John Lumpkin of Pittsylvania d. 1822 was son of Joseph Lumpkin
I wanted to share with Pittsylvania (and K&Q/Georgia) Lumpkin descendants some original research that is compelling and contradicts common opinions (often without evidence) about the identities of the Lumpkins contained within. I challenge other Lumpkin researchers who have other opinions to produce their evidence and get to the truth.
The purpose of this brief analysis is to identify and dissect the several John Lumpkins from the Pittsylvania taxables 1782-1812.
The tithable lists from which my research is taken, are CD-ROM’s from the originals, not transcribed lists. I have viewed each year many times to verify accuracy and have checked page numbers from the originals to document other reasons for absent Lumpkins.
In 1783, specifically July 30th, Joseph Lumpkins purchases his first property in Pittsylvania, a 140 acres tract purchased from Nathan Jones on the south side of the Dan River bounded by Samuel Jones line along Jackson’s Creek and also bounded by brother Robert Lumpkin and nephew George Lumpkin (Pittsylvania DB 7: 1420. The same day, George Lumpkin had purchased 60 acres from jones also. The resales of these properties specifically describe George Lumpkin as George Junr. Jackson’s Creek (now “Jackson’s Branch”) runs through the southeastern part of Danville.
So, in 1783, we have all three Lumpkins, Robert and Joseph brothers, and nephew George living adjacent to one another along Jackson Creek on the south side of the Dan river in present day Danville, VA.
According to the William Lumpkin Bible, John Lumpkin, the son of Joseph Lumpkin, was born March 7, 1766. His father’s presence in Pittsylvania can be confirmed by his first presence in them in 1783 with one tithe.
Assuming the family Bible was correct, Joseph’s son John, his oldest, should have been 17 years old in the 1783 Pittsylvania tithables and included on his father’s list. He was not, as Joseph paid only one tithable for the years 1783-86. There is no explanation for this. Perhaps John, as was common at the time, was “famed out” as a teen farm worker or overseer in the community, and that planter paid his tax. Pittsylvania tithables then unlike other counties, did not name all of the tithables by name on the lists.
In 1787, Joseph Cook paid two tithables, again it is unclear who was added. Pittman Lumpkin was born in 1768 based on the family Bible, and should been added in 1785, as his birthday was past June 9th, the standard date to have assessed the yearly tithables, and again, he was not.
In 1788, Joseph paid three tithables, and this may reflect the return of his two oldest sons into his household, again perhaps they had their taxes paid by respective neighboring planters.
In 1789, Joseph paid two tithables, losing one, and in the same year, the first appearance of John Lumpkin on the tithable list, with one tithe. Importantly, George Lumpkin Sr, the nephew of Joseph who had been in the tithables since long before Joseph arrived, paid two tithables in 1788 and three in 1789, the same year that Joseph “lost” one tithe.
These data suggest that as Joseph Lumpkin had a tithable leave his household, John Lumpkin became an independent tithable, giving John an age in 1789 as at least 21. John was actually 23, but if he had been living in his father’s household, he may have had his father bear the tax. Moreover, the fact that George Sr actually gained a tithable in the same year is strong evidence that the new appearance of john Lumpkin did not come from George’s household.
In a tabular form, here is how it looks:
1785
George {Sr}-1
Robert-1
Joseph-1
1786
George {Sr}-1
Robert-1
Joseph-1
1787
George {Sr}-1
Robert-1
Joseph-2
1788
George {Sr}-2
Robert-3
Joseph-3
1789
George {Sr}-3
Robert-3
Joseph-2
John-1
So we see Joseph losing a tithe, as John becomes tithable. If John had come from George’s household, we should have seen George lose a tithe, certainly not gain one.
In 1789 and 1790, Joseph Lumpkin sold his property to William Thomas (DB 8: 533) and Thomas Fearn (DB 9: 264) respectively and disappears from the tithables after 1790. So does John Lumpkin, his apparent son. I have not researched Joseph beyond this, but I am aware he moves eventually to Oglethorpe Co, GA where he died in that county in 1806.
The fact that we lost both Joseph and John in the same year in the tithables is revealing, and suggests a relationship.
In 1793, John again appears in the Pittsylvania tithables. That same year, George Sr “loses a tithable’ between 1792 and 1793, as his son George Jr appears. George Sr still pays 2 tithables, as another son is between 16-21 living with him....this would be George’s son John.
In 1794, we have the appearance of three separate John Lumpkins:
John-1
John Jr-1
John-1 “Wilson’s quarter”
Now, the presence of John Jr suggests and older John in the same area. That older John would certainly be the John who appeared earlier in the tithables, and we will call him John Sr. Thus, one of the other 2 Johns must represent John Sr, who first appeared in 1789.
The phrase “Wilson’s quarter” can only reference Col. John Wilson of Dan’s Hill who had 32 slaves in and was likely an overseer for him. His single appearance in the tithables as we shall see make him an unlikely candidate to be John Lumpkin Sr that has already been referenced. I do not know the identity of this man. He may have been the John Lumpkin who married Sarah Lumpkins in Pittsylvania in 1792.
John Jr can only refer to the son of George, as we shall see next.
In 1795, we have the following from the tithables:
George {Sr} & George Jr-3 (living in same household)
John, “son of Geo”
John“son of Jo.”
“Jo.”, of course, is the standard abbreviation for Joseph. We now have the identity of John, Sr...he is the son of Joseph Lumpkin. John, so of George, was just added the previous year.
In 1796, we have the following tithables:
George & sons-4
“Jno, son of Geo”
“Jno, son of Jo”
Harrison (Lumpkin)-1
So, in this year, the tithe taker clearly delineates the John abbreviation from the Joseph abbreviation. There can be no doubt that Jo=Joseph.
In the past, several Lumpkin researchers, the late Carol McCraw in particular, had read these tithables as “John, son of John” and this info was disseminated as fact. However, this is incorrect. The first John that appears in the tithables is in fact “John, son of Jo{seph}.
The reasons that this John cannot be the son of George have already, in this paper, been mentioned.
In 1795, John Lumpkin, son of Joseph Lumpkin, was married to Betsy Dix, the daughter of Larkin and Gency Dix, and who’s family operated a ferry across the Dan River just a short distance from the Jackson Creek community where the Lumpkins lived.
The tithables show the presence of John Lumpkin Sr and John Lumpkin Jr consistently every year through 1812, the end of my present access to those documents. I hope to expand this list in future years in future trips to Pittsylvania Courthouse.
George Lumpkin Jr also remains on the tithables along with his father until 1806, when he is absent, and never to return. Whether George Lumpkin Jr “son of George” died or moved is unclear to me. He is very likely the George Lumpkin who married Nancy Smith in 1800 in Pittsylvania. George Lumpkin Sr ceases to be called George Lumpkin, Sr shortly after this date, indicating the absence of a competing George Lumpkin name.
Some researchers have assumed Nancy Smith married George Lumpkin, the son of Robert Lumpkin, but the tithables do not support that theory. Robert Lumpkin left the tithables and thus Pittsylvania County after 1792.
The only two George Lumpkins in the Pittsylvania tithables from 1782-1812 is the father/son pairing, so well documented in the tithables. If George Lumpkin, son of Robert, was an adult in the year 1800, where is his land? Where is he on the tax lists? Who paid his tax? He would be more likely to have moved to GA with his father after 1792, when his father left.
In 1805, a Nancy Lumpkin, widow, applied in the GA lottery of that year. It was not required that an applicant live in the state as a prerequisite to apply. It is quite possible that George Lumpkin, Jr, son of George Lumpkin Sr, died in 1805, became absent from all tax lists after that year, and his widow applied to the GA lottery and may well have moved there. This is an area that I have not researched.
In 1806 and again in 1807, we have another revealing piece of evidence that John Lumpkin Sr is thesame John Lumpkin that made will and died in 1822. In those two years, John Lumpkin Sr paid two tithables, one for himself and another for his brother in law, Thomas Dix, who was the executor of his 1822 estate. There can be no doubt that “John Lumpkins Sr” in the tithables is the John Lumpkins of 1822.
In the last tithable for which I have had access, we have four Lumpkin tithes in the county: George Sr, John Sr, John Jr and Peyton, who is George’s son (it is not my focus to evaluate Peyton, but the tithable lists show Peyton as part of George Sr.s family).
In 1815, documented landowners in Pittsylvania show four Lumpkins:
John Lumpkin, Sr-Cane Creek, 20 miles SE of Courthouse
Moore Lumpkin-Staunton R.-25 miles NE of Courthouse (Moore is a cousin of George Sr)
Peyton Lumpkin-Sandy River, 20 miles SW of Courthouse
George Lumpkin-Cane Creek, 21 miles SE of Courthouse.
There is no second John Lumpkin landowner in 1815. However, that does not rule out an adult John Lumpkin nearby who does not own land. Additionally, the term “Sr” implies the presence of another John Lumpkin. However, it would be unlikely that an adult John Lumpkin so prevalent in the tithables would not own land.
In the 1820 Pittsylvania census, only one John Lumpkin is present, and it can only be the same John Lumpkin that made will and died in 1822 two years after the census. It is likely, with such a handsome estate, that this John Lumpkin was the same John who had property on Cane Creek in 1815 next to uncle George Sr.
The implication of these last two documents(and much future work is planned) is that George’s son John Lumpkin Jr may have moved or died between 1812-1815.
John Lumpkin wrote his undated will and it was proved on August 19, 1822 in Pittsylvania County, witnessed, among others, by his brother in law, Larkin Dix, and his executor, Thomas Dix, another brother in law. Thus, Lumpkin died in late July or early August, 1822. His estate was appraised Oct 31, 1822 and showed a man who was well off.
It is not the intent of this discussion to present these documents, only to separate the two John Lumpkins in Pittsylvania and identify them based on existing documents. I have digitalized his will and estate documents for those interested.
In summary: I have presented credible circumstantial evidence for all to see that the John Lumpkin born (by Bible) in 1766 died in Pittsylvania in 1822 at age 56, leaving a wife and family, was the son of Joseph Lumpkin of K&Q county, Pittsylvania, and ultimately Oglethorpe Co, GA. In the tithables, he is referred to consistently as John Lumpkin, Sr.
The second John Lumpkin, a bit younger, was likely born in 1773, based on his appearance in 1794 as an independent tithable. His father was George Lumpkin (Jr pre-1784 and Sr after the appearance of his son in the 1794 tithables).
George Lumpkin (1747-aft 1830) had a number of wives, including an unknown before 1782, Ann Rutledge, and late in life, at age 68, appears to have married Nancy Gillaspie in Caswell Co and they settled back in Pittsylvania, where as an old man raised a second family.
Although I have done no research here, the third John lumpkin mentioned once in 1794 may have been married to Sarah Lumpkins, a likely cousin, and could have been the son of Harrison or Robert Lumpkins.
Feel free to copy and paste this data, and I would appreciate appropriate citations of this work. Also feel free to email for other sources
Thomas W. Goggin, M.D.
[email protected]
[email protected]
descendant of Nathaniel Lumpkin of Pittsylvania
More Replies:
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Re: John Lumpkin of Pittsylvania d. 1822 was son of Joseph Lumpkin
Thomas Goggin 10/28/11
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Re: John Lumpkin of Pittsylvania d. 1822 was son of Joseph Lumpkin
Thomas Goggin 10/27/11