Burke-Screven-Bulloch County GaArchives History .....Reddick Surname Research ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Dale E. Reddick dereddi@hargray.com October 26, 2003, 10:09 am Earliest 1785 records and various Reddick surname spelling variations in Burke and Screven Counties, Georgia. In the early Revolutionary War period of Burke County and post-war Burke and Screven Counties of Georgia there was a quarterly "Court of Conscience" held in the vicinity of Burton's Ferry / Wade Plantation / Millhaven Plantation. Some records of the court proceedings and the participants are preserved in a ledger book that once belonged to a Wilder family. A copy of that ledger book is held at the Georgia State Archives. Some of what follows was collected by and described in older papers prepared by the late Dr. James Reddick. Mrs. Shirley Reddick has also placed some of this information in a series of books concerning Southeast Reddicks which she has been working on for decades. Recently, Dr. Niles Reddick was able to view and record material relating to the Reddicks of early Burke and Screven Counties, Georgia that make up a part of those court records. Four 'presumed' Reddick brothers have been identified in the records of this "Court of Conscience"; from deeds and other recorded papers of the two counties; from newspaper announcements regarding taxes owed; and from other papers and announcements. These four 'presumed' brothers were Francis, Jacob, Nicholas, and Peter Reddick. Three of them (Jacob, Nicholas, and Peter) were granted and purchased lands along Brier Creek, near the millpond of Francis Paris (now the site of the village of Millhaven). Some of us investigating this set of family lineages now suspect that the surname 'Reddick' may simply be a standardized version of an earlier pronunciation and spelling, for we have seen the same individuals having their surname recorded as Readick, Redick, Rettig, and Rettige (plus, perhaps - some other spellings). We can now say with certainty that at least -one- of the four Reddick fellows was present in Burke County by the Spring of 1785. Nicholas Reddick (also recorded as Readick, Redick, & Rettige) was there prior to May 5 of 1785, for a suit against him was brought before the court by Abram Heath on that date. This appears to be our earliest evidence of the presence of any of these four Reddick brothers in that area. The Reddick surname appears in three forms within these court records. Here are all of the Readick / Redick / Reddick entries that we've been able to find in the court records of the Wilder family Ledger, so far. The numerous entries for William and George Redding are not included among the following. The surname spelling of "Readick" appears SEVEN times. The surname spelling of "Redick" appears EIGHT times. The surname spelling of "Reddick" appears only ONE time. I sincerely hope that these discoveries (and re-discoveries) prove to be helpful to some of you who read this information. Dale E. Reddick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 23 1785 May 5 Abram Heath vs Laid over to the next court Nicholas Redick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 24 1786 february 9 2 thursday John Seburn vs Judgement in favour the plaintiff for 5/p cost Jacob Redick (I placed an 'p' above in the phrase "5/p" as I believe the character used was meant to represent a pence.) ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 24 1786 may 11 2 Thursday Jacob Readick vs Judgement conferd for L3-13-6p cost William Christie (I placed an 'L' above in the phrase "L3-13-6p" as I cannot find the Pound Sign for display within my e-mail composer.) ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 26 1787 March 8 Benjamin Warren vs nonsuited as the -SQUIGGLE- Court Nicholas Reddick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 27 1787 May 25 Jurors --- William Ashley, Michael Burkhalter, Nicholas Readick, John Olliver (This is the third line of the listed jurors - who numbered twelve in all.) ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 28 1788 february 14 Jurors John Roberts, Nicholas Readick, Willis Murphey (This is the fourth line of the listed jurors - who numbered fourteen in all.) ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 28 1788 february 14 Major Hurst vs nonsuited Francis Readick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 28 1788 may 17 John Adam Nesler vs Judged for Plaintiff L9~"~" paper medium Jacob Readick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 28 1788 may 17 ________________________________________________________ Jacob Readick Enters an Appeal against Adam Nesler & gave Security this 26 May 1788 __________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 29 11 September 1788 Major Hurst vs Laid over Francis Redick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 29 1789 Major Hurst vs Settled francis Readick ________________________________________________________________ PAGE 30 1789 9th may Jacob Redick vs Dennis Glifson These two Accts tried the Balance in favour Jacob Redick 5/2 p cost Dennis Glifson vs Jacob Redick Dennis Glifson vs Judgmt Conferd Peter Redick Dennis Glifson vs Judgmt Conferd Francis Redick ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Likely origins of Burke and Screven Co., GA. REDDICK family lines. Recently, I posted a list of the appearance for the Reddick surname in the post-Revolutionary War Court of Conscience that had been an institution in Burke and Screven Counties, Georgia. The four Reddick (Readick, Redick) brothers lived in what is now the Millhaven Plantation area. This area had been a part of Burke Co. until 1793, when Screven Co. was formed (Screven was formed from portions of adjoining Burke and Effingham Counties). The Court of Conscience, which was a community court held on a quarterly basis - started in Revolutionary War Burke Co. and seems to have continued with the appearance of Screven County. The four Reddick brothers (Francis, Jacob, Nicholas, and Peter) appear to have been living along Brier Creek and adjacent to the millpond and mill constructed there by Francis Paris. Francis Paris had acquired land on Brier Creek and built his mill prior to the Revolutionary War (his property played a part in the British campaign that led to the Battle of Brier Creek). The first evidence of any of the Reddick brothers comes in the form of a 1785 court case held in the above-mentioned Court of Conscience. Dr. Niles Reddick, Dr. Ed Mulligan, and I have wondered and considered whether there was some sort of relationship between the four Reddick brothers and their neighbor Francis Paris. We have thought that they may have worked for Francis Paris at his mill. We have no proof of this, but we wondered why they settled immediately adjacent to the Paris mill. Another neighbor of the Reddick brothers and Francis Paris was John Michael Burkhalter. One reader of my recent posting regarding the Reddick appearances in the Court of Conscience is librarian and geneologist Dorothy Hope. Dot responded to my posting with a list of her Burkhalter ancestors and their neighbors in what are modern-day Chatham, Effingham, Bryan, Bulloch, Screven, and Burke Counties. Included in her list were five entries for Francis Paris taken from the "Georgia Land Owners' Memorials." And in two of those entries Francis Paris signed (witnessed, perhaps) for an individual whose name is recorded as John Raddick / Radwick. One such signing occured for 100 acres of land in Christ Church Parish (Chatham Co.) in 1764. The second such signing dealt with 300 acres in upper St. Philip's Parish (later Bulloch Co.) in 1767. John Raddick had another 100 acre land acquisition recorded in 1775, with this land lying adjacent to Rudolph Burghalter / Burchalter / Burkhalter. The neighbors of this John Raddick / Radwick included Sylvanus Bird. The locale of the lands along Black Creek of Sylvanus and his brother Israel Bird are known from the Bird cemetery near Macedonia Church, just East of Ellabelle (in Bryan County). Adjacent Mill Creek was named such due to the mill that the Birds built there (it was at one time called "Bird's Mill Creek"). But, the Birds also owned lands further upstream on the Ogeechee River. It turns out that it was the more northwesterly settlement of the Birds and their neighbors that included the lands of John Raddick / Radwick. These lands were on the western bank of the Ogeechee, above and across the river from the mouth of Ogeechee Creek (then, also known as Little Ogeechee River [two other tributaries of the "Great Ogeechee River" are also so named - this has caused some confusion]). So, it seems that John Raddick / Radwick lived on the western bank of the Ogeechee River in what is now Bulloch County. Two of the four Reddick brothers named sons 'John.' Jacob Reddick named a son John Wesley Reddick, along with naming four other sons for himself and his three brothers - Jacob John Reddick, Peter Nichols Reddick, Nicholas Moses Reddick, and Frank Reddick. Nicholas Reddick named his only son 'John.' Niles, Ed, and I have wondered if there was a connection between these four Reddick brothers and the John Raddick / Radwick known to us -separately- from our research of Reddick-like R320 surnames appearing in Colonial Georgia. We strongly suspect that John Raddick / Radwick is John II, son of John (Johann) and Barbara Radick - a German-speaking family that arrived in Georgia circa 1737. John II was the brother of Peter 'Readick' (whose 1778 will is known), Michael 'Readdick,' and Anna Apollonia Radick. This family lived in the Acton and Vernonburg areas of Chatham County and they also owned a portion of nearby Dutch Island. Note that the surname spelling given for Peter and his family in his 1778 will is "Readick." This is the same version of the surname spelling recorded-seven- times for the four Reddick brothers in the Burke & Screven Co. Court of Conscience during the latter half of the 1780s. We have records indicating that Peter Readick had a family. One of his sons was Jacob Readick, who later farmed sea island cotton on Wilmington Island of Chatham County. Michael 'Readdick' is recorded as having not had any children. There is no available record of the family or children of John II Readick (Raddick / Radwick / Redwick / Redick). Niles, Ed, and I have suspected that the four brothers -might- be the children of this John II. Now, we have two records that demonstrate an association between this John II Readick and Francis Paris. Only twenty years later we have our four Reddick brothers living as neighbors of Francis Paris. We strongly suspect that these four Reddick brothers moved from upper St. Philip's Parish (later Bulloch Co.) to St. George Parish (Burke Co.) along with Francis Paris. One grant for Sylvanus Bird shows him being granted land adjacent to that of John 'Redwick' in St. George Parish. It may be -possible- that John II Readick acquired land alongside that of Francis Paris in St. George Parish. We simply don't know whether this is the case or not. We further suspect that there may have been a familial relationship between the Reddicks and Francis Paris. We have no evidence of such a familial association, but it seems possible. The fate of John II's sister Anna Apollonia is unkown to us - perhaps she married Francis Paris. The wife of John II Readick is unknown to us - perhaps she was a relative of Francis Paris. Again, this is -merely- a suspicion on our part. Well, anyhow - we have developed this line of evidence associating the miller Francis Paris with John II Readick (Raddick / Radwick) during the mid-1760s and later placing four Reddick brothers living adjacent to him by 1785. We would like to believe that we have now established a -tentative- linkage between the later Reddick brothers and the earlier John II Readick. This is certainly not proven. But, it seems strongly suggestive of a relationship. I would like to thank Dorothy Hope for providing us with the evidence that provides this -tentative- bridge between John II Readick and his -possible- sons Francis, Jacob, Nicholas, and Peter Reddick. Immediately below is a short list embodying confirmation of what Dot provided us. Dr. Ed Mulligan gathered this information from the University of Georgia Library - duplicating Dot's findings. The original list was more extensive in its coverage of the Burkhalters and other families. If you have any information that you can add to that which has been presented here, then please feel free to contribute to the development of this line of investigation. Sincerely, Dale E. Reddick __________________________________ Weeks, Eve B. and Lowery, Robert S. Georgia Land Owners' Memorials, 1758-1776, ed. Mary Bondurant Warren. Danielsville, GA: Heritage Papers, 1988. {p. 35} 146 FRANCIS PARIS, 100 acres, 2/100, 1-?-1760. Christ Church Parish: Bounded on W by EDMUND TANNATT, E by WILLIAM BRADLEY, N vacant, S by Little Ogeechee River marshes; granted to self 5-1-1759. {p. 85} 386 JOHN RADDICK, 100 acres, 2/100, 12-31-1764. Christ Church Parish: Bounded on N by JOHN HANER, W by --FOX, other sides vacant; granted to self 11-6-1764. Signed FRANCIS PARIS for JOHN RADWICK. {p. 104} 454 FRANS. PARRY, 300 acres, 2/100, 2-14-1767. St. Philip's Parish: Bounded by vacant land; granted to self 1-6-1767. Signed FRANCIS PARIS. {p. 109} 472 SYLVANUS BIRD, 100 acres, 2/100, 5-4-1767. St. George's Parish: Bounded on NW by ISRAEL BIRD, SE by JOHN REDWICK, other sides vacant; granted to self 3-3-1767. Signed SYLVNUS BIRD. {p. 120} 507 JOHN RADWICK, 300 acres, St. Philip's Parish, 2/100, 12-12-1767. Bounded on W by SYLVANUS BIRD, other sides vacant. Granted to self 9-1-1767. Signed FRANK PARIS for JOHN RADWICK. {p. 125} 527 RODOLPH BURGHALTER, 400 acres, St. Philip's Parish, 2/100, 4-4-1768. Bounded on E by JOSEPH JOHNSON and vacant land, W by JOHN RADDOCK and vacant land, N by Great Ogechee River, other sides vacant. Granted to self 2-2-1768. Signed RUDOLFF BURCHALTER (in German). {p. 191} Book Two 1. ALEXANDER THOMSON, 300 acres, St. Andrew's Parish, 2/100. Bounded northeasterly by ANTHONY STOKES, southeasterly by JOHN RIDDOCK, southwesterly by the Altamaha River, northeasterly by vacant land. Granted 7-7-1772. Signed 10-20-1772 by ALEXANDER THOMSON. {p. 254} 172 JAMES WILLIAMS, 100 acres, St. George's Parish, 2/100. Bounded northwesterly by Briar Creek, easterly by FRANCIS PARISH, other sides vacant. Granted 11-1-1774. Signed 4-17-1775 by JAMES WILLIAMS "his mark." {p. 266} 200 JOHN RADDICK, 100 acres, St. Philip's Parish; con-purchase, 2/100. Bounded southeasterly by his own land, easterly by RODOLPH BURGHALTER, other sides vacant. Granted to self 2-7-1775. Signed 10-14-1775. "Carried to the Secretary's Office by W.H." (WILLIAM HANDLEY). ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Burke & Screven County, Southeast Georgia Reddick lines from 'Radick', German- speaking Palatine immigrants to Savannah in 1737. Hello All, Not all of what follows is proven, but what is presented seems to come together and helps to explain the likely origins of some Reddick lines. I am a gggg-grandson of Nicholas Reddick, one of the four Reddick 'brothers' who lived on either side of the line separating Burke and Screven Counties of Southeast Georgia during the period between 1785 and 1815. Regarding the origins of these four Reddick 'brothers', I and several others are now concentrating our investigations into their origins on the 'Radick' family, who were German-speaking 'Palatine' immigrants to the colony of Georgia in 1737. That family was made up of Johann, his wife Maria Barbara, and their four children. Of four 'Radick' children who entered Georgia, we have no knowledge of the single daughter - Anna Apolonia, but for her name. Of the three brothers, Peter 'Readick' had a 1778 will which named his several children - including his sons Jacob and Caspar / Gasper / Jasper. A second brother named Michael 'Readdick' had no children named in his will of 1792. Both of these brothers lived and apparently died in Christ Church Parish, which mostly became modern Chatham County. Michael had owned part of an island that was first known as Providence, then Liberty, and finally Dutch Island. Members of the Readick / Readdick / Reddick family (descendants of the Radicks, and particularly the children of Peter Readick and those of his son Gasper Readick) continued to live on what is now known as Dutch Island well into the 19th century. Jacob Readick farmed on nearby Wilmington Island during the early 1800s. A third son of Johann and Maria Barbara 'Radick' was named for his father - Johann. This Johann II or John had his surname spelled in many different ways on numerous grant applications, records, and plats. We mostly know him as John Radick / Raddick / Readick / Reddick - along with the other, various spellings being noted as they have been found. Either John Radick or his son John Reddick first acquired land grants in Christ Church Parish in the mid-1750s. Then, in 1767 and 1775, John Reddick was awarded adjoining land grants of 300 acres and then 100 acres on the western side of the Ogeechee River, in the upper portion of St. Phillip Parish (mostly now Bryan County, but also a portion of Bulloch, and at one time a part of Effingham County). The precise location that we believe John Reddick settled is now in Bulloch County, across the Ogeechee River from the Screven County town of Oliver and below the old railroad stop at Halcyondale, at a site once known as EATTON'S, EATON'S, or EDEN'S GARDENS. The four known Reddick brothers of Burke & Screven Counties (Francis, Jacob, Nicholas, and Peter - who we first know of from their appearance in 16 court records starting in 1785) all seem to have had children. Both Jacob and Nicholas named sons John Reddick. Further, the earlier John Reddick was represented in the Georgia Land Memorials by Francis Parris, who signed & acknowledged that John Reddick was living on the riverside land he was granted in 1767 (on the West bank of the Ogeechee River in what is now Bulloch County). This Francis Parris moved to a spot on Brier Creek in St. George Parish (now making up all of Burke and portions of Jefferson, Jenkins, and Screven Counties) and built a large mill complex circa 1770. The 'Paris' mill had 400 horsepower available for the cutting of lumber and milling of grains. This spot was called Milltown or 'Paris Mill' for the next three decades. Later, the site and surrounding lands were consolidated into Millhaven Plantation by Augusta attorney Seaborn Jones, and those lands retain that name to present times. It is as neighbors of Francis Parris that we find the four Reddick brothers - Francis, Jacob, Nicholas, and Peter - during the 1780s and '90s. Further, by 1767 John Reddick had additionally acquired land in St. George Parish, adjacent to brothers Sylvanus and Israel Bird. This is interesting in that these two Bird brothers were also neighbors of John Reddick on his Ogeechee River lands, having been granted lands immediately adjacent to his. Another neighbor of John Reddick was Rudolph Burkhalter, on whose land was located Burkhalter Crossing & Ferry on the Ogeechee River. These four neighbors had settled on and adjacent to what had been known as EATTON'S, EATON'S, or EDEN'S GARDENS - a landmark along the Ogeechee River in the 1760s. In 1791 John Michael Burkhalter (apparent son of Rudolph) sold land that was adjacent to the land of Nicholas Reddick (which lay alongside Brier Creek and bordered the millpond of Francis Parris). Francis Reddick witnessed the deed by which John Michael Burkhalter sold his land. In 1792 two plats recorded in Plat Book A of Effingham County (pages 463 & 479) show that land formerly owned by John Reddick (in what is now Bulloch County) was adjacent to the lands of Israel Bird and John Michael Burkhalter, with J.M.B. being the then present owner of those lands previously owned by John Reddick. The plat of page 463 even refers to the locale as being part of "EDEN'S GARDENS." It would seem that between his last land grant of 1775 and the recording of these 1792 plats those lands belonging to John Reddick had been transferred to John Michael Burkhalter. Presumably, John Reddick passed away sometime during this period and either Rudolph or John Michael purchased the land of their neighbor from his heirs. During the period of the Revolutionary War this area was overrun by warring bands of Patriots and Tories, followed in the post-war period by banditry that had to be suppressed by forces led by the Reverend (and Revolutioniary War soldier) William Cone. At present we have no way of knowing how John Michael Burkhalter came to own the land that had been granted to John Reddick. But, if the heirs of John Reddick sold that land at Eatton's Gardens, then perhaps they moved to their father's land in St. George Parish (and subsequent Burke County of 1777 through 1793) - which may have been located near the mill of Francis Parris. Since Francis Parris had acted as an agent for John Reddick in the Georgia Land Memorials, then it is possible that the family of John Reddick was aided by Francis Parris and this explains why we find the four Reddick brothers living near him - starting with the first records we have of them, from 1785. We now have established a likely scenario in which the previously known four Reddick brothers appear to have had a father in this John Radick / Raddick / Readick / Reddick. This is not proven, but it seems likely given the association of Francis Paris with the earlier, likely father and the four, later brothers; and with additional associations by both John and the brothers with the Bird and Burkhalter families, location-wise. This would seem to establish that the Reddicks who descend from the four Reddick brothers (of Burke & Screven Counties, Georgia) are not of Scottish descent, as has been thought. Further, some lines among the descendants of brothers Caspar / Gasper and Jacob Readick also have used the 'standard' Reddick surname spelling. Still others continued with Readick and Readdick, apparently. These latter surname spellings have been associated with people from coastal Chatham and Camden Counties of Georgia. People demonstrably related to one another will have the surnames spelled as Reddick versus Readdick. It is not at all clear that any or all of these coastal Georgia R320 Reddick-sounding folks are descended from the 'Radick' family that came into Savannah in 1737. For, there was a William Reddock and family that came down from North Carolina and settled in Camden County during the late 1700s. Some descendants of that Reddock family may have had their surname later spelled as Readdick or Reddick - muddying the waters and adding some un-related, confusing family lines to those descended from the 'Radick' family (if any Radick descendants did actually settle in Camden County). I hope that this information and postulated origin for some of the Southeast Georgia Reddick lines proves to be helpful. Dale E. Reddick This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 24.8 Kb