She stood in a dusty yard looking down a rutted road. Her long dress fit tight to the waist and then blossomed out filled with petticoats. The hem of her gray garment was tattered from wear, her dark blonde hair beginning to gray. She looked to be a weathered 45, still beautiful, but weary. She turned to look my way. Tendrils of hair coming loose in the breeze, her brow furrowed with concerned.
"Find Me," she pleaded though her lips did not part and no sound came from them.
Then I awoke.
I had been trying to research the West family, and concentrating on Alsey West Boggan. So, I began a little creative researching and made an amazing discovery. Found hidden by transcription errors in the 1850 census of Butler County, Alabama, I found her.
I stand corrected. In the 1850 census, two children appear in their home, 16 year old Sarah and 7 year old John. But this opens the door for a world of more questions.
Were Sarah and John Alsey's children? Did they live to have their own families? Where was the family in 1860? When did Alsey return to North Carolina? Why was she living with her nephew in 1870?
Newitt Boggan, her husband, is counted as living in Butler County in 1840 and 1850. In the 1855 census, he is counted in Macon County, Alabama.
NAME:
Newel Bogan
COUNTY:
Macon
CENSUS YEAR:
1855
Still, another researcher has placed Newitt and his siblings as having been, for the most part, buried in PineApple, Wilcox County, Alabama.
Location of Butler County
Location of Macon County
Location of Wilcox County
Other members of the family that had settled in Butler County would later migrate to Mississippi, or Texas, or even to Tennessee.
So I've been able to find one more clue as to what happened to alsie, but it led to a number of other doors.
The search for Alsie west boggan , as well as sarah and John, is not over. the common names of the two children do not help any. there are so many possibilities out there of who they could be in the following years. through a process of elimination, maybe they can be pinpointed.
I recently posted the very complementary obituary composed by "A. J. G.", and published in the April 25, 1865 edition of The Fayetteville Observer, out of Cumberland County, North Carolina, for Hampton Rhodes West.
Hampton R. West was the son of Charles W. West and also the father of Charles W. West the second.
He is mentioned well in his father's will, as seen below.
Last Will and Testament of CHARLES WEST, State of North Carolina, Ansoncounty In the name of God, Amen. I CHARLES W. WEST, being in my usual state of health and sound disposing mind, and memory, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in names as follows: 1st: I will to my daughter FANNY five hundred dollars (being her portion due of my land). Also a bed and furniture. 2nd: I will to my daughter POLLY six hundred dollars, being her portion of my land. Also a bed and furniture. 3rd: I will to my daughter NANCY HENRY five hundred dollars, being a portion due of the land. 4th: I will to my daughter ALCY BOGGAN five hundred dollars, , being her portion of my land. 5th: I will to my son EMORY M. WEST two hundred dollars of the land. 6th: It is my will that my son HAMPTON R. WEST shall not have any of the proceeds of the land, only his legal part after the legacies herein have been paid off, having already given to him his portion. 7th: I will to granddaughter CAROLINE four hundred dollars, being her mothers portion. Also bed and furniture. 8th: It is my will that my land which I own at the time of my death and all the rest of my property personal and real shall be sold in a credit of one and two years, with interest, from date and after the above legacies have been paid off. Then the balance should be equally divided amongst my legal heirs with the exception of the part which my granddaughter CAROLINE would inherit through her mother out of which part it is my will that fifty dollars shall be set apart in the hand of my son HAMPTON R. WEST for the purpose of erecting tombstones at the grave of my wife, son, daughter and myself. The balance of said part I will to my son in law RUEBEN R. HENRY. 9th and lastly: I do appoint and constitute my son, HAMPTON R. WEST, MARTIN C. LONG, AND JOSEPH I. COXE, executors to my last will and testament. In witness whereof I hereunto affix my hand and seal. This the 15th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1857.S/ CHARLES W. WEST (Seal) Witnesse sNELSON P. LISLES, .G. LISLES May 16, 1857
Given this will, I have been attempting to research and generally make heads or tails of the siblings of Hampton R West. For the most part, it has been going fairly easily, without a great deal of twists and turns or brick walls. Until I hit the name of his sister, "Alcey" (or also seen as Alsie) West Boggan.
I will soon post on the other siblings of H. R. West, but for now, I am absorbed with Alsie.
I always look to see what other research has been done on individuals I find difficult to find. And there has been in the past, a deal of involved research on the West family. One individual in particular, who has been copied by later descendants, had made the following resolve on Alsie. They had determined that she was the Adeline that married a George D Boggan, who began in Anson and later migrated to Mississippi.
The problem with this theory, although Adeline A. Boggan is near the same age as Alsie Boggan, is that following the younger children of George D. and Adeline Boggan on out, is that they have records in agreement, that the maiden name of their mother is Adeline A. Alsobrooks, who was born in South Carolina.
NAME:
Annie Boggan Koen
BIRTH DATE:
19 Oct 1842
BIRTH PLACE:
North Carolina
AGE:
76
DEATH DATE:
8 Mar 1918
DEATH PLACE:
Collierville, Shelby, Tennessee
BURIAL DATE:
9 Mar 1918
CEMETERY NAME:
Magnolia Cemetery
GENDER:
Female
RACE:
White
MARITAL STATUS:
Widowed
OCCUPATION:
At Home
FATHER'S NAME:
George D Boggan
FATHER'S BIRTH PLACE:
North Carolina
MOTHER'S NAME:
Adeline A Alsbrook
MOTHER'S BIRTH PLACE:
South Carolina
FHL FILM NUMBER:
1299695
So, in discovering that this information was incorrect, and realizing that the early researchers did not have the tools and amazing technology available to us today, to have records readily at our fingertips through online sights like Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com, and Fold3.com.
Another amazing tool I use is Newspapers.com, which has an admirable database of old newspapers on archive from all over the nation. They even have archives of the small towns of Albemarle, North Carolina and Troy, North Carolina, although not complete collections. And their collections are growing all the time. For serious researchers, it's well worth the small investment.
It was through this site that I found the following gem, which gave the name of Alsey West Boggan's husband.
So, this tells me Alsey West and her husband "Newell" lived out of state.
Another hint was in the 1870 census, that shows Alsey West Boggan, complete with transcribers error, living in the home of her nephew and son of Hampton Rhodes West, Charles W. West II, along with her unmarried sister, Mary aka "Polly" West.
In fact, this is the only census record I've been able to find for Alsey, and it gives her year of birth.
So the next step was to try to find "Newell Boggan", and I did.
He was incorrectly listed as "Hewitt" Boggan in the 1840 census of Butler County, Alabama. In other Butler County records, he is shown as "Newitt" Bogan or Newell Boggan. He suffered greatly on variations of both names.
Although I haven't found him in the 1850 Federal census of Butler County, he appears in several Alabama State Census records.
NAME:
Newett Boggan
COUNTY:
Butler
CENSUS YEAR:
1850
And in Non-census Agricultural Schedules:
NAME:
Newit Boggan
LOCATION:
Southern Division, Butler, Alabama, USA
ENUMERATION DATE:
19 Sep 1850
SCHEDULE TYPE:
Agriculture
OS PAGE:
23
LINE NUMBER:
38
And in the 1855 State Census. He has now moved to Macon County, Alabama.
NAME:
Newel Bogan
COUNTY:
Macon
CENSUS YEAR:
1855
Macon County, Alabama is now a very different place than it was in 1855, and the Boggan family is particially responsible.
He is always seen near family and was the son of a Jonathan Boggan. What cinches the fact that "Newell" and "Newitt" is the same guy, are the records attached to his father, Jonathan.
A history of the Boggan family provides verified links.
Jonathan Boggan was born at Wadesboro, Anson, North Carolina 15 Feb 1779. His parents were James Boggan and Jennie .He married Elizabeth Drew 9 Feb 1804 . Jonathan Boggan died 1857 .
Below is the will of Jonanthan Boggan dated November 25, 1857. In this, he names his son as Newitt, instead of Newill, so I am going with that spelling. This also shows that Newitt was alive in 1857, but likely deceased before his wife moved back to North Carolina by 1870 to live with her nephew. There is no indication they had any children, but I am sure there is more to discover about Newitt and Alsey. And who ran the Boggan and West Distillery in Butler County, Alabama in 1880.
I, Jonathon Boggan of the County of Butler and the State of Alabama do hereby make my last will and testament in the manner and form Following that is to say: First, I give and devise to my beloved wife Elizabeth the property hereinafter named, to wit, my negro slaves Jacob, Siller and Lency to use and dispose of as she may think proper. I also give and devise unto my said wife Elizabeth the eighty acres of land and interest, I reside on, it being the West half of the North East quarter of Section Twenty, Township Eleven and Range Twelve, reserving five acres of land as to include the house where Newet Boggan now resides for the use of the said Newet Boggan during his natural life and at his death to go to Holden and John Boggan. Also I give and devise unto my wife Elizabeth the South East quarter of Section Seventeen Township Eleven and Range Twelve, reserving twenty acres of said tract of land lying on the west of said tract so as to include the piece of land now in cultivation by Newet Boggan for the use and benefit of said Newet Boggan during his life and at his death to go to my son John Boggan and at the death of my wife ! Elizabeth the last described tract of land willed to her to go to my son John Boggan. I also give and devise unto my said wife Elizabeth my stock of hogs, sheep, cattle, and horses, waggon, Plantation tools, household and kitchen furniture, except as is otherwise disposed of to her use and benefit during her natural life and at her death to her sons Holden and John. I also give and devise to my said wife Elizabeth the following named slaves, to wit: Pube, Peggy, Hannah and Mary to use and to benefit during her natural life then to be divided as follows, to wit: to my sons Holden, James and John and to my Daughters Rutha and Eliza and my daughter Mary Jane Thigpen to share alike. I also give and devise to my son Holden M. Boggan, negro boys Mack and Sharper, one feather bed and furniture, one cow and calf. Also the West half of the North East quarter of Section Seventeen Township Eleven and Range Twelve. Also, I give and devise to my son James D. Boggan, negro boys Joseph and Hampton, one feather bed and furniture, one cow and calf. Also the West half of the South East quarter Section Sixteen Township Eleven and Range Twelve. Also, I give and devise unto my son John Boggan, negro boys, Mike and Jackson, one feather bed, and furniture, one cow and calf. Also, I give and devise unto my grand daughter Mary Jane Thigpen, two negro boys, Peter and Solomon and two negro girls Marie and Martha, one cow and calf. Also, I give and devise unto my daughter Rutha, negro slaves, George Ellen, Adaline and Allice. Also, I give and devise unto my daughter Eliza, negro slaves Ellick, Aaron and Julia and the first living child that my negro woman, Mary has and in the event of said child not being born then. and in that event, my other legatees are to make up the amount that such a child would be worth to my said daughter Eliza. Also one cow and calf, one feather bed and furniture and one side saddle. Also, I give and devise onto my son Newet Boggan, one negro boy named Allen. Also the East half of the North West quarter of Section Twenty four, Township Eleven and Range Twelve, involving five acres of land so as to include the Spring, where my family gets water on said tract of land which I gave to my sons Holden and John Boggan. Also, I give and devise unto my son Norfleet D. Boggan, Ten Dollars. Also, I give and devise unto my daughter Jane Ferguson, Ten Dollars. My will is that there shall be no division of my estate until two years after my death and that the incomes to be divided among the legatees that has force engaged in proportion to said force employed, my crop and bands. I wish disposed of as follows, to wit: After my debts are all payed [sic], the balance of my cotton crop is to be divided with my wife Elizabeth and my sons Holden and John Boggan equally. After the balance of my crop is to be used for the support of my family. And lastly, I do hereby constitute and appoint James D. Boggan and James Thigpen my Executors of this my last Will and Testament, by me heretofore made. In Witness where of, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this thirteenth day of July, A.D. Eighteen hundred and Forty six. Signed, sealed, published and declared as and for the last will and testament of the above Jonathon Boggan in the presence of us. Daniel W. Coleman, William Smith, Joseph L. Wood, Silas M. Wooton, Thomas Scott. Johnathon Boggan (Seal)
The State of Alabama, Butler County. Before me S.J. Bolling, Judge of the Court of Probate for said County, personally appeared in open Court, William Smith who having been by one first duly sworn, examined do depose and say on oath that he was a subscribing witness to a paper purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Jonathan Boggan, late of said County deceased, sometime in the year 1846. That sometime during the same year, said deceased died in said County and that he affirmed was one of the Witnesses upon whose testimony said Will was admitted to Probate in the County Court of said County, that said Johnathon Boggan was at the time of the signing the same, of sound and disposing mind and memory and over the age of Twenty one years. That said Will at the time it was established in the County Court of said County was proven by himself Thomas Scott and Joseph L. Wood. That said testator signed, published and declared said instrument to be his last Will and Testame! nt in the presence Daniel Coleman, Thomas Scott, Joseph L. Wood, Silas M. Wooton and ______ of each of them with himself signed the paper as witnesses in presence of said deceased that the affiant has been informed and believes it the original Will aforesaid was designated by him in the Court house of said County that he affiant examined the paper now shown to him purporting to be a copy of said original will destroyed as aforesaid and that he believes the paper now shown to him is a copy in substance and effect of said destroyed Will. Sworn to and subscribed before me Nov. 25, 1857.
Location of Butler County
Location of Macon County
Location of Wilcox County
