William Montgomery (abt. 1762 - 1815)

Born about 1762 in Waxhaw, Lancaster, South Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Agnes Nancy (Barkley) Montgomery — married 10 Nov 1786 in South Carolina

Descendants

Died 20 Apr 1815 at about age 53 in Adams County, Mississippi, USA

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Biography

William Montgomery, son of Hugh Montgomery, was born in the Waxhaw Settlement of Lancaster District, South Carolina. He is recognized by NSDAR ^[1] for his service in the War of the Revolution. He was in the 6th South Carolina Regiment under Capt George Dunlap, then under Capt Henry Coffee and Capt Marchall Jones. ^[2]. ^[3]

In the 1780 census William was on the Petit Jury List for the "District of Camden" and was in Eastward Wateree and Waxhaws, Camden District, South Carolina.^[4]

Married in South Carolina by the Rev. Finlay in 1786 to Agnes Nancy Barkley, daughter of Major John and Agnes Barkley of Lancaster County, South Carolina.

In the 1790 census William was in Lancaster, South Carolina. His household included himself, another male over 16, a male under 16, son John Barkley Montgomery, and 2 females Agnes Nancy Barkley and daughter Jane .^[5]

In the 1800 census William and Agnes Nancy were in Lancaster District, South Carolina. The household included 4 males under 10 (Hugh, Eliezer, Samuel and William Pinckney), 1 male 10-15 John Barkley, 1 female 10-15 Jane, and 6 enslaved persons.^[6] William decided to join his younger brother Alexander in the newly organized Mississippi Territory. Alexander had moved to Natchez in 1789, when it was still under Spanish rule. Along with his brothers Samuel and Joseph and brother-in-law Jonathan Mackey, he set out in April 1802 for Adams County, Mississippi. The families made the trip by flatboat, arriving at Natchez in the late spring of 1802. If you had nothing to carry with you, you could ride to Natchez, but wagons could not get through. In that vast wilderness which reached from Georgia to the Mississippi, the game and Indian trails were hardly wide enough for horsemen riding single file. Although creeks could be forded, rivers must be crossed by dismounting and swimming alongside your horse. If you were obliged to transport property, you went by flatboat, some eighteen hundred miles down four rivers, the Holston, the Tennessee, the Ohio and the Mississippi. From the Waxhaw Settlement to the Holston meant a trip by wagon of some five hundred hilly and mountainous miles, and the families did well to manage the trip in something like two months time. Shortly after his arrival William bought a tract of land in Adams County about 18 miles northeast of old Fort Panmure, and later that same year bought a large tract of land in Jefferson County. Thus William Montgomery quickly established himself as one of the more prominent planters in the Natchez, farming some 1200 acres within a little over a year after his arrival in this region. He lived conveniently near his brother Samuel. ^[7]

In January 1803, William Montgomery bought 345 acres of land for $1,325 (about $3.85 an acre) in Adams County. In September 1803, he bought 824 acres in Jefferson County. William was farming over 1,200 acres just a year after he arrived in Natchez. He died about 13 years later.

Children:

1. John Barkley Montgomery (b 1787 in SC, m Matilda Ann Cochran and moved to Jefferson Co MS),
2. Dr Hugh Montgomery (m Mary Chaney of Franklin Co MS, moved to Baton Rouge LA),
3. Eliezer Montgomery (m Maria Miller and moved to Natchez MS),
4. Samuel Montgomery (m Rebecca Alexander of Adams Co MS),
5. William Pinckney Montgomery (m Catherine Cameron of Jefferson Co MS),
6. Jane (died without issue),
7. Lucinda Montgomery (died without issue),
8. Alexander Montgomery (m Davidella Flournoy of Fayette Co KY).^[8]

He died in 20 April 1815 in Adams County, Mississippi.

Research Notes

• "Genealogy of the Montgomerys", written in 1873 by A B Montgomery, has detail on this family, as William was A B [Alexander Barckly] Montgomery's father.^[9]

• From a letter by Gertrude Montgomery, "My grandfather [a son of William Montgomery] tells me nothing about his mother's family except that his mother Nancy was the daughter of Col. Barkley of the Rev. War; and that his Uncle Joseph [Montgomery] married a sister of his mother (a Barkley); and a nephew of his father named Hugh Montgomery had married a third sister." ^[7]

• Appearance in Document, 1 Feb 1799. Will of John Barkley, deceased. We, the undersigners, are entitled to a distributive share thereof, made over to William Barkley, all our rights, titles and interest. Signed by William Allen, Robert Barkley, William Cousar, John Barkley, Hugh Montgomery, William Montgomery. N.B. Nathan Barr ... saw ... Wm Allen, for himself and for Hugh Montgomery of the State of Georgia.^[7]

• Appearance in Document, 26 Oct 1801. By will of said John Barkley, deceased, directed to be divided into nine shares, one share or ninth of which being willed to us, we, Hugh Montgomery of Jackson Co, State of Georgia, and William Montgomery of Lancaster District SC, released to William Barkley our share. ^[7]

William was the maternal fourth great-grandfather of singer-songwriter K.T. Oslin.

Sources

1. ↑ NSDAR Ancestor #: A079101: MONTGOMERY, WILLIAM, Service: SOUTH CAROLINA, Rank: PRIVATE, Birth: CIRCA 1762, WAXHAW CRAVEN CO SOUTH CAROLINA, Death: 4-20-1815 ADAMS CO MISSISSIPPI, Service Source: SC ARCH, ACCTS AUD #5314A, ROLL #106, Service Description: 1) CAPTS GEORGE DUNLAP, HENRY COFFEY, MARSHALL JONES, 2) COLS JOSEPH KERSHAW, MARSHALL
2. ↑ DAR member #382340, Catherine Wilkerson Bryan
3. ↑ "Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution"
   Original data: Moss, Boby Gilmer. Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 49323 #93126 (accessed 12 November 2023)
4. ↑ 1780 Census: "U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820"
   Document: Jury Lists, 1778, Acts #1078 [at SC Archives]; Page Number: 10; Family Number: 101
   Ancestry Record 2234 #92080 (accessed 12 November 2023)
   William Montgomery in Eastward Wateree and Waxhaws, Camden District, South Carolina.
5. ↑ 1790 Census: "1790 United States Federal Census"
   The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; First Census of the United States, 1790.; Year: 1790; Census Place: Lancaster, South Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 11; Page: 235; Family History Library Film: 0568151
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5058 #373780 (accessed 12 November 2023)
   Wm Montgomery in Lancaster, South Carolina.
6. ↑ 1800 Census: "1800 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1800; Census Place: Lancaster District, South Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 50; Page: 10; Image: 18; Family History Library Film: 181425
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7590 #496886 (accessed 12 November 2023)
   Will Montgomery in Lancaster District, South Carolina.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Montgomery, D. C. Jr, The Descendants of Hugh Montgomery Sr (1976), p43.
8. ↑ Bryan, Catherine (compiler), Montgomerys of South Carolina, Mississippi, and other Southern States (1959), p14, p47.
9. ↑ Bryan, Catherine (compiler), Montgomerys of South Carolina, Mississippi, and other Southern States (1959), p47

See also

• William Montgomery: FamilySearch RecordID
• Agnes Nancy Barkley (spouse): FamilySearch RecordID

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ruth Montgomery, who added to the narrative January 10, 2017

Thanks to Michael J Montgomery who added narrative from "Where We Came From / Where Neville Came From - by John H Bryan & Neville Frierson Bryan"