Thomas Jefferson Humphreys (my 4x Great Grandfather) was born January 25, 1843 in Georgia to John Thomas Burrough Humphreys and Sara Brock Humphreys. In March of 1862, he joined the “cessies” [period slang for those supporting cessation of the South] and enlisted in the Confederate Army at age 19. He was assigned to Company A of the 41st Regiment of the Georgia Infantry. He was later transferred to Company D. At 20, he was captured in the last Battle of Vicksburg Continue reading
Category Archives: Humphries
Evan Humphreys … contrary to popular belief
Well, as it turns out, what’s floating around the internet about Evan being servant to Rowland Davies is WRONG! I found the reference in Surry County Records, Surry County, Virginia, 1652-1684, pp. 104:
“7 Apr. 1677 Deposition of Rowland Davies concerning Robert Kae touching his Tithables. Kae had four men servants called James Johnson, Jno. Collins, Evan Humhrey, and John Esquire, also one negro woman called Judy, and Kae himself and myself (being Davies) and Kae a son called Robert Kae.
Roger Delke, about 48 years, testified to the same.”
This states that it is the testimony of Rowland Davies about the tithables belonging to Robert Kae. So Evan Humphries was an indentured servant to Robert Kae; Rowland Davies, only being the witness of the fact.
Crossing the Pond: Evan Humphreys
I’ve been doing lots of reading on my family’s pond-hopper, Evan Humphreys. Rumor is that he came on a ship called Assurance de Lo (of London) in 1635. At any conclusion, records do show that he settled in Surry, Virginia, which is across the bay and slightly inland from the Jamestown settlement. September of 1677, Evan first appears in records naming him as a man servant to a Rowland Davies. After taking a step back, I realized that his mother’s maiden name was also Davies. An uncle? Grandfather? I am not quite certain. I plan to do more research on the Davies family to try to connect them, however records from Wales are proving quite difficult to locate. The surname Davies seems to be like Smith is in America, and the given name Evan is like John…they’re everywhere.
More to come…
UPDATE 3/10/12: After only a few years, I finally found the passenger list for the Assurance. Here’s the book on Google. Listed is only an Evan Ap-Evan (Ap is a Welsh prefix similar to Mc or Mac in Irish names) and a Jo: (John) Humfrey. I believe this is the source for the confusion, but there is no evidence of any relations and definately no Evan Humphreys listed.
Settling Atlanta
Painting of White Hall Inn by William G. Kurtz
Charner Humphries (1795-1855) was brother to my G-G-G-G-Great Grandfather, John Humphries. He was among the first settlers of the Atlanta area. John followed him to the area. Charner opened an inn/tavern near the railroad; which was called White Hall because it was the first/only painted building. It became a central hub for the town of it’s namesake (Whitehall), before Marthasville (Atlanta) was established. Elections, meetings and events were held there. The area later became the section of Atlanta called West End (because of Atlanta’s encroachment). It’s namesake, Whitehall Street still runs through the area. Continue reading