Billington Ragan - North Florida/South Georgia
I am seeking information about my third great grandfather, Billington Ragan, born about 1835 in Georgia, son of Philip Ragan and Catharine Waters.
1850 census shows him living in Thomas County, Georgia then marrying Zilpha Emily Braswell in 1957. By the 1860 census he was living in Leon County, Florida just across the state line and working as an overseer on the large plantation owned by William G. Palmer.
The record seems to go cold at this point for both Billington and his wife and the 1870 census shows their daughter Carolyn living in Thomas County in the household of her grandfather, Samuel Green Braswell.
Does anyone know what happened to Billington and/or his wife? I have seen one posting on a genealogy website that he was murdered by a slave, but I have seen no source for this information. Some have posted an unsourced date of death of 24 Dec 1861. Others show a second marriage to a Nancy Varnadoe with three children being born of that union but no indication that the first-born child Carolyn ever lived with that couple.
Any information would be greatly appreciated!