In Part 1 of this series, I started with estimating birth years of Jesse Sr., Jesse Jr. and Josiah to hopefully narrow down the possibilities. Now let’s see what the other records have to say about a possible connection. We’ll start with the land records.

Picking up where we left off in “Jesse Stallings, Sr. and Jr?” we find Jesse mentioned as an assignee of Revolutionary War service payments due to Shadrack Odom’s widow Sarah.

Sarah Odom signed a declaration on 6 August 1784 confirming her deceased husband’s military service. It was witnessed by W. Dunbar, justice of the peace. An indent certificate was issued for the sum owed to Shadrack by the state for his service. Daniel Green signed a receipt that he received full satisfaction on the account 26 July 1785 “by order of Sarah Odom,” meaning Sarah authorized Daniel Green to receive payment on her behalf. Sarah then assigned her interest to Jesse Stallings, which he received in discount of purchase of land.

Rec’d full satisfaction for the within in disc’t of purchase of land for Jesse Stalions. [Signed] W. Dunbar. February 1787

At the bottom of the page is this:

I do assign the right of the within indent to Mr. Jesse Stallings as witness my hand this __(18th?) Sept’r 1786. [Signed] Sarah Odom, Admr [Witnessed] John McElhenny

Now let’s find the land. But first a look at the legal mechanism in place at the time for obtaining vacant land.

Acts were passed by the South Carolina legislature in 1784 and 1785 providing for the sale of vacant lands at $10 for every 100 acres.[1] These are the steps of the land grant process:

1. Settlor petitioned governor in council for land
2. Governor or council will issue warrant for survey
3. Surveyor general would survey the land and return a plat to the secretary
4. Secretary wrote land grant that the governor or council will approve[2]

Three plats were recorded in 1784 and 1785 for Jesse Stallings in Barnwell District. Only one grant was issued. The plats were for 297 acres, 200 acres and 150 acres and the parcels were located on Pen Branch of the Savannah River. The grant was for 140 acres on Pen Branch and Four Mile Branch of the Savannah River. The parcel was part of a grant to John Hall of 8,758 acres. On 26 December 1790, Jesse sold 100 acres of this parcel to Daniel Odom. The deed was witnessed by Absalom, Reuben and Needham Green. 40 acres would be left.

On 3 October 1789 Jesse purchased three parcels from James and Elizabeth Jackson. One parcel of 40 acres was originally granted to Lewis Weathersbee in 1786 and located between Tims Branch and Stamp Branch of the Upper Three Runs. Another parcel of 115 acres was originally granted to James Jackson and located on Tims Branch. The third parcel of 150 acres was originally granted to Daniel Green and located on Tims Branch. The deed was witnessed by William and Absalom Green.

Jesse then sold or transferred parcels. On 1 January 1801 Jesse sold the 40 acre parcel and 50 acres of the 115 parcel to Josiah Stallings, who in turn sold the same two parcels to John Stallings. On 20 June 1812 Jesse sold 50 acres of the 150 acre parcel to Silas Stallings. 165 acres would be left. More on these in Part 3.

Jesse transferred two parcels 13 years later on 31 December 1814. One parcel of 200 acres he transferred to his son Etheldread Stallings. This parcel was located on Tims Branch and identified as land originally granted to Daniel Green. Given the description in the deed and number of acres (200) being so close to the balance of the acreage left over after the previous transfers (205), we might assume the parcel given to Etheldread was the acreage remaining from the previous sales combined into one parcel. The deed was witnessed by E. Bryant Bush and Lewis Weathersbee.

On the same day Jesse transferred another parcel of 70 acres to E. Bryant Bush. A document was not located recording a transfer to Jesse of this parcel. However, it is described as land originally granted to George Galphin and belonging to Mr. Wilson. The George Galphin grant of 100 acres was located, as well as a transfer to Jeremiah Minor. No transfer from Minor to Wilson was located. The deed was witnessed by Thomas Morris and Lewis Weathersbee.

No other documents were located wherein Jesse was the grantor or grantee of land. Next up, well take a closer look at the chain of title of the 40 acre parcel.

[1] A Digested Index of the Statue Law of South Carolina from the Earliest Period to the Year 1836, inclusive, By  William Rice, published by J.S. Burges in Charleston in 1836, page 383

[2] http://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/land-granting/

You can read my analysis of the earliest Jesse Stallings records here. Based on my analysis of those records, I estimate Jesse Jr.’s birth year to be about 1759. Based on the data reported on three censuses, Josiah Stallings was born between about 1773-1775.Therefore, I would guess that Jesse and Josiah were not father and son because they would only be about 16 years apart. Of course, it’s not impossible that Jesse was Josiah’s father, but it is somewhat unlikely. I also concluded that it is likely Jesse Sr.’s sons were not born before 1746 because they were no sons 16 years of age or older on the 1762 tax list. Of course, this could also mean that Jesse’s sons were old enough to have moved out on their own. However, that is not consistent with the other data that supports Jesse Jr. being born in about 1759.

Of course any analysis to determine 18th century birth years, absent birth or baptismal records, requires making some assumptions. When looking at Josiah’s estimated birth year, one must assume that the 1810, 1820 and 1830 federal censuses for Barnwell County are correctly marked. If we look at the age range marked on these censuses for the Josiah Stallings household, together with the estimated birth year of his oldest child, we might conclude that Josiah was born between 1771 and 1775.

Let’s break that down. Josiah’s oldest child that we know of who survived was Sarah. She is reported to be 53 years old on the 1850 federal census, enumerated in September. Therefore her birth year is estimated to be 1796. Let’s assume Josiah was at least 21 years old when she was born. That would mean he was born no later than 1775. Here is a chart to demonstrate the ages within the range marked on the three censuses.

It does fit rather nicely together.

As I mentioned earlier, it is unlikely that Josiah is the son of Jesse, Jr. Could he be the son of Jesse, Sr.? In my earlier article, I mentioned a possibility that Jesse, Sr. died between 1768 and 1771. Hey – it looks like Josiah could be the son of Jesse, Sr! It was not unusual to have children 16 years apart. Josiah’s oldest and youngest child were 28 years apart. But then what about that outside-of-probate transfer of property that would usually only happen if Jesse Jr. was the only heir? Well then if Jesse Sr was the one who moved to South Carolina this could work. Still no probate though. Hmmmmm…

What about that Jesse Stallings from Franklin County, North Carolina anyway?

On May 29, 1761 John Anthony received a grant of 383 acres of land in Granville County, NC. After county boundary changes, this land was located in Franklin County.[1]  On May 7, 1762, Jesse Stallings purchased the 383 acres from Anthony for 22 pounds, ten shillings. [2]  Beginning in 1767 parcels of this Anthony grant were sold in three separate transactions.

The sale of the parcels are as follows:  (1) In 1767 Jesse sold 308 acres to Moses Stallings[3]; (2) 42 acres to William Symmons[4]; and (3) in 1787, Jesse sold 40 acres to Rueben Stallings[5]. All three deeds were signed by mark. Was it the same Jesse Stallings who was the grantor of all three deeds?  In the 1787 deed only, Jesse is identified as being from South Carolina.

A Jesse Stallings acquired land in Barnwell County, South Carolina between 1784 and 1786.[6] There are no other Jesse Stallingses in South Carolina at this time. This seems to imply that the Jesse Stallings who sold the land in Franklin County, NC in 1787 to Reuben Stallings is the Jesse Stallings who acquired land in Barnwell County, South Carolina 1784-1786.  But is the Jesse Stallings who acquired the land from John Anthony in 1762 the same Jesse Stallings who sold the property in 1787 and moved to Barnwell County?

While it was legal for a minor to own land, for the following analysis I will assume Jesse was at least 21 when he acquired the land from Anthony because a minor could not have sold land. Therefore, if Jesse acquired the land in 1762 and was 21 years old, Jesse would have been 46 in 1787 and born in about 1741.

The Barnwell County Census

On the 1800 Barnwell County census there is one Jesse Stallings. There are two adult males in the household. One is age 16 – 25 and the other is age 26 – 44.

On the 1810 Barnwell County census there is one Jesse Stallings. There are again two adult males in the household. One is age 16 – 25 and the other is 45 and over.

If the same Jesse who acquired the Anthony land is the same Jesse who appears on the Barnwell County 1800 census, the census would be incorrect. Even using the oldest age of 44 wouldn’t make Jesse old enough to be 21 in 1762. In fact, he would only be four years old. The 1810 census would be correct because he could be any age over 45.

The censuses do sometimes contain mistakes; however, note that on the 1800 census, the only adult female in the household is also marked age 26 – 44. Also note that the age of 45+ on the 1810 census logically follows the 26 – 44 age range on the 1800 census. Also, 15 years is a big age difference to have been mis-marked. Therefore, this census data alone doesn’t exhibit any discrepancies.

Early North Carolina Records

Let’s look at other records for Jesse.  Some North Carolina records available in the relevant time frame and county are the Oath of Allegiance of 1775-1776, court minutes, juror lists and tax lists.

To narrow down where to look, let’s chart out where Jesse would be during the relevant time frame. Bute County was formed in 1764 from part of Granville County. In 1779, Bute County was split in half to form Warren and Franklin County. The 1787 deed being in Franklin County indicates that the land was in the area of Granville County that eventually became Franklin County. Therefore:

The 1762 tax list for Granville County, NC, reports Jesse Stallings as the only taxable person in the household and living in St. John’s District. Also living in St. John’s District is a John Stallings. Jesse Stallings is also reported on the list of insolvents.

Jesse appears on the 1766 tax list for Bute County, NC.

Research Tip for Colonial North Carolina Tax List

A note here that might help if you’re using Ancestry.com to search North Carolina tax lists. They have two searchable records in their catalog called “North Carolina Taxpayers, 1701-1786” and “North Carolina Taxpayers, 1679-1790. Vol. 2.” These are both abstracts by Clarence E. Ratcliff. However, the Granville County 1762 tax list information that I stated above is not included in either of them.  So make sure you look at all available sources.

And did you know that The Colonial records of North Carolina: published under the supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order of the General Assembly has been digitized by Family Search and is text searchable? Check it out here.

The 1771 tax list for Bute County can be viewed on FamilySearch.org and also in a book 1771 Bute County, North Carolina tax list, published by Mountain Press.  Jesse does not appear on the 1771 tax list.

A transcription of the oath of allegiance for Bute County is available online here. The oaths were signed between 1775 and 1776.  Stallings men who signed were Elisha, Moses, Elijah, Josiah, Reubin, Elias, Moses, all in Captain Milner’s district. Jesse’s name is not on the list.

Jurors are reported in the Bute County, North Carolina: Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1767-1779

Jesse is listed as a juror in 1768.

How important are omissions from the records?

Not as important as we like to think. What is important is that we not read too much into what we find, especially in abstracts, books where someone copied from original records and in the old records themselves because they are often copies as well. For example, many colonial records are lists that were copied from little strips of paper that tax collectors, ministers and others wrote their notes on. Even the “original” census images we look at are copies of the census takers’ true original notes.

So just because Jesse isn’t on the oath list that is a copy of a copy, doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t take the oath. Same goes for the tax lists, and the accompanying information.

Yes there are two Jesses

Because the Jesse who is in Barnwell County in 1800 can’t be the same Jesse who acquired the Anthony land in 1762, we can conclude that there are two Jesses. We can also conclude that the Jesse who sold the Anthony land is the Jesse who moved to Barnwell County. We also know that the Jesse on the 1800 Barnwell County census was between the ages of 25-44.

But who sold the Anthony land?

Either Jesse Sr. or Jesse Jr. sold the Anthony land in 1787.

It is possible that Jesse Sr. died some time between 1768 and 1771, when he dropped off the tax list. If so, Jesse Jr. could have been Jesse Sr.’s only heir. The land could then pass to him outside of probate. (No will or probate has been located for Jesse Sr.) And Jesse Jr. could be the one who sold the land to Anthony and moved to South Carolina. However, there are two things that bother me about this. One is that we can’t really rely on the omission from the 1771 tax list on its own to support this theory. Two is the chain of title to the Franklin County property. There is never any indication on the deeds that there are two Jesses. No “Jesse the older” and”Jesse the younger” or “Jesse Sr.” and “Jesse Jr.” In fact the 1787 deed reads exactly the same as the 1767 deeds.

It is possible that Jesse Sr. was still alive in 1787 and he sold the Anthony land, moved to South Carolina with Jesse Jr. and died before the 1800 census.

Jesse Stallings, Jr. – when was he born?

If Jesse Jr. sold the Anthony land, he would have to be at least 21 in 1787 (birth year 1766). However, if he was at least 21 when he received the grant of land in Barnwell in 1785, he would have been born in 1764. On the 1800 census, the column for a male age 16-25 is marked. If this is Jesse’s son, Jesse would have to have been born in 1763 to be 21 when a 16-year-old son was born. If he was born in 1763, Jesse would be 37 in 1800, which fits with ages 25-44. He would be 47 in 1810, which fits with the 45+ that is marked on the 1810 census.

If Jesse Jr. truly did not take the oath of allegiance because he wasn’t old enough, he would be born no earlier than 1759 to escape that responsibility, assuming he would have taken the oath no later than 1776. If the 1762 tax list is correct and was supposed to report sons 16 years or older, he would be born no earlier than 1746. If he was born in 1746, he would be 54 in 1800 and that doesn’t match the census. If he was born in 1759, he would be 41 in 1800 and the census matches. I think it is safe to say that Jesse Jr. was born approximately between 1759 and 1763.

But which Jesse sold the Anthony land?

I have no idea.

[1] An index entry of the Anthony grant is located online at the North Carolina Archives. An image of the patent is located online at nclandgrants.com.

[2] Granville County, North Carolina Deeds. 7 May 1762. Deed book F, page 166. Sold for 22 pounds, 10 shillings. Signed by John Anthony and Patience Anthony. Witnessed by Henry Bonner, John Cook, Harmon Holliman, Benjamin Cook.

[3] Bute County Deed Book 3, page 115

[4] Warren-Bute Deed Book 4, page 104

[5] Franklin County Deed Book 6, page 190

[6] South Carolina State Grant vol. 13, page 453; also Barnwell County plats