Abel Cone first appears on the census, as head of a household, in 1830 in Washington County, Georgia, and he’s listed as between 20 and 29. Near him on the census are Levi Cone (age 30-39) and Thomas Cone (age 20-29) who are also listed as heads of households. In his household are also two males, one 0-4 and the other 5-9, a female 0-4, one 20-29 and a female who’s listed as 70-79, most likely his mother or mother-in-law.
There’s a family listing of the descendants of Neal Cone from Connecticut that shows Abel’s birthdate as 1782 but this doesn’t match with surviving records. This record identifies his parents as William Cone and Martha Beacham, and Abel did name a son William Thomas and a daughter, Martha. Other researchers have stated Abel’s parents were William Cone and Keziah Barber. Supporting this notion is the fact that Thomas Cone, who appears to be Abel’s brother, named a daughter Kesiah or Keziah. In 1820, there is a John Cone on the census in Washington County, but he does not have individuals in his household the right age to be Abel and Thomas, but nearby is Mary Cone, and she does have sons listed in the right age range.
Abel was a fortunate drawer in the 1827 Land Lottery and received land in Muscogee county, but in all likelihood, he sold it without ever setting foot on it. Sometime between 1830 and 1840, he and his family moved to Houston County. In 1840, Abel’s listed in the category “of 30 and under 40” suggesting he was no older than thirty-nine at the time. John M. Cone, who is most likely Abel’s oldest son was born around 1824 according to the 1850 census in Dooly County.
On 14 August 1843, Thomas Cone applied for administration of Abel’s estate in Houston County, suggesting Abel died around this time. In January of 1851, “Tamer” Cone, Abel’s widow, applies in Dooly County, Georgia to be appointed guardian of the minor children with Abraham Y. Peavy and John M. Cone being appointed as securities, which suggests they all moved to Dooly County around this time. Thomas Cone is living near this family as is John M. Cone and Abraham Y. Peavy in 1850.
Census takers rendered Abel’s widow’s name many different ways with “Tamer” being the most consistent. The best evidence suggests her name was “Tamar” or “Tamara” and she pronounced it “Tam-er” or “Tam-er-ah”. This best explains the many variant spellings on census and other records and why it comes out as “Tamer” in the court documents where she’s appointed guardian and also why it’s sometimes rendered as “Tanner”. Said out loud, it is easy to drop the “ah” sound at the end, so that it comes out sounding like “Tamer” with the same “a” sound as in “tan”. It is also highly likely that she could not read nor write herself (in fact, it is stated that she cannot on the 1860 census), so she would not have been able to correct those who were writing it wrong. It is possible her family name was Peavy or Ervin/Irvin/Irwin.
In 1880, she’s surrounded by Peavys and people who intermarried with the Peavys. If she was a Peavy, she may be Abraham’s aunt, since she was too old to have been his sister — her birth predates when Eli Peavy married Mary Youngblood, Abraham Y.’s parents, by about seven or eight years. She can be found in 1880 with her daughters Nancy Herring and Martha Purvis in or near her household in E.D. 20, page 520 on the 1880 Dooly County census. John M. Cone was almost certainly her son and she was almost certainly the mother to all Abel’s children. John’s daughter on the 1850 census is listed as “Tamer E.” and appears to be the Tamer E. Cone that married William David Lupo (William’s son, Nathaniel’s nephew) after the war.
William Thomas Cone – Served Company I, 18th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry. Private, enlisted 22 June 1861. Died at Richmond, VA, September 2, 1861. Buried there in Hollywood Cemetery. Source: Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia.
Abel Cone
b. 1801-1803
m. around 1823
d. September/October, 1843
Tamara (possibly Ervin/Irwin or Peavy)
b. around 1802
d. after 1880
1. John M. Cone
b. ca. 1824
Rhoda Rix (or Ricks)
1. Tamer E. Cone
2. Frances W. Cone
3. William H. Cone
4. James Cone
2. Mary M. Cone
b. 1825-30
Nelson Moye
3. Ervin Cone
b. ca. 1829
4. Caroline Elizabeth Cone
b. ca. 1832
m. 22 December 1852
Benjamin Gainus
1. Abel Witfield Gainus
2. James William Gainus
3. Lemuel Washington Gainus
4. Henry Irvin Gainus
5. B. Gainus
6. Mary Manassas Gainus
5. Nancy Cone
b. ca. 1835
m. 6 January 1851
Elisha B. Herring
1. Georgiann Herring
2. Jackie Herring
6. Sarah Amanda Cone
b. May, 1838
m. 2 November 1854
d. aft. 1891
Nathaniel G. Lupo
b. around 1835
d. 29 November 1863
1. Nancy T. Lupo
2. William A. Lupo
3. James David Lupo
7. William Thomas Cone
b. ca. 1839
d. 2 September 1861, Richmond, Virginia
8. Martha J. Cone
b. ca. 1842
m. 12 November 1865
Bennett B. Purvis
