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Research in Mc Intosh County can be frustrating because it is a "burnt county": three courthouse fires destroyed most [all?] of the county records before 1873. Fortunately, records survived at the state and federal level. Some of these are: (1) federal censuses; (2) land plats sent to the Surveyor General of Georgia; (3) tax duplicates in 1825 and 1837; (4) Georgia Land Lottery records; (5) newspaper notices in the Darien Gazette.
The 1820 federal census lists one Rozier household in Mc Intosh County. In a widely available index it is listed under Oliver, but the last letter has been overwritten [or smudged] and could be an "a", making it Olivea. The family contains a male [26-45], a male [16-26], a male [10-16], two males [under 10], a female [26-45], a female [10-16], and another female [under 10]. It would appear to be a family with 6 children.
The land plats of Mc Intosh County show a surveyed parcel of 100 acres under the name of Luke Rozier in 1814, the first listing for any Rozier. Beside the plat are the names of Luke and Theophilus Rozier. No previous land acquisition could be found in the indexes of Royal Grants for St. Andrews Parish, Georgia, or for previous bounty or headright grants for Mc Intosh County after the Revolution.
The 1825 Tax Duplicate for Mc Intosh County contains an entry for the ESTATE of Luke Rozier which was not taxed for a male head of household, but was taxed for one parcel of Land Lottery land [202 1/2 acres].
The 1821 Land Lottery recorded the successful draw of the [minor] Rozier orphans of Mc Intosh County: Luke, Sarah, Samuel, Mary, and James. They acquired land in Henry County. Elias Rozier was not on this list.
A legal notice in the 10 Feb 1821 Darien Gazette stated that Mrs. OLIVES Rozier applied for letters of administration of the estate of Luke Rozier, deceased. Although not stated, the fact that she was [or had been] married to a Rozier meant she was very likely Luke's widow. The other alternative would be the wife or widow of Theophilus, both unlikely for other reasons [see below]. A further notice from Moses and OLIVER Burges on 13 Feb 1823 asked for letters of dismissal from administration of Luke's estate. Finally, OLIVE Burgess held an administratrix's sale of property on 14 Apr 1823 to divide the estate among the heirs. It appears likely, in spite of the different versions of the first name, that Luke Rosier's widow Olive [or possibly Olivea] married Moses Burgess sometime in 1822. The final notice establishes clearly that Mrs. Olive- Rosier became Mrs. [Moses] Burgess.
Comparing the Moses Burgess listings in the 1820 [100010 11011] and 1830 [0020001 0020001 Mc Intosh County censuses indicates 1-2 extra minor females and 1-2 extra minor males in1830, presumably children of Luke and Olive Rozier. With Samuel living separately in 1830, this could be consistent with the under-10 Rozier children in 1820, but still leaves some older Rozier children [Elias?] unaccounted-for in 1830.
It appears likely that the name in the 1820 census was indeed Olivea or Olive [as head of household] and no Oliver existed. Certainly Luke Rozier existed and died about 1820, Olive was almost certainly his widow, and they had [at least] 5 children. He is very likely the first Rozier [with Theophilus] in Mc Intosh County, Georgia, and the father of my ancestor, James D. Rozier.
A widow and two minor daughters [Sarah and Mary] fit the 1820 census. The 26-45 year old male may have been Theophilus. He appears next in a 24 Oct 1825 listing in Marriage Book 1-A of Jefferson County GA [married to Laney Weathering], and later in the 1830 Jefferson County census [age 30-40 years]. Three of the boys in the 1820 census correspond to Luke [who is named in the 1840 census], Samuel [named in the 1830 census], and James D. [named in the 1840 census]. Elias, who was almost certainly the fourth male in the 1820 census, also appears as head of household in 1840. The censuses for 1820-1870 are not completely consistent with respect to ages [and there is no listing for Luke, Sr.], but I would estimate the dates of birth to be: Luke Sr., [1775-1795]; Theophilus [1790-95], Olive [1780-90]; Elias [abt. 1804]; Samuel [abt. 1810]; Luke, Jr. [abt. 1815]; James D. [abt. 1818]; daughter 1 [abt. 1810]; daughter 2 [1815-20].
What are the possible holes in this analysis? If Oliver existed, he doesn't fit in this argument. Who was Theophilus? In all likelihood he was a younger brother of Luke who later moved to Jefferson County. Was Elias a son of Luke? In 1840 and 1850, only Elias, Samuel, Luke, and James were Rozier heads of household in Mc Intosh County. Possibly Elias' name was inadvertently left off the list of lottery winners. I think it rather likely that he was one of the brothers, but have no proof. Otherwise he would most likely have been Theophilus' son although there is no evidence that Theophilus was married at that time.
I believe that Luke and Olive Rozier were very likely the ancestors of all the Roziers of Mc Intosh County [with the possible exception of Elias' descendants]. Who was Luke? His was an uncommon first name in Georgia at that time [as was Rozier]. It's likely that any Luke Roziers were related. There are Internet listings of a Luke Rozier who was born in 1821 in Wayne County and died in 1877 in Florida, where he had lived for many years; he is supposed to have been the son of Aaron Rozier, who was a son of Wiley Rozier. Given the similar ages of the children named Luke, it is quite possible that the Luke who settled in Mc Intosh County in about 1814 and Aaron, the son of Wiley, were brothers [as was Theophilus]. I have no evidence for this. Internet accounts of Wiley's children list two daughters and only one son: Aaron. This was a very small family for those times, and that list may well be incomplete.
If anyone has any information supporting or opposing this reconstruction of the Rozier family of Mc Intosh County, I would be grateful to receive it.
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