Dear Friends, This is PART II of The Wootens of DeKalb County, Alabama -- a document that has been divided into three parts because of its length THE WOOTENS OF DEKALB COUNTY, AL PART II (From document prepared by Richard C. Wooton for and on behalf of Calvin Wooten of Anniston, AL -- with appreciation to Janet Walsted and to Calvin Wooten): REPORT TO CALVIN WOOTEN FROM RICHARD C. WOOTON In your letter of 26 September, you name your great grandfather as William Jasper Wooten from DeKalb County Alabama. A quick check of our files shows that we have him as a Justice of the DeKalb County Court, hearing depositions relative to Civil War pensions on 22 Feb 1868 and 28 March 1868, name given as William J. Wooten. Then on 14 Oct 1871, a Thomas A. Wootten is a witness in a similar case. These two Woottens are identified as father and son in the 1860 US Census for DeKalb County, Roll 9 pp 82-83, post office Rawlingsville, where there are three Wootten households side-by-side starting on page 82 line 31 through page 83 line 4, as follows: Line 31 WILLIAM J. WOOTEN 26, farmer 150 Born GA Jane WOOTEN 26, domestic Born SC Thomas A. " 9, GA Lorenzo L. " 5 GA William A. " 2 AL Robert K. (?)" 9/12 AL Line 37 LORENZO D. WOOTTEN 31, farmer 200-500 born SC Elisabeth " 24, domestic GA Riley H. " 6 GA John J. " 4 GA p. 83 Line 1 Mary F. " 3 AL Martha J. " 1 AL Line 3 WILLIAM J. WOOTTEN 59, mechanic 50 b. SC Susanna " 65, domestic b. SC Just a bit further on (post office Lebanon, p 85 line 22), we find a fourth household, that of FRANCIS M. WOOTEN 33, farmer 200 b. SC Mary " 26, domestic b. GA James A. " 10, b. GA Ancil F. " 9, b. GA Mary A. " 7, b. GA Josephine E. " 6, b. GA Lucinda C. " 4, b. GA John N. " 3, b. AL Nancy J. " 1, b. " The above records clearly show your great grandfather himself saying he was born in Georgia, and HIS parents saying THEY were both born in South Carolina, thereby proving the claim that he was born in Indiana to be incorrect. Also note that the birth dates and birth states show that your 2-great grandparents William and Susanna were still in South Carolina around 1827-29, when their sons Francis M. and Lorenzo D. Were born, but that they had moved to Georgia around 1834 when your 1-great grandfather William J. was born. Further, the birth dates of the younger children of William J. and Lorenzo show that they have been in Alabama less than five years in 1860, William's son Lorenzo L. age 5, being born in GA, and Lorenzo D.'s son John J. age 4 being also born in GA, while the later children are all born in Alabama. This indicates that we should find your people somewhere in Georgia in the 1850 Census, and sure enough, here they are all together in Gordon County, Roll 71, p 14, visit 64. WM WOOTEN 49 farmer b. SC Susanna " 55 SC Jeremiah " 30 farmer SC Mary A. " 25 SC Lorenzo " 23 SC Wm Jasper " 18 GA Susanna " 16 (SC ?) Ellinor S. " 10 GA The very next household, Visit 65, indicates that the eldest brother is enumerated twice in this Census: once in his father's household, and once as head of his own household: JEREMIAH WOOTEN 30 farmer SC Elizabeth " 3? SC Charles W. " 4 GA WM Taylor " 3 GA Thomas M. " 1 GA Also on page 56, visit 642 is the household of MARION WOOTEN 22 SC Mary " 20 GA James W. (A) " 1 GA This is clearly the same man shown in 1860 as Francis Marion Wootten. As Gordon County had only just been formed in 1850, we must look elsewhere in Georgia for William's household in 1840. Our files show FIVE William Wooten households in Georgia in that Census; fortunately, only one of them closely matches our William's 1850 household, in Carroll County, Role 38 p. 64: WILLIAM WOOTEN, WITH MALES 1 5-10 (Wm Jasper), 2-10-15 (Lorenzo and Francis Marion), 1 15-20, 1 20-30, and 1 30-40 (himself); females 1 5-10 (dau Susanna), 1 15-20 (Mary A.), and 1 40-50 (wife Susanna). The son Jeremiah should be one of the males between 15 and 30, since he gave his age as 30 in the 1850 Census. That is as far as we can trace your Wootten ancestry with 100 percent certainty, on the basis of my preliminary check of our files. However, your 2-great grandfather William J. SHOULD be somewhere in South Carolina in the 1830 Census. Unfortunately, the only William Wooten head of a household in SC in 1830 is already of a completely different Wooten family. It thus appears possible that your William was enumerated in some non-Wooten household, most likely that of his father-in-law, whose surname we do not yet know. If so, it may be very difficult to find him, since in the Census before 1850, only the head of the household was named. (To be concluded with PART III) submitted by Della Tenney [email protected]