The Bettis/Alston Trek West (NC to AR)

Author's Note: While writing this post, I came across a recently published book by Carla Barringer Rabinowtiz, "Borderers: Becoming Americans on the Southern Frontier." It was a wonderful read and was basically the article I had hoped to write, but in book form. I have referenced heavily from her materials for parts of this post and am indebted to her work.  

Family Line Links: (WikiTree.com)(Ancestry.com)(FamilySearch.org)

There are at least 5 main branches of Bettis' in America, but due to all the destruction of records during the Revolutionary and Civil wars, concretely tracing them backwards is almost impossible. The closest firm ground that can be found is that of John Bettes (b. about 1680) (Ref 1, p.49), who was living in old Albemarle Co, NC (then in the northeastern portion of the state) around 1700. His family probably migrated there about 1650, most likely having originally hailed from Henricho Co., VA, where they were called Tuckahoes, due to the potato-like vegetable the Indians taught them to gather wild, and with it make bread. Like other Tuckahoes of the region, they were probably of English origin.

John Bettes had 6 sons (Francis Sr., John Jr., James, Thomas, Doser, and William)(Ref 1, p. 52). Francis Bettis, Sr. (born about 1700) received a land grant to settle in Edgecombe Co, NC along the Tar River in 1732 (Ref 5), near where Old Sparta is today. He married Mary Evans and had 7 children (Elijah Sr., Elisha, Francis Jr., Irvin, John, Mary, and Janet)(Ref 4, Ref 1, p.52). 

Tarboro Twp. in Edgecombe Co., 9 miles north of Old Sparta.

Although of humble beginnings, Francis Bettis was a restless, ambitious type who was constantly moving onward to the next new frontier, a trait that would become typical of his line in many generations to follow (Ref 7, p.112). In part this was due to the primary industry of this area at the time - extracting the tar, turpentine, and pitch, that were so essential to shipbuilding in that era, from the longleaf pines (Ref 7, p.114). Due to the seemingly endless abundance of the forests around them, white settlers made no efforts to preserve this resource, and instead girdled and tapped the trees for their use until they died. As with any difficult task in this time and place, they often made use of slave labor. When the resources in an area eventually became depleted, it would be necessary to move on.

The Bettis' had the habit of purchasing lands at the head of navigable rivers, near developing commercial towns that specialized in collecting these pine products from the interior lands, and then shipping then downstream for use (Ref 7, p.117). Most likely the Bettis' acquired their later wealth by participating in this transfer of resources in some way. As early as 1753, Francis migrated further southwest along the fall line into then Bladen/Cumberland Co., NC, where he was granted numerous lands along Rockfish Creek, (south of Fayetteville), and on Drowning Creek (near Five Points), in what is now Hoke Co. (then Cumberland Co.) His wife, Mary, died in 1774, but he lived on to at least 1794 (Ref 1). In later years he lived with his son Francis Jr. in SC. His eldest son Elijah, Sr., was our direct ancestor.

Hoke Co. and surrounding areas in south central North Carolina

Near Five Points, NC in Hoke Co.

Rockfish Creek, a branch of the Cape Fear River in Cumberland Co., NC

Elijah Sr.'s wife's name is unknown, but the couple had 5 sons (Elijah Jr. (see Note 1), Elisha, Richard, Thomas, and Ensient/Insign (see Note 2)(Ref. 1, p.52, Ref. 7), and no doubt daughters as well. By 1767, all of Elijah Sr.'s siblings had moved to SC, except for Elisha, who was living on the land in Cumberland Co. that his father had previously owned. Elijah Sr. was trying out new land in Anson Co. However, later that year, Elisha died tragically by fire (though he was able to make a will first, which he accidentally left his brother John out of (Ref. 1, p.68), so he must have at least initially survived.)(Ref. 1, p.52, p.189). After which, Elijah Sr. was bequeathed the land. 

Throughout the mid-1700s, the Bettis family steadily grew their wealth through land acquisitions in newly opened areas, which greatly appreciated in value over time (Ref 7, p.179). In July of 1769, Elijah Sr. and Elijah Jr. purchased land in the northeast part of Cumberland Co., soon to become Moore Co. in 1784. The deeds were purchased from John Overton, Elijah Jr.'s father-in-law. Both were along McLendon's Creek, near Carthage, with Elijah Sr. purchasing land adjacent to John's land, while Elijah Jr. and his wife lived about 10 miles south down the river (Ref 5, Ref 7, p.117-118).

In 1773, Elijah purchased land "On both sides of the Lick Branch (Note 4) of The Clenden's Crick". In 1789, he was one of several men tasked with building a road "from John Overton's road...continuing along an old road commonly called Neil Tyson's road to Deep River at the mouth of Governor's Creek..."

McLendon's original log cabin, built circa 1760 on McLendon's creek

Elijah Bettis Jr. lived in Moore. Co, NC through the American Revolution and on into the early 1800's. Around 1760 he married Amey Overton, and they raised a family of 7 children: Elijah III, John Overton, Ranson Southerland, Jean (married George Jackson), Eleanor (married Ezekiel Rubottom), Lovely (married Edward Matthews) and Sally (married Drew/William Alston (see note 5)). Sally (born abt. 1775) is our direct ancestor.

The Revolutionary war was a difficult time in North Carolina. Due to how evenly split its inhabitant's persuasions were towards the British Loyalists vs the American Patriots, tensions between neighbors were high (Ref. 7, Chap. 13, Ref 14). Many of the original inhabitants of the state were Loyalists due to long ties with the Crown. However, the mid-1700's saw huge influxes of Highland Scots into Cumberland and Moore Co., some of whom brought with the patriotic ideals of the Scottish Enlightenment that helped to shape our future country (Ref. 7, p.155, Ref. 15).

There are no definitive records of Elijah Sr. being on either side of the hostilities (Ref. 7, p.171). His wife's side of the family seems to have had Loyalist leanings while his daughter Sally's possible father-in-law, Col. Phillip Alston, was a ruthless Patriot (Ref 7., p.186-187, Ref. 13). He may have been one of the many inhabitants of the area that had no strong loyalties to either side and just wanted to be left alone (Ref. 7, p.164). However, even the accusation of supporting the British could be enough place a person's life and property at risk during this time of war. Sadly, that is what appears to have happed to Elijah Sr. in 1776, when he was accused at a Provincial assembly of being a Tory (British supporter) (Ref, 7, pp.171-174). 

Many men in similar circumstances were forced to abandon their families to hide out in the swamps during the years of the war. It was not until the Act of Pardon and Oblivion was passed in 1783, allowing amnesty for "all manner of treasons, misprision of treason, felony or misdemeanor, committed or done since the fourth day of July 1776 by any person or persons whatsoever", that prior accused Loyalists began to quietly return to their homes. And although the birthdates of Elijah Sr.'s children are not known for certain (see Note 7), there is a glaring age gap between Sally, born about 1775, and Lovely, born about 1784, that is likely summed up by this explanation (Ref. 7, p.171). Who knows how Amey Overton Bettis held it together during this time. They must have been some very difficult years.

After the war, the state and country began the long, difficult process of healing the many community and commercial ties that had been broken during the fighting (Ref 7, Chap 14). This would prove a difficult task. Many a person's property had been plundered and confiscated. Further hardening hearts was a law passed in 1784, forbidding anyone who had helped a Loyalist in any way from ever holding public office. Indeed, no Bettis ever held public office in Moore Co., despite Elijah III joining the Pansophia Lodge by 1797, a fraternity of the county's elite and influential (Ref 7, p.191). Eventually, it must have become clear that despite their growing wealth, further advancement of the family in society would require a new location as well (Ref. 7, p.193). 

While it is not known for certain when the decision to relocate was made, sometime after 1790, Elijah Sr. passed away and Elijah Jr. began the process of converting his land assets into more portable slave assets (Ref. 7, p.194). Census records show that between 1790 and 1800, the number of slaves in his household increased from 3 to 30. Three slaves would have been typical of a modestly wealthy family at that time, 30 was unusual (Ref. 7, p. 178, Ref. 16). Additionally, his son Elijah III, who lived nearby and was single at the time, owned 9 slaves of his own.

The Louisiana purchase of 1803 opened up areas west of the Mississippi River for settlement to Americans for the first time. Soon after, most the Bettis family (all except Jean and her husband George Jackson) chose to leave Moore Co. and set off for new lands in Missouri. (Actually, Sally may have been living with her husband in Drew/William Alston in GA at the time (See Note 6)). Elijah Jr. created a Will in 1805 just before leaving for the journey (Ref. 17). 

Although he was lucky enough to not need the Will enacted for another 10 years, he must have considered with caution the long journey before him in those later years of his life. Getting through mountainous western NC and into TN at that time would have been no easy feat. They would likely have taken a portion of the Wilderness Road to Daniel Boone's Cumberland Gap trail (formed in 1775). Accidents, violent weather, drownings at river crossings, disease, lack of food and/or water, and Indian attacks were among the many dangers along the way (Ref. 18).

They stopped for at least a time in TN. Then in 1806, they pushed off again for Missouri. The Bettis' were a well-off family and their wagon train was quite large, carrying 20 wagons, many slaves, and a variety of supplies. The family seems to have settled on Otter Creek in SE Missouri, a large stream flowing into the St. Francis River (Ref 3, p.175). It was in a part of Cape Girardeau County, which later became Wayne Co. near Greenville.

Unlike the rivers they had lived on in NC, the St. Francis River was not navigable for shipping goods. The Bettis family made use of their vast slave holdings (in 1820, they owned more than 1/3 of the county's slaves (Ref.7, p.257)) to set up a ferry near where Greenville is today (originally known as Bettis Ferry) (Ref.7, pp.255-256). Ranson Bettis owned the ferry, with a license issued by his brother Overton who was then the Sherriff. Elijah Bettis III ran the adjoining grist mill while practicing a little medicine on the side (Ref 7., p.256). By the time Wayne Co. was founded in 1818, Bettis Ferry had 10-15 log cabin houses with about 60-75 white inhabitants, plus their slaves.

Old site of the Bettis Ferry

All was not peaceful on the front, however. While the facts are somewhat disputed (Ref 7, pp.275-277), it is claimed that at some point within the first few years of the family's new settlement in MO, the relationship between Lovely's husband Edward Matthews, and Sally's husband Drew/William Alston, soured. Matthews was said to have killed Alston with a hand-spike, but was acquitted on grounds of self-defense (Ref. 2, p.283). Whether fact or legend, both of these men were no strangers to violence. William/Drew's possible father Phillip Alston was a convicted murderer with a violent temper (see Note 6). And Matthew's was indicted for assault and battery, brawling, and obstructing no less than 5 times in just a 3-year period. Family relations must have been strained, to say the least.

Perhaps this is why, when the family began to move westward again into Arkansas in 1827 (Ref. 7, pp.287-290), Matthews, and his Bettis wife Lovely, were one of only two of the six siblings to stay behind in MO. The other was Ezekiel Rubottom, and his new wife Parmelia Parish. His Bettis wife Eleanor had died in 1809, and Ezekiel himself had become a prominent political figure and Baptist preacher in the state. Elijah III had been a State Senator for a number of years as well, but eventually chose to retire to Pocahontas, AR with his sons in 1832, before his passing in 1836 (Ref. 8)(See Note 8).

Pocahontas, AR in Randolph Co.

In Arkansas, Ranson Southerland Bettis set up a trading post overlooking the Black River in the northeast portion on the state (Ref.7, pp.287-288). His brothers Overton, and then Elijah III, soon followed. The area was originally known as Bettis Bluff, but was renamed to Pocahontas in 1835 when Randolph Co. was formed from Lawrence Co. Although there were likely a variety of reasons for the family move to AR (Ref. 7, pp.288-289), the most likely pertained to the family ferry business. Newly developed steamboat travel had increased the profitability of moving goods along a river route, making a non-navigable river like the St. Francis less attractive. Better economic opportunities awaited further West.

Steamboats at Pocahontas Port

In the mid-1830's, Sally Alston's family seems to have moved even further west, to settle an Arkansas River town that was then called Spadra (now part of Clarksville), AR. Her son, Elijah Bettis Alston, opened a store like his uncle Elijah Bettis III further east. Later, when coal was discovered on his 1400 acres of land in 1844, he built a new home across the river as well as a cotton gin (Ref. 9, Ref. 10). In her elder age, Sally was living with this son. His brothers, including our direct ancestor Ranson Drew Alston (b.1810), lived in Spadra initially as well. But around 1839, when Ranson married Sarah Williamson, he moved on to Ozark in Franklin Co., AR and his brother Overton Alston later joined him.

Strawberry Bluff in in Clarksville, AR

Ozark, Franklin Co, AR

Like many towns in the Arkansas frontier at the time, Ozark was an area that saw frequent trading with Cherokee and Osage Native Americans and French fur trappers. As in so many times before though, the more White settlers that came, the more old ways of life broke down and the Native Americans were pushed out. From 1830-1850, many Indians camped in Ozark as part of the Trail of Tears, before continuing on to Oklahoma on foot. Steamboats often stopped here as well during times of low river tide.

Ozark, AR, 1910

Ranson and his brother Overton owned a goods store in downtown Ozark (Ref 11). He and Sarah Williamson (from TN) had a large family of 10 children, and before the civil war in the 1860s, owned 6-7 slaves as well. His oldest son John fought in the civil war with the confederate army. Their 5th child, Charnelcie "Nelcie" Jean Alston was our direct ancestor. Despite the many successes of the prior generations, this branch of the family seems to have been under an unlucky sign. For whatever reason, only 3 of the 10 Alston children went on to have families of their own, and many died young in their 20-30s.

Charnelcie Jean Alston

Charnelcie married Albert Franklin Quesenbury (also a former slave holding family) in 1872. They lived in Mulberry, AR, a town about 14 miles from Ozark where her parents lived. She died at the young age of only 29, but had two children before she passed. The oldest, Sadie Jane Quesenbury, married Henry Samuel Ramsden, who was our great, great grandmother.

Research Notes

(1) There really are a lot of Elijah's in this family. Pretty much every branch of the tree gave one child that name, though only the first 2 are in our direct line. Trying to distinguish them all in records has been a challenge. I refer to the first Elijah, the child of Francis Sr. born in about 1720, as Elijah Sr. His son Elijah, born about 1740, is referred to as Jr., and they are often referred to that way in NC land records. However, it gets complicated by the fact that he had his own son named Elijah (III) in 1762 (later a grandson as well), and after this he was referred to as Elijah Sr. and his son as Elijah Jr. in MO (not in our direct line). But I will continue to refer to then as Elijah Jr. and Elijah (III) here. To top that off, both Elijah Jr. and Elijah (III) were doctors, though I believe only Elijah Jr. was more formally trained (Ref 7, p.186), and only Elijah (III) was also a Senator.

(2) The word 'enceinte' means 'great with child' and some researchers have taken the name Ensient, used many times in this record (Ref. 1), to have this meaning rather than a real name. I am not sure what the author intended. In some cases, she seems to use it this way, as in "Elijah m. (Ensient)." (Ref. 1, p.52). In other cases she seems to use it as an actual name, such as when listing the offspring of Elijah Sr., though whether by accident or intention I am not certain. It does seem suspicious that this offspring seems to go the same places Elijah Jr. goes, but without any offspring of his own (Ref. 1, p.53).

(3) Ref 1. has a lot of issues (including a clairvoyant horse used as a source in one section(!)), and one of them is that on p.53 she seems to suddenly create another generation of Elijah in paragraph 5 and then starts referring to Elisha, who really should be Elijah Jr./Sr. The multiple name mix-ups are all very confusing (probably why she was never able to officially publish) and have to be sorted out with other records. Use as a general outline only.

(4) In land records, McLendon's creek is as various time referred to as Clenden's, McLendon's, or McClendon's. In 1790, Elijah Bettis St. deeded land to John Dunlap, who lived just southwest of John Overton. His land was adjacent to this area.

(5) As shown on the Moore Co. map, Phillip Alston lived right across the Deep River from the area the Bettis' lived. Ref 1. mentions an Alston as the husband of one of the Bettis daughters who made the wagon train journey to MO but does not give a first name, though it seems likely to be a son of Phillip's. However, Ref. 3, p.175, gives a description of Otter Creek which describes its first settlers as Elijah Matthews, William Alston, and Ezekiel Ruebottom. I would feel more confident about this link if it weren't for the fact that Elijah Matthews name was really Edward Matthews, so who knows what else they got wrong. Additionally, there is good reason to assume (based both on the location of Elijah III's birth in GA and their children's/grandchildren's names) that Sally married Drew Alston, a known son of Philip Alston (Ref 7, pp.277-278).

(6) Sally and Drew/William Alston's first son (another Elijah) lists his state of birth as GA in the 1850 census, though he changes it to NC on the 1860 census. Drew/William Alston was likely the son of Phillip Alston, whose family was forced to flee from Moore Co. to GA in 1787 after he was accused of murdering his political opponent George Glascock (Ref. 7, p.187, Ref 13, p.115). He was later murdered in GA in 1797. It is difficult to understand the ties between these two families because Phillip was certainly a Patriot and yet it seems more likely that Elijah Jr. was a Loyalist. None the less, they are the most likely candidate for the family of Sally's husband, and the Drew name of Phillip's wife's family seems to have carried down for many generations in their line. Also, Phillip is known to have had a son named Drew but there is no record of a son named William. Some say that this Drew was killed in the GA militia in 1813, though no records to this fact have been found. This Drew was supposed to have still been living in GA in 1812, however (Ref 19), and so perhaps this is not the correct Alston family for Drew after all.

(7) The birth year for Elijah III is particularly confusing. An 1836 obituary lists his birth year as 1762 but the 1800 census lists him as between 16-26, living independently, which would suggest 1774-1784 instead. Given the ages of the other children, and the difficulty of an infant surviving during the war, it seems most likely he was born between 1767-1777.

(8) Although not in our direct line, I feel it necessary to point out that there were many men in the Bettis clan who participated in the disturbing but common practice at that time of fathering children by enslaved women (Ref 7, pp.258-259). Elijah III was one of these men. Although Elijah III did not formally marry Elizabeth Robinson until the age of 53, he is known to have had 7 enslaved daughters by 7 different women in the years prior. Reportedly, they all considered themselves sisters and remained very close. Sometimes these women and children were released from slavery upon their owner's death, sometimes not. Thankfully, Elijah did emancipate his daughters upon his death (Ref 7, p.317). 

One of the lessons I have taken away from this genealogical exploration is the fact that regardless of my skin color, I may be more closely related to some African Americans of this country than to some Whites. 

References

(1) Kerrigan, Astele Cobb. "The Bettes: England to America". Houston, TX : Unpublished, 1957. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/357792-redirection : 2022.

(2) Goodspeed Publishers. "Goodspeed's History of Southeast Missouri", p.283. Washington DC, The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1888. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/250193-redirection : 2022.

(3) Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names of Six Counties in Southeast Missouri", p.175. Columbia, MO : University of Missouri, 1945. https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/66002 : 2022.

(4) North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998". Wills and Estate Papers (Cumberland County), 1663-1978; Author: North Carolina. Division of Archives and History; Probate Place: Cumberland, North Carolina. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/927390:9061?ssrc=pt&tid=9623519&pid=332426530673 : (accessed 17 October 2022). Elisha Bettis probate in 1767. Note that John is not mentioned.

(5) Ancestry.com. "Bettis NC Land Deeds/Grants". https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/199369?token=aIuLjxWKG0G271XpDN4Nq8xD5wfjnvwHmCzsG7AxcL4%3D : 2022.

(6) 1784 Petition, Cumberland County, NC - Creation of Moore County. https://moorecountywallaces.com/showmedia.php?mediaID=5229&medialinkID=15607 : 2022.

(7) Rabinowitz, Carla Barringer. Borderers: Becoming Americans on the Southern Frontier. Athol, MA: Haley's, 2018. 

(8) Obituary of Dr. Elijah Bettis III. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/271887?token=d80299e72eb79d43749c181fcbc29dc8243e63948a13f88a5aab4748cbddb7d6 : 2022.

(9) Spadra (Johnson County). https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/spadra-johnson-county-3510/ : 2022.

(10) Langford, Ella Molly. Johnson County, Arkansas : The First 100 Years. Sallis, Threadgill & Sallis, Printers : Clarksville, Arkansas, 1921. https://archive.org/stream/johnsoncountyark00lang/johnsoncountyark00lang_djvu.txt : 2022.

(11) "After 134 Years on Use, Building Still in Good Shape". 25 Jan, 1974. https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/142076472?cid=mem_copy : 2022.

(12) Clara B. Eno. "History of Crawford County, Arkansas", pp.378-379. The Press-Argus : Van Buren, Arkansas. https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/H000114.pdf : 2022.

(13) Robinson, Blackwell P. "A History of Moore County North Carolina, 1747-1847". Moore County Historical Assoc : Southern Pines, NC, 1956. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000883011&view=1up&seq=11 : 2022.

(14) Troxler, Carole W. "Which Side to Take: Revolutionary or Loyalist?" https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/which-side-take : 2022.

(15) NCPedia. "The Highland Scots". https://www.ncpedia.org/highland-scots : 2022.

(16) The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. "Statistics: Slaves and Slaveholdings." https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teaching-resource/statistics-slaves-and-slaveholdings : 2022.

(17) Will of Elijah Bettis Sr., https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/143975?token=e386905d5b26e82ab089faeafe65c5a2745f3992277555b161800de009766ad5 : 2022.

(18) Legends of America. "Danger and Hardship on the Oregon Trail". https://www.legendsofamerica.com/oregon-trail-danger-hardship/ : 2022.

(19) Wilcox, G. W., "A History of the House in the Horseshoe: Her People and her Deep River Neighbors", p.284. Wilmington, NC : Historical Research Services, 1999.