Wildes / Wildes of southeast Georgia

INFORMATION CONCERNING THE WILDES/WILDS FAMILY

Researched and Compiled in 1986 by Carolyn Wildes and family

Transcribed in April 2000 by Tara Wildes from document originally printed by
Brantley Printing Company
1907 Brunel Street Waycross, GA 31501

September 17, 1986

Dear Hazel,

            We are submitting information about Maximillan Wildes, which we researched as well as we could; and as a family, we find the results interesting.

            We are not questioning anything that has been published, but there seems to be another version as to how Maximillan got to Georgia and where he came from. This version is what we as a family attempted to research. Also, much credit goes to James Wildes *(see page three) for encouraging us in our research and offering suggestions and to Edward Sharum *(see page three) for bringing us this letter containing the other version to our attention at last year’s reunion.

            In determining whether this letter was true, we tried to find out if the writer Richard H. Wilde was real (he was) and if Samuel Sumner Wilde was what the letter made him out to be (he was) and if he did have a son named James whom he disowned. While we have not been able to determine, thus far, whether he disowned a son named James, we have discovered that Samuel Sumner Wilde did have one extra young male living in his household in Maine during 1800 and 1810 when the U.S. Census was taken (We checked the census figures against the list of his children and their birthdates contained in the vital records for Maine.)

            Also, we tried to determine if the writer of the letter did have a warehouse in Savannah. We have not been able to verify yet whether he did or did not.

            We are submitting this report to you as an officer in the Wildes/Wilds Family Association, and we give the association permission to make copies or publish the information. Especially we hope our family members will be encouraged to conduct their own research –, as we will continue to do.

            It is our desire to know whatever is the truth about this matter.

                                                            Sincerely,
                                                            (Signed)
                                                            Lawrence J. Wildes, Sr.
                                                            (Signed)
                                                            Carolyn Wildes

Identification of names with an asterisk (*):
Hazel is Hazel Wildes Mancil, a descendant of John, Alexander Flournoy Wildes, and Alexander Chesteen Wildes.

James is James Franklin Wildes, a descendant of John, Alexander Flournoy Wildes, Alexander Chesteen Wildes, and Milton Zorphus Wildes.

Edward Sharum is a descendant of Reuben, Cuyler Walter Wilds, and Lilla Etta Serena Wilds.

Calvin Benny Wilds is a descendant of Reuben, Cuyler Walter Wildes, and Edward Walter Wilds.

Lawrence is Lawrence James Wildes, a descendant of John, Alexander Flournoy Wildes, and James Maximillan Wildes.

Carolyn is a descendant of John, Alexander Flournoy Wildes, James Maximillan Wildes and Lawrence James Wildes.

Four sons of Maximillan Wildes escaped in 1838 from the last Indian Massacre in Georgia. Their names were Reuben, Jesse, James and John.

WHICH ACCOUNT IS TRUE?
A. Was Maximillan Wildes a teenage stowaway from Scotland?

For Against

Our family history (1964 and 1984) says he was. It has not been verified through any historical records that he was.

B. Was Maximillan (or Maxey Millan) Wildes actually James Wilde, who moved to Georgia from Maine or Massachusetts with his bride after being disowned by his father Samuel Sumner Wilde for marrying “beneath him”?

For Against

In both the 1800 and 1810 U.S. Census in Maine, one extra young male is listed in the house of Samuel Smuner Wildes. (I checked the census figures against his list of children and their birthdates in the vital records.) I have not been able to verify whether a James Wilde was married in Maine of massachustets, and I have not been able to verify whether Samuel Sumner Wilde disowned a son named James.

INTRODUCTION
            Last year when I attended this reunion, I met Edward Sharum and his mother, the former Lilla Etta Serena Wilds. Edward shared with me a letter, the contents of which I have researched and attempted to verify during this past year.

            The purpose of this presentation is to present the facts I have found so far so that you may draw your own conclusions – and do your own research - concerning this different version of where our ancestor Maximillan Wildes came from.

SCOTTISH ACCOUNT

            Many of us have heard from our parents and read in our family history that Maximillan Wildes came to the United States from Scotland as a stowaway on a boat around 1800. I never heard anything else about his parents or whether he had any brothers or sisters.

            From our family history, we also have learned that Maximillan Wildes joined “a Scotch settlement in Montgomery county, a part of which was set aside to Tattnall county in 1801”, according to an article published on page 47 of Descendants of Maximillan Wildes of Scotland and Georgia, Updated 1984 compiled by Mrs. Willis (Hazel Wildes) Mancil and published by Brantley Printing Company, 1907 Brunel Street, Waycross, Georgia 31501. “He learned of cheap lands in Appling county and, together with Willis Cason, William Guy, Elijah Mattox and others from Tattnall county, located on the north side of the Altamaha River, which was called ‘The White Settlement,’”according to this same article. “He moved later on the ‘Red Side’ of the Altamaha (the Indian side,) where he joined a small settlement of Tattnall county contemporaries. This land called the ‘Red Side’ of the Altamaha afterwards was organized into the county of Ware.” Also, we learned from this article that Maximillan Wildes “was married to Miss Elizabeth Wilkerson during the year of 1809.”

            In the research I have done at both the Federal Archives and Record Center in East Point, Georgia, and at the Georgia Archives in Atlanta, I have not been able to find any records to verify these statements. For example, at the Federal Archives and Record Center, I found a book titled Federal Naturalization Oaths for both Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, for 1790b through 1860. The list of names contained in the book came from the Federal Court Records, District of Georgia, Savannah. I could not find a listing for a “Wilde” or a “Wildes” or any name close to that spelling.

            In the Name Catalog at the Georgia Archives, I did find this listing:

                        Maxey M. Wildes
                        Lieutenant
                        Ware County
                        Jan. 25, 1827 – March 18, 1828
                        (W.R., 1808-1829, p. 179)

            But I have not been able to find any record that Maximillan (or Maxey M.) Wildes lived in Savannah or that he resided in Tattnall County before he and his family moved to the area that became Ware County.

            I also could not find any marriage record of our ancestor to Elizabeth Wilkerson in the Marriage Records Abstracts 1805-1852, Chatham County, Georgia, at the Georgia Archives. If he had lived as a young teen in Savannah and moved from there into the interior of Georgia, I thought it might be possible that he married Elizabeth Wilkerson in Chatham County. I also could not find a record in case he married her in Tattnall County before he moved to the Ware County area.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT

            The next three pages consist of the letter shown to me by Edward Sharum at the reunion last year.

Savannah, Georgia
Dec. 9, 1820
The Honorable Samuel Sumner Wilde,
Massachusetts, Supreme Court Judge
Dear Sam,

            I do not have to tell you that since our childhood together, I have always placed a high value on our dear longlasting friendship. But with this missive I realize I might be placing that friendship in jeopardy. I sincerely hope not!

            Be that as it may be! For I can no longer in good conscience, keep my peace in regard to your having disowned your son, James.

            I have not; as per his request; in our past correspondences, apprized you of the fact, that he and his wife Etta, have; for almost three years now, been staying here with me and my family.

            He has been assisting me with the work at the warehouse in order to save enough money to continue on their intended journey to lay claim to land here in Georgia. Supplement (James Wilde who was an officer in the Seminole War (1815)? In Florida and Georgia) the brother of Congressman Richard Henry Wilde, whom I understand you met while he was in Washington; has convinced James that the place to get is in the interior of Georgia, as it affords such a good opportunity to live a good life there.

            He has explained to me many times; that he never did really desire to continue “in your footsteps,” or, in your “presumptive and ostentatious” way of life as you wanted; practically demanded him to do and, that he probably would have done just that had he not met, and fallen in love with Etta!

            And due to the fact that you had forbidden him to marry at such a young age, before completing law school, or to marry such a young girl, or into such a relatively low class, insignificant family as hers.

             He told me, that for these reasons, he decided to marry her in secrecy, with the hope, and the belief, that by the time he had completed his education, and had entered into law practice with you, that you would have relented in your inane attitude concerning this union.

            Never did he realize; nor could he even imagine; that when you learned of their marriage that you would institute an action of such drastic consequences; that of the total disgrace of being disowned!

            He had no alternative other than to take his wife and leave Boston, as he knew that under such circumstances he; or perhaps his children later on; would never have the opportunities for a happy life there.

            After realizing that you had really become so obdurate concerning this matter, he made every effort possible to comply with your wishes for a complete dissociation.

            First of all, he has taken another name!

            He is known here by his newly chosen name, alias, if you will “Maxey Millan Wildes.” As you can see, he has changed the spelling of his last name to Wildes instead of the usual way!

            He told me that he chose his first two names by the rearrangement of the spelling of Maximillian from the line of emperors to satirize his being born of royal descent.

             He has even gone so far in his effort to conceal his true identity, that he enlisted the aid of a ship’s captain to plant the rumor, that he (Maxey Millan Wildes) had arrived in Savannah as a stowaway on his ship “out of Scotland.”

            This rumor has taken root so firmly in the minds of the citizens of this community that I have been asked many times if I knew I had a “Scotch foreigner” working for me!

            Please, Sam; for the sake of all concerned; be your old magnanimous self; as I have always known you to be, and as I am sure you are now, and write your son a letter explaining to him that you had taken such an unreasonable position due to emotional upset it caused you when you learned of this marriage, and that both of you should forgive one another for the undesirable happening between you. At least, tell him something to reunite him to the family.

            You should do this for Etta’s sake, even though you can find no other reason; and I know you would if you could have witnessed all the pain and suffering this dear young woman went through to deliver one more grandchild (Mary Ann Wildes) for your progeny.

            I am certain that Eunice would be forever grateful to you; as would all the other members of your family; (including me;) for this fruitful reconsideration.

            Now, Sam, you know that this young man; being a son of yours; has the same fierce pride (perhaps stubbornness) in his “make up” as do you, and will probably never try for a reconciliation with any member of your immediate family unless you initiate such and action yourself. Please, Sam, do this deed!

            And I am absolutely positive that they would be overwhelmed, with joy, by such good tidings!

            Now, Sam, I realize that I have no right, other than that of being a relative and a lifelong friend; to intercede in their behalf. But I believe this sufficient cause to do so!

            They are planning to leave for the interior in the spring if Etta and the baby are strong enough to start the journey by then.

            So, I am awaiting your return answer, posthaste.

                                                                        I remain,
                                                                        Cordially yours,
                                                                        Richard H. Wilde

Handcopied from a copy (of the original) in possession of Calvin Benny Wilds, 345 E. Taylor Apt. 1, Reno, Nevada, who obtained his copy from Mr. Able Schwartz who discovered this letter (where we do not know) and sent copy to C. B. Wilds while checking his enlistment (underage) into U.S. Navy where he (Calvin Benny Wilds) served honorably in World War II.

This handwritten copy of the copy is by Lois Dorothy Sharum (McClung & Ferrill) 3520 N.W. 27, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73107 daughter (number two child) of Lilla Etta Serena Wilds (Sharum & Ferrill) 2318 Emerson Ave. Kingman, Arizona 86401.

                        When I first read this letter, I was skeptical because I did not know if Samuel Sumner Wilde or Richard H. Wilde had even actually existed. I believe the best way to make this presentation is to break the letter into parts and present what I have found out about each of these parts.

1. “Savannah, Georgia, Dec. 9, 1820”

I have not been able to find an original copy of this letter so far.

I also cannot find where Richard H. Wilde ever lived in Savannah. On the other hand, I have not been able to verify that he lived in Augusta during this time in 1820.

In 1802 at the age of 13, Richard Henry Wilde moved to Augusta with his widowed mother and a “large family.”[i] Born on September 24, 1789, in Dublin, Ireland, Richard H. Wilde immigrated to the United States in 1797 with his parents. They settled in Baltimore, Maryland, until his father died, and the family moved to Augusta, Georgia.[ii]

Richard H. Wilde was admitted to the bar in March 1809[iii] and began his practice of law in Augusta.[iv] He was an N.P. in Augusta from July 6, 1810 through November 28, 1810.[v] He later was “solicitor general of the Superior Court of Richmond County and by virtue of this office attorney general of Georgia 1811-1813.”[vi]

He was elected a U.S. Congressman, serving as a Democrat from Augusta, from 1815 to 1817, in 1825 and from 1827 to 1835.[vii] He was married in Augusta on Feb. 6, 1819, to C. J. Buckle.[viii] (She died in 1827.[ix]) Richard H. Wilde was mayor of Augusta in 1821.[x] The closest entry I can find to show that Richard Henry Wilde lived in Augusta during 1820 is the following: “George W. Crawford was born in Columbia, formerly Richmond, county, December 22, 1798, and after graduating at Princeton, in 1820, began the study of law in the office of the Hon. Richard Henry Wilde, in Augusta.”[xi]

2. “The Honorable Samuel Sumner Wilde, Massachusetts, Supreme Court Judge”

In reply to a letter I sent on Feb. 3, 1986, John D. Cushing, Librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, verified that “Samuel Sumner Wilde was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from the time of his appointment in 1815 until his resignation in 1850.” So in December 1820, Samuel Sumner Wilde was serving as a Supreme Court judge in Massachusetts.

Also, in a reply to a letter I sent on Feb. 3, 1986, Edwin G. Sanford, Coordinator of Social Sciences for the Boston Public Library and Massachusetts Regional Public Library System, wrote: “Samuel Sumner Wilde was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 1815 and resigned in 1850.”

Another source also noted that he served from 1815 until his resignation in 1850 “as a judge of the Massachusetts supreme court.”[xii]

In fact, Samuel Sumner Wilde, a justice for 35 years, served longer on the Massachusetts Supreme Court than any justice who was appointed between 1775 and 1825.[xiii]

3. “Dear Sam,”

I could not find a reference clarifying how he may have been addressed by friends and relatives – whether “Sam” or “Samuel.”

4. “I do not have to tell you that since our childhood together, I have always placed a high value on our dear and longlasting friendship.” (first line, first paragraph, first page)

Richard Henry Wilde was born on Sept. 24, 1789, in Dublin, Ireland.[xiv]   Samuel Sumner Wilde was born in Tauton, Massachusetts, on Feb. 5, 1771, to Daniel and Anna (Sumner) Wilde.[xv] So Samuel Sumner Wilde was 18 ½ years older than Richard Henry Wilde. However, by 1820, Samuel Sumner Wilde was 49 and Richard Henry Wilde was 31.

Richard Henry Wilde immigrated to the United States in 1797 with his parents. They lived in Baltimore, Maryland, until his father died and they moved to Augusta, Georgia, [xvi] in 1802 when Richard Henry Wilde was 13 years of age.[xvii]

In 1797 when Richard Henry Wilde was living in Baltimore with his parents, Samuel Sumner Wilde, his wife Eunice, and three (recorded) children lived in Warren, Maine[xviii]- about 485 miles from Baltimore. In late 1799, Samuel and his family – including a fourth (recorded) child – moved to Hallowell, Maine, where he lived until 1820.[xix] Hallowell is about 460 miles from Baltimore. In 1820 Samuel moved to Newburyport in Essex County, Massachusetts[xx]- about 33 miles northeast of Boston.

Richard Henry Wilde was three years older than the oldest (recorded) son of Samuel Sumner and Eunice (Cobb) Wilde. [xxi]

5. “For I can no longer in good conscience, keep my peace in regard to you having disowned your son, James.” (second sentence, second paragraph, first page)

In the listing of the children of Samuel Sumner Wilde and Eunice (Cobb) Wilde, no mention is given of a James Wilde.[xxii] Edwin G. Sanford, Coordinator of Social Services, Boston Public Library & Massachusetts Regional Public Library System, in reply to a letter I sent, said: “I do not find that he (Samuel Sumner Wilde) had a son named James…I have enclosed a photocopy of a short sketch of Wilde and a record of his children from the Hallowell, Maine, vital records. I also examined Warren, Maine and Newburyport, Mass., but did not find a mention of a son James.”

If Samuel Sumner Wilde had disowned a son named James, would he have removed his name from the family records?

While a son James is not listed in the family’s history, an extra older male is recorded in the U. S. Census as living in the Samuel Sumner Wilde household during 1800 and 1810. This fact is the most significant information I could find that there could have been an extra son. On the next page I have included a chart showing this fact.
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Maine 1810 Census Index
(Accelerated Indexing Systems, Inc., 1976)

Samuel S. Wilde, head of household in Kennebec County

Males under 10 Males 10-16 Males 16-26 Males 26-45 Males over 45 Females under 10 Females 10-16 Females 16-26 Females 26-45 Female over 45

Actual 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0

Recording
one extra male
one extra male

one extra female

Figuring 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0

Maine 1800 Census Index
(Accelerated Indexing Systems, Inc., 1976)

Samuel S. Wilde, head of household in Kennebec County, Hallowell

Males under 10 Males 10-16 Males 16-26 Males 26-45 Males over 45 Females under 10 Females 10-16 Females 16-26 Females 26-45 Female over 45

Actual 3 1 2 1 0 2 1 4 1 0

Recording one extra male three extra females

Figuring 3 1 1 1 0 2 1 4 1 0

CONCLUSION:     One older boy shown in 1800 and 1810.

FIGURING (Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Volume 2, 1853-1855, Boston, The Society, 1881. BC N54MC from the Massachusetts State Library, State House, Boston, MA 02133)

1800 1810

William Cobb 2 Sep 1792 23 Dec 1825 M 8 18

Eunice 15 Jun 1794 19 Nov 1821 F 6 16

Samuel Sumner, Jr. 27 Sep 1796 3 Nov 1815 M 4 14

Eleanor Bradish 4 Aug 1798 7 Mar 1838 F 2 12

George Cobb 13 Dec 1800 27 Jun 1875 M 10 (9 @ census)

Caroline 26 Apr 1802 30 Aug 1832 F 8

Henry Jackson 6 Apr 1804 30 Mar 1873 M
6

Isaac Parker 27 Feb 1808 11 Nov 1866 M
2

Anne Sumner 31 Dec 1809 5 Sep 1874 F
1

The above are children of Samuel Sumner Wilde and Eunice Cobb.

Samuel Sumner Wilde 2 Feb 1771 22 Jun 1855 M 29 39

Eunice Cobb Wilde 18 Nov 1775 6 Jun 1826 F 25 35

Referring again to the reply of Edwin G. Sanford, Coordinator of Social Services, Boston Public Library & Massachusetts Regional Public Library System, he said, “Samuel Sumner Wild(e) and Eunice Cobb, both residents of Tauton, MA, were married there on 26 May 1792 (Vital Record of Tauton, Mass. [Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1928], II:523.). A duplicate record gives the date as 28 May 1792.”

Upon graduating from Dartmouth College in 1789, Samuel Sumner Wilde returned to his hometown of Tauton in Bristol County, Massachusetts[xxiii] at the age of 18 or 19. Also living in Tauton at the time was Eunice Cobb, his future wife, who resided with her parents, General David Cobb and the former Eleanor Bradish.[xxiv]

The possibility exists that Samuel Sumner Wilde and Eunice Cobb were married earlier than May 26 or 28, 1792 – especially since their first child, William Cobb, is listed as being born on Sept. 2, 1792,[xxv] in Tauton, only three months after they were “married.”[xxvi]

6. “I have not; as per his request; in our past correspondences, apprized you of the fact, that he and his wife Etta, have; for almost three years now, been staying here with me and my family.” (third paragraph, first page)

I have not attempted yet to find a marriage record for James Wilde in Maine or Massachusetts around 1817. No mention is made in this letter of what Etta’s last name could be. If Elizabeth Wilkerson and “Etta” are the same person, could “Etta” be another name for Elizabeth?

It cannot be verified so far that Richard Henry Wilde actually lived in Savannah – if by “here” in this paragraph he means Savannah. (see the last paragraph under 1 on page 6 for an explanation of his Augusta connection.) Since he served as a Democratic representative from Augusta in the U.S. Congress until March 1817, it is possible that he moved to Savannah and, thus, would have been living in Savannah for three years by the time he wrote this letter.

By “me and my family,” it is not clear if he meant his mother and possibly brothers and sisters (his father had died) since he came from “a large family.”[xxvii] He married C.J. Buckle on Feb. 6, 1819, in Richmond County (Augusta).[xxviii] George W. Crawford began the study of law in the office of Richard Henry Wilde in Augusta during 1820.[xxix] Then in 1821 Richard Henry Wilde served as mayor of Augusta.[xxx]

7. “He has been assisting me with the work at the warehouse in order to save enough money to continue on their intended journey to lay claim to land here in Georgia.” (first sentence, fourth paragraph, first page)

Before he began his law practice, Richard Henry Wilde was “engaged in mercantile pursuits.”[xxxi]

But I have not been able to find any verification that he owned or worked at a warehouse in Savannah.

The latter statement is true, according to our family history, that our ancestor did claim to land in Georgia.[xxxii]

8. “Supplement (James Wilde who was an officer in the Seminole War (1815)? in Florida and Georgia) the brother of Congressman Richard Henry Wilde, whom I understand you met while he was in Washington; has convinced James that the place to get is the interior of Georgia, as it affords such a good opportunity to live a good life there.” (second sentence, fourth paragraph, first page)

This sentence is confusing to me because it seems that part of it is an additional notation by someone else.

However, Richard Henry Wilde did have a brother James – not Samuel Sumner’s James who was a different person. Richard Henry’s brother “had been a subaltern officer in the Seminole War” and had “interested” his brother Richard Henry “in Florida.’[xxxiii]

I have not been able to verify that either James Wilde, Richard Henry’s brother, or Samuel Sumner Wilde had been to Washington, D.C.

9. “He has explained to me many times; that he never did really desire to continue on “in your footsteps”, or, in your “presumptive and ostentatious” way of life as you wanted; practically demanded him to do and, that he probably would have done just that had he not met, and fallen in love with Etta.” (fifth paragraph, first page)

Although we do not know that Samuel Sumner Wilde had desired for James to continue in his footsteps, we do know that Samuel Sumner Wilde could have been said to have had a “presumptive and ostentatious” way of life. “He had a delightful residence in Hallowell (from 1799 to 1820[xxxiv]), situated on an eminence overlooking the Kennebec River, its rooms being more lofty and spacious than was common at that time.”[xxxv] “In Newburyport he occupied a large, commodious house, with spacious garden, on High Street, not far from Lord Timothy Dexter’s mansion, famous in its day…”[xxxvi]

Since the character of Samuel Sumner Wilde was brought into question in this paragraph, these are the comments I found concerning his character in Memorial Biographies of The New England Historic Genealogical Society, Volume 2, 1853-1855:

“His temperament was always companionable and cheerful; and his character, though unpretentious, was marked by a spirit of honorable independence.”[xxxvii]

“In his conduct of a case he was noted for his acute and accurate apprehension of all the complicated points involved in it; for the conciseness and force with which he presented it, unembarrassed by any useless parade of learning, in clear and distinct utterance, and with a calm and impressive manner. In trials by jury his ready perception of the main points on which a cause must turn and his prompt command of both law and fact were remarkable. The slightest wresting of the truth, unfairness, or artifice, whether in pleading or in practice, aroused his stern indignation and called forth a rebuke.”[xxxviii]

“He was always interested in the young, and through life his generosity of nature showed itself in his hopeful estimate of the younger members of his own profession.”[xxxix]

“His home was made attractive by the amenity and unaffected simplicity of his manners, his cheerful spirit, his remarkable colloquial powers, the kindness and sincerity of his heart, and his warm domestic affections. His strong religious faith added a grace to his character.”[xl]

“He might have expected higher political preferment; but devotion to his professional work precluded his participation in public affairs, although he was an ardent Federalist, and positive in his political convictions.”[xli]

“The regard in which he was held by the public grew with increasing experience. He was conspicuous for the possession of faculties which singularly qualified him for the high office of a minister of justice. His eminent abilities and sound learning seem to have commended him to Governor Strong, who in the year 1815 appointed him to a seat upon the bench of the Supreme Judicial Court.”[xlii]

“He seems to have appreciated the importance to a community of the cultivation of a knowledge of agriculture, that foundation of all wealth; and we find him the President of the Agricultural Society of Main in 1819.”[xliii]

“The sorrows of his life were many, and he bore them all with fortitude and patience, not seeking human sympathy. His niece, Mrs. E. S. Rand, to whom I am indebted for other information of his domestic life, says in his family relations he was always gentle, loving and kind.”[xliv]

“His leisure hours were spent mostly in reading. He read rapidly, and made himself master of the contents of a book with unusual facility…”[xlv]

In his later years (he died at the age of 84), “he still preserved his habit of intellectual activity, and his faculties gave no sign of diminution in clearness or force. He never lost his interest in life, and nothing of him but his body grew old. He was honored for his erudition and beloved for his goodness. Public gratitude and affectionate remembrance followed on his useful judicial career.”[xlvi]

“During the last years of his life his Bible was his constant companion. Often with no other book before him, he would sit for hours with its open pages, making it for the time his only study. After a life full of usefulness, he passed his tranquil and serene last years, enjoying ‘that which should accompany old age, As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends.’ “[xlvii]

10. “And due to the fact that you had forbidden him to marry at such a young age, before completing law school, or to marry such a young girl, or into such a relatively low class, insignificant family as hers.” (sixth paragraph, first page)

Samuel Sumner Wilde was a lawyer: “He studied law with Judge Paddleford in Taunton and was admitted to the bar in 1792. He began practice in Waldoboro, Maine, but moved in 1794 to Warren, Maine, and in 1799 to Hallowell.”[xlviii]

He was also known to be one who encouraged young men to excel in the legal profession: “He was always interested in the young, and through life his generosity of nature showed itself in his hopeful estimate of the younger members of his own profession."[xlix] So it would not have been out of character for Samuel Sumner Wilde to have encouraged his son to enter the legal profession.

As for marrying “at such a young age” –if Samuel Sumner Wilde had a son named James and if he was the age of the extra male living in his household in 1800 and 1810 – then that person would have been born around 1790 (assuming that Samuel Sumner Wilde and Eunice Cobb did not marry until he completed his college education in 1789) and would have been 30 in 1820 when this letter was written. If James and his wife Etta had been staying with Richard Henry Wilde for “almost three years” by the end of 1820 as this letter states in the third paragraph of the first page, James was 27 years of age if he were married around 1817.

Yet, Samuel Sumner Wilde was 21 years old when he was admitted to the bar in 1792 – after completing his college education at Dartmouth in 1789. Between 1789 and 1792 he was studying law with Judge Paddleford in Samuel’s hometown of Taunton, Massachusetts.[l] Yet another source said Samuel Sumner Wilde “began the study of the law in the office of David Leonard Barnes, of that town (Taunton), afterward a judge of the District Court of the United States for Rhode Island.”[li]

11. “He told me, that for these reasons, he decided to marry her in secrecy, with the hope, and the belief, that by the time he had completed his education, and had entered into law practice with you, that you would have relented in your inane attitude concerning this union.” (seventh paragraph, first page)

Since Samuel Sumner Wilde had been appointed to serve as a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1815[lii], would he still have maintained a law practice? He served as a justice continually until his resignation in 1850.[liii]

12. “Never did he realize; nor could he even imagine; that when you learned of their marriage that you would institute an action of such drastic consequences; that of the total disgrace of being disowned!” (eighth paragraph, first page)

I have not been able to find any proof that Samuel Sumner Wilde disowned a son.

13. “He had no alternative other than to take his wife and leave Boston, as he knew that under such circumstances he; or perhaps his children later on; would never have the opportunities for a happy life there.” (ninth paragraph, first page)

Although Samuel Sumner Wilde and his family lived in Hallowell, Maine, from 1799 until 1820[liv], it may be that James and Etta lived in Boston away from his family. Hallowell, Maine, is about 143 miles from Boston.

14. “After realizing that you had really become so obdurate concerning this matter, he made every effort possible to comply with your wishes for a complete disassociation.

“First of all, he has taken another name!

“He is known here by his newly chosen name, alias, if you will “Maxey Millan Wildes.” As you can see, he has changed the spelling of his last name to Wildes instead of the usual way!

“He told me that he chose his first two names by the rearrangement of the spelling of Maximillian from the line of emperors to satirize his being born of royal descent.” (first four paragraphs, second page)

Although on the cover of our family history book, his name is spelled “Maximillan”, on the Military Roll of the State of Georgia, he is listed as “Maxey M. Wildes.” He served as a lieutenant from Ware County from January 25, 1827 until March 18, 1828.[lv] Also, one of the sons of Reuben Wildes (the oldest son of Maxey Millan Wildes to escape from the Indian Massacre) is named “Maxey Millan.”[lvi] Also, my grandfather was named “James Maximillan,”[lvii] and the current president of our family association is named “Maxie.”[lviii]

So if this letter were a forgery, I would think the author would refer to our ancestor as “Maximillan” Wildes, using the spelling that appears on the front cover of our family history book. Instead, the other spelling, “Maxey Millan,” was used. Even “Maximillan” is a variation on the line of emperors named “Maximilian.” For example, Maximilian I was the Holy Roman Emperor, who lived from 1439 until 1519.[lix]

I have not been able to find any verification that the family of Samuel Sumner Wilde was descended from royalty. Also, “obdurate” has reference to “unmoved by persuasion; unyielding; stubborn.”[lx]

15. “He has even gone so far in his effort to conceal his true identity, that he enlisted the aid of a ship’s captain to plant the rumor, that he (Maxey Millan Wildes; a Scotsman) had arrived in Savannah as a stowaway on his ship ‘out of Scotland.’

“This rumor had taken root so firmly in the minds of the citizens of this community that I have been asked many times if I knew I had a ‘Scotch foreigner’ working for me!” (fifth and sixth paragraphs, second page)

In our family history the account we know of our ancestor is that he was a 12-year-old stowaway on a ship from Scotland.[lxi] We have not been able to find out any information other than that – nothing about where he came from in Scotland, nothing about his ancestors.

I have not been able to verify whether Richard Henry Wilde owned – or had an interest in – a warehouse in Savannah during 1820 (see the fourth paragraph, first page of letter).

Concerning our ancestor’s ancestry, my father Lawrence James Wildes Sr. told me that his father James Maximillan Wildes had told him the Wildes family was Dutch and English, according to what my grandfather had always bee told. Yet, I have not been able to verify this claim either.

Of significance to tie Maxey Millan Wildes with the Samuel Sumner Wilde family may be the fact that Reuben Wildes (the oldest son of Maxey Millan Wildes) and his wife Nancy Eliza Smith named their first child James Daniel. [lxii] The father of Samuel Sumner Wilde was named Daniel, and remember that James is the name of Samuel Sumner Wilde’s supposedly disowned son, alias (?) Maxey Millan Wildes.   Also of note is the omission of the name Samuel being given as one of the family names passed down through the years. Etta is also a frequent name in our family.

Many of the names given by Samuel Sumner Wilde and his wife Eunice Cobb to their children were names of their ancestors. For example, William Cobb and George Cobb were named for people in Eunice Cobb’s family. Eunice Wilde was named for her mother. Samuel Sumner Wilde was named for his grandfather and father, Samuel Sumner. Eleanor Bradish Wilde was named for the mother of Eunice Cobb. I do not know for whom Caroline, Henry Jackson, or Isaac Parker were named. Their last child Anne Sumner was named for Samuel Sumner Wilde’s mother Anna Sumner.[lxiii]

So Samuel Sumner Wilde and his wife named their children for the children’s maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother. They did not name a child for Eunice Cobb’s father General David Cobb or for Samuel Sumner Wilde’s father Daniel Wilde[lxiv] - unless James Wilde’s full name was James Daniel. All the other boys in the family were given two first names.

Also, remember that no one by the name of Wilde, Wildes, or any variation of that name was found in the Federal Naturalization Oaths for both Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, for 1790 through 1860.

Note…the document I am transcribing from was missing a page here, as well as the endnotes [lxv],[lxvi],[lxvii],[lxviii] and [lxix]. I have filled in the endnotes, and will try to get a copy of the missing page and add it as soon as I can.

18. “I am certain that Eunice would be forever grateful to you; as would all the other members of your family; (including me;) for this fruitful reconsideration.” (ninth paragraph, second page)

The author of this letter makes his first mention of the wife of Samuel Sumner Wilde – although he does not designate Eunice’s relationship specifically; but his wife’s name was Eunice.[lxx]

19. “Now, Sam, you know that this young man; being a son of yours; has the same fierce pride (perhaps stubbornness) in his “make up” as do you, and will probably never try for a reconciliation with any member of your immediate family unless you initiate such an action yourself. Please, Sam, do this deed!

“And I am absolutely positive that they would be overwhelmed, with joy, by such good tidings!”

Samuel Sumner Wilde was known to have pride as illustrated in the account below:

“In 1814 he was elected State Councillor; and in the same year was appointed a delegate to the famous Hartford Convention. The members of this convention ranked among the most eminent men of New England for ability. He was the last surviving member of that convention, and always defended his participation in it with spirit, if assailed.”[lxxi]

Here is another account regarding the tenacity of Samuel Sumner Wilde:

“It is said that Mr. Prentiss Mellon, afterward Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maine, had Mr. Wilde for his most constant opponent, and that their forensic skill was by tacit consent employed to place the cause on its merits, produce all the facts, and fight the battle in open field in generous warfare.”[lxxii]

I could find no verification that any reconciliation was ever reached between father or son or between son and any member of the immediate family or even that there actually was a son James who was disowned.

20. “Now, Sam, I realize that I have no right; other than that of being a relative and lifelong friend; to intercede in their behalf. But I believe this sufficient cause to do so!” (twelfth paragraph, second page)

I have not been able to find out how Richard Henry Wilde and Samuel Sumner Wilde are related. (See number four for the explanation concerning Richard Henry Wilde’s claim to being his “lifelong friend.”)

From what I have read about Richard Henry Wilde, it would be like him to get involved in something of this nature. Besides being an attorney who “was frequently engaged before the Supreme Court of the United States,”[lxxiii] an attorney-general of Georgia, and a U. S. Congressman for several years, Richard Henry Wilde was noted for being a poet and a historian. He traveled to Italy in the late 1830’s, where he “discovered Giotto’s portrait of Dante in the Bargello at Florence, Italy.”[lxxiv] Also, his “’Conjecture and Researches Concerning the Love, Madness and Imprisonment of Torquato Tasso,’ published in 1842, revived interest in the Renaissance poet and is a standard work on the subject.”[lxxv]

21. “They are planning to leave for the interior in the spring if Etta and the baby are strong enough to start the journey by then.

“So, I am awaiting your return answer, posthaste.

                                                I remain,
                                                Cordially yours,
                                                Richard H. Wilde”

(last paragraph, second page and first paragraph and closing, third page)

I have not been able to verify exactly when our ancestor settled in Montgomery County (later joining Tattnall County) then to Appling County then to Ware County, according to page 47 of our 1984 family history book. We do know that from January 25, 1827 until March 18, 1828, Maxey M. Wildes was serving as a lieutenant from Ware County.[lxxvi]

Again from our family history, we know that Mary Ann(e) Wildes was their oldest child.[lxxvii]

I have not been able to find out whether Samuel Sumner Wilde made any reply to this letter.

Besides being referred to as “Richard Henry Wilde,” he was also referred to as “Richard H. Wilde.”[lxxviii]

ENDNOTES
[i] Memorial History of Augusta, Georgia. Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Company, 1980. P.237 (Reproduced from an 1890 edition in The Reese Library, Augusta College, Augusta.) (Georgia Archives, Atlanta.)

[ii] Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1961. P.1814 (Federal Archives and Record Center, Atlanta.)

[iii] Name Catalog. Richard Henry Wilde. (Georgia Archives, Atlanta.)

[iv] See note 2.

[v] See note 3.

[vi] See note 2.

[vii] See note 2.

[viii] Richmond County Index – Marriage License 1785-1849. Richmond 975 B. (Georgia Archives, Atlanta.)

[ix] See note 3.

[x] See note 1 p.136.

[xi] See note 1 p. 239.

[xii] Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume 6. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research Co., 1968, p. 505 (Reprint from an 1889 edition.) (National Archives – Boston Branch supplied by George P. Young.)

[xiii] The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts 1692-1942.   974M31, 152: S95M. p. 51. (Supplied by Kimberly Seitter, Public Services Librarian, Massachusetts State Library, State House, Boston.)

[xiv] See note 2.

[xv] Vital Records of Hallowell, Maine to the year 1892. Portland, ME: Maine Historical Society, 1924. I:313. (Supplied by Edwin G. Sanford, Coordinator of Social Services, Boston Public Library & Massachusetts Regional Public Library System.)

[xvi] See note 2.

[xvii] See note 1.

[xviii] Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Volume 2, 1853-1855. Boston: The Society, 1881. Pp 371 and 387. (Supplied by Kimberly Seitter, Public Services Librarian, Massachusetts State Library, State House, Boston.)

[xix] Ibid. pp.371, 375, and 387.

[xx] Ibid. p. 375.

[xxi] Ibid. p. 387.

[xxii] Ibid. pp. 387 and 388. See note 15.

[xxiii] Ibid. p. 370.

[xxiv] Ibid. pp.371 and 387.

[xxv] Ibid. p. 387.

[xxvi] Vital Records of Tauton, Mass. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1928. II: 523. (Supplied by Edwin G. Sanford, Coordinator of Social Services, Boston Public Library & Massachusetts Regional Public Library System.)

[xxvii] See note 1, p.237.

[xxviii] See note 8.

[xxix] See note 11.

[xxx] See note 10.

[xxxi] See note 2.

[xxxii] Descendants of Maximilan Wildes of Scotland and Georgia, Updated 1984. Waycross: Brantley Printing Company. Compiled by Mrs. Willis (Hazel Wildes) Mancil, p. 47.

[xxxiii] See note 12.

[xxxiv] See note 18, pp. 371 and 375.

[xxxv] See note 18, p. 373.

[xxxvi] See note 18, p. 375.

[xxxvii] See note 18, pp.370 and 371.

[xxxviii] See note 18, p. 372.

[xxxix] See note 18, p. 373.

[xl] See note 18, p. 374.

[xli] See note 18, p. 374.

[xlii] See note 18, pp. 374 and 375.

[xliii] See note 18, p. 375.

[xliv] See note 18, p. 375.

[xlv] See note 18, p. 375.

[xlvi] See note 18, p. 387.

[xlvii] See note 18, p. 387.

[xlviii] William T. Davis, History of the Judiciary of Massachusetts, Boston: Boston Book Company, 1900. (Reprinted New York, Arco, 1974.) p. 182. (Supplied by Edwin G. Sanford, Coordinator of Social Services, Boston Public Library & Massachusetts Regional Public Library System, Boston.)

[xlix] See note 18, p. 373.

[l] See note 48.

[li] See note 18, p.370.

[lii] See note 42.

[liii] See note 12.

[liv] See note 18, pp.371 and 375.

[lv] Name Catalog. Maxey M. Wildes. (M. R., 1808-1829, p. 179) (Georgia Archives, Atlanta.)

[lvi] See note 32, p. 70.

[lvii] See note 32, p. 139.

[lviii] See note 32, p. 100.

[lix] Wurer, Albecht, The book of hours of the Emperor Maximilian the First. (Atlanta/Fulton County Public           Library: MAXIMILIAN 01882902.)

[lx] The American Heritage Desk Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981.

[lxi] See note 32, p. 47.

[lxii] See note 32, p. 70.

[lxiii] See note 26.

[lxiv] See note 15.

[lxv] See note 60, p. 582.

[lxvi] See note 32. (Hazel Wildes Mancil’s introductory letter)

[lxvii] See note 32, p. 43.

[lxviii] See note 18.

[lxix] See note 32, p. 70.

[lxx] See note 48.

[lxxi] See note 18, p. 374.

[lxxii] See note 18, p. 372.

[lxxiii] See note 1, p. 238.

[lxxiv]Concise Dictionary of American Biography. Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1964, p. 1203. (Federal Archives and Records Center, Atlanta.)

[lxxv] Augusta, American Guide Series. Compiled and written by Augusta Unit, Federal Writers Project in Georgia, Works Progress Administration sponsored by the City council of Augusta. Augusta: Tidwell Printing Supply Co., 1938, p. 40. (Georgia Archives, Atlanta.)

[lxxvi] See note 55.

[lxxvii] See note 32, p.43.

[lxxviii] See note 12.