Chickenfat: Jason Henderson Hunter's Life Story, as I know it

First of all, I would like to say I do not have any iron clad proof Jason Henderson Hunter is the father of William A. Trammell. From circumstantial it points that way. William's mother Rebecca Trammell sued Jason for Bastardy in the Macon County Court and won child care for $100 a year. And in later years, when both had fought in the Civil War there is correspondence between the two recognizing each other as father and son. I haven't seen these letters, but have been told about them by Lois Hunter Carroway.

Jason was born about 1817 in Hendersonville, Henderson County, North Carolina. Hendersonville is not for from Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. When Jason was still a teenager his parents and the rest of his siblings moved to the Choestoe District of Union County, Georgia. His father John Hunter was a whiskey distiller. The state of North Carolina decided to tax distillers' product. John moved to Georgia, where they had no whiskey distilling tax (yet).

Jason and his brother Andrew M. Hunter (c1799-1848) were U.S. soldiers transporting, or marching, the Indians from north Georgia and western North Carolina to Indian Reservations, which was the infamous TRAIL OF TEARS.

THE TRAIL OF TEARS essentially left the Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina, and went to Chattanooga. There I think they were moved via ships on the Tennessee River as far as possible as the river routes would take them. then marched through Bollinger County, Missouri and into Arkansas , through Greene County, Arkansas, and on to Oklahoma.

After this detail it is unsure if Richard s stayed in the Army or left joined again almost ten years later. He fought in the Mexican Wars and died from wounds he received Brote, Mexican, about two weeks after Mexico gave in. He lived to see his side win, but was he conscious to know it?

Jason quit the Army and moved to Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina, which was probably the location he started herding the Indians on the TRAIL OF TEARS.

He was Franklin's constable. Looking at the court records shows he and the presiding judge continually had run-ins. Also, the court records show Rebecca Trammell sued Jason Henderson Hunter for Bastardy. The court found Jason to be the father and responsible for the amount of $100 a year.

Also in 1842, in the Macon County, North Carolina, Catherine Davis sued Jason for Barstardy and again he had to pay annual child support of $100. It was the 2nd time she sued him for the same thing. She sued him in 1839 as well. She had two sons by Jason.

On 17 July 1843, in McDowell County, North Carolina, Jason Henderson Hunter married Elizabeth G. Sherrill, daughter of John Sherrill and Margaret Murphy.

They had five children, 3 daughters and 2 sons.

From Macon County, North Carolina, Deed Book D:

1782. Mortgage: JASON H. HUNTER of Macon to NICHOLAS W.WOODFIN of Buncombe Co., NC for $1, 167 ac. on which Hunter lives, purchased lives, purchased from Michael Wikle on the Tennessee R., Sec. 38, Dis. 16; also the Sellers tract purchased of JAMES SELLERS, 174 ac., Sec. 38 Dis. 1; also 50 ac. Sec. 64, Dis. 8, purchased of BENJAMIN HYDE; also 116 ac., purch. of Hyde, Sec. 69, Dis. 8. Also for $1 has sold to Woodfin three negro slaves, woman of dark complexion named EMMA, 27 years, one boy child of the woman Emma, aged abt. 4 yrs, of yellow complexion named JOHN and one other child of same woman, a female named MARGARET, aged 1 yr. Condition: Hunter indebted to Woodfin by $602 note dated Sep. 15, 1843, also following notes in hands of Woodfin as attorney for following Charleston merchants: $185.58 due firm of ROOSEVELT & BARKER, dated Oct. 26 1843, with credit of $50; one of $144.11, same firm, dated June 4, 1844; another of $61.60, due TOWNSEND & MENDELHALL & CO, dated Oct 27, 1843, with credit of $140.00; another of $351.79, due KELSEY & DEAS, dated June 4, 1844; another of $100.12, same firm, Dec 14, 1844.

J.H. Hunter, Wit: H.G. WOODFIN, who proved Dec 17, 1844. Registered Feb 12, 1845.

Jason Hunter's 1850 Census in Macon County, NC.

Click on image to enlarge to make it readable

After 1850, they moved to Cape Giraldo, Bollinger County, Missouri. This was the second known place along the route of the Trail of Tears Jason lived.

Below is an email from Richard "Rick" Wright, 1998:

I had a chance to do some more research for my book at Tulane University's Special Collections Library (background on M. Jeff Thompson, who Jason Hunter served under) and also to visit the Confederate Museum. I'm amassing a lot of information on Jason's confederate military career both ashore and afloat and I know you will find this interesting. Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson, Missouri's Swamp Fox, said Jason was both heroic and patriotic. I'm off tomorrow to Sikeston, Missouri (still on vacation, but still searching for Jason's history). Jason and his men did a lot of fighting around Sikeston and I'm hoping to get up to Marble Hill, MO (formerly Dallas township) in Bollinger County, where Jason as a Captain raised a company for military service. I found some information on Jason in the Sikeston library, but need to spend more time in the area.

He was a representative from Bollinger CO in 1858. Also, according to the "History of Bollinger County: 1851-1976", Three companies of men were organized into a battalion of the State Guard troops under his command in early June 1861. In July, the battalion was joined with the Scoitt County Infantry Battalion into the Second Infantry Regiment, First Division Missouri State Guard, with the Bollinger County Battalion designated as the Second Battalion, Second Infantry. Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson (the Missouri Swamp Fox) was the head of the First Division. : I agree with you that Andrew J. and John A. are one and the same. My theory is that at age 13 or 14 in 1860--14 and 15 during the civil war outbreak--he may have gone with his father's battalion as a drummer boy...and been killed somewhere along the way. Of course, during those times in Bollinger CO, it

was literally neighbor against neighbor. In Missouri, in certain counties like Bollinger where the sentiments were about evenly split between Union and Confederate, it was '"hell on earth" for civilians. Maybe Andrew J. or John A. was killed by one of the guerrilla bands that frequented the area. One other possibility: Maybe Jason sent the family further south for protection (many

Missourians favoring the South did so).

My interest in finding out everything I can about him stems from a book I have been researching. The main character in my book (a Union officer) was first wounded in a skirmish with Jason and his men in Charleston, MO on Aug. 20, 1861. It has taken a lot of time just to identify Jason H. Hunter as the leader of the band. I started with a "Col. Hunter" and that was it! This was

complicated by the fact that Jason and his men were based at one time or another at "Camp Hunter" and "Hunter's Farm", two places owned by another segment of the Hunter family..

I appreciate the info on Jason as a member of Co A, 1st Bat, Mo Infantry and the fact that he was later elected Captain and served as Inspector and Mustering Officer. This was after he was court martialed and broken. Prior to that he was a Colonel. After being broken he joined Col. William L. Jeffers' 8th Missouri Cavalry Regiment, CSA, and saw frequent action in Arkansas. (More

later).

Bollinger CO. Marble Hill is the county seat, not Cape Girardeau. It was originally named Dallas and had that name during the civil war. Unfortunately I didn't get up to Bollinger CO on my trip to Sikeston, but plan to next time. I did find out that Jason was a Bollinger representative 1858-1860. Also the William Grimsley that was ruled against by the court along with Jason was a

storekeeper in Dallas who raised troops along with Jason. I think the court's ruling against the two was probably for alleged damages during the war and since neither was living in the county it was easy to dispose of their property.

I am checking on William L. Jeffers, Jason's old commander in the 8th Missouri Cavalry. After the war, he returned to Southeast Missouri, settling in Clarkton, where he operated a hotel and served as the local peace officer. He then spent his remaining years running a hotel in Dexter, MO. It is said he was always interested in the welfare of the ex-Confederate soldiers, so I'm working on the hunch that he and Jason communicated. I also plan to check out William C. Grimsley (the guy who lost his land along with Jason in the Bollinger CO court). Maybe he settled near Jason or at least kept in touch. Who knows? Hopefully, I can track down more correspondence of Jason's.

Yes, William Jeffers was quite a man. Some time after he died, his old comrades in arms raised money and erected a statue in Jackson, MO (his hometown) to honor him. It is still there. Some of the troops that rode with him were: the James brothers, the Younger brothers and Daniel McGee.

-Excerpts from e-mail notes of Richard "Rich" Wright - 1998.

Jason was involved in a land selling scandal before the war. A bank had evidence he and his wife had a fraudulent land scandal operation going. I don't have any information what happened to the outcome of the investigation or his wife Elizabeth Sherill.

Jason's second wife was named Mary, that is all we know about her. They had two sons, born the first two years after the Civil War.

Jason Henderson Hunter 1860 Census, Bollinger County, Mo.

Jason was a state representative in Bollinger County, Missouri before the Civil War and a state representative after the war in Greene County, Arkansas, which was also on the Trail of Tears route.

Jason married Sarah Jordan (1835 - 1917). They had five children, four sons and one daughter. I have met some of the children of the children of this marriage. I think Sarah was previously married to a man with the last name Jordan . She brought with her an 8 year old daughter named Viola Jordan, 8 years old. She would have been born in 1872. Jason wrote to his brother William Johnson Hunter saying his bride, Sarah was a hard worker and also about proud of his new son Andrew. Andrew was born in 1881. He also mentioned in the letter that the people wanted him to run again to be their state representative.. I think some of it was pride and also bragging.