Finding Your Folks: The Stamps family of Coweta, Part 1

I’m going to have to make a serious apology. Late last spring/early summer, when I was totally caught up in the families at Bethany, I received an e-mail from Carol Garrett of Chamblee who responded to a column I did last year on the Stamps and Johnson families. I had to put a lot of letters on hold back then so as not to break the flow of the stories.

I thought I had caught up until I checked my file and found Carol’s letter, still awaiting its turn to appear in the column.

Since the archived columns are still not on the Web site, I’ll refresh your memory about the previous column which ran 16 July 2004. I had found some information on my own ancestors (Noel Johnson and Tempy Stamps) and was asking for help in rounding things out. I knew some of these Stamps came into Coweta County but I couldn’t find any really detailed information on them.

Carol’s letter is quite lengthy but I don’t want to leave anything out so I’ll run it in at least two parts. We have never run anything on this family before so it will be new material for some.

Carol writes: “Hi Judy, After reading your article, I knew it had to be the same Stamps family Mary Pearl Brown Price (Mrs. Eugene Miller Price, deceased, Atlanta) had written about in her book, "The Annals of Our Kin" (1940), Atlanta Public Library. She also included the Moseleys and Spivey families and others.”

(This is from the) “Stamps Family (pp. 85-87).
“Three brothers of Scotch-Irish descent came to this county in the early days, landing in Nova Scotia. Tradition says they invented the method of stamping goods from the colonies for taxes, so the King appointed them official stampers and they were called Stampers, and hence the name.

“Moses Stamps Sr., soldier of 1812, is the first of whom we have record. His mother was (Unknown) Witt. He married Ann Eason, whose mother was a Rice, presumably in the Carolinas. Moses Stamps Sr. came to Jackson County in 1795, bringing his young wife and one or two small children. He bought several tracts of land in the fertile valleys of the Oconee River and Buffalo Creek, where he conducted large farms and also was locksmith and blacksmith. He drew land in Oglethorpe County in 1804 but never lived there, at least we have no record of his living there. In 1818 he sold all his lands in Jackson County to George Headen, moving to the neighboring county of Gwinnett, then to Clarke, back to Jackson, then to Fayette County, and finally to Coweta County. He died in the fall of 1829. (Georgia Men, Vol. I, page 420). He was Captain of the 243 District Company in the War of 1812 (Georgia Roster of War 1812, State Capitol).

“It is told in the family to this day that his wife, Ann Eason, carded, spun and wove the material for her wedding dress, and it was so sheer that she could draw a width of it through her wedding ring. Ann Eason Stamps was a doctor of note, receiving calls all over the countryside, traveling on horseback to her patients.

“They lived a long and happy life together, rearing their children up in the way they should go, both dying about 1847. Ann died suddenly at a granddaughter's wedding. One son, Eason, and one daughter, Ann, lived to be over 100 years old. Eason was also a soldier of the War of 1812 and he was Captain of a company in the Indian War of 1836 (Georgia Men, Vol. I, page 420).

“There were seven children: (1) Eason, b. June 29, 1794, d. 1897, age 103, m. Polly Watts, Oct. 17, 1817; (2) James, b. 1795, m. Elizabeth Freeman; (3) John, b. 1801, m. (1) Unknown, m. (2) Naomi Unknown; (4) Moses Witt, b. April 9, 1803, d. April 18, 1853, m. Sarah Freeman, Dec. 5, 1826, sister of Elizabeth; (5) Sarah, m. Gilbert Gay, b. Nov. 25, 1809; (6) Mary, m. Robert Brooks; (7) Ann, lived 105 years, m. James Handley.

“Moses Witt Stamps was born April 9, 1803, on his father's plantation in Jackson County, where he spent his boyhood, then going to Coweta County when his family moved there.

“In those pioneer days when his country was so sparsely settled, the young men rode many miles on horseback to court the girls of their choice. Moses Witt Stamps made the long trip from Coweta County back to Jackson County to court beautiful auburn-haired Sara Freeman, whom he married December 5, 1826, taking her to his home in Coweta County. They lived in that part of Coweta County which was taken off to form Campbell County, where he was a Justice of the Peace in 1834 and for some years after, moving back to Coweta County later.

“He was a planter of some means, but his health failed in the prime of life and his wife, Sarah, managed the large plantation. Therefore, at his death, April 18, 1853, she was able to carry on the work very profitably. She married Jacob Redwine a few years later and, according to Moses' will, the property was divided among his children. Moses Stamps is buried in a Primitive Baptist churchyard near Newnan where his wife, Sarah, was laid by his side at her death, Oct. 14, 1881. The church is now gone and the graves are in a field.”

“Moses and Sarah had nine children: Mary Ann Amanda, Nancy Elizabeth Jane, Eliza Freeman, Sarah Caroline, Georgia Ann Flora, Charity Adeline, Christopher Columbus, Martha Frances, and William Thomas.”

We’ll start with those children next week. My apologies again to Carol for sitting on this one for so long.

Although time does not permit me to do personal research for others (unless the family connects to my own), I welcome all letters and e-mails about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; E-mail jkilgore@thecitizen.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!