Individuals "legitimized" by Georgia Legislature
G. M. Lupo
In 1832, my ancestor, John Lupo, residing in Houston County,
Georgia, made out a deed of gift to his grandchildren, Frederick,
Jameson and Juda Watson. In the preceding years, John had been
listed in tax records in Houston County as agent for James and
Jameson Lupo and in 1831 a bill was introduced in the Georgia
Legislature to "change the names of James and Jameson Lupo to that
of James and Jameson Watson and to legitimize the same". My reading
on this is that one of John's daughters had children by a Watson
outside wedlock, then later married him and had at least two more
children by him. The problem is, I've had no success in tracking
down any further information on this matter. Ordinary and Superior
court records from Houston County are pretty much intact, though
many are unindexed, and I've searched through most of what's there
but have not found any info.
Could someone provide some clues on where else I might look for
information on this matter? There are no marriage records in
Houston that I've found between a Watson and a Lupo, nor any deed or
estate records pertaining to the matter.
Any advice appreciated.
Matt Lupo
matt at lupo dot com
--
G. M. Lupo a.k.a. matt at lupo dot com
Up on the hill, they think I'm okay
Or so they say...
"G. M. Lupo" <deaco...@steelyspam.org>
Austin W. Spencer
G. M. Lupo wrote:
> In 1832, my ancestor, John Lupo, residing in Houston County,
> Georgia, made out a deed of gift to his grandchildren, Frederick,
> Jameson and Juda Watson. In the preceding years, John had been
> listed in tax records in Houston County as agent for James and
> Jameson Lupo and in 1831 a bill was introduced in the Georgia
> Legislature to "change the names of James and Jameson Lupo to that
> of James and Jameson Watson and to legitimize the same". My reading
> on this is that one of John's daughters had children by a Watson
> outside wedlock, then later married him and had at least two more
> children by him. The problem is, I've had no success in tracking
> down any further information on this matter. Ordinary and Superior
> court records from Houston County are pretty much intact, though
> many are unindexed, and I've searched through most of what's there
> but have not found any info.
I think your analysis of these records is fundamentally sound, but
I'm not sure that you have covered all the bases. Keep reading:
> Could someone provide some clues on where else I might look for
> information on this matter? There are no marriage records in
> Houston that I've found between a Watson and a Lupo, nor any deed or
> estate records pertaining to the matter.
>
> Matt Lupo <matt at lupo dot com>
For what it's worth, Houston County was created in 1821 from lands
that had previously been occupied by the Creek Indians. You mention
but one date that might guide our conjectures, so I would guess
either that the Watson-Lupo family took shape in the area before the
county was organized, or that the family formed elsewhere and was
then transplanted to Houston County by 1832.
Given these possibilities, can you exclude one or the other on
chronological grounds? At what time do John Lupo and the Watson
children first appear in the region? Do they appear to be of age
the first time we find them in Houston County (apparently in the
1830s)?
John Lupo had acted as "agent" for the Watson children. Would their
minority have constituted sufficient grounds for such a grant of
power? Would illegitimacy? (The statutes of the time should
specify.) And speaking of John Lupo, are his prior residence and
date of migration known? If so, did he have Watson associates
there? The presence of such associates could provide strong
circumstantial evidence toward identifying the father of the Watson
children.
In light of the general considerations above, these questions should
give some more direction to your inquiry. If direct recordings of
the events in question still fail to materialize, you may need to
rely on indirect indicators of approximate date, including census
data, tax lists, and perhaps sworn testimony from dates much later
than 1832. And you certainly should not forget the records of the
higher courts!
Naturally the risk of error increases with chronological distance,
and the level of precision will decrease. (At which point it comes
time to ask: Is *any* estimate better than nothing?)
Austin W. Spencer
"Austin W. Spencer" <AustinW...@sdc.cox.net>
G. M. Lupo
"Austin W. Spencer" <AustinW...@sdc.cox.net> wrote...
: G. M. Lupo wrote:
:
: > In 1832, my ancestor, John Lupo, residing in Houston County,
: > Georgia, made out a deed of gift to his grandchildren, Frederick,
: > Jameson and Juda Watson. In the preceding years, John had been
: > listed in tax records in Houston County as agent for James and
: > Jameson Lupo and in 1831 a bill was introduced in the Georgia
: > Legislature to "change the names of James and Jameson Lupo to that
: > of James and Jameson Watson and to legitimize the same". My reading
: > on this is that one of John's daughters had children by a Watson
: > outside wedlock, then later married him and had at least two more
: > children by him. The problem is, I've had no success in tracking
: > down any further information on this matter. Ordinary and Superior
: > court records from Houston County are pretty much intact, though
: > many are unindexed, and I've searched through most of what's there
: > but have not found any info.
:
: I think your analysis of these records is fundamentally sound, but
: I'm not sure that you have covered all the bases. Keep reading:
:
: For what it's worth, Houston County was created in 1821 from lands
: that had previously been occupied by the Creek Indians. You mention
: but one date that might guide our conjectures, so I would guess
: either that the Watson-Lupo family took shape in the area before the
: county was organized, or that the family formed elsewhere and was
: then transplanted to Houston County by 1832.
<other info snipped for space>
Here's what I know. John Lupo appears in Montgomery County, GA tax
records and jury lists around 1805 & 1806. He then appears on the
census in Washington County, GA in 1820. A letter from his son,
David, written in 1860 states David was born "along the Big Ohoopa
[sic]" river 56 years prior to when the letter was written. Tax
listings from Montgomery County, GA show John was living in the
"Upper Big Ohoopee" region in 1805/6. Montgomery County records are
fairly intact, but Washington County records were destroyed prior to
1825 and some don't start until 1830-32. By then, John and David
are both listed on the census in Houston County. John was a
fortunate drawer in the 1827 land lottery and, I believe, drew land
in Houston County, but the piece of property he was living on in
1830 was purchased from another fortunate drawer in this land
lottery and John sold his parcel to someone else. The parcel John
was most likely living on was 202 1/2 acres he purchased from Abner
Sanford around 1827, which is when I believe the family moved to
Houston County.
Now between 1805 and 1830, Montgomery County was carved up into
other counties, including Emanuel and Tattnall, among others. I've
looked in Emanuel and Laurens Counties for information, but haven't
found anything. Along with John in Montgomery County, GA in 1805
and 06 is William Lupo who I suspect is John's father or brother and
he's said to own property in the Pugh Creek area, which I believe is
now in Laurens County.
A listing in one of the Montgomery County histories states that the
region was largely settled by people from Robeson County, NC and
there was a branch of my family living there who did have sons named
John (naming conventions in all parts of my family were fairly
consistent making it somewhat frustrating to try to sort out without
other definitive records), but I believe my ancestor came from
Johnston County, NC, where there's a William Lupo living until
around 1794 who also appears to have had a son John (John was a
chain bearer on two land grants William received in 1793 & 4),
though I don't rule out that he might have embarked for Georgia by
way of Robeson, where one of William's suspected brothers was living
by 1800. The tax records are the earliest "official" document I
have which places John in Montgomery County, GA and the letter from
his son, David, is what places him in Georgia by 1804. I do not
know where the information in the Montgomery County history about
the area being settled by people from Robeson County, NC, comes
from, but will once again attempt to track this down when I get back
to the Georgia archives.
John dies in Houston County, GA late in 1834 and records of his
estate appear in Houston County records until around 1838. No one
named Watson appears in records of his estate and the only
connection I have between he and the aforementioned grandchildren is
the deed of gift and his being listed as agent for James and Jameson
Lupo prior to 1832. It's only the record in the Georgia Legislature
which identifies James and Jameson "Lupo" as James and Jameson
Watson. However, I suspect that what happened was that one of
John's daughters had James and Jameson by a Watson prior to around
1825 or 1826, then married him and had Juda and Frederick, then died
around 1832, which is what prompted John to make the deed of gift.
"Jimmerson" and Frederick Watson show up on the census in Irwin
County in 1850 and 1860 and these records suggest Jimmerson/Jameson
was born around 1826 and Frederick around 1829. A Watson researcher
I've corresponded with connects them to a Frederick Watson, who was
in Houston County, GA in 1830, who is said to have originated in
Johnston County, NC as well, but I have not been able to confirm
this. There were several other Watson candidates around John Lupo
in 1820 and 1830 in both Houston and Washington Counties, GA at the
same time.
Matt Lupo
matt at lupo dot com
--
Joan Best
Mr. Lupo presented the following problem:
| In 1832, my ancestor, John Lupo, residing in Houston County,
| Georgia, made out a deed of gift to his grandchildren, Frederick,
| Jameson and Juda Watson. In the preceding years, John had been
| listed in tax records in Houston County as agent for James and
| Jameson Lupo and in 1831 a bill was introduced in the Georgia
| Legislature to "change the names of James and Jameson Lupo to that
| of James and Jameson Watson and to legitimize the same". My reading
| on this is that one of John's daughters had children by a Watson
| outside wedlock, then later married him and had at least two more
| children by him. The problem is, I've had no success in tracking
| down any further information on this matter. Ordinary and Superior
| court records from Houston County are pretty much intact, though
| many are unindexed, and I've searched through most of what's there
| but have not found any info.
Regarding the name change and its meaning: You really need to
research the Georgia law at the time. Your scenario is one
explanation but not the only one. "Legitimatize" would have
important meaning at that time in terms of inheritance. Not until
the mid 1900s could children born out of wedlock inherit through
intestate succession from their father or their father's family.
Another possibility is that "foster children" may have been made
legitimate, thus have the right to inherit. My guess is that the
individual from whom they would inherit had already died and an act
of the legislature in a "private" bill, would correct the problem
presented by intestate succession laws. The legislative act [the
private bill] should be available in the Georgia legislative
records. These records may be available at any large law library,
such as ones found in state capitols and law schools. [You don't
have to go to Georgia to find this information. The law librarian
should be able to help you find this.] Because it was a private
bill it would not have been published in the state laws but would be
found in the legislative history. Often the history of a bill would
be included. [Lawyers use legislative history all the time to prove
the "intent" of the legislature when they passed a law, so this
information is readily available.] The law librarian may also help
you find the meaning of this act by researching the law of intestate
succession or other reason given within the legislative act.
Brighten up an otherwise dull job by giving him or her a puzzle to
gnaw on. My guess is that a Watson died intestate. Were James and
Jamison twins?
Joan B. [a lawyer in her spare time]
"Joan Best" <joan...@earthlink.net>
Singhals
Joan Best wrote:
>
> Mr. Lupo presented the following problem:
>
> | In 1832, my ancestor, John Lupo, residing in Houston County,
> | Georgia, made out a deed of gift to his grandchildren, Frederick,
> | Jameson and Juda Watson. In the preceding years, John had been
> | listed in tax records in Houston County as agent for James and
> | Jameson Lupo and in 1831 a bill was introduced in the Georgia
> | Legislature to "change the names of James and Jameson Lupo to that
> | of James and Jameson Watson and to legitimize the same". My reading
> | on this is that one of John's daughters had children by a Watson
> | outside wedlock, then later married him and had at least two more
> | children by him. The problem is, I've had no success in tracking
> | down any further information on this matter. Ordinary and Superior
> | court records from Houston County are pretty much intact, though
> | many are unindexed, and I've searched through most of what's there
> | but have not found any info.
>
> Regarding the name change and its meaning: You really need to
> research the Georgia law at the time. Your scenario is one
> explanation but not the only one. "Legitimatize" would have
> important meaning at that time in terms of inheritance. Not until
There was once a murder-mystery (which of course I have read -g-)
which hinged on the legitimatization of the heir. Turned out that
the the heir had been born out-of-wedlock but later legitimatized --
unfortunately, the latter process occurred BEFORE the legislation
which would have meant he could inherit by being legitimatized (so
technically, he wasn't the heir at all). Therefore, rights of
inheritance and legitimization do not necessarily go hand-in-glove.
> the mid 1900s could children born out of wedlock inherit through
> intestate succession from their father or their father's family.
(Except of course in Louisiana.) Which thought leads me to inquire,
any chance this could have been a simple "recognition" act? The man
legally recognizes and acknowledges the boys as his grandsons and
hey-nonnie-presto they can inherit?
> Brighten up an otherwise dull job by giving him or her a puzzle to
Sounds like a plan.
> gnaw on. My guess is that a Watson died intestate. Were James and
> Jamison twins?
And were they the same sex? I can see naming a boy twin James and
his sister Jameson, but naming two boys so much alike seems awkward.
And what about Juda? Misspelt Judah or Judith you figure?
Cheryl (spare time?)