Amon and Jimmy: Blue and Gray

   I have known quite a bit about the life of my great-grandmother Mary Houston Berry (my mother’s mother’s mother). She lived in Ashland, Kentucky just across the Ohio River from Ohio and close to West Virginia on the east and Indiana on the west. She was one of four children; she had a younger sister and two younger brothers Amon and Jimmy. All I can recall from family lore was that Amon became a Union soldier and Jimmy a Confederate soldier, and their home was left alone by both sides. The records that I have found were sketchy and sparse, but enough to outline the brother’s parts in the Civil War.

   Amon was born in late 1843 and Jimmy in 1846, so they were both teenagers when the war started. Amon was the first to enlist, as a private in the 5th Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery. I have not found his enlistment papers but he may have enlisted as early as September 1861 at Cincinnati. He mustered out at Little Rock, Arkansas on July 31, 1865. The 5th Ohio was known as Hickenlooper’s Battery - Captain Andrew Hickenlooper was a highly regarded officer who was promoted to Brigadier General by the end of the war. Certainly the artillery pieces must have varied from time to time but at one point the 5th Ohio had four 6 pound rifled guns and two 6 pound smooth bore guns. The 5th Ohio fought at Shiloh, Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg and finally at Little Rock.

   Amon never married. He appeared on the tax list for Ashland in 1865, and evidently moved to western Kentucky along with his father, sister and her family but then died in 1870 at the age of 27. I can find no record of the cause of his death, but I find it easy to believe that his health was ruined by his part in the war. After the fighting at Little Rock the 5th Ohio reported that a total of 41 men died; only 5 were killed in action and the rest from disease.

   Sometime during the last year of the war Jimmy Berry was 18 and enlisted as a private in the militia battery of artillery commanded by the confederate LT James Schoolfield, CSA. On June 11, 1864 this militia officially merged into Co A, 7th Battalion Mounted Infantry Kentucky Volunteers. They operated around Luray, VA and then fought in the first battle at Saltville, VA in early October when the Union forces were repulsed. This battle was notorious in that Confederates shot to death a number of wounded and captured Union soldiers, both black and white. In the second battle at Saltville in late December the Union forces routed the Confederates and destroyed the salt works which were vital to food preservation and curing leather.  After Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox, Jimmy’s brigade surrendered at Mount Sterling, Kentucky on April 30 and they were paroled to their homes on May 10, 1865. Jimmy was 19.

   Jimmy’s full name was James Thomas Lewis Berry. I have found no records of what he did immediately after the war, but it was most likely that he was back in Ashland when his older sister Mary was married to another Confederate soldier (my great-grandfather) on July 5, 1866. A couple of years later (Jan 3, 1869) Jimmy married Nancy Marshall Clarke in Evansville, Indiana. Nancy had been born in Morganfield, KY where some of Jimmy’s family had recently moved, and perhaps that is how they met. Jimmy and Nancy had six children but he died in 1880 at the age of 34. I have found no cause of his death.

   Jimmy’s daughter Frances (Fanny) was born in 1875 and was very interested in Jimmy’s civil war experiences; Fanny wanted to join the Daughters of the Confederacy. She probably had no written record of his service so she wrote to her aunt Mary (my great-grandmother) for information and guidance. I have a copy of a letter dated April 4, 1908 in which Mary wrote back to Fanny with names and addresses of a couple of confederate soldiers who knew Jimmy and would be happy to share with Fanny what they remembered about Jimmy. Mary was clearly supportive of Fanny’s quest to join Daughters of the Confederacy, but she indicated that she had no desire to join that group (or any other). The three soldiers that Mary loved were all gone: Her brother the Union soldier had died in 1870, her brother the Confederate soldier had died in 1880, and her husband the Confederate soldier had died in 1904. A large part of her heart must have died with them.

 

William Joseph Anderson (Part 2)

    As the Civil War broke out the two youngest sons of the late Chesley Anderson joined the Confederate Army in May of 1861, only a few days after Virginia seceded from the Union. John Burleigh Anderson, 22 years old enlisted as a Private in the Virginia Manchester Light Artillery Battalion. I have not found detailed action reports from this unit, but he was a prisoner as of 27 July 1864 at Petersburg, VA, was sent to a POW camp at Elmira, New York and was released on 13 May 1865 on taking the oath of allegiance to the Union. He was described as 6 ft tall, fair hair and blue eyes. He returned to the Richmond area, settled down, married and had a family. He worked as a nailer (nails were iron and were made by hand) and made a comfortable living until he died in 1894. 

   William Joseph Anderson, 24 years old, enlisted as a Corporal in the Virginia 6th Volunteer Infantry which was re-organized in October 1861 as Company I, 16th Virginia Infantry. He was described as 5 ft 11 inches tall, fair hair and blue eyes. Company I was assigned to the defense of Norfolk. A good deal of information from their action reports is available, and Corporal Anderson cannot have known how near he was to one of the most significant events of the Civil War.

   During the 1850s the U. S. Navy had been developing a new type of battleship, which would be steam powered and have layers of iron to protect the ship from heavy gunfire. The Navy was close to building a prototype for testing, but the Civil War disrupted their plans. And some officers who had worked on the development had stayed with the Union and others went with the Confederacy. As soon as possible the U.S. Navy rushed to start construction of the USS Monitor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the Confederate Navy also started construction, but in a very different way. On 20 April 1861 (3 days after Virginia seceded) the Union Commander of the Norfolk Navy Yard determined that he could not hold off the Confederate forces so he ordered his men to burn the entire yard and retreat. They left behind the frigate USS Merrimack on fire, which burned entirely down to the waterline. Once the Confederate forces took over the Norfolk Navy Yard they were faced with an enormous effort to make the Yard usable, and for months to come Company I, 16th Virginia Infantry not only guarded against Union attacks they worked to rebuild the Yard, and installed barriers in the James River and the Elizabeth River to prevent Union ships from entering, and then removing barriers so that Confederate ships could pass. It’s unlikely that Corporal William Joseph Anderson actually worked on the Merrimack, but he must have seen the unusual ship in drydock. The Confederate Navy rebuilt the USS Merrimack from the waterline up with 4 inch thick sheets of iron, and by early in 1862 the Merrimack was renamed the CSS Virginia (but most sailors continued to call it the Merrimack).

   Early in 1862 Union war ships began patrolling in the Hampton Roads (off the coast near Norfolk, where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean) and the Confederate officers anticipated a Union invasion either at Norfolk or Yorktown, about 30 miles north. Their spies probably knew that the USS Monitor had been launched on 30 January and had left the Brooklyn Navy Yard and headed south - but they probably did not know how non-seaworthy this heavy gunship was, and how slowly she moved. In any case the Confederate Navy sent the CSS Virginia out to sea on 8 March to fight the Union ships, and she sank the USS Cumberland and the USS Congress, and the USS Minnesota ran aground trying to escape the ironclad, which seemed to be invincible. But just like a movie plot, on the next day the USS Monitor arrived from Brooklyn, and the two ironclads fired on each other for hours with hardly any effect. At the end of the day, the Virginia returned to port and the Monitor stayed out in Hampton Roads. The fight itself was a draw but the Union finished with the advantage since their wooden ships were no longer attacked by the Virginia. But this was the beginning of modern naval warfare, and since the two prototype ironclads were so hastily built and hardly seaworthy they never fought again. In two months the Union forces invaded Norfolk, and the crew scuttled the Virginia, and in December 1862 the Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

   Meanwhile ashore during April 1862 Company I and other confederate soldiers were preparing for the Union invasion until they were forced to retreat on 3 May. Their conditions were terrible. A report by Brigadier General Magruder said: “...it rained almost incessantly; the trenches were filled with water; the weather was exceedingly cold; no fires could be allowed;.....(there was) neither coffee, sugar, nor hard bread, but subsisted on flour and salt meat, and that in reduced quantities…I speak of this in honor of these brave men, whose patriotism made them indifferent to suffering , disease, danger and death”.

   Towards the end of April William Joseph Anderson became ill with pneumonia and was hospitalized probably until he was able to walk. His enlistment was for one year and his term was up so he was discharged from the army. It is not known when he was able to work, but I think it is likely that he was working as a civilian as early as the summer of 1862, hauling salt and other supplies for the Confederate army. By October of 1862 Union forces controlled nearly all of Kentucky, so that he must have delivered confederate cargo to Ashland, KY before October 1862. Otherwise I have found no record of his activities until 1866 when he married Mary Houston Berry on 5 July 1866 in Ashland. He may have met her in 1862, or not until 1865 with the end of the war. 

   After William Joseph married Mary Houston, 1868 was a difficult year for them, as Mary’s mother died and then their first-born died in infancy. They moved to western Kentucky, along with Mary’s now widowed father Thomas Berry, to Morganfield, Union County. The family had connections there, since Thomas's brother David was already established at Morganfield. William started a grocery store there and in 1870 the household included William and Mary, their two sons Joseph (1 1/2) and George (newborn), and Thomas J. Berry whose occupation was now listed as lawyer (!). In addition to the immediate family there were several other people in the household: Eliza Blue (70) and Rachel A. Blue (33 and perhaps Eliza's daughter), William Mann (16, and occupation listed as druggist; probably an assistant to William), Louisa Vontress (15, black, occupation domestic servant), Richmond and Betty Lyons and their son James (55, 48, and 5, black, servants). It must have been an interesting house! Rachel Blue is listed as owning $13,000 in real estate, while William Anderson owns none. Perhaps William was renting the store from Ms. Blue. As to Ms. Vontress and the Lyons family, I don't know whether my great-grandparents were taking advantage of hiring recently freed slaves as cheap labor, or perhaps were providing shelter and employment as a kindness. This is worth further research. Thomas Berry died not long after the census in 1870. The grocery store was evidently not a great success, and the Andersons moved to Texas in 1876, with their two sons and daughter Caroline Jane Anderson (my Grandmother, b. 18 Dec 1871). Tradition is that they were on the first train to Fort Worth (19 July, 1876). In any case, they lived at Lancaster, Dallas Co. for a few years and then moved to Tolar, Hood Co. where they spent the rest of their lives. William became a farmer in Texas, and by 1900 owned his farm (with a mortgage) outside of Tolar at "Anderson Heights". He died in 1904.

William Joseph Anderson (Part 1)

   Continuing the biographical sketches of my ancestors who served in or were greatly affected by the American Civil War, this story is about William Joseph Anderson who was the father of Caroline Jane Anderson, my maternal grandmother. In the late 1700s and early 1800s all my known ancestors were born in the southern colonies (later states) and those which were adjacent to the Ohio River; none were from New England or the "Deep South". Almost all of my ancestors were supporters of the Union, but Wm. J. Anderson, a Virginian, fought for the Confederacy.

   The records in the 1600s are not perfect, but it is likely that Lawrence Anderson left Scotland in about 1671 at the age of 20 and landed in Maryland, as a servant to Captain William Bomman. Lawrence was probably indentured to pay for his transportation, and by 1702 he is on the tax list. It is probable that by 1680 he was married (wife Mary) and they had at least one child, Lawrence Anderson II. This Lawrence Anderson II married and had at least one child - Lawrence Anderson III who was born about 1700 and moved to Virginia by 1738. From here on the records are more complete: Lawrence Anderson III married May Kirkpatrick and they had 8 children some of whom stayed in Virginia and one moved to South Carolina and some to Kentucky. Their oldest son James Anderson was born in 1726 in Virginia and lived there all his life. He became a successful farmer and married Margaret Fogg; they had 15 children which was a large family even in those days. Some of his land holdings included 400 acres on either side of Soke Arse Creek (now called Bonbrook Creek). One of James and Margaret's sons was George Anderson who also lived his entire life (1750 - 1816) in Virginia. George was a successful farmer and also owned a tavern. In 1778 he was cited for serving liquor without a license and was called before a grand jury and was then dismissed. No reason was cited but it is likely that some of the jurors were his customers. In 1783 to increase his land holdings he bought 100 acres more along Soke Arse Creek. He married Jenny Bradley and they had 7 children. One of their children was Chesley Anderson who became the father of William Joseph Anderson.

   Chesley Anderson was the youngest son of George and Jenny, born about 1790. His older brothers were off on their own and Chesley stayed at home, and when his father died in 1816 he became the manager of the family plantation. In 1820 he married Nancy Dowdy and tragically she died in 1823 in the birth of their first child (Mary Anne Virginia Anderson). In 1825 Chesley's mother died and in 1826 he married Jane Wyatt Jenkins. He and Jane had 7 children, and their 2 youngest were their sons William Joseph Anderson (born in 1837) and John Burleigh Anderson (1839). 

   In about 1840 Chesley moved his family from the plantation in Cumberland County, where he had lived since his birth, to Manchester in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Manchester is now within the city limits of Richmond. There were probably good reasons for moving to the more urban location; by selling the plantation he could afford to retire at age 50, and still support his family, and his health was probably failing because he died in 1844. The census data from 1850 and 1860 is revealing. In 1850 in Manchester there are 2 dwellings side by side; in dwelling 242 are James Donnelly (head of household, no occupation listed but real estate worth $700), Jane age 40, James age 4, and Mary age 2 months. In dwelling 243 are George Anderson age 16, Lewis Anderson age 14, Joseph Anderson age 12, and Burley Anderson age 11. In the 1860 census the two dwellings have been merged. James Donnelly age 50 (head of household, trader, illiterate, real estate worth $5000 and personal estate $500), J.W. (female age 50), W.J. (male age 22, gentleman), Burley (male age 21, gentleman), J.K. Donnelly (male age 14), and M. (female age 10).

   It is clear that Chesley Anderson died in 1844, and his widow Jane Wyatt Anderson married James Donnelly in 1845, and had a son James born in 1846 and a daughter born in 1850. James Donnelly is an interesting character, probably born in Ireland and made a living as a trader and although he was illiterate he evidently bought and sold profitably. Did he marry a wealthy widow for the money? In the 1850 census he is not wealthy, but by 1860 his wealth has increased greatly. He took care of Jane's younger children, and by 1860 William Joseph and John Burleigh are young adults. He is supporting them as they are listed as "gentlemen" meaning they are not employed, and the Civil War is about to break out. (End of part 1).

 

Isabella Rawlins Attebery

   A cursory look at my family tree shows that my ancestors were mostly farmers, warriors and preachers. Recently I have been researching those who had fought in the American Civil War and/or were influenced by it. Of course for each “nth” greatgrandfather there was an nth greatgrandmother, but very few records other than the dates and places of births, marriages and deaths can be found to describe the lives of my women ancestors. I am very fortunate to have known all my grandparents. My grandfathers both died in their early 70s and both grandmothers lived into their 90s; I remember them very well. I also have been able to learn some about my greatgrandmothers, but beyond that the records are sparse. Here is what I have found about my 2nd greatgrandmother, Isabella Rawlins Attebery.

   John Mason Rawlings left London and arrived in Massachusetts in 1770. He was dedicated to the English king and opposed the colonial revolution. Apparently he and his family moved to North Carolina as the revolution began, and he was jailed (at least) for his allegiance to the king. Others in the family dropped the “g” and ever since have used the name Rawlins. As many other families did, each generation of the Rawlins worked their way west through Kentucky and Illinois. Isabella Rawlins, my greatgreatgrandmother (2nd greatgrandmother), was born in 1830 in Greene County, Illinois. Her parents were William Martin Rawlins, Sr, and Euphamie Martin who were second cousins - this was very common on the frontier and my own family tree shows how Rawlins, Atteberys, Martins and Andersons intermarried. 

   The Rawlins family in particular was an important part of the Restoration Movement within Christianity. In the early 1800s in the young United States a number of ministers and others within the Protestant churches (especially Presbyterians and Baptists) wanted to strip away the “high church” structure, and rely only on the biblical example of worship and structure. One example is that many (but not all) of the Restoration ministers would not allow pianos in church because there was no mention of pianos in the bible. In any case, some of the most important figures in the Restoration Movement were Barton W. Stone, and the father and son Thomas and Alexander Campbell. Isabella’s father William Martin Rawlins, Sr, her uncle Roderick Rawlins, and her brother William Martin Rawlins, Jr were ministers who were devout followers and students of Stone and the Campbells. The Rawlins moved from Illinois to Dallas County, Texas, in 1844 to spread the word of the Restoration. They were part of the foundation of Disciples of Christ, and both the Christian Churches and the independent churches of Christ, and Texas Christian University (TCU).

   Isabella was barely 15 when she left Greene County. Stephen Attebery, who was 10 years older, probably knew her as she grew up in the family of preachers, and he left Greene County shortly after her - the Mexican War was underway and he had just joined the First Illinois Regiment. When he was discharged from duty after his service he headed for the Rawlins home in Dallas County and married Isabella in 1847 when she was 17. They lived near the town of Lancaster (now a suburb of Dallas) and became successful ranchers. She bore 12 children, and 6 died in infancy. She lived in a man’s world: her father, uncle, and brother were preachers who had no place for women in church offices and women were certainly not allowed to vote. As far as I have found, Stephen worked hard to support his wife and children but I have no way of knowing if Isabella had an equal partnership with her husband. She died in 1877 at the age of 47. 

Stephen Clement Attebery (part 2)

    In the first part of this story I wrote about the patriarch of my Attebery line, William Attebery, who was convicted in London as a thief and was sentenced to transportation to the North American colonies for seven years of indentured servitude. He was taken to Annapolis in 1733 to begin his sentence which he completed in 1740. He then married and became a successful farmer, and raised a large family. His greatgrandson Stephen Clement Attebery was my 2nd greatgrandfather who was born in 1820 in Kentucky. 

   During the 80 years before Stephen’s birth the Atteberys proliferated. There were large families and each generation moved south and west for new farmland. It was very difficult to trace all the Atteberys for several reasons. Attebery was spelled in many, many ways (I’m using the ATTEBERY spelling because that is on Stephen’s gravestone) and the Attebery men seemed to use only a few first names: William, Thomas, Charles, Stephen. In any particular year there might be several Thomas Atteberys in several different states, and I was unable to sort them out. Fortunately a distant Attebery cousin of mine (Robert Atteberry) has recently published a very well-researched and detailed family history which allowed me to trace my Attebery family tree. There is however a still unknown reason why Stephen’s father was known as Thomas “Jockey Tom” Attebery except to distinguish him from other Thomas Atteberys. I have found no record that he raced horses, but perhaps there may be an answer sometime.

   Jockey Tom was born in South Carolina and moved to Kentucky. He married Elizabeth Clement who had moved to Kentucky from North Carolina, and Stephen was born in 1820 in Kentucky. The family moved to Green County, Illinois in 1834 where Stephen lived until 1846. Another family became important to this story: Martin Rawlins was born in Kentucky in 1796 and moved to Green County, Illinois some time before 1830. He was a well-known frontier preacher who became one of the founders of the Churches of Christ. His daughter Isabella was born in 1830 in Green County and the Rawlins family moved to Lancaster (in Dallas County,Texas) in 1846 during the Mexican War.

  The Mexican War (1846-48) was fought over Texas. In 1836 Texas was a province of Mexico, which had become populated by gringos from the U. S. There was a great deal of support for revolutionaries who wanted to break away from Mexico. The famous battle of the Alamo was a defeat for the revolution but the battle at San Jacinto a few months later turned the tables and Texas became independent, although the boundary between Texas and Mexico was not clear. By 1846 Texas wanted to become a U. S. state, but the boundary with Mexico of the new state of Texas could not be agreed upon between the U.S. and Mexico. The war was over the boundary.

   The regular U. S. Army was not sufficient to counter the Mexican army; there had been no major battles for over 30 years. Most states recruited regiments for the U.S. Army, and in June 1846 Stephen C. Attebery enlisted as a Private in Company C, First Illinois Regiment. After very little training the First Illinois entered Mexican territory at Presidio on the Rio Grande. While the U.S. Marines were fighting in the “Halls of Montezuma” the First Illinois marched overland for 140 miles to reach Saltillo and the battle at Buena Vista in February 1847. They were under the command of Zachary Taylor and although the U.S. forces were outnumbered the Mexicans were defeated. Zachary Taylor was commended for his leadership, and he was elected President in 1848.

   By June of 1847 the men of the First Illinois were discharged and were given their choice of free transportation home to Illinois, or accept a small amount of money and find their own way home. Stephen didn’t go home.

   He made his way across Texas to Lancaster. He obviously knew that the Rawlins family had moved from Green County to Lancaster, and Isabella Rawlins had turned 17, and it is clear that they had been “courting” before the war separated them. Stephen and Isabella were married on July 22, 1847.

   Stephen became a successful cattle rancher and a Captain in the Texas militia. When the Civil War broke out and Texas entered the Confederacy, Stephen Attebery refused to enter the Confederate Army. He was said to say: I have fought for this flag and I love it and I will not raise a hand against it.  

Convergence of Families: Bradberry, Blacknall, McClure

   While I am waiting and hoping for some information from the federal archives about the Mexican War and the U. S. Civil War concerning my Fite and Attebery ancestors I have decided to take some time to summarize a mystery which occurred in 1846 in Weakley County, Tennessee. It first came to light about ten years ago, and although I can't declare it solved a few pieces of the puzzle have come together.

   Several years ago I accidentally discovered a lawyer (who is now a judge) in Dresden, TN whose name is Brent Bradberry. I believe his full name is John Brent Bradberry, but he usually goes by J. Brent Bradberry or simply Brent Bradberry. Dresden is the county seat of Weakley County where my greatgrandfather George McClure Bradberry was born in 1846, so it seemed likely that "Judge" Bradberry is a cousin of mine. At about this time I was corresponding with my second cousin Ben (Benton Lawrence Bradberry) and exchanging family history tidbits. Ben and I never met face to face, and I'm sorry that he is now deceased, but our lives had parallel paths in some ways. We had both been career Naval officers; he was a helicopter pilot and I was a destroyer sailor. More than once our mail got crossed, especially during the Vietnam era. Both Ben and I had tested our DNA and they were close matches as would be expected. Genetic genealogists group DNA into three types: Y DNA passed down from father to son; Mitochondrial DNA passed down from mother to both sons and daughters; and all the rest which are more or less randomly mixed. Comparing 37 standard Y DNA markers between Ben and me, our Y DNA were perfect matches. Although my Dad Winsel and Ben's Dad Lawrence never had their DNA tested, their 37 Y DNA markers were obviously identical. Continuing up the family tree, Winsel's Dad George Dee and Lawrence's Dad Charlie who were both sons of George McClure Bradberry also had identical Y DNA markers.  So the conclusion is that George McClure Bradberry had the same Y DNA as does all his male descendants, which we now know. (Every once in a long while, there can be mutations in DNA - but they are very far between and can usually be accounted for).

   Now back to determining how I may be related to Judge Brent Bradberry. The records show that a Richard Bradberry was a farmer in King William county, VA, in the early 1800s. He had several sons, and after he died in 1826 some of his sons moved to Weakley county, TN. In particular the brothers John, Henry, Richard and James Bradberry married and established farms near Dresden. There are now some male descendents of Henry, Richard and James still in northwest Tennessee who have analyzed their Y DNA. They are close matches to each other and are in the category of "R" Y DNA which has roots in western europe and the British Isles. Their brother John may have had only one child (or none at all!), since census data shows that John and his wife Sarah Ann McClure had only one child - namely George McClure Bradberry, born in 1846. But George McClure Bradberry and all his male descendants have Y DNA in category "I" which has roots in Scandinavia and around the Baltic (one colorful theory to explain why "I" Y DNA occurs some in the British Isles is that Vikings spread "I" Y DNA as well as pillaging). So I am not at all related to Judge Bradberry. So far there are two reasonable possibilities: Perhaps John Bradberry himself had been adopted, or that John Bradberry was indeed one of the brothers and his only child George McClure Bradberry was not his natural son. It is not yet conclusive but there are indications that George McClure Bradberry was adopted.

   John Bradberry married Sarah Ann McClure and had only one child (TO BE CONTINUED...)

Stephen Clement Attebery (Part 1)

    I have been writing about my ancestor's parts in the American civil war, and most recently about John Cantrell Fite. I am now waiting for possible information from the federal archives about the wounds he certainly received and any other details about his service in the Union cavalry. Meanwhile I am diverging to write about my great great-grandfather (my mother's father's mother's father) Stephen Clement Attebery. Several years ago I quoted a biographical sketch of him from "Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County", 1892, and I'll try now to add some details.

   The large Attebery family in the U. S. has been well researched, and they have been quite prolific. Families with more than a dozen children were common, and even siblings sometimes spelled the surname differently. Some of the spellings are: Atterbury, Atteberry, Attebery, etc. The patriarch was a convict, born in London in 1710. At that time British law was exceptionally harsh, and a convicted thief could be hanged or imprisoned for many years. Evidently hanging was considered a bit much for petty theft or similar, so the jails and prisons were overflowing. Meanwhile in the American colonies some of the colonists were slaveholders, and others would like to have slaves but couldn't afford them. So a system was developed: many thieves, drunkards and "ne'er do wells" were convicted and sentenced to "Transportation". This was free passage to America, but on arrival the "passengers" were auctioned off for seven years of servitude. After seven years the convict was free. The colonists got cheap slaves, and the ship's captain got a share of the auction price, so the "passengers" were kept in general working order. There are stories of down and out folks in England who, in desperation, would commit a petty theft and thus trade seven years of servitude to get to the American colonies. In fact, perhaps a quarter of all the British immigrants to colonial America between 1718 - 1775 were transported convicts.

   William Atterbury was tried and convicted in February 1733 (in the "Old Bailey")  of stealing 5 yards of linsey-woolsey, and sentenced to Transportation. Linsey-woolsey was a coarse, tough and warm cloth that was woven with linen warp and wool weft. It was used for outer clothing, and was worn by ordinary folks; it was not expensive. We'll probably never know whether William was a common thief or was looking for passage to America. In any case he arrived in Annapolis in November 1733 aboard the ship Patapsco and was immediately auctioned for 7 years of servitude. I haven't seen records of his price or the details of his servitude, but he was 23 years old and probably healthy and strong. It is likely that he worked in the Annapolis shipyard for the next 7 years.

   William would have finished his servitude in 1740, and by 1746 he was farming land he now owned in Maryland. He was married (his wife's name was Sarah) and they had children. In 1754 he sold his land for "three thousand pounds of tobacco", and moved across the Potomac River into Virginia where he lived until his death in 1767. 

   William was the great grandfather of Stephen Clement Attebery, and the next 50 years and two generations between them are complicated, and Part 2 will try to cover the period.