AUTHOR: Clarnita A. Smith (edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter)
Jeremiah “Jere” Aman was the son of William Aman and Elizabeth Garrett of Onslow County, North Carolina. According to the 1830 Census, William Aman’s household included one male and one female “of 20 & under 30” and one male “under 5 years old.” That little boy who was under the age of five years old was presumably Jeremiah.
According to the 1840 Census, the household of William Aman contained one male and one female “of 30 & under 40,” two males “under 5 years old,” two males “of 5 & under 10 years old,” 2 females “under 5 years old,” and one female of “10 & under 14 years old.”
By 1850, William had died, and Elizabeth was listed as “Head of Household.” The 1850 Census lists the following as residents of the household: Elizabeth Aman, age 41, female; Jere Aman, age 18, male; Jesse [spelled “Jessee” in record] Aman, age 17, male; David Aman, age 15, male; Henry Aman, age 14, male; Susan C. Aman, age 12, female; Francis Ann, age 10, female; Elizabeth Aman, age 8, female; James M. Aman, age 6, male; Emaline, age 4, female; and Elizabeth Garrett, age 95, female. The family was living in Upper Southwest on Sept. 19, 1850. William had died sometime between 1845 and 1849. According to David Franklin Aman, William died when David was fourteen years old, which would have been 1849. Jeremiah’s and David Franklin’s Grandmother, Elizabeth Garret, was also living with the family; she was 95 years old. Their Grandfather Garrett’s Christian name has been lost.
The Census of 1860 included two listings for men named Jere Aman, confusing matters. One Jeremiah was 29 years old, and the other was 30 years old. Both were coopers, and both lived at Catherine Lake Upper Southwest, Onslow County, North Carolina. Jeremiah Aman was married to Nancy Dawson on Nov. 23, 1858; yet neither man named Jeremiah “Jere” Aman was recorded as having a wife in 1860. Recorded on July 4, 1860, the 1860 Census states, “Jere Aman age 30, Cooper, real estate value $200 and personal value $2100.” Also recorded on July 4, 1860, the 1860 Census included the following: “Jere Aman age 29 Cooper, real estate value $300 and personal value $100.” The twenty-nine-year-old Jere Aman was living at dwelling #285, and David F. Aman, also a cooper by trade, was residing at dwelling #288. Ruth Petteway, aged seventy-five years, was the resident of dwelling #289, and she was the grandmother of David Aman’s wife, Eliza, and of Susan C. Petteway, the future wife of Jeremiah Aman, my ancestor. This Jere was living in the same area as other family members of William Aman and near the Petteways.
On April 13, 1861, Jeremiah Aman and Susan Petteway were married. Thomas J. Jarmon was listed as bondsman.
Jeremiah Aman enlisted in the Confederate Army on May 15, 1862. At that time, he was recorded as being a thirty-three-year-old farmer. He served in Company H of the 3rd Cavalry (North Carolina) and was “present and accounted for” until he was captured at Swansboro, North Carolina, on April 30, 1864.
According to an official report by Col. James Jourdan (a Union officer), the raid on Swansboro occurred as follows:
Newport Barracks, April 30, 1864. A small expedition under Captain [Samuel H.] Kelley, of the Ninth Vermont, left Newport last evening for the purpose of capturing rebel troops at Swansborough [sic] and destroying a large quantity of fish ready for shipment to Kingston. Expedition returned to-day [sic] with 1 lieutenant, 11 soldiers, and 2 home guards, with their arms, and 2 citizens, prisoners. Captured three or four boats and destroyed about 225 barrels of fish, salted. No loss reported. Will report particulars as soon as possible.” (War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. 33. The National Historical Society: Harrisburg, PA, page 316.)
Jeremiah was probably one of the soldiers who was captured during that raid. Afterward, he was imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland, until he was paroled and exchanged at Aiken’s Landing, Virginia, on March 14, 1865.
The 1870 Census for Onslow County indicates that Jeremiah was forty years old and his wife, Susan, was 30. He tended their farm while she kept the house. The couple lived next door to his mother, Elizabeth, and his two sisters, Frances and Elizabeth. The younger Elizabeth was recorded as being “Idiotic” and had been listed as “insane” in earlier census records. Jeremiah’s estate was valued at $105, and he could read and write. Jeremiah and Susan had three children residing with them: John (eight years old); Louisa (four years old); and William [Henry] (1 year old). They also had another child, James, in 1873, but he died in 1875; James was buried in the Aman Family Cemetery. William Henry died in 1875, too, and was buried in the family cemetery at Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina.
On June 22, 1880, according to the Census, Jeremiah and Susan Aman still lived next door to his mother, Elizabeth Aman, at Jacksonville, North Carolina. Jeremiah was documented as being fifty-seven years old, and Susan was forty-one. They still had five children living at home: John was eighteen and working on the farm; Mary (Louisa) was fourteen; Jeremiah (Mack) was nine years old; Jesse was four; and Joseph was two.
Unfortunately, I could not locate records pertaining to the family for the years between 1881 and 1900: The 1890 Census was destroyed by fire, so there is a blank spot in the family history. However, in 1900, Jeremiah and Susan Aman only had their twenty-five-year-old son, Jesse, living with them, and they lived next door to their eldest son, John L. Aman, who was married and had a family of his own. Elizabeth Aman, Jeremiah’s mother, must have died sometime since the 1880 Census. In 1900, Jeremiah was recorded as being seventy-four and born in May 1826, and sixty-one-year-old Susan was born in September 1838. Jeremiah was still a farmer and owned his own farm. The couple had been married forty years, and Susan had borne ten children of which only five were still living. Although there is a discrepancy between the documented age of Jeremiah in 1900 and his documented age on October 25, 1902, he was mentioned in the records of the 1902 Onslow County Voter Registration of Jacksonville Township.
Based on the information provided by the 1910 Census, which was recorded on April 28, 1910, Jeremiah and Susan Aman lived with their youngest son, Joseph, in Jacksonville Township. Jeremiah and Susan had been married for almost fifty years. By Jeremiah’s name there was a notation (m2), which indicates that he was married twice during his life. Susan had “m1” next to her name, indicating that she had only been married once. It appears that Jeremiah was probably married first to Nancy Dawson in 1858. By 1910, Jeremiah had retired from farming. Also, according to the story passed down by Bernice Aman Cavanaugh, Jeremiah had become blind by then because of unsuccessful cataract surgery.
The last bit of information I have pertains to Jeremiah and Susan Petteway Aman’s death. Both Jeremiah and Susan C. Aman had death certificates. According to his Certificate of Death, on Nov. 17, 1913, Jeremiah died of “senile insanity” and “dysentery.” The informant was John Aman, presumably Jeremiah’s son, and John did not list the names of Jeremiah’s parents or his birth date. The Certificate of Death states that Jeremiah was born in Onslow County and was buried on Nov. 18, 1913. According to Jeremiah’s tombstone at the Aman Family Cemetery at Jacksonville, N.C., he was born May 12, 1825 and died Nov 16, 1913 [sic]; the epitaph “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” was also engraved in Jeremiah’s marker.
According to her Certificate of Death, “Susan Caroline Aman” died on Aug. 18, 1914 of “carcinoma of stomach.” The informant was named Cyrus Thompson (he was also listed as Susan’s attending physician), who documented that Susan was a widow at the time of her death and was born on Sept. 6, 1838. Susan had been born in Onslow County, North Carolina, to William R. Petteway and “Kittie Sparkman” Petteway. According to the Onslow Heritage Book, Susan’s middle name was “Carolyn.” She was buried beside her husband, Jeremiah, in the Aman Family Cemetery, which is located off Pony Farm Rd., Jacksonville, North Carolina. Susan C. Aman’s tombstone states that she was born Sept. 8, 1838 [sic] and died Aug. 18, 1914. Her marker was engraved with the following epitaph: “We trust our loss will be her gain and that with Christ she’s gone to reign.”
Jeremiah and Susan Petteway Aman’s Children
The children of Jeremiah Aman and Susan Carolyn [also spelled Caroline in records] Petteway Aman were: John Lewis (1863-1944); Mary “Molly” Louise (1866-1928), William Henry (1868-1875); James (1873-1875); Jeremiah “Mack” (1871-1941); Jesse (1875-1965); Joseph (1877-1954); and, based on the 1900 Census record, Susan had borne three other children, but they died before 1900.
John Aman was married to Margiana “Margi” Sandlin on Nov. 5, 1882 and, after Margi’s death, he married Emma Thompson on Nov. 2, 1924. Molly married Robert Whaley on April 26, 1883. Mack married Sallie Sandlin, Margiana’s sister. Jesse married “Penie” [also spelled “Peanie” in records] Cottle on March 26, 1905. [ Editor’s note: I believe Jesse’s wife’s name might have been pronounced “Peony,” like the flower, based on the variety of spellings present in the records.] Joseph married Hattie Morton.
Sources:
1830 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film M19 Roll 123 page 236; 1840 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film 704 367 page 154; 1850 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film; 1860 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film M653 Roll 908 page 110; 1860 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film M653 Roll 908 page 106; Onslow Co. North Carolina Marriage Records; The Confederate Veteran Magazine, vol. XXXVIII, January 1930-December 1930, Broadfoot Publishing Company: Wilmington, N.C., page 339; War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. 33. The National Historical Society: Harrisburg, PA, page 316; North Carolina Troops 1861-1865 A Roster, vol. 2, compiled by Louis H. Manarin. North Carolina State Division of Archives and History: Raleigh; 1870 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film 593 Roll 1153; 1880 Onslow County North Carolina Census film T9 Roll 975 page 36; 1900 Onslow Co. North Carolina Census film T623 Roll 1209; Onslow County, North Carolina Voter Registration Records 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, transcribed by Delmas D. Haskett (1995). The Old New Hanover Genealogical Society, Inc. & the North Carolina Room at New Hanover County Public Library: Wilmington, North Carolina; 1910 Onslow County North Carolina Census film T624, roll 1121, page 146; North Carolina State Board of Health, Certificate of Death Registration District No. 67-5890 File 38, page 160; North Carolina State Board of Health, Certificate of Death.