Southeast Georgia
Non-White Ancestry

"Spanish Princess" Emma

• Spanish Nobility?
  Was Emma Malissie Sophia Ammons of early Wayne County, Georgia really of Spanish Nobility? In Martha Mizell Puckett’s book, “Snow White Sands”, she writes “In the early part of the 1800s there came to the home of Hon. William Ammons (the keeper and tender of Ammon’s Ferry which is situated at the crossing of the Great Satilla river where it turns to flow southward, living on the east banks with his good wife Dicy Lewis Ammons) one dark stormy night a courtly Spanish nobleman and the most beautiful Spanish princess that eyes ever beheld, dressed in the most exquisite Spanish mantilla and the most elaborate Spanish shawl and all other apparel in the same costly styles”. The Spanish couple stayed the night with the Ammons but they and their “beautiful span of fine horses and the handsome carriage” were gone when they woke up the next morning. In fact, they only found a baby in the bed they had been sleeping in (the couple had sneaked the baby into the house). Martha goes into much detail about William Ammons tracking the carriage tracks along the “Old King’s Highway”, now the Post Road, to the Florida line (a very long trip in those days). He asked all the innkeepers along the way whether they had seen the couple. One innkeeper’s wife apparently had seen them and even had witnessed the Princess “milking the milk from her breasts” and grieving over the child left behind. William finally gave up the chase when he found that the couple had crossed the St. Mary’s River into Florida a full 10 hours before. William returned to his home and he and Dicy raised the daughter as their own. They named her Emmaline. She later married Riley Herrin in 1855.
  
  When I first read this story I was very intrigued about this noble Spanish couple and why they were in South Georgia in the early 1800s to start with, much less why they left a baby behind with the Ferryman. But, after reading the rest of Martha’s book I determine that she was quite capable of spinning a yarn or two (or at least continuing one that had been started a long time ago). So, I started wondering why such a story might have been created to start with (although I will allow for the remote possibility that the story is somewhat accurate). I believe it was an explanation as to why Emmaline had a different ethnic look than most other Wiregrass folks. She probably had much darker skin and different features than was the case most of the others. I did a little research and found some Mark and Brands records for old Wayne County that show “Emily Malicia Sophia Ammons, the adopted daughter of John Ammons, Sr and Jemima, 6/7/1848, “formerly in Evans Pendarvis but he has left the country since”.
  

• What is the Pendarvis Family Connection?
  Now, I haven’t done but a little research on the Pendarvis family, but I do know they were definitely not Spanish Nobility. Perhaps Emmaline was somehow a daughter(or a close relative) of Evan Pendarvis of Wayne Co., GA who moved to Louisiana shortly after his marriage in 1830 to Caroline Brown in Leon Co., Florida. Moving to Louisiana could have perhaps qualified Evan as having “left the country” given that timeframe. Pendarvis family researcher Randy Floyd informed me that Evan and Caroline had moved to New Orleans and that he was a carpenter.
  
  Evan Pendarvis was son of Joseph Pendarvis and brother of Caleb and they migrated to Wayne County, Georgia, between 1810 and 1830. Evan’s father Joseph was listed as Free, but Non-White in the 1810 Colleton County, South Carolina census. This was due to Joseph (and perhaps his wife Rachel also) being a descendant of Joseph Pendarvis (1675-1735) and his mistress Parthenia, who was African. See the two sites mentioned in my previous posting for more information on this Pendarvis family. Joseph was among the last of these S.C. Pendarvis’ to be listed as Non-White in the census. This family, who is now considered white,  had become white again by the 1800s through intermarriage with other white folks. Joseph and/or wife Rachel must have had features to cause the census taker to note them as Non-White. The 1830 Wayne County, Georgia census shows Joseph Pendarvis as being white. (I personally believe the mulatto population (black/white/Native American/other mix)  was not accurately noted in the early Southeast Georgia census’, perhaps because there was such a push for people to settle this newly opened frontier that the government wanted as a buffer to Spanish Florida – just my opinion).
  
  The 1830 Wayne Co., GA census shows only one son in the Joseph Pendarvis household (I'm sure it was Caleb, since Evan had married Caroline Brown in Leon County, Florida in 1830).
  
  The 1840 Wayne County, Georgia census shows Joseph and Caleb Pendarvis but Evan was still elsewhere.
  
  In 1847, Joseph Pendarvis died in Wayne County, Georgia.
  
  John Ammons’ will dated 11/26/1849, in addition to his other children, bequeathed to “a foundling I have reared, Emma Malissie Sophia by name”.
  
  The 1850 Wayne County, Georgia census shows John and Jemima Ammons (both aged 70) with son William (age 38), Emma (age 10), Stacy Causey (daughter, age 38). I'm not sure why Martha Puckett thought son William had adopted and raised Emma. She also thought William was married to Dicy Lewis whereas my records show William's brother John as married to Dicy Lewis in 1856. William married Sloca Campbell in 1854.
  
  One interesting thing is that back in the 1820 Wayne County, Georgia census, Sherod Sheffield's household contained one "free colored male" 26 to 44 years old.   Shirard's wife was Jane Ammons (born 1805), niece of John Ammons, Sr. and Jemima (who adopted Emma). I have no idea who the free colored male was or what circumstances caused him to be in Sherod's household. Five slaves were also listed: 1 male under 16, 1 male 45+, 1 female 26-44.
  
  In August 1854, records show that Evan Pendarvis of the state of Louisiana sold his Wayne County, Georgia property to Caleb Pendarvis of Wayne County, Georgia.
  
  Although she is referred to in some records as having officially taken the Ammons surname after her adoption, I have seen genealogies showing her with a last name of Delispine and Dekusoube but do not know the source of those names.
  
  See Non-White discussions of the Pendarvis family at http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Neal_Peters.htm            
  and http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/
  

• Could Emma have been MINORCAN?
  If Emma really were of Spanish descent, could she have been of the Minorcan group of St. Augustine and New Smyrna, Florida? Although they weren't considered "nobility", they actually arrived in the middle 1700s as indentured servants, some of them were Spanish. I could see a scenario where travel took place between St. Augustine and Georgia along the early Kings Highway (Post Road) route. Perhaps a Spanish Minorcan family could have been travelling through Wayne County wearing traditional Spanish clothing and indeed encountered the Ammons family at their Satilla River ferry. I can't say why they would have abandoned Emma there as a baby. I guess there could be any number of scenarios where this might have taken place.
  I have read that the Savalla/Savally family of McIntosh County were "said to be" Minorcan. http://home.att.net/~mmevans/ shows the Pacetti family of Camden Co., GA and St. Augustine, Fl as Minorcan as well as http://www.camdencounty.org/ebooks/camden_years.html . I would love to know more about any families of Southeast Georgia who had a Minorcan background.
  
  See http://menorcansociety.com/ and  http://www.minorcanfamily.com