Attala Co. Sweatts
I descend from James Sweatt born 1805 in SC and married in Ga.From reading the 1860 census of Attala Co. and reviewing the birth locations and birth dates of his numerous children it seems that the extended Sweatt family, including James's brother the Rev. Nathan Sweatt, came to Mississippi from Georgia circa 1845.Several different James and Nathan Sweatts are shown in the 1840 Ga. census but they are still listed as being in Ga. after the 1850 census.As they were still in Ga. they don't seem to be our Attala Co. family.
James Sweatt was married to, I seem to recall a Melissa, who some say was Melissa Simms.A Sweatt / Simms marriage record from Georgia would help in indentifying the location of the Sweatts.In regards to the James Sweatt lineage as well as that of Nathan Sweatt there has been mention in my immediate family of an Indian heritage through the Sweatts which could have originated in Georgia.I don't know if the tie is through their marriage(s). Also the Sweatt name is associated with Melungeons.A web search for Melungeon surnames will produce Sweatt on most lists.
My great grandmother Julia Sweatt, dau of James, married a Ben Rainey in Attala Co., Miss and moved circa 1874 to Texas.Julia Sweatt Rainey's sister also moved to Texas.My grandmother Jessie Melissa Sims was the dau. of Julia Sweatt Rainey. Later my grandmother married a Sims with ties to Attala Co. moved back there circa 1898.
Regarding the Rev. Nathan Sweatt, what churches was he associated with in Mississippi?My gggrandfather David Sims was a Baptist minister in Attala Co. and is listed in a book of Baptist ministers in Miss. circa the 1860's.Is there a similar Methodist listing?
Does any of our cousins, Attala Co. Sweatt descendents, have documentation regarding the area of Georgia from which the Sweatts left to move to Mississippi?