Note: I am anticipating the publication of a land plat book which might show the exact location of James' & William's land in Jackson, Hall and Gwinnett Counties. The estate of the noted surveyor Daniel Crumpton is publishing plat books on these counties sometime in 2021. His plat books will hopefully provide a more accurate depiction of their lands and we will then be able to possibly narrow down the location of William's home. My amateur efforts below are inconclusive thusfar.
During my search of old land records and other documents, a few interesting records stand out. The most interesting record discovered is that William Clements' home was used as one of the geographic boundary points when Hall and Gwinnett Counties were formed and laid out from portions of Franklin and Jackson Counties in 1818.
Gwinnett and Hall County Creation Legislation 1818
(Google Books)
Novermber 29, 1819 legislation clarifying Gwinnett and Hal Boundaries
(Google books)
Can the present day location of his home site be determined from this legislation? The most obvious place to start our research would be to look at old maps which show the boundary lines. This poses a significant problem because there are no extant maps dating back to 1818 - The oldest map I found was dated 1864 and the boundary lines may or may not have been the same or the map may not be an accurate depiction of the county lines. In fact, I found numerous old maps from the 1860s and later that were not in agreement regarding the county boundary lines.
Another issue is that the original legislation was vague, even at the time it was written. In the book "The Early History of Jackson County, Georgia" , Mr. Wilson clearly notes the difficulty in determining the boundary lines. On page 20 he quotes the act of 1818 (Figure 1 above) and then states the following:
As this act did not clearly define some of the northern boundaries of the new counties, the legislature of 1819 undertook to remedy the matter by enacting "that the line dividing the counties of Jackson and Gwinnett shall extend from Thompson's mill on the Oconee fork of the Mulberry river; thence up said fork to where the line dividing Hall and Gwinnett crosses the same.." This act of 1819 was still so unsatisfactory that in December, 1820 an explanatory Act was passed with following preamble: "Whereas some of the lines dividing Jackson, Walton, Gwinnett and Hall Counties were designated by old roads, not very much in use; and whereas persons living near such roads are in the habit of turning such dividing roads at pleasure round their houses, so as to throw them in which county they may see proper, so as to evade civil process, militia duty, payment of tax, and effect many irregularities contrary to the true intent and meaning of the aforesaid law. Be it enacted " etc. The Act then goes on to re-establish nearly the same original lines, and in the same indefinite manner. In some places their exact location is unknown to this day.
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We also have the dilemma of "headrights" land plats. The old "headrights" surveying system used physical points to determine the plats - trees, streams, rivers, etc. and adjoining landowners. Unless one knew the area and the adjoining landowners, it was difficult (even in 1818) to know precisely where a particular piece of land was located and its size. The Hog Mountain area (and most of early Jackson County) were laid out as "headrights" and the junction of present day Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson Counties still references these "headrights". This is the area where William Clements' land was located.
So, we have vague legislation, no extant maps, inaccurate later maps and a "headrights" land plat sytem based on physical landmarks that are certain to have changed or are no longer in existence. Seems impossible; However, I will introduce my research below and you can draw your own conclusion as to where his home site was located.
I have spent numerous hours locating old maps and comparing them with the original legislation to try to determine where his home was located. [2] I can say with confidence that his home site location was somewhere along a line that runs from the present corner of the junction of Hall, Gwinnett and Jackson Counties at the Mulberry River to present day Hamilton Mill Parkway and Highway 124. This is the line that 'paralleled the Hawkins Line". With less confidence I can say that it is one of three possible points along this line: 1) The present day intersection of Highway 211 and Highway 347 near Chateau Elan; 2) The intersection of Spout Springs Road and Duncan Creek, and 3) Near the intersection of Hamilton Mill Parkway and Highway 124.
General Area of the Home Site of William Clements in 1818
Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson Counties in Georgia
(Bing Maps; Annotation by author)
CURRENT CONCLUSION USING PRESENT DAY SOURCES
The best modern day historical interpretive maps that I found are from the Newberry Library in Chicago. The Newberry has historical maps for most states and counties (a great research tool!).
The first map below shows the county boundary lines as of December of 1818 when Gwinnett County was created. One might assume that the Newberry researchers used the original legislation above to arrive at these boundaries. The critical point is the "stake" referred to in the 1819 legislation. If the "stake" noted is the southernmost tip as shown in the 1818 map below, then William Clements' home site was precisely 3-3/4 miles from this stake along the line that "paralled" the Hawkins Line.
Note that this map shows the southern tip of Hall County to be just SW of the present day intersection of Hamilton Mill Parkway and Highway 124.
1818 Map of Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson County Boundaries
As depicted by the Newberry Library researchers.
(Newberry Library)
Next is a Newberry Map in 1819 showing the new southern tip of Hall County almost exactly 3-3/4 miles north and east of where it was shown to be in 1818. This "tip" is still today marking the southernmost point of Hall County. It is just to the north of Interstate 85 along Spout Springs Road near Duncan Creek. Apparently, the November 29, 1819 legislation made a dramatic change in the southern boundary line but note that William Clements' home is still noted in the 1819 legislation.
November 29 1819 Map of Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson County Boundaries
As depicted by the Newberry Library researchers.
(Newberry Library)
In summary, if one carefully reads the 1818 legislation and the 1819 legislation that clarified/changed the southern boundary, one might come to the conclusion that William Clements' home site was located at the southern tip of Hall County (Spout Springs Road and Duncan Creek today); However, it is not clear, to me at least, that this was where his home was located. If one looks at the 1818 map above, the Jackson County line intersects with the Hall County line near the present day intersection of Highway 347 and 211, just on the outskirts of the Chateau Elan complex. The 1819 legislation clearly notes "and on the line running from thence, to William Clements, thence along said line to the Mulberry Fork of Oconee river". To me, this might indicate that his home was nearer to Highway 347 and 211. Since the line that paralleled the "Hawkins Line" did not change from the 1818 legislation to the 1819 legislation, about all we can conclude is that his home was on this line. What did change was the southern tip and the point where Jackson, Gwinnet and Hall Counties intersect. The southern tip moved 3-3/4 miles NE and the point where Jackson County intersects with Hall moved northeast as well, but it only moved about 3/4 of a mile. So, if his home was the southern tip as depicted on the 1818 map, it would not have been used as a point of reference in the 1819 legislation. But since his home was used in the 1819 legislation, my conclusion was that his home site was either at the present day intersection of Spout Springs Road and Duncan Creek (#2 below) or at the present day intersection of Highway 211 and 347 (#1 below). A caveat to this is that my conclusion is based on these 2 maps from the Newberry Library - if these maps are not correct, then my conclusion is also not correct.
William Clements' Possible Home Site Locations
Based on the maps from the Newberry Library researchers.
(Newberry Library; Annotation by author)
William Clements' Home Site Location
Present day map
(Bing Maps; Annotation by author)
For the time being, I am going to "stay" on this conclusion (that it is one of the above 2 locations). I have spent numerous hours poring over old maps and trying to interpolate the legislation description to match the actual old maps but have been unsuccessful at arriving at a specific point. With the soon to be published plat books by Daniel Crumpton, we can hopefully narrow the location down closer and perhaps even pinpoint the site.
If you want to see more of my inconclusive research, please visit >>
this page<<. I have numerous old maps and you can see where I attempted to match the legislation to the old maps.
Another helpful piece of information is the 1820 census where William Clements is listed in Gwinnett County. His uncle Charles Clements is listed on the census very close to William. We know that Charles Clements owned land in 1809 along the Mulberry River. If this is the land that Charles was living on when the 1820 census was taken, this likely places William's land nearer to point "1" . We also have a few of the early tax digests that place Charles Clements and William fairly close together. Charles had several land transactions noted to be on the Mulberry and one of these had Jacob Braselton as a witness. We know where Jacob Braselton lived so it is not too much of a stretch to assume that Charles' land was probably to the north of Jacob on the Mulberry. One of these tracts of land also have a "J. McConnell" as an adjoining land owner.
We also have the following newspaper clipping which might indicate that William might have lived in Hall County for some time or the letter was simply addressed to the wrong county since his home appears to have straddled the Gwinnett-Hall County line. Of course, land ownership and home site location are not always the same place but with William selling his land in 1827, it may have been the land that he lived on because he left for Carroll County shortly after this.
Figure 15
The Athenian, April 19, 1831
(Georgia Historic Newspapers, University of Georgia)
Also, with his marriage to Prosser Horton's daughter who lived along the Walnut River near the Braseltons, William certainly would have lived close to Prosser. Prosser's land was likely to the east of William's. Perhaps someday a talented surveyor (Daniel Crumpton?) will be able to piece together the adjoining land owners which will provide a more accurate picture of where all of these families lived: Clements, Horton, Braselton, Randolph, Cochran and others.
The legislation which created Gwinnett County is a very interesting document with regards to my own family history. William Clements, my paternal 4th great grandfather, is noted. "Blair's road" is also noted and this Blair is Colonel James Blair, my maternal 4th great granduncle. James Blair is also known historically as creating the "Blair Line" which was a boundary line in North Georgia which separated Indian lands and white settler lands. Also, one can find Mathew Talbot 's name in the legislation. Mathew Talbot is the author's paternal 1st cousin. This Senator Mathew Talbot later became the Governor of Georgia.
Senator Talbot's name can also be found on the 1821 legislation that created the Town of Lawrenceville, the county seat of Gwinnett.
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William Clements, Col. James Blair and Gov. Mathew Talbot
We also have an 1820s tax document for Hall County with both William's and Jame's names noted.
William Clements, 1820s Hall County (GA) Tax Collector Record
(GA Archives)
William Clements, 1820s Hall County (GA) Tax Collector Record
The record above for William Clements appears to be for a significant amount of land. Since we already have found records showing where William bought land from his father in Hall County, this could either be the same land or James may not have sold all of it to his son William.
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Gwinnett Historical Society
[2] What I have presented here is only a small summary of my research. Most readers of this blog will likely not be interested in the details of my research but if you would like to see more supporting documents, visit this page.
A Compilation of the Laws of the State of Georgia passed by the Legislature since the year 1810 to the year 1819, inclusive. (1821), p. 231. (Courtesy Google Books)
In 2014, Daniel N. Crumpton published an excellent book for Wilkes County land records which indicates the plats very well and it is the author's understanding that a book is forthcoming for Jackson County based on his work which may provide better specificity for the land holdings of James and William.
James C. Flanigan, History of Gwinnett County Georgia, Vol. I, (1943)
Frary Elrod, Historical Notes on Jackson County, Georgia
(This page was updated on 8/9/2023)
