Augustin Davis Statham (1807 - 1862)

Born 1807 in Wilkes, Georgia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Lucy Bullock (Tate) Statham — married 10 Apr 1828 in Wilkes, Georgia, United States

Died 14 Jul 1862 at about age 55 in Yalobusha, Mississippi, United States

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Biography

Augustin's year of birth ranged from 1804 to 1807 in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. He was likely named for his mother's father Augustine Davis but he went by Augustin judging from how he started his will ("I, Augustin Davis Statham"), which he states he wrote himself.

Wilkes Co. GA: Augustin married in Wilkes in 1828 and was on the census there in 1830 (as Augustus D.) and 1840. He registered there for the 1832 land lottery and gave Danburg (Wilkes Co.) as his residence in 1836 when he offered a reward for information on "the scurvy fellow" who may have stolen his horse from camp while he was stationed in Columbus, Georgia while in service in the Florida War with Capt. Toombs Co., Georgia Militia.

Sale of medical practice nad Georgia property: In 1842 he advertised his Wilkes County property and 16-year-old medical practice for sale in anticipation of moving west that winter, describing the property as equidistant from Petersburg (in Elbert Co.) and Washington (in Wilkes Co.) and consisting of a two - story dwelling with eleven rooms, full length piazza above and below, good Medical Office, all necessary out buildings and 50 acres, and mentioning also the property of his brother-in-law L.P. Tate located within a mile of Danburg.

Yalobusha Co. MS: Dr. A.D. Statham, formerly of Wilkes Co., was established in Yalobusha Co. by Jun 1843, based on the letter from him published in a Georgia newspaper. He was on the 1845 state census and the federal censuses in 1850 and 1860.

Death: Augustin died in Yalobusha Co. on 14 Jul 1862, according to a bio on his son (Runnels, Memorial Sketches and History of Class of 1853 Dartmouth College; Walter Scott Statham bio, 189-192). In addition to information Runnels, as class secretary, acquired from Walter during the latter's time at Dartmouth, he maintained a years-long correspondence with Walter's sister Permelia, who was the likeliest source about the later events in the lives of this family.

Supreme Court case: Augustin left a life insurance policy, which is referenced in his will and became the subject of a Supreme Court case, "The New York Life Insurance vs. William C. Statham and Permelia A. Dudley, formerly Statham". The crux of the case was that Augustin had consistently paid his annual premiums until Dec 1861, when that year's payment was impossible due the Civil War. The majority opinion was that this lapse, though unavoidable, justified the insurance company's cancellation of the policy.

Sources

"Mississippi, Wills and Probate Records, 1780-1982," Ancestry.com

"Georgia Cherokee Land Lottery, 1832," Ancestry.com

Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer, 10 Nov 1836 (legal notice)

"U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907," Ancestry.com; as Augustus D. Statham

Edgefield (S.C.) Advertiser, 25 May 1842 (ad selling practice and property)

Federal Union (Milledgeville, Ga.), 14 Nov 1843 (letter to editor from Yalobusha Co)

"Mississippi, State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866," Ancestry.com

New York Times, 8 Aug 1877 (Supreme Court case)