Key Facts

Snapshot:	land surveyor; received passport through Creek nation; slave owner
Parents:	uncertain
Born:	1740's location unknown
Died:	between 14 March and 15 May 1849 probably Emanuel County, Georgia
Buried:	uncertain, but he has a memorial marker at Bethsaida Church Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia Coordinates of memorial marker: N32.50613 W82.62482

288Travis Thigpen was born in the 1740's,1,2 but other details of his early life are uncertain, as explained below.

Problem: Unresolved What about 288Travis' early life? Has anything been proven? You may find descriptions of 288Travis' early life online, including: (1) He was born 19 June 1747 (Some say 1749.) in North Carolina. His alleged county of birth is typically reported as Edgecombe, Pitt (which didn't even exist at the time), or Beaufort. (2) He fought in the Revolutionary War and was wounded in action. (3) He moved to Georgia in 1788. (4) He traveled to Mississippi in 1803. Some of these claims appear in Alice Whitley Smith's book The Thigpen Tribe; you can see a copy of some relevant pages (288Travis' individual entry begins on page 115). Unfortunately, the book sometimes fails to provide adequate source citations, even for major claims. (See, for example, the lack of a citation for 288Travis' alleged date of birth, which is first mentioned on page 37. Are we to infer that the source is simply "BIBLE RECORDS" noted at the top of page 36? If so, which Bible, and what is its provenance?) Although the Daughters of the American Revolution does document one Travis Thigpen as a patriot (His ancestor number is A114097. You may search his number using the DAR's Ancestor Search tool.), I have seen no evidence to prove that the Travis Thigpen in the Revolutionary service record (i.e., "NC REV WAR PAY VOUCHERS, #124, ROLL #31," as recorded by the DAR) is one and the same as the Travis Thigpen in later Georgia records. Furthermore, I know of no evidence regarding Travis Thigpen's supposed move from North Carolina to Georgia. There are several deeds from Dobbs County, North Carolina whereby a Travis Thigpen sold land. Of these, one was likely recorded after 288Travis' supposed 1788 move to Georgia: a sale to John Pipkin, which was recorded in Deeds Book 15, perhaps in 1792 or 1793. Sadly all these deeds were destroyed in a fire, and only the indices remain. The original indices are microfilmed; see North Carolina Archives call numbers CR.034.402.1 - CR.034.402.4. Alternatively, the contents of the indices are available online on GenWeb. Regardless, such deeds still don't prove that Travis Thigpen the North Carolina land-seller is one and the same as Travis Thigpen of Georgia. Until more evidence becomes available, I will disregard the abovementioned myths about 288Travis, and I won't mention them again in this profile.

By about 1800 288Travis had married Hannah ___ (or had some sort of relationship with her, at least), as explained below.

Problem: Resolved Did 288Travis have a wife named Hannah, and if so, when did they marry? On 22 November 1823, 288Travis gifted 250 acres to his "loving sons William Thigpen & Calvin Thigpen." The deed also mentions "their mother Hannah Thigpin." Therefore, one may reasonably conclude that 288Travis was married to Hannah.3 (288Travis' description of Hannah as "their mother" instead of "my wife" as well as his apparently extended absence from her late in life [described below] suggests that they may have had a less formal relationship.) The 1850 census shows William, age 49, and his mother Hannah, age 90, living together in Emanuel County, Georgia.4 Since William was born circa 1801, one can reasonably conclude that 288Travis and Hannah certainly had married by circa 1800. Because 288Travis had other children (e.g., his son Calvin3), the marriage may have occurred much earlier, but I'm aware of no available evidence to prove when.

Early in its history, the United States ratified various peace treaties with the Indians. The treaties included various stipulations, ostensibly promised to protect Indians' sovereignty. One such treaty, the Holston Treaty, explicitly stipulated that no American citizen could travel through the Cherokee nation without a passport issued by a state governor. Governors seem to have issued passports for other Indian nations, too. 288Travis Thigpen was ordered to receive such a passport on 7 March 1803 and again on 17 May 1804; both his passports are for travel through the Creek nation.5,6 I do not know why he wanted to travel westward. Both his passport orders are copied below,5,6 along with the text of recommendations that accompanied his applications.7,8

Passport ordered 7 March 1803

The order dated 7 March 1803 for 288Travis' first passport "through the Creek nation to the Western Country." 5

A recommendation for his 7 March 1803 passport application reads as follows:7

Georgia
Jefferson County

    I certify that I have been for a long
time acquainted with Travis Thigpen
Esqr. and that he has always since my
Knowledge of him conducted himself as
an upright good Citizen
Louisville 7th. March 1803
                    Thacr. Vivion
(On reverse)
Recommendation for a pass Port granted
7th. Mar. 1803

Passport ordered 17 May 1804

The order dated 17 May 1804 for his second passport.6

Mr. Vivion recommended 288Travis again for his passport ordered 17 May 1804:8

To His Excellency
John Milledge
Sir
    Travis Thigpen Esq being desirous of
obtaining a pass port from your Excel-
lency to travel throh. the Creek nation of
Indians, I take the liberty of recommend-
ing him to your Excellency as a man of
good Character, and uprightness--
                    Thac Vivion
(REVERSE)
recommendation for a Pass Port--granted
17th. May 1804, His Excellency
                    John Milledge

By 1805 he owned land in Montgomery County, Georgia9 and in 1811 and 1812 was granted hundreds more acres there. His grants are summarized below.

For several years in the early 1800's 288Travis was the county surveyor for Montgomery and Emanuel counties, and his work is described in Farris W. Cadle's book Georgia Land Surveying History and Law. A few excerpts from the book are copied below (from pages 129, 131, and 132):

"[...] between May 1813 and January 1818 Travis Thigpen, the county surveyor of Emanuel, certified an average of five plats per month. [...] At the same time Thigpen also served as clerk of the superior and inferior courts and must have given these jobs priority. Notations on his plats indicate that the fieldwork for the great majority of them was supervised by deputies. During his nearly five-year tenure as Emanuel County surveyor, Thigpen performed the fieldwork for only about twenty-five surveys. [...]

"Thigpen had previously served as surveyor of Montgomery and had helped to run the boundary between that county and Tattnall in 1810. When Emanuel County was cut from Montgomery and Bulloch two years later, Thigpen found himself situated in the new county and had no difficulty securing the position as its county surveyor.

"Perhaps Thigpen's most significant undertaking as county surveyor of Emanuel came in 1814 when, pursuant to certain legislative acts, he directed his deputy Charles Thigpen to circumscribe the lines of a one-hundred-acre tract near the center of the county for the location of a permanent county seat. [...] Upon completion of the survey the tract was granted by the state to the commissioners, who had the town of Swainsboro laid out on it. No doubt Thigpen or his immediate successor performed the latter task, but records bearing on the matter have been lost."

A Georgia law enacted 10 December 1812 mentions 288Travis by name and appoints him and four others to be commissioners to lay out what would become the town of Swainsboro.12

For examples of 288Travis' work as surveyor, see Emanuel County's plat book A, pages 42, 50, and 62.13

In 1820 288Travis' family was living in Emanuel County. He owned two slaves at the time.14

1820: 288Travis' family in Emanuel County, Georgia. Full page.14

As he reached old age, 288Travis made a series of peculiar moves to and around south/southwest Georgia, which apparently included some time away from his wife Hannah.

•	By late 1823 he was in Appling County.3
•	In 1830 he was in Thomas County.1 He was the only the white person at his residence (even though his wife Hannah was still alive4), and he had two slaves (a man and woman both of age 36-54).1 Thomas County is rather far from Appling County (his last known location), but a later tax record helps to affirm that this is our 288Travis.15 1830: 288Travis paradoxically alone in Thomas County. Full page.1 1830: 288Travis' slaves. Full page.1
•	In 1832 he was a tax resident (and presumably an actual resident) of Irwin County, although he isn't noted as having owned property there. The record does, however, mention properties that he owned in both Emanuel and Thomas counties,15 and thus helps to confirm 288Travis' identity in the aboveshown 1830 census (since we know that he had a long association with Emanuel County). 1832: 288Travis in an Irwin County tax record. Full pages: 1, 2.15 This record's mention of both Emanuel and Thomas counties helps to corroborate the 1830 census.
•	In 1840 he was totally alone in Baker County, even further away.2 1840: 288Travis totally alone in Baker County. Full page.2

By his final months 288Travis had returned to Emanuel County. He doesn't seem to have written a will per se, but in early 1849 he made arrangements for some of his slaves to be gifted to his children after he and his wife Hannah died. Below is a summary of the deeds, and links are provided to view copies of the original documents.

288Travis had died by 15 May 1849.17

This record proves that 288Travis had died by 15 May 1849. Full page.17

His estate was appraised in June 1849. Some of the more interesting items are three slaves (viz. Jacob, age 25; Isabill, supposedly age 21; and Isabill's child), horses and a cart, a brass clock, cattle, bacon, a grindstone, axes and similar items, a spinning wheel, a coffee pot, books, tobacco, and $337.5 in cash. You can see the full inventory here.19

There is a marker memorializing 288Travis at the Bethsaida Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.50613 W82.62482, just a few yards from his son 144Melancton's grave, but it's unclear whether the marker is placed at 288Travis' actual gravesite. A photo of the marker is below.20

Sources Cited:

1: 1830 U.S. Federal Census. Thomas County, Georgia. Page 29, Travis Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 21. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18300021unit#page/n59/mode/1up> (whites) and <https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18300021unit#page/n60/mode/1up> (slaves), accessed 26 February 2015.

2: 1840 U.S. Federal Census. Newtown, Baker County, Georgia. Page 39, Travis Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 37. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18400037unit#page/n79/mode/1up>, accessed 26 February 2015.

3: Emanuel County, Georgia. Wills and Mixed Records Book A (1815-1868), pages 19-20. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-30438-23938-59?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-RMQ:267654801,267766101> (page 19) and <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-30438-23873-63?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-RMQ:267654801,267766101> (page 20). This is 288Travis Thigpen's gift deed to his sons William and Calvin.

4: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Emanuel County, Georgia. Page number illegible, dwelling 548, family 548, William Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 68. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11863-34051-1?cc=1401638>, accessed 25 February 2015.

5: Minutes of Executive Division of the Georgia Office of the Governor. Minutes for 2 November 1802 through 30 March 1805. Page 101. Copied from Georgia Archives microfilm 50/45.

6: Minutes of Executive Division of the Georgia Office of the Governor. Minutes for 2 November 1802 through 30 March 1805. Page 413. Copied from Georgia Archives microfilm 50/45.

7: Mary G. Bryant, Passports Issued by Governors of Georgia, 1785 to 1809 (National Genealogical Society, 1959), page 3.

8: ibid., page 11.

9: Montgomery County, Georgia. Tax digests for 1805 and 1806, section for militia district 53, entries for Travis Thigpen. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Montgomery County / 1805-1806 / images 22 and 63 of 90), accessed 4 May 2024. The column headers are on image 8; you can see a copy here.

10: Georgia Headright and Bounty Documents, 1783-1909. Teas, Charles - Thigpin, Travis. Travis Thigpin folder. Grant dated 1 April 1811. FamilySearch ("Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909," Teas Charles - Thigpin Travis, image 529 of 532), <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-26973-26278-95?cc=1914217&wc=M61W-4TP:200727201>, accessed 26 February 2015.

11: ibid. Grant dated 6 July 1812. FamilySearch (image 523 of 532), <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-26973-26108-95?cc=1914217&wc=M61W-4TP:200727201>.

12: Lucius Lamar, A Compilation of the Laws of the State of Georgia [...] (published by T. S. Hannon, Augusta, 1821), page 204.

13: Emanuel County, Georgia. County Court. Land plats, volume A (1813-1829), pages 42, 50, and 62. These pages are representative of many others throughout the book. Many of the plats were surveyed by other people (especially Charles Thigpen, whose relationship to 288Travis Thigpen, if any, is unknown) and merely certified by 288Travis; page 42 is one such example. The other two pages show plats that 288Travis surveyed personally.

14: 1820 U.S. Federal Census. Emanuel County, Georgia. Page 88, Travise[?] Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M33, roll 6. Ancestry.com, accessed 18 March 2012. The same record is also available on the Internet Archive: <https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18200006unit#page/n56/mode/1up>.

15: Irwin County, Georgia. Tax digest book for 1830-1832, n.p., entry for Travis Thigpen for 1832. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Irwin / 1830-1832 / images 20 and 21 of 88). The first page of actual records is on image 6.

16: Emanuel County, Georgia. Wills and Mixed Records Book A (1815-1868), pages 57-58. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-30438-24316-76?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-RMQ:267654801,267766101>. This is 288Travis Thigpen's gift deed of slave Nero to his son 144Melancton Thigpen.

17: Emanuel County, Georgia. Wills and Mixed Records Book A (1815-1868), pages 58-59. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-30438-24316-76?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-RMQ:267654801,267766101> (page 58), etc., accessed 26 February 2015. This is 288Travis' gift deed of five slaves to his son William Thigpen.

18: Emanuel County, Georgia. Wills and Mixed Records Book A (1815-1868), page 60. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-30438-25790-32?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-RMQ:267654801,267766101>, accessed 26 February 2015. This is 288Travis' gift deed of slave Esecks to his daughter Martha Graham.

19: Emanuel County, Georgia. Inventories & Appraisements 1841-1857, pages 58 and 59. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-30441-8045-22?cc=1999178&wc=9SB9-4WL:267654801,267702101>, accessed 25 February 2015. This is 288Travis Thigpen's estate inventory.

20: Memorial marker for Travis Thigpin in Bethsaida Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.50613 W82.62482. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight, circa 26 April 2012.