The estate papers of James Germany (housed in Amite County, MS) establish Washington J. as one of the heirs, although Washington preceded his father in death. A land deed identifying Hannah Elizabeth as the wife of James suggests she was Washington's mother. The 1830 census record indicates Washington was born between 1800 and 1810. The territorial census lists an infant that could be either Washington or Benjamin. The 1850 census suggests it was Benjamin who was that infant. Thus, Washington was likely born between 1806 (assuming 1 year after Benjamin) to 1810. Based on these dates, his birthplace would be MS in the Wilkinson/Amite County region.
Residence
The family was still in the Wilkinson/Amite area of Mississippi, as evidenced by census records of 1810 and a Power of Attorney that James Germany signed in 1815 in Amite County, Mississippi. Wahsington's mother and father (James and Hannah Elizabeth) 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. Washington and his new wife appear as a couple in the 1830 census in West Feliciana Parish, LA. She appears with their children one parish over, in East Feliciana, in 1840.
Spouse/Children
Washington married Mary Matinly in West Felicana Parish, LA, on 17 December 1829. Census records indicate Washington had died by 1840, leaving three children for his widow, Mary to raise. Papers in the estate file show Mary Germany receiving a portion due to the heirs of Washington J. Germany, deceased, in 1846. The 1850 census lists Mary as the head of household with three children: Henry, Elizabeth, and William. Later on, Washington's nephew, John Land, died and the estate was distributed to the GERMANY side (through his mother, Elizabeth). In the event one of John's uncles had also died, his portion was divided among his children. Deeds in 1867 in the Amite County records shows that Washington's sons Henry and William sold their 1/3 portion of their father's 1/7 portion to a cousin, Robert Henry Germany. This verifies two facts: (1)Washington had only three children (2) those children were living either living in 1867 or had heirs living in 1867 that inherited their portion of John Land's estate.
Census Records
LA 1830
West Feliciana Parish
head of household: Washington Germany
1 WM 20<30 (Washington)
1 WF 20<30 (Mary)
[Note: Ditto marks " suggest there were 4 children under 5 (2M & 2F) but these weren't included in the total. They also don't fit with a marriage date of 1829, so it was probably just the census taker getting carried away with ditto marks. In some early census years (MS 1816, for example) ditto marks indicate zero]
Death/Burial
Washington was alive in the 1830 census, and his widow was head of household in 1840. His yougest child, William C. Germany, was born ~1837, which puts his death date sometime between roughly 1837 and 1840. No other information is known at this time, but Over the Mountain lists his death date as March 1838.
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. Dumas, TX 79029. It is also part of the collection at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN. *
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)
Deed records of Amite County, MS (Book 12, page 49)
Deed records of Amite County, MS (Book 12, page 50)
