What Became of Robert Hutson of Cherokee County, Georgia?

My 3x-great-grandparents, Robert Hutson and Amanda Davis, were last known to be living in Cherokee County, Georgia, in 1860. Also living with them were assumed children: Thomas, Asberry, Peter, and Margarett. These children were 13 years old and younger. My 2x-great-grandfather, Peter, was seven.[1] The 1860 census was the last enumeration I have found for Robert, his wife, and any of his children. They may be in the 1870 and 1880 censuses under completely misspelled or garbled names.

So, I have no death date for Robert or for Amanda. I have another child for them: Victoria S., who was born in 1863. She married J. B. Williams in Hunt County, Texas, in 1881.[2] Her daughter, Della, named her parents Bob Huston and Amanda Davis.[3] Della was born in 1885 and likely did not know her grandparents, which may explain the misspelling of her grandfather’s surname.[4]

Research Ideas
What might be the next steps to locate what became of Robert Hutson? Below are some analyses and possible records to search next.

He was living in Cherokee County, Georgia, in 1860, specifically in Salacoa. The census date was recorded as 8 August. A week or so earlier, on 28 July, he sold a lot in the 23rd District and 2nd Section of Cherokee County to Peter Hutson for $15. It was recorded on 18 Aug 1860.[5] His son, Peter, was too young to purchase land. This Peter must be the Peter Hutson enumerated immediately above Robert. In the household, besides the 59-year-old Peter, were "Dredy," aged 67, and Alice, aged 15.

1. Use full-text search at FamilySearch to search for any Hutson/Huston/Hudson persons in Cherokee County, Georgia.

2. Check the FamilySearch catalog to search for the availability of other land, tax, and probate records in Cherokee County that may not be part of the full-text search, particularly if some records are locked from home but available at a FamilySearch Center.

3. Check neighboring counties for the same items as above.

4. Search in the 1870 census for the 1860 neighbors of Robert. Perhaps that will give a clue, or they may continue as neighbors but were indexed incorrectly.

From 1861 to 1865, the U.S. Civil War caused men to enlist and families to migrate.

3. Check for enlistment records for units forming in Cherokee County and neighboring counties. Robert was 39 years old in 1860. It is possible that he enlisted, even if for a short time.

4. Civil War pension files for Confederate soldiers were issued by the states where they lived at the time of the application. I don’t know where he or his wife lived after 1860, so this will have to wait until I have more information. Most likely, he and Amanda had died before states began paying out pensions.

5. Freedman’s Bureau records could be searched. Poor whites were included with claims due to indigency.

His children ended up in Arkansas (Richard Alexander and Robert Asberry) and Texas (Peter H and Victoria S).  Children Thomas and Margaret are also missing from future records.

      6. Search 1870 census records for them. Perhaps their parents are in the household or living nearby.

      7. Search newspaper sites for possible Hutson/Huston/Hudson surnames, starting with Alexander and Asberry names, as they are less common than Peter, Thomas, Margaret, and Robert.

Some Success!
A full-text search for Hutson in Georgia records brought up a Freedman’s Bureau record. On 22 October 1866, at Canton, Cherokee Co, Georgia, Robert Hutson and family requested from the agent, W.R.D. Moss, transportation. The other families also asking for transportation were Irby Harris, Mary Wright, Henry Lewis, Martha Priest, John D Rodgers, Peter Hutson, and the black family, Lucy Vernon.[6] This is just the register of the letters, not the actual letter.

“Registers of Letters Received,” v. 1, Oct 1865-Nov. 1866, p. 230, received 22 Oct 1866, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1869, roll 11 

Two points to make immediately.

• One, all these families were indigent. They did not have the funds to move to a new location and perhaps, could not stay where they were. I should check the county history to learn what it was like immediately after the war ended.

• Two, they may have been transported somewhere together, so they make a FAN club (friends, neighbors, and associates). Not only Robert Hutson, but also a Peter Hutson, probably the same Peter to whom Robert sold land in 1860.

Now I know he was alive in 1866. What I need to find now is where he traveled to.

#52Ancestors: Week 39: Disappeared

This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] 1860 U.S. census, Cherokee Co, Georgia, Sallocoa, p. 916, dwelling 1840, family 1950, Robert Hutson, citing M653, roll 116.

[2] "Texas, Select County Marriage Records, 1837-2015," digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com), Hunt County > 1858-1965 > image 16911, Williams to Hutson, 1881.

[3] "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1983324 ); citing Texas Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1942, Hunt Co, no. 3206, Mrs. Victoria Williams.

[4] For Della’s birth: Find A Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8930712/della_mae-vaden), memorial 8930712, Della Mae Williams Vaden, Mount Carmel Cemetery, Wolfe City, Hunt Co, Texas; tombstone photo by Gena Forsyth.

[5] Cherokee Co, Georgia, deeds, bk R, p. 137-38, Robert Hutson to Peter Hutson, 1860, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-BQH5 : accessed 22 Sep 2025); IGN 008564082, image 84-85 of 672.

[6] “Registers of Letters Received,” v. 1, Oct 1865-Nov. 1866, p. 230, received 22 Oct 1866, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1869, roll 11 (of 36 rolls), NARA, microfilm no. 798, viewed at, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-P3NN-P9GK-S); IGN 008810260, image 108 of 434.

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