THE KEEFER'S AND THE SEARCY'S MY FORE-FATHERS

THE KEEFER'S AND THE SEARCY'S MY FORE-FATHERS

ASA SEARCY WAS BORN IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI IN 1804 TO JOHN AND SUSANNAH SEARCY. AS A YOUNG MAN, HE IS LISTED IN RAPIDES PARISH, LOUISIANA, IN THE 1830 CENSUS WITH A WIFE, ONE MALE AND TWO FEMALE CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OLD. IN 1839, HE CAME TO LIBERTY COUNTY, TEXAS WHERE HE OBTAINED LAND CERTIFICATE # 31 FOR 640 ACRES OF LAND. IN THE 1850 CNSUS, HE IS LISTED AS A PLANTER IN LIBERTY COUNTY WITH HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH AND 6 OF THEIR CHILDREN: SUSAN SEARCY, MARY ANN SEARCY, CATHERINE SEARCY, ASA J SEARCY, ELIZABETH SEARCY AND SOPHIA SEARCY. HIS 4 OLDEST CHILDREN WERE GROWN AND HAD HOMES OF THEIR OWN.

ASA'S OLDEST DAUGHTER, CAROLINE SEARCY, MARRIED GEORGE KEEFER. GEORGE AND CAROLINE CAME TO LIBERTY COUNTY IN 1837 AND ACQUIRED 640 ACRES OF LAND IN 1850, THEY WERE LIVING IN MADISON COUNTY AND HAD CHILDREN: ELI KEEFER, ASA KEEFER, GEORGE KEEFER AND BENNETT KEEFER. ASA'S NEXT DAUGHTER, FRANCES SEARCY, MARRIED THOMAS BATSON, SON OF SETH BATSON AND MARY FOWLER, FOR WHOM THE TOWN OF BATSON WAS NAMED IN LIBERTY COUNTY. FRANCES DIED IN 1862 AT AGE OF 34 FROM INJURIES AFTER BEING THROWN FROM A HORSE, WHILE EXPECTING HER 9TH CHILD. SHE HAD BEEN TO SEE HER SEARCY FAMILY , NEAR THE BUNDIC AND NORTH ZULCH COMMUNITIES, ON DEC. 23. HER HUSBAND DIED TWO MONTHS LATER, IT IS SAID OF A BROKEN HEART. THEY ARE BURIED IN THE BATSON CEMETERY, NEAR NORMANGEE. BY 1860 THE MADISON COUNTY CENSUS SHOWED THAT THE ASA SEARCY FAMILY AND THE MARY FOWLER BATSON FAMILY HAD MOVED FROM LIBERTY COUNTY TO MADISON COUNTY. ASA'S SON, JAMES H SEARCY, IS LISTED ON THE 1860 CENSUS IN MADISON COUNTY, AS LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD AS FRANCES AND THOMAS BATSON,WITH A 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, NAMED KIZANN. HIS WIFE HAD EVIDENTLY PASSED AWAY.

THE NEXT SON, BENNETT SEARCY, MARRIED ARZELIA ZULCH AND THEY ARE LISTED ON THE 1870 CENSUS IN MADISON COUNTY WITH CHILDREN: ASA SEARCY, ELI SEARCY AND ROBERT SEARCY. BENNETT FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR, RETURNED HOME AND BECAME A BAPTIST PREACHER. HE FOUNDED THE SAND PRAIRIE BAPTIST CHURCH IN THE GEORGE COMMUNITY NEAR NORMANGEE.

THE DAUGHTER, CATHERINE SEARCY, MARRIED HENRY KNIGHT IN 1854 IN LIBERTY COUNTY AND SOON CAME TO MADISON COUNTY. THE 1860 CENSUS OF MADISON COUNTY SHOWS THAT CATHERINE AND HENRY HAD TWO CHILDREN: RACHEL KNIGHT AND HENRY CLAY KNIGHT.

ASA J SEARCY, THE YOUNGEST SON, MARRIED SARAH ELIZABETH JANE CROWSON. THEIR CHILDREN, ALL BORN IN MADISON COUNTY, ARE: TYHOMAS A WHO MARRIED MATTIE ZULCH; MARTHA ELIZABETH "BETTIE"; TWINS, MARY VIRGINIA AND GEORGIANN; CLAUDE A.; EVA C.; AND HATTIE GERTRUDE. ASA J. SEARCY WAS THE FIRST POSTMASTER OF SEARCY, APPOINTED IN 1886. He later moved to Brazos county. He died in 1918 and is buried in the Bryan cemetery beside his wife, Sarah, who died in 1917. His oldest son, Thomas A , had 2 sons who were both physicians; Thomas A Searcy, Jr. was in Hearne and Roland Morris Searcy was in Bryan. they both practiced medicine for many years. Roland Morris Searcy, Jr. is now a practicing attorney in the Bryan/College Station area; his Two children are ROLAND MORRIS III and CATHERINE ANN. HIS BROTHER, Sam Searcy, is on the police force in Houston.

ASA'S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, SOPHIA , WAS BORN IN 1848, AND MARRIED JIM JOHNSON MARTIN. THEY REARED 6 CHILDREN: NETTIE SUSAN MARTIN, WILL MARTIN, ALFRED MARTIN, AJ MARTIN, CHARLIE MARTIN AND ARTHUR MARTIN. NETTIE MARRIED FULLER JINKINS. THEIR DAUGHTER MARDIE JINKINS BENNETT, WAS LONG TIME POSTMISTRESS AT NORMANGEE.

ALL THREE OF ASA'S SEARCY'S SONS FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR AND IT IS POSSIBLE THAT JAMES WAS KILLED IN THE WAR.

THE SEARCY FAMILY IS OF FRENCH HUGENOT DESCENT. THE "CHATEAU DE SERCY" IS STILL IN EXISTANCE AND IS OWNED BY THE BARON DE CONTENSON. THE BARON'S FAMILY HAS OWNED THE CHATEAU FOR A FEW HUNDRED YEARS NOW. THE SEARCYS FLED TO NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, WHERE THE EARLIEST KNOWN ANCESTOR TO AMERICAN SEARCYS , JOSEPH SEARCY AND HIS WIFE MARY, WERE BORN IN 1680. THEY HAD 5 SONS AND 3 DAUGHTERS. THEIR SON JOHN WAS BORN IN COLSTON BASSET IN NOTTINGHAM. HE MARRIED PHOEBE HARGRAVES AND THEY HAD 10 CHULDREN. THEY MIGRATED TO GRANVILE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. THEIR SON, REUBEN SEARCY, WAS APPOINTED CLERK OF THE CROWN FOR GRANVILLE COUNTY FROM ABOUT 1771 TO AT LEAST 1785. REUBEN MARRIED SUSAN HENDERSON, BY WHOM HE HAD 10 CHILDREN. HIS 2ND WIFE WAS ELIZABETH JETT, BY WHOM HE HAD 8 CHILDREN.

REUBEN'S SON ASA, BORN 1762, MARRIED FRANCES "FANNY " JETT AND MIGRATED TO JEFFERSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI WITH A JOHN SEARCY AND HIS WIFE SUSANNAH. JOHN DIED IN 1806 LEAVING FIVE LITTLE GIRLS: ELIZABETH SEARCY, MARY SEARCY, SARAH SEARCY, FRANCES SEARCY, AND ANNE SEARCY, AND A BABY BOY, BORN IN 1804, NAMED ASA. THE OLDER ASA AND HIS WIFE, FRANCES, BECAME THE LEGAL GUARDIANS OF JOHN AND SUSANNAH SEARCY'S YOUNG CHILDREN.

DON'T KNOW FOR SURE IF THE OLDER ASA WAS THE FATHER, UNCLE OR BOTHER TO THE YOUNGER JOHN. HOWEVER, IT IS EVIDENT THAT THEY WERE CLOSELY RELATED.

GREENVILLE WAS THE COUNTY SEAT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI FROM 1803 UNTIL 1825. THIS IS JUST NORTH OF NATCHEZ, NEAR THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE OLDER ASA OWNED THE BLOCK ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE SQUARE IN GREENVILLE. ASA AND JOHN ALSO OWNED SEVERAL HUNDRED ACRES OF LAND AND NOW THE BEAUTIFUL "NATCHEZ TRACE" RUNS THROUGH THIS AREA. ASA'S BROTHER, BENNETT SEARCY, BECAME A LAWYER, WENT TO TENNESSEE WITH ANDREW JACKSON AND BECAME THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TENNESSEE IN 1813. ANDREW JACSON WAS MARRIED IN A PLANTATION HOME ABOUT 2 MILES FROM GREENVILE. JEFFERSON DAVIS LIVED IN GREENVILLE PRIOR TO BECOMING THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERACY. AARON BURR WAS CAPTURED ONE AND ONE HALF MILES NORTH OF GREENVILLE AFTER SHOOTING ALEXANDER HAMILTON IN A DUEL. SO, THE SEARCYS KNEW SOME VERY INTERESTING PEOPLE, AND THE YOUNG ASA WHO CAME TO MADISON COUNTY WAS BORN INTO A VERY EXCITING COMMUNITY. OLDER ASA HAD 3 OTHER BROTHERS WHO MIGRATED TO ARKANSAS AND SEARCY, ARKANSAS WAS NAMED FOR HIS BROTHER, RICHARD SEARCY. THEY WERE ALSO LAWYERS.

ASA SEARCY HAD MORE DAUGHTERS THAN SONS, SO MANY OF HIS DESCENDANTS IN MADISON COUNTY HAVE OTHER FAMILY NAMES. HE CAN BE CREDITED WITH NOT ONLY SEARCY DESCENDANTS, BUT MANY BY THE NAME OF KEEFER, BATSON, KNIGHT AND MARTIN. HIS NAME WILL BE REMEMBERED BY MANY.

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