African-American Origins for Sandra Lea Todd Descent from …tinaannsfamilytree.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/9/5/31951819/family_his… · African-American Origins for Sandra Lea Todd Descent

African-American Origins for

Sandra Lea Todd

Descent from Manuel Rodrigues

born Angola, Africa, circa 1620

Sandra Lea TODD, b 13 Oct 1957

Matthew N. DRIGGERSb August, 1827, Georgia

d bef 1900, Marion County, FL

Martha GLISSON b 1825, Wayne, GA

d 07 May 1886, Marion County, FL

Jonas DRIGGERSb abt 1777, Cheraw District, South Carolina

d abt 1854, McIntosh County, GA

Clementine Elizabeth AMMONS m 10 Aug 1804, Bulloch Co., GA

d after 1860, Georgia

George Washington TODD b 26 Jul 1875, Liberty (now Tattnall) County, GA

m 18 Oct 1896, Liberty (now Tattnall) Co., GA

d Oct 1960, Lake County, FL

Rose Anna BLOCKER b 1860, Liberty (Now Tattnall) County, GA

m 07 Sep 1882, Liberty (now Tattnall) Co., GA

d 19 Oct 1933, Center Hill, Sumter Co., FL

Mary Edna "Mamie" DRIGGERSb 06 Jun 1883, Liberty (Now Tattnall) County, GA

m 18 Oct 1896, Liberty (now Tattnall) Co., GA

d 28 Aug, 1941, Lake County, FL

Andrew Jackson "Jack" DRIGGERSb 1860, Liberty (Now Tattnall) County, GA

m 07 Sep 1882, Liberty (now Tattnall) Co., GA

d Florida

Jonas DRIGGERS Srb abt 1755, Cumberland, NC

d 03 Nov 1822, Bulloch Co., GA

Eleanor LASTINGER m abt 1774, Cheraw, NC

William DRIGGERS b 1726, Norfolk, VA

Mary KIRBY

Manuel RODRIGUES aka Emmanuel DRIGGERS b 1620, (Angola, Africa) d 1685, Northampton, VA

Elizabeth, Last Name Unknown

(2nd wife)

Johnson DRIGGERS b 1686, Northampton, VA

Mary GEORGE b 1700, Northampton, VA m 1715

Thomas DRIGGERS b 1644, Northampton, VA d 1694, Northampton, VA

Sarah KING b 1645, Northampton, VA d 1701, Northampton, VA

Alda Pearl RIBLETT b 17 Oct 1907, Pennsylvania

m 1925 Lake County, FL

d 06 Nov 1979, Eustis, FL

James David TODD, Srb 26 Jun 1898, Glennsville, GA

m 1925, Lake County, FL

d 17 Apr 1941, Lake County, FL

Vera Marie HAYFORD b 21 Jun 1928, Paola, KS

m 1950 Seattle, WA

d 11 Mar 2007, Lewistown, MT

James David TODD, Jr b 04 Feb 1929, Clermont, Fl

m 1950, Seattle, WA

d 17 Apr 2010, Oklawaha, FL

Background – Driggers Origins in Angola, Africa

A. San Juan Bautista

departs from Luanda,

Angola

B. San Juan Bautista sells

24 slaves in Jamaica

C. Pirate ships the Treasurer

and the White Lion

hijack most of the San

Juan Bautista’s slaves, in

the Bay of Campeche

D. The White Lion sells

“20 plus” slaves in the

Jamestown Colony,

Virginia

The White Lion’s captain was John Jope, a colorful Englishman (of Dutch descent?) nicknamed

“The Flying Dutchman”. Technically, English ships were not allowed to go privateering against

Spanish vessels in 1619, but he obtained a Dutch “letter-of-marque”.

This is like something out of a bad novel. An English privateer captain operating under an

(expired )Dutch letter-of-marque steals human cargo from a Portuguese slaver captain operating

under a Spanish charter. The Privateer sells them to the Colonial Governor who smuggles them

from a peninsula to the mainland in small boats to get around slave import restrictions.

http://encyclopediavirginia.org/virginia_s_first_africans

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gowenrf/article3.htm

YEAR Location Event

1520 -

1571Angola

First Portuguese missionaries and merchants arrive in the African Kingdom of Ndongo,

invited as part of Ndongo's process of becoming independent from The Congo.

Portuguese surnames like Rodrigues are adopted as the Ndongans slowly convert to

Catholicism.

1571 -

1617Angola

Portugal designates the parts of Ndongo under Portuguese control as the Colony of

Angola, and gradually encroaches on the Ndongo capital.

1617 -

1619Angola

Portugal overthrows the King of Ndongo. Thousands of captives are taken to be sold as

slaves.

1619Luanda,

Angola

> Early 1619 The Spanish-chartered slave ship, San Juan Bautista , under Portuguese

captain Manuel Mendes de Acunha, takes on a cargo of 350 slaves in the port of Luanda,

Angola

1619Campeche Coast of

Mexico

>June 1619 The San Juan Bautista is attacked by two English "corsairs" (pirates), the

Treasurer and the White Lion . The corsairs take all but 147 of the slaves that survived

the passage from Africa to the Mexican coast, and the San Juan Bautista contiunes to

Mexico with the remainder.

1619Jamestown Colony

Virginia

>Aug 1619 The White Lion sells "20 plus" slaves to pay for provisions. The legal status

of "slave" was not yet well established in the American colonies, and these people were

classified as "indentured servants". However, the children of these "servants" (including

those of Manuel Rodrigues) were bought and sold as slaves, unless their masters freed

them, or unless their freedom was purchased with money via an indenture contract or

outright payment to buy their freedom. Starting in the 1660's, the Slave Codes replaced

the legal fiction of indentured servitude for non-Whites with legally defined slavery.

This is focused on the ancestors of "our"

Driggers line. To save space, we are not

looking at the activitities of the siblings

of "our" Driggers, except where the

parents were involved, or when

something unusual was going on.

http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIST403/resources/Sluiter.pdf

Background – Driggers Origins in Angola, Africa

One of the persistent rumors about the Driggers family is that they have Native American blood.

The people discussing the rumors casually use the word “Cherokee”, though there were no

Cherokees where the Driggers lived. The Driggers lived for generations in the area of the Lumbee

Indians, at times in a Lumbee village, but there is no evidence that the Driggers themselves were

Lumbees. The Driggers White and Black origins are well documented, but any Lumbee descent

would have to come via a wife.

In each generation that has wives whose families lived in Lumbee country, we will note those

wives’ ancestry, of which little is Native American.

�There is some confusion over the maiden name of the wife of Matthew Driggers, but I suspect

that her maiden name was Glisson, and I further suspect that she was part Lumbee. It will require

some research and/or documentation before we can say more than that.

�Only in the last Driggers generation that we discuss does something like documented Lumbee

ancestry finally appear. Some of the relatively distant ancestors of George Todd (Mary Edna

Driggers’ husband) were Lumbee Indians, indeed the Powhatan family that included Pocahontas.

NOTE

GENERATION 00 – Manuel Rodrigues & Elizabeth (Last Name Unknown)

http://genforum.genealogy.com/driggers/messages/1326.html


Year Location Event

> 27 May 1645 Jane Driggers, one year old, is bond to service of Francis Pott until she is 31 years old;

her indenture states that Emmanuel Driggers “bought and paid for to Capt. Robert Shepard”;

> 1645 Elizabeth Driggers, 8 years old, is bond to service of Francis Pott; listed as “given to my negro

“Emmanuel Driggers) by one who brought her up by the space of 8 years...”

> 27 May 1645 Emmanuel Driggers “Negroe”, slave of Francis Pott, Magotha Bay, , purchased a cow

and calf from his master.

>1649 Emmanuel Driggers and wife Frances were “assigned as servants to Stephen Charlton to pay

Pott’s debt to Charlton;

1650 -

1659

Northampton

County Virginia

>24 May 1652 Emmanuel Driggers bought Jane Driggers freedom from Francis Pott;

>30 Dec 1652 Emmanuel Driggers and Bashaw Fernando clarified as owners of cattle they acquired as

servants:“ye said cattle, etc. are ye proper goods of the sd Negroes”

>1656 Emmanuel Driggers gives a black heifer to a young slave on a nearby plantation;

>1657 Edward Driggers, (Emmanuel's son) about 3 years old, is sold to Henry Armitrading;

>1657 Dec Ann Driggers (Emmanuel's daughter), 10 years old, is sold to John Pannell;

>1658 Emmanuel Driggers freed by William Kendall, second husband of Potts’ widow;

1660 -

1669

Northampton

County Virginia

>1661 Emmanuel Driggers married second wife, Elizabeth, who was probably white, since she was not

tithable

>1660-63 Manuell Rodrigues head of a household paying three tithes

>1664 Manuell Rodrigues paid tithe only on himself

>1665 Emmanuel Driggers leased 245 acres for 99 years from former master, William Kendall

1670 -

1679

Northampton

County Virginia

1672 Emmanuel Driggers assigned the unexpired part of his lease to John Waterson;

1673 Emmanuel Driggers gave horses to his daughters Frances and Ann, who were still slaves, and

children Devorick and Mary, who were free.

1677 Emmanuel Driggers was taxable in John Michael’s Division in his own household on himself;

1685 Emmanuel Driggers is mentioned in an administration account presented to the court by William

Kendall;

1645 -

1649

Northampton

County Virginia


Below are excerpts from a very nice post on the Ancestry.com forums by a gentleman named

Tim Hashaw. The post as a whole has good insights, and some detailed information that I haven’t

run into elsewhere. Nice stuff.

“Emanuel was working as a servant for Virginia planter Francis Pott in Magotha Bay when the

White man gave him a cow and a calf in 1645. The Virginia colony a few decades later would seize

all livestock owned by Black slaves and forbid them from owning property they might use to

purchase their freedom…” (Hashaw goes on to discuss the details of how Rodrigues accumulated

property and ransomed his children. The timeline on the previous page to this covers most of that

same information, but the hyperlink at the bottom of this page will take you to Hashaw’s article)

“When Pott died, his widow remarried a White planter, William Kendall. Kendall apparently did

not approve of slavery and began to release Pott’s former slaves within a year of the marriage. The

White planter Kendall did not even require Pott's last requirements be met. Kendall freed

(Rodrigues’ friend) Bashaw Fernando simply on his word that Pott had mistakenly forgot to

mention him by name in his will. (Manuel Rodrigues) “Emanuel Driggus” was also freed about the

same time…

…When an English sailor named George Williams fell sick in Northampton far from home his

friend Emanuel Driggus tended him. However, his condition worsened and Williams, fearing the

worst, prepared his will. In 1667 he bequeathed "…to Manuell Driggus, Negro, for his care and

trouble in tendinge mee in my sickness, my wages due me for Eleven Month's service on the Shipp

Louis Increase of Bristol." …

After wife Frances died Emanuel married the White woman Elizabeth in 1661. To assure that he

would not desert his new wife, he gave her a three-year old gray mare along with ownership of its

future increase. At the time mares were valuable in the Virginia colony…”

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Melungeon/2003-03/1048154837

The only caution I would give you on the above article is not to praise Gideon Gibson too highly,

after reading Tim Hashaw’s kind words about him. Like Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, Winslow

Driggers and Gibson had once been comrades in paramiltary/outlaw activities; but when times

changed, it was Gibson who played the Pat Garrett role and switched to the side of law and order

to lynch his old compadre. Driggers managed to shoot Gibson before Gibson’s men strung

Driggers up, and Gibson’s right arm had to be amputated.

Gibson appeared in court and had himself officially declared White, based on his appearance.

He was Winslow Driggers’ relative and part Black himself, but it paid to be White in the Old

South. Two generations down from Winslow, the Driggers were also calling themselves White,

and by the time of the Civil War, both families had total amnesia about their African roots.


Myne Owne Ground": Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676

http://books.google.com/books?id=KOUCNeHaBWMC&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=%22peter+george

%22+northampton&source=bl&ots=Zie5rgJqc3&sig=v7oOpPbiuqyDzrLXvtnJLBE_Pg4&hl=en&sa=X&e

i=utJxUK2mA6nuiQKPmICYCw&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22peter%20george%22%20northampton&f=false

Freedom In My Heart: Voices From The United States National Slavery Museum

http://books.google.com/books?id=Oc2HX7f5GL8C&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=driggus+northampton&source=bl&ots=mj6JLeplaV&sig=BQumIZx

COxeEzPVf-h4jLcB_8U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H9lxUMSWLsTgiALO2IHQDA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=driggus%20northampton&f=false


Here we see what seems to us to be

a bizarre relationship between the

slave Emmanuel Driggers and his

slaveowner, Francis Payne.

Francis sold two of Emmanuel’s

children to other slaveowners, thus

perpetuating the slave status of

those two individuals.

On the other hand, he seems to have

gone out of his way to give special

arrangements to Emmanuel:

* He allowed Emmanuel and his

family to accumulate property,

knowing that this would make

them look more and more like

Free citizens in the eyes of the law

•He let Emmanuel renegotiate two

daughters from “slave” status to

“indentured” status, though he

did violate the 7-year indenture

limit.

•Emmanuel was able to buy the

freedom and/or pay off the

indenture of Emmanuel’s first wife

Frances from Francis.

•See the article on this page,

Francis seems to have a godfather

relationship with those Driggers

children he didn’t sell.

• Francis didn’t free Emmanuel, but

statements, by Francis’ widow’s

second husband (who did free

Emmanuel) and by one of

Francis’ other slaves suggested

that Francis left the door open for

Emmanuel to get his freedom.

It’s very hard to understand these

17th-century relationships, looking

back from the 21st century…

.


The implication here is not that Potts wanted his “negroes”

to always be his slaves, but rather that he dreaded the idea of

selling off slaves, breaking families apart. Economic hard

times did prompt people to sell off slaves, (Potts sold two

Driggers children) But he acted as much like a godfather as

an owner, twisted as that relationship feels.

Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas

http://books.google.com/books?id=S42CypbRTlQC&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=driggus+north

ampton&source=bl&ots=58jzxie_CC&sig=m5Q-gEC-6dPbxsp1lfN_fm73-

QI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H9lxUMSWLsTgiALO2IHQDA&ved=0CF8Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=d

riggus%20northampton&f=false

The Baptism of Early Virginia

According to Douglas Deal in his book Race and Class in Colonial Virginia, John Francisco was

originally a slave, owned by Stephen Charlton, of Nassawaddox Creek, VA. Charlton was a devout

Anglican with a rather ambivalent feeling about slavery. He was a Justice of the Peace from 1640

onward, a representative of the House of Burgesses in 1645 and 1653. He had patented nearly 4000

acres of land on the Eastern Shore and seems to have owned no slaves prior to 1646, when he married

his second wife, the widow Bridget Severne, sister of the former Governor John Pott. She brought two

slaves into the Charlton household and in 1647, Charlton added a Negro man named John. In 1648,

Charlton added three more slaves: Emanual and Frances Driggus and Bashaw Farnando.


http://lynncjackson.com/family/sisco.htm

The History of Black Business in America

http://books.google.com/books?id=mfiV6kQm2OYC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=driggus

+northampton&source=bl&ots=PTBn7itqgD&sig=TAsN1e6DOS7Mng0NOdTTc2QhGHU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H9lxUMSWLs

TgiALO2IHQDA&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=driggus%20northampton&f=false

Actually, Emmanuel did not purchase his own freedom.

He was voluntarily freed in 1658 by the second husband of his owner’s widow.

In the 1650’s, we have the strange situation of a man buying his relatives out of slavery

while he himself stayed a slave. Since he seems to have been a personal

friend of his owner, he probably guessed that he would be freed eventually.

GENERATION 01 – Thomas Driggers & Sarah King

Year Location Event

1660 -

1669

Northampton

County

Virginia

>1664-67 Thomas Driggers is taxable in Thomas Poynter’s household

>1666 Thomas Driggers is present to the grand jury for the sin of fornication with Sarah King, who he

married about a year later; Northampton Co, VA >1668 Thomas Driggers’ master,

William Kendall, complained to the court that Thomas is still a slave belonging to him and he was

neglecting his master, “Negroes” John Francisco and Francis Payne complained that Thomas was

abusing them; he is ordered lashed and Thomas’ child, a slave of Kendall’s, is indentured to Francisco

until age 21

>1668 Thomas Rodriggus, “Negro” is listed as head of his own household of 4, including wife, Sarah

and two other men, apparently in disregard of the above: Tho: Rodriggus Negro } 4

Sara Negro

Morgan Thomas

Walter Manington

Northampton

County

Virginia

>1671 Thomas Rodriggus is listed as part of a household of 6, including Sarah;

John Hayes } 6

Tho: Driggus

Sarah his wife

>1672 the court orders that Sarah "shall not depart the house of Mr. John Eyres master of the said

Rodrigus without the leave of both her husband and Mr. John Eyre. Sarah did not follow the court

ruling since she and her husband were listed in separate households in John Michael's Division from

1675 to 1677

>28 February 1677 The will of "King Toney Negroe" is proved, naming his daughter Sarah

>23 April 1688 Sarah King Driggers, called "negroe Woman & wife to Thomas Griggers Negro,"

complained to the Somerset County court that Margaret Holder had stolen some of her goods.

Peter George, "Negroe" of Wiccocomoco Hundred, posted five pounds sterling security for Sarah's

appearance. The court heard testimony from Peter George, Mary George, Mary Johnson, and Sarah

Driggers, Jr., and found in favor of Margaret Holder.

>14 August 1688 Sarah Driggers, Peter George, three unnamed women, and an unstated number of

men petitioned the Somerset County court to stop taxing them as slaves since they were free born. The

court ruled that for that year the women should be exempt, but the men should pay taxes. The court

also ordered that they obtain certificates from where they formerly lived to prove that they were free

born [Archives of Maryland 91:47; Judicial Record, 1687-89, 58].

>29 May, 1691 Sarah Driggers, about forty years old made a deposition in the case of Peter George in

the 29 May 1691 session of the Northampton County court [Orders 1689-98 116]. Thomas died

before March 1694 when his widow Sarah recorded her livestock mark in court [DW 1651-4, p.28 at

the end of the volume].

> 1 February 1698 Sarah Driggers won a suit against A. Westerhouse for 300 pounds of tobacco for

curing his arm, and on 28 May 1700 Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Littleton won a suit against her for

83 pounds of tobacco per account of public dues and officers fees [Orders 1689-98, 521; OW&c 1698-

1710, 39, 43].

> 1698 Sarah Driggers and and "Sarah Landrun free Negroes" (her niece Sarah Landrum) were given

twenty-five lashes on their bare backs for stealing some yarn from "a free Negro woman commonly

called Black Nanny" [Orders 1679-89, 463].

1690 -

1699

Northampton

County

Virginia

Somerset

County

Maryland

1670-

1679

1680 -

1689

Tithable Heads of Household Tithables in White Households

Jno Johnston 2 Ann Harmon

Phillip Mongon & his wife 2 John Archer Negro

John Kinge Negro 1 Tho: Rodriggus Negro

Basshaw Ferdinando Negros 3 Frances Driggus Negro

Susan Hanna

John Francisco Negro & Xian Francisco 2 Mary Rodriggus

Bastian Cane Grace his wife Negroes 2 Peter Beckett }

Emanuell Drigges 3 Mary Crew } Negroes

King Tony Sara his wife Negroes 2 Tho: Carter }

Wm Harman Negro Jane his wife 2 Edw: Carter }

Francis Pane Negro 1 Peter George }

Anto. Johnson 1 Jone George }

Tony Longo 3 Jane Guzall } Negroes

Gabriel Jacob }

Bab Jacob }

Danll Webb }

Isbell Webb } Negroes

“Negro” inhabitants of Northampton, Virginia as they appeared on the tax rolls of the 1670’s. Shows

the status of Thomas Driggers, (“Tho Rodriggus”) and some of his relatives. Note that at this time,

Manuel Rodrigues (“Emmanuel Driggers”), Thomas’ father was methodically buying his children out

of slavery or renegotiating their status to that of indentured servant, one child at a time, as he got the

money. Additionally he was giving property to his enslaved children and at least one unrelated

“negro”, (to help them climb the social ladder as he himself had done?).

Note how the list shows the King family (Tony and Sara King would be the parents of Sarah King

Driggers) and the George family (I suspect that Peter George was Mary George Driggers’ father).

Note the Francisco family, another Portuguese-surnamed slave family who were friends with the

Driggers.

http://www.genealogy.com/12_heing.html#note1


[Order Books 1657-64, p.103, fol.104, 176, 198; 1664-74, fol.14, 15, 19, 42, 54, pp. 15, 42, 54, 55; 1674-79, fol.114,

p.191]. In the year 1677 there were 25 tithable free African Americans and 53 tithable slaves out of a total of 467

tithables [1674-79, 189-91].

Free African Americans of North Carolina,

Virginia, and South ..., Volume 1

By Paul Heinegg

This involves speculation on my part, but I’m guessing that the parents of Mary George

(Johnson Driggers’ wife) were the Peter George and Mary “Rodriggus” (Driggers)

mentioned above. That would make Johnson and Mary cousins.


Free African Americans of Maryland and Delaware from the Colonial Period to 1810


http://books.google.com/books?id=KOUCNeHaBWMC&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=%22peter+george

%22+northampton&source=bl&ots=Zie5rgJqc3&sig=v7oOpPbiuqyDzrLXvtnJLBE_Pg4&hl=en&sa=X&e

i=utJxUK2mA6nuiQKPmICYCw&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22peter%20george%22%20northampton&f=false

http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Driggers_Dutchfield.htm

www.freeafricanamericans.com/Driggers

GENERATION 02 – Johnson Driggers & Mary George


Reference the entry for 1754 - various Driggers were serving in the local militias at this time.

This was the era of the French and Indian Wars, and the Cherokees were stirring up trouble.

Year Location

1686Northampton

County Virginia

1700 -

1709

Northampton

County Virginia

1710 -

1719

Norfolk County

Virginia

1720 -

1749

Norfolk County

Virginia

Craven County

North Carolina

1750 -

1769

>1731 - 1734 Johnson Driggers was taxable in the same district of Norfolk County in 1731 with his

son Johnson, taxed together as one tithe:Johnson Drigus & his son Johnson Drigus - 1 titheand taxed

>11 August 1752 Johnson Driggers claimed head rights in the Craven County, North Carolina court:

Johnston Driggers Came into Court and made Oath that his family consisted of seven Black Persons

[Haun, Craven County Court Minutes, IV:103].

>8 March 1754 muster roll of Captain Casson Brinson's Craven County Company, Johnston Drigers,

listed next to his son Caleb. [Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South,

701].http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:Mss5H-P0IzYJ:

Event

>1686 Birth of Johnson Driggers

>8 November 1702 Johnson Driggers, his brother John, and Samuel George appeared in Northampton

County, Virginia court , where they were convicted of stealing a hog and then abusing and threatening

several whites "in an insolent manner" [Orders 1698-1710, 102, 106]. He probably left the county

shortly afterwards as he was not listed as a taxable in the 1720-29

>15 May 1718 Johnson Driggers purchased 40 acres in Norfolk County on the north side of the

Northwest River known by the name of Horse Pool Point on [DB 10:18a, 34]. He was taxable in the

http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/112_SN_1218.html?page=23

On 11 August 1752 in the Craven County,North Carolina court: Johnston Driggers came into court

and made oath "that his family consisted of seven black persons"

[Haun, Craven County Court Minutes, IV:103].

Driggers and William Chavis testified in court stating that they were black people and

“black complexion”, and six feet tall.

Six feet tall and “black complexion” is hardly the description of an 18th Century Native American.

A lot of Cherokees to this day seem to regard Lumbee families as mongrel

African-American mixes trying to claim Native American status without the proper pedigree.

Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas

GENERATION 02 – Johnson Driggers & Mary George

The Crisis, Oct 1980

Interesting. Thomas Driggers (legally a slave) exhibited such violent, abusive

tendencies that other members of the black community testified against him, and “our”

ancestor, Johnson Driggers (technically a slave child), was placed in the household of

a Free Black family, with the result that he came to adulthood as a free man.

GENERATION 03 – William Driggers & Mary Kirby

We have no firm documentation on William

Driggers’ marriage. The prevailing opinion is

that his wife was Mary Kirby, whose

grandfather came from England. No Native

American ancestry.


Revolutionary War Service for William Driggers and his son, Jonas Driggers Sr

The family story that one sees on the internet describes William and Jonas serving under

Frances Marion (“The Swamp Fox”), specifically supplying beef cattle for his troops.

There is a “Julius” Driggers who shows up on the Revolutionary pension rolls as one of Frances

Marion’s old enlisted men. Members of the Driggers family who post to the Internet tend to think that

“Julius” was a misspelling of “Jonas”, and my hunch is that they are correct.

Note: The 2nd Militia was one of Frances Marion’s units

http://books.google.com/books?id=95vwdfiI67MC&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=Johnson+driggers&source=bl&ots=OB

rW7-3fc7&sig=Pu0MuDlhe7beYWA8Y5qIImc-aPM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4ydQUIT2MYrhiAKot

YH4Dg&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Johnson%20driggers&f=false

Year Location

1750 -

1759

Richmond

County

North Carolina

1759 -

1769

Cumberland

County

North Carolina

1780 -

1789

Marlborough

County

South Carolina

Event

>19 Oct 1758 William Driggars living on Gum Swamp (Richmond, later Scotland Co), less than five

miles from both Robeson Co and Marlboro Dist, SC. His improvements on Gum Swamp east of

Drowning Creek were mentioned in a 22 July 1769 Bladen County deed

>1778 Sep 17 William Driggers enlisted in the SC Second Regiment deserted on 4 Mar 1779.

--see below for detailed comments on William Driggers' military service--

1770 -

1779South Carolina

>1788 Dec William Driggers filed court papers as administrator of Charles Kiby; Marlborough Co,

SC

>17 October 1759 William purchased land in Cumberland County, North Carolina, by deed proved

on 17 October 1759 and sold land in Cumberland County by deed proved five years later in May court

1764

Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution

“WILLIAM DRIGGERS

For 31 days as private and 30 days as driver in Lt. Allen's Company of Gen. Marions Brigade in

September & December 1782 amounting for Sterling, Four pounds one shilling and four pence

Sterling”. http://genforum.genealogy.com/driggers/messages/1329.html

Here we see service in 1782 wiping out the stigma of “desertion” in 1778. Militia units in the

Revolution could be very informal about attendance, and they didn’t get much more informal

than the Swamp Fox and his band of guerillas.


http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/patriot_leaders_sc_francis_marion.html


http://sciway3.net/proctor/revwar/swampfox_NCO_D.html

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tomtwig/drighist.html

“William Driggers was born in the 1730’s. Just before the Rev. War, the family moved from

Cumberland Co., NC. to Cheraw District SC.” -Note the reference to the (Indian) Cheraw District

http://books.google.com/books?id=JcF6E75ZAeUC&pg=PA431&lpg=PA431&dq=%22sarah+kirby%22+carolina&source=bl&ots=hQkZK9LGF

1&sig=Ak4xgZF06-hr5g2oe6aqANoKoeE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GxxIUOu-KonoiQKk9oHICg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=

onepage&q=%22sarah%20kirby%22%20carolina&f=false

Driggers in the Military

Year War Ancestor Comments

1754French &

IndianJohnson Driggers

>8 March 1754 muster roll of Captain Casson Brinson's

Craven County (NC) Company shows "Johnston Drigers"

1778 -

1779

American

RevolutionWilliam Driggers

>1778 Sep 17 William Driggers enlisted in the SC Second

Regiment; deserted on 4 Mar 1779.

1782American

RevolutionWilliam Driggers

>1782 "Served in the militia during 1782 under Gen. Marion

(SC) and supplied beef for militia use"

1782American

RevolutionJonas Driggers, Sr

>1782 "31 days as private and 30 days as driver in Lt. Allen's

Company of Gen. Marions Brigade in September & December

"

1862 Civil War Matthew Driggers

>06 May 1862 "M Driggers" of Bulloch County, GA enlists in

Company K, 47th Infantry Regiment Georgia of the

Confederate Army

William Driggers’ brother, (the Outlaw) Winslow Driggers

“Winslow DRIGGERS was born about 1735 and died in 1771 in Drowning Creek, North

Carolina about age 36. The cause of his death was Hanged.

General Notes: He was a notorious leader of one of the outlaw, back-country communities which

were said to accept free African Americans as equals. In the fall of 1770 he escaped from jail in

Savannah, Georgia, and returned to the area of the Little Peedee River in North and South

Carolina where he continued his outlaw career. He was described as: about six Feet; Complexion,

black; Visage, pale, being much reduced by Sickness; Hair, black and long, generally cued. The

following year a band of ex-Regulators captured him at his hideout near Drowning Creek and

used the provisions of the Negro Act as an excuse to hang him on the spot [Brown, South

Carolina Regulators, 29-31, 103; Saunders, Colonial Records of North Carolina, IX:725,

OUR branch of the Driggers family descends from Johnson Driggers’ son WILLIAM.

WINSLOW Driggers was William’s brother, and hence not in our direct line.

Nor was he a blue-water pirate.

However, he WAS a close family member, and he WAS a River Pirate.

At least one source tries to cast him as a Native American resistance figure.

But his ancestors were Whites and Blacks. He simply lived among Indians.

Note the reference to the Cheraw/Drowning Creek Indian settlement.

“Drowning Creek” is the old name for the Lumber River. The Lumber River is the spiritual core of

Lumbee country; the Lumbees took their name from it when the local tribes united as the Lumbee

Nation in 1952.

...at the NC/SC border before, during and after the War, both Elijah Bass and Winslow Driggers (both

Indians) were called "Outlaws, Brigands, and Pirates"...but don't be fooled into thinking they were pirates

like Capt. Jack Sparrow, or something. Robbing boats, ferries and barges on the Wateree, Neuese and

Roanoke Rivers also branded them with that title. "Source:

http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/TheTurksareIndianshb.htm

“Further evidence reveals that bloodlines also spread north to previously established reservation areas in

Virginia and Maryland. In 1792, the Virginia General Assembly ordered that the Gingaskin Indian Town

land be divided up. The 690-acre tract was divided into 27 lots that were allocated to the surviving tribal

members, among whom appeared the surname Driggers and Francis (both surnames which occurred with

frequency among the 'other free persons' of Halifax, NC in 1790). Twenty-one years earlier South Carolina

Regulators reported that they had tracked a convicted felon named Winslow Driggers (who had earlier

escaped from a jail in Savannah,Georgia) and captured him "near Drowning Creek, in the Charraw

settlement." Source: Patriot Chiefs and Loyal Braves; S. Pony Hill CHAPTER 1. "A Very Large Nation"

\endash i0 The Colonial Period by Steven Pony Hill”

http://www.sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/CHAPTER1colonial.htm


Regulators and River Pirates

By about 1770, “our” branch of the Driggers family had been living in North Carolina for some years,

so it is useful to consider how the family history ties in with what was going on in North Carolina

at that time.

By the 18th century, the Carolina colonies were infamous for their corrupt government.

Consider that early in the century, Blackbeard the pirate had held the entire city of

Charleston, South Carolina for ransom; later, he received a royal pardon, after bribing the Governor

of North Carolina.

By the time the White settlers had contained the local Cherokees, around 1760, there

was a lot of sentiment towards overthrowing the colonial governors, leading to the formation

of the Regulators, a paramilitary revolutionary group. When the Colonial government was cleaned

up in response, the government troops moved to crush the Regulators. The surviving paramilitary groups

of Regulators then took to roaming the back country as vigilantes and/or bandits. It was one of

these non-sanctioned paramilitary bands that lynched Winslow Driggers.

The leader of THAT group was Winslow Driggers’ cousin, Gideon Gibson, himself a mulatto.

-------

Note that the total number of bandits/River Pirates in Winslow Driggers’ band was as much as 200.

We have to wonder whether “our” ancestor, Winslow’s brother William, was ever a member.

Certainly he lived in the area where they were headquartered; and his brother was a leader

of the gang.

This was a gang with a mixed-race identity of Black. White, and Native American, reflecting

the population, and ironically showing more racial equality than America as a whole has achieved.

The members of the large, powerful Cherokee Nation had been important enough to

fight a war with, and they were slowly being pushed West. The smaller tribes, (which later merged to

become the Lumbee Indian Nation) weren’t considered important enough to drive West; so they

remained where they were, intermarrying or living side-by-side with White and Black people from the

settled coastal areas.

If I read the Internet correctly, to the present day, the Cherokees, (still an influential political group)

regard the Lumbees as a mongrel people without a good enough Indian pedigree, and have worked to

defeat all efforts to get Federal Recognition for the Lumbees.



“About the time of the Revolutionary War, mixed-blood families from the NC/VA border began

moving south to such areas as Robeson and Sampson Counties. These persons were the

descendants of mixed-blood Indians who had been living in such areas as the Bertie County

Tuscarora reservation, Gates County Chowan reservation, and the old Fort Christanna site. In

early 1800's branches of these families continued southward along the Pee Dee river into SC. By

1810 the "Turk" community had already spread roots in Sumter county under such individuals

as Joseph Benehaley (a man of Arabic descent), Ridd Ammons, John Chavis, Robert Chavis,

William Driggers, Obediah Hagan, David Ivy, Lucy Hathcock, Mary Locklear, Aaaron

Oxendine and Isham Scott (who were all persons of Indian descent migrating in from the

Robeson NC area)...because Joseph Benenhaley was such an influential man in this community,

they all eventually were given the label of Joseph's nickname...."Turk".

In about 1828, pressured by oppressive new laws and tax regulations against "free-colored

persons" (many of these same individuals attempted to have themselves held non-liable for such

laws and taxes because they were "persons of Indian descent", but for the most part were

unsuccesful)...numbers of the SC families migrated into southern GA and northern FL.”

http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/Indian.htm

GENERATION 04 – Jonas Driggers Sr & Eleanor Lastinger


There is no hard documentation to back it up, but a lot of family trees list Jonas Driggers, Sr’s wife

Eleanor as “Eleanor Lastinger”. At least one other Lastinger woman married into the Driggers

family; and the Lastingers lived in the same areas as the Driggers. The Lastingers were not Native

American, but German. Eleanor’s family tree would look something like what is shown below.

George Thomas Lastinger

Birth 20 Feb 1739 in Langenaltheim,

Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen, Bayern,

Germany

Death 4 Feb 1803 in Bulloch County, GA

Anna Barbara Huber

Birth 07 Mar 1744 in Oberlennigen,

Donaukreis, Wurttemberg, Germany

Death 1809 in Bulloch County, GA

Eleanor Lastinger

Birth 1756 in Effingham, Georgia, USA

Death 1860 in Bulloch, Georgia, USA

The romantic family legend is that the Lastingers were “Salzbergers”, part of the wave of Protestant

exiles who were expelled from Salzberg, Austria in 1732. However, the Lastingers were recorded

living in Germany for generations before the expulsions of 1732. They worshipped with (Germanic)

Salzburger Protestants in the New World; and they may have been Austrian in the distant past.

But they were not religious exiles, driven to the New World by Catholics.


State Of South Carolina

1782 Nov 20th

To Julius Driggers

For One Thousand weight of Beef

South Carolina

Georgetown District

Julius Driggers made oath that the above is just and true and that he never got any pay for the same sworn by me this 2nd

August 1794.

Jerimiah Allen his mark Julius Driggers

-----------------------------------------------------------

SOUTH CAROLINA

Pursuant to an Act of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY

passed the 16th of March 1783, We, the COMMISSIONERSof the

TREASURY, have this Day delivered to

MR.JULIUS DRIGGERS

this our INDENTED CERTIFICATE, for the Sum of ______

THIS DOCUMENT IS WORDED THE SAME AS THE PRIOR POST BUT THE DATE WAS LISTED AS....the 4th of

August 1787

-----------------------------------------------------------

Febuary 7th 1792

Im please to Deliver to Robert Weston

on his order My(cant make out word)is in your office due to me from the State of South Carolina for Supplies ans Duty Done

under Gen. Marion and his reciept shall be your Discharge from your Humble service.

Treasure Charleston } his

Julius X Driggers

Mark

South Carolina

Charleston District ] John Gamble of the city of Charleston

Storekeeper made oath before me that

he saw Julius Driggers put his mark

in the above order in favor of

Robert Weston

Sworn this 15th Febuary 1792

----------------------------------------------------------


1782Marlboro

County SC

Jonas Driggers Sr and his father William supply cattle to (Brigadier) Francis Marion, the famous

"Swamp Fox". You can see a "Julius Driggers" on the transcriptions of the muster rolls for Marion's

troops, and in the historical records of beef supplied to Francis Marion. The name Julius Driggers does

not appear in 18th Century Georgia or the Carolinas out of this context, and it seems perfectly safe to

say that "Julius" is really "Jonas". In 1782, Marion was operating in the area where the Driggers lived.


World Family Tree; Disk 2-1622Notes:DRIGGERS, JONAS 1755-1822 BULLOCH

Jonas Driggers, a forefather of the Driggers connection of Wiregrass Georgia and North Florida, was born in North

Carolina about 1755, son of William Driggers, R. S. Just before the Revolutionary War the family moved from Cumberland Co. N. C. to Cheraw District S.C. After the war Jonas moved to Effingham County, Georgia, his

parents moving there also but others of the family remaining in South Carolina. In 1796 they were detached from Effingham and cut into Bulloch County when it was created partly out of Effingham and Screven counties. Jonas Driggers wife was Elenor (or Ellen); maiden name unknown.

They had the following known children:

1. William B. 1776 S. C. Married Mrs. Millie Lastinger Parker

2. Jonas Jr. B. 1777 S.C. Married Clemintine ?

3. Dennis B. 1778 S. C. Married Elizabeth Nevill, March 9, 1799.She was the daughter of John Nevill.

They moved to Madison Co. Florida4. John B. 1781 S.C. Married Nancy ? Died 1834 in Macintosh Co.

5. Simeon B. 1785 GA. Married Mary ?

6. Catherine B. 1792 GA. Married Robert Woods March 21, 1814

Mr. Driggers and his father served in the South Carolina Militia in the Revolutionary War. He died in Bulloch county in 1822, and his widow was appointed administratrix of his estate.

Bulloch county deed records show a gift instrument conveying cattle and other personality from Mrs Ellen Driggers to her grandchildren, Johnson Woods, William Woods, Dennis Woods Elenor Woods and Elizabeth Woods, all of Bulloch county, dated March 28, 1826. (Deed Book AAA, pg 505)

From the book "Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia" By Judge Folks Huxford

“After the (Revolutionary) war Jonas moved to Effingham County, Georgia, his parents moving there also but others of the family remaining in South Carolina. In 1796 they were detached from Effingham and cut into Bulloch County when it was

created partly out of Effingham and Screven counties.”

http://home.comcast.net/~WestGenealogy/DescendantsEmmanuelDriggers.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=driggers&GSfn

=jonas&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=67892544&df=all&


http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/deeds/1827/surn-d2.txt

During the war of 1812, some of the Creek Indians had the bad judgment to side with the

British against (then) General Andrew Jackson. After Jackson had defeated the British

and the Indians, the Creeks were eventually slated for one-way tickets to Oklahoma,

along with many of the Cherokees. Two million acres of Creek land was given away in 1827.

Winners like “our” ancestor Eleanor Driggers could either live on the land or just sell it.

She won land in Lee County, recently vacated by the Creeks, in a drawing held in Bulloch County.

More on Eleanor Lastinger Driggers, after the death of Jonas Driggers, SrYear Location

1821Bulloch County

Georgia

1827Bulloch County

Georgia

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/14354806/person/94451671/story/b911ce0b-6bca-4aa0-b8fd-

edb53c4ddd68?src=search

1826Bulloch County

Georgia

>11 May 1827 "Elenor Driggers, wid" wins land in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery

Event

>3 Nov 1821 Will of Jonas Driggers Sr probated. His widow Eleanor ("Ellen") was appointed

administrator of his estate.

>28 Mar 1826 county deed records show a gift instrument conveying cattle and other personality from

Mrs Ellen Driggers to her grandchildren, Johnson Woods, William Woods, Dennis Woods Elenor

Woods and Elizabeth Woods, all of Bulloch county

(Deed Book AAA, pg 505)From the book "Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia" By Judge Folks Huxford

“…we know of no section of Georgia in which there are more chances for health than among the

pine forests of Bulloch County. The cases of longevity which have come to our knowledge are, Mrs.

DRIGGERS and Mrs. CANNON, both of whom were said to have been 104 years at their death”

-Historical Collections of Georgia. Pg 280

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AJA2658.0001.001/312

Ref 1860

GENERATION 05 – Jonas Driggers Jr & Clementine Elizabeth Ammons

I really don’t know the background of “Clementine Elizabeth Ammons”.

Beyond first name combinations of Clementine with variations of the last name Driggers on old

censuses I have nothing. There are no details to offer.

In general, the Ammons, though appearing in the Lumbee area on the North Carolina/South

Carolina border were recent immigrants from Zurich, Switzerland without any indication of

Native American heritage.

I’m including a genealogy post I found on the Ammons, see the following page of this document,

but I don‘t find it convincing.

http://wrmorganjr.com/html/d0003/g0000050.html#I13453

http://linux.library.appstate.edu/lumbee/Miscellaneous/Morris%20Britt%20Lumbee%20Surnames%20Appendix%20T/Britt2.pdf

http://www.oocities.org/satillaroots/gbook2d.htm

http://www.coharietribe.org/


G. Roberson Jun 15, 2007 15:39

AMMONS FAMILY: I have been researching my Ammons family of Southeast Ga and I would

like to post some of the information that I have uncovered pertaining to the Ammons Family

Non-white Ancestry. I had two Grt Grt Grandmothers who were Ammons:Louisa P. Ammons

who married Jeremiah Johns and Jane Elizabeth Ammons who married James Madison Herrin. I

had two 3rd Grt Grandmothers also who were Ammons:Nancy Ammons who married John Kelly

and Jane Ammons who was Jane Elizabeth's mother. My 4th Grt Grandfather was William

Ammnons who married Elizabeth Tyson. Williams father, my 5th Grandfather, was John Thomas

Ammons, Born 1748 in N.C. or Virginia and his wife was Bertha(last name unknown). It is

believed that he and his wife were part Native American. John Thomas' father was John Jacob

Ammons who is said to have been born in Scotland in 1692 or 1720(two different dates have

been found). John Jacob's wife was named Mary(last name unknown). It has been stated that she

is believed to have been Native American. From research I have uncovered, the Ammons

surname is associated with the Coharie Tribe in Sampson, Hardnett and Wayne County, North

Carolina. Ammons is an old core surname in the Coharie Tribe. One of the earliest

documentation's of the Ammons surname is of a Jessie Ammons who claimed to be a

Coree/Coharie Indian. Jessie was a Grandson of John Jacob Ammons through John Jacob's son

Joshua Ammons. One website for the Coree/Coharie Nation is:

www.dickshovel.com/coree20.html. In one area of the website, it is stated that, it is not sure how

the Ammons name became a Coree/Coharie surname but this is the connection that I have found.

From my research, I am confident that this is the Ammons-Coree/Coharie connection. The

Ammons surname is also associated with the Lumbee Tribe in Robeson County, N.C. From

research, I found that the Lumbee also trace their Ammons line back to a Jacob Ammons. Most

likely, it is John Jacob Ammons. I know more research has to be done and I will continue

searching. But I can say with confidence, that the descendants of John Jacob and Mary Ammons

and John Thomas and Bertha Ammons can say that they do have Native American Ancestors and

most likely it is from the Coree/Coharie Nation. GR


Year Location Event

>10 Aug 1804 Jonas Driggers, Jr married Elizabeth Ammons in Bulloch County, Georgia.

Marriage records of Bulloch County, Georgia, pg 3

http://wrmorganjr.com/html/d0003/g0000050.html#I13453

1804Bulloch County

Georgia

Bulloch County, Georgia - Land Records: 1805 Georgia Land Lottery

Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nancy Gay Crawford [email protected] April 24, 2002

************************************************************************

Georgia land grant records are in the Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, GA.

************************************************************************

Results of registrant's draw or draws (indicated by letters "P" and "B", shows whether a prize or a blank was drawn).

Registrants eligible for one draw:

1. Must be a citizen of the United States.

2. Must be an inhabitant of the state of Georgia for twelve months immediately prior to the of the Act creating the lottery,

dated May 11, 1803.

3. Must be a free white male age 21 or older.

4. Or a member of a family of orphans (persons with both parents deceased or whose father was deceased and the mother

remarried) and under the age of 21.

Registrants eligible for two draws:

1. Must meet all qualifications listed above for entrants eligible for one draw.

2. Must have a wife and/or legitimate child or children, one of whom is under age 21.

3. Must be a widow who has lived in the State of Georgia for twelve months prior to the Act creating.

****************************************************************************

BP Driggers, Jonas

B Driggers, Jonas, Jr.

Note that one had to assure the state of Georgia that one was White, in order to qualify for the

lottery of land taken from the Creek Indians. ☺

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~henle/WelcomeWeb/BullochCtyMarriages.htm


Note that in 1840, Jonas Driggers, whose great-grandfather Thomas had been a slave,

was now himself the owner of a slave.

WILL OF JONAS DRIGGERS Jr

IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. - I Jonas Driggers being very sick and weak of body but

of sound mind and memory do make and constitute this to be my last Will and Testament.--

That is to say

1st I desire that all my property Real and personal be sold and after the payment of my just

debts and funeral expences, that the balance be put on in trust: the intrest to paid annually

to my Childre n and the principal to be equally divided betwen my Children, and paid to

them as they sevally come of age.

2nd I constitute my Brother Elisha Driggers and my son J.L. Driggers Executors to this

which I declare to be my last Will and Testament revoking all others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of September in

the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty Eight and the Eighty second

of the Independence of the Unit ed States of America

Jonas (his X mark) Driggers (LS)

Signed and sealed and published as the Last Will and Testament of Jonas Driggers in

whose presence and the presence of each other we have sucribed our names as Witnesses

thereto.

D.M. Breaker J.L. Driggers Elisha (his X mark) Driggers

Filed renunciation of Executorship by Elisha Driggers and James L. Driggers the two

Executors named therein on 26th November 1858 and there upon admitted to Probate and

Record the same 26th day of Nov ember Anno domini 1858; 11th December 1858 qualified

James L. Driggers admor with Will annexed

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=twparker&id=P18286

http://www.florida-crackers.net/camillia/Driggers/D6.html


GENERATION 06 – Matthew Driggers & Martha Glisson

There are several schools of thought as to the maiden name of Matthew Driggers wife.

Some people say it is Martha Ann Guifford. Others say it is Martha Ann Pendarvice.

Others say Martha Ann Glisson.

I don’t propose to go into an exhaustive review of the competing points of view here.

I think Glisson is the most likely of the three, and that the other two were married to other male

Driggers in other generations.

The trail is very hard to follow, but the Glissons were from the same Lumbee Indian area as the

Driggers, and they were rumored to have some Lumbee ancestry. Glisson has been a common

Lumbee name for centuries.

In Lumberton, the “capital” of the Lumbee area, one of the streets is named Glisson Street.

It will take some research to bring this line of descent into better focus.


E. Driggers.(D)

Jackson J. Driggers.(D)

M. Driggers

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/47th-K.htm

Note that Jackson Joseph (“John”)

Driggers, Matthew’s brother, did

NOT die in the Civil war.


The 47th Infantry had the horrendously bad

luck of being in the path of Union General

William T Sherman as he captured Savannah

and steamrolled North after his March To The

Sea. In April 1865, the survivors were paroled

and sent home.

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/47th-K.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/47th_Georgia_Volunteer_Infantry

Year Location Event

1867Bulloch County

Georgia

>1867-Matthew Drriggers takes the "Ironclad Oath", a retroactive loyalty oath imposed on former

Confederate soldiers before they were allowed to vote.

1860'sBulloch County

Georgia

>06 May 1862-Matthew Driggers enlists in the Confederate Army, 47th Regiment of the George

Volunteer Infantry. Note that 200 years previously, the Driggers had been classified as "negro slaves"

James Monroe Blocker

Birth 1822 in Tattnall, GA

Death after 1867 in Tattnall, GA

Celia Easterling

Birth 28 Jan 1825 in NC

Death 23 May 1906 in Liberty, GA

Jacob Blocker

Birth 1765 in Cumberland, NC

Death 1831 in Tattnall, GA

Mary Durrance

Birth 1770

Death 1840

Jacob Blocker Sr

Birth 1715 in Fayetteville, Cumberland, NC

Death 1790 in Colleton, SC

Ana Elizabeth Wegenast

Birth 23 Nov 1716 in Holzhausen, Boblingen,

Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany

Death in Colleton, SC

Michael Blocker

Birth 23 Aug 1670 in Sülz, Calw,

Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany

Death 1753 in Cumberland,

Cumberland County, NC,

Margarethe Elizabeth (Last Name Unknown)

Birth 1690 in Germany

Death 1763 in Bladen, NC

Rose Anna BlockerBirth 5 Oct 1864 in Liberty County, GA

Death 19 Oct 1933 in Center Hill, Sumter, FL

GENERATION 07 – Andrew Jackson Driggers & Rose Anna Blocker

The Blocker line shows no Lumbee descent; though the Easterling family came from the heart of

Lumbee country, they were White.


https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MC3D-7PB

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8GD-3MS

Year Location Event

>06 Sept 1862-Birth of Andrew Jackson Driggers. The Internet family trees say Andrew J Driggers

was born on this date in Ludowici, (In what is now) Long County, Georgia. No documentation for it.

It does fall neatly into the southern migration route of the Driggers family, just 20 or 30 miles north

of the Tattnall County/Bulloch County area where the Todds and Driggers lived a few years later.

Outside of McIntosh, (in the area of modern-day Long County and McIntosh County), GA

Andrew Jackson Driggers in US Census. Note that this is slightly east of Tattnall and Bulloch

counties, out towards the coast.

1862Liberty County

Georgia

1870 -

1880

Liberty County

Georgia

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MC3D-75C

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8GD-3M2


https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MNYT-FZM

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MVK8-N2Y


Ancestry.com

1933Sumter County

Florida19 Oct 1933-Death of Rose Anna Blocker Driggers, in Sumter County, just to the east of Lake County

1922Lake County

Florida13 Dec 1922-Death of Andrew Jackson Driggers, in Mascotte Lake, Lake County, Florida

1910Lake County

FloridaAndrew and Rose Anna Driggers in US Census for Mascotte Lake, Lake County, Florida

1920Lake County

FloridaAndrew and Rose Anna Driggers in US Census for Groveland, Lake County, Florida

GENERATION 08 – Mary Edna Driggers aka “Mamey Driggers”

Year Location Event

1883Bulloch County

Georgia>06 Jun 1883 Birth of Mary Edna Driggers

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=TO&GSpartial

=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=11&GScntry=4&GSsr=801&GRid=38016846&

Year Location Event

1898 Georgia Marriage of Mary Edna Driggers and George Washington ToddLake County, Florida, Delayed Birth Driggers Book 5, File #656DRIGGERS, Lula Francesb 30 November 1887, near Ludowici, Liberty County, GAFather: Jack Driggers b. Georgia (White) Mother: Rose Ann Blocker b. Georgia (White)Abstract of Supporting Evidence:1. Affidavit of George Washington Todd, age 76, who resided in Glennville, Georgia, at time of birth; that he visited at the home of Jack Driggers about once every week during his boyhood and married a sister of Lula Frances Driggers in 1898; shows date and place of birth and parentage as above. Dated 24 Nov 1952/s/ W Troy Hall, JrApplication signed by Lula Driggers "X" Crawfordher mark 0

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/DRIGGERS/2001-02/0982811767


https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11622-144809-64?cc=1325221&wc=MMPV-

4C2:1490399006

Year Location Event

1900

Glennville

Tatnall County

Georgia

>11 Jun 1900 M.E. Todd shows up with her husband and first two children in the US Census. Note

that in the census they say they have been married (approximately) 3 years; in his 1952 affidavit,

George Todd gives the specific year as 1898. If they were married in 1898, Mamie would have been

technically 14 years old, and pregnant with their first child at the time of the marriage, not unusual in

the rural South. The daughter the census taker calls "V.E" ("Bessie") Todd's age is 3 months old at

this point.


Year Location Event

1910-

1930

Mascotte Lake

Lake County

Florida

>Mary/Mayme Todd and family in US Census

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/ST

BV-ZT2

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MV

KD-23K

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1

/MNYT-6WP


Year Location Event

1935

Mascotte Lake

Lake County

Florida

>Mamie Todd and family in Florida State Census. Note that they are in a section titled "White Outside

Mascotte City". The Whites and Blacks of each neighborhood seem to be listed as separate groups.

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=floridastatecen1867&h

=1847910&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt&ssrc=pt_t32837626_p18338680660

_kpidz0q3d18338680660z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid


Year Location Event

1935

Mascotte Lake

Lake County

Florida

>Mamie Todd and family in Florida State Census. Note that they are in a section titled "White Outside

Mascotte City". The Whites and Blacks of each neighborhood seem to be listed as separate groups.

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-27767-16521-92?

cc=2000219&wc=M9QX-77L:2070491800 0


Year Location Event

1940

Mascotte Lake

Lake County

Florida

>02 May 1940 - Mamie Todd and family in US Census. Note that the highest grade in school is

"none". Mamie, who was married (and pregnant) at 14 is listed as not being able to read and write, on

the 1900 and 1910 censuses. By the 1920 census she appears as being able to read and write.


http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=floridadeath&h=141736&ti=

0&indiv=try&gss=pt&ssrc=pt_t32837626_p18338680660_kpidz0q3d1833

8680660z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid

http://www.uscemeteryproj.com/florida/lake/

empirechurch/toddm.htm

Year Location Event

1941Lake County

Florida>28 Aug 1941 - Death of Mamie Todd

Year Location Event

1941Lake County

Florida>28 Aug 1941 - Death of Mamie Todd


Pictures of Mary Edna/Mamey


Note that Mamie was married at 14 and had

children over the course of the next 22 years…

Southward Migration of the Driggers Family

Manuel Rodrigues, 1619 to “Mamie” Driggers Todd, 1910

A 1619 Northampton County, VA

B 1718 Norfolk County, VA

C 1752 Craven County, NC

D 1758 Richmond County, NC

E 1759 Cumberland County, NC

F by 1790 Bulloch County, GA

G by 1830 Tattnall County, GA

H by 1910 Lake County, FL


African-American Origins for Sandra Lea Todd Descent from …tinaannsfamilytree.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/9/5/31951819/family_his… · African-American Origins for Sandra Lea Todd Descent

Documents