Joseph Erwin

Joseph Erwin was born around 1761 in Guilford County, North Carolina to Robert and Martha Erwin. He married Lavina Thompson 17 January 1782 in Guilford County, North Carolina. They had eight children together. The children were all born in Guilford County before the family moved Davidson County, Tennessee. They were John, Jane, Leodocia, Thompson, Elizabeth, Nancy, Joseph, and Isaac. Once in Davidson Joseph prospered purchasing land and building a plantation house. There was much to do about some of his race horses and after a fatal duel with Andrew Jackson with one of my sons-in-laws, Lavina and Joseph left Tennessee for Louisiana, leaving behind all their children. this was around 1807. The area had been recently purchased by the United States. Lavina and Joseph were used to forging out new places.

He bought land on the Mississippi River and began to construct their home. Over time he purchased more land and had a large farm with many slaves to help run the place. Times were good until they had several crop failures in a row and he owed money on notes he'd taken out for various things, including more land. They had had crop failures before and they always managed our way out of their debt. Some of his children with their families had moved to Louisiana by this time so Joseph was surrounded by his family.

Joseph wrote his will 26 December 1828. (1,2) He died 14 April 1829 in Iberville Parish, Louisiana under what some think is suspicious circumstances. They found his body with his head stuck in a drainage barrel. Some say Joseph committed suicide, some say he was murdered. Joseph had a lot of property that after his death Lavina, his wife and son-in-law continued to prosper on. There was much fighting over it by their children after she died.

His family has been written about in several books and articles as a focus on plantation life. One was written by W. E. Clement called "Plantation Life on the Mississippi".

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Research and website done by Tresa Tatyrek. This site was last updated 01/23/12