Southern Ala. counties in 1818
Conecuh County, Alabama figures prominently in my family history. The book, History of Conecuh County, Alabama, by Rev. B. F. Riley says of my 4th great grandfather, Jesse Baggett, "...Jesse Baggett, father of Richard Baggett, of Castleberry, who was the first white child born in the county of Conecuh." (Riley, Rev. B. F. History of Conecuh County, Alabama. Columbus, GA, USA: Thos. Gilbert, 1881.) My connection to Jesse Baggett is Richard's older sister, my 3rd great grandmother Mary Elizabeth Baggett Hammac.
According to Rev Riley's book, the original word from the Creek language which is supposed to have been corrupted into Conecuh was Econneka (or koha anaka http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1315, or Eeouneka http://genealogytrails.com/ala/conecuh/history1.html) meaning land of cane. The county took its name from the Conecuh River (Rev Riley referred to it as a stream.). Rev Riley referred to the area which on February 13, 1818 was named Conecuh County, Alabama as, before "the encroaching civilization of the white man", rivaling "in appearance the fairest spots of earth." Including on a page long description of what one would see if standing on the highest hill around was this description of the county's waterways, "Here and there these lands of wild beauty were streaked with clear, flowing streams, the track of whose shining currents could be followed for miles, by reason of the native cane, which grew in rank luxuriance along their banks."
After the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek in July, 1813, settlers began moving into Conecuh County, many coming from South Carolina and Georgia. According to http://genealogytrails.com/ala/conecuh/history1.html, the first settlers arrived around 1815. The first settlers in Conecuh County settled in Belleville. Belleville was originally known as The Ponds due to a large number of ponds in the area. It was then named Belleville in honor of John Bell, who initiated a project to drain the ponds.
Conecuh County was established on February 13, 1818. The area had previously been a part of Monroe County which, at the time extended from the Chattahoochee River to the Alabama River. "...after the organization of Conecuh into a county, it was bounded on the north by Monroe and Montgomery counties, on the west by Clarke and Mobile, on the east by Georgia, and on the south by Florida-then a Spanish province." http://genealogytrails.com/ala/conecuh/history1.html Escambia County was created by the Alabama legislature on 1868 Dec. 10, from parts of Baldwin and Conecuh counties. Other counties created, at least in part, from lands once considered Conecuh County are: Butler, Henry, Crenshaw, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Houston and Pike.
I believe the experiences of Jesse Baggett were typical of the early settlers so I will give his specifics here. He was born in North Carolina September 19, 1790. He was married in Georgia in 1812 and served in the Georgia militia during the war of 1812. He was living in Conecuh County, Alabama by 1817. Some documents indicate that he bought US federal public lands and may have been afforded this opportunity because of his service during the War of 1812. He appears to have lived in Conecuh County from 1817 until his death May 17, 1867.
Most branches of my family followed this same trail: from North Carolina or Virginia to Georgia and/or South Carolina to Alabama. Based on reading other genealogy information and from talking with friends this seems to have been the pattern with many families in this area, especially those families who arrived here in the early to mid 1800's.
