Amos Aaron Cornelius 1786-1852

3rd Great Grandfather - Paternal Side

As you can imagine, this is another Cornelius Character - surprise! I contemplated the similarities between my grandfather, Fess, since we all knew what a character he was and his great grandfather Aaron whom he never met. It is remarkable. I would say without a doubt that we have inherited some strong genes.

Amos "Aaron" was the 5th child of William and Lettice Cargil Cornelius. He was born on August 12, 1786 in Greenville, South Carolina where he spent his formative years. Grandmother Anne lived not far away so it assured that the 10 children had her guidance at the very least.

Cornelius Bible Letter (Source 1)

The family moved from South Carolina to Tennessee. While living there Aaron met a young woman, Eleanor (Ellender) Fortner (Faulkner) and they married in Jefferson,Tennessee on December 17, 1808.

Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002

Aaron and Ellender lived in Tennessee until between 1818 and 1819 when they followed the family to just outside of present day Oneonta, Alabama. According to land records, Aaron sold his land in 1816 which was in Franklin County. Together they had the following children:

1. Abner Cornelius (1809-1864); married Rachel Reneau
2. Miriam Ellender Cornelius (1810-1858); married Bradcus Gallion
3. Elizabeth Mahalla Cornelius (1812-1852); married Daniel J. Bynum
4. Devastus Cornelius (1813- 1866); married Caroline Tillman
5. William Cornelius (1815-1876); married Hannah Allred
6. John W. Cornelius (1818-1879;) married Elizabeth "Eliza" Blackwood
7. Zion Cornelius (1819-1853); married Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Jones
8. Jefferson Harvey Cornelius (1820-1882); married Rosamond Williams
9. Tabitha Cornelius (1822-1887); married William Blackwood
10. Bradford Cornelius (1825-1892); married Cerena Williams
11. Cargill Cornelius (1825-1885); married Nancy Blackwood
12. Nancy Cornelius (1833-1905); married John Fennester Tidwell

In 1830 U.S. Census, there are a total of 11 free white people and 3 slaves listed. This would account for the children except for Abner, Miriam, & Nancy. Aaron and family lived next to William Cornelius, Sr. By 1840, seven people resided in the household. (See Sources 3 & 4)

Aaron was one of the executors of his father's will in 1842 of which states, "Also I have given my Son Arron Cornelius one Negro Girl named Leah and hur two children one Girl named Harlot and one Boy named Lewis this to be his full portion of my estate." I do not know what became of these people because in Aaron's probate records he has 3 others listed as Siah, George, and Isiah who were sold outside of the family.(*See note below.)

In the 1850 Census there were only three people listed - Aaron, Ellender, & Nancy and it shows that Aaron is a farmer. He owned 75 acres of land (45 acres unimproved) which had a value of $150 plus $60 of farming implements, 3 horses, 7 milch cows, 2 working oxen, 10 other cattle,7 sheep, and 60 swine all valued at $220 plus 700 bushels of Indian corn.(See Sources 5, 6 & 7)

1850 Farm Schedule

Ellender died after November 1850 and Aaron married Sarah "Sally" Stephens around 1851 to which there was born one son:

1. Jeremiah Aaron Cornelius (1852-1920); married Frances

So the fact that Aaron had 13 children and came from Revolutionary War stock does not make him a character. If in fact this was all that I had to go on, I would say that he was the just most normal run of the mill grandfather of the time. BUT when you take into account what the newspapers (seems to be the bane of my grandfathers existence doesn't it) you will see why I call him a "character" like Papaw Fess!

Now being a farmer, he had to take care of his land and animals so one could not be shocked by the events that occurred when rabies was running throughout the county. One would think that rabid animals would act in a certain way but being the man that he was, Aaron was obliged to take it upon himself to rid the county (at least his homestead) of stray dogs so naturally when a yellow dog came by Aaron grabbed his long gun and properly dispatched the Hell Hound to a death sentence. It appears this was someone's hunting dog so Aaron was slapped with a hefty $50.00  fine. Being of Cornelius mind the only proper thing to do was hire a couple of lawyers and challenge it in court. The owner followed and he hired lawyers for the trial which lasted an entire day. There was much debate and it was finally declared that a good dog was the proper thing to have but no good dog was worth more than livestock. In the end Aaron had to pay a fine of $8.07 and a grand funeral procession was held on Main Street and the dog's valiant reputation was restored (See Source 10). I'll bet that was a sight to see!

Aaron was caught distilling illicit liquor (sound familiar) which was dismissed due to lack of evidence. Hmmm, will the hills of Oneonta just as the rumored Oklahoma hills blow up one day due to the liquor buried there? Wondering minds would like to know.

Aaron was not a Godless man for he attended and was a member the United Baptist Church of Christ at Mount Pisgah along with his children. If a member was absent more than 3 times one would be contacted by the church and if excuses were not satisfactory, then the church would admonish them. Aaron was shown to have tithed $25 dollars to the church between 1836 and 1852. In June of 1838 he and his brother, Jesse, were appointed as delegates to an August church conference. He was excused for absence due to being deceased in 1851.

Church Minutes Book Source 8

Aaron died without a will, his probate papers show his estate to be worth $3,989.46 and listed his heirs and property. He is believed to be buried near his parents in the abandoned William Cornelius Cemetery, Oneonta, AL.

Many, many thanks goes to Charles "Chip" Cornelius for spending hours in the Blount County Courthouse basement looking for documents with me! Also to Linda Cornelius Atkins for being brave enough to battle spiders, snakes, and bulls to get to our roots.

Further information about the Cornelius clan can be found at www.fourfamiliesreunion.com, their Facebook page, Volume Two, Genealogy of the Bynum Family, Compiled and Edited by Mary Lou Boazman Howard, and the Four Families newsletter compiled by Bruce & Linda Jordan.

*Note: The slaves named in this story is for historical context only. I will not hide something that I am uncomfortable with since this blog is about my ancestors and perhaps gives us a tiny glimpse of their lives.

Sources:

1. Cornelius Bible Letter - Alabama Records Vol. 204(? last number is chopped off); Blount Co. - Gunrud 976.172 C Vol. 1
2. Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 by Ancestry.com
3. Year: 1830; Census Place: , Blount, Alabama; Roll: ; Page: .; Ancestry.com
4. Year: 1840; Census Place: Eastern Division, Blount, Alabama; Roll: 3; Page: 91; Image: 858; Family History Library Film: 0002332; Ancestry.com
5. Year: 1850; Census Place: Subdivision 18, Blount, Alabama; Roll: M432_2; Page: 101B; Image: . Ancestry.com
6. Alabama State Census, 1820-1866; Ancestry.com
7. Selected U.S.Federal Census Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880; Ancestry.com
8. "Records of the United Baptist Church of Christ at Mt. Pisgah, Blount County, Alabama"; Transcribed by Rita Allgood Tubbs, Compiled by Dr. H.M. "Mac" Stiles
9. Alabama Probate Records, pages 208-230, Vol. (Sorry, I didn't copy the volume number down but if you are interested in a copy contact me)
10. Sketches of Blount County by Mary Gordon Duffee; "People and Things from The Blount County News-Dispatch 1890-1897"; Compiled & Edited by Robin Sterling  He has many books on the area so if you are searching for information on ancestors Google his name and it will populate his works.

.