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Ezekiel Selph

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Evidence assessment

Supplemental early settler; verified Lowndes household head in 1830 and strong-probable future-Brooks land associate by 1843–1847. The original 1830 schedule names Ezekiel Selph in Lowndes County, and the original 1840 schedule is indexed and visually consistent with an Ezekiel Selph household. A deed extraction uses Ezekiel Selph's corner as a boundary in District 12, Lot 466, a parcel later in Brooks County. The traditional 1829 arrival remains unverified.

Two generations must remain separate

The adult household head in 1830 and 1840 cannot be the Ezekiel Selph aged thirteen in Elizabeth L. Selph's 1850 household. The latter was born about 1837. The age difference verifies that at least two generations are represented.

The older man is the roster subject. The younger Ezekiel appears with Elizabeth L., Thomas, John, Charnic, William, Jackson, Polly Ann, and Freeman Selph in household 81 in 1850. That schedule gives no relationships. Elizabeth may have been the older man's widow and the younger residents may have been their children, but the census does not prove either proposition.

Census trail

The original 1830 Lowndes schedule, stamped page 79, clearly names Ezekiel Selph. The preserved 1840 Lowndes schedule, manuscript page 195, is indexed to “Ezekel Selph”; its row is visible, although a complete header-aligned demographic transcription remains unfinished. Huxford's census table also treats Ezekiel as a household head in both years.

The 1850 original schedule verifies a separate younger Ezekiel, age thirteen, in Elizabeth L. Selph's household. FamilySearch indexes his birthplace as Georgia, while an independent image-only reread recorded Alabama. That birthplace conflict should remain open; it does not affect the generational separation.

Land and future-Brooks geography

A reconstructed Lowndes deed dated December 25, 1843 and recorded March 13, 1845 describes 200 acres in the southwest corner of District 12, Lot 466, running east to Ezekiel Selph's corner. A second deed dated November 3, 1847 again bounded the east side of the conveyed portion by Ezekiel Selph. These references make the older Ezekiel a strong-probable landholder or adjoining occupant in future-Brooks territory. The underlying instruments have not been inspected, so exact ownership and residence remain qualified.

Family and later records

No inspected marriage, probate, guardianship, or deed names Elizabeth L. as the older Ezekiel's wife or the 1850 residents as their children. The younger Ezekiel married Margaret Parkerson in Bibb County on October 17, 1864 according to FamilySearch marriage indexes. An 1880 Worth County record indexes an Ezekiel born about 1837 with wife Mary and children Love, Charles, and Ellefair. The Margaret-to-Mary spouse difference and postwar movements require more evidence before treating the records as one continuous biography.

Conflicts and limits

  • Arrival: Huxford's 1829 date is retrospective and unverified.
  • Generation: older 1830/1840 head and younger 1850 child are verified as different people.
  • Elizabeth L.: possible widow of the elder, but unresolved.
  • 1850 household: co-residence does not prove parentage or sibling relationships.
  • Birthplace of younger Ezekiel: Georgia in the FamilySearch index; Alabama in an image-only reread.
  • Future-Brooks geography: deed-boundary extracts are strong locators, but the original instruments remain uninspected.
  • Barney connection: no direct residence at the later Barney townsite or descendant path to a documented Barney household was proved.

Public-ready summary

An older Ezekiel Selph was a Lowndes County household head in 1830 and 1840. Deed descriptions from the 1840s place an Ezekiel Selph boundary at District 12, Lot 466, in territory later included in Brooks County. He must not be confused with the thirteen-year-old Ezekiel living in Elizabeth L. Selph's 1850 household. Elizabeth may have been the older man's widow, but no inspected record states that relationship or identifies the younger residents as their children. The traditional 1829 arrival date therefore remains secondary and unverified.

Sources and reproducible gaps

  1. 1830 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Georgia, stamped p. 79; NARA M19, roll 19; Ancestry collection 8058, record 1850791, image 4409522_00156; preserved original schedule.
  2. 1840 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Georgia, manuscript p. 195; Ancestry collection 8057, record 1792464, image 4411334_00489; preserved original schedule, complete row transcription pending.
  3. 1850 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Division 53, household 81; Ancestry collection 8054, record 18779178, image 4193244-00467; preserved original schedule.
  4. FamilySearch census record for younger Ezekiel, MZYT-X4Q; linked household record citation MZYT-XW1.
  5. Lowndes deed reconstruction: Jeptha Newton to William B. Newton, Book C p. 480; Rachel Newton to Isaac James Newton, Book D p. 180; both use Ezekiel Selph as an eastern boundary at Lot 466.
  6. Folks Huxford, History of Brooks County, Georgia, pp. 29 and 33.
  7. FamilySearch Georgia marriage indexes, Ezekiel Selph and Margaret Parkerson, October 17, 1864, Bibb County; original image not inspected.
  8. FamilySearch 1880 census index, Ezekiel Selph household, Worth County; continuity from the 1850 youth remains unproved.