| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | ||
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Elizabeth Wiley Holmes m. Nov 25, 1765 Long Cane Township SC b. 1746 SC d. 1811 Nashville, Davidson Co. TN |
William A. b. 1763 Guilford NC d. Jun 9, 1825 Montgomery Co. TN |
Ennis b. 1768 ?Spartanburg SC d. ?May 1803 ?Davidson Co. TN |
Letitia b. 1770 d. 1826 TN |
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Sinah (Sinia) Melina b. 1775 Natchez, British West Florida d. 1876 Davidson Co. TN |
Absalom Joseph Jr. b. 1782 Guilford Co. NC d. 1839 Waverly, Humphreys Co. TN |
Elizabeth b. 1785 Guilford NC d. Oct 11, 1863 Hardin Co. TN |
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Nimrod B. b. 1788 or 1790 Davidson Co. NC (TN) d. 1860? |
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On Nov 25, 1765 Absalom married Elizabeth Holmes, in Long Cane SC. This area
near Abbeville used to be Cherokee land, until it became part of Granville
and Colleton Counties, which in 1791 was replaced by the Washington District of
SC. |
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Wife Elizabeth Holmes was likely a daughter of Sarah Holmes who was described
as a widow in Natchez Court Records in 1795. |
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In 1769, Absalom witnessed a deed for land lying on Canes Creek, a branch from
the Long Canes in SC. Then, in 1770, Thomas Holmes sold 100 acres, described as
being "on which Absalom Hooper lives" and lying on Russell Creek [The relationship
between Elizabeth (Holmes) Hooper and Thomas Holmes has not been deciphered]. |
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About 1770 Absalom was charged with being a horse thief and with murder. He
appeared for trial in Charleston SC, apparently made bail, and was to reappear for
a continuance the next spring. He never showed up. |
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On Sep 21, 1772, Absalom patented 250 acres from the British Govt. on Second Creek
near the Fort of Natchez in what was then British West Florida. "Absalom Hooper
claims 250 acres being unto me granted as above. Plat shows Indian Old Fields"
[McBee, Book F page 525, p. 504-505]. That year, Absalom was the head of a
household in the Natchez area of British West Florida. His family would have
included 4 other members since the claimant was allowed 100 acres and 50 acres
for each additional family member. |
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Brother "Innes Hooper" was also granted 250 acres of land about 20 miles from
Natchez on Sep 21, 1772 [McBee, Book F, p. 436]. Sarah Holmes was granted
200 acres "on waters of Middle [Second] Cr., b. by William Radcliff" [McBee,
Book A, p. 548]. She may have been the widow of Thomas Holmes, and mother
of Absalom's wife and of the Charles who was executed for murder two years later. |
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In December 1772, Absalom Hooper was involved with a gang that killed a Frenchman
named Carbonneau and four others, including two Negroes, on the Mississippi River
just south of the Yazoo River and north of Grand Gulf. This crime managed to get
recorded in several colonial newspapers. The gang consisted of Ennis [sic] Hooper,
Charles Holmes, Joshua Howard, Absalom Hooper,
Richard Holloway, and Reason Young. |
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The Spanish Government from New Orleans captured Joshua Howard, Innes Hooper
and Charles Holmes by the end of Spring 1773 and turned them over to the British
Government of West Florida [Davies, pp. 177-8, 242-243]. |
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The governors of both New Orleans and of British West Florida
tried to capture the culprits, but never managed to get the last three men
named. Joshua Howard gave evidence on the crime, and [Absalom's brother] Ennis
[sic] Hooper and Charles Holmes both were hung in May 1774
1774 Proclamation
[Rivington's New York Gazeteer, Aug 4, 1774]. |
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Joshua Howard
was among those who petitioned the British Govt. of West Florida for land on
Nov 6, 1776. He was given a warrant for 200 acres on Second Creek (where Absalom
also had a grant) in the Natchez District. The receipt for surveying fees was
dated Jan. 22, 1777. After the Spaniards took possession of the territory, Howard
left the Natchez District for the Cumberland Settlement in an area of far western
North Carolina that later became Nashville TN. He returned to Natchez at the end
of 1788. |
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Five days after the Howard petition, on Nov 11, 1776, Absalom's petition of pardon,
he being "accused of robbery on the Mississippi River" was considered by the West
Florida Govt. On the same day the land grant petition of
Philip Alston was considered. On Dec 10 and
16, the land grant petition of John Alston
was also considered [David Library of the American Revolution, West Florida Records,
vol. 593, no. 107]. |
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Map of
the Natchez District as it may have looked between 1779 and 1799. |
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In January and October 1779, Absalom Hooper signed Loyalist petitions to the
governor of British West Florida. On 27 Oct 1780, he was named in a Dec 1780
deposition Several others named in
depositions in the record series in late 1780 include Joshua Howard,
Thomas Holmes, and Philip Alston, father of
John McCoy Alston who in 1795 married Hooper's daughter Sinia [Papeles Procedente
de Isla Cuba Records in the Archives of Seville, Spain relating to U.S.
History in the Spanish Provinces of Louisiana, Illinois and Florida Occidental,
microfilm]. |
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Cumberland Settlement neighbor Frederick Stump
likely marched over land with his family toward the mountains after the British
destroyed is home in Augusta GA and joined the Amos Eaton party that
left the NC mountains in Dec 1779 for the Cumberland Settlement. The Eaton
party arrived at the beginning of 1780, just a week after the leading James Robertson
party of men, horses and dogs. Frederick received one of the Cumberland
Settlement's 1,410
Pioneer
Land Grants. That part of NC is now Middle Tennessee. |
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Neighbor Frederick Stump was in his fifties
when he came to the Cumberland Settlement in Washington Co. NC. He was thought to
have famously killed 10 Indians in his native Pennsylvania in Jan 1768, and had
been jailed for killing British soldiers in Georgia. After he escaped,
he joined the Amos Eaton expedition to Cumberland and claimed land on Whites Creek
and helped build Eaton's fort (also called Heaton's Station). He later started
a distillery and an inn and tavern, helped improve local roads, and was granted
more land in the Whites Creek area.
Map
of the Cumberland Settlement in 1780 [Summerville]. |
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The land that Frederick Stump claimed bordered
that of William White, the eldest son
of John White. He was a private on the NC
Continental Line, thereby receiving an original land claim in the Cumberland
Settlement in Washington Co. NC, but he may never have actually settled on the land.
This may be why
John Holloway was there in 1780.
The claim John Holloway attempted with a James Scott the year before on Long
("Glady") Creek (shown on
Map)
appears to be the same as Whites Creek which ran through the lands claimed by
Frederick Stump, William White,
Joshua Howard and Absalom Hooper, before
flowing into the Cumberland River. See
Topographical Map
showing early land claims in the Whites Creek area [Drake, p. 23 and map E7].
James Scott did receive a land grant but John Holloway never did. |
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Of the three claimants of land on Whites Creek in 1781, only
Frederick Stump and his son signed the May 13,
1780 Cumberland Compact. On
page 2
of the original Compact, the signature, in dutch or german, of
"Frederick Stumpf" is tenth down from the top, just below that of
"John Holloday".
His son Jacob Stump, and William Hood signed after him. Hood was killed by Indians
in 1780 or 1781, and by winter of 1780, Jacob Stump was killed while out with his
father near their home along Whites Creek. |
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Washington Co., previously Washington District, was formed by North Carolina in
1777 and extended west to the Mississippi River, mostly containing land inhabited
by five different tribes of Native Americans, but mostly Cherokee. In 1779, the
Cumberland Settlement was created by the granting of land by the NC government.
In 1783 this settlement was mostly contained in the newly formed Davidson Co. and
surrounded by Indian Lands, and Virginia and Kentucky to the North.
Map of
the Cumberland Settlements showing Forts, known as Stations, in present-day counties. |
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Joshua Howard arrived in the Cumberland
Settlement from the Natchez District by the beginning of 1781. He eventually was
assigned Captain of the Freeland's Station on Mar 15, 1783 [Clayton, p. 37]. |
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In 1783, North Carolina created Davidson County, the first county in what became
the state of Tennessee in 1796 formed from the Southwest Territory. |
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On Nov 6, 1783 Absalom made a deposition in Davidson Co. regarding a Daniel Oglesby
who lived in Cumberland and previously in Natchez. A James Oglesby owned land on
Second Creek [McBee, Book C, p. 105]. Daniel made a deposition on Mar 23, 1821
that in 1785, he went to hunt with Absalom, crossed "the Red River about two
miles below where Phil Alston lived" and
met William Hooper [son] at the Muddy River, an area now in Logan Co. KY
[Logan Co. KY Abstracts of Equity Cases, Vol 1, p. 20]. |
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Map of
the Cumberland Settlement in 1780 [Summerville]. |
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On Oct 4, 1784, Absalom Hooper recorded his stock mark, "a crop off each ear and
upper & lower slopes in each, commonly called Piggin Handles" [Davidson Co. Court
Minutes, Book A, page 42]. |
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On Dec 31, 1788, "Joucha Hayward" arrived in Natchez from "Cumberland/Tennessee",
not listed among the flatboats and without family. In a letter dated Mar 2, 1790,
from Carlos de Grand-Pré, Natchez,
Mar 2, 1790 to Governor Don Estavan Miro, the amount of tobacco was reported by
growers of Natchez. A "Joshua Houvard" reported
producing 5000 pounds of tobacco [MS Dept of Archives & History, website]. |
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Son William married Sarah Hollis on Mar 4, 1789 in Nashville when it was governed
by the State of North Carolina. |
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On Jul 9, 1792 Absalom was living on the east side of Whites Creek when
"Absolom Hooper" deeded 48 acres "on East side of Whites Creek, se corner of
preemption of 640 acres of Benjamin Drake Sr." to a David Earhart. This land
was adjacent to "Hoopers line of tract he now lives on" with Ennis Hooper [son]
one of the witnesses. The deed was recorded Jul 26, 1792 [Davidson Co. Deeds,
Book C, page 59]. |
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According to the 1792 Spanish Census for Natchez District,
Joshua Howard was
a head of household in the District of Second & Sandy Creek, as was
"Juan Holladay", both single white males
without blacks or slaves. A different translation has a Tonio Howard with 6 whites
and 5 blacks on 400 arpents (336 acres) of land in the same area, which was east
and south of Natchez. No Hooper households were counted at that time. |
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In Oct 1792, the Stump distillery in Nashville TN was burned down by one of the
area tribes.
Frederick Stump was the first to distill
whiskey in the region. By 1795 the rebuilt distillery along Whites Creek was
producing up to 600 gallons of whiskey per year. Absalom Hooper was also producing
whiskey as he was taxed for doing so by the end of the century [Tenn. State
Museum]. |
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| Daughter Sinah married John McCoy Alston (1767-1856), son of Phillip Alston, on Jan 3, 1795 in Davidson Co. | |||
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On Aug 10, 1795 "Absolom Hooper" deeded to
"Bishop Asbury" one half acre "adj.
Charles Parker line" with Joseph Hooper [son] and Samuel Hollis witnesses. The
deed was recorded Oct 13, 1795 [Davidson Co. Deeds, Book C, page 431]. |
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On Mar 10, 1796, son "Enas" [Ennis] married "Anne Young" in TN [Tenn. Co.
Marriages, 1790-1950]. An Ann Hooper was appointed administrator of
"Enias Hooper" on Oct 14, 1800 [Fischer, V. I, p. 180, cites Dav TN, Co Ct Min,
C/336]. He is not mentioned in the
1811 will of his father. |
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Joshua Howard had become "Conservator of the
Peace for the Southern District, Mississippi Territory" by Oct 27, 1798 when two
men swore to the truth of statements made re: suit involving
Elizabeth Still Lee lending a slave girl Peg
to her son-in-law Alexander Freeland in the Summer of 1796. She had made her
deposition before Cato West, Howard's counterpart in the Northern District
[Ragland p.6]. |
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Daughter Letitia "Letty" married Aquila Jones, her second husband, on
Apr 16, 1798 in Davidson Co. TN. |
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In the half year ending Dec 31, 1799, "Absolem Hooper" paid tax of 4.26 in
Distillery Tax to Davidson Co. [Tennessee State Museum]. |
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Son Ennis married Elizabeth ?Thomas on Aug 30, 1802 but he died the next year.
It appears an uncle named Jesse Hooper became "curator" of their children
[Davidson Co. Marriages 1800-1804, p. 40]. |
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On Mar 23, 1804, Absalom's 250 acres on Second Creek was claimed by the heirs
of Samuel Wells [McBee, Book F, p. 442]. In 1796, a Rebecca Wells
married Robert Holloway, the son of
John Holloway who was killed by Indians on
nearby land on Second Creek. |
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Son Nimrod married Nancy Lucas (1792-1835) on Sep 5, 1809 in Davidson Co. TN. |
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Son Absalom Jr. married Catherine Whaling (1794-1812?) on Sep 17, 1810 and had
one daughter. He then married Catherine "Kitty" Lucas (1794-1878?) on Feb 1, 1812
in Davidson Co. TN. |
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Absalom Hooper had claimed land on Second Creek in the Natchez District several years
before Joshua Howard, both in the 1770's.
The two also claimed adjoining land along Whites Creek in the Cumberland Settlement
in western North Carolina in the 1780's.
Absalom did not return to Natchez with Joshua in 1788. The 4th item of his
Will written in 1811, lists an
"old Sam" among slaves bequeathed to his son Absalom (Jr.), along with "Smith
tools", presumably originally belonging to the
John Smith who earlier lived on his land on
Whites Creek. If Old Sam was Samuel, the 50 year old
slave listed in the inventory of the deceased
John Holloway in Natchez in Oct
1781, he would have been about 80 when the will was written.
The will also transferred ownership of a "Little Sam"
[Copy of original,
TN Will Book 4, p. 246]. |
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Sources: Cumberland Compact, original document signed May 13, 1780, Washington County NC, website. Clayton, Prof. W.W., History of Davidson County Tennessee, reprod. 1971 by Charles Elder, Nashville TN. David Library of the American Revoution, "British Colonial Office Records CO5 West Florida Records", website, vol 593, item 107. Davidson Co. Deed Book C, pages 59, 431. Davies, K. G., ed., Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783, vol. VI “Transcripts 1773”, Irish University Press, Dublin, 1974, pp. 177-8, 242-243. Drake, Doug, Jack Masters and Bill Puryear, Founding of the Cumberland Settlements, The First Atlas, 1779-1804, Warioto Press, 2009, pp. 23, map E7. Fischer, Marjorie Hood, comp. Tennessee Tidbits 1778-1914 Volume I, II, Ram Press, Vista CA, p. 180. Imbert, J. Leopold, map maker, Carte des Possessions Angloises... 1777, reprinted by the Museum of the American Revolution from map image at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library. Logan Co. KY, Abstracts of Equity Cases, Vol 1, p. 20. McBee, May Wilson, comp., "Land Claims", in Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Book F, p. 436, 442, 504-505, 518. McBee, May Wilson, comp., Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Greenwood MS, 1953, v. 2, Book A, pp. 450, 541, 548. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Americans Arriving in Spanish-Held Natchez 1780-1790. MSGenWeb, Natchez District 1792 Census Index, comp. by Ellen Pack, Head of Household Index, transcribed and translated from Spanish. North Carolina Land Grants, vol. 2, at Morganton NC Library, p. 6, #1476, transcribed by Lisabeth M. Holloway Oct 9, 1987. Rivington's New York Gazeteer, Aug 4, 1774. Summerville, James, Southern Epic, Gloucester Point VA, Hallmark, 1996. Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950, "John Alston" Marriage Record, p. 8. Wells, Carol, Natchez Postscripts 1781-1798, Heritage Books, pp. 101, 144-5, 151, Tennessee Co. Marriages, 1790-1950. Tennessee State Museum, Nashville TN, Tennessee Distillery Tax Ledger, years 1795-1802, inside display case. USGenWeb Archives, contr. by Houston Tracy Jr., "Deposition of William Wall, 20 Dec 1780", microfilm folio 458-9. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Davidson Co. Tennessee Will Book 4, page 246, Microfilm Roll No. 427. Will Books 3 and 4, Wilkes County, North Carolina, 1811-1848, The Genealogical Society of "Original" Wilkes County), Will Book 3, "Estate of Josahua Howard", Oct 1814, page 89, 120. |
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