Very little is known about my 3rd
great-grandparents, Jesse Thomas and Rebecca (maiden name unknown). At least, I don’t know much about
them and haven’t found anyone else who does either. The only records I have
found for them to date are the 1840, 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses. They were in
Murray County, Georgia in 1840, Lumpkin County, Georgia in 1850 and back in
Murray County in 1860. By 1870, Rebecca was in Logan County, Kentucky living
near two of their daughters but Jesse was not with her.
Jesse was born about 1802 in either Georgia
or South Carolina and Rebecca was born about 1807 in Georgia. The 1840 census
indicates six possible children – 2 males under 5, 1 female under 5, 1 female
5-10 and 2 females 10-15.
In 1850, there were five children living with
Jesse and Rebecca. William was 14 so he would have been one of the two males
under 5 in 1840. Oliver and Daniel were 5 and 2 respectively so neither of them
was the other male under 5 in 1840. One of the females 10-15 in 1840 was Mary.
She wasn’t listed with the family in 1850 as she was already married but her
headstone gives her birth year as 1828 so she was about twelve in 1840.
Margaret’s estimated birth year varies in every census record so she could have
been born in 1836 (1850), 1839 (1860) or 1841 (1870). The 1850 census shows her
as 14 but that is also the age listed for William. Unless they were twins, one
of them was slightly older or younger. Assuming Margaret was born in 1836, she
would have been the female under 5 in 1840. If she was a little older than 14,
she could have been the female 5-10. There is even the possibility that she
wasn’t listed at all in 1840 if her age in the 1870 census was correct. Nancy
was 10 in 1850 so she could have been the female under 5 in 1840 (and that
would make Margaret the female 5-10). If both Nancy and Margaret were in the 1840
record then there was one other daughter born between 1825-1830. If only
Margaret was included, then there was a second unknown daughter born between
1830-1835.
Based on all of that, Jesse and Rebecca’s
children were: an unknown daughter born between 1825-1830; Mary born 14 Jun
1828; a possible unknown daughter born between 1830-1835; an unknown son born
between 1835-1840; William born about 1836; Margaret born about 1836; Nancy
born about 1840; Oliver born about 1845 and Daniel born about 1848.
By the 1860 census, Nancy, Oliver and Daniel
were the only three children still living with Jesse and Rebecca. Mary married
James M. Echols on 16 Jan 1845 in Forsyth County, Georgia. They were in Forsyth
County in census records from 1850 to 1880. Margaret married John R. Petty on
20 Sep 1857 in Whitfield County, Georgia. They were in McMinn County, Tennessee
in 1860 and Logan County, Kentucky in 1870. William’s whereabouts in 1860 and
thereafter are unknown.
Nancy married Joseph Petty (John R.’s
brother) on 20 Jun 1860 in Logan County, Kentucky. Rebecca, Nancy & Joseph
and Margaret & John R. were all in the Keystone District in Logan County in
1870. Daniel and Mary’s son, John Echols, were living with Rebecca. Fifteen
year-old James Thomas was also living with them. His relationship is
undetermined. It is possible but unlikely that he was Jesse and Rebecca’s son since
he wasn’t listed with them in 1860 and Rebecca would have been about 48 years
old when he was born. He may have been a grandson (the son of either William or
the unknown son).
Jesse’s occupation was miner in
1850 when they lived in Lumpkin County. Since there was no real estate value
listed for him, it appears he did not own property in Lumpkin County but a
review of the actual deed records is required to verify that. Jesse was a farm
laborer in 1860 in
Murray County. The term “laborer” indicates he was working for someone else and
did not own his own farm. The census record shows he owned real estate valued
at $200 but there are no property records for him in Murray County.
Jesse and Rebecca have not been located in the 1830 census. They were apparently married with two children by that time but may have been living with one or the other's parents. The area that eventually became Lumpkin and Murray Counties was formerly Cherokee lands and became Cherokee County in 1831.
Research to do:
- Search records in Lumpkin, Forsyth and Cherokee Counties.
- Research John R. Thomas who lived near Mary in Forsyth County in 1860. Based on his age in 1860 he was about 5 years older than the unknown son but that's not enough to rule him out.
- Search 1840 census records for other Thomas households in the area.
(Note: Murray and Whitfield County records have already been searched at the respective courthouses.)
