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Abraham Hunter

Abraham Hunter belongs to the early history of the territory that became Brooks County, but the surviving records do not support the familiar story that he moved directly from North Carolina to the Okapilco–Mule Creek area in 1823.

From Screven to Lowndes

An Abraham Hunter household was in Screven County in 1820 and 1830. The 1827 land-lottery register also placed him there, and Screven County surveys bear his name through 1831. A reconstructed deed entry dated June 5, 1838, still described Abraham Hunter Sr. as a Screven County resident when William G. Hunter conveyed property to him.

By 1840, an older Abraham Hunter was in Lowndes County. The ages, household pattern, land dealings, and absence of a competing same-age candidate make the Screven and Lowndes men a strong-probable continuing identity. No migration instrument directly joins them.

This chain places Abraham's probable move after the 1838 transaction and by the 1840 census. North Carolina was his reported birthplace, but that does not prove a direct 1823 move to Okapilco. No inspected record places his home at the Okapilco–Mule Creek forks or near the later town of Barney.

Abraham Sr. and Abraham Jr.

A reconstructed deed entry dated October 6, 1845, records Abraham Hunter Sr. conveying 512 acres to Abraham Hunter Jr. for $1,676. The 1850 census then places Abraham, eighty, and Ann Hunter, seventy-three, in dwelling 54. Abram Hunter, forty-four, and Jane, nineteen, were in dwelling 52.

The suffixes, transaction, ages, proximity, and later family material make Sr. and Jr. strong-probable father and son. The deed abstraction does not use parent-child language, and the underlying instrument has not been inspected. Ann is Abraham Sr.'s strong-probable wife; her earlier identity remains unresolved.

Jane Bryan or Bryant and the descendants

The 1850 and 1860 censuses verify Abraham Jr. and Jane as a continuing married couple. Jane's 1912 obituary identifies John Bryan as her father and says she was born at Okapilco, which it calls her father's home. That makes Jane's relationship to John strong probable, although no inspected birth, Bible, probate, or deed record states it.

The 1880 census directly identifies John M. and Virgil C. Hunter as Abraham's sons and Jane as his wife. Theophilus W. Hunter's 1919 death certificate names his parents as Abraham Hunter and Jane Bryant. Theophilus became a Quitman physician and later helped organize subscriptions for the South Georgia Railroad.

Other possible children

William G. Hunter repeatedly dealt with Abraham Sr. and followed the same Screven-to-Lowndes geography. Hardy E. Hunter received land from Abraham and later bought land from Abraham's estate. A public family tree calls both men Abraham's sons. The dated land records make that proposal coherent, but no inspected original states either relationship. William G. and Hardy E. remain secondary-supported possible sons.

The same tree proposes additional children, including Lenora Ann Lane, Adam, Jesse W., and John A. Hunter. Those names remain research leads. Abraham Sr.'s own parents have not been established.

Connection to Barney

The Abraham line continues into Brooks County, but no record places Abraham Sr. or Jr. at Barney. Barney's documented Hunter residents belong to separate Black families: Dan and Mary Hunter's household and Henry Hunter in 1900, followed by the Vander and Ike Hunter households in 1920. No generation-by-generation record chain joins those families to Abraham Sr. or Jr.

See the Hunter surname audit for the branch map and the separate Barney families.

Evidence status

  • Verified: separate Abraham Sr. and Jr. identities; their 1845 land transaction; the later Abraham-and-Jane household; Theophilus's named parents.
  • Strong probable: Screven Abraham became the older Lowndes resident; Sr. and Jr. were father and son; Ann was the elder Abraham's wife; Jane was John Bryan's daughter.
  • Secondary-supported: William G. and Hardy E. were Abraham Sr.'s sons.
  • Contradicted as stated: a direct North Carolina-to-Okapilco migration in 1823.
  • Unresolved: Abraham Sr.'s parents, Ann's earlier identity, the complete child group, exact migration instrument, and any direct Barney connection.

Sources

  1. 1820 U.S. census, Screven County, Georgia, “Abrm Hunter,” Ancestry collection 7734, record 1434339.
  2. Reprint of Official Register of Land Lottery of Georgia, 1827, p. 22, Abraham Hunter of Screven County, Ancestry collection 2072, record 2415.
  3. 1830 U.S. census, District 259, Screven County, NARA M19, roll 20, p. 300, Ancestry record 935858.
  4. Georgia Archives loose plats: 243 acres surveyed January 3, 1822 and 350 acres surveyed September 8, 1831.
  5. Wiregrass Region Digital History Project reconstruction of Lowndes deed records, Book E, pp. 556–557, 593–594, 598, and 615–616; underlying instruments not inspected.
  6. 1840 U.S. census, Lowndes County, NARA M704, roll 45, p. 238, Ancestry record 1792461.
  7. 1850 U.S. census, Division 53, Lowndes County, dwellings 52 and 54, p. 364A, Ancestry records 18778975 and 18778984.
  8. 1860 U.S. census, Brooks County, Abram and Jane Hunter household, p. 682, Ancestry record 10753357.
  9. “Mrs. Jane Hunter, Brooks County,” Valdosta Times, April 10, 1912, p. 8, Newspapers.com image 889854125.
  10. Georgia death certificate for Theophilus Williams Hunter, December 13, 1919, Ancestry collection 2562, record 104019.
  11. Folks Huxford, The History of Brooks County, Georgia, 1858–1948, pp. 30–31.