Clan William: The Southern Contingent: The Stricklands

Trail of Tears

Today's story takes us into the Deep South. Not a lot of Munsons headed down south in the early days of pioneering, but headed west. The first big contingent of Munson descendants were descendants of Olive Maria Munson (1801-1866) and became part of a vast family of Southern Stricklands.

The descendancy goes like this:

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > William II Munson > William Munson > Olive Maria Munson m. Silas Strickland

From what I can tell, Silas was born somewhere in New York in 1802. According to the Munson Genealogy, he was "of Connecticut." Silas married Olive in Georgia in 1829. It appears that Silas began farming in Georgia at Youngs Valley, Talbot, Georgia before 1830 (Harrall's Valley). In 1834, Strickland purchased 202.5 acres of land in Talbot County by auction for $361. There is also some indication that Strickland participated with the Hamilton's Co. I of the Georgia Militia in the "Cherokee Wars." Then president Andrew Jackson wanted the land east of the Mississippi for settlement and commerce. To that end, a federal law was passed in 1830 which called for the movement and removal of Indians (Indian Removal Act) from lands east of the Mississippi. Despite the Cherokee leaders calling upon Washington for help, by 1838, the US government started forced removal of the native populations, including the Cherokee in Georgia. Thus began the lamented Trail of Tears a tragedy-filled mass movement of indigenous people.

By 1840, the Stricklands were living in Russell, Alabama. According to the 1840 Census, the household was made up of seven members and they had a whopping nine slaves.

That kind of shocked me. For one, slaves!  Two, you have to be pretty darned well off to hold nine slaves.

That year was also the year that Silas was selected to be a delegate for the Democratic Party for the State Meeting during the election year.

Silas wasn't long for this world though, and died in 1841 in Russell County. He left five living children and his wife, Olive Munson Strickland. 

Olive remarried to Carter Jackson in 1845. I have found nothing of note about him except he was 80 years old in 1860 and she 59. She was obviously not listed with him in the 1880 Census, when she lived with family at Warrior Stand, Macon County, Alabama. She died on 02 Nov 1886.

This is merely a launching point to learning more about our Alabama Munson connection. You can read about the death of youngest Strickland son Buren's Civil War death here. Stay tuned for more.

Apppointment of Delegates