Joel Burgess of Laurens Co., South Carolina
[Haplotype R1b1]
Note: this family is affiliated with that of:
John R. Burgess of Clay Co., Alabama
Thomas Burgess of Scott Co., Kentucky
Alphonso Davis of Wayne Co., Illinois.
Joel Burgess Sr. was born by 1741 (he had to have been twenty-one years of age in 1762), probably in Virginia. He married Eleanor Heath, daughter of William and Martha Heath (or Hayth) of Bedford Co., Virginia, about 1763. He witnessed a deed of gift of three slaves from J. Bentley Baugh of Chesterfield Co., Virginia to William Walthall of Amelia Co., his brother-in-law, on 10 June 1765 in Amelia Co., Virginia, and is listed there on the 1762-65 tithables lists in Col. Thomas Tabb?s District in Raleigh Parish. Other early Burgesses living in Amelia Co. include Benjamin Burgess, who is listed on the 1736 tithables list, a year after the county was created from Prince George Co.; William Burgess, who bought 300 acres on Long Branch or Little Hurricane Creek in 1740, is listed there on the 1744 tithables list, and is also mentioned there in 1749; John Burgess, mentioned in a 1742 deed as having land on Standley?s Branch of Woody Creek; and Joseph Burgess, a member of the Amelia County Militia in 1758 (?Joel? is sometimes used as a nickname for Joseph).
About 1770 Joel Sr. sued __ Ralls in Bedford Co., Virginia. Shortly thereafter he was forced to provide a peace bond to the Bedford Co. Court, and was fined in 1772 for misbehaving in court. On 24 April 1775 William Heath?s estate was probated in Bedford Co., mentioning as heirs (among others) his son Thomas Heath, his wife Martha, and daughter Eleaner (sic) Burgess. Thomas and Martha then deeded 200 acres of land on Molly?s Creek in Bedford Co. on 22 August 1775 to Joel, per Thomas?s father?s ?request that Joel have the land.? Joel and ?Elander? sold their land there on 1 January 1778 to William Brown of Augusta Co., Virginia, and again reaffirmed the sale on 21 September 1778. Joel is listed on the 1783 personal property tax list of Bedford Co., Virginia.
Joel Sr. purchased 75 acres of land from Samuel Neighbors on 22 October 1779 (recorded 29 March 1786) on Beaverdam Creek near the Saluda River in Laurens Co., South Carolina. He may have served in February 1781 as a Lieut. in the South Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. He witnessed a deed in Laurens Co. from Ratcliff Jowell to Mark Moore on 28 January 1785. He received a 20-acre land grant there in 1786, and sold the combined 95 acres of land on Beaverdam Creek of Little River to Richard Ship on 10 March 1788. He bought 150 acres of land from Lewis Saxon on the South Fork of Raeburns Creek on 13 March 1786, and sold it back to him again on 27 December 1787. He and Lewis Banton bought a set of blacksmith tools, works, furniture, livestock, and books from Benjamin Stone and Joseph Cobbs on 25 June 1790. Joel Sr. bought 200 acres of land from Richard Jowell on Beaverdam Creek of Little River on 5 February 1791.
Joel Sr. is listed on the 1790-1800 censuses for Laurens Co., South Carolina, in 1790 with seven sons over the age of 16, and in 1800 with two sons aged 10-16 and two aged 16-26. He is mentioned in the estate accounting of Thomas Burton there on 29 September 1801, with his sons Walter and Joel Jr.
Joel Sr. is He died in February 1803 in Laurens Co., South Carolina; his will, which was dated 11 February 1803 and probated 2 March 1803, names his wife and sons Roland and Joel Jr. as executors. He had seven sons, which are listed below in the order shown in his will, plus four daughters?Mary Ann, wife of William Wynn Hendricks; Sarah Keziah ?Sally,? wife of George Medford; Eleanor ?Nelly,? wife of William Hughes; and Martha ?Patty,? wife of William Chandler and Robert Box:
*1. Elijah Burgess (1764?-1821) of Walton Co., GA
2. Walter Burgess I (1766?-1816+) of Laurens Co., SC; he is mentioned in the estate accounting of Thomas Burton there on 29 September 1801, and witnessed a will there on 29 June 1816; he may be listed in the 1820-30 censuses for Covington Co., MS
3. Thomas Burgess (1768?-1803+) of Laurens Co., SC
4. William Burgess (1770?-1803+) of Laurens Co., SC; he witnessed a deed there in 1795, and is mentioned buying goods at the sale of his father?s estate in 1803
5. Roland Burgess I, also called Rowland Burgess (1772?-1840+) of Tuscaloosa Co., AL
6. Joel Burgess Jr. (1774?-1820+) of Laurens Co., SC; he is mentioned in the estate accounting of Thomas Burton there on 29 September 1801, served as a witness in Laurens Co. on 14 January 1815 and 3 November 1817, and is listed there in the 1820 census
7. John C. Burgess (1789?-1850+) of Benton (later Calhoun) Co., AL
First Branch: Elijah Burgess
Elijah Burgess was born about 1764 in Virginia. He married Mary Elizabeth __ about 1786 in Laurens Co., South Carolina. He is listed in the 1790-1800 censuses of Laurens Co., South Carolina (in 1790 with no sons, in 1800 with three sons under the age of 10), and in 1820 in Walton Co., Georgia (with one son under the age of 10, and two aged 16-26); he has not been found in 1810; his widow may be listed in the 1850 census for Randolph Co., Alabama and/or Benton (later Calhoun) Co., Alabama. Elijah witnessed two deeds in Laurens Co. in 1799 and 1800. He died in Walton Co. in 1821, having had four sons:
1. Joel F(ranklin?) Burgess (1794-1869) of Randolph Co., AL
*2. John H. Burgess (1796?-1862) of Randolph Co., AL
3. Walter Burgess II (1798?-1818+) of Walton Co., GA
4. Roland Burgess II (1800?-1868?) of Randolph Co., AL
Second Son of Elijah
John H. Burgess was born about 1796 in Laurens Co., South Carolina. He married Ann King about 1825. He is listed in the 1830 census for Coweta Co., Georgia, and in 1840-60 in Randolph Co., Alabama. He died there in 1862, having had three sons:
1. Thaddius Burgess (1834?-1863) of Randolph Co., AL
2. John Henry Burgess (1840?-1880+) of Calhoun Co., AL
3. Elijah J. Burgess (1842?-1860+) of Randolph Co., AL
Thaddius Burgess is the ancestor of H. T. Burgess.
Test results received from one representative in this line match the numbers of the family of John R. Burgess of Clay Co., Alabama, Thomas Burgess Sr. of Scott Co., Kentucky, and Alphonso Davis of Wayne Co., Illinois; they have a common male ancestor, name unknown. Joel Burgess is more closely related to John R. Burgess, and is probably his direct ancestor. Thomas Burgess Sr. is more closely related to Alphonso Davis; if Thomas Sr. is the father of Thomas Burgess Jr. of Scott Co., Kentucky, he cannot be Joel?s son Thomas, but must be a cousin.
