Alfred Vickers of Gadsden County, Florida
Alfred Vickers was born in Georgia, August 12, 1815, according to his
Bounty Land and Pension Application papers. Census records from 1840
to 1880 indicate he was born anywhere from 1812 to 1820. However, the
1900 census specifically asked the year born, and he gave 1814. He was a
son of Joshua and Martha “Patsy” Vickers. It is likely that Alfred’s birth
place was Twiggs County, Georgia, as Joshua was on the 1818 Twiggs
County Tax Digest and drew land as a resident of Twiggs County in the
1820 Land Lottery.
The Vickers family moved from Georgia to Henry County, Alabama,
before 1823, and from there to Leon County, Florida, by 1825. George Oma
Vickers, a grandson of Alfred Vickers, stated in an 1975 interview, that he
often heard the story from his father, William Lafayette Vickers, of his
Grandfather Alfred’s trip from Alabama to Florida. Alfred was a young boy
who walked most of the way helping herd the livestock. They came in a
wagon train and it took some time for them to arrive in Leon County.
Alfred Vickers married Matilda Brady around 1834. In 1838, Alfred
was in the Florida Indian War, for which he received 40 acres of land in
1855. (See his Bounty Land papers)
In an October 1845 letter from Ezekiel Vickers to his brother Harris
Vickers in Sabine County, Texas, Ezekiel gives information about Alfred,
their brother, and then goes on to name Alfred’s six children: Delia, Eveline,
Marthy Ann, Sarah Ann, Eason (Ephraim) and Arabella. More children
were born to this family, as will be shown by census records.
In Ezekiel’s 1845 letter he stated that “Mother and Alford” (Alfred)
were on the place his Mother got for temp. It is not known what he meant
by “temp” unless it was a place they rented.
In the 1845 first statewide election, Alfred voted at the house of Will
Johnson. William Johnson’s early land was in the E1/2 of NE1/4, Section
29 T2NR2W, which he purchased 10 January 1827. This land was in the
China Hill area and was the polling place where other Vickers men voted.
1840 Gadsden CensusAlfred Vickers- 1 male 20 and under 30
Females-3 under 5, 1 -20 and under 30
1850 Gadsden Census-7th District
Alfred Vickers
35 farmer
Matilda
30
Delilah
14
Eveline
10
Martha
9
Ephraim
8
Sarah
6
Arabella
4
John
3
Alfred
1
Ga (birth date would be 1815)
“
Fl
“
“
“ (birth date would be 1841)
“
“
“
“
1860 Gadsden Census
Alfred Vickers
40
Matilda
35
Sarah
17
Ephraim
16
Arabella
13
Joshua
7
Lafayette
3
Alfred
Brady
13
Ga (birth date would be 1820)
GA
FL
FL(birth date would be 1841)
FL
FL
FL
FL
1870 Gadsden Census
Alfred Vickers
61
Matilda
59
Arabella
19
Joshua
14
Lafayt
10
Martha
90
Ga (birth date would be 1809)
NC
Fl
FL
FL
1880 Gadsden Census
Alfred Vickers
Matilda
Arabella
Fayett
68
66
28
21
Birthplace
self, father, mother
Ga Ga Ga (birth date =1812)
NC Ga Ga
Fl Ga
NC
1900 Gadsden Census- 6-18-1900
Alfred Vickers
B. 8-1814 85 wid
Martha A. Johnson (dau) 1860 40 wid
(mother of 7-2 living)
Birthplace
self, father, mother
Ga
Ga Ga
Fl
Ga Ga
As can be seen by the census records, ages varied from time to time.
Ephraim’s Civil War papers give his birth year as 1838. Two of Alfred’s
daughters buried in the Vickers cemetery show birth dates of 1835, but not
the same month and day.
In interviews in 1975, two of Alfred’s grandchildren, George Oma Vickers
and Mrs. Tillie Durden, said that their grandparents were buried in the
Vickers Cemetery near their home place. It is assumed that Alfred’s mother
Martha “Patsy” Vickers is also buried in the Vickers Cemetery as she was
shown on the 1870 census in Alfred’s household.
Alfred Vickers was a good farmer, a veteran of the Indian War, and a
Gadsden County pioneer. There are numerous descendants of this family
still living in Gadsden County.