Thomas A. Batchelor (1775 - 1842)

Born 23 Dec 1775 in North Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca Gayden — married 26 Dec 1805 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 1842 at age 66 in Liberty, Amite County, Mississippi, USA

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Biography

Thomas Batchelor^[1][2] was born 23 December 1775,^[3] apparently in North Carolina.^[4] His parents were Solomon Batchelor and Sarah Boswell.^[5]

Marriage

Thomas married Rebecca Gayden on 26 December 1805^[3] in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.^[1] He was her third husband. By her first husband, Dr. Leith, she had one daughter - Parthena Leith (born 1793). She and her second husband, Francis Wren, had four children (John, Elizabeth, Francis, and George Gayden Wren).

Rebecca, twice widowed and with five children, was already established on the Beech Grove site, "where according to the 1805 census she already maintained a substantial household", and Thomas presumably moved into her existing "settlement structure" when they married.^[6] He subsequently built "a sturdy one-and-a-half-story raised cottage with a large veranda and a dormered roof"^[7] at "Beech Grove Plantation in Amite County (once part of the Old Natchez District)".^[6][8][9]

Thomas and Rebecca's children:

1. Victoria Caroline Batchelor^[1]
2. Mary Ann Harriott Batchelor^[1]
3. James Madison Batchelor (1811-1866), married (1) Mary E. Dent, 1836; (2) Eliza K. Nutt, 1845^[6]
4. Thomas Agrippa Gayden Batchelor^[1]
5. Napoleon Bonaparte Batchelor^[6]

In the 1820 census Thomas was in Amite, Mississippi, United States.^[10]

In the 1840 census Thomas was in Amite, Mississippi.^[11]

Thomas died 11 April 1842^[4] and was buried at Beech Grove Plantation, Amite County, Mississippi.^[5][12]

Slaves

See Slaves of Thomas A. Batchelor, Mississippi for an accounting of the enslaved he held.

Research Notes

Lineage^[13]

Richard Batchelor Sr (abt.1647-1682) born in England

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Joseph Batchelor (bef.1660-1734) died in Norfolk, Virginia^[14]

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Stephen Batchelor (abt.1723-bef.1806) married Sarah in Bute, North Carolina^[15]

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Solomon Batchelor (1750-1806) living in Franklin County, Halifax District, North Carolina in 1790 ^[16]

Location Notes

Research by Douglas Lewis traces the Gaydens from Virginia to Mississippi^[6] and refers to the "Batchelor's ancestral Norfolk".^[17] It would seem that Richard Batchelor was that ancestor, having immigrated from England and settled in the area that would become Norfolk County by the time his son Joseph's will was probated there in March 1733/4.^[14]

By 1778, Joseph's son Stephen, with wife Sarah, was "of Bute County, North Carolina".^[15] Bute County was created in 1764 from Granville County. In 1779, it became Franklin County and Warren County.^[18] Their son Thomas Batchelor had been born a few years earlier.

Thomas's future wife, Rebecca Gayden, had moved with her family from Virginia "to Granville County, North Carolina, by 1776/77. They are later documented in the Lancaster district of South Carolina in 1787, where they were listed in the Census of 1800."^[19]

In 1803, Thomas, "together with the Gayden and Collins families, set out from the Camden district of South Carolina by wagon train through the foothills of the Appalachians, and thence by flatboat from Muscle Shoals down the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers to Natchez."^[20]

The will of Rebecca's second husband, Frances Wren, "was registered in Woodville (the River Amite settlements were contained within Wilkinson County until 1809) and was probated upon his death in October 1805."^[20]

Amite County was created in 1809,^[21] and Thomas Bachelor was buried in 1842 at his Beech Grove Plantation in Liberty, Amite County, Mississippi.^[6]

Thomas Batchelor House: "Thomas Batchelor House is one of the finest and most sophisticated structures erected during the 1820's and 1830's in southwest Mississippi. The Federalist house exemplifies the popularity this - style enjoyed prior to the emergence of Greek Revival in this area."^[22]

"Thomas Batchelor House" is the mansion house that Thomas built in 1827 at his Beech Grove Plantation^[8] and which "has served as the family residence for many generations. The home was carefully restored in 1959."^[7]

Census Records

Solomon Batchelor, 1790 Census^[16]

Rebecca Wren, 1805 Census - need to find online

Thomas Batchelor, 1805-1840 Census records - see in Biography above

Records for children (in development):

• Victoria C. Street (1850, in the household of Henry G. Street)^[23]
• Thomas A. Batchelor (1850), Thomas "G.A." Batchelor (1860)^[24]
• N. B. Batchelor (1850); widow E Bachelor (1860)^[25]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Hunting For Bears, comp. Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 (Ancestry Online publication, 2004). Original data - Mississippi marriage information taken from county courthouse records. Many of these records were extracted from copies of the original records in microfilm, microfiche. Text: Marriage 16 Dec 1805, Wilkinson, Mississippi (Ancestry link).
2. ↑ Ancestry Family Trees (Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members): http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=19221500&pid=1057
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Douglas Lewis, "Thomas Batchelor House", The Journal of Mississippi History, Vol. LXXXII, No. 3 & No. 4, Fall/Winter 2020, footnotes 5 & 6, page 145 (49 of 148 in pdf, accessed 2 December 2021).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "Thomas Batchelor (December 23, 1775-April 11, 1842, according to his tombstone at Beech Grove), apparently born in Franklin County [then Bute County], North Carolina (adjoining the Gaydens in Granville County on the west, and Nash County on the east—to whose Deep Creek Township his grandparents and parents had moved from Norfolk in the first half of the eighteenth century—as aligned from west to east along the Tar River)...." ~ Lewis, Thomas Batchelor House, footnote 6, page 145.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3QQY-JVF : accessed 2017-11-04), entry for Thomas Batchelor. * FamilySearch PID L64N-1XY: Thomas Agrippa Batchelor (23 December 1775–11 April 1842) note - his son's middle names were Agrippa Gayden, after his wife's brother, but it is doubtful that his middle name was Agrippa.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5} Douglas Lewis, "Thomas Batchelor House", The Journal of Mississippi History, Vol. LXXXII, No. 3 & No. 4, Fall/Winter 2020 (accessed 3 December 2021).
   • Douglas Lewis’s article, “The Design and Dating of the Thomas Batchelor House at Beech Grove Plantation in Amite County” (Volume LXXXII, No. 3 and No. 4, Spring/Summer 2020), Figure 1 on page 144 should have included a credit line “© Don Norris” to be appended to the caption of the image. The editors apologize for this oversight. (See [https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/spring_summer_2021.pdf Volume LXXXIII, No. 1 and No. 2, Spring/Summer 2021; reference to Spring/Summer 2020 appears to be in error & Fall/Winter 2020 was meant.)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Google Book, The Pelican Guide to Old Homes of Mississippi: Natchez and the South by Helen Kerr Kempe
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} The "mansion house", today known as the Thomas Batchelor House, was built in 1827 on "the plantation property, which has been in the same family since it was pioneered in 1803". ~ Lewis, The Thomas Batchelor House
9. ↑ See also
   • https://gohistoric.com/places/274765-thomas-batchelor-house-liberty
   • https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/Public/prop.aspx?id=2818&view=facts&y=732
10. ↑ 1820 Census: "1820 United States Federal Census"
    Fourth Census of the United States, 1820; Census Place: Amite, Mississippi; Page: 30; NARA Roll: M33_57; Image: 43
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7734 #607477 (accessed 13 December 2023)
    Thomas Batchelor in Amite, Mississippi, USA. Name Thomas Batchelor Enumeration Date 7 Aug 1820 Home in 1820 (City, County, State) Amite, Mississippi, USA Free White Persons - Males - Under 10 3 Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25 1 Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 1 Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15 2 Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over 2 Slaves - Males - Under 14 5 Slaves - Males - 14 thru 25 4 Slaves - Males - 26 thru 44 1 Slaves - Males - 45 and over 1 Slaves - Females - Under 14 1 Slaves - Females - 14 thru 25 3 Slaves - Females - 26 thru 44 5 Number of Persons - Engaged in Agriculture 13 Free White Persons - Under 16 5 Free White Persons - Over 25 3 Total Free White Persons 9 Total Slaves 20 Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other 29
11. ↑ 1840 Census: "1840 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1840; Census Place: Amite, Mississippi; Roll: 213; Page: 60; Family History Library Film: 0014840
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8057 #2247081 (accessed 13 December 2023)
    Thomas Batcheldor in Amite, Mississippi. Name Thomas Batcheldor Home in 1840 (City, County, State) Amite, Mississippi Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29 1 Free White Persons - Males - 60 thru 69 1 Slaves - Males - Under 10 19 Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23 12 Slaves - Males - 24 thru 35 15 Slaves - Males - 36 thru 54 2 Slaves - Females - Under 10 13 Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23 8 Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35 10 Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54 5 Slaves - Females - 55 thru 99 1 Persons Employed in Agriculture 49 Free White Persons - 20 thru 49 1 Total Free White Persons 2 Total Slaves 85 Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves 87
12. ↑ Cemetery Records, transcribed by Mary Pallon for USGenWeb (accessed 7 December 2021) for Street Cemetery, Amite County, includes the following entries:
    • Batchelor, Mrs. R.
      Died June 11, 1836
      61 yrs 10 mo. 20 days
    • Batchelor, Thomas
      Dec. 23, 1775 - April 11, 1812
      Age 66 yrs 7 mo. 19 days
13. ↑ Lineage and information about Richard, Joseph, Stephen, and Solomon according to their WikiTree profiles as of 5 December 2021
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Joseph Batchelor's Will: Norfolk, VA, Deeds & Wills, V. 11 & 12, 1730-1739. FHC film # 0032831; http://www.bjhughes.org/batcwill.html
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Nash County, North Carolina, Deed Book 1 pg 34: Solomon Batchelor & wife, Sarah Batchelor, of Bute County, North Carolina deed to Samuel Batchelor of Nash County (5 January 1778).
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} 1790 census, Franklin County (accessed 3 December 2021).
17. ↑ Douglas Lewis, "Thomas Batchelor House" (2020), page 157 (61 of 148 in pdf, accessed 3 December 2021).
18. ↑ NCGenWeb, List of Counties (accessed 3 December 2021).
19. ↑ Douglas Lewis, "Thomas Batchelor House" (2020), page 144 (48 of 148 in pdf, accessed 3 December 2021).
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} Douglas Lewis, "Thomas Batchelor House" (2020), pages 147, 149 (49 and 51 of 148 in pdf, accessed 3 December 2021).
21. ↑ See WikiTree's Formation of Mississippi Counties and Category: Amite County, Mississippi.
22. ↑ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CZIC-g155-m7-m676-1977/html/CZIC-g155-m7-m676-1977.htm
23. ↑ 1850 image. See the Source page for her entry in FamilySearch (PID 2ZPB-HZN), Victoria Caroline Batchelor (1807–1858).
24. ↑ 1850 image, 1860 image. See the Source page for his entry in FamilySearch (PID LH36-LWM), Thomas Agrippa Gayden Batchelor (1813–1868).
25. ↑ 1850 image, 1860 image. See their profiles: Napoleon B. Batchelor & Ellen D. (Noland) Batchelor.

See also:

• Solomon Batchelor-Facts: Ancestry link
• Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals
  • Google Books
  • archive.org
• From the Pen of a She-Rebel
• https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/batchelor/1223/
• https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/batchelor/1222/
• Batchelor Lineage
• search results - usgenweb
  • http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/franklin/military/revwar/other/county691gmt.txt (includes a Joseph Batchelor, NC Rev. War. soldier)
• search results - Google (for Thomas Batchelor & Beech Grove)
• Batchelor-Nutt collection, 1835-1960: " A collection of papers, ephemera, and photographs pertaining to the James M. Batchelor, Rushworth Nutt, and Davenport families of Mississippi and Louisiana. Dr. Nutt of Laurel Hill Plantation, Jefferson County, Mississippi, was a planter, physician, scientist, and world traveler. Eliza Ker, Nutt's daughter, married James M. Batchelor, a planter and legislator of Amite County, Mississippi. The Davenports lived in Mer Rouge, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. In addition to correspondence to and from the families mentioned above, there are cotton receipts (2), a letter (1872) written by K. Woodburn to his cousin Lizzie discussing teaching school in Texas, two scrapbooks containing trade cards of numerous 19th-century (predominantly Southern) companies, and photographs of Dr. Rushworth Nutt, Eliza Ker Nutt Batchelor, and Laurel Hill Plantation. The letters primarily discuss personal and local news. A copy of an article written in 1960 regarding Beech Grove Plantation, built by Thomas Batchelor in Amite County, Mississippi, is also included."
• King William County Batchelders: http://revwarapps.org/VAS2328.pdf

Acknowledgements

Batchelor-740 was created by Margaret Elgin through the import of clara perkins.may 2014.ged on May 16, 2014.