GERMANY Family Tree: James Germany

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Project ID#: 1028

Birth Information

John Germany's will of 1807 in Georgia lists James as his son. James was not listed as an executor but his younger brothers, John, Robert, and Benjamin were. Although not direct proof, this does fit the notion that James had already left Georgia by the time the will was made. (See "Residence" section below for more detail.) The 1830 census suggests James' birth was between 1770 and 1780. (Over the Mountain gives it as 1769.) John, his father, was granted land in St. Paul's Parish, GA, in 1761, 1767, and 1772, so if James was born around that time, it must have been in St. Paul's Parish. (In 1777, St. Paul's Parish was renamed Richmond County.) John's wife was Elizabeth, but her maiden name is unknown. Her obituary of 1806 indicates she was married for 49 years and left 11 children; from this it can be inferred that she was the mother of James.

Residence

James Germany was born in Georgia but he moved to Georgia sometime after his marriage. I do not have hard evidence of the date, but he & Hannah sold land in Columbia County, GA in January 1804 (just 2 months after he purchased the tract!) and then the family appears in Wilkinson County, MS, in the 1805 territorial census. Census records indicate James' son, Benjamin, was born in Georgia around 1805, so it looks like the family emigrated when Benjamin was a baby. In 1815 in Amite County, Mississippi, James was given Power of Attorney by William L. Arick to receive drafts related to duties related to his position as a postmaster in the Mississippi Territory, so the family was still in the area at that time. James and his wife, Hannah Elizaeth, sold land in Amite County to Henry Hanna in 1819 (originally purchased in 1818 from Joseph Thomas). This is probably when they left the area because James Germany appears as the head of household in Feliciana Parish, LA, just south of Amite & Wilkinson counties, in the 1820 census. Marriage records from that area show several people with the surname GERMANY: Elizabeth R., Benjamin, Henry H., Jacob C., Washington, and William, all of whom married between 1824 and 1837, so it looks like the family stayed in the Feliciana area. Elizabeth and her husband Nathan Land, Jacob C. Germany, Benjamin Germany, William J. Germany, and the widow of Washington Germany are listed as heirs of James Germany, so it appears that these people were his children.

Land Records

Land Deed between William Jones & James Germany (Georgia Superior Court Deeds & Mortgages, Columbia County Bk. M, p.47 [Georgia Archives Drawer 91, Box 13]), 3 November 1803

Land Deed between James & Hannah Germany (Georgia Superior Court Deeds & Mortgages, Columbia County Bk. M, p.175 [Georgia Archives Drawer 91, Box 13]), 4 January 1804

abstract: sold 162 acres Amite County, MS in section 36 SW 1/4 for $325 in April 1810

Land Deed between James & Hannah Germany and Henry Hanna (Amite County, MS Deed Book 1, p. 98-99), 1 January 1819

Spouse/Children

James and his wife, Hannah Elizabeth, both appear on a deed in Columbia County, GA, in 1804 and in Amite County, MS in 1819. Though this is definitive proof of their marriage, I do not know the marriage date, nor do I know Hannah Elizabeth's maiden name. There is a second couple named James and Hannah Germany, who were contemporaries of this pair in Georgia. That Hannah signed her name on land deeds whereas this Hannah (the one that moved to MS) signed with a mark.

Estate papers provide the names of James' children: John, Robert (the executor)William J., Benjamin H., Washington J., Jacob C., James, Elizabeth, and H. H. Washington J. died before his father's estate was settled, so Mary Germany, the executrix of Washington's estate (and his widow, received his portion. Jacob C. was alive when the settlement of the estate started but he had died before it finished. His father-in-law, William Lemon, served as administrator of his estate and collected the claims against James' estate.

Census Records

MS 1805

Wilkinson County
head of household: James Germany

LA 1820

Feliciana Parish
head of household: James Germany

LA 1830

West Feliciana Parish
head of household: Benjamin Germany

Death/Burial

Over the Mountain says James died in Kemper County, MS, on 16 June 1843 while either visiting or living with his son William. I have not been able to confirm this (perhaps it is in the estate papers housed in LA) but I do have proof that Letters of Administration were granted to Robert Germany in Amite County, MS, in December 1843. Transcripts of the estate papers can be found on the GERMANY page.

References

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

Crabb, Martha L. Over the Mountain: A Narrative History of the BEAN, SELMAN, and GERMANY Families. 1990, Baltimore: Gateway PressInc.
This book is available from the author at 414 Floyd Ave. DumasTX 79029. It is also part of the collection at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. WayneIN. *

Louisiana Marriages: Early to 1850. Compiled by Liahona Research 1999, Bountiful: Heritage Quest.
This book is part of the collection at Clayton Genealogy Library in HoustonTX.

Estate Papers of James Germany (Amite County, MS courthouse file #3678).

Deed records of Amite County (Book 1, p. 98-99)

English Crown Grants in St. Paul Parish in Georgia, 1755-1775 Compiled by Marion R. Hemperley, Surveyor General Department State of Georgia, 1974, Atlanta: State Printing Office

Casey, Albert E. & Frances Powell Otken. Amite County, Mississippi, 1699-1890 (vol. 1 & 2). 1948, Birmingham: bound privately through the Amite County Historical Fund.
It is part of the collection at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. WayneIN.





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