John was probably born in Hanover County, Virginia, where his father was living in the 1730's. Louisa County was carved out of Hanover in 1742, and Albemarle was created two years later from parts of Louisa and Goochland counties.
John was buying and selling land in Louisa and Albemarle counties from the late 1750's. Possibly due to shifting county lines, his residence of record alternated between the two counties over several years. He was a resident of Albemarle in 1758 when he purchased 175 acres in Louisa on the "south side of the north fork of Moreman's river at the foot of the Great [Blue Ridge] Mountains" and may have been living in the area where these two counties abutted. He was shown as a resident of Louisa County, Fredericksville Parish, in 1760 when he bought another 200 acres in that county. In 1761, John again became a resident of Albemarle County when it annexed the western portion of Louisa where he lived.
John (and his brother, Charles) signed a petition in Albemarle County as "Dissenters, against established churches, and for religious equality." This was part of the Ten-thousand Name Petition that was presented to Virginia's first General Assembly in October 1776 asking for the disestablishment of the Church of England. John was a Private in the Virginia Volunteers during the Revolutionary War and provided supplies to the Albemarle County militia (DAR Ancestor #A109166).
Almost all of the 1790 census was lost when the British burned the Capitol in Washington DC during the War of 1812; some counties "reconstructed" these censuses using tax rolls that had been created around the same time, since the heads of household would presumably be about the same for both. As John Statham shows up in the reconstructed 1790 censuses for Albemarle County, Virginia, and Elbert County, Georgia, it's not clear when he permanently settled in Georgia (he also appeared in the reconstructed Wilkes County census, understandable since Elbert was created from Wilkes that year). John bought land in Albemarle in 1783; was a witness to brother-in-law William Humphreys' deed transfer in Louisa County in 1786 and was still showing on the 1787 and 1789 tax rolls in Albemarle though he was apparently laying the groundwork as early as 1784 for his eventual move to Georgia, based on land records in that state.
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Georgia
It's possible John decided to relocate following his father's death in 1781 because Georgia had crafted such a liberal bounty land policy in an attempt to augment the state's sparse population (from Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants, see reference below). According to some references I've seen, Georgia not only granted bounty land to noncombattants in the recent war (e.g., someone who furnished supplies) but included patriots who could provide proof of their service in a state other than Georgia. Georgia also held at least 8 land lotteries between 1805 and 1833 to further encourage westward expansion as Indian Lands were fought over and eventually ceded through treaty.
Several Stathams are listed in the Georgia Colonial and Headright Plat Index: John, 1784 Wilkes County; Charles (John's brother, likely, as his son would have been too young), 1791 Washington County; and John's sons Jesse, 1796 Elbert County; Pleasant, 1799 Elbert County; and Nathaniel, 1794 and 1795 Washington County. Under headright rules in Georgia a single man qualified for 100 acres, a man of family for the same plus an additional 50 acres for each dependent. However, many of the early Georgia land records do not consistently or even accurately specify whether the land was issued as a headright or as a bounty grant for war service (from RWBLG).
John Statham served on the Elbert County Grand Jury for the February 1794 term. Early Georgia Settlers also lists a John Statom, Sr. (sic) and James Statom (sic) as voters for Georgia's delegates to the 1795 Constitutional Convention.
The 1800 and large parts of the 1810 census for Georgia were lost, unfortunately, but John and his wife were still in Elbert County in 1820. Susannah must have died sometime between the census and John's death in November 1823.
- John Statham, b. ca 1760
- Nathaniel Statham, b. ca 1764
- Nancy Statham, b. ca 1764; m. ? Barnet
- Robert Statham, b. ca 1766
- William Dabney Statham, b. ca 1768; m. Matilda Harlow
- Jesse Harris Statham, b. ca 1770; m. Eady Duncan
- Charles Andrew Statham, b. ca 1774
- Pleasant Statham, b. ca 1773
- James Statham, b. ca 1776
In 1822, with his health failing, John gave power of attorney to his son, Jesse. In his will probated 3 Nov 1823, John Statham left one dollar each to his sons John, Robert, Charles and James. The remainder of his estate was divided equally between Nathaniel, Nancy, William, Jesse and Pleasant.
In November 1826, Jesse gave power of attorney to his brother Nathaniel "to receive from all persons concerned in the estate & property of Love Statham, decd., in right of John Statham, a legatee of decd., which John Statham, legatee of the estate is now decd."
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John Jr.'s son, James (born ca 1799) was in Pulaski County, Georgia, in the 1840 and 1850 censuses; whether it was this James Statham or Nathaniel's son James living in Irwin in 1830 along with Nathaniel and his sons, Thompson Nathaniel and Pleasant Statham isn't yet known. However, it is known that John Jr's son James eventually settled in Irwin/Wilcox County (I believe it is this James, not the son of John Sr., who is the father of Norman Statham).
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William Dabney Statham's parentage is unclear. He's listed as a grandson in Love Statham's will, and considered by some family researchers to be the illegitimate son of either John or one of his sisters. There was a William Dabney living around the same area, which makes for some interesting speculation. Another possibility is that the William Statham listed as serving in the Revolutionary War from Albemarle County is yet another son of Love Statham (and brother to John Statham) who died in the war, and that William Dabney Statham is his son. This William, like John Statham, appears in the 1780 census for Albemarle County, Virginia; unlike John Statham, he isn't in the one for 1790 (bearing in mind that these censuses are just reconstructions). Playing out this scenario, Love's guardianship of William Dabney would have terminated with Love's death in 1781, in which case the guardian bond dated 9 Oct 1786 in Louisa County, Virginia, would at least rule out John as the father since presumably it would have been a bastardy bond otherwise. Security for the guardian bond is provided by John's two brothers-in-law, Stephen Hunter and Edward Eastham.
The William D. Statham who was on the 1802 Fluvanna County, Virginia, tax rolls (as Stateham) and the 1810 census (age 26-45), and who served with the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812 may be William Dabney Statham. A John D. Statham (possibly William Dabney's son), appears on the U.S. Army Register of Enlistments 1798-1914; he originally enlisted in August 1812 from Fluvanna County at the age of 21 (b. ca 1793) and was under the command of a Capt. Thomson; he transferred to another unit in 1814 and was discharged at Craney Island, Virginia, on 15 March 1815. According to History of Stewart County, John never married. William Dabney (as William Statam) was in Wilkinson County, Georgia, for the 1820 census.
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Jesse Harris Statham secured headrights in Georgia for himself and four dependents in 1796. He was in Elbert County in 1820 and Walton in 1830 but was living in Clarke as of the 1832 Land Lottery. He may have eventually moved on to Alabama.
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A Pleasant Statham, a carriage maker from Albemarle County, Virginia, is shown on the U.S. Army Register of Enlistments 1798-1914 as enlisting in Madison, Virginia, on 30 Aug 1813 at the age of 40 (b. ca 1773); he served his term of 5 years and was discharged 1 Sept 1818 at Ft. Scott near present day Bainbridge in Decatur County, Georgia. There's also a Pleasant Stateman (sic), age 26-45, living in Putnam County in 1820 but this might be Nathaniel's rather than John Sr.'s son.
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There's a James Stateham on the Norfolk County, Virginia, tax rolls for 1790, and a James Statham in Buckingham County, in the 1810 census, age 45 or over. If this is John Sr's son, he was born before 1765, not in 1776 as recorded above.
