had been built since they went into the Mississippi Territory from April 1816 through possible July or August. These men who had previously settled returned in March of 1817 but there is no evidence that anyone else came until 1818.

I had long thought that Fort Gaines had been built and established a good while before the settlers moved into Alabama, that the Georgia side of the wiregrass country, all of Southwest Georgia then as Early County, was a thriving, growing community of people, storehouses, and fledgling farms. But nothing can be further from the truth. All of South Georgia from Fort Gaines in an eastward line to Jesup, Wayne County, Georgia was a part of the Creek Cessions included in the Treaty of Fort Jackson August 9, 1814. Immediately thereafter, Gen. Andrew Jackson saw the need to protect certain points of the cession's boundaries and oversee the Creek removal. One boundary point of the demanded territory from the Creeks was at "the junction of Cemocheechobee Creek and the Chattahoochee River." The definition of this point today is FORT GAINES. In August or September 1814, a Sgt. Blue and 100 Choctaws were sent to occupy this point and garrison themselves until relived. While Alabama Fever was filling up central, north central and southwest Alabama, the settlers I mentioned had somehow made it through the wilderness to this little militia group so that by January 1816, these men were ready to cross over.

The secret I had forgotten about Alabama Fever? THE OLD FEDERAL ROAD!!! Before 1806, it was decided by the U. S. government to create a postal path, just a trail for a rider, through the Creek Territory from Fort Wilkerson (Milledgeville, Georgia, the state's capital at the time) across central Georgia, over the Chattahoochee River where Fort Mitchell stands today (built in 1813 during Creek Wars) and on to Fort Stoddard in the "Tombigbee Settlements" or "Bigbee Settlements" north of Mobile where the Alabama, Tombigbee, Mobile and Tensaw Rivers come together. The infamous site of Fort Mims is near here too that ignited the Creek Wars of 1813-1814. So by 1807, the postal path had been completed. In that year a young militia captian, Edmund Pendleton Gaines, escorted the infamous/famous American hero/outlaw Aaron Burr from Fort Stoddard to Milledgeville. He would be the name sake for Fort Gaines, Georgia and Fort Gaines, Dolphin Island, Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Not long after that, the government, fearing another war with either Spain or Great Britain, saw the need of having a well constructed, easily traveled wagon road on this same trail so that troops could be easily sent to the American Gulf Coast--the "Interstate of 1811". It was the same principal of the Eisenhower Interstate System during the Cold War--created for military purposes but being most useful for civilian travel and supplying those civilians. The Federal Road was completed long before the end of the Creek Wars in 1814--before Alabama Fever. From Millidgeville the old Federal Road is now mostly covered by U. S. Highway 80 all the way to Montgomery, Alabama in the central part of the state. From Montgomery to the old "Bigbee Settlements" the Federal Road followed Interstate 65. Along this road and terminals leading off of it was where the mass population of Alabama came between 1817 and 1819--not Henry County. (See attached maps of Creek Cessions and Old Federal Road)

It really hit me as to how a county with hundreds of people in it could have the first white child born in 1819--three years after the settlers started moving in? Well, there weren't enough people there to produce children or there would have been more. And, I am guessing, but I feel the area was filled with menfolk and very few women because it was a harsh, harsh, isolated, cut off, end of the road to no where from no where. The privacy was tremendous in every aspect of life. Or, every man slept in an extra long night gown and the women all slept with their feet in a syrup bucket.

... There were only 6 marriages in 1821--six! ... Marriages between 1816-1821? Where? Who? How? Fort Gaines was a struggling bucolic military outpost as well. Why no records recorded before 1821? What was going on? Were the people just so involved in survival that things of a local government were not important to them?

And, the land was considered worthless! After Gen. Edmund Pendleton Gaines and a battalion of troops of the 4th Infantry landed where Fort Gaines would be built on April 2, 1816, they finally set about building the fort--a very small little fort with eight foot stockade and block houses on diagonal corners. After the fort was finished, a group of surveyors in the group went about surveying the lands in Georgia that they called the "Tallasee Territory". When complete, they offered it to the State of Georgia who turned it down because they thought the land to be so worthless calling it "a sterile and unprofitable land"!! That was 1817 so they tried again in 1818 and very hesitantly Georgia accepted the land. Still, a minority report was filed stating that it would be unwise to spend the people's money trying to develop a country with God Almighty himslef had left in such an unfinished condition. This couldn't have helped the real estate brochures for either the Georgia or Alabama side!

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"F" Surnames

JimChumney — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:21:10 CDT

Factor, Polly
Fagan, Benjamin
Fagan, George
Fagin, Nancy
Faircloth, John
Faircloth, Margaret
Faircloth, Mary
Faircloth, Noah
Faircloth, Patience
Falk, Mark
Fannin, John H.
Farmer, George
Farmer, Luke
Farmer, Melbren
Farmer, Thomas Jefferson
Farmey, Mary
Faun, Matthews
Fears, Elizabeth
Fears, James
Fears, Joseph
Fennel, Dempsey
Finley, James
Fitzpatrick, Benjamin
Fitzpatrick, Philip
Fleming, John
Floid, Joseph
Flowers, Elizabeth
Folsom, Nathaniel
Fowler, Thomas
Frank, Elijah
Frasure, John L.
Freeman, Car
Freeman, Garrett
Freeman, Thomas H.
Fulgham, Bythe (slave)
Fulgham, Jane
Fulgham, Jesse
Fulgham, Robert (slave)
Fulgham, Sam (slave)
Fulgham, Thomas

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Fagan, Benjamin

JimChumney — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:16:43 CDT

Possible alternate spelling "Feagan," "Fegan," and "Fagin"

Fagan, Ben	1820's	Settler in 1820's	The Henry County Register, August 1, 1873.
Fegan, Benjamin	7/12/1820	Date original note to James Finley signed. Isham Shuffield vs Benjamin & George Fegan.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 212.
Fegan, Benjamin	12/12/1823	Defendant. Isham Shuffield vs Benjamin & George Fegan	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 212, 213, 214.
Feagan, B	6/6/1829	Inventory and appraisement of the estate of William C Watson. Due bill on B & G Feagan due 25 Dec 1827 payable to B Jacobs.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 410-411.

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Irwin, William

JimChumney — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:25:15 CDT

	Major General William Irwin 1794-1850	Note: According to Larry Smith who supplied the photo of William Irwin, "The story goes that has been handed down is that this picture is a painting of the General in his military uniform that his wife had painted of him that was later given to the State of Georgia to be placed in the state house as a fill-in for the General's brother, Jared Irwin who was an early Georgia Governor, due to having no image of Jared. So an artist painted over General Irwin's military uniform and painted the suit on him as you see in the picture."

Major General William Irwin

1794-1850

Note: According to Larry Smith who supplied the photo of William Irwin, "The story goes that has been handed down is that this picture is a painting of the General in his military uniform that his wife had painted of him that was later given to the State of Georgia to be placed in the state house as a fill-in for the General's brother, Jared Irwin who was an early Georgia Governor, due to having no image of Jared. So an artist painted over General Irwin's military uniform and painted the suit on him as you see in the picture."

Irwin, William	1819	William Irwin came to this county [Henry] as early as 1819, and settled near Franklin. He was a planter, became very wealthy, and exerted a large influence throughout southeast Alabama. He entered the State senate in 1825, and continued to serve as a member from this and one or two of the adjoining counties for twelve years. With the rank of major general he commanded the militia of the State in this section during the Creek troubles in 1836-’37. When the town of Eufaula was first incorporated in 1837, his friend Hon. Lawson J. Keener of Barbour [county] had it called for him, but it bore the name for only a few years. Gen. Irwin was drowned in the Chattahoochee in 1849, between Columbus and Eufaula, by jumping from the burning steamer Ham Smith. He was a man of great energy and force of mind. He has relatives now living in this county.	Alabama, her history, resources, war record, public men: from 1540-1872 by Willis Brewer, 1872, p. 279.
Irwin, William	1819	Irwin, William: public official, was born in Georgia, and died in 1849; brother of Col. Alexander Irwin, of Irwin's Cross Roads, Ga.; and uncle of Reason Whitehead Irwin (q. v.). He was of Irish ancestry, and was descended from one of three brothers who emigrated from Ireland at an early day and settled in Virginia. He moved to Alabama in 1819, and settled on a plantation in Henry County, near Franklin, and became owner of vast tracts of land. He was elected to the State senate in 1825, and continued to serve in that body as a member from Henry and one or two of the adjoining counties for twelve years. During the Creek War in 1836-1837, he commanded the militia of the state with the rank of major-general, and had an active part in subduing the Indians in Barbour County. When the town of Eufaula was first incorporated in 1837, it was called Irwinton in his honor. Gen. Irwin was drowned in the Chattahoochee River in 1849, between Columbus and Eufaula, by jumping from the burning steamer "Ham Smith." Last residence: Henry County.	History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 3, Pg. 886.
Irwin, William	Early 1820's	William Irwin operated store in early Franklin in 1820s.	Henry: The Mother County, Page 25
Erwin, William	1820	Major in the 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County). Even though the militia records have "Erwin," this soldier is assuredly William "Irwin."	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: E-G, FHL US/CAN Film 1462800
Irwin, William	8/1/1820	Identified as a member of 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County). Election return signed by William Beauchamp and Benjamin Parmer, Managers.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: H-I, FHL US/CAN Film 1462801
Irvin, William	12/18/1821	Appointed 1 of 5 commissioners of Henry County along with William Beauchamp, Robert Irvin, Stephen Matthews, and James Rabb. Note: "Irvin" in the typed legislative minutes but should have been "Irwin."	ACTS PASSED AT THE THIRD ANNUAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, Pg. 69, Dec. 18, 1821
Irwin, (Major)	12/21/1821	Gin owner and holder of assets of Abner & Hiram Copeland. Through context it was determined this was William Irwin. Anthony McColloh vs Abner and Hiram Copeland.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 21, 23, 24.
Irwin, (Major)	12/21/1821	Gin owner and holder of assets of Abner & Hiram Copeland. Through context it was determined this was William Irwin. William C. Watson vs Abner Copeland.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Page 29.
Irwin, William (Major)	12/21/1821	Garnishee. Anthony McColloh vs Abner and Hiram Copeland.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 21, 23, 24, 26.
Iwin, William	12/21/1821	Garnishee and cotton gin owner. William C. Watson vs Abner Copeland.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 29, 30, 31, 32.
Irwin, William	12/31/1821	Garnishee. Alexander McAlister vs Abner Copeland.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 39, 40, 41.
Irwin, William	About 1822	Indian fighter, State Senator, settled near Franklin about 1822.	Henry: The Mother County, Page 51
Irwin, William	1/15/1822	Garnishee. William C. Watson vs Armstrong, Attaway, & Co.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Page 34.
Irwin, William	1/19/1822	Garnishee of Abner Copeland's cotton seed. McAlister vs Armstrong, Attaway, & Co.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Page 42.
Irvin, William	6/8/1822	Juror. Pios Chambers vs James Hughes for Mary Rogers. Note: Clearly "Irvin" in the court case but should have been "Irwin."	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Page 50.
Irwin, William	1/23/1823	Along with Mathew Watson and Stephen Mathews, appointed appraiser of the estate of William Blackman (deceased).	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 393-394.
Irwin, William	8/19/1824	Commissioned Brigadier General of 11th Brigade, Alabama Militia.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: H-I, FHL US/CAN Film 1462801
Erwin, William	11/14/1826	William Erwin [Irwin] was replaced by John Lewis when Lewis was Commissioned Major of the 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County) on November 14, 1826.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: J-Long, FHL US/CAN Film 1462802.
Irwin, William	1824-1836	Henry County State Senator 1824-1836.	Henry: The Mother County, Page 150
Erwin, [No first name given]	8/29/1825	Received 498 votes for senator versus 61 for McDaniel and 64 for Deveraux. Even though the original document has "Erwin", this must be William "Irwin" who was elected. Election was for Henry, Pike, and Covington.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 15, August 29, 1825
Irwin, William	11/21/1825	State senator for Henry, Pike, and Covington Counties.	JOURNAL OF THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, SEVENTH ANNUAL SESSION, Pg. 2, November 21, 1825
Irwin, William	11/20/1826	State senator for Henry, Pike, and Covington Counties.	JOURNAL OF THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, EIGHTH ANNUAL SESSION, Pg. 2, November 20, 1826
Irwin, William	11/19/1827	Alabama State Senator for Henry, Pike, and Covington counties.	JOURNAL OF THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA, NINTH ANNUAL SESSION, Pg. 3, MONDAY, November 19, 1827
Irwin, William	2/23/1829	"Friend" of Andrew Gamble who purchased the slaves Pinah, Bob, Betty and her children Nathan and Linder from Andrew Gamble for the support of Andrew Gambles' wife Alice Gamble and their children.	Henry County, Alabama Deed Book A-C, Page 20.
Irwin, William	11/29/1830	Commissioned General and Officer of Court Martial of the 4th Division, Alabama Militia.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: H-I, FHL US/CAN Film 1462801
Irwin, William	5/28/1832	Commissioned Major General of the 5th Division, Alabama Militia.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: H-I, FHL US/CAN Film 1462801
Irwin, William	1836	Major General of the 5th Division of the Alabama Militia during the Creek War.	Index to volunteer soldiers in Indian wars and disturbances
Irwin, William	1850	A Henry County Estate Case file dated 1850 exists for William Irwin. The contents of the estate case file have not been researched.	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files index.

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Gamble, Grissy

jgambl02 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:55:32 CDT

Grissy Gamble was born around 1813 in South Carolina. She came to the Henry County area with her father George Gamble as a young child in 1816.

Gamble, Grissy	02/15/1830	Margaret Gamble appointed guardian of Grissy Gamble, and the other minor heirs of George Gamble deceased	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Records Volume C p. 412.
Gamble, Grissy	10/19/1837	Married Thomas Willis	Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A
Willis, Grace	1850	Living in Clarke County, Mississippi with her husband Thomas and four children.	1850 Federal Census

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Estate Case Files

JimChumney — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:20:28 CST

Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files

All total, there are an incredible 53 microfilm rolls of Henry County, Alabama estate case files. Of those, there are 18 files on 14 rolls that, according to the Estate Case File index (FHL US/CAN Film 2319981, Item 1), contain individuals who died before 1830. Those microfilm rolls and the pertinent cases are listed below. Of the 18 individual cases, there are four where the index is in error and the cases do not include any information prior to 1830. Those cases are so identified in the list below.

By the time the Pre-1830 Henry County Pioneers website was unveiled to the world on March 7, 2009, all the estate case files dated prior to 1830 in the index had been researched and the relevant pioneers, events and dates added to the website. However, during the massive project to index and microfilm the estate case files, pre-1830 information could have been overlooked in other estate case files. Time will tell.

Note: The estate cases are especially accurate and interesting because they contain images of actual old documents including the real signatures of those involved. The digitized images of the Henry County estate records for years 1820-1916 are now online from FamilySearch.com and can be viewed for free. Follow this LINK.

It pays to browse the estate case files. Jim Chumney found his GGG Grandfather John A. Chumney's 180-page 1855 estate case file misfiled under John A. Clenny 1859.

1. Estate case files ca. 1863-1909 box 1 folder 28-51 Armstrong, Robert Pugh (cont.) - Ayres, Orin J. VAULT US/CAN Film 2318287

William Asberry (1829) Most of the documents in the file date from 1840 and later. A couple of documents refer to notes dated 1829, but they are of such poor quality that the names are indecipherable.

2. Estate case files ca. 1863-1909 box 2 folder 1-22 Baker, D. M. - Battle, Thomas FHL US/CAN Film 2318288

Bannister, William (1828) Two new pioneers were extracted and added to website.

3. Estate case files ca. 1820-1915 box 5 folder 47 Collins, Miles -- box 6 folder 1-18 Collins, Thomas B. - Corbitt, Salie E. (folder 2 of 2 -- cont.) FHL US/CAN Film 2318713

Miles, Collins (1825) A goodly number of pioneer names and facts were extracted and entered on website.

4. Estate case files ca. 1866-1874 box 10 folder 10-40 Grantham, Lucius S. - Harper, Lula FHL US/CAN Film 2318850

Hagin, Isham (1827) Case file contains two misfiled pages pertaining to William Gipson (deceased) dated 1827. The rest of contents pertain to Isham Hagin and date from 1837 and later.

5. Estate case files ca. 1898-1916 box 11 folder 3-27 Hays, John Leslie - Hix, Mason VAULT US/CAN Film 2318852

Helton, William A. (1826-1848) The only item that dates prior to 1848 is a promissory note from Andrew Helton to Leonardo Sease dated January 2, 1826.

6. Estate case files ca. 1864-1866 box 11 folder 28-51 Hodges, Henry - Holley, Wm T. -- box 12 folder 1-2 Hollis, Emily - Holmes, Bryant (folder 2 of 6) VAULT US/CAN Film 2318853

Hodges, John (1827) Numerous pioneers and facts were extracted and entered on website.
Hodges, Joseph (1829) Numerous pioneers and facts were extracted and entered on website.
Holley, John (1827) Numerous pioneers and facts were extracted and entered on website.
Holley, John G. Sr. (1828) Error in index. The contents of the estate case date later than 1830.

7. Estate case files ca. 1861-1868 box 12 folder 2-27 Holmes, Bryant (folder 3 of 6) - Hughes, William A. FHL US/CAN Film 2318854

Horn, Richard (1829) Pioneers and facts were extracted and 15 new pioneers added to website.

8. Estate case files ca. 1837-1854 box 13 folder 27-56 Johnson, Nancy (cont.) - Jones, W. C. F. -- box 14 folder 1-5 Jordon, James W. - Keel, Hardy (folder 1 of 2) VAULT US/CAN Film 2319089

Jones, David G. (1828) Names and facts for two new pioneers were extracted and added to website.

9. Estate case files ca. 1857-1886 box 16 folder 1-21 Martin, Hopson H. - McAllister, Angus VAULT US/CAN Film 2319363

Martin, James W. (1824) Error in index. The contents of estate case file date from 1885 and later.
Martin, Julius (1828) Names extracted and entered on website.

10. Estate case files ca. 1868-1881 box 18 folder 27-44 Murphy, George W. - Nix, Nettie -- box 19 folder 1-15 Nix, William M. - Norton, Sarah FHL US/CAN Film 2293282

Nall, James (1824-1827) Numerous pioneers and facts were extracted and entered on website.

11. Estate case files ca. 1854-1866 box 19 folder 16-47 Norton, William J. - Parish, Edward FHL US/CAN Film 2319498

Paramore, James (1823) Error in index. Should be 1873. Nothing before 1830

12. Estate case files ca. 1828-1856 box 23 folder 12-26 Solomon, Samuel L. (folder 2 of 7) - Stanley, Sands VAULT US/CAN Film 2319523

Stanley, Sands (1828) Numerous pioneers and facts were extracted and entered on website.

13. Estate case files ca. 1847-1875 box 25 folder 51-57 Watson, David - Watts, Richard -- box 26 folder 1-32 Weaver, B. E. - Whitehurst, John A. J. (folder 1 of 2) FHL US/CAN Film 2319527

Whitehead, Charles (1823) Five new pioneers were extracted and added to website. Additional facts for existing pioneers were also entered.

14. Estate case files ca. 1862-1884 box 26 folder 60-67 Williams, Martha - Willis, Patrick -- Box 27 folder 1-27 Wilson, Elias - Wood, William H. (folder 3 of 5) FHL US/CAN Film 2319853

Wingate, Charles B. (1823) Error in index. The contents of the case file are dated 1873 and later.

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Henry County History

JimChumney — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:57:57 CST

Henry County was carved out of Conecuh County on December 13, 1819 by an act passed by the General assembly of the State of Alabama during its first session. As it was then constituted, Henry County consisted of “all that tract of country lying east of the range line between thirteen and fourteen, south and east of the county of Butler, south of Montgomery county, west of the Indian boundary line and the Chattahoochee [River], and north of the thirty-first degree of north latitude [i.e., Ellicott's Line between Alabama and Florida] ...” This comprises all the territory that is now included in the counties of Covington, Dale, Coffee, Geneva, and Houston; the greater part of Pike; and parts of Crenshaw and Barbour. During the pre-1830 era, three counties were formed from portions of Henry County: Covington and Pike on December 17, 1821; and Dale on December 22, 1824.

Two thousand six hundred and thirty-eight inhabitants were included in the 1820 Henry County census. The vast area that was Henry County in 1820 underwent a population explosion during the succeeding ten years reaching 14,681 inhabitants in 1830. Of those, 4,020 were in the downsized Henry County. Follow this link for more on the population of early Henry County.

Joel T. McClendon, Johnson Wright, S. Smith (Capt.), Wm. C. Watson, and John Fannin were appointed commissioners by the state legislature in 1819 to “fix on a suitable place for the seat of justice.” They selected Richmond, the site of which is now in Dale County, as the first county seat. The county seat was moved to Columbia in 1822 (1826?) and subsequently moved to Abbeville in 1833 where it remains to this day. Fortunately, Henry County’s courthouse never burned which is a boon to researchers.

Sources :

Alabama, Her History, Resources, War Record, and Public Men" by Willis Brewer, 1872
"ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA PASSED AT ITS FIRST SESSION," Which was begun and held in the town of Huntsville, on Monday, the twenty-fifth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, and ended the seventeenth day of December the same year.

Pre-1830 Pioneers and History from the "Henry County Register"

Source :

Henry County Register

*Best attempts were made to link the names (mentioned in these articles) to the correct detail page for each pioneer. In some cases, the linked page may not be the correct one, due to possible misspelling of names and/or not enough facts to identify correct person. For some names, there is not enough info to link it at all. More research is needed to determine correct link. Some of the unlinked names are people who were not in Henry County prior to 1830 and therefore do not have a detail page to link to.

Below are five articles extracted in their entirety from a newspaper published in Henry county named the "Henry County Register." These articles were attributed to the "old settlers" and present information on the earliest settlers of the Henry county area. Most likely there are additional articles in this series.

Henry County Register
M. A. Sheehan : : Editor
Abbeville, Alabama, May 30, 1873

Early Recollections of Henry

Editor Register: We have noticed with interest, as they have appeared in the Eufaula Daily Times "Early Chronicles of Barbour county" -- most of which are really recollections of Henry county, and judged by our recollection, are very inaccurate at that; so much so that we have determined, with your permission to give correct recollections of Henry, the old mother, the residents of whose offspring (Barbour), are misrepresenting her and giving wrong version to family affairs. But we are not doing this in a quarrelsome, pettish, or with any wish or view of getting up questions of veracity with the Times, inasmuch as its informants are newcomers to this country and cannot be expected to know much about it. In January, 1816 before there was any Alabama organized, or any Henry or Barbour counties were known, and while all this land was embraced in the Mississippi Territory and inhabited only by the wild beast, fowl, and Indian, George Gamble, the father of our fellow citizens, James, William, John L and Robert Gamble, together with one Wm. Brown, the father of Thomas Brown living near Columbia in this county, undertook to "spy out the land," and crossed the Chattahoochee river with their families at what was afterwards called Fort Gaines in honor of General Gaines. They both settled on the south side of what was afterwards called Patterson Mill Creek --now McRae's-- about two miles below Franklin, and made a crop that year jointly on an old field theretofore cleared and abandoned by the Indians. These were the first white settlers to come over, but in that spring Col. Robert Irvin, Jarrett Patterson, Edward S. Cox, George Keith, Jonah Keith and James Keith came over and settled in the same neighborhood. Irvin and Patterson made a crop where Franklin now is situated; Edward Cox and James Keith settled south of what is now known as Watson's branch, and Jonah settled above the mouth of the creek a mile below Franklin. Robert Gamble, mentioned above was the first white male child born in the territory. Jonah Keith was the father of David Keith of Geneva. In October of this year hostilities with the Indians commenced, and none of this handful of settlers were at any moment safe, but were liable to be shot and scalped at all times; and James Keith was shot and killed in his sick bed. They were therefore compelled to seek safety in Fort Gaines, where they were compelled to remain, or be butchered, till March, 1817, when peace was declared. During their long confinement in the fort the only solace left them was that they could buy their own corn from Indians professing to be friendly, but who would shoot, scalp and steal from the whites, with great delight, on the sly. After peace had been declared the settlers recrossed the river; and George Gamble being the only mechanic in the colony and owning the only tools, assisted Patterson in splitting puncheons and erecting his mill. It was the only mill in the county for many years--was owned by Col. Robert Irvin after Patterson returned to Tennessee, his former home. At the time of the first and second crossings such a thing as a batteau was unknown on the Chattahoochee. They brought their carriages and teams over by tying Indian canoes together and making thereby perognes with which they were enabled to cross. More anon.

OLD SETTLERS

May 30, 1873

Names mentioned in this article:*

Thomas Brown
Wm. Brown
Edward S. Cox
George Gamble
James Gamble
John L. Gamble
Robert Gamble
William Gamble
Robert Irvin
David Keith
George Keith
James Keith
Jonah Keith
Jarrett Patterson

The Henry County Register
ABBEVILLE, ALA., FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 1873

Early Recollections of Henry

Editor Register: While in the fort the Indians and negroes stole all the canoes from the whites; and during a freshet in the Chattahoochee it was reported that a canoe was floating down the river, and a reward was offered for its capture. Many entered the contest for the reward, and the canoe, and ran with all their might, adopting the best means in their judgment to obtain it. Joel T. Mc[C]lendon, who was afterwards Sheriff of this county, and father of our Wm. A. McClendon, ran directly to the bluff near where Dr. Wm. J. Johnson's late residence now stands, and, without stopping, made a leap down the bluff, then over sixty feet to the water, and striking the embankment once, he landed in the stream, captured the canoe and returned to the shore in triumph.
Soon after this, information reached the fort that an Indian negro (one who had escaped from slavery and taken up with the savages) was camped on the bank of the river in what is now the Bennett plantation. An expedition consisting of several young men, including McClendon, went out to capture him. On reaching the designated point McClendon leaped from the canoe first, and drove it with his comrades back into the stream. Before they could again approach the shore and land the negro and McLendon closed, and the negro's gun was discharged so near to McClendon as to burn his face, when McLendon shot and killed the negro. Previous to this time and while in the command of Gen Floyd, at the battle of Ottassee the Indians were doing great damage to the whites from their council situated about two hundred yards distant, and it became necessary to burn it or lose the battle. McClendon volunteered to do this and in the face of a murderous fire from the Indians advanced alone and threw fire on the back corner, by which it was burned receiving no wound or damage except to have his canteen strap cut by a bullet. One Brown Livermon with his family were in the fort and against the remonstrance and pursuasions [sic] of his friends moved his wife, son and daughter to their home about a mile away and took himself to other parts. Of course the Indians attacked them right away, killed the wife and mother shot at the son and daughter and wounded the daughter slightly in the arm then caught her and thrust a butcher knife through her clothing, whereupon she feigned that she was dead. The Indians believing the knife had passed through her body, skalped [sic] her and left her for dead; when she escaped to the fort. When peace was declared several persons who had not theretofore crossed the river came over and in the fall of 1817, emigrants came in rapidly and settlements were made on the creeks and uplands of the interior and the country began to show more signs of civilization. More anon.

OLD SETTLERS

June 6, 1873

Names mentioned in this article:*

Gen Floyd
Brown Livermon
Joel T. Mc[C]lendon
Wm. A. McClendon

Henry County Register
M. A. Sheehan : : Editor
Abbeville, Alabama, June 13, 1873

Early Recollections of Henry

Among others already mentioned as being in Fort Gaines and who came to this county, were William Williams and two sons Braddock and John; James Nall, Sr., and two sons James and William; Moses Weems and family, James Hughes, Pious Chambers, Bryan Sholar and a negro named Zeke Weems. Zeke was the first man to learn the blacksmith trade in the territory. He has been at the anvil more than 50 years and can yet do fair work. George Gamble and Wm. Brown made two crops at their first settlement (1816 and 1817), when they sold out their claims to James Tindall, and Randall and James Jackson. Wm. Brown then settled below the mouth of Emersee creek near Columbia; his son Thomas now resides near the same place – he is 78 years of age with health and strength sufficient to enable him to hold the plow-handle daily, which he does from preference and long habit, as he is in circumstances that would justify him in enjoying that ease and quiet seemingly so befitting a man who has passed his three score and ten years. George Gamble lived a mile below Franklin on what is now known as McRae’s Mill creek, till he died in 1822. He was buried at Ft. Gaines. His sons –James, William, (who represented the county one term in the General Assembly,) and John L. and Robert, are all now respected citizens of the county, residing near Abbeville. Edward S. Cox moved to what was afterwards Barbour county, where it is believed he has several descendants. James Keith was killed by the Indians as heretofore stated. Jonah and Geo. Keith settled in the vicinity of Columbia. Wm Williams with his sons settled below the mouth of Phillips’ Mill creek near where his brother Stephen died, but sold his claim and moved to what was afterwards Barbour county, where it is believed one of his sons --John--- survives him. Moses Weems also settled on Phillips’ Mill creek, and erected a mill on the stream, one of the first in the county. He afterwards moved to what is now known as the Shackleford place, where he died, several sons and daughters surviving him. At Weems’ mill one Charles Settles had a blacksmith shop, and here Zeke, the negro spoken of above, served his apprenticeship. James Nalls Sr., settled in the neighborhood of Weems, where he and his sons lived and died. In the spring of 1817 James Hughes returned to Lawrence [Laurens] county, Ga., and brought to this county his mother Margaret Hughes and two brothers William and Moses, and his nephew Alexander C. Gordon, and settled two miles above the mouth of Phillips' Mill creek on the Chattahoochee river. He afterwards sold his claim to John Hines and purchased the claim of one Bartlett Poindexter on the Yattawabbe creek where John Whitehurst lived for many years, and which is now owned by one Miller. He remained here till 1829 or ’30, when he moved to Texas and took part in its struggle for independence, and acquired a large fortune there. While a resident of Henry county he was elected to the respective offices of sheriff and tax collector, and was highly esteemed by the people. He never married. He, James Gamble, and Thomas Brown were privates in the company of Capt. Rob’t Irvin who commanded at Fort Gaines. Pious Chambers settled on the Chattahoochee above Weems, where he died. His only daughter was the first wife of Col. James Bennett and died without issue surviving her. His son John, the father of Mrs. M.B. Green married the daughter of Judge Jno. H. Gilmore. She survives him. He died from the poisonous effects of a lotion of yellow jessamin taken by mistake. Thomas married a daughter of Isaac Morgan. She, with a large family of sons and daughters survive him. Both John and Thomas Chambers were men of strong native intellect, and, not withstanding the literary inconveniences of this frontier county, acquired considerable education, became shrewd and successful business men and occupied high social positions in the county.

June 13, 1873

Names mentioned in this article:*

Note: The events described below took place after the Battle of Hobdy's Bridge which was fought on March 24, 1837. As such, it is not pre-1830 Henry County history. However, it is included here for completeness, since it is part of the "Early Recollections of Henry series of articles.

Henry County Register
July 11, 1873

Early Recollections of Henry

After the fight at Hobdy’s bridge the Indians was pursued down the river by John Curry commanding a squad of whites, and captured some few prisoners who gave account of the forces of Indians which according to their statement numbered some 5000 warriors. This representation was certainly erroneous, they amounting to not more than 500 or 600 men. Lower down the river near the State line the retreating Indians killed one Mr. Hart and all his family. A few miles below Geneva they killed one Mrs. Alberson and her sister while her husband was absent. He returning at night and finding the sad butchery of his family set out to hunt the company of Captain Arch Justice, but come up with a Georgia company under command of Capt. Brown. These troops buried the dead at Mr. Alberson’s when they found that the Indians had ransacked the house after their butcheries, opened feather beds and scattered the contents about which had been taken up by the winds and lodged in tree tops about like snow. While at this place a canoe with a single Indian aboard was seen crossing the river a few hundred yards below. Brown ordered his men to fire upon him but the distance being too great, the shot fell far short. The Indian was however captured on landing and exhibited a pass from Mr. Green Beauchamp which was out of date, and he was kept in custody. He told them if they would spare his life he would show them the Indians who did the killing, and then led them on down through Florida to the mouth of Alaqua. When they came in sight of this creek they discovered a large pine felled across the stream. Suspecting an ambuscade Capt. Brown sent a squad of troops up the stream, to cross and come down on the opposite side and charge in on both sides, rightly suspecting that the Indians were hid in the thick branches of the felled pine on the opposite side of the stream. This squad came down on the opposite side promptly and attacking the Indians killed every one of them. Or at least no visible means of escape for them presented itself being completely hemmed in by the creek and troops on our side and the troops on the other. There were sixteen Indians killed here. The guide captured at Mr. Alberson’s said that they were the ones who killed Mrs. A. and her sister; and they were trailed from the place of massacre to where they were killed.

OLD SETTLERS

July 11, 1873

Names mentioned in this article:*
Mr. Alberson
Mrs. Alberson
Green Beauchamp
Capt. Brown
John Curry
Mr. Hart
Captain Arch Justice

Henry County Register
M. A. Sheehan : : Editor
Abbeville, Alabama, August 1, 1873

Early Recollections of Henry

The only man who came over from the fort and not accounted for in our last communication, is Bryan Sholor, who moved to Florida many years ago. In 1818, 1819, and 1820, the following persons with others, immigrated and settled the county to-wit: Wm Mathews, Alexander Watson, Alexander and Neil McAllister, Isaac Morgan, Stephen Mathews, ---- Beauchamp, (father of William and Green Beauchamp), George Stubbs, Thomas S. Kettler, Geo. Stenham, Stephen Williams, Jno. F. Koonce, Mathew and Jeptha Perryman, Joel Deese, John Anglin, Ike Atkins, George Jones, David and Conn Newton, Capt. Stanley, Nick Baker, Josiah and Wm. Cawthon, Simon Smith and two sons Ben and Sidney; Benjamin Lewis, Jeremiah Kimbal, John McGriff and sons William and Richard, the latter of whom is still living in Columbia; John Odom, Avery Odom, Leonard Ham, Ben. Fagan, Tom Black, Giles Carter, Joseph Davis, John and Anderson Campbell, John Fleming, James Nobles, Luke Farmer, two men named Hopkins, Elijah Hardie, Bartlett Poindexter, Alexander Balkum, Christopher Ward, Wm. Norris and three sons --- Barrel, Abud and Icabud, Robert Johnson, Membrance and Andrew Helton, Archie and John McKissack, Jack Green, David Caldwell, Humphry and John Pellum, Robert Richards, Moses Armstrong, Anthony and Bryan McCullough, James Grace and sons James H, and John Thos. Martin, Byrd M. Grace, Bartlett Smith, Ben Snellgrove, Elias Miller, John and Jonathan Majors, Thos. Majors, Ned Majors, Lewis Deal, Wm. Leonard, John and William Bishop, ---- Hutchinson, ---- Fulgen, Daniel Pynes and sons James, Benj.[,] White and Fair Pynes, Benjamin Harvey ---- Evans and son Gammons. Most of these settled on abandoned Indian old field on and near the Chattahoochee, gradually extending the settlements into the interior. Of many of these we shall more particularly speak hereafter. All the branches and creeks were cane breaks of the densest kind: game of various kinds abounded all over the county, and the same quality of lands were when cleared much more productive than now. The chief hunting grounds of the Indians were on the Yattawabbee and the Emersee creeks, the road between which were their trails. The Indian towns were on the river, and the men, accompanied by their squaws, would march out in single file to their hunting grounds camp, kill deer, jerk the venison, dress the hides and return to town laden with the fruits of their toil. With these skins they made moccasins. The squaws always carried their younger children on these occasions strapped across their shoulders. More anon.

OLD SETTLERS

August 1, 1873

Names mentioned in this article:*

John Anglin	Benjamin Harvey	James Nobles
Moses Armstrong	Andrew Helton	Abud Norris
Ike Atkins	Membrance Helton	Barrel Norris
Nick Baker	? Hopkins	Icabud Norris
Alexander Balkum	---- Hutchinson	Wm. Norris
---- Beauchamp	Robert Johnson	Avery Odom
Green Beauchamp	George Jones	John Odom
William Beauchamp	Thomas S. Kettler	Humphry Pellum
John Bishop	Jeremiah Kimbal	John Pellum
William Bishop	Jno. F. Koonce	Jeptha Perryman
Tom Black	Wm. Leonard	Mathew Perryman
David Caldwell	Benjamin Lewis	Bartlett Poindexter
Anderson Campbell	John Majors	Benj. Pynes
John Campbell	Jonathan Majors	Daniel Pynes
Giles Carter	Ned Majors	Fair Pynes
Josiah Cawthon	Thos. Majors	James Pynes
Wm. Cawthon	John Thos. Martin	White Pynes
Joseph Davis	Stephen Mathews	Robert Richards
Lewis Deal	Wm Mathews	Bryan Sholor
Joel Deese	Alexander McAllister	Bartlett Smith
---- Evans	Neil McAllister	Ben Smith
Gammons Evans	Anthony McCullough	Sidney Smith
Fagan, Ben	Bryan McCullough	Simon Smith
Luke Farmer	John McGriff	Ben Snellgrove
John Fleming	Richard McGriff	Capt. Stanley
---- Fulgen	William McGriff	Geo. Stenham
Byrd M. Grace	Archie McKissack	George Stubbs
James Grace	John McKissack	Christopher Ward
James H Grace	Elias Miller	Alexander Watson
Jack Green	Isaac Morgan	Stephen Williams
Leonard Ham	Conn Newton
Elijah Hardie	David Newton

The Henry County Register
October 3, 1873

Early Recollections of Henry

From the Eufaula Daily Times.
In our communication in your paper of the 5th inst we stated that 'Eufaula creek empties from Alabama into the Chattahoochee river about four miles above Ft. Gaines. We should have said 'Hartridge creek.” Eufaula Creek runs into the Chattahoochee about four or five miles above 'Prospect Bluff' and was the dividing line between the Indian Town which extended from the Eufaula creek up to Chewalla creek which empties into the Chattahoochee just above your city.
Joseph Irvin a Brother of Col. Robert Irvin taught school at what is known as the “Devils Jump” one mile west of Franklin, at which place one of your correspondents learned to spell “baker”. Joseph Hartridge (a son of Wm. Hartridge who married an Indian woman) went to the same school, and was quite smart for a half breed but could not pronounce the letter E. Joseph Irvine like his brother, was a very good man. He returned to Tennessee in the year 1821.
Col. John Fannin who fought the duel with Col. Crowder and was afterwards commander of the troops that were murdered by the Mexicans at Golead [Goliad] settled a plantation on Hartridge creek about two miles west of “Prospect Bluff” (on which the Rev. Edmond Cody resided at the time of his death) on which he built the first gin house in the upper end of the county. There being no nails in the country at that time, Col. Fannin had holes made through the boards in which he placed pegs and hooked them over the lathing to cover his gin-house. It being the first gin-house we ever saw, and being covered in this peculiar way we have never forgotten it. Cotton was then packed in round bags, with a crow-bar, and generally made to weigh about 300 lbs, hauled to Montgomery to market at which place our people went to get their cotton bagging at that time. They had great trouble to get a road wide enough to haul their round bales of cotton. They were about six feet long, placed crosswise on the wagon. Eight or ten made a load, one in the bed of the wagon lengthwise, the balance crosswise on top.
Jarrett Patterson was among the first settlers in our county, and as before stated, was a brother-in law of Col. Irvin, and erected the first distillery in this county about the year 1820, one mile west of Franklin near where Capt McRae's tan yard now is located. He returned to Tennessee about the year 1823.
Next amongst the great men who first settled our county, was David Caldwell, who came from Kentucky. He it was that sank the first tan vat in our county about half a mile North of Capt. McRae's in the river flats. He sold out to Anthony McCullok and joined Col. Irvin in establishing his tan yard. David Caldwell was the first Justice of the Peace elected in the county. He was afterwards elected Judge of the County Court, which position he filled with great honor to himself and satisfaction to the people. He was a very kind hearted intelligent gentleman, very instructive to the youth of the country as one of your correspondents can testify. Owing to some family difficulty, he would never return to his native house, Kentucky, at which place he had a very interesting family. One of his son's came to see him here, a young man of very fine address, and used all honorable means to induce him to return to his home in Kentucky, but he never did.
But alas, in his latter days he gave way to intemperance which shatened [sic] his noble existence here upon earth. His ashes now repose in his adopted and beloved county of Henry. No one in this country ever knew him to do a mean act. To know him was to respect and love him.
We are under the impression that we gave Anthony McCullok the credit of being the founder of Franklin in some of our former articles. If we did we were in error, as we find Col Irvin was the man who first owned the land and established a ferry across the Chattahoochee between Franklin and Fort Gaines, in co partnership with J. W. Sudly on the Georgia side. (Chafey Haijo as the Indians called him) Col Irvin sold some lots to McCullok on which he built a store and dwelling home. One of your correspondents clerked for him in 1824 and 1825 where his trade was mostly with the Indians. McCullok was a great man for the Indian trade. After doing business at “Prospect Bluff” he went to a place called “Old Pond Gap” near where the jug factory now is located, and sold goods to the Indians: then he went over on the Georgia side of the river and established a trading house near the ”Perryman Town” above Fort Gaines, at which place he sold many goods and made a great profit out of his Indian customers, who at that time were receiving pay from the Government for their lands, and they had United States money in abundance, and would give it in exchange for anything, not placing any value on paper money. They also had corn to sell which they brought down the river in their canoes and sold or exchanged for goods. McCullok give [sic] them a bottle of whiskey for a barrel of corn in the ear, which would measure out one bushel. The Indian required the bottle to be filled, stopped, turned up, and the hollow in the bottom filled, which they drink and be satisfied that they had not been cheated in getting their bottle filled. They imagined that the hollow in the bottom was made there for the purpose of swindling in the measure.
Franklin that we have been writing about in this county, was named after the immortal Benj. Franklin. We will give you a further history of its first settlers trade, etc, in some future article.
More Anon.

OLD SETTLERS

October 3, 1873

Names mentioned in this article:*

David Caldwell
Edmond Cody
Col. Crowder
John Fannin
Chafey Haijo (J. W. Sudly)
Joseph Hartridge
Wm. Hartridge
Joseph Irvin
Robert Irvin
Anthony McCullok
Capt McRae
Jarrett Patterson
J. W. Sudly (Chafey Haijo)

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"C" Surnames

JimChumney — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:55:46 CST

Cackings, William
Cainnas, Rachel
Caldwell, David
Cale, William B.
Calhoon, Samuel

Calvin, John W.
Campbell, Anderson
Campbell, Jeremiah
Campbell, John
Canada, Reuben
Caraway, Charles
Carlisle, John
Carmichael, John
Carpenter, Manning
Carter, Alice Messer
Carter, Giles
Carter, James
Carter, Lucy
Carter, Michael
Carter, Sarah
Carter, Winifred
Cawthon, Josiah D.
Cawthon, Martha
Cawthon, Stephen
Cawthon, Susan
Cawthon, William
Cawthon, William Wilson
Chambers, (Captain)
Chambers, Elizabeth
Chambers, Elizabeth d/o John
Chambers, John
Chambers, Pious
Chambers, Ryans
Chambers, Thomas
Chance, Henry
Chanceller, John
Chapman, A.
Chapman, J. D.
Chester, Abner
Chester, David Andrew
Chester, Francis Jean
Chester, Marthy A.
Chester, Martin
Chitty, Howell E.
Chreech, Maryana
Chumney, John A.
Clark, John
Clarke, Aaron
Clarke, Elijah
Clemmons, James
Cole, Noah
Coleman, Susanah
Collins, Creed
Collins, Miles
Connell, Thomas
Conner, Hugh
Cook, James
Cook, Nathan
Cook, Thomas
Cook, William M.
Cooper, Arch.
Copeland, Abner M.
Copeland, Hiram
Cosby, Overton
Cosby, Peter G.
Cowart, Henry T.
Cox, Charles
Cox, Edward
Cox, Ichabod
Craige, Jane
Craige, Jesse Edmund
Craige, Luizar
Creach, Noah
Crowder, William B.
Crowell, John
Crowley, ?
Crowley, Bill
Cureton, William
Curry, Cary
Cushman, Ira

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Cawthon, William

JimChumney — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:51:13 CST

Cawthon, William	Between 1818-1820	Settler between 1818-1820.	The Henry County Register, August 1, 1873.
Cawthon, William	Not Dated	Married Sarah Smith daughter of Simon Smith; he was a Universalist minister, brother of Josiah Dabney Cawthon, established steamboat line with Richard “Dick” Knight, cattleman with free range cattle from Barbour County to St. Andrews Bay, Florida, had large cattle drives to Pensacola, Florida and brought back bags of gold as pay, later moved to Walton County, Florida in 1838.	HUB OF THE WIREGRASS, 1972, by Fred S. Watson, page 48 and THE HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1961, by Mrs. Marvin Scott, pages 190-191.
Cawthon, William	1823	Settled around 1823 in area known at various times as Cawthon’s Cowpens, Popular Head and Dothan between today’s Dothan and Headland.	THE HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY, ALABAMA, by Mrs. Marvin Scott, 1961, page 190.
Cawthon, William	3/31/1823	A manager, along with Captain John Lewis and Obadiah Dick, who certified election in Captain John Lewis' district (signature). See list of 40 voters.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 5, March 31, 1823
Cawthon, William	3/31/1823	Appears on list of 40 voters for peace officers of Captain John Lewis' district.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 6, March 31, 1823
Cawthon, William	12/14/1826	Jane Fulgham administratrix of estate of Jesse Fulgham, deceased made report that the estate is insolvent. Josiah Cawthon, William Cawthon and Bartlett Smith appointed commissioners to examine the claims of the creditors of the deceased	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 402.
Cawthon, William	9/9/1827	Involved in settling Miles Collins' 1825 accounts.	Miles Collins Estate Case File
Cawthon, William	10/10/1827	Whereas Josiah Cawthon, Willam Cawthon and Bartlett Smith have failed to make agreeable to an order of 14th December last appointing them commissioners of the claims against the estate of Jesse Fulgham deceased. It is therefore ordered that they make report on the first Monday in March next.	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 404.
Cawthon, William	5/5/1828	Last will and testament of Sands Standley admitted to record. Ordered that letters testamentary with the will annexed issue to Sarah Standley, Bartlett Smith, and Josiah D Cawthon. Ordered that the following persons or any three of them be appointed appraisers to appraise the estate of Sands Standley deceased. William Cawthon, George Jones, Simon Smith, Alexander Turner, Daniel Pynes, John Turner, and Ica Adkins	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 405.
Cawthon, Wm.	10/8/1828	Gave a receipt to Sarah Standly, executrix of Sands Standly's estate, on behalf of Wm McGriff.	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files. Sands Stanley's estate case.
Cawthon, W.	12/15/1829	Forman for jury that disallowed charges by Allen Hughs against the estate of Charles Whitehead (deceased).	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files. Charles Whitehead's estate case, image 7.

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Cawthon, William Wilson

JimChumney — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:49:26 CST

Cawthon, William W.	6/18/1825	Name appears on list of 45 voters to elect the captain of their district caused by John Lewis' promotion. Richard McGriff was elected.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 14, June 18, 1825
Carthon, William W.	10/6/1828	Commissioned to Cornet (the fifth grade of commissioned officer in a cavalry troop, who carried the colors) for the 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County) volunteer cavalry. He was subsequently commissioned Major on June 5, 1832.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: Boardman-Clyde, Rbt. t., FHL US/CAN Film 1462798

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McGriff, William

JimChumney — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:16:37 CDT

McGriff, William	2/9/1801	Born on February 9, 1801.	From William McGriff's tombstone as recorded in the Survey of the Columbia, Alabama, Cemetery by Janie E. Wood. June 1994.
McGriff, William	Between 1818-1820	Settler between 1818 and 1820 along with his father John McGriff and brother Richard McGriff.	The Henry County Register, August 1, 1873.
McGriff, William	1/17/1822	Married Margaret Moses on 1/17/1822. Wedding performed by Josiah D. Cawthon, Justice of the Peace.	Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A, Page 10, Entry # 120.
McGriff, William	6/18/1825	Name appears on list of 45 voters to elect the captain of their district caused by John Lewis' promotion. Richard McGriff was elected.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 14, June 18, 1825.
McGriff, William	1/21/1828	A receipt for goods purchased from John D. Roland (principal of Roland & Co.) of Prospect Bluff was sent to the attention of Richard McGriff. The reverse side of note was endorsed by Jas Pynes (clerk of the county court) for Sarah Frank (previously Sarah Standly, widow of Sands Standly).	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files. Sands Stanley's estate case, 107.
McGriff, William	05/05/1828	Listed in estate inventory of Sands Standly. Note on William McGriff	Henry County, Alabama Orphans Court Record Book C, page 405.
McGriff, William	5/6/1828	Approved a business transaction with H. R. Z. Edmond? [surname questionable] on behalf of Sarah Stanley. The transaction took place in Woodville.	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files. Sands Stanley's estate case, 47.
McGriff, Wm	10/8/1828	Wm Cawthon gave receipt to Sarah Standly, executrix of Sands Standly's estate, on behalf of Wm McGriff on date shown.	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files. Sands Stanley's estate case, 115.
McGriff, ?	11/4/1828	Paid balance on promissory note from Capt. Sands Standly (deceased). Assumed to be William McGriff due to context of Sands Standley's estate case.	Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files. Sands Stanley's estate case, 69.
McGriff, William	1/26/1864	Died on January 26, 1864. Buried in the Columbia, Alabama Cemetery.	From William McGriff's tombstone as recorded in the Survey of the Columbia, Alabama, Cemetery by Janie E. Wood. June 1994.

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McGriff, Richard

JimChumney — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:57:36 CDT

McGriff, Richard	3/4/1807	Born on March 4, 1807.	From Richard McGriff's tombstone as recorded in the Survey of the Columbia, Alabama, Cemetery by Janie E. Wood. June 1994.
McGriff, Richard	Between 1818-1820	Settler between 1818 and 1820 along with his father John McGriff and brother William McGriff.	The Henry County Register, August 1, 1873.
McGriff, Richard	3/31/1823	Appears on list of 40 voters for peace officers of Captain John Lewis' district	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 6, March 31, 1823
McGriff, Richard	9/12/1823	Commissioned a Lieutenant of the 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County) on September 12, 1823 replacing George Hutto.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: Long-Moody, A.L., FHL US/CAN Film 146280.
McGriff, Richard	6/18/1825	Elected to replace John Lewis as captain district. See list of 45 voters.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 13, June 18, 1825
McGriff, Captain	2/10/1826	Election held in his district for Justice of the Peace	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 17, February 10, 1826
Grif, Richard	12/101827	Purchased items at John Hodges' estate sale. Sale was ordered on April 6, 1827. "Grif" in the estate case but should have been "McGriff."	John Hodges' estate case. Henry County, Alabama Estate Case Files.
McGriff, (Captain)	4/4/1828	Election held in his district for constable	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 25, April 4, 1828
McGriff, (Captain)	3/2/1829	Election held in his district for two Justices of the Peace and a Constable.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 28. Certified March 2, 1829
McGriff, Richard	9/30/1874	Died on September 30, 1874. Buried in the Columbia, Alabama Cemetery.	From Richard McGriff's tombstone as recorded in the Survey of the Columbia, Alabama, Cemetery by Janie E. Wood. June 1994.

Scroll down to the bottom for a discussion thread about Richard McGriff.

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Chumney, John A.

JimChumney — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:45:46 CDT

Chumney, John A.	c1793 or c1797	Born in Rowan County, North Carolina to John Chumney and Elizabeth Andrews Chumney. Siblings include William Chumney born c1807 in North Carolina. Note: John A. Chumney's birth year is c1793 in two sources and c1797 in a third source.	1850 US Censuses for Henry County, Alabama and Knox County, Tennessee. Military bounty-land warrant application dated November 1, 1850 in Henry County, Alabama which was included in John A. Chumney's Military Bounty-Land Warrant Application File in the National Archives. John A. Chumney's Compiled Military Service File from the National Archives. Book of Marriages for Rowan Co. NC (1753-1868). Y-DNA tests of descendants of John A. Chumney and William Chumney.
Chumney, John	11/6/1817 to 11/24/1822	On November 6, 1817 in Kingston, Tennessee, John A. Chumney, a 20 year-old, 5 ft. 4.5 in., blue eyed, brown haired, light complexioned farmer, enlisted as a private in the regular U.S. Army. By the end of the year, he was in Nashville ready to begin the march to Florida with the rest of General Andrew Jackson’s army to fight the First Seminole War (1817-1818). John was assigned to Artillery Corp Southern Division, 4th Battalion, Company M commanded by Captain George P. Peters. When the war was over, the company was among the units left in north Florida to garrison Fort Gadsden, one of the “dreary and sickly posts” on the Gulf Frontier. John A. Chumney was promoted to corporal there on March 1, 1819. When Captain Peters died at Ft. Gadsden later that year, company command passed to Captain Abraham L. Sands. Soon afterwards, Fort Gadsden was abandoned, and Sands’ company was transferred to Fort St. Marks. When the U.S. Army artillery was reorganized on March 2, 1821, the company was redesignated 4th U.S. Artillery regiment, Company I. It was at Fort St. Marks on November 24, 1822 that John A. Chumney was honorably discharged upon expiration of his five-year enlistment.	John Chumney's Compiled Military Service File from the National Archives Military bounty-land warrant application dated November 1, 1850 in Henry County, Alabama which was included in John A. Chumney's Military Bounty-Land Warrant Application File in the National Archives. U.S. Military Post Returns for Fort Gadsden and Fort St. Marks. The Army of the United States, Historical Sketches of Staff and Line with Portraits of Generals-in-Chief, Edited by Theo F. Rodenbough and William Haskin, 1896.
Chumney, John	4/5/1824	Served on first petit jury for Gadsden Co., Florida on April 5, 1824. Note: It is not 100% confirmed that this John Chumney is John A. Chumney of Henry County, Alabama, but the proximity of Gadsden County, Florida to Henry County, the timeframe, and the rarity of the surname are strong evidence that they were the same man.	The books “Gadsden, A Florida County in Word and Picture” by Miles Kenan Womack, Jr. and “History of Gadsden County” by J. Randall Stanley. Original source cited as Gadsden County, Florida "Court Minute Book, No. One." "Minute Book, No. One" cannot be located to confirm.
Chumney, John A.	8/3/1825	Married Milly Watts on 8/3/1825 in Henry County, Alabama. Wedding performed by James Hutchison, Justice of the Peace. John A. Chumney and Milly Watts had five sons and no daughters. The sons were: Robert H. Chumney born ca. 1828 James Clayborne Chumney born ca. 1833 Richard E. Chumney born ca. 1835 William T. Chumney born ca. 1837 John Tyler Chumney born May 13, 1841	Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A, Page 7, Entry # 89. 1850 US Census John A. Chumney's probate proceedings in Henry County, Alabama Orphans Records, Vol., H, 1855-1857 (FHC microfilm #1288513)
Chumney, John A.	1/24/1826	Along with David Reaves and L. F. Williams, witnessed the will of John Hodges.	Henry County, Alabama Deed Book A-C, Page 4, 5.
Chumney, John A.	4/4/1828	Elected Constable of Captain McGriff's district in Henry County, Alabama to fill the office vacated by Terrell Higdon, resigned. The election was held in Columbia and recorded by James Pynes, Clerk of the County Court.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 25.
Chumney, J. A.	7/21/1835	Commissioned Captain of the 5th Division, 11th Brigade, 25th Regiment, Alabama Militia (Henry County) on July 21, 1835 replacing Aeche. [Archibald?] McKissick.	Alabama state militia, 1820-1865: Boardman-Clyde, Rbt. t., FHL US/CAN Film 1462798.
Chumney, John A.	2/15/1836	Resigned the office of constable because of "his removal out of said beat." John Triplett was elected to fill the vacated office. The election was held in Columbia and recorded by William R. Kelly, Clerk. Note: This is probably when John A. Chumney moved to the far southeastern corner of the county near present day Gordon in Houston County.	Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records, Henry County Historical Society, 1970, pg 48.
Chumney, John A.	12/28/1844	Married Nancy Evans, widow of Edward Evans. John A. Chumney and his second wife Nancy Evans had no children.	Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A, Page 99. Henry County, Alabama Orphans Records, Book C, page 132 (FHC film #1288511).
Chumney, John A.	11/1/1850	Applied for a military bounty-land warrant on November 1, 1850 in Henry County, Alabama. It was requested the warrant be sent to John Chumney, Open Pond in Henry County. John A. Chumney signed the application with his signature. Warrant 3867 for 160 acres of land in Jackson County, Florida was subsequently issued on March 10, 1852.	John A. Chumney's Military Bounty-Land Warrant Application File from the National Archives.
Chumney, John A.	11/10/1855	Died in Henry County, Alabama according to an affidavit signed by Sovereign W. J. Ellis, administrator of John A. Chumney's estate to wit: "[John A. Chumney] had commenced building on said land when he was taken sick and died on the 10th of November AD 1855." The affidavit was included in the Land Entry Files from the National Archives for the parcel of land John A. Chumney owned in Henry County, Alabama at Section 1, Township 1N, Range 28E.	Land Entry Files from the National Archives. Land Patent certificate number 21081.

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Walker, Judy Elizabeth

JimChumney — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:25:52 CDT

Walker, Judy Elizabeth

11/29/1823

Purchased three cows and three heifers from David A. S. Walker for $1.00, witnessed by John Howerton and Moses Wimbs (Weems).

Henry County, Alabama Deed Book A-C, Page 12, 13.

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Hopkins, William

JimChumney — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:15:00 CDT

Hopkins, William	12/30/1822	Bondsman. James Hughes vs Bartlett Poindexter.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 133.
Hopkins, William	1/20/1823	Plaintiff. William Hopkins vs Israel Blades.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190.
Hopkins, William	2/28/1823	Plaintiff. William Hopkins vs Israel Blades.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 115, 116.
Hopkins, William	5/4/1823	Plaintiff. William Hopkins vs Joseph P. Reid.	Henry County, Alabama Court Cases, Pages 126, 127, 128.
Hopkins, William	11/29/1823	Livestock sold by David A. S. Walker to Judy Elizabeth Walker on date shown was originally bought by David Walker from William Hopkins.	Henry County, Alabama Deed Book A-C, Page 13.

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jgambl02 — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 10:57:19 CDT

Identifying the sources of historical information is very important. In addition to giving credit where credit is due, sources also provide the researcher with a place to go to check the facts, obtain additional information, and verify transcriptions. The following sources were used in compiling the pre-1830 Henry County, Alabama Pioneers knowledge base.

Note: Author Helon Cutler’s wishes were respected, and her “Created List of People Living in Henry Co. in 1820-1829” that appears in her book Henry County Alabama Records, Volume 1, Census Records was not used as the source of any of the pioneers or facts in this knowledge base; neither was her book Henry County, Alabama Records, Volume 2, Marriage Records used as the source of any of the pioneers or facts. The pre-1830 pioneers that may also appear in Ms. Cutler’s books were independently extracted from other – mostly primary – sources and included on this website. However, there are 38 Pre-1830 Henry County individuals that appear in Ms. Cutler’s books that are currently not in this knowledge base. Sixteen of the differences are due to either transcription differences or errors. The remaining 22 individuals are believed to be from other sources that have not yet been independently researched.

Additional Unresearched Sources

1. Henry County Court Annex: There may be untold pre-1830 treasures in the Henry County Court Annex building, such as tax lists, the 1820 Henry County census, Henry County circuit court cases from 1825 through 1829, etc. Official Henry County Historian T. Larry Smith reports that after the team of volunteers prepared the loose records for microfilming in 2001, he led a small group of people to inventory the "vast record books" in the annex building. They only completed inventorying the small court record books. A wall of court record books was leaning away from the wall and was too dangerous to deal with at the time, plus, the volunteers were exhausted after almost a year of dealing with the loose records and the small record books in the annex. The inventory of the small court record books was published in the "Henry County Orator" some years ago. It does not include any pre-1830 records, but the uninventoried 60% of the Court Annex may.

NOTE: At this time, the Court Annex is closed to the public.

2. Bounty Land Warrant Application Files: The application that was filled out when a Henry County resident who previously served in the military applied for a land warrant includes the soldier's age at the time of application, his unit's leaders, his enrollment date and place, and his discharge date and place. This information could be very valuable in determining where a pre-1830 pioneer lived prior to moving to Henry County. Bounty Land Warrant Application Files can be ordered from the National Archives for a fee of $25.

3. The Alabama State legislative acts, house journals, and senate journals for the tenth and eleventh sessions when posted on the history section of the Alabama State Legislature's website: Currently, the website contains Henry County pioneers and facts that were extracted from the first through the ninth sessions.

4. Henry County Register: There may still be additional articles about early Henry County Pioneers in the "Henry County Register" because the October 3, 1873 edition ends with: "We will give you a further history of its first settlers, trade, etc, in some future article. More Anon" The newspaper was researched through July 31, 1874, which is the end of the microfilm from the Alabama Department of History and Archives, without discovering any additional "Old Settlers" articles. Attempts will be made to obtain microfilms from other sources that include later editions of the "Henry County Register."

5. Confederate pension applications: Confederate veteran pension applications and widow of veteran pension applications contain a wealth of information. On some forms, the veteran or widow is requested to provide his or her birthplace, birth date or age. This information could be used to confirm a Confederate veteran, widow of a veteran, or (indirectly) their parents were Henry County residents prior to 1830.

6. Indian War pension applications: On July 27, 1892, Congress passed an act allowing pensions to soldiers who served in Indian Wars between 1832 and 1842 who were honorably discharged. Widows also received the benefit of the act, provided they had not remarried. Here is the Pension List for soldiers who served in Henry County units during the Creek War of 1836.

7. Henry County Official Bond Book A: Henry County Official Bond Book D is given as the source for an 1843 bond for William Lawson as constable. If Bond Book D includes an 1843 bond, then possibly, Bond Book A includes earlier bonds, perhaps even pre-1830 bonds. There is no known microfilm for the Bond Books.

8. Henry County, Alabama circuit court cases from 1825 through 1829, if they exist: The Henry County circuit court cases abruptly ends in early 1825, and no other Henry County microfilms cover court cases for the remaining years. Either records of the subsequent cases don’t exist; they were never microfilmed; or the microfilm was lost or mislabeled.

9. Box #206 at the National Archives: This box contains information on Robert Irvin's Company of the Georgia Militia in the 1st Seminole War of 1817-1818. It is believed that all the soldiers in Robert Irvin’s unit were pre-1830 Henry County, Alabama pioneers.

10. A History Of Henry County, Alabama, 1795 To 1850 by David Lewis Trawick, M.A. Thesis, Mississippi State University, 1971: A portion of David Lewis Trawik’s research was published in Henry County Political Return 1822-1860 and Church Records by the Henry County Historical Society, 1970, from which the pre-1830 names and facts have already been extracted and entered on the website. The rest of Mr. Trawick's thesis may contain additional pertinent information.

11. A Brief History of Henry County, Alabama by Elijah Coleman "Lidge" Glover, Abbeville, Alabama, 1916: This book is included in the bibliography of a post on Roots-Web by Steve Elliott on August 28, 2006. Since the topic of the post is Henry County pioneers Henry and Daniel Jackson, the book may include information about other Henry County pioneers.

Research Dead Ends

The following sources were researched and deemed dead ends because they are either unavailable or do not contain any new pioneers or facts about pre-1830 Henry County.

1. Alabama, 1821-1829, decennary census index by Ronald Vern Jackson. The only known public copy of the index is in the genealogical library of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama (HA 222 .U54 1820-29).

The index was researched and is a dead end. The only pre-1830 Henry County individuals in the index are the brides and grooms from Henry County, Alabama Marriage Book A who have already been extracted directly from the Marriage Book and added to the website.

2. Henry County Tax Lists: Many counties preserved their old tax lists. Unfortunately, according to the Henry County Revenue Commissioner’s Office on September 16, 2009, "those records are not in the courthouse and no one here knows where they would be."

3. “Alabama Journal” newspaper published in Montgomery, Alabama: From James Nall’s 1827 estate case file, it was known that the "Alabama Journal" published notices of Henry County deaths. However, no new information was discovered in Death, Marriage and Probate Notices from Montgomery, Alabama Newspapers, Volume I (1821-1865) by Larry E. Caver, Jr. which includes the "Alabama Journal." The only three notices pertaining to Henry County were from the administrators of the estates of James Rabb, Julius Martin, and William Bannister. The information in those notices had already been extracted from the estate case files for those individuals.

4. "The Territorial Papers of the United States Vol. XVIII, The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819" by Clarence Edwin Carter. No early Henry County residents mentioned in the volume.

5. Masonic Lodge Minutes and Membership Rolls. Henry #91, the earliest Masonic lodge in Henry County, was chartered in 1848. Hence, it’s unlikely any of the county's lodge membership rolls or minutes include pre-1830 Henry County information.

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