The Enslaved People of Kimbrough, Rees and Ely Families

 

                  The Enslaved People of Kimbrough,                      Rees and Ely Families

When I began researching my family history, I was disheartened to discover that many of my ancestors were slave owners. This realization weighed heavily on me, and I continue to feel a deep sense of dismay at the attempts by some to promote the myth that slavery was “not so bad.” The truth remains clear: no one deserves to be the property of another. Regardless of the justifications offered by slave owners, the practice was wrong, horribly wrong.

I have always cherished the experience of visiting beautiful antebellum homes. In the past, I had not considered that these impressive structures were built by enslaved craftsmen, maintained by housekeepers, cooks, and laundresses, and supported by the forced labor of individuals working in surrounding fields. My first visit to Monticello left a lasting impression—not only because of its exquisite woodwork and graceful architecture, but because I learned that enslaved artisans were responsible for creating such beauty. This realization applies to all antebellum homes scattered throughout the South. This article serves as a humble attempt to honor the lives, accomplishments, and suffering of the enslaved people connected to my family. In these times, we should all feel unsettled by efforts to rewrite and sanitize a very painful part of our shared history. To ignore or gloss over these truths is to risk repeating the tragic mistakes of the past. If we do not face history in its fullness, we fail to learn from it. The legacy of slavery is a painful chapter, but acknowledging its realities is necessary for true understanding and progress.

The Kimbrough Family

Thomas Kimbrough was born in Georgia on May 6, 1788. He married Sarah Stallings, the daughter of Malachi Stallings and the granddaughter of Jesse Stallings, both Revolutionary War soldiers on June 7,1806 in Greene County, Georgia.  By 1830 the couple had moved to Putnam County, Georgia and had ten sons and daughters. During the 1830’s Thomas moved the family to Columbus, GA. The 1840 census showed a total of 58 enslaved people living on the Kimbrough plantation. Thomas’s oldest son, William died on July 5, 1846 leaving a wife and three children. Thomas died On July 14, 1847. In his will he left the following enslaved people to members of the Kimbrough family.

To Sarah, his wife 1) Dance, his wife Sarah, his child Nancy and her son Anderson; 2) John and his wife Leanna and her children born or to be born; 3) Jef Jim and his wife Ade, his son Jim and such other children as may be born; 4) Lewis and his wife Betsey; 5) Old Charles and Old Jo Hance and his two youngest children by his wife Mary now deceased, together with increase by births from any of the negroes aforesaid.

To his son, John Raiford, the following negroes 1) Green, 2) Johnson, 3) Dock, 4) Lydia, Elick and their increase.

To his daughter Sarah 1) Bot and his wife Muriah and her children: George, Lucinda, Sarah, Mack, Munro, Frances and her child and their increase, also a boy named Bill.

Henry Chambers Kimbrough and Archibald Malachi Kimbrough, Thomas Kimbrough’s sons. were appointed as executors of his will. They were to the remainder of the estate between them. That left fifty enslaved people for the brothers to divide: Joe, Horace, Arter, Ephraim, Charles, Sam, Hervie, Charley, Peter, Stephen, Anderson, Jim, Sane, John, Colton, Lewis, Jerry, Joe, Jordan, Washington, Willis, Moses, Randal, Frank, John, Little John, Wiley, Burn, Sary, Remy, Rady, Rady Big, Zon, Mary, Siller, Lucy and child Britton, Caroline and child Frances, Urian, Adeline, Patience, Scanner, Nancy, Ellen, Dozier, Marian and Harriet.

At the time of his death he owned more than 1,200 acres, livestock, and farm equipment bringing his estate’s value to more than two million dollars today.

Some of Thomas Kimbrough’s enslaved people remained in Muscogee County with Sarah Kimbrough, while others were removed to Harris and Talbot counties.  One of the sons James moved to Butler, AL.

Thomas Kimbrough’s plantation included both a family burying ground and a separate burial ground for enslaved people. In 1855, Thomas’s land and these cemeteries were given to the Pierce Chapel Methodist Church. Over time, while the white family cemetery received ongoing care, the burial ground for enslaved people was neglected and desecrated. In recent years, the Hamilton Hood Foundation undertook a restoration of the enslaved persons’ cemetery, honoring those interred and their place in local history.

In the 1860 slave schedule Sarah Kimbrough had 12 enslaved persons listed, Henry Chambers Kimbrough had 60 enslaved persons listed, John Raiford had 42 enslaved persons listed and James William had 43 enslaved persons listed.

In the 1870 census I found the following African American families living in the three counties:

I found Robert Kimbrough’s slave narrative from the WPA project begun in 1936. He had been enslaved by John Raiford Kimbrough and lived in Talbotton, GA. He went to war with Raiford and served as his body servant and cook. But, after six months he had to return home to “help out.” Toward the end of the war, Union soldiers came through Talbotton and ransacked the Kimbrough plantation though they didn’t burn it down. After the war, he remained at the Kimbrough’s home and worked in John Raiford’s daughter’s husband’s store. Robert Kimbrough had five wives, all of whom he outlived. He told the author his oldest child was 68 and his youngest was 14. He claimed to be the father of 34 children and the grandfather of 130.

The Rees Family

James Rees, my 3^rd great grandfather was born in Edgefield, SC on July 12, 1801, the son of John and Judah Palmer Rees. John Rees died in 1804 and James was sent to live with an uncle in Putnam County, GA.  According to his obituary, he grew up uneducated and uncultivated in the care of his uncle. At the age of eighteen, he joined a Baptist church and was befriended by a church member who taught him to read and write. James married Rebecca Mathews Smith, the daughter of Henry Smith, a Rev. War veteran on December 19, 1824. James was ordained to preach in 1825.   

A significant discovery in the family’s documentation emerged from James Rees’s bible record, which recorded the births of   individuals: Charlotte, the child of Morak—who was the property of James Rees—was born on March 17, 1831, and Middleton was born on August 4, 1843. Marther was Born in June the 6^th 1840. In the 1840 census James Rees had six enslaved persons. In the 1850 census James Rees is not listed as a slave owner.

However, I came across an article in the Columbus Daily Enquirer Sun dated October 24, 1880. It was titled “Death of a Faithful Colored Man.” George Anthony was born in 1792 or 1793. He was old enough to serve as a teamster for Gen. Andrew Jackson and was at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. He was owned by Rev. James Anthony of Monroe County, GA.  In 1840, Rev. Monroe faced bankruptcy after the failure of the Monroe railroad. He sold George to Laban Pool of Columbus, GA. After Mr. Pool’s death Rev. James Rees bought him. The article went on to praise Mr. Anthony for his faithful service and how he took care of his large family after emancipation. He lived with the Rees family until about 18 months before his death when he went to live with his son Jack Anthony. Though I haven’t been able to find where George Anthony was buried, I suspect he was buried at the African American Cemetery at Pierce Chapel. By this time James Rees was living with his son Thomas Rees and Thomas was a member of Pierce Chapel Methodist Church.

 

The Ely Family

I am fortunate to have the correspondence of my 2^nd great grandfather Marcus Ely and his wife Martha Dumas Ely during the Civil War. Marcus Ely’s father was Osborn Ely. The Osborn Ely family lived in te Cataula area of Harris County, GA. His property has remained undeveloped since the 1880’s. I was able visit the pr perty recently and found graves both marked and unmarked which are likely the enslaved people’s burying ground. The 1850 slave schedule showed Osborn having 24 enslaved people and the 1860 slave schedule showed him having 37 enslaved people. Marcus Ely, a teacher, was living in Fort Gaines, GA and the 1860 slave schedule shows him having two enslaved people.

On July 5, 1862 Marcus wrote Mattie stating that he had gotten a letter from Pa (Osborn Ely) and the “negroes were very sick on the plantation.” Marsh’s wife Zoo had died. There were many unmarked graves on the Ely property. I feel sure that Zoo Ely was buried there. On April 28, 1863 Mattie, the wife of Marcus Ely, wrote him and stated that Aunt Leasie and Mary came to visit on Sunday and Aunt Leasie, who had been sold to a neighbor was being mistreated. She was being forced to work in the rain and do hard labor which violated the terms of the sale. Mattie stated that she was sending Marcus’s father Osborn to bring her back permanently. Mary was also an enslaved person of Marcus and Mattie Ely. She had been hired out as well, but was complaining that she was being mistreated. She would later be sent to Savannah to work in the Bethesda Military Hospital. Records of Mary’s service were filed along with Marcus Ely’s Civil War Records. Mary arrived in Savannah in late 1864 and there are no further records to confirm what happened to her after the war because Marcus and his unit left Savannah headed for Dalton, GA on May 1, 1864.

 Osborn Ely died in 1869 and there are no African Americans listed in the 1870 census in Harris County, GA. There are only four households in Muscogee County and one household in Talbot County.

This post traces the histories of several interconnected families—Kimbrough, Rees and Ely-in Georgia from the era of slavery through emancipation. It highlights personal narratives, such as Robert Kimbrough’s record as an enslaved body servant and cook, the life of George Anthony, a teamster in the War of 1812, and correspondence and census records concerning the Ely family’s enslaved laborers. The account is enriched by grave sites, family bibles, and surviving letters, offering insight into the lives, losses, and enduring legacies of both enslavers and the enslaved. I am indebted to Robert Wright of Sidestep Adventures into History (his Youtube channel) for his work on locating the burial sites of the many enslaved people in this area. We visited the Ely plantation and located sixteen burial sites, though Robert has found in his work that there are usually three times more. 

                                                                                                                                      

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8635/records/117296nd

https://www.measuring worth.com

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/

Jones, J. Ralph and Tom Landess. “Portraits of Georgia Slaves.” The Georgia Review, vol. 21, no. 4, 1967, pp. 521-525

McCardle, Linda S., A Just and Holy Cause? The Civil War Letters of Marcus and Mattie Ely, Mercer University Press, Macon, GA, 2016

https://ancestry.com

"Death of a Faithful Colored Man," Columbus Daily Enquirer-Sun, October 24, 1880, p.3

The Self Family of Meriwether County Generation 2

 

The Self Family of Meriwether County

Generation 2

Felix Columbus and Mary Fowler Self

               The home of Felix and Mary Self located in Raleigh, GA                                            (no longer standing)

 Felix Columbus Self was born on January 19, 1846, on the Harris Plantation in Meriwether County, GA, the son of Daniel and Sarah Garrett Self. At the age of 16, he joined Co. A, 4^th Georgia Regiment in December 1863. Because of his age, he was sent to Andersonville Prison in Americus as a guard. I can’t imagine the horrors he must have witnessed during the eighteen months he served there. He surrendered on May 3,1865 in Albany, GA and returned home.

He married Mary Susan Fowler, the daughter of John Willis and Mary Susan James Fowler on December 6, 1866. Mary’s family had settled in Meriwether County in the 1830’s coming from Union, South Carolina. In 1850 Mary was the youngest of seven children, all living at home. By 1860, all of Mary’s brothers and sisters had left home and her mother had died in 1855, leaving just Mary and her father.

Felix’s sister Emma had given Felix her son James Garrard on her deathbed, so Mary and Felix became instant parents on their marriage. William Mirabeau was born on September 28, 1867, and Thomas Gazaway was born on November 6, 1868.

The 1870 census shows Mary and Felix living in the Chalybeate Springs district of Meriwether County. Felix was a farm hand and Mary was keeping house.

During the 1870’s Mary and Felix had six more children: Edward Marion (July 17, 1870) Emma Sophronia (April 11, 1872), Sarah Elizabeth (Dec 3, 1874), John Howard (May 19, 1875), Mary Elizabeth (April 14, 1877) and Willis Columbus (August 19, 1879).

 On April 1, 1876, Felix bought 100 acres of land near Raliegh from Thomas A. Maddox for $600 ($18,000 today). Considering the state of the economy only a little over ten years since the Civil War, it was quite remarkable.

The 1880 census shows Felix as a farmer and landowner and Mary keeping house. William, Thomas and Edward are working as farm hands. Albert Daniel was born on April 3, 1871.

In 1900 most of the children had married, leaving only Willis and Albert helping their parents run their small farm.  In 1910 Felix filed for a Confederate pension. He stated in his application that he owned 36 acres of land and only produced one bale of cotton per year worth around $50.00 ($3,500 today). Felix received a pension, though the amount is not stated. The average pension for a confederate veteran was between 23 and 45 dollars per year.

By 1910, Felix and Mary had given up their tiny home and moved in with their oldest son Will (William Mirabeau). Mary passed away on January 13, 1924. She was buried in the Salem Baptist Church cemetery. Salem Baptist Church was founded in 1869.

Felix lived until 1936. In January 1936 he celebrated his 90^th birthday and a small article appeared in the Atlanta Journal about his birthday celebration. The article mentioned that he and Robert E. Lee shared the same birthday (though actually Lee was born on January 19^th). Just seven months later he passed away in the home of his son Will(August 5, 1836). He was buried in the Salem Baptist Church cemetery in Raliegh.       

                                                   

Salem Baptist Church

Children of Felix and Mary Fowler Self:

1)      William Mirabeau Self

William and Isabel Self

William was born in Meriwether County on September 8, 1867, Thornton (William, known as “Will” was a successful businessman in Raleigh just north of Warm Springs, GA. He married Isabel Thornton (B. September 25, 1872) on November 5, 1893. Isabel was the daughter of Seaborn and Elizabeth Hatcher Thornton. Will ran several businesses: a grocery store, a mill, a feed store and a blacksmith shop. He was also a farmer and built the first water tower for running water. He was named after two uncles killed in the Battle of Perryville in the Civil War: William Self and Mirabeau Self. They had five children: Clytie, Mattie, Opal, Nettie, and Willie. Willie, the couple’s only son died at age 17 of an accidental gunshot wound. He was climbing over a fence while hunting and accidentally shot himself, dying two days later. Eliza died of pellagra at the age of 35 on May 19, 1907, a disease caused by a lack of niacin in her diet. Between 1906 and 1940 more than 3 million Americans were affected by pellagra with more than 100,000 deaths. In some southern states, it was the ninth or tenth leading cause of death and had a death rate comparable to malaria. Early observers believed pellagra was contagious and unrelated to nutrition. John Beall, of Decatur, Illinois, had patented the Beall degerminator in the United States in 1901. Degerming corn reduced processing time but removed most of the nutrients, including niacin. It was only during the late 1930s that scientists established that the disease was caused by a niacin deficiency. Thus, an agricultural invention from the turn of the twentieth century unintentionally hastened the spread of pellagra. Soon after this discovery, states throughout the country began passing laws mandating the enrichment of bread, flour, and corn products with niacin. Today the disease is largely unknown in the United States, except among homeless populations and others in extreme deprivation. After Isabel’s death in 1907, Will married Ida Williams, but they had no children. Both wives were buried beside Will at Salem Baptist Church in Raleigh. Will died February 19,1958 at the age of 91.

2)    Thomas Gazaway Self

Thomas Self

Thomas was born on November 6, 1868 in Meriwether County. Thomas was a salesman, he sold groceries, women’s millinery, Watkins and Stanley products at various times in his life, He married Eula Hudson on August 15, 1890. They were divorced around 1920. Thomas died on May 28, 1927and was buried in the Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Raliegh, GA.

 

3)    Edwin Marion Self

Edwin was born July 17,1870 in Meriwether County. He married Maggie Thompson (b.May 11,1883) on September 8, 1901 in Meriwether County. Edward worked at the Fish Hatchery in Warm Springs, GA. Edward and Maggie had seven children: Roy, Edna, Thomas, Robert, Marjorie, Sarah and Edward. Edna ran the ran gift shop at Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs for many years. Edward died on January 2, 1937 and was buried in the Warm Springs City Cemetery along with his wife.

4)    Emma Sofronia Self

  Emma was born on April 7, 1872. She married Seaborn Thornton on October 9, 1898.  He was the son of Rhodom and Martha Benson Thornton. They had four children before Seaborn enlisted in Georgia 60th Infantry Regiment. After the war Seaborn had nine more children. His wife passed away and Seaborn married Emma on October 9, 1898. (Seaborn Thornton was Isabel Thornton Self’s father and Emma’s sister-in-law) Seaborn was 67 and Emma was 26. They moved to Winter Garden, Florida, where Emma worked as a nurse and Seaborn farmed.  They had no children. When Seaborn passed away at age 83 his remains were returned to Georgia to be buried at Salem Baptist Church in Raleigh (Meriwether County). After Seaborn’s death, Emma returned to Meriwether County and lived with her sister Mary Elizabeth until her death on June 8, 1945.  She was buried in the Salem Baptist Church cemetery.

 

5)    Sarah Elizabeth

 Sarah (Sallie) was born December 3,1874 in Meriwether County. She married William Gresham on December 9, 1896. William Gresham was a farmer. They had four children: Cleo, Paul, Felix and Marcus. She died on January 30, 1963 and was buried in the Manchester City Cemetery (Meriwether Co).

 

6)     John Howard Self

 

John was born on May 19, 1875 in Meriwether County. He married Clyster Mills on December 27, 1896 in Meriwether County. John was a farmer. They had six children: Amy, Navella, Jackie, Mills, Robert and Fred. The family moved to Thomaston, GA in the 1920’s where John found work as a carpenter. John died on August 14, 1953. Both John and Clyster are buried in the Glenwood Cemetery in Thomaston, GA.

 

7)      Mary Elizabeth Self

  Mary Elizabeth was born on April 14, 1877. She married Edward Rollins on August 8, 1900 in Meriwether County. After their marriage, they moved into Ed’s family home with his mother and father. The Rollins family had moved into the Chalybeate Springs in the 1830’s.  Edward Rollins was a farmer. They had eight children: Jack, Mary, Eva, Henry, Audrey, Edwin Rachel and Ulyses. Their son, Jack, served in WWII and was a prisoner of war in Germany for 22 months. In an interview after his return home, he stated that he  was fed only black bread and potatoes. Sometimes he only had raw potatoes to eat. His main source of food came from the Red Cross. Mary died  June 7, 1966. She and her husband are buried in the Macedonia Church Cemetery in Manchester, GA.

     

 

8)    Willis Columbus Self

Willis Columbus Self

 

Willis was born August 19, 1878. He married Ruby Frances Blakeley on November 15, 1907 in Meriwether County. Willis and Ruby are my grandparents and their story will be told in my next installment.

 

9)    Albert Daniel Self

 

Albert Daniel Self

Albert was born May 3, 1881. He married Ida Fowler (b. May 25, 1879) the daughter of  George and Alfredonia Self Fowler in Meriwether County on September 13, 1903. (Albert and Ida were first cousins). By 1930, the family moved to Meansville, GA (Pike County) where Albert farmed. They had six children: Louise, Mildred, Mable, William, Albert and George. Albert died August 9, 1952. He and Ida are buried in the Fincher Memorial Cemetery in Meansville, GA.

Felix and Mary Fowler Self Family Bible

 References

Historical Account of Meriwether County 1827-1974 by Regina Pinkston, Meriwether Historical Society, 1974

James R. Young, The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Spring, 1982), pp. 47-52

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40580853

https://www.measuringworth.com/dollarvaluetoday/

The Rise and Fall of Pellagra in the American South, Karen Clay, Ethan Schmick, Werner Troesken, National Bureau of Economic Research, May 2018, http://www.nber.org/papers/w23730

www.familysearch.org Meriwether County records

www.ancestry.com

The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Ga, Mon. January 20, 1936, p.18

The Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, August 13, 1936, p.13

The Self and Copeland Family, pdf created by Charles Copeland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Self Family of Meriwether County, GA

The Self Family 

of 

Meriwether County, Georgia 

Generation 1

Daniel and Sarah Garrett Self

In 1836, Daniel Self and family finally arrived in Meriwether County, GA. The family had left Prince Edward County, VA about seven weeks earlier. Daniel had decided to move to Meriwether County after hearing glowing reports from his old friends Charles and Jack Harris who had settled in the area. After camping with his wife Sarah and children for about six weeks, the family moved onto Charles Harris’s plantation* and never left. Daniel was a master carpenter and blacksmith. It was said that he became the master mill builder of the Cove, the loom builder, wheel and reel maker and anything else in that line. He could make anything out of wood or iron. I have seen axes that he forged on his anvil in Virginia. **

Daniel was born in 1808 in Prince Edward County, VA, his parents were Robert and Martha “Patsy” Walker Self. He married Sarah Garrett in Virginia(before 1836) Their first child John Robert Self was born in Virginia in 1835, shortly before the family made the trip to Meriwether County, GA. By 1860, the family had ten children: 1. John(1835), 2.Emma(1836 ) 3.Daniel(1837), 4.William(1839), 5.Mirabeau(1842), 6. Felix(1846), 7. Mary ”Mollie”(1848), 8. Alfradonia “Donie”(1850), 9. Leila (1854) and 10.Eugene ”Bubber”(1857).

In the 1860 census Daniel is listed as a carpenter and Sarah, keeping house. In the 1870 census Daniel is listed as a farmer. Daniel passed away on February 13, 1874. An article appeared in The Columbus Times stated that Daniel Self, 74, had “left town for home in the morning, but his mule came home without him that evening.” The article stated that the creek was up and the mule, not wanting to cross the swollen creek, probably threw him into the creek and he drowned. After Daniel’s death, Sarah lived with her daughter Mary Waddell until her death.

Daniel and Sarah were buried in an unmarked grave inside an iron fence on the old Harris plantation near the Greenville-Talbotton Road off Hwy 27.

Daniel and Sarah's Children

1. John (1835-1855?) In the 1840’s and 50’s the John Robinson Circus visited towns in the west Georgia region around every two years. Mountville (a small community in Troup County right near the Meriwether County line) had a race track and hosted the circus. John left with the circus, became ill and died in Eufaula, Alabama (John Robert was not listed in the 1850 census).

2. Emma (1836-1863) married Alfred Garrard on March 21,1851.  Alfred Garrard was from a pioneering family in Meriwether County, who had settled in The Cove, a community on the Flint River. Alfred enlisted in Company F, 41^st Ga Regiment in 1862 and died in Lauderdale Springs, Mississippi on May 24,1863 after a bout with the measles. A short time after his death, Emma became very ill. On her deathbed she gave her son Bill to her father Daniel Self, her son Jim to her brother Felix and her daughter Sarah (Sally) to her sister Mary (Mollie) Self.

3. Daniel Josef (1837) died in the early 1850’s.

4. William (1839-1862) married Lucy Jane Bussey on December 28, 1858. They had one son William(1860).  William enlisted as a private in Co. F, 41^st Ga Regiment. He was wounded at Perryville, KY (Oct. 8, 1862) and later died of his wounds near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

5. Mirabeau (1842 -1863) enlisted March 4, 1862, Co. A, 41^st Regiment, GA Volunteer Infantry, was taken prisoner at the Battle of Perryville in October 1862. He was taken to Camp Butler, Illinois. On December 31, 1863 he was reported “absent, a prisoner of war since October 8, 1862. No further record was found.

6. Felix (1846) is my great grandfather, and his story will be told later.

7. Mary “Mollie” (1848-1926) married Francis Marion Waddell around 1870. She raised Emma’s daughter Sarah and had nine children of her own: 1. James 2. Mary 3. Eunice          4. Willard 5. Lovic 6. Eula 7.Layla 8. Bessie 9. Frances

8. Alfredonia “Donie” (1850-1923) married George Willis Fowler after 1870. They had four children: 1. Ada 2. Lucy , 3. Ida, 4. Julian

9. Leila (1854-1930) married Elijah Milton Phillips and they had seven children: 1. Robert, 2.Larry, 3.Charles, 4.Albert,  5. Sarah, 6. Clifford, 7. Laura

10. Eugene Howard “Bubba” (1856-1914) married Frances Victoria McCullough and they had nine children: 1. Mary 2. William 3. Jefferson 4. Leslie 5. Benjamin 6. Burril 7. Alva 8. Minnie 9. Rosa

 

 Footnotes

* Charles Harris became very wealthy before the Civil War, in the 1860 census, his wealth, including personal and real estate was about $48, 660.00 (today that would be about 1.5 million).

**Information about the Self family came from Bill Garrard (grandson of Daniel Self) written about 1923, Isabell Kellor (letter with Self Family Bible information, written April 1980), Vivian Bradshaw, family historian, June 1999 and Charles Copeland (Copeland and Self Families), 2018.

Ancestry.com 1840,1850, 1860, 1870 census

The Hamilton weekly visitor., February 20, 1874, p. 2

The Sun and Columbus daily enquirer. (Columbus, Ga.) 1874-1874, February 17, 1874, p.1

 

 

Henry Smith Rev War Patriot

Service Voucher for Henry Smith

Henry Smith, my fourth great grandfather, (birthplace and family unknown), was born September 1752. He married Sally Matthews, the daughter of gunsmith Moses Mathews in 1778 in Fairfield District, S.C. Henry joined the South Carolina Continental Line in 1779. Between 1779 and 1782, Henry served under General Frances Marion, the "Swamp Fox” and General Thomas Sumter, “The Fighting Gamecock.” Both generals were known for their fierce fighting techniques against the British. He participated in the Battle of Briar Creek in Sylvania, GA, a disastrous defeat for the Americans. Henry also provided supplies for the army, including horses and corn. Sally’s parents, Moses and Sarah Finley Mathews, were burned out by Tories close to the end of the conflict. Moses was awarded 225 acres in Wilkes County, GA for his service to the Continental army. Moses moved his family to Wilkes County and Henry and Sally soon followed. By the early 1800’s  Henry had moved the growing family to Pickens County, GA. Henry, a prosperous farmer, owned about 600 acres of land at the time of his death, He died in Jasper, GA on June 17, 1818, leaving a widow and 10 children. In researching Henry Smith, I found a treasure trove of genealogical information in his South Carolina pension records. The application contained family bible records, deeds, affidavits from friends and family, and names of children and spouses.

The couple lived in S.C. until 1785/86 when they moved to Lincoln County, GA.  After moving to Jasper County, GA, Henry died in 1818. At the time of his death, the Smith’s had 12 children.

In 1845, Aaron Smith petitioned the courts to grant his mother, Sally, a widow’s pension from the Revolutionary War service of her late husband. Congress had passed a pension act for Rev War veterans in 1832 extending coverage to the spouse and heirs in 1836. The petition immediately ran into trouble because there were no surviving papers validating Henry’s wartime service. In the next few years there would be affidavits stating that Henry Smith had relayed to them that he had served under General’s Sumter and Marion.  Henry's brother-in-law Jesse Matthews would make a statement about Henry’s service and a son-in-law would copy the Smith family bible to present to the court. Deeds of land purchase were found in the file along with actual service papers found by the South Carolina comptroller’s office.  A handwriting analysis was done and it was determined Henry Smith’s handwriting on S.C. military papers and his later signature was one and the same! Unfortunately, Sally Mathews Smith would die (August 22, 1848) before her petition would be approved. Her seven remaining children were awarded their father’s pension in 1854. The pension was $33.00 a year (about $1,000 today).

Henry Smith (1852-1818) m. Sally Mathews Smith (1757- 1848)

Children:

1)John Smith 1179-1819 m. Rebecca Pennington

2)Moses Smith (1782-1828) m. Eliabeth Tharp (1787-1824)

3)Elizabeth Smith (1782-1844) m. Alexander Urquhart (1783-1843)

4)Mary Smith (1786-1850) m. Cornelius Urquhart (1780-1860)

5)Sarah Smith (1788-1870) m. Edmond Head (1787-1865) 

6)Aaron Smith (1789-1891) m. Elizabeth Rucker (1796-1870)

7) Henry Smith (1792-1873) m. Isabel Callaway Milner(1804-1861)

8)Joseph Smith (1794-1812)

9) Rebecca Mathews Smith (1796-1879) m. James Rees(1801-1891)

10)Nancy Smith (1798-  ) m. William V. White (1796- )

11) Martha Smith (1800-1850) m. John Routon, Jr. (1802-1850)

12) Rachel Smith (1802-1880)

Author's Note: I was able to find this information and records in Henry Smith's Revolutionary War Papers.  You can view the packet online in the National Archives website and on ancestry.com.

Henry Smith Bible Records (copied by Cornelius Urquhart and filed in Spalding County, Georgia)

Other items found in the application:

Declaration. In order to obtain the benefit of the third section of the Act of Congress of the 4 July 1836.

State of Georgia. Pike County. February 18th 1845. Special Inferior Court. On this 18th day of February 1845 personally appeared before the Honourable, the Inferior Court held in and for the County aforesaid in the same being a Court of Record, Mrs. Salley Smith, a resident of said county and state aged seventy-nine years, who, being duly sworn according to law, doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made the Act of Congress passed July 4, 1836. That she is the widow of Henry Smith, who was a soldier in the War of the Revolution and served in the South Carolina Militia as private and sergeant and in the Continental Line and State Troops of South Carolina as she has always understood and believes under the following named officers, viz, Capt. Ross, Col. Middleton, and Genls. Sumpter and Marion. That she made the above representation to the Comptroller of South Carolina and procured the documentary evidence hereunto annexed, which she refers to for proof of her husband’s services as aforesaid with other certificates of identity hereunto annexed. That she is unable to give a narrative of her husband’s services as aforesaid, but is of opinion that his services were rendered in the state of South Carolina and that prior to her husband removing from said state he lost his discharges. Consequently, she has no other documentary evidence than that hereunto annexed. That she knows of no person now living who knew her husband while a soldier as aforesaid. And this deponent further declares that she was legally married to the said Henry Smith on the __ day __ seventeen hundred and seventy eight (1778) in Fairfield District State of South Carolina by the Revr. Isaiah Gilson , a clergyman of the Baptist order in accordance with the customs of said state and that they resided in said state until the year 1785 or 6 when they removed from thence to the County of Lincoln, State of Georgia, and that her husband in removing from his native state procured the certificates hereunto annexed; and from the County of Lincoln they removed to the County of Jasper, all of the said State of Georgia where her husband, the said Henry Smith died on the seventeenth day of June, eighteen hundred and eighteen (1818), leaving her as his widow and that she is still his widow. That she has no documentary evidence of their marriage. That she knows of no person living who could testify to the fact. That her only family record is nowhere in Court, which is not her husband’s original family record. But that her husband in his lifetime procured the aforesaid Bible and that a gentleman by the name of Neil Urquhart made the entries therein from the original family register by request of herself and husband in their presence and by their approbation down to the age of Rachel Smith their youngest child, which is of her own knowledge a true family register and is referred to as such that the original family register has long since been worn out and destroyed and the above named taken in the lieu thereof. That she has remained a widow ever since the period of her husband’s death all of which will more fully appear by reference to proof hereunto annexed.

Sworn to and subscribed in open court on this 18th day of February 1845. Attest Wiley E. Maugham. Clk

Salley /her mark/ Smith

State of Georgia. Spalding County. Be it known that before me in open court personally appeared Aaron Smith, aged sixty-three years, a resident of Pike County in said state, and after being duly sworn according to law states that he is the son of Henry Smith and Sally Smith deceased; that his father, he always understood from his earliest recollection, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, a part of the time as a private and a part of the time as a sergeant, in the State of South Carolina, under what Captain and Colonel he is not now able to state, but that he has been informed that a part of said service was und the command of General Francis Marion; that he has frequently heard his father speak of being in several skirmishes against the British and Tories during said war; that his father died in the year eighteen hundred and seventeen in Jasper County in the state of Georgia leaving his mother, the said Sally Smith, a widow, who in her lifetime made a declaration for a pension as his widow, but from the stringent rules and requirements of the pension office failed to be allowed a pension, as he has been informed and believes. He further states that his mother died in the year eighteen hundred and forty-eight leaving the following children of the said Henry and Sally Smith: Aaron Smith (the declarant), Sally Head, Henry Smith, Rebecca Reece, Patsey Smith, Rachael J. Smith, Nancy White. He therefore makes the foregoing declaration for the purpose of obtaining the pension due himself and the surviving children of the said Henry and Sally Smith deceased under the several acts of Congress.

Aaron Smith

Sworn to and subscribed before me in open court this the 4th day of March 1853. Wm L Gordon.

State of Georgia. Spalding County. I, William L. Gordon, ordinary for said county, do hereby testify that I believe the foregoing statements made by Aaron Smith are true and that he appears to be as old as he represents himself to be.

Given under my hand and seal of office this 4th day [day] of March 1853. Wm L. Gordon, ordinary

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State of Georgia. Spalding County. Before me in open court personally came Aaron Smith, who being duly sworn according to law deposeth and saith that the annexed is his family bible, which said leaf contains and that the Bible which he now produced before me and out of which said record was taken in open court is his family Bible and that the entries upon said record are true and genuine, and that the deponent’s birth was made on said record by one Cornelius Urquhart who was then his brother-in –law and is in his handwriting. 

Aaron Smith

Sworn to and subscribed before me in open court & I do hereby testify that said annexed record was taken from said bible mentioned in the above affidavit in open court. This March the 4th 1853. Given under my hand and seal of office the day and year above written. 

Wm L. Gordon, ordinary

State of Georgia. Pike County. On this the second day of February eighteen hundred and forty six, personally appeared before me Blumer H. White, a Justice of the Peace in and for said County, Jesse M. Mathews, a resident of Randolph County and state aforesaid, aged sixty-five years past, who being first duly sworn according to law doth on oath make the following statements.  That he is a brother of Sally Smith, whose name previous to her marriage to the said Henry Smith was Sally Mathews. That he was too young to know anything of the services of that said Henry Smith in the War of the Revolution of his own knowledge, but always understood from the family and the acquaintances of the family that the said Henry Smith was a Revolutionary soldier from Fairfield District, State of South Carolina. That at the age of eighteen years deponent was sent by his parents to board with the said Henry Smith in Lincoln County State of Georgia, boarding with the said Henry Smith, he the said Smith requested deponent to assist him in looking over his old papers for purpose of finding some for which he the said Smith had an immediate use at that time, and whilst looking over the papers they found a discharge of the said Henry Smith’s for three years’ service in the troop; they found two papers which deponent thinks were certificates for militia services, but does not now recollect the length of time, which papers deponent saw and read, and heard the said Henry Smith say that he would take care of them as they might be of some service to him at some future time. Deponent further declares that he has not seen his sister the said Sally Smith for sixteen or seventeen years before; and did not know that she was living till a few months; neither did the said Sally Smith know that deponent was living tlll very recently when by chance they learned that each other were living.

Sworn to and subscribed before me on the day and year first mentioned. I do further certify that the affiant Mr. Jesse M. Mathews is an intelligent and creditable witness.  Blumer H. White, J.P.

A comparison of Henry Smith's signatures