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Relationship of James E. Balkcom to Euel E. Balkcom
Conjecture on the ancestry of James E. Balkcom
Descendants of James E. Balkcom
Master Index
Biographies
Bibliography
Links:
Civil War:
Confederate Regimental Histories |
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James E. Balkcom was born 1 Jan 1807 in North Carolina, according to the
1900 census listing for his son Brantley. He married Mary (Polly)
Murphy before 1837.
The first official record of James
Balkcom is found in court records of Sampson County, North Carolina in 1827.
"Willie Balcomb" and "James Balcomb" were ordered to serve as road hands on a
road crew. All able-bodied males were obligated to this work, and men on
the same road crew would have lived close together. By 1840 James, and
Wiley (the Willie above) as well, were in Lowndes County, Georgia. In the
1840 federal census, "James Balkum" is listed as age 30-39,
having in the household two males under 5, and four females - 3 under 5 and 1
age 20-29. This accounts for James E. and wife Mary, sons John W. and James A., and daughter Colista.
The other two girls are unaccounted for
so may have not been daughters or may have died young. The households of Wiley Balkum and Daniel Murphy
were very close by.
Mary's maiden name has not yet been
confirmed, but other researchers, including the
Baucom Family book, have claimed that it
was Murphy. Mary definitely had strong connections to the Daniel and
Elizabeth Murphy family. The families lived close together, and migrated
together, in the early to mid 1800's.
In about 1845 (date estimated based
on Balkcom children birth locations), James and family (of at least 5 surviving
children) moved
to Dale County, Alabama. James hasn't been found in the 1850
census. Records at the
Bureau of Land Management show that
on 11 Jan 1858, James was
issued a land patent in Dale County, Alabama, certifying transfer of federal
land to him. Issue of the land patent
followed by a little more than two years his application and payment for purchase, dated October 19, 1855.
Original papers at the National Archives show that his purchase was for 160
acres of public land from the Elba Land Office at
$.25 an acre for a total of $40. Location, referenced to the St Stephens Meridian: SESE Section 4/ Township 5-N Range 26-E;
W½SW 3/ 5-N 26-E;
SWNW 3/ 5-N 26-E. Land Patents were issued on the same day in Dale
County to Wiley Balkcom and Josiah Balkcom (son of Wiley), reinforcing a
possible family link between Wiley and James E. Balkcom.
In 1860, James Balkcom was head of
household in the census of the Newton Post Office District of Dale County,
Alabama. James is listed as age 53, farming, born in NC, living with wife
Mary and twelve
other members of the family. Enumerated with James were
Mary (Polly) MURPHY, Colista Jane BALKCOM, Benjamin BALKCOM,
Ivey BALKCOM, Joseph D. BALKCOM and wife Lucinda, Brantley BALKCOM, Albert
BALKCOM, Delilah BALKCOM, Priscilla BALKCOM, Neissa BALKCOM, Ransom BALKCOM, and James Arnold BALKCOM.
Their assets were listed at $1500 real estate and
$700 personal. The households of son John W. Balkcom and wife Nancy age 19 (newly
married) and Daniel Murphy (with wife Elizabeth and a 12 year old male Milton)
were counted adjacent. Neither showed land holdings so it's likely that
they had houses on the land of James Balkcom.
By 1862 the Civil War began to have
its effect on the the
family, when John W. and Benjamin enlisted in the Confederate Army as Privates in Company A of the 37th Alabama
Infantry Regiment. I haven't found census records for John W. after the
war, so it's possible that he was a casualty. Benjamin
was captured 4 December, 1862 at Water Valley, Mississippi, and taken to the
Confederate POW
prison in Alton, Illinois. He did not survive long at Alton, dying
within two months of his capture, on 27 January,
1863, of exposure. According to the Alton web site: "Conditions
in the prison were harsh and the mortality rate was above average for a Union
prison. Hot, humid summers and cold Midwestern winters took a heavy toll on
prisoners already weakened by poor nourishment and inadequate clothing. The
prison was overcrowded much of the time and sanitary facilities were inadequate.
Pneumonia and dysentery were common killers but contagious diseases such as
smallpox and rubella were the most feared. When smallpox infection became
alarmingly high in the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863, a quarantine hospital
was located on an island across the Mississippi River from the prison."
In April 1863, within just a few months of
Benjamin's death, brother Joseph D. enlisted at Pollard, Alabama as a Private in
Company D of the 57th Alabama Infantry, for a period of three years. In
September 1863, brother Ivey also enlisted in this company. His enlistment
papers show: "18 years old, hazel eyes, light hair, 5'10", born Dale Co,
farmer, received bounty of $50." Joseph would not return home, a casualty
of wounds received in the Battle of Atlanta as General Sherman took the city in
July, 1864. Ivey survived the war, with records showing he was discharged
at Charlotte, NC in 1865. James Arnold seems likely to have enlisted as
well but military records haven't been conclusively linked to him. After
the war, James Arnold named his first two sons Joseph and Benjamin.
Information from the 1870 census made
it clear that the war affected the family
financially as well, with the value of the family's real estate decreasing by
25%, and personal estate, including livestock, valued at half their value in 1860. In this
census, "James Balkcum" was head of
household in Beat No. 9, Echo, Dale County,
Alabama. James was age 63, occupation listed as
farmer and hatter, born in North Carolina, real estate $1100, personal
$350. In his household were wife Polly and 7 other Balkcoms: Colista Jane, Albert, Delilah, Priscilla, J. A., James Hezakiah, and Middleton.
In 1880 James E. Balkcom was head of
household in the census for Beat No. 9, Enumeration District #64, Echo, Dale
County, Alabama. James is listed as age 73 (or 71 -
legibility), farmer, born in North Carolina, parents born in "North". In
the household were wife Polly, daughters Colista Jane and Joanna, and grandson
Middleton. They lived adjacent to their son Ivey.
On 12 Feb 1881, James bought 40
acres of land in 5N/26E, Section 4, NW
1/4 of SE 1/4 in Dale County. Purchase price was $1.25 an acre.
Purchase was under the Homestead Act of Congress of 1862, entitled "An act to
secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain." The land was
adjacent to land James E. already owned in the section. Wiley Balkcom and son
Josiah had land nearby from 1858 purchases.
James Balkcom applied for this land December 27, 1873 under application No
5790. In the Homestead
Affidavit, he asserted that he was over age 20, head of
family, and that application "is made for the purpose of an adjoining farm and
cultivation ... my present farm which I reside on being the NE 1/4 of SE 1/4 Sec
4 T5 R26". He marked out the phrase on the application "that I have a bonafide improvement and reside on the tract applied for". Note that James
corrected the spelling of his last name from "Balcom" to "Balkcom" on the documents.
James Balkcom died on 24 Nov 1887 in Dale County, Alabama, at
age 80 (see tombstone). Wife Mary had died almost two years earlier, in February 1886, at
the age of 72. They are buried in Center United Methodist Church
Cemetery, Dale County, Alabama.
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Revised:
13-Apr-2008