Individual Details

5.   EPHRAIM b. before 1762
1784 Duplin Ephraim & Adonijah witnessed the will of Philp Rouse

1778 May 16, Duplin Co NC to Ephraim Garrison from Phillip Rouse, 100 acres “On the west side of the North East Branch of Cape Fear River between percimmon and Stocking Head Branch.” witness Ebenezer Garrison. (Duplin Co Deed Book 6, page 98, SAMPSON-DUPLIN DEEDS, Books 4-6, (ca. 1762 to ca. 1779), by Max R. Peterson, Jr.)

1778 Duplin, Ephraim Garrison and Eadargar (Eadinger?) GARRISON (note by Karen, probably Ebenezer) witnessed a deed James Mills to John Waller

1783 Duplin NC tax list, Capt. Gillespie’s Company, along with Jane and Ebenezer (1783 Duplin Co NC Tax List, North Carolina Genealogy, Raleigh NC, Apring 1973,Vol. 19, Issue 1, page 2813)

1784 Oct 10, Duplin Co NC, Ephraim Garrason and Adonijah Garrison witnessed the will of Phillip Rouse (Duplin County Wills 1730-1860, William L. (Bill) Murphy, Duplin County Historical Society, 1982, page 145)

1786 Duplin Co census, very near Adonijah and Ebenezer
1790 Duplin Co NC, Thomas, Adonijah, Ephraim
1792 Duplin, Ephraim’s will identifies Thomas as his brother
(son Thomas)

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Ephraim did, indeed, have three children and their names were Mary (called Polly), David and Thomas. However, Ephraim's son Thomas was not born in 1764 as Mr. Outlaw wrote. Ephraim married in 1786, Mary was born a short while later, probably in 1787, David was born in 1788 or 1789 and Thomas was born by the time the 1790 census was taken in Duplin County. The children of Thomas Garrason (born 1764), omitted by this writer from the above quoted list, can be found at the beginning of the page to which his link takes you. Thomas (b. 1764) was actually Ephraim's brother and was named by Ephraim as a co-executor, with Ephraim's wife Joanna, of Ephraim's will. Some have thought Ephraim's executor was Thomas Garrason , the mariner, but he does not seem to have been mentioned in any record after his purchase of land in 1765. Because Mr. Outlaw knew that Thomas was born in 1764, because he erroneously supposed him to be the son Thomas that Ephraim named in his will, and because Mr. Outlaw knew that Ephraim married Joanna Middleton 18 Oct 1786 [Bass. Marriage Bonds. p. 39], he had to suppose that Ephraim was married twice. Joanna could not have been the mother of Thomas who was born in 1764. Therefore, it appeared that she was Ephraim's second wife, the first being mother of Thomas (b. 1764). Mr. Outlaw wasted his mental resources in coming up with those speculations. They are completely faulty. What Mr. Outlaw did not know was that preserved in the very office over which he presided as Register of Deeds was a record that proves Ephraim's son Thomas was still a minor in 1803. Therefore, it was impossible for him to be the Thomas born in 1764. That Thomas was 39 years old in 1803. And, ironically, in 1802 the elder Thomas had been appointed guardian of the younger. In court, 20 Oct 1802. Appointed Thomas Garrison Guardian to Thomas Garrison, Minor Orphan, he gave Bond of £200; Ordered he take his Estate into his possession, etc. [McEachern. Abstracts, 1798-1803. p. 74.] Note that this record does not give the minor's father, but the following one does. During the January, 1803 term of court, Thomas Garason, Thomas Canady and John Carr, as guardians of Polly, David and Thomas Garason, Orphans of Ephraim Garason recorded the sale of livestock for their benefit. [Copies of the original detailed records showing the sale of livestock were obtained by Ruth Mary (Conrad) Maples and shared with the writer. North Carolina Archives, Raleigh, Duplin County Estates. "Reference No. 35.508.28". An abstract can be found in print [McEachern. Abstracts, 1798-1803. p. 83.]
A True Coppy of the Acct of Sails of the Perishable Property of Orphans of Ephraim Garason, dec'd., Sold by the Guardians of Sd. Orphans Agreeable to an order of Court for that purpose to us directed Pollie Garasons Property 1 Cow to John Carr 9 20 1 Cow to Henry Jones 10 1 Stear to David Maxwell 7 1 year old sear [sic] to Love Savage 3 10 1 Stear to Thomas McCann 10 [total] 39 30 David Garasons Property 1 Cow and year old to Thos. Garason 7 25 1 Stear to David Brock 6 75 1 Cow and year old to Love Savage 12 60 1 Stear to Watson Burton 11 1 Stear to Thos. McCann 10 [total] 47 60 Thomas Garasons Property 1 Cow and year old to Henry Jones 8 1 Cow and year old to Love Savage 12 1 Cow and year old to James Maxwell 8 20 1 Heffer to James Maxwell 6 [total] 34 20 Thomas Canady John Carr Thomas Garason Guardians The above paper was folded for filing. On the front part of the outside was written Account of Sale of the Property of Ephraim Garrison dec'd for his Orphans, etc. Recorded Jany Term 1803.
With the above information in hand, we can see that Ephraim was married only once and that he was a much younger man when he died than previously thought. We can empathize with a man who being seized of a deadly disease and ... frail made his will. An elderly man would have been old and feeble. We can see the compassion he felt for his soon-to-be orphaned youngsters when he called Polly his loving child and Thomas his loving son, terms he would not have used for grown children. What confuses researchers is that Ephraim's will was somewhat unprofessional in that it left property to his minor children without appointing guardians for them. Perhaps he felt that naming his wife Johnnie and his brother Thomas as the executors was sufficient to assure the preservation of his estate for the children. He left nothing to his wife, assuming, perhaps, because of her youth she would soon remarry. The will mentioned is the original which he signed Ephraim Garrason. Copies of Ephraim's original will, the paper he signed, not the court house recording, were obtained by Ruth Mary (Conrad) Maples and shared with the writer [North Carolina Archives, "Reference No. CR.035.801"]. Some years ago, this writer misplaced his copy. Later when he visited NC Archives the folder that should have contained Ephraim's original will was empty. As soon as the lost photocopy can be found it will be scanned and displayed on this page. In the meantime, the following typed copy will be used.
State of No. Carolina} Duplin County To all to Whom these Presents May Come Greetings, Know ye that I Ephraim Garrison Being Seized of A Deadly Disease & Knowing How frail I am, But being In Perfect mind & Memory as I Ever Was In My Life. Through the Hope that I Have a Glorious Resurrection through my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ Do Give my Soul to God that Gave it & my Body to the Grave to Be Buried at the Discretion of my Executors Whom I Shall hereafter Constitute & Appoint. As Also I Give & Bequath all my Worldly Gods & Estate In the following manner & first I Order all my Just Debts to Be paid By My Executors. Item. I Give & Bequaith to my loving Child Polly Garrison fifty acres of Land Being the piece Which my Mother Now Lives uppon & one cow & calf. Except the Child Now in the Womb of my wife Should Be a Boy Which if it Lives & is a man Child then the aforementioned piece of Land Shall Be my son David Garrisons. Item. I Give & Bequaith to My Son David Garrison one hundred Acres of Land bought of Philip Rouse & 1 Cow & 1 Calf With Its Increase. Except the Aforementioned Child In my Wife's Womb Should Be a Boy then the aforesaid hundred Acres of Land to be my Son Thomas Garrisons. Item. I Give & Bequath to my Loving Son Thomas Garrison one Hundred Acres of Land being the Plantation Which I Now Live On & one Cow & Calf With their Increase With the former Exception Being made concerning the Aforementioned Child In the Womb Which It Shoud Be a Boy the Within mentioned hundred Acres of Land Which I Now Live on to Belong to that Child and Its Name to Be Called Ephraim Garrison. Item. I Give and Bequaith to my Loving Wife Jonny Garrison all and Singular my household furniture & Plantation tools & the Remainder of My Stock of hogs, Cattle & Sheep & Horses Except one Cow and Calf Which I Give And Bequaith to my trusty friend Elizabeth Strickling. And Now I Constitute and Appoint my my Loving Wife Johnny Garrison and my trusty friend William Carr and my friend and Brother Thomas Garrison as Executors of this my Last Will Disanulling all others made heretofore. In Witness thereof I Have Hereunto Set my hand & Seal. this 27 Day of November 1792. Ephraim Garrason [seal] Signed and Sealed in presents of Us Wm. Carr Joseph Merrill
The photocopy will prove beyond a doubt that Fred A. Olds made a serious mistake when he abstracted Ephraim's will for inclusion in his book to follow Grimes' first volume of North Carolina will abstracts. First, Olds' abstractions were so spartan they misled researchers. He did not give relationships and some careless persons have assumed them. Secondly, in abstracting Ephraim's will he included the name James. The name James does not appear in the original copy of Ephraim's will, that is, in the copy he signed. The name James should read Jonny or however one reads the name of Ephraim's widow. The late Judge Folks Huxford of Homerville, GA was extremely careless in using Olds' book. First he assumed Olds material was correct without checking the original sources. Secondly, and even more carelessly, he assumed that the James named by Olds was Ephraim's son — that without Olds even stating any relationship. As a result, in Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Huxford printed in two different sketches of the compiler's g-g-g-grandfather, James Garrason , that he, James, was a son of Ephraim. Huxford went to his grave believing his dis-information was correct.

The earliest record that shows Ephraim Garrison being in Duplin County is a deed of 1778 by which he purchased land. This record suggests that he must have been born by 1757 to have been 21 at this time. 16 May 1778. Deed from Phillip Rouse where Rouse now lives, 100 acres on the west side of NE branch of Cape Fear River between Persimmon Swamp and Stocking Head Branch; part of 640 acres parented to William Dickson 11 May 1769; witnessed by Adam and Ebanezar Garrison; registered 13 Sep 1783. [Max R. Peterson, Jr. Abstracts of Sampson-Duplin Deeds, Books 4-6 (c1762-c1779). Dunn (NC): Pope Printing Co., 1984. p. 101.] When the "1783 Tax List for Duplin County" was made up, Ephraim was listed as a single poll with property valued at £100. After listing two Carrs, a Rouse and a Rogers, the tax assessor included the name of a mysterious Jane Garrison with £10 worth of taxables. [Johnson, ed. North Carolina Genealogy. v. 19, no. 1, p. 2813 (Spring and Summer, 1973).] Efforts to identify Jane have been unsuccessful. For speculation as to who she might have been, see the New Family Group page.
Mr. Outlaw knew nothing about Ephraim's sons because they moved off to Georgia and died young there. While the daughter Mary (called Polly) probably lived in Georgia for a time, there is one Duplin County record for her. It is not known where Ephraim's daughter Mary ("Polly") Garrason [whom Outlaw numbered (a)] spent her last years or whether she ever married. She apparently was still unmarried in 1816 when she sold the fifty acres received under the terms of her father's will to her uncle Thomas Garrason (born 1764). A deed dated 6 Apr 1816 from Mary Garrison to Thomas Garrison for 50 acres was proved in the October 1816 term of court of Duplin County. [Recorded in "Deed Book DFTU", p282.] This, of course, proves that Ephraim's widow, who was pregnant when he drew up his will, did not give birth to a son who lived because that son would have received this 50 acres under his father's will. It is not known if Johnnie gave live birth to any child after Ephraim died; if she did it likely died young as there was no such child listed when livestock was sold in 1803. Ephraim's son David Garrason [numbered (b)] was born about 1789 in Duplin County. He and brother Thomas moved to Georgia before 1814 and settled in Wilkinson County. In the 1821 Land Lottery David Garrison of Williams' District, Wilkinson County, drew lot 152 of section 1 in Houston County. [Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr. The 3rd & 4th or 1820 and 1821 Land Lotteries of Georgia. Easley (SC): Georgia Genealogical Reprints and Southern Historical Press, 1973. Part 2, p102.] David may have moved his family to that property. Houston and Crawford Counties adjoined in 1830 and he was counted that year in the Federal Census of Crawford County. He was living neighbor to Merrill Williams who had married David's first cousin Mary Ann Garrason, daughter of his uncle Thomas Garrason (b. 1764) of Duplin County. David married about 1811 Elizabeth ——, born in the 1790s, died by early 1835 in Crawford Co. David died there in 1832. They had six or seven children (one might have been Thomas' orphan), none of whom appear to have remained in Crawford County, or even in Georgia, unless they adopted the surnames of the families who reared them. ["Crawford County, Georgia, Guardian Bond Book A", p84; "Inventories & Appraisals Book B", p11; "Marriage Records 1840-1880"]. Various indexes of Georgia census schedules 1850-1870 failed to show anyone who could be identified as David's heirs. The children whose names are taken from estate papers were: 1. Catharine Garrason b c1812 2. Permelia Garrason b c1814 3. Ephraim Lester Garrason b c1817 4. Anny Jane Garrason b c1821 5. Sarah Ann Connealy Garrason b c1824 6. Thomas Garrason b c1827 or c1831 7. Cohain Garrason b c1831 or 1827 Either Catharine or Permelia could have been a daughter of David's brother Thomas, below. Ephraim's son Thomas Garrason [numbered (c)] was born about 1790 because he was counted in the "1790 Federal Census for Duplin County". He and his brother David moved to Georgia and settled in Wilkinson County. He apparently married, having left an orphan when he died there by 3 Oct 1814. On that date letters of administration were granted to David and Mary Garrason. David, of course, was Thomas' brother, but Mary Garrason's identity is uncertain. She may have been young Thomas' widow or she may have been his sister Mary, called Polly Garrason in most records. [Fred R. and Emily K. Hartz. Genealogical Abstracts from "The Georgia Journal," Milledgeville, Georgia 1809-1840. Vidalia (GA): Gwendolyn Press, 1990. v1, p322.] Thomas left at least one child because Thomas Garrison's Orphan, of Williams District, Wilkinson Co, drew lot 133 in section 3 of Monroe County, Georgia in the 1821 Land Lottery. The reference is simply to Thomas Garrison's Orphan. The child's sex was not mentioned. [Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr. The 3rd & 4th or 1820 and 1821 Land Lotteries of Georgia. Easley (SC): Georgia Genealogical Reprints and Southern Historical Press, 1973. Part 2, p102.]

Birth	Bef 1757
Tax List	1786	Duplin, North Carolina, United States
Marriage	18 Oct 1786	Duplin, North Carolina, British America - Joanna "Jonny" Middleton
Will	27 Nov 1792	Duplin, North Carolina, United States
Death	Aft 27 Nov 1792	Duplin, North Carolina, United States
Alt name		Ephraim Garrason

Spouse	Joanna "Jonny" Middleton ( - )
Child	Mary "Polly" Garrason (1787 - )
Child	David Garrason (1789 - )
Child	Thomas Garrason (1790 - 1814)

Father	James Garrison (1725 - 1771)
Mother	Jane ( - )
Sibling	Isaiah Garrison (1745 - 1783)
Sibling	Ebenezer Garrison (1750 - 1801)
Sibling	Jedediah Garrison (1752 - 1830)
Sibling	Adonijah Garrason (1755 - 1823)
Sibling	Thomas Garrison (1764 - 1841)
Sibling	Elizabeth Garrison (1771 - 1822)
Sibling	Darius Garrison (1772 - 1838)

Notes