WILLIAM RICHMOND WILEY, born April 25, 1811 near Kingston, Roane County, Tennessee, was the youngest son of Thomas Wiley and Tabitha Noel.[1] Around 1823, William moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia near Lawrenceville with his parents, siblings, and other extended family members. The Thomas Wiley family can be found in the census of 1830 listed near Tabitha's father, James Noel.[5] William married MARTHA HAMMETT AUTRY, daughter of EDWARD AUTRY and MARY HAMMETT on May 20, 1835.[2]

            William R. Wiley of the 404th District of Gwinnett County, Georgia participated in the 1832 Gold Lottery and on the 18th of December 1838 was granted a tract of land consisting of 40 acres in Section 2, District 2, in what was then Cherokee County, Georgia, but was later divided up into several counties.[3,4]  His father, Thomas, and his oldest brother, James Noel Wiley, moved with him, while his other brothers, John and Alex, moved west to Alabama. William is listed in the 1840 Forsyth County, Georgia census with his wife and son living near his wife's brother, Ransom Autry, and her mother, Mary Autry, and near his father, Thomas.[6]  He is listed on the 1845 Forsyth County, GA tax list and appears again in the 1850 Forsyth County census with his wife, Martha, children Ransom A., Mary E., and Thomas A., and his mother-in-law, Mary Autry. [7]

            In 1856, William R. Wiley moved westward to Cherokee County, Alabama and entered a tract of land consisting of almost 80 acres in Sections thirty-one and thirty-two in Township eleven, Range nine that was granted on January 1, 1859.[10]  He appears in the 1860 Cherokee County, Alabama census with his three children and an ophaned niece and nephew, but his wife, Martha, is not listed with them.[8] Instead, she appears on the 1860 Mortality Schedules for Cherokee County. The date of death is given as November, 1859, her age 49, and cause of death apoplexy [stroke]. She is reportedly buried in Gnatville, Cherokee County, Alabama but no marker has been found.

            In the 1870 census of Cherokee County, Alabama, William appears in the household of his daughter Mary Elizabeth and her husband, George Washington Lewis Smith. His occupation is listed as retired farmer. Since the value of his real estate is considerably lower than in the 1860 census ($250 versus $1200) and the value of his personal property is correspondingly higher ($1300 versus $400), one could conclude that he has sold most of his land for some reason, possibly ill health, and moved in with his daughter. [9] His two sons, Ransom and Thomas, will leave for Texas later that year on November 5, 1870, perhaps taking their share of their inheritance with them with which to buy land and start a new life. Around 1872, William moved with his daughter's family to Haywood County, Tennessee, where George was employed as an overseer on a large plantation owned by the Bond family.[11]  William Richmond Wiley died the following year on 16 September, 1873 [2] in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee, and is reportedly buried in nearby Nutbush, Tennessee.[11]  Not long after, the owner of the Bond plantation also died and the property was divided up among his children. The Smith family returned to Cherokee County, Alabama in 1879.[11]

      Children of William Richmond Wiley andMartha Hammett Autry are:

              i. RANSOM ALEXANDER WILEY,b. May 05, 1836, Gwinnett County, GA; d. January 06, 1928, Saint Jo,
                   Montague Co., TX m. LOUISA EVALINE NEIGHBORS August 11, 1865, daughter of BENJAMIN
                   NEIGHBORS/NABORS and CYNTHIA PARSONS.

               ii. MARY ELIZABETH TABITHA WILEY, b. December 23, 1844, Forsyth Co., GA; d. May 05, 1917,
                   Birmingham, AL  m. GEORGE WASHINGTON LEWIS SMITH  December 20, 1868 in Cherokee Co., AL,
                  son of ALFORD SMITH and NANCY SMITH..

     iii. THOMAS AUTRY WILEY, b. January 14, 1850, Forsyth Co., GA; d. March 31, 1947, Saint Jo, Montague
          Co., TX m. (1) MARY LECROY.  He married (2) NANCY ANN ELIZABETH SMITH October 20, 1870
           in Centre, Cherokee Co., AL, daughter of ALFORD SMITH AND NANCY SMITH.
 

Sources:

        1.    McComb-Noel-Wiley Bible owned by Mr. Sidney Quin Noel (now deceased) of Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
                 Printed in 1802, purchased in Kingston, TN in 1804 by Jacob Shaw McComb.
        2.    Autry/Wiley/Smith Bible (cover page missing) in the possession of Jim Minor, Sylacauga, Alabama.
        3.    Cherokee County, GA Lottery Plat, Section 2, District 2, p. 417, #1251, Reel #2-2261, Georgia
                 State Archives.
        4.    Cherokee County, GA Land Records, Section 2, District 2, p. 919, Reel #2-2353, Georgia State Archives.
        5.    1830 Census of Gwinnett County, Georgia, Microfilm Publication M19, roll 17, p. 345
        6.    1840 Census of Forsyth County, Georgia, Microfilm Publication M704, roll 41, p. 270
        7.    1850 Census of Forsyth County, Georgia, Microfilm Publication M432, roll 69, p. 219
        8.    1860 Census of Cherokee County, Alabama, Microfilm Publication M653, roll 5, p. 366
        9.    1870 Census of Cherokee County, Alabama, Microfilm Publication M593, roll 7, p. 258
      10.    Cherokee County, Alabama Land Enty File, Certificate #20044, Box 873, National Archives, Washington
                  D.C.
      11.    Broderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #3479, Date of Import: Aug 17, 1997 (Research of Shawn Smith)

 

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