DURHAM DAVIS BATON

The following bio was taken from page 104 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

The first mention of the Baton family in America, other than family records, was the following account from "The Petit-Guerard Colony" by St. Julien R. Childs: "Isaac Baton, the son of a prominent ‘religonnaire’, of Leschelle, whose property was confiscated after his flight from France…

"Isaac Baton, was born in l’Echelle in Trevache, son of Cornille Batton and Judith Volenne. Living with him were two sons, Jacques, born in London, and Isaac, born in Carolina. Their mother, ‘Mary de Lorme’, a native of Vandenouste, was dead. ‘Isaac Baton, a weaver’ was one of a large number of foreigners naturalized in South Carolina, March 10, 1696/7." This was sixteen years after the Batons arrived in America.

Our family records start one hundred years after this and we still need proof to bridge this gap, but we believe this is a record of our family.

Thomas and Mary Davis Baton were born in 1790 in Martin County, North Carolina. In 1790 the Davis family had been in America many years.

Thomas and Mary had four children born in Martin County. They were: Frances, who married George Peterson; Durham Davis, who married Sarah Leach; William, who married Moriah Pryor; and Margaret. The Baton family moved to Wilcox County, Georgia in the late 1840’s. Here in 1848, Durham Baton bought a twelve-year-old Negro slave named Camilla or "Meal." She remained with the family as long as she was able to work. Then she was retired by the family of Mrs. Daniel Peterson. She lived to be very old. She was probably like a mother to Mrs. Peterson, as she lost her own mother when she was only eighteen days old.

Durham Baton was a farmer. At the age of fifty, he decided he wouldn’t live much longer and retired. He lived to be seventy-three years old. My mother recalled that each time she visited Grandpap he was always reading his Bible. I have a copy of his Bible that has many little marks he used instead of a bookmark. He came to Rusk County circa 1850.

Durham and Sarah married in 1851 in Rusk County. Their children were: Nancy Ann, who married Neal Peterson; Mary, who married James Chandler; Laura Frances, who married William Robertson; Ben T. Baton, who was killed at the age of thirty shortly before his wedding day; Sarah Margaret, who married W. C. Inge and later Robert Crow; Elmira Rosetta, who married Cato Friar; twin girls who died at birth; Martha Eugenia, who married Daniel Peterson; and a twin sister of Martha’s, who died at birth.

None of the Durham Baton descendants bear the name "Baton." However, there are many proud descendants who bear the name of Chandler, Dickeson, Mercer, Laird, Peterson, Russell, and Brown.

Submitted by Margaret Russell