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Surname: Hancock

I've been stuck on Willis T. Hancock for over 2 years now. I know he was born 15 May 1831 & died 8 August 1909 --birth and death in Georgia. He married a Julia Johnson. An I know their childrens names. I believe his mother was Jane Jones Hancock. She is listed as "mother of head" on a census. They were from Bibb county Georgia .
I need to find out who his father was. Any tips or leads would be GREATLY APPRECIATED ! Thank you so much !--jennifer
O I also know that he was buried in the Doles Methodist Church cemetery in Bibb County, Georgia

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Permalink Reply by Karen Rhodes on August 18, 2009 at 12:15pm

I take it that you either don't have his death certificate, or if you do, the father's name is not on it.

Digitized death certificates on the site of the Georgia State Archive only start at 1914, unfortunately, so that's out.

Did he serve during the Civil War? I can't find his name on the Civil War enlistment or pension records digitized by the state archive, but that doesn't mean he didn't serve. In fact, I didn't find the name Hancock at all. There are several pages of militia rolls from Bibb County digitized by the archive. Too many for me to look at right now for you, but here's the link. You can search by county, or, if you know it, by Militia District or by Senatorial District (state Senate, of course). Each able-bodied male between 16 and 60 not serving in Confederate forces were required to sign up for the militia. So he might be there on one of those lists.

Where have you looked so far?

Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on August 18, 2009 at 12:37pm

Hi Jennifer-

On Footnote.com, I'm seeing some information on a Willis Hancock who was a Private in the 59th GA Infantry, Co. K. Let me know if this is a possibility, and I'd be happy to see what records are available for him.

Permalink Reply by Sherri Thornton on August 22, 2009 at 6:32pm

Jennifer...I found a few census records and didn't know if you already had them. One thing interesting on the 1860 census is the listing below Willis and family. It looks like Jane Hancock as head with an infant child, last name Jones. The next 2 families listed are surnamed Jones. Maybe brothers? They are close in age. No clue as to why the infant Jones was living with Jane Hancock. This census doesn't give relationships. I didn't find him in the Bibb County census for 1900. That doesn't mean he isn't on it. If all pages aren't transcribed or the name is spelled wrong it might not show up. I was using someone else's account on Ancestry, so couldn't spend a lot of time searching.

Here is the info on his marriage:
Georgia Marriages, 1699-1944 about Willis Hancock
Name: Willis Hancock
Spouse: Julia Johnson
Marriage Date: 31 May 1851
County: Bibb
State: Georgia

Attachments:

Permalink Reply by Luckie Daniels on August 22, 2009 at 10:28pm

Hi Jennifer! I hope this helps! I took a peek at the 1840 & 1850 Census records for Bibb County. Here's what I found:

Assuming that Willis T. HANCOCK was born in 1831 BIBB Co. Georgia

1840 BIBB Co. Census
Jessee Hancock - Head of Family
1 - 5 to 9 yrs. male (could be Willis if birth date was correct)
1 - 10 to 15 yrs. male
1 - 30 to 40 yrs. male (Jessee Hancock)
2 - 5 to 10 yrs. female
1 - 10 to 15 yrs. female
1 - 40 to 50 yrs. female (could be Margaret Hancock)

1850 BIBB Co. Census
Jesse Hancock - 45
Margaret Hancock - 49
William Hancop - 23 (could be Willis; note the misspelling in the last name too!)
James Hancop - 19
Sarah Hancop - 16

Note - there are no WILLIS Hancock's in Bibb County in 1850 (when he would have been 19-20 yrs. old). There are 2 WILLIAMS - one that's represented above & the other 12 yrs. old, which is too young to be your Willis.

Do any of these names sound familiar? Do you know of any siblings for Willis T?

Good Luck!:-)

Luckie.

Surname: Hancock

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