Ancestors and Descendants
of Green Berry Talbot
by
Ann Talbot Brandon Womack
and
Farris Wade Womack
2004
Ancestors and Descendants
of Green Berry Talbot
by
Ann Talbot Brandon Womack
and
Farris Wade Womack
2004
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Green Berry Talbot was born in Wilkes County, Georgia on November 25, 1791. He died in Calhoun County, Arkansas on December 27, 1875 at the age of 84. He was buried in the Ricks Cemetery at Harrell, Arkansas. Although these facts are usually the only ones presented in genealogical works, unfortunately, . they fail to capture the essential qualities that made him one of the most remarkable of men.
Green Berry was the oldest of the twelve children, six sons and six daughters, born to William Talbot and Mary Bailey. His father, a native Virginian who had lived in the Watauga area, then North Carolina and now Tennessee, for a decade or more before coming to Georgia in 1785-88, had served in the American Revolution. We believe that Mary Bailey was born in Virginia but she may have been born in Georgia. William Talbot married Mary Bailey in Wilkes County, Georgia about 1789. When Green was a youth, his father and mother moved to Morgan County, Georgia about the year 1807. Green married Mary Grant Hughes December 15, 1812 but that marriage ended not quite eight months later when Mary died on August 13, 1813. On January 12, 1815, he married Mary Tate Anthony, daughter of James Anthony and Ann Tate. That marriage would last 60 years and would produce 13 children.
In some records his name is spelled as one word Greenberry while in others he is listed as Green Berry, Greene or Green B. Talbot. On his application for a pension as a Veteran of the War of 1812, filed in 1874 in Calhoun County, Arkansas when he was 83 years old., he signed his name as Green B. Talbot. He was listed as Green Tolbert in the records of the County Line Baptist Church. He consistently signed correspondence and other memorializations as Green.
Green Berry Talbot was a soldier in the War of 1812. In his pension application , he stated that he volunteered in Morgan County, Georgia and served as private in Captain William Brown's Company during the months of November and December of 1813. Later he was drafted in the Militia and on November 4, 1813, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in Captain William's Company. He was at Fort Hawkins, James County, Georgia, for two months in 1814. In the Georgia Military Record Book (1808-1829) he is listed as Captain of the Morgan County Militia from January 16, 1817 to January 10, 1822. It was probably during this time that he gained fame as an Indian fighter, though he had fought against the Creek Indians in Captain Brown's Company in 1813.
There is a tradition in the family that Green Berry Talbot rose to the rank of “General.” Goodspeed’s Memoirs and Sketches of Southern Arkansas states that he was always known as “General.” Perhaps because of his distinguished service in the War of 1812 or his fame as an Indian fighter or his military bearing or even his personality or appearance, he was given this title as a courtesy or sign of respect. His wife described him at the time of his enlistment as being: ‘age 20 years, a farmer – Wilkes County, Georgia – six feet, black hair, blue eyes, dark.” Mary's assertion that he was living in Wilkes County in 1811 when he was 20 years old is interesting. First, she was not then his wife and thus would not necessarily have first hand knowledge of his legal residence and second, it appears certain that his father was living in Morgan by 1811, and third, he married Mary Grant Hughes in December 1812 in Morgan County. It seems more likely that he was living in Morgan County when he enlisted in 1811-12, having moved there with his parents about 1807. It was alleged that one of Green Berry's talents was the ability to train troops and part of his time was spent in training troops rather than active fighting.
Green Berry Talbot was a soldier, farmer, and landowner. He is listed in the tax records in Morgan County, Georgia as owning tracts of land on Sandy Creek along with his father, William Talbot. The Deed Books contain numerous records of both of them buying and selling land. The reader may view these land transactions by clicking here. His mother died in 1825 and for unknown reasons, probably the desire for better land, he left Morgan County to try his luck in Meriwether County, Georgia. Why he left his father then age 66-67 to strike out on his own in far away western Georgia is not known and his ownership of substantial acreage in Morgan County makes the move even more difficult to understand. Equally perplexing, it appears that his four living brothers left Morgan County about the same time to make a fresh start in Pike County, Alabama. Nevertheless, for whatever reasons, he moved, probably in 1827, to Meriwether County, Georgia, one of a tier of counties opened for settlement in Eastern Georgia. When Green and Mary moved to Meriwether County, they already had a family of eight children, all of them born in Morgan County, Georgia.. He and his family appear in the 1830 Census in Meriwether County. He also appears on the Deed Book of that County. During the family's stay in Meriwether County, three more children were born, Elizabeth Hale, Harriett Crawford and Emmily Greer. In her “claim of Widow for Bounty Land,” Mary Tate Anthony Talbot states that in 1835 they moved to Chambers County, Alabama and then to Tallapoosa County. He acquired a Land Patent for 620 acres of land in Chambers County, Alabama in 1835. Soon after their arrival in Chambers County, Caroline America was born and two years later the family was complete with the arrival of Matthew Henry in 1837. Green's family appears on the 1840 Census for Chambers County and on the 1850, 1860 and 1870 Census for Tallapoosa County. They lived in Dadeville, Alabama until 1871 when they moved to Harrell, Calhoun County, Arkansas.
Like his father, William, and his grandfather, Matthew (II), Green Berry was a Baptist. On May 2, 1835, Green B. Talbot served as the presiding deacon in the organization of the County Line Baptist Church in western Chambers County, Alabama, just a short distance from the Tallapoosa County line. Following the organizational meeting, the church opened its doors for new members and two slaves, Charles and Eliza, the property of Green Talbot, joined. There were twelve members who formed the Church including Green and Mary Talbot and Tilmon and Sarah Brawner. The Brawners owned the half section of land adjoining the Talbots and later their families would be further linked with the marriage in 1842 of Green Berry (II) Talbot and Mary Ellen Brawner, oldest child of Tilmon and Sarah. Along with William C. Morgan, who gave the land for the Church and Cemetery, Talbot was active in the affairs of the Church including building site selection, construction of the first meeting house, and association ties with other Baptist churches in the County. The County Line Baptist Church continues to operate (2004) and the last meeting house, built in 1890, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The adjoining cemetery is the final resting place for many of Green Berry's relatives and friends. Click here to view pictures of the Church and cemetery. After Green Berry Talbot moved the short distance from Chambers County to Tallapoosa County, many of his relatives, the descendants of his cousin, Joseph Hale Talbot, located in the County Line area. Those Talbots became active in the Church Green Berry had founded and many served in leadership positions through the years since.
One of the more interesting aspects of Green and Mary Talbot was the apparent pattern they used in the naming of their children. The oldest child, James Anthony was named in honor of Mary Tate Anthony's father. The second child, Mary Grant Talbot, was named in honor of Green Berry's first wife, Mary Grant Hughes, who died after they had been married one year. The third child, William Bailey Talbot, was named in honor of Green Berry's father and mother. Anne Tate Talbot was named in honor of her grandmother, Anne Tate, wife of James Anthony. The fifth child, Green Berry (II) Talbot, was named in honor of his father, Green Berry (I) Talbot. Lucy Swift Talbot and Sarah Anderson Talbot, twins, were named in honor of the oldest sisters of Green Berry and Mary Tate Anthony Talbot. Martha Phillips Talbot, Harriett Crawford Talbot, and Emmily Greer Talbot were named in honor of Green Berry's married sisters. The remaining three children, Elizabeth, Caroline, and Matthew all had "family" names that preserved the links to the past.
The family of Green Berry Talbot and Mary Tate Anthony
1 [1] Green Berry Talbot b: November
25, 1791 in Wilkes Co., GA d: December 27, 1875 in Calhoun Co., AR
Burial: December 27, 1875 Ricks Cemetery near Harrell, AR in Calhoun Co.,AR
.. +Mary "Polly" Grant Hughes b: February 06,
1795 m: December 15, 1812 in Morgan Co., GA d: August 13, 1813 in Morgan
Co., GA Burial: Morgan Co.,GA
*2nd Wife of [1] Green Berry Talbot:
.. +Mary Tate Anthony b: February 06, 1795 in
Jasper Co., GA m: January 12, 1815 in Morgan Co., GA d: November 08, 1885
in Calhoun Co., AR Burial: November 08, 1885 Ricks Cemetery near Harrell,
AR in Calhoun Co.,AR
. 2 James Anthony Talbot b: May 08, 1816
in Morgan Co., GA d: June 25, 1878 in Chambers Co.,AL Burial: TALBOT
CEMETERY -Chambers County, AL
..... +Rosanna Wise b: July 15, 1810 m: September
26, 1842 in Chambers Co.,AL d: January 12, 1881 in Chambers Co.,AL Burial:
TALBOT CEMETERY -Chambers County, AL
. 2 Mary Grant Talbot b: July 30, 1817
in Morgan Co., GA d: Aft. 1876 in Prob. Tyler, Texas
..... +Larkin C. Selman b: Abt. 1817 in GA m:
March 12, 1838 in Chambers Co.,AL d: Bef. 1876 in Prob. Smith Co.,TX-Tyler
. 2 [2] William Bailey Talbot b: January
30, 1819 in Morgan Co.,GA d: March 16, 1878 in Scott Co.,MS Burial:
Old Hays Creek Cemetery
..... +Nancy Haney Willis b: August 09, 1824
m: October 20, 1840 in Chambers Co.,AL-Opelika d: January 15, 1864 in Scott
Co.,MS Burial: Old Hays Creek Cemetery
. *2nd Wife of [2] William Bailey Talbot:
..... +Martha B. Bryant m: January 13,
1867
. 2 Anne Tate Talbot b: January 27, 1821
in Morgan Co., GA
. 2 [3] Green Berry Talbot b: February
12, 1823 in Morgan Co., GA d: February 20, 1901 in Calhoun Co., AR
Burial: February 20, 1901 Chambersville Cemetery-Calhoun County
..... +Mary Ellender Brawner b: April 07, 1825
in Prob Elbert Co.,GA m: October 04, 1842 in Chambers Co.,AL d: April 01,
1885 in Calhoun Co., AR Burial: Chambersville Cemetery-Calhoun County
. *2nd Wife of [3] Green Berry Talbot:
..... +Letha Pennington b: July 29, 1849 m:
May 03, 1888 in Calhoun Co., AR d: November 28, 1894 in Calhoun Co., AR
Burial: Chambersville
. 2 Lucy Swift Talbot b: February 16,
1825 in Morgan Co., GA d: Aft. 1880 in Tallapoosa Co.,AL
. 2 Sarah Anderson Talbot b: February
16, 1825 in Morgan Co., GA d: May 22, 1884 in Calhoun Co., AR-Harrell
..... +Moses Trimble. Barnes b: 1830 m: September
15, 1849 in Tallapoosa Co.,AL d: Bef. 1865
. 2 Martha Phillips Talbot b: October
26, 1826 in Morgan Co., GA d: in Probably Dallas Co., AR
..... +James Gardner b: Abt. 1812 in Georgia
m: October 06, 1842 in Chambers Co., AL d: in Probably Dallas Co., AR
. 2 Elizabeth Hale "Hail" Talbot b: February
08, 1829 in Meriwether Co.,GA-Greenville d: September 18, 1924 in
Wood Co.,TX-Pittsburg-City Cemetery
..... +Warren Riley Barnes b: September 07,
1827 in Edgecombe Co.,NC m: December 22, 1850 in Tallapoosa Co.,AL-Dadeville
d: April 15, 1908 in Wood Co.,TX-Pittsburg
. 2 Harriett Crawford Talbot b: January
08, 1831 in Merriweather Co., GA d: in Calhoun Co., AR-Harrell
. 2 Emmily Greer Talbot b: November 27,
1832 in Meriweather Co., GA d: 1864 in Tallapoosa Co., AL-Dadeville
..... +Miles Sikes b: 1818 in North Carolina
m: 1856 d: 1864 in Tallapoosa Co., AL
. 2 Caroline America Talbot b: May 18,
1835 in Chambers Co.,AL d: April 29, 1912 in Sevier Co., AR-DeQueen
..... +Rema Washington Tims b: 1830 in South
Carolina m: December 05, 1850 in Tallapoosa Co., AL d: Bef. 1870 in Tallapoosa
Co., AL???
. 2 Matthew Henry Talbot b: December 13,
1837 in Chambers Co., AL d: 1862 in Camp Chase, OH
..... +Sarah F. Thomas m: September 17,
1860 in Tallapoosa Co.,AL-Dadeville
James Anthony Talbot, the oldest child, was born in Morgan County, Georgia, moved with his father and mother to Meriwether County and then with them to Chambers County, Alabama. He lived in Chambers County his entire life. James was 26 and Rosanna was 28 when they married. Although they lived together for 36 years, they had no children. In the 1860 Census, he was living in Chambers County with a Milltown post office, and the only child in the household was Eugenia Wise, age 2. When the Civil War broke out, he was the Commanding Officer of Company I, 37th Alabama Infantry Regiment from its formation until July 1862. He operated a ferry for many years and farmed. By 1850, he had become a Justice of the Peace and officiated at several wedding ceremonies. The Dadeville (Tallapoosa County) newspaper account of the death of Green Berry Talbot made reference to a son, Major James A. Talbot of Chambers County. James Anthony Talbot died June 25 , 1878. Rosannah Smith Wise Talbot died three years later on January 25, 1810.
Mary Grant Talbot married Larkin C. Selman in 1838 in Chambers County, Alabama when both were about 21 years of age. She was the first child to marry and within a year she presented Green and Mary with their first grandchild, Benjamin Green Her second son, John, was born in 1841. Mary and Larkin were probably farmers and lived much like other frontier families. Sometime before 1850, the most likely time being late 1846 or early 1847, she and Larkin with their two small boys moved from Chambers County, Alabama to Dallas County, Arkansas. This migration included a number of Mary's family as indicated in the sections that follow. They settled in Jackson Township and acquired a small parcel of land. Census records of 1850, 1860, and 1870 for Dallas County, Arkansas disclose their location and indicate their financial success with the exception of 1870 when a dramatic drop occurred following the Civil War. Not long after 1872, Mary and Larkin moved to Tyler, Texas to be near their only surviving son who was in medical practice there. Dr. Benjamin Green Selman died in 1892. In a letter postmarked in Tyler, Texas dated January 17, 1876, written to her sister , Elizabeth Hale Talbot Barnes, she reported that their father had died and that ".....Ma, Harriett, and the Sikes boys is a going to try to keep house at home." In that same letter, she told of visits to their father and mother by William, Brother( probably James Anthony) and Lucy, the latter two then living in Alabama and William living in Mississippi. She probably died in Texas but the date and place are unknown.
William Bailey Talbot married Nancy Haney Willis in 1840 in Chambers County, Alabama. They lived in the Chambers County area for about 20 years before they moved to Scott County, Mississippi and became successful planters. A descendant, Milton William Talbot, Jr. MD, has written extensively about William and Nancy and the reader may click here to read his thoughtful and provocative description of the family.
Virtually nothing has been discovered about Anne Tate Talbot. The 1840 Census, while not listing names of individuals, seems to suggest that she was living with the family but she was not listed among the family members in 1850. She may have married and moved away or she may not have been living. Current scholarship has produced no record of her as an adult.
Green Berry (II) Talbot married Mary Ellender Brawner, the oldest daughter of Tilmon and Sarah Brawner, in 1842. Soon afterwards, probably in 1845 or 1846, the two families left Chambers County, Alabama and moved westward more than 500 miles to Calhoun County, Arkansas. Joining them on the journey were at least two of Green Berry (II)'s sisters and their families. A descendant, Ann Talbot Brandon Womack, has written at length about these two families. Click here to read about Green Berry (II) and Mary Brawner Talbot or click here to read about Tilmon and Sarah Brawner.
Lucy Swift Talbot probably never married and the little data known about her suggests that she was likely a legal assistant who worked in the legal profession in Tallapoosa County. The Dadeville newspaper reported that she was a resident of the County when Green Berry's obituary was published in 1875. In the 1876 letter from Mary G. Selman to Elizabeth Barnes, Mary notes that Lucy had been to Harrell, Arkansas a few months earlier to visit her father and mother. She was listed as the seller on a land transaction as late as 1880. Her date and place of death are unknown
Sarah Anderson Talbot married Moses Trimble Barnes in Tallapoosa County, Alabama in 1845. Moses was a cousin to Warren Riley Barnes who married Elizabeth Hale Talbot about whom, more later. Sarah and Moses had seven children but only four survived to maturity. Moses was killed in the Civil War and Sarah returned to live with or near her father. Later she would accompany her father and mother to Calhoun County, Arkansas in 187. The 1880 Census for Jackson Township, Calhoun County, Arkansas showed Sarah and her children, Ardella and James, with her son Willie living next door. She died in 1884 without having remarried.
Lucy Swift Talbot and Sarah Anderson Talbot were twins.
Martha Phillips Talbot married James Gardner in 1842 in Chambers County, Alabama. James Gardner was Martha's senior by 24 years. Two of their four children were born in Chambers County, AL, Mary in 1843 and Rosanna in 1846. Martha and James were among that band of Talbot and Brawner families who left Chambers County in 1846/47 to come to Dallas County, Arkansas. They settled on land in Dallas County very near the home site of the Selman's. They were farmers. Two additional children were born to them in Arkansas, Sarah in 1849 and Nancy in 1851. James and Martha with their children were listed on the Census of 1850 and 1860 for Dallas County but by the 1870 Census all the children had left home. Further details of their activities are unknown.
Elizabeth Hale Talbot married Warren Riley Barnes in 1850 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. "As WR grew into adulthood, he was an overseer of slaves on a large plantation. After seven years, he decided to make a change in his life work. With brave hearts and strong hopes for a bright future, the family consisting of husband, wife, and four children embarked on a large steamboat on the Mississippi River. They landed near Jefferson, Texas. This was on January 1, 1859. In 1874, the family moved from Jefferson to Pittsburg, Texas. They had eleven children and two were married. WR had to have a leg amputated on the kitchen table due to a plowing accident but he lived to the age of 81." (A synopsis of a narrative by Watts Dewitt Barnes in 1954.) Warren and Elizabeth had ten children and they reared another son, William, the child of Warren's first marriage to Francis Barnes. Warren and Elizabeth with their children were listed on the 1860 and 1870 Census for Marion County, Texas. Correspondence between Warren and Elizabeth during the Civil War describe the difficulties of a young wife and mother faced with the responsibilities of running a farm and caring for a family while the husband was away at war. When the Civil War began, she had six small children all under the age of 12. Likewise, Warren's description of life as a soldier showed the lonliness, fear, and hardship that men in the Confederate Army endured. Warren Riley Barnes was a cousin to Moses Trimble Barnes who married Sarah Anderson Talbot, Elizabeth Hale Talbot's older sister. Warren Barnes died in 1909 in Pittsburg, Wood County, Texas. Elizabeth lived until 1924, dying at the age of 96. She was buried beside her husband. Clickhere to view a picture of Warren and Elizabeth.
Harriett Crawford Talbot, probably a namesake of Green Berry Talbot's sister who married William Hinton Crawford, never married. She was a faithful attendant to her mother and father and no doubt her contributions to the family made it possible to brave the challenges that the family faced following the ravages of the Civil War. She lies in an unmarked grave in Calhoun County, Arkansas, probably at Ricks Cemetery near Harrell.
In 1856, Emmily Greer Talbot married Miles Sikes, her senior by more than 14 years. Sikes was an overseer which probably meant that he was a slave master at a plantation. Emmily and Miles had two children, Green Talbot Sikes and John Preston Sikes. Emily died in 1864 from an undisclosed illness and Sikes died a few months later from an illness contacted while a Confederate soldier. Their two orphaned children, Green Talbot Sikes and John Preston Sikes, ages six and four, respectively, became the responsibility of Green Berry and Mary. Green Berry was 73 years of age when the Sikes children came to live with him.
Caroline America Talbot married Rema Washington Tims in 1850. She was 15 and he was 25. They were the parents of three children. Rema Washington Tims died about 1865 from wounds suffered at the Battle of Franklin near Nashville, Tennessee. Caroline with her three children, none over the age of twelve, returned to live with her father and did not remarry. Later, she would accompany Green Berry and Mary to Arkansas in 1871. She died in 1912 and was buried at DeQueen, Arkansas.
Matthew Henry Talbot married Sarah F. Thomas in 1860 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. There was a marriage bond made in 1860 that may have been his although the record does not show that the marriage was solemnized. He died at Camp Chase, Ohio in 1862, a Federal prisoner of War. Matthew and Sarah probably had no children.
In the 1820 Census for Morgan County, GA, the first three children. James A., Mary G. and William Bailey appear to be properly accounted for but there were two other males listed in Green Berry Talbot's household who are unknown, perhaps relatives of his or Mary Tate Anthony. By the 1840 Census, Mary Grant Talbot had married Larkin Selman and moved away but all the other children appear to be counted. Sometime after 1845, Green Berry Talbot moved to Tallapoosa County, AL and there he was listed on the 1850 Census. Lucy (24), Elizabeth (20), Harriett (18), Emily (18), Matthew (13), and Rema Tims and his new bride, Caroline America Talbot were listed in his household as of 12/5/1850. There was no mention of Ann Tate Talbot but, of course, she could have married or died. Elizabeth was soon to leave the nest with her marriage to Warren Riley Barnes on December 22, 1850.
By 1860, the household had only Green, Mary, and Harriett. Green, now 69 years of age, and Mary, 61, could look back over many years of adventure and sharing in the rearing of a large family with many grandchildren although several children and grandchildren were far away in Mississippi and Arkansas, and Elizabeth had recently departed to live in Texas. They could not possibly foresee the terrible toll that the next few years would exact but the way they dealt with it is a story that bears repeating.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, multiple tragedies fell on the family. Matthew Henry's death in 1862 was the forerunner of other causalities that followed in quick succession. The husbands of Sarah Anderson Talbot, Emmily Greer Talbot, and Caroline America Talbot were killed in the Civil War or died soon afterward from injuries sustained in battle. Emmily died in 1864, leaving two small children. Green Talbot and Mary took all these daughters and their fatherless children into their home. Harriet never married and stayed at home with her parents. With the end of the Civil War, Green Talbot had been savaged economically and personally but he had direct responsibility for his widowed daughters and their small children. When the 1870 Census was taken, Green, Mary, and Harriet were living in Dadeville, Alabama, Beat # 7 dwelling 10. Next door, in dwelling 11, was Sarah Barnes and her four children and in dwelling 12, Caroline was living with her three children and the two children from Emily's marriage to Miles Sikes. Astonishingly, at the age of 79, Green Talbot was responsible for himself and 13 others ranging in age from 11 to 45. The nine children were all 18 or younger. Land records revealed that Talbot struggled to provide for his extended family and the estate that had once been significant had dwindled.
Sometime in 1871, Green Berry Talbot moved to Jackson Township, Calhoun County, Arkansas. His son, Green Berry (II), along with his daughters Mary and Martha, had moved to Calhoun County, Arkansas in 1846, some 25 years before. Green Berry (II) had acquired a section of land for him near Harrell, Arkansas. All of the daughters and grandchildren mentioned above accompanied him. In a letter written to his daughter, Elizabeth Hale Talbot Barnes in 1872, he discloses his reasons for coming to Arkansas after having lived so long in Alabama. A transcription of that letter and a copy of the hand written original can be viewed at this web site by clicking here. He continued to provide for them until his death from cancer just two days after Christmas in 1875 at the age of 84. Mary Tate Anthony Talbot lived 10 years after her husband's death. She was loved, respected and cared for by the children and grandchildren for whom she had given so much. Green Berry and Mary Tate Anthony Talbot were buried in the Ricks Cemetery at Harrell. In their lifetime, Green and Mary had lived in Wilkes, Morgan, perhaps Walton, and Meriwhether Counties in Georgia, Chambers and Tallapoosa Counties in Alabama, and in Calhoun County, Arkansas. Their journeys had taken them more than 1000 miles from their birthplace and all of that distance was covered on foot, wagon, or horseback. Their remarkable life, filled with adventure, opportunity, hardship, devoted children and grandchildren captures many of the extraordinary qualities of the Talbot family..
Green Berry Talbot was a
great man. He was an accomplished soldier and successful farmer.
But his principal claim to greatness lies in the love, respect, and devotion
of his children and grandchildren. His daughters named their children
in his honor and when they faced their darkest hours, it was to him that
they turned for help. Nothing more complimentary can be said about
a man's life.
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