Dec. 31, 2008-Jordan and Manning Store

On November 1, 2008 I told you a few things about the William Manning family. I mentioned that Thomas Manning was a merchant and one of the owners of the Jordan and Manning store in Guntersville, Marshall county, Alabama. Well, just this morning I received this photo from a Manning cousin in Oklahoma. This is the Jordan and Manning store. I thought you would like to see it.

These old photos are fun to look at. I am always interested in seeing folks standing around outside a building. This photo looks like they came out just to have the photo taken. Looks like a horse off to the right under the tree. I think its also interesting that all the men look dressed up. This is a great photo.

Dec. 24, 2008-Marjamin Manning-Report from Milledgeville Insane Asylum

On several other posts, I have written about Marjamin Manning and his death at the Milledgeville Insane Asylum in Baldwin County, GA. You may recall that I had written to the hospital to find out if he was buried there and they verified that he was grave 043 in one of their cemeteries. I also requested information about him and why he was there. It has taken a while, but yesterday I received the information. It is only one paragraph, but it clearly discloses the sad information about him. He was received at Milledgeville on Aug. 6, 1881 and died there on May 16, 1882. What follows is a transcription of the information I received which came from the Georgia State Archives in Atlanta, GA.

Transcription of Report
Of
Milledgeville Insane Asylum
Regarding
Marjamin Manning
1881

Mr. Marjamin Manning.

Lunatic from Dawson County Ga. Age 77 years. Married. Occupation farmer. Duration of this attack about 12 months. Causes supposed to be whiskey. No hereditary tendency known. Will do mischief with fire. Very violent. ...... His principal delusion is that he is Jesus Christ. Very obscene and profane. Destructive to clothing. Left eye out. General health very feeble. Sleeps but very little. Eats satisfactorily.

Received 6th Aug 1881

Addrep?
Mr. W. R. Sluder
Dawsonville, Ga.

I guess there's not much more to say about Marjamin. It is sad even these 126 years later to learn that one of your ancestors went through something like he did.

Dec. 6, 2008-Robert Manning 1778-1854

I seem to keep jumping from one generation of Mannings to another. The reason being that as I continue to research the Manning family, new information emerges that sends me in a different direction. Robert Manning is the son of our first generation of Mannings. His parents were Thomas Manning and Elizabeth Read. His siblings were Thomas J. Manning, William Manning, Catherine "Catey" Manning, Elizabeth Manning and Mary Polly Manning.

I have previously written about Robert's brother Thomas J. Manning whom is my direct ancestor. He was married to Elizabeth Beck. His son Thomas Manning who was married to Jane Stewart had a son, Dr. Thomas J. Manning. It is Dr. Manning who is my great, great grandfather.

I have also written about William Manning. He married Nancy Thomas and they migrated to Marshall County, Alabama. Their son Thomas M. Manning had children: one who married a Mr. Roden who died at the Buck Island Massacre, another who married a Mr. Rollings who killed William Manning, another who shot off the leg of one husband. It was on November 1, 2008 that I told you a little about them.

I haven't found out much about the sisters of Robert, Thomas and William. Today, I will tell you about Robert Manning. He was born in 1778 in York, SC. He married Mary Ann, but I don't know her last name. Robert was a planter, meaning plantation owner, in York. On the 1850 York, SC Slave Schedule, Robert is shown to have owned 22 slaves ranging in age from 2 - 80.
Robert appears on census from 1820 until 1850. On the 1860 census, his wife Mary A. Manning is the head of the household and a widow. Five of her children live with her. The census shows the value of Mary's real estate to be $8000. and the value of the personal estate to be $19,999.

In his will which was proven November 30, 1854 Robert names all his children, leaves everything to his wife Mary Ann Manning and leaves $1.00 to each of his sons-in-law. The following is the transcription of his will.

York County SC Will Book 3 1840-1862

Pages 307-309: South Carolina, York District. Will of Robert Manning of York District, planter on Broad River and Kings Creek....to my beloved wife Mary Ann Manning all this tract of land where I now live with the household and kitchen furniture and farming utensils and seven negroes: Charles, Dick, Sarah, Jackoles, Pickens, Margare, Ann, to hold during her natural life then to go to my six sons:
Joseph B. Manning
Thomas W. Manning
Robert L. Manning
John M. Manning
William C. Manning
Commodore P. Manning
I give to my daughter Sarah C. Hill one negroe named Vina. To my daughter Jane C. Kennedy one negroe girl named Eliza. To my daughter Levina R. Carpenter one negro girl named Susy. To my daughter Mary M. Manning one negroe (not named). I leave five negroes to be sold at my death by my executor with all notes, money and debts to pay my just debts. The negroes to be sold are Lewis, Suckey, Giles, Pickens, Jim. To my wife Mary all my stock of every kind during her life then to be equally divided between my six sons and my interest in a tract of land of Thomas Manning deed on Bogan's branch to be equally divided between my six sons. I give to Alexander Hill my son in law $1. I give to Madison Hambright my son in law $1, also John Kennedy $1, also to Isaac Carpenter $1. I appoint Joseph B. Manning sole executor, 15 ___1854. Robert Manning (LS), Wit: R. W. Hughs, Eli McDaniel, Morgan Martin. Proved by the oath of R. W. Hughs and Eli McDaniel 30 Nov 1854. Qualified Jos. B. Manning as executor 30 Nov 1854.

In my next posting, I will give information about the children of Robert Manning.

Addendum: Dec. 24, 2008-I haven't learned much about the children of Robert Manning. So, I will wait until I have more information and then tell you about them.

Dec. 6, 2008-Cathryn Manning, sister of Thomas Manning

Since starting this blog, I have written a good bit about the various Thomas Mannings. On September 13, 2008 I wrote about Marjamin Manning, brother of Thomas Manning (1802-1889). Today I will discuss their sister, Cathryn Manning (1805-1876 ). Cathryn, Thomas and Marjamin are the children of Thomas Manning (1776-1844) and Elizabeth Beck. Thomas (1802) migrated to Walker County, Georgia. Marjamin migrated to Hall County, Georgia and finally to Dawson County, Georgia. Cathryn migrated to Pike County, Missouri.

Cathryn married Lorenzo Dow Scoggins about 1825. Lorenzo appears on the 1830 Census in York County, South Carolina with two children under age 5, one male 20-30 and one female 20-30. In 1840, Cathryn and Lorenzo were in Peno Township, Pike County, Missouri with six children. In 1850, they were in Pike County with six children in their household. Also in the household were Joseph Morris, Martha Morris and their children Henry and Sarah. I believe Martha Morris was a child of Cathryn and Lorenzo.

Children of Cathryn and Lorenzo Scroggins:
Elizabeth L. Scoggins -1828 South Carolina
Martha "Patsy" Scroggins- 1829 South Carolina
Mary "Polly" Scroggins- 1830 South Carolina
Eliza Ann Scroggins -1835 Missouri
Nancy Matilda Scroggins- August 5, 1838 Missouri, death December 26, 1913
John T. Scroggins-1840 Missouri
Sarah Catherine Scroggins - June 15,1844 Missouri
James Scroggins-1846 Missouri, death September 27, 1864
Missouri Ann Scroggins-1850 Missouri
Infant Scroggins- 1852 Missouri

Lorenzo died in 1852 and I have a copy of the probate record regarding his estate. He did not have a will. On the 1860 Census, the two youngest children, James and Missouri Ann were living with George and Catherine Nokes. After Lorenzo's death, Catherine married George Nokes.

Elizabeth L. Scroggins married John J. Brown.

Martha Scoggins first married Joseph Morris and they had two children, Henry C. Morris and Sarah Morris. I don't know whether Joseph Morris died or if they divorced.

Her second marriage was to Hugh Love. Hugh was born in South Carolina in 1812 and his family moved from South Carolina to Missouri. His parents James Love and Mary Donahue were from Ireland. When James moved to Missouri he began buying farm land. The land was located in the Salt River Township which was located in the area between the Salt River and the Mississippi River. After James Love died, his land went to his son Hugh. When Martha and Hugh were married the farm was over 700 acres. There are some really nice old maps of Pike County and specifically identifying the Love Farm on this link:

http://iowaz.info/mopike/mopikelovecem.htm


Martha and Hugh Love had five children: James D., Mary, Hugh, Mattie B., and William D. Martha died sometime after 1870 because she appears on the 1870 census, and Hugh died in 1897. It is believed they were buried at the Love Cemetery on the Love Farm. At some point, the land on the Love Farm was cleared and the cemetery "plowed" over. At the link above there is a picture of Hugh's grave marker which was found on the property and repaired.

Mary "Polly" Scroggins married John Williams.

Eliza Ann Scroggins married William T. Spencer and her second marriage was to John James Arthur.

Matilda Scroggins, sometimes known as Nancy, married John W. Patterson July 9, 1863. They had two children, Missouri and Hugh. Missouri must have been named for Matilda's sister of the same name. It's such a cute name. John Patterson died when Hugh was just an infant. According to one entry on a genealogy forum, Hugh left home at age 13 to seek his fortune. He returned to Missouri and married Genora Allen. On a 1904 census, Hugh Patterson and Genora are in Montana. Matilda Scroggins Patterson remarried to John Anderson.

John T. Scroggins-I haven't yet determined who he might have married.

Sarah Catherine Scroggins married Alpheus Paren Willard. Her second marriage was to Hugh Love to whom her sister Martha had been married. Martha died around 1870.

Missouri Ann Scroggins married Larkin McGee on April 5, 1878.

Infant Scroggins is mentioned in the documents of the probate of the death of Lorenzo Scroggins. It does not state a name for the child nor the gender.

There is another child of Catherine Manning. He is noted to be Lawson Manning. Lawson's name first appears in the will of Catherine's father, Thomas Manning. He is listed as an heir of Thomas Manning's and his grandson. In the will, his name is spelled Loson. In the probate documents of Thomas Manning's will, Lawson Manning signs for his distribution of the assets of Thomas Manning.

Lawson Manning is also mentioned in newspaper articles in Pike County, Missouri as visiting his sisters, daughters of Catherine Manning Scroggins. Lawson is again mentioned in the probate of Catherine Scroggins as her heir. The unanswered questions are: who is Lawson Manning's father, why is he named Manning and why did he not live with Catherine and Lorenzo?

Catherine Manning Scroggins died in 1876. The following is a portion of her obituary from Pike County, Missouri. Remember she had married George Nokes after Lorenzo's death, so she is Mrs. Nokes in the obituary.

Louisiana Journal, Fri., 17 Mar 1876, p. 3
From Hugh Love’s
....It is with deep regret that we are this week called upon to chronicle the death of one of our esteemed and aged friends, Mrs. Kate Nokes, who died on the morning of the 6th, at the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. Hugh Love, on Salt River. Her disease was pneumonia. She was 70 years of age. Mrs. Nokes united with the Baptist Church in 1850, has ever since been a faithful member, and died in the hope of entering to that rest which has been prepared for those who are faithful to God during their life. Mrs. Nokes was universally esteemed by all who know her, and she leaves many friends and relatives to mourn her loss. The family has our sympathy in their sad bereavement.....

Nov. 28, 1008-Update on Marjamin Manning

On August 31 and September 13, 2008, I wrote about Marjamin Manning. He died at the Milledgeville Insane Asylum in Milledgeville, Georgia. I contacted the hospital and they verified that he died there. I then requested more information about him and his diagnosis while he was a patient there. Just a few days ago, I received word that the department managing requests about patients at Milledgeville had received some information from the Archives in Atlanta. They said they will be mailing it to me next week.

I wrote to them about three times after my initial contact, but it looks like it has paid off. It will be very interesting to see what information they provide about our family member.

Nov. 24, 2008-Family of Elizabeth Read Manning

Elizabeth Read Manning was my gggggGrandmother. She was born in 1740, probably in Brunswick County, Virginia. She was married to Thomas Manning who was also probably born in Brunswick County, Virginia about 1740. Elizabeth's parents were William Read (1720 VA-1764 VA) and Elizabeth Thomas/Hubbard. I'm not yet sure of her maiden name. Children of William and Elizabeth Read were:

Elizabeth Read 1740- Elizabeth married Thomas Manning.
Catherine Read- Catherine married James Quarles.
Susannah Read - Susannah married James Mathews
Frances Read- Frances married Mr. Stone.
Thomas Read - Thomas married Sarah ?
John Read - John married _____Wilson.
Lewis Read
Robert Read
Anner Read
Mary Read
William Read

I was able to identify the names of these children from the wills of William Read and Robert Read from the Brunswick County Virignia Will Book #4. There is a great deal of information to gain from the wills.

From the will of William Read, I found the given names of his children and the maiden names of several of the daughters. In the will of Robert Read, in addition to the names of his siblings, their are names of some of his neices and nephews. What follows are the abstracts of the wills of William Read and his son, Robert Read.

Brunswick Will Book, 4, p. 393, Dec. 31, 1762, Feb. 27, 1764. Will of William Read of St. Andrews Parish. To son Thomas my boy Ellick now in his possession. To son Robert my manor plantation whereon I now live and Negro girl Rhoda. To son William Read Negro fellow Dick. To dau. Frances Stone one shilling. To dau. Catherine Quarles Negro Sam. To dau. Elizabeth Read Negro girl Ruth. To son Robert all my estate real and personal in any parts of this Dominion. Resid. legatees Robert Read, Catherine Quarles, Elizabeth Read, Susannah Mathews, John Read, Anner Read, Mary Read and Lewis Read. To my wife Elizabeth. To son John Read (under 21). Extrs. my son Robert Read and James Quarles. Witt: Hugh Williams, Moses Quarles, Lewis Quarles.

Brunswick Will Book, 4, p. 190, Sept. 25, 1766, Jan. 24, 1774. Will of Robert Read of Essex Co., The land my father William Read left me to be divided between my two brothers John and Lewis Read and my brother Lewis to have the manor plantation. To my sisters Anner Read, Mary Read, and Susannah Mathews. To William the son of James Quarles, Thomas son of William Read, Catherine dau. of Thomas Manning, Betty dau. of William Mathews, and Molley Read dau. of Thomas 5 pounds each. To friend James Quarles. James Quarles extr. Witt: Hugh Williams, Richard Ramsey, John Quarles.

The will of Robert Read clearly states that the daughter of Thomas Manning is Catherine. Until reading this abstract, I thought the daughter of Thomas Manning and Elizabeth Read was Catey. It appears now that her given name was Catherine. Catherine "Catey" Manning was born in 1768, but I'm not sure whether she was born in Brunswick County, VA or in York County, SC.
Catherine would have been the niece of Robert Read. His will named two nephews, William Quarles and Thomas Read and two other neices, Betty Mathews and Molley Read.

I also made some assumptions after reading these wills. Because Robert Read inherited the plantation from his father, I assume he would have been the oldest son. Since Catherine, Frances and Susannah had married names in William Reads will, I am assuming that they might have been older than Elizabeth. Sometimes, it takes several readings and close observation of names and dates to begin putting a family's history together. I still have a good deal of work to do on the Read family, but I think I've made a nice start.

Nov. 14, 2008-Happy Birthday

Today is November 14, 2008 and it is my birthday. I must be getting really old because I don't recall how old I am today. I seem to be fitting nicely into my research of family history. Today I received some birthday cards, some email greetings, some telephone greetings, a birthday breakfast and a birthday lunch. My daughter and three of my grandchildren called from their cell phone to sing "Happy Birthday". Cap gave me a very cute card and Rusty barked his greeting. Today I also looked at my birth certificate to be sure this was the right day, and it was. So, the good news is today I am a year older and the best news is today I am a year older.

Nov. 2, 2008-Bonner/Manning Photos

Last week I was in Oklahoma City to visit family. My aunt and uncle always bring out old photos when I visit. I gathered a number of them and copied them. Some of them are posted on flickr and you can see them at:

http://flickr.com/photos/29098057@N07/

They are the Bonner/Manning photos. I will add more later.

Nov. 1, 2008-William Manning in Marshall County, Alabama

William Manning was born in 1770 in York County, SC. His parents were Thomas Manning and Elizabeth Read. William was the brother of my ggggGrandfather, Thomas Manning (1776-1844). Unlike his brother Thomas, William left South Carolina and migrated. He first stopped in Tennessee and ultimately settled in Marshall County, Alabama. William married Nancy Thomas.

The children of William Manning and Nancy Thomas Manning include:

Elizabeth Manning born 1795 in South Carolina. She married Edmund Bridges.
Kizziah Manning born 1797 in South Carolina. She married Benjamin Roden.
Atha Manning born 1798 in South Carolina. She married David Ricketts.
Thomas M. Manning born 1802 in South Carolina. He married twice and his first wife's name is unkown. His second wife was Lucinda Parker.
Lewis Manning born 1804 in South Carolina. He married Mahala Murphy.
Mary Manning born 1811 in South Carolina. She married William Baker.
Nancy Manning born 1811 in South Carolina. She married Josiah Tidwell.

I found one researcher online who said that the family of William Manning moved from South Carolina and traveled with the Roden and Ricketts families to Alabama. The family history of the William Manning family was given to me by the widow of Raymond Manning (1924-2004).

There are some interesting stories about these families. Benjamin Roden, his son Portland Roden and several other Roden's died in the Buck Island Massacre. They were attacked by Northern soldiers and murdered. The Roden's wintered their cattle on Buck Island and were there to watch over them. Some say the Roden's were thrown into the river after being murdered, they are buried at the Roden Cemetery.

Annie Manning married John Rollings. John shot and killed Annie's father William Manning during an argument. William had helped set up John Rollings and another fellow in business. John also shot and killed Tom Roden. Annie married Billie Roden after her marriage to John Rollings.

In January of 1858, The Eagle newspaper of Guntersville, AL was bought by Dr. William Ricketts, Samuel Manning and W. W. Beasley. After Dr. Ricketts and Mr. Beasley withdrew, Samuel Manning ran the newspaper until December of 1859. Thomas Manning, father of William Manning, was also a businessman. He is said to have been a merchant and had the firm Jordan and Manning.

The William Manning family settled near Guntersville, Alabama and had a lovely big home called The White Elephant. They were plantation owners. Many Mannings are buried on the plantation in Honeycomb Valley, Marshall County, Alabama. This is a picture of their home.

As I go through the family history of the William Manning family, I will be able to add more stories. The widow of Raymond Manning has shared so much family history with me. In return, I am compiling her handwritten information in a Personal Ancestry File. I will make a disk for her and also provide her with a printed copy which she can pass down to her children.

I know she will appreciate it.

October 12, 2008-Mallow Cemetery in Mallow, Virginia

On September 25, 2008, I visited the Mallow Cemetery in Mallow, Virginia which is near Covington, Virginia. The cemetery is located at the site that was the plantation of Michael Mallow, Sr. (1757-1830).

The cemetery is small and fenced with an elaborate white iron fence. It sits at the end of a street and almost in the back yard of a home in a fairly new housing development. At the opposite end of the street and across the rail road tracks is the Mallow Mall. As I stood in the cemetery, I was stepping back in time and never thought of the Mall being so close. Standing in the cemetery and looking East you get a great view of the mountains. While you can't see it from the cemetery, the Jackson River flows just at the base of the mountain. I could almost imagine how it must have been so peaceful at the time the Mallows lived on the property.

Michael Mallow Sr. is my 5th great grandfather. His son was Michael Mallow Jr. and he married Charlotte Gortner. While they were living in Virginia, their fifth child born was Stewart Dickey Mallow, my 3rd great grandfather. Michael and Charlotte moved West and ultimately settled in Hempstead, Arkansas for a while. It was there that Stewart Dickey Mallow married Jerusha Jane Heffington. Their daughter Amanda Mallow was my great-great grandmother. Amanda married George Griffith. Their daughter Laura Griffith was my great grandmother. The Mallows eventually moved to Collin County Texas. Laura married Forbis Manning and their daughter Eula Manning was my grandmother.

In my blog on August 26, 2008, I wrote about Laura Manning's uncles and their military service. Her uncles were the brothers of Stewart Dickey Mallow and they all lived in Collin County Texas.

I couldn't help but think of the descendents of Michael Mallow Sr. while I visited the cemetery. Michael Sr. is buried at Mallow Cemetery, but his grave marker is not apparent. There are numerous very old markers with no names on them. His son John Mallow and his wife Martha are buried there. So are their children: William, Charlotte Ann, Bridget Emiline and Elizabeth and their spouses and some of their children.

I have put the pictures of the Mallow Cemetery on the website flickr. You can go the the following link and look at the pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29098057@N07/?saved=1

October 2, 2008-Henry Forbis Bonner and The U.S.S. Gambier Bay-Part One

The U.S.S. Gambier Bay sank on October 25, 1944 after being bombed by the Japanese. My father, Henry Forbis Bonner, was aboard the Gambier Bay. In 1982, he wrote of his experience aboard the Gambier Bay and aboard the life raft as he awaited rescue. Today, I will honor him by posting his own words.

February 1982, Henry Bonner wrote:

Henry F. ("Hank") Bonner
MM 3C
U.S.S. GAMBIER BAY
A- Division (Inert Gas Station)

I went in the Navy June 6, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the age of 18. Basic training was at The Naval Training Station at San Diego, Calif. After "boot" camp, I was sent to the Machinists' Mate Training School in San Diego and graduated with a Fireman First Class rate.

From there, I went to Bremerton, Washington to an engineer's class using the type of equipment that was aboard the GAMBIER BAY. I was made the Inert Gas machine operator, trained by men who had operated the equipment on sister ships of CVE 73. Later went aboard the GAMBIER BAY as the first "skeleton" crew of engineers (I don't remember if it was at Bremerton or Astoria, Oregon). The ship was being demagnetized. Later, we took the ship up the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean where we went down the coast and picked up (in a period of time) full crew, planes, ammo., supplies, and then to the Pacific War. Of course, I was at Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Palau (and all the stops in between), then to the Phillipine Invasion.

My General Quarters Station was on the tank top level (on top of 200,000 gallons of aviation gas) manufacturing Inert Gas to put in a void space which was around the gasoline tanks. See drawing:



This Inert Gas (gas that won't support a spark of a flame - no oxygen - is made by taking the exhaust from a little 4-cylinder Hercules engine and by washing it and filtering it through activated charcoal and aluminum chips, we took all oxygen from it and put it around gasoline. We also had two large storage tanks in the Inert Gas Shack to store an extra supply over and above what was in the void tanks. I had equipment to test the gas that was in the void tanks to make sure it was oxygen free and no gas fumes and at the right pressure.

My General Quarters job was to make these tests and bring them up to proper pressure and pureness. I did this during every call to G.Q. and I monitored these tests all during the battle in which we were sunk. By the way, there were no aviation gas explosions of fires during the time we were sunk. The last three months before we were sunk, I had an assistant named James Burcher (Fireman F.C.). We were also on the same raft together. Here is what happened:

After checking all my equipment and gas, I continued to monitor and make checks after every hit that we were told about by the Chaplain or that we could feel down there. After a long while, a shell came through the port side at our level-no explosion (that I heard), just knocked a gaping hole in the side of the ship. We were the only ones in this part of the ship and there was no way we could control the flow of water, so we went up to the next level through the open hatch and sealed off this officer's quarter and Inert Gas shack level. Met a repair crew on the next level and tried to assist them in repairing another large hole at this level. Being unable to, we all went to next level through a small escape hole in the hatch. One shipmate had on a large kapok life jacket, wouldn't take it off and we couldn't talk him out of it, so with a lot of grunting and groaning we all pushed him through the hole. We finally ended up on the Hanger Deck near the forward elevator which had been knocked out and wouldn't go up to the Flight Deck, and had an aircraft sitting on it. The Hanger Deck had about two inches of water on it, where they had put out a fire earlier. After passing the forward elevator to about mid-ship, a shell hit the aircraft on the elevator and I was hit with a large fragment from the explosion. I knew I had been hit but it didn't seem to hurt. The ship was listing badly to port. I didn't look at my wound but ran to an open hatch to a sponson, which by this time, even though this was a Hanger Deck level, was only about three or four feet from the water. I jumped off. I had all my clothes, shoes, and a small waist size life belt on. This was the same life preserver that was issued me the first day aboard. Never thinking I would ever need it, I guess I didn't take very good care of it. At any rate, I blew and blew on that thing for 10 minutes and it wouldn't hold air. I would try to swim away from the ship and would be slapped right back underneath the gun sponsons above me and up against the side of the ship. We had always been told to get away from the sponsons and away from the ship fast. I finally got away and spotted a raft some fifty yards away and headed for it. There is no way I could have swam fifty yards then - but I did. I felt like I made it with my last stroke and grabbed a shirttail that was flapping from the back of a shipmate. They helped me into the raft and I finally looked at my leg and got very sick. All the flesh had been torn off the left side of my left leg from about two inches below my knee to my ankle. Both bones were exposed the entire length of the wound and flesh between the bones had been torn out exposing one of the tendons that operate the foot. It was bleeding badly so the men on the raft put a tourniquet made from a belt on it to stop the bleeding.

End of Part One

October 2, 2008-Henry Forbis Bonner and The U.S.S. Gambier Bay-Part Two

The words of Henry Bonner about his experience on The U.S.S. Gambier Bay continued:

We lost all our supplies that were on the raft except a small 5" shell casing that had a little gauze, one bottle of malt tablets, and two cerites of morphine. They gave me one of the morphine and put me in the bottom of the raft. We finally ended up with this one raft, and a couple of floater nets, and a total of 67 men. I was really very lucky as of the 67 men, I was the only one who was badly wounded. So I had some good guys watching after me. Until my leg stopped bleeding, we had some shark problems, but we were in good hands and God watched over us and we had no damage or deaths from sharks the first day. I forgot to mention that the ship sunk after I had been on the raft about thirty minutes. They were still firing on the ship after I reached the raft, and after we had been on it a few minutes one of the marker shells that they were firing hit about ten feet from our raft. I had no idea what it was. I thought that it had hit us and what I was seeing in the air was blood (it was red), then I thought it might be gas. At any rate, most of the others and myself went off the raft and under the water to escape the "red". Just before I felt like I was going to drown, I came up and it had cleared. Then after a length of time, the Jap task force that sunk us came right back by us steaming back to where they had come from. I figured they would see and kill us all, so under the water we went again. I know they saw us as they were that close, but they just kept going.

The rest of the first day was spent organizing, knowing we would be picked up soon, watching the dog fights between our planes and Jap planes. Then it started to get dark. The men on the outside of the raft would take turns and change from raft to nets and nets to raft, etc.

The first night was miserable. We had burned up during the day, but at night being wet I got very cold. My teeth chattered so long and hard that the ends of my teeth were sore. No sleep. Just whispers. The second day finally came. Sure was hungry, but more thirsty. We knew we would be picked up today. No more sharks. Some men said they could see ships, but none were there. I couldn't see anything, as I was lying in the bottom of the raft. A First Class Signalman was holding my head out of the water (I'm sorry I cannot recall his name). The Corpsman checked my leg but couldn't do anything else for it, so he gave me the other morphine. The first day we could see other rafts, but today we couldn't see any of them.

The second day drug on and some of the shipmates and myself were doing some funny things and seeing things that weren't there. I was becoming delirious from fever as I had infection in my leg - and had some weird dreams and would pass out from time to time later in the second day. One dream was that I could see an island and on it was a big water tank truck like they wash city streets with. I could see the water coming out of the sprinklers on the truck and he was settling the dust on the island with the water. I knew we would get some when we got there. Another dream was the I broke away from the raft and swam to the island and picked up some beer and swam back to the raft, and in my dream I was trying to get the men on the raft to take some beer - some of the men said I was really handing them something (empty hand of course) and they couldn't figure out what I was doing. So I decided to keep it and drink it all myself. Every time I would come to my senses from one of these dreams, I would tell the man holding my head that when I pass out I'm not dead so don't throw me overboard, and he would assure me he wouldn't.

The Chief held on to our only food until later the second day. He felt it would lift our morale if he gave us a malt tablet, or a piece of one. I couldn't chew mine because my teeth were still sore from chattering the night before, but I managed to get it down. No water.

Well, here comes the second night. We had fired what few flares we had the first night because we just knew they were looking for us. I think it was finally decided later that we were answering another raft's flares. So we didn't have flares to give us hope the second night.

I wasn't looking forward to more chattering teeth and pain from my leg (no more morphine). After the night drug on, a few dreams and passing out a couple of times, we spotted the search lights from a ship. You hever heard the shouting and waving and carrying on we all did. Finally what seemed like hours, and it was a long time, the ship (a patrol craft smaller than a D.E.) had his spots right on the raft.

There had been numerous ships sunk in the area the last several days so shouted out and challenged us with "who won the world series". The Signalman who was holding my head signaled back the correct answer. Then the Skipper of this ship informed us that he was overloaded and couldn't take us aboard but that he would radio our position, and he left. You have never heard the hollering, swearing, and waving of arms, including mine. But, nevertheless, he left. It seemed to all of us that he could have given us a cask of water and medical supplies, fruit cocktail, or something to eat. But he didn't. It was (I was told later) about five hours before another ship (same class) arrived. He came along side and threw over a cargo net and all but two went up the net first. The two were the 1st Class Signalman, who was helping me, and myself. Some of their crew members came down and got me up the net and we were saved.

One other thing happened going to Leyte. Our little ship was attached by Jap aircraft. When the ship's crew started firing at the planes, I figured back in the water, but they chased them off.

Late the third day, I was finally put aboard an L.S.T. that was rigged for operating on wounded. A young Dr. Hershey looked at my leg and said "Son, I don't know what I can do but I'll do my best". Several hours later I awoke and saw five toes on my left leg, was very drowsy but happy.

The doctor talked to me the next day and said we had a new miracle drug - penicillin - so he left my leg on to see if he could kill the infection and get the wound to granulate for skin grafts.

I was later put on the hospital ship "Hope" I think and taken to New Guinea for about three weeks, then put on the luxury liner "Lurline" and eventually dropped off at the Oak Knol Naval Hospital in Oakland, California - then sent to the Naval Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was the nearest hospital to my home that had a skin graft specialist. I spent the next eleven months in New Orleans where they fixed my leg up best they could and gave me a Medical Discharge on January 6, 1946. I still get a 40% disability compensation from the V.A.


Yours truly,

Henry F. ("Hank") Bonner













Henry Forbis Bonner
1925-1991

Sept. 28, 2008-Nancy Manning and Tyre Harbin

On August 31, 2008, I wrote about Marjamin Manning and his family. Since then I have obtained additional information about some of his children. Today I will write about Nancy Minerva Manning (1840-1919) and her husband Tyre Harbin (1826-1898). They were married August 25, 1861 in Dawson county, Georgia. Like the Manning family, the Harbin family was from York, South Carolina. Before Tyre and Nancy were married, Tyre embarked on an interesting adventure.

Tyre and his brothers, John and Balaam, went to California during the Gold Rush. There is a great deal written about the Gold Rush and very easy to find on the internet. It began in 1848 and those traveling to California were called the "49 ers". It isn't exactly clear when Tyre and his brothers went to California, but it is noted by a genealogy researcher in the Grogan D Digest, V97 #39, that they stayed for nine years. They can be seen on the 1860 census in Nevada City, California. It was interesting to look at the 1860 Nevada City census. Most of the residents were young men between the ages of 25-35. Many countries around the globe were noted as their country of origin. Very few women and children were on that particular census.

People traveling to the Gold Rush could go by land in wagon trains and have the risk of Indian attacks. Many settlers chose the overland route and those with more money and resources went by sea. Some left the Eastern US and many other countries traveling around Cape Horn and on to California. There was no Panama Canal at that time and Cape Horn was the route if they wanted a complete ocean voyage. Those who wanted to get to California faster would go through Panama. They would arrive in Panama on the Atlantic side and then take canoes and mules for a weeks trek through the jungle. Then once on the Pacific side, they would wait for a ship to San Francisco. The Grogan Digest stated that Tyre and his brothers traveled through Panama and Cuba.

Normally the route from Georgia to Panama would be to depart from New Orleans. It isn't clear why the Harbin brothers went through Cuba coming or going to the Gold Rush. They may have entered Cuba going in both directions. We know they were in California in 1860 and that Tyre and Nancy married in 1861, if they stayed in California for nine years it may have been about 1852 that they left Georgia for California. In the early 1850's there was an epidemic of Yellow Fever in the United States. In 1853, over 8,000 people in New Orleans died from Yellow Fever. The route through Cuba would have been to avoid the infestation that existed in New Orleans. They were really adventurous.

I read at Wikipedia.org that the ordinary prospectors could have daily gold finds worth 10-15 times the daily wage they would earn on the East Coast. A person working 6 months in the gold fields could find gold equivalent to 6 years wages back home. That's a very good reason to go. After nine years, Tyre could have saved a great deal of money.

Upon his return to Georgia he married Nancy Minerva Manning and they started their family.

Their son, John William Harbin was born September 27, 1862. Their marriage date was recorded as August 25, 1861. From here the dates get a bit confusing. In 1864 their son Samuel Megaman was born and in 1865, a third son Nathanial James was born. In the meantime, military records show that Tyre enlisted in the CSA on July 14, 1863 and was paroled from the military May 12, 1865. He was noted to have been a 1st Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion, Co. C of the Georgia Infantry, the State Guards. After Tyre was discharged from the military, Nancy and Tyre had the rest of their children.

Barbara G. - 1867
Benjamin Mercer - March 27, 1869
Tyre Balaam - April 30, 1871
Nancy Caroline - September 29, 1872
Milinda Elander - April 26, 1874
Martha Ann -September 21, 1876
Hiram Andrew - June 19, 1878
Hanery Lee - May 3, 1882

Tyre Harbin died October 7, 1898 and is buried at the Old Tate Cemetery in Pickens, Georgia. In 1900 the first US census year after Tyre died, Nancy was living in Pickens county, Georgia, noted to be widowed and with her children: Eler (Milinda Elander), Hiram, Henry L. and three boarders. Hiram is noted to be a carpenter, Henry is a marble polisher. The area of Pickens county in which they lived was at the N.E. end of the marble quarry area. In the household right next door is Nancy's son, John W. and his family. In 1910, Nancy was in Pickens county and living with her son, John W. and his family and her daughter Ella (Milinda Elander).
Nancy Manning died January 15, 1919 and is also buried at the Old Tate Cemetery. I came across an interesting story about their son Hiram, which I will write another time.

Sept. 13, 2008-Milledgeville Insane Asylum

On August 31, 2008, I wrote about Marjamin Manning and the fact that he died at the Milledgeville Insane Asylum in Milledgeville, Georgia. Since then, I have written to the Georgia Department of Human Resources who maintain the records for Central State Hospital (that's what it is called now). I requested verification that Marjamin was a patient there and asked if he was buried at the Asylum. I received a quick response that said he was buried there and his burial number is 0043. I clarified with the gentleman that the numbering sequence of 0043 means that he was the 43rd person buried at this particular cemetery. The gentleman said he knows which cemetery and the approximate location of 0043. He also said that they show his name as Megimin.

The normal routine when someone at Milledgeville died, who was to be buried in a hospital cemetery, is they were given a burial number. Then a small metal stake with the number on it was placed in the location of the grave. When you look at the pictures of some of the burial locations, it appears that the metal stakes are less than one foot apart. There are fields and fields of markers. Here is a small picture of some of them.




An organization named Friends of Baldwin County Cemeteries has a web site on which many Baldwin County Cemeteries burials are listed. They show 5 cemeteries related to Central State Hospital. After looking at the listings of each one I found that one of them lists a grave marked number 43. That cemetery is Cedar Lane Cemetery. This grave 43 may not be Marjamin's, but its the only 43 I saw. Most of the listings reflected the presence of many graves with no markers of any kind.

There are estimates regarding how many former patients are buried at Milledgeville. One estimate I read reported 30,000. Another one in the Psychiatric News Vol. 42, #21, pg.3, by Aaron Levin said perhaps 25,000. It seems somewhat immoral that so many people would be buried and identified only as a number.

In his book, But For the Grace of God: The Inside Story of the Worlds Largest Insane Asylum, Peter G. Cranford said there were deaths resulting from maniacal exhaustion, the poor condition of the patient when they came in, disease, dysnetry and typhoid of 1854.

Milledgeville Insane Asylum opened in 1842. The Georgia state legislature approved the construction for in in 1837. Initially, there was one building that was four stories tall. Two floors were for men and two floors were for women. In 1859, there were approximately 300 patients there. The facility grew over the next 120 years to become the largest state asylum in the country. In 1960, there were approximately 12,000 patients living there. In 1859, Dr. Thomas Green, the Supertindent at Milledgeville in his Report By the Trustees of the State Lunatic Asylum at Milldgeville for the Year 1859, reported there were 308 patients and that it costs the Asylum 11 1/2 cents per day to care for them.

At the time of its opening, the treatment for mental illness was basically confinement. There were few treatments. Many of the first patients would arrived in shakels or tied up. They may have been in jails or family members may have chained them in order to control them. Upon their arrival, the chains and shakels would be removed and the patients allowed to walk freely. The groups of patients initially admitted were lunatics, idiots and epileptics. The epileptics were persons who had seizures while the idiots were persons born with disability such as retardation. The lunatics were the ones who did not fit the social norms because they could not control their behavior. I also have read that later the facility became a home for people with communicable diseases like tuberculosis. I wonder in which group Marjamin was placed. I will soon find out because I expect to hear from the Central State Hospital regarding Marjamin's medical information.

Sept. 6, 2008-Another Story Unfolds: The Legend of Tom Dooley

While planning a genealogy research trip to North Carolina to work on the Brown family, I decided to update myself on some of the family members. Jessie Wilson Brown (1826- ) had many brothers and sisters. I was interested in learning more about Joel H. Brown and Letty Brown Triplett before we make our trip. Jessie Wilson Brown was Don's great-great grandfather. Joel was his great great Uncle and Letty was his great great Aunt.

Joel left North Carolina, like all his brothers. But he returned to take care of his mother after his father James died in 1850. In reviewing the 1860 and 1870 census for Wilkes County, North Carolina, I found that Joel and his family lived in the same household with his mother, Nancy Brown. I also learned that Joel was a Baptist Minister. I didn't really come up with much other new information. So, I moved on to Letty Brown Triplett.

On the 1850 Wilkes County Census, Letty lived with her parents James and Nancy Brown and her three children (Pinkney, Angeline and Thomas). She had no husband named and was not noted to be widowed. I found her also on the 1860 and 1870 census with more children and no husband. I decided to search her children's names on Google. I started with Pinkney Triplett and the search opened an extremely interesting door and the Brown connection to The Legend of Tom Dooley. Right away I found sites describing Letty Brown Triplett and Angeline Triplett (her daughter) and their involvement in the story of Tom Dooley. At some point Letty Triplett changed her name and the names of all of her illegitimate children to Foster. So, they are referred to as Letty Foster and Angeline (Ann) Foster.

Tom Dooley was actually Tom Dula. Tom and his family lived in Wilkes County very close to the Brown family. Throughout the 1850, 1860, 1870 census you will find the Brown's and the Dula's practically next door to each other. The legend of Tom Dooley goes something like this.

Tom Dooley had several girl friends. One was Angeline (Ann) Foster and another was her cousin Laura Foster. It is said that Tom was having a relationship with both of them at the same time. Their relationships were well known by many people living near them, near Elkville, North Carolina. Ann had let it be known that she was very jealous of Laura Foster. Ann Foster must have tired of the "love triangle" because she married James Melton. But, it seems she basically just added a fourth person to the "love triangle" because Tom Dooley would visit Ann Foster Melton at her home. According to court documents, he would even sneak into her bedroom to spend the night. All the while, he was still having a relationship with Laura. As you would expect, one of them became pregnant. It was Laura. When she told Tom she was pregnant he said they would get married.

They made plans that on May 25, 1866 Tom and Laura would to go to Tennessee to be married. On May 24, the night before they were to meet, Tom was at Ann Melton's house and he and Ann left, taking some whiskey. They stayed out all night. Laura left her home very early in the morning of May 25, with some clothes. She took her father's horse and was to travel to the Bates Place to meet Tom, as they had planned. The Bates Place was six miles from Laura's home. Laura passed a neighbor on her way to meet Tom and told the neighbor where she was going and that she and Tom were going to be married. According to the court documents, the neighbor was Betsy Scott.

When Laura didn't return home, her father, Wilson Foster, went to Ann Melton's house to see if they she had seen Laura. Mr. Foster's horse returned home the next morning, but Laura didn't. The horse's reins was still attached to it, but it appeared to have been chewed in two. Speculation was that the horse chewed it in two to get away from where he was tied. A month went by and there was still no sign of Laura. Tom Dooley was still in the area. Remember, the morning Laura disappeared she told Betsy Scott that she was on her way to meet Tom and that they were going to be married. Tom must have known that people were suspecting that he had something to do with Laura's disappearance because he left Wilkes County and went to Tennessee.

Although Laura's body had not been found, Tom Dooley was arrested in June. He was taken to the jail in Wilkesboro. In August, Ann Melton disclosed to her cousin Pauline Foster that she knew where Laura was buried. She even offered to show Pauline the location. Pauline never went to the exact location with Ann, but she later made public comments that she knew where Laura was buried. Pauline Foster was picked up and questioned. The information she gave to the authorities led them to the spot where Laura was buried.

The transcript of the trial of Tom Dooley can be found at: http://www.fmoran.com/wilkes/anny2.html
Tom was found guilty of killing Laura Foster and he was hung on May 1, 1868, almost two years after Laura was killed. Ann Foster Melton was also tried as an accomplice to the murder, but she was acquitted. To this day, many believe that Ann killed Laura and Tom is the one who buried her. The transcript of the trial contains the questioning of Ann Foster Melton and her mother, Letty Foster aka Letty Brown Triplett and many others.

You can see a hand drawn map used at the trial of Tom Dooley. On the map you will see the home of James/Ann Melton, Letty Foster, many other neighbors. The surprise on the map is to see the home of Letty's brother, Joel H. Brown labeled on the map. See the map:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom1231/273622466/

Just to summarize. Tom Dooley was accused of murdering Laura Foster and he was hung.
Ann Foster Melton was the lover of Tom Dooley. Ann told her cousin Pauline that she knew where Laura was buried. Ann Foster Melton was also known as Angeline Triplett and she was the daughter of Letty Brown Triplett. The court documents describe Angeline and her mother Letty as having frequent drinking binges. One reference I found online suggested that Letty Triplett actually did marry a Mr. Foster and it was believed that she killed him. Letty and her daughter were quite a pair.

So, there you are, the Tom Dooley/Brown connection. Listen to "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htBR3imbFfI

Addendum: On September 23, 2008 we met with a genealogy researcher in Wilkes County, NC to discuss the Brown family and tour the county. We mentioned that we thought that Letty Triplett Foster was a child of James and Nancy Brown. He stated that even though she appears on the 1850 census living in the Brown home, he nor any local researcher believed she was related to the Browns. He said they may have taken her in because she had no home or she may have been domestic help. So, the story of Tom Dooley remains as I described, but we now do not believe that Letty is a Brown relative and will remove her from the family history. ( Sharon, September 27, 2008)

August 31, 2008-Another Marjamin Manning 1805-1882

In my entry of August 10, 2008, I reviewed The Many Thomas Mannings. I was very uncertain about Thomas Manning II. Thanks to a cousin, I now have him clearly in mind. She has given me a very thorough genealogy of the Mannings. Thomas Manning II was born abou 1776 and he died May 21, 1844. He was married to Elizabeth Beck and their children were:

Thomas J. Manning (Thomas III)
Marjamin Manning
Cathryn Manning

I know about Thomas Manning III and have documented him fairly well. You can read about him in the August 10, 2008 entry. I haven't yet looked at Cathryn Manning, but today I spent some time learning about Marjamin Manning. You may recall that Thomas Manning III had a son named Margamin Manning who died while a Prisoner of War. It appears he was named after his uncle, Marjamin.

Marjamin Manning was born in 1805 in South Carolina and died May 16, 1882 in Milledgeville, Georgia. He was married to Elizabeth Champion. Their children were:

Eliza Ann Manning (1825- October 14, 1906) She married Horatio Tatum (Sept. 1821-February 9, 1908). Their children were John, James, William A., Sarah, Hugh and Robert J. Horatio Tatum is noted to have been the sheriff of Dawson County, Georgia. I also found a picture of him sitting in front of McClure Mercantile in Dawson County with some other men. Here is the picture. He is the third from the right. The picture was posted on the Digital Georgia web site.

Hannah Manning (1831-1860). Hannah married Newton Harbin.

Massey Caroline Manning (1835- ). Caroline married William C. Anderson.

Mary Emily Manning (May 18, 1828-September 6, 1900). Mary married Henry Clifton Talley ( January 31, 1827-June 30, 1890). Both Mary and Henry died in Sparks, Bell County, Texas and are buried at the Volo Cemetery.

Sarah Manning (October 22, 1832-March 20, 1911). Sarah first married Sylvester Edwards (1829-1862). They had three children: Jasper, Nancy and Kiziah. Sylvester Edwards died July 24, 1862 in General Hospital #8 in Richmond, Va. as the result of a Civil War injury. He served with the 38th Regiment, Co. I, of the Georgia Volunteer Infantry. After his death, Sarah remarried to William Riley Sluder (1811- Novemeber 17, 1917). I haven't found that they had children. William Sluder served with Sylvester Edwards, Sarah's first husband, in the 38th Regiment, Co. I, of the Georgia Volunteer Infantry. William was captured at Spotsylvania, Va. May 12, 1864, paroled Febryary 1865 and then exchanged May 10, 1866 at Boulware & Cox's Wharves on the James River.

Nancy Manning (August 30, 1840-January 15, 1919). Nancy married Tyre Harden.

Kissiah R. Manning (1845- ) married William P. Gregory.

There are several interesting records about Marjamin Manning. In August 1860, the Grand Jury of Dawson County charged him and nine other men with Riot because they cursed, threw rocks at and hollered at people in the town square. They also beat up Henry Houser, the grocer. Marjamin was found guilty and sentenced to pay a $100 fine or serve 4 months in jail. It's unclear whether he paid the fine or went to jail.

He and his wife Elizabeth donated land for the First Baptist Church of Dawsonville.

An interesting but unclear issue about Marjamin is that he died May 16, 1882 in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia in an insane asylum. His son in law, William Sluder, husband of Sarah Manning, was appointed his guardian because he was insane. He apparently had a will that was probated May 31, 1882, but I have not yet found that record. It is sad that two Mannings named Marjamin/Margamin died in very unfavorable locations. Marjamin in the Milledgesville Insane Asylum and Margamin at Camp Douglas as a Prisoner of War. The descriptions of Milledgesville Asylum are really horrible and sound very much like the conditions at Camp Douglas. Both were filthy, people were bound in chains, the food was rationed or not available. There was suffering and sickness in both. I will tell you more about Milledgesville in another blog entry.

August 26, 3008-Laura Manning's Uncles

On August 14, 2008 I wrote about finding Laura Manning and what a rewarding experience it was. Part of the frustration in knowing very little about her was that I knew quite a bit about her ancestors. Laura's mother was Amanda Mallow Griffith and her grandmother of Jerusha Jane Heffington Mallow. Her grandfather was Stewart Dickey Mallow. It is Stewart's brothers, who are Laura's great uncles that I want to mention today.

Stewart Dickey Mallow was one of 19 children born to Michael Mallow and Charlotte Gortner. Among the 19 were 11 sons, the oldest son Anderson was born in 1817 and the youngest son, Armstead was born in 1845. Six of the 11 sons served in the Civil War. They include:

Durrell Pendleton Mallow- Born November 27, 1843 and died during the war, but it is not known when or where. He served in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Company H (Fitzhugh's).

George Harrison Mallow-Born December 17, 1833 and died in 1863, probably in battle. He married Frances Tyler in 1857. George was a Sergeant and served in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Company H (Fitzhugh's).

John Preston Mallow-Born March 24, 1832 and died prior to 1863, probably in battle. He married Elvira E. Strother in 1857. John served in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Company H (Fitzhugh's).

Louis Clark Mallow-Born March 20, 1828 and died in 1916. In 1865 he married Sally Hampton. Louis served in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Company H (Fitzhugh's). He was a bugler.

Oliver Paton Mallow-Born September 4, 1826 and died July 26, 1912. He married Sara Ann Sander in 1853 and then he married Margaret Basket in 1872. Oliver served in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Company H (Fitzhugh's).

Thomas Augustus Mallow-Born March 3, 1839 and died July 11, 1929. He married Margaret P. Gates in 1866. He was the only one of the Mallow sons who did not serve with Fitzhugh. He served in the 22nd Regiment, Texas Cavalry (1st Indian-Texas Regiment).

It can certainly be said that the Mallow family gave of themselves through the military service of their sons, Laura's uncles. Laura's grandfather died before the Civil War at age 35, in 1857. Based upon the family's tradition of service, Stewart Dickie Mallow would have been among his brothers in service to his country had he not met an untimely death.

August 17, 2008-Back to the Mannings-Putting the Pieces Together

Today, as I was reading some Walker County, Georgia history, I came across a site that was listing historical sites in Walker County. The internet site was called Waymarking.com. The interesting finding was a house in Walker County named the William Little House. It is a house in which Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood spent some time recouperating after the Battle of Chickamauga. In that battle, Gen. Hood was injured and his leg was amputated just below the hip. Gen. Hood was invited to stay in the William Little House by Col. Francis "Frank" Little, the son of William. Prior to going to the William Little House, Gen. Hood had been treated at the Clisby-Austin House, home turned into hospital, in Tunnel Hill, Georgia.

Col. Frank Little had served in the 11th Georgia Infantry, Anderson's Brigade and Gen. John Bell Hood's Division at the Battle of Chickamauga.

When it caught my eye, I remembered that William Little was a neighbor of Thomas Manning Jr. (Thomas III). They both are buried in the Young Family Cemetery in Walker County. On the 1860 census of Walker County, William Little is household #680 and Thomas Manning is household #699. They were both land owners with property and estates valued at least $12,000 and above.

That suggests to me that they may have lead similar lifestyles. The picture of the William Little House reflects a rather genteel setting, white house, wrap around porch. I immediately thought that is possible that Thomas Manning had a comparable house in Walker County. So, I have saved a picture of the William Little House and I can reflect on Thomas Manning when I look at it and wonder what kind of house Thomas had. I think it was like William Little's house.

The William Little House

Walker County, Georgia

August 15, 2008-Jesse Brown's Nephew-John German

When researching our family and related families, we have learned so much about their search for a better life. They moved, many times a hardship, with their families, pets and all their possessions in search of land and a new life. There are many stories to tell about our ancestors migration.

Jesse Wilson Brown (1826) was one of 13 children born to James Brown (1776-1850) and Nancy Brookshire (1780-1870) of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Jesse was the 12th child out of 13 children. Jesse migrated from Wilkes County, North Carolina to Scottsboro, Alabama and finally to Fannin County, Texas where he raised his children. Among his children was Thomas Calvin Brown, the first of the Brown's to move to Oklahoma. Jesse's move to Texas was a successful one and he is survived by many descendents who have prospered.

Jesse's sister, Rebecca Brown ( 1804-1851 ) was the 2nd child, making a 22 year difference in their ages. Rebecca Brown married Thomas Didamus German (1808-1876) and they migrated to Fannin County, Georgia. They had 8 children and their son, John (1830-1874) was the oldest. John is the nephew of Jesse Brown. Jesse was just four years older than his newphew John. Jesse and John were migrating from the Carolinas and Georgia about the same time. However, John's story is a very sad one.

John German married Lydia Cox (1832-1874) and they had 7 children: Rebecca, Stephen, Catherine, Joanna, Sophia, Julia, and Addie. John German bought some property in Fannin County, Georgia from his father, Thomas, and worked very hard to make a comfortable home for his family. They had an orchard, vegetable garden, livestock and chickens. He built the original home which was one large room downstairs and one upstairs. He gradually added on a kitchen, a spring house and a few other rooms.The location of their home was in the mountains of southeastern Georgia. They really weren't too far from their original home in Wilkes County, North Carolina. According to various documented records, they really loved where they lived.

When the Civil War broke out, John German enlisted. He was ultimately captured and became a prisoner of war. His health had failed. All the while, his wife and children worked very hard to keep their homestead in the best condition they could. They suffered through theft and pillaging from Union soldiers. Soldiers stole their livestock and destroyed their property. When the war ended in 1865, John German returned home where he found his family home nearly destroyed. Because of his failing health, he probably didn't think he could put in all the effort it would take to rebuild it.

Someone he knew had told him about Colorado where the air was clear, land was available and people were finding gold. John and his family spent five years preparing for their journey to Colorado and a new life. In April 1870, John and his family started on their journey. They traveled up through Tennessee, across to Arkansas and Missouri. They stopped in one location for several years so they could raise some crops and earn some money. They also stopped for a while in Stone County, Missouri where his Uncle Rufus Brown lived. Rufus was the brother of John's mother, Rebecca. Rufus had migrated to Missouri about 15 years earlier. By 1870, John's uncle, Jesse Brown had arrived safely in Fannin County, Texas with his family.

After leaving Stone County, Missouri, they continued west across the plains of Kansas. They were really focused on reaching their destination which was close to the Kansas/Colorado boarder. On September 10, 1874 they were nearing a point where they could follow the railroad line toward their destination or take another route where they would find more available water. They were heading toward the Smokey Hill River and their goal was to reach Ft. Wallace by the next day. John and his family had heard about Cheyenne Indian raids throughout their journey and they were very cautious. John and his son Stephen would walk ahead or along side their wagon with guns in hand being cautiously alert.

On September 11, 1874 they started their journey in the early morning with John and Stephen walking ahead of the wagon. They saw a herd of antelope approaching and John hoped he would be able to get one for the family's journey. While in the midst of the antelope passing buy, they suddenly heard the whoops and shouts of Indians. Before they could take any action, the Indians attacked the family. John German was immediately hit in the head with a tomahawk and killed. His son Stephen was shot and killed. As John's wife Lydia jumped off the wagon to go help John, she too was killed. Daughter, Rebecca also tried to help by attempting to stab one of the attackers. She was killed also. The Indians took what they wanted from the wagon which included food and some of the oxen. They burned the wagon, its contents and family members.

They took the five remaining children, all girls, with them. They stopped nearby the massacre site at a stream to look at their captives. When they realized that daughter, Joanna had long blonde hair, they killed her and scalped her. The four daughters who remained captives were the two youngest, Julia and Addie and the older two, Catherine and Sophia.


Word got out about the massacre of the German family and military troops from Ft. Wallace began searching for them. The troops were under the command of Gen. Nelson A. Miles and Lt. Frank Baldwin. They began a massive search for the Indians and their captives, the daughters of John German. The Indians knew the troops were searching for them and so they began moving to avoid them, by going into Texas and Oklahoma. Because the two youngest daughters were small, they could not ride horses and couldn't walk fast, so the Indians abandoned them.

Julia and Addie German wandered the plains of Kansas for six weeks. They had no food, water, clothing and no one to care for them. They ate fruits, nuts, grasses. They hid at night, a different place each night, so they wouldn't be found by wolves or other prowlers. The two older daughters, Catherine and Sophia, were kept captive by the Cheyenne for 6 months. They suffered torture, physical and sexual abuse, and hunger, all which would be impossible to accurately describe. For a period of time, Catherine and Sophia were separated from each other. Ultimately, all four girls were rescued and brought back safely. Their story of survival is an amazing one.

Their rescue was the result of an intense military operation, active negotiation with the Indians and the heartfelt efforts of those involved. It just isn't possible to describe all of the circumstances surrounding their capitivity and rescue in this blog. Lt. Frank Baldwin was awarded the Medal of Honor for his roll in the rescue of the children of John German.

You can go online and search for John German or Lt. Frank Baldwin and find excellent descriptions and timelines of this sad event. There are two books and many stories written about the massacre of John German. One book is "Girl Captives of the Cherokee" by Grace E. Meredith available at online bookstores. Ms. Meredith's book has photographs of all four girls. Another, "The Moccasin Speaks" by Mrs. Feldman is out of print, but still available.

John German's mother, Rebecca died in 1851, well before he had his journey. His father, Thomas, was still living in Fannin County, Georgia when the attacks occurred. Upon hearing of the death of his son and family, Thomas German began correspondence with Gen. Nelson Miles regarding the rescue and safety of his granddaughters. The father of Lydia Cox German was also in contact with Gen. Miles. Copies of their letters are contained in Ms. Meredith's book.
Catherine, the oldest daughter, decided on behalf of the others, that they would not return to the South. Instead, they stayed in Kansas and were placed in foster homes. I suppose she may have been influenced by the fact that her father was seeking a better life for them in making the migration to the west which cost the life of John, his wife and four of his children.

August 14, 2008-Finding Laura Manning

Laura Griffith Manning was my paternal great grandmother. I have never heard anyone in the family tell stories about her or describe what she looked like. It seems there has been little mention of her name. In April 2008, I decided that I wanted to focus on women in the family and I decided to start with Laura.

Laura Griffith was born in Collin County, Texas in 1874. Her parents were George Griffith and Amanda Mallow Griffith. Her father died when she was very young and I don't know who his parents were. Amanda's parents were Jerusha Jane Heffington Mallow and Stewart Dickey Mallow. Laura married great grandfather Forbis Manning in 1893 in the Choctaw Nation (Oklahoma). Forbis was 1/4 Choctaw Indian and Laura is noted on the census to be white. I could find Forbis and Laura on the Choctaw Rolls and on the census for Bryan County, Oklahoma. I knew she was buried in Caddo, Oklahoma because I visited the grave sites of the LeFlores and Mannings there. I decided to backtrack a bit and follow the census for her mother, Amanda and her grandmother, Jerusha.

I could find them fairly easily until 1900 and then it seemed I hit a dead end. I recalled that after Jerusha's husband, Stewart Mallow died, Jerusha remarried. She married Mr. David Allen.

So, I searched for Jerusha Allen. It worked because I found a 1900 Bryan County, Oklahoma census with Jerusha Allen as the head of household. I was very surprised to find the other household members to be "Mandie" Griffith (Laura's mother, Amanda), Ellen Patterson (Amanda's sister), Liddie and Annie Patterson (Ellen's daughters). All of the women were noted to be widowed. I knew Jerusha died in 1901, so I looked to the 1910 census for Mandie, Ellen and Ellen's daughters. I found Ellen Patterson living with her daughter Annie in 1910 and then with her daughter Lydia in 1920. Lydia had married Mr. Avant and they were all living in Texas.

I had the feeling that if I found a relative of Lydia Avant and Ellen Patterson, they might know something about their neice/cousin Laura Griffith. The outcome of my search was amazing. I found that Lydia had a daughter Lillian who married Mr. Stone, so I looked in the "Find Living People" section on ancestry.com and found a Stone family living in the town in Texas where Lydia Patterson Avant had lived. I wrote them a short note letting them know who I was and that I was looking for the relatives of Ellen Patterson and Lydia Patterson Avant,who were descendents of Jerusha Jane Mallow. I got an immediate email from one of the family members stating that she was the great-great granddaughter of Jerusha Jane Mallow. What followed were a series of wonderful emails and lots of pictures.

I received a picture of Jerusha Jane Mallow, her daughter Ellen Mallow Patterson, Ellen's daughter Lydia Patterson Avant and Lydia's daughter Lillian Stone. Also received a picture of the trunk Ellen Mallow Patterson used when she moved from Oklahoma to Texas, pictures of crochet work done by Ellen and Lydia, and a picture of a cape worn by Jerusha Jane Mallow. I really treasure these pictures.

Of course, they knew Ellen's sister was Amanda Mallow Griffith and knew Amanda's daughter was Laura Griffith, but they didn't know much else and didn't have any pictures of them. I kept looking at the pictures of these very pretty women and imagined that great grandmother, Laura Griffith Manning probably looked very much like them. I had some satisfaction in having an image in my mind about her. So, I basically felt I had completed all that I could regarding Laura.

In July 2008, I was in Oklahoma City for a family funeral. I went to visit my aunt and uncle who had done the family genealogy years ago. Whenever I visit them, they usually bring out some old family photos for us to look over. They did and it was really good to see some I had not seen before. There was one really old studio photo, with scratches all over it, picturing two very pretty women, nicely dressed. I asked who the women were, but neither my aunt or uncle knew. I turned the picture over and could see some faint writing on the back. I took the picture over to the window for better light. You cannot imagine what I felt when I saw the name LAURA GRIFFITH written on the back. I felt so happy to see her. She was beautiful, looking very much like her aunt and cousins, just like I thought she would.

I can truly say that the process of Finding Laura Manning has been one of the most rewarding genealogy experiences I have had.

Here is the photograph and that is Laura Manning on the right.

August 12, 2008-Always Looking for Manning Clues

As you know, before my obsession with genealogy, I was obsessed with buying and selling antique and vintage books. Well, I am still buying books on a small scale. With my focus on genealogy, I have begun to seek books with family histories or significant historical events. My favorite place to buy books has always been the Croatan Bookery in Nags Head, North Carolina.

In late June 2007, we were back in Nags Head for a visit and I went to the Bookery. I always stay there far too long and and leave with a big box full of books. I was about to check out when I passed a stack of soft cover books. The one that caught my eye had a great black and white photo of a woman on the front. When I opened it, I was amazed at page after page of black and white pictures. Each picture had the names of the persons in the picture. I knew I must have found a great reference for someones genealogy. Imagine how surprised I was when I looked at the title and author information. The title is "Down to Earth People of Appalachia" and the author/photographer is Kenneth Murray. Looking closer, I noted that the forward to the book was written by Ambrose Manning.

A Manning clue!!! When I opened to the title page, there was an inscription signed by Marie Manning Brown. Manning and Brown, this had to be fate. I knew I had to have the book. But, also the book was published in Boone, North Carolina which is in the county where the Browns were from. I couldn't wait to get back home so I could find out about Ambrose Manning.

I did try to research Ambrose and his Manning ancestors, but I was still too new at knowing the best genealogy records to locate them. I let much time go by without trying again to find him.
I did learn that he was an authority on the places and people of Appalachia, a professor at East Tennessee State University, and that he was from North Carolina. I won't go on and on about everything I learned because as it turns out, Ambrose Manning was not a relative. I learned he was not a relative in June 2008, when I tried again to research his family. I found his entire family in an online obituary of Ambrose who had just died a week earlier. Named in the obituary was Marie Manning Brown, who had signed the inscription.

I keep this book right on my desk and look at it from time to time.

August 10, 2008-The Many Thomas Mannings

Since I am new at genealogy research, it seems to take a while to put things together. Even though I have a copy of the family history completed by my Uncle in 1989, I have not been able to clearly understand the Thomas Mannings. So, I have now spent some time in tracking them through the South Carolina census starting in 1790. In order to provide some clarity, I have renamed them. I'll start with the most recent Thomas Manning.

Thomas Jefferson Manning- T. J. was born in 1832 in York, S.C. He moved to Indian Territory after completing medical school. In 1857, he married Matilda Elizabeth LeFlore. T.J. and Matilda are my great-great grandparents. His name first appears on the 1850 census in York, S.C. In the earlier census, they only recorded the name of the head of the household.

Thomas Manning, Jr.- I now call him Thomas Manning III. He was the father of T.J. and he was born in 1802 in York, S.C. He married Jane Stewart. His name first appears on the York, S.C. census in 1830. There are two people in his household, 1 male over 20 and under 30 and 1 female over 20 and under 30. In 1830, Thomas III would have been 28 years old and Jane Manning would have been 23.

In 1840, Thomas III was in Walker County, Georgia with 5 children. In 1850, he is in Walker, Georgia with 8 children. In 1860, Thomas III and Jane are in Walker County and have 2 children at home. In 1870, they have 3 children at home in Walker County. In 1880, Thomas III and Jane have their granddaughter, Effa living with them, still in Walker County. Thomas III died on September 11, 1889.

Thomas Manning, Sr.-Now, Thomas II. This is where it starts to get confusing. I previously thought Thomas II was born in 1750 and died in 1802. As I searched the census of York County, it became clear that the Thomas born in 1750 was not this Thomas Manning, but rather it was his father, Thomas I. The birth and death dates I now show for Thomas II are in a range, based upon the census records. Thomas II is the father of Thomas III and had he been born in 1750, he would have been 52 when Thomas III was born and would have died the same year Thomas III was born. I believe Thomas II was born about 1775 and died after 1840 because he appears on the 1840 York census. He would have been born when his father, Thomas I was about 25 years old. Other than Thomas III, I am not sure who his children were. One record shows a Thomas Manning with children Thomas, Cathryn, Marjamin and his wife Elizabeth Beck.

The parents of Thomas II were Thomas Manning and Elizabeth Reid. The siblings of Thomas II were William 1770-1836 who married Nancy Thomas; Catey ; Elizabeth who married Mr. Davis; Mary Polly who also married a Mr. Davis; Robert Manning 1783-? who married Mary Ann. These names appear on the transcription of the will of Thomas I who died in 1802. The will found on the York, S.C. genealogy page shows the name spelled as Manion.

Thomas II appears on the 1810 census as Thomas Manning. His household has 3 males and two are under age 10, 2 females with 1 under age 10. In 1820, he is identified as Thomas Manning with a household of 2 males (Thomas II and one son) and 3 females. One son must have left home by 1820 and a daughter born between 1810 and 1820.

In 1830, two Thomas Mannings appear on the census. Thomas Manning Sr (Thomas II) and Thomas Manning Jr (Thomas III). Thomas II household included one male age 10, one male over age 60 and one female over age 60.

In 1840, in the household of Thomas Manning (Thomas II) there is one male over 60 and under 70 (Thomas II) and one male over 30 and under 40. There are no females in his household. His wife must have died between 1830 and 1840. By 1840, Thomas III had moved to Walker County, Ga.

Thomas Manning I-Thomas was born in 1750 and died in 1802 in York, S.C. He was married to Elizabeth Reid. He appears on the 1790 York census as Thomas Manning with no designation of Jr. or Sr. In his household there is 1 male over 16 (Thomas I), 3 males under 16 (Thomas II, William and Robert) and 1 female (Elizabeth).

In 1800, he is noted as Thomas Manning Sr. with a household of 3 males, 1 age 10-15 (Robert who was born in 1783), 1 age 16-25(Thomas II), 1 age over 45 (Thomas I) and 1 female (Elizabeth). His son William is on the same census page with his household containing 1 male under age 10, 3 females under age 10, 1 male 25-45 (William) and 1 female 25-45 (Nancy).
Thomas I died July 29, 1802 in York County. So, the census after 1800 with Thomas Manning appearing would be Thomas II.

On the transcription of his will, Elizabeth is his wife. William, Thomas and Robert are his sons. Elizabeth, Polly and Catey are his daughters. Robert Manion(Manning) is one of the executors and the other is Randolph Landaland. I can't identify who Landaland is. The witnesses are John Ramsey and Landaland. On a website noted as the Reid Clan, they show Thomas David Reid marrying Mary Ramsey, who was the daughter of Col. John Ramsey and Sarah Birdsong. It is possible that Thomas David Reid was the brother of Elizabeth Reid, but that's another project.

August 4, 2008-Why Did Thomas Manning, Jr. Move to Georgia?

Trying to determine why Thomas Manning, Jr. moved from York County, South Carolina to Walker County, Georgia is a an interesting process. Thomas was born in York County and lived there until about 1833. Thomas and Jane's first two sons were born in York County. John was born in 1830 and Thomas J. was born in 1832.

Multiple things were happening in Georgia around 1832. The government was "negotiating" with the Cherokee Indians for their land in northern Georgia in exchange for land west of the Mississippi. Georgia had been offering land to settlers through land lotteries since since 1805 . In total there were eight lotteries. The last two lotteries were in 1832 and 1833. The lottery in 1832 included The Land Lottery and The Gold Lottery, which was a lottery for land that was in the areas where gold had been discovered. Land belonging to the Cherokees was part of this 1832 lottery. Thomas did not move until after September of 1832 because Thomas Jefferson Manning was born in York County in September 1832. The 1832 lottery was held from October 22, 1832- May 1, 1833. The 1833 lottery was held in December 1833. So, he could have been in Georgia for the 1832 and 1833 lotteries.

In order to qualify for the Land Lottery, he would have to have been a resident of Georgia for three years prior to the lottery. The residency requirement was not required if he had been an officer in the army or navy of the USA. There is no record of him having been a military officer.

I have looked through some of the land lottery records and have found no Manning, so far.

It is noted in the history of Georgia, that many land speculators, who qualified for the Land Lottery and obtained land in a lottery, were quickly selling the land for a profit. Evidently, some people who were involved in running the lotteries were some of the speculators. I suppose word, that the owners of Lottery Land were selling property, would have traveled and settlers may have gone to Georgia to obtain land at a good price. Two good sites that discusses the Georgia Land Lotteries are:

ngeorgia.com/history/lotteries.html

wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Land_lottery

In 1828, gold was discovered in the mountains of northern Georgia and there was a Gold Rush that lasted until about 1840. The prospect of finding gold would have been a good reason for him to move. The combination of gold and land would have been an even better reason.

Perhaps his decision was influenced by the westward migration that was occuring and maybe it was his intention to move further west. He might have known someone living in Georgia, a friend or maybe another Manning family member. Whatever the reason for his move, he settled in Walker County, Georgia and that's where nine of his children were born and where he lived for the remainder of his life.

August 4, 2008-Young Cemetery, Walker County, GA-The Final Word

Since my post on July 26, 2008 , I have clarified some of the relationships of those buried at The Young Cemetery in Walker County, Georgia. The purpose of this clarification effort was to attempt to clarify the relationship between my ancestors, Thomas, Jane and John Manning, with the others buried at Young Cemetery. Among the others are Youngs, McWilliams, Littles, Jacksons, Patterson.

Some of the comments from my earlier post have proven to be correct, but I believe this is The Final Word. James Young 1775-1850 was from Spartanburg, SC. His wife was Anna Foster 1782-1840. James and Sarah Ann Young are buried at Young Cemetery. James and Anna had 12 children.

James
Mary Ann
William
Margaret
John Calvin
Maiden
Robert
Jane
Hamilton
Betsy
Frank
Polly

John Calvin Young married Lula McWilliams. She was the daughter of Nannie Neal McWilliams and Capt. William McWilliams. Capt. Capt. William McWilliams and Nancy Neal McWilliams ( his second wife) are buried at Young Cemetery. Neither John Calvin Young or Lula are buried there.

Margaret Young married Mr. Jackson.

Betsy Young married William Little. Betsy and William Little are buried at Young Cemetery. Among their children, Bettie M. Little married Rev. Mose Jackson. Bettie Jackson is buried at Young Cemetery. Sallie (Sarah) Little married Capt. William McWilliams. Sarah Little was the first wife of Capt. McWilliams and she is buried at Young Cemetery, as is Capt. Williams. A son, J.R. Little 1847-1919 and his wife M.A. Little 1853 are also buried there.

Frank M. Young (F.M.) married Martha Ann Green. Capt. F.M. and Martha Young are also buried there. Among their children, George T. Young 1853-1884 and Sarah Young 1859-1883 are there too.

Another related person at the cemetery is R. P. McWilliams 1881-1907, whose exact relationship is not apparent.

The four people buried there who are unrelated to all the above mentioned people are Thomas, Jane and John Manning and Robert Patterson. The relationships of all the others are pretty clear now. It is still unclear why the Mannings are there in a family cemetery of people unrelated to them. I shall put this to rest because a bigger question is: Why did Thomas Manning move from South Carolina to Georgia?

August 2, 2008-Margaman Manning-1840-1865

Margaman Manning was born January 29, 1840 in Walker County, Georgia to Thomas Manning, Jr. and Jane Stewart Manning. He was the fifth of eleven children born to Thomas and Jane. His name first appears on the 1850 census in Walker County and he is 11 years old. On the 1860 Walker County census, he is household #698. He is noted to be 20 years old and the head of the household. His wife is Harriet and she is 18. He is a farmer with $375 value of his personal estate. His father and mother are noted to be household # 699 on the 1860 census. That suggests they were living very close to each other.

In researching Margaman on various genealogy sites, his name is spelled Minjaman, Migamin, Margamin, Mingaman and Migamin. On the 1860 census, when he is living next to his parents, the spelling is Margaman.

Margaman's wife was Harriet Evelyn Thornton. She was born April 24, 1842 in Calhoun, Gordon County, Georgia. Her parents were Issac Thornton 1817-1906 and Clarinda Nuckles 1819-1862. Harriet's brother, Augustus Sterling Clark Thornton married Margaman's sister Mary J. Manning. Margaman and Harriet were married January 23, 1859. In 1861, Margaman and Harriet had a daughter, Julia Elizabeth Manning.

Margaman enlisted in Company C, 39th Georgia Infantry Regiment on February 28, 1862. On the military record of the 39th Infantry Regiment, he is shown to be a resident of Whitfield County, Georgia. Whitfield borders Walker County to the east. At the time of his enlistment, he was a 5th Sargeant. He was promoted to Full 3rd Sergeant on September 15, 1863 and to Full 2nd Sergeant in 1864. He was wounded at Jonesboro, Georgia August 31, 1864 and captured there by Union Soldiers September 20, 1864. He was sent to Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois and was a prisoner of war. Margaman died at Camp Douglas March 21, 1865.

It has been recorded that over 6,000 Confederate soldiers died at Camp Douglas. The winter of 1864 was apparently an extremely harsh one with frigid temperatures. It has been documented that the prisoners were not given adequate clothing, food or medical care. It is also recorded on various sites, the prison was filthy, filled with vermin, human waste and sick and dying soldiers. The site of the Encyclopedia of Chicago at encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org, has some photos of the camp as well as the history.

Harriet Thornton Manning remarried after Margaman's death. She married William Summerfield Dobson. Harriet died May 25, 1896 and is buried at Bald Knob Cemetery in Wise County, Texas. Julia Elizabeth Manning married John Robert Morris. Julia and John had five children. Their oldest was named Thomas Margeman Morris, apparently after Julia's father.
Julia died December 31, 1953 and is buried at Hubbard, Hill County, Texas.

July 30, 2008-Timeline-Thomas Manning, Jr.

Thomas Manning, Jr. 1802-1889

Thomas Manning, Jr. was born in 1802 in York County, South Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Manning, Sr. (1775-1840) and Elizabeth Beck. Thomas Manning, Jr. married Jane Jinsey Stewart in 1828. Jane was the daughter of John Stewart (1772-1852) and Sarah Mullinax (1774-1852). Thomas and his family lived in South Carolina from the time he was born until around 1835 when he moved to Walker County, Georgia.

While still living in South Carolina, Thomas and Jane had two sons.

John S. Manning 1830

Thomas Jefferson Manning 1832

After moving to Walker County, Georgia, the rest of their children were born.

Sarah A. Manning 1835
Elizabeth C. Manning 1837

Migamin (Margaman) Manning 1840

Mary Jane Manning 1842

James P. Manning 1844

Louisa Manning 1846

Lewis C. Manning 1851

1840

Thomas Manning, Jr. was noted on the 1840 census in Walker County, Georgia to have a household consisting of himself, wife, two sons and two daughters.

1850

Thomas Manning, Jr. was noted on the census to be a farmer. In 1850, the family was in Walker County, Georgia, household #375, owning real estate valued at $1800. The household included Thomas, James. John, Thomas Jefferson, Sarah, Elizabeth, Margaman, Mary J., James P. and Louisa. On the 1850 Walker County Slave Schedule, Thomas was shown to have three slaves ages 35, 24 and 7. John, the oldest son was noted to be a teacher and Thomas Jefferson, a farmer.

1857

Son, Thomas Jefferson Manning had completed medical school and moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to work as a physician for the Indian Agent. In 1857, Thomas Jefferson Manning married Matilda LeFlore.

1859

Son, Margaman Manning married Harriet Thornton.

1860

On the 1860 census in Walker County, they were household #699 which included Thomas, Jane, Louisa and Lewis. Thomas was indicated to be a farmer and his real estate was valued at $6000 and his personal estate at $6000. On the 1860 Slave Schedule, Thomas owned six slaves ages 40, 33, 18, 18, 9 and 3.

His son John S. was not on this census. He died in 1860 with a lung hemorrage, according to the U.S. Mortality Index. On the same census page in 1860, his son Margaman Manning and his wife Harriet are house are household #698, he was 20 and she was 18. Their property was valued at $375 and he was a farmer.

Daughter Elizabeth C. and her husband H.G. R. Williams are household #703 on the 1860 Walker County census. Mr. Williams was noted to be a teacher with real estate valued at $1000 and personal estate at $400.

1862

Daughter Mary J. Manning Thornton died at age 20, leaving her husband Augustus and two children Clarinda and James B. Thornton.

1864

Son in law, Augustus Thornton died. He was killed in a Civil War battle. His children Clarinda and James B. were living with Thomas and Jane Manning in 1870.

1865

Son, Margaman Manning died while a Prisoner of War at Camp Douglas, Illinois. He was survived by his wife Harriet and daughter Julia Elizabeth who was born March 16, 1861 in Dalton, Whitfield, Georgia.

1866

Daughter, Louisa married Hamilton G. Moore and their first child Effa Lillian Moore was born July 8, 1866.

1870

On the Walker County census of 1870, Thomas is household #193 with his wife Jane and children Lewis C., and grandchildren Catherine J. and James B. Thornton. They were the children of their daughter Mary Jane Manning Thornton. Thomas was noted to be a farmer with real estate valued at $6000 and a personal estate of $6000.

1876

Daughter, Louisa Manning Moore died at age 30 and was survived by her husband, Hamilton G. Moore and children Effa Lillian, Emma J., Thomas H., Minnie S. and Artemissa B. In 1876, Hamilton Moore remarried to Margaret Lawrence.

1880

On the 1880 census of Walker County, Thomas lived with his wife Jane and granddaughter Effa.

Jane Stewart Manning died in 1885 and Thomas Manning died in 1889. Thomas and Jane are buried next to their son, John, at the Young Family Cemetery near Lafayette, Walker, Georgia.