Blassingame W. Harvey

Abt 1795 - 1867  (~ 72 years)

• Name	Blassingame W. Harvey  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Birth	Abt 1792-1795	Laurens District, South Carolina   [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Male
  Death	20 Jul 1867	San Augustine County, Texas   [5]
  Notes	FIRST GENERATION KNOWN BLASSINGAME W.HARVEY OF SAN AUGUSTINE CO., TEXAS By Joyce P. Hervey http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hervey/HFAV5.htm [Editor: The following Harvey family is perhaps related to the family of James Hervey/Harvey of New York ca. early 1800's, (see Vol. 2 No. 2, p. 54 and Vol. 1 No. 2, p. 9). Prior articles of the Bulletin have indicated that Virgil Temple Hervey, descendant of said James Hervey of NY, visited relatives in Texas and was pressed into service in the Confederate Army on one of his trips (ca. 1861-1865). Interestingly, the name Virgil Temple Harvey was given to a child born ca. 1873 to Stephen Prather Harvey of the following family. It seems likely that Virgil T. of New York and Stephen P. of Texas visited and knew, or thought, they were related to each other and that Stephen P. named his young son after his New York "cousin".] Texas of the 1820's was a region undergoing drastic change. It was a land occupied by Indians, a handful of Spaniards, and growing numbers of American "squatters," with a few Spanish forts and Catholic missions. Texas became part of Mexico when Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821. Being so large and far removed from Mexico's seat of government, and with little manpower, Texas could not be protected from illegal intrusion by American settlers in their push towards the West. Mexico, realizing its problem of protecting Texas from illegal immigration, agreed to allow some colonization of Texas by the Americans, and in 1821 authorized Moses Austin to establish a colony of 300 families in Texas. Much to the Mexican's dismay, this opened a floodgate, which they could not again close to American immigration into Texas. Between 1821 and 1836, 25,000 to 30,000 Americans moved into Texas. One of these early Texas immigrants was Blassingame W. Harvey, who came to Texas by 1824 and made application for a Mexican land grant. Who was Blassingame W. Harvey of San Augustine County and where did he come from? The name "Blassingame" entered the Harvey family as a given name in Charlotte (formerly Lunenburg) County, Virginia when Thomas Harvey (b. ca. 1705, d. 1782) married Elizabeth Blassingame (b. ca. 1709) and they named one of their sons Blassingame Harvey (b. ca. 1736). From Virginia, the name was carried South by descendants and relatives of this couple. Several persons named Blassingame Harvey lived in Georgia: in Burke Co. in 1790-95, 1820, 1824 ; Jefferson Co.; and Washington Co., ca. 1790. Blassingame W. Harvey of Texas was born in South Carolina ca. 1792- 1794 and died in San Augustine Co., TX on 20 July 1867. (Your editors have not researched South Carolina records to try to locate him there.) He is said to have arrived in Catahoula Parish, LA in 1802, with his brother John J. Harvey and perhaps other relatives. A Thomas and a Charles B. Harvey are listed on many records of that parish. When Blassingame W. Harvey left Louisiana, he probably headed toward San Augustine, TX because it was on the only convenient road to the interior of Texas from the landward side. When he reached the Ayish Bayou near San Augustine, where he settled, he found cleared fields, evidence of prior habitation by persons who had moved on. He found some old-timers who had "squatted" their land and established farms. Cotton farms worked by Negro slaves sprang up as the population of the area increased. The rolling hills and valleys covered with hardwood trees, the clear cold streams of water, the fertile soil, abundant wild life and game birds all no doubt helped convince him to put down some roots. A colonization law passed by Mexico ca. 1823-1824 allowed a married man to be granted by the Mexican government a "league and a labor" of land in Texas, the league (4428 acres) for pastureland and the labor (177 acres) for cultivation. The law required that the colonist be a citizen of Mexico, obey the laws of Mexico, belong to the Roman Catholic Church, and live on the land he was granted. However, there was no provision made for conveyance of titles to the land until about 1834. Meanwhile, the settlers had no claim to their land except their occupancy of it or "squatters rights." Nevertheless, Blassingame W. Harvey received title to his "league" of land on 20 Feb. 1835 and his "labor" of land in Jan. 1838 May not be the same Blassingame Harvey: Historical Collections of Ga. Vol.3 Page 11-William Wooldrige to wife Sarah, 100 acres where we did live and five slaves Jack, Jenny,Rachel, Lucy and Isby, all stock, furniture for life. To son Richard slaves Cate, Ceasar,and Pheby in his possession.To son William, slaves Frank, Sam and Nelly. To son Thomas slaves Chas, Abel,and Nancy. To son Gibson slaves James, Cain, and Sucky. To son Edward slaves Winny, Sarah and a wagon. To daughter Sally Hidspeth, slaves Ceasar, Joan, and Nancy for her life and then at her death to her children. To daughter Patty Davis slaves Isaac and Peg for her life and then to her children. Mentions debts owed by Phillip Ryon and BLASSINGAME HARVEY. Exors: sons Thomas and Gibson and wife Sarah. Signed Dec.6, 1797 recorded July 25, 1798 Elbert Co.Ga. (Collections of Dubie Hudspeth: http://www.geocities.com/blsa44/Ralphhudspethjr.html)
  Person ID	I17348	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	??? Harvey,   b. Bef 1775   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F6469	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Nancy Scoggins,   b. Bef 1795   d. Abt 1833 (Age ~ 38 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1818
  Family ID	F6468	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	9 Dec 2006

  
  

  Family 2	Elizabeth Mary Ann Prather,   b. 16 Aug 1810, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana d. 22 Jul 1855, San Augustine County, Texas (Age 44 years)
  Marriage	3 Sep 1826  [4, 6]
  Children	1. William P. Harvey,   b. 15 Jul 1827, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   2. Stephen Prather Harvey,   b. 11 May 1829, San Augustine County, Texas d. 30 Jul 1896 (Age 67 years)   3. Aurora Cargill Harvey,   b. 7 Sep 1831, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   4. Mary Ann Harvey,   b. 22 Feb 1833, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   5. Alenardo Harvey,   b. 2 Apr 1837, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   6. Elvira Prather Harvey,   b. 3 Mar 1839, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   7. Virginia Cargill Harvey,   b. 27 Dec 1841, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   8. Rowena Harvey,   b. 15 Oct 1845, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   9. California Harvey,   b. 5 Aug 1849, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   10. Jane Harvey,   b. 10 Jun 1855, San Augustine County, Texas d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F6461	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	15 Sep 2008

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - Abt 1792-1795 - Laurens District, South Carolina Death - 20 Jul 1867 - San Augustine County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S461] White & Toole, "Sabine County Historical Sketches and Genealogical Records" c. 1972, p 44 (Reliability: 3). [S633] Davis, Kathryn Hooper "San Augustine County, Texas Census Records 1860", p 22 (Reliability: 3). [S350] Schluter, Helen Gomer "1835 Sabine District, Texas Census" c. 1983 Distributed by Ericson Books, p 35 (Reliability: 3). [S667] RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project, (The WorldConnect Project is a set of tools, which allow users to upload, modify, link, and display their family trees as a means to share their genealogy with other researchers. The program used to day has a genealogy of its own. RootsWeb announced the launch of the World Connect Project on November 10, 1999 after staff members and users submitted 5.5 million records during a four-week beta-testing period. The WorldConnect Project continues to grow, and as of January 2004 had more than 312 million records. GEDCOM is an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunications. It is a file format developed by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It provides a flexible and uniform format for exchanging computerized genealogical data, and allows you to share files with other researchers who may not use the same genealogy program.), The Prather Family (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin /igm.cgi?db=prather2222) (randyj2222@yahoo.com) Ver. 2008-0 9-08 13:01:00 (Reliability: 3). [S461] White & Toole, "Sabine County Historical Sketches and Genealogical Records" c. 1972, p 42 (Reliability: 3). [S461] White & Toole, "Sabine County Historical Sketches and Genealogical Records" c. 1972, p 45 (Reliability: 3).