SALUTATIONS
HELP! TT seems to be at the end of everyone's list these days. Have you really cleaned out of your files? Or might it just as well be Spring, and we suffer from Spring Fever. If you have information you have been intending to contribute, now is the time. Until sufficient information is received to compile a full issue each week, I'm planning to reduce distribution to every other week.
If you submitted information that hasn't been used, send it again, please. There was a two or three week period in February when my mailbox was full and mail was bounced.
A tremendous source of information is new subscribers (they have files
we haven't seen yet). We seem to have already captured the cream
of the crop. TT has over 100 subscribers, but only one or two new subscribers
join our effort each week now. I've place an ad on AOL's Genealogy
Message Board. If you can place notices in services you connect with,
please feel free to do so. New subscribers are the life blood of
a newsletter of this kind.
NEW MEMBERS
RAMONA TINNELL (Btinn)
***** Betheland Taliaferro, according to my records was married to
Wilson Mercer. He was born 9 January 1777 in Wilkes Co. GA and died
28 February 1832 in Holmes Co MS. They were married in 1797. She
was born 4 May, 1776 and died 14 October 1833, also in Holmes Co MS. William
descended from Thomas Mercer born 13 March 1647, Foxes Lane, Stepney, Middlesex
Co. England. My later part of the Mercer family lived in Gregg Co.. Texas.
My grandmother was Lula Mercer.
QUERIES
ERNEST FRICKS ernest.fricks@stoneweb.com******Seeking information on
Tallifaro/Tolliver Carter (b. 1770-80), 1840 Roane Co census p. 72. Can
we connect him to the Tallifaro Carter who appears in the 1830 Pittsylvania
Co VA census. His son Thomas also appears in the 1840 and 1850 Roane
Co census (wife Parthena), b. 1805 NC.
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JOYCE BROWNING (JBrown7169@aol.com) Recent discussion with a
non-Taliaferro, raised these interesting comments and questions.
I'd love to have your reaction to this information. It's pretty certain
I'm not prepared to respond to this correspondent. The initial discussion
concerned the Redd and Franklin families who were in Orange County
VA and moved Patrick Co VA and Surry Co NC (along with Dr. John Taliaferro)
before the Revolutionary War. *****In Orange Co Va 21 Jan 1734/5,
John Taliaferro of St George Parish..for affection to Anna Christopher,
wife of John Christopher of St. Mark's Parish..88 acres where she
now dwells & to her two daughters Alice James & Sarah James
to have the land when Anne/Anna died. Mary Taliaferro releases her
dower.
28 May 1741..John McCoy & Alice (formerly Alice James) sells back to John Taliaferro their right to the moiety of the 88 acres (Bk 4, pg 381-83)
SAME DAY: John & Frances Taliaferro of St. Mary's Caroline to Nicholas
Christopher of St. Thomas in Orange for valuable considerations (but no
cash)..lease for lives of Nicholas Christopher, Jr, John Christopher &
William Christopher...150 acres..for rent of 1 ear of Indian corn yearly
if demanded.
(This is a lease/release deed)
Nov 1740.. Thomas Redd & Sarah (formerly Sarah James) his wife, to John Taliaferro for 200 pounds their right of moiety in the 88 acres. (In Orange Co 1739..Tithe list: Thomas Redd was at Barbour's Quarter with 6 tithes)
Back when Orange was Spotsylvania, on 5 Oct 1728, Ann James, admx of
Edward Southall dec'd & John Taliaferro had been her security for L1,000.
(This Ann James was the mother of Sarah & Alice & the John
Christopher.)
RESEARCH
RAMONA TINNELL (Btinn) *****While searching my records further I found
the following information that was furnished by my cousin Talmadge Mercer.
These were cemetery and Bible
records published by Mississippi genealogical Society Vol. II
page 60 Simon Burney Bible Original owner-Simon and Annise Mercer Burney
Present owner Mrs. Wm. M. Baker , Sr. 1621 Harding Place, Nashville, Tennessee.
Bible published 1829 Simon & Richard Burney, brothers from North
Carolina to Holmes Co. Miss Simon Burney born 9 Oct 1790 died 12 Jan 1860
Annis Mercer born 29 Jan 1800 married Simon 24 Dec 1818 died 6 March 1842
Children:
Margaret 9-9-1821 died 1-1857
James 7-22-1823
Wilson 6-9-1824
Behethland Taliaferro 2-27-1826
Berry 1-7-1828
William 10-22-1830
Susanna 8-21-1833
Elizabeth 1-2-1836
David 2-19-1837
Parents of Annis Burney were Wilson and Behethland Taliaferro Wilson Mercer born 1-9-1777. Behethland Mercer born 5-4-1776 died 10-14-1833
"Historic Georgia Families" by Rigby page 113
Rose Berryman brought the name Behethland in to the Taliaferro family
showing her affection for her Sister Behethland Gilson Berryman by naming
her no. 7 child Behethland born 8-20-1738 This may just add
to the confusion but it does give information about how the name first
started in the family. After checking the records I believe the spelling
is Behethland. Thanks for the Times. It got me started checking
records again. I'm still trying the web site for more issues.
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JOYCE BROWNING (Jbrown7169@aol.com) ******Some Details of Taliaferro
and Taylor Land Holdings and Alterations in Caroline County VA and Conveyances
Between the Taliaferro and Taylor Families, beginning 1793
1793 Francis Taliaferro Estate 1600 acres
Robert Taliaferro Estate 500 acres
(transferred to Robert Taliaferro)
1794 Francis Taliaferro Estate
1600 acres (transferred to Charles C. Taliaferro
Robert Taliaferro 500 acres
James Taylor, Esq. 2170 acres
1795 James Taylor, Esq. 2170 acres
(60 acres transferred from Francis Pearce) +60
2230 (transferred to Charles C. Taliaferro) -700
1530 acresCharles C. Taliaferro 1600 acres
(transferred from James Taylor) +700
2300 acres
1797 Robert Taliaferro 500
acres (transferred from Thomas Alcock) 658-1/2
(transferred from George Holloway)
26 (transferred from Charles C. Taliaferro 658-1/2 1842
acres (transferred to Charles C. Taliaferro 500
1342 acres
Charles C. Taliaferro 2300 acres (transferred
from Robert Taliaferro) 500
(transferred to Robert Taliaferro) 658-1/2
(transferred to John Taylor)
54-1/2 2088 acres
1799 Robert Taliaferro 1342-1/2 acres
(transferred to James Taylor) 324
1018-1/2
Charles Taliaferro 2088 acres (transferred
to James Taylor) 700 1388 acres
1800 Charles C. Taliaferro 1388 acres
(transferred to James Taylor) 200
1188 acres
Robert Taliaferro 1018-1/2 acres
James Taylor 1908 acres (transferred
from John Satterwhite) 180 2088 acres
1806 Charles C. Taliaferro 1188 acres
(located 16 miles from the courthouse adjacent to Reuben T. Turner)
Robert Taliaferro Estate 959 acres (occupied
by the widow for life, 10 miles from the courthouse,
adjacent to Reuben T. Taylor)
Reuben T. Taylor 1865 acres (located 14 miles
from the courthouse, adjacent to George Tankersley)
During the period from 1800 to a date after 1805, the James Taylor property is carried on the books as "rented" and no details concerning its alterations appear. 1814 is the first year for which a full description of the property is recorded. Since there was little or no change in the Charles C. Taliaferro and Robert Taliaferro tracts between 1800 and 1814, it appears that the various transactions led to a change of location as follows:
Charles C. Taliaferro: Appears to have transferred Taliaferro's Mount to James Taylor in 1799, having acquired it in 1795 in a transfer from James Taylor. This series of transfers seems to be connected with the settlement of the estate of Francis Taliaferro. There is a survey of a tract of Buckner land which indicates that James Taylor owned Taliaferro's Mount in 1799. Charles Taliaferro moved to a new location 16 miles from the courthouse - Taliaferro's Mount is only 14 miles from the courthouse. No attempt was made to identify the site of the residence of Charles C. Taliaferro after 1799. However, it may be noted that when his estate was settled in 1833,the land acquired by his nephews, Benjamin T. and Theodore Garnett, is shown as 1390 acres located adjacent to E. P. White, 16 miles from the courthouse.
Robert Taliaferro: He lived adjacent to or near Taliaferro's Mount until 1797 when, through a series of complicated transactions, he acquired 658-1/2 acres from Thomas Alcock, 26 acres from George Holloway, and 658-1/2 acres from Charles C. Taliaferro, a total of 1342 acres. After several additional transfers of portions of this land,his total acreage was 959 acres in 1814 on which his widow lived. This property was sold after the death of his widow in 1816 to George Rose (or Ross). In any event, the series of transfers in 1797 represents the move of Robert Taliaferro from Taliaferro's Mount to an area south of Rappahannock Academy.
Charles Taliaferro: George Tankersley owned 486 acres in 1787 alongside the Goldenvale Creek and south of Rappahannock Academy. At the time of his death in 1815, he owned 961 acres located 12 miles from the courthouse and adjacent to Reuben T. Taylor. This land was transferred to his son, Reuben Tankersly, who lived in Richmond VA. Reuben Tankersly sold a portion of this land to Charles Taliaferro in 1818.
James Taylor: Because the James Taylor tract was rented for a number of years, there is not a full description of all of his transactions. From the Buckner survey of 1799, it is clear that he had acquired the larger portion of Taliaferro's Mount. In 1815, Reuben Taylor had either inherited or purchased from James Taylor a large, narrow tract of land which extended from the Liberty Baptist Church to the mouth of Mount Creek and perhaps beyond that to the line of the Buckner property. Liberty Baptist Church was located originally on Taliaferro's Mount, and was moved to moved to the Goldenvale Creek area in the early 1800s. It is now on the Fort A. P. Hill Military Reservation, still standing and in good repair, used only for an occasional wedding. Liberty Baptist Church is on the west side of Goldenvale Creek. Charles Taliaferro lived across the creek from the church.
The result of these complex transactions which occurred over a number of years is that Charles Taliaferro, son of William and Margaret Aylett (I believe, but have not confirmed) purchased the property which belonged to the George Tankersley estate. It was directly across the creek from land owned by Reuben Taylor. The property of John Holloway lay between Charles Taliaferro and Rappahannock Academy. Thus, through a torturous method, Cherry Grove, the home of Charles Taliaferro, was located.
MISCELLANY
What sort of landscape and economy nurtured our Taliaferro family after the death of Robert Taliaferro in 1681/2? This was the economy that molded our our early Taliaferros and formed their heritage.
Source: "Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century." Philip Alexander Bruce. 1935.
Chapter: Agricultural Development, 1685-1700. Eighty years had now passed since the day on which the colonists for the first time had sowed wheat in the soil of Virginia, this being the earliest seed that was planted after possession was taken of Jamestown Island. What changes had agriculture in this interval produced upon the face of this country? If the descriptions of contemporaneous observers are deserving of credence, the Colony, even where its population was densest, bore the aspect of a wilderness, owing to the enormous disproportion between the area in cultivation and the area still in a state of nature. The high lands were concealed by a heavy growth of trees, and the low grounds consisted largely of forest and marsh. I have already referred to the motives impelling the planters to engross as extensive tracts as they could secure; these motives were the absolute need of a virgin soil in the production of tobacco in perfection in that age when artificial manures were unknown, and the need equally great of a wide surface for the support of cattle which had to obtain their own subsistence at every season of the year. It was asserted at this time that although the population of Virginia did not exceed the number of inhabitants in the single parish of Stepney, a part of the city of London, nevertheless they had acquired ownership in plantations that spread over the same area of country as England itself. The proportion of open fields on these plantations was barely one-fifth of the whole. When the soil would no longer bring forth maize and wheat, which were cultivated after the third crop of tobacco, it was permitted to grow up again in underwood. As a result of this custom, a great extent of land which had been cleared at one time was covered with much thicker woods than the land remaining in primeval forest. In England, vast tracts were held by individual proprietors, but owing to the habit of leasing, which threw the tillage of an extensive surface into numerous hands, only a small part of the country was suffered to relapse into its original condition.
. . . . Ninety years after the foundation of Jamestown, there was no element of natural wealth as abundant in the Colony as a virgin soil, the axe and the laborer alone were needed to secure a new field, which was richer in productive qualities than the most highly improved spots in the English shires of Kent and Sussex. As long as this was the case, there could be no real demand for manures. In Virginia, the last quarter of the seventeenth century, there were many planters of the highest intelligence familiar with all methods that had been adopted in England and Holland for the improvement of agriculture. If they failed to introduce these methods into the Colony, it is evident that they considered it to be cheaper to obtain fertile lands by the removal of the forests than by the application of natural or artificial substances.
. . . . Now, from Joyce. The beginning of the end came in 1750. The woodlands had been cut over for nearly 100 years so that new tobacco fields could be cultivated. During the winter of 1749-50, the snows came early and lay deep on the ground all winter. Underneath the frozen crust, thawing streams of water began carving little gullies in the bare land. In the spring the rains began. All spring, into the summer and fall, the rain fell; and the newly carved gullies widened and deepened and the soil flowed into the creeks which emptied into the Rappahannock. Even the channel of the great Rappahannock ("Rise and Fall of Waters") had changed by the time frost came in 1750. Its ports were silted up and the docks no longer reached far enough into the water for cargo to be loaded off and on the ships. The small and the large planter watched his soil wash into their docking areas. In time, their deep, clear streams which opened up the interior of the land to settlement became marshy wetlands, suitable only for brown grass, muskrats, and herring spawning.
By 1750, most of the Indians were living beyond the Blue Ridge, and young men along the Rappahannock discovered that the soil which had nourished their families for generations was gone, or their nutrients had been leached away by tobacco. Except for an area near their houses, the trees were gone and there were no root systems to hold the remaining soil and no leaves fell to renew its vigor. While the young planters' grandfathers could open another field and let the old one lie fallow, the young planter no longer had enough aerable land to support his family. He began looking west to the hills where the creeks still bounced over rocky beds, where blackberries grew by the side of the road, where he could open a new field to replace the tired, old fields of his homeland.
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TALIAFERRO TIMES is compiled from email contributions and other sources.
Information distributed by this newsletter is the sole responsibility of
each contributor. Any questions regarding items contained herein
should be sent to the individual submitter. The editor reserves the
right to edit for brevity and clarity.
Distributed by Joyce Browning
cJBrown7169@AOL.com
__________________________________________________________________
deanna@spingola.com
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