Descendants of Henry Overstreet of England

Generation #2

Henry (¹Henry) Overstreet, Jr. of Burke Co GA

a. This branch of the Braswell family (who married into the Farmer family in Virginia and then the Overstreet family in Georgia) is important for later research. From the many records, we find that the Braswell Family was from the part of Virginia which would become Bertie Co NC after the boundary shift in 1728.
b. Then we find that the Farmer family (who married into the Braswell and the Lee families in Virginia) was from the part of Virginia which would also become Bertie Co but then split and become Edgecombe Co NC in 1741.
c. Then we find that the Lee family (who married into the Farmer family in Virginia and the Overstreet family in Mississippi) was from the part of Virginia which would become Bertie Co but then split and become Edgecombe Co NC in 1741.
d. Then we find that the Overstreet family (who married into the Braswell family back in Georgia and then the Lee family in Mississippi) was from the part of Virginia which would become Bertie Co NC after the boundary shift in 1728.
e. From these adjacent locales, we come to understand that the Braswell/Overstreet family of Georgia ( who would marry into the Lee family of Mississippi in the 1820s and 1830s) was originally connected through intermarriage with the Farmer family way back in 1740 Virginia.

In two generations, we find three families:
a. Elizabeth Braswell b. c. 1714 Isle of Wight Co VA married c. 1740 in Virginia to Isaac Farmer b. 1711 Surry Co NC. . .
b. Then Isaac's son, Thomas Farmer b. c. 1741 Edgecombe Co NC married 1760 in North Carolina to Elizabeth Lee (sister of Zachariah Lee), b. 1746 Bertie Co NC. . .
c. Then, Isaac's daughter, Lucy Farmer b. c. 1745 in Halifax Co NC married 1763 in Edgecombe Co NC to Zachariah Lee b. c. 1745 in Edgecombe Co NC.

Henry Overstreet was born 1735 in Bertie Co NC. Henry and his parents are believed to have emigrated to Georgia in 1736, settling in the Augusta area.

Henry Overstreet is believed to have continued the family business of trading with the Creek Indians. Evidence of this family alliance comes in part from the marriage of Henry's son, Braswell, to Sarah Buie, the daughter of Chief Buie of the Creek Nation. Additionally, Henry had business contacts with Lachlan McGillivray, the noted Scot frontiersman and Indian trader, who was in fact Henry's father's neighbor in 1762.

Henry Overstreet, Jr. is first documented in a 1754 Old Granville Co SC Land Grant and documented again in a 1764 Old Granville Co SC Land Lease. 

In about 1758 probably in Old Granville Co SC, Henry married Jane Braswell b. 1741 in Isle of Wight Co VA. Of note, Jane was not an Indian; however, her brother Jacob Braswell married into the Buie Family of Creek Indians. And, her nephews and nieces were half Indian and some of her grandchildren were half Indian.

In an example of migration by an extended family, the Braswells and the Overstreets migrated to Georgia. In 1764 Kindred and Robert Braswell applied for land near Ogeechee Swamp in St. George's Parish GA. In January 1765, Henry Overstreet applied for land also on Ogeechee Swamp, receiving his grant on 8/6/1765. The petition for land stated that " he had been about four months in the Provence from South Carolina." Did Henry and Jane live with one of the Braswell brothers while waiting for their grant to be approved?

At the time of the Revolution, Henry Overstreet II, Lachlan McGillivray, and many other Georgians were noted Loyalists. This is understandable as Britain was winning the war in Georgia and the Carolinas up until 1/1781 and the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina.

In Albert Miller Hillhouse's book, "A History of Burke County, Georgia 1777-1850," we read:

In January 1779, after the British had captured Savannah, two British Commanders promulgated from Savannah a proclamation which offered immunity and security to all former colonists who would come and take the oath of allegiance to the Crown. With the fall of Savannah, Sunbury and Ebenezer, the occupation of all Georgia by the British seemed certain, and by the time the British forces had pushed up the Savannah River as far as the Twin Sisters' Ferry, inhabitants were flocking in to swear allegiance and in many cases had enrolled in the loyalists ranks. A group of Patriot officers, however, met at the Burke County Jail on January 14, 1779, to determine the most expedient method of counteracting this disaffection.

They called themselves the "Council of War." They determined by issuing a proclamation giving inhabitants three days to come to the Burke County Jail and pledge allegiance to the American cause; otherwise, they would be treated as enemies and dealt with accordingly. Along with this proclamation, they issued a second which said they would arrest nine Tory leaders named in the Council's proceedings who had been deluding the people into joining the British cause, plus a concurrent confiscation of these Tories' estates for use by the State. Those named included Henry Overstreet. The officers under Colonel Pugh agreed each to take a part of eight horsemen and apprehend these "leaders and deluders of the people and bring them into Camp."

    Albert Miller Hillhouse, "A History of Burke County, Georgia 1777-1850," Swainsboro, Georgia: Magnolia Press, 1985.

Even after the defeat of the British Army of the South under General Cornwallis, Georgia and South Carolina were still subjugated by Loyalists. Augusta wasn't evacuated by the British until 6/1781. British regulars and Loyalist militia were rampaging through the Georgia countryside until the evacuation of Savannah in 7/1782. Charleston, the last American city evacuated by the British, was not free until 12/1782.

As hostilities began to wind down, the Georgia Legislature began to address the question of the few Loyalists who did not embark with the British Army, departing for other British possessions in the New World. In notes from Judge Huxford we read that on 5/4/1782 an Act of the Georgia Legislature declared our Henry Overstreet "guilty of Treason." And, he was.

Alexander McGillivray, son of Lachlan and a Creek Indian Chief, led raiding parties on Patriot holdings in Georgia and the Carolinas throughout the war. He survived the war but was relegated to living on his plantation in Alabama. His father was deported back to Scotland. The Buie Family and the majority of Creeks were forced to surrender lands to the new federal government. But, Henry only had to pay a fine.

Henry and Jane lived the remainder of their lives in the Wiregrass Section of Georgia which would eventually become Emanuel County. Henry died before 9/1794 when his land was sold by his heirs. Jane is listed as a taxpayer in 1798 in Montgomery Co GA. And, Jane died sometime afterwards.

• Born 1735 Bertie Co NC

• Migrated c. 1737 with family to Ft. Augusta GA

• Migrated by 4/1754 to Old Granville Co SC

• 4/20/1754 Old Granville Co SC Land Grant

• Married c. 1758 in South Carolina to Jane Braswell b. 1741 in Isle of Wight Co VA

• 1764 Old Granville Co SC Land Lease

• Migrated 8/1764 to St. Georges Parish GA

• 8/6/1765 St. George's Parish Land Grant

• 11/10/1765 Old Granville Co SC Land Grant

• 9/2/1766 St. George's Parish Land Grant

• 1777 Burke Co GA created from Old St. Georges's Parish

• 5/4/1782 Act of the Georgia Legislature

• 1793 Screven Co formed from Burke and Effingham Counties

• Died before 9/1794 Screven Co GA

• Jane migrated c. 1795 to Montgomery Co GA

• 1798 Montgomery Co GA Tax List: Jane Overstreet

• Jane died after 1798 Montgomery Co GA

    Children

    1. Daniel Overstreet

• Born 1765 St. George Parish GA

• 1777 Burke Co GA created from Old St. Georges's Parish

• Migrated before 1790 to Washington Co GA

• Married c. 1790 in Washington Co GA to Eleanor "Nellie" Daniel b. c. 1765 in Georgia

• 1790 Washington Co GA Census: Daniel Overstreet

• 5/23/1792 Washington (now Montgomery) Co GA Land Transaction

• 1793 Montgomery Co split from Washington Co GA

• 11/31/1793 Montgomery Co GA Land Transaction

• 9/1794 Screven Co GA Land Transaction

• 1/26/1797 Montgomery Co GA Probate

• 1797 Montgomery Co GA Tax List: Daniel Overstreet

• 1805 Montgomery Co GA Tax List: Daniel Overstreet

• 1805 Montgomery Co GA Land Lottery: Daniel Overstreet

• 1812 Emanuel Co split from Montgomery Co GA

• 1813/1815 Emanuel County GA Land Records

• Died after 8/1816 Emanuel Co GA

• Eleanor died after 1818 Emanuel Co GA

    2. Braswell Overstreet

• Born 1770 St. George Parish GA

• 1777 Burke Co GA created from Old St. Georges's Parish

• 9/1794 Screven Co GA Land Transaction

• Migrated c. 1795 w/ family to Montgomery Co GA

• Married c. 1795 in Montgomery Co GA to Sarah Buie b. 1779 Burke Co GA

• 1797 Montgomery Co GA Tax List: Braswell Overstreet

• 1798 Montgomery County Jury List: Braswell Overstreet

• 1803 Montgomery Co GA Land Grant

• Migrated before 1820 to Wayne Co MS

• 1820 Wayne Co MS Census: Braswell Overstreet (+45)

• 1830 Wayne Co MS Census: Not found

• 1840 Wayne Co MS Census: Braswell Overstreet (60-70)

• Died 1845 Wayne Co MS

• 1850 Greene Co MS Census

1850 Federal Census: Greene County, Mississippi
LN  FN  LAST NAME   FIRST NAME   AGE SEX  OCCUP.     BIRTH
===========================================================
    60 Overstreet   Thomas       31  M    Laborer    MS 
                    Sarah        71  F               MS 
Note: Sarah was born in 1779. The Territory of Mississippi
was not created until 1798.
                    John         46  M    S. Teacher GA

• 1860 Wayne Co MS Census

1860 Federal Census: Wayne County, Mississippi
LN  FN  LAST NAME   FIRST NAME   AGE SEX  OCCUP.     BIRTH
===========================================================
    60 Overstreet   Thomas       41  M    Farmer     MS 
                    Sarah        80  F               GA

• Sarah died after 1860 Wayne Co MS

    3. Charity Overstreet

• Born c. 1771 St. George Parish GA

• 1777 Burke Co GA created from Old St. Georges's Parish

• Married c. 1791 in Georgia to John Mulkey b. c. 1770

• Migrated c. 1795 w/ family to Montgomery Co GA

• 1793 Montgomery Co split from Washington Co GA

• 9/1794 Screven Co GA Land Transaction

• 11/26/1802 Montgomery Co GA Record

• Date and place of death unknown

    4. John Overstreet b. 1774 St. George's Parrish GA

    5. Sarah Overstreet

• Born c. 1776 St. George Parish GA

• 1777 Burke Co GA created from Old St. Georges's Parish

• Married c. 1794 in Georgia to Mr. Canmah b. c. 1771

• 9/1794 Screven Co GA Land Transaction

• Date and place of death unknown

    6. James Overstreet

• Born c. 1780 Burke Co GA

• Migrated c. 1795 w/ family to Montgomery Co GA

• Married c. 1803 in Montgomery Co GA to Ann Stripling b. 1783 in South Carolina

• 1805 Lincoln Co GA Land Lottery: James Overstreet

• Migrated 1818 to Perry Co MS

• 1820 Greene Co MS Census: James Overstreet (25-44)/Ann Overstreet (25-44)

• 1823 Perry Co. MS Tax List: James Overstreet 11.5 acres

• 1825 Perry Co. MS Tax List: James Overstreet 120 acres

• 1827 Perry Co. MS Tax List: James Overstreet 262 Acres

• 1830 Perry Co MS: Not found

• Migrated 1837 to Jasper Co MS

• Died 1846 Jasper Co MS

• Ann died 7/18/1859 Jasper Co MS

Generation #3