WEAVER Sarah Elizabeth "Betty"

Notes:

Birth:
Betty was born about 1726, the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Weaver of Surry County. The Weaver family traced its roots to one John Weaver, born in England in 1625, who came to the Virginia Colony as a young man and settled in Surry County. Betty's ancestors (John1, John2, John3, Edward") continued to live and die in Surry County.

Sarah married COTTON Richard in 1747 in Albemarle Parish, Surry County, VA. Richard (son of COTTON Thomas (T.C.) and HYDE Jane Jean) was born about 1729 in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; died on 7 Jan 1790 in Sussex County, VA; was buried in Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: AVENT Rebecca. Rebecca and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rebecca married MANGUM Samuel on 15 Nov 1779. Samuel and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Archibald married HILL Caty on 2 Jul 1787. Caty and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: COOK --FNU--. --FNU-- and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Will: 25 Feb 1805

Notes:

Will:
"Anne" Harrison was named administratrix of the estate. We do not know at this time whether she remarried or had any other children. William Henry would have been only 10 years of age when his father died. We assume that his mother managed the plantation until William was of age and/or his mother died, at which time he no doubt inherited the property. It is usually financially disastrous to a family if the father dies young. There has been insufficient time to accumulate wealth, which usually occurs in the later years of one's life. The children are deprived of the instruction of the father in learning how to manage the crops, the animals and the slaves. We can assume that the slaves knew what needed to be done and kept the enterprise going. But the loss of the master, who did the planning and managed the business of the plantation, is irreplaceable.

The inventory of the estate of Gary Cotton taken 2/25/1805 lists eleven slaves: Lewis, John, Solomon (a boy), Michael (a boy), Doctor (a boy), Chloe (old), Sarah, Bede, Dolly, Patsy, Chloe. The slaves are valued at L848, two horses L55, one yoke young steers L 7, sixteen sheep L10, oId bull L5, five cows LI 8, two heifers L3, two steers L4, two yearlings L2, four sows L4, one blue boar L2, nine year-old hogs L5.5, eight shoots £2.5. Three beds and furniture L32. There is little else of significant value listed.

It is clear that slaves were by far the greatest resource and store of wealth for most of the farmers in Surry and Sussex Counties. Each plantation was a community in itself. Of the eleven slaves listed in Carey Cotton's estate only two were grown men able to plow the fields. There were three boys and six women of various ages. To survive, all would have to cooperate together.

Carey-Cary married HARRISON Nancy Ann on 11 Dec 1792 in Sussex County, VA. Nancy (daughter of HARRISON William and HARRISON Mary --LNU--) and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Weaver was born in Sussex Co., VA, in 1768, son of Richard and Betty Cotton. Weaver migrated to Wilkes Co., GA, prior to 1800, probably by way of North Carolina, and to Coweta Co. about 1830, settling near Moreland.

William and Weaver were twins. Weaver was christened according to the Albermarle Parish Register, on 7/31/1768 but William isn't mentioned. Assumption is that William died at birth.

About 1790: Marriage to Millie Robertson.
Weaver and Millie had three children.
Millie died in GA in about 1803-1805.

1793 Tax List for Wilkes Co., NS, Grisham District, lists a Weaver Cotton.

The census records show him in North Carolina in 1800 and in 1810.

8/3/1806: Marriage in Kettle Creek, Wilkes Co., GA, to Sarah Elizabeth Evans Bennett.
Weaver and Sarah had seven children.

1820 Wilkes County, GA, Page 186:
Weaver Cotton:
1 male - to age 10 (Travis);
2 males - 10-16 (Eli);
1 male - 16-18;
3 males - 18-26 (Henry & Cary);
1 male - 45 plus (Weaver);
3 females - to age 10 (Sarah & Nancy);
2 females - 10-16 (Rachael);
1 female - 26-45 (Mary).

In the third land lottery drawing in 1820, Weaver received some land in Wilkes County on Kittle Creek, where he was residing at the time.

1830 Federal Census for Wilkes Co., GA, Page 315, Line #11:
Weaver Cotton:
Males- 5 thru 9 - 2 (Weaver b. 1822 & Bennett b. 1824);
Males- 10 thru 14 - 1 (Travis b. 1815);
Males- 60 thru 69 - 1 (Weaver b. 1768);
Females- 10 thru 14 - 1 (Sarah b. 1815);
Females- 40 thru 49 - 1 (Sarah b. 1787).

Kittle Creek played a vital role in the War for Independence, and in the Civil War.

Coweta Co. Court records reveal, in part:
April 14, 1836
Cary Cotton and Sarah Cotton, Administrators will sell perishable property of Weaver Cotton, deceased, of 2nd District, Coweta Co. on 5th May.
This means Weaver died prior to April 14, 1836.

Will - 12/31/1837, Coweta Co., GA.


Family links:
Parents:
Richard Cotton (1729 - 1790)
Sarah Elizabeth Weaver Cotton (1726 - 1781)

Spouses:
Millie Robertson (1766 - ____)*
Sarah Elizabeth Bennett Cotton (1780 - 1850)*

Children:
Henry Cotton (1795 - ____)*
Cary Cotton (1802 - 1881)*
Eli Cotton (1803 - 1883)*
Mary Cotton Bennett (1807 - 1861)*
Rachel M. Cotton Evans (1808 - 1881)*
Nancy M. Cotton Hindsman (1810 - 1855)*
Sarah M. Cotton Hindsman (1815 - 1857)*
Travis Cotton (1815 - 1850)*
Weaver Alexander Cotton (1822 - 1896)*
Bennett Cotton (1824 - 1842)*

Siblings:
Sally Cotton Ivey (1747 - ____)*
Seth Cotton (1750 - 1815)*
Harris Cotton (1753 - 1797)*
Rebecca Cotton Mangum (1756 - 1828)*
Archibald Cotton (1759 - ____)*
Celia Cotton Scoggins (1760 - ____)*
Jane Cotton Cook (1762 - ____)*
Cary Cotton (1765 - ____)*
Weaver Cotton (1768 - 1836)
William Cotton (1768 - 1768)*


Burial:
Hindsman Family Cemetery
Moreland
Coweta County
Georgia, USA

Family/Spouse: BENNETT Sarah Elizabeth (Sally). Sarah was born in 1780 in Bedford County, VA; died in 1850 in Moreland, Coweta County, GA; was buried in Moreland, Coweta County, GA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Will: 1842, Sussex County, VA

Notes:

William Henry Cotton 1795 - 1842
William Henry Cotton was the only son of Gary and Nancy Anne (Harrison) Cotton. He was born about 1795 and was but 10 years old when his father died. It seems clear that he inherited the same plantation which his father, Gary, had inherited from his grandfather, Richard. Four of the slaves named in William Henry Cotton's will in 1842 are the same as those named in the inventory of the estate of his father thirty-seven years later.
He married Sarah "Sally" Weathers Parsons on 3/7/1816. They were both about 21 years old. She was the daughter of Henry Parsons (1749-? ) and his second wife Hannah Stacy (1769-1826), whom he married in 1793. Her half brother was Col. William Parsons, who had been a captain in the Continental Cavalry and was a prominent figure in Sussex County. The Parsons were also very early settlers in the Virginia Colony

Will:
William M. Cotton's father died in 1842, when William was 16 years old. His brothers and sister were apparently also underage. In his will he leaves one-third of his estate to his beloved wife, Sally Cotton, and two thirds to his four children, to be divided equally among them. He specifically leaves one negro girl, Mason, to William Madison; another, Harriet Jones, to daughter Caroline; and still another, Viney, to Gary. He then specifies that each of the three negro girls shall be loaned to his beloved wife until each of the children shall arrive to lawful age or marry.
The inventory of William Henry Cotton's estate taken on the 15th of December 1842 indicates that this was a family of some wealth. In addition to four pages of personal possessions, farming implements and stored crops, twenty four slaves are listed by name: Allen, Willis, Jim, Hubbard, Isham, Jacob, Jesse, John, Dick, Henry, Little Harriet, Liza, Dolly, Sarah, Malinda, Lewis, big Harriet and her 3 children Mary Chesman and Samson, Viney, Harriet Jones and Mason. The slaves are valued at $5275, the rest of his possessions at $1877. Land and buildings are not included in the inventory. They must have been substantial to support such a large number of people.

He did leave a will dated 10/4/1842, two months before it was probated. His wife Salty is named executor. The provisions of the will are as follows:
William Madison Cotton - One negro girl named Mason(?). To him and his heirs forever.
Daughter Caroline ~ One negro girl named Harriet Jones to her and her heirs forever.
Cory - One negro girl named Viney to him and his heirs forever.
Item: It is my will and desire that the three negro girls to wit Mason, harriet Jones and Viney disposed of above be loaned to my beloved wife until each one of my children named above shall arrive to lawful age or marry.
Item: I leave to my beloved wife Sally Cotton my watch and at her death to my son Cory. Item: It is my will and desire that the remainder of my estate be equally divided into three parts; one-third part of which I loan to my beloved wife Sally Cotton during her life, the other two-thirds to be equally divided between my son Albert R. Cotton, William M. Cotton, Caroline Cotton and Cory Cotton to them and their heirs forever.
The inventory of the estate included 23 slaves: Lewis, John, Sarah and Dolly, who were inherited from his father, plus Allen, Willis, Jim, Hubbard, Isham, Jacob, Jessee, Dick, Henry, Little Harriet, Liza, Dolly, Malinda, Viney, Harriet Jones, Big Harriet and her three children Mary, Cheeseman and Samson. The total value of the slaves was estimated at S 5275. Livestock, stored crops, farm equipment and supplies were valued at $ 1014. Furniture and personel possessions had a total value estimated at $ 261. Household items of significant value included a sideboard $ 40,dining tables $ 25, three beds at $ 25 each, one bed at $ 15, a trundle bed $ 3, a watch $ 25, a large pine chest $15, buffet $ 8, etc. The plantation was first and foremost a business enterprise. What we do not see is value of land and buildings, slave cabins, etc. Why this is so is not clear to me.
Between the death of William Henry Cotton in 1842 and the Civil War we have no information about the family. We do not know whether the plantation was sold and the proceeds divided among the children. We do not know what education they received. William Madison Cotton is said to have been a teacher, but where and of what we do not know. Gary Cotton became a doctor, and was a surgeon in the Army of the Confederacy. We know nothing of the lives of Albert and Caroline Cotton.
pg. 26

William married PARSONS Sarah (Sally) Weathers on 7 Mar 1816 in Sussex County, VA. Sarah (daughter of PARSONS Henry and STACY Hannah) was born in 1795-1796 in Sussex County, VA; died after 1860. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: HINDSMAN Michael. Michael was born in 1813; died in 1869. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Teacher
• Lived(s) In: 1860, Cabin Point, Surry County, VA.; Cabin Point
• Military: 1861-1865, Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; Civil War Veteran

Notes:

Birth:
William Madison Cotton was bom June 3, 1826, according to the inscription on his tombstone, in Sussex County, Virgina. His parents were William Henry Cotton and Sarah "Sally" Weathers Parsons. The other children in the family were Albert R. Cotton, Caroline Cotton and Gary Cotton.

Occupation:
William Madison Cotton is said to have been a teacher, but where and of what we do not know.

Lived(s) In:
William and Valeria began their life together on the tract which makes up the western half of the Marl Spring Farm, known as the Mill Tract, and later as the Grubbs place. It consisted of nearly 200 acres of woods and fields, most of which had probably become overgrown through years of neglect. It is not clear how they came to own the land. One story is that it had belonged to William's brother, Dr. Gary Cotton, who removed to Texas after the War and left the property to his brother. There were no dwellings remaining on the land, and William and Valeria built a log cabin, which was to serve them as a home for many years.

We know that William Cotton and his young wife Valeria settled on the Mill Tract on the New Design Road as reported earlier. In 1870 the value of their farm is given as a very modest $400 and their personal estate as $100. From the sequence of visitations shown in the report of the Census of 1870, it appears that Eldridge Maddera, his wife Mary, and five children: Mary 18, Eldridge 15, Adelia 13, George 9 and an infant 2 lived next door, perhaps on The Marl Spring Farm. Eldridge's occupation is listed as "lumber dealer". This is confirmed by Valeria's recollection many years later that her father operated a sawmill. No value of land and personal estate is given.

Military:
Sgt. in the Calvary
William Madison Cotton, like Eldridge Maddera, had been a member of Captain Travis W. Taylor's Surry Cavaly company since long before the Civil War. I have a book which belonged to William Cotton, The Army and Navy of America: Containing a View of the Heroic Adventure, Battles, Naval Engagements, Remarkable Incidents, and Glorious Achievements in the Cause of Freedom, from the Period of the French and Indian Wars to the Close of the Florida War; Independant of an Account of Warlike Operations on Land and Sea; Enlivened by a Variety of the Most Interesting Anecdotes; and Splendidly Embellished with Numerous Engravements. By Jacob K. Neff, M.D. Published by J. K Pearsall & Co. 1845. In the front is written,'William M. Cotton, Born Aug.
6(26?), 1826. On the second page is written, Win. M. Cotton's Book.......Price $1.00.......sold by J. D. Thornton who is agent for.................June 1,1847. William Cotton would have been 19 years
old when he bought this book, and there is little reason to doubt that his acquisition of it coincided with his initiation into the prestigious ranks of the Surry Cavalry.
As noted earlier, when the Civil War broke out, William Cotton and Eldridge Maddera had both enlisted as privates in the Surry Cavalry on April 20 1861, only eight days after the beginning of the bombardment of Fort Sumpter. The Surry Cavalry was designated as Company E, 5th Regiment Virginia Cavalry, attached to the 3rd Regiment Virginia Infantry. Together they saw bloody action on many a field of battle. In Sept./Oct. 1862, Company K, 13 Regiment Virginia Cavalry was formed up under Captain Samuel H. Burt and assigned to dashing Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's famed Cavalry Division of the Army of Northern Virginia. William Cotton was appointed 2nd Sergeant of the new Company K and Eldridge Maddera its 2nd Lieutenant. They participated in nearly every major battle in the eastern theater of the War from then until the end of the War. They were at "the greatest cavalry battle of the War, which took place on June 9,1863, at Brandy Station, seven miles north of Culpepper Court House. The battle lasted , without let-up, for twelve hours, as Rebel cavalrymen under Stuart and Union cavalrymen under Pleasanton, slashed at each other with sabers and fired their pistols at point blank range." (Story County at War 1861 -1865; Willis W. Bohannan; p. 41)
Sgt Cotton had his horse shot out from under him in a skirmish with the enemy at Brandy Ford on April 15,1863, and lost all his equipment as well He was reimbursed $300 for his horse and $50 to replace his equipment.
On March 28, 1864 Sgt Cotton was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, VA suffering from 'Rubeola'. On April 22, 1864 he was transferred to the Episcopal Church Hospital at Williamsburg, VA suffering from 'debilitas'. From there he was transferred May 7,1864 to General Hospital in Petersburg still suffering from 'debilitas'. He did not return to duty until September 12,1864, at which time he assumed his old position as Sgt. of Company K for the long struggle to defend Petersburg. On April 2, 1865 Lee finally abandoned Petersburg and began the retreat to Appomattox, where he surrendered to Grant eight days later.
Sgt. Cotton's name appears as a signature to a "Parole of Prisoners of War, given in accordance with the terms of capitulation agreed upon between General Grant and General Lee, on the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, April 9,1865. He was paroled at Southamton, VA on April 30, 1865. Under the terms of surrender, cavalrymen who owned their own horses were permitted to keep them and return home. We have no record, but we have no reason to believe William Cotton did not return home with his horse.

William married MADDERA Valeria Ann on 19 Dec 1866 in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States. Valeria (daughter of MADDERA Eldridge Anmstrit, Sr. and SLEDGE Mary Pocahontas) was born on 5 Oct 1848 in Spring Grove, Surry County, Va; died on 25 Jun 1950 in Surry, Surry County, VA; was buried in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gary married CARSLEY Laura R.A.W. on 10 Feb 1859. Laura (daughter of CARSLEY James K. and WILLIAMSON Ann) was born cal 1841; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

cemetery info

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2308861/memorial-search?cemeteryname=Hindsman%20Family%20Cemetery&page=1#sr-68106420

Family/Spouse: STEVENS Lucy Ann. Lucy was born in 1838; died in 1917. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]