A HATCHER FAMILY BIBLE

Bible of

John & Margaret (Lord) Hatcher
of
Crawford County, Georgia

Owned in 1997
by

Charlotte (Burnett) Thrasher
of Macon, Georgia

Explanations and Interpretations
by

Emory G. Hatcher
3953 S. Olive Street
Denver, Colorado 80237

HATCHER FAMILY BIBLE

This family bible is a King James I version. It was printed and published by M. Carey & Son of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1819. In my opinion, the first owners of the bible were John Hatcher, Junior, and his wife, Margaret (Lord) Hatcher. She was commonly known by the nickname Peggy. At their deaths, they were residents of Crawford County, Georgia. John Hatcher, Junior, was the fourth child of Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher. At the time of their deaths, they were residents of Wilkinson County, Georgia.

After the bible was acquired, either by gift or purchase, someone carefully entered the names and birth dates of all of the children of John and Peggy Hatcher. At the time of this entry, eleven of their children had been born. These names were entered in chronological order by date of birth. The last entry was Francis Narcisa Hatcher who was born 1 May 1831. With all of these entries being made at the same time, there is a strong possibility that the bible may have been acquired just after Francis' birth. Since these children were apparently the first to be entered, this certainly creates a presumption that the bible was first the property of John and Peggy Hatcher.

Immediately following these entries, the names and birth dates of the two remaining children of John and Peggy Hatcher were entered in an entirely different handwriting. These thirteen children constituted all of their offspring. See page 678 and the comments following.

We find in the bible, at page 680, the birth and death dates of John and Peggy Hatcher. Also on this page are listed John's father and mother, Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher, along with their birth dates and date of their marriage. Only the year of birth was given for Mary. Following this information, the names and birth dates of the first four children born to Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher were shown. This included John, Junior, as he was their fourth child. Evidence clearly points to John and Peggy Hatcher being the first owners of this bible. The only piece of important vital statistical information that is missing, regarding their individual family, is the date of their own marriage.

At some point following the death of John and Peggy Hatcher, the bible passed to their son Robert Hatcher, who married Abselia Elizabeth Burnett. This was a perfectly natural transition as Robert was the administrator of the estate of his father, and in all probability that of his mother. She died last, in the year 1854. This is predictably the year that Robert became owner of the bible.

Robert's ownership continued for many years. The names and birth dates of twelve of his known children are entered on the two loose pages found in the bible. The last name on the second loose page might possibly be another child of Robert. On page 677 are shown the names and marriage dates of five of his children. Two other names are listed on this page. A marriage date is shown for one person and not the other. Both of these females, Maryann and Anice Virginia Hatcher, might possibly be daughters of Robert.

Robert Hatcher's death on 4 May 1871 is recorded in the bible. His wife, Abselia Elizabeth (Burnett) Hatcher, died 16 August 1874. Her death is not listed. Sometime thereafter, the bible passed to Robert's twelfth child, Josephine Louisa Hatcher, who married Jack Causey.

The next owner of the bible was Elizabeth Mary Hancock who was commonly known as "Lizzie May." She was the daughter of Erastus Jerome and Martha Obedience (Hatcher) Hancock. Josephine Louisa Causey, known to her nieces and nephews as Aunt Josie, passed away 4 August 1950. Aunt Josie's children had no particular interest in the bible. Knowing of their cousin Lizzie May's keen interest in family genealogy, they offered it to her. She accepted it gladly. Lizzie May distinctly remembered their removing it from a shelf and handing it to her.

Lizzie May Hancock was a remarkable lady. She was intelligent, well educated and family oriented. It was from her that I learned much of the history of the chain of ownership of the bible, and its contents, as I have related herein. She was a fountain of information on the Hatcher and Hancock families, as well as other families of Crawford County, Georgia. Unfortunately, I was not privileged to learn about Lizzy May until early 1983 when I heard of her ownership of the bible. I first met her in Macon, Georgia, in September 1983. Although I communicated with her frequently thereafter, I never saw her again. She died 11 December 1986 at the age of 92.

Lizzie May left the bible to a niece, Charlotte Burnett Thrasher, of Macon, Georgia. It is still in her possession.

Charlotte is the daughter of Lizzie May's sister, Annie Maude Hancock, who married John Chester Burnett. Charlotte is a lover of family history so the bible is in good hands. She has reviewed my analysis of the bible, and its probable chain of ownership, and is in agreement with it.

It is apparently believed by some Hatcher descendants that the first owner of this bible was Jeremiah B. Hatcher. In my opinion, this is erroneous. This Jeremiah was the first child of John and Peggy Hatcher. He was born 26 February 1813. His name appears on page 678.

Paqe 677

FAMILY RECORD

MARRIAGES

BIRTHS

All persons listed in the marriage column are most likely the children of Robert and Abselia Elizabeth (Burnett) Hatcher. Robert was the son of John Hatcher, Jr., and Marqaret (Lord) Hatcher. Although Maryann's name is listed, no date of marriage was shown. Some of the names appearing here are repeated on the two loose pages found inserted in the bible, which contain the names and dates of birth of most of Robert Hatcher's children. Repeated names are Sallie A. E., who is probably Sarah A. E.; John W., who is probably John T.; Caroline F. C., who is probably Caroline Amanda; Charitv A. S. who is listed the same; and Nannie S. E., who is probably Nancy E. Mary Ann and Anice Virqinia (if they are children) were probably born after the last child listed on the loose pages.

The Reubin S. Hatcher shown in the birth column is the first-born child of Robert Hatcher. It is believed the entry corrects the date of birth shown for Reubin on the fust loose page referred to in the bible.

Margaret Lord was the wife of John Hatcher, Jr., and her name appears again as Margaret Hatcher in the second entry, riqht column, page 680. This entry may have been intended to correct that entry, the dates being only one day apart.

Page 678

FAMILY RECORD

BIRTHS

BIRTHS

All persons listed in the left column, and the first five persons listed in the right column , constitute all of the known children of John Hatcher Jr., and his spouse, Margaret (Lord) Hatcher. However, there is one probable error in this list. The first eleven entries were obvioulsy written by the same person at the same time. It is believed that the writer may have been a scribe, and not knowing the family that well, mistakenly entered the name Henry Hatcher, whereas the name should have been Mary Hatcher. There are no records of which I am aware that reflect a son named Henry. However, there was a daughter named Mary. This can be proved through the probate proceedings of John Hatcher's estate which are on file in the Probate Court, Crawford County Courthouse, Knoxville, Georgia.

John died intestate 7 March 1849 and on 2 July 1849 his son Robert was named administrator of the estate. On 13 October 1849 certain personal property was distributed to the widow and several of the children, Mary being one of them. Subsequent to this action, Mary married Winchester Watson on 1 January 1852. When the final assets of the estate were distributed, Mary was one of the heirs. Her husband signed a receipt for her share on 15 November 1854. There was no Henry mentioned in any of the proceedings.

The last two entries in the right column, William G. Hatcher and Margaret A. Hatcher were the two eldest children of Jeremiah B. and Rebecca (Dunn) Hatcher. Jeremiah B. was the eldest son of John Hatcher, Junior, and Peggy (Lord) Hatcher.

Page 679

FAMILY RECORD

BIRTHS

DEATHS

Mary H. Hancock and John H. Hancock were the eldest children of Jeremiah B. Hancock and Nancy (Hatcher) Hancock, who were married 20 September 1835. Jeremiah B. Hancock was the son of William Hancock and Nancy (Hatcher) Hancock, the latter being the daughter of Major John Hatcher and Mary (Brady) Hatcher. Jeremiah B. Hancock's wife, Nancy, was the daughter of John Hatcher, Junior, and Margaret (Lord) Hatcher.

Francis Narcisa Hatcher was one of the daughters of John Hatcher, Junior. She was only ten years old at death.

Page 680

FAMILY RECORD

BIRTHS

DEATHS

The first entry refers to Major John Hatcher, Sr., who was the son of Robert and Ann (Sanders) Hatcher. He was born in that part of Lunenburg County, Virginia, that later became Mecklenburg County. The second entry, Mary Hatcher, was the wife of Major Hatcher. Her maiden name was Brady. The third entry is the date of their marriage, which most likely took place in Richmond County, Georgia. The remaining four persons in the left column are the first four children of this marriage, in the order of their birth. The first three entries in the right column refer to the death of John Hatcher, Jr., and the birth and death of his wife, Margaret (Lord) Hatcher. See further comments re Margaret on page 677. The fourth entry represents the Robert Hatcher who was the son of John Hatcher, Jr.. The parentaqe of Benjamin L. Hatcher, entry five, is not known at this time.

The last entry, Reubin Sanders Hatcher, is the first son of Robert Hatcher, just mentioned. See further comments re this Reubin at page 677.

Reubin S. Hatcher was borne 16th Oct. 1844.

Patience N. A. Hatcher was borne 4th May 1846.

Samuel B. Hatcher was born 11th May 1848.

Sarah A. E. Hatcher was borne 23 Feb. 1849.

John T. Hatcher was borne April 7, 1850.

Nancy E. Hatcher was borne 29 Jan. 1852.

Jas. C. Hatcher was borne 21 April 1853.

Martha O. Hatcher was borne 16 Oct. 1854.

Caroline Amanda Hatcher was borne 10 May 1856.

Comments on entries:

All entries on this page are known to be the first nine children of Robert Hatcher (son of John Hatcher, Jr.) and Abselia Elizabeth (Burnett) Hatcher.

Robt. H. Hatcher was borne 28 May 1858

Charity A. S. Hatcher was borne 16 April 1860

Josephine Louisa Hatcher was born Jan. 26, 1862

___bell Hatcher (First part of name obscured.) 1864 - 1879

Comments On Entries:

This is a continuation of the previous page and the

first three entries are known to be children of Robert and Abselia Elizabeth (Burnett) Hatcher. It is believed that they had several more children, including the ___bell Hatcher above, whose name could be Idabell or Isabell. Other candidates are Maryann Hatcher, Anice Virginia Hatcher and William Lafayette Hatcher.

Jeremiah B. Hatcher was married twice. The names of his wives and the dates of their marriages do not appear in the bible. If the bible was ever owned by Jeremiah at all, he made very little use of it. He died circa 1881. His brother Robert died ten years earlier on 4 May 1871. Had the bible been in Jeremiah's possession at his death, surely it would have been left to one of his children and would presently be in the hands of one of his descendants. On the other hand, there appears to be a clear chain of ownership from John Hatcher, Junior, to Robert Hatcher and thence to his descendants.

There was another Jeremiah B. Hatcher that can quickly be eliminated as a possible owner of the bible. He was the first son of Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher. He was born on 20 September 1780. His name and birth date appear on page 678. He died in a hunting accident on 2 May 1806, before the bible was even printed.

The important point to remember is that the bible appears to have been in the caring hands of a descendant of John and Peggy Hatcher from the first day it was acquired. The exact identity of the first owner should in no way affect its authenticity.

ANALYSIS OF THE BIBLE

On my visit to Macon, Georgia, in September 1983, I obtained copies of the title page of the bible, and all pages in it that contained statistical information, from the owner, Lizzie May Hancock. There were six pages of the latter. Four were an integral part of the bible itself. They were numbered 677, 678, 679 and 680. The remainder were two loose pages that had been inserted in the bible.

Taking each of these pages, in order, I then proceeded to copy, in typewritten form, exactly what I saw in handwriting. I attempted to place each entry on the typewritten page in the same relative position that it occupied on the handwritten page. All errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, division of words, etc., were copied just as they appeared in the original. Even some of the given names were not spelled in the usually accepted version, for even that day and age, for example, Reubin for Reuben. Nevertheless, they were copied just as they appeared.

Immediately following this copying process, I wrote comments pertaining to the entries for every page. There are very few persons in the bible that have not been identified, and hopefully placed in the proper family. The results of my efforts are included herein. In genealogy1 in spite of the highest degree of care, errors seem to be inevitable. I welcome any input from any of the descendants of the persons listed in this bible.

Robert E Hatcher

HATCHER BIRTHS FROM BIBLE

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

HANCOCK BIRTHS

Mary H. Hancock 1 Oct 1836

John H. Hancock 9 Apri1 1838

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

John Hatcher, Sr., and Mary (Brady) Hatcher

m. 30 Dec 1779

Maryann Hatcher m. (No date given.)

Sallie A. E. (Sarah A. E. ?) Hatcher m. 31 Sep 1870

John W. (or T. ?) Hatcher m. 29 Nov 1872

Caroline F. C. (Caroline Amanda ?) Hatcher

m. 11 Mar 1875

Charity A. S. Hatcher m. 12 Aug 1880

Nannie S. E. (Nancy E. ?) Hatcher M. 27 Feb 1881

Anice Virginia Hatcher m. 10 Aug 1887

HATCHER DEATHS FROM BIBLE

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Francis Narcisa Hatcher d. 5 May 1841

Reubin Sanders Hatcher d. 13 Sep 1846

John Hatcher d. 7 Mar 1849

Margaret Hatcher d. 25 Jan 1854

Benjamin L. Hatcher d. 30 Dec 1870

Robert Hatcher d. 4 May 1871

---bell (Isabell or Idabell ?) Hatcher d . 1879

Josephine Louisa Hatcher d. 4 Aug 1950