Richard Christmas

Richard Christmas

Richard Christmas was born in Bute County, North Carolina* on January 4, 1764.  His parents were Thomas and Sarah Whitlock Christmas. (Richard's ancestors immigrated to Virginia from England in the mid 1600’s.) Richard’s father Thomas died in 1768 when Richard was only four. His mother died in 1770, leaving him an orphan at the age of six. There are no records to indicate who became Richard’s guardian, but he remained in the Franklin, NC area. He joined the North Carolina militia and served as a private during the Revolutionary War. His brother, Captain John Christmas, also served in the Rev War. John died in 1781. After the war, Richard married Ann Butler and they settled in Orange County, NC. After her death, he married Mary Roberson in Franklin County, NC in 1790. They moved to Edgefield County, SC and then to Greene County, GA.  In the 1827 Land Lottery** he drew land lottery property in Harris County. 

Bethel Baptist Church

Richard moved his family to the Columbus area before 1830 and built a home off County Line Road in Midland, GA.  He became a founding member of Bethel Baptist Church along with my maternal 3^rd great grandfather Rev. James Rees and my paternal 3^rd great grandfather Osborn Eley.  Bethel Baptist church was formed on June 29^th,1829 on Flat Rock Road near Columbus, Georgia. The congregation met once or twice a month using the services of part time pastors.

Richard and Mary had four children:

1)Temperance (1792-1856) married Robert Simmons

2) Mary (1800-1865) married Daniel Huff

3) Martha (1802-1821) married James Ferguson

4) Nathaniel (1805-1848) married Ann Harrison

Richard and his son Nathaniel executed their wills together in Muscogee County in 1847, both of whom established their wishes for the division of property among family members. Richard willed his estate to his son Nathaniel and daughters Temperance and Mary, appointing Nathaniel and Temperance as executors. Nathaniel's will bequeathed property to his wife Ann and daughter Martha, along with other assets, while also ensuring debts are settled from his estate. Both wills were proven in court in November 1848.

Richard died on September 13, 1848 and his son one month later on October 14^th. They are buried in the Christmas Family Cemetery in Midland along with family members and descendants.

*On January 20, 1779, the North Carolina General Assembly abolished Bute County less than 15 years after establishing it. The legislature established the northeastern county in June 1764 and named it in honor of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. a Scottish nobleman. Bute was the tutor of Great Britain’s Prince George. After the prince became King George III in 1760, Bute served as the king’s advisor and eventually became prime minister. By the late 1760’s the Earl of Bute was so unpopular because of the Stamp Act, that the county was abolished and absorbed into Warren and Franklin County and ceased to exist.

**The 1827 Land Lottery was the fifth lottery of the Georgia Land Lotteries, a  system used by Georgia between the years 1805 and 1833 to distribute Cherokee and Muscogee land to settlers. The 1827 lottery was authorized by the Georgia General Assembly by an act of June 9, 1825. On February 18, 1825 a treaty was signed by Chief William McIntosh at his home in Indian Springs, GA.  The treaty signed by McIntosh led to his death by Creek chief Menewa.  The lottery lands from the treaty signed were located in Carroll, Coweta, Lee, Muscogee, and Troup counties.  The lots were 202.5 acres in size. Drawers of  previous Georgia land lotteries were excluded, as well as draft resisters who refused to fight in the War of 1812 or the Indian Wars, people who deserted from military service, imprisoned convicts, tax defaulters, or those whose debt had not been settled

References

"United States, Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1966", , FamilySearch

 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7FY2-YVMM :  Entry for Richard Christmas and Richard Christmas, 1 June 1840. 

"Muscogee, Georgia, United States records," image 73 of 551; Georgia. County Court (Muscogee County). www.familysearch.org

http://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/101642040/person/360009971970/facts

Ross, Arnold H., Georgia Revolutionary War Soldier’s Graves, Iberian Publishing Company. Athens, Georgia, 1993

Knight, Lucian Lamar Georgia's roster of the Revolution Baltimore, Maryland, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967 

http:// www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2016/01/20/ 

 

http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21552370/richard_christmas