I have not been online and as active as I usually am lately. I received this in my inbox and would greatly appreciate any help that you get on this. Thank you and enhance.
Thanks, Keri, for an actual response (My experience has been that getting one is somewhat rare.).
I have included my extensive notes in re the Lydia (Morgan) TIMMONS / WHITE issue
(She was my 3rd gr-grandmother.). As you will see, I wove together -- from quite a number of (so-called) sources -- a picture of why I came to my conclusion(s). Perhaps I just have a devious (faulty) mind. You are free to take it for what it's all worth, with no expectation from me that you accept it. Hoping it makes some sense, I am
Roy White
roywhite@xmission.com
Comments welcome, even negative ones.
That Thomas MORGAN and Sarah BRIAN are Lydia's parents is based on a web of circumstantial evidence -- and the gut-feeling -- by this writer (Roy White). No actual documentation has been seen. Lydia was buried in the family cemetery established by Hardy BRIAN and said to have been placed "near Sarah MORGAN" by early info-gatherers, with a suspicion that they were mother and daughter. These early individuals also seemed to "know" that Sarah had been married to Thomas MORGAN. The fact that Sarah was placed in the BRIAN family cemetery implies that she was part of that family.
Thus, this connection has to be looked at with both eyes, and recognized for what it is, by the reader.
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Lydia MORGAN -- Thoughts in re her Parentage, by Roy White, Jr., March 2016
Batson MORGAN (ca 1758-1828) was one of the executors of the lwt of William Henry TIMMONS, d. 1804 Marion County, SC. The wife of said TIMMONS was Lydia MORGAN (1784-1834). This writer assumed -- without proof -- that he was surely related to her and that the question in re her parentage revolved around him -- and other circumstantial evidence -- because no (credible) record or evidence of her family connections has been seen thus far.
At first -- before knowing he age -- it was wondered by this writer if he was either her older brother, father, or perhaps an uncle -- or at least a cousin -- ignoring the possibility that maybe he simply happened to be a trusted friend of TIMMONS who coincidentally shared the same surname as Lydia.
Among the many families and individuals who migrated from Darlington area of SC to Feliciana Parish, LA, was Batson MORGAN along with Lydia MORGAN and her second husband, John WHITE. The WHITEs located northeast of Clinton and Batson apparently lived at/near Jackson -- about 15 miles to the west, although Batson also had connection(s) -- second residence, business, land? -- in Amite Co., MS, maybe 20-30 miles to the north.
A thorough examination of Batson's probate (from filmed East Feliciana Parish Records available at FHL in SLC) by this writer revealed no connection -- or even mention -- of Lydia, thus he was not her father (Batson did have a wife and children.).
Letter by Jean Cory ALLEN, Nov 1989 (comes across as having been a careful and discriminating researcher) to this writer: Batson MORGAN witnessed many of Solomon MORGAN's SC deeds, etc., and Batson's land abutted Solomon's, so it seemed probable -- to Jean -- that Batson was either a younger brother or an older son of Solomon's.
Letter (name unknown, but grandchild of Erastus Francis BRIAN, son of Solomon Morgan BRIAN, gr-son of Hardy BRIAN and his wife, Jemima MORGAN) to Mary Ann Smith SAGELY, Oct 1970: "Jemima MORGAN was the dau of Solomon MORGAN....and his wife Jemima WEBB (Her name is at odds with other info, however.). They also had a son Isaac." "Solomon Morgan BRIAN fought in Battle of New Orleans .... spent time afterwards with his sister Elizabeth who had lost her husband, Hezekiah HARRELL, in the Battle. He then returned to Jackson, LA with his Uncle Isaac MORGAN." (note by writer: Thus, Isaac and Jemima MORGAN were siblings. Also, Mahetabel HARRELL -- dau of Elizabeth MORGAN and Hezekiah HARRELL -- married Eli WHITE -- son of Lydia MORGAN and John WHITE; Eli and Mahetabel were said to have been cousins; thus, supporting the idea that Lydia was closely related to those other MORGANs.). "My grandfather E.F. BRIAN said the Batson MORGAN (of Ebenezer Church) was his great uncle." (Thus, Batson was brother to Jemima and Isaac.).
Batson MORGAN, in 1815/1816, was curator of Isaac MORGAN (implying, in the opinion of this writer, a relationship and, thus, supporting other info that they were brothers.).
Other applicable info:
MORGAN comment by William CHANDLER (desc of Lydia MORGAN thru one of her TIMMONS sons (his source not known): Solomon MORGAN Sr. had a son, Thomas MORGAN, who m. Sarah BRIAN -- and their dau Lydia MORGAN m. 1st William TIMMONS and 2nd John WHITE.
Letter, Sep 1984, Lucille SHEPHERD to Nancy Hanks MYERS: Hardy BRIAN....owned the 480 acres which adjoined John WHITE's land. Hardy m. Jemima MORGAN and John m. Lydia MORGAN. Then, Hardy's sister, Sarah BRIAN, m. a Thomas MORGAN and they had a dau, Lydia, who m. Eli WHITE (note by writer: She was wrong here; Eli was Lydia and John's son.).
From Teet's (Thelma Alice White GILES) notes (from her early notes; her research beginning in Jan 1939): (had to have been a "story" related to her by an older family member who ws passing along a family tradition; no way to know if it was factual knowledge.) -- Lydia MORGAN had a brother who m. a girl. The brother died and the widow MORGAN m. Hezekiah HARRELL and their dau Mahetabel m. Eli WHITE (son of John and Lydia).
Note by this writer: Nowhere else have I personally seen this info -- certainly not in any "official" record. I have it that Hezekiah m. Elizabeth BRIAN, dau of Hardy BRIAN and Jemima MORGAN. Elizabeth BRIAN was born Feb 1791 and m. Hezekiah HARRELL, Mar 1808, and they're credited with a dau Mahetabel Hannah who m. Eli WHITE. This is the only info the writer has seen that credits Lydia with a brother -- she otherwise being referred to as having been an only child, but he could have existed (Thomas MORGAN b. ca 1760, Sarah BRIAN b. 1761) -- born ca 1782, or ca 1786; m., as a very young adult, to Elizabeth BRIAN, as a mid-teenager -- and then died quite soon/suddenly with no issue, leaving Elizabeth available to m. Hezekiah HARRELL in Mar 1808 as a 17-year old (widow). Elizabeth BRIAN has not been credited with any marriage prior to Hezekiah HARRELL that the writer has seen. Never the less -- despite the lack of evidence -- if this story were true then it creates an additional tie between the MORGAN and BRIAN families. Actually, however, this brother is also noted in a WorldConnect Project pedigree that was posted by Shannon Gorman.
Family story from an unknown early family member: John WHITE m. twice -- 1st to Miss BRIAN (or BRYANT) and 2nd to Lydia MORGAN.
Note by this writer: Again, this is another item that the writer has seen nowhere else (is among the notes and info collected by Thelma Alice White GILES, inherited by a niece and then copied by Ida Lee FORD, a cousin -- and then photo-copied by this writer from Ida Lee's files.). Because of the apparent (several ?) connections between the BRIANs and MORGANs this writer thinks it very likely that Lydia and John may have actually known each other (There had to have been opportunity for them to have met.) -- or at least introduced to each other by the local "match maker(s)". If there were any children of such a marriage their names are "lost" and they were not raised as members of John and Lydia's family. It was not unheard of for a new wife to have not survived the birth of her first child, with the loss of the child.
Cousin Eugene WHITE told "Teet" (among her notes) that Mahetabel HARRELL and Eli WHITE were cousins -- think he said 2nd cousins, maybe 1st (this, after a comment was made, after viewing a photo of the two, that they'd been together so long that they even looked alike). This might have been Eugene Hunter WHITE (died 1940), son of Evander who was Eli WHITE's brother.
Note by writer: Mahetabel HARRELL, dau of Elizabeth BRIAN, gr-dau of Jemima MORGAN, gr-gr-dau of Solomon MORGAN. Eli WHITE, son of Lydia MORGAN, gr-son of Thomas MORGAN, gr-gr-son of Solomon MORGAN. Thus, second cousins (assuming the connections are valid, of course).
Letter, Nov 1989, Jean Cory ALLEN to Roy WHITE Jr, this writer: "In November of 1923, some of the DAR members of Clinton, LA, started to compile a list of tombstones in the old family cemeteries. A distant relative, Ms Tallulah ARBOUR, kept a copy which she shared with another distant relative, Mr. John BRIAN, who copied it for me....According to my copy, the tombstone said "Lydia MORGAN, Late wife of John WHITE, born 25 Dec 1784, died 21 June 1834". Nearby we find Hardy's sister, "Sarah MORGAN, Late wife of Thomas MORGAN, born 23 July 1761, died 15 May 1828". When I, the writer, visited this cemetery the tombstone for Sarah was gone and the trees and underbrush had taken over.
A copy of "East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, Cemetery Inscriptions" compiled 22 November 1923, D.A.R. Chapter, Clinton, LA.: Brian-White Family Cemetery (Parentheses are those of Lucille Brian SHEPHERD.): Among others....Sarah MORGAN, Late wife of Thomas MORGAN, born 23 July 1761, died 15 May 1828. Then, in parentheses -- by Lucille Brian SHEPHERD -- (the only d/o William BRIAN and Sarah WILLIAMSON CROCKER emigrated to Louisiana from South Carolina in early 1800s. Hardy, her brother, had married Thomas MORGAN's sister, Jemima. Other MORGANs, including their brother Isaac, also emigrated to Louisiana at the same time.).
Note by the writer: Last summer (2015) I visited this cemetery, for the second time, and found it to have been quite cleared of brush and undergrowth (the large section where WHITEs are buried, at least). The tombstones of John WHITE and Lydia MORGAN are still there, standing upright. A tombstone for Sarah MORGAN was not in evidence (hopefully only fallen and having been covered by soil). Additionally, many others of the tombstones mentioned in the 1923 DAR list are not in evidence. It is interesting to note that Lucille Brian SHEPHERD seems to have "known" various details about Sarah MORGAN. However, if she "knew" that Lydia was her daughter, she did not mention it in the context of her list.
Thoughts by the writer: I have been bothered by the knowledge that Lydia did not use the name "Thomas" for any of her sons (One of the TIMMONS sons did bear the middle name of "Morgan".), or any of the BRIAN names -- not even "Sarah". Having said that, however, I've credited her with two sons and another daughter, the names of whom are unknown.
Because Lydia did not have any siblings -- besides, of course, the "reported" brother -- it has occurred to me that perhaps Thomas died right after her (and the brother's?) birth -- or maybe departed and "went his own direction in life" -- and Lydia grew up without knowing him. (To this end, neither of the 1790 nor 1800 census returns for SC included a MORGAN (various spellings) named Thomas. Sarah -- assuming that she and Thomas really were the parents -- apparently did not remarry and raised Lydia (and the brother?) alone, possible moving in with one of her BRIAN kin, of whom there were apparently several (including her sister Jemima MORGAN BRIAN) in the area. One early comment was that Thomas must have indeed gone to Louisiana, but had entered land some distance away from the main Darlington group. There was, in fact, a certain Thomas MORGAN who did live over on the far eastern edge of Feliciana Parish on the Amite River, but he can be shown to have been a member of a different group of MORGANs.
Sarah BRIAN MORGAN -- presumably not remarried -- with her child(ren) having flown the nest, and (probably) just about all of her BRIAN connections having moved to Louisiana would have been deserted and isolated in Darlington, so she followed or accompanied. One wonders with whom she lived until her death in 1828, aged 67 (Lydia and John? One of the BRIAN families?). Her burial in the Brian Family Cemetery HAS to be significant (supports the narrative that she was Hardy's sister and that her husband, Thomas MORGAN, was Jemima's brother). The (apparent fact) that Lydia was buried "nearby" Sarah does not necessarily, I suppose, have to be significant, but ... (Again, why was not the name "Sarah" used among her daughters (unless it was a middle name)?).
Note by writer: This (private) cemetery is said to have been established by Hardy BRIAN on his property -- presumably for the use of his family. Because the WHITEs were neighboring land owners, and/or perhaps because they were closely associated friends (both families being from Darlington), or maybe, even, because of a family connection between the BRIANs (Jemima MORGAN) and Lydia -- and Sarah BRIAN MORGAN. Subsequent burials of WHITEs morphed the designation into "Brian-White Cemetery" (The current "Jackson-White Cemetery" identity seems to have evolved from the fact that a later family of JACKSONs became large land owners there and made use of it. In fact, the current owner of the cemetery property showed me -- back in the brush and undergrowth adjacent to the cleared area -- where a lot of JACKSON burials and imposing tombstones current exist.)
Back to Batson MORGAN: Clearly, he was known to have been connected to Jemima MORGAN BRIAN as her brother. Other circumstantial evidence would indicate that Thomas MORGAN was also a brother, along with Isaac. Batson's involvement as Executor of the lwt of William TIMMONS cannot be ignored (at least by this writer). The various other items of circumstantial evidence -- taken as a whole -- leads this writer to the conclusion that Thomas MORGAN and Sarah BRIAN were probably the parents of Lydia -- but, if not as an absolute conclusion then at least a strong hypothesis that needs to be disproved.
On another side-note; if the above theory has any credence, then it follows that the first real milk that Eli WHITE was privileged to drink -- after his father went back to SC and brought back one of grandfather's cows -- involved his WHITE grandfather (who, therefore, may have recently/just died? -- or would John have travelled that far just to "visit"?).
On an additional other note: Regarding the wife of Solomon MORGAN Sr.: Early DAR applications apparently identify her as Jemima WEBB and that is reflected in various pedigrees. However, when Solomon sold land in SC before moving to LA his wife, Mahetabel, signed to release her dower rights, and various other pedigrees indicate he wife as having been Mahetabel LUDLOW.
