Two stories were written for this column several years ago about the Mancill family of Covington County, Ala. Since that time some additional information related to the family has been revealed, so today’s writing will be sharing that data.

Edward Green Mancill Sr. was an early settler in the county. He located near the future community of Sanford and reared a large influential family. Many of his children settled around him, and the family created a cemetery on his land. He was buried in what is known as Mancill Cemetery I. It is located along U.S. Highway 84 on the south side in a wooded strip very near the highway and a short distance west of Sanford. At present, there are only two headstones found in the cemetery, but it is known that there are several other graves there.

It has been proposed that Edward Mancill Sr. was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, which would make him one of seven or eight such to be buried in the county. There are also records showing he rendered service during the War of 1812. Early writings indicate that he and his wife were buried in the west end of the cemetery at the head of a row of graves for relatives. Nearby in that row are the graves of his grandson, Elisha Jedejian “Babe” Mancill and wife, Virginia (Elmore), which are marked by the two surviving headstones. Elisha’s service in the Confederate Army is engraved on his headstone showing he was a private in Company E, 42nd Alabama Infantry Regiment. In earlier years, an attractive wrought iron fence encircled the two graves, but it has long since been removed.

Elisha Mancill’s brother, Elias Green Mancill, served in the Confederate Army along with him in the same company as a private also. Elias enlisted in April 1862 and was discharged on January 8, 1864, due to having been wounded during the Battle of Vicksburg. Elias was married to Nancy Jane ? who filed for a widow’s pension on his service in the Confederate Army. He and his wife, Nancy Jane Joanna (Pattillo), were also buried in Mancill Cemetery I along with their other relatives.

There is a second Mancill Cemetery known as Mancill Cemetery II located in the Red Level area, which features a Mancill Memorial headstone (1823-1861). It appears that it was begun by the family of Edward Sr.’s son, John Jackson Mancill. The earliest marked graves are for John Jackson (1823-1859) and his son, Calvin Mancill (1840-1858). Other marked graves include those of the following: John Jackson’s wife, Annie (Lyles) Mancill (1826-1899), Annie Mancill Horan (1918-1987); Edward P. Horan (1926-?), Emma L. Mancill Matuk (1922-1988), Herbert Mancill (1880-1884), and Donie Mancill (1882-1884). There might be others that were never marked.

There is interest in eventually restoring Mancill Cemetery I and marking as many graves as can be located. A special interest is in placing a marker at the grave of Edward Green Mancill Jr. which designates his service in the War of 1812. In fact, his descendants have already secured the headstone from the Veterans Association and are planning to eventually place it in the cemetery with an official dedication ceremony. It would also be quite appropriate to erect a marker for Edward Green Mancill Sr. and his wife. Documentation is needed to confirm his service during the Revolutionary War and/or the War of 1812.

Edward Green Mancill Sr. was born in Virginia circa 1760. Then there is a record of an Edward purchasing land in 1769 in Bladen County, N.C., so it would not have been Edward Green. However, he was married circa 1790, probably in South Carolina, to Mourning Flowers, a member of the Cherokee Indian Tribe. Some member of the family wrote in the family Bible that Edward and Mourning “left South Carolina on November 6, 1817, and landed in Alabama on December 23, 1817.” It appears that Edward’s brother, William Mancill, migrated along with him. They were both listed in the 1820 Federal Census for Conecuh County, Ala., since Covington was not formed until 1821.

William Mancill settled near the future Town of Evergreen in Conecuh County, and Edward G. Mancill chose an area in the Sanford community of Covington County. Edward’s first public land purchase was for 79.89 acres in 1823 in the Andalusia Township, which would have been near Sanford. He settled south of Sanford on the east side of Five Runs Creek, which was then known as Mancill Branch. He may have acquired more land, but his son, Edward Green Mancill Jr., is probably the one who accumulated so much acreage that it was said, ”He owned land as far as the eye could see in all directions.” Edward Jr’s land was in the same community as his father’s. The father, Edward Green Mancill Sr., died in 1840 and was buried in the new cemetery on his land.

Edward Green Mancill Sr. was the son of Robert John Mancill who was born in 1741 in Culpepper, Va., and who died in 1819 in Forsyth County, N.C. His mother was Elizabeth “Betsy” Pratt who was born in 1745 in Culpepper, Va., and died in 1829 in Stokes County, N.C. It is understood by the family that the Mancill ancestors left Ireland to escape religious persecution. When they reached America, they settled on Peachtree Creek in North Carolina, and they later moved on to Sumter County, S.C., where Edward Green Sr. was most likely born. Some later research suggests they also resided for a time in Marion County, S.C.

Edward Green Mancill Sr. was married in 1791 in South Carolina to Mourning Flowers who was born in 1773 in South Carolina and died in 1840, shortly after her husband, in Covington County, Ala. They were the parents of the following children: Edward Green Jr., b. 1793, d. 1873, m. Mary Ann Ward (1795-1878); William A., b. 1795, d. 1842, m. Mourning Dove White; Mourning Dove, b. 1798, d. 1867, m. James Jonathan Jordan (1790-1856); Sarah Elizabeth “Betsy,” b. 1800, d. 1878, m. Noah Carroll (1799-1871); Robert R., b. ca 1801, d. 1866, m. Martha ?; Mary “Polly,” b. 1802, d. 1897, m. (1)Calvin Holley (1803-1846) (2) Barfield Tuberville; Rebecca, b. ca 1808, d. 1885, m. Daniel Spikes; Martha “Patsy,” b. 1809, d. 1835, m. ca 1828 Hosea Holley (1799-1858); and Simeon, b. 1811, d. 1860, m. Dempsey Bozeman (1817-1898). Some report there was another daughter, Sarah, b. 1805, but she is not listed in other records.

Hopefully, this story is a more accurate coverage of this Mancill family. There has been confusion of the history, especially dealing with Edward Green Mancill Sr. and Jr. Further coverage of Edward Green Sr.’s children will be presented in next week’s column.

The sources for this narrative include some from Ancestry.com, but most came from two family stories written by a descendant, Isabelle Algee, and printed in The Heritage of Covington County, Alabama. Some facts were also gleaned from Gus and Ruby Bryan’s Covington County History and Wyley D. Ward’s Original Land Sales and Grants in Covington County, Alabama.

Anyone who might find an error in the above is requested to contact this writer, Curtis Thomasson, at 20357 Blake Pruitt Road, Andalusia, AL 36420; 334-804-1442; or Email: cthomasson@centurytel.net.