Johnston Ledbetter (1786 - 1865)

Born 23 Feb 1786 in Brunswick, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy (Whiteside) Ledbetter — married Jan 1810 in Rutherford County, North Carolina, USA

Descendants

Died 1865 at about age 78 in Dawsonville, Dawson, Georgia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Charity Ledbetter [send private message] and Michael Finn [send private message]

Biography

Johnson Ledbetter normally would have been born in NC, but, as fate would have it, in 1780 Indians murdered 2 Ledbetter children so the family temporarily moved back to VA. where Johnston was born in 1782. After the war the Ledbetters moved back to Rutherford Co. NC. According to Rutherford Co. NC Deed Book 24, in 1807 he received land from his father, "..between Richard Ledbetter..and Johnston Ledbetter his son". Johnston Ledbetter married Nancy Whiteside there in 1810 though he was about 14 years her senior. About 1834 Johnston Ledbetter moved his family, including his ancient father Richard Ledbetter, from Rutherford Co. NC to, what was then, the Yellow Creek Dist. of Lumpkin Co. GA. Old Richard had with him his 2nd wife Elizabeth. Much of this information comes from Richard's Revolutionary War Pension Application W26204. They settled on Hightower River, now called Etowah River. This area became Dawson Co. GA. in 1857. So, from the time they first moved there and until their deaths -both- the county area and even the river changed its names! Perhaps confusing to some researchers. Their spot of settlement is what is now "Old Kelly Farm Road" in Dawson Co. GA. The Kelly's were later owners of the place. Old Richard Ledbetter died here in Jan. 1841. He was buried on a hill at what is now the end of Old Kelly Farm Rd., now private property. Shortly after Richard's passing, son Johnson Ledbetter and wife apparently went to Alabama. The 1850 census for Lumpkin Co. GA. shows their son Johnson was born 1841 in Alabama. Where in Alabama they went is not known to this writer, but, elder Johnson Ledbetter did have 2 brother-in-laws, Moses Whiteside & Jonathan Whiteside, who had moved to Benton Co. AL. However, Johnson was back home by the Spring of 1841. According to, Lumpkin Co. GA. Deed Book G, in May 1841, Johnston Ledbetter sold to a Wm. Woods, "three certain negro slaves...Rose, age 19, a woman, Fib, age 7, a girl, Jef, age 9, a boy...said negro slaves to be sound and healthy". Johnson and wife Nancy went to Alabama again where daughter (or granddaughter?) Malinda was born in 1845 according to the 1850 census of Lumpkin Co. GA. This same census gives Johnson Ledbetter's real estate value as $4000 dollars which is $135,000 dollars in today's money! Johnson, wife Nancy, and other family members are buried in the family graveyard. The homeplace is in present Dawson Co. GA. To reach the home site, start by going to Mt. Vernon Bap. Church & Cemetery on Kelly Bridge Rd., using the roadside cemetery as a mileage start point. Drive towards and cross the river bridge. Stop at about 3 and a half miles from the church cemetery. "Old Kelly Farm Rd." will be a turn to your right. The road winds along but is gated down the path. Its is private property currently owned by E. Sam Jones and maintained by his representatives. Permission must be obtained prior to visiting the graveyard. I drew a sketch map of the place showing the location of the graveyard, the Ledbetter house site and Spring House. The sketch map is on page 107 in my book, "Thirty Ye Olde Tyme Families", (by D.C. Stewart), located in the genealogy room at the library in Ellijay, GA. The children of Johnston Ledbetter and wife Nancy, according to his will, his 1869 estate file, the 1840 & 1850 census of Lumpkin Co. GA., plus 1860 & 1870 census of Dawson Co. GA., were, *William W. Ledbetter, 1813-1843. He and wife Malinda died of Typhoid in what is now Cleburne Co. AL.(see Find-A-Grave). Though deceased he was still mentioned in the will of his father Johnson Ledbetter. *George A. Ledbetter, b. 1814. *Sarah Ann Ledbetter, b. 1819, another source gives her birthdate as Dec. 7, 1813. She married a Williams. See 1870 census Dawson Co. GA. *Lewis Johnson Ledbetter, 1825-1861, according to his original tombstone at Mt. Vernon Bap. Cemetery in Dawson Co. GA.(see bio on him on Find-A-Grave), Wife Martha Jane, 1814-1885. *Nancy Louisa Ledbetter, married Reuben Barrett. Her original tombstone in the family plot off Old Kelly Farm Rd. has her born Dec. 29, 1826,(1827) died Mar. 14, 1905. *Elizabeth Ledbetter, b. 1829. Her original tombstone at the family cemetery off Old Kelly Farm Rd. reads, "Sacred to the memory of Elizabeth E. Ledbetter who departed this life Dec. 18, 1889 aged 61 yrs. 1 mo. 9 days"(stone broken). *Arabella Ledbetter(one census says Isabella), b. 1832, married Andrew J. Kelly. *Amanda Ledbetter, b. 1835. *Johnson Ledbetter, b. 1841. *Jonathan W. Ledbetter. *Polly Ledbetter Sebastian. *Malinda(?)Ledbetter, b. 1845(I do not know the children's exact order of birth). Johnson Ledbetter wrote his will in Dawson Co. GA. in Mar. 1860 and was proved May 1865. Do not merge this profile. The above written by Dennis Stewart (16676).

Death

Date: before 9 May 1865

Place: Dawson, Georgia, United States^[1]

Johnson was born in 1786. He passed away about 1865.

Research notes

Johnston Ledbetter was born in 1782 or on 23 Feb 1786.

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 03 June 2020), memorial page for Johnson “Grancer” Ledbetter (23 Feb 1786–1865), Find A Grave: Memorial #75672746, citing Kelly Family Cemetery, Dawson County, Georgia, USA ; Maintained by Lady in Mourning (contributor 47171161).

• "Court of Ordinary Inventories and Appraisments 1866-1876", Dawson Co. GA. (microfilm). *"Court of Ordinary Wills, Guardians & Administrators Bonds, Vol. B, 1857-1896", Dawson Co. GA. (microfilm). *Flora Barrett, Moore, Oklahoma, Ledbetter Historian, Jul. 2021.
• "North Carolina Marriages, 1759-1979", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8BW-ZYR : 14 February 2020), B. Whitesides in entry for John Ledbetter, 1804.
• Ancestry Profile

Acknowledgments

• Ledbetter-912 was started by Michael Finn through the import of Finn_s of Hamilton County Ohio.ged on Jan 5, 2015.
• 1850 United States Federal Census

North Carolina, Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868