Humble Cot Plantation – Barnwell County

Basic Information

• Location – Barnwell County

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – No longer exists

Timeline

• Circa 1810 – Earliest known date of existence – Lewis Scott Hay established the plantation which grew to be very large (1).
  

• 1840 – Lewis Scott Hay passed away leaving the plantation to his wife Harriet Yonge Johnson Hay with their youngest son, Eugene Gordon Hay, becoming the plantation's overseer (1).
  

• 1865 – Harriet remained at the plantation during the Civil War while Eugene enlisted and served with Lee's Army of Northern VA. Harriet was forcibly removed by Sherman's troops who then burned and destroyed the plantation's house, animals and crops. (1).
  

  Lawrence W. Hay described Harriet's resulting plight, "Members of the extended family in Lee's Army drew straws, and two of the cousins removed to the area to gather up displaced relatives. They arrived at Humble Cot the day after it was burned and found her alone, sitting in the yard of the burned-out house. They gathered Harriet and what possessions they could in a remaining wagon and proceeded toward Greenville. Harriet was distraught with grief over her losses and died on the journey 'of a broken heart'. She was buried along the roadside just outside of Greenville, and her grave has never been found" (1).
  

  Lewis and Harriet's daughter, Harriet Johnson Hay married John Edward Frampton and resided at The Hill Plantation (now called Frampton House). Harriet's brother, Eugene Gordon Hay, also moved to The Hill after the Civil War (1).
  

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Hay

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 270 in 1840 (1)

References & Resources

1. Information contributed by Lawrence W. Hay, whose third great-grandfather was Lewis Scott Hay.