Notes |
- Jeremiah Ragan was born in the Middle Creek community where he grew up during the turbulent last days of the Indian troubles on the frontier and the early development days of Sevier County.
Jeremiah and his wife Mary were listed in the 1830 and 1840 Federal Census of Sevier County, Tennessee.
There are five land entries recorded for Jeremiah. The first entry [#46] dated 1 May 1824 was for 25 acres on the waters of the West Fork of Little Pigeon River. The second entry [#207] dated 21 August 1824 was for 50 acres in the White Oak Flats and the third entry [#1093] dated 7 December 1835 was for 125 acres on the West Fork of Little Pigeon River in the Sugar Lands. The fourth entry [#1238] dated 6 February 1837 was for 180 acres on the water of the West Fork of Little Pigeon River and the fifth entry [#1412] dated 4 November 1838 was for 133 acres on the right-hand prong of the West Fork of Little Pigeon River. All of these land entries were located in Sevier County, Tennessee. He received grants for all from the State of Tennessee. There is a deed for part of the dispsal of it.
Jeremiah Reagan joined the White Oak Flats Baptist Church an arm of "Forks of Little Pigeon" Baptist Church in Sevierville, at October 1833 meeting "by experience." This church was the origin of Gatlinburg's First Baptist Church.
He served as the church clerk for the White Oak Flats Baptist Church from November 1833 to April 1840. As the church clerk, he recopied all the first loose minute records into the first church minutes book ... in his own handwriting at the discretion of the church elders. He had beautiful handwriting, good spelling, grammar, etc., which indicates he had good teachers in those early days.
Also from the church minutes we learn that the church voted to exclude Jeremiah "for suing David L. Reagan without first bringing him to church and disobey call of church" on 26 Sep 1840. But the church restored him to full fellowship in December 1844 and granted "Jeremiah Reagan and his wife Mary" a letter of dismissal.
There is one deed recorded at the Register of Deeds office at Sevier County Courthouse for Jeremiah Reagan that gives clues to his leaving the Gatlinburg area. A partial excerpt from Deed Book 'K', page 324 shows ... "This Indenture made this twenty sixth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and forty four between JEREMIAH REAGAN of the County of Cherokee and State of North Carolina of the one part and Stephen Huskey of the County of Sevier and State of Tennessee of the other part..."
This seems to have been the time of their move from Tennessee to North Carolina. He and his wife Mary lived in Cherokee County, North Carolina for a brief time.
Then they moved to Gordon County, Georgia prior to 1850. He and Mary were listed in the 1850 and 1860 Federal Census of Gordon County, Georgia. There were no children in the household for both years. They were living alone in the Fairmont District of the said county.
Sometime during the 1860's, Jeremiah and Mary moved to Bartow County, Georgia. They were listed in the 1870 Federal Census of Bartow County with, still, no children in the household.
In 1880 Jeremiah and his second wife Eliza were listed in the Federal Census of Bartow County, Georgia. Jeremiah was 81 years old and was born in the State of Tennessee. His parents were listed as born in Maryland.
The family tradition states that "he was buried in the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church Cemetery."
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Reference:
"Smoky Mountain Clans", Donald B. Reagan, 1978, p 2a, 71, 75.
"The Book of Ragan/Reagan", Donald B. Reagan, 1993, p 310-311.
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