Ben Hickman Family

Last week I received a phone call “out-of-the-blue” from Willie Pearl Washington, the granddaughter of Ben Hickman. I was finally able to catch-up with her yesterday and had a wonderful conversation about the Hickman family.

Remember my mother sent me a piece of information that cast doubt as to Lee Hickman being Rev. Abraham Lincoln Hickman’s dad. Instead, Peter Hickman was A.L. Hickman’s father and I have proof not only in writing from a Mississippi government agency, but I also have the census records. I always had information on Peter Hickman, but I just could not piece together how he was A. L. Hickman’s father when I had information on Lee Hickman, who was suppose to be Ben Hickman’s only brother.

There was one other fact that I had trouble identifying and that is the name of Emaline Hickman’s husband. Well, Willie Pearl has filled in some critical holes in my research, but I still have one major question that has not been answered. I’ll get to this question later in this blog.

Willie Pearl spoke to other family members and confirmed that Levi Hickman was the husband of Emaline Hickman. Plus, Levi had two brothers: Sam and George Hickman. I came across both these names in my research, but I did not know who they were. I believe I have accurate 1880 census records on both Sam and George (and his wife and children). I will post his information at another time.

Now, I have confirmed that Peter Hickman was the brother of Ben Hickman, not Lee Hickman. I was told that Ben only had one brother and his name was Lee. Well, not only is Peter Ben’s brother, but there also was a sister named Carolyn Hickman. WOW! But I still have one major question that needs to be answered: Who is Lee Hickman? Willie Pearl believes that Lee might actually be Levi, but the 1880 census records list Lee as Ben’s brother! Was there another brother who was older than Ben Hickman? Did he die? Or did he lose contact with the family and that is why no one alive knows about him? I hope to resolve this mystery in the near future.

Ben Hickman had 14 children and was born on March 2, 1876 and died in 1944! (Technically speaking, there are probably a several hundreds relatives just from these siblings that we are not in touch with) His wife’s name was Martha Harris Hickman.

Listed below are Ben’s children:

1) Baby Hickman (Willie Pearl believes this baby was not given a name. A boy, he was born in 1921 and died the same year. He most likely died at birth.)
2) Gertie Lee Hickman
3) Earnest Hickman
4) Pearlie Hickman
5) Sally Jane Hickman
6) Johnnie Hickman
7) Roberta Hickman
8) Early Hickman
9) Nannie Hickman
10) Tommie Lee Hickman
11) Missie Hickman
12) Mattie Bell Hickman
13) Bob Hickman
14) Lula Hickman

I actually have the 1910 census record which list 11 of the above children (see attached) and his wife. This census record confirms what Willie Pearl provided to me.
As you can see, we have numerous Hickman descendants that we need to reach out and find so that we can invite them to the family reunion.