John David Musgrove & Eliza Cox

The Atlanta Constitution

March 31, 1894

SHE TOOK STRYCHNINE

Mrs. Musgrove Was an Invalid & Despondent

The Atlanta Constitution
March 31, 1894

Great-aunt Louise (Musgrove) Tillman* (see relationship notes below) says her grandmother, Elizabeth Arissa 'Betty' (Collins) Musgrove, got sick from a spider bite. According to the paper,

She said she wanted to die, and that death would be a relief. Mrs. Musgrove had been an invalid for eighteen months. She complained of being in the way and said she had no hopes of recovering (Find-a-Grave link here).

Aliff (Butler) Collins: Woman Scorned

"John F. Collins and Adelph Butler (Ed. note: should be Dixon) were the parents of Elizabeth Collins." 

American Family Musgrove - Richard Graham Musgrove -  page 734

Musgrove family historian, Richard Graham Musgrove, mis-spelled our third great grandmother's* (see relationship notes below) name in his book, The American Family Musgrove.

John Forbes and Aleph (Butler) Collins:Part 2

The Clinch County Collins

We blogged about our third great grand-parents*, John and Aleph (Butler) Collins. They married in Gadsden County, Florida, had two daughters and moved to Baker County, Georgia, where they had six more children.

"Sometime after James (Musgrove ed.) Sr. died, John F. (Collins) separated from his wife and lived in common law with Elizabeth Bryan Musgrove and her three sons David John, Charles H. and James Walter." 

American Family Musgrove pg 734 (lge pdf file)

The Children of John David Musgrove

Great, great grandpa* (see relationship notes below) John (known as David) Musgrove - born January 1847 - is the earliest ancestor we've found in our Musgrove line. We're not sure he was a biological Musgrove. Our y-DNA evidence matches a McMurry ancestor around this time.

His biological father isn't the only mystery about our ancestor. The number of his children is disputed. In particular, the Leverette family claims our ancestors fathered some Leverette boys.

In this final post on the subject, we tell grandpa David's story incorporating the Leverette family's rumor.

Musgrove/Bryan/Leverett in 1870

Background

Mt Plesant Cemetery
Ware Cty., Ga.

In this series, we've blogged about our family's McMurray surname connection, evidenced by y-DNA testing.

We then wrote about our oldest known Musgrove connection. He first appears as David Collins on the 1860 federal census in Clinch County, Georgia.

We shared a rumor about some Leverett boys born to him. And we gave the timeline from 1860 to 1870.

In this post we present his story in 1870 through the Leverett family's research and the 1870 federal census.

Musgrove/Bryan/Leverett Timeline

Marker at Mt Plesant
Cemetery, Ware Cty., Ga.

The Story

We last blogged about the rumor we heard on our first research trip to Waycross, Georgia, my father's home town.

Some Leverett family members say our great great grandfather, John David Musgrove , *(see relationship notes) also fathered some Leverette boys.

The Collins in Baker and Clinch Counties

Our Patriarch: David Musgrove 

At Mt Plesant Cemetery
Ware County, Georgia

The Musgroves in Clinch County: 1860

"The people of what is now Clinch County, were not rich. The settlers were plain men, honest and thrifty. Their houses were simple buildings, situated generally near the few roads there were. The people did all their work except those who were fortunate enough to own slaves."

Folks Huxford: History of Clinch County page 17

Our known Musgrove family name history starts in Clinch County, Georgia, with David and Betty (Collins) Musgrove, one year before the American Civil War. The first record of our Musgrove ancestor is David Collins.

Musgroves and Leveretts: Facts

 Facts

The last post was about the rumored father of grandma Betty Leverett's children. A Leverett family researcher has concluded, based on family stories, our second great grandfather, David Musgrove, fathered at least some of them.

So, how do those stories compare to the historical record?

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

1860 Federal Census

1860 Federal Census
Clinch County, GA
(click to enlarge)

James Walter Musgrove and Elizabeth (Bryan) Collins

James Walter Musgrove and Elizabeth (Bryan) Collins

Family tradition has it our third great grandfather, James Walter Musgrove, was born about 1823 in what would become Baker County, Ga. 

Baker County sign
(click to enlarge)

David and Betty (Collins) Musgrove

At Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Waycross are three simple grave markers. They read Father David Musgrove, Mother Betty Musgrove, and Daughter Molly Musgrove. 

They are our second great grandparents*,  John (known as) David, Elizabeth Arissa (known as Betty Collins) and their oldest daughter, our great grand aunt, Mary Ann Savannah (known as Molly) Musgrove.

John David Musgrove