First, I’ll get to the punch line: The island wasn’t named after immigrant Nicholas Stallings, Sr., and this article probably won’t tell you how you are related to Nicholas Stallings, Sr., but if your Stallings ancestors lived in Georgia, you’ll want to stay tuned!

Since I’m in California, I had some help with this research. First from Wyck Knox, who used to own Stallings Island, and then from Pamela Aban, a genealogist in Columbia County, Georgia, and from Greg Stallings, one of my fellow truth seekers in Ohio.

I can’t remember how I found out about Stallings Island in the first place, but it must have been from a random hit after exhaustive Google searching when I first started looking for connections to Stallings ancestors in the South. With so little knowledge of the area, and being so far away, it was difficult to get all the dots connected at first. What I started with was Lucy Adam’s article “Stallings Island: Archaeology, Activism, Art” published in Augusta Magazine online.  Then I found Stallings Island on GoogleMaps about eight miles upriver from Augusta, Georgia in Columbia County and learned that the current owner is The Archaeological Conservancy.

After I dug a little deeper, I discovered the buried treasure of truth and began to find the genealogical dots to connect.

According to Adams’ article, Stallings Island was “named for James Stallings, who was a local plantation owner.” Adams also explained that Stallings Island is the namesake of Stallings culture, and its associated artifacts such as Stallings pottery.  Stallings Island is a registered historic landmark and a significant archaeological record of the people who lived on the North American continent thousands of years ago.  The island was inhabited by two distinct groups: the first group were hunters and gatherers from the Piedmont region and lived on Stallings Island from about 4,500 to 4,000 years ago; the second occupation was from approximately 3,880 to 3,500 years ago, when it was abandoned. This period is referred to as the classic Stallings period. The Stallings people made the oldest pottery found in North America. Adams also says of Stallings Island that 4,000 years ago it was situated where water “ran over the shoals.” [2]

The first person known to have conducted substantial archaeological digs on Stallings Island is Charles C. Jones, Jr., who explored the island in the mid-1800s and published his work Monumental Remains of Georgia in 1861.[3]  In it, Jones says this about the island:

“A mile and a half above the place [“The Wash above Warren’s Spring], where the Augusta canal takes its inception – near the middle of the Savannah River – is Stalling’s [sic] Island, forming one of that numerous and beautiful group of islets, known in the neighborhood, as ‘the thousand Isles’.”

Later, an expedition to Stallings Island was conducted by the Peabody Museum in 1929 and a detailed report was published by William H. Claflin, Jr. in 1931, complete with photos of artifacts.[4] More contemporary scholarship has been published by anthropologist Dr. Kenneth E. Sassaman, who has furthered the research and corrected errors in previous reports.[5]

Now back to whom the island was named after. My day job is in the legal field, so I’ve learned to question everything, including the statement in Adams’ article that the island was named after James Stallings. And Adams didn’t say James owned the island, right? So who did?

Starting with what I knew and working my way back, I was able to locate the most recent property transfer deeds online. (Some deeds in Columbia County, Georgia are searchable and viewable online at: https://www.gsccca.org/search.)

Stallings Island was purchased in 1969 by Wyckliffe (“Wyck”) A. Knox, Jr., Lelia D. Barrett and W. Hale Barret from John W. Ayers and Jack E. Ayers.[6]  Knox gifted the island to the Archaeological Conservancy in 1998.[7]  Adams’ article also states that Knox had found the original land grant for the island. Well, I thought, I need to talk to Wyck Knox! Mr. Knox was most helpful and gracious and obtained certified copies for me of the documents showing the original owner of Stallings Island. Genealogist Pamela Aban filled in most of the blanks with a couple of trips to the courthouse and she took some great photos of the island.

Now that I’ve worked my way back, I will show you what we found from the beginning.

A warrant for 150 acres of land was granted by the Court of Justices of Richmond County (Columbia County was formed in 1790) to James Stallings on 6 September 1784. The warrant was signed by Charles Crawford.[8]

A plat of a survey for James Stallings by William Sims was recorded 13 October 1784 in Richmond County, signed by Charles Crawford. The plat shows a parcel of 23 acres on the Georgia side of the Savannah River, and several nearby islands of varying acreage (“the thousand isles”), all together totaling 50 acres. This 50 acres appears to have been part of land previously surveyed for James Gray in 1774, who assents to the land being granted to James Stallings.[9] As you can see here, one island is called “Red’s Island” and another is called “Bennett’s Island.”

The next recorded document I have been able to locate is a deed recorded June 13, 1838 whereby James G. Stallings purchases the island from the heirs of William Whitcomb(e). The property is described as “being that portion of the River tract of the Estate of Notley Whitcomb dec’d that was assigned to William Whitcomb,” and there is a plat showing 70 acres on the mainland and two islands in the river. The islands are not named.

In 1846 James G. Stallings sold the island to William Moyer. In a deed recorded 16 November 1846, James G. Stallings granted “all that tract or parcel of land surrounded on all sides by the waters of the River Savannah lying in the county of Columbia aforesaid opposite the lower part of the plantation of the said James G. Stallings on the mainland in said last mentioned county containing eight acres more or less, bounded on all sides by the waters of the Savannah and commonly known as Stallings ‘Big Island’.”[10]  Only the island was conveyed with this deed.
William Moyer then sold the island on 20 August 1847 to Catherine Mixer.[11] In this deed the island still consists of eight acres and is identified as “Stallings ‘Big’ Island.”
Next, in 1870, the island was sold to John M. Rice by the executors of the will of Robert Clarke, Clarke having received the property from David Mixer.[12]  In this deed, the island is:
“known as the ‘Island’ lying in the Savannah River near the Georgia bank by said river and opposite the plantation in Columbia County formerly owned by the said Robert Clarke and now belonging to the said party of the second part [John M. Rice] and others being in the same tract conveyed to Robert Clarke by David Mixer and containing ten acres more or less.”
There are several transfers between 1925 and 1938 between the Rice family and the Walton family, but none of those transfers refer to island. However, the land described in the Rice to Walton transfers appears to refer to the mainland plantation across from the island and simply omits mention of the island. The adjoining property owners are the same as those mentioned in the following conveyance of the island.

In 1938, Paul E. Walton and Sallie L. Walton sold the property to J.W. Ayers via a Warranty Deed recorded 30 August 1938, whereby 74 acres plus “all that tract or parcel of land, known as the ‘Island’ lying in the Savannah River and bounded on all sides by the Savannah River, and lying near the Georgia bank of said river and opposite the plantation in Columbia County, formerly owned by Robert Clark and by John Mason Rice and their subsequent grantees.”[13] This deed stipulates that the 74 acre parcel was stated to be 40 acres in previous deeds but that the Waltons actually owned 74 acres pursuant to a survey. This statement also ties in the deeds between 1925 and 1938, as those deeds describe 40 acres.

A Warranty Deed transferring Stallings Island from the Ayers family to the Knox family, recorded in 1969, states that the island is said to contain eight acres in various deeds, but at that time (1969), the island contained as much as 25 acres.[14]  This deed includes an Affidavit of Possession and Facts Affecting Title signed by the seller John W. Ayers, in which he summarizes the title history of Stallings Island, the adjacent islands and 122 acres on the mainland. The title history includes the 1784 grant to James Stallings and other deeds mentioned above.  Ayers indicates that the geography of the islands changed after dams were built. The affidavit also states the island is commonly referred to as “Stallings Island” or “Indian Island.” The affidavit refers to a plat of Stallings Island prepared by the Georgia Power Company.[15]  Ayers granted an easement to the Georgia Power Company in 1944 to allow the company to install power lines on the island for the Stevens Creek Substation. On this plat the island is identified as “John W. Ayers, formerly Mildred Walton.”

In comparing the 1784 plat with the 1944 plat, it appears that Stallings island is the island referred to in 1784 as Bennett’s Island.
One of the obstacles in my research, of course, is the length of time between the island’s first land grant and today, not necessarily because I needed to locate 100+ year old documents, but because so many generations have lived near the island and the culture and geography have changed, along with nicknames for islands and landmarks.  The name of Stallings Island has changed depending on the name of the owner, and on how the people in the surrounding communities viewed the island. The island had several nicknames: Bennett’s Island, the thousand isles, Walton’s Island, Indian Island, Goat Island.  I wanted to be sure of two things: 1) that I was tracing the title correctly from grantor to grantee; and 2) that I was making sure the island identified in deeds and plats was indeed Stallings Island.

Also, there were several events that altered the geography of the island and the Savannah River since the original 1784 grant. The river around Stallings Island no longer runs “over the shoals.” The Augusta Canal was built in 1845,[16] there was significant flooding in the 1920s (see Sassaman) and construction of the J. Strom Thurmond dam and lake (formerly known as Clark Hill) began in the mid-1940s.[17]

In conclusion, the earliest reference that I found calling the island “Stallings Island” is the deed from Stallings to Moyer in 1846. Then came Jones’ work in 1861 where he referred to the island as Stallings Island, as did others in the field of archaeology from that time until now, even if subsequent owners renamed it. I suspect that the Knox family’s interest in preserving the island’s artifacts had something to do with the island regaining its identity. There is no indication that the island was named after the James Stallings who received the grant in 1784. The 1846 Stallings to Moyer deed is consistent with the statement in Adams’ article that the island was named after a local plantation owner and indicates that Stallings Island was named after James G. Stallings who was both a one-time owner of the island and a nearby local plantation owner in the timeframe when the name first appeared in records.

So who was the James Stallings who received the grant in 1784, and what is his connection to James G. Stallings who purchased the property from the estate of William Whitcomb? And what is the connection to Notley Whitcomb?  Subscribe to my blog and find out!
© Sherrie T. Cork
Please cite as:
Cork, Sherrie T. “Stallings Island: What’s in a name?” Web blog post. Descendants of Rebellion. 30 April 2016.
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[1] Dobres, Marcia-Anne and John E. Robb. Agency in Archaeology. New York: Routledge, 2000. Google Books. Web. April 2016.
[2] Adams, Lucy. “Stallings Island: Archaeology, Activism, Art.” Augusta Magazine. October 2014. Web. 25 April 2016.
[3] Jones, Charles C., Jr. Monumental Remains of Georgia. Savannah: John M. Cooper and Company, 1861. Print.
[4] Claflin, W. H., Jr. (1931) The Stalling’s Island Mound, Columbia County, Georgia. Cambridge: Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Papers 14(1).
[5] Sassman, Kenneth E.; Meggan E. Blessing; Asa R. Randall (2006). “Stallings Island Revisited: New Evidence for Occupational History, Community Pattern, and Subsistence Technology” (PDF). American Antiquity 73 (3): 539–565.
[6] Columbia County, Georgia, Deeds, 107:615-618, John W. Ayers, Jack E. Ayers and Nellie Ruth Houghton to W.A. Knox, Jr., Lelia D. Barrett, and W. Hale Barrett, warranty deed, 16 December 1969; Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Evans.
[7] Columbia County, Georgia, Deeds, 1905: 81-83, Wyckliffe A. Knox, Jr. to The Archaeological Conservancy, deed of gift, 22 September 1997; Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Evans.
[8] Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909. Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2016. State Archives, Morrow
[9] Ibid.
[10] Columbia County, Georgia, Deeds, LL: 565, James G. Stallings to William Moyer, deed, 6 July 1846; Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Appling.
[11] Columbia County, Georgia, Deeds, OO: 85, William Moyer to Catherine Mixer, deed of sale, 20 August 1847; Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Appling.
[12] Columbia County, Georgia, Deeds, R: 169-167, Robert C. Clarke and Thomas M. Clarke, executors of the will of Robert Clarke, to John M. Rice, deed of sale, 17 February 1870; Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Appling.
[13] Columbia County, Georgia, Deeds, 19:497-498, Paul E. Walton and Sallie L. Walton to J. W. Ayers, warranty deed, 13 August 1938;  Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Evans.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Columbia County, Georgia, Plat Cabinets, AAA: slide 108, no. 2, “Transmission Lines at Steven’s Creek Substation,” 17 June 1944;  Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Evans. Plat in Deed Book 24:16 moved to Plat
Book C:40, then moved to Plat Cabinet AAA, slide 108, no. 2.
[16] Augusta Canal. Georgia Encyclopedia. Edward J. Cashin. University of Georgia Pres.  12 August 2005. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/augusta-canal
[17] J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/About/DivisionsandOffices/OperationsDivision/JStromThurmondDamandLake/History.aspx