Elizabeth English Ward, Orphan

Oral histories reveal Elizabeth was found near Ocmulgee Hamlet (presumed to be near present-day Macon, GA)¹ near a path traveled by James English.² Elizabeth was separated from her people and rescued by James English when she was about 4-5 years old.³ Based on her reported age on later census records, she was born between 1798 and 1800,⁴ which means she was found around 1803 to 1805.

Very little has been proven regarding the life and times of James English. Oral histories say he was a trader, could speak an Indian language, and traveled frequently in and around Creek Indian people.⁵ He lived near the Ocmulgee River which was the boundary between Georgia and Creek Nation in the early 1800s – most likely near present-day Twiggs County, GA.⁶ He lived to be about 45 years old and died before 1820.⁷ Courthouse fires during and after the Civil War destroyed many Georgia records from this time period.

Did James English formally adopt Elizabeth? Federal and State processes and procedures for handling orphaned children in the early 1800s was not well defined. The first United States laws regarding adoptions and the care of orphans were made in the late 1800s when orphanages fell under the spotlight.⁸ Prior to these laws, orphans who were heirs to property had their estates managed through local courts via attorneys, executors, or adoptive parents. Orphans without property were sent to orphanages or taken in by caring families – an informal process with very little, if any, paperwork.⁹ For example, President Andrew Jackson took in several children, including an Indian child he named Lyncoya Jackson (1811-1828). He raised them as his own and they became heirs to his estate. Many of these children were never made his “legal wards” through any formal process.¹⁰

Elizabeth was raised with James English’s three daughters, Rebecca C. English Grubbs Varner (abt 1798-1893),¹¹ Nicy English Miller (abt 1812-1889),¹² and Pricilla English Baker (abt 1813-?),¹³ who lived much of their adult lives in Walton County, GA and in or around Atlanta, GA.

Rebecca, Nicy, and Pricilla have similar lives, while Elizabeth’s life is very different. By 1820, Elizabeth has married and moved to Jackson County in the new Florida Territory and, by 1830, to the southern portion of Dale County, AL where she lives the remainder of her life.¹⁴ Shortly before her death, the county lines in this area change placing her homestead within the boundaries of Geneva County, AL.

In contrast, Rebecca, Pricilla, and Nicy English live near each other in central Georgia, often as neighbors, throughout their lives.¹⁵

Elizabeth and Rebecca were both born about 1798. Several photos of these two women exist and are shown below.¹⁶ The two women do not have a family resemblance, which further supports Elizabeth being a Creek Indian. To date, no photos of Nicy or Pricilla English are known to exist.

4 photos, 2 of Elizabeth and 2 of Rebecca English
click for larger view

Before Elizabeth married, when she was about 19 years old, “James English Orphans’ of Ellis District, Twiggs County, GA” submit oral oaths giving their qualifications to enter the 1820 Georgia Land Lottery. The Lottery ran from September 1, 1820 - December 2, 1820 with “draws” being made each day. ¹⁷ Early County, Section 19, Lot 155¹⁸ was given to “James English (orphans),” who were “residents of Twiggs County, Ellis Military district.”¹⁹ Winners had to pay $18 for their land. Surveys show this lot consisted of 250 acres and Turkey Creek ran from the northwest corner to the southwest corner of the lot. Today, this property is located about 5 miles southwest of Cario, GA, in Grady County, GA.²⁰ Unfortunately, a 1901 courthouse fire in Twiggs County, GA destroyed the county’s early records.²¹ A closer look at the Lottery rules, however, reveals this draw permitted orphans under 21 years old, with 3 years of residence – one or two “draws” or tickets to win free land. It also provided widows the same option, which means James English had died prior to 1820, and his wife was either dead or remarried. Rebecca English could no longer qualify as an orphan because she was married,²² leaving only Elizabeth, Pricilla, and Nicy English as orphans of James English.

Footnotes:

¹ See list of affidavits in Statements section.

² J. Lanette O'Neal Faulk and Billy Walker Jones, History of Twiggs County, Georgia (Jeffersonville, Georgia: Major General John Twiggs Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1960), 20, 24-25. Provides description of original roads through present-day Twiggs County…. Thomas S. Woodward, Woodward's Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians (Montgomery, Alabama: Harrett & Wimdish, Book and General Job Printers, 1859), 47. Woodward describes shad fishing along the Ocmulgee River. Note: When Elizabeth was a young child, the Ocmulgee River was the boundary between the Georgia Colonists and Creek Indians.

³ Ed Alonzo Hundley (Geneva County, Alabama), interview by Robert S. Ward, Judge of Probate, Geneva County, AL, January 11, 1957; transcript. Note: A copy of this transcript is currently published on the Office of Federal Recognitions website at https://www.bia.gov/sites/bia.gov/files/ assets/as-ia/ofa/petition/032_muscnf_FL/ web_docs/032_PFWD_1957_HundleyDeposition.pdf … Also see affidavits listed in the Statements section from Elizabeth Jackson, Susan Martin, and Margie Weathers.

⁴ 1850 U.S. census, Dale County, Alabama, population schedule, Southern Division, p. 176A, dwelling 143, family 143, Elizabeth Ward; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed Sep 17, 2018); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll M432_4. .. 1860 U.S. census, Dale, Alabama, population schedule, Newton, p. 680, dwelling 1227, family 1227, Elizabeth Ward; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed Sep 29, 2018); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll M653_8.

⁵ See list of affidavits on pages 17-24 from Ed Hundley, Elizabeth Jackson, Susan Martin, and Margie Weathers.

⁶ A James English was living in Montgomery County, GA in the late 1700s, however, it is yet to be proven this is the same James English (Ron V. Jackson, Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp., "Georgia Census, 1790-1890.," database, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Mar 5, 2021), James English, Montgomery County, Index to 1797 Tax Records.) … His orphan daughters are living in Twiggs County, GA when they enter the 1820 Land Lottery.

⁷ His daughters qualify as “orphans” for the 1820 Land Lottery.

⁸ Barbara A. Moe, Adoption: A Reference Handbook (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2007), 1.

⁹ Rafael A. Javier and Amanda L. Baden, Handbook of Adoption; Implications for Researchers, Practitioners, and Families (London: Sage Publications, 2007), 18.

¹⁰ Harriet Chappell Owsley, "Andrew Jackson and His Ward, Andrew Jackson Donelson," Tennessee Historical Quarterly 41 (Summer 1982): 124. … Dana Lolas, Nashville, Tennessee [(E-ADDRESS) FOR PRIVATE USE,] to Regina Blackstock, e-mail, November 28, 2020, "New submission from Contact Us"; privately held by Blackstock, [(E-ADDRESS) & MAILING ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Monticello, FL. Stated only that adoption was “a loose term during that time period” and Andrew Jackson’s relationship with Lyncoya was documented in his letters.

¹¹ "Death of Mrs. Varner," The Atlanta Constitution, Wednesday, March 29, 1893, p. 2, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers Publisher Extras (http://newspapers.com : accessed Dec 6, 2020). … 1830 U.S. census, Walton County, Georgia, p. 125, Benjamin Grubbs; digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 6, 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M19, roll FHL Film 0007041. … 1850 U.S. census, Walton, Georgia, population schedule, Division 88, p. 70B, dwelling 996, family 996, Rebecca Varner; digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 6, 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll M432_86. Note: Rebecca and Pricilla are living next door to each other in 1850. … Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed Dec 10, 2020), Rebecca C. English Grubbs Varner, memorial number 62921585.

¹² Walton, Georgia, Marriages, Book D: 496, Miller-English, 1850; digital images, Ancestry Operations, Inc., Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 5, 2020). … 1860 U.S. census, Fulton County, Georgia, population schedule, Atlanta Ward 5, p. 865, dwelling 1126, family 1233, Nicy Miller; digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 5, 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll FHL Film 803122. … Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed Dec 5, 2020), Nicey English Miller, memorial number 67436549. Note: She died in Fulton County, GA.

¹³ Georgia, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1828-1978, Walton County Book B: 131, Baker-English, 1829; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 6, 2020). … 1850 U.S. census, Walton, Georgia, pop. sch., Division 88, p. 70B, dwell. 996, fam. 996, Pricilla Baker.

¹⁴ James Ward no. 116; Untitled Book containing Donation Act oral oaths for the Territory of West Florida, .Microfilm S 1001, V2; 599, Spanish Archives, West Florida Land Claims; State Archives of Florida, Tallahassee. Note: Item not dated, estimated date is 1824. … 1830 U.S. census, Dale, Alabama, Not Stated, p. 216, James Warde; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed Mar 9, 2018); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M19, roll 3. … Geneva, Alabama, Deed Book, Z: 84, James B. Ward to Elizabeth Ward, Aug 28, 1861 (recorded Sept. 1, 1907); Geneva County Courthouse. Note: Geneva County, AL was created from Dale County, AL in 1868.

¹⁵ "Death of Mrs. Varner." … 1840 U.S. census, Walker County, Georgia, Town District, p. 98, Priscilla Baker & Rebecca Grubbs; digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 6, 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M704, roll FHL Film 0007048. … 1850 U.S. census, Walton, Georgia, population schedule, Division 88, p. 1B, dwelling 10, family 10, Nicy Miller; digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 5, 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 86. … 1850 U.S. census, Walton, Georgia, pop. sch., Division 88, p. 70B, dwell. 996, fam. 996, Rebecca Varner.. … 1860 U.S. census, Fulton County, Georgia, pop. sch., Atlanta Ward 5, p. 865, dwell. 1126, fam. 1233, Nicy Miller. … 1880 U.S. census, Fulton County, Georgia, population schedule, Atlanta, enumeration district (ED) 101, p. 437A, Rebecca Varner; digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed Dec 6, 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 147.

¹⁶ All of these photos have been freely shared on the Internet. Original source is no longer known. The photo of Elizabeth English as a younger woman is sometimes shared as a photo of her daughter, Mary Jane Ward Davis. However, the woman in the photo is holding her hand similar to how Elizabeth nursed her injured hand. Therefore, the Muscogee Nation of Florida believes this to be a photo of Elizabeth and not her daughter. Alabama State Archives has two notarized statement attached to photos. However, both statements and original photos were later microfilmed which resulted in a black blob instead of a clear photograph, leaving positive identification of the photo questionable.

¹⁷ University System of Georgia, Georgia Archives (https://www.georgiaarchives.org : accessed Mar 5, 2020), 1820 Land Lottery.

¹⁸ District 19, Lot 155 fell within the boundaries of Early County between 1818-1823, then Decatur County between 1823-1906, and is now within the boundaries of Grady County, GA.

¹⁹ Early County (1820), District 19 (microfilm drawer 54, box 22), Grant issued to James English's Orphans; Land Lottery Grants; GA State Archives, Morrow.

²⁰ Georgia Surveyor General, Land Lottery Plats, Early County, Book EEE page 168 (microfilm drawer 51, box 40), District 19, Lot #155; GA State Archives, Morrow. … University System of Georgia, "County Collections," database and images, Georgia Archives Vault (http://vault.georgiaarchives.org : accessed Aug 9, 2020); Early County, District 19 Survey Map.

²¹ Rootsweb (http://sites.rootsweb.com : accessed Nov 26, 2020), Twiggs Courthouse was burned to the ground; http://sites.rootsweb.com/~gatwiggs/twiggs_courthouse_was_burned.htm.

²² 1830 U.S. census, Walton County, Georgia, p. 125, Genjamin Grubbs. Their first child is born about 1815 when she is about 17 years old.