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Descendants of John Hickman and Elizabeth Copeland INTRODUCTION

by John W. Hickman 

I guess everyone has something or someone that sparks their interest in genealogy and I am no exception to that rule. In 1967, I received a copy of the Hickman/Halso book and as I scanned the pages of this book I noticed, five generations back, Aaron C. Hickman. I then wanted to know what Aaron looked like and what he accomplished in his life. Well, as it turns out, Aaron was born in 1785 and died in 1863 and as far as I know there were no pictures made of him. However, I do know that, he was 5 feet 7 inches tall, fair complexion, blue eyes, black hair and weighed about 150 pounds. How do I know this? I located Aaron C. Hickman's 1812 war record.

In 1965, when I was twenty years old, Eleanor Hickman Hughes completed the task of compiling the Hickman/Halso book. A family history, of mostly family groups sheets from Aaron C. Hickman down to my family in 1965 Butler County, Alabama. I have always admired her for that, because I am sure given the way some folks are about family history, it was a "long... tuff... row to hoe". Because of her work, my Aunt Mattie Merle Hickman's family stories about Joseph Maston Hickman's trek from Georgia to Alabama in 1860 are saved. In addition, information from Aunt Katie Hickman Kersh's letters about the Hickman/Dukes in South Carolina was documented. Because she under took the effort, future Hickman children of our family will be able, if they choose, to learn something about their ancestors. If not for the Hickman/Halso book, this information would not be in a library and possibly lost forever, where only a selected few would have ever known about it.

I am not a genealogist, what I have tried to do is update what was passed on to me, from the Hickman/Halso book and family stories. I was able to add to their work by writing letters, researching and collecting additional information. The material I have, I gladly share, as others have done for me. As I obtain new information, I update my files and pass that along to new cousins that come my way. If you find an error, please let me know so I can correct it. In that way the information, that the next cousin gets will be the best we both have to offer.

As I worked on my little project, I often heard others say, I wish I had listened more to the old folks while they were alive. This statement is the true key to making a search for ancestors more than a statistical database. They know the stories, they know the color of their eyes, they know why a decision was made and when this first hand knowledge is gone, it's lost to this generation and forever.

In 1964, Katie Louise Hickman Kersh, a cousin that I never got to meet, but have always referred to, as Aunt Katie, died in Alexandria, Louisiana. In 1980, my Aunt Mattie Merle Hickman Thompson pasted away at her home in Central Community, near Greenville, Alabama. For me, these two people gave life to the Hickman/Halso book with their stories and letters.

I have tried to give credit to all the people that have given me data and I am sure if you check my individual records, you will find the names of several people not noted here. However, the people listed on the Hickman Round Robin page under the names John Hickman and Elizabeth Copeland, were the people who gave the most information and help to me. I would also like to thank Brian, for placing this on his web page.