The
history of the Register family goes back in antiquity to
England and perhaps Scotland.. The name is found in use as
early as the second decade of the 12th century in England and
rightfully means a registrar, an official who recorded
documents, etc. (Surnames came into general use in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries AD. Names were taken from
several different sources such as occupation, place of
residence and even the "son of " thus John's son
became Johnson. Butcher was one who slaughtered animals for
meat, Fletcher was one who put feathers on arrows, known as
"fletching" and so on.)
Several
variations of spelling of the name is found in England and
Wales. Below is the Register Coat of Arms registered in the
Archives of the International Ancestry Guild. There is also a
Register
Association that family members may join for
fellowship and research.
During
medieval times, the Register family was found in many
locations in the British Isles. It is believed that three
Register brothers immigrated to the New World in about the
mid 18th century. One brother remained in North Carolina one
moved West and became known as the "Lost Tribe" and
one moved South. Descendants of these brothers have been
found in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and many
other states. The City of Stockton, Georgia was originally
known as Registerville and was location for the annual
Register Association Reunion until 1998 when the reunion was moved to Lake
City, FL.The annual meeting and reunion was moved back to Georgia in 2005.
A James Register is listed in the 1830 census of Pike County, Alabama,
born between 1800 and 1805. He is shown with a wife and one child under the
age of five. He is the only Register listed on that census. He is not listed
on the 1840 census. However, there is a Nancy Register listed as head of
household on the 1840 census with a son 5-10 years of age and four other
children. Nancy is also listed on the 1850 census, age 45 years, placing her
birth year as 1805. Four children are listed with Nancy on this census as
follows: Jackson (William), age 18; James (Ashley), age 16; Susan, age 14
and Nancy age 12. The son listed on the 1830/40 census would have been at
least 20 years old and is not so listed. Who was he, what happened to him?
We can only surmise that if he existed he had married and moved away or had
died. This is obviously the family of the James Register shown on the 1830
Pike County census.
James and Nancy Register were born and most likely married in South
Carolina. All their known children are shown as being born in Alabama. Just
when and how they came to Pike County is not known. They may have been part
of a wagon train and traveled along the Federal roads into Georgia with
perhaps a stopover prior to settling in Alabama.
What happened to James Register? Again, it is speculative. Apparently he
was still alive and in Pike County as late as 1837 (daughter Nancy was born
1838). He may have died about that time or he may have left Pike county in
search of land in other parts of the state and then died. Nancy, although
only 35 years old in 1840, did not re-marry as late as the 1850 census. She
is not listed on the 1860 census. We simply do not yet know the answer to
this puzzle.
James Ashley Register, second son of James and Nancy Register was born in
1834, married Rachael
Allen on March 23rd, 1859. Rachael Allen's ancestry is not yet clear however
she may be the daughter of a Stephen and Anna Allen and was born in
Montgomery County, Alabama. The children of James and Rachael are: William
Henry, born November 1st, 1859; James Allen Register, born September 19th,
1861; Joseph Lee Register, born February 5th, 1865 and Thomas Marion, born
October 1st, 1860. James Ashley was a boot and shoemaker as was his brother
William Jackson. He owned land in the Orion area of Pike County. At the
beginning of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Army but was
discharged at Pensacola, Florida shortly after enlisting as being physically
unfit for duty. He returned to farming in Pike County and died there in 1889
apparently from a heart attack while planting some apple trees on the farm. (Photo is
of Rachael Allen, wife of James Ashley Register.)
William
Henry Register, first son of James Ashley & Rachael Register, was born
November 1st, 1859. He married Polly Armintus (Mint) Blackman on June 28th,
1885. Mint was born April 4th, 1865. They had the following children: John
William, Dowling Cossman (Coss), Malisa Mae Belle, Lucille and Willie Henry
(female).
William Henry worked at a cotton gin as a maintenance man. While working
on the gin his arm got caught in the machinery and was torn off. Jim Chancey,
owner of the gin, Jim Lee and Jim Youngblood walked him home where he died
from the accident in September 1899 prior to the birth of his last child,
Willie Henry. He is buried at Mt Gilead Cemetery near Orion in Pike County,
Alabama. No photo available of William Henry.
n
on September 2nd, 1882. Georgia was born August 14th, 1859. Their children
were: Arrie Susan Jane, Lizzie Clem, Marion Walter, John Ashley and Sarah
Rachael.
He next married on December 7th, 1913 to Maude Vann Duke. Maude was born
in 1888. They had the following children: Lois, William Hanford and Norman.
Joseph Lee Register, third son of James Ashley Register was born,
according to his grave marker, in February 1862. However this appears to be
an error as he is shown on the 1870 Pike County census as being five years
old, placing his birth year as 1865. He married Susan Taylor in 1888. Susan
was born sometime after 1870 and most likely about 1872. They had the
following children: James, Annie, Charlie, Archie, Lula, Minnie, Gus, Ida
Lee, Clara and Susie.
Joe Register and his wife Susan began their married life in Pike County.
Most, if not all, their children were born there. It is known that all
children thru Ida were born in Pike. According to an entry in a "diary"
written by Joe Register, the family moved from Pike County to the community
of Heath, Alabama on December 23rd, 1908. Heath is located in Covington
County and is located a few miles North of Andalusia. The diary entry also
states they were living near Dave (James William) and Hixie Blair Aughtman.
However some time after that, they apparently moved to the Columbus, Georgia
area where Joe worked as a night watchman at one of the textile mills in
Columbus. T
heir
daughter, Ida, was working at one
of the mills also. Columbus is where she met and married Buford Blair in
1923. She was 18 years old at the time.
Joseph Lee Register died
February 12th, 1959. He was 94 years old. His obituary and grave marker
state that he was born in 1862 but this is in error. His burial was at Heath with the Reverend Edwin
Patterson officiating. Masonic Rites were held at graveside. The obituary in
the Andalusia Star newspaper listed survivors as: Charles Register,
Horseshoe Beach, Florida, Mrs. Lula Smith, Graceville, Florida, Mrs. Ida
Blair, Brewton, Alabama, Mrs. Clara Windham, Andalusia, Alabama and Mrs.
Susie Little, Andalusia, Alabama.
For more details on the Register and related families, check the Register Family Association web-site located at http://www.jblair29.net/registers2000.html