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James Witcher, son of Ephraim Witcher
James Witcher -b- January 6, 1794
Tempy Witcher -b- August 15, 1788
This James Witcher, according to the 1850 Federal Census, was born in North Carolina. He was the son the Ephraim Witcher, who lived in Surry County, North Carolina as of 1819. Click here to read why I know this James Witcher was indeed the son of Ephraim Witcher of Surry County, North Carolina. Click here to read about the Ephraim Witcher estate battle which provides excellent clues about this James and his family.
James married Tempy Witcher, his near-kin, who at the time lived in the neighboring state of Virginia. Tempy was the daughter of John Witcher, Jr. This particular man, John Witcher, is the son of Major William Witcher, of Revolutionary War fame. The date of the marriage bond was December 28, 1811, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The date of their first son's birth (Benjamin M. Witcher -b- April 29, 1812) indicates the marriage was arranged because of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.
On the 28th day of December 1811, John Witcher Jr. submitted a note of consent for his daughter Tempy to marry James Witcher. Click here to see an actual image of this note and the marriage bond.
Old Colonial law required parental or guardian consent for marriage for daughters under twenty-one years of age, and according to the 1850 federal census record, Tempy was barely under this age. It may have been viewed as inappropriate to follow the custom of issuing a marriage bann, which is the public announcement in a parish church of an impending marriage between two persons. Banns were commonly associated with the Church of England, and the announcement was made three weeks in a row and gave the community the right to object to the union.
Therefore, since no bann was apparently announced, as required by law, a $150 bond was secured, obligating James and Tempy to fulfill the marriage commitment. Click here to see a copy of that certificate. Within both the letter of consent and the marriage certificate, John Witcher is identified as the father of Tempy Witcher.
John Witcher died in 1834. Fortunately, he left a will, and in this will he mentions his daughter Tempy, as well as his other daughters Oney, and Polly, and his “beloved” wife Susannah.
As I noted, on December 28, 1811, Tempy Witcher had married James Witcher. Both then migrated to Georgia. Eight years later, a rift would erupt between Tempy and her father. In 1819 John Witcher hired his son James as attorney in order to pursue and recover a slave “lent” to Tempy by her father.
But first, here’s a little historical background about this certain slave.
In 1808 John Witcher (then titled Jr.) received slaves from his father, Major William Witcher’s estate. Here’s a transcription from a portion of William Witcher’s will: “I give and bequeath to my son, John Witcher jr. my negroes Sarah, and her children, Sinda, Ceala, and Anna, in addition to what I have already given him, which I give to him and his heirs forever.”
One of the slaves John receives from his father’s estate was “Anna,” the child of another slave named “Sarah.” John Witcher gave power of attorney to his son James to recover this slave named “Anna,” who had previously been “loaned” to Tempy by her father. By the time of this litigation, John’s son James and his daughter Tempy and her husband James Witcher had all migrated to Georgia.
Here is a transcript of the actual power of attorney given by John Witcher (by this time known as “Sr.”) to his son James Witcher: “Know all men, by these presents, that I John Witcher, Sr. of Pittsylvania County, State of Virginia, have made, authorized, constituted and appointed, and by these presents, do appoint my son James Witcher, of County of Madison, and State of Georgia, my true and lawful attorney, to demand and receive of James Witcher (son of Ephraim) one negro girl named Anna, and other property, which I loaned my daughter Tempy, who hath intermarried with the said James Witcher, etc. In testimony, whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 27th day of July, 1819. John Witcher Sr.”
I would like to point out in 1806 and 1808, this John Witcher was known as “Jr.,” but a few years later he took the title “Sr.” This can be explained by the appearance of younger John Witchers as they were born and matured within the Witcher clan.
In this power of attorney, we see Tempy was a daughter of John Witcher, she was married to Ephraim Witcher’s son James, the couple lived in Georgia, she had her father’s slave named Anna, and John wanted his slave named Anna returned; the same name of a slave bequeathed to him by his father Major William Witcher.
Due to the record of the power of attorney, we can now know with a high level of confidence who the two different James Witchers were which are found in the 1820 federal census in Georgia.
By 1819 at least one James Witcher was living in Madison County, Georgia.
However, in the 1820 federal census, no James Witcher was found in Madison County, but two different James Witchers are found in Morgan County, Georgia. One of them is listed as having three slaves, while the other had only one. The James who owned one slave, I believe, had John Witcher’s slave named Anna. That James would be the Son of Ephraim Witcher.
By the 1830 census, one James Witcher remained in Morgan County, Georgia. This individual then had two slaves. As we will see, this is almost certainly the son of John Witcher Jr., and was James the brother of Tempy Witcher. This James Witcher would eventually migrate to Polk County, Georgia and was married to Gilley. Later census records indicate this James as an owner of slaves in Meriwether County, Georgia (nine slaves in 1850).
The 1830 federal census for Newton County, Georgia, lists another James Witcher with no slaves. I am sure by then Anna had been returned to his father-in-law, John Witcher. I am confident this James Witcher is the son of Ephraim, who in the 1850s would die in Polk County, Georgia. It’s interesting that a John Witcher is also listed in Newton County census record. I am certain this is the brother of the James who was married to Tempy. These two brothers had migrated together from Surry County, North Carolina.
The 1840 federal census indicates one of the James Witchers had already moved to Paulding County, Georgia, part of which became Polk County in 1851. Notice this estray ad in the Western Herald newspaper, dated 9.21.1832: Georgia, Paulding County. James Witcher tolled before John Y Allgood, a Justice of Peace for said county (I have provided an image of the ad in the photo gallery at the bottom of this page). As we can see, by this Western Herald newspaper ad dated September of 1832, one of the James Witchers had by then located to Paulding County. I expect the reason they could move to this new territory was that in 1831, the Georgia Guard was established by the state legislature, providing some measure of safety for pioneer families from the local Indian population.
In the book "Whites among the Cherokees," a James Witcher is listed in the 1837 Paulding County special Georgia state census, along with Captain John Witcher, James' son Diskin Witcher, and others such as Lacy, Daniel and "Allexander" Witcher. Additionally, an 1837 payroll record indicates a James Witcher was a private in Captain John Witcher's Company of Mounted Volunteers. For good reasons, I am assuming the James Witcher in these records to be the son of Ephraim and the husband of Tempy.
Also, James Witcher and Tempestus Witcher are found in the 1850 Paulding County, Georgia, federal census record. Their stated ages parallel the family Bible record, and James is recorded as having been born in "North Carolina." Children: "Attania [Atalanta] E.E. Witcher, Mary C. Witcher, and Frances J. Witcher," all the youngest children in the Witcher family bible record, are recorded as residing with these two.
James and Tempy Witcher had the following children (as listed in the Witcher family bible): Benjamin M. Witcher -b- April 29, 1812, Diskin N. Witcher -b- September 4, 1814, Asa P. Witcher -b- September 24, 1816 (no doubt named after Asa Prior), Atalanta E.E. Witcher -b- January 30, 1819, Susan A.J. WItcher -b- January 9, 1822, James M. Witcher -b- March 27, 1825, Mary C. Witcher-b- November 10, 1826, Francis J. Witcher -b- March 19, 1829. These are the children of James and Tempy Witcher.
James Witcher had a brother named John Witcher, click here for those proofs. Both of these men together migrated from Surry County, North Carolina to Northern Georgia in the very early 1800s. These two were apparently best of friends. John Witcher was married to Polly, the daughter of John Witcher, Jr. and sister of Tempy, and these two families are pedigreed side by side in a family Bible once owned by John Witcher, and then upon his death, his brother James and his wife Tempy Witcher.
Here is an interesting side note. I feel Susan A.J. Witcher (daughter of James and Tempy) was named after A.J. Witcher, the son of John and Polly. In 1847, Susan A.J. Witcher went on to marry her first cousin, Bushrod W. Witcher, the son of John and Polly Witcher; at least so says the family Bible record. Click here to see this point developed.
A.J. Witcher, the son of John and Polly Witcher, was the lawyer identified as “Ambrose Witcher” in many court actions relating to the Ephraim Witcher estate court battle. I am sure Ambrose was named after his deceased uncle named Ambrose. This deceased uncle (Ambrose Witcher) is identified in a court document dated “Nov Term 1842.” This record indicates the legatees of Ephraim’s estate were petitioning the courts to allow Ephraim’s widow to divide most of the estate’s slaves. The document states the petitioners, “are the tenants in common in said slaves entitled to partitions agreeable to the provisions and bequests of said testators will, that there was another child, Ambrose Witcher, who died a single man without child.” This document assures us Ephraim and Betsey had a son named Ambrose, who died childless. Therefore, it appears Ambrose’s brother, John Witcher, named one of his sons Ambrose J (AJ) in honor of his dead brother.
John Witcher (the close brother of James) was very well-liked or hated in Cedar Town, Georgia, in the early 1800s, depending on one’s viewpoint. John was very instrumental in the early development of Paulding County, Georgia, and the removal of the Cherokee Indians to the trail of tears, as well as other types of law enforcement activities. The first court for Paulding County was held in his house. You can begin your research about this individual by clicking here.
After 1850 James and Tempy are absent in all other censuses, as they had died in the early to mid-1850s. James died before 1858; click here to read the court record which indicates this. As you can see by the linked record, the state had to nominate an executor for the estate, which to me indicates Tempy probably had died before James. Therefore, since James died intestate, the courts had to sort out the estate.
The probate records indicate James Witcher had accumulated a "considerable estate," but unfortunately he probably died suddenly, as evidenced in the fact he didn't leave a will. We know for sure he did have an estate because of a surviving court record found in the Polk County, Georgia, archives. In this record, the state requested a certain Mr. Walthall be assigned as an executor to settle James' estate. Here is a link to that record. Additionally, there is a record for a 500 dollar bond being purchased by the executor. Here is that record. You will need to be logged into your FamilySearch account to view these records.
An 1850 Paulding County tax record, dated September 17, indicates a certain James Witcher had some livestock, but no land. I feel this record pertains to the James Witcher who was married to Tempy.
The last days of James and Tempy Witcher are difficult to document, as courthouse fires destroyed some of the early Paulding and Polk county court records. I held bound records which would have been located next to the book containing the estate records for this James Witcher. The records I examined had a hole burned through the back cover. Somehow that record book survived, but other books were destroyed. I fear the records of the James Witcher estate are forever lost to fire. Any records that are located would be valuable to our research, so please contact me if found.
Early 1870s, Polk County, Georgia, estate records contain information about the other James Witcher, son of John Witcher Jr., brother of Tempy Witcher. This James was born in Virginia, and his wife was Gilley Edwards. That estate was settled, and those records can be viewed in Polk County clerk’s office and have very important information for that family line.
One of the two James mentioned in this essay did sit as a justice of the peace in early Georgia history. I do not know which one it was. My suspicion is it was the son of John Witcher, jr. who served in early Georgian politics, because James the son of Ephraim was at times at odds with the law. James the son of Ephraim spent three years in a Georgia penitentiary and was referred to in contemporary family correspondence as a “dissipated” individual.
I do feel sure James Witcher, the son of Ephraim, served for a time in his brother, Captain John Witcher's militia.
A few payroll records for 1838 are recorded in a book called "Whites among the Cherokees." These records indicate a certain James Witcher was a private in John Witcher's Company of Mounted Volunteers Militia. James, son of Ephraim Witcher, lived in the area at that time, and he was apparently always at his brother’s side, so I believe these records pertain to him.
However, James' brother-in-law, James Witcher (whose wife was Gilley Edwards), is reported to have ridden at one time with Captain John Witcher during the Indian wars. This information is found in Gilley's widow’s pension application. Captain John was involved in several military tours over the years, so it could be that both James Witchers rode with John over the years. I personally doubt the James Witcher whose wife was Gilley Edwards would have served as a private in John Witcher’s milita, due to that James' extensive military background in the War of 1812, plus, there were certain geographical and family issues which bring doubts to my mind. Click here to read more about the James who was married to Gilley Edwards.
In the later years of James and Tempy’s life, they did receive a considerable estate from Tempy’s father, John Witcher, jr. The distribution of the estate names many of the individuals I have mentioned in this essay, including James and his wife, Tempy Witcher. I have included images of the records about that distribution in the photo gallery on this page.
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Wayne Witcher, 3X great-grandson of James and Tempy Witcher.
3-15-16/3-19-24
