December Weddings in my Family Tree

In 2016 the Martha Stewart Weddings website opined that Christmas is one of the worst days to get married, but I've noticed that date given for the nuptials of some of my ancestors. I asked Christine if she could create a list of those folk and she responded with 17 pages of December weddings. Of course most of those folks aren't in my direct line but I've decided I'll spend the next several days seeking out the ones who are and sharing them here.

This mid-19th century engraving hints at the small-scale celebration involved in a marriage,* but it would be misleading to think that many of my ancestors' unions would have taken place in such opulent surroundings.

[Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. The wedding. Forrest, J. B. (John B.) (ca. 1814-1870) (Engraver)

Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-d187-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99]

As far as we know, none of my direct ancestors got married on Christmas Day but there are two couples whose weddings took place on December 24th:

My 3X great grandparents Jesse Warren Jr. and Timney P. Watts married on on December 24th, 1824, in Morgan County, Georgia and 2X grandparents George Marion Tomlinson and Elizabeth "Betsey" Taylor on Christmas Eve, 1860 in Washington County, Iowa.

Coincidently neither of these couples were destined to have a long life together. Jesse Warren Jr. died a little over a year later (when his only child was an infant) and Betsey Taylor Tomlinson disappeared from records about the time of her daughter Rufina's birth in early 1863. Both surviving spouses married again; their second unions lasted for decades and produced more children.

Why get married during the Christmas season? This blogpost by findmypast focuses on England but I think some of the same reasons would be relevant for U.S. couples.

*You can find a description of mid-19th century wedding preparations here at a blog by NYC's Merchant’s House Museum.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: The Watts Surname in Morgan County, Georgia - Part 2, Littleberry Watts

In last week's first dip into the Watts family in Morgan County in my attempt to discover who were the parents of Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips we were able to cross Conrad and Mary Watts off the list but a second look at the probate records turned up a name I'd missed before because the ink was badly faded: Little Berry Watts. And there are quite a few records for us to examine.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93L-5SFG?cc=1999178&wc=9SYY-MNY%3A267727201%2C267727202 : 20 May 2014), Morgan > image 18 of 441;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Let's start at the beginning with the Administration Bond that required by the Probate Court in January/February 1818 because no will had been found.* The amount of the bond ($15,000) reflects the estimated value of the estate.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93L-59JG?cc=1999178&wc=9SYY-MNY%3A267727201%2C267727202 : 20 May 2014), Morgan > image 52 of 441;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Georgia                    } Know all men by these presents that we
   Morgan County    } Archibald Watts & John Baliley & 
Thomas M Carton are held & firmly bound unto the Judges of the
Court of ordinary of Morgan County in the Sum of Fifteen
Thousand Dollars which payment well and truly to be paid maid
We bind our selves our heirs Do firmly by these presents Sealed
by our Seals and dated this 26 day of January 1818
Conditioned that the whereas the above bound Archibald
Watts & John Bailey have this day obtained letters of 
Administration [..?..] and the estate of Littleberry
Watts late of Said County Dec'd Now if the Said 
Archibald Wats & John Bailey Shal faith fully
discharge the Trust reposed in them as afore Said then
this obligation to be Void else to remain in full force
Leave
   Tert[?]                                  Archibald Watts  {Seal}
   John Nisbet Clk                   John Bailey  {Seal}
                                                Thomas M Carton  {Seal}

      Recorded the 26 January 1818
          John Nesbit Clk

Everything must have seemed in order after that and Littleberry's probate might have been expected to proceed but unfortunately Archibald Watts** died a few month later and another person had to post a bond before replacing him. That man was Pleasant Watts who later posted another bond as guardian of two orphan children of Littleberry Watts, Mahaley Ann and Emily Watts.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893L-5SS4?cc=1999178&wc=9SYY-MNY%3A267727201%2C267727202 : 20 May 2014), Morgan > image 73 of 441;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

I haven't seen any mention of any other minor children of Littleberry and since Timney would have been 15 in 1818 her name would have appeared in the probate files. Later records list annual expenses paid by Pleasant Watts on behalf of Mahaley and Emily only. On the basis of that I think we can add (this) Littleberry Watts to the list of people who aren't in my direct line.

As to the identity of the two other men who joined Archibald in the original Administration--there are several John Baileys to choose from in Morgan County and Watts men seemed to have a habit of choosing Bailey wives; I didn't locate a Thomas M. Carton.



*Much of the same wording is used today in the current bond form from the Georgia Probate Court.
**Possibly one of his Littleberry's sons or a brother but further research would be needed to confirm the relationship.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

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.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Who Were Her Parents?

There was a time when we thought they were Jacoby Watts and Elizabeth Harrison but we never found any evidence of it except for the surname. So that proposed relationship went from "speculative" to "doubtful" and was duly purged from our family tree.

Now we think there's a possibility that a man named Thomas Watts, a Morgan County* neighbor of Timney and Jesse Warren Jr., who was appointed administrator of Jesse Jr.'s estate, could be a relative of Timney, perhaps even her father or brother.

Here are the probate records setting a bond of $12,500 and naming Thomas Watts as administrator.

Georgia              }
Morgan County }

     Know all men by these presents that we Thomas
Watts William Stocks & Benjamin S ogletree are
held and firmly bound by their honors the Justices of
the Inferior Court sitting in a Court of ordinary for
Said County and their Successors in Office in the just
and full Sum of Ten thousand Dollars five hundred
Dollars for the payment of which sum to the said parties
and their successors we bind ourselves our heirs executors administrators
In the whole and for the whole ^sum^ Jointly and severally and formaly
by these presents Sealed with our Seals and dated this third
day of July 1826 This condition of the above obligation
Is Suck That if the above named Thomas Watts administrator
of the goods chattles and credits of Jesse Warren late of
this County deceased do make a just and true ^& perfect^  inventory

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93L-59PL?cc=1999178&wc=9SYY-MNY%3A267727201%2C267727202 : 20 May 2014), Morgan > image 174 of 441;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

of all  ^Singular^ the goods chattles and credits of Said deceased
which have or shall come to the hands possession or knowledge of
Said administrator or into the hands or possession of any
other person or persons for him, and the same so made to
exhibit into the Said Court of Ordinary when he shall
be thereunto required and such goods chattles and credits do
well administer according to law and to make a true and 
just account of his actings and doings therein when he shall
there unto be required by the Superior Court or the Court of ordinary
for Said County and all the rest of the goods chattles and credits
which shall be found remaining uppon the account of the Said administra
tion the Same being first allowed by the Court shall deliver
and pay to such person or persons respectfully as are entitled to the sum
by law and If Shall hereafter appear that any last will and 
testament was made by the said deceased, and the same 
be proved before the Court, and the executors affirm 
a certificate of the probate thereof and the Said Thomas Watts
do in Such case, if required, render and deliver up said letter
of administration then the obligation to be void or remain in
full force.
     Signed Sealed and acknowledged                  Thomas Watts [Seal]
           in Open Court                                           Wm Stocks [Seal]
                                                                             Benjamin S Ogletree
                               
                                  Recorded this 7th October 1826
                                     John W Porter C.C.O.

Thomas Watts was one of a number of men with the Watts surname in Morgan County. There are several other probates naming Thomas Watts as either an administrator or a guardian of an orphan and I'll be examining them in hopes of teasing out the relationships of the Watts family members in future posts.

In the meantime, here's the signatures to an 1823 bond and letters of administration issued to Pleasant Watts for the estate of a man named John Bailey. As you can see, three out of the four are named Watts.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93L-59YL?cc=1999178&wc=9SYY-MNY%3A267727201%2C267727202 : 20 May 2014), Morgan > image 126 of 441;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

*Morgan County, Georgia, was where Timney P. Watts and Jesse Warren were married. Since we know that Jesse Jr.'s family ties were in Hancock County, it seems likely that Timney's were in Morgan.

© 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.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 12, Two More Phillips Daughters

Last week I dealt with the Phillips men whose names were discovered through my research into the probate records of my great great great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips. Now I'm turning to what the various records can tell us about the two women whose existence was uncovered at the same time:

[Description : Probate Records, Vol 10, 1863-1866; Probate Records, Vol 11, 1866-1868. 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.]

Mary Emily Phillips (1826-1907)*, whose mother Nancy Ann Pennington Phillips died the year she was born, married Dr. Alexander Lane (1818-1887) in Macon County on October 12, 1843. By the 1850 U.S. Census the Lane household comprised Mary E., her husband, their three children and a Georgia farmer no doubt hired to run the farm while Dr. Lane practiced medicine.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 21, Macon, Alabama; Roll: M432_9; Page: 284B; Image: 191. 

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.]

The ink on this page is badly faded and even inverting the colors didn't help me decipher the value of the real estate he owned--perhaps you can do better.

Although I wasn't able to locate Dr. Lane's name in the 1850 Federal Census - Slave Schedules I did find him listed in the 1855 Alabama State Census as the owner of 26 enslaved persons.

[County : Macon. Ancestry.com. Alabama State Census, 1820-1866 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry.com World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Alabama State Census, 1820, 1850, 1855 and 1866. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives & History.

Rolls M2004.0008-M2004.0012, M2004.0036-M2004.0050, and M2008.0124.]

The 1860 federal enumeration shows that the Lane family has added their fourth and last child and according to the Slave Schedules the number of enslaved persons doubled in the past five years.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: Southern Division, Macon, Alabama; Roll: M653_14; Page: 724; Image: 243; Family History Library Film: 803014. 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.]

[Township : Southern Division. Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1,438 rolls.]

Ten years later Mary Emily, her husband and their youngest child Richard Q. were living in Tanyard in Pike County, Alabama, with a freedwoman Violet Malone keeping house for them. Despite the effects of the Civil War, the Dr. Lane is still a rich man-- worth $40,000.

[Year: 1870; Census Place: Tanyard, Pike, Alabama. 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.]

By the 1880 U.S. Census the Lanes had moved east to Dawson, Terrell County, Georgia. Their son Richard and his young family are living with them. Dr. Lane's profession is listed as "Grocer" in this census.

[Year: 1880; Census Place: Dawson, Terrell, Georgia; Roll: 166; Family History Film: 1254166; Page: 156B; Enumeration District: 077; Image: 0937. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  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.]

Seven years later Mary Emily was widowed when Dr. Lane died on March 28, 1887; with the loss of the 1890 census, the next record we have for her is in the 1900 U.S. Census when she was living in the household of her son Richard and his family, this time back in Alabama in Hartselle, Morgan County.

[Year: 1900; Census Place: Hartselle, Morgan, Alabama; Roll: 35; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 0136; FHL microfilm: 1240035. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.:

National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.]

The 1907 Birmingham Alabama City Directory listed her as a resident** and that's where Mary Elizabeth Phillips Lane died on May 18th of that year. She and Alexander are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Birmingham. All of their known children survived them and left descendants.

[Birmingham, Alabama, City Directory, 1907. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995

[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

Original data: Original sources vary according to directory. ]

The other previously unknown Phillips daughter Martha Norman Phillips (1833-1916) was Timney's third child with John P. Phillips***; she married South Carolina native James O.A. Adams (1826-1900) on November 15, 1849, in Macon County.

A year later the 1850 U.S. Census enumeration listed only Martha and her husband who was described as a farmer with no real estate assets although the Slave Schedule lists him as the owner of a 22-year old enslaved woman and her 4-year old son.

The 1855 Alabama State Census also lists only the couple but without slaves.

[County : Macon. Ancestry.com. Alabama State Census, 1820-1866 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry.com World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Alabama State Census, 1820, 1850, 1855 and 1866. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives & History. Rolls M2004.0008-M2004.0012, M2004.0036-M2004.0050, and M2008.0124.]

In the 1860 U.S. Census the Macon County enumeration of the Adams household included 10-year old Willis (born in Florida) and I have no idea who she could be (nor is there any other mention of this person). As we can see James O.A. has become a person of substance--perhaps due to his wife's inheritance after her father's death in 1852.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: Southern Division, Macon, Alabama; Roll: M653_14; Page: 767; Image: 286; Family History Library Film: 803014. 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.]

According to the 1870 U.S. Census Martha's husband had become a successful businessman in Bughall in Bullock County and her widowed sister Lucinda Isabelle P Phillips Varner (1837-1904) and her two daughters Viola and Martha Mary were living with them.

[Year: 1870; Census Place: Bughall, Bullock, Alabama. 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.]

A decade later Martha**** and J.O.A. had returned to Macon County where he was described in the 1900 U.S. Census as a "Merchant." He died on November 20, 1900, and was buried in the Tuskegee City Cemetery.

[Year: 1880; Census Place: Tuskegee, Macon, Alabama; Roll: 21; Family History Film: 1254021; Page: 406D; Enumeration District: 118; Image: 0315. 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  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.]

Martha survived her husband by 16 years and by 1910 she was living in Macon with Lucinda's oldest daughter Viola Varner (1857-1941) who had married Francis Joseph DeBardeleben in 1875. Viola was listed as the head of the household because her husband was no longer living with her.*****

[Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 1, Macon, Alabama; Roll: T624_23; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 0122; FHL microfilm: 1374036. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

When Martha made her will on November 25, 1916, she was a resident of Alabama's Chilton County. Her heirs included her niece Viola Varner DeBardeleben and the children of Viola's eldest daughter Phala Belle****** and her husband Evan M. Pinckard.

[Description : Estate Case Files, Abbott, Fannie - Armstrong, Laura, 1868-1919. 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.]

Martha Norman Phillips Adams died on Christmas Day, 1916 and was buried near James O.A. Adams in the Tuskegee City Cemetery.

The probate court estimated her estate to be worth about $5,000.



*So according to Ancestry she's my step third great aunt.
**Another of her sons, Alexander Oscar Lane (1848-1916) is the attorney at the top of the list.
***Which makes her my third great aunt.
****This record shows that she never had any children.
*****I wasn't able to locate Francis Joseph DeBardeleben until 1920 when he was living in Seattle, Washington, where he remained for the rest of his life, outliving Viola by six years. In various census records he called himself either married or widowed. Viola's tombstone names her as his wife.
******Phala had unexpectedly died only four days before Martha signed her will.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 11, Sorting Out the Male Heirs

You may recall in my last post that dealt with her probate records there was a list of heirs of Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips named in the depositions which included the names of eight individuals I didn't recognize: William R. (W.R.) Phillips, Josiah Phillips, Martha Adams, Mary Lane, and Elizabeth, Eugenia, Columbiana and John T. Phillips.

In my efforts to discover who these people were, I returned to the probate records for Timney's second husband, John P. Phillips (1792-1852) and found a list of his heirs filed by her attorneys* on July 15, 1852 in connection with her dower claims.

[Description : Probate Court Record, Vol 4, 1850-1853. 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.]

where your petitioner Sheweth the following persons are the heirs and
legatees of said Estate Thomas H Phillips William A Phillips Frederick Phillips
Josiah Phillips Thadeus Phillips Mary E Lane wife of Alexander Lane &
Martha A Adams wife of James Adams all of whom are over the age of
twenty years -- also Jeremiah D Phillips Lucinda I Phillips Littleberry B Phillips
John C Phillips and Elizabeth Lockwood who are under the age of twenty
one. Your petitioner prays that your Honor upon the hearing of this petition
order and decree that her dower in Said lands be advanced and 
allotted to her in accordance with the statute in such cases [?] and
provided.                                  Timney Phillips
                                                  per Clopton & Ligon her attys

From this record we can confirm that William R and Josiah Phillips have to be added to the family tree along with Martha Adams** and Mary Lane. And two more sons have been revealed who weren't included in the later list--Frederick and Thad[d]eus.

From a later probate record (February, 1856) we can learn more about Frederick (1820-1855).

[Description : Estate Papers, Petteway, Ignatius W to Phillips, Nancy. 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.]

The State of Alabama     {Personally appeared before me
   Macon County             {Linus Alexander Judge of Probate
when being duly  Thomas H Phillips admin of John Phillips dec'd
when being duly sworn says this [?] account for final
settlement is just & true and that the following persons are the heirs
at law & distributees[?] Timney P. Phillips widow of intestate
Thos. H Phillips admin, William R. Phillips, Mary P Josiah
Phillips, Thaddeus, Jeremiah D. Lucinda I Littleberry
B. & John C the last four of whom are minors and 
reside in Macon except Littleberry B. who lives in Geo.
and Mrs Mary Phillips & her child Nancy the widow
& only child of Frederick Phillips, and Elizabeth
Lockwood the only child of A. Lockwood & Elizabeth
Lockwood & that Affiant Swears that he had
not used for his own purposes any of the money ofor
said estate that he knows of-----

From the 1850 U.S. Census we can learn a bit more about Timney's stepson Frederick and his wife Mary.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 21, Macon, Alabama; Roll: M432_9; Page: 201A; Image: 25.

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.]

As you can see in 1850 the couple had two children, Matilda and Simeon. Simeon died at 13 months old and is buried in the Fort Family Cemetery in Macon County; we don't know any more of his older sister than this census record but she must have died sometime before the 1856 list of heirs. Although I've found no supporting documentation, some believe that Mrs Mary Phillips was Mary A. Peteet (1832-1857) who was married to Menafee Tatum*** at the time of her death and is also buried in Fort Cemetery. Since little Nancy Phillips isn't mentioned in any of the lists of heir for Timney in 1863 she had probably joined the rest of her family in the local cemetery.


The other hitherto undiscovered stepson Thaddeus (1823-1857) and his wife Mary H. Slaughter (1828-1884) had three children by the time of the 1850 U.S. Census.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 21, Macon, Alabama; Roll: M432_9; Page: 233A; Image: 85. 

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.]

Since Thaddeus pre-deceased his stepmother, Mary Elizabeth (1844-1915), Francis G. Eugene (1847-1916), his only son John T. (1848-1884) and his youngest surviving child Columbia Ann (1856-1920) inherited their father's share of Timney's estate.

Stepson Josiah Phillips (c1822-aft1880) married Martha Ann Chappell (1826-1894)**** and they were living in Cass County, Texas, by 1854.

William R. Phillips (1818-1890) remained in Georgia where he and his wife Mary Smith Johnson (1859-1905) had 11 children. One of their younger daughter was named Nancy Timney Phillips, honoring both his birth mother Nancy Ann Pennington (1798-1826) and stepmother Timney.

Next week I'll present what I've learned about Mary and Martha.


*Her attorneys,Clopton & Ligon, were the same ones who set out the interrogatories for the Commission referred to in my previous post.
**Martha Norman Phillips was one of Timney's daughters.
***

Ancestry.com. Alabama, Marriages, Deaths, Wills, Court, and Other Records, 1784-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.

Original data: Alabama Department of Archives and History, comp. Public information subject files—Card index of personal and corporate names and of subjects, ca. 1920–1960. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.

****She is the granddaughter of John Chappell (c1763-1828) my fourth great grandfather, and therefore my first cousin, four times removed.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.