Hannah Frost
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Early Settler
Notes:
• Record has listed early settlers of Madison County. The lists is a compilation from various sources. Two limits were put on his list 1.) dates recorded between 1804-1811 2.) Male, White Adults. That is why this entry is especially interesting. Hannah was a woman. The first record of her presence in Madison County is 1810. - Record
• "Very few women received a government land title in early Madison County. Like the men, however, Hannah Frost's interest in 160 acres of land was confirmed and government financed. By the time her last payment was made and the final certificate was issued, Hannah was no longer on the Three Forks landscape. A name on a page and a legal description of property is the beginning of her story.
The Frost family came from Lee County, Virginia to Tennessee in the 1790s and settled on unclaimed lands on the edge of the western frontier. In Anderson County, Thomas Frost, Jr. and his father purchased a 640-acre tract of land. In a verbal agreement, Thomas Jr. and Hannah Frost claimed 107 acres of the land, even though they decided to move to Rutherford County, Tennessee.
Thomas died in Rutherford County leaving Hannah with several young children. Hannah, Joseph Frost, and Benjamin Wilson were appointed administrators of his estate. Among his inventoried possessions, they recorded the farm animals and household furniture typical of self-sufficient families in a remote and less traveled area. Sadly though, Thomas had not obtained a deed to his shared acreage in Anderson County. Subsequently, it was attached to his father's estate until the 1830s. With or without assets from her husband's estate, Hannah soon recognized an opportunity to leave the Frost family and Tennessee.
Hannah Frost was in Madison County by 1810 as evidenced by the Madison County Tax List. She owned no land at that time, but was assessed with one slave. One year later she had taken an assignment for 160 acres from Richard Crowson who had purchased it in December of 1809. Crowson had other land nearby but he failed to make his timely payments and it reverted back to the government. His assignment to Mrs. Frost may have been a necessity to repurchase his reverted property, which he did some time later. Crowson's loss was Hannah's gain. Hannah was then in close company with her brothers, Jesse and Benjamin Wilson, whose combined three tracts joined hers on a southeast corner stake. It was all in the family.
Tethered to the Frost-Wilson family through matrimony, land deals, and pioneer experiences in their old settlements were other collateral connections in the Three Forks area. Hannah, Jesse, and Benjamin were the youngest of seven Wilson children. Their older sister, Elizabeth, married Jehu Lawler and they resided nearby in the Maysville settlement. Another sister, Nancy Ann, married John Baker after arriving in Madison County in 1811. When John Baker died in 1815, Widow Baker joined her brothers and Hannah in their move south.
On the other side of the family tree, Hannah Frost's sister-in-law, Phebe Frost, married Israel Standifer, and they also settled in the Territory and reared a family on the west side of present day Highway 431 North (near Steger's Curve).
The story of Hannah and her brothers and sisters, and the entourage that followed them into Madison County, and then on to Shelby County, Alabama, did not end at the Flint River. In 1818, Jesse Wilson found himself representing Shelby County in the House of Representatives of the Alabama Territory. In the distinguished company of Clement C. Clay, James W. Walker, and Samuel Walker, all of Madison County, Representative Wilson began to articulate laws to govern a people. By his legislative decisions there, his influence was felt as far away as the Three Forks of Flint." - HMCHS
• According to this source, Hannah Frost married Edmund Blankenship on April 15, 1809. If true, this was the second marriage conducted in Madison County. - Heritage
• Many of the Ancestry.com pages have her birthplaced listed as Shelby County, Alabama. But Shelby County was not officially founded until 1818. So, he had decided not to enter Shelby County as her birthplace. If our readers could confirm that information or give evidence of another birthplace, we would appreciate that information. - Editor's Note
• Children with Thomas Frost:
Benjamin Franklin (1800-1883)
Rachael (1800-1830)
Jesse (1804-1880)
Hannah (1806-1842)
John Aaron (1815-1866) - Ancestry.com
• Married Thomas Frost April 7, 1801 Anderson county, Tennessee. He was born 1773 and died 1806. - Ancestry.com
• Daughter of James Wilson and Lucretia Griffith - Ancestry.com
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• HMCHS
• Record
| Born: | June 11, 1779 |
| Died: | 1839, Shelby County, Alabama |
Notes:
• Record has listed early settlers of Madison County. The lists is a compilation from various sources. Two limits were put on his list 1.) dates recorded between 1804-1811 2.) Male, White Adults. That is why this entry is especially interesting. Hannah was a woman. The first record of her presence in Madison County is 1810. - Record
• "Very few women received a government land title in early Madison County. Like the men, however, Hannah Frost's interest in 160 acres of land was confirmed and government financed. By the time her last payment was made and the final certificate was issued, Hannah was no longer on the Three Forks landscape. A name on a page and a legal description of property is the beginning of her story.
The Frost family came from Lee County, Virginia to Tennessee in the 1790s and settled on unclaimed lands on the edge of the western frontier. In Anderson County, Thomas Frost, Jr. and his father purchased a 640-acre tract of land. In a verbal agreement, Thomas Jr. and Hannah Frost claimed 107 acres of the land, even though they decided to move to Rutherford County, Tennessee.
Thomas died in Rutherford County leaving Hannah with several young children. Hannah, Joseph Frost, and Benjamin Wilson were appointed administrators of his estate. Among his inventoried possessions, they recorded the farm animals and household furniture typical of self-sufficient families in a remote and less traveled area. Sadly though, Thomas had not obtained a deed to his shared acreage in Anderson County. Subsequently, it was attached to his father's estate until the 1830s. With or without assets from her husband's estate, Hannah soon recognized an opportunity to leave the Frost family and Tennessee.
Hannah Frost was in Madison County by 1810 as evidenced by the Madison County Tax List. She owned no land at that time, but was assessed with one slave. One year later she had taken an assignment for 160 acres from Richard Crowson who had purchased it in December of 1809. Crowson had other land nearby but he failed to make his timely payments and it reverted back to the government. His assignment to Mrs. Frost may have been a necessity to repurchase his reverted property, which he did some time later. Crowson's loss was Hannah's gain. Hannah was then in close company with her brothers, Jesse and Benjamin Wilson, whose combined three tracts joined hers on a southeast corner stake. It was all in the family.
Tethered to the Frost-Wilson family through matrimony, land deals, and pioneer experiences in their old settlements were other collateral connections in the Three Forks area. Hannah, Jesse, and Benjamin were the youngest of seven Wilson children. Their older sister, Elizabeth, married Jehu Lawler and they resided nearby in the Maysville settlement. Another sister, Nancy Ann, married John Baker after arriving in Madison County in 1811. When John Baker died in 1815, Widow Baker joined her brothers and Hannah in their move south.
On the other side of the family tree, Hannah Frost's sister-in-law, Phebe Frost, married Israel Standifer, and they also settled in the Territory and reared a family on the west side of present day Highway 431 North (near Steger's Curve).
The story of Hannah and her brothers and sisters, and the entourage that followed them into Madison County, and then on to Shelby County, Alabama, did not end at the Flint River. In 1818, Jesse Wilson found himself representing Shelby County in the House of Representatives of the Alabama Territory. In the distinguished company of Clement C. Clay, James W. Walker, and Samuel Walker, all of Madison County, Representative Wilson began to articulate laws to govern a people. By his legislative decisions there, his influence was felt as far away as the Three Forks of Flint." - HMCHS
• According to this source, Hannah Frost married Edmund Blankenship on April 15, 1809. If true, this was the second marriage conducted in Madison County. - Heritage
• Many of the Ancestry.com pages have her birthplaced listed as Shelby County, Alabama. But Shelby County was not officially founded until 1818. So, he had decided not to enter Shelby County as her birthplace. If our readers could confirm that information or give evidence of another birthplace, we would appreciate that information. - Editor's Note
• Children with Thomas Frost:
Benjamin Franklin (1800-1883)
Rachael (1800-1830)
Jesse (1804-1880)
Hannah (1806-1842)
John Aaron (1815-1866) - Ancestry.com
• Married Thomas Frost April 7, 1801 Anderson county, Tennessee. He was born 1773 and died 1806. - Ancestry.com
• Daughter of James Wilson and Lucretia Griffith - Ancestry.com
Related Links:
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by Barry Schrimsher and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/6415155/person/-854342635.)
• Heritage - The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, page 49.
• HMCHS - Chapter titled "Families Clustered in the Three Forks Settlement" in A History of Early Settlement: Madison County Before Statehood, 1808-1819, Published by The Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, 2008 pages 120-137.
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 523.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• HMCHS
• Record