Southern Anthology

Families on the Frontiers of the Old South

First Name Last Name
Home Search Login  
Share Print Bookmark

Susannah Heard

Female 1778 - 1862  (83 years)


Personal Information    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Susannah Heard 
    Born 08 Nov 1778  South Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Gender Female 
    Probate Mar 1802  Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    • Susannah Heard Darden was named an administrator of the James Darden estate, along with John Heard, son of Gov. Stephen Heard of Elbert County. The estate was sold, 24 April 1802. Paternal grandfather, George Darden, Sr., made provision for his three grandchildren by gift of two slaves, 26 September 1803. George Crain was an administrator by 1805.
    Residence 1820  Monticello, Jasper, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • The George Crain family is enumerated in Jasper County in 1820 with 3 males and one female under the age of 10, 1 male and 2 females between 10 and 16, 1 male between 16 and 26, 1 female between 26 and 45, and 1 male 45 or older.
    Residence 1830  Meriwether County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • This is probably the George Crain family. The head-of-household is a 50-60 year old male and there is one 50-60 year old female, which corresponds with the ages of George and Susannah. Enumerated here are: one male, 5-10 years of age; two males, 10-15 years of age; one female 15-20 years of age; and one male 20-30 years of age. Crane's neighbor is identified as James Germany. This is believed to be one of George Washington Darden's in-laws. George Darden is also enumerated in Meriwether County.
    Residence 1840  Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Residence 1850  District 41, Heard, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [4] 
    • One son, Stephen G., is alleged to be an idiot. Two other sons, Charles and Thomas Lee, are residents within the household. Spencer C. and William G. Crane, and George Darden (Susannah's son by her first marriage) are neighbors.
    Residence 1860  Heard, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    • Stephen and Charles remain in the household, both allegedly idiotic. Neighbors include William G. Crane, Mary J. Crain (the widow of Spencer C. Crain), George A. Crain, and George W. Darden. Seventeen slaves are enumerated in the schedules.
    Died 28 Jun 1862  Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Buried Darden-Crain Cemetery, Cooksville, Heard, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Crane, Susannah Heard    		 Crane, Susannah Heard
    Notes 
    • RUMBLINGS AND RUMINATIONS

      Jeanette Holland Austin identifies Georgia Governor Stephen Heard (1740-1815) as the father of Susannah Heard. The Georgia Frontier: Revolutionary War Families to the mid-1800s, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005), vol. 2, 143. Significantly, Austin alleges George Crain was paid as a legatee of the Heard estate, although the date given is 2 March 1812. (Heard died in 1815.) Unfortunately, there are other questions about the accuracy of Austin's reporting. Notably, Susannah is not identified as George Crain's wife. (The evidence tends to clearly support this fact.) Rather, her second spouse is identified as Allin Martin, another Heard legatee. Susannah's date of birth is also given as 1773, which is at odds with the date on her monument.

      The most serious objection to this claim of paternity is the oft-repeated story found at The New Georgia Encyclopedia, <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2869>. There, Jane Germany is identified as the Governor's first wife. She, along with their only child, died of exposure during the winter of 1778. Stephen then married Elizabeth Darden, a union that produced five daughters and four sons. This is also the claim made at Historical Collections of the Joseph Habersham Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, (Atlanta, Georgia: Blosser Printing Company, 1902), vol. 2, 50, 280. The date of the latter marriage is 25 August 1785. Id., at 49. Clearly, this would exclude Susannah as a daughter.

      But Austin disputes this, at least in this particular: she identifies Stephen G. Crain, the son of Gov. Heard, as the spouse of Jane Germany and then of Elizabeth Darden (1765-1848). If we are dealing with another Stephen, and another Elizabeth Darden, the previous objection is overcome.

      The disposition of the bodies holds the answer. The Governor is indeed buried next to his wife. Her monument identifies her as Elizabeth and her father as one George Darden. The date of her death, on the other hand, is subject to dispute. She either died on 5 June 1818 or 1848, in either case at the age of 83. If the earlier of the two years is credited, it seems implausible that this Elizabeth would have borne the children enumerated at Historical Collections, id, at 50. (She would have been 69 upon the birth of the last child.) However, Austin gives a date of death for her Elizabeth Darden as 5 June 1848 with an obituary being published 22 June 1848. This certainly credits 1848 as the correct way of reading Elizabeth's monument, but defeats the assertion that she was married to someone other than Gov. Heard. Historical Collections likewise transcribes the year of death on the monument as 1848. Additionally, the marriage date most commonly given for George Washington Darden and Martha Burch (Elizabeth's parents) is 1759. Thus, Austin's claim must be considered yet another error.

      Since a number of Heards settled in Wilkes County, Georgia, it seems likely that Susannah was either a niece or a cousin of the governor. At present, the most confident assertion that can be made is that Elizabeth Darden was Susannah Heard's sister-in-law (James Darden being Elizabeth's brother).

    Person ID I4312  Dickinson
    Last Modified 15 Dec 2009 

    Family 1 James Darden,   b. 1774, Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1802, Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 28 years) 
    Children 
    +1. George Washington Darden,   b. 21 Dec 1796, Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 17 Dec 1883, Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years)
     2. Patsy Burch Darden,   b. 1798, Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location
     3. James Heard Darden,   b. 15 Aug 1801, Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 03 Jun 1864, Upshur County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 62 years)
    Last Modified 26 Aug 2009 
    Family ID F1150  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 George Crain,   b. 29 Jul 1775,   d. 24 Mar 1837, Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 61 years) 
    Children 
    +1. Elizabeth Heard Crain,   b. 8 Mar 1805, Wilkes County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 6 May 1857, Pike County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 52 years)  [Birth]
    +2. Spencer C Crain,   b. Abt 1808, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Between 1857-1860, Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 52 years)
    +3. William George Crain,   b. 1812, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1892, Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 80 years)  [Birth]
     4. Stephen G Crain,   b. 1814, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Charles L Crain,   b. 20 Sept 1819, Jasper County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 09 Oct 1862, Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 43 years)
     6. Thomas Lee Crain,   b. 1826, Heard County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [Birth]
    Last Modified 23 Aug 2009 
    Family ID F1148  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsProbate - Mar 1802 - Wilkes County, Georgia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1820 - Monticello, Jasper, Georgia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1830 - Meriwether County, Georgia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1840 - Heard County, Georgia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 28 Jun 1862 - Heard County, Georgia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Darden-Crain Cemetery, Cooksville, Heard, Georgia Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Sources 
    1. [S007837] Headstone, Darden-Crain Cemetery, Cooksville, Heard, Georgia.

    2. [S336290] Darden Family History, Newton Jasper Darden and Leroy W. Tilton, (Washington, D.C.: unknown, 1957; Ancestry.com), 67.

    3. [S022760] 1840 United States Federal Census, Bureau of the Census, (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administratio, 1840n), Census Place: Heard, Georgia; Roll 43; Page: 291.

    4. [S007856] 1850 United States Census, Bureau of the Census, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850), Census Place: District 41, Heard, Georgia; Roll M432_73; Page: 145; Image: 185.

    5. [S014287] 1860 United States Census, Bureau of the Census, (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860), Census Place: Heard, Georgia; Roll M653_127; Page: 664; Image: 5.