William Marion Pinson (1845 - 1920)

Born 1845 in Georgia, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1920 at about age 75 in Old Fort, Polk, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

William Marion Pinson was born in Georgia in 1845, per calculation and his gravestone. He was probably born late in the year and in Gilmer County, where he was enumerated as a five year old in 1850 and where his father had resided since the early 1830's. He was the eldest child of Aristides Brown Pinson and Rachel Nicholson.

Sometime in the 1850's, William's parents moved to Polk County, Tennessee along with William's uncle Joseph Pinson. The families of brothers Aristides and Joseph Pinson were enumerated together and William was in his midteens at the time. Aris and Joseph both worked as miners.

In 1861, the Civil War began and in the early 1860's Joseph Pinson returned to Gilmer County, Georgia where he enlisted with his other brother, Bartley, and several first cousins, in a mounted State Guard unit. The Georgia State Guard was deemed the private army of governor Joseph Emerson Brown, the only southern governor to serve throughout the entire Civil War. Governor Brown viewed the Confederate government with as much suspicion as he held for the government in Washington and refused, until the latter stages of the war, to let the Confederate army muster in his troops. For the most part, the guard units were composed of middle aged men.

Sometime early in that 1860's, William's father, Aris Pinson, ,moved his family west to Walker County Georgia where his uncle Samuel Fariss was a congressman. Governor Brown had drafted Fariss into a command position in the State Guards and positioned him, as a Colonel, in Savannah. Meanwhile, all of Samuel's sons were in the Confederacy. It is thought that Aris Pinson took his family to Walker County to protect his uncle's property and daughters. Aris Pinson also served in a mounted State Guard unit in Walker County, Georgia.

It's unknown whether William originally followed his father, or his uncle Joseph on the exit from Polk County. But family tradition was that he was working, in the early 1860's, as a farm laborer in Fannin County, Georgia, which had been formed, in part, from the Eastern half of Gilmer County. Again, according to oral history, a recruiter came into the county and enlisted him in the 10th Tennessee Cavalry of the Union army.

Union Army Service in the Civil War

Some have claimed that William Marion Pinson served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Indeed, a William M. Pinson did serve in the Union's 10th Tennessee Cavalry, which was formed in Nashville in 1863. However, we have no record of this unit being recruited in Polk County and there were other William Pinson's in Tennessee at the time. Lacking specific identification for the veteran, we cannot assume he was William Marion Pinson of this profile.

However, I do believe it to be true. David Pinson, second great grandson of William Marion Pinson e-mailed me in 2020 with this statement: "WM was in Fannin County working as an 18 year farm hand in the late summer of 1864 when the Union Recuriter entered the area and offered the $100 bounty to enlist. He served in lieu of a guy from Chataqua NY, He served in Co B, 10th TN Cavalry US and this regiment was involved in the fighting around Nashville." I need to get back to David to find out if this was based on oral history, or an actual pension claim. (To be continued G. Pinson 4 April 2022)

1850 U.S. Census for Gilmer County, Georgia

Arestedes B Pinson Male 33 South Carolina

Rachel Pinson Female 24 South Carolina

William M Pinson Male 5 Georgia <<<<<

James M Pinson Male 3 Georgia

John Pinson Male 0 Georgia

1860 U.S. census for Polk County, Tennessee

Aris Pinson 40 S.C. Rachel Pinson 40 " John Ricketts 14 " Marian Pinson 15 Ga. <<<<<< James Pinson 13 " John Pinson 11 " Missouri Pinson 1/12 Tenn.

Joseph Pinson 43 S.C. Mary Pinson 19 "

Note: Aris Pinson household 1295, family 1295 and his brother Joseph was next door in 1296-1296. Enumerated 26 June 1860. There were three Nicholson families within a few doors of Aris and Rachel (Nicholson) Pinson, but two were proven to be headed by sons of Isaac Nicholson Jr of Union County, Ga and not Rachel's siblings. The third is in doubt. Mary in Joseph Pinson's house was a daughter and believed to be his only child. Nothing is known about her mother, except that she is believed to have died by 1850. Family search erred by listing all four of Aris and Rachel's children with the Ricketts surname. The Ricketts boy was the last on the page and the four Pinson Children were listed on the next page with no surname. The familysearch transcriber made the understandable, but faulty assumption that since they were listed under the Ricketts boy, they were Ricketts too. The Ricketts boy is presumed to have been visiting when the census taker arrived. There is no known family association. There was a Ricketts family a few houses away and he was probably part of that household.

1870 U.S. census for Polk County, Tennessee

Notes from G. PInson: A Richard Pinson, age 26, was found in District 10, Polk County household of Samuel Elliot (26, mine hand), listed as a "mine hand." Because of the approximate age and fact that Wm Marion Pinson had been in the 1860 Polk County Census, and later censi there, it has been assumed that Richard was Wm Marion.

1880 U.S. census for Fannin County, Georgia

William F. Pinson Self Male 33 Tennessee,

Louijae Pinson Wife Female 30 Kentucky,

Julias Pinson Son Male 10 Georgia,

Ema Pinson Dau Female 8 Tennessee,

James Pinson Son Male 5 Tennessee,

Mary Pinson Dau Female 1 Tennessee,

Notes from G. PInson: The William F. Pinson in 1880 Fannin may be a different William Pinson.

1900 U.S. census for Polk County, Tennessee

• Marion R Pinson Head M 55 B ------ 1845 Ga ---- ----
• Lou Pinson Wife F 45 B Dec 1855 Ga GA. Ga.
• Mary dau F 20 B May 1880 Ga GA. Ga.
• Onie M. dau F 16 B May? 1884 Ga GA. Ga.
• Marion son M 11 B Dec 1888 Ga GA. Ga.
• Bessi? dau F 9 B Feb 1890 Ga GA. Ga.
• Mattie dau F 8 B Feb 1892 Ga GA. Ga.

Notes from G. PInson: Household 124, Family 127. Enumerated 11 June 1900. You must read the actual 1900 census and not just the family search summary sheet, which shows William (listed as Marion R.) and wife Lou only, because it didn't include the 6 children listed on the next census page. Two doors away in his father's house is Dewitt King, 13, who would marry William's daughter Mattie.

1910 U.S. census for Polk County Tennessee

William M Pinson Head M 68 Georgia

Loula Pinson Wife F 52 Alabama

Oscar Pinson Son M 23 Georgia

Marrion Pinson Son M 21 Georgia

Mattie Pinson Dau F 18 Georgia

Timeline (added 12/25/2020 by G. Pinson)

• 1845, July. William born in Georgia, probably Gilmer County
• 1850 Gilmer County Georgia Census (William M. shown in Parent’s house)
• 1860 Polk County Tennessee Census (William M. shown in Parent’s house)
• 1864 Father, Aristides Brown Pinson, in Walker Co. Ga militia
• 1864 William M. Penson, age 18, in 10th Tennessee Cavalry, USA. Probably ours.
• 1870 Polk Co Tenn Census? Did he stay there and change his name to Richard Pinson?
• 1873-74 Married in Tennessee? (Polk Co?).
• 1880 Census Neither William nor his brother John can be found. Parents in Dekalb Co. Ala.
• 1880 Census: There is a William F? Pinson with wife Louiza in Fannin Co. Ga with 4 children aged 1 to 10. A first wife?
• 1880-92 In Georgia, per census data for children.
• 188- Sister Missouri marries Dillard Oliver Shirley in Dekalb County Alabama
• Early 1880s Williams parents and brothers, John and Andrew, follow brother James to Crawford Co Ark.
• 1896, 2 Feb: James Pinson weds Augusta Moore in Polk Co. Tenn. This must be William Marion Pinson’s son.
• 1900 U.S. census for Polk County Tennessee.
• 1901, 1 June: Mary O. Pinson weds John F. Goodwin in Polk Co. Tenn. Was this William M. Pinson’s daughter or his first cousin, daughter of Joseph Pinson?
• 1905, 2 March: Jim Pinson, born 1 Oct 1876, dies and is later buried the in Oldfort, Polk Co. Tenn.
• 1907, 31 Jan: Augusta Pinson weds Bill Smith in Polk Co. Tenn. William M. Pinson’s daughter in law? Widow of James Pinson?
• 1907, 1 Nov: Daughter Rosie Pinson weds Wat Goode in Polk Co. Tenn.
• 1910 Polk County Tennessee Census
• 1910, 20 Nov: Mattie “Penson” weds Dewitt King in Polk Co. Tenn.
• 1914, 22 Feb: Son Marion “Penson” weds Carrie Brackett in Polk Co. Tenn.
• 1917-18 Draft registration card for William Oscar Pinson age 34 of Polk Co. Tenn. His father listed as Dick Pinson of Polk Tennessee.
• 1920 William Marion Pinson died
• 1920 Census…can’t find any of William Marion’s family in Polk Co.

Notes (placed by G. Pinson (Pinson-796)

1. William was listed as William M. in the 1850 and 1910 censi and Marion in the 1860 census. He later was tagged with the name Richard. It's unsure whether Richard was a second middle name, a nickname or the result of census error.
2. William was last seen with his parents and siblings in the 1860 census. It's not known whether he stayed behind when they left Polk County Tennessee in the early 1860's or moved with them then returned to Polk County.
3. William's spouses name proven by three children's death certificates, two naming her as Lou Tatum and one as Lou (no maiden name given.
4. Children are largely proven by census data, but also by children's death certificates in three cases, which name him as father. Also, a daughter, Rosse Goode, is the informant on William's widowed spouse's Georgia Death certificate.

Sources

• 1850 United States Census for Gilmer County, Georgia. Database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZYG-JQN : 12 April 2016), William M Pinson in household of Arestedes B Pinson, Gilmer county, part of, Gilmer, Georgia, United States; citing family 916, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• 1860 United States Census for 10 District, Benton P.O., Polk County, Tennessee (In father Aristides Pinson's household).
• 1870 United States Census for Polk County, Tennessee , Richard Pinson in entry for Samuel Elias.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8LT-H6C : 12 November 2020), William F. Pinson, Fannin, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 56, sheet 637C, NARA microfilm publication T9 ...
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSCR-ZJR : accessed 26 December 2020), Marion R Pinson, Civil District 3, Polk, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 125, sheet 7B, family 1...
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGF6-HYV : accessed 26 December 2020), William M Pinson, Civil District 3, Polk, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 159, sheet 8B, ...
• findagrave memorial #5566987 for William Marion Penson showing a photograph of his gravestone showing "W.M. Penson 1845-1920". The memorial site may be viewed at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5566987/william-marion-penson
• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP37-HWRF : 25 August 2019), William M Pinson and Lou Tatum listed as parents in entry for Oscar Pinson, 4 Dec 1965; Death, Cleveland, Bradley, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMS-SJD1 : 23 February 2021), William Pinson and Lou Tatum listed as parents in entry for Rossie Goode, 15 Sep 1959; Death, Cleveland, Bradley, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
• "Georgia Deaths, 1928-1943," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JJ36-8P6 : 2 March 2021), William Pension and Lou (no maiden name given) listed as parents in entry for Emma Roxie Hedrick, 24 Feb 1929; citing Cisco, Murray, Georgia, United States, Georgia State Archives, Morrow.
• "Georgia Deaths, 1928-1943," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJX9-JPH7 : 2 March 2021), Lou Pinson, 27 Mar 1932; citing residence as Cisco, Murray County, Georgia, United States. Informant Rosse Goode (daughter). Georgia State Archives, Morrow.
• "Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWRB-Z4G : 4 December 2014), William M Penson, 1864; from "Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : 2010); citing military unit Tenth Cavalry, NARA microfilm publication M395 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1963), roll 88.
• Family Oral history from David Pinson, 2nd great grandson of William Marion Pinson.
• Unpublished research of G. Pinson (Pinson-796).
• Wikipedia article "10th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment (Union)". Viewable at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Tennessee_Cavalry_Regiment_(Union)

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to David Pinson, a direct descendant of William Marion Pinson, for the photograph of William at the lumber mill and for oral history of his family and background information related to William and his issue. (G. Pinson (Pinson-796).