I have a strong suspicion that my family was in some way associated with Benjamin Hawkins and assisted in establishing the settlement / fort in Macon. My early ancestor William Stubley Shirley Sr was living in what is now Jones County on Walnut creek very near the current city limits of Macon. He was living in the area illegally . He had established his residence in Indian territory well ahead of the political treaties. The earliest Jones county tax records places his property right along with the Hawkins family around 1810. Several generations on my family lived on Walnut Creek and their graves are still a testimony to their existence in the area . William Stubley Shirley Sr grave has him passing away in 1799 ! His son WSS jr departs for heaven around 1810 and Jr son passed in 1830s. Are there ANY documents that you may know of that can verify my theory or help me to expand on my research ?
Thank you for any help that you may be able to provide,
Dutch Henderson |