Steve’s Blog

The following analysis establishes what I know about the Hagler and Overton families of South Carolina and Georgia from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s. The analysis encompasses related families in North Carolina and Tennessee. The primary focus will be to establish which Jacob Hagler is the father of Rebecca and Susannah Hagler.

1. Rebecca (born 1798) and Susannah (born 1800) Hagler married in Jasper County, GA in 1817 to James and John Overton Junior, which is supported by official records in GA.

2.    Susannah named her first born male child Jacob Hagler Overton, which implies that her maiden name is Hagler and Jacob is her Father’s name but could as well be her grandfather, but in this case, I believe he was named after her father.

3.    Article in the Arkansas Democrat, dated 30 Oct 1921, written about Rebecca Ann Overton, the daughter of John Junior and Susannah, states that a Jake (Jacob) Hagler from TN is her grandfather on her mother’s side. The AK article pointed out that Jake lived until he was 112 years old.

4.    Since Rebecca and Susannah were married in Jasper County, GA in 1817, it is highly probable that their father was living in or near GA in 1817.

5.    There was only one Hagler living in GA in 1820 and he was Jacob Hagler who lived in Walton County, GA, and the Census record was (100001/1000101): one male under 10, Jacob 45+, one girl under 10, his wife 45+. Jacob was lived in Henry County (see item 11 below) on the 1830 Census (0001000010000/0000000010–). He and his wife were 60-70 years old and had one boy 15-20 living with them. Is this Jacob Hagler Rebecca and Susannah’s father? (See bullet 12 below)

6.    Rebecca and Susannah both were born in SC, Rebecca in 1798 and Susannah in 1800. This information is supported by information captured on the Census records, but the birth years could be off by +/- one year.

7.    Based on Rebecca and Susannah’s birth, Jacob Hagler had to be living in SC in the late-1790s and early-1800s. In SC there was three Jacob Hagler (or Haigler) living in SC in 1790: Jacob Hagler living in Camden District and Jacob Junior and Jacob Senior living in Orangeburgh. All three Jacob’s were living in SC in 1800 and 1810.  Jacob Senior and Jacob Junior Hagler of Orangeburgh were living in SC in 1820 and 1830 as well as Junior in 1850. This I believe would preclude them from consideration. Jacob of Lancaster’s Census record for 1800 was (12010/0101000): one male under 10, two males 10-15, Jacob 26-44, one girl 10-15, and his wife 26-44). Since Susannah was born in 1800, she would not be included in the Census if she was born after August of 1800 as it appears is the case. Are there other Haglers in 1800 that would fit the required profile? Analyzing the other Hagler Census records in Lancaster in 1800, none have one or two girls under 10. The 1810 Census for Jacob Hagler of Lancaster again fits the correct profile (01010/02010/00) where he has two girls 10-15 years old living at home. There were a lot of Haglers living in Lancaster County and in Mecklenburg County, right across the border in NC, during this period. Jacob was a common name used by the Hagler families. The Jacob of Lancaster on the 1800 and 1810 Census is a possible candidate as he has the right number of girls, and disappeared from Lancaster after 1810.

8.    It is also possible that the Jacob we are looking for lives in another State and moved from SC in 1800.

  a.  If you expand the search for Jacob Hagler to other states in 1800, you find that there is a Jacob Hagler (52010/20101/03) living in Wilkes, NC in 1800 with the correct profile but there are deed records that show him living in Wilkes in 1787, and he was on the 1790 Census (12200) in Wilkes. I believe the fact he was in NC throughout the 1790s, exclude him as a possible candidate.

  b.  There is a Jacob Hagler (14400) living in Mecklenburg, NC, on the 1790 Census, which is close to the SC border. There is also a John Hagler (23600) living in Mecklenburg in 1790 that is believed to be the father of Jacob (page 140, Residents of Mecklenburg County North Carolina 1762-1790 by Kathleen Marler). Looking at the 1800 Census in Mecklenburg, Jacob is not found, but John (21010/0101000) still lives in Mecklenburg in 1800 along with a Philip Hagler (20010/0010000). Where did Jacob go after the 1790 Census? One can assume he died or moved as he was not on 1800, 1810, 1820 Census of Mecklenburg. *See number 9 below for more analysis around this Jacob.

  c.  There is a Jacob (10301/0121000) and John (30110/1211000) Hagler living in Montgomery County, NC in 1800. Montgomery County was created from Anson County in 1778. Both were still living in Montgomery in 1810 as J (Jacob) Hagler (01101/01000/10) and J (John) Hagler (30010/10010/00). John is the son of John & Elizabeth (Van Hooser) Hagler living in Anson County, NC in 1776 and later moved to Wilkes County, NC. There is a Jacob Heglar (0101001000000/0101000100–) on the 1830 Census in West Side Pee Dee River, Montgomery County, NC. This Jacob appears to be too young to be the Jacob on the 1800 Census and is believed to be the son of Jacob Hagler identified above in 1800 living in Montgomery County. The Jacob on the 1800 Census does not fit the profile that we are looking for in that in 1810 he has only one girl listed 10-15 where we should have two listed. It is possible the Census taker recorded the wrong number of girls. Also, for this to be the Jacob we are looking for, we still need to establish his move from SC to TN before or right after the 1800s. He is believed to be the Jacob on the 1820 and 1830 Census in GA and is believed to be the son of John Hagler Senior who settled on Dutch Buffalo Creek in 1765 and died by 1772.

d.    There is a Jacob Haigler Junior (124007) living in Orangeburg District, SC in 1790. In Orangeburg we have Jacob Senior (111014) and Peter (221005) living close to Jacob Junior. Both Haigler’s had Census records in Orangeburg in 1820, and 1830. Since they were still living in SC iin 1830, this would preclude them being the Jacob Hagler we are looking for.

e.    Based on Rebecca Ann (Overton) Hill, see number 9 below, Jacob (Jake) lived in TN before his move to GA. She identified him as Jake of Tennessee. We have a problem in that there does not exist any Census records from TN during that period as they were destroyed for the 1790, 1800, 1810 Census years. Parial Census records for TN are available starting in 1820. On the 1820 Census records is listed a John L. Hagler (100110/10100/0500/200/00000/0—) living in Steward County, TN. He is 26-45 years old. Steward County was created in 1803 from Davison County. I don’t believe this John is John Junior of Mecklenburg as he is too young based on this record, but if you look at the 1830 Census record (000200001–/00110001–) in Stewart County, his age is listed as 60-70 and this could put him within the age range of John Hagler Junior. There appears to be a mistake in the Census record either the 1820 or 1830 record. However, John Senior and Junior (as Heglar) are both on the Cabarrus County, NC 1830 Census. Therefore, this John in Steward must be another John, maybe John of Montogmery, or one of the sons of the Lancaster bunch.

                                       i.  If one looks at the 1830 Census in Stewart County, TN, there is a John Hagler (000200001–/00110001–) listed as 60-70 years old. In the same County is another John J. Hagler (000010–/1001–) who is 20-30 years old and probably the son of the previous John who is 60-70. This makes sense if you look at the 1820 Census in Stewart where you have a John L. Hagler (100110/10100/05002—) listed as 26-45 with one male 16-26 that fits the John J. profile in 1830. There is another John Hagler (0210101000000/201201000000) living in Roane County, TN.

                                       ii. There was a John Hagler’s who served in the War of 1812 in Brown’s Regiment, East TN militia, as a private. This could be the John Hagler in (i) above on the 1830 Census as he would be 42-52 in 1812 as well as the John in Roane County. John was in the same regiment as an Abraham Hagler. There is an Abram Heagler living in Wayne County, TN in 1830 on the Census (0000000010000/00000000100-). He is 50-60 years old and could have served in the War of 1812. Wayne County is about 110 miles south of Steward County and about 230 miles southwest of Roane County.

9.    I would like to return to Jacob Hagler of Mecklenburg County, NC and establish whose son he is for I need to clear up the situation with this bunch. Based on the book Residents of Mecklenburg County NC 1762-1790, there lived a John (I’ll call him John Senior from now own) and Barbara Hagler in Mecklenburg who had two boys: John (a cripple-club foot) and Jacob. John, the cripple and I will call him Junior from now on, married a Catherine Sides and they had six children: Peter, Henry, Leonard, Jacob, Charles, and John. The book also states that John Senior estate was probated in 1772. John Junior witnessed a deed in 1780 and 1783 and bought land in 1786. He was on the Census in 1790 and 1800. Based on the 1800 Census, witness on the deeds (had to be at least 14-16), and when John Senior died, we can estimate John Junior’s birth between 1756 and 1764. This is supported by the 1800 Census of the John (21010/0101000) listed in Mecklenburg where his age is 26-44, or 1756-1774. John Junior would have married the earliest around 1776-1784. On the 1790 Census he had one son over 16 and two under 16 and 5 daughters of any age. If he had a son over 16, then he would have had to marry before 1784, which supports the previous dates of 1776-1784. All of this is to establish who the Jacob was on the 1790 Census. Since John Junior’s son Jacob would have been born at the earliest 1776, he is too young to have a family in 1790.  Therefore I believe that the Jacob on the 1790 Census would have been John Senior’s son and therefore John Junior’s brother. This would mean that Jacob of Mecklenburg was born before 1772. Phillip Hagler is believed to be the brother of Jacob and John Hagler. This is important because this Jacob could also be the Jacob on the 1800/1810 Census in Lancaster.

10.  Based on an article in the Arkansas Democrat dated 30 Oct 1921, Rebecca Ann (Overton) Hill, daughter of John Overton Junior (?), stated that her grandfather on her mother’s side, Jake Hagler of Tennessee, played the fiddle at 112, which I believe is an important time indicator for establishing Jacob’s records. Combine this with another article about Rebecca (Hagler) Overton, wife of James Overton, stated that she and her sister, Susannah lived in Tennessee before moving to GA. Based on this recorded record, I believe you have to assume that before moving to GA that Jacob (Jake) was in TN. The question is when he moved to GA: before 1817 when his daughters married in Jasper County, GA, or when he appeared on the GA Census in 1840.

11.  When looking at the different Census records in GA, you need to keep in mind the following County boundary changes:

  a.  Walton County was created from Jackson County on Dec. 15, 1818 from the Creek lands.

  b.  Newton was created from Jasper, Morgan, and Walton Counties in 1821. Parts of Newton County was added to Jasper in 1822, 1834 (repealed 1841) and 1850, a part of Walton County was added in 1820/21. Part of Jasper County was set off to Morgan County in 1815, part to Newton County in 1821;

  c.  Henry County was organized by an act of the legislature approved Dec. 24, 1821. Portions of Henry County were created from Walton County (1821) and the Creek Lands (1821). Also portions of Henry was created from Newton (1821), DeKalb (1822), Butts (1825), Spalding (1851), Clayton (1858), and Rockdale (1870) Counties.

12.  The Jacob Hagler on the 1820 Census in Walton County, GA (see bullet 5 above) is assumed to be the father of Rebecca and Susannah based on proximity to the Overtons in Walton County and the marriage to the Overton boys in 1817 in Jasper County. We also have Jacob still in the same area in 1830 but now in Henry County on the 1830 Census (0001000010000/000000001–). Henry County was created from part of Walton County. His age was 60-70 and his wife’s age is 60-70. The connection to Rebecca and Susannah is now in question based on the Cagle letters (see 14 below). It appears that this Hagler is married to an Elizabeth Cagle, the sister of Daivd Cagle who also lived in Henry in 1820. The Cagles are from Montgomery County, NC as the letter (see 14 below) implies. The letter is from his brother Benjamin Cagle living in Montgomery County, NC. We had assumed that Jacob’s wife died after 1830 and that he remarried before 1840 and was believed to be the Jacob on the Cobb County 1840 Census with his new wife Kizziah Thomas (born about 1803). Jacob was listed as age 60-70 and his wife as 40-50 on this Census. The problems is that on the 1830 Census he is also listed as 60-70, which indicates either an error by the Census taker or these are two different Jacob Haglers. Based on the letter, it is believed that we are talking about two different Jacob Haglers. If this is the case, then Jacob and Elizabeth could have died after 1830 and before the 1840 Census.

13.  Jacob married in January of 1837 and was on the 1840 Census in Cobb County, GA listed as age 60-70 with his wife, age 50-60. In 1850, Jacob, age 85 born in SC, is living in Murray County, GA with his new wife listed as Keziah, age 45. They were again listed on the 1860 Census in Gordon County, GA. His age was 92 born SC and hers was 57 born GA. Jacob died before the 1870 Census as Kizzah appears alone on the 1870 Census in Gordon County, GA. These records would imply that the statements made by Rebecca Hill (Overton) Hill to the Arkansas Democrat about him playing the fiddle at 112 should be adjusted to say 102. Since Jacob lived to such a ripe old age based on Rebecca’s comments, he was born in SC based on the Census Records, and he is of the right age, I believe there is enough circumstantial evidence to say that the Jacob Hagler in Cobb (1840), Murray (1850) and Gordon (1860) Counties was the father of Rebecca and Susannah.

14.  The Cagle letters raise questions about who is the Jacob in Walton and Henry County. The letters from Benjamin Cagle of Montgomery, NC, to David Cagle of Henry County, GA in 1826 clearly establish the fact that Jacob Hagler married into the Cagles of Montgomery County, NC family and is living near David Cagle in GA. The Jacob mentioned in the letters is married to Elizabeth Cagle, daughter of George Cagle of Montgomery County, NC. There is only one Jacob Hagler living in GA in 1830 and that is in Henry County, which is the same county as the Cagles. It has to be assumed that this Jacob is the Jacob Hagler listed on the 1790 Census in Montgomery. If this is true, then this implies that Jacob moved from Montgomery County, NC sometime after the 1810 Census as he was recorded on the 1800 and 1810 Census in Montgomery County and settled in GA before the 1820 Census.

a. Two letters on the Cagle forum at http://genforum.genealogy.com indicate the relationship between the people in the letter: Rebecca Cagle (wife of George Cagel), Benjamin Cagle (son of George Cagle), David Cagle (son of George Cagle), Elizabeth (Cagle) Hagler (daughter of George Cagle), and Jacob Hagler (husband of Elizabeth (cagle) Hagler).

15.  I believe we have established that the father of Rebecca and Susannah lived in SC in the late 1790s and early 1800s where he had two daughters and then moved to TN for a period of time before moving to GA where his daughters married the Overton boys in 1817. When you look at the Census record of Jacob Hagler of Lancaster in 1800 and 1810 you find that the records fit the profile of our Jacob.   He has one daughter in 1800 and two daughters in 1810 of the right age to be married in 1817. If this is the correct Jacob, then he had to move shortly after the 1810 Census to TN for a few years before moving to GA. The draw to GA was the pull for free land as was the hopes of a lot of pioneers that moved into TN during this time frame. The question has to be asked if the John Hagler of TN in 1820 is related to Jacob, the father of Rebecca and Susannah. Did he move from Stewart, TN where John lived? I believe we have to accept the statements of Rebecca Ann (Overton) Hill, daughter of John Overton Junior, and Rebecca (Hagler) Overton, wife of James Overton, that Jacob lived in TN before moving to GA. This means we are looking for a Jacob Hagler who lived in SC in the late-1790s/early-1800s and moved to TN before moving to GA. I believe we have to establish this as a basic axiom and try to fit our story around these timeframes.

16.  We have two scenarios to work from based on whether the Jacob Hagler on the 1830 Henry County Census is a different Jacob than on the 1840 Cobb County Census, or they are the same person. One other piece of information we need to consider is the children listed on the 1820 and 1830 Census. On the 1820 Census Jacob had one son and one daughter under 10 years old. The daughter disappears from the 1830 Census and may have died since she was so young. The son is listed as 15-20 years old. Based on the age of the children and Elizabeth’s age on the 1830 Census, Elizabeth would have given birth at 40-55 years old. On the 1820 Census she is listed as 45 years of age or older and the boy is listed as less than 10 years old, which implies that if she was just 45 in 1820, the minimum age, she would have at least been 35-39 years old when she gave birth to the boy. Putting the 1820 and 1830 estimates together, we arrive at an age of 39/40 when she gave birth to the boy listed on the 1820 and 1830 Census. This would put the birth year of the boy around 1789/1790. Looking at the 1840 Census records in GA for a Hagler, we have an Abram Hagler living in Troup County (0000000100000/00010010000–) who is near to the correct age, but Abram was living in Troup County in 1830. On the 1850 Census record of Heard County, which was established by an Act of the General GA Assembly in 1831 from parts of Carroll, Coweta, and Troup County, Abram is listed as 64 years old (1786) and born in SC and his wife Mary is listed as 60 years old and born in SC. I believe this is the son of Jacob of Lancaster. There is a Phillip Hagler on the 1840 Census (1100100000000/1000100000–) in Talbot County who is 20-30 years old. Phillip does not appear on earlier Census in GA but does appears on the 1860 Census in Marion County, GA where he is listed as age 47, born 1813, in NC. Phillip could be the son of Jacob Hagler of Montgomery County, NC, who is listed on the 1820 and 1830 Census.

17.  On the 1840 Census we find a Paul Hageler (0000000010000/00000000010–) living next to John Overton Junior. This Paul is 60-70 years old and would be old enough to have lived in SC when John Senior lived there, but proof as to his birth place is not possible as he appears to have died before the 1850 Census. There were two Paul Helger’s living in Lancaster, SC in 1800 and both Paul’s are of the same age but one (10110/0001000) fits better the 1840 record based on his wife’s age. For example, his wife was 70-80 (1760-1770) in 1840 and was 26-44 (1756-1774) in 1800, which implies that she was born 1760-1770. This Paul would have been born 1770-1780, which better fits the profile of the Paul Hagler on the 1800, 1810, and 1820 Census in Lancaster County, SC. It also fits the profile of Paul Hagler in the 1840 Census for Fayette County, GA. There is a Paul Hagler (0000000010000/000000000100-) in Campbell County, GA in 1830 but this Census has his age as 60-70 and his wife’s age as 70-80, which is the same as the 1840 Census. Paul received the land through the Georgia Cherokee Land Lottery of 1832 (Number 201, District: 7^th District, 1^st Section, Cherokee, Residence: Woodruff’s, County: Campbell). It appears Paul left SC and moved to GA to take advantage of the land lottery. He probably lived with someone for a few years to establish himself as a GA resident and to qualify for the GA lottery. Because Paul disappeared from SC in 1820, it is possible that the Paul on the 1830 Census in Campbell is the same Paul. John Overton Junior also lived in Campbell County, GA in 1830.

  a.  This Paul is of the right age to have been the son of the John Hagler who received land on Dutch Buffalo Creek in 1765 and died in 1772.  If this is the case, then Paul would have been born 1770-1772. Paul sold land in 1817 in Lancaster County, SC and his wife’s name was Elizabeth.

 b.   It is possible that Paul is the son of Jacob Hagler of Montogmery County, NC, but do not have the data to support this theory.

c.    The relationship between Susannah (Hagler) Overton who was born 1800 and Paul who was born 1770-1780 and due to the age difference, about 20+ years, Paul is more than likely her uncle.

                                       i.   Jacob’s 1810 Census in Lancaster list his son’s age 10-15 and his daughter’s age 10-15, which implies that these children were born within 5 years of each other. If the Jacob Hagler on the 1800 Census in Lancaster is the same Jacob as on the 1810 Census, he has 4 children listed with the oldest male 10-15. This would imply that his oldest child on this Census was born after 1785 but before 1790, which is too young to be Paul.

                                       ii.  Jacob was born about 1768 based on the GA Census records, which means he could have married at the earliest about 1786-1789. His oldest child on the 1800 Census is estimated to be born 1785-1790, and more than likely 1786-1789. Based on this, we can assume with some confidence that Paul was not Susannaha’s brother, but more than likely her uncle.

                                       iii. Can the Jacob Hagler of Montogmery County be Paul’s father? Jacob had three sons age 16-25 in 1800. This would imply that their birth dates could fall between 1775 and 1784, which falls within Pau’s birth dates of 1770-1780, so it is possible.

d.   Overton’s receiving land in the GA lottery was Abijah (Newton County) and James Overton (Henry County) received land in the 1832 lottery. There was also an Arnold (Walton County) and a Thomas (Taliaferro County) Overton that received land in the lottery in 1832. Abraham Haglar received land in Troup County in the 1827 lottery along with an Aaron S. Overton receiving land in Lee County and Gilcrest Overton in Troup County. John Overton Senior and James Overton received land in the 1820 Georgia Land Lottery.

18.  Abram Hagler living in Heard County, GA in 1850 is of the age to be Jacob of Lancaster’s son. ON the 1850 Census he was listed as 64 years of age, or born about 1786, in SC. Mary Hagler is identified as his wife; age 60 and born in SC. He is listed as a farmer. The following is an attempt track this Abram back in time:

a.    Going back to the 1800 Census in SC, there is an Abram Hagler on the 1800 Census of Lancaster County, SC who is 26-44 with a wife 45 and older. There are three children listed (one boy under 10 and one 26-44 and one girl 16-25). On the 1810 Census of Lancaster County, SC, Abram is over 45 years old. He has four children (one boy and three girls under 10) and one woman 16-25 living with him. He disappears from the 1820 Census but there is a younger Abram on the Census who is 16-26, born 1794-1804, with a wife 16-26 with one girl under 10. The older Abram disappeared from the Lancaster Census before 1820 and the younger one disappeared after 1820. Did the older Abram die or move and if he moved and the younger also moved, where did they go?

b.    There is an Abraham Haigler on the 1830 Census in Captain John B Stong Township, Troup County, GA listed with his wife as 30-40 years old with two girls, ages 5-10 and 10-15.  This would be the Abraham Haglar who received land in Troup County in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery. He is listed again on the 1840 Census in Troup County, GA and listed as 50-60 years old with a wife 40-50 years old with one child listed as 15-20. This Abram would be born 1780-1790, which is in the age range of the Abram we are tracking and believed to be the same Abram as above described in item 16 above.

c.    Looking for Abram (Abraham) in 1830 living outside of SC and GA, we find two Abrams, one living in Ross County, Ohio (1112001000000/0001010–), age 40-50, born 1780-1790, and one (named Abraham) living in Wayne County, TN (He and his wife are 60-70 years old, born 1760-1770, with no children). The Abram in Ohio fits the correct age but do not believe he is the Abram in Lancaster in 1800.

19.  James Overton was in the GA militia (Wimberly’s 3rd Regiment) and served in the War of 1812. There are no records that John Overton Junior served in the War of 1812. John Junior married Susannah Hagler in November of 1817 a couple years after the war in Jasper County. James followed suite shortly afterwards marring Susannah’s older sister Rebecca Hagler in December of 1817 also in Jasper County. Rebecca was five years younger than James. Susannah was about 2-3 years older than John, and John was about 15 when he married, which would make her about 17 years old. John Junior was on the 1820 Census in Walton County (200100/11100010–), which was created from the Creek Lands in 1818 and part of the GA Land Lottery. John Junior did not receive this land through the Lottery; at least I cannot find any such records. John Senior and his son James Overton received land in Walton County through the 1821 Georgia Land Lottery and were on the 1820 Census in Walton County. John Senior lived about 52 families from John Junior (Senior was listed near the bottom of page 258 of the Census and Junior at the bottom of page 260). It is possible that John Junior lived at the opposite end of John Senior’s property and separated such that they would be counted apart on the Census, but this is pure speculation. How did John Junior get the property: did he buy it from someone who won a piece of property but then sold it, did his father carve out a piece of his property and give it to him, or did John Junior win the Lottery but not appear on any Lottery list? John lives next to Elizabeth Day (000100/00101/010). John Senior’s youngest daughter, Mary, married a William Day. There were several Haglers that served in the GA militia in the War of 1812. a.) Private Garland Hagler serving in the 3^rd Regiment (Wimberly’s) with James Overton. b.)  Private David Hagler serving in Wootton’s detachment. c.) Private John Hagler serving in the 2^nd Regiment (Thomas).

20.  Susannah and Rebecca’s father, Jacob Hagler, is not to found in GA records throughout the 1820s and 30s. This assumes that the Jacob on the 1820 and 1830 Census in Walton County is not him. Jacob appeared in the records of GA in January of 1837 when he married Kizziah Thomas, born 1780-1790, in GA and appeared next in the 1840 Census in Cobb County, GA and again in Gordon County, GA with Kizziah when he was 92 and she was 57. It is assumed that he died before the 1850 Census as such record cannot be found, or he could have been living with someone due to his advanced age. His age would support the recollections of Rebecca Ann Hill in the Arkansas Democrat. We need to research the records of other states (i.e., TN, SC, PA, NC etc) to determine where Jacob was during the 1820s and 1830s. Based on circumstantial information (Arkansas Democrat), he was probably still in TN or if in GA was living with someone.

21.  It appears that Paul Hagler, who could be Jacob’s brother, moved to GA in the 1830s from SC to take advantage of the GA Land Lottery where he won a piece of land in Campbell County in 1832 through the lottery. Campbell County was created from Carroll and Coweta Counties in 1828. Paul sold the land and bought land adjacent to John and Susannah Overton who also had moved from Campbell to Fayette County, GA by 1840. Paul disappeared from Fayette by the next Census in 1850, and it is assumed he died before the 1850 Census. It is also assumed that Abram moved to GA from SC for the same reason as Paul, which was to obtain land in the GA lottery. He won a piece of land in Troup County in the same 1832 lottery as Paul. It would appear that Paul and Abram moved from SC together to take advantage of the 1832 GA Land Lottery. They would have had to move to GA by 1829 to be eligible for the drawing because of the 3 year residency requirement. Paul sold the land in Campbell County soon after winning it in the lottery and moved to Fayette County. He bought a piece of land next door to John Overton Junior in Fayette County. John also had sold his land in Campbell County where he lived as of the 1830 Census and moved to Fayette County. Both were identified on the 1840 Census living next to each other.

I hired Brent Howard Holcomb, editor of The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research and a renowned Genealogist, to research the South Carolina records for my 6g-grand father, John Overton, who lived in South Carolina between 1795 and 1815. The letters below are the results of Mr. Holcomb’s research.

Thomas Jefferson High School band competition in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2006.

John Overton Senior first appeared in the 1800 Census in Kershaw District, South Carolina. He was over 40 years old in 1800. Searching through the historical records has not turned up any record of John prior to his appearance on the 1800 Census in Kershaw District. Kershaw was created from Lancaster District in 1791. John next appeared on the 1810 Census in Lancaster District, South Carolina. This implies that he moved between 1800 and 1810 and moved north back toward North Carolina. John next appeared on the 1820 Census in Walton County, Georgia. Sometime after 1810, John moved his family to Georgia probably drawn by the free land that was being made available to war veterans through the Georgia land Lotteries that came about due to the seizing of Indian lands in Georgia by the state. He appeared on subsequent Census records in Georgia until his death sometime after 1840.

On the 1800 Census in Kershaw District, John had two boys under ten years old living at home, assumed to be Henry born 1792 and James born 1794, and on the 1810 Census he had three boys, assumed to be Henry and James ages listed as 10-15 years old, and John age under 10 years old. What is interesting about John Junior’s age is that on future Census records his birth place was listed as North Carolina. If his birth place was recorded correctly by the Census takers, this would imply that John Senior’s wife was in North Carolina to give birth to John some time between the 1800 and 1810 Census. Based on the 1800 and 1810 Census, we know that John moved his family after 1800. Given that John Junior was born in North Carolina around 1802 and the fact that John Senior had moved between 1800 and 1810, we can assume that he traveled to North Carolina before moving to Lancaster after leaving Kershaw.

What evidence exists for John Junior’s birth date? On researching the Census records from 1810 to 1850, the best fit for his birth date was around 1802. The 1850 Census listed his age as 48 and would place his birth around 1802 and consistent with prior census records, but in the Census of 1860 his age was listed as 68 and would place his birth around 1792 and not consistent with any prior Census records. If you believe that the 1860 Census is correct then you have to believe that all the other Census records were wrong, and then the question comes up, where was John Junior in 1800 for he was not with his father in Kershaw? Because the 1800 Census only listed two boys under ten years old and we know Henry and James’s birth dates were prior to 1800, we have to believe that the 68 years old age for John on the 1860 Census was wrong, which implies based on the other Census records that he was born around 1802.

Another puzzle that must be answered before a full picture can be given for John Senior’s movements at the beginning of the 1800s is what was John Senior’s wife’s maiden name? The theory is that her maiden name is Price. This has been a long held belief by most Overton genealogist and is based on the fact that John Senior’s daughter left a Will where she signed it Jane Price Baker, which implies that her given names were Jane Price. It was customary during those times that when giving a child a second given name, especially a daughter, the wife would give the child’s name her maiden name. This practice was followed by John Junior in naming his first born, Jacob Hagler Overton, after his father-in-law, Jacob Hagler. Based on these two pieces of circumstantial evidence, there is little doubt that John’s wife’s maiden name was Price. Some also believe that her given name was Jane, but I have doubts about this fact, for I believe it could as well be Mary or Elizabeth. We will look at this possibility later on in the analysis.

I would like to analyze the records as to the father-in-laws potential given names. A clue I believe lies in how John Senior named his children. The first and second born males were named Henry and James. One of the customs was to name the first and second born after one of the father, father-in-law or grandfathers and most of the time it was for the mother’s father or grandfather. If this tradition was followed as it was with the daughter, it is possible that the father and grandfather’s name of John’s wife was Henry and James. Who was which has yet to be resolved but knowing this much information will allow us to focus on finding a Henry and James Price that could be linked to John’s wife. We can unravel who gets which name when we find the link.

Using this information as a possible lead, we will first assume that the father-in-law was a Henry. But keep in mind that his name could also be James as well. A major problem with searching for a particular Price in a sea of Prices as is the case with a common name like Price is distinguishing the Price clans from each other. There were a lot of Prices living in North Carolina in the late 1700 and early 1800s but in our favor was the fact that there were very few of the Price families with the given names of Henry or Jane Prices and this would help narrow down the Price connections.

Looking at the 1790 Census, we find one Henry Price living in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina right across the border from Lancaster District, South Carolina. In fact there were six Price families in 1790 living in Mecklenburg County. Heads of the families were Isaac, James, two Johns, Robert, and Henry Price. This Henry Price existed on the 1790 Census as well as on the 1810 Census in Mecklenburg County but was absent on the 1800 Census. He disappeared after the 1810 Census and we have to assume he died.

What are the characteristics of this Henry? In 1790 Henry lived with his wife and three daughters. In 1810, Henry being over forty years old and his wife, who was 26-44 years old, had six boys (three under 10 and three 10-15) and had three girls (two under 10 and one 10-15) living with them. The fact that his wife could not be older than 44 creates a problem if John’s wife was born around 1772-1775, which is the best guess as to her birth. It is possible that this was his second wife and not the mother of John’s wife. Henry would have been born before 1770 but based on his wife’s age; I believe we must conclude that this Henry was too young to be John’s wife’s father but could by her brother or cousin.

What are the characteristics of the James Price who exists on the 1790 and 1800 Census in Mecklenburg County? James had three boys under 16 years old and five women living in his household in 1790. In 1800 James being older than forth-five years old had one son age 16-25 and one female under ten year’s old living with him. We have to assume that his wife was dead at this point. To be older than forty-five, James had to be born before 1755. Given that the oldest estimate for John’s wife’s birth is 1772, it is plausible that James Price is the father in-law but we clearly need more evidence before such a decision could be made.

The case for John’s wife’s parents living in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina is purely speculative and only one of many possible scenarios. What is almost certain is that John Junior was born in North Carolina sometime after 1800 and that John Senior was in North Carolina for a short period of time between 1800 and 1810 and more than likely around 1802 right after the 1800 Census.

If we consider that Henry is actually the grandfather’s name and knowing that John’s wife was born around 1770, then her grandfather would have been born around the 1720s. Searching for a Henry Price born in the 1720s, we find records on the web site www.ancestry.com that list a Henry Price born in 1725 with a wife named Tabitha living in Beaufort County, North Carolina. They have four daughters: Nancy born 1760, Milley born 1762, Fanny born 1766, and Henry born 1766. They were all born in Beaufort County. On further searches I find that they had another son named Reddick Price. On searching for family trees on the ancestry web site, I find a reference to a Reddick and Henry Price living in Anson County, North Carolina and listed on the 1800 Anson County Census. What is really interesting is that Anson County is next to Lancaster District. Reddick lived in Dobbs County, North Carolina prior to the 1800 Census and is found on the 1790 Census there along with several other Price families that wind up in Anson County with Reddick after 1800. Reddick was originally from Beaufort County. As interesting as this may be, there is no evidence beyond the speculation that a Henry Price is the grandfather of John’s wife. We will need more proof to make any sense out these facts and determine if these Price families both in Mecklenburg and Anson Counties in North Carolina have any connection to John’s wife and a possible reason for his trip to North Carolina after the 1800 Census.

To understand the connection back to the Henry Price in Beaufort, we must first solve the mystery of the two girls on the 1800 Kershaw Census with John and his family. The girls are listed as being under ten years of age on the 1800 Census, and on the 1810 Lancaster Census they are listed as 10-15 and 16-25 years old. So who are these girls if John’s natural daughters were born after 1800?

When we examine the 1810 Census record, we see that John now has four boys and five girls living at home. The four boys are Henry, James, John Junior, and now Abijah who was born in 1805. Two of the five girls are the known daughters of John which are Jane Price whose date we will analyze below and Bersheba who was born around 1805.

Two dates have been proposed for Jane’s birth date: one is around 1792 and the other is around 1804. To resolve this question, we must first examine the Census records for clues. The latest Census record for Jane is the 1850 Fayette County, Georgia Census that list her age as 78, which would make her birth date around 1772. This age creates a problem for non of the prior Census records agree with it. The 1840 Fayette County Census lists her age as 20-30 years old. This would make her birth date fall between 1810 and 1820. Now the problem with this date is that Jane had a daughter, Mahala Overton, out of wedlock who was born around 1820 based on the Census records. Given Mahala’s birth date, Jane would have to be born before 1807, since in 1807 she would have been at least 13 years old by 1820. On the 1830 Census Jane’s age is listed as 20-30 years old and would make her birth date fall between 1800 and 1807 and fit better with having a daughter born in 1820. Because Jane had a daughter out of wedlock, we probably can assume that Jane was very young when she had Mahala. The name Mahala sounds like an Indian name and raises questions about why she would have been named such but that is for another analysis. What all of this tells us is that Jane was probably born around 1804 take a year of two either direction. I believe what we can say is that two of the three girls listed on the 1810 Census as less than ten years old were Bersheba and Jane Price Overton. This leaves one girl under 10 still unaccounted for and the other two girls ages 10-15 and 16-25. The last two are our two mystery girls.

Looking at the 1820 Walton County Census for John Senior, we see that John has two boys at home ages 10-16 and 16-18 and three girls: two were 10-16 years old and one was 16-26 years old. Focusing on the girls, I believe one of the girls 10-16 is Bersheba who would be about 15 years old and the other would be Mary Overton, who was John’s youngest daughter and born around 1814. I believe the Census taker incorrectly wrote down Mary’s age. The other girl 16-26 is probably Jane who would be about 16 years old. Remember that Jane had a daughter, Mahala, who was born around 1820, so Jane was probably pregnant or had just given birth. The official enumeration day of the 1820 census was 7 August 1820. All questions asked were supposed to refer to that date. The Census was due within six months, but the due date was extended by law to allow completion within thirteen months. What this means is that if Mahala was born in 1820 but after 7 August 1820 and the Census taker was following the law, she would not be counted for the purposes of the Census and would not appear on the Census record.

The only children unaccounted for on John’s Census records are the two mystery girls and the one girl under ten years old on the 1810 Census. Henry, John’s eldest son, did not mention the two girls or the younger one in his Will dated 12 December 1853 where he listed all of his brothers and sisters. Based on the analysis so far, one has to conclude that some were not John’s children or that they died before Henry’s Will. So whose children were they? A good guess would be that they were his wife’s relation and probably her sisters or cousins. It was common in those days that a new mother would bring a younger sister along to help her maintain the household, especially with the young children. Another possibility is that her father or brother died and left the girls in her care. So it would not be reaching too far to assume that the girls were related in some way to John’s wife. What evidence exists to support this theory?

If they were John’s wife’s sisters or cousins then their last name would have been Price and more than likely they would have married before they moved to Georgia in 1814. In 1814 the girls would have been around 20 years old. They were not on the 1820 Census, so they must have married sometime between 1810 and 1820. Searching the marriage list in South Carolina, I found one possible candidate. A Tabitha Price who was born in 1792 in South Carolina and married in 1812 in South Carolina a Mathias Turner who was born in 1787 in South Carolina. The only record I can find on this couple after their marriage is the 1850 Census in Cass County, Georgia and listed as children are a James (born 1830), Mathias (born 1832), Bersheba (born 1836), Tabatha (born 1837) and Mary (born 1838). Interesting coincidence wouldn’t you say? To reinforce this coincidence, if you look at James, John’s second born, he named his first child Tabitha. Since James and Tabitha Price were about the same age growing up together in South Carolina, I am sure they developed some very tight bonds as those developed by a brother and sister. The above circumstantial evidence is fairly strong that given the entire coincidences one has to believe that Tabitha is one of the girls living with John Senior in South Carolina. The fact that she named her first born James and her first born daughter Bersheba and James naming one of his daughters Tabitha, along with John’s wife being a Price and all of them living close to each other from South Carolina to Georgia just adds to the belief she was the young girl on the 1800 Census. Tabitha and Mathias moved to Georgia after their marriage and close to the same time as John Senior and probably for the same reasons to take advantage of the Georgia Land Lotteries.

I believe that we have solved the mystery of one of the girls, and this reinforces the theory that they were John’s wife’s sisters or first cousins. This also reinforces the theory that John’s wife’s maiden name was Price.

Tabitha would have been the eldest of the two Price sisters. The other sister would have been born around 1795, three years after Tabitha. Since Tabitha was married in 1812 right before the move to Georgia, I suspect that the younger sister married after the move. Since she was not on the John Senior’s 1820 Census, she had to marry sometime between 1814 and 1820 or was living with Tabitha. The only Price that fits the profile is a Margaret Price born around 1795 in South Carolina who married a Benjamin Levy on November 5, 1829 in Henry County, Georgia, which was where James Overton lived based on the 1830 Henry County Census. Listed on the 1800 De Kalb County Census was Margaret and her husband. De Kalb was the county next to Henry County where James lived and borders the Cherokee Lands. I proposed Margaret as the second young girl on the 1800 Census only to complete the analysis but there is really no evidence that supports this conclusion.

I believe the important point is that we have established Tabitha as one of the girls. However, there is still the puzzle of Tabitha being born in South Carolina in 1792 instead of North Carolina. Does John’s move to South Carolina before 1800 have anything to do with Tabitha and her sister? Could it be that John’s wife’s brother or father died while living in South Carolina and John moved to Kershaw to take care of her family? There are a lot of unanswered questions that need answered to better understand John’s movements.

I believe that we have solved the mystery of at least one of the two girls. The young girl less than ten years old on the Lancaster District 1810 Census is still not solved. However, not knowing who she is does not invalidate the above analysis and findings and will have to wait until more information is available to solve the puzzle.

I don’t believe there is any doubt that John’s wife’s maiden name is Price based on the above analysis. It has been the tradition of Overton researchers that John’s wife’s name was Jane based on her naming her first daughter Jane Price. For all we know, she could have been naming her first daughter after her own mother. My next step will be to explore the circumstantial evidence that will either support or disprove this?

Based on the above analysis we found several names related to the potential Price families of John’s wife and those are Henry, Jane, Tabitha, and maybe Margaret. We believe that we have shown that Tabitha was probably John’s wife’s sister or at least first cousin. There is some evidence that Henry could be John’s wife’s grandfather or father and the name Jane could be either her name or her mother’s name.

We will start by exploring John’s children and how they named their daughters and list them in order of birth. Henry, the eldest son, had no children. James had five daughters and named them Tabitha Eleanor, Julian Frances, Martha Caroline, Mary Elizabeth, and Angelina Jane. John had three daughters and named them Masaba, Arminda, and Louisa Mary Elizabeth. Abijah the youngest son had seven daughters and named them Mary Jane, Sophronia Julia, Elizabeth, Frances Ann, Louisa Elizabeth, Virginia Milly, and Millicent Milly. The common name across all three sons is Mary and Elizabeth. What about John’s daughters? Jane had one daughter out of wedlock and named her Mahala. Bersheba had four daughters and named them Rebecca, Francis, Mary, and Nelly. I have no record of the youngest daughter having children. If we assume for the moment that the tradition was to name at least one daughter after the mother, we are left with three possible names: Mary, Elizabeth, and Jane. The name Jane was used by James and Abijah but only as the second given name and not first. To begin our search we will assume that John’s wife’s name was Mary, Elizabeth, or Jane Price, or some combination of these names.

We will assume that John’s wife’s father is a Henry or James and that her mother is a Mary, Jane, Tabitha, or Margaret. I have found on earlier searches the records of Henry and Tabitha Price in Beaufort County, North Carolina who had five known daughters, and they were Higana (b. 1758), Nancy (b. 1760), Milley (b. 1762), Mary (b. 1764), and Fanny (b. 1766), and they had six sons named Martin (b. 1752), William (b. 1752), John (b. 1754), Manuel (b. 1756), Henry (b. 1767) and Reddick (b. 1770). There was one reference to a son Thomas Price. There could be more children, but this was all I could find in the records.

Henry had a brother named William Price (b. 1728 in Beaufort County) who married a Mary Ann Marget and had six children: William (b. 1748), Mary (b. 1749), Absolom (b. 1751), Elizabeth (b. 1753), Allis (b. 1755), and Luceresha (b. 1757) all born in Beaufort County.

Since Reddick is such a unique name we would not expect to find many Reddick Prices living in North Carolina. In 1790 there is only one Redick Price living in Dobbs County, North Carolina, in 1800 there is one Reddick Price living in Fayette township, Anson County, and in 1810, 1820, and 1830 there is only one Rederick Price living in Anson County. When we search the 1840 Census we find only one Rdick Price Junior living in Anson County who is probably Reddick’s son. What is interesting is that Henry Price is on the same Census record as Reddick on the 1800 Census in Anson County. Anson County is next to Lancaster County, South Carolina. Note that there is a Henry on the 1790 and 1810 Census but not the 1800 Census in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Is this the same Henry Price that is in the 1800 Anson Census? I don’t believe there is any evidence to support this hypothesis.

There are seven Price families in Dobbs County in 1790 with Reddick. They are Absalom, John, John, Nathan, Thomas, and another Thomas. I would assume that some are related to Reddick and probably Thomas. I contacted the sponsor of the Price family tree on ancestry.com and she established that Reddick, Henry, and Thomas were brothers. She was not sure of the other Price families in Dobbs. Thomas moved from Dobbs County to Anson County after 1800. Absolom is the son of William Price the brother of Henry Price.

Reddick moved from Dobbs County after the 1790 Census and settle permanently in Anson County until his death sometime before 1830. In 1790 there were no Price families living in Anson County based on the 1790 Census and by 1800 there were three families, Reddick, Henry, and Drury (101000…) living in Fayetteville Township in Anson County and by 1810 there are Benjn, Rederick, and Thos and by 1820 there are Riddick, Elizah, Thomas, Joseph, Mary, and Abraham Price. Reddick disappears from the Census after 1820.

Based on the 1800 Census in Kershaw District, South Carolina, John’s wife’s age was 26-44 years old. This implies that her birth date had to fall between 1756 and 1774. These dates are consistent with the 1810 and 1820 Census if you estimate her birth date was prior to 1764. The 1830 Census in Newton County, Georgia has her age between 50 and 60 years old that places her birth between 1770 and 1780, which is outside the previous estimation of 1756 to 1764. If you assume that 1810 Census was in error, then you would end up with an estimate between 1770 and 1774 to be consistent with the 1800, 1820, and 1830 Census. Her youngest child, Mary, was born in 1814. If John’s wife was born before 1764, this would mean she was still having children when she was at least fifty years old. If she was born in 1774, then she was still having children when she was around forty years old. It would not be impossible for her to have children when she was older than fifty but highly unlikely, which implies that she would be closer to forty years old and probably born between 1770 and 1774. If the date of 1764 for Mary Price was correct, then we have to assume that John’s wife is not Mary Price who was born in 1764 in Beaufort County, North Carolina. If on the other hand, the 1800 Census estimate of 1756 to 1764 for John’s wife was correct, then this Mary Price could well be John’s wife.

Hence, none of the girls in Henry’s family are in the range of John’s wife unless you accept the earlier date range of 1756 to 1764 for her birth date. Henry was born about 1725 in Beaufort County, North Carolina and his father was a John Price who was born around 1700 in Bath County and died in Beaufort County in 1765 and Henry’s mother was a Martha. So far none of my research has turned up a Jane Price in North Carolina that could be either John’s wife or his wife’s mother. If Henry Beaufort was John’s wife’s father, then her mother would be named Tabatha. Henry’s father and mother were John and Martha Price.

I believe the following hypotheses to be possible based on the above analysis: Tabitha Price is one of the girls living with John in 1800, Tabitha is related to the Henry Price clan from Beaufort County, and the two girls living with John in South Carolina in 1800 were cousins of John’s wife. Since Henry and Reddick lived in the county next to Lancaster County where John Overton lived, it is plausible that John’s wife was related to this Price clan and that they had contact during this period. Despite the lack of solid evidence that connects John’s wife as a child of Henry Price, there is enough circumstantial evidence to indicate that she was related to this clan. Price was and is a very common name and tracking the Price ancestry in the 1700s is almost impossible with certainty.

If John’s wife was from Beaufort County, then John would have married her near Beaufort around 1790, which gives me a starting point to look for something that would indicate his presences in that area. Since John’s sons, Henry and James, were born in North Carolina starting in 1792 through 1794, I would expect to find John in North Carolina between 1790 and 1795. John was born between 1756 and 1760, which means that during the Revolutionary War he would have been a teenager in the early years of the war and probably too young to fight, but as the war dragged on into the late 1700s, especially during British campaigns through South and North Carolina around 1780, he would have been old enough to fight in the war. If he was living in North Carolina during this period, he would have been in the militia, which was required of able bodied men during those years. There were quite a few John Overtons listed as soldiers during the war but identifying him in the list is almost impossible since all that was recorded was a name, state, and rank. He could not write, since he signed his will with an “x”, and this would imply that he was an enlisted man and not an officer, which narrows down the list but not enough. Assuming he was in the North Carolina militia in the late 1700s until the end of the war, his whereabouts after the war as a single man makes it extremely difficult to find him because he was probably living with a relative or friend or off fighting the Indians in Kentucky. He probably married after the 1790 Census while in North Carolina, and as a single man during the Census, he would probably be living with relatives or friends, and if this is the case, his name would not appear on the Census. The only record that we might find on him is a taxable record given that he was of age. He spent about five years after his marriage in North Carolina and between 1795 and 1799 moved to South Carolina with two sons.

I believe this connection to this Price clan can lead us to where John Overton was prior to 1800. If John and his wife were married around 1790, which is highly likely seeing that their first born was born around 1792 in North Carolina. The above analysis indicates that there exists a possibility that John could have been in Mecklenburg, Anson, Dobbs (Greene) or Beaufort Counties during the 1790s.