Hammond descendants settled in the Opp area of Covington County

Published 10:42 pm Friday, January 22, 2021

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Today’s story will be a continuation of the Hammonds family begun in last week’s column. John B. Hammonds’s family through his grandchildren was outlined along with some of his ancestry and a description of the Lumbee Indian Tribe of which he was a member.  John B. died in Robeson County, N.C., where many of his family settled, and some continued to reside for many generations. However, some of his children and later descendants chose to migrate to Southern Alabama.

First, some of the grandchildren of John B.’s oldest daughter, Azenith Hammonds Jackson, and her husband, Thomas J. Jackson, will be outlined. Azenith was a Lumbee Indian who married Englishman Thomas Jackson circa 1789 in South Carolina, because North Carolina law forbade such marriage at the time. Their oldest son, Cornelius Asbury Jackson, was born in 1795, probably in Robeson County, N.C., but he eventually settled in Covington County, Ala., where he died in 1880.

Although he inherited 50 acres of land in 1811 from his grandfather with the stipulation that he could not sell it, he possessed an adventurous nature. Thus, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1817 at the age of 22 years. He served and fought in the Indian Wars for the next five years throughout Alabama and Georgia in General Andrew Jackson’s Army. During that time, he passed through Covington County and found the area to remind him of his home in Robeson County, N.C. When he was discharged from the Army in 1822 in Pensacola, Fla., he was ready to settle down, so he chose Monroe County, Ala. He probably selected this area because of the fine timber which was a business with which he was familiar. He was there in 1830, but he had moved east to Pike County by 1840 and then to Covington County by 1850. In 1860 he was in adjacent Coffee County, but after the W.B.T.S., he returned to Covington County.

Cornelius Jackson was married in Monroe County in 1824 to Lucretia Scroggins (1880-1865), daughter of John Scroggins and Sarah Carter. He had previously been married in 1815 to Elizabeth Green (1797-1880), but it appears his children were with Lucretia. They were the parents of the following children: John J., b. 1825, d. 1863, m. Mary Stricklin (b. 1829 N.C.); Duncan “Dunkin” J., b. 1827, d. 1877, m Mary “Polly” Scroggins; Andrew, b. 1831, d. 1892, m. (1) ? (2) Mary Odom (3) Melissa Emmaline Odom; Mary “Polly” J., b. 1832, m. Green Gauley McKee; Martha A. “Mattie,” b. 1837, m. Rob Morgan; William A., b. 1839, d. 1901, m. Martha Ann A. Giddeons; Suzannah Neppie, b. 1841, d. 1870, m. Isaac Allen Cantaline; and Cornelius J., b. 1845, d. 1925, m. (1) Georgiana Hanks (2) Sedalia Jones (3) Saldaine Jones.

Four of Cornelius’s sons volunteered for service in the Confederate Army: John J., in Company E, 45th Ala. Infantry Regiment and died at his home in 1863 from wounds received during battle; Duncan J., in Company A, 17th Ala. Infantry Regiment; William A., in Company B, 25th Ala. Infantry Regiment; and Cornelius J., in Company F, 63rd Alabama Infantry Regiment.

Azenith’s third son, John A. Jackson, was born in 1804 and was married to Besty ? who was born in 1810. They were the parents of two children: Everette, b. ca 1825, m. (1) 1841 Francis L. Clewis (2) 1855 Mary West; and Eliza, b. 1838.

Today’s story is continued with the next generation of the above Cornelius Asbury Jackson’s grandchildren. His oldest son, John J. Jackson, was born in 1825 in Alabama and died in 1863 in Greenville, Ala. He died at his home from the wounds received during his service in the Confederate Army while in battle. Earlier in 1850, he was married to Mary “Polly” Stricklin. They became the parents of the following children: Mary, b. 1850; Willoughby, b. 1851; Stephen, b. 1852, d. 1916, m. 1882 Zelphia Susan Nelson (1864-1945); Joseph, b. 1855, d. 1935, m. (1) 1878 Melissa Stricklin (2) 1881 Jane Young (3) Liza Bennett; Andrew Sr., b. 1857, m. Lizzie Walker; and Jessie John, b. 1860, m. 1887 Mary Stricklin. From the records seen by this writer, his widow, Mary, had two children after his death. They were: James “Jim,” b. 1865, m. 1885 Telatha Elizabeth Aldridge; and Christy, b. 1869, m. 1885 J.J. Aldridge.

The second son, Duncan J. Jackson, was born in 1817 and was residing near John McKee in Covington County in 1850. It is believed by some that he married John’s daughter, Mary McKee, in 1848; however, others thought he married Mary “Polly” Scroggins. He and whoever his wife was were the parents of the following children: Thomas John, b. 1848, d. 1933, m. 1862 Sally Ann “Mollie” McKee (2) 1882 Mittie Rozetta Carroll (1879-1977); Dunkin Daniel “Dee,” b. 1849, d. 1919, m. 1881 Mary Louise Martha McKee; Alexander J. “Elec,” b. 1859, m. Sarah “Sally” Carroll (1862-1924); Maranda “Randy” Susan, b. 1862, m. (1) John Smith (2) Albert George; John Henry “Big John,” b. 1866, d. 1936, m. Martha “Mattie” Louiza Jackson (1869-1944); James Presley, b. 1872, d. 1932, m. (1) ? (2) 1893 Alice Rosetta Carroll (1875-1918) (3) Laura M. Carthy (1891-1973); and possibly another child. Most members of this family are buried in the Hickory Grove Cemetery, just west of Opp, Ala. Duncan died in 1877 in Monroe County, Ala.

The third son, Andrew Jackson, was born in 1831 and died in 1892 in Coffee County, Ala. It is believed his first wife was Mary Cartwright with whom he had three sons: Thomas H., b. 1872, d. 1935, m. 1891 Emma Maxey (1870-1934); Lee J., b. 1877, e. 1943, m. Catherine V. ?; and Lonnie, d. after 1955. He was next married to Mary Odom, and they had the following children: Nancy, b. 1844; Abraham Absalom, b. 1848; Abraham, b. 1850; Mary L., b. 1851; Mary Melissa, b. 1852, d. 1926, m. Jefferson Gillispie Worley (1850-1924); Malifee, b. 1853; Harriet, b. 1855; and Dorothy A., b. 1858.

Andrew Jackson returned from serving in the Confederate Army and being released from a Union prison at Point Lookout, Md. In 1868, he was married to Melissa Emaline Odom (1842-1925). They became the parents of the following children: Anna, b. 1867, d. 1949, m. 1890 William K. King Sr (1868-1944); Louisa, b. 1869, d. 1943; William, b. 1869, d. 1943; Barney, b. 1871, d. 1943; Charlie Frank, b. 1876, d. 1958, m. 1908 Velia Mae Barnes (1888-1917); Caroline Victory, b. 1876, d. 1943, m. 1895 James Alexander Oliver Ballard; and Florence, b. 1885, d. 1959, m. Mack Durwood Smith (1881-1965).

Cornelius Jackson’s oldest daughter, Mary J. Jackson, was born in 1832 in Covington County. She married Green Gauley McKee, son of John McKee and Martha Saunders, who was born in 1828 in Georgia. They were the parents of the following children: Dunkin J. Daniel “Jimmy,” b. 1863, d. 1918, m. Brlena “ Beaner” Jackson; Mary Louise “Bobee,” b. 1865, d. 1935, m. Dunkin “Daniel Jackson; Matha Luiza “Mattie,” b. 1869, d. 1944, m. John Henry “Big John” Jackson; and William Isaac Alexander “Billy,” b. 1872, d. 1979, m. (1) Mollie Jackson (2) Emona Vassie Jeanette Dorsey.

The next daughter, Martha A. “Mattie” Jackson, was born in 1837 in Covington County. She married Rob Morgan, and they were the parents of a daughter, Lillie Della, m. Bert Hall.

The next daughter, Susannah Neppie Jackson was born in 1841 in Covington County. She married Isaac Allen Cantaline, and they were the parents of three children: Crelio, b. 1864; Caroline, b. 1866; and Grover, m. Lila Beatrice Aplin, daughter of William Benjamin Aplin.

Cornelius’s youngest child, Cornelius J. Jackson, was born in 1845 in Covington County. He was married in 1869 to Georgiana Hanks Cantaline, and they had three children before her death in 1882: Lucinda, b. 1870, d. 1937, m. (1) James Edmund “Jim” Jordan (2) William Willie Jackson; Alice R., b. 1874, m. James Aplin; and Susan, b. 1877, d. ca 1953, m. John “Little John” Roman Jackson. Cornelius later married Sedalia Jones and even later, Saldaine Jones. He had three additional children: Hubbard B., b. 1895, d. 1957, m. Marie Raborn; Stella, b. 1905, m. (1) Ray Thorn (2) Dan Asberry; and Mac.

There is much more genealogy on this family for those who wish to research it.

The source for today’s story were the genealogical records of Larry Jordan on his Hammonds family heritage. He has researched his family for many years and has an extensive collection from which he has published a book for his family members. He partnered with Jeanette Henderson of the Baker Museum in Baker, Fla., for much of the research. Larry is a native of Opp, Ala., who is currently a Professional Engineer and President of Jordan Engineering, Inc., in Inverness, Fla.

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