Descendants of Elisha J. Blevins

The Blevins family of Alabama was witness to all the changes which saw the area across the river from Huntsville go from Indian territory through statehood, through the Civil War, through Reconstruction, through two world wars, a cold war, and a moon landing. Along the way, the Blevins family was there to see the evolution of the area from an agrarian society to the computer age. The Blevins family goes back many generations on the North American continent. The family name has been in Alabama for around 180 years.

The man believed to be Elisha' father, John Blevins, was born about 1802 and moved to Alabama sometime around 1820. According to some, he may have been from Breathitt County in Eastern Kentucky. Federal Census records mention John Blevins was born in Kentucky. He may have made the trip with his parents, whose names are unknown at this writing. Probably, he spent his early years south of the Tennessee River near the Apple Grove community. John may have been living there before the area was a county and before Alabama was a state.

The Ryan family was another pioneer family of the East Morgan County area. From The Heritage of Morgan County, page 670-671:

Phillip Ryan, born about 1785, married Elizabeth, born about 1805. Presently, her maiden name is unknown. It is speculated Phillip and Elizabeth got married in Kentucky. They had three sons: John or "Johnny," born 27 Apr 1806; Phillip, Jr., born 1808; and Thomas, born 4 Oct 1815.

Phillip Ryan, Sr. fell ill in 1821 and later that year he died. He was in his mid 30s. In Probate Book One in Morgan County, this entry appears on page 19:

Phillip Ryan died intestate; that is, he died without a will. In such a case, the survivor has to make an inventory of the estate, assign a value per item, and then sell the estate to pay off any notes or bills the deceased may have accumulated.

Elizabeth Ryan married John Blevins on the Fourth of July in 1822 in Morgan County, Alabama. Recorded in Morgan County Marriage Book A-16, John and Elizabeth were among the very first people to get married in the newly formed county. Since Elizabeth remarried, she followed the wishes of her late husband, and sold off the estate to divide among her children.

John Blevins and the widow Elizabeth Ryan had four children together: Abraham, born 10 Jun 1823; Jacob Jonathan, born 12 Feb 1825; Elisha J., born 24 Dec 1826; and Sarah C., born in 1831. The 1840 census records six members of the John Blevins household, accounting for his wife, Elizabeth and four children. Only two Blevins families are listed in the 1840 Federal Census for Morgan County, Alabama: John and Joseph. These two Blevins are probably related, but presently it is not known how.

By the time the 1850 Federal Census for Morgan County was taken, all four of the Blevins children were married and building families of their own. Abraham had married Sarah Ann Forman and Sarah had married Wilson Forman. Both had moved out of the Blevins household. Jacob Jonathan had married Mary Ann Davis and was living next door to Elisha. Father John Blevins was living with Elisha. Apparently, Elizabeth Ryan Blevins had died sometime prior to 1850. It is not known where she is buried.

Elisha Blevins was born in the Apple Grove Community in East Morgan County and married Nancy Forman in his 20th year on 1 Oct 1847. Nancy was 24 when they got married.

When Elisha was enumerated for the first time as head of household in the 1850 census, he had been married for about three years and had two children: William and James. In December of that year, the Federal Government conducted an Agricultural Census to supplement the general population census taken earlier that year. Elisha's farm is described this way:

The value of the land in 1850 was about $8.50 per acre. "Improved" land was land in cultivation. "Unimproved" land was usually timberland. "Milch" was he old time way to describe a cow that gave milk.

In the agricultural census taken ten years later, Elisha had less acreage in cultivation, but he had diversified his crops to include cotton, sweet potatoes, and sugar cane. Land values had decreased to about five dollars an acre.

Improved Land	30 Acres
Unimproved Land	60 Acres
Cash Value of land	$600
Value of Farm Implements and Machinery	$40
Number of Horses	2
Number of Milch Cows	1
Number of Working Oxen	2
Number of Other Cattle	8
Number of Swine	15
Value of Livestock	$305
Bushels of Indian Corn	500
Bales Cotton Ginned	2
Bushels of Sweet Potatoes	30
Pounds of Butter	50
Gallons of Molasses	15
Value of Homemade Manufactures	$15
Value of Animals Slaughtered	$90

In addition to his farming operation, Elisha also had part interest in a steam operated saw mill and grist mill on Cotaco Creek.

Elisha had five more children by the time the census taker visited the Blevins household in 1860. Following William and James were John Henry, Mary Catherine, Elijah, George Washington, and Abraham.

By 1862 and despite the Civil War, Elisha was turning into a fairly successful farmer and businessman by contemporary standards. One more child, which was named after his father, was born in 1862 raising the total number of Elisha's children to eight. However, before the end of June, Elisha was dead. According to family tradition, the Blevins household was stricken with measles early in the summer of 1862. Not even Elisha was spared. When Elisha got word that the water wheel of his mill was somehow hung up and not running, he got up out of his sick bed, went to the mill, and waded out into chest deep water to unjam the mechanism. Already weak with measles, Elisha caught pneumonia from getting soaking wet and died on 27 Jun 1862. He was only 35 years old. The rest of the family survived. Elisha was buried in the Crawford Cemetery.

Elisha J. Blevins might have served in some capacity in the Civil War had he lived long enough. However, he died near the end of the first full year of the War and all of his children were too young to enlist. Therefore, the Elisha J. Blevins family was not directly represented in the Civil War. However, his brother Abraham enlisted in the Confederacy, while his brother Jacob Johnathan enlisted in the Union.

Like his mother's first husband, Elisha Blevins died intestate. It took 17 years and three administrators to finally settle his affairs. Elisha's widow, Nancy, raised the children and never remarried.

Elisha's father John Blevins is listed in the 1866 Alabama State Census for Morgan County. He became head of the household vacated when Elisha died four years earlier. The next year, Elisha's eldest son William married Susan Echols five years to the day after his father died. The date was 27 Jun 1867.

Jacob Jonathan had moved to Winston County before the Civil War. Afterward, he moved to Arkansas. Sometime between 1866 and 1870, John also moved to Winston County. He is found there on the 1870 Federal Census. It is speculated he died and is buried in an unmarked grave in Winston County. Either that, or he moved off to Arkansas with Jacob Jonathan or to Texas with Abraham. In any event, that is the last trace of John Blevins located in existing records.

The widow Nancy Blevins remained in Morgan County near her children. She lived long enough to see her youngest child, Elisha W. Blevins, get married to Mary L. Sarton on 20 Jan 1892. Nancy died less than five years later on 11 Nov 1896. She was laid to rest next to her husband in the Crawford Cemetery.

Improved Land	40 Acres
Unimproved Land	30 Acres
Cash Value of land	$600
Value of Farm Implements and Machinery	$5
Number of Horses	2
Number of Milch Cows	3
Number of Working Oxen	2
Number of Other Cattle	8
Number of Sheep	4
Number of Swine	25
Value of Livestock	$148
Bushels of Indian Corn	375
Pounds of Butter	20
Tons of Hay	1
Value of Homemade Manufactures	$25
Value of Animals Slaughtered	$15