RABUN, FRAZER, POWELL, MORRIS (MAURICE), MCRAE (MCRAY, MCCRAY), WOOTEN AND ROUSSEAU
Contact Marianne Leader ( singermarianne@gmail.com )
Recently, as Marianne Leader researched her Rabun ancestors in Georgia—one of whom immigrated into Alabama—she followed many leads in order to try to find the elusive “Matthew Rabun Jr.” born c1773, referred to in family notes as the son of Matthew Rabun born 1744 VA. The facts she already did have in hand were: her third great grandfather William Watson Rabun was born in 1795 in Hancock Co GA; he was the son of Apselia Powel born 1774 (daughter of Cader Powell who fought in Revolution in GA) and a Rabun whom Apselia married c1794. (Will of Apselia Morris in Crawford Co, GA, written much earlier than its probating in 1866, refers clearly to her Rabun grandchildren as well as to her children by second husband Benjamin Morris.) Apselia’s first husband, a Rabun, had died somewhere between late 1795 and 1800, as Apselia had married Benjamin Morris at least as early as 1800. Also, in the tax lists of 1812 in Hancock County, GA, there in Capt Jones’ district on the Buffalo Creek, were found head of household Benjamin Morris (second husband of Apselia Powell) and William Watson Rabun over whom Benjamin Morris was guardian. The land, of which William W Rabun is owner in this list, appears as a lottery winning in Wilkinson County, so this 202 ˝ acres either must have been won by William Watson Rabun himself, or it might have been donated to him by his grandfather (so Marianne guessed) Matthew Rabun (the Matthew born 1744) who had won land in the 1805-06 lottery. In 1812, of course, William Watson Rabun was still a minor, 17 years old, so his step-father Benjamin Morris was paying the property tax.
Marianne travelled to the archives in Morrow, GA where Lynda Jernigan helped her to pull a thousand books and files out of walls and drawers which Ms. Jernigan judged as possible sources in the search for the exact name of William Watson Rabun’s father. The identity of the winner of William Watson Rabun’s land—which was his own winning—was “John Rabun’s orphan.” Then came another mention of a John Rabun, gentleman, in the Greene County militia in 1793. (One of the boundary marks of the district John Rabun is in, is Buffalo Creek.) William Rabun (born 1771) the future governor of GA who, so Marianne believed, was brother to this John Rabun, was also, in same year of 1793, a Captain in a nearby militia in Greene County. (These two districts described would both be a part of Hancock County in a few months or weeks, as the county change occurred in 1793.) Next to be found under an index for the John Rabun name was an abstract of a will made in 1793 in Greene County by John Frazer (Frazier, Fraser in other places) who left all his goods and chattels “for love and affection” to John Rabun of Greene County GA.
Later, back home and gradually searching , Marianne found that Benjamin Morris, second husband to Wm Watson Rabun’s mother, Apselia, and his household were located on the Buffalo Creek as neighbor to John Frazer. Records of the Inferior Court of Hancock Co (from 1793 to approximately 1816) revealed that a John Rabun had, as late as 1796, been drawn into a jury pool for the next session of court, but seemed to disappear after that from any list or any service on any jury. (Records of this court, in old handwriting, found on FamilySearch site.) Benjamin “Maurice” shows up several times, though, around 1815-1816, once as receiving letters of administration for deceased estate of John Rabun (for which Maurice had to post bond of $2000.) and another time, as a filer of a complaint that, as he had stood as security for Leanna Frazer, widow of the deceased, in administration of the estate of Frazer, and estate was being wastefully managed, he, “Benjamin Maurice” needed help from the court – evidently, as far as Marianne could judge—help to end Leanna Frazer’s management and to let him, “Maurice,” take over.
Marianne went back to take a second look at the tax lists of 1812 in Hancock Co, to find that Epaphroditus McRae was listed as the executor of the John Frazer deceased estate in 1811-12. So, evidently, Leanna, the widow of John Frazer, had taken over as administrator sometime after 1812, with Benjamin Morris standing as financial security for her. In light of the fact that Morris’ wife, Apselia, needed to protect her son’s inheritance, it became pretty clear that Morris (“Maurice” in the court records) is still trying, in 1815, to clear up all the inheritance issues . William Watson Rabun had gotten married to Martha Allen (Patsy) in Jones County, GA, 1814; would move to Conecuh Co, Alabama by late 1818. The Morrises, Apselia and Benjamin with their two daughters, would move to Crawford County in 1820.
The question remained: Even though family records said that Matthew Rabun, the “Old Patriot” (This would be Matthew Rabun born 1744 who came to GA in 1785 etc) had accompanied William Watson Rabun (birth 1795 to Apselia and her Rabun husband) to Alabama, arriving on first day of 1819, before he, the “Old Patriot” Matthew Rabun had returned to Georgia, where a few months later he died—does this mean that Matthew Rabun was actually the grandfather of William Watson Rabun, or could he have been the grand uncle to a nephew whose father had died while the son, John Rabun, was still a minor? Marianne, in her researches, had read of a John Hamilton Rabun born c1830, older brother of Matthew, who is supposed to have died in Greene County GA in 1790. (No unimpeachable records, so far; family trees on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch indicate John Hamilton’s presence in Greene, but no mention of a John Jr.) If John Rabun, who married Apselia, were actually born around 1773 or 1774, then he would match the John Rabun who is in the militia in 1793. And, if his father were John Hamilton who died in 1790, John Rabun would have been a minor who might have been taken into the household of his uncle Matthew Rabun (b 1744). All this is educated guessing, but it would help to explain how Matthew Rabun (born 1744 ) might have been in the guardian role in the life of the nephew first, then of the nephew’s son. John Rabun, having married Apselia in 1794, having had a son in 1795, then having died in c1796, would leave a very young son William Watson Rabun—who was, later, accompanied in his journey into Alabama by his fond granduncle.
Marianne still would appreciate any clues she could receive from anyone about the John Rabun spoken of above, especially about the descendants of John Hamilton Rabun in Georgia.
Incidentally, she noticed an Anne Rousseau had asked about Epaphroditus McRae, and therefore she hopes some of the information above is somehow helpful. She also wanted to add that Matthew Rabun’s (1744 birth) older sister Sarah (born c1738) married a Thomas Wooten who was son of Benjamin Wooten and Elizabeth Rousseau. (They are found in probate court records of Halifax County NC in early 1760’s, along with Rabuns.) Sarah died after about 10 years of marriage to Wooten who was in the Revolution in both Wake County NC and in Georgia, but they had five children, at least, by the time they came into Georgia. Wooten would later marry a widow, Tabitha Bradford Pope, by whom he had two or three more children in Georgia.
Battles, Frazer, McRay, Morris, Powell, Rabun
Contact Marianne Leader (
singermarianne@gmail.com )
Marianne is descended from a Rabun who is either
the son or the nephew of Matthew Rabun (1744 birth VA) of Hancock Co GA
(Matthew there from 1785 to his 1819 death, he is the father of Wm Rabun born
1771, the governor of GA from 1817 to late 1819 when he also died a few months
after his father Matthew). In looking through tax rolls and available info in
Hancock Co for the 1811-12 tax lists, I find Epaphroditus McRay is the executor
of the John Frazer deceased estate. John Frazer’s will of 1793 left all his
goods and chattels to John Rabun of Greene Co GA (this part in Greene just
before county line change and creation of Hancock County in 1793) John Rabun,
(might have had other name of Matthew, too, along with the John—don’t know for
sure—although family records say he had Matthew name) and the will of John
Frazer turned up in her research. Later she found out that John Rabun, married
to Apselia Powell (who later married Benjamin Morris as 2nd husband, after death
of John Rabun c1796) lived along the Buffalo Creek area as a near neighbor of
Thomas Matthews and of John Frazer. It is probably the case that Epaphroditus
McRay also lived close to them in this area, near Linton, because they couldn’t
do much for each other as executors, etc, unless they lived near each other.
After John Rabun, her 4th great grandfather died, and his widow had remarried,
to Benjamin Morris, Benjamin Morris is found several times in the Inferior Court
records of Hancock Co (newly formed from Greene) but with name spelled “Maurice”
instead of “Morris.” ( Court records for 1793-1815 and later are on FamilySearch
site.) Morris had served several times, evidently about 4 years after
Epaphroditus McRay had, to straighten out deceased estate of John Frazer, and
to wind up affairs of John Rabun deceased estate, and as these are related;
since John Rabun inherited from John Frazer, the whole situation seems to be
one of the second husband-- of Apselia Powell Rabun Morris-- trying to finish up
and straighten out the inheritance affairs for her, his wife’s, son William
Watson Rabun born 1795. This is her 3rd great grandfather who migrated into AL
(Conecuh Co) in 1819 and is supposed, in family notes, to have been accompanied
in this journey by Matthew Rabun (1744 birth) who died a few months later, after
return to Georgia.
She believes a Suzanna Faucette, married Jesse Battle. He
died in Hancock Co GA in 1805, leaving a clear will. Faucette was a Huguenot
family name. A grandchild of the Jesse Battle/Suzanna Faucette marriage, Jesse
Brown Battle, married a daughter of Ga. Governor William Rabun. The Rabuns and
the Battles were early associated families in the Nansemond County VA
settlements of 1740’s and up to the 1760’s when many of both families moved to
Edgecombe/Halifax Co, NC. There they remained closely allied, too; both were
dedicated Baptist families by the time of their residence in NC.
One of the
descendants of the Wooten/Rousseau marriage, a Thomas Wooten, married Sarah
Rabun, born c1738, one of Matthew Rabun’s older sisters. They, Wooten and Sarah
Rabun, were in Halifax County, NC, too, in the 1760’s, later in Wake Co, NC
during the Revolution. After Sarah’s death, Thomas Wooten lived in Georgia with
a second wife Tabitha Bradford Pope, a widow.