Vashti Jernigan

History accounts from Heritage Book of Santa Rosa County, Fl. Volume II Pg. 361,362,363

Benjamin Journagan (ca.1778-April 30, 1847) with his wife Vashti Vann and his family came to this area in about 1816.

He first lived in what is now East Brewton, Alabama. In the late 1816 the U.S Army began building Fort Crawford and Ben is reported to have been first to live near the fort. It seems the primary purpose of the fort was to serve as a base for operations against the Spanish in Pensacola, and not against the Indians who had signed a treaty in 1814 ending the Creek War.

Ben was a cattleman and supplied beef to Andrew Jackson's army. It has been said that Jackson visited Ben often and that they had known each other in South Carolina. Ben had some from the Edgefield district of South Carolina. His father who was also named Benjamin Journagan who came from Wayne County, North Carolina, where many of his family lived.

According to an account written June 14, 1902 by Ben's grandson Thomas Jefferson (son of William), Ben was living at Fort Crawford when "he went to Pensacola, then occupied by the Sapniards and caught yellow fever. But he survived the attack himself, but his wife took the fever from him and died. Vashti Vann Journagan, who is believed to have been a Cherokee Indian or part Indian, left 14 children, several of who were adults by the time of her death.

A few years later Ben married Margaret Daniel, the widow of Hugh Taylor. She had one child, Hughanna, when she married Ben.

In 1819 the United States and Spain agreed for the United States to buy Florida and Fort Crawford was subsequently closed. In the 1820's Ben and Margaret came to Santa Rosa County (then part of Escambia County) where he acquired quite a bit of property around Milton. He was the first to build a sawmill in Milton. It was located at what is now Lake Locklin.

In 1829 Ben applied to run a ferry at Floridatown. While in the Floridatown area he had some difficulties with John Innerarity, and owner of the Forbes Trading Company, who owned a lot of property in the area.

Grandson Thomas concluded that Ben "was tolerably successful in business as well as horse racing and accumulated a good handful of property". After disposing of his Milton mill he became partners with the Mitchells in a sawmill on Clear Creek. It is not known where Ben is buried, but some believe he was buried on his home property on Clear Creek, just west of present Highway 87.

Ben's children with Vashti Vann were: Edith, a girl who died young, William, Cary, Mary, Nancy, Joseph, Susan, Edward and Benjamin Jr.

His children with Margaret were: stepdaughter Hughanna, Wade, Fern and Margaret.

Story submitted by: Gloria Jernigan. Written by: Kathryn Harrison Wilkinson, 7825 Tippin Ave, Pensacola, Fl. 32514

Sources: "Richard Jernigan, the Family 1120-1996", "History of Conecuh County, Alabama" by Benjamin Franklin Riley, "History of Santa Rosa County, a King Country" by M. Luther King.

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Creek

1. Susan Jernigan 1795 –
2. Edith Jernigan 1796 – 1855 [Edith Cotton]
3. Benjamin W. Jernigan 1798 – 1863
4. William M. Jernigan 1800 – 1883
5. Cary Jernigan 1801 –
6. Mary Jernigan 1803 – 1857
7. Edward Jernigan 1805 –
8. Nancy Jernigan 1807 –
9. Joseph Jefferson Jernigan 1808 – 1889
10. Robert Jernigan 1812 –

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GEDCOM Source

@R1450340844@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=106485241&pi...

• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jun 25 2020, 5:46:16 UTC

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• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jan 27 2021, 16:45:15 UTC

Vashti Vann was probably born circa 1776 in South Carolina. There is only circumstantial evidence to support this date. The exact death date of Vashti Vann is unknown. But based on family records it was probably circa 1820-1821. She died from yellow fever which she caught from her husband Benjamin Jernigan. Benjamin caught the fever on a visit to Spanish occupied Pensacola, Florida. Earlier spellings of the family name listed Journigan.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 27 2021, 16:50:46 UTC