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Note: HI9032
Note: (Research):According to the information contained on Nicholas' ARMED OCCUPATION ACT LAND PERMITS, DM ID: 149433, Doc. Date: 07/24/1843, Legacy Doc. Locator: AOP3773 he came to Florida in October 1833.
MessageFrom: Richard Thomas [pepperhead1@msn.com] Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 5:38 PM To: geoffrey.thompson Subject: Re: Minors and Property
We have never found an inventory for Nicholas. I have also never found any evidence he ever voted in Columbia or Alachua County. I have the entire list of voters who voted in Florida's First Statewide election on May 26, 1845, and neither he or Roland are listed as having voted. The list covers the entire state and is indexed. To vote you had to be a free white male, 21 years of age, and if you were under the age of 45 and able-bodied, you had to join the militia before you could vote. Because I know that both Roland and Nicholas had been members of the militia during the war, and neither voted, I presume they were not 21. That may be a bad presumption on my part, but it is one of the reasons I believe they were the youngest members of the family. If my assumption is correct, he had to be 20 years old in May of 1845. I say this, because he testified on July 24, 1843 that he was over 18, and if he wasn't 21 on May 26, 1845, then he had to be approximately 20 years of age. I don't have too many voting records beyond 1845, most are from the 1830s, so I can't tell if he voted after that first statewide election. In addition his probate record suggests someone with very little in the way of personal property. Again maybe he was young and hadn't acquired much wealth beyond a starter heard of cattle. The only record that suggests he ever tried to obtain land was the Armed Occupation Act of 1843, and that apparently was never fulfilled. So I would guess he was only 23 or 24 at the time of his death. And of course none of this explains why Roland didn�t vote in 1845 if he was born in 1822. Maybe they didn't remain with the militia.
Nicholas served in the following militia units: Co. 1; (Warren's) Fla Mtd. Mil 1836-1837; Cason's Co. 1 (Warren's) Fla Mil 1837; Robert's Co., 1 (Warren's) Fla Mtd. Mil 1839-1840; and Ellis' Co., (Dancy's) 2nd Fla Mtd. Mil.
My sister sent me a copy of a document from the probate of William O.'s will that describes a negro man that was hired for Nancy Thomas. The copy is so poor I will need to wait for the original to read it all. But it is another item listing a Nancy Thomas (may be the wife of Jesse, or the daughter). When I started going through the notes I took on the Tax Records, I found that William O.'s two daughters probably had been given slaves, at least it looks like that's what they were being taxed for. That is apparently not to uncommon in the probate records. By the way, the Tuckers are listed nicely in a number of the voting records along with the precinct they voted in.
-----Original Message----- From: geoffrey.thompson@sbcglobal.net To: 'Richard Thomas' Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 3:36 PM Subject: RE: Minors and Property Richard, You really know your stuff. What I found strange, you eloquently rationalize. I wonder if there was a tax advantage to leaving property to minors. Do any other probate records exist for Nicholas? Was there an inventory?
Geoff -----Original Message----- From: Richard Thomas [mailto:pepperhead1@msn.com] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 4:34 PM To: geoffrey.thompson Subject: Minors and Property Geoff, I was thinking about Nancy and her young age and the cattle, when I remembered that about 10 years ago I pulled the tax records for Columbia and Alachua County. I will see if I can locate them and send transcripts to you. However the point I wanted to make was concerning the minor heirs of William O. Thomas. Of course you are aware that Allen Thomas was made the guardian of William O. Thomas' minor heirs. Well the tax records of Columbia County indicate that they apparently received property from their father's estate, because the records mention for several years that Allen was acting as the agent for the minor heirs and was paying taxes on property they owned. I can't recall if the type of property was mentioned, but I do recall they seemed to be the only minor heirs mentioned in the tax rolls of Columbia County. There was also mention in the probate records, that Allen traveled the country side rounding up cattle for the two girls. He spent so much time rounding them up and bringing them back to Columbia County, that he charged the estate for the use of his horse and his expenses. I'll round up the tax info and get it in a softcopy so I can send to you. I found it on microfilm at the Bradford County Library in Starke, and it is also available in Tallahassee.
MessageFrom: Richard Thomas [pepperhead1@msn.com] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 3:57 PM To: geoffrey.thompson@sbcglobal.net Subject: Re: Nicholas Probate 4
All very good points. The only other information I have regarding Nicholas is his application for land during the 1842 Armed Occupation Act. At that time he stated he was over 18 and single. He mentioned that he had arrived in Florida in the fall of 1832. So, it's possible he died with no heirs, and maybe decided to leave the cattle as a token of appreciation to his sister. I believe personally he was probably the youngest son of Jessie Thomas. My sister Debbie said that she does not believe his last will and testament was ever documented. She believes he may have made the request verbally and others witnessed him make the declaration. I guess we will never know. As far as the document being acquired before the site was closed, that is true. My sister pulled down several documents before it closed. I recently talked to the man responsible for the web site and he said they hoped some portion would be reopened soon. However, he gave me directions to a building where I could go and request copies in person with no problem. Well, I hope all is well, I will continue to send anything like this that I find. ----- Original Message ----- From: geoffrey.thompson@sbcglobal.net To: 'Richard Thomas' Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 11:21 PM Subject: RE: Nicholas Probate 4 Richard, Got them all and I can read them too. You must have gotten these before the images were prevented from being shown on the Alachua County website.
Yes, it definitely does identify a Nancy as Nicholas' sister and as the recipient of his cattle. It does not say in so many words that Jesse or Allen are his brothers. I still find it strange that an 8 year old would receive his cattle, especially when the will was verbal and young Nancy would never have known the difference and because there were so many other adult relatives with families to feed. I wonder if Jesse and Allen's sister Nancy is the Nancy mentioned in the papers, and I wonder if Jesse and Allen were Nicholas' brothers. The only other possibility is that Nicholas was an Uncle to Jesse E. and Allen and that the Nancy mentioned in the papers is an Aunt or the sister of Nicholas and the elder Jesse. Perhaps Nancy is married to the William Scott [William Washington Scott? who is found on a lot of probate records to include the administration records for William O. Thomas], co-administrator, who is also probably a relation of some kind. It would appear from the 1850 U.S. Census that William Scott was of SC and the his wife's name is Elizabeth and also of SC. So, there goes that theory. Perhaps he is just a family friend as he is living amongst the Thomas', Tucker's, Matthews, Moody's and Cason's.
Geoff
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