Page 991 of the 1860 Walton census lists an entry for household 650 that is not only unusual by census standards, but introduces a mystery to the Hillsman Hawk line:
William Ivey, age 32, Farmer
Nancy, age 28
Susan, age 10
Mary, age 7
Eugenia, age 6
George, age 5
Sarah, age 3/12 months
H. Hawk
Guardian ........ $1800
The last two lines are right justified in the name column but bear no age or other information other than the personal estate - which is substantially more than young William Ivey's personal value. And the 1800 is carried into the personal estate column totals. I know of no connection between this William Ivey and Hillsman Hawk. And I do not recall such a notation in any other census record I have ever looked at. Any suggestions are most welcome.

SOLVED? I now believe that Hillsman's widow Nancy A. Hawk is the former Nancy A. Malcom Dickinson. See below for details. Recently, Carol Reardon Hawk sent me copies of Hillsman Hawk's letters of administration. Hillsman died intestate and his estate was administered by Jasper N. Smith, husband of Hillsman's daughter Rebecca.

Hillsman's death and circumstances pose some interesting questions. Carol had already transcribed this information and I am steadily going through and cross-checking her work. (It's also currently available on the Hawk Sources page). I would like to treat them in more detail later, but for now here are a few teasers:

There is a petition by Hillsman's widow, Nancy A. Hawk, and her "three minor children". Who is she? Where did she come from? And who are these kids? No marriage certificate has been found in Walton, Morgan, Clarke, Oconee, or Newton counties for Hillsman, other than for his marriage to Mahala Malcom. And why does Nancy's petition specifically request five discreet appraisers?

Hillsman left real property valued at 7000. and personal property at 1000. This was in 1867, just shortly after the close of the Civil War. In 1864 following the Battle(s) of Atlanta the Malcom plantation at Big Sandy Creek was specifically targeted on Sherman's march to the sea, and Hillsman's property by all accounts adjoined John Malcom's land. Given this I think it likely that Hillsman's farm was also ransacked. With his health failing, Hillsman had not had much time to rebuild the property, so the $8000 value in federal money referred to in these papers seems to me to be very significant. A question for future research is, what became of Hillsman's land, and who ended up with the proceeds? In his petition for temporary letters of adm, Jasper Smith states that Hillsman left no will. Now, Hillsman was a very successful farmer and businessman, with many friends and connections including his astute father-in-law "Rich" John Malcom. His health was deteriorating for some years, and he had a large family. How could a man in his situation not leave a LW&T?

Additionally, one of these pages contained an unexpected gem: guardianship papers granted to George W. Aycock on Ganaway Hawk's 3 children. As I descend from one of these children (Brewer Ganaway Hawk), I have transcribed this document and it's now on the Hawk Sources page.

Some months ago, Nancy Dickinson/Dickerson caught my attention. (Her name is variously listed Dickinson, Dickenson, Dickerson in source documents.) For one thing, her daughter Susan A. Dickinson was the wife of John J. Mitchell and mother of my gggrandmother Mollie Mitchell. Her other two daughters also show up in our lines. Martha W. Dickinson married Charles Thomas Broach. Mary Dickinson married John McDonald Herndon.

Susan, Mary, and Martha were all born in the years 1842 - 1846. W. T. Dickerson married Nancy A. Malcom 3/7/1841 in Walton Co., but W.T. does not appear on the 1850 census. My presumption is that he died between 1846 - 1850. What the 1850 Walton census does show on pg 35 dwelling 486 is:

George Malcolm 40 M Farmer 2000 Ga (all Ga)
Nancy A. Dickerson 25 F
Joanna Malcolm 21 F
Mary Dickerson 11 F
Susan Dickerson 9 F
Martha Dickerson 6 F
Note, this is the George William Malcom son of David Clement Malcom and Nancy Adcock. Next door is the Wilson L. Mitchell h/h.

The question arises, what is the relationship of Nancy A. Dickerson to George Malcom? Recall that Nancy A. Malcom married W. T. Dickerson. I speculate that Nancy A. Dickerson is the former Nancy A. Malcom and the widow of W. T. Dickerson. And further that Nancy A. Malcom is an undocumented sibling of George William Malcom - probably so is the Joanna Malcolm who is also listed. This George William Malcom did not marry until 1857 (Frances Tolar).

In 1860 Nancy's h/h is shown as :
Nancy Dickinson 35 F Seamstress personal estate 100 born Ga (all Ga)
Susan 16 F
Martha 14 F
This family is right next to George and Frances Tolar Malcom.

In 1870 our mysterious Nancy A. Hawk appears by herself:
HAWK, N.A. 45, F, FARMING, 900, 300, GA

But in 1880 she has a house member:
HAWK, N.A. 55, F, AT HOME, GA, GA, GA
HERNDON, G.D., 19, M, GR.SON, LABORER, GA, GA, GA

Notice how Nancy's age steps up 25 - 35 - 45 - 55 on each census. And her "grandson", G. D. Herndon.... where did he come from? Aha! Time to explain who Nancy A. Malcom Dickerson/Dickinson's daughters married, and when. Of course I will save the best for last:

Martha W. Dickinson m. Charles Thomas Broach 3/9/1870 at age 23.
Susan A. Dickinson m. John J. Mitchell about 1865 at age 21(no record yet found, working from children's ages).
Mary Dickinson m. John McDonald Herndon 2/1/1859 at age 17. John Herndon died 6/12/1862 in the civil war.
Note the G. D. Herndon above in N. A. Hawk's household, her grandson, 19 in 1880 .... gives him a birthyear of about 1861. !!!

Pulling it all together: Nancy A. Malcom marries W. T. Dickerson/Dickinson in 1841 and bears 3 female children. W.T. dies prior to 1850. Nancy moves in with her bachelor brother. In 1859 her oldest daughter marries John M. Herndon. In 1860 Nancy is listed on the census with her remaining daughters Susan and Martha, and living next door to her now-married brother. In 1861 she becomes a grandmother but her son-in-law dies in 1862. Hillsman Hawk's wife Mahala Malcom dies around 1865, leaving Hillsman with two farms to manage (his and John Malcom's), 3 teenagers still in the household, and 3 sons who died in the war still heavy on his heart. In 1866 he marries (possibly a common law marriage? or no paper to record it after the war?) his deceased wife's first cousin, Nancy A. Malcom Dickinson. In 1867 he dies leaving behind the mysterious widow, Nancy A. Hawk. And 3 minor children, hmm, how about Seaborn Hiram Hawk age 17, Martha Dickinson age 20/21 but unmarried, and possibly Mahala Hawk age 15. Or G. D. Herndon age 6 might fit in here instead of Martha. In 1870 Nancy appears by herself with a small farm, and in 1880 her grandson is old enough to help her with it.

Jabeis Jones b.1823 was enumerated in the 1860 Clarke County census, page 983, dwelling 432.
Jabeis Jones, age 37, Male, occupation Overseer [farm foreman]
Elizabeth, 38, wife
Catharine H. 13, F
Alice R., 10, F
Hezekiah, 7, M --- My greatgranddad
John T., 6/12, M (six months old)

Next door is William and Nancy Braswell. On the other side of the Braswells is:

Wiley A. Jones, 57, M, farmer, land value of 1000, personal property value of 2030 -- significant but not wealthy
Sarah E., 50, F -- Sarah M. Edwards, married 5-21-1833 Clarke County
*Joseph S., 26, M, farmer
*Richard S., 19, M, farmer
*William B., 17, M
Lucinda R., 15, F
Sarah G., 13, F
Octavia C., 10,F
Robert R., 8, M
Matilda C. J. 5, F
Susan Burger? Binger?, 70, F -- unknown relation if any to this family

*These 3 men enlisted and served in the Civil War:
*Joseph S. Jones enlisted 8/20/1861 as a private in L Co., 3rd Ga. He was killed on 9/17/1862 at Sharpsburg, Md.
*Richard S. Jones enlisted 8/20/1861 as a private in L Co., 3rd Ga. He was wounded 9/17/1862 Sharpsburg, Md. Wounded 8/19/1864, Petersburg, Va. Wounded and disabled 2/6/1865 Hatcher's Run, Va. Absent 2/28/1865 due to sickness. Promoted to Sergeant.
*William B. Jones enlisted 3/4/1862 as a private in C Co., 44th. Wounded 6/26/1862 Ellison's Mill, Va. Transferred to L Co., 3rd, on 4/18/1863, in exchange for W. C. Nunnally. Wounded 2/6/1865 Hatcher's Run, Va. Absent, sick, 2/28/1865.

I am trying to determine whether Wiley A. Jones was the father of Jabeis Jones; where Jabeis was in 1850; and what became of Hezekiah's siblings. I have also found this Wiley A. Jones in the 1870 Morgan County census, age 67, and wife Sarah C. age 60.

The 1820 Clarke Census lists a "Jones, Jabes & Jesse" household, with a man and woman each 45+ and a man and woman each 26-45. The relation to my Jabeis, if any, is unknown but possible.

The 1830 Clarke Census lists the following Jones: William, Joseph, Benjamin, Stephen B., Robert, Jesse, John, Jesse, and Martha. Stephen B., Robert, and Jesse are together on page 306 of the census. I am really wondering if the Jesse page 306 is Jabeis' father, and the above Jabes of 1820 is Jesse's father. I think I will use this as a working assumption to start from, and try to prove it or disprove it.

Rebecca Hawk b.1787 is haunting me again. Here is what is proven:

• that in 1795 and 1798 Andrew and Peter Hawk paid taxes in the same district of Oglethorpe County in which Ornan Whatley, Sr. resided, and other Whatleys, and Thorntons;
• that in December 1811, "William Hawk and wife Rebecca" sold land in Greene County;
• that the first known administration on William Hawk is dated June 1814, inferring an 1814 death for William;
• that those filers for the adm on William's estate were a Rebeckah Hawk and a Jacob Hawk, and that one of William's brothers was named Jacob;
• that a Rebecah Hawk married Ganaway Malcom in the fall of 1814, with a W. Whatley JIC officiating;
• that William Hawk first appears in a tax list in Greene County, 1805;
• that Ganaway Malcom assumed administrative duties on William Hawk's estate shortly thereafter, "in right of his [Ganaway's] wife"; and
• that the 1820 land lottery proves that William Hawk left orphan children when he died: "orps. of William Hawk" received a lot in Early County.

There are two schools of thought on Rebecca.

The first is that she is the daughter of William Hawk and Mahala Hillsman; this information is found in an LDS Ancestral File. However, the only other evidence for this is the Hillsman name which begins with Hillsman Hawk and continues down several generations. Moreover, Rebecca's 1787 birthdate (documented by the Penny Springs cemetery marker of Ganaway's widow Rebecca Malcom) requires that William had to be born 1767 or prior, yet he is conspicuously absent from any known tax lists prior to 1805, which suggests a 1784 birthdate for William himself.

The second school of thought is that Rebecca Hawk is the former Rebecca Whatley, daughter of Ornan Whatley Sr. and Judith Thornton, and wife and widow of William Hawk. Various bits of information support this thinking, foremost being the Greene County deed record of 1811. William's estate administration papers prominently list Ornan Whatley (Jr.), including Ornan owing William half interest in a slave valued at $500. Slaves and/or property were often given as dowry, and from Wilkes County tax lists it is known that Ornan Sr. was a landholder. The names Thornton, Whatley, and Judith occur among William's descendants. (No Ornans to date though.) Finally, analysis of Ganaway Malcom's 1820 Morgan County census listing contains more children than those known to be his own, and very closely matches a "blended" family of Ganaway's children by Polly Adcock, Ganaway's children by Rebecca, and Rebecca's children by William Hawk.

In any event there are problems with both scenarios. In the Mahala Hillsman scenario, there is a complete absence of proof of any kind. In the Rebecca Whatley scenario, Ganaway Malcom would have been legally required to file returns on behalf of William Hawk's orphans. No such returns have been found, however they may be there in the Morgan County Probate records from 1814 to 1828/1830/1831 (marriage dates for Hillsman, Nancy, Thurmond). These records are not indexed and would need to be searched page by page. Obituaries or death notices for Thurmond, Hillsman, Rebecca, or Nancy J. would possibly resolve some of these questions, but again, none have been found.

A combination scenario is possible. William might first have been married to Mahala Hillsman who died young, perhaps during childbirth, then he remarried Rebecca Whatley. It is also quite possible that Ganaway's wife Rebecca Hawk may have been a sibling or cousin to William Hawk, though she is not mentioned as being one of Seaborn Jones Hawk's aunts in his diary. Continued speculation can develop further scenarios, but it's time to cool our heels and until more information presents itself. Please let me know if you have any further evidence regarding the identity of Rebecca Hawk. And please - I am fully aware of compiled genealogies which list one woman or the other, but it is sources and proof that I am after.