Onward ho! Again ... and again.
James and William Clements left the Hog Mountain area (Gwinnett, Jackson and Hall Counties) about 1829 and settled in Carroll County, Georgia. They were not in Carroll County very long when they moved again to Randolph County, Alabama (just across the GA-AL line).
It was in Carroll County, Georgia that William Clement's daughter Elizabeth married Rev. John Makenzie Dorris (August 5, 1830). James, William and Rev. Dorris are adjacent listings on the 1830 Carroll County census. The families may have known each other before living in Carroll County since it is known that Rev. Dorris was in Jackson County as early as 1828, possibly living with his brother James in downtown Jefferson. I strongly believe that there is a Methodist Church connection between these families (Clements, Dorris, Horton and Merck).
There is a Carroll County land record dated January 7, 1829 indicating that William Clements sold LL 7, District 12 to Henry P. Jones of Burke County. Today, this land is in Heard County along the Centralhatchee River and Armstrong Mill Road and about 20 miles from the land he later owned in Randolph County, Alabama.
William bought land lot 70, District 12 on December 19, 1829. And there is another land record dated 1830 land record from Arthur Alexander to William Clements for LL 67, District 12. These 2 land lots run north-south beginning at the junction of Crews Creek, Copeland Creek and Hillabahatchee Creek, present day Heard County (Approx. 5-1/2 miles SW of the land noted above (LL7). William Clements' son, Prosser Lovick Clements, owned land lot 68 which adjoined LL 67 to the south (bought from Philip M. Byrd of Hall County on Jan. 23, 1830). So, with the exception of LL69, they owned 3 mostly contiguous land plats totaling about 605 acres and the land seems to follow the Hillabahatchee Creek. It is possible that they owned LL69 as well, I just did not find a record of the transaction.
In January 1830, William Clements witnessed a land sale for Land Lot 31, District 12 which is just to the east of Land Lot 67, 68 and 70.
Land Lots 67, 68 and 70, District 12
By the time the 1840 census was taken, James and William were in Randolph County, Alabama. James is living with his son William and James' age is listed as 80-90 which would place his birth between 1750-1760. [3] William's age is 60-70 which places his birth between 1770-1780. A large number of slaves (22) are shown as owned by William. Elijah Nunn is an adjacent neighbor: He and William Clements were brothers-in-law having married sisters (daughters of Prosser Horton).
Both James and William appear to have died within a year or two of one another. It is not known exactly when James died but he was deceased by the time William died on August 28, 1841. It is said that William died in Arkansas while on a trip to Texas. William's estate was properly divided with his son, Prosser Lovick Clements, and his son-in-law Thomas B. Wafer, as the administrators. The names of his heirs were as follows*:
P.L. Clements (b. 1807, Prosser Lovick)
Joseph Harkins, in right of his wife (Sarah)
Ephrain Carpenter, in right of his wife (Dicey W.)
James M. Clements (b. 1810, middle initial = Monroe)
Benjamin A. Clements (b. 1819)
Jesse M. Clements (b. James Moore Clements)
James Smith, in right of his wife (?)
Thomas B. Wafer, in right of his wife (b.1818, Nancy)
William Casper, in right of his wife (Martha H.)
John Pinckard, in right of his wife (Elizabeth)
John M. Dorris, in right of his wife (Elizabeth L.)
Winifred Clements, widow of deceased
Another daughter named Permelia may have been a minor at the time of his death.
All of these heirs except for John Dorris were residents of Chambers and Randolph County, AL.
*I have added birth dates, middle initials and the names of the daughters which I determined through of later censuses and other records.
The deaths of James and William resulted in a family squabble that ultimately went all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court to be settled. The case, in 1850, involved certain slaves that James deeded to William. Upon the death of William, these slaves were to be distributed to certain heirs of James. Apparently, the slaves were not distributed in the manner the heirs deemed their right so the case was heard before the Alabama high court. Note that the 1840 census lists 22 slaves which represented not only a huge amount of money [1] and labor there were likely very close relationships between certain slaves and Clements family members.
Names mentioned in the case: Samuel Hamilton, Francis McAdams, Joseph T. Harkins, James M. Smith, Ephraim Carpenter, Richard J. Watts.
Samuel Hamilton is probably Captain Samuel Hamilton, Esq., noted on page 169 of Volume 3, History Of Gwinnett. There was also a Samuel G. Hamilton that was a Justice of the Inferior Court (1825-1826) just before Elisha Winn .... And a Tax Receiver for 1824. Samuel was bringing the case for his wife, the daughter of James and thus Samuel is the brother-in-law of William Clements.
Richard J. Watts is probably the man noted as a soldier on the 1827 Land Lottery for the 408th District of Gwinnett (Capt. Henry Cupp, Capt. Samuel Rowlans & Capt. Alex. Dunbar). And there is an R.J. Watts as a member of the Grand Jury for 1829 from Gwinnett. Richard was another of the claimants presumably for one daughter of James or William. Richard Watts and Elijah Nunn were two of the men that laid out the road from Lawrenceville to the Yellow River (probably present day Highway 29, more or less). [2]
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[1] The amount of money could have been as much as $600,000-700,000 in today's dollars based on an average of $1,000 per slave in 1840.
[2] 1826 Gwinnett Inferior Court Minutes
[3] Clearly old enough to have served in the Revolutionary War.
(This page was updated on 6/24/2021)