Hammacks of Benton County, Arkansas


The Descendants of Lewis Hammack of Benton County, Arkansas

Hammack Family History


The earliest record we have found of this family is the marriage record of Lewis Hammack to Elizabeth Harvey, daughter of William and Sarah Harvey. This marriage took place in Campbell County, Virginia, on 4 Dec 1797. For more information on William Harvey's family, please refer to the land record filed in Campbell County, Virginia, after his death.

Lewis and Elizabeth had at least the following children, all of whom survived their father:

1. �Sarah Hammack, b. 1799 in Virginia, married Amaziah Jones & settled in Kentucky.
2. Elizabeth F. Hammack, b. 8 Feb 1800 in Virginia, married Haymond B. Culver and settled in Kentucky.
3. Mary Hammack, b. 25 Aug. 1801 in Virginia (b. 9 May 1873) married Rev. Samuel Grenade Culver and settled first in Kentucky, then in Hunt County, Texas.
4. �Nancy Hammack, b. 6 Mar 1803, married Joseph Baxter.
5. �William Morgan Hammack, b. 9 Nov. 1804 in Virginia and died 13 June 1859, married Nancy Woods and settled in Benton County, Arkansas.
6. �Winniford Hamilton Hammack, born 1808 in Virginia and died between 1867 and 1870, probably in Calhoun County, Mississippi. Winny married (1) John L. Bailey and (2) Andrew Hayman Bailey. Her two husbands were brothers. Winny's family migrated to Mississippi in the late 1830's and lived in Yalobusha, Calhoun, and Carroll Counties.
7. �Martha A. Hammack, born 1810 in Virginia, married John Purviance Maxwell and settled in Benton County, Arkansas.
8. �John H. Hammack, born 25 Dec 1811 in Virginia (died 1 Mar 1880) married Jane P. Maxwell. He settled first in Benton County, Arkansas, and moved to Hunt County, Texas about 1865.
9. �Thomas Hammack, born about 1813 in Tennessee, married Margaret (or Margrett) �Warren on 26 April 1938 in Gibson County, Tennessee and settled in Benton County, Arkansas. �We have recently determined that Thomas was a Union sympathizer. �At least one of his sons, Lewis, served in the Union Army. �After the War, this family moved from Benton County. � Recently a descendant has been located and we are attempting to obtain more information about Thomas and Margaret Hammack.

10. �Anna W. Hammack, born 12 July 1814 in Tennessee (died 30 Jan 1847) married James W. Maxwell and settled in Benton County, Arkansas. Previous information stated she was born 12 July 1816; however, an article in the Southern Christian Advocate stated she died in her 33rd year of life, making 1814 rather than 1816 the correct date.� This article reads in full:

ANNA W. MAXWELL daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth Hammack, died Jan. 30, 1847 in the 33rd year of her age; married James W. Maxwell at age of 22 years; wife and mother.

11. �Margarett Fields Hammack, born 18 Feb 1816 in Tennessee (died 23 June 1894) married David Williams. She settled first in Benton County, Arkansas, then moved to Texas. She died in Erath County, Texas.
12. �Jesse Harvey Hammack, born 6 Dec 1817 in Tennessee (died 16 May 1896) married 1st to an unknown woman in Benton County, Arkansas, then married Mary Elizabeth Walker. He settled first in Benton County, Arkansas, moving to Hunt County, Texas in about 1865. During the California Gold Rush, he and brother Thomas went to California to try their luck. They can be found in the El Dorado County, California census of 1850.

From the birthplaces of the children, it is estimated that the family moved to Tennessee in 1812. It seems probable that they settled first in Warren County, Tennessee (there were two Lewis Hammacks there in 1820. One of them has children who fit with the above pattern and the other who was Kelly Hoagland's ancestor ([email protected]). They then moved to Carroll County and were there by 1830.

After Lewis's first wife died, he remarried Mary Stockard, widow of John Stockard, probably in Carroll County, Tennessee. He acted as guardian of her minor children and executor of her husband's estate, then married her. He gave up his guardian post about 1832, and left with some of his children between 1833 and 1835 for Arkansas territory. His will, written in Carroll County but probated in Washington County, Arkansas, mentions his minor children (Jesse, Anna and Margarett) and names his son John as executor.

Lewis apparently died between 1835 and 1836. Part of his estate was settled in Benton County, Arkansas, and names all 12 of his children, some of whom resided out of state (Tennessee and Kentucky). One daughter, Mary Hammack Culver, settled in Hunt County, Texas, in the 1840's, and her brothers John and Jesse joined her there after the Civil War. My husband is a descendant of Jesse Harvey Hammack.

I've traced descendants of several of them, but would love to make contact with all branches of this interesting family, plus figure out how Lewis Hammack fit in with the remainder of the Virginia Hammack clan, including the other Lewis Hammack who went to Warren County, Virginia.

In Memory of Machelle

Along the way, I've made loads of genealogy buddies. One of the most charming and most enthusiastic was Machelle Hammack Bronaugh of Fresno, California. I met Machelle sometime between 1996 and 1997. She was trying to find the father of her grandfather, William Riley Hammack. She knew his mother had come from Benton County, Arkansas, so she naturally believed that he was connected to Lewis Hammack's family. On a genealogy trip to Salt Lake City, I found the probate proceedings of John H. Hammack, who had moved from Benton County to Hunt County, Texas, after the Civil War. Among his heirs were the children of his deceased son, William R. Hammack. Machelle's grandfather was one of those named, along with sisters that Machelle knew belonged to him. It was one of those "ah-ha" moments that we have in genealogy.

Machelle was - of course - thrilled with this discovery. Shortly thereafter, she became very ill and never really recovered from her illness. Coupled with this, her mother was also dealing with terminal cancer. It was with great sadness that I discovered that she died on August 29, 2003, just two months after her mother's death in June.

Machelle's Memories is still an active site. And Machelle will always be in my thoughts and memories as well. Love you, girlfriend!

Sarah Jane Hammack Ford

Sarah Jane Hammack Ford, 1855-1938, wife of David J. Ford of Hunt County, Texas


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Anyone with any information about the Hammacks of Benton County, Arkansas are encouraged to drop me a note. My E-Mail address is [email protected]

View Lewis Hammack's Will & Associated Affidavits

View Lewis Hammack's Probate Proceedings

Lewis Hammack's Descendants on Rootsweb

HAMMACK LINKS

Tom Hammack's Genealogy Web Page

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Last Updated: November 23, 2008.

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