James Hackley (I)

ca.1804-1884

James Hackley was born about 1804 in Culpeper County, Virginia, possibly at Hackley's Crossroads near Amissville which now lies in Rappahannock County. Some evidence suggests he may be the son of Samuel and Frances of Hackley's Crossroads who are thought to have had a son by that name, although James' death record names his parents as Samuel and Mary.(1) His early years are somewhat of a mystery, complicated by the lack of good records from this period, and the fact that James, historically, is one of the most common given names for male offspring in the Hackley family. For example, in addition to James (I), there were at least two other James Hackleys of roughly similar age residing in the same area of Culpeper County during this period: a prominent free black and a farmer named James F. who very likely was a cousin of James (I). It is known that by 1850 James (I) was settled near Jeffersonton Township in the Little Fork area of northeastern Culpeper County, about 10 miles north of Culpeper Court House (now simply the "town" of Culpeper).(2) He apparently lived out the rest of his life in the Little Fork area, which derives its name from its geographical location in the fork of the Hazel and Rappahannock rivers. Census records during the mid 1800's list his occupation variably as miller and farmer.

Extant records indicate that James (I) was probably married twice. Census records after 1840 give his wife's name as Mary or Polli (the latter being a common nickname for the former), and the Culpeper County marriage register shows a James Hackley marrying Mary Blair on May 9, 1839.(3) However, on his death record his consort is listed as Fanny (a nickname for Frances), as reported by the informant, second oldest son William. Additionally, oldest son George's parents are listed as James and Frances on his Fauquier County death record. Evidence suggests that Frances may have been his first wife, and that James was widowed before remarrying to Mary, but this is an educated guess at best. The oldest known children of James (I), including William, were all born prior to 1839, and there is a gap from roughly 1832 to 1841 during which no offspring appear to have been born. This further supports the hypothesis that the older children of James were born to a first wife, possibly named Frances, who must have died some time between 1832 (when the last of the first group of children was born) and 1839 (when he presumably remarried and after which had several more children by a second wife, possibly Mary Blair). To make matters more complicated, on son Joseph's death certificate his mother's name is given as Mollie Fox, not Blair. In addition to Fox's Rd and Fox's Ford, other geographic features identified with the Fox name in the area near Jeffersonton include two mills, another road leading west from the Rappahannock River (Fox's Ford Rd), Foxville, and Foxville Dam and Guard Gate. Most of these features are located just across the Rappahannock River from where James lived most of his life, so a connection with this family is not surprising. A final note, son George's middle name is Burwell, and some records indicate a connection between the Fox and Burwell families in Virginia. Until more definative records turn up, I have designated Frances as the first wife, and Mary (Blair, Fox) as the second wife.

James died on August 10, 1884 in Culpeper County. He gave issue to seven known children, and at least one more son is likely. Four of his five known sons fought for the Confederate cause; all survived the war, two being paroled at war's end.(4)

Children of James & Frances Hackley (1)

  1. George Burwell Hackley (1819-1875) George married Sarah R. Sudduth on November 19, 1841 in Fauquier County. He purchased two acres of land situated near Routt's Hill in Fauquier County in 1854, where he lived out the remainder of his life. Routt's Hill was located off Foxville Rd (Warm Hollow Rd) between Botha and Fox's (Lawson's) Ford on the Rappahannock River and near the mouth of Great Run. This is presently about 2.5 mi west of Opal and roughly 5 mi due east of Oak Shade. George's occupation has been variably reported as farmer, carpenter, stone mason and slave overseer. George appears to be the only male child of James (I) who did not serve in the Confederate forces, at least no record of his service has been found. However, one of his son's, Francis "Frank" Marion Hackley, served in Capt. Utterback's Co. of Virginia Light Artillery and died of illness while on furlough in 1865. George and Sarah Hackley are buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Bealeton. George and Sarah had 11 known children: Georgianna, Francis M., Benjamin Franklin, Francis L., Josaphine, Hugh H., Willie R., Ann S., Martha R., Mary W. and Susan Ida.
  2. William S. Hackley (II) (1827-1913) Married Martha Ellin Harrell of Fauquier County on December 4, 1845. William was a wheelwright by trade, and served in the 2nd Regt. Virginia Infantry, part of the famous Stonewall Brigade, during the Civil War. They had nine children; Sarah Catherine, Alpheus Jackson, Mary Anna, Eliza Jane, Millard Filmore, George Washington, William Rutherford, Lourinda R. and James Benjamin.
  3. Catherine M. "Kitty" Hackley (b. ca.1830) Very little is known of Catherine. She may have moved to and subsequently died in nearby Fauquier County.
  4. Joseph Hackley age 90, photo courtesy Jim Waggoner, IdahoJoseph Samuel Hackley (ca.1832-1923) Joseph married Sarah Ann Kniser (1832-1899) about 1847.(5) They were living near Jeffersonton, Virginia in 1850 and 1870, in close proximity to his parents, and near Salem in nearby Fauquier County, near his brother George, according to the 1860 census. By 1880 Joseph moved to Ohio where he eventually died. He is listed as widowed in the 1900 Hardin County, Ohio census, where he lives with his daughter Sarah and her husband and children on Market Street in Pleasant Township. A monument to the Little Fork Rangers (Co. D, 4th Va Cavalry) located behind the Little Fork Church in Oak Shade lists a "Jos. Hackley". The Little Fork Rangers came from the same local area where Joseph was born and raised and where he Martha F. Hackley, photo courtesy Jim Waggoner, Idahoresided most of his early life. Woodford B. Hackley's "The Little Fork Rangers"(6) lists Joseph as a member of the Little Fork Rangers. In this book he states that Joseph enlisted on March 9, 1862 as a private, was captured at the Hazel River in Culpeper County on November 7, 1863, and was sent to the old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.. From there he was transferred to Fort Delaware on June 15, 1864. The book further states that Joseph was released as a prisoner of war on June 20, 1865 and later died in Columbus, Ohio. Joseph and Sarah Ann had at least five known children: James William, Martha Frances, Joseph Milton, Sarah Ann and Ella J. Descendants of Joseph's son, Joseph Milton, eventually migrated back to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The photo (right) was taken in Kenton, Ohio when Joseph was 90 years old.

Children of James & Mary Hackley (2)

  1. Andrew Jackson Hackley (1844-1911) Enlisted in Capt. John C. Porter's Co. E, 7th Virginia Regiment of Volunteers as a private on April 30, 1861 at Culpeper Court House. He was wounded at Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, and served until March of 1865 when he deserted and signed an Oath of Allegiance to the United States. Andrew moved to Pennsylvania after the war, where he married Dotha Messenger in 1866. They settled in Sullivan Co. Pennsylvania, where Andrew was a carpenter and well respected citizen of the town of Laporte. Andrew and Dotha had three children: Ida May (b.1867), Charles A. and Wallace James (b.1870). Andrew is buried in Mountain Ash Cemetery in Laporte. (7)
  2. James Dallas Hackley (1843-1927) Enlisted July 1, 1864 in Co. C, 7th Virginia Regiment as a private. He was reported as AWOL for the July/Aug 1864 muster roll, but is later listed as a prisoner of war and was paroled at Winchester on May 5, 1865. He was 20 years old at this time, and was described as having light complexion, gray eyes and dark hair.(6) James married Martha Jane Jenkins (1844-1917), of Page County, Virginia, on March 31,1864. James lived in Jefferson County (Bolivar District) near Harper's Ferry at the same time that older brother William was residing in nearby Charles Town. He was probably living in this vacinity by at least 1866 when his daughter Mary was born, and was still there as late as 1885 when daughter Elizabeth was born. His occupation in one Jefferson County record is listed as quarryman. In the 1870 census he is working as a farm laborer. In the 1900 census James and Martha were residing in Baltimore, Maryland, where his occupation was listed as carpenter. The census states that James' wife Martha was the mother of 9 children of which 8 were still living. A Baltimore City death certificate shows James died in December of 1927. He was buried at St. Mary's in Hampden. The known children of James and Martha are: Mary L., Millard Amy, Lucy L. (b.1870), James C.(b.1872), Charles William, Robert Lee (b.1876), Jacob A. (b.1877), and Elizabeth (b.1885).
  3. Susan V. Hackley (b. ca.1848) No further information is available on Susan. She does not show up on subsequent census records, and presumably died in childhood some time prior to 1870.


Note: The 1850 census for Culpeper County lists a Mary Jane Hackley (age 23) and daughter Eliza A. E. Hackley (age 1) residing in the household of James' son Joseph (age 19), who in turn lived next to his father at that time. In the 1870 census, Mary Jane and daughter are no longer living in this household. It would appear that Mary Jane is a widow in 1850, indicating that James (I) may have had another son who died prior to this census.

Footnotes

1. Virginia Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, Culpeper County Death Records, Line 20, August 10, 1884.

2. For information on Jeffersonton, the Little Fork area and Culpeper County in general, see Culpeper, A Virginia County's History Through 1920, by Eugene M. Scheel, The Culpeper Historical Society, Culpeper, VA, 1982; "Culpeper County, VA, An 18th Century Perspective, edited by Mary Stevens Jones, Culpeper Historical Society, Culpeper, VA, 1976; Genealogical and Historical Notes on Culpeper County Virginia, compiled & published by Raleigh Travers Green, Culpeper, 1900, reprinted by Heritage Books, Bowie, MD, 1995.

3. Culpeper County Marriage Records, Book 1, Page 98, County Court House, Culpeper, VA.

4. For information about Culpeper County and its citizens during the Civil War, see Seasons of War, The Ordeal of a Confederate Community 1861-1865, by Daniel E. Sutherland, The Free Press, NY, 1995.

5. Genealogical records of Charles A. and Constance L. (Hackley) Richardson of Richmond, VA. Constance is a descendent of Joseph, son of James.

6. The Little Fork Rangers, 1861-1865, A Sketch of Company 'D' Forth Virginia Cavalry, by Woodford B. Hackley, The Dietz Printing Co., Richmond, VA, 1927, reprinted & revised by Alice C. Nichols, Commercial Press, Stephens City, VA, 1984.

7. Compiled Service Records for the Confederate Army, microfilm records, National Archives, Washington, D.C.