HOCKENHULL - HAYES
The Hockenhull name is of ancient origin. There is considerable disagreement about its beginnings, but some sources claim the family of Hockenhull goes back to the time before King William of Normandy conquered England in 1066. Whatever the origin of the name, the old family home Hockenhull Hall, parts of which are 900 years old, still stands. Hockenhull Hall is still identified on English Land Survey Maps of Cheshire (Chester County), England. It lies a few miles to the East of the town of Chester, near the little village of Tarvin. Unfortunately, the ancestral home passed out of family hands in 1713, for reasons unknown.
Not only is Hockenhull Hall very old, it's very haunted. The ghost of Hockenhull Hall is so famous that a pub in the Tarvin area has been named for her - "The Inn of the Headless Woman.” According to legend, a party of Cromwell's soldiers, engaged in hunting down the Royalists in the Chester district visited Hockenhull Hall but found that the family, forewarned of the danger, had buried the silver and valuables and fled to safety. Only the faithful housekeeper Grace Twigg remained in charge of the Hall. The soldiers questioned her about the hiding place of the valuables, and when she refused to tell, they beheaded her. Tradition says that afterwards her ghost was seen on numerous occasions, carrying her head under her arm and walking along the bridle path between Hockenhull Hall and the site of the "Inn of the Headless Woman."
We stopped at the Headless Woman pub for lunch. While I munched on what I considered a curious item for pub fare - a Mini Dim Sum - Robert Selby and my mother questioned the server on the origins of the pub's unusual name. Legend has it that Cromwell's troops, engaged in hunting down Royalists in the Chester area, visited nearby Hockenhull Hall. The Hall was deserted with only the faithful housekeeper in charge. When she wouldn't reveal the location of the family treasure, the troops tortured and beheaded her. Down through the centuries since, she has been seen carrying her head under her arm as she walks the bridle path between Hockenhull Hall and the public house known as the Headless Woman.
It’s undetermined at the present time what befell the family in the next hundred years or so, but it is thought that, for the most part, they remained in and around Cheshire. At Shotwick Church, near the village of Tarvin, I’m told one can still see the stones around the altar inscribed with the names of members of the Hockenhull family.
John Hockenhull was the grandson of John Hockenhull (farmer) of Kermincham Cheshire and Elizabeth Arrowsmith. They were married July 5, 1776 in the Parochial Chaplery of Goostery in Chester. John died intestate prior to April 22 1799. Elizabeth's will of Spetember 1812 identifies six children:
- Thomas
- Sophia wife of Thomas Arden of Bradwell
- John
- Richard
- Betty
- Mary
The will identifies her as the brother of Thomas Arrowsmith of Kermincham.
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Mary Ann Sutton Hockenhull
Wife of Major John Hockenhull.
Owned by Joe Hill, St. Augustine FL
"...this picture was made in 1840 at
The Quadrant Studio, Buxton and B.W. Bentley, 4th St. Ann's Square, Manchester, England." posted by Lisa Crowe on the Hayes Family Website. See this on the photographer Barrowclough Wright Bentley and note the dates of his operation.
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Our immigrant ancestor was John Hockenhull, son of John Hockenhull (Sr.) and Ellen Newton, who were married at Swettenham, Cheshire, England on 11 August 1804. Ellen Newton (b. 1770 Cheshire, Englan) was the daughter of Theopolis Newton and Catherine Whitaker. Our John was born in Cheshire on 7 March 1811. In the will of John (Sr.), who died in 1832, he speaks of his four children - Catherine, Elizabeth, Hannah and John. From this, we know that John had three sisters, and was probably the only son. The will of his wife, Ellen Newton Hockenhull mentions her "two brothers Thomas and William" Newton.
On 8 July 1835, a marriage license was issued in Chester to John Hockenhull of the parish of Liverpool (a wheelwright) and Mary Anne Sutton of the parish of Rainow in the County of Chester, for marriage in the Church of St. Philip in Liverpool. The marriage certificate was issued the next day - the 9th of July 1835. To date, nothing else of any significance has been found regarding Mary Ann's family, other than one of her daughter's recollection that Mary Anne's mother was known as "Lady Nellie".
John and Mary Ann had four daughters, the oldest being our ancestor, Ellen Hockenhull, who was born on 1 May 1835 (apparently several months before John and Mary Ann were married). The date of the marriage is correct since I have a copy of the license and certificate. Ellen's date of birth I take as valid, since my mother had recorded it in our old family Bible many years ago. In any case, three more daughters were born - Emma, Ann and Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the youngest, was born on 10 September 1840, either shortly before or shortly after John left the family in England to sail from Liverpool to New York. I’ve been told he went to claim an inheritance from an uncle who had died.
Upon his arrival in New York, John learned that his uncle, unfortunately, had joined the Shakers (known then as the "Shaking Quakers"), who held all property in common. So, with his inheritance gone, he was persuaded by a friend he had met aboard ship, and a local land agent, to bargain for land (in Georgia) which had just been vacated by the Cherokees. The group went by wagon train from New York to view the land, and found it was on top of Cumberland mountain. John decided to settle in Georgia, in the area of Lumpkin County known as "Frog Town" and sent for Mary Ann and his daughters to join him. He built a sizeable log house "near a sweet spring." Here he worked at carpentry and a variety of other occupations for a number of years.
Sometime in early 1841, Mary Ann and her four daughters left from Liverpool for the new world. I've been told an accounting of that trip, which was recalled by little Ellen remembering the hardships endured during the crossing. Apparently there were severe storms and much illness aboard ship, with the crossing taking many weeks. In preparing for the voyage, each family was to have food and water provisions for six weeks. According to family legend, after the ship left harbor, there was a “calm” at sea and the ship did not move for some time. As provisions were used up, Mary Ann became ill, and the women on board helped care for the children. She ate meat from conch shells to keep her alive.
On May 15, 1841, according to records of the Port of New Orleans, Mary Ann arrived there from Liverpool on the ship Alesto, commanded by Henry Whiting. Listed on his passenger manifest is Mary Ann Hockenhull, age 32, and daughters Ellen, age five, Emma, age three, Ann, age two, and Elizabeth, age six months.
They began their journey inland, by water, to Ross Landing, near present day Chattanooga, Tennessee. Apparently this trip was by river boat up the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. John had sent an ox cart for Mary Ann and the children, but we know that Mary Ann never reached her new home. They traveled the old Federal Road to northwest Forsyth County, Georgia. She was in her sixth day of ox travel, and seven weeks after landing in New Orleans. Mary Ann became so ill that she had to stop at a place called “Cogburn’s Tavern” (pictured at the left). There, on July 5, 1841, she died (cause unknown). Cogburn’s Tavern was previously Vann's Tavern, owned by James Vann, a half-breed Cherokee Indian who inherited a fortune from his Irish father, and became quite famous. This area is now under the waters of Lake Sidney Lanier, flooded when the dam was built to create the lake. Mary Ann is buried in the old Mt. Tabor Baptist Cemetery, Forsyth Co., GA. I have visited the cemetery (this is really backwoods Georgia) and photographed her tombstone. It’s still in reasonably good shape and readable. Her age as given on the tombstone was twenty-six, but when she boarded the Alesto she gave her age as thirty-two. We’ll probably never know which, if either, is correct. Family legend has it that the Bible records brought with her were later destroyed. The older girls remembered a Lady Nellie, probably Mary Ann’s mother, and a Joseph, probably her brother. Her father was thought to be Thomas Sutton of Cheshire County, England, who died in 1820. Her mother is thought to be Lady Nellie Cooper Sutton, born in Lancashire County. John Hockenhull never told these daughters of their background, choosing instead to blend these children into his second family.
Now our story takes another strange turn, one that isn't found in the Victorian style family histories one finds of the Hockenhulls. John, who is now alone, is caring for four young daughters, the youngest still an infant. He immediately sends back to England for Mary Kemp, who is the mother of his two sons, John (age 10) and Charles (age 4). This Mary had apparently been John's mistress before and during his marriage to Mary Ann. One legend holds that she was his housekeeper. Another legend says that she was told to bring "only the sons," which might seem to indicate they had a daughter(s) left in England. In any case, Mary Kemp soon arrived with the two boys. The marriage records of Forsyth Co, GA reflect that she and John Hockenhull were married on 05 Feb 1842. John's first son, also named John, apparently had a "club" foot, giving him a pronounced limp. This son was very close to our ancestor, his half sister Ellen. He went on to become a very prominent surgeon in north Georgia, residing in Cumming, in Forsyth County.
Gold had now been discovered in Georgia, and John moved his family to what came to be known as the settlement of Auraria in Lumpkin County, which was later to become the center of gold mining activities. John was working in what later came to be known as the Battle Branch Mine, named for the free-for-all battle between the Georgians working the mine, and the Tennesseans who had decided they wanted to share in the profits. The Georgians won, but only after the death of one and the wounding of several. Apparently the mine played out, and was abandoned by all but John and a Mr. Pasco, also from England. John and Mr. Pasco made claim on the mine and subsequently struck some of the richest veins of gold to be discovered in Georgia. So much gold was mined in north Georgia that the government built a United States Mint in Dahlonega to coin the gold coming out of this area. John's profit from the mine came to more than $80,000, which was quite a fortune in those days. He retired from mining and bought a thousand acres of land on the Etowah River in Lumpkin County (in the part which became Dawson County in 1857).
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Hockenhull Home, Barrettsville Ga, circa 1850
photo from Shirley Tramell Wilson
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Here, among other things, he established a brickyard, staffed it with slaves, and built the first brick house in that part of Georgia (left). He established an extensive plantation on the river, complete with barns, a race track and a number of smaller houses for those working and living on the plantation. John later supplied the bricks to build the Dawson County courthouse, which is still standing, and in use, in the town square at the center of Dawsonville.
Since there was no bridge over that portion of the Hightower (now Etowah) River, one of old John's endeavors was to build a ferry - one that operated via a series of ropes and pulleys. It was probably handled by whoever was available at the time someone needed passage. There are a couple of versions regarding the courtship and marriage of our ancestor Ellen Hockenhull (pictured below left) and William Sidney Hayes. The first is that one summer day in 1850, Ellen Hockenhull, being a pretty young thing of 15 was operating the ferry when a dashing young man named William Sidney Hayes needed passage south across the river. Sidney was about 28 at the time, and was a former school teacher and music teacher. He was currently in the business of raising thoroughbred horses, and was on his way to Atlanta from Tennessee to purchase some new stock. He was so smitten by our little Ellen (who probably carried flirting to a new level) that he proposed to her on the spot, and said that he was going to marry her on his way back home. Another version is that Sidney spent considerable time at the Hockenhull home buying stock from Ellen’s father. Well, the next record that I find is that Ellen Hockenhull married William Sidney Hayes in Lumpkin County, Georgia, on 02 July 1850. I've never seen a record of old John's reaction to this, nor am I sure he had not departed by this time to try his luck at the California Gold Rush.
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Ellen Hockenhull Hayes (1835-1917)
and Burt F. Hayes (1899-1981)
Photograph circa 1910 |
In any case, Ellen and Sidney went to live in Cleveland, Tennessee. They immediately began raising children and horses. I think something other than a ferry ride was involved on Sidney's way south, since their first child, Mary Ann Hayes, was born on 15 January 1851. Census records of 1860 show them still in the same location, and still having children. Things seemed to proceed normally until the war. Before long, Tennessee was occupied by Union forces, and had a governor appointed by Lincoln. I have a copy of a voter's registration stating that Sidney voted in the presidential election of 08 Nov. 1864. One has to wonder whom he voted for. I have never found any evidence that Sidney served in the army (on either side).
Meanwhile, old John and his son Charles mined for gold in California in 1852, returning to Georgia in April of 1853. No record has been found of whether they met with any success. In one of John's letters announcing his arrival home, he says that he "made the passage from California in 27 days." John became interested in politics, and was twice elected to represent his county in the Georgia Legislature. He was an adamant supporter of state's rights, and was a signer of the covenants responsible for Georgia's secession from the Union.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, at the age of 50, old John was so opposed to the Union that he joined the Confederate Army as a private, signing up with his son Charles at "Big Shanty" in Cobb County, Georgia. I suppose John's capabilities soon became apparent, since he was almost immediately promoted to Captain of the 11th GA Regiment Commissary (what we would now call Quartermaster). On 14 October 1862 John was ordered to report to General G.T. Anderson to serve as a Major of the Commissary of Anderson's Brigade, Hood's Division, Longstreet's Corp, Army of Northern Virginia. He held this rank and position until the end of the war. Since he was an officer of field grade, many of his military records and assorted papers are available at the National Archives.
Old John’s oldest son, John (whom I will refer to as John Jr.) had become very close to his step-sister Ellen, and her husband Sidney Hayes. He lived with them for a while in Cleveland, TN where he began his medical studies. In a letter written to Ellen and Sidney on 31 Oct 1852 from the University of Pennsylvania, John Jr. tells of his experiences at the university. John Jr., who became Dr. John Hockenhull, enlisted as a Surgeon in Co. B of Georgia’s "Cherokee Legion" where he served until discharged in Feb of 1864. He then reenlisted as a Surgeon in GA’s 52nd (Stovall’s Brigade), where he served until the end of the war. John Jr. died 12 Nov 1915 in Forsyth Co., GA. His widow, Mary Hutchens Hockenhull, applied for and received a pension from the State of Georgia for her husband’s service to the CSA.
Old John’s son Charles, with whom he initially enlisted, served for a while under his father, then went on to other commands. He is recorded as surrendering at Appomattox, Virginia on 9 April 1865 as a private in the Hall County, Georgia "Gainesville Light Infantry." John's son James Hockenhull, the first child born to John and Mary Kemp after their marriage in 1842, was a private in Phillips' Legion. He was wounded at Fredericksburg, VA and hospitalized in Richmond. After returning to his command, he was killed in battle at the assault on Knoxville, and was buried at New Market. After the war, Major Hockenhull sent to Tennessee and had James' remains brought to the cemetery at the old Salem Methodist Church in Dawson County.
Meanwhile, things seemed to go from bad to worse for Ellen and Sidney Hayes. His primary means of support was raising horses and farming, and indications are that he was wiped out by Sherman's soldiers. They stole his horses and his farm goods and burned everything they could not use, including their furniture, burning that for firewood. With no news through the mountains from Ellen, her family became increasingly worried. Finally, Ellen’s sister Emma crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains to Cleveland and found Ellen’s family alive, but destitute. Ellen was demanding that they return to Georgia to live on land promised her by her father. Sidney kept refusing, but they continued to have children.
In a letter dated July 4, 1870, John writes the following to Ellen:
Dear Son and Daughter,
Your interesting letter came safe to hand and we were glad to hear from you. Ellen, we’re sorry to hear that you are suffering so much from sickness and that times are so hard with you. May you bask constantly in the sunshine and presence of God. Though our losses, crosses and sickness cause grief, they need not dispel our joy. The reflections of the past and the anticipation of the future is ours. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Looking neither backward or forward, all the while looking upward to God. We are in a poorly way here. Emma had another daughter. Times are hard. Wheat thrashing has commenced. William Looper’s brother, George, lost his right arm last week in the thrasher. Dock helped take it off above the elbow. Ellen, if you think you could do better here, you could live at the Hill place. You could sell your place and that would give you a start . . .
(The "Hill place" referred to is the old homestead in Dawson County of our ancestor Reubin Hill .)
On the morning of 16 Nov. 1871, when Ellen was about two months pregnant with their eleventh child, Sidney walked out into the front yard of their home with a pistol in hand, and shot himself in the head. Exactly where Ellen buried Sidney remains a mystery. It’s possible that, since they were practically destitute, no marker was ever placed on his grave. He was the son of a John Hayes and a Mary Ann Loving of Bradford Co., TN. It has been speculated that they and their families had migrated west because of land grants given by North Carolina, prior to formation of Tennessee as a State.
After the birth of her last child, Ellen made her way back to Major Hockenhull's home, where she was advanced enough funds to take care of her family, and did indeed live for a time at the old Hill place. I’m told that for a time, a number of Hill, Hayes and Barrett family members lived there together. I have a copy of a handwritten "Last Will and Testament of Ellen Hayes," signed in June of 1883, in which she was making disposition of her considerable land and belongings to her children. I doubt this Will was ever probated, since Ellen died 34 years later in the other end of the state.
The making of a Will by Ellen was likely prompted by the death of her father, Major John Hockenhull, at which time all of his children inherited considerable property. The Dawsonville newspaper, the Mountain Chronicle, dated March 9, 1880, covered his death as follows, in part:
"Major John Hockenhull, one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of Dawson County, died at his home six miles South of Dawsonville, on last Saturday. Last spring he was stricken with paralysis from which he never fully recovered, though for some time previous to his death he had been able to walk about his house and take short rides occasionally. The immediate cause of his death, however, was some affliction of the brain."
"He served in the Confederate army through the late war, attaining the rank of Major. He had represented Dawson County in the lower house of the General Assembly, with credit to himself and his constituency, and was for several years Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of the 9th Congressional District. ..... In the death of Major Hockenhull, Dawson County has lost one of her best and most honored citizens, and the Church an exemplary and useful member. He was buried at Salem burial ground yesterday, with Masonic Honors."
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The Major’s will was probated on May 3rd 1880 in Dawson County. One of the provisions in the will was that since he had advanced the sum of six hundred dollars to Ellen (our ancestor), this amount should be accounted for in her division of his estate.
John's second wife, Mary Kemp Hockenhull died on 14 Sept 1885, and is buried next to her husband at the old Salem M.E. church cemetery. When I visited the cemetery in 1990, there had been extensive vandalism to a number of grave sites, particularly John and Mary Hockenhull's graves. Their graves are unique to this cemetery, in that they are individual crypts, above ground. The covers had been removed and broken into pieces, and fires had apparently been built in John's crypt. No signs of human remains were visible. Apparently even the far back woods of north Georgia isn't immune to desecration of this sort. At least I was able to identify their grave sites, so there is now a photographic record.
John Hockenhull's home place, and most of his acquired land, is now incorporated into the Dawson Wildlife Management Area. The eventual 10,000 acre tract was purchased in the 1950's by the U.S. Air Force and the Lockheed Company for a joint project to build a nuclear aircraft. Portions of the area are still contaminated by the remains of two nuclear reactors, caused by ignorance, incompetence and typical ineffectual government oversight. I understand, though, that the site of the original home is not in the contaminated area, and is accessible, even though the house is in ruins.
Sometime later in life, Ellen Hockenhull Hayes remarried. Few details are known regarding this marriage, especially where and when they were married. His name was Mr. S.T. Coffee, and he was a "drummer" - a traveling salesman. Some think that Ellen worked for a while at the old Barrettsville store, and met him there. Mr. Coffee was from Folsom, a small community in Bartow County,Georgia, but he owned a home in Montezuma. In December of 1908 they moved to Montezuma. Mr. Coffee died a year later in 1909, and Ellen took his body back to Folsom for burial. When she returned, she moved in with her daughter Georgennia Hayes Hill and her family, who also lived in Montezuma. Ellen died at the Hill residence near Montezuma, and is buried at the Felton Cemetery in Montezuma. I’m told that because of her symptoms, it is now believed that she died of colon cancer (which I believe is what caused the death of her daughter, Georgennia). Ellen’s obituary, as printed in the Montezuma newspaper is below.
My mother (Velma Rogers) remembered meeting her when she would visit the Hill home, and said she was known as "hell on wheels,” apparently for her disposition. I'm told that my grandfather (Lewis Franklin Hill, Georgennia’s husband) teased her considerably for marrying so young.
Obituary of Ellen Hockenhull Hayes Coffee:
Mrs. Ellen Coffee
Mrs. Ellen Coffee, a well known and most highly respected lady, died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. L.F. Hill, near Montezuma, July 2, 1917. Mrs. Coffee, before her marriage, was miss Ellen Hockenhull. She was born at Stockport, England, May 1, 1835, and came to this country in 1840. She was a most consistent member of the Methodist Church, having joined in early childhood.
July 12, 1855 she was married to W.S. Hayes in Dawsonville, Georgia. To this union eleven children were born. Mr. Hayes died December 6th, 1870. After living a widow a number of years, she was married to S.T. Coffee. They moved to this county in 1908. Mr. Coffee dying one year later. Since then she has lived with her daughter, Mrs. L.F. Hill. She was taken ill March 25th, but bore her suffering with Christian patience and perfect faith in her Lord and Savior.
Seven children survive: Mrs. J.W. Parks, Dawsonville; Mrs. Sam Cox, Matt, Ga.; Mrs. B.F. Dooley, Mckenney, Texas; Mrs. W.B. Pruett, Silver City, Ga.; Mrs. L.F. Hill, Montezuma; Mr. W.F. Hayes, Vinson, Oklahoma; and Mrs. W.M. Dykes, Byromville.
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end of Joe Hill's Family History Capsule
