Edwards
From: Joan FontaineDate: Nov. 17, 2013
Issue: Proof of parents of William Henry Edwards born 7 Dec 1817 in Columbia County and Sydney Anne Edwards born ca 1820 (1850 Census). Parents believed to be Meriday Edwards, born ca 1797 in Georgia and mother is thought to be Nancy Jackson.
Since I sent you the spreadsheet on Nov 16th, I found additional records at archives.com. I saw a record there stating that James was married twice. We know Jestern married Mr Drake after James' death. That indicates Jestern was James Hancock's 2nd wife. That means that we had an extra generation - an extra James - in our list. Jestern's husband was possibly named Henry James and possibly James Henry, but she is said to have called him "Harry." Given that Archives gives his birth date as 1755, I'm now wondering if he was a revolutionary soldier, but I found no evidence for that. - Susan
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Dates of public record for Jestern Joyce Hancock Drake Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 16:06:37 +0530 From: Susan Gray
On 11/16/13 12:54 PM, georgiapioneers@gmail.com wrote: From: Susan Gray Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2013 2:15 AM To: georgiapioneers@gmail.com Cc: Jenny Kaner-Gates Subject: Re: Dates of public record for Jestern Joyce Hancock Drake If I subscribe to all 5 of your websites, will you be able to trace four more people in the family? Two in Virginia, 1 in North Carolina, and and 1 South Carolina? This is all very exciting. I'm so glad I found you on Pintrest. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you. - Susan
On 11/16/13 12:06 PM, Susan Gray wrote: I am looking to acquire copies of original documentation showing the dates of public record for Jestern Hancock her birth, her business operations, her marriages, her children's births, and her death.
I have been told that Jestern inherited a business from her father. Jestern ran 3 businesses: the Ohoopee Saw Mills, the Tavern at the Ohoopee Saw Mills, and a ferry at what is now called Drakes' Landing There are records of liquor licenses granted to her tavern. There was a court case concerning her tavern, where she testified in support of the plaintiff, who was robbed (and who was a free black man) testified. The plaintiff won. (See attached) Her father was John Joyce, a revolutionary soldier, 1750-1833, and she was named in his will. Jestern and her first husband had many children, though the number and their birth dates are disputed. Her first husband was Henry James Hancock, who died in 1816. Her first husband's brother was Durham Hancock, who was a judge. Her second husband was Jesse James Drake, after whom Drake's Landing was named
I read at the link below that there is a Jestern Hancock re-enactor, whose other inspiration for this role is Miss Kitty (from the TV series Gunsmoke.)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:uvvKtNKwmXAJ:www.kinfolksacrosstheriver.com/May05newsletterrtf.rtf
Many histories on the internet say Jestern Joyce Hancock (later Drake) was born in 1770, possibly in Virginia, married James Hancock in 1776, had a daughter the same year, and died in Tatnall county Georgia, in 1849. If you do the arithmetic, you can see it's not likely she was married or had a baby at 6. Until we find some evidence, the real dates will remain a mystery. Jestern's son Shadrack Hancock (whose nickname was Black Eyed Shade) born 1799, was my 3rd great grandfather. According to my Papa's family's mostly oral tradition, her father in law and one of her sons were also named James Hancock. This may have led to some of this muddle. This tradition also says she called her husband Henry, not James. Any assistance you can give us, in acquiring copies of original documentation showing the dates of public record for Jestern Hancock will be very much appreciated.
- Susan Hancock Gray
Respoonse from Jeannette Austin:
On the issue of Nancy Jackson. As you stated Merriday Edwards married Annie Lambert in Columbia County on March 31, 1817. This fits perfectly for her to be the mother of these two children. I searched to see if I could establish that Annie's name might have been Nancy Ann. Also, for anything on a Jackson family in Columbia County. No luck on that.
Mrs. Nancy Edwards who married Asa Moore March 31, 1826 in Warren County. (mother of William and Sydney). I searched the Warren County records to see if there was an estate or will on Nancy Moore or Asa Moore. Any record of this sort is desirable, but nothing was found.
John Hugh Edwards. According to the Wilkes County deeds, there appears to be two John Edward's in that county before 1800. What I was looking for her was a revolutionary war soldier by the name of John Edwards. One John Edwards of that era removed to Oglethorpe County, so I followed the trail there and could not prove anything. One of these guys was a revolutionary war soldier, but the pension records did not establish anything.
Miscellaneous Oglethorpe County Deeds.
Phoebe Edwards in Columbia County in 1818
Next, the 1805 Georgia Land Lottery lists the following:
Jonathan Edwards, resident of Warren County
Lemuel Edwards, resident of Columbia County
Robert Edwards, resident of Warren County
William Edwards, resident of Warren County
Last Will and Testament of William H. Edwards
Summary: Searches: Wilkes, Warren, Columbia, Oglethorpe Counties. It appears that your personal research was very thorough and I was unable to find anything further. I did not find anything on John Hugh Edwards. There was a Revolutionary War Soldier, John Edwards, who was in Wilkes and Ogethorpe Countys. Pension S10610. He was born Aug 12, 1752 in Culpeper Co., Virginia and served on the NC Line. Enlisted in Franklin County, NC. After the war he removed to Culpeper county, Virginia for a few years, then removed to Wilkes County, Georgia, later to Oglethorpe County, Georgia. His pension application was dated 7/13/1832 in Perry County, Alabama. He might be the father of Meriday.
Jeannette Austin