FOURTH GENERATION

53. James W. Dupuy was born in 1787 in Virginia. He bought for £160, 160 acres of land from m-i-l Elizabeth Mann in Dec 1809 in Nottoway County, Virginia. ⁽¹⁸⁴⁾ He appeared on the census in 1810 in Nottoway County, Virginia. ⁽¹⁸⁵⁾ He sold for £753 10 sh, 251 1/8 ac on Barbour Creek, adj Vaughn, Dorwell, Mann, to James Vaughn on 11 Nov 1815 in Nottoway County, Virginia.⁽¹⁸⁶⁾ He appeared on the census in 1820 in Limestone County, Alabama. ⁽¹⁸⁷⁾ He application for Letters of Administration of Martha Mann, deceased on 4 May 1824 in Limestone County, Alabama. ⁽¹⁸⁸⁾ He appeared on the census in 1830 in Limestone County, Alabama. ⁽¹⁸⁹⁾ He appeared on the census in 1840 in Desoto County, Mississippi.⁽¹⁹⁰⁾ He died in Mar 1850 in Hernando, DeSoto County, Mississippi. ⁽¹⁹¹⁾

Excerpt from a biography of Dr. Jonathan Ethelbert Dupuy, M. D.
By Edgar L. Frazell, M. D.


Beginning shortly after the death of James Dupuy, Sr., in 1811 in Virginia., this branch of the Dupuy family began to migrate to the South and Southwest. The exact date of departure is unknown, but it was after the birth of Jonathan in 1812. The destination was Alabama, and the region is now recognized as Madison and Limestone Counties. The first official record of James W. Dupuy (i.e., James, Jr.) is as a member of a Madison County patrol detachment on 22 July 1817. He also appeared in 1818-1820 in the Limestone County census (Table II).

Just exactly who made up the original emigration party is unknown. Prudence Wills Dupuy (widow of James, Sr.) did go along, since she died in Alabama in 1822. She died intestate, and her sons, James W. and Edmund, were executors. The three children of James W. and his Martha Mann, were small children at the time of the move. Other than Edmund, we do not know if any of the other brothers and sisters of James W. Dupuy, Jr., made the trip at this time.

Except for the bare facts that have been recited, little is known about the lives of the Dupuy family in Alabama. As noted, the three children of James,, Jr. and Martha Mann were quite young at the time of the move. It is presumed that both James, Jr., and his brother, Edmund prospered, because of the number of real estate entries.

The marriages of all three of James' and Martha's children seem to have taken place in Alabama. Mary married Mr. Magee. Martha married Isaac [Elijah Dodson] Stamps. Jonathan Ethelbert Dupuy, M.D., married Tabitha Evans (daughter of Jessie and Elizabeth Evans) on 19 July 1836. The record was filed in Pike County, Alabama. She was aged 19 and he was twenty-four. He had just returned from medical school.

We have no records of Jonathan's early education., but it would have to have been considerable to make him eligible for admission to medical school. Although it was later written that he was a graduate of two medical schools, this cannot be confirmed. It is, however, a matter of record that he was registered for the 1835-1836 semester in the Medical Department of Transylvania University of Lexington, Kentucky. Records of the University are incomplete, but they fail to show that Jonathan gave a dissertation at the close of the semester. This is thought to be evidence that the M.D. degree was not awarded. He returned home to Alabama in time to be married.

Whether or not Jonathan did have an M.D. degree is unknown. He had medical training, and he practiced medicine throughout his active life. He was invariably recorded as a physician in census records. Medical practitioners without degrees were exceedingly common in frontier days. Possibly Dr. Dupuy fell in this category.


The Dupuy's in Mississippi.

Almost immediately after Dr. Dupuy's marriage, he and his wife, Tabitha, moved to the community of Hernando, Desoto County, Mississippi, where he started the practice of medicine. He appeared in the 1840 census in that county (Table III).

Whether other members of Jonathan's family went along with him is unknown. But they did appear in the same community shortly thereafter. Jonathan's father and mother came along and are listed as members of the Hernando Baptist Church. According to church records, "Sister" Martha Dupuy died circa 1847. Both James W. Dupuy and his other son, Edmund, prospered and accumulated considerable real estate and slaves.

Edmund Dupuy died in 1848. James W. died circa 1850. Isaac Stamps (son-in-law) was executor of the James W. Dupuy estate. It included 25 slaves.

He was married to Martha W. Mann (daughter of John Mann and Elizabeth) about 1808. Martha W. Mann was born about 1795. She died in 1847 in Hernando, DeSoto County, Mississippi. James W. Dupuy and Martha W. Mann had the following children:

+228 i. Mary Elizabeth Catlette Dupuy.
+229 ii. Dr. Jonathan Ethelbert Dupuy.
+230 iii. Martha Jane Matilda Dupuy.