William Hamilton Berryhill, known as Hamilton, was born in 1836 in the Steele Creek community of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States.[1] He was the son of Taylor Berryhill and his cousin, Margaret Rea. He had one older sister, Sarah, born about 1834.
Oral history provides some clues as to the movement of this family. This oral history, known to the Mecklenburg branch of this family, may mostly likely came from Hamilton's descendants in Georgia. Apparently, the Berryhills moved to Tennessee, United States possibly near where Chattanooga is located. The family must have moved before Hamilton was born as he gave Tennessee as his birth place in the 1870 census (see below), and the story from descendants in Georgia and relatives in North Carolina is that Hamilton's father was killed by a falling tree there. Taylor's death would have occurred some time between Hamilton's birth in 1836 and 1847 when Hamilton's mother remarried.[2]
Sometime after the death of Hamilton's father, the family moved back to Steele Creek where his parents had relatives. The family was found there in 1850 by census enumerator A. R. Briant living near several other Berryhill families (Margaret's mother was also a Berryhill). By this time, Margaret had remarried to James Lewis Rodden (28 January 1847), and Hamilton and his sister, Sarah, had two much younger step-siblings, Aletha Rodden (misnamed Audrey Redden) and Charles Rodden (Redden). Hamilton's step-father, James, was a laborer, owning approximately $40 worth of real estate.[1]
Hamilton has not been found (yet) in the 1860 census, but he was in Georgia by that year. On 18 August 1860, Hamilton applied in Spalding County, Georgia, United States, for a marriage bond to wed Mary Banks, a descendant of Gershom Banks, Ebenezer Wakeman, and Isaac Holland. The couple were married on 3 November 1860 by J. R. McConal, justice of the peace.[3] Together they had 8 children:[4][5][6]
Not long after his marriage to Mary, Hamilton enlisted in the Confederate Army at Griffin, Georgia, Confederate States, on 15 February 1862. He served as a private in Company E, 2nd Georgia Cavalry. Hamilton's unit was attached to General Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was paid $129.60 for his service from 19 March until 1 September 1862 and for the use of his horse. From July 1863 through May 1864, Hamilton was on employed on extra duty in Atlanta, Georgia, variously as a hide agent, a shoemaker, a tailor, and a cutter in the clothing department. By January 1865, Hamilton was an army clerk in Columbus, Georgia. He was paroled from Confederate service on 14 May 1865 at Thomasville, Georgia, by Lieutenant Thomas L. Scott, United States Army. Hamilton was described as 5' 9" tall with dark hair, hazel eyes, and with a fair complexion.[7]
In August 1870, Hamilton and his family were enumerated by Elijah C. Morgan in Berrien County, Georgia. Hamilton was farming, the farm and home valued at $1500. The value of his personal estate was $508. Mary was home with three young children, Fannie (6), Mattie (3), and Katie (one month, though the census page states born in April of that year). Hamilton stated that he was born in Tennessee. Both Hamilton and Mary were considered literate (able to read and write).[4]
By 1880, the Berryhill family had grown by three more children including now Robert (8), Mamie (6) and John (1). Hamilton was still farming while Mary kept house and tended to the children. However, there was a crowd of others living in the household. One was Mary's father, Henry, a retired merchant. Also living there were Namie Nichols (43, a boarder who was engaged to be married), Benjamin and William Hill (45 and 17 respectively, black servants and both mechanics), Walter Knott (21 and also a black servant/laborer), Parks Brown and Cicero Baugh (36v and 20, white millwrights), and Moses Bell (a 25 year old black laborer).[5]
The loss of the 1890 census left a large gap in the records. However, on 15 June 1900, census enumerator Robert L. Patten found the Berryhill family in the 1300 District of Berrien County. Hamilton was 63 years old and still farming. His son, Robert, was living in the adjacent household, also farming. William's home was rented (as was Robert's), but it is unknown who actually owned the property. Only one child was still living at home, Alice, who was 16 years old. All three, Hamilton, Mary his wife (now 58 years old), and Alice were considered literate. (The dates of birth for Hamilton and Mary and their ages conflict in this census.)[6]
The last census in which Hamilton would appear before his death was in 1910. Enumerator James A. Crosby recorded the Berryhill family in Berrien County on 5 May of that year. William was farming, employed on his own account. He stated that he was a Confederate veteran. Living with Hamilton and Mary his wife were their daughter Mamie Berryhill Giddens, her husband, Julian Giddens, and their young son, Willie J Giddens, age 15.[8]
Hamilton died in 1916 in Lakeland, Lanier County, Georgia, United States (the exact date is unknown) at the age of about 80. He was buried in the Berryhill Wynn Family Cemetery there. Photos of Hamilton, his gravestone, and his home can be seen on his FindAGrave memorial.[9]
Some non-documentary sources give an exact birth date for Hamilton of 2 November 1836, the only source close to this is the 1880 census, giving November of 1836.
Several search terms were used to find Hamilton's Civil War service records. The one that proved best was William H. Berryhill.
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B > Berryhill > William Hamilton Berryhill
Categories: Berrien County, Georgia | Georgia, Needs Profiles Created | Lanier County, Georgia | Mecklenburg County, North Carolina | 2nd Regiment, Georgia Cavalry, United States Civil War