New User-Friendly Website for Alabama Department of Archives and History Resources

[Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

Earlier this month, the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) launched its new website which will make it easier for those of us with ancestors who lived in the state to access its extensive archive collections.

ADAH Director Steve Murray provides a brief introduction and tour.

I haven't had a chance yet to see if there are any records in the digital collections that relate to my Warren, Hardy, Chappell, and Freeman forebears. I'll let you know if/when I do.

© 2022 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Christopher Colbert "Col" Chappell & Wife Cornelia Josephine "Puss" Stanley Chappell

This double portrait of Col Chappell and his wife was posted to her tree by a distant Freeman cousin who's an Ancestry DNA match.* Since my family tree has quite a few Chappells in it, including my 3X great grandmother Sarah Heath Chappell, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Col is also related to me through his father's line.**

Col was born in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, in 1849 and that's where he and Puss were married. They remained in Alabama (where five of their eventual twelve children were born) until about 1882 when they removed to Texas where they lived out their days.

Puss died on 1934 and Col survived her by three and a half years. They are both buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Hall County.

[Posted by their descendant KathyWhitaker51 to her Ancestry family tree]

Here's how we're related:

[Ancestry.com]

*As a 5th - 8th cousin
**I'll have to research his lineage to find out.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Reuben H. Avery & Family - Walker County, Alabama

Reuben (1874-1914) is one of my paternal second cousins, three times removed. As far as I can tell he seems to have lived in Walker County, Alabama, his whole life. Standing next to him is his wife Catherine Kiker (1859-1961) and their children Laird, Gordon, Clara and Patsy. They all look like they're ready for a drive in the carriage. (The mules look resigned.)

[Undated photo posted to her Ancestry.com family tree by gbush6]

Note that only the adults are wearing shoes.


Here's the connection between Reuben and me:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Anna & Eli Lockhart

This double portrait of siblings Anna Pherebe Lockhart (1840-1897) and her brother Elial Lockhart (1832-1861) was added to their Ancestry.com profiles by "debbiemcl" who is one of my paternal DNA matches.*

[Anna and Eli Lockhart, found on the Ancestry.com tree of debbiemcl]

Anna married Abdy Park Hampton (1836-1902) in Russell County, Alabama, shortly after the start of the Civil War. She and her husband moved to Florida** shortly after the wedding and went on the have six children. They both died in Tampa.

Eli, who never married, died in Tampa in 1861.




*The common ancestors we share are John H Hardy/Elizabeth Ward

[Ancestry.com]

Eli and Anna (using her middle name) were named in an 1857 list of the heirs of John H. Hardy.

["Alabama Estate Files, 1830-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RGV-32B?cc=1978117&wc=MX5T-7N1%3A314239401%2C315421601 : 24 August 2018), Russell > Hardy, John H (1854) > image 42 of 51;

county courthouses, Alabama.]

**This branch of the Lockhart clan appear to have relocated to Florida as early as 1850.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: "The prehistoric shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico is so fertile you can see it from space"

The Washington Post published a piece about the region of Mississippi and Alabama known as the Black Belt and used this satellite image to illustrate their point:

It is subtle, and it blends in well with the surroundings, and if you are not looking for it there is a good chance you will scan right over it. But once someone points it out on a true-color map, it is impossible to unsee: a crescent of off-hue land in Mississippi and Alabama that is so perfectly-arced it looks unnatural.

[NASA via The Washington Post]

More from the Post's article:

In reality, this arc is super-fertile, cultivated land surrounded by dense forest. It is the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico as it existed 145 million years ago.

[NASA via The Washington Post]

As you can see, Macon County is one of the Alabama counties in the Black Belt and that's where my Warren, Hardy and Freeman ancestors moved as soon as the land was forcibly taken from the Creek Indians. They settled in an area called Cotton Valley which is located in the southern part of Macon County.

[The University of Alabama Department of Geography via TrueSouth.com]

Before intensive agriculture changed the land forever, the Black Belt comprised at least 356,000 acres of open prairie of which only a small fragment remains. Here's more information (with photos) about some of the plants and insects found there.

Cotton Valley proved to be a stopping point on my ancestors' way west as younger generations all moved on to Texas in the 1850s.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Warren/Hardy Wedding Announcement in The Tuskegee (Alabama) Republican - 1849

We already knew about the marriage of this pair of paternal great great grandparents but the second paragraph elicited a chuckle from me.

[13 Dec 1849, Page 2 - Tuskegee Republican at Newspapers.com]

Remember the Printer!


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Mary Cutts? (1765? - 1826)

We know almost nothing about this paternal fourth great grandmother* who married Henry Avera/Avery in Cumberland County, North Carolina, in about 1786. If we have the right early census records the family was living in the Cheraws District of South Carolina (later Chesterfield County) by the mid-1790s and seem to have left there for Alabama in 1819, first in Madison County and then ended up in Bibb County where Mary died in 1826 and was buried in the Avery Cemetery.

[Avery Cemetery, Findagrave Memorial #170175530; Photo by Bertha Avery-Hood.]

[Ancestry.com]

*Even her name is suspect--the gravestone of her daughter Catherine's grave indicates that she is the daughter of "d/o Henry Avery & Christian Durham." Whoever she was, there are quite a few of us who are descended from her.

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: John H. Hardy - Russell County, Alabama - 1857

In 1857 John Hardy's son-in-law and the executor of his will David Lockhart listed the estate's heirs for the probate court:

["Alabama Estate Files, 1830-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RGV-32B?cc=1978117&wc=MX5T-7N1%3A314239401%2C315421601 : 19 May 2014), Russell > Hardy, John H (1854) > image 42 of 51;

county courthouses, Alabama.]

The State of Alabama Russell County.
     Personally came David Lockhart Exr
of John Hardy dec'd who being duly sworn doth
depose & say that the within is a true account
of his acts as Executor to the best of his knowl-
edge & belief and that the heirs of the estate are
1  Fereby Lockhart wife of the affiant.
2  Elizabeth Kennon wife of Herry J M Kennon
3  William Hardy of full age
4  The children of Charles Hardy deceased ^all of^ whose names
    and ages are unknown to affiant,
5  The children of Alfred Hardy dec'd viz 1 John Hardy, 2 Martha 
    Warren wife of Jesse Warren, 3 George Hardy, who are
     full age to the best of his knowledge, 4 Sarah Hardy
     minor, 5 the children of Martha Ann Baker de'd viz 1 Cobb Craw-
     ford, by a former marriage & some children by her hus-
     band Baker whose names are unknown.
6  Eliel Lockhart, Elizabeth Lockhart, James Lockhart
     Jane Lockhart. Fereby Lockhart; Eliel & Elizabeth
     being of ull age, the others minors, Jane being
     married to one Bell.
7  The children of Mary Park de'd unknown
8  The children of James W Hardy ^dec'd^ whose names
     and ages are unknown
9  The children of John P Heardy ^dec'd^ whose names ^& ages^ are
     unknown
10 Sarah Guire wife of Lewis Guire
11 William Bennett & Lizabeth Whiteman
     wife of ----- Whiteman of full age
Sworn to & subscribed 31  }
January 1857                      }      David Lockhart
     John A Lewis                }
    Judge of Probate            }

I have bolded my direct ancestors in the above transcription. 

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: John H. Hardy - Russell County, Alabama - 1855

The probate file for John H. Hardy's estate on FamilySearch contains 51 images* among which is this 1855 receipt for $12.50, the cost of making his coffin (and case) on September 25, 1854.

["Alabama, Estate Files, 1830-1976," index and images, FamilySearch.

(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23178-3398-77?cc=1978117 : accessed 01 Jul 2014),

Russell - Hardy, John H (1854) - image 16 of 51.]

                                             Opelika Ala

The Estate of 
          John Hardy dec
                   For
1854             Morris Hoggans [??}
Sept 25 For Making Coffin & Case           $12.50

                Rec'd payment by the hands of
          David Lockhart Esq
               Dec 18th 1855
                                         Morris Hoggans**
                                        per H W Rogers





*One of which is deliberately duplicated because the original scan cut off the bottom of the page.
**This is my best guess for the surname--I haven't been able to locate this man in census records.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: John H. Hardy - Russell County, Alabama - 1854

When this paternal fourth great grandfather John Hardy* made his will in April of 1854 he was 81 and had outlived two wives and a number of his children including my direct ancestor Alfred Ward Hardy.

["Alabama Probate Records, 1809-1985." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. County courthouses, Alabama.]

         Will of John Hardy
Russell County
  State of Alabama } I, John Hardy of the State
and County aforesaid being of sound mind
and memory do make and ordain this my last
will and testament as follows. First I direct
that all my just debts shall be paid. Second
I wish and it is my will that my daughter Fer-
aby Lockhurt shall have my horse and buggy
  Third. I wish and is my will that my negro woman
Rachel shall be permitted to live with my children as
she may desire. David Lockhart my son in law is
hereby appointed her Guardian to whose direction
and control I commit her that my will herein ex-
pressed may be performed as the laws of the State
may allow.
 Fifth. After the above special bequests have been made
it is my will that all my property be equally divided a-
mong all my children, the living children of those that
are dead receiving that portion that would belong to the
parents were they living.
  Sixth. I hereby appoint my son Wm Hardy to 
that portion of my property which I have bequeath
ed to the children of my daughter Elenor Lockhart 
deceased. I also direct said Trustee to hold said
property until the youngest living child of the
aforesaid Elenor Lockhart shall be twenty one years
of age or shall marry when I desire that the mon-
ey with the accruing interest to be equally divided
among the legal heirs of my daughter aforesaid
  Seventh I hereby appoint my son in law David
Lockhart trustee for the children of my son James
W Hardy deceased the money to be managed as directed
for the funds of the children of my daughter Elenor Lockhart
  Eighth. I hereby appoint my grandson James W Hardy
trustee for the children of my son John P Hardy deceased
Gabriel Parks trustee for the children of my daughter
mary G Parks deceased, Abram Chappel Trustee for the
children of my son Alfred Hardy deceased, William Bennett
Trustee for the children of my daughter Louisa Bennett
deceased and Mr. Wesson, the present husband of their
mother trustee for the children of my son Charles Har-
dy deceased and these trustees thus appointed are
requested to receive the property of the respective
legatees and to dispose of the same according
to the laws of the State of Alabama. I hereby
/
appoint David Lockhart & John H Lockhart
his son executors to this my last will nad
testament. In witness whereof I hereunto
set my hand and seal April 12th 1854
Test.  David Watson                  }
         Nashe Sledge                   } John Hardy {Seal}
         A B Bennett                     }

The State of Alabama Russell County
   Be it remembered that on this 18th day of
November AD 1854 in the probate Court of said
County personally came David Watson & Abijah B Bennett
two of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing will of
John Hardy deceased who being duly sworn do depose
and say that they each saw the said John Hardy sign
seal publish and declare the same to be and contain
his last will and testament on the 12th April 1854;
that they each signed the same as witnesses in the pres-
ence of the said John Hardy and that they saw the
other witness sign the same as a witness in the pres-
ence of the said John Hardy and that the said John
Hardy at the time of signing said will was of sound
mind and that he executed the same without any
fears threats or compulsion so far as they know
or believe
   Sworn to 18th November 1854   } David Watson
          Thomas S Tate                     } A B Bennett
                 Judge of Probate

The first thing I noticed while doing the transcription of John's will is that whoever copied the original will into the probate record seems to have left out a section as it jumps from third to fifth.

There are lots more probate records available on FamilySearch so I'll see what else I can find. We know that John owned at least one enslaved person, Rachel. If I can locate the inventory of his estate we'll know more about his other possessions.


*Here's my descent from John H. Hardy.

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Limited Time Free Legacy Family Tree Webinar: "Understanding Alabama" presented by Rorey Cathcart

Modern day image taken from Google Earth.

My 5th great grandfather Henry Avery Esq (1753-1836) appeared on a list of letters in Huntsville, Alabama Territory in 1819.  He lived in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina in 1810, so something happened after that date to spur him to move westward.  I have not yet worked out the specifics of why and when.  From Ancestry's U.S. Colonial Census Reconstruction Records, 1660-1820 database--this info is listed as coming from Territorial Papers of the US; Volume Number: Vol 18; Page Number: 517; Family Number: 2.

I have some direct ancestors who lived in Alabama between 1810 and 1869 (when the last of them moved out) so I was excited when I read about this webinar, "Understanding Alabama" presented by Rorey Cathcart:

Alabama presents the budding genealogist with both unique challenges and unique opportunities. Explore the records and repositories you'll need to consider. Learn Alabama's place in classic southern migratory patterns, and the reasons for it. Discover opportunities for African American research not found in other southern states.

Runs 1 hour 26 minutes
Free for non-subscribers through December 6, 2017


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Vandy Marcellus Neal (1838 - 1905) Doctor, Soldier (Confederate)

With this man I'm really going out on a genealogical limb--if I'm right, Dr. Neal is my second cousin, four times removed, through the my great great grandmother Sarah Matthews' line. But is he really?

Here's the 1850 U.S. Census records for the family of one of my first cousins, five times removed, Elizabeth Matthews Neal.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 13, Panola, Mississippi; Roll: M432_379; Page: 309B; Image: 236. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Detail of above]

Does this 13-year-old Mississippi-born boy turn out to be Vandy Marcellus Neal? I'm sure you've seen how badly census takers can maul unusual names and in this case the person who indexed the records read it as Vankrum. What do you think?

Oddly, although there are quite a few other records for Vandy, he somehow doesn't show up in any other censuses.

For instance we know that he graduated from the University of Louisiana, class of 1860, and served as an assistant surgeon in the 37th Alabama Regiment of Volunteer Infantry in 1862 (although he resigned effective almost immediately) and he served in several Alabama reserve companies in 1864.

[Civil War Service Index - Confederate - Alabama.

The National Archives via Fold3.com]

The following image and Dr. Neal's obituary were found on the public Ancestry.com family tree of h0uston511. Sadly the obituary doesn't mention his parents so I can't be sure that he's actually one of my distant relatives.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Coleman Warren in Alabama, 1870 & 1880

Of the seven individuals my 3X great uncle Jeremiah Warren hoped to have freed some day, the person with the most uncommon name was Coleman so I decided to search for a Coleman Warren in the 1870 federal census. There turned out to be only one in the whole country. A resident of Lawrence County, Alabama, he was born in about 1804 and like Mary Warren* in Texas, he was born in Virginia. From Alabama marriage records we know that Coleman and Lottie (Wright) were newlyweds, having married on January 11th.

[Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 7 Range 7, Lawrence, Alabama; Roll: M593_22; Page: 89B; Image: 150538; Family History Library Film: 545521. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

I don't know what connection to Coleman there was, if any, of the next household headed by Lucy Warren who was 45 and born in Alabama. There was an enslaved woman with that name in Jeremiah's estate who was described as "aged" in the 1837 appraisal of Jeremiah's slaves** so this Lucy can't be that person.

That same year Coleman Warren's name (#5 below) appeared in the Federal Census Non-Population Schedule for Agriculture so we know a bit more about what his 20-acre tenant farm was like. 

[Census Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 7, Lawrence, Alabama; Archive Collection Number: M279; Roll: 27; Page: 3; Line: 1; Schedule Type: Agriculture. Ancestry.com. U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]

As of June 1, 1870, five years after emancipation, the personal estate of $10 (also listed on the census) represented the value of his farm equipment and he owned a horse, a mule, two milk cows and two "other cattle" as well as six pigs all of which were valued at $140.***

[Detail of above]

Ten years later Coleman and Lottie's were still in Lawrence County, Alabama, and their household had expanded to include a 4-year-old daughter Jane, George who was 5, and a 10-year-old adopted daughter G.A. Chenault.

["United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB6-96RP?cc=1417683&wc=QZ2W-DMM%3A1589394746%2C1589394779%2C1589394776%2C1589396018 : 24 December 2015), Alabama > Lawrence > Moulton > image 15 of 27; citing NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.:

National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).]

The agricultural schedule in 1880 was much more detailed, giving us a clearer view of what Coleman's farm was like and even get an idea of what the family's diet was like.**

Fifteen years after Emancipation Coleman Warren was modestly successful as a hard-working tenant farmer, able to support his wife and their child along with a grandson and an adopted daughter. And he was a free man.

But the question remains--do these records refer to Jeremiah Warren's slave Coleman whom in 1832 he hoped would be freed some day? Sadly I don't think so.

It would be a great story but there's a serious problem. There happened to be a wealthy, slave-owning Warren family living in Lawrence County headed by Thomas Jackson Warren (1831-1906) who has no known connection to my Warren ancestors in Georgia and I think it's far more likely that this Coleman had formerly been his human property.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: Southern Division, Lawrence, Alabama; Roll: M653_12; Page: 914; Image: 272; Family History Library Film: 803012. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

Coleman Warren died sometime between 1880 and 1900 when his widow Hattie was residing in the Lawrence County household of her daughter Lottie Jane and her husband Henry Gibson. She died in 1933.

*The identification of this Mary Warren as one of those seven people was made by her descendant Marco who had traced her back to John Graybill, one of Jeremiah;s executors, and shared his discovery with us.
**That Lucy formed part of Jeremiah's sister Mary (Polly) Warren.
***There's a problem with the second page of this schedule. When the enumerator turned the page to enter the rest of the information he got his lines mixed up and Coleman is clearly not the farmer referred to on line 10. Forty bales of cotton on 20 acres of land? No. But I can't be sure if Coleman was left out completely or if his totals are on line 4.

[ Ancestry.com. U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:

Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]

****All the 1880 images are from Ancestry.com U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. I've enlarged only those sections of the schedule that relate to Coleman's farm.






© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 15, Final Settlement

I don't know about you, but I'm certainly happy to come to the end of this examination of the probate records for my 3X great grandmother Timeny P. Watts Warren Phillips. 

Timney died on September 5, 1863, by which time  Lee's invasion of the North had been turned back at Gettysburg (July 1-3), Vicksburg had fallen (July 4), the Mississippi River was in Federal control and the South was on the defensive.  Perhaps events during the months leading up to the Confederacy's final defeat in 1865 are part of the reason why it took 3-1/2 years for the final distribution  which took place in 1867.

Estate of
Timney P. Phillips

J.D. Phillips
     Admr

Final Settlement

Recorded Book 11 Page 353
     C.A. Stanton
          Judge of Probate

Filed in Office   Sinclair[?]
Feb 18th 1867

Set for 2nd Monday
April 1867--

C A Stanton
     Judge
R F Ligon

J D Phillips Admr of Timney
P. Phillips dec'd. in account
current for final Settlement

Admr charges himself as
follows----                       Dr[?]

To Amt of Sale of personal property
on the 15th day of December 1863
and which was in Confederate
Money-------------------     $12175.71

To amt of sale of Real estate
in the                                     $120.00
                                            12295.71

Admr ask to be Credited as following
                                                   Cr
By amt paid  R A Johnston {?]nd  1   394.68
 "     "       "    W D Hall                  2     47.60 
 "     "       "     T H Phillips             3     25.00
 "     "       "    W C Martin              4       6.75
 "     "       "    Henderson & Baith  5       5.00
 "     "       "    J W Webb & Co       6      23.20
 "     "       "    Taxes 1863               7      25.25
 "     "       "    R A Johnston           8     185.60
 "     "       "    R A Johnston           9       80.00                
 "     "       "    R A Johnston          10    200.00
 "     "       "    W H Hodnett          11    183.00
 "     "       "    Court Costs            12      54.00
 "     "       "    Attorneys fees        13      30.00

By amt of Confederate Money on hand 4015.63

[Description : Estate Papers, Phillips, Nancy (Minor) to Piques, Sarah. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

                             Amt brt forward
By amt paid A Lockwood Guard
=ian for Elizabeth A Lockwood as per recpt $1500.

By amt paid James O A Adams as
     per receipt on file            --------------     $1950

By amt paid Isabella Varner 
     as per receipt on file       --------------     $1950

By amt paid L B Phillips
     as per receipt on file       --------------     $1500


The State of Alabama          }
   Macon County                  } Personally appeared before C.A. Stanton
Judge of he probate Court J D Phillips Admr of Timney Phillips dec'd who being
duly sworn says that the foregoing account for final Settlement is just
true and Correct and that the heirs at law are, Thos H Phillips and 
your petitioner who reside in Macon Co Ala, W.R Phillips and L.B. Phillips who
reside in Geo, Josiah Phillips in Texas, Mary E Lane wife of 
Alexander Land in Barbour Co Ala, Martha Adams wife of  James O.
Adams in Pike Co Ala all of whom are of full age Elizabeth
Lockwood who resides               County Ala, also the children
of Thadeus Phillips dec'd, to wit, Elizabeth, Eugenie, Columbiana
and John H Philips who are minors and live in Georgia--
Sworn to & subscribed before me   }
22 January 1867  ------                      }       J.D. Phillips
   C A Stanton Judge of Probate


If I'm reading this correctly everyone received Confederate money which was worthless.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 14, The Second Commission

We've already looked at the November 1863 documents arising from the first Commission appointed by the Probate Court to determine whether some of the estate's property needed to be sold. Although it seemed clear that it did apparently nothing was settled because in 1866 another Commission was created. This time the Commissioners were R.T. Davis and John L. Carmichael and the witnesses to be examined were former Commissioner Wesley F. Hodnett and Henry Stanton who lived next to the property in question.

The interrogatories look pretty much the same (although the order is different and only eight acres are involved this time) which isn't surprising because they were written by one of the original lawyers, R.F. Ligon.

J.D. Phillips                        }         Probate Court
  Administrator of               }         Macon County
     Timney P. Phillips Est.  }
               v.                          }     Interrogatories to
 Heirs at Law.                     }     be propounded to
Wesley F. Hodnett and Henry Stanton
material witnesses for the Plaintiff in this
cause.

1st Intr.   Do you know the parties?

2nd Intr.  Do you know the following described
               land situated in Macon County to wit:
               Eight (8) acres off the East end of the South
               half (1/2) of section eighteen (18) Township
               fifteen (15) Range Twenty four (24) adjoining
               Dr. Hodnett and Henry Stanton?

3rd Intr. Do you know of the indebtedness of said
              Estate?

4th Intr. State if it is necessary to sell lands of
              said Estate to pay the debts.

                                                        R.F. Ligon
                                                        Atty. for Administrator

In my transcription of the pages below I've decided to only give the answers of the witnesses because I've hit the wall on this matter (and the handwriting is particularly hard to read).

Deposition of WH Stanton:

1st Int.    Do you know the parties. Ans. I do

2nd Int Do you know the following described land [...] Ans. 2nd I do

3rd Int  Do you know of the indebtedness of 

said Estate

     Ans. 3rd I do not 

4th Intr. State if it is necessary to sell lands
of said Estate to pay the debts
                                  Ans 4th Not knowing if any
debts I can't say.
                                     WH Stanton
25th day of Oct 1866 at WH Stanton store in the County of  Macon

[Estate Papers, Phillips, Nancy (Minor) to Piques, Sarah. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

Deposition of W F Hodnett:

1st Int.    Do you know the parties.

Ans. I do

2nd Int Do you know the following

described land [...]?

Ans. I know the land referred to

3rd Int  Do you know of the indebtedness of 

said Estate [...]?

     Ans. I know of some indebtedness

          of said Estate which cannot be

          paid without selling the lands 

          above described.

4th State if it is necessary to sell lands

of said Estate to pay the debts?
 Ans. I consider it necessary as stated 
     in the last answer.
                                     WF Hodnett
25th day of Oct 1866 at WH Stanton store in the County of  Macon

The sale of these eight acres appears to have been the final obstacle to settling my great great great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips' estate. Next week we'll see who got what.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 13, Where Was I?

Sidetracked by the discovery of more Phillips heirs (male and female) in a deposition, it's been over a month since I've continued the story told in the probate records for Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips, a paternal third great grandmother who died in Alabama in 1863.

Since the file for Timney's estate contains a jumble of papers that are not in chronological order I decided to see what other records are available. The probate minutes seemed like a good place to start. Fortunately there's an index which should make it easier.

[Minutes Vol 9 1861-1864. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

Looking through the pages referenced in the above extract, some of the entries listed above deal with matters I've already covered like the naming of her stepson Thomas H. Phillips as administrator, the inventory taken of her estate and the sale of her slaves and perishable property. The entry regarding Commission's report and the depositions we looked at earlier is to be found on pages 500-501.

John Phillips                                          Regular Term
   Sell Land                                            November 9th 1863

This day having been appointed more than Forty
days Since by the Judge of this Court for the hearing
of the petition or application, now comes the said
J D Phillips & T H Phillips and moves the Court for an
order of Sale in accordance with Said petition of the 
following described lands situated in Macon County
to wit the South half of the North West quarter of Sect
-ion Eighteen (18) Township Fifteen (15) Range twen
-ty four (24) and Eighty acres of the West half of the
South half of the Said Section Eighteen (18) being
the Dower Interest of Timney Phillips, upon the
ground that the Same Cannot be equitably divi
-ded without a sale of the Same and Sampson Lanier
who was heretofore appointed Guardian ad litem
to protect the Interest of The minor heirs of Said Estate,
comes into Court and Cxxxtying said application

[Minutes Vol 9 1861-1864. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

and it appearing that notice of the time and place
Set for the hearing of the Said petition has been given
to all parties in interest in pursuance of Law, and
as directed by the order of this Court made & entered
in the premises on the 12th day of October 1863, and
it now being proved to the Satisfaction of the Court by
the testimony of A Lockwood & William H Stanton
witness in this behalf & whose testimony has been
taken upon direct & Cross interrogatories by deposi
-tions as in chancery cases & filed of record in this pro
-ceeding, that the Said Land Cannot be equitably
divided among all the parties in Interest, & that
it would be to the Interest of all Said parties to Sell
the Same for the purpose of division & partition,
It is therefore ordered, adjudged & decreed that
the Said application be granted, and that
Said Real Estate in the petition be described,
be Sold for the purpose of partition & division am
-ong the parties interested therein & to effect Such
Sale and division, It is ordered that John L
Carmichael, W H Stanton, W G Crawford, A
M Bryde and M Peters who are deemed by
the Court Suitable persons, be appointed Comm
-issioners to Sell Said real estate, and partition
to the parties interest their respective amounts
arising from Said Sale, after after having ad
-vertised Said real Estate for at least thirty days
notice of the time place & terms of Sale, toge
-ther with a description of Said land in the South
South Western Baptist a newspaper published in
Said County, in front of the Court House door
for Cash, It is further ordered that Said Com
-missioners be directed to make a return to this Court
in writing and under Oath of their proceedings in
this behalf within Sixty days after Said Sale,
It is further ordered that Said Commissioners
do retain the proceeds of Said Sale until Said Sale
Shall be confirmed, & until further order of 
Court,

Although it may look as if there should be more of the order above, that's all they wrote. The next entry signals the beginning of a later court date and a different probate case.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.