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mcc-jrr_623-009
Indian Creek Cemetery, 62-3 Summary Report, page 9
surrounding land) in 1835. In 1838 George Mason had satisfied the mortgage and sold the land to William McDowell. “McDowell” could be a misinterpretation of “McDonnell” from poorly-defined handwriting, but both surnames were common in the 1800s in the southwestern part of Madison County. There were Williams of both surnames at the time, but this is probably the William McDowell who married Priscilla Withers in 1828 in Madison County, since the Withers family was known to have owned land in the area. McDowell in turn transferred ownership of the land to James Hatton in 1840. Hatton is another name that is often confused in old records due to poor pronunciation. Sometimes it is recorded as Patton and vice-versa, depending upon what a census enumerator or clerk thought he heard and how familiar he might have been with one or the other surnames. However, there is no particular reason to doubt that James Hatton was one of the residents of the area in the 1800s. In particular, since the next transfer of the land was from James Hatton to John & Nancy Lynch, there is indeed confirmation of the Hatton spelling. John M. Lynch married Nancy Hatton in 1846, per license of 17 February 1846. This is recorded in Madison County Marriage Book Volume A-4, on page 111. The newlyweds didn't keep the land very long, as they transferred it to James Landman in 1847. (See the Summary Report of the Landman Cemetery, 34-1, got additional details on this family.) Again, the land was apparently given as a wedding gift or inheritance to a daughter, as it next appears listed in the ownership of William & Julia A. Baldridge. Julia A. Landman married William Baldridge in 1870. The Baldridge family mortgaged the land to William Smith three times - once in 1887 and twice in 1892. They must have satisfied these mortgages, because the land transactions show dealings with F. A. & W. C. Sutphen in 1893. Madison County marriage records show that a T. A. Sutphin married Margaret Morrison in 1876, so the name was not unknown in the area. After this Sutphen - Baldridge transaction of the land, then the Baldridges lost the land to Robert Spragins (apparently on a defaulted mortgage) in 1897. Robert Spragins was a well-known lawyer and court official in the county. He was involved in numerous estate administrations and other land deals. Robert Spragins sold the land back to William Smith in 1898, but William Smith sold it to Samuel A. Latham in 1899. After that, into the early 1900s the land was associated with surnames of McAnelly, Shreve, Walker, and Hensley. 9 - (2296)