In his will, he left to his estate to one nephew in particular, an unmarried (at the time) man named James Lee (or Lea), son of his sister Haran. Others who felt this unjust gathered together in a lawsuit, or two, and claimed to be heirs of Benjamin Holmes, with rights to inheritance. Some of the names I recognized as nieces and nephews of Ben Holmes. Others, I had no idea who they were. In this latter category was one George Seigler, and several folks with the last name Chapman.
The Chapmans, I discovered, were the children of one William Chapman and his wife Esther Seigler. The couple had married in Perry County, Alabama in 1833, with George Seigler as bondsman. George was born in 1814 in North Carolina. Esther was born in 1811 in North Carolina. When George would move to Texas in about 1857, some of Esther's sons went with him and lived right next to him. William Chapman died in 1859 and Esther, probably about 1862. I believe George and Esther to be siblings.
So there is some background to the beginning of this post.
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| Perry County, Alabama |
While looking at the Proctors, Holmes, Hensons, Allens, Lees and my Turners, all roads led back to Anson County, North Carolina. Or near Anson, the Henson/Hinsons actually led back to neighboring Montgomery or possibly the part of Montgomery that later became Stanly County.
So my next question was, did the Seiglers also lead back to Anson County?
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| Anson County, North Carolina |
One thing I had learned about the name Seigler was that it had more incarnations than most surnames. Seagler, Seigler, Sigler, Sigley....the combinations were endless.
But did I find them in Anson County? Yes, I did. They were not there long, and there were not that many of them. That does not mean they were any easier to figure out.
A Mathew Segler left a will dated May 30, 1808 and probated in October of that same year, in Anson County, NC. In that will, he names his wife, Angelica or Angelico. He names two sons, John and Mathew, Jr., and 4 daughters, Elizabeth, Anna, Becky and Hannah.
He also adds this excerpt, "I also make and ordain my worthy and trusty friends, John Broadway and George Segler Executors to this, my last will and testament."
Two facts arise from this, one, this is definately not the George Seigler in Alabama, born in 1814. He's not been born yet. Second, Mathew and George are probably related, even though he was called 'friend' in this document. I've seen several wills in like manner, where a relative is called friend.
But, there were Seglers in Anson County, and one was named George. He was also not the son of Mathew.
Oddly though, it was after the death of Mathew Seigler that I find the first land transaction involving George.
It appears Mathew Seigler's stay in Anson County was not long. The only deed in Anson County involving Mathew, precisely, was dated January 5, 1808. He purchased from 'Merrady Allen', 144 acres on both sides of Cribs Creek for $250, and another tract, adjoining the previous one that adjoined the properties of Thomas Preslar and Arthur Davis. Witnesses to this transaction were John Lee and John Broadway. As Thomas Preslar and John Broadway are both ancestors of mine, and the John Lee family intermarried with my Davis line, this puts the Seiglers right in this same spot that a lot of my dna came from.
Mathew must have gotten sick or mortally injured shortly after arriving in Anson County, as he wrote his will in May, which was later proved in October, all of in 1808.
By his will, I know that George Seigler was not a son of Mathew Seigler, but more like a contemporary of his. My bets would be on being a brother. I have no proof of the exact relationship, but there was one. George was named an executor of Mathew's will, they bought land at the same place at the same time.
April 15, 1808 Book R Page 157 Humphrey Yarborough of Stewart County, Tennessee sold to George Sigley of Anson County for $425 100 acres on Rocky River at the mouth of Lanes Creek, begining at the mouth of the creek and running to a spring branch and then up the branch to the spring near a road, joins the Still House branch and joins (Carriker). This was part of a grant had by Humphrey Yarborough. Witnesses were Ambrose Yarborough, Archibald Ezell and Willie Boykin.
Mathew would write his will a month later. His will was proven in Oct.
Over a year later, in December, 1809 George would but another tract. Dec. 296, 1809 William Harrison of Anson to George Seagler of Anson, for $210 a 150 acres tract bordering William Travers, Davis Yarborough, on the Lightwood Knot branch, borders Isaac Baker and crosses Cribs Creek. Book O Page 74. Witnesses were John Broadway and B. A. Lanier.
The next year, June 9, 1810 George Sigley of Anson to Amon Yarborough of Anson for $425, 100 acres on Rocky River at the mouth of Lanes Creek, joins the Stillhouse Branch and Carriker, part of a grant to Humphrey Yarborough. Witnesses were John Broadway and Jacob Williams.
George sold to Amon Yarborough the exact same tract he had bought from Humphrey Yarborough two years prior.
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| Stewart County, Tennessee, where another Anson County Exodus took place to. |
1810 was a census year. Mathew had died 2 years prior, so we find his wife and family still in Anson County.
| Name: | Angeline Seaglar [Angelico Segler] |
|---|---|
| Home in 1810 (City, County, State): | Anson, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: | 1 Unknown. |
| Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: | 1 Mathew Jr. |
| Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 : | 1 Probably son John as he was old enough to witness his father's will in 1808. |
| Free White Persons - Females - Under 10: | 2 Elizabeth and Hannah |
| Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: | 1 Rebecca |
| Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25: | 1 Anna |
| Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44: | 1 Angelica |
| Number of Household Members Under 16: | 5 |
| Number of Household Members Over 25: | 2 |
| Number of Household Members: | 8 |
She is shown in a household of 8 people. The 4 daughters mentioned in Mathew's will match up with 4 girls in the census. But there is an extra male. John signed as a witness to his father's will in 1808, so it would be hard for me to believe he was the male between 10 and 15. But Mathew Jr. survived until the 1850's and his birth year is given as 1807, putting him as the male under 10. Or was there a baby boy after Mathew's death and John the 20 year old male and Mathew the 10 to 15? Or did John witness his father's will at 12 or 13 years of age and the adult male perhaps a hired hand?
| Name: | Geo Seaglar |
|---|---|
| Home in 1810 (City, County, State): | Anson, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25: | 1 Son? William? |
| Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: | 1 George |
| Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: | 1 Daughter? |
| Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25: | 1 Daughter? |
| Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : | 1 Wife? |
| Number of Household Members Under 16: | 1 |
| Number of Household Members Over 25: | 2 |
| Number of Household Members: | 5 |
I found George Seigler in the 1810 census living near Johnathan Yarborough and Drury Allen. He appears to be a man over 45 with a wife of the same age. There were 3 teenaged children living in the home, one under 15.
| Name: | George Srigley |
|---|---|
| Home in 1820 (City, County, State): | Staton, Anson, North Carolina |
| Enumeration Date: | August 7, 1820 |
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: | 1 Could this be George b 1814? |
| Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: | 1 George |
| Free White Persons - Females - Under 10: | 1 Could this be Esther? |
| Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25: | 1 New wife or youngest daughter from the 1810 census |
| Number of Persons - Engaged in Agriculture: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Under 16: | 2 |
| Free White Persons - Over 25: | 1 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 4 |
| Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other: | 4 |
By 1820, the older woman in George's household was gone. A young woman between 16 and 25 was there instead and two younger children, under 10, had been born. The younger woman could possibly be the youngest daughter, aged 10 to 15 in the 1810 census. But my theory is a little different. I believe the older 3 children were adults and married by then, or possibly deceased. I believe George married a young wife and she was the young woman between 16 and 25, born between 1796 and 1804. I believe this young woman was a daughter of John Holmes and Nancy Proctor Holmes and a sister of Benjamin Holmes, Moses Holmes, Haran Holmes Lee, Martha Holmes Lee and Penny Holmes Proctor Henson. I believe these two children are the George Seigler and Esther Seigler Chapman who are found in Perry County, Alabama and who were heirs of Benjamin Holmes.
But who and where were the older children of George?
| Name: | Angelica Seighy |
|---|---|
| Home in 1820 (City, County, State): | Staton, Anson, North Carolina |
| Enumeration Date: | August 7, 1820 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: | 1 Mathew |
| Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25: | 2 Two youngest daughters. |
| Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : | 1 Angelica |
| Number of Persons - Engaged in Agriculture: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Under 16: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Over 25: | 1 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 4 |
| Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other: | 4 |
The surname of Seigler takes on yet another configuration, but this is Angelica Seigler and her family. It appears her two youngest daughters are still at home and also, her youngest son, Matthew, but where is John?
Descendants of John Seigler, or descendants of A John Seigler who have hooked their horse to the Mathew Seigler wagon, have him marrying a Nancy Jones in Burke County, North Carolina on May 10, 1817 with James Morrow as a the bondsman and a J. Erwin as a witness. Now, I personally descend from the Burke County Erwins. Patrtiots and Planters, one of them had a lovely daughter, known forever as such, by her nickname, "Pretty Polly", who married an intenerant, very well respected Minister, Rev. John McKamie Wilson, who ended up in Mecklenburg County, and whose daughter married an attorney from Cabarras County, etc. etc. and their dna ended up in my paternal grandmother. So, it's not out of the way to think John Seigler may have wandered up to the foothills to find a wife. Perhaps, somehow, they actally knew each other. I've seen as unlikely, even further back. And I have no reason to challenge this theory.
1826
Two things happened in 1826. The first was of no major significance, except that it mentions George Seagler as still being in Anson County. On December 26 of that year, Governor H. G. Burton of Raleigh, NC issued a patent to Green R. Dunn, Grant 2799 for $10 per 100 acres granted, 150 acres on Cribs Creek, bordering John Tye and George Seagler.
The second was pretty important. At the beginning of that year, on January 4, John Seagler and "Angelicho" Seagler (or Seagley), sold to Jaspar Turner (a guy whom I thought was my ancestor and I recently discovered was not, setting me off on this entire adventure), for $250 two adjoining tracts, the 150 acres on both sides of Cribs Creek and crosses the creek twice and joins Thomas Preslars' line and Arthur Davis's property. This was the same property and the same neighbors that Mathew Seagler bought from Merrady Allen in 1808. It was witnessed, again, by John Lee and John Broadaway.
1830
According to descendants of John, this is when John, Angelica and family moved to Newton County, Georgia. And from the research of several families lately, I've seen several migrations to Georgia, and to Newton County, in particular, before these individuals ended up in Alabama.
| Name: | John Hagler [John Seagler] [John Seagle] |
|---|---|
| Home in 1830 (City, County, State): | Newton, Georgia |
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39: | 1 John |
| Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39: | 1 Nancy/wife of John |
| Free White Persons - Females - 50 thru 59: | 1 Angelica? |
| Free White Persons - Under 20: | 3 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: | 2 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 6 |
| Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): | 6 |
The woman in her 50's would make sense to be Angelica. John appears to have a wife and 3 children.
| Name: | George Leglar [George Siglar] |
|---|---|
| Home in 1830 (City, County, State): | Anson, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 50 thru 59: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Under 20: | 1 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 2 |
| Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): | 2 |
As for George, he was still in Anson County. He's between 50 and 60 years of age here. Does that match up with the other census records? This would give him a birth year in the 1770's. In 1820, he was over 45, which would mean a year of birth of 1775, at the youngest. In 1810, he was in the same age group, so he must have been 60, or right at it. He has a small boy living in his home, and no older children.
The above is an excerpt from the 1830 census of Anson County. Notice that in this order is:
James Austin
George Seigler
David Gurley
James Holmes
Theophilus Holmes
James Allen
I know Theophilus Holmes is in Perry County, Alabama by 1840 and he married Mary Proctor. This James Holmes, I believe, is the one who remained in Anson County. Another James Holmes removed to Perry County, Alabama before this. I will explore this more in a closer study of the Holmes family.
As of now, Mr. Gurley has no significance to me but the gentleman on the other side of George Seigler, James Austin will have, in a minute.
Remember my theory is that George Seigler's second (and much younger) wife was a Holmes.
This last deed in Anson County involving George Seigler was found in Book Z Page 271. George "Sigley" for the sum of $600 paid by James Dunn sold property on Cribbs Creek that adjoined William Travers line, Davis Yarborough's line, Lightwood Knot Branch, Isaac Baker's line, and crossed Cribs Creek again. This was the same land he had purchased from William Harrison in 1809 found in Book O Page 74. The original deed was written in 1825, but it wasn't proven until December 4th, 1836 when it was proven in open court on the testimony of M. W. Mask, who had witnessed the original deed in 1825, and was ordered to be recorded.
The very next deed following the sale from George Seigler to James Dunn was one from John Beard to Lazarus Turner, both members of my family tree. Lazarus Turner, the brother of Axom Turner, whose whole move to Alabama precipitated this entire Alabama adventure I've been on. And John Beard, a member of my Winfield Family Tree, a son of Michael Beard and wife Margaret Zevely Beard, of Rowan, who married Annabell Morrison, a daughter of Ancena Winfield and her first husband, James Morrison. Ancena was a daughter of Peter Winfield and Charlotte Freeman Winfield, who migrated from Mecklenburg County, Viriginia in the 1780's and a sister of my 4th Great Grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Winfield Howell Davis.
But before I get to far removed, I need to go back to that 1830 census, where George Seigler is living right next to James Austin and near James and Theophilus Holmes.
The last deed for the Seigler/Seagley family in Anson County came the very next year, 1831, and it didn't involve Mathew or George.
January 8, 1831 Book Y Page 102: William Seagley & Susannah Seagley (both of Anson) to Wyatt Nance. This couple sold 100 acres for $150, which began at James Austin's corner near his spring branch. It was signed by William and Susannah and the witnesses were Berry Austin and John Rushing. John Broadway, an ancestor of mine seen several times throughout this involved in the Seagler deeds, and Thomas Griffen "Esquires", meaning both of them had obtained this status, were ordered to obtain a dower renouncement of Sussanah Seagley, and she gave it to both John Broadway, Justice of the Peace, and Thomas Griffen, Justice of the Peace. The deed itself was proved in court in 1832 by oath of witness, Berry Austin.
William Seagley or Seagler appears in no other place, either in the deeds, or in the census records of Anson County, which tells me he was probably a dash in someone's household. This land connected to James Austin's. James Austin lived next to George Seigler. That is pretty much all of the clues we have for who William may have been. I've found no record of a marriage between a William Seagler and Susannah. So many records were lost over the years due to fires, sloppy record keeping and other means of loss.
Another interesting thing about this deed is the focus on Susannah. Women didn't come into play very often in these documents. There is no record of the purchase of this property, just the sale. This tells me that the couple probably inherited it. And with the focus on Susannah, it was probably her share of an estate of her father, or another relative. It's even possible that she may have been an Austin herself, as James and Deberry "Berry" Austin, who were brothers, are both mentioned in the deed. I'd have to research the Autins for that, and I'm just not that curious right now.
But who was William? He wasn't the son of Mathew, as Mathew left a will. So he was probably the son of George, an older son. He may have even already moved away from Anson County, but returned to marry Susannah. This was not unheard of, in fact, the family story on David Lee, who migrated to Perry County, Alabama with his family in its earliest years, returned to Anson County to marry Haran Holmes and take her back to Alabama. It was their son, James Lee, to whom Benjamin Holmes left his estate to, which caused his brother and cousins to file a lawsuit for their share as heirs in kind to James Lee. Heirs that included a George Seigler and the children of an Esther Seigler Chapman. Heirs that make no sense, unless, their mother was a Holmes and a sister of this Ben, and of Haran Holmes Lee.
The Seiglers were in Perry County by the early 1830's, when Esther married William Chapman in 1833, and George was witness, and then George married a local girl, Anna Jane Holley, in 1838.
Was this older Anson County George Seigler their father? He lived near James and Theophilus, whom I believe were brothers to John Holmes, father of Haran, Ben, Moses, Penelope and Martha and possibly, the unknown Miss Holmes who became the younger, second wife of George Seigler, Sr. in Anson County.
1840
The older George Seagler doesn't appear in the census records anymore, however the widow of his believed son, William, does.
| Name: | Susan Seglar |
|---|---|
| Home in 1840 (City, County, State): | Anson, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19: | 2 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49: | 1 |
| No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Under 20: | 2 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: | 1 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 3 |
| Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: | 3 |
But what about the family of Mathew Seigler? Where did they end up, and could anything in their travels help with the mystery surrounding George?
The fate and futures of the daughters of Mathew Seigler, I have no idea of. They most likely married, if they survived to, but whom they married and where they lived, I do not know.
Newton County, Georgia
John, the oldest son, raised his family in Newton County, Georgia and died there, leaving a will in 1835. He had a son named Mathew and a daughter named Angelica, so the naming pattern persisted and corrobarated the fact, that this was indeed, the correct John. His younger brother, Mathew was also in Newton County, Georgia in 1830, but left there, with his mother, who shows up with him in Alabama in 1850, where she passes away that year.
Those are another post, as well as the descendants of William Seagler and his wife, Susannah. She was not an Austin, and I discovered who she was. Their oldest son, George Washington Seigler, married in Montgomery County, North Carolina, and lived there for a little while, before migrating to Mississippi. The daughters were another story entirely, and became part of the fabric of Union County, North Carolina. In fact, they were in what is now Union County all the while, and that fact connects to the story of the Holmes family.
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| Lancaster District, South Carolina |
But where did George and Mathew Seigler/Seagler/Sigler/Sigley come from before arriving in Anson to start with?
Well, among this family, the christian name, George was popular. As it appears, the probable brothers arrived in Anson County by 1808, at least, and that they were born in the 1860's, most likely, and were fully adults by 1800, they should appear in the 1800 census.
There were several George's, one in Salisbury/Stokes, and a George in Stokes County in the 1790 census. Was this Anson George, or his father in 1790?
I don't know, but what I do know, is that there was only one Mathew, and he was in Lancaster District, South Carolina. And there was also a George.
| Name: | Matthew Sigley |
|---|---|
| Home in 1800 (City, County, State): | Lancaster District, South Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males -10 thru 15: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over: | 1 |
| Number of Household Members Under 16: | 2 |
| Number of Household Members Over 25: | 2 |
| Number of Household Members: | 5 |
Lancaster County lies just south of the state line between North and South Carolina and below Mecklenburg and Union Counties in North Carolina. The old Indian Path that became Rocky River Road, and ancient byway, and used during the Revolutionary War. It leads from the point of Lancaster that sticks like a thorn into the ribs of North Carolina and into what is now Union County. Union County was formed in 1842 from what is now Mecklenburg and Anson Counties.
George Seigler, in 1830, his last census was living near James and Theophilus Holmes and right next to James Austin, where his supposed son, William and his wife, Susannah sold a tract of landing that bordered James Austin. She remained in that same spot in the 1840, 1850 and 1860 census records. James Holmes, Jr. remained in this same spot, and later records and his estate records would declare his properties both in Anson and Union Counties. So they lived in the part of Anson that would become Union. They lived in New Salem. It's not a great streach of the imagination to think Mathew and George came up the Rocky River Road, the old Indian Path, and settled in what was then Anson.
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| Excerpt from the Will of John Seagler of Newton County, Georgia |
