- Probably born in Orange County, North Carolina 1750-1760.
- He served as a Patriot Soldier during the Revolutionary War soldier from the Hillsborough District.
- He and his family lived on Mountain Creek near present day New Hope Road and Interstate 40 north of Hillsborough (Durham/Chapel Hill area today).
- He is listed as a testator in a 1787 land sale between
James Scarlett and Aron Lipham (possibly on Little River in Wilkes County,
GA).[1]
- Soldier in the Wilkes County Georgia Militia 1793.
- Living in Hancock County, GA 1797.
- Early settler of Jackson County, GA arriving about 1797-1799 shortly after the county was created.
- He was a member of the Jackson County Grand Jury for
March 26, 1800.[2]
- He was a member of a Special Jury for September 1800.[3]
- He was part of a group of men selected as arbitrators
in a favorable court ruling/decision for April 1803.[4]
- He was a member of the Grand Jury for April 7, 1803.[5]
- Justice of the Peace 1812 Jackson County, GA for GMD
256.[6]
- Listed on the 1820 census (District not indicated).
- Died in 1832.
- His wife was Sarah and his children were Pheraby, Sarah (Sally), Permelia, Patsy, Winifred, Prosser, Fletcher and William.
- At his death, he owned approx. 2000 acres of land in Jackson and Washington counties.
General area where Prosser's plantation was located near Braselton in Jackson County, Georgia
1890 Map of Jackson County, GA, Randolph District (GMD #248)
Drawn by R.M. Torrence, Jackson County Archives
Due to the Metes and
Bounds and Headrights system used in Jackson County, the only way to accurately
determine a more precise location is to know the location of the adjoining
landowners and landmarks. Based on the censuses, his Will, land deed
records, the author has determined the general area as shown above. Most likely it was in the middle of the red circle in the figure above but without more
information or an expert surveyor, the exact location is not currently known. There is a Horton family cemetery located at
In addition to his lands on the Walnut River and Indian Creek, he also owned land along the Mulberry River to the south. These lands were owned by Prosser's descendants as recently as the early 1900s.
Another clue regarding the location of his home are the names of Mayo, Pendergrass, McEver, Randolph, Niblack, Cochran and Clower which can be found throughout the land deeds and estate records.
Monument in front of the old Jackson County courthouse[7]
(Author photo)
(Author photo)
[1] Early Records of Georgia, Vol's 1 &
II, Wilkes County, Grace Gillam Davidson, 1932 (Rev. Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr.),
p. 265
[2] Jackson County Georgia Superior Court
Records 1796-1803", by Teresa Wilson Dunn and Vivian Phillips Walls,
(1994, WH Wolfe Associates).p.91
[3] Ibid, p.94
[4] Ibid, p.161
[5] Ibid, p.186-187
[6] Elrod, p.72. GMD 256 no longer
exists. This area is now NW Barrow and NE Gwinnett and known as Hog Mountain.
Interestingly, Col. Joseph Whorton (Commander at Fort Daniel) is listed as a JP for this
same area in 1811. The relationship between the Whortons and Hortons, if any, is unknown.
[7] The author's paternal 2nd cousin (Woodson Lafayette Williamson) married the sister of Governor Lamartine Hardman.
Grace Gillam Davidson (note 1 above), a former State Historian for the GA DAR, State Chairman for Genealogical Research and Regent for the Hannah Clarke Chapter of the DAR as well as a noted author of numerous genealogy books and publications, is a descendant of Prosser Horton and thus a cousin of mine.
(This page was updated on 7/30/2021)