SIVLEY CEMETERY, (John Hunt Park) HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA.
Jacob Sivley Family history
Jacob is thought to be the son of Joseph and Catherine Sively of Shenandoah County, Virginia.
The Sively story has been gathered and told repeatedly by descendents of this colorful
pioneer family of early Huntsville
Alabama who migrated from Shenandoah County Va to Tennessee, spent time
there, and then on to what would
become Huntsville Alabama. They were one of Huntsville's first families and may
actually be the first if the truth be perfectly known. Much of this written version was published for the Sivley reunion in
1953 by Nona Sively McMillian, Inez Sivley and Hope Sivley Smith. All three of these folks were at that time living in Decatur, Alabama.
Because our early settlers lived in a wilderness, often many miles apart, and so few records were kept, it is impossible to get a complete story of them. What we wound up with is stories passed to us by previous generations, often confirmed by
scraps of notes buried in archives and other minute records. Such records as incomplete
and error prone census records, dates on tombstones, and the few dim words
remaining in old family Bibles. Having few schools, many of our ancestors could neither read nor write, and often in
the records the name Sivley was spelled as it sounded to the ones recording them. Thus,
the name Sivley was spelled in many different ways. For this writing we will stay with the tombstone records verified largely with the old legal documents.
Jacob Sivley married Alcey (maiden name unknown).
It is thought the reason Jacob
and his siblings John, Sarah (Mrs. John Walters) and Elizabeth (Mrs. Thomas Walters) came to Tennessee was to
settle near their brother Peter and his family.
The Jacob Sivleys' spent time in Jefferson County Tennessee, the oldest County in
Tennessee. as recorded in deed information in the book "Land Deeds of Jefferson Co. Tennessee, 1792 -1814" by Holdaway
1991 (Southern Historical Press. Inc. 275 W. Broad St. Greenville, SC 29601. There are deeds dated 27 Oct 1800, recorded 5 may 1801. Jacob bought land on the south side of the French Broad River on both sides of Muddy Creek adjoining John Reno, Jacob Sively, Jacob layman. There are
other land deeds
found for Jacob dated 1808 - 1810. Marriages of Jefferson Co., Tennessee 1792 - 1836 compiled by Edythe Whitley 1982. April 16, 1804 has son Andrew Sivley to Rebecca Denton.
It may have been as late as 1794 or as early as 1786 when Jacob Sivley and his family removed to Jefferson County Tennessee from Virginia.
There is record of him and his family selling all their worldy goods there as
early as 1786. Perhaps that was when they really moved to Jefferson county
Tennessee. Peter another brother was in Sevier County Tennessee by 1796 when a
record was made where he made a purchase in a store. Jacob was appointed as
overseer of a road from Dandridge to Wilson's Station in Nov 1794. He is also listed as an ensign
in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Jacob and his family later moved to Alabama as
Jacob and Andrew and William Fine husband of daughter Catherine Sivley all had
land grants adjoining each other in Section 33 Range 4 Township 1. It is believed all Jacob's children but Jacob Jr. were born in Va.
but we are missing birth dates on many of them.
Jacob and Alcey's oldest son Andrew had a son named Hamilton, who was born near Knoxville on 1 Jan 1807.
In 1804, John Hunt, considered the earliest white settler for whom Huntsville,
Alabama was named, was lured to North Alabama by stories of an abundance of wild turkeys in this area.
His informant was a friendly Cherokee Indian. With the Indian's help, he found the Big Spring. Liking the location, he returned to his home in one of the Carolinas and returned
two years later with a large number of men from the Carolinas and Virginia. Some
historians believe John Hunt is interred in the same graveyard as Jacob Sivley.
Some time between 1808 and 1810 Jacob and his brother John floated downstream on the Tennessee River on flat
boats for permanent settlement. Andrew's second son, Rawley, was born on one of the flat boats during March of 1808.
Jacob and his family came to what was then the Big Spring area, but southwest a
mile or so, along the canal leading from the spring to the Tennessee River, This
area was then a part of Madison County of the Mississippi Territory and was before the Louisiana Purchase by president James K. Polk that paved the way for formation of the state of Alabama among others.
John Sivley, a brother of Jacob, left with his family & moved northward up into a part of Lincoln County Tennessee which later became Moore County.
It is believed he floated further downstream to Muscle Shoals before making the
trip northward. Whether he & his family stopped for a time in old Florence
is not known.
At any rate Jacob and his family settled just southwest of Big Springs in what
would become southwest Huntsville, on the old Stage Coach Road, running from the Tennessee River to Huntsville.
This is about the path of part of Leemans Ferry Road today. The Big Spring flowed
downstream and efforts were made to form it into a canal just southwest of there.
Later after flowing out of Big Spring, the stream picked up more water sources and finally flowed into
a creek deep enough to support small boats. This stream was called Indian Creek
in some records. This larger creek then emptied in the Tennessee
River. Small boats came up and down Indian Creek into the new settlement. The canal
(called Huntsville Spring Branch today, but part of the same stream called
Indian Creek in olden times) from Big Spring ran through the land where the
Sivley's settled.
There was first a frame house built on a rise, near the stream. It is believed to have been the first older home, built by Jacob. All uprights and beams were fashioned from cedar logs. The lumber used was yellow poplar. The building was oblong in shape, with tall chimneys at each end. It had four rooms and was simple in construction. From these quarters, Jacob directed
slaves in their work about the farm, called the "St Andrew Plantation ". A grain mill was built on the Triana Branch with a large columned porch overlooking it, where Jacob could sit and oversee the mill. Later Andrew the son built the massive brick
plantation home in place by 1830.
Jacob was so stout he had a special bed, chair and carriage, built like an omnibus where he entered from the back. He could not stoop to tie his shoes, and carried a slave about with
him. Jacob died 12 September 1816. The receipt was given his son-in-law William Fine, husband of Jacob's daughter Catherine Sivley, on September 20th
1816 in answer to a bill from William NeSmith for a coffin six feet long at two dollars a foot, amounting to twelve dollars. The receipt
can still be seen in the archive at the Huntsville Madison County Library among other old records. This burial container, like all others of those pioneer days, was made of planed boards, and fitted with iron handles. Jacob was buried in
the family burial ground, near the home, the first known Sivley to be laid to rest in the new
territory.
Jacob's wife, Alcey, and his son Andrew, were appointed administrators of his estate. In 1818 Alcey, and her son Joseph, believed to have been the second child, also died and were buried in the family burial ground on what is today the western edge of the John Hunt Park.
Over the years their head stone
either disappeared or a formal stone was never set. In the early 1800s memorial
stones were rare and hard to purchase. In recent time some of the descendants of
Luther Sivley (John Clinton's brother) had a stone erected showing that Jacob
had been a Revolutionary soldier. Other stones memorializing his wife Alcey and
son Joseph were put in place about the same time. All this was accompanied by
the celebration of Jacob's service as a Revolutionary War Soldier who served in
Valley Forge under George Washington.
In December of 1932, the Huntsville Times newspaper printed stories of old historic homes, and among these, was a description of the Sivley Home, By Pat Jones. Statements of this are included here.
"Jacob and his oldest son, Andrew, then 26, acquired land grants from the government adjoining each other, and worked
together to carry on their interests. The land holding covered much of the site of the present
day Merrimack Village of southwest Huntsville.
Up until 1932, the two old Sivley Homes, were among the oldest in Madison County and still stood, one a frame log structure and another a massive brick, with the interior built around a winding
stairway. Evidently this estate harbored a buried Treasure, which brought a shadowy family descendant back in search of it.
Located on the east side of Huntsville Spring Branch and north side of where today's Airport Road crosses the
branch these homes stood out as some of the most striking of Madison County estates. Sadly
there is nothing left today of these old homes. They have gone the way of the dinosaur and no longer
exist. Sometime around the time of the formation of the Air field all these
assets of history were
believed to have been abolished.
Story of the Buried Treasure
Last Feb, 1932 there came to the (Old Jacob Sivley) estate an expensively dressed women in a fine car, driven by a chauffeur in uniform. She was from
Chicago or at least had Illinois license plates. She said she was the granddaughter of a Sivley. After looking the place over and getting her bearings, she left. The next day, however she appeared again, this time ordering her car up a narrow winding abandoned road to the small Sivley Family graveyard, surrounded by cedars some half a mile from the house. Nearly two hours later, she departed without coming near the old home again.
This visitor left her mark behind her. In the southwest corner of the burial ground, 10 feet from a large grave stone and at the base of an immense cedar tree, she had her chauffeur dig. First, in order to do so , he cut away the roots on that side of the trees. Some of which measured 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Soon, he uncovered a Brick Vault four feet square
(some sources say 12" X 18") and two and 1/2 feet deep, extending out under the tree.
What was taken from this vault, which certainly was not once a grave, is not known. It may have been a fortune cached there by her forefathers, perhaps during the Civil War. This wealth may have been in the form of gold, silver or jewels. Again, it may have been valuable papers buried (does not sound plausible to me. Paper would have rotted under any circumstances over time.
Wayne Austin, 20 Mar 2010) there so many years ago with a tree planted on top of it, that roots from the seedling, and even the tree itself,
had grown to a massive size.
Whatever she found, this woman doubtless was one descendant of a historic family who believed the cryptic message left for her on a map located for her the grandsire's strong box.
Does she have descendants who can tell us what was in the Vault or who she was or who were her ancestors?
Andrew Sivley of the second generation
After the death of Alcey, his mother, Andrew bought from the other heirs their part of the estate. Each sibling was paid $314.00 for his
part.
The brick house, built by Andrew, is said to have been built about 1830. One
source believed it was about 1818 but that historical era did not produce the
wealth for massive homes, but this question is still open. We have a very vivid description of the house in the story by Mr. Jones. The front door faced North toward Huntsville, in two panels. below an arch of brick. The hallway was barrel shaped, thirty-one feet to the ceiling. Near the entrance was a winding stairway, which was no doubt the most picturesque stairway in Madison County. The two large rooms were located on each side of the hall, one above the other, measuring 20x20. Ceilings were 15 feet high. Large windows were on the North and South. Fireplaces were in each room. There in the upper chamber to the East was of an odd arrangement, facing obliquely to the center. On one side it was flush with the wall, while on the other, its corner stood four feet out in the floor. This was probably so arranged in order that a fire burning on the hearth would not reflect in the eyes of the person sleeping in the section outside the scope of light. Three porches, a long one on the North, a smaller one on the South, and West sides, set off the appearance of the building. In the basement were three rooms, all finely finished. The one at the west end was the kitchen, its fireplace half the width of the room. And big enough to roast a large section of beef at one time. Entrance to the cellar was gained through a door at the west end of the house. Food was taken from the kitchen upstairs to the dining room, which had a cupboard built in the Northwest corner of the wall. Another set of stairs led from this chamber to the top floor, allowing passage up and down, without entering the rest of the house. Outside the house was a pit, marking the site of the icehouse, where ice was stored from the pond below.
Andrew built a dam nearby to supply water for this grist mill, which was his chief means of livelihood. This was the beginning of "Sivleys Mills", known even to the present generation. In 1832 Andrew sold a tract of the land, where the millpond was located, to James B. Martin. The sale was made on condition that the canal boats be allowed to pass, and the Company be permitted to use water from the source to fill its lock. Furthermore, Andrew was to retain the right to water his stock from the lake.
Shortly afterward, approaching the age of 70, Andrew and his wife, growing feeble, decided to sell and retire. He sold the plantation, containing 750 acres, to his son , Joseph in 1853 for $ 15,000.00. The mill was included in the sale on condition that Joseph would care for his parents for the remainder of their lives.
Only 4 of Andrew's 11 children were mentioned in his will. Others had either died or severed connections with the parents. He left his wife, Rebecca, 11 slaves and furniture of the home, specifying that the slaves would be divided among the children at her death.
Once very important in the lives of Huntsville's first settlers, these homes are forgotten now. Few residents even know of their existence. Passers by who stop to view, find nothing to indicate their part in history. Of the homes, land and dams all that remains today of the busy life of those pioneer ancestors is the tall monument of Andrew, and some of his children, which marks the spot of the family burial ground. Once enclosed with a picket fence, and gaunt cedar trees, now (1953) one must wade thought weeds and briars and the names on the stones are hardly legible. The graves of those first buried there, Jacob, Alcey and their son , Joseph, can no longer be found, but monument were erected to their memory later. To the West and East of the burial ground, running parallel, are two busy highways, and joining it on the East was the old Huntsville Airport, where no doubt many Sivley descendants passed, along their busy ways, unknown to each other, thinking nothing of those mortals in days past, to whom we owe so much, and certainly not realizing that so nearby lie the remains of those brave souls.
Children & some other Descendents of Jacob and Alcey Sivley
1. Andrew born 26 Jan 1783 in Virginia, d 21 Feb
1854 in Madison Co. buried in Sivley Cemetery, Huntsville, Madison, AL Alabama. He was married to Rebecca Denton who was born December 22, 1782 in Tennessee; and died December 2, 1859 in Hinds County Mississippi. She was buried in there in the Raymond Cemetery. Rebecca was the daughter of Thomas Denton and Elizabeth Claypoole
2. Jesse born 12 Mar 1796, died 1868, married 1st wife was Elizabeth Matkin and 2nd wife in 1 Mar 1816. He died in Morgan Co Al.
The estate papers of E. W. Matkin named some in the family. E.W. died in testate and the courts made an
effort to identify & locate all potential heirs between 1863 and 1874. The children of Elizabeth and Jesse Sivley were cited as well as the children of Jane Matkin and her husband, Mr. Cooper.
Jane's husband was Charlie Cooper. Jennie/Jane was Charlie's first wife and after her death he married
her sister Margaret.
3. Nancy married William Smalling 11 Dec 1817. She died in Madison Co. Al.
4. Joseph born 1784 in Va married Rachel Taylor in 29 Aug 1807. He died in Morgan County, Al.
5. John William born 1790 died 1856 in Morgan County, Al., married Sarah
Lawrence in 1817. (notice the deed to Andrew of the heirs of Jacob does not
support this name. John was married to Elizabeth and lived in Madison Co. Al.
according to that?)
6. Elizabeth married 1st Alexander Campbell 23 Sept 1809 and 2nd Thomas Evans 26 Sept 1811. She died in Limestone County Al.
7. Margaret married Bannister Bond 12 May 1813 died in Madison county, Al.
8. Catherine born 1791 married William Fine on 27 Mar 1807. William was born
in New Market Virginia in 1781; The Fines' lived in Giles County for a time and
moved on to Crawford County Arkansas. Catherine lived past 90 years, dying in
1881. She was in the household of her Daughter Lucinda Brown in the 1880 census.
William is mentioned as the purchaser of the Coffin for father-in-law Jacob
Sivley who died in 1816.
9. Rebecca married Elinathan Davis on 04 Jan 1817. She died in Rutherford County, Tn
10. Jacob Jr. born 21 Dec 1804, died 27 Dec 1892 married Elizabeth Ann Brooks. They moved to Clarksville, Red River County, Texas. He died
on 27 Dec 1892 in red River County, Texas. She lived to be 82 years old. She was born 25 Dec 1800, died
16 Aug 1877.
Jacob and his family stayed in Tn until later. Andrew married Rebecca Denton had their first child in Tn. His name was Hamilton born 1 Jan 1807.
"Two years after his death Jacob's estate was bought by (1) Andrew. This
deed was signed by Jacob's heirs, and follows in part: (4) Joseph Sivley and
wife Rachel, (3) William Smalling
and his wife Nancy, (5) John Sivley and wife, Elizabeth, (2) Jesse Sivley and wife,
Elizabeth, (7) Bannister Bond and wife, Peggy, all of Madison county. (6) Thomas Evans
and wife, Elizabeth, of Limestone county. (8) William Fine and wife Catherine of Giles
county, Tennessee, (9) Eliathan Davis and wife, Rebecca of Rutherford county,
Tennessee, which said Joseph Sivley, Nancy Smalling, Catherine Fine, John Sivley,
Elizabeth Evans, Jesse Sivley, Peggy Bond, Rebecca Davis are children of late
Jacob Sivley, to Andrew Sivley, Nov. 19, 1818."
We see from the latter record that Jacob Jr. is missing from the listing of the
heirs of Jacob who sold their interest to Andrew. Also confusion exist as to
John and his wife Elizabeth not listed in (5) first listing above. I am unaware
of the reason for these discrepancies.
From a source in the Huntsville Archives these marriages of person with
the Sivley surname were found in Madison County Alabama:
Sivley
To
Date Book
Page
John Sally Lorance
11-24-1817
1 358
Hamilton Sara Jane Baker
10-01-1845 A4
88
Peggy Bannister Bond
05-12-1813
1 101
Becky Elnathan Davis
01-14-1817
1 299
Eliza A. John B. Cooper
05-30-1832
5 38
Elvira J. Wm H. Wallis
12-18-1838
4 460
Martha Wm
Birdsong
10-11-1849
A4 319
Elvira T. R. Halsey
09-04-1876
8 448
Jesse Frances Bone
03-01-1816
1 236
Ann R. Dallas Jones
03-13-1866
5 141
Elizabeth Alex
Campbell
09-23-1809
1
9
John
Betsy
Bone
05-13-1813
1 109
Jacob Sarah Ann
Scruggs
07-23-1831
4 114
Wm.Smalling Nancy
Lam
12-11-1817
1 372
Thos. Evans Elizabeth Campbell
09-26-1811
1
45
Wm. Fine Catherine Sivley
03-27-1807
perhaps Jefferson County, Tennessee
1. Children of Andrew
Sivley and Rebecca Denton Sivley
a. Deborah Sivley, married Jack Harris
and
lived near Gunthaven, Mississippi
b. Hamilton, born 1807, married Sarah Jane Baker
c. Rawley Sivley, married Elizabeth Hodge Burleson. He was born on a
flatboat during 1808 while his parents were on their way to Alabama, Rawley
& Elizabeth lived near Raymond, Mississippi. After Andrew's death Rebecca
Andrew's wife also moved to be near her son. She died in Raymond and is buried
there in the Raymond Cemetery.
d. Jacob Sivley III, married Elizabeth Ann Scruggs
e. Lucy C., 22 May 1822 - 12 Oct 1834. died young.
f. William B. Sivley, 15 Feb 1826 - 28 Feb 1840, died young.
g. George W. Sivley, 20 Aug 1820 - 28 _ _ _ 1837, died young.
h. Eliza A. Sivley, 22 Sep 1813 - 20 Oct 1833, married John B. Cooper 31
May 1832.
i. Elvira Sivley, married 1st to a Mr. Wallace, later to Oliver Vassar
Shearer of near Birmingham, Alabama.
j. Martin Sivley, married Maria Ana Dodson. This family is found in the 1850 census of Faulkner County, Ark
Martin age 38 born Al; Ann M. 35 born Tn; and children Sarah E. 10; Eliza J. 8; Ann E. 7; Martin H. 1 and Lucy H.
3
k. Joseph Sivley, married Clara Marshall.
In the Morgan Co. Probate Book I, 200, Lucinda Matkin provided an affidavit stating that she bore a child in July 1862 and the father was Joseph
Sivley. The affidavit was dated Nov 1862. She was 18 at the time of the birth, 17 when she became pregnant. It
is believed that Joseph was already a father of 5 by this time by his wife, Clara
Marshall. This was because the mother was underage (<=21) was the age of adulthood)
and she wanted to register an heir against the father's future estate or she planned to go for child support
or any combination of the reasons. Nothing is known of the child afterward.
Lucinda married Richard Bennett in 1868 and had at least 3 more children. Her birth history in the 1900 census stated she had borne 4 children, with 2 living at that time.
2. Jesse Sivley, son of Jacob & Alcey Sivley, born 12 Mar 12 1796, died 1868 His 1st wife was Elizabeth Matkin and 2nd Frances Bone on 1 Mar 1816. He died in Morgan Co Al.
Jesse F. fought in the War of 1812. Children of Jesse Elizabeth:
a. Jesse Jr., born 31 Oct 1830 married Bethany H. Reeves
b. Jennie, married Charlie Cooper and died soon afterward. Charlie then
married Jennie's sister Margaret.
c. Sarah, married Breedlove
d. Andrew H.
e. Durham
f. Jim
g. Margaret, married Charlie Cooper. Jennie had died so Charlie married Jennie's sister Margaret.
4. Joseph Sivley and Rachel Taylor Sivley, Joseph's Will named the children:
a. Pleasant, born 23 June 1808 m'd 1st Hannah Lowery on 4 Jan 1832, She was born in SC 16 Oct 1812. Pleasant married 2nd to Caroline Pitt
b. John
c. Jacob, married Henrietta "Writta" Hampton
d. Charlotte, married Rev. James Halbrooks Their children were: Jeff; Susan; Fay; Sally; Rufus; Winston; James; Nancy and Lillie. Fay married E. P. Taylor. Nancy married Joseph Wade.
They left AL and move to Ozark, MO. where their son Washington M. Wade became Principal of the school
e. Minerva
f. Cassandra, married James Cal McCluskey
Joseph and Rachel Taylor Sivley
A story has been told of how a group of people, including son Pleasant, were coming down the river, and made camp with some indians at Brown's Ferry. It may have been the family group, when they first came to Lawrence County. They traded liquor to the Indians, who got
drunk. For fear of having trouble with them the group cut the ropes and let
their rafts loose. They drifted down steam, during the night. The next morning, realizing they near river shoals, they asked a man on the bank about
the Indians, only to learn they had already passed them, during the night.
Pleasant told stories in later years of helping to cut a road through the cane
brake. We do not know when, the family settled somewhere on the Flint Creek. The 1830 Census lists Rachel as head of household with five in
the family. When they came to that section, there were Indians all about, and the women never stayed
alone. When the men were in the fields, several women stayed together for
safety. After living on Flint Creek, the Sivleys' lived on Flat Creek. These exact locations
are not known, there is today a Sivley Cemetery on Hwy 24 on the south side of
the road between Decatur and Moulton. This must also have been somewhere near what is known as Sivley's Ford.
Pleasant begun to build a house, but he and Hannah went ahead and married, and moved
in before it was finished. There were no doors and they had to climb through an opening in the floor to get in. It is not known where this house was located, but Pleasant told in later years how hard Hannah had worked, helping him to finish the house, and clear the fields. In the 1840 Census they were living in Morgan
County, but the 1850 Census shows them back in Lawrence Co. The family did not move,
but the county lines did. It was said the Pleasant Sivley home was located east of the present Morris Chapel Church. Pleasant
a was highly respected and very thrifty individual. He and Ned Bracken are said to have owned most of the land of the Morris Chapel Community. Pleasant was said to have owned 1,000 acres.
Rachel lived to be very old. She was called "Grany Sivley" by all who knew her.
Nancy Wade, Pleasant's sister, persuaded him to move to Arkansas just before the Civil War. It is believed that he sold some
of his land but not the house. The family was told he made a sale to Mr. Conway and carried the gold in a basket covered with potatoes, with him and his family in the Ox Wagon. There were so many of them they could not all ride, and took turns walking. It was forest land practically all the way. The County through which they traveled was so sparsely populated that they suffered severely from thirst.
The Sivleys did not like Arkansas. In fact they were so dissatisfied, they immediately set out to sell their property before crops were completely finished. The family returned to Lawrence Co, AL and Pleasant persuaded Mr. Conway to sell back to him the property he'd
sold. It is said he had to pay a $1,000 more than what he sold it for.
5 John William Sivley born 1790 d 1856 in Morgan County, Al married
Sarah Lawrence in 1817
a. Henry, married Angeline Turner
b. Jim, married Arrena Stuart;
c. Tom, married Ann Smith;
d. Martha, married Nathan Aldrige;
e. Jane, married John Anderson;
f. Ioway, married Doc Elrod
8. Catherine Sivley born 1791 Shenandoah Co. Virginia, married William Fine in 27 Mar 1807.
William was born in New Market Virginia in 1781; The Fines' lived in Giles
County for a time and moved on to Crawford County Arkansas. Catherine lived past
90 years, dying during 1881. William is mentioned as the purchaser of the Coffin for
his father-in-law Jacob Sivley who died in 1816.
I am aware of only one child though there probably were many others. She is this
writer's ancestor:
a. Elizabeth Fine, born 13 Jun 1809, Madison Co Al. (actually Madison Co
Mississippi Territory) Married to Calvin Coffee who was born 5 Jul 1805 in
Kentucky and died 10 Jan 1889 in Maury County Tennessee. They are both interred
in the Gilbreath-Morrow Cemetery, Maury County Tennessee.
10. Jacob Sivley Jr. & Elizabeth, children of:
a. Maty Ann, born 1823;
b. Leander H., born 1824;
c. Hamilton, born 1825;
d. Martha J., born 1827;
e. William H., born 1830; William H. Married Susan Gaines 12 Jul 1859
f. James B., born 1832;
g. John J., born 1834; married Laura Dalle 29 Jun 1865
h. Henrietta, born 1837; Henreitta W. Married John W Brem 29 May 1855
i. Susan, born 1839; Susan Married William C Grimes 09 Jul 1856
j. Arcena, born 1843;
k. John H., married Evelina Roberts 22 Dec 1859
l. Joseph M., married Mollie Lincecum 12 Nov 1867
Compiled by descendent & historian Wayne Austin from several
writings & sources on this subject namely:
(1) Sivley family history on Ancestry.com. sent by Linda Munroe.
(2) Sivley Family records in the Huntsville Alabama Archives including
Wills, and census records and records of past researchers. persons contributing.
Mrs Vera (J.A.) Blackburn of Auburn Alabama. (1950s) Mrs. Clifford J. Richards,
Houston Texas. (1971) & Mrs. DeYoung (1971)
(3) Jacob Sivley Family history and writings by Janet at this site: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~janet/Jacob.html
Please be aware of the grammar errors and discount some of the spellings of the
facts. I tell you that because Janet's compilation is otherwise a good Sivley
Family history source reflecting years of intense original effort by her in
spite of her grasp of the English language
(4) Cemetery records on this site which are from a visit and recording of
the Sivley Family Cemetery in John Hunt Park Huntsville Alabama 16 Mar 2010.
Results of that Published here:
(5) The book: Cemetery Records of Madison County Alabama along with other
cemetery records found in the Huntsville Alabama Archives.
Received this E-mail 23 Dec 2015 regarding some of the above writings:
Hi, Mr
Austin,
I recently found your website on the Sivley family of North Alabama at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maury/AlabamaCemeteriesWeb/MadisonCounty/SivelyCem/SivleyFamilyHistory1.html,
and have a question plus some updated information that may be of interest to you
on the Joseph Sivley cited as a son of Andrew Sivley of Madison Co., AL. I
noticed that you have the reference to Lucinda Matkin's affidavit from Morgan
County, AL citing Joseph Sivley as the father of her illegitimate child born in
July 1862. I was the source of that information, having done a page by page
review of the Morgan County Probate books back in the late 1990's. What is new
is the current surfacing of the Loose Estate Papers of this Joseph Sivley in
Madison County, AL at the Huntsville Library archives which sheds doubt on which
Joseph is the father of Lucinda's child. According to the case records, Joseph
Sivley, husband of Clara Ann Marshall Sivley and Son of Andrew Sivley of Madison
Co., AL was declared incompetent around 1858 and Clara was declared his
guardian. By 1861-62, she becomes the executor of his estate declaring he was
deceased. This seriously refutes the assumption that her husband was father to
Lucinda's child in July of 1862. So, with that new information in hand, I went
back to review the 1860 Madison County census records for Joseph Sivley and
found that there was another Joseph Sivley in the area actually living in the
same home as the elder Joseph. He was cited as 26 years old. My question is - do
you know who this Joseph was? He is the only other candidate at the moment that
I have for Lucinda's child.
Thank you for being conscientious with your sources - for some reason due to my
original really awkward attempt to lay out the relationship between Lucinda and
Joseph, several researchers incorrectly assumed Lucinda's child was a daughter
named Elizabeth and once that error was published - it seems to have propagated
like wildfire. The Morgan County court affidavit did not identify the name or
sex of Lucinda's child. There is no known record at this time that provides that
information.
Regards,
Cindy Stiene
Madison, AL
More from Cindy:
One other
correction in your write up on the Morgan County Sivleys. Your reference to
Ezekiel Washington Matkin's chancery case notes reference to Jane Matkin Cooper
- after reviewing all the Madison Co loose probate files, the Morgan Co. probate
book records and the Morgan Co. loose probate files for EW Matkin jr (my
designator - there were 3 EW Matkins in Morgan County - father, son and grandson
by another son). The Jane Cooper references in numerous documents is Mary Jane
Sivley Cooper, daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth (Matkin) Sivley of Morgan Co. She
died in 1868 after the birth of her second child. Her husband, Charles Hugh
Cooper then married her sister Margaret Sivley, and had around 10 more children.
Mary Jane Sivley's children (William Luther and Ellen) were cited in the Morgan
Co probate records after her death as heirs to their great uncle's estate. This
fact is confirmed through her children's death certificates which cite Charles
Hugh Cooper and Mary Jane Sivley as parents. Their half(?) siblings cite
Margaret as their mother in their death certificates. AND Margaret is cited as
Charles' 2nd wife. See findagrave memorials #12198373 and #92346646 for the
Sivley sisters. Charles Hugh Cooper's FAG# is 50275582. Mary Jane's children's
are at #92346794 and #49947127, respectively. Census records and marriage
records back up these assertions. Mary Jane died in Aug 1868, Hugh married her
sister, Margaret in Dec 1868 since he had two small children to care for and
needed to marry quickly (William Luther was a baby when his mother died and his
sister was a toddler).
All this is to correct a long held belief that there was a Jane Matkin Cooper,
sister to EW#2 (or Jr), in the Matkin chancery papers when in actuality there
wasn't. All references are for Mary Jane Sivley Cooper. The original researchers
who claimed the existence of Jane Matkin Cooper did so based on 1 deposition
from Madison Co., AL in 1869 when ALL the documentation needed to be reviewed
between the two counties for this case between 1863 and 1874 (Morgan Co: 16
record book entries; 22 documents in the loose case files; Madison Co: 113+
pages in the loose case file and references in the Abraham Beadle lawsuit. The
Beadle case involved a dispute over the sale of entailed land to the Matkin
brothers (EW and William) of Madison County. EW Matkin Jr died during this case,
so his estate was involved in the lawsuit).
Cindy Stiene
Madison, AL
Another comment:
Lucinda
Matkin was Elizabeth Matkin Sivley's niece by her brother, Durham Matkin.
Elizabeth was Jesse Sivley's 2nd wife (b. 1798, d. 1864). Jesse and Elizabeth
are buried in the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery at Flint City, Morgan Co, Alabama. I had
assumed that the cited Joseph was Andrew's son, Joseph; but now I'll definitely
need to explore that Sivley family in Lawrence Co., Al.
Cindy Stiene
Written from many sources. We changed several facts that appeared suspect, such as the Andrew Sivley Brick Home being built in 1818. We think another source of 1830, or just prior is more likely just due to the economics of the times. It is possible I may be wrong in changing that. If you know of any mistakes here please write me at WayneAL1@AL.com. Hardly any of this information is original history by me, but has been written and rewritten. I think most of the Jacob Sivley history was written about 1930 but includes writings in the 1950. With a keen sense of geography I have updated the locations so that one can visit these places today. Some writings above have no author posted. One thing is certain. The descendents of Jacob Sivley are an articulate people who have time and again made efforts to preserve their history. This seems to be the most documented of my ancestral lines. Compiled and posted by Wayne Austin, 22 Mar 2010.