|
a.
|
Note: Davis Austin served in the Third Georgia Battalion in the American Revolution and is listed as the Commissary of Issues. It is known that at least three of his brothers remained loyal to Great Britain. Davis apparently was a farmer and a carpenter from the few references that mention him. He no doubt went through life like most people - working, raising a family and attending church, with no large events in his life that were deemed worthy to write about in the newspapers or history books.
He was granted 100 acres in St. George Parish, Georgia on 5 July 1768. His land was bounded on the north by Elizabeth Burney, southwest by Paul Austin, northeast by Drury Austin, and on all other sides by vacant land. This area later became Burke County. (English Crown Grants in St. George Parish in Georgia 1755-1775). The land of these three Austin men is cross-referenced in the land records, but we have yet to discover who this Paul Austin is and how he relates to our Austins.
On July 2, 1771, Davis was one of the thirty-five members of the Sunbury Episcopal Church who petitioned for a new minister. ("National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists," 1977, pg. 18). From ANNALS OF GEORGIA, Georgia Genealogical Reprint, 1969, there is mention of Davis in a listing of unpaid accounts by Dr. James Dunwoody in 1773. (p.60).
The 1787 tax list of Liberty County shows Davis Austin as a landowner in Burke County with 100 acres of oak and hickory; 1 Sunbury lot; 150 pounds. The Liberty County deed book B, pg. 13 shows: Joseph Way (son of Thos. Way, dec'd) to Davis Austin, carpenter, of Sunbury. Deed dated 6 Dec. 1785 for lot 145 in Sunbury. Witnesses Nathaniel Bacon and John Hardy, J.P.
From the "Gazette of the State of Georgia", 21 Aug. 1788, pg. 2, Col. 1, was notice of Davis' death and Mary Ann Austin's application for administrator of his estate. She qualified on 15 Oct. 1788. (Docket of estate cases 1783-1793, Liberty County)
There were daughters in the family, too, as the 1787 Liberty County tax list shows the following: Males under the age of 16 - 0; Females under the age of 16 - 2; Males over 16 - 2; Females over 16 - 3; Male slaves - 3; Female slaves - 3.
From "Annals of Georgia" by Caroline Price Wilson: Page 80: In 1783, the Estate of Mary Forsyth, administered by Davis Austin, Adm. of Will. (Mary Forsyth was the grandmother of Mary Ann Forsyth Austin.)
|
