From the Probate Files: The Watts Surname in Morgan County, Georgia - Part 1, Conrad Watts

According to her obituary in the Southern Christian Advocate, my great great great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips was born in Morgan County, Georgia, in 1803. Since Morgan County wasn't carved out of Baldwin County* until 1807** that's not historically correct but in any case her family would have been living on what was then Georgia's western boundary facing what were still Creek Indian lands.

[Indian land cessions in the United States, comp. by Charles C. Royce, with introduction by Cyrus Thomas.

Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.]

[Madison became the county seat of Morgan County in 1809.Detail of above map.]

The first U.S. Census in 1790 lists a number of Watts households in Georgia in several different counties (which may be helpful when and if we have a better idea of who we're looking for). There are no known records from Georgia for the 1810 U.S. Census.

I decided to look at Morgan County probate records to see if I could sort out the various Watts households.

There's a probate record for a Conrad Watts--an 1821 inventory and sale of his goods and property-- whose widow's name was Mary/Polly. I think this 1820 census record for Captain Pace's District in Morgan County probably refers to her.

[1820 U S Census; Census Place: Capt Paces District, Morgan, Georgia; Page: 148; NARA Roll: M33_10; Image: 85. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Because Mary Watts is named as the head of household, Conrad must have died before the date of the enumeration.*** And here's how Ancestry.com transcribes the members of her household by age. Timney would have been almost 17 at this point, a year or two older than the girls living with Mary so I think we can cross Conrad and Mary off the list of her potential parents.

[Ancestry.com]

When I began this post Conrad Watts was the first and only Watts I saw on the index to this set of probate records. But on closer inspection you can see there's another Watts near the top of the page which I overlooked because the ink recording his name is very faded: L[ittle] Berry Watts.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893G-79RL?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-MNL%3A267727201%2C267750401 : 20 May 2014), Morgan > image 17 of 501;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

And there are a lot of probate records relating to Little Berry Watts' estate. Come back next week and we'll give him a closer look.




*Baldwin County was formed May 11, 1803, out of Creek Indian land that had been ceded in the 1802 Treaty of Fort Wilkinson.
**Along with Jones, Putnam and Randolph (later changed to Jasper) Counties.
***The "Free White Person - Males - 45 and over:' is probably an older relative who doesn't qualify as the household's head.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Jeremiah Warren's Estate - More To Be Learned

If you've been following my posts about my third great uncle Jeremiah Warren will and probate, you may recall the final appraisal and proposed division of some of his enslaved people took place in 1837 and included a share for his nephew (and my great great grandfather) Jesse T.S. Warren, as the only heir of Jeremiah's brother Jesse. Edmund and Amy were allotted to  Jesse T.S. although I wasn't able to find out from available records when the division took place.

[Detail of "Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8935-VW5J?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-YWG%3A267654601%2C267808601 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 63 of 662;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Jesse T.S. only 7 at the time of Jeremiah's death, so during his minority his property was administered by his step-father and guardian John P. Phillips who was required to file annual reports to the local Probate Court in Troup County (where they had moved around 1833).  The guardian's account for 1839 recorded on April 21, 1840, tells us more about Edmund and Amy's fates.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93R-6JPR?cc=1999178&wc=9SB3-MNL%3A267793901%2C267817401 : 20 May 2014), Troup > image 80 of 588;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

[Detail of above Probate Record]

John Phillips Guardian
     to Jesse T.S. Warren Orphan                                                 De
================================================
Return for 1839~
To amt due 1st Jan'y 1839 as per last return                  $3200.55-3/4
To Int on Sum till 1st Jan'y 1840                                       256.00
To amt rec'd from Sale of Edmund to Benjamin            }
     Harper due 25th December 1839 Sold by order of court}  800.00 
To amt rec'd from Sale of Amy a woman Sold              }
     by order of court to Jesse Peacock due 25 Dec 1939}  400.00
                                                                                        $4656.55-3/4
          Contra                                                             Cr
By Board clothing & tuition furnished for 1839                125.00
By com's on $256.00 Int made a 10 pr ct                             25.60
By    "      "   $1200.00 rec'd from Sale of negroes               30.00
By amt paid clk for this return                                               1.12-1/2
                                                                                         $ 181.72-1/2
By Balance due Ward 1st Jan 1840                                 $4474-83-1.4
                                                                                         $4656.55-3/4 

Benjamin Harper was a resident of Hancock County so Edmund wasn't sold far away but Amy's new owner Jesse Peacock lived in Wilkinson County which is about 40 miles away so she would have been separated from her three surviving children.*

*The inventory of Jeremiah's estate listed Amy with four children: Matt (left to Jesse T.S.--we'll learn more about him next week), Caroline (part of William Warren's share), Joby and Mason. From the annual accounts filed by the executors we know that one of Amy children died in 1836-37 but it's not clear whether it was Joby or Mason.




© 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.

From the Probate Files: Jeremiah Warren Part 17, Appraise & Apportion the Negroes, June 14-15, 1837

Five years to the day after the death of Jeremiah Warren, a Commission appointed by the Court met to determine the value* of the enslaved persons belonging to the estate along with the cash (notes) in the estate's account.and to work out a fair division of this property.

We the Commissioners agreeable to an order of the 
Inferior Court sitting for Ordinary Purposes, to us
directed have proceeded to appraise the negroes and
apportion the same as presented to us by the Exec's.
of Jeremiah Warren dec'd. also the notes of said estate.
        Appraisement of negroes June 14th 1837.
Negro man               Hal                                800.00
    "       "                  Jack                               800.00
    "       "                  Edmund                         800.00
    "       "                  Meredith                        800.00
    "       "                  Davy                              800.00
    "       "                  Anderson                       800.00
    "       "                  Abram  aged                  400.00
    "       "                  Tom  insane                     50.00
    "       Girl              Letha & Child                600.00
    "       woman       Lucy  aged                      150.00
    "       "                 Amy     "                         400.00
    "       girl             Caroline                          550.00
    "       Boy             Irwin                              550.00
                                          Forwarded      $ 7500.00

                      Amount Forwarded                               $ 7500.00               
  Negro girl                Fanny                                             275.00   
                                                                                        7750.00

Amount of Notes pr. return                                            8297.67
By Amount of notes returned but not
     charged in account                                                      783.58   
        Total Amount of Estate. Legatees 6)                 $16856.25
                    am't. of each L[eg]acy                             $2809.37
                                                                                =========
Heirs of Jas. Warren  To man Jack             800.00
                                    "  Tom insane           50.00
                                   "  boy Irwin              550.00
                                   "  am't. notes          1364.48       2764.48
Polly Warren              " man Hal                800.00
                                   "  Woman Lucy       150.00
                                   "  girl Fanny             275.00
 (► A)**                     "  am't. notes          1573.00       2845.84

Heirs of Jesse Warren  " man Edmund       800.00
                                   "  Woman Amy        400.00

                                   "  am't. notes          1644.32       2844.32

Lott Harton                " man Meredith        800.00
                                   " girl Letha & child  600.00
 (► B)**                    "  am't. of notes        1147.18      2621.44                             
William Warren         " man Davy               800.00
                                  "  girl Caroline          550.00
                                  "  am't. notes           1727.18       3077.18
Robert Warren          " man Anderson        800.00
                                  "    "   Abram            400.00
                                  "  am't. notes           1634.42       2834.42
  (► C)**                                                                    $ 16793.68
       Amount of Choice & Stemburger notes undivided     70.93
               Am't. of the several Legacies                      $16864.61

We the Commissioners agreeable to an Order
of the Inferior Court sitting for Ordinary Purposes
do hereby certify that we have proceeded to divide
and apportion the estate of Jeremiah Warren dec'd.  

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8935-VW5J?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-YWG%3A267654601%2C267808601 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 63 of 662;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

according to the Last Will and testament of said Estate
as presented to us by the executors of said Estate
in the manner and form as will be found upon
the examination of the foregoing statement.
     Given under our hands this 25th day of June
      1837                                 Wilkins Smith}
                                               Geo Rives      }
                                               Wyatt Harper }

Georgia Hancock County
     I do hereby certify that Geo Rives, Edmund L.
Bass, William Hurt and Wyatt Harper were duly
qualified before they entered upon the discharge
of their duties. June 14th 1837
                                              Wilkins Smith J.I.C.

I certify that Wilkins ^Smith^ was duly qualified before
me this 14th day of June 1837.         Edmund L. Bass J.T.


The foregoing entry in the Probate Court's records is the last one I've been able to find for Jeremiah Warren's estate either in the general index or by paging through other online records at FamilySearch so we don't know when the actual division took place.

*My post covering the original inventory of Jeremiah's estate is here.
**Marginal notes: Note A = Error 107.84; Note B = Error 74.26; Note C. Error
***Lott Harton was the husband of Jeremiah's sister Sarah.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: William R. Phillips (1818-1890), Merchant - After the Pardon 1865 - 1890

Although the Civil War ruined many Southern fortunes (especially those based on land, slaves and cotton), because his business interests were commercial William R. Phillips proved more resilient than most former Confederates. In fact, according to his entry in the 1870 U.S. Census, five years after his pardon application he was back in Atlanta and richer than before the war.*

[Year: 1870; Census Place: Atlanta Ward 1, Fulton, Georgia. 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.Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

Ten years later the only Phillips child still living at home in Atlanta is their 16-year-old daughter N.B. William R. is still calling himself a Merchant and there's are three "Roomers" in the household: Mr W. Baker, a 35-year-old merchant*** and two clerks who work in the store. There are still three servants living in the household.

[Year: 1880; Census Place: Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia; Roll: 148; Family History Film: 1254148; Page: 477B; Enumeration District: 103; Image: 0596. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

The above information doesn't tell us much about William R.'s financial status in 1880 but we can learn more about him from the local newspapers. For instance in 1883 he was a candidate for Bibb County Commissioner.

[Date: Wednesday, May 23, 1883   Paper: Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia)   Issue: 10375  Page: 4  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

ource: GenealogyBank.com]

And he was duly elected as a Democrat and continued to be returned to the office of County Commissioner throughout the 1880s.

[Date: Friday, June 15, 1883   Paper: Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia)   Issue: 10395   Page: 4  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

His name appears several time in connection with business affairs but there's this 1890 court calendar listing William R. as the plaintiff in a lawsuit, although I don't know what the issue was nor have I been able to  discover what the result was.

[Date: Thursday, February 27, 1890   Paper: Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia)   Page: 5  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

William R. Phillips died on December 22, 1890. His will was filed in Fulton County on February 2, 1891 and recorded on March 5th. I'm going to include only the first two paragraphs here, but in the first item I think we can get a sense of what he was like.

[Wills, Book B, 1882-1894. Ancestry.com. Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Georgia County, District and Probate Courts.]

Will of William R. Phillips

Georgia - Fulton County
          In the name of God, Amen.
I, Wm. R. Phillips of the County and State
aforesaid do make and declare the follow-
ing as my last will and testament,
hereby revoking all others.

Item 1st. My wife know what debts I consider Just.
There I wish her to pay out of my estate
not paying any other claims against me
if she can help it.



*The worth of his "personal property" was unchanged, but his real estate had more than doubled in value. 1870 was the last census to ask about property.
**In the previous census her name was written as Ninnie B. (not to be confused with older sister Nanny T. (Nancy Timney).
***Perhaps a business partners? This is the first census that asked the relationship of all household members to the head.






© 2016 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.

Working on Wednesday: William R. Phillips (1818-1890), Merchant - The Presidential Pardon Application, August 1865

On May 29, 1865, President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation that affected William R. Phillips among others in the South.

[U. S. President. Andrew Johnson. Prest. Johnson's amnesty proclamation ... Done at the city of Washington, the twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five ... Andrew Johnson. Washington, 1865. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.23502500/. (Accessed January 10, 2017.)]

Because he had claimed real and personal estates of more than $20,000 in the 1860 U.S. Census, William R. Phillips was among the people forced to apply to President Andrew Johnson for a pardon after the end of the Civil War in order to retain possession of his property.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: District 1001, Spalding, Georgia; Roll: M653_136; Page: 194; Image: 196; Family History Library Film: 803136. 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.]

Here it is.**

Head Quarters Department of Georgia
OFFICE PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL
     Augusta, Ga  Aug.21st. 1865
William R Phillips
Newton Co Ga
Respectfully asks for pardon under excep-
tions No. 13 
of President Johnson's proclamation.
===============================
Sept 16/65
Head Quarters Department of Georgia
OFFICE PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL
      Augusta, Ga  Aug.21st. 1865
   Respectfully referred to His Excellency JAMES
JOHNSON, Governor of the State of Georgia, for
investigation and report as to the merits of the
within case, and for his recommendation as to
final action.
   These papers to be returned with the report
and recommendation.
   By command of 
      MAJ. GEN. JAMES B. STEEDMAN
         R.B.Chappell***
Maj. 18th O.V. I., & Ass't. Pro. Mar. Gen D.G.
Worth over $20,000
===============================
Head Quarters Department of Georgia
      Augusta, Ga  Sept 5  1865   
   Respectfully forwarded to the Attorney Gen-
eral U.S., at Washington City.

       James B. Steedman  
              Maj. Gen'l. Commd'g. Dep't. Ga.
--------------------------------------------------------

Wm R. Phillips
Newton Factory
     Newton Co
          Ga
Application for
     Pardon
_______________________
          Executive Offices
Provisional Govt of Geo
Milledgeville, Aug 26th=1865
Respectfully returned to
Maj. Genl. Jas B. Steedman.
I recommend pardon
& amnesty for the within
applicant as I am sat
-isfied the statements in
his petition are correct, &
that he will prove a good
loyal & useful citizen
   J Johnson
  Prov Gov of Ga

Received from
Department of Justice
December 18, 1894
R. & P. 402985****


And now we turn to the pages of the William R's actual petition in which he explained what he had been doing for the past few years.

State of Georgia   }   To his Excellency Andrew
Newton County    }   Johnson Prest of the U.S.
of America,
     The Petition of William R. Phillips a
citizen of the County & State aforesaid Sheweth
that he was about Forty three Years of age
at the beginning of the late Rebelion he was a business
man and believed no cause had transpired that
justified Secession and used his influence to 
prevent said ^State^ from seceeding, your Petitioner
was never in the confederate service; But
after the conscript act was extended so as
to embrace men of his age he was elected
to an office in the Militia Service, and subseq
-ently called into service in Mary 1864, and
when he reported was assigned to duty in the
State 2.no. department, where he remained
only about Ten days and made applica-
-tion and obtained an indefinite Furlough
agreeing to manufacture Ten Thousand 

of woollen Plains[?] for the State only a

part being furnished on account of the

State failing to get Transportation for wool
to the Factory of your petitioner who on this
furlough remained out of service during
the rebellion, Your petitioner further sheweth
that believing as he did that he ought not
to act treacherously to his State and in
order to retain his operatives in his Factory
he contracted to furnish two thirds of his cotton
goods to the ^so called^ conf'd Government, Your Petitioner makes
makes this application for pardon under your Exelen-
cys proclamation which excludes all persons
who are worth over Twenty thousand dollars
from taking the oath of allegiance and amnesty
restoring them to citizenship under the Government
of the U.S. without Special pardon from your
Excellency and showeth that no proceedings have
been instituted against any of his property under
the confiscation act and that he has no property
in the U.S. Government as abandoned, Your peitioner
pledges himself to aid and che[e]rfully support the
U.S. Government in the restoration of the Law and
order to the extent of his power and influence
and prays that he may be pardoned for what
may be regarded as errors and offences against

the U.S. Government
                                              In the foregoing peti
tion Specifications your petitioner will
every pray &c                       William R. Phillips
State of Georgia    } Personally came before me the
Fulton County       } undersigned cause[?] William R.
Phillips, who being duly sworn saith that ^the^ facts
set forth in the foregoing petition are true to the 
best of his knowledge and belief and that
they contain a full history of his conduct
during the rebellion, sworn to and subscribed
before me this 15th day of August 1865
Daniel Pittman Ordy         William R. Phillips
State of Georgia    } Personally came before me, Littleberry B.
Fulton County       } Phillips and David M. Flanders
who being sworn saith that they are ^know^ and have known
William R. Phillips the petitioner intimately for a
long time and believe him to be a reliable and trust
-worthy citizen and that the facts set forth in his 
petition are true to the best of their knowledge
and belief, sworn to this and subscribed this
15th day of August 1865          LB Phillips
Daniel Pittman Ordy                    DM Flanders

As part of the process William R. Phillips signed a loyalty oath in Atlanta on the same day.*****

[Ancestry.com. Confederate Applications for Presidential Pardons, 1865-1867 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Case Files of Applications From Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons (“Amnesty Papers”) 1865-1867; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1003, 73 rolls); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

There you have William R.'s sworn account of what he did during the late rebellion. Next week we'll take a look at how he fared after the war.


*You can read the gist of Johnson's Amnesty Proclamation here.
**At first I wasn't certain that his pardon application was included in Ancestry's online database because there were two William Phillips from Georgia who applied for presidential pardon and that of the "other" William Phillips was first. Also this William R. Phillips was stated to be a resident of Newton County instead of Macon. However reading through the documents I noticed the names of David M[itchell] Flanders, the husband of William R.'s daughter Laura Calphurnia Phillips, Littleberry B[ostick] Phillips, either his uncle or his half-brother, so I'm confident that we have the right man's application.
***Since I have a lot of Chappell kin when I saw this man's name I wondered if he could somehow be related--after a lot of vain effort I still don't know if he is but here's what I found about this Major in an Ohio regiment.
****If for any reason you should happen to be curious about this text you can find some information about it here.
*****Note that here we have Daniel Pittman's title spelled out in full. I haven't been able to discover what "Ordinary" refers to in this context but records show that he was a clerk of the Superior Court in Fulton County at some point.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.