GENEALOGICAL MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Trip to Sumter Co., AL--Obadiah Hand and related subjects
BY:
Albert H. Spinks--Great-Great-Great
Grandson of Obadiah Hand
DATE:
September 12, 1983
CURRENT
ADDRESS: 3129 Sutton Place
Burlington, NC 27215
************
Background:
We
believe Obadiah Hand to have been born in 1760 on Staten Island, NY, son of a
ship owner/operator, Samuel Hand and his wife, Miss Lum. Samuel Hand was a Loyalist and had to flee
to the New Brunswick, Canada area after the Rev. War, an action that greatly
complicated their family life. It
appears that Samuel went north and the family stayed on Staten Is. I know little of Obadiah’s early life, but by
1792, he was in South Carolina, where he married Sarah Britton, a twice widowed
socialite of Britton Neck, S. C. From
there Obadiah and Sarah gradually moved south.
There was a Captain Hand associated with Ft. Stephens, Ala. [I have seen
no real proof that it was our Obadiah, though some think it was.] By 1817, the family was in Wayne Co., MS,
where we believe Sarah Britton Hand passed away in 1826. We have no knowledge of where she is
buried. Stones in the South just have
not normally lasted from before 1840 or so and we don’t know where Obadiah’s
property was located. The Wayne Co.
court house records burned in the late 1800’s.
Obadiah married three times after Sarah passed away, and outlived two of
these wives. Obadiah and this 4th wife,
Martha Clanton, settled in Sumter Co., Ala. by 1834 where Obadiah passed away
in 1837, leaving his entire estate to wife Martha.
The
following write-up documents some research I did in 1983 concerning Hands in
Sumter Co., Ala., and Wayne Co. and Clarke Co., MS.
Albert
H. Spinks
December
14, 2002
aspinks3@.triad.rr.com
************
Between
July 12 and July 14, 1983, I made a concentrated effort to find in Sumter
Co., Alabama the grave-site of one of my great-great-great grandfathers--Obadiah
Hand. It has been said that he was
buried on his Sumter Co. property. I
wish I could say that I had found that grave-site, but no such luck. The stone just doesn’t exist. However, I had a swell time looking, made
several excellent genealogical contacts, collected some info I didn’t have, and
got plenty of badly needed exercise.
Tuesday,
July 12, 1983, I found a description of Obadiah’s property in the Sumter Co.
Court House in Livingston as predicted.
Actually it was in two places--the deed books and in a book that appeared
to have been used for recording land ownership--where obtained, etc. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t record exactly
what that second book was--a lady showed it to me just before lunch time, and
they ran us out of the records room for lunch at 12:00 and I didn’t get back to
it. However both sources gave the same
description as below--
W 1/2 of NW 1/4 of Section 6, TS 19,
R1 W
and
E 1/2 of SE 1/4 of Section 1, TS 19,
R 2 W
The
record in the deed book (Book B, p 627) was for an indenture dated 3 December
1837 from Martha L. Hand to Hugh Dale., both parties from Co. of Sumter,
State of Ala. for $2000. “In the
district of land subject to sale at Demopolis”. It was claimed to contain 168 acres more or less and was
witnessed by Price Williams. This
document was recorded 23 Dec 1837.
The
information in the “land book” referred to warrant (or certificate) number 2200
for the W 1/2 of the NW 1/4 or section 6 TS 19N R 1Wcontaining 84.39 acres and
dated 6 Oct 1834. And for warrant (or
certificate) number 4764 for the E 1/2 of SE 1/4 of section 1 TS 19N R 2W
containing 84.60 acres and dated 24 Dec 1834.
I am quite interested in how he obtained this property. Mother spent some effort unsuccessfully
trying to prove Rev. war service for Obadiah.
Surely she checked this lead out.
I
found Obadiah Hand recorded in the deed book twice. Once was his will in Book A, p. 507. The second was for the sale of one negro
woman named Easter for $500 to John Jones and Caty Jones, dated 30 Sep 1834,
witnessed by Jas. A. Bates and John Biddle.
It was signed by “O. Hand.” This
deed was in deed book D, p. 44.
I
found deeds involving a John Hand (and wife Martha), a John H. Hand and a
Ramson (Ransom) hand (and wife Nancy).
None of these struck me as being close to my line so I did not record
the details.
The
earliest deed I saw in the Sumter Co. deed book was during 1825. Two other points. I found O. Hand’s first name spelled both ways in the records,
e.g. Obediah and Obadiah, often different in the same document by the same
clerk. And I saw Martha L. Hand in some
places; and in one place Martha S. Hand.
In
the probate records, I found much information on the settlement of Obadiah’s
will. It was quite interesting. Even though Martha was executrix and sole
heir of Obadiah’s estate, she turned over the responsibility to the county
sheriff. The personal property was appraised,
and the sheriff held a sale. Very
little of the personal property was presented for the sale, and most of that
Martha bought herself. Later the
sheriff testified in court, and presented data that the results of the sale was
not enough to cover expenses. The court
required Martha to pay the difference.
This she did and the estate was subsequently ruled as settled. I’m curious as to why Martha felt it
necessary to get the sheriff involved at all.
His expenses, plus the cost of the sale, cost her several hundred
dollars.
Armed
with the land descriptions, I went to the tax appraisers office and the map
office. Between these two offices, I
was able to find out the name of the present owner of Obadiah’s property and
get copies of the applicable maps. The
land belongs to a James Greenwood.
It has been given to him by his father, Mr. C. Allison Greenwood, who
appears to still maintain control over it.
I bought three maps of the area.
One is “General Highway Map-Sumter County Alabama”, dated 1971 and
prepared by the State of Alabama Highway Department. It shows, among other things the location of each section. I then got two maps that showed more detail
of each section. The section 6 property
is on a map identified by number 60-17-03 and the section 1 property is shown
on a map identified by number 60-18-01.
I am attaching a copy of one of the highway mapsthat
shows the sections south of Epes where Obadiah’s property was located. I have darkened in Obadiah’s property. I
have also circled the location of the graveyard, Henagan Cemetery, that I will
discuss later. The Tombigbee River is
to the right of the map; Interstate 59 is to the left; the town of Livingston
is to the lower left; HW 11 runs NE from Livingston and the town of Epps is on
HW 11 just before it crosses the Tombigbee.
HW 21 can be see running due south from Epps. The Hand property can be seen darkened in west of HW 21. Henagan cemetery is circled to the east of
HW 11. When one is standing in the
cemetery, the ridge on which the Obadiah Hand property is located can be seen
to the SE.
I
next went to the ASC office where aerial photos are kept for agricultural
acreage control. The property was easy
to find. A 24” x 24” aerial photo can
be ordered--code 01119, roll no. 182, exposure no. 49. It is ordered from the USDA in Salt Lake
City, UT. Any county ASC office has
the forms. Cost per copy is $8.00.
As I made my rounds of the above offices, I was referred to several men for genealogical info. One was a local lawyer, Marcus McConnell, who has an interest in Sumter Co. history in general. The other is Judd Arrington of York, Ala. 36925, who has a wealth of information about cemeteries in Ala., Miss. and elsewhere.
I
stopped by to see Mr. McConnell. He
introduced me by phone to Mr. Allison Greenwood, who gave me permission to walk
over the property. He said that the
area is still known as the “Old Hand Place.”
FANTASTIC--after almost 150 years.
He described a cemetery located on the property, on top of the highest
hill in the area.
Tuesday
afternoon, I walked thoroughly over the property of and surrounding the section
6 property. It is all pastured, thin
soil, not now good for row crops and eroded in many places down into the lime
subsoil. I hate to think of my
ancestors having to make a living there.
I saw none of the “black belt” the area was famous for. I found several old house sites, and the
remains of old garden and orchard sites.
But no cemeteries, gravestones, or grave-sites.
To
get to the property described in the above paragraph, I went south from Epes, Ala.,
on highway 21, a two lane, blacktop road.
About 1 1/2 to 2 miles from Epes there are some man-made lakes to the
left that I was told were used to raise catfish. To the right of the road was an abandon house site containing a
concrete block house, a silo, and some out-buildings. I left my car there and entered through a gate into an area that
contained the most northerly 80 acre partial of Hand land.
Late
Tuesday afternoon, July 12, 1983, I visited Henagan cemetery. It is located about 1 1/2 to 2 miles south
of Epes, Ala. off of HW 11. Going south
on 11 from Epes, one turns to the left on a dirt or gravel road, goes a short
distance (approx. 1/2 mi.) and crosses a railroad track. A short distance farther (only several 100
yards) the road quits at a barn.
Henagan cemetery is to the left.
It is well kept, still in use, and covers perhaps an acre. It is surrounded by a vine covered
fence. The oldest stones are to the
back of the lot. The oldest one I saw
was dated 1840, a Lowery. I saw
Godfreys and Arringtons buried here.
Because Obediah had connections with Godfreys, I recorded the following
stones.
1. William Godfrey. Died
22 Jan 1854. Aged 69 yrs, 6 mos., 4 days.
2. Mrs. Harriet P. Godfrey, consort of William Godfrey. Died 30 Sep 1845. Aged 54 yrs., 1 mo., 22 days.
3. Margaret Laurence--daughter of ? Phillip. July 6, 1845 thru Sep 8, 1845.
4. Dozier Godfrey. Died
1843. In the 32nd year of his age.
5. Dosier E. Godfrey.
Born 23 Dec 1843; Died ? 1845.
6. John B. Godfrey. Died
27 April 1843. 24th year of his age.
The
?’s above represent information I could not read. Based upon information collected by my mother, I believe #1
above, William Godfrey, to be the son of Sarah Britton Godfrey Butler
Hand--Obadiah Hand’s first wife. Also
based upon Mother’s information, Harriet P. Godfrey is not William Godfrey’s
first wife. His first wife was a
Dozier. One would then speculate that
#4 was William’s son by his first wife.
And that #5 was a grandson. One
would also speculate that #6 is also a son.
I have no idea who #3 is. Her
stone was in the midst of the Godfrey stones so I included her
information. One could speculate that
she was a granddaughter of William’s, from a daughter who married a man named
Phillip. That’s pure speculation though
with absolutely no backup.
Interesting
that 4 of the 5 people above died in the 1843 to 1845 time period.
Tuesday
night, I re-conferred by phone with Mr. Greenwood concerning the location of
the grave-site. I was in the wrong 80
acres. So bright and early on Wednesday
morning, I tried again. I went about
1/2 mile further south on HW 21 from the property entry point I used on
Tuesday. I went about 100 yards south
of a home site to the east of HW 21, containing a house and several out-buildings. I was told that someone named Pruitt lived
there. I left my car at HW 21, and
entered the property to the right through a gate. I went several hundred yards down a slight incline to a point
where there was a fence and gate to my right.
Per Mr. Greenwood’s instructions, I then followed that fence, keeping it
always to my right. I crossed a stream
and then entered a low pasture area that had grown up. The above mentioned fence turned slightly to
the right and then ran perhaps 1/8 to 1/4 mile to a point where a second fence
went to the left at approx. a 90 degree angle.
I then followed this fence. Mr.
Greenwood said that, along this fence, I would be going due west. It eventually intersected with another fence
that went to the left at 90 degrees, one would assume to the south. All of this distance so far was in low, wet,
grassy, areas that had grown up with small bushes along the fence row. As I walked south along the last fence, the
fence went into a wooded area and rose into a hill. Hardwoods were at first present, and later this changed to
pines. Across on the other side of the
fence were the remains of a old road that Mr. Greenwood said was a stagecoach
trail. One could easily see two ruts
cut into the ground in places. When I
reached the top of the hill, just to the left of the fence, about 100 feet
away, was a single tomb stone, in the middle of the woods, sort of eerie. The grave site had obviously bee placed at
the highest point around. The stone
belonged to William Lewis, born 20 Aug 1877 and died 22 Dec 1910. At the top of the stone was an emblem,
composed of an equilateral triangle, the head of a knight in armor, and two big
knives of the type knights used in battle.
I took a picture of the stone showing the emblem. To the left, when facing the stone, of the
William Lewis grave was a second grave with no marker. These were the only two grave sites I saw on
the east side of the fence. However, to
the other side of the fence, I found about 5 or 6 depressed areas in the woods
that proved to be grave sites. Buried
in the leaves I found one stone. It was
made of concrete, with the inscription scratched into the material with a sharp
instrument. I couldn’t make out the
name but I thought I could make out the dates 1901 and 1917. I scouted around the area looking for signs
of past human habitation. There was
nothing. No old orchards, no fields
with old rows in them. No gullies with
old bottles, cans, etc. Nothing. However, later Mr. Judd Arrington told me
that I didn’t go far enough down the fence.
He said that there was a pond and an old house site there. I wish I had seen it.
Looking
at the maps available to me, I feel that the last fence I went down followed
either the east or west line of the 80 acres owned by Obadiah in section
1. Either way puts this part of his
property on top of, or close to the top of, the highest ridge in the area. It is all in woods at this time, but
obviously was inhabited at one time.
Judd Arrington told me that traditionally, the land owners of the 1800’s
built their houses in the highlands and farmed the lower lands closer to the
Tombigbee River.
One
final point. Getting back into this
area was not easy. It was hard
walking. I would not recommend that
anyone go it alone as I did. If I had
gotten incapacitated back there, help would have been a long time in coming.
I
looked for some information in the Livingston town library located across the
street from the court house. I found
three items of interest. One was a
history of the area around Livingston by Dr. Spratt. Good reading; gave a flavor of early life there; but nothing on
our Hands.
In
a book, “Pioneer Families of Sumter Co., Ala. vol 1”, by Jenkins, p. 209:
--from “Livingston
Journal”--
“Died 12 December 1881 at the residence of S. P. Hand, Mrs. Elizabeth
Ratcliffe, aged more than 70 years.”
and on p. 13--”First elected Commission of Roads and Revenue in Sumter
Co.; William Godfrey--(others)--” August 1836.
On
Thursday, 14 July 1983, I went to Waynesboro, Wayne Co., Mississippi, where
Obadiah spent the early part of the 19th century. I was disappointed to find out that the Wayne Co. court house had
burned in 1892, destroying all records.
Over the last 11 years or so I’ve been lucky enough not to have run into
that problem before, so it never crossed my mind to check on that
possibility. Anyway to my knowledge we
have no deed or court records of Obadiah’s and his son, Johyn B. Hand’s, stay
in Wayne.
I
did go by the Waynesboro library and picked up a few items in info there.
1)
I took a closer look at the early 1800 censuses than I have before. Both John B. Hand and Obadiah Hand are in
the 1820 and 1830 censuses. My
interpretation of the microfilm of the original document gives John B. Hand
three white males and one white female in 1820, and gives Obadiah Hand two
white males and 4 white females. I
found a book by Ben and Jean Strictland, “Records of Wayne Co. Miss.” that
gives Obadiah only 1 white female in 1820.
Those old records are subject to ones own interpretation. From the microfilm, I saw John B. Hand as
having six white males and 3 white females in 1830. In 1830 Obadiah Hand was shown as having one white male and three
white females. I saw a John Horne in
the 1830 census. The 1840 census was
hard to follow; I gave up on trying to find anyone on it. Surely it is indexed somewhere.
2)
In Waynesboro, Ms. Lobrary--”Marriages, Deaths and Legal Notices from Early
Alabama Newspapers--1819-1893”.
p.
30--fr. Green Co. Gazette--at Erie; Jan 30, 1838. Married on Tues. evening last, Mr. Thomas Cusack to Mrs. Martha
Hand, widow of the late Obadiah Hand, deceased. She was nee Clanton and Obadiah was a (not legible) (see our Vol. 117, p. 7 for marriage
record. In 1850 he was 64 b Ireland,
she was 48 b NC)
p.
42--fr. Livingston Journal--
Samuel
P. Hand--born
Jan 5, 1835. Married Martha Ann
Patton. S. P. H. was son of Obadiah
Hand and his 4th wife Martha L. Clanton.
April
14, 18?? Gainesville News
Estate
of Thomas Cussack (64 yrs) S. P. Hand Exec.
Saw
some Webbs in this book.
“The
Halcyon” in Greensboro, Ala.
Feb
21, 1824 Eliza Webb, adm. and Thomas Webb adm. of Henry Y.
Webb, deceased.
[Note by AHS: Henry Y. Webb, born in NC, was a prominent Judge in Ala. Eliza (Forney) was his wife and Thomas Webb was his brother and my ancestor].
3)
“Tax Rolls--Wayne Co.--1810-1820--by Ben and Jean Strickland--P. O. box 5147,
Moss Point, Miss. 39563.
If
a male pays no poll tax but only property tax, he is over 50. Poll tax applies only males ages 21 to 50.
p.
7 1811 tax roll--John Hand--1
white--tax $1.37 1/2.
p.
37 1817 tax roll--Obediah Hand--640 acres, class 4, 2nd and 3rd quality
on Buckatunna; 1 white poll; 5 slaves, tax $3.99 1/2.
1818 tax roll--Obediah Hand--480 acres
class 4, lst quality; on Buckatunna; 10 slaves, tax $20.90 1/3.
1819
tax roll--Obediah Hand-480 acres; class 4, 2nd quality; on Buckatunna,
U. S. Purchase; land tax $3.88; 12 slaves tax $15.88.
1819
tax roll--John B. Hand--1 white poll; tax $1.00.
1820
tax roll--Obadiah Hand--480 acres, class 4, 2nd quality; on Buckatunna;
10 slaves, tax $10.38.
1820
tax roll--John B. Hand-1 white poll; 2 slaves, tax $2.25.
4)
At the Wayne Co. Library I bought a copy of “A Chronicle of Wayne County” being
sold by the local D.A.R. It was great
reading, giving well documented history of the area. But I found non of our Hands mentioned in
it.
**************
So
Obadiah Hand came to Wayne Co., Miss. by 1817.
He was there for the censuses of 1820 and 1830. He then obtained the Sumter Co., Ala.,
property in 1834, and passed away in Sumter Co. in 1837. This going back east to Sumter Co. from
Wayne Co. is a curiosity to me. In my
genealogical studies so far, it has always been go “West (or South), young man,
go West.” We can speculate that one or
all of the following factors took Obadiah back to Sumter.
1) Perhaps he obtained the Sumter Co. property through a government
lottery of some kind.
2) After 10-15 years, his Wayne Co. plantation (480 acres) was wearing
out. [They didn’t know about chemical
fertilizer].
3) Obadiah was becoming elderly [in his 70’s]. Perhaps he wanted to cut back on his farming
operation.
4) Finally, perhaps there were some ties with the William Godfrey
family in Sumter Co.
[Now, in 2002, I believe that one real consideration was the Treaty of
Dancing Rabbit Creek which opened vast regions of northwestern AL and northern
MS for settlement. This treaty followed
fierce battles that the white man had with the Indians of AL and MS that we
tend to forget. Actually there were
conflicts between our ancestors and the Indians from the eastern seaboard on
across the continent. In fact it is
well documented that Barbara Culp
McKinny, a Fox ancestor, was scalped in SC by Cherokee Indians and left for
dead. However, she survived and had
daughter Hanna from whom we Foxes descended!!!. I’ll put a writeup of this incident on the website as soon as I
have time, so keep tuned.]
Albert H. Spinks
September 12, 1983
aspinks3@triad.rr.com
