Source: http://kvickers.tfc.edu/Hardy_Vickers_Wooten.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 06:38:06+00:00

Document:
Credits and discussion appear below the following excerpts.
Our long-time Associate Judge Sam Taylor of Montgomery Alabama has discovered in the Alabama Archives the diary of Hardy Vickers Wooten. In this diary, Hardy supplies an unusual wealth of genealogical information concerning his parents and other relatives, as well as many anecdotes giving a colorful picture of a boy’s life in rural Georgia around 1820.
Judge Taylor has sent us substantial excerpts from the Diary, both in Hardy’s original handwriting and in typed transcription, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History has kindly granted us permission to reproduce these excerpts in our Quarterly. Readers wishing to examine the complete Diary may do so at the Department’s Reference Division, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery Alabama.
We begin with a transcription of the first four pages of the first four pages of the Diary, and also reproduce the original first page, showing Hardy’s excellent handwriting and his obvious intention to give an orderly account of his life. In fact, these early pages read more like an autobiography than a mere diary.
I was born on the 15th of December A. D. 1813, in the County of Burke, and State of Georgia. My father’s name was Eli Wooten, who when a young man emigrated to Georgia from North Carolina, induced I suppose by the greater promise of the former place, to one like him, who was destined to procure a living by the work of his hands. Concerning my father’s family in N. C. I know but little, having seen but few of them, yet judging, from what I do know, I suppose they were generally poor, honest, & respectable people. Two of his brothers came to Georgia with him; Hardy & David, the former procured for himself a pretty large family & died about the year 1817. The latter went to Alabama, & died single about the year 1824.
My mother’s name was Jerusha Vickers. She was the daughter of John Vickers, a revolutionary whig, who after the war emigrated from Virginia to Georgia, and settled in the County before mentioned. My grandfather Vickers had many sons and daughters (to wit) James, Hardy, Nathan, Jonathan, Mary, Celia, Elizabeth, Winney, Jerusha, Rachael, & Nancy. Of most of these, of course I have nothing to say. I will only record, that so far as I know, all of them, but one, lived to a good old age, and raised respectable families. This one, (Nancy) died early after her marriage.
John Vickers raised a Company during the Revolutionary War, of which he became Captain and fought through the war.
It will be perceived, that I had an uncle on each side named HARDY, so I being the first son of my parents, it is but natural that I should be named HARDY VICKERS WOOTEN.
In 1816 I had a brother born, who, for his father, was named Eli. It was I believe in the early part of this year that my Grandparents Vickers died, their deaths being not far distant from each other. In 1817, my parents moved to another place further out from the Ogeechee river. All of the family were very sickly, and I had my share, indeed I was so near dead at one time that my shroud was prepared.
In 1818, my father bought a tract of Land on the road from Louisville to Savannah, to which he moved, and on which the family remained after his death. It was during the early part of this year that I first commenced going to school. At first my father hired me with 6 ¼ cents, but such was the fondness which I soon contracted for it, that, in a few days my mother wishing to carry me to a tailor, (as I had got to be a “little man”) had to give me another “thrip” to stay from school. I continued at school for about 4 months, in that year, during that time I passed nearly through Webster’s spelling book. Our school was in a little pole cabin near the corner of an old field, and the school master was an old Scotchman named Bolling. He frequently came to school drunk, as was the practice of many schoolmasters in those days. . . .
No other memorable event in my history occurred during that year.
3 weeks with pleurisy, and died on the 28th January. . . .[clinical description of his condition. ED] By the time of his death, my father had procured a comfortable competence for the support of his family, being however, somewhat in debt it took some time struggling to pay off without parting with any of the estate, which was eventually done. My father left his estate to my mother during her life or widowhood, and she by extraordinary management & industry, kept it all together until her death, paying off the debts my father left unsettled, by the proceeds of the estate. My father died, as I learn from unimpeachable sources, without an enemy on earth. On the 9th of March I had another brother born, who was named James David, for his Uncle on each side. He was blest with health and grew up. My mother superintended her farm herself this year and saved a good crop.
The foregoing excerpts contain most of Hardy’s statements concerning his own parentage and relatives.
From the Diary and other records, we now summarize the main events of Hardy’s life.
1822-He refers in the Diary to his principle playmates. . . cousins Joel Wooten and James V. Jones. Note that this Joel Wooten was son of Hardy’s uncle Hardy Wooten.
Hardy V. then attended the Augusta High School for Boys, and in October 1833 entered Augusta Medical College, from which he graduated with honors. He then studied medicine further at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Following his graduation, he moved to Lowndesboro Alabama, where he practised medicine for some 20 years, and where he still maintained residence at the time of his death 9 July 1856, although he actually died in Marysville TN.
He married Charlotte Rochelle 24 Jan 1841 in Lowndesboro. Of their five children, only one survived to have issue, the third child Ella, reported to have married Joseph Mark Howard. The other children, all died early, were Garvin, Rochelle, Ida, and Zoe.
In 1851, Hardy accepted a teaching position at the Memphis medical college, but after three years was forced by ill health to retire in 1854, when he returned to live in Lowndes County Alabama until his death. His wife Charlotte lived on until 1885.
We should note that some of the data given above are from a biographic sketch of Hardy in Thomas McAdory Owen, HISTORY OF ALABAMA AND DICTIONARY OF ALABAMA BIOGRAPHY, Vol. IV pp 1807-1808. This is an old work reprinted 1978 in Spartanburg SC. The sketch has several serious errors, and should be used with caution.
For example, Owen gives Hardy’s mother as Ruth Vickers, while Hardy himself says her name was JERUSHA. Georgia records made during her lifetime show JERUSHA or sometimes JERESA, but not RUTH. Owen also states that Hardy’s wife Charlotte was great-granddaughter of a Huguenot George Rochelle, who escaped from France after the Edict of Nantes. This is patently incorrect. The Edict of Nantes was issued in 1598, providing for TOLERANCE of the Huguenots, not persecution. Owen (or his informant) probably should have said the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which took place in 1688 and set off a wave of persecution of French protestants.
On the basis of Hardy’s statements in the first four pages of his Diary, there can be no doubt as to his Wooten ancestry. He is a descendant of Thomas and Jane Watton of Castor, Northamptonshire, England, whose son Thomas was baptized in Castor in 1612 and emigrated to Virginia sometime before June 1639.
This Thomas acquired land in Isle of Wight County Virginia in 1645, and about 1649 married Sara the widow of his friend and neighbor Arthur Wood. Thomas and Sara had only one son Richard, who lived his whole life in Isle of Wight, married Joyce, and had two sons Thomas and Richard II. It was this second Richard Wootten who married Lucy Council and had certainly sons Richard III and William, almost certainly a son John, and probably also a son James.
It was the son William, born after 1710, who married Ann (probably Bryant) and moved south to North Carolina, where we find records of him in Northampton County by 1743, in Johnston County 1750-1755, and then for good in Edgecombe County in 1756.
All statements made above are fully documented by records presented in our Special Study No. I, THE WOOTTONS OF ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY VIRGINIA.
William and his wife Ann had only four sons who have been reliably documented: Amos, James, Joel, and Joshua. William’s deed of gift of 513 acres to his son Amos is in Edgecombe DB E p 255, made 13 Jan 1783. A similar deed to his son Joel for 40 acres is in Edgecombe DB 6 p 430, made 26 Feb 1791.
On 19 Jan 1797, Amos’ sons Eli and Hardy Wootten witness a deed from James Wootten to Joel Wootten for 150 acres (Edgecombe DB 8 p 665). The same day, Joel deeds 225 acres to Edward Cobb (DB 8 p 701). These are Joel’s last transactions in Edgecombe; he next turns u in Burke County GA. This is also Hardy’s last appearance in Edgecombe for some years; he too next turns up in Burke County GA.
Eli Wootten, however, is still found in Edgecombe 8 Jan 1799, when he witnesses a deed from Hardy Norville to Keton Everette involving land adjoining and formerly belonging to Amos Wooten (Edgecombe DB 10 p 73). At this point, Eli too disappears from Edgecombe to surface in Burke County GA.
This certainly suggests that Eli, Hardy, and their Uncle Joel planned this move to Georgia together. Joel moved even further south by 1805, when he is shown as drawing two blanks in the First Georgia Land Lottery and as residing in Montgomery County.
Eli and Hardy are both shown as residing in Burke County in 1805, when Eli drew one blank and Hardy two blanks in the same Lottery.
In the Second Georgia Land Lottery, drawings in 1807, Hardy, residing in Burke, won 202 ½ acres in Wilkinson County, but there is no record that he ever moved to Wilkinson.
Meanwhile, back in Edgecombe County NC, Amos Wooten, the father of Eli and Hardy, died before 4 April 1812, when his son and executor Stephen reported inventory of Amos' estate. In his will, Amos had left a large portion of his estate to his wife Priscilla for her lifetime, without specifying how it was to be divided after her death.
The heirs therefore, in February 1813, petitioned the Edgecombe Court to appoint commissioners to divide the lands amongst them. This petition is on behalf of all the heirs in Edgecombe at that time, plus two additional heirs Hardy and Eli Wootten residents of Georgia. We reproduce the first page of this petition, since it names ALL of Amos’ children, including his daughters and their husbands.
The Court duly appointed Commissioners as requested, and the division was made 23 Nov 1813, as entered in Edgecombe Deed Book 15 p 37. A total of 1153 acres on both sides of Autrey’s Creek (now Otter) was accordingly divided among the 13 heirs, with Lot no. 3 being 81 acres to Ely Wooten, and Lot no. 10 of 86 acres to Hardy Woooten (here erroneously entered as “Henry”).
Lee same date (DB 15 p 208). The previous day, 31 March 1815, Hardy sold his portion to his brother Stephen Wootten (DB 15 p 232).
Amos’ widow Priscilla died before 6 March 1815, when her son Stephen was appointed to administer her estate. The sale of her property brought in money which on 11 April 1817 was divided equally among the 13 heirs: William Wootten, Absalom Wootten, Hardy Wootten, Eli Wootten, Jesse Wootten, Stephen Wootten, Ephraim Wootten, Amos Wootten, David Wootten, Ann Edwards, Winney Cobb, Eliza Edwards, and Milley Corbitt.
It appears Eli and Hardy received their shares of this money by giving their powers of attorney, since we find no record of their making another trip from Burke County GA. It seems possible that Eli used his share to buy land in 1818, as indicated by Hardy V. in his Diary. Eli’s death is given by his son Hardy V. as 29 Jan 1819, so he did not have much time to enjoy his new land.
Eli’s brother Hardy also died before 1820 (around 1817 according to the Diary), and we find their deaths reflected in the 1820 Census for Burke County (Roll 8 pp 32-33). Here we find living quite close together two widows.
On page 32, 11th on page, is JERUSA WOOTON, with males 3 under 10, and females 3 under 10, 1 10-16, 1 16-26, and 1 over 45 (herself), with 10 slaves. Matching this household to Hardy V’s account, we can identify the three boys under 10 as James David b. 9 March 1819, Eli b. 1816, and Hardy V. himself b. 1813. According to Hardy V’s account, the two girls older than Hardy are Martha and Elizabeth, who married John and Simeon Lodge. We are not yet able to identify his younger sisters.
On page 33, 3rd on page, is MOURNIN WOOTON, with males 1 under 10, and females 1 under 10, 2 10-16, 2 16-26, and 1 over 45 (herself), with 13 slaves.
As there are no other Wootons in Burke, there seems no doubt that Mournin is widow of Hardy Wooten, brother of Eli and son of Amos. The one male under 10 in Mournin’s household consequently must be the favorite playmate described by Hardy V. as his cousin Joel. We have not yet found the names of the 5 younger females in Mournin’s household.
We have already learned from Hardy V’s own words how he grew up, studied medicine, and moved to Alabama, but let’s follow him and his playmate cousin Joel through the US Census.
Orphans”. These are obviously the four children of Jerusha Wooten as identified above in the 1820 Census. Remember that at that time, children were described as orphans if their father died, even if their mother was still alive.
There is another Wooten winner residing in Burke County, a David Wooten, who wins 490 acres in Irwin County. Let us recall that on page 1 of his Diary, Hardy V. states that TWO of his father’s brothers came to Georgia with him, Hardy and David. Hardy V. also says that HIS brother James David, born in 1816, was named for TWO uncles (James Vickers and David Wooten). We may conclude, then, that this David Wooten was Amos Wooten’s youngest son, shown in the Edgecombe estate records cited above. Our diarist Hardy says David went to Alabama and died single about 1824.
The 4th Georgia Land Lottery, drawn in 1821, again shows a Wootten winner residing in Burke. This time, it is Juresa Wootten, obviously Jerusha, whoo wins 202 ½ acres in Henry County.
The Wooten luck continues in the 5th Georgia Land Lottery, where Mourning Wooten widow residing in Burke wins 202 ½ acres in Muscogee County in 1827.
We should point out that a considerable proportion of the winners in these lotteries never occupied their prize lands, but instead sold their claims to land speculators.
In 1830, both Jerusa nd Mourning are still close together, in fact shown as adjoining, in Burke County (Roll 16, p 126).
JERUSA WOOTTEN, 10th on page, with males 2 10-15, females 1 40-50 (herself), 5 slaves. From Hardy V’s statements, it appears that the 2 males are Hardy himself and his brother James David who was “blest” with good health. The brother Eli has apparently died, or is living elsewhere. The older sisters have married and left home; the younger ones probably died, since Hardy describes the family as being generally sickly.
MOURNING WOOTTEN, 11th on page, with males 1 15-20, 1 70-80; females 1 15-20, 1 20-30, 1 40-50, 16 slaves. The one son is still obviously Joel, the old man may be Mourning’s father. Note the discrepancy in Mourning’s age, which is off her 1820 age by at least 5 years.
This brings us to the point where Hardy V. was attending the high school in Augusta. In 1832, he drew in the 7th Georgia Land Lottery, known as the GOLD LOTTERY gold had been found in the foothills and mountains of north Georgia where these lands were located. Single white males 18 or over were eligible to draw. Hardy won 40 acres in Section 2 of the old and very large Cherokee County, District 15 Lot no. 446, which would place it in either the new smaller Cherokee County on in Cobb County.
Legal disputes, involving the Cherokee Indians, the US Supreme Court, and the State of Georgia, caused a delay of years in processing these grants, in some cases to well after 1840. Consequently, it seems likely that Hardy either sold his rights to the grant or let them lapse, because he was in Philadelphia studying medicine in the late 1830s, and was in Lowndes County Alabama already by 1840, as we shall now show.
By 1840, we find both Hardy V and his playmate Joel have left home. In Lowndes County Alabama (Roll 6 p 220), we find H. V. WOOTON 3rd on page, with a one-man household of himself age 20-30.
In Meriwether County GA, (Roll 46 p 111) we find JOEL WOOTEN, with males 1 under 5, 1 20-30 (himself); females 1 under 5, 1 20-30.
At this point, we can identify all members of Joel’s household. Joel himself was born 31 Aug 1811 in Burke County GA, making him about 1 ½ years older than his playmate Hardy V. Joel left his mother’s home around 1836, and married Nancy Hurlie Roberts in Meriwether County 18 Dec 1836. They named their first daughter Frances MORNING Wooten, born 1 Oct 1837, the girl under 5 shown above. Their second child was named Thomas HARDY Wooten, born 26 April 1840, in time to be the boy under 5 shown above. Note that the middle names of these children are the names of Joel’s parents Hardy and Mourning.
This SC is obviously erroneous, since Hardy states in the very first line of his Diary that he was born in Burke County GA.
Gavin Wooton 8, Rochell Wooton 6, Ellen Wooton 4, Ida Wooton 3, Zoe Wooton 1, all these born Alabama.
This completes our census history of Hardy V. Wooton, who died in 1856.
Hardy’s cousin Joel is still in Meriwether County GA in 1850 (Roll 77 p 316), as follows, all born GA.
Note that Joel’s first son Thomas Hardy Wooten is missing; he is reported to have died in infancy 21 Oct 1841.
Joel died in Lafayette County 13 Nov 1867.
While we have as yet no known member descended from Hardy Vickers Wooten, two of our Associates are descendants of his cousin-playmate Joel. One is Col. Edward D. Wooten of Sarasota Florida, who is grandson of Joel’s son Hiram Roberts Wooten and Emma Waldrip. The other, whose finding of Hardy’s Diary made this article possible, is Judge Sam Taylor of Montgomery Alabama, who is great grandson of Joel’s daughter Nancy Hurlie Wooten and her husband Thomas Benton Waldrip of Lafayette County Mississippi.
According to family records gathered by Judge Taylor, three other children of Joel married and had issue: Emily Jane who married Frank Hays, William Augustus Joel who married Georgianna Waldrip and Martha Ellen who married Martin Stewart.
There must consequently be many more descendants of Joel living today. We should be glad to hear from them.
Thought you might find the Vickers information included in the attached article of interest (it's saved in Microsoft Word, but you should be able to open it in any wordprocessing program). I descend from Martha (Patsy) Wooten, sister of Hardy Vickers Wooten. The organization which published this article no longer exists and the publications are only available at certain state libraries and archives. I haven't been able to travel to Montgomery and view this Diary in person. Maybe one day, I will be able to do so. Thank you for your work on the Vickers lines. Hopefully this information will help others in their search.
The organization has since disbanded and the editor of the publication, Richard C. Wooten (who was also a genealogist) has died. Please let me know when you do your next update on the Vickers page. It is a really nice presentation of research. Keep up the good work.
I can't thank you enough for the diary information you sent to me! This source was completely unknown to me, and advances my own knowledge of my Vickers line by leaps and bounds. I am 99.99% sure my James Vickers b. 1799-1800 was born in Burke Co. and is definitely tied in to the Vickers of Burke Co., Ga, but have not been able to document his daddy which seems likely to be James Vickers, bro. of Hardy and Nathan. As you know, it is difficult to research early Burke Co., as a result of the (oh too typical) burning of the courthouse records.
Jonathan, Mary, Celia, Elizabeth, Winney, Jerusha, Rachael, & Nancy."
is the first to my knowledge and research to document the brothers and sisters of Hardy and Nathan Vickers (i.e. children of John Vickers). This information will most likely make it possible for many Vickers descendants to document their lines. The Burke Co., GA connection has been the most difficult to piece together. I have been running into brick walls on my line for about 20 years because of the scarcity of Burke Co. records. This may represent a breakthrough we've been waiting for! THANK-YOU!!!
1. Harriett Jones, born July 1810, married Willis B. May, in 1832.
2. James Vickers Jones, born April 1812, married Mary Elizabeth Hurt, of Atlanta, on September 28, 1843.
3. Melvina Jones, born March 1814, married Dr. Thomas Parsons on August 1, 1838.
4. Joseph Jones, no record.
5. Sarah Ann Jones, born in 1820 and died young.
6. Henry Wilkes Jones, born September 1824, married Martha Ann Aikens on May 2, 1848.
7. William Beeman Jones, born February 27, 1827, married Sidney Ann Elizabeth Sapp on April 5, 1849. (Most of the information in this article is from the records of C.D. Hollingsworth, Sr.).
The info on the Wooten family is really interesting and helps to tie so many things together with the Vickers family.
Of the above children, it is likely that Abram, Jacob, John, Joshua, Patience, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Stephen are the ones who came to GA following their father's death in 1784/1785. Some, it seems, lingered a little longer in SC on their way down to GA, but all appeared to have made it to GA. Benjamin appeared to have gotten himself murdered in GA about 1786. One of George's daughters married a Samuel Harrell and moved to the Charleston Dist. of SC. They were living there in 1798. John is the one in Burke Co., GA that died about 1816, and the father of Hardy and Nathan, among others. The Stokes and Whites are close neigbors of the Burke Co. Vickers, and Jacob and Joseph appear on and off early in this migration pattern. I have no doubt that Hatcher is the son of one of these brothers, named after his uncle William Hatcher. At one point I was thinking Joshua was Hatcher's daddy but I have since gotten a copy of his will, which shows he isn't.
I wonder if perhaps a generation got "squashed" as Grandfather John was actually born in Edgecombe Co., NC and "his" father John being born in Isle of Wight, VA and moving to Edgecombe Co., NC as a youth. The migration pattern matches exactly the Wooten line in date and location!
(F515022-0048-1553752) She married Lawrence Armstrong Folsom 1796 in Burke.
(8417107-33-1395803) Lawrence Armstrong Folsom was born about 1775 in Burke Co., GA. His parents, William Folsom and Sally Armstrong were married 1774 in Burke Co., GA.
Cynthia Folsom, b. 1808 in Burke Co or Nov. 8 1815 Pulaski Co. or 1818 in Lowndes Co.
Well, I am definitely excited about this info that ties together the brothers and sisters! Thank-you so much! If you don't mind I would like to post the info on my next update of the Vickers Family Resource Page. I will put your name and email address as a reference for the file, unless you would rather I not. Let me know.

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