Patriots from Georgia and the Carolinas- the Overmountain Trail and our Womack family

 https://www.nps.gov/ovvi/planyourvisit/park-brochure-part-1.htmNPS Overmountain Trail and History

James C. Womack- Farms in Apple Springs in 1880

In June, 1880, fifteen years after the civil war had ended, they took an Agricultural Census in Trinity County, Texas. James C. Womack, lived in Beat #4. His closest neighbors included his brothers, George Franklin Womack, and Thomas Womack, and two of his brothers-in-law, William Taylor and James Taylor. The census shows the dollar value of different components of each local farm.

Source Citation

Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Beat 4, Trinity, Texas; Archive Collection Number: T1134; Roll: 41; Page: 3; Line: 6; Schedule Type: Agriculture

The first section shows that JC Womack owned his land. James had tilled land, wooded land, and a large section of "old fields." The total dollar value of his farm, including land, fences, and buildings, was about $500. He owned two horses and a mule- typical in 1880 for most families in the community His livestock was valued at $425.  He paid $75 for farm labor- more than most of his neighbors. He sold about $535 worth of farm products that year.

James (#6) owned 8 milk cows. The record shows that Fannie had made about 300 pounds of butter that year. She kept about 20 chickens which had provided them with about 135 eggs. (Only about 11 dozen!) James also owned 10 pigs and 27 head of cattle and slaughtered 2 for meat that year.  

James was a farmer as well as a rancher. He planted 12 acres in corn, which resulted in 200 bushels of the crop, and 4 acres in cotton, which resulted in only 3 bales. He planted 10 acres in cow peas, and Fannie had a small garden with Irish and Sweet potatoes and an orchard with apple and peach trees.

The family cut about 15 cords of wood from their woodlands.

James C. Womack- Apple Springs Community in 1880

It was June, 1880, fifteen years after the end of the civil war. James C. Womack and Nancy Frances, "Fannie," Taylor were 30 years old, living on their farm in Trinity County, Texas. They had been married for ten years, and had three daughters; nine-year-old Emma, six-year-old Dona, and three-year-old Leona. Fannie was pregnant with my grandmother, Mattie, who would be born six months later on January 6, 1881.

The small community of Apple Springs was mostly inhabited by close knit relatives. James had several family members on adjoining farms;

James' mother, 63 year old widow Rebecca Franklin Womack, lived next door to the family with his youngest brother, 22 year old Thomas.

James' brother, George and Fannie's sister Mary Jane, "Mollie" had married and lived next door with their three children; nine-year-old Leon, seven-year-old Oda, five-year old-Edna, and three-year-old Jennie.

His eldest sister, 39 year old Matilda Womack West, had lost her husband in the war, and lived with her two children, Robert 19 and Annie 17.

Fannie also had siblings on nearby farms;

Fannie's 59 year old mother, Jennie Ainsworth Taylor, had also been widowed and was living with her son 20 year old son William and a farm worker, Benjamin Rasberry.

Fannie's brother 31-year-old James Taylor and his wife Sarah were also neighbors with their four children; Thomas 9, Eugene 5, William 4, and Annie 1.

Her 34 year old brother Lee Taylor and his wife Lenora lived nearby with their three children William 7, Lula 6, and Edgar 1.

Extended family also lived  in Apple Springs;

Rebecca's Franklin Womack's sister, 65 year old Jemima Franklin McClendon, had lost her husband in 1861, and was living with her sons 29 year old Robert, who worked as a mail carrier, and 23 year old Frank, who worked the farm. Jemima was caring for a 2 year old grandchild, Walter McClendon.

Rebecca Franklin Womack's cousin, 50 year old Lucy Campbell, whom she had grown up with in Mississippi, was married to 62 year old Abram Womack, a distant relative of our Womacks. The couple never had children of their own, but had raised many orphans over the years.

There were two school teachers living in the community; 28 year old Homer Hunston and 20 year old Henrietta Hunston. Like most schoolteachers of the day, they boarded with a local family, the Craigs.

Source Citation

Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 4, Trinity, Texas; Roll: 1329; Page: 328A; Enumeration District: 110

Franklin, Thomas- South Carolina records

http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/


1802-

Franklin, Thomas, Plat For 843 Acres On Crane Creek, Richland District, Surveyed By Alexander Kennedy. Date: 10/4/1802

People in this record:

Beasley, Jesse; Beasly, Jessy; Busby, Isaac; Franklin, Thomas; Kennedy, Alexander

Places in this record:

Broad River; Crane Creek; Richland District

Topics in this record:

Record details:

Date: 10/4/1802

Series: State Plat Books (Columbia Series) (S213192)

Document Type: Plat

Images: Available at SCDAH building or by order. See How to search menu.

Identifiers:

Archives ID: Series: S213192 Volume: 0039 Page: 00094 Item: 000

Thomas Franklin's Estate- Richland County SC 1808- Jemima Franklin and Henry Franklin Administrators

July 2, 1808- Order for Jemima and Henry Franklin to appear in Court at Columbia, Richland District, SC for letters of administration on goods of Thomas Franklin

July 1808 Bond for Appraisal of Goods

Appraisers- Robert Duke, John Thornton, James Phillips, Samuel Wadkins and Aaron Wooton

Appraisement

August 8, 1808/9- Account of Thomas Franklin Estate by Henry Franklin- articles to Jemima Franklin

October 1809- Jemima and Henry appear in court with record of expenditures

Record of debts paid- Christian Lightner was paid for a 1807 note and for 30 bushels of corn

Ancestry.com. South Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Richland County, South Carolina Miscellaneous Estate Records, 1799-1955; Author: South Carolina. County Court (Richland County); Probate Place: Richland, South Carolina

Richard's Story- 1798-1802- The Trip from Georgia to the Tombigbee Settlement

After the revolution, many Tories who had their lands confiscated moved south and west, to British East and West Florida, sparking interest in that area. Then the same men that had lead patriot soldiers in the Revolution led the movement to acquire lands to the west. They had little sympathy for the resident Creeks who had fought with the British to attack Georgia patriot settlements during the revolution. Elijah Clarke even tried to begin an independent republic to the west on Creek lands, a move which the U.S. Government quickly stopped, sending his old friend John Twiggs to put an end to it. Twiggs, Jesse Womack's old commander, was deeply involved in western land schemes. He and William Few were members of the Georgia Union Company, which tried to buy 35 million acres in land that was to become the Mississippi Territory. This was part of the Yazoo land fraud of 1802- which again, the Georgia government stopped- buying the land from the investors, and burning the papers at the courthouse in Louisville. Some who had "bought" the land moved anyway. Others picked up the fever to move westward, and began to make plans to head to these enticing and inexpensive lands in the west- lands that were said to be rich with black, fertile soil and a climate that was perfect for growing cotton.

The  U.S. had formed the Mississippi Territory in April 1798, opening the possibility of growth in that area. In May 1799, the Treaty of San Lorenzo allowed the U.S. to take possession of Fort. St. Stephen, creating an American presence on the Tombigbee. In July, Fort Stoddart was established at the fork of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, six miles above the boundary line that marked West Florida's boundary. The area was just waiting for American settlement.

Young Richard Womack must have been listening excitedly as his father Jesse, and his father's  friend Francis Coleman discussed the possibilities of moving to the western lands. Other male neighbors were also full of discussions of the promises of life in lands to the west. Other Womack relatives also were making plans to move- Richard's uncles-David Womack and Jonathan Kemp had plans to move to West Florida, even beyond the Tombigbee settlement, halfway to Natchez.

Then the actual land purchases began. We have a record of Francis Coleman's purchase:

"Joel Walker for $3,000 cash, sold to Francis Coleman, a plantation of 500 acres of land in West Florida to a point immediately above the Black Rock of the River Tombeckby about 112 miles above the town of Mobile bounded by the river on North, east, south, and southwest, granted to Charles Walker by the Province of West Florida January 27, 1777."  (American State Papers- Public Lands- Vol. 1 p 683)

This is followed by a letter requesting passage through the Creek Nation:

Letter to Executive Dept of Ga., August 14, 1799

Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, superintendant of Indian affairs

Sir,

At the request of Mr. Francis Coleman the bearer hereof I address to you to present to inform you of his wish to remove his property to the Don or Tombigby River, through the Creek Nation. I have informed him that this liberty can only be granted by you, who know the feelings and sentiment of the Indians on such occasion. I will therefore only further add that Mr. Coleman seems to be a peculiar case- he sometimes since sold out his land here, and purchased land in exchange on that river. He is a citizen of repute, and I believe, if indulged, would give no trouble to the United States or offense to the Indians. (signed James Jackson)

P 396 minutes of the executive dept. of the state of ga. for 2/6/1799-11/7/1799

Then on November 19, 1799, 29 year old William and 23 year old John Coleman were granted passports to travel through the Creek Nation to the Tombigbee and return. These two brave young men would pave the way for the migration of the Coleman and Womack families. They were heading into a wilderness, on Indian paths marked only with hatchet marks on the trees. They would have to hunt for their food along the way, find water, cross rivers, meet up with Indians on the trail. It was a dangerous journey that would take at least two months. But while Margaret Coleman likely fretted, the Coleman boys were surely excited about this expedition. Richard and the younger boys must have envied them, as they watched them pack and gathered to say their farewells. But the remaining family members probably already knew that they would soon be making the journey too. William and John were paving the way for a migration of families. The Coleman's had bought a plantation on the Tombigbee.

Richard's grandmother, Ann "Nancy" Childers Womack, could probably never have survived the trip. She may have been planning on staying with Uncle Abraham's family. But it is thought that she passed away about 1800, before Richard's family moved.

In 1801, Jonathan Kemp got a land grant in Spanish West Florida. It was to West Florida, in an area that became St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, that Jonathan's family moved to. It was also to St. Helena that David Womack and his family moved. One wonders why David chose a different area than Jesse, but by 1810 his family was established at St. Helena. Jesse's family chose a closer settlement at the Tombigbee, with the Colemans.

In the spring of 1802, it was Richard's turn. His father and older brother John were granted passports through the Creek Nation to settle in the Western Country. In the spring of 1803, Francis Coleman Jr. (husband of Mary Womack) and Benjamin Coleman (husband of Elizabeth Womack) were granted passports.


1-

Land Deed Book A,'Washington County, Alabama, Pages 3-8. 1799.

Joel Walker for $3,000 cash sold to Francis Coleman a plantation of 500 acres 

of Land in West Florida on a point immediately above the Black Rock

 on the River Tombeckby about 112 miles above the Town of Mobile, 

bounded by the river on the north, east, south, and southwest, 

granted to Charles Walker by the Province of West Florida January 27, 1777.