Lums of the Southland


Carolinas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, etc.

UPDATED: Mar. 12, 2001

For now, this file is an unsorted collection of records and references to various Lums and Lumms in the Deep South of the United States. Records from Virginia are in a separate file.

The Lums in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have a rather tangled history as to its origins. Different researchers and descendants have linked them to North Carolina, South Carolina, and "the Virginia Colonies." What is agreed upon is that there was a Jesse Lum who migrated to Natchez, Mississippi, then called British West Florida. The line continued west into Louisiana; Nacogdoches, Texas, and elsewhere. Over the generations the name Jesse has popped up several times, just as in the northern line.

Edward H. Lum's 1927 book Genealogy of the Lum Family includes details on some of the Lums of the Southland, though it traces them to North Carolina, rather than South Carolina. The author links the branch to a northern line of the family with roots in Connecticut, Long Island, and northern New Jersey:

(Condensed from p. 62) Samuel Lum has the following lineage: Samuel [1727-1756]; Samuel [ca. 1698-1732/3]; Samuel [b. ca. 1672]. John [imm. ca. 1642]. Samuel was a Revolutionary War private from Morris County, NJ. He married in 1772 to Dorcas Riggs, and had sons William, Jesse, and Israel. The family sold their land in New Jersey in 1786 and disappear from New Jersey. But they are likely the family that appears in the 1790 Federal Census for Rutherford County, NC. Dorcas' father Timothy secured land here about the same time and they probably migrated there together.

Details on this son Jesse Lum (p. 62-63) are as follows:

"All that is known of Jesse is traditional. Descendants of William say that after William's death Jesse took charge of the children for a time, but later Uncle Billy Foster took the boys as well as Mary, the girl.

"Mrs. L. Agnes Boyd says that Jesse md. Levicie -------- "Aunt Vicy" and went to Texas, and that possibly Hannah Bowsden was the mother of Hester Foster, William's wife, md. the second time to -------- Bowsden. Some descendants say that the mother of William Lum was Hannah ------, who md. the 2nd time to a Mr. Bowsden, who got all her property, etc."

If author Edward H. Lum had no information on Jesse's descendants, they exist nonetheless. For example:

Beverly and Edward Lumm share this ancestral line from Jesse:

  1. Jesse Lum of Natchez, Miss., had children John and Mary.
  2. Mary Lum married Bennett R. Truly,Sr. Their descendants are found in Tex.and Louisiana. Her brother John Lum was born 26 March 1776; married 6 Oct. 1806 to Rebekah Sheridan (born 1787, died Jan.1849); and died 12 Aug. 1845 in Nacogdoches, TX.
  3. His son, Samuel Lum, 1812-1863 lived near Robeline, Natchitoches Parish, LA.
  4. His son was John Livingston Lum, 11/2/1851, died 12/30/1901. He was ordained a minister on 5 Nov. 1893. Married Laura Bossier on 13 Dec. 1877. Their children were:
  5. His son Samuel Deborium Lum became a Baptist preacher. Samuel's children were:
    1. Earl, b. 3 Oct. (?); died 21 Oct. 1949.
    2. Leaatha Naomi, b. 3 Aug. 1904, d 4 July, 1944.
    3. John William, b. 18 Dec. 1906; d 10 Feb. 1969.
    4. Rutha Alberti, b. 11 Jan. 1909; d 30 July 1985.
    5. Edward Emmit, b. 26 Feb. 1912; d 7 Feb. 1985.
    6. Esther May, b 30 Oct. 1914; d Aug. 1993.

    There are also some contributions to the LDS Ancestral File regarding Jesse of Natchez. The AF records are only as good as the data submitted by contributors, and they sometimes conflict with each other. See the following three submissions:

    Note how two of these records assume that Jesse Lum was born in Mississippi in the 1770s, but never cite a date. This may have been just hopeful guessing, due to lack of knowledge about where he came from. The Charleston, SC, suggestion is intriguing, and suggest looking in that state. (See below for some records located in South Carolina.) These accounts from descendants, however, do not provide enough information to exclude consideration of the family from New Jersey and North Carolina.

    As to William Lum, brother of Jesse, mentioned in the published Lum genealogy, here is its listing for him (p. 96-97):

    "It is said by descendants of this William Lum that he went from one of the Carolinas to Mississippi, and that he and his wife died there in 1801 in the same month, and that William's mother was Hannah -------- who, after the death of Samuel Lum, his father, md. again a Mr. ----- Bowsden of Natchez, Miss., and that the Bowsdens separated, and he got her property and md. again. Descendants also say that Hanna (-------) (Lum) Bowsden was the mother of William and Jesse; but if this William was the son of Samuel, Hannah could not have been his mother, so it is concluded she was a step-mother of William. There was a William Foster in Morgan District, N.C., in 1790, with a large family. Jesse was a common name in the Riggs family. The Federal Census of 1790 gives Jesse Riggs, Newbern District, Carteret Co., N.C., with four in family, and William Foster, Morgan Dist., in 13th Co., Rutherford Co., with two adults, one male under 16, and four females, including head of family.

    "Mrs. Maxwell Smith, descendant of William Lum, says she has record that Hannah Bowsden, grandmother of Samuel Lum (son of William) died Aug. 14, 1803. Mrs. L. Agnes Boyd, another descendant, says that William had an older brother Jesse, and their mother married a Mr. Bowsden at or near Natchez, Miss.; says her mother told her that Hannah was the mother of William and Jesse, and that after her husband's death, md. a Mr. Vowsden or Bowsden. Assuming that above William was the son of Samuel and Dorcas (Riggs) Lum, he is entered in this relation, even though he must have married young, say at 16 or 17 yrs. He md. Hester Foster (called Nancy), b. July 11, 1771, dau. of Isaac and Rachel (Gibson) Foster. Rachel was dau. of Gideon and Mary (O'Connell) Gibson. The children of William and Hester (Foster Lum were:

    1. Mary, b. Oct. 29, 1790, d. June 8, 1867.
    2. Erastus, b. Aug. 14, 1792, d. Mch. 9, 1837.
    3. William, b. May 25, 1794, d. --------.
    4. Samuel, b. Feb. 22, 1796, Adams Co., MS, d. Mch. 2, 1856, at Vicksburg, MS.
    5. Lewis, b. Dec. --, 1797.
    6. Isaac, b. Nov., 1799."
    The Lum Genealogy of 1927 then follows the details of these children of William, including the following [not all details transcribed]:

    1. Mary Lum (1790-1867), m. ca. 1810 to John Adair Gibson. They had eight children, inc. a William Lum Gibson (1816-1846).

    2. Erastus Lum (1792-1837), m. 18 Jan 1821 to Sinai A. Foster of Adams Co., MS. They had seven children:
      1. Eliza Ann, who died young;
      2. William James, b. 23 Oct. 1823.
      3. Edwin Oscar, b. 14 Sept. 1824, d. 1878.
      4. Clinton DeWitt, b. 10 Feb. 1826, d. 10 Dec. 1866, unmarried.
      5. Mary Elizabeth, b. 6 Oct. 1832.
      6. Martha Ellen, who died young; and
      7. Isaac Erastus, who died young.

    3. William Lum (b. 1794), married Ann Gibson. They had 3 children:
      • Laura, who married Dr. Edward M. Lane;
      • John, who m(1) Alice Ervin, and m(2) Alice DeMoss; and
      • James, who married 1851 Roberta Brook at Vicksburg, MS, and died in 1861. They had one child, James John Lum, who married Delia Burnett and had 3 children.

    4. Samuel Lum (1796-1856), m(1) on 31 Dec. 1818 to Catharine Robelia (1801-1819), who died in childbirth; and m(2) 1 June 1820, Anna Maria Owings of Lancaster, PA., who died in 1870. Widow Ann Lum's home in Vicksburg became General Grant's home for nearly a year during the campaigns in that area. Samuel and Anna had 7 children, inc. William Samuel (b. 4 Dec 1822, d. 30 May 1899) of Vicksburg.

    5. Lewis Lum (b. 1797), married Cynthia Harrison. Lived at Natchez, but went to Texas before the Civil War. They had 9 children, inc.
      • James Isaac;
      • Milton M., who married Rosina M. Christi and had 7 children; and
      • Albert, who m. Henrietta Christie.

    6. Isaac (b. 1799), married Mildren Harrison (sister of Lewis' wife Cynthia). They lived in Natchez and moved to Texas before the war. They had 8 children, inc.
      • Calvin Gibson Lum, who m. Elizabeth Purnell and had 3 ch.;
      • Laura Letitia Lum, who m. William Henry Forbes, lived in Natchez, and had 7 children;
      • Levi Lewis, who died in the war as a Confederate soldier;
      • Isaac Newton Lum; and
      • Nathaniel Harrison Lum.

    In addition to Jesse and William, Samuel and Dorcas Riggs may have also had a son named Samuel Lum, Jr. That is the working hypothesis of Kent L. T-----, descendant of a Samuel Lum who is found in the 1850 census in Carroll County, Mississippi, then aged 75 years, and born in New Jersey. This Samuel, Kent believes, previously lived in Copiah County, Mississippi and before that in Claiborne County, Mississippi. Still earlier, he may be that Samuel Lum, Jr. who bought land along with Samuel Lum, Sr., as found in a book entitled The Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805 by May Wilson McBee. Samuel Lum, Sr. and Samuel Lum, Jr. filed for land claims 1180 and 1181, respectively, on March 26, 1804. (In Samuel Jr.'s listing, a brother named David is also mentioned.)

    Samuel Lum of Carroll Co., MS, appears to have had three daughters, as Kent explains: "I believe he was the father of Alvah Lum, who married John Goza; Susanah Lum, who married Benjamin Vance and Rufus Mygatt; and Martha Lum, who married John Goza after Alvah's death and Rufus Mygatt, after Susanah's death."

    Kent would like to make contact with anyone else who knows of this Samuel Lum, esp. fellow descendants. His e-mail is [email protected]

    The above mentioned William Lum (b. 1794) who married Ann Gibson, may also have had a son named William Erastus Lumm...

    Returning to the question of origins for this family, a 1993 Lum Genealogy by Richard Lum, claiming to provide updates and correction to the Edward Lum work of 1927, has more to say, on p. 25-6. Michelle Martens comments:

    72.2 Jesse Lum. William and Jesse listed as the two sons of Samuel is [according to R. Lum] strictly an error. Their parents were Jesse and Hannah. Richard Lum does not believe they are Lums. Their ancestors were Lumbert, indicated by the attached memorandum, which refers to letters from Nell Regan McCay, the will of William Lum, and other data.

    In Genealogy of the Lum Family (p. 62), William and Jesse are listed as the first two children of Samuel Lum, although Edward H. Lum indicates that descendants of William have questioned this relationship. Mrs. Nell Regan McCay wrote to Richard Lum that the parents of William and Jesse were Jesse and Hannah, and that this is indicated by the will of William. Mrs. McCay resided in Vicksburg, MS.

    In 1981 and the following years Richard Lum had considerable contact with Alton Wisdom, who resided in Waco, TX. He was a descendant of the above Jesse Lum, and he completed an exhaustive search into his family's history. He believes that William and Jesse Lumm were the two sons of Jesse and Hannah Lum: that his ancestors were English and French royalty: that when they first settled in this country in the Carolinas their name was Lumbert; that most of the male members of the family were assasinated; that the women, led by Lucinda, escaped to Natchez and there shortened their name to Lum. Alton Wisdom writes that Jesse appears twice in South Carolina records as a landowner. He had a sawmill or timber business. In 1774 he was assassinated.

    After his widow, Hannah, and her children came to Natchez, she married William Vauxdam and lived with him for 13 years. He took her wealth, found a younger lady, and claimed they were never married in the Catholic Church. In 1795 she sued him, represented by her younger son, William. Trial was in 1795-1805 in Natchez; court records in Baton Rouge. She won the suit, lost the war; property was never recovered.

    72.2.1 Jesse Daniel Lum b. 1796 d. 1843 Liberty TX 72.2.2 William Lum

    Alton Wisdom in another letter wrote that in 1774, in the Colony of Virginia, the British Prince, Duke of _________, was assassinated by the American Revolutionaries or fanatics. His wife and children fled to Natchez, MS and the oldest son, Jesse, married Hannah (her second marriage).

    This is typed the way it is in the book! There are a couple more pages, some repetitive, and also gives children of Jesse. I don't know what you think but looks like wishful thinking to me. We all want to be royalty. But something that neither book mentions is the Line of our Jesse Lumm. He was in VA and NC. I wonder if they even noticed him when doing research? Also they did research Jonas' father Samuel but they have nothing on what Happened to Jonas after his marriage- yet I was able to find three records on him- the taxes, and two entries regarding his estate. Why could they not find this? I mean I did not special order anything or travel to the east coast and I found more on him then they did. Who knows, but I think the explanation [above] is wild, to say the least.

    I agree with Michelle, this fantastic tale needs far more documentation if it is to be taken seriously. If there is record of this assassinated Lumbert who was a Duke, why is his title unknown: Duke of what?

    Other isolated details from different sources on the Web:

    Jess Lumb served in Rowan Co. NC Militia in 1759.

    Jesse Lum b. 1801 Adams Co., MS d. 1801 Adams Co., MS mother Hester (Nancy). As this was William's wife, he would be a final child of William in addition to the above.

    Jesse Daniel Lum Sr. b. ca 1775 MS m. Levica Martin Foster. This appears to be a garbled reference to Jesse, brother of William and son of Samuel, who moved to Mississippi. Note that the wife's name corresponds to that given in the 1927 genealogy, as quoted above.

    Jessie Daniel Lum Jr. b. 1/5/1882 LA m. Lucinda Everett

    Jesse Amos Lum b. 2/16/1884 Hood Co., TX father Erastus Hugh (Rack) Lum

    EARLY REFERENCES TO LUM/LUMM IN CAROLINA LAND RECORDS:

    Petitions for land from the South Carolina Council journals / by Brent Holcomb (Columbia SC : SCMAR, 1999), v.6, p.191:
    At a meeting of the Council on Tue. 5 July 1768, "petitions for warrants of survey, to prolong warrants and certifying plats were presented and read, viz:..." Jesse Lum sought 100 acres at the "Waters of Santee." (granted)

    ibid., v.7, p.82: At a meeting of the Council on Tue. 4 Feb. 1772, "the following petitions praying for warrants of Survey were presented and read, vizt.:... John Lumm, 100 acres (granted).

    South Carolina deed abstracts, 1719-1772 / abstracted by Clara A. Langley, v. 3 (1775-1778): From Book F-3, p. 426:
    Jesse Lum mentioned as a witness to a deed of sale by Col. Joseph Curry to John Hopkins, of "250 acres in low ground of Santee (Congaree) River," Craven County, 26-27 May 1765.

    South Carolina Memorials : abstracts of land titles / abstracted by Jesse & Margaret Motes. (Greenville, SC : Southern Historical Press, 1996) v.1 (1774-1776), p.130:
    In Memorial Book 13, p.31, John Lum is mentioned as a landholder to the southeast of a 100-acre parcel in Craven County south of Broad River on a branch of Cannons Creek, recorded for Peter Heer on 30 Sept. 1774. Other neighbors include Ephraim Cannon, Peter Ritcheson, and John Pearson. Survey of plot was certified 27 Sept. 1773, granted 25 May 1774.

    South Carolina deed abstracts, 1783-1788 / abstracted by Brent H. Holcomb (Columbia, SC : SCMAR, 1996): M-5, p. 398-400:
    John Lum mentioned once more as a neighbor to the 100 acres of land mentioned above, now released to George Ruff.

    Land grant surname index, North Carolina
    Samuel Lum, in Book 65, p.92: 100 acres on Cow Creek, Rutherford Co.; Entry no. 59, entered 4 Feb. 1780; Grant no. 143, issured 25 May 1787.
    Samuel Lum, in Book 79, p. 430: 100 acres on Lick Branch of Sandy Run, Rutherford Co.; Entry no. 646 entered 1 Jan. 1789; Grant no. 752, issued 28 Nov. 1792.

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