Transcribed by Janette West Grimes
December 24, 1953
* CAL’S COLUMN *
12 Llewellyn Road,
Montclair,
New Jersey,
November 14, 1953
Macon County Times,
Lafayette, Tennessee
Att: Mr. Calvin Gregory, Editor
Dear Sir:
How very kind of you to send
me a copy of your paper that had the article on the Hargis family and also to
print my name as being interested in finding out more about the family. Your
efforts have been deeply appreciated. I do hope that you will remember me when
you print another article on the Hargis family.
You mentioned in your column
that you would like to know more about the early Hargis's in America. Mrs. Anna
Ruth Hargis Huff, of Granville, Tennessee, sent me a great deal of material
about the early Hargis family and those that fought in the Revolutionary War. I
am sure if you wrote to her she would be glad to send you what she knows.
Another address that would be helpful to you is that of Mrs. E. G. Hull, 610
So. Marion Street, Kirksville, Missouri, who has a wealth of material.
The Hargis family came to
Maryland from England. Before they went to England they were in France and
originally in Denmark. The name has been spelled Harjes and Harjis in Denmark
and Harguesse in France.
Whiteside Hargis was with
Daniel Boone on his second expedition into Kentucky and was killed by Indians.
William Asa and Thomas Lea Hargis were the first two of the name in America.
They owned a plantation on the James River near the Zachiah Swamp in Charles
County, Maryland. Their wills are on record in the Hall of Records in
Annapolis, Maryland.
Two of the name, Shadrach and
William, served in the Revolutionary War and that can be proven. It is most
probable that their brothers, Thomas and Abraham, also served. They were the
sons of Abraham and Elizabeth Nalley Hargis.
I will be glad to send you
more information if you so desire.
I am so anxious to know if my
husband's great-grandfather, Calvin Houston Hargis, was the son of William and
Hannah Howell Hargis. We know that Calvin Houston had brothers, names Jackson
and Henderson. Your article shows that William and Hannah had sons by that
name. We know that Calvin Houston Hargis married Nannie Elizabeth Jackson in
Middle Tennessee and moved with her to DeSoto County, Mississippi, where he
died and where his son, James Seward Hargis, was born.
I would be happy to hear from
you at any time. Thank you again for your kind cooperation.
Very truly yours,
Lethe Kellinger Hargis,
(Mrs. James Irvin
Hargis)
The
following data on the Gammon family was received last month from Rev. W. J.
Gammon, a Presbyterian minister of Montreat, N. Carolina. We extend our sincere
thanks for the information contained in his recent letter. We are sorry not to
have printed his letter earlier, but it was partially overlooked and this
account for the delay. The letter is as follows:
November 8th, 1953
Rev. Calvin Gregory,
Lafayette, Tenn.
Dear Rev. Mr. Gregory:
Please accept my many thanks
for your prompt reply to my inquiry. Some one has said that a reply within a
year to an inquiry regarding family history, is considered prompt. I am glad
that you did not so view the matter.
I wish to thank you also for
information relative to Mr. George Gammon. I especially thank you for
information which you gave of George's ancestry, and promise of more later. I
have some dates of land transactions in Smith County, of Jeremiah Gammon.
I rather think that the
family in Pittsylvania Co., and from that County in Tennessee. Va., came from
Norfolk County (early home of our branch of the family.)
I have a copy of the will of
William Gammon of that county, William Sr., 1837, mentions sons, Drury,
Presley, James, William, John, Levy; daughters, Nancy Scarce, Lucy Scarce,
Levicy Beggerly; and daughters Parthene, Amy.
There is mention of land transactions in that county; John, in
1784; Hargis Gammon, 1788; John Sr., and John Jr., 1798. From 1797, up thru
1815, several of family sell land, evidence that they might be leaving that
county.
As you likely know, Harris Gammon, Sr., a soldier of the Revolution, is buried, without any tomb, northeast of Knoxville, Tenn. I have copies of his will from Knox County. He may have married a Brawner.
If you find any data, or can,
with reliable, authentic references to data, tell me the name of father, or
mother, or both, of this William Gammon, whose will I mention, of Harris
Gammon, Sr., from whence they came to Pittsylvania County and names of parents
of your Jeremiah Gammon in Smith County, Tenn., 1817; John Gammon, 1820; and
1806; James Gammon, 1807;(buys land of Nicholas Shrum); Eli Gammon, deceased in
1858.
Harris Coleman Gammon gave me
in Nashville, about 1915, born in Macon County, 1881, on Dry fork of Goose
Creek: three full brothers, Peter, married 5 times; John, sons, Jefferson,
Pole, Robert; Moses (or Mode), likely father of Alexander Gammon. Robert was
father of Harris C., his mother being Polly Shrum.
If you find data from county
records, showing information on above, please preserve it, and inform me. I
have many notes on the family in several counties of Va., Ill., Tenn., Ind.,
Ky., Mo., Calif., etc.
Members of some branches of
family have urged me to put into form of a history the large amount of data
which I have accumulated since 1915 or before. I shall be glad to type and
prepare the manuscript, if there is interest enough to justify the printing.
I am sorry that I missed
meeting you in August. Only about once a year do we pass near you, unless some
illness or death should call us. I have preached, supplied most of the Sundays
since moving here, September 1949, 16 months one place; 15 another, etc. and do
yet, with many thanks.
W. J. Gammon
We have the following
information on the Gammon family, from the census records of Smith County,
Tenn., for the years 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850 and 1870. The first Gammon listed
in the census of Smith County, from which Macon was largely formed in the years
1842, was James Gammon. He had one male under 10, one male from 10 to 16, and
one over 45, no doubt James himself. Females in the family included: Four
between 16 and 26, and one female over 45. Mrs. Gammon we presume. This is
1820.
The next listed was Jeremiah
Gammon. His family included: Three males under 10, and one from 26 to 45,
Jeremiah, we are sure. Only one female was listed and she was undoubtedly
Jeremiah's wife, and was between 16 and 26. We learn from other sources that
she was the former Miss Susan Lovelady. The Gammon family in this county at
present are largely descendants of Jerry and Susan.
The third Gammon listed in
1820 was John Gammon, with one male between 10 and 16, two from 18 to 26, and
two from 45 years and upward, one of whom was supposedly John himself. We have
not the least idea as to who the other was. Females: One from 10 to 16, and
three above 45, one of whom is presumed to have been Mrs. Gammon. Whether James
and Jerry and John were related, we do not know, but it is very likely that
they were. It is possible Jeremiah or Jerry, as he was familiarly called, was a
son of one or the other, bur surmising does not get one very far in tracing
family history. So we desist.
The fourth and last head of a
Gammon family in Smith County 133 years ago was Levi. He had: Males, two under
10, and one between 18 and 26, Levi himself, we are quite sure; and one female,
between 16 and 26, his wife, we are sure.
In the census of Smith County
for 1830, we find:
Jeremiah Gammon, with one
male from 5 to 10 years old, one from 10 to 15, one from 15 to 20, and one from
30 to 40, no doubt Susan, above mentioned. His neighbors were Coleby Stapp,
Herod Hargis, Wm. B. Reese, James Parker, Thomas Wilburn, James D. Hammack,
Thomas Hooper, Joseph Fuller, Gunnery Wilburn. From these neighbor's names, we
would decide that Jeremiah Gammon lived somewhere on the waters of Dixon's
Creek, which rises in the extreme south side of Macon County, flows
southwestward through the present Trousdale County, and empties into the
Cumberland near Dixon Springs, in Smith County.
Jehu Gammon is the next
mentioned in the census of Smith County for 1830, his family consisting of :
Males, one under five, one from 5 to 10, one from 10 to 15, and one from 30 to
40, Jehu himself, we are sure; and one female between 20 and 30, Mrs. Gammon,
we feel sure. His neighbors were: James Roark, Pleasant Payne, Daniel Stinson,
Jesse Driver, Henry Vanover, Pleasant Driver and Burdett Stinson. Judging from
the names of the neighbors, we would say that the Jehu Gammon family lived
somewhere in the general vicinity of Haysville, eight miles north of Lafayette.
Next is named John Gammon,
who had: One male under five, one from 5 to 10, and himself, between 20 and 30.
One female under five, and one between 20 and 30, Mrs. Gammon, perhaps, were listed.
Next in the record is Eli Gammon, who apparently lived as a "door
neighbor" to John, which shows that they were most probably related and
from their ages and the ages of their children, we think they were probably
brothers. Eli had: One male under five, and one from 20 to 30, most assuredly
Eli himself; and one female under five and one between 20 and 30, no doubt his
wife. Near neighbors of John and Eli Gammon included: Edmund Towns, John
Stafford, Thomas Smithwick, Mary Nowls, Caleb Stafford, Frances Cook, John
Fleeman and Reuben Garret. We would judge these men to have lived on the waters
of Dixon's Creek.
James and Lewis Gammon are
listed as living near each other. James Gammon here listed seems to have been
the same James Gammon listed above as the first in the records of the census of
1820. In the year 1830 he had: One male under five, one from 15 to 20, one from
20 to 30, and one from 60 to 70 years of age, no doubt James himself; females:
Two from 15 to 20, and one from 60 to 70, Mrs. James Gammon, we feel sure.
Lewis Gammon was probably a
son of James. He had in 1830: One male under five, one from 5 to 10, two from
10 to 15, and one from 30 to 40. Females: Two under five, and one from 20 to
30, Mrs. Lewis Gammon, we are sure. We are of the opinion that the party who
copied the old census records got this name, Lewis, wrong. It was we are almost
certain, Levi Gammon. By a comparison with the ages of the Levi Gammon of ten
years before, everything figures out exactly. In 1820 Levi Gammon was between
18 and 26. Add ten years to his age and we would have the age group of 30 to
40, in which Lewis was placed in 1830. His wife's age in 1820 was between 16,
and 26. Add ten years to this and you have the same group applied to Mrs.
Gammon in 1830, 20 to 30 years. The two males listed in Levi Gammon family in
1820 as being under ten years of age would in 1830 be listed as being 10 to 15,
which is exactly what was done in the case of the man called Lewis Gammon. Near
neighbors of James and Lewis or Levi Gammon included: James Nelson, William
Harris, John Luck, John Baker, Hickerson Parker, Abraham Parker and Daniel
Adams.
From the names of the
neighbors of the two Gammon, we would judge that they resided in the vicinity
of the present Lafayette.
Robert Gammon is the next
listed. He had: Males, one under five, and one from 20 to 30; and females, one
from five to 10 and one from 15 to 20. This shows that Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Gammon were young. Their neighbors' names indicate to the writer that Robert
Gammon lived on the upper waters of the present Peyton's Creek, some ten miles
southeast of Lafayette. They were: Joseph Cartwright, Joseph Thomason, Page
Thomason, Elijah Cox, Archibald Parker, Allen Smith, Robert Cothron and William
Nicholas (Nichols?). Joseph Cartwright most probably lived at the present
George Evetts place. Joseph Thomason was a relative, we feel sure, of John B.
McDuffee, who is now nearing his 95th anniversary at his home at Hillsdale,
this county, whose mother was Miss Martha Thomason. Elijah Cox was a pioneer
settler either on upper Peyton's Creek or on Dry Fork of Goose Creek. The
writer's first wife was a descendant of Elijah Cox, we are virtually certain.
Archibald Parker was an early settler in the vicinity of Ebenezer which is
located on upper Peyton's Creek. We knew one Archibald Parker in our boyhood
days, and we are inclined to the belief that he was the grandson of Archibald
of 1830. Allen Smith was the grandfather of Allen Smith who still lives on, R.
1, Westmoreland, Tenn., a few miles northwest of Lafayette. Robert Cothron was
the ancestor of all the Cothrons living in this section, and they are very
numerous.
John Gammon is the last-named
head of a family listed in the Smith County census of 1830. We think this to
have been the John Gammon listed ten years earlier. It is possible that he was
the father of Jeremiah Gammon as Jerry married a Miss Lovelady, and two of the
nearest neighbors to John Gammon in 1830 were John Lovelady and his wife, both
of whom were between 50 and 60 years of age. This John Gammon and wife lived
alone, the record indicates, he being between 70 and 80, and his wife 50 to 60.
Jeremiah was of an age to have been their son, being in 1830 between 30 and 40
years of age. John Gammon lived near the Robert Gammon above referred to, and
the latter could have been John's son.
Our census records for 1840
are not indexed and we do not have time to look up the Gammon heads of family
without an index. However, as the 1850 census is indexed and also as it gives
the names of all the members of each family, we are going to give at least a
part of the Gammon families listed.
The first is the family of
Eli Gammon. The record is as follows: Eli Gammon born in Va., 1797, wife,
Frances, born in North Carolina in 1803. Children: Mary, 19, born in Tennessee;
Elizabeth, 14 years of age and born in Tenn., Caleb Gammon, 11, and born in
Tenn., and Sarah F., 8, born in Tennessee.
"Jerk" Gammon, 57,
born in Virginia; Susannah, 35, and born in South Carolina; James R., 19, and
born in Tenn., Sarah, 23, and born in Tenn., Leroy C., 16, and born in Tenn.,
Jane, 14, and born in Tennessee. Living with this family was a mulatto named
Lethy Ray, born in North Carolina. We are of the opinion that "Jerk"
Gammon was none other than Jerry Gammon. He was born in Virginia in 1793, and
this can be verified, we are sure. His wife here listed as Susannah, was called
Susan even by her descendants today. In every place where he is listed as being
in a certain age group, the date, 1793, corresponds to the age group. In 1820
he is listed as being between 26 and 45. If born in 1793, he would have been 27
years of age in 1820, and the group is correct. In 1830 he is listed as being
between 30 and 40. If born in 1793, he would have been 37 years of age, and the
age group is again correct. We have on a personal list the name of one son of
Jerry and Susan, Thomas Gammon, born Aug. 3, 1820. Thomas married Mary Parker.
Their first-born was Sarah Gammon, born July 12, 1839. The second was William
Mitchell Gammon, born Nov. 21, 1840. William Mitchell Gammon was the father of
Thomas Duncan Gammon, father of Lethia Mai Gammon, whom the writer married on
Feb. 25, 1912.
Living next to
"Jerk" Gammon was William Gammon, born in Tennessee in 1817, whose
wife was Mary M. Gammon, born in Tennessee in 1823. They had one child, Susan
C., a year old and born in Tenn. We are of the opinion that William Gammon was
the son of "Jerk" or correctly, so we believe, Jerry. The only child
was named for the grandmother, Susan Lovelady Gammon.
The next and the last-named
Gammon listed in the census of 1850 was John J. Gammon, born in 1816 in
Tennessee. His wife was Nancy Gammon, also born in Tennessee, three years after
her husband was born. Their children were: Rebecca, 15; William G., 14; Agness,
11; Lucinda G., six; and Eliza I., four. All of these children were born in
Tennessee. This Gammon family seemed to have lived 103 years ago on the waters
of Big Goose Creek in the general vicinity of the present Beech Grove. Living
not far from John J. Gammon and family were Spencer Woodmore and his brother
Willis Woodmore, who married sisters, Sallie and Jane Gammon, daughters of
Jerry and Susan Gammon. The Sarah Gammon listed above as the daughter of
"Jerk" Gammon, was no doubt the Sallie Gammon, who married Willis
Woodmore. The daughter, Jane Gammon, above set out as the daughter of
"Jerk" Gammon, married Spencer Woodmore. Willis Woodmore was born in
1826, and his brother, Spencer, was born three years later.
Some of the last facts are
taken from old family records in the hands of the writer. We have in our
possession the old family Bible of William Mitchell Gammon, from which part of
the above facts have been gleaned.
Since the above was written,
we have found part of the records of the family given us by the late Bud
Woodmore, son of Willis Woodmore and Sallie or Sarah Gammon. He died at 85
years of age. He also gave his mother's brothers as: Riley, corresponding to
the James R. Gammon, one of the sons of "Jerk" Gammon, John L.
Gammon, Billie Gammon, Thomas Gammon,
father of William Mitchell Gammon; and sisters, Jane, wife of his uncle,
Spencer Woodmore; Sallie Gammon, his mother, the Sarah of the census record of
1850 of "Jerk" Gammon; and Polly Gammon, who married a Gifford.
We hope to find out other
things about the Gammon family. We shall be glad for Rev. William J. Gammon to
publish a history of the family. If we can be of any help to him, we shall be
glad to add our mite.
____________________________________________
This Article Appeared In The Times
But Was Not Actually Titled Cal’s Column
Below is
a copy of a letter we have just written to W. O. Alexander, vice-president of
the First National Bank, of Eldorado, Texas. Since it concerns a family that is
quite numerous here in Middle Tennessee, we are publishing it for the
information therein contained. The reply to Mr. Alexander follows:
Lafayette,
Tenn.,
Dec. 15, 1953
Mr. W. O. Alexander,
Eldorado, Texas
Dear Sir:
Your letter of December 12th
is at hand and contents have been read with much interest. Yes, we know Horace
M. Alexander, of Gallatin, quite well. In fact his wife is a second cousin of
ours.
As to your branch of the
numerous Alexander family, we have what we believe to be a little information
that will probably be of interest to you. Since you do not know the name of the
father of your great-grandfather, Samuel B. Alexander, but do know that he was
born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, it may be of interest to you to
know that the Horace M. Alexander, to whom you have written at Gallatin, Tenn.,
is a direct descendant of another Mecklenburg County family, if not the very same
family. Horace M. Alexander is the son of Dr. Matthew N. Alexander, commonly
known as Dr. Bud Alexander. Dr. Alexander was the son of Hon. M. N. Alexander,
an attorney of Lafayette, Tenn., in the years long gone by. He was born April
11, 1819, in Allen County, Ky. Hon. M. N. Alexander's father was Mayben
Alexander, and his mother was the former Miss Margaret Wygal. Mayben Alexander
was a native of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, where he was born in 1788.
His father was Andrew Alexander, who served in the American Revolution under
Col. Mayben, in Gen. Lincoln's command. Andrew was captured at the surrender of
Charleston. After the Revolution, he removed to Allen County, Ky., which joins
Macon County, Tenn., on the North. He died in that county in the early part of
the 19th century. Mayben, named for the Colonel under whom his father served,
was married in Allen County in 1811. He died in 1848. We have some additional
data of a later time concerning the family. If you desire it, let me know and I
shall be glad to furnish same.
Since Mayben Alexander was
born in 1788, and your great-grandfather, Samuel B. Alexander, was born in
1794, and both were born in the same county, it is to be assumed that they were
most probably related and could have been brothers. Since Andrew served in the
Revolutionary War, and soldiers of that struggle were later pensioned, and
since such soldiers listed their children when applying for such pension, and
since such applications are still on file in Washington, I would suggest that
you write to the custodian of such records at Washington and secure a copy of
such application; provided, of course, that it was made.
I am taking the liberty of
placing you on our mailing list for a few weeks.
If I can be of any further service
to you, please feel free to call on me.
With the season's best
wishes, I am
Fraternally
yours,
Calvin
Gregory