**UNDER
CONSTRUCTION**
Like many good stories, the story of
Otis Manson's family is best told from the middle. Otis was born in
July, 1874, in Hootenville, Upson County, Georgia.
His mother, Matilda Manson, and his aunt, Mary Manson,
were born in about 1843 and 1846, respectively, in Talbot County,
Georgia. Otis' maternal grandmother was Jane
Manson, born in Georgia in about 1823. In the 1850 census records,
Jane and her two children are described as "mulatto." Since slaves were
not enumerated by name in 1850, Jane Manson and her daughters
were "free people of color." But how did they become so?
In 1856, a white man named Nathaniel Brown filed the following
declaration in the Superior Court of Taylor County, Georgia:
Jane Manson, commonly called Jane Brown
is and ever was a free born person
her mother being a white woman married to James Curington of Marion
County formerly now Taylor. Her mother's maiden name was Chalotte
Manson. Jane is I suppose about Twenty Six or seven years old from the
best information I can get and that she said girl's color came from the
father's side who was the Creole or Indian race as information says
which her appearance indicates references Starling Barlett, Eliakim
Rhodes, Absolem Rhodes, former Tax Receiver of this county and many
others of this county who knew her mother and Jane before I did.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.
N. Brown
Wit: John Sturdivant, JP
May 30, 1856
Significantly, the affidavit establishes that (1) Jane
Manson was born free; (2) by 1856, she was "commonly" using the name
"Jane Brown"; (3) her mother was white; (4) her father was "Creole or
Indian"; and (5) her mother's name was Charlotte Manson. Implicit in
the declaration are the following: (1) some type of relationship
existed between Jane Manson and Nathaniel Brown; and (2) Jane most
likely was not the child of a marital relationship.
In census records for 1880 and 1900 in Talbot County, Georgia, Jane
Manson is listed as "Jane Brown." Her parents' birthplaces are given as
South Carolina.
Who was Charlotte Manson?
Charlotte Manson likely was born in the late 1700's. However,
census and other records do not reveal a Charlotte Manson in Georgia or
the Carolinas during the relevant time period. But given the age she
must have been, Charlotte Manson likely was the daughter of
Scots Irish immigrants.
Immigration records show a "Jane Manson" in South Carolina. In 1767,
Jane Manson arrived in Charleston from England. [See Jones, J. M. and
Warren, M. B., South Carolina Immigrants, 1760 to 1770. Danielsville,
GA: Heritage Papers, 1988, p. 228]. In 1768, Jane Manson was granted
100 acres in Granville County, South Carolina. [See Dobson, D.,
Scottish Quakers and Early America, 1650-1700, p. 86]. Obviously, this
would not be the Jane Manson of Georgia, but perhaps this Jane Manson
was an ancestor of Charlotte Manson.
Who was Nathaniel Brown?
Nathaniel Brown was born about 1787 in North Carolina, and at some
point, moved to Georgia. He was a wealthy landowner. According to 1852
tax lists, he owned nearly 2600 acres in five counties. Whether he
owned any slaves is not clear. In 1853, he gave a small tract of land
to one of Jane Manson's daughters:
Nathaniel
Brown to Mary C. Manson, daughter of Jane Manson
Love and affection 1/2 acre Pine
land where Jane Manson now lives.
Southwest corner of lot of land
conveyed to me by J.C. McCants, A. McCants, & J.T. Gray three acres
Wit: W.W. Wiggins, Isaac Mulkey, JJC
Recorded: 14 Nov 1853
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