The Bobbitt Family In America
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[10]This is the first last and only record of Arthur Bobbitt Junior. We know that he had to be 17 years of age to be old enough to prove this legal transaction, and he could not have been born before 1810. The land was sold later to Sterling Johnson.
Stephen Bobbitt Senior died in 1824, and in his will which was probated on August 23, 1824 he mentions his son Arthur.
"I give to my son, Arthur Bobbitt, one tract of land, I had from Edwin Harris, also two negroes named Lucy and Diner, one feather bed and furniture, one mare, and one calf, all of which is now in his possession."
The division of the Negroes in the estate of Stephen Bobbitt was made on December 1, 1824. The sale of the property of the estate for division among the heirs was sold on December 17, 1824. The list of items sold came to eight pages in the records and is one of the longest list recorded in Warren County.
Several of Arthur Bobbitt's cousins had migrated to Tennessee and apparently were satisfied to make their homes in the new territory. Sometime during the fall of 1827 Arthur Bobbitt and his family moved to Madison County, Tennessee. Arthur had a first cousin by the name of James Bobbitt who lived in South Carolina. He was a son of William Bobbitt, brother of Stephen Bobbitt. We believe that James Bobbitt and his family first moved to Madison County and that Arthur joined him there in 1827. James later moved to Gibson County, but Arthur remained in Madison County for the balance of his life.
For some reason, Arthur was not recorded in any census taken in 1830. We know that in 1828 he was living in Tennessee as his son and last child was Willis Smelly Bobbitt born in 1828 in Tennessee. Sometime between 1828 and 1840, Mary (Smelly) Bobbitt died. The family of Arthur was listed in the 1840 census of Madison County, Tennessee as:
1 male 10 - 15 1 female 15
1 male 15 - 20
1 male 20 - 30
1 male 60 - 70
The three sons are at home and they are James Arthur born in 1815, John Richard born in 1825, and Willis Smelly born in 1828. Arthur Bobbitt Junior died sometime between 1827 and 1840. The daughter listed here is Mary Martha Bobbitt, all the other daughters were married and away from home. Mary was born in 1821.