John B. Austin b. ca 1814 SC, d. 1880-1900
The October 2006 version of the AFAOA "Nathaniel Austin Sr. of Greenville County, South Carolina" database, on pg. 29, has a brief listing for the above man.I have some questions about it, and I'm hoping to open a discussion and/or get some answers.
1.It says that his parents were John J. Austin & Lucretia Harris and that his middle name was Benjamin.What is the reasoning behind these assertions?
2.It says his first wife was Nancy ___ , that she died about 1839, and that they had no known children.What is the source for these assertions?
3.It says his second wife was Margaret ___ and they had 2 children: Charles & Thomas.
If Nancy did indeed die about 1839, then they must have had 3 children:
A. George W. Austin, Esq. b. ca 1835 m. Sarah E. Wells.He was a lawyer in Carrollton, Carroll Co. GA.His son William's obituary said he was a judge, but I've found no evidence of this yet. In 1894 his stationery letterhead said "Clerk and County Attorney".Evidently he died by 1900.
B.James M. Austin b. ca 1836 d. in Coweta Co. GA by 1867."John B. Austin having in proper form applied to me for permanent letters of administration on the estate of James M. Austin, deceased, late of Coweta County. B.H. Mitchell, Ordinary."Source: November 9, 1867 issue of "Newnan Herald" (Newnan, Coweta Co. GA).Not sure if he
C. Nancy Elizabeth Austin b. 1839 m 1. Robert L. Boyd m. 2. George Harrison Hopkins (his second wife).She was living with son Dr. Elam Austin Hopkins in Wolfe City, Hunt Co. TX in 1910.
His second wife was Mary M. ____.At first I thought perhaps her name was Mary Margaret ___ and that she was the same woman who was his wife in 1870.But Mary was about the same age as John and b. in SC and while her listed birthplace differs on the various censuses, Margaret was listed consistently as over 10 yrs. younger than John.
So, I think that Margaret was his third wife and that Charles and Thomas really were her sons and she may have been a widow with a son named Benjamin b. ca 1857 in GA who was living with them in 1870 and mistakenly listed as an Austin (John's daughter Nancy Elizabeth Boyd her Boyd daughters were also living there and lmistakenly listed as Austins).
The 1840 census for 408th District, Gwinnett Co. GA shows the following:
Pg. 84 Line 10 John B. Austin 20002-10001.
The 1850 census for 11th Division, Carroll Co. GA shows the following:
Pg. 36A dwelling 472 family 472 -
J. B. Austin 36 SCBlacksmith$800
Mary 34 SC
Geo 15 GA
Jas 14 GA
Elizabeth 10 GA
Ann 8 GA
Isabel 6 GA
unnamed (female) [Frances] 6 mos. GA
The 1860 census for Heard Co. GA (St. Cloud P. O.) shows the following:
Pg. 662 dwelling 7 family 7 -
John B. Austin 46 SCBlacksmith$300
Mary M. 45 SC
James M. 22 GAApprentice Blacksmith
Ann 18 GA
Ellen 13 GA
Isabella 11 GA
Frances 10 GA
Zeida 8 GA
The 1870 census for Gwinnett Co. GA (Lawrenceville P. O.) shows the following:
Pg. 208 (104B) dwelling 1512 family 1520.His household consisted of:
John B. Austin 56 GAFarm Laborer $0$250
Margaret 41 GA
Elizabeth [Boyd] 31 GA [dau]
Frances 20 GA
Ida 18 GA
Mary [Boyd] 12 GA [gr-dau]
Georgia [Boyd] 10 GA [gr-dau]
Sallie [Boyd] 8 GA [gr-dau]
Charlie 3 GA
Edgar 8 mos. GA b. Oct
Benjamin 13 [what surname?] GA[step-son?]
The 1880 census for 842nd District, Milton (now Fulton) Co. GA shows the following:
Pg. 11 (468C) dwelling 102 family 102 -
John B. Austin 64Farmer SC SC SC
Margaret 50 wifeNC VA VA
Charles N. 12 sonAssists on farm GA SC NC
Thomas N. 10 son Assists on farmGA SC NC
The 1900 census for Justice Precinct 4, Fannin Co. TX shows the following:
Pg. 12A dwelling 202 family 202 -
Charles N. Austin 33 b. Jan 1867; marr 9 yrs.Farmer GA NC SC
Dora 26 wife b. Feb 1874; 3 ch, 1 livGA GA GA
Tom 5 son b. Jan 1895GA GA GA
Margarette 76 mother b. Jan 1894, widow; 2 ch, 2 livNC GA GA
I don't know when or where Margaret died, but son Charles was back in GA by 1910, listed on the census that year in Rockbridge District, Gwinnett Co. and she wasn't with him.Charles moved to Etowah Co. AL by 1920 and died there in October 1933.Incidentally, his middle initial on the 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records was A not N.So, I'm not sure what his actual name was.
Additional tidbits about John B. Austin:
John B. Austen was a member of a militia company formed by Charles Lattimer in 1836. Source: The History of DeKalb County, Georgia 1822-1900 by Vivian Price, pg. 211
1853 tax list for Carroll Co. GA shows:
J. B. Austin Militia District 642 (Villa Rica), Land District 2
I welcome any and all input.