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John Vincent (click HERE
to find out when the spelling of John's surname changed from "Vincent"
to "Vinson")
b. 1787 probably in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States m. 1811 Lincoln County, Georgia, United States (as far as we know. See note on marriage BELOW) Nicey Hawes d. 13 May 1871 Vincent, Shelby County, Alabama, United States Buried at Salem Church Cemetery in Talladega County, Alabama, United States (near the town of Vincent) Nicey gave birth to 16 children:
Children Some of John's descendants have expressed an interest in creating profile pages for more of John and Nicey's children and their descendants. We do know a lot about them thanks to Kelly Family Research and the research of other Vincent descendants. For instance, we know that child #5 Peyton (infant death) above "was accidentally scalded and died as a baby" (according to the family group page for Peyton Vincent in the Vincent notebook from Sarah Bullock). Research experience has shown it was not uncommon for parents to give the same name to another child after the death of a previous one. I eventually hope to create more such pages giving some of these details along with Maud Kelly's research notes. Military John's tombstone says, "SOLDIER IN THE INDIAN WAR 1813." See the story of his military service below. Education John could sign his name and most likely could read and write. His signature is on 1808 3 and 1811 deeds as well as on an 1859 deed to his daughter Euzebia. 1 Career Farmer and Methodist Minister. Early History We don't know what killed so many of John Vincent's ancestors so quickly. What we do know is there were a lot of diseases of epidemic proportions in the Eastern United States in the late 1700s including Influensa (1761, 1776, 1793), Measles (1759, 1772, 1788), and Yellow Fever (1793, 1794, 1797, 1798). John Vincent's grandfather John Vinson (d.1787) died by the year his grandson was born. John Vincent's mother died in 1789. His father Aaron Vinson (1747-1791) died when John, who was his youngest son, was only 4 years old. He was an orphan. Johnston County, NC Probate Court records, loose records (1781-1807) abstracted and edited by Elizabeth E. Ross in 1988 gives an "Acct. of John VINSON, minor son of Aaron VINSON, dec. with Drury VINSON, dec. Admr. 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796" (#122, page 36). Drury was his father's brother. In 1801, John was still a minor with his brother Peyton as administrator, "Report of Peyton VINSON guardian to John VINSON orphan of Aaron VINSON, dec." (#28, page 49). Peyton was over 25 years old at the time while John was only 14. In Nov. 1801 & Feb. 1804 as well as other dates, Freeman Killingsworth was mentioned as his guardian (#59, page 50 & #230, page 58). I'm not sure what John's relationship with him was. The last date mentioned was in 1806. John was of age by 1808. A Unique Descendancy It is interesting that John was born in 1787. He was born in North Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies. 1787 was the year our U.S. Constitution was written (it wasn't ratified until 1789). John's father was a patriot during the revolution, serving as a Justice (law officer) for the rebel government of the Continental Congress. Some of John's 16 grandchildren had large families. They and their children could each claim that their grandfather / great-grandfather was a citizen of the "United States" before the states were truly united! Few living genealogists have a 2nd or 3rd-great-grandfather who was born over 230 years ago and whose father was a patriot in the American Revolution. When we tell another researcher, "My (grandfather or great-grandfather) was born in the 1870s and his grandfather was born before the Constitution was signed", it sounds unbelievable but it is true. Soldier in Creek Indian War - 1813 The British were none too content with their superior forces being defeated by the rag-tag Americans and refused to recognize our new government. After we won our independence, they harrassed our seaman and ships in international waters and furnished weapons to our enemies. In July 1813, with £400 provided by the British, a group of rebellious Red Stick Creek Indians purchased arms from the Spanish governor at Pensacola. When they returned to Alabama, until 1817 part of Mississippi Territory, the warriors encountered a small force of the U.S. soldiers from Ft. Mims at Burnt Corn Creek. The American Army chased off the Indians then let down their guard whereupon the Indians routed the Americans. The Creeks had already been at war amongst themselves. A party of peaceful Indians who opposed the Red Sticks fled to Ft. Mims for safety. The Red Sticks pursued them and on the 30th of August, 1813, they slaughtered over 400 men, women, and children at Ft. Mims. The Tennessee legislature authorized Governor Willie Blount to call out a force of 5,000 men. 2,500 came from west Tennessee volunteers under the command of Colonel Andrew Jackson. General William Cocke gathered the same number from east Tennessee. Jackson was joined by 200 friendly Cherokees. At the age of 25, on Oct. 4, 1813, our ancestor, John Vincent, enlisted in General Joseph Graham's North and South Carolina Brigade. According to Wikipedia, this brigade saw little action. Final Battle The Battle of Horseshoe Bend on March 27th, 1814 was decisive for Andrew Jackson. The Red Sticks never prevailed afterward. Our John Vincent was discharged April, 30, 1814. A treaty between the U.S. Army and the Creeks was signed in August. The War of 1812 was in full swing by this time and Jackson moved on to fight the British in New Orleans, January 8, 1815. The battle was fought before either side learned a treaty of peace with the British had already been signed the previous December. News travelled slowly back then. Travel on the Federal Road John Vincent's war experience may have led him along the Federal Road along which the North Carolina volunteers marched. Begun as a 5 foot wide path, it was expanded in 1811. This road eventually went form Milledgeville, Georgia through present day Phoenix City in Alabama then south. The North Carolina vols were protecting the Georgia frontier. One of the forts to which some were stationed was Ft. Jackson near present day Montgomery, Alabama. Many who served in the war later settled former Indian lands in Alabama. For instance, in Dec. 1832, 10,000 people travelled this road in a just a couple weeks according to The Federal Road by Leon Southerland. 2 Ft. Hawkins Fort Benjamin Hawkins is along the part of the old Federal Road that John Vincent would have traveled during his brief military service. The road goes from Georgia to a point in Alabama near where John eventually moved with his family. For more information about Ft. Hawkins, click HERE. Post-war and Marriage Maud Kelly says John and most of his siblings moved to Lincoln County, Georgia. After he married Nicey Hawes he moved to Alabama. According to Maud Kelly's research 3, John was living in Lincoln County, Georgia in 1811 when he sold land he owned back in North Carolina. NOTE: No record of John and Nicey's marriage exists as far as we know. My wife and I took a trip to Lincoln County in February 2015 trying to locate such a record. We learned from the probate office there that there aren't many marriage records in the earliest records of Lincoln County, GA. John was a Methodist so we called the oldest local Methodist church. They told us their records didn't go back that far either. We went across the street from the court house to visit the county library. There, we found a marvelous genealogy section managed by a wonderful researcher named Dianne Poteat who just happens to have been researching our Vincent ancestor for many years. Fortunately Dianne was willing to share research notes. Sadly, she died not long afterward. Her obituary can be seen HERE. A photo essay of our trip to Lincoln County is at RonnieVincent.com. CLICK HERE to see it. Move to Alabama In 1818 John paid taxes in Lincoln County, GA. By 1835 he had moved to Alabama. His name appears: - Jan. 19, 1835 in Chambers County Deeds (also 1837 & 1839) - 1840 in Montgomery County - 1850 Census in Montgomery County - 1850 Census (also) in Coosa County - 1860 Census living in Talladega County with his daughter Louisa Vincent Bledsoe from age 70 to 80. This census is especially touching. Louisa's father, John Vincent, lived with her after his wife died and before her husband, Francis Marion Bledsoe, went off to war. Lousa's brother Aaron Vincent (1835-1901) and his family lived with her after her husband was killed in the Civil War. Career According to my Aunt Evelyn Vincent Farris, her great-grandfather John was a Methodist minister. He is buried at the former Resin Hill Church, near Vincent, Alabama (the town is not named after John's family4). Aunt Evelyn pronounced the name of the church "Rosum Hill." The church there is now known as the Salem Presbyterian. Maud Kelly wrote Nov. 24, 1943 that, though John was Methodist, he was buried at the Presbyterian Church because it was the "nearest churchyard when he died." 5 On May 17, 1859, when John was 72 years old, he bequeathed 3 slaves to his youngest daughter, Euzebia (see below). We have to wonder what surname these folks took after they were freed and whether they remained with Euzebia's family. Some free blacks serving as nurse to Vincent children, were called "Mammy", and were much loved by the kids they helped raise. Tombstone In letters dated Tuesday, November 17th and Wednesday, November 18th, 1942, Maud Kelly arranged for her and her brother Richard to set the gravestone for John Vincent. She met with my grandparents Oakley & Oma, who showed her the location of John Vincent's grave. Oakley's father, Aaron, was a sibling of Maud's grandmother, Louisa Vincent Bledsoe. Those two are children #14 & 15 above. Other Sources 1- John's 17 May 1859 deed of gift PAGE 1 The deed gives 3 slaves to his daughter Euzebia, (child #16 above). John's 17 May 1859 deed of gift PAGE 2 (Posted by a descendant on Ancestry.com). 2- Henry deLeon Southerland, Jr. and Jerry Elijah Brown, The Federal Road: through Georgia, the Creek Nation, and Alabama, 1806-1836 (The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa and London, 1989), 90. 3- Maud Kelly's notes on John Pg.1. (From LDS Church microfilm - digital by Ron Vincent, originals at Samford Univ.) Maud Kelly's notes on John pg.2. A transcription by Maud Kelly from Deed Book G-2, pg 134, Johnston County, N.C. says, "John Vinson of the County of Lincoln and State of Georgia" sold land that he owned in "the County of Johnston [North Carolina]." The deed was proven in Open Court during the "February Term 1811." An even earlier deed from Deed Book F-2, pg 160, Johnston County, N.C. says he was living in Lincoln County, GA by the time he came of age (age 21) in 1808. Abstracts of these and another land transaction can be found in selected pages from Kinfolks of Johnston County by Elizabeth E. Ross and Zelda B. Wood if you CLICK HERE. 4- About 30 years ago while doing research, I stopped by the local library of the Town of Vincent, Alabama and asked how the town got its name. I was told it was originally a railroad whistle stop. When the railroad annexed part of J.J. Vincent's property for the railroad right-of-way they offered to name the town after his family (see the Vincent Township Website). I compared our pedigree to his granddaughter's. She lived on the hill behind the library. Her lineage does not match ours. For more information, please visit the page on Vincent Family Stories, Tales, & Legends then click on the link about Vincent, Alabama for more information. 5- Nov. 24, 1942 photo of tombstone which has the text enhanced for easier reading. There are multiple copies of this photo. My copy is from a microfilm of Sarah Bullock's records (descendant of Marion Kelly, Maud's sister. Cousin Caroline sent me a copy from her mother's notebook (descendant of Richard Kelly, Maud's brother) which is posted here. On a copy of the photo, not shown here, are the words, "pictures taken 11-24-1942" and "Presbyterian, but the nearest churchyard when he died." This note explains why John, a Methodist minister, was buried in the cemetery of a Presbyterian Church. Click HERE to view a 1942 photo of the Salem Presbyterian Church, formerly known as "Resin Hill" (which my Aunt Evelyn always pronounced "Rawzum Hill"). Then Click HERE for the aforementioned 1942 photo of Richard Kelly who helped set the tombstone in place or Click Here for the same photo which has been edited to show Richard better and to read the words on the stone. For the best view of this tombstone, see note #9 below. 6- Aug. 22, 1905 letter from Ida Vincent to her cousin Marion lists John's children (click HERE for a transcript). 7- John's 1813 Indian War enlistment record from National Archives (click HERE for a transcript). 8- John Vincent's 1828 Family Bible containing his death date and the names and dates for his children. For a printable PDF copy of John Vincent's 1828 Family Bible and additional photos, click HERE. 9- Ron Vincent, his 3 sons, and one grandson visited the grave of John Vincent June 29, 2013. 10- Wilburn (Hap) & Doris Vincent also visited the John Vincent grave May 30, 1990. Click HERE for a photo captured from a video taken the day of this visit. |