1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia

©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

I went by the Mesquite Library this afternoon to pick up a book that was on hold for me and decided that I had time for a minute of research. After wandering into the genealogy section, I ended up in the section on Georgia, and a title caught my eye: 1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia by Nancy J. Cornell. I pulled it off the shelf even though I knew that my ancestors who were still living in Georgia were probably too old to serve, but maybe young enough to be included in this census.

Both of my ancestors were included in this census. They were both living in the 24th Senatorial District - 808th Militia District of Marion County, Georgia:

Chapman, Ambros, 59 yrs. 4 mos, Farmer, b. GA

Meadows, Vincen, 59 yrs., Farmer, b. GA

and Vincent's son Leonidus 16 yrs, 11 mos, b. GA 

It makes sense for them to be in the same area of Marion County since their children, Abner Chapman and Martha Frances Meadows, married each other.

When I got home I googled this census to learn more about why it was taken and with the slim hope that I might find it online. My search led me to the Georgia Archives Virtual Vault where the images for this census are online. Researchers should be warned, though, that these records are arranged by county, senatorial district, and militia district, so using Cornell's book first makes using this collection much easier.

On 14 December 1863, the Georgia Assembly passed an Act to re-organize the state militia. They were in need of soldiers to replenish the army and to protect the home front. Every senatorial district was to become a separate military district although the 24th senatorial district was composed of more than one militia district. All free, white men between 16 and 60 who were not already serving in the Confederate army were to be enrolled on these militia lists. The original lists also included information on the kind of gun each man owned, its condition, and whether he had a horse, saddle, or bridle. Looking at the original image was going to give me more information than Cornell's book! Many of the men on this list served for six months after the census was taken. 

There are, however, significant differences between Cornell's book and the original images. Cornell stated in her introduction that her lists were first "abstracted from the typed lists prepared by the Georgia Pension and Record Department. They were then checked against the handwritten original lists for additional genealogical information and reasons for exemptions." The most obvious, glaring difference between Cornell's list and the original list is that Cornell's list includes given names while the original includes mostly just an initial. Cornell did not pull these given names out of a hat. The typed list prepared by the Pension and Record Department must contain the given names, and since it is typed, it is not a period document. Somewhere there is another level of document that needs to be consulted.

From the original record:

Ambrose Chapman appears as A. Chapman, age 59 years and 4 months, born in S Carolina instead of Georgia. "DBS" seems to stand for a double-barrel shotgun in bad condition. He did not have a horse, saddle, or bridle. 

Click on Images to Enlarge

Vincent Meadows appears as V. Meadows, age 59, born in Georgia, with a single-barrel shotgun in good condition while his son Leonidus Meadows, age 16 years 11 months, born in Georgia, also has a single-barrel shotgun in good condition. Neither of them had a horse, saddle, or bridle. 

Click on Image to Enlarge

Next, I need to figure out if there are any additional documents in the Georgia Pension and Record Department. 

William Dollarhide's Finding 1861 - 1869 Names of Residents & Civil War Soldiers

Hello, 2022!

             ©  Kathy Duncan, 2022

It's that time. Time to say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022. I hope it's a better year for all of us.

It's also time to stop and take stock of the past year.

2021 ended with 136,689 page views, which was 23,766 views for the year. There were a total of 48 posts, which surprises me. I thought there were fewer. 

The most popular post was Richard King's 1853 Obituary - Richard King died in Taliferro County, Georgia, leaving behind a large family of mostly unnamed children. Gradually, they have revealed themselves through their relationship to each other rather than through Richard King's records. Although I still heavily suspect that my ancestor Martha (King) Thompson was one of his daughters, I cannot prove it. Yet.

The second most popular post was Francis Marion Tison, Killed 1866 - in my mission to leave no stone unturned in my quest for ancestor Joseph Barber's parentage, I researched Francis Marion Tison, who was the first husband of Edward Barber's second wife. Edward Barber turned out to be Joseph Barber's brother. Researching Francis Marion Tison was officially a rabbit hole, but such an interesting one. He was killed over a box of sardines. That's the short version. 

The third most popular post was John D. Lewis, Not the Son of Col. Charles Lewis and Mary Isham Randolph - math and logic indicate that my ancestor John Lewis cannot possibly be the son of Col. Charles Lewis of Buck Island, which is an ongoing disappointment to many of his descendants. Too make matters even worse, he is not the son of a lot of the landed Virginia gentry to which his descendants would like to connect him. 

As always, my favorite posts were connected to major breakthroughs. Brick walls tumbling down and all of that.

The first one was At Long Last: Joseph Barber, son of Thomas Barber - after an intense examination of records surrounding Thomas Barber, I was able to connect my Joseph Barber as his son. This came after many, many years of suspecting that there was a connection between the two. My ancestor, Joseph Barber who married Arsenia (Moore?) lived a large portion of his life in Barbour County, Alabama. Before that, he and his family had lived in Russell County, Alabama and Sumter County, Georgia. He turned out to be the son of Thomas and Sarah (Mashburn) Barber who had lived in Onslow Co., North Carolina. Joseph and his brothers Edward and Jackson were named in the will of their grandfather Thomas Mashburn. 

The second post was Archibald Owings' Wife Revealed! - after several decades of searching for her. My Archibald Owings, son of Richard Owings (III) and Anna Stonestreet, married Elizabeth, the daughter of Daniel McLean. Even though Daniel McLean left few records, I was able to track him to his little village in Northern Ireland, which he and his family left in 1767. 

In the New Year, I need to return to working on the Dabb/Harding Collection. I'd like to make progress on my Cawthon line, which has been stalled for decades. 

I hope the New Year brings you progress in your research, too.

Daniel McClane's Revolutionary War Claim

            ©  Kathy Duncan, 2021

The first step in looking for any difficult-to-find record should be the Family Search Research Wiki. That's how I located the Revolutionary War Claim for Daniel McLean. I had seen a reference to it in a google book; Copy of the Original Index Book Showing the Revolutionary War Claims Filed in South Carolina between August 20, 1873 and August 31, 1786, Kept by James McCall Auditor General and copied by Jean Revill. However, I could not figure out how to locate the record.

Enter the Family Search Research Wiki. The record I was searching for was referenced on the "South Carolina Military Records" entry in the Research Wiki. The best part about the Research Wiki pages is that they contain links to the various records. Sometimes they lead to a Family Search record group, sometimes Ancestry, and sometimes something else. 

Turns out Jean Revill's book was also listed on the Wiki. Further down the page was a subheading called "South Carolina Revolutionary Claims, 1783 to 1786" with a link to the twelve volumes of stub entries: 

Stub Entries to Indents Issued in Payments of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Revolution, Book X, pt 1, page 11:  

The footnote reads as follows: "Interlined below is: Mc : Clain."

That would seem to indicate that the original document contains two spellings of Daniel McClean/McClain/McClane's name. 

In 1781, my ancestor Daniel McLean was about 56 years old. At that age, I would not expect him to serve as a soldier. However, a fifty-six-year-old man would probably be able to drive cattle for the Revolutionary army. This claim indicates that Daniel McClane spent 66 days driving cattle in 1781 & 1782. It's interesting to note that he was being paid for service and not being reimbursed for the actual cattle. That suggests to me that he did not own the cattle, but was, in fact, rendering a service. This Daniel McLane was still living in 1785 when he received payment, and I know that my Daniel McLean was still living in 1787. 

However, no Daniel McLean has been found on the 1790 census. Since I have not located any living Daniel McLeans (or any other spellings of the name) in the state in 1790, I am guessing that there was only one man of that name when Daniel McClane was paid for his claim. By 1790, he would have been 65 years old if he was still living. He was either living in another household so that he was not named on the census or he was deceased.

What is exciting about this reference to Daniel McClane's service is that the Ulster Scots in the backcountry of South Carolina had to be "wooed" over to the American side of the Revolutionary War conflict. That is understandable when you consider what they had to lose. Daniel McLean had received his bounty land in 1768, and it was bestowed by the crown. Seven short years later, the rebels were sending emissaries out through the countryside to "convince" the backcountry men to their side. Throwing his lot in with the patriots would mean jeopardizing everything that Daniel had acquired and built since coming to the colonies in 1768 - all of which he could not accomplish in Ireland. He might have felt obligated to remain loyal to the crown while at the same time probably having no great love for the English. Of course, at this point Daniel McLean's son-in-law Archibald Owings was serving on the American side. 

Daniel McLean, Irish Immigrant, 1768

           ©  Kathy Duncan, 2021

The 100 acres that Daniel McLean gave to his daughter Mary Hutson in Laurens County, South Carolina in 1786, contained this important tidbit of information - "100 acres of Land which I now dwell on which I had surveyed by a bounty warrant & has a patent for the same by William Bull, Esq. then Lieut. Governor, 29 July 1768, containing 300 acres."

First, it indicates that Daniel McLean was in South Carolina by 1768, and second, it points to the existence of other earlier records.

This 29 July 1768 deed record for 300 acres on Reedy Creek in Craven County can be found in South Carolina Memorial Book 8, page 219:

In trying to determine who was migrating to South Carolina during this period, I found Jean Revill's A Compilation of the Original Lists of Protestant Immigrants to South Carolina 1763 - 1773. Her book provides passenger lists for many ships arriving during that time. Daniel McLean and his family came to South Carolina on the Brig Lord Dunagannon with Master Robert Montgomery under the Bounty Act of 1761. There is the notation that their bounties were four pounds or two pounds sterling depending on their ages. This money was to be paid to the ship owners Torans and Pouag. The remaining twenty shillings in change was to be given to the immigrant. Additionally, at that time, the Secretary of Craven County was ordered to prepare a Warrant of Survey.

Daniel McLean's family group was given as follows:

Daniel McLean age 42

Ann McLean age 40

James McLean age 20

Lettice McLean age 16

Elizabeth McLean age 14

Ann McLean age 11

Mary McLean age 8

For this particular bounty, the head of household was to receive 100 acres, plus 50 acres for each additional person. Individuals age 16 and older were to receive 100 acres each. This evidently included both males and females. For his bounty, Daniel McLean received the 300 acres recorded in Memorial Book 8. Of that, 100 acres was for himself, and 50 acres each for his wife Ann and his daughters Elizabeth, Ann, and Mary. James McLean and Lettice McLean each received 100 acres. This establishes James and Lettice as siblings rather than a young married couple. Had they been married James would have received 150 acres, and Lettice would have received nothing.

The South Carolina Assembly created the Act of 1761 with the purpose of populating the backcountry of South Carolina with poor Irish protestants. Their settlements would act as a buffer zone between the Indian country and the more established settlements. Put simply, they were cannon fodder, the first to be sacrificed in the event of an uprising. Additionally, the immigrants had to provide certification that they were, indeed, protestants, presumably to keep out Catholics. 

Next, I searched for information about the Brig Lord Dunagannon, mastered by Robert Montgomery. It was part of the fleet of a Charleston shipping firm owned by John Torrans, John Greg, and John Pouag, who had lobbied the South Carolina Assembly to pass the Act of 1761 because they stood to profit greatly from transporting poor Irish protestants from Ulster to Charleston. Between the bounty years of 1763 and 1768, all of the ships that ran from Ulster to Charleston were owned by Torrans, Greg & Pouag. They routinely ran advertisements in the Belfast newspapers and sent agents out to recruit immigrants.

In August 1767, the following advertisement was running in the Belfast paper to recruit immigrants to leave on the Brig Lord Dunagannon that October:

While they had originally planned to set sail on 10 October 1767, it looks like they did not set sail from Belfast, Antrim County, Ireland, until 12 October 1767: 

They arrived in Charles Town, Charleston District, Berkley County, South Carolina in February 1768 with 141 immigrants from Belfast and Larne. 

Once I knew that Daniel McLean and his family had come from County Antrim, Ireland, I turned to the records of Northern Ireland. This was my first time to ever have a reason to search Irish records, so I've got a lot to learn. I've heard that not many of their records survive, so I was not expecting much. I did not find the McLeans in any marriage or birth records. However, I did find a Religious Census for 1766. On that census, there was only one protestant named Daniel McLeane in County Antrim. He was living in the village of Glenstaghy in Ballintoy Parish, County Antrim, Ireland. This seems to be the last record that Daniel McLean generated before departing for the New World, where he would go from being a poor Irish immigrant who could not pay his own passage to a man with 300 acres in just a matter of months. 

Archibald Owings' Wife Revealed!

          ©  Kathy Duncan, 2021

Uncovering the identity of wives becomes nearly impossible in the absence of marriage records and family bibles. Archibald Owings' wife has been particularly elusive. In an earlier post, I discussed that "my" Archibald Owings is frequently confused with his young nephew who was also named Archibald Owings. Unfortunately, the younger Archibald Owings' wife, Jane Kellett is frequently linked to the elder Archibald Owings as his wife.

Archibald Owings, the elder, would have married in the vicinity of Laurens County, South Carolina, and taken his wife and older children with him to Lancaster County, South Carolina by 1790, where he is found on the census, and then removed to Kershaw County, South Carolina before 1800. His wife was deceased by 1820 when she does not appear on the census. 

To date, I had found no mention of her in any records. I was not even able to determine her given name from any records. I needed to examine any books of transcribed records with an every-name index. I was hoping that she would be mentioned in her family's records and that somehow there would be an indication that she was my ancestor's wife.

As luck would have it, I determined that I had never seen Brent H. Holcomb's book Laurens County, South Carolina: Minutes of the County Court, 1786 - 1789. While 1786 - 1789 presents a very narrow timeframe, any Archibald Owings mentioned in it would likely be my ancestor since the nephew did not come of age until perhaps the mid-1790s. Yesterday, I headed to the Dallas Public Library to examine that book, and it did not disappoint:

"A deed of gift from Daniel McClain to Archebald Owins, proven in open Court by Wm. Obennian and John Hutson and Ordered to be Recorded." - 10 March 1788, p. 208

A deed of gift usually represents a family relationship of some sort.  I did not recognize Daniel McClain's name in connection with either Archibald Owings, the uncle, or Archibald Owings, the nephew. Who was he? What was his connection? Could he possibly be "my" Archibald Owings' father-in-law? A brother-in-law?

I explored deed books to see if anything more could be learned about this deed of gift. From Laurens County, South Carolina Deed Abstracts: Books A-D, 1785-1793 (1769-1793) by Larry Vehorn came the following record:

"Page 300 [Deed Bk B] 11 Aug 1787, Daniel McLain (Ninety six Dist., Laurens Co.) residing upon Redy River, freeholder, in consideration of the love, good will & affection I bear towards my loving daughter Elizabeth Owings, [give] 100 acres of land on Redy River, joining McAnalting line. Witness Wm. Obannon, John Hutson. Signed Daniel McLain. Rec. 2 Apr 1788."

Margaret Peckham Motes' book Laurens County, S.C.: Rabun Creek Settlement 1762-1848 reveals that Archibald Owings lost half or all of this tract of land to cover an old debt:

"Richardson, Thomas: 8 September 1787: Edmond Martin, Esquire, Sheriff of Ninety Six Dist., SC., and Aaron Steel, planter, of the same place. Whereas Archibald Owins [Owens], late of the Dist. and State aforesaid was seized of a certain tract of land in Laurens County on the S side of Reedy River containing 50 acres bounded N by the Reedy River, S and W by Daniel McLain, other lands laid out to one McAnulty, as appears by a plat. And whereas the said Aaron Steele in November term 1785 impleaded the said Archibald Owins in the Court of Common Please in the state aforesaid held at Ninety Six in a joint suit with Thomas Richardson for the recovery of the sum of 64 [lbs] Stg. in which action such proceedings was there for had that the said Aaron Steel did obtain and recover judgment against said Archibald Owins. Edmond Martin. Wit: John Downs, Samuel Taylor. Proved by Jonathan Downs 20 August 1789 before Joseph Downs, J.P. [LCDBK C:72-73]"

This record reveals that the Archibald Owens, who was the son-in-law of Daniel McLain, was by September of 1787 no longer a resident of Laurens County since "late of the Dist." indicates that he was previously or formerly a resident of Laurens County. My ancestor Archibald Owings had moved to Lancaster County, South Carolina before the 1790 census. 

Of course, the next thing to do was to find out as much as I could about Daniel McLain. So far, I have not found much, but I did find a sister for Elizabeth (McClain) Owings. 

A few months later, Daniel McClain/McLain/McLean gifted land to his other daughter, Mary (McLean) Hutson:

"169-170 [Deed Bk B] 4 Nov 1786, Daniel McLean of Ninety six Dist. but now called Oxford Dist. in Laurens Co. in consideration of the Love, good will & affection I bear towards my loving Daughter Mary McLean, but now by marriage Mary Hutson, give 100 acres of Land which I now dwell on which I had surveyed by a bounty warrant & has a patent for the same by William Bull Esq. then Lieut. Governor, 29 July 1768, containing 300 acres. The land I give border mouth of my Spring branch. I desire that the improvements & clear land &c may be within the boundaries of the 100 acres. Likewise I give said Mary Hutson four Cows with a mark tht is an over kut & an under kut in the Ear, one big pot & one little pot, one Chest or box, plow, Irons, loom. Witness David Speers. James McClanahan. Signed David McLean. Rec. 11 July 1787."

John Hutson went to court to prove this deed of gift. Later, Daniel McLean sued John Hutson, but the suit was withdrawn in 1789 because of the death of John Hutson. 

Merry Christmas, Mom!!

Daniel McLean, Irish Immigrant, 1768

Rev. Duncan Hyder Selph's Home is Vandalized

         ©  Kathy Duncan, 2021

This tidbit appeared originally in the Danville Gazette of Danville, Kentucky in August of 1866.

Someone, probably, a woman vandalized the home of Rev. Duncan Hyder Selph while he was away. 

The culprit had cut the curtains of Rev. Selph's rockaway, broken his windows, and smashed his parlor furniture.

A rockaway was a light carriage similar to the one below. It was probably windowless; therefore, the curtains were needed to shade the occupants or to offer some protection from the rain. This was a carriage popular with families of the upper-middle class or higher in the 19th century

I suspect that the broken windows were the windows of the Selph residence and not the windows of the rockaway. That may be how the culprit gained entrance into the parlor where the furniture was smashed.

Unfortunately, I have not found a follow-up article for this event. There is no easy way to find out who the culprit was or why she was so angry at the Selphs. Was she a disgruntled teacher? A student who was upset about her grades? One of the Selph daughters? Someone with a more salacious connection? 

There is not a lot of information about the Selphs from this time period that would help shed light on this. At this time, they were operating the Danville Female Academy in Danville, Kentucky, with Rev. D.H. Selph as president and his wife, Lavinia E. Selph, as one of the teachers. The Selph children were in attendance as students. In 1864, Lavinia Selph had purchased the buildings of the Danville Female Academy. On 1 September 1866, Rev. D.H. Selph had a large note coming due to C. C. Moore and his wife Mary Moore. From everything I've read, the Danville Female Academy had financial problems through the Civil War, yet the Selphs made several sizable purchases of property. The Danville Female Academy was purchased for nearly $10,000. The note due to the Moores was for about $35,000. Also, in 1866, Rev. D.H. Selph was trying to raise $25,000 to open a school for orphan girls and the daughters of poor Baptist ministers. 

None of this sheds any light on why the Selphs were the target of someone's ire.  

If you've made it this far, I've started a Facebook group for researchers working on the family of Peter Self, his wife Elizabeth Vick, as well as all allied family lines. Please join us at Peter Self/Selph and Elizabeth Vick Family Researchers. 

Which Archibald Owings Did Jane Kellett Marry?

        ©  Kathy Duncan, 2021

The short answer is not mine. Here's why.

My ancestor, Archibald Owings, was born on 2 March 1750 to Richard Owings and his wife Anna Stonestreet in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Owings family removed to the Laurens County, South Carolina area by 1765ish.

Archibald Owings can be found in Lancaster County, South Carolina by 1790 when his household appeared on the Lancaster County, South Carolina census. His household was composed of one male over 16 (Archibald), six males under 16 (six sons?), and four free white females (wife and three daughters). That would indicate that Archibald and his unnamed wife were not newlyweds. Their household consisted of probably six sons and three daughters, the majority of whom were under sixteen years of age. That means that if they were having children at the rate of one every two years, then they had been married for at least 18 years. That would put their marriage at around 1771 at the latest. There is no way to know how many times Archibald Owings had been married, or if the wife with him in 1790 was his first wife and the mother of all of his children, or if she was a later wife. If Archibald Owings and his wife were married by 1771, then I would guesstimate her birth to be around 1751, give or take a few years. She would have probably been at least 40 years old by 1790. I would also guesstimate that her parents were born by about 1731 or a little earlier. 

My best guess is that Archibald Owings had married prior to his removal from Laurens County so that he was married and had several children by the time he arrived in Lancaster County. 

In October 1792 Archibald Owings witnessed a deed transaction from James Hood to John Hood Sr. in Lancaster County. He was also mentioned in a deed transaction from David Clanton to John Clanton of the Camden District of South Carolina in November of 1792. Since Clanton's land was on Singleton's Creek, which is where Archibald Owings died, Archibald likely died while still in possession of his land. If he did not sell any land while he was living, then it is impossible to learn his wife's name through her release of dower. However, it's still worth searching more thoroughly for land records. 

Meanwhile, back in Laurens County, South Carolina my Archibald Owings had a nephew named Archibald Owings, who was a son of his brother Richard Owings Jr. aka Richard Owings IV. The nephew was coming of age in the mid-1790s, and the two of them have often been confused for each other although they were both generating records in different counties, which is one way to sort them out. Plus, there is their age difference to consider; my Archibald, the uncle, was almost twenty years older than his nephew Archibald. 

By 1820, Archibald Owings, the uncle, was in Kershaw County, South Carolina, which was previously Camden District. His household was composed of just three males - two of whom were 16 to 25 years of age and one male over 45 (Archibald). There were no females in the household which implies that his wife was deceased prior to 1820. This is born out by his will dated 13 June 1826, which does not name a wife. 

Meanwhile, back in Laurens County, South Carolina, Archibald Owings, the nephew, had a large household of young children, and more importantly, he had a living wife. His household was composed of four boys under the age of 10, one boy aged 10 - 15, one man over the age of 45 (Archibald Owings), one girl under the age of 10, one girl aged 10 - 15, and one female age 26 - 44. He and his wife had a total of five sons and two daughters living in the home. 

Then in 1821, Jane Owings, the wife Archibald Owings, and daughter of Jeannette Kellet received a deed of gift from her mother in Laurens County, South Carolina:

The wording of this deed is very clear. On 13 February 1821, Jeannett Kellett deeded a slave woman named Fillis to her daughter Jane Owings, the wife of Archibald Owings. Clearly, Jane, the wife of Archibald Owings was alive and well in 1821 when she received this gift, unlike the wife of Archibald Owings, the uncle, of Kershaw County, who was deceased prior to 1820. When Archibald Owings, the uncle, died in Kershaw County in 1826, there was not a slave woman named Fillis (Phyllis) mentioned in his will. 

More importantly, Kellett can be found as a middle name among the children and descendants of Archibald Owings, the nephew, while it is never found among the children and descendants of Archibald Owings, the uncle. 

What that means for me is that the wife of my ancestor, Archibald Owings of Kershaw County, South Carolina is still unknown. Jane Kellett is ruled out as his spouse, and my hunt continues. 

Archibald Owings' Wife Revealed!