Family History Writing Challenge- incorporate- the birth of Abe and his brothers

Who was Abe’s mother? Why was her name never passed down for anyone to remember? Where did she come from and who was her family? Where did she go? These are questions we may never know.

Her three sons were born in one of the most turbulent periods of our history. She began her family in the midst of uncertainty and conflict. All around her, battles raged. Her husband, his family, and their male neighbors were engaged in constant conflict. She and the women lived in a state of ever present danger and uncertainty. Bearing children always took great courage; raising them amidst these conditions had to be frightening. Small children, as always, were often blissfully unaware of the danger; their mothers were not. It took brave women to survive these times. Their very existence and that of their community was teetering on the brink of uncertainty.

The first child, Richard Jr., was born just as their world began to erupt, in 1812.  Jesse W.  was born in 1813, and Abraham James was born in 1814.  Now the young couple had three babies to care for and protect from the ravages of the increasingly unfriendly world about them.

Her sister-in-law, Frances Coleman Womack, had even more children to care for. She had lost several babies early on, but now had a large a thriving family at their prosperous plantation at Womack Hill, about 10 miles up the Tombigbee, adjacent to her parents plantation. John Jr. had been born there in 1799, followed by Vashti b 1802, Aurelia b 1804, Mary Virtuous 1806, Jesse 1807, Daniel 1809, Elizabeth 1812, and Francis b 1815. Two more babies, Caroline and Abner, would be born later. We can only imagine what these pioneer women went through during these births, generally without even a doctor present. The women of the family had to help each other through these dangerous times within each family, as the men dealt with the dangerous times within the community.

The Tombigbee and Tensaw settlements were perilously perched between the Spanish to the south in Mobile and Pensacola, and the increasingly warlike Creeks to the east. Both the Spanish and Creeks were showing signs of aggression against the small pioneer settlements. The goal of each was to drive Americans from this region and reclaim the land for their own people. They would support each other in this endeavor, and the attack could come from both sides.

The Womack’s and their neighbors had a tenuous grasp on their homes and their lands. Their families and their future were in danger. Richard and his brothers, Frank, Jesse Jr., and John, had joined other male leaders of the community by signing petitions to the Territorial Governor and to the United States Congress, to send them support. The Spanish had seized guns and ammunition headed up the rivers toward the settlements; their only hope of securing weapons necessary for protection had to come from overland- which took time. They didn’t have much time to spare.

The situation of Spanish taxation and control had long been intolerable. Prices for even basic necessities were exorbitant. Their position was not only physically dangerous, it was becoming financially impossible. They would have to change things, or leave their plantations and move on. There were a few early glimmers of hope that things might change.

In September, 1807, a road was cut between St. Stephens, which was now a proper small town with square lots, and Natchez, 200 miles away on the western border of the Mississippi Territory. This improved communication between the two towns, with an impact which was soon apparent. (1)

1- Pickett's History of Alabama-  chapt XXXIV