Case Study: Early Louisiana Mississippi

Objective

Explore the origins of John Baker and determine why his family was in the Louisiana / Mississippi area under the Spanish and French era. John was born about 1770 and died in West Feliciana, Louisiana, in 1831.

Results

Reviewed previous research and noted John and Patience (Cobb) Baker as the earliest identified ancestors.
Researched the history of the area of Mississippi and Louisiana under the French, British, and Spanish rule. Discovered possible reasons for the original migration of the Baker ancestor to the area pre-1800: North Carolina colonists moving to the area in 1763, Protestant Tories fleeing the British colonies during the Revolutionary War, and the lure of land under the Spanish land grant system.
Located the cadastral map of 1799 showing the land for “Juan Baker” in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.
SearchedThe Natchez Court Records 1767-1805for Baker and discovered numerous records revealing information about the family of John Baker.
Found evidence in the court records of Patience Cobb’s first marriage to Josephus Smith and their son, Josephus Smith Jr.
Estimated a marriage for John Baker and Patience Cobb Smith of 1790-1797 based on the court records.
Compared the 1818 Mississippi State Census for John Baker with the 1820 Census of Feliciana Parish. Determined this was the same man.
Found evidence for the parents of John Baker as Daniel Baker and Elizabeth based on the court records.
Determined Daniel Baker died by 1789 and Elizabeth married secondly, Nathaniel Tomlinson, as evidenced in court records.
Discovered mention of siblings of John Baker in the court records: James Baker and William Daniel Baker. Also noticed a probable sister, Martha Elizabeth Smith, in the court record, listed with the other Baker family members in a land claim of 1803.

Recommendations

Continue to research Daniel Baker in early records of Louisiana and Mississippi seeking clues to his origin in the eastern United States.
Review Carolina. The book, Diocese of Baton Rouge, Catholic Church records: East and West Baton Rouge parishes and Feliciana records 1800-1880 which is located at the Family History Library as it would be a good place to start searching for church records.
Search the Diocese of Baton Rouge Archives that has parish records for West Feliciana and all parish registers in its area. These records are indexed. There is a genealogy form on their website that could be downloaded, and a microfilm search could be performed for $10.
Track the source, Ancestry family trees citing Mann, Helen Swann, descendant of Patience Cobb: Cobb family group charts and court records. The material is dated 25 April 1983 and was forwarded by Virginia Copeland Jantz (q.v.). The purpose for tracing this source is to see if it contains information about John Baker, particularly his birth date and birthplace.
Search probate records in West Feliciana for Luther and Martha Elizabeth Smith to determine if any Bakers are mentioned.
Search the Winthrop Sargent Papers that are part of the Mississippi Territorial Archives series housed at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Jackson, Mississippi. They contain information about Adams County, Wilkinson County, and Natchez District, Mississippi, as well as West Feliciana. The papers may reveal the origins of the people who settled the area and could provide clues to locate John Baker’s birthplace.
Examine genealogical society periodicals for the region.

The objective of this research session was to explore the origins of John Baker and determine why his family was in the Louisiana / Mississippi area under the Spanish and French era. John was born about 1770 and died in West Feliciana, Louisiana, in 1831.

Background Information

Previous research on the Baker family indicated they lived in Adams and Wilkinson Counties in Mississippi and Feliciana Parish in Louisiana.^[1]Census and probate records revealed nuclear family relationships that are detailed in the client’s database. Also mentioned in the records are extended family members with unknown relationships to John Baker and Patience (Cobb) Baker, the earliest ancestors identified.

Settlement

Settlement of the area that would become Louisiana and Mississippi was sparse during the French occupation of 1699-1763. At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the Treaty of Paris granted Spain control of the region west of the Mississippi River and Britain control of the region east of the Mississippi River. An effort was made by Britain to attract settlement to the region for farming tobacco and cotton crops. In 1763, a colony from North Carolina voyaged on the Mississippi River and settled between Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Natchez District in Mississippi.^[2]

Settlement in the Natchez District was located in present day Adams and Wilkinson Counties. Land grants were given to retired English military officers which resulted in the migration of Protestants to the formerly Catholic region. During the Revolutionary War, the Natchez District remained loyal to England and many Tories from the colonies moved into the area.^[3]

The following map depicts the area in 1825 with the locations of the Baker family in West Feliciana, Louisiana, and Adams/Wilkinson Counties, Mississippi, noted.^[4]Could the original Baker settler have been a Protestant Tory? Further research could explore this possibility.

Figure 1Map of the United States of America 1825

In 1779, Spain declared war on Britain which yielded control of the Natchez District. Settlement continued after the Spanish took possession and Spanish land grants were issued to white settlers who came from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania.^[5] Under the control of the Spanish authority from 1780 to 1798, there was heavy population growth in the Natchez District of Mississippi.^[6]The original Baker ancestor likely came during this period due to this heavy population growth. Spain also ruled the portion of Louisiana known as Feliciana which bordered Mississippi to the north. Feliciana Parish was officially formed in 1810, just before Louisiana statehood in 1812.^[7]In 1824, the parish was divided into West and East Feliciana.

John Baker in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

As stated previously, Louisiana was occupied by Britain, France, and Spain before the United States took possession of it in 1804. In 1769 Spain took control of Louisiana and began new record-keeping procedures. Court and land records were recorded in the Spanish language. Most of these records have been transcribed and translated into English and they are rich in genealogical information.

A cadastral map dated 1799 shows “Juan” Baker owned land in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.^[8] It reveals details of his ownership of the real property (land) in the district, including boundaries and tax assessments. The map was originally made in 1799, probably from the original land surveys that were included with the Spanish grants.

In Louisiana, Spanish land grants were given to encourage loyalty and settlement and generally involved 6-8 arpents of land across a river front, extending back approximately forty arpents in length. An arpent was approximately 0.84 acres. The river frontage was critical due to the lack of roads. Sometimes the grants were distributed in square leagues (three miles square). The cadastral map shows both types of land grants with John Baker’s land a portion of a square league neighboring other grants that extended back from the river that ran through his land.

Figure 2Cadastral Map of Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, 1799

After the United States took possession of the region, landowners had to provide proof of land ownership purchased under the Spanish Regime. John Baker filed a claim stating that the heirs of Arthur Cobb and the heirs of John Lintot transferred land to him on 17 December 1819.^[9]

Take notice that I claim in the parish of [p.424] Feliciana 500 arpents of land by virtue of a complete Spanish patent dated [p. 435] April 9, 1790, in favor of Arthur Cobb, plat and certificate of the same Charles Trudeau, dated April 7, 1790, the said land was transferred to me on Decr. 27, 1819, by the heirs of Arthur Cobb.

Also 800 arpents in the parish aforesaid by virtue of a complete Spanish patent by Gayoso de Lemos dated October 2, 1797, in favor of John Lintot, plat and certificate by Chas. Trudeau, dated September 24, 1797. This land was transferred to me by the heirs of John Lintot.

A claim for John Baker owning a tract of land in 1799, as seen on the cadastral map was not among the transcriptions of Spanish land grants on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Referring to the map, “Juan” Baker’s land bounded “Arturo” Cobb’s land. Perhaps John Baker’s land was also part of the claim he filed on 27 December 1819 that acknowledged the transfer of land from the heirs of Arthur Cobb and John Lintot. The Spanish land grants are the records of the Commandant of the Post of Baton Rouge, the jurisdiction which included the present-day West Feliciana parish.^[10] The East Baton Rouge clerk could be written to determine if an original Spanish Grant for John Baker’s land still exists.

The ancestor, John Baker, and his wife Patience likely resided on this land for a period of time. A court record in Natchez District dated 6 February 1803 states John and his wife Patience were residents of Feliciana.^[11]

Marriage of John Baker and Patience (Cobb) Smith

When and where did John Baker marry Patience? A marriage record for the couple was probably never created because they likely married before the Natchez District began recording marriages in 1799.^[12]Court records indicate John and Patience were likely married before 1799.^[13]The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805 is a bound volume of transcribed and translated court records and brief biographies of notable men that settled the area. The court records were originally transcribed in 1817 and forty bound volumes are located at the Adams County, Mississippi, Courthouse. The biographies are excerpts from manuscripts, books, and genealogical collections. The collection is digitized and online at Ancestry.com.It provides many details concerning John Baker and his family.

An entry in a biography and a court record in The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805along with the 1799 cadastral map provide compelling evidence that John Baker married Patience (Cobb) Smith between 1790-1797.

A biography for Reverend Jedidiah Smith records that his son Josephus Smith married Patience Cobb in the Natchez District.^[14] No marriage date listed. Previous research had located probate documents that named Josephus Smith (Jr.) as the son of Patience. Court records discovered during this session confirm this fact.
A court record “John Baker versus John Ellis” dated 26______1797 reveals John Baker representing Josephus Smith [Jr.], an orphan.^[15]The record states that in 1790, Josephus Smith Sr. purchased the slave, Ben, from John Ellis for the price of $400. Josephus Smith Sr. had made partial payment, but after his death, the “negro was missing and Mr. Ellis came to the widow Smith, the late wife of the said Josephus Smith, and showed signs of sorrow for her misfortune. A few days after the said negro was seen at work in the said Ellis’ field.” The record goes on to state that the “negro has been in the possession of the said Ellis for six years or more.” Josephus Smith Sr. likely died soon after 1790 and John Baker married his widow sometime between 1790 and 1797, the date of the court case. John represented the orphan Josephus Smith Jr. who would have been Patience Cobb’s son by her first marriage and John Baker’s stepson. The term “orphan” in legal documents generally signifies a child whose father has died, not both parents. John Baker petitioned the court to have John Ellis return the “above mentioned negro . . . for the use of the orphan and pay the customary hire for the time he, the said Ellis, has fraudulently detained him.”
A second record dated 12 September 1797 brings the petition to a close.^[16]The court record references the petitioner (John Baker) and “the marriage of the widow to John Baker” and resolves the case with the claim of John Baker not admitted.
Israel Smith is mentioned in the court record as the administrator of Josephus Smith’s estate.^[17] The 1799 cadastral map (refer to Figure 1) shows “Juan” Baker’s land was bounded by Israel Smith and Arturo Cobb’s land. The Cobbs, Smiths, and Bakers were neighbors and in a rural area, men often married neighbor’s daughters.

Although there is no marriage record to verify it, the evidence found in the court case strongly suggests that John Baker married Patience (Cobb) Smith between 1790-1797 in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Patience Cobb had married Josephus Smith before 1790 and they had at least one son, Josephus Smith, Jr. Patience was likely the daughter of Arthur Cobb.

John Baker in Adams, Mississippi

Mississippi became a state in 1817 and took its first state census in 1818. John Baker was enumerated in Adams County, Mississippi, on that census, one year before he claimed land in Feliciana, Louisiana.^[18] A John Baker was also enumerated on the 1820 United States Census in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.^[19] Did two men named John Baker reside in the area or did John Baker own land in Adams County, Mississippi, and also Feliciana Parish, Louisiana? The following chart illustrates that the two John Bakers were probably the same man.

Table 1: Comparison of 1818 State Census and 1820 U.S. Federal Census
1818 State Census, Adams County, Mississippi	1820 Census, Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
John Baker White Male over 21 years: 1 White Male under 21 years White Females over 21 years: 1 White Females under 21 Years: 3 No of Slaves 30	John BakerMales 45+ : 1Males: 16-26: 2Females 45+ : 1 Slaves: 31

Comparing the two households, it was found that both the John Baker of the 1818 Mississippi State Census and the John Baker of the 1820 U.S. Census was at least forty-five years old, estimating a birth of on or before 1776. Both John Bakers had about thirty slaves. A John T. Baker, also enumerated on the 1820 census, owned seven slaves and was not enumerated on the 1818 census.^[20] Previous research concluded that John T. Baker was John Baker’s son. Perhaps John Baker owned land in both Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and Adams County, Mississippi, 1818- 1820.

Parents for John Baker

The “Natchez Court Records 1767-1805,” collection also provides evidence that John Baker’s parents were likely Daniel Baker and Elizabeth (--?--) Baker. Court records reveal Daniel and Elizabeth Baker’s residence in Natchez District, Mississippi, by 1783. Daniel had ill health and at times Elizabeth appeared in court to settle business matters. At other times Daniel made a court appearance.

9 February 1783: “Eliz. Baker represents that Emanuel Madden, absconded from the district, stole a horse belonging to her husband, valued at $60. . . . The husband of your petitioner, by reason of sickness has been a long time unable to attend to his business and if the petition must sustain the loss of her horse she will be reduced to sell her property to procure subsistence for her children.”^[21]
6 March 1783:Daniel Baker appeared in Natchez Court records asking that Lieutenant Don Louis de Grand-Pre give receipt on a joint note with David Mitchell “for $52 being for cattle sold at public sale. . . .“ Daniel states that, "to pay again, particularly in his afflicted state would be a hardship."^[22]
26 February 1784/ 11 January 1788: Daniel Baker sold 200 arpents of land to Nathaniel Tomlinson for $600, $400 of was received by bond in 1784, the remaining $220 paid in hand. ^[23]
2 October 1787: “Daniel Clark sells to James Baker, negro ‘Quasky,’ nat.[native] of Jamaica; for $650 payable at the end of the year 1788, negro remaining mortgaged and Mistress Baker mother of purchaser, being surety therefore.” Elizabeth Baker and James Baker signed the mortgage.^[24]

An addendum to the 2 October 1787 court record suggests Elizabeth was widowed by 26 February 1789.^[25]Ebenezer Reez appeared in court “as partner to Daniel Clark [to] acknowledge receipt of negro in above sale from Widow Sally Baker; obligation null and void.” The court records contain no other mention of a Sallie Baker, leading to the hypothesis that Elizabeth was also known as Sallie. Since Elizabeth Baker and James Baker both signed on the 1787 mortgage, then one of them would have had to pay the debt. As will be discussed in another section of the report, James Baker was likely deceased by 1789, so Elizabeth would have paid the debt. Elizabeth Baker and Sallie Baker are almost certainly the same woman.

The court records reveal no other Baker men as a candidate for Elizabeth’s husband besides Daniel. Following the death of Daniel Baker, court records document a second marriage for Elizabeth to Daniel’s business associate Nathaniel Tomlinson.^[26]The record reveals that on 27 April 1790, Elizabeth Baker had a land survey for 800 arpents on the waters of Second Creek in Adams County, Mississippi Territory. On 2 March 1804, “Nathaniel and Elizabeth Tomlinson, his wife, formerly Elizabeth Baker” claimed this land. The land claim was rejected on 21 April 1807.

The Children of Elizabeth Baker

John Baker

Court records provide direct evidence that Elizabeth was the mother of the ancestor, John Baker. Elizabeth appeared in court 26 August 1783 when “James Willing gave to her son, John Baker, a colt. . . .^[27]If John was born in 1770 as estimated from the census records, he would have been thirteen in 1783. Although Daniel was probably alive in 1783, Elizabeth apparently appeared in court for this transaction during the time that Daniel was known to be ill as discussed previously.

James Baker

Court records directly prove a parent-child relationship between Elizabeth Baker and another son, James Baker. As discussed previously, Elizabeth, “Mistress Baker, mother of purchaser” cosigned a mortgage with her son James.^[28]Court records also establish that James likely died between 1787- 1789. A court entry documents that Judith Coleman, widow of James Baker received $35, received her portion of her deceased father’s estate from her mother Patience Welton.^[29]

William Baker and Martha (--?--) Smith

A land claim in the court records dated 6 February 1803 reveals that “Nathaniel Tomlinson and Elizabeth, his wife, and Wm. Daniel Baker of Adams County [Mississippi], John Baker and Patience, his wife, and Luther Smith and Martha Elizabeth, his wife, of New Feliciana, by said Wm Daniel Baker, their attorney in fact (legally constituted in Jany. 1803), to Samuel C. Young, Esq., of Pointe Coupee, for $6500 in hand.^[30]The record reveals additional details about the land: 200 acres of the land were granted by Spain to Daniel Baker on 20 April 1784.

It is significant that Martha Elizabeth [Baker?] Smith, wife of Luther Smith, was listed as a seller on the 6 February 1803 land claim. The Baker family members were selling land that Daniel Baker originally purchased through a Spanish land grant. Perhaps Martha Elizabeth Smith was Daniel and Elizabeth’s daughter. Another research session could focus on confirming Martha Elizabeth Smith’s relationship to Elizabeth and Daniel Baker. The mention of Daniel Baker purchasing a Spanish land grant in 1784 provides a valid reason for his migration to the Mississippi/Louisiana area after the Revolutionary War.

Another court record provides William Daniel Baker’s age. On 17 November 1791, “At the Post of Natchez, 17 Nov. 1791, before me appeared, at the instance of James Kelly, William Baker, who being sworn, being asked what he knew respecting the horse claimed by James Kelly and Israel Leonard, declared that he knows the horse in question be a colt of a mare belonging to said Kelly. He is 18 years old.”^[31]If William Daniel Baker was eighteen years old in 1791, then he was born in 1773, three years after John Baker was born. It is highly probable that William Daniel Baker is John Baker’s brother, and Elizabeth and Daniel Baker’s son. His middle name, Daniel, also suggests that he was named after Daniel.

Conclusion

This session of research was very successful in discovering more about John Baker’s origins and in extending his ancestry. It was discovered that John Baker owned land in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, as early as 1799 and inherited or purchased more land in the same parish around 1819, which explains why he was in Louisiana before the United States took possession of the region.

Court records provided a wealth of information about John’s marriage to Patience Cobb and identified his parents as Elizabeth and Daniel Baker and siblings James, William Daniel, and Martha Elizabeth Smith. Given the amount of court records located, time expired before other records could be searched. The next research session could focus on confirming these relationships with other records.

Daniel and Elizabeth’s appearance on court records in 1783 seem to suggest that they migrated into Natchez District, Mississippi, around that time, very possibly because of the lure of the Spanish land grants. Daniel was awarded a grant in 1784 according to a court record. A number of associates were discovered in the court records and a future research session could focus on tracing Daniel Baker to his previous residence. Following the Revolutionary War, many young men moved west, and Daniel Baker was likely one of these men. He could have moved with any of the other men he associated with in Natchez District. Further research could well discover more about Daniel Baker and his origins in the eastern United States.

Recommendations

Continue to research Daniel Baker in early records of Louisiana and Mississippi seeking clues to his origin in the eastern United States.
Review Carolina. The book, Diocese of Baton Rouge, Catholic Church records: East and West Baton Rouge parishes and Feliciana records 1800-1880 which is located at the Family History Library as it would be a good place to start searching for church records.
Search the Diocese of Baton Rouge Archives that has parish records for West Feliciana and all parish registers in its area. These records are indexed. There is a genealogy form on their website that could be downloaded, and a microfilm search could be performed for $10.
Track the source, Ancestry family trees citing Mann, Helen Swann, descendant of Patience Cobb: Cobb family group charts and court records. The material is dated 25 April 1983 and was forwarded by Virginia Copeland Jantz (q.v.). The purpose for tracing this source is to see if it contains information about John Baker, particularly his birth date and birthplace.
Search probate records in West Feliciana for Luther and Martha Elizabeth Smith to determine if any Bakers are mentioned.
Search the Winthrop Sargent Papers that are part of the Mississippi Territorial Archives series housed at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Jackson, Mississippi. They contain information about Adams County, Wilkinson County, and Natchez District, Mississippi, as well as West Feliciana. The papers may reveal the origins of the people who settled the area and could provide clues to locate John Baker’s birthplace.
Examine genealogical society periodicals for the region.

It has been a pleasure to assist you in researching your ancestry. We look forward to continuing, according to your instructions.

^[1] Lynn Ann Ward for Global Research Systems, Research Report, 1990.

^[2] Edwin Adams Davis, Plantation Life in the Florida Parishes of Louisiana, 1836-1846 as Reflected in the Diary of Bennet H. Barrow,(New York: AMS Pres, 1967), 5-10.

^[3] The Handybook for Genealogists, 10^thEd. (Draper, Utah : Everton Publishers, 2002), 371.

^[4] David H. Vance, “Map of the United States of America,” (Philadelphia : Anthony Finley, 1825); Dave Rumsey Map Collection(http://daverumsey.com : accessed 15 June 2018).

^[5] Davis, Plantation Life, 5-10.

^[6] Serena Abbess Haymon, Early Inhabitants of the Natchez District of Mississippi, digital publication, FamilySearch International.

^[7] FamilySearch Wiki contributors, "Feliciana Parish, Louisiana Genealogy," FamilySearch Wiki, (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed June 15, 2019).

^[8] Vincente Sebastian Pintado, "Mapa de las Locaciones del Distrito de la Na Feliciana," 1799,Library of Congress(https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4013w.lh000947/?r=-0.159,0.218,0.738,0.273,0 : accessed 28 May 2019).

^[9] Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, "British & Spanish Grants, West Florida, 1772-1813 and United States Land Claims, Louisiana, 1812-1852 approx.," Entries for John Baker, 145-158, Family History Library, FHL Film 882924, Item 4. Document 1

^[10] “Land Records,” Louisiana USGenWeb Project(http://sites.rootsweb.com/~lawestfe/land_records/default.html : accessed 18 June 2019).

^[11] McBee, “The Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805,” entry for Claimant 1200 Survey of Elizabeth Tomlinson, Book B, p. 403, image 410, digitized book, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019); citing May Wilson McBee, The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805, (Greenwood, Mississippi: Clearfield Co. , 1952, reprint Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1979). Document 2

^[12] FamilySearch Wiki contributors, "Adams County, Mississippi Genealogy," FamilySearch Wiki, (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed June 15, 2019).

^[13] “The Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805,” entry for Claimant 1200 Survey of Elizabeth Tomlinson, Book B, p. 403, image 410. Document 2

^[14] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Jedidiah Smith in “Notes.” p. 600; image 607, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019); the bibliography to The Natchez Court Records references volume 29 , pg. 277- 295 of the Louisiana Historical Quarterly as the source for biography. Document 3

^[15] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," John Baker versus John Ellis, Book G, p.346-347, last entry on p. 346; image 352, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 4

^[16] Ibid.

^[17] Ibid.

^[18] “Mississippi State and Territorial Census Collection, 1818,” Adams County, entry for John Baker, line 16, image 27, Ancestry(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Jun 2019). Document 5

^[19] 1820 U.S. Census, Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Little Bayou, John Baker household; image 3, Family Search(http:/familysearch.org : accessed 19 January 2019). Document 6

^[20] 1820 U.S. Census, Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Little Bayou, John T. Baker household, image 3 , Family Search(http:/familysearch.org : accessed 19 January 2019). Document 7

^[21] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Elizabeth Baker v. Emanuel Madden, Book G, p. 300, image 306, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 8

^[22] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Daniel Baker to Lt, Don Louis de Grand-pre Mook G, p. 303; image 309, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019).Document 9

^[23] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," Baker-Tomlinson, Book B, p. 48; image 54, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019).Document 10

^[24] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Clark to James Baker, Book A, p. 44; image 50, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 11

^[25] Ibid.

^[26] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Claimant Nathaniel and Elizabeth Tomlinson, 28 Mar 1804, unrecorded Land Claims, Book A, p. 44; image 557, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 12

^[27] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," Elizabeth Baker v. James Willing, Book G, p.316, 9th entry; image 322, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 13

^[28] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Clark to James Baker, Book A, p. 44, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 11

^[29] McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Judith Colman- Patricia Welton, Book D, p. 142; image 148, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 14

^[30] McBee,"The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," entry for Claimant 1200 Survey of Elizabeth Tomilson, Book B, p. 403, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 2

^[31] May Wilson McBee, "The Natchez Court Records 1767-1805," Kelley-Leonard. Book a, p. 31; image 37, Ancestry(http://ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2019). Document 15