The 1850 Agricultural Census of Covington County, Alabama

     Byrd Sasser was shown to have the following:  60 acres of improved land, 315 acres of unimproved land, cash $1,050, value of farming implements and machinery $56, 4 horses, 5 milk cows, 2 work other cattle, 13 sheep, 60 swine, value of livestock $524, 7 bushels of wheat, 500 bushels

 

Source:  Robert D. Cassady

 

Year: 1850   State: Alabama   County: Covington   Page No: 303

Reel no: M432-4   Sheet No: 152A   Enumerated by: John L. Mancill  

Transcribed by Tammy Barg and Proofread by Earnie R. Breeding

for USGenWeb, http://www.rootsweb.com/~census/. Copyright: 2003

24 |   333   333 | Byrd            Sasser            |  52 M    | Farmer            | Georgia      |         | S260 |

25 |   333   333 | Martha          Sasser            |  45 F    |                   | S. Carolina  |         | S260 |

26 |   333   333 | Jesse           Sasser            |  18 M    | Farmer            | Alabama      |         | S260 |

27 |   333   333 | Nancy           Sasser            |  15 F    |                   | Alabama      |         | S260 |

29 |   333   333 | Howel           Sasser            |  12 M    |                   | Alabama      |         | S260 |

29 |   333   333 | Harmon          Sasser            |  10 M    |                   | Alabama      |         | S260 |

30 |   333   333 | Martha          Sasser            |   7 F    |                   | Alabama      |         | S260 |

31 |   333   333 | Charlotta       Sasser            |   4 F    |                   | Alabama      |         | S260 |

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Andalusia Star News

Sasser ancestor is honored in Confederate ceremony recently

 

By Curtis Thomasson

Thursday, February 3, 2005 8:14 AM CST

 

The history and genealogy of the family of Jesse Byrd Sasser will be the topic of today's column. Recently, a memorial service was held in his honor and commemorating his service in the Confederate Army. A special Confederate medallion designating his military unit was placed on the marker at his grave in the Sasser Church of Christ Cemetery, located a few miles south of Brantley on US Highway 29. The land for the cemetery was donated by Jesse, and the oldest grave with a marker is that of his son, Jeffie Perry, who died in 1882 at the young age of 20 years.

 

Jesse B. was the son of Jesse Byrd Sasser, Sr., who was born in 1798 as the oldest son of Howell and Winifred (Byrd) Sasser. This Sasser family was in Conecuh County as early as 1818 when they appeared on the Conecuh County Tax List. They moved into Covington County during the early 1820s as Howell purchased some of the first government land available in 1824. Howell and his son, Jesse Sr. were the only two households enumerated in the 1830 Census of Covington County.

 

The Howell Sasser family acquired land first near the headwaters of Five Runs Creek north of the Sanford community. They then purchased land further north near Brantley. Jesse Byrd Sr. moved to that area to make his final residence and finish rearing his children.

 

Jesse Byrd Sr. and his wife, Martha (Holley), daughter of William and Charlotte (Massey) Holley, reared a large family including their son, Jesse Byrd Jr. Jesse Jr. was born in 1831 and died in 1904. In 1854, he was married to Celia Ann Danley (1840-1887). Jesse Jr. and Celia reared the following 12 children: William Byrd, b. 1855, d. 1898, m. 1877 Rebecca Ann Tisdale (1854-1932); Hardy H., b. 1857, d. 1884; Jesse Jay, b. 1860, d. 1931, m. 1882 Arrie Elizabeth Murphy (1866-1925); Jeffie Perry, b.&d. 1862; Nancy Maria, b. 1866, d. 1948, m. Benjamin Franklin Tisdale (1863-1953); Dennis G., b. 1868, d. 1938; George P., b. 1870, d. 1891; Celia Ann, b. 1872, d. 1892; Addie Elizabeth, b. 1874, d. 1954, m. Joseph Albert Taylor (1868-1948); Jepp Hilliard, b. 1876, d. 1958; Hick Hubbard, b. 1879, d. 1963, m. Ruby P. Bryan (1876-1946); and Jesse Byrd Jr., b. 1883, d. 1957. It appears this youngest son is actually the third generation to be named Jesse Byrd Sasser.

 

This Sasser family had helped settle and develop the community, so it became known as Sasser. They began the Sasser Cemetery near the homeplace, and it became a popular burying ground for folks in the area. A neighborhood school was known as Sasser School, but there was no local church until the Sasser Church of Christ was established in 1843. Annie Jay (Sasser) Raines donated land next to the cemetery for the church building. The church is still active and is served by Jeff Grimes as its minister.

 

The third son, Jesse Jay, and his wife, Annie Elizabeth, reared the following children: Bula V., b. 1883, d. 1953, m. 1903 Lloyd Wells; Fannie May, b. 1888, d. 1974, m. 1906 Charley T. Pearson; Irus Snow, b. 1890, d. 1903; Doris Lurline, b. 1893, d. 1976, m. William Lafayette Turner; Mallie B. "Alice," b. 1895, d. 1971, m. 1912 John Porter Walden; Willie D., b. 1898, d. 1973, m. 1921 Marvin B. Blackmon; Annie Jay, b. 1901, d. 1947, m. 1925 John H. Raines; and Lucile, b. 1903, d. 1907.

 

 

 

This family's ancestor, Jesse Byrd who was born in 1831, volunteered for the Confederate Army when his service was needed. The following description was written by Ann Miller, a descendant of Jesse Byrd and a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Atlanta Chapter #18, in the Georgia Division.

 

"The typical Confederate soldier was white, native-born, Protestant, and single; however, Jesse was married with four young children. The typical soldier was 5â8" tall, but Jesse was 5'11.5" tall, and he was 31 years of age, not the average 18-29 years. He was not wealthy, did not own slaves, but like most Southerners, he fought to protect his home. His wife, Celia, was left to care for their children and to run the farm. She, too, was a hero. On October 16, 1862, Jesse went to Mobile, Alabama, and enlisted in Company B, 18th Alabama Infantry Regiment, the same unit in which his younger brother, Harmon, had enlisted a year earlier. Company B., called the Covington Hunters, was composed of men from Covington County. Jesse's home was in the county until the area became a part of Crenshaw County when it was formed in 1866.

 

"There was horrendous grieving in Covington County on September 19, 1863, when at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, the Eighteenth was terribly mutilated, losing 22 out of 36 officers and 300 out of 500 men killed or seriously wounded. Over 34,000 soldiers were either wounded or killed during three days of battle at Chickamauga. Jesse was with his brother two months later when Harmon was captured at Lookout Mountain. Then he was captured near Nashville in December 1864 and imprisoned at Camp Chase.

 

"When the war ended, Jesse, as most did, probably had to walk home to Alabama. He returned to a land devastated by war and impoverished by the lack of able-bodied men. Since one in every four soldiers who fought for the South died, the entire South as well as Covington County mourned for several years. The people of the Southland began collecting their hard-earned pennies, nickels, and dimes to raise fitting memorials to the gallant soldiers of the Confederacy. Monuments and statues sprung up in nearly every city or town with memorable inscriptions."

 

The source for today's genealogy was the records of Mrs. Ronald H. (Ann) Miller, a Sasser descendant, who resides in Marietta, Georgia. Appreciation is expressed to her and the other descendants who are preserving their family's history.

 

Anyone who might have any corrections or additional information on this family is requested to contact Curtis Thomasson at 21361 Rabren Road, Andalusia, AL 36421, 334-222-6467, or Email: chthom@alaweb.com.

 

Source: Andalusia Stars News by Robert D. Cassady, March 04, 2005