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Hi,
Here's what I've been given about Nancy Ann Bodine. If you find anything wrong or can add anything new, let me know. I will paste this info below, I hope the formatting will turn out.
Dave
1. Nancy Ann Bodine b. Dec 10 1850, San Augustine Co., TX, m. Dec 23 1874, in San Augustine Co., TX, James Fermon Page, b. Jan 3 1851, South Carolina, d. Dec 11 1920, San Augustine Co., TX. Nancy died Aug 11 1916, San Augustine Co., TX. It is known that this family took in James Fermon Bodine at a young age and took care of him for several years. According to family tradition, the young James Fermon and his aunt Nancy did not "get along" with each other and as the story goes, he chose to leave their home at a very young age and strike out on his own. At this time, it has not been possible to determine what may have happened to the oldest child of this Page family. He was listed on the 1880 Census, but no further information has been found concerning him.
Parents
2. Oliver Hazard Perry Bodine, Sr. b. Jan 22 1819, Oglethorpe Co., GA, m. Sep 6 1841, in San Augustine Co., TX, Mary Ann Sanders, b. Aug 27 1821, North Carolina, d. Dec 12 1900, San Augustine Co., TX. Oliver died Aug 20 1889, San Augustine Co., TX. OHP, Sr. was about six years old when his family arrived in Texas. Family tradition holds that other boys were born to John and Nancy, as many as four, but the first area census showed only OHP and William. OHP was the oldest surviving male at the time that the first census was taken in the San Augustine area. He was shown to be fourteen years old at the time that the census was taken. The majority of his life was spent in and around San Augustine County, Texas.
3. Mary Ann Sanders b. Aug 27 1821, North Carolina, d. Dec 12 1900, San Augustine Co., TX. Mary and her brother Fredrick married OHP, Sr. and Winnie Jane Bodine of the John Bodine family. It has been said by many that Mary was of Irish descent and that she was the possessor of a share of the "Irish temper." She must have been a strong and capable woman to have lived in early Texas raising a large family. A part of that time was during the Civil War. She had two sons to serve. One was killed in action about 20 miles south of Jonesboro, Georgia. The other was severely wounded, but he did survive and return home.
Grand Parents
4. John Bodine b. abt 1780, prob NC, SC, or GA, occupation soldier, sailor & farmer, m. (1) abt 1809, in Baltimore Co., MD, Mary Cremer, b. abt 1780, poss Baltimore, MD, d. abt 1840, Baltimore Co., MD, m. (2) Dec 25 1810, in Oglethorpe Co., GA, Nancy Ann Gunnels, b. Abt 1792, Georgia, d. Apr 1863, San Augustine Co., TX. John died Aug 10 1839, San Augustine Co., TX, buried: San Augustine Co., TX. John Bodine, Resident of Nacogdoches County, Texas
There appear to be many variant spellings of John's last name. There is an "r" in most of the spellings and often a "u" is also thrown in. Most of these variants appear after his marriage in Georgia where his name was spelled Bodine. Some of the variant spellings are Burdeen, Burdein, Bordian, Burdien, and the list goes on. In one instance involving land transactions in Texas, it was spelled Burdighn. Therefore, one would think that at that time, John's name was pronounced "Bur-dyne." James M. Bodine in Kaufman, Texas has a neighbor that spells his name Baudoin and pronounces it "Bo-dyne." At one time, this neighbor spelled it Bodine. No family connection has yet been established between the two. The neighbor traces his family back to Vermillion Parish, Louisiana. Tom Bodine of San Augustine said that all the old black people in the area used to pronounce it "Bur-dyne" when he was younger. Burdine is said to be a common spelling in South Carolina and Georgia.
Early Texas census information shows that John was probably born between 1775 and 1780. A Character letter from the Texas State Archives states that John was a native of North Carolina. Some researchers believe he may have been from South Carolina. James M. Bodine has a copy of a document notarized in 1977 stating that John Bodine was born in France on March 2, 1779. (This document also gives the birthplace and date for his wife Nancy Gunnels, a death date for John, and their marriage date.) However, the validity of this document is in some doubt.
According to a family tradition, John (B?) Bodine had brothers named Logan, James, and Lewis/Louis.
John enlisted in the Navy on May 14, 1812. He was under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry in the War of 1812. He was released on June 25, 1814. He first served on the Lawrence and later on the Niagara. In the publication "History of the Battle of Lake Erie," page 90, he is listed as John Burdeen. The muster roll of the Brig Lawrence carried him as "John Bordain, seaman." He was a soldier and sailor in the Battle of Lake Erie. The Lawrence was so badly shot to pieces in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, that for a time she had to strike her colors. Most of her crew was either wounded or killed. In a letter from 1825, mention is made of John having served in the Battle of Lake Erie and that he was severely wounded at that time.
He was awarded a portion of the bounty that was seized in the battle. This is mentioned in Samuel Hambleton's account of the distribution of prize money on Lake Erie ("The American States Papers," v. 1, p. 566 - obtained by Mrs. Margie Stone of Houston from the National Archives). John Bordian, seaman, was listed and shown to have received an amount of $214.89 in July of 1814. This was paid to an attorney named John Boyle. Another name that appeared in this document was that of James Alexander Perry, midshipman. His name will be important later on in this story.
At the time of John's release, he was still suffering from an open wound and was awarded an invalid's pension of six dollars a month. This pension was paid intermittently from 1814 until 1821. Correspondence concerning it continued until 1838. If it were not for records in the National Archives associated with this pension, the trail of John Bodine would have ended in Oglethorpe County, Georgia with the record of his marriage to Nancy Gunnels.
There is a possible reason for a name change for John. The correspondence concerning his pension does not involve wife Nancy, but a woman named Mary. She was located in Baltimore, Maryland. This correspondence was mainly between Mary and various people in the Navy. No record of a marriage between John and Mary has yet been found. Records have been searched in both Baltimore and Baltimore County. It is not known whether he married her before or after marrying Nancy. James M. Bodine of Kaufman, Texas believes that he may have married her as early as 1795. One reason for believing this is that in the first census of the San Augustine area, John was listed as being quite a bit older than Nancy. He believes this might indicate that John was married earlier.
The following letter comes from the pension correspondence:
Baltimore, October 12, 1825 Sirs Mrs. Burdeen claims a pension or part of a pension under a power of Atty from her husband John Burdeen. Which power she says she deposited with Mr. Rensam, and if so must be in his office. She says that in the life of Mr. Rensam she was regularly paid, but for three years it has been refused and she has requested me to write on the subject. - She cannot inform me the cause of refusal. I have supposed - either that you knew not of the power of atty. Or that the man's existence must be established - I have seen several letters from him. The last dated 27 Sept. 1824 at New Orleans. When he was just going on a voyage in which he says. - "I hope that you have received at least a part of my pension." It appears that he received a severe wound on the Lake Erie under Com. Perry - She had a son John Cremer a midshipman that died in the service. He may have some pay due him, and she supposes prize money - He (illegible word) aboard the Congress was drowned going ashore from the Franklin. If anything be due him pray inform me - and I pray you to find the power of atty. And to take the course necessary for the payment of the part of the pension to which she is entitled - She is in great distress - And I feel interested for her - Your attention to this case will greatly oblige. Your friend and Serv Charles Ray. Esq. S. Smith
From the letter of 1825, it appears that Mary may have been a widow when she married John for she had a son named John Cremer. The 1790 Census of Baltimore lists a Mary Creamer. A young male child is listed in her household. He may have been a son from an earlier marriage. (His name in this letter was almost illegible, but further information from the National Archives established the correct spelling of his name and the location of his drowning.) A letter written by or for Mary in 1816 (from or to the Navy), shows that her son was born in Baltimore. She signed this letter as Mary Cremer. Why not as Mary Burdien?
John Cremer was warranted a midshipman in the US Navy on March 14, 1814. The letter above of 1825 also states that John died while serving aboard the USS Congress. He was carried in the USS Congress' log as John Cremer, midshipman. He drowned "whilst on a sporting party" on Wednesday, March 20, 1822 in Quintara, Chile. There were eight men who drowned in this accident. The ranking officer was a lieutenant James Alexander Perry. This is the same James Alexander Perry who was involved in the Battle of Lake Erie at the time John Bodine was in the Navy. None of the bodies of the drowning victims were ever recovered.
Mary might not have been a widow, but a divorce was very hard to get back then. Divorce was not even recognized in Maryland. As late as the mid-1800's, divorce still required an act of the State Legislature.
Other information in the pension files indicates that the Mary's character was in doubt. She had knowingly passed false information. It is not known whether she and John ever had any children, but another document from the Orphans Court originating in Baltimore in 1838 (see below) indicates that they probably did.
In 1836-37, legislation was enacted that made the widows of veterans eligible to draw a pension in some instances. For this reason, Mary attempted to declare that John was dead in order to draw a widow's pension. It is not known if she was successful in this attempt.
In March of 1838, a man named Thomas O'Meally gave a deposition to the Orphans Court of Baltimore. He swore that he had been present at the death of John Bodine in a hospital in Massachusetts. Contained in this deposition was the information that John had been married to Mary Cremer and that he, Thomas O'Meally, thought the marriage had produced children. The deposition also states that John was a man of the sea and was from Ireland. John was certainly a man of the sea, but it is very doubtful whether he came from Ireland! This and other pertinent papers are in the pension file.
There is one more item from Baltimore that may have relevance to John Bodine. From the book "The Dawn's Early Light," page 234, mention is made of twenty dollars being paid for John Boldin's map of North Point, a location about twelve miles east of the Baltimore. In a letter from the National Archives dated October 13, 1820, it is stated that Mary had claimed that John Burdeen lay ill at the "Point" and could not personally apply for his pension. An item appeared in the Baltimore Sun in 1841 stating that Mary Bouldin, widow of John, had died.
In the beginning, it appears probable that John may have shared time between his families. There is reference to his making personal appearances before some of the Navy personnel in the Baltimore/Washington area after 1814. John may have returned to the sea for part of this time, or, as one researcher believes, at least his "families" thought he had. This could have covered his absences from either family.
So, it appears John may have fled a bad situation in Baltimore. One of his descendants believes that this did involve charges of bigamy. John wrote a number of letters. His last to Baltimore was posted from New Orleans in 1824. In it, he told Mary that he was preparing to depart on a voyage. There is no further information after this letter showing that John ever had more contact with his family in Baltimore. This letter was probably the last contact between them. John's letter from Louisiana in the fall of 1824 does fit into the time frame for his move out West. His son, William R. Bodine, was born in Louisiana in 1823 - showing that John was in the vicinity when that letter was written to Mary.
Nancy Ann Gunnels is probably John's second wife. Very little is known of her early life. Tradition says that she was of black Dutch descent. She may have been born on June 6, 1784, in South Carolina (notarized document mentioned earlier). This same document gives their marriage date as December 24, 1802, but this is probably incorrect. No solid proof has been found yet that would give a marriage date earlier than that of December 25, 1810, in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Wm. Herndon, minister of the Gospel, entered certification of this marriage into the Oglethorpe County Record on February 4, 1811. It reads "I hereby certify that on the 25th Dec. 1810, I joined in holy wedlock John Bodine and Nancy Gunnols."
It is thought that he both bought and sold property in the Wilkes/Oglethorpe area, but not under the name Bodine. John would have been a man of means after the award from the Battle of Lake Erie. This award was equivalent to about three years pay. However, most of what can be said about John's time in Georgia is only speculation.
Land sales in Georgia indicate that they may have begun planning their move west in 1818. In about 1819/20, they sold out and started their move to San Augustine County, Texas. John was known to be a man of the sea. Tradition says that the family may have used some travel over rivers to reach Texas.
Their first child, Elizabeth, was born in Oglethorpe County, Georgia in about 1811. The next surviving child was Oliver Hazard Perry Bodine (OHP). He was born in 1819. Available census and other early records show that he was born in either Georgia, Alabama, or South Carolina. Some records show that Elizabeth and OHP had little if any formal education. It would have been difficult for them to obtain any during the years that the family was traveling. And when the family came into San Augustine, there were no schools available. Some of the early transactions after John's death really bear this out.
Tradition says that there were at least two boys, and probably three, who did not survive. William R. Bodine was born in Louisiana in 1823. At least two more daughters were born after the family arrived in Texas. (Information about children other than Elizabeth and OHP comes from Tom Bodine of San Augustine, Texas.) The rest of the surviving children were born several years later on the way out West. The first census of Texas giving names for the family listed six members: John, Nancy, OHP, Isabella and Winnie Jane. (By the time of this census, Elizabeth had been married for some time to a man named Pinckney Lout and had two children.) Nancy sent the three younger children, and some Lout children, to a school or to a private tutor. Evidence of this is found on a receipt in the Pinckney Lout probate papers. By tradition and as related by Tom Bodine of San Augustine, a son named James had arrived in Texas with the family. Later, however, he was killed in a horse-fall while the family was on an outing with other families in the community.
The family may have arrived in the area of the Republic of Texas around 1825 and as early as 1824, but there are no documents to prove this. They settled approximately two miles north of the village of San Augustine. It appears that John and Edmond Quirk may have had an arrangement pertaining to the purchase of property. However, due to previous commitments, Quirk was not able to meet his part of the bargain. The family then moved onto a parcel owned by Quirk.
It is not clear as to how John gained the title to the first half of his headright. It was granted to him in some manner in association with certificate #115. The second 2200+ acres was granted to the estate of John two years after his death. It was granted by letter patent #115 in 1841. It was then considered to be a part of Nacogdoches County. In later years, Nancy paid taxes to Kaufman County (in 1849). However, research has revealed that the property is actually located in Hunt County. (It is now almost totally submerged under Lake Tawakani.) Some published information says that John did not establish a valid claim to the one half of his headright on which he lived. However, James M. Bodine of Kaufman says this was not true.
The inventory of John Bodine's estate listed 2208 acres on the Ayesh Bayou and a certificate for 2208 additional acres. The latter was granted to the estate two years after John's death. It was located in what is now known as Hunt County.
John had some education. He could at least read and write. At the time of his death in 1839, he was in the possession of twenty volumes of books (see his probate inventory). He served in some minor positions in San Augustine, Texas. Early records of the municipality of San Augustine and of the Republic of Texas indicate that John served in the community in the capacity of regidor and for a short time as alcalde. This does indicate that he was a man of some education and that he was willing to serve the community. Some copies of the letters he wrote to Mexican authorities in Nacogdoches still exist (info from James M. Bodine in Kaufman, TX). Tom Bodine of San Augustine has spoken of the many old books that were still in the family when Tom went off to join the Army to serve in World War I.
John only lived in Texas for fourteen years. It appears that he was well on his way to becoming a wealthy man. But according to tradition, John was shot and killed with a Sharp's rifle on August 10, 1839, after becoming entangled in a boundary dispute. There are several versions concerning this gun battle, but the deadly outcome is the same in all of them. One version, related by Tom Bodine, says that four men came out to resurvey the property line of the original Bodine survey. John and OHP and a man named Willy Nations went out to meet them. Shooting began and John and Willy were killed, but OHP escaped.
One wonders what authority would have directed that a new survey be taken. Many questions remain that will probably never be answered. From a search of the early records, it is known that John's original survey in San Augustine County did contain much more than the 2208 acres shown in the inventory of his estate. The excess was cut from the survey in the 1870's. It is probably this excess that resulted in John's death.
It is strange that Nancy continued to live on the "home place" until the time of her death and that no further attempt to make a new survey was done until after all of the property had passed from the family. Nancy was tough enough to survive and keep the family together until the first part of 1863. She was the administratix of both the estate of her husband and of Pinckney Lout (her son-in-law). She managed both for several years. Much of her time was spent in court. She eventually had to surrender the Lout estate to petitioners of the court. She kept John's estate basically intact for almost ten years. Nancy remained on the San Augustine portion of John's headright until 1863. She died on April 1 of that year. There were slaves listed in her inventory of property at the time of her death.
Later, the land, almost 5000 acres of it, was lost by uncertain means. In 1855, OHP attempted to sell some of the San Augustine County property that he may have previously sold as a part of his undivided interest in John's estate. As a result, two slaves and some land were seized and sold in a sheriff's sale. This may have actually resulted in the loss of all the San Augustine property, but the records are unclear. It would be hard to believe that over 2000 acres of land could be sold for $200. Plus there is the fact that Nancy continued to live on the land after the sheriff's sale. The land was platted as the John Bordine survey. It was this property that was divided into five parts and divided among John's heirs. The land was listed as being in the Sabine River watershed lying near the small town of Quinlan. This was about sixteen miles from Greenville. The heirs of Winnie Jane owned the last of the property to remain in the family. It was sold in the 1870's.
As a point of interest, Nancy paid a fee of $500 to the law firm of Gould and Kaufman and another $250 to R.S. Terrell for the prosecution of John's killers. Texas was a young republic at that time, but it seems strange that a private citizen would have had to pay for the prosecution. Nevertheless, the fees were paid from John's estate. The receipts are included in the probate papers. Also of interest is that the county in which James M. Bodine now lives is named after the David S. Kaufman of the above law firm.
The Bodine Cemetery is still accessible to anyone wanting to visit. The widow of John Benny Bodine lives on the property. The cemetery is only a couple of hundred yards from the Farm to Market road that passes Bland Lake. John and Nancy, however, are not buried there. These are the graves of the Oliver Hazard Perry Bodines and many of their descendants.
This information has been rewritten from an account sent to me from James M. Bodine of Kaufman, Texas. In his information, he expressed thanks and gratitude to the following people for their contributions to this story:
1. Amber Bodine of Yuba City, California
2. Elaine Wells of Wells Research Bureau
3. Tom and ruth Bodine of San Augustine
4. Margie Stone of Houston
5. Geraldine Eppes Smith of San Augustine
6. and to the many, many others who have contributed
His address: Jim Bodine 5631 County Road 277, Kaufman, TX 75142
There is a final note from Jim Bodine that pertains to recently acquired information about an Ellen Bodine who came to Baltimore in 1838. She may have come from Ireland. This may have something to do with John Bodine, but nothing more was explained concerning this lead.
5. Nancy Ann Gunnels b. Abt 1792, Georgia, d. Apr 1863, San Augustine Co., TX. She was from Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
6. John J. Sanders b. abt 1800, m. abt 1820, Sally Rowe, b. abt 1802.
7. Sally Rowe b. abt 1802.
Great Grand Parents
10. John Gunnels b. abt 1760, m. Penina __________, b. abt 1770, North Carolina, d. aft 1850, prob Overton Co., TN. John died prob Overton Co., TN. The 1820 GA census of Capt. COLBERTS Dist listed the following: Males under 10 two--males between 26-45 one and one slave. Females were shown as under 10 three---between 26-45 one. The names of family memberes were given to Amber BODINE by letter from Delores Anderson whose husband was a descendent of Nancy and was later verified by a Mr. BROWN---names from the two sources did agree. The 1830 census of Overton Co TN showed Penina as a widow in the household of one of her daughters.
11. Penina __________ b. abt 1770, North Carolina, d. aft 1850, prob Overton Co., TN. This information was provided to me by Amber BODINE of Yuba City, CA upon receipt of same from a Delores ANDERSON, also a descendent of John and Nancy BODINE of early San Augustine. The John GUNNELS seems to be proven by an old letter found in the family records in San Augustine County. This letter was written for the family to the Ordmayer of Oglethorpe Co GA in the 1880's and requested possible information about a will or a Probate for John GUNNELLS of that county.
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