My third great grandfather was Archibald Wilkerson/Wilkinson. (Spelling was phonetic and varies.)

Little documentation exists for Archibald. It would seem logical, based on the age of his youngest child when he arrived in Troup County, that Margarett was his second wife. Unsubstantiated claims suggest that his first wife may have been named Catherine. We can only guess at his life, but we do have a few written records: the administration of his estate, a purchase of property as a newly arrived settler of Troup County and the information that he moved there with his wife Margarett and ten of their known children in 1827. We know he had a spirit of adventure, setting off into what had been until very recently the frontier, inhabited by Creek Indians and fur traders.

Our family verbal history maintained that Archibald originally came to Georgia from Robeson County, NC. One of his daughters later indicated that her father and mother were natives of Scotland on the census. My research has led me to believe that he came to this country from Scotland as a very small child, probably somewhere around 1770 to 1775. The family first names are certainly very Scottish and repeat many of the same names in other branches of the Scottish Wilkerson clan that settled in the general area of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina. I have found records of an Archibald Wilkinson in Cumberland County, Richmond County and also in Robeson County, which is just south of Cumberland. Just south of Robeson, in Chesterfield District, SC there are also records of an Archibald Wilkinson. So, it is easy to see how confusing this search has been.

Old maps show a distinct road across the frontier and most travelers, especially ones moving a large household, would have followed the same path from North Carolina to Troup. They would have come down through Cheraw South Carolina, past Columbia, through what is now Augusta, GA. They would have moved across the state from Wilkes to Taliaferro, through Greene and Morgan Counties and on to Jasper County and from there to Monroe.

The family moved from Monroe County, Georgia to Troup, but all of the children except the youngest Joseph, who was a babe in arms of less than six months, were born in North Carolina.

There may have been earlier relationships between the families of Archibald Wilkinson, William E. Potts, William Browning, and David Johnston. Two of Archibald's sons married girls from Monroe County. Neal K., the oldest son to accompany him on the migration, married Rebecca Johnston, daughter of David Johnston one of the original settlers of Monroe County.

A common thread between these men may have been service in the Revolutionary War, for which frontier lands were often the reward for valor.

Archibald's descendents attended the Long Cane Church. Tradition would indicate that Archibald and Margarett were buried on the family farm, which is now under West Point Lake. The Corp of Engineers moved the graves of Neal K, Rebecca, John, David, James, Elizabeth and Ezra to the cemetery at Long Cane Church. There are two unmarked graves there as well.

Marriages of the Children

As the family crossed the state, they may have made friends or visited with former friends from the Carolinas. As you can see, the children married six people from states through which the family would have journeyed on their trek from Robeson County to Troup County.

Archibald's time in Troup County was short. He died intestate before 1829. He left behind ten children ranging from 24 years old to less than two years and a widow, Margarett. His possessions were handled by different administrators, including neighbors W.W. Carlisle and David B. Cameron. Three appraisers were appointed by the court to inventory his possessions. Records of the sale of his worldly goods to thirty different purchasers can be found in the Troup County Archives. His slaves, Mack, Sarah, Dick, Sealy (sp?), Harriet and Arthur were all purchased by the administrator of the estate, David B. Cameron, on November 25th, 1829, with the exception of Tempy who was retained by the widow. We might guess that she was the younger children's nursemaid. It appears that Margarett must have been in her mid to late forties when she became a widow.

The family moved to the area just one year before the city of LaGrange was formed. The land that Archibald purchased was in the Long Cane District. Other nearby landowners included the Potts and Tatum families, whose properties were all adjacent to the Wilkinson land.

Most Scottish immigrants were Presbyterian, having sought to evade religious oppression in the old country. This is borne out by the fact that two of the older daughters who were in their late teens at the time were among the fourteen founding members of First Presbyterian Church of LaGrange in On March 21, 1829, ninety-five days after the town of LaGrange was chartered.

It is my theory that John had already married before the family left North Carolina and therefore did not make the trip to Georgia. After their father's death, the remaining oldest children began to marry. First to marry were Flora and Margarett, who appear to have been very close. They were even married on the same day - August 24, 1830 in Troup County. The two sisters married young men from Morgan County, Georgia. Jane married James Cravey in December of 1830 and Neal K. married Rebecca Johnston of Monroe County, GA, on February 7th, 1831.

The land was rolling and beautiful with creeks and streams and the Chattahoochee River close by.
"Long before the white men came to this region the proud Creek Indians called it home. When the covered wagons arrived bringing settlers and merchants from northeast Georgia and the Carolinas they found a warm welcome and a deep satisfaction in their decision to settle here.
The beginning of the community was made when log homes were built and farmers began to till the fertile soil. The settlement had no name but soon it became known as Franklin. A busy trading post was established and the owners began to sell calico, sugar, blankets, pins and other necessities to the Indians and newcomers. In 1832 the unsettling news was brought that there was already a village named Franklin to the north in Heard County. To avoid confusion another name was selected and a new sign was nailed up at the trading post which read West Point, Established 1832.
There were about 100 people living here (West Point/Long Cane area) at that time and they began to think about the need for a school and a church. This problem was solved with the erection of a large log structure which served as a school and common church building, and was located close to where the Confederate Cemetery is today.

"The swiftly flowing Chattahoochee was beautiful and teeming with fish, but its width and depth were discouraging to the settlers who wished to cross over to the west side. A number of ferries came into use and canoes were plentiful but a more permanent crossing was needed."

KNOWN CHILDREN IN ORDER OF BIRTH

Jane - Born 1803 - Died 1877

Neal K. Born May 20, 1804 - Died February 27, 1865

Neal K. married Rebecca Johnston, whose family were original pioneer settlers of Monroe County and for whom the Johnstonville Historic District, now located in Lamar County, GA is named. They were married in Troup County on February 7, 1831 The marriage dates of the other three older girls all fall in 1830. It appears that he is making sure they are wed before he is wed himself, since he is now the head of the family.

Margarett - Born before October 1812 - Died after 1880

Flora - Born before October 1810 - Died before 1860

Flora married George Washington Browning, son of William Browning. The 1830 Troup County census shows the young couple living in Capt. Morris' District.

These two sisters seem to have been inseparable in the early years of their lives. The two young families moved west to Texas together where the husbands fought in the battle for Texas Independence. P.O. went on to be a Texas congressman and Wash was a lawyer and the first commissary for Fort Houston.

Alexander J. Wilkinson - Born November 10, 1815 - Died November 10, 1855

Alexander married Jane Adaline Potts of Monroe County. The Potts family were well to do millers. Other members of the Potts family also settled in Long Cane and there is a Potts store still there today. Sandy and Jane moved to Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Things did not go well for them there and 1855 was an especially devastating year for Jane, for first her twin babies died at birth, then her husband of only forty years of age died two months later.

Archibald Alonzo Wilkinson - Born July 14, 1818 - Died 1867

Archibald Alonzo was deaf. His first wife was Bethany Ward of Greene County. There is evidence to indicate, in the form of written documentation, that he was an alcoholic. Bethany died very young and in her will indicated that her children and her two slaves were to be the wards of her father, Stephen Ward. She and AA were not living together at the time. He later moved to Arkansas to join his sister Mary Ann and her husband. While there, he married Frances Milner, the widowed sister of Mary Ann's husband.

Rebecca Wilkinson - Born December 26, 1824 - Death date unknown

Rebecca married John Milton Andrews and the couple lived in Chambers County, Alabama. They had a number of daughters and Mr. Andrews, who was older than Rebecca by fifteen years, died in 1857. at the age of 49. No further information is available about Rebecca other than this.

Mary Ann Wilkinson - Born September 6, 1825 - Died September 18, 1899

Even though Mary Ann and her family also lived in Alabama at the same time as Sandy and Jane, they moved on to Arkansas sometime between 1850 and 1860. Archibald Alonzo joined them there and helped them work their farm.

Joseph Wilkinson - Born July 28, 1827 - Died January 1, 1834