Hamby's at the Oglethorpe Settlement

Top Ten Things a Hamby Should Know

#8 - WE ARE PROBABLY DESCENDED FROM THE OGLETHORPE SETTLEMENT OF EARLY GEORGIA HISTORY

Did you know it is possible that our Hamby ancestors knew John and Charles Wesley personally? And that they were loyalists who fought on the “wrong” side of the Revolutionary War?

According to Uncle C.P. (the last remaining Hamby of his generation on our line), the Hamby’s are descended from the Oglethorpe Settlement, establishing the colony of Georgia in the 1730’s. He couldn’t remember details, but was sure that this was the family story. When he told me this, I began research on the validity of his claim.

If true, this would be how our Hamby surname came from England. This settlement is well known in Methodist history, because it’s where John and Charles Wesley came and did missionary work as young pastors in the 1730’s. Since the settlement had some 2,000 people in it, if this is true, then it is likely that our Hamby ancestors there were acquainted with the Wesleys.

Unlike the other items on my list of “top ten,” I can’t prove this one. Everyone I know working on Hamby genealogy has hit a brick wall and can’t identify the parents of Jesse N. Hamby, grandfather of Grandpa C.P. Hamby, born about 1792 in South Carolina. However, since I have found evidence that there were indeed Hamby’s there in Georgia shortly after the Oglethorpe time period, and since history shows that after the settlement disbanded many of the settlers went to South Carolina, I believe the family story is probably true. Our ancestor Jesse would have been born a generation or two later in South Carolina.

Here are a few facts that support my theory that the family story is correct. On a list of original colonists of South Carolina, two of the names are “Samuel Hanby” and “William Hanvey” who were residents in 1779. Our Clark ancestors were clearly on this same list, and since marriages tended to happen between familiar families, this supports the idea that one of these was also our ancestor, and father or grandfather of Jesse.

Another supporting fact is that there were Hamby’s in Savannah who fought on the side of England. A list of “Loyalists in the Southern Command of the Revolutionary War” included a Thomas Hamby, Nathaniel Hamby, and an Isaac Hamby on the Savannah muster roll. The Camden, SC muster roll included a Thomas Hamby, William Hamby, and Jeremiah Hamby who were listed as “prisoner of rebels.” Several Hamby’s were tried for “sedition” (just short of treason) in 1776 in South Carolina. They were listed as loyalists or “royalists,” condemned to be hanged but later acquitted in 1781. Their names were John Hamby, Isaac Hamby, Nathaniel Hamby, Jeremiah Hamby, and Thomas Hamby.

Another supporting fact is that there was an early Methodist circuit rider named Rev. Milford Gilead Hamby from Oglethorpe County, Georgia, born a bit later in 1833.

So though I can’t prove it because of the brick wall above Jesse N. Hamby, I’d say Uncle C.P.’s family story that our Hamby’s descend from the Oglethorpe settlement of Georgia is probably true, and our ancestors would have known the Wesley brothers.

Our Looney Ancestors

Top Ten Things a Hamby Should Know
#5 WE DESCEND FROM THE LOONEYS OF EARLY AMERICA WHO KNEW GEORGE WASHINGTON AND DANIEL BOONE

Grandma Hamby was a Williams, and my 3rd great grandfather was Corp. Sherrod Williams, buried at Williams Cove in Winchester. Sherrod married Polly Looney, known for a smoking pipe that has been passed down among descendants. Many Looney relatives are buried nearby.

The Looney family story begins in 1724, when Robert and Elizabeth Looney (my 6th great grandparents) came to America from the Isle of Mann, Great Britain. They settled in Philadelphia and later moved to colonial Maryland. Soon after, they moved to the "new frontier" and settled on the James River in Virginia in what was to be Augusta County. There on Looney Creek, they raised their family and established the first ferry crossing of the James River. They built a mill, grew crops, and raised livestock.

Due to territorial conflict with France as well as the threat of attack from Native Americans, a fort was built in 1755 around the Looney homesite to protect English settlers. Fort Looney was at the junction of Looney Creek and the James River and was visited in 1756 by Col. George Washington. The Looney children were frontiersman and pioneers. Some were killed by Native Americans in raids and others helped explore and expand frontier boundaries into Virginia and eventually Tennessee. One son was Absalom, our ancestor. In 1770 he had discovered what is now called Abb's Valley on a hunting and scouting expedition in Virginia, now Tazwell County. The family story is that he founded this settlement at least four years before the noted frontier explorer, Daniel Boone, arrived in the same area to build a fort six miles from Absalom's homestead. During the Revolution, the families abandoned this valley and returned to Fort Looney. Absalom served under General Washington in his brother Joseph's company and provided beef for the continental army. He then went to survey lands in the "wilderness" of Tennessee that were to be set aside for continental soldiers. He was appointed Justice of the Peace for Hawkins County, TN.

Absalom and his wife, Margaret Moore Looney, had a son named Michael Looney. Michael also fought in the Revolutionary War and married Temperance Cross, purchasing 250 acres in 1780 in Hawkins County for 2 and 1/2 cents an acre. He is buried at the homestead in Looney Cemetery. Michael is our ancestor and the mother of Polly Looney Williams buried in Williams Cove.

We Descend from Scottish Highlanders Escaping Persecution

Top Ten Things a Hamby Should Know:
#4 - WE DESCEND FROM SCOTTISH HIGHLANDERS ESCAPING PERSECUTION


Our Clark ancestors tell a fascinating story of religious persecution among Scottish Highlanders and their escape to America. Grandpa C.P. Hamby’s mother Laura’s family originates with Alexander Clark, her third great grandfather who came from the island of Jura in Argyll County off the coast of Scotland. He arrived in the Cape Fear area of North Carolina in 1736.


Alexander’s family, particularly his grandfather who endured the Battle of the Boyne, had suffered much in wars that desolated Scotland with persecution heaviest against Presbyterians. Returning to Scotland by ship after escaping to Ireland during the conflict, Alexander’s grandfather ascended a hill that overlooked his residence and gazed in sadness on desolation below, saying “but three smokes in all Jura could be seen.” All his family had perished. He eventually remained in Jura, having for his second wife one whose infant had been taken from her arms, its head severed in her presence and used to beat the mother until she was left for dead.


Gilbert, the only surviving son from his first wife and our ancestor, also remained on the island of Jura and reared a family. His son, named Alexander after his grandfather, moved to North Carolina seeking freedom from the type of religious persecution his family had faced. He settled in Cape Fear with what is referred to as the Argyll Colony. They were instrumental in forming the famous Barbecue Presbyterian Church there in 1757.

The Lugene Hamby Window at Trinity UMC

One of the large stained glass windows at Trinity UMC in Tuscaloosa, adjacent to the campus of the University of Alabama, is named after my Grandpa Hamby's brother Lugene Bryant (Gene) Hamby. In the memorial information on my grand uncle, it makes note of our Taylor legacy.

The memorial information on the window and the life of Gene Hamby is below. Trinity UMC was once called Brandon Memorial Methodist Church. To see the window and the original memorial, check out the Glastonbury Thorn window.  

The Glastonbury Thorn Window

The Nativity

The first window nearest the back of the church contains Glastonbury thorn blossoms, a peculiarly English symbol which represents the events attending our Lord's birth.  According to tradition, the ancient thorn-tree which stands just within the gates of the ruined abbey at Glastonbury, Somersetshire, is a descendent of the thornwood staff planted by St. Joseph of Arimathaea, who is said to have introduced Christianity into England in the Year A.D. 63.  The Glastonbury thorn bursts into bloom about Christmas Day each year, and the blossoms have become a symbol of our Lord's Nativity.

This window was given by the Log Cabin Bible Class of Brandon Memorial Methodist Church in memory of Lugene ("Gene") Bryant Hamby.

Lugene Bryant Hamby

1879 - 1942

Lugene Bryant Hamby was an active member of Brandon Memorial Methodist Church for many years.  He was a member of the Board of Stewards and served as Chairman of the Board.  He was proprietor of the Hamby Barber Shop on Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa.  Mr. and Mrs. Hamby and their eight children lived on 10th Street, right across from Brandon Memorial, and the whole family was involved in the work of the church.

Lugene Bryant was born October 20, 1879, one of seven sons of George Hamby, a Confederate veteran, and Laura Clark Hamby.  There was also one daughter. His parents were also members of Brandon Memorial.  His great-grandfather, Isaac Taylor, was a Methodist Circuit Rider, and two of his brothers, William T. and Charles P., were ministers in the North Alabama Methodist Conference.  His father-in-law John Alexander was a Methodist Circuit Rider in Mississippi, and his son Gene Malcolm (Mack) Hamby was a minister and conference evangelist in the North Alabama Conference.  Many other family members served the Methodist Church, both as ministers and as lay people.

Mr. and Mrs. Hamby were the parents of four sons and four daughters.  The tragedy of their lives was the death of their youngest son Bobby in 1937 at the age of 15.  Bobby was an honor student and an active member of the church youth group.  A scrapbook made by one of  Bobby’s sisters showed the love and support the family received at that time from the good members of Brandon Memorial. 

On March 24, 1942, Lugene Bryant Hamby died unexpectedly of a heart attack while visiting a neighbor near his home on 10th Street, and is buried with other family members at Evergreen Cemetery.   Honorary pallbearers were the members of the Board of Stewards of Brandon Memorial Methodist Church.

Rev. C.P. Hamby's Grave

This is the grave of Rev. C.P. Hamby, my grandfather who is a Taylor descendant. This is at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama. He is buried with his first wife, Zadie Allen Hamby. His second wife, Louie Williams Hamby, was my grandmother and she is buried with relatives in another part of the graveyard.

Rev. C.P. Hamby, Louie Hamby, and Warren Hamby

This is the Rev. Charles Pinkney Hamby, Sr., with his second wife (and my grandmother) Louie Williams Hamby.

They are pictured with their son, the Rev. Warren C. Hamby.

Five Generations of Taylors

This is my grandfather, Rev. C.P. Hamby, Sr, among five generations of Taylors! The picture was taken in about 1920, just before Grannie Clark died.

Back Row L-R: Charles Pinkney Hamby, Sr. and his daughter, Willie Hamby Shelton

Front Row L-R: Louisa Taylor Clark (daughter of Isaac Taylor), Laura Frances Hamby (C.P's mother, Louisa Clark's daughter), Willie's oldest baby, Charles