Jacob Kees (1760 - abt. 1825)

Born 1760 in Wilkes County, Colony of North Carolina, British Colonial America

Husband of Mary (Allen) Kees — married 11 Mar 1783 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, USA

Descendants

Died about 1825 at about age 65 in Lawrence, Mississippi

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Biography

Jacob was born in 1760.

He married Mary Allen on 11 Mar 1783 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. ^{[1] [2]}

Their daughter Sarah was born 19 Dec 1781 in Rowan County, North Carolina.

Jacob would become part of an early wave of settlement from the Carolinas to the Territory of Mississippi, the family arriving at least as early as 1810, based on census returns for the Territory in that year listing himself, his wife Mary (implied), and one child (Sarah (implied). ^[3]

According to an article on the historical territory and statehood of Mississippi, "The attraction of vast amounts of high-quality, fertile and inexpensive cotton land attracted hordes of settlers, mostly from Georgia and the Carolinas, and from former tobacco areas of Virginia and North Carolina in the Upper South. By this time, most planters in the Upper South had switched to mixed crops, as their lands were exhausted from tobacco and it was barely profitable as a commodity crop.

"From 1798 through 1820, the population in the Mississippi Territory rose dramatically, from less than 9,000 to more than 222,000. The vast majority were enslaved African Americans brought by settlers or shipped by slave traders." ^[4]

Jacob Kees appears on a memorial to Congress, referred 6 Dec 1814, by inhabitants of the Mississippi Territory seeking for a road to be built that follows the Pearl River which would shorten the route from Nashville to New Orleans. ^[5]

"Migration came in two fairly distinct waves—a steady movement until the outbreak of the War of 1812, and a flood after it was ended, from 1815 through 1819. The postwar flood was catalyzed by various factors: high prices for cotton, the elimination of Indian titles to much land, new and improved roads, and the acquisition of new direct water outlets to the Gulf of Mexico. The first migrants were traders and trappers, then herdsmen, and finally farmers. Conditions on the Southwest frontier initially resulted in a relatively democratic society for whites. But expansion of cotton cultivation resulted in an elite group of white planters who controlled politics in the state for decades." ^[6]

The western portion of Mississippi Territory became the U.S. State of Mississippi on 10 Dec 1817.

Jacob and his family appear in the 1820 U.S. Federal Census for Mississippi as follows:

• Name:Jacob Kees
• Home in 1820 (City, County, State): Miscellaneous Townships, Lawrence, Mississippi
• Enumeration Date: 7 Aug 1820
• Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1 (This would be Jacob)
• Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: 1 (This would be daughter Sarah)
• Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over: 1 (This would be wife Mary)
• Free White Persons - Under 16: 1 (Sarah)
• Free White Persons - Over 25: 2 (Jacob and Mary)
• Total Free White Persons:3
• Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 3 (indicating Jacob owned no slaves in 1820) ^[7]

He passed away about 1825 in Lawrence, Mississippi.

Sources

1. ↑ North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011. Marriage bond for Jacob Keeze in Wilkes County. Ancestry.com, digital image of original bond [1]
2. ↑ North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Index, 1741-2004, for Jacob Lieze in Wilkes County. Ancestry.com, transcription of marriage index [2]
3. ↑ 1810, Census Returns for Mississippi. Ancestry.com, digital image of original roster including Jacob Kees [3]
4. ↑ "History of Mississippi." Wikipedia article [4]
5. ↑ U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820. Ancestry.com, transcription of memorial [5]
6. ↑ "History of Mississippi." Wikipedia article [6]
7. ↑ 1820 U.S. Federal CEnsus for Jacob Kees in Lawrence Mississippi. Ancestry.com, image of original roster [7]

• Profile, FamilySearch/org [8]