BROADNAX
ROBERT BROADNAX AND 1ST WIFE OLIVE TAYLOR WHITAKER
BROADNAX
Robert married Olive Taylor Whitaker in 1814 and moved to Autauga County in Alabama. He represented the county in the state legislature from 1825 to 1832 and in 1834 was the state senator from that county. He moved to Perry County and became connected with a commission house in Mobile. Colonel Robert Brodnax served in The War of 1812 and in the Indian Wars of 1836. Later he was a colonel in the Civil War. About 1846 the commission house of which he was a member failed and at about the same time his wife died. Olive's nephew, Joseph Elisha Whitaker would also make the move to Brazil.
Will of William Whitaker - Father of Olive Whitaker and Joseph J. Whitaker (Father of Joseph Elisha Whitaker)
Pages 88-91: Will of THOMAS WHITAKER of Putnam County, Dated 19 Jan. 1818..."weake in body...bel. wife MARY WHITAKER should possess tract of land where I live dur. her nat. life and 2 negroes...son HENRY WHITAKER and JOSEPH WHITAKER have lot 122 and 123...son CIRUS WHITAKER a negro woman, girl and boy, 2 beds and furn. & also 2 notes bearing dates April 2, 1807 and 31 Oct. 1808...son HENRY WHITAKER a negro man and bed and furn...son JOSEPH WHITAKER a negro man, bed and furn...daus. OLAVER BRODINAX a lot of land given me by Mr. WILLIAM NORWARD for sum of %538...dau MILLY WHITAKER a negro, bed and furn...my will and desire that my grandson WILLIAM MAXWELL be educated...and at age 16 be found to sadlers trade and I give one bed and furn. and $200 for his apprenticeship...to grandaus. MARY P. A. MAXWELL and LUVEZES C. MAXWELL one bed and furn. with $200 each when of age...all my children living in State of Ga. rec. equal parts of estate. Appt's be son HENRY WHITAKER AND JOSEPH WHITAKER with ROBERT BRODENAX and JOHN ROBERTSON, Exors. Signed: THOS WHITAKER. Wit. CHARLES L. KENNON, WILLIAM TAFF, HOWEL L. KENNON, Pro. 25 Feb 1818.
Robert married Hannah Evans Kirvin, daughter of Rev. William Kirven, on 12-29-1844, in Carlowville, Clarke (or Dallas) Co., Ala. Robert spent two years in Cuba to learn the culture and growth of tobacco. He then introduced the growth of tobacco in Clarke county, Alabama, as well as the manufacture of cigars. In 1863 he was state senator for Clarke, Monroe, and Baldwin counties. After the civil war he moved to Brazil to repair his financial losses. He returned to Alabama after one year in 1874 and died July 27, 1877, at the residence of Green Ervin Jones, Jr., his son-in-law, near Dixon Mills in Marengo county. Buried in Choctaw Corner Cemetery, Thomasville, Alabama.
Had seven children by first wife, three by second. His son Thomas W. died in Hemphill, Texas, in 1874. The eighth child was Margaret Olive. The ninth and tenth were Augustus Winston (B. 1847) and Eliza Jane. Robert is buried at Choctaw Corner, Ala. Hannah Kirvin is buried at Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham. Married Olive Whitaker in 1814 and moved to Autauga county in Alabama. He represented the county in the state legislature from 1825 to 1832 and in 1834 was the state senator from that county. He moved to Perry County and became connected with a commission house in Mobile. He served in The War of 1812 and in the Indian Wars of 1836. Late he was a colonel in the Civil War. About 1846 the commission house of which he was a member failed and at about the same time his wife died.
Sometime later he married Hannah Evans Kirvin, daughter of Rev. William Kirven, 1844, in Carlowville, Clarke (or Dallas) Co., Ala. Robert spent two years in Cuba to learn the culture and growth of tobacco. He then introduced the growth of tobacco in Clarke County, Alabama, as well as the manufacture of cigars. In 1863 he was a state senator for Clarke, Monroe, and Baldwin counties. After the civil war he moved to Brazil to repair his financial losses. He returned to Alabama after one year in 1874 and died July 27, 1877, at the residence of Green Ervin Jones, Jr., his son-in-law, near Dixon's Mills in Marengo county.
Sources
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↑ Source: #S-1616304644 Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1812muster&h=273006&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Note: APID: 1,4281::273006
ROBERT BROADNAX
BIOGRAPHY and GENEALOGY
(1792- 1877)
AUTAUGA COUNTY, ALABAMA
Robert Broadnax was an early settler of Autauga County, Alabama. He was born March 15, 1792, in Hancock County, Georgia, the son of John Brodnax and Martha Rivers. He married May 19, 1814, in Putman County, Georgia Olive Taylor Whitaker (1795- 1844). She was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Whitaker and grand-daughter of John Whitaker and Olive Taylor. He married second Hannah Evans Kirven on Dec. 29, 1844. She was the daughter of Rev. William Kirven and Margaret Evans.
Robert was in the War of 1812 and Indian Wars of 1836. He and was very popular. He had a practical mind and frequently served Autauga County in the lower house from 1825 to 1832. In 1834, he defeated Hon. William R. Pickett for a seat in the senate. He had seven children by his first wife and three by his second.
Shortly after 1834, he moved to the southern part of the State and represented Clarke, Monroe, and Baldwin in the Senate in 1862-4 After the Civil War, Alabama was in dire straits. “A northern visitor to the state of Alabama just after the close of the war found that the “railroads were not in running order” and were not “likely to be for some months. The war had destroyed their rolling stock. Some were left without cars; nearly all without good locomotives.
Bridges were burnt; rails were torn up and twisted for miles and miles; the companies themselves were utterly impoverished; and unless they could get unlooked-for aid, most of them would have to go into liquidation.” On entering Mobile he saw the “planks had been torn up for squares along the levee to make firewood, and the bare sleepers were rotting from exposure; elsewhere the decayed planks rattled ominously under carriage-wheels, and disclosed here and there ugly holes that might prove dangerous to unwary walkers. Half the warehouses and shops along the levee seemed closed; a few means of transport only lay at the landing.” In the city proper he discovered “universal torpor of business.”
But it was the scarcity of money and food and the imminence of starvation throughout the South that threatened the gravest consequences. The Confederate currency that gradually declined in value during the contest became absolutely worthless at the close. As a result, the rich became poor and the poor became beggars. Generals who had thousands of acres of land and hundreds of negroes before the war found themselves with insufficient funds for paying transportation home at the close; women who had large incomes before were unable to purchase postage stamps at the end; indeed some hitherto wealthy people came to the end penniless and with heavy debts hanging over their heads. What was worse, there was no food in most quarters. On many plantations, cornbread and sassafras tea were the only forms of sustenance. In all the towns from Richmond to Mobile hundreds and even thousands of idle and destitute people of all colors depended upon the government and private agencies for food. In some communities, one-half the people looked to these sources for support.
Due to these reasons, many people in the south left the American South and resettled in São Paulo, Brazil, immediately after the Civil War. Although the exact number of individuals is difficult to determine, between 2,000 and 4,000 emigrants are estimated to have participated in the movement between 1865 and 1875. Leading researchers of the topic have identified 154 families that arrived in Brazil during this time, with 37 families being from Alabama. About half the total number eventually returned to the United States.
Robert joined in this move and immigrated to Brazil in 1867. The name Col. Broadnax is listed as a representative from Alabama in 1870 Santa Barbara. Robert and Anna Brodnax apparently traveled back to the US alone leaving Rio de Janeiro for Mobile on 14 Oct 1874. The passenger list of the American barque HELEN ANGIER, as given in the Jornal de Comércio the following day has no other Broadnax.
Some known children of Robert Broadnax include:
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Thomas Whitaker Brodnax ( July 16, 1818, Putnam, Georgia)– died in Hemphill Texas 1874
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Rebecca Virginia Brodnax (b. Feb. 15, 1829, AL – 1912) married Captain James McDonald Winston (1826-1905)
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Ann Hall Brodnax (b. 1816 Gainesville, Alabama – d. Jan 29, 1848) married Anthony Augustus Winston
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Margaret Olive Brodnax (b. Dec. 22, 1845, Mobile, Alabama) married Jones
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Augustus Winston Brodnax (b. October 2, 1847) went to Brazil – was a dentist. He married Emma Luella Norris (b. May 4, 1849, Dallas County, Alabama – Apr11, 1935)) She was the daughter of William Hutchinson Norris (another immigrant to Brazil) and Martha Black. and is buried alone in Campo Cemetery in Santa Barbara, Brazil – Children of Winston Brodnax: Leila Brodnax b c1871, Olive Brodnax b ca1873 Brazil, Florence Brodnax b ca1875 in Brazil (I believe Rebecca Virginia Brodnax b 15 Feb 1829 who married James McDonald Winston and Ann Hall Brodnax b c1816 Gainesville, AL d 29 Jan 1848 age 29 married Anthony Augustus Winston were both daughters of Robert Broadnax and Olive Whitaker) Winston Brodnax did not have a very stable temperament and later on, when his parents and the sister [Jane] married to Dr Ezelle had left for the U.S., the situation did not improve. One day when his ch: Olive, Leila and Florence were still very young, Winston disappeared and never came back. Col. Norris collected his daughter and brought up the grandchild with much love and care. There is a question of where Augustus Winston (sometimes appears as Winston Augustus) Broadnax died. It seems that it will be very difficult to be certain. Judith McKnight Jones writes in "Soldado Descansa! One day when his children Olive, Leila and Florence were still very young, Winston disappeared and never came back.
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Eliza Jane Brodnax (b. ca. 1850) married Christopher Pritchett Ezelle went to Brazi.
Robert Broadnax is buried at Choctaw Corner, Alabama and his wife Hannah (Kirven) Broadnax is buried at Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham, Alabama.
SOURCES
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Lawrence F. Hill, “Confederate Exodus to Latin America”, Volume 39, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v039/n2/contrib_DIVL1560.html [Accessed Fri Jul 11 8:38:21 CDT 2008]
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Lawrence F. Hill, “Confederate Exodus to Latin America”, Volume 39, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v039/n2/contrib_DIVL1560.html [Accessed Fri Jul 11 8:38:21 CDT 2008] F. Andrews, The War Time Journal of a Georgia Girl, 222, 230.
1875 Map of Americana - Home sites of Whitaker, Norris & Ezelle., Broadnax not listed - Returned to USA
William Broadnax I 1675-1727
Rebecca Champion (The Widow Travis)
1677-1723
William Broadnax II 1703-1771
John Brodnax
(Son of William II and Father of Robert Broadnax)
John Brodnax (Son of William II and Father of Robert Broadnax) immigrated to Autauga Co. AL from Hancock and Putnam Counties GA, ca 1822, with several of his children’s families, when he was past 70 years old. He was born ca 1749, Prince George Co., VA, the son of William Brodnax II and his wife Ann Hall. He was the grandson of William Brodnax and his wife, Rebecca Champion. He lived several years in Brunswick Co., VA, where he married Martha Kennon Clack, 25 March 1775. This couple had one known child Martha Kennon Brodnax. She was raised by her Clack grandparents after her mother’s death. John married second 23 July 1781, Martha Rivers, born ca 1760 in VA to Thomas Rivers and Mary, who is believed to be a Turner and widow of John Hunt.
While a resident of Brunswick Co., in 1781, John Brodnax is recorded as giving aid to the Revolution by providing supplies on several occasions. He grew to be a wealthy man, selling 361 acres in Brunswick Co. in 1788, before beginning his journey south. In the 1790 census, his family was counted in Mecklenburg Co., NC. By 1795, he was a taxpayer in Hancock Co. GA, and his family spent the next 25-30 years in the Hancock-Putnam Co. areas. Martha Rivers Brodnax died prior to 1820, after raising eight known children to adulthood.
John Brodnax was a large landholder. Cotton and Indian corn were the cash crops then common to the land areas in which he lived, and he likely grew tobacco and sweet potatoes on a lesser scale. The promise of more and better land was always the impetus to follow the frontier. He began deeding his land to his children by about 1815. In 1821, he made what is probably a final sale of Georgia land in Putnam Co. and soon moved to Alabama. He made further deeds of gifts to his children to include his slaves before his death in Autauga Co. 28 Feb. 1829. He left no will, but an inventory and sale of his personal property were recorded in probate and orphans court records.
John Brodnaxs daughter by his first marriage, Martha Kennon Brodnax, m. Nathaniel Harrison, 25 Mar. 1799, in Brunswick Co., VA. This family moved south and lived as neighbors to the Brodnaxes and Shackelfords in Georgia. Martha B. Harrison died 9 May 1858, Putnam Co., GA.
Born to John and Martha Rivers Brodnax were:
1) Thomas Hall Brodnax, b 1 Nov 1784, Brunswick Co., VA; d. 24 Oct. 1846 Madison Co., MS;
m. Winifred Tucker Mitchell.
2) Martha “Patsy” Brodnax (also called Mary), b 1784, Brunswick Co., VA, d ca 1825, Greene Co., AL, m in Hancock Co. GA ca 1800, James Shackelford, son of John Shackelford and Frances Wade Butler. (See Shackelford Family story.)
3) Ann Hall Brodnax, b. 15 May 1785, Brunswick Co. VA, d 6 July 1818, Putnam Co., GA; m. Eli Harris.
4) Rebecca Power Brodnax, b 1786, Brunswick Co., VA; m. Edmund M. Shackelford (his second wife).
5) William T. Brodnax, b. c1788, Brunswick Co. VA; d. after 1850 in Madison Co. MS; m. 1st Mary Whitaker, 2nd Polly N. Gleeson.
6) John Hunt “Jack” Brodnax, b. 14 Nov. 1790, Mecklenburg Co., NC; d. after 1860, OK; m. Katherine Baker Whitaker.
7) Robert Brodnax, b. 13 Mar 1792, Mecklenburg Co., NC; d. 27 Jul 1877, Marengo Co., AL; m. 1st Olive Taylor Whitaker, m. 2nd Hannah Evans Kirven.
8) Henry Power Brodnax, b. 7 Apr. 1800, Hancock Co., GA; d 3 May 1886, Ouachita Co., AR; m. 1st Mildred Whitaker; m. 2nd , Jane N. Pitts. .
Acknowledgements:
The premiere compiler of Brodnax genealogical information is Mildred Seab Ezell, of Germantown, MD (1998). Vol. 1, of “Brodnax Family in America”, is published and additional volumes are in process. She is the primary source of data for the John Brodnax family. James M. Brewer, of Senatobia, MS, submitter, is the fifth-great-grandson of John and Martha Rivers Brodnax through Martha “Patsy” Brodnax and James Shackelford.
(NOTE: According to "Boddie and allied Families" Martha Rivers' mother was Mary Jones, not Mary Turner.).
DAR Record Copy John Broadnax
DESCENDANTS LIST
Member: -- Name Restricted -- Nat'l #: 853184 Ancestor #: A134155
1.
-- Generation Restricted --
2.
-- Generation Restricted --
3.
-- Generation Restricted --
4.
The Said -- Name Restricted -- was the child of
William Oren Brodnax born on 8 - Sep - 1874 at Belton Co TX
died at _______________ on 4 - Aug - 1958 and his ( 1st ) wife
Clemintine Herring born on 4 - Oct - 1879 at Malvern GA
died at Pampa Gray Co TX on 15 - Oct - 1969 married on 18 - Oct - 1896
married at Corsicana Navarro Co TX
5.
The Said William Oren Brodnax was the child of
Oroondatus Whitaker Brodnax born on 23 - Oct - 1827 at GA
died at Cottonwood TX on p 23 - May - 1902 and his ( 1st ) wife
Cynthia Sutton born on c - - 1845 at TN
died at _______________ on - - married on 19 - Nov - 1866
6.
The Said Oroondatus Whitaker Brodnax was the child of
John H Brodnax born on c - - 1790 at VA
died at Creek Nation on p - - 1860 and his ( 1st ) wife
Catherine B Whitaker born on c - - 1793 at GA
died at Lowndes Co AL on p - - 1860 married on 30 - Jul - 1812
married at Putnam Co GA
7.
The Said John H Brodnax was the child of
John Broadnax born on c - - 1749 at _______________
died at Autauga Co AL on a 26 - Mar - 1829 and his ( 2nd ) wife
Martha Rivers born on - - at _______________
died at _______________ on - - married on 23 - Jul - 1781
married at Brunswick Co VA
ASSOCIATED ANCESTOR (REVOLUTIONARY) RECORD
Ancestor #: A134155
Service:
VIRGINIA Rank(s): PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Birth: CIRCA 1749
Death: ANTE 3-26-1829 AUTAUGA CO ALABAMA
Service Source:
ABERCROMBIE & SLATTEN, VA REV PUB CLAIMS, VOL 1, PP 148, 153, 155, 157
Service Description:
1) PROVIDED SUPPLIES
Olive Taylor Whitaker's family line
DESCENDANTS LIST John Whitaker
Member: -- Name Restricted -- Nat'l #: 746654 Ancestor #: A124276
1.
-- Generation Restricted --
2.
-- Generation Restricted --
3.
-- Generation Restricted --
4.
The Said -- Name Restricted -- was the child of
Thomas Whitaker Brodnax born on 16 - Jul - 1818 at Putnam Co GA
died at Hemphill Sabine Co TX on 16 - Jul - 1874 and his ( 2nd ) wife
Caroline Elizabeth Bonneau born on 28 - Aug - 1824 at GA
died at Batesville TX on 12 - Jan - 1912 married on 23 - Apr - 1846
married at LA
5.
The Said Thomas Whitaker Brodnax was the child of
Robert Brodnax born on 15 - Mar - 1792 at Brunswick Co VA
died at Dixons Mills AL on 27 - Jul - 1877 and his ( 1st ) wife
Olive Taylor Whitaker born on c - - 1795 at Halifax Co NC
died at Uniontown Perry Co AL on 10 - Jun - 1844 married on 19 - May - 1814
married at Putnam Co GA
6.
The Said Olive Taylor Whitaker was the child of
Thomas Whitaker born on c - - 1757 at Halifax Co NC
died at Putnam Co GA on a 5 - Feb - 1818 and his ( 1st ) wife
Mary Young born on - - at _______________
died at Putnam Co GA on p - - 1818 married on c - - 1777
married at prob Halifax Co NC
7.
The Said Thomas Whitaker was the child of
John Whitaker born on c - - 1732 at Warwick Co VA
died at Halifax Co NC on a - Feb - 1784 and his ( 1st ) wife
Olive Taylor born on c - - 1735 at VA
died at Halifax Co NC on c - - 1784 married on c - - 1755
ASSOCIATED ANCESTOR (REVOLUTIONARY) RECORD
Ancestor #: A124276
Service:
NORTH CAROLINA Rank(s): CIVIL SERVICE, PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Birth: 1732 VIRGINIA
Death: ANTE 2- -1784 HALIFAX CO NORTH CAROLINA
Service Source:
CLARK, STATE RECS OF NC, VOL 12, PP 554, 555, 777, 788; VOL 13, PP 534, 680; VOL 23, PP 992, 994
Service Description:
1) JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, 1776; MEMBER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY;
2) SERVED ON COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNT
American Barque – Helen Angier
Departed Rio for Mobile 14th of October in 1874
Passengers
Robert Broadnax
Anna Broadnax
Samuel Royt
William Trigg
Edward Trigg
10-15-1874 Jornal de Comércio – Page X
Source:
The Mobile Gaily Tribune, 8 Dec. 1874, Tue page 4
LOCAL NEWS
Personal--Col. Robert Broadnax and wife, and Mr. E.S. Trigg and son, arrived in this city Sunday evening on the Bark Helen Angier, from Rio de Janeiro. They are the guests of the Campbells, and will be welcomed by many friends in Mobile. Col. Broadnax was for many years a commission merchant in this city.