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The Barney History Project: The people, places, and stories of Barney, Georgia

John J. Underwood: pioneer official, Franklinville resident, and attorney

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Research conclusion

John J. Underwood was born in Georgia about 1796, married Sarah K. Cawthon in Laurens County in 1821, moved through the Irwin County frontier into the new Lowndes County, and became one of the county's early officials. He was named as a commissioner for the permanent Lowndes county site in the 1825 organizing legislation, served in the militia and inferior courts, lived in Franklinville by 1832, and practiced law in Troupville. By 1850 he was an attorney in Jasper, Hamilton County, Florida. He died there intestate before December 17, 1864.[1-10]

That identity chain is strong, but not every familiar detail has equal support. The exact birth date of October 11, 1796, and death date of November 3, 1864, come from a modern cemetery memorial, not an inspected contemporary record. Underwoods District existed by 1827 and was very likely named for this John Underwood, but no original naming order was found. The safest wording is that he was the district's probable namesake, not its proved namesake.[7,11-13]

Identity and migration

An 1820 Laurens County census entry indexed as "Jod Underwood" contains a man and woman aged 16-25, one enslaved boy under fourteen, and two people engaged in agriculture. The imperfect given-name index makes this record strong probable rather than certain evidence for John J. Underwood.[1]

A compiled Georgia marriage record says John Underwood married Sarah K. Cawthon in Laurens County on January 25, 1821. The transcription fits the later household and Sarah's middle initial, but the original license was not available in this search.[2]

The census sequence then becomes unusually coherent:

  • In 1830, John J. Underwood was in Lowndes County, aged 30-39, in a nine-person household with no enslaved people recorded.[3]
  • In 1840, he was again in Lowndes, aged 40-49, with a woman aged 30-39 and seven younger household members; no enslaved people were recorded.[4]
  • In 1850, John J. Underwood, 54, Georgia-born attorney, lived in Hamilton County, Florida, with Sarah R. Underwood, 50, and Harriett, Jane, Georgiann, James, Frances, and William H. Underwood. He reported $2,500 in real estate.[5]
  • In 1860, John J., 64, and Sarah K., 60, were at Jasper, Hamilton County. He was still an attorney and reported $14,000 real and $5,000 personal estate.[6]

The "Sarah R." reading in 1850 is probably a clerk's or indexer's error for Sarah K.; the age, birthplace, family, and 1860 record support continuity. Census residence does not itself prove every younger household member was a child, although that is the likely relationship.

Lowndes County public service

The act organizing Lowndes County was approved December 24, 1825. A later newspaper reprint of the act names Lawrence Folsom, Sion Hall, William Blair, John J. Underwood, Daniel McCranie, and another commissioner whose name was garbled in print. They were to select the permanent county site and obtain title to the land.[11] Huxford's county history gives the same Underwood identification.[12]

Huxford also places Underwood in the present Nashville area before Lowndes was created. His compiled executive-record lists say Underwood was commissioned an Irwin County inferior-court justice in early 1825, Major of the 138th Battalion, Georgia Militia, on August 31, 1826, and a Lowndes inferior-court justice on January 26, 1829. Huxford says the militia commission continued until 1834.[12] These are strong secondary findings, not substitutes for the original commission books, which were not inspected online.

Underwoods District appears in 1827 land-lottery notices for men including Alfred Belote and Lewis Vickers.[13] Underwood's early Irwin role and residence make him the natural namesake. Still, the surviving material located here establishes the district's name, not who bestowed it or why. The namesake conclusion remains strong probable.

Franklinville and Troupville

The clearest record of Underwood's early home is a Lowndes sheriff's notice published August 23, 1832. It levied on Land Lot 61 in the 12th District and improvements on town lots 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Franklinville's fifth section, “whereon John J. Underwood now lives.” The personal property included nineteen books, a surveyor's chain, a slate, and a map of North and South Carolina and Georgia. The levy arose from an Irwin Superior Court judgment in favor of Thomas King.[14]

This proves where he lived and gives a striking picture of a literate frontier professional with surveying equipment. It does not prove that he held clear title to every listed tract or that surveying was his formal occupation.

Huxford says Underwood was admitted to the bar at the January 1836 Irwin Superior Court term, moved to Troupville, and became the new town's first attorney.[12] Contemporary newspapers repeatedly confirm the legal career. Lowndes notices in 1841 and 1844 name him as an attorney.[15-16] An 1842 sheriff's notice involved property sold in litigation in which he appeared as attorney and creditor.[17]

His finances were not free of trouble. In 1845, Troupville lots 57, 58, 67, and 68 and a horse were levied as his property in William M. Thomas v. John J. Underwood and William Lastinger.[18] A March 1846 notice again levied on improved Lot 58 to satisfy Thomas D. Griffin v. Underwood.[19] These notices prove claimed property interests and judgments at those moments; they do not alone establish a complete title chain.

The 1834-44 tax digests show Underwood as a poll taxpayer and landholder or agent for tracts scattered across several Georgia counties. Later rows identify him as an attorney and repeatedly show him acting for Constant Underwood.[20] The images do not establish Constant's relationship to him, and the scattered tracts should not be confused with a pinpointed home place.

Family

The strongest direct child identification comes from the Southern Recorder of March 31, 1846: Henry J. Stewart married Sarah N. C. Underwood, “daughter of John J. Underwood,” all of Troupville.[21] That same Henry J. Stewart later administered Underwood's Florida estate, independently linking the Georgia and Florida phases of the family.

The 1850 household names Harriett, Jane, Georgiann, James, Frances, and William H. Underwood with John and Sarah.[5] A modern Find a Grave index associates eight children and identifies Sarah K. Cawthon as spouse.[7] Those details are useful leads, but the inspected probate opening does not list heirs, and no family Bible or distribution record was found online. The dossier therefore treats Sarah N. C. as directly proved and the broader child list as census/memorial evidence.

Florida years, death, and estate

Underwood had reached Hamilton County, Florida, by the 1850 census, although an April 1850 Georgia legal notice still named him as counsel in a Lowndes matter.[5,22] That is not a contradiction: he could retain unfinished Georgia cases after moving, and the 1850 census was enumerated later in the year.

Hamilton County probate supplies the firm endpoint. On December 17, 1864, Henry J. Stewart applied for administration of the estate of John J. Underwood, “late of said County deceased.” The proceeding expressly says Underwood died intestate, and Stewart was appointed administrator.[10] This proves death before December 17, 1864, but not the memorial's exact November 3 date.

The modern memorial places John and Sarah in Evergreen Cemetery at Jasper and gives John the dates October 11, 1796-November 3, 1864.[7] Because no contemporary marker photograph or burial register was inspected, those dates and the burial location are probable memorial evidence.

What is proved, probable, and unresolved

Directly proved or strongly documented

  • Lowndes residence in 1830 and 1840; Hamilton County residence in 1850 and 1860.
  • Franklinville residence on improvements to town lots 1-4 in 1832.
  • Repeated legal work in Lowndes County and attorney occupation in Florida.
  • Sarah N. C. Underwood was his daughter and Henry J. Stewart his son-in-law.
  • He died intestate before December 17, 1864, and Stewart administered the estate.

Strong probable

  • The 1820 Laurens household is this John Underwood.
  • Sarah K. Cawthon was his wife and the 1821 Laurens marriage belongs to the couple.
  • He was the Underwoods District namesake.
  • Huxford's inferior-court and militia commission sequence accurately identifies him.

Unresolved or derivative only

  • An original naming instrument for Underwoods District.
  • Exact birth and death dates and a contemporary burial record.
  • Full parentage and a probate-grade list of all children.
  • A complete deed chain for the Franklinville and Troupville property.

Sources

  1. 1820 U.S. census, Laurens County, Georgia, entry indexed "Jod Underwood", Ancestry collection 7734, record 1479612; image.
  2. Georgia, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1754-1850, John Underwood-Sarah K. Cawthon, Jan. 25, 1821, Ancestry collection 2085, record 127823.
  3. 1830 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Georgia, John J. Underwood, Ancestry collection 8058, record 1851019.
  4. 1840 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Georgia, John J. Underwood, Ancestry collection 8057, record 1792495.
  5. 1850 U.S. census, Hamilton County, Florida, John J. Underwood household, Ancestry collection 8054, record 18450467.
  6. 1860 U.S. census, Hamilton County, Florida, John J. Underwood household, Ancestry collection 7667, record 10586457.
  7. U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, John J. Underwood, Ancestry collection 60525, record 19871454 (derivative index; direct memorial access blocked during this search).
  8. Georgia tax digests, Lowndes County, 1834-44, Ancestry collection 1729; preserved images listed in source 20.
  9. Folks Huxford, History of Lowndes County, Georgia, 1825-1941 (1941), Underwood biography and public-office lists, local OCR and page scans.
  10. Hamilton County, Florida, probate opening for John J. Underwood, Dec. 17, 1864, Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1827-1950, Ancestry collection 8993, record 622115.
  11. “Act to lay out a new county from Irwin,” approved Dec. 24, 1825, reprinted in Daily Times-Enterprise (Thomasville), Nov. 15, 1920, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  12. Huxford, History of Lowndes County, county organization, Underwood biography, inferior-court, and militia lists.
  13. 1827 Georgia land-lottery publications naming “Underwoods District, Irwin County,” discussed and transcribed in local Barney research files; no naming order located.
  14. “Lowndes Sheriff's Sale,” Federal Union (Milledgeville), Aug. 23, 1832, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  15. Lowndes legal notice naming John J. Underwood as attorney, Apr. 27, 1841.
  16. Lowndes legal notice naming Underwood as attorney, May 7, 1844.
  17. Lowndes sheriff's sale, Federal Union, Mar. 8, 1842, p. 4, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  18. Lowndes sheriff's sale, Southern Recorder, Feb. 27, 1845, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  19. Lowndes coroner's sale, Albany Patriot, Mar. 25, 1846, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  20. Lowndes County tax digests, 1834, 1838, 1840, and 1844, Ancestry collection 1729.
  21. Marriage of Henry J. Stewart and Sarah N. C. Underwood, Southern Recorder, Mar. 31, 1846, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  22. Lowndes legal notice naming Underwood as plaintiff's attorney, Albany Patriot, Apr. 19, 1850, p. 4, Georgia Historic Newspapers.

Preservation note

The project folder contains the search exports, record-detail JSON, preserved census, tax, newspaper, and probate images, an evidence matrix, and a reproducible search ledger. Paywalled images are retained for offline research use and are not redistributed publicly.