I think I’ve at least alluded to it previously, but this will likely be as far back as I go in this series of posts on my Worsham/ Wishum line. (Granted, I may jump back to a few “key” people later, but we’ll see.) Granpa Daniel is about as far back as I personally can specifically trace via actual documents I have found. Now, if you look at my tree on Ancestry, that’s a bit different. A lot of those were snagged from the website of a distant family member who posted his work and subsequent corrections from his book. So, no, I do no personally have the documentation and am solely going on his work. The further back, the more guess work I did on some names. Essentially prior to about 1620 is my own guesswork on this line. (There’s one exception, but I’ll save that for a later post!)
Daniel Worsham was born about 1814 in Marion county, Georgia, to Daniel B. and Caroline M. (nee Fowler) Worsham. At some point, he married Alsey Joiner but records to that effect are allusive on my part. They had nine children, mostly boys but a few girls in the mix. The oldest was James Monroe “Daniel” Worsham whom I have a picture of from the Civil War. I originally mistook as as his father, the Granpa Daniel I’m discussing here, which proves that you need to be sure to match up any and all information possible in genealogy. Then was William “Henry” who was followed by my Granpa Jack. This is where the first girl comes into play in this family – Harriett Worsham. Following her was Young Stokes who is also a documented Civil War soldier. I believe I have found documentation on all four of the oldest brothers as Civil War soldiers with all four having survived the war. Amazingly, I believe some of them actually survived Gettysburg, but that needs more study to verify. “Y.S.”, as he’s sometimes listed, is followed by Green Warren, Morres, and sisters Cleopatra & Marzilla.
The 1850 Federal Census places him in Division 57 of Marion county, Georgia. This record doesn’t list any more in terms of names than him as the head of house. We find him again in the 1860 Federal Census living in Georgia Militia District 743 of Taylor county, Georgia. It does list Alsey and the children John, Green, Harriett, Cleopatra (“Cleopartry”), and Marzilla (“Margilla”). In the 1860s, miscellaneous other documents place Granpa Daniel in Taylor county. By 1880, we find him in Carsonville, Taylor county, Georgia, but with his son “Stokes” living with him and Alsey. Presumably the other much younger children are Stokes’ children since they are listed as Granpa Daniel’s grandchildren. (Stokes’ first wife passed away in 1874 and he didn’t marry his second until 1882.)
Joe Branch wrote the following in 2003: “I don’t know when ggpa Dan went back to Taylor Co but it was some time before 1910, it was said he was setting on the front porch, one evening, and looking way off, said I sure wish I was back in old Taylor co, tonight and sometime after he went back, my grandpa didn’t go to the funeral, but his son, Ambrous, hired some to take him in a T Model Ford abt 1910, said they pushed it most of the way, because of wet clay roads…” Having driven through Taylor county along Highway 19/41 from Griffin down to Americus, I can see why Granpa Daniel had an affinity for that land and why most of our family never really left the area.
