Giles Family Tree: Stephen Walter Giles

Return to Giles Family Tree Home Tell me about broken links on this page Email me

Project ID#: 75

Birth Information

Records suggest S.W. Giles was born in March 1838. His age is consistent in all records but his birthplace varies from AL (census of 1880 and 1900) to GA (census of 1920). I tend to believe the locations given in the earlier census records since he was closer to the original event. In most records, his name appears as S.W. Giles, but occasionally he is listed as Stephen or Walter; his obituary confirms his full name as Stephen Walter Giles.

I have not yet conclusively identified the parents of S.W. Giles. Postings across the internet have his parents listed as John & Elizabeth Giles, both originally from North Carolina. I've tried tracking the family, but I haven't found the 1850 census yet, which should list S.W. with his parents. For some reason, S.W. Giles, who would have been an unmarried man of 22 (assuming Mary Thames was his first and only wife), does not appear with his parents in the 1860 census, and I can't find him in the Mississippi index. Given his later propensity for moving around, it is possible he moved out of the state and then had moved back by the time he joined the Confederate Army in 1861. His pension papers indicate he was a resident of Newton County, MS at the time of enlistment. Nonethless, assignment of John & Elizabeth as his parents would be consistent with what I do know:

  • The 1860 census shows John & Elizabeth had a son named Nathaniel and a Nathaniel Giles is buried in the same cemetery in Forrest County, MS as S.W. Giles. (Though this Nathaniel Giles died after S.W. Giles did, Stephen's obituary mentioned only his wife and kids, no siblings.)
  • S.W. Giles enlisted in the Confederate Army in May 1861 in Newton County, MS. John & Elizabeth Giles lived in Newton County for the 1860 census.
  • The 1900 census lists T.A. Cahal as a nephew of S.W. Giles. An Elizabeth Giles married C.T. Cahal in Lauderdale County, MS in September 1858. John & Elizabeth Giles (presumed parents of S.W. Giles and Elizabeth Cahal) appear in Lauderdale County in the 1870 census.
  • Lela Giles, daughter of S.W. Giles, visited relatives in Meridian (in Lauderdale County) in 1903. Mrs. C.T. Giles of Meridian visited relatives in Hattiesburg in 1902. (S.W. Giles "of the Royal Hotel" was living in Hattiesburg at this time.) A Captain Giles, who lived in Beaumont, TX (formerly of Meridian) visted S.W. Giles at the Royal Hotel in 1902.

    Residence

    S.W. Giles seems to have bounced between Mississippi and Texas quite a bit. The family appears in Texas in the 1880 census and based on the birth location and age given for his son Robert, the family must have lived in Texas around 1874. Another child, Emma, was born ~1876 in Mississippi, so the family must have lived in Texas then Mississippi then Texas again. The family eventually returned once more to Mississippi, apparently to stay. Stephen's children appear in a list of educable children in Lauderdale County in 1885 and then later she and her husband appear in the census records for Lamar & Perry counties in south Mississippi. Stephen's obituary indicates he lived in Hattiesburg for many years before moving to Richton a few years before his death. Certainly, there are extensive land records to track the movements of S.W. Giles in the Perry/Forrest Counties area, as shown below. (There are many more that I didn't get a chance to copy on my last visit to Hattiesburg.)
    Abstract of Land Patent (2nd District Perry County, Book L, p. 5), 28 June 1899
    The US government at the land office in Jackson granted 171 acres of land to Stephen W. Giles:
    "...the North East quarter of Section eighteen in Township five North of Range fourteen West of St. Stephens Meridian in Mississippi..."

    Homestead certificate #14213, application 27017. Since this patent has a homestead application number, I assume S.W. Giles had met the homestead requirements of occupying the land for at least 5 years and cultivating it. This may be the reason no sale price is mentioned, as homestead lands were free. However, homesteads could go up to only 160 acres, but this land is 171 acres. (See the BLM GLO website for more detail.)
    Abstract of Right of Way (2nd District Perry County, Book I, p. 173), 6 October 1899
    In exchange for $50, S.W. Giles and C.E. Rich granted to Gulf & Ship Island Rail Road "...a right of way across our lands 25 feet each way from the center of said railroad track, the right of way crosses a part of the land owned by us in Section 32 Township 5 N Range 13 West, all in 2nd District of Perry County, Mississippi."
    Abstract of Land Deed of Trust (2nd District Perry County, Book I, p. 239-240), 31 October 1899
    S.W. Giles and his wife, M.J. Giles, sold their property to W.A. McLeod for $1. The land was to be held in trust as security for a $200 loan from John Husbands. The loan was to "...enable us to carry on our business in Perry County, Mississippi, for the year 1899...." The land used as collatoral was what Stephen bought from the U.S. government just 4 months beforehand: "...the N.E. 1/4 of Section 18, Township 5 N, Range 14 West."

    A note attached to the side of the page shows John Husbands cleared the debt, though the date of the note is September 24, 1901. A transcription of the deed appears on the GILES page.
    Abstract of Land Deed (2nd District Perry County, Book I p. 373), 21 December 1899
    C.E. Rich deeded to S.W. Giles for $175 the following land:
    "...The East half of the E 1/2 of S.W. 1/4 & E 1/2 of SE 1/4 of N.W. 1/4 of Section 32 Tp 5 N R 13 W. said land lying and being in the County of Perry & State of Mississippi."
    Abstract of Land Deed of Trust (2nd District Perry County, Book I, p. 544-545), 16 February 1900
    S.W. Giles and M.J. Giles named S.E. Travis as trustee for a Deed of Trust to R. Young for a $350 debt. The land reserved as collateral was the following:
    "...The East 1/2 of the E 1/2 of the SW 1/4 and the E 1/2 of SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 32, Tp 5 N, Range 13 W, County of Perry and State of Mississippi. It is also understood and agreed that the said S.W. and M.J. Giles are to transfer to the said R. Young as further security a certain deed of trust on the property described as the W 1/2 of the E1/2 of the SW 1/4 and the W 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 32 Pt 5 N. Range 13 W, County of Perry, State of Mississippi, from T.A. Cahal as soon as said deed of trust is received by said S.W. Giles and M.J. Giles."

    Handwriting in the margin shows that R. Young cleared the debt on December 4, 1900, just 10 months after the deed.
    Abstract of Land Deed of Trust (2nd District Perry County, Book K, p. 109-110), 27 October 1900
    S.W. Giles and M.J. Giles named S.E. Travis as trustee for a Deed of Trust to Fannie Husbands for a debt of $200 on open account. The land reserved as collateral was the following:
    "...East half of East half of South west fourth and East half of South East fourth of North West fourth Section thirty-two Township five N. Range 13 West. All in 2d District, Perry County, Miss. and the following agricultural products now growing and to be grown by me on my farm in Perry County, Mississippi: the year 1901, to wit: My entire crop of cotton, corn and any other agricultural products grown by me or under my control."

    Handwriting in the margin shows that Fannie Husbands cleared the debt and released the lein on January 25, 1904.
    Abstract of Land Deed (2nd District Perry County, Book N, p. 184), 23 September 1901
    S.W. and M.J. Giles, sold to J.J. Newman Lumber Company the following land for $425:
    "...North-east quarter (NE 1/4) of Section eighteen (18) in township five (5) North, of Range fourteen (14) West of St. Stephens Meridian in Mississippi containing one hundred and seventy one acres, more or less"

    Spouse/Children

    Confederate pension records indicate Mary Josephine Thames and Stephen Walter Giles were married in Sumter County, AL on October 1, 1867.

    The U.S. census records from 1880 to 1930 provide the following children: Robert D., Emma C., Lelia J., James T., Winnie, Susan, and Lula. A tombstone inscription in Newton County provides the name of an elder daughter, Sarah E., who died in 1878. The 1900 census suggests there were two unidentified children who had died.

    Census Records

    TX 1880

    ED 123, p. 5, line 33 (family 10), Van Zandt County
    head of household: S.W. Giles

    MS 1900

    ED 88, p. 11, line 6 (family 181), Perry County
    head of household: S.W. Giles

    MS 1920

    ED 101, p. 5A, line 32 (family 80/85), Lamar County (Beat 4, Ward 3)
    head of household: Steven W. Giles

    Death/Burial

    S.W. Giles is buried next to his wife, Mary Giles, in Glendale Cemetery in Forrest County, MS. His tombstone does not give any dates, but it does mention that he served in the MS 3rd Infantry, Company D, which is confirmed by pension records.

    It took a while to pinpoint his death date. I found him in the 1920 census, so I knew he was alive in January 1920. His widow filed a Confederate widow's pension appliation in June 1921, so these two dates bracketed his death date. A search of newspapers between those dates revealed he died on October 11, 1920, at his home after about a year of unspecified health complications.

    References

    A * indicates a book is part of my private collection.

    Forrest County, Mississippi Tombstone Inscriptions (Western Part of Old Perry County, Mississippi), ed. South Mississippi Genealogy Society. 1986, Carrollton: Pioneer Publishing.
    This book is available from Pioneer Publishing Co. P.O. Box 408 Carrollton, MS 38917. phone: (662)237-6010
    It is part of the collections of McCain Library and Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN, and Clayton Genealogy Library in Houston, TX *


    Land records for Forrest County (the 2nd District of Perry County) are housed in the Chancery Building in downtown Hattiesburg, MS. Phone: (601) 545-6040.

    Copies of the Hattiesburg American are housed at the Hattiesburg Public Library and Cook Library at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

    Perry County, Mississippi W.P.A. Manuscripts Newspaper Items, Jean Strickland & Patricia N. Edwards. 1997
    This book is available at Clayton Genealogy Library in Houston, TX.




    Return to the top of the page