Name: Reverand Thomas BATTLE
Sex: Male
Father: Captain William BATTLE (1758-DEC 1802)
Mother: Mary Ann WILLIAMS (abt 1768-5 SEP 1815)

Individual Facts
Birth 14 AUG 1786 in Nash County, NC
Tax Digest 1817 in Warren County, GA (age 31)
Tax Digest 1818 in Warren County, GA (age 32)
Census 1820 in Warren County, GA (age 34)
Tax Digest 1828 in Monroe County, GA (age 42)
Census 1830 in Monroe County, GA (age 44)
Misc a delegate to the State Rights Convention (15 JUN 1835) (age 48)
Census 1840 in Monroe County, GA (age 54)
Census 1850 in Monroe County, GA (age 64)
Census 1860 in Monroe County, GA (age 74)
Misc named as heir of Robert Augustus Battle (JAN 1861) (age 74)
Census 1870 in Monroe County, GA (age 84)
Will 7 JUN 1870 in Monroe County, GA (age 83)
Census 1880 in Monroe County, GA (age 94)
Death 16 MAY 1883 in Monroe County, GA (age 96)
Burial in Battle Cemetery, Monroe County, GA

Marriages/Children
1. Mary (Polly) BAKER
Marriage 17 APR 1808 in Warren County, GA (age 21)
Children Calvin Williams BATTLE (22 JUN 1812-11 MAR 1877)

Martha Elizabeth BATTLE (2 AUG 1814-14 AUG 1895)

Dr. Thomas William BATTLE (7 JUL 1816-17 JUN 1879)

Dr. Henry Luther BATTLE (16 JUN 1818-30 APR 1858)

Judge Nicholas William BATTLE (11 MAY 1820-23 AUG 1905)

Mary Ann BATTLE (12 SEP 1821-25 MAY 1878)

Nancy Caroline BATTLE (26 MAR 1823-7 SEP 1850)

Josephine Harris BATTLE (20 JUL 1824-15 FEB 1897)

John William BATTLE (10 APR 1826-12 SEP 1890)

James Branham BATTLE (2 SEP 1828-15 NOV 1903)

Antoinette (Nettie) Thomas BATTLE (19 FEB 1830-4 SEP 1920)

Louisa Marion (Queen) BATTLE (26 AUG 1834-23 MAY 1895)

Robert Augustus BATTLE (10 FEB 1840-18 DEC 1860)

Notes
Birth1,2,3:
Tax Digest4: Found in Hurt's District (#156) of Warren County, GA.
Tax Digest5: The 1818 Tax Digest for Warren County, Georgia shows Thomas Battle as owning 350 acres of land in Warren County and 29 slaves. He paid taxes in the amount of $10.31. He was also listed as paying taxes on 2 pleasure wheels (a buggy).
Census6: Only one Thomas Battle was listed for the whole state of Georgia.
Tax Digest7: The 1828 Tax Digest of Monroe County, GA listed Thomas Battle as owning several tracts of land. Two tracts were in Monroe County, GA and contained 1,168 acres each and lay in Districts 12 & 13 along the Tobesofkee Creek adjacent to the land of Mr. Brantley. The third tract of land mentioned was 160 acres in District 11 of Cherokee County, GA. Thomas Battle was also listed as paying taxes on 4 wheels.
Census8:
Misc9: The following appeared in the Southern Recorder, Milledgeville, Georgia, on June 15, 1835: "The State Rights Convention assembled this day in the Representative Chamber, at 10 o'clock, in the forenoon, for the purpose of nominating a cnadidate to be supported by the party, for the Office of Governor of the Sate of Georgia, and a candidate to fille the existing vacancy in the Representative Branch of the Congress of the United States; and to express the views of the State Rights Party of Georgia, in respect to the approaching election of President of the United States. On motion, Maj. Thomas Mitchell was called to the chair. The folliwng delegates appeared and took their seats, viz:" named for Monroe County, Thomas Battle and Stewart County, Needham R. Bryan.
Census10:
Census11: Listed in the household are Thomas Battle, age 64, Polly Battle, age 50, Robert Battle, age 18, and Louisa Battle, age 16.
Census12:

In 1860 the 8th Georgia Agricultural Census was taken. Thomas Battle is listed on page 3, person #1 for Monroe County, Georgia. This is noted as being in the Forsyth Post Office district. This census account for the livestock and produce rainsed for the year ending June 1, 1860. The following livestock and produce are listed for Thomas Battle:

1000 acres of improved land

1000 acres of unimproved land

$16,000 vale of farm in cash

$600 value of fam implements and machinery

3 horses

12 asses or mules

5 milch cows

4 working oxen

40 other cows

200 swine

$2500 value of livestock

4500 bushels of Indian corn

150 bushels of wheat

125 bales of ginned cotton (400 lbs. each)

500 bushels of peas and beans

25 bushels of Irish potatoes

1000 bushels of sweet patotoes

$25 value of orchard products

200 lbs. of butter

20,000 lbs. of fodder

50 lbs. of honey

$1000 value of animals slaughtered

Misc13:
Census14: Listed in the household are: 1) Thomas Battle, age 84, male, farmer, value of real estate equals $7,000, value of personal estate equals $3,000, born in North Carolina; 2) James Leary, age 41, male, traveling agent, born in Georgia; 3) Antoinette Leary, age 40, female, keeping house, born in Georgia; 4) Fanny Leary, age 16, female, student, attended school within the year, born in Georgia; and, 5) Eugenia Leary, age 14, female, student, attended school within the year, born in Georgia.
Will15: Thomas Battle's will was probated on June 4, 1883. Alexander M. Speer, one of the executors, petitioned for probation on May 19, 1883 and it was granted by the next session of the Monroe County court. The petition for probation reads as follows. "The petition of Alex M. Speer, who is one of the nominated executors of the last will and testament of Thomas Battle, late of said county deceased, comes and propounds here the said paper as the said last will and testament of said deceased and offers the same for probate upon the oaths of the surviving subsanding witnesses thereto, and prays that the same mae be admitted to probaty and that at the regular June term 1883 of this cout, the same may by the judgement of theis court be duly admitted to record and that letters testamentary may issue to the petitioner and your petitioner will ever pray." Signed May 19, 1883 by Alex M. Speer, nominated executor.

The will reads as follows.

"In the name of God, Amen. I, Thomas Battle, being though advanced in years, of sound and disposing mind and memory do make, execute, publish and declare this as my last will and testament, hereby revoking all others heretofore made by me.

Item 1st - I desire my body to be buried in the family burial ground in a decent and christian manner, commending my Soul to the mercy of God through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Item 2nd - Having been in my life, blessed with some means and having at various times, on different occasions made gifts or advancements to my children - my will is that none of them should be called to account for any gifts or advancements made to them in the final division of my estate as is hereinafter provided for - all of said advancemnts I wish to be regarded as having been made equally and are not to be estimated in the division contemplated under this will.

Item 3rd - All my estate of every kind an character whether real, personal or mixed, it is my will and desire that all that is necessary for the purposes of a division be sold and the proceeds thereof as well as every other of every kind and character be divided equally among my children and representattives of children share and share alike; the representatives of children to have the share or portion to which their parents would have received if alive.

Item 4th - For the purposes of executing this my last will and testament I hereby nominate and appoint my son, Calvin W. Battle and my son-in-law, Alexander M. Speer, executors of this my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal on this the seventh day of June 1870.

Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said Thomas Battle to be his last will and testament, he signing the same in our presence and we attesting the same at his request in his presence and in presence of each other." Signed by Thomas Battle in the presence of John Howard, Josph Gray, and Thomas J. Fletcher.
Census16: Thomas Battle is found in the 1880 Monroe County, Georgia census, page 19, household number 181/181. There are five people in the household. They are: 1) Thomas Battle, white male, age 93, widower, farmer, born in North Carolina, both parents born in North Carolina; 2) Louisa M. Simmons, white female, age 43, daughter, widow, keeping house, born in Geogia, both parents born in North Carolina; 3) Allan J. Simmons, white male, age 13, grandson, single, at home, born in Georgia, both parents born in Georgia; 4) Wright Simmons, white male, age 10, grandson, single, at home, born in Georgia, both parents born in Georgia; 5) Taylor Mack, black male, age 55, servant, married, domestic servant, could not read or write, born in Georgia.
Death17,18,19: His tombstone states that he lived 96 years, 9 months, and 2 days.

The following obituary comes from the May 30, 1883, issue of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate: "The recent death of Rev. Thomas Battle of Monroe county removes one who, in some respects, was the most notable citizen of Georgia. Mr. Battle was born in North Carolina on the 14th of August, 1786. He moved to Warren county when seventeen years old. He joined the Methodist Church in 1819, and at the time of his death was the oldest preacher of that denomination in the United States. He was a skillful farmer, and his old-fashioned country home in Monroe county will long be remembered by those who enjoyed its hospitality. Mr. Battle lived under the administration of every President of the United States, and his descendants number four hundred, three of them being grandchildren of his grandchildren."
Burial: The Battle family cemeter is located near the junction of Hill and King roads in Monroe County. Directions: from Macon, take Hwy 41N, past Davis Mineral (rock quary) turn right on HIll Road (a paved road). Go to the end of the pavement, this is the junction of Hill Road and King Road. Bear to the left, go pasted the barn and silo on the right, and take the dirt road which forks to the right. The cemetery is located about 1/4 mile on the left. It is a large cemetery surrounded by a low stone wall.
General20: The following is taken from Lynwood Deal Jordan, Sr.'s book, The Descendants of Matthew Battle: England to Virginia, 1647. A Collection of Family Records, Genealogical and Historical. "Thomas Battle was a Methodist Minister who was born in North Carolina. He left his home in Nash County, NC when he was about 18 years old and went to Warren County, Georgia in 1803. He married Mary Baker in Warren County in 1808. They moved to Jefferson County, Alabama in 1823 but moved back to Georgia in 1825. They first lived in Forsyth County until 1830 when they moved to Monroe County where he lived until his death. Thomas Battle served as sheriff of Warren County, Georgia: state Senator from Monroe County. He was licensed as a Methodist minister in 1833 although he had been preaching since 1820. He was the oldest preacher in the United States at the time of his death."

Sources
1. Census Record. 1870 Monroe County, GA Census, p. 231.
2. Tombstone. Battle Cemetery, near intersection of King Road and Hill Road off Hwy 41 near Smarr in Monroe County, GA.
3. Mrs. Mae Hill Purce. Monroe County Cemeteries, Washington Memorial Library, Macon, GA. p. 3.
4. An Index to Georgia Tax Digests 1814-1817, Vol. V. R.J. Taylor, Jr., Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia (Printed by the Reprint Company, Publishers, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1986). p. 7.
5. Ruth Blair: State Historian and Director. Some Early Tax Digests of Georgia. Georgia Department of Archives and History, 1926 (Mary Vinson Library, Milledgeville, GA). p. 248.
6. Census Record. 1820 Georgia Census Index, p. 9.
7. Monroe County, GA 1828 Tax Digest, p. 152.
8. Census Record. 1830 Monroe County, GA Census Index, p. 225.
9. Tad Evans. Milledgeville, Georgia, Newspaper Clippings (Soughtern Recorder). Feb. 1996. Vol. III, 1833-1835, p. 328-331.
10. Census Record. 1840 Monroe County, GA Census Index, p. 239.
11. Ibid. 1850 Monroe County, GA Census, household # 431.
12. Ibid. 1860, 8th. Georgia Agricultural Census for Monroe County, GA, p. 3, person #1.
13. Minutes, Court of Ordinary, Book C-1, 1858-1865, p. 108-109.
14. Census Record. 1870 Monroe County, GA Census, p. 231.
15. Will Book. Monroe County Will Book D, pages 140-142.
16. Census Record. 1880 Monroe County, Georgia Census, p. 19, household # 181/181.
17. Tombstone. Battle Cemetery near the intersection of King Road and Hill Road off Hwy 41 near Smarr in Monroe County, GA.
18. Mrs. Mae Hill Purce. Monroe County Cemeteries, Washington Memorial Library, Macon, GA. p. 3.
19. Wesleyan Christian Advocate. May 30, 1883 issue.
20. Lynwood Deal Jordan, Sr.. The Descendants of Matthew Battle: England to Virginia 1647. A Collection of Family Records, Genealogical and Historical. (An undocumented collection of family records.). Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Co., Publishers, 1992. p. 115.