Hulda Waller 1797 – 1829 My Third Great Grandmother on My Father’s Side

This map of South Carolina clearly shows the Ninety Six
District in the northwest portion of the state

Hulda was the daughter of Benjamin Waller (1768-1804) and Joanna Thompson (1772-1834). She was born in 1797 in a geographically large county located in the northwest part of South Carolina known as Old Ninety Six District. “Ninety Six has a colorful history dating back to early colonial times when a settlement began at the 96^th milepost from Keowee Indian village, on a trail used by traders with the Native Americans. A small store, run by Robert Goudy supplied traders with such items as rum, sugar, and gunpowder, is on record as existing as early as 1730. Most likely, Ninety Six received its name when Indian maiden Issaqueena (Cateechee), rode her horse, ninety six miles from Keowee, the capital of the Cherokee nation to the outpost to warn of impending war by the Indian natives.” In 1785, Abbeville County was

formed from Old Ninety Six. Abbeville and the surrounding areas were mostly cotton plantations during her lifetime.

I found this interpretive panel on the Spotsylvania Museum website. It
depicts how the county got its unusual name.

Hulda had two older sisters Elizabeth and Matilda and three younger brothers John Harvey, Gilford and Benjamin F. Waller. When Hulda was seven her father Benjamin died at the age of 36. Shortly thereafter her mother married Stephen Watson, sometime between 1804 and 1807. Stephen was a widower who had a daughter Margaret “Peggy” Watson who was seven years younger than Hulda. Stephen was the son of Edward and Margaret Watson. He was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, and sadly died there in late 1806 or early 1807 just a short time after marrying Joanna. In his will, Stephen named his brother William Watson and his friend John McGehee as the executors of his estate.

After Stephen died Hulda’s mother married for a third time to Captain Charles McGehee, who was probably a brother of John McGehee but that is not known for certain. In October of 1809 Charles was made guardian of Peggy Watson. He was born in Caroline County, Virginia and was a wealthy land and slave owner in Abbeville at the time he married Hulda’s mother.
Hulda’s stepfather Charles also died young - he was only 47 when he died in January of 1816. Hulda would have been nineteen at the time. So, in a period of twelve years Hulda experienced the death of her father and two stepfathers. Makes one wonder how she was impacted by the many changes and disruptions in the household and by the deaths and marriages.  Hiram Gaines was a witness to Charles’s last will.

This is Cross Keys Plantation which was located in
Old Ninety Six District and is the type of residence that Hulda
would have been familiar with. Found on Google.

In 1916, Hulda’s sister Matilda married Martin Hackett Jr., and two years later Hulda married Hiram Gaines, in about 1818. Hiram was a music teacher living in Abbeville, and apparently a friend or at least an acquaintance of the family since he witnessed Charles’s will. The exact date of their marriage is unknown because Abbeville had two major fires that destroyed most of the town’s records. Much of what is known about Abbeville, during Hulda’s lifetime, was extracted from newspapers by local historians.

In 1826, Hulda’s daughter Joanna was born – my 2^nd great grandmother. See my blog post dated August 5, 2017. Joanna was no doubt named after her grandmother, Joanna Thompson. About one year later Joanna’s sister Margaret A. Gaines was born about 1827. I have not been able to find anything more about Margaret. Was she named after Hulda’s half sister Margaret Watson? 

John Calhoun was Abbeville's most famous
resident during Hulda's lifetime. He served
as US Vice President with John Quincy Adams

Hulda died in Abbeville in 1829 at the age of 32. Her husband Hiram died a few months later on December 31, 1829. South Carolina’s most famous son, John C. Calhoun was born fifteen years before Hulda and during her lifetime he served as Vice President under John Quincy Adams (1825-29), also as Secretary of War and as a US Congressman. Calhoun’s prominence would have reflected on Abbeville and given the town stature, so it would have been an interesting time to be living there.

Sources for this post include: The will of Joanna Thompson, "Greenwood County Sketches" by Margaret Watson, "Abbeville Marriage Records" by Larry Pursley, and good `ol Google search.