Gathering Giddens: Jacob Giddens - Wayne County, North Carolina to Bienville Parish, Louisiana

In 1819, while living in Twiggs County, Jacob Giddens sold the land he inherited from his father to John Smith of Wayne County, North Carolina. The deed record, found in Wayne County Deed Book 11, did not mention that the land was land inherited from his father, John Giddens. However, when John Smith sold the land to John Casey that same year, in the deed, it was stated, " A certain piece or parcel of land lying or being the lands that the said John Smith bought off Jacob Giddens which fell to him the said Jacob Giddens in a Division of the Lands of his father, John Giddens, dec'd." Note that unlike the land of his siblings, Jacob's inherited land did not begin at Jethro's Marsh Branch.[1] 

Finding Jacob Giddens in Bienville Parish is what started my interest in genealogy in the late 1990s. 

My mother, from Long Island, New York, and my father, from the small town of Borger, Texas, were both interested in family history and asked me to look for their families on my new Internet. I was hooked when I found both families connected in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Jacob Giddens, brother to my mother's 2nd great-grandfather, and Reddick Bryan, my father's great-grandfather, settled in Bienville Parish. Their descendants married, and for that reason, I have several cousins connected to both families. 

 Wayne County, North Carolina 

Jacob Giddens was born on 15 September 1794 in Wayne County, North Carolina.[2] He was the son of John Giddens and probably, Sarah, John's wife at the time of his death in 1802. Jacob is found in his father's probate record named as a minor.[3] 

Jacob served in the War of 1812 as a substitute for William Jones of Wayne County from 29 July 1813 to 15 Jan 1814. In his widow's request for a pension, he was described as 18 years old with a light complexion, brown eyes, black hair, and 5 feet 10 inches tall at his time of enlistment.[4] 

Twiggs County, Georgia 

Jacob was in Twiggs County by April 1817 when he married Eliza Waters.[5] There is no 1820 census for Twiggs, but Jacob was found on a Twiggs County tax list in 1826.[6] Jacob's son Mitchel, born in 1828, wrote that he was born in Twiggs County on his enlistment papers when he joined the Confederate army.[7]  

This document found in Mitchel Giddens' Confederate service record places the 
Jacob Giddens family in Twiggs County as late as 1828.[8]

Duplin and Wayne Counties, North Carolina  

In 1830, Jacob and his family were in Duplin County, North Carolina.[9] His children Jacob M., Elvy Ann, and Eliza Jane were born in North Carolina.[10] In 1838, the family may have been living in Wayne County as Jacob voted in an election in that county. [11] 

Barbour County, Alabama 

Jacob was in Barbour County by 1840, where he and his family were enumerated on both the 1840 and 1850 U.S. census records. Jacob was a farmer and received a patent for land in 1851 in that county.[12] His son, Needham, was said to be born in 1842 in Alabama.[13] 

Bienville Parish, Louisiana 

In an article about the Springhill community in Bienville Parish, Hazel Giddens Morgan, a great-granddaughter, shared that Jacob and his family arrived in Bienville Parish in about 1855 and settled in the Loggy Bayou area in Ringgold.[14] 

The 1860 census for Bienville Parish is missing, but in the 1870 census of that parish, seventy-five-year-old Jacob Giddens was a grocer living in Ringold.[15] That year he joined the Mackey Lodge as an affiliated member, which from what I understand, means that he was also a member of another lodge. He appeared on the rolls of the lodge through the year of his death in 1873.[16] 

Some of Jacob Giddens' descendants married into my father's Bryan family, and I wondered if Jacob and my 2nd great-grandfather, Reddick Bryan, were acquainted. As young men about the same age, Reddick and Jacob settled in Twiggs County at the same time. Reddick moved to Northwest Louisiana in 1838, while Jacob arrived in the same area of Louisiana about 1855. This roll shows that Jacob certainly knew Reddick's sons if not acquainted with Reddick. On the above roll are my great-grandfather, Terrell Bryan, and his brothers, James, J.B (Joseph B.), T.C. (Tillman C.), and John Regan (step-brother).[17]  

Jacob Giddens died on 7 December 1873. and is buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery along with his wife, Eliza, who died in 1880.[18] 

The Children of Jacob Giddens and Eliza Waters

Thomas Isaac Giddens was born in August 1824 in Twiggs County, Georgia, and died in January 1904 in Bienville Parish. Thomas Isaac is seen in most records using the name Isaac. He married Gabriella Hicks in Barbour County, Alabama. She was born in January 1835. Thomas and Gabriella had ten children; Jacob John, James, Mary Elviann, Betty, Isaac, Daniel Colier, Needham, Elizabeth, Doctalor F., and Josephine.[19] 

Needham W. Giddens, son of Thomas Isaac, was the mail carrier in 
Ringgold. This document was found in the genealogy files saved by 
Marguerite Cook Clark.[20] 

Mitchel Giddens was born on 1 June 1828 and was married on 11 March 1849 to Elizabeth Frances Seay, born February 1828. Mitchel and Elizabeth had three children; Nancy Chloe, Elizabeth Annie, and John Mitchel. Mitchel enlisted in the Confederate army in May of 1862 and died on 1 September 1862 in Camp Monroe of fever.[21] 

Elvy Ann Giddens was born about 1830 in North Carolina and married John McMichael in Alabama on 28 Dec 1851. They had children, Mary J., Eliza H., and John II. John II's son, Joseph McMichael, married Willie Marie Bryan.  Following her husband's death, Elvy married Robert H. Cook.[22] 

Jacob M. Giddens was born on 9 April 1834 in North Carolina and died on 22 February 1915 in Bienville Parish. He married Prudence Allums in 1859. They had children, Mary Alabama, Sarah Frances, Charlie C., Henry J., William Hardy, Sank, and Emma Penny [23]  

Eliza Jane Giddens[25]

Eliza Jane Giddens (also seen as Elizabeth) was born on 11 April 1836 in North Carolina and died on 28 December 1928 in Bienville Parish. She married George W. Moore around 1853. He was born on 8 January 1831 and died on 29 October 1882. George and Elizabeth had nine children; Mitchel Joel, Thomas F., Martha Jane, and twin Robert H., Lillian. Fannie E., Fleming, and twin Lemuel, and James Mallie.[24]

Mary Elizabeth Giddens, also known as "Betty" or "Bet," was born in 1838 in North Carolina. She never married and lived in Campti in Natchitoches Parish in her later years with widowed sister-in-law, Harriet Key Giddens, and widowed niece, Rena Giddens McCoy. Mary Elizabeth Giddens died in 1918 and is buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery.[26]

Needham Giddens was born on 20 May 1842 in Alabama and died on 8 December 1876. In 1867 he married Harriet "Hattie" Key, born 2 December 1846. Needham and Harriet had two children, Tandy Key Giddens and Rena Giddens.[27]

Your Response

If you can add to any of the information in my post, I would love to hear from you. Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions as well. Find my email on the "About Me" tab at the top of this page. 

Next Steps

It is not known if Jacob owned land in Bienville Parish. Continued research, especially land records in Barbour County and Bienville parish, may tell much more about Jacob and his family. 

A look at the Waters family and their origin in North Carolina may yield some valuable information about Jacob's family. 

An Ellie Giddens, age 80, was living with the Jacob Giddens family in 1870.[28] Some say this is Jacob's sister, but his sisters both married and would have different last names. It could be anyone, but my guess is that it is Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Giddens, daughter of Jacob and Eliza. She did not marry and cannot be found elsewhere in 1870. I believe the original copy of this census was probably difficult to read, and her name and age were incorrectly transcribed by the person who made handwritten copies of this census page. I found similar issues regarding my Bienville Bryan family with the 1870 census in Bienville's Ward 4. For more information, read my post Census Sightings: Bienville Parish Ward 4 - 1870. 

Note below that my next post will also be about Jacob Giddens. 

Next Giddens Post

His Name was Jacob Giddens. He had No Middle Name. Please Make This Correction in Your Online Family Tree. 

Posts in this Series 

Gathering Giddens: John Giddens, a Planter in North Carolina

Gathering Giddens: Sarah Taylor the "said to be" Wife of John Giddens

Gathering Giddens: Isaac Giddens - from North Carolina to Alabama

Gathering Giddens: Jemima Giddens, Wife of William Jones of Wayne County, North Carolina  

Gathering Giddens: John Giddens, Another Son Who Moved from North Carolina to Alabama

Gathering Giddens: Elizabeth Giddens of Wayne County, North Carolina married William Bryan

Gathering Giddens: Too Many Abrahams

Gathering Giddens: David Giddens and Sophia Britt of Wayne and Sampson Counties in North Carolina 

Don't Blame Ancestry. Look Carefully at the Facts You Add to Henry Benjamin Giddens' Profile (Or Any Other Profile) in Your Online Family Tree.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

    1. Wayne County, North Carolina, Deed Book 11:217-218, Jacob Giddens to John Smith, 30 January 1819; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-998Q-QLJQ?i=620&cat=307067 : accessed 29 March 2022), images 621-622.  Also, Wayne County, North Carolina, Deed Book 11:214, John Smith to John Casey, 19 August 1819; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G98Q-QLSR?i=619&cat=307067 : accessed 29 March 2022), images 620.  

    2. "War of 1812 Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files," pension record for Jacob Giddens, database with images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/313175019: accessed February 17, 2022).

    3. "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CF-2P37?cc=1911121&wc=Q649-S69%3A1066694502%2C183295401%2C1066696236 : accessed 3 January 2022), Wayne County > G > Giddens, John (1802); State Archives, Raleigh.

    4. "War of 1812 Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files," pension record for Jacob Giddens, database with images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/313175019: accessed February 17, 2022).

    5. Ibid.

    6. "Georgia, Tax Digests, 1787-1900", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4K-2C6Q-B?cc=4130006 : 4 January 2022), > image 1 of 1.

    7. "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Louisiana," Mitchel Giddens, 1862; database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 27 March 2022); citing military unit Thirty-first Infantry, Cr - G AND Roll Military Unit, NARA microfilm publication M320 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1961), roll 363.

    8. Ibid.

    9. "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPM-QRN : 20 February 2021), Jacob Giddens, Duplin, North Carolina, United States; citing 151, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 120; FHL microfilm 18,086.

    10. Billie Jean Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II (Bossier City, Louisiana: Everett Companies, 1990), p. 359.

    11. Guy Potts, “Wayne County, NC - Election Records - All Districts,” Wayne County, NC USGenWeb Archives (http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/wayne/history/voterlists/vote27.txt : accessed 22 February 2022).

    12. "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHT8-7WT : 4 October 2021), Jacob Giddins, Barbour, Alabama, United States; citing p. 63, NARA microfilm publication, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll; FHL microfilm. Also, "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHP5-24J : 19 December 2020), Jacob Giddins, Barbour, Alabama, United States; citing family, NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Also, Bureau of Land Management, "Land Patent Search," database, General Land Office Records (https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=AL2280__.110&docClass=STA#patentDetailsTabIndex=0 : accessed 24 March 2022), entry for Jacob Giddens, Barbour County, Alabama, no. 9161. 

    13. Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II, 359.

    14. Herman L. Weiland and Hazel Giddens Morgan, "Springhill Baptist Church & The Community" The Genie (Fourth Quarter 2002), 168 - 175.

    15. "1860 Census Records," National Archives, Archives.gov [https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1860: accessed 25 March 2022]. There are no schedules for Bienville Parish, Louisiana.  Also, "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QR-3XC : 29 May 2021), Jacob Giddens, 1870.

    16. "Past Proceedings,1870 -1873" Louisiana Masonic Library/Museum (http://library.la-mason.com/pastproceedings.html : accessed 25 March 2022).

    17. Ibid.

    18. Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II, 359.

    19. Ibid.

    20. Needham W. Giddens retirement letter, 1929; digital image held by D. B. Quinn, from the privately-held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. 

    21. Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II, 359.

    22. Julia Brittain and Frances McMichael,  "Descendants of John Giddens," 1770 - 1991; supplied by J. Brittain, Cypress, Texas, 1998.

    23. Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II, 359. Also, Brittain and McMichael, "Descendants of John Giddens."

    24. Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II, 359.

    25. Eliza Jane Giddens, photograph, n.d.; scanned image held by D.B. Quinn, 2022, from the privately held photo collection of Betty Crain, Texas, 2005.

    26. Euzelia Chase, Jeroline: an illustrated biography of Jeroline Perry Bumgardner with related genealogy of the Batchelor, Davis, Giddens, Perry, Thomas, and Waters families of Bienville Parish (Princeton, Louisiana: Folk-Life Books, 1994), p. 150 -151.

    27. Poland, The History of Bienville Parish Vol. II, 359.

    28. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QR-3XC : 29 May 2021), Jacob Giddens, 1870.