Hiram W. Gaines 1791 - 1829 My 3rd Great Grandfather on My Father's Side

This is believed to be either a headstone or a footstone for
Hiram Gaines's grave

Hiram W. Gaines was born about 1791 most likely in Albemarle County, Virginia. That is where at least one of his older sisters, Susannah was born in 1788. I have a record showing that his younger brother, Ralph was born in Elbert County, Georgia in 1797. Until I find a record proving the exact date and place where Hiram was born, I won’t know that for sure.

Hiram has been of particular interest to me ever since I confirmed my connection to him while on my 2017 Genealogy Journey. One reason he intrigues me is that he was a music teacher. I learned this tidbit about Hiram while in Abbeville, South Carolina where I found the book, Greenwood County Sketches by Margaret Watson. There is a chapter on the Waller Family. Hiram married Hulda Waller and that is where I found out about Hiram’s profession. Unfortunately, Ms. Watson provided no details, and I have found no other records that enable me to expand on this information. I don’t know if he conducted a choir or taught a musical instrument or, if the later, what instrument it might have been. But I still find this fact interesting.

This is the excerpt from the book Greenwood County Sketches that mentions
my third great grandparents Hiram and Hulda Waller Gaines

The other thing about Hiram that makes him special is that he died at the age of 38 – the same age that his son-in-law, David Lincoln Stover was when he died. David, a second great grandfather is the first ancestor I wrote about when I started this blog in 2013. The fact that Hiram died young means that I know very little about his life.

This is what I do know

Hiram was the son of William Shanklin Gaines and Mildred “Milly” Banks. The “W” in Hiram’s name suggests that his middle name was William, after his father. I know that his family had been in Albemarle County for at least three generations and as early as 1685 when Hiram’s great grandfather, Richard Gaines was born. Hiram’s grandfather and father were both born in Virginia and they both died in Georgia. By the time Hiram was six years old his family was living in Georgia. So, why did our Gaines ancestors choose to leave Virginia after so many years and why did they move to Georgia? According to a Wikipedia article, “Beginning in the late 18^th century, Virginia lost many residents as families moved westward to new states and territories.” The most common reason was that they were looking for new farmland.

This is a gig wheel - one of the items mentioned in Hiram's
probate packet

In Margaret Watson’s book Greenwood County Sketches, she explained that three of the original seven Gaines brothers, who had immigrated to Virginia from Wales, later moved to Georgia because they had received land grants for their service during the Revolutionary War – so this answers the question – why Georgia?

Albemarle County is in the center of the northern part of Virginia. It is most known for having been the place where President Thomas Jefferson lived and built his Monticello home. Today, it is near Charlottesville. The move south to Elbert, Georgia would have been a major change for the Gaines family.

The earliest record I have that specifically names Hiram is the will of Charles McGehee. Hiram was a witness to that will. Charles was the second husband of Joanna Thompson. Joanna was Hulda Waller’s mother. Hulda was Hiram’s wife, so Charles McGehee was Hiram’s father-in-law. Got that? It took me a while to figure it out.

Another item listed as part of Hiram's estate was "an inkstand and whip". This
photo of an ink stand, found on Google, has a whip design motif.

The will was dated July 29, 1815, and was executed in Abbeville, South Carolina when Hiram was about twenty-four. This document suggests that sometime earlier Hiram W. Gaines had married Hulda Waller, daughter of Joanna Thompson and Benjamin Waller. I have found no documents that prove this marriage but there are secondary sources – specifically marriage records that were compiled by Larry Pursley. I have found three versions of his book – the first has 7500 marriages, the second 10,000 and the third 10,600. Many records from South Carolina were destroyed during the Civil War and during two major fires that happened in Abbeville, so it is not surprising that I have not found a marriage document. Another notable fact gleaned from Joanna Thompson’s will is that Hiram had left Georgia and was then living in South Carolina. But this was not a big move. If you look at a map you will see that Elbert, Georgia while in a different state is actually very close to Abbeville, South Carolina. In fact, Elbert and Abbeville are only about thirty miles apart.

The following year Hiram witnessed another will – this time for Thomas Baxter Waller, Hulda’s uncle. This document was recorded in Abbeville on March 4, 1816. Hiram was also one of several buyers at Thomas’s estate sale.

1820 Census

When the census was taken in 1820 it captured Hiram, his family, and names of his neighbors – this information helps to flesh out Hiram’s life. He was living in Abbeville at the time. The census shows that there was one female between the ages of 16 and 26 in his household – that would have been his wife, Hulda, and one female under the age of ten. I have no idea who this child was. My second great grandmother, Joanna Gaines was born after 1920, so it could not have been her. It is certainly possible, even probable, that Hiram and Hulda had a child prior to 1820. So, what happened to this daughter, or it could have been a visiting niece? I don’t know and probably never will.

This page of the 1820 census lists Hiram Gaines, Joanna McGehee, John Wardlaw
John H. Waller, and Sarah Waller who are all connected with our family

The census also shows that Hiram owned five slaves at the time – three males aged 16-26, one female aged 10-14, and one female ten or younger. Hiram and Hulda were living next door to Hulda’s mother, and Hulda’s brother, John H. Waller was living nearby. Hulda’s uncle, John Wardlaw and a Sarah Waller also appeared on the same page of the census, so Hiram and Hulda were surrounded by family who were probably all engaged in cotton farming and their properties likely shared boundary lines.

On January 16, 1821, Hiram was a buyer at the estate sale for Sarah Waller, and on November 20, 1823, he was listed as a buyer at the estate sale of Robert Pollard. This may sound peculiar but at that time whenever someone died their land and personal possessions were appraised and sold off to pay their debts. The probate records that were created during these transactions often provide valuable genealogical information. They often identify family members and neighbors. Reviewing the items listed for sale can sometimes help to paint a picture of the decease’s life. More on this below.

Hiram’s daughter Joanna Gaines, my second great grandmother was born in 1826, and another daughter Margaret A. Gaines arrived in about 1827. Both were born while Hiram and Hulda were living in Abbeville. Sadly, Hulda died when her daughters were very young - sometime before 1829 when Hiram married for a second time to Elizabeth Waller. Elizabeth was Hulda’s cousin once removed. Hiram and Elizabeth had a son that they named William H. Gaines.

The Quay-Wardlaw house in Abbeville was built in 1786,
just a few years before Hiram was born

Very sadly, Hiram died that same year on December 31, 1829 when he was only thirty-eight years old, leaving a widow and three young children. His daughters were adopted by Seaborn O. Sullivan – a relation by marriage. You can read more about that in the biography I wrote about Joanne Gaines that I posted on August 5, 2017.

William H. Gaines

Hiram’s son William was born in Abbeville, and after his father died his mother, Elizabeth was appointed as his guardian on January 9, 1832. In Hiram’s will he left $1909.99 to his son William when he came of age. (Today’s equivalent is $53,010). William appeared on the 1850 census living near the Saluda River in Abbeville. Like his father, he was a cotton farmer. Of interest in William’s probate packet are some of the items that he owned, including a three-volume set of natural history books, the book Don Quixote, a mule named Bill, another mule named Flyer, a horse named Mars, a double barrel shotgun, two paintings, a set of brass instruments, and music books. His mother Elizabeth was the administer for his estate. From the records, it appears that William died in 1854, so he was in his twenties.

One page from Hiram's probate packet. It
lists items in his estate, who purchased each
item and how much they paid.

Hiram’s Estate

Hiram’s probate packet, which I found while visiting Abbeville in 2017, included an administrative bond, an inventory of what he owned at the time of his death, a sale bill, account records, and a few receipts for money Hiram owed to others. His wife served as the administrator of his estate along with John C. McGehee and John H. Waller. The total value of Hiram’s estate came to $3385.31 ($93,957 in 2020). Most of the items sold from his estate on January 7, 1830 were purchased by his wife Elizabeth. Other items were bought by relatives, friends and neighbors. Items listed in his estate included common things that would have been used in a farming household such as farm animals and feed, saddles, bridles, tools, a carriage, a gig wheel, household furniture including seven beds, a flaxwheel and loom, and a few personal items like a blanket, a silver watch, shaving utensils, candlesticks, books, a mortar and pestle, a coffee mill, coffee and sugar. John Casey bought the chocolate for thirty-one cents. Listed between 2 ½ bushels of rye and 3 beehives were Rachel, Bolton, Tassy, Priscilla and child, Prissey and two children, Vilett, Peggy, Fanny, James, and a boy named Circuit – their combined value came to $2575 – a disturbing matter-of-fact record that demonstrates how African American’s were considered “property”, despite the fact that the family’s wealth and survival was dependent on their contributions to the farming enterprise.

As I was preparing this biography one entry on a list of expenses, that was included in Hiram’s probate packet, stood out – it read, “Monticello - .50”. Three years ago, this notation meant nothing to me but recently I’ve done a lot of new research into this branch of our family, and I now know that Hiram’s uncle Humphry Gaines was a carpenter at Monticello. So I did a little more research and found that Humphrey and two other Gaines’s – probably Humphrey’s brothers are listed on the official Monticello website. There is no way to know what work or material that receipt in Hiram’s probate packet was for but it does demonstrate that he had some involvement with President Thomas Jefferson’s home and property.

This is a petition to the Court of Ordinary by Hiram's wife
asking for permission to sell the items in his estate, dated
June 8, 1830

So, in the nine years between the 1820 census and 1829 when Hiram died, his estate had more than doubled in value. One other document in his probate packet referenced Siloam Church which suggests that Hiram was a Baptist by religion. There are also multiple references to Alabama among the probate papers so Hiram must have owned property in Alabama as well as South Carolina – that deserves more research.

This is an Expense List that references
Monticello

This is a flaxwheel - another item listed in
Hiram's estate

Sources For This Post: 1820 census, Joanna McGehee’s will, Hiram’s probate packet, Larry Pursley’s books, Greenwood County Sketches, Abstracts of Wills and Bonds by Willie Pauline Young, and information found on the websites MyHeritage, Ancestry, FamilySearch, Rootsweb, and Google.