Two Tales of One Family
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The life of Elizabeth Majors Land is
depicted in the Second Part of the Rovings/Ramblings of Rileys. The author has
taken the facts that have been found, and woven them into a story about how
Elizabeth's life "might have been."
There is birth information on her brothers: Thomas J.; Elisha
Sumpter, John W. James C, Henry G, Jehu, Benjamin and Stephen W.
Land.
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Go to Part Two (update) at bottom of page
In researching the descendants of E. William Riley and Elizabeth Majors Land there are two scenarios for this family. The William Riley family, and his wife, Elizabeth, were found in the 1850 Calhoun Co. Florida Census. William was listed as 38 years old, born in SC. Elizabeth was 29 years old, born in GA. They had Harriet F. Riley, age 9, born in GA, William Lawrence Riley, age 7, born in FL, Laura Riley, age 5, born in GA, and Elisha A. Riley, age 3, born in GA.
Further evidence of this story is taken from an Application for Pension by Sarah Moore Richards Land for the service of her husband Sumpter Land in the War of 1812. According to an 1878 transcript of a family bible dated 1824 that Sarah included in her pension application, these are the children of Sumpter and Sarah:
Thomas Jefferson b. 7 Jan 1820 in GA?; m. Mary Catherine Narcissus Clark 1850; d. 27 Sept 1864.
Elizabeth Majors b. 21 July 1821 in GA or AL; m1--William Riley in 1840?; m2--Daniel Wyse in 1860 or 1861; [d. 20 Feb 1899 and is buried in Milton, FL.]
Elisha Sumpter b. 18 Dec. 1823 (apparently died young)
John W. b. 25 Mar 1826 (also died young)
James Calvin b. 17 Feb 1828 in Jackson Co., FL; m1--Mary Elizabeth Register 1857; m2--Elizabeth Jane Merriman 1865; [d. 12 May 1906; buried in Fidellas Cemetery, Santa Rosa Co., FL.]
Jehu R. b. 18 Feb. 1831 in Jackson Co., FL(?); m. Angeline (one source gives her last name as Whittington-- Jehu R. Land, age 50, was found in Refugio Co, TX as a stockraiser, born in Florida with father born in NC and mother born in GA married to Elizabeth, age 24, born in Texas, with three children: Rosilla, 9; Franklin, 4; and Thomas, 2;(all born in Texas).
Henry G. b. 30 Dec. 1834 in Calhoun Co., FL; m. Mary Kent 6 Mar. 1862; [d. 30 July 1905; buried in Kynesville Cemetery, Jackson Co., FL.]
Benjamin F. b. 7 Sept. 1836 in Calhoun Co., FL; [ m. Octavia 3 Aug. 1879; d. 23 Nov. 1896.]
Stephen W. b. 31 Aug. 1839 in Jackson Co., FL(?); m1--Cornelia A. Stewart 26 July 1866; [m2--Victoria L. Brown 5 Sept 1887; m3--Janie E. Tanner 2 Oct. 1915; d. 23 Dec. 1916; buried in Kynesville Cemetery, Jackson Co., FL. ]
According to the application, Sumpter Land was killed on 18 May 1840 by renegade Indians at home in Calhoun Co., FL.)
** The information in brackets was added from records accumulated later.**
Then comes another tale from the grandchildren of the last child of William and Elizabeth Riley, Owen Land Riley. "Great-Grandpa Henry Land and Great-Grandma Maude Major were married in Ireland. Grandma Elizabeth Maude Land was born July 26, 1821, died February 20, 1899. Grandpa Willman Riley was married when Grandma was 16 years old. They all came from Ireland and settled in Missouri, from there they went to Alabama and then to Florida. Great-Grandpa Henry Land and son, Henry, were killed by Indians. Grandpa Willman Riley, better known by the name of Bill, was shot by the Indians at the same time. He did not die then, but later died of Yellow Fever. Grandma Riley at that time had one child, Aunt Harriet, and they hid in the woods. The Indians killed all the stock and left. Children born to Grandpa and Grandma Riley were Harriet, Willman Bill Riley (shot in the Civil War), Laura, Elish, Owren. Grandma Riley married Marion Wyse, they had one child, Frank Wyse, born 1862, died 1935. Frank Wyse married Ida Mae Watts, August 29, 1886 at Gordon, Alabama."
According to the Mississippi Riley story Elizabeth Maude Land had 6 brothers and 3 sisters:
Henry, Calvin, Lonnie, Milford, Willie, Charlie, Sally, Betty and Maggie Land.
Elizabeth Wyse was found in the 1880 Kemper Co. Mississippi with her sons, Owen Riley, Frank Wyse, and William Lawrence Riley, his wife Mary Alice (Corbin) Riley and Allie Riley (born 1874 in FL) Elizabeth listed her birthplace as Ireland.
Does anyone in the Jackson/Calhoun/Washington County areas of Florida have a solution to this discrepancy?
ELIZABETH MAJORS LAND RILEY WYSE
- Who Was She? She was the wife of E. William Riley, and the mother
of Harriet, William Lawrence, Ester Laura, Elisha, Owen Riley and Frank Wyse. In
other words, she and William (Bill) are the reason we are here today!
Her parents were Sumpter and Sarah M. (Richards) Land, and she was probably the apple of her father's eye, since she was the only daughter born into a family of eight brothers. Besides that, her father was 48 years old when she was born and you know how fathers can be about only daughters. Since she had only one older brother, and all the other brothers were younger, I am sure she had a lot of chores to do, but at the same time, I imagine the brothers all had to watch out for her. Two brothers died young. Her parents were married near Fort Gaines, GA when it was still Indian Territory. Life was not easy for them. The Creek Indians were not too agreeable about being herded up and sent westward, so there were many raids. The Land family moved to Calhoun County, FL by 1830, fifteen years before Florida became a state. Her father must have been an active person within the community. He did serve in the War of 1812 and 1815 before he married Elizabeth's mother - Sarah Moore Richards. He was one of many locals who signed a petition for the Government to cleanup the waterways in around what is now Marianna so it could be used for transportation.
Elizabeth married E. William Riley (date and place unconfirmed, but supposedly they married in 1837) and the first child found in the 1850 census was a nine-year old girl - Harriet. In Bible records from the "Florida" Rileys there was a W. A. Riley listed, but it had the date of Harriet's birthday. I wonder if there was a son born earlier that died? It doesn't seem feasible for them to be married four years before the birth of the first child. At any rate, from 1841 to 1847 she gave birth about every two years. The last child of William Riley's was Owen Land Riley, born in 1853. If census records are to be believed, they moved to Georgia and back to Florida a couple of times. One tale that has "floated" {no pun intended} around is that William Riley was the Captain of a steamboat on the Chattahoochee River. If that were so, that would explain their ease of their relocation. Elizabeth's husband was only seen once in the census - that was 1850 in Calhoun County, FL. At that time they were living next door to her mother and five of her brothers. In 1840 while Elizabeth and "Bill" as he was called were living with or near her parents, there was an Indian raid on Elizabeth's father's home and he was killed. Her oldest brother and supposedly her husband were wounded in that raid. The Indians ran off all the stock and burned the spring crops. Life suddenly took a different turn for this young lady who probably had -- up until that time -- a pleasant, comfortable life.
As of 1860 Bill was not in the picture. Elizabeth was busy with her growing family. She had to find a means to support them. She was found living in a household of a very wealthy landowner, and Owen was the only child with her. This wealthy landowner, A. L. Riviere, had a young wife, and a 6 month old child, so she probably was a housekeeper or nanny.
About this same time, her oldest son, William Lawrence, had become so uncontrollable, Elizabeth had her brother, Thomas Jefferson Land, go before the Court to have him "apprenticed" to a tradesman. He was apprenticed to Mr. Daniel B. Leslie who was a "tinner." It was not long before Mr. Leslie was back before the Court asking to be relieved of his responsibility for the young teenager, because … "short of chaining him up, there was no way he could keep him…" Mr. Leslie was released of his responsibility of William Lawrence. Therefore, William Lawrence must have run away. He, nor his brother, Elisha, and sister, Esther Laura were listed in the 1860 Federal Census that I could find.
When the Civil War started, it was not long before Elizabeth's brothers were all enlisting in the Confederacy. William Lawrence enlisted also, but he did so in Dale County, AL in 1862 so possibly Elizabeth did not know he had joined up. When the battle of Marianna took place in the Fall of 1864, Elizabeth's oldest brother, Thomas J. Land was killed on the steps of the court house "with his rifle still in his hands and his finger still on the trigger" according to his great grandson. Elizabeth's next son, Elisha also fought in that battle in a group called the "Cradle to Grave" group. It would certainly be interesting to know just how close the fighting came to where Elizabeth and her mother and family were living at that time. Elizabeth did marry a Daniel Marion Wyse and they had one child, Frank, born in 1862 before Daniel went off to war, never to return. (William Riley supposedly died from yellow fever in 1862 but it has not been confirmed whether he was in the Civil War, or on the river, or somewhere else.)
Heartbreak and joy must have been her feelings when she saw her son, William Lawrence return from the War - she was glad to see him alive - but heartbroken to see he had lost an arm in the fighting. In Jackson County, Florida in 1870 she had her family around her. William was married to his first wife, and living next to her, her daughter, Harriet who was a war widow, was back with her along with Harriet's son, Lewis, Elisha and Owen were there, and her baby, Frank Wise (age 8). Her other daughter, Ester was married and living in Randolph County, GA. So life was getting better.
During the reconstruction years it was difficult for these southerners to adapt to the changes, and it has been told that Owen got into a confrontation with a Black man, and the man was killed. Knowing all the grief Elizabeth had endured in her life, it was probably self-preservation that caused Elizabeth, Owen, and Frank to leave the area. Since William Lawrence was married again and had one baby by 1874, it is my belief that he and his family went with Elizabeth and her young sons to Mississippi. Elizabeth was found in the 1880 Kemper county census in Mississippi and all of the above people were there. I just wonder why they went to Mississippi!
Owen married Ammer Hicks, in 1881in Winston County, Mississippi and was starting his own family. William Lawrence and Mary Alice (Corbin) Riley had George Clifford Riley in Kemper Co in 1881 but shortly there after, Elizabeth and Frank and William and his family headed back east to Florida. William Lawrence and Mary Alice had another son in 1883 in Jackson County, FL and Frank Wyse married Ida Watts in 1886 in Gordon, Alabama which gives me the basis for that assumption. Also Elizabeth's mother was getting on up in age, and, in fact, did die in 1885 in Jackson County, Florida. I would hope she got to see her mother again before she passed away.
In 1891 her youngest daughter, Ester Laura Riley Culbreth died near Gordon, Alabama. It is hard to outlive your children. Frank Wyse and his family soon moved from Gordon, Alabama to settle in the Santa Rosa County, Florida area, and I have been told Elizabeth died in Milton, Florida in 1899 at the age of 78 and is buried in a cemetery there. Her heirs applied for a Land Grant in her name, and her son, Frank, applied for an adjoining Land Grant in Santa Rosa County, FL.
One other tidbit to the tale of Elizabeth Land Riley Wyse - supposedly Daniel Wyse buried some gold under an oak tree in Santa Rosa County before he went off to the Civil War. It has never been found….