Reading through the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal a few years ago, I discovered a series of articles about letters written to the Clerks of Court of various counties. One of those articles mentioned a letter to the Craven County Clerk of Court asking about information on Craven County Revolutionary War Soldiers. The abstractor at the time made note that not all information in the letter could be read. I asked the NC State Archives to send me a copy of the letter and indeed, the Clerk’s hastily written notes on the letter is difficult to read.
Most of what is legible is transcribed below.
Richmond, Va., March 17, 1856
Clerk of Craven County, N.C.
Dear Sir:
Will you pardon the liberty I take in asking to be informed of the names & post office address, of the children or their descendants of the following men who were Soldiers of the War of the Revolution, and whose descendants are supposed to be living in your county.
Simeon Moore, John Thomas, Austin Prescott, William Warren, Isaac Perkins, Thomas Tarrant, Daniel Toler
I have information which may be of importance to them, if early application be made to me.
Your early attention to this request, will oblige
Yours,
George Bagby
George Bagby purchased an advertisement in the Richmond Whig of January 28, 1858, offering to purchase Bounty Land Warrants and US Land Scrip “at full market value in cash.” According to the wiki at FamilySearch, Bounty Land Warrants and Scrip could be sold by the soldier or the heirs and most veterans sold or exchanged their warrants. Evidently, Mr. Bagby was attempting to purchase the warrants due to the Craven County soldiers.
Craven County Clerk of Court, James G. Stanly, made notes on the original letter of Mr. Bagby. One note indicates “Wrote to G. Bagley March 28, 1856.” For years I, too, thought the name was Bagley, but closer examination of the signature, and the discovery of an advertisement in a Richmond newspaper, determined the name to be Bagby.
Other notes Stanly jotted on the letter include:
Simeon Moore left two sons–three daughters. Brice a Son & Polly dau dead. Son Simon is dead. Hardy a son in [Connecticut?]
Family of Austin Prescott. Richard Davis married a daughter of the son of Austin Prescott.–Obid [written over Jim] Hart [another illegible name starting with initials B and C] another granddau of Austin Prescott.–2 children of the son of Austin Prescott live on Batchelder Ck.
Simeon Moore dead free Negro.
No Son or daugh live.
Rich. Davis.
James Tolar only Son.
Tom Taunt … left a son Thomas Taunt who died [?] married Penny Butler daughter of Charles Butler removed to Tennessee.
Samuel Wilson of Pitt County (P O Johnson Mill) married Harriet Holloway granddaughter of Tom Taunt. Tom Taunt Jr [?] dead & widow & children [?] lived Indiana [?]
Hopefully some of this information will help other researchers locate their Revolutionary War ancestor.
See also, an earlier post on Daniel Toler, the soldier mentioned above.
[Bagby, George. (Richmond, Virginia) to “Clerk of Craven County” (New Bern, North Carolina). Letter. 17 March 1856. Craven County, Letters to Clerks of County Court, Folder 1856-1857, C.028.928.3, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.]