James, John M. and William Dorris Milton/Crabapple Land Holdings
James Dorris' Store Records (Milton/Crabapple)
The following records from James Dorris' store were provided by the Milton Historical Society. The originals were located at the Emory University Library (special collections) but I was told that they are now part of the Alpharetta Old Milton Historical Society's collections.
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Alberson, Edward (1852) Algood, Edward Arwood, John e. Baker, Daniel Baker, James T. Baker, J. H. Bates, George W. Batey, James Batey, Willis Beach, Abner Bentley, Luke Bentley, Nicholes Berry, James Bishop, Sion Blalock, Handsford Blythe, Charles
Bramblett, Henry
Bradford, Archibald
Bradford, Elinder
Bradford, James S.
Bradford, Joseph
Bradford, Matilda
Bradford, William
Broadwell, Jessee
Broadwell, Needham
Brown, Andrew
Brown, James
Brown, Jesse
Brown, Mathias
Butler, Deniel
Butler, Mathias
Camp, Arthur
Caroll, Anderson
Chaffin, Smith (1854)
Cogburn, Archibald
Cogburn, Sarah
Conley, Dave
Coker, Hannah
Cook, Ephraim
Cook, Jermiah
Cox, John
Cristler, Abel
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Davidson, William
Deen, Wm. B
Dempsey, Larken
Densmore, David
Dinsmore, Adam
Devore, David W.
Dobds, Stephen
Dorris, John M.
Dorris, William
Doss, John S.
Dudley, David -
Duncan, Thomas
Edwards, Charles
Edwards, Joseph
Edwards, Pleasant
Emerson, Henry
Everett, John
Felton, John
Fields, Alston
Fields, Asbury
Fields, Bleuford
Fields, Mary Widow, Mrs.
Fields, Morgan
Fields, Elizabeth
Fields, Sucind (?), Mrs.
Fields, Susanna
Fields, William
Findley, Quinton
Ford, Elizabeth (Mrs.)
Ford, John N.
Ford, Manly
Ford, M. R.
Fowler, Wiley
Freeman, Sennjah
Gant, John
Garner, Elizabeth
Garner, William
Gazaway, John
Gentry, A. D.
Gentry, Gary or Cary
Glover, Richard
Grimes, Eli
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Grimes, John
Grimes, Susanna, Mrs.
Hamilton, John
Harden, Aron
Harden, James .
Harris, Joseph B.
Harrison, Joseph
Hayes, Edward
Hestler, James
Hodges, Rebeccah
Holland, Archibald
Holland, Jacob
Holland, William
House, Thomas
Hinkle, Solomon
Hubbard, James
Huggins, Mary Jane, Mrs.
Huss, David
Hutcheson, W.
Ingram, Bryant
Ingram, Robert
Jackson, Elijah,
Jones, John
Jones, Russell
Killgore, Thomas
Kitchen, George
Kurkendall, Alexandria
Kurkendall, Peter
Land, Gideon
Landrum, John T.
Lee, Green B.
Lowrey, Bazzell
Lowery, James
Mansell, Jessee
Martin, Nathen
Martin, Robert
Martin, Augustin
Martin, Harrison
McConnell, Eli
McDaneild, Maragret, Mrs.
McMickene, John
Middleton, James A.
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Miller, Dempsey
Miller, Hezekiah
Miller, John
Miller, William
Morley, Ambros
More, Oliver
Morris, Gabriel
Morris, Jorden
Morris, Reuben
Nailer, John
Nix (h), Edward
Narn, John
Olliver, James
Oliver, Samuel B.
Owens, William
Pain, David
Pendley, Jesse
Perry, William H.
Payne, Paten T.
Pharris, James
Phlemmone, William
Phillips, Abner
Phillips, Albert -
Phillips, Alpheus
Phillips, Andrew
Phillips, Marida
Phillips, Martin
Pinion, Piety, Mrs.
Quarles, Robert
Randail, Dot (?)
Rainwater, John M.
Rainwater, Leroy
Rainwater, Pinctney
Ray, Jams
Reynolds, Gallant
Roberts, Austin
Robinette, James
Robinette, John
Rucker, George E.
Rucker, Simeon B.
Rucker, Nancy
Rucker, William
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Rush, David
Rush, Sarah
Sampler, Williiam
Scott, James N.
Scots, Roberts
Shaw, George of Jackson County
Simpson, Thomas
Simpson, Izack
Simpson, Reuben
Simpeon, Thomas S.
Sims, Mickiel
Slaton, William
Smith, Mark
Stancell, John
Stevens, Daniel
Steward, James
Stewart, Richard
Swetman, Jonn J.
Thompson. Bartley
Thompson, James
Thompson, Gideon
Thompson, Mary
Thompson, Willis
Thompson, Wiley
Tuton, Williamson
Vales, Stephen C.
Vaughn, Joseph
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Waiter, William
Walker, Drucila, Mrs.
Walker, Hardige
Walker, Joseph
Walker, Westley
Walraven, Bebeca (?)
Waters, Elias C.
Waters, Larkin
Watts, James
Weaver, John
Webb, Alfred
Webb, Clinton
Webb, Tolover
White, Charity, Mrs.
White, Edy, Mrs.
White, Nancy, Mrs.
White, Stephen
Whitley, Allen
Whitmire, Larken
Williamson, John R.
Williams, Joseph P.
Williamson, John
Willson, Richaré
Worthy, Thomas
Wright, Ellzabeth
Young, John
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Store Records - List of Cherokee Indians that traded with James Dorris
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Big Dave
Bushy head
Chicken, Joseph
Chicken, Old
Chicken, Rachel
Chicken, Silk
Chicken, Suzy
Cinnolly
Chinncheeck, Joseph
Chincheeck, Levi
Cobbs, Sullee
Conee, Dave
Connee, Neely (?)
Downing, Bill
Downing, Case
Downing Ezekiel
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Downing, George
Downing, Jim
Downing, Watt
Huckleberry, Jacob
Lansort (?), Ellis
Morrise, Ruben
Pickens, Mary
Sanders, Jim
Siliwake
Sleepyman
Stickeyhuskey
Sticky Smokey (?)
Timske
Tobacco Pack
Walker, John
Win, Jack
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Mr. James Dorris’ last recorded sale to a Cherokee Indian was to "Tobacco Pack" on April 19, 1838 (1 pr. shoes, $1.62 ½ ;and a
pair of stockings 62 ½)
The last Cherokee emigration party set out for Oklahoma
on December 4, 1835.
Recipte for Swiney ore Diseasee (Diseases) of the Same
Nature***
Take Water & cut up Read (red) Peper find ande Boile it
tell it is a very strong Add ½ Pinte of Grees Line (?) tell all the water is
out the older and ruster the Grees is Best then Set the vessel way off the fier
add on ½ Pinte of Caroseen one ½ Pinte Spirite of Turpentine one oz of Hartes
Horne or (of) Campher Gum then stire ocasionley untell cool then it is Ready
for use Put the Smoothing Iron to the fier and have it warm as fer Ironen
Clothing Rub the afected place with the Linamente with your Hands onste or
twiste a day Put a olde yarne cloth over the sholder and Iron the Place
Reasonleby if the Place whare you apply the Grees should get too Dirty wast it
in Worme water sope suds and yore anamile will Bea well of Swinney in 10 Dayes
or by the time it Dus (does) not take the hare off.
The city of Milton and the historical society have erected historic signs recently and one of the signs was located near the presumed location of James' store. The sign was located near the present day traffic circle on Crabapple Road near the town of Milton; However, the road construction caused the sign to be temporarily removed. Per the historical society, the following is the text from the sign:
"James Dorris Store, Circa 1837. James Dorris (1801-1877) moved to Crabapple from South Carolina around 1834. In 1836 he purchased a 40 acre lot for $65. Dorris, with Cherokee wife Nancy Cook, built a store near this spot. Located along routes to the lottery lands of Cherokee territory, the store was a source of goods and services for settlers and travelers until 1844. Dorris followed a flexible policy of trade, including barter, for both settlers and the native Cherokee. His ledger books recorded transactions that were 'on account'. Credit extended by general stores was crucial for early pioneers."
My research indicates that he owned quite a bit more land than the 40 acre lot indicated. His brothers Rev. John M. Dorris and William Dorris also owned land in the area. See link at the top of this page for a PDF file of my research on land lots owned by the three Dorris brothers.
James Dorris' store location in present day Milton Georgia
(City of Milton; Annotation by author)
STORIES WRITTEN
The following is an excerpt from: The Dorris Family: Pioneers of Milton County (by Caroline Dillman from "The Alpharetta Revue")
"James DORRIS owned hundreds of acres of land in the Crabapple area and ran a store there. The customers who patronized his store included indians as well as whites. A list of persons who bought from and traded with James DORRIS from 1835 to 1844 is included here. James DORRIS was born in 1801 and died in 1877. He married Nancy COOK, an indian, who was born in 1799 and died in 1887. James DORRIS was born in Abbeyville, South Carolina; later resided in Augusta, Georgia and in Jefferson Jackson County, Georgia; and eventually moved to what was originally Cherokee County but became a part of Milton County and is now part of Fulton County. His father, also James DORRIS (probably Sr.) was originally from Holland and had two brothers, William and John. There seems to be no record of William's descendants, and most of John's decendants settled in Douglas County, Georgia. The younger James DORRIS, who had the store, was the father of eight children, four of whom died young and four lived to have children of their own. These latter four were W.C. DORRIS, who married Mary GALEHAUGH; Permelia DORRIS, who married W.D. RUKER; Elizabeth DORRIS who married N.W.H. COOK; and J. Newton DORRIS, who married Fannie GILLISPIE."
And Aubry Morris wrote the following on March 12, 2009:
If you're saddened by the convulsive effect of our current recession and how it determines where and how people live, just consider the cataclysmic events taking place in these parts 175 years ago. Those were pioneering days in this area of Georgia, when our earliest white settlers were struggling to survive and the Native Americans (Cherokee) were beginning to be forcefully removed from their homeland to be resettled in Oklahoma and other points to the West. An old friend, the late Dr. Bernice McCullar, a historian and educator, in her defining book "This Is Your Georgia," recorded that the first expedition of what came to be known as the "Trail of Tears," left the Hiawassee area in March of 1834. The federal government had expected 1,200 to sign up for the kickoff of its re-settlement plan. But only 475 Cherokees, temporarily housed in 28 log shelters outside Hiawassee, made the departure. In April, the McCullar account goes, the contingent had reached the Arkansas River, but 81 had died – 50 of them from cholera. The following year, on Dec. 29, 1835, the United States government met with some of the Cherokee leaders at New Echota, their capital near present-day Calhoun. There, a treaty was executed for the forceful removal to the West of all Cherokees who remained in Georgia. This was despite the fact that many of them had already been living peacefully, some intermarrying, into white families. Cherokees had taken their fight for their lands peacefully through the American legal system up to the Supreme Court and had won. President Andrew Jackson simply ignored the court. Cherokees found it difficult to appeal the point of a bayonet. After Georgia officially took possession of the Cherokee land May 18, 1838, the U.S. Army under General Winfield Scott began removing Cherokees by the thousands from the Georgia mountains and foothills. Thus began in earnest the infamous "Trail of Tears," where a ghastly 9,000 Cherokees, on foot or on water, died. The above brief recitation on a not-so-proud episode in our state's history came to mind a few days ago after I spent a delightful afternoon with two lifelong friends — and fellow natives of Roswell — Barry Mansell and his first cousin, Linda Mansell Martin, at Emory University's Woodruff Library Special Collections section.
Our object was to locate and learn from a rare collection of early records kept by their own great-great-great grandparents, which provided great insight into white and Cherokee Indian history of this area.
The priceless collection, "Store Ledgers and Miscellaneous Papers of James Dorris," were the documents of a resident of what later became Crabapple, beginning in the early 1830s. More than 125 years later, the collection was placed at the Emory Special Collections Section in 1962 by Martin's father, the late Roswell merchant, Joe Mansell. James Dorris (Oct. 26, 1801-July 8, 1877) and his Cherokee Indian wife, Nancy Cook Dorris, (March 3, 1799-death date unknown) lived happily, raising a large family whose offspring include many of today's outstanding citizens of the North Metro area.
The Dorris Store's "Ledger Books" and "Miscellaneous Papers," in various groupings, all now faded but still legible, cover the years 1832-1869. Mr. Dorris' wrote and signed his will, utilizing one full page of one of his Dorris Store ledgers. Dated June 1, 1875, Milton County, Georgia, the will included adequate provision for "Nancy, my Wife," during her remaining years, and "all balance of property both real and personal be sold to the highest bidder and after paying my debts, if any, to be equally divided among my children." (Offspring unnamed in will.) Among the more-prominent white settlers who traded at the James Dorris Store were Simeon Rucker from South Carolina, an early captain of the Georgia State Militia in these parts and progenitor of the vast Rucker Clan, still very much around. Captain Rucker liked to pay his accounts "By Cash." Among the many Cherokee Indians maintaining accounts at Dorris' Store was a man named "Bark Chichen," who paid $2 for "1 pr. shoes." The year was 1835. Could Mr. Chichen have planned to use that brand new "pr. of shoes" for the trek to Oklahoma, then moving into high gear? Apparently not too moved by the federal and state pressure for the Cherokees to leave their beloved homeland was a brave by the name of "Sleepy Man." Apparently a lover of alcohol and jewelry, he was still here in 1836. The thrill of discovery clearly was reflected on the faces of Barry Mansell and his cousin, Linda Martin, as they were allowed by the Emory librarian/archivist to examine those documents so lovingly kept by their ancestor.
And from the Atlanta Journal Constitution on April 8, 2016
Community, culture and history wait for you in downtown Crabapple
LIVING
By Larry Keller - Living Northside Magazine, JASON GETZ February 11, 2016 - Milton, Ga: A horse grazes in the pasture in Fortitude Farm at Yellow House Farm Thursday, February 11, 2016, in Milton, Ga. The Yellow House Farm has thirty-eight stalls, a covered arena, and a few pastures. The Yellow House Farm is one of many horse farms in Milton.
Assunta Fiorini and Scott Skillman wanted to buy an old home with a good bit of land in 2011. They found a gem — a historic house built around 1833 in the Crabapple area of Alpharetta, with enough property for their dogs and two horses.
This story originally appeared in the April/May edition of Living Northside Magazine.
Their home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built by one of Crabapple’s first settlers, Simeon Rucker. It still has two small “preacher rooms” where traveling pastors could spend the night. One of Rucker’s sons, John, left his Confederate unit in the Civil War and returned to the house. He wrote his name on a wall, where it’s still legible. The date: Aug. 3, 1864. Somebody else carved their initials in the 1890s, while another person scrawled a poem in the 1920s.
Walk to the rear of couple’s 3.3 acres, however, and you see and hear the rush of cars zooming along Rucker Road. Suburban sprawl is everywhere. Fiorini, an attorney, has fought efforts to erect subdivisions on the still bucolic street in front of her home.
“I feel like I need to be ever vigilant about maintaining the character of the area,” she says. And yet, like many who live in Crabapple, Fiorini was attracted not only to the area’s pastoral roots, but also its proximity to shops and restaurants. “It’s a dichotomy,” she adds.
Fiorini’s conflicted feelings about Crabapple’s rustic and historic charm — and its ever-encroaching development — play out across the community. Residents like a certain amount of country living, but also want the convenience of nearby restaurants and shops. Funny thing, however — nobody agrees on just where Crabapple is. “There is no clear boundary of Crabapple,” says Melissa Morgan, who sells homes in the area for Berkshire Hathaway. This much can be said definitively: The community is mostly in the city of Milton, but also seeps into Alpharetta and Roswell.
HISTORY
Crabapple was once home to Cherokees Indians who lived in North Georgia. The state forced them to leave in the 1830s and auctioned their land to white settlers who established farms in the area. One of those early settlers, James Dorris, operated a store from which he traded with the Indians, and he married a Cherokee woman. He and other Crabapple pioneers, including the Rucker family, have roads named after them.
Originally in Cherokee County, Crabapple became part of Milton County, which later merged with Fulton County in 1932. By the early 20th century, several of the buildings at the Five Corners intersection had been erected, including a cotton gin next door to Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails that is now occupied by a marketing consultant, and a two-story brick building now used by a design firm. That intersection – Crabapple Road, Mayfield Road, Birmingham Highway, Mid Broadwell Road and Broadwell Road — is regarded today as downtown Crabapple and also is called Crabapple Crossing, or simply “the crossroads.”
The community got its name from the crabapple trees once grown in the area. But cotton became the dominant crop, and one 19th century settler, John B. Broadwell, developed a strain of high-yield cotton seed that was hugely successful. Cotton’s dominance waned following a boll weevil infestation in the 1920s, and later the Great Depression, which wiped out subsistence farmers, says Connie Mashburn, a local historian.
Eventually, metro Atlanta’s growth exploded northward to places like Sandy Springs and Alpharetta. That and the opening of Ga. 400 in the 1970s spurred additional growth in Milton and the Crabapple community.
With it have come struggles to preserve some of the area’s rural past while new subdivisions sprout up like cotton once did. The contrast between the old and the new is epitomized by the four silos standing along busy Crabapple Road, remnants from a large farm that once prospered there. Adjacent to them today is a strip shopping center.
Still, one need drive little more than a mile from Crabapple Crossing to see picturesque ranches with horses and donkeys grazing near the road. And remnants of Crabapple’s past still remain. Near Fiorini and Stillman’s home is a private Rucker family cemetery with several dozen graves in the midst of a subdivision.
Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails is housed in an old farmhouse that is more than 150 years old and once home to Broadwell and his family. The cotton gin next door is more than 100 years old. Nearby is a home décor business called Urban Farmhouse, located in a home that dates back more than a century.
PHOTOGRAPHS
James Dorris and his wife Nancy (A Cherokee Indian). (Courtesy Wayne Reese)
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Various Newspaper Clippings (Courtesy Georgia Historic Newspapers)
Western Herald, October 12, 1833
Paulding County land awarded to James Dorris who was likely still a resident of Jackson County Georgia.
Southern Banner, June 2, 1838
Jackson County Georgia land awarded to James Dorris. James was likely dividing his time between Jackson and Cherokee County in 1838.
The Weekly Constitution, September 25, 1877
W.D. Rucker is William Derrell Rucker, James Dorris' son-in-law and J.N. Dorris is Jasper Newton Dorris, the son of James Dorris.
Cherokee Advance, October 12, 1888
Cherokee Advance, October 19, 1888
Broadwell Family
In James Dorris' store records above one will find the name Jesse and Needham Broadwell. Jesse was an early settler like James and he lived near the present day intersection of Crabapple, Mid Broadwell and Mayfield Roads. The upscale restaurant Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails is located in the 1800s era farm house that was the home of John B. Broadwell, the great grandson of Jesse. The historic road sign near the home reads as follows: "John B. Broadwell House, John B. Broadwell was the great grandson of Jesse Broadwell, and early settler of the area. Jesse obtained four land lots (160 acres) in Crabapple. John was an agriculturist who developed prize-winning Broadwell Big Boll cotton (aka Double-Jointed Cotton). The Southern Vernacular house dates back to the late 19th century, and was remodeled in 1913. The house was restored by Ruby and Loyal Pittman, who moved the house to its present location from a block north on Mayfield Road. it was later opened as a restaurant, while retaining its original design and integrity."
Broadwell Farm house, 1800s era, Milton/Crabapple Georgia
Now a popular restaurant
(Author photo, July 2020)
Rucker Family
The old Rucker home is still standing at the intersection of Broadwell, Old Rucker and Rucker Roads in Alpharetta, Georgia. The cemetery where James Dorris is buried is across Rucker Road in a subdivision.
Rucker home in Alpharetta Georgia
(Historic Designation application to the City of Alpharetta, 2018)
Rucker home in Alpharetta Georgia; probably 1940s or 1950s era
(Non-copyrighted internet photo)
The link below is to a pdf file application in 2018 seeking a historic designation for the Rucker home. This file is in the public domain and available from the city of Alpharetta. It includes quite a bit of history about the Rucker family and the area.
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Links For Further Reading
(This page was updated on 4/2/2021)
