Key Facts

Snapshot:	housewife, seamstress; killed her husband
Parents:	unknown
Born:	circa 1817 Jefferson County, Georgia
Last known record:	1870 Columbia County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

159Sarah Powell was born circa 18171-3 in Jefferson County, Georgia.1 Although I don't know who her parents are, the 1850 census shows that she lived very close to another Powell household;1 159Sarah may be related to them in some way, although I haven't been able to figure out how.

She married 158Wiley Hoffman in Jefferson County on 30 October 1834.4 For more information on their marriage, their lives together, etc., see his profile since that information won't be repeated here.

159Sarah killed her husband on 1 May 1853. The following account5 was re-published in several central Georgia newspapers:

The newspapers' account of 158Wiley's death. Bigger copy.3

I spent some time browsing Emanuel County's Superior Court minutes book for the years 1851-1859, but I found no mention of the case. Perhaps no charges were filed. (However, the administrator of 158Wiley's estate did litigate against 159Sarah.6)

Perhaps looking for a fresh start, by 1860 159Sarah had relocated to Richmond County.2

1860: 159Sarah's family in Richmond County, Georgia. Full page.2

By 1870 she had moved again to militia district 128 (map), Columbia County, Georgia.3

1870: 159Sarah's family in militia district 128, Columbia County, Georgia. Full page.3

159Sarah's 1870 census entry is the last record I've found of her. She does not seem to be in Columbia County's inventories, appraisements, and sales book B (1851-1881), nor in a folder of wills for the years 1789-1939 (loose papers arranged alphabetically).

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 48, Jefferson County, Georgia. Pages 137B and 138A, dwelling 57, family 57, Wiley Huffman household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 75. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-64KQ-567?i=5&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZYR-GQ1> et seq.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). 121st district, Richmond County, Georgia. Page 262, dwelling 2113, family 2054, Sarah Huffman household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 135. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBT-HD3?i=9>.

3: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). 128th district, Columbia County, Georgia. Page 99, dwelling 800, family 827, Wiley Huffman household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 145. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCWF-15>.

4: Jefferson County, Georgia. Marriages whites book A (1803-1880), page 232. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPPX-99TS?cc=1927197&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AFWHK-Z25>.

5: "A Man Killed by His Wife," The Central Georgian (Sandersville, Georgia), 10 May 1853, page 2, column 2, starting at about three-fifths of the way down the page. Georgia Historic Newspapers, <https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn85034105/1853-05-10/ed-1/seq-2/>.

6: Emanuel County, Georgia. Superior court minutes book for the years 1854-1860, page 224. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-YX9V>, accessed 25 February 2026.