William Talbot was born about 1760-61 in Bedford County,  Virginia.  He was the fifth child and fourth son of Matthew (II) and Mary Hale Talbot.   Although little is known about his early years, it is quite clear that his family was among the leadership in the Virginia Wilderness.  His grandfather, Matthew (I),  had been an organizing founder of Bedford County and his uncle, John, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1760 to 1776 and a member of the Virginia Assembly from 1776 to 1783.  The family was devoutly Anglican and Matthew (I) served the parish in a wide variety of offices.  His uncles, Charles and James, were community leaders and often were elected or appointed to important positions in the County.   His father, Matthew (II) was a militia captain and an acknowledged leader of the pioneers who struggled to create a civilized community in the outback.  William's father was engaged in the stock raising business and while his grand father had died a few years before William's birth, the legacy left to his father was substantial by the standards of 1760.  His early years were quite likely much the same as other children on the frontier.  Schooling was limited and life was often difficult as well as dangerous.  Skirmishes with the Indians were frequent and often lethal.

He was a teenager when the family moved from Virginia to the Watauga area of what is now eastern Tennessee. Undoubtedly, he was engaged in the work of his father and must have kept busy with duties at the gristmill and stock tending. He served in the American Revolution as did his older brothers and, although the limited data available to describe his or their service makes research sometimes frustrating, enough is extant to prove their service.  The National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution has published works in which William's descendants have made reference to his Revolutionary War service.  He was in the Battle of Kings Mountain and his father had helped to supply provisions to Sevier's men before they set out to overtake Ferguson and the Tories.  The years in Watauga must have been interesting as well as difficult.  The speculative questions about his life in Watauga are endless: what did he actually do to make a living, why was he not married, was he a convert to the new faith when his father and mother were, and the list goes on.

Although no written record has been found to determine why the family moved to Wilkes County, Georgia, it appears certain that William accompanied his father in the relocation, soon after 1785 but before 1788.  Current research shows rather clearly that the traveling party consisted of William, his father, Matthew (II), and William's two younger brothers, Edmund and Clayton, and perhaps his older brother, Matthew (III).  William's uncle, John Williston Talbot, had moved to Wilkes County in 1783 and by the time William and his father arrived, John had established himself as a successful Georgia planter and a member of the Georgia political establishment.   William's father had not only converted to the Baptist faith but had also become a minister.  Indeed, he was a founder of the Sinking Creek Baptist Church in Tennessee and served as its first pastor.   While that fact alone sheds little or no light on the reasons for moving to Georgia, it does emphasize further the question of why they moved.  William did not follow in the ministry as his father but the Baptist roots would bear fruit because many of his descendants take up the call of the Baptist ministry.

He was 28 years of age when he married Mary Bailey probably in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1789.  She was 25.   No record has been found to document the marriage but their first child was born in 1791 in Wilkes County and the conclusion of an approximate date for their marriage seems reasonable.  Georgia did not require the recording of marriages until 1806 and, even after the law was enacted, there were many couples who never made it to the County Court House to  record their marriage.

From the available land records, it is clear that William was a buyer and seller of land in Wilkes County as early as 1791.  Moreover, the pattern of buying and selling continued at least through 1801.  Unfortunately, the identity of the Matthew Talbot, who was on the other side of many of these land transactions, cannot be determined with certainty.  The identity can be narrowed to the three known Matthews who were probably living in Wilkes County at the time.  The first possible Matthew was William's father, Matthew (II) Talbot, the second, Matthew (III), William's older brother, and the third, Matthew, William's cousin,  the son of John Williston Talbot.  That Matthew would later become Governor of Georgia for a brief period.  Some evidence suggests that Matthew (III) might not have been living in Georgia after 1792.  Current research shows that he married Jane Quarles in Campbell County, Virginia in 1792 and that their six children were born in Davidson County, Tennessee.  The Matthew who was a seller in 1801 would have been either William's father or his cousin.
 
 

Land Transactions in Wilkes County, Georgia involving William Talbot

Grantee Last Name	Grantee First Name	Grantor Last Name	Grantor First Name	Acreage	Type of Instrument	Location	Month	Day	Year	Book	Page
Talbot	William	Bankston	Dave	278.5	POA		1	10	1791	MM	248
Talbot	William	Talbot	Matthew	228	POA	Chicksaw	11	3	1791	MM	250
Talbot	Matthew	Talbot	William	228	POA		11	13	1791	MM	250
Talbot	William	Gaddy	James	570	Deed	Fishing Creek	5	1	1798	RR	210
Talbot	William	Talbot	Matthew	250	Deed	Soap Creek	7	27	1801	SS	145

POA= Power of Attorney
Sales are bold and italicized.

When William and Mary actually moved from Wilkes County to Morgan County must have been in late 1806 or early 1807.  Here the record grows but leaves some questions unanswered.  William's son, Hale, reported that he was born in Clarke County in 1807 and Harriett's descendants assert that she was born in Walton.  Both counties adjoin Morgan and William's land was very near the lines for both counties.  Because the county boundaries were often not well known or accepted, the actual location of a birth could be difficult to fix.  Unfortunately, the 1790, 1800, and 1810 Census records for Georgia have been lost.  As a result, actual migrations of families are difficult to trace except through land records and even those are not without error.  Moreover, merely owning land in a county did not necessarily mean that the individual lived there.  Nevertheless, William was on the Tax Lists for Morgan County each year beginning in 1808.  William's and Mary's  family had grown to perhaps nine children before they arrived in Morgan in 1807.  Green Berry Talbot, the first born, reported in a letter to his daughter in 1872 that he had been born in Wilkes but the record other than that cited above, is silent concerning the birth place of the other children.  If the move to Morgan came in 1807, then it is likely that the first nine were born in Wilkes.  If it came earlier, the number of children born in Wilkes would be fewer and births would have taken place in other counties.  Three daughters would be born to them after their arrival in Morgan and by 1813 the family was complete at twelve, six sons and six daughters.  Eleven of their twelve children survived to adulthood, Bailey being the only child to die either as an infant or youth.

Morgan County was formed from Baldwin County by Act of the Georgia Legislature December 10, 1807 but settlement was occurring before the county was formed..  The table below discloses the Morgan County land transactions of William and some of his sons.  Although William's father, Matthew (II), was living in Morgan County when he died in 1812, all of the land transaction involving a "Matthew" occurred after his death.  Accordingly, it appears that the "Matthew" in these transactions would be William's son, Matthew, although the possibility exits that it could be the "Matthew" from Wilkes County.  If the Matthew in question was his son, he would have hardly reached legal age.  It is noteworthy that the first transaction occurred before the County was actually created and the second only a few months later.

In 1807, William built the house shown below.  It most surely did not look then as it does now but the central structure remains quite similar to the original.  Every one of William's children lived in this house and three, perhaps four, were born here.  The architectural style is similar to the antebellum plantation house throughout the South.  After Mary Bailey's death, William gave the house to his oldest daughter, Lucy, who had married Thomas Swift.  All the Swift children lived in this house and Amanda was probably born here.  The Swift's lived here for almost 30 years.  A succession of owners followed until 1969 when Joan and Larry Taylor bought the house and lands.  Significant restoration has followed and now it stands once again as a silent testimonial to the merits of hard work and attention to preservation of things important.
 

Talbot - Swift - Taylor House 1090 Hardeman Mil Road Madison, Georgia Current owners:  Joan and Larry Taylor

By 1810, William had acquired more than 800 acres in Morgan County, all  in the 20th District with the parcels adjoining.  The first of his children to leave the nest to begin a family of her own was Lucy, the oldest daughter,  who married Thomas Swift in 1810. One year later, Lucy presented William and Mary with their first grandchild, a grandson, William, and two years later Lucy gave birth to Eleanor.   Green and Matthew, aged 24 and 20, respectively,   began to buy and sell land by 1815.  Green had married Mary Grant Hughes in 1812 but she died less than a year later.  Green had remarried and Matthew had married by 1815 and Green's first child, James Anthony, had been born.  They were undoubtedly engaged in the same farming interests as their father.   And so for a period of almost  20 years, William and his sons pursued their farming and other business interests in the area of Sandy Creek in Morgan County.  Green was elected Captain of the Militia for the 400th District in 1817 and held the rank and office until 1822.  The 1820 Census listed 89 Heads of Household in Capt. Tolbert's District.

The 1820 Census listed William and Mary in Morgan County with seven of their eleven living children still at home.  Green, Lucy, Matthew, and Mary Hale had married and the three older ones had families of their own.  Green's and Lucy's Census records show their households but the writer has been unable to locate the records for Matthew and Mary Hale in 1820.  William, James, and Hale, ages 16, 15, and 13, respectively, were shown on the Census under the category,  Free White Males 10-16.  The Census groupings for the Free White Females showed 2 under the age of ten, probably Martha and Emily.   One between the ages of 10 and 16, probably Elizabeth and one between the ages of 16 and 26, probably Harriett.  Harriett would soon leave the household to marry William Hinton Crawford.   William Talbot was 59 and Mary Bailey Talbot was 56.  Living next door to William and Mary was John Malcom, a neighbor with whom they had traded land in prior years and John Malcom bought the house and lands from the Swift heirs in 1860.  These must have been happy years, their children were establishing families of their own and they could enjoy the grandchildren and their own prosperity.  Rebecca Felton wrote later that her grandfather, Thomas Swift, was a Deacon at the Sandy Creek Baptist Church.  It is quite likely that all of the Talbot clan attended that Church and it could have been the site where Green was made a Deacon for we shall see in his story that he served as the Deacon when the County Line Baptist Church was formed in Chambers County, Alabama in 1835.

With Mary's death in 1825, the land and slave transactions reveal an interesting pattern.  It appears that William began to dispose of his estate by transfers to his sons and to Thomas Swift who was his son-in-law, the husband of his oldest daughter, Lucy.  Rebecca Latimer Felton, the granddaughter of Lucy Talbot and Thomas Swift, wrote in 1919 that the house where her grandmother lived had been given to Lucy by William Talbot.  Click here to read the Felton account of her youth in Georgia and her description of visits to her grandmother Lucy's home.  Thomas Swift was a substantial land owner himself and the Morgan County records show numerous entries for him either as buyer or seller of land.  Felton reported that he had a plantation, a grain mill,  and a sawmill.  Thomas and Lucy were substantial members of the Morgan County community and probably remained in the same place until their deaths.  The 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 Census list them as residents of the County.

Before 1830 and probably between 1826 and 1828, Green Talbot relocated his family to Meriwhether County, Georgia.  The Green Talbot story is an epoch itself and the reader is encouraged to Click here to read the story of  Green Talbot's life.   About the same time, Matthew, William, Jr., Hale, and James Talbot all moved to Pike County, Alabama.  Camille Head Corte, a descendant of Hale Talbot, has written extensively about the Talbot brothers in Pike County.  The reader may click here to see her account of the four Talbot brothers who moved to Alabama.  Questions abound regarding the reasons why the Talbot male children might have left the Morgan County area so soon after their mother's death, leaving as they did, their father alone at age 66-67.  While the answers  surely lie in the prospects for better land with greater opportunity, the decision to go must have been wrenching.   Green made at least two trips to settle his father's estate in 1831 but whether he, or any of his brothers then in Alabama,  had returned for  visits before his father's death is unknown.  The presence of the Talbot women, all of whom were then married, living nearby with grandchildren for William to enjoy, surely eased the pain of the separations.
 
 

Morgan County Land Records Involving William Talbot and his sons

Instrument	Grantee Last Name	Grantee FirstName	Grantor Last Name	Grantor FirstName	Book	Page	Inst Type	Month	Day	Year	Property Description
9-00014	Tolbert	William	Taylor	Richard	B	21	Deed	3	6	1807	202.5 Acres, 20th Dist.  Land Lot 260
8-00087	Talbot	William	Denmark Denmark	Stephen Elizabeth	A	114	Deed	6	10	1808	202.5 Acres, 20th Dist.  Land Lot 261
8-00086	Talbot	William	Benton Benton Benton	Wain Mary Abel	A	112	Deed	9	17	1808	133.5 Acres, 20th Dist Land Lot 256
9-00011	Tolbert	William	Bailon	Matthew	B	17	Deed	9	10	1809	67.5 Acres, 20th Dist Land Lot 256
9-00194	Tabot	William	Oliver	William	D	341	Deed	5	2	1810	202.5 Acres, 20th Dist. Land Lot 287
9-00190	Waddle	John	Tolbert	William	B	335	Deed	11	13	1810	202.5 Acres,  Land Lot 387 By Sugar Creek
11-00274	Malcom,Sr.	James	Talbot	William	D	15	Deed	1	11	1813	89 Acres, Dist. UNK Land Lot 261 By Sandy Creek
8-00066	Malcom	John	Talbot	William	F	312	Deed	8	8	1815	133.5 Acres, 20th Dist. Land Lot 256
15-00100	Talbot	Matthew	Evans	Josiah	F	129	Deed	12	1	1815	67.5 Acres, 20th Dist Land Lot 144 North Side of Lot
15-00325	Talbot	Green B.	Talbot	Matthew	E	390	Deed	10	23	1816	67.5 Acres, 20th Dist. Land Lot 144 North Side of Lot
16-00190	Talbat	Greene	Stringer	Daniel	F	191	Deed	11	7	1817	202.5 Acres, 20th Dist. Land Lot 159
16-00244	Talbot	Matthew	Atkins	Willis	F	240	Deed	12	1	1817	150 Acres, Dist and Land Lot Unknown, By lots 197 234 235
24-00019	Allison	John	Talbot	Matthew	H	77	Deed	12	28	1819	150 Acres, 5th Dist. Land Lot 234 By Jack's Creek
18-00304	Talbot	William	Malcom	David	G	299	Deed	5	29	1820	200 Acres, 20th Dist. LL UNk By L 283 n. Side Little Sandy Creek
24-00401	Talbot	Greene	Talbot	William	H	247	Deed	10	9	1826	665.5 Acres, 20th Dist. Land Lots 261 256 260 283 259 By  Sandy Creek
24-00401	Swift Talbot	Thomas Greene	Talbot	William	H	247	Deed	10	9	1826	665.5 Acres, 20th Dist. Land Lot 261 256 283 259 By Sandy Creek
24-00283	Bohannon	Buddy	Talbot	Greene	H	181	Deed	11	6	1826	65 Acres, 20th Dist, Land Lot 143
24-00479	Betts	Elisha	Talbots	William	H	291	Deed	10	9	1827	Sold 12 Slaves 2,259.00
22-00176	Swift	Thomas	Talbot	William	I	62	Deed	4	7	1829	666.5 Acres, Dist and LL UNK By lots 261 255 256 283 282 281

 Sales are bold and italicized.
(The Talbot name has been spelled exactly as it appeared in the record books.)

One of the ironies of the William Talbot story lies in the Talbot legacy or,  more accurately,  the lack of it in Morgan County.  William and his family were among the early settlers in the County and he and his sons established strong ties to the area and made significant contributions to the social, political and religious life of the western part of the Morgan County.   That strong Talbot presence lasted for almost a quarter of a century.  But, astonishingly, by the time of the 1830 Federal Census, there was not a single Talbot listed in the entire County.  Green had moved to Meriwether County, Georgia, Matthew, William, Jr., James, and Hale had moved to Pike County, Alabama, and William had remarried and moved to Walton County, Georgia.  And so, by 1830, the William Talbot lineage in Georgia was represented entirely by the daughters of William and their children.

William Talbot sold or transferred land to William Nunnally in Walton County as early as 1824,  four years after the marriage of William Nunnally and Mary Hale Talbot.  Of even greater interest is the land sale from William to his son in 1828.  If William, Jr. actually moved from the Morgan/Walton area in 1828 to Pike County, AL,  why would William be selling land to him in 1828.  Perhaps he was still transferring his assets to his children after the death of Mary Bailey in 1825.

It appears certain that William was generous with his children.  The Census records for Pike County, Alabama reveal that the four Talbot brothers who moved there in 1828 did not come to the County penniless.  Indeed, the records show a level of economic success for men so young that could hardly have been achieved without some assistance.  Other records show that they were prominent landowners with numerous slaves soon after their arrival.  While no record has been found to show that William actually made property transfers to them , a reasonable assumption would be that he was the donor.
 

Walton County, Georgia involving William Talbot

Grantee Last Name	Grantee FirstName	Grantor Last Name	Grantor FirstName	Acreage	Type	Location	MO	DY	YR	Book	Page
Talbot	William	Claborn	M. Jackson				11	16	1821	C-D	59
Nunnaly	William	Talbot	William				4	7	1824	E	304
Talbot	William	Meton	Sheriff				5	3	1825	F	141
Talbot, Jr	William	Talbot	William				2	18	1828	F	299

Sales are bold and italicized.

William lived in Morgan County for a few years after Mary's death but he moved to Walton County, probably before 1830.  Why he decided to relocate remains uncertain.  His estate was probated in Walton County in 1831 and he may have lived in Walton County for a longer period.  In his will, he mentions his wife, Elizabeth, and it appears that she was the  Elizabeth Fullalove whom he had married in Clarke County June 12, 1830.  He signed his will on October 6, 1830, just four months after the marriage.   A copy of his will can be seen by clicking here.  He named Green Talbot and William B. Nunnally, Executors. William B. Nunnally was his son-in-law, the husband of William's daughter, Mary Hale Talbot.  The  Nunnally's lived in Walton County and the account of their family is a distinguished one.

The 1830 Census for Walton County listed a William Tolbert, no doubt the William Talbot who is the subject of this piece.  But the composition of the household is noteworthy.  Under the category of Free White Males, there was one whose age was 5 to 10, two whose ages were 10 to 15, one whose age was 15 to 20,  one whose age was 20 to 30, and one whose age was between 60 and 70, presumably William, himself.  .  Under the category of Free White Females, there was one whose age was between 10 and 15, one whose age was between 15 and 20, and one whose age was between 40 and 50, presumably William's wife, Elizabeth.  It is, of course,  possible that the female, age 15-20,  was William's daughter, Emily,  but an equally plausible and more likely explanation is that all the children were Elizabeth's children from her first marriage.  Irrespective of that, at age 69 or 70, William was again faced with the rearing of young children.  The Census also revealed that there were 12 slaves in the household and that the total household contained  21 people.  Since William had sold 12 slaves earlier as described in the table above, it may be that these slaves  were the property of his new wife.  But  they could very well have been his property not yet devised to his children.  Whatever the ownership, a household consisting of 21 persons could not be considered trivial.

William died in Walton County, Georgia before April 1831.  He was 70. His burial site is unknown.  Burial practices were different then and most burials occurred on the property of the deceased.  In Green's accounting of the estate, he notes a charge for a casket and winding sheet but no indication of the place of interment.   In William's lifetime, he had witnessed and participated in some of the most important decisions affecting  the young republic.  He had accompanied his parents from the Talbot ancestral home in Virginia to the new lands in Tennessee, he had been a soldier in the American Revolution, he had moved with his father to Georgia when he was an adult and soon after his arrival he had married Mary Bailey.  William Talbot and Mary Bailey, so much a part of the land and culture, would produce twelve children, eleven surviving to adulthood,  whose frontier spirit would make a profound difference in shaping the future of the country.  Although this page is dedicated to William and Mary, it is, in a small way, a recognition of that countless army of 19th century Americans whose stories have never been written and whose descendants still struggle to find them.
 

Descendants of William Talbot

. 2 [2] James Talbot, Sr. b: 10 Dec 1805 in Morgan Co., GA d: 18 Sep 1882 in Robertson Co.,TX
..... +Eliza Moore m: 27 Feb 1828 in Montgomery Co.,AL d: Bef. 1832 in Pike Co.,AL, Orion
. *2nd Wife of [2] James Talbot, Sr.:
..... +Hannah Herring b: 14 Feb 1804 in SC m: 17 Apr 1832 in Pike Co.,AL d: 01 Jan 1855 in Robertson Co.,TX
. *3rd Wife of [2] James Talbot, Sr.:
..... +Mary Jane Rucker b: 18 Apr 1822 in Virginia m: Aft. 1855 in Robertson Co.,TX d: 28 Feb 1889 in Prob Robertson Co.,TX

William Talbot and Mary Bailey were born before the American Revolution and they participated in the struggle for independence.  The children of William and Mary Bailey Talbot lived through some of the most interesting times in the history of the United States.  While life was no doubt difficult and demanding, during the first half of their lives, they certainly enjoyed a measure of economic success that was above average.  Although planters and slave owners, these families were not the "Gone With the Wind" genre or the romanticized Hollywood portrayal of the ante bellum South.  Rather they were hard working, deeply religious people with a pretty clear notion about who they were, what they wanted, and what they hoped and believed.   Although the great Civil War in 1861-1865 exacted a personal and financial toll from which many of these families would not recover, their spirit and determination remain alive today in their descendants..

One of the many interesting facts about this family is the different pattern of migration.  All of the males, with the exception of Bailey who had presumably died as an infant or youth,  left Georgia and headed west to Alabama and then further west to Arkansas and Texas.   Albeit,  Green's first stop was in Meriwether County,  Georgia, he eventually moved to Alabama and in his 80th year moved further west to Arkansas.   Lucy, Harriett, and Mary Hale all married in Georgia, reared their families there,  and died within a few miles of their birth place.  Elizabeth moved to Texas and died there in 1836.  Martha moved to Alabama and was buried there.    Emily's history is yet to be written.  

The following links contain much more information about the children of William Talbot and Mary Bailey.  In many instances, comprehensive biographical essays are linked to describe the life and times of these fabulous people.  In a few, the data available to this point are insufficient to permit a compete story.