Ancestor of the Month – Oct 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 7

Children:

Adolphus Gordon Mizell (b. 7/12/1871, d. Unk)

Minnie Mizell (b. 6/22/1874, d. 9/29/1874)

Born in Barren County, Kentucky

William Riley Mizell is the grandson of Cader Mizell (see Generation 5, Person #41, b. 1763) and the son of John Richard Mizell (the first), (Person #105, b. 1793).  By all indications, he was born in Barren County, Kentucky on July 11, 1840, as the first son and second child of John Richard and his second wife Elizabeth Miller.

His father had six children (four daughters and two sons) by his first wife Prividen Pruden, who had died around 1835 when they lived in Tennessee.  William Riley was to be the second of seven more children by John Richard’s second wife. Many of these thirteen children have descendants to today, but William Riley was not one of them.

Move to Livingston County Kentucky before 1855

The hills and hollows around Glasgow and Barren County Kentucky supported the family for several years dung the 1840s and early 1850s.  William Riley’s older half brother John Richard (the second) stayed in Barren County and married a Peden girl, whose family already had long lines in Barren County by 1855.

For some reason, John Richard (the first) decided to move his family on to Livingston County Kentucky around 1854.  There were other Mizells (second and third cousins) already there.  Perhaps is was the building economy associated with river boat traffic on the Ohio River, since Livingston County is just up river from Paducah.

Service in the Civil War

With the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1861 William Riley was a young man of age 21 and an uncertain future.  Apparently there were sentiments in his family against slavery, and perhaps these led him to cross the Ohio River at Golconda into Illinois

and enlist in the Union Army.  He served in the 120th Illinois Infantry, Company E, and saw duty at Memphis Tennessee and other points along the Mississippi River during the Civil War.

Return from the Civil War

When the Civil War was over, he returned to Illinois.  His father John Richard (the first) had died in Livingston County in 1864, leaving his mother with sons at home aged 19, 17, 15 and 9.  The older boys would soon leave home to seek their fortunes, leaving Elizabeth and her

youngest son Thomas Arthur Mizell to get by on their own. William Riley met his bride to be Emma A. Thompson around Golconda, and they were married there on September 6, 1866.  He was 26 at the time and she was 23.

Medical School

There was certainly a need for doctors, and William Riley’s interest in the practice of medicine may have stemmed from his Civil War service.  He perhaps had contact with other doctors traveling though the area, but learned of medical schools back east and decided to pursue medical training. He enrolled in the University of Miami Medical College in Cincinnati,

Ohio, graduating there in 1874 at the age of 34.  Little is known about how much time it took to get through “medical school” in those days, but medical practice was certainly much more primitive then compared to the 21st Century. He promptly traveled down the Ohio River back to Illinois, and searched for a place to set up practice.

New Burnside, Johnson County, Illinois

In the early 1870s, the little town of New Burnside, Illinois was on the new railroad line running from Vincennes, Indiana southwest to Cairo, Illinois.  While it was a community of only a few hundred people, it was a good stop for steam locomotives to re-supply with water. In 1874, William Riley Mizell and his wife Emma decided that New Burnside would be a good place to settle.  He was the first medical doctor to settle there.

In 1875, while digging a water well, coal was discovered near New Burnside.  A mine was opened, and coal was used locally for fuel.  Quickly there was a demand for coal elsewhere, and coal was loaded on rail cars for shipment to other cities and towns. People flocked to New Burnside for jobs and work.  New Burnside grew to 2,000 people by 1879.  In 1880, the coal mine did $35,000 in business.  It was a thriving community.

Leading Citizen

William Riley Mizell was a charter member of the New Burnside Baptist Church which was organized May 16, 1875.  He bought about 5 acres in New Burnside and built a house for Emma and their son.  His mother, Elizabeth, widowed in 1864 when her much older husband died, came from Kentucky and joined the family to live out her final days in New Burnside (she died in 1881 and is buried in New Burnside). By 1878, William Riley had bought another 100 acres a couple of miles northwest of town.  His youngest brother Thomas Arthur Mizell, born in 1855, came with his mother, and as a young man in his early 20s, learned farming on this 100 acre tract. Thomas Arthur met his bride in Johnson County, Illinois, they got

married in 1879 and William Riley signed as a witness. William Riley’s half-nephew, John Elza Mizell, born in Kentucky in 1860, and looking for a start in life, came to New Burnside about 1880. John Elza also met his bride in Johnson County, Illinois and there were married in 1882, with William Riley signing as a witness. Thomas Arthur was to move to western Kansas in 1882 and have a large family of descendants.  John Elza was to stay in Johnson County, Illinois and also have a large family of descendants. William Riley Mizell was one of the original members of the Masonic Lodge chartered in 1884.

Family Historian

Stories in the family suggest that William Riley Mizell was interested in the Mizell Family Tree. He reportedly collected information about ancestors, and accumulated considerable information about the early generations. There has been speculation that perhaps he even traveled to France to learn about family ties there. A tragic fire at his home in New Burnside in 1934, a few weeks after

his death, apparently consumed almost his entire collection of family records. William Riley Mizell purchased a Bible around 1870 for the price of $3.25, which was used to record births, deaths and marriages for generations to come.  That Bible survives to the present day, and many family historians have copies of those pages.

Late in Life

The New Burnside economy did not continue to boom.  Better coal was found elsewhere in southern Illinois, and by 1883, the population had dropped to about 1,000 people.  In 1907, New Burnside was home to only 400 people. William Riley and Emma had a son Adolphus Gordon born 1871 and a daughter Minnie born in 1874.  Minnie died at the age of 3 months. Adolphus Gordon Mizell was to attend medical school in Chicago from 1894 to 1897, and settled in

Shelbyville, Illinois after graduation.  He and his wife Cora never had any children. This was the end of the line for descendants of William Riley and Emma Mizell. William Riley Mizell died in New Burnside on August 1, 1934.  His wife Emma preceded him in death in 1928.  They both are buried in the cemetery at the west edge of town, near the grave of his mother Elizabeth.

The Legacy of Uncle Doc Mizell

For all the other Mizells whose lives had been shaped by this wonderful man, he was known as UNCLE DOC. The stories about Uncle Doc probably started before 1900 and were still very much alive in the 1970s.

With the passing generations, those stories aren’t told as often.  If we only knew what Uncle Doc knew about the Mizell family tree that went up in smoke in that fire of 1934!

Ancestor of the Month – Sept 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 6

Children:

James Andrew Mizell (b. 01/01/1850, d. 02/02/1873)

Susan Jane Mizell (b. 5/06/1851, d. unknown)

Ann Elizabeth Mizell (b. 3/23/1853, d. 1932)

Mary Mizell (b. 01/06/1855, d. unknown)

Born in Telfair County, Georgia

Matthew Mizell (person #135 in Generation 5) is the son of Griffin Mizell (see Generation 5, Person #48, b. 1767) and Susannah Carter.  He was born in Telfair County, Georgia on April 10, 1813, and was the sixth of eight children.

He was very committed to his parents, and as they grew older, he continued to live at home and care for them.

Move to Lowdes County Georgia 1846

In the spring of 1846, Matthew Mizell and his parents moved to present Brooks County, then a part of Lowndes County, Georgia.  This move took them about 90 miles south to just north of the Georgia – Florida state line. His brother Jaob Carter Mizell, who was five years older than Matthew, had previously moved to this area.  His older sister Elizabeth also made the move with them.

They settled on Jaob’s property three miles south of Quitman, on the Old Madison Road (County Road 245) east of present State Highway 333 leading south to Madison, Florida.  Matthew’s father Griffin died in November 1846, when Matthew was age 33.  His mother Susannah died at the end of August 1848.

Marriage November 1848

Sometime during the two years after the move, Matthew met his future bride, Martha Newsom.  She was the daughter of Asa Newsom of Lowndes County.  She was born June 28, 1818 in Warren County, Georgia.  They became engaged, but agreed to wait until after Matthew’s mother died to get married. After their engagement, Matthew proceeded to build a new home for

his bride to be.  They were married November 28, 1848, three months after the death of his mother.  Matthew was age 35 and Martha was 30 at the time. Matthew and Martha were blessed with four children, one son and three daughters, born between 1850 and 1855.  Their son James Andrew died tragically at age 23 in 1873.

Life after 50

Throughout his life, he was a faithful member of the Methodist Church.  His wife Martha continued worshiping in the Baptist Church, and served as a teacher and leader for many years. Matthew Mizell served in the Civil War.  In 1864, at the age of 51, he was drafted into the Georgia militia which served in the battles around Atlanta.

After the Civil War was over, Matthew returned to his home near Quitman and lived there for the rest of his life.  Matthew Mizell died at his home near Quitman on November 23, 1883.  He was 70 years old at the time of his death.

Ancestor of the Month – August 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 7

Children:

Elizabeth Mizzell (b. 1834, d. unknown)

Jane Mizzell (b. 1837, d. unknown)

Nancy Ann Mizzell (b. 1840, d. unknown)

John R. Mizzell (b. 1842, d. unknown)

James H. Mizzell (b. 1845, d. unknown)

Araminta Mizzell (b. 1848, d. unknown)

Levi Mizzell (b. 1850, d. unknown)

Richard Paul Mizzell (b. 1850, d. unknown)

Unity T. Mizzell (b. 1853, d. unknown)

Margia Mizzell (b. 1855, d. unknown)

Born in North Carolina

Levi Mercer Mizell is the grandson of William Mizell (see Generation 5, Person #30, b. 1757) and the son of Levi Mizell (Generation 6, Person #77, b. 1770) and Mary Mercer.  He was born in North Carolina on August 20, 1814 and had seven older brothers and sisters.

Moved to Weakley County, Tennessee 1820s

Levi’s father decided to leave North Carolina and move west perhaps sometime in the 1820s.  His father died in Weakley County Tennessee about 1830, and apparently had taken his wife and the younger children in the family to settle in there.  Levi Mercer Mizzell, being the youngest child in the family certainly made the move with his parents. Weakley County is along the Kentucky-Tennessee border, 50 miles south of Paducah, Kentucky and 50 miles east of the Mississippi River at Caruthersville, Missouri.

Levi Mercer Mizzell met his wife Nancy Howard in Weakley County, Tennessee and they were married about 1833.  They had ten children (4 sons and 6 daughters) born between 1834 and 1855, all born in Weakley County. Levi's oldest brother John, born about 1794 in North Carolina, lived there until about 1835 before deciding to move west.  John settled with his family in Weakley County Tennessee around 1838.  Both he and Levi left many descendants in the western part of Tennessee and in the surrounding region.

Ancestor of the Month – July 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 6

Children:

Jackson Mizell (b. 5/13/1836, d. 1919)

James Mizell (b. 9/11/1838, d. 10/05/1842)

Everett Mizell (b. 9/28/1841, d. 4/27/1863) Civil War

Catherine Mizell (b. 1/29/1844, d. 1888)

Martha Mizell (b. 1/29/1844, d. 1936)

Lucy Mizell (b. 11/27/1849, d. 8/07/1938)

William Mizell (b. 6/21/1852, d. 2/12/1930)

Joseph Paxton Mizell (b. 6/21/1852, d. 12/24/1930)

Charlton Mizell (b. 4/04/1858, d. 2/19/1859)

Jessie Mizell (b. 12/20/1859, d. 8/15/1860)

Born Camden County Georgia 1801

Joshua Everett Mizell is the grandson of Charlton Mizell (see Generation 4, Person #12, b. 1727) and the son of Charlton Mizell (Generation 5, Person #34, b. 1773) and Mary Blount.

Joshua Everett was born in Camden County in southeast Georgia on December 11, 1801.  He was the third of eight children born to Charlton and Mary.  He grew up on a plantation in a family that owned slaves.

Marriage 1835

Joshua Everett married Letitia R. Paxton on January 27, 1835.  Letitia was born October 2, 1815 in Camden Co. Georgia, the daughter of Martha McLeske and Joseph Paxton.  When they were married, he was 33 and she was 19.  Joshua and Letitia lived on Bailey branch near the Satilla River, and had a large plantation and a number of slaves.  In the 1840s and 1850s, they were prominent citizens in Camden County, Georgia.  Joshua and Letitia had ten children born between 1836 and 1859.  Twin girls Catherine and Martha were born in January 1844 and another set of twins, this time boys, William and Joseph, were born in June 1852. There was certainly sorrow in the family, as the second child James

died at age 4, and the ninth (Charlton) and tenth (Jesse) children died before their first birthdays.  And their third child Everett, born 1841, died in the Civil War in 1863 at the age of 22. In 1854, when Charlton County Georgia was formed out of Camden County, Joshua’s plantation was placed in the new county and he was named as one of the original commissioners to help organize the County Government.  Joshua Everett Mizell died February 20, 1891 in his 89th year.  His wife Letitia lived to October 26, 1893, dying at the ripe old age of 78.  They both were buried in the family cemetery on the original family plantation.

Ancestor of the Month – June 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 7

Children:

Mary Frances Mizell

Sarah Ann Mizell

William David Mizell (b.1858, d. 1883)

Lula Amanda Mizell

John Thomas Mizell (b. 1864, d. Unk)

Joshua Montgomery Mizell

Della Belle Mizell (b. 1869, d. 1960)

Born near Lake City Florida 1833

David William Mizell is the grandson of David Mizell (see Generation 5, Person #31, b. 1770) and the son of David Mizell (Generation 6, Person #86, b. 1808) and Mary Pearce.  He is one of the many colorful members of the seventh generation since Luke Mizell (b. 1614). David was born on a farm in the vicinity of Fort Olustee and Fort Alligator in north Florida in 1833.  He was the second of eight children to be born to David and Mary.  During this time the US Government had resolved to move the Seminole Indians, who inhabited much of north Florida, to parts west

(Oklahoma) as a way to reduce friction with new settlers.  The Seminoles had rebelled during earlier attempts to control them in 1817-1819, and another war broke out between the whites and the Indians in 1835.  The Lake City region was heavily involved in the new conflicts, and young David’s parents had to resort to extreme measures to fortify their farm and their home.  The stockade which David father built quickly became a refuge for neighbors seeking refuge from the Indians during times of conflict.

Move South after 1842

As the Indian conflicts subsided in 1842, David’s father found opportunities in the Seminole lands that were opening up to settlers.  Large acreages were available to settlers who would clear lands for new commerce.  So, soon after the Indian conflict subsided, he moved

his family south of Gainesville to around Micanopy.  Lands were suitable for cattle grazing and horse ranching, and that is what the family pursued for several years.  David William would have been about 9 years old at the time.

Marriage 1854

David William Mizell married Angeline Augusta May on December 21, 1854 when he was 21 years old.  This marriage was to produce 7 children, the last being born in 1869.

Around 1855, when David William was about 22, another series of battles occurred in Florida with the remaining Seminoles, and these conflicts were finally settled with more Indians being sent west in 1858.

Move to Winter Park 1858

With more land opening up further south, in 1858 David William and Angeline packed up their family and moved in search of more land.  Their search ended on the banks of Lake Rowenta in what is now Winter Park in the Orlando area.  They arrived on Christmas Day, 1858.  There were no other settlers in the area. In 1859 they set about building a cabin and clearing land for a homestead.  But it seems that fate is never completely within your own control.  In November 1860, Lincoln was elected President, and in December 1860, South Carolina seceded from

the Union over the issue of slavery.  Florida was the second state to secede in January 1861, followed by several other southern states over the next three months.  Lincoln was inaugurated in March and Fort Sumter was bombarded in April.  The Civil War was officially underway! David and Angeline, along with many of the rest of his family, was not in favor of the war, but as threats continued to build against the South, they joined the Confederate Army to serve their new nation.

The Civil War and Key West, Florida

David William joined the Florida 8th Infantry Regiment which completed its organization at Lake City, Florida, during the summer of 1862.  The unit was soon ordered to Virginia with a force of 950 men.  David Mizell was stricken with cholera en route to Savannah and never saw battle. Angeline drove her wagon up into Georgia to bring her husband home.  Some of the family later said that a doctor recommended a warmer climate near the sea and a diet of fish and vegetable broth.  Angeline loaded Dave and their one child back into the wagon and headed for the coast.  They settled in Key West, Florida, which was in Union hands and relatively free of conflict.

It isn't known how long she stayed there with her sickly husband and her child, but Key West seemed a suitable climate to help David recover.  There in an abandoned Spanish fort, David recuperated and another child was born (ever notice that no matter how sickly a man is the babies keep arriving?).  Some of David's enemies later said that it was while he was in Key West that he made the deal whereby he would be appointed sheriff of his home county when the war was over.

Sheriff of Orange County Florida

After the war, Florida’s state government was quickly removed and a reconstruction government installed.  The Reconstruction Government chose David Mizell as sheriff for Orange County.  Dave Mizell proved to be a loyal Reconstruction man.  In spite of his descendants' tales that he took the job of sheriff to protect his fellow former Confederates, he was never known to have sided with them even when history and all contemporary circumstances proved them morally and legally right.  David’s younger brother John Mizell was appointed judge of Orange County; and, as put by many citizens of the area, "they had the people right where they wanted them.”  After the Civil War, cattle were scarce and in great demand.  All over the South, and especially in the central Florida area, cow stealing became big business.  The Mizells and their allies, the Basses, accused the Barber family and their allies of illegally rounding up other people's stock.  The Barbers in turn claimed the Mizells were sweeping the woods clean of cattle under the guise and protection of the law.  Exorbitant taxes were imposed to support the new state government.  Most were unable to pay the taxes and believed them unjust.  Judge John Mizell directed his brother Sheriff Dave to collect in cattle.  When he "collected" out of Mose Barber's herd he was told, "If you ever enter my herd again, Dave Mizell, you'll leave feet-first."  Mose Barber lost still another court case and Judge Mizell demanded the Sheriff to collect court costs from Mose.  Sheriff Dave knew Barber's finances almost as well as

did Barber and realized that instead of getting money he would have to once more visit Mose's cattle herds.  In the meantime the Orange County courthouse, like hundreds of others in the South, burned to the ground with all its records.  The county, much larger then than now, divided into bitter sides, and many were ready to join in the feud when it began.  In early 1870 an Orlando farmer named Bullock approached Sheriff Mizell with a bill of sale for cattle from the Barbers but which he could not collect.  Mizell and his brother Morgan and twelve year old son Billy headed for south Orange County (the present Osceola County) to force one of the Barbers (either General or Champion by name) to deliver up the cows to Bullock.  When they reached Bull Creek near the present Kenansville, they were ambushed.  Sheriff Mizell's killer was never found but a local Barber sympathizer named Needham Yates later claimed credit for the deed and said Mose Barber had hired him to do it. Dave's brothers and relatives scoured the countryside for Barbers, killing every one they found.  Any captured were shot rather than saved for trial since they were certain the majority of the populace, wanting to be free from the Mizell power, would have been sympathetic to the victims.  The Mizells, meanwhile, regrouped their power and soon had the central part of the state in their hands.  The body of Sheriff Dave Mizell was brought back to the shore of Lake Rowena to rest under a sycamore planted by his mother when they first arrived.

Ancestor of the Month – May 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 5

Children:

Luke Thomas Mizell (b. 8/29/1803, d. 9/08/1877)

John Mizell (b. 3/10/1805, d. unk)

Winnefred Mizell (b. 2/18/1807, d. unk)

Amos Love Mizell (b. 5/28/1809, d. 9/12/1897)

Mary Love Mizell (b. 2/18/1811, d. 4/20/1876)

Charles Griffin Mizell (b. 11/06/1813, d. 3/02/1878)

William Mizell (b. 5/05/1816, d. abt 1862)

Susan Mizell (b. 8/09/1818, d. unk)

Hope Hull Mizell (b. 9/20/1820, d. unk)

Elizabeth Mizell (b. 11/12/1822, d. abt 1828)

Adeline Mizell (b. 10/28/1824, d. 1870)

Jane Love Mizell (b. 9/23/1826, d. unk)

Martha Mizell (b. 2/04/1829, d. 10/31/1908)

Born near Savannah Georgia

William Mizell is found in Generation #5 (see Person #50) and the son of William Mizell (Person #15, b. 1730) and Susannah Thompson.  He is the grandson of William Mizell (Person #5, b. 1682). William Mizell was born near Savannah, February 4, 1781 in what was then Effingham or Burke County.  This was the time of the Revolutionary War with England, so families were struggling with this conflict in their everyday lives.

Georgia was the fourth of the original 13 colonies to adopt statehood in the newly formed United States, declaring statehood on January 2, 1788.  William would have been only 6 years old when this occurred. William was a popular name in the Mizell family since the third generation, and there have been many, many Williams since.

Marriage to Mary Love

William Mizell married Mary Love on October 28, 1802 when he was age 21 and she was age 15.  Mary had been born near the southeastern coast of North Carolina in Onslow County in 1786.

Their grandson Daniel Bullard Mizell wrote that at the time of their marriage, William was an Episcopalian and Mary a Baptist, but that afterwards they joined the Methodist Church.

Early Church Influences

There was a new Episcopal Church, known as St. George's Church, in the Parish of St. George near the present town of Waynesborough when the Mizells arrived.  St. George's Church, later known as Old Church, became a Methodist Church.  Methodism was gaining a foothold in and around Savannah in the early 1800s, because it was less formal than the Church of England.

So when William and Mary were married in late 1802, they were perhaps influenced by the trend toward less religious formality.  In addition, there was an opportunity for evangelism among the people around Savannah, and with the migrations westward beginning, there would be opportunities for evangelism there too. William found talents preaching and ministering, and decided to devote his life spreading the Gospel.

Influences of Family Migrations

In the early 1800s, lands inland from the Atlantic coast were opening for settlement and there were many opportunities to start a new life.

Griffin Mizell, William’s brother, moved to Jones County Georgia about 1809, later to Telfair County where he lived until 1846, and finally to Lowndes, now Brooks County.

Move to Jones County Georgia

By the start of 1809, Will and Mary had three children, with a fourth (Amos Love Mizell) on the way.  The Reverend William and family moved to Jones County, Georgia following his older brother Griffin.  Treaties with the Indians, the prospect for profitable cotton culture in the new "Western" cotton lands.

Jones County was formed in 1807 from lands that earlier had been acquired by treaty with the Creek Indians.  William and his family continued to reside in the county until the mid-1820s.

Move to Houston County. Georgia

Houston County was created in 1821 out of lands acquired from the Creeks under the first treaty of Indian Springs.  As created, Houston included land that lay south of

Jones County.  William and family must have moved into the new territory soon after it was acquired since their last child, Martha, was born there in 1829.

Move to Alabama

The Reverend William's last move was to Dale County Alabama when he accompanied his son, Amos Love, and other children there in 1846.

He died in Dale County on March 7, 1857, and was buried at Old Pleasant Hill Church.  Mary died there in 1867.

Ancestor of the Month – April 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 10

Ancestor of the Month – March 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 6

Children:

Elizabeth Mizell (b. unk, d. unk)

Mary Mizell (b. unk, d. unk)

Robert Mizell (b. unk, d. unk)

Sarah Mizell (b. unk, d. unk)

Susannah Mizell (b. unk, d. unk)

John Richard Mizell (b. 1834, d. Jun 1894)

Children:

Nancy Jane Mizell (b. 1838, d. abt. 1864)

William Riley Mizell (b. 7/11/1840, d. 08/01/1934) [not the same as the January 2007 Ancestor of the Month]

Lucinda Mizell (b. 1843, d. 09/05/1859)

Samuel P. Mizell (b. 03/24/1845, d. 1931)

Richard Ferguson Mizell (b. 07/04/1847, d. 09/05/1881)

Newton Mizell (b. 1849, d. 1875)

Thomas Arthur Mizell (b. 08/29/1855, d. 01/20/1928)

Born Bertie County, North Carolina

John Richard Mizell (Senior) is found in Generation #6 (see Person #105) and the son of Cader Mizell (Person #41, b. 1763) and Mary Hare.  He was born in Bertie County, North Carolina on February 5, 1793, when his father was age 29 and his mother

was about 27.  We know of one older brother Hesekiah (b. 1785) and two younger brothers (Luke b. 1800 and Daniel b. 1802), but we do not know the birth dates of two other brothers (George and James) and two sisters (Polly and Sally).

First marriage and move to Tennessee

Around 1817, when he was about age 24, he married Prividen Pruden.  His father Cader moved to Knox County Tennessee around 1818, when John Richard would have been age 25.  John Richard moved to Tennessee perhaps around the same time as his father, taking his wife Prividen and the first of their children.

They had a total of six children (four daughters and two sons) between 1817 and 1834, when the last of their children, John Richard Mizell (Junior) was born.  It is likely that the last five children of this marriage were born in Tennessee.  Prividen died soon after their son John Richard Junior was born in 1834 in Smith County Tennessee.

Second marriage and Move to Kentucky

After Prividen died, John Richard married Elizabeth Miller.  We know she was born in 1817 in Tennessee, so she was about 24 years younger than he.  Perhaps they married around 1835 or 1836, one or two years after John Richard’s first wife had died.  John Richard and Elizabeth Miller went on to have seven children (2 daughters and 5 sons).  We know that one of the daughters from this marriage (Lucinda) was

born in Tennessee in 1843 and died at Salem, Livingston County, Kentucky in 1859.  Perhaps John Richard and his wife Elizabeth and their children moved to Salem between 1845 and 1850.  Their last child (Thomas Arthur Mizell, born 1855) was born at Salem, Kentucky. Salem is in western Kentucky, about 25 miles northeast of Paducah Kentucky and about 12 miles southeast of the Ohio River at Golconda, Illinois.

Final Years at Salem, Livingston County, Kentucky

John Richard spent his final years living around Salem, Kentucky.  He died and was buried there in 1864.  His second wife Elizabeth Miller lived another 18 years, apparently

moving to New Burnside, Illinois around 1875 to live with their son William Riley Mizell (born 1840).  She died in New Burnside in 1881 and is buried in the cemetery there.

Ancestor of the Month – February 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 5

Some records spell his name as “Kadar” or “Kader”.

Children:

Hesekiah Mizell (b. 1785, d. 1852)

John Richard Mizell (b. 2/05/1793, d. 9/15/1864)

Luke Mizell (b. 1800, d. 1883)

Daniel Mizell (b. 1802)

George Mizell (b. abt 1800)

James Mizell (b. abt 1800)

Polly Freeman Mizell (b. abt 1800)

Sally Mizell (b. abt 1800)

Born Bertie County, North Carolina

Cader Mizell is found in Generation #5 (see Person #41) and the son of John Mizell (Person #14, b. 1732) and Sarah Hughes.  Cader was born in Bertie County, North Carolina on November 7, 1763, according to John Mizell's bible, then in the hands of his son John Richard in Kentucky.  He was the last of five children born to this union. It is likely that his mother died when he was very young.  When Cader was about 6 years old, his father married his second wife Hannah Ward.  They went on to have three children, so Cader grew up in a household with a half-sister and two half-brothers.

He was 12 years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.  While we do not know the extent that he knew of the unrest brewing in the colonies around him, or of the sympathies of his immediate family, it is likely that news reached Bertie County on a regular basis.  Cader enlisted in the North Carolina militia in 1780 when he was only 16, so he was involved in opposing the Tories (or loyalists) who favored the British.

Service in the Revolutionary War 1780 – 1787

According to Cader's pension request, he served under Colonel Moore, Major Thomas Pen, Captain Solomon Chery, Lieutenant Hardy Watford, and Ensen Thomas Rhodes.  Cader enlisted about January 1780 to avoid being drafted. See Patric Peirsey, Abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files, Vol. 2 p. 2318. His service in the militia around North Carolina was intermittent.  He was able to live around Bertie County and periodically travel to serve when needed.  At the age of 20 in 1783, he married Mary Hare, and their first child Hesekiah was born in 1785 in Bertie County.

Part of his service in the militia was at town called Hillborough, North Carolina which today is about 15 miles west of Durham NC.  During his time, he was ordered to march to Bells Mills on Deep River.  From there they marched to the Yadkin River.  While at the Yadkin he was ordered to march to where a parcel of Tories were, but only got to 1/2 mile away before they were attacked by Virginia Troops, who defeated them, killing about 16.  He was discharged in October 1787 and returned to Bertie County.

Family Life in North Carolina 1787 – 1818

We know nothing about Cader and Mary’s lives in Bertie County after the Revolutionary War ended in 1787.  After Hesekiah, they had seven more children born before about 1805, five sons and two daughters.

North Carolina was one of the 13 original states, being established in 1789.  The young economy was more stable and growing after the War, but times were certainly tough.  Cader and Mary raised their family, and when Cader was 55 they decided to migrate west to find a new life.

Moving West from North Carolina

He moved from Bertie County to Knox County, Tennessee about 1818.  Tennessee had been admitted to the Union in 1796, and offered many opportunities for settlement and a new life.  Perhaps in the early 1820s, he then moved to Roane County, Tennessee, which is about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville.

About 1824, Cader moved 60 miles further west to White County, Tennessee.  He died there in 1825 at the age of 61.  He lived in the southern part of White County that became Van Buren County.

Ancestor of the Month – January 2007

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 8

There are several people with this name in the family tree, and they are not all from the same branch of the family.  There is another William Riley Mizell, born two decades earlier (in generation 7), who will be featured in this column in the months ahead.

Children:

Nancy Mizell (b. 1888, d. 11/08/1966)

Children:

William Warren Mizell (b. 11/17/1900, d. 11/20/1961)

Nancy Mizell (b. 04/12/1902)

Daisy Mizell (b. 04/21/1903)

John Mizell (b. 06/12/1905)

Bessie Mizell (b. 01/29/1909) twin

Walter Mizell (b. 01/29/1909, d. 02/1976) twin

Thomas Freeman Mizell (b. 05/17/1911, d. 10/15/1999)

Murtice Mizell (b. 02/03/1913)

Trula Mizell (b. 08/31/1916)

Born Agricola, Mississippi

William Riley Mizell was the great grandson of James Mizell (Generation #5, b. 1760, d. 1835; see Person #22) and the grandson of David Mizell (Person #63, 1800).  He was the son of William Mizell (b. 1832) and Susan Parker.  The father William was wounded in the Civil War battle at Spanish Fort, Alabama (March 27 to April 8, 1865) and died of pneumonia at home shortly thereafter.

William Riley Mizell was born in January 1865, so he was only a few months old when his father died. He had one sister, Agoline Mizell born in 1860.  After her first husband’s death, his mother Susan married Robert Dixon III.  From his mother’s second marriage, William Riley had 3 half-brothers and one half-sister.

His Life Story

William Riley was born in Agricola, George County, Mississippi.  He never knew his father, who died of Civil War wounds when he was a few months old.  He grew up with his mother and step-father, and never learned to read of write. He worked as a farmer and a lumber man harvesting timber and cutting it in saw mills around southern Mississippi.  He met Annie Garlott and lived with her while he was in his 20s.  They had a daughter Nancy, born in 1888.  They were subsequently married in Jackson County, Mississippi on December 9, 1896.  He was age 31 at

the time.  His wife Annie died within a year or so thereafter. William Riley met Rosa Lee Dees and they were married August 29, 1899.  He was age 34 and she was age 19 at the time. Rosa was reportedly half Creek Indian. William Riley and Rosa had four sons and five daughters born between 1900 and 1916.  Rosa died on August 28, 1941 at age 61.  William Riley died three and a half years later on January 21, 1945, just five days after his 80th birthday.

The Big Swindle

William Riley and his wife Rosa suffered a huge injustice in 1902.  He owned 162 acres of good timber and farm land, near the junction of Cemetery Road and Barton Agricola Road near Agricola, Mississippi.  Two men by the name of Haynes and Traxley came to their home saying they wanted to buy the timber off this land.  They presented a contract to William, which he could not read.

His wife, who could both read and write, was sick in bed and did not have a chance to read the contract before William signed it.  William thought he was signing over rights to the timber, but instead signed over the title to all his land.  This transaction is recorded at the George County Deed Book 24, on pages 396 & 397.

Ancestor of the Month – December 2006

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 7

Children:

Warren Key Mizell (b. 8/15/1877, d. 5/12/1955)

George Cummings Mizell (b. 5/22/1879, d. 5/12/1949)

Alice Gertrude Mizell (b. 3/22/1881, d. 9/05/1963)

Lula Viola Mizell (b. 1/25/1884, d. 12/26/1959)

Anne Elizabeth Mizell (b. 4/16/1882, d. 3/19/1965)

Cecil Kenneth Mizell (b. 7/10/1886, d. 3/19/1975)

Agnes Mizell (b. 4/20/1889, d. 2/1977)

Florence Mizell (b. 2/13/1892, d. 8/31/1965)

Mary Magdeline Mizell (b. 10/05/1894, d. 11/27/1962)

Lillian Virginia Mizell (b. 3/09/1897, d. 9/24/1976)

Born near St. Marys, Camden County Georgia

George Montgomery Mizell was the grandson of Charlton Mizell (Generation #5, b. 1773, d. 1840; see Person #34) and the son of Jackson Blount Mizell (Person #95, 1814 – 1899).

He had four sisters and four brothers.  He was born in 1851, only nine years before the outbreak of the Civil War.  In the mid-1870s he married Sarah Gertrude Proctor, daughter of Daniel Proctor.

Store Owner, Farmer, Family Man and Church Member

George and his wife were blessed with ten children born between 1877 and 1897.  All of their children went on to live long and fruitful lives.  He operated a store in the Scotchville community of Camden County, and later owned the Locust Ridge Farm near Satilla Bluff, raising farm products and cattle.  His last years were spent in Woodbine.

Mr. Mizell was an active member of Forest View Church, a forerunner of the Woodbine Methodist Church.  He served as trustee, a member of the Board of Stewards, and Sunday School Superintendent.  He was also a member of the Camden County Board of Education.  He and his wife are buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Ancestor of the Month – November 2006

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 6

Children:

William Mizzell (b. abt. 1798, d. Unk)

David Mizzell (b. abt. 1800, d. 1883 Sylacauga, Talladega County, Alabama)

Gliston W. Mizzell (b. abt. 1807, d. 1853 Coosa County Alabama)

Michael Mizzell (b. abt. 1808, d. Unk)

Born North Carolina, moved to Georgia

Mark Mizzell was born in Martin County, North Carolina around 1776, and moved to Duplin County, North Carolina as a young man.  He married there and is recorded there in the 1800 and 1810 Census.  He is listed there in the Tax Rolls for 1806.  His children were all born in Duplin County, North Carolina.

In 1819, Mark Mizzell moved to Wilkinson County, Georgia, where he is found on both the Census for 1820 and the Tax Rolls for 1824.  He was still living there in the 1830 Census.

Spelling of the Last Name

Mark Mizzell was the son of William Mizell who was born January 6, 1757.  As Mark grew up, his name was written with two z’s, and that spelling stuck with his descendants.

The Mizzell spelling is one variation of the last name, with many descendants today using that version.  Mark is the first ancestor that we know to have this variation, and perhaps there are others.

Ancestor of the Month – October 2006

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 5

Children:

Noah Mizell (b. 1800, d.[Unk])

James Harvey Mizell (b. 1804, d. 1887)

Mary Margaret Mizell (b. 1809, d. 1886)

Owen King Mizell (b. 1811, d. 5/30/1893)

Sarah Mizell (b. 1813, d. 1849)

Perry Stalling Mizell (b. 6/12/1814, d. 5/16/1890)

Early Years

Jesse Mizell was the son of James Edward Mizell (born 1730 in North Carolina) and was born in 1765.  Around 1780 or 1781, when he was 15 or 16, he served in the final years of the Revolutionary War, which was won in 1783.  He served under General Jasper at Savannah and under General Francis Marion in South Carolina.

After the war, he lived around Bulloch County Georgia, which is northwest of Savannah about 40 miles.  Some time in the 1790s, he met and married Mary Polly Stallings, born 1775 in North Carolina.  Their first two children, Noah (born 1800) and James Harvey (born 1806) were likely born in Bulloch County.

Montgomery County Georgia 1806-1818

About 1806, Jesse and his growing family moved to the northern part of Montgomery County, Georgia, about 40 miles northwest of their previous home.  He was commissioned Justice of Peace on September 13, 1808 and became Captain of the Militia there on January 16, 1810.  Two more children joined the family in this time, Mary Margaret (born 1809) and Owen King (born 1811).  This region subsequently became

Emanuel County Georgia in December 1812. In 1812, he and his family moved to the extreme southern part of Montgomery County, and settled by the Altamaha River, just below the confluence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers.  He served as Justice of Peace there until around 1816.  Two more children came during this period, Sarah (born 1813) and Perry Stalling (born 1814).

Appling County Georgia 1819-1821

In 1819, when he was 54 years of age and his wife was 44, they moved south across the Altamaha River into the new Appling County, which is southwest of Savannah about

80 miles.  He was named by the legislature to conduct the first election for Justices of the Inferior Court early in 1820.

Camden County Georgia 1821-1827

On August 22, 1821, Jesse bought land from Allen Parish that was described as “lying on the waters of Spanish Creek” in what was Camden County (see Deed Book L, page 191).  Jesse bought part of adjoining Lot No. 12 from William Johns on October 16, 1824, extending his land from Spanish Creek to Hadleys Branch (Camden County Deed Book L, page 191).  This land was on the east side of the original “King’s Road” built in 1770s days from old Fort Barrington on the Altamaha River southward to the St. Mary's River.

Jesse Mizell was a charter member of the Sardis Baptist Church in Charlton County.  The minutes of the Piedmont Baptist Association show Jesse Mizell was a delegate from this church from 1822 to 1825.  He was an ordained deacon conducting devotionals and prayers. Starting in 1826, Jesse served as Justice of the Peace of the 32nd District, Camden County.  He died in 1827 at the age of 62 and was buried in a family burial ground on his land.  While none of the graves were ever marked with permanent markers, this burial ground is near US Highway 1.

Ancestor of the Month – Sept 2006

Mizell Family History Project

Generation 7

Children:

Kate Aleatha Mizell (born about 1887 Melrose Florida)

Nepoleon Bonaparte Mizelle (reads this way on his tombstone) was one of the colorful characters in the State of Florida in the 1800s.  Some people put his name as Morgan Bonaparte Mizzell.  He was born in 1863 in the Horse Creek settlement in Manatee County.  His father, Morgan, and his uncle Enoch were early pioneers of the area. He was called "Bone" Mizell and has been known as the Florida Cowboy.  Bone worked in the cattle industry most of his life, first for his father, then at various times on cattle ranches from Orlando and south to the upper Everglades. Bone was six feet tall, with a lean rawboned face that was tanned a deep brown, from all the years that he spent outdoors.  It's said that he slept on the ground more than he

ever slept in a bed.  He spoke with a lisp and a slight wheeze, and was teased by his boyhood friends.  He developed a sharp wit in defense and was a notorious prankster.  Former Desoto County Sheriff, Les Dishong, once said that just the way he looked and talked made you laugh.  Lifelong Desoto resident Gene Harn said that "Bone didn't mean to be funny, it just came out that way." He was uneducated, barely able to write his name, but he managed to keep accounts in his head and remembered dozens of cattle brands.  He once owned a grocery store at Pine Level, but his easy going nature and generosity with friends and credit caused him to finally close the store and go back to what he loved the most, riding the range.

Judgment Day

Bone was a hard drinking man, and knew that one day it would be the death of him.  One night after the drink had gotten the best of him, a group of cowboys carried him to a cemetery and left him laying among

the gravestones.  When Bone woke up the next morning, he looked around, and said, "Here it is Judgment Day, and I is the first one up."

Poker

One night he was at a poker game at the Hollingsworth's home with Zeb Parker, Russell King, A. C. Williams, Maury and A. P. Hollingsworth.  Sheriff Les Dishong showed up and told them they were under arrest.  One of the players said they were not playing for money, just poker chips.  Sheriff Dishong said that

was the same as money.  The next morning in court, the players were fined eighty-five dollars.  After everyone paid their fine, Bone came forward and dumped out eighty-five dollars worth of poker chips on the table.  Dishong said, "Wait a minute, this ain't money." Bone replied, "You said it was yesterday!"

Cattle Rustler

By the late 1890's cattle rustling was rampant, and Bone was not immune to the lawlessness of the times.  He was charged a number of times with rustling, altering brands and marking unmarked cattle and hogs, and it was rumored that he was stealing for a cattle king.  In 1896 he was convicted and sentenced to two years in the state prison.  A petition for his pardon was circulated by

many of his friends, but they were told that he could not be pardoned until he actually served time.  Bone was put on board a train with a brand new set of clothes, thanks to his friends, and given a grand sendoff.  He arrived at the prison, where the warden gave him a tour of the facilities, and invited him to dinner.  Thus, having served time, he was pardoned, and Bone took the next train home.

Funeral for John Underhill

About 1893, Bone heard that his friend, John Underhill, was dying at a cow camp at Lee Branch near Punta Gorda.  He arrived to take care of John, who died a few days later.  Bone and the cowboys buried him nearby.  Shortly after that, a young man drifted into the country and some how teamed up with Bone.  The boy told him that he was from a wealthy family that lived in New Orleans, and that he had traveled throughout the world.  Eventually the boy died and Bone had him buried next to John Underhill.  A few years later, the family in New Orleans, having finally learned of their son's death, sent money to the local undertaker to have his body returned to them.  The undertaker paid Bone to find the grave and

dig up the casket.  Bone later confessed to his friends that on the ride out to the grave, there were two things on his mind.  One, the boy had said that he was fed up with everything, most of all traveling.  Second, that friend John Underhill had always wanted to travel, but never had the money to do it.  Bone said, "Well, sir, it didn't seem right.  It seemed even less right after a few drinks to sort of fortify us for the digging job.  Here was a free train ride ahead, a funeral so damned fine this country had never seen the likes of it--probably with four white horses pulling the hearse."  So it was that Bone pointed to the grave of John Underhill, and told his helpers to dig.

End of his life

On July 13, 1921, Bone spent the night at Joshua Creek, at the home of his friend, Leslie H. (Les) Avant.  The next day he left for Arcadia by train for Fort Ogden, arriving at the village depot about eleven in the morning.  He sent a wire to the Lykes Brothers in Tampa for some money, then lay down on a couch in the depot.  Robert Morgan, son of E. H. Morgan, the agent for the Atlantic Coast Line Railway, said that he was worried about Bone, and asked him to sit up.  Bone did so, and remarked that, "Yeah, I'd better not lay down, I might die." Robert left for lunch and when he returned found Bone lying dead on the floor.  Dr. Aurin was called and pronounced

Bone dead.  A fellow asked him how he knew that, the doctor hadn't tested him.  Dr. Aurin said, "I don't have to test him, I know that right now Old Bone would test a good 90 proof."  The undertaker, L. L. Morgan entered the cause of death as "Moonshine---went to sleep and did not wake up." Nepoleon Bonaparte "Bone" Mizell's funeral was held the next day at the home of his nephew, Jesse Mizell Jr., and he was buried at Joshua Creek Cemetery.  He was 58 years old.  His pallbearers were Leonard Smith, Henry Avant, J. M. Alderman, W. H. Seward, Paul Spear, and Hooker Parker.  Some say his wife was Betty Ward.