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.

The "Untold Story" of our Holland Ancestors

Top Ten Things a Hamby Should Know

#7 – WE ARE DESCENDED FROM THE HOLLANDS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Did you know we are related to Dicey Langston, Revolutionary War heroine? And that we have Holland ancestors buried in a historically significant cemetery near Decatur, Alabama, highlighting their Revolutionary War service? And that the house used as a haunted house in the movie “Tom Sawyer”, belonged to a cousin?

Granny Hamby’s father was Sherrod A. Williams. His mother (Granny’s grandmother), Susannah, was a Holland before she got married to Absolem Williams. Absolem and Susannah Holland Williams both died in 1857, just before the Civil War.

It was a joy to find proof of her lineage. I traced our family back to Anthony Holland, my 6th great grandfather where the Holland story begins on our continent. He was born in 1641 in London and transported to Virginia as a mere lad, presumably orphaned. He wound up in Maryland at age 9 as an indentured servant of William Burgess, mover and shaker of early times who brought Quakers from Virginia. At the end of young Anthony’s indentureship, he was given 50 acres as was the custom. Yet he died a wealthy man with an estate of 300 pounds and 1000 acres, including 600 acres named “Holland’s Choice” near Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. Executors of his will were Quakers.

We descend through Anthony and Isabel’s son Capell Holland, named after one of their Quaker friends with no heirs. Capell inherited part of “Holland’s Choice” and probably was a planter. He married Katherine Eldridge, and Capell and Katherine’s son, Abraham, was our ancestor.

Abraham Holland was a planter who inherited the portion of “Holland’s Choice” inherited by his father. Shortly after serving as a patriot in the American Revolution, he sold it and moved to Duncan’s Creek in Laurens County, South Carolina (he probably received this land as a bounty for war service). He lived from 1715-1800, and had married Asenath Spires long before the war.

Though Abraham Holland died in South Carolina, he was buried with descendants in the Holland Family Cemetery in Hillsboro near Decatur, Alabama. This amazing, historic cemetery holds Hollands, along with members of Adair and McCrary families, maternal cousins. The cemetery credits Abraham Holland for patriotic service in the American Revolution, as well as the service of various relatives. This graveyard is one of most fascinating I’ve ever heard of because there is genealogical information engraved there, including the lineage from Abraham to Capell to Richard Holland, our ancestors, with their siblings’ names etched in stone.

As I have now implied, Abraham Holland had a son named Richard, our ancestor. Richard was born in 1766 and is the father of our Susannah Holland Williams. Richard lived in Franklin County, Tennessee (where his daughter Susannah met Absolem Williams) and owned hundreds of acres, plus cash, horses, cows, hogs, and sheep. He also owned one slave, which he left in his will to our ancestor Susannah Holland Williams.

There are a couple of interesting things to note about our ancestor Richard Holland, my 3rd great grandfather. He had a brother named Thomas, also a Revolutionary War hero. One of Thomas’s grandsons married Mahala Langston, neice of “Dicey” Langston, Revolutionary War heroine who gave secrets from Loyalist relatives to the patriots on several occasions.  Thomas Holland also had a descendant who owned the “Holland House”, a two-story log home that appeared in the movie “Tom Sawyer” as the haunted house. It was named on the National Register of Historic Places, but unfortunately it has now been destroyed by fire.

One of the serendipitous joys of my ongoing genealogy project has been discovering the Holland family saga, which had been lost in memory but was clearly proven by census and will records connecting Susannah Holland Williams with her father Richard Holland!

Update of My "Crowd of Witnesses"

I don't know why I've been so blessed with passionate and faithful preaching blood. Most of the 30 pastors on my family tree (yes, that's right, 30, and that doesn't count the ones that are still alive!) are Methodist though there are those of other faith traditions as well.

It's deep in my bones to love sharing the gospel. After a couple of years of continued research, I have updated my "Crowd of Witnesses" including those pastors that are on my family tree.

I keep this list handy in my Bible and look over it when I need encouragement or when my spirit is nourished by feeling grounded in their spirits.

Steve’s “Crowd” of Witnesses

Some of the communion of saints surrounding Stephen Pierce West.

They are pastors I am related to.

Rev. Isaac Taylor

Methodist Circuit Rider in Alabama, Mississippi, 3^rd Great Grandfather on Hamby side, accused of murdering wife, name cleared when found she had left him and children for Texas

Rev. Harris Taylor

Methodist Circuit Rider, 3^rd Great Grand Uncle on Hamby side, story of shaft of light appearing on grave at funeral

Rev. William Taylor

Methodist Circuit Rider, 3^rd Great Grand Uncle on Hamby side, founder of Taylor Memorial UMC with prominent gravestone

Rev. Nathaniel Henderson Self

1st cousin 4x removed (descended from Isaac's sister Catherine), Methodist pastor

Rev. Gordon Ware

Cousin on Granny Hamby’s Taylor side, Methodist pastor, my Candidacy Mentor when I didn’t know we were related (had dinner several times)

Rev. William Blackburn

Husband of 1^st cousin 4x removed, Methodist pastor, married Isaac Taylor’s niece after clearing his name

Rev. William Thomas Hamby
Great Grand Uncle, brother of Grandpa Charles P. Hamby, Methodist pastor

Rev. Gene Malcolm “Mack” Hamby

1^st cousin once removed on Mom’s side, Methodist pastor and evangelist who traveled world

Rev. Charlie P. Hamby, Sr.

Grandfather on mother’s side, Methodist pastor and “pistol packing” evangelist, husband of poet and painter Louie Ann Williams

Rev. Warren Hamby, Sr.

Uncle, Methodist pastor, brother of my mom, pastor of Trinity UMC in Huntsville and Gallaway Memorial in Jackson, after being a DS he raised local church capital funds with GBGM

Rev. J. Pierce West, Sr.

Grandfather on father’s side, Methodist pastor who died when I was 4, descended from Garrisons on his grandmother’s Hagood side

Rev. Thomas Maxwell

Early American Anglican-turned-Baptist pastor, ancestor of Dad’s mother, persecuted and jailed, defended by Patrick Henry, historical figure

Rev. Charles Higginbotham

7th great grandfather, first missionary to Barbados, ancestor of Jane Higginbotham Maxwell, Gene Maxwell's grandmother

Rev. Robert Hill Thompson

1st cousin 4x removed, grandson of ancestor Joseph Robert Thompson of the Thompsons and Wills buried at Midway UMC

Rev. Jedediah Garrison

5^th Great Grandfather, helped found the Mt. Pleasant society in Georgia, revolutionary war soldier, ordained deacon with a number of pastor descendants

Rev. Levi Garrison

4^th Great Grandfather, ancestor of Dad’s father, early American Methodist pastor in SC, son of the older Jedediah

Rev. David Garrison

4^th Great Grand Uncle, brother of Levi and son of Jedediah, ordained by Frances Asbury, pastor in GA

Rev. Thomas Coke Prickett

Husband of 2^nd cousin 4x removed, married Louisa E. Garrison, daughter of direct ancestors Levi and Nancy Garrison, twin of Rev. Asbury Pope Prickett

Rev. Asbury Pope Prickett

Brother of husband of 2^nd cousin 5x removed, twin brother of Rev. Thomas Coke Prickett above

Rev. Jedediah Garrison

1^st cousin 5x removed, grandson of Jedediah through Caleb Capias Garrison, buried Damascas Road near Mt. Pleasant

Rev. Michael Box Garrison

1^st cousin 5x removed, grandson of Jedediah and son of Caleb Capias also, trustee Mt. Pleasant

Rev. Thomas Wesley Garrison

1^st cousin 5x removed, also grandson of Jedediah but through James Caleb Garrison, founded Wesley Chapel in Cobb Co. and donated the 4.5 acres of land for it and the school, Civil War

Rev. Levi B. Garrison

1^st Cousin 5x removed, son of David (nephew of my ancestor Levi), Methodist local pastor in GA

Rev. Levi Garrison

2^nd Cousin 5x removed, cousin of my ancestor Levi Garrison and child of Jedediah’s brother or half-brother Ebenezer, Methodist pastor, opposed slavery, freed 12 slaves from wife’s dowry once they married

Rev. David Garrison

2^nd Cousin 5x removed, cousin of my ancestor Levi Garrison, also son of Ebenezer, Methodist pastor, disagreed with brother Levi over slavery, started Corner Greek Church near Dothan, AL

Rev. Jedediah Asbury Meaders

1^st Cousin 5x removed, nephew of my ancestor Levi, Methodist pastor in GA, farmer and wagon shop owner

Rev. Andrew Jackson “Bud” Latham

Married to 2^nd Cousin 4x removed, private and ambulance driver in Civil War, Methodist pastor in GA

Rev. Jeremiah Winster

Father-in-law of 3rd great grand uncle Henry Garrison (painter, confederate private), London

Rev. Jim McKay

Uncle who was licensed as a local pastor and served for a short time, from Guin, AL

Rev. Howard Erwin

Uncle who was licensed as a local pastor and served the Philadelphia church in Guin, AL

Living relatives that will join the crowd one day are Rev. C.P. Hamby (uncle), Rev. Ed Self (cousin on Taylor side), Rev. J.P. “Pete” West, Jr. (father), Jonathan Todd (husband of Williams cousin, Susan), and my beloved wife, Rev. Sandra O’Quinn West. My wife has ancestry in the clergy, too, including her 3^rd great grandfather, John G. Jones, Mississippi church historian.

Top Ten Things a Hamby Should Know
#6 – WE DESCEND FROM A LEGACY OF METHODIST CIRCUIT RIDERS IN MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA

The Methodist faith spread like wildfire on the frontiers of America because of faithful people ordained to be traveling preachers. Our Taylor ancestors were heavily involved in the spreading of Christian faith in our state. Shortly after the War of 1812, when North Alabama became open to white settlement, our ancestors George and Nancy Taylor migrated to the Clay area of Jefferson County. When their sons were baptized by a Methodist circuit rider, he prayed that all the boys would become Methodist preachers. Three of the four of them did: William Taylor, Harris Taylor, and Isaac Taylor (our ancestor). They responded to the call during the 1820’s and 1830’s.

William Taylor, our third great uncle, founded Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church in Chalkville as a circuit rider, preaching at the local Sweeny Hollow water hole. Our ancestor, Isaac, is buried next to him in the graveyard there. Their graves hold inspiring inscriptions that remind me of their commitment to the gospel.

The colorful part of the story is that our third great grandmother, Hannah Hopper Taylor, left Isaac and created a scandal in early Alabama Methodism. No one could imagine her leaving her kids, including a nursing child. Rumors began to spread that he had murdered her, and bones were found. Opponents of Methodism took advantage of this. Eventually, his name was cleared by a preacher named William Blackburn, who was traveling through Texas and saw Hannah in a store with her new husband she had eloped with.

I have traced some of our ancestor, Isaac’s, circuit riding career in Mississippi. Brandon Memorial United Methodist Church in Brandon, Mississippi, is the largest present church he once served. At that time, Mississippi and Alabama were in the same Annual Conference.

My mom (Betty West) wrote an extensive paper for the North Alabama Conference Historical Society on the Taylor legacy. I have published it on my blog for all to see. Simply click the link on the left side of this blog.

Attached is a picture of five generations, tracing our connection to the Taylors. Grandpa Hamby is on the top left. Moving clockwise, next is his daughter Willie, his mother Laura Clark Hamby holding Willie’s baby, and his grandmother, Louisa Taylor Clark. Louisa’s father was Rev. Isaac Taylor.

Yes, We Are Cousins with the Looney's Tavern Guy!

A cousin asked if we are related to the William Bauck Looney of the "Incedent at Looney's Tavern" fame in Winston County, Alabama, where Alabama delegates who were for the Union gathered to make a statement against confederate secession, and proposed making Winston County an independent state.

In fact, we are cousins of Looney's Tavern! An article from the Huntsville Times shows we are cousins with William Bauck Looney (I am his 2nd cousins 4x removed). His ancestor listed below, Absalom Looney, Jr., is the son of my ancestor Absalom Looney (and brother of my ancestor Michael Looney), described in the previous post.


THE HUNTSVILLE TIMES

Looney family tree has many great stories

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Madison Spirit

A double stone marks the burial plots of William Henry Looney and his wife, Ora Lelia Abernathy, in the northwestern corner of the old section of the Madison City Cemetery south of Mill Road. Looney is an unusual family name, but I also encountered it while researching the pioneer families of Redstone Arsenal lands. Some of that land was owned by John Warren Looney and his brother Absolem. Absolem was the third generation with that name.

His father Absolem Jr. is buried on his land at the old airport site in Huntsville. Absolem Jr. was a Revolutionary War veteran who brought his wife, Margaret Warren, and their children to Madison County in 1811 by flatboat from Tennessee. He had obtained land here in 1809. The first Absolem (Sr.) was born in 1729 and lived in Virginia. He had a brother who married a Rhea, like the county in Tennessee, and became a great-grandfather of William Bauck Looney, owner of Looney's Tavern in Winston County from Civil War-era fame. Absolem Sr. had another brother who married a Lauderdale, like the county in Alabama. Their father was Robert Looney, who came to Virginia before 1735, having been born in 1692 on the Isle of Mann in the British Isles.

The youngest Absolem Looney's brother, John Warren Looney, was a great-grandfather of Madison's William Henry Looney. John owned land with a mill and riverboat landing on the west side of Indian Creek's confluence with Huntsville's Spring Branch Creek. He sold it to Thomas and George Fearn in 1834 for their project to transport cotton to the Tennessee River from Huntsville via the Indian Creek Navigation Co.'s canal from Big Spring.

John began a move to Goliad, Texas, in 1848, but he died near Nacogdoches, leaving his wife and children to continue the journey. One of John's sons, Tuberville, in 1841 married Martha Bailey, a daughter of Madison pioneers James and Sarah Bailey. They had sons William, John, James Bailey and Henry. Martha died soon after Henry's birth, which is possibly a reason that Tuberville left in 1850 for Texas to be with his widowed mother. When he left, Tuberville took his son William but he left John, James Bailey and Henry to be raised by their grandmother Sarah Bailey. When she died, they were kept by an aunt, Sarah Bailey Blackburn, wife of David, on Rainbow Mountain....

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.