TALBOT BROTHERS MOVE TO ALABAMA
Sons of William Talbot of Morgan County,
Georgia
Early Settlers of Pike County, Alabama
By
Camille Head Corte
One of the earliest families to move into Pike County, Alabama was that of the four sons of WILLIAM TALBOT. They were MATTHEW, WILLIAM, JAMES, and HALE TALBOT. Records show the four brothers to have moved from Morgan Co., Georgia to Alabama prior to 1828 and settle on land in the northern area of Pike County around Orion. This thriving village of the 1800’s is situated less than 1 mile from the Montgomery County line and these Talbots are found in both counties in the general area.
Their father, WILLIAM TALBOT, was born 1761 in Bedford Co., Virginia. He was married to Miss Mary Bailey, born
1764. Some records state Mary was born
in Morgan County, Georgia but no proof of this birthplace has been found. William and Mary were married in 1789 in Clarke
Co., Georgia and raised six boys and six girls in Clarke and later in Morgan
Co. The mother, MARY BAILEY, died in
1825 in Georgia and their father William remarried a lady by the name of
Elizabeth Pope Fullilove in 1830. Very
little is known about the four brothers’ early 20 years in Georgia. However, Ann and Farris Womack have written the history of this family,
The William and Mary Bailey Talbot Story.
It is packed with information and may be viewed from a link on the
Talbot web page..
Strangely enough, much is known of the ancestry of the Talbot brothers. It begins with an unproved but believable descendancy from the Earl of Shrewsbury and the move of MATTHEW TALBOT (I) born in 1699 in England to the United States. Theirs is an illustrious history, and is documented elsewhere on the Talbot web page..
MATTHEW TALBOT (II), the son of MATTHEW (I) was born 1729 in Virginia. In his young manhood, MATTHEW (II), in addition to performing his military service, was a hunter and trapper. He later established himself as a merchant. The book, "Genealogical sketch of Mathew Talbot, Gent." by Robert H. Fletcher states MATTHEW TALBOT (II) was born Nov 27 1729 in Bristol Parish, Va. This was the "my son Matt" mentioned in one of his father's letters as endeavoring to "raise a party of woodsmen in 1758 to go out after Indians who were terrorizing the good folk of Bedford Co. At that time he held a commission as Captain of the Bedford militia."
In 1777 or 1778 Matthew Talbot (II) left Virginia and settled first in the valley of the Watauga River in what is now eastern Tennessee, where he engaged in the cattle business. By this time he had married Mary Hale in June of 1753 in Bedford Co., Virginia. She was the daughter of Nicholas Hale a business partner of her husband’s father Matthew Talbot (I) in Virginia. The Talbot and Hale families were one of the first to settle in that eastern Tennessee area known as "The Wautauga" in Washington County, Tennessee and much of the history of that area was founded upon their exploits.
Some 8 years later after his wife dies in 1785, MATTHEW (II) again moves, this time to Wilkes Co, Ga., where his younger brother JOHN had gone before him. Born a high churchman, the wave of religious fervor which engulfed the south in this day swept him into the fold of the Baptist Church in which he became a minister and so remained until his death in Wilkes Co. about 1812.
After the four brothers moved to Alabama around 1828, the act of proving that the four male children of WILLIAM and MARY BAILEY TALBOT actually settled together in Pike Co., Alabama fell to me, the writer, descended from HALE TALBOT, youngest son of WILLIAM. The proofs that have been uncovered of the 4 brothers move to Pike County are listed in 5 Chapters as follows:
1. William Talbot’s Will
2. Plotting Land Purchases of the Talbot Brothers
3. Excerpts from "150 Years in Pike County" by Margaret Farmer
4. 1889 Newspaper Article on Life of Hale Talbot, The Troy Messenger
5. Census Records of the Four Brothers.
Chapter I.
WILLIAM TALBOT’S WILL
This will was written and signed by William on October 6, 1830. It was probated in Walton Co., Ga. and proven August 1831. It is recorded in Book C, pages 45 and 46. The will lists William’s children as Green Berry, Lucy, MATTHEW, Harriet, Mary Hale, WILLIAM, JAMES, HALE, Elizabeth, Martha, and Emily. Executors of the will were Green Talbot and William Nunnally. A link to William’s will is found on the home page. Of the six brothers, none remained behind in Georgia. They were all gone by 1830. The four brothers mentioned earlier moved into Pike County about 1828. Green Berry Talbot, the eldest, moved to Chambers Co., Alabama and later to Tallapoosa County, Alabama. It is believed that William’s son Bailey died early as he was not listed in his father’s will. His six daughters stayed behind in Georgia.
Chapter II.
Much of the information used to plot the lands the brothers purchased in Alabama was taken from the U. S. Land Bureau Office. A map of Pike County, Alabama was obtained showing townships, ranges, and sections. Land purchases of the Talbot’s were plotted. The area plotted was located in the northern part of Pike that borders on the Montgomery Co., Alabama line. The earliest Talbots settling in this area actually lived first in Montgomery Co., right over the Pike County line, a couple of miles from Orion. One can see where the four brothers settled right next to each other about the same time. All the brothers show up in the Alabama 1830 census except Hale. Hale must be living with one of his brothers or his wife’s family. Records showing a land purchase in 1830 are evidence of his being there as is the record of his marriage in Pike Co. in 1829.
The brothers bought land right up next to each other in the years from 1829-1834. Census records stating children’s births show they were definitely here around 1828. They immediately started buying land around the Orion area in the early 1830’s and settled more into Pike Co. At times they moved back and forth over the county line into the Ramer area of southern Montgomery County. They have always lived in the area of and around Orion.
LAND RECORDS OF THE FOUR TALBOT BROTHERS
JAMES MATTHEW WILLIAM HALE
Pike County Pike
County Pike
County Pike
County
T11 R21
S. 9 40 acres 1835
11-21- 6 1829 80 acr. -0- 11-21-
9 1835 40 ac
11
21 9 120 acres
1841 11-21- 6 1830 80 acr. 11-21- 8
1835 40 ac
11
21 10 238 acres
1841 11-20-34 1834 40
acr. 11-21- 9
1837 40 ac
11
21 4 80 acres 1835
11-21- 8 1837
40 ac
11
21 4 40 acres
1835
11-21- 8 1841
80 ac
11
21 4 40 acres 1837
11-21- 8 1841
80 ac
11
21 4 80 acres 1837
11-21-17 1852 40 ac
11
21 5 40 acres 1837 11-21-10 1852
40 ac
11-21-
8 1854
40 ac
Montgomery County Montgomery Co. Montgomery Co. Montgomery Co.
T12
R20 S35 80 acres
1829 -0- 12-20-36
1834 42 acr. 12-20-35 1830 80 ac
12-20-36 1837 126 acr.
12-20-35 1829
12-20-12 1837
126 acr.
by Margaret Pace Farmer
Chapter XXV
"Orion"
A. "The Alabama Legislature by an act of 10 February 1848, incorporated "The Orion Male and Female Institute of Pike County". The act named Solomon Siler, WILLIAM TALBOT, M. Salter, C. G. McLendon, Levi Freeman, JAMES TALBOT, and William McCullough as Trustees. This act fixed the site of the academy. At the time of the incorporation of the Orion Institute, the Legislature created 14 academies in Alabama."
B. "Long before Troy (county seat of Pike) existed even in the minds of men, history was being made at Orion; but the glory of Orion is all in the past. It stands today a sleepy village on an almost abandoned highway. When the railroad bypassed Orion, it spelled the doom of the community. Now that the four-lane highway to Montgomery has skirted the village, the former stream of traffic between Troy and Montgomery has been diverted, and the traveler no longer even glimpses Orion as he speeds toward Montgomery. There is in the village not a Siler, nor a TALBOT, nor a Nall, nor a McLeod-- all proud names out of the past."
"Orion, as the name suggests, is a classic town which in the earlier days was the center of wealth, aristocracy and learning in Pike County. The old colonial homes of Orion were built by slaves and were fashioned of local materials, lumber from majestic pines and oaks, hand molded bricks made from the local clay. The roof of each house features the beloved columns. There was recognition of the need of college education from the outset. In the early days the young men were sent to the University of Alabama. The young ladies were sent to the former homes of their parents in Virginia and the Carolinas for their education."
A letter to the editor in the "Alabama Journal", September 5, 1850, praised the town and the school: "Orion is a healthy and beautiful village, situated upon a fine eminence, overlooking a large scope of country. The inhabitants are kind, intelligent and moral. No unnecessary extravagance is indulged in by the people; nor are there any grog shops, card tables or liquor establishments permitted in or near the place; hence young ladies and gentlemen sent to this Institute have the advantage of excellent instruction, good society, and a removal from all temptations to vice, and as we but rarely find such schools in our country, I sincerely hope that its founders may find their most extravagant hopes of its success fully realized in its increased catalogue of students, and the permanent usefulness, and that those in charge of it may reap such a reward as their indefatigable exertions in the cause of education so richly merit."
"Captain Bailey Montgomery Talbot, son of one of the Institute founders, was born at Orion in August 1834, attended the Institute and carried Company H, 57th Alabama Regiment into the Confederate Army. He was killed at the Battle of Peachtree Creek, July 1864. Click here to see a picture of Captain Talbot. Capt. Talbot was the son of Hale Talbot. The brothers involvement with the Institute has been recorded.
"The year 1870 marked the turning point in the history of Orion. Depleted by the Civil War and the evils of Reconstruction, Orion was struggling for existence. The railroads avoided Orion and the town of Troy was booming. The great exodus began. One by one most of the leading families moved away. The glory that was Orion became a memory." Hale Talbot’s family moved into the City of Troy. Hale’s brothers had been gone from the county for twenty years.
1889 NEWSPAPER
ARTICLE FROM “The Troy Messenger.”
"Some Old People---- Hale Talbot"
The subject of this sketch was born in Clarke Co., Georgia and was carried by his father to Morgan County when he was quite a child, where he remained until about 21 years old at which time he came to Pike County, Alabama (1828) just 61 years ago which carries him to the 81st milestone of his useful life.
His name is a household word in the homes of the early settlers as his record reveals the fact that until the weight of years began to fall heavily upon him he was a conspicuous actor in matters of public interest in old Pike and it is said of him by the few who are now living who knew him away back in the thirties and forties that Mr. Talbot was always found on the moral side of all questions which came before the people for adjustment.
He married POLLY ANN TOWNSEND of Pike on the very last day of the year 1829, who is yet with him after helping him through with raising eight children, five daughters and three sons, all of whom seem to fully appreciate the fifth commandment. These old people gave two boys to the cause of southern rights in the War Between the States. One of them, ANDREW TALBOT, died while the war was raging of disease contracted in the army, and CAPTAIN BAILEY TALBOT, while gallantly leading a desperate charge on the field in front of Atlanta in July, 1864, was mortally wounded and died a day or two afterwards. These sons had transmitted to them that particular sort of patriotism which leads men to posts of danger when their country calls for their services, for Uncle Hail was found among the first to respond to his country’s call during the Indian trouble of 1836 when and where he stuck as long as the red men persisted in using the scalping knife upon the whites.
He (HALE TALBOT) settled soon after his marriage (December of 1929) upon a tract of land on Prospect Ridge, now Orion, which he bought of his brother, JAMES TALBOT, but lived longer on a plantation now owned by Captain Jackson than he did upon any farm upon which he ever lived, as it was there that he raised nearly all of his children and at no time after he was married did he live farther off than two and one-half miles from Orion until some twelve or fourteen years ago when his infirmity, on account of old age, made him surrender command of his plantation to those much younger, since which time he has spent most of his time with his children in Troy.
His neighbors, when he first settled in Pike, were Ewel Hardmon, William Blacksher, Boss Redman, William Hughes, Major Charles Dennis, Honorable J. P. Crowder, MATT TALBOT, Eli, Sam, and A. C. Townsend (the Townsend family was one in which he and his children married into), and among his acquaintances was the notorious Kin Mooney, and of course, he has not forgotten Noah Hurley and his brother, Freeman Hurley, Solomon Siler, Robert Anderson, as well as many others too numerous to mention. He connected himself with the Baptist Church only a short time before he came to Alabama and when the division among the Baptists occurred he followed the Missionary wing of the church and he is right there today, and as a true churchman his walk and conduct for over 60 years has been grand, and his example as well as precept has been above the average, the effects of which will follow on through the ages, long after the old Christian soldier has received his crown.
Chapter V.
CENSUS RECORDS OF THE FOUR BROTHERS:
MATTHEW was born about 1795 in Morgan County, Georgia. He married Elizabeth “Betsy” Hughes October 4, 1814 in Morgan County. Living close by in Pike County is a Hughes family, possibly Betsy’s kin. Matthew’s brother Green Berry married a Mary Polly Hughes December 15, 1812 in Morgan County, Georgia. More than likely the two Hughes girls are sisters.
"An indenture between MATTHEW TALBOT and PETER HUGES (HUGHES) was recorded in Pike County in 1835.” Talbot deeded some land to a Huges which was signed by Mathew Talbot (no date) before C. A. Dennis and WILLIAM HUGES. The document was proved Oct 31 1835 by WM. HUGES and C. A. Dennis.
The above transfer of land between Matthew Talbot and Hughes tends to lend some belief , along with other facts, that Matthew's wife Elizabeth Hughes’ family moved to Alabama from Georgia with them. The Hughes men bought land in the same section of Pike County as Matthew in about the same time period. William and Peter Hughes are possibly brothers of Elizabeth. It is also believed that the Hughes men might have moved to Texas with the Talbots about 1851 as the Hughes then sold land about that time.
Did Matthew Talbot move to Texas in the early 1830’s? It is a fact that Matthew’s sister Elizabeth Talbot and her husband John Harvey moved from Morgan County, Georgia to Robertson County, Texas early in the 1830’s. This is about the time that Matthew disappears from Pike County.
The Harveys moved to Texas with two small children and homesteaded on land in Robertson County. The story of their short life in Texas is historic. Milton Talbot has captured the massacre of this family in a separate story. Only the small daughter Ann Harvey escaped death, was kidnapped, and later rescued with the help of Uncle James Talbot. It has been reported that Uncle Matthew Talbot was involved in the search for the child.
Charlie Briggs a descendant of Ann Harvey, in a conversation with Milton Talbot leads us to believe that Matthew Talbot was in Texas when the massacre occurred. This would explain the fact of Matthew's disappearance from Pike County after he sold his land in 1835. Supposedly a Matthew Talbot is buried in Robertson County. This is possibly the brother Matthew but as of the date of this paper there has been neither proof found of Matthew in Texas or anywhere else nor word of any descendant of his.
Very little is known about Matthew. He shows up in an 1830 census of Pike living near his brothers in the Orion area where he buys 3 tracts of land between 1829-1834. Then Matthew disappears from the Alabama census records after 1830. It is possible that he moved to Texas with his family after 1830. There are several Talbot (Tolbert) families located along the route to Texas in Mississippi and Louisiana that remain unidentified. There is rumor that a Matthew Talbot was buried in the James Talbot, Sr. Cemetery in Robertson County, Texas. There is a J. B. Tolbert located in Milam County, Texas in the 1860 census. He is a physician. This is a family name which usually stands for James Bailey Talbot. There is the other James B. Talbot located in the same 1860 Texas Census of Robertson County census which is just over the county line from Milam. This is James, the son of James Talbot, Sr.
In the 1830 Pike Co. Alabama census, Matthew has a houseful of children as shown below and then the family disappears:
1830 Pike County, Al. Census
1 male (Matthew) 30-40 1790-1800 Georgia
1 male 15-20 1810-1815
1 male 5-10
1820-1825
1 male U- 5 1825-1830
1 female (Betsy) 30-40 1790-1800
1 female 10-20 1810-1820
1 female 5-10
1820-1825
1 female U- 5
1825-1830
2. WILLIAM
. WILLIAM was born about 1804 in Georgia. He married Catharine Whatley in 1825 in Morgan Co., Georgia. Catharine was born in 1807. William purchased three contiguous tracts of land in Montgomery Co. between 1834 and 1837, the first tract was next to brothers James and Hale. William is listed on the 1830 census of Pike Co., the 1840 census of Montgomery Co., and the 1850 census of Pike Co. where he is listed with 14 children. It is estimated he had 19 children by 1850. Neither William nor any of his 19 children are heard from in Alabama again. There is speculation what might have become of several of the boys, but no proof has been found of any of the children which is quite perplexing.
In the 1830 Pike Co. census William shows 3 boys under five years old and 2 males 20-30 (William and another unidentified male) plus a female 20-30.
1830 Pike Co., Al.. Census
2 males 20-30 (William Talbot and another adult)
1 female 20-30 Catharine Whatley
3 males U- 5 b. 1825-1830
_____________________________
TOTAL of 3 children in 1830 family
In the 1840 Montgomery Co. census William has 8 boys and 3 girls (an addition of 8 children in a period of 10 years) plus a female 30-40. Then in the 1850 Pike County census he has gained additional children in this 10-year span, a few of the earlier ones obviously missing.
The following children for William and Catharine are listed in the 1850 Pike County census. One daughter is missing from the above census records, either married or missing from the 1850 census. If these census records are right then William is the father of 14-19 children. Those with familiar family names are marked in italics:
1840 Montgomery Co., Al. Census
1 Male 30-40 William Talbot
1 Female 30-40 Catharine Whatley
1 Male 15-20 b. 1820-1825 ?
3 Males 10-15
b. 1825-1830 Augustus, & Young
2 Males 5-10 b. 1830-1835 William & Nathan
2 Males U- 5 b. 1835-1840 ?
1 Female 5-10 b. 1830-1835 ?
2 Females U- 5 b. 1835-1840 Mary & Harriett
____________________________________
Total of 11 children in 1840 house
TOTAL of 13-14 children in 1840 family
1850 Pike County, Al. Census
WILLIAM TALBOT 46 b. 1804 Georgia
CATHARINE 43 b.
1807 Georgia
1-Augustus TALBOT 23
b. 1827 Georgia
2-Young TALBOT 21
b. 1829 Ala. (moved to AL prior to 1830)
3-William TALBOT 18
b. 1832 Ala
4-Nathan TALBOT 16
b. 1834
5-Mary TALBOT 14
b. 1836
6-Harriett TALBOT 11
b. 1839
7-Green TALBOT 9 b. 1841
8-John TALBOT 8 b. 1842
9-Catharine TALBOT 6 b. 1844
10-Amanda TALBOT 5 b. 1845
11-Laura TALBOT 3 b 1847
12-Pake TALBOT (m.) 2 b. 1848
13-Joseph TALBOT 6/12 b. 1849 (twin)
14-Josephine TALBOT 6/12 b. 1849
(twin)
___________________________
Total of 14 children in 1850 house
Total of 19 children in 1850 family
Eight children were born to William and Catharine between 1840 and 1850, four boys and four girls. There are four children that are missing and not accounted for in the1850 census, 3 males and 1 female. A total of 19 children have been born to William and Catharine. A humorous item occurring in the 1850 census shows the twins Joseph and Josephine to be both males! Did the census taker have a relapse after counting so many children?
The 1850 Slave Census for Alabama shows William Talbot owning 12 slaves.
There are four of the 19 children whose names we do not know and may possibly never know. Looking to Texas and the route to get there might possibly deliver some of these 19 children. Looking at the Robertson County, Texas 1960 census one finds three familiar names living in the county.
Robertson County, Texas 1860
Augustus Tolbert 32 b. 1828 Ga.
William Tolbert 26 b. 1824 Al
Young Tolbert 22 b. 1838 Al. (believe this date is wrong)
This is an exciting find in that Augustus, who also was born in Georgia and is the same age as William’s Augustus, is found in the home of his cousins from Pike County, Alabama, James B. Talbot and his wife Eugenia Smiley. The last time we heard from James B. Talbot he was living in 1850 Montgomery County, Alabama right next to his first cousin Ann Harvey and her husband Sanders Briggs (more on this couple under the brother James, Sr.’s section). James B. Tolbert/Talbot is the son of James Talbot, Sr. who has moved to Texas by the mid 1850’s. This move of William’s brother James out to Texas is well documented further along.
Augustus Tolbert/Talbot is an uncommon name, particularly when it is placed in the same locale as a Young Tolbert, and a William Tolbert. Young Tolbert is living in the household of his probable brother William Tolbert. All three of the above brothers are also enlisted in the same Texas Civil War Unit, Townsends Company of Robertson’s 5th. . These 3 brothers are not heard of again in the 1870 Robertson Co., Texas census. However, it does look as if three of William’s children are finally found.
3. JAMES
James was born about 1805 in Georgia and was married first to Eliza Moore by whom he had the first three children. Secondly James married Hannah Herring after 1830 in Pike County, Alabama. She was born in 1804 in South Carolina. By Hannah he had two more children shown in the 1850 census. James is found in the 1830, 1840, and 1850 Pike County Census. His purchase of at least 9 tracts of land is found in Pike County from 1835-1841. His initial buy was located in Montgomery Co. in 1829 next to brothers Hale and William.
In the 1830 Pike Co. census James is 20-30. His wife is the same and they have two sons under 5 years old. In 1830 James is living next to Willis Briggs who is possibly the father of Sanders Briggs whose importance will unfold later.
The 1840 census lists James and his wife with two sons aged 20-30, one son 5-10 and two daughters 5-10, totaling 5 children. The 1850 census lists only 3 children, with the two older sons missing. There are 19 other persons in James’ household in this year which can be attributed to the opening of the Orion Institute and James’ extensive involvement in this school. The 19 are listed as students, all 15-21 years of age. One of the students is Charles Perry Salter who later marries James’ daughter Margaret Ann and moves with the entire James Talbot family to Texas. James owns 24 slaves in the 1850 Alabama Slave Schedule.
1850 Pike County, Al. Census
JAMES TALBOT 45 GA.
Hannah (Herring) 46 S.C.
1-Son TALBOT b. 1825-1829 (James B. Talbot b 1827 in Ga.)
2-Son TALBOT b. 1825-1829
3-Louisa TALBOT b.
1830
4-Romanus TALBOT b. 1832
5-Margaret Ann TALBOT b. 1833 m. Oct 3, 1850 C. P. Salter in Pike Co.,
Al.
1850 Montgomery County, Al. Census
page 178 JAMES B. TOLBERT 23 b. 1827 Ga. (son of James Talbot, Sr.)
Eugenia R. (Smiley) 20 b. 1830 Al.
1. William H. 3 b
1847 Al. (Idiot- he is dead by 1860 census)
2. Laura A. 1/12 b. 1850
page 178 SANDERS BRIGGS 27 b. 1823 AL
Ann E.
(Harvey) 17 b.
1833 GA (See
Texas massacre story)
James 1 b. 1849
1860 Robertson County,
Texas Census
Sterling Precinct
Page 173
House
#
#352 JAMES TOLBERT 53 GA. Farmer $4,000 $9,535
Mary J. 38 AL
(3rd
wife)
Rosana 1 TX
#353 SANDERS C. BRIGGS 35 MS Farmer tenant $3,510 $1,148
Ann E. 29 GA (dau. of Elizabeth Talbot,
sister of James Sr.)
James W. 11 AL
William 8 TX (family was in Texas by 1852)
Jacob Smiley 30 AL
Waggoner (possible
brother of Eugenia Smiley)
#355 ROMANUS TOLBERT 24 AL Farmer $10,000 $5,000
Nancy (Wood) 17
Frank 8/12
TX
#356 Louisa E. Ware 30 AL (poss. Dau. of James Sr.) $953
Permelia 5 TX
#357 CHARLES P. SALTER 30 GA Farmer $19,700 $24,000
Margaret 25 AL (dau. of James, Sr. &
possible sister of above)
James Y. 3 TX
#358 AARON WOOD 50 Farmer $41,400 $23,000
(Aaron Wood & family are parents of
Romanus Tolbert’s wife)
#409 JAMES P.(B.) TOLBERT 33 GA Farmer $400 $11,150
Eugenia (Smiley) 30 AL
Laura A. 10 AL
Eudora 4 TX
James B. 1 TX
Augustus
Tolbert 32 GA
Waggoner
(possible son of William, Sr.?)
James B. Smiley 26 AL
Hostler (possible
brother of Eugenia?)
#347 William Tolbert 26 AL Farmer $2500
(son of William?)
Mary 17 TX Cook
Mattie 6/12 TX
Young
Tolbert 22 AL Laborer $155
(son of William?)
So, in 1860 there is the possibility that three of William Talbot’s children were in Robertson County, Texas as identified above by the names in italics: Augustus, William, and Young. These three are not to be found in Texas in 1870. They could have moved on or possibly been victims of the Civil War. It is noted that 30% of Robertson County’s soldiers were killed.
By 1870 there are three Talbot families living in Robertson County. James B. Talbot is living in Calvert with his wife Eugenia and son James. Romanus and wife Nancy are there with sons Finch, Aaron, Joe land Jimmie. And, a new Talbot appears in Hearne. Peter Talbot, age 44 born in 1826 in Alabama with assets of $7,000 in real and $1,000 in personal property shows up out of nowhere! Peter is married to Martha, 25 and from Arkansas, obviously a second wife, with children Mat (Matthew?) 14 and Willie (William?) 5. Matthew and William are two VERY familiar names in our Talbot family. Mat was born in Mississippi and Willie was born in Texas.
Is Peter the long lost son of James, Sr. and younger brother of James B. Talbot?
4. HALE
HALE was born in 1807 in Morgan Co., Georgia. He married Mary Ann Townsend on December 21, 1829 according to Pike County marriage records. Mary Ann was born 1814 in Morgan Co, Ga. The Townsend family moved to Pike Co., Alabama in 1818 near the China Grove/Orion area. Hale is found in the 1840 and 1850 census of Pike Co.; 1860 census of Montgomery Co.; and the 1870 and 1880 census of Pike Co., Al.
His land purchases are primarily 11 pieces in Pike County from 1835-1852 with his first purchase in 1830 in Montgomery Co. next to his two brothers James and William. In the 1850 Slave Schedule of Alabama Hale is shown owning eight slaves. Hale and Mary Ann are listed below with their eight children. It is this branch of the Pike County Talbots that has survived and remains in Pike County today, primarily due to their move into the City of Troy about 1870. An extensive list of his descendants may be found on the Home Page link, labeled "Descendants of Matthew Talbot." Hale’s children are listed below:
1. Louisa Mary
Elizabeth TALBOT b. 1830 m. Phillip R. Salter Oct 18 1849 in Pike Co..
2. Emily A. TALBOT b. 1832 m. John Coffee Townsend 1852 Pike Co.
3. Capt. Bailey M. TALBOT*. b. 1834 m. Mary Ann Mullins Jan 18 1859 Pike Co., Al.
4. Martha Susan TALBOT b 1837.m. James P. Nall April 23 1853 Pike Co., Al.
5. Andrew J. TALBOT* b.
1844 Andrew died unmarried at 19 in the Civil War
6. William Hale TALBOT* b.
1847 m. Nancy L.
Townsend Nov. 11, 1869 I Pike Co.
7. Ella Augustus TALBOT b 1849 m. John Henry Wood Dec 22
1870 Pike Co. Al
8. Alice Lodemia TALBOT b.
1854 m. John E. Graves (J. Eastern Graves?)
*All three sons were in the Civil War.
Bailey and Andrew died on the battlefield.
Additional information on HALE TALBOT (sometimes spelling Hail) is found in the State of Alabama Service Records. The "Index to Compiled Service Records, Alabama Units in the Creek War 1836-1837", Vol. II, 1971 lists Hail Talbot as an Ordinance Sgt. in McDougald’s Company, of Denson’s Alabama Infantry. Also listed in this unit was JAMES TALBOT, a Corporal and brother of Hale.
"The Pike County Veterans Cemeteries" states that Hale Talbot was in the Civil War, Company A of the 39th Alabama Infantry. By 1862 Hale was 55 years old but he did what he could for his country!
The "Mortality Table from Pike County" states “Hail Talbot, age 87 years, white male. Died of malarial fever, Troy, Ward 2. Buried Troy cemetery, W. A. Crossley, M.D.”
Hail is buried with his wife Mary Ann "Polly" Townsend in The Oakwood Cemetery of Troy. The burial plot is one of the oldest in the cemetery and is rather hard to find, the stones almost imbedded in the ground. Hale died in 1890 at the age of 83 while his wife died three years later in 1893.
Mary Ann Townsend was born in 1813 in Morgan County, Georgia. The Talbot and Townsend families more than possibly were close friends in Morgan County and this could have had some influence on the Talbots move to Pike around 1828.
Mary Ann Townsend’s family arrived in Pike County around 1818 before Alabama became a state and before Pike became a county. There were still Indians in the area up until the last uprising in the 1830’s in which all the settlers of Pike County gathered their rifles and tracked them out of the county.
The entire northern tip of Pike seemed to be packed with Townsends. The first Court House of Pike County was in the actual home of Mary Ann Townsend Talbot’s father, Andrew Creswell Townsend, near Orion and China Grove for the first year of its inception in 1821. The Townsend and Talbot families were all prosperous, successful settlers in the new area. Many held political positions with one becoming a State Senator and several becoming State Representatives. Both Hale and his father in law, Andrew Townsend, were commissioned as Justices of the Peace. Andrew was elected twice to the Alabama State House of Representative from Pike County.
Hale and his wife lived a very full life surrounded by his Talbot family and her vast Townsend line. An interesting by-product of their marriage resulted in their oldest daughter Emily Talbot marrying her cousin John Coffee Townsend. Emily was the Granddaughter of Andrew Creswell Townsend who was the half brother of Eli Townsend, father of John Coffee Townsend. In other words, Emily’s Great-grandfather and John’s Grandfather, Samuel Townsend, were the same man. Two of Hale’s children, Emily and William, married Townsend cousins.
IN CONCLUSION
In the past years that I have been researching the four Talbot brothers, I have yet to uncover a single living descendant of either William or Matthew Talbot who lived for a period in Pike County, Alabama. It is hoped, with this paper, that we might possibly reach someone that has knowledge of these 6 children of Matthew’s and 19 children of William’s. The purpose of this web site is not only to find those descendants of our Talbots, starting with Matthew I born in 1699 but also to retrieve as much history of this family as possible. For anyone having information on these descendants of William and Mary Bailey Talbot, please contact me at [email protected]
.